Chapter 493 Changgeng’s Steadiness!
On the “Fairy Platform” in the middle of the venue of the Immortal Alliance Meeting, a certain ordinary authoritative god of the Heavenly Courts, who was not famous, squatted in a corner and fiddled with it with the righteous Heavenly Duke Ming.
Lu Yue stood at the side and did not look at the situation.
“Changgeng, aren’t we going overboard by doing this?”
“Brother, now that you mention it, I think it’s a little too much… Why don’t you expand it? This size is not stable yet.”
“Great! Little Yue, come over and help. Don’t just stand there!”
Zhao Gongming called out. Lu Yue hurriedly walked forward.
The mighty figure of Jie School, who had once chatted and laughed with the fairies in the World Edge Mystic Realm and guided the world, was like an apprentice at that moment. He quickly walked to the side of the “master”.
“Senior Brother, what do you need me to do?”
Zhao Gongming handed over a brush and chuckled. “Use the brush to draw this side. Changgeng said that the colors have to be more outstanding.”
Lu Yue hurriedly said, “Sometimes, alchemy needs to be harmonized like this. Senior Brother, don’t worry. There won’t be any mistakes!”
Zhao Gongming stroked his beard and chuckled. He stood up and moved to the other side.
Li Changshou looked up at Lu Yue and smiled warmly. He lowered his head and continued painting…
Not long after, a thirty-feet-long portrait slowly floated up. It was drawn by Daoist Randeng
Then, Li Changshou nominated again.
“The best person in the Three Realms of the Burning Incense Divine Kingdom!”
Zhao Gongming jumped into the clouds and sized it up. He clicked his tongue in wonder. “Changgeng, your efforts are really impressive.”
Lu Yue smiled and said, “That’s right. It’s a little unfair to earn a reputation for this Alliance Master!”
“Ah, Senior Brother Lu Yue, you can’t say that.”
Li Changshou said seriously, “Now that the Divine Kingdom of Incense is wreaking havoc in the various worlds, our priority is to unite all the factions that can be united and save the living beings of the world. Come, let’s hang this portrait of the Alliance Leader beside the Fairy Platform. I’ll use my immortal power to reinforce it…”
Zhao Gongming and Lu Yue placed their hands on each other’s sides and added some “Burning Lamp” elements to the venue.
Lu Yue pondered for a while and asked, “However, there’s a problem. Junior Brother Changgeng, have you thought about it? We are making such a huge commotion for Daoist Randeng. If the factions who are participating in the Immortal Alliance Meeting really treat Randeng as the mediator, wouldn’t we be making a fool of ourselves?” “Your eyes are good.” Zhao Gongming chuckled.
Li Changshou put away his various brushes, took out his horsetail whisk, and placed it on his elbow.
“It was a scheme to make Randeng the leader of the Immortal Alliance. Previously, the Immortal Alliance and the Western Sect were at odds with each other in the Trichiliocosm. The Western Sect would definitely use all means to destroy the Immortal Alliance’s first meeting. I invited Randeng to relieve some of the pressure. After all, the Dao Sect immortals know that Randeng is on good terms with some Qi Refinement cultivators of the Western Sect… In that case, the Western Sect will consider whether to place the treasure on Randeng and try to make the Immortal Alliance work for them or use it as a path to negotiate with other immortal Dao factions.”
Lu Yue asked again, “How can the Western Sect be easily fooled?”
“They have no choice.” Zhao Gongming smiled and said, “Changgeng invited us over to tell the Western Sect that if they start a war with the Immortal Union, our Dao Sect can interfere with the matters of the Trichiliocosm.”
“Now that the Great Tribulation has arrived, if the Western Sect dares to provoke the Dao Sect, we will definitely be willing to fight them with Chan School. We can just obtain some ashes to fill the Tribulation Luck.”
“Brother, you’re right.” Li Changshou smiled and said, “It’s not good for anyone if the matter gets blown up. The Western Sect is actually seeking to survive the great calamity safely.”
Lu Yue was still a little worried…
“However, what if the Western Sect doesn’t recognize the matter regarding the Burning Incense Divine Kingdom or deliberately avoid us…”
“Hahahahaha!”
Zhao Gongming’s laughter was extremely loud. He puffed out his chest and raised his head. He looked radiant. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the Goddess of Golden Spirit, who was setting up a flying Dharma treasure.
“This is why I’m here! Changgeng had always been known for his thorough planning. How could he have neglected this matter? I have a method that can make the Western Sect unable to defend themselves. They will definitely not dare to act rashly and let us firmly hold the initiative!”
Lu Yue stretched his neck and asked, “What kind of method?”
“This…” Li Changshou tried to salvage the situation.
“Junior Brother, come closer!”
Zhao Gongming excitedly asked Lu Yue to go over.
The two big hands of Jie School muttered. Li Changshou could only hear some words like “lie down”, “oath templates”, and “It seems like you are going to start a war between the sects.”
Li Changshou was rendered speechless.
He swore to Fairy Yun Xiao that he had invited Zhao Gongming over purely because he wanted to eat the future God of Fortune and the pair of… ahem!
It was purely because he valued Master Zhao and the Goddess of Golden Spirit. They had the ability to flip the table at any time!
Li Changshou looked around and pondered for a while. He began to design the most important segment of the venue.
The seats.
There were dozens of short tables and meditation cushions around the huge lotus platform, which was filled with the aura of “rushing” and “barren”. They were naturally prepared for the people from the immortal dao factions.
The big shots of the Immortal Alliance had to take their seats at the center of the “Fairy Platform”.
Li Changshou swept his horsetail whisk and layers of ripples appeared on the stone surface, forming two rows of seats. In the middle of the two rows of seats, there was another round chair that was twice the size. He took out a golden silk and used his immortal power to condense the words’ Leader’s Throne ‘and placed it around the round chair.
The golden light was rather eye-catching.
Li Changshou smiled and said, “Let’s think about where we can add some touches that will remind others of Deputy Sect Master Randeng. We have to make this Alliance Leader shine brightly.”
Lu Yue was still pondering when Zhao Gongming gently smacked his palm. He was already inspired.
Hence, half a month later, on the day of the Immortal Alliance Meeting…
A white cloud floated across the sky. It was not far from the small world where the Immortal Alliance Meeting was held.
On the white cloud, two men who had changed their appearances were quietly meditating.
However, even though they had changed their appearance, they still retained their most prominent symbol. The middle-aged Daoist had a wisp of goatee, while the other was five feet tall…
The two of them were naturally the ancient demon sage, Bai Ze, and the current chief warden of the Immortal Arrival Hall-Jiu Wu.
Jiu Wu was secretly transmitting a voice transmission. “Mr. Bai, is it really Chang, ahem, senior who asked us to come? Why do I feel so uncertain?”
Bai Ze smiled and said, “Of course. Otherwise, why do you think I would dare to come here? Now is the time for us to keep a low profile.”
“Then why are we here?”
Bai Ze smacked his lips, his face filled with helplessness. “Perhaps, we will become stable. That lord wants me to detect any dangers for the meet. The path ahead is peaceful and carefree. There should be no calamity.”
Jiu Wu thought about it and laughed. Bai Ze sent a voice transmission. “Later, just say that we are Itinerant Immortals without any power and have come here to join the Immortal Alliance. At the same time, let’s try and see if we can infiltrate the spies from the Western Sect and obtain some useful information. This trip will not be in vain.”
“Sir, just make the arrangements.” Jiu Wu smiled and said, “I’m weak, but I can still run errands.”
As he spoke, dozens of streams of light rushed past him. They were the Qi Refinement cultivators who were rushing to the Immortal Union Meeting.
Bai Ze said, “We should hurry.”
He tapped his finger in front of him. The white cloud sped up and chased after the dozens of streams of light towards the venue of the Immortal Alliance Meeting.
An hour later, Bai Ze and Jiu Wu had already arrived at the edge of the small world. They saw the huge lotus platform that was enveloped by the array formation and the white clouds floating around it.
The clouds were filled with immortals. At that moment, they were mainly gathered in the southeast direction.
The array was empty. The venue was not open.
Outside the array door, dozens of fairies danced. The two groups of musicians played melodious immortal music so that the immortals would not feel bored while waiting.
The Immortal Union was an alliance of immortal dao factions. The various resources needed were “saved” by various factions.
For example, if a certain Immortal Sect donated a hundred cubes of superior-grade Spirit Stones, a certain Immortal Kingdom would give some array formation materials.
The factions that were good at refining artifacts would take out some communication jade tokens. The factions that were good at refining pills would give out more pills to heal and strengthen the Yang.
As one of the founders of the Immortal Alliance, the World Edge Pavilion, which was famous for providing temporary Love Tribulation experience in the Primordial World, was impressive… They donated a group of fairies and immortals to provide singing and dancing entertainment, and they were the etiquette team for this meet.
Fortunately, the World Edge Pavilion did not put up a notice of reward for Li Changshou’s sake.
When Bai Ze and Jiu Wu arrived, 80% of the factions that were supposed to attend the Immortal Union Meeting had already gathered. There were tens of thousands of Qi Refinement cultivators there.
At the very least, they were only at the Heaven Immortal realm. Golden Immortals could be found everywhere, and 99% of them were humans.
However, the array formation that enveloped the venue was still not activated…
Jiu Wu thought for a while and realized that he could not figure out the crux of the matter. He asked Bai Ze via voice transmission, “Why is that so? Isn’t that rude?”
“It’s a brilliant move.” Bai Ze smiled and said, “You will know later. This is also a small scheme of that Lord.”
Jiu Wu was confused.
After waiting for another half a day, it was almost time for the opening of the meet. A large amount of colorful clouds suddenly surged out from the horizon of the small world. A figure sat on the cloud and slowly walked over.
The immortal’s face was clear and square. His Dao bones were naturally blessed. He was dressed in a gray robe and had an octagonal Dao crown on his head. Without saying a word, he could be called a treasure and dignified. Without saying a word, he emitted many insights. There was a green lamp on his shoulder and a string of prayer beads around his neck. If he asked for the name of this Dao, he would obtain the Dao Spirit Coffin Mountain.
The Deputy Sect Master of Chan School, Daoist Randeng, had arrived.
Many immortals there were impressed by the treasures. They bowed from afar and made way for Daoist Randeng to reach the array door steadily.
Randeng had a cold expression the entire time. His eyes were half-closed, and he frowned slightly when he arrived at the array door.
He asked, “Is Changgeng not here yet?”
The surrounding immortals immediately fell silent. They weighed their options and realized that they were not qualified to reply.
Randeng said calmly, “The Heavenly Courts are actually so careless when they do things. They actually made all the ambitious people wait here.”
At that moment, a chuckle sounded from the array door.
The middle-aged Daoist who was dressed in armor and had a beautiful beard walked out. Zhao Gongming naturally came to welcome him.
“Stop singing and dancing.”
Zhao Gongming shouted softly. The dancing fairies retreated to the left and right. The musicians also pressed the zither strings and blocked the flute’s eye.
Then, Zhao Gongming cupped his hands at Randeng and bowed to the figures in all directions. He smiled and said, “Deputy Sect Master and all the immortals, please! I, Zhao Gongming of Jie School, am invited by the Water God to receive you. I accidentally took a nap just now and made everyone wait. Please forgive me.”
The surrounding immortals hurriedly replied, “Greetings, Senior Gongming! We just arrived!”
“Senior, you really don’t deserve our respect. Back then, my master had heard you preach on the Penglai Immortal Island!”
“Let’s wait for a while more.”
Randeng remained calm and composed as he sat there quietly. He was completely different from the immortals around him who were chatting.
Zhao Gongming smiled and said, “I established this array formation because I was afraid that it would destroy the arrangements inside. Everyone, don’t be in a hurry to enter later. Look carefully first.” The hint in his words was absolutely perfect. There were not many foolish people among the representatives of the immortal sects gathered there.
Then, Zhao Gongming turned around and crushed the jade token in his hand. The light screen that enveloped the entire lotus platform slowly dissipated.
The immortals looked over and were stunned.
Daoist Randeng, who had already made sufficient preparations, could not help but frown.
In front of him, colorful “round cloth balls” that were dozens of feet in diameter were floating above the lotus platform. There were red silk words hanging below them.
Daoist Randeng was drawn on the front of the cloth ball. The words hanging below were:
“Deputy Sect Master of Chan School, the vanguard of the Anti-Burning-Incense Divine Kingdom, the resistance to the Western Sect, the irreconcilable feud between me and the Western Sect, etc.”
Beside the round platform in the middle of the lotus platform was Daoist Randeng’s portrait. The bed of flowers in the field used yellow flowers and green leaves to form Daoist Randeng’s face.
With a few bangs, the white clouds above exploded, and the clouds condensed into a row of huge words.
“I warmly welcome Senior Randeng, the Deputy Sect Master of Chan School, the nemesis of the Western Sect, to become the Alliance Leader of the Immortal Alliance!”
Randeng’s eyebrows kept twitching, and his face was as black as the bottom of a pot. However, he quickly stabilized his mind and returned to his previous calm appearance. The surrounding immortals sighed softly and deliberately praised Daoist Randeng. After all, those words did not cost any Spirit Stones.
Jiu Wu, who was in the crowd, was puzzled. Bai Ze smiled and observed Randeng’s expression.
It was especially fun.
Zhao Gongming smiled and said, “Aunt-Master Randeng, are you satisfied with this arrangement?”
“I’ve troubled you, Disciple-Nephew Changgeng.” Daoist Randeng’s voice was rather calm. He continued, “I’m just a senior. I’m not worth your effort.”
“Uncle-Master Randeng, don’t underestimate yourself,” Zhao Gongming said seriously. “I invited you here this time mainly because you are the Deputy Sect Master of Chan School and are very respected. It’s not simple to be able to become the Deputy Sect Master of Chan School. It’s definitely not what outsiders say. You relied on your relationship with the three teachers from the ancient times to achieve what you have today!”
Daoist Randeng smiled and asked, “Can you enter?”
“Aunt-Master Randeng, please.” Zhao Gongming turned around and made an inviting gesture.
Randeng sat on the cloud and slowly walked forward. However, after flying for less than a hundred feet, he stopped and turned to look at the immortals…
Zhao Gongming secretly raised his eyebrows. Li Changshou’s words surfaced in his heart…
“Since Daoist Randeng is here, he must be trying to win people’s hearts.”
“Brother, after you invite him in, it’s fine if he doesn’t speak. We’ll follow the normal procedures.”
“If he invites the various factions to enter, Brother, wait and see. See how many people enter the venue with him and arrange for those people to sit with the Western Sect.”
At that moment, Randeng said, “Everyone, don’t wait outside. Why don’t we enter together?”
After saying that, Randeng rode a cloud and flew towards the center of the lotus platform. Hundreds of immortals behind him subconsciously wanted to follow, but most of them were stopped by the people beside them.
Many gazes gathered at Zhao Gongming.
Zhao Gongming smiled and did not say anything. He stood quietly with his hands behind his back.
At that moment, only a few dozen people entered the sky above the lotus platform from various directions. Half of those people woke up from their dreams. All of them wanted to retreat but did not know how to turn back.
Randeng did not say anything when he saw that. He slowly landed on the Fairy Platform.
When Randeng sat alone on the Alliance Leader’s throne, the dozens of people were led to the seats in the west by the fairies from the World Edge Pavilion.
After a while, hundreds of immortals stood up and took the initiative to enter. They were also led to the area occupied by the Western Sect to take their seats…
It was obvious that they were supporting Randeng
At that moment, he heard a loud shout.
“The Heavenly Courts’ special envoy has arrived!”
The immortals turned their heads and saw a small cloud flying over from the sky. There were three ordinary-looking Golden Immortal Heavenly Generals standing on the cloud.
When they flew closer, a crack appeared in the universe beside them, forming a simple door. The white-haired, white-browed Heavenly Courts’ Water God walked out from it. He was in a hurry and looked exhausted.
Li Changshou sighed and said, “Fortunately, we made it. It’s been hard on the generals.”
The three Heavenly Generals cupped their fists and lowered their heads.
“Greetings, Lord Water God!”
“Yes.” Li Changshou turned around. From his eyes to the corners of his mouth, he was surprised. His acting skills were perfect. “Is everyone here?”
The immortals present turned around and bowed. Shouts were heard, and it was quite noisy.
“Lord Water God, we have agreed to come!”
“The Western Sect is persecuting us. Lord Water God, you have to uphold justice for us!” “They chased my immortal sect out of my original territory!” Li Changshou rode a cloud and landed at the same height as the immortals. He shouted to everyone, “Everyone, calm down first! Today, we gathered here and formed an immortal alliance to fight against the Burning Incense Divine Kingdom! No matter what requests you have today, you can voice them out. The Heavenly Courts have just risen. They are not powerful enough to deal with the three thousand worlds. I hope that everyone can understand and support them! We are all humans. It’s our duty to protect mortals. How can we let mortals be fooled!?!”
At that moment, the immortals were enraged. They looked like they were about to fight it out with the Burning Incense Divine Kingdom. Li Changshou raised his hands and slowly pressed them down. Following his gesture, the immortals in the sky quietened down again.
The immortals almost held their breaths, so that they could hear a pin drop.
An immortal shouted, “Water God, you have been wandering around and working hard for the past ten years. That’s why you gathered us cultivators together. Why don’t you become the Alliance Leader of the Immortal Union!?!”
“Everyone, please listen to my explanation.”
Li Changshou smiled and said, “This time, I’m the legitimate god of the Heavenly Courts. If I become the Alliance Leader of the Immortal Alliance again, I will go against the rules of the Heavenly Courts. Secondly, although I have been guided by the Great Daoist Master and have become a disciple of Teacher, I’m only a second-generation disciple of the Dao Sect. If I were to negotiate with the factions behind the Burning Incense Divine Kingdom, my seniority would be insufficient. Therefore, I’ve been going around and invited Deputy Sect Master Randeng to be the Alliance Leader of our Immortal Alliance. I’ve also invited a few senior brothers and sisters from the Dao Sect who are powerful and resourceful to be our Deputy Alliance Leader! However, everyone, don’t worry. The Immortal Alliance is your Immortal Alliance. It is the Immortal Alliance that is fighting against the Burning Incense Divine Kingdom! The mighty figures of the Dao Sect that I have invited are only here to support us, build our reputation, and fight the powerful enemies! There are a total of twelve Vice Alliance Leaders. They will be chosen by everyone today! We will discuss the details later!”
The immortals on the cloud agreed.
The content was similar to what they had found out when they contacted Li Changshou’s paper effigy in the World Edge Mystic Realm.
Zhao Gongming smiled and said, “It’s only because you invited Changgeng. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have accepted such a difficult task.”
The immortals smiled when they heard that.
Li Changshou led the three Heavenly Generals forward on a cloud. The immortals retreated and made way for them.
Li Changshou said as he walked, “Nothing can be accomplished without rules. The Immortal Alliance has to set some rules today. I can tell you clearly that the Jade Emperor sent me and the three generals here just to put on an act. He will not directly participate in the operation of the Immortal Alliance and only has the right to monitor it. He was only doing this to prevent the Immortal Union from changing or to make use of those with monstrous ambitions! Therefore, the three generals and I will not enter the venue today. We will watch and listen on the cloud above. We will do our best to listen to the Lord’s request. Let the Immortal Union prosper and protect all living beings!”
Many immortals shouted in unison, “May the Immortal Union prosper and protect all living beings!”
Li Changshou nodded and made an inviting gesture.
The three Heavenly Generals, who had been instructed by him halfway, cupped their fists and bowed. Then, they rode a cloud with Li Changshou and flew to the top of the lotus platform.
Li Changshou condensed a white cloud and moved four chairs out. He sat down with the three Heavenly Generals.
At that moment, the immortals saw…
On the Lotus Platform, on the Fairy Platform, on the Cloud Condensing Platform…
It was unknown if it was intentional or not, but the four special envoys of the Heavenly Courts sat above Daoist Randeng…
The difference in status was obvious at a glance.
Li Changshou waved his horsetail whisk and said, “Everyone, please enter and find your seats first. Let’s be auspicious. Try to avoid the area meant for the Western Sect.”
The immortals agreed. Tens of thousands of immortals rode a cloud and landed on three sides of the lotus platform.
The east was slightly crowded, and the north and south were relatively unoccupied. The hundreds of immortals sitting in the west looked hesitant. A small half of them stood up and lowered their heads to rush to other directions.
He had the power firmly.
This body had yet to enter the trap.
However, Li Changshou also noticed that… Randeng was sitting on the Alliance Leader’s seat without saying a word. At that moment, his expression was normal. He had naturally expected that situation.
Li Changshou’s immortal senses scanned Bai Ze and Jiu Wu, who were among the immortals. He felt much more at ease.
With Bai Ze there, he could also be on guard if he encountered any danger. It was naturally an additional layer of insurance.
