Chapter 553: Urgent First Move!

　　In Bai Ze’s exclusive suite in the Heaven Ascension Hall, the Hidden Hall of Mysterious Words, two figures were pacing back and forth, brushing past each other from time to time. Their footsteps did not stop at all, reflecting their uneasy hearts.

　　Bai Ze suddenly stopped and turned to look at the paper effigy that had just flown out of his sleeve.

　　“Lord Water God, are you sure that Kun Peng sent someone to deliver a letter?”

　　“Most likely… Mr. Bai, is your Sky-Sealing Array useful?”

　　“I still have that ability,” Bai Ze said in a low voice and stabilized his hand. “As long as I don’t feel any obvious Heavenly Dao power, this place should not be monitored.”

　　Li Changshou nodded and deliberated over his words.

　　“The jade ring that the Kun Peng has shed has a taboo item of the Heavenly Dao. I didn’t even tell you, Mr. Bai. The Grand Pure One even helped me cover up this matter. Apart from me and the Grand Pure One, no one else should know. The Heavenly Demon consecrated a black shadow and the Heavenly Demon’s mother, who sounded like a Connate Godfiend, tried to enter the Immortal Du Sect and meet me. She asked me if I wanted to see more of the Heavenly Dao’s taboos.”

　　Bai Ze hurriedly asked, “The Heavenly Dao taboo… Has Lord Water God seen it?”

　　“How is that possible? No.” Li Changshou blinked at Bai Ze and cupped his hands in the air. He said loudly, “I work for the Heavenly Courts and the Heavenly Dao. I will naturally not touch the taboo of the Heavenly Dao! Mr. Bai, you know me. Am I that unstable?”

　　Bai Ze immediately gave a thumbs-up and praised, “The Heavenly Dao is the vanguard and advocate of justice. I naturally believe in the Water God.”

　　Then, the two of them looked at each other and laughed.

　　“Mr. Bai, what do you think we should do next?”

　　Li Changshou sat back on the only round chair there. Bai Ze also came over from the side and pointed out a stone stool to sit beside Li Changshou.

　　“Ah, Kun Peng is really a huge problem.” Bai Ze sighed and said, “Ever since I returned from the Chaos Sea, I have been uneasy and could not sleep for a long time. I’m extremely uneasy. Of course, it did not delay the many matters of the Heaven Ascension Hall. The old Kun Peng had been molted by the Water God. I originally thought that the Kun Peng would take revenge for the smallest grievance and would probably not tolerate it. I also felt that Kun Peng wanted to use fake death to avoid the pursuit of the Saint. It should not go near the Primordial World. I never expected him to have such a plan. Then, Master Jie School…”

　　“Third Uncle-Master will naturally not have anything to do with the Kun Peng,” Li Changshou said. “Kun Peng is looking for me. It might have various schemes. It might be trying to entice me to cooperate with him.

　　No matter what, Kun Peng is an extremely evil person. I will definitely not have any interaction with him.

　　Even if the Heavenly Dao wants the Kun Peng to return to the world, I will not remain silent when I should stand up and object.

　　This is a great enemy of the human race. We will not allow him to harm the mortal world.”

　　Bai Ze pondered for a while and asked, “Is it possible that the Kun Peng is related to the Heavenly Dao taboo?”

　　Li Changshou thought carefully and had a ridiculous thought.

　　Kun Peng, Senior Lang’s mount or subordinate?

　　If that was the case, he would be able to match the words of Goddess Nuwa. “He once controlled the Great Magi-Demon War behind the scenes.”

　　However, is that… possible?

　　Although Li Changshou did not think that Senior Lang was a “good person”, they were still from the same hometown. It seemed that they had lived in a similar era. He could not accept that Senior Lang and the Kun Peng were together.

　　Li Changshou sat there and pondered. Soon, he shook his head and chuckled.

　　Forget it. I should ask the only witness who can speak.

　　Li Changshou said, “Mr. Bai, please do me a favor.”

　　“Lord Water God, please instruct me.”

　　“Use my signature and write two memorials. Later, hand them to my paper effigy.

　　The first memorial is to sort out the crimes of the ancient Demon Court’s Demon Master, Kun Peng. Write them down clearly. Remember to remember the details of him killing living beings in detail.”

　　“Yes.” Bai Ze lowered his head and answered.

　　Li Changshou thought for a while and said, “The second memorial is about the Qi Refinement cultivators from all over the world investigating the otherworldly demons, especially at the edge of the trichiliocosm. Mr. Bai, just draft a rough plan. We don’t have to do this. Just express our attitude.”

　　“Water God, don’t worry. I’ll start writing now.”

　　Li Changshou nodded slowly. The paper effigy closed his eyes and ‘woke up’ on the Little Qiong Peak.

　　Li Changshou could not be bothered to study the use of the power of the essence soul in the Mental Demon specimen and how important it was to improve the paper effigy system. He immediately rushed to the lake.

　　Kun Peng, Wandering Years, Heavenly Dao Guidance…

　　That was the important matter. It was related to his life. Li Changshou could not be at ease.

　　His immortal senses scanned the direction of the straw hut and realized that Ling’e was meditating and cultivating in a pile of treasure light. After thinking about it, Li Changshou did not alarm her. He activated the layers of array formations on the Little Qiong Peak and left a note. Then, he quietly returned to the Great White Hall.

　　He naturally had to go with his main body to pay a visit to the Saint Nuwa. Otherwise, he would not be able to withstand the “Time Freeze” mystical ability.

　　He invited the Pagoda Master and the Golden Roc. Li Changshou transformed into a young Daoist and followed the Golden Roc out of the East Heavenly Gate and into the sky.

　　The entrance to the Goddess’s Palace was hidden in the void. Li Changshou had gone there a few times and had roughly figured out its location.

　　When they arrived near the Goddess’s Palace, a dense immortal glow appeared at the entrance. Four beautiful fairies flew out with palace lanterns and flower baskets. They bowed to the Golden Roc and Li Changshou.

　　“Greetings, Lord Taibai Jinxing.”

　　Li Changshou walked out from behind the Golden Roc and maintained the appearance of a young Daoist. He cupped his hands at the four fairies.

　　“I seek an audience with the Goddess of Great Benevolence. Please report on my behalf.”

　　The four fairies smiled slightly. One of them said, “Lord Taibai Jinxing, you don’t have to be too polite to us. The Goddess has said that no matter when you come, you can enter to pay your respects. Please follow us.”

　　As they spoke, the four fairies had already condensed a cloud boat and invited Li Changshou and the Golden Roc forward.

　　Li Changshou thanked him and flew onto the cloud boat. The Golden Roc looked at his teacher’s back with admiration.

　　That was the charm of a teacher!

　　Even the Goddess…

　　Li Changshou suddenly turned around and looked at the Golden Roc. He frowned slightly and his eyes were solemn.

　　The Golden Roc immediately extinguished that thought in his heart and sighed in amazement.

　　Teacher can even sense what I’m thinking?

　　He is really too powerful…

　　The corners of Li Changshou’s mouth twitched slightly. From the Golden Roc’s expression, he could roughly guess what the Golden Roc was thinking about. At that moment, he could not correct it.

　　He suddenly thought of the situation when the Golden Roc faced him. Was it the same as when he faced the Dao Ancestor?

　　They were all thoughts that could be seen through at a glance. According to the information they already had and their confidence in their personalities, they could achieve an effect that was close to mind reading. They could inadvertently give people a huge shock. In reality, it was only reasonable and within expectations.

　　Thinking about that, Li Changshou’s Dao heart became much more relaxed. He felt a little enlightened and suppressed it. He would comprehend it later.

　　IT Huh?

　　Li Changshou frowned slightly and closed his eyes on the cloud boat. A thought flashed across his mind.

　　After briefly sorting out the matter regarding the Heavenly Demon, he suddenly came to a shocking conclusion.

　　He knew that only the Grand Pure One, himself, and “Kun Peng” had been killed.

　　The Skyfiend Du Shuren wanted to invade the Qi Refinement cultivators’ hearts layer by layer, intending to reach his side and say that to him.

　　“Do you want to see the rest of the content?”

　　There was a high chance that those words were directed at the “Wanderer’s Year Journal”. As long as it was targeted at the “Wanderer’s Year Journal”, it could be confirmed that the Kun Peng was still alive and had been involved with the otherworldly demons. It had a terrifying power in its hands.

　　What conclusion could he reach by continuing to deduce on this basis?

　　That was the most terrifying part!

　　Why did the Kun Peng arrange for Du Shuren?

　　To send a message.

　　Why did the Heavenly Dao arrange for the black leopard to meet Du Shuren?

　　The Heavenly Dao had long known that he was secretly monitoring the black leopard. There was also the “lesson” from the previous incident of the red lotus, where he had ignored the message.

　　The strange thing about this was that if the Heavenly Dao wanted to destroy this Heavenly Demon, a bolt of Purple Heaven Divine Thunder could be dealt with. Or, it could be casually arranged for one or two experts to “pass by”.

　　The importance of the black leopard was self-evident.

　　In order to ensure that the Great God-Conferment Tribulation was successfully launched, the Heavenly Dao had confronted him in the Primordial Chaos Golden Chalice for twelve years. It was only when the Great God-Conferment Tribulation opened that the Daoist shadow formed by the Heavenly Dao’s will left his Dao heart.

　　It did not make sense for the black leopard to go out and do something meaningless.

　　He also knew that apart from the Dao Ancestor’s portion and the will of the Great Tribulation, the Heavenly Dao should not have the ability to “think”. It would completely follow the rules of the Heavenly Dao. Its goal was to protect the stability of the world.

　　The first terrifying point was that the Heavenly Dao in the Primordial World was impartial. There might be a mistake.

　　Li Changshou’s forehead broke out in cold sweat. He suppressed the thought that was starting to become more and more presumptuous. He controlled all his guesses and suspicions on that matter.

　　Is the Heavenly Dao arranging for the black leopard to lure him over to ensure that he can directly come into contact with this Heavenly Demon and receive the message from the Kun Peng?

　　Is that to let Kun Peng’s plan, which has a 50% success rate, become 90% successful?

　　There were two different deductions here. The conclusions drawn by the two ideas were vastly different.

　　Firstly, the Heavenly Dao only wanted him to know that the Kun Peng was still alive and did not care about the “Wanderer’s Year Journal”…

　　Secondly, in the judgment of the Heavenly Dao, it was beneficial to the stability of the world to let him see the ‘Wanderer’s Year’…

　　He did not dare to think further about the second thought. The terrifying outcome that he could deduce was that the Dao Ancestor and the will of the Heavenly Dao were definitely opposing each other.

　　At that moment, Li Changshou’s thoughts were abnormally complicated. He suppressed one thought and another appeared.

　　When the Golden Roc was arranged to drink tea and eat fruits in the Goddess’s Hall, Li Changshou went to the pavilion and saw Goddess Nuwa. His expression was bitter, and he looked at her gloomily.

　　Goddess Nuwa, who was sitting diagonally in front of the bookshelf, was also puzzled.

　　“What’s wrong with you? Is there anything that can stump you?”

　　Li Changshou was rendered speechless.

　　To be honest, he really did not want to care so much. He only wanted to arrange the Great God-Conferment Tribulation and escape with his family.

　　However, the current situation was getting out of his control. The power of the “blind waves” from the ancient times had already begun to distort the “stable domain” that he had painstakingly developed.

　　“Goddess.” Li Changshou sighed softly. “I’ve always… been very respectful to you.”

　　Nuwa thought carefully and smiled. “It’s useless to argue. Let’s draw a few sequels first.

　　I will tell you the answers of whatever you want to ask.

　　I have many things that even the Grand Pure One does not know.”

　　Li Changshou was rendered speechless.

　　He had a feeling that the Goddess might be the mastermind. It was just that her goal was simpler.

　　…

　　A moment later, in the domain created by Nuwa.

　　Goddess Nuwa, who had loose long hair and was dressed in a simple plain dress, sat on the soft couch with her legs crossed. She held a cup of fruit wine in her hand and took a sip with a straw.

　　“You killed the old molting of the Kun Peng and obtained a book? Then, the Kun Peng sent a Heavenly Demon to look for you. The Heavenly Dao Sect directly met you and told you that there was a follow-up to the Kun Peng?”

　　Li Changshou, who was sitting in his usual spot and slowly coloring the ink, nodded. “That’s about it.”

　　Goddess Nuwa smiled and said, “You can draw this paragraph. It’s quite interesting.”

　　Li Changshou smiled bitterly and said, “Goddess, this matter is definitely not fake.”

　　“You can catch up to Kun Peng?”

　　“My Great Dao of Equalization balanced the speed of the Golden-Winged Roc and Kun Peng. The Golden-Winged Roc disciple specially called him over. He was also a witness that day. You will know when you ask.”

　　Goddess Nuwa nodded and gently stroked her smooth chin. She pondered for a while and said, “Then why don’t you try to see if you can catch up to the Chaos Bell?”

　　Li Changshou smiled bitterly. “If I find the Chaos Bell now, I’m afraid I can suppress the luck of Jie School. However, this is no different from going against the Heavenly Dao. I will definitely suffer a backlash.”

　　“Then, do you mean that you want the immortals of Jie School to fill most of the spots during the Great Tribulation?”

　　“I didn’t say that.” Li Changshou sighed and said, “However, there are indeed many problems with Jie School.”

　　“If the Grandmaster of Heaven goes to you for help, how are you going to deal with it?”

　　“I can’t go against Third Uncle-Master’s decree,” Li Changshou said. “However, I definitely don’t have the ability to balance the Saint now. I can barely balance the old molting of the Kun Peng.

　　Moreover, I have tried. Connate Cardinal treasures are not affected by the Great Dao of Equalization. The Taiji Painting itself has the Dao of Equalization.”

　　Nuwa held the glass and pondered for a while. “Tell me what you want to ask first. I’ll estimate the price.”

　　“The relationship between the Kun Peng and Senior Lang.”

　　Li Changshou paused and added, “Did Senior Lang really go crazy in the end?”

　　Nuwa blinked. “I won’t charge you for these two answers.”

　　“Oh?” Li Changshou smiled and said, “Goddess, you’re really…”

　　“Because it’s beneficial to the Heavenly Dao and Teacher for me to answer those two questions. I won’t take any risks.” Nuwa chuckled. “Moreover, you haven’t paid your 500-year debt yet. I’m not anxious.”

　　“What’s the answer?”

　　“The Kun Peng and him can be considered to be using each other. However, most of the time, the Kun Peng is controlled by him.”

　　Li Changshou frowned and smiled bitterly. “Indeed, I can’t use my own perspective to look at this fellow countryman.”

　　“About the human race?”

　　“Yes.”

　　“Living beings from the ancient times are indifferent to Postnatal lifeforms,” Nuwa explained. “I can’t answer your second question accurately. From the perspective of others, he was indeed crazy. I know that he has a plan to become a Saint and transcend. At that time, he brought the plan forward for no reason. It seems that he can’t wait to obtain power comparable to the Pangu God. He even did not hesitate to use the natural essence and turbid power of the world. If not for Teacher taking action and suppressing him with the Heavenly Dao, the world would have ended during the second Great Magi-Demon War in the ancient times.”

　　Li Changshou asked, “Are you in such a hurry to compete with Grandmaster?”

　　Goddess Nuwa squinted and chuckled. “This question is worth another price. Do you really want to know?”

　　Li Changshou was instantly alarmed. He stood up and bowed to Nuwa. He said, “I was too talkative. Please forgive me, Goddess. Thank you for your guidance.”

　　“Your greatest advantage is that you have a sense of propriety.”

　　Goddess Nuwa pointed at the table and chairs in front of Li Changshou. “Draw. Remember to be more exciting.”

　　Li Changshou sat upright and raised his brush. After brewing for a while, he began to create artistic works.

　　He took the opportunity to calm his mind and began to sort out the various information he had.

　　It was understandable that Goddess Nuwa did not want to offend Dao Ancestor Hong Jun. From Goddess Nuwa’s hint just now, Li Changshou roughly understood that the Dao Ancestor and Senior Lang…

　　They were not clean.

　　There was no absolute black and white in this matter. After all, the rules were set by the victors. Right and wrong were also defined by the victors.

　　The Primordial World was that dangerous.

　　When living beings have the ability to change all kinds of natural laws, the essence of the world is only cruel.

　　I should think about how to escape.

　　After an unknown period of time, Li Changshou accumulated half a foot of sketches.

　　Goddess Nuwa yawned and put down the book in her hand. She suddenly asked, “How do you want to deal with the Kun Peng? Do you need me to explain the karma to the Heavenly Dao? For example, I’m the one who sent you to the Chaos Sea to look for traces of the Kun Peng.”

　　Li Changshou did not stop. Without looking up, he said softly, “It’s fine. I’m ready.”

　　“Oh? How did you prepare it?”

　　“I have made three plans. The first is to report to the Jade Emperor and explain the harm of the Kun Peng. I will make Kun Peng a wanted criminal in the Three Realms. I will destroy the plan of the Kun Peng faking its death and distinguish our positions. Secondly, there was an activity to clean up the otherworldly demons and create a beautiful new Primordial World in the surrounding areas of the Three Thousand Worlds. Coincidentally, there was a divine beast in the Netherworld Reincarnation Pagoda that had previously made the disciples feel unhappy. This time, they would let it redeem itself and listen to the thoughts of all living beings in each world. Thirdly, he would hide in the Heavenly Courts for one to two hundred years and interact with the immortals and gods. He would improve his relationship with His Majesty. I’ll also make some preparations for the Great God-Conferment Tribulation.”

　　The corners of Nuwa’s mouth twitched slightly. “You really live up to your reputation as a stable person.”

　　“Otherwise, apart from expressing my standpoint, what else can I do…”

　　“You have already entered the perfected Great Dao realm and are not far from slaying the three corpses. You are considered a great mystical ability in the Primordial World. You have also grasped such a balanced Great Dao. Have you never thought of transcending and becoming a Saint?”

　　Li Changshou smiled and said, “I’ve always wanted to transcend. However, I should forget about becoming a Saint. I can also sense that the world is approaching its limit. It cannot tolerate the impact of living beings becoming Saints. If we occupy too many resources, we would have to bear the corresponding risks. If we interfere too much with the world, we would definitely suffer a backlash. If we are so unstable, we are destined to die.”

　　“How can I transcend if I don’t become a Saint?”

　　“Is becoming a Saint meant to transcend?”

　　In the Time Freeze domain, the Goddess, who was sitting on a soft couch and holding a glass cup, looked at Li Changshou, who was sitting cross-legged behind a short table and holding a brush. This time, Goddess Nuwa was the first to look away.

　　“What is your original world like? Why are there two souls floating over? One is more unfathomable than the other.”

　　Li Changshou smiled and did not say anything. He lowered his head and continued drawing.

　　There were plenty of outstanding young men like him in his hometown.

　　Of course, it was rare to see someone as stable as him.

　　“A certain mountain: I feel offended.”

　　This Kun Peng had really caused him some trouble. He definitely could not tolerate it. No matter what, he had to make the Kun Peng unhappy and let it stop harassing him in the future.

　　IT Eh?

　　Maitreya, Kun Peng…

　　Old molting, new life…

　　Li Changshou’s eyes lit up. He felt like he had the help of a god. There was a sense of urgency in his eyes.

　　“Don’t be anxious. There’s plenty of time,” Goddess Nuwa said calmly. “After this painting is done, we can add another one.”

　　Li Changshou immediately stabilized his wrist and continued to dig out the details.