Inside the second-story room, the old man Cui Cheng was still barefoot, but today he wasn’t sitting cross-legged, instead closing his eyes and focusing his mind, adopting an unfamiliar stance Chen Ping’an had never seen before. One palm and one fist, one high and one low. Chen Ping’an didn’t disturb the old man’s stationary practice. He removed his bamboo hat, hesitated for a moment, and also took off the sword sheath, quietly sitting to the side.

Cui Cheng opened his eyes, his posture unchanging, and slowly said, “All the world’s fist techniques are nothing more than hardness and softness. My fist technique can be called supremely hard. Back when I traveled the lands, I saw many soft fist techniques, but never one that deserved the title of supremely soft.”

Chen Ping’an thought for a while and said, “Besides the fist manual and the stance, the temperament must also be a fit. Compared to your senior’s fist technique, if we don’t argue about the superiority of the two sides’ fist techniques or the weight of their fist intent, but only say that one wants to practice to the realm of supreme softness, it should be even more difficult. The Taoist disciples cultivating on the mountain would be more likely to switch to practicing fist techniques. Purely Jianghu martial artists would find it very, very difficult. The stance moves from the bottom up, the intent originates from within and radiates outward. If the heart and mind don’t reach it, forget about reaching the peak.”

Cui Cheng withdrew his stance and nodded, saying, “That’s a passable statement. It seems that your understanding of fist principles is at least slightly stronger than that yellow-mouthed brat.”

Chen Ping’an was used to this. The difficulty of getting a word of praise from this old man was roughly equivalent to Zheng Dafeng having a conversation of more than ten words with Old Man Yang back then.

Cui Cheng then sat down, gazing at the young man.

After returning from Shujian Lake, after practicing fist techniques in this building and traveling through the central part of Bao Ping Continent, he was no longer the kind of person with sunken cheeks and a haggard spirit. It’s just that the eyes, where a person’s spirit resides, of the young man, were a bit deeper, like an ancient, dark well, either with dried-up well water, only utter darkness, or with overflowing well water, making it even harder to see the bottom.

Cui Cheng asked, “If you were given another chance, if time flowed backward, your state of mind unchanged, how would you deal with Gu Can? Kill him, or not?”

Chen Ping’an answered, “Still not kill him.”

Cui Cheng frowned and said, “Why not kill him? Killing him would be worthy of heaven and earth. That kind of unpleasantness of personally killing a loved one, even if kept bottled up inside, would very likely make your punches heavier and your sword faster in the years to come. Only when a person harbors great sorrow and indignation can they have great aspirations, instead of harboring a dull blade, wearing away at their will. Killing Gu Can is also stopping the mistakes and would be more worry-free and effortless. You can still make amends afterward. You continue to do what you did before. Could Gu Can do better than you in the Water and Land Dharma Assembly and the Zhou Tian Grand Offering? Chen Ping’an! I ask you, why can others be killed under your fists and sword when they do evil, but Gu Can, who has the grace of a meal and the grace of a manual, cannot be killed?!”

The old man’s tone and words became increasingly heavy. In the end, Cui Cheng’s aura was like a mountain pressing down. What was even stranger was that Cui Cheng clearly didn’t have any fist intent on him. Forget about a tenth-realm martial artist, he didn’t even count as a martial artist at the moment. He was more like a proper old scholar in a Confucian robe.

“Worthy of heaven and earth? You are no longer even Chen Ping’an of Mud Bottle Alley, and you are worthy to walk the world with a sword, to speak to this heaven and earth on her behalf?”

Chen Ping’an twitched the corner of his mouth, as if with a sneer, “Righteously kill my own relative in Shujian Lake? Kill Gu Can, and leave it all behind, is it difficult? It is. But is it as difficult as the three years I spent in Shujian Lake? It is not. Has my choice ultimately made the world of Shujian Lake a little bit better? It has. After Gu Can lives, after making amends for the evil and karma he owes, will his nature be hard to change, and will he commit evil again, so that he will still be a bad thing for the future world? I’m not sure, but I’m watching. Even if I travel far to the Northern Ju Continent, it’s not just Zeng Ye and Ma Duyi who will watch. Liu Zhimao of Qingxia Island, Liu Laocheng of Gongliu Island, and Guan Yiran of Chishui City are all watching.”

The old man was still not satisfied with this answer, and could be said to be even more annoyed. He glared, his fists propped on his knees, his body leaning forward slightly, squinting and saying in a deep voice, “Difficult or not, how to view Gu Can, that is a matter of circumstance. I am now asking you about your true heart! Is there a difference in closeness in principle? If you don’t kill Gu Can today, what will you, Chen Ping’an, do if Pei Qian, Zhu Lian, Zheng Dafeng of Luopo Mountain, Li Baoping, Li Huai of the academy, or I, Cui Cheng, commit evil in the future?”

Chen Ping’an looked calm, “We’ll talk about it when the time comes.”

Cui Cheng asked, “Then what are your current doubts?”

“After chatting with Wei Bo, I have one less.”

Chen Ping’an answered, “So now I’m just thinking about how to be the strongest martial artist, how to cultivate a sword immortal.”

Cui Cheng shook his head, “A small child carrying a large basket, not much promise.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “Then I beg you, senior, to live for another hundred or thousand years. Let’s see who is right then?”

Cui Cheng glanced at the door that Chen Ping’an had intentionally or unintentionally not closed, and mocked, “Judging from the way you entered, you don’t seem to have the guts to say those words.”

Chen Ping’an patted his stomach, “Some big words, when the time comes, I can’t help but say them.”

Cui Cheng nodded, “Still itching for a beating.”

Chen Ping’an suddenly asked, “Senior, do you think I’m a good person?”

Cui Cheng nodded, “Yes.”

Aside from upholding chivalry, giving without expecting anything in return can naturally be considered a good person.

Chen Ping’an asked again, “Do you think I’m a moral saint?”

Cui Cheng glanced at the young man, “Looks like it.”

Chen Ping’an turned his head to look outside, smiling, “Then it seems that there are indeed too many smart people in this world.”

Cui Cheng laughed heartily, very happily, as if he had been waiting for Chen Ping’an to say this.

Chen Ping’an slowly said, “The old Taoist priest of the East Sea Guandao Temple, the meridians that he painstakingly instilled in me, and the Buddhist logic that I once went to great lengths to study in depth, as well as the root academic questions of the major Confucian lines, of course, in order to break the situation, I also thought about the state preceptor Cui Chan’s pragmatic academic questions. I thought very hard, and I only dare to say that I have occasionally gained some insights, but I can still only say that I have a smattering of knowledge. However, during this period, I had a very strange idea…”

Saying this, Chen Ping’an casually took out a bamboo slip from the spatial storage artifact and placed it on the ground in front of him, extending his finger to gently draw a line in the middle, “If the whole world is a ‘one’, then whether the world is good or bad, can we say that it depends on the good thoughts and evil thoughts, good deeds and evil deeds of all living beings gathering together, and then the two sides are in a tug-of-war? The day one side completely wins, there will be earth-shattering changes, changing into another kind of existence? Good and evil, rules, morals, will all change. Then…
As in the past, when the divine Dao collapsed, the Celestial Court crumbled, myriad deities shattered, and the Three Teachings and Hundred Schools rose up, stabilizing the land and rivers, only then did we have the current state. But those who cultivate seek immortality, obtaining the great fortune of being imperishable with Heaven and Earth, severing all ties with the mortal world. Having transcended humanity, with Heaven and Earth changing, what does it have to do with the ‘I’ who has already transcended all worldly matters?”

Cui Cheng pointed to the slender bamboo slip in front of Chen Ping’an, “Perhaps the answer has always been there, why ask others?”

Chen Ping’an lowered his head and looked at the yellowed bamboo slip, on which was carved a sentence he had personally inscribed: “Temporary victory lies in strength, eternal victory lies in principle.”

Chen Ping’an murmured, “But how many commoners at the foot of the mountain, even cultivators on the mountain, can see this ‘eternal victory’? Why is it so difficult to be a good person? Why does speaking reason always come at a price? Why can’t we live well in this life, and can only place our hope in the next? Why does reason rely on status, power, iron cavalry, cultivation, fists, and swords?”

Cui Cheng smiled and said, “Can’t figure it out?”

Chen Ping’an remained silent.

Cui Cheng stood up, reached out and pointed upwards, “If you can’t figure it out, then go and ask those who might have already figured it out, like learning from that old scholar. The old scholar relied on his self-proclaimed useless knowledge to invite Dao Ancestor and Buddha to sit down. You, Chen Ping’an, have fists and a sword, why not give it a try?”

Chen Ping’an raised his head.

Cui Cheng retracted his hand and laughed, “You believe such boasts?”

Chen Ping’an smiled.

Cui Cheng asked, “What do you think of a scholar in a prosperous age who points at a warlord in a chaotic era, who is covered in the blood of the common folk, and scolds him for still being a bad person even if he unifies the land, because he still massacres the innocent?”

Chen Ping’an replied, “Ignoring fundamental good and evil, he’s just stupid and evil. The key is that even if he acknowledges the other’s merits, he doesn’t truly approve of them in his heart. He says this only to make it easier to say the second half of his argument, therefore he’s stupid and evil.”

Cui Cheng pointed towards the outside, “Based on this answer, someone who’s wavering about whether or not to visit, now that he’s come to Fallen Phoenix Mountain, is probably willing to see you. Next, it depends on whether you’re willing to see him. How you talk after meeting is your own business. Remember to close the door after you leave.”

Chen Ping’an turned his head and looked, the old scholar was wearing a Confucian robe, neither shabby nor luxurious.

Chen Ping’an stood up, walked outside, and gently closed the door. The old Confucian stood leaning against the railing, gazing south. Chen Ping’an stood side by side with this former top disciple of the Literary Sage, the Great Li Embroidered Tiger.

Cui Chan took the lead in descending the stairs, Chen Ping’an followed behind. The two walked together up the mountain to the mountain god’s shrine at the peak.

The Mountain God Song had already withdrawn his golden effigy.

After leaving the bamboo building, the two still walked slowly side by side, ascending the steps.

Cui Chan’s first sentence was a digression, “Wei Bo didn’t greet you because I used my influence to suppress him, you don’t need to hold a grudge.”

Chen Ping’an said, “Of course.”

Cui Chan asked, “How was your trip to Book Brief Lake?”

Chen Ping’an said, “To be polite, it was alright. Although I suffered a bit, it wasn’t without gain. Sometimes, I even have to thank you, after all, it’s good to get the bad things out of the way early. If I were to say harsh words, then I’d say I’ve written it down in my ledger, and I’ll collect the debt from the National Preceptor when I get the chance.”

Cui Chan hummed, not paying any attention, and said to himself, “Upheaval has begun in Fufeng Continent. Tongye Continent has benefited from the disaster, the plots of several great demons were exposed early, and things have begun to stabilize. As for Southern Suopo Continent, which is closest to the Inverted Mountain, with Chen Chunan there, it shouldn’t be too chaotic. In Central Earth Divine Continent, the Yin-Yang School’s Lu family, an old ancestor, exhausted all of his cultivation to give the Confucian Temple a definite result. Once the Sword Qi Great Wall is broken, Dao Lao Er will take back the Inverted Mountain into the Azure Underworld. Southern Suopo Continent and Fufeng Continent will most likely fall into the hands of the demon race, so the demon race will then be able to seize the luck of the two continents. After that, there will be a brief period of stability, and then they will mainly attack Central Earth Divine Continent, at that time, the common people will suffer, and smoke will fill the horizon for thousands of miles, countless Confucian sages and gentlemen will fall, and the various schools of thought will also suffer great losses. Fortunately, a scholar who is not within any Confucian lineage, left an isolated overseas island and, wielding his sword, cleaved open the pass of a certain secret realm, which can accommodate a great many refugees. The disciples of the Confucian academies on those three continents have already begun to prepare for future migrations.”

Cui Chan paused slightly, “This is only part of the truth, the intricate schemes within this, the enemy and us, or the internal affairs of the Boundless World, the Confucian school itself, the stakes among the various schools of thought, can be described as a tangled mess. This is much more difficult than picking up the thread of someone’s inner thoughts at Book Brief Lake. People’s hearts are different, so don’t blame Heaven’s Way for being fickle.”

Chen Ping’an was expressionless, and subconsciously reached out to take a drink from his sword-nourishing gourd, but quickly stopped.

Cui Chan slowly climbed higher, and slowly said: “The silver lining in the misfortune is that we still have time.”

Cui Chan said, “Cui Dongshan probably didn’t tell you this in his letter, mostly wanting to wait for you, his teacher, to return from the Northern Entirety Continent before mentioning it. First, it’s to avoid distracting you from practicing your sword, and second, by then, he, this disciple, even in the identity of Cui Dongshan, will be wealthy in our Treasure Bottle Continent, so he can come to his teacher and show off a little. I can even roughly guess that at that time, he will say to you, ‘Teacher, rest assured, with your disciple here, Treasure Bottle Continent is secure’. Cui Dongshan will feel that it is a state that makes him very much at ease. Cui Dongshan is now willing to do things willingly, which is far more effective than me scheming for him to come out of the mountains, I also need to thank you.”

Chen Ping’an did not speak.

Cui Chan glanced at the jade hairpin in Chen Ping’an’s hair, “Chen Ping’an, how should I say this to you? When you’re clever and cautious, you didn’t seem like a teenager back then, and now you don’t seem like a young man who has just reached adulthood. But when you’re being foolish, you’ll also be blind to the obvious, the same goes for people and things. Why did Zhu Lian remind you of the sound of the partridge in the mountains? If you were truly at peace in your heart, as you usually act, as steady as a Buddha, why be afraid of saying goodbye to a friend? Whether it’s worldly grievances or love affairs, don’t look at what’s being said, look at what’s being done.”

“Furthermore, haven’t you thought about it? In the battle of Old Dragon City, the person who made the move was the Ascended Realm Du Mao, it was his natal artifact, the Sword-Swallowing Boat, so even the jade talisman, a keepsake she gave you, was destroyed. If it were an ordinary hairpin, would it still exist?”
Cui Chan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking up at the sky. “Observing the subtle reveals the obvious. If one constantly gazes upon the bright and dazzling sun, with a heart like flowers and trees reaching for the light, should one not also look back at the shadows behind them?”

Chen Ping’an touched his jade hairpin, then withdrew his hand, asking, “Why does the Imperial Preceptor speak to me with such sincerity?”

Cui Chan laughed freely. “Half of me is now your disciple, and my grandfather resides in your home. As the Imperial Preceptor of Great Li, should I not draw a distinction between public and private matters?”

Chen Ping’an believed him, but not entirely.

Cui Chan walked to the top of the stairs and turned to look into the distance.

Chen Ping’an took down his gourd for nurturing swords, raised it, and said, “I’ll have a drink,” before sitting down on the steps.

Cui Chan asked, “Who do you think will be the new Emperor of Great Li? The Prince Song Changjing? Song Jixin, who was raised in the Azure Ocean Grotto-Heaven? Or the prince favored by the Empress, Song He?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head.

Cui Chan smiled. “Song Changjing chose Song Jixin, and I chose my own disciple, Song He. Then we made a compromise: south of the Guanhai Academy, a secondary capital will be built somewhere, and Song Jixin will be enfeoffed as a prince in Old Dragon City, while also governing the secondary capital from afar. The Empress, who has been eating vegetarian food in the Changchun Palace for years, couldn’t get a word in edgewise, afraid to speak, afraid to die. She probably still thinks she’s dreaming, unable to believe that such a good thing has happened. In fact, the late Emperor hoped that his younger brother, Song Changjing, would be able to oversee the country and then ascend the throne, but Song Changjing refused, and burned the imperial edict in front of me.”

Chen Ping’an drank his wine, wiped his mouth, and said, “In that case, everyone is happy.”

Cui Chan asked, “When you left Red Candle Town and traveled south to Shujian Lake, what did you think?”

Chen Ping’an said, “Many people died.”

Cui Chan gently lifted his foot and stepped down lightly. “The joys and sorrows of the world are naturally without distinction of high or low, and even the weight of each is not that different, but their positions do have a distinction of superiority.”

Cui Chan asked, “Do you know why I chose Great Li as my foothold? And why Qi Jingchun wanted to build the Cliff Academy in Great Li? It’s not like Qi Jingchun had no other options at the time; in fact, he had many, and they could have been better.”

Chen Ping’an said, “I only know that it wasn’t as rumored, that Teacher Qi wanted to check you, his disciple who betrayed his master. As for the truth, I don’t know.”

Cui Chan smiled slightly. “The thing Qi Jingchun liked to do most in his life was thankless tasks that gained him nothing. He was afraid that the commotion I caused in the Treasure Bottle Continent would be too great, so great that it would involve the old scholar who had already severed ties with him. Therefore, he had to personally watch what I was doing to feel at ease. He had to take responsibility for the living beings of a continent. He felt that when we, no matter who, were pursuing something, if we had to pay a price, as long as we put our hearts into it, we could make fewer mistakes. And correcting mistakes and making amends were the responsibilities of scholars. Scholars cannot just talk emptily about serving the country. This is the same as you in Shujian Lake, liking to shoulder burdens. Otherwise, in that dead end, where would you die? Killing Gu Can directly, in the future when you become a Sword Immortal, that would be quite a celebrated tale.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t say a word.

Cui Chan smiled. “I know you don’t believe me. It doesn’t matter. The things I’m telling you are personal matters, so there’s some personal bias.”

Cui Chan asked, “Have you ever considered why, even though A Liang and Qi Jingchun were so close, he still didn’t kill me in the Great Li capital back then? He didn’t even kill the late Emperor of Great Li, but only ruined that imitation of the Jade Capital, and even left the late Emperor three years of life?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Cui Chan smiled slightly. “You might as well follow the thread of a certain stinky-nosed Daoist priest, and think more about the established facts that you have already seen, and deduce a thing or two. It’s actually not difficult.”

Chen Ping’an slowly said, “The Great Li Iron Cavalry marched south ahead of schedule, much faster than expected, because the Great Li Emperor also had his own selfish desire, wanting to see the southern coast of the Treasure Bottle Continent with the Great Li Iron Cavalry before he died.”

Cui Chan pointed to a place, “Take another look at the Upside-Down Mountain and the Sword Qi Great Wall.”

Chen Ping’an frowned. “That great battle that determined the ownership of the Sword Qi Great Wall was thanks to A Liang turning the tide. The deductions of the Yin Yang School’s Lu Clan, which only looked at the results without considering the process, ultimately had a big flaw.”

Cui Chan shifted his finger, “What about the Green Leaf Continent?”

Chen Ping’an said, “It seems that luck is protecting the continent, causing the demon race’s plot to surface too early, allowing them to escape a calamity. If we assume that the demon race could really break through the Great Wall, then the Green Leaf Continent would not be suitable as the first direction of attack. The crisis is more likely to be the Southern Seas Continent and the Soaring Clouds Continent, especially the latter.”

Cui Chan pointed to the ground, “What about our Treasure Bottle Continent’s territory?”

Chen Ping’an took a sip of wine, “It is the smallest of the nine continents of the Vast World.”

Cui Chan asked again, “Territory has size, but do the fortunes of the continents have size?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head, no.

Cui Chan pointed his finger southward, “You are about to go to the Northern Entirely-Assembled Continent, so is the distance between the Treasure Bottle Continent and the Green Leaf Continent far?”

Chen Ping’an clenched the gourd for nurturing swords, and said, “Compared to the distances between the other continents, it can be said to be extremely close.”

Cui Chan raised his hand and pointed behind him, “The sword cultivators from the Northern Entirely-Assembled Continent previously covered the sky and rushed to the Sword Qi Great Wall to support them, did you see it with your own eyes?”

Sweat broke out on Chen Ping’an’s forehead, and he nodded with difficulty.

Cui Chan smiled. “No wonder you couldn’t see these so-called world trends before. So now, one of the ends of this thread has appeared. I’ll ask you first, does the old master of the Guandao Temple in the Eastern Sea wholeheartedly want to compete with the Dao Ancestor in the height of Daoist magic?”

Chen Ping’an nodded.

Cui Chan asked again, “Do you know why the world likes to jokingly call Daoists ‘stinky-nosed old Daoists’?”

Chen Ping’an said, “Because it is rumored that the Dao Ancestor once rode a green ox and traveled around the various worlds.”

Cui Chan sighed softly, “This is one of the ends of the thread. That old master is one of the longest-lived beings in the world, his age is unimaginable.”

Chen Ping’an tucked away the gourd for nurturing swords, and rubbed his face with both hands, his palms covered in sweat.

The true identity of the old master of the Guandao Temple in the Eastern Sea was actually like this.

Cui Chan smiled. “You might as well think about the worst possible outcome, the end of the thread that brought the best possible outcome to the Green Leaf Continent. What if that youth who unintentionally stumbled upon the demon race’s plot in the Fuzhi Sect was the old Daoist’s doing? Of course, the youth himself was unintentional, but the old Daoist was intentional.”

Chen Ping’an took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and used the sword furnace to establish a foundation to stabilize his mind.

Random thoughts surged, like snowflakes falling.
Even disregarding the survival of Tongye Continent, what about those I know?

“I advise you, don’t overreach yourself. Believe it or not, people who wouldn’t have died originally might even turn misfortune into blessing, but with your meddling, most will become destined to die. As I said before, fortunately, we still have time.”

Cui Chan evidently didn’t care much about this. He didn’t mind what Chen Pingan did, he merely said indifferently, “I also traveled the world in my youth, and one of my fundamental studies, besides the pragmatic learning that was looked down upon by the Old Scholar, also lies in the subtlety. So before I set foot on Baoping Continent, I was already convinced of two things: the demon race breaking through the Sword Qi Great Wall is an inevitable trend! The demon race invading the Great Harmony World and attacking Tongye Continent is a certainty! Once Tongye Continent is taken, what is little Baoping Continent? What is Beiju Luzhou, where half of the top sword cultivators have been transferred?! What backbone can an Aiai Continent, rife with merchants, have in the face of a strong enemy?”

Cui Chan waved his hand grandly, “At least three continents will be in their hands in an instant! Once Aiai Continent assesses the situation and chooses to surrender without a fight, even if we take a step back and say that Aiai Continent chooses neutrality, who loses more as the balance shifts? In this way, how many continents and how much fortune will the demon race occupy? Wouldn’t this count as gaining a firm foothold? How many continents are there in the Great Harmony World in total? Will the demon race then slowly plot against the Northwest Liuxia Continent, as some self-proclaimed clever people believe, that the demon race will only be trapped and beaten once they enter? Will the Great Harmony World instead have the opportunity to seize the chance and occupy the Desolate World in one fell swoop?”

Chen Pingan slowly stood up, “I understand.”

He not only understood why Cui Dongshan had that question at the Cliff Academy in the past.

He also understood why A-Liang didn’t ruthlessly kill the Great Li Dynasty back then.

Cui Chan laughed heartily, looking around, “Saying that I, Cui Chan, am ambitious, wanting to promote one person’s learning to an entire continent? Is being a national teacher for a country in that continent considered great ambition?”

Cui Chan’s face was full of sarcasm as he clicked his tongue and shook his head, “Breaking a mountain with one punch, killing millions of people with one sword, is that amazing? Is that satisfying? Under the general trend, you, Chen Pingan, can wait and see, counting on your fingers, how many peaks those upper five realms cultivators of Tongye Continent, whether good or evil, will be able to keep in the end, and how many immortals will survive! Then look at the demon race that pours onto the shore of Tongye Continent like a tide, whether they collect money or not, whether they are reasonable or not.”

Cui Chan’s mouth curled up, “Everything must be repaid.”

Cui Chan extended a palm, cutting down sharply like a knife, “A-Liang didn’t say a word about this to me back in the Great Li capital. But I was even more certain at the time that A-Liang believed that the worst result would definitely come, just like Qi Jingchun back then. This has nothing to do with whether they recognize me, Cui Chan, as a person. So I want all the scholars of the Great Harmony World, and those beasts in the Desolate World to take a good look at how I, Cui Chan, rely on my own strength to transform the resources of one continent into the strength of one country, using Old Dragon City as a fulcrum, to create an impregnable defense line along the entire southern coast of Baoping Continent!”

Cui Chan waved his sleeve, and the wind and clouds changed.

The summit of Fallen Phoenix Mountain was suddenly shrouded in thick fog.

The world was pitch black, and one couldn’t see one’s fingers. At the same time, Chen Pingan discovered that pieces of landscape maps gradually emerged beneath his feet, dotted like the lights of thousands of homes in the marketplace.

South Saha Continent, Southwest Fuyao Continent, East Baoping Continent, Southeast Tongye Continent, Julu Continent that seized the “North” prefix, Aiai Continent in the due north, West Jinjia Continent, Northwest Liuxia Continent.

Finally, there was the Central Divine Continent, surrounded by all the stars.

Heaven is round, and earth is square.

This was not surprising, because the Great Harmony World was originally one of the “fragments,” as were the Azure Nether World, where the Daoists were stationed, and the Desolate World.

Chen Pingan wanted to say something but stopped, and finally didn’t ask that question, because he already had the answer.

Why don’t you, Cui Chan, announce this to the world?

No one would listen if it were said, and they might not believe it even if they heard it.

Moreover, once it was revealed, the demon race would naturally have countermeasures.

Cui Chan changed the subject and smiled, “There was once an ancient prophecy, not widely circulated, and probably very few people still believe it. When I was young, I accidentally flipped through a book and happened to find that sentence, I felt like I owed that person a cup of wine. This prophecy is ‘The Experts shall Obtain the World.’ Not the expert from the Yin-Yang school’s branch of magicians, but the art of calculation, which is at the bottom of the Hundred Schools of Thought, even more despised than lowly merchants… the benefit of its purpose and learning is ridiculed as the abacus of a merchant’s accountant.”

“What is the defect in so many of our Three Teachings and Hundred Schools of Thought? It lies in the inability to measure, the lack of focus on pathways, and the greater inclination to seek the Dao in the abstract, unwilling to accurately measure the path under our feet. Therefore, when later generations follow learning and begin to walk, problems will arise. And the sages are not good at, nor willing to explain in detail. Dao Ancestor left three thousand words and already felt it was a lot. Buddha simply did not establish words, and the fundamental learning of our most Holy Teacher was also compiled and taught by seventy-two students.”

Cui Chan turned to look at the dizzy Chen Pingan, “You, Chen Pingan, suffered so much in Book Brief Lake, why? Do you know few principles? Have you seen few people and things? Is the Old Scholar’s sequential learning lacking? I don’t think so.”

Chen Pingan didn’t want to say more about this.

Instead, he asked, “Why reveal heavenly secrets to me?”

Cui Chan smiled, “Before the Book Brief Lake chess game started, I made an agreement with myself that as long as you won, I would tell you these things, as a final settlement with you and Qi Jingchun.”

Chen Pingan asked, “Won? Are you joking?”

Cui Chan nodded, “It’s just a joke.”

Cui Chan shook his sleeve, the landscape maps instantly disappeared, and he sneered, “You, Qi Jingchun, A-Liang, the Old Scholar, and the future Chen Qingdu, Chen Chunan, aren’t the things you do all jokes in the eyes of so many self-satisfied clever people?”

Cui Chan turned his head and looked at this young man in green shirt, jade hairpin, and gourd for nurturing swords, a swordsman, a knight-errant, a scholar?

Cui Chan extended a finger and pointed.