"Enough small talk," Li Changzhou didn't want to explain further, "You handle the wedding. Make it as grand as possible."

"Be careful. This wedding may be an opportunity for others to test you," said the elder sitting in the third position.

Li Changzhou's expression turned cold: "A wedding is just a wedding. If anyone dares to disturb it, don't blame me for being ruthless."

If someone dared to use numbers to oppress him, even at the cost of forsaking the [Heavenly Will·Fate], he would issue a warning to the crowd and directly use the 'Fake Winner State.'

"Since it needs to be grand, it may require some time to prepare," said the Great Elder.

"Three months?"

That coincided with Yang Tianlu's winter break.

Parents hosting a wedding without the child present wouldn't do, would it?

Hmm? Parents having a wedding with the child present seems even more bizarre?

The Seventh Elder calculated briefly and said, "If we hurry, it should be in time."

The Divine Will Clan's idea of grandeur involved at least the entire Divine Will Great Wall celebrating simultaneously, with all Life Planets hosting festivities.

Such a wedding would cost more than the total value of a hundred Earths.

The matter was entrusted to the Divine Will Clan, while Li Changzhou and the three returned to the Heavenly Court to continue their diligent cultivation.

Soon, those geniuses would emerge, and the world was bound to face major changes and turmoil, with the entire universe plunged into a bloody storm.

Li Changzhou merged with [Heavenly Will·Fate], and although he couldn't change his own "current fate," his understanding of others' fates became increasingly profound.

A month later, he was the first to exit seclusion.

With enlightenment in his heart, he tore through time and space, relying on teleportation and the power of fate to transport to a fate node.

◇

In the year 1565, the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing, New Year's Eve.

Snow fell over the Mortal World, and the Forbidden City was brightly lit.

The long-secluded Emperor Jiajing, who usually stayed in the West Garden, rarely returned to the palace to celebrate the New Year. Inside and outside the palace, the vast expanse of the Great Ming was filled with a festive atmosphere.

Since the Emperor embarked on Immortal Cultivation, the laws had gradually relaxed, and today, ministers brought two or three family members into the palace to keep the watch on New Year's Eve.

The ministers gathered with the Emperor, while their wives and daughters were with the Empress and concubines, their voices faintly audible to one another.

They were eating hotpot today.

Each table had both a silver and a tin pot.

The spread included slices of pork, sliced lamb, roasted venison tails, sliced lamb, with four bowls of meat dishes, one plate of steamed longevity noodles, one plate of grilled longevity noodles, three small dishes in snail shell boxes, and additional shredded meat soup with rice.

The chopsticks in use were ebony inlaid with silver—the kind used by Grandmother Jia in the "Dream of the Red Chamber."

Music played, and dramas were performed.

The wind blew from one palace to another, carrying with it the scent of beast incense and the fragrance of the palace maids' cosmetics.

The snow continued to fall.

"A bountiful harvest is heralded by auspicious snow, Your Majesty. Surely next year will be a good season," Huang Jin poured wine for the Jiajing Emperor.

Huang Jin had aged. Though he maintained his appearance, compared to the outwardly twenty-something Jiajing, he appeared quite haggard.

The ministers raised their glasses to toast the Emperor, wishing him to quickly attain immortality.

As the atmosphere reached its peak, a duty eunuch suddenly rushed in, kneeling at once: "Your Majesty! The Tianzhuan Palace is on fire!"

Tianzhuan Palace is the place in the palace where offerings are burnt, fortunes told, and divinations made.

The grand hall fell silent instantly, leaving only the bubbling sound of the hot pot, making the snowy night feel even more desolate.

Ever since the Emperor forged the 'Fragrant Leaf Crown' and began Immortal Cultivation, countless demons emerged between heaven and earth, each embodying the essence of mountains and rivers, their forms enormous and boundless.

With a single motion, they could destroy the heavens and the earth.

The nation proclaimed that this was heaven's punishment for Jiajing, for no Emperor in history had ever become immortal.

Moreover, the Divine Sect and the White Lotus Sect rose up, causing disturbances everywhere.

Despite today's lively scene in the palace, as if oil was boiling over a fierce fire, the Great Ming had already been riddled with wounds, barely sustaining itself.

The Jiajing Emperor's face was expressionless: "There's a fire in the palace, and you come to me instead of putting it out?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The eunuch, drenched in sweat, retreated in a panic.

"What a grand blazing fire!" Li Changzhou laughed as he walked in.

Everyone was taken aback.

"Immortal Master!" The Jiajing Emperor rose.

Li Changzhou smiled and bowed: "Your Majesty."

In a flash, the Jiajing Emperor had already descended from the high throne to the hall door, bowing to Li Changzhou.

"Immortal Master, after so many years, your splendor remains unchanged!" Jiajing wore a light silk wide robe, his hair in a Daoist style.

Li Changzhou replied with a smile, "Thanks to Your Majesty's good fortune, this humble Daoist has achieved immortality, naturally retaining my youthful appearance. Although Your Majesty has aged a few years, you have also preserved your youth."

The face of the Jiajing Emperor warmed, feeling as though he finally saw a glimmer of heavenly light amid the darkness.

He showed a guilty expression and said: "Since the Immortal Master ascended, I've cultivated diligently day and night, but alas, my talent is insufficient, and I have yet to achieve immortal longevity.

"Furthermore, chaos reigns in the world, and demons arise frequently, distracting me. Although I now possess Divine Skills, capable of moving mountains and overturning seas, immortality remains out of reach."

"Wrong." Li Changzhou chuckled softly, "The more demons there are, and the stronger they become, the closer Your Majesty is to attaining immortality. Today, a fire broke out in the palace, and I've come to offer my congratulations—Your Majesty's longevity is near."

Everyone was astounded.

Yan Song and others immediately knelt, shouting long live.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Blessings to Your Majesty!"

"May our Emperor live forever, enjoying the blessings of immortality!"

The Jiajing Emperor laughed heartily: "Ah, indeed a grand blazing fire, let it burn! Immortal Master, please take a seat!"

The Jiajing Emperor commanded to bring in a set of tables and chairs, placing them side by side with his, with no distinction between high and low.

As the wine flowed, the Jiajing Emperor asked: "Immortal Master, after achieving immortality, where did you go? Is there really a Heavenly Court above?"

The ministers in the hall perked up their ears one by one.

In the side hall, the silhouettes and whispers indicated that the concubines couldn't resist listening, breaching hierarchical etiquette.

Not only had the human tribulation atop the Forbidden City in those days proven the Immortals' existence, but the Jiajing Emperor's perpetual youth had also affirmed it.

And before them stood Li Changzhou, a real Immortal!

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