Above the Jiao Dragon Trench, Chen Ping’an stared blankly at the azure-robed swordsman who claimed to be his eldest brother.

The youth frowned, his lips trembled, then he lowered his head.

The swordsman with the odd name said grumpily, “Going to bawl? Just like little Qi back then. No wonder he picked you. Reasoning doesn’t work, you can’t beat anyone, and you always hide and cry, tears streaming down.”

The swordsman suddenly barked, “Raise your head!”

Chen Ping’an dazedly obeyed.

The man questioned him, “Why change your mind at the last moment, choosing to use your fists instead of your sword? Answer loudly, don’t be so wishy-washy!”

Chen Ping’an blurted out instinctively, “My swordsmanship is too poor, I don’t want to embarrass myself! My boxing is passable, I’d feel stifled if I didn’t use it!”

“Bah! With your meager martial intent, you dare say it’s passable?”

The man’s face was filled with anger. He turned and spat fiercely. He possessed neither Qi Jingchun’s refined grace nor Ah Liang’s amiable nature. This sword immortal named Zuo You, the most unconventional disciple of the former Sage of Literature, didn’t seem like a scholar at all. However, a hint of hidden amusement grew stronger in the depths of his eyes. His expression turned cold, and he raised his arm again, his thumb pointing behind him, “Forget this Jiao Dragon Trench, just consider the statue on that island. I found it blocking my path, so I cleaved it in two with a single strike. What do you think? And this stinking ditch, I find those beasts an eyesore, so I cleansed it with sword qi. What do you think of that?”

Chen Ping’an answered honestly, “It seems quite unreasonable.”

But remembering that this man was Senior Brother Qi’s, he quickly added a hesitant, “Perhaps?”

The man sneered, “You’re being polite. What ‘perhaps’? It *is* unreasonable!”

He pressed the palm of his hand against the hilt of the longsword at his waist and asked, “Do you know why I, a scholar, devote more effort to learning the sword than studying books?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head.

He had only heard Ah Liang and the young Cui Chan occasionally mention this person. The former didn’t say much, only that he was the most skilled swordsman among the Old Master’s disciples. The latter gnashed his teeth, calling him a traitorous wretch. The former fellow disciples seemed to harbor irreconcilable hatred. In the end, “that Zuo fellow,” in Chen Ping’an’s mind, was like a hidden dragon in the clouds, unattainable and unpredictable.

This swordsman from the orthodox Confucian school waved his hand, “This is none of your business. Cultivate diligently in the future and don’t let Little Qi’s high hopes go to waste. If you ever mess up, I might come looking for trouble.”

The man suspended in the Jiao Dragon Trench held up a single finger to Chen Ping’an, “No matter how high your realm, it’s just a matter of a single sword strike.”

To him, it was only right and proper for a senior brother to discipline his junior brother.

As for reason and logic? He never bothered to think much about it. Being the senior brother *was* the greatest reason.

Just then, the sea of clouds suddenly lowered, and a golden dharma body, hundreds of feet tall, appeared. It was a middle-aged Daoist with a fish-tail crown, “You are the disciple of the Sage of Literature, the swordsman Zuo You? I hear many hail you as the foremost swordsman in the world. Even Upside-Down Mountain and the Great Wall of Sword Qi have many admirers of yours.”

The azure-robed swordsman looked up, “From your tone, it sounds like you’re not convinced?”

The tall Daoist laughed heartily, “Whether your swordsmanship is first or last is of no concern to me, Daoist Priest. I simply find you displeasing, what say you we find a place for a good, satisfying brawl?”

The swordsman smiled, “You stinking ox-nosed Daoist, you may be lacking in other areas, but your luck is better than mine. You ended up with Dao the Second as your master. My teacher isn’t as fortunate, only knowing how to argue with his tongue. But even though my teacher is inferior to yours in many ways, there is one thing that Old Master excels at; and that is, Old Master has a disciple like me, even including you, Dao the Second’s dozens of disciples…”

The azure-robed man raised a finger high, shaking it gently, “They won’t do.”

He didn’t stop there, looking up and declaring, “For example, you summon such a massive dharma body, so what? It’s still not enough to withstand my sword!”

Before he finished speaking…

From within the sea, a hundred-foot tidal wave surged, and a mighty sword qi, thicker than the entire Osmanthus Island, rose skyward in the form of a pillar of light, instantly shattering the golden dharma body.

Chen Ping’an’s small boat, caught in the crossfire, was tossed about violently.

He turned his head, gazing at the snow-white sword qi that soared to the heavens.

Before, he thought that Wei Jin of the Wind and Snow Temple’s sword strike, cleaving open the night of the Weeping Bride Ghost, was the pinnacle of flying swords in the world.

Only now did he realize how ignorant he was.

A golden dharma body lay shattered, but a voice, like a great bell, still echoed from the sky, “This Daoist Priest will not take advantage. With that boy present, neither of us can fight unrestrained. How about we move to the Wind God Island waters?”

At some point, the golden old Jiao Dragon, whose three hundred and sixty apertures were filled with sword qi, no longer had the chance to support his aperture from exploding.

It turned out that the tall Daoist, millions of miles away, used some kind of divine power, taking advantage of the instant when the golden dharma body was destroyed by sword qi, to reach out a jade-white finger from the void and tap the golden-robed old Jiao Dragon’s forehead. The latter instantly became withered and decrepit, and then, in the literal sense, his heart was as dead ashes. From the inside out, most of his body turned into a puff of ash, disappearing into nothingness, leaving behind only a golden robe floating on the sea and some semi-immortal substances condensed from the Nascent Soul.

The swordsman was completely unmoved by this.

He simply waved his hand, sending the remnants of the golden-robed old Jiao Dragon into Chen Ping’an’s small boat, “Safeguard these tatters. This trip to Upside-Down Mountain, and then the Great Wall of Sword Qi, wish you good fortune.”

Chen Ping’an bowed.

The swordsman nodded, accepting it without hesitation. Then, without another word, he rode the wind and flew southwest. He spoke a sentence to himself, the echo lingering, unsure whether he was speaking to himself or to Chen Ping’an.

“Immortality, freedom across mountains and seas, consuming the rosy clouds and drinking the dew, abstaining from grains, already an aberration.”

Chen Ping’an silently sat back in the small boat, putting the three items that the swordsman, Zuo You, had thrown at his feet into the Flying Sword Fifteen. They were a golden robe, two entangled golden dragon whiskers, and a fist-sized bead, dull in color, yellowish, somewhat like the saying ‘an old woman’s yellowed pearl’.

Chen Ping’an looked around, the sea gradually calming, and looked up, the wind was gentle and the sun was shining.
Chen Ping’an rested for a moment, picked up the bamboo pole inscribed with the true Lock-Severing Talisman, and got up to pole the boat to chase after Guihua Island. He felt somewhat awkward, hoping that the ferry wouldn’t recklessly sail towards Upside-Down Mountain, leaving him stranded on this vast ocean. Chen Ping’an widened his eyes, straining to see into the distance.

If it were in the past, Chen Ping’an would have felt it impossible for Guihua Island to act in such a way.

But now, Chen Ping’an didn’t even realize he was having such thoughts.

The mind, like a restless monkey, wanders unknowingly.

That unrestrained swordsman, traveling far and wide with the wind, unbound by heaven and earth, suddenly stopped. In a place where Chen Ping’an could never see him, he turned to look back.

In the man’s eyes, he saw a youth from Great Li.

But in his heart, he thought of an old friend.

That person once said, “I don’t want to ask you to be Chen Ping’an’s protector, and I know you probably won’t agree, Senior Brother. But Qi Jingchun has so few friends in this life, and in the entire world, you’re the only one I can ask.”

“I can only ask you!”

The man felt a bellyful of frustration at the thought of these ridiculous words. He sat down cross-legged, suspended above the sea, his fists clenched and resting on his knees.

His fierce sword qi flowed out even more, and the seawater beneath him churned and boiled violently, but even the mist couldn’t get close to this swordsman.

All cultivators in the world envied those sword dao geniuses with astonishing innate talent, crowning them with the title of “Innate Sword Embryo.” But this man learned the sword very late, and was never a sword embryo. So when this man emerged in the Central Earth Divine Continent, he didn’t just surpass, but crushed countless senior swordsmen. He was especially ruthless towards those so-called sword embryos, openly mocking them, which spread throughout the world. Countless gifted sword dao geniuses had their sword hearts shattered and their great daos severed because of him.

As a result, all young and promising geniuses of the Central Earth Divine Continent couldn’t help but mutter under their breath when praised as Innate Sword Embryos, feeling like it was a curse.

This swordsman was called Zuo You.

“Zuo You,” whose sword skills were unmatched in the world.

Even when lost in thought, the man’s eyes still shone as brightly as ever.

He had been staring at the young man’s clear eyes, which were too much like his mischievous junior brother from his youth. Relying on his intelligence and the teacher’s favor, he would spout off sets of sage-like principles, interlocking and flawless. And after Zuo You admitted defeat in the debate, he would always add, “I don’t think you’re sincerely admitting defeat, Senior Brother. That’s not right.” It was so annoying.

In this life, he was most annoyed by the teacher bragging about how good he was at fighting, and by Xiao Qi, who read so quickly. He was annoyed by the sound of his turning pages and his preaching.

He only liked the teacher’s two appearances at the Three Teachings debate, that air of the master standing alone, and the scholars shining like the sun.

He liked how Qi Jingchun would compose poems on high places after drinking whenever they traveled to famous mountains and rivers together, making one feel that the mountains, no matter how high, could not surpass this person’s learning!

But even now, when the old scholar had no way out and had scattered into the world, when Xiao Qi was no longer alive, and A Liang had left the Vast Expanse, the man still believed that the teacher, Xiao Qi, and even A Liang, who seemed free and at ease, had all lived too tiringly.

Not like him.

Because he, Zuo You, never bothered to reason with people.

If he couldn’t beat them, reasoning was useless. If he could beat them, reasoning seemed unnecessary.

Having a sword was enough.

The man sighed and stood up, continuing towards Fengshen Island in the southwestern sea.

Some words, he felt, were pretentious, so he was too “lazy” to say them.

Little Junior Brother, you must help Xiao Qi take a good look at this world.

If you have the chance in the future, go see other worlds, one by one. Xiao Qi never left the Vast Expanse in his life, and he was the most longing for faraway places among the teacher’s many disciples, yet he spent the most time in the study and the school.

I know exactly how many times Xiao Qi cried in his life. It’s because he was beaten to tears by me when we were young. There was no way around it. I couldn’t argue with him, and he couldn’t beat me in a fight.

Boy, can you imagine your Mr. Qi, sobbing miserably with a runny nose?

The man laughed loudly, pushed his sword out of its sheath, and the dozens of islands, large and small, nearby were all split in two.

The human world is quite boring.

Only fighting could make Zuo You feel a little bit more alive.

Between the hastily traveling small boat and the slowly moving Guihua Island, an old man, actually seriously injured, was waiting for Chen Ping’an at sea.

Chen Ping’an grinned. It was the resourceful boatman old man.

The two of them rode the small boat together, drifting on the sea. They soon caught up with Guihua Island, and the boat docked. Madam Gui stood alone at the pier, full of apology, and said to Chen Ping’an, “I will report today’s events clearly to the Fan Clan Shrine. I will never forget your life-saving grace, Mr. Chen!”

Chen Ping’an smiled bitterly and shook his head, “It was just self-preservation.”

Madam Gui was speechless and sighed. She walked up the summit of Guihua Island with the old man and the young man side by side.

The old boatman needed to rest, so he bid farewell to Chen Ping’an and went to his residence. Chen Ping’an walked with Madam Gui to the Guimai Courtyard. Madam Gui hesitated for a moment and explained, “Ma Zhi took the lead in the great battle to protect Guihua Island, so he was also injured. He may not be able to spar with you recently. He asked me to send word, hoping Mr. Chen will forgive him.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and said, “Of course, Senior Ma’s recovery is the most important thing.”

Madam Gui was somewhat helpless. “The situation on Guihua Island is a little delicate now, and I really don’t feel comfortable letting outsiders enter this courtyard, not even Jin Su. If Mr. Chen doesn’t mind, I will be responsible for the Guimai Courtyard’s food and lodging.”

Chen Ping’an quickly waved his hand and said, “No need, no need. Just send the three meals a day as before. If it weren’t for the lack of a kitchen here, I could actually cook myself.”

Madam Gui smiled and said goodbye, “Many things need to be resolved. Mr. Chen, please rest well. Just tell me if you need anything. There will be a Guihua Maiden waiting for you near the courtyard.”

Chen Ping’an sat alone on a stone bench in the courtyard and began to close his eyes to rest.

Soon there was a knock on the door. A Guihua Maiden outside the door said softly, “Mr. Chen, there are two guests from Aiai Continent. As for whether or not to meet them, Madam Gui said it’s up to you.”
Chen Pingan got up to open the door. Besides the maiden from Osmanthus Island, there was also a green-clad youth with a beaming smile and a solemn-faced white-haired old woman.

The youth cut straight to the chase, “Benefactor, my name is Liu Youzhou, and I come from the northernmost Aiai Continent. I won’t intrude upon your cultivation in the courtyard, I just came to express my gratitude in person.”

Chen Pingan smiled, “Alright.”

Then, they both fell silent.

The bamboo-clad youth was sizing up Chen Pingan with curiosity, while Chen Pingan was wondering when the youth would leave.

The old woman broke the silence, “That golden-robed wicked dragon struck at you twice. The first time was too unexpected, I couldn’t block it. The second time, I still couldn’t block it unless I risked my life. However, on this trip, I need to take care of my young master, so he needs to thank you for this. As for this old woman, I need to apologize to you.”

Chen Pingan smiled and cupped his fist in salute, “I appreciate your sentiment!”

The old woman nodded, a hint of a smile appearing on her face, “Young master is benevolent. If you ever visit Aiai Continent in the future, you must come to our Liu family as a guest.”

Chen Pingan smiled without saying a word.

The old woman led the Liu youth, dressed in bamboo clothes “to ward off the heat,” to bid farewell and depart.

The two brushed past a young and beautiful woman, who, after meeting Chen Pingan’s gaze, smiled and said, “So it’s you.”

Chen Pingan was somewhat bewildered, but fortunately, the woman had already turned and left.

Only then could Chen Pingan turn and head towards the courtyard, suddenly stopping and turning his head towards the apprehensive Osmanthus Island maiden, smiling, “Excuse me, miss, if anyone comes looking for me later, please help me turn them away.”

The Osmanthus Island maiden nodded vigorously.

For the next two days, Chen Pingan unusually didn’t practice his fist techniques or swordsmanship. Instead, he took out those books and bamboo scrolls, basking in the sun while reading their contents.

Late at night, Chen Pingan, already lying in bed, opened his eyes, got up, walked out of the room, and leaped onto the roof, taking down the sword-nurturing gourd and starting to drink.

He suddenly turned his head, and soon a figure came flying over and sat down beside him. This uninvited guest was carrying two jars of aged mellow wine.

Chen Pingan sincerely smiled, “Senior, looking for a drinking companion?”

It was none other than the old boatman who had fought to the death against the golden-robed old dragon.

The old man, who had been concealing his identity as a boatman from the world, laughed heartily, “What, do you嫌弃the old man’s slovenliness?”

Chen Pingan waved his hand, “How could I.”

The old man uncorked the wine jar and took a large gulp, remaining silent for a long time before softly speaking, “Osmanthus Island, after this calamity, is like a pond of water. Originally, it was a mix of fish and dragons, but generally, it was still orderly, and they didn’t disturb each other. But it has been stirred into a muddy mess. You’re right to stay in this small courtyard for this period, it’s best to be careful. Although most people only know that you stopped that old beast and calmed down the entire Dragon Ditch, I have to say something unpleasant, ‘A bushel of kindness is met with a cartload of resentment.'”

The old man said helplessly, “What’s more, the cultivation of the Great Dao is a bustling affair, and there are many who cannot bear to see others prosper.”

Chen Pingan thought for a moment and nodded, “It’s like neighbors in the street, who can’t bear to see another family become rich and get jealous. It’s all the same.”

The old man sighed and took a big gulp of wine.

Chen Pingan asked, “What exactly is Osmanthus Island? Can senior tell me?”

The old man smiled, “Why couldn’t I? It’s actually the true form of Mistress Osmanthus.”

Chen Pingan had a sudden realization.

The old man asked with a smile, “Then have you ever thought about who everyone on Osmanthus Island is?”

Chen Pingan tentatively said, “Mountain people, Qi practitioners?”

The old man shook his head, “Osmanthus Island is a ferry, what kind of people can ferry passengers be? Businessmen.”

Chen Pingan was stunned for a moment, then nodded, “Indeed.”

The old man asked again, “What do businessmen travel far and wide for?”

This time Chen Pingan answered quickly, “To make money.”

The old man leisurely took a sip of wine, “What do you seek after making money?”

Chen Pingan smiled, “To spend money.”

The old man sighed, “That’s right, working hard to make money is for the sake of spending money and enjoying life, so you must have the life to spend money. Qi practitioners, there are so many schools of thought in the world.”

Chen Pingan scratched his head, a hint of a smile appearing, and began to drink, this time drinking a bit more and faster. He simply leaned back, comfortably lying on the roof ridge, “Senior, can I tell you something from my heart? Can you promise not to spread it? And if I say it, you might be in a bit of trouble after hearing it. It’s not a good thing…”

The old man sat cross-legged, leaning forward, shaking the wine jar with both hands, the remaining half jar of wine sloshing inside. The old man smiled, “Just say it, after drinking wine, if you don’t say some drunken words, it’s too out of place. What else do you drink wine for? Boy, don’t look at me being countless years older than you, I’m actually missing a screw, just a reckless fool. Besides, having lived for so many years, if I wasn’t waiting to see my master again, I wouldn’t have been able to hold on until today. And some things, whether you say them or not, are actually not that different. I was right beside you at the time, hearing everything clearly. Wasn’t I just here to trick you into saying some drunken words?”

Chen Pingan pointed to the sky, “I used to meet a young Daoist priest in my hometown, we were quite good friends at the time, it was that Lu Chen. During that great battle earlier, he plotted against me twice, or maybe three times. I’ll just talk about the two times I’m sure of. One time, I had a stroke of inspiration, and couldn’t write the characters for Rain Master, so I simply wrote Lu Chen in a fit of anger. The second time was when I was facing the golden-robed old dragon alone, at that time…”

Chen Pingan placed the sword-nurturing gourd on his stomach, and put his hands under his head as a pillow, “That feeling was very strange, it was as if I could see and hear everyone’s state of mind, heart-lake, and heart-voice. Just like what senior said, ‘A bushel of kindness is met with a cartload of resentment’. I discovered that eight or nine out of ten Osmanthus Island passengers were indifferent, numb, or gloating, and even seemed to wish I would die on the spot. Of course, there was also a lot of jealousy… I couldn’t understand why this was until senior just said that this is Osmanthus Island, they are all businessmen, and everyone wants to live. Thinking back, yes, I’ve grown up relying on wanting to live to get to where I am today.”
Chen Ping’an grinned, “I have a friend, a truly remarkable swordsman. When Lu Chen schemed against me, I decided to turn the tables and make him deliver my last words. He either had to ignore it completely, losing face, or grit his teeth and pass them on to my friend, only to get a beating. Just imagining that scene made me less afraid of dying.”

Some things, Chen Ping’an still didn’t dare to say.

Because they involved Mr. Qi.

Mr. Qi had told him, no matter what, never to lose hope in this world.

But at the time, Chen Ping’an felt nothing but disappointment towards this world.

Perhaps that was Lu Chen’s true calculation, though the specifics remained a vague intuition for Chen Ping’an.

Lying on the rooftop now, Chen Ping’an finally said, “It’s hard not to be disappointed in this world.”

The old man drank his wine, saying slowly, “You’re casually calling the Daoist patriarch by his name, and you have a friend who can beat him… I won’t bore you with how shocked I am, young man. I was a terrestrial immortal once, after all, I still have some pride. But since you’ve spoken your drunken thoughts, I have some things I need to tell you too.”

Chen Ping’an started to sit up, but the old man turned and smiled, “Stay lying down, it’s just some old grumbling, no one’s listened for centuries, no need for you to be so serious.”

Chen Ping’an still sat up, explaining, “It’s hard to drink lying down.”

The old man smiled, hugging the wine jar, and looked out at the distant sea at night, the bright moon shining beautifully.

The old man slowly said, “Back then, I was also a prodigy in the eyes of the world, with a terrible temper. Maybe if I’d met you then, I would have been one of the people to disappoint you. My nature is different now, or I wouldn’t be sitting here drinking with you. Chen Ping’an, the guests on Osmanthus Island, good or bad, virtuous or evil, they all have their merits to reach this point. Besides, if there’s something you did right and they didn’t, they’re in the wrong. If there’s something you did wrong and they did right, they’re also in the wrong. That’s a bit convoluted…”

Chen Ping’an nodded, “I understand!”

The old man gave a thumbs up, laughing, “Of course, that fight before, you were completely right, flawless, it was this!”

Chen Ping’an smiled happily.

Being recognized by someone he respected was indeed something worth drinking to.

So Chen Ping’an took a big gulp of wine, then, with a smiling face, said casually, “Senior is also right, I shouldn’t measure everyone by my own standards. My reasoning might be right, might be wrong, might be right but not quite, or might be too small… haha, also a bit convoluted! Right, Senior?”

The old man joked, “Very convoluted.”

Chen Ping’an pointed into the distance, at the drunken young man, swaying his head, clearly very drunk, with an undisguised look of joy and pride, smiling and saying, “Senior, I know a lot of incredible people. Like that extremely powerful sword immortal later, I could have called him Senior Brother, am I not pretty awesome too?”

The old man nodded, laughing, “Yes, yes, you’re all awesome.”

Chen Ping’an’s eyes were bleary, and he turned his head, asking hazily, “Senior, that doesn’t sound sincere?”

The old man laughed, no wonder he got along with this kid, birds of a feather, stubborn as mules.

The young man fell backward in a drunken stupor, muttering to himself.

The old man helped the young man put down his wine pot, and inadvertently heard a few of Chen Ping’an’s drunken words. The old man nodded, guarding the young man all night.

The young man’s drunken words were: “Mr. Qi, I understand now, not losing hope in the world, besides living well, actually has another layer of meaning, that is, when we give kindness to this world, if we not only don’t get kindness in return, but only malice, then to be able to not be disappointed is true hope. Mr. Qi, I understand the reasoning now, but I can’t do it yet, I’ve had some wine, I’ll try hard tomorrow…”

The old boatman was nearly five hundred years old, had seen countless people, experienced countless things, and heard countless words, but still felt that the young man’s words were very insightful, perfect for drinking with, two jars weren’t enough.

Inside the sword-nourishing gourd, within the Flying Sword Fifteen.

There was a Confucianism primer that the old drunkard had given to Chen Ping’an, and the simple characters began to move on their own.

Finally, on the title page, a column of brand new characters appeared.

Order. First chapter, distinguish what comes first and last. Second chapter, discern what is big and small. Third chapter, determine what is good and evil. Fourth chapter, unify knowledge and action.

On the banks of a great river in Southern Po娑 Continent, on a large rocky cliff, two Confucian scholars stood side by side, one with a bright moon on his shoulder, and one holding a round sun in his hand.

The impoverished old Confucian scholar, who was moving his palm left and right, rotating a small round sun, smiled and said, “Chen Chun’an, do you think this closed-door disciple I took is virtuous?”

The refined scholar with a miniature moon on his shoulder nodded, but did not open his mouth to agree.

The shabby old scholar had no choice but to ask and answer himself, “Virtuous, I think he’s very virtuous.”

The old man beside him said calmly, “Anyway, you have a thick skin, you can say whatever you want. Are you really alright with constantly saying ‘virtuous, virtuous, virtuous’ these days? Have you admitted defeat? Do you think you’re wrong and my Teacher is right?”

The impoverished old scholar shook his head and smiled, “Alas, Chen Chun’an, why be like this? Hasn’t Chen Ping’an already answered you? Both surnames are Chen, your skills are naturally a little higher for now, but as for this comprehension, forget it, I won’t say it, saying it will cost me a friend.”

The refined old man sneered, “You, Chen Chun’an, and I, 文圣, were never friends.”

The old scholar nodded with a look of deep agreement, “That’s right, not only is there a difference in generation, but the difference in learning is too great, just as that boatman said, one must have some face.”

The old man, the head of the Yingyin Chen clan, said, “Speak plainly.”

The old scholar reached out and handed out the round sun, no longer joking, his tone somewhat heavy, “I hope I can see you take action later, the later the better.”

Chen Chun’an took the round sun and hovered it on his shoulder, so that the sun and moon shone together, and the old man said calmly, “It’s all the same.”

The old scholar sighed, “Scholars, it’s all the same.”

In Azure Firmament World, at the top floor of the Jade Capital in one of the central regions of the realm.
A young Daoist, a lotus crown adorning his head, strolled with leisurely grace atop the perilous, jade-white balustrade. One hand rested behind his back, while the other was held open, palm upwards, his gaze fixed upon its depths. He seemed lost in profound contemplation.

Below, in the corridor beneath the balustrade, two ascended immortals of the Daoist sect stood in rapt attention, holding their breath with utmost reverence. They dared not utter a word, lest they disturb their Sect Master’s celestial reverie.

Abruptly, the young Daoist retracted his hand and, with a sigh of dramatic resignation, declared, “Might as well be dead!” He then feigned a loss of balance and plunged headlong into the churning sea of clouds beyond the White Jade Capital, falling in a straight line.

The two ascended immortals remained motionless, exchanging knowing smiles. “One gets used to it,” their expressions seemed to say.