These days, droves of Qi refiners are traveling to the Sword Qi Great Wall, creating a bustling atmosphere that feels somewhat unsettling.

All the sights can be seen without spending a single copper coin.

This is likely due to the widespread fame of the Sword Immortal Wei Da of Wind and Snow Temple. No one dares to approach this side of the wall, intentionally staying closer to the other side when passing by.

At this moment, some are speculating about the origins of the mountain-dwelling Daoist couple who dared to sit on the ramparts between Wei Jin and Cao Jun.

In truth, Cao Jun’s identity is only being questioned because he is associated with Wei Jin. Ultimately, there are only two prevailing theories: one, that he is a descendant of the old Sword Immortal Cao Xi of the Zhenhai Tower in the Southern Sojourn Continent; and two, that he is the innate sword embryo whose sword core was shattered by Zuo You many years ago. At most, people might ask whether Zuo You delivered one or two swords back then.

Therefore, Cao Jun has been quite frustrated during his time practicing swordsmanship here. He thinks to himself, “I am a genuine Nascent Soul sword cultivator, and anywhere in the Vast World, other than this Sword Qi Great Wall relic, I could easily earn the title of Sword Immortal!”

Cao Jun suddenly remembered something and said to Chen Ping’an, “Oh right, there was a wandering Daoist priest who claimed to be your uncle. He chatted with me and Sword Immortal Wei Da for a bit. He was very arrogant and put on airs. What’s his background?”

Cao Jun had been to the Lihua Grotto-Heaven and knew that the Cao family ancestral home was on Mud Bottle Lane. He was well aware of Chen Ping’an’s family history and knew he had no relatives.

Chen Ping’an replied, “Of course he’s not my uncle. Maybe he’s yours. Next time you see him, just call him that. I guarantee it won’t be a bad thing. Believe it or not.”

It was undoubtedly Wu Shuangjiang. He just didn’t know if he had found Old Deaf.

No Fourteenth Realm cultivator in the world is easy to provoke. The higher one climbs on the path of cultivation, the more one realizes this.

Chen Ping’an is currently only a Jade Pure Realm cultivator. Even if his cultivation path goes smoothly in the next hundred years and he ascends to become a Celestial, the chance for a Fourteenth Realm Dao Union, which is said to be “mysterious beyond mysterious,” is still a complete mystery. This makes Chen Ping’an feel powerless because he is certain that people like Zheng Juzhong and Wu Shuangjiang, who never resort to last-minute efforts, must have already planned their path to Dao Union back in the Middle Five Realms, knowing exactly how to proceed.

Cao Jun was puzzled. It seemed like they both liked to chat this way. Could that Daoist really be a distant relative of Chen Ping’an?

Cao Jun tentatively asked, “Is that guy some hidden Ascension Realm Grand cultivator?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head. “He’s not an Ascension Realm cultivator, nor is he a sword cultivator.”

However, the Palace Lord of the Twelfth Month Palace in the Azure Billow Heaven is a Fourteenth Realm Grand cultivator who even imitated four Immortal Swords.

Cao Jun laughed, “Then why would I acknowledge him as a relative? It’s all loss and no gain!”

Chen Ping’an didn’t care. The debt of tricking you into coming to the Sword Qi Great Wall is now settled. It’s your own fault for not seizing the opportunity.

Cao Jun asked with a grin, “These days, there are always illusions created by fairy maidens on the ramparts. You must have seen them on your way here. Aren’t you even a little angry?”

Powder and rouge, warbling voices, sweet nothings, traveling through mountains and rivers, leisurely pastimes, sightseeing everywhere, carefree and content. There are few sword cultivators and as many Qi refiners as hairs on an ox.

Even though Cao Jun had never been to the Sword Qi Great Wall before, he knew that these things were incompatible with the once-solemn and austere Sword Qi Great Wall.

Chen Ping’an shook his head.

Cao Jun looked at the man’s face and didn’t think he was pretending to be indifferent, so he became even more curious and couldn’t help asking, “Why? If it were me, I’d beat them one by one, or two by two.”

Chen Ping’an said, “This is the meaning of the Sword Qi Great Wall’s existence.”

With the Sword Qi Great Wall standing here for ten thousand years, there has been ten thousand years of peace in the Vast World.

Cao Jun sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. He was too late. He should have come earlier and shouldn’t have missed that great battle.

Chen Ping’an turned to look at Ning Yao and asked, “What did that guy just say? I was a bit distracted and didn’t hear him.”

He had been trying to use the opportunity of being suppressed by the Great Dao of the Barren World to check the situation in the heart of that world, but it was all in vain. He couldn’t afford to be distracted when doing that.

Ning Yao said, “He said that some people are secretly taking rubble from this half of the ramparts and bringing it back to the Vast World.”

In fact, Ning Yao didn’t care about such things. In her heart, the Sword Qi Great Wall is about sword cultivators.

As for the other half of the ramparts, because Chen Ping’an had merged with it, the Confucian Temple hadn’t specifically established any rules, and there were no explicit regulations forbidding foreign Qi refiners from ascending that side of the wall. However, they only gave four words: “Bear the consequences.” The Qi refiners who traveled here knew the seriousness of the situation and didn’t dare to tempt fate. No one knew if there were any incomprehensible and strange restrictions there. The only certain inside information was that side of the ramparts seemed to be the cultivation place of the last Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Ning Yao frowned and asked, “Why doesn’t the Confucian Temple restrain this? Isn’t there an auxiliary Sage here?”

She didn’t care, but that didn’t mean the Confucian Temple could act so carelessly. If they were so careless, how could they have the face to stay here?

Chen Ping’an shook his head and said, “This is the Confucian Temple’s way of respecting our Sword Qi Great Wall.”

Ning Yao asked in confusion, “How so?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “The affairs of the Sword Qi Great Wall, no matter how big or small, are to be managed by the sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall. If they let go, then everything is free. If they want to manage, then they can manage as they please.”

Ning Yao nodded. After Chen Ping’an said that, she no longer felt any resentment.

She suddenly reached out and gently took Chen Ping’an’s hand.

The reason why Ning Yao took the initiative to accompany him here from the inn was to put his mind at ease, not to make him even more worried.

Because she could feel that after coming here, Chen Ping’an was even more anxious.

Chen Ping’an chuckled softly, “It’s okay. I’m just used to spacing out here. I can’t change it right away. As for my worries, they’re actually fine. Between being too worried and not worried at all, I just need to find a balance. I’ll be careful to control myself.”
Just like the little bumps and misunderstandings between a man and a woman, the emotions a woman has that a man can’t seem to grasp are, in fact, reasonable. Acknowledging and understanding her emotions, then helping her to soothe them, and only after she has calmed down, reasoning with her gently is the right way to go. This is what’s meant by taking a step back to consider things, and applying knowledge in the proper order. Once you skip the initial step, everything is doomed.

Ning Yao turned her head to look at the half of the city wall opposite them and asked, “What if you were over there, competing in swordsmanship with someone?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “Then I could have a go with the Great Sword Immortal Wei. If it’s just about who wins, I’ll definitely lose. But if we agreed that neither of us could leave the city wall, then there’s no suspense. I live, he dies.”

The great sword immortal of the Wind and Snow Temple, who had his sword across his lap, was subtly moved.

Ning Yao and Chen Ping’an spoke without using their heart’s voice.

Chen Ping’an turned his head and laughed, “It’s not against the law to brag, right?”

Wei Jin chuckled, “Anyway, whoever has the highest rank here has the last say.”

Chen Ping’an tossed Wei Jin a jar of Hundred Flowers Brew that he had just gotten his hands on, “Guest Wei is an old customer of my liquor shop. You used to be known as a top-notch sucker, which pissed me off to no end. It’s just that I couldn’t get away from the Summer Retreat Palace, otherwise I would have come after you, one person, one sack. By the way, this isn’t just any ordinary Hundred Flowers Blessed Land brew. Even the Sage of Rites hasn’t had it in years, so Great Sword Immortal Wei, please, please drink it sparingly, otherwise, you’ll be wasting this priceless and unavailable treasure.”

Life is never short of wine, only friends who are willing to treat one to a drink from the heart.

Besides, there was something that Chen Ping’an had never mentioned to Wei Jin personally. The first time he witnessed the captivating demeanor of a sword immortal, it wasn’t from A Liang, who had been with him all the way, but from the Wind and Snow Temple Sword Immortal who pierced the sky with a single sword at the residence of the Bride Ghost. It’s just that he’d only talk about it with Wei Jin over drinks when they were both drunk enough, if there was ever a chance.

Wei Jin caught the wine jar, casually tore off the mud seal and red paper, took a swig, and his eyes lit up. He nodded and praised, “This is truly good wine!”

Chen Ping’an couldn’t be bothered to argue with Wei Jin about the “truly,” quickly reached out and manipulated the drifting red paper, stowing it in his sleeve. He didn’t forget to add, “If you don’t mind, return the empty wine jar to me when you’re done.”

Wei Jin asked seriously, “Do you have any left? I can pay for the next jar. Name your price, and I’ll buy as many as you have. If my Gu Yu money isn’t enough, I can borrow some.”

Cao Jun was extremely envious, rubbing his hands together and asking, “Chen Ping’an, aren’t you being a bit biased? Don’t forget, we’re from the same hometown, even neighbors on the same lane!”

Chen Ping’an twitched his lips, “Great Sword Immortal Wei is a proper guest of my Fallen Mountain. What are you? If you really want to ask me for wine, how about some glutinous rice wine from our hometown? It’s delicious, and it’s not expensive, guaranteed to be cheap and good.”

Damn it, he hadn’t even settled the old score from back in Mud Bottle Lane, and he had the nerve to mention being a fellow townsman and neighbor. This Sword Immortal Cao really had a bad memory.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Cao Jun had been to the Tongye Continent, and had followed his senior brother to guard the gate to the Five Colors World, then Chen Ping’an would have mistakenly thought he was a direct descendant of the Ancestral Hall of the First Line Peak back in the Righteous Sun Mountain.

Cao Jun scoffed, “What’s the point of being a mountain guest? They’re all just people who take money and don’t do anything. Of course, I’m not talking about our Great Sword Immortal Wei. Chen Ping’an, let’s make a deal. I’ll become a nominal offering to your Fallen Mountain, even if I’m at the bottom of the list. For example, if anyone wants to become an offering in the future, they have to pass the Cao Jun, the last-ranked offering. If that gets out, it’ll give your Fallen Mountain a lot of face, right? I’m at least a Nascent Soul cultivator now, and who knows, maybe tomorrow or the day after, I’ll be in the Jade Pure Realm. How about a jar of wine for an offering?”

Chen Ping’an rubbed his chin, “Fallen Mountain is about to establish a lower sect, and we’re indeed short of manpower.”

Cao Jun laughed heartily, “My greatest advantage in this life is that I don’t care about fame. Being the last-ranked offering of the lower sect is even better!”

Chen Ping’an tossed Cao Jun a jar of Hundred Flowers Brew, “Then it’s settled.”

Ning Yao reminded him, “If you keep giving it away like this, you won’t have many jars of Hundred Flowers Brew left. You can visit Aunt Feng again later, and find a reason, like inviting her to be a guest in Ascending City?”

Chen Ping’an nodded with a smile, “That’s a good excuse, probably starting with five jars of wine.”

Cao Jun was much more affected than Wei Jin, taking out a wine glass, pouring wine, smelling it, raising the glass and taking a sip, smacking his lips to savor it.

He drank wine and asked in his heart’s voice, “Wei Jin, has Ning Yao always been like this?”

She was indeed different from the Ning Yao in legends, who slaughtered demons on the battlefield and only practiced swordsmanship outside of it. Seeing her in person was much better than hearing about her.

Wei Jin said, “I don’t know.”

Cao Jun was about to continue asking, but Wei Jin said, “I only know that instead of secretly talking to me in your heart’s voice, you might as well openly ask Ning Yao.”

It was only at this moment that Wei Jin suddenly remembered that the young female sword cultivator was an Ascending Realm cultivator.

It was just that Ning Yao, being by Chen Ping’an’s side, was too unlike an Ascending Realm sword cultivator. Her sharpness was concealed, her eyes were gentle, and her aura was light. She was nothing like the top cultivator of the Five Colors World.

Chen Ping’an looked out at the earth outside the city wall. Tao Ting had carefully scoured it back then, so there was definitely no chance of finding a big treasure.

Moreover, over the years, foreign cultivators had come and gone, including many reclusive experts. This vast battlefield outside the city wall must have been plowed over and dug up three feet deep.

Gently holding Ning Yao’s hand in one hand, he raised the other and pointed into the distance, introducing her to several ferries and the Gate of Returning Ruins in his heart’s voice. The Candlelight, Galloping Horse, and Earth Vein, three ferries that the Great Balance World had opened up here, were still being expanded and moved south. Especially the Earth Vein ferry city created by the Mo family’s Great Craftsman, which was becoming more and more massive, towering into the clouds. It was the only sight that Chen Ping’an could see relatively clearly from the city wall. It was said that this city could garrison 200,000 troops. As the city expanded, it could eventually accommodate 300,000 imperial cavalry troops and store weapons and supplies.

In addition, the three branches of the Mo family and the craftsman cultivators, totaling more than 12,000 Qi refiners proficient in mountain construction and mechanism techniques, were building magnificent mobile cities, each relying on two ferries.
With the addition of the even more distant entrances to the Four Great Ruins—Celestial Curtain, Divine Land, Ink Trace, and Sunfall—construction was booming around each location. Righteous cultivators and earthly soldiers from the lands below were constantly rushing to the desolate world.

Sword vessels, mountain-sized ferries, and intercontinental ships continuously traversed the Ruin passages, resembling water deities escorting goods, transporting troops from various continents of the Righteous World to the distant desolate lands. Crossing between two worlds, once only achievable by Ascension Realm grandmasters, was now commonplace.

Listening attentively to Chen Ping’an’s detailed explanation, Ning Yao suddenly asked, “Did the Confucian Temple truly help the Great Li repay its massive debt to the Mohist school?”

Chen Ping’an hummed in agreement. This debt had been an astronomical sum of immortal coins. As a result, the Great Li Dynasty’s border army deployment was now much more flexible. As for other major creditors, such as Liu Juba of Snowy Continent and the Yu family of Central Earth, the Great Li Song family could easily compensate them with the help of those from both the mountains and the mortal world of Tongye Continent.

It seemed that his senior brother, Cui Chan, never left behind any messes.

Seeing Chen Ping’an drifting off into thought again, Ning Yao withdrew her hand. Chen Ping’an awkwardly snapped back to reality and continued to discuss the Righteous World’s advancements.

Led nominally by Madam Dan Dan of Greenwater Pit, who was in charge of the world’s land and water transportation, almost all river deities of higher rank in the Righteous Nine Continents assumed duties similar to those of Jianghu escorts, traveling back and forth through the Ruin waterways. Each commanded water fairy officials and aquatic monsters from their palace, establishing temporary ports within the water to receive ferries from various continents.

Li Yehou of Bright Moon Lake and the other four great Lake Lords had even been promoted one rank after their temple council meeting, becoming Sea Sovereigns overseeing the four seas.

Furthermore, the Confucian Temple had reopened the Grand Rivers Conferment, successively bestowing titles of duke, marquis, and viscount, as well as water administrators, to a new batch of Grand Rivers after Jidu of Northern Ju and Qidu of Treasure Bottle Continent. The old dragon of the Money River’s Fengshui Grotto in Treasure Bottle Continent had just been promoted to fill the vacant position of Marquis Linli of Qidu. Chen Ping’an had also heard that the Great Li Dynasty seemed to be considering having Yang Hua, the water deity of the Iron Talisman River, fill the temporarily vacant position of Marquis Changchun.

Coming one after another to this desolate world, the Righteous cultivators stationed at the Three Ferries and Four Ruins were constantly busy. Using various divine abilities and spells, they commanded large numbers of talisman golems and puppet monsters to open mountains, move rivers, relocate peaks, and transfer lakes in the desolate world, setting up grand formations. The Business Family, in particular, was practically throwing money around at the entrances to the Four Great Ruins, altering the local climate, replenishing the spiritual energy of the world, and allowing cultivators to rely on the mountains and rivers to gather and preserve their spiritual energies. Agriculturalists and herbalists, among others, planted immortal herbs and grains, summoning wind and rain to change the land and its energies, transforming the miasma of savage lands into places suitable for cultivation or fertile fields for farming…

Ning Yao asked, “Tongye, Fufeng, and Golden Armor Continents must have extracted a great deal of resources from the desolate world. What is Mount Tuoyue using them for now?”

Unbeknownst to him, Chen Ping’an’s hand was grasped.

Chen Ping’an gently shook Ning Yao’s hand, her fingers were slightly cool. He squinted and smiled, “This matter was a top priority in the recent Confucian Temple council. In fact, many people had overlooked it before. It seems there are no definite clues yet, and no one can provide a detailed answer.”

After finishing a jar of Hundred Flower Wine, Wei Jin tossed the empty jar back to Chen Ping’an and said, “Previously, Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi only stayed here briefly before each leading a group of Sword Sons from the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect to the Candlelight and Running Horse Ferries.”

Wei Jin, after all, still nominally held the title of a guest elder of Fallen Mountain, and he had a part in observing the Zheng Yang Mountain ceremony.

Cao Jun, who was considered half a Fallen Mountain cultivator, recalled something, turned his wine cup, and said, “Although the Confucian Temple had warned against it, forbidding cultivators from leaving without permission, and stating that any gains made outside would not be counted as war merits, there were still some cultivators who disobeyed the rules and ventured out across the border without authorization.”

Chen Ping’an said, “There was profit to be made. What was the result?”

Cao Jun, taking a sip of wine, pursed his lips. “What else could it be? People die for wealth, and birds die for food. Did they really think the desolate world was a place they could come and go as they pleased? They all died violently, their corpses vanished without a trace, and it seemed that even Yin-Yang scholars couldn’t deduce the reason afterward.”

Cao Jun poured himself another cup of wine. “I heard that just a few days ago, at the entrance to a Ruin passage, there was an Immortal Realm rogue cultivator from Golden Armor Continent—I can’t remember his name. This guy probably thought he could take advantage of his realm and escape techniques, so he sneaked into a monster clan’s sect to plunder and retreat. Guess what happened?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and said, “I can’t guess.”

“Such fine wine needs some snacks.”

Cao Jun slurped down his wine, his face full of regret. “When he came back, he only had half his life left. It seemed that he had consumed the natal treasure of a Semi-Immortal weapon to barely preserve his soul, directly falling to the Nascent Soul Realm. This guy was actually quite cautious. He first sent an Earth Immortal puppet to test the waters, and it caused a great disturbance without anything happening, so he showed himself. Then, he immediately encountered a group of young cultivators, as if they were waiting for him to fall into a trap. He couldn’t even see their faces or count their numbers. In the blink of an eye, that was his end.”

Chen Ping’an said calmly, “It’s similar to fishing—catch the big ones, release the small ones. They are specifically hunting the Upper Five Realm cultivators of the Righteous World. Free war merits, why not take them?”

Chen Ping’an had not heard of any Immortal Realm rogue cultivator showing up on the Golden Armor Continent battlefield after returning to the Righteous World, nor had Pei Qian mentioned it, and he had not heard of it at the Confucian Temple either.

Chen Ping’an suddenly frowned and said sternly, “Something’s wrong! Wei Jin, immediately send a flying sword message to remind Master He, who is stationed at the Celestial Curtain, to be careful of this person!”

“This Immortal Realm rogue cultivator is truly dead, and completely dead!”

“Who knows what kind of deity the one who returned alive is? Even if he’s just a so-called Nascent Soul cultivator, he can still cause a great commotion.”

Wei Jin flicked his sleeves, and a sword light shot out towards the Celestial Curtain, reminding the sage honored at the Confucian Temple.

The sage honored and stationed here was named He.

Chen Ping’an suddenly asked, “Which Ruin passage was it?”

Cao Jun spoke first, “Ink Trace.”

Chen Ping’an changed his mind and said, “Then there’s no need to send a flying sword message. We can take it back to avoid overdoing it and disturbing the snake.”
Wei Jin, disinclined to inquire further, immediately recalled the flying sword.

At the Celestial Eye of the Returning Ruins, two deputy leaders of the Confucian Temple, along with the chancellors of the three great academies, were orchestrating a grand design.

Within the God Realm, Fu Yu Xuan, a talisman master capable of returning to the mortal realm at any moment, Zhao Tianlai, the Grand Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain, who was said to be venturing into the desolate lands with a sword on his back in search of the Mountain-Moving Ancestor, the Fire Dragon True Man who had already made a move in the desolate world, and Bai Shang, the ambitious great sword immortal of the Northern Ju Continent, were all present.

On the side of Inked Traces, there were Zheng Juzhong of White Emperor City, Pei Bei, the female martial goddess of the Great End Dynasty, Huai Yin, a great cultivator among the ten of the Central Earth, and Guo Outing, a demon cultivator from Iron Tree Mountain who had ascended to the realm of flight. Liu Tui, the sect master of the Celestial Ballad Township in the Floating Yao Continent, and Cong Qian, a female immortal from the Flowing Rosy Continent, who was also the mistress of the Pine Mist Blessed Land, held a position similar to that of Jiang Shangzhen, who controlled a Cloud Cave Blessed Land in the Tongye Continent.

At Sunfall, there were Su Zi, Liu Qi, Song Changjing of the Great Li Dynasty, and Wei Ying, the sect master of the Jade Tablet Sect.

Cao Jun cautiously asked, “Really don’t need to offer any reminders? If we’re caught concealing information, the Confucian Temple won’t take that lightly.”

Chen Ping An shook his head, saying, “No need.”

Cao Jun chuckled, “I’m keeping an eye on my drinking, Chen Ping An, you should be careful with your actions too. Don’t ruin my chance to even draw my sword, forcing the Confucian Temple to send me back to the Vast Expanse, making me a lowly offering in your subordinate sect!”

Chen Ping An was too lazy to explain, but a voice echoed in his heart, “May I ask, Hidden Official, why is this?”

It was clearly the inquiry of Master He.

Chen Ping An replied in his mind, “With Mister Zheng watching over there, nothing will go awry.”

This Master He, hailing from the lineage of the Second Sage, shared a close relationship with his own teacher. Even after the dispute of three and four, it didn’t stop the old master from seeking his teacher for drinks. Furthermore, his senior brother Mao Xiaodong had personally said that when Cui Chan betrayed the lineage of the Literary Sage, Master He had privately tried to stop him, and when he failed, he scolded him to his face. Therefore, Chen Ping An explained a bit more, revealing his own conjecture, “The deaths of the previous groups of traveling cultivators, which the Yin Yang School cultivators failed to discern, can all be considered a form of misdirection. By making the actions of the desolate world seem clean and decisive, they are setting up a truly cumbersome situation later, most likely waiting for this opportunity that presents itself.”

“For example, if ‘this person’ is the Plague God, it will be very troublesome. Moreover, I dare to say that this assumption is definitely not the worst-case scenario. Once it’s true, it’s indeed the demon race’s plot, and none of us have noticed it. Then the situation will only be worse. A single mistake could lead to a disaster affecting hundreds of thousands of people. I know that in the previous Confucian Temple discussions, precautions were taken against epidemics and other accidents, but the fear is that the other party is scheming with intention against our unpreparedness.”

Master He asked, “As a precaution, why don’t I send a flying sword message separately, without alarming the Inked Traces cultivators, and also remind Zheng Juzhong?”

Here at the Great Wall of Sword Qi, Chen Ping An was no longer just a direct descendant of the literary lineage, but also the Hidden Official.

Chen Ping An nodded, saying, “Of course you can, I wasn’t thorough enough in my consideration.”

Master He smiled.

The Literary Sage lineage of the Old Scholar rarely produced a good-tempered scholar.

As for Chen Ping An’s series of seemingly nonsensical actions at the Confucian Temple, the old master didn’t think that Chen Ping An was overbearing, but merely a young man’s necessary actions.

Master He quickly received a reply from Inked Traces via flying sword. Zheng Juzhong of White Emperor City only had two words regarding the matter, “Acknowledged.”

Besides the matter at hand, there was another sentence, which he asked the accompanying sage to deliver to Chen Ping An, “Help me tell the Hidden Official that if he has time, he can come to Inked Traces for a chat.”

In fact, when sending the letter to Inked Traces earlier, Master He hadn’t mentioned Chen Ping An.

This Confucian Temple sage, responsible for overseeing the celestial curtain, looked up at the distance and then down at the figure in green on the city wall.

The former was certain that Zheng Juzhong already knew the truth, and the latter was certain that Chen Ping An had returned to the Great Wall of Sword Qi.

Ning Yao asked, “Do you want to see Zheng Juzhong?”

Chen Ping An thought about it, saying, “Let’s forget about it.”

Facing this demonic magnate was no easier than facing Wu Shuangjiang. The pressure was immense, the mental strain was great, and it even surpassed the latter.

He really didn’t want Zheng Juzhong to call him Mister Chen again. It gave Chen Ping An the creeps.

Chen Ping An leaned forward.

On this half of the city wall, the large characters carved, besides a few surnames, included Ah Liang’s fierce character, which resembled a drunkard’s walk.

After being cleaved in two by the Great Ancestor of Holding Moon Mountain, it was severed into two, which was equivalent to breaking the ancient formation. The once indestructible and “always one” Great Wall of Sword Qi could no longer avoid the invisible impact of the river of time. In addition, the remaining half that Chen Ping An hadn’t merged with would be damaged by the sun and rain. However, as long as there were no great cultivators fighting here, it could stand for a thousand years, or even several thousand years, without any issues.

Moreover, the large and small rubble left behind by the city wall could indeed be used as a rare treasure with excellent properties, such as using it as a whetstone to sharpen magical artifacts, which could be regarded as a replica of the Dragon-Slaying Platform, although the grades of the two were vastly different. In addition, even if it was only used to grind inkstones, it could be regarded as a refined object on the desk of mountain immortals or literati.

When this place fell under the jurisdiction of the desolate world, Chen Ping An merged with one half, and the sword cultivator Dragon Lord, one of the old throne demons, was responsible for keeping an eye on Chen Ping An. The Hundred Sword Immortals of Holding Moon Mountain refined their swords here. Who dared to approach the city wall without permission? Even staying near the base of the wall would be life-threatening. The desolate world didn’t have any reasoning to offer. It was just that during the years when it fell into the hands of the desolate world, it was safe and sound, with almost nothing lost. Unexpectedly, now that it had been reincorporated into the Vast Expanse, it was starting to be targeted by thieves.

Ning Yao said, “Go yourself, I’ll go look around elsewhere.”

Chen Ping An nodded, jumped off the city wall, and his figure in green flashed away.

Ning Yao then stood up and went to the north of the city wall, where she walked on the empty ground.

Within a stroke of a character carved on the city wall, it was as wide as a mountain path carved with wooden planks.
A group of over ten cultivators, men and women, young and old, were enjoying a leisurely stroll. Two senior members of their sect, acting as protectors for this trip, deliberately kept a distance from the younger generation, walking side-by-side to avoid making the youngsters feel constrained. For these worldly excursions, immortal sects often favored partnering with well-connected clans from neighboring mountains. This wasn’t merely for mutual support; if the Ancestral Hall’s incense depended on generations of direct disciples tending the flame, then these pilgrimages served as the best way to cultivate the bond between sects.

The male protector appeared to be an old man in his twilight years, while the female protector possessed the youthful beauty of a maiden. In truth, the latter was centuries older than the former.

The man wore a hand-warmer shaped inkstone at his waist, an ancient artifact etched with a poem of immortal wanderings. He sighed softly, “The extraordinary celestial phenomenon of the twin moons in the third month will be something we cannot witness.” The woman had a phoenix-like Tung flower bird perched upon her shoulder. She chuckled, “That old Sword Immortal Dong who inscribed words upon the city wall was indeed a master swordsman. It’s a pity we couldn’t see the spectacle firsthand, the moon falling into the mortal realm. Just thinking about it makes my spirit tremble with awe.”

“I heard that the accumulated sword intent of myriad years here, the legacy of Sword Immortals, was incredibly abundant, lingering in countless strands for millennia. Rumor has it that when Flying Ascention City departed for the Five-Colored Heaven, it took half of it, and then those beastly sword cultivators from Mount Dragging-the-Moon stole much of the rest. What a pity, truly a pity.”

“Well, we’re not sword cultivators anyway. My greatest regret differs from yours. I wish I could have seen the female Sword Immortal with the swing atop the city wall. I wonder just how beautiful Zhou Cheng truly was.”

“I share that regret.”

A short distance away from the two Earth Immortals, another group was busily occupied. They were several celestial maidens from the Southern娑婆Continent, currently activating a Mirror-Flower-Water-Moon spell. However, the images seen by cultivators from their homeland would undoubtedly be blurry. As for those from the further continents of皑皑洲 and 流霞洲, let alone the faces of the celestial maidens, even the outlines of their forms would likely be indistinct.

For this long journey, they had collaborated with a mountain’s “Package Abode” (包袱齋) to jointly rent two “Dimensional Objects” (方寸物). Women traveling often had too many belongings; one dimensional object simply wasn’t enough. Everyone subtly noticed who had brought more items and taken up more space. However, they were all close sisters, so why bicker over such trivial matters and harm their relationship?

One of the celestial maidens, dressed in a Dragon-Daughter-style gown, pulled out a landscape painting. As she unrolled it on the ground, plants began to sprout and grow, and birds perched on the branches, chirping cheerfully. The celestial maiden occupied the scene within the painting, her figure graceful. She held a small celadon bowl and gently tossed out food to feed the birds.

The other celestial maidens stood outside the painting, whispering amongst themselves.

“That Great Sword Immortal Wei from Treasure Bottle Continent truly lives up to his origins at Snow Wind Temple’s Immortal Platform. He is as ethereal as a deity, radiating celestial aura. Just a glance from afar makes my heart flutter! Don’t laugh, don’t laugh! Wasn’t it you who almost went to strike up a conversation with Wei Jin earlier?”

“His appearance isn’t worse than Fu Jin’s; a few more glances are worth it.”

“Sword Immortal Wei certainly has a good temperament. Yesterday, when we were performing the Mirror-Flower-Water-Moon spell on the city wall, he didn’t stop us. But that fellow winking at us was a bit annoying. His skin is quite thick, shamelessly trying to squeeze into our Mirror-Flower-Water-Moon.”

“I heard he’s a sword cultivator-in-training from 南婆娑洲, his sword core shattered by those around him. Later, he ran to Treasure Bottle Continent. I don’t know how he ended up here practicing his sword again. If you ask me, he’s all show and no substance.”

“Oh, isn’t that the Abstinence Elder of 红杏山 on 泗水, Zhu Yuan, with the Daoist title ‘Child Immortal’?”

“It must be her. I recognize Jia Xuan, the Weiqi Attendant of the Gengyun Dynasty. I saw him once from afar. It’s said that he and Zhu Yuan nearly became Daoist partners in their early years.”

Elsewhere on the栈道 (boardwalk), a group of people were picking up broken stones. The area was likely the site of a fierce battle, and there were many stones scattered about.

One of the men, a burly fellow, only picked up one stone, about the size of his palm. He squatted down and smiled contentedly. He could grind it into an inkstone for his child. The little rascal wasn’t a sword cultivator, but he was very fascinated by the Sword Qi Great Wall. The man himself was a pure martial artist at the Golden Body Realm. He was traveling, as going anywhere was the same to him, and he wanted to show off to his kid. He’d come here because he had some connection with 红杏山, and so he’d followed along.

At the edge of the栈道, a figure appeared out of nowhere, clad in a green robe, cloth shoes, and carrying a sword on his back.

The uninvited guest said expressionlessly, “Put it back.”

The burly, Golden Body Realm martial artist was the first and only one to put down the stone in his hand.

The other Qi refiners from the two Central Earth mountains only rose to their feet or turned their heads, unwilling to give up the city wall stones that were about to become theirs.

A direct disciple of 红杏山’s Ancestral Hall tossed the stone in his hand lightly and sneered, “Where did this busybody come from? Are you so bored that you have to interfere?”

The green-robed man, whose class wasn’t known, nodded and said, “I can.”

“A disciple of the Academy?”

“No.”

“Then are you looking for a beating?”

“Try me.”

The young cultivator weighed his options. If this was one of those troublesome ghosts from the mountains, he might not be able to win. After all, he was traveling and carrying a sword, so maybe he was a sword cultivator. Besides, he’d been taught not to cause trouble when he was away from the sect, so he started to reason, “The Literary Shrine hasn’t issued any decree prohibiting travelers from taking city wall stones. It only says that cultivators are not allowed to fight or use offensive spells here. Why are you sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong?”

Unexpectedly, the man retorted, “I’ll have the Literary Shrine add a clause later: Stealing stones means chopping off hands.”

Everyone was stunned at first, then burst into laughter. Fine, they could rest assured now. They could beat this guy up.

The burly man shook his head and smiled. How could there be such a boastful young man who didn’t know what he was talking about? He hesitated and sent a concentrated voice transmission, reminding him, “Little brother, it’s best not to cause trouble. Mr. Jia is the second-seat guest of the游仙阁. Although it’s not a Sect-ranked immortal family, it’s not someone you can easily offend, not to mention that Immortal Teacher Zhu is the Abstinence Elder of 红杏山. Take my advice and leave. Even the Literary Shrine doesn’t care, so there’s no need for you to interfere.”
The squatting man picked up the broken stone again.

Alas, the ignorant youth paid no heed.

Instead, the youth smiled and said, “I’ll say it one more time, put them all back.”

Then, turning to the man, he added, “You’re an exception.”

The man dismissed it with a smile, finding the youth’s words increasingly absurd.

That esteemed disciple of Jia Xuan scoffed, “Go to hell…”

In the next instant, inexplicably, the direct descendant of the Ancestral Hall of Wandering Immortal Pavilion was facing the wall, smashing his face into it, shattering his teeth into fragments.

The figure in azure robes, with one hand clasped behind his back, pressed down on the man’s head with the other, gently twisting his wrist. The pain was excruciating, causing the man to wail, but with his face pressed against the wall, only muffled sobs escaped.

A female cultivator from Red Apricot Mountain, wanting to rescue the man, brandished her sleeves, her movements fierce. She summoned water and fire spells, intertwined like two ropes shimmering with precious light, and slammed them toward the back of the azure-robed figure.

But just as inexplicably, she found herself apprehended, her head also pressed against the wall. Her once pretty face was instantly ground against the stone, a bloody mess.

A man and a woman, both guardians, arrived with the speed of lightning, propelled by the wind. Jia Xuan roared, “How dare you commit violence, you villain!”

Zhu Yuan had just summoned her natal treasure when she sensed impending doom. Jia Xuan seemed to crash headfirst towards the azure-robed figure, only to have his face pinned down by a palm, his wrist twisted. Jia Xuan was instantly slammed into the ground, his body bouncing once before collapsing, unconscious.

Before Zhu Yuan could withdraw her hand, she was slapped across the face. In her last moment of consciousness, she heard the azure-robed guest say, “Regretting what?”

Chen Ping’an brushed his palms together as if wiping them clean and said to the pure martial artist, “You can take him away.”

The man silently put down the broken stone in his hand.

Chen Ping’an smiled. “Don’t misunderstand, I said ‘can’.”

The man silently picked up the fist-sized stone again.

*Then I’ll do as you say.*

The figure in azure robes vanished without a trace.

The others were bewildered, staring at each other in confusion.

A voice echoed in their minds, “Stop gaping like fools, hurry up and run! As far as you can! He is the Hidden Official of the Great Wall of Sword Qi, if he wants to kill people here, He Su, for one, won’t stop him, because He Su cannot.”

The man was dumbfounded, his mouth agape. After his initial shock, he looked down at the stone in his hand, feeling as though he was back in his hometown, ready to boast endlessly at the dinner table, with no one to stop him.

After the Wenmiao lifted the ban on Mountain and Water Gazette, news of two ambushes gradually spread among the mountains and sects of the Great Bright World.

The first was the “magnificent spectacle” of the Floating Sky Continent, where Bai Ye openly appeared, sword in hand, challenging half the thrones with his sword and Taibai.

The second, however, occurred earlier on the battlefield of the Great Wall of Sword Qi. Rumor had it that several young swordsmen from the Jiashen Camp of the Desolate World ambushed Chen Shiyi, the last Hidden Official of the Great Wall of Sword Qi.

One was a true clash of mountain peaks.

The other was a contest between young geniuses, each with similar cultivation realms. The disparity in numbers made it all the more interesting.

The four swordsmen of the Jiashen Camp, who painstakingly laid the ambush to kill the Hidden Official, were all extraordinarily talented in the sword, ranked among the Hundred Sword Immortals of Mount Tuoyue, and possessed illustrious and almost all-powerful lineages.

Li Zhen was the closed-door disciple of the Great Ancestor of Mount Tuoyue in the Desolate World. It was rumored that he had practiced swordsmanship on the city wall for many years, but now his whereabouts were unknown.

Muji was the eldest disciple of Liu Cha, who had once reached the Fourteenth Realm.

Yusi was a swordsman addressed as “Young Master” by the old Throne Great Demon, Fei Fei. He had appeared in Tongye Continent, eventually disappearing like Li Zhen.

Tan was the former master of the Yiluo River, the direct disciple of the Throne Great Demon, Yangzhi.

Liu Bai was one of the direct disciples of Wen Hai Zhoumi, the “Great Thief of the World”.

The one who came to rescue and receive them on the battlefield was Fei Ran, a soaring swordsman who later became the co-ruler of the Desolate World.

In an ambush where victory seemed certain, the Hidden Official unexpectedly killed Liu Bai.

His way of asking for a fist, was to deliver it directly to the opponent’s face.

First, there was Yu Juanfu’s head-smashing against the wall, and then there was the clash between the Wenmiao Merit Forest and Cao Ci. What does “asking for a fist” mean but “asking for a face”? Such a unique style of fist fighting.

He was also known to target women on the battlefield.

It was said that the swordswoman Liu Bai was a beautiful demoness that one could barely bring themselves to harm.

This Hidden Official was quite the character!

No wonder he, as an outsider, could rise to the position of the last Hidden Official at the Great Wall of Sword Qi!

Unfortunately, apart from a few Mountain and Water Gazettes, including the Mountain and Sea Sect of the Central Earth, mentioning the Hidden Official’s name and hometown, the other mountain sects seemed to tacitly agree, likely receiving some kind of implication from the Wenmiao after that meeting.

It was fortunate that the Wenmiao did not reveal some tremendous secret, or the discussions among the Great Bright cultivators about this ambush would have occupied the entirety of the Nine Continents Mountain and Water Gazettes.

Because Li Zhen followed Zhoumi to ascend to the heavens, now taking over the supreme divine position of the armored one in the former Heavenly Court.

And that swordswoman Yusi, who came from a “sky-leaking land” in the Desolate World, is now one of the supreme divine figures in the New Heavenly Court, transforming into the Water God.

And the likes of Jia Xuan and Zhu Yuan, cultivators traveling in this remote area, had yet to receive the Mountain and Water Gazette from Treasure Bottle Continent, and had not seen that image of the flower in the mirror and the moon in the water.

Chen Ping’an returned to his original spot on the city wall, sat cross-legged, and quietly waited for Ning Yao to return.

Cao Jun tutted. “Who was it who said they weren’t angry? And Chen Ping’an, you need to change this habit of yours of hitting people in the face.”

Chen Ping’an remained silent, merely raising his head to gaze at the sky.

Previously, in the Dali capital, Aunt Feng remotely asked about something at the Fire God Temple, and Chen Ping’an helped the teacher provide an answer, earning twelve jars of Hundred Flower Wine.

The answer was just four words: “Please enter the urn.”

And within that answer was hidden a calculation “bigger than the sky,” a “please enter the urn” destined to be unprecedented.

Was it merely targeting Zhoumi who ascended to the heavens, merely allowing Wen Hai Zhoumi to take over the former Heavenly Court and no longer wreak havoc on the human world?

Of course not, that was still not enough.

During the Wenmiao meeting, Chen Ping’an was taken to the summit of Mount Sui by the Sage of Rites, where he met that Supreme Sage and Teacher.
Recalling that riverside discourse overseen by the Sage of Rites, with the ancestral founders of the Three Teachings observing from behind the scenes—an utterly inconceivable grand trial that gathered numerous Fourteenth Realm cultivators, including Zheng Juzhong…

Thus, Chen Ping’an finally grasped his elder brother Cui Chan’s grander scheme.

Having once lost a step in the White Emperor City’s Colorful Cloud Bureau, failing to best that Hao Ran Embroidered Tiger who generously offered the world a preemptive move, his final act in this life seemed to be, as the leading disciple of the Literary Sage, to single-handedly invite the Supreme Sage Teacher, the Buddha Ancestor, and the Dao Ancestor to sit at a chessboard of heaven and earth he had arranged before him.

It seemed that Cui Chan not only sought to meticulously ensure that even if Zhou Mi ascended to the heavens successfully, it would still end in failure, resulting in utter defeat.

He also intended to teach the mortal realm that the ancestral founders of the Three Teachings would exist no more.