Upon the path of life, twin peaks stood side-by-side beneath the same moonlit night.

In the humble villages, tales of the empire’s rise and fall were told, while the Prime Minister, cloistered in the forbidden city, nibbled on greasy pastries during his night watch.

Scholars delighted in painting scenes of lone fishermen braving snowy landscapes, oblivious to the bone-chilling cold that turned the angler into a shivering quail.

Xie Gou, for no particular reason, sighed, “Mountain Lord, to be honest, I occasionally envy you martial artists.”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “How so?” Xie Gou pointed towards the solitary warrior atop the adjacent peak. Unlike the cultivators engaged in breathing exercises or idle chatter, this man was dozing, his eyes flickering open every now and then, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. Clearly, he was pursuing a dual path of inner and outer cultivation. His eyes were bright, concealing a hidden power, undoubtedly a formidable figure in the common martial world.

A pure martial artist, once their fist intent took hold, would have true qi permeating every orifice, as if blessed by divine protection. This, Xie Gou admitted, was the one thing he envied about martial artists: the ability to sleep soundly every night!

Unlike Qi refiners, unless they possessed the means to carry their entire dojo with them, they were constantly wary of enemies plotting ambushes, fearing a surprise attack at any moment.

Yet, when it came to the keenness of spiritual perception across vast distances, how could even a Grandmaster of martial arts, even at the peak of their abilities, compare to an earth immortal capable of observing rivers and mountains in the palm of their hand? Especially when a sword cultivator faced a martial artist, one would think a swift strike of the flying sword, would result in the latter’s head rolling on the ground. But in reality, it was precisely this innate, intangible protection of pure true qi that allowed martial artists to negate the preemptive advantages of many esoteric techniques. Take Chen Ping’an himself; if he wasn’t a sword immortal who could naturally replenish his physical body with his flying sword, and wasn’t blessed with the physique of a peak martial artist, then facing that stealthy Fourteenth Realm cultivator, even a slightly weaker Ascended Realm cultivator with a weaker body and soul, would have suffered a severe injury, crippling their cultivation, from a similar “sneak attack.” He wouldn’t have escaped the dojo so unscathed, only to wander the Tongye Continent.

Speaking of ambushes, Xie Gou was undoubtedly an expert. That nameless barbarian from the desolate lands, a master of both immortal arts and martial arts, was an old acquaintance of Xie Gou’s, having forged a bond through combat. This nameless warrior, lacking even a name, let alone a Daoist title for Xie Gou to covet, was merely testing the abilities of a Soul Manifestation cultivator. The result was a prolonged exchange, an offensive and defensive dance without ever meeting face-to-face, lasting over a month. Yet, Xie Gou could not overcome him. The man was not only incredibly resilient but, while unable to dodge every flying sword, he could always evade fatal blows. Eventually, Xie Gou grew bored and simply left.

Xie Gou murmured, “I’ve heard that the Soul Manifestation realm is roughly equivalent to the height of a mountain or water god’s golden statue, a vast disparity.”

“It’s like heaven and earth, possibly even greater than the difference between Qi Gathering and Returning to the Real. But the specifics can only be determined through personal experience,” Chen Ping’an nodded. “That’s why my only chance of victory against Cao Ci was in a spar between equals in the Returning to the Real realm. I failed to seize that opportunity, and Cao Ci wouldn’t give me the chance either.”

Xie Gou asked, “Why wouldn’t you have a better chance if you were one realm higher than him?”

Chen Ping’an retorted, “Why not say I should be two realms higher than Cao Ci before asking for a fight? Wouldn’t that guarantee my victory?”

To ask such a shameless question, you deserve to be nicknamed “Doggy” by someone.

Xie Gou laughed heartily.

Xie Gou suddenly asked, “If one day, Mountain Lord, you were to reach the Fourteenth Realm, wouldn’t you still be lacking something?”

Chen Ping’an honestly replied, “It’s not just lacking something, but lacking too much. Due to personal circumstances, I lack sufficient killing power, rendering everything else illusory. It’s truly unfortunate.”

Xie Gou exclaimed in surprise. It was unlike the Mountain Lord, who always preached “composure,” to lament his misfortune to an outsider. Chen Ping’an smiled faintly, “Books tell us not to blame heaven or others, but that doesn’t mean we should completely abandon our emotions. Occasionally venting our frustrations is good for the mind and body. And I can share these seemingly unmotivated thoughts and feelings with you, Xie Gou, and Little Rice Grain, but not with Chen Lingjun or Mi Yu.”

Xie Gou asked, “Why? Is it because Little Rice Grain is broad-minded, and I’m careless?” Chen Ping’an took out his pipe, skillfully packing it with the local tobacco and exhaling a cloud of smoke. He chuckled, “Mi Yu is too thoughtful. He takes the words of the people he values to heart, making them even more important. So, I generally avoid sharing my inner thoughts with him, only discussing matters, which is a way of connecting through actions. Chen Lingjun has a strong sense of camaraderie and is always ready to stand up for his friends, often taking things upon himself. My careless words might make him dwell on things, turning someone who doesn’t usually think too much into someone overly concerned. As for you and Little Rice Grain, your personalities ultimately differ from them in one key aspect. Chen Lingjun and Mi Yu might seem casual and lazy, but they harbor many ‘disapprovals’ in their hearts. You and Little Rice Grain are different; you can hold things in your hearts because you have many ‘approvals’ about the world.”

Xie Gou was somewhat embarrassed, giving a thumbs up, “Mountain Lord can make such a beautiful explanation of my rough-around-the-edges personality. Impressive!”

She realized that besides her swordsmanship, she was actually quite powerful! Her outlook on life had just been elevated seven or eight floors by the Mountain Lord.

Did Xiao Mo know this?

It didn’t matter. Since the Mountain Lord had said it, Xiao Mo would know it sooner or later. A gentleman helps others achieve their potential! And their Mountain Lord was a gentleman recognized by the Confucian Temple! Chen Ping’an smiled, “I once heard Old Immortal Jia say some thought-provoking golden words at a dinner table: ‘As long as we have a sense of right and wrong, we won’t become a person of wrong.’ The old immortal said some people are like drowning water ghosts, eager to drag others down with them. Spending too much time with them inevitably leads to a darkened world and muddled atmosphere. Old Immortal Jia has one good point: whether it’s useful or not, he always offers a solution to every problem. His solution is a sage’s saying, ‘I am good at cultivating my noble spirit.’ With this, one can stand on the shore, firmly rooted, and not be dragged down. Perhaps one can even pull back those water-ghost-like friends. At the time, Chen Lingjun laughed heartily, but I think that saying from the Sub-Sage carries real weight. Every family has its family tradition, and Daoist temples and monasteries have their own Daoist atmosphere. It’s not just cultivators who have Daoist energy; every ordinary person carries some Daoist energy within them.”
“A person with a steadfast heart is often immovable as a mountain. However, the scenery within each mountain – whether it’s a desolate and crumbling temple, or a vibrant, flourishing landscape of spring – is the measure of our cultivation and Taoist power.”

“Every person’s sincerity possesses edges and sharpness, which might initially feel unsettling. Yet, it is this very sincerity that endures over time, preventing weariness.”

“But sincerity is a double-edged sword. Sincerity that is excessively self-centered can harm both oneself and others, bordering on selfishness. True sincerity, born of empathy, kindness, and practiced with wisdom, is benevolence.”

“In my eyes, whether it’s Xie Gou or Bai Jing, whether they genuinely find Fallen Mountain pleasant, or endure its affairs for the sake of Xiao Mo…”

Xie Gou quietly asked, “Is this lengthy discourse the Mountain Master finally finding a private moment to lecture me on conduct and duty? Afraid I’ll make mistakes in the future, requiring Fallen Mountain to clean up the mess?”

Chen Ping’an pondered for a moment, then said earnestly, “In the sword cultivator Xie Gou, I see boundless possibilities.”

Xie Gou’s expression turned peculiar. “The Mountain Master is treating me as a junior.”

A young man barely half a century old, saying this to an old monster who has lived for millennia – Xie Gou couldn’t help but feel something was amiss.

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but laugh. “If you always showed your true face, I definitely wouldn’t say this.” At least, he would be more… wary? He would definitely not take her on this journey alone. It wasn’t a matter of worldly concerns about a lone man and woman, but rather, it presented Xiao Mo with a great dilemma. Whether there was something between them or not, Xie Gou would see a problem. If there was, she’d be worried: don’t you trust me? If there wasn’t, she’d be thinking: you’re too trusting, do you even like me?

Xie Gou didn’t dwell on the matter. She had her own reasons to reassure herself.

If “Bai Jing” had cultivation that was too smooth, resulting in success in cultivation but failure in love, could Xie Gou trade that for a more difficult cultivation path and a successful love life?

It was a worthwhile bargain.

One who doesn’t manage a household doesn’t know the cost of rice and salt. Those accustomed to thrifty living know their own worth.

Xie Gou greatly admired her Mountain Master’s ability to manage affairs. No wonder the Savage Lands so desperately wanted this young Hidden Official to change allegiance, imitating Xiao You and rebelling against the Verdant Continent. Possessing a Natal Flying Sword, the ‘Caged Bird’, was like carrying a heavily guarded Daoist sanctum that required no Immortal Coin to maintain. Chen Ping’an didn’t need to worry about the dissipation of spiritual energy, which was already a tremendous advantage. However, his various actions and innovative, unconventional methods of creation… consumed spiritual energy.

This was the sole, and greatest, limitation. There was a Daoist saying: “Supreme cultivation nourishes the spirit, next the nature, and last the form.” This showed the great difficulty in nourishing the spirit. For cultivators, the higher the realm, the harder it was to replenish the spirit once it was depleted. Training the body, nourishing the soul, and accumulating external merit had countless methods, some with immediate effect and others with gradual progress. However, the spirit of a Daoist was, since ancient times, easily scattered and hard to gather.

The ‘Well Moon’, complementing the ‘Caged Bird’, could split the flying sword into millions, making its killing power considerable, but in the eyes of Chen Ping’an and Xie Gou, it wasn’t sharp enough.

In a fight between equals, it was as if one had seized the advantages of heaven, earth, and man. With almost no chance of failure, victory was highly likely.

One realm higher, even against Xie Gou and Xiao Mo, they would at most need one or a few sword strikes to break the Caged Bird’s spatial restrictions… and then likely be pulled back into that small world by Chen Ping’an.

To deal with an Immortal realm cultivator, whether the imprisoned immortal could escape truly depended on their sincerity in burning incense at the Ancestral Hall, and whether their ancestral graves were emitting auspicious smoke.

But once the hypothetical enemy became a true Fourteenth Realm cultivator, it became quite useless.

Whether it could trap them became meaningless. To retreat ten thousand steps, could any Ascension realm cultivator outlast a Dao Harmonization cultivator, one who was near the Great Dao and could live as long as heaven and earth?

Of course, having said that, among the Upper Five Realms, who truly had the qualification to regard the Fourteenth Realm as a hypothetical enemy above the Great Dao? It seemed there were only a few.

The pursuit of magical power was an obsession almost everyone shared. Like Wu Shuangjiang on the Night Voyage Ship, he needed to carefully imitate and forge four immortal swords to fill that missing link.

Chen Ping’an softly said, “There are no shortcuts. While refining swords, before reaching the God Tier in Martial Arts, one can only invest more effort into talisman and lightning techniques.”

Xie Gou hesitated, then said, “Studying fire techniques might be more effective than talisman and lightning techniques. I still have a clear understanding of the general methods of the Thunder Department of the ancient Heavenly Court. They are indeed powerful. If arrays are stacked to form a lightning formation, the large-scale damage is unparalleled. But to speak purely of the highest point, it seems slightly lacking.”

“Any ancient Daoist who was even slightly skilled in alchemy would know one strange thing: there is a limit to the lowest temperature in the world, but the highest temperature is almost limitless.”

“Therefore, there was a conclusion that a Daoist relying solely on water techniques would likely be unable to reach the Fourteenth Realm. Practicing fire techniques, on the other hand, offered a glimmer of hope. Therefore, solely in terms of the height of killing power, the possibility of cultivating fire techniques is greater.”

Chen Mountain Master had many skills to rely on.

If the Fourteenth Realm of Dao Harmonization was the end point, all Dao methods were pathways to heaven.

Throw everything into the bottomless pit of the Fourteenth Realm, and everything became useless, with every skill being half-baked.

Chen Ping’an put away his dry tobacco pipe. Some people on the mountain had a fondness for it, such as Mountain Lord Tong, and the female sect master of the Mountain and Sea Sect.

Xie Gou asked curiously, “Earlier, you calculated that Fan Tong and Xie Sanniang were both headed this way, so the Mountain Master was waiting here. But didn’t the Mountain Master calculate the general outcome after giving them Immortal Coin?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head. “I didn’t calculate that.”

Xie Gou raised her hand to her brow, pretending to look into the distance, and said, “Then I can give you a definite answer. Fan Tong and Xie Sanniang definitely won’t come here. Judging from their route, they seem to be heading towards an Immortal Ferry. Carrying two Grain Rain Coins is a huge fortune. They’re probably afraid that the Mountain God here might get greedy. If they’re not careful, they might not get a stable job, but instead lose their heads. Mountain Master, don’t waste your time here.”
Chen Ping’an nodded, “Then let’s rest for a moment before continuing our journey.” Xie Gou noticed the Mountain Master take out a blank booklet, resembling an account ledger, meticulously recording every detail. He understood the crude principle that a poor memory is no match for a bad pen. Moreover, regarding the layout of the small world within the cage, Xie Gou, during his time helping guard the gate at Fuyou Lushan Dojo, would occasionally chat with Chen Ping’an, who would step out of the house. However, she couldn’t quite grasp why those Qi Refiners from the neighboring mountain, as common as roadside weeds, were worth such a fuss. Looking at his notes, it seemed there was a consistent underlying principle: to find something “different” in each character. For instance, Duan Yuhu’s old sachet hanging at his waist, or Liang Zheng’s slightly stuttering, heavy local accent.

Therefore, Xie Gou couldn’t help but ask, “Mountain Master has traveled extensively. Logically, you should remember many people and events. Why bother focusing on these mediocre figures?”

Chen Ping’an explained, “I wasn’t very attentive back then, and my perception of people and events was not comprehensive. The overall impression was superficial and unreliable, making it difficult to use as a basis.”

Xie Gou hesitated, thinking, “Do you take me for a fool?”

Chen Ping’an added, “The so-called superficiality means that I used to pay more attention to a person’s good or bad qualities and the right or wrong of an event. This easily leads to omissions, and I couldn’t understand the underlying essence.”

Xie Gou frowned, “Underlying essence?”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “For example, a female Sword Immortal at the peak of the Ascension Realm, with a Dao Age of ten thousand years, why would she ask others about ‘underlying essence’ at this moment? Whether it’s Xie Gou or Bai Jing, the ‘why’ behind her actions is one of the aspects of the character’s underlying essence.”

Xie Gou changed the subject. “Yu Shiwu and the others seem to be putting a lot of effort into inanimate objects. No matter how numerous, they’ll never come to life. Once it involves people, especially complex human nature, they’ll inevitably react to the situation and adapt accordingly, each with their own joys, sorrows, and reasoning. At least on the surface, they need to make others feel they’re lively and not rigid. So, you must have an underlying network to support their way of thinking, right? This kind of basic creation method seems to be the most important thing, even more fundamental than the underlying essence?”

Chen Ping’an gently clapped his hands. “According to initial estimates, it requires rolling the dice six times.”

Xie Gou was puzzled. “Dice? The little things on the gambling table?”

Chen Ping’an said it was slightly different, took out a Small Heat Coin from his sleeve, casually tossed it into his right palm, clenched it, and gently shook it. “It’s just a not-so-appropriate example.”

Xie Gou asked, “First, distinguish between clear-cut good and evil people to do general good and bad deeds?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head. “At first, that’s indeed what I thought, but I soon realized it was wrong.”

Xie Gou waited for him to continue.

Chen Ping’an smiled. “Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed. Let’s skip this part for now.”

Xie Gou raised her hand and casually gathered the five elements’ energies of different colors. Even just absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth at Xie Gou’s speed was already extremely difficult, and Chen Ping’an certainly couldn’t do it at the moment. What’s more, Xie Gou’s gathering wasn’t just about distinguishing the purity of the heaven and earth’s energies. Her display was a true act of stripping away layers to reveal the essence. She molded these pure five elements’ energies into different dice, including triangular pyramids, the most common cubes, and star-shaped dodecahedrons.

Chen Ping’an curiously asked, “Can I learn that?”

Xie Gou’s expression was awkward. “Learning is possible, but teaching is impossible.”

She had only witnessed Master Sanshan Jiuhou’s sermon from afar, and it was purely from her ability to connect things and extrapolate.

The implication was that whether the Mountain Master could learn it depended on his own comprehension. She wouldn’t teach it and couldn’t teach it.

Besides, secretly learning from others and knowing when to stop was always her Mountain Master’s forte.

Xie Gou still didn’t want the Mountain Master to bypass that obstacle and pressed, “No need to reveal the secrets of the Heavens, can you speak generally?”

“I can really only say a few vague words.” Chen Ping’an picked up the Small Heat Coin, pondered for a moment, found two alternative ways to say it, and slowly said, “Heaven, Man. Or ‘Me,’ the small world, and ‘the myriad things and eternal existence in the universe outside of Me,’ the great world. Both inspirations come from the Dao Ancestor’s three thousand words, ‘The Way of Heaven diminishes what is excessive and supplements what is deficient, the Way of Man diminishes what is deficient to offer to what is excessive.’ It can derive many opposites, outward and inward, self-benefiting and altruistic, life-seeking and death-seeking…”

“Wait, wait! Let me pause and catch my breath!” Xie Gou quickly raised her hand, signaling the Mountain Master not to rush on. She widened her eyes and asked, “First of all, I have a question. All sentient beings in the world, the desire to live and the desire to die, are certainly opposite, but how can they be generally… equal in size and weight? Whether it’s ordinary scholars in the city or those who enter the mountains to cultivate, who doesn’t strongly want to live, to be long-lived, to be immortal?”

“Mountain Master, you can’t lead me astray just to show off your knowledge. This matter of theoretical discussion is more important than anything else.”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “Then let’s temporarily put aside the disagreement and pretend I didn’t say that.”

Xie Gou adjusted her sable hat and habitually rubbed her chin with her palm. “Thinking about it carefully, it seems to make a little sense.” Shaking her head, Xie Gou continued, “Pushing it one step further to the earliest conclusion, whether it’s the Dao Ancestor’s division of the Human Way and the Heavenly Way, or comparing ‘Me’ to ‘My external Heaven and Earth,’ wouldn’t it be unbalanced? For example, ‘My small Heaven’ compared to ‘the great Heaven,’ wouldn’t the weight be too disparate if this is taken as the starting point of the first dice? I can take the life and death theory with a grain of salt, but on this point, I am very… seven or eight parts sure!”

“I may not have read much, but Mountain Master, you can’t deceive me. You must treat people with sincerity.”

Chen Ping’an said with a serious expression, “My Emptiness, Heaven’s Existence. From this, it can be concluded that if you don’t regard Emptiness as an ordinary nothingness, but rather as existence, then isn’t my Emptiness’s Existence precisely Heaven’s Existence’s Emptiness?”

Xie Gou almost blurted out, “Are you deliberately being unreasonable? Are you sincerely trying to play tricks?”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “It originates from Buddhism, but the earliest inspiration came from a sentence Guo Zhujiu and Pei Qian said.”

Back then, the two young girls had just met and were, of course, arguing.

To transcend the barrier of words, one must cross numerous hurdles and correct many deeply rooted, existing concepts: the weight of things, the height of shapes, the length of time, the size of the heart, and so on.
While the heavens and earth still held deities, and monstrous creatures refined their forms, and the Daoist arts could manifest as immortal techniques, all ultimately stemmed from the existence of spiritual energy in the mortal realm, allowing humans to cultivate qi in pursuit of longevity.

Xie Gou suddenly asked, “Chen Ping’an, have you ever seen a true Daoist Yin-Yang fish?”

Chen Ping’an was puzzled, “What do you mean? Is there something to it?” Since Xie Gou had chosen to address him by his given name, it indicated that it was definitely an important matter.

However, Xie Gou blinked and immediately changed the subject, exclaiming in admiration, “What a grand beginning! Separating Heaven and Man versus the Unity of Heaven and Man! That’s at least Fourteenth Realm material!”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “Either you start from the top down, with an overarching view, or you build from the bottom up, accumulating earth into a mountain. Given my personality, upbringing, and cultivation path, I’m better suited to starting from the bottom. But my personality will make that process too slow, potentially taking a hundred years to lay a ‘foundation’ I deem satisfactory. Now, amidst this unprecedented transformation of the ages, I can’t afford to take my time with meticulous craftsmanship. There are already so many new Fourteenth Realm cultivators. In a century or so, who knows how many Ascended Realm cultivators, once averaging only one or two per continent in the Vast Land, will appear. The Old Guan Master said that in the future, each of the fourteen provinces of Azure Underworld might produce a Fourteenth Realm cultivator, something unimaginable in the past, but commonplace in the future. Maybe when I truly have time, I can tear it all down and rebuild, going the opposite way. I showed Yu Shiwu and the others a trick in that small world earlier, using a sieve with seven layers.”

Xie Gou grinned, “Listening to Mountain Master talk about these things is much more interesting than dragging two shoes while sweeping the floor.” Clearly, saying that accompanying the Mountain Master on a stroll wouldn’t be boring was a polite gesture; this was the true feeling.

Chen Ping’an said, “Your analogy is quite interesting.”

Xie Gou imitated Xiao Mili’s “Aiya!” and waved his hand, “We in Fallen Mountain don’t engage in mutual flattery.”

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but smile, putting away the book and taking out a wooden box from his sleeve, containing over a dozen “miniature flying swords” of various materials: jade, jadeite, copper, iron, wood, gold, and silver.

Xie Gou glanced at them, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks and he hadn’t recognized their true quality. He glanced again, and finally confirmed that they were all fakes. What was the Mountain Master up to?

Chen Ping’an smiled slightly, “Impersonating a small Jianghu sect master capable of controlling swords with qi, pretending to be a terrestrial sword immortal who can take heads with flying swords.”

Xie Gou was impressed.

Chen Ping’an said, “After the matters in Treasure Bottle Continent are settled, I’ll travel to the nine continents of the Vast Land. You know about this, right?” Attending Liu Xianyang’s wedding was, of course, the most important thing, without exception. He would have a private discussion with the Emperor regarding his salary as the Grand Tutor of Great Li, to see if he could get some advantages in terms of Gold Essence Copper Coins. During the coming-of-age celebration in Qingxing Country in the middle of the year, he would strive to help Daoist Ding attain Ascension as early as possible, pioneering a brand new path to ascension, unprecedented in history. He would retrieve the last of the Dragon-Slaying Platforms from True Martial Mountain, reforging swords and mending his Daoist robes, creating the prototype for the first small chiliocosm of the Birdcage. He would arrange to meet Zhang Shanfeng to have a good drink with Xu Yuanxia, ask Su Zi to write a preface, and find a bookstore to publish his travelogue. He would also take another trip to the Five Colors World…

Xie Gou nodded, “Xiao Mo said that Mountain Master had long ago made a pact with Liu Jinglong to travel the continents together, without bringing any guards. Later, he made an exception and was willing to bring Xiao Mo along. It’s clear that Xiao Mo, while not saying anything about it, is quite pleased with himself.”

Chen Ping’an laughed and said honestly, “That’s hardly an exception. It’s purely because I’m worried that my fame doesn’t match my strength, and I’ll run into trouble wandering around outside. Having Xiao Mo by my side will make me feel much safer.”

Xie Gou rubbed his chin, “If the Mountain Master didn’t have so many identities and was just an ordinary wandering cultivator from Treasure Bottle Continent, then to travel to other continents and have less frustration and more enjoyment, a Golden Core realm is the bare minimum, and a Nascent Soul realm would be passable. Adding the identity of a sword cultivator would make things relatively comfortable. But the Mountain Master isn’t just anyone. Before the ‘change of heavens’, it was indeed easy to feel insecure without a Jade Purity realm. Now that you are a true sword immortal, will you consider leaving Xiao Mo behind?” Xiao Mo’s one strength is that when he is determined to conceal his presence, others can completely ignore him. Like a green leaf setting off a red flower, he can always highlight the Mountain Master, no matter where they go or what situation they are in, not only by never overshadowing him but also by acting as a shadow. If it’s at night, it’s not obvious, but if something happens, it’s like broad daylight. Xiao Mo steps forward, even if he’s still a shadow, is the shadow under the bright sun the same as the shadow under the moonlight? What will Sword Cultivator Xiao Mo be like then, and how will his opponents feel? Qing Tong of the Town Demon Tower might understand that deeply. Of course, these are things the Old Cook says; Xie Gou himself couldn’t say such sophisticated things. Sect Leader Cui and Chief Zhou are just too… flamboyant. Even if they don’t speak, just standing next to Mountain Master Chen, deliberately feigning deafness and blindness, they can’t hide the boisterous energy about them.

Chen Ping’an smiled, “I can bring you two along later, like those guys from the neighboring mountain, agreeing on a time and place to meet, without having to be together all the time. Just give a shout if something happens.”

Xie Gou’s eyes lit up, indeed, being an official is good! The Mountain Master still values his vice-chief!

Remembering Xie Gou’s earlier statement about the Yin-Yang fish, Chen Ping’an also asked, “Xie Gou, have you ever seen the shadow of a shadow?”

Xie Gou looked blank, tentatively asking, “Is it what Lu Chen said? The Penumbra asking the Shadow in *Treatise on Levelling All Things*?”

“It’s not about that.” Chen Ping’an shook his head, then smiled and asked, “You even know about that?”

Xie Gou laughed, “Purely out of boredom, learning from Immortal Attendant Daoist, casually reading some miscellaneous books to pass the time. Mi, the Great Sword Immortal who only knows how to order dishes, and Zhong, the Great Grandmaster, they only look like me, but in reality, we are very different! I am very ambitious!”

Chen Ping’an, suppressing his mischief, smiled and said, “Earlier at Happy Union Mountain, I almost made Sect Leader Lu cry with one sentence.”

Xie Gou was shocked and curious, “Tell me about it.”
Chen Ping’an said, “He has been desperately seeking a certain answer, an answer he values even more than his own Great Dao and life. To put it simply, even the hope of helping him reach the fifteenth realm through dream interpretation would have to give way to this matter.”

Xie Gou nodded. “It’s perfectly in character for Lu Chen to think that way!” Xie Gou could roughly guess the answer: the co-ruler of the ancient Heavenly Court, that being rumored to be at the sixteenth realm. What exactly was the “one” that Lu Chen was pursuing, or rather, the Dao that Dao Ancestor had in mind? Why did he act the way he did back then? Why did he disappear? Was it intentional or unavoidable? Was he merely observing from the sidelines, or was he somewhere else…? All these were forever unknowns, truths that were nearly impossible to discover.

Chen Ping’an’s smile faded, his expression complex. “In my eyes, Daoist Lu once equated to, or was approximately equal to, a Daoist of the human world. He held great weight.”

Xie Gou nodded again. This was a messy, tangled debt. Even a meticulous accountant like Er Zhanggui had to overcome unseen inner hurdles.

*Ha*, the Mountain Master still values and trusts me! He doesn’t treat me like an outsider! I just wonder if I should call myself ‘Older Sister-in-Law’ or ‘Younger Sister-in-Law’ in the future? Or call Xiao Mo ‘Older Brother-in-Law’ or ‘Younger Brother-in-Law’? *Haha*, she thought they all sounded good, depending on the Mountain Master’s mood.

Chen Ping’an looked at the silly, grinning Xie Gou and slowly said, “If Chen Ping’an and Zhou Mi, each occupying half of ‘one,’ have become shadows of a certain shadow…”

Hearing this, Xie Gou glanced at the Mountain Master. It was supposed to be a joke, but seeing Chen Ping’an’s serious expression, she knew he was serious. After a moment of silence, Chen Ping’an continued to look at the girl in the sable hat, saying, “The sentence I said to Lu Chen is precisely the one from Master’s most admired *Zhuangzi’s* ‘Discussion on Seeing Things as Equal,’ a wildly profound statement: ‘Heaven and earth were born together with me, and all things are one with me.'”

Xie Gou’s expression became solemn. She raised a hand and said in a deep voice, “Hold it! Mountain Master, let’s not talk about this right now! I still want to practice my sword properly and reach the fourteenth realm!”

Chen Ping’an’s meaning couldn’t be simpler.

*You, Lu Chen, are looking for that ‘one’? Then you’re just looking for a donkey while riding one! You’re already the proctor setting the exam questions, so do you still need to answer them yourself?*

If even Lu Chen was like this, then how could Xie Gou or Bai Jing escape being included as a part of that “One”? Because all of us, all things, are originally that “one” on the Dao.