After leaving Little Qiong Peak, Jiu Wu looked down at the porcelain bottle in his hand and couldn’t help but silently marvel.
“Who would’ve thought that Junior Nephew Changshou has gotten so close with Elder Wan Linjun, the one known in the sect as the most indifferent and unapproachable?”
“This is seriously good stuff—potent enough to poison a Heavenly Immortal…”
“Changshou went out of his way here. Giving me such a valuable poison pill, just so I can protect myself.”
Jiu Wu chuckled softly, then lifted his sleeve to check the little pouch he used for storage. He picked a pocket inside his sleeve that he wouldn’t confuse with others and tucked the bottle safely away, then resumed his flight toward Po Tian Peak.
Meanwhile, in front of the pill room, Li Changshou was lounging on a recliner, idly playing with the small silver sword in his hands.
“The Dao Repository’s inner hall…”
Tsk. The Dao Repository’s inner hall!
The very core of the Duxian Sect’s knowledge—advanced techniques, spells, alchemy, formations, artifact refining… all stored there in rare, invaluable texts.
Not to mention, it had herbs and treasures that could be exchanged for using monthly contribution points!
Li Changshou felt like he was grinning like a starving man stumbling into a brothel with a purse full of silver from his rich merchant father.
He coughed a couple of times and quickly reined himself back in, returning to his usual calm and composed self.
Still, this did make him happy.
After tribulation and ascension, what he needed most was this kind of foundation.
That said… it wouldn’t be smart to rush over there right away.
Better to lay low for a while—wait until the attention around him within the sect dies down a bit. Then he could head to the inner hall without drawing eyes.
The Dao Repository wasn’t going anywhere. It wasn’t growing legs and running off. And there wasn’t some Yu Gong digging at it either.
As for the poison pill he gave Jiu Wu Shibo, that was a small token of gratitude—and yes, it did come from Elder Wan Linjun.
Every alchemist has their distinct touch when crafting high-grade pills, and Li Changshou’s pills had subtle “personal markers.” In situations like this, it was safer to give away a complete pill from someone else, rather than a compound concocted from his formula.
Especially since his Shishu Jiu Jiu was still in closed-door cultivation. If he suddenly pulled out a powerful poison pill of his own, people would start asking questions—like how he managed to refine such complex toxins and suppress the energies involved.
Speaking of Jiu Jiu Shishu… she’d been secluded for so long. Could it be that she was about to break through to the Heavenly Immortal stage?
Hmm… no, she was probably still a bit short of that realm.
What concerned Li Changshou more was Jiu Wu Shibo himself. He was constantly being sent here and there on sect errands—no doubt affecting his own cultivation time.
And that, perhaps, was one of the reasons why so many Dao cultivators didn’t want to go serve in the Heavenly Court.
Li Changshou stashed the little silver sword away, swept the area near the lake with his spiritual sense, and saw Ling’e still diligently copying scriptures. He sighed softly in his heart.
“Good thing I’ve got a strong heart, or you would’ve scared me into a mental breakdown.”
He activated the surrounding array, used a paper effigy to disguise his form, and turned into a wisp of blue smoke to slip underground, back to his hidden chamber.
Come to think of it, he owed a strange kind of thanks to Second Prince Ao Yi of the Dragon Palace for his habit of stirring up trouble and showing up empty-handed.
Although every encounter with that prince had been a pain, this time, the outcome had been pretty good.
At the Demon Conference held by the Dragon Palace, he’d obtained the cultivation method for Samādhi True Flame.
And when the Jiejiao cultivators came crashing the party this time, he’d ended up with a pass to the Dao Repository’s inner hall…
Well, there was that one time he lost a batch of knockout drugs for nothing, and didn’t even dare ask the Dragon Palace for a “thank-you-for-not-killing-me” gift package…
If he ran into that prince again—
Forget it. Hopefully, they wouldn’t cross paths again.
Li Changshou shook his head, now arriving at the central chamber of his compound array. He walked forward toward a rock wall.
At that same time—
Deep within the treasure pool of Golden Ao Island, Ao Yi was curled up in a corner at the bottom, cultivating a technique called “Condensing Earth Into Ice.”
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.
It pulled him right out of his meditative state.
Memories of that trip to the Duxian Sect resurfaced—he had lost to Li Changshou not once, but twice.
But Ao Yi didn’t hold any resentment over it.
“If I can’t even accept a loss or admit failure, how could I ever hope to do anything meaningful for the dragon race?”
A touch of clarity passed through his eyes.
He also thought back to how he and Brother Changshou had spent the night admiring paintings and composing poetry…
Just from the way Changshou carried himself, he was a refined gentleman—someone truly rare among humans.
“If the opportunity comes, I want to visit the Duxian Sect again.”
As for the fact that five of his fellow disciples from Golden Ao Island had also lost to Duxian Sect disciples—
Well, on the way back, all eight of them had agreed:
Don’t mention it when we get back.
—It’s for the sake of harmonious relations between the two sects, not because we’re embarrassed!
“Uncle Ao Yi?”
A soft voice called from the edge of the pool. The blue dragon lifted his head, and through the clear water, he saw a young girl standing nearby—Han Zhi.
The dragon’s massive head cracked a faint smile as he shifted into his human form and slowly swam up.
Sure, his human form still looked a bit too young, but… well, that didn’t stop him from doing things.
The girl at the edge asked, “Weren’t you in the middle of cultivation? Did I disturb you?”
“I… was just reflecting on a few things, not cultivating. Want to visit the East Sea today?”
“Is it beautiful there?”
“Yeah. There are some stunning sights—coral treasure forests, waterfall groves in the sea…”
Before long, the two of them were riding the clouds, heading toward the East Sea.
Far across the massive island, at the head of the colossal Golden Ao beast, its terrifying eyes cracked open just a sliver again.
But this time… a ripple of warmth stirred within.
Almost like… it was smiling.
Back in the stone passage, Li Changshou was walking carefully while spreading his spiritual sense around Little Qiong Peak, making sure no one was sneaking up.
Next on the agenda: using the huge haul of materials he’d just purchased to refine array cores and upgrade the grand defensive array around Little Qiong Peak.
The materials Jiu Wu Shibo had brought could count as an official reward from the sect. He could now openly improve the outer illusion and trapping formations, while also discreetly adding a few killing formations designed for intruders who didn’t know their place.
As for the large-scale reworking of the outermost formations, that would have to wait until Jiu Jiu Shishu came out of seclusion. His own master’s cultivation level wasn’t quite enough to suppress the spiritual power flow that came with arranging chain arrays.
He opened the wooden door. The underground chamber was now packed to the brim…
Thirty-two jade trays were tilted at an angle, neatly arranged in rows. Inside each compartment lay solidified white “tree sap.”
This was the special “paper” used for the Paper Avatar technique.
The sap had gone through dozens of processing steps to preserve the vitality of living beings, and it could hold both magical and immortal energy.
While it may have looked like Li Changshou casually cut shapes from a piece of paper when creating his Paper Avatars, in truth, this paper was already a kind of magical artifact in its own right.
He moved efficiently, stacking the dried sheets of paper and pressing them down with a piece of beast hide etched with a special seal. Only then did he walk over to his desk.
Creating [Paper Avatars] consumed an enormous amount of paper, so he had to produce a new batch every two years.
As a result, the ancient spiritual trees he had transplanted were noticeably thinner than before…
“I need to start using paper more frugally now.
The Paper Avatar technique still isn’t stable. Using too much would just be a waste.”
Just thinking about how he’d soon gain access to high-tier formations and top-level magical inscriptions—tools that would allow him to perfect his External Incarnation Technique—made Li Changshou chuckle with delight.
“When fortune smiles, even your brows dance. When good luck comes, it comes in waves.”
Still, he quickly suppressed the joy in his heart.
From his past life experience, the happier you are, the more likely a disaster is to strike out of nowhere.
Like that time, after graduating from college, he had a steady girlfriend. His family gave him some startup capital, and he excitedly planned his future, hoping for both love and success…
But—
Within thirty seconds of him voicing his plan, his girlfriend broke up with him on the spot, becoming his ex.
The perfect example of joy turning into sorrow.
He steadied his mindset and started sorting through his materials.
For the next six months, Li Changshou stayed busy in the underground chamber, focused on crafting array foundations and expanding the internal formation network of Little Qiong Peak.
Outside his pill room, the “wind chime” made from a sensory stone didn’t flash even once for two full months…
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152