The words of Zouzi struck like thunder from a clear sky, a truly earth-shattering commencement to their council.

It was akin to a hidden mountain valley, deep within spring’s embrace, where no guests ever ventured. Pine pollen drifted on the breeze, mist wreathed the windowpanes, and then, unexpectedly, a flute’s song pierced the stillness.

None of those assembled were fools. They understood perfectly the vast difference between a world with three ascendants to the Fifteenth Realm, and one with but a single soul so elevated.

Each member of the council straightened in their seats, their gazes sharpened. Even Du Shanyin, who rarely showed deference and often appeared indolent, stilled, his breath caught in his throat, every sense focused on the speaker.

They had believed, since the Three Sages had scattered their Dao, that the coming millennium would be a time of competing heroes, where the key lay in ascension to the realm of Immortals. Or in older immortals striving beyond, to unite with Dao at the Fourteenth Realm.

Even the sword cultivator Du Shanyin, whose current realm was insignificant in comparison, held an absolute conviction that a place upon the mountain peak of the future belonged to him. Perhaps not on equal footing with those ancient Fourteenth Realms who were like dragons transformed, but certainly capable of speaking with the newly ascended, or at least with those who had achieved mere immortality. They would listen closely to his words, and consider their merit.

But now, within a scant three to five centuries, a new Fifteenth Realm might emerge. Whomever they might be, from whatever corner of the world, to grasp such a Dao would grant them the power to sway the fate of all five realms.

Xu Xie, the Grand Sword Immortal, widely regarded as foremost among those of Golden Armor Isle, spoke first. “The Sage of Rites?”

It was Zouzi himself who had invited Xu Xie to serve as a check and balance. Though the former’s appearance may have altered, his spirit and Dao remained unchanged.

Zouzi shook his head. “It cannot be the Sage of Rites.”

Xu Xie frowned. “Why not?”

The old Daoist, Zhang Jiao, offered an explanation. “Firstly, Zhou Mi still lingers, though he is blocked from the ruins of the old Heavenly Court by the Dao-avatars of the Three Sages. But knowing Zhou Mi’s nature and cunning, he will undoubtedly have plans in place to prevent the Sage of Rites from attaining such a Dao. Moreover, the Sage of Rites’ own method of uniting with the Fourteenth Realm is not suitable for such further advancement.”

Zouzi added, “Even so, whether the Sage of Rites might ascend to the Fifteenth Realm depends not on his ability, nor on whether he has sufficient merit, nor on whether Zhou Mi obstructs him. It depends only on his own willingness.”

To this end, Zouzi had traveled beyond the heavens and engaged the Sage of Rites in a candid exchange. He had revealed to the Sage his own deductions concerning the future world.

This transpired beyond the heavens.

The world knew of the Great Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain, and others who had given their lives beyond the heavens, greatly benefiting mankind. But few knew that Zouzi and the Three Mountains Nine Marquis were the masterminds who aided the Sage of Rites in hunting down the remnants of ancient deities.

If the Sage of Rites were to ascend another step within the Confucian order, to become the master of the Great Righteous Realm, then his laws would rapidly permeate all Nine Provinces, becoming inescapable and ubiquitous. Though it would seem to create a flawless cycle of Dao, Zouzi saw that in time, it would become a stagnant pool, decayed and ossified. This was the paradox Zouzi called “the cessation of Dao”, the loss of all possibilities.

Luo Shan was less surprised by this revelation than the others, for she had once accompanied Xiao Xun to inspect the city walls and overheard a few casual remarks between her and the Old Sword Immortal.

Xiao Xun, ever impish, had wanted to know from the Old Sword Immortal who, both old and relatively young, were the most formidable in the world. She mentioned Dao the Second of White Jade Capital, who was constantly boasting of invincibility, and Zheng Juzhong of White Emperor City, who had a great reputation in the Great Righteous Realm. Xiao Xun rattled off a string of names, her list likely more accurate than any published by the Mountain and Water Gazettes.

The Old Sword Immortal did not elaborate on Xiao Xun’s remarks, perhaps because, in Chen Qingdu’s eyes, fighting prowess and killing power were just what they were.

As the cornerstone of Sword Qi Great Wall, the ten-thousand-year-old city that marked the border of the Great Righteous Realm and the Wilderness, Chen Qingdu offered a concise assessment.

“The Wilderness has Bai Ze, a misfortune for the demon race, a blessing for mankind. The Great Righteous Realm has the Sage of Rites, a fortune for the Confucian school, a misfortune for the rest.”

Xiao Xun had sat on the city wall, gripping her pigtails, staring blankly at the Old Sword Immortal and asked, “Then what about you?”

Luo Shan sensed the mood shift at that moment.

The Old Sword Immortal chuckled and patted Xiao Xun’s head. “Don’t be so impudent. Wait until I’m dead and you’re still alive to judge what was right and wrong.”

Chen Qingdu’s unspoken meaning was simple and straightforward, as it always was.

It had two layers.

When he was in charge of the Sword Qi Great Wall, Xiao Xun should suppress her grievances. After his death, he would no longer be able to control anyone. She could say whatever she wanted.

But there was a condition: Xiao Xun, the current Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall, had to survive him. She couldn’t die before him.

Or, to put it more plainly, she couldn’t die by Chen Qingdu’s hand, and couldn’t do anything as Hidden Official that was unbecoming of the Hidden Official’s position.

A reprimand, a threat, or a piece of advice? It didn’t matter. Xiao Xun simply grinned, reaching out to push his hand away, but failing to do so.

The Old Sword Immortal, always resting his hand on the pigtail girl’s head, gazed into the distance, toward his old neighbor in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Perhaps, in the eyes of the exceedingly proud Old Sword Immortal, the most formidable person in the world was both far away and close at hand.

Today’s young people only thought they knew that the Old Blindman was formidable.

During the Ascension War ten thousand years ago, many unexpected events, unrecorded at the time and thus unknown to posterity, had occurred. One such event was that Zhi Ci had shattered countless Divine golden bodies and forged a unique path to the heavens.

Why, then, was Xie Gou, the Second Seat Offering of Fallen Boulder Mountain, or rather, Bai Jing, so well-behaved and eager to fit in when she visited the Hundred Thousand Mountains?

The arrogant Bai Jing, of course, didn’t behave that way just because Daoist Zhi Ci had lived a long time.

Bai Jing would not be so restrained around the Azure Cloud Grotto Master, who had not participated in the Ascension War. Bai Jing might not be able to defeat the Old Master, but the Old Master did not inspire… admiration and awe within her.

She was being polite, mostly because the Old Master was on good terms with Xiao Mo. Ha, her husband’s few close friends, she had to give him face!

If she could build a good relationship with the Azure Cloud Grotto Master, then if she and Xiao Mo ever quarreled, and Xiao Mo sought someone to drink with, wouldn’t the Azure Cloud Grotto Master say a few kind words on her behalf?

Wahahaha, what a brilliant plan! Being a Second Seat Offering was more than enough for her talents.

Luo Shan smiled and said in her mind, “Du Shanyin, tell your master that our Hidden Official would like to invite her to the Wilderness for a drink when she has time. Don’t worry, it’s just a drink.”

Du Shanyin had mixed feelings about the new alien-filled Summer Retreat Palace. He did not deny or conceal his dislike for Chen Pingan, but he deeply respected the sword cultivators of the Old Hidden Official lineage, so he explained helplessly, “Before leaving the Great Righteous Realm, my master did not leave behind any means for master and disciple to speak temporarily.”

Luo Shan nodded, not trying to make things difficult for Du Shanyin, and said regretfully, “The Hidden Official has been thinking about the Immortal wines of White Jade Capital for years. It seems like this small plan is going to fall through.”

Back in the Sword Qi Great Wall, Xiao Xun often snuck over to the prison managed by Old Deafie, mainly to drink with Hao Su, the most carefree Jail Warden.

Du Shanyin said, “Luo-xian sheng, I will definitely pass on the message if I have the chance to see my master in the future.”

Luo Shan laughed. “Luo-xian sheng? Doesn’t that sound strange? Who did you learn that from? What bad habits.”

Du Shanyin gave a wry smile.

Luo Shan naturally felt closer to Du Shanyin, who was a junior from her hometown.

Furthermore, Du Shanyin was one of the few in the Old Summer Retreat Palace.

It could even be said that Du Shanyin was able to enter the prison with his peer You Yu, and become the personal disciples of Hao Su and Gan Tang under the instructions of the Old Sword Immortal, because it had been planned long ago, largely due to the discerning eyes of the sword cultivators of the Old Hidden Official lineage. For example, among the youngest generation of sword cultivators, Luo Shan had chosen You Yu, while Sword Immortal Zhu An had taken a fancy to Du Shanyin. The same was true for the generations above them. All were inseparable from the Summer Retreat Palace’s secret support and resource allocation. Often, when Xiao Xun saw a suitable candidate, she would write two words on the scroll, Cultivate! Occasionally, she would even add the words “Important.”

However, there were very few who had this special treatment, such as Chou Miao. Generally speaking, there was at most one person per generation, or even none at all.

These sword cultivators almost all came from poor backgrounds. In Xiao Xun’s words, those who had a good reincarnation and landed in a wealthy family, since they had no shortage of money to practice swordsmanship, there was no need for the Summer Retreat Palace to add to the icing on the cake. The only thing they did was to help those in need. However, there were also exceptions, such as Guo Zhujiu, who came from a good family.

Du Shanyin hesitated for a moment and asked curiously, “Has there been any conclusion about where A-Liang and Zuo You have gone?”

He wore a silver silk bag around his waist, revealing wisps of golden light. Everyone present was extraordinary and knew at a glance that it was a shard of the priceless Golden Body.

Luo Shan shook her head. “Their whereabouts are unknown, and their fate is uncertain. It seems hard to say.”

Du Shanyin was a sword cultivator who envied A-Liang and respected Zuo You from the bottom of his heart. One was a descendant of the Sage, and the other was a talented disciple of the Sage, but they were two completely different people. One was always boasting about being a scholar, but everything he did in the Sword Qi Great Wall had nothing to do with being a scholar. One was taciturn and unapproachable, but valued the path of scholarship more than swordsmanship.

Du Shanyin came from a poor family and had a hard childhood. He was not one of them.

Moreover, they were different generations and ages.

Besides, they were all bachelors.

So Du Shanyin was even more conflicted about Chen Pingan. Perhaps it was just jealousy.

Since they were peers, it was inevitable to make comparisons. They seemed to have all struggled out of the gutter, their lives at a low ebb, but their fortunes had not been bad since then, and they had all had their own opportunities. Why could Chen Pingan get Ning Yao’s favor? Why could he, who wasn’t even a sword cultivator, take over the Summer Retreat Palace? Why could he go to the city wall every now and then and get sword skills guidance from Zuo You, and even talk to the Old Sword Immortal? Why did all of their local sword cultivators have to obey his deployment, which determined their life and death?

Du Shanyin had been to the battlefield to kill demons many times, and had almost died there.

So he had always had a hard time letting go of a certain conclusion. He felt that Chen Pingan went to the battlefield to kill demons because he knew that he wouldn’t die. As the new Hidden Official, the Old Sword Immortal would save him. So on the battlefield, he never had to worry about anything. He was different from all of their local sword cultivators who could die at any moment, including those sword cultivators from his hometown in the Great Righteous Realm. Why?

The old Daoist took out a shiny white leather wine gourd from his sleeve and looked at Zouzi, who nodded, acknowledging the old Daoist’s conjecture.

Zhang Jiao pulled out the wine cork, tilted his head back and took a swig of his homemade wine, reminiscing about the past. Before he went to the Western Buddhist Kingdom, he had traveled to the islands of a certain state with a like-minded person from another village. They had also done two or three great deeds. Their Dao hearts were in sync, and they had played in the world with that Lu-named Real Person, stroking their black beards while drunk, angrily drawing their frost swords… Putting away his thoughts, Zhang Jiao continued, “I couldn’t see clearly before. I could only vaguely see the Wilderness Realm like a ferry boat, rushing towards your Great Righteous Realm. This must be Zhou Mi’s insidious plot to secretly merge the two realms together, trying to stir up the right time, the right place, and the right people, and turn them into a chaotic mess. It is estimated that he wants some pawns to take the opportunity to fish in troubled waters. If it succeeds, it will delay the scattering of Dao of the Most Holy Teacher, and let the Wilderness New Lord, Fei Ran, reap the benefits and secretly take a share of the Great Righteous Realm. If it fails, it will weaken the Dao practice of the Sage of Rites and prevent him from completely letting go to contain Bai Ze in the Wilderness, whose Dao power is growing day by day. Then it is easy to understand why the Wilderness Great Demons made such a big fuss about besieging A-Liang and Zuo You. It is a key move to help change the path of the Wilderness Realm, so that the abundant sword energy of the two Fourteenth Realm sword cultivators can be used as one of the powerful driving forces to propel the suspended boat of the Wilderness.”

Lu Xu said in shock, “Two boats colliding? Such a big commotion? Why didn’t we notice it?”

Zhang Jiao pointed his finger at the sky and smiled. “The world says, ‘Talk about the heavens Zouzi, talk about the earth Lu’. But if I remember correctly, in addition to having an Observatory that can cooperate with the Zhilan Bureau, which is responsible for surveying the earth, is Fellow Daoist Huang Yu the head of the Tian Tai Si Chen?”

The old Daoist was obviously rubbing salt in Lu Xu’s wounds. The Observatory used to observe celestial phenomena by the Lu family had collapsed.

Lu Xu smiled awkwardly and didn’t dare to argue with the old Daoist.

He couldn’t just not take Fourteenth Realm cultivators seriously because there were more Fourteenth Realm cultivators present today.

In particular, Lu Xu also knew a secret of the mountain peaks. The old Fourteenth Realm cultivators in the Azure Green Realm were not as well-behaved as those in his Great Righteous Realm. They often intervened to prevent others from “joining their ranks”. White Jade Capital did not always care about this matter. There was once a Great Cultivator who had half a foot into the Fourteenth Realm, but fell all the way to Immortal Realm. He was so angry that he beat the Heavenly Drum and complained to a White Jade Capital Head Teacher, demanding justice. Unfortunately, the result was no result.

Lu Chen, who was in charge of the affairs of that hundred-year period, didn’t care at all.

Tian Wan wanted to say a few sarcastic remarks to add insult to injury, but found that her senior brother glanced at her, so she immediately swallowed the words that came to her lips.

The old Daoist stroked his beard and smiled, “Daoist Friend Lu is indeed worthy of the saying, ‘Born with extraordinary talent’.”

Many years ago, he had secretly seen Lu Shen, who had traveled to the Western Buddhist Kingdom in the form of an Yin God.

Lu Shen, the head of the Lu family with the Daoist name “Heaven’s Edge,” was responsible for the most important Dao vein of the family, the observer.

Although Lu Xu had the title of leader of the Tian Tai Si Chen, he actually didn’t have much power.

According to that Immortal Raft Daoist Friend, your Daoist name is Huang Yu, but your name is Lu Xu, Heaven is empty and Earth is solid. You didn’t choose your name well. You have to blame your parents for not looking up the dictionary when you were born.

Look at Lu Zai, whose Daoist name is “Da Ju”, which also means the earth. The name means the earth carries all things, which is very good. So she is in charge of the Land Official lineage, which is justified.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Gu Qingsong was Lu Chen’s unacknowledged disciple, Lu Xu would have had to argue with him properly.

In the end, Gu Qingsong left a sentence, “You don’t have enough tolerance. I guess it’s not effective to burn incense and worship your ancestors in the ancestral hall. My Master definitely doesn’t want to pay attention to you.”

The original ancestor of their branch of the Lu family was Tai Bu, one of the Six Officials of the Confucian Temple, who was responsible for preserving the Dao book known as the ancestor of all scriptures.

According to legend, this book was the cultivation experience of a Daoist in ancient times.

Based on this, two auxiliary scriptures were derived. One, the “Heaven Book,” was hidden in the Lin Terrace of the Gongde Forest in the Confucian Temple. It was said that the scripture scholar Xi Ping was born from the manifestation of this book. The so-called duty of guarding it was just a facade. The other, the “Earth Book,” was guarded by the Lu family’s Zhilan Bureau. Over the years, through the painstaking efforts of generations of Lu family ancestors, it had evolved into the Earth Mirror Chapter, which had a different approach. Its purpose was different from Zouzi’s theory of the five elements intergeneration and inter-restraint.

According to legend, Lu Chen had read it once when he was young. When he closed the book, his face was unknowingly full of tears, and he sighed at the limitedness of life.

Just like the Daoist Zhang Jiao had seen an ordinary old monk in the Lotus World who was not familiar with cultivation and Qi refining. He had traveled thousands of miles for fifty years, benefiting all living beings along the way. Before his death, he returned to the small temple and gave a sermon to a few monks. Finally, the old monk looked around with compassion, with tears in his eyes, and choked out the words “All living beings suffer” before closing his eyes and sitting down.

Riding in a carriage with madmen and crying at the end of the road. It seemed that the three were interconnected.

It was difficult for ordinary people to understand this kind of mood.

If the breakthrough of each realm of cultivation was compared to a petal blooming, then countless petals were destined to bloom within the next ten thousand years.

However, the latest Fifteenth Realm, which family would this flower fall to? It was something that all cultivators and Confucian teachers, all sentient beings, without exception, could not avoid.

After all, the personal preferences of this existence would determine the world’s pattern. What the superiors like, the subordinates will be even more enthusiastic about.

Liu Zhou, the founder of the Rain Dragon Sect, asked, “Is it possible that it is the missing Grand Head Teacher of White Jade Capital?”

Song Hong, the founder of the Great Dragon Falls, laughed. “It hasn’t been ‘many years’, has it?”

Zhang Jiao nodded. “Counting to the fullest, it hasn’t even exceeded two hundred years.”

Just like what Wei She had said, the current Fourteenth Realm was not much different from the Immortal Ascension Realm in the past.

The Three Sages chose to scatter their Dao, and Dao opportunities fell like rain.

It was just that the “before the rain” tea tasted better.

Zouzi nodded. “We can only say that the possibility is great, but there are also many variables.”

This trip to the Azure Green Realm was to try to trace back to the source.

And before, Zouzi had set up a stall in that small town in Hidden Pearl Grotto Heaven to observe the situation.

Xie Shiji finally spoke and asked, “Is it Martial Nephew Zheng?”

I’m afraid that besides herself, most of the council members would feel strange when they heard this title.

Just like Liu Daochun, who flaunted his pink Daoist robe in the market, would always attract criticism. What virtue and ability did he have to recognize Chen Qingliu as his master and call Zheng Juzhong his senior brother?

What’s more, Zheng Juzhong was Xie Shiji’s martial nephew.

Zouzi said, “It’s hard to say.”

Since the Most Holy Teacher and the Dao Ancestor had both been to White Emperor City, did they recognize a certain path chosen by Zheng Juzhong?

Zhang Jiao asked in his mind, “Can that Lu Shen unite with Dao?”

Zouzi replied, “As long as I walk on the ground for a few days a year, he is destined to not be able to unite with Dao.”

With Lu Shen’s qualifications, no matter how outstanding he was, it would still not be possible to complete the seclusion in one or two years.

He finally seized the opportunity to wait until Tan Tian Zouzi “did not touch the ground” and Lu Shen would immediately go into seclusion, but when Zouzi “landed”, he would be forced to come out.

After trying a few times, Lu Shen had to give up. It was as if he had resigned himself to fate, “Not fighting with the heavens.”

In short, Zouzi was not allowing the Dao, and Lu Shen, who had already reached the Immortal Ascension Realm, was drawing water with a bamboo basket.

Lu Shen was blocked outside the door, standing still, his realm stagnating, for nearly a thousand years.

Zhang Jiao asked, “Is it because of the struggle for Dao, deliberately disgusting him?”

Zouzi said, “Not really, just waiting for him to take the initiative to talk to me about the heavens.”

The saying “talking about the heavens” had a double meaning.

Zhang Jiao tentatively asked, “Is Mr. Zouzi coveting that original edition scripture? Using the stones of other mountains to attack jade, taking advantage of the situation to break the theorem of ‘Heaven and earth are not complete, everything has flaws,’ in order to fill the gaps in Dao, taking the initiative to enter an unprecedented complete Fourteenth Realm, not necessarily Fifteenth, but can always maintain the mysterious realm of pseudo-Fifteenth?”

Zouzi shook his head. “Firstly, I don’t have the ambition for it. Secondly, I must maintain my position as an observer. If I enter the Fifteenth Realm, there is a fifty percent chance that I will be forcibly dragged into the Fifteenth Realm. That kind of involuntary terror cannot be explained to outsiders.”

The question was straightforward and the answer was sincere.

Zhang Jiao then changed to a more relaxed topic and asked with a smile, “Have you seen that chatterbox a few times?”

Zouzi said, “Only twice. Once in the Great Righteous Realm and once in the Azure Green Realm.”

Zhang Jiao said, “Under the cover of my formation, it is possible to call him by name, which may fool some Fourteenth Realms, but not necessarily the discerning Lu Head Teacher.”

Those who were calling him Lu Chen and Lu Head Teacher were obviously being tricked by this old Daoist. Ginger was still hotter the older it got.

Zouzi said, “It doesn’t matter if he and Zheng Juzhong hear it. One is most afraid of trouble, and the other knows best what he wants, and is single-minded.”

Who wouldn’t envy Lu Chen’s unparalleled free and unfettered life?

This poor Daoist doesn’t cause trouble for this world, and this world won’t come to trouble me.

This poor Daoist is particular about doing things, but doesn’t compromise on being a person. As long as you don’t scold this poor Daoist in person, this poor Daoist will just ignore it. If you dare to scold someone in person, then don’t blame this poor Daoist for scolding you back.

As for Zheng Juzhong, just don’t provoke him. Anyway, he doesn’t bother to target anyone.

But if he deliberately targeted someone, even Zouzi would find it very difficult.

For example, Zheng Juzhong emptied White Emperor City and was now quietly walking in the long river of time, blocking the road and preventing Lu Chen from returning to White Jade Capital.

The chaos in the Azure Green Realm was no longer a sign or hint of anything, but was already a clear chaos. Everyone inside and outside White Jade Capital’s Human World Officials knew that a chaotic world had arrived.

Even if Second Head Teacher Yu Dou was sitting in White Jade Capital and using a Jade Capital Mountain to enter the pseudo-Fifteenth Realm, Yu Dou was still alone in the face of the second combined Dao question, and killed several Fourteenth Realms with his sword.

This kind of feat was truly unprecedented.

It seemed to have temporarily suppressed the chaos, but in reality, it was becoming more and more turbulent.

Grand Head Teacher Kou Ming had still not unified the Three Teachings. What if Lu Chen was still blocked in the long river of time by Zheng Juzhong?

With Yu Dou’s consistent swift and decisive style, there would be no room for compromise in White Jade Capital and various states as long as there was any conflict.

The old Daoist said with a complex mood, “To be honest, after so many years, this poor Daoist is still afraid of him.”

It had been so many years since he had left the Azure Green Realm, but every time he thought of Yu Dou, an old Fourteenth Realm was still terrified. It could be seen that Yu Dou’s prestige was deeply rooted.

Zouzi said, “Those who are upright and selfless are the most authoritative.”

The old Daoist looked sad and murmured, “After thinking about it, I still feel that I’m not wrong.”

If he had to admit that Yu Dou acted according to the rules and the law was ruthless, then where did he go wrong?

Zouzi gave two more mysterious explanations. “When the heart of the heavens touches the earth, changes will naturally occur. Yu Dou assumes that everyone is rational.”

Just like some people believe that everyone can be reformed and do good.

Zouzi would not deliberately target anyone, but he would watch the forks in the road from afar.

Lu Xu asked tentatively, “Is it Head Teacher Lu?”

Lu Chen was, after all, his ancestor.

Even if Lu Chen didn’t think much of these descendants, no matter how the Lu family’s ancestral hall worshiped the ancestors year after year, there had never been a successful example of inviting the gods to descend in history. The Lu family had survived several difficult times on their own. But even so, it was still not a bad thing to have an old ancestor who was the Head Teacher in White Jade Capital. Just like a certain son of a bitch said, “Your family’s ancestral hall has such a portrait of your ancestors hanging there. Even if it’s useless, it’s at least good-looking.”

The man said confidently and sincerely, “Miss Lu, what I said is rude but reasonable, right?”

At that time, Lu Zai’s face was like frost. She caught the thief red-handed and reached out her hand and said, “That’s not a reason for you to replace the portrait of your ancestors with yours. Hand over the old portrait. I want to put it back in its original place in the ancestral hall!”

Only he would do such an inhumane thing.

That time, A-Liang secretly visited the Lu family to spar with the swordsman Pei Min, who was a guest in the Lu family. Otherwise, people would always say that his victories were too exaggerated.

The reason why he climbed over the wall instead of sending a post and walking through the front door was to avoid the Lu family being too hospitable because they had admired him for a long time. As for the Lu family’s ancestral hall, he just walked through it on the way.

Zouzi smiled. “Head Teacher Lu can’t break through his heart and recognize himself so easily.”

To recognize oneself, one needs a mirror, a coordinate. This is very difficult.

Luo Shan asked with a smile, “Is it Ning Yao?”

She was already close to Du Shanyin, let alone Ning Yao, whom she truly regarded as her junior.

Even to Chen Pingan and the sword cultivators of the New Hidden Official lineage, Luo Shan felt from the bottom of her heart that those young people were doing a good job, even better than them, the older generation.

Zouzi didn’t say anything, just shook his head.

Duan Qingchen frowned and asked, “It can’t be Fei Ran, can it?”

Ning Yao and Fei Ran, these two young sword cultivators, were both the best in the world in name and reality.

It made sense that they would have a better chance than anyone else, with their innate advantages.

Immortal Cong Qian said in a deep voice, “Is Sword Cultivator Fei Ran becoming the Lord of the Wilderness a sign? A long-term plan of Zhou Mi?”

If that was the case, should they make plans early today?

He had heard that Fei Ran was an anomaly among the Wilderness demon race and greatly admired the teachings of the Sage of Rites.

Zouzi said calmly, “I have seen Fei Ran long ago. He has no intention of changing the world, at most only the idea of patching and perfecting it.”

Wei She didn’t want to let the matter go easily and asked, “After all, times have changed, realms are different, and identities have changed. Won’t Fei Ran change his mind?”

Zouzi seemed to answer irrelevantly. “Don’t worry, Fei Ran is definitely not Zhou Mi’s incarnation. Otherwise, Fei Ran would not be able to become Dao partners with Gui Ke.”

Wei She smiled and didn’t say anything more.

Yun Miao listened in horror. They didn’t seem to talk about this kind of thing in previous discussions.

Why did it sound like if Fei Ran had this intention, they would give a plan today and take action against Fei Ran tomorrow?

Wei She said, “Be careful of that Nameless One in the Wilderness.”

Zouzi nodded. “He is indeed unfathomable. Bai Ze was probably hesitant to wake him up before.”

Du Shanyin suddenly asked, “I heard that when the Three Sages travel to other realms, it’s like visiting neighbors. They will be greatly suppressed by the ‘heavenly will and earthly Qi’ of other realms. So to a large extent, they must respect the customs of the place and abide by the rules of being a guest. Otherwise, even if the two Fifteenth Realms don’t meet, their Dao Qi will clash and they will be forced to trigger a Dao conflict. The Wilderness is an exception, with Dao that is different from the Three Teachings.”

“Then can I understand it this way? Once a Qi Refiner in the Wilderness takes the lead in entering the Fifteenth Realm, should the Human Realms be merged? No one can stop it?”

Zouzi nodded. “You can say that.”

Zhang Jiao stroked his beard and smiled, squinting his eyes and asking, “What great knowledge. Whose son is this?”

Wei She introduced with a smile, “He is the previous Jail Warden of the Sword Qi Great Wall, the personal disciple of the swordsman Hao Su.”

Zhang Jiao nodded. “I have heard of Hao Su’s name even in the Western Buddhist Kingdom.”

The Three Sages unite with Dao in their respective realms, but for ten thousand years, they have almost never appeared in their own realms, let alone visit each other.

This was to avoid Daoization of the realm.

For example, the Dao Ancestor seemed to only publicly show his whereabouts once, riding an ox as a young Daoist, and only went to the Wilderness.

In the eyes of some Great Cultivators in later generations, the Dao Ancestor’s action was a bit bullying.

Because of this, the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist Realms can live in peace and maintain a generally harmonious state.

If the four realms were regarded as four families, then each would have its own family style.

The Great Righteous Realm respects Confucianism, but the Confucian Temple does not dismiss other schools of thought. But it is also afraid that everyone on the road will be corrupt Confucian scholars who claim to be selfless, occupy important positions, and like to kill people with reason in everything they do, without a guilty conscience, and treat the world harshly.

They were afraid that the rules would be too rigid, making it impossible for everyone to move. So unless it was absolutely necessary, the Sage of Rites would never take that step. His situation was probably similar to Bai Ze.

No wonder they were close friends.

In the Azure Green Realm, because they emphasized the balance of Yin and Yang, the number of female Great Cultivators standing on the mountain peaks was relatively large.

The Dao Ancestor kept himself out of it and chose to let the three Head Teacher disciples take turns managing affairs for a hundred years, which was a choice to keep the water flowing and the door hinge from becoming rusty.

There had been three variable heavenly tribulations in the Human World.

One was that the Wilderness Great Ancestor secretly refined one of the Immortal Ascension Platforms into the Moon-Supporting Mountain, trying to reconnect the earth and the heavenly court step by step, link Yin and Ming, help the demon race Qi Refiners, and some of the heroic spirits who died in the Ascension War, to recruit them, recreate the gods, and reshape the heavenly court.

The second was that the Great Demon Chu Sheng created the Hall of Heroes, pointing out a more extreme and feasible path for the Wilderness Realm, weakening all living beings in the realm and strengthening a small group of Great Demons.

The last tribulation was, of course, the extremely disappointed Hao Ran Jia Sheng, who became Zhou Mi of the Wilderness Realm, secretly eating a group of Great Demons, thinning the realm and fattening himself.

Since he failed to annex the Great Righteous Realm in one fell swoop, Zhou Mi, who took the opportunity to eat again and again, had to ascend to the heavens and change the battlefield.

This brought a huge hidden danger to the Wilderness Realm. If it wasn’t for Bai Ze returning to the Wilderness and waking up those ancient Great Demons who had been sleeping for ten thousand years, plus Bai Ze’s strange way of uniting with Dao, which made any Fourteenth Realm cultivator feel apprehensive, then the lack of top combat power in the New Wilderness would have made the Great Righteous Realm’s counterattack on the Wilderness unstoppable and the outcome without suspense.

The first tribulation was settled by three sword cultivators.

In the second, the Dao Ancestor personally came out and suppressed it with one hand.

So the later generations on the mountain inevitably did not feel deeply.

The third one made both realms suffer.

Thinking back to that year, the three sword cultivators left the Sword Qi Great Wall together and rushed to the Moon-Supporting Mountain.

Someone asked, “Since you have so much resentment, why are you willing to follow?”

Someone answered, “I’m not helping those Confucian scholars, or even you, Chen Qingdu. I just think that those dead old friends definitely wouldn’t want to be forced to be someone else’s thugs.”

As for the sword cultivator who had been silent all the time, he finally spoke when he could see the Moon-Supporting Mountain from afar and said to himself, “I have been protected by all of you on the road of cultivation. It’s time for me to protect the Human World once. Now that we finally have this Human World, we can’t go back to the old ways.”

They were Chen Qingdu, Dragon Lord, and Guan Zhao.

Their respective life swords were called Duckweed, Great Ruins Immortal Mound, and Long River of Time.

Ceng-xiansheng asked with a smile, “Did Mr. Zouzi miss someone?”

Everyone present instantly realized something, and the atmosphere became strange.

Zouzi smiled. “Me?”

He shook his head and ridiculed himself. “How can someone who claims to be mending the net be a fish that slipped through the net at the same time?”

When he cooperated with the Sage of Rites and traveled to the outer realms together, Zouzi brought five bags of mud and joined forces with the talismans of the Three Mountains and Nine Marquises to successfully lay out five heavenly return paths that were so long that they could not be calculated.

Therefore, when Zouzi’s five-colored mud was used up, it was the end of the chase, and the Sage of Rites had to