Chapter 245 As Expected Of You
What happened?
Under a tree in the backyard of Tushita Palace, Great Daoist Master Xuan Du, who was resting and cultivating in his dream, slowly opened his eyes. There was a hint of helplessness in them.
The teacher had arranged it again.
Great Daoist Master Xuan Du carefully calculated and soon understood what had happened.
“It’s rare that I don’t have to fight this time. I’m just going to help Changshou by being a guest.”
Great Daoist Master Xuan Du chuckled and closed his eyes again.
That matter would be happening in three years. There was no need to rush over. He could sleep… ahem, cultivate for a while.
A few months later, on Golden Ao Island, Ao Yi rode a cloud and left the Cave Abode that he and Jiang Si’er were cultivating in. He flew around the outer area of Golden Ao Island and landed at the edge of a peach blossom forest.
He bowed and puffed out his chest. The young man smiled and shouted, “Ao Yi wishes to see Aunt-Master Jinguang!” “Eh?”
The peach blossoms in the peach blossom forest spun and two beautiful figures appeared from within.
There were two young girls. One of them was dressed in a light yellow short dress, while the other was dressed in a fiery red dress. The former’s figure was petite and slender, and her face was charming and full of smiles. The latter’s skin was as white as snow. The collar of her long dress was like a flame, making her figure appear even more slender. Ao Yi recalled in his heart and recognized who the latter was. He hurriedly said, “Greetings, Aunt-Master Jinguang. Greetings, Senior Sister Huoling.” The Goddess of Fire Spirit, Huoling, asked softly, “What is this?”.
The Goddess of Golden Light smiled and said, “This is the disciple of Black Clouds Immortal, the Second Prince of the East Ocean Dragon Palace, Ao Yi.”
“I’m sorry.” The Goddess of Fire Spirit nodded with a smile and bowed to Ao Yi with a Dao salute.
Ao Yi returned the bow again. He naturally could not make any mistake with the etiquette.
The Goddess of Golden Light asked, “What’s the matter with Ao Yi? You’ve never been here before.”
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“That’s right,” Ao Yi said with a smile. “Two years later, on the ninth day of the fifth month, the Sea God Sect will be holding a Sea God Ceremony in the South Ocean. I’m also a person who enjoys incense in the Sea God Sect. My Brother Sect Master wants to invite an immortal from the sect to attend the ceremony. He originally wanted to invite Uncle-Master Zhao Gongming to attend the ceremony. However, it would be too much of a hassle to trouble Uncle-Master Zhao Gongming for such a trivial matter. Therefore, the Sect Master asked me to invite you, Aunt-Master Jinguang. He wants me to ask if you have time to go over.”
The Goddess of Golden Light smiled and said, “That’s all? Then I’ll agree. Oh right, Sister Huoling, do you want to go with me? The Sea God is not an ordinary person. You happen to be here to introduce me to him. He is a member of the Ren School. He is on good terms with the few senior disciples of our Intercept Sect. He has extraordinary experience and is very nice to talk to!”
The Goddess of Fire Spirit smiled gently and said softly, “I have nothing to do. I’ll accompany you on this trip, Aunt-Master.”
“Call me sister! Aunt-Master makes me sound much older!”
“Okay, okay, Sister.”
Ao Yi, who was at the side, blinked. He knew that the two of them were on good terms and were discussing their own matters. After confirming that the two goddesses would be present, Ao Yi told them the date and address in detail. He then bade farewell and left on his cloud…
Ao Yi naturally knew that the Goddess of Fire Spirit had entered the sect earlier, and she was the personal disciple of Daoist Duobao, the Sect Leader of the Jie School. She should be considered the eldest senior sister of the third generation of Jie School disciples.
In a sense, the personal disciple of the Saint was even more important than the Second Generation disciple, the Goddess of Golden Light, who was not a personal disciple.
Now that there’s another goddess who is going to attend the ceremony, I have to inform Brother Sect Master immediately…
Ao Yi rode a cloud and returned to his Cave Abode on the Golden Ao Island. When he saw that his wife, Jiang Si’er, was still sound asleep, he sat down on the bed and meditated. Then, he began to communicate with the Sect Master using his spiritual will…
A moment later.
“Goddess of Fire Spirit?”
In the secret chamber of Little Qiong Peak, Li Changshou muttered to himself and felt that there was no problem.
Among the goddesses, the Goddess of Fire Spirit and the Goddess of Golden Light were naturally ranked at the back. If one or two of them arrived, it would not affect them much.
The guests from Jie School had already been confirmed and the dragon race had also sent a reply a few days ago. Perfected Huang Long had informed them himself…
The ‘observatory guest list’ had been largely decided.
In order to reduce the possibility of attracting the Western Sect to cause trouble, Li Changshou and Ao Yi announced that the Sea God Sect Ceremony was not the Sea God Title Conferment Ceremony. With that reason, the Sea God Sect could openly build a huge venue in the south of Anshui City and the South Sea.
At that time, many mortals would gather there to witness that important moment.
Currently, the Sea God Sect already had more than twenty thousand official temples. There were countless devotees, and they could affect a large area in the South-West part of the South Continent.
The manpower and resources that Li Changshou could command with his order could not be underestimated.
This time, Li Changshou did not make his devotees work hard. Instead, he used the wealth stored in the Sea God Sect to hire a large number of mortal craftsmen.
With the motivation of profit, those craftsmen were also very energetic. The construction progress was very fast.
In just half a year, the venue had already taken shape.
The “income” from the Sea God Sect’s incense offerings was very impressive. Apart from maintaining the normal operations of the Sea God Sect, Li Changshou had arranged for most of the treasures to be distributed to poor mortals in the Sea God Sect.
He did not need the money to support his cultivation. That way, he could sever a portion of his karma from the incense offerings… Most of the ambassadors from Xiong Village rushed to Anshui City and were busy with performing the tasks assigned by the Sea God.
The True Dragon Guardians of the dragon race, who were stationed in the Sea God Sect, were not idle either. They were in charge of evacuating the water routes and setting up some water-friendly facilities. They were also in charge of ensuring that everything will go smoothly and maintain peace for three years…
In that case, the time, land, and people were all settled.
The grand ceremony was publicized and organized in an orderly manner.
Li Changshou was not idle either.
Apart from explaining the Dao to Ling’e on time, answering Youqin Xuanya’s questions and teasing Little Aunt-Master from time to time, he stopped refining pills, refining array foundations, and started preparing for the grand ceremony of title-conferring!
Becoming a legitimate god of the Heavenly Courts was a crucial step for him to become an immortal.
He would be able to escape the Great God-Conferment Tribulation in the future, earn more Heavenly Dao merit, get closer to Tushita Palace, and receive the protection of the Heavenly Dao.
Furthermore… after he became a legitimate god of the Heavenly Courts, he would become a subordinate of the Heavenly Dao. Wouldn’t it be reasonable for the Heavenly Dao to cut him some slack during the Golden Immortal Tribulation?
Just kidding, just kidding.
The Heavenly Dao was impartial. It was not a living being, nor was it a simple will of heaven and earth. There were no underhand means.
To become a Golden Immortal, he had to rely on his own efforts.
If he wanted to obtain the Dao Fruit of Longevity, he would still have to go through hardships.
Li Changshou had long been mentally prepared for that.
There were still two months before the Sea God Ceremony. The people living in the South Ocean Coast were celebrating like there was a festival.
If one looked down from the sky, they would see many mortals walking on the road who were rushing to the south of Anshui City to offer incense to the Sea God. The ceremony venue was ready.
A tall platform stood on the coast of the South Ocean. A large piece of land was divided into more than a hundred regions. There were railings and obstructions everywhere, preventing stampedes.
Heavenly Courts was prepared. General Dongmu had already obtained the decree. He brought tens of thousands of Heavenly Soldiers and waited near the South-Heaven Gate. He would make a glorious appearance at noon on the ninth day of the fifth month.
This time, the main debut style of the Heavenly Soldiers’ appearance was ‘cool’. As such, Li Changshou had designed several different light-effect battle formations…
There was also the Heavenly Courts’ celebratory group led by Elder Moon. A group of old immortals would go to the mortal world to congratulate them.
On the dragon race’s side, it was more or less safe to prepare.
The four Dragon Palaces’ consecration team was already prepared. The four princes of the Four Dragon Palaces led the group. They gathered the elders of the dragon race, three hundred Guardians and experts, as well as thousands of Immortal Flood Dragon troops as the guards. Apart from the Dragon Kings, none of the dragons knew what would happen during the Sea God Ceremony. This time, it was mainly a performance for them.
There were basically no problems with the other guests.
Why did he say “basically”?
Li Changshou felt helpless about that.
When Ao Yi went to invite the Goddess of Golden Light, the Goddess of Fire Spirit was also there. Hence, he invited her along.
However, it was unknown if the Goddess of Fire Spirit had taken the initiative to invite others or if she had told anyone about that. There were probably dozens of immortals from Jie School who would join in the fun.
Li Changshou had really underestimated the appeal of the two goddesses, especially their influence over male immortals!
Li Changshou had put a lot of effort into the defense of the ceremony.
The paper effigy army had already taken their positions in advance. They each carried large amounts of immortal beans.
The Divine Envoys of Xiong Village also formed two special patrol teams. On that day, they would be in charge of maintaining order in the surroundings. Under Li Changshou’s guidance, they set up a ‘Pseudo-Heaven Divine Evil Formation’. It was purely to scare people.
It was part of the “forming groups” ideas that Li Changshou had previously thought of.
Li Changshou had already made preparations for the grand ceremony.
However, Li Changshou still could not make up his mind.
Firstly, should I invite the people from the Netherworld to come and observe the ceremony? I can use this opportunity to let the members of the Netherworld feel the vast heavenly might.
Secondly, should I go and accept the reward using my main body?
The first problem was not difficult to solve.
He had previously devised a scheme involving Ox-head in the Netherworld. He only needed an invitation letter and a paper effigy to invite the guests of the Netherworld.
The reason Li Changshou hesitated was that he did not want the dragon race to become more chaotic than it already was.
After much consideration, Li Changshou decided to invite the people from the Netherworld to attend the ceremony.
After all, in the background of the Sea God Sect in the South Ocean, the ‘Magi’ did not play an important part. The appearance of the people from the Netherworld could make the imagination of the dragon race run wild.
On the way, he could also open the door to gaining merit from the Netherworld.
However, the second question was related to his life. Li Changshou had been conflicted for two years and could not make up his mind. If his main body went out without the protection of the Great Daoist Master or the little pagoda… he would feel insecure!
However, Li Changshou had a premonition that when he took on the Heavenly Courts’ Deity Position, his main body would definitely be locked by the Heavenly Dao.
At that time, it would be extremely easy for him to expose himself!
Furthermore, if he were to receive the Heavenly Courts’ rewards by using his incarnation, it would seem like he was patronizing the Heavenly Courts. That was against the original purpose of the ceremony.
Moreover, the Jade Emperor was another existence who could use his incarnation to secretly poke and observe the Heavenly Generals…
They might note it down on a notebook!
It was indeed inappropriate for his main body to not go.
It was risky to go out.
Li Changshou kept thinking about the solution. Time passed by, day by day. Finally, half a month before the ceremony began, he gritted his teeth and stomped his feet. Finally, he decided to personally receive the Deity Position with his main body! For the sake of the rise of the Heavenly Courts, for the lives of the Three Realms, he could be said to be… have taken a great risk!
Li Changshou was almost touched by himself.
Li Changshou’s vision cleared up as he changed his train of thought. A good plan appeared in his mind.
I’ll try to pass it off!
He made his main body become a paper effigy.
Li Changshou immediately began to set up the array. He activated his ‘Main Body’ paper effigy No.1, which was the masterpiece!
Li Changshou raised his hand and scanned the desk. There was a paper effigy that was about two feet long on the table.
The paper effigies were half a foot thick, and there were dense restrictions and runes engraved on them. There was surging immortal power of the Heaven Immortal realm.
There was a tiny “window” behind the paper effigy.
Li Changshou conjured a seal with both hands and the window slowly opened. There was a small hole that was covered by restrictions.
He cast the Manifestation Technique and turned into a flying bug that landed in the window.
Then, he controlled the paper effigy and made it stand up, after which it transformed into an old immortal that was fixed in place by the Sea God of the South Ocean…
His main body was hiding in his incarnation. The real was mixed with the fake.
Following that, the paper effigy became a paper doll. Li Changshou’s main body flew out from the paper effigy’s back and returned to its true form.
He first used the Bone-Contracting Spell to transform his body into the size of the Sea God paper effigy in the South Ocean. Then, he put on a white wide-sleeved robe.
After that, Li Changshou sat behind his desk and took out a bronze mirror. He began to carefully disguise himself.
His Dharma spells could be seen through, but he was not afraid of that “physical” disguise…
The final effect of the main body was the appearance of the old immortal when it was “younger”. After that, Li Changshou put on a half-sided armor and cast an illusion spell. Then, he used the Manifestation Technique to transform into a bug and wriggled into the paper effigy’s body.
Not long after, Li Changshou left Little Qiong Peak with his main body paper effigy.
No one was alarmed. They sneaked out of the mountain-protecting array formation of the Immortal Du Sect and rushed towards the South Ocean…
On the night before the Sea God Ceremony began, Li Changshou’s main body had secretly arrived at the rear hall of the Sea God Sect in the South Ocean. He was hiding in the paper effigy’s body and guarding the Sect Master of the Grandmaster of Heaven’s painting.
He scanned the place with his immortal senses and lit hundreds of bonfires. Countless mortals were dancing and singing there.
In a few more hours, guests would come from all directions…
Ah, at such an important moment, I’m missing a good friend whom I can share my feelings with.
Li Changshou sighed in his heart. He did not think that this was bad.
I’ll endure some loneliness first. I’ll have plenty of free time in the future…
“Great, Sea God!”
Without warning, a bitter laughter and a curse sounded from outside the rear hall.
Li Changshou was stunned. Before he could stand up, a burly man with a beard jumped into the rear hall and walked over in a flurry. He stood with his hands on his waist and head held high. He scolded jokingly, “Speak!
Sea God, are you not treating me as a friend?! You invited so many immortals from my sect to attend the ceremony, but you left me alone!
Believe it or not, I will lie down in your Sea God Temple today and not get up!”