Chapter 459: Wen Jing Reports the News, Bian Zhuang Panics

In Yuquan Mountain, Li Changshou transformed into the appearance of a Renjiao novice mage and chatted with two Chan Jiao immortals about the Ba Jiu Xuan Gong.

In the back hall of the Hai Shen Temple, Li Changshou sat beneath the illusory shadow of the Tai Ji Tu, gazing at the faintly translucent figure before him.

The familiar blood-red long skirt, the alluring figure that was neither too much nor too little, the slightly curly hair, and the naturally charming expression made Li Changshou...

Frown.

Compared to Kong Xuan's elder sister, the mosquito spirit was at a clear disadvantage.

Although both Kong Xuan and Wen Jing Daoist were fierce beings, Kong Xuan came from the Feng Clan and now bore responsibilities, earning him the title of a "true hero."

As for Wen Jing Daoist...

This queen figure was ruthless and originally a Hongmeng vicious beast. She had refrained from killing humans solely to avoid accumulating karma, viewing the lives of all creatures as insignificant as weeds.

If not for Wen Jing Daoist's ability to damage the Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus, and the fact that Taiqing Teacher had foreseen this, Wen Jing Daoist should have met the same fate as Jin Chan Zi...

"Water God, sir," Wen Jing Daoist greeted with a graceful bow, noticing the glint in Li Changshou's eyes, which made her inexplicably tense.

Wen Jing Daoist quickly added, "Please don't blame me, my lord. I only dared to come see you when the opportunity was right, and I wasn't detected by anyone. I can swear a great oath right now to prove my absolute loyalty to you, my complete..."

"Long time no see, and now your tongue is so slick?"

Li Changshou said with a smile, and Wen Jing Daoist breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Wen Jing Daoist's smile carried a touch of resentment as she said softly, "Times have changed, Water God. Your cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds. I once had a bit of underestimation in my heart, but now, how could I dare?"

"When did my cultivation advance by leaps and bounds?"

Li Changshou replied calmly, "It's just that I can borrow a couple more Renjiao supreme treasures at any time, that's all."

Wen Jing Daoist: ...

The Water God always had a firm grasp on his demeanor.

Li Changshou gestured to the chair beside him, inviting Wen Jing Daoist to sit and talk, then took the initiative to ask, "You took the risk to come today—do you have something important?"

"Oh, come now," Wen Jing Daoist said with a light laugh as she sat gracefully to the side, covering her mouth, "I haven't seen you in just a day, and it feels like three autumns have passed. I've missed you dearly."

Li Changshou furrowed his brow slightly and whispered, "Wen Jing, do you realize your current position?"

Position?

Wen Jing Daoist's heart skipped a beat; she heard the warning and dissatisfaction in Li Changshou's words.

For some reason, her Dao heart trembled lightly.

Over the years, she had been observing from the sidelines and knew about the major events Li Changshou had accomplished.

Especially in the North Continent battle, where Li Changshou revealed his own Dao and single-handedly eliminated over a dozen ancient great demons and the Yao Clan Crown Prince Lu Ya...

What frightened Wen Jing Daoist the most that day wasn't Li Changshou's sudden display of power, but the part of the events in the Honghuang legends that had been erased.

For the Water God, a saint had briefly clashed, and Taiqing Saint's single word "gun" had driven back the two Western leaders.

At that time, Nuwa had acted, and Houtu had appeared!

From that moment, Wen Jing Daoist understood that this Heavenly Court Water God, who held her lifeline from the start, wasn't someone she could even joke with.

In a way, this master of schemes was more dangerous and harder to counter than that man.

Unfortunately, it was a pure sense of powerlessness and despair; Wen Jing Daoist had no thoughts of conquest at all.

Wen Jing Daoist hastily stood and bowed, explaining,

"Please don't be angry, my lord. I was forced into this, that's why...

That's why I became their sixth protector and took on the role of vicious beast leader!

My heart is with you, my lord, with the Renjiao. Please see that clearly!"

Li Changshou nodded impassively, though he couldn't help but mutter to himself inwardly.

Wen Jing had already risen to a high position in the Western Teachings?

He had only meant to remind her to remember her identity as Xuan Du senior brother's admirer and not say anything too forward.

After all, the teacher was watching from above!

Wen Jing Daoist's fate seemed to have changed in many ways.

At this point, he should give Wen Jing Daoist some incentives to ensure she wouldn't hesitate when it was time to act.

Li Changshou said calmly, "I already know about this matter; I was just giving you a gentle warning.

Lately, Xuan Du senior brother has been guarding Xuan Du City against the extraterrestrial demons and can't spare the time. When he returns to the Five Divisions Continents, I'll arrange for you two to meet again."

"Re-really?"

Wen Jing Daoist didn't know why her voice trembled slightly, her eyes full of brightness.

Li Changshou nodded steadily and continued, "Since you want to get close to my senior brother, you should maintain proper etiquette and keep a suitable distance when speaking with me. Don't overstep boundaries. Do you understand?"

Wen Jing Daoist carefully pondered his words and was overjoyed, nodding repeatedly in agreement. She even couldn't help but wipe the corner of her mouth.

"I thank you deeply, my lord!"

Li Changshou thought it over carefully and chose his words before saying, "I wouldn't dare decide this without the teacher's permission, so you need to handle it well."

Wen Jing Daoist's delicate form trembled, and she nearly knelt down to offer several grand bows to the illusory shadow of the Tai Ji Tu above.

Li Changshou said calmly, "Let's get to the main business."

"Yes," Wen Jing Daoist responded softly, suppressing a few more giggles before sitting back down.

"My lord, the West is planning a major move."

"Oh?" Li Changshou raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt, letting Wen Jing Daoist explain in detail.

Before long, Li Changshou started to feel a bit restless.

Fortunately, he had never underestimated the Western Teachings.

Just a few months ago, the Western Teachings' great leader, Jie Yin Daoist, had emerged from seclusion and held a lecture at Ling Mountain, imparting Dao and principles to the disciples of the saints. All the key figures of Ling Mountain were in attendance.

Wen Jing Daoist had been summoned and listened in secret without revealing herself.

After the lecture, the dozen or so saint disciples with influence in the Western Teachings, along with her as the vicious beast leader and the other two leaders from the Yao Clan and Hai Clan, discussed strategies for the great calamity.

In this discussion, the Western Teachings decided on two major matters.

First, they would retract their influence in the Five Divisions Continents, making all their affiliates lie low, and actively eliminate the group of karma-heavy great demons they had sheltered, harvesting merit to boost their sect's destiny.

Li Changshou: ...

When it came to ruthlessness, these people were unmatched.

Back in ancient times, with the phrase "you have a connection with the West," many ancient Yao Clan elders had eagerly joined the Western Teachings.

Now, with the great calamity descending, to alleviate the burden on the Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus suppressing their sect's destiny, they were directly wiping out these destiny liabilities.

They would even sacrifice a finger to protect the greater destiny.

Wen Jing Daoist whispered, "I'm in charge of this matter. There are quite a few great demons to eliminate, most hidden in the Three Thousand Worlds.

The West's true intention might be to have us Hongmeng vicious beasts sacrifice some as well.

My lord, should we secretly recruit..."

"Don't even think about it," Li Changshou said firmly. "Your infiltration of the West has its reasons from above; it's not for these trivial matters!

Remember, your priority is self-preservation. Even if you're ordered to kill my incarnations, you can do so freely. Understand?"

Wen Jing Daoist quickly bowed her head in response. "Yes, I understand."

Li Changshou continued, "What's the second matter?"

"The West has designs on the Underworld.

Their ambitions are significant—they might want to control parts of the Six Paths of Reincarnation or establish an alternative reincarnation..."

Li Changshou chuckled. "Stop there; let me guess.

This scheme has been brewing in the West for tens of thousands of years, involving many great worlds in the Three Thousand Worlds, gathering incense merit and intercepting human destiny. Am I right?"

Wen Jing Daoist was startled and asked quietly,

"Do you have other informants?"

Li Changshou pointed to his left ear, then his right, and smiled without speaking.

Wen Jing Daoist mused thoughtfully and said softly,

"I was happy for months thinking I'd uncovered this, but you already knew..."

Li Changshou smiled, extending his left hand as a cloud of mist formed in his palm.

The mist condensed into a rough shape of the Five Divisions Continents, palm-sized; around it, clusters of "islands" emerged as shimmering stars, spreading outward.

Among the stars, many glowed red.

Li Changshou deliberately cautioned Wen Jing Daoist, explaining calmly,

"These are the Three Thousand Worlds currently under the West's direct or indirect control.

Their plan is clever: building incense divine kingdoms beyond the Five Divisions Continents, using incense merit to ward off calamity and train immortal soldiers.

But unfortunately, they've always underestimated the Dao Sect and treated humans as mere puppets. They even want to use control of reincarnation to solidify these divine kingdoms and spread their teachings...

It's both laughable and lamentable."

Wen Jing Daoist laughed. "Since everything is under your control, my lord, I feel relieved."

Li Changshou said, "Continue with what you know; I'll check for any oversights."

"Yes," Wen Jing Daoist bowed gracefully and resumed her report.

Half an hour later, Wen Jing Daoist's incarnation dissolved into a mist of blood and vanished.

Li Changshou stood up and paced back and forth, his eyes full of contemplation.

Goodness, the Western Teachings were truly this ruthless?

They had stockpiled countless souls of ordinary deceased humans in the Three Thousand Worlds, planning to establish a new Hall of Reincarnation on the Blood Sea?

If they used those souls to attack the Underworld, it could be easily countered by dispatching Heavenly Court troops in time.

The real trouble was using those souls to pressure the Underworld; with Houtu Niangniang's gentle nature, she would never allow so many innocent souls to dissipate and would likely permit a new reincarnation or cede some control of the Six Paths.

What could the Heavenly Court do?

Directly send troops to wipe out those souls? That would be equivalent to slaughtering humans!

At the root, the biggest issue was the many great worlds that had become the West's trump card.

And now, the West intended to mobilize that power to survive the great calamity.

He couldn't act rashly; his strategy had to be clear.

Incense divine kingdoms...

Yes, he needed to fundamentally label them as "disasters," using the power of the Heavenly Dao to dismantle the West's layout.

After sending Wen Jing Daoist away, Li Changshou's paper incarnation in Yuquan Mountain quickly took its leave.

Confirming that Yang Jian's path of growth was unfolding as expected, Li Changshou set that matter aside for now.

Though he said "for now," he still made some preparations: he left over a dozen specialized communication jade talismans with Yu Ding Zhenren and buried a few paper incarnations near Yuquan Mountain.

Then, Li Changshou secluded himself in the secret chamber of Xiao Qiong Peak, summoning over a dozen blank scrolls to begin deep contemplation.

The Western Teachings had many capable individuals.

They knew that discussing the Feng Shen at Zixiao Palace would lead to targeting by the Dao Sect saints and their disciples, so they wouldn't gain much. Thus, they had shifted their focus elsewhere in advance...

Gathering merit and the power of living beings' thoughts—could that get them through the great calamity?

Li Changshou pondered carefully, picked up a brush, and sketched a slingshot, starting repeated simulations.

This hypothesis was a bit bold, but after all, he had learned from the Taiqing Temple as an unofficial disciple of the saint.

Uh, it felt a bit like being an illegitimate child...

If I were a Western saint, how would I break this situation?

After You Qin Xuanya had recuperated in the Water God Mansion for half a month under Long Ji's care, her injuries had fully healed.

But You Qin Xuanya remained silent, saying nothing.

It wasn't until the appointed time to meet Li Changshou, when he came to visit, that she showed a slight smile and spoke.

"Water God."

Long Ji blinked beside her, sensing something unusual.

Long Ji whispered, "Teacher, I'll head back now."

"Thank you for your trouble."

"It's no trouble at all," Long Ji said with a grin, making a face at Li Changshou before turning to slip away on her cloud.

But a "wait a moment" called from behind, and Long Ji blinked, turning back.

Li Changshou held out a wrapped package and said with a smile,

"This is for your studies in strategy over the next six months. Don't fall behind on your lessons."

Long Ji's face turned sour like a bitter gourd; she snatched the package and stamped her foot lightly in frustration.

"I get it! You just love picking on people!"

Watching Long Ji slink away on her cloud, Li Changshou shook his head with a light laugh.

You Qin Xuanya sat on the bed, looking up at Li Changshou, her long eyelashes fluttering as she asked softly,

"Water God, everything go smoothly?"

"Not bad," Li Changshou turned to her and said with a smile. "From now on, just focus on cultivating in the Water God Mansion. I have some reputation in the Heavenly Court, so no one will disturb you here.

If I need you for any promotional matters, I'll let you know in advance.

You can also retreat into seclusion whenever you want—your cultivation is the foundation. Don't forget the Jin Xian tribulation ahead."

"Mm!"

You Qin Xuanya stood up; dressed in a light white palace skirt, her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, surrounded by a faint immortal glow, making her stunningly beautiful.

Li Changshou added, "The Ling Xiao Treasure Hall is in session right now. I'll take you for a walk along the Tian He first, and we can go pay respects to the Jade Emperor after the session ends.

Just tidy up a bit; don't neglect proper etiquette."

"Water God, don't you need to attend the session?" You Qin Xuanya asked curiously.

Li Changshou replied with a smile, "The Jade Emperor has granted me exemption; I don't have to appear unless it's something major."

You Qin Xuanya blinked, not fully understanding the implication, but it sounded impressive.

Li Changshou waited outside the room, sealing it with immortal power.

You Qin Xuanya quickly freshened up, changing into her favorite ice-blue long skirt, paired with gold-embroidered cloud boots, and tying her hair into a neat, practical ponytail.

The heavenly soldiers and generals throughout the Water God Mansion couldn't help but glance at her a few extra times...

You Qin Xuanya stepped forward and bowed to Li Changshou; he led her on a cloud, flying out of the Water God Mansion toward the Tian He.

Along the way, You Qin Xuanya began to grasp just how much authority her senior brother Changshou held in the Heavenly Court.

Every heavenly soldier and general they encountered stopped their clouds from afar, bowing in unison with clasped fists, while Changshou senior brother merely nodded in response.

Even when they met one or two extraordinary heavenly immortals, those figures bowed first in salute, and some even went out of their way to create an accidental encounter, exchanging greetings.

Li Changshou was accustomed to this, but You Qin Xuanya watched with mixed emotions.

If one asked what in the world was most tormenting, it was surely a woman's unspoken feelings.

At the Tian He, Li Changshou had You Qin Xuanya wait at a distance while he went straight to the drill grounds for the heavenly soldiers.

He summoned Bian Zhuang to a secluded corner and set up over a dozen layers of immortal power barriers.

Bian Zhuang: ...

He was truly panicking, but didn't dare resist.

"W-water God, sir," Bian Zhuang's throat bobbed, "That female immortal you brought to the Heavenly Court—I haven't had a single improper thought about her!

My heart is all for Heng'e Immortal! I swear a great oath!"

Li Changshou smiled kindly, "Don't be nervous; I know your character.

Little Zhuang."

"Yes, sir, go ahead."

"I recall your family has a Tianya Pavilion, right?"

Bian Zhuang was utterly confused but nodded quickly, "Yes, yes."

Li Changshou chuckled, "How about taking me there for a visit tomorrow?"

Bian Zhuang froze for a moment, then realized something; his legs trembled, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Water God, please spare me! If anyone finds out I took you to the Tianya Pavilion, I'm afraid I'd be turned to dust by all those powerful immortals!"

What's with "all those" anyway?