“If it can’t be said, then it’s better to remain silent.”

Chen Ping’an patted the armrest of the recliner beside him, signaling Cui Dongshan not to make things difficult for him, and said with a smile, “As for this mastermind, I’ve actually had some conjectures for a while now. They’re likely of the same ilk and approach as that Han Yushu, someone who enjoys manipulating the grand scheme of a continent from the shadows. The flow of Sword Dao fortune in Treasure Bottle洲 is quite strange. From Li Tuanjing of Wind and Thunder Garden, to Wei Jin of Wind and Snow Temple, and perhaps even Liu Baqiao, not to mention Liu Xianyang and myself, it’s clear that someone has been meddling with our emotions. My relationship with He Xiaoliang of the Clear Cool Sect in my early years felt like the Old Man Under the Moon had been rummaging through marriage ledgers, secretly tying us together with red thread. So it’s not difficult to guess. Isn’t it strange that two out of the seven ancestral sword gourds ended up in the small Treasure Bottle Continent? Moreover, the origin of the one Su Jia of Zheng Yang Mountain wore in the past is also shrouded in mystery. When the time comes, I’ll just follow this clue and pay a visit to the ancestral hall of Zheng Yang Mountain. A little browsing through the old almanacs and merit ledgers will be enough for me to get closer to the truth. My only concern now is that this person might have already quietly descended the mountain and gone traveling to another continent before Liu Xianyang and I go sword-testing.”

Cui Dongshan gritted his teeth and bent two fingers, actually wanting to carve out a wisp of thought, locked tight by “himself and Cui Chan,” from his soul.

Chen Ping’an brought his two fingers together and tapped the armrest of the recliner lightly, interrupting Cui Dongshan’s dangerous action with his fist intent. Then, with a wave of his sleeve, Cui Dongshan immediately leaned back and fell against the chair. Chen Ping’an smiled, “It’s just that I don’t have a ruler.”

Cui Dongshan exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, “Your student is useless.”

Chen Ping’an said, “Do you know what I admire most about Master Ruan? It’s that when Master Ruan accepts disciples, besides focusing on temperament, he also feels that accepting disciples is simply the master imparting the Dao to the disciple, and the disciple can just practice swordsmanship in peace. It’s not about arguing with others for the sake of a sect, or ganging up to fight, relying on numbers to gain strength. I think this point of Master Ruan’s is most admirable. The master leads the way, but the cultivation is up to the individual. The disciples who enter the sect are not completely disregarding the reputation of the ancestral hall, but they don’t need to deliberately concern themselves with the master-disciple status and act impulsively because of it. In the end, cultivation is still a personal matter. On Fallen Phoenix Mountain, I won’t feel that Pei Qian has to be like anyone, not even like me. Fallen Phoenix Mountain also doesn’t need everyone to be like me or like Pei Qian. You actually said this very clearly back then. Alright, tell me something happy.”

Cui Dongshan turned to the side, pressing his palms together and against his cheeks, curling up in a lazy manner, and said with a smile, “Teacher, Lotus Root Blessed Land is now at the bottleneck of an upper-grade blessed land, its wealth is rolling in, and its profits are extremely high. Although it’s still far from comparable to Cloud Cave Blessed Land, it’s definitely not at the bottom among the other upper-grade blessed lands in the seventy-two blessed lands. As for all the middle-grade blessed lands, even if they’ve been managed by immortal families with the ‘Zong’ title for hundreds or thousands of years, they still can’t compare to Lotus Root Blessed Land.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t feel much joy, but rather a sense of unease. Cui Dongshan, being understanding, quickly handed over a ledger written by Wei Wenlong, “This is an old ledger that I obtained before I was imprisoned in the Jidu Temple.”

Chen Ping’an looked through the whole story of how Lotus Root Blessed Land rose to become an upper-grade blessed land and breathed a sigh of relief. It had the right timing, the right place, and the right people.

It’s just that he inevitably owed a lot of favors again. It doesn’t matter, the exchange of favors on the mountain is not like down the mountain; there’s no need to worry about the passage of ten or twenty years.

Within the blessed land, mountains and waters deities, fox spirits and immortals, flower demons and tree spirits, heavenly treasures, martial fortune, immortal opportunities, emerged one after another, appearing in the world.

Chen Ping’an’s eyes gleamed as he carefully flipped through the ledger, casually asking, “The Great Ditch? Was it so Da Li could help Zhigui walk the path of water and become a dragon?”

Cui Dongshan said softly, “The great ditch that runs through the center of Treasure Bottle Continent is called Qi Crossing.”

Chen Ping’an stopped flipping the pages of the book, nodded, and continued flipping through the pages with a calm expression and without much fluctuation in his tone, “I remember that back then, Li Huai and the others each received a calligraphy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been so decisive in terminating the contract with Zhigui when I was at the Great Wall of Swords. It cost a lot to make the termination happen.”

Cui Dongshan was somewhat regretful, “If Teacher hadn’t terminated the contract, you could now obtain a continuous stream of water fortune, and for the next hundred or thousand years, you could sit securely on Fallen Phoenix Mountain, reaping benefits every day, even if Zhigui didn’t want to give it.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t mind, joking, “Logically speaking, doing good deeds actually requires people to pay an additional price. The logic itself, ”