The three figures departed the martial city of Wu Kui, prompting a chorus of whistles from the city walls above.

“So what if Ning Yao is present? We still have the Second Shopkeeper,” one townsman declared.

For it was known throughout the Sword Qi Great Wall that outside the Ning manor, Ning Yao held the Second Shopkeeper in high regard. What awaited the Second Shopkeeper within the Ning residence, whether it be kneeling upon a washboard, was of no concern to them.

As they traveled upon the wind, Chen Ping An chuckled, “Let’s first take a look at the vicinity of Votive Immortal Lake.”

The Ascend City now boasted two immortal ferry crossings: the Summer Retreat Ferry within the northern Summer Retreat City, and the Bewitching Ferry, constructed upon Votive Immortal Lake at the foot of Violet Mansion Mountain, which had become Deng Liang’s cultivation haven. These two points, one north and one south, served as hubs for trade in two distinct directions.

Summer Retreat Palace, Summer Retreat City, Summer Retreat Ferry…

Naming things, it seemed, was a simple and effortless affair.

Ning Yao, however, frowned, “I haven’t been able to come up with any particularly good names.”

Chen Ping An nodded in agreement, “Indeed, if there were too many good names, choosing would be difficult.”

Ning Yao cast a sidelong glance at Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo, ever perceptive, immediately explained, “My Lady, the reason the Young Master did not proceed directly to the Ascend City is that, due to bearing the true names of great demons and being separated from the Dao-confluence by half a city wall and an entire realm, he is naturally repelled by the intangible Dao aura of the Ascend City. He is even seen as a potential threat of uncertain allegiance. If the Young Master were to rashly enter the city, it would be mistaken for a sword challenge.”

Xiao Mo adjusted his hat, a hint of guilt in his voice, “This matter is also due to Xiao Mo’s origins. Accompanying the Young Master here only serves to confirm his demonic identity.”

Ning Yao was utterly bewildered by this explanation.

Could an Ascend Realm city truly possess a spirit akin to a cultivator who had opened his mind and gained sentience?

Was it like the sword spirit of her immortal sword “Innocence,” residing within her sword box?

Yet, as an Ascend Realm cultivator, why was she unaware of this?

Chen Ping An elaborated, drawing a parallel to his hometown’s Li Zhu Grotto-Heaven, which had once nurtured a golden incense figurine. That figurine had once been concealed within Chen Ping An’s paulownia wood sword box, before being entrusted to Old Yang. Such wondrous occurrences in the natural world, akin to a cultivator’s nascent soul, were initially unintelligent, confused, and prone to temper tantrums, making it difficult to distinguish friend from foe. As each land nurtured its own people, the incense figurine of Ascend City would undoubtedly possess an even greater disposition.

Chen Ping An remarked, “Chen Ji should be the only one aware of this matter. He deliberately chose not to inform you, likely for his own reasons.”

Initially, Chen Ping An had harbored some hope that even if Ascend City possessed such an opportunity, it would not awaken so quickly within a mere decade. He believed it would remain in a state of slumber. Furthermore, Chen Ping An carried the Hidden Official Jade Token, which could, to some extent, identify him. However, even when Chen Ping An presented the token, the effect was minimal. Upon merely approaching Ascend City with Xiao Mo, Chen Ping An felt as though he were facing a Grandmaster of martial arts at the Deity Arrival Realm, as if the city were reason with him from the unseen.

“Halt. Approach, and face my fist.”

This meant that forcing his way into Ascend City would be tantamount to a sword challenge.

With Xiao Mo by his side, entering Ascend City was not a problem, but Chen Ping An was loath to expend any of the precious spiritual essence of the “Ascend City” spirit.

Therefore, Chen Ping An intended to “familiarize” himself with the lands surrounding Ascend City before seeking out Ning Yao within the city. He would first announce his presence from outside the city walls, offer a clear explanation, and devise a method to ensure the ethereal incense figurine of Ascend City would not be harmed before entering the city.

This would also allow him to observe and assess three locations from the perspective of an outsider, identifying any potential shortcomings in Ascend City. The Martial City of the Warden Lineage, the Summer Retreat City of the Hidden Official Lineage, and the Bewitching Ferry of the Spring Prefecture Lineage would all be visited and scrutinized.

Ning Yao understood then why she had felt a sense of unease, as if something were amiss. This was why she had taken to the skies on her sword, surveying the surroundings, and had quickly spotted Xiao Mo’s figure.

Ning Yao asked softly, “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”

Had she known, she would not have appeared directly at the gates of Wu Kui City, potentially disrupting his plans.

Chen Ping An smiled, “Once I regain my Jade Pure Realm, the situation will improve significantly. If I reach the Immortal Realm one day, entering Ascend City will be no problem at all.”

A nascent soul realm cultivator would struggle to truly suppress the true names of those great demons, especially now that the Wildlands had produced a batch of ancient cultivators of similar “Dao age” to Xiao Mo. Sewing Woman Nian Xin had helped Chen Ping An stitch the true names of three of those great demons.

Xiao Mo chuckled, “In a few days, it will be the Beginning of Spring in the Magnificent Celestial Sphere. It also coincides with the Young Master’s recent recovery of his nascent soul realm. Normally, he should remain within the Immortal Capital Mountain Daoist temple to further stabilize his realm. This journey to the Five-Colored World was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and Xiao Mo was unable to dissuade him.”

Thanks to the Ancient Tablet of Buried River’s Prayer for Rain, the matters of forming the golden core and reaching the nascent soul were already second nature to Chen Ping An.

Ning Yao glanced at Chen Ping An, her eyes conveying suspicion. “Such meticulous coordination, were you two rehearsing before coming here?”

Chen Ping An feigned grievance, “Heaven and earth bear witness, no such thing!”

Ning Yao inquired, “Is it a good thing? Are there any additional precautions or hidden drawbacks?”

Chen Ping An clapped his fist into his palm, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. He nodded and smiled, “Of course, it’s a good thing, a truly wonderful thing! There are no side effects, not even a case of benefits outweighing drawbacks. It is purely advantageous, an unparalleled Dao opportunity that even the Daoists of White Jade Capital would covet!”

The rejection by Ascend City was, of course, a troublesome matter for Chen Ping An, but it was an extraordinary boon for Ascend City itself.

It signified that Ascend City had not only truly integrated into the Five-Colored World but had also gained the recognition of the realm’s Great Dao, earning a form of “Heavenly Favor.”

Unlike White Jade Capital and Western Buddhism, which only allowed cultivators to cross the gates and enter the Five-Colored World, the sword cultivators of Ascend City had brought an entire city, forcibly cleaving through the River of Time and “ascending by sword” to this realm.

Suffice it to say, the Heavenly endowment was an exceptional phenomenon.

Should any great cultivator of the Ascend Realm attempt to stealthily enter this land, it would trigger a celestial phenomenon.

If Ning Yao happened to be within the city at the time, she could immediately sense the disturbance.

This mysterious and profound city-protecting formation was specifically designed to thwart all Fourteenth Realm and Ascend Realm great cultivators.

Moreover, it required no expenditure of Ascend City’s spiritual energy, nor a single immortal coin.

Upon reaching Votive Immortal Lake, they descended together. Chen Ping An crouched by the shore, cupping water in his hand, condensing it into a droplet of emerald green. He carefully examined the intricacies of the water’s currents and flows. Then, with the other hand, he grasped at the ambient aura, a mix of clarity and turbidity, swirling like mist around his fingertips.

The most crucial aspect of constructing an immortal ferry crossing was “hydrology and geography.” Even ordinary river dynasty ferry crossings required locating deep-water ports to ascertain the draft of ships. Having overseen a series of immortal ferry crossings, including his own Ox Horn Ferry, Chen Ping An considered himself at least a semi-expert. He released his hands, lifted his head, and surveyed the surroundings. The ferry crossing lacked any intricately crafted details, appearing quite crude.

In fact, this was how it should be. The main goal should be to establish the overall direction and framework, focusing on practicality. The ability for ships to dock and depart was all that mattered.

Ascend City, in its current state, was far from being in a position to strive for perfection. That was a consideration for at least a century later.

A streak of sword light pierced the night sky, landing near the foot of the mountain. Deng Liang cupped his fist high in greeting and proclaimed loudly, “Greetings, Hidden Official!”

Upon seeing the man in the green robe, Deng Liang was overjoyed. That fellow had finally returned.

There were matters that Deng Liang truly needed to discuss and complain about with the man before him.

Within Ascend City, relationships were complex and intricate, and recent meetings of the ancestral hall had revealed as much.

Take Summer Retreat Palace, for example. It was not that negotiations were difficult with Ning Yao, who temporarily held the position of Hidden Official; rather, they were too easy. Matters were either resolved or rejected outright, with no drawn-out negotiations.

However, having grown accustomed to the atmosphere of the Summer Retreat Palace of the past, Deng Liang felt that something was missing.

Ning Yao, as the foremost cultivator in the realm, possessed a realm too lofty, leaving everyone unable to catch up to her on the path of cultivation. She was like a towering tree, casting its shade over the entire city. Even Dong Bude and the others did not truly regard Ning Yao as a Hidden Official in the purest sense of the title. Ning Yao’s ideas, such as her sword techniques, cultivation methods, and battlefield delivery of swords, were direct and straightforward.

In the past, the Summer Retreat Palace, from Chen Ping An to the Sword Immortal Chou Miao, and to everyone else, including Lin Junbi and Dong Bude, enjoyed a harmonious synergy. Regardless of their differing personalities and backgrounds, whether they were local or foreign sword cultivators, if a matter was brought to the table for discussion, they could not only resolve the immediate issue but also follow the threads to resolve three, five, or even all related matters along the same lines.

Furthermore, Deng Liang, having been away from his hometown for many years, also wished to learn about the current state of the Nine Cauldrons Mountain from the Hidden Official.

Chen Ping An returned the greeting with a cupped fist and smiled, “Greetings, Chief Deng.”

Together, they ascended Violet Mansion Mountain, once the site of an ancient ruin, and arrived at the summit. Chen Ping An crouched before the stone tablet.

Deng Liang squatted beside him and declared frankly, “Don’t blame me for using my position for personal gain. I’m determined to seize this opportunity, even if I have to steal it.”

Chen Ping An clicked his tongue, “Those words don’t sound right. It’s like a jar of spoiled wine. It sounds like you’ve betrayed the Hidden Official Lineage and defected to the Warden Lineage.”

He cursed and grumbled, directing his anger towards the head of the Warden Lineage, “Damn Qi Shou, digging up our Summer Retreat Palace’s foundation. I’ve always regarded him as a good brother.”

Deng Liang merely listened without comment.

Qi Shou was certainly unlucky. He had encountered Chen Ping An while guarding the pass, and the two had immediately clashed. During their time guarding the city walls, Qi Shou had also happened to be neighbors with Chen Ping An and Cheng Quan.

The Sword Qi Great Wall had a few old sword cultivators who were renowned for fearing neither heaven nor earth. Cheng Quan was certainly one of them. Having experienced a fall in realm, Cheng Quan was never hesitant to speak his mind to Old Sword Immortal Qi Tingji, who possessed a flying sword named “Armed and Ready” and was nicknamed “Qi’s On the Road”.

Chen Ping An continued to examine the inscription on the tablet. The words were few, but the meaning was abundant. Moreover, the tablet’s head, body, and base all contained knowledge that could aid future generations in “arriving at the age” and determining the year.

Before departing Ascend City, he intended to create a rubbing of the inscription to take back to Liu Jinglong for research. Fortunately, everything he needed was contained within a miniature object, and the task could be completed in as little as a quarter of an hour.

Chen Ping An handed over a jar of wine, the Hundred Flowers Brew provided by Aunt Feng.

Deng Liang recognized the quality of the wine and accepted the jar. “Is this…?”

Chen Ping An nodded, “You guessed it.”

Deng Liang, cradling the jar, unhesitatingly extended his hand again. “Give me another jar. I’ll drink one and save one. You can bring it to the Nine Cauldrons Mountain Ancestral Hall in the future; it will be of great use.”

Using his elbow, Chen Ping An knocked Deng Liang’s hand away and chuckled, “Being a Chief Almoner has certainly thickened your skin. Alright, I’ve already reserved two jars of Hundred Flowers Brew for you. When I travel to Snowy Continent in the future, I’ll send them to Nine Cauldrons Mountain in your name.”

Deng Liang had entered Ascend City in the sixth year of the Jia Chun era, about a year later than Zheng Dafeng.

Deng Liang’s greeting gift to Ascend City was substantial. He brought a large batch of mountain resources unique to Nine Cauldrons Mountain: sixty jars of secret-brewed Year-End Wine, three hundred talismans against ghosts known as Green Veined Golden Scripts, and eight hundred pounds of immortal rice called Reconsideration Rice. In Chen Ping An’s view, while the wine and talismans were icing on the cake, the rice seeds were a true act of kindness. They were already being widely cultivated in the Violet Mansion Mountain region and Wu Kui City.

Many ideas coincided.

The only problem was that the current Ascend City was focused on expansion, and some of Chief Almoner Deng Liang’s suggestions were not rejected by the Ancestral Hall, but rather temporarily set aside or not given sufficient attention.

This was understandable, as there were so many tasks to be done, and so many things that could be done, that it was overwhelming.

In truth, the three lineages of Ascend City cultivators were already doing an excellent job.

He declined Deng Liang’s invitation to have a drink at his residence. Deng Liang had now taken in two personal disciples and a number of registered disciples, having made up his mind to establish a branch of Nine Cauldrons Mountain here.

As they traveled away from Violet Mansion Mountain on the wind, Ning Yao spoke to Chen Ping An telepathically. Chen Ping An immediately instructed Xiao Mo to go ahead to Ascend City, and then produced a Bird in a Cage sword.

Ning Yao blushed slightly, removed the magic robe Golden Dew she was wearing, and took off her sword box, handing them both to Chen Ping An, as if granting him a special pass to enter Ascend City.

In a flash, Ning Yao had donned a former clothing workshop’s standard magic robe.

Ning Yao said, “Don’t neglect your cultivation.”

Chen Ping An smiled and put on the magic robe Golden Dew, cradling the sword box in his arms.

Ning Yao added, “I’m not joking.”

If such affection could endure, why be confined to day and night? Especially for mountain cultivators who hoped to truly achieve immortality, a few decades was nothing.

Chen Ping An put away the Bird in a Cage sword and nodded. “I’ve been cultivating more diligently in Immortal Capital Mountain recently than ever before, almost like when I first started learning the Mountain Shaking Fist.”

Ning Yao nodded and said, “Once we’re home, I’ll be going into seclusion. But if anything comes up, just knock on the door; it won’t interfere with my cultivation.”

Those were unique and distinctly Ning Yao words.

Chen Ping An asked in bewilderment, “Why are you going into seclusion again?”

It seemed that since he had met Ning Yao, she had only gone into seclusion twice. The previous time was not long ago, when Ning Yao was in the Great Li capital to stabilize her Ascend Realm Layer 1 realm.

Ning Yao glanced at him, hesitant to speak.

Chen Ping An grew even more curious, “What is it?”

Ning Yao spoke telepathically, “I need to prepare to reach the Fourteenth Realm. The path is there, but there are roughly two or three thresholds to cross.”

Chen Ping An wiped his face, speechless.

Xiao Mo should have been present to hear this. After ten thousand years of cultivation, he had yet to truly find the path to becoming a pure sword cultivator of the Fourteenth Realm. Shouldn’t Xiao Mo be ashamed?

The corners of Ning Yao’s mouth curled upward, but she quickly suppressed the expression.

Ha.

He had heard that someone had once declared to the great demon Yuan Xiong at Waning Moon Mountain, “If I were your age, you wouldn’t even see my sword strike.”

The two traveled upon the wind at a moderate pace. Xiao Mo had concealed his presence in the air near the border of Ascend City and waited there for a long time.

Compared to Chen Ping An, who bore the true names of great demons, Ascend City was less wary and hostile towards Xiao Mo. This was partly due to the “orthodox” nature of Xiao Mo’s sword lineage.

After all, if one were to disregard Dao origins and focus solely on Dao lineage inheritance, Xiao Mo might even be considered a fellow disciple of the Great Sword Immortal Chen Qingdu.

Ning Yao led the two down to the practice field in their home, and then went into seclusion on her own. Chen Ping An already knew his way around.

Chen Ping An had already returned the sword box he was carrying to Ning Yao.

The vast Ning manor.

Seemed even emptier and more tranquil.

The two old people were gone, and there was no longer a Dragon Slaying Cliff.

Chen Ping An’s residence was clean and tidy. The bedding was neatly folded, showing no signs of decay, indicating that it was often taken out to sun.

Across the courtyard, on a table in the east wing, were some unfinished blank seals, piled high, along with several books filled with poems and phrases copied from various sources. If Fatty Yan’s silk shop had continued to do business for a few more months, there would likely have been another three hundred Sword Immortal Seal Collection.

Dong Bude had once requested three library seals from the Second Shopkeeper, whose seal business was thriving, for himself and two close female friends: Si Tu Longqiu and Guan Mei.

Dong Bude had been generous, providing Chen Ping An with a large piece of precious immortal material called Frost Descent Jade, weighing seven or eight pounds. It was a priceless treasure in the Magnificent Celestial Sphere.

According to their agreement, the remaining “scraps” from the three seals would serve as the Second Shopkeeper’s payment.

As a result, Chen Ping An had carved twelve extremely small blank seals from the scraps, using Flying Sword Fifteen as his “carving knife,” charging one Minor Heat coin per private seal, no bargaining allowed.

One of those seals had the base inscription “Viewing the Dao, Viewing the Dao, Viewing the Dao,” but its current whereabouts remained a mystery.

If it had fallen into the Magnificent Celestial Sphere and was discovered by a discerning connoisseur who could authenticate it using the Hundred Sword Immortal Seal Collection or the Two Hundred Sword Immortal Seal Collection, like Tan Rong, the Hall Master of Pu Mountain Cloud Grass Hall, they would not hesitate to spend one Grain Rain coin to acquire it.

Chen Ping An used his fingers to adjust the wick and instantly lit a lamp on the table. He then sat down at the table, opened the book, and asked with a smile, “Xiao Mo, take a look and see if there are any inscriptions you particularly like. I can give one to you.”

Xiao Mo sat beside him, flipping through the pages carefully. He paused and chuckled, “Young Master, I’ll take this one.”

Chen Ping An turned his head and glanced at the inscription on the page: “A pure and uninhibited spirit like the Great Arcanum emerging from its sheath.” Xiao Mo had good taste and a discerning eye.

Raising his chin, Chen Ping An retrieved a brand-new carving knife from his sleeve. He had crafted it himself during his free time in the Immortal Capital Mountain Daoist temple. “Choose your own seal. That’s not a common privilege.”

Xiao Mo stood up, selected the tallest blank seal, resembling a solitary peak amidst a mountain range, and handed it to Chen Ping An.

Chen Ping An rolled up his sleeves, rubbed his hands, and breathed on them, resuming his old profession. He wondered if he had become rusty. Since this was a gift for Xiao Mo, not a business transaction, he had to put some effort into it.

As Chen Ping An hunched over the table, engraving the seal, the only sound in the room was the rustling of clothes.

When his Young Master finally lifted the seal with two fingers, having finished engraving several lines of a hastily composed side inscription, he raised it slightly and gently blew away the seal fragments. Xiao Mo softly spoke, “Young Master, no anomalies have been detected in Wu Kui City or Dragging Moon City.”

Chen Ping An merely grunted softly, continuing to bury himself in his engraving.

Xiao Mo had been in Wu Kui City when Ning Yao had appeared. Chen Ping An had allowed him to send his Yin soul out on a long journey, and then used his Yang soul clone to go to Dragging Moon City to examine the changes in the cultivators’ heartstrings in both cities.

It was like an invisible emergency response.

But Xiao Mo, who was now sitting quietly at the table in his true form, knew that his Young Master did not truly wish to do this. He was simply forced to do so.

The improvised journey was not because the Young Master was worried about the vibrant and developing Ascend City, but because he was worried about Ning Yao.

As for the reason, the Young Master had only offered a strange analogy, but had not elaborated on it.

He had merely said that it was a troublesome riddle to solve, a riddle where both the question and the answer were provided.

It was related to the disciple that the female Daoist Huang Ting of Peaceful Mountain had taken in this realm.

In fact, besides Ning Yao, there was another foreign guest currently residing in the Ning manor, not a native of Ascend City, but a descendant of the survivors of Willow Leaf Continent, or rather, the descendants of those survivors who had sought refuge in the Five-Colored World.

She was a young girl, born in the Five-Colored World.

Therefore, her age corresponded to the current year of the Jia Chun era in the Five-Colored World.

She was Huang Ting’s only disciple in this realm, surnamed Feng and named Yuanxiao. It seemed her parents had given her that name because she had been born on the Lantern Festival in the first year of the Jia Chun era.

Huang Ting had not taken her to the Magnificent Celestial Sphere but had entrusted her to Ning Yao’s care. The little girl had been left in the Ning manor of Ascend City.

Chen Ping An had initially expected her to be a girl similar to Chai Wu, with a cultivation aptitude that defied all limitations.

But Ning Yao had said that the girl’s cultivation aptitude was average, very average. However, she was honest, simple, and likeable. If she had not encountered the blessed Huang Ting, Feng Yuanxiao would likely never have embarked on the path of cultivation.

This, however, made Chen Ping An feel uneasy.

There were different kinds of cultivation geniuses.

Ning Yao was one extreme.

Another type was like Huang Ting of Willow Leaf Continent, He Xiaoliang of the past Divine Edict Sect, and Xu Yuan, who was nicknamed the “Young Jiang Ziya” in Central Earth Divine Continent.

Xiao Mo suddenly said, “If the Young Master is angry because I didn’t agree to go to Swaying Continent, please scold me.”

Chen Ping An had once discussed a matter with Xiao Mo, asking if Xiao Mo could make a trip to the Swaying Continent mine to meet with several sword immortals from the Magnificent Celestial Sphere.

Xiao Mo had refused. As his Young Master’s sworn follower, he had no reason to leave the Immortal Capital Mountain region and had to stay by his side at all times.

If anything were to happen to his Young Master’s cultivation, Xiao Mo would never be able to atone for his sins.

This was the first time the normally agreeable Xiao Mo had refused Chen Ping An’s request.

“Of course, I’ll be a little disappointed that you rejected it, but I certainly won’t be angry.”

Under the lamplight, his Young Master’s expression was gentle and kind. He shook his head and smiled softly. “Xiao Mo, believe me, everyone should have their own life. A good life, perhaps, is one where we can take responsibility for our own lives. Right?”

Xiao Mo chuckled, “The Young Master’s reasoning is always correct.”

Chen Ping An shook his head and said nothing more. After finishing the seal, he took a deep breath, stretched, and asked with a smile, “Xiao Mo, would you like a late-night snack? I’ll cook it myself. Would you like to taste my cooking?”

Xiao Mo nodded with a smile, speaking sincerely, “I’ve been looking forward to it.”

“Just a moment.”

Chen Ping An stood up and went to the kitchen, taking out ingredients he had prepared earlier from his dimension item: eggs, green peppers, scallions, garlic, and so on. He rolled up his sleeves, tied on an apron, placed a cutting board, and arranged bowls and plates. Xiao Mo watched from the kitchen doorway, finding the scene pleasing to the eye. Chen Ping An quickly stir-fried two large bowls of egg fried rice, which he took to the table in the hall and sat across from Xiao Mo to eat.

Chen Ping An put down his chopsticks, saw Xiao Mo still chewing slowly, told him to take his time, hesitated, and asked, “Xiao Mo, did you encounter any particularly strange Daoists in the Wildlands back then?”

Xiao Mo swallowed a mouthful of rice and asked in confusion, “Young Master, do you mean in the Wildlands later on, not in the human realm under the Old Heavenly Court?”

Chen Ping An nodded. “I mean in the Wildlands later on.”

Xiao Mo shook his head. “I was badly injured back then. I left those Daoist lineages in the Wildlands and quickly went to the Bright Moon to hide and recuperate. I didn’t encounter anything strange.”

To Xiao Mo, “strange” Daoists and matters would be the Ascend Realm cultivators who were revered by later generations.

It would have to be like Immortal Commandant with wood hairpin on his head.

To say nothing of the great demon Wildlands’ new kings, Xiao Mo would have killed Yang Zhi if Zhu Yan had not saved him.

The cause of their conflict was simple. Yang Zhi had mocked Xiao Mo, saying that Xiao Mo’s sword arts were “improperly obtained” and not as pure as those of Chen Qingdu, Yuan Xiang, and other human sword cultivators. Yang Zhi did not even say those words to Xiao Mo’s face. They were spread by accident and heard by Xiao Mo, who was on a journey, which led to the sword challenge and pursuit.

After that, Bai Ze had personally said he had to go. What to do? Bai Ze was going to act. Even a mountain Daoist with a demon background from the Primordial Era could not have a good temper.

Furthermore, Xiao Mo and the others were severely injured at the time. Even if they had not been injured, they would not have been able to defeat the old Bai, who never acted lightly, but who turned the world upside down when he did.

Otherwise, none of the Daoist friends, including Xiao Mo, would have wanted to enter a long slumber for the sake of healing, because that kind of “seclusion” was a long “hibernation” that they might never wake from. It was a true “major sleep, minor death.”

Xiao Mo asked cautiously, “Young Master, is it because Ascend City rejected you that you thought of something?”

Chen Ping An grunted. He did not hide anything and directly told Xiao Mo what was on his mind. “I suspect that every world has some kind of maximum victory-over-evil, so the Three Teachings Ancestors’ trip may have had, as a very important goal, a debate on that with each of the worlds.”

Xiao Mo chuckled, “So the Young Master is worried about the Lady.”

Was the so-called riddle the little girl named Feng Yuanxiao?

As for what the Three Teachings Ancestors thought or did, Xiao Mo did not care. He was just an Ascend Realm sword cultivator who had not yet reached the Fourteenth Realm. He did not interfere.

Chen Ping An smiled. “I guess it’s a precaution, but there’s really no good or bad in this kind of situation. Both sides arise in response and rise with the trend. Accurately speaking, it is a relationship of mutual victory-over-evil, not a relationship of friend or foe, or foe or friend.”

Earlier, in the Merit Forest, Chen Ping An had heard the Master tell a very old story. The Master had said that when the Sage traveled the world in his early years, he had passed by a river and encountered an old fisherman ferryman there. They had a debate and each stuck to his own opinion, failing to convince each other.

In any case, the Sage had failed to cross the river and the fisherman had gone away alone in his boat.

That seemingly small, old incident was not recorded in the Confucian Temple.

On the other hand, Lu Chen had mentioned it in a fable that he had fabricated, as if the White Jade Capital’s Third Master Teacher had witnessed it with his own eyes.

The Master would never deliberately chatter a few old things to his close disciple in front of the scripture student Xi Ping.

At the time, the scripture student Xi Ping had indeed looked strange, helping to verify Chen Ping An’s thoughts.

For example, in the Wildlands, Chen Ping An suspected that Fei Ran was likely the one who would reign over the Wildlands’ old patriarch.

However, he did not rule out that there was an even older and more hidden existence and that Fei Ran, who had suddenly become the master of the Wildlands, was simply in mutual victory-over-evil with him.

If it was the latter, the enlightened man in the Wildlands would be a few years younger than the great Wildlands patriarch, Bai Ze, Xiao Mo, and the others.

That was because the existence’s true age would coincide exactly with the Wildlands and it would have to be the same age.

The “Daoist” was almost the luck of a world. The relationship between him and the top cultivator in a world would become very complicated and delicate.

If the two’s Daos were contrary, it would be an extremely dangerous battle of Daos.

If the two’s Daos were compatible, they could become true Daoist friends.

Xiao Mo said, “If this were in the Wildlands, the little girl would be dead by now, regardless of whether her identity had been determined. Accurately speaking, she would be living worse than dead. Some secret art would be used to imprison her, and her three souls and seven spirits would be stripped from her, leaving at most one soul and one spirit for her reincarnation. This would be done to avoid the opposite effect, being retaliated too much against by the Great Dao of a world. The rest would definitely be imprisoned separately in the four directions of the world. Her fate would be like that of the military ancestor’s “shared execution.”

Chen Ping An said, “Then, let each of us cultivate until we meet at the summit.”

Xiao Mo chuckled, “The little girl is lucky to meet the Young Master and the Lady.”

After that, Chen Ping An walked out of the residence alone.

Chen Ping An unconsciously walked to the entrance of the residence and sat in the small gatehouse.

Life was unpredictable. They had met by chance and would separate by chance.

Nothing happened that night.

At dawn, an old Golden Core cultivator came to the street outside. He was pleasantly surprised to see the Second Shopkeeper in the gatehouse. He did not even need to knock on the door and immediately cheered up.

“Second Shopkeeper, you’ve gone from being an accountant to a doorman? Are you being punished? What’s going on? You were treated like this as soon as you got back to the Sword Qi Great Wall? Should I tell Ning Yao? This is too outrageous. It’s not good if word gets out. It will damage the Hidden Official’s prestige.”

The Second Shopkeeper often got drunk in his wine shop and was locked out. Some old sword cultivators had vowed that the Second Shopkeeper was pitiful. He would go home late at night, knock on the door, and get no response. He would not dare to break in and he did not even have the guts to climb over the wall, so he could only lie down on the steps at the entrance for the night.

The Second Shopkeeper walked out of the gatehouse, leaned against the entrance, folded his hands in his sleeves, and smiled.

The old cultivator realized that something was wrong. He jogged up the steps and tossed a pot of wine over at the same time, but the Second Shopkeeper slapped it back. “Old Song, what kind of spirit wine are you drinking so early in the morning? Didn’t you get enough bamboo wife last night?”

Yes, it was the real Second Shopkeeper. There was no mistaking it.

No one else could speak with that flavor.

The acting shopkeeper also spoke in a flirtatious manner, but he was still different from the Second Shopkeeper.

He sat outside the gate with Old Song, of course, was one of the early wine promoters.

He was an old Golden Core of the Sword Qi Great Wall and used to be a cultivator at the Pill Shop. He also helped record battle merits. He liked wine and gambling, but his character was bad when drunk, crying and wiping his nose. His gambling skills were poor and his luck was even worse. He always lost when gambling. He was said to be an old Golden Core, but this did not mean that he was particularly old. He had been quite talented before forming the core. When Old Song was young, even if he could not be called a first-class genius, he could be considered outstanding among his generation. Over wine, he always said that his skin was so good when he was young that Wu Chenpei and Mi Yu had to concede.

Many middle five realms sword cultivators liked to call him Old Song when drinking at the wine shop.

“Hidden Official, how long are you planning to stay?”

“Are you short on money again?”

“We’re talking about love, what’s the point of talking about money?”

“Old Song, at least you’re a Golden Core. Why didn’t you get a job at the Warden Lineage?”

“I didn’t. The Ascend City Ancestral Hall didn’t want me, so I was too ashamed to sit there. Your Summer Retreat Palace doesn’t accept people, either. I would like to go, but I don’t have any connections. It’s neither too high nor too low, so I’ll just muddle along. As you know, I can’t stand that young master Qi Shou who came from a big family. Chen Sanqiu was always given wine by me back then. I got a pretty lucrative job at Old Scale City, at least I didn’t have to read anyone’s face. Unfortunately, all the money I got went to your wine shop. At the beginning of each month, I’ll get a couple of pots of Blue Deity Mountain wine, in the middle of the month, I’ll drink Bamboo Sea Grotto-Heaven wine, and at the end of the month, I’ll drink Dumb Lake wine. The month will just go by like that. The kids now, as long as they’re a sword cultivator, they don’t even talk about whether they’re sword immortal embryos. They’re all low in realm, and their eyes grow on their foreheads. When they see me, Old Song, they don’t even know how to ask me to drink.”

“When you’re wearing open-crotch pants, kids on the street also call you Old Song.”

“It’s not the same. I can’t say exactly what’s different, it’s just a feeling.”

Old Song could not help but take a sip of wine when he said this.

“Second Shopkeeper, is it not so good now?”

“It’s a good thing now. I can’t say for sure if it will be good in the future.”

“Then, why don’t you care?”

“Some things can only be done step by step. Otherwise, the outcome will just be “if,” a jumbled mess full of resentment.”

“Second Shopkeeper, don’t tell me this bullshit. You’re finally back. You can’t…” What was that phrase?

“Stand idly by?”

“No, it’s not that literary.”

“Is it the local saying from my hometown, to stand on the shore and watch the flood?”