A Daoist Dharma Idol, towering five thousand zhang high, slammed a fist heavily upon Immortal Hairpin City.

Astonishingly, not only did this fist fail to penetrate the city, it didn’t even truly touch its core. It merely shattered countless golden lights. However, the force of the blow was immense, causing the weather in two vassal cities belonging to Immortal Hairpin City, located where the fist landed, to become chaotic. In one, a sudden storm raged, while in the other, there were faint signs of heavy snowfall.

Within those two cities, the demon Earth Immortal cultivators felt their minds swaying, trembling uncontrollably. Those Qi Refining cultivators who hadn’t yet formed their Golden Cores were in a slightly better position if they weren’t currently engaged in absorbing and refining qi; they hastily summoned their natal items to help stabilize their Dao hearts and resist the overwhelming power that felt like “a heavenly tribulation descending.” Those who were cultivating felt as if their minds had been struck by a heavy hammer, their chests tight with discomfort, and they vomited large mouthfuls of stagnant blood. Many cultivators below the fifth realm even fainted on the spot.

“Could it truly be that last Hidden Official from the Sword Qi Great Wall?!”

Upon hearing that it might be that Hidden Official visiting Immortal Hairpin City, a multitude of female officials from the city, like orioles leaving their branches, flew out in droves. They positioned themselves in places with open views, either looking up or looking down at the Dharma Idol. Their eyes sparkled with excitement, and their gazes flowed with admiration, fortunate to witness a living Hidden Official in person. Those who kindly advised them to return to their cultivation grounds were met with disdainful glares.

Lu Chen, within the Lotus Dojo, stood on tiptoes, craning his neck, and exclaimed in surprise, “This city is quite resistant to a beating!”

Immortal Hairpin City was like a Qi Refining cultivator possessing an armored pellet forged by strategists, worn on the back. Unless one could shatter the armor with a single blow, it would remain intact as a whole, resembling a resilient turtle shell.

On a larger scale, the Sword Qi Great Wall and the Night-Sailing Ship were based on the same principles of formation, the methods of Great Dao operation, which originally stemmed from the remains of the Heavenly Court.

In the past, the Great Ancestor of Mount Tuoyue took advantage of Chen Qingdu’s opening a path for the Ascension City with his sword, allowing it to ascend to another world. It was then that he seized the opportunity to cleave the Sword Qi Great Wall in two, breaking that unity.

Lu Chen, seeing those female officials who were still unaware of the impending disaster, smiled, increasingly anticipating Chen Pingan’s future visit to Jade Capital.

Back then, A’Liang’s visit to Jade Capital was merely his own wishful thinking.

The female officials within Immortal Hairpin City, on the other hand, were engaging in their own wishful thinking.

Even the Fairy sisters of the Five Cities and Twelve Pavilions, who originally had some admiration for A’Liang, likely saw their affection shattered upon witnessing the man spitting and rubbing his hair. Those affections scattered with the wind, never to be mentioned again.

In truth, there were indeed a few sisters in Jade Capital who were close to the Third Sect Leader and felt a slight sense of disappointment, saying that seeing him was not as good as hearing about him. Before that, A’Liang, who had exchanged two punches with the Second Sect Leader, was the most frequently mentioned outsider within Jade Capital for a century in Jade Capital.

The young Hidden Official was different. Meeting him only confirmed that his reputation was well-deserved.

Lu Chen said, “Chen Pingan, in the future, when you travel through the Azure Billow Heaven, you, Senior Brother Yu, and the one from Purple Qi Pavilion, do as you see fit. I won’t take sides, I’ll just watch from the sidelines. Once your grudges are settled, then we’ll go to Jade Capital together. For example, Green Jade City and Divine Firmament City, I must be the one to guide you. It’s settled, we have an agreement!”

Chen Pingan ignored him, instead delivering another punch with his left hand, using the Iron Cavalry Charge formation.

Lu Chen immediately shut his mouth, feeling very guilty.

Immortal Hairpin City was like a graceful goddess standing tall between heaven and earth, draped in a sky-covering robe, yet a huge dent had been punched into it.

The fist hovered, only tens of zhang away from the mountain city.

From an immortal residence on the “mid-mountain” of Immortal Hairpin City, a young-looking demon cultivator, serving as the Vice City Lord, rose from a pile of fair, smooth flesh in the bed. Showing no tenderness, he pushed and kicked the exquisitely beautiful female cultivators. A foxy woman near the bed rolled to the ground, trembling. She looked up at him with resentment in her eyes, reached for a dress from the ground to cover her nakedness. He put on his robe and hesitated, ultimately choosing not to reveal his true form. Instead, a Dharma Idol of an immortal, a thousand zhang tall, drifted out of the house. He exclaimed in exasperation, “Where did this lunatic come from? Why antagonize my Immortal Hairpin City? Had enough of living and eager to be reincarnated?!”

The Daoist Dharma Idol responded with another punch.

It was a simple reply.

The great demon, who had manifested his thousand-zhang Dharma Idol, was momentarily speechless.

Fortunately, the spiritual energy of Immortal Hairpin City gathered on its own, withstanding the straight punch of the lotus-crowned Daoist.

The force of this punch was even more overwhelming. For the cultivators of Immortal Hairpin City, the visible phenomenon was that the wind and clouds surged within the city, and countless spiritual energies swiftly coalesced into a sea of clouds. The white clouds resembled an upright dressing mirror, blocking the punch. Then, the punch disrupted the sea of clouds, the fist suddenly becoming as large as a mountain, seemingly about to strike the cultivators’ eyes in the next moment.

The young Hidden Official, with his majestic Dharma Idol, pulverized the white clouds with a punch.

This man, at this moment, in this scene, turned the female officials of Immortal Hairpin City’s thoughts into infatuation.

In the Wildlands, there was only one unshakeable principle: the strong are respected.

At the highest point of Immortal Hairpin City, in a forbidden alchemy room, an old cultivator with the bearing of an immortal was originally holding a palm-leaf fan, watching the heat of the alchemy furnace. After the uninvited guest’s three punches, he had no choice but to step out of the room, lean against the railing, look down at the lotus crown, and smile, “Can Daoist friend please stop and talk? If there’s a misunderstanding, we can clear it up.”

In his line of sight, that Daoist was half the height of the city.

Fists shaking the high city.

Although this Ascension Realm City Lord appeared calm, he was actually filled with worry. The benevolent do not come, and the comers are not benevolent. He didn’t know how he had provoked such an uninvited guest.

Logically speaking, Immortal Hairpin City had always had few mortal enemies in the Wildlands. Moreover, Immortal Hairpin City had always had a good relationship with Mount Tuoyue. Especially during the previous large-scale invasion of the Boundless World, nearly half of the sixty military camps of the Wildlands had conducted business with Immortal Hairpin City. Not long ago, he had even sent a flying sword letter to Mount Tuoyue, extending an invitation to the sword cultivator Fei Ran, who had risen to become the Overlord of the World, hoping that Fei Ran would grace Immortal Hairpin City with his presence. It would be best if Fei Ran could also generously inscribe four characters, adding a brand-new plaque to his city, illuminating it for eternity.

Moreover, Fei Ran had personally replied with a letter, agreeing to the matter, saying that he would visit Immortal Hairpin City soon.

Unexpectedly, before Fei Ran arrived, a Daoist with an astonishing aura had arrived first.
The last calamity suffered by Immortal Hairpin City was a wholly unwarranted disaster. The mountain-moving ancestor, a true Zhu Yan demon, with the given name of Zhu Yan, had once been on his way to congratulate the concubine of the Dragging River deity. Shouldering a long staff and riding his sword, he passed by this area. Finding the city too tall and an eyesore, Zhu Yan revealed his true form, mustered all his strength, and hammered the city with over a dozen muffled blows.

However, he failed to completely shatter the city’s protective formations. Although Immortal Hairpin City was then indeed teetering on the brink of collapse, it ultimately wasn’t breached by a single strike. Later, there were whispers circulating only on the peaks of the desolate mountains, saying that the previous city lord of Immortal Hairpin City had secretly paid a heavy price to resolve the matter. After that cataclysm, Immortal Hairpin City underwent thousands of years of meticulous management, constantly constructing and repairing its landscape formations, making it a different place from what it once was.

Chen Ping’an shook his wrist, first practicing with three punches.

His wide sleeves fluttered, and the cloud seas of varying heights that originally floated around Immortal Hairpin City were swept away by the sleeves of his azure Daoist robe. With a mere shake of the wrist and a few casual swings of the sleeves, all the cloud seas vanished, leaving a clear expanse of ten thousand miles.

The old Ascendant, who was the city lord, still wore a kindly expression and said through mental communication, “Daoist friend, what do you seek from your visit to Immortal Hairpin City? What do you desire? All can be negotiated. As long as we possess it, we’re willing to give it to you freely, just to make friends and establish a karmic connection with you.”

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Of course, he wouldn’t mistake the Daoist in front of him, who was very likely in the Fourteenth Realm of Dao Integration, for Chen Ping’an.

This Daoist friend, who concealed his identity, must have used an illusion. What Daoist attire, what Sword Qi Great Wall Hidden Official face? How many years has it been since Chen Ping’an returned to the Vast Expanse?

Even if such a heavenly gift of realm drop were to occur, how could anyone withstand a drop of three realms? No Jade Purity realm cultivator could endure such a gift from the Great Dao. Li Zhen of Mount Tuoyue couldn’t withstand it back then, and even Shan Qing, the current closed-door disciple of the Dao Ancestor, couldn’t bear it.

So, as long as the other party was willing to conceal his identity, it was probably not an irreconcilable feud, and there was still room for negotiation.

Chen Ping’an looked north into the distance and retracted his gaze. He asked Lu Chen through mental communication, “Is the Dharmic Image only this tall? Is Headmaster Lu holding back?”

It was said that on the top floor of Immortal Hairpin City, if a cultivator leaned on the railing and looked into the distance, as long as their eyesight was sufficient, they would definitely not see the peak of Mount Tuoyue, nor the top of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Therefore, Immortal Hairpin City had a saying that it prided itself on: A poem from the Vast Expanse says, “Dare not speak loudly, for fear of startling the heavenly beings.” But here, we have to change the saying to, “The heavenly beings dare not speak softly, for fear of being heard by the cultivators of our city.”

Lu Chen smiled, “A grown man, like anyone, has some hidden savings.”

The essence of this Daoist Dharmic Image’s Great Dao was the five thousand characters personally transmitted by the Dao Ancestor, so it was five thousand zhang tall, no more, no less.

Then, Lu Chen, as the Third Headmaster of White Jade Capital, and the Dao Ancestor’s junior disciple for several millennia, would naturally have his own Daoist techniques. If Lu Chen hadn’t acted on his own initiative to accept a disciple on behalf of his master, then Lu Chen, as the third disciple, would have naturally become the true closed-door disciple of the Dao Ancestor in a few more years. But for some reason, it seemed that Lu Chen intentionally avoided this matter, giving up the title himself.

Lu Chen asked with a smile, “If you want it to be taller, it’s actually very simple. My three works, have you still not turned a single page to this day? It’s okay, it’s a good opportunity to browse through them…”

If Chen Ping’an hadn’t read the “Nanhua Sutra” yet, it couldn’t be simpler. Now, Chen Ping’an, as long as he was willing to study Daoist books, just opening the book would be like having divine assistance, with a tacit understanding, and after reading it once, he would grasp its true meaning, and everything would fall into place, because Chen Ping’an was now in the mysterious realm of “superior scholar hears the Dao”, truly a “person who has obtained its meaning”.

Chen Ping’an laughed, “Compared to the Dao Ancestor’s meager five thousand characters, aren’t your three works of over eighty thousand characters a bit too much? ‘Great knowledge is leisurely, small knowledge is contentious, great words are blazing, small words are nagging,’ didn’t you say that yourself?”

Obviously, Chen Ping’an had read the “Nanhua Sutra”. In the Nanhua City of White Jade Capital, the formal incorporation of a Daoist official into the Daoist lineage was least cumbersome, as Lu Chen casually threw out a later engraved version of the Nanhua Sutra.

Lu Chen said with a serious face, “It’s far from enough to compare to one superior, but it’s more than enough to compare to nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine inferiors, you can’t be greedy for more.”

Beside Chen Ping’an’s heart lake, outside the library, three Daoist classics of varying thicknesses appeared, suspended side by side in the air. As if a wind were turning the pages, the Daoist scriptures were flipped page by page.

Lu Chen suddenly slapped his palm and said with grief and indignation, “Chen Ping’an, it’s a Daoist classic recognized by the Daoist sect, how can it not even qualify to be placed in the library?”

After Chen Ping’an “read” the book, the Dharmic Image, which was originally half the height of the city, gained all the Daoist meaning of the Nanhua Sutra and grew three thousand zhang out of thin air.

He was about to deliver a punch to this tall city in the style of a divine being beating a drum.

Chen Ping’an reminded him, “Headmaster Lu, don’t be idle either, continue drawing those three Moonwarding Talismans. If you delay the important business, it’s fine for me, but Senior Sword Immortal Qi and Mister Lu may not be so easy to talk to.”

The judicial official, Hao Su, would take the lead in ascending to the bright moon. At that time, Hao Su would use his natal divine ability of a flying sword to guide the other three sword cultivators to ascend to heaven together.

Lu Chen said with a bitter face, “You can’t bully an honest man to death like this.”

Lending the headmaster’s token and Fourteenth Realm Daoist techniques to Chen Ping’an, lending the sword box to Dragon Elephant Sword Sect, drawing the Three Mountain Talismans at all costs, trading Sword Cleansing Talismans with Qi Tingji, and even giving away Moonwarding Talismans… This long journey, could it be that he, a non-sword cultivator, was the busiest in the end?

Chen Ping’an delivered the first punch towards Immortal Hairpin City.

Immortal Hairpin City swayed along with it. The land within a thousand miles around shook violently. Countless ravines were torn in the ground, mountains trembled, rivers changed their courses, and strange phenomena arose.

The eight thousand zhang tall Daoist Dharmic Image moved sideways, and the second punch smashed into the tall city. In the city, many immortal mansions that were originally filled with ethereal immortal Qi, and one after another towering ancient trees, rustled their leaves, and countless leaves falling off, and a snow-white waterfall cascading straight down from a high place in the city seemed to freeze instantly, hanging under the eaves like an icicle, and then when the third punch landed on Immortal Hairpin City, the waterfall exploded with a bang, like a blizzard.

Lu Chen turned his head and narrowed one eye, a little unwilling to look directly at it.
According to the records of the Summer Palace, the cornerstone of this Immortal Hairpin City is a Daoist hairpin refined by the first cultivator in heaven and earth.

However, this pioneer of that ancient war, unfortunately, perished on the path to ascension, his Daoist arts shattered and dissipated between heaven and earth. Only a white jade hairpin worn in his hair remained intact. Lost to the mortal realm, it was eventually discovered by a female cultivator of great fortune in the desolate lands. She obtained this inheritance, becoming the founding matriarch of Immortal Hairpin City. After ascending to the upper five realms, she began constructing Immortal Hairpin City, establishing a sect, and expanding its influence. Over the course of four successive city lords, all great cultivators, they governed diligently, amassing wealth, and building Immortal Hairpin City ever higher.

The current city lord of Immortal Hairpin City is an Ascension Realm great cultivator, known by the Daoist name Xuanpu. He is proficient in the three great arts of forging, formations, and alchemy, and his friends are spread throughout the world.

The city also boasts a deputy city lord with Immortal Realm cultivation, known as Silver Deer. He is the current city lord’s direct disciple, deeply versed in the art of the bedchamber. He once preemptively purchased a female cultivator from the Rain Dragon Sect from the barbarian military, but the Demon King Qieyun snatched her away, flaying her beautiful face. Otherwise, Immortal Hairpin City would likely have hundreds of Rain Dragon Sect female cultivators by now.

If a nominal disciple of Immortal Hairpin City fails to reach Earth Immortal status after a century of cultivation, they are expelled from the city and removed from the ancestral hall’s registry. Their fate after that is their own concern, whether they live or die. Earth Immortal disciples who fail to reach the upper five realms within five centuries are not simply driven out. In accordance with ancestral rules, the city does not support the useless, wasting spiritual energy. Upon reaching the deadline, they are directly executed on the spot. Their cultivation, luck, demon cores, and skins are all returned to Immortal Hairpin City.

Therefore, the number of direct disciples of Immortal Hairpin City has always been small. However, the ancestral hall’s incense is not flickering, as Jade Purity and Earth Immortal cultivators from the desolate lands flock here to serve as offerings and retainers. As long as they have enough money, they can stay in the city and cultivate. Immortal Hairpin City is like a man-made paradise, rich in spiritual energy, dense as water, and extremely suitable for cultivation.

In addition, Immortal Hairpin City meticulously cultivates female officials, who are used to forge alliances with dynasties below the mountain and sects above. With their jade hairpins, peach blossom makeup, colorful robes, and moon-water shoes, they are renowned throughout the desolate lands as beautiful and alluring enchantresses.

Lu Chen certainly understood why Chen Ping An would make a special trip to Immortal Hairpin City.

If Immortal Hairpin City had only been boasting about being the tallest city in the world or its kinship with the newly-promoted Demon King Guanxiang, Chen Ping An’s personality would not have led him to be so relentless with Immortal Hairpin City.

Because the weapons forged by Immortal Hairpin City, the robes refined by Golden Emerald City, and the immortal wine brewed by the Wine Spring Sect are all among the ten wonders of the desolate lands.

Although not a single registered cultivator came forth when the Sword Qi Great Wall was breached, Immortal Hairpin City was credited with contributing one-tenth of the effort.

Immortal Hairpin City continuously spends money to elevate the city, of course, because it can earn even more money. Before being expelled from the city or executed, any direct disciple of Immortal Hairpin City is a master craftsman, proficient in weapon forging and magical artifact refining. This is because the city possesses a superior blessed land, a fragment of an ancient star that fell to earth, giving Immortal Hairpin City a resource-rich natural arsenal. It can continuously produce weapons and equipment for the mountain sects. Every thirty years, the major dynasties of the desolate lands send emissaries to purchase weapons, with the highest bidder winning. Immortal Hairpin City also sends them, adding to the divine wealth. During the large-scale attacks on the Sword Qi Great Wall and the Great Harmony World, Immortal Hairpin City even gathered a large group of forgers to supply countless weapons and equipment to the major military camps.

The Immortal Realm demon Silver Deer arrived at the top floor and stood with his master, the city lord, saying telepathically, “He doesn’t seem like an easy person to talk to.”

Xuanpu’s face was gloomy as he nodded and said, “It’s destined to end badly.”

Silver Deer asked, “Master, how many punches can we withstand from that madman?”

After Immortal Hairpin City activates its grand formation, each punch it withstands requires a large amount of divine money. Immortal Hairpin City’s foundation is strong, but no matter how much divine money is piled up or how deep the foundation is, the loss from just one punch is painful. If the divine money is converted into spiritual energy and contained within the city, it can still be considered retained within the family. However, the damage to the thirty-six immortal and semi-immortal weapons and mountain-guarding treasures at the core of the city’s formation is an astronomical repair cost.

The old Ascension Realm cultivator stroked his beard and said telepathically, “It’s not just a matter of fists, it’s Daoist arts. Even if a peak martial artist reaches the Divine level, can his fists be harder than the full-force blow of that Old Ancestor of Moving Mountains? In the end, breaking the formation requires only Daoist arts and a flying sword. As it stands, the problem isn’t too big. When Zhu Yan smashed the city with twelve strikes, the last ten strikes had to hit the same spot. This fellow seems to be overestimating his abilities, coming here to cause trouble just to make a name for himself, not really expecting to break the city.”

Xuanpu’s face paled slightly, and he changed his mind, saying, “Quickly send a flying sword message to Mount Tuoyue and the Yiluo River, telling them that a powerful enemy is attacking Immortal Hairpin City, with strength comparable to a Demon King.”

It turned out that the relentless Daoist avatar’s punches were unreasonably tyrannical, as if the Daoist arts could be continuously stacked, each punch heavier than the last!

The old Ascension Realm cultivator thought for a moment and added, “A former Demon King.”

Two alchemy boys on the top floor transformed into two flying swords, instantly leaving Immortal Hairpin City and traveling thousands of miles away, faster than even a great swordsman’s natal sword.

This was because they were true spirits refined from flying swords and also used a superior talisman technique, a great talisman closely related to the Spirit Treasure City of White Jade City, secretly writing two lines of spirit treasure talismans: “Shooting stars chase the moon, traveling the six directions.”

As for how Immortal Hairpin City learned this great talisman from White Jade City, of course, it was bought with money.

Xuanpu said, “Silver Deer, go and oversee those offensive formations, try to delay them, and it would be best to interrupt the continuous intent of their punches.”

As the Immortal Silver Deer departed on the wind, he heard his usually gentle and refined master curse for the first time, “A peak cultivator insists on delivering punches like a brute. The damned thing, his face is thick enough!”
Xuan Pu’s face grew increasingly grim, his expression fluctuating like the weather. It turned out that the two elixir-refining pageboys, transformed into flying swords, had shattered without warning thousands of miles away. The two fragmented talismans, as they fluttered and fell, resembled two jade-clad Daoist acolytes from the White Jade Capital, suddenly receiving an ancestral decree, obediently complying with its dictates. They hurtled back towards Immortal Hairpin City, plunging headlong into the vast sleeve of the Daoist’s Dharma body.

The Immortal Silver Deer, serving as the deputy city lord, cared little for such trivial matters, and he snarled, “Open the gates and receive our guest!”

Thousands upon thousands of longswords, forming a vast array, surged forth from a residence within Immortal Hairpin City, its very air thick with sword-qi. They crashed towards the Daoist’s Dharma body’s head.

In addition, a long river of talismans rose up from the foot of the mountain, like the longest celestial binding rope in the world, attempting to ensnare the Daoist’s arm.

Silver Deer snorted coldly, transmitting a message with his divine sense to the various immortal residences throughout the city, notifying the reclusive cultivators who had come here to cultivate, not to foolishly stand by and watch the spectacle. “Everyone, do not stand idly by. If Immortal Hairpin City truly has its defenses breached by this wicked fiend, believe me, no one will benefit in the slightest!”

However, the sword array and the long river of talismans, coupled with the actions of numerous Qi refiners within Immortal Hairpin City, whether through spells, divine powers, or formidable treasures, all missed their mark.

It was as if the Daoist’s Dharma body did not exist within this realm.

But the Daoist could still throw punches, relentlessly striking Immortal Hairpin City.

The sword array-river swept past the Daoist Dharma body’s head. The talisman-rope appeared to merely tie a loose knot in the void.

Immortal Hairpin City could only retreat and focus on array defenses. The grand and small residences, as well as the archways, plaques, and楹联 (楹联, couplets written on scrolls and hung on pillars) along the main thoroughfare, all radiated precious light, shining brilliantly, illuminating the surrounding thousand li.

Especially those plaques and inscriptions, filled with overflowing praise and Daoist meaning – eternal merit, impregnable fortress, reaching the heavens, the most auspicious Feng Shui, unique in all the world…

They could all add to the already robust Immortal Hairpin City, at the cost of the Daoist essence contained within these inscriptions gradually dissipating, as if merging with the city itself.

Grand cultivators within the city also activated several talismans. Palm-sized slips of paper, in an instant, grew as large as mountains, or the talismanic light poured forth like cascading rivers, all covering the city, as if clothing Immortal Hairpin City in robes of powerful magic.

Even though it was broad daylight, beams of bright moonlight cascaded upon the white jade balustrades. Carved railings, jade砌 (qi, bricks), moonlight like water, pine shadows filling the steps, as if in a dream, an illusion.

Near the waterfall in the city, a wooden bridge spanned the mountain gap. There stood an old cultivator supporting a deer, followed by a pair of pageboys and servant girls carrying loads on their backs.

This old cultivator, pausing in the middle of the bridge, first waved his sleeve, dispersing the chaotic, snow-like waterfall spray. The old man, with an elegant appearance, looked at the enormous Dharma body continuously throwing punches, and sighed. Alas, he was merely traveling and visiting Immortal Hairpin City to seek out immortals, spending money to buy a few landscape paintings. How did he get entangled in such a calamity, unseen for a thousand years? The old man took out a rustic painting of a sleeping monkey on a mountain ridge from his sleeve. After the painting was tossed off the bridge, a thousand-zhang-tall old ape appeared from the painting. It stepped into the void, leaping high, meeting the Dharma body’s fist head-on. As a result, this ape, with a golden stripe down its back, was instantly pulverized into dust by the Daoist’s punch.

At the peak of the waterfall, a towering archway was built with the words “Dragon Gate” inscribed upon it. Two reclusive experts sat on opposite sides of the water, playing chess. One was painting.

He first painted several sparrows, charming and adorable, lifelike, flapping their wings and flying high. A mist rose from the painting under his brush, and streams of mountain and water spirit energy followed the sparrows, scattering in all directions, stabilizing the Immortal Hairpin City’s grand formation.

Depicting mountains and water, using form to flatter the Dao. With a cry from the flying birds, clouds are缥缈 (piaomiao, indistinct, looming), thousands of mountains and rivers share the wind and smoke.

This old cultivator, serving as a guest elder, named himself Thin Plum, boasting that he had no particular talent in his life, except that no one could surpass his plum blossom paintings.

The other threw a talisman into the water, and immediately a giant pond turtle slowly surfaced. It used its own weight and innate divine powers to help Immortal Hairpin City stabilize its mountain foundations and water currents.

The various wondrous scenes and unusual phenomena within the city shook incessantly under the force of those punches from outside the city.

Even though the spiritual energy of Immortal Hairpin City grew increasingly abundant, and grand formations created by different cultivators sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain, layering upon layering of Daoist magic bolstering Immortal Hairpin City, it still could not withstand the violent reverberations caused by those increasingly heavy punches. The degree of shaking of the high city became more and more exaggerated. Some妖族 (yaozu, demon race) cultivators, whose cultivation was insufficient, turned pale, each terrified, and could only tremble as they crushed the immortal coins on their bodies. As long as they weren’t Grain Rain coins, even Lesser Heat coins were crushed to dust, contributing a meager effort, just so that Immortal Hairpin City could gain an extra wisp of spiritual energy.

The old man named Thin Plum sighed, “Such a tall Dharma body, I’ve never even heard of it, let alone seen it.”

The cultivator who summoned the pond turtle nodded. “It’s not just tall. This Daoist’s golden body is flawless, his morality without leakage. Upon closer inspection, it resembles a seamless pagoda of Buddhism.”

If a desolate cultivator were to revert to their demon form, it would largely be an alternate “manifestation of the Great Dao,” similar to a type of Daoist 回游 (huiyou, returning, flowing back). This action has both advantages and disadvantages. After all, laborious cultivation is meant to refine a human form. Therefore, under normal circumstances, even when faced with a life-or-death battle, unless forced to fight to the death, demon cultivators still would not easily revert to their true forms, because it would deplete their Dao practice, imperceptibly weakening their Daoist magic.

Compared to a demon’s true form, a cultivator’s Dharma body has relatively few restrictions. However, Dharma bodies can be hollow or solid, like the difference between a piece of tofu and a stone. Some earth immortals specialize in the matter of Dharma bodies, making a great show of it, to intimidate and deter ignorant enemy cultivators.

This nameless Daoist, who descended from the sky, inexplicably visited Immortal Hairpin City, and then started smashing the city without saying a word, his Dharma body was simply too shocking.

Speaking only of Dharma bodies, perhaps only the Lotus Nunnery Master, who occupied a round of bright moon in the desolate lands, and Yang Zhi, the former master of the Yiluo River, who occupied a great deal of water transport, could barely achieve this. It’s just that the former had already died, and the latter was said to have been intercepted by Liu Qi, who returned to the Vast World, near the ruins of the Guixu, and eventually detained in a volcano by the Central Earth Confucian Temple.
Venerable Xiu Mei, his Daoist name meaning “Slender Plum,” a seasoned cultivator, expressed his bewilderment: “Is it really that young Hidden Official? But when he was on the city wall, wasn’t he merely in the Jade Purity Realm? According to the news from Mount Tuoyue, during that conference, Chen Ping’an’s cultivation remained the same, only his martial arts realm advanced from the Peak Realm to the Utmost Realm.”

His friend across from him, attempting humor amid the grim situation, continued inscribing dragon talismans and tossing them into the water to bolster the Dragon Gate’s aquatic aura. He chuckled, “If the Hidden Official is held as a guest, you can always ask him yourself.”

“That Daoist coronet… doesn’t it resemble a token of the Third Master of White Jade Capital? Is it a mere imitation? Rumor has it that the Abbess of the Lotus Nunnery expended countless heavenly treasures, yet she still failed to create one. Is it possible that nobody in our entire Wildlands could accomplish such a feat?”

The talisman-drawing cultivator glanced at the lotus coronet atop the Daoist’s head, sighing, “The truth is probably inconsequential at this point. If we fail to defend Immortal Hairpin City together, all is lost. The disparity in power is simply too vast; that Daoist could crush us like ants with a flick of his hand.”

“But if Immortal Hairpin City can withstand this calamity, once the storm settles, it will be another beautiful tale worth recounting for millennia.”

“Besides, didn’t you previously travel to the Sword Qi Great Wall specifically to paint a landscape scroll of the young Hidden Official? Brother Xiu Mei, you should be burning incense right now, praying that the person outside the city is indeed Chen Ping’an. Who knows, you might even find a glimmer of hope because of it.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll help you pray when the time comes.”

The old cultivators, seated on either side of the Dragon Gate, felt their bodies sway along with Immortal Hairpin City. The two old friends exchanged jokes, but a mutual wry smile betrayed their anxiety.

“Speaking of which, how many punches has that fellow thrown so far?”

“Roughly twenty-five.”

“Our only hope now is to pray that Fei Ran is on his way to Immortal Hairpin City.”

Just then, a warm, gentle voice tinged with amusement echoed from the Dragon Gate plaque above, using the purest Wildlands classical tongue: “My brother Fei Ran is also coming to Immortal Hairpin City as a guest?”

A figure in green robes, with a long sword strapped to his back and hands tucked into his sleeves, stood above, smiling down at the cultivator named Xiu Mei.

Possessing a fourteenth-realm cultivation, one could achieve something akin to a spiritual projection, a far-reaching astral travel.

Truly, ascending the path of cultivation requires diligence.

Before unleashing those punches, Chen Ping’an had already secretly entered Immortal Hairpin City, traversing it with ease, as if in an uninhabited land, searching for the cores of the grand formations without rushing to act.

Within the lotus dojo atop the Dharma Idol outside the city, Lu Chen crouched on the ground, covering his face with his hands, sighing incessantly. Suddenly, he began to lose his anticipation for Chen Ping’an’s journey across the Azure Heavens.

The two cultivators simultaneously looked up, their faces filled with alarm.

A flawless, immaculate body; an aura of perfect harmony with heaven and earth.

The cultivator named Xiu Mei stared blankly at the figure in green robes, without his Daoist coronet or robes. The face was, of course, intimately familiar, especially considering the towering Dharma Idol that now stood outside the city.

The figure in green flicked his finger.

The guest elder of Immortal Hairpin City, who had been ceaselessly drawing talismans and throwing them into the water, exploded on the spot, his body, soul, and Golden Core reduced to a bean-sized splatter.

The figure in green smiled, his eyes crinkling, “I asked you a question.”

The old cultivator remained silent, resigned to his fate.

Chen Ping’an seemed to change his mind, smiling, “Help me deliver a message to my brother Fei Ran. Tell him that Chen Ping’an is a guest in Immortal Hairpin City this time, and coincidentally, I’ve taken the lead, as a return gift for what happened at the Yellow Flower Temple all those years ago. Afterwards, there will be another congratulatory gift at the River of Uncertainty, to celebrate Brother Fei Ran’s ascension as the co-ruler of the Wildlands.”

The old cultivator remained dazed, muttering, “Are you truly the Hidden Official, Chen Ping’an?!”

But the figure had already vanished in a flash.

City Lord Xuan Pu, despite being an Ascension Realm cultivator, had no desire to personally confront the enemy. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to repel the enemy, but rather that he was simply too afraid to go out and die.

Engaging in direct combat was not Xuan Pu’s forte.

After the enemy outside the city had delivered twenty punches, Xuan Pu’s face was ashen. At this rate, the city would be breached in less than ten punches. Xuan Pu gritted his teeth and headed straight for the Immortal Hairpin City Ancestral Hall. He hung three portraits, the central one being a painting of a young woman with exquisite beauty, adorned with a white jade hairpin. The other two were portraits of the second and third city lords of Immortal Hairpin City, respectively. Beneath each portrait were different offering tables, each with an incense burner. Except for the female founding ancestor, whose offering table also held two oil lamps.

After offering incense to each portrait, Xuan Pu produced two porcelain bottles from his sleeves and began to add oil to the lamps. The two bottles contained an unusually golden oil.

After offering incense and adding oil, Xuan Pu said in a deep voice, “Fourth-generation City Lord Xuan Pu humbly requests the descent and protection of the Ancestors and Founder.”

The portrait of the old man rippled, and a cold laugh escaped, asking Xuan Pu, “How does he compare to Zhu Yan?”

Xuan Pu’s face was pale, and he bowed respectfully, answering, “Reporting to Master, he is even more formidable.”

The other portrait, depicting an old woman holding a duster, was of even higher seniority. Her voice rasped, “Could it be an old Throne who has emerged from seclusion, responding to the times?”

Xuan Pu answered tremulously, “Reporting to Ancestor, this disciple does not yet know the opponent’s origins. I can only guess that he is not a Wildlands cultivator.”

Immortal Hairpin City only had at most three opportunities to add oil to the lamps of these two ancestors. Zhu Yan’s visit had already consumed one use each. Today marked the second use, which meant that if there was a third descent, the two ancestors, who had meticulously planned their escape route and arduously cultivated in the hidden Netherworld realm, might have no further chance of returning to the mortal realm. It wasn’t that Xuan Pu was reluctant to use the two bottles of priceless golden oil, but rather that these two Immortal Hairpin City ancestors would worry about the fate of their own Great Dao. If there was a third time, and Xuan Pu was still the city lord offering incense and adding oil, even if the two ancestors protected Immortal Hairpin City in the next calamity, Xuan Pu certainly wouldn’t be able to protect his own life.

The old man stepped out of the portrait, laughing loudly, “Then I’ll go and meet this unwelcome guest!”

Within the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn, he could remain in the mortal realm without worrying about being tracked down by those troublesome Netherworld officials.
The Xuanpu Master had barely landed in the Ancestral Hall when a figure in a green robe, a sword strapped to his back, appeared at the threshold. Leaning against the door, hands tucked into his sleeves, he smiled brightly, “Never thought there would be two fish that slipped through the net. Immortal Hairpin City’s hospitality is truly overwhelming. I must visit often in the future.”

The old woman immediately conveyed to the other two through mental transmission, “Swiftly deal with him! Let’s join forces to slay this Yin Spirit!”

Isolated from the world by Immortal Hairpin City’s grand formation, even a peak Ascension Realm demon king in Yin Spirit form would have to face three Ascension Realm cultivators simultaneously.

Even if the opponent was an unknown Fourteenth Realm Great Cultivator… Immortal Hairpin City might still have a chance! Provided they didn’t allow this Yin Spirit to merge with the Daoist’s true form and Dharma Image outside the city.

In a flash, Chen Ping’an silently acted, overturning the incense burners and oil lamps on the two offering tables. In particular, the golden fragrant oil from the lamps shot into the paintings in straight lines. He smiled and said, “Be good and roll back.”

The old woman shrieked and quickly retreated into the painting. With a wave of her sleeve, a chilling wind arose, yet it still couldn’t completely repel the golden lines. Once the golden fragrant oil from the Yang world appeared in the cultivation grounds, even a single drop would be like the rising of the sun. There was no point in hiding; she had to steel her heart and throw out her horsetail whisk, barely preventing a single drop of the golden oil from entering the painting. At the same time, she reached out and grabbed her hanging portrait, instantly closing it up. A withered hand then emerged as if from a vortex, swiftly seizing the scroll, ultimately dragging it into the Netherworld along with her. This destroyed even Immortal Hairpin City’s last chance to invite a true immortal to descend.

The old man, however, was a step slower, clearly not as experienced as his Master. Although he intercepted the golden line, the green-robed guest grabbed the painting in his hand.

Xuanpu stood there dumbfounded, at a loss.

Chen Ping’an looked at the former City Lord of Immortal Hairpin City, “Either fight me to the death within the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn, and when your form dissipates, I will invite Xuanpu to offer incense and add oil, and we can continue our chat. Or you can kill this disciple who almost committed patricide. If Xuanpu dies, Immortal Hairpin City will probably have no one left who knows the method of inviting true immortals. Then, of course, the painting in my hand will become a worthless piece of scrap paper.”

Chen Ping’an raised the painting in his hand, shaking it gently. “What do you say?”

The old man waved his hand.

Xuanpu was terrified, “Master, don’t fall for his divisive tactics! Master and disciple joining forces still have a chance of winning…”

But the old ancestor of Immortal Hairpin City didn’t even bother wasting half a word on Xuanpu, this useless disciple who spoiled everything. He directly unleashed a fierce innate spell towards Xuanpu, while asking the green-robed guest who was slowly leaving the Ancestral Hall’s doorway, “Who exactly are you?”

The green-robed swordsman stopped in his tracks. When he turned his head, he had a smile on his face.

And a pair of supremely pure golden eyes.

The old ancestor in the Ancestral Hall fell silent, immediately ceasing to ask any more questions, only focusing on swiftly slaying Xuanpu, resolving this troublesome aftereffect.

The Master and disciple inside the hall shared the same lineage and knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses well. Relatively speaking, Xuanpu suffered too much of a disadvantage, after all, his Master had cultivated the ghost path for a thousand years.

Before even the time it took for one incense stick to burn, the Ancestral Hall was jointly demolished by the Master and disciple.

The Ascension Realm Great Cultivator Xuanpu, the current City Lord of Immortal Hairpin City, died at the hands of his own Master.

Chen Ping’an, with nothing better to do, after confirming that Xuanpu had perished, casually tossed out the hanging portrait in his hand and went to the alchemy site on the mountaintop.

Earlier, in his last glance, Chen Ping’an wasn’t actually looking at the Master and disciple who had turned against each other, but at the founding ancestor of Immortal Hairpin City, who wore a hairpin in the portrait. The painted woman seemed to have opened her celestial eye, glancing at the back of the figure in green robes. She sighed softly, as if seeing an old acquaintance, yet she seemed unsure of his identity. Then, the painting spontaneously combusted and burned to ashes.

Lu Chen squatted inside the Daoist field, rubbing his chin. If the young Mountain Lord of Fallen Phoenix Mountain’s challenge to the Righteous Yang Mountain was for practice in preparation for his upcoming sword strike against Lofty Moon Mountain,

Then today’s unhurried and unhurried fist strike against Immortal Hairpin City, looked like he was warming up for a future attack on Jade Capital? Wouldn’t South China City be caught in the crossfire?

So Lu Chen was no longer looking forward to Chen Ping’an reaching the Fourteenth Realm as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, outside the city.

Chen Ping’an, using the Godlike Drumming Style he learned from the martial artist Cui Cheng, was crushing the number one city in the Wilderness World.

The same fist technique, each punch delivered, seemed to stack fist intent without end.

The myriad miles of mountains and rivers centered on Immortal Hairpin City all felt the sensation of countless muffled thunderclaps exploding simultaneously beneath the earth and above the human world.

One punch completely shattered Immortal Hairpin City’s mountain and river restrictions, and the Daoist’s Dharma Image’s fist finally touched the true form of the high city.

With another punch delivered, most of the Daoist’s Dharma Image’s arm, like chiseling through a mountain, plunged into Immortal Hairpin City.

The third punch directly pierced through the entire Immortal Hairpin City, the entire arm stretching across the city. Then, with a sweep of the arm back and forth, the number one high city in the world was beaten into two halves.

The tilted and collapsed upper half of the high city was held by the Daoist’s Dharma Image with one hand on its side, and pushed hard, falling onto the ground hundreds of miles away, raising dust that blotted out the sky.

As for the remaining half of the high city, the Daoist’s Dharma Image interlocked his fingers, clasped his hands into a fist, raised it high, and smashed down swiftly, causing half of the city to sink deeper and deeper into the earth.