Chapter 77: The Old One Has Shown Respect

Wangqing Shangren was indeed formidable, with profound cultivation, fierce divine abilities, and an array of magical treasures.

More importantly, he struck with deadly precision.

In his sparring match with the qi refiners from Jin'ao Island outside the mountain-protecting great array, the shockwaves from their duel made the array sway back and forth, stirring up the vital energy across hundreds of li in the surrounding area.

Yet, hundreds of li away at the mountain gate, a certain earth immortal qi refiner who had transformed into a tree stump was still snoring away, completely undisturbed.

Li Changshou was quite impressed by his master's composure and unwavering focus.

This battle by Wangqing Shangren showcased his momentum and elegance, giving Li Changshou many insights into mid-level immortal combat.

Excluding the sect leader and the various supreme elders in long-term seclusion, Wangqing Shangren was the top fighter in Duxian Men.

However, after cultivating for ten thousand years, Wangqing Shangren still hadn't broken through to the Jinxian realm, and even within Dongsheng Shenzhou, he couldn't be considered a true expert.

Tianxian immortals still faced the limit of their lifespan; no matter how strong their divine abilities or numerous their treasures, they couldn't escape the fate of turning to dust before the passage of time.

Only Jinxian...

Only immortality...

Only by relying on one's own dao to protect oneself, escaping the cycle of birth, aging, illness, and death, and achieving a lifespan equal to heaven and earth, could one truly take the first step in the Honghuang world.

And that was merely the first step.

It only meant having the bare minimum qualification to catch the eye of a true expert.

Li Changshou stood with his hands behind his back by the lake, watching the battle and gaining some enlightenment, but he quickly absorbed these insights, suppressing his realm without breaking through.

This minor realm wasn't solid enough yet.

Although the Wuwei Jing emphasized going with the flow, acting without effort, this was mainly to advise cultivators not to force breakthroughs or rush their cultivation.

Li Changshou's pursuit of perfecting each minor realm might go against the true meaning of the Wuwei Jing, but it had no downsides.

With a light flick of his sleeve, a gentle breeze passed, leaving no trace behind.

Turning around, he saw that his junior sister was no longer there.

Sweeping his immortal sense, Li Changshou found Ling'e sitting at her dressing table, gazing at herself in the glass mirror he had given her, lost in admiration.

"Vain."

Li Changshou chuckled softly and turned toward the pill room.

He activated all the arrays around the pill room and set up several wooden signs outside, each inscribed with the words:

If you have matters, please enter the array directly; I am in seclusion to consolidate my realm and will sense it.

Once again, he sat cross-legged behind the pill furnace, gripping the control jade plaque.

Li Changshou calculated the potential complications that might arise later, but in the end, he could only shake his head helplessly.

Causal threads were intertwined, making predictions unclear.

It all started with his trip to the Northern Continent, where a single action triggered this series of endless troubles.

Then, because he went out for his heavenly tribulation, another action led to the South Sea Sea God affair.

Speaking of which, how much incense merit did he have now?

Li Changshou sensed his merit power and vaguely saw a faint golden auspicious cloud around his yuan spirit.

Pinching his fingers to calculate, a rush of qi surged up his throat, nearly making him curse out loud!

In just a few years, how had it grown to over six hundred statues?

Over six hundred villages and towns were holding pointless worship for the South Sea Sea God?

Was incense from the mundane world really this easy to earn?!

He sensed it more carefully, then gritted his teeth in frustration.

Unscrupulous!

This Xiongzhai was utterly unscrupulous!

They had actually stopped all production in the village, declaring themselves envoys of the South Sea Sea God, flaunting their exaggerated muscles everywhere, spreading tales of the Sea God's divine powers, and making a fortune off it!

"Believe in the Sea God, and gain great strength!"

Great strength, my foot!

Li Changshou's mouth twitched as he quickly thought of countermeasures.

This couldn't continue; otherwise, the Sea God cult would really gain momentum!

Over the years, although the Western Cult hadn't shown up and he had earned a lot of incense merit, it was still a massive hidden danger!

But what could he, the very "Sea God" involved, do about it?

He couldn't reveal himself, as that would likely make him a target.

He had to stay far away from the South Sea, right here in Dongsheng Shenzhou, at Duxian Men, under the watchful eye of the Saint Laozi.

Don't think Duxian Men hadn't faced disasters before, like the time Elder Wan Linjun made his name by slaying demons, which drew a swarm of demons to attack the sect.

Or when Duxian Men was first established, they fought other sects over spirit veins, leading to a sect war.

Conflicts at that level—how would the Saints bother with them?

Even Du'e Zhenren, the ancestor the sect claims, had little motivation to appear.

But if the Western Cult dared to send experts over Duxian Men because of the South Sea matter, the experts of Renjiao would certainly respond.

That would be a contest over the Saints' dignity, entirely different in nature.

"I still need to pay more visits to the Hall of Hundreds."

But in the end, wasn't this all because the Western Cult wasn't up to par?

A whole group of them schemed for incense, only to lose out to a Sea God who never even showed his true form!

Li Changshou sighed deeply, feeling a bit powerless to complain.

If this really caused trouble later, he could only say...

"You're looking for the South Sea Sea God—what does that have to do with me, Duxian Men disciple Li Changshou?"

Closing his eyes and focusing his mind, Li Changshou shifted his consciousness back to the paper daoist, observing the surroundings of the market town before getting busy.

After finishing with the pills this time, he'd exchange for enough spirit herbs and treasures, then seclude himself in the mountains for twenty years!

The matter of accumulating wealth would have to be put on hold for now.

After all...

Life was the most important thing.

...

"How am I supposed to handle this? My appearance is already set."

After breaking through to the Huashen realm, qi refiners could influence changes in their own appearance.

—That's why, among the younger generation in the sect, most women were stunningly beautiful, and the men weren't unattractive either.

With deeper cultivation, people paid attention to letting their face reflect their inner self.

But those in the sect with dao companions, or those with someone in their heart, would carefully fix their appearance.

Men mostly maintained a look in their thirties—handsome and mature.

Women varied; those who cared about such things would "lock" their figure and face at what they considered their most beautiful.

From what Ling'e knew, she herself, Youqin Xuanya, Liu Yan'er, Jiu Jiu Shishu, and several other familiar senior and junior sisters had already fixed their appearances for the long years ahead.

This meant...

It would be hard for Ling'e to age naturally now.

Although she knew it would be difficult to enter her senior brother's heart and become his ideal partner, requiring endless trials, she never expected it to be this tough.

"What should I do?"

Ling'e sighed softly, recalling the content of the scrolls she had seen earlier, and pondered a strategy.

Soon, she sat up and pulled out her few rouge and powders, resting her chin on her left hand with a thoughtful expression.

She'd have to start with makeup.

Since her senior brother sought excitement, she, as his junior sister, would see it through to the end!

Only then could she truly be worthy of being his junior sister!

...

This trip to Linhai Town was quite fruitful for Li Changshou. Since he decided to pause the wealth accumulation plan, he focused on gathering materials for setting up arrays, reducing his collection of spirit medicines and herbs.

You couldn't have both fish and bear paw; given the current situation, strengthening Xiaoqiong Peak's defense system was the top priority.

The paper daoist slipped back from Linhai Town smoothly, tracing a slanted figure-eight path on the return.

When he found his master...

By that tree stump, he heard a rhythmic snoring.

The paper daoist glanced at the detection stone, confirming no one was probing the area, and searched the surroundings thoroughly.

After ensuring safety, the paper daoist returned to the tree stump, its form wobbling as it muttered "small, small, small," reverting to its original appearance—a thick paper figure.

The paper figure, with a bulging backpack on its shoulders, lifted the square box overhead and dashed to the tree stump, letting out a "hey!" as it tossed the box gently onto the stump.

"Hmm?"

The snoring stump instantly turned into a cloud of smoke, and Qi Yuan, stretching lazily, emerged from it and saw the box at his feet.

"Master, I brought the box back."

"Already done?" Qi Yuan smiled and said, tucking the box into his sleeve as he headed toward the mountain gate.

Li Changshou's mind returned to his main body and began transmitting messages to his master about what had happened earlier.

It was about the Jin'ao Island qi refiners coming to the sect for debate, and how he had sparred and defeated Ao Yi.

Qi Yuan listened with regret, lamenting that he had missed such an exciting event.

"Master, you don't need to rush out anymore," Li Changshou advised. "Please focus on secluded cultivation from now on and avoid going out.

In that debate, the Jie Jiao disciples fought three times and lost all to Wangqing Shangren and myself, so there might be follow-up issues."

Qi Yuan glanced at the distant mountain gate and muttered softly, "What could happen? Jie Jiao wouldn't stoop to trouble our Renjiao lineage over something so minor."

Li Changshou transmitted, "It's not about fearing Jie Jiao, but worrying that someone might use this to stir up trouble.

With the friction between Jie Jiao and Chan Jiao increasing, someone might try to..."

"Try what?"

"Use one side to eliminate another."

Qi Yuan shivered involuntarily and muttered, "Longshou, should we alert the sect about this?"

Li Changshou replied, "Master, we're just ordinary members; it's better to observe quietly for now.

Besides, if I can think of it, how could all those experts in the sect not?"

"You're right."

Qi Yuan thought about it and agreed.

As Li Changshou meditated in the pill room, his immortal sense detected his junior sister approaching. He continued transmitting to his master, "Master, let's discuss this when you return. I have another matter to report."

With that, Li Changshou deactivated the outer arrays of the pill room to let Ling'e in, but kept his immortal sense on his master until he entered the mountain gate, finally relaxing a bit.

His master's cultivation was too weak; going out always made him anxious.

Li Changshou sat there, carefully considering whether the Ao Yi group's visit for debate could be exploited by others.

He had heard people discussing it in Linhai Town, which made him aware of the potential repercussions.

Of course, everyone was talking about how powerful Wangqing Shangren was; no one mentioned that young disciple who liked using earth escape for sneak attacks.

This satisfied Li Changshou greatly.

Li Changshou always felt that in the many factors leading to the Fengshen calamity, the Western Cult played a significant role.

Because from the results of the Fengshen calamity, the Western Cult gained far too many benefits.

Plundering people, seizing treasures, collecting pets...

So, could the growing conflicts between the three teachings, stemming from the Sanqing split, also involve calculations by the two Saints of the West?

This question...

"Senior Brother~"

A sudden sweet call came from outside the door.

His junior sister was here again; she did this kind of pointless thing every so often.

Li Changshou looked over and saw Ling'e in front of the pill room, lifting her left hand and using the wide sleeve of her long skirt to cover her face as she stepped inside.

"Junior sister, I'm pondering serious matters. What's with you?" Li Changshou asked with a smile. "Did a hundred poisons bee sting your face?"

"Senior Brother, you're awful!"

Ling'e chided playfully, then shyly lowered her sleeve to reveal...

To reveal...

A heavily made-up face, with pieces of paper stuck on to mimic wrinkles—an aged appearance.

Seeing her senior brother's stunned expression, Ling'e smiled smugly inside, curtsied gracefully, and deliberately roughened her voice to say:

"This old one greets you."

Li Changshou's mouth fell open, sitting on his meditation mat, frozen in place like a statue.

...

In the South Sea, on a barren island just a hundred li from land, three daoists knelt trembling on the rocks, their faces pale as death.

Buzz—

A faint buzzing grew clearer amid the waves; though all three were Zhenxian, sweat poured down their foreheads.

Suddenly, an array appeared out of nowhere, gray mists swirling everywhere, darkening the sky and earth.

Streaks of blood light gathered nearby, forming a graceful figure in a blood-red skirt.

This woman was strikingly beautiful, almost demonically so, with an overly alluring form and exaggerated figure, wearing only that blood robe as she walked barefoot toward them.

She extended a slender finger, touching one man's forehead, and with a gentle inhale while closing her eyes, a flash of blood light crossed her demonic face.

That Zhenxian let out no scream, instantly turning to ash and scattering in the wind.

The woman hummed softly through her nose, admiring her slender fingers, and in a slightly hoarse, seductive voice said:

"This taste is truly awful.

I sent you to search the South Sea for that so-called Sea God's true form, yet here you are, just kneeling and begging for mercy.

What, do you think I'm not hungry, so I won't eat?"

The remaining two daoists quickly bowed their heads, shaking uncontrollably, not even daring to breathe.