Chapter 61: Little Poor Peak

Chapter 61: Little Poor Peak

"Ling'e's trouble this time will surely diminish her fortune considerably. Being confined for twenty years without causing any further trouble should help compensate for some of it," Li Changshou sat in the alchemy room, rocking gently in his chair, his eyes slightly narrowed, continuously pondering.

This matter had nothing to do with him as the senior disciple, and he didn't need to handle the aftermath.

But Ling'e's temperament...

Perhaps he and his master had spoiled her too much on weekdays; it was time to arrange for her to undergo some tempering.

The phrase "The world is treacherous" sounded less convincing when said by him, the senior disciple, compared to her experiencing it firsthand.

With these thoughts in mind, Li Changshou tapped the armrest of his rocking chair lightly.

Listening to the rustling of leaves nearby and the whispers of the wind in the distance, a poetic mood suddenly arose, and he uttered:

"Quite impoverished."

Or perhaps he could cultivate his junior sister in virtues, intelligence, physical fitness, and literary talents, and arrange for her to 'accidentally' encounter a wealthy person from the ancient times and marry him, thus acquiring a dowry?

It was a joke, a joke. He was simply annoyed by his junior sister and wouldn't go as far as kicking her out.

Now that he had achieved immortality and ascended, it was time to reduce his junior sister's level of knowledge.

In the eyes of others, he was now an outstanding disciple at the Fourth Return to Void stage; to outsiders, he should be considered a budding immortal at the Seventh or Eighth Return to Void stage; and to his junior sister, he should be seen as a primordial immortal...

That should be enough.

A secret known only to oneself was a secret; if one more person knew, it should be called 'information.'

After idling for half a day, Li Changshou's divine sense captured Ling'e continuously copying scriptures under a tree, and his anger subsided a lot.

The news Ling'e shared about their master...

If it was true, then the situation involving Wang Liu Liu was strikingly similar to what happened to their master eight or nine hundred years ago, but the outcome was completely different.

Back then, their master... had his love stolen by someone.

The master's rival shattered his foundation, intending to directly cripple him. However, the internal punishment only required that person to face the wall and reflect for a hundred years. Meanwhile, during those hundred years, the rival ascended to immortality.

That was all that was known at present.

As it was a disgraceful matter, it had been suppressed and not mentioned for nearly nine hundred years...

From the master of Xiaojiong Peak down to their generation, there were actually two disciples. Besides Li Changshou and Ling'e, there should have been a senior disciple, Li Changshou's senior brother.

Qi Yuan was with Li Changshou's senior sister, who was also Li Changshou's senior brother's childhood sweetheart.

However, before the master was attacked, this senior brother left the sect, claiming to be going to find their ancestor, but like the ancestor, he never returned...

No one knew what happened.

Thinking back, with the prestige of the Daoist teachings, was it really okay for the sect's discipline to be so chaotic?

Was the Daoist Sect intentionally manipulated?

Could it be that someone had made the neglected matchmaker in the Heavenly Court entangle their disciples with a bunch of red threads?

Analyzing the three teachings of the Daoist Sect, each had its 'shortcomings.'

The Sanjiao Sect mostly excelled in plotting schemes, giving people a sense of cunning.

The Jiejiao Sect was a mixed bag, with loose rules, giving people a sense of disorder.

And the Renjiao Sect, which was supposed to be indifferent to cause and effect, had fewer disciples and was like being under a spell, promoting the practice of couples among its members!

If there were techniques like the Yin-Yang Evolving Heaven Technique, the Convergence of Hearts Technique, the Wolf-like Tiger-like Zen, or the Singlehood is Too Hard Curse within the sect, it would be acceptable.

But for the Deity Path Sect, which regarded the Wuwei Classic as the core of its teachings, to have such an atmosphere...

The normal sect atmosphere should not be such that the vast majority of Qi refining practitioners in the sect were peacefully cultivating on their respective peaks, avoiding all cause and effect, and finding the management of the sect troublesome.

"If there's a chance, I should investigate the Daoist sects in Central Shenzhou and see if they are the same." Li Changshou muttered to himself, taking note of this matter.

Of course, he couldn't manage others too much. It was already very good if he could take care of himself and avoid stirring up trouble.

As for the matter with his master, it still needed careful consideration. But now that he had a clue, he didn't have to rely solely on speculation like before.

If his master really had such a mortal enemy, he, as a disciple, had to plan carefully.

Avoiding cause and effect wasn't about fearing it.

Li Changshou had been planning this matter for many years.

The opponent had a similar cultivation level to his master's a thousand years ago.

And he had heard that the best disciple in his master's generation was Senior Brother Jiu of the Wine Clan...

For now, he would treat his master's enemy as a late-stage true immortal. Even if the opponent was hiding his cultivation, even if he was a heavenly immortal, it didn't matter.

As for himself, as long as he could get some potent poisonous weeds, he could refine some pills to poison even heavenly immortals...

In the future, he would prepare billions of doses of such pills to protect his master. When the time was right, he would let his master intentionally appear more active. If the opponent couldn't resist attacking his master again, his master could counterattack accordingly. This would also serve as an explanation within the sect...

Which peak the opponent was from in the sect's hierarchy and how to deal with the aftermath had to be considered.

His advantage lay in the 'darkness,' and the opponent probably looked down on their Xiaojiong Peak.

As for how far he should go, it all depended on his master's wishes.

If his master wanted to avenge the past, as the eldest disciple, he would certainly assist him secretly.

If his master didn't want revenge, then he would just fulfill some of his obligations as a disciple and eliminate the opponent's foundation in cultivation.

The opponent had become a celestial immortal, while his master could only become a murky immortal in the future.

Calculating carefully, his master had still suffered some losses.

After all, he had also lost a senior brother...

Li Changshou didn't want to avoid this cause and effect and was willing to expose some of his cards for it.

Not moving was one thing; preventing the opponent from retaliating was another.

He closed his eyes and continued to contemplate and calculate.

Gradually, layer upon layer of formations outside the alchemy room quietly opened.

Little Jiongfeng, which had been silent for over three years, began to gather its vitality once again...

After copying the "Stable Sutra" three hundred times, Ling'e went to Xiao Ling Peak to apologize to Liu Yan'er and ask for forgiveness.

When Ling'e came to the alchemy room, Li Changshou reprimanded her again, gave her the second version of the "Turtle Restraint and Calm Qi Technique," lectured her on cultivation for two days, and officially started her punishment of not leaving Little Jiongfeng for twenty years.

"For this matter, I hope you will learn from it," Li Changshou said.

"I understand, Senior Brother," Ling'e bit her lip. "I will copy scriptures every day from now on."

Li Changshou handed over a treasure pouch and sighed, "It's not that I'm being strict with you, it's just that you've grown up within the sect and also spent your childhood in a wealthy family. You don't really understand how tough the world can be. Take my recent trip for example... never mind."

"Hmm?" Ling E blinked, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "What's wrong, Senior Brother?"

Li Changshou stood with his hands behind his back, looking up with a faint smile. "Forget it, just focus on your cultivation and don't worry about anything else. You need to strive to reach the Fifth Stage of the Returning-to-the-Source Realm before the next mountain-opening ceremony. That way, you'll gain recognition from the sect."

Li Changshou rubbed his temples and sighed softly. "This way, if I ever disappear one day, you'll still be taken care of by the sect for your cultivation."

Ling E asked in a low voice, "Senior Brother, are you... planning to run away?"

"Why would I run away? Go back to your practice, I need to start refining pills." Li Changshou chuckled, and Ling E looked puzzled.

As Ling E left the alchemy room, she tilted her head, thinking for a while before turning to look back at the room. Something about Senior Brother seemed odd.

Inside the alchemy room, Li Changshou adeptly began refining pills. He was making the 'Clear and Muddy' Immortal Pills for his master, using materials that weren't toxic and didn't require protective gear.

Once the fire in the furnace stabilized, Li Changshou started contemplating another big issue – making money.

"Little Qiong Peak, Little Qiong Peak, truly living up to its name." He needed a large amount of treasure materials and spiritual stones; otherwise, he'd be limited in what he could do.

He didn't want to make a fortune; he just wanted a stable source of income besides the monthly stipend. Living in the mountains had its benefits in terms of safety, but it made acquiring treasure materials and spiritual stones difficult.

Could he somehow profit from the idols near the South Sea, perhaps by turning them into machines for collecting merit and then selling them to Western religions? No, that was too risky. It was better to avoid the South Sea altogether.

How could he make money? "Nowadays, the most beneficial thing for me is either accessing the sect's Daoist Treasury, which is difficult, or doing some contract alchemy for the sect. By leveraging my pill refinement success rate and accumulating medicinal herbs over time, it could be a significant source of income."

He didn't have to spend too much time in seclusion in the coming decades. While he had accepted the insights into ascension, he hadn't fully digested them yet, so spending a few hours each day refining pills wouldn't be a problem.

But he needed to discuss this with his master. He couldn't take on 'Immortal Pill' orders by himself; why not partner with Senior Uncle Jiu?

It wasn't that he didn't trust Senior Uncle Jiu, but Senior Uncle Jiu was currently in seclusion, didn't understand alchemy, and was too well-known within the sect, which could raise suspicions.

Besides, getting his master active again might lure their old enemy out, killing two birds with one stone.

Li Changshou pondered for a while, then, seeing the fire in the furnace fluctuate, he casually threw in a wisp of True Fire.

But then he paused. Did he just use his real strength with the Three-Flavored True Fire?

Crack... Crack...

Boom!

The alchemy room trembled violently, and the roof was blown off in an instant.

A moment later, Li Changshou, with a blackened face, opened his mouth, speechless and bitter in his heart.

Looking at the pile of iron lumps in front of him, like a blooming lotus, he thought about the effort he had put into repairing the pill furnace...

Ha, hahaha...

Indeed, making quick money by selling incense to Western religions might be faster...

"We solemnly promise, we don't produce incense, we're just the movers of incense..." Li Changshou laughed at himself, shaking his head as he stood up to clean up the ruined pill furnace.

Fortunately, he had only used a wisp of True Fire just now. If he had thrown in a big chunk, the alchemy room would have been razed to the ground, and they would have had to rebuild it tomorrow.

...

In the vast expanse of the sky, the Immortal Island was surrounded by clouds, encircling the Celestial Ocean.

The newly established Heavenly Court, located right above Central Divine Land, was suppressing the luck of the world. At this moment, the Heavenly Court still seemed somewhat deserted, with soldiers guarding each of the five gates leading to the five continents, but inside the Heavenly Court and its nine layers, there were many unoccupied treasures.

If it hadn't been for the Sage of Primordial Chaos setting up a stand-in as the Supreme Old Lord when the Heavenly Court was first established, and using it to protect the Heavenly Court and support the Jade Emperor... Perhaps this vast Heavenly Court would have been taken over by the ambitious ancient demons.

The ninth layer of the Heavenly Court was reserved for the Three Pure Ones, with immortal lights flickering inside, but there was only a small Taoist temple, where Laozi usually practiced.

The Lingxiao Palace was on the eighth layer of the Heavenly Court, magnificent and splendid, but at this moment, it didn't have much presence in the Primordial Chaos.

And around the Lingxiao Palace, there were many places where troops were stationed. It seemed that the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, who had only been the Primeval Heavenly Lord for tens of thousands of years, was somewhat worried about his safety.

In the seventh layer of the Heavenly Court were many 'external departments' of the Heavenly Court, as well as the mansions of various immortal families. The Doumu Palace of the Primeval Lord Laozi was also located here.

In an inconspicuous corner of the seventh layer, there was an exquisite fairy palace built on a fairy island, floating in the sea of clouds...

The most striking thing about this fairy palace wasn't its architectural style, but the large red silk banners hanging everywhere.

Could it be that there was a celestial wedding in the Heavenly Court?

No, this was the place in the Heavenly Court dedicated to marriages in the Three Realms, with a golden plaque hanging above it:

[Destiny of Heaven and Earth]

The Temple of the Matchmaker.