Upon the Azure Vault soared a Disc of Jade, pale and luminous.

Celestial beings, serene and at peace, lingered near.

It seemed, however, that Xiao Mo’s sword-light, keen and piercing, caught the attention of mortals. Her speed, fueled by mastery of the sword, suggested the presence of a Great Sword Immortal, and from their respective abodes across the Nine Provinces, several cultivators rose upon the wind, seeking to ascertain the truth. For the famed Sword Immortals of this Azure Realm were few indeed, and amongst those, the most celebrated was undoubtedly the champion of the Vast Expanse.

Oftentimes, mortals of the Azure Realm would venture upon the wind, drawn to the Bright Moon that now graced the heavens alongside the Radiant Dawn. They considered this celestial orb, a relic of a bygone age, to be a vista of unparalleled beauty. The Jade Capital, while not expressly forbidding such visits, cautioned against undue lingering. Mortals might, however, bring forth instruments of their craft, lay out delicacies, and arrange themselves in comfort, admiring the panorama of the Fourteen Provinces spread beneath them like a feast for the eyes. A draught or two of wine might be indulged in this aerial banquet.

The Old Master, with a sidelong glance, deemed their presence an intrusion upon the conviviality shared with Xiao Mo. He raised two fingers in swift succession and flicked them sharply, once here, once there, with a resounding *thwack, thwack, thwack*.

The sound was akin to swatting a fly with a fan, and the aspiring immortals of the Azure Realm were promptly sent tumbling back to earth. The Transcendent Realm cultivator fared best, steadying himself with a subtle shift of his form, and with a grimace, beat a hasty retreat. The Immortal Realm cultivators, however, were less fortunate, struck as though by a bludgeon to the head. Staggering, stars dancing before their eyes, they rallied their spirits and steeled their tongues, offering only murmured grumbles to the ether.

Amongst the wind-borne travelers was a Jade Pure Realm cultivator from Zhu Province. Though her cultivation was middling, she possessed a treasured wind-rune, granting her startling speed. She flew like a serpent of gold, writhing towards the Bright Moon and Radiant Dawn.

Had she collided with the Old Master’s ‘Flick of Divine Power,’ she would have suffered grievous injury, and her prized possession would surely have been shattered.

Xiao Mo, observing the female cultivator, also bent her fingers, releasing a thread of sword-light. The energy did not fly directly, but weaved like gossamer silk, spanning countless leagues in an instant.

Finally, the strand of sword-light ensnared the cultivator’s wind-rune skiff, gently pulling her, vessel and all, back down to earth, depositing her upon a mountain peak.

The young female cultivator, still trembling, hastily retrieved the rune-boat, a treasure of her clan. She bowed towards the Bright Moon and Radiant Dawn, offering a gesture of gratitude.

Seeing Xiao Mo intervene, the Old Master lifted his wine-bowl, sipping his home-brewed ‘Millennia’.

From the mists of antiquity, Xiao Mo had always been lenient towards the female practitioners of the mortal realms.

The Old Master nodded. “It is a pity you awoke so late, Xiao Mo. The Xuan Capital seized the opportunity.”

Xiao Mo smiled. “According to the principles of the ley-lines, as posited by my friend Bi Xiao at Falling Treasure Strand, had I awakened earlier, I might never have met the Young Master, nor been able to accompany him on his journeys. I would not have conceived of my path towards union within the Demon Suppressing Tower of Bottle Continent.”

The Old Master grinned. “That is indeed the truth.”

Though ten thousand years had passed, Xiao Mo’s character remained unchanged. Her words, however, had ripened with wisdom.

Xiao Mo’s masterful sword-skill was like a kite soaring in spring winds, a single thread binding realm and sky.

The commotion stirred a Celestial Immortal dwelling in quietude within the Radiant Dawn.

Before departing his abode, the Old Taoist, as was his habit, performed a divination. To his surprise, unlike in ages past, this day was auspicious for travel. He hastened to pay his respects to the Lord of the Azure Cloud Grotto.

Within the Bright Moon and Radiant Dawn, besides the temporary alchemy retreat of the Lord of the Azure Cloud Grotto, stood a neighbor: a palace of Jade, its spiritual essence so dense it flowed like water, visible to the naked eye.

It was the abode of a Celestial Officer from the Jade Pivot City of the Jade Capital, permitted by the Second Lord Yu Dou to cultivate there. He had exchanged vast merit from a certain tome within the Upper Purity Pavilion, highest of the Jade Capital’s towers, for a shortcut: to shatter his Immortal Realm shackles within the moon realm, far from the mundane, and ascend by detachment.

Though neighbors, to visit was akin to crossing several provinces in the mortal realm.

Xiao Mo remained seated beside his friend Bi Xiao, while Wang Yuanlu, mindful of his station, stood beneath the eaves to greet the visitor.

As for the boy alchemist within, he loathed such social niceties. He merely shifted his seat, pointing the mouth of his large gourd, slung across his body, towards the doorway.

The Old Master was tall and lean, his beard flowing, a true vision of Taoist grace. Even seated, his height rivaled that of his standing disciple, Wang Yuanlu.

The visitor was the third in command of Jade Pivot City, an Old Taoist named Xu Zujing. He carried a whisk and his role was similar to that of a Law Enforcer of a Sect. But he was well known for his soft heart.

He was the last disciple of the former Lord of Jade Pivot City. His own cultivation age was vast, but his talent was only considered average, at least compared to the other officers of the Jade Capital.

Zhang Fenghai, who had supposedly read every book in Jade Pivot City’s library by the age of thirty, was his only younger brother in cultivation.

As the Old Taoist began to speak, the Old Master said quietly, “Xu Zujing, speak the Elegant Tongue of the Vast Expanse. This friend of mine hails from that realm and does not understand the language of the Azure Heavens.”

The Old Taoist was not to be deterred. He bowed, saying, “Xu Zujing of the Jade Pivot City in the Jade Capital, pays respects to the Lord of the Azure Cloud Grotto.”

The Old Master remained seated.

Xiao Mo rose and returned the bow, smiling. “I am called ‘Happy Candle,’ my name is Mo Sheng. A Sword Cultivator and an acolyte of Fallen Mountain in the Vast Expanse. Heavenly Lord Xu, it is a pleasure.”

The Old Master extended a hand.

Xu Zujing took a seat at the table. Xiao Mo moved to offer a flagon of ‘Ten Thousand Years’, for he had heard from the Young Master that the Jade Pivot City and the Divine Firmament City were well regarded within the Five Cities and Twelve Towers of the Jade Capital.

As for any hint of being generous with someone else’s possessions, they will not be held back from Bi Xiao. If there isn’t enough wine, blame Bi Xiao for being lazy.

Wang Yuanlu fetched a plain white bowl from the kitchen.

As soon as the bowl was set down, the wine flowed.

Wang Yuanlu felt a surge of warmth. This Senior Xiao Mo was certainly congenial.

These days, the gaunt Taoist had felt uneasy, worrying that one day, when he left the Bright Moon and Radiant Dawn to ‘descend the mountain’ for training, he would be set upon by rogues.

There was but one reason: his master was far too inept at playing along with people!

Take his recent ‘fly swatting’, for example. The cultivators had not even knocked. They were merely en route to the Bright Moon when they were struck back to earth. It was as though they were bothering him!

His master might flaunt his prodigious power and inspire awe, but the disciple had to make his way in the world!

Xu Zujing offered a word of thanks, and took a sip. The celestial brew filled him with surging energy, rushing from his throat to his core like a waterfall, renewing every cavern and aperture.

“Excellent wine!” exclaimed the Old Taoist.

The Old Master would have none of it. “Enough wine for the journey. State your business or depart. I would converse with Xiao Mo.”

Xu Zujing chuckled. “I merely came to pay my respects to a venerable figure, and perhaps hear some tales of the ancient world.”

Tales were always better when told by the storyteller.

The Old Master grunted, but refrained from outright dismissal.

Xu Zujing settled into silence, sipping his wine. Xiao Mo, discerning that the Celestial Officer from the Jade Pivot City was not one for idle chatter, initiated conversation, inquiring about the identities of the wind-borne cultivators and their origins. In this manner, the atmosphere lightened.

Xu Zujing spoke freely, for the affairs of the Azure Heavens were matters of concern for the Jade Capital, and as one of the three officers of Jade Pivot City authorized to attend its assemblies, he knew them well.

Xu Zujing emptied the flagon of the unnamed celestial brew and rose to depart.

Xiao Mo took two flagons of ‘Ten Thousand Years’ and two flagons of ‘Millennia’, offering them as a parting gift in the spirit of hospitality.

Xu Zujing thanked him, accepting the gifts without pretense.

The Old Taoist had grown familiar enough to address the Sword Immortal as ‘Master Xiao Mo’, dispensing with even the honorific ‘Daoist Friend’.

The Old Taoist’s impression of the young-faced Sword Immortal was of someone with prodigious swordsmanship, a gentle temperament, and a sense of propriety.

Within the Jade Palace in the Bright Moon and Radiant Dawn, aside from Xu Zujing in seclusion, dwelled a chosen disciple and a disciple of that disciple, both highly gifted officials from the Jade Pivot City.

In particular, the Taoist’s grand-disciple was praised as ‘Second to Zhang Fenghai of Jade Pivot City.’ Amongst the younger generation of the Five Cities and Twelve Towers, his talent was considered to rank amongst the highest, even surpassing that of a Taoist bearing the name ‘Azure Mountain’, the chosen disciple of the Taoist Ancestor. Thus, when Xu Zujing established his retreat in the Bright Moon, he had brought his grand-disciple.

The Old Taoist knew, however, that compared to his former junior Zhang Fenghai’s “Yu Dou of Jade Pivot City”, “Second to Yu Dou of Jade Capital”, and “Jade Capital’s Little Sect Leader”, there really wasn’t any comparison.

After Xu Zujing displayed his divine power of shrinking mountains and rivers, the Old Master said, “Xu Zujing is unaware that you have now seen the interior of his retreat.”

Xiao Mo chuckled. “Rivers and mountains may change, but disposition rarely does.”

Although after ten thousand years, whether in martial contests or in the pursuit of Dao, there were far more restrictions than there had been in the old days, Xiao Mo, once she was freed from Chen Pingan’s side, acted more like the Xiao Mo of old.

The Old Master said, “Always proceed with caution.”

Ten thousand years later, practitioners of Dao and mortal scholars wore the same robes with the name of Rules, those robes having the power of social tact.

The Old Master said, with a laugh, “If the Sword Qi Great Wall did not have a young Hidden Official who held grudges, Bai Jing and yourself could have occupied the Sun and Moon and reflected in the other’s light. If you were able to ascend to the fourteenth level as pure sword cultivators, such a match between immortals would have been unmatched for thousands of years. What a pity.”

In the past, of the three moons in the Desolate Lands, the one that was under the Old Master’s feet was called Golden Mirror and another was the Bright Dawn. It was theoretically the training place of the girl She Yue, it was also Xiao Mo’s resting place for thousands of years, so who was the true master of the Bright Dawn? It was hard to say for sure.

If the Sword Cultivators hadn’t combined forces to bring Bright Dawn to Azure Heavens and She Yue hadn’t gone to Bottle Continent, then if Bai Ze had returned to Desolate Lands to wake Xiao Mo, and not taken out her mind to become Master Xiao Mo, then She Yue would have had to obediently change training locations. After all, the jade hook had fallen into the mundane world, and one moon remained in the sky.

There was a training site with only a foundation left called The Toad Palace. The hundreds of buildings on top of it were flattened during an ancient celestial ascension.

When Xiao Mo awakened she had taken one site from The Toad Palace which was like the palace of a capital.

Chen Ping An would give it to Liu Xian Yang with Xiao Mo’s name as a wedding gift.

So, if one were to say who was the most familiar with the Bright Dawn, it had to be Xiao Mo, who was revisiting this old haunt.

In the Old Master’s mind, he had a belief that Zhou Mi had to have a back-up plan in the Desolate Lands, for example, helping one of the two old sword cultivators, Xiao Mo or Bai Jing, more likely Bai Jing who had better aptitude in cultivation. That would allow her to ascend to the fourteenth level as a sword cultivator and fill the void left by Sword Guest Liu Cha in a timely manner.

Because he didn’t care who won and wasn’t biased towards anyone, the Old Master wasn’t going to spend his energy and conduct calculations.

Zhou Mi ascended to the heavens later, but in fact, he ‘disintegrated his Dao’ first.

It was just that the way Zhou Mi disintegrated his Dao was like his old ways of eating great demons in the Desolate Lands, secretive and not out in the open.

Mountain Toer’s Great Ancestor, his body and Dao vanished. Later, Toer Mountain was cleaved by Chen Ping An, who took Li Chen’s level. The recognized co-leader of the Desolate Lands was now Sword Cultivator Fei Ran who was young, but he still had the remnants of the sword qi from the Great Wall that Chen Ping An did not completely refine and remove. And there was Old Blind and the Ten Thousand Mountains. So this led to Fei Ran’s position as the co-leader being uncertain. Fei Ran’s situation was like that of Mountain Toer’s Great Ancestor.

But the Desolate Lands not having a Mountain Toer was a far-reaching influence.

Just like Vast Expanse not having the Sage or a Temple and Azure Heavens not having the Tao Ancestor or Jade Capital. During this ‘blank’ time, on the road of Dao, anyone can compete for it.

This meant the demons in the Desolate Lands would have an unobstructed path to the top. Over the next hundreds of years, dragons and snakes would spring up from the land.

As soon as Bai Ze left the land of Vast Expanse, the moment he returned to the Desolate Lands, the level he was at would not be something he could ‘suppress’ anymore. It was out of his control.

When two lands fight a war, life is devastated. Between the Desolate Lands and Vast Expanse, Wang Yu Wu began building a “harsh government.”

Li Gou, who had taken Zhou Mi’s book and built the city, was like a library changing ownership. Li Gou inherited all of Zhou Mi’s heritage in the creation of texts and language for the world, as well as Li Gou’s return to the original form of “scholar”, going against the “schools” of different worlds. I, Li Gou, will be king in the north.

Fei Fei, the new master of Ye Luo River, whom Bai Ze had guided on the right path, outside of the ways of water.

And Unknown, Guan Yi, and the rest of the old great demons had to take in apprentices. They could not decide who their disciples would be because Zhou Mi surely had planned everything. Within a certain amount of time, the apprentice had to do everything to learn from their master and fatten them, so that the master could eat their fill. The master and apprentice had to work together to sharpen their paths of Dao, and the end result would depend on their abilities.

No matter who survived, the Desolate Lands would have another powerful demon who could kill on the high seat. Maybe it would even be a level 14 cultivator.

Zhou Mi had eaten so many level 14s and Transcendence in the Desolate Lands, that he would return it twofold in hundreds of years.

If we were just looking at the surface.

From Jia Sheng of Vast Expanse to the scholar Zhou Mi in the seas of text in the Desolate Lands, he was the breaker and the creator of all the rules.

In that case, if you look back at the Hidden Official Chen Ping An who started a fight with him over the Dao, he had only been following the rules. The greatest benefactor of rules.

Those who benefited from the protection of rules were constantly trying to maintain them and only wanted a large framework that allowed for local change.

The Old Master rubbed the white bowl on the table with his thumb, which caused the wine in the bowl to ripple, and chuckled: “Heaven collapses, all directions open, is this fate? It has always been this way. The master and guest fight, what is there to do? Return to one, that is fate.”

Wang Yuanlu craned his neck to look at the bowl, hesitant.

Xiao Mo gently nodded. Bi Xiao had taken a good apprentice.

Because that young Taoist felt that his master’s so-called ‘return to one’ may not be accurate.

Xiao Mo smiled slightly: “The books say that if a person can suffer humiliation and bear a heavy burden, their descendants will eventually develop. Sword Qi Great Wall and Young Master both helped each other.”

The Old Master laughed heartily, “In the past Zhu Lian called him Old Sir, now you call him Young Master. The second master of the Sword Qi Great Wall, Chen 11 of the heavens, southern ribbon, northern hidden official, there are so many nicknames. Who would have thought that the dirt-leg who stepped on chicken feces in the alleys would become Young Master Chen.”

Xiao Mo said, “Heaven is strong and the land is fair. A gentleman strengthens himself with virtue, with endless wishes. It’s not strange for them to have a place in the world.”

In the past, the first Taoist who walked at the head of the road built numerous rest stops on the road, although simple, they were able to protect them from wind and rain.

What’s more, the Taoist with flowers on his hair also built an intangible rest stop when he created a branch of Dao.

The Old Master smiled and changed the subject, “Xiao Mo, I had already prepared two gifts, like the Solar Palace with its sea of fire and forge for swords, I was originally thinking of giving it to Bai Jing on whatever day that you two became Daoist partners. But now, I’m sorry, it has now gone to Wang Yuanlu.”

When the skinny Taoist heard this at the eaves, he tensed. The treasure was already in his pocket, so his master shouldn’t go back on his word.

Xiao Mo smiled, “It’s fine, they are all possessions.”

In the beginning, as a gift for taking him as an apprentice, he had given Wang Yuanlu a miniature palace, the shattered Solar Palace.

This made Xun, who had the Dao name Gold Well, green with envy.

An old land master once said, dragons are hidden in pits of green water, and fire fuels the Solar Palace.

The pit of green water was the training spot of Lady Dan, the Water Overlord of Vast Expanse, the summer palace of one of the ancient Five Supremes.

But the rank of the Solar Palace was much higher than the pit of green water. Legend says it was not only the main training place for the God of Fire, but it was also the sword-forging place for the Sword Bearer.

According to the boy, this Solar Palace was one of the five most valued treasures of their Old Sir.

As long as you lived long enough and had a high enough level of Dao, the family fortune would be fearsome.

Xiao Mo was like this, but the Old Master was even more so.

Bai Jing’s fortune couldn’t compare to Daoist Bi Xiao, but it was definitely more than Xiao Mo’s.

When Wang Yuanlu heard the words of that senior, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Senior was after all a senior, truly divine!

How did Master have friends like this, was it because of their personalities being different?

In fact, it was just that Wang Yuanlu didn’t know Xiao Mo’s past and had thought that the senior was being polite and easy to talk to.

The great demons Yang Zhi and Zhu Yan certainly did not think that Xiao Mo was easy to talk to.

The important reason why the Old Master and Xiao Mo were close friends was because Xiao Mo had liked to ask for sword matches in the ancient years, and they were compatible.

In the beginning, in order to avoid Bai Jing, Xiao Mo had to visit Fallen Treasure Strand, and after a few sword matches, Daoist Bi Xiao gifted him a few jars of wine, and they drank happily.

Daoist Bi Xiao, who’d been told that “after leaving the cave, there would be no opponent” and “you should never leave any openings to those who would harm you,” was not to be underestimated.

And Xiao Mo had fought with Bai Ze, who almost every demon would address as Old Sir Bai, twice.

Once, it was because Xiao Mo had felt that Bai Ze, who had always been with Little Master Fu, wasn’t acting properly and wasn’t at a high enough level, so he needed to slash him.

There was also once when he knowingly did what he could not.

But this match happened after he brewed wine with Daoist Bi Xiao.

It was all because Xiao Mo didn’t understand why Bai Ze, being a fellow demon, was helping Little Master Fu, who was a human, to forge nine tripods at the peak of Haoran and inscribe the names of countless demons.

The Heavenly Court had become ancient history, and humanity had divided the world. Since the foundation of humanity had already been set, Bai Ze had already proven the level of his skills through his ascension and, in particular, his innate skill of giving names, which was a headache for demons. There had been a group of ancient demons who had felt that a “Taoist” like him shouldn’t be alive, so they ambushed Bai Ze during one of his travels.

As for the results, Guan Yi who had been sleeping for thousands of years had to go heal. As for the rest who didn’t go heal, their outcomes were even worse, with their names stripped away and forced to dissipate from the world.

Demons ganging up on Bai Ze was just like the true dragons of the seas ganging up on Chen Qingliu.

The more there were, the bigger the achievements of the latter.

The Old Master suddenly said, “This object was for Bai Jing, not you. Or is your relationship with her different than before, so there’s no need to be polite?”

Xiao Mo said with a wry smile, “Daoist Bi Xiao, are you going to bring up this topic?”

The Old Master lightly tapped the table with his fingers, and the wine in the bowl began to sway, using it to confuse the secrets of Heaven, then whispered, “I am only worried for Palace Master Wu.”

Chen Ping An and Ning Yao, Liu Xian Yang and She Yue, and Xiao Mo and Bai Jing, as well as the lucky Xu Juan and Daoist Fu Kan…

The more fairy partners like this there were in the human world, the higher Wu Shuang Jiang’s level at the fourteenth level would become! Sitting back and reaping the benefits, the boat rises with the tide.

If one were to look at the young ghost Xu Juan, who was from Great Tide Sect, why was it that he had only taken about sixty years to reach his level? Was it just that he had special bones and was extremely lucky?

It was worth noting that Xu Juan was not the kind of person who was scheming and calculating. In cultivation, he did things with fervor.

Of course, Xu Juan’s strong heart, good character, and sense of right and wrong were admirable.

But a person like this could be an official of Jade Capital or the direct disciple of a top clan, but Xu Juan had started cultivating at a low level with a low position and awakened later than most. At Great Tide Sect, he had a hard time. He was not a genius or a Dao seed. He was worse than most of the brothers who had crossed to a new level.

So the fact of the matter was, every step Xu Juan took was something that Wu Shuang Jiang had planned behind the scenes and had protected him to get to where he was.

During Wu Shuang Jiang’s so-called closed-door cultivation, one of his souls was secretly building a road for the young ones at Great Tide Sect.

Of course, Xu Juan was able to accept what Wu Shuang Jiang had given him, and this in itself proved how special he was.

At the time, the Great Tide Sect and Liang Jing Mountain, who were enemies, had married. Xu Juan and the founder of the women from Liang Jing Mountain had gotten married.

And there was also an old friend of Xu Juan, the pure martial artist Lin Jiang Xian who was known as Master Lin. It was just that Lin Jiang Xian had not revealed his identity at the time and just picked a corner to drink at.

Wu Zhou and Zhao Ge, the two female Daoists, had been friends for a long time.

As a gift, besides giving Xu Juan, the co-leader of the two clans, a method of refining objects, Wu Zhou had also taught Xu Juan, who was already a ghost, an elite skill for ghosts.

Xu Juan, who was blessed and very lucky in love, had a favorite saying, “It’s already very good.”

There were also some honored guests who hadn’t personally attended the wedding banquet, but had sent congratulations, such as Hua Yang Palace’s Gao Gu and Qing Shen Dynasty’s Ya Xiang Yao Qing, and National Master Bai Ou.

Every sect and official who had a name in the world had no hesitation in giving their congratulations.

Each Daoist who gave their congratulations was something that benefited the great Dao of Wu Shuang Jiang.

Later, when Chen Ping An and the first person of the Five Color Heavens Ning Yao got married, it would be the same.

One of Wu Shuang Jiang’s souls was in Ascension City for a reason.

As for what it was, the Dao Ancestor had to know.

But outside of the Dao Ancestor, no one else in Jade Capital may know.

It was just that Wu Shuang Jiang’s status as a soldier was far too noticeable. Wu Shuang Jiang was clearly going to use that old path to ascend to level 14.

Do not forget, in Vast Expanse, there were two military “gods of war”, Wu and Bai, whose positions had been lowered because of their demerits.

That extraterrestrial demon had quietly escaped to Vast Expanse and ended up at the jail of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Over thousands of years, where was the most war?

The Old Master had come to this conclusion by guessing, and that was all there was to it.

After all, trying to deduce the way of the great Dao of a level 14 cultivator was not a fun thing to do.

As for whether Dao Ancestor would reveal this to someone, like his second disciple Yu Dou? That was unlikely.

Thinking of something, the Old Master said, “That guy who’s Dao name is called Tomb Guarding didn’t take Wang Yuanlu under his control earlier. He says it’s because jade must be carved, but really he’s doing me a favor and is owed a small favor.”

The Old Master smiled: “There’s a young sword cultivator in Qing Shen Dynasty who has great aptitude, but he doesn’t have a good teacher.”

Xiao Mo said, “Before Bai Ye returns to the Xuan Dou temple, I’ll quickly go to Qing Shan Dynasty after drinking today and guide him in swordsmanship. I’ll teach him as a personal disciple for as much as I can.”

The Old Master shook his head, “There’s no need to be too serious, you just need to teach him some average swordsmanship, and that will be enough for him to benefit for the rest of his life.”

Xiao Mo said, “If I’m going to teach him, I have to be serious.”

The Old Master nodded and didn’t say anything else. They were both friends, so there was no need to be polite.

The Old Master lightly stomped and joined his fingers together, and with a wipe, a map of mountains and rivers appeared in the air.

The Old Master laughed and asked, “Can you see anything?”

Xiao Mo only glanced at it, nodding, “The sky is aligned, the gods are aligned. There must be a great expert of Dao behind this.”

Although Xiao Mo did not know what the map on the table was, it showed the distribution of the Great Tide Sect, the Liang Jing Mountain, and all the subordinate mountains, but Xiao Mo had enough years of Dao and vision to see what it was.

So Xiao Mo raised his hand, and a star map that was opposite of it appeared, the Purple Palace of stars that had been dim for thousands of years.

It did not regain its light due to Zhou Mi’s ascension and occupation of the old Heavenly Court.

If it was not one, not even half a one, most of one, the tiniest difference from one, even if Zhou Mi’s cultivation was about equal to a level 15 cultivator and could control the refill and change of the old Heavenly Court, he still could not be the true master of this Tian Shi’s “Purple Palace”.

So, Zhou Mi was still unable to become… level 16!

The Old Master revealed some secrets: “The founder of Liang Jing Mountain is Zhao Ge who was of the lower class. But now in Azure Heavens, even the sword cultivators of Liang Jing Mountain know about this. There are very few people left who know.”

“So Xu Juan has to die once. How can he take a heavenly path as a hero if he doesn’t die?”

“Purple Palace is straight, which means an emperor is coming out. An emperor. Zhao Ge isn’t too greedy, and that’s good.”

Xiao Mo said, with a laugh, “In terms of strategy, cultivators of now are stronger.”

The Old Master nodded: “With all the twists and turns, the human realm doesn’t know how much effort it has spent.”

“What is ‘Daoist?'”

Rarely meeting an old friend who was willing to drink and chat with him casually, the Old Master had an inspiration and asked himself, “Why does Chen Ping An’s ancestral home influence Mud Bottle Alley? Why does Li Xisheng’s family home influence Fortune Street? And why does Ruop Mountain influence Li Zhu Cave?”

“First you have to stay there and not move. It can’t just be oil on the water, or a leaf floating on the water, or the people who weren’t allowed to land in Red Candle Town. It has to be like a nail that’s stuck in the ground and in the hearts, with a strong spirit to affect the customs and hearts of the world. But this influence is temporary and not strong. It’s just a snowmark.”

“Sir Three Mountains and Nine Princes once stayed next to Chen Ping An’s ancestral home for a short while. Qi Jing Chun’s old school ran for about sixty years. The backyard of Green Child Heavenly Lord’s Young Family pharmacy had been there for 10,000 years, and when the people left, it was all gone. All that was left was some ‘heart and soul’ connections. That is not a Daoist.”

The Old Master shook his sleeves, extending a finger and drawing a circle in the air: “What is even more important is that there isn’t a small world where everything flows in order.”

“Of course, this is what they want, not what they can’t do. Just like I did with Sea Watch in Copper Flower Paradise, I deliberately left a well open, so I wouldn’t truly close the door.”

“Do you know why the Great Sage can’t beat Dao Ancestor? It’s because even though Vast Expanse follows Confucianism, there are still a lot of people who believe in other things.”

“To the Great Sage, every school of thought is a burden. With a hundred flowers in bloom, the master has to pay the price of seeing a yard with beautiful scenery every day.”

The Sword Qi Great Wall’s law officer, Hao Su, had used his natal sword Chan Juan to turn Bright Dawn Daoist, and use it to break the great Dao between the moon and the Desolate Lands.

After that, the sword cultivator Hao Su had lived here for a while to wipe out that “mark of Dao,” in order to prevent the great cultivators of Azure Heavens from using this place to deduce the truth of a natal sword and researching suppressive tactics.

The Old Master waved his sleeves, showing a painting of the mountains and rivers of Desolate Lands, “As for these places where they only pass through, although there is a big change, the locals will heal.”

These were the ten places that the sword cultivators from Sword Qi Great Wall had walked through while visiting Desolate Lands.

Clan White Flower City, Old Battlefield Ruins Dragon Hong, Great Mountain Green Mountain, Cloud Pattern Dynasty Jade City, Spring Creek Mountain, Hairpin City, Liquor Spring Sect, Ye Luo River, Mountain Toer, Bright Dawn

In the past, in the Secret Land of North Great Reed Continent, Elder Sun from Xuan Dou had once taught Chen some similar reasoning.

Before that, Chen had been considering a problem.

It was not just a shallow consideration, but an attempt to trace the origins of the problem.

At the Temple of the Water God in the area of Cyan Reed, Chen and Du Yu had met and gotten familiar. Chen had asked the latter about a “dilemma” about the great hero helping others on the street.

If one was to say, not long ago, Liu Mo’s speech after he saw Chen at the Qing Luan Palace was just to prove that he had “been to the world.”

The Old Master turned his head and asked, “Wang Yuanlu, let me ask you, has 10,000 years been long enough? Why is it that during that time, there were so many smart people and heroes, and still only three people achieved the 15th realm? Is it that hard to just add one more?”

Wang Yuanlu, who had returned to his original position, was looking at the gift in his sleeves, which had to be at least a magic artifact.

If Master Xiao Mo hadn’t been here, based on Wang Yuanlu’s style, he would have bitten the gift to make sure it was real.

Hearing his master’s question, Wang Yuanlu honestly answered: “The three ancestors of Dao were successful and had no flaws, so they were able to create three paths for humanity and create a new sect.”

Xiao Mo smiled.

The Old Master said, “In human words.”

Wang Yuanlu quietly mumbled, “The reasoning from books is not human words?”

This skinny Taoist who had once been one of the 10 candidates of the heavens came from rice thieves and was submissive in front of everyone. Only in front of the person who almost caused him to call the wrong ancestors would he be so courageous and speak with such force. Of course, the Taoist would hide if he could, but if he had to take action, he would do everything he could to kill.

The Old Master said, with a laugh, “We have a guest. As my first disciple, you must show off what you can do. Is that immortal weapon warm yet? If I didn’t remember wrong, you haven’t given me a disciple-taking gift yet?”

As soon as Wang Yuanlu heard that the gift was an immortal weapon, he became energized and eloquent, as if he didn’t say a few more words, he would be letting down this precious gift.

“The three Dao Ancestors are all geniuses on their path of cultivation, and they also have the advantage of going first. It’s like a person who wrote a poem “Raise your head to see the moon” got the best one. The people who wrote poems after that won’t be able to write a good one because the Dao has already been occupied. It won’t be anything great to copy it, at best you can write about looking down at the moon, but that doesn’t have the feeling of space.”

“They each occupy a world. The Dao is complete and runs as one. The Dao for humans works on Yin and Yang, all spiritual creatures are walking on the Dao, and they can’t escape the nest. No matter how many practitioners there are, Transcendence is still at the peak of the mountain, and the 14th level is still in the human world.”

Xiao Mo nodded.

The Old Master asked: “Then if the three Dao Ancestors were to live for another 10,000 years, how would they have the chance to enter the 15th realm?”

Wang Yuanlu was silent for a moment, and whispered: “It’s best to change the landscape, similar to the new Five Color Heavens. It has to be large enough to carry the Dao, to practice swords, to learn martial arts, to combine the three Dao, or learn ancient skills. These are the only four paths I can think of.”

“Why couldn’t Mountain Toer become a level 15?”

Because Chen Q