Yan Prefecture, Sui’an County.

The moon hangs like a silver hook, and wild geese fly south.

Clad in a long azure robe, Chen Ping’an strolled beneath the moonlit night, walking along a stone arch bridge, accompanied by his steady-footed disciple, Zhao Shuxia.

Zhao Shuxia lightly stomped his foot, the stone bridge remaining sturdy and unchanged. He inquired, “Master, does this bridge’s grand name hold any significance?”

The arch bridge beneath their feet was called the Myriad Year Bridge.

The gurgling Wu Creek flowed from the mountains, the village was named Lingjiao (Foot of the Mountain), and the locals proudly claimed it as the source, a fitting title.

Chen Ping’an, cracking melon seeds, shook his head and chuckled, “I checked, but unfortunately, neither the prefecture nor the county gazetteer holds any clear record. It was likely built with the contributions of local worthies in earlier times. As for why it’s named the Myriad Year Bridge, the elders here don’t know either; there’s no evidence to be found. According to the inscriptions on the village’s graves, they’re descendants of a prominent clan from an ancient kingdom in the northernmost part of Treasure Bottle Continent, migrating here about seven or eight hundred years ago. This Wu Creek is one of the sources of the Slender Eyebrow River. In fact, the Dragon Whisker River in my hometown was also anciently called Wu Creek. The matter of fate is truly wonderful.”

Sui’an County was located at the border of Yan Prefecture and Yun Prefecture, and the Slender Eyebrow River originated in Yan Prefecture, being the largest river in Yun Prefecture, but it had never been officially recognized by the imperial court with a river deity, and even a licentious shrine had never been built along its banks.

Zhao Shuxia focused his voice into a line, whispering, “Master, I heard that the Great Li Dynasty found the entrance to the ancient Shu Dragon Palace ruins in a section of the Wu Creek a few years ago?”

Chen Ping’an nodded, walking off the arch bridge and towards the downstream along the stone-paved path by the creek. Looking back, there was nothing under the bridge, “It’s a small inland Dragon Palace, not of high rank, but historically, no cultivators have ever set foot inside, so the treasures within haven’t been touched at all. According to the preliminary estimates of the Ministry of Revenue, it’s equivalent to the tax revenue of several wealthy prefectures of the Great Li, quite considerable. The key is that it’s an old Dragon Palace. If the Great Li court handles it properly, besides the orderly exploitation of various natural treasures, celestial flora and herbs, and some rare minerals, which will bring a large amount of divine money as a continuous income, the rent paid to the Ministry of Revenue each year by water-based cultivators and aquatic spirits opening dojos and caves inside is not to be underestimated, and can be completely described as a cornucopia.”

Now, the Slender Eyebrow River had welcomed its first River God in history, with the Vice Minister of Rites of the Great Li Dynasty and the Minister of Rites of the Yellow Court Kingdom jointly presiding over the conferment ceremony.

The first River God of the Slender Eyebrow River, Gao Niang, was once the River God of the Iron Token River. A brand-new shrine was built in a short month. The plaque was inscribed by an old Grand Tutor of the Yellow Court Kingdom, and more than a dozen couplets were written by renowned Confucian scholars from the Yellow Court Kingdom’s literary world.

Along this Wu Creek, three villages were built by the water, separated by no more than two or three miles. Each village had a single surname, and any man who married in was not allowed to be included in the village genealogy.

The largest village, located downstream, had two hundred households and was called Wu Creek Village, considered one of the larger villages within Sui’an County. It had produced a licentiate in the past, but that was a title and status from the previous dynasty. Now, in the Great Li Dynasty, not to mention those scholar-officials descended from the Star of Literature, passing the licentiate examination was enough to be called bringing honor to one’s ancestors, and the county magistrate would personally visit to offer congratulations.

As a result, the village located at the very top of the Wu Creek opened a private school this year. The school’s opening day was celebrated with a barrage of firecrackers, the sound was deafening, and heard by the two villages below. This was clearly a challenge. The schoolteacher was a stranger, surnamed Chen and named Ji, who seemed to have come from nowhere.

Chen Ji, bah, just hearing this name, he must be a bumpkin, definitely not a scholar from a cultured family.

Zhao Shuxia asked with a smile, “Master, you are skilled in reading Qi and Feng Shui. Can you say something about the Feng Shui of these three villages?”

Chen Ping’an, after finishing the melon seeds and clapping his hands, couldn’t help but laugh, “It’s not like I’m trying to make a living, setting up a stall to cheat people. I barely understand the basics, having only read a few miscellaneous books on geography. How dare I speak carelessly?”

However, when they passed the middle village, Chen Ping’an pointed to one of the mountain valleys and said, “Since there are no outsiders, I’ll just recite from the books and explain a few things to you. According to the Form School’s perspective, do you see those three small hillocks on the mountain valley, shaped like three umbrellas? If it weren’t for this valley, which dissipates the Qi, making them like umbrellas without handles, unable to support anything, this small village would have produced high-ranking officials. Among the three villages, this one has the most literary Qi, making it easier to produce scholarly talents.”

Chen Ping’an then pointed to an alley in the village, “But within the village, it’s a different scene. The literary Qi is all on the left-hand side. Unfortunately, the village’s children are now studying at the Wu Creek Village school, failing to gather Qi. If scholarly talents want to succeed, they’ll either have to open a school in the village in the future, or simply go to Yan Prefecture to study.”

The private schools in Yan Prefecture were generally like the one in Wu Creek Village, funded by the clan ancestral halls, with a few acres of school land set aside, and teachers were hired to open schools. This way, even poor children could receive primary education. Although most of the children would drop out of school when they grew older and had some strength, following their elders to work in the fields, mainly by cultivating mulberries for silkworms, stir-frying tea, and burning charcoal, relying on the mountains for a living. But if there were truly good students, according to the new laws promulgated by the Great Li a few years ago, the county education officer would select the best and personally teach them, and the county government would subsidize the village and the family a sum of money each year, changing the situation from only officials being able to make money to being able to earn money by studying.

Walking to the entrance of Wu Creek Village, Chen Ping’an turned back the way he came. Wu Creek Village had hired an old examination candidate from the county town to serve as the schoolteacher. It was said that several elders had worked hard to invite him, not only visiting him in person but also hosting a table of wine in the county town. There were no age restrictions for students, the youngest being five or six years old, and the oldest being fifteen or sixteen years old. Adding the three villages together, there were about seventy or eighty students. With so many people, one schoolteacher couldn’t manage it all, so there were also two schoolmasters from Wu Creek Village itself. Although the old gentleman was only an examination candidate who had participated in a few prefectural examinations, and was not even strictly a failed scholar, for a remote rural school, such treatment was truly not easy to come by.

The night breeze was cool, and Chen Ping’an walked on the yellow mud road by the river, muttering to himself.

To the right was the shallow Wu Creek, moonlight flowing on the water’s surface. There were bamboo forests on the mountains, mixed with cypress, pagoda trees, and tea plantations. To the left, the rapeseed flowers in the fields along the way were blooming in golden splendor.
Zhao Shuxia listened to his master’s subtle voice, but he never quite understood why his master was so concerned about starting a private school.

The small village school that his master had newly opened at the source now had fewer than ten students. Moreover, given his master’s personality and habits, he would definitely not give up halfway. This meant that for at least two or three years, his master would devote his precious time, which should have been spent cultivating in the mountains, to an obscure, newly opened school. Zhao Shuxia didn’t think there was anything wrong with this behavior, but he simply didn’t understand it.

The introductory books for the school were mostly the “Three Hundred Verses, Hundred Surnames, Thousand Character Classic” that were popular throughout the Haoran Continent. The students followed the teachers in the classroom, swaying their heads as they memorized them. Then, the teachers would explain the meaning of each word, followed by the “Four Books.” Once the children had a basic understanding of the text, they would learn the “Five Classics” and some classic ancient texts selected by official schools in various countries. The students would gradually learn to write essays, couplets, and poems. However, for rural schools, the focus and foundation were still on calligraphy. Chen Ping’an had personally written over a thousand regular script characters and over a thousand copies of textual research-like annotations, which he paired with those square characters. In addition, Chen Ping’an had also cut, deleted, and copied several copies of Li Shilang’s “Rhyming Dictionary.”

The night-sailing ship that Chen Ping’an boarded had a city of entries, and the city lord was none other than Li Shilang, who was praised by both the mountains and the world as a polymath.

Chen Ping’an had long admired and respected Li Shilang, whose courtesy name was Xianlu and literary name was Suian. However, when the two first met on the night-sailing ship, their interaction wasn’t particularly harmonious due to the host being suspicious of the guest.

“Door faces gate, lane faces street. Long day faces long night, old country faces foreign land. The Pure Summer Palace on earth, the Guanghan Palace in the heavens. Holding the spiritual talisman of the Five Peaks, wearing the Seven Stars sword…槐 faces willow, 檜 faces cypress, cook early chives, cut spring celery. Yellow dog faces blue luan, water margin faces mountain cliff. Below the mountain hang two white jade chopsticks, the immortal family’s nine-cycle purple gold elixir…”

When Chen Ping’an first traveled the world alone, he often recited this. Later, after leaving Lotus Flower Blessed Land, he had a little black charcoal by his side. Chen Ping’an was afraid that she would find copying books boring every day, and that she would become lazy due to the tedium, and develop a rebellious attitude towards reading. Therefore, whenever he traveled at night in Tongye Continent, he would teach Pei Qian some “rhymes” to embolden her. Because they rhymed, they were very easy to memorize. Pei Qian probably felt that it was just moving her lips and didn’t take much effort. She had a good memory and quickly memorized them fluently. When they walked at night together, the little black charcoal would swagger and her voice would be clear, like an oriole chirping. At that time, Pei Qian may have recited them perfunctorily, but Chen Ping’an, who was beside her, found it pleasant to hear and his mood peaceful.

“Shuxia, would it be more appropriate to delete the content after ‘holding the spiritual talisman’ and ‘below the mountain hang’? After all, it’s introductory content, and it doesn’t seem appropriate to introduce these strange and mysterious immortal terms too early.”

Zhao Shuxia said, “Master, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Anyway, I’ve heard rumors of mountain ghosts, water monkeys, and fox spirits since I was a child. They’re probably no different from these spiritual talismans and purple gold elixirs.”

Chen Ping’an nodded, “Then I’ll think about it some more.”

Zhao Shuxia had been practicing the six-step walking stance along the way, in conjunction with the Sword Furnace Standing Stance. Every night before sleeping, he would sleep on the stance for a thousand years, with a particular posture.

Earlier, when practicing boxing on the second floor of the bamboo building, Zhao Shuxia realized a major problem himself, without his master needing to say anything. The Mountain-Shaking Fist was fine, but the Iron Cavalry Charge, Cloud-Rising Great Marsh, God Man Drumming… these unique skills of Senior Cui seemed to be extremely familiar to his master and senior sister as soon as they tried them, but Zhao Shuxia learned them very slowly, so slowly that Zhao Shuxia himself felt a little embarrassed.

Chen Ping’an suddenly said, “Years ago, when I traveled in Beiju Luzhou, I was fortunate enough to see the compiler of this Mountain-Shaking Fist manual, Gu You, a Martial Artist of the Great Zhuan Dynasty at the Peak Realm. At that time, he didn’t reveal his identity. The two sides confronted each other from afar. In this unexpected encounter, Senior Gu wanted to ask me about boxing without any warning. Only later did I learn that this senior’s intention was to see how much of the essence of the boxing manual I had learned. As for the process and result of the questioning, there’s nothing much to say. I barely managed to receive his blows and didn’t disappoint him too much. Afterwards, I traveled with Senior Gu for a while. The senior began to look at me with new eyes because of one thing.”

Zhao Shuxia asked curiously, “Is it because Master practiced boxing diligently?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and said, “No, the word ‘diligence’ is rather vague. Practicing lively boxing gains its essence, while practicing dead boxing wastes only sinews and bones. But both count as diligence. There are countless martial artists in the world who are willing to endure hardship in practicing boxing. But if they don’t get the right method, especially for external martial arts, they often invite ghosts instead of gods. Pure martial artists often end up with a body full of ailments in middle age. Senior Gu was chatting with me about the boxing manual, talking about the Earth and Heaven Stance within it. I gave my own opinion, whether it was possible to combine the six-step walking stance, the Sword Furnace Standing Stance, and the Earth and Heaven Stance into one. At that time, although Senior Gu deliberately maintained a calm expression, he still couldn’t hide the amazement in his eyes.”

Zhao Shuxia asked in confusion, “Master, what do you mean? Can I learn it?”

Chen Ping’an put on a stern face and nodded, “Of course you can learn it. Master has already explained it so clearly. You still haven’t figured out the key? Shuxia, your aptitude is not good enough, and your comprehension is lacking.”

Seeing that the other party was still clueless, Chen Ping’an had no choice but to extend a hand and gently flip it over.

Zhao Shuxia thought carefully for a while, hesitated, and then nodded heavily. So that’s how it is!

He saw Zhao Shuxia perform a walking stance and punch, his head and feet inverted, one hand supporting the ground, and then using one hand to perform the Sword Furnace Stance, combined with the boxing techniques of the Earth and Heaven Stance, and the true qi circulating through the meridians of his body, “bouncing and jumping” the six-step walking stance.

Chen Ping’an held back his laughter, “Changing the Sword Furnace Standing Stance to one hand doesn’t feel right. You might as well try walking with your head on the ground, using your head to replace your left hand. It’s a bit difficult at first, but over time, you’ll know that its benefits are endless.”

Zhao Shuxia actually tried to do as his master said.

Passing by the village in the middle, there happened to be someone traveling at night. Chen Ping’an quickly and gently kicked Zhao Shuxia over and whispered with a smile, “Don’t implicate your master in being mistaken for a fool.”

Zhao Shuxia stood up, patted his head and the dust on his body, his face full of helplessness.

Chen Ping’an took out a handful of melon seeds from his sleeve, divided half of them to Zhao Shuxia, and cracked the seeds, laughing, “When Senior Cui mentioned the Mountain-Shaking Fist manual on the second floor of the bamboo building, his words were full of disdain.
“What utter earthiness! The techniques recorded in the boxing manual are truly pathetic. Aren’t you afraid of your tongue tripping over itself when you speak like that?” He later told me that after meeting Senior Gu, he criticized Senior Cui’s boxing skills as insufficient. He said if he taught me, he guaranteed I would break through to the next realm with maximum strength every single time.”

Zhao Shuxia listened to these incredibly precious “tales of the pugilistic world.” Even though his master spoke of them lightly, even with a touch of humor, Zhao Shuxia’s heart was filled with longing.

Zhao Shuxia inexplicably thought of the preface to the boxing manual and curiously asked, “Master, have you ever met the founders of the Three Teachings?”

Chen Pingan nodded. “I’ve met the Supreme Sage and the Daoist Ancestor. We even chatted.”

Zhao Shuxia didn’t ask further.

Chen Pingan laughed. “There’s nothing to be shy about. The Supreme Sage was a burly scholar. My first impression was, ‘He looks like someone who’s been around the block.’ The Daoist Ancestor’s appearance isn’t the same as those portraits you see in Qingming Heaven. He actually looked like a young Daoist acolyte.”

Zhao Shuxia smiled and asked, “Master, you’ve met many martial artists at the pinnacle, haven’t you?”

Chen Pingan thought for a moment. “If we exclude those brief encounters and nodding acquaintances, not really that many. Probably less than a pair of hands.”

Chen Pingan raised his chin toward the bamboo forest across the stream, reminding him, “Shuxia, go check that wild bamboo forest for ‘yellow mud shoots’. I’ll show you my cooking skills later. Those dishes you cook are truly terrible. Honestly, they’re barely edible.”

Seeing that no one was around, Zhao Shuxia leaped over the stream and went to find spring bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest. He quickly returned with a basketful of yellow mud shoots.

Chen Pingan wasn’t idle either. He went to the fields and picked a large bunch of wild amaranth and a handful of wild scallions. Stir-fried with chili sauce, they’re an absolute delight with wine.

As they walked back to the source village, Chen Pingan laughed, “It’s strange. I find stinky mandarin fish delicious, but I just can’t get used to braised bamboo shoots.”

Zhao Shuxia said, “Master, braised bamboo shoots are delicious. But I can’t stand scrambled eggs with toon.”

After burning the mountains, bracken ferns will inevitably grow vigorously the following year. But it’s not quite the season yet. You have to go up the mountain around the Qingming Festival to pick them, when visiting graves or going to the tea gardens. You’ll never come back empty-handed.

Back at the village school, Zhao Shuxia smiled. “Master, Master Feng and Mr. Han from Wuqi Village will probably come looking for trouble soon.”

Chen Pingan waved his sleeves and said with a smile, “Let them come. I’m never afraid of poetry battles or couplet contests.”

This simple village school only consisted of a yellow mud house that served as a classroom, plus two thatched huts. One was used by the teacher for resting, and the other was used as a kitchen and storage room.

Zhao Shuxia slept on the floor in the kitchen. Chen Pingan originally wanted the master and apprentice to live in the same room, but Zhao Shuxia refused, saying that he had a special connection with the kitchen since he was a child.

The yellow mud house had been there for a long time, but it had been uninhabited. It was rented. The two small thatched huts were newly built. The school temporarily had eight young students, most of whom were still wearing open-crotch pants.

The school was able to be established for a few reasons. First, the teacher named Chen Ji was in his thirties and wasn’t a naive young man who couldn’t handle things. He was clean and tidy and looked like a scholar with some knowledge. Second, he was good at talking. Before opening the school, he went door-to-door in the two villages and knew some manners. He didn’t try to “poach” students from Wuqi Village. Finally, and most importantly, he charged less! Almost half the price compared to the school in Wuqi Village.

Moreover, this teacher promised the villagers that if it was the busy farming season, the children could take a break, and he could even help in the fields.

This fellow was so shameless in order to get business! A disgrace to scholars!

The two teachers Zhao Shuxia mentioned were Feng Yuanting, an old scholar hired by the Wuqi Village school at a high price, and Han Wo, a well-known teacher in Suian County, courtesy name Yuncheng. Although he had no official titles, he had taught several successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and was considered a respected local notable. Mr. Han was now teaching in the home of a wealthy family in Wuqi Village. Feng Yuanting always felt inferior to Han Wo, and only occasionally drank with him. When the new school opened at Lingjiao, Feng Yuanting frequently invited Han Wo for drinks. He had read some “military books” and felt it was a major taboo to act rashly. He thought it was necessary to test the waters first before making a move. In reality, the so-called military books were just stories about the rise of famous generals throughout history. Han Wo advised him that there was no need to argue with a teacher from a small village school. Since they were colleagues, it was better to be friendly with each other. Feng Yuanting agreed on the surface, but in reality he was full of complaints. He wasn’t fighting for those few students. This was a matter of face. If a scholar lost face, what kind of scholar would he be? Every student that ran away from his school was like a slap in the face to Feng Yuanting. He couldn’t tolerate it.

If it weren’t for the current Dali law that required local private schools to be registered with the county government and the county education officer to personally verify the teacher’s knowledge, he would have treated that guy as a fraud. Otherwise, he would file a complaint and make that guy named Chen suffer.

Chen Pingan said, “Shuxia, when you break through, I’ll teach you a method for circulating qi. But it may not be suitable for you. Be prepared that you might not be able to learn it.”

It was the Eighteen Stops of Sword Qi.

Zhao Shuxia nodded, bid farewell to his master, went to the kitchen to sleep on the floor, practiced the Thousand Autumn Sleeping Stance, controlled his breathing, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

After coming here, Zhao Shuxia gradually noticed something strange. Several times he called out to his master, but his master didn’t respond. In the end, he had to walk over. Chen Pingan smiled and said, “Sorry, I didn’t hear you just now.” After that, Zhao Shuxia always walked up to his master before talking to him.

This time Chen Pingan only brought Zhao Shuxia, and directly told Chen Lingjun not to wander around here.

Chen Lingjun pleaded and begged to obtain the precious opportunity to visit the school once a month from his master.

This was also thanks to the old cook’s help. After all, the Old Ancestor Jingqing looked like a little boy in green robes, and it wasn’t even like he was pretending to be a student. He really should read more books of sages. Zhu Lian then asked Chen Lingjun with a smile if he needed a pair of open-crotch pants. Chen Lingjun didn’t bother arguing with the old cook. If his master hadn’t agreed, Chen Lingjun really wanted to attend a few days of classes at the school.
Chen Ping’an returned to his dwelling, lit an oil lamp on the table, ground his own ink, and began to write a landscape tale about the great water monster of Dumb Lake.

This was far more meticulous than when he inscribed fans in the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Three villages, surrounded by mountains, with only a stream and a small path winding out.

It was a full eighty *li* away from Sui’an County, and many of the local villagers might only have been to the county seat once in their lives.

The mountains and fields were covered with azaleas, truly living up to their name, “Red Reflection of the Mountains.”

Cuckoos cooed, peach blossoms were a pale red, apricot blossoms were white, elms grew full of coin-like leaves, and willows along the riverbank sprouted buds, their color a golden yellow.

Today, after the village school let out, a guest arrived, walking along the yellow mud path, passing through Wu Creek Village, heading towards the source.

Dressed like an old scholar, it was none other than the newly appointed River God of Thin Eyebrow River, Gao Niang, trembling as he paid respects to the mountain lord. There was no helping it; an official one rank higher could crush a person, let alone when facing a Chen Mountain Lord who owned two sects.

Smoke curled from the chimneys. Gao Niang saw a village woman inside, carrying a child on her back while making pancakes. The child defecated, and the woman reached behind her to wipe with a piece of cotton cloth, continuing to make pancakes.

He saw chicken droppings on the Eight Immortals tables in some families, and children flying kites after school, squatting by the fields fighting grasshoppers, their hair in tufts, content and carefree.

After leaving Wu Creek Village, Gao Niang turned to look at the small pool near the village entrance. It was a “heavenly well” type of water feature, where the stream widened before narrowing again, making it a waterway that could retain wealth. The village had clearly been carefully chosen for its *feng shui*.

In ancient education, families had schools, villages had academies, and the nation had its institutions.

Gao Niang lightly patted his chest, feeling a bit more at ease. Because he was about to meet the young Hidden Official who was a closed-door disciple of the Literary Sage, this River God Lord had several priceless, rare books tucked in his arms as a gift. He couldn’t very well arrive empty-handed.

Gao Niang stroked his beard and smiled. Each ancient book preserved to this day seemed to be protected by spirits. Reading without seeking deep understanding was like eating well but not gaining strength. It was better not to read at all.

Because the Thin Eyebrow River area contained an ancient land dragon palace relic, about to open its doors, a group of Great Li cultivators were secretly stationed in Sui’an County, disguised as merchants to avoid disturbing the Yanzhou Prefecture government. Of course, the Prefecture Lord was aware of this, having received a secret decree from the imperial court not to make it public. Gao Niang, as the newly appointed mountain and water spirit, was not qualified to enter the dragon palace. After going to “check in” twice, Gao Niang simply stopped going, not wanting to be snubbed and make a fool of himself.

Seeing Gao Niang, Chen Ping’an brought out two bamboo chairs, offering one to Gao Niang. Host and guest sat under the eaves of the thatched cottage.

Gao Niang sat upright, his back straight. When placing the bamboo chair, he had used “skillful strength” to slightly incline it towards the Hidden Official, and said cautiously, “Chen Mountain Lord, have you come for the dragon palace?”

Gao Niang guessed that the Great Li court, to prevent any mishaps, had invited the Hidden Official to personally oversee the area.

Chen Ping’an smiled and shook his head. “The court’s excavation of the dragon palace has nothing to do with me. The Great Li side doesn’t even know I’ve come here to open a village school.”

Gao Niang nodded lightly, understanding. He must not say or do anything unnecessary. He had spent decades in public service before becoming a spirit in Ziyang Prefecture. His abilities were evident.

Gao Niang took out the books from his arms, handed them to Chen Ping’an with both hands, and said softly, “Chen Mountain Lord, a small gift, my humble offering.”

“To have books is true wealth, to be without office is a life of ease. This is the only area where Brother Gao is inferior to me.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t stand on ceremony, accepted the books, thanked Gao Niang, patted the books, smiled, and put them into his sleeve, saying, “Brother Gao isn’t an outsider. In the future, take time out of your busy schedule to come and sit for a while.”

This was a bit unexpected. Gao Niang was both flattered and troubled. After all, finding rare books of similar quality to those was not easy. But even if it was difficult, it was better than attending the Night Banquet of Mount Pi Yun’s Mountain Lord Wei. Besides, this kind of private friendship, being able to chat with the young Hidden Official face-to-face, was rare and priceless. How could it compare to those noisy Night Banquets with two or three hundred guests? Even if it were thirty books, Gao Niang would be willing to borrow money or get into debt to buy them.

Gao Niang looked around, sighing, “It’s truly unexpected that Chen Mountain Lord would choose to build a thatched cottage and cultivate here. Most reclusive experts, the so-called ‘in middle age, they find delight in the Dao,’ are merely friends with the pine wind and mountain moon. Chen Mountain Lord is different, doing the opposite. A divine person, indeed a divine person, divine beyond divine.”

Chen Ping’an was already accustomed to this kind of flattery, and smiled, “It’s not cultivation in the strict sense, just teaching. By the way, I’m now using the name Chen Ji. Brother Gao can just call me by that name, otherwise, the more it’s used, the easier it is to slip up over time.”

Gao Niang pondered for a moment, then heavily slapped his knee, acting as if he had a sudden epiphany, and said in a deep voice, “Good, that pseudonym is good! Su Zi said, ‘Life is like a journey in reverse; I, too, am a traveler.’ Chen Mountain Lord takes only the character ‘Ji,’ which has the ‘walking’ radical and the character ‘Yi’ [亦, also]. Chen Mountain Lord is a foreigner, and it happens to fit the phrase ‘I, too, am a traveler.’ Excellent!”

Zhao Shuxia, who was busy in the kitchen, was stunned, almost thinking that the River God had been possessed by Taoist Jia from the Grass Head Shop.

Chen Ping’an called out to Zhao Shuxia, asking his disciple to bring some dried sweet potatoes to entertain the guest, and introduced Zhao Shuxia’s identity as his personal disciple.

Gao Niang stood up, took the dried sweet potatoes from Zhao Shuxia, and said a few polite words like “A great teacher produces excellent students.” Zhao Shuxia felt that the River God seemed inferior to Immortal Jia in some aspects.

Chen Ping’an casually asked, “Who is the leading Great Li cultivator currently overseeing the dragon palace gate?”

Gao Niang replied, “The one openly in charge seems to be a Wind and Snow Temple female cultivator named Yu Huiting. She has the status of a Great Li military cultivator. As for the imperial court’s secret arrangements, I’m not clear at the moment.”

Chen Ping’an nodded. “According to sect lineage, Wei Jin is her martial uncle from a different Daoist line.”
Hearing the Great Sword Immortal Mi mention it before, back when he was acting as a Dao protector for those female cultivators of the Everspring Palace, he encountered a rather remarkable woman along the way. A slender waist, carrying a standard issue war blade of the Great Li Iron Cavalry, dressed in narrow-sleeved brocade and ink-colored silk trousers, and most peculiar of all, the embroidered shoes on her feet, with two “dragon eye” pearls dangling from the toes… Actually, Mi Yu had gone into much greater detail, but the Hidden Official had only caught the gist of it.

Gao Liang suddenly understood, “So that’s how it is.”

Worthy of being the world-renowned Hidden Official, to mention the Snowwind Temple’s Great Sword Immortal Wei, nominally the foremost swordsman of a continent, with such casualness.

While Gao Liang was filled with endless admiration, Chen Ping’an abruptly stood up, his expression grave, “Gao Liang, forgive me for not entertaining you. I have urgent business to attend to. You must immediately activate your divine abilities and return to the water mansion, and make haste!”

Gao Liang was bewildered, but dared not hesitate in the slightest. He swiftly executed his aquatic divine art, following the Yu Stream back to the Fine Eyebrow River’s water mansion, rushing in one breath into the golden statue.

Chen Ping’an took a deep breath. It had finally arrived. He cursed, “Damn that Zhou Mi!”

In an instant, Chen Ping’an was forcibly dragged into a grand void realm, beyond the heavens.

The first thing he saw was the venerable visage of Sage Li, vast and towering like a star.

Then, Zheng Juzhong of White Emperor City, Yu Xuan of Talismans, the Pure Yang Lu Yan, and even Li Xisheng, Xiao Mo, and Xie Gou, or rather, Bai Jing!

There was also a young cultivator whom Chen Ping’an did not recognize, but he stood behind Sage Li, ahead of everyone else.

Sure enough, the Barren World was attempting to shatter through the Vast World!

Like two void-faring vessels colliding head-on!

They sought to completely sever Sage Li’s path to the fifteenth realm.

Xiao Mo had already revealed her true form, her white robes fluttering, and said with mental voice, “Young Master, according to City Lord Zheng’s deduction, the Barren World’s chosen entry point was initially the Floating Cloud Continent, followed by our Great Li’s Yu Province, but now it seems they’ve switched to Yu Jin’s old lair at the bottom of the sea.”

Bai Jing smiled faintly, “Good thing I acted prudently, and didn’t casually open that box.”

Zheng Juzhong said, “I must trouble Mountain Master Chen to gather all his focus, and unleash those two flying swords once more.”

Chen Ping’an nodded.

Li Xisheng smiled gently, “I shall assist Mountain Master Chen.”