Here begins the first chapter of today. Two more shall follow.

Upon the summit of Chess-Mound Mountain, the burly man, his waist laden with wine gourds, lay in a pool of blood, his breath fading.

As that streak of rainbow light shot north from Red Candle Town, the Great Li cultivator nearest to this ambush was the woman drinking in the tavern near Pillow Inn, a Supreme Elder of the Evergreen Palace. Alas, she didn’t even have time to react; or rather, the thought had barely formed when it dissipated like smoke. She was too late, and even if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t dare to interfere. It was that simple.

A layer of dust settled upon the woman’s dao heart, once as clear as glazed glass, and she truly began to drown her sorrows in wine.

The first to attempt to halt Ah Liang was the man who had threatened the earth deity Wei Bo upon Chess-Mound Mountain. He resolutely charged into the rainbow light, only to be casually swatted back to where he started.

Wei Bo sighed, crouching down to press upon the man’s chest, protecting his heart meridian, preventing the fearless, pitiful man from being killed by his own turbulent qi.

Soon, an unassuming young man appeared beside Wei Bo, kneeling to feed his blood-soaked colleague a vermillion pill. He seized the man’s burning wrist, and after a pulse reading, the vital signs finally stabilized. He exhaled a breath of murky air and turned to Wei Bo, saying, “Wei Bo, you saved Lao Liu’s life. I will remember this debt. I cannot alter how the Great Li court will reckon with you afterward, nor is it appropriate to intercede on your behalf regarding your divine position. Opening my mouth might only offend the Great Li Emperor. Regardless, I, personally, owe you and Chess-Mound Mountain a favor.”

Wei Bo said without expression, “It was merely a casual act.”

Wei Bo slowly stood up, only then realizing that this young man, his presence restrained, though regarded by the Great Li as a top swordsman guarding the capital, did not wear a saber at his waist. Instead, he carelessly hung his life-bound longsword behind him.

Wei Bo hesitated, but could not help but ask, “You were in Red Candle Town. Why did you not intervene to stop the saber-wielding Ah Liang?”

The young swordsman carefully hoisted the wounded man onto his back, smiling as he stood. “Saber wielder? He is a swordsman, the most unrestrained swordsman in my eyes. When I was young, I chose the path of the sword precisely because I admired him.”

Though seemingly young, the Sword Dao Grandmaster, originally intending to leave with his subordinate, suddenly wore a rare smile of reminiscence. For no apparent reason, he felt like chatting. He stood there, gazing towards the brightly lit Red Candle Town, and said softly, “Well, compared to the continents I’ve been to, your Treasure Bottle Continent is a secluded little place. It doesn’t matter if I tell you some taboo stories. I might as well tell you something. You should know that the Confucian school has three great academies. This man, indignant about the matter of Mr. Qi Jingchun, charged through two of them alone, sword in hand, causing utter chaos. You know, Ah Liang, traveling the Jianghu of various continents, always adhered to his famous catchphrase, ‘Is there anyone here who can fight? I, Ah Liang, only fight the big and the old, not the small and the weak.’ But those two times, Ah Liang did not hold back in the slightest. Whoever tried to reason with him, whoever blocked his path, he shattered their Immortal Bridge on the spot, without mercy. Do you know how many high and mighty, arrogant gentlemen and sages were thus reduced to mere mortals without the strength to truss a chicken? It’s just that these two tragedies are regarded as a sore spot by the Confucian school, which values etiquette and rules above all else, and no one dares to mention them carelessly.”

Wei Bo swallowed hard, cautiously asking, “Ah Liang Senior acted so wantonly? What of the true Sages?”

The swordsman wore an expression of pride and honor, chuckling, “So, in the end, it alarmed one of the three statues in the center of the Literary Temple, who quietly descended from the sky and stood before Ah Liang. After that battle, Ah Liang stopped. The outcome is unknown, but that Great Sage isolated a realm of its own, said to be a chessboard, or perhaps a book, as a battlefield for their duel. Anyway, outsiders could not know the process. All they knew was that afterward, Ah Liang left the academy, crossed two continents, and went to the Sword Qi Great Wall in another world via the Upside-Down Mountain. The Upside-Down Mountain is a piece of land personally arranged by a Daoist Sage in this world, and it is also considered forbidden territory for Confucian disciples, so many shocking messages are also completely isolated.”

Wei Bo seemed to be listening to celestial scripture, his eyes dazed.

In the Jianghu, where martial prowess reigns supreme, there is a saying: Those who are not cultivators do not know the affairs of the mountains.

But on the path of cultivation, there is also a saying: Those who are on the mountain do not know the affairs beyond the heavens.

Although the swordsman was still eager, with a bellyful of legendary stories he wanted to tell, he still decided to end it there. He said finally, “I cannot interfere in your affairs, but I will have that girl cultivated with all the resources of the Evergreen Palace, provided that you, Wei Bo, do not feel offended.”

Wei Bo smiled, “Am I such a foolish fool who does not know what is good for him? Thank you.”

The swordsman sighed in relief, looking at this troublesome deity on the Great Li Ministry of Rites’ list, smiling slightly, “Then I will return to the town and tell her to choose to walk across Chess-Mound Mountain when they return to the Great Li capital, and then return north through the air.”

Wei Bo’s expression was complex, and he sighed, bowing his head slightly, “I have nothing to repay you with, so I can only thank you once more.”

The swordsman from another continent asked in a low voice, “I used to not believe the contents of the Ministry of Rites’ files, but now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I have to believe it. Wei Bo, you have delayed proving your Imperishable Golden Body for so many years for her sake. Are you still unwilling to let go?”

Wei Bo shook his head, “Since I can pick it up, there is no reason to put it down.”

The swordsman shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

Wei Bo remembered something, a little embarrassed, and asked, “It’s a promise I made with Ah Liang Senior. I plan to go to Fallen Mountain in Dragon Spring County in the near future to bring the black snake there. Although I will follow the established procedures of your Great Li Ministry of Rites, reporting layer by layer, even if I am not approved in the end, I must quickly go and return to Fallen Mountain. I hope to trouble you to say hello to the magistrate of Dragon Spring County. Is that okay?”
The swordsman chuckled with a carefree air, “A trivial matter, not worth mentioning. Besides, this was your initiative to ease relations with Great Li, a good thing. Rest assured. The successive emperors of the Great Li Song Clan, while each ambitious, always give the impression of being aggressive, but in truth, they are quite agreeable. Otherwise, Senior Luan and I wouldn’t have stayed in Great Li for so many years.”

Wei Bo suddenly asked, “Senior A Liang went north with such imposing force, is he looking for trouble with Great Li?”

The swordsman nodded, his smile bitter. “A lot of trouble.”

Wei Bo was shocked. “According to your words, Senior A Liang was able to provoke one of the top three sages of Confucianism before he even went to Upside-down Mountain. If he truly takes action this time, will the Great Li capital vanish from the map of Treasure Bottle Continent?”

The swordsman thought for a moment, then said bluntly, “If it were me, then the Great Li Dynasty, which has the potential to become the master of the continent, might be destroyed.”

Wei Bo had a strange expression, as if saying, “So that’s the real reason you chose not to act? Great Li’s flourishing national power will be set back decades, or even a century. Are you planning to abandon a sinking ship?”

The swordsman was truly open-minded and didn’t take offense at the mountain god’s petty suspicions. He shook his head. “It’s not as you think. You must know, I am not A Liang, and I will never be a swordsman like A Liang in this lifetime. A Liang’s principles are always different from others. It’s strange, the immortal clans that ordinary cultivators see as powerful and wealthy, once they come into conflict with A Liang and learn his identity, they are often terrified, thinking they are about to face destruction. But A Liang rarely makes a big move, he gives a lesson and leaves, stopping when he has made his point. Of course, legend has it that he also likes to flirt with young and beautiful fairies, but I never had the chance to ask Senior A Liang about this. Unfortunately, I probably won’t have the chance anymore.”

The swordsman used his cultivation to peer into the distance, accompanied by loud noises and dazzling explosions. As one of those who helped Great Li to power, he sighed. As a fellow swordsman, he yearned for it.

There was something he hadn’t told anyone.

A Liang had found him in Red Candle Town and asked him some questions.

What kind of place was Great Li, really? What kind of ruler was the Great Li emperor?

And what had Qi Jingchun done all these years at Cliff Academy, in the Li Zhu Grotto Heaven?

Big things and small things, he wanted to know everything.

The two of them sat in the most ordinary tavern in Red Candle Town, drinking and chatting.

In the end, the excited swordsman was so focused on answering questions that he realized, after A Liang patted his butt and left, that he hadn’t had the chance to ask any of his own small questions, like, “A Liang, how high is your swordsmanship now? In that place where a city wall blocked the onslaught of a continent’s worth of demons, did you carve a character of your own, belonging to A Liang? Among the demons, is there a beautiful temptress that even you, A Liang, would be moved by?”

In the end, the man could only comfort himself with, “How many people in the world have invited A Liang for a drink?”

Thinking of this, the man, already a famous sword cultivator, was quite happy.

Just as the man was about to leave, Wei Bo suddenly laughed heartily. “Then can I, Wei Bo, be considered a remarkable hero for taking a blow from Senior A Liang’s bamboo sword and not dying? I don’t care if Senior A Liang held back. No, no, we must drink together next time we have the chance, so I can tell you about the whole process in detail. That battle was truly epic, with hundreds of rounds and more…”

The man snorted coldly and soared into the sky.

Wei Bo brushed away the dust that rose into the air, suppressed his smile, and looked at Red Candle Town, like a lamp in the night, his eyes gentle, speechless.

The former North Mountain God of the Divine Water Kingdom, this gaze, would last a hundred years, a thousand years.

Watching her be born, flourish, and grow old by the water bay of the Chongdan River, time and time again.

He refused to admit that she was no longer her.

The Jade Capital of Great Li’s capital, the elevated platform that had lost its formation shield, could be described as a survivor, still standing tall.

However, at the same time as the white rainbow pierced the barrier of heaven and earth, the capital’s formation, which had been briefly opened, returned to normal. Luan the Giant and the old man surnamed Lu simultaneously concealed the Jade Capital, leaving only a glimpse of shock and amazement for the spies of other countries lurking within the capital.

Luan the Giant slumped down on the steps of the platform, full of helplessness.

The old man surnamed Lu wanted to jump up and down and curse, but he didn’t dare. All his cultivation was gone, and he paced back and forth, muttering angrily, “Calamity from the sky, could it really be that the Great Dao is impermanent? It makes no sense, the fortune of Great Li is unique on Treasure Bottle Continent. The teachings of my Lu family account for half of the Yin-Yang School. Although I dare not say that I have learned even ten percent of the skill, how could I not have calculated such a major upheaval, not foreseen it?!”

Luan the Giant sighed, exhausted. “Because that A Liang comes from Sword Qi Great Wall, which is least affected by the heavenly Dao and the secrets of heaven. He deliberately concealed the atmosphere with external objects. Not to mention you, even the ancestors of your Lu family would have to do their best beforehand to have any hope of detecting even a hint. So today’s event is not a failure of battle, you and I don’t need to blame ourselves too much.”

Song Changjing knelt on one knee, looking down at the Taoist talisman puppet that had been split in two. For the first time, this man with an iron heart showed a hint of sadness. He inserted the narrow sword, Xiangfu, into the ground beside him and carefully scooped up a handful of “water flowers,” storing them in the large sleeve of his flowing water robe.

The two martial general puppets outside the palace city were a gift from a certain Taoist sect when the Great Li Song Clan ascended to the throne, their minds already indistinguishable from ordinary people.

The two largest “door gods” of the mundane world of Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent guarded the palace city for generations. If any member of each generation of the Song imperial family could gain their favor, the door gods would be willing to protect them for life. In Song Changjing’s generation, both he and his brother, Song Zhengchun, had this blessing. This was seen as an auspicious omen for the rise of Great Li because, before this, the two blue-armored martial generals had not favored anyone for two hundred years.

Song Jixin suddenly turned snow-white and roared, “The swords, where are my swords! Didn’t I have six flying swords left?! Why can’t I sense them at all?”
The Dali Emperor’s face remained unchanged, but the pain in his eyes was clear, dense, and extreme. He said in a low voice, “At least twenty years of Dali’s national fortune have been ruined in one fell swoop. ‘One who travels a hundred li is halfway at ninety,’ the ancients spoke truly. Leaving behind only an empty White Jade City, without the twelve flying swords guarding it, what use is it in the short term? And then only leaving me…”

This man in imperial robes, with aspirations to swallow an entire continent, stopped speaking, no longer continuing. He slowly raised his head, looking at the sky that had returned to normal, with no more anomalies. “You might as well have just chopped off my head.”

He took a deep breath and turned to give the order, “Changjing, you personally go and guard the city walls, see if there are any rats taking the opportunity to make trouble. If you find any, kill them without mercy. From this moment on, you have the authority to oversee the nation.”

Song Changjing asked, “What if they are Song family members?”

The Dali Emperor gave a bleak smile, “In the past, useless people could be supported. I, Song Zhengchun, as the Dali Emperor, still have that wealth and magnanimity. But now it’s different. If they seek their own death, then let them die.”

Song Changjing asked again, “What about her?”

The Dali Emperor said calmly, “I will deal with her myself.”

Song Changjing nodded and strode away, radiating killing intent.

Within the Dali capital, cultivators were forbidden to fly in the air. Within the palace city, everyone walked.

Although Song Changjing was permitted to break the rules, like that State Preceptor Cui Chan, this prince had, after all, grown up here since childhood and was unwilling to break this last remaining rule.

The Dali Emperor turned and walked to the steps, sitting beside the nominal Moist giant, Luan Changye. The high-crowned old man also sat down dejectedly.

Both old men had an expression as if they wanted to speak but held back, almost at the same time.

The man in imperial robes smiled, “I know, prolonging my life is already a luxury. After all, this is A-Liang’s technique. Unless a twelfth realm Farmer Qi cultivator intervenes to heal me, I can only extend my lifespan and not have to count the days I have left to live like this?”

The two old men nodded in agreement, as if by agreement.

The man mocked himself, “Only ten years left, fifteen at most. The world’s fortune has always been a matter of waxing and waning. So, it seems I’ll only barely manage to build a strong and rising Great Sui Dynasty. What about after that? It seems it will all be irrelevant to me. Dali’s southward advance, Dali’s iron hooves trampling the land south of Guanhai Academy, Dali’s Rising Dragon banner fluttering on the coast of the South Sea in Old Dragon City, I won’t be able to see any of it.”

The man closed his eyes, his fists clenched and beating on his knees, smiling through gritted teeth, “The problem is that the guy who decided the length of my life has ascended to another place, possibly continuing to watch us mortals, and may even return. He’s not dead, he’s not dead!”

Therefore, Dali didn’t even dare to retaliate.

This was what made the Dali Emperor feel most aggrieved.

That’s why he said, why not just chop off his head with a single stroke, and be done with it, rather than suffer this humiliation.

On the city walls of the Dali capital, a thin, green-robed old man was constantly looking up at the sky where that man had disappeared.

At some point, a short but voluptuous woman in palace attire appeared beside the old man and asked directly, “State Preceptor Cui, what should I do about this unwarranted disaster?”

The old man didn’t even bother to look away, casually answering, “Wait for death.”

The woman was horrified and said sternly, “State Preceptor! What nonsense are you talking about?!”

Cui Chan, different from the young man from the small town, twitched the corner of his mouth, “If you’re lucky, wait for a half-death.”

The woman tore off her mask, pointing her finger at the meritorious Dali State Preceptor, and said angrily, “Then where will Cui Chan be any better off?!”

The old man finally looked directly at this noble Dali Consort, smiling, “Sorry, I’m already half-dead.”

Except for a few existences, no one knew that there was a guy sitting cross-legged in the sky, looking down at the mortal world.

For this man, the two worlds were only separated by a thin line.

Looking down, countless points of light were densely packed together, his feet like a slowly flowing, brilliant Milky Way. Some of the starlight suddenly exploded and vanished in a flash, some became more dazzling and bright, some gradually dimmed, some were lifeless, some were full of vitality, and some of the most eye-catching large clusters of light chose to shrink in place, like some old tortoise bastards.

The man stood up, truly about to leave, and chuckled, “Old man, you were right, this is the mortal world, it’s very beautiful!”

The last words he left in his heart to this mortal world were very interesting.

Kid, you must practice your sword well. You have to be as fierce as my A-Liang in the future, even fiercer… haha, forget it, that’s too difficult!