Chapter 445: Heavenly Court Rises Troops Again, Water God Commands the Killing

Dayi, a great shaman of the ancient Wu Clan, became renowned throughout the primordial wilderness for shooting down the nine suns.

After the great battle where Gonggong, the ancestral shaman of water, and Zhurong, the god of fire, collided and toppled Buzhou Mountain, Dayi and Xingtian, the two most powerful great shamans, were selected as candidates for the Wu Clan's Twelve Capitals Heavenly Gods and Fiends Array. They both perished in the ancient war.

Unexpectedly, Dayi's essence soul was captured by the Yao Clan.

Speaking of Dayi, one must mention a female immortal—his wife, Heng'e.

In ancient times, Heng'e was the daughter of the Human Emperor, and her union with Dayi had elements of a political marriage. But after the ancient era ended, Dayi had fallen in battle, and Heng'e went to Guanghan Palace, leaving behind only the legend of "Chang'e should regret stealing the elixir."

"There's clearly more to this story."

Li Changshou stroked his chin thoughtfully, while Zhao Gongming hesitated to speak but then chuckled.

"Actually, it's not that complicated—calamities rise and fall, lives are born and perish," Zhao Gongming said. "Brother, instead of pondering this, you should think about how to put this thing back together."

Li Changshou's eyebrow twitched slightly, but he didn't press further. Together with Zhao Gongming, he turned to look aside.

At that moment, Bai Ze was sweating profusely, carefully arranging pieces of wooden wedges and using his immortal power to bind them together. He had already completed most of the work.

Li Changshou had fully grasped the working principle of the Zhanxian Flying Knife. In simple terms:

As long as one gains the recognition of the great shaman's essence soul, they can freely activate this deadly weapon.

However, Li Changshou's attempts to communicate with Dayi's essence soul yielded no results.

Dayi seemed to have lost all consciousness and will, leaving only the shell of an essence soul in a state close to deep slumber.

"This Dayi must have endured endless torment from the Yao Clan," Zhao Gongming remarked with a sigh.

Li Changshou also sighed and said nothing more, waiting alongside for Bai Ze to finish.

Half a day later, Bai Ze wiped the sweat from his forehead and placed a restored large gourd in front of Li Changshou.

"At last, I have not failed the Water God's trust."

Zhao Gongming walked over to where the gourd had been disassembled, held up two black spots in his hand, and asked with mock seriousness, "Hey? Mr. Bai, how come there are two small wooden blocks missing here?"

Bai Ze jumped in alarm, quickly turned around to check, and then ran back to examine the smooth, flawless gourd closely, growing anxious.

Li Changshou and Zhao Gongming held back their laughter for a while but eventually nearly burst out laughing, which made Bai Ze so angry that he transformed into his true form and chased Zhao Gongming around, charging at him wildly.

The joyful times with these male immortals were just like Li Changshou's past life when he played with his close friends during school—such days always passed in the blink of an eye.

Having mastered the core secrets of the Zhanxian Flying Knife, Li Changshou began to ponder how to awaken Dayi's essence soul.

His first thought was to seek help from the Wu Clan in the underworld. Later, he planned to bring the one hundred and eight demonic soldiers along and take the Zhanxian Flying Knife with him.

Going to the Moon Palace to seek an audience with Taiyin Star Lord?

Well...

Better not.

Although His Majesty the Jade Emperor is broad-minded, and there are no rumors of scandals with Heng'e at the moment, who can guarantee what might happen in the future?

The principles of stability and caution are evident in these small details—he should keep his distance from the Moon Palace as much as possible.

After all, it's His Majesty the Jade Emperor's private garden, and who knows if someone like "Qin Tianzhu," who might inherit the will of "Hua Ritian," could become a secret guest in the Guanghan Palace...

A gentle stir in his spiritual sense indicated someone seeking an audience at the Tian Court Water God Mansion.

Li Changshou shifted his focus, allowing this paper effigy to return to Black Pool Peak with Gongming and Bai Ze, while part of his mind descended to the Water God Mansion.

He adjusted his ordinary appearance, picked up his ordinary horsetail whisk, and resumed his role as an ordinary high official in the Tian Court.

Opening the door, Li Changshou looked at Bian Zhuang, Ao Yi, and further back, Princess Longji standing outside.

He asked seriously, "Has the Tian River Navy encountered trouble?"

Ao Yi cupped his fists and bowed his head, smiling as he shouted, "Congratulations, Teacher Brother!"

Bian Zhuang added, "Congratulations, Water God!"

"What is there to congratulate?" Li Changshou asked calmly.

Bian Zhuang chuckled and glanced around, stepping closer to Li Changshou and murmuring,

"Water God, you're not aware? In the recent court session, because Mu Gong reported that you unauthorizedly descended to the mortal realm and interfered with His Majesty the Jade Emperor and Queen Mother's tribulations, His Majesty was furious and deducted half a month's merit salary from you. He also sentenced you to serve as the chief instructor for the Chang'e immortals in the Moon Palace for ten years.

Heh, heh heh."

Li Changshou's mouth fell open, and he nearly felt overwhelmed by dark lines.

Ao Yi, standing nearby, laughed and said, "Teacher Brother, this is practically the harshest punishment for male immortals in the Tian Court."

Why did His Majesty do this?

It's incomprehensible.

Could it be that he wants me to scout the way?

The Chang'e immortals of the Moon Palace are professional dancers for the Tian Court's grand events. They possess beauty and grace that are the best among fairies, spending their days rigorously practicing various dances.

Being selected as a Chang'e is no simple matter, and it's an official position that comes with merit rewards.

Seeing Li Changshou's furrowed brow, Bian Zhuang asked in confusion, "Water God, aren't you happy?"

Ao Yi kicked Bian Zhuang, truly wanting to scold him.

If he showed happiness now, what would that imply?

"I'll go speak to His Majesty about this," Li Changshou sighed inwardly and prepared to ride the clouds to the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.

What a mess!

If this got out and reached Sanxian Island... Did they really think Qiongxiao and Bixiao were as gentle as water, or that Yunxiao's command to kneel wouldn't lead to her casting a spell on him?

But oh well, as long as he stays true to himself and remains a righteous god of the Tian Court, he has nothing to fear from shadows.

"Teacher," Longji called softly from the side, her pretty face showing a hint of displeasure as she whispered, "Mother wants you to come to the Yao Pool right away."

Li Changshou's thoughts raced, and he realized what Queen Mother wanted him to do, feeling a slight twinge in his heart.

Ah, just moments ago, he was thinking of staying far away from the Moon Palace, and now he was already drawn into the dispute between Queen Mother and the Jade Emperor.

A short while later, in the grand hall of the Yao Pool.

Li Changshou bowed through the screen to Queen Mother, who was reclining on a soft couch, and said, "This humble god pays respects to Your Majesty!"

Queen Mother's lazy voice came through the screen: "Everyone else, withdraw."

"Your Majesty!" Li Changshou quickly interjected, "It's better to have the fairies... stay."

Queen Mother chuckled lightly and gestured for the attending fairies not to leave, saying,

"Dear Changgeng, His Majesty seems quite upset because you disrupted his tribulation."

"Ah," Li Changshou lowered his head with a bitter smile, "For the stability of the Tian Court and to protect His Majesty's reputation, this humble god had no choice but to take such measures."

He didn't even mention that the real culprit was her.

Queen Mother nodded in satisfaction and continued, "This time, His Majesty has sentenced you to be the chief instructor in the Moon Palace. Do you have any grievances?"

Li Changshou: ...

Could he really go? Was this even possible? Just think about his second senior brother's miserable fate!

He only wanted to resolve the Fengshen calamity and leave an incarnation in the Tian Court as the "Heavenly Emperor's Messenger"!

Oh well, no rush on this matter.

Li Changshou bowed and sighed, "This humble god dares not disobey His Majesty the Jade Emperor's command."

"So, you're thinking of disobeying but don't dare?" Queen Mother laughed lightly. "What are you afraid of, Water God? Everyone in the Tian Court knows His Majesty's intentions, so just go ahead.

But..."

Here it comes!

"Please enlighten me, Your Majesty."

"I've heard many female immortals say that the Chang'e in the Moon Palace have neglected their cultivation and only indulge in leisure. Once you go, dear Changgeng, make sure to have them train rigorously and not bring shame to the female immortals of the Tian Court."

Li Changshou felt a pang in his heart—Queen Mother wanted him to turn them into three hundred fierce warrior women?

In the future, if His Majesty the Jade Emperor sneaked into the Moon Palace and saw female immortals wielding knives and guns, clad in armor...

"This humble god... understands."

Li Changshou bowed his head in response, feeling a headache coming on.

Back at the Water God Mansion, Li Changshou paced back and forth in his study, considering how to handle this.

Reputation didn't matter much to him, but he had to think about how the Jie Sect immortals would feel. This was a critical time for uniting the Jie and Chan sects, so he couldn't afford any mistakes.

Yet, His Majesty the Jade Emperor hadn't considered this and directly assigned him this "plum job."

Hmm, perhaps he even hoped I'd scout the path to the Guanghan Palace for him.

No way around it— for now, he still had the task of bringing Hua Yun to the Tian Court, so he'd delay for these three months.

As for afterward...

Last time, His Majesty led troops to attack the Yao Clan but had to retreat due to a lack of experts, damaging the Tian Court's prestige. Now, with the Yao Emperor's seal in his hands, he could deliver a fatal blow to the Yao Clan's destiny!

His Majesty was still angry, so why not advise another campaign? They could publicly shatter the Yao Emperor's seal in front of the Yao Clan, then use a spiritual explosion array to wipe out most of them, and have the Tian Court suppress the northern continent with overwhelming force!

Why not ask for help from the Chan and Jie sects' experts this time?

Aside from the issue of face for the saints' disciples—if they didn't go before and now cower when the great calamity looms, wouldn't that invite ridicule?

From another angle, if the Jade Emperor sent someone and got rejected, but I went and convinced them, that would slap His Majesty's face too hard.

Once they exterminate the Yao on the northern border, I can claim credit and offset this punishment with merits!

Upon reflection, it's truly a brilliant plan, killing several birds with one stone.

The sooner the Tian Court regains its prestige, the better.

Cause of the Yao Clan's defeat: the three hundred Chang'e chief instructors.

After some calculation, Li Changshou turned back to his desk, picked up his brush, and wrote a memorial. He also secretly arranged for a paper effigy to deliver the Yao Emperor's seal to the Tian Court Water God Mansion.

Meanwhile, the paper effigy Li Changshou had left in Quezhou City was already secretly protecting Hua Yun.

There was something he wasn't sure if His Majesty the Jade Emperor knew—Hua Yun had already developed deep feelings for Yang Tianyou...

This matter was quite troublesome, so he'd keep it brief.

Roughly, when Quezhou City faced crisis and Hua Youming was nineteen, he went out to fight and entrusted his mother and sister to his trustworthy friend and fellow academy student, Yang Tianyou.

A general survives a hundred battles, but on the city wall, a splash of red.

Xia Ningshuang took Hua Youming back to the Xia residence, where he recovered for quite some time. Later, that night happened, and it took about half a year.

Afterward, Hua Youming married into the Xia family, and his mother and sister lived in a nearby house they bought, making the family harmonious. They also frequently interacted with the Yang family.

The Yang family was a wealthy merchant in the city, which is why Yang Tianyou could attend the academy back then.

Yang Tianyou himself was talented in business and became well-known at a young age, marrying at the appropriate time.

When Hua Youming and Xia Ningshuang ascended to heaven, Yang Tianyou was already thirty, with a son, but his original wife had unfortunately passed away from illness, and he hadn't remarried.

By then, Hua Yun was a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl. Due to her earlier hardships, she was more mature than her peers and had long developed feelings for Yang Tianyou, who had cared for her so much.

When His Majesty the Jade Emperor sent a dream to Hua Yun, she said she wanted to linger in the mortal world for a hundred days to confess her feelings to Yang Tianyou.

From Li Changshou's observations, if Yang Tianyou agreed, Hua Yun would give up going to the Tian Court as a princess.

If he refused, Hua Yun would have no choice but to leave sadly.

Li Changshou was a bit curious about what choice Yang Tianyou would make...

He then summoned Ao Yi and Bian Zhuang, ordering them to train the Tian Court water troops rigorously, as there might be a war soon. He had to attend to His Majesty's orders and would return in three months.

He also hinted for them to spread the news around the Tian Court.

Thus, three months later.

Li Changshou had completed his preparations for the northern continent—

He negotiated with the Wu Clan for some elite forces, discussed with the Dragon Kings to bring in hundreds of experts, prepared the memorial and the Yao Emperor's seal, and readied three sets of contingency plans.

This time, they would restore the Tian Court's prestige and utterly destroy the Yao Clan's destiny, ensuring they could never gather such a force of hundreds of demon kings again.

During a break in his cultivation and enlightenment, Li Changshou visited Jiejiao's Jin'ao Island and went to Taiyi Zhenren's cave to discuss the recent changes with Lingzhuzi, while planning activities to foster unity between the two sects.

Although he encountered Ran Deng on the way, which slightly dampened his good mood,

Li Changshou changed his previous attitude toward Ran Deng, greeting him with a smile and sincerity.

This left Ran Deng quite puzzled, and he pondered for a long time why the Tian Court Water God's attitude had changed so much.

Was there some scheme?

On the day Jade Emperor Hua Youming had arranged to meet Hua Yun, Li Changshou had placed two rays of immortal light outside her boudoir early in the morning.

—This was to remind Hua Yun that if she didn't confess now, she'd miss her chance.

Hua Yun was indeed anxious. After hesitating for a hundred days, she finally overcame her shyness today.

She carefully dressed up, put on an elegant long skirt, and took the family ox cart to the Yang residence.

When she got out of the cart, the now "girl next door coming of age" Hua Yun left countless mortals staring in awe. She lowered her head and entered the Yang residence, where the servants dared not stop her.

She smoothly found Yang Tianyou in his study. Biting her lip, she gazed at her bewildered beloved.

"What's wrong?"

Yang Tianyou was no longer a young hothead and was quite familiar with Hua Yun. Seeing her troubled expression, he asked with concern,

"Aren't you supposed to go on a long journey today to find Brother Hua Youming?"

"Yang... Big Brother Yang..."

Hua Yun accidentally bit her tongue, and the words on the tip of her tongue wouldn't come out.

The hidden Li Changshou nearly laughed out loud—this kind of youthful shyness was truly a rare beauty in the world.

"Just say what's on your mind," Yang Tianyou said with a smile. "Do you need money for the trip?"

"No," Hua Yun couldn't help but rub her forehead and whispered, "Big Brother Yang, do you have any intention of... remarrying?"

Yang Tianyou was stunned for a moment, then understood and smiled, "My late wife still lingers in my dreams, and I have no desire to think about that."

Hua Yun pursed her lips and said softly, "Hua Yun understands. Then... if it's fate, we'll meet again someday."

With that, she turned and left.

Just then, Li Changshou appeared in the air in his Tian Court Water God form, gently flicking his horsetail whisk. A ladder of white clouds, glowing with immortal light, formed and landed in front of Hua Yun.

"Immortal," Li Changshou said with a smile, "it's time to return to heaven."

This action was indeed a bit showy, but Li Changshou had to ensure Erlang Shen's smooth descent, so he used a small ploy on these two mortals.

As Hua Yun stepped onto the cloud ladder, her figure floated upward on its own.

She turned back to look; Yang Tianyou stood in front of the study, full of astonishment, and the mortals in Quezhou City were all staring in shock.

They lacked the composure of the Anshui City mortals.

This scene left many legends in Quezhou City, but Li Changshou knew it was just the beginning of Hua Yun and Yang Tianyou's story.

Li Changshou escorted Hua Yun to the Yao Pool, where Queen Mother arranged for her care and guided her in cultivation to become an immortal.

No sooner had he finished this than Mu Gong came to the Water God Mansion to urge him to take up his post in the Moon Palace.

Li Changshou countered with a memorial and the great seal, pulling Mu Gong along to the Lingxiao Treasure Hall and presenting them before the Jade Emperor.

Soon after, the Tian Court was shaken.

Civil and military officials lined up in the Lingxiao Hall, with the Jade Emperor once again in golden armor, Li Changshou and Mu Gong standing on the jade steps, one on each side.

This situation had occurred not long ago, when His Majesty the Jade Emperor personally led troops to attack the Yao in the northern continent, but due to the deliberate obstruction by the saints' disciples, he retreated to protect his heavenly soldiers, damaging the Tian Court's dignity.

But today was different.

Because in the Tian Court, that Water God who always came up with new ideas had fully returned.

The Jade Emperor summoned the Heavenly Emperor's Divine Authority Sword and pushed it directly toward Li Changshou, saying with a smile,

"For today's battle, Changgeng will lead the array.

From today onward, the Water God shall hold the position of a third-tier orthodox god, enjoy the merits of a second-tier orthodox god, and oversee all matters of warfare in the Tian Court!"

Li Changshou took the divine sword with both hands, raised it high above his head, and shouted,

"I obey Your Majesty's command!"

The immortals and gods of the Tian Court below chorused in response, with golden light flashing everywhere and the power of the Heavenly Dao growing denser.

In a dark corner of Xiaoqiong Peak, a wooden box suddenly burst open, and a precious pagoda and a bronze ruler spun around. On Black Pool Peak, Bai Ze also stopped drinking with Zhao Gongming, transformed into his true form, and gazed into the sky...