The Shui Xiao Kingdom was a renowned water nation of lakes and marshes. The vast majority of its prefectures and cities, including the capital, were built on islands of varying sizes, resulting in bustling waterways and a multitude of boats. A large river flowing into the lake was called Peach Blossom Stream, its waters exceptionally gentle, with peach trees planted along both banks. Countless travelers flocked to the area, mostly renowned scholars and celebrities from neighboring countries drawn by its reputation.

Chen Ping’an traveled along this stream, not heading directly to a lakeside county town, but diverting onto a smaller path, arriving at a blessed immortal ground, Peach Blossom Ferry. Cultivators only needed to break through a crude illusionary mountain and water barrier to enter the ferry. After entering the secret realm, the scenery opened up, revealing Peach Blossom Ferry with a verdant mountain, surrounded by a tranquil lake with emerald waters. Above the ferry, white clouds perpetually hung, like a blue-robed immortal wearing a snow-white crown. The ferries that came and went all passed through that sea of clouds, their true forms unseen by mortals.

Peach Blossom Ferry belonged to the Shui Xiao Kingdom’s largest immortal mansion, the Variegated Sparrow Estate, populated entirely by female cultivators. They spent their years refining the waters of Peach Blossom Stream and various immortal herbs and flowers, combined with a unique secret art inherited from ancient times, weaving a specific type of mountain gate uniform. The Variegated Sparrow Estate, with all its manpower and resources, could only weave six of these robes each year. It was said that the registered immortal masters of the central Precious Bottle Continent’s major sects had already booked orders for a century ahead, mostly preparing them for direct disciples of the ancestral halls nearing the bottleneck of the lower five realms, as celebratory gifts for ascending to the middle five realms in the future.

Chen Ping’an was already familiar with taking ferries. Inside the resplendent pavilion at the ferry crossing, with a plaque hanging that read “Spring Exists at the Stream’s End,” he inquired about ferry matters, paid, and received a peach wood token with a beautifully drawn warding pattern. The ferry would depart tonight at midnight, heading to the Dragon Palace Grotto-Heaven, stopping frequently along the way at many immortal scenic spots so that passengers could disembark to tour the mountains and rivers. This kind of money-making scheme was also present on the Precious Bottle Continent’s underground Dragon Path, and the Fan family’s Osmanthus Island in Old Dragon City. Passengers enjoyed the beautiful scenery and bought local immortal products, which the local immortal estates welcomed even more, because the constant flow of people was like walking immortal money. The ferries earned goodwill from the immortal families along the way and perhaps even a share of the profits—a win-win-win situation.

The Variegated Sparrow Estate had specifically established a Celestial Weaving Workshop near the ferry, where tourists could admire the ten or so steps of weaving the robes, without paying a single spirit coin; anyone could go inside to appreciate the craft.

Chen Ping’an certainly wouldn’t miss this opportunity. After entering, he walked slowly along the corridors with the crowd. In each room, beautiful young female cultivators were busily working with their heads lowered. The closer he got to the back rooms, the more dazzling and brilliant the light radiating from the almost finished robes became.

Chen Ping’an did have the thought of buying one, but as a newcomer, he was a layman when it came to robes. He worried that he wouldn’t be able to haggle successfully and would end up being ripped off. In many mountain transactions, registered immortal masters could indeed save more money than rogue cultivators. This was because it wasn’t a one-time deal; the seller would consider the mountain sect background of the registered immortal masters. As for the precarious rogue cultivators, their heads might fall off their shoulders any day, so no immortal sect was willing to earn less money for favors.

Chen Ping’an believed that the Variegated Sparrow Estate would have one or two robes of the highest grade on hand, as well as a batch of treasured robes stored in its vault for emergencies. However, ordinary cultivators wouldn’t get any attention from the Variegated Sparrow Estate.

Chen Ping’an somewhat regretted that Qi Jinglong wasn’t by his side. Otherwise, he could have asked that guy to negotiate for a fairer price with the female cultivators of the Variegated Sparrow Estate, nothing excessive.

If there was an immortal of high seniority in the Variegated Sparrow Estate who happened to admire this terrestrial dragon from the Northern Entirety Continent, and insisted on selling the robe at the original price, Chen Ping’an couldn’t stop it, could he?

When he left the Celestial Weaving Workshop, Chen Ping’an was filled with melancholy. No matter how low the grade of a robe was, even if it was an immortal family with the word “Sect” in its name, even if their treasure vault was already piled high, they would never have too many.

The limited availability and high price of military armor stemmed from this.

Cultivation was for longevity, with time passing without end and seasons indifferent. The only thing to fear was the unexpected. Immortal robes, like the divine dew receivers, golden crow warp threads, and incense-gathering triple armor of the military, were all meant to resist that unexpected event. Whether a cultivator wore robes or military armor when venturing down the mountain made all the difference in the world.

As soon as Chen Ping’an left the workshop, a female cultivator of extraordinary bearing slowly walked towards him.

She was a local snake of the Variegated Sparrow Estate who was coming to find him.

Chen Ping’an stopped and took the initiative to salute.

The female cultivator returned the salute and smiled, “I am the Hall Warden cultivator of the Variegated Sparrow Estate’s Ancestral Hall, Wu, the Wu of stopping war, Mountain Lord.”

Chen Ping’an was puzzled. He wondered why this great cultivator of the Variegated Sparrow Estate, who was clearly not in the workshop earlier, wanted to see him. He still introduced himself, “My surname is Chen, my given name is Haoren (Good Person).”

Not blushing in the slightest.

However, the meaning of this female cultivator’s name was truly good.

Not worse than Chen Haoren’s.

That female cultivator had seen too many passing cultivators hiding their identities and didn’t take it seriously. After hesitating slightly, she went straight to the point, “May I ask, is Immortal Master Chen acquainted with Liu Jinglong, Mr. Liu, of the Taiwei Sword Sect?”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “Who in the Northern Entirety Continent doesn’t know Liu Jinglong?”

In the Northern Entirety Continent, it was still customary to call him by the name recorded in the Ancestral Hall of the Taiwei Sword Sect, Liu Jinglong, rather than Qi Jinglong before he ascended the mountain.

Chen Ping’an didn’t inquire about these secrets, and Qi Jinglong didn’t elaborate.

Wu chuckled.

This answer lacked sincerity, but it was hard to find fault with it.

Wu smiled slightly, “Our Estate Lord is currently in seclusion, but the Estate Lord was fortunate enough to travel with Mr. Liu for a period of time in the past, which greatly benefited her cultivation. She has always admired Mr. Liu’s character, but in recent years, Mr. Liu has never passed by our mountain, which our Estate Lord considers a regret.”

In fact, what Wu said was partly true and partly false. The current young Estate Lord of the Variegated Sparrow Estate was considered Wu’s grand-niece in terms of seniority, but her talent was far superior to her grand-aunt, Wu. On the path of cultivation, those who had attained the Tao were prioritized, and cultivators in the Northern Entirety Continent highly regarded strength. Her own Estate Lord not only admired that Liu Jinglong, but also loved him. Therefore, she wasn’t in seclusion this time, but rather following the clues from the sword sacrifice that originated in the Lotus Hibiscus Kingdom, rushing to chase after him, planning an unintentional encounter. However, such matters were taboo for superiors, and Wu naturally wouldn’t say it directly.

Chen Ping’an instantly understood.

The Estate Lord’s seclusion was a major event for an immortal mansion on the mountain.

But the Variegated Sparrow Estate and Peach Blossom Ferry…
The atmosphere was unusually harmonious, and something felt amiss. Moreover, a Law-Enforcement Ancestor of the Ancestral Hall might not necessarily be the most powerful cultivator in a sect, but they were often the most experienced. If the Mansion Master were truly in seclusion, Wu would never so casually reveal this to a stranger. Coupled with the polite words the Painted Sparrow Mansion Master had exchanged with Qi Jinglong, Chen Pingan understood that they had secretly intercepted Liu Jinglong’s journey back north.

Chen Pingan ceased his deliberate concealment. Since the other party was treating him with sincerity, Chen Pingan reciprocated, saying, “I am indeed acquainted with Qi Jinglong.”

He reverted to the form of address they used when alone.

Wu’s mind was shaken, though her expression remained unchanged.

While she had suspected as much, the moment Chen Pingan admitted to knowing Liu Jinglong, Wu, a Golden Core Earth Immortal, instantly felt an invisible pressure.

The reasoning was simple. When Liu Jinglong sacrificed his sword within the neighboring, unremarkable Lotus Flower Kingdom, their Mansion Master had instantly recognized his identity through the unmistakable aura of “rules” he exuded.

At that time, beside Liu Jinglong’s natal flying sword, there was clearly another sword immortal who drew their sword as well, and it was one who wielded a pair of swords!

Together with Liu Jinglong, they remotely paid respects to the great sword immortals who had died in the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Wu was no fool.

If this unfathomable black-robed swordsman arrived at Peach Blossom Crossing and revealed his cultivation as an Earth Immortal swordsman, loudly proclaiming his close friendship with that land dragon, Wu wouldn’t believe a word of it.

But a stranger who could sacrifice a sword alongside Liu Jinglong on a mountaintop, even if they cried and shouted within the Painted Sparrow Mansion’s territory that they didn’t know Liu Jinglong, Wu would never believe it.

In the northern Ju-lu Continent, neither the recorded immortals nor the wild cultivators of the mountains and marshes feared this land dragon, because no one believed that Liu Jinglong would indiscriminately kill the innocent, bully others, or use force to oppress.

But at the same time, even if you were an Upper Five Realm cultivator, regardless of the outcome, you would more or less fear Liu Jinglong drawing his sword.

If Liu Jinglong, a sword cultivator who loved to overthink things and endlessly lecture about principles, chose to draw his sword directly, who wouldn’t hesitate, wondering if they were in the wrong and had truly lost their sense of righteousness? Would they become a public enemy, losing the various protections that were rightfully theirs? Reputation was extremely important in mountain cultivation, even for demonic cultivators. Indiscriminate killing out of wanton desire was worlds apart from a justifiable act of ruthlessness.

This was Liu Jinglong’s strength.

That was why among the younger generation of the northern Ju-lu Continent, the first and second, the vastly different prodigies Xu Xuan, both held Liu Jinglong in high regard. They had a general impression of the seven after Liu Jinglong, especially Xu Xuan, the only disciple of the current number one sword immortal in the north, Bai Chang, who had publicly declared that the seven after Liu Jinglong were all useless. This had caused a great uproar in the past. It was rumored that Huang Xi, ranked fourth among the wild cultivators, had even ambushed Xu Xuan, but the process and result were a secret. Xu Xuan, however, continued to be diligent in his cultivation, preferring to disguise himself as a frail scholar, traveling the mountains and rivers with two sword-bearing maids. Huang Xi had remained silent for several years.

Chen Pingan asked, “Senior Wu, does the Painted Sparrow Mansion have any spare robes for sale?”

Wu smiled, “Of course, but the prices are not cheap. The robes produced by the Heavenly Weaving Workshop, with half of the process open to the public, are merely the lowest-grade robes of the Painted Sparrow Mansion, most suitable for cultivators in the Cave Realm. Above these, the Painted Sparrow Mansion treasures two other types of robes, provided to cultivators in the Sea Gazing and Dragon Gate Realms, as well as great cultivators in the Golden Core and Nascent Soul Realms.”

Wu had taken the initiative to appear because she wanted to see what kind of person Liu Jinglong’s friend was. If she could win him over, it would be a significant achievement for the Painted Sparrow Mansion.

Mountain cultivation meant longevity, so people were particularly mindful of the long-term ebb and flow of favors and grudges.

Today’s incense offering might be tomorrow’s great fortune.

Of course, some unintentional words and actions could also lead to future family exterminations.

This was the way of the northern Ju-lu Continent.

So Wu felt relieved when Chen Pingan was willing to take the initiative to ask about robes.

The Painted Sparrow Mansion was naturally best at dealing with cultivators through business.

Assuming that her Mansion Master had no prior interactions with Liu Jinglong, what could they talk about if Liu Jinglong came to Peach Blossom Crossing? Discuss principles, exchange sword techniques?

This time, it was because Liu Jinglong was a bridge that Wu was willing to come down the mountain. Otherwise, even if this stranger entered the crossing wearing a rare robe that the female cultivators of the Painted Sparrow Mansion could roughly discern, Wu would still choose to avoid trouble and turn a blind eye.

Chen Pingan asked, “May I ask Senior Wu, what are the prices of the two?”

Wu didn’t give a direct answer, but smiled and invited, “Does Immortal Master Chen mind chatting as we walk? Peach Blossom Crossing has a teahouse that uses peach blossom water to brew tea. The tea leaves are also unique to the Painted Sparrow Mansion’s back mountain. There are only twelve old tea trees in total. Before the Grain Rain and before the Rain seasons, a rare species of Painted Sparrow raised by the sect picks the leaves, and then cultivators use secret methods to stir-fry them into balls. A great writer once praised them in his famous collection of poems as ‘Little Dark Jade,’ saying that the boiling tea soup had the wonder of tides rising and falling, stars shifting. This teahouse is not open to the public, so we can go there for a detailed discussion.”

Chen Pingan, of course, followed local customs and deferred to his host.

It would be even better if the “Little Dark Jade” tea cakes could be sold along with the robes.

After all, Chen Pingan was still a traveling peddler with a knapsack store. Things were valued for their rarity, and as long as he had something unique in the world, he could naturally charge whatever price he wanted.

Chen Pingan never refused this kind of steady business that promised to be very profitable, just like how he haggled with the young Pang Lanxi for half a day to buy those complete sets of painted goddess pictures in the Wall Painting City, almost working as a shop assistant to successfully lower the price.

Arriving at a secluded teahouse with few customers, Wu and Chen Pingan went straight to a lakeside pavilion. A female cultivator appeared to brew tea. After Wu introduced her, Chen Pingan learned that she was the teahouse manager.

Wu said that the Painted Sparrow Mansion had two first-class robes and sixteen second-class robes in storage, with prices varying greatly. The former cost fifteen Grain Rain coins, while the latter cost only five.

Chen Pingan pondered, robes should be bought, but not now.
It wasn’t that he was so destitute he couldn’t afford a superior-grade dharma robe from the Auspicious Sparrow House. Throughout this journey, Chen Ping An had been earning money. Not to mention the inch-by-inch-gold Old Locust Street Ant Nest in the Spring Dew Garden, and the Jade Luster Cliff he had half-bought and half-coaxed from Liu Zhiqing, both were assets that could be exchanged for a vast fortune in immortal coins. Furthermore, Chen Ping An possessed quite a few valuable items.

However, in the travels that lay ahead, across distant mountains and rivers, dharma robes were never a necessity for Chen Ping An. So, there was no rush.

Chen Ping An wasn’t overly reserved. He directly asked Wu of the Auspicious Sparrow House if they could reserve two dharma robes for him. He would give the Auspicious Sparrow House a definite answer within the next few years, whether he bought them or not.

Wu was actually worried about encountering a wealthy patron who would buy up the entire stock of dharma robes from the Auspicious Sparrow House in one go. Every robe sold would mean a loss of profit.

After all, the Auspicious Sparrow House never had to worry about selling their dharma robes.

Even though he was forging a pleasant connection with this young guest surnamed Chen, the Auspicious Sparrow House would still feel the pinch.

But with this arrangement, Wu felt much more relaxed. Reserving two robes was nothing. Whether the deal went through or not, the other party would owe the Auspicious Sparrow House a favor.

Therefore, Wu, who usually wasn’t fond of idle chatter, spoke a little more.

This greatly surprised the female cultivator running the teahouse, and she looked at the amiable swordsman with renewed respect.

After all, Wu was a Peak Lord Elder overseeing the rules of the mountain. He generally never personally involved himself in the business of the Auspicious Sparrow House.

Chen Ping An was an incredibly patient man. As long as Wu spoke, he wouldn’t lower his head to drink tea. Only when Wu finished his sentence would he raise his cup and sip slowly. When the female tea-house owner refilled his cup, he would always offer a word of thanks.

Words and facial expressions could be faked.

But one’s gaze and aura were difficult to feign.

The female shopkeeper was increasingly certain that this man was a disciple of a prominent immortal clan from a mountain peak, like the well-regarded Yang Ningxing from the Cloud Soaring Palace.

During this time, Wu naturally didn’t hold back in praising the exquisite craftsmanship of his Auspicious Sparrow House dharma robes.

The Northern Deep Continent’s mountain treasures were undoubtedly first-class. There were the spirit armor forged by the Three Lang Temple, the flying swords imitated after the lifebound weapons of various Sword Immortals by Hate Sword Mountain, the three-colored kasayas of the Buddhist Radiance Temple (crimson, purplish-red, and cyan-purple jade), and the crane cloaks woven by the Cloud Soaring Palace’s Department of Mysticism of the Great Origin Dynasty. Additionally, four other mountain peaks each had their own unique objects. Among them, the dharma robes crafted by Old Monarch Lane sold the most and were of the highest quality in the entire continent. However, the Old Monarch Lane dharma robes were almost entirely monopolized by the Jade Forest Sect, and their prices were consistently high with extreme markups. Nonetheless, the Luminous Robes produced by Old Monarch Lane every sixty years were still the top choice for all cultivators above the fifth realm, excluding Sword Immortals.

Besides this, Old Monarch Lane also specially provided “Grand Review Armor” to secular dynasty emperors, which was incredibly opulent and beautiful.

Mountain cultivators often ridiculed these as “embroidered garments” that looked good but were useless, but human monarchs still held them in high esteem.

Next in line were the dharma robes from Wu’s Auspicious Sparrow House.

Chen Ping An understood the situation.

What the Auspicious Sparrow House lacked compared to Old Monarch Lane was a superior secret art for crafting something like the Luminous Robes for cultivators above the fifth realm. This was a fortuitous encounter that couldn’t be forced. Furthermore, they also lacked the number of cultivators and the sources of various rare materials. In fact, the latter two could be acquired, for example, by cooperating with the Jade Forest Sect, which had the largest business in the Northern Deep Continent. The Auspicious Sparrow House only needed to retain its key secret techniques, and the Jade Forest Sect would help provide wealth. However, by doing so, the Auspicious Sparrow House could easily be controlled by the Jade Forest Sect and, after centuries, might become a vassal sect.

And the Jade Forest Sect’s reputation in the Northern Deep Continent wasn’t good.

Regarding this prosperous Jade Forest Sect, various mountain cultivators had created countless “couplets” to present to the Jade Forest Sect and its Founder, who had forced his way into the Jade Numinous Realm using divine immortal coins.

Besides the most widespread saying, “With clean sleeves, Jade Forest Sect; with embroidered pillows, the Fifth Realm,”

There were many other more sarcastic ones.

“Cheap and good, Jade Forest Sect; invincible, Jade Numinous Realm.”

“Honest and fair, Jade Forest Sect; overwhelming Sword Immortals, Jade Numinous Realm.”

“Never cheats anyone, Jade Forest Sect; genuinely talented, Fifth Realm.”

Drinking tea in the waterside pavilion, a cool breeze blew, and both parties enjoyed their conversation.

Chen Ping An planned to rest here while waiting for the ferry that would depart for the Dragon Palace Grotto-Heaven at the hour of the Rat. He spoke with Wu, who smiled and said it was no problem, and even instructed the female shopkeeper to treat the guest well.

After Wu left, Chen Ping An apologized, saying he had been a bother. The female cultivator felt somewhat flattered and said something polite like, “A Sword Immortal drinking tea here brings glory to my humble abode.”

After nightfall.

Chen Ping An sat alone in the waterside pavilion, closing his eyes to rest.

The clear night was dust-free, the moonlight like silver.

In the quiet of the night, under the moon in a foreign land, it was easiest to feel the yearning usually hidden in one’s heart.

I have someone I long for, separated by a faraway land.

This was true for Miss Ning, and also for Liu Xianyang. And as for the snot-nosed kid in Mud Bottle Alley, it was probably even more so.