Chapter Sixty-Six: Turns Out It's You Messing Around
After a feast, everyone was in high spirits.
Li Changshou brought wine, but Wan Linyun only had a little sip before leaving both barrels behind. The elder wasn't much into drinking or food, but he enjoyed discussing poison techniques and theories with Li Changshou while they ate.
Upon returning from Dan Ding Peak, Li Changshou received a bunch of herbs from Elder Wan Linyun. He felt a bit embarrassed since he was just paying a visit, but the elder was overly enthusiastic.
It was rare to find a cultivator interested in poison, and Li Changshou's skill in poison wasn't low, so they had plenty to talk about.
"Can't go to Dan Ding Peak too often, lest we attract attention. Let's wait two years before the next visit," Li Changshou calculated as he landed in front of Xiao Qiong Peak's alchemy room.
Sitting on a rocking chair, he held a scroll that had been treated with immortal techniques, ready to start today's contemplation and reading session.
Seeing Ling'E outside the alchemy room with the formations undone, her face full of frustration, Li Changshou waited for her to speak, but she hesitated.
She wanted her senior brother's praise for her "exploding rice" stunt but was afraid he would scold her for wasting his efforts.
After waiting for a while without her saying anything, Li Changshou looked at his junior sister and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Senior brother," Ling'E said, lowering her head, "Master went to the main peak for a summit meeting. Do you think there will be any problems here?"
Li Changshou thought for a moment before shaking his head slightly and replied, "There shouldn't be any problems. Master's enemies can't become the peak master now, so don't worry. Master is probably just listening quietly in a corner, with the lowest seniority and unable to speak. Given Master's temperament, he must be feeling very uncomfortable."
At the corner of Poxian Peak, sitting on a cushion in the farthest corner, the old Taoist, with his head lowered, adjusted his posture to sit more upright.
Meanwhile, Li Changshou looked at Ling'E, who seemed absent-minded, and smiled, "You've done well this time, worrying about Master and coming to discuss with me. Where was this thoughtfulness before? Alright, I won't dwell on the past. Focus on your cultivation from now on."
Ling'E blinked and asked softly, "Senior brother, were you just praising me?"
Li Changshou chuckled, "Am I usually so fierce as to scold you every day?"
"You always criticize me..."
Ling'E made a face, her mood suddenly changing. Before, she was like a frostbitten eggplant, but now she was as bright as a tomato after the rain.
"Senior brother, this furnace looks so cool."
"Don't touch it. It bites."
"Well... I'm not twelve or thirteen years old anymore..."
"I set up a safety device so others won't mess with the pill furnace."
Li Changshou smiled calmly and sat outside the door, continuing to read.
Beside the pill furnace, Ling'E, nursing her reddened fingertips, tilted her head and looked at the relief on it. Then she wandered around the room, found a scripture she had only read halfway through before, grabbed a cushion, and went to sit outside with her senior brother, one on each side like door gods.
The afternoon sun was warm, and the wind rustled through the trees; insects chirped, water flowed, and butterflies fluttered while clouds drifted away.
Li Changshou occasionally had insights but remained composed, accepting everything without showing any fluctuations in his breath. With his higher realm, he now had control over when to enter a state of enlightenment.
He used to worry most about entering a state of enlightenment during a fight with someone, but now that was no longer a concern.
"Senior brother, what realm are you in now?"
"Fourth stage of the Returning Void Realm."
"Oh, that's impressive," Ling'E replied casually, then lowered her head to continue reading, absorbing some of the texts into her heart.
...
In the Celestial Court, the Moon God Hall was enveloped in a large formation.
Two boys held up two wooden signs and sat in front of the closed hall door.
The one on the right read: "Moon God is not at home."
The one on the left read: "Heavenly Dao protects this place."
The smaller boy muttered, "Brother, if we don't tell Master the truth, will things get out of hand?"
"Hush, do you want Master to turn us back into tree branches?" The bigger boy rolled his eyes. "Originally, we were just two branches of a lovesick tree. It was hard enough for Master to enlighten us. Don't worry, Master will surely find a solution."
"Oh," the little boy pursed his lips, feeling helpless.
And so, these two boys waited day after day, half a year passed, but the Moon God never returned.
Where had the Moon God gone?
In fact, he hadn't gone far from the Marriage Hall. He went to a more remote immortal hall and found a certain immortal official who usually had nothing to do, bringing some gifts to make up for his mistakes.
The Moon God understood that he had no backing and dared not offend anyone. It was precisely because of this that the Jade Emperor had placed him in the position of Moon God. Only he wouldn't favor any particular power.
Usually, when generals or immortals came to ask for a marriage, it was a trivial matter. However, if the Moon God were to manipulate marriages using the authority given by the Heavenly Dao, not to mention his own karma, it would indeed lead to a big problem.
However, the Heavenly Dao constantly monitored the Moon God Hall. If the Moon God even had the thought of manipulating marriages, he would be warned by the Heavenly Dao, punished twice, and directly obliterated by the Purple Sky Divine Thunder after three warnings.
As the Celestial Court declined, the Daoist sect grew stronger. Even if it were an ordinary teacher teaching disciples, the Moon God didn't want to offend them.
The problem arose from the mistake made by the Great Mage Xuan Du's sudden intervention, but Xuan Du was protected by a saint and had the Taiji Diagram, so he wouldn't be affected by cause and effect, and his strength was formidable.
How could a small Moon God dare to push the blame onto Great Mage Xuan Du?
He had to take responsibility for this matter.
The Moon God pondered all night, realizing that the longer he procrastinated, the easier it would be to make mistakes, so he must deal with it quickly and properly.
After much consideration, the Moon God made up his mind and left the Marriage Hall directly, heading to the "Divine Authority Hall."
At this moment, the Moon God was standing in front of the "Star Dreaming Sky Instrument" with an unnamed celestial official in golden armor, who was explaining in detail:
"Hey, Moon Deity, don't worry.
...When it comes to dream messaging, it's beyond our reach for the Great Luo Golden Immortals, they're too detached from the world. But for Golden Immortals and Heavenly Immortals, it's no big deal.
Not to mention, he's just a little Qi Cultivator in his hundred-something years. But one thing you need to understand, dream messaging can only involve talking in dreams, can't do anything else;
This is just a treasure bestowed by the heavens to showcase our Heavenly Court's might, it's just for show, that's why we call it the Divine Authority Hall here.
As long as the other party is distracted, absent-minded, drunk, mentally fatigued, tired, or weak, moments when their mind is relaxed, or during meditation, we can extend an invitation to enter their dreams.
But if the other party isn't willing to dream, then there's nothing we can do.
You're looking for the disciple of the Du Immortal Sect, Li Changshou, right?
Don't worry, just a young disciple, he'll be here in no time...
Huh?
How come there's no record of him?"
The golden-armored celestial official's neck thrust forward, staring at the unchanged Starry Dream Array.
Beside him, the Moon Deity smiled gently, continuing to wait.
The celestial official hurriedly said, "Moon Deity, are you sure about this name and title? Any specific birth details?"
"Yes, yes, the Marriage Hall has the birth details," the Moon Deity said with a smile, quickly pulling out a piece of paper from her sleeve.
This time, the celestial official lowered his head and fiddled for a while, and the huge Dream Array finally began to slowly operate.
Half an hour later, the celestial official breathed a long sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead...
"Phew—
The Dream Array has found him, he's at the Du Immortal Sect's mountain gate right now. It's no wonder he's a disciple of the People Teaching, protected by a congenital treasure, it's really hard to find!
Look, Moon Deity, when that starlight lights up, it means he's asleep or distracted, and then we can invite him into the dream realm..."
"Is that so?" the Moon Deity asked softly.
The celestial official smiled, "Yes, Moon Deity, just wait a moment. Generally, within half a day, he'll definitely be distracted."
The Moon Deity hurriedly expressed her thanks, while the celestial official waved his hand repeatedly, saying that they were all colleagues in the same hall, exchanging these pleasantries. However, half a day later...
One day later...
Two days later...
"Why isn't it lighting up yet?" the celestial official muttered with a frown, responsible for dream messaging.
The Moon Deity smiled, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm fine, just a little trouble, thank you for your trouble." "It's nothing, it's nothing. It's been years since anyone's come here to see me.
I don't believe he can go a whole month without being distracted."
So, a month later.
The Moon Deity and the celestial official sat cross-legged in front of the Starry Dream Array, four eyes staring at the dim starlight above.
Two months later...
The celestial official's eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse:
"Is this thing broken?
A disciple of the sect, staying in his own sect, how can he go so long without relaxing his mind?
Even when we send dream messages to Golden Immortals, they don't wait this long..."
"This..." the Moon Deity whispered, "Should we just forget about it?"
The celestial official waved his hand, "No!
I'm a person who follows through on what I say!
Why don't you go back and attend to your marriage affairs, and I'll continue to wait here! If I receive any news, I'll let you know!"
The Moon Deity hurriedly said there was no need, continuing to wait patiently on the side, observing her Marriage Hall with her divine awareness, afraid that some great deity might appear. Six months later...
The celestial official, lying on the ground, sighed softly, his voice low:
"Should we try a different approach?
First, send dream messages to other members of the Du Immortal Sect, then have them inform this disciple to meet you in his dreams?"
The Moon Deity suddenly became energized, "That's a good idea!"
"It just feels like I've been played by this little disciple, my authority is fading..."
"Well..."
"Sigh...
How did he manage this? He hasn't given me a single opportunity in six months!" So, half a day later...
As Li Changshou was contemplating the "Non-Action Scripture," Ling E rushed in from outside the woods, forcing him to stop his cultivation and deactivate the outer perimeter array.
"Elder Brother!
A golden-armored celestial just sent a dream message to me, saying he wants to send one to you, asking you to relax your mind. He said he's the Moon Deity of the Heavenly Court's Marriage Hall, and he has something important to discuss with you!"
A dream message? Moon Deity?
Li Changshou frowned, suddenly realizing that things might not be simple.
There's no such thing as someone coming without a reason, there's only calculations I haven't seen!
Previously, there was sudden mental agitation, followed by chaotic thoughts, which forced him to summon his secret treasure—the "Hundred Beauties Old Portrait."
Then there was inexplicable itching in his armpits...
There must be something wrong here!
He vaguely remembered that when analyzing the slightly crooked door rules of the Du Immortal Sect, he had considered the possibility of Moon Deity and the Marriage Red Thread;
Could it be that Moon Deity is really up to no good?
But how dare Moon Deity take action against the People Teaching...
"Ling E, you go back and rest on the rocking chair for a while, or just daydream, don't focus your mind;
If that golden-armored celestial sends another dream message to you, ask him specifically what it's about. I'm busy refining pills here, it's not convenient for me to enter dreams."
"Okay... good."
Ling E blinked, obediently agreeing, and floated away to the rocking chair outside the door.
"Sigh, being used as a tool by Elder Brother again."
She sighed lightly in her heart, but a slight smile appeared on her lips.
It's also quite satisfying to be able to help Elder Brother in any way.