"Senior Brother!"
Hearing Li Yang's voice, Lan Ling'e stopped pouting and immediately flung herself at him.
"Smack!"
Li Yang reached out and planted his hand right on Lan Ling'e's face, stopping her from getting any closer.
"Stupid Senior Brother! I was worried about you, and this is how you treat me!"
Breaking free of Li Yang's hand, Lan Ling'e put her hands on her hips, fuming.
Li Yang flicked her forehead. "Nonsense. Were you really worried about me? You've got sunflower seeds and milk tea all ready. Were you just preparing to watch the show?"
Lan Ling'e's face fell. Then she ingratiatingly began massaging Li Yang's shoulders.
"Senior Brother, what are you and Senior Disciple Brother planning? Tell me!"
Li Yang ignored her and turned to Li Changshou, cupping his hands in salute.
"Senior Brother, my true body will arrive in ten days. I'll need you to make some arrangements then."
Li Changshou was delighted. "Does that mean you've become an immortal?"
"I have. And I survived the fourth-ranked Heavenly Tribulation in the Primordial Wilderness."
What?
Li Changshou was shocked. He stepped forward and grabbed Li Yang's avatar. "Is your body all right?"
"Fine. It was easy."
Li Yang said it had been easy, but his expression suddenly changed, turning serious.
"Senior Brother, I discovered a problem during my tribulation that you haven't noticed. You need to be careful."
"What problem?"
Li Changshou grew anxious at once. His own tribulation was approaching, and he'd already made preparations for just about everything. What else could possibly go wrong?
Judging by his junior brother's expression, the problem seemed serious.
Meanwhile, Lan Ling'e had gone from being shocked to eagerly watching the drama unfold.
She knew Senior Disciple Brother was probably very powerful, but she hadn't known just how powerful. Now it seemed he was about to become an immortal too.
"Senior Brother, the big problem is that my seventy-percent estimate was right, but your ninety-eight-percent estimate was wrong. At least, that's how it is when it comes to tribulations..."
Li Yang explained his discovery in detail to Li Changshou, then said meaningfully, "Senior Brother, you're too cautious. You've taken it too far. At least before you become an immortal, you don't need to be this careful.
"I can put it this way: those things you carry to obscure the secrets of heaven will only put you in greater danger."
In fact, that was exactly what had happened to Li Changshou in the Original Novel. He'd been so cautious that his tribulation went wrong. Half his body became immortal, while the other half didn't. In the end, he suffered the second-ranked Heavenly Tribulation and a Heavenly Punishment. Later, some madman even used Purple Firmament Divine Thunder to whip him.
Without that initial ninety-eight-percent certainty, Senior Brother could have avoided a great deal of trouble and hardship.
After hearing Li Yang out, Senior Brother fell into rare silence.
At last, he shook his head. "Junior Brother, what if mine is the Ninefold Heavenly Tribulation? Your method isn't safe. It's not safe at all."
Li Yang: "..."
Now that he was an immortal, he couldn't speak bluntly about the Heavenly Dao or mention the Heavenly Tribulation in this situation. Otherwise, Senior Brother might truly fail to survive it.
Immortals and mortals really were different!!!
"Senior Brother, whatever makes you happy!"
Li Yang gritted out the words.
Senior Brother seemed cautious, but he'd taken it too far. In the end, that made him less safe.
And then he...
Forget it.
Li Yang was exasperated, so he changed the subject.
"Senior Brother, what happened with Master?"
Li Yang's plan was simple: delay Master's secluded cultivation until he returned, then let Master enter seclusion. In the meantime, he would make a Melting Immortal Pill to improve Master's chances of surviving the tribulation.
But Master's situation remained a shadow in his heart.
After all, that madman had already determined Master's fate.
But Li Yang also had doubts. Perhaps his Master's fate hadn't been set after all.
If he could stop Senior Brother, perhaps Master could avoid that calamity.
After all, having Grand Pure Sage as his master would be more than his own master could bear, no matter what.
A Turbid Immortal sharing a generation with a Saint—that was bound to cause problems.
Perhaps that was exactly why Master's fate had been set.
Li Yang, who had read the Original Novel, couldn't understand the madman's world. And the so-called Heavenly Dao was even harder to fathom in certain circumstances.
All he could rely on was himself.
But...
If things were as he suspected, what was Youqin Xuanya's role in all this?
These matters were tangled together with the Heavenly Dao Neurosis, and Li Yang couldn't make sense of any of it.
Li Changshou had no idea what Li Yang was thinking and answered without hesitation. "Master went to Sky Breaking Peak to visit a friend. He should be back soon.
"Once he returns, I'll ask to take you out with me. We'll meet up and then come back together."
"Good!"
Li Yang gave a quiet nod, then led Lan Ling'e, who was still slurping her milk tea, outside.
As soon as they stepped out, Li Yang's expression fell.
"I've made some improvements to the Gourd Heaven Method recently. I'll teach it to you first. Study it properly. When I get back, I'll give you a thorough examination."
"Huh?"
Lan Ling'e was so startled that she dropped her milk tea. Her eyes were full of disbelief.
"Senior Brother, I still haven't fully mastered what you taught me before. Couldn't we just leave it at that?"
"You still haven't fully mastered it?"
Li Yang exclaimed. His expression darkened even further, and Lan Ling'e realized what she'd said and hurriedly tried to explain.
"No, I mean, what I mean is..."
"You've mastered everything, but your cultivation has fallen behind, so you don't want to study more!"
A voice as sweet as music answered for her just as Lan Ling'e was struggling to come up with an excuse.
"Right, exactly!"
The moment the words left her mouth, Li Changshou appeared beside her, smiling.
"Gulp!"
Lan Ling'e forced herself to swallow. She could tell that her senior brother was smiling without meaning it. There wasn't a trace of amusement in his eyes.
"Um... well..."
"Junior Brother, during her last outing, Junior Sister used up all the poison you gave her, all the knockout drug I gave her, and all the bombs the two of us made together."
Li Yang stared at Lan Ling'e in disbelief.
Wait, this wasn't the East Sea Coast, so how had she... Oh, she'd just gone somewhere higher up. Then never mind.
"It's fine, Senior Brother. She's only a little scrap at around the Void Refining Stage. Let her use them."
Li Changshou nodded, clearly agreeing.
"So all she did was poison a whole bunch of Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals, knock a dragon unconscious, and blow up an Immortal Island."
"..."
Li Yang lunged, grabbed Lan Ling'e as she tried to run, turned her upside down, and held her by one foot and the collar, shaking her vigorously.
"Quick, hand over everything you've got!"
Li Yang was beside himself. The girl had seemed to learn caution from the two of them. How had she managed to be so reckless?
"Master's back."
Just then, Li Changshou sensed Master's return and hurriedly warned them.
"Oh!"
Li Yang moved with lightning speed, grabbing Lan Ling'e and stuffing her behind his backside. Her face scraped along the ground, leaving a long mark.
When Old Daoist Qi Yuan returned, Li Yang happily flew toward him.
"Master, your disciple has reached the Refining Void Stage!"
Before you continue