The mountain light abruptly retreated, and the moonlight gradually ascended.

Humanity collectively ignited a celestial lamp.

A winding Pei River flowed into the sea, thick with water vapor. Along its course were sixteen shipyards of varying sizes, where mountain ferries docked and trade flourished. Around each shipyard, small towns, comparable in size to Huaihuang County, were built along the water’s edge. After nightfall, the lights blazed like daylight. Martial arts academies lined both banks, and numerous Jianghu sects were established. Even novice geomancers could discern the extraordinary martial fortune of this place, surpassing any other in the continent.

Wu Shu had traveled to other continents for over twenty years. Now, he journeyed towards the desolate lands. Furthermore, this Martial Saint was too indifferent about taking disciples, having only accepted one founding student to date. This left only Ye Yunyun as the remaining End Realm martial artist in Tongye Continent, earning Mount Pu a highly esteemed reputation.

“The continent’s martial arts reside solely within Mount Pu.”

And Yuncao Hall of Mount Pu truly deserved this praise. Every year, according to ancestral custom, on the days of Beginning of Summer and Beginning of Winter, they taught boxing. Except for the Yuncao Hall’s secret stance frameworks, they shared everything without reservation, willing to impart their knowledge to all martial artists who came to learn. Furthermore, every Mount Pu martial artist who descended the mountain would hold three public sparring sessions, exchanging martial techniques or acting as a ‘striking dummy’. If a foreign martial artist of equal realm won, they could earn the applause of the crowd and be invited to Yuncao Hall as a guest of honor.

It seemed the celestial moon favored the water’s radiance here, the river surface covered in bright moonlight, resembling a Milky Way in the mortal realm. The night was tranquil, the river breeze gentle, the scenery pleasant, and the heart expansive.

A sightseeing pleasure boat floated downstream, with only two levels on its deck, appearing somewhat short. Whenever passing boats brushed past, it was often a situation where others looked down while they looked up.

At an open-air tea stall on the second floor, Chen Ping An ordered two pots of mountain tea from the tea lady, one pot of Yunwu tea and one pot of Lao Cong Shuixian. She also offered some complimentary pastries and fruits.

The tea lady had strenuously promoted the Shuixian tea, claiming it came from a famous rock tea from a celestial mountain in Baoping Continent. It was extremely difficult to obtain; a hundred-year-old tea tree was considered ‘tall’, while a thousand years was needed to call it ‘old’. Therefore, the price was justified. If the guest felt the taste was average, even a slight complaint would warrant a 50% discount from the boat.

Judging by her posture, if he didn’t order a pot of Lao Cong Shuixian, she probably wouldn’t have offered the fruits and pastries.

Chen Ping An smiled. It was that fellow townsman Dong Bancheng’s doing again.

Spring water, tea leaves, immortal wine, tea and wine utensils – anything that had gained fame in Baoping Continent in recent years, especially those that were both high quality and high priced, were likely at least half related to Dong Shui Jing.

The tea was indeed good tea. Xu Yuanxia’s travelogue, which had not yet been published, specifically mentioned this Lao Cong Shuixian. The problem was, Xu Dage could afford Lao Cong Shuixian back then, so the tea’s price in its local area was obvious.

But simply by moving locations on an intercontinental ferry, a pot of tea here cost two snowflake coins. Even if someone was brazen enough to say the tea tasted average, the boat’s 50% discount still required one snowflake coin.

In business, Dong Shui Jing’s innate talent must be at least Ascension Realm level.

Chen Ping An took out the last of his Qinghu Palace’s Zuo Wang Pills from his sleeve and swallowed it with the tea.

There was no need to doubt Qinghu Palace’s follow-up pills. Surely, another one or two furnaces of Yuyi Pills would soon be sent to Xiandu Mountain.

With Lu Laoshenxian’s way of dealing with people, not to mention Chen Ping An himself, even the subordinate sects wouldn’t have to worry about running out of Zuo Wang Pills for the next few hundred years.

In Lu Laoshenxian’s words, “Of course, we must prioritize our own people with our good stuff.”

It was fine. Luopo Mountain and Qingping Peak would reciprocate. The spiritual energy of Qingjing Mountain would only be more abundant and vibrant than it was during Qinghu Palace’s peak.

After passing three more shipyards, roughly two hundred li of waterway, they would reach the entrance of Yuncao Hall of Mount Pu.

Pei Qian asked, “Master, the Yuncao Hall’s practice of martial artists descending the mountain to act as ‘striking dummies’, could we learn from that at Luopo Mountain?”

Chen Ping An nodded. “Of course, we can learn.”

Cao Qinglang said, “The premise is that the sect’s reputation must be very good, and the martial artists on the mountain must have sufficient magnanimity. Furthermore, when interacting with people down the mountain, their words cannot be too casual. How should I put it? Boxing is both in the ring and outside the ring. Otherwise, even if the teaching is diligent and the sparring is cautious, just a few wrong words can lead to misunderstandings and disputes, ruining the reputation and creating constant conflicts, isolating themselves from the Jianghu within a few decades. By then, we would be acting out of good intentions, but we’d only receive harsh words in return. No one can tolerate that. Over time, one side would despise the other for being ungrateful, and the other would feel the first side was overbearing, leading to mutual dislike.”

Pei Qian said, “Isn’t our family’s reputation good?”

Cao Qinglang smiled. “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

Chen Ping An took a sip of tea and nodded with a smile. “You both speak well.”

What kind of muddying the waters was this? Both the head disciple and the prized student were indeed right.

The river breeze was gentle, the waves shimmering. Even in winter, the tourists on the pleasure boat didn’t feel cold.

This was thanks to the thick mountain roots of Mount Pu, which kept the surrounding mountains and rivers warm even when the snow was melting, like a natural ground-heated熏炉.

The Ye family of Yuncao Hall was also a recognized landowner, owning many land deeds. Even two small country mountains, plus two large lakes, were actually private property of Mount Pu.

The four of them sat around the table, drinking tea. Chen Ping An crossed his legs and took out his dry tobacco pipe, made of ordinary green bamboo found in the mountains. The mouthpiece came from the Dragon Whiskers River, carved from a piece of white jade. He pinched a small amount of golden tobacco from a pouch.

He only smoked the dry tobacco pipe like Old Man Yang in two situations: either when he needed to think carefully about things, pondering both distant worries and immediate concerns, or like now, when there was nothing to do, and nothing to think about.

Borrowing the bright moonlight, Xiao Mo drank tea while reading a writer’s notebook specializing in strange and mysterious tales, including a story about this Pei River.
Because on this main waterway of the Pei River, at the source and the end, there stood two time-honored Water God Temples, respectively enshrining and venerating the Eastern Sea Woman and the Azure Flood Lord. What was most peculiar was that, despite the different temples, the local populace jointly venerated both Water Gods, somewhat akin to the Land God and Land Goddess of certain Earth God Temples. According to the records, the Water Goddess whose temple was built at the source of the Pei River was formerly a Dragon Daughter of the Eastern Sea. She had a predilection for literary works since childhood, but because aquatic creatures of the Jiaolong dragon kin were innately unable to “bear the written word,” she would often lead Dragon Palace maidens, transforming into refined ladies of mortal families. They would travel the Tonghai Pei River by boat, requesting the assistance of passing scholars to transcribe the contents of books, which she would treasure in the book tower of her Dragon Palace chambers, to show off to her peers. Unexpectedly, this attracted the covetous gaze of a Mountain Lord on land, who ordered his subordinates to intercept her at the estuary, with the Azure Flood Lord under his command leading the charge to overturn the dragon boat. After succeeding, the Mountain Lord housed her in a gilded cage, confining the Dragon Daughter to the territory at the source of the Pei River, building her a separate palace. Because the Pei River would flood whenever the Dragon Daughter wept in melancholy, the Mountain Lord could only allow her, every ten years, to gaze at the sea from afar at the temple at the Pei River estuary, to assuage her longing for home…

Little Mo raised his cup and took a sip of the Cloud Mist Tea, unique to Puzhou Mountain and the Pei River, sighing, “Detestable Mountain Lord, lusting after beauty and abusing his power! Pitiful Dragon Daughter, yearning for her homeland without return!”

Chen Ping’an chuckled, “Little Mo, you could take a trip to the Azure Flood Shrine at the estuary alone. After all, it’s only seven or eight hundred li by water, a blink of an eye. You can learn the truth by meeting both parties involved and questioning them face to face.”

Little Mo replied, “Let us wait until Master Chen concludes his business with Puzhou Mountain. Little Mo will then see if there is an opportunity to visit the Azure Flood Temple.”

Pei Qian said, “Unlike Mister Little Mo’s notes on strange tales from below the mountain, there is actually a different version of the legend above the mountains. It says that the Dragon Daughter initially wanted to escape an unwanted marriage and was unwilling to leave the Pei River herself, because she had long held affection for that Azure Flood Lord. She requested the Mountain Lord to cooperate in staging a scene. The Mountain Lord pitied this pair of star-crossed lovers, but as the Mountain Lord of a great peak, he was not in a position to break ties with the Dragon Palace forces. Moreover, that Azure Flood Lord under his command did not possess a high enough rank in his golden body statue to be a match for the Dragon Daughter of noble status. The Dragon Palace was powerful and emphasized bloodlines, absolutely forbidding this marriage. Thus, he had no choice but to play the villain and shoulder the blame.”

Cao Qinglang nodded, “This version sounds more plausible.”

Little Mo suddenly understood, “In that case, the Mountain Lord is admirable, and the Dragon Daughter and Azure Flood Lord are cause for celebration! Although they lack the title of husband and wife, which is indeed a pity, it is far better than being separated by a mere line of sight, yet forever separated by rivers and seas.”

Chen Ping’an smiled without speaking, simply leisurely exhaling smoke. If Little Millet were here, there would definitely be more to talk about.

The Puzhou Mountain Cloud Grass Cottage that the group was about to visit, with its martial arts lineage, was similar to the Thunder God Temple of Ai’ai Continent. Although renowned throughout the continent, it was an inherently difficult small fist style to spread and branch out. The threshold was high, the recruitment of disciples was strict, and it was extremely difficult for those who learned the fist to enter the inner chambers and possess profound fist techniques.

The incense of Puzhou Mountain Cloud Grass Cottage was somewhat similar to the half-son and half-grandson monastery of Buddhism and Daoism. Cloud Grass Cottage had always borne the surname Ye, just as Cloud Cave Blessed Land had always borne the surname Jiang. Because the current head of the Ye family of Puzhou Mountain, Ye Yunyun, liked to wear yellow clothes, she was nicknamed Yellow-Clad Yun.

Previously, on Tongye Continent, the mountain cultivators had selected the historical ten figures of the continent’s martial arts.

Among the living, there were only two, apart from the Martial Saint Wu Shu, who carried a bamboo sword and a wooden spear on his back, and Ye Yunyun, who liked to wear yellow.

One man and one woman, two martial arts giants, had no record of challenging each other, like well water not interfering with river water, each with their fists pacifying half the continent.

However, the former liked to roam the pugilistic world alone, and his reputation was mixed, naturally not as responsive and gathered as Yellow-Clad Yun and Puzhou Mountain on Tongye Continent.

In private, the mountain cultivators actually had quite a few complaints about Wu Shu, the reason being that this number one figure in martial arts neither stayed at home nor cared for his family. After a great war, from beginning to end, he only sought fame in the mountains and rivers of other continents, fiercely throwing punches, constantly killing demons, and watching his hometown’s mountains and rivers turn into ruins.

Pei Qian whispered, “Master, this senior Ye, when we met near Yellow Crane Shoal last time, seemed to have only a flourishing bottleneck, and her foundation was also ordinary. Even if she barely squeezed into the ranks of the ten, her ranking should be at the bottom, at most eighth or ninth. It shouldn’t be as high as sixth.”

On the mountains and rivers gazette, there were actually many celestial masters who were speaking out on behalf of Yellow-Clad Yun, feeling that this ranking was too low and that she should definitely be ranked after Wu Shu.

Pei Qian felt that this kind of thing was not to be taken lightly.

Chen Ping’an smiled, “If you add Grandmaster Ye’s Jade Purity Realm cultivation, ranking sixth is not a big problem.”

However, if purely judging the level of martial arts, as Pei Qian said, the ranking of martial artist Ye Yunyun would be precarious even at the bottom.

To put it bluntly, this kind of thing is the living bullying the dead who cannot speak.

On the other hand, Wu Shu ranking fourth is not a big problem.

And the founder of Puzhou Mountain Cloud Grass Cottage, that genius who created the Puzhou Mountain fist style with six immortal diagrams, was only ranked fifth.

This pinnacle martial artist, Ye Yugu, ranks third in the Ye family ancestral hall, where divine seats are offered and sacrifices are made on time, and is also revered as an unmoving ancestor.

This person once made a great name for himself in the Central Earth Divine Continent, and later there was a very ambitious evaluation, “Alone, for one hundred and twenty years, he pressed down three continents with his fists.”

The so-called three continents were his hometown, Tongye Continent, plus the Northern Precious Bottle Continent and the Northern Gobi Continent. As for the Precious Bottle Continent at that time, it could only be regarded as being conscripted to make up the numbers.

In Chen Ping’an’s view, if there are no surprises, Ye Yugu had not yet entered the last layer of the pinnacle realm, the realm of divinity, at the peak of his martial arts. It is estimated that because he could not break through the bottleneck of the Guizhen realm, Ye Yugu, who had once traveled the world in exchange for the grand atmosphere of the flourishing realm, but with little effect, had no choice but to turn to the Jade Purity Realm. As a cultivator, he entered the upper five realms. Naturally, Ye Yugu could use the extra lifespan to slowly hone his physique foundation and find opportunities to take his martial arts to the next level.

However, the fact that Ye Yunyun only wore yellow clothes reminded Chen Ping’an of Little Precious Bottle.

I wonder which expert and what prophecy this Yellow-Clad Yun is involved in.
Chen Ping’an’s thoughts drifted afar. His own Immortal Capital Mountain Azure Ripple Sword Sect, unlike its upper sect Fallen Peak Mountain, had the addition of “Sword Sect” in its name. However, from what he could see, Cui Dongshan intended to build the lower sect into a colossal entity. Sword cultivators were naturally a must, the unwavering foundation of a Sword Dao sect for millennia. However, there would be a greater variety of Qi Refiners, befitting the flourishing branches of a grand mountain sect.

Larger mountain peaks within sects often housed hundreds, even thousands, of cultivators, such as Righteous Yang Mountain. Divine Edict Sect of Treasure Bottle Continent, due to possessing a Clear Pool Blessed Land of middle-tier quality, boasted a registered disciple count exceeding two thousand. Some grand sects in the Central Earth Divine Continent, including their lower sects and affiliated mountains, could reach tens of thousands. Of course, not all were Qi Refiners; this number included the families of mountain immortals, attendants, maids, and cooks from various peaks and immortal abodes.

The disciples were roughly divided into direct disciples of the Ancestral Hall, inner disciples, and outer disciples, like the palace city, imperial city, and outer city of a capital, plus the surrounding affiliated mountains, akin to the capital’s environs. If there were lower sects, it would be like building a secondary capital.

A mountain without people was like a river without a source.

But if a mountain gate lacked several profound Daoist arts to pass down, it was like a tree without roots, unable to retain cultivating talents or foster a thriving atmosphere.

Like the Rain Prayer Inscription Dao Codex Chen Ping’an obtained beside the Buried River Water God Shrine, most suitable for Earth Immortals to cultivate, many great mountains in the Vast World possessed one or even several inherited introductory Dao arts and immortal incantations. These could help disciples quickly awaken their spiritual apertures and, upon becoming Qi Refiners, swiftly ascend to the Cave Realm. Ascending quickly and firmly, these immortal secrets and Dao Codexes were hailed as “Opening Doors Arts” and “Guiding the Way Formulas,” directly determining the depth of a sect’s foundation. They could attract numerous cultivating prospects, helping them break through realms hand in hand in the early stages of their cultivation journey.

Arts like the Rain Prayer Incantation belonged to a mid-mountain Dao art, capable of preventing a sect from facing a decline.

In truth, if Chen Ping’an were to resort to any means, there was a method with immediate results, a shortcut.

The white-haired boy in Dragon Riding Lane, still merely an “unlisted menial disciple,” had inherited most of Wu Shuangjiang’s memories. Except for some non-transferable secrets of the Years End Palace, which were reserved and sealed within his memory like a mountain by Wu Shuangjiang’s unique secret technique, his knowledge in “miscellaneous subjects” remained remarkably extensive. Thus, the white-haired boy was akin to half a Daoist art treasury of the Years End Palace. However, Chen Ping’an was unwilling and unsuitable to make such a request.

After all, “Konghou,” the extraterrestrial demon who was formerly the Years End Palace female cultivator, was merely a guest at Fallen Peak Mountain.

Both Fallen Peak Mountain and Azure Ripple Sword Sect had a long way to go, but the future was promising.

At a nearby table, a woman frowned slightly and waved her hand to disperse the smoke.

She had endured the man at the next table for a long time. The smoke drifted with the wind, spoiling much of the tea fragrance on her side.

However, it was generally inappropriate for her to say anything about such matters, just as when drinking in the same restaurant, if someone spoke loudly, it was within their own table’s space.

Chen Ping’an noticed the woman’s actions, quickly put away his dry tobacco pipe, and offered her an apologetic look.

The woman smiled slightly and nodded in acknowledgment.

After a moment’s thought, she held up her bamboo hat-shaped cup in return.

After all, they were both traveling cultivators. It was already rare for the blue-robed guest to show such deference.

According to some transcontinental mountain and water reports, if this were in the Northern Emerald Continent, it would be considered polite if the other party didn’t slam the table and directly ask, “What are you staring at?”

Therefore, contemporary Tung Leaf Continent cultivators, even when traveling across continents, would prefer the Southern娑婆 Continent and were unwilling to actively go to the northern two continents.

Perhaps sensing the blue-robed guest’s timidity, they determined he was not a registered immortal master from some grand immortal family.

Therefore, at a table of tea drinkers not far away, a burly man with a robust build spoke up, “Little girl, you have quite the nerve. Who gave you the right to randomly comment on the rankings of these Mountain Peak martial arts grandmasters?”

Who with real money would choose this rickety boat to enjoy the scenery along the Pei River? His group was different. It was because the Heavenly Scion Yuwen, of noble birth and accomplished in cultivation, was trying to understand the sufferings of the common people. Otherwise, they could have directly used a Mountain Rune Boat to travel along the Pei River. The man, as a retainer, was a sixth-realm martial artist only half a step away from the grandmaster title. Furthermore, he was an admirer of the Yellow-Clad Yun, so he naturally couldn’t stand a young woman spouting nonsense over there.

With such a big mouth, why not go and challenge Yellow-Clad Yun to a martial contest? Not to mention Master Ye of the Mountain, they wouldn’t even be able to meet her. Even if there were to be a martial contest with a disciple of Instructor Xue, her direct disciple, she shouldn’t cry when she was beaten.

Pei Qian indifferently said, “My teacher.”

At that table, a handsome young master, seemingly the leader, held a folded fan and smiled, a miniature, adorable peach wood sword fan charm hanging from it with a golden thread. He asked, “May I ask the young lady’s name and who her teacher is?”

Pei Qian said, “We met by chance in the jianghu, like duckweed meeting on the water. Why bother asking for names?”

The man who had spoken first, displeased with the young girl’s old-fashioned words, slammed his teacup heavily on the table and chuckled angrily, “Who lent you the gall to speak to Young Master Yuwen like that?”

Pei Qian glanced at the man and smiled, “My fists and feet.”

The man was both amused and infuriated, feigning anger as he said, “Who raised such a brazen woman?!”

Chen Ping’an spoke up with a smile, “I did.”

Previously, at his own Wild Cloud Crossing, nominally under Spirit Wall Mountain, Chen Ping’an had casually made a clumsy excuse, saying he had taken a fancy to something and had changed his mind about acquiring it. He had returned alone, used Cloud Water Body, and taken a trip to the Spirit Wall Mountain prison used to detain Qi Refiners. There, he had met the man who had dared to grope Pei Qian at the shop, teaching him a simple lesson without charge: “If you can’t control your eyes when you’re out, you must control your hands.”
The origins and affiliations of this group were also inquired about. It turned out they belonged to the retinue of a certain Prince of the former Great Xia Dynasty, a kingdom mired in restoration struggles. There were over twenty such groups of imperial retainers dispatched to procure funds, each bearing a secret mission: to recruit those displaced immortals with fragmented lineages, reclusive cultivators from the wilds, and even outlaws from the Green Forests. The imperial court, unconcerned with their past, welcomed heroes regardless of their origins. A simple nod, a trip to the “capital,” registration at the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue, and they could ascend in one leap, becoming revered retainers of the Great Xia Dynasty, enjoying imperial stipends, official titles, and a life of ease.

Perhaps those travelling immortals had never encountered such conversation, and found it amusing, their irritation lessening.

Some around could not help but chuckle.

Two women at different tables, their eyes sparkling, gazed intently at the same person.

That person was Cao Qinglang.

Such a handsome young man, refined and gentle, with the air of a scholar.

As for the two men at his table, their appearances were not lacking, especially the man with the jade hairpin and green robe… pity he was a bit older.

The young master surnamed Yuwen, clutching his folding fan, clasped his hands and said with a smile, “Careless words, please do not mind them.”

Chen Ping’an raised his teacup towards their table, indicating that it was of no consequence.

The pleasure boat approached a dock.

Since pugilism thrived in Pu Mountain, a martial artist from afar wishing to make a name for themselves naturally had to do so in Pu Mountain as well.

Beside the dock was a water-adjacent arena, paved with black and white mountain stones to form a vast yin-yang diagram, extremely sturdy.

Two renowned figures of the martial world, both Golden Body Realm warriors worthy of being called Grandmasters, had agreed to a friendly exchange of martial skills that very night.

A middle-aged martial artist, outmatched, was struck squarely in the chest by an old man’s double-handed cannon fist. As fate would have it, the man flew backward, directly colliding with a passing decorated boat. The old man’s fist had been extremely heavy, full of power, the man unable to fully disperse the force. The decorated boat was sent momentarily rising from the water, tumbling through the air, its passengers falling into the river like dumplings.

Before her master could even speak, Pei Qian had vanished from the table. With a single palm, she braced the tilting boat, preventing its fall into the river, then gently pushed it, setting it safely back on the water.

Those who had fallen into the Pei River were drawn back to the boat by strands of fist energy. The waterlogged people were pulled back as if by their collars.

Pei Qian then pressed down with another palm, dispersing the surging waves of fist intent, preventing them from affecting her own pleasure boat.

Returning to the boat, before taking her seat, she saw the two martial artists, one standing on the river’s surface, the other on the arena, cupping their fists in thanks. The middle-aged martial artist standing on the water, his expression sincere, invited Pei Qian to join them ashore for a chat. Pei Qian merely cupped her own fists in response, taking it as a polite refusal.

The group of lineage immortals began to grow restless, especially the man who had engaged in “idle chat” with Pei Qian. Only now did he truly understand the meaning of lineage, pugilism, and meeting by chance without asking names.

This little girl, was actually a Grandmaster of the Distant Wanderer Realm?!

Chen Ping’an joked with the table of immortals, “A trivial matter, do not take it to heart.”

The young master surnamed Yuwen felt both awkward and relieved.

As for those two women who had initially fallen for Cao Qinglang, they now looked at the green-robed man with the jade hairpin and thought he might not be so old after all.

Alas, the Pu Mountain region forbade any immortals from using Mirror Flower Water Moon.

And Pu Mountain Cloud Cottage disciples, cultivating within the mountain, were required to focus and not be distracted, and were forbidden from accessing various gazettes.

Therefore, the Wen Temple’s ban on all gazettes had almost no impact on Pu Mountain disciples. Only those who were allowed to descend the mountain for training felt a slight regret.

With strict family rules and a rigorous reputation, no one within or outside Pu Mountain dared to violate the rules.

Chen Ping’an disembarked at a dock, still twenty-some miles of mountain road away from the gate of Pu Mountain Cloud Cottage.

And Pu Mountain itself was not a particularly large mountain; its scale was probably less than that of the heir-apparent’s mountain of a small kingdom.

In fact, the group led by young master Yuwen was originally supposed to disembark here as well, bearing a secret letter written in the emperor’s own hand, to discuss important matters with Master Xue of Cloud Cottage.

However, the young master hesitated, deciding to disembark at a different dock further along, as a detour would allow him to see more of the scenery.

Xiao Mo carried a bamboo crate, holding a walking stick, gently tapping it on the ground, smiling and asking, “Young Master, it’s rare to find a sect that cultivates both immortal arts and martial arts like Cloud Cottage, isn’t it?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and pointed at Pei Qian, “You should ask her. Pei Qian has travelled to more continents and seen more things.”

Pei Qian was a little embarrassed. She had travelled to many continents, but had only glanced at the scenery along the way, her mind elsewhere. She should halve her count, while her master should double his.

She at half, her master at double… the difference was indeed vast.

Seeing Xiao Mo waiting for her answer, Pei Qian had no choice but to say, “The cultivation path of Cloud Cottage disciples is not common in the Great Harmony World. However, if a Pu Mountain disciple successfully forms a core, or reaches the Golden Body Realm, unless they are a top-tier genius and receive permission from the Ancestral Hall, they can continue to walk both paths simultaneously. Otherwise, they must choose one or the other, focusing either on Qi refinement or martial arts. In the Central Earth Divine Continent, there is a sect with a small number of people on the mountain. Without exception, all sword cultivators in the Ancestral Hall are also talisman cultivators. In the Golden Armor Continent, there was a sect similar to Pu Mountain, but they also had the ability to refine pills. However, their mountain gate was destroyed by the barbarians, and now there are less than ten disciples left, with only one Earth Immortal. Their founders and teachers were all killed in battle, and they don’t even have a Dao Protector. It’s going to be very difficult for them to restore their sect to its former glory.”

Pei Qian had once fought alongside them on several battlefields from the south to the north of the Golden Armor Continent.

She had also saved that young Earth Immortal who had a death wish.
Chen Ping’an explained, “That’s because many of the stance frameworks of the Pu Shan Fist style are exceedingly profound, with a long history, originating from the six ‘Immortal Paintings’ passed down by the Pu Shan ancestors. They are named Observing the Waterfall, Conducting a Ritual, Beating Silk, Playing the Zither, a Scholar Strolling and Singing, and Scooping the Moon with a Bamboo Basket. Therefore, the martial arts of Yuncao Hall, after generations of inheritance, coupled with the continuous improvement and supplementation by successive mountain masters and patriarchs, ultimately rely on these six immortal paintings to derive more than sixty stance frameworks and fist techniques. Hence the saying, ‘Stances come from the paintings, and fists return to the paintings.'”

Such a sect, as Pei Qian said, is rare even in the vastness of the entire Grand Azure World. Although cultivators walk both paths, their physical bodies are tough, and the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, but the drawbacks are also not small. For example, Pu Shan, that cloud-shrouded mountain not far away, has high-level techniques and even higher-level fist techniques, but has yet to become a sect-level immortal family. In fact, Pu Shan had two opportunities in history. One was with the founding patriarch Ye Yugu, who attained the Jade Purity Realm that year. After exiting seclusion, he went down the mountain to visit friends, wanting to reminisce with his close friend Xun Yuan of the Jade Tablet Sect.

Unfortunately, this trip down the mountain led to a great disaster. For some unknown reason, he was ambushed by an expert. Ye Yugu returned with serious injuries, but never said who it was, even to the ancestral hall and direct disciples. This became another thousand-year-old unsolved mystery of the mountain.

Only now, Tongye Continent has begun to dig up old accounts, spreading rumors with great fanfare, as if they had witnessed it themselves, saying that Du Mao, the famously narrow-minded reviving ancestor of the Tongye Sect, worried that once Ye Yugu attained the Immortal Realm, and with his mastery of unparalleled fist techniques, Pu Shan, a mountain less than a century old, might be able to directly compete with the Tongye Sect. Therefore, Du Mao personally intervened, secretly launched a deadly attack, which ultimately caused Ye Yugu’s realm to plummet. He returned to Pu Shan and died of his injuries a few years later, passing away in sorrow.

Another opportunity was with Ye Yunyun. Besides reaching the peak of martial arts, she was also a relatively inconspicuous Jade Purity Realm cultivator, but she was delayed by that war. After Ye Yunyun reached the Upper Five Realms, she only mentioned it casually in the Pu Shan ancestral hall, and forbade the ancestral hall members from leaking the matter. Now, she has no intention of reporting this matter to the Great Vestibule Academy. Obviously, at least in the near future, Pu Shan has no plans to take the opportunity to become a sect.

It seems that Pu Shan is always missing something when it comes to becoming a sect. Fate.

Is the heavens not cooperating?

As if as compensation, the seventh immortal painting that Ye Yunyun obtained not long ago is exceptionally precious, worth a fortune.

Chen Ping’an heard Jiang Shangzhen mention that it was a painting of Facing the Wall, with a higher rank than the six ancestral paintings.

Moreover, before leaving the Grand Azure World, Chief Zhou specially left a letter at the Fallen Phoenix Mountain, mentioning this matter.

According to Jiang Shangzhen’s letter, the origin of this painting is extremely unusual. It depicts a monk with his back to the viewer, wearing a kasaya, but with a Taoist crown on his head, holding a jade tablet, facing a mural.

Within the painting, there is a depiction of a rubbing of an ancient bronze tripod, along with densely packed thousands of ancient seal characters.

Pei Qian suddenly laughed, “Master, now that Sister Huang Ting has returned to her hometown, when are we going to find her?”

She still has a good impression of that Taoist nun. Cold on the surface, but warm at heart, definitely different from Sui Youbian.

Chen Ping’an said, “We’ll go back to Xiandu Mountain first, then go to Little Dragon Pool together.”

Walking on a secluded path leading to the mountain gate of Pu Shan.

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but take out his dry tobacco pipe again, squinting his eyes to ponder.

Why Pu Shan was able to escape the catastrophe in the ruined mountains and rivers of a continent sinking was actually a very thought-provoking matter.

On the mountain, from the Divining Sect to the Taiping Mountain, even the Jade Tablet Sect, although they preserved their ancestral heritage and did not lose their incense, only a few living people remained in the ancestral hall. To this day, half of the seats are still empty during meetings.

And down the mountain, the only Great Fountain Dynasty that protected the continuous national fortune, countless border soldiers died in battle, and they could only retreat step by step, finally barely holding on to a mirage city.

Only Pu Shan, it seemed, only fought a few insignificant mountain battles, more thunder than rain. Several military tent demons watched from afar, and for some unknown reason, they had a tacit understanding and did not truly attack Pu Shan.

Otherwise, Ye Yunyun would not have thought of fighting in the Great Fountain Dynasty back then.

According to Cui Dongshan, Wen Hai Zhou Mi placed high hopes on this inconspicuous Pu Shan.

Chen Ping’an understood immediately, involving the dead end for pure martial artists and the reconstruction of the divine path in the world.

However, the current cultivators of Tongye Continent have intentionally or unintentionally ignored this matter, only considering it as the blessing of the Ye family of Pu Shan Yuncao Hall, blessed with great fortune.

Near the mountain gate, Chen Ping’an put away his dry tobacco pipe.

He was still not used to this thing, choking him, and even more choking himself, seemingly more difficult than drinking alcohol.

Little Dragon Pool Ancestral Mountain, Dragon Sleeping Mountain, the mountain top where the ancestral hall is located, also known as the Point of Intention.

There is a Taoist nun, an outsider, practicing here in a thatched hut. After the sword duel, she still hasn’t left.

She drove an ancient sword into the mountain top’s earth, as if in this way, the mountain top became her territory.

But even the Little Dragon Pool cultivators had to admit that the woman’s sword duel posture was graceful and unrestrained.

Fortunately, Little Dragon Pool has tried its best to block the news, and coupled with the fact that there are not many established immortal sects in Tongye Continent today, the number of mountain reports is small, otherwise, if this were to spread, it would be laughed at by outsiders.

Different from other continents in the Grand Azure World, Tongye Continent is notoriously closed-off, like a decadent but self-righteous old antique.

That’s why the appearance of Jiang Shangzhen was so lively.

The Divining Sect and Taiping Mountain, two large sects, now have only one person left, like a single seedling.

The Taoist nun Huang Ting, at this moment, stood on the cliff, leaning on her sword with both hands, looking up at the moon.

She attained the Jade Purity Realm in the Colorful World. She had good luck there, with continuous opportunities, but such blessings were commonplace for her since childhood.

Anyway, when she was a child, a wandering master passing by Taiping Mountain said that she was a lucky person.

Previously, she split open the mountain-protecting array’s mountain and water restrictions with one sword, seriously injured the Little Dragon Pool mountain master with another sword, and divided the ancestral hall into two with the last sword.

She stood in the air with her sword, and only left two sentences to the astonished mountain cultivators.

“Whoever comes to take the sword next, beware of death.”
“However, if anyone can withstand three of my sword strikes, I will personally fund the restoration of your ancestral hall.”

Of course, no one dared to accept the challenge.

This female Daoist of Mount Taiping, Huang Ting, was one of the most legendary female cultivators in Willow Leaf Continent in the past.

Jiang Shangzhen of Jade Decree Sect’s good fortune and Huang Ting of Mount Taiping’s blessed fate were known as the Twin Jewels of the continent.

Huang Ting’s sudden return to her hometown caught Little Dragon Pool completely off guard. When the gates of Willow Leaf Continent opened, allowing people to seek refuge in that new world, the Confucian Temple established a century-long period before reopening the gates.

Therefore, Huang Ting’s abrupt appearance caught Little Dragon Pool unprepared. In truth, an outsider visiting the ruins of Mount Taiping had already alerted Little Dragon Pool to a potential problem. When Huang Ting appeared and issued her challenge, all hope was lost.

Now, the ancestral hall meeting wasn’t about driving her away, but discussing how to appease the sword cultivator who represented an entire sect. They hoped she would agree to move out of the ancestral hall, or at least relocate within Heart’s Peak.

The current administrator of Little Dragon Pool, a Nascent Soul cultivator, originally intended to make a splash with three bold moves upon taking office. He wanted to help his sect seize the ruins of Mount Taiping, gather the remaining Daoist energy, and use his own natal treasure to reforge a Bright Moon Mirror. This would be a great benefit to his cultivation, far more substantial than creating a “wild garden” for tourists.

Huang Ting surveyed her surroundings. Little Dragon Pool was surrounded by a watery realm, with a rare Moon-Picking Ape and a giant softshell turtle as protectors on either side.

Furthermore, within the mountain and water territory, there was an enlightened giant green fish and a large catfish, both without imperial recognition, who proclaimed themselves the Great Sage of the Flowing River and the Great King of the Yellow Water. It was rumored that they had fled during the great war, only to return after it ended.

Little Dragon Pool didn’t bother to argue with these two river deities, likely seeing the two Golden Core cultivators as a case of keeping the wealth within the family, good even as mere decorations.

Little Dragon Pool’s treasure was a Gourd of Grain Rain.

The female Mountain Lord who took her first sword strike was known as Clear Frost Ascetic.

However, the one truly in charge was her junior brother, ambitious but lacking in talent and with an impure nature.

The reasoning was simple: Huang Ting’s first sword strike shattered the mountain and water defenses. Clear Frost Ascetic, who was in seclusion, was forced to break her closed-door cultivation to receive Huang Ting’s second strike. In contrast, the junior brother seemed more interested in watching the show, secretly pleased. After all, his senior sister now needed to seclude herself for even longer, unlikely to recover her former strength for forty or fifty years. This man possessed a natal treasure, a fishing rod that could seemingly use the reflection of the moon in the water as bait, similar in concept to a Dragon King’s Creel.

The only Little Dragon Pool cultivator who dared to approach the thatched hut was a young female cultivator named Linghu Jiaoyu, known as Fushu.

A cultivator’s Daoist title was like the formal name given to a man upon reaching adulthood. It was not something a Qi cultivator could casually possess; one had to reach the middle five realms, the Cave Mansion realm, to earn one.

Her parents were both Little Dragon Pool cultivators, a Daoist couple from the mountain. As their only daughter, she was naturally pampered. However, they both died in battle outside the mountain. They didn’t have to die, but they heard of an old friend in need of saving. In many eyes, even among the Little Dragon Pool cultivators, this was seen as a foolish death, utterly laughable. But Huang Ting didn’t find it funny at all.

That was why she had the young girl named Linghu Jiaoyu “visit” here.

The girl wore a conch shell around her waist, a sound-amplifying magical treasure somewhat like a Mountain-Driving Bell, but it could only be used to “instruct” mountain gods and local deities. It lacked the latter’s great power to move mountains and drive them into the sea.

Little Dragon Pool seemed to have a strange relationship with mountains. For example, there was a Stone-Boiling Platform on the mountain and a Mountain-Rolling River outside.

The only interesting aspect was that two Immortals had once played chess on the mountain, leaving behind a single unfinished game beneath the pines, oblivious to the passing of time.

Huang Ting had visited the site and found it somewhat profound.

She turned her head and saw the girl walking towards her. As the girl approached, Huang Ting headed towards the thatched hut, and the girl followed, understanding without words.

Inside the hut, there was only a bed and a stool. After winter arrived, a brazier was added, with a bag of charcoal in the corner. Huang Ting sat on the edge of the bed, her feet on the rim of the brazier, leaning forward and using fire tongs to adjust the embers.

Linghu Jiaoyu squatted nearby, warming her hands.

Huang Ting said, “Why not sit on the stool?”

Linghu Jiaoyu then stood up and moved to sit on the long stool, facing Huang Ting around the brazier.

Huang Ting casually said, “Linghu Jiaoyu, burnt and charred fish? What were your parents thinking when they gave you that name?”

Linghu Jiaoyu laughed, “Sister Huang Ting, there’s a reason! When my mother was pregnant with me, she dreamt of a secluded pool beneath a grove of banana trees, where a fish swam to the shore. The fish looked up at my mother and even spoke to her. My parents thought it was a good omen, so I got this name.”

Now, the elders and fellow disciples on the mountain deliberately avoided mentioning her parents, out of kindness, afraid of upsetting her.

But she didn’t dwell on it; in fact, she thought,

Her parents were such good people, why not say a few words about them? They must be happy rather than sad.

Like now.

Huang Ting asked, “In Treasure Bottle Continent to the north, there are Great and Little Dragon Pools. Are they related to you?”

Linghu Jiaoyu looked blank. “Huh?”

This was the first time she had heard that there was a Little Dragon Pool in Treasure Bottle Continent.

Huang Ting asked, “Would you like to come with me to Mount Taiping to cultivate?”

Linghu Jiaoyu thought for a moment and shook her head timidly. “No, thank you.”

Huang Ting only had the thought on a whim, saying it casually. If the girl didn’t want to, so be it. She teased, “Anyway, you don’t have to worry about getting married.”

The latest Rouge List of Flower Goddess Mountain in Cloud Grotto Blessed Land included the little girl before her.

Linghu Jiaoyu was somewhat embarrassed, looking up at the female Daoist sister illuminated by the firelight. The other woman was much prettier than she was.

Huang Ting pointed to the sword hanging on the wall and smiled, “Unlike you, I’m a sword cultivator. Pretty faces aren’t enough to fill your stomach.”

As for the sword she brought back from the Five Colors World, she found it in the ruins of a secret realm.
It seemed the celestial weapon possessed a spirit, recognizing its master of its own accord. A beam of sword light flashed and shot straight towards her. At the time, she was merely following behind a large group of celestial masters, watching the spectacle.

She witnessed those cultivators in the middle five realms busy laying formations and such, toiling diligently, while she was simply there to relieve boredom. Back in those days of the Five Colored Heaven, a Golden Core Earth Immortal dared to establish a sect.

Furthermore, Huang Ting had taken in a young girl as a disciple there, seemingly a “native” child born in the Five Colored Heaven.

However, she didn’t bring the child back this time, entrusting her to the care of Ascension City. After all, in that Five Colored Heaven, there was indeed a mountain peak with the three characters “Peace Mountain” inscribed on a stone tablet.

Within a radius of a thousand miles, no cultivators were allowed, or they would face her sword.

The reason she was able to leave the Five Colored Heaven as an exception was that Ning Yao, the number one person in that world, had inexplicably found her.

Ning Yao was accompanied by a quirky and clever young girl, holding a green bamboo staff and with an inkstone hanging from her waist, who seemed to be called Guo Zhujiu.

The little girl spoke interestingly, claiming to be the direct disciple of the Hidden Official, with mediocre swordsmanship but sturdy fist techniques.

Ning Yao told Huang Ting about the recent events at Peace Mountain in Tongye Continent, saying that Chen Ping’an had disrupted the small Dragon Pool’s attempt to occupy the old site.

She also said that if Huang Ting was willing to return to her hometown and help Guo Zhujiu safeguard her journey in that River of Time, the Literary Temple would not interfere as thanks. The Ascension City could help take care of this “Lower Sect” of Peace Mountain for a century…

Huang Ting then looked at the sword-carrying woman who seemed to be discussing with her.

It was truly difficult for this number one person in the Five Colored Heaven.

At that time, Guo Zhujiu loudly said, “Esteemed Mistress, take care.”

Then the girl lowered her voice and said, “Esteemed Mistress, rest assured, if I arrive at Fallen Mountain in Baoping Continent and discover any vixens who dare to pester Master shamelessly time and time again, heh, then don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

The little girl made a throat-slitting gesture.

Ning Yao touched the girl’s head with a gentle expression and smiled, “Your master fears nothing in heaven or earth, but he is most afraid of a certain matter, which I happen to know best.”

It wasn’t until that moment that Huang Ting, through Guo Zhujiu’s three consecutive titles, realized the truth in astonishment: Guo Zhujiu’s master was the Hidden Official of Sword Qi Great Wall, Chen Ping’an of Fallen Mountain.

Huang Ting knew very well that if it weren’t for Chen Ping’an, with Ning Yao’s relationship with her being as distant as could be, there would be no need to waste a share of merit at the Literary Temple for nothing.

Looking at Ning Yao’s expression and eyes, Huang Ting found it very interesting. You are Ning Yao, and you can be such a woman?

But perhaps this is what a woman is like, this is what love is like. Willing to become less like oneself for someone.

Linghu Jiaoyu lowered his head, timidly saying, “Elder Sister Huang Ting, Patriarch asked me to ask you a question, I dare not refuse, nor dare I tell you.”

Huang Ting couldn’t help but smile, thought for a moment, and said, “It’s okay, you just tell him that when I get bored here, I will naturally leave.”

Linghu Jiaoyu nodded vigorously.

Now that there was an answer, he felt relieved.

Glancing at the simple little girl, Huang Ting sighed and exceptionally repeated the question, “You really won’t cultivate with me?”

Linghu Jiaoyu gently shook her head, bent down, stared intently at the burning charcoal in the stove, and whispered, “I have to visit my parents’ graves every year. If I go to Peace Mountain to cultivate, I won’t be able to do that.”

Huang Ting nodded and said, “Mm.”

Peace Mountain, now only had her left.

Wherever she was, Peace Mountain was there.

Being in a foreign land, she only felt alone.

Returning to her hometown, she felt even more lonely.

In a small country in the middle of Tongye Continent that had just restored its national sovereignty, in a county town under the jurisdiction of Liuzhou, after so many years since the war, it had finally regained some vitality.

At a late-night snack stall, a scholar and a fat man sat at the same table, each eating a bowl of piping hot river snail noodles.

In fact, along the way, from autumn to winter, the two, or rather two ghosts, had seen the grain transport convoys passing by the stream mill under the mountain, the cartwheels rumbling, and an old man carrying a long pole with a pheasant hanging from it.

The people regard food as heaven, with cattle by their side. The farmers observe the weather, all saying it’s a bountiful year.

At the late-night snack stall table at this moment, the two bowls were not small, but compared to the bowls in the Jade Green Palace, they seemed particularly small.

The fat man shook his head as he ate, “This cassia bark is lacking. The pickled bamboo shoots didn’t use the yellow mud tips from the spring shoots, and as for the pickled mountain peppers, don’t even mention them. They’re not as good as those at the Buried River Water Mansion where we were guests before.”

The scholar gently tapped the table with his chopsticks, “That’s enough, a large bowl of river snail noodles for five copper coins is already cheap and good, what else do you want?”

The key point was that this fat man was as chatty as an old woman, and he had already finished almost two large bowls and, judging by the look of it, could have another bowl.

The fat man, who had given himself the alias “Gusu,” suddenly stopped his chopsticks, looked up, wiped his mouth with his hand, and then wiped it on the bottom of the table, “I’ve been holding it in without saying anything, so I’ve just had to keep it to myself, and it’s been killing me. What was the matter with you during that crossing? Did you see someone? Or did you catch a big fish that slipped through the net? It’s obviously a good thing, and it’s not like it’s that pretty wife, what’s there not to share? Joy shared is doubled.”

Zhong Kui raised his hand, intending to pay the bill.

The fat man got anxious and shouted, “What are you doing? My teeth aren’t even full yet, I want another bowl.”

Zhong Kui ignored him, but when he paid, he directly gave the copper coins for four bowls of river snail noodles.

The fat man burped, and was even a little observant, if this was in the past, he could be promoted.

Zhong Kui sat with his hands in his sleeves, letting the fat man eat his second bowl of river snail noodles.

This guy was truly a rare one, rumored to have been addicted to gambling in his youth, neglecting food and sleep, loafing around, and not attending to his conduct. Before this fat man usurped the throne and established a country, he had personally killed someone with a chessboard, and had also been slapped in the face on the street by a woman who didn’t know his identity but did not retaliate.

He could also say some sour words, saying, “The handsome youth with the golden whip, goes to ride a green horse, at that time the spring shirt is thin, apricot blossoms blow all over his head.”
Just like now, one could say that person was extremely hungry. After working hard, food tasted heavenly. Once full and satisfied, they’d fall asleep the moment their head hit the pillow. Their sleep would be peaceful, no longer dwelling on the beautiful maiden they saw during the day, not even fearing the Emperor. There’d be no spare time to think about trivial matters.

Zhong Kui softly said, “Poverty cures all ills, but it’s a bitter truth.”

The portly man slurped up a large mouthful of river snail noodles. They smelled foul, but tasted wonderfully savory. He curled his lips, “What if it’s bitter? One still has to accept fate obediently. Water has its source, a tree has its roots, mountains have their veins, and humans have birth, old age, sickness, and death. Since Heaven has established these rules, we must bow our heads, whether we want to or not. Besides, I’m not one of you scholars, concerned with lamentations like, ‘Alas, the world! The common people constantly suffer!’ To take a step back, even if my reputation is terrible in later generations, back when I was an Emperor sitting on the dragon throne, would my people let foreign cultivators chop off their heads? Would they dare? So, in my opinion, the Great Li Song Clan up north is at most, what I would have accomplished long ago in my reign.”

Zhong Kui chuckled, “Such grand pronouncements are best left unsaid for now.”

Gu Su grinned, “So what if that person is present? I’ll still say it!”

In truth, they should have arrived at Great Fú Academy long ago. The reason they changed their route, circling water and mountains, and meandering to this place, was none other than the fact that Master Zhong Kui had many ideas.

Gu Su didn’t possess the ability to divine, so he had no idea what Zhong Kui was thinking. Back when he was still an official, before donning the dragon robes, the ever-capricious former dynasty Emperor would occasionally drag in a fortune teller to predict when he would die. The fate of those fortune tellers was, as one could imagine, grim.

Great Fú Academy was rebuilt on its old site. The new Academy Headmaster was from the Great Li Dynasty’s Lin Lu Academy, Cheng Longzhou, which was also the true name of the ten-thousand-year water serpent demon of the Yellow Court Kingdom.

After the portly man finished eating, Zhong Kui led him to a county City God Temple. The yamen was brand new, and so was the newly appointed County City God.

Gu Su asked, “Brother Zhong, why not go directly to the Prefectural City God? If that doesn’t work, we brothers can flaunt our power at the Municipal City God’s place.”

Because it was simultaneously the seat of the Prefecture and the Municipality, the Governor’s Yamen, the Prefectural Yamen, and the County Yamen were all located in the same city. Moreover, there were two subordinate counties sharing the same city, which could be considered two unfortunate brothers. According to the ways of the officialdom, this was called “Three lifetimes of misfortune to be a county magistrate attached to the capital; three lifetimes of evil to be attached to the provincial capital.” Similar to a county magistrate attached to the capital, a local City God was in a similar situation, and perhaps even had a more difficult time serving as an official.

Earlier in the day, they had strolled around the city and gathered some rumors. It was said that the two subordinate counties had been vying for the title of “First County” in the past two years.

The order of subordinate counties was generally based on the length of their history, but counties with auspicious names like “Shangyuan” or “Renhe” seemed to have priority.

Now, Zhong Kui held a position of exceptional authority, similar to those imperial envoys in unofficial histories who helped the Emperor “tour the realm and pacify the people.”

Even though Zhong Kui didn’t officially hold any position in Fengdu for the time being, he was like the figures in the historical novels, wielding the Sword of Imperial Sanction, able to execute first and report later. Therefore, compared to the local powerful officials, his authority was even greater, because Zhong Kui could act entirely at his own discretion.

Zhong Kui stood at the entrance, not in a hurry to enter, and suddenly said, “I received a secret letter earlier.”

Gu Su rubbed his face vigorously with both hands, “What, besides breaking the Immortal Hairpin City, what else has your friend done that’s outrageous? Come on, tell me, see if you can scare me to death.”

Zhong Kui smiled in his mind, “It’s nothing, just that someone snatched half of the Dragging River, emptied Mount Tuoyue in one fell swoop, and killed a great demon in the Ascension Realm, joining forces to move the Bright Moon Radiance to the Azure Heavens World.”

Gu Su chuckled, “I thought it was something big, that’s all.”

The portly man wiped his forehead, thankfully, there was no sweat.

“Brother Zhong’s friend is my friend. Since we’re all friends, what’s the point of talking about realms? In my opinion, the more I look at your friend, the more handsome he becomes. A man should be like that. At first glance, nothing special, but he becomes more and more impressive the more you look at him.”

Gu Su gave a thumbs up, “Zhong Kui, you’re pretty good at making friends. In this matter, I’m indeed inferior to you. I have to give you a sincere thumbs up.”

Seeing Zhong Kui’s knowing smile, the portly man rubbed his face with his thumb, “With his looks, back in my younger days, I would have given him three points!”

This portly man was clearly starting to mend his ways.

Before, he thought the young Hidden Official, able to deceive that Ning Yao into becoming his dao companion, was definitely a silver-tongued, glib-talker, with a weak constitution, unable to eat coarse food.

As a result, upon hearing about the series of heaven-shattering events in the heart of the Desolate Lands.

Gu Su, coupled with Zhong Kui’s conversation with the great demon Wu Ti. The portly man, even with his behind, knew who was behind the series of events.

Even if it wasn’t Chen Ping’an personally wielding the sword, at least this young Hidden Official led the way, and his contributions were great. So, he immediately changed his tune, “I must have you introduce me to such a hero, a once-in-a-millennium genius. Don’t even mention becoming sworn brothers, even if I call him ‘Brother,’ I won’t feel wronged.”

Zhong Kui smiled, “You’ll be able to meet him soon.”

Looking back at the street, Zhong Kui suddenly changed his mind, and smiled, “Let’s find a place to drink.”

The portly man patted his chest, “Same old rules, I’ll pay!”

Zhong Kui looked at the portly man.

The portly man said awkwardly, “New rules, I’ll pay for everything from now on. But, let’s make it clear beforehand, no paying for pleasure!”

Otherwise, according to his, Lord Gu Su’s, consistent principles, don’t be greedy when doing good deeds, and don’t be overly generous when being a ghost.

Zhong Kui asked with a smile, “I heard you’ve always cherished the Thirteen Lines Jade Tablet?”

The portly man turned his head and spat fiercely, “Which historian’s eyes were covered in lard, splashing dirt on me and ruining my reputation!”

Zhong Kui patted the portly man’s shoulder, “If you don’t have it, I advise you not to meet my friend. Take it easy, he holds grudges.”

The portly man’s eyes rolled rapidly, and he began to weigh the pros and cons.

Zhong Kui walked towards a roadside tavern, sat down, and began to drink silently.

A smart person is willing to do foolish things, and a good person can accomplish great feats.
What is a knight-errant? It is one who has a river of the martial world flowing in their very bones.

A delightful evening, with guests and wine, taking advantage of a day with clear skies and a bright moon.

As night deepened, at the mountain gate of Cloud-Grass Hall on Pu Mountain, Chen Ping’an and the two gatekeeper cultivators announced their identities.

However, compared to last time, they now carried the identity of Immortal Capital Mountain.

The gatekeepers had obviously been informed beforehand, and having only heard of “Cao Mo,” they asked Immortal Master Cao to wait a moment, immediately sending a message via a paper-folded bluebird talisman.

Xiao Mo glanced at it, finding it somewhat familiar. This was a secret Pu Mountain transmission talisman, shaped like a woman riding a bluebird.

Soon, two figures arrived at the mountain gate to welcome Chen Ping’an and his esteemed guests.

Xue Huai, a distant-traveling realm martial artist. This elder possessed a refined appearance, a scholarly demeanor, and wore a headscarf, exuding an air of transcendence and antiquity.

Therefore, although a grandmaster of martial arts, he was always respectfully referred to as Scholar Xue outside the mountain.

Accompanying Xue Huai was an old Nascent Soul cultivator with a celestial bearing, holding a whisk in his hand.

Last time, acting as a protector, Xue Huai had already met Cao Mo and Zheng Qian at Yellow Crane Shoal in Cloud-Cave Blessed Land during his travels.

As one of Ye Yunyun’s direct disciples, Xue Huai, along with Lu Ying, the chief offering of Golden Peak Temple, served as guardians for a large group of young people.

At that time, his master, Ye Yunyun, had intended to spar with Cao Mo, but Cao Mo claimed to be a junior and declined the exchange.

His master later mentioned that Jiang Shangzhen said his friend Cao Mo had refused three times in a row.

But since the other party was Zheng Qian’s master, Xue Huai didn’t think Cao Mo was deliberately being mysterious.

Not to mention the high-achieving disciple that the former had personally taught, capable of fighting on both the Golden Armor Continent and the Treasure Bottle Continent battlefields, slaying countless demons and saving many lives. Moreover, this disciple had the remarkable feat of sparring with Cao Ci of Great End four times. Even Xue Huai himself, despite being a martial artist in the distant-traveling realm, did not believe he could accomplish deeds similar to one of the other’s disciples. Just taking the sparring match with Cao Ci as an example, he guessed Cao Ci simply wouldn’t have been willing to take action.

While descending the mountain on his recent earth-overturning journey, Xue Huai had actually seen Cao Qinglang and Xiao Mo, who was holding a mountain-walking staff, at first glance.

Xue Huai cupped his fist and apologized, “Immortal Master Cao, my master is out traveling with a friend and is not on the mountain. However, they are not too far away. The Ancestral Hall has already sent a flying sword message, and they should return to Pu Mountain within an hour at most.”

The old Nascent Soul Immortal Master beside him flicked his whisk, bowed respectfully, and said, “Tan Rong, Rong of abundant water by wooden shore. I currently serve as the law enforcer of Pu Mountain, paying respects to Immortal Master Cao.”

It wasn’t that the old Immortal Master was easy to talk to and gave grand salutes to everyone he met. In fact, in the Pu Mountain Ancestral Hall, Tan Rong was known for being difficult to deal with. With the family head and mountain lord, Huang Yi Yun, uninvolved in affairs, Tan Rong had no choice but to establish rules and play the role of the villain.

Moreover, almost none of the law-enforcing ancestors of immortal mountains and sects across the land were known for their good temperaments.

The truth was, their Pu Mountain owed this youthfully-looking Immortal Master Cao a tremendous debt of gratitude. Previously, a direct disciple True Man of the Green Tiger Palace, Lu Yong, had proactively visited Pu Mountain and presented two entire cauldrons of Feather Ascension Pills, without accepting a single Immortal Coin in return.

According to the mountain lord, it was this Immortal Master Cao who had helped Pu Mountain connect with the Green Tiger Palace.

Chen Ping’an cupped his fist and smiled, “I have long heard that Law Enforcer Tan is a master of metal and stone on the mountain, possessing a treasured collection of a thousand books of seal impressions and ten thousand seals. This junior will certainly seize this opportunity to visit Law Enforcer Tan’s Thousand Gold Ten Thousand Stone Studio.”

“You wouldn’t think Immortal Master Cao would also appreciate such things?”

Tan Rong’s smile deepened. It should be known that this old Nascent Soul cultivator had two particularly itchy spots in his life. One was that at the age of fifty, he was already a “two golds” direct disciple of the Pu Mountain Ancestral Hall, being both a Golden Core realm cultivator and a Golden Body realm martial artist, and thus had personally engraved a pair of private book collecting seals. The other was Tan Rong’s extremely rich collection of seal impressions and seals.

Tan Rong led this group of guests from Immortal Capital Mountain, riding the wind to Pu Mountain’s guest reception area, located on the sea of clouds outside the cliff near the mountain peak Ancestral Hall.

This place was only chosen by Cloud-Grass Hall to entertain esteemed guests. Deep in the white clouds stood a lush ancient tree, its shade covering several acres, surrounded by a circle of white jade railings.

The disciples of Cloud-Grass Hall, both male and female, were all talented, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. A great deal of credit for this stemmed from this place.

Along the way, he had enjoyed a pleasant conversation with that Immortal Master Cao. Initially, he had thought that the other party’s talk about metal and stone was merely polite conversation to bridge the gap, but as they talked, they found each other more and more congenial. When they discussed certain seal impressions known to few, the other party’s appraisals were often spot-on and insightful, far from the superficial knowledge that could be gleaned from cramming a few seal impression books before climbing the mountain.

Xiao Mo then understood another principle. Eighteen martial skills in hand will never be idle, and there will always be a time when they are needed.

Pei Qian glanced askance at someone, as if to say: My master knows it, but do you? How can you be a proud disciple?

Cao Qinglang was helpless and somewhat missed that Senior Sister Guo for no reason.

If Guo Zhujiu were here, the most troublesome person would be Pei Qian.

Whenever a hundred flowers bloom on the tree, a charming and adorable woman appears from within each flower. They are all plant and tree spirits that have successfully taken form.

This unique and beautiful immortal scene on the mountain not only consumes a lot of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, but even Tan Rong and Xue Huai couldn’t see it whenever they wanted to. The Pu Mountain family heads of past generations had always treated those little fellows with respect, not to disturb their quiet cultivation at will. So the little ones had big tempers and often slacked off. Once the flowers bloomed, they would lie there or lie there without moving, which would cause a big joke. It wasn’t as if there hadn’t been such an embarrassing situation. They couldn’t be scolded or beaten, and they couldn’t bear to scold them. What else could be done? You should know that the last time two distinguished guests came to visit, it was the old Sect Leader of Jade Decree Sect, Xun Yuan, leading the new Sect Leader, Jiang Shangzhen, who visited Pu Mountain together.

The last time the flowers bloomed, there were countless curses, one after another, and even many spirits, with their arms akimbo or jumping feet, spitting saliva at Jiang Shangzhen.

The roguish new Sect Leader ran around, holding his hands up to catch the “rain,” and thanked him again and again with a smiling face.

In the end, he left a sentence, “Good rain knows the season, it happens to me.”

Such distinguished guests were best kept to a minimum.
Before Steward Tan Rong descended the mountain this time, he made a special trip here to give his respects in advance. He even had to go against his conscience and say that among today’s esteemed guests, Cao Mo, although bearing the title of a low-ranking guest elder of the Jade Decree Sect, had absolutely no connection with Jiang Shangzhen. Fearing he might overdo it, the old steward solemnly spoke of the two cauldrons of Azure Tiger Palace’s Seated Meditation Pills and the exploits of “Zheng Qian,” leaving the little spirits eager and full of anticipation.

White clouds were spread across the sky like lichen, as bright as day.

Beside the dozen or so white jade stools arranged in the pattern of constellations, Tan Rong and his guests had all taken their seats. The old Immortal Master retrieved a small chime, jade-green in color, from his sleeve and lightly struck it three times, producing a clear and melodious sound.

From the highest branches to the lowest, the trees blossomed in succession. Among the flowers, maidens danced gracefully or played the zither and flute, singing ancient ballads in archaic language. Their figures were about the length of a finger, all with celestial eyebrows and ancient hairstyles, their garments like mist and rainbow, their sleeves broad and long. A fragrant aura swirled around them, creating a scene of enchanting beauty and ethereal仙氣.

When the spectacle ended, Chen Ping’an rose to clasp his fist in salute to the immortals dwelling in the ancient trees. Xiao Mo and the other two naturally followed suit.

Among them was a diminutive maiden, wearing a white jade spirit seal and an ancient, unadorned True Unity crown. Her eyes were expressive, her bearing pure and refined. She took a few steps, standing beside a flower petal, and asked, “Immortal Master Cao, Steward Tan says you are from the Jade Decree Sect? Do you know the illustrious Sect Master Jiang, famed for his war exploits?”

Tan Rong immediately became worried, but he could not subtly remind Cao Mo through telepathy.

Chen Ping’an had already understood the situation. When away from home, especially in front of women, who would claim to be friends with Jiang Shangzhen? That would be foolish. Therefore, he unhesitatingly shook his head and smiled, “Cao Mo is just a lowly guest elder of the Jade Decree Sect. How could I be so fortunate as to know Sect Master Jiang? I am far from worthy of such an acquaintance.”

My Fallen Mountain only has Chief Zhou Fei; there is no Jiang Shangzhen.

The maiden seemed doubtful but ultimately shook her head and sighed, “Men, alas.”

She did not continue to press the matter.

Pushan’s wine is even more famous than its cloud-mist tea, revered on the mountain as Little Hundred Flower Brew.

It is only given away, never sold. Pushan is not short of funds.

The rent from over seventy mountains and rivers outside of Pushan alone is substantial, so the ancestor responsible for Pushan’s finances has always had the easiest job. During the previous ancestor hall meeting, discussing the collection of rent after the great war, Ye Yunyun gave a concise two-word answer: “Forget it.”

Ye Yunyun rarely participates in specific affairs, letting others earn and spend money. However, whenever she appears, her word is law.

With the mountain master’s decree, there was no need for further discussion. Pushan quickly announced that all legitimate successors of famous mountains, great rivers, lakes, and temples would be exempt from rent for a century.

After Ye Yunyun returned to the mountain, Tan Rong once again thanked Immortal Master Cao for the two cauldrons of Feathered Garment Pills.

If it were not for that old miser in charge of finances, who was currently out and about, busy acquiring new mountain territories, that shameless old fellow would probably bow and thank him just for Immortal Master Cao’s visit to Cloud Herb Hall. This was because several of his direct disciples had each received a Feathered Garment Pill, making their breakthroughs either more certain or within sight.

Chen Ping’an smiled and said that he had only mentioned that Pushan intended to purchase a cauldron of Seated Meditation Pills, and he did not expect the Azure Tiger Palace to eventually give them away. He guessed that it was because Old Immortal Lu genuinely approved of Pushan’s values; otherwise, at most, the purchase price would have been more favorable.

Tan Rong and Xue Huai knew the truth, of course, but since the other party intentionally said it this way, it was helping Pushan to elevate its reputation, which was ultimately a matter of honor.

They casually chatted about Wu Shu’s eldest disciple, the Golden Body realm martial artist Guo Bailu.

Xue Huai did not hold back his praise for this junior, asserting that Guo Bailu’s future martial arts achievements would be high. A twenty-year-old Golden Body realm cultivator who had twice earned the title of “Strongest” at a young age possessed great martial fortune.

Chen Ping’an nodded and said that Guo Bailu’s future was undoubtedly boundless.

Pei Qian sat upright, her expressionless.

Whether pure martial artists or mountain cultivators, everyone now acknowledged one thing.

That was that Cao Ci of the Great End Dynasty led the way, leading the charge on the path of martial arts.

Behind Cao Ci, Zheng Qian of Treasure Bottle Continent, Yu Juanfu of Central Earth Continent, and Guo Bailu of Tongye Continent were the most valuable young generation, having earned the title of “Strongest” in their respective realms within the last twenty years in the Human Domain and the Wildlands.

Xue Huai hesitated but ultimately abandoned the idea of sparring with Zheng Qian. After all, he was an esteemed guest, and it would be impolite to fight with someone before his party had even met his master.

Besides, it would be a predictable demonstration.

Xue Huai did not think he could withstand twenty moves from Zheng Qian.

Could he last ten moves? He would have to try to find out.

After all the small talk, and several rounds of wine, the mountain master had still not returned to Pushan, arriving later than expected. Tan Rong had to take Immortal Master Cao and his party to his own Thousand Gold Myriad Stone Hall.

Ordinary guests could not even dream of setting foot here. Each precious collection was like a hero looking down on the world. Books were like beauties: why waste charm on the blind?

When Pushan’s steward mentioned that he had not yet been able to acquire the Hundred Sword Immortal Seal Collection and the Two Hundred Sword Immortal Seal Collection, he expressed his deep regret.

He said that he had already contacted the managers of two intercontinental ferries and instructed them to help him purchase them at a high price from a certain mountain on the皚皚 Continent, including the travel expenses. No matter how high the price, it would not be a problem.
One of the old stewards who had taken ferry trips to Upside-Down Mountain would invariably bring up the young Hidden Officer of the Great Wall of Sword Qi, always referring to him as the “new Hidden Officer,” never “the last Hidden Officer.” The ferry steward would practically beam, saying that although he hadn’t had the chance to speak with the new Hidden Officer face to face, he had later sat in the Spring Banner Teahouse on Upside-Down Mountain in a chair that was only two seats away from the Hidden Officer’s throne! After Shao Yunyan, Immortal Yan, and Nalan Huancai finished their deliberations, he touched the back of that chair to absorb some immortal qi. “Don’t laugh, Law Master Tan,” he’d say. “I was just a little slow to get up, not as quick as those shameless colleagues, so I had to wait in line!”

This torrent of words left Law Master Pu Shan both amused and helpless. He was, of course, aware of the Great Wall of Sword Qi, but he didn’t really know any more details.

The Tongye Continent had always kept to itself, indifferent to matters in other continents.

But since he needed a favor, Tan Rong could only play along, nodding and smiling. And when the old steward told him not to laugh, the old Law Master had to force a serious expression.

Finally, the old steward began to boast without a hint of restraint, saying, “If you had asked for those two seal albums earlier, I could have discussed it with the new Hidden Officer. He might have even given them to you for free!”

Tan Rong could only continue to nod in agreement.

At that moment, the old immortal master didn’t notice that, apart from the composed Immortal Cao beside him, the other three guests were wearing strange expressions.

In a quiet side room within a water god temple at the source of the Pei River, on the edge of the Pu Mountain territory, a woman in yellow robes was drinking tea with two friends. It was the kind of old Cong Shui Xian tea that was exported from the Treasure Bottle Continent, and it made her frown. She had even used the finest spring water from the Pei River to brew it, but it still tasted like this. Who set the price anyway? Were they obsessed with money?

The other three women in the room were all female, one of whom was the hostess of the temple, the water goddess known as the “East Sea Woman” by the mountain immortals. Her name was Kou Xuanqu. If Yellow Robe Ye hadn’t asked to drink this foreign rock tea, she wouldn’t have dared to bring it out for her guests.

Ye Yunyun had come to the temple to discuss the specific details of her river journey with Kou Xuanqu. Because she was the water god of the Pei River, there was no point in traveling on the Pei River; it would be meaningless. So, Ye Yunyun had previously reached an agreement with the Great Spring Dynasty, selecting the buried river where the old Great Estuary Dragon Palace was located. Emperor Yao Jinzhi had personally negotiated the deal, and it had gone very smoothly.

The water goddess of the buried river, Liu Rou, the mistress of the Biyou Palace, was also very accommodating. She quickly sent a letter back to the Mirage City Imperial Palace with just two words: “Welcome.”

Sitting across from Ye Yunyun was a slender girl, dressed in a pink Xiahong silk gauze skirt and a crane cloak.

She appeared to be a young girl, but she was actually a very senior Nascent Soul realm cultivator from the Tongye Continent.

This was Xu Qingzhu, the current mistress of the White Dragon Cave, whose Daoist name was Ranyue (Leap Month).

She was beautiful, with a carefree and detached demeanor, possessing the spirit of someone who lived among the forests.

Xu Qingzhu had a strange habit of walking barefoot from a young age, and she “never wore shoes or socks her whole life.”

The reason why the Yuncao Hall of Pu Mountain participated in the Peach Leaf Alliance was due to the suggestion of Du Hanling of the Golden Summit Temple, who acted as her negotiator. However, Xu Qingzhu only needed one reason to convince her friend, Yellow Robe Ye, who was originally unwilling to get involved.

The Tongye Continent needed a Boundary Realm martial artist who was willing to throw punches, regardless of cost, consequences, or rewards, to deter cultivators from other continents.

Xu Qingzhu had previously been a guest at Pu Mountain for quite some time, as she would soon enter seclusion. Her breakthrough was uncertain.

The last woman was the youngest and had the lowest cultivation. She was Ye Xuanji, a junior member of Ye Yunyun’s clan. The family ancestor of this young female cultivator was Ye Yunyun’s elder brother, who managed the Yuncao Hall’s treasury.

Whenever Ye Xuanji was out, she was accustomed to wearing a Dragon Girl Xiang skirt robe and a string of bright pearl bracelets on her wrist. When she raised her teacup, she lifted her wrist, glanced at her beloved bracelet, and smiled secretly.

Because the current mistress of the land and water transportation, Madame Dan, had sent word from the Lushuikeng that there were no more dragon pearls in her residence; not a single one was left. Therefore, this kind of bright pearl bracelet had become a thing of the past. As a result, the price of the bracelet had soared on the mountain, more than doubling its original price. Unfortunately, she had emptied her pockets and borrowed money from her fellow disciples to buy only three strings of these palm-sized pearl bracelets. So now, her family ancestor, the God of Wealth in Pu Mountain, was too embarrassed to constantly accuse her of reckless spending.

Xu Qingzhu said, “I need to return to the mountain immediately to enter seclusion, so I will not be able to protect Xuanqu on the shore.”

Kou Xuanqu raised her wine cup, a flower god cup imitation from the Treasure Bottle Continent, and smiled charmingly, “How could I dare to ask the cave master to protect me? If I can still travel the estuary in the future, I will trouble the cave master again.”

Xu Qingzhu, with her cold expression, smiled and raised her teacup, which was still considered well-made. “Let’s encourage each other.”

After drinking their tea, Ye Yunyun didn’t let Kou Xuanqu accompany them. The three women left the temple and strolled along the shore at the source of the Pei River.

Xu Qingzhu touched Ye Xuanji’s head and asked with a smile, “Xuanji, you rarely accompany the mountain master on trips. Have you secretly bought any gazettes?”

Ye Xuanji glanced at Yellow Robe Ye, who was both the Ye family head and the Pu Mountain master.

She didn’t dare to speak.

Ye Yunyun said, “As long as you don’t bring the gazettes you’ve read back to Pu Mountain.”

Only then did Ye Xuanji open up, telling the mountain master and Senior Ranyue many stories of strange and interesting people from the northern Treasure Bottle Continent and the Northern Gulu Continent.

For example, she heard that the Northern Yue Piyu Mountain in the Treasure Bottle Continent was going to hold another night banquet.
Alas, the reports from my own Tongye Continent are far too delayed. Furthermore, many mountain affairs are distorted, or simply copied from the Bao Ping Continent’s reports, making them second-hand, even third-hand news – of little value. For instance, only now did Ye Xuanji learn that Zhu Quan, the Pi Ma Sect leader from the Skeleton Beach of Beiju Luzhou, had long relinquished his position. And there was that unknown expert who suddenly appeared during the discussions at the Zhongtu Confucian Temple, calling himself “Tender Daoist,” whose Dao techniques were invincible, whose arcane arts were astronomically powerful, defeating an old Ascendant with ease. Then there was an immortal from the Nine Truths Immortal Hall, who was challenged by a young, obscure swordsman at the contentious Yuanyang Isle, nearly losing his life. And of course, there was that unknown mountain called Fallen Peak, whose attendance at the ceremony of the same-continent Zheng Yang Mountain caused an earth-shattering event, nothing short of a cataclysm.

Hearing about this ceremony, Xu Qingzhu finally spoke, smiling, “Yunyun, how coincidental. That young mountain master is apparently named Chen Ping An, and he seems to follow a similar path as you, both a cultivator and a martial arts grandmaster.”

Ye Yunyun had obviously heard of him, shaking her head, “Saying ‘similar’ is far from accurate. He’s not just a Qi Refiner, but also a sword cultivator, and like the Great Sword Immortal Wei Jin of the Wind and Snow Temple, he reached the Jade Purity Realm around forty years old. If we only rely on the reports, I wouldn’t stand much of a chance in a martial exchange with him.”

Xu Qingzhu clicked her tongue twice, “Only someone like Yellow Robe Yun could say such things so nonchalantly.”

She then wore a slightly resentful expression, “Comparing people is infuriating. You went out and received two cauldrons of Feather Robe Pills for free. Look at me, staying at home, I’ve provoked that Yao Prefect from the Daquan Dynasty.”

Ye Yunyun’s words were always direct, “That’s what happens when the house is big and the people are few; spirits are easily stirred. A small house with many people easily leads to quarrels.”

Xu Qingzhu was annoyed, reaching out to pinch Ye Yunyun’s arm.

Ye Yunyun ignored it, her brows furrowed with a faint sorrow, as if her worries were greater than Xu Qingzhu’s.

Among Xu Qingzhu’s direct disciples was a child nicknamed Linzi, named Ma Linshi. This little rascal caused no small amount of trouble during his travels. First, in the Mirage City of the Daquan Dynasty, he made a scene with a one-armed cripple, only to later discover that he was the Capital Prefect, the Daquan Empress’s younger brother, a first-rank Prince.

Afterward, in the Jiang Clan’s Cloud Grotto Blessed Land, he had a conflict with a group of people, causing You Qi to be knocked to the ground by a child calling himself “Invincible Little Divine Fist,” and it seemed to be a crushing defeat. A cultivator, a Dragon Gate Realm cultivator just one step away from becoming an Earth Immortal, was severely taught a lesson by a child practicing martial arts.

However, after a White Dragon Cave Ancestral Hall meeting, they abandoned any idea of investigating or seeking retribution.

Firstly, the Ancestral Master, who had served as cave master for many years, disliked trouble. Besides, she was at a critical moment of seclusion, attempting to break through her cultivation, and it was best not to touch any worldly matters, whether within or outside the mountain.

Secondly, White Dragon Cave feared making a big problem even bigger. For the sake of face, losing substance would be a bad bargain.

Whether it was a prince and Capital Prefect of the Daquan Dynasty, or the man at the Cloud Grotto Blessed Land who stood beside Ye Yunyun, calling her “Sister Ye” with such frivolity, neither of them could elicit any reaction from Ye Yunyun, which was telling. Moreover, there was an unfathomable white-robed youth among those children, whose words completely disregarded White Dragon Cave.

Therefore, her beloved disciple, who had reached the Cave Mansion Realm before the age of ten, was placed under house arrest. He seemed like an honest child when cultivating on the mountain, but once he descended, he became a troublemaker.

It wasn’t that Ye Yunyun deliberately sprinkled salt on her friend’s wounds.

Rather, her own mountain faced even greater hidden worries.

Some of the inside information was unknown even to Ye Xuanji, let alone outsiders like Xu Qingzhu.

For example, Guo Bailu, an extremely talented and young Golden Body Realm martial artist.

Not long after he left the Pushan region, he suffered a silent assassination attempt, extremely dangerous. Only with Jiang Shangzhen’s intervention did Guo Bailu barely escape the unforeseen disaster. Even with Jiang Shangzhen’s cultivation and methods, she couldn’t truly capture the assassin, who seemed to have used an extremely clever substitute death technique.

Afterward, Martial Saint Wu Shu received a cross-continental flying sword message from Pushan Cloud Grass Hall and immediately quietly returned to his hometown of Tongye Continent.

He originally intended to have a martial exchange with Ye Yunyun, but was unexpectedly refused. Wu Shu was surprised but didn’t force it.

It wasn’t because his disciple Guo Bailu was attacked that he would blame Pushan. It wasn’t that extreme. It was more that Wu Shu felt it was simply “convenient and coincidental.”

Thanks to Jiang Shangzhen’s early warning, worrying that both she and Wu Shu would fall into a trap, Ye Yunyun didn’t agree to the long-awaited Wu Shu martial exchange.

Afterward, Ye Yunyun secretly began to investigate the situation. She saw an immortal facing the wall in a painting, only showing the back, not the face.

It had a sense of “opposing fate, unacceptable to the world.”

Therefore, the rumors that Yellow Robe Yun of Pushan Cloud Grass Hall was preparing to seclude herself, abandon martial arts, and focus on cultivation to attain the Ascension Realm, were not baseless rumors.

Ye Yunyun suddenly muttered to herself, “Perhaps Pushan should lift the ban on reports? It seems we can no longer afford to turn a deaf ear.”

Tongye Continent was no longer the arrogant Tongye Continent of the past.

The saying “every continent is inferior to Zhongtu” had become a laughingstock.

And from now on, it would be ridiculed by the other eight continents for centuries.

In the lower dynasties, when local officials met officials from the capital’s Ministry of Personnel, there was a saying that seeing a superior official meant being three ranks lower.

Now, Tongye Continent, when seeing cultivators from other continents, especially Bao Ping Continent, seemed to be in a similar situation, how humiliating and stifling.

Ye Yunyun turned to Xu Qingzhu and said, “Runyue, I wish you success in your seclusion.”

Xu Qingzhu mocked herself, “Even if I were lucky enough to reach the Upper Five Realms, what could I do? Dwarves watching a play only see what others say.”
North of us, that small Azure Bottle Continent. Once the battles turned fierce, the Great Li Dynasty, with the strength of a single nation, managed to staunch the advance of the barbaric hordes. They fought all the way from Old Dragon City to the Central Great Estuary. Only when the foundation of the continent was truly laid bare did outsiders realize how many hidden dragons and crouching tigers resided there.

Ye Xuanji suddenly whispered, “Grand Ancestress, the gazette said that the Chen Sword Immortal of Fallen Phoenix Mountain also wears green robes and a jade hairpin. And the young Mountain Lord has a disciple named Pei Qian, haha, Zheng Qian, Zuan Qian (make money), Pei Qian (lose money)…”

Ye Yunyun glared at her. “Read more, cultivate diligently, and speak less foolishness.”

Ye Xuanji immediately deflated, hanging her head and muttering, “Oh.”

Ye Yunyun raised her hand, pinched a cyan bird talisman, opened the folded paper to read the contents, and tucked the talisman into her sleeve. She said to her friend, “Runyue, we have guests on the mountain. Will you return to Pu Mountain with me?”

Xu Qingzhu smiled. “Forget it. I’ve traveled and enjoyed the scenery enough. I’ll head straight home.”

Ye Yunyun considered it. “I’ll see you off for a while. Let Xuanji return to the mountain first.”

Receiving her Grand Ancestress’s decree, Ye Xuanji immediately hurried back to Pu Mountain on the wind.

As they traveled north on the wind, Xu Qingzhu asked with a smile, “Can I ask who it is that requires you to rush back to entertain them overnight?”

Ye Yunyun smiled. “It’s that honored guest from another land who was able to have Azure Tiger Palace send two jars of Feathered Garment Pills. Logically, I should be welcoming him at the mountain gate.”

Xu Qingzhu’s eyes sparkled. “I’ve changed my mind! I’ll return to Pu Mountain with you! What does that Immortal Master Cao look like? How old is he? Does he have a Dao companion?”

Ye Yunyun said, “Let’s continue on our way.”

Finally, they parted ways with Xu Qingzhu a thousand miles away. The two women didn’t rush, flying with moderate speed, after all, the White Dragon Cave Master intended to enter secluded cultivation for life or death.

Even so, Ye Yunyun was still able to return to Pu Mountain sooner than Ye Xuanji.

Because after Ye Yunyun bid farewell to her friend, she unleashed her full power. Transforming into a Boundary Martial Artist traversing vast distances, she moved like lightning, with thunder rumbling in the heavens.

The place for entertaining guests at Pu Mountain had been changed to a Cloud Gazing Pavilion located on a cliff at the mountain peak.

Chen Pingan only allowed Xiao Mo to enjoy the scenery in the white jade plaza outside the pavilion. Pei Qian and Cao Qinglang had already settled into two adjacent residences in the Immortal Abode.

Chen Pingan had a frank and open conversation with this Yellow-Robed Yun.

They exchanged introductions with an open heart.

Chen Pingan of Fallen Phoenix Mountain was about to establish a branch sect at Immortal Capital Mountain in Tongye Continent, and he invited Senior Ye to attend the sect’s celebration next spring.

Moreover, Jiang Shangzhen was the chief offering of Fallen Phoenix Mountain.

Ye Yunyun had no doubts. No wonder Jiang Shangzhen was so close to this green-robed guest the last time in the Cloud Cavern Blessed Land.

And why did “Cao Mo” call himself a junior? Because he was just a young man who had barely reached forty years of age!

Amidst her shock, she became even more resolute in one matter: not only did she need to lift the ban on her own mountain’s gazettes, but she also needed to purchase a few more gazettes from other immortal residences in the future. She couldn’t be stingy with that bit of immortal money.

In the past, she was worried that the Cloud Grass Hall disciples would be distracted, but now, with so many foreign dragons crossing the river from other continents, both openly and secretly, how could the future Cloud Grass Hall of Pu Mountain not be distracted?

Ye Yunyun’s expression was solemn as she asked, “Does Sword Immortal Chen want to rely on the branch sect, joining forces with Jade Gui Sect, to cooperate from the south and the north, and in our Tongye Continent… establish a mountain rule to which all heroes submit?”

Chen Pingan shook his head. “Fallen Phoenix Mountain doesn’t have such thoughts, but perhaps some of our future actions will give outsiders that impression. As for Jiang Shangzhen, he’s just our chief offering, but Fallen Phoenix Mountain and Jade Gui Sect have no entanglement of interests.”

Ye Yunyun frowned slightly, but she didn’t think the other party was spouting nonsense.

Even the fools on the mountain could see that the current Tongye Continent was a battlefield in the business world, a place where strategists would definitely contend. Otherwise, why would those intercontinental ferries come to Tongye Continent? Surely, the sword immortal Xu Jun of the Mountain Driving Ferry wasn’t just fond of drinking the northwest wind on that mountaintop every day.

Chen Pingan continued, “By ‘outsiders,’ I mean both the local cultivators of Tongye Continent and the cultivators from my homeland, Azure Bottle Continent. Simply put, everyone except Immortal Capital Mountain.”

Ye Yunyun took out two jars of her own brewed wine, tossed one to the other party, took a swig herself, wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, and asked, “If Sword Immortal Chen can truly keep his word, he could easily end up displeasing everyone and ultimately failing to please either side. So what is Sword Immortal Chen trying to achieve? Surely, it’s not because he was born with a fondness for upholding justice, is it?”

Chen Pingan said, “If the branch sect wants to grow, it will, of course, earn money and compete for territory. Immortal Capital Mountain will definitely continue to seek out Daoist seedlings in the future, but its style will be measured. It will reason with both the mountain and the people below. It won’t be like chess, where you eat me and I eat you, or exchange pieces with each other. In the end, no matter who wins, both sides will be left with a game of remnants.”

Ye Yunyun asked with a smile, “So it’s more like a game of Go? Unless Chen Sword Immortal and Immortal Capital Mountain annihilate a great dragon, the losers’ pieces on the board can still remain quite numerous?”

In the matter of hand-to-hand combat, Yellow-Robed Yun could be said to be a well-deserved master of the mountain world. However, she rarely played against outsiders, while her disciple, Xue Huai, was renowned beyond the mountains as one of the top ten players in the continent. However, in the eyes of his master, Xue Huai had never won a single game.

Chen Pingan didn’t speak upon hearing this. He just smiled and raised his wine jug, drinking with Ye Yunyun.

Ye Yunyun drank the wine and, true to her straightforward nature, said, “Please give me a clear answer, Sword Immortal Chen!”

Chen Pingan nodded. “It is just as Mountain Master Ye said. Moreover, the first Sect Master of our branch sect has extremely high skill in Go. Even looking at the entire Great Wide World, they are a renowned expert.”

Ye Yunyun asked, “Not Zheng…Pei Qian? Could it be that Qi Refinement Practitioner Cao Qinglang?”

Chen Pingan shook his head and smiled. “Neither of them. You’ll know when Mountain Master Ye attends the celebration in person.”

Ye Yunyun hesitated for a moment, shaking her head to herself. “Mountain Master Chen, I still have to say something unpleasant. Why do you want to reason with foreigners in a foreign land? And even be willing to make things difficult for people from your homeland?”

Tigers in the mountains harm people, but those who act as accomplices for tigers are even more hateful.
Ye Yunyun absolutely wouldn’t allow her Pu Mountain Cloud Cottage to be led by the nose without realizing it, ultimately making any moves that violated her intentions and conscience.

If this young Sword Immortal, about to possess a lower sect, couldn’t truly convince her today, then Ye Yunyun would even double the price and convert it into a large sum of immortal money, returning the two furnaces of Feather Garment Pills to the Azure Tiger Palace, and would never allow Pu Mountain to have any connection with Immortal Capital Mountain.

Chen Pingan was silent for a moment, and said with his heart, “My teacher has Dao with the lands of three continents, one of which is your Tongye Continent.”

Ye Yunyun was about to drink, and quickly put away the wine pot, shocked and said: “Chen Sword Immortal’s teacher, is that Wen Sheng (Sage of Literature) who has regained his status as a Confucian Temple attendant?!”

“Dare I talk nonsense about such a thing?”

Chen Pingan smiled and said: “Mountain Master Ye, the matter of the Pu Mountain Di Bao (official report), can really be unbanned. If there are no accidents, from now on, news from the mountains will be a sum of immortal money. After all, neither of us are Chief Zhou who is only worried about not having a place to spend money. We earn money with our conscience and hard work, and we don’t dislike having too much money.”

During the pavilion discussion tonight, the other party didn’t say half a sentence of nonsense. Unexpectedly, Ye Yunyun endured it again and again, but in the end, she couldn’t help but say a sentence of nonsense, “Then aren’t you the Junior Brother of National Preceptor Cui?”

Chen Pingan nodded and said, “Of course.”

Ye Yunyun suddenly smiled, “Mr. Chen, it’s better to be early than late, why don’t we play a game of chess?! If you win, not to mention attending the Lower Sect Celebration, I can even be a nominal guest elder for your Immortal Capital Mountain.”

Chen Pingan smiled slightly and said: “Not today, there will definitely be opportunities in the future.”

Perhaps I still need to play a few games first with one of my proud disciples who claims to have “obtained the true inheritance of my teacher’s chess skills.”

Seeing that the other party seemed unwilling to play chess, Ye Yunyun felt very regretful, but it was always inappropriate to forcefully drag the other party into a friendly match. There was no such way to treat guests in the world.

I must blame myself, my reputation for playing chess is not obvious, probably because the other party dislikes my skills being insufficient?

When I turn around, I’ll find my disciple Xue Huai to teach him a lesson. Old boy, you’ve played so many games of chess outside the mountain, and you never say who you learned chess from?

Chen Pingan asked: “Mountain Master Ye, can I borrow the painting of the Immortal Facing the Wall to take a look?”

Ye Yunyun nodded, took out a scroll from her sleeve, and gently threw it to the other party.

She then realized that the two were positioned in a small pavilion, the furthest distance apart.

Chen Pingan suspended the scroll in front of him, then placed the wine pot in his hand aside, then put his two fingers together and gently brushed it. The scroll slowly unfolded, and he squinted his eyes and carefully looked at it.

Chen Pingan didn’t raise his head, and continued to slowly unfold the extremely long painting. He had only just finished reading the preface, and asked with his heart: “I heard Jiang Shangzhen mention something before, saying that after Mountain Master Ye entered the Jade Pure Realm, the reason why you didn’t fulfill the ancestral wish of helping Pu Mountain rightfully become a sect, seems to involve a secret? Regarding this matter, Jiang Shangzhen didn’t say half a word, just told me to personally visit Mountain Master Ye to inquire about it later.”

Ye Yunyun said: “Before the ancestor passed away, he left a last word, which was to be passed down from generation to generation by the mountain master, and it could only be taught in person. Before the Tongye Sect sealed the mountain, Pu Mountain must not become a sect.”

Chen Pingan raised his head and said: “The assassination of Guo Bailu, although it seems that the other party was testing the waters, and the young man escaped unharmed, it was actually… done by Jiang Shangzhen.”

Ye Yunyun was a little surprised, but she quickly understood the key points and smiled: “That is indeed his consistent style. He will be scolded even for doing a good deed.”

If it weren’t for this matter, Ye Yunyun might have really agreed to Wu Shu’s fist challenge.

Wu Shu’s fist challenge did not have any concept of stopping at the point. This was also the root cause of this Martial Saint’s criticism. His strikes were too heavy, and his martial morality was lacking. Those few famous fist challenges all ended badly for those who received the challenge. One of them, a Grandmaster who was once an Unfettered Martial Artist, even directly shattered his physique and internal world due to the excessive force of the challenge.

If Guo Bailu, his most valued senior disciple, really had his martial arts cut off under the eyes of Pu Mountain Cloud Cottage, I am afraid that no matter how understanding Wu Shu was, the fist challenge would be neither light nor heavy.

Once Ye Yunyun was seriously injured, or her martial arts declined, then Ye Yunyun, who possessed this painting of the Immortal Facing the Wall, would only have one choice, to switch to focusing on cultivation from then on.

Ye Yunyun put down the wine pot, raised one hand, and made a round symbol. A circle, paused several times in the middle, as if linking a series of key points, starting from this Wall-Facing Diagram, and ending with this immortal diagram. To dare to plot like this, and to be able to plot against an Unfettered Martial Artist and a Jade Pure Realm Qi Refiner like Ye Yunyun,

At the very least, one had to be an Immortal. At the same time, the current Tongye Continent did not have an Ascended Realm cultivator. Du Mao and Xun Yuan were already dead. Jiang Shangzhen briefly reached the Ascended Realm, but fell back during the war. Wei Ying was still just an Immortal Realm sword cultivator. The last time she met Jiang Shangzhen in the Cloud Grotto Blessed Land, he mentioned the Nascent Soul Realm Abbot of Golden Peak Temple, Du Hanling. Even earlier, Ye Yunyun had seen Du Hanling once at Peach Leaf Ferry in the Great Quan Dynasty. They didn’t talk much, and at the time, her friend Xu Qingzhu was talking to her more.

Jiang Shangzhen had previously reminded Ye Yunyun to be careful of two things and one person at Huanghe Islet.

The origin of the Wall-Facing Diagram, Wu Shu’s fist challenge, and Du Hanling of Golden Peak Temple.

The spearhead was pointing directly at Du Hanling. In fact, at that time, Jiang Shangzhen was only one step away from making it clear to Ye Yunyun that if she really wanted to seek cultivation stability without any unforeseen events, she had to kill Du Hanling directly.

Ye Yunyun was previously sure that the origin of this painting was flawless. But Jiang Shangzhen said that if there were no problems at all, then there was definitely a big problem.

He even said that if Cao Mo hadn’t appeared, he would have followed her and hid in Pu Mountain Cloud Cottage to help protect her Dao and see if he could find one or two who were eating from the inside out and plotting against her.

Finally, Jiang Shangzhen patted his chest hard, speaking with certainty and vowing that Sister Ye, you just wait, soon that Abbot Du, who is as good as him at breaking through realms and even better at suppressing them, will be in the Jade Pure Realm.

Golden Peak Temple, a candidate sect, Du Hanling reached the Jade Pure Realm, and Golden Peak Temple smoothly entered the ranks of the vast and righteous sects, rightfully and naturally.
The heavens provide the model, the earth the form. Seven are visible, two concealed. Emulating the heavens and mirroring the earth, once this formation is activated, Golden Summit Temple, situated atop its mountain peak, is refined into the Pivot of Heaven. Nine furnaces cook the sun and moon, an iron ruler commands thunder and lightning, by dawn, the waters of the five lakes are refined, and by night, the stars of the Big Dipper are distilled. Seated at the heart of the grand formation, Du Hanling’s power is equivalent to a “Commander of Slaughtering Formations” among immortals, utterly invincible in the northern part of Tongye Continent. She could then replace the declining Tongye Sect, becoming the veritable leader of immortals over half a continent’s rivers and mountains, a true mountain monarch. Using the Peach Leaf Alliance as a facade, she would lead the heroes, externally competing with forces from other continents, but internally confronting the Jade Tablet Sect to the south. By raising grand formations, elevating her sect, vying for destiny, and gathering momentum, she would ultimately encompass half a continent’s rivers and mountains…

Chen Ping’an seemed to discern what Ye Yunyun was thinking, and smiled, “Abbot Du is an ambitious hero, one who accomplishes great things.”

At Spring Mountain Academy, Chen Ping’an had discussed this matter with his teacher. There were no taboos in his conversations with his teacher. Chen Ping’an directly stated his guess that Golden Summit Temple and Du Hanling had most likely met Zhou Mi of the Literary Sea in their early years.

The old scholar stroked his beard, but in the end, he could only offer the advice to “observe the situation quietly” and instruct his disciple to pay more attention.

A painting of a man facing a wall was now fully unfurled before Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment, “Mountain Master Ye, I have a conjecture. It might be absurd and even a little offensive, so I hope Mountain Master Ye will just listen and disregard it.”

Ye Yunyun smiled, “Please speak plainly, Mister Chen.”

Although this person was a close friend of Jiang Shangzhen, there was a suspicion of “birds of a feather flock together.” However, after two encounters, Ye Yunyun had a general idea of his character. He was not like Jiang Shangzhen, not at all the type to be a philanderer.

This immortal scroll had many prefaces, postscripts, and seals, but they were all forgeries, merely imitations of the handwriting and seals. One of the postscripts quoted a line from Mountain Valley Daoist, “How many truly obtain the deer, unknowing they dream of being fish all day?” Chen Ping’an could guarantee that this line was the linchpin of the formation, or rather, one of them.

Chen Ping’an slowly said, “It is highly likely that someone is hiding in the shadows, waiting for Mountain Master Ye to walk right into the trap, such as when you are facing the wall in secluded cultivation, trying to break through the Jade Purity Realm bottleneck. The person in the painting will then turn his head. To put it another way, all the postscripts and seals are a collection of characters, allusions, and red herrings. In the end, it is a malicious formation that might eventually refine the characters into a bewitching ‘Poem of Mutual Revelation’. At that point, the person behind the scenes can arrive in the secret chamber of Pu Mountain like a celestial demon freed from confinement, having long targeted Mountain Master Ye, just waiting for you to actively open all the seals of the painting. Then, while you are unaware you are a guest in a dream, that person can forcibly become your… momentary Daoist partner.”

There were some things that Chen Ping’an shouldn’t say too bluntly, such as dreams of union, or the joy of fish and water.

Although Daoist bedroom arts were a deviant path, they were not heretical or evil. Cultivators would not view this art as a monstrous flood or beast. But this painting was, of course, an exception.

Layers upon layers of formations, obscuring the view like looking at flowers in the fog, were meant to conceal a certain truth, such as this so-called painting of an immortal facing the wall, which was actually a… lewd painting.

Ye Yunyun stared at Chen Ping’an for a moment, then nodded and said in a deep voice, “Mountain Master Chen, I understand.”

It was akin to an eviction order.

Chen Ping’an tactfully stood up to bid farewell, rolled up the painting again to return it to Ye Yunyun, and left the pavilion with the pot of wine.

See, this was the consequence of telling the truth.

Ye Yunyun felt heavy-hearted and sighed, shaking her head vigorously. She put away the painting and faced the receding back of the blue-shirted man who had left the pavilion, cupping her fist in a salute, “Thank you for the reminder, Mister Chen!”

Chen Ping’an turned his head, but without stopping, waved with a smile.

Ye Yunyun walked quickly down the steps, catching up with the Chen Sword Immortal who had two sabers at his waist, and asked curiously, “Why is Mister Chen wearing sabers this time you are out?”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “This time I came to Tongye Continent to establish a lower sect, I didn’t think there would be any opportunity for fighting and killing.”

He had Xiao Mo by his side.

Ye Yunyun glanced at the young cultivator with a yellow hat and green shoes, and smiled, “May I ask a question? Is this Xiao Mo a sword cultivator?”

The person with the bamboo backpack and a mountain walking stick noticed Yunyun’s gaze and immediately nodded politely, smiling in greeting.

Chen Ping’an nodded, “He is a sword cultivator.”

After that, Chen Ping’an said he wanted to enjoy the scenery here for a while longer, and Ye Yunyun left first.

Xiao Mo raised his head to look at the night sky, and after retracting his gaze, he hesitated to speak.

The ancient Big Dipper was the Emperor’s chariot, used to command, establish the four seasons, balance the five elements, shift the ecliptic and determine the ages, all related to the Big Dipper.

That Du Hanling of the Golden Summit Temple had a small realm, but a great ambition.

Chen Ping’an, however, looked at other stars and smiled, “That Lu family of Middle Earth has extremely high aspirations, I reckon they want to imitate a platform of ascension. Once they succeed, the so-called earth immortals within the Lu family would truly be earth immortals.”

Compared to the imitation of White Jade Capital by the Great Li Dynasty, being able to imitate a platform of ascension would be a truly heaven-defying achievement.

Xiao Mo thought for a moment, and finally gave a three-word evaluation, “Wants to ascend.”

Xiao Mo looked up at the moon, the human world’s Clear Summer Palace, the celestial world’s Moon Palace.

The two platforms of ascension in ancient times were in charge of the ascension of male and female earth immortals above the earth.

One of those platform of ascension used the goddess Qingniao to transmit messages to the human world.

Chen Ping’an stood by the railing with his hands in his sleeves, gazing at the distant mountains and rivers, and gently exhaled a breath of mist.

Those who obstruct my mending of a continent’s rivers and mountains, be they cultivators who question me with swords, or martial artists who question me with fists, bear the consequences themselves.

Xiao Mo, holding a green bamboo cane, leaned on the railing, turned his head, and asked with a smile, “Young Master, what are you thinking about?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “To cultivate diligently.”