Sui Youbian still refused to open the door for Cui Dongshan, even after he told her that he could elevate her swordsmanship, sword intent, and even her entire sword dao by three measures, essentially gifting her a celestial sword embryo. She remained unmoved.

Cui Dongshan, rubbing his chin outside the door, changed his approach. He asked Sui Youbian if she wanted to know what the true sword immortals of the Vast Expanse looked like, what their demeanor was like.

Sui Youbian remained indifferent, inside her room, using a Dragon-Slaying Platform to hone her Obsessive Heart Sword. This Dragon-Slaying Platform was bought from Chen Ping’an, and when she got it, it was only about the thickness of a palm, leftovers from what the flying swords Chu Yi and Shi Wu had “eaten.”

Although the Obsessive Heart Sword was originally a celestial magical treasure forged by a cultivator, with the potential for improvement in grade, it was ultimately not a natal flying sword nurtured by a sword cultivator. It was still considered an inanimate object. Therefore, unlike Chen Ping’an’s two flying swords, which could be thrown into the Dragon-Slaying Platform and left alone, Sui Youbian needed to expend a lot of mental energy to temper the Obsessive Heart Sword.

While she honed the sword, sparks flew everywhere, scattering mysterious and subtle five-colored starlight. Sui Youbian only knew that the Dragon-Slaying Platform was known as the most precious sword-sharpening stone in the world, but she did not yet know the reason. However, the process of using the Dragon-Slaying Platform to hone the sword had greatly benefited her. Subtle and intricate flows of sword energy gathered and dispersed like clouds, and fleeting and sharp glimmers appeared on the blade.

It seemed that what she was honing was not only the magical sword Obsessive Heart, but also her own clear and pure sword heart.

Cui Dongshan found it strange. He had seen hundreds, if not thousands, of so-called sword fanatics like Sui Youbian. Their nature was actually quite simple. To put it nicely, it was called sincere divine intent; to put it bluntly, it was stubbornness. They didn’t know how to be flexible, glorifying it as the sword dao going its own way. Moreover, seeing her constantly nurturing her sword energy, what she truly sought was sword intent, not the pursuit of a sword master. Sui Youbian clearly intended to transition from a martial artist to a Qi cultivator, aspiring to become one of the top sword immortals of the Vast Expanse. She was also a naive girl who believed that the world revolved around her. Logically, she shouldn’t be so coy.

After being given the cold shoulder, Cui Dongshan was temporarily helpless. If it were Xie Xie, he would have broken down the door and slapped him a long time ago. However, Sui Youbian had Chen Ping’an as her protector, so Cui Dongshan was inevitably restrained. Many of his subtle methods of manipulating people’s hearts could not be used, so he had to leave.

He actually had one more thing to say that would surely move Sui Youbian, but he was not yet willing to guarantee it.

Returning to his room, he closed the door and stomped his foot heavily, summoning the local Earth God, a florid and plump woman, which was quite rare. Cui Dongshan stood by the bed, leaning back and kicking off his boots. He ordered the lowest-ranked Earth Goddess to massage his legs. The woman lowered her eyes and obediently squatted beside the immortal master’s feet, her movements gentle and extremely docile.

The weather was freezing, the seasons changed, and life and death were all due to Qi.

Those who consume Qi live long, which is one of the origins of Qi cultivators, involving the true foundation of the Great Dao.

The sages said, “Those who eat meat are brave, those who eat grain are wise, those who eat Qi are divine and live long, and those who do not eat become gods and do not die.”

The first three were easy to understand, but the last sentence was vague and incomplete. It was both “the Dao cannot be spoken” and there were too many taboos in it. There was both the dead end of pure martial artists and the saints did not want future generations to trace the origins of the divine way of incense.

However, Cui Dongshan knew the three realms of the tenth-realm martial artist: Qi Abundance, Return to Truth, and Divine Arrival. Currently, Song Changjing, the vassal king of Great Li, should still be in the Qi Abundance realm. Li Er, who had reached the peak of martial arts later, had actually entered the Return to Truth realm. This surprised Cui Dongshan greatly when he first heard the news. As a result, he ran to scold Yu Lu, who was always hanging out with the Great Sui prince Gao Xuan, beating him black and blue. Yu Lu didn’t dare to fight back, and probably still couldn’t understand why he was beaten. Yu Lu didn’t understand Cui Dongshan’s so-called “be careful that you have toilet paper in your hand, but no latrine to shit in.”

Cui Dongshan was worried for his underling. A country has varying degrees of martial fortune, so wouldn’t a continent? Treasure Bottle Continent was the smallest continent in the Vast Expanse. First, Song Changjing reached the peak of martial arts at a young age, and then Li Er went to the Northern Climates Continent and quickly surpassed him, becoming a Return to Truth realm tenth-realm martial artist. What’s more, there was the existence of that old man, who was said to have undergone a major change in temperament and become a recluse in the bamboo building of Fallen Mountain.

So, if it wasn’t for the fact that the ninth-realm martial artist Zheng Dafeng had suffered a major setback in the Old Dragon City, turning from a guy who was expected to reach the peak of martial arts into a cripple, it was estimated that in the next hundred years, the dead end for pure martial artists on Treasure Bottle Continent would not be the tenth realm, but would directly fall to the ninth realm. In addition to Chen Ping’an, as well as the four attendants who appeared out of thin air on Treasure Bottle Continent, you, Yu Lu and Xie Xie, as a pair of slaves under my command, Cui Dongshan, you must pay attention and quickly squat in the latrine position of the tenth-realm martial artist, otherwise you won’t even have a place to shit in the future.

Yu Lu, Yu Lu, a remnant of the Lu clan, what else would he be as the crown prince of the ruined Lu dynasty?

Yu Lu’s martial arts realm has been rising all the way, and the key is that each step is relatively stable. In addition to his own excellent martial arts talent, it is also because the Lu emperor was insane and transferred half of the country’s martial fortune to the crown prince Yu Lu.

Pure martial artists, aren’t they just the latrine stones in the eyes of the saints, smelly and hard, and unable to be put on the table?

Cui Dongshan was very sad, there were too many idiots in the world, they simply didn’t understand his long-term concerns. In the past, it was Xie Xie, Yu Lu and other children, and now there were Zhu Lian, Lu Baixiang and other people around Chen Ping’an.

Little Treasure Bottle Continent is still good!

It’s just that the red cotton-padded jacket girl’s temper is a little bad.

Cui Dongshan fell on the bed, touched his forehead, and then, in a bad mood, kicked the Earth Goddess of the mountains and rivers of this county town flying out.

The woman slammed into the wall. Even at the lowest level, she was still a deity who could enjoy human incense. She did not make any noise. She quietly got up and said tremblingly, “This servant is foolish, please calm your anger, Immortal Master.”
Previously, this mysterious foreign Immortal Master, at the Martial Temple in the county town, first imprisoned her from her humble “dwelling” underground. Then, with a wave of his sleeve, he dragged the golden statue of the Martial Saint from the shrine, inquired about the cause of the matter, and settled the originally irreconcilable feud that very night. The two enshrined saints of the literary and martial temples, with his help, restored their pure golden bodies. Even more perplexing was the family that had produced an immortal disciple, all beaming with joy as if they had gained a great advantage.

One couldn’t help but be wary.

A young Qi cultivator from a cavern realm almost turned the county town’s feng shui upside down. This outsider, who she estimated to be at least an Earth Immortal, was not to be trifled with. The two orthodox deities of the literary and martial temples, who were extremely upright in life, willingly served as his doorkeepers, standing guard outside the inn all night to repay his great kindness. She was just a minor earth spirit who ate scraps, and a woman at that. How dare she flaunt any integrity?

Cui Dongshan sat at the table, with a stack of books by literati that he had casually bought along the way, mostly works by famous scholars and writers of the Azure Luan Kingdom. Cui Dongshan casually opened one, read a few pages, and began to yawn.

He beckoned, “Come help me turn the pages.”

She hurried over to turn the pages for this handsome “young man.” This was a delicate skill, requiring her to carefully observe the Immortal Master’s gaze. Turning the pages too early or too late would surely displease the Immortal Master.

Cui Dongshan read a few more pages, then waved his hand, “You’re dismissed for now.”

She dared not show the slightest hint of joy. Just as she was about to take her leave, she suddenly remembered something. After weighing it carefully, she hardened her heart and told Cui Dongshan everything she had seen.

It was about Chen Ping’an’s brief excursion from the inn, when he went to the Martial Temple and, after leaving, met a talisman beauty in a secluded alley.

After all, she was the earth deity, located underground, which was equivalent to being hidden within the feng shui of the area. Unless one was an Earth Immortal, it would be extremely difficult for middle five-realm cultivators to detect her presence.

After hearing this, Cui Dongshan, while praising her for making a great contribution, smiled and swept his sleeve, almost obliterating the Earth Goddess’s soul. However, he stopped at the last moment and helped her stabilize her golden body again. This only cost him seven or eight taels of refined incense merit. Otherwise, the county town would have had to replace her with a new earth deity. Even so, seven or eight taels of human refined incense required her to accumulate nearly sixty years of practice. Her heart was both shocked and bleeding, but she still dared not show the slightest annoyance. She merely knelt and begged for mercy, tears streaming down her face, “Immortal Master, please forgive me.”

Cui Dongshan pondered for a moment, then smiled brightly, “You have made such a great contribution, I should reward you with an orthodox Azure Luan Kingdom bestowed mountain and water deity title. As for you unauthorizedly investigating my teacher, that is a capital crime. Merit is merit, crime is crime, merit does not offset demerit, rewards and punishments are clear. Originally, if you were dead, I would have been willing to help you elevate your divine status, but it would not have fallen to you. As for now, just stay home and wait for a good fortune to come to your door.”

As for why he spared her at the last moment, Cui Dongshan did not say.

The Earth Goddess returned to the underground in great joy.

The turmoil in Colored Garment Country was originally one of his, or rather “their,” many strategic chess pieces back then.

It was just that the old lecherous cultivator who liked to collect beautiful female ghosts was not considered an important chess piece. Cui Dongshan did not spend much effort on him back then. However, among the countless intelligence secret letters that poured into the capital of Great Li like snowflakes, Cui Dongshan had paid a little attention to a record. Not much, only twenty or so words, and it was a rough mention. The Great Li spy who reported the matter probably didn’t pay much attention to it himself.

In the past, this kind of trivial matter that the Great Li National Preceptor used to pass the time would have been sealed away year after year like those secret letters piled up like mountains in the Great Li secret vault.

After some idle deduction, because Cui Chan had mastered countless secrets of Treasure Bottle洲, he dared to say that he knew her background better than the old master of that female ghost.

Searching for chapters and extracting sentences is the old skill of carving insects, following the vine to touch the melon is the trick of the Yin-Yang family.

Both National Preceptor Cui Chan excelled at both.

Cui Dongshan got up and left the room, knocking on Chen Ping’an’s door.

Chen Ping’an opened the door and asked, “What is it?”

Cui Dongshan nodded vigorously, “Student has a major matter to discuss with teacher!”

Chen Ping’an glanced at him. Cui Dongshan smiled, “Whether it succeeds or not depends on whether teacher’s luck is good.”

Chen Ping’an then closed the door. Cui Dongshan, however, was quick to reach out his hands and hold the two wooden doors tightly, begging bitterly, “Teacher, allow me to explain slowly. If it is really as I expected, but teacher is unwilling to listen, then it would truly be a waste of heaven’s bounty, and two good things wasted at once. You would miss a great opportunity destined by fate, and student has not the slightest falsehood!”

Cui Dongshan originally thought that he would have to find another opportunity, but he did not expect Chen Ping’an to let him into the room.

Cui Dongshan closed the door, sat down with a smile, poured a cup of tea for both Chen Ping’an and himself, and then set up a restriction. It was to display the flying sword that he had won from the Central Earth sword cultivator by betting on chess. A streak of lightning-fast golden light circled quickly along the ground. The flying sword swept back to Cui Dongshan’s forehead, and the golden light hovering on the ground condensed and did not dissipate, like drawing a golden well mouth on the ground with gold powder.

Cui Dongshan asked with a smile, “The earth goddess here is bold and doesn’t know whether to live or die. She dared to follow Teacher’s trip to the Martial Temple, so she saw some things she shouldn’t have seen. What’s even more excessive is that she was even embarrassed to ask for credit in front of student. Doesn’t she know the importance of heaven, earth, ruler, parents, and teacher…”

Chen Ping’an asked directly, “So you killed the earth goddess?”

Cui Dongshan laughed, “How is that possible? Student only spoke some reasonable words to her in a friendly manner, telling her to pay attention and not make the same mistake again in the future. This earth goddess is also a reasonable person. It seems like she listened. Therefore, I gave her a fortune, which can be regarded as forging a small good karma.”

Chen Ping’an saw through Cui Dongshan’s thoughts, “If you weren’t going to come to my door, I guess this earth goddess who failed to ask for credit would have already been removed from the Azure Luan Kingdom’s mountain and water register.”

Cui Dongshan smiled sheepishly, “Teacher has wronged me too much. Student is now being kind to people all the time, everywhere, and in everything.”

Chen Ping’an took a sip of tea, “Then let’s talk about business.”
Cui Dongshan moistened his throat with tea and carefully chose his words, “Regarding that Immortal relic, seemingly a white elephant, if the Master is fortunate, perhaps we can have the best of both worlds.”

Chen Ping’an widened his eyes, “Cui Dongshan, have you lost your mind?! That female ghost within the talisman, even if the Yin-Yang scholars find her bones tough enough, and even if you were to ‘weigh’ them, they’d still be untouchable. Above all, she’s a female ghost! A female ghost! This Immortal relic is Du Mao’s Yang God doppelganger!”

Cui Dongshan lightly twirled the teacup in his fingers, his expression indifferent, staring directly at Chen Ping’an, “Why concern yourself with such trifles? Even if someone should care, wouldn’t it be the female ghost’s affair? Why should the Master trouble himself?”

Chen Ping’an was taken aback at first, then nodded, “That makes sense.”

Cui Dongshan chuckled, “No ‘but’ this time?”

With a flick of his wrist, a peculiar yellow paper talisman appeared out of thin air on the table, swaying gently. Chen Ping’an, using a rather rudimentary “opening” technique from the Talisman School, released the withered beauty ghost, Shi Rou, from her prison within the paper.

Shi Rou floated above the table, her colorful dress draping across the surface. Cui Dongshan looked up.

Shi Rou looked down, seeing a handsome youth with a vermillion mark between his brows. Although he did not speak, his eyes clearly conveyed four words: “Do you want to die?”

Though Shi Rou could not discern his identity or cultivation level, a primal fear welled up within her. She immediately descended to the ground, turning away, afraid to meet the youth’s gaze. Facing Chen Ping’an still felt like sitting on pins and needles. She lowered her eyes, displaying a rare sincerity, and said to Chen Ping’an, “This servant greets her master.”

Cui Dongshan stood up, rubbing his hands together with a eager smile.

Chen Ping’an nodded to him.

Cui Dongshan reached out and pressed down on the colorful ghost’s shoulder. She was struck as if by lightning. Her Yin energy poured out, her face contorted, and her black hair danced wildly. Cui Dongshan ignored all of this, simply lifting her up slowly, a foot off the ground. He increased the pressure of his fingers, raising the fierce ghost another foot. Cui Dongshan didn’t stop there. He lifted her up a third time. Instantly, the ghost Shi Rou’s bones loosened, like a lump of rotten meat with the bones removed. She was like a puppet forced to remain suspended in the air, lest she collapse to the ground.

Cui Dongshan released his hold. The ghost remained suspended in place, her soul trembling, swaying uncertainly. Wisps of her original Yin Qi flowed from her seven apertures, much like blood from a living person’s orifices. Her mouth opened wide, as if in a silent scream.

Cui Dongshan circled her. Each of the three times he raised the ghost’s form, there was a reason. The first time, he used the techniques of a fortune teller to gauge her bone strength. The second was the “seedling pulling” of ancient shamans. The third was even more arcane, a modified version of the “grasping the key points” method, derived from a unique reading ability of Confucian sages. It was similar to the “reading from all angles” method, a technique that only a Confucian scholar or academy head could master.

Besides his many magical treasures, Cui Dongshan’s mastery of secret arts was also among the best in the entire Great Azure World.

Cui Dongshan glanced at Chen Ping’an and found his expression unchanged.

After all, he was no longer just the straw-sandaled boy of those years.

Cui Dongshan gathered his thoughts and flicked a Xiaoshu coin towards the ghost’s brow. She fell to the ground, her withered hands propping herself up, her shoulders twitching, unable to even lift her head. It was clear that she had suffered greatly.

Fortunately, the Xiaoshu coin dissolved into pure spiritual energy in mid-air, alleviating some of the pain in the depths of the ghost’s soul.

Chen Ping’an asked, “How is it?”

Cui Dongshan sighed, “Acceptable. The Master’s luck is… rather ordinary.”

The two sat facing each other again.

Chen Ping’an said to the staggering, withered ghost, “I have a relic of someone who was at the Immortal realm. Would you be willing to reside within it?”

The ghost was shocked beyond belief, unable to speak for a moment.

Such a stroke of immense fortune, how could a mere ghost hope to receive it? Not to mention the terrestrial immortals in the eyes of mortals like Gold Core and Nascent Soul cultivators, the relics of Immortals, even jade purity realm cultivators would covet it! Great cultivators of the Immortal realm would likely be extremely jealous. After all, painstakingly refining a relic of the Immortal realm as armor for one’s wandering Yin God would provide both offense and defense, truly a wonderful thing, a magnificent feat.

Although she was a low-level Yin spirit, otherwise she wouldn’t be imprisoned and manipulated by a not even a Earth Immortal cultivator, her horizons were quite broad because of certain connections.

The ghost Shi Rou suddenly floated to the door, knelt down, and began to kowtow, likely imploring Chen Ping’an and Cui Dongshan together, saying with a sob, “Please have mercy! Grant this servant a body, so that I may walk in the Yang world openly! I am willing to be a beast of burden for all eternity…”

Cui Dongshan flew into a rage, remotely slapping the ghost’s head, turning it so that she only kowtowed to Chen Ping’an, “Why are you kowtowing to me, a little ghost? Don’t you know the rules? When you go to a temple, you worship the Bodhisattva, the true god! Would a living person kneel and kowtow to the temple keeper after entering the Temple of Literature and Military Arts? I think you, Shi Rou, have spent six hundred years as a ghost, rotting your entire brain!”

The ghost kowtowed even more frequently, repeating the same request, begging for mercy, begging for the relic.

Chen Ping’an suddenly asked, “Earlier, in that alley, neither I nor she mentioned the name Shi Rou. Cui Dongshan, how did you know? That disaster in the Rouge County of the Colorful Clothes Kingdom, was that a secret plot between you and Great Li?”

Cui Dongshan’s face stiffened. He had truly been carried away this time, making such a careless mistake. Alas, playing chess with a hopeless player like Lu Baixiang would cause one’s own chess skills to plummet. Cui Dongshan quickly stood up, bowing deeply, defending himself, “It was the work of the National Preceptor Cui Chan. The Master’s insight is keen, and it has absolutely nothing to do with this student, Cui Dongshan! Not even half a copper coin’s worth!”

Chen Ping’an could not find a major flaw in such brazen nonsense.

Chen Ping’an was silent for a moment, then said helplessly, “Get up.”

Cui Dongshan feigned wiping his brow, which was not wet.

He noticed that Chen Ping’an was looking at the female ghost. Cui Dongshan had no choice but to bow again and return.
The female ghost remained kneeling, incessantly kowtowing, her sincerity beyond words.

Chen Pingan turned to Cui Dongshan and said, “She’s in your hands. If possible, help her enter the immortal’s remains. If it can’t be done, don’t force it.”

Cui Dongshan patted his chest in assurance, “Teacher, rest assured. Even if it fails, I guarantee it will still be a worthwhile venture.”

Chen Pingan smiled, “If it succeeds, how much of a reward do I owe you?”

Cui Dongshan feigned surprise, “To respect the teacher and solve his problems is the student’s duty. What reward is needed?”

Chen Pingan scoffed, “Do you even believe that yourself?”

Cui Dongshan gave a sheepish grin, “Teacher’s knowledge deepens, and his understanding of human affairs is more refined. Following teacher to seek the Dao, student…”

Chen Pingan had to interrupt Cui Dongshan’s nauseating flattery, “Hold on. Let’s just speak frankly.”

Cui Dongshan pondered for a moment, then sat back on the bench, took a sip of tea, and tentatively asked, “If the student says he must have all of teacher’s golden essence coins, and the more the better, can teacher agree?”

Chen Pingan nodded.

Cui Dongshan inquired, “Teacher isn’t afraid that fortune and misfortune are intertwined? That this female ghost, under my guidance, will successfully usurp the immortal’s remains, but I will have tampered with her, rendering her disloyal to teacher? Teacher is willing to trust me, Cui Dongshan, in such a significant matter?”

Chen Pingan shook his head, “I don’t trust you, Cui Dongshan, I trust the teacher who gave you a second chance.”

Cui Dongshan fell silent.

The female ghost, Shi Rou, felt lost in a fog, completely unaware of the riddle the teacher and student were exchanging.

Cui Dongshan pinched the yellow talisman between two fingers. At the same time, the female ghost, Shi Rou, was pulled into the talisman and into Cui Dongshan’s snowy white sleeve.

It should be known that this talisman was already refined by Chen Pingan.

The exhilarated skeletal female ghost drifted in the ethereal void, and couldn’t help but feel even more reverence for the immortal youth with the mole between his eyebrows.

As for her nominal true master, Chen Pingan, with whom she had even signed a life-and-death contract, she actually felt little fear and even less respect.

As for why this was the case, it was simply the way of the world.

Cui Dongshan put away the talisman, then asked, “Teacher, can you stay a few more days? Three days at most, and there will be a result, good or bad. Then we can continue on our journey.”

Chen Pingan nodded, “I can.”

Cui Dongshan, feeling slightly embarrassed and guilty, held out his palm to Chen Pingan.

Chen Pingan retrieved the bags of golden essence coins from his spatial treasure, coins that the Great Li Dynasty had given as an apology.

He hadn’t even had time to warm them up before they were about to disappear again. Once the female ghost successfully entered the immortal remains, she would be a terrifying bottomless pit that needed to be filled with golden essence coins.

Then, Chen Pingan took out Du Mao’s external avatar from his small dimension and allowed Cui Dongshan to store it in his own spatial treasure.

Cui Dongshan walked towards the door, stopped, and turned to smile, “Teacher, although it was agreed upon beforehand, teacher isn’t angry that I’m dealing with those few people in such a manner?”

Chen Pingan shook his head, “As long as it doesn’t involve matters of great importance, feel free to act as you see fit.”

Cui Dongshan then asked, “What about Pei Qian?”

Chen Pingan sighed, “I can only tell myself that it’s better to realize the mistake early than to wait until she makes a big mistake and then rush to fix it.”

Cui Dongshan hesitated, but it wasn’t the feigned reluctance. In the end, he followed Chen Pingan’s example and sighed, “Teacher might as well read some books by Legalist sages recently. After all, measuring the actions of those above and below the mountain with Confucian rituals, rules, and moral standards is too cumbersome and strenuous. For example, the Legalist emphasis on the fact that all, from ruler to subject, noble to commoner, should follow the law without distinction of kinship or status, are all good medicines for governing the world and can save many unnecessary troubles. Even if teacher doesn’t want to practice Legalism, using it to pass the time and corroborate the Confucian theory of dietary supplements and the Legalist theory of medicinal supplements shouldn’t be a bad thing.”

Chen Pingan smiled, “Alright, while I’m staying in the county town these few days, I’ll find a few Legalist works to read.”

Cui Dongshan bowed, “Teacher is open to advice, student is ashamed of his inferiority, and is enlightened.”

Chen Pingan said helplessly, “Why don’t you compete with Wei Xian and the others in the art of flattery? The four of them would definitely be sincerely convinced.”

As he closed the door, Cui Dongshan smiled brightly and asked, “Teacher, in the future, when you have free time, how about I teach you how to play chess?”

Chen Pingan was stunned for a moment, “We’ll talk about it later.”

Cui Dongshan smiled and left.

The golden circle that swirled inside the room disappeared.

Cui Dongshan returned to his own room and sat down with his eyes closed.

Finally, he solemnly took out a painting scroll, made of the same material as the golden essence coins.

When Cui Dongshan opened it, the painting scroll on the table flowed like a long river of time, with continuous scenes, like the most authentic people and things in the world.

The person in the painting was none other than Chen Pingan.

The characters “intercepted” from the river of time in the painting were mostly Chen Pingan and his neighbor from Mud Bottle Alley, Song Jixin.

One involved the Great Dao of the Imperial Preceptor, Cui Chan, and the other involved the trajectory of the Great Li Dynasty.

This kind of magical painting scroll that uses the river of time as “rice paper” is praised by the immortals on the mountain as a “running horse painting,” and is extremely precious.

Only great cultivators in the Ascension Realm or immortal cultivators proficient in certain ancient secrets possess this supernatural power.

Immortal families with profound foundations and abundant wealth often secretly protect the reincarnations of their mountain gate founders with this object, carefully treasuring it. Flowing water paintings, running horse paintings, are not small objects for enjoyment, but involve huge expenditures and involve the cultivation of the Great Dao.

The words, actions, smiles, tears, and tribulations of the person being watched, as well as the fluctuations of their mood and the ripples in their hearts, will be completely recorded on the painting.

Even the Great Li emperor and Cui Chan’s early ally, Song Jixin’s birth mother, had never seen this painting.

Watching Chen Pingan and Song Jixin, his peer, gradually transform from children into teenagers on the screen, Cui Dongshan fell into deep thought. But the matter he was thinking about was no longer about the two people in the painting.

During the period when he stayed in the small town with his current guise, after the conclusion and after Qi Jingchun had died, Cui Dongshan discovered that the flowing water of time in the Li Zhu Grotto Heaven had been thinned by a great power, extremely concealed. Let alone the ordinary people in the small town and the terrestrial immortal cultivator, even the immortal cultivator might not notice it.
This implied someone possessed a “flowing” painting scroll depicting a longer timeline.

Who was capable of such heaven-defying deeds? It was difficult to say. Perhaps it was Lu Chen, one of the three Grand Masters of the Daoist sect, acting for the sake of his “senior brother” Li Xisheng, or for the long-browed descendant of Celestial Sovereign Xie Shi. Perhaps it was Ruan Qiong, who succeeded Qi Jingchun as the seated Sage, acting for his daughter Ruan Xiu. Maybe it was Old Yang from the medicine shop, acting for the blessed Ma Kuxuan. Or perhaps it was some younger figure placing a clandestine bet.

Cui Dongshan carefully stowed away the painting scroll within his personal dimension.

Then, he used a flying sword to carve out a small isolated world. Only then did he retrieve yellow paper talismans, several bags of gold and copper coins, and… the invaluable remains of a deceased immortal.

Cui Dongshan rubbed his brow.

Compared to piecing together the shattered porcelain boy back in the Lizhu Grotto-Heaven, this was only more difficult.

Cui Dongshan lamented, “It’s only natural for a student to relieve the burdens of their teacher and contribute generously. Damn it, both times I sought tutelage, I ended up as a pathetic coin purse. Cui Dongshan and Cui Chan are indeed one and the same.”

Chen Pingan indeed went to several bookstores in the county and bought back two books on Legalist doctrines, studying them late into the night.

Later, on the first day, as dusk fell, a haggard Cui Dongshan came to Chen Pingan’s residence to lament his troubles, cadging a pot of Osmanthus Wine. He then shamelessly took another pot with him.

The next day, Cui Dongshan, looking ashen-faced, stumbled into Chen Pingan’s house. Pei Qian was diligently copying books. Cui Dongshan asked the little girl to move over a bit, then collapsed onto the table, sleeping soundly for half an hour before waking up. He saw Chen Pingan practicing the Heaven and Earth Stance while walking upside down, and Pei Qian practicing the Six-Step Walking Stance. He silently left, not forgetting to take the pot of Peach Blossom Wine from the table.

On the third day, Cui Dongshan announced that he would only depart the day after tomorrow. He was radiant and even brought Lu Baixiang’s chess set, saying he wanted to relieve boredom and teach the Teacher how to play chess. With the Teacher’s talent, he would surely surpass Lu Baixiang in two or three days, and defeat Cui Dongshan himself in five or six days without any problem.

Before officially starting the game, Cui Dongshan gazed at the solemn Chen Pingan sitting across the table, and a fleeting moment of bewilderment crossed his face.

Cui Dongshan taught the “Little Sharp Angle” from the Colored Cloud Manual.

No matter how brilliant this opening was, no matter how it was praised by later chess masters as unprecedented, unrivaled, and world-shaking, it was still just an opening.

But Chen Pingan stubbornly stuck to this opening.

As a result, a full hour was spent explaining the essence of this opening and the numerous variations that followed. If Lu Baixiang or any other Daliang chess official were this “dense,” they would probably be cursing the other party with fiery words. But perhaps it was Chen Pingan’s identity as “Teacher” that made Cui Dongshan extremely uncharacteristically patient. Or perhaps it was because Chen Pingan, who had made Cui Dongshan suffer so much, had never sought his knowledge in this way before?

In any case, Cui Dongshan taught chess, Chen Pingan learned chess, the crisp sound of the pieces falling, and the back-and-forth of questions and answers, rose and fell in the quiet air.

Late on the fourth day.

When Chen Pingan opened his door, he was immediately terrified, and goosebumps erupted all over his body.

He saw a shyly smiling “Du Mao” standing beside Cui Dongshan, timidly saying, “This servant greets Master.”