The atmosphere was momentarily awkward.
Li Changshou and Lan L'ing-e displayed remarkable tacit understanding as they simultaneously looked up at the sky...
Beyond the mountain protection array, the Azure Dragon coiled among the clouds, its gray mist churning ceaselessly.
The immortal-level pressure seeped through the array, enveloping the entire Duxian Sect. Figures materialized above each peak—all Duxian immortals awakened by the tremor.
Suddenly, several streaks of light shot out from Potian Peak, crossing directly through the protection array. They materialized as four figures in midair, gazing toward the cloud bank.
At the forefront stood a male immortal in blue-white robes, hands clasped behind his back, standing freely in the void. His figure was tall and straight as a pine tree, with two white strands framing his temples, his expression cold and aloof.
The moment he appeared, the descending pressure vanished. The Azure Dragon immediately retreated into the clouds, not daring to approach the protection array further.
This was the first time Li Changshou laid eyes on Lord Wangqing.
Indeed, this handsome middle-aged immortal with white-tinged temples was none other than the master of the nine "Jiu" immortals, Duxian Sect's Heavenly Immortal, bearing the Dao name Wangqing.
Behind Lord Wangqing stood an elderly Daoist holding a whisk and smiling gently, an old woman leaning on a wooden staff with equal serenity, and a beautiful fairy in rainbow robes whose form remained obscured by thin mist.
The scarlet-scaled Azure Dragon roared from within the clouds: "Are you the ones in charge of Duxian Sect?"
Without even raising his head, Lord Wangqing's calm voice resonated throughout the array and beyond:
"I am merely an idle wanderer within the sect. Duxian Sect is hardly mine to command. I simply felt your insolent young dragon needed a lesson in manners."
"Insolent!" The scarlet dragon thundered in fury. The gray clouds suddenly condensed, and a dragon claw crackled with wrathful lightning and heavenly fire, smashing directly toward Lord Wangqing.
The claw grew with the wind, swelling to hundreds of zhang in diameter in an instant. It now blotted out the sky and earth, threatening to crush both Duxian Sect's protection array and Potian Peak itself!
Many disciples held their breath at the sight, while higher-level cultivators wore expressions of concern.
Beside Li Changshou, Lan L'ing-e instinctively gripped her senior brother's arm. Her cultivation was too low, and the dragon's pressure overwhelmed her completely, filling her heart with unease.
Li Changshou immediately released a thread of aura to envelop his junior sister, sharing the burden to prevent her from suffering qi deviation.
Suddenly!
The sky-obscuring dragon claw, vast as a mountain, halted without warning above the protection array...
The gale it generated caused the array's smooth, luminous barrier to flicker gently.
But this colossal claw simply hung in midair, mysteriously frozen, unable to descend another inch!
Li Changshou channeled spiritual energy into his eyes for a clearer look and saw that Lord Wangqing had raised his left arm, fingers formed in a sword seal, the tip touching precisely at a one-inch patch of hard scale on the enormous claw.
With a single finger, he had caught the mountain-sized dragon claw!
Lord Wangqing's long hair danced wildly in the wind, his robes snapping loudly.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort echoed across a thousand li!
With a slight shake of his left arm, the mountain-sized claw shattered instantly, exploding into a sky full of mist!
The Azure Dragon reappeared amid the churning clouds, but an invisible force wrapped around its massive body. It twisted and struggled ceaselessly, being flung toward the nine heavens...
A moment later, the Azure Dragon returned from high above in a fury, letting out an愤怒龙吟.
Lord Wangqing raised his eyes slightly, a glint of killing intent visible within them.
The Azure Dragon immediately ceased its roar. Its body blazed with intense scarlet light, transforming into a burly warrior with a dragon's head and human form, clad in battle armor, his expression a mixture of shock and rage.
Lord Wangqing spoke coldly: "Having just reached the Heavenly Immortal stage, you dare cause trouble at my Duxian Sect. Tired of living, are you?"
The dragon-headed warrior roared but dared not attack rashly, instead shouting from midair: "What arrogance, Duxian Sect! Don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!
I am the special envoy of the East Sea Dragon Palace, Grand Vanguard of the Dragon Navy!
Your offense will not be forgotten. I shall report this to the Dragon King, and soon mobilize our forces to flatten your insignificant mountain sect!"
Behind Lord Wangqing, the elderly Daoist chuckled: "The Dragon Palace grows rather bold these days. How rare, how rare.
However, attempting to establish your authority at Duxian Sect's expense seems excessive, wouldn't you say?
After all, Duxian Sect belongs to the Human Dao lineage, protected by its fortune. Rather than quietly guarding the East Sea to replenish your own merit and fortune, you instead permit rampaging dragons to stir trouble everywhere. And here you are, attacking our protection array without a second thought.
Could it be, Grand Vanguard, that you intend to provoke conflict between our human cultivators and the dragon race?"
"You!" The dragon-headed warrior's eyes bulged, but he dared not respond recklessly.
Times had changed. During the Witch-Demon War, humanity was still weak, but now they stood as the protagonists of heaven and earth, flourishing far beyond the ancient witch and demon races.
Not to mention if human cultivators were to unite against the dragons, merely the immortal sects of Dongsheng Continent taking action, perhaps invoking one or two great powers from the Three Teachings, would be enough to cause the Four Seas Dragon Palace severe trouble.
This scarlet dragon now found itself in an awkward position.
The old woman who had come out from Duxian Sect stepped forward timely, smiling as she smoothed things over with two graceful remarks, offering the scarlet dragon a way to save face.
The scarlet dragon seized the opportunity, maintaining a stern expression as it stated its purpose:
"Your Duxian Sect recently sent disciples to eliminate demons in our East Sea, but they accidentally injured soldiers being cultivated by my dragon kin!
However, our Dragon King has no desire for prolonged conflict. Three years hence, at the Eastern Sea shore, a Demon Subjugation Conference shall be held, inviting all immortal sects of Dongsheng Continent to discuss future demon eradication efforts.
The East Sea Dragon Palace abounds with treasures, and we shall generously reward human disciples who perform excellently at the conference.
This is your invitation—do not presume to miss it!
Hmph!"
With that, the dragon-headed warrior tossed down a golden invitation card, turned, and transformed back into the Azure Dragon, roaring away through the clouds.
The old woman caught the invitation and called out: "Safe travels, Grand Vanguard. We won't see you off further."
Immediately, laughter and teasing remarks about the Dragon Palace filled every corner of Duxian Sect.
The four elders who had ventured out must have planned this beforehand—Lord Wangqing played the stern enforcer, the elderly Daoist issued threats, and the old woman played the peacemaker.
Three Heavenly Immortals, one stage, had perfectly orchestrated the arrogant Dragon Palace general.
That scarlet dragon had intended to intimidate Duxian Sect, but instead found itself humiliated, not daring to leave any harsh words behind before fleeing on its cloud in disgrace.
When dragons appear, clouds follow; when tigers roar, winds rise. Watching the Azure Dragon soar across the heavens was indeed a rare spectacle.
"Senior Brother," Lan L'ing-e whispered, "is this the world of the powerful?"
Li Changshou gently shook his head, transmitting his voice: "This could only be called skilled, not truly powerful..."
Afterward, the senior and junior siblings remembered what had happened earlier and simultaneously looked down.
Beside that magical birdcage, old Daoist Qi Yuan was quietly closing the wooden door, preparing to slip away from the side...
Lan L'ing-e continued looking up at the sky, pretending not to notice their master.
Li Changshou closed his eyes in meditation, adopting the appearance of having gained insight from witnessing a master's battle.
How could Qi Yuan not realize that his two disciples were saving his dignity?
The old Daoist's wrinkled forehead bore several dark lines, his aged face falling, his lips moving soundlessly for a moment.
"Ahem, ahem!
No laughing!
This was my first tribulation—I lack experience!
I shall return first to continue my seclusion!"
With that, Qi Yuan turned and fled, covering his face as he soared away on his cloud at remarkable speed.
The senior and junior siblings held back right there until the old Daoist returned to his thatched cottage and activated several layers of minor arrays, only then did they each burst into laughter.
This farce would have to serve as tribulation practice.
Fortunately, none of the other peak's immortals or disciples had come to observe, and the scarlet dragon had captured everyone's attention. Otherwise, Daoist Qi Yuan might...
Well, the thought of death might have crossed his mind.
...
The sudden tribulation not happening was actually a good thing.
Afterward, Li Changshou worried slightly that his master might take out the "precious elixir" he had given him for inspection.
But then he considered that even if his master examined it, he probably wouldn't recognize it as a Melt Immortal Pill.
Qi Yuan knew nothing of alchemy, specializing instead in formation arrays.
Having cultivated for a thousand years since entering the sect, Qi Yuan had spent most of his time improving his cultivation. But due to his damaged Dao Foundation, this path had been exceptionally difficult.
The root of Qi Yuan's slim hopes of surviving Heavenly Tribulation actually lay in that Dao Foundation damage.
Helping his master repair his Dao Foundation was Li Changshou's third plan to assist him through tribulation.
But this third plan, though seemingly addressing the root cause, was actually the most perilous and arduous path...
His master's damaged Dao Foundation stemmed from an injury sustained in his early years.
Li Changshou had asked about the specifics of this injury several times, but his master never gave a direct answer, only saying that something had gone wrong during cultivation.
After that injury, the sect's elders had used large quantities of medicinal pills to save Qi Yuan's life.
At that time, Xiaoqiong Peak had only Daoist Qi Yuan. Li Changshou's grandmaster had departed to travel nine hundred years ago and never returned.
During the Dao Foundation repair process, the sect had provided Qi Yuan with many healing pills, but certain rare heavenly treasures were lacking.
Once the Dao Foundation was barely stabilized, Qi Yuan had continued cultivating for several more centuries. He seemed to have "healed" his Dao wound, but his Foundation was already severely damaged—the fundamental injury could never truly be replenished.
Like a tree that grew crooked and continued growing in that direction until it finally became...
A crooked old tree.
Daoist Qi Yuan's Dao wound was essentially like this.
To help his master repair the Dao Foundation, he would need to waste the cultivation Qi Yuan had painstakingly accumulated over centuries, then skillfully tear open the healed wound again, filling it with rare heavenly treasures.
This process was not only incredibly dangerous but would cause Daoist Qi Yuan extreme pain. Moreover, such heavenly treasures were difficult to find, and even then, success wasn't guaranteed...
Therefore, Li Changshou had prioritized his first and second plans, sealing away the third plan and six alternative options to be used as circumstances warranted.
After the farce, Daoist Qi Yuan entered seclusion for two months.
Two months later, Qi Yuan emerged to restore his dignity as a master, intending to provide detailed answers to the questions Li Changshou had previously asked.
But to his surprise, Li Changshou had come prepared. After hearing his master's explanations, he raised new questions, once again leaving Qi Yuan stumped. The old Daoist retreated to his cottage once more, continuing to refine his own Dao...
During this period, Li Changshou pondered several tools that might prove useful during tribulation.
When his master emerged this time, Li Changshou could already sense faint fluctuations of obscure aura surrounding him.
This was a sign that the Heavenly Dao had already locked onto him—tribulation was imminent.
At the latest, in no more than two years, his master would definitely begin his tribulation. But at this point, there was nothing he could do to help.
After all, tribulation was ultimately one's own affair. There was little anyone else could do.
...
And so, one year and nine months later...