Chapter Forty-Seven, The Rebellious Dragon Son, Online...
Chapter Forty-Seven, The Rebellious Dragon Son, Online...
"It's just a long beard... scared me, senior brother."
Jiujin retrieved the wooden spoon and smelled the wine in the jar next to him, saying with some lingering fear, "I thought I might have a hormonal imbalance and turn into neither a man nor a woman."
Li Changshou shook his head with a light smile, always admiring his junior brother's logical thinking.
"Senior brother, after I finish refining the pills today, I will probably seclude myself for six months to a year to cultivate the Samadhi True Flame. I have prepared a year's share of those wines for senior brother in advance, but it's not good to drink too much of them. Senior brother, you should drink moderately. They are on the shelf next to that jar of medicated wine, in the usual place."
"Six months?" Jiujin put away the wine pots, placed a few empty ones on top casually, and walked over with his hands behind his back, solemnly advising, "Although Samadhi True Flame can be cultivated from the Return to Void Realm, it initially requires the refinement of essence, energy, and spirit to condense the fire seed! You mustn't be impatient. If you deplete your vitality while practicing spells and end up with a weakened spirit, it will be disastrous!"
Li Changshou nodded with a smile and continued to sort out the herbs. Jiujin yawned out of boredom, muttering, "I've been stuck at a bottleneck for the past few years, and breaking through cultivation has been troublesome. But I've had a few situations like this before, being stuck at a bottleneck for a few years, and then I breakthrough inexplicably. After breaking through, I have to seclude myself for several years, maybe even decades, so you might not see your senior brother for a long time."
Li Changshou smiled, "Senior brother has already focused on the Way of Non-Action now, right?"
"Yeah," Jiujin brought over a bamboo chair and sat down at the table, leaning on it lazily, "After you become an immortal, you can also cultivate the Way of Non-Action. If your aptitude is better, you can cultivate it from the Return to Void Realm. Unfortunately... Oh right, I heard from Fifth Senior Brother that your master seems to have started comprehending the Way of Non-Action too."
"Yes, two months ago, Master received scriptures sent by the disciples inside the sect," Li Changshou casually replied, "Actually, senior brother's attitude is most appropriate for cultivating the Way of Non-Action. Not forcing, not seeking too much."
Jiujin blinked, "Little Changshou, why do you talk like our master?"
"Because Senior Wuwu also gave me a copy of the first volume of the Way of Non-Action. Aren't these words all in the scripture?"
"I see." Jiujin murmured, sitting quietly on the side, watching Li Changshou sorting out herbs, and unconsciously becoming lost in thought...
After a while...
"Little Shoushou... You're actually quite good-looking... Hehehe... Why didn't I notice it before?"
"Hmm?"
Li Changshou, who was already preparing to refine pills, turned his head to look over and found his senior brother sleeping on the table, murmuring in his sleep. After becoming an immortal, the body was pure, and his junior brother's medium-length hair was always smooth and shiny even without much care. Just tying it into a simple phoenix tail braid, without any jewelry or makeup, gave people a sense of simplicity and purity.
When his junior brother was asleep, he truly matched the description of "skin like jade, clear heart and pure spirit."
Unfortunately, when he was awake, he was too capricious.
Shaking his head with a smile, Li Changshou quietly walked outside the alchemy room to admire the little spirit fish he raised in the pond shaped like a Taiji fish, waiting for Jiujin to wake up from his nap. After all, he was relying on Jiujin's pure immortal power to refine pills, so he couldn't be too harsh on his junior brother.
Two days later...
After finishing the pills, Li Changshou temporarily closed the alchemy room and only activated the formation within three miles of the alchemy room. After sending Jiujin away, he went to inform Ling'e about his seclusion.
This time, during his seclusion, Li Changshou planned to officially condense the fire seed of the Samadhi True Flame, which would take about half a year.
Dressed in loose practice clothes, Ling'e was studying the technique of sprinkling medicine under a willow tree, looking somewhat puzzled...
"Elder brother, aren't you going to seclude yourself in the alchemy room this time?"
"Cultivating the Samadhi True Flame is easy to cause explosions in the alchemy room," Li Changshou smiled, "I will make a small raft later and seclude myself in the lake, which will be safer."
Ling'e blinked gently, seeming to have something to say but hesitating.
Li Changshou handed her a few porcelain bottles and instructed her on the usage and dosage of each pill.
After pondering in her heart, Ling'e still asked in a low voice, "Elder brother, shouldn't the Samadhi True Flame be kept hidden? Isn't this spell very powerful?"
Li Changshou lightly tapped his junior sister's head, naturally without any force. Although the two were facing each other, Li Changshou used the sound transmission method to explain in detail, "Have you forgotten everything I taught you in the past few years since I stopped teaching? The Samadhi True Flame was bestowed by Senior Wuwu. Intentionally hiding it and not using it will only arouse suspicion. It should be something that others can't think of or guess, not something that can be inferred based on the information you usually reveal. That's what constitutes a trump card, rather than simply being judged by its power."
Ling'e stuck out her tongue and bowed her head obediently to receive the lesson.
Li Changshou then took out two more porcelain bottles and transmitted his voice, "Place these two bottles of pills in front of Master's door. These are pills for Master's cultivation, with the effect of purifying impurities. Don't taste them secretly, or the power of the pills will burst you."
Ling'e was suddenly delighted, "So, if Master takes them, wouldn't it be possible..."
"Difficult," Li Changshou shook his head with a light sigh, turned and walked towards the woods, ready to make the small raft needed for the upcoming seclusion.
Ling'e opened the jade bottle and took a sniff, feeling a pure stream of vitality hitting her face. She took a light breath, feeling a bit dizzy, and hurriedly went back to her room to meditate and dissolve the medicinal power.
Seeing this, Li Changshou chuckled lightly, found an old forest, rolled up his sleeves, and got to work.
Two days later...
"What's going on?"
Just waking up from meditation, Ling'e got up and looked out of the wooden window. She opened her mouth, called out softly a few times, and her beautiful forehead was filled with black lines...
"I will make a small raft later."
The words of her elder brother echoed in her mind, and then she looked at the "rudimentary" large boat that had just been launched on the lake, fifty zhang long. Ling'e couldn't help but pat her forehead.
Did her elder brother misunderstand the meaning of "small" and "large"?
Ling'e looked down at her own practice clothes, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
Stinky elder brother, sure enough...
The junior brother, Jiu Jiu, has messed up my normal scale!
Actually, Li Changshou isn't much of an indulger. When he's making stuff, he's all about practicality. The little raft is just some simple wood pieces slapped together, no fancy enchantments or anything. In terms of crafting difficulty, it's definitely just a trinket.
Wherever he's doing his seclusion, there needs to be simple alarm arrays, soundproofing arrays, and anti-probing arrays. And to set up and conceal these arrays' bases, you need some space.
Besides that, he's got some other little designs.
The two-story tall ship has a total of seven identical rooms, all interconnected, each with a cushion. Later when he secludes himself, after activating the surrounding arrays, he'll also place some paper figures in each room. If someone triggers the arrays, the restrictions on these paper figures will immediately activate, transforming them into his likeness, enough to really fool someone! It's basically a must-have item for guarding against sneak attacks!
Unfortunately, this design isn't perfect, as there's still a one-seventh chance of being assassinated...
"Ling E, I'm starting my seclusion now."
Upon receiving Li Changshou's message, Lan Ling E hurried to the door and waved to Li Changshou standing on the "ship". Li Changshou formed hand seals, and the layers of arrays on the raft activated, covering a large area of the lake below. The raft itself became blurry under the layers of light membranes... After a while, a few wisps of mist appeared on the water surface, and Lan Ling E couldn't see where her senior brother was anymore.
Li Changshou placed paper figures in each room and quietly made his way to a secluded cabin. After feeling around in the corner for a while, he opened a hidden compartment, revealing clear lake water below... With a hand seal, he cast a transformation spell, turning into a spirit fish, silently slipping into the water towards the underwater area also covered by layers of arrays, leaving only seven paper figures lying in various cabins.
The reason for making the raft so big is mainly to ensure that these layers of arrays can cover the underwater area; and below, is Li Changshou's third seclusion location. When Master brought Little Ling E up the mountain that time, he secluded himself here and condensed the faint flame of the netherworld to a small success... Water counters fire in the five elements, so practicing fire techniques underwater is actually an excellent way to prevent the accumulation of too much fire energy and causing an explosion.
But... the small Jiu Feng Peak, which was originally densely forested, suddenly lost a small patch of trees...
...
In the East Sea, Crystal Palace.
"How dare you, Ao Yi! To utter such arrogant words, to disrespect your elders, to disgrace our clan's dignity, to defame our clan's honor! Do you realize the gravity of your actions?"
In the vast Second Prince Hall, the young dragon Ao Yi was bound to an iron pillar by chains, tightly closing his eyes, while echoes of the angry rebukes from that day reverberated in his ears.
He sneered, enduring the pain in his back, his gaze as firm as it was that day. Ao Yi now found the Crystal Palace extremely absurd and downright ridiculous.
When he stood on that day's celebration banquet, facing his father, who had been pretending to be asleep, and said, "Son wishes to worship at the gates of the saints and practice the laws of the Three Teachings!", those shocked, incredulous, and quickly distorted dragon faces... Those furious accusations of treachery, shame of the dragon clan, and meaningless indignation...
Those who scolded him that day were all his father's brothers, or older dragons, who had the right to scold their nephew. And those ministers of the sea and non-royal dragon generals, each dared not speak out but conveyed their disdain with their eyes.
Going to worship at the gates of the saints would be considered treachery; going out to practice would be regarded as rebellion against the dragon clan. This is ridiculous, truly ridiculous...
"Ridiculous to the extreme!" Ao Yi couldn't help but exclaim in anger, his fair face full of pain! The iron pillar behind him emitted a cold and icy force, and ice thorns penetrated his smooth back, making Ao Yi tremble all over. But his gaze remained clear, and his determination inside did not waver!
A moment ago, the dragon queen had just left, earnestly advising him to admit his mistake early...
"My child, isn't our clan's method enough for you to learn and use? Isn't our clan's treasure enough for you to play with? Why must you do such absurd things, and still speak such absurd and unconventional words in front of so many uncles and elders in the clan? Who has misled you?"
How could Ao Yi not know his mother's words, and how could he not understand their true and false? Isn't it absurd to say that the gates of the saints do not accept dragon clan descendants? After the Three Pure Ones became saints, a group of dragon clan experts took their young dragons to pay respects to the teachers. They were respectful at first; but upon hearing that the easiest way to become a disciple of the saints was for the best dragon disciples to enter the saint's discipleship, rather than directly becoming disciples of the saint, the dragon clan experts turned back, feeling that the saints were intentionally humiliating...
What's absurd? This is absurd!
Ao Yi trembled all over, and the light on the iron pillar behind him gradually weakened. I, Ao Yi, must hold on. Only by completely lowering his status as the Dragon Prince and bowing to the Daoist door of the Three Teachings, even if he kneels in front of the Daoist door for a long time before entering as a registered disciple, can he break the dragon clan's meaningless pride and tear apart their twisted self-esteem!
If these humiliations cannot wake up the drunk dragon clan, then he will go and stand at the peak of the world under the saints' method!
By then, he will come and ask these ancient venerables... What is the way out for the dragon clan!
Taking a deep breath, Ao Yi shouted:
"Let me out—"
"I want to see Father!"
"I want to go to the Daoist door to worship and learn!" Outside the hall, a group of maidservants with teary eyes and beautiful faces were full of heartache, but they were blocked by the Immortal Jiao Soldiers and couldn't get close to the second prince.