“Master, one Jade Purity, two Golden Cores,” Pei Qian whispered, employing a secret sound transmission.

Since her “Master” beside her was merely one of nine incarnations, limited by the quality of the talisman material and insufficient martial attainment, Pei Qian took on the role of her Master’s eyes and ears.

Chen Ping’an, without a flicker in his gaze, let out a soft burp, leaned back in his chair, and also used a sound-gathering technique to retort, “Then they truly live up to the name of dragons crossing the river.”

Pei Qian asked, puzzled, “Are they itinerant cultivators passing through?”

Chen Ping’an said, “Most likely, it’s a move by Headmaster Lu.”

Pei Qian nodded, thinking, “A troublemaker, eh?”

In truth, she had long noticed the movements of Ancestor Xiang Jun and the other two. The moment they entered Powder Pill Manor, Pei Qian had begun to observe the lightness of their footsteps and the length of their breaths. By the time the three cultivators appeared in a corner corridor of the circular banquet hall, even their disguises of altered appearances and attire were as good as nothing in Pei Qian’s eyes.

With just a few glances, Pei Qian could discern the inner world of the upper-fifth-realm female cultivator. It was a peculiar sight: a vast and empty ancestral hall, with a tiny, frail girl gazing up at a towering Daoist’s back. This back held incense, its smoke rising like a direct line to the celestial court. The Daoist was reverently bowing before a single ancestral portrait, which depicted a young Daoist. This portrait was a “masterpiece,” radiating the power to support heaven and earth, making the Daoist who was originally mountain-like appear insignificant.

All three wore lotus-shaped Daoist crowns.

Clearly, in the mind of this accomplished female cultivator, she was still smaller than the sect, the one holding incense was greater than the sect, and the ancestor in the portrait… was bigger than the sky.

At the center of the old woman’s mindscape, an island stood, upon which a majestic golden immortal stood tall, one arm coiled with a crimson fire dragon, the other with a verdant water serpent, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling in the sky above.

Was this perhaps the embodiment of the “Golden Immortal” in the old woman’s perception?

The man’s mindscape contained a wooden puppet, leaping restlessly through mountains and rivers, like an ancient immortal traversing peaks and seas. There was also a clay figure meditating with legs crossed, one in motion, one still, both resembling humans but not quite, resembling deities and monsters but not quite.

Chen Ping’an hesitated, then asked with a smile, “Did you see their mindscapes? Were there any unusual or noteworthy sights?”

Pei Qian smiled sheepishly, asked her master to wait a moment, and then quickly rummaged through her memories, like casting a fishing line, looking instead at the bait she had used. For the female cultivator, the bait was “masterpiece” and “Daoist crown”; for the old woman, it was “Golden Immortal”; and for the man, it was “wooden puppet and earthen mound.”

So if Master hadn’t asked, Pei Qian would have forgotten them after seeing them, leaving only a vague impression, confirming their approximate cultivation depth, and a rough distinction between friend and foe. Once a conflict arose, she would simply determine which realm of martial arts to use against them. In short, their identities were irrelevant; Pei Qian only needed to be sure of one thing: to know what realm of power she needed to deploy.

Now, with these clues, the memories she had sealed away within her mindscape were restored in their entirety, like three old scrolls being unfurled by their owner, revealing all. Using the obvious clue of the Daoist crown, Pei Qian “reconfirmed” their identities and said, “Master, she is Ancestor Xiang Jun of Spirit Flight Palace, with the Daoist name ‘Dongting,’ a prized disciple of Celestial Sovereign Cao Rong. Besides her methods that are already known throughout the continent, I unintentionally overheard a small piece of news from a Qi cultivator in the capital, Luoyang, saying that she is actually most skilled at spirit channeling, hailed as the best spirit medium in Treasure Bottle Continent. Some people claimed with certainty that she advanced from the nascent soul realm to Jade Purity without experiencing demonic tribulations, simply because this female Daoist cultivator was sincere in her heart when she entered seclusion, reaching the mystical realm of interaction between heaven and man. She once invoked the descent of Lady Wei of White Jade City’s Southern Flower Citadel. Lady Wei crossed the world, riding a phoenix straight down, helping Xiang Jun to extinguish her inner demons and overcome her difficulties. It is said that Lady Wei even guided Xiang Jun to pay respects at White Jade City, dreaming of the Five Cities and Twelve Towers. However, such secrets cannot be verified; in theory, no third person could know about them, and it is likely just mountain cultivators talking nonsense, chasing shadows.”

Like when Old Cook would debunk Chen Lingjun’s spittle-flecked tales of terrifying or mystical mountain secrets, always asking, “Were you there?”

Hearing this, Chen Ping’an said, “This mountain senior’s spirit channeling is so profound that she can invoke Lady Wei of Southern Flower Citadel; it is likely true. Within her mindscape, the ancestral hall is empty of superfluous things, which is a good sign, indicating that her Daoist heart is pure, and she does not rely on external things on her path of cultivation, with no distracting thoughts. However, in her heart, the position of her master and ancestor is too lofty, while she underestimates herself too much. The combination of the two means that her Daoist heart is still not firm enough, which is probably the soil for the growth of heavenly demons, hence the spirit channeling of Lady Wei.”

Pei Qian, who hadn’t thought much about this matter, pondered for a moment and nodded. As expected, Master was still more experienced.

A Daoist cultivator who had advanced to the upper-fifth-realm like Ancestor Xiang Jun, if she looked down on herself too much, it was indeed easy for her to encounter troublesome inner demons during her seclusion in the nascent soul realm, such as transforming into Celestial Sovereign Cao Rong or Ancestor Lu Chen. Xiang Jun would have no chance of winning against such an inner demon. On the path of cultivation, a cultivator could rely on Daoist techniques to overcome layers of heavenly tribulations, but when facing inner demons, they could only rely on a pure Daoist heart.

“As for the other two, if I’m not mistaken, one is Wen Zixi of Spirit Flight Palace, who is already in the Golden Core realm at a young age. Besides Qi refining, he is also a pure martial artist.”

“The other old woman is Xing Zi of Golden Pinnacle Sect’s Tranquility Peak, from the Golden Immortal Convent lineage. She lost the position of Sect Leader to the younger Cheng Qian.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “Wen Zixi? That ‘Gentle One’ nicknamed ‘Wen the Charmer’, the martial arts genius?”

One of his incarnations, Chen Jiu, who was a guest elder at Bamboo Branch School, had long heard of Wen Zixi. He was a womanizer with countless romantic debts, with many confidantes both on and off the mountain. Rumor had it that this man liked to suppress his cultivation to challenge others, and had yet to be defeated.

Pei Qian was a little awkward. “He’s definitely a martial artist, but as for genius, that’s hard to say.”

Pei Qian was indeed a little awkward. To say that this Wen Zixi was not young, maybe fifty? Forty? He was still just a Wandering Realm martial artist.

If he’s a genius, what am I? Could I be a genius among geniuses? What about Master and Cao Ci?
As the master and disciple chatted idly, Ancestor Xiang Jun at the neighboring table was staring blankly at the skeletal ghost in the attire of a scholar in crane cloak.

Her thoughts wandered back to her younger days. Having achieved minor success in her Daoist cultivation and forming her Golden Core early, her master had once imparted to her a true secret that could be interpreted in various ways.

“Refining Qi seeks longevity. To achieve immortality, one must first have a death. Die and be reborn, and you shall attain the Truth.”

Could it be that this Sect Master Ancestor’s visit to Mount Hehuan was at her master’s private request? That the Ancestor had made a special trip here, in a form similar to a White Bone True Man, to guide her through her confusion, effectively imparting a method for immortality?

But the last time Madam Wei of Nanhua City descended through planchette writing, didn’t she say that she would only descend again when she, Xiang Jun, reached the Immortal realm? Only then would she have the opportunity to visit Headmaster Lu in Nanhua City?

Headmaster, Headmaster… What does it mean to be a Headmaster? It naturally refers to a Daoist who oversees all affairs of Daoism under Heaven.

Back then, Madam Wei had taken Xiang Jun with her on a dream journey to the White Jade Capital atop a phoenix. She hadn’t seen Ancestor Lu Chen there, but amidst the numerous Daoist palaces and auspicious Immortal phenomena, Xiang Jun had only caught a fleeting glimpse of a middle-aged Daoist clad in feather robes. Just one glance was enough to awaken her from her dream. Upon waking, she was shocked to discover that she had already reached the Jade Purity realm.

Xiang Jun dared not rashly question or verify the other party’s identity at this moment. After much deliberation, she had already come up with over a dozen opening lines in a flash of inspiration. But since Ancestor Lu was unwilling to reveal his true appearance, she had no choice but to play along, pretending to be ignorant, and trying her best to steady her emotions. She said with a slightly trembling voice, “Fellow Daoist, your words are profound and inconceivable.”

As expected of Lord Bai, who had mixed in officialdom. While his cultivation skills were not high, his ability to observe people’s expressions was not low. Seeing the female cultivator’s face reveal an undisguised reverence, Lord Bai began to revel in his complacency, believing that he had awed a beautiful female cultivator with an extraordinary aura with just a few words.

Three new guests had arrived in the side hall. Because Steward Yu was absent, busy elsewhere cultivating personal connections, Yu Yiyou and Yu Rong, who were fully responsible for entertaining guests in the side hall, followed the rules and brought them three jars of secretly brewed Immortal wine.

As a cultivator of the Upper Five Realms, Xiang Jun naturally had no fear of the tricks that the fox-like demonesses Yu Chunzhi might have played with the wine. She simply disliked the wine’s impurities and didn’t touch the jar at all. Wen Zixì, however, noticed the tampering as soon as he raised the cup to drink. Yet, he continued to drink, lost in his own thoughts. Being a Golden Core Earth Immortal of the Daoist sect and possessing a martial arts Golden Body, Wen Zixì had no need to worry about such base methods. The wine he drank was instantly “burned” and vaporized into mist by the pure True Qi surging through his body like a river. It was then drawn to a secluded Qi cavity, where the pink miasma was entirely imprisoned and sealed. The pure True Qi acted like a general leading troops, guarding the area and ready to annihilate the surrendered soldiers at any moment.

With nothing better to do, Wen Zixì quickly turned his attention to the two pink-cheeked maids, each possessing their own beauty of slenderness and plumpness. After striking up a conversation, he learned that they were surnamed Yu by decree, named Yiyou and Rongyu respectively. However, for some reason, Wen Lang, who was usually invincible in matters of love between men and women, was meeting with considerable resistance tonight. It seemed that in their eyes, he was an irritating sight and his words only made them frown. It should be known that Wen Zixì never treated himself poorly. The illusion he had cast tonight transformed him into a “handsome young man” renowned for his elegant bearing in a certain kingdom at the foot of the mountain.

In fact, the reason for this was not that they were putting on airs or disliked “beauty.” Rather, in their eyes, the guest’s appearance was simply unbearable, causing them to feel nauseous.

This was naturally thanks to Daoist Lu, who had changed Wen Zixì’s appearance and voice in the eyes of Sister Yiyou and Sister Rongyu, making him appear “prematurely aged” with thinning hair, a mouthful of yellow teeth, and a voice as hoarse as gravel being ground by a millstone.

Xing Zi’s identity was noble. Although she was not the current Sect Master of the Golden Splendor Sect, the old woman’s realm and seniority were comparable to Cheng Qian, the National Protector True Man with a long string of titles exceeding twenty characters.

In terms of the “ancestral origins” of their respective Daoist lineages, Cheng Qian’s Drooping Peak could not compare with the ancestral mountain of Tranquility Peak, the location of the “ancestral home,” the Golden Immortal Nunnery.

The old woman was a recluse in the mountains, dedicated to her cultivation. Accustomed to tranquility, she couldn’t stand such noisy and chaotic environments.

If it weren’t for the fact that she was accompanying Ancestor Xiang Jun on her ascent, she would never have set foot in this place. Even if she did come to the mountain, it would only be for the purpose of subduing demons and eliminating ghosts.

Xiang Jun glanced sideways at the neighboring table, noting the sword-bearing youth and the female martial artist who were at the Qi Refining level. More importantly, there was also a young monk in the Lower Five Realms.

The Ancestor truly had a wide circle of friends, not caring about the other party’s status or depth of cultivation.

Chen Pingan had already given Pei Qian a general explanation of Mount Hehuan’s inner workings and origins. Of course, he had intentionally withheld some of the truth, intending to test this first disciple of his. He asked, “Where do you think the crux of Mount Hehuan’s existence lies?”

Without much thought, Pei Qian blurted out, “In Zhao Fuyang of the Yin Yun Mansion and Cheng Qian of the Golden Splendor Sect. Everyone else is, at most, icing on the cake. They can’t affect the overall situation.”

Chen Pingan asked with a smile, “How so? The Zhang family’s old patriarch in Tiancao County is also a Golden Core. The family also has sword cultivators like Zhang Caiqin and Zhang Yujiao. Are they also dispensable?”

Pei Qian replied, “Whether the relationship between Mount Hehuan’s territory and the nearby Qingxing Kingdom’s dynasties is good or bad, whether they keep to themselves and tacitly acknowledge Zhao Fuyang as a local tyrant, or whether they engage in war, ultimately depends on the waxing and waning of Cheng Qian’s and Zhao Fuyang’s respective forces. Whichever of these two Golden Core cultivators, who possess the best aptitudes and are destined to achieve the highest accomplishments in the future, reaches the nascent soul realm first, the situation will no longer be the stalemate it is today.”

Chen Pingan nodded.

It was like back in Shujian Lake. The only rogue cultivator in the Upper Five Realms, Liu Laocheng of Gongliu Island, had been missing for many years. Opinions varied. Some said that Liu Laocheng had long since fallen in secret within an ancient Shu secret realm filled with the corpses of sword Immortals. Others said that Liu Laocheng had changed his identity in the Central Earth Continent, holding a high position in a certain sect, severing ties with his past rogue cultivation life. This was what gave Liu Zhimao the opportunity to later contend for the position of Lord of Shujian Lake. With the help of his newly acquired disciple, Gu Can, and the water dragon whose combat strength was equal to a nascent soul cultivator, Liu Zhimao used his little disciple’s recklessness and the water dragon’s slaughter to awe the lake’s rogue cultivators, thus rising to prominence. Otherwise, the very fact that Huangli Island’s Zhong Su was also in the nascent soul realm, and could rally several island lord allies, would be enough to give the Interception Stream True Monarch a hard time.
Further afield, longer ago, with a larger domain… For example, back in the Tongye Continent, Du Mao of the Tongye Sect was the only cultivator to achieve ascension to the celestial realm, while Xun Yuan of the Yu Gui Sect was merely an immortal. This ensured the stability of the mountainside power structure in Tongye Continent.

Even when the continent sank and its rivers and mountains crumbled in a devastating war, things eventually changed. The Tongye Sect was severely weakened and had to close its mountain gates to recover. However, because the Yu Gui Sect still existed in the south, the old order was quickly restored, with new immortal residences and sects simply filling the gaps.

It was like putting new wine in old bottles.

In contrast, in the north, the Tongye Sect lost its voice, and various factions rose up. This could be seen as a chaotic situation, or as a sign of vibrant vitality, with the Golden Summit Temple taking the lead and forming the Taoye Ferry Alliance.

Then, when the Qingping Sword Sect, a subsidiary of the Fallen Mountain, emerged, it quickly ended this state of affairs by establishing a new alliance and opening up a major canal, solidifying a new structure.

Pei Qian asked, “Master, is it possible that if Cheng Qian hadn’t been so aggressive, and Zhao Fuyang had been given more time, he could have transformed the filthy Hehuan Mountain area into a sect similar to the Five Islands Sect of Cengye? By leveling dangerous passes, dredging the mountains and rivers, and allowing the clear and pure spiritual energy from the surroundings to flow in like a post road, the heavy Yin energy and miasma would gradually dissipate, transforming the chaotic Yin and Yang balance into a stable one, with gentle breezes and harmony between humans and ghosts. If Hehuan Mountain could then gain the recognition of the Guanhai Academy, it would become Zhao Fuyang’s proving ground, a place where dragons rise, and the future foundation of the sect?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and nodded, “That might be the best path. As for possibility, it certainly exists.”

Then Chen Ping’an said, “However, from the moment I agreed to Zhang Caiqin and Hong Yangbo of Qingfu Workshop’s request to attend the crown ceremony of the Crown Prince of Qingxing Kingdom, the Liu Emperor, the Protector-General Cheng Qian, and the Zhang family of Tiancao Prefecture would not allow Zhao Fuyang and Hehuan Mountain to continue to take root here. Therefore, this best possibility was implicitly eliminated.”

Pei Qian was stunned.

Chen Ping’an asked, “Given these prior causes and consequences, should Master blame himself for destroying this possibility, or feel remorse?”

Pei Qian mumbled, unsure how to answer.

Chen Ping’an smiled slightly, “Suppose there’s no need for self-blame in such matters, does that mean one cannot blame others either? And suppose self-blame is warranted, and one feels guilty, does that mean one can blame others?”

Pei Qian scratched her face, feeling even more troubled.

However, she soon felt relieved and decided to ask Cao Qinglang about these headache-inducing questions, slightly rephrasing them, to hear his answers first.

Chen Ping’an then said, “Your ability to glimpse into the heart’s landscape of others is a skill. This skill itself has no inherent righteousness or evil. If you can use it well, it will be a path of uprightness, and evil will naturally subside.”

Pei Qian nodded.

When Little Black Charcoal could hide under his protection, he was always afraid she would learn bad habits. Later, when she could face the world independently, he was always worried about the wickedness of the world.

“Dao provides the appearance, Heaven provides the form. It is a fault to refuse what Heaven bestows.”

Lu Chen suddenly interjected, “Besides, as the old saying goes, ‘When a righteous man practices evil arts, the evil arts become righteous. When an evil man practices righteous arts, the righteous arts become evil.'”

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but curse, “What a load of bull.”

Lu Chen, who had been listening intently to the master and disciple’s conversation, quickly took a sip of wine, as if to embolden himself. After drinking the entire cup in one gulp, he dared to continue with a smile and nod vigorously, “That’s right, that’s right, this poor Daoist was indeed negligent. The same principle applies; advising Zhao Fuyang and Cheng Qian is appropriate, it’s about advising someone to be good, and to show mercy when possible. But if used to advise Miss Pei, it’s not appropriate. Since ancient times, there has only been the possibility of making second-rate people from first-rate aspirations, never the other way around.”

Just like the saying ‘time is money,’ this principle holds true. It’s appropriate to advise those well-fed scholars, but to advise farmers who toil in the fields, it seems like speaking from a position of privilege.

Daoist Lu poured himself a cup of wine and said to himself, “No wonder, no wonder we all need to set ourselves high aspirations, to find a place for our own internal principles, to stand tall and seek guidance from the virtuous. This is what is meant by aspiring with our hearts and emulating the wise.”

Pei Qian said, “My Master and Uncle-Master Qi are very concerned about the hearts of the people in this world and whether they are good or bad. Headmaster Lu has already attained the Dao to its highest level, unburdened by worldly attachments, free and unrestrained. Does he still care about outsiders, worldly affairs, and the rise and fall of the world?”

Lu Chen seemed a bit flustered, “Daoism and the Daoist religion are very different.”

Pei Qian said, “I don’t give a damn.”

The young Daoist had just taken a sip of wine and seemed choked by Pei Qian’s words. He quickly looked up, covered his mouth, and mumbled, “Cultivating the Dao, whether it’s learning martial arts or refining Qi, is actually quite similar. Ultimately, it’s all about ‘cultivating oneself,’ to cultivate and mend.”

“There’s a question and answer in the book: ‘If your parents are in danger, and a thief can save them for me, should I be grateful?’ The answer is, ‘This is a debt of extraordinary kindness, how can one not be grateful?’ There is also a question outside the book that needs answering: ‘Since one should be grateful, how should one repay it?'”

“Moreover, we are like branches on the same tree, our bodies are one.”

Lu Chen’s three points seemed unrelated, speaking separately about cultivating the Dao, discussing grievances and justice, and using the relationship between you and me to talk about the relationship between me and the world.

Of course, it could be understood that Lu Chen, the Headmaster of Bai Yujing, was roughly explaining why a cultivator ascends the mountain, pointing out one path to the mountain, and the scenery after finally reaching the summit.

It could also be understood as Lu Chen extending and “annotating” Chen Ping’an’s questioning of Pei Qian, both defending Chen Ping’an’s actions in Shujian Lake, and a further attempt to prove his innocence. Pei Qian, in the small town, if not for Lu Chen’s matchmaking for your master back then, Chen Ping’an would definitely not be the Chen Ping’an he is today. How would you have become master and disciple? How could you be sitting here tonight? If that is the case, if you want to avenge Cui Cheng of the bamboo building, do you need to repay Lu Chen’s kindness first?
Chen Ping’an smiled. Dealing with Lu Chen was both difficult and easy. He had figured out the trick as a young man: adhere to the “eight-character mantra” – “You say yours, I’ll do mine.” Firstly, Chen Ping’an didn’t think Lu Chen was deliberately disrupting Pei Qian’s Dao heart; Lu Chen wouldn’t stoop so low. Secondly, these seemingly profound, bottomless words would likely cause a storm of Dao heart fluctuations if spoken to Cao Qinglang. Talking about them with Pei Qian was relatively harmless. However, Chen Ping’an still changed the subject, revealing a heavenly secret to his disciple: “That strange mountaintop you visited is actually located within the extraterrestrial Yinghuo star. The strange man you met, the senior who accompanied you down the mountain, is actually the progenitor of the military strategists, imprisoned on Yinghuo for ten thousand years for his crimes.”

Pei Qian was greatly shocked. That seemingly amiable hermit on the mountaintop was actually the military strategist progenitor who had disappeared for ten thousand years? The legendary one who was to be jointly executed?

Didn’t they say the military strategist progenitor’s Dao techniques were as high as his temper was bad?

Although her trip up and down the mountain was inexplicable, Pei Qian’s time with him wasn’t long, yet she always felt he was quite easy to talk to and not fierce at all.

But what was the connection between the military strategist progenitor and the path of martial arts? And why would he be stationed on the summit of martial Dao, which seemed like a manifestation of the Great Dao as a high mountain?

This was the tradition of the Bamboo Lodge lineage. Cui Cheng taught boxing, from feeding Chen Ping’an boxing to later teaching Pei Qian boxing, the old man never liked to talk about secret matters outside of boxing.

As for the military strategist progenitor’s temper, the Wan Yao Sect immortal Han Yushu, who died from half a punch, was probably a clear proof.

Chen Ping’an, a martial artist of the Qi Accumulation Realm’s first level, who took “half a punch” from an eleventh realm martial artist, also had a say in the matter.

In fact, Chen Ping’an shouldn’t have taken that half punch. It was only because the usually timid Little Black Charcoal, after breaking through to the strongest martial artist realm, seemed to have a dream. On that mountain, beside a strange man whose face she couldn’t remember, only remembering he was very tall, she became unusually bold for once. Thinking it was just a dream, what was there to be afraid of, she jumped around on the way down the mountain, learning from the white goose, yelling and waving her fists at the strange man, repeatedly asking him if he was afraid, if he was afraid…

Probably at that time, the military strategist progenitor remembered the little girl’s master, a pure martial artist who had never reached the summit himself, but whose disciple surpassed him, and put this debt on Chen Ping’an’s head.

Lu Chen smiled and said, “Oh my, the main course is finally served.”

At the entrance of the mountain, the creepy swarm of insects that had previously rushed towards the Albizia tree like a tide receded like a tide. Instead, there was white mist in the night, wisps rising from below. This eerie white fog, neither earth energy nor mountain miasma, quickly spread throughout Fengle Town at the foot of the mountain and then enveloped the entire Albizia Mountain. Outside the Yin Yun and Fen Wan mansions, dust and fog filled the air, making it difficult to distinguish people even at close range. Moreover, there were grains of golden light, shining brightly from the family ancestral hall located on the Zhui Yuan Mountain. Suddenly, they fell from the air to the ground, running along the ground like small balls. The golden light condensed to the size of a wheel, then suddenly burst open, like a rainbow or aurora, descending golden light intertwined with the rising white mist like mating.

At the same time, the two Prefecture Lords of Albizia Mountain finally appeared together, attending the banquet and personally presiding over tonight’s daughter-marriage recruitment banquet. This relieved the guests, otherwise they would really worry about Zhao Fuyang’s hidden intentions, such as whether he was in cahoots with the Zhang family of Tiancao County, wanting to wipe them all out and sell them to the Qingxing Kingdom’s Liu Dynasty by weight?

Yu Chunzhi had already quietly removed the Fen Wan Prefecture’s romantic accounts, and those flying orioles had also been taken back. A costly drink was truly wasted.

Zhao Fuyang’s expression was grave. His opening words were extremely bad news: “I just received intelligence that the Liu family of Qingxing Kingdom, joining forces with the surrounding two emperors, along with the Zhang family of Tiancao County, are secretly deploying troops and gathering secretly on the borders of various countries, launching a large-scale siege on Albizia Mountain tonight. I believe they are already on their way.”

“Because there are a large number of mountain and water deities helping to open roads, not to mention those registered cultivators, just the three elite armies of the imperial court, their advancement speed is not to be underestimated. At the latest, they will attack Fengle Town at the foot of the mountain by tomorrow morning. Before that, your cave dwellings and dojos that unfortunately stand in the way of those three routes will probably be swept away effortlessly. If you want to rush back to preside over the overall situation now, you can, and I will never stop you. However, I left Albizia Mountain earlier to meet with Cheng Qian and Zhang Caiqin on Polmo Peak, but we didn’t reach an agreement. They made it clear that they wanted to eliminate the roots and wouldn’t show leniency to anyone.”

“They are mobilizing so many troops, so that the Mountain Lords of the Five Mountains and all the rivers and waterways enshrined by the imperial court have all been dispatched. Such a big battle will cost a lot of immortal money, not to mention the casualties and losses of attacking Albizia Mountain in the end. Naturally, they want to make up for it from my Albizia Mountain and all of you present here. If you think I am alarmist, deliberately keeping you on Albizia Mountain, you can go down the mountain now, but I must say the ugly things first. It is easy to go down the mountain tonight, but it will be difficult to go up the mountain again tomorrow and seek refuge with the Yin Yun and Fen Wan mansions.”