As the autumn winds rise, so does the crab roe ripen, making this the most opportune time to savor the golden-shelled crabs of Puddlewater City. At every meal hour, the city is permeated by their unique fragrance.

Indeed, some gluttonous old gourmands would travel from the Vermilion Dynasty to indulge, raising their cups in the well-acquainted lakeside estates and restaurants. However, this year, few have journeyed from the neighboring Stone Haze Kingdom, for their very lives are at stake.

The Island Lord Alliance of Scrolllake is to be held in a mere ten days. At that time, over a hundred island lords will ascend the long-vacant Palace Willow Island, to elect a sovereign of the Jianghu.

The Azure Gorge Isle’s River-Cutting True Lord, Liu Z茂, is naturally the favored candidate.

But this is Scrolllake, where the cheerful banquets have barely ended before over four hundred rogue cultivators band together to slay Nascent Soul and Golden Core sword cultivators.

Word has spread through Puddlewater City these past few days that the Little Devil Gu is coming to town for crabs. The young city lord, Fan Yan, has begun procuring the most succulent golden-shelled crabs of Scrolllake with lavish funds, the rarest kind known as “Bamboo Branch.” These behemoths contain a wealth of aquatic essence, and ordinary fishermen could never dream of catching one in their lifetime, let alone seeing one. They are treasures that only cultivators of the Grotto Heaven Realm can hope to encounter by chance.

The ascendant Azure Gorge Isle and its leader, Liu Z茂, have ceased their expansion in the past year. He is akin to one who has gorged himself madly, becoming sated and needing to pause to digest, lest the seemingly prosperous situation crumble into unstable disarray. Liu Z茂 remains clear-headed in this regard, carefully scrutinizing the mountain and marsh cultivators who seek refuge with Azure Gorge Isle. These matters are handled by one of his disciples, a female cultivator named Tian Lake-sovereign.

She was originally Gu Can’s second senior sister, and now has become the eldest in due course. After all, the eldest senior brother was slain by the little junior brother, Gu Can. The position could not remain vacant, lest it be unseemly and reflect poorly.

Surrounding Gu Can these days is a host of young cultivators of prominent standing and scions of wealthy families. For example, Fan Yan, the young city lord of Puddlewater City who is preparing a banquet to welcome “Big Brother Gu,” is the city lord’s only heir, spoiled rotten by his mother to the point of fearing neither heaven nor earth. He proclaims to admire only heroes and valiant men, not the immortals of the land.

In short, he is a dimwit.

Nearly thirty years of age, he still delights in calling Gu Can “Big Brother Gu.” The entire Puddlewater City treats this young city lord as a joke.

Furthermore, there are Azure Gorge Isle’s fourth senior brother, Qin Que, and sixth senior brother, Chao Zhe, both outstanding cultivators of Scrolllake, blessed with great talent and never hesitating to shed blood. They are River-Cutting True Lord’s capable lieutenants in his conquests.

There is also the Little Uncle Lü Caisang of Yellow Oriole Isle, whose age differs from his senior brother, the island lord, by several centuries, for he was a disciple accepted by an old ancestor before his seclusion, making his seniority exceedingly high.

Before the rise of Azure Gorge Isle, Yellow Oriole Isle was one of the few large isles that could contend with it, although its power is now no match.

Then there is Yuan Yuan, the young island lord of Drumming Isle, nicknamed “Round Round.” Her parents are a pair of cultivating Dao companions from Drumming Isle, both Golden Core cultivators, the woman surnamed Yuan and the man surnamed Yuan, an adopted son-in-law. Yuan Yuan’s mother is a formidable woman who even gives Liu Z茂 a headache. Furthermore, it is said that this female cultivator has a grand background, having once been the favored concubine of a Nascent Soul sword cultivator from the Vermilion Dynasty.

Prince Han Jingling of Stone Haze Kingdom, and Huang He, the son of the great general.

Gu Can, the profligate son Fan Yan, Qin Que, Chao Zhe, Lü Caisang, Yuan Yuan, Han Jingling, Huang He, and the reclusive eldest senior sister, Tian Lake-sovereign, who obeys Gu Can’s every command.

Aside from Tian Lake-sovereign, whom Gu Can strong-armed into joining, the other eight share a common camaraderie. It is said that, at Gu Can’s suggestion, they captured a large rooster from some unknown place, drew blood to swear an oath of brotherhood, and proclaimed themselves the Ten Heroes of Scrolllake.

Not just Scrolllake, but even the eight themselves are perplexed. If there are nine of them, why proclaim themselves the Ten Heroes?

At the time, the Little Devil Gu Can stood barefoot on the second seat, hopping up and down, pointing at the vacant first seat, grinning and saying that the position would be reserved for now.

Gu Can is not yet old, but since arriving at Scrolllake, he has been growing like bamboo shoots after a rain, shooting up in height every year. The child of ten-odd years is already the height of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth.

Rumor has it that the flood dragon, which delights in eating Qi Refiners, is capable of nourishing Gu Can’s physical body. The closest Azure Gorge Isle ever came to a successful assassination was when the assassin struck a heavy blow on the Little Devil’s spine. If it had been an ordinary mortal, he would have surely perished on the spot. Even a Qi Refiner below the fifth realm would not have been able to leave his bed for three years, but in less than half a month, the Little Devil reappeared, once again sitting atop the head of the flood dragon he called “Little Loach,” happily roaming Scrolllake.

On this day, from the high-rise buildings of Puddlewater City, one can see a colossal floating ship slowly approaching. The ship’s size rivals that of Puddlewater City’s walls.

Around the ship, besides the waves created by its passage, subtle ripples spread across the lake surface a hundred zhang away, barely perceptible.

A youth-like figure, clad in a well-fitting ink-green python robe, sits barefoot on the ship’s bow railing, dangling his legs. Every so often, he habitually sniffs, as if, with the passage of time and increased height, two trails of snot still hang on his face, needing to be retracted into their abode.

Behind him stand three people: the eldest senior sister, Tian Lake-sovereign, who now oversees the lives and deaths of nearly ten thousand people on Azure Gorge Isle and its vassal isles, possessing a bearing and presence akin to River-Cutting True Lord; and to her left and right, her two junior brothers, Qin Que and Chao Zhe.

Following them is a row of ten-odd charming and beautiful damsels, each with a unique air, who have simply donned modest and appropriate attire for their outing.

And beneath the lake water surrounding the floating ship.

Is a “Little Loach” several hundred zhang in length.

The pier on the shore has already been commandeered by the young city lord of Puddlewater City, Fan Yan, who has driven away all idlers. The young island lord of Drumming Isle, Yuan Yuan; Lü Caisang, the Little Grandfather in the mouths of a host of white-haired old cultivators from Yellow Oriole Isle; and Prince Han Jingling of Stone Haze Kingdom, who has been seeking refuge here for half a year, are laughing and talking on the shore. Only Huang He, the son of the great general of Stone Haze Kingdom, is absent. Alas, Huang He is the one who commands the sixty thousand elite border troops of Stone Haze Kingdom.
My old man, it is said, just stabbed the Emperor of Shihao Kingdom in the back, defected to the Great Li Song Clan’s iron cavalry, and plans to support Prince Han Jingling as the new emperor. He’s quite busy, and Huang He can’t spare the time either. He just sent a secret letter to Chi Shui City, telling his brother Han Jingling to wait for good news.

The outline of Chi Shui City’s walls became increasingly clear.

Tian Hu Jun walked to the ship’s railing and whispered, “Do we really need to change our route to enter the city, deliberately giving that group of assassins a chance?”

The youth crossed his arms and grinned, “Or did you really think I came here to eat crabs? I’m about to throw up from eating them all the time! They’re such a nuisance to eat. They’re not as good as the deep-fried crabs from the streams back home. One bite, crunch! No chopsticks needed. That’s what I call good! You bunch of bumpkins from Bookscroll Lake, what do you know! You show off with a few stinky coins in your pockets. Do you think I need to carry silver with me? Do I need a large retinue?”

Tian Hu Jun smiled. “Junior Brother is a dragon among men. Naturally, we vulgar people can’t compare.”

The youth leaned back, turned his head, and chuckled, “Eldest Sister, even if you say such nice things, you’re not qualified to be my personal attendant. You’re too ugly, and your chest is too small. So pitiful. Even an ordinary mirror is a demon-revealing mirror for plain-looking women like you.”

Tian Hu Jun gave an awkward smile. She didn’t feel it was a bad thing in her heart.

In the distance from the ferry, a quiet path along the lake, with yellowing willow trees. A middle-aged man stood beside a willow tree, gazing at the towering ship on Bookscroll Lake. He took out his wine gourd, raised it, then lowered it. Lowered it, then raised it again, but he just wouldn’t drink.

As the local people of Dragon Spring County became more familiar with the so-called mountain immortals, some began to realize that not all doctors in the world could create a plaster that could eliminate pain and allow one to rest peacefully during difficult illnesses. In particular, people were constantly being admitted to the Dragon Spring Sword Sect, and even among the descendants of criminals from the Lu Dynasty, two children had ascended to the heavens, becoming little immortals on Divine Peak Mountain.

The Yang Family Shop became lively. Aunts and grandmas flocked to the pharmacy with their children and grandchildren, all eager to find an immortal, and Old Man Yang, who presided over the backyard, was naturally the biggest “suspect.” As a result, the Yang Family Shop was almost forced to close down. The current head of the Yang family, who had inherited a family motto passed down through generations, almost knelt down to Old Man Yang in apology.

They were all neighbors from nearby streets or familiar faces from the town, and they could always find some connection. The Yang family wasn’t among the four major surnames or the ten great clans in the town. They were just ordinary wealthy households. They couldn’t just ask the shop assistants to drive people away. Besides, unless they were willing to shed blood, they couldn’t really drive them away.

In desperation, the pharmacy had to find someone to guard the entrance, trying to persuade people with kind words, explaining that Old Man Yang wasn’t some old immortal at all, just an old man with a few ancestral secret recipes.

Who would believe such nonsense? The more they said that, the more suspicious people became, increasingly convinced that Old Man Yang, who liked to puff on his pipe, was a reclusive expert.

Fortunately, Old Man Yang didn’t seem to care about these things. He didn’t ask the head of the Yang family to close the shop directly. Instead, he had the pharmacy spread the word that he knew a bit about physiognomy and could judge a child’s potential for becoming an immortal by feeling their bones, but he would charge a fee for each examination, and it wouldn’t be cheap: one snowflake coin.

The people of the town were used to being poor. Even those who had suddenly acquired silver and were considering finding a path to the mountains for their family’s children wouldn’t be the kind of people who didn’t value money. Some sold their pots and pans, scraping together a thousand taels of silver. Some borrowed money from friends who had become rich by selling ancestral items. Fortunately, many people chose to wait and see. Not too many people went to the pharmacy with money on the first day. Old Man Yang said a bunch of rambling immortal-like words, but that wasn’t important. What was important was that Old Man Yang simply shook his head, not finding anyone worthy.

After the number of visitors decreased, the pharmacy started spreading the word that they would no longer accept snowflake coins. As long as you bought a packet of medicine from the Yang Family Shop, that would be enough. After all, everyone was a neighbor, and a snowflake coin was indeed a bit expensive.

As a result, the number of visitors plummeted.

Was the Yang Family Pharmacy crazy about money?

Then, people started regretting their decision and went to the Yang Family Shop to demand their snowflake coins back, resorting to all sorts of tactics, including tantrums and rolling on the ground.

The shop was unusually firm on this matter, refusing to budge an inch. Not even a copper coin would be returned. Were there any reasons to refund money for a voluntary transaction? Did they really think the Yang Family Shop was a charity?

Everyone failed. Then, one day, a fellow who was close to the Yang Family Shop said after getting drunk that he had used his connections to get his immortal coin back. Moreover, the people from the Yang Family Shop themselves had said that Old Man Yang was actually just mechanically applying a tattered book of physiognomy and was a fraud. Even the initial rumors were deliberately spread by the Yang Family Shop to make money for the pharmacy.

Pandemonium broke out.

Overnight, the Yang Family Shop’s reputation was ruined. The Yang family’s descendants were like rats crossing the street, full of complaints, demanding that the head of the Yang family kick out the old man who dared to pretend to be a deity despite having no ability.

The head of the Yang family talked until his lips were dry, finally managing to appease the family members.

After that, the pharmacy finally became quiet.

It was estimated that even if the pharmacy and Old Man Yang begged people to let him feel their bones and look at their faces, no one would be willing. They wouldn’t even bother if it was free, unless they were paid.

As a result, the pharmacy replaced two shop assistants, a kiln worker girl from Riding Dragon Lane and a child from Peach Leaf Lane. No one cared anymore.

Outsiders watch the fun, insiders see the way, and those with destiny see the great path.

A town man who had disappeared for several years and then reappeared, Zheng Dafeng, the gatekeeper, had only become a hunchback. He didn’t bring back a wife, nor did he bring back any silver from other places. Although Zheng Dafeng wasn’t a shop assistant, he often sat on a stool in front of the pharmacy these days, not stopping anyone, just watching the fun. He still had that carefree look, his eyes darting around slyly, constantly ogling women’s chests and buttocks, further earning the contempt of the town’s women.

After returning to the town, in addition to seeing this farce, Zheng Dafeng also saw many people who had become rich overnight, gambling in crowds all night long, and those who frequented the newly built brothels, walking in with their heads held high and walking out with wobbly legs.
Moreover, with pockets jingling with more silver than one could reasonably count, their backs were straighter than the oldest locust tree. Men and old bachelors who wouldn’t dare breathe too loudly on Fortune Street or Peach Leaf Lane now had the audacity to drink with the managers, discussing the possibility of buying a servant girl or two with pleasing features – preferably one who could read and write. A young maiden would be ideal. They never dared to dream of pressing a woman of refined grace beneath them on the bed, but if they did, this life wouldn’t be in vain! A string of copper coins used to make them the masters; now, silver was their grandchild, and money was as worthless as dirt!

Money flowed like water, gurgling through the hands of different people.

And so did people’s hearts.

As autumn deepened, Zheng Dafeng grew melancholic.

Basking in the gentle autumn sun, Zheng Dafeng glanced down at his crotch, even more troubled. He felt he was failing his “little brother.” Was he truly destined to go from a handsome, carefree young bachelor to an old, lonely one?

He inexplicably thought of the woman outside the Dust Apothecary, the one who finally said her name was Jiang, whose weight he estimated was twice his own. Zheng Dafeng shivered. The girl was a good girl, but some things couldn’t be resolved simply by turning off the lights. Such a large woman, no matter how kind or willing to be a friend, made Zheng Dafeng prefer to slight his “little brother” rather than himself!

While Zheng Dafeng was feeling guilty about these thoughts toward Miss Jiang, Ruan Qiong suddenly appeared in the apothecary’s backyard. Old Man Yang, surprisingly, wasn’t puffing on his pipe today but was instead dozing in the sun. He opened an eyelid and glanced at Ruan Qiong. “A rare visitor.”

Ruan Qiong held up two jars of wine.

Old Man Yang shook his head and chuckled, “I don’t care for that.”

Ruan Qiong moved a long bench and sat across the courtyard from Old Man Yang, with the courtyard between them.

Old Man Yang asked, “What brings the restless Ruan Sage here? Worried about Ruan Xiu?”

Ruan Qiong nodded.

Old Man Yang joked, “Is taking Chen Ping An as your son-in-law so difficult?”

Ruan Qiong took a sip of wine. “Chen Ping An is not a bad person. Although I don’t want to take him as a disciple, I do recognize his character. If Ruan Xiu weren’t Ruan Xiu, if she were an ordinary girl, I would let her go. Perhaps… I might even enjoy a little drink with this son-in-law now and then. It wouldn’t be bad. And I wouldn’t have to worry about my daughter being mistreated, only about her being too headstrong and scaring the son-in-law away. But my daughter is Xiu Xiu.”

Old Man Yang nodded. “Too much good fortune can also bring worries. I understand.”

Ruan Qiong drank the aptly named “sorrow wine,” and after a large gulp, wiped his mouth and said heavily, “Because the Old Divine Sovereign mentioned some things before, I can guess at the general outline of Cui Chan’s plans this time. However, I can’t guess the specific malicious intent, the interlocking schemes, and the elaborate set-up. It’s not my forte, and I don’t bother trying. But in cultivation, the most important thing is to avoid being wishy-washy. If my Xiu Xiu gets too deeply involved, she will eventually run into trouble. So I let Xiu Xiu go to Shujian Lake this time.”

Old Man Yang said, “Since you are offering a peach, Cui Chan, being so intelligent, will certainly reciprocate with a plum. Rest assured. He will handle things beautifully, flawlessly, at least not to the point of being counterproductive.”

At this point, Old Man Yang smiled slightly, as if recalling something.

“Offering a peach in exchange for a plum, substituting a plum for a peach… Hmm, there’s something to chew on. Whether it tastes like bitter herbs or sugary water depends on the person.”

Ruan Qiong didn’t dwell on these riddles either. Aside from Qi Jingchun, probably none of the Three Schools figures sitting in the Pearly Isle Grotto-Heaven could fathom what this Old Divine Sovereign was thinking, planning, or seeking. Ruan Qiong never engaged in pointless struggles. His good time was already taken up by forging and casting swords, and he also had to worry about Xiu Xiu’s future. Where did he have so much free time to play mind games?

Old Man Yang was just saying it off the cuff and returned to the main topic, “You want to make a clean break, using Gu Can of Mud Bottle Alley and borrowing the unknown plans of that Embroidered Tiger, to create a gap between Ruan Xiu and Chen Ping An. The more enlightened two people are, the more they like to fixate on trivialities, the more stubborn they become, the more a flaw the size of a sesame seed becomes larger than the sky. That’s why I didn’t stop Ruan Xiu from leaving Dragon Spring County. This is also the human nature of you, Ruan Qiong, as a father.”

Ruan Qiong inexplicably sighed, “This Cui Chan is truly formidable.”

He, Ruan Qiong, hoped that his daughter Ruan Xiu would not get entangled in matters of love and affection and would concentrate on cultivation. To advance to the upper five realms as soon as possible, so that she would at least have the power to protect herself.

It was as if someone was handing him a pillow just as he wanted to sleep.

Ruan Qiong had no contact with Cui Chan, and Cui Chan didn’t hint at anything.

Everything was Ruan Qiong’s voluntary entry into the chessboard, with himself and his daughter Ruan Xiu jointly serving as pieces on Cui Chan’s chessboard.

This was Cui Chan’s precise calculation and correct prediction of people’s hearts, the chess strength of a grandmaster outside the chessboard.

Old Man Yang laughed, “Don’t underestimate the former top disciple of the Literary Saint. In that Three-Four Argument that determined the direction of the entire Vast World’s literary heritage, half of the rules were equivalent to being made by Cui Chan. Can you say he’s not formidable? It’s just that at that time, Cui Chan was already a frightened bird, a bit guilty, hiding here and there, very laborious, and refused to show himself, so he lost the last chance to repair his relationship with his teacher. Of course, this might not be a kind of invisible protection for Cui Chan by the Literary Saint. Look at my eldest disciple, so rebellious, even more like a homeless dog than the former Supreme Sage. Are your Asian Saints still embarrassed to pester him? Aren’t you shouting that you should have compassion? Then let Cui Chan be like a fart. So Cui Chan safely ran to our Treasure Bottle Continent. Ruan Qiong, don’t look at me with that look. The Literary Saint can do this kind of rogue thing. So of so many accompanying saints, I only find this gentleman pleasing to the eye.”

Ruan Qiong twitched the corners of his mouth, “The twists and turns of scholars are probably more winding than all the mountains in the Vast World.”

Old Man Yang chuckled, “Including the Daoist Azure Nether World, the Buddhist Lotus World, and the demon race’s Desolate World, they still can’t compare.”

Ruan Qiong felt for the first time that drinking and chatting with this Old Divine Sovereign was much better than he had imagined. Could he come often in the future? After all, a grown daughter doesn’t stay…
Even when staying by his side, she didn’t seem to care much for her father. Every time Ruan Qiong thought of this, he wished he could open a wine shop in the town, saving him the trouble of being taken advantage of and ridiculed by a common woman every time he went to buy wine.

After Ruan Qiong left, Zheng Dafeng entered the backyard.

As a disciple, the first thing Zheng Dafeng did upon returning to town was, of course, to visit his master.

That meeting was the first time in Zheng Dafeng’s life that he dared to look Old Yang in the eye and calmly speak some rebellious words. For example, even if he was useless in this life, he would either continue to work at the courier station to make a living, or continue to be a gatekeeper for Chen Ping’an’s dilapidated mountain. Moreover, Zheng Dafeng didn’t feel ashamed at all, peaceful and stable, which was pretty good.

Old Yang was puffing on his pipe, neither saying good nor cursing.

After Zheng Dafeng poured out his heart, he left the backyard of the pharmacy. Although he was still a little guilty, he felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

Then he felt a little funny. He used to be an eighth-realm martial artist, yet he didn’t dare to talk to his master like this. Every time they spoke, the words his master uttered never exceeded ten. Zheng Dafeng was afraid that his master would mistakenly think that he was giving up, and despise him even more. But after thinking about it, Zheng Dafeng felt that this was fine. He would stay in town and visit the old man at the pharmacy every now and then, regardless of whether the old man would find him annoying.

Zheng Dafeng entered the backyard, sat on a bench, and didn’t say anything, planning to just sit with his master for a while and then leave.

Although he had a bellyful of words, Zheng Dafeng knew his master’s temper very well. Once he made a decision, not to mention him, Li Er, probably no one in the world could change his master’s mind.

Old Yang smoked his pipe, exhaled a smoke ring, and slowly said, “When you came home, didn’t you bring a pipe? Why did you throw it away? Can’t show it to others?”

Zheng Dafeng was struck dumb. The first thing he did was start counting his fingers, surprised and delighted, “Master, you said twenty-two words in one breath today!”

Old Yang asked, “A disciple who doesn’t dare to look his master in the eye, how many words is he worth his master saying? Did you deserve it back then?”

Zheng Dafeng sat upright, “It is the disciple who has disappointed Master.”

Old Yang’s next words were as sharp and sarcastic as ever, “Never had hope, where does disappointment come from?”

Eight words.

This was the most normal master-disciple conversation before Zheng Dafeng left his hometown.

Zheng Dafeng didn’t feel wronged, but was still quite happy. Adding these eight words, his master had spoken thirty words today. He must boast about it to Li Er later!

Old Yang threw something over, it was the pipe that Zheng Dafeng had secretly thrown away outside the town. Zheng Dafeng caught it in his hand and found that it was even filled with tobacco.

Old Yang said, “I only ask you one question, do others deserve to be schemed against by Cui Chan like this?”

Zheng Dafeng sighed, casually rubbed his fingers together, and lit the tobacco. He had this ability now.

Old Yang said, “If Chen Ping’an hadn’t had his natal porcelain shattered, he would have been a fair-to-middling immortal cultivator. Now that Chen Ping’an’s original heart is broken, cutting off his path as a cultivator, he still has the path of martial arts to take. At worst, he can be completely disheartened and be a wealthy man in the dilapidated mountain, living a stable life. What’s wrong with that?”

The master and disciple were both puffing smoke. Zheng Dafeng suddenly said, “That’s not good.”

Old Yang sneered, “Oh?”

Zheng Dafeng raised his head, mustered his courage, and said, “He is Chen Ping’an!”

Old Yang tapped his pipe on the steps and casually said, “The real key to choosing Chen Ping’an was a sentence from Qi Jingchun, which moved that existence to choose to gamble on that one. Do you really think it was Chen Ping’an’s aptitude, temperament, talent, and situation?”

Zheng Dafeng retorted sharply, “Would Qi Jingchun choose Ma Kuxuan or Xie’s Longmei’er to persuade that existence? I don’t think Qi Jingchun would even be embarrassed to open his mouth! So, according to Chen Ping’an’s theory, if you want to figure out how a result will be, you have to trace back step by step. Qi Jingchun’s sentence is certainly crucial, but can Chen Ping’an’s aptitude, temperament, talent, and situation be ignored? After going out, I increasingly know that the outside world believes more in worldly suffering than the people in the small town. As long as someone gets a reward, then it is no longer suffering. Those long tortures in the midst of suffering, those ups and downs of people’s hearts, are all inferior to a realm, a magical treasure, a flying sword, or a chance in their eyes.”

Old Yang smiled, his eyes cold, “Do these fools deserve you and me to talk about? A group of ants fighting over scraps of food, how can you talk to them? By lying on the ground and talking to them? It seems that your trip out is getting worse and worse.”

Zheng Dafeng grinned and quickly changed the subject, “Master has bet a lot on Chen Ping’an, aren’t you worried about losing everything?”

Old Yang shook his head and said, “If you have poor vision and lose money in business, don’t blame the heavens or the earth.”

Zheng Dafeng sighed.

He had already done his best. If he kept nagging about Chen Ping’an, it might backfire.

Old Yang glanced at the hunched man who was a little dazed and pointed out the truth, “Cui Chan and the others’ actions and desires, the knowledge hidden in the dark, have given some good things, which have greatly benefited me. I used to rack my brains, but after thinking for over nine thousand years, I still couldn’t break the knot. Thinking about it a lot, the effect was minimal. It’s not as good as two chats with Cui Chan. I have to return this extra gain to Cui Chan.”

“So even if the things bet on Chen Ping’an are lost, it doesn’t matter much.”

Zheng Dafeng asked, “Master, I’m very curious, among so many disciples you’ve accepted, will there be someone who makes you particularly happy or particularly sad? For example, Senior Brother Li Er, who is expected to reach the ‘God Arrival’ realm in the tenth realm, will Master be more satisfied?”

Old Yang shook his head and said, “No.”

Zheng Dafeng pointed at himself and smiled, “What about me? Your disciple is so miserable, aren’t you even a little bit sad?”

Old Yang only sneered.

Zheng Dafeng’s eyes were resentful, “Master, although I was prepared, I’m still a little sad after really knowing the answer.”

Old Yang was too lazy to…