Along the banks of a great river within the territory of Great Li’s Yellow Court Kingdom, Chen Pingan fished up an unexpectedly large black carp, and the pink-skirted girl cooked a pot of delicious fish soup.

The group of three – one human and two demons – began to chat idly after their meal.

Chen Pingan asked if the books were true about Immortals subsisting on morning dew, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. Was it really so beneficial?

The pink-skirted girl, whose true form was a fire python, nodded vigorously.

“Better than nothing, but the effect is minimal.”

The azure-robed child, while skipping stones, shook his head and said, “For us of the Flood Dragon lineage, we still rely on the mountains and rivers around us, absorbing the mountain roots and swallowing water veins. That’s the fundamental path. All those other flashy things are meaningless.”

Chen Pingan smiled and asked, “Since it’s still somewhat useful, why not make good use of it? Both of you aspire to transform into Flood Dragons, and later choose a great river stretching over ten thousand miles, journeying through the water to the sea, and ultimately achieving true dragonhood. Shouldn’t you cultivate diligently?”

The azure-robed child tossed out his last stone, clapped his hands, and laughed, “Cultivation? It relies on talent, not effort.”

Chen Pingan further inquired, “If you have talent, shouldn’t you work even harder?”

The azure-robed child froze for a moment, then feigned death, “Master, I suddenly have a headache, probably from the wind and dampness. I’m going to sleep now.”

Chen Pingan chuckled, “You’re a water snake…”

The azure-robed child leaped into the river, his figure disappearing in an instant.

A massive water snake swam freely in the murky depths, like a monarch surveying his realm.

The pink-skirted girl whispered, “Master, he’s just lazy. But his innate talent and origins are better than mine, his physical body is naturally stronger. Even if I cultivate diligently for two or three hundred years, I still wouldn’t be his equal.”

Chen Pingan comforted her, “Then don’t compare yourself to him. Compare yourself to yourself, strive to be a little stronger today than yesterday, and a little stronger tomorrow than today.”

Filled with renewed determination, the pink-skirted girl exclaimed, “Master is right!”

She earnestly said, “No wonder Master is only at the second realm of a martial artist, yet so diligent in practicing his fists, never slacking off. So, a clumsy bird flies early after all…”

Realizing what she’d said, the pink-skirted girl quickly covered her mouth.

Loose lips sink ships.

Chen Pingan was amused, “You’re right, I am clumsy, so I need to work harder.”

Then, Chen Pingan began walking the stance along the riverbank.

Even the composed pink-skirted girl found it monotonous after watching it so many times.

Several days later, Chen Pingan slowly ascended a mountain, leaning on a bamboo cane. Along the way, he solemnly gathered a handful of soil, carefully placing it into a small cotton cloth bag he had prepared. Bag after bag of various soils, accumulating together, gradually became the heaviest weight in his backpack. The azure-robed child and the pink-skirted girl tacitly avoided asking about it, treating it as some secret cultivation matter.

Initially, the azure-robed child felt relaxed and carefree without needing to use his true form to clear the path, but walking so slowly for a long time inevitably became tedious. However, he didn’t dare to criticize his master’s itinerary, so he tried to strike up a conversation, “Master, why didn’t we spend money more generously when we passed by that prefecture city earlier? Master doesn’t have much silver left, but I have money! Don’t be afraid to splurge. Even if I spend all my silver now, I can easily find some treasures in any river. They’re all money!”

Chen Pingan said, “I’ve heard people say that cultivation is the most costly thing in terms of gold and silver…”

The azure-robed child immediately changed his tune, “Master, I’m penniless! I was just boasting to you!”

He resorted to any means to avoid hearing Chen Pingan’s grassroots philosophy of accumulating wealth little by little.

The azure-robed child, after all, was someone who couldn’t bear solitude. After Chen Pingan fell silent, he took the initiative to persuade him, “Master, not to criticize, but cultivation is about spending a thousand gold and having it return, about unleashing great destruction at the slightest disagreement. Isn’t that more heroic and extraordinary? It’s not about being petty, timid, and stingy…”

Chen Pingan didn’t refute him, but simply walked slowly along the mountain path.

Things are different.

Even walking on the same path, there will inevitably be forks and separations one day.

This was one of Chen Pingan’s biggest insights from this trip, escorting Li Baoping and the others on their journey to study.

On the border between the Yellow Court Kingdom and Great Li, Chen Pingan encountered a great phenomenon of earth-shattering tremors. From a mountain peak, he witnessed dust rising in the distance, so he specifically urged them to head in that direction. As a result, in this small town of the Yellow Court Kingdom, he saw a human tragedy. Countless city walls, houses, and ancestral halls had collapsed, and almost half the townspeople were dressed in mourning clothes, their families grieving. Constantly, young and old Daoists were coming and going in a hurry, some with expressions of compassion, others with joy at the money they’d received, their pockets bulging. A myriad of human conditions were on display.

Fortunately, the order within the town hadn’t completely broken down. Chen Pingan only happened to encounter a group of local ruffians who were trying to bully a young brother and sister whose parents had just died in the tremors. Chen Pingan stopped them from forcibly abducting the girl to sell her into prostitution. The group was simply taking advantage of the disaster, and they were clearly in the wrong. After Chen Pingan knocked back two of them with a punch and a kick, they slunk away dejectedly.

Chen Pingan left twenty taels of silver for the impoverished siblings and then left, finally resting at a neglected Martial Saint temple. He discovered that this small shrine, which gave a feeling of fragility, had actually remained standing and unscathed during the earthquake.

A painted clay statue of the Martial Saint, high above, glared angrily at the mortal world.

The azure-robed child only glanced at the Martial Saint statue and saw through the mystery, “The incense here is impure, and the place is small. The amount of incense is obviously insufficient. If you can’t get enough to eat, you’ll starve to death. Gods and humans are the same. So, the deity presiding over this place disappeared long ago. He naturally can’t protect the county town, and can only barely maintain the peace of this small plot of land.”

The pink-skirted girl lacked the azure-robed child’s insight and experience, and her heart was more pure and innocent. Instead, she respectfully bowed to the Martial Saint statue. Afterwards, seeing that Chen Pingan had already started cleaning the ground, she helped wipe the dust off the altar.
The boy in green robes dared not mock his own master, so he sneered at her, “You’re just a fire python who’s read a few tattered books, what are you trying to get close to deities for? Besides, in that great war that swept across the entire world, a cataclysmic event, we dragons were the genuine traitors. It’s fortunate this little deity is gone; otherwise, your bow would surely be seen as a provocation. Perhaps the divine master would send his true form out of his body, journeying to the mortal realm in his golden form, and then smash your head with a single punch, *bang*! Ah, I’d clap and cheer then.”

Chen Ping’an curiously asked, “Why were you dragons traitors?”

Realizing he had spoken out of turn, the boy in green robes quickly shut his mouth and shook his head vigorously.

The girl in the pink dress also covered her mouth with both hands, looking at Chen Ping’an with a pitiable expression, as if saying, “Master, please don’t ask me; even if I know, I wouldn’t dare say.”

The horizon was filled with fiery clouds. Chen Ping’an and the girl in the pink dress then started a fire in the temple to cook. The boy in green robes was boredly waiting for dinner, pacing back and forth on the high threshold. Suddenly, he jumped down, walked quickly down the steps, and approached a pair of siblings. He cleared his throat, put on an air of importance, and said, “Do you have business with my master? Speak up. If you’re hoping my master will help you with more, I advise you to return home immediately. If…”

The boy in green robes leered at the young maiden. Her clothes were shabby, just like his own master. Her beauty was only average, but the young girl had the allure of a mature woman, a rare thing. The boy in green robes restrained his smile and continued his nonsense with a straight face, “If you feel the life-saving grace is hard to repay, and someone wants to offer themselves to my master, I’ll report it for you…”

The older boy’s face darkened, and he was about to turn away in anger, but the girl gently tugged at his sleeve. They then saw that their benefactor had already walked out of the Martial Saint Temple. Chen Ping’an gave the boy in green robes a flick on the forehead, apologizing, “Don’t take him seriously; he just likes to joke around and scare people.”

The girl said shyly, “It’s okay. My brother and I won’t take it seriously.”

It turned out that the siblings had brought some food. Chen Ping’an accepted it, but both sides were not good at speaking, and the boy soon left. The girl awkwardly performed a curtsey, then bid farewell to her chance acquaintance.

Chen Ping’an sighed and walked back to the Martial Saint Temple. Seeing the boy in green robes jumping around on the threshold, he said softly, “I know you don’t have bad intentions, but in the future, don’t speak to everyone so flippantly. Some unintentional words can hurt people, and some people will remember them for many years.”

The boy in green robes’ deep cyan eyes, filled with an eerie quality upon closer inspection, revealed a hint of impatience, which he concealed well. He lowered his head and said “oh” without further comment.

Chen Ping’an said nothing more and sat in the Martial Saint Temple, practicing the Sword Furnace Stance.

Gu Can, who lived at the end of Mud Bottle Lane, remembered a vast number of “enemies” at a young age. When he was alone with Chen Ping’an, he always gnashed his teeth and exuded murderous intent when talking about those fellows. Such a small child already had the thought of secretly digging up their ancestral graves.

The rights and wrongs of this matter were difficult to clarify.

But according to the old master Wen Sheng, if taken in order, many of Gu Can’s knots originated from those seemingly insignificant taunts and jeers.

The boy in green robes looked at the busy girl in the pink dress and the focused Chen Ping’an, wanting to say something but stopping himself. In the end, he swallowed his words back down. He seemed to be struggling with some pent-up emotion. His steps, as he wandered back and forth on the threshold, became more hurried. Finally, feeling that he had to speak his mind, he planted his feet on the threshold, and his small body swayed greatly like a swing, leaning into the temple one moment and backward out of the temple the next. He said to Chen Ping’an, “That lad from the slum is so ungrateful! He can’t even take a couple of jokes! Let him die! He has no ability but his ambitions are higher than the sky! It’s his own fault if he suffers hardships for the rest of his life!”

Chen Ping’an remained seated on the ground, practicing the Sword Furnace Stance with his eyes closed, neither hearing nor speaking.

The boy in green robes was silent for a moment. His voice was low, and his deep eyes, filled with icy mist, stared fixedly at Chen Ping’an. He tried his best to speak in a joking tone, “Master, when we walk the Jianghu, we need to help our own and not the reasonable ones, so we can thrive. Besides, I don’t think much of those siblings. You bestowed such great kindness on them, and the sister, also a sibling, is sensible, but the reason that boy shows his resentment on his face is because I teased his sister, and made him lose face. More importantly, it comes from the inferiority deep in his bones, because he knows in his heart that he’s a good-for-nothing. Even if he wasn’t in a chaotic world, he wouldn’t be able to protect his sister. If that kind of person is so stubborn and unwilling to bow his head, he’ll suffer even greater losses in the future. So, Master, I’m doing this for the good of the siblings.”

Chen Ping’an opened his eyes. After carefully considering it in his heart, he nodded and slowly said, “What you said isn’t wrong, but right and wrong have an order. You can’t use a later right to deny an earlier right. The same goes for mistakes.”

The boy in green robes clenched his fists in his sleeves, lowering his eyebrows and eyes, as if afraid that his divine will would be revealed and Chen Ping’an would see the storms raging in his heart through the “water well.” This enlightened water demon, second only to the River Lord and above all others on the Yu River, felt a burning rage in his heart. He wished he could kill the dull “own master” with one punch, and then devour the fire python to replenish his cultivation, making it a stepping stone for his own path to ascension.

The boy in green robes turned around, jumped off the threshold, and laughed, “Master, then I’ll go apologize.”

His laughter had already entered the Martial Saint Temple, but the boy in green robes, with his back to the temple, had a face full of violent murderous intent.

After the boy in green robes left, the girl in the pink dress said timidly, “Master, he’s really angry. If we were at the Yu River, according to his personality, he might flood both banks. According to the county records, there have been many ‘natural disasters’ of floods in the past few hundred years. The Yu River Water God not only doesn’t suppress them, but actually adds fuel to the fire.”

Chen Ping’an stroked her head, “Since he doesn’t want to listen, we just won’t reason with him in the future.”

When Chen Ping’an said he wouldn’t reason anymore, he really meant he wouldn’t reason with the boy in green robes anymore about these boring principles.
Thinking they were traveling together, their relationship growing intimate, he assumed Chen Ping’an would be willing to share a little more. Since he didn’t like to hear it, Chen Ping’an would never invite trouble. Returning to square one was fine. As long as the green-clad boy didn’t overstep Chen Ping’an’s boundaries, he would let him do as he pleased. Like this little matter today, in the beginning, Chen Ping’an would have watched coldly. Where would he have spoken from the heart like this? Chen Ping’an had walked so far with Cui Dongshan. How much had he revealed?

The pink-skirted girl had a naive, innocent look, “Master, you can tell me! I love hearing these things!”

Chen Ping’an smiled knowingly. “If there’s anything I say that’s wrong, you must tell me.”

In that moment, she suddenly experienced a flash of inspiration, blurting out, “Master’s explanation of the order is truly enlightening! Utterly correct!”

She quickly blushed, hastily declaring, “Master, I’m not copying him! I’m not flattering you!”

Chen Ping’an checked the fire; the rice was almost cooked. The pink-skirted girl huffed, “Master, let’s not leave any for him! Let him go hungry! Master is so good to him, and he still gets angry! If his true form wasn’t imprisoned in that inkstone, he would have attacked Master today! I was so scared just now.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head, chuckling, “That won’t do. We still need to leave some rice.”

The pink-skirted girl smiled radiantly, “I’ll listen to Master.”

Chen Ping’an ruffled her little head.

Of course, the green-clad boy wasn’t going to apologize to those ants. The fact that he was even restraining himself from crushing the siblings into paste was already a testament to his magnanimity.

Hands clasped behind his back, the green-clad boy distanced himself from the Martial Saint Temple. With a tap of his toes, he leaped onto a rooftop. The small figure transformed into a wisp of light green smoke, flying towards the outskirts of the city. He soared upwards one last time, piercing the clouds, drawing an enormous arc in the sky before landing in a remote mountain range. The water serpent, having regained its true form, crashed to the ground with a deafening roar, the tremors so powerful that they could be felt even in the county town.

The water serpent twisted and writhed its colossal body through the landscape, snapping trees and toppling boulders in its wake. It then swam upstream along a creek, sending water spraying in all directions. Finally, it reached a lone, gray-white cliff. The serpent coiled around the cliff, spiraling upwards until its head reached the summit, while its tail still rested at the base.

The few trees that dotted the cliff were all shredded and tumbled down.

Consumed by violent rage, the water serpent continued to tighten its grip, eventually crushing the entire cliff until it collapsed.

Only then did it revert to the form of the green-clad boy amidst the all-encompassing dust cloud, slowly descending the mountain with swift, thunderous strides.

Unbeknownst to the green-clad boy, his actions were being observed by two figures. On a hilltop a hundred miles away, a scholar in a Confucian robe stood against the wind, holding an inkstone in which an old flood dragon slept soundly, its snores like rolling thunder. It was none other than the old Steward of the Yellow Court Kingdom, or rather, the last surviving member of the ancient Shu Kingdom’s dragon lineage.

After receiving the golden word from the Sage of Literature, the old flood dragon had also made a secret pact with the Grand Tutor of the Great Li Kingdom. After delivering Cui Chan, the one with the young boy’s skin, to the territory of Great Sui, the old man had begun to quietly capture all the dragon spawn within the Yellow Court Kingdom and imprison them in the inkstone. He had truly scoured the land and plunged into the depths, using his great powers. In addition to the green-clad boy and pink-skirted girl captured by Cui Chan himself, there were now more than ten other creatures swimming within the inkstone.

Beside the old man stood an old hunchbacked crone, whose true form was a red-banded snake that had grown in the mountains. After obtaining a cultivation opportunity and laboring for five hundred years, she had finally reached the seventh realm. This time, the old man had discovered her hiding place, directly blasting through a hundred-zhang deep mountain to drag out the old crone’s true form. She had no choice but to serve him. However, submitting to the famous scholar in Confucian robes didn’t make the old crone feel wronged or humiliated. She simply missed her carefree life.

The old man asked calmly, “What do you think?”

The old crone replied respectfully, “Reporting to the esteemed Ancestor, this water serpent is still impetuous in nature. However, even I envy the strength of his bones and bloodline.”

The old man nodded. “His origins are decent, but unfortunately, his talent is dull and his temperament is unstable. He is not fit for great things, and he wasted a chance for a hidden transformation.”

The old crone was taken aback, unsure why the old man spoke thus.

Earlier, the beginning and end of the events at the abandoned Martial Saint Temple in the county town had been clearly seen by the two from the clouds above, using the old flood dragon’s art of observing the world through a handful of water.

If the green-clad boy had dared to attack Chen Ping’an, even with a mere provocation, he would have died instantly. The old flood dragon would never have been merciful.

In fact, the old flood dragon had an innate aversion to the green-clad boy. It had nothing to do with personality but was purely a conflict of bloodlines. Among the numerous dragon descendants and bastards in the world, the green-clad boy’s lineage often cultivated swiftly and was blessed by the heavens. However, they were also the most rejected by true dragons. Like a bastard who rose from a middle-class family, managed to get a low-ranking scholar title, and had no great prospects but was still an eyesore.

The old crone, with her low cultivation and limited vision, couldn’t see anything special.

As for the water serpent’s volatile temper, the old crone didn’t think it was a big mistake. The reason for her hunchback was that, after first awakening, she was still weak and was captured by snake hunters in the mountains. During the struggle, she was injured in her vital essence, resulting in her natural hunchbacked posture even after transforming into human form. Afterward, she found the descendants of those snake hunters. In a bloody revenge that was two hundred years late, an average family in the county town was all killed overnight. No one, whether woman, child or elder, escaped, completely extinguishing their bloodline.

The old crone still felt unsatisfied afterward, regretting that the snake hunter wasn’t a cultivator. Otherwise, she would have made him taste a fate worse than death.

Therefore, the fact that the water serpent could restrain himself from beginning to end, never speaking a single harsh word to that nagging, impoverished scholar, and only unleashing his sinister killing intent after reaching the deep mountains, was already considered an impressive feat of self-cultivation in the old crone’s eyes.

The old man shook his head. “You are inferior to that little water serpent in terms of bone structure, and even more inferior to that little python in terms of understanding and wisdom. You are far behind.”

The old crone paled in fear.

She feared that the old man would kill her on a whim.
After all, they had traveled together for quite some time. It wasn’t as if there weren’t any oblivious beasts who refused to accept restraint. Without exception, the old man had struck them all down. After their deaths, all their essence and souls had nowhere to hide, all being seized and integrated into the ancient inkstone, becoming merely a thin layer of “light ink.”

The old man sighed, “On the Grand Dao, everyone strives to be first, but a single step behind can lead to being behind every step after. Perhaps someone is always dozing off and slacking, yet their cultivation advances by leaps and bounds, while you cultivate diligently day and night, only to end up as a good-for-nothing. Cultivation is truly so helpless.”

The old woman hurriedly tried to remedy the situation, “Ancestor, is the young master that extraordinary?”

The old man chuckled, “It’s not that the youth himself is that amazing, but rather that the youth’s guide is too remarkable. If the youth were merely a youth, no matter how hard he worked, his martial arts realm would still not be too high, perhaps reaching at most the sixth or seventh realm, nothing more.”

Traveling the river to transform into a Flood Dragon, entering the sea to become a Dragon, were two great trials that all Flood Dragons yearned for. During this process, it was bound to be extremely rough and arduous, bound to be covered in blood and flesh, and one would have to endure a metamorphosis. The molting during previous realm ascensions was considered a minor molt, happening frequently. Only these two times would be hailed as “major molts.”

The old man walked against the wind, step by step out of the mountaintop, the old woman had to show her true form to follow, a seven or eight zhang Scarlet Serpent wagging its head and tail beside the Confucian-robed old man.

The old Flood Dragon laughed, “I’m not saying the youth’s path is definitely correct. It could be a great path leading to the heavens, or it could be a dead end with no future. But then again, even if it is a dead end, it would definitely be enough to transform that little water snake into a Flood Dragon. It’s just a pity that he doesn’t know how blessed he is, cutting off his own path. No wonder the heavens don’t reward him, only to give the chance, but he doesn’t have the ability to hold the bowl.”

The Scarlet Serpent spoke in human tongue, “Ancestor’s cultivation is profound, having seen the changes of mountains and rivers, the transformations of seas and fields. His vision is naturally far-reaching. We only need to do as our ancestor instructs, and we will be content. For us, this is already a great fortune.”

The Confucian-robed old man smiled without saying a word.

In truth, there were many more words that the old Flood Dragon did not reveal to this Scarlet Serpent, even deliberately saying some words that were unbecoming of his status.

That youth’s martial arts talent was indeed not outstanding, but the little fellow named Chen Ping’an, the old Flood Dragon was by no means as he said, “unremarkable.” Back then, at his own residence, the first time he saw that group of traveling students, the old Flood Dragon used his supernatural powers to look at them at first glance. Chen Ping’an was the last person to catch his eye, but as he watched, the old Flood Dragon discovered that everyone revolved around Chen Ping’an, not just in their words and deeds.

But a kind of mysterious aura.

In that rainy night, there was a handsome young man in white, a little girl in a red cotton-padded jacket carrying a small book box, a cold and aloof young man already on the path of cultivation, a slender girl with remarkable bone structure, a tall young man with hidden cultivation and an even more hidden dragon energy, and a chubby-faced child.

Clearly, the last was the grass-shoe-wearing youth holding a firewood knife, leading the way. At first glance, he was truly the most unremarkable existence.

But the old Flood Dragon stared intently again and again, and saw something extraordinary.

Like stars surrounding the moon, or like mountain peaks paying homage to a great mountain.

That youth was at the forefront, as if saying, “Rest assured and follow behind me.”

Because the heavens and the earth are vast, I have already shouldered them all.

After the green-robed child returned to the Martial Saint Temple, he resumed his mischievous demeanor. Chen Ping’an still treated him with a normal heart.

At first, the green-robed child was a little worried that Chen Ping’an would go back on his word and forget about the two snake gallstones he had promised him. He probed twice, and after receiving a definite answer, the green-robed child felt somewhat relieved. However, in the subsequent interactions, even though Chen Ping’an showed no abnormality, continuing to have him feed punches when he needed to temper his martial arts, continuing to have him reveal his true form when he needed to ride to travel, and remaining helpless in the face of his tantrums and unreasonable demands, Chen Ping’an showed not a hint of annoyance.

But the green-robed child always felt that something was missing. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

As they got closer and closer to the old master’s hometown, the green-robed child only knew that the pink-skirted girl was getting happier and happier, which made him more and more unhappy.

So, after they officially entered the Great Li Kingdom after traversing mountains and ridges, the green-robed child used a trump card that he had been saving.

At dusk, on a cliffside plank road that had been abandoned for countless years, the three of them were resting by a fire in a slightly wider alcove. He carefully took out a large porcelain bowl from his pocket dimension. The bowl contained a little half bowl of clear water, filled with spiritual energy, unlike ordinary rootless water in the world.

The pink-skirted girl blinked her watery eyes and immediately saw the trick, but she was too embarrassed to go closer for a closer look. Fortunately, the green-robed child had already happily carried the bowl with both hands and sat down beside Chen Ping’an, mysteriously saying, “Old Master, let me show you something good. It’ll be ready soon, only fifteen minutes left.”

The green-robed child turned his head and grinned at the pink-skirted girl, holding out a palm, “I still have five bowls of this kind of water, from five different immortal residences. One of them even has a scoop of water from the Rolling Thunder Pool of Zheng Yang Mountain. Do you know how much money I spent? You wouldn’t be worth enough even if I sold you, you silly girl. At most I had seven big bowls! Of course, you are a Fire Python, so similar things should be a special piece of firewood or an incense stick, but you definitely don’t have any, right?”

Chen Ping’an looked at the smug green-robed child and the self-conscious pink-skirted girl, and asked, “What can you see through this small bowl of water?”

The green-robed child just grinned, deliberately keeping him in suspense.

The pink-skirted girl explained in a low voice, “Old Master, I saw in some predecessors’ reading notes in the book building that mountain cultivation requires too much money. Many immortal sects have become skilled at making money, appropriately opening up some interesting scenes to the outside world, such as some rare sect wonders, as well as the daily lives of some famous cultivation geniuses, or the aerial grace of some cultivation elders. Outsiders don’t need to go to the mountain peaks of those sects, but can see everything from thousands of miles away, saving worry and effort. Well, it just doesn’t save any money.”
The girl in the pink dress mumbled to herself, but kept glancing at the bowl of water, her eyes full of envy. She counted on her fingers and whispered, “Master, this kind of thing is really magical. The immortals need to first take out some small items connected to the mountain and water’s aura, such as a carved piece of shadow wall stone, a spiritual tree cut down from the mountain gate, or this white bowl holding the deep pool water of Mount Zhengyang. Before a strange and wondrous scene is opened to the public, a line of text will appear to remind the buyer. As for whether they want to consume the item’s spiritual energy to view it remotely, the buyer decides for themselves. If they do, they just need to infuse a little spiritual energy, and they can see many scenes displayed through the magic and divine powers activated by the sect. It’s extremely interesting!”

The girl in the pink dress grew more disappointed as she spoke. “After seeing it in a notebook a few years ago, I asked the Zhilan Cao Clan to help me find a piece of wood like that at great expense. But after I gave them the promised benefits early on, the Cao Clan kept making excuses and delaying. In the end, I was too embarrassed to bring it up again and just pretended it never happened.”

The boy in the blue robe said triumphantly, “That’s because your skills are low. If it were me, would the Zhilan Cao Clan dare to take the money and not do the work?”

Her face darkened.

Chen Ping’an patted her maid’s small hair bun and comforted her softly, “Losing is a blessing. Take the loss first, and believe that you won’t always be at a disadvantage in the future.”

The girl in the pink dress looked up, nodded, and smiled.

The boy in the blue robe rolled his eyes. Two silly fools.

A moment later, he exclaimed in surprise, “The show is about to begin!”

Ripples appeared in the clear water in the bowl.

The boy in the blue robe snapped his fingers, and the clear water slowly rose from the bowl, like a gushing spring, eventually transforming into a water curtain as large as a landscape painting.

On the water curtain painting, first appeared a towering mountain peak, surrounded by a cluster of peaks.

Then, a woman in white clothes arrived, riding her sword through the air. Her beautiful figure appeared in the painting without warning. A simple gourd hung from the woman’s waist. She rapidly ascended towards the summit, and her initially tiny figure in the water curtain, no bigger than a grain of rice, gradually transformed into a miniature figure, the size of a palm, with a cold and refined countenance, exuding an otherworldly aura.

A short distance from the summit, sword energy condensed into substance, both cloud-like and mist-like, strange and magical, indescribably wonderful. The female immortal no longer rode her sword upwards, but stood on it, gazing at the abundant sword intent contained within those sword energies. Even across thousands of miles, across this water curtain painting, the sword intent of the summit, containing various extended meanings, still rushed towards them. Some were ancient and weathered, some were vibrant like the rising sun over the eastern sea, and some were densely packed like a torrential downpour.

The boy in the blue robe didn’t care about the messy sword dao intent. He just drooled at the sword-riding woman, staring at her intently, and grinned, “This Immortal Su Jia of Mount Zhengyang is my favorite. She only ranks after one other immortal. Look at her figure, her temperament! My Water God brother is crude and unbearable. Although he also admires Immortal Su Jia, he still prefers immortals with a fuller figure. ‘Those who eat meat are base.’ The words of the sages are to the point.”

He turned his finger, slightly rotating the image to become the back view of Su Jia of Mount Zhengyang. Then, with a gentle grasp, the immortal’s back view suddenly enlarged. The boy in the blue robe chuckled foolishly, reached out and wiped his mouth, wishing he could stick his entire face to Su Jia’s back. If there weren’t outsiders present, he probably would have done it already.

The boy in the blue robe, beaming with joy, said, “But my number one darling is Daoist He Xiaoliang! She is the immortal among immortals, the goddess among gods. If she gave me a little touch of her hand, I would be willing to sacrifice a hundred years of my life, no lies! If anyone can introduce me, let me say a word to He Xiaoliang, I’ll be his son, his grandson, anything…”

Chen Ping’an looked at the sword dao intent transformed into clouds and mist. No matter how hard he tried to see, he only felt myriad phenomena, but couldn’t discern the true details. Chen Ping’an quickly retracted his thoughts, hoping to find a figure in the water curtain, the mountain-moving ape that committed the crime in his hometown town. Unfortunately, there was only Su Jia on the painting. If he remembered correctly, that guy from Wind and Thunder Garden, Liu Baqiao, had been secretly in love with Su Jia all along?

After an incense stick’s worth of time, the water curtain faded, became blurred, condensed and fell, eventually turning back into a small bowl of clear water.

But the water level in the bowl had noticeably dropped.

The boy in the blue robe put away the white bowl and clear water, rubbed his hands, and paced back and forth, happily saying, “This viewing, because it had the sword energy scene of the summit of Mount Zhengyang, consumed a lot, but it’s definitely worth it! In the many times we remotely viewed the various scenery of Mount Zhengyang before, Immortal Su Jia only appeared a few times in fleeting glimpses. This time… tsk tsk, who would have thought Immortal Su Jia was so good at bearing children? I couldn’t see that before…”

Chen Ping’an silently got up, walked to the plank road outside the cave, and the mountain wind howled past, blowing his clothes to one side.

However, his solid second-realm cultivation, coupled with repeatedly traversing mountains and collecting soil into bags, allowed Chen Ping’an to stand as firm as a mountain at this moment, faintly integrated with the steep mountain wall behind him.

Chen Ping’an suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “It’s snowing!”

He reached out, waiting for the snow to fall into his palm, holding this pose, but suddenly turned his head and happily announced to the boy in the blue robe and the girl in the pink dress, “Come and see, it’s snowing!”

A heavy snowfall arrived unexpectedly.

At the tail end of this year, all twenty-four solar terms had passed one after another. Even on the road back to the three’s hometown, during the Minor Snow season, there was only wind and rain.

But today happened to be the Great Snow season, and there was indeed heavy snow.

After Chen Ping’an greeted them, he continued to reach out to catch snowflakes, raised his head, and murmured happily, “It’s snowing, it’s snowing.”

The girl in the pink dress had never seen her master so happy. She happily jumped over.

The boy in the blue robe had never seen such a childish fellow. He stayed where he was, muttering, feeling that life was so meaningless.