Atop Mount Jiling, Liu Xiang bestowed upon Lu Shen abilities akin to Clairvoyance and Telepathy. Just a single viewing of the Great Dao left Lu Shen dizzy and nauseated. He reached out and gripped the white jade railing, trying his best to steady his Dao heart.

Wonderful beyond words, breathtaking.

So the Divine Mirror Scroll that he himself had written could be interpreted and unleashed in such a manner?!

Liu Xiang withdrew his abilities and said, “Lu Shen, who wrote the Divine Mirror Scroll, knows nothing of the Divine Mirror Scroll.”

Lu Shen chuckled awkwardly.

This viewing of the Dao had been immensely beneficial. Lu Shen already felt the urge to return to Mount Tiandu immediately to enter secluded cultivation. His intuition told him that while he still hadn’t managed to bypass Master Zou and ascend directly, compared to the residual effects of the Great Dao brought by Zheng Juzhong’s borrowing of the book, it was still a gain. Compared to his previous cycles of arduous contemplation and earnest seeking, the benefits to his Great Dao would only be greater. Especially this integration of swordsmanship and Daoist techniques…

Liu Xiang, however, guessed Lu Shen’s thoughts and said, “Before attaining Dao convergence, don’t expect to replicate it perfectly. Be careful of incurring Heavenly Wrath.”

Lu Shen quickly replied, “I will engrave that in my heart.”

Zheng Juzhong said, “Let’s all attend to our own matters.”

Liu Xiang nodded, “I’m going to the皑皑 Continent.”

As they parted ways, a peculiar exchange took place.

Liu Xiang asked, “Is there any restriction on this ‘stripping’?”

Zheng Juzhong replied, “There are no restrictions, only the fear of not being full.”

Liu Xiang then asked no further.

Lu Shen mistakenly thought Liu Xiang’s mention of “stripping” referred to Zheng Juzhong and Chen Ping’an’s joint “hijacking” of the sword cultivator Huang Zhen, and gave it no further thought.

With a single step of Earth Shrinking, Zhou Hu arrived at the mountain gate. Walking slowly out of the archway, Zheng Juzhong said, “You should find a random job at Mount Piyun next. If Lord Wei refuses to take you in, then go to Flower Shadow Peak on Mount Tiaoyu and serve as a menial laborer. A word of caution, do not even think about going to the old Daoist sanctuary. That ferry crossing relic is no longer related to you. Just wait quietly for a fated person to occupy it. Only then will you truly escape this tribulation.”

Zhou Hu nodded and said in a local dialect, “This servant understands.”

Earlier, when she was at the foot of the mountain and Zheng Juzhong was at the summit, she had dared to be slightly insolent.

Now, facing Zheng Juzhong directly, Zhou Hu was as quiet as a cicada in winter, no longer possessing the spirit to demand an explanation.

Zheng Juzhong said, “Take care of yourself.”

Zhou Hu nodded.

The first outer disciple laborer of Fallen Mountain was the white-haired boy from the Extra-Territorial Heavenly Demons, the first Registrar, “Kong Hou”.

The second was Daoist name Silver Deer, the former Deputy City Lord of Immortal Pin City in the Barbarian Desolation. His name was now Zeng Cuo.

If Zhou Hu didn’t take a job at Mount Piyun but settled on Mount Tiaoyu, she would be the third laborer disciple in the history of Fallen Mountain.

Zhou Hu asked, “Is Mr. Zheng returning to White Emperor City for secluded cultivation?”

Zheng Juzhong had already left directly, his destination unknown.

With nothing to do and feeling bored, Chen Lingjun swung his sleeves and ambled down from the back mountain, taking the initiative to visit Mount Piyun.

The boy in green robes cast a spell to summon a ball of water vapor, which rose slowly into the air, concealing his tracks. He drifted towards the Northern Peak, descended in a quiet spot, dispersed the mist, and landed gracefully on the ground. He walked slowly to the mountain gate. The boy in green robes placed his hands on his hips, “Not bad, not bad. The mountain peak isn’t low, and it’s lively. Lord Wei has become more prosperous these past few years.”

A continuous stream of devout men and women came here to burn incense, including relatives of high officials and dignitaries, sons of aristocratic families, and also poor elderly people who had walked hundreds of miles. Not only did mortals climb the mountain to burn incense, but many cultivators also came here to sincerely seek immortal destiny or pay their respects to the mountain lord. As the old saying goes, “Too much courtesy is never wrong,” and it held true everywhere.

The Five Peaks were not strictly guarded immortal abodes where idlers were forbidden. Therefore, apart from hosting the Night Roaming Banquet, Mount Piyun would not set up a “gatehouse” at the foot of the mountain.

Chen Lingjun looked up at a certain spot and chuckled to himself.

It was the bamboo forest of Mount Piyun. Like Lord Wei’s study, it was a forbidden area, without pavilions or houses, without terraces or railings, abandoned in the wild mountain. People were not allowed to enter when bamboo shoots emerged in winter and spring. Even Wei Bo, the owner of the bamboo forest, rarely set foot in it, allowing it to grow naturally.

A few years ago, there was a little girl in black clothes holding a green bamboo staff who often came here alone to play. She didn’t use immortal techniques to fly on the wind, but only walked up the mountain. Once inside the mountain, she specifically chose quiet, secluded paths, hiding here and there, peeking out from behind trees, looking left and right, and then suddenly darting to another hidden spot… The little girl was just short of writing the word “thief” on her forehead, and each time she went straight to the bamboo forest…

At first, the goddesses of the Bureau of Rites and the immortal scribes of the Patrol Bureau, upon learning of this matter, were naturally extremely nervous due to their responsibilities. Fortunately, they soon received an imperial decree from Lord Wei, instructing them to pretend not to know. So every time the little girl climbed the mountain, they could neither appear to block her path nor dare to shout at her, and could only watch helplessly as the audacious guest from Fallen Mountain entered the bamboo forest.

Their fear was that when the little girl walked out of the bamboo forest, she would already be carrying several bamboo poles on her shoulders and swaggering down the mountain.

To stop her or not to stop her? Would stopping her even have any meaning? Lord Wei said not to bother, but if a “theft” truly occurred, who would be blamed in the end?

“Tsk tsk, a rare visitor.”

Wei Bo, who had cast a spell of illusion and was dressed as a refined scholar, said, “Ancestor Jingqing, why aren’t you staying in the mountain to receive guests? What are you doing here?”

Chen Lingjun said sulkily, “What’s wrong? I haven’t even arrived yet, and you’re already chasing me away. Brother Wei, this is hurting our feelings. And ‘Ancestor Jingqing’? Who are you trying to sicken?”

Wei Bo reached out and patted the head of the boy in green robes, smiling, “How are you talking to me? Hmm?”

Chen Lingjun shrank his neck and explained, “It’s just that I was afraid my presence would make my nephew Zheng’s behavior restrained.”

Wei Bo said, “Mr. Zheng has already left Fallen Mountain.”

Chen Lingjun complained, “That old cook isn’t reliable. He promised to keep him, but he can’t even do this simple task.”

Wei Bo asked, “How is he not reliable?”

Chen Lingjun explained, “If I were to persuade him to stay, my nephew Zheng, not knowing my importance in Fallen Mountain, would probably be too embarrassed and afraid of troubling me. As an elder, it’s not appropriate for me to tell a junior about my closeness to the Mountain Lord and my standing in the mountain. The old cook is a well-known steward of Fallen Mountain. If he repeatedly asks the guest to stay, my nephew Zheng can politely refuse once or twice, and then go along with it and stay in the mountain. I’ll definitely have a talk with the old cook when I get back… Forget it, forget it. At worst, if Brother Zhuo Liu comes up the mountain again, I’ll punish myself with three bowls of wine upon meeting him.”

Wei Bo smiled, “You actually acknowledge this nephew?”

Chen Lingjun said angrily, “Otherwise? Do I not acknowledge my poor relatives when I become successful? What kind of hero is that, huh?!”

Wei Bo reached out and pressed down on the dog’s head, saying, “Your voice is so loud, you’re indeed a hero, right?”

Chen Lingjun was immediately deflated.

Zhou Hu followed closely and arrived at Mount Piyun.

Wei Bo nodded and said with a smile through voice transmission, “Fellow Daoist Meizheng, you are welcome to explore the territory of the Northern Peak.”

Zhou Hu returned the greeting and offered a clumsy excuse, saying, “I haven’t walked for too long. I came here to relax.”

Although Zheng Juzhong had asked her to find a job here and receive a salary, which would likely be a matter of her saying a word and Lord Wei nodding, she found it difficult to speak. A cultivator who had failed to achieve Dao convergence in the Ascension Realm was a world apart from an Ascension Realm cultivator who could never find a Great Dao.

Chen Lingjun mistakenly thought she was a goddess from a certain bureau on Mount Piyun and had no interest in striking up a friendship.

He was unaware of Zhou Hu’s origins, but Zhou Hu was extremely familiar with the boy in green robes. He never walked properly and liked to swing his sleeves when going up and down the mountain. When Pei Qian was in the mountain, he liked to go to Gray Mist Mountain to chat with Yunzi. When Pei Qian wasn’t around, he would accompany Mi Li on a few more patrols of the mountain.

Wei Bo took both of them on a tour of the mountain.

The fiery clouds in the sky were like a goddess who, pitying herself in the mirror, began to primp and apply rouge to her face.

Sitting together on the bamboo chairs at the mountain gate, Mi Li softly called out, “Immortal Guard, Immortal Guard, Daoist Priest, Daoist Priest.”

The Immortal Guard put away his book and rubbed his eyes, “Yes?”

Mi Li held the handles of the chair with both hands and moved herself and the chair towards the Immortal Guard. Then she opened her mouth and shook her head.

The Immortal Guard understood immediately and smiled, “Playing the erhu or singing the Daoist ballad?”

Mi Li said without hesitation, “Just sing ‘The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea’ from your hometown. It’s truly as the book says, the lingering sound circles the beams, you can never get enough of it.”

Immortal Guard Daoist Priest, his singing of the Daoist ballad is so beautiful.

The Immortal Guard smiled knowingly, “Alright.”

Standing up, the Immortal Guard lightly coughed a few times to clear his throat.

Without waiting for the young Daoist to speak, Mi Li had already silently clapped her hands.

The Immortal Guard closed his eyes, a smile on his face. The young Daoist with a wooden hairpin in his hair shook his sleeves, raised his hand, brought his two fingers together, and gently swayed them, singing of the Yellow Millet Dream, riding a donkey backwards, surrounded by mist and smoke…

Southern Posuo Continent, Dragon Elephant Sword Sect.

Lu Zhi walked out of the quiet cave dwelling used for secluded cultivation. She raised her hand to shield her eyes and looked at the sky. Although it was sunset, she felt it was somewhat dazzling.

Lady Tuoyan cautiously asked, “Mr. Lu, has it succeeded?”

In the past two years, the Dao certification and ascension of those cultivators at the summit of the Grand Vast Mountain had all caused quite a stir, always accompanied by various auspicious signs. In the future, the ancestral hall’s谱牒 or mountain records would definitely dedicate several heavy brushstrokes to them. Dao certification and ascension were similar to cultivators forming their cores, with distinctions in quality. For example, ascending in broad daylight, open and aboveboard, was like grandly announcing it to heaven and earth, and was definitely higher than achieving tribulation and ascension in the deep darkness of night. Those who chose the latter were mostly side-door and heterodox cultivators, ghosts and immortals.

However, when Lu Zhi emerged from this secluded cultivation, there were no anomalies from beginning to end, so Lady Tuoyan was completely unsure whether Lu Zhi had achieved Dao certification and ascension. To the extent that Lady Tuoyan, who had been waiting by the door, almost thought that Lu Zhi hadn’t been in secluded cultivation at all, but had just closed the door to escape and relax.

But she couldn’t possibly ask Lu Zhi if she hadn’t succeeded the moment they met; that would be too inauspicious.

During these days, Lady Tuoyan had been waiting outside, unable to offer much help, but it was a gesture of goodwill nonetheless.

She was someone who liked to enjoy comforts and never treated herself badly. She had set up a temporary cool shed outside the cave dwelling, laid out bamboo mats, lit an incense burner, brewed wine, and read books, specifically selecting a few fragrant and lingering stories of scholars and beauties. When night fell and everything was silent, it felt as if the only sound in the entire human world was the gentle turning of pages. The bright stars in the sky were like fish swimming in the water, truly a time of peace, peaceful scenery, and peaceful prosperity.

Lu Zhi walked towards the cool shed and nodded, “It is done.”

Not only was it done, but the process of transcending the tribulation and achieving Dao certification was like a fantastical and imaginative poem of immortal travels.

The vast and boundless Great Void was full of deathly stillness. In a trance, it felt as if she had encountered a wall of infinite height.

Lu Zhi’s mind mistakenly thought that she had arrived at the boundary of heaven and earth and touched upon the legendary Dao barrier.

Countless golden lights like branches and leaves spread above her head, resembling brilliant galaxies, swaying gracefully.

A speck of Lu Zhi’s mind began to “ascend upwards.” Only then did she discover that it was actually just a cypress boat. On the bow of the boat stood a woman in a golden robe with disheveled hair. She had a pair of pure and clear eyes.

Before seeing “her,” Lu Zhi’s long journey of the mind had encountered some inexplicable things. There were beings with human-like appearances, strange and bizarre “ferry boats,” formations and barriers, and also some luminous clusters of light that fluttered like birds, as well as terrifying whirlpools that gave one a glimpse of terror… Occasionally, there would be a sound like tearing silk or cracking porcelain, and there were also giant beings who reached out and placed a star into their mouths to chew it up…

Lu Zhi asked, “Did you call me here?”

She shook her head.

Lu Zhi couldn’t help but ask, “What are those beings? What is the purpose of the journey?”

“Migration, seeking refuge, pioneering. The purposes vary. But the greatest aspiration is still to trace the origin and seek the ancestors.”

She paused briefly and looked at Lu Zhi, “Simply put, they want to take a look at you.”

“There is no such thing as a river of time. It is just one prison after another, with different scales.”

“But this is just the boundary and limit that Lu Zhi can understand. If Lu Chen were here, we could talk about several more layers of meaning.”

“In short, any subtle fluctuation of your thoughts in the Ancestral Land is a birth and death in some place infinitely vast outside of heaven, seemingly ‘infinite time spanning billions of years’.”

Lu Zhi recalled the wooden ferry boat beneath her feet and was about to say something when a speck of her mind had already retreated back into the cave dwelling.

A journey of the mind was truly like a dream, difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

Amidst her surprise, Lady Tuoyan couldn’t help but feel confused. She always felt that Lu Zhi seemed somewhat dispirited and not very enthusiastic.

Could it be that a sure success was not worth being happy about?

That was also true. Achieving Dao certification and ascension would be a monumental event in other cave dwellings, but Qi Tingji didn’t even bother to guard Lu Zhi’s cultivation and had run off to the Fuyao Continent. You are truly more nonchalant than the last.

Lu Zhi sat down on the ground and picked up a book with many dog-eared pages from the table.

Lady Tuoyan reached out to snatch it, but Lu Zhi sidestepped and dodged. She held the book high and glanced at the title, “What’s so secretive about this?”

Lady Tuoyan, slightly blushing, knelt on the bamboo mat and tentatively asked, “Mr. Lu, is something bothering you?”

Lu Zhi hummed in affirmation.

Lady Tuoyan smiled and comforted her, “Mr. Lu has already achieved Dao certification and ascension. A little bit of trouble is nothing.”

Lu Zhi raised her head and said something that was not shocking enough to die, “After achieving Dao certification and ascension, I had an… experience. So I was a bit greedy and wanted to break through another realm in one go, and the result was a failure in Dao convergence.”

Lady Tuoyan looked stunned, “Ah?”

Lu Zhi then said through voice transmission, “I saw Ruan Xiu outside of heaven.”

Lady Tuoyan instinctively reached out to cover Lu Zhi’s mouth.

Lu Zhi rolled up the book and swatted away Lady Tuoyan’s hand. It was still voice transmission, and still that same sentence, “It’s not something secretive.”

Qi Tingji appeared here and said to Lady Tuoyan, “I need to talk to Lu Zhi about something.”

Catching a glimpse of the old Sword Immortal Qi’s expression, Lady Tuoyan quickly stood up, performed a full curtsy, and gracefully left without another word.

Where did this third flying sword come from, capable of cleaving through the Fourteenth Realm?

Jiang She’s mind was greatly shaken. He stopped in his tracks. This Martial Ancestor’s face revealed disbelief for the first time.

The person who launched the sneak attack on Chen Ping’an was clearly a Fourteenth Realm sword cultivator whose Dao power was definitely not weak. Whether they were “pure” was something Jiang She was temporarily unsure of.

But even a Daoist Sword Immortal from the Azure Netherworld, as long as they were in the Fourteenth Realm, would certainly not be weak.

Against such a sword cultivator, victory and killing were worlds apart.

Furthermore, the so-called “killing” also had distinctions. Forcing them to undergo martial dissolution and reincarnate was different from their body and Dao perishing and completely falling. The two were also vastly different.

Jiang She reached out and grabbed. His two fingers lightly rubbed some tribulation ash. This object was the most genuine. It was the remaining residue of authentic Great Dao intent, and it indeed contained a wisp of extremely pure sword intent. Jiang She was already certain that a Fourteenth Realm sword cultivator had truly been erased.

Which unlucky new Fourteenth Realm cultivator was it? Barbarian Desolation? Azure Netherworld?

Describing the battles between Fourteenth Realm cultivators as “heaven and earth overturning, generous and inspiring” was no exaggeration.

For example, Yu Dou of the Azure Netherworld once donned his 法衣 and wielded his immortal sword, personally arriving in Zhu Continent, striking down his old friend who had violated the taboo from the Fourteenth Realm back to the Immortal Realm.

In the battle of Fuyao Continent, Zhou Mi orchestrated a scheme to encircle and kill Bai Ye. In the depths of the Barbarian Desolation, Ah Liang and Zuo You were nowhere to be found.

As for what Ning Yao cleaved, it was ultimately just a Fourteenth Realm candidate ghost. It had not truly converged with the Dao yet. Even so, it had caused a great stir in the Yin World’s Fengdu.

Jiang She remained silent for a moment, then couldn’t help but ask, “Chen Ping’an, how did you do it?”

Chen Ping’an, who had manifested into a “half-oneness” and a divine posture, was merely extremely difficult to deal with and hard to kill. Coupled with his and Zheng Juzhong’s joint creation of a rudimentary “Dao above Dao,” it was equivalent to already possessing a small chiliocosm with a complete Heavenly Dao. Chen Ping’an’s presence within it was almost a manifestation of the “Dao.” Therefore, Jiang She was also helpless against Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an’s biggest disadvantage was his low killing power. Thus, Jiang She could easily spar with him and focus on refining his martial fortune.

With Zhou Mi’s previous intervention, and without the golden longsword manifested by the Sword Wielder, Chen Ping’an was even less of a threat.

For Jiang She, this battle had only two variables: the existence of the Sword Wielder and Zheng Juzhong’s hidden moves.

In contrast, Ning Yao, even as the co-ruler of the Five-Colored World, holding the immortal sword “Innocence,” was still not viewed highly by Jiang She.

It wasn’t that Ning Yao’s killing power was insufficient, but rather that her identity as the co-ruler of the world was a double-edged sword. It was her protective charm, but it would also restrict her actions in other worlds. If she used her sword in the Vast Profound World, the Literary Temple would intervene. Even in the Azure Netherworld, the White Jade Capital would intervene even more. If it were in the Five-Colored World… Thinking of this, Jiang She’s heart trembled. However, after a moment’s reflection, he quickly dismissed his concerns. Zheng Juzhong and Wu Shuangjiang’s joint intrusion and attempt to usurp the throne meant that if the battlefield were in the “short-lived” Five-Colored World, and things truly escalated, it would be Jiang She who would intrude and disrupt the timing and location of the Five-Colored World. He believed that the being manifested by the Great Dao there would definitely part ways with Ning Yao and become enemies.

Wu Shuangjiang smiled, “Senior, don’t worry. The battlefield is not in the Five-Colored World. I once suggested doing so, but the Hidden Official didn’t agree, and Mr. Zheng also felt it was unnecessary.”

However, Wu Shuangjiang’s subsequent words made even Jiang She’s scalp tingle, “In fact, the battlefield is in the Barbarian Desolation, at the former site of Golden Jade City. Mr. Zheng has been planning this for a long time. One of his avatars is converging with the Dao there to seize a portion of the Barbarian Desolation’s fortune for the Vast Profound. Moving the city is about ebb and flow. The Barbarian Desolation loses, the Vast Profound gains. That is the military achievement of two Golden Jade Cities and tens of thousands of Dharma robes. Secretly building a Daoist sanctuary is to build a ferry crossing for returning to the Barbarian Desolation in the future, killing three birds with one stone.”

Jiang Shangzhen was half-believing, half-doubting, and glanced at Cui Dongshan. Did our “Old Zheng” truly have such… Jiang Shangzhen was at a loss for words for a moment.

Cui Dongshan nodded. It was clear that Wu Shuangjiang was not bluffing. This was indeed how Zheng Juzhong had planned it.

One could not overestimate Zheng Juzhong too much.

Only at this moment did Jiang She have to admit one thing: for the past ten thousand years, although the height of the Dao had not changed much, and the variety of human techniques had increased somewhat, the cunning of today’s Qi practitioners was truly something that Daoists from ten thousand years ago could not have imagined.

Wu Shuangjiang smiled and said, “This is a rare opportunity. Next, shall I experience the scenery beyond the martial peak? Let’s gauge the weight of the fists and feet of the legendary Eleventh Realm martial artist! Senior, what do you think?”

Jiang She composed himself, his eyes burning with fervor, “It’s just as well to clean up the sect.”

Even though he knew it was a pointless remark, Chen Ping’an still couldn’t help but remind him through voice transmission, “Palace Master Wu, the fists and feet of the Eleventh Realm are not just heavy.”

Logically speaking, Kong Hou, who served as the Registrar, was practically a walking armory, intimately familiar with the renowned techniques and ultimate fist moves of the peak martial artists in the Azure Netherworld. Therefore, Wu Shuangjiang’s understanding of martial arts was undoubtedly profound, no less than that of any true peak martial artist.

The problem, however, was that all the truths of the human world were shallow when learned only from books.

Chen Ping’an, however, had personally experienced Jiang She’s “half-punch.”

Wu Shuangjiang suddenly clapped his hands and said, “A slight surprise, the victim has arrived. As the receiver of the sword, I can just answer senior’s question.”

The deaf Daoist who had been living as a “mountain and wilderness resident” in Lake Leize was indeed as soft-hearted as ever.

Chen Ping’an instantly understood in his heart.

Taking this opportunity, Chen Ping’an inquired about something, “To repair the four imitation swords, how much ‘some’ immortal money is Palace Master Wu talking about? Can you give me a definite number?”

He didn’t know how much money he would have to spend to fill this bottomless pit.

However, before Wu Shuangjiang could give an answer, Chen Ping’an mumbled to himself, “Never mind, never mind. I don’t want to know the specific amount.”

A vague and ethereal figure appeared on the battlefield.

Jiang Shangzhen said, “To be fair, you scared me greatly. Brother Cui, who is this fellow?”

Cui Dongshan’s face was gloomy. He said, “He is from my teacher’s hometown, Ma Kuxuan’s only cherished direct disciple, specifically used to sicken people.”

Jiang Shangzhen slapped his forehead and said, “Good Heavens! Such a Pearly Cave Heaven!”

In the Fish Watching Pavilion at Difei Mountain, the deaf Daoist, who had been chosen by Ma Kuxuan to protect Huang Zhen’s Dao, had actually secretly calculated a divination and also subtly intervened, quietly gifting Huang Zhen an additional invisible ancient spirit-preserving talisman.

He didn’t dare to use too much force, as the karma was too great. He only calculated the character “Zheng” before hitting a “wall,” and saw three blurred figures with astonishing presences. The old man then didn’t continue the deduction. How could the old man need to guess the identities of figures who could simultaneously possess three Fourteenth Realm cultivators? Chen Qingliu, Chen Qingliu, you have indeed taught a good disciple!

Appearing here, Huang Zhen was filled with emotion, his expression complex. He had cultivated tirelessly for a thousand years, only to end up empty-handed.

He wasn’t particularly enraged, nor was there any hint of dejection. He just looked at that person, “Finally, we meet again. Finally!”

Chen Ping’an said, “I’m not familiar with you. Cut the nonsense. You can say your last words now.”

Both sides used the local dialect of the small town.

Huang Zhen paid no heed and looked around at his leisure. Seeing so many living people at once made him, a dead man, feel deeply moved. After all, time was limited, so he put away his sentimental thoughts and smiled, “Do you really think you’ve succeeded? Since the sword cultivator Huang Zhen from a thousand years later could ascend against the current to meet you here, Chen Ping’an, tell me yourself, how could I die? I just need to follow the fish and flow away…”

Chen Ping’an interrupted Huang Zhen’s words, “There is no past or future, only the present.”

Cultivators had their own insights into the understanding of the “Dao.”

Ordinary people would hear it as a hollow, fabricated exchange of witty remarks.

Huang Zhen was different. He possessed a unique treasure, a descendant of the Yin and Yang Fish, one of the manifestations of the Heavenly Dao.

Huang Zhen was silent for a moment upon hearing this, then said, “As expected of the biggest lucky fellow among the younger generation in our hometown. All the good things went to you, and you ‘know’ a little bit of everything. Son of Heaven’s favored one? What kind of Son of Heaven’s favored one is my master? You, Chen Ping’an, are the one.”

Chen Ping’an clasped his hands in his sleeves, “Everything you say is correct.”

Huang Zhen turned his head to look at the Martial Ancestor, his smile strange, pitying the parents of the world.

Jiang She asked with a smile, “Since you are a pure sword cultivator, how did you fail at the last hurdle?”

Huang Zhen smiled, “My skills are inferior. I have no regrets even in death. Besides, even if I don’t accept defeat, what can I do? That guy has good fortune. How can I compare?”

After all, he had cultivated for a thousand years longer than Chen Ping’an.

Huang Zhen mumbled to himself, “The sword cultivator Huang Zhen and Chen Ping’an have a small feud, but a great hatred.”

Huang Zhen revealed a heavenly secret, “Ancestor Jiang, rest assured. Chen Ping’an’s flying sword can cleave me, but it cannot reach your head.”

Originally, he had intended to achieve great freedom through a sword dissolution, breaking free from some kind of Dao restriction imposed by the descendant of the Yin and Yang Fish and entering the pseudo-Fifteenth Realm.

Huang Zhen was very much like a true cultivator in the strict sense. His relationships were shallow. On the path of cultivation, he had no Dao companions, no descendants, no Daoist friends, no disciples. He stayed far away from the mundane world, a bystander on the side of the road. At the bottom of Lake Leize, he single-mindedly cultivated his spirit and nature, living in seclusion in his Daoist sanctuary, not bothered by worldly affairs, regardless of what Chen Ping’an did outside, just enduring.

When Huang Zhen reached the Fourteenth Realm, he went to that place, patiently waiting like a hunter.

In short, Huang Zhen had very little interaction with this world.

It couldn’t be said that Huang Zhen was being clever and ended up doing himself in. If he hadn’t been so focused on practicing the sword, how could Huang Zhen have become a Fourteenth Realm cultivator?

Huang Zhen turned to look at the owner of White Emperor City, “Mr. Zheng, isn’t this a bit too much bullying?”

Zheng Juzhong just smiled.

It was Zheng Juzhong before him who had caused Huang Zhen to fail to escape the tribulation and be killed by a sword instead, making him fail at the last step of reaching the peak.

Huang Zhen mocked himself, “It’s not easy to be targeted by Zheng Juzhong with external objects.”

Borrowing Lu Shen’s Divine Mirror Scroll. Using Chen Ping’an and Huang Zhen to initiate the Gen hexagram. This was the 發龍.

Borrowing Bai Jing’s two Natal Flying Swords, “Upstream” and “Downstream.” Used to pave the way.

The Dao transmitter Ma Kuxuan, fellow villager Zhu Lu, and so on, were a continuous range of mountains, the bridge that guided the sword light, the ferry crossing…

In the Azure Netherworld, there were also Wu Shuangjiang of the Sui Chu Palace, Gao Gu of Difei Mountain, Zhu Lu, and also the Yang family woman who went to Yingchuan Commandery…

Huang Zhen knew that before long, a private record Daoist named Chen Cong would appear there, rumored to have stayed at the Lingjing Temple.

Huang Zhen asked with a smile, “Chen Ping’an, do you want to know the general trend of the world in the next thousand years? What glorious achievements have you made during that time?”

Chen Ping’an simply closed his eyes and rested his mind.

Huang Zhen chuckled to himself, “I still remember when I was young, reading stories of immortals and strange beings, and repeatedly seeing a similar idea that puzzled me. It said how someone had acted contrary to nature, incurring the wrath of humans and heavens for a long time, but their fortune had not yet run out, and their life was not yet meant to end. And so on.”

Chen Ping’an opened his eyes and said, “You are already dead and gone, and you still refuse to say kind words.”

Huang Zhen burst into laughter, “A dying man’s words are good?”

“I remember in my prime, I returned to my hometown disheartened once, my heart burning with anguish. Enduring the humiliation, I went to Fallen Mountain.”

“But in the end, I didn’t say anything and just left. Until today, I thought that was the best decision I had ever made in my life.”

Saying this, Huang Zhen paused for a moment, then said, “I originally thought you would look at me with a mocking expression and ask me, ‘Is it that serious?'”

Chen Ping’an said, “For you, it probably was.”

Both sides fell silent.

Huang Zhen asked, “With the little time left, you truly don’t want to chat a few more words?”

Chen Ping’an hesitated, “I have two questions.”

Huang Zhen smiled, “I will tell you everything I know.”

Chen Ping’an asked, “Why did you unsheathe your sword when I was in secluded cultivation at the Fuyao Foothills Daoist Sanctuary earlier?”

Huang Zhen said with sudden understanding, “That’s easy to answer. Of course, it wasn’t because I was rash and accidentally alerted you. Rather, those seemingly light sword strikes would greatly diminish your Dao protection, Dao viewing, and Dao certification.”

Chen Ping’an blurted out a string of local dialect from the small town.

Huang Zhen laughed heartily.

He inexplicably thought of the sun-drying field in his hometown, the icicles hanging under the eaves of the alley houses, the kites fluttering in the wind, the curling smoke from chimneys…

A thousand years of practicing the sword, he had originally thought of accomplishing a grand feat, a nameless person killing a famous person!

It was a pity he couldn’t succeed after all. Was it the times or fate? Was it ordained by heaven?

As if forgetting Chen Ping’an’s second question, Huang Zhen said softly, “I didn’t expect to end up in a situation like Cai Jinjian, making wedding dresses for others.”

Cui Dongshan’s expression suddenly changed, “Teacher, tell her not to return here for now! That bastard Zhou Mi is also plotting this matter…”

Jiang She had some guesses. Since this place was the ruins of the battlefield where the ancient battle of water and fire concluded, and even Zheng Juzhong couldn’t refine an object of the old Heavenly Dao, Chen Ping’an and Zheng Juzhong jointly killing a Fourteenth Realm pure sword cultivator meant that Zheng Juzhong could be indifferent, but Chen Ping’an would have a considerable “merit” on him, which was a great nourishment for his “divinity.” So, the outcome of a tug-of-war?

Once the Sword Wielder who had gone to the new Heavenly Court returned to this place and “connected” with the owner Chen Ping’an’s divinity, wouldn’t that be… instant godhood?!

Huang Zhen’s expression was delighted. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Chen Ping’an, “It’s not surprising for a country bumpkin to become a god. Just in our hometown, how many pieces of mud became Buddhas in those kilns?”

Making Chen Ping’an a complete god was no different from killing Chen Ping’an, who was determined to maintain his humanity.

Whether he could see that scene was no longer important. Huang Zhen laughed heartily, feeling extremely pleased, “In the end, the great revenge has been avenged!”

As his figure dissipated, Huang Zhen looked at Chen Ping’an one last time, his lips moving slightly, as if saying two words in his hometown dialect: thief.

From then on, there was no more Huang Zhen in the human world.

Zheng Juzhong glanced at Chen Ping’an.

For some reason, Chen Ping’an gently shook his head.

Zheng Juzhong did not tell Huang Zhen a certain truth.

The reason why Cui Chan carried a piece of Natal Porcelain to the Azure Netherworld.

In the Lingjing Temple in Changshe County, the reason why an old man named Chang Geng and a young boy named Chen Cong appeared was not because Cui Chan was traveling for pleasure.

If the Lake of Books and Scrolls was a protection of the Dao by the Embroidered Tiger in a cold spring, then the Lingjing Temple was a protection of the Dao by the Senior Brother in a lovely winter.

Chen Ping’an asked, “Is Lu Chen doing well?”

Zheng Juzhong remained silent.

Once upon a time. Inside the律宗 temple in Yuzhou territory of Dali. The moonlight filtered through the window like reading a book. On the table, on a slightly rough paper, was written the phrase “Stay away from inverted dreams.”