A cyan robe flashed from the Ancestral Hall, like a waterfall of jade cascading from the pinnacle of Azureplain Peak to the mountain gates below.

Chewing on melon seeds, Cui Dongshan chuckled, “Let’s postpone the meeting, just for a little while. We can sip tea in the meantime.”

Pei Qian, eager to accompany her master to greet Li Baoping at the gates, was met with a shake of the Great White Goose’s head.

Qiu Du, Tao Ran, and other recent additions to the Ancestral Hall, along with guest members like Ye Yunyun, couldn’t help but wonder about this mysterious figure. Who could warrant such fanfare from Mountain Master Chen, seemingly capable of shelving any matter, no matter how pressing, to rush headlong down the mountain? He didn’t even spare a moment for a word in the Ancestral Hall. This was hardly Chen Pingan’s usual way.

Suddenly, Cui Dongshan’s eyes lit up. “Eldest Sister, I’ve realized who the greatest architect of our Fallen Mountain’s character is!”

Pei Qian glared at him. “Don’t drag Eldest Sister Baoping into this!”

Among the younger generation of Fallen Mountain, some feared Cui Dongshan, while others feared Pei Qian.

However, those who arrived at Fallen Mountain later, like Bai Xuan, were likely unaware that both the Great White Goose and Pei Qian acted quite differently around a certain someone.

Cui Dongshan once had his head stamped with that person’s seal. Pei Qian, who could outsmart seasoned constables in her youth, willingly served as that person’s little helper, often copying texts together. As for Li Huai, back in the village school, his breeches had been hoisted up a tree, leaving him a tear-streaked mess. Yet, he bore no grudge.

At the mountain gates, Chen Pingan landed gracefully, a radiant smile upon his face.

Li Baoping grinned. “Little Uncle-Master, Happy New Year!”

The maiden in the crimson coat clutched a green bamboo staff, the sabre of the Auspicious Talisman at her side, and a snow-white gourd hung at her waist. She was tall and slender, a young woman grown.

Chen Pingan glanced at the sword-nurturing gourd. Li Baoping blushed. “Little Uncle-Master, I don’t drink often! Just when I’m weary from reading, to clear my head. I call upon the wine sprites for aid in battling the drowsiness demons! I win more than I lose!”

Chen Pingan chuckled softly, “What’s that? Little Uncle-Master is practically a drunkard himself. Come, I’ll show you around the mountain. It’s the sect’s celebration today. We’ll sit in the Ancestral Hall for a bit; I have some matters to discuss. Consider this catching up on the inaugural ceremony. This mountain we stand upon is called Immortal Capital Mountain. The two beside it are Cloudrise Mountain and Intent Mountain; your Senior Brother Cui named them.”

Li Baoping nodded eagerly, then pointed to the sect plaque. “Azureplain Sword Sect. The name is especially fitting! ‘A gale springs from the earth, born at the tip of azureplain.’ It speaks of surpassing the master, yet also of a floating leaf returning to the sea, of meeting at every turn in life. Multiple and beautiful meanings! Senior Brother Cui must have racked his brains, flipping through dictionaries, just to stumble upon such a name.”

Chen Pingan smiled. “Little Uncle-Master chose the sect’s name himself.”

Li Baoping’s bright, lively eyes narrowed into crescents, and she feigned a sigh. “Oh, how utterly predictable.”

As Chen Pingan reached out to help lead her horse, Li Baoping shook her head quickly. “It doesn’t need to come up the mountain. It’s best it stays at the foot. Today is Little Uncle-Master’s sect celebration. It’s just eaten its fill. If it were to… deposit something along the way, it would trouble Little Uncle-Master to find a broom and basket. That would be most unseemly.”

Chen Pingan couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s nothing at all.”

Li Baoping lifted her bamboo staff and waved a hand grandly. “Go play yourself.”

The horse’s hooves echoed as it headed towards Lootfall Beach to drink.

In the Ancestral Hall, Cui Dongshan, who had been tilting his head, listening intently, turned to Pei Qian with a grin. “Well? Are you convinced?”

Chen Pingan led Li Baoping slowly along the mountain path, the pair ascending step by step.

When the girl in crimson appeared, Yu Panshui on Azureplain Peak was startled. This was no ordinary shrinking of the land. “Gathering Treasure, did that little maiden just cross a continent? My cultivation is shallow. I can barely watch the spectacle. With your high realm, can you discern anything?”

Liu Jubao, however, acted strangely. He simply gazed towards the scenery of Cloudrise Mountain’s My Place Peak, ignoring the maiden leading the horse at the mountain’s base. He offered no response to his friend’s inquiry.

Yu Panshui muttered to himself, “If she truly traveled across a continent, why would she bring a horse? Even the legendary ascension to immortality doesn’t involve such cosmic displays! She seems to carry the very qi of Central Earth Divine Continent. How curious. Do I even detect some essence of Mount Sui? In all the world, who can snatch from Mountain Lord Zhou You? I’ve heard tales enough to deafen me. The temper of our ‘Grand Sacrifice’ Mountain Lord has never been subtle.”

Of all the mountain and water spirits of the Vast Expanse, few possessed a “divine title.” According to the latest regulations from the Temple of Literature, only the Five Peaks of Central Earth and the Four Sea Water Lords currently enjoyed this honor.

Liu Youzhou spoke with a mental voice, “It seems to be Li Baoping from Mountain Cliff Academy. I hear she, along with Qi Du of Treasure Bottle Continent’s Old Temple, Lin Shouyi, and Sage Li Huai, are all direct disciples of Master Qi. Li Baoping has favored crimson robes since childhood. When she is not pursuing her studies, she most enjoys traveling. She recently passed examinations at the Rite Academy, becoming a Confucian Gentleman. Li Baoping once had a debate with Yuan Pang of Transverse Canal Academy. I borrowed a ‘Flower in the Mirror, Moon in the Water’ transcript from a friend on the mountain, but I couldn’t understand what they were arguing about. By seniority, Hidden Officer can indeed be considered her Little Uncle-Master. Since Li Baoping is a grand-disciple of the Old Master of Literature, and the Old Master has always had strong ties with Mount Sui, perhaps Lord Zhou himself delivered her here?”

Yu Panshui exclaimed, “So it’s her! Ah, that explains it!”

Liu Jubao still didn’t rise to the bait. Zhou You could transport a person to another continent, but the disturbance would never be so small. If it were truly magic from Mount Sui, according to the Three Mountains Nine Marquis Sage’s earliest definition of the art, considering Li Baoping’s current state of cultivation, Zhou You would need to use several ancient divine powers in one breath to cross the continent. Moving mountains and shifting scenery with mysterious passage, fixing the body and sitting in fire to still the soul, borrowing wind and treading water with divine travel. Li Baoping’s feet touching the ground would cause the entire Immortal Capital Mountain region to tremble. Furthermore, Mount Sui would pay a significant price, certainly consuming a portion of Mount Sui’s essence. But considering Zhou You’s behavior, the universally recognized iron-willed Grand Sacrifice Divine Lord, no matter how good his relationship with the lineage of the Old Master of Literature, would never be so corrupt.

Clearly, someone else was responsible, and this person’s skill could be seen as a cultivator of the fourteenth realm.

This was the reason Liu Jubao feigned ignorance. There were only a handful of fourteenth realm cultivators in the Vast Expanse. On this continent, there was previously a Cavern Master of Azurejade Cave at Lootfall Beach of Eastsea Temple of Observing the Dao. He has now gone to the Azure Firmament to found his own sect. Because of the Old Taoist Priest’s own union with the Way, if that war had continued, the Old Taoist Priest would have been forced to share the “heavenly timing, earthly advantage, and human harmony” of the Wildlands. The more troubled the world became, the more the Old Taoist Priest’s cultivation would decline. If Treasure Bottle Continent couldn’t be defended, the Old Taoist Priest might not even be able to escape. One can’t truly allow Zhou Mi, a junior mountain cultivator, to sit on his head and act domineeringly.

The monk Shen Qing, nicknamed “Chicken Soup Monk,” has also gone to the Western Buddhist Kingdom, most likely to quietly begin his fourth Dao protection.

The Old Blind Man stayed rooted in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and Bai Ye was at Black Heaven Temple. As for the Dragon Slayer who returned to the fourteenth realm, he had always been a solitary cloud, a wild crane.

Therefore, it was likely that a fourteenth realm cultivator had emerged in the Vast Expanse, or that a new fourteenth realm would soon appear.

Some things are best left unsaid.

Yu Panshui’s realm may not be high, only Jade Purity, but he had eyes. He couldn’t be unaware of this. Moreover, considering Yu Panshui’s relationship with Brocade Tiger, he could hardly be considered a complete outsider to the origin of the Jade Bead Cave Heaven incident.

Yu Panshui glanced at the Treasure Accumulating Lord of Wealth from Azure Snow Continent, grumbling. “No wonder you earn more money than I do, far more. You’re truly a perfect model of discretion.”

Yu Fatty had always wondered if Accumulating Treasure’s path to union with the Way was earning money, like… earning half the spirit money in the Vast Expanse? But that wasn’t quite right. Liu Jubao was certainly the best at earning money, but he spent it with equal extravagance. Yet, it didn’t seem like Liu Jubao was trying to trade money for merit on the Temple of Literature’s record of deeds. Actually, Yu Panshui had never understood this man. The longer he spent with Liu Jubao, the more unsettling the sense of gazing through a fog became. Even Brocade Tiger Cui Chan or Zheng Juzhong of White Emperor City, the so-called inscrutability, was just because their minds were too sharp, their chess skills too high. But ultimately, some threads were clearer. Cui Chan could commit the seemingly heinous crime of betraying his master and lineage of the sages, but he would never abandon his identity as a scholar. Zheng Juzhong, even with his title as the world’s foremost demon, his thoughts were still extremely lofty and profound. However, Zheng Juzhong still gave Yu Panshui a sense of unadulterated Confucianism, though it may have been an illusion Zheng Juzhong deliberately gave Yu Panshui.

Liu Jubao, however, was different, the most perplexing to Yu Panshui. He couldn’t discern what Liu Jubao truly wanted, as if the greatest “truth” was hidden by Liu Jubao’s “fact” of earning money.

Liu Jubao smiled calmly. “Time will reveal all. When the world truly becomes peaceful, you will know the use of the wealth I earn.”

Careful earning, generous spending. One’s wealth, no matter how much or little, should enter and leave through the main gate. That is the way of a household. Money must be earned, but accumulating virtue cannot be neglected.

Otherwise, walking the night road too often, accumulating wealth through crooked means, will easily lead to trouble and bring misfortune upon future generations. Money is hard to earn in this world, and ancestral blessing is even harder to accumulate.

Otherwise, virtue is not matched by position. Possessing mountains of gold will quickly turn blessing into disaster. What is money? The descendants collect the fields of their ancestors.

Perhaps it was the principle Cui Chan once spoke of.

Wealth is brought from the previous life, books are read for the next.

Liu Jubao looked at the pair who had begun to ascend the mountain and said, “Let us go to Descended Immortal Peak and take a look.”

On the mountain path, Li Baoping said, “Little Uncle-Master, don’t keep the Ancestral Hall waiting. Matters are pressing.”

Chen Pingan nodded with a smile. Li Baoping then flew up the mountain with nimble steps, while Chen Pingan followed slowly and leisurely.

Arriving at the Ancestral Hall on Azureplain Peak, Zhou Mili had already prepared a chair, placing it between the kind Mountain Master and Pei Qian, as Cui Dongshan had suggested.

Rules and regulations were secondary to propriety here.

Li Baoping greeted everyone with a bow, introducing herself as Li Baoping, a disciple of Mountain Cliff Academy.

She glanced at the position of her chair and shook her head at her Little Uncle-Master. Chen Pingan then moved the chair back a little, but not so much as to be isolated in the back row. In this way, Li Baoping was both observing the ceremony and part of the family.

Pei Qian greeted Li Baoping with a smile, calling her “Sister Baoping” and pouring her a bowl of tea.

Zhou Mili wiped the sweat from her forehead, mustered her courage, and placed a mountain of melon seeds from her cloth bag before the legendary Alliance Master. She said softly, “Alliance Master, Sister Baoping, my name is Zhou Mili. I used to be the Right Protector of Dragon Riding Lane and now I am the Vice-Chief of Dragon Riding Lane sub-branch under Dragon Spring County’s General Branch.”

Pei Qian wanted to burrow into the ground.

Li Baoping was stunned, but quickly smiled. “Keep up the good work.”

If the little black-clad girl hadn’t mentioned it today, Li Baoping would have forgotten about the General Branch Alliance Master token she had given to Pei Qian long ago.

Once Chen Pingan was seated, the meeting in the Ancestral Hall resumed.

The first matter was the rules Cui Dongshan had established for the Azureplain Sword Sect. In the future, the threshold for adding new members to the Ancestral Hall and each chair in the Azureplain Peak Ancestral Hall would not be low.

Cultivators must be Nascent Soul, with sword cultivators being at least Golden Core, and martial artists must be at the Distant Travels realm.

Furthermore, simply passing this line didn’t guarantee a seat. The record in the merits ledger would also be considered.

The second matter was the arrangement of each member’s Daoist abodes.

Chief Attendant Mi Yu, direct disciple of He Gu, natal flying sword “Flying Peak,” has his Daoist abode built on the Cloud Peak of Immortal Capital Mountain.

Law Warden Cui Wei, disciple Yu Xiehui, natal flying sword “Riddlebreaker,” has his Daoist abode built on the Skyedge Peak, Fairy Palm of Immortal Capital Mountain.

Sui Youbian, disciple Cheng Chaolu, has his Daoist abode on the Descended Immortal Peak, Sweeping Flower Terrace, of the sub-peak of Immortal Capital Mountain.

Golden Core Sword Cultivator Tao Ran has his Daoist abode on the Vermilion Sand Peak of Immortal Capital Mountain.

These four Ancestral Hall members were coincidentally all sword cultivators, so their Daoist abodes would be located on Immortal Capital Mountain, the ancestral mountain of the Azureplain Sword Sect.

Cui Dongshan smiled. “Sword Immortal Tao, let’s postpone all peak opening ceremonies for now. Once Sword Immortal Tao reaches the Nascent Soul realm, we can make it up to Sword Immortal Tao and hold a grand celebration.”

Tao Ran nodded silently, without objection.

Reaching the Nascent Soul realm was a pipe dream. It was best that there were no special Golden Core peak opening celebrations, to avoid embarrassing Immortal Capital Mountain.

Cui Dongshan waved his sleeve, and clouds rose from the floor of the Ancestral Hall, revealing a map of the landscape of Cloudrise Mountain and Intent Mountain, the two auxiliary mountains.

Various peaks were marked with hovering vermilion characters, indicating their names.

Cui Dongshan said, “Husbandman Zhong, besides retaining your Immortal Capital Mountain Secret Snow Peak residence, I suggest you move your primary place of business to Cloudrise Mountain. I will serve as the first Mountain Lord of Cloudrise Mountain, with my Daoist abode located at the main peak, My Place Peak. Please don’t feel you’re being a houseguest. Also, Husbandman Zhong, you should take some disciples. Furthermore, I intend to start construction soon on a private academy on Intent Mountain. I invite Husbandman Zhong to serve as the first headmaster of the academy.”

Zhong Qiu smiled. “No problem at all.”

Cui Dongshan asked, “Eldest Sister, do you intend to open a separate peak on Immortal Capital Mountain, or on Cloudrise Mountain?”

Pei Qian didn’t hesitate. “On Cloudrise Mountain.”

She glanced at the map and continued, “I will build a thatched cottage near the Fishing Pavilion at Azure Bamboo Valley.”

Chen Pingan suddenly said, “Allocate Drunken Peak on Cloudrise Mountain to me.”

Pei Qian pursed her lips tightly.

In a sense, both master and disciple had learned boxing from the same person.

That old man who always stayed on the second floor of the bamboo building had a boxing move called Cloudrise Marsh Formation.

Therefore, whether Pei Qian chose the Fishing Pavilion on Cloudrise Mountain or Chen Pingan actively requested Drunken Peak, it was a mutual understanding between the master and disciple.

Cui Dongshan smiled. “Let Cao Qinglang serve as the first Peak Lord of Glimmering Star Peak on Intent Mountain. Opening a peak for a Golden Core is in accordance with the rules. As for the first Mountain Lord of Intent Mountain, let’s leave it vacant for now.”

“Wu Gou, Xiao Manying, your Daoist abodes will be located by Cloud Ladder Road on Intent Mountain. You may call upon talisman laborers to build your residences.”

“Fellow Daoist Qing Tong, your Daoist abode will be located at Winglike Terrace on Intent Mountain. This peak is second only to My Place Peak in height, and the scenery is quite good. How is it?”

Qing Tong nodded with a smile and cupped his fist. “I thank Sect Leader Cui in advance.”

As guests, even chief guests like Huang Ting were unable to open peaks or occupy mountains according to the rules. At most, they could have a residence on the mountain. But this didn’t apply for recorded servants of the mountain.

Besides Qing Tong’s Winglike Terrace, Old Dragon Qiu Du was arranged by Cui Dongshan to stay at Banyan Peak on Intent Mountain, which was also the source of water for Intent Mountain.

Clearly, Cui Dongshan’s plan was for sword cultivators to practice swords on the peaks of the ancestral mountain. Pure martial artists would be on Cloudrise Mountain. Qi refiners outside of sword cultivators would cultivate the Way on Intent Mountain.

The Old Crone said with trepidation, “Mountain Master Chen, Hu Chuling and I aren’t strictly master and disciple. Can she become your disciple and study with you?”

For this former Dragon Palace tutor, her own cultivation achievements were far less important than Vinegar’s smooth cultivation. Having a proper master, a strong backer.

The reason Qiu Du was so uneasy was naturally related to the “seniority” that mountain cultivators valued most. If Vinegar could truly become Chen Pingan’s direct disciple, she would be of the same generation as Cui Dongshan. What was that if not soaring to the heavens in one step? Therefore, Qiu Du was even prepared to dedicate her life to Immortal Capital Mountain. As long as Chen Pingan didn’t outright reject the idea, the Old Crone would immediately offer a contract similar to a life-or-death pledge, and this was no trifling matter.

Chen Pingan shook his head. “Firstly, I will soon enter seclusion. After leaving seclusion, I will travel again. If Hu Chuling were to become my disciple, she might not even see me for a long time, so naturally I wouldn’t be able to teach her anything. Furthermore, all I can offer is swordsmanship and martial arts, neither of which are suitable for Hu Chuling. As for talisman-making, I barely know a few tricks, but if Hu Chuling truly wants to learn it and can learn it, I can promise Qiu Attendant that whenever I am in the Azureplain Sword Sect, Hu Chuling can ask me about talisman-making, and I will impart all that I know. In fact, as for Hu Chuling’s apprenticeship, there is no need to seek far and wide.”

Cui Dongshan immediately smiled. “If Qiu Attendant doesn’t mind, I can be the Way Imparter in the Azureplain Peak Ancestral Hall genealogy for Hu Chuling.”

Chen Pingan explained with a smile, “Cui Dongshan is a Celestial Realm cultivator. Apart from martial arts, which is an exception and can be considered our Sect Leader Cui’s only weakness, he is almost superior to me, the teacher, in every aspect. For Hu Chuling to become his disciple, she may be lower in seniority, but in the long run, she will gain more benefits and reap greater rewards than becoming my disciple.”

Although Qiu Du felt somewhat regretful, it was still a great stroke of good fortune that Vinegar could leap up and become Cui Dongshan’s direct disciple. It was simply a change from the best to the second best. The Old Crone was extremely satisfied.

Especially when Chen Pingan personally said that Cui Dongshan was a Celestial Realm cultivator, Qiu Du was filled with emotion. A mountain sect, a place where dragons and tigers were hidden, had unfathomable foundations.

Furthermore, Chen Pingan had made a clear promise to impart the art of talismans to Hu Chuling. Qiu Du dared not be more impertinent. Moreover, the young Hidden Officer’s expression was gentle, but he spoke directly, such as explicitly mentioning the matter of “seniority.” Therefore, the Old Crone, who considered herself foolish if she continued to be oblivious, immediately stood up and thanked Mountain Master Chen and Sect Leader Cui. After sitting down, the Old Crone hesitated for a moment and said frankly with a guilty expression, “I’ve lived in the countryside for too long, and my selfish intentions have made you all laugh.”

Chen Pingan smiled. “Grandma Qiu, don’t say that. You have opened a good beginning for our Azureplain Sword Sect Ancestral Hall meeting.”

Qiu Du was confused. A good beginning? She only saw that everyone seemed to find the young Hidden Officer’s words perfectly reasonable.

Old Immortal Jia immediately followed up. “Speak your own words with a calm mind and peaceful heart. Qiu Attendant dares to openly say her selfish intentions are heavy, but I don’t think her selfish intentions are heavy at all.”

Zhou Mili, who had been furrowing her thin brows, suddenly understood after Old Immortal Jia’s explanation, and clapped her hands.

Because the topic the Old Crone had raised happened to involve the third matter: Sect Leader Cui himself was preparing to take disciples.

Cui Dongshan smiled. “Hu Chuling, Jiang Qu, Xie Xie, Cui Huasheng, and Zhao Luan will all become my direct disciples and be recorded in the Azureplain Peak Golden Jade Register. As for who will be the founding grand disciple, there’s no rush; we’ll decide later.”

Chen Pingan asked in puzzlement, “Zhao Luan?”

Leaving aside Cui Huasheng, the girl who had been lured to Dragon Riding Lane by Cui Dongshan, his long-lost “younger sister,” and even Cui Dongshan taking Xie Xie as a disciple, Chen Pingan didn’t find anything wrong with it. As for Jiang Qu, as Fallen Mountain’s first true talisman cultivator, it was indeed a good thing that he could become Cui Dongshan’s direct disciple. Only Zhao Luan made Chen Pingan feel resentful. The Azureplain Sword Sect was a lower sect of Fallen Mountain. Was Cui Dongshan going to stop digging at the wall?!

Because during the last Fallen Mountain Sect celebration, Zhao Shuxia had instantly become Mountain Master Chen Pingan’s direct disciple. Although Zhao Luan had not become Chen Pingan’s direct disciple, she was already a cultivator on the Fallen Mountain Clear Sky Peak register. Furthermore, Zhao Luan now had an unrecorded master, who was none other than the white-haired boy in Dragon Riding Lane, the Outer Demon who had used the name “Frostfall” in the Sword Qi Great Wall Prison. He now served as Fallen Mountain’s only handyman disciple at the Thatched Shop, as if he was not only not ashamed, but quite complacent. It was truly a world of coincidences. Chen Pingan clearly remembered that in the prison, the Outer Demon had once smiled and said, “Little grass does not value itself, but it has cast out the mountain’s fault.”

Little Grass leaves the mountain, Thatched Shop?

It wasn’t rare on the mountain for a Qi refiner to have two or even several Way Imparters. However, the record in the Ancestral Hall Golden Jade Register involved the belonging of the Daoist lineage, so it was of course unique. “Acknowledging ancestors and returning to the clan” was of utmost importance to a cultivator. For example, in the Azure Firmament, the lineage of the Daoist official’s guide determined his Daoist lineage for life.

Cui Dongshan chuckled. “Teacher, Zhao Luan has such good cultivation aptitude. It seems she can’t learn much staying at Fallen Mountain.”

Changming smiled. “I wouldn’t say so.”

Wei Wenlong said, “Sect Leader Cui’s words are inappropriate.”

Old Immortal Jia only needed a moment of deliberation before saying words that were both sincere and not offensive to either the upper or lower sect. “This old Daoist has always regarded Zhao Luan as his own granddaughter. If Maiden Luan were to come to Immortal Capital Mountain to cultivate, I would feel reluctant. Selfish, it is indeed this old Daoist who is being selfish.”

Qiu Du smiled knowingly and felt more relaxed. The Old Crone exchanged kind glances with the blind but clear-minded old Daoist Immortal.

Cui Dongshan rolled his eyes. Damn it, was he also taking the opportunity to curry favor with Qiu Du?

Old Immortal Jia, well done! You might as well go to that private academy on Cloudrise Mountain and become a scholar who specializes in teaching social skills.

Because there were objections, the choice of Zhao Luan’s formal master would still follow Fallen Mountain’s old rules and ask Zhao Luan herself.

Afterwards, they discussed the choice of guardian attendants for the Azureplain Sword Sect. Cui Dongshan said he would hurry to resolve it.

Currently, the only allies that had formally established an alliance with the Azureplain Sword Sect were temporarily Pufan Mountain, Tranquility Mountain, and the Great Spring Dynasty.

As for Jade Tablet Sect, it still depended on the teacher’s personal decision.

————

On the shores of a large lake in Kui Prefecture, there was a large-scale immortal ferry port called Wine Money Ferry.

Clouds drift, lotuses and water caltrops surge, fish and crabs overturn wild rice stems, and sleeping ducks occupy the embankment, scattered and reformed in pairs.

In the bustling immortal ferry port, a burly man with a bowed head and hands in his sleeves cautiously approached a seemingly wealthy young cultivator and asked softly, “Want a Daoist robe?”

The young man’s expression flickered. He asked mentally, “What’s the source? New goods? Or an old Daoist robe? How new is it?”

In fact, this kind of shady business wasn’t rare on the mountain. They were all goods of unknown or impure origin, but the price was much cheaper.

The man raised his chin and said, “Just look around here. If you see something you like, tell me. The prices are all the same, two Lesser Heat coins.”

The young cultivator was stunned by the words.

The man said, “Beautiful women, jewels, emperor’s seal, all come from the bottom of the yellow sand waves. Why ask the source? No matter who they were taken off, they’ll be the same when you wear them. You pick a place tonight, and we’ll exchange money for goods. I guarantee to remove all the restrictions on the Daoist robe. If you’re not confident, you can ask an expert to check it out. I have few taboos in business, just want both the buyer and seller to be at ease.”

The young cultivator shouted angrily, “Are you out of your mind? Get away from me!”

The man sighed. “Business may not be done, but goodwill remains. Why curse people?”

The man moved away, seemingly to find the next customer.

In a small county town on the border of Kui and Qi Prefectures, there was said to be a foreign eccentric, wearing a raccoon fur coat and a fox fur hat, with a burly figure like a soldier, speaking with a northern accent.

This person was accompanied by three retainers, all Qi refiners, without official identities from any dynasty or the water and mountain record from any immortal abode. They only had their ancestral home, names, and the seal of the local government. After verifying the travelers’ documents, the local county government found it strange, but didn’t pay much attention. Since they could pass through so many places, they probably weren’t evil people who relied on immortal arts to cause trouble.

The group casually found a place to stay in the city. It was said to be a haunted house where ghosts often appeared. The yamen runners were too lazy to care. Even watchmen didn’t dare to go there at night. They could stay if they wanted.

In the house, weeds grew everywhere, and the window paper was leaking air.

Inside the house, besides stacks of medical books, there were piles of bamboo tubes cut into various lengths, all with holes.

In the small courtyard, there was a large water vat with a few fish recently caught, waiting to be cooked.

The three cultivators in the small house, who were half retainers and half fellow Daoists, had been picked up along the way by Qing Ling.

Their realms weren’t low. Two were Golden Core and one Dragon Gate. They had each had their own Daoist abodes in their hometown of Yong Prefecture. They couldn’t be said to dominate a region or act tyrannically, but at least they had some Daoist official friends in the imperial court. But this journey had been fraught with anxiety. After all, they were traveling across continents. Especially when they passed through Ru Prefecture, they didn’t even visit the Scarlet Gold Dynasty. They always felt that any martial artist they encountered on the road would kill them with a punch.

This was because that flower-loving eccentric had given them each a fake document. In fact, the three of them had proper identities and didn’t need to change them. But the fellow Daoist Qing Ling insisted they change to a new identity, because he disliked their previous names and Daoist titles for being too small and not having good enough meanings. As Qi refiners, taking a Daoist title was a big deal; it was like a second reincarnation. Therefore, on this journey, the three of them wore fake identities, accompanying fellow Daoist Qing Ling to cheat and deceive. How could they not feel anxious?

They had heard rumors long ago in their hometown of Yong Prefecture that an eccentric lived in a certain county. He behaved strangely and always wore three flowers in his hair. No one knew his name. He could write poetry with the intent of immortals.

Sometimes he wore brocade red shirts and discussed metaphysics with lofty scholars and immortal officials. Sometimes he wore ragged clothes and mingled in the market, joining beggars on the street. He liked to say strange things that no one could understand.

“His hands want to cover the sparrows in the bottle, and his feet only fear the snake in the well. The toad light illuminates the dim streets all day long, and the full eyes of yellow shoots are revealed…”

They never thought they would encounter such a guy. As a result, they had all become grasshoppers on the same rope, as the saying goes, it’s easy to get on a thief’s ship but hard to get off.

Inside the house, the three fellow sufferers included a woman with a slender neck, as white as snow. Her Daoist abode was on Mianyang Lake in Yong Prefecture. Now, this female cultivator of demon descent had the Daoist title Spring Festival.

A short man in brocade clothes, with a body that seemed to grow sideways, came from Green Grass Lake in Longyang County, Yong Prefecture. He fancied himself a romantic and was now named Wu Xie, formerly calling himself the Gallant Nobleman Without Entrails.

The last one was a thin man with the Daoist title Autumn Night. According to fellow Daoist Qing Ling, this name meant a dark night with a bright moon, a recluse standing alone in the moonlight.

For some reason, he received this brand-new Daoist title, coming from a place in ancient Yong Prefecture known for its exotic snakes. However, there were many snake catchers, so few managed to achieve enlightenment. Transforming into a dragon was even more of a luxury. Of the snake catchers, the most famous in history was of course the girl who entered Black Heaven Temple to cultivate the Daoist arts at a young age, Wang Sun, Daoist title “Empty Mountain.” She was also one of the Ten of the World.

However, the three of them, a goose, a snake, and a crab, still didn’t know the true identity of that fellow Daoist Qing Ling.

But he had separately imparted to them a Daoist book, and before imparting it, it was the same set of self-praise and scare tactics.

“This book will only be secretly passed on to those who are destined.”

“Those who dare to reveal my book will be punished as a lower ghost according to the law, and their clan will be exterminated.”

Such grand words, but when the three of them cultivated according to the Daoist book, it seemed useless.

Fellow Daoist Qing Ling said earnestly, “In the long run, as long as you persist, the heavens will reward those who put their hearts into it, and you will gradually improve.”

The three mute fellow Daoists were eating Coptis chinensis, studying an anonymous, thick book, said to be the painstaking work of the old abbot of Black Heaven Temple himself. That’s how it was spread, but Daoist Sun never admitted to writing this book.

It was truly a must-have for mountain and marsh wilderness cultivators traveling the world, a guide to good fortune and avoiding disaster.

It was rumored that on the Vast Expanse, there was a map called “Searching the Mountains,” so this book was also known as “Submerged Water Book.” This book was sold at almost every immortal ferry port, and the price wasn’t expensive, just two or three Snowflake Coins.

It was concise, the items were clear, categorized, and all old and prudent golden words. It also introduced the customs and habits of the fourteen continents of the world.

What the door ways for those enormous immortal abodes and Daoist temples were, which old tortoises were morally corrupt and insidious, which little bastard pups were rotten from top to bottom, which ones could stop and reason when something happened, which ones must not be provoked and must be avoided, and if it was unavoidable, you encountered something, and recognized the other party’s mountain identity, just bow your head and admit your mistake, don’t be stubborn…

There were also many short stories similar to strange tales and anecdotes, especially well-written, which made people watch with relish.

As expected of Abbot Sun, who had friends all over the world, he truly deserved the praise of achieving perfect merit.

The three mountain marsh wilderness cultivators of demon descent were there, exchanging knowledge and arguing over the exact meaning of the characters, discussing whether they should say “high moral prestige,” “the Way is high and virtue is heavy,” or “old age and outstanding virtue” if they were fortunate enough to meet Abbot Sun, the old abbot who was rumored to be the most amiable to the younger generation of the mountain.

The three fellow townsmen each held their own opinions and had their own reasons. One said that Abbot Sun was famous, so calling him “high moral prestige” was the most appropriate. One said that the old abbot was a Daoist after all, so there must be a “Dao.” Another said that “old age” meant living long, which was the greatest praise in itself.

The old abbot wasn’t in a hurry to enter. Standing outside the house, he stroked his beard and smiled. Hearing people say good things about himself to his face was mostly hypocritical flattery, but praise from behind came mostly from the heart.

Yan Zhuo was listening outside the door to the debate of the three fellow Daoists, only feeling that their path under their feet had widened.

He just wondered if these three would recognize the old abbot standing by his side, or if it would be difficult for them.

In the Azure Firmament, except for a very few continents, for some reason, from the imperial court to the sects, Daoist temples have been forbidden to publicly use “Flower in the Mirror, Moon in the Water” since ancient times.

Gallant Nobleman Without Entrails suddenly raised his head and said in a deep voice, “Fellow Daoist, halt! How can you intrude into a private residence in broad daylight!”

Did they really think the two Golden Core and one Dragon Gate were vegetarians?

Did they really think this was their home?

They saw an old Daoist appear outside the door, with a fat young man and two young masters, noisily crossing the threshold.

Seeing that the old Daoist Priest still crossed the threshold directly and entered the house, he picked up a handwritten medical book at random. The opening content of the preface had quite some learning, claiming that today’s medical experts often like to treat diseases with the King’