The seemingly youthful demoness’s face shifted between dark and bright, “Song Yushao, are you determined to cross swords with this immortal today?”

The black-clad elder took out an old almanac from his robes, flipped it open to a page, and held his finger to a spot, muttering, “Suitable for fasting, suitable for seeking wealth.”

The elder put away the almanac, gripped the ancient bronze sword, sheathed it, and extended his hand to the maiden, “I’ll allow you to avert disaster with a financial offering.”

The maiden was well aware of this old monster’s rules of the Jianghu. Without a word, she took out a yellow jade coin from her sleeve. On the front was engraved “Exiting Plum Rains, Entering Dog Days,” and on the back, “Thunder Rends the Sky.” This kind of jade coin, like snowflake coins, was currency used by mountain immortals for trade. The jade coin in the maiden’s hand was nicknamed the “Minor Heat Coin.” Compared to snowflake coins, its value was like copper coins in the market compared to silver taels, a vast difference.

She gently tossed the Minor Heat Coin to the black-clad elder. Instead of uttering harsh words, she smiled like a flower, “A meeting through strife, I hope that when this immortal visits Swordwater Manor in the future, the old Manor Lord won’t refuse me entry.”

The black-clad elder remained expressionless, accepted the Minor Heat Coin, and allowed the maiden to transform into a plume of dark green smoke, slowly drifting away from the temple.

This sword art grandmaster named Song Yushao lightly flicked his finger, sending wisps of clear wind like arrows, striking several acupoints on the chests of the burly man and the young Daoist. Originally, the two had been ambushed by the demoness and had their acupoints sealed, rendering them speechless and immobile. As time passed, they could break the seals themselves, but if the elder hadn’t appeared, they would still have had to rely on Chen Ping’an to fight alone for a while.

This was Zhang Shanfeng’s first taste of a Jianghu expert’s acupoint sealing technique. After regaining his freedom, he gasped for breath, still feeling somewhat unwell.

Xu Yuanxia, already a pure martial artist with unparalleled skill, had unexpectedly capsized in the gutter this time, and his face was flushed with shame. He cupped his fist towards the elder, “Thank you, Sword Saint Song, for your righteous assistance!”

The black-clad elder was of a peculiar temperament and ignored him, walking directly to the fire pit, sitting cross-legged, resting his sword across his lap, and began to close his eyes and rest his mind.

Xu Yuanxia lowered his voice and gave Zhang Shanfeng and Chen Ping’an a rough introduction to Jianghu affairs.

In the central region of Treasure Bottle洲 Continent, especially in the dozen or so countries near Colorful Garment Country, there were four sword art grandmasters, renowned throughout the region. Colorful Garment Country had a Sword God who had already retired from the Jianghu, living in seclusion in the mountains for over thirty years, revered as having sword techniques that reached the divine, wielding the sword Candle Sun. But recently, shocking news had emerged: the old Sword God had actually died from a vendetta, causing a storm in the surrounding Jianghu and stirring unrest.

Then there was the black-clad elder before them, the old Manor Lord of Swordwater Manor in Combing Water Country. He was of a strange temperament, one generation younger than the Colorful Garment Country Sword God, with the reputation of Sword Saint, wielding the sword Iron Water. He founded Swordwater Manor, the number one Jianghu sect in Combing Water Country. The current Manor Lord was Song Yushao’s eldest grandson, whose sword art was equally stunning.

In Ancient Elm Country, a renowned Sword Lord had emerged, extremely lethal and with extremely poor martial virtue. He was a wandering immortal of the Jianghu, without a fixed abode and without founding a sect, acting alone. Rumor had it that he had a good relationship with the Emperor of Ancient Elm Country, wielding the sword Emerald Pearl.

Songxi Country also had a rising star, the youngest of them all, who styled himself the Azure Bamboo Sword Immortal.

These four sword art grandmasters, like a cluster of bright stars, shone in the Jianghu sky of Colorful Garment Country and the surrounding dozen or so countries, not to be underestimated even by mountain immortals.

The black-clad elder suddenly opened his eyes and coldly said, “Sneaking around, reveal yourself!”

This elder, revered with the title of “Sword Saint,” unsheathed his sword with a clang, casually slashing towards the temple altar. A large area of dazzling, clear sword energy rose abruptly, completely shattering the already dilapidated altar, revealing a petite, delicate-looking slender maiden hiding behind it, heedless, holding her small head in her hands, as if no one could see her like that.

As another strange maiden appeared, Zhang Shanfeng’s monster-listening bell trembled slightly.

The cultivation methods of the world’s spirits, demons, and yin objects were almost all unorthodox. As long as their Dao was not deep and their realm not high, they often had nowhere to hide under the monster-listening bell. This was also why the monster-listening bell was a must-have for Qi refiners, second only to the Bai Ze Diagram, and highly respected. Before Xu Yuanxia reached the fourth realm of martial arts, he also had a similar bell for self-defense and warning.

Xu Yuanxia and Zhang Shanfeng focused more of their attention on the maiden.

Chen Ping’an, who wanted to formally practice swordsmanship but had never found the right path, was amazed by the elder’s unsheathed sword. It seemed casual, a mere wave of the hand, but the sword energy was like a rainbow, and where the sword energy reached, it was like being hit by a waterfall, invincible.

Liu Chicheng had become unusually silent after the maiden demoness attacked, always squatting by the campfire, not saying a word, stretching out his palms, and bowing his head to warm himself.

“How can you, a small demon, defile such a pure Buddhist sanctuary!”

The black-clad elder’s face was cold and stern. With a flick of his wrist, the bronze sword tip trembled slightly, instantly shooting out a dazzling white light from the sword tip, like a mountain immortal’s demon-binding rope, twisting and turning, soon spreading out in the air, like a vast net of heavenly justice, covering the timid maiden who had been identified as a demon.

Chen Ping’an calmly took in this scene, his eyes wide open.

Sword energy, which should be meticulous, could actually be so skillfully controlled and infinitely varied?

The elder held his sword in one hand, everything came naturally!

Especially that calm demeanor, was what Chen Ping’an yearned for the most.

The maiden was covered by the net of sword energy, which first condensed and then dissipated, making a hissing sound. This caused her to roll on the ground in pain, this heart-wrenching burning had already injured the depths of the soul of this wild demon. When Chen Ping’an was in the Bamboo Pavilion of Fallen Phoenix Mountain, he was in so much agony, let alone a little demon who had cultivated loosely and lived peacefully for hundreds of years?

After this ordeal, the maiden quickly could not stabilize her human form, and most of her face revealed a fox’s appearance. Tufted white fluff grew on the back of her hands and neck, giving off a faint fox smell.

The white fox immortal with weak Dao power struggled and wailed on the ground, “I haven’t hurt anyone, I haven’t hurt a single person, I only teased and scared some scholars who stayed overnight in the ancient temple, don’t kill me, don’t kill me…”

The black-clad elder seemed to have some knots in his heart, holding his long sword, with brilliant sword energy and blooming rainbows, he sternly said, “A demon is a demon, a fiend is a fiend, what if you don’t harm people today? When your Dao power increases, you will naturally slaughter the innocent for pleasure!”
The maiden, her body mostly transformed into a white fox, lay prostrate on the ground, her breath faint and shallow. “I even rescued two scholars from that old crone’s clutches,” she gasped, “I gave her many of my most treasured possessions to make her let them go. I would never harm anyone, never in this lifetime…”

The old man in black sneered, “Insignificant fox spirit, your death is no loss! I dare say that of the hundred demons slain by my sword, at most, only one was wrongly accused!”

The young fox spirit was too weak to argue, her body convulsing, her garments torn, drenched in blood. Her eyes, once dark and bright, were now dim and lifeless. In her final moments, she held no resentment for the old man’s brutality, but gazed longingly towards the ancient temple’s gate, as if awaiting the arrival of a poor scholar. Then she could startle them once more, and a single success would bring her joy for months to come.

Liu Chicheng slowly raised his head, his deep eyes swirling with golden light. A cold smile played on his lips, tinged with the weary sigh of one who had witnessed too much of the world’s affairs. He felt that even after a thousand more years, life would remain this dull.

Just as Liu Chicheng was about to rise, Chen Pingan stood up, lightly adjusting the sword box on his back. He suddenly spoke, “Senior Song, what if this fox spirit is the one that was wrongly accused?”

The old man twitched his lips and chuckled. “Then that’s even better! It confirms that the previous ninety-nine, and the next ninety-nine, are undeniably demons plaguing the common folk. Therefore, my sword will strike with even greater satisfaction.”

Chen Pingan pointed to the maiden, now fully transformed into a fox, “What happens to her?”

The old man patted his chest and stated bluntly, “If I consult the almanac and it’s auspicious for burial, I will bury it. If not, then its corpse will be left to bake in the sun, in the hopes that it will be reborn into a better life, and never again be a wild demon of the mountains and waters. And of course, never cross paths with me again.”

Chen Pingan stubbornly persisted, “Senior, you slay demons and vanquish monsters, and you are certainly in the right. But you could be even more right.”

The old man carefully scrutinized the young man with the sword box, and burst out laughing. “Little rascal, are you daft? Just because you’re lodging in an old temple, you think you’re a benevolent Bodhisattva come to save the suffering?”

Chen Pingan hesitated, and then asked, “Senior Song, what would it take for you to spare this fox spirit?”

The black-clad old man, Song Yushao, stood up and said gravely, “Seeing as you are a swordsman of the Jianghu, I will use the sword strike meant to slay the fox spirit against you. If you can withstand it, then this matter in the ancient temple is settled. The fox spirit’s future – whether it commits evil or performs good deeds – and the karmic consequences, will be your responsibility from now on. If you cannot withstand it, and die by my sword, then blame yourself for being too weak and meddling. What do you say?”

Xu Yuanxia and Zhang Shanfeng also rose to their feet, as if facing a great enemy.

Song Yushao laughed heartily, “It doesn’t matter if you two want to join in. I’ll just have to use two more sword strikes, and the rules remain the same.”

The old man’s laughter was loud and resonant, his energy overflowing. It caused the ancient temple’s rotten beams to tremble, showering them with countless dust particles.

“Agreed!”

Chen Pingan nodded, then shook his head at Xu Yuanxia and Zhang Shanfeng, signaling them not to interfere.

“Be careful.”

The old man was not one for dawdling. After giving his warning, he unleashed his sword strike.

Barely a zhang apart, the sword’s aura and qi arrived before Chen Pingan in an instant.

A Square Inch Shrinking Earth Talisman had already slipped into Chen Pingan’s sleeve. It was an ordinary yellow paper talisman. He pinched it between his fingers, and at the moment the sword qi drew near, Chen Pingan’s figure vanished from the spot.

The black-clad old man scoffed.

It turned out that the sword qi, having struck empty air, continued its trajectory, heading directly towards the direction where the snow-white fox was curled on the ground.

The Square Inch Talisman, from Li Xisheng’s *True Traces of Dan Book*, was mysterious and wondrous, but it was a one-time consumable item. After Chen Pingan activated it, he appeared in an open space two zhang away. However, when he realized that the sword qi was still heading towards the fox spirit, he had no time to retrieve another Square Inch Talisman. He could only push off the ground with his toes and leap forward with lightning speed, simultaneously reaching towards his shoulder to grip the hilt of the locust wood sword “Exorcism,” and cleave towards the sword qi in mid-air.

Although he drew his sword, ultimately, Chen Pingan’s foundation was still in his fist techniques.

He walked the path of forceful and fierce cavalry formation splitting taught by the old man Cui. But he used a wooden sword to replace fist moves. Chen Pingan only possessed the physique and spirit of the third realm of martial arts. He was not a grandmaster who could fuse fist techniques and sword intent. Naturally, in the eyes of a true expert, his hasty strike appeared rather awkward.

The locust wood sword, imbued with fist intent, struck the old man’s sword qi, forcibly halting its execution of the young fox spirit.

For a moment, sword light exploded, and sword qi scattered in all directions.

Chen Pingan held the locust wood sword, his feet landing firmly as he shifted his stance and turned around, shielding the fox demon. He wildly waved the sword at the scattered sword qi, his sword stance resembling someone’s jest about a “drunken master’s chaotic fists.”

The Daoist Zhang Shanfeng breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn’t bear to watch.

The bearded giant covered his forehead with his hand, and said helplessly, “I thought this fellow’s fist techniques were quite remarkable. Carrying this sword box for so long, I thought he was definitely an unassuming young swordsman…”

With the sword qi in front of him completely shattered, Chen Pingan finished his work, and quickly weighed the locust wood sword in his hand. Although it was a light wooden sword, it was surprisingly resilient. Facing the majestic sword qi of the Shushui Kingdom’s Sword Dao master, the sword had no nicks or flaws anywhere on its surface. Chen Pingan felt greatly reassured.

The black-clad old man smiled freely and mocked himself, “I never imagined that someone in this world would use a chaotic mess of drunken fists to block my sword strike. Very well, I always keep my word. Since the little one withstood my attack, I will no longer make things difficult for the fox spirit on the ground. You, the human and the demon, must fend for yourselves. Remember that karma will come, and I hope you will cherish this temporary bond of unknown good or evil.”

The old man sheathed his sword. After sitting cross-legged for so long, he finally stood up, turned and left. After walking out of the temple gate, he looked up at the gloomy night sky and murmured, “An endless stream of demons and monsters, a never-ending slaughter of malevolent spirits… When will it ever end?”
The founder of Swordwater Manor, long since passed into legend, suddenly turned his head and chuckled, “The four of you, if you’re interested, you can visit my manor. The sword manor is currently holding an election for the martial arts alliance leader of Combing Water Kingdom. It’s quite a momentous event in the martial world. If you arrive at the manor, I might not be there myself. You can go directly to the eldest steward, Steward Chu, and tell him you’re newly met friends of mine in the martial world. A few cups of wine are certainly in order.”

The aging elder then glanced at Chen Ping’an, “Tonight, you showed patience in making a good deed even better. From my youth to middle age, I was the same, if not more so. But… enough of an old man’s dispiriting words. I won’t burden a young man with them. In any case, I hope you can persevere.”

The wizened old man patted the long sword at his waist and silently disappeared into the night.

Chen Ping’an stood there stunned, lost in thought. When he came back to his senses, he turned his head, his eyes widening. The young fox spirit was gone.

The burly man pointed at his own face, teasing, “Chen Ping’an, ah, Chen Ping’an, whether a hero’s rescue leads to the beauty offering herself in return depends on this!”

Chen Ping’an sheathed his locust wood sword in the wooden box crafted by Wei Bo, and trotted towards the bonfire. He reached out towards the flames, glancing intentionally at Liu Chicheng, who was yawning across the fire. The latter said with a playful grin, “What are you looking at? Finally starting to envy my dashing good looks? Sigh, actually, I also envy you, Chen Ping’an. If I had even half your martial arts skills, I would have become the dream lover of countless female knights and immortals in the martial world!”

Chen Ping’an rolled his eyes, uncorked his wine gourd, and took a large gulp.

After drinking, Chen Ping’an clutched the wine gourd, his heart surging, not as calm and collected as he appeared on the surface.

His decision not to summon the two little ancestors from the Sword Nurturing Gourd to block Song Yushao’s sword aura, and instead risk himself, was not a rash one.

Chen Ping’an sighed, stood up, and went to the open space. After securing his wine gourd, he closed his eyes, carefully recalling the old sword saint of Combing Water Kingdom’s three sword strikes. One struck the divine platform, forcing the fox spirit to reveal herself, one flicked his wrist, forming a web of sword aura, and the last, of course, was the sword aimed directly at Chen Ping’an’s head.

Chen Ping’an still didn’t open his eyes, but slowly drew his locust wood sword, mimicking the old man’s posture, holding the sword horizontally in front of his chest, as if it were still in its sheath, ready to be drawn but not yet.

For some reason, Chen Ping’an thought and thought, but felt that even if he were to copy the action exactly, even ten thousand times, he still couldn’t replicate it. Forget resembling the spirit, he probably couldn’t even resemble the form.

This was very different from when he watched Miss Ning walk the Six Steps Boxing Stance.

So, drawing a sword was ultimately different from practicing boxing.

Chen Ping’an sighed and had to sheathe the locust wood sword that had accompanied him on two journeys through the martial world.

Someone chuckled, “Chen Ping’an, your wooden sword is too light, so the feeling will never be right. Lifting heavy weights as if they were light is a high realm of swordplay. You’re just a beginner, not some prodigy of sword practice, so of course, you’ll feel like something is wrong. Leaving aside reaching the peak, just talking about the basics, then for practicing boxing, having a slightly famous master to guide you is enough, but for learning swordsmanship, you still need a wise teacher to guide you. You should sincerely ask Song Yushao about swordplay. This person’s martial arts realm isn’t high, but he has already walked his own path of the sword. That’s not easy.”

Chen Ping’an turned to look.

This profound insight hadn’t come from the burly man, or even Zhang Shanfeng, who could control the peach wood sword, but rather from Liu Chicheng, the scholar furthest removed from the martial world. When Liu Chicheng spoke these words, he was standing beside the roaring bonfire with many dry branches added to it. The firelight reflected on him, and his slender figure swayed gently with the flames.

Zhang Shanfeng was asking Xu Yuanxia about the secrets of acupressure in the martial world, asking and answering with great focus, and didn’t pay much attention to Liu Chicheng’s words.

Or perhaps, the two simply didn’t hear Liu Chicheng’s words.

Because from beginning to end, Liu Chicheng hadn’t opened his mouth, yet Chen Ping’an had clearly heard Liu Chicheng’s voice.

Chen Ping’an asked a strange question, “Was that you? In Rouge County City, I heard Prefect Liu privately say that you are actually a Golden Core Realm immortal, because you displayed a divine ability outside the city.”

Liu Chicheng waved his hand and slowly walked around the bonfire, coming to Chen Ping’an’s side. He smiled and said, “Alright, let’s not play cat and mouse, shall we? You already know I’m a great demon, and I also know that the sword you carry on your back has a great origin. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been unable to suppress itself, and spontaneously trembled after sensing my aura. Although you quickly suppressed its movement, I’m not blind or deaf, so now we both know. Chen Ping’an, can you tell me, what deity forged this sword? And whom are you taking it to at Upside Down Mountain?”

Chen Ping’an’s expression turned solemn, and he asked, “You want to steal the sword?”

“Liu Chicheng” narrowed his eyes, as if hearing a great joke. He put his hands behind his back and shook his head, laughing, “The sword is a good sword, but I’m really not interested. I know you don’t believe these words, but it doesn’t matter. I’m much stronger than you, you just need to see what I do. By the way, have you heard a saying? ‘Good things in this world are not durable, colorful clouds easily scatter, and glazed glass is brittle.'”

Chen Ping’an nodded, “I’ve seen it in poetry.”

Liu Chicheng waved his sleeve, and a misty scene enveloped the bonfire, creating the illusion that “Liu Chicheng” was chatting happily with Chen Ping’an. In fact, the pale scholar of White Water Kingdom, clad in a pink Taoist robe, stood tall and handsome. The scene was bizarre in the extreme.

Liu Chicheng continued, “Colorful clouds easily scatter, that’s about the colorful clouds of White Emperor City, where clouds gather and scatter like smoke, a magnificent scene.”

“Glazed glass is brittle, that’s about a great demon who once came from the demonic lineage of White Emperor City. Just like tonight’s conflict, it was for a seemingly insignificant demoness. He argued with his senior brother. He was for the grand scheme of things, I was for small matters of sentiment. The two senior brothers broke up, laughable in retrospect, just like two children having a tantrum. Anyway, in a fit of anger, I smashed an entire glazed glass pavilion in the colorful cloud area of White Emperor City, eventually leaving only a few glazed glass cups. From then on, I left White Emperor City and wandered around. Without the protection of my sect, I was chased and intercepted for thousands of miles by the crusaders of the righteous path, and finally thrown into prison and suppressed for a thousand years. My senior brother, from beginning to end, just stood by and watched.”
Chen Pingan frowned and asked, “Why are you telling me all this?”

Liu Chicheng smiled slightly, flicked his sleeves, and placed his hands together at his abdomen, emanating a solemn aura. “Because I’ve recently had the notion of taking a disciple. I think you, Chen Pingan, are quite good. I can impart to you the most supreme sword techniques in the world. Although I am a native demon race of the Vast World, my martial arts brother is a leader of the demon sect, he is more like an immortal than the immortals themselves. Even many upright immortals are willing to worship my martial arts brother. Therefore, the swordplay I teach you will be an orthodox swordplay enough to help you ascend to the Great Dao. Once the opportunity arises, it is possible to directly reach the Upper Five Realms. You must know that the word ‘orthodox’ cannot be used casually. People like Song Yushao have explored their own true meaning of the sword, but such a pure martial artist with limited aptitude can only help you reach the level of a Middle Five Realms swordsman. Chen Pingan, what do you think? Are you willing to follow me as a disciple to cultivate the Great Dao?”

Chen Pingan retorted, “Become a demon?”

Liu Chicheng smiled and said, “In my opinion, the Great Dao is rugged and difficult to traverse. Only those who are persevering can reach the end and even go further and higher than those talented prodigies. You, Chen Pingan, are like-minded with me. Now I have helped you recruit a senior martial arts brother. Don’t worry, you are my last disciple. At most, in a hundred years, our master and disciples will surely become famous in the world and return to White Emperor City to occupy a place there.”

Liu Chicheng gazed into Chen Pingan’s eyes and smiled. “The sect that my senior martial arts brother and I belonged to was very interesting. The senior martial arts brother is a human, practicing demonic arts, and I am a demon, studying human divine powers. The tenet established by our master is the four words ‘teaching without discrimination’. This is very similar to that True Undefeatable under Dao Ancestor’s second disciple. Apart from White Emperor City, there are several major traditions of the demon sect in the world. Each force is so large that it is deeply rooted and intertwined. Even the righteous immortals with the word ‘sect’ at the head have to avoid their edge. Therefore, as long as your fists are hard enough and your realm is high enough, what is demonic or righteous is just nonsense, it doesn’t matter at all.”

Chen Pingan grinned. “Whether I recognize you as my master, I have to ask first.”

Sweat had already seeped from his forehead, but at this moment, the youth with the sword box was calm and composed, without the slightest fear.

“Oh?”

Liu Chicheng’s eyes lit up. “I knew you must have a good master. It doesn’t matter, tell me about it. Ultimately, assess the situation and choose the right tree to perch on. There is nothing shameful about it. I will not force you, nor will I trick you with words. As long as your master is higher than me, I will never force this master-disciple relationship.”

The Confucian Sage, Old Showcai, had already left Treasure Bottle Continent, where could Chen Pingan find him?

Mr. Qi had also passed away, it seemed there was no way.

But Chen Pingan was absolutely unwilling to follow this person to cultivate any Great Dao.

Chen Pingan took a deep breath and decided to gamble.

Success or failure depended on this one move.

If it really didn’t work, he would just fight with his life. If that still didn’t work, then as Ah Liang said, the sky is big, the earth is big, living is the biggest thing, and he would recognize “Liu Chicheng” as his master. No matter what, he must first send the sword to Upside Down Mountain and hand it to Miss Ning before considering anything else!

No one knew why Chen Pingan practiced the Pile-Driving Sword Furnace every time he escorted Li Baoping and the others on their travels to Great Sui for the first time, and then followed the young Cui Chan back to the Yellow Court Country, and even after finishing his practice, he would stand in the same spot for a long time.

Even this time, when he ventured out into the world alone, just like the last time when he watched Liu Gaoxin leave in Rouge County, Chen Pingan would still sit alone on the high ridge, drinking wine and muttering to himself in the last spring breeze of the year.

And in those moments that no one would think deeply about, there would be a spring breeze lingering around his sleeves.

Chen Pingan knew in his heart that that person must have passed away, but that person had also said.

If you are unsure what to do, ask the spring breeze.

Then, Liu Chicheng couldn’t help but chuckle, laughing happily because he found it amusing.

It turned out that he saw the youth in front of him imitating him, shaking his wrist and raising his sleeves.

But Liu Chicheng quickly stopped laughing.

Between the youth’s raised hands, strands of spring breeze joyfully lingered around his sleeves, like blue dragons swimming in the sea of clouds.

Chen Pingan asked softly, “Mr. Qi?”

Liu Chicheng’s heart was shaken. At this moment, it was as if he was facing the Celestial Master Zhang in that great battle thousands of years ago, holding a fairy sword in one hand and a magic seal in the other!

A warm and mellow voice rang out beside Chen Pingan, “Present.”