Chapter 578: Ling’e’s Attack!
Not to mention the six retired human emperors who followed behind, they descended into the lake with Li Changshou.
Four hours later,
The Little Qiong Peak of the Grand White Palace.
Under the willow tree by the lake, Ling’e sat cross-legged in the misty fog. Her slender fingers played the zither strings, producing a pleasant but not obvious melody.
Ling Feng brushed his face and did not increase his worries.
Ling’e looked up at the Pill Chamber. It was as if she could see through the layers of array formations and her senior brother’s meditating figure.
Where did he hide it again?
Ling’e’s slender fingers left the zither strings. She raised her hand to pinch her chin and pondered for a while. Then, she picked up the stone slab and engraved a melody. She stared at the lake for a while.
Why did Senior Brother use the paper effigy outside again?
How good would it be if Senior Brother does not have to care about the outside world while cultivating? He would play the zither with me every day and play with me.
I can take care of his daily meals, make some snacks, and prepare some tea. The two of them would sit or lay down in the straw hut to play chess and chat. They would wait for the sun to set in the west and stroll in the moonlight and starlight to chat…
Ling’e blushed slightly. She naturally thought of some intimate actions, such as standing under the tree and hugging each other to sleep while she lay on her senior brother’s arm to sleep…
Qi Refinement cultivators had to go into seclusion to cultivate. Ling’e did not dare to be together with her senior brother all the time. It would be good if she could be together with him for a month every ten years.
If they were like the Dao companions of the Immortal Du Sect…
“What are you thinking about?”
Li Changshou’s voice sounded from the side. Ling’e subconsciously jumped up and hugged her zither, almost escaping.
However, Ling’e turned to look at her senior brother. Her attention was immediately attracted by Li Changshou’s expression.
She asked softly, “Senior Brother, what’s wrong?”
“Huh?” Li Changshou forced a smile. He looked exhausted. He raised his hand to Ling’e and sat on the gra.s.s under the tree by the lake.
The Daoist robe on his body did not have any spiritual light. Li Changshou could not focus. He stared at the lake in a daze.
What’s going on?
It’s rare for Senior Brother to not sit cross-legged but sit on the ground…
“Details”.
“Senior Brother.”
Ling’e called softly and put away her long zither. She smoothed the creases on her short skirt and walked behind Li Changshou to kneel. She raised her hand and rubbed Li Changshou’s shoulder gently, thinking about how to make her senior brother reveal his thoughts.
She could sense that her senior brother was in a low mood, so she did not dare to be too lively. She only used that action to express that she was accompanying him.
Li Changshou raised his hand and patted her hand. “Come and sit beside me.”
“Oh.” Ling’e stood up and walked to Li Changshou’s side. She pressed her slender legs together and sat down. She looked at her senior brother’s side profile and asked softly, “Did you encounter something troubling in the Heavenly Courts?”
“Troublesome… I don’t think so.”
Li Changshou rubbed his eyebrows and sighed. “I just suddenly saw something. I can’t calm down.”
“Do you want tea? I made some snacks…”
“Stay here with me for a while.”
“Yes.” Ling’e did not say anything else and sat quietly at the side.
She looked at her senior brother’s tired, helpless, and conflicted face. She lowered her head and leaned against his shoulder, her breathing deliberately becoming weaker.
The surface of the lake was s.h.i.+mmering. The distant forest filled with dense greenery. Outside the almost transparent array wall of the Little Qiong Peak, there were white clouds and a blue sky.
The breeze blew their hair. Ling’e quietly enjoyed the rare moment of intimacy.
Although she knew that her senior brother was in a bad mood and she could not be too happy, she could not suppress the joy in her heart. She wanted to let this moment last for a while.
Unfortunately, Li Changshou had always adjusted his emotions very quickly.
However, this time, Ling’e was a little stunned. She stayed quietly for an hour. She was about to fall asleep comfortably, but her senior brother was still so depressed.
After thinking about it, Ling’e asked in concern, “Senior Brother, can you tell me what’s on your mind? Yes… Although I can’t help you solve your problems, I can listen to you talk about it.”
“What can I be worried about?” Li Changshou smiled. Most of his disappointment had dissipated. “I’m just thinking about whether what I’m doing now is right or wrong.”
Ling’e said softly, “Senior Brother, didn’t you say that there’s no absolute right or wrong? It’s fine as long as you can live up to your conscience.”
Li Changshou did not even look back. He raised his left hand and rubbed Ling’e’s head, messing up her meticulously groomed hair accessories.
“You still want to use that to guide me? Can you understand what that means with your little experience?”
Ling’e made a face. “Give it a try. I think it makes sense! Ah, ah… my face will be swollen from your pinching!”
Li Changshou punished her slightly and felt inexplicably happy. Then, he sighed dejectedly and lay under the willow tree. He rested his head on his arm and fell into a daze. Not long after, he sighed again…
Ling’e’s face was slightly red and her forehead was covered in sweat as she stood at the side. She hurriedly turned her head and forcefully used the Clear Heart Technique to calm herself down. Then, she took off the hair accessories that her senior brother had messed up and let her black hair loose. Then, she took a deep breath.
I’ll take the second shot while his guard is down!
She tried her best to move more naturally and slowly turned from sitting diagonally to lying on her side. She slowly approached her senior brother’s arm and did not dare to look at his expression. She did not feel his gaze and wanted to rest her head on his arm…
Three inches… two inches…
Am I really going to do that?
Isn’t this a little too proactive? I’m still an immature little fairy. I should have some fairy-like qualities!
The arm that Ling’e looked at suddenly s.h.i.+fted. Ling’e’s slender body immediately stiffened. She subconsciously thought that her senior brother had deliberately avoided her. She was about to feel disappointed.
However, she could feel the texture of the fabric of the Daoist robe. It was already resting on her senior brother’s arm… It was quite comfortable.
A gentle aura brushed past her, and Ling’e heaved a sigh of relief. Her stiff body relaxed a little. She, who was lying on her side, could clearly see the patterns on her senior brother’s Daoist robe.
She had nowhere to place her hands. In the end, she could only place them on her chest and press the edge of her inner s.h.i.+rt.
After an unknown period of time, it might have been just a few breaths or four hours.
Ling’e heard her senior brother mutter…
“I know that there are no absolutes between right and wrong. I also know that personal opinions are insignificant in front of the world. However, there are some things that I know are more wrong. However, it is beneficial to me. I want to do it because I can stabilize my position in this world. I even deliberately ignore the wrong elements. Then, I tell myself that I’m just borrowing the power to do it and how this world is unrelated to me. This is the Primordial World. I can’t be generalized. I have always wanted to be a bystander and watch this Primordial World coldly. I want to strip away its Dao and observe its rules. I want to use the Dao laws here to make myself stronger and pursue transcendence… During this process, you can ignore things that don’t match your beliefs.”
Ling’e frowned and asked softly, “What is it?”
“There are many things that I can’t explain.”
Li Changshou sighed slowly. “I shouldn’t have said that to you. I just saw the tragic state of a senior and was a little touched.”
Ling’e shook her head slightly and looked up at her senior brother, who was gradually returning to his normal expression. Her heart skipped a beat.
She did not know where she got the strength from, but she took the initiative to reach out and lean towards Li Changshou.
“Senior Brother, can you tell me more?”
“Actually, it’s not a big deal. I suddenly became overly sensitive.”
Li Changshou’s smile became brighter. The heart door that had just been opened had already closed silently.
He said, “I just saw Senior Suiren of the ancient human race. He was… Yes, he was corroded by the demonic aura. Now, he’s neither human nor ghost, neither immortal nor fiend.”
A wisp of spiritual will circulated, and a scene appeared in Ling’e’s heart.
The thick smoke from the volcano that was sealed at the bottom of the lake dissipated, revealing the magma lake below.
A figure lay on the magma lake. His hair was disheveled, and he barely maintained his human form. Six divine swords pierced through his shoulders, legs, torso, and head. He lay on the magma, and chains wrapped around him…
Li Changshou sighed.
“The other human emperors are mostly reincarnated ancient living beings. They are now living peacefully in the Fire Cloud Cave. However, in order to fight against the Demon Emperor, the human senior who had fought against the Demon Court with the Demon soldiers of the past had to endure the corrosion of the Demonic Qi and the Heavenly Dao suppressing the Demonic Qi. Ridiculous and absurd. Forget it. There are so many things in the world. It’s too unwise to be emotional. I’ve already tried my best to help ease Senior Suiren’s pain.”
A few images appeared in Ling’e’s mind again.
A female immortal, who was dressed in a white dress and had a pure and dignified expression, stood at the mouth of the volcano. There was a gentle halo behind her, and her entire body emitted pure white holy light.
She pressed her palms together and hummed a tune. She seemed to be chanting a sutra. Wisps of white light entered the Demon Body below and neutralized the wisps of demonic aura.
Li Changshou remained silent and pondered.
Ling’e asked, “Senior Brother, do you think that the Heavenly Dao is unfair to Suiren?”
“Don’t spout nonsense.” Li Changshou gestured for him to keep quiet. He said seriously, “The Heavenly Dao is not the Heavenly Dao of the human race. It’s the Heavenly Dao of the Primordial World. Although the human race is flouris.h.i.+ng now, in the ancient times, the Demon Court was the closest to the Heavenly Dao. After the Great War, Suiren’s Fallen Demon also became a hidden danger of the world. The Heavenly Dao suppressed and imprisoned it.”
Ling’e blinked. She felt that her senior brother was not saying those words for her.
She recalled that Li Changshou had said that many things were wrong. Clearly, Li Changshou did not approve of the way the Heavenly Dao handled certain matters and had a disagreement with the Heavenly Dao.
When Ling’e was spreading her immortal senses for no reason, she heard some news in the Heavenly Courts. She knew that her senior brother was the main calamity, the second-in-command of the Heavenly Courts, and the Dao Ancestor’s favorite child.
In other words, Senior Brother is currently working for the Heavenly Dao and using it to cultivate.
Ling’e suddenly understood.
Li Changshou had a lot of feelings for the human race. He never shows mercy to the demons. However, he would also give the human mortals a chance to change.
Although it was double standards, Li Changshou had once smiled and said those words when he was debating with Mr. Bai. She happened to hear it when he went to the Black Pool Peak to deliver snacks.
Li Changshou said, “Mr. Bai, I’m a human to begin with. I want to stand on the side of the human race. Don’t pull my horizons. As a person, I can’t forget my roots. As long as the demons don’t compete with the human race, I can treat all the living beings outside the demon race equally.”
The battle of the world is a life-and-death battle.
I can’t enjoy the benefits of the current status of the main character of the human race. Instead, I can take care of the demons who have fought with the human race.”
From this, she could conclude that Li Changshou had a special attachment to Suiren, who had led the human race to find the light in the darkness!
There was only one truth!
Senior Brother is a great fighter of the Heavenly Dao. He is dissatisfied with the Heavenly Dao suppressing Suiren. Hence, he is filled with resentment towards the Heavenly Dao!
That is why Senior Brother was depressed today.
However, she quickly reacted and did not mention the Heavenly Dao anymore. She said softly, “Senior Brother, do you remember what you said to me previously?”
“What?”
“Instead of being a hero when I’m not capable enough, I might as well continue living. When I stand at the peak of all living beings and can set rules, I’ll change the living environment of the weak in the Primordial World. Senior Brother, you have actually already done it.”
Li Changshou said calmly, “Don’t take it seriously. This is just a random sentence that I made up in the past because I didn’t want you to cause trouble everywhere.”
“Well…”
“Ah, get up. Punish the ‘Steadiness Sutra’ 300 times. I’ll stay with Master for a while.”
Ling’e’s face fell. She wanted to lie down for a while more, but Li Changshou had already turned into a gust of wind and drifted away. He only chuckled a few times, causing her to roll her eyes.
In Qi Yuan’s straw hut, Li Changshou appeared and placed three incense sticks on his master’s memorial tablet. He stood there in a daze.
Over at Fire Cloud Cave, Mei Wenhua was still purifying Suiren’s demonic aura.
However, Li Changshou had already noticed that her spiritual power could only provide “relief”. It could not really be removed.
He was not related to Suiren and was not familiar with him. However, the moment he saw Suiren’s appearance, his Dao heart could not help but tremble a few times. For some reason, he felt dejected.
Ling’e did not escape this time…
Li Changshou naturally remembered what she had said just now. It was not long after Ling’e went up the mountain that he had been beaten up by his master.
The peak of all living beings… Set rules… The living environment of the weak…
In the Primordial World, being able to take care of the people he wanted to take care of had already made him mentally exhausted. How many people could he manage?
“Ah.”
Li Changshou put his hands behind his back and stood quietly in front of his master’s plaque. His gaze was slightly complicated.
In the secret place at the bottom of the Fire Cloud Cave, Mei Wenhua had been chanting for three days.
In the straw hut of the Little Qiong Peak, Li Changshou stood quietly in front of his master’s memorial tablet for three days.
Under the tree by the lake, Ling’e, who had sc.r.a.ped the stone slab three hundred times, was sitting there reading the sutra. From time to time, she would turn to look at the figure in the straw hut.
When Mei Wenhua lowered her hands weakly, her gaze was filled with gentleness as she looked at the figure lying on the magma lake. A few Emperors flew over from the side. The figure below seemed to have woken up from a dream and slowly sat up.
Li Changshou, who was in his master’s straw hut, chuckled. His body turned into a wisp of green smoke and floated back into the Little Qiong Peak. He only sent a voice transmission to Ling’e.
“Don’t mention the Heavenly Dao in the future. This is the Heavenly Courts.”
The corners of Ling’e’s mouth twitched slightly. She recalled that she had laid her head on her senior brother’s arm three days ago. She could not help but cover her face with her hands and sigh at how bold she was. She even muttered…
“Hmph, you’re lying. Stupid Senior Brother.”
…
In the secret underground chamber, Li Changshou appeared behind the desk. He slowly sat back on the desk and raised his brush to focus. His mind was split into two.
Half of his attention was focused on discussing the next step with the few Imperial Lords of Fire Cloud Cave. Half of his attention was focused on the plan in front of him.
Fis.h.i.+ng for a big fish.
Using the eighth wisp of Primordial Violet Qi as a catalyst, he promoted the promotion and used the fake to be the bait.
With the Xuandu City as the gap in the Heavenly Dao, the ninth wisp of Primordial Violet Qi streaked across the world. Then, it disappeared into the Chaos Sea through the Xuandu City.
He set up layers of ambushes in Xuandu City and tried his best to achieve 98% confidence. He mobilized all the resources that he could use and went to the Green Touring Palace to seek help from an ambitious young man.
He made a fis.h.i.+ng line that even Kun Peng could not escape from!
Of course, that was the general idea. He had to prepare some backup plans.
How should I minimize the impact of this matter on the Primordial World? How should I avoid causing a huge commotion among the Qi Refinement cultivators? How should I deal with it if other mighty figures who are not born are also lured out…
He had to consider all of that in advance and plan his response.
In fact, Li Changshou had long noticed that his habit of “having a good memory is not as good as a lousy brush”. He had also taken precautions.
Some plans could be written in cloth, paper, and jade talismans. It could even be said that she had deliberately written them.
For example, the plan to deal with Kun Peng.
Li Changshou had expected that the Heavenly Dao would monitor him. All of that would be seen by the Dao Ancestor. The birth and completion of this plan might cause a series of effects and reduce the difficulty of executing it later.
Li Changshou could only form some plans in his heart and use some words that only he could understand to prevent the Heavenly Dao from seeing through his Dao heart.
For example, during the eleven years after his master’s accident, Li Changshou had made a hundred-year plan and a thousand-year plan in front of the incarnation of the Great Tribulation—The Disappearance of X.
From that, he concluded that the Heavenly Dao could not pry into his heart.
The Heavenly Dao could understand what that meant. Li Changshou… did not dare to insert the flag.
Fifty percent of the reason he dealt with the Kun Peng was because of the Kun Peng’s scheme this time. It involved his friends and relatives. Thirty percent was because if the Kun Peng continued to jump, he would be in a pa.s.sive position.
The remaining 20% of the reason was related to Project X’s disappearance.
To a certain extent, if the Kun Peng did not appear in the Heavenly Dao previously, he would not have to attack it.
However, the Primordial creature that had clearly escaped from the Primordial World but was unwilling to hide in the Chaos Sea had returned. That made Li Changshou have no choice but to consider killing the Kun Peng or erasing its “uncontrollable” attributes.
Regardless of Senior Lang’s character or whether he was crazy enough to destroy the world, it had nothing to do with Li Changshou.
However, Li Changshou would not repeat Senior Lang’s tragedy!
The words ‘my life depends on me and not the heavens’ sounded domineering, but it was not something that could be easily shouted. It required a thousand years of planning and ten thousand years of planning.
Li Changshou actually had a premonition.
At the end of the stable path, he still had to give it his all. If his odds were at 98% to the end, he might have to rely on 0.2% to survive.
He could do it in the end…
“Who are you?”
A weak and ancient voice suddenly sounded in his heart. Li Changshou immediately abandoned all distracting thoughts and focused most of his attention on the secret place of the Fire Cloud Cave. He looked at the person who had sent the voice transmission to him.
Suiren had already stood up. The divine sword that was suppressing him disappeared. He was dressed in tattered linen clothes and looked up at Li Changshou’s paper effigy.
Li Changshou’s paper effigy smiled faintly and bowed to Suiren.
His main body raised his hand and touched his right arm. There was a piece of jade tied to it. It had the power to conceal the Heavenly Dao detection. It was a fragment of the Human Emperor’s Fire Deyu.
He could return the karma today.
“Disciple of the Grand Pure One, the Heavenly Courts’ Lord Taibai Jinxing, and the human Qi Refinement cultivator, I, Li Changgeng, greets you, Senior!”