Upon that windswept, lonely peak, where the heavens met the earth in a swirling embrace of mist and shadow, they met. After the formal exchange of names and titles, a silent appraisal commenced.

This Master Lin, newly risen to claim the mantle of foremost martial artist in the Mortal Realm, resembled more a learned scholar, a man of refined elegance and quiet grace. His inner light, once blazing, had become a contained fire, a mastery honed to near perfection.

Where Jiang She’s aura was that of a solitary, unyielding mountain, a bastion against the tides of fate, this Master Lin of Crow Mountain exuded a serenity like a boundless, silent sea.

The Last Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall was undeniably young. Chen Qingdu’s eye, it seemed, remained as sharp and discerning as ever, with a knack for unearthing hidden gems.

The meeting had come far sooner than anticipated, and the chosen locale was as unexpected as it was sublime.

Lin Jiangxian smiled, his eyes twinkling. “A new summit, you say? Or has the Hidden Official, in his role as host, spun a web of illusion around us?”

Chen Pingan nodded, a trace of mischief in his eyes. “Lest the upstart New Thrones learn of our parley too soon. The return gifts to the Barren Lands shall lose their element of surprise, wouldn’t you agree?”

Lin Jiangxian roared with laughter, a sound that echoed through the mountain passes. “Sound reasoning, indeed!”

What then was the shared topic of greatest import between the Sacrificial Priest and the Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall? The answer, of course, lay in the vast, untamed expanse of the Barren Lands.

Chen Pingan could keenly sense the genuine goodwill and nascent camaraderie that flowed from the other man.

It was, perhaps, the essence of a meeting of kindred spirits, a sudden, unspoken bond formed amidst the peaks.

Then, without warning, the air shimmered near the cliff’s edge, the very fabric of the mountain’s protective weave groaned and tore like silken cloth ripped asunder. A hand, impossibly strong, forced open the layers of arcane barriers, and a woman, her expression stoic and impassive, slowly emerged. Her frame was large, almost unnaturally so, and when she stood fully upright, the rent portal behind her sealed itself shut. Chen Pingan, his fingers itching to weave fresh wards and enchantments, was stayed by Lin Jiangxian, who suggested they see what the newcomer had to say.

The towering woman offered a curt bow. “I am Xie Shiji, handmaiden to the Azure Lord. Unbidden, I intrude upon your gathering. Forgive my discourtesy.”

An apology delivered by an Eleventh Realm Martial Warrior was a sight seldom seen, a paradox of power and deference.

Xie Shiji tugged at the corners of her mouth, as if attempting to coax her face into a softer, more conciliatory expression, a semblance of apology. “Bound by my role as a Yin Spirit, I could not lift a hand against Jiang She, the Wood Lord. I was forced to watch as events unfolded, reliant upon the Hidden Official’s intervention to bring about a swift and decisive end. Proper courtesy dictates that I offer my gratitude in person. I shall deliver my thanks, speak a few words, and then be gone.”

Chen Pingan, betraying no impatience, waited for her to continue.

“If, in the future,” Xie Shiji stated, her gaze unwavering, “the Hidden Official and my master engage in conflict upon the Grand Dao, my debt shall be forgotten. My fists will fly as they must.”

Chen Pingan nodded. “Understood.”

Xie Shiji paused, then spoke her second point. “Aside from that, I pledge my services to the Hidden Official, twice, to slay whomsoever he commands.”

Though Chen Pingan voiced no inquiry, a spark of curiosity flickered in his eyes. Why two favors?

Xie Shiji grinned, a flash of feral humor. “Before my master attained enlightenment, he was wont to say: ‘In this world, there are only lone misfortunes, never a single blessing.'”

A knowing smile touched Chen Pingan’s lips. “A maxim I shall endeavor to remember, should trouble seek me out.”

The famously taciturn Xie Shiji seemed momentarily inclined to further conversation. She clasped her hands together in a respectful salute. “Farewell, Hidden Official. May fortune favor your endeavors, may you find joyous union and abundant offspring.”

There was no hint of levity in her words. She considered herself simple, unversed in fine language, and these few auspicious phrases had taxed her capabilities to their limit.

Chen Pingan’s smile broadened as he returned the gesture. “And may Grandmaster Xie’s martial path…”

Lin Jiangxian coughed delicately, reminding the Hidden Official that times had changed. In the past, one could speak freely of matters relating to the cultivation of the spirit, but when speaking of the martial path, one must tread with greater care.

Chen Pingan hesitated a moment, then concluded, “…may Grandmaster Xie’s martial path flourish.”

“A good omen,” Xie Shiji said, her voice surprisingly gentle. “Add another favor.”

Perhaps it was, as the Immortal Raft had suggested, that the young were simply more easily embarrassed. Chen Pingan countered, “If Grandmaster Xie were to slay a Fifth Realm demon within the Barren Lands, that would suffice as one favor.”

Xie Shiji frowned, considering. “Is this truly acceptable?”

“Truly,” Chen Pingan affirmed.

“Then,” Xie Shiji said, her face now grim, “only two remain.”

Gathering her composure, Xie Shiji departed the peak, returning to the heart of the Barren Lands, and to the ruins of what had once been an ancestral hall. Her foot, clad in simple leather, rested upon a head, the eyes of the recently deceased still wide with horror. A slight increase in pressure, and the skull burst asunder.

The surrounding grounds of the once-proud immortal manor, now desolate, were littered with the corpses of demons, a landscape sculpted of bone and bathed in rivers of blood.

A wizened old man, dressed in simple blue robes, stood nearby, his hands clasped behind his back. “Did your meeting go well?”

“Acceptable,” Xie Shiji replied. “Though wounded, he is strong in spirit and possesses a complete divine will. He will find his footing on that peak.”

Chen Qingliu, seemingly unconcerned with who held dominion over the mountain or the title of Martial Ancestor, chuckled softly. “The witless beasts. They’ve traveled to the Blessed Lands, and yet they’ve never heard of ‘Azure Lord’?”

“Despicable,” Xie Shiji agreed.

“You and she were both in the Lotus Lands,” Chen Qingliu continued. “Did your paths ever cross?”

Xie Shiji shook her head. “During my travels, I never encountered her.”

“Then we’ll move to a more spiritually resonant location,” Chen Qingliu declared. “I refuse to believe there’s not a single creature in the Barren Lands who hasn’t heard of ‘Azure Lord.'”

Xie Shiji grinned, a touch of savage joy in her eyes. “A few more massacres, and the whole of the Barren Lands will know his name.”

Chen Qingliu smiled, abandoning the formal ‘elder sister.’ “Foolish brute.”

Both Xie Shiji and Lin Jiangxian had now ascended to the Eleventh Realm, their visit to the new sovereign of the mountain peak a ritual akin to provincial governors paying court to the capital.

Whether Chen Pingan received them or not was, naturally, entirely at his discretion.

Lin Jiangxian inquired, “How shall we arrange things here? The usual manner?”

Chen Pingan pondered for a moment. “The likenesses of Lin Jiangxian and Xie Shiji shall linger upon the peak.”

As the words left his lips, so it was done. Two figures, sculpted of light and power, took their places atop the mountain.

Even as he spoke, three more martial artists attained the Eleventh Realm almost simultaneously. Their forms materialized on the peak, each imbued with a sliver of their true essence.

From the Barren Lands, a female martial artist, one of the new demon-thrones, her beauty breathtaking, her skin like freshly fallen snow, her lips a startling crimson, and her brows absent.

Her gaze swept across the mountaintop, and finally, she sensed the anomaly, as if separated by a wall, and “looked at each other”.

From the Azure Vault, Xin Ku of Leap Month Peak. He possessed no inclination to probe further and quickly withdrew, disengaging from the peak.

From the Blessed Lands, in the Middle Earth Continent, Pei Bei, the state preceptor of the Great Duan Dynasty, sword at her side. She sought no one out, but instead, walked to the edge of the cliff, gazing at the scenery.

As they each withdrew, they left behind martial manifestations of themselves, each possessing slight differences in strength and prowess. Only Lin Jiangxian’s avatar stood notably taller than the others.

Unlike the Fourteen Realm cultivators, whose battles were swift, yet rarely lethal, even among those who attained the Eleventh Realm, a challenge would inevitably end with the victor standing over the lifeless form of their opponent.

From the First Realm of martial training to the Peak Realm, coupled with the Spirit Ascendant, True Returning, and Spirit Arrival tiers of the Stopping Realm, there now stood a ring of twelve warriors, each representing the epitome of strength and attainment within their respective realms.

Warriors from the Blessed Lands, the Azure Vault, the Lotus Lands, the Barren Lands, and the Five Colors Lands, each ascended to this place, the very pinnacle of their respective domains.

Chen Pingan couldn’t help but smile, for he recognized two of them.

Cao Ci, of Spirit Arrival First Tier, and his first disciple, Pei Qian, of True Returning First Tier.

He also spotted a Sixth Realm martial artist, a face that seemed somewhat familiar, a young woman from the Summer Palace of the Five Colors Lands.

The positions of the lower realms changed frequently. Each shift in a warrior’s form signaled a change in the strongest martial artist of that realm.

Even Lin Jiangxian could not perceive the Grand Dao in the way that Chen Pingan could.

Threads, countless billions of threads stretching across the Mortal Realm, some thick, some thin, like wisps of incense rising towards the heavens, seeking out the mortals who possessed the pure breath of true qi, their accumulated fortune coalescing above their respective realms, forming vast, dense clouds of martial luck, shimmering with blinding, golden light. Five rivers of martial luck arose from those clouds and flowed towards the mountain, the earth upon which they stood was itself formed of accumulated martial luck. Each warrior who earned the title of “Strongest” was given a reward, martial luck returned to the mortal realm. The martial luck cloud above their home realm released a portion of its power. The clouds of other realms each split off a strand as well. The power flowed down in a magnificent gesture of “congratulations,” this was the endless cycle of the Grand Dao.

But beyond the twelve figures who formed the circle, there were twelve more positions, each corresponding to a specific realm.

These positions represented the highest achievements in each realm or tier of the new Mortal Martial Dao, “since the beginning of time.”

For example, Pei Qian occupied both the inner and outer positions of the True Returning First Tier warrior. If she were to break through to the Spirit Arrival First Tier, and if another warrior of the True Returning First Tier was to reach a height higher than Pei Qian had achieved, that new warrior’s form would replace hers. Chen Pingan looked at the heights of the two “Cao Ci” positions, wondering if anyone would ever be able to surpass them? Doubtful, he thought.

The three Body Tempering stages of the Martial Dao were most often broken through, the martial luck was constantly rising and falling. The faces of the warriors of each stage changed often. The situation was much more stable in the Qi Training and Spirit Refining stages.

Chen Pingan recorded all those “faces.” He was brought back to the present by the question, “How long can Master Lin stay?”

Lin Jiangxian chuckled. “One incense stick’s worth of time. We can talk for a while.”

Chen Pingan asked, “Is Su Dian doing well, training at Crow Mountain after leaving Su Dian?”

“She’s doing fine. Good foundation, and no shortage of ambition. But she needs a few battles where she puts her life on the line.”

According to the generational hierarchy of the Yang Family Apothecary, Su Dian was Lin Jiangxian’s martial sibling.

Chen Pingan hesitated, then said, “Tell her not to think too much. Just focus on her training.”

The last time Chen Pingan had visited the Yang Family Apothecary, he had wanted to clear the air with Su Dian, but he discovered that she had already gone to the Azure Vault.

Su Dian’s uncle, the one who had worked with Chen Pingan in the Long Kiln, was the kiln worker Su Han.

In Chen Pingan’s memory, Su Dian was still the little black girl with a small face and big eyes. She was as skinny as a bamboo pole, and when he saw her at the kiln, he always felt that the little girl would be blown away by a gust of wind. There were many traditions and rules passed down from generation to generation in the Long Kiln. The old rules were strict, for example, they did not like women to appear nearby. He could do some miscellaneous things there, partly because he was young, and also because Su Han had finally begged for it from Kiln Head Master Yao. Moreover, Liu Xianyang had also helped to say a word to Master Yao, meaning that it was unlucky for women to be near the kiln fire, and would it be better if the little girl starved to death there? It was not a big deal, and her food expenses would be deducted from my salary every month… Su Han had mentioned this to Chen Pingan when he was recovering from his injuries, lying in bed and looking for something to talk about. However, at that time, in addition to being grateful, Su Han had more of a flaunting intention. You and Liu Xianyang are friends, but Liu Xianyang is also protecting me. You are the town’s recognized bringer of bad luck, like a god of plague, and I am the sissy who is disliked at the kiln. Neither of us should look down on the other… The last time they were on the Flowing Cloud Ship returning from Floating Cloud Continent, Chen Pingan mentioned this matter, but Liu Xianyang had a bad memory and looked blank, not remembering at all.

Lin Jiangxian smiled. “Some things can’t be fixed by you or me saying so. High status doesn’t matter.”

Whether one felt gratitude and sought to repay kindness, or harbored resentment and sought revenge, others’ understanding or acceptance was inconsequential.

Chen Pingan suddenly asked, “Is Jiang Shangzhen the embodiment of the military’s Second Ancestor’s dominant soul?”

The first ancestor of the military was Jiang She. The one who was now worshipped in the ancestral court was also surnamed Jiang, and was known as Jiang Taigong.

In addition, Jiang She had been acting strangely in the courtyard just now, which had frightened Jiang Shangzhen so much that she had proactively mentioned the matter when she entered the house.

Lin Jiangxian chuckled and shook his head. “Definitely not Jiang Shangzhen. She’s been hiding in a certain cave heaven, afraid to move rashly. I’ve seen her once. We couldn’t come to an agreement, and the conversation wasn’t pleasant.”

Chen Pingan also breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Jiangxian asked, “Do you ever get the feeling that the yin and yang of the Grand Dao, with its infinite transformations, are all revolving around you?”

Chen Pingan’s eyes lit up. “Master Lin, you also have that illusion?”

Lin Jiangxian laughed. “Why do you call it an ‘illusion’?”

This Master Lin crouched down, picked up some dirt, and said softly, “Earth on a nail, earth from the earth, countless ‘people’ from beyond the heavens, after countless kalpas, become our human bodies, and walk on this ancestral land. How can we underestimate ourselves, how can we look down on others.”

As they walked down the mountain together, Lin Jiangxian spoke of the recent events of the Azure Vault’s fourteen prefectures. Five prefectures had already begun to reject the White Jade City as orthodox, and three of the Ten Great Dynasties had even openly established altars, compiled their own Daoist Registers, and issued them to initiated Taoists. The Quiet Prefecture, on the other hand, seemed rather strange, and there had been no movement there to this day. The Crimson Gold Dynasty in Ru Prefecture, where Lin Jiangxian was located, along with a dozen or so vassal states, was also about to “rebel” and issue its own registrations. Half of the land in one prefecture was about to change color.

At the foot of the mountain, Lin Jiangxian smiled. “See you in Ru Prefecture.”

————

Back in the Fallen Phoenix Mountain, after a lively midnight snack, Little Rice Grain, full and content, did not want to sleep yet, so she ran off to play at the bamboo building. She found the short, white-haired dwarf sitting by the stone table. Little Rice Grain dashed over and put some melon seeds on the table. The compiler of the Fallen Phoenix Mountain complained to himself that even his farts would be smelly in the future. Little Rice Grain frowned, unable to understand the deeper meaning of the compiler’s words. The white-haired child suddenly collapsed on the table, pounding on the surface with his hands. “I can’t live like this!” Little Rice Grain reached out and pressed down on the head, wanting to calm the compiler down, telling her not to panic when something happened… but she was shocked. Little Rice Grain grabbed a handful of snow-white hair and gently lifted it. The white-haired child cried out in pain, baring his teeth, and raised his head to glare. “What? What?”

Little Rice Grain hurriedly let go and lowered her voice to ask, “What’s wrong?”

The white-haired child sighed. “It’s a disappearing act. From today on, I’m not an Ascending Realm cultivator anymore. I’m a genuine waste. How can I cheer on Hidden Official Ancestor in the future? I’m heartbroken just thinking about it…”

She clutched her heart, rolled her eyes, and collapsed backward with a thud.

Little Rice Grain was stunned. She was about to check what was wrong, preparing to call the Old Cook and Divine Lord Wei over… but the white-haired child scrambled to her feet, brushed off the dust, sat down again, and continued to sigh, not forgetting to eat melon seeds.

Little Rice Grain was so worried that her two eyebrows almost collided.

The white-haired child said, “Little Rice Grain, what realm are you at now?”

Little Rice Grain said, “Cave Mansion Realm. It won’t grow anymore.”

The white-haired child suddenly became radiant, shaking his head and looking proud. “Then I’m two realms lower than you!”

Little Rice Grain hesitated for a moment, and seeing her wagging her tail, she felt that she should be a frank friend, so she put her hand to her mouth. “Gouzi said that your name has been removed from the genealogy by Alliance Master Guo.”

The white-haired child’s face stiffened, but he soon snorted with disdain. “Alliance Master Guo did poorly in this matter and lost the hearts of the people. He will not be able to achieve hegemony. If I am not welcome here, I will be welcome elsewhere…”

But the back of his head was suddenly pressed down by someone, and his face was pressed against the stone table. The white-haired child clasped his hands and raised them high. “I am loyal and righteous, as the sun and moon can attest. I am willing to serve wholeheartedly, asking only for the Alliance Master to show mercy and give me another chance!”

Guo Zhujiu let go, ate melon seeds, and said, “In the future, we will take a trip to the Azure Vault together. You will return to the End-of-Year Palace in human form.”

The white-haired child reached out to grab melon seeds, muttering, “I used to be timid, but now I’m even more afraid.”

Guo Zhujiu slapped his hand away and glared. “Then why do you dare to disgust my master again and again?”

The white-haired child said guiltily, “Heaven can see, that’s called buttering up, how could it disgust Hidden Official Ancestor?”

If there were no me to set them off, you would be the only ones speaking sincerely. Otherwise, the entire Fallen Phoenix Mountain would be a cause for concern.

Little Rice Grain said “oh” and “ah” to the side, realizing that she also knew it was called flattery.

It turned out that Lu Chen had refined that false Fifteenth Realm Extra-territorial Heavenly Demon, and Liu Xiang had ascended to the Fallen Phoenix Mountain to personally “confirm” the Daoist name of Konghou for the white-haired child, with Wu Shuangjiang secretly severing the karmic ties.

By chance, the white-haired child, an Extra-territorial Heavenly Demon, had truly undergone a “disappearing act.”

The white-haired child looked at Guo Zhujiu and smiled. “Don’t worry, Hidden Official Ancestor has boundless power, top-notch boxing, superb swordsmanship, unparalleled martial arts, and will surely be able to turn danger into safety, and after mountains of doubts, there will be willows and bright flowers…”

Little Rice Grain hurriedly reminded her, “Why don’t you learn your lesson? Be careful you get a major demerit from Alliance Master Guo again… Well, the words are good, and very sincere, right, Alliance Master Guo?”

Guo Zhujiu nodded and smiled. “From now on, you will be restored to your genealogical identity and sit in the second-in-command position.”

The white-haired child immediately turned her head and spat out the melon seed shells, quickly stood up. “I’m here, I won’t say half a word of nonsense, I just have to show my attitude to Alliance Master Guo…”

Guo Zhujiu simply ignored it.

Little Rice Grain silently applauded.

The white-haired child, as she spoke, realized that she had gone too far. She walked to the cliff, put her hands on her hips, and looked up at the bright moon in the sky.

In the world, many seemingly lighthearted and forced jokes are just people who are drowning in the mud of their hearts coming up for air.

But some people’s hearts are muddy, and a lotus flower can suddenly grow.

The green-robed child strolled over and saw the back of the white-haired child. He took a cold breath, as if he had drunk on his funny bone. He cautiously approached the stone table and couldn’t help but say in shock, “Fellow Daoist Konghou, I always thought you were a girl. Could it be that you have a penis? Could it be that Divine Lord Wei was taking a walk down there and just happened to pass by?”

“Aiya, aiya, aiya,” The green-robed child pressed his face against the table. “Who ate the bear heart and leopard guts and dared to press on the head of Ancestor Jingqing? It’s like digging earth on the head of a year deity… Aiya, oh, Divine Lord Wei is here! Haha, Fellow Daoist Mei Zheng is also here! Let’s go, I’ll lead the way and have the Old Cook go to the kitchen again to show off a few tricks!”

————

In the Profound Capital Temple.

Yao Qing said calmly, “If Xu Jun walks on the right path, his Grand Dao should be long and far. Who can kill him? If Xu Jun himself goes astray, it should be a catastrophe in his fate.”

Pei Ji held a broom and asked, “Haven’t you already completed your three thousand merits? Why are you still obsessed with ‘collecting corpses’ and ‘killing ghosts’?”

The Green Deity Dynasty in Bing Prefecture was under the jurisdiction of the Green Jade City of White Jade Capital. Yao Qing was known as Elegant Chancellor, with the courtesy name of Zimei and the Daoist name of Shuling.

He had a thousand years of Daoist age, and had served as chief minister in three dynasties. His official status was a pile of stuff, his titles were a long string, and it would take more than a hundred words to introduce him.

Yao Qing often went to the Green Jade City of White Jade Capital to preach and teach. When he attained the Dao and ascended, Yao Qing took the path of cutting off the three corpses, but unlike the general Taoist practice of cutting off the three corpses, the three corpse immortals cut off by Yao Qing, in addition to not being able to refine a Yang Divine Body, did have Yin Gods. Pei Ji was one of the three corpses.

Yao Qing said, “Ascending to the Fourteenth Realm is the true beginning of my Grand Dao. Because I know myself, I left you behind to supervise and record my merits and demerits. So don’t worry that I came here to ‘collect corpses.’ On the contrary, if you can one day attain the Dao by acting as a corpse immortal and ascending to the heavens in broad daylight, then I will sincerely call you a fellow Daoist. If Xu Jun gives you a chance in the future, then seize it. That is the opportunity for you to unite with the Dao. If Xu Jun’s Grand Dao is bright, you must not go astray. If you dare to harbor evil thoughts, I will settle accounts with you.”

Pei Ji was silent for a long time, then said, “I am convinced that Yao Qing can unite with the Dao.”

Fatty Yan ran over, bowed, and reported good news to Yao Qing, “Elegant Chancellor, Mr. Bai took the initiative to ask you to go over there.”

Yao Qing’s expression was as usual. He bowed to Yan Ming, asking him to lead the way. Yao Qing’s heart was not at ease. He had a celestial sense that in the peach forest, in addition to Bai Ye, there was another person waiting for him, surnamed Zheng.

Of course Yao Qing wanted to meet this giant of the demonic way in the Blessed Lands, but his desire to meet Zheng Juzhong was different from the other party taking the initiative to find him.

Two women were also allowed to enter the peach forest, the state preceptor Bai Ou, a Stopping Realm martial artist. She had a short halberd hanging on her waist, named “Iron Chamber.”

She had sensed the subtle signs brought about by the “amnesty,” but her skills in the Spirit Arrival First Tier were not enough, so she was destined not to be able to ascend to the peak.

Beside Bai Ou was Fu Xuanjie, a young swordsman who was highly regarded by the Green Deity Dynasty and Elegant Chancellor Yao Qing.

Previously, the Cave Master of the Azure Clouds and a sword immortal who called himself Xiao Mo had visited the capital of the Green Deity Dynasty to teach swordsmanship to Fu Xuanjie.

Bai Ou gathered her voice into a line and asked with a secret smile, “I heard that Senior Azure Clouds gave you a seal?”

Fu Xuanjie smiled awkwardly and made up a reason. “A gift from an elder cannot be refused.”

Bai Ou did not press further. In fact, the two sets of seal catalogs published and sold by the Profound Capital Temple had recently been sold in various prefectures. Of course Fu Xuanjie would not miss them, since the price of the seal catalogs was not expensive. The last time, thanks to the old abbot, she and Mr. Xiao Mo saw the Great Wood Temple debate in the Lotus Roots Blessed Land. Most importantly, the rubbings of the seals in the Hundreds of Sword Immortals Seal Catalog were what made Fu Xuanjie, a swordsman, yearning.

The side inscription was the sentence: “A place to die generously, a hometown to avenge grievances, the life of a swordsman here is like duckweed that does not sink.”

The inscription at the bottom was the four characters “Pure Swordsman.”

So she asked the Cave Master of the Azure Clouds to help Hidden Official to engrave a book collection seal, and the side inscription and bottom inscription content were copied from this seal.

But the problem was that the seal sent by the old abbot had the inscription at the bottom: “Fu Xuanjie of the Azure Vault and Chen Pingan of the Blessed Lands were born on the same day, in the same month, in the same year.”

Thinking of this, she felt a little blush. Could it be that this young Hidden Official was not a henpecked husband? But he had not even seen her before. Was he hypocritical and lecherous, so fickle? In that case, were all the stories of rouge and powder written in the landscape travelogue true?

The next time they meet, it will be awkward.

The bright moon hung high in the sky. At the entrance of the temple, the newly recruited mountain guardian, Gu He, held an iron mace, acting as the guardian god.

At Gu He’s feet was the abbot’s eldest disciple, Wang Yuanlu, squatting on the steps, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, still wearing the old cotton cloth Daoist robe that had been washed until it was faded. The short, poor-looking Daoist often looked down at the earth and mountains of the human world, the great rivers, winding like ropes, with a piece of green jade that was the Little Four Prefectures.

Having completed a great achievement and refined a furnace of pills for his master, the young Daoist child waved a duster and came to the entrance of the temple. He felt that his junior brother Wang Yuanlu was indeed a strange person. The scenery was good, but after seeing it too much, it was just so-so, but Wang Yuanlu never got tired of it, and even ate his meals while holding a bowl to look at it for a long time.

Gu He smiled, “Fellow Daoist Jinjing.”

Xun Lanling ignored him.

Every time Gu He saw Fellow Daoist Jinjing, there was a very complex guilt in his eyes.

This made the young Daoist child a little uneasy.

Xun Lanling sat next to the lean Daoist, and found that his junior brother was looking at the Qi Prefecture, where the Profound Capital Temple was located. Xun Lanling knew a secret from his master, that Daoist Sun of the Profound Capital Temple had cheated Wang Yuanlu badly, causing him to mistakenly believe that he was his ancestor. For this reason, the old Daoist had even fabricated a Wang family genealogy…

Xun Lanling said casually, “The people are gone, what are you still looking at?”

Wang Yuanlu was silent.

The old abbot came to the entrance at some point and sat on the steps with them. He slapped the head of the fire boy. “Take it easy. Don’t poke the bear.”

Most people are fierce in their mouths and on their faces. A few people are fierce in their eyes and in their bones.

Wang Yuanlu smiled and explained, “We are brothers of the same sect. I won’t hold grudges.”

Xun Lanling’s Daoist heart instantly cooled by half.

The old abbot smiled. “Broad-mindedness comes from the master.”

————

A mote of awareness departed from the mountain, returning to the courtyard of the Night Voyage Vessel. Chen Pingan immediately stilled his breath and focused his mind, looking within.

There, in the profound darkness, was a swirling pillar hanging between heaven and earth, like a tornado on land, slowly moving through the chaotic void, as if to hold open the primordial realm of the Grand Dao.

All the things of his home, the things of his wanderings, all the objects he had forged throughout his life were gone, caught in that vortex.

All the rest was still there. But he should not have, on no account, have failed to keep even his pair of mountain and water seals. Unwilling as he was, he could not hold them back.

He sat cross-legged in that barren void, as if he were doomed to remain in the dark, unopened to the light, for millennia to come.

Chen Pingan murmured to himself for a long time, then sighed heavily. He placed his hands on his knees, ready to stand. “Heh,” he thought, “what a worthless wretch.”

Just then, a point of light flashed into being in the darkness.

Chen Pingan looked up.

A fire dragon burst forth, like a line of incandescent gold drawn across the face of creation.

Like a single, brilliant eye opening amidst the formless chaos.

Perched atop the dragon’s massive head was a bald child in golden robes, a bag slung across his shoulder. His face was begrimed with ash and he spoke in a familiar town-accent. “Chen Pingan, you just keep at it, you hear? YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO KEEP AT IT!? I’LL BEAT YOU!”