Chapter 97: Thigh Original Thigh

As expected, there was someone scheming behind the scenes.

Earlier, I detected this faint trace of Dao rhythm and followed it. But with a Saint intervening to obscure the heavenly secrets, I could only rely on the power of the Taiji Tu to barely intimidate that fellow...

High in the clouds, Xuan Du gave a simple explanation, and the old Daoist beside him frowned and sighed lightly.

Compared to Xuan Du's casual attire and gentle demeanor, the old Daoist's Dao robe, Dao crown, Dao boots, and the dust whisk he held were all meticulously refined, giving him an even more otherworldly air.

Yet, this old Daoist was extremely polite to Xuan Du, smiling at the corners of his mouth as he spoke, and even leaning his body slightly forward.

The old Daoist asked, "Senior Brother, what do you think we should do next?"

"Dao brother, you should head to Du Xian Men first to settle the trouble."

Xuan Du chuckled, "If you delay any longer, they might have already dealt with the external enemies, and there'd be no role for you, the founding ancestor. Once you've arranged things at Du Xian Men, remember to bring back the bodies of those Qi Refiners from Jin'ao Island. Then, we'll need to make another trip to Jin'ao Island."

Bodies...

"Ah," the old Daoist understood immediately, his face showing shame, "This time, I've troubled Senior Brother with so much effort—it's truly my own carelessness."

Xuan Du waved his hand and urged, "Oh, it's just a minor matter. Go on, Dao brother! Since you've established this sect, you've created karma, so you'll need to pay more attention to it in the future."

"I will follow Senior Brother's guidance."

This old Daoist, also known as Du E Zhenren of Kunlun Shan, bowed to Xuan Du once more. He dared not linger and immediately activated his Qian Kun technique, vanishing swiftly from sight.

In the blink of an eye, he crossed thousands of miles through the clouds, and Du E Zhenren arrived above Du Xian Men.

Glancing down, he saw the mountain gate surrounded by endless streams of light, with blood light spreading everywhere around the main peak.

The Zhenren was instantly furious! The Qilin auspicious beast that he had rescued and settled here in ancient times was now on the verge of relapsing from old injuries. Among his registered disciples, one had finally reached the Jin Xian realm—a point of pride to show off to other Daoists of Kunlun Shan—yet this favored disciple was being besieged by two enemies and was injured as well!

Du E Zhenren flicked his dust whisk, unleashing his pressure over Du Xian Men. Then, he took a deep breath, channeled the two energies in his divine aperture, and with his nose twitching, let out a thunderous hum like muffled thunder!

Below, the three invading false Jin Xian experts all spat blood at once, their Yuan Shen nearly shattering...

A veteran Jin Xian of the Hong Huang era—his divine powers were truly extraordinary!

Far away, thousands of miles off, Li Changshou, who had been secretly observing the situation at Du Xian Men through his paper Daoist while cleaning up the battlefield, suddenly brightened up.

A big supporter had arrived!

With a stir of his mind, he shut down the inner arrays of Xiao Qiong Peak, leaving only the outer arrays around the pill room active. The paper Daoists numbered Tian Zi Er and Ba at the mountain gate quickly reverted to their paper forms, their immortal power dissipating into spiritual energy.

Having done this, Li Changshou immediately withdrew his focus, as if nothing had ever happened.

At the teleportation point in the earth vein, in the hidden cave where Du Xian Men disciples were sheltering, and on the gentle slope beside the valley...

The five who had been knocked out were sprawled haphazardly on the ground. The Peng demon, who had been enchanted, lay there snoring deeply, everything frozen as if in the instant after You Qin Xuanya had thrown her poison pill.

You Qin Xuanya lay on the ground, surrounded by fallen flying swords, while Lan Ling'e was sprawled beside her, as if she had face-planted into the dirt...

Truly face-first in the undergrowth.

There was no helping it—Li Changshou had perfectly restored the crime scene.

The "Li Changshou" who had been unconscious at Lan Ling'e's feet slowly sank into the ground, transforming into a paper figure. Silently, the jade hairpin on Lan Ling'e's head shattered, and Li Changshou's figure appeared beside her. He quickly retrieved the paper Daoist from the soil, lay down, and closed his eyes to feign unconsciousness.

He reviewed the entire process in his mind, checking for any oversights.

After this battle, as he had anticipated, Du Xian Men would be left with a pile of unsolved mysteries.

The mountain gate war at Du Xian Men, where several unknown "heroes" sacrificed themselves to protect the human path...

And in this local skirmish to guard the Du Xian Men disciples, a passing old Daoist had directly slain the Tian Xian elder before calmly departing.

The only potential issue was that Wan Linjun Elder might have guessed something. Another concern was that You Qin Xuanya knew a bit too much.

Later, he would need to take the initiative to talk with Wan Linjun Elder and, while he was at it, give his poisonous junior sister a lecture on life and philosophy.

At that moment, Li Changshou felt quite pleased—not because he had killed the Tian Xian elder and gained a post-heaven spiritual treasure-level sword, along with that precious poison-warding pearl; and not just because he had steadied Du Xian Men when it was on the brink, as he was merely doing what he could.

It was simply because Du Xian Men truly had a living founding ancestor.

That thunderous hum was exactly the divine power used by the Hum and Ha Er Jiang in the Feng Shen tribulation, wasn't it? And Du E Zhenren seemed to be the master of that Hum Jiang fellow.

After this calamity, Du Xian Men had firmly established its lineage under Ren Jiao. From now on, even if the disciples lacked ambition or were weak in cultivation, it would still be a genuine Ren Jiao lineage.

His own background had suddenly become much more solid.

What a pity he hadn't managed to draw out the legendary Xuan Du Great Mage—if the chief disciple of Ren Jiao had shown up in person, the effect would have been even better. Perhaps Du Xian Men could have relocated from Dong Sheng Shen Zhou to Zhong Shen Zhou...

On second thought, he might have caught the attention of the Mosquito Daoist this time.

For no reason, Li Changshou's earlier delight faded, replaced by a thick sense of crisis.

How could he avoid being targeted by Western Teachings? Pondering this, he couldn't help but recall that heart-pounding village by the South Sea coast.

He had been so busy dealing with the enemy that he hadn't checked on the South Sea situation lately. As he lay there feigning unconsciousness and made a quick calculation, Li Changshou's cheek twitched.

His incense and merit had actually...

Doubled from two years ago!

What on earth?

Was Xiong Village pushing their promotion of the South Sea Teachings and wealth-gathering even harder?

Li Changshou quietly sensed it and nearly passed out for real.

One thousand six hundred and twenty-one sites...

And more than ten sites with his statues were still rising...

Moreover, he vaguely sensed that because the South Sea Divine Teachings had clashed with some minor merit-collecting cult, large-scale fights had broken out.

What kind of mess was this...

Li Changshou's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say—he could only lie there pretending to be dead.

Come to think of it, would his followers engaging in reckless fights and bloody brawls cost him merit or luck?

Uh...

They weren't his followers at all!

From now on, he didn't know anything about some South Sea Sea God!

Maybe he should consider a disguise; after returning to the mountain, get a few more Wu Clan secret curse tattoos.

Though he had now latched onto Du E Zhenren's support, his background was still too shallow.

At this point, he could only hope his master would soon enter the Zhen Xian realm, then send his master to Heaven for a position and subtly persuade him to visit Doushuai Palace to meet Tai Shang Laojun and build more connections.

Mosquito Daoist;

South Sea Teachings;

As Li Changshou lay there, he felt a bit helpless internally, and the fatigue from controlling the paper Daoist earlier slowly crept in, though he quietly dispelled it.

This wasn't the time to rest; moments like this, when one might relax and let their guard down, were when unexpected dangers were most likely to strike.

Li Changshou quietly observed everything around him and waited for half an hour before figures flew out from the cave, hurrying toward the area.

He kept a close watch on these sect disciples; the three Waiwu Elders from Bai Fan Hall rushed straight to the Peng demon, slaying it on the spot while it was still asleep.

A group of disciples gathered around the five of them, with a Yuan Xian from Dan Ding Peak carefully diagnosing them, concluding they had only been drugged and were unconscious, with no serious issues.

The shattered porcelain bottle and traces of the exploded pills were quickly discovered.

Without needing the five to wake up and explain, everyone had already pieced together what had likely happened here...

Li Changshou, Lan Ling'e, and You Qin Xuanya were lifted by an elder's immortal power and gently placed in a shady spot in the nearby forest to rest.

Before this group of sect disciples rushed out from the cave, news had already come from within the gate: Ancestor Du E Zhenren had appeared, directly killing the three invading Jin Xian experts, and the sect leader along with Qi Ling Elder had swiftly eliminated the remaining enemies.

Du Xian Men had endured a bloody battle, but the mountain gate was secure, with various peaks suffering losses among elders and disciples...

For most of them, this calamity had come out of nowhere and ended abruptly.

But for the one handsome young man who knew the full story...

It was incredibly complicated and mentally exhausting.

A few hours later, Wang Qing Shangren and Wan Linjun Elder arrived with over a hundred true immortals from the sect.

As Li Changshou feigned unconsciousness, he suddenly heard a familiar shout:

"Little Changshou! Little Ling'e! Don't scare me—why are you lying there?"

In the clouds, Shishu Jiu, who was sitting on her large gourd, jumped down and rushed to the edge of the forest. An elder from Bai Fan Hall quickly assured her that they had only been drugged and were fine.

Only then did Shishu Jiu relax, sitting directly beside Lan Ling'e, her linen robes swaying lightly.

She had very little immortal power left at this point, with wounds on her left shoulder and waist, and her Yuan Shen feeling somewhat depleted. In the earlier gate defense battle, she had given her all, and afterward, without resting, she had hurried here to find her concerned disciples.

Soon, Jiang Jingshan, Shibo Jiuwu, and Shibo Jiushe arrived as well. They used immortal power to lift the unconscious trio of Li Changshou and followed the large group back to the sect.

The two Zhen Xian elders woke up after a full day of unconsciousness, while You Qin Xuanya slept for a whole seven days before stirring.

To make his actions seem more plausible, Li Changshou forced himself to lie in bed with his eyes closed, motionless for seven and a half days, before slowly opening his eyes with a look of utter confusion...

Opening his eyes to unfamiliar bed curtains, Li Changshou knew full well that he and his junior sister had been brought to Potian Peak, and he was now lying on Shishu Jiu's bed.

Lan Ling'e had been arranged in Shibo Jiushe's pavilion, sleeping peacefully without disturbance.

Over these seven days, Shishu Jiu had often been egged on by Shibo Jiushe to poke and prod him here and there, but it was never in sensitive areas, so Li Changshou hadn't intervened.

Turning his head, he saw Shishu Jiu sitting on the ground, leaning against the bed with two empty wine pots beside her, letting out soft snores...

'Is this how you take care of a patient?'

Li Changshou felt a mix of amusement and exasperation as he slowly sat up and looked around.

He figured he'd always remember the first glimpse he caught with his immortal sense when Shibo Jiuwu carried him into this pavilion—it was beyond chaotic, not something a single word like "messy" could describe.

As he was about to stand, a silver command arrow flew in from the window, and Li Changshou quickly raised his hand to stop it at the window.

A somewhat unfamiliar voice rang out:

"Disciple Li Changshou of Xiao Qiong Peak!"

Li Changshou stood and cupped his hands, replying, "This disciple is here."

"Come quickly to Du Xian Hall—the sect leader has been waiting for you."

Li Changshou instinctively frowned and whispered, "This disciple obeys."

The sect leader?

Could it be that his earlier cleanup and disguise had been seen through by the sect leader?

That didn't make sense—he had kept a close eye on Wan Linjun Elder after returning and noticed the sect's activities honoring the "nameless heroes"...

All signs pointed to no one suspecting him.

Regardless, since the sect leader had summoned him, he couldn't hide.

Standing up, Li Changshou straightened his Dao robe, placed two bottles of the "good flavor" pills he hadn't given her yet beside his junior uncle's hand, glanced at the sleeping Lan Ling'e, and hurried off to Du Xian Hall.

As soon as Li Changshou left for Du Xian Hall, the pouch hanging at Lan Ling'e's waist began to twitch gently. But with her shallow cultivation, she was still deep in sleep and completely unaware of the beast skin pouch's strangeness...