Chapter 148 The Righteous Master Zhao

　　“This… This?”

　　The hunchbacked old Daoist priest with tattered clothes stood on the cloud. As a disciple of a Saint and an expert of the Primordial World, he actually… suddenly got caught off guard and was confused.

　　Did he explode?

　　Not only did he explode, he even…

　　In the blink of an eye, he would burn his entire body without having a chance to speak!

　　What kind of path is this?

　　I haven’t been out for tens of thousands of years, and the Dao Sect’s Qi Refinement cultivators have already become so wild?

　　He did not say anything. He only used the opening speech that people of the Western Sect often used.

　　“Fellow Daoist, you are fated with the West. We can form an affinity.”

　　Is this abnormal? Is there a problem? Why did that happen?

　　Why did he self-destruct his incarnation?

　　Could it be that the fact that the Western Sect had secretly provoked the Three Sects had been exposed? If it had been exposed, there would have been a problem long ago. How could it be…

　　Heh.

　　The hunchbacked Daoist was still doubting himself when he suddenly heard a burst of cold laughter behind him.

　　Only then did he realize that he was already bound by a Dao rune. The universe was sealed by that Dao rune.

　　That hunchbacked Daoist was usually very wise and self-sufficient. He did not take Zhao Gongming from Jie School seriously before. Therefore, he directly appeared to stop the incarnation of the Sea God and talked about some small matters.

　　However, something unexpected happened!

　　The Sea God had self-detonated, and the ashes were gone. Zhao Gongming seemed to be… enraged.

　　It was like a scheme against him!

　　At that moment, the hunchbacked Daoist was shocked. He suddenly realized that he had underestimated the outer sect disciples of Jie School…

　　The hunchbacked Daoist turned around and saw that Zhao Gongming was already more than five kilometers away.

　　At that moment, Zhao Gongming was surrounded by twenty-four light-blue pearls. He held a golden wooden whip in his hand. His burly figure emitted a shocking aura!

　　The twenty-four pearls stopped the movement of the surroundings of the hunchbacked Daoist. Zhao Gongming’s intention to attack was very obvious!

　　The hunchbacked Daoist was even more bewildered. There was a white lotus flower in his hand, but his body was slowly retreating as he secretly sought to break the Cosmic Sealing Technique.

　　The hunchbacked Daoist asked doubtfully, “Fellow Daoist, why are you doing this?” “Why is that so?”

　　Zhao Gongming’s expression was extremely gloomy. His thick beard trembled continuously.

　　Zhao Gongming said coldly, “Fellow Daoist, you’ve been compelling the member of my sect. Are you even taking me, Zhao Gongming, seriously? Ha, I, Zhao Gongming, am not thick-skinned. It’s fine if you don’t give me face. However, if you force me like that, you will be shaming my Dao Sect! When you embarrass our sect, you’re embarrassing Jie School, my teacher, and my two Uncle-Masters! Why did you do that!?! You’re inhumane!”

　　The hunchbacked Daoist frowned. Have the people of this sect gone crazy?

　　Is this reasonable at all?

　　“Fellow Daoist, you…”

　　Zhao Gongming shouted, “Stop talking nonsense! Watch the fight!”

　　Zhao Gongming shouted again. The golden wooden whip in his hand shone brightly. The twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were hidden around him. His body turned into a beam of light, and in the blink of an eye, he crossed the universe and broke through the barrier, appearing in front of the hunchbacked Daoist!

　　The hunchbacked Daoist was shocked!

　　He only knew that Zhao Gongming spent most of his time wandering around. He was an outer sect disciple of Jie School. However, he did not know that Zhao Gongming had such a Dharma treasure that contained mystical abilities that were that powerful!

　　Immediately, the hunchbacked Daoist’s body flashed with a golden ray of light!

　　A lotus flower bloomed under his feet. Layers of petals wrapped around the hunchbacked Daoist.

　　However, in the next moment, a golden ray of light flashed and the golden whip smashed downwards. The lotus flower was almost torn apart by the golden whip!

　　Fortunately, Heaven and Earth had been sealed by the twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. Otherwise, who knew how many living beings would have been affected…

　　In the sky above the mountain, Zhao Gongming waved his golden whip and whipped the lotus. He yelled and cursed in the vulgarities commonly used in Jie School.

　　Not long after, Zhao Gongming tore the lotus flower apart and grabbed the hunchbacked Daoist, slapping him hard on the face.

　　How powerful!

　　What happened to me recently?

　　When Zhao Gongming beat the hunchbacked old Daoist…

　　In the secret underground chamber on Little Qiong Peak, Li Changshou held his forehead that felt like it was about to split open and groaned in pain. The paper effigy had exploded too quickly just now. He did not even have the time to fully recover.

　　It was just like the firecrackers he had played during the Lunar New Year in his previous life. Before he could throw them out, they exploded in his hands. The paper effigy self-destructed and tore at his mind…

　　However, Li Changshou had long considered that situation.

　　At that moment, he only felt pain. His essence soul was not damaged.

　　The pain came and went quickly. Li Changshou sat on the round chair and used another paper effigy to observe the two big shots fighting in the sky.

　　It could not be considered a huge battle. In fact, it was just one party getting ferociously beaten up by the other party…

　　Li Changshou could not be happy at all. There was nothing to be happy about. He had cleverly escaped the calamity. He kept thinking about the subtle changes in his mentality during this period of time. In one month, he had made two huge mistakes.

　　Previously, when his Little Grandmaster returned to the mountain, Li Changshou felt that he had made sufficient preparations but it turned out he had neglected the most basic issue of gender of the Grandmaster. Fortunately, there was no big commotion. Li Changshou also made a conclusion.

　　However, when Zhao Gongming was about to leave, he had already predicted that he had been targeted by the experts of the Western Sect. Yet, he still swaggered and chased after him!

　　If he did not have any backup tricks up his sleeve, he might have already been killed by the West!

　　Li Changshou broke out in cold sweat. He closed his eyes and sighed bitterly. He had been so careless in the past few days and had lost the most important thing to be safe—steadiness!

　　He had to reflect on himself.

　　The hunchbacked old Daoist priest’s sudden appearance was considered a warning.

　　Li Changshou checked himself. Ever since the Great Daoist Master became his backing, his worries had lessened greatly. In comparison, he had also considered less.

　　After the matter was settled, he would continue to perfect the “Steadiness Sutra’ and…

　　Men should be more ruthless to themselves!

　　He would memorize it three thousand times!

　　Li Changshou quickly adjusted his state of mind and gradually calmed down. He thought about how he should deal with the situation in order to protect himself.

　　In the short moment that he reflected on his mental state, Zhao Gongming had already beaten the hunchbacked old Daoist… to the point that the latter vomited blood.

　　Zhao Gongming did not kill. Instead, he grabbed the wooden whip and whipped it fiercely.

　　The old Daoist priest’s protective immortal light flickered. He had lost two protective numinous treasures.

　　When the hunchbacked old Daoist priest could no longer defend himself, Zhao Gongming summoned the twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls around him and stopped the hunchbacked old Daoist. The twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were no trifling matter. They were Connate numinous treasures bestowed by the Grandmaster of Heaven. They were formed from the Chaotic Pearls that had shattered when Heaven and Earth were split open. The power of the four seas could create a universe.

　　At that moment, the twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were suppressing the hunchbacked old Daoist priest, causing the old Daoist priest to be in an extremely sorry state. He could not move at all.

　　The hunchbacked old Daoist priest had a bruised and swollen face. His forehead was bleeding, and his body was covered in wounds. His clothes were torn and tattered, and there were holes everywhere. He was covered in blood…

　　Li Changshou frowned secretly. First, he thought about how the matter would affect him. Then, he thought about how he could shirk responsibility perfectly…

　　He could not afford to offend the old hunchbacked Daoist priest.

　　At the same time, Li Changshou had some conjectures.

　　Could it be that Zhao Gongming really… is a fool?

　　Did I think too much when I was talking to Zhao Gongming?

　　No, Li Changshou still felt that the eldest disciple of Ren School was definitely a scheming person!

　　That was evident from the fact that Zhao Gongming had accredited the reason, to the pride of the Three Saints of the Dao Sect.

　　Of course, it was also possible that Zhao Gongming genuinely thought that way…

　　If this is the case, this big shot’s collective sense of honor and recognition of the Dao Sect are really too strong. Huh? In the Great God-Conferment Tribulation, Zhao Gongming seemed to have been chanting, “The three sects belong to the same family. We are all fellow disciples.” He did not kill the twelve Golden Immortals of Chan School whom he had defeated.

　　However, Master Zhao’s fate was extremely miserable.

　　In the end, it was the member of Chan School, the mysterious Daoist Lu Ya, who had instigated Jiang Ziya to use the Seven Arrows Book Curse to curse him to death and put him on the God-Conferment Roll…

　　At that moment, Li Changshou had an idea. He suddenly thought of Youqin Xuanya!

　　There was a type of people in the world whose actions Li Changshou could not predict. That was the type who always had optimistic thoughts… It was very likely that Zhao Gongming was an existence like that.

　　In fact, there were no two ways about it. Li Changshou was naturally respectful towards a top expert of the Primordial World like him. He did not plan or plot anything against him.

　　Furthermore, he was a disciple of Ren School. There was no need for him to form a good relationship with Zhao Gongming.

　　Later, he would try to salvage the situation. He would give the other party a book of the teachings of the Sea God Sect as a reference. He would use the excuse of ‘following the Heavenly Dao’ and ‘protection of the mortals’ to explain why the Sea God Sect could develop so quickly and sever the karma.

　　However, what Li Changshou did not expect was… Zhao Gongming’s subsequent actions exceeded Li Changshou’s expectations and Li Changshou could not understand them at all. Li Changshou even broke out in cold sweat.

　　This disciple from Jie School refused to give up even after beating the Daoist up. He then used the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls to suppress the hunchbacked old Daoist priest and continued to curse and push him towards the Sea God Temple.

　　Li Changshou was rendered speechless.

　　Is this Master Zhao also toxic?

　　How can I, an insignificant Sea God, get involved with that kind of karma?!

　　The old hunchbacked Daoist is a disciple of a Saint!

　　If I beat him up, he would naturally just accept the loss and hold his tongue. He would simply say that his mystical abilities are inferior.

　　However, if the Western Sect were to settle scores and vent their anger on the Sea God, how would an insignificant disciple from a remote sect, like me, deal with it?

　　Even if I can get the Great Daoist Master to help me, how can I answer and explain the matter to him?

　　Li Changshou did not know whether to laugh or cry. He quickly tried to think of a solution.

　　At the same time, another paper effigy also used Earth Escape and rushed towards the Sea God Temple.

　　He saw… Zhao Gongming floating back to the top of the small temple and landing on the ground. He then threw the hunchbacked old Daoist priest into the temple and said seriously,

　　“Go and apologize to the Sea God.”

　　Li Changshou’s legs went weak. His body almost shrank under the study table in the secret chamber.

　　The hunchbacked old Daoist priest was being suppressed by the Sea-Calming Divine Pearl. He lay on the ground and could not move. His eyes were filled with grief and indignation.

　　Are you even being reasonable?

　　The Three Sects of the Dao Sect are being unreasonable!

　　The Western Sect is usually already unreasonable, but it is nothing compared to the eldest disciple of Jie School and the Sea God!

　　The hunchbacked old Daoist priest closed his eyes and remained silent. His essence soul trembled in anger.

　　Zhao Gongming sneered and said, “Why? You still have the audacity to pretend to be dead? You forced an incarnation of the Sea God to death and insulted the Dao Sect. How can I let this go?”

　　At that moment, Zhao Gongming heard a voice transmission…

　　“Senior, Senior, don’t say anything else. This matter is about to end!”

　　“Oh?”

　　Zhao Gongming looked at a certain spot underground. He was looking at the place where the paper effigy was hiding.

　　He said calmly, “Don’t be afraid. We are right!”

　　Li Changshou could not help but support his forehead with one hand. However, he immediately focused. According to Zhao Gongming’s personality, he had already come up with a solution and two backup plans to tackle the situation.

　　In order to resolve that matter, he had to convince Zhao Gongming first before letting him deal with the hunchbacked old Daoist.

　　As for himself, he could not appear!

　　Li Changshou did not dare to wait any longer. He immediately used his incarnation to send a voice transmission.

　　“Senior, although we are reasonable, you know that the two masters behind this person are not… Senior, you have too high of a prestige in Jie School. There are also many senior experts who are as righteous as you. If you are targeted by the Western Sect, how can Jie School let this go?

　　If this matter were to blow up, it might cause a conflict between the Western Sect and Jie School!

　　When that happens, there would definitely be casualties. How could you bear to see your fellow Daoists getting injured?

　　“Senior, you are not an insignificant person like me. Your words and actions will affect the progress of the Primordial World.”

　　Zhao Gongming frowned when he heard that. He pinched his beard and inhaled deeply. He directly sent a voice transmission to Li Changshou.

　　“That sounds reasonable, but this person forced you to destroy your incarnation…”

　　“I’m a Qi Refinement cultivator from Ren School. I’m on the same side as you, Senior. My seniority is much lower than yours.”

　　Li Changshou transmitted his voice and sighed. “The reason why I did not want to reveal my true face to others is because of the fact that our Ren School has always been peaceful and quiet. If I come out to gather the merits from incense, I will make my Great Daoist Master unhappy.

　　Although my Great Daoist Master doesn’t care about the affairs of the world, he is very concerned about the relationship between the three Sects. In recent years, he has been suffering from the conflict between Jie School and Chan School. He is very worried.

　　Therefore, if the people from the Western Sect find me, I will immediately destroy my incarnation. I don’t want to have anything to do with them.”

　　Zhao Gongming looked enlightened. Then, he lowered his head and pondered. He said, “Why don’t we just destroy this Dao and end this once and for all?”

　　“How can I hide this from the Saint?”

　　“Then what should we do?”

　　Li Changshou said, “May I take the liberty to share a few countermeasures that I have? Senior, if you trust me, you can consider using them.”

　　“Hey, aren’t you treating me like an outsider!?!”

　　Zhao Gongming waved his hand and said to Li Changshou’s paper effigy, “The three sects are one family. If I don’t believe you, am I supposed to believe this guy? Tell me about the countermeasures you have.”