In a humble village academy, Master Chenji, a man of letters and wisdom, guided his pupils in the intricacies of a particular stance.

Beneath the shade of a zhao tree, Zhaoshu rested, his heart heavy. For that very day, his revered teacher had narrowly escaped the wrath of a shrewish woman who dared trespass upon the hallowed grounds of the school.

Within the jade-paved capital of Yuxuan, a city where the night held no curfew, the Taoist Wu Di, a diviner of fates, emerged from his abode after a humble supper. He walked beneath the watchful gaze of the moon, passing the Changning County yamen, where the shrine of the local deity blazed with lights, a sign of yet another dispute brewing. Turning north, the Taoist ventured into a narrow alley in Yongjia County, seeking a youth for a casual exchange of words.

Upon the slopes of Mount Caiyu, Chenjiu, a seasoned receptionist of the Bamboo Branch Sect’s outer gates, arrived at his chosen spot by the river, ready for a night of angling. A true master needs but a rod, a stool, and a fish basket; elaborate displays were for charlatans.

Deep within the heart of Mount Huan, a young man known as Chen Ren, a vagabond in straw sandals with a sword at his back, stood within the Powder Pill Manor, his scabbard empty. He contemplated whether to pit his disciples against the dubious gaze of Grandmaster Wen in a bout of practice.

Atop Ink Splash Peak, Chen Pingan, garbed in the flowing robes of a Taoist sage, listened with enigmatic silence. With a smile, he took his leave, offering Cao Rong a formal Taoist bow, “If Heavenly Lord Cao ever finds respite to grace Mount Luopo with his presence, a single word beforehand shall suffice, and I will sweep the hall in eager anticipation.”

Cao Rong made no promises of visiting Mount Luopo, but merely returned the greeting with a smiling, “Blessings immeasurable from the celestial heavens.”

Chen Pingan transformed into a streak of iridescent light, vanishing in an instant, leaving the summit of Ink Splash Peak and, within the blink of an eye, exiting the realm of Mount Huan altogether.

Lu Chen, resuming his squat, gathered nine small pebbles into his hand, shaking them gently as if casting dice before scattering them upon the ground.

Though Cao Rong claimed to be slow of wit, having cultivated the Dao for three millennia without finding a grand path to ascension, such modest words were best taken with a grain of salt.

When it came to talismanic arts and formations, Cao Rong possessed unparalleled insight, capable of discerning the solution in his mind’s eye without the need for intricate hand seals or calculations.

Seeing was believing. This renowned young Hidden Official had clearly entered the hall of talisman mastery, and his skill was undoubtedly formidable, though Cao Rong had no interest in probing its depths. He had neither kinship nor grudge with Chen Pingan.

“It is fortunate you restrained yourself, resisting the urge to divine Chen Pingan’s fate. Otherwise, you would be sharing woes with Divine Lu,” Lu Chen quipped.

He explained, “The Big Dipper, along with two auxiliary stars, are reflected in Chen Pingan’s method. By talismanic art, he has created nine doppelgangers. The Chen Pingan you spoke with was one of the auxiliary stars, unable to linger for too long. Otherwise, the whole formation risks unraveling.”

Cao Rong curiously inquired, “Does Master share a close bond with Chen Pingan?”

Chen Pingan’s technique of talismanic clones and formations was not enough to startle a Heavenly Lord of the Dao.

Alas, though Master Lu Chen had visited the Great Realm of Haoran on several occasions, he had never sought out Cao Rong, his own direct disciple of the Spirit Flight Temple.

Rumors of the relationship between Master and the young Hidden Official had reached Cao Rong’s ears from the whispers atop the mountains of this continent. Moreover, during his sojourn in the Northern Ju Continent, he had met his junior sister He Xiaoliang, and heard tales from her as well.

Lu Chen nodded, a troubled look on his face, “Close indeed, entangled deeply, a confounded mess.”

Clasping his hands together, Lu Chen breathed softly before looking again towards Mount Huan and asking, “How fares He Xiaoliang?”

Some matters Lu Chen cared not to deduce or calculate. He was a Taoist who walked the path of the Dao, not a hen with outstretched wings, protecting a flock of chicks.

Cao Rong replied respectfully, “Reporting to Master, not long ago, White Robes entered a secret seclusion. Junior Sister He, knowing it might be a trap set for her, insisted on confronting it head-on. This disciple and Senior Brother Gu had no choice but to gamble alongside her. Heavenly Lord Xie Shi secretly assisted, though his status forbade him from directly attacking White Robes. He could only provide support from afar, preventing White Robes from dealing a fatal blow to Junior Sister He.”

Gu Qingsong, known by the Taoist name “Celestial Raft”, was not formally a disciple of Lu Chen, but merely a boatman who had accompanied Lu Chen on a journey to seek immortals beyond the seas.

Nevertheless, Cao Rong and his fellow direct disciples acknowledged this senior brother, who had “never lost an argument and feared no one.”

Heavenly Lord Xie Shi was the de facto leader of the Northern Ju Continent, able to oversee the affairs of heaven and earth, save for the Confucian Academies.

This Taoist Heavenly Lord, whose ancestry lay in the Peach Leaf Lane of the Jade Pearl Grotto Heaven, held a position similar to that of Qi Zhen of the Divine Decree Sect in the Treasure Bottle Continent in the past.

As for the Fire Dragon True Man of Crawling Peak, he would never admit to being a leader of both the righteous and the wicked, always claiming, “This humble Taoist has no coin in his purse, so I cannot speak with force.”

Remembering that encounter of螳螂捕蟬黃雀在後 (the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind), Cao Rong could not help but feel a lingering sense of unease. He subtly performed a hand seal, dimming his mental image of the swordsman White Robes. “White Robes’ seclusion was genuine, without a doubt. It was just the speed with which he broke through that was bewildering, unprecedented. It was as though he did not need to consolidate his realm at all. I had thought I had sufficiently overestimated White Robes, but alas, I had underestimated him. We were caught off guard. Senior Brother Gu, relying on the hastily erected formation, was the first to block a strike, sustaining severe injuries and is now recuperating on Osmanthus Island. I blocked the second strike, and Junior Sister He barely managed to withstand the third, but was sent flying, her body shattering a mountain peak. Fortunately, she was not seriously injured. Before Xie Shi could assist, a Taoist calling himself Pure Yang arrived.”

Cao Rong made it sound simple, but anyone who had been there would attest that it was anything but. It was most likely not easy on Xie Shi, but, of course, Gu Qingsong, having seen many things, probably took it in stride.

Cao Rong had to admit that his junior sister He Xiaoliang was unusually blessed.

It wasn’t that they had no chance against an Ascended Sword Cultivator, but Cao Rong’s journey was one of protection. It was nameless, and he had no grounds to inflict death.

They had fallen into White Robes’ trap, yet He Xiaoliang had only been struck once and managed to escape unscathed. This was an encounter of luck that Cao Rong could not understand.

Lu Chen, as though expecting this outcome, chuckled, “Did you think the title of the number one swordsman of the Northern Ju Continent was just for show? Preposterous.”

“White Robes has extreme patience, setting up three paths. One he was cooperating with Tian Wan of True Yang Mountain, coveting the sword qi of the Treasure Bottle Continent.”

“He has lofty ambitions, but his methods are a bit unscrupulous. He’s more like a wild cultivator. As the master of a sect, He Xiaoliang should not compare herself to White Robes in cunning.”

“That Northern Ju Continent is full of sword cultivators. Surely there would be an Ascended sword cultivator, but Xie Shi did not advise. Did it not occur to you as strange?

Lu Chen chuckled, “He Xiaoliang wishes to prevent White Robes from ascending to the Ascended Realm. If both became ascendants, they would be stuck in the same continent for hundreds or thousands of years.”

“White Robes was trying to make He Xiaoliang lose a realm or two. They are both wary, and they gamble to come out ahead.”

Cao Rong asked, “The Taoist who called himself Pure Yang said that he and Master were old acquaintances, and that he owed Master a favor.”

Lu Chen said, “He doesn’t owe me a favor. Taoist Pure Yang and White Bone True Man traveled together to Azure City, and he and your master got along very well.”

A Taoist cultivates and gains longevity by not existing as a corpse, but, of course, one of Lu Chen’s seven aspects, the White Bone True Man, did the opposite.

Taoist, one who follows the Great Dao. If one cultivates for long enough, they will be able to see many other people follow in their footsteps.

Lu Chen asked, “Did they fight to the point where the earth shook?”

Cao Rong shook his head. “White Robes and Taoist Pure Yang were contained to the area of the mountain, and they exchanged sword techniques.”

“By the end, the air on the mountain peak was so dense with sword qi that it had frozen over.”

Cao Rong exclaimed, “A Taoist and a sword immortal purely exchanged techniques, and the Taoist came out on top!”

Lu Chen was not surprised by this.

It would be stranger if White Robes had won against Lü Yan, who had cultivated for three thousand years.

Pure Yang Lu Yan might not make it into the top ten of the world, but it was guaranteed that he would be a candidate.

Lu Chen chuckled, “What happened to the founding ancestor of the Golden Immortal Nunnery? What great mistake did she make? Why was she expelled, and why does she want to restore her title?”

Cao Rong stated the truth, “She wanted to reach the upper five realms too quickly, so she took a crooked path and secluded herself. As a result, she lost her dao heart and became possessed, and the disciples could only forcibly remove her. Had they been too late, a demon would have taken her over. Therefore, she deserved to die, and expelling her was merciful.”

Lu Chen said with regret, “I remember when you reached the Immortal Realm. I walked out of the ancestral hall painting, and later, I saw her walking around the mountain.”

Taoists in Great Realm of Haoran such as those from the Spirit Flight Temple and Taiping Mountain could summon an ancestor when they reached the level of a Heavenly Lord.

It lasted the time it took to burn an incense stick.

She was a young girl who wanted to punish Lu Chen for what she deemed to be blasphemy.

If she was smart, she would have deduced his identity. If she was duller, she would have reported him to the elders.

In the complicated world, the innocence of a person is like a sheathless sword, only to be hung on the walls of childhood or youth.

One could occasionally return, but they could not carry it with them.

Lu Chen chuckled. “Heavenly Lord Cao, you’re not being honest.”

Cao Rong knew why, so he had to put on a brave face, “Junior sister He was worried that you would punish her, so she asked me to help her.”

Before setting off, He Xiaoliang had already decided to part with a grotto-heaven, and using the fact that she was losing a level was worth stopping White Robes.

But White Robes broke through to the next level too quickly, turning a profitable deal into a loss.

Lu Chen was too lazy to bother with this. He said, “Tell Xiang Jun to restore her title.”

Cao Rong lowered his head and bowed.

After leaving Ink Splash Peak, Chen Pingan went back to a relic.

Immortals are capable of following in the footsteps of those of the past.

Following the notes in a gazetteer, Chen Pingan had found a mountain that locals had always seen as a place where immortals lived. However, the temple was long gone. Beside an old road, Chen Pingan found a few “frost pines,” which condensed the power of the moon.

Chen Pingan looked at them and thought about his options. He could not use the technique of the upper five realms of “sleeve universe,” so he had no space to carry the trees.

It would be a bit ridiculous to run through the clouds carrying pine trees.

Luopo Mountain.

Chen Pingan walked out of the bamboo house on the first floor, gently rubbing his wrists. Starlight decorated the sky, and it seemed that one would reach the end of the heavens with enough gallop.

Because he had run into Lu Chen, he had flipped through books such as *Five Elements and Principles* and *Astronomy.* He had read the *Master Huai Nanzi* and *Diagram of Heavenly Symbols and Stars* so many times that he had memorized it.

Walking along the stone path near the old chef’s house, he could hear Chen Lingjun and Zheng Dafeng’s laughter. Chen Pingan knew that they were watching Mirror Flowers, Water Moon. He was about to leave, but he hesitated before stepping into the side chamber. The magic tool used to watch the Mirror Flowers, Water Moon was a mountain, and Zheng Dafeng commented, “Nonsense!” Chen Lingjun said, “I knew that something was up when she started tying her hair…”

Even the guard, Xian Wei, was there. He used to not understand Zheng Dafeng and Jing Qing’s words, but the guard was now wise.

That was why Chen Lingjun praised his wisdom.

The old chef was somewhere else, watching a Mirror Flowers, Water Moon of a scholar visiting a haunted house, munching on fried beans. The old chef dropped a few beans into his mouth, and he saw two pieces of clothing spinning outside a woman’s room.

The old chef rose to offer his seat, but Chen Pingan waved his hand and left.

On the mountain path, Cen Yuanji was still practicing her fist techniques, but her gaze was not as wary of Chen Pingan.

Chen Pingan used to get angry about this. The old chef’s house was full of lechers, but they were guarding against him!

Walking on the steps, he remembered that Li Xisheng had gifted him the “Real Traces of Divine Writing,” a thin book with over eighty talismans of the upper, middle, and lower ranks.

When Lu Zhangjiao had lent Chen Pingan his powers, Chen Pingan used them to draw upper ranked talismans on the back pages. He had not used them, sealing all three hundred talismans in a wooden box.

Chen Pingan arrived at the mountain gate and sat at the table.

While the level of one’s power could be lent, drawing a talisman required one to use their own accumulation of qi.

After doing some calculations, Chen Pingan could make a profit if he sold his talismans, turning qi into money.

However, because the quality of the talismans was high, the seal had to be high, as well, and Chen Pingan dug himself a hole, falling to the Golden Core level.

When a cultivator drew and performed a talisman, there were ceremonies that went along with it.

As for a martial artist, the qi would explode like a flood.

He didn’t know how to do it, but one day, he knew that great things would come of it.

Yu Province.

Life at the temple was bland and consisted of vegetables. Because the monks made their own tofu, it was a bit bitter. The scholar wanted to buy fish to cook, but that was against the temple’s rules.

It was hard to see yourself in the mountains without a mirror, but the scholar’s fingers became gaunt with each day that he spent copying and writing.

The paper at the temple was rough, like an old donkey climbing a mountain. The scholar stretched his wrists, wondering what his hair looked like.

At night, the scholar studied Buddhist scriptures.

In the morning, he woke to the sound of bells, opening the windows, which filled with clouds.

The scholar said with a smile, “I didn’t expect there to be wine made of clouds.”

The clouds thinned out, and the acolyte brought food. While the monks chanted, the scholar, with white hair, ate alone in the clouds. He raised his head and saw a butterfly trapped in an old spider web. He used a mountain walking stick to release the butterfly. The scholar sat back down to eat, wondering about the spider web. After eating, he looked around.

Today, an honored guest had entered the temple with ten servants. The leader, fifty years old, spoke slowly and was stately. The abbot did not greet him, but a monk did. The servants gathered in the guest hall, laughing. The guest and the monk walked around, looking at the writing on the walls. The guest asked what the carvings were made of.

After the rain stopped, the scholar was taking a nap when the acolyte called out, “Mister Chen, mister Chen, the mountain spirit is calling for colorful clouds at the Gathering Immortal Cliff!”

The scholar left the temple to climb with the acolyte.

There were many scholars who dug up bamboo to make mountain walking sticks.

There were many peaks covered by clouds.

At the bottom of the mountain, the temple was already desolate, and the temples on the mountain were even less visited.

Only one temple was near the mountain peak, but there were no monks, only dogs.

It was cool on the mountain, and even in summer, the monks needed to wear cotton. Tourists came to escape the heat of summer.

The courtyard had a small pool.

The scholar always made the same posture when he watched the clouds, making a fist by his waist.

Then the acolyte would hear a strange sound.

The acolyte asked what it was, but the scholar refused to say.

The acolyte was a good climber and asked, “Mister Chen, what does it mean to cultivate a peaceful heart?”

The patrol monks said that there were mountain spirits that were as big as cows that never harmed people.

The scholar said with a smile, “Washing rice is washing rice, eating is eating, chanting is chanting, ringing bells is ringing bells, sleeping is sleeping.”

“Mister Chen, I learned that a long time ago.”

“Then I’ll give you an example. Talking to you is the same as talking to Bai Ye or Yu Xuan.”

“Who are they? Are they big shots?”

“They are important figures.”

The acolyte touched his head. “I understand. Regardless of whether you’re rich or not, I will respect you.”

The scholar laughed. “Very good. You have wisdom.”

The acolyte said, “If that’s wisdom, then it’s not worth anything.”

The scholar said, “The wisdom of men is like the air we breathe.”

The acolyte said, “Mister Chen, can I ask you for something?”

Mister Chen was proud, and he refused to give anyone calligraphy.

The scholar said with a shake of his head, “No.”

The acolyte sighed.

They went to the Gathering Immortals Cliff to watch the clouds. After watching for a bit, the scholar made the same posture, and the acolyte only heard a series of grunts.

A stranger had arrived outside of the pavilion, and the acolyte put his hands together and bowed.

Yuan Huajing looked at the scholar and said, “It’s you?”

The scholar was confused, “Who are you?”

Yuan Huajing said, “It is you.”

The appearance could be changed, but the eyes couldn’t.

Yuan Huajing had seen the reports, but he could not believe what he was seeing.

His friends would talk about Ah Liang and the Hidden Official, calling them dogs.

Yuan Huajing couldn’t understand this. They were so well-liked, so why did the natives of the Great Wall say such bad things about them?

Chen Pingan said with a smile, “In the capital, you never showed your best sword.”

Yuan Huajing said nothing.

Chen Pingan laughed, “It’s fine. There’s a shadow under the sun.”

Yuan Huajing was silent, but he entered the pavilion.

The acolyte excused himself to go elsewhere.

Chen Pingan patted his knee and said, “Is this the vacation home of the swordsman Yuan?”

Chen Pingan said, “A great place to relax. It seems that swordsman Yuan is content with poverty.”

Yuan Huajing said, “You don’t need to flatter me.”

Chen Pingan sighed, “Why flatter? You know that I’m not being sincere.”

Yuan Huajing was speechless. Of the nine, he was the least close with Chen Pingan.

Yuan Huajing composed himself and said, “I happened to pass by and liked the peace. We nine have identities we can’t reveal, and we all have places to relax. Gai Yan opened the celestial inn, Lu Hui is a county sheriff, Han Zhoujin runs a shop, and others work at the capital.”

Chen Pingan nodded. “There needs to be a balance. One can’t stay tense forever.”

Yuan Huajing asked, “Why are you here?”

Chen Pingan said with a smile, “To tame the heart-ape.”

Chen Pingan could talk to Yuan Huajing, even if they weren’t close.

When Chen Pingan returned to the temple, it was dark. He ground ink, opened paper, and wrote, “Stay away from delusion.”

Atop Ink Splash Peak.

Lu Chen said with a smile, “If you don’t complicate things, it’s as easy as ‘seeing is believing.'”

Lu Chen said, “Human emotions are like a hand, and the world is like a wheel.”

Lu Chen sent a breeze at the Daoist Heavenly Lord.

After that, Cao Rong was able to see with Lu Chen’s eyes.

It was an old scene.

Cao Rong had no choice but to look.

It wasn’t like he could close his eyes.

Did one use their eyes for dreams?

Cao Rong sat cross-legged, resting his palms up on his lap as if to observe the Dao.

A Taoist was pushing a cart down a bumpy road.

The Taoist called out, stopping at a courtyard and knocking. A skinny youth in straw sandals opened the door.

After that, they talked.

The youth said that he had a good memory.

Chen Pingan said that it was easier for him to remember what he saw than what he heard.

Lu Chen commented, “Pay attention to ‘easier.’ That word is used very skillfully.”

The Taoist asked the youth to give an example.

The youth said that in his hometown, they made pottery using a technique called “jumping blade.”

It was hard to master, but Master Yao was the best.

When he started working, he only needed to see it once to understand everything.

Cao Rong heard this, and Lu Chen said, “There are many lightning techniques at the White Jade City, but the best at it is Pang Ding, but a kid only needs to see it a few times to get it.’ Cao Rong, what do you think of the kid’s talent?”

Cao Rong exclaimed, “It’s great!”

Pang Ding was known as the number one lightning master.

Lu Chen said, “This technique can be considered cutting, and it’s one of Chen Pingan’s sword techniques.”

“But at that time, he was incapable. He saw every detail, and he could also see all of his mistakes. The more mistakes he made, the more anxious he became.”

Two villagers might be equally poor, but their perception of pain would be different if one was educated.

It was about knowledge.

Knowing many whys without being able to resolve the situation was the source of pain.

This was the problem with many scholars.

What they knew was one thing, and what they did was another.

Their bodies were somewhere, but their hearts were somewhere else.

Those who are sensitive would feel much pain.

The feeling of regret would stretch into the distance, and they would not dare to turn their heads and look.

Lu Chen smiled, “Chen Pingan didn’t need to open the door, but he did after hearing my voice.”

“At that time, Chen Pingan said ‘but,’ and then he stopped. He was uneducated, so he couldn’t express himself well.”

Cao Rong laughed, “The hardest thing in life is to talk.”

“So I said, ‘But I can’t keep up with what I’m thinking.'”

The youth’s eyes lit up.

The poor youth’s disposition changed.

It was as if the black and white world had become colorful.

Lu Chen said, “Chen Pingan met his kindred spirit.”

“It’s as if someone who was thirsty met someone with a ladle.”

The youth said two phrases.

Lu Chen said, “In the beginning, he said ‘mostly.’ He believed me when I explained what was happening to Ning Yao.”

“Chen Pingan is a cautious man, so when he says ‘all,’ it must be true.”

“That was Chen Pingan’s disposition at the time. Because he was so skeptical of the world, he had to hold onto a few straws.”

Cao Rong said, “It’s different from others, who become more skeptical and deny things.”

“Denying the self and accepting others is like slapping yourself.”

Lu Chen nodded and laughed, “How many people like to slap themselves?”

“What you’ve missed is that Chen Pingan’s words are connected. There’s a connection.”

Lu Chen sighed, “Just based on that, Chen Pingan is worthy of being called ‘land material.'”

Cao Rong nodded.

Lu Chen said, “We seem to destroy everything good.”

Cao Rong asked, “Were you on the side of the Sage in the Three-Four debate?”

Lu Chen smiled and didn’t say anything.

The Taoist said something random, probably not even intending to invite Chen Pingan in.

Cao Rong had a strange look on his face.

Lu Chen nodded. “Of course. I had ill intentions.”

The youth said that he was not as good as Liu Xinyang.

Cao Rong said, “Peaceful.”

Lu Chen said, “I wanted to use others to deny himself, but he used himself to deny others.”

“I comforted him, but he couldn’t stop demeaning himself.”

Lu Chen laughed, “Finally, Chen Pingan gave an analogy, saying that two people caught fish, one in deep water and one in shallow water, and asked me if they were the same.”

Cao Rong wondered, “Why didn’t Chen Pingan feel jealous of Liu Xianyang?”

Lu Chen said, “What if we’re adding something on?”

“What about building something from the ground up? Or gaining a higher view?”

“Be careful, it means that the mind is small. And it’s the heart being purged of evil.”

Cao Rong asked, “Why are you so concerned about Chen Pingan?”

Lu Chen said, “I had an idea, but it was too crazy. It would destroy your dao heart.”

“How hard is it to find someone to compare to?”

Lu Chen slowly said, “The wise do not harm the self, and the self does not obstruct the world.”

Cao Rong said, “Get the ring and respond to infinity.”

Lu Chen said, “This observation wasn’t for nothing.”

As if Lu Chen had put away the scene, Cao Rong’s eyes were back in reality.

Lu Chen stood up. “Cao Rong, you also cultivate talismans. What’s the point of Chen Pingan’s efforts?”

Cao Rong said, “To stop at the end, a martial artist needs to see the world.”

Lu Chen first nodded and then shook his head. “That’s a small part of it.”

Lu Chen turned around and chuckled, “I tricked you. Otherwise, you could have ascended in many ways, but not that way.”

Cao Rong asked, “Please enlighten me.”

Lu Chen said, “Cao Rong, you must doubt what cannot be doubted.”

Lu Chen wrote the word “doubt” in the air before listing all the related words.

If people stared at a word for too long, they would forget what it was.

Lu Chen sighed. “Buddhism says that greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt are the five poisons of the heart, creating evil and obstructing cultivation.”

Cao Rong nodded, “If you don’t remove the five minds, all meditation is evil, and magic is unrighteous. A cultivator’s heart demon comes from this.”

The three doctrines were only different in words but shared the same core.

Cao Rong thought about this and asked, “Did Chen Pingan use talismans to form a formation, and then use Buddhist techniques to remove the five minds?”

Lu Chen nodded, “That’s the true reason. That’s why he was so angry when I showed up at Bamboo Branch Sect.”

“He’s not worried about me doing anything. He just doesn’t want to show his hand.”

“It’s a good thing I met Chen Jiu, and not the youth who was carrying a sword. Otherwise, he would have gotten angry!”

Lu Chen asked, “Who is Chen Pingan in Mount Huan?”

Cao Rong said, “Could it be anger?”

Lu Chen shook his head. “It’s doubt. That’s why his sheath is empty.”

“In Yu Province, there is a monastery.”

Lu Chen laughed again, “The scholar will also practice Daoist lightning arts, and he will erase greed.”

Lu Chen said, “To copy a landscape, you need to understand it.”

“Chen Pingan at Luopo Mountain is ignorance. That’s why he gathers everyone’s thoughts.”

“The Taoist Wu Bi is angry, so Chen Pingan is adding oil to the fire to temper himself.”

“Wasn’t it awesome when Chen Pingan showed up at True Yang Mountain? So why did he go to the affiliated Bamboo Branch Sect to become a receptionist? Isn’t that arrogant?”

Cao Rong was speechless.

What was going on in Chen Pingan’s head?

“Chen Pingan is honing two swords.”

Lu Chen asked, “Is Chen Pingan making a loss?”

Nine clones and nine talismans, two of which were rare talismans that anyone would be careful using. Once these talismans are used, they must be sealed again.

Cao Rong said, “No wonder he’s someone who was able to become a Hidden Official.”

Lu Chen laughed, “That’s nothing. Chen Pingan is also cultivating with the Confucian ‘six arts,’ so it is even more complicated.”

Cao Rong shook his head. “I won’t bother to guess.”

In the future, he could just avoid Chen Pingan or say that the weather was good.

Lu Chen said, “Cultivation is never easy.”