In the ancient world, there were the Ten Paragon Masters and four Candidates. Right now, two of those Candidates are present: the Sage of Ritual and the Three Mountains Nine Marquis Master.

Based on cultivation realms, they can be divided into three tiers. The first tier naturally consists of the Sage of Ritual, the Three Mountains Nine Marquis Master, and Zheng Juzhong, all three being cultivators of the fourteenth realm.

Next are Yu Xuan, Lü Yan, Bai Jing, and Xiao Mo, who have not yet attained the Dao of the fourteenth realm.

At the bottom of the list is Chen Ping’an, who hasn’t even reached the fifth realm yet.

Only Li Xisheng’s status is quite special, making it extremely difficult to accurately define his true cultivation realm.

If calculated solely by Dao age, the order would be: Three Mountains Nine Marquis Master, Xiao Mo, Bai Jing, Sage of Ritual, Yu Xuan, Lü Yan, Zheng Juzhong, Li Xisheng, and Chen Ping’an.

However, the current Li Xisheng, the future Grand Master of Bai Yujing, Kou Ming, along with Zheng Juzhong of White Emperor City and Lü Yan of Pure Yang, are all considered by the Sage to have the potential to join the ranks of the future Ten Paragon Masters.

So, no matter how you look at it, Chen Ping’an is at the bottom.

However, despite his young age, he has witnessed many grand occasions. Chen Ping’an is not flustered. His Dao heart is as still as water, and he does what needs to be done.

As Chen Ping’an, following Zheng Juzhong’s reminder, collected those strands of his spirit, each with a different weight and size.

In his own Bamboo Lodge on Fallen Mountain, the “Chen Ping’an” who was copying several Daoist books instantly became dull and wooden, remaining in the posture of writing with a brush for a long time.

At the military camp of Dali in Yu Prefecture, a cultivator cast a earth-burrowing spell, found a cave between rock crevices in a remote mountain wilderness. His body shed like a cicada’s molt, transforming into a substitute talisman.

In the Western Mountain region of Treasure Bottle Continent, within a bustling market in the capital of a Dali tributary kingdom, a middle-aged Daoist who set up a fortune-telling stall and helped write letters had been earning money for some time. He was particularly accurate in calculating marriage matches. This wandering Daoist loved to drink, taking several large gulps from his wine gourd before suddenly collapsing on the table, fast asleep.

In a celestial inn in Qingxing Kingdom, a foreign Qi cultivator who was enjoying the scenery immediately returned to his room, closed the door, sat cross-legged on a futon, placed his hands on his abdomen, and fell into a deep sleep.

In the territory of Zheng Yang Mountain, last year a Qi cultivator who was not recorded in the lineage records of the peaks, relied on his third realm cultivation and his ability to grease palms with wealth, became a guest official of a vassal sect of a certain peak. Today, taking advantage of the break in visitors, he was sitting by the river fishing, not even raising his fishing rod when a fish bit the bait.

Only the strand of spirit traveling “beyond the heavens,” “reversing the flow of ten thousand years of time,” Chen Ping’an hesitated whether to recall it or not. It wasn’t that he was unwilling, but that it wouldn’t be easy.

Before Chen Ping’an could even ask, Zheng Juzhong, having clearly deduced something, laughed in his mind, “No need to recall that strand of spirit. Otherwise, stopping halfway will easily damage the foundation of the Great Dao. One careless move, and you, in your current state, can forget about helping and just withdraw from beyond the heavens and return to the village school to recuperate. Besides, I don’t want to be resented by that being or have the Literary Sage block my door and scold me.”

Lü Yan smiled, “Fellow Daoist Chen, I didn’t expect to meet you so soon.”

Chen Ping’an cupped his fist in return, “Greetings, Senior Pure Yang.”

Without any delay, Chen Ping’an immediately unleashed his two Natal Flying Swords, enveloping all the cultivators except for the Sage of Ritual and the Three Mountains Nine Marquis Master.

According to Chen Ping’an’s rough estimate, they were at least millions of miles away from the Sage of Ritual’s Dharma Avatar, and with his current Nascent Soul realm, he could at most support a caged-bird small world covering a thousand miles.

A gaunt old man, with snow-white hair and beard, wearing an extremely loose purple robe, hovered barefoot in the Void Realm.

The purple robe on the old man, named “Purple Qi,” along with Yu Dou’s feather coat, the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Zhao Tianlai’s “Seven Luminaries,” and Yang Zhi’s ink-colored dragon robe, were among the Ten Great Dharma Robes of several worlds. This “Purple Qi” robe had a black and white yin-yang Taiji diagram painted on it, and the old man had a crystal-clear gourd hanging from his waist, in which one could clearly see magnificent and strange phenomena.

Stars glittered, countless starlight points clustered and converged into a river, as if an entire Milky Way had been reproduced within.

The old man, Yu Xuan, who should have been attaining the Dao of the fourteenth realm beyond the heavens, was known throughout the world for exclusively possessing the word “Talismans.”

Yu Xuan lightly flicked his fingers a few times, causing ripples of spiritual energy to spread across the boundaries of several worlds. Nodding, with admiration in his eyes, he smiled, “Not bad, not bad. Thank you, Hidden Official Chen.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Yu Xuan still had some doubts in his heart. The young Hidden Official before him was, after all, not the Chen Ping’an who had borrowed the fourteenth realm Dao from Lu Chen. He had been dragged here by the Sage of Ritual to help out beyond the heavens, but the truth was, a pure martial artist, even if at the peak, was still only a Nascent Soul cultivator. What help could he provide? What was the point of creating a thousand-mile world with flying swords?

Therefore, Yu Xuan couldn’t help but ask Lü Yan in his mind, “Pure Yang Fellow Daoist, is that it?”

In fact, the old man and this Daoist who supposedly had returned to the Vast from the Azure Underworld not long ago, Yu Xuan was meeting for the first time.

Lü Yan smiled, “Senior Yu, just wait and see.”

Yu Xuan had no choice but to suppress his doubts and nod.

Wasn’t creating a small world formation an easy task for cultivators like them?

Of course, to be honest, the resilience of this small world was quite beyond Yu Xuan’s expectations. Setting aside those trump card talismans, even if Yu Xuan acted personally, he estimated that he would need more than twenty attack talismans to break through the world’s barrier. The annoying thing about sword cultivators was not only their ability to break all spells with a single sword but especially the strange divine abilities of these Natal Flying Swords.

Could it be that the Literary Sage and the Sage of Ritual had discussed helping their closed-door disciple add a stroke to the Literary Shrine Merit Book?

If it were someone else, Yu Xuan would have worried about being petty, but with the old scholar, Yu Xuan felt that it wouldn’t wrong him. He might even retort, if confronted, “So what? If you’re not happy, come and hit me.”

Chen Ping’an said, “I beseech everyone to slightly release your divine sense and visualize the location of your usual cultivation dojo.”

Zheng Juzhong was the first to visualize the Glazed Pavilion of White Emperor City.

Lü Yan then visualized the Lü Gong Shrine near the Fen River Shrine in Mengliang Kingdom.
Yu Xuan envisioned a Gilded Peak, the location of his orthodox mountain gate. This was the earliest chosen Daoist site and the place where his sect originated.

Xiao Mo’s vision of a Daoist site was relatively perfunctory, merely a thatched hut on the Fallen Treasure Shoal near the Azure Cloud Cave where she used to brew wine.

Bai Jing, however, was quite assertive. What she envisioned was directly a dazzling and radiant great sun.

These enlightened cultivators, deliberately setting no restrictions and completely opening their divine senses, allowed their mental images to “manifest” with clear outlines within this small world, every detail visible.

However, they were, after all, merely illusory visions.

Yu Xuan wasn’t sure what Chen Ping’an was up to, just as his fellow Daoist Chun Yang had said, they could only wait and see.

Then, Chen Ping’an, wielding his Natal Sword “Well Moon,” was like the world’s most skilled master of meticulous line drawing. The Daoist sites envisioned by the cultivators were like drafts, akin to the “Alas, Sparse Sword Qi” calligraphy scroll he had obtained from Qingfu Workshop. He simply needed to trace and fill in the outlines, copying the original work, making it as close to the original as possible.

Chen Ping’an’s two Natal Swords, with “Caged Bird” being an empty world, like a human shell.

The other, “Well Moon,” transformed into over four hundred thousand minuscule flying swords, constructing the tendons and meridians, the basic framework of this world’s shell, like raising the beams of a house, or filling the human body’s shell with blood and flesh.

A White Emperor City Glazed Pavilion, with its roof covered in emerald green glazed tiles, suddenly rose from the ground around Zheng Juzhong. Countless golden threads began to extend upwards, each thread being a divided incarnation of the “Well Moon” flying sword. This nine-story Glazed Pavilion, with its carved balustrades and jade pillars, upturned eaves and suspended bells, inscribed plaques and couplets… even the inconspicuous marks worn smooth by long years of rubbing on certain railings, and the minute cracks in some plaques caused by millennia of wind and sun, were all clearly visible… But the truly mystical aspect was that when Zheng Juzhong activated the formations within, the Glazed Pavilion seemed to awaken with intelligence, as if receiving a divine decree. Throughout this process, the golden threads constantly adjusted details, automatically mending and repairing any loopholes or defects in the Daoist techniques. At the thousands of points where “harmony” was achieved, the golden color of the Glazed Pavilion would instantly transform into its true color.

When the last two still-wandering golden threads finally connected.

The formation was “one.”

The entire White Emperor City Glazed Pavilion was like… or rather, “was,” moved wholesale by Chen Ping’an into this Cage Bird world.

Zheng Juzhong lightly patted the railing, nodding and smiling, “Acceptable.”

Bai Jing frowned slightly, twitching her nose, “This works?!”

She couldn’t help but add, “This is too monstrous!”

Then it was Xiao Mo’s Daoist site, which Chen Ping’an still used the collaboration method.

Zheng Juzhong had deliberately envisioned the Glazed Pavilion first, essentially as a form of intangible instruction, helping Chen Ping’an to identify and rectify any omissions.

The most crucial point was that there were no “living creatures” within the Glazed Pavilion, making it relatively easy.

As for constructing the Lord Lü Shrine, Chen Ping’an was even more skilled, doing it with ease.

Lü Yan, holding a whisk and carrying a sword on his back, stood in the shade of the willow tree beside the pond outside the shrine, glancing at the fish swimming on the surface, pecking at willow catkins and water insects. The Chun Yang Daoist stroked his beard, nodding. Chen Ping’an’s progress in Daoist arts was remarkable.

Following that, Yu Xuan’s Gilded Peak was even more “alive,” because not only were there ancient trees and flowers all over the mountain, but even the spiritual birds soaring and circling outside the mountain appeared one by one.

For inanimate objects such as buildings and mountain springs, Chen Ping’an materialized their “facts” and “truths” without any hesitation. However, the appearance of flowers, plants, and spiritual birds meant that this world was not only real, but also alive.

This was the so-called “assistance” of Li Xisheng.

After Chen Ping’an summoned the Cage Bird and before he constructed the Daoist sites using Well Moon, Li Xisheng was not idle. This Confucian disciple, virtually unknown among the younger generation in the Li Zhu Grotto-Heaven, walked on air, above all things, just as Lu Chen had praised “a realm of no people, a person of no realm,” lightly riding the wind without support, carrying the Great Dao and roaming the Great Void… Moreover, Li Xisheng seemed able to ignore the limitations of the Cage Bird world, as if he were heading to an empty realm, unfettered by heaven and earth… His figure freely shuttled within and without the sword array world, Li Xisheng constantly producing talismans from his sleeves, mostly extremely rare single-character talismans, each with a single character written on the talisman paper, including mountain, water, clouds, rain, thunder, and others, each character with immense meaning, helping to stabilize the border of the Cage Bird array from both inside and outside, simultaneously.

Only when it came to the “small” matter of making living things and creatures appear in the various Daoist sites, although Li Xisheng and Chen Ping’an had divided the labor, with the former taking the lead, the latter was not completely abandoned.

The final result was a series of small worlds within the Cage Bird world.

Xiao Mo sighed for a long time, her mood complex.

Because not long ago, her young master had mentioned the “four levels,” and the key to the second level was to spend countless talismans to fill what seemed like a bottomless pit, ultimately reaching a certain grand state, with the beauty of “the water’s limit is the sky, the mountain’s foundation is eternal,” heaven facing earth, mountains and rivers dependent on each other, within which the five elements operate, the sun and moon rise and fall, the four seasons and twenty-four solar terms progress, the Great Dao cycles and repeats, creating endless life.

And this scholar named Li seemed to be able to achieve this level already.

The cultivators of ten thousand years later were producing geniuses, and their research into “techniques” and their ascent along the path were indeed unmatched by those of ten thousand years before.

Bai Jing, at this moment, was sitting within a miniature great sun, only the size of a hilltop, more like a “borrowing” from Chen Ping’an, similar to, yet distinct from, the ancient Daoist site envisioned by Bai Jing.

Bai Jing was too lazy to care about her Mountain Master’s perfunctory treatment and careless handling.

Lü Yan smiled slightly.

Yu Xuan stood at the peak of the Gilded Peak, coughing a few times, and praising with a mental voice, “The young people of today are truly remarkable.”

A promising younger generation, a promising younger generation indeed. The next time he met with Old Xiucai, if the other party once again praised his closed-door disciple in a roundabout way, Yu Xuan intended to agree, without going against his conscience.

Yu Xuan suddenly had a strange expression.
“So, this kind of trump card, a solitary great Dao that should be hidden away and kept secret, is just revealed like this?” the old immortal said. “What will Chen Ping’an do when he asks someone for a sword duel later? Wouldn’t he lose the advantage of the first strike?”

The old Real Person used a series of descriptive phrases, which showed that the young Hidden Official’s combination of two Natal Flying Swords was indeed rare and had caught Fu Lu Yu Xuan’s discerning eye.

Lu Yan said, “We cultivators here won’t spread it. As for some secretive great cultivators trying to deduce some conclusions through evolution and derivation, that would be difficult, right?”

Yu Xuan smiled and nodded, “That’s right, but to be cautious, I’ll use some small tricks to close the door and block the road. I can’t let a young man suffer such a loss for public affairs.”

Yu Xuan joined his index and middle fingers together and “wiped out” a talisman from the sleeve of his purple Qi robe. The talisman then turned into a purple aura, surrounding Chen Ping’an, spinning around him several times in an instant before gradually dissipating.

As a result, Yu Xuan immediately jumped up and cursed, “Damn it, you’re not being considerate at all! Which dog offspring is so persistent, constantly deducing and observing Chen Ping’an? What great grudge do they hold?”

A moment later, Yu Xuan began to curse again. It turned out that more than one force was secretly peeping at Chen Ping’an’s fate. Compared to the former’s method of using celestial phenomena, the latter’s means were even more concealed. Hearing a thought from his Pure Yang Daoist friend, Yu Xuan nodded lightly and raised both sleeves, silently chanting “Open the Dao”. The two strands of talisman purple Qi around Chen Ping’an remotely connected to the mountain dojos of those two forces. At the same time, Lu Yan raised both hands, joining his index and middle fingers together, and lightly flicked each of the two purple Qi lines, then waved his sleeves. Sword light flashed like a rainbow, passing in an instant. In a flash, two sword lights as thin as threads, with the momentum of thunder, went to two different places, one in the central Shenzhou of the Vast World, and one in one of the five cities of the Azure Nether World.

In the central Shenzhou, at the heavily guarded observatory of the Lu Clan, Yin Yang masters, half of the observatory was destroyed on the spot by a straight “thunderbolt” falling from the sky.

And in a certain city of the White Jade City, the celestial instrument was found by that fierce sword light from beyond the sky, following the clues, and turned into powder on the spot. A celestial realm Dao official responsible for taking care of the celestial instrument was directly blasted out of the house, covered in dust and dirt. Not only that, but the precious robe on his body was also directly destroyed. He was both shocked and frightened, stomping his feet in annoyance. This treasure of immortal soldier quality could be repaired, but the many irreplaceable clues about that young Hidden Official were all destroyed.

Chen Ping’an cupped his hands in thanks to the two seniors.

Lu Yan nodded in acknowledgement, “No need to be polite, just consider it a deposit for you helping to protect the Dao in the future.”

Yu Xuan laughed, “No need to thank me. I hate these shady tricks the most in my life.”

Li Xi Sheng stood side by side with Chen Ping’an in a bright moon, looking into the distance, “Don’t worry, there are still at least two quarters of an hour before Ritual Saint begins to contact the Wilderness World.”

Li Xi Sheng pointed to the extreme distance, “Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquis and Senior Yu have each set up three talisman mountains and a long river of treasured talismans, but the journey is far, and you can’t see clearly.”

Yu Xuan smiled, “I’m just making a small fuss, not as grand as Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquis’s masterpiece, making a fool of myself, making a fool of myself.”

The last time he went to the Soaring Clouds Continent, after a fight, the hundreds of thousands of talismans that were not used up at that time were completely exhausted this time, not a single one was left.

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Li, why not call more Ascended Realm cultivators to help?”

Li Xi Sheng smiled and explained, “Some can’t help, and some can’t get away.”

Yu Xuan stroked his beard and smiled, “The Asia Saint and the Literary Saint, and the Literary Temple Master Dong Fuzi, although they are all Fourteenth Realm, they are aligned with the Earth’s advantage. Coming here to take action, it’s easy to backfire.”

The old Real Person’s implication was that the Fourteenth Realm, which was aligned with the Earth’s advantage, had too many restrictions and was not straightforward. Compared to aligning with the “Heavenly Time” and “Human Harmony” methods, it was still a bit lacking.

As for the mountain and water deities of the Nine Continents of the Vast World, of course, they needed to stabilize the mountain roots and water transport within their respective jurisdictions. In fact, before Chen Ping’an was brought here, the Mountain Lords of the Five Mountains of the Central Earth, including the Divine Lord “Grand Offering” Zhou You, and the Water Lords of the Four Seas, including Wang Zhu and Li Ye Hou, as well as Shen Lin, Yang Hua, and others who held high positions in the major rivers and marquisdoms of each continent, had all received a secret decree from the Literary Temple, ordering them to immediately return to their divine positions and sit firmly on the “golden bodies” of their ancestral halls.

Zheng Juzhong had previously reminded Li Xi Sheng not to easily “align with the Dao” unless it was absolutely necessary. In this way, the Confucian scholar Li Xi Sheng would completely lose the Three Teachings dispute of the White Jade City Grand Master Kou Ming’s “One Qi Transforms into Three Purities”.

A majestic Qi mechanism surged from beyond the sky, like a tide lapping against the shore, and the cage-like sparrow world shook accordingly.

What an earth-shattering storm is coming, a real gale from the sky.

It actually made Chen Ping’an feel suffocated for a moment.

Bai Jingxue, in his millet-like speaking style, hurriedly shouted, “Mountain Master, Mountain Master, open the door, open the door!”

Chen Ping’an stabilized his body and soul, turning a deaf ear. I’m not familiar with you.

Li Xi Sheng smiled, “The opportunity is rare, you can indeed appropriately open a palace gate in the world, and safely accept the spiritual energy within. Moreover, in addition to pure spiritual energy, there are also some ancient Dao Qi lingering in the sky, which are being wrapped by the Wilderness World and are about to break free from the great Dao imprisonment of a world. They are the first to rush in, hidden in this surging and turbulent Daoist tide. You might as well accept it all first, and after returning to the Vast World, you can slowly unravel it, and maybe there will be unexpected surprises. There will be about two more tides like this.”

Being cautious and knowing when to stop is Chen Ping’an’s consistent style.

Chen Ping’an immediately opened a large door. The cage-like sparrow world was like opening a pocket, and the territory at the door presented a trumpet shape, which could accommodate more spiritual energy tides. Afterwards, the hundreds of miles of “riverbed” waterway was like a water bottle with a large belly and a small mouth lying on the ground, making it easy for the spiritual energy tide to enter and difficult to retreat. In addition, a section of the riverbed had an upward trend, making the tide head rush into the bottle-shaped riverbed from far to near. The tide head pushed and surged, and the sound of water was like thunder. Wave after wave surged. Chen Ping’an also learned and used what Li Xi Sheng had taught him, drawing more than a dozen “wind” talismans on a temporary basis and throwing them outside the door, like a dozen wind god officials blowing, using the wind direction to help the tide.
Fu Yu Xuan couldn’t help but say, “Pure Yang Daoist, is it just my imagination, or has Chen Yinguān suddenly become energized? His entire aura has changed.”

Lü Yán answered a different question, “Chen Ping’an’s use of this method follows the principle of the Qiantang River tidal bore in Treasure Bottle Continent. Timing, wind direction, terrain, and water flow are all in harmony.”

In short, without affecting the stability of the entire world’s atmosphere, this is almost the best way for Chen Ping’an to open the gate and accommodate the most spiritual energy from the tides.

Bai Jing hurriedly turned her head again, looking towards Xiao Mo next to the “ground” thatched hut, “Xiao Mo, Xiao Mo, please say a fair word to Mountain Master for me. The books say, ‘Heaven bestows, yet one does not take, one shall suffer the consequences.’ ‘A chance lost is lost forever!'”

Xiao Mo, as always, did as the Romans do, and helped to bargain, “Young Master will split the profits with you eight to two. If you agree, I’ll speak to Young Master.”

Although Bai Jing had regained her true appearance, her temperament seemed like that of the young girl Xie Gou, and she angrily said, “Are you slaughtering a pig?! Why don’t you two just outright rob me?”

For accomplished individuals like Zheng Juzhong, Yu Xuan, and Lü Yán, the number of their own blessed lands and the spiritual energy within their acupoints had already reached saturation. Therefore, this surge of spiritual energy from heaven and earth was somewhat useless. Xiao Mo, as a Sword Cultivator at the peak of the Ascension Realm, was in a similar situation.

Especially Zheng Juzhong, this giant of the Demonic Path, because he had accomplished an unprecedented feat, one person occupying two Fourteenth Realms, his cultivation no longer required spiritual energy.

Only Sword Cultivator Bai Jing, she was extremely adept at managing her affairs. Before Chen Ping’an was called, she had taken out a large pile of miscellaneous magical treasures and began to store spiritual energy. After two rounds of tides, she had reaped quite a harvest. After all, this kind of extraterrestrial tide brought about by the collision of two worlds was not a spectacle and opportunity that an Ascension Realm cultivator could simply encounter by riding the wind to the outer reaches of the heavens.

As for why Bai Jing didn’t directly rush out of this world, it was, of course, for the sake of the big picture. These spiritual energy gains were just a small dish. After all, the real main event was yet to come.

Chen Ping’an glanced at Bai Jing’s direction, estimated the capacity of her pile of treasures to additionally accept the tide of spiritual energy, and said in a mental voice, “Fifty-fifty split, how about it?”

“Easy to say, easy to say, perfectly fair!”

Bai Jing laughed heartily, her figure as swift as lightning, rushing towards the bottleneck entrance of the gate, with a dozen or so treasures scattering like heavenly flowers, drawing in the tide of spiritual energy like dragons drinking water.

Yu Xuan clicked his tongue and said, “Pure Yang Daoist, look at that, Sword Cultivators are so good. No matter what comes your way, you can just deliver a sword. At most, if one sword isn’t enough, you just deliver a few more. You and I are both patch-up artists and workaholics.”

Sword Cultivators like Bai Jing and Xiao Mo are indeed unlike Yu Xuan and his Pure Yang Daoist companion, who still need to “deploy troops” to their natal treasures, arranging and deploying spiritual energy within their own body’s microcosm. They must adjust their state and meticulously refine a series of details because, for non-sword cultivators, the three states of leisure, cultivation/seclusion, and fighting are vastly different internal landscapes within the same human microcosm. Just take a cultivator of Yu Xuan’s level as an example. He needs to use different natal treasures and blessed acupoints, matched with different types of talismans, to build different formations within his body, simultaneously consolidating his physical body and stabilizing his soul.

Lü Yán smiled without speaking.

After all, he was a Daoist, but he also knew a few sword techniques.

Moreover, Lü Yán’s path to forming his Golden Core was unlike that of any other cultivator in the world.

Chen Ping’an proactively said, “Previously, when I was a guest at the Demon Suppressing Tower in Tongye Continent, I heard Daoist Qingtong mention the Ten Heroes of the Ancient World, plus the candidates, there seemed to be fourteen in total. At that time, Daoist Qingtong only mentioned a part of the list. Senior Immortal Yu, can you help me solve this mystery?”

Yu Xuan strangely said, “The Old Scholar is so knowledgeable, didn’t he tell you this?”

Chen Ping’an replied, “My teacher usually talks more about matters of scholarship. When we’re together, we don’t really talk about these things.”

Yu Xuan was momentarily speechless.

Well, one creates opportunities to boast about his disciple even when there are none, and the other seizes every opportunity to praise his teacher. No wonder you’re a teacher and student; birds of a feather flock together.

Yu Xuan pointed to the handsome Xiao Mo at the “foot of the mountain”, “He’s old enough, and he’s also Chen Yinguān’s attendant. Why not talk about these old stories that he’s seen and heard?”

Xiao Mo smiled and helped to explain, “My Young Master devotes himself to cultivation every day, and he’s diligent in his studies. He doesn’t like to be distracted by discussing these past events, and I wouldn’t dare to take the initiative to say anything.”

Chen Ping’an was stunned and looked at Xiao Mo. That’s right, why didn’t he think to ask Xiao Mo?

Xiao Mo’s expression remained normal, even more confused. He thought that his Young Master was just trying to get closer to the Talisman Yu Xuan. He never cared about the list of the Ten Heroes of the World. Could it be that it was not the case?

However, Zheng Juzhong once again helped to answer Chen Ping’an’s doubts, “Because it involves the names of the Ten Heroes of the Ancient World, Qingtong of the Demon Suppressing Tower did not dare to say too much, fearing unnecessary trouble. Your subconsciousness not asking the nearby Xiao Mo is a kind of instinct because, deep down, you are very clear that Xiao Mo is likely to have several intertwined karmic threads with several of them.”

Yu Xuan didn’t think too deeply about anything. Since the young Yinguān humbly sought guidance, he would act like an elder and give some advice to the younger generation. He asked with a smile, “Of the Ten Heroes and four candidates, which ones did Qingtong tell you about?”

Besides, the last time the Old Scholar asked him to drink, he spoke very honestly and thoroughly, all the straightforward words of his own brothers. For example, the Old Scholar painstakingly persuaded Yu Xuan, “Old Brother Yu, as a Fourteenth Realm cultivator who is set in stone, it’s good to be approachable, very kind, but if you’re too approachable, it’s not so good. To some extent, you have to put on the airs that a Fourteenth Realm cultivator should have. So next time you’re in the Confucian Temple, remember to speak louder. Or when you’re traveling in a certain continent and you meet some Ascension Realm cultivators that you don’t like, Old Brother Yu just needs to squint at them. Even saying one word is not domineering enough…”

“Of the Ten Heroes of the World, there are the Founders of the Three Teachings: the Most Sage Teacher, the Dao Ancestor, and the Buddha. There is also the First Ancestor of the Military Strategists, the first ‘Daoist’ in the world, and the Champion of the Sword Path. Daoist Qingtong only mentioned these six, still missing four.”

Chen Ping’an replied, “He did mention all four candidates: the Eldest Sword Immortal, the Sage of Rituals, Mister Bai Ze, and Mister of the Three Mountains and Nine Marquis.”

There is no ranking order between the Ten Heroes of the Ancient World.
The foremost “Daoist” of the world. The Immortal Hairpin City in the desolate lands was transformed from this Daoist’s hairpin. Now, the gatekeeper of Fallen Mountain is a “Daoist Immortal Guard” with a wooden hairpin in his hair.

The leader of the Sword Dao, whose name is unknown.

The progenitor of the Strategists, imprisoned or perhaps exiled to the planet “Mars,” patiently awaiting the end of his ten-thousand-year confinement. Only martial artists like Chen Ping’an, Cao Ci, and Pei Qian have the chance to meet him. It is believed that even if the people and identities at the summit of that strange mountain have changed over the millennia, the number of pure martial artists who have met this progenitor of the Strategists remains small.

Now, Chen Ping’an’s greatest regret is learning about the existence of the Ten Paragon Lords too late; otherwise, he would have asked the Eldest Sword Immortal in person if he knew the mysterious leader of the Sword Dao.

As for the four candidates, in the minds of Xiao Mo and Bai Jing, they are more accustomed to calling the Ritual Sage a “Young Master,” referring to him as a “Scholar.”

Bai Ze was the most promising candidate to become the sovereign of all demons. Mister Three Mountains and Nine Marquises created the art of talismans. Mount Tai, one of the ancient Five Sacred Mountains, was one of his sacred grounds.

Sword Cultivator Chen Qingdu.

Yu Xuan stroked his beard, squinted his eyes, and smiled, first creating suspense before asking, “Besides being a Sword Cultivator, Chen Hidden Official is also a rare Martial Artist at the Pinnacle of Perfection. Do you know the origins of the Strategist Progenitor’s incident and its connection to the Martial Path?”

Chen Ping’an nodded and said, “Historically, there was a joint execution, and this Strategist Progenitor was the first Eleventh Realm Martial Artist in the world. Unfortunately, the path of a martial artist’s physical body becoming a god only reached halfway, as the legends say. He reached the summit, attaining what is now known as the Pinnacle of Perfection, but could never reach further towards the heavens.”

Yu Xuan smiled and said, “Besides the six, there is also Lan Qi, a female cultivator, the true founder of all Refiners, proficient in forging. She personally pioneered the path of refining objects into natal treasures, greatly enhancing the strength of Daoists in the human realm. As for the Fourteenth Realm cultivator with the Daoist title ‘Taiyin’ in the Azure Vault World, she is actually following the path pioneered by this female cultivator. The ‘Refinement’ path has been taken furthest by the Myriad Worlds. Could it be that Lan Qi’s care for her fellow Daoists is somehow tied to the fact that both she and I are female?”

Lu Yan smiled and reminded, “Senior Yu, it’s best to avoid naming names too often.”

Lu Yan was helping Yu Xuan dispel the invisible karma entangled by those “words.”

Yu Xuan hastily made a Daoist bow and apologized, “Carried away by my enthusiasm, I spoke without restraint.”

Chen Ping’an silently noted the name “Lan Qi.”

No wonder later generations in the mortal dynasties spoke of “military arsenals located in Lan Qi.”

After a moment of silence, Yu Xuan continued, “Since there were gods in the heavens and immortals on earth in ancient times, there must have been ghosts. Thus, its appearance separated the human realm into the Yang and Yin realms, forever dividing the realms of light and darkness.”

“As for the division of heaven and earth, gods and humans, with incense offerings in the human realm, there were those who spoke on behalf of the heavens, the shamans, who specialized in communicating with gods and humans. Later, according to the Confucian temple system, there were many sacrificial officials, including the Six Priests. For example, the Yunlin Jiang clan in your Treasure Bottle Continent, their ancestors were among the Great Priests, and the Great Wall of Sword Qi also had sacrificial officials in its early years.”

Yu Xuan raised his head to look at the sky, then withdrew his gaze and looked at the towering Dharma Image of the Ritual Sage in front of him, slowly saying, “This lineage’s main incense offerings have naturally been cut off since the Ritual Sage separated heaven and earth. However, some branches that have spread from it have never been completely severed. Among them, in mortal dynasties, besides the officials in charge of divination and sacrifices, there are also the Imperial Astronomical Observatories of various countries, as well as the Yin-Yang and Five Elements schools of thought on the mountains.”

Chen Ping’an had silently closed the door, temporarily gathering the tides of spiritual energy into a “well.”

Bai Jing had also returned home, laden with rewards. She sat cross-legged in the Great Sun, dividing the spiritual energy and Daoist energy into two, condensing some extremely refined pearls. Then, she took out two white jade plates from her sleeve, and the large and small pearls fell onto the jade plates, making crisp, pleasant sounds. Bai Jing yawned, feeling drowsy. These stale stories are boring.

Such a dull review is not as good as looking ahead. For example, in the future Ten Paragon Lords, there will be her and Xiao Mo, haha, wonderful, definitely a pair of divine companions.

Well, putting her hand on her chest and speaking truthfully, Xiao Mo’s talent for sword practice is slightly inferior to hers. It’s estimated that it’s a bit risky for him to join the Ten Paragon Lords, so he can settle for being a candidate.

If the worlds were as simple as the Wilderness World, it would be great. She could find some capable fighters, join forces to chop up all the Ascension Realm cultivators who have a chance to break through and attain Dao. After they are all chopped up, how can anyone compete for the titles?

Yu Xuan glanced at Bai Jing out of the corner of his eye, feeling a bit of a headache. How did Fallen Mountain end up with such a fearless person? The upcoming great Dao contention, unprecedented in ten thousand years, is not as simple as you think. Especially those beings born in response to destiny in each world, even Fourteenth Realm cultivators like Myriad Worlds would not dare to provoke them easily, for fear of incurring the Heavenly Dao’s aversion and hatred. Yu Xuan continued, “There is also a female cultivator who, in contrast to many top cultivators of the same era who focus on ascending to greater heights, goes against the grain, preferring to collect and compile various secret books and spiritual compendiums on the earth. She collects and refines the thunder, water, and fire techniques of the world. She has walked countless mountains and rivers, dedicated to collecting and studying various Dao traces, thunder inscriptions, and cloud patterns on the earth. In the end, she evolved more than a dozen Dao veins, all of which are praised by later generations as routes to the pinnacle of the Great Dao, or at the very least, unorthodox paths that can reach the level of ancient ‘Earth Immortals.'”

“As for that leader of the Sword Dao, the reason why I put him last is that this person is very strange, too strange. It is said that this person has many flying swords of high quality, good talent, and quick breakthroughs. Oh, and one more thing, a bad temper. In all aspects, there must be a ‘most.'”
This individual was not the first sword cultivator in the world. He appeared suddenly, nameless and without a lineage, his origins a mystery. Moreover, his temperament was eccentric, almost always solitary. It is said he never spoke a word to any other cultivator. Therefore, his true identity and the source of his skills have always been unclear. Some say he was a purely self-taught swordsman, while others claim he was fortunate enough to receive inheritances from various sword arts lineages. These diverse explanations continue to this day.

At this point, Yu Xuan couldn’t resist teasing, “This sword cultivator is much like the Grand Sword Immortal, similar to how Cao Ci and Chen Yin Guan are on the martial arts path now.”

Less than a quarter of an hour after the last surge, the second wave of spiritual energy arrived, this time containing even more scattered Dao essence.

The intensity of this wave was more than double the previous one. The Cage of Birds World felt like a lone leaf boat in the ocean, swaying and pitching violently.

Bai Jing grimaced, intending to make a few sarcastic remarks, but she quickly understood the situation. *Tsk*, Mountain Lord Chen is truly frugal, treating face and empty reputations as fleeting clouds.

Yu Xuan and Lu Yan exchanged glances and smiled, realizing there was no need to remind the young Hidden Official.

She suddenly stood up, “Mountain Lord, let’s get to work!”

Chen Ping An opened the bottle-shaped gateway while using the increasingly turbulent spiritual energy to hone the edges of his two Natal Flying Swords. After roughly determining the range and force of the wave impacting the small world, the previously undulating lone leaf boat stabilized. As a result, layers of shimmering, iridescent colors appeared on the outer barrier of the Cage of Birds World, a unique phenomenon only seen when the River of Time collides with certain “paths.” However, Chen Ping An had no time to collect and organize these visions.

Suddenly, several subtle flashes of light arced through the void beyond the heavens, bypassing the Dharma Idol of the Sage of Rites and Mister Three Mountains Nine Hou, heading directly towards the Cage of Birds World.

These were undoubtedly sneak attacks orchestrated by some of the Great Cultivators of the desolate wilds.

Bai Jing originally intended to bury herself in earning money, not bothering with these “tickling” offensives. However, when Xiao Mo appeared beside her, she immediately roared “Presumptuous!” A strand of sword light swiftly shot out of the gate, instantly dividing into dozens of sword lights outside. Then, thousands of miles away, it split again into hundreds of strands, each division retaining the same sword energy and intent as the original.

Bai Jing smiled slyly, “Xiao Mo, is my ‘casting net’ sword technique passable?”

Xiao Mo merely held her breath, watching Bai Jing’s sword light shatter the wildland techniques, remaining silent.

Afterward, two more waves of even denser offensive techniques were easily dispelled by Bai Jing’s single “casting net,” unable to approach within a thousand miles of the Cage of Birds World.

Yu Xuan was quite surprised. The Old Real Person only knew that this female sword cultivator, whom he had just met, referred to herself as Xie Gou, but she soon changed her name, saying it was now Mei Hua.

And the stranger who went by the Daoist title of Joyous Candle, was more forthcoming, saying that he and Bai Jing were both desolate wildland demon sword cultivators from ten thousand years ago, in the Ascended Realm. They were awakened from their slumber by Mister Bai Ze, and now they are cultivating on Fallen Phoenix Mountain, not interfering with the conflicts between the two worlds. He said Little Mister had summoned them to the outer heavens. Bai Jing, bound by her agreement, would only observe, merely joining in the fun, but as a retainer and loyalist to his young master, he had no rules restricting him and would naturally assist with his sword, offering his humble strength.

Yu Xuan certainly had a concept of the destructive power of an Ascended Realm sword cultivator, but was Bai Jing perhaps a little too strong?

Just her “casting net” alone, if used in one of the wildland’s harbors or on a battlefield…

Lu Yan said telepathically, “The Great Dao cycles without fail, there has always been a counter for everything. If Bai Jing had remained in the wildlands, I estimate I wouldn’t have needed to travel to the Great Way.”

Yu Xuan chuckled silently.

The Old Real Person had already lowered his head to look. He discovered that the source of these harassing attacks was extremely well hidden, using techniques to shrink the mountains and rivers, moving unpredictably, and using formations and dojos to conceal their aura. They were clearly prepared.

Bai Jing asked in confusion, “Xiao Mo, that’s strange, Mister Bai Ze doesn’t seem to be making a move, and he hasn’t gotten angry even though I’ve been acting so overtly?”

Xiao Mo said, “Causing the two worlds to collide is a meticulously planned move against the Sage of Rites, it has nothing to do with Mister Bai Ze.”

Another wave of offensive techniques, like a drizzle, arrived noisily. Just as Bai Jing was about to strike, Zheng Juzhong continued to ignore them.

Li Xisheng had been casting spells within his sleeves, and his expression changed slightly. He shouted to Bai Jing, “Stop!”

Bai Jing rolled her eyes, hesitated, and reluctantly withdrew most of her extremely fast sword lights.

Xiao Mo, Yu Xuan, and Lu Yan attacked almost simultaneously, but not against the offensive techniques from the wildlands. Instead, they shattered Bai Jing’s lightning-fast sword lights.

In the end, about one-tenth of the sword light remained, still shattering some of the wildland talismans.

Only at this moment did Zheng Juzhong “belatedly” act, casually collecting most of the talismans. He opened his hand, and thousands of talismans instantly coalesced and shrunk into a dozen mustard seeds, rotating in the air above his palm like stars. Zheng Juzhong smiled, they were indeed all aimed at Chen Ping An.

Xiao Mo immediately turned to look at her young master.

Chen Ping An shook his head, signaling to Xiao Mo that it was alright, and not to blame Bai Jing.

Bai Jing scratched her face, looking pitifully at Xiao Mo.

She really had done poorly this time. Who would have thought that fighting on the mountain would require her to consider these schemes? Ten thousand years ago, it wasn’t like this.

Xiao Mo took a deep breath, forcing herself to say, “Remember to pay attention next time.”

Bai Jing subconsciously reached out to adjust her sable hat, only to realize that she was currently showing her true face. She withdrew her hand, nodding gently, and said softly, “Xiao Mo, you’re so good.”

Xiao Mo’s face darkened, and she almost got goosebumps. She could only remain silent.

She decided that after returning to Fallen Phoenix Mountain, she absolutely had to talk to her master about this matter. Whether it was Xie Gou or Bai Jing, their current way of interacting simply couldn’t continue.
Standing atop the highest point of the Glazed Pavilion, Zheng Juzhong lightly clenched his fist. He too had incinerated talismans, a far greater number, yet not a single mote of Chen Ping’an’s soul had been harmed, not even a sliver of his cultivation diminished. Opening his hand, the thousands of talismans within had already turned to ash, scattering in the wind. He smiled faintly and said, “It seems these were drawn by Zhou Qinggao and then entrusted to Fei Ran to deliver here as a greeting. This close disciple of Wen Hai Zhou Mi is truly diligent, worthy of being the Head Wielder’s number one admirer.”