Two uninvited guests appeared at the river’s edge.

Or rather, it was one.

The great cultivators of the Fourteenth Realm, who had stood at the peaks of mountains for countless years, possessed the discernment to see that their Daos were intertwined, merely separated into two.

When the tall, white-robed woman appeared alongside the “servant” clad in golden armor, all the cultivators focused their gazes upon her, or rather, them, it?

A head, and that suit of golden armor, were both spoils of war.

The legendary Ancient Swordsman, one of the Five Supreme Gods.

Aside from the Sage of Rites, Bai Ze, the Old Master of the Eastern Sea’s Guandao Temple, and the Old Blind Man, were familiar with her.

But even Dao the Second, Yu Dou, the Third Sect Leader, Lu Chen, the Dragon Slayer, Wu Shuangjiang, and the other Fourteenth Realm great cultivators participating in the riverside council for the most part, were witnessing this deity whose “killing power exceeded the heavens” for the first time.

Ten thousand years ago, during the Ascent to Heaven, humanity finally succeeded. Aside from the selfless sacrifices of human ancestors, the internal strife between the Swordsman’s challenge to the Armored One, the clash of water and fire, and the deities’ contempt for humanity were all crucial. The slightest misstep in any of these aspects would have resulted in dire consequences for humanity.

Ten thousand years ago, the human race was mired in deep suffering. They were both puppets raised by the gods, used as incense to temper their immortal bodies, and hunted mercilessly by the rampant demon races as a food source. Early humans were too weak. The lofty gods, using two Ascension Platforms as pathways, crossed countless suns, moons, and stars, descending to the mortal realm, conquering the land, and often assisting the confined human race in slaying the unruly, transgressive great demons.

Before that, the descent of the sword to the mortal realm preceded the challenge to heaven and the subsequent rain of techniques. Humanity began to cultivate swordsmanship and spells, marking the beginning of their ascent.

This is why sword cultivators, above all others, possessed the greatest killing power, yet were subtly suppressed by the Heavenly Dao.

Yu Dou, wearing a fish-tail crown and carrying a Daoist Canon of Swords, emanated Daoist aura and sword energy, as if even the “Invincible Below the Three Ancestors” Dao the Second could not suppress the surging sword intent of a celestial sword.

Of course, it could also be Yu Dou’s deliberate posture of questioning the sword.

The three direct disciples responsible for guarding the White Jade City’s Five Cities and Twelve Towers for the Dao Ancestor, the long-lost first disciple, Yu Dou, and Lu Chen, had not participated in the riverside council ten thousand years ago.

Lu Chen, wearing a lotus crown and with a yellow bird perched on his shoulder, smiled at his senior brother, “As juniors, we must not be disrespectful.”

Chen Ping’an remained silent, seemingly dazed.

The person holding the head, clad in white, tall, with a familiar face, a gentle smile, and a tender gaze towards Chen Ping’an.

But Chen Ping’an felt unfamiliar.

The woman clad in golden armor, her face blurred within the golden light, felt familiar.

Like a swordmaster, accompanied by a sword servant.

Chen Ping’an truly recognized the latter. The former seemed to have merely usurped the latter’s appearance, yet the two were like the true body and the Yin spirit of a cultivator.

Even Chen Ping’an, with his resolute nature, was momentarily at a loss.

However, Chen Ping’an merely glanced at the white-robed woman before gazing at the golden-armored one, as if asking her what was happening.

But the white-robed woman, seemingly near yet far, spoke first, smiling, “Did I just take a long trip, and my Master doesn’t recognize me anymore?”

The golden-armored sword servant shifted, merging with the white-robed woman, and then she, clad in white robes and golden armor, casually tossed the head into the River of Time, instantly turning the entire river golden.

She asked with a smile, “What about now?”

Chen Ping’an hesitated, ultimately remaining silent.

He truly didn’t know what to say.

Lu Chen, seeing the golden waters of the River of Time, sighed, “A blessing for the world, benefiting all living beings.”

Then Lu Chen turned to Yu Dou and asked with a smile, “Senior Brother, is it too late for me to learn swordsmanship? I think I have good aptitude.”

Dao the Second was too lazy to speak.

The Old Scholar, for once, didn’t stir the muddy waters, leaving it to his closed-door disciple to deal with this extremely complex karma.

The sword spirit was her, but she was more than just a sword spirit. She was higher, possessing more complete divinity. It wasn’t just about identity, realm, or killing power.

It involved divinity.

If the deductions of the Confucian Temple were not too far off, then simply put, she had stripped a portion of her divinity and given it to the latter, while also deleting and altering the latter’s memories.

She existed as a relatively weak sword spirit in the Li Zhu Grotto Heaven, sleeping for millennia, occasionally waking up to observe the mortal realm. She would also occasionally return to the ancient Heavenly Court ruins.

This was somewhat similar to the relationship between the Dragon Slayer and the Daoist Jia Sheng and the coachman Bai Mang, but not entirely the same, being more complex and pure.

The old man at the Yang Family Medicine Shop, as the Azure Child Heavenly Lord who controlled one of the two Ascension Platforms.

Although his divine rank was not as high as hers, being merely one of the Ancient Twelve High-Ranking Gods, Yang the Elder, as one of the earliest humans to become a god, held a “path to godhood” for all male Earth Immortals, wielding immense power. Therefore, even in the face of Ruan Xiu and Li Liu, the reincarnations of the two Supreme Gods, Yang the Elder showed them no respect, even scolding them directly, “The Heavenly Court collapsed, your sins are enormous.”

Moreover, the ancient gods had factions, each with its own camp, performing different duties, and with various disagreements and Dao disputes. For example, Fan Junmao, the Southern Mountain Lord of Baoping Continent, showed extreme reverence when facing her, who had recovered half of her Swordsman form, even considering being killed by her sword as a great honor. But the remnants of the Armored One’s lineage, such as She Yue, or the Water God’s lineage’s Yu Si, even if they feared her, would never willingly offer their necks for slaughter like Fan Junmao.

She had a pair of intensely golden eyes, symbolizing the purest divinity in the world, and a face full of smiles as she sized up Chen Ping’an.

For gods, ten or twenty years were like a flick of the finger for a mortal scholar, a brief scenery, merely a small wave that quickly rose and fell in the vast River of Time.

The Old Scholar looked relaxed, but was actually extremely nervous.
The earlier appearance of this immortal sister deliberately presented the sword master and sword attendant as two separate entities.

Regardless of the “immortal sister’s” initial intention, whether it was to reveal her true identity as the sword wielder to Chen Pingan for the first time, or because she had to don golden armor to stabilize a portion of her divine form after a great battle in the heavens,

there was actually a heavy undercurrent of danger.

Down the mountain, there is a distinction between nominal and actual age. According to the customs of the mountain, “the birth of a primordial spirit is already considered a person.”

And the key to the reincarnation of a mountain peak cultivator lies in whether they can gather all their souls and restore their memories from their past lives.

In short, a cultivator’s reincarnation, the “cultivation of the true self,” largely depends on the “restoration of memories” to ultimately determine who they are.

Whether the memories of the past life overwrite the memories of this life, allowing them to continue cultivation, or whether the present self takes charge, merely absorbing the memories of the past life and cultivating the mind anew.

For example, many Zen disciples in Buddhism have the innate ability to pay respects upon seeing an image or feel a sense of familiarity when reading a particular scripture, as if seeing an old possession.

The value of the Water God Li Liu’s innate knowledge lies in the absence of such conflicts, layer upon layer, lifetime after lifetime, interconnected, all being “one person,” merely changing different cultivation guises.

Old Scholar Qi’s initial jesting, seemingly reminiscing and trying to get close, was actually to buy Chen Pingan a moment of time, in case he lost his mind and needed to adjust his state of mind quickly.

Chen Pingan’s perception of her has always been that of a masterless sword spirit.

And the sword wielder has always intentionally or unintentionally misled Chen Pingan, as if she were playing a harmless joke.

So, when the sword spirit’s previous master appears out of nowhere, how will Chen Pingan, as the new master, view the unfamiliar sword master and the familiar sword spirit accompanying her?

Old Scholar Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed the immortal sister wasn’t angry, but rather somewhat happy.

Could this be considered her second test?

The first was after Chen Pingan split Mount Sui with his sword.

It was related to Ning Yao at the time. This time, Chen Pingan’s heart chose the familiar sword spirit.

She suddenly embraced Chen Pingan.

Even though Chen Pingan was no longer a youth, and had a slender figure, he was still shorter than her.

Chen Pingan felt somewhat helpless and gently patted her shoulder, signaling her to stop.

Old Scholar Qi sighed with emotion, worthy of being an immortal sister, possessing both heroism and tenderness.

She finally released Chen Pingan, took two steps back, and smiled with narrowed eyes, “I missed my master very much during my time in the heavens.”

Old Scholar Qi dusted off his clothes. There was nothing he could do; his seniority was a bit high for today’s riverside meeting.

Ritual Sage knelt down, scooped up a handful of radiant golden light, and carefully examined its weight.

Ritual Sage didn’t initiate the meeting, so the true opening remarks of the second meeting after ten thousand years were extremely relaxed and interesting, with no sense of solemnity.

Because they were all aimed at a genuine young man, far too young. At just over forty, it seemed like a waste of resources to not tease him a bit.

Bai Ze was the first to speak, smiling, “Chen Pingan, we meet again.”

They had met in the early years at the Great Li border pass in the Treasure Bottle Continent, on a snowy night on the plank road. At that time, Chen Pingan was accompanied by a boy in green and a girl in a pink dress. A straw sandal youth from a humble alley, returning home, yet getting along harmoniously with spirits.

Bai Ze had later read the records of the Shu Jian Lake incident and was, of course, very familiar with this young accountant.

Changing customs and making people kind is to mend the deficiencies of the heavens.

This was the true result that Qi Jingchun hoped Bai Ze would see when he gifted a painting of the long river of time. It was precisely the fact that even after exhausting all efforts, the desired outcome was still not achieved, but the general direction of the world was gradually being reversed, which made onlookers even more moved.

Chen Pingan bowed to Bai Ze.

Wu Shuangjiang teased, “An ungrateful nephew, eats and leaves.”

Chen Pingan ignored him.

This Palace Master of the Sui Chu Palace in the Azure Underworld, of course, was a Daoist in name. The supremacy of one sect in the Azure Underworld left almost no room for other schools of thought, making it far more pure and singular than the supremacy of Confucianism in the Vast World. There were also some Confucian academies and Buddhist temples in the Azure Underworld, but they were of low status and small influence, lacking even a “Sect” level organization. This was a stark contrast to the Vast World’s tolerance of diverse schools of thought.

Wu Shuangjiang was undeniably a Daoist official, but his foundation in cultivation was that of a strategist.

Wu Shuangjiang, a homophone for “Unparalleled General.” With the surname Wu, he refined his Daoist partner’s inner demons, using this to achieve the fourteenth realm.

On the Night-Sailing Ship, when referring to Bai Luo, the guardian of the Sui Chu Palace, Wu Shuangjiang used the phrase “ups and downs,” repeating “up.” In fact, it was a double entendre, revealing Bai Luo’s background and his own true identity.

Among the Ten Sages of the Martial Temple in the Vast World, there were originally two “upstarts.” It was only because their achievements were flawed that their positions were unstable. But if only achievements were discussed, without considering merits, the two “upstarts” could firmly occupy a place among the top five generals in the world.

As for how Wu Shuangjiang went to the Azure Underworld and started over, joining the Sui Chu Palace and beginning his cultivation as a Daoist, it would probably be another obscure and mysterious tale from the past.

The reason Wu Shuangjiang’s cultivation path could be so smooth was naturally because Wu Shuangjiang cultivated like training an army, melting together the strengths of all schools, like a famous general commanding troops, the more the better.

The dragon slayer, formerly the blind old Daoist “Jia Sheng,” joked, “The mountain master is truly blessed to meet such a person and be able to grasp them. My years as a nominal tribute in the small town were not in vain.”

Riding Dragon Lane. A thatched shop.

Slaughtering dragons was like cutting grass, a true Dragon King Zhu, for a man who had once slain all true dragons, was nothing more than a grassy dragon head, to be slain or killed at will.

Chen Pingan clasped his fists in salute.

The old blind man laughed, “When people die, their eggs face the sky, when they don’t die, they live ten thousand years. Judging by this, will the Hidden Official Master appear again in a future meeting?”

The old master of the Guandao Temple in the East Sea nodded, “Let’s strive to have a few old faces left when there’s a similar meeting next time.”

Regarding auspicious omens, the earliest pages of the Old Almanac of the Three Religions once recorded two major anecdotes: one was when the Confucian Sage Master was born, a Qilin came to the door, spitting out a jade book.
Then there’s the old Taoist Abbot, the “World’s Stinking Ox-Nosed Ancestor,” once called by the Taoist Founder, “Appearing in the world when it flourishes, and disappearing when it declines.”

Furthermore, there is that Jun Qian, deeply connected with the Western Buddhist Kingdom, who only repels dragons and snakes, not mosquitoes.

The Sage of Rites seems in no hurry to start the meeting, allowing these Fourteenth Realm cultivators from the mountaintops, who have spent countless years cultivating, to “reminisce” with that young man one by one.

As for Wu Shuangjiang and Yu Dou, they didn’t even exchange a glance.

Wu Shuangjiang, however, chatted briefly with a female Taoist from Azure Heaven.

The ranking of the ten individuals from Azure Heaven is actually quite simple: the more times you fought the “True Unrivaled,” the higher your rank.

Sun Huaizhong of the Mysterious Capital Temple is considered the unshakeable fifth, precisely because he sparred with Taoist Second many times in Taoist arts and swordsmanship.

And this female Taoist beside Wu Shuangjiang was once the fourth strongest in Azure Heaven’s history.

However, she rose like a comet and vanished like a shooting star, quickly disappearing from sight.

Later generations only know that she had a contest with Yu Dou in the same realm early in her career. They fought to a draw.

At that time, Yu Dou had just reached the Upper Fifth Realm, as had she.

But in that debate, Yu Dou did indeed unleash the immortal sword Dao Repository.

The Old Scholar softly asked the Quasi-Sage beside him, “How is the karmic affinity of my closed-door disciple with his elders? Is it auspicious?”

Of course, only the good aspects were mentioned.

Lu Chen’s schemes in the small town, the perilous situations in the Lotus Root Blessed Land, being ambushed by Wu Shuangjiang on the Night Voyage Ship, their debate, and the entanglements between the closed-door disciple and that True Unrivaled from White Jade Capital…

The Quasi-Sage smiled knowingly.

The Sage of Rites slowly stood up and said, “Yu Dou and I, with a clear mind, stopped over a dozen returning deities, including the Armored One, and the Sword-Holder slew the Armored One with their sword.”

The Sage of Rites, the Second Sect Leader of White Jade Capital, and the Chicken Soup Old Monk traveled far beyond the heavens, intercepting the deities led by the Armored One, to return to the ruins of the old Celestial Court.

The three sages of the three teachings needed to prevent this ancient, supreme deity from joining forces with Zhou Mi.

Ultimately, the Armored One was slain by the Sword-Holder.

Although the tall woman’s head and golden armor had already proven this,

hearing this news from the Sage of Rites still caused even the Fourteenth Realm cultivators present, with their flawless Taoist hearts, to feel a tremor in their minds.

“The Sword-Holder will be unable to wield their sword again for the next few decades.”

The Sage of Rites said, “Besides, we have no reason to continue troubling that senior. It is neither proper in terms of emotion nor reason.”

The tall woman waved her hand, indicating that the Sage of Rites need not be so polite.

She sat beside the River of Time, the golden armor on her body already vanished, returning to her white-clothed appearance. However, she now had a long sword beside her, and a golden scabbard as well, which she casually thrust into the ground beside her.

She put her feet in the river, then looked up and waved to Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment, not deliberately maintaining a standing posture to participate in the meeting. Anyway, his teacher had said to just listen.

So Chen Ping’an sat cross-legged beside her. Etiquette didn’t matter; he believed the Sage of Rites wouldn’t mind such trivialities.

She pointed to the long sword with the added scabbard and chuckled, “Before, it was the sword that spoke, and I listened and watched. Was it fun or not?”

Chen Ping’an rolled his eyes and simply reached out and scooped up a handful of water from the River of Time.

She laughed, “Oh, ordinary Jade Purity Realm cultivators can’t scoop up this Time Water. Even immortals who scoop up water will have their cultivation eroded. Ascension Realm cultivators desperately avoid the River of Time. But the owner is different, wholeheartedly wanting to explore the depths.”

Chen Ping’an had walked along the River of Time a few times before, but he always had to carefully avoid the “deep waters.” Now that his cultivation had advanced a bit, he was actually surprised to successfully scoop up the water in his hand.

Chen Ping’an sheepishly withdrew his hand, mainly because he couldn’t resist weighing the water and calculating its worth.

If he acted as he used to, he might have inadvertently slipped it into his sleeve.

Chen Ping’an whispered, “Are you badly injured?”

She said, “I’ll try not to delay the sixty-year agreement. But as a result, I can only honestly follow the agreement. I must return to the heavens and find a few ruins. The Great Brightness World is no longer suitable for forging swords. I should have ignored that Embroidered Tiger.”

She pointed to the Sage of Rites, who was in the midst of the meeting, “The Armored One fought with the Sage of Rites earlier and was actually seriously injured. Plus, the Armored One insisted on going to the old place, or it wouldn’t have been so easy to kill him. Actually, there are advantages and disadvantages to this. Because with the death of the Armored One, the old place has completely relinquished a high position. But a certain new deity who filled the position has an unstable golden body and doesn’t dare to leave the ruin rashly. If they show their face, they’ll die without a doubt.”

What she meant was,

she could kill the Armored One.

It just wasn’t easy to kill.

Zhou Mi ascended and occupied the main seat in the ruins of the ancient Celestial Court.

The God of Fire returned to his position, his status equal to Zhou Mi, with no superiority between them.

In addition, even Yu Si of the Barbaric World, formerly the owner of Consort Fei, although the young swordsman replaced Li Liu as the Water God, was still far inferior to the first two. Moreover, ten thousand years ago, the Water God was no match for the God of Fire. After ten thousand years, the God of Fire even gifted him with a portion of the Water God’s divine nature. Perhaps in the next thousand or ten thousand years, they won’t even need to fight; he will simply be crushed by the God of Fire, who has returned to his throne.

The new Armored One is that Li Zhen, the swordsman Guan Zhao from the Sword Qi Great Wall ten thousand years ago.

As for the Sword-Holder of the new Celestial Court, whoever fills the position will become the weakest existence.

Originally, it should have been Fei Ran, whom Zhou Mi had in mind, to inherit the position of Sword-Holder. However, Zhou Mi ultimately changed his mind and chose to leave Fei Ran in the human world, making him the co-ruler of the Barbaric World.

In fact, Fei Ran and Ning Yao, one the co-ruler of the Barbaric World and the other the number one person in the Five Colored World, although neither has reached the Fourteenth Realm and are still Ascension Realm swordsmen, are both qualified to participate in the meeting.

Not to mention Xiao Xun and that old man with a cane who opened up the ancient well, both Fourteenth Realm grand cultivators from the Barbaric World.
However, today’s agenda should not involve the All-Colored World, nor should we drag the Desolate Wilds into it. This riverside meeting is specifically about the remnants of that ancient Heavenly Court, or more precisely, about Zhou Mi, who ascended to the heavens, and the new deities of the new Heavenly Court.

This was the first time Chen Ping’an heard the name “Shen Qing.”

He was certainly familiar with the Chicken Soup Old Monk. Cui Dongshan, his student, had mentioned him, but always referred to him as the Chicken Soup Old Monk, never using the Buddhist name “Shen Qing.”

The Old Scholar explained telepathically, “This old monk, nicknamed the Chicken Soup Monk, actually has the Dharma name Shen Qing. There isn’t much written about him in Buddhist texts, because in our Vast Expanse, most circulated texts are from the Southern Chan lineages. Older records are rare. But in truth, this old monk’s knowledge is extraordinary.”

The Old Scholar sighed, “Monk Shen Qing isn’t native to the Vast Expanse. He settled here many years ago because he escorted a monk back to the Central Earth Continent, working together to translate Buddhist scriptures, responsible for proofreading texts, verifying ambiguities, and providing explanations. This Shen Qing excels in Nirvana, Avatamsaka, and Lankavatara Sutras, proficient in the Ten Stages, Treatise on Wisdom, and Abhidharma, and deeply studies the Vinaya Pitaka. He participated in the first Three Teachings debate, hence earning the epithets ‘Enemy of Ten Thousand,’ ‘North Mountain Overseer of the Three Teachings’ Profound Doctrines, the Source of Dharma.’ He’s incredibly skilled in argumentation.”

For the Old Scholar to say someone was skilled at arguing was a testament to Shen Qing’s profound understanding of Buddhism.

The Old Scholar continued, “In the earliest days of Buddhism’s arrival from the west, monks often resided wherever fate led them, living solitary, wandering lives. Monks themselves were transient, making it difficult to impart teachings to disciples. Until… the Dual Peaks School propagated the Dharma, choosing locations to establish residences, building structures and statues, breaking the tradition of not creating written records, and establishing monasteries, erecting Buddhist images, allowing the Right Dharma to dwell in the world, and accepting disciples from across the land. During this period, Monk Shen Qing secretly provided support. And then there was…”

Here, the Old Scholar suddenly stopped.

Chen Ping’an knew what the teacher was about to say: the Eastern Mountain Dharma Gate.

Dual Peaks Mountain was also known as Broken Head Mountain. Not far from Dual Peaks, perhaps a few dozen *li*, was Pingmu Mountain, also known as… Eastern Mountain.

When Chen Ping’an was a young apprentice potter, he often followed Old Yao into the mountains to find porcelain clay, and had once climbed Cloud-Veiling Mountain, remotely seeing a tall mountain to the east.

Eastern Mountain.

Cui Dongshan.

The Ancient Shu Flood Dragon’s Skin. One of the Eight Legions of the Dharma.

It was highly possible that Cui Dongshan, or rather, Cui Chan, had prepared for this from the beginning. If Wang Zhu proved to be incapable of becoming the sole true dragon in the world, Cui Dongshan would replace her. Having successfully usurped the destiny, would he then… convert to Buddhism?

Chen Ping’an sighed. These were unfathomably profound schemes. As for the truth, he could ask his student later.

And what about Old Yao? Who was he really?

Perhaps because Old Yao was a man of few words, Chen Ping’an remembered everything he said very clearly, despite never becoming a formal disciple.

He clearly remembered once when they went into the mountains. Old Yao, walking in front, casually spoke about the humble soil beneath their feet. Once removed from the ground, it could be molded into a clay Bodhisattva, receiving incense offerings, or be fired into porcelain, sent to the emperor’s home, or become a broken jar in a commoner’s household, inevitably subjected to fire and water. Everything had its roots, its own destiny, similar to people…

At the time, the old man and the young boy were walking on True Pearl Mountain. Old Yao stamped his foot, saying to the apprentice potter who was digging up soil that this place had the most complete “earthly flavor,” but the place was small, like someone huddled in a corner, stretching out and bumping heads. As the saying goes, “a snail shell.”

Old Yao also said that those inconspicuous old tree stumps in the mountains might be the seats of mountain gods, and shouldn’t be sat upon. He said that all the mountains, big and small, were interconnected, but had a generational relationship, like grandparents and grandchildren.

A true Buddha only speaks ordinary words.

So even though the old man was talking about mystical things, even though Chen Ping’an was just an uneducated boy from a humble alley, he could understand and remember it all clearly.

Later, the reason Chen Ping’an decisively bought True Pearl Mountain with a gold-infused copper coin, besides being motivated by the “buying a mountain for a single coin” mentality, Old Yao’s words about the “most complete earthly flavor” was also an important reason. The young boy, at that time, thought about buying the mountain first, then earning more money to buy a dragon kiln, becoming the kiln master himself, or having Liu Xianyang help him. The two of them would use their skills to make porcelain and earn money slowly and steadily. What kind of grand mansion couldn’t he afford? What kind of wife couldn’t Liu Xianyang marry?

Moreover, later when he traveled far from home, wading through mountains and rivers, Chen Ping’an, even without truly cultivating, always maintained the utmost etiquette. In solitary places, he still adhered to the rules.

Accumulating soil to form a mountain, accumulating water to form a sea, each act of cautious conformity evolved into a natural reverence for heaven and earth.

Later, it imperceptibly influenced the little charcoal girl, Pei Qian, who followed Chen Ping’an out of Lotus Flower Blessed Land, a girl who feared nothing but hardship.

Later, when Pei Qian walked the world alone, she always held reverence for Buddhist temples.

The Old Scholar changed the subject, smiling, “Later, there was the Chan division into North and South in the Central Earth Continent. The saying ‘The Dharma is one school, but people are divided into North and South’ is generally fair. Ping’an, what do you think was the opportunity for the widespread dissemination of Buddhism at that time?”

Chen Ping’an stopped being distracted by those old stories, and thought carefully, answering, “The Dharma gate was greatly opened, not selecting people by their inherent aptitude. At the same time, several conveniences and sequences were proposed. For example, among them was relying on the One Practice Samadhi, the thought of Buddha is Buddha.”

The Old Scholar nodded, turning to look at the Chicken Soup Old Monk, sighing deeply, “Alas, the years are a pig-slaughtering knife, sparing neither famous generals nor beautiful women. It didn’t even spare such an enlightened monk. The books described that monk as having ‘clear features, ancient and extraordinary, bright white and shining,’ with extraordinary qualities and outstanding appearance, definitely a handsome man. Alas, how did he become such a gaunt old monk? When I took your senior brother to visit Shen Qing for the first time, I didn’t dare to recognize him.”

Chen Ping’an said, “Perhaps this senior Buddhist predecessor has a lean Dharma body to benefit the world.”

The Old Scholar stroked his beard and smiled, “That’s right, that’s right.”

It’s easy to gain weight, but hard to lose it.

This is true for the body, and even more so for the heart.
The old monk suddenly lowered his head, palms together in prayer. “Amitabha, well done, well done.”

Chen Ping’an looked awkward and turned his head, gazing at his teacher with a puzzled expression.

The old scholar said candidly, “Monk Shenqing, his eloquence is unmatched, and his understanding of Buddhist doctrine is exceptionally profound. Whatever we discuss, he probably hears it all. It’s perfectly normal.”

Chen Ping’an could only brace himself and stand up, raising a single hand in front of his chest in a respectful salute to the old monk. Shenqing returned the courtesy.

The Daoist nun suddenly posed a question, “Ritual Sage, ten thousand years have passed. Do the Three Sages have a solution for that extraterrestrial ruin?”

If they didn’t, she didn’t believe that they, these cultivators of the fourteenth realm, could come up with an effective plan in this conference. If they did, what was the point of this riverside discussion?

The Ritual Sage smiled. “I also asked the Supreme Sage, but he didn’t give an answer, neither confirming nor denying.”

The nun nodded. “If that’s the case, it means the Three Sages still find it difficult. No matter, this actually simplifies things. Since it can’t be avoided, let’s face the challenge head-on. We’ll all take a trip to the heavens. Let the mortals on Earth deal with earthly matters themselves. We, who are already at the peak, just one step away from ascending, will go to heaven and fight to the death. Even if we can’t eliminate Zhou Mi, we must at least ensure that the celestial ruin cannot expand even a fraction. If we don’t have enough people, we’ll each call in another group of capable fighters.”

The Ritual Sage shook his head with a smile. “It’s not that simple.”

The nun frowned slightly. “So inconvenient?”

Wu Shuangjiang suddenly said, “That Mount Tuoyue will be both a trap and an opportunity.”

The Vice-Sage nodded, clearly agreeing with this assessment.

Yu Dou said, “If it’s feasible, I, the Daoist, will pave the way.”

Monk Shenqing said, “This humble monk will protect the Dharma along the way.”

The Dragon Slayer smiled. “Ritual Sage, when I draw my sword in the outer heavens, don’t let anything disrupt my Great Dao here on Earth.”

The Ritual Sage smiled. “Of course.”

This was the riverside conference.

The woman in white asked with a smile, “Isn’t Master going to join in with a slash?”

Chen Ping’an asked in confusion, “Is that possible?”

She nodded with a smile. “Delivering one or two sword strikes shouldn’t be a problem.”

Chen Ping’an tentatively asked, “What if it’s a sword to challenge Mount Tuoyue?”

To be honest, Chen Ping’an didn’t have much confidence in striking in the outer heavens, but if it was about competing with Mount Tuoyue, he had plenty of ideas.

He had wanted to do it for a long time.

She stood up, resting both hands on her sword, and said, “I am willing to follow Master in moving mountains.”

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