Chapter 640: The Little Secret of the Heavenly Dao

　　Streams of light flew up from the various Immortal Islands of the East Ocean and gathered towards Golden Ao Island.

　　In various directions of the trichiliocosm, there were also streams of light that rushed to the ends of the world.

　　The first Golden Immortal Dao Discussion and the Great God-Conferment Tribulation of Jie School will be held in Golden Ao Island.

　　Eldest Senior Brother Duobao was anxious. The information he gave was also rather urgent. The situation had already reached a very serious stage. These people were traveling, cultivating, settling down, and visiting prostitutes…

　　Ahem, the immortals of Jie School who had made outstanding contributions to the efficient flow of the Primordial Spirit Stones rushed back.

　　In just a few days, the flags on Golden Ao Island were waved, colorful flags fluttered, gongs and drums sounded, and immortal light shone.

　　The Heavenly Courts had no choice but to send two troops to guard the East Ocean.

　　Li Changshou and Ling’e remained on the Three-Immortal Island.

　　At that moment, Li Changshou was sitting on the meditation cushion that Fairy Yun Xiao often sat on. He held his forehead with both hands, and his eyes were filled with deep thoughts.

　　Everything is progressing in a “better” direction, but why do I feel uneasy?

　　Jie School, Western Sect, Chan School…

　　He had to strike first in the battle between the three sects…

　　He had to consider the reactions that Chan School might have, the thoughts that the Dao Ancestor might have, how the Heavenly Courts should deal with them, and how the Saints should deal with them when a huge battle breaks out.

　　Information and possibilities flashed in his heart.

　　He pushed his mental strength to the limit and deduced frantically.

　　Yun Xiao, who was beside him, was like a painting of calm clouds and flowing water. She stood quietly and deduced what peace meant.

　　However, Yun Xiao was feeling apologetic and helpless. She stared at Li Changshou as if she was saying something.

　　Zhao Gongming paced back and forth at the side. His Dao heart was a little uneasy.

　　Ling’e knelt on the meditation cushion in front of the screen and sipped her tea, creating an elegant and peaceful feeling that everything had nothing to do with her.

　　She had nothing to do with the Great God-Conferment Tribulation.

　　The room was silent for a while. The paintings hanging on the wall seemed to be a little restless.

　　Zhao Gongming could not help but ask, “Changgeng, is there anything wrong with this matter?”

　　“I can’t say.” Li Changshou slowly heaved a sigh of relief. “I keep feeling that something is not safe. Did Senior Brother Duobao really take the initiative to deal with the spiritual mountain this time?”

　　“Of course.”

　　Zhao Gongming said, “Eldest Senior Brother can’t be affected by the calamity. He went to discuss with Master. After Master considered it, he gave us a kill order. Master’s meaning should be to kill without moving. Eliminate the Western Sect from the Great Tribulation!”

　　Yun Xiao suddenly asked, “Shou, did you arrange it?”

　　“No. Although I have that idea, the Western Sect has been very stable recently. I can’t find a suitable opportunity.”

　　Li Changshou shook his head. “This is the result of them suffering at my place previously. They have become rather stable now. What makes me feel uneasy is that… things are going too smoothly.”

　　“Isn’t it good that everything is going smoothly?”

　　Zhao Gongming smiled and said, “It would be wonderful if everything goes smoothly.”

　　Li Changshou hummed softly, but he could not answer.

　　Yun Xiao said gently, “If it goes too smoothly, there might be outsiders plotting and adding fuel to the fire.”

　　Ling’e blinked.

　　She wanted to say that 80% of the good things that happened in the mountains were too smooth for her senior brother.

　　However, considering that her cultivation level qualifications were low, and that in the eyes of the mighty figures, she was just a small sidekick of her senior brother, it was best for her to continue drinking tea and remain dignified, elegant, obedient, and poised.

　　Yes, to be safe, there was no mistake.

　　Whoosh…

　　A jade flower flashed and a communication jade token flew over. Zhao Gongming raised his hand and grabbed it.

　　After reading the message, Zhao Gongming said in a low voice, “Changgeng, Eldest Senior Brother is urging me. Please give me an idea. What reason should we use to fight the Western Sect? Master just called Eldest Senior Brother back and asked him to find a sufficient excuse.”

　　Li Changshou was rendered speechless.

　　Without even thinking about it, he slapped his thigh and wanted to fight the Western Sect!?!

　　There are so many scandals about the Western Sect. From the Burning Incense Divine Kingdom, the Burning Incense Divine Sect, to the chaotic battle between the three sects of the Middle Continent, and all those years ago, they had sowed discord between the three sects of the Dao Sect. Wasn’t the reason for the war just a casual matter?

　　Suddenly, Li Changshou understood the key.

　　Jie School was afraid that their master would be nameless and affect their reputation. They were afraid that they would become a bully.

　　Different Saints had different ways of thinking. To Saints, “appearance comes from the heart” was not a joke.

　　The Grandmaster of Heaven was a young man. He was prideful and loyal but did not put on airs.

　　The Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginning looked middle-aged. He was shrewd, thoughtful, and ambitious.

　　The Grand Pure One was a thin and old man. He knew everything and knew everything. He was tired and quiet when he moved.

　　Goddess Nuwa was the most beautiful and would never tolerate others retorting against her.

　　That’s more like it.

　　Li Changshou could not help but laugh.

　　Yun Xiao asked gently, “Do you have a brilliant plan?”

　　“No.” Li Changshou smiled and said, “I can’t catch the tail of the Western Sect for a while. It seems that I can only build momentum in advance and not be too anxious. I suggest that the Dao Exchange Conference should be held normally. In the long run, we should have more time to prepare and plan.”

　　“Alright!”

　　Zhao Gongming agreed and turned around to get busy.

　　Yun Xiao sighed softly. “We are doing this without justification. My Dao heart is still uneasy.”

　　“This is a battle between the Dao Sect and the Western Sect,” Li Changshou said seriously. “If the Western Sect had admitted to being the Fourth Sect of the Dao Sect back then, it would not have happened. The two Saints of the Western Sect are too ambitious. They want to establish a sect that is on par with the Dao Sect, but they lack the courage to face the Three Pure Ones’ crusade. They also have to shoulder many merit debts from the Heavenly Dao…”

　　Li Changshou paused and widened his eyes. He immediately covered his expression and closed his eyes to focus.

　　The Dao runes trembled and his Dao heart was uneasy.

　　He suddenly thought of a possibility.

　　Is it also within the Heavenly Dao’s calculations that I have been stepping on the Western Sect’s promotion?

　　The Saint was the foundation of the Heavenly Dao. However, the Saint was only tied to the Heavenly Dao because of the Primordial Violet Qi. The Saint’s Great Dao protected the operation of the Heavenly Dao, but his own will could affect the Heavenly Dao.

　　Li Changshou could only assume!

　　Assuming that the Heavenly Dao has a will similar to yours, what does the Heavenly Dao need to strengthen further?

　　With Li Changshou’s understanding of the Heavenly Dao, he could already give an accurate answer. There were four paths and three directions.

　　The first path was for the Heavenly Dao to nurture more Saints and use them to consolidate themselves and protect the stability of the world. However, to the Heavenly Dao itself, it would be affected by the Saint’s will and increase its restrictions.

　　The second path was also ongoing.

　　The Great God-Conferment Tribulation nurtured the righteous gods!

　　By forcefully integrating the experts of the Dao Sect into the Heavenly Dao sequence, he could transform a portion of the power of living beings into the power of the Heavenly Dao!

　　The third path was to expand the Primordial World and dominate the wider region of the Chaos Sea. More Chaos auras would be turned into spiritual energy, which was the “energy form” of the Primordial World, and be included in the Great Cycle of Heaven and Earth.

　　Li Changshou had observed the border of the Chaos Sea. That situation was happening, but the progress was very slow.

　　There was a fourth path, which was also the most terrifying path.

　　Eat the Saint.

　　Or rather, he wanted to assimilate the Saint and integrate the Saint into himself!

　　Which of the six Saints was the weakest?

　　It was indeed Zhun Ti, especially now that two layers of his Dao were swept away by his teacher and the Wonderful Seven Treasures Tree was missing two branches.

　　The merit of becoming a Saint was obtained through a grand wish. In essence, it was just some empty promises. The Heavenly Dao bestowed merit to become a Saint and made Zhun Ti become the Sixth Saint.

　　Could this be the Heavenly Dao’s scheme?!

　　He made Zhun Ti “weak” to a certain extent in order to assimilate Zhun Ti into himself.

　　The Great Dao of the Saint that bound the Heavenly Dao weakened, and the power of order in the Heavenly Dao strengthened. Hence, it broke the balance of the inner core of the current “Heavenly Dao Six Saints” Dao Ancestor?

　　Li Changshou’s Dao heart trembled slightly. He suddenly recalled the reminder his teacher had given him many years ago.

　　“Saints cannot die.”

　　Teacher might not have said the second half.

　　That is…

　　The Heavenly Dao would lose control!

　　Li Changshou trembled a few times and sat there in deep thought. He sighed softly in his heart.

　　All of this was established on the basis that the Heavenly Dao existed in a manner that was similar to living beings.

　　Then, does the Heavenly Dao exist?

　　When Qi Yuan was spat into ashes by Lu Ya, while he was hiding in the Primordial Chaos Golden Chalice to comprehend the Dao of Equalization, the gray figure was staring at him.

　　Previously, in the Huaguo Mountain, when he wanted to approach the Heaven Nourishing Spirit Stone, the same gray shadow appeared.

　　Most importantly, he had heard the same story from various sources. In Senior Lang’s death, the Saints and the Dao Ancestor had said that the Dao Ancestor and the Heavenly Dao had joined forces to suppress the taboo.

　　He could confirm that the Heavenly Dao had a similar thought process.

　　Is that all?

　　What is the relationship between the Dao Ancestor and the Heavenly Dao?

　　What schemes did the Dao Ancestor have when the two Saints of the Western Sect became Saints?

　　Until today, he still felt the same.

　　The Primordial World was too dangerous.

　　…

　　Four hours later, above the Three-Immortal Island.

　　“Why are you in a hurry to go back?”

　　Zhao Gongming muttered and looked at Li Changshou and Ling’e, who were standing in front of him. He wished he could stuff his second sister over.

　　There was not enough land.

　　Li Changshou smiled and said, “It’s been a long time since I went out. The Jade Emperor has already gone to the Purple Cloud Palace. Please send down the detailed rules of the Great Tribulation to protect the mortals later. I’ll go back and guard the Grand White Palace first, in case anything happens. Moreover, I can’t help much here.”

　　Yun Xiao said gently, “Be careful on the way. Don’t be careless.”

　　“Ling’e, come in and hide.”

　　Li Changshou opened the sleeve of his Daoist robe. Ling’e’s face was slightly red. Her body turned into a stream of light and entered her senior brother’s sleeve. When she appeared again, she had already turned into a three-inch-tall little fairy. She grabbed her senior brother’s sleeve and waved at Fairy Yun Xiao.

　　“Sister, I’ll go back first.”

　　“Yes,” Yun Xiao said softly. “Now that we’re in the midst of the Great Tribulation, it’s not convenient for me to keep you here for long. If you feel unhappy or suffer any grievances, you can send me a message at any time.”

　　“Sister, you have to be careful…”

　　The two of them reminded each other softly.

　　Zhao Gongming took the opportunity to ask Li Changshou via voice transmission, “Changgeng, do you have any methods to deal with the Western Sect now? There’s no need to be too brilliant. It’s enough to take care of your reputation.”

　　“It’s simple. The main thing is that you have to be thick-skinned.”

　　Li Changshou joked, “Even if Jie School directly announced to the outside world that the Western Sect is creating a secret spell that can target the cultivation techniques of the Dao Sect, it can kill the immortals of the Dao Sect on a large scale. Then, it will attack them and announce to the outside world that the secret spell has been destroyed. No one can say anything.”

　　Zhao Gongming’s eyes lit up. He praised, “Changgeng, you’re smart. Why didn’t you think of that?”

　　“Don’t really use it,” Li Changshou said seriously. “That’s the last resort. It’s just an excuse for bullying the weak. We have to start from the truth. The Western Sect has done many dirty things. Although they have retracted their tails, it’s not difficult to catch their flaws.”

　　Zhao Gongming stroked his beard and moaned.

　　He really felt that this matter was quite reliable and ingenious.

　　Li Changshou persuaded Zhao Gongming and Yun Xiao not to send them off and brought Ling’e back to the East Heavenly Gate.

　　On the way, Li Changshou deliberately flew slower. He was thinking about how to help the Jie School. He began to reevaluate the footprints that he had made along the way.

　　The night breeze blew. Ling’e swayed her feet on his shoulder and hummed a tune, causing his Dao heart to gradually calm down.

　　His plan was still not stable enough. He still had to spend effort to perfect it.

　　“Fairy Ling’e,” Li Changshou teased. “How much did you gain from this trip?”

　　“I naturally gained a lot.” Ling’e smiled smugly and praised softly. “So this world is so beautiful.”

　　“Knowledge and experience are also a form of cultivation.”

　　“Yes!”

　　Ling’e said happily, “When there’s a chance in the future, everything will be stable. Senior Brother, can you bring me around?”

　　“Of course.”

　　Li Changshou said seriously, “It’s just possible that we can’t go to many places and have to leave the Primordial World. This is for safety reasons, but it’s not absolute.”

　　Ling’e hurriedly said, “Senior Brother, you don’t have to change your original plan because of these. I’ll go wherever you go.”

　　“Your awareness is not bad.” Li Changshou put his finger on his shoulder and gently poked the three-inch-tall little fairy. The latter hugged Li Changshou’s fingertips and beat them, then giggled.

　　After playing for a while, Li Changshou’s Dao heart had completely calmed down.

　　Li Changshou naturally agreed that Jie School wanted to be ruthless to the Western Sect. However, he had to ask his teacher first.

　　Although there was a rule in the Primordial World: If the Saint did not stop it, he would acquiesce.

　　However, to be safe, Li Changshou had to ask him personally.

　　Yes, I will only ask one question. Once I get the answer, I will run. I will not give Teacher a chance to accumulate power. It should not take long.

　　As long as his teacher nodded, Li Changshou could let go of the Western Sect.

　　He first formulated a plan to lure the Western Sect to attack and create a conflict between the Western Sect and Jie School so that Jie School would have a reason to attack.

　　He secretly stared at the experts of the Western Sect, especially the disciples of the Saint. He confirmed that the group that was the most dangerous, such as Maitreya and the Void Bodhi, would be the priority to kill.

　　Maitreya was currently hiding in the Chaos Sea. As long as he had a direction, he would naturally not be able to escape the pursuit of the Kun Peng.

　　The information about that location was very likely hidden in the Western Sect.

　　The Heavenly Courts were in charge of controlling public opinion and reducing the impact of this matter on the Primordial World. Then, they asked the Great Daoist Master and Sister-in-law Kong Xuan to return secretly and prevent Zhun Ti from attacking the disciples of Jie School.

　　What he needed to do was to stabilize Chan School.

　　However, Li Changshou firmly believed that he could not stop Chan School.

　　On the surface, Jie School was fighting on the spiritual mountain. In essence, they were still fighting with Chan School.

　　The greatest capital of the Western Sect were the two Saints. As long as the two Saints did not fall, Chan School would have sufficient motivation to help the spiritual mountain.

　　At most, he would delay the time to help.

　　Should I ask Yang Jianjian to join in the fun? Should I resolve the karma between me and the spiritual mountain?

　　Li Changshou quickly dismissed that thought.

　　Yang Jian was already quite pitiful. Moreover, he was so strong-willed. Now, he was a superstar of the Heavenly Courts and a big shot of the bronze mirror. It would be quite uncomfortable for him to be stuck between Chan School and the Heavenly Courts.

　　A useless successor was still a successor.

　　After returning to the Grand White Palace, Li Changshou sent Ling’e back to the Little Qiong Peak and rushed to the Grand Pure One Temple above the Nine Heavens.

　　This time, he came and left in a hurry.

　　He bowed in front of the door and bowed again after entering. He directly reported his purpose for coming and asked his teacher if he wanted to interfere with Jie School.

　　The Saint nodded slowly. Just as he was about to speak, Li Changshou bowed to express that he understood.

　　“Teacher, do you have any other instructions? If not, I will go back and make arrangements.”

　　The Grand Pure One smiled warmly and said, “Don’t be too tired. Rest often.”

　　Li Changshou felt a lump in his throat and almost fell asleep.

　　Just kidding, just kidding.

　　In the past three years, he had been in a half-relaxed state. It would not be too tiring for him to multitask. He had also fallen asleep beside Ling’e many times.

　　They were both fully-clothed.

　　“Teacher, I’ll go back first.”

　　Li Changshou bowed and performed a Dao salute. The Grand Pure One seemed to have expended some effort to raise his hand. The Taiji Painting slowly floated over and landed behind Li Changshou, leaving the small courtyard with him.

　　Teacher allowed it! There were no more doubts!

　　Li Changshou landed nine days later and returned to the Grand White Palace. After thinking for a few days, he sent out a few jade talismans and summoned Ao Yi, Golden Roc, and Little Longji.

　　That matter had nothing to do with the Heavenly Courts. Li Changshou was purely on the Dao Sect’s side.

　　Li Changshou gave them that excuse that Jie School needed to attack the Western Sect.

　　“Golden Roc, quickly go to the trichiliocosm and follow the steps recorded in the jade token. Hide everything.”

　　“Yes! Teacher, don’t worry!”

　　The Golden Roc agreed and put away the jade token that Li Changshou had pushed over. After cupping his fists and bowing, he turned around and left in a hurry.

　　“Ao Yi, disguise yourself and transform into Ke Le’er or someone else. You have to go personally and spread the news of the jade token on the Immortal Islands of the South Ocean. Remember, you have to go personally. Don’t pretend to be in the hands of others. It’s important.”

　　“Okay!”

　　Ao Yi accepted the order and turned around to run.

　　Long Ji’s eyes were filled with anticipation. She held her breath and focused, waiting for Li Changshou’s instructions.

　　Li Changshou smiled warmly and said, “Help me go to the Jade Void Palace and send some gifts. Remember to dress up beautifully and bring more Jade Pool fairies.”

　　Huh?

　　Long Ji blinked slightly. Although she did not understand why, she still agreed.

　　Ling Zhuzi was no longer around, but she was the one running errands.

　　When Long Ji took the treasure pouch that Li Changshou had given her and slowly floated away, Li Changshou stretched and was about to continue making arrangements.

　　“Report…”

　　Suddenly, he heard the shouts of the Heavenly Soldiers outside the hall. Li Changshou raised his hand and pointed out. A cloud image condensed outside the hall and asked warmly what urgent matter it was.

　　“Lord Taibai Jinxing! The Qi Refinement cultivator of Green Touring Palace, the Goddess of Turtle Spirit, requests an audience outside the East Heaven Gate!”

　　Turtle spirit?

　　Li Changshou was a little puzzled. He did not know why the fairy, who usually spoke gently and had a similar status as Bi Xiao in Jie School, would suddenly look for him.