Chapter 82 "Preparation"
"Longevity! If it weren't for the Elder Wan Linjun's poison pill you gave me, I might not have seen you again! Ah!"
On the Poyang Peak, in the residence of the Nine Immortals of the Wine Clan, in the attic of Jiuwu.
It's been two and a half months since the safe return of the Duxianmen group that was attacked. Only after Li Changshou confirmed that Jiuwu's injuries were stable and the fervor of visiting disciples had subsided did he bring Ling E with him to visit Senior Jiuwu.
The old master has been in seclusion, undisturbed by the incident.
During these two and a half months, Li Changshou worked tirelessly day and night, pushing the outer and inner layers of the Great Array of Xiaoqiongfeng to the limit of his ability, exhausting all the precious materials he had accumulated!
But now, he feels a little more at ease.
Just as Li Changshou was led by Jiuwu into the attic, he heard Jiuwu, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, sighing like this.
Li Changshou approached with respect, showing a solemn expression, and bowed to Jiuwu together with his junior sister.
Ling E placed the replenished wine she was carrying aside and was then pulled away by Jiuwu to the side room.
This replenished wine was specially brewed by Li Changshou for Jiuwu, capable of replenishing vitality, stopping losses, stabilizing the source, and strengthening muscles and bones.
"Ah," Li Changshou sighed too, walking to the side of the bed.
Because Li Changshou had previously instructed Jiuwu not to reveal the incident of his "dream" to others, even to the extent of not mentioning it to Jiuwu himself.
Even so, Jiuwu still felt grateful to Li Changshou, all because that pill had saved his life at a critical moment.
"Senior, how are your injuries?"
"Okay," Jiuwu sighed lightly, then said with emotion, "It's just that two fellow disciples who traveled with me suffered misfortune. They met their end in Central Shenzhou, unable to return."
Li Changshou nodded, sighing again at the unpredictability of life.
The two of them lamented for a while, and then Li Changshou got straight to the point...
"Senior, how is the investigation going?"
"We've made some progress, but it's still not much," Jiuwu said with a hint of helplessness. "I don't know how to put it... This matter may be related to the major Daoist sects of the Chan Sect. Someone seems unwilling for the Tri-Sect Conference to proceed smoothly and seems to be causing trouble in secret."
Li Changshou muttered to himself...
'This matter is definitely not that simple.'
But he didn't say much, just sighed, "This matter is indeed too big."
"Indeed," Jiuwu shook his head, full of regret. "Changshou, speaking of that poison pill you gave me..."
"Senior, do you want a couple more for self-defense?"
"Exactly, Senior can use Immortal Treasures, Immortal Pills, or any other treasures you desire to exchange!" Jiuwu said firmly.
But Li Changshou shook his head slowly, showing a serious expression, and said, "The poison pill I gave you last time was actually given to me by Elder Wan Linjun, for me to study alchemy techniques. Senior, why not go find Elder Wan Linjun... Senior, I'm telling you this."
Whispering here and there.
Jiuwu quickly agreed with a nod, looking pensive;
Although Elder Wan Linjun did have a "notorious" reputation, the potency of that poison pill was only realized after using it once...
Sometimes, an Immortal Pill for self-preservation is equivalent to a life, and a poison pill capable of killing is also equivalent to a life.
Jiuwu said, "Okay, later I will take Shishi with me to visit this Elder Wan Linjun."
Li Changshou nodded gently, then remembered Elder Wan Linjun's self-created supernatural power.
He, too, would go visit and ask the Elder to impart this supernatural power called the "Poison Cleansing Hand" to him... for self-defense.
Li Changshou inquired eagerly about many details of the last attack in front of Jiuwu, and Jiuwu was forthcoming with all the information.
And when Li Changshou asked why the five of them had secretly ventured out, Jiuwu transmitted his voice:
"I only mentioned this to the Sect Master and the Elders. The order within the sect is not to spread the word; if it weren't for you, I would definitely not speak about it. It was a senior brother... Ah, it was a disciple serving in the sect who mentioned that someone from the Great Sects of the Dao was planning to secretly meet with our Duxianmen group and instructed us on some matters related to the Tri-Sect Conference, leading the four of us into an ambush. Among those who ambushed us were three Heavenly Immortals and sixteen True Immortals. Before the battle began, that disciple fell instantly... When we checked later, his primordial spirit was also shriveled, his primordial energy and divine soul were completely drained. From the identity of the attackers, it seems to be the Immortal Sect of the Chan Sect."
Li Changshou was shocked, with a trace of fear on his face, and sighed with Jiuwu again.
The two of them murmured to each other for a while, attracting the spiritual and immortal senses from the adjacent room to come probing over.
Soon, Li Changshou asked the final question of this visit:
"Senior Jiuwu, I found a jade slip in the inner hall of the Taoist Scriptures Hall, which seems to mention... a underground vein escape formation under the sect...?"
Jiuwu suddenly smiled bitterly and transmitted to Li Changshou:
"Indeed, the Elders, Peak Masters, and the older generation of disciples all know about it, but they all secretly kept silent about it. After the catastrophe of the demonic beasts stealing the treasure thousands of years ago, the sect master felt that we must keep a back-up plan. So, for disciples whose strength in battle is insufficient, we made an escape route. That vein leads to the coast of the East Sea. If a powerful enemy attacks, disciples can go underground in the Hall of Hundred Manifestations and use the teleportation array to escape, thus avoiding being affected. However, there is only one path down from the Hall of Hundred Manifestations."
Li Changshou suddenly realized, with a smile in his heart...
Now, he can officially announce that there are two paths to the underground vein teleportation array!
And he had never seen or heard of any jade slip related to the underground vein escape route, it was purely...
Discovered directly!
About half a month ago, Li Changshou, who was preparing to set up an escape route for the underground veins of Xiao Qiong Peak, almost destroyed the large array beneath it by digging through the underground veins. The so-called underground vein shifting array is not actually complicated. Despite the term "shifting," it's not like the "Qiankun Great Array". It simply utilizes the power of the underground veins to instantly teleport thousands of miles away. This arrangement by the sect saved Li Changshou a lot of effort. However, for the sake of caution, Li Changshou still left a small underground vein shifting array in a more remote location, with the direction opposite to the main one made by the sect. This also exhausted his last reserves of precious materials. Jiuwu reminded, "This matter should not be disclosed easily, as it could easily make disciples anxious." Li Changshou nodded in agreement, changed the subject, and discussed matters of recuperation and healing...
Half an hour later, Jiu Shi brought a bowl of soup and a bottle of elixir from the side and said softly, "Wu Wu, it's time to take your medicine."
Li Changshou watched this scene, reminiscent of the famous painting "Big Brother, It's Time to Take Your Medicine" from a past life, and tactfully got up to bid farewell to the two senior brothers.
The junior sister floated out from the room and bowed to Jiuwu and Jiushi. Jiujiu initially wanted to accompany them to Xiao Qiong Peak, but then thought that he shouldn't be too carefree.
So, he and Jiushi accompanied Li Changshou and Ling E out, waved goodbye to the two of them, and continued to stand guard by Wuxiong's side...
Playing around had to be done at the right time. Li Changshou took his junior sister to the Bai Fan Hall, bowed to the portrait of Taichu Laozi, and then returned to Xiao Qiong Peak...
On the cloud path, Ling E saw that Li Changshou's face was a bit gloomy and whispered, "Senior Brother, is the problem serious?" "With so little information known now, it's hard to say," Li Changshou said to his junior sister, "I'm going to seclude myself in the alchemy room for a few days and think carefully about this matter.
If there's any anomaly within the sect, you must immediately crush the message token I gave you. Don't worry about wasting it; I can refine more." "Okay,"
Ling E nodded lightly and watched her senior brother descend into the alchemy room, standing on the cloud and sighing softly.
Although she also wanted to be as nervous as her senior brother and make herself tense, when she looked around the sect, everything was peaceful as usual... 'Is Senior Brother being too sensitive?'
Ling E sighed softly and flew towards her thatched hut.
The large array around the alchemy room was activated, and there was no longer any spiritual energy surging in the woods, which was quite calm. However, if someone with sensitive spiritual perception stood outside the dense forest and looked inside, they might feel their hair standing on end... ...
Upon entering the alchemy room, Li Changshou casually placed a paper puppet incarnation, turning it into blue smoke and returning to the underground secret room.
Taking out a stack of blank scrolls, he spread them out on the ground one by one, then took off his shoes and walked on them.
This wasn't because he needed a special "posture" to meditate...
After half an hour, Li Changshou groped for a homemade charcoal pen, sat cross-legged, and wrote a small line of words on the top left of the top scroll: [If I were the one plotting behind the scenes] Then he drew two arrows, one straight, with the words [The attack and the Qi Refiners on Jin'ao Island have nothing to do with the previous discussions], and the other pointing diagonally to the large blank area below, with the words [Related to the discussions with the Jin Shi].
After contemplating for a while, he drew out some arrows on each item, slowly listing any possible development paths he felt were possible, and then analyzed them one by one...
This time, even the smallest possibility couldn't be overlooked! "There really isn't much information available now."
Only knowing that the person plotting against the Duxianmen had vast magical powers, capable of controlling Heavenly Immortals and Qi Refiners, and could instantly kill these puppets.
Motives could be divided into several possibilities: there was a grudge against the Duxianmen, plotting for the "family fortune" of the Duxianmen...
But the most likely "enemy motive" was circled by Li Changshou: [Interfering with the Three Sects Conference and sowing discord among the Three Religions] Analyzing from the source and verifying the results, not letting go of any logical chain of reasoning; Li Changshou bowed his head to write and draw, his divine sense covering the entire Xiao Qiong Peak, and the charcoal pen in his hand getting shorter and shorter...
After three full days. Li Changshou sighed deeply, sitting behind the desk in the underground secret room, with a "white background and black curtain" set up in front of him, supported by his immortal power.
There were densely packed words, symbols, arrows, and patterns on it; tens of "storylines" and hundreds of possible situations...
Even if the mastermind was unknown, as long as the opponent took the next step, he could find several "storylines" corresponding to it! Li Changshou didn't want to find out who the mastermind was, as it was meaningless; because the other party was probably someone he couldn't touch or would die if he touched them now.
Li Changshou just wanted to react quickly when the other party took action and make the right response...
Directly exposing his own cultivation base would only add one more elder-level combat power to the sect, which wasn't very useful.
Were the elders of each peak still not enough? In a short period of time, he definitely couldn't obtain the right to speak in the Duxianmen. So, it was better to hide his cultivation base and secretly do his best to protect the sect...
And in terms of actual effectiveness, hiding in the dark would allow him to play a greater role. Taking out three wooden plaques, Li Changshou took out a carving knife and began to fiddle with them; using a "disappearing after reading" potion, he wrote three tactics on them, put them in three sachets, and sealed them up.
The first tactic: Cry. He had already planted a foreshadowing with Jiuwu senior brother, who would soon go to see Senior Elder Wanlin Jun, and this sachet would be handed over to Senior Brother Jiuwu by Senior Elder Wanlin Jun.
It strictly ordered Senior Brother Jiuwu to stay in the sect and ensure that if the sect was attacked or the mountain protection array was broken, he must open this sachet.
The so-called "crying" wasn't just crying randomly; it had to be convincing.
Li Changshou wrote on this wooden tablet:
[Go to the Baifan Hall, find the ancestral portrait, burst into tears from the bottom of your heart, speak of the profound teachings of the Du Xianmen, originally uninvolved with the world, yet exploited by others, intending to destroy the teachings of humanity, instigating discord among the three schools, seeking the manifestation of the ancestors...]
The second pouch is for Senior Jiu Jiu, it must be given to her after a major event occurs, cannot be given directly to her.
The third pouch is for the master, it clearly states that I need the master's help to protect something, but it's actually to have the master protect and escort my junior sister away.
In the event of a sect war, the master will definitely take charge and must prepare in advance. Li Changshou himself doesn't need anyone to protect him, after discovering signs of trouble everywhere, his main body will definitely be in an extremely safe place...
After sealing the pouches, Li Changshou muttered:
"Prepare for war!"
Uh, it's like I'm the only soldier.
He swept his hand across the table, and two rows of small paper figures jumped out of his sleeve, saluting Li Changshou in unison.
Li Changshou smiled and did it again.
"Prepare for war!"
The small paper figures instantly became aggressive, waving their hands fiercely.
No more jokes. The three most urgent things I need to do now are: Quickly expand the 'poison weapon arsenal' and increase the quantity of poison powder without limit;
Strengthen the paper Daoist, so that I can control it with my divine sense without completely focusing all my attention on it;
Gain the deep trust of Elder Wanlin Jun, which is a big thigh with deterrent power not inferior to that of a golden immortal! Standing up, Li Changshou looked at the central part of the 'black curtain' in front of him, where the words "Culprit" were written, with a glint in his eyes.
'Whether you're from the west, the north, or you have a grudge against my Du Xianmen, or you're from the Chanjiao and don't want the three schools to reconcile, as long as you dare to move! Hmph! I dare to run...' ...
Six months later, in the central region of Mid-Shenzhou, at the gate of the Jinguangmen Mountain.
Three figures flew out of the Immortal Island, these were the three Qi Refiners of Jingu Island, who agreed to return to Jingu Island together as they were a bit tired of staying here.
These three people happened to be among those who had visited the Du Xianmen that day;
The other two had heard Elder Yuanze complain and empathized, deciding to return to Jingu Island to cultivate early.
It's better to spend time here than to return to freedom! The white clouds flew thousands of miles, and Elder Yuanze stood at the back, a trace of blood flashing in his eyes, took two steps forward, and suddenly said,
"Fellow Daoists..."
The two turned back, but suddenly heard a buzzing sound, before they could react, their necks felt a sting, and their bodies were about to fall backward.
Elder Yuanze reached out to support the two middle-aged men and continued to fly towards the southeast without any change in his demeanor as if nothing had happened;
Another half a month later;
Elder Yuanze stopped in a dense forest at the border of Mid-Shenzhou and Dongsheng Shenzhou, surrounded by a group of black shadows gathering from various places in the forest, all kneeling around the three people.
These shadows, whether they were demons, humans, or spirits, were all shrouded in black clothes, concealing their breath;
The only commonality among them may be the faint, already healed scars on their necks.
A demon held three trays and knelt in front of the three people, the trays shining with blood, each containing a fist-sized, seven-petal blood-red lotus.
At this moment, only Elder Yuanze and the other two could see a faint blood-colored figure constantly flickering and floating around them...
This figure had a vague face, an exaggerated figure, overly seductive.
She whispered something softly in the ears of the three people, her gentle voice penetrating into their hearts.
"Swallow it... swallow it...
This is the immortality you have always sought...
The Three Schools Conference was originally a plan by the Chanjiao to suppress the Jiejiao. You now have the means to stop it...
Only you can stop it... Hurry up and exterminate the Du Xianmen, the Du Xianmen..."
The three Qi Refiners of Jingu Island, led by Elder Yuanze, each picked up a seven-petal blood lotus and said together: "We obey! This time, we won't fail!"
Tens of thousands of miles away, in a deep valley somewhere, the Daoist Wenzhen, sitting on a jade-colored cushion, chuckled coldly. She didn't intervene much, turned around, and flew towards the west.
Controlling the Jiejiao Qi Refiners, arranging puppets to attack the Du Xianmen's five immortals at the Jinguangmen, was to draw attention to the Du Xianmen from all sides;
Then, let the Jiejiao Qi Refiners, disguised as the Chanjiao Xianzong and allied with the demons, go and destroy the small Du Xianmen...
The plot was in place. This was both a conspiracy and a plan. And her...
How could she continue to show herself? If she accidentally attracted the big senior brother of the Jiejiao, she wouldn't be sure of escaping.
It's wise to leave before the incident occurs, secretly return to the Western School, and watch the show from afar; If these three people succeed or fail, directly make them disappear without a trace, leaving behind clues pointing to the Jiejiao and Chanjiao, to end it all.
'This time, what will those useless deputy masters reward me with? Hmph, what will they use to show their respect to Queen Wenzhen!
These useless bastards, if it weren't for the protection of the two elders... I'll drain you dry sooner or later!' Daoist Wenzhen chuckled, her figure disappeared, leaving only the faint sound of mosquitoes gradually fading away.