The events in Luoyang spread throughout the entire Sui Dynasty at an unbelievable speed, and people now knew that the storyteller from the Eight Immortals was actually a true immortal.

The identity of the immortal Li Daoyi overshadowed the deaths of the righteous and demonic martial artists. People didn't even mention the Jingnian Zen sect, which had been reduced to ruins. This is a classic example of how things can be forgotten once someone leaves. The once sacred place of martial arts was thus submerged in the dust of history.

Yangzhou, the imperial palace.

"Good, good, well said, well done!" Yang Guang stood up excitedly after hearing Song Que and Pei Ju's report on the battle of Luoyang.

"I never expected the Taoist priest to have such supernatural powers. Blood Demon, just hearing the name sends chills down my spine."

"Lord Zhennan, Minister Pei, today is truly a day of double joy! I have also received a reply from my Imperial Uncle, who has agreed to travel to the capital soon." Yang Guang said, gesturing for a eunuch to hand him a letter.

Pei Ju quickly took it, and sure enough, it was a reply from Yang Lin, the Prince of Kao Shan.

“Your Majesty, I have a suggestion,” Song Que said.

"Please speak, Lord Zhennan."

"In this battle of Luoyang, Grand Master Fu Cailin of Goguryeo came uninvited, but now he has lost his life instead of his intended target. He held an extremely high position in Goguryeo, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a pillar of strength. Now that he is dead, Goguryeo has lost its biggest trump card. I think we should put Tuyuhun aside for now and the court should prioritize attacking Goguryeo," Song Que said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Attack Goguryeo first?" Yang Guang was taken aback. After all, the court had been preparing to attack Tuyuhun since the beginning of the year, and this sudden change in the target of the war was no small matter.

“Your Majesty, what the Duke of Zhennan said is also what I think. The preparations the court has made for attacking Tuyuhun in the past few months can continue, but the start of the war should be postponed. Now we should gather the army as soon as possible, especially the other nobles. Attacking Goguryeo is not a matter to be delayed. If they recover from the Fu Cailin incident, it will be troublesome to fight them,” Pei Ju said hurriedly.

"Furthermore, the Dragon Boat Festival has just passed, making it an ideal time to attack Goguryeo. If we delay for a few more months, we'll have to wait until next spring," Pei Ju continued.

"To be honest, Your Majesty, before I left Luoyang to return, I sent a message to Lingnan by carrier pigeon. Lingnan has dispatched 50,000 elite troops, who are already on their way and will arrive in the capital in half a month at the latest."

"Very well, I will return to the capital tomorrow. Minister Pei, immediately draft an edict for the Duke of Tang, stating that I will launch a military campaign against Goguryeo at the end of the month. Tell him to prepare, and we can discuss other matters upon returning to the capital," Yang Guang said.

"Yes," Pei Ju replied.

At this moment, Yang Guang calmed down and asked again.

"How is Master Li now?"

"The Daoist Master has returned to the lakeside courtyard. Furthermore, he agrees with this matter and asked me to convey to His Majesty that a decisive decision must be made," Song Que said.

"Hmm, decisive action is necessary, that's good. Alas, I must return to the capital tomorrow," Yang Guang sighed.

A lakeside courtyard.

Li Daoyi sat in the courtyard with Mengmeng in his arms, while Xiaolongnu and Dongfang Bubai were cooking in the kitchen.

"Eight million, Taoist brother."

Li Daoyi was checking the system panel when Mengmeng suddenly spoke up.

"Hmm?" Li Daoyi raised an eyebrow, looking at the little girl in his arms with a ghostly expression. The little girl, who had just been sleeping, had woken up at some point.

"What are you going to do, Taoist brother? Am I dreaming?" Li Daoyi asked in shock. Mengmeng's sudden calling him Taoist brother made him feel a little awkward.

He quickly closed the system panel, afraid that the little girl would covet the eight million points he had worked so hard to earn.

"Hmph..." Mengmeng wrinkled her cute little nose.

Just then, the blue ox outside the door suddenly bellowed.

"Eek, there's someone outside," Mengmeng said, tilting her little head.

Li Daoyi closed his eyes and sensed that, sure enough, outside the forest by the lake, a carriage was parked there, and a middle-aged man was standing outside the mist, looking around.

“It’s him…” Li Daoyi opened his eyes.

"Who is that?" Mengmeng asked curiously.

"Stone Dragon".

"Mengmeng." Li Daoyi patted the little girl's head.

"Hehe, I understand." The little guy understood what Li Daoyi meant.

"Let's go, Niu Er." He then jumped down from Li Daoyi's arms, flew to Niu Er's back outside the courtyard, and the two of them headed out of the forest.

"Why would this guy suddenly come looking for me?" Li Daoyi wondered.

Actually, this wasn't Shi Long's first time here. He had come several times before, but after entering the mist, he was sent out by the formation. After that, he never came again.

"Could it be? It's possible. The original story didn't mention when he obtained that treasure. He must have spent a long time figuring it out before it was discovered by others," Li Daoyi thought to himself.

Shi Long stood anxiously outside the mist. Ever since he heard about what happened in Luoyang, he had wanted to see the immortal even more. The main reason was that he had recently obtained something by chance, but he couldn't understand the writing on it. He had only managed to decipher the first few characters of the treasure.

"The Secret to Longevity".

Just as he was lost in thought, heavy footsteps came from the mist, and soon a huge creature appeared in front of him.

"Giggle giggle..."

Mengmeng laughed on the back of the blue ox.

Shi Long quickly came to his senses.

“Little sister, I am Shi Long, and I have come here to see the immortal.” Shi Long said hurriedly.

"Okay, let's go!" Mengmeng nodded, then patted the cow and turned around, and the mist dispersed from both sides to reveal a road.

Shi Long took a brocade box out of the carriage, carefully held it in his arms, and hurriedly walked along the path.

Before long, the lake and the courtyard appeared in front of Shilong.

"This is truly a paradise on earth," Shi Long exclaimed, unable to contain his admiration as he gazed at the beautiful scenery.

Upon entering, Shi Long saw Li Daoyi sitting at the table drinking tea and quickly stepped forward to greet him.

"I am Shi Long, and I pay my respects to the immortal."

"Brother Taoist, he's holding some delicious food in his hands," Mengmeng whispered in Li Daoyi's ear.

"Alright, go check if your sister Long's chicken wings are ready yet," Li Daoyi said to the little girl.

"Wow, chicken wings!" Sure enough, Mengmeng's eyes lit up, and she skipped and jumped towards the kitchen.

"Please sit down," Li Daoyi said, gesturing to the chair in front of him.

"Thank you, Immortal."

"What? You've got a hot potato?" Li Daoyi said with a slight smile.

"The Taoist priest is incredibly insightful," Shi Long said with a wry smile, unsurprised.

He then placed the brocade box on the table.

"Master, you may not know this, but although my Shilong Dojo mainly focuses on teaching martial arts and taking on disciples, we also occasionally do some business." Shilong said this with some embarrassment.

Li Dao nodded. Many small sects in the martial arts world occasionally take on shady businesses, such as smuggling goods that are strictly prohibited by the imperial court, or collecting debts and lending money at high interest rates.

“Last month, just a few days after the Taoist Master finished lecturing on the Eight Legions of Deity, my disciples went to Ezhou to collect a debt for someone. I have always had a fondness for antiques, and after my disciples returned, they brought this item back from the debtor’s belongings.”

After Shi Long finished speaking, he opened the brocade box, and a faint light emanated from it, along with a pleasant fragrance.

"Hmm?" Li Daoyi found the smell somewhat familiar.

“Immortal aura,” Li Daoyi thought to himself. He had this aura on him when he summoned Lü Dongbin last time.

Shi Long carefully took out a stack of things from the brocade box. They were neither paper nor silk, but were made of black gold thread.

It had a slight yellowish tinge, and the sheen on it gradually faded after it left the box.

"Please take a look, Daoist Master." With that, Shi Long stood up and slowly unfolded the items.

The animal skin was covered with dense writing, and behind it were seven diagrams of the human body's meridians, also marked with many small characters, but these characters were all in oracle bone script.

“I consider myself quite knowledgeable about writing, but in the past month I’ve only managed to decipher the first few characters. This thing is actually…” Shi Long sighed.

"The secret to longevity," Li Daoyi blurted out.

"..." Shi Long was stunned and stared at Li Daoyi in shock.

"The four great martial arts books, the Longevity Manual, and besides that, there are the War God's Manual, the Compassionate Sword Manual, and the Heavenly Demon Strategy, right?" Li Daoyi looked at Shi Long.

"Ah...yes, it's the Longevity Formula." Shi Long nodded hurriedly.

"Scan complete. Congratulations, host, you have earned 50,000 points."

At this moment, Li Daoyi also received a reward notification from the system. As soon as the brocade box was opened, the system started the scanning and recording process.

"Legend has it that this was written by Guangchengzi, the teacher of the ancient Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan. It can help people break through the void after cultivation. Unfortunately, for many years, we have only heard of its name but never seen its whereabouts. I never expected that you would obtain it by chance," Li Daoyi sighed.

"You said before that you obtained this item in Ezhou?" Li Daoyi asked.

"Exactly."

“Ezhou, Ezhou, Hubei, Tianmen Mountain, Jingyan Palace, so that’s how it is.” Li Daoyi thought to himself.

"Master, what exactly is written on this?" Shi Long asked cautiously.

"Master Shi, have you ever heard the story of 'A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime'?" Li Daoyi asked, gently stroking the Longevity Manual.

"Thump." Shi Long was startled and immediately knelt on the ground.

"Master, this item was originally intended for you, and I dare not have any expectations," Shi Long said, drenched in sweat.

“No need for that, that’s not what I meant.” Li Daoyi raised his hand, and Shi Long slowly stood up.

"The Longevity Manual is a supreme martial arts classic, but have you ever wondered why, if it is so miraculous, it has not been seen in the martial arts world for so long, and now it has even become an antique in the homes of wealthy families?"

“This… could it be because no one can understand it?” Shi Long said.

"That's one reason. The most important thing is that cultivating the Longevity Technique requires extremely high talent and luck. Divine objects have spirits and can take responsibility for their masters. You are not its master, so you cannot cultivate at all. If you keep it, you will die a violent death sooner or later." As Li Daoyi spoke, his gaze sharpened, and Shi Long was so frightened that he trembled.

"What you say is true, Daoist. Alas, divine skills and secret techniques naturally have countless stringent requirements, otherwise they would be commonplace." Shi Long nodded and said.

"I'll take this. Here, take this. I see you're already at the early stage of Grandmaster. Taking this pill will help you advance to the late stage of Grandmaster." Li Daoyi said, handing two pills to Shi Long.

"Daoist Master, this..." Shi Long excitedly stretched out his hands and carefully accepted the pill.

"Don't worry, this is called a Grandmaster Pill. One pill can raise you to a minor Grandmaster level." Li Daoyi smiled. He had spent a thousand points to redeem it in the system shop.

"Thank you for your mercy, immortal!" Shi Long said excitedly.