Chapter 103: The First Battle of Self-Destruction in the Cult of the Gods
Regarding the private meeting of the old diviner with the 'Raven Demon' in the dead of night, Li Changshou was only slightly surprised, not overly astonished. After all, he had realized in his past life that the second most complicated thing in the world was human nature.
To say that the figure appearing in the dead of night was a 'Raven Demon' was not entirely accurate. At this moment, Li Changshou only used the threads of his heavy-pupil spider silk to observe this place from a distance, remotely sensing it with his immortal consciousness.
Apart from knowing that this 'thing' was at the initial stage of the True Immortal Realm, he couldn't directly determine whether the other party was a demonic cultivator. It was also possible that the crow just now was merely a diversion, a shapeshifting technique.
After listening to the diviner's report for a while with his head bowed, the figure soon nodded, throwing two gold ingots and a talisman to the ground, then transformed back into a crow, silently flying away, disappearing in the blink of an eye...
Li Changshou pondered for a moment and, for safety reasons, did not pursue the figure further.
Half an hour later, Li Changshou used his earth-traveling technique to quietly arrive underground at this temple from a hundred miles away in the woods.
From another perspective, this incident could be seen as shocking: In the dead of night, a certain sea god stealthily entered his own temple and laid his hands on the old temple priest! It was inexplicably stimulating.
Because he had to consider whether the other party had staged a play deliberately to lure him, Li Changshou's actions were extremely cautious at the moment.
He did not show himself directly, only using the earth-traveling technique underground to use a bit of Soft Immortal Powder with his fingernail, thoroughly stunning the old diviner who was sleeping soundly with the gold ingots in his arms.
Afterward, Li Changshou took out a thin rope-like magical tool, which extended by itself, quietly emerging from the ground and winding around the old diviner's forehead.
Soul-searching minor art: Illusory Dreaming Dream Technique.
This method could immerse the target into a dream and actively reveal their memories in the dream. The drawback was that it could only be used on people with lower cultivation levels, hence the name "minor art."
After a moment, Li Changshou finished reading the 'tortuous life' of this old diviner, then used the earth-traveling technique to slip away quietly, not lingering too much in this place.
Incidentally, before leaving, he also scattered a bit of 'sobering medicine' to neutralize the effects of the Soft Immortal Powder, ensuring that the old diviner would wake up normally the next day...
Silently completing a round trip, he left no trace behind.
Afterward, Li Changshou found a desolate mountain and old forest, where he instructed the paper figurine to stop its activities underground and began to sort out the various pieces of information he had obtained from the old diviner.
This old diviner...
On the surface, he was the 'temple priest' of his Sea God Cult, but in reality, he was also the informant for seven factions within a radius of three thousand miles, including the Raven God Cult, the Male and Female Cult, the Old God Cult, and the Great Disaster Cult!
Regarding this kind of informant, Li Changshou, the Sea God, was deeply moved.
If there were more talents like this, would he still need to come all the way here to personally dismantle his own cult?
That crow just now was the envoy of the Raven God Cult, and the other party tasked the old diviner with monitoring the appearance of 'strange individuals' here...
The conflicts between cults that Li Changshou had sensed before were actually initiated by the Raven God Cult and the Sea God Cult fighting over incense and territory, with the Raven God Cult taking the initiative.
Li Changshou had to seriously consider a very serious question.
The core of the entire Sea God Cult was actually the villagers of Xiong Village, all of whom were 'divine envoys,' with hundreds of robust villagers running around.
They used the vast sea to express the Sea God's sentiments, muscles to propagate the Sea God's teachings, and fists to demonstrate the Sea God's might...
Li Changshou had never managed this place before, and he hadn't even done things like dreams or sensory guidance half a time.
What exactly were these silly bears in Xiong Village relying on to confront these factions with 'True Immortal Realm divine envoys'?
Li Changshou found this quite puzzling, to the point where he had to suspect that someone wanted to fatten up the Sea God Cult before slaughtering it!
The old diviner knew a lot about the internal affairs of the Sea God Cult.
Although the old diviner was now only a small temple priest and held seven other part-time jobs, he still harbored ambitions to climb higher and become a formal divine envoy!
Regarding this...
Li Changshou even thought about showing himself once and promoting this old diviner, placing him in a position where it would be easier to dismantle the Sea God Cult.
Ahem, no more jokes.
Li Changshou came here to let the Sea God Cult collapse naturally, to rid himself of this karma and eliminate this hidden danger.
This process couldn't provoke a large-scale war among the secular cults, couldn't incur karmic obstacles, and had to avoid having the opposite effect, allowing the Sea God Cult to further grow.
Before coming here, Li Changshou had already considered several sets of plans.
Among them, the simplest and most effective one was to find a way to make the South Sea Sea God lose its 'divine aura'; to make these ordinary cult followers feel that they had chosen the wrong god.
Strike at the root!
Li Changshou had also learned that in three days, there would be a massive Sea God celebration in the city of Anshui by the sea.
Because the old diviner was a temple priest in this area and was relatively far away, he couldn't attend this time;
However, according to the information obtained by the old diviner, many 'important figures' of the Sea God Cult and tens of thousands of cult followers would gather in Anshui City to hold a grand Sea God ceremony!
This was a very good opportunity.
At that time, as long as Li Changshou's paper figurines showed up and smashed the statues there, defeated the 'important figures' of the Sea God Cult face-to-face...
He could directly prove that the Sea God did not exist.
After that, as long as similar actions were taken several more times, the Sea God Cult would naturally disintegrate!
Although the steps of the plan were simple and there weren't many experts to deal with, Li Changshou still didn't dare to be the slightest bit negligent...
He must carefully investigate, plan meticulously, make thorough arrangements, and consider everything!
Strive to remain motionless, and once he did, he would destroy the Sea God!
That very night, Li Changshou began his operation.
He first quickly circled within the sphere of influence of the Sea God Cult, using his immortal consciousness to inspect various temples of the Sea God Cult.
Two days before the Sea God ceremony began, Li Changshou arrived near Anshui City, conducting a detailed investigation of the divine envoys here and secretly probing the villagers of Xiong Village;
Li Changshou had already confirmed that these 'divine envoys' of his were at most just ordinary people with the strength of a thousand or eight hundred jin, with few having cultivation bases, and even those who did were only at the Qi Refining Realm or the Nascent Soul Realm...
Next, Li Changshou constantly checked and made up for deficiencies in his plan.
In order to prevent the Sea God ceremony from being disrupted by the Raven God Cult, he hid two paper figurines outside Anshui City, ready to strike at any time.
If the Raven God Cult came to cause trouble, it would inevitably lead to a factional conflict, perhaps even a bloody tragedy, adding to his karma as the Sea God.
Gotta stay vigilant.
Later, Li Changshou also secretly investigated the alchemists possibly associated with the Sea God Sect. Finally, he only found out that the daughter of a high-ranking god envoy of the Sea God Sect had gone to the Immortal Realm to study under an immortal.
It should be a girl from some Bear Village who entered a sect in Central Shenzhou.
Li Changshou couldn't help but think of the figure of the girl named Xiong Lingli. But time was short, and he couldn't confirm it.
Just being a disciple who had just joined the sect for a few years couldn't do much.
Although this situation had to be taken into consideration, there was no need to be overly nervous.
Over the course of two days, Li Changshou continuously focused on the details and loopholes, striving for a flawless plan.
He took precautions and made arrangements for every situation he could think of.
This time should be stable...
Well, can't say that too easily.
Can't be careless at this time, and can't rule out any absurd possibilities...
The night before the Sea God Ceremony, in Anshui City.
Li Changshou's paper Daoist remained hidden in the small courtyard he rented, constantly pondering.
The ceremony would start in the morning and last for a day and night; Anshui City was crowded with Sea God Sect followers, and the streets were exceptionally lively.
For miles around, Li Changshou couldn't detect any threats.
He remained highly vigilant until midnight, unconsciously dawn had arrived.
Amidst the clamor of gongs and drums, the city was filled with bustling crowds, and colorful cloths hung everywhere.
A towering two-story high statue of the Sea God was carried out of the local temple by eight strong god envoys from Bear Village, starting the parade...
Countless followers crowded around the statue, and people of all ages rushed to burn incense and bow along the way.
Li Changshou could clearly feel his merits and virtues soar a little!
"If I were a Great Luo Golden Immortal now, I'd gladly accept these merits and virtues. But alas..."
With a sigh, Li Changshou didn't feel any regret.
Compared to merits and virtues, one's life was paramount.
Now was the time for the parade before the ceremony; when the statue settled outside the city and the followers gathered...
That would be his best opportunity to strike!
He continued to monitor various places, not relaxing his vigilance even against ordinary people.
At the same time, Li Changshou's paper Daoist couldn't probe into certain areas...
In the South Sea, on the sea surface two thousand miles away from Anshui City.
An immortal ship surrounded by celestial light floated, resembling a shell with a hundred-foot diameter from front to back.
A group of South Sea Dragon Palace's dragon guards stood at the edge of the ship.
To entertain Ao Yi and Han Zhi, the Second Prince of the South Sea Dragon Palace, Ao Mou, called his own "Guard of Honor" to serve as bodyguards.
Hundreds of these dragon guards were all at the later stage of True Immortal Realm!
Such dragon guards were also considered one of the highlights of the Dragon Palace; using True Immortals as soldiers was a big move that even the Heavenly Court could hardly match.
For the past half month, Ao Mou had been leading Ao Yi and Han Zhi to tour around the South Sea, enjoying themselves.
Exploring the immortal islands at sea, admiring the magnificent underwater scenery, visiting the treasure pools of the Dragon Palace, and exploring the secrets of the sea tribes...
Han Zhi's mood had also eased slightly; having her master abducted was like losing a close relative, and it would take some time for Han Zhi to fully recover.
Today, they were floating in this area just for a leisurely stroll.
At this moment, Han Zhi was learning music from several female musicians at the sea tribe.
A group of beautiful sea maidens danced gracefully, but the two Second Princes of the Dragon Palace stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the land to the north without appreciating the dancing sea maidens...
When the Dragon Tribe's predicament was mentioned, Ao Mou also sighed and tactfully expressed his views.
Ten-year-old Ao Yi felt "Everyone is drunk, but I am sober."
At eleven or twelve, Ao Yi realized that many of the people around him were just pretending to be drunk.
Nowadays, Ao Yi already understood that many members of the Dragon Tribe were aware of the tribe's problems, but were powerless to change anything.
But there were also those who were indifferent to such major events, spending their days in drunken stupor—just like Ao Mou.
Ao Yi stood with his hands behind his back, his somewhat delicate young face exuding an air of mature composure gained from experience.
"Our tribe, when will it rise again among the clouds, laughing proudly among the hundred tribes?"
"Big brother, you're thinking too broadly," Ao Mou chuckled, "Isn't it exhausting living like this? Everything we can think of, the older generation must have thought of already. What they can do, they must have done already. We're just worrying for nothing."
"How will we know if we don't try?"
Ao Yi sighed softly, about to say something more when he suddenly saw a cloud of mist rising in the north.
In the midst of the clouds, there was a strand of golden light, dissipating quietly in the sky...
"What's that?"
"I don't know," Ao Mou shouted, "Prime Minister Turtle, come explain!"
The Prime Minister Turtle waiting nearby quickly responded, his turtle shell on his back, leaning on his cane, observing for a moment before saying:
"Reporting to the two princes, that's the merit and virtue cloud phenomenon produced by the human race when they worship the Sea God of the South Sea. In recent years, a Sea God Sect has risen in the South Sea region, and its development has been particularly rapid. We've also investigated secretly, but we don't know who this Sea God is."
"Fortune and blessings... That's nice."
Ao Yi's eyes carried a hint of emotion, a faint bitter smile on his lips.
On the side, Ao Mou's anger flared instantly.
"Even the South Sea Dragon Palace doesn't dare to call itself the Sea God of the South Sea! Men, mount up! Let's go check out this phenomenon! I want to see what this Sea God of the Sea God Sect is all about!"
Although the Prime Minister Turtle hesitated to speak, several dragon guard leaders not far away immediately agreed.