The chapter, alas, arrives late – apologies heaped upon apologies!

The heavens bled fire, a sunset painting the clouds with promises of a thousand leagues.

At a quaint, ethereal ferry dock, the dragon-prowed barge, “Inkspill,” groaned as it nudged the shore. A motley company prepared to disembark, their destination: the gilded kingdom of Yellow Dream.

Leading the procession was a stripling in azure robes, sleeves flapping like the wings of a restless bluebird. By his side strode a maiden, a scholar’s inkstone swinging from her hip, a staff of living bamboo clutched in her hand.

Trailing them came a youth in scholar’s garb, shadowed by an aged retainer whose yellowed robes seemed to swallow his emaciated frame. His eyes were the sharp, glittering gaze of a falcon, his bones a stark reminder of mortality.

Compared to these, the young man who followed seemed unremarkable, a cipher amongst more striking figures.

They travelled as honored guests, invited to witness the auspicious Opening Peak Festival, a celebration of profound significance.

The striding dandy at the fore was none other than Chen Lingjun, the fallen Water Dragon of Fallen Mountain, a Core Formation cultivator and honored Ancestral Hall offering.

Alongside him journeyed Guo Zhujiu, direct disciple of the Mountain Lord Chen Ping’an.

And then there were the pair of freeloaders, Li Huai, the Sage of Cliffside Academy, and the self-proclaimed “Tender Taoist” from the wild reaches of the Savage Lands, seeking only a taste of fine food and a breath of fresh air.

This Tender Taoist, beyond his curious title, held another guise: a mountain spirit of the Southern Emerald Sea, known by the honorific Dragon Mountain Lord.

Guiding them, or perhaps more accurately, being guided by them, were two Qi Condensation cultivators from Waistband Peak: Song Yuan and his junior, Liu Runyun. Perched upon Liu Runyun’s shoulder, a snow-white fox pup curled in slumber.

With an hour before their next embarkation, Chen Lingjun sought out a waterside tavern, a place to appease his rumbling innards with a hearty meal and a cup of spirits. He couldn’t very well feast and make merry upon Inkspill; the Pearl Hairpin Isle sorceresses were a gossipy bunch, and their tales would surely reach the ears of a certain blockhead girl, earning him a scolding or two.

Chen Lingjun, on tiptoe, peered over the high counter, scanning the wooden menu board. He learned that the “Treasured Delights” establishment offered a marvel he had never encountered: a network spanning the continent. For a deposit of Immortal coin, a cultivator could send a flying sword missive to any branch of Treasured Delights, ordering delicacies which would then be delivered in magically preserved caskets, arriving fresh and delectable at the very gates of their mountain.

Of course, this convenient service came with a hefty fee, calculated by the leagues traversed.

The blue-robed imp gaped, his mind struggling to comprehend such ingenuity. Why, oh why, were there no such establishments at his own Ox Horn Ferry, or the nearby Red Candle Town?

Li Huai, ever the pragmatist, muttered his suspicions: “Wouldn’t be surprised if that schemer Dong Shuijing is behind this. But is there actually business in such a scheme?”

Too many in their party to share a table, Chen Lingjun procured a private room, starting at ten Snowflake coins. Soon, the table groaned beneath the weight of delicacies. He poured himself a measure of ethereal wine, leaned back, and surveyed the dock. A few private rune-skiffs were arriving, their occupants careful to avoid collision, but flaunting their speed. Most were young men, draped in the company of beautiful women, their foreheads branded with the word: “Wealthy.” Their gazes, directed at Chen Lingjun, screamed: “Pauper.”

The Tender Taoist merely sipped his wine, ever vigilant as a guardian.

Indulgence could lead to folly. Though in truth, it was a performance for the sake of appearances.

Who knew when the old blind man would drag him into a dream again, to be trod upon by his heavy boots?

For the old blind man acted solely upon whim, defying all rhyme and reason.

Last time, his duty fulfilled, the old blind man, with rare generosity, had “accidentally” dropped a set of ancient verses upon the Tender Taoist: the upper half of the Mountain Refining Scroll.

Since that day, the Tender Taoist had been consumed by its study, though for a peak cultivator of his caliber, “seclusion” did not mean hiding in some forgotten mountain hollow. For Nascent Soul and Ascension cultivators, often mocked as “millennial tortoises and ten-thousand-year-old turtles,” such frugality was unthinkable.

As the ancestral founder of the Mountain Wrangling lineage, the Tender Taoist was a Savage Lands demon of the same generation and path as Yuan Shou of the Mountain Shifting lineage, an Old King. As both were sworn enemies of mountains, an inevitable clash of the Great Dao was in order. While both excelled in the art of moving mountains, the Tender Taoist conceded his inferiority in “refining” them; to put it simply, while both could shift mountains, only Yuan Shou possessed the skill to “devour” them.

In a Savage Lands world of predator and prey, conflict was inevitable. And the weaker party must flee.

The Tender Taoist, once young and ambitious, had sought to build a mountain taller than the mighty “Azure Peak” of the Savage Lands, but instead, the old blind man caught him and made him a gatekeeper. Those dark days were best forgotten.

To receive half of the Mountain Refining Scroll from the old blind man was a dream come true.

Their destination was the Yellow Dream Sect, a mountain fortress of immortals.

Within the Yellow Dream Kingdom, beyond the Cloudglow Mountain which aspired to sect status, lay a force to be reckoned with: the Yellow Dream Sect. Before the great war, it was considered a “barely second-rate, reluctantly third-rate” mountain fortress of Bottle Continent. But with the southern landscape shattered, the sect’s stature had risen accordingly.

Those “detached territories” not directly connected to the ancestral mountain were distanced, giving rise to “Upper Sect” and “Lower Sect” distinctions.

Yellow Dream Sect was the “Upper Sect” of Waistband Peak in Chu Prefecture.

Its Sect Leader was an aged “young” Golden Core cultivator, a sword cultivator. Long ago, he had dispatched a favored disciple to the Emerald Pearl Grotto seeking opportunity, but it proved fruitless. Not only did he squander a fortune in “Welcome Spring” money, he failed to find anything worthy of the “Auspicious” coins. To curry favor with the ascendant Great Li Song dynasty, he used those coins to purchase a mountain west of the Emerald Pearl Grotto, hoping to ingratiate himself. Later, fearing the might of the Great Li cavalry, he refrained from selling the peak. The truth was, the Sect Leader held a grudge against the Golden Core ancestor who now cultivated at Waistband Peak and was happy to have a reason to be rid of him.

The price they paid for that mountain was not cheap, but in retrospect, it was a steal.

In the years that followed, dozens had sought to purchase Waistband Peak from the Yellow Dream Sect, offering several times the price. But that Golden Core ancestor flatly refused to sell. This was especially true after the young sword immortal of Fallen Mountain, in league with Liu Xianyang of Dragon Spring Sword Sect, stormed Righteous Sun Mountain and made a name for themselves, catapulting Fallen Mountain into the Bottle Continent limelight. Northern Mountain of Hanging Clouds, Fallen Mountain, Dragon Spring Sword Sect: connection to any of these was a source of incredible prestige.

The only problem was the North Peak Night Revels, which seemed a bottomless pit of expenditure.

But they had long ago accepted their fate. In any event, the Great Mountain Monarch of Central Peak, Jin Qing, had begun to pull strings behind the scenes.

They might evade the first day, but not the fifteenth.

And when the Mountain and Sea gazette spread across the Nine Continents, it publicly revealed the identity of that Hidden Envoy.

The Yellow Dream Sect was in dire straits. If the price to purchase Waistband Peak was considered high before, now it was astronomical! But that Golden Core ancestor simply replied that the peak was not for sale.

So the Sect Leader struck a deal with the ancestor during the Opening Peak Festival of a direct disciple who had achieved Golden Core. If the sect could invite Fallen Mountain cultivators to the ceremony, the Lou Mountain elders would cease their attempts to sell Waistband Peak. If Fallen Mountain refused, the ancestor would personally travel to the Ancestral Hall to discuss the matter.

Guo Zhujiu asked curiously, “Little Song Immortal, does your Yellow Dream Sect have any relation to Yellow Dream Grotto, the blessed land removed from the Seventy-Two Fortunes?”

Rumor had it that on Upside Down Mountain there was a Yellow Dream shop that sold ‘Forget Sorrow Wine’ and that the owner was a master of many disciplines.

As for the title “Little Song Immortal,” Guo Zhujiu was merely mimicking others.

He was the favored disciple of the Golden Core cultivator.

It was a title first uttered by Junior Sister Pei Qian.

And then all of Fallen Mountain followed suit.

Song Yuan shook his head, smiling. “I honestly wouldn’t know, Lady Guo. I’ve never heard my master mention it.”

The Yellow Dream Sect was an ancient order. Their ancestral mountain, Lou Mountain, was located in Turtle Hamlet County of Huai’an Prefecture in Yellow Dream Kingdom, famed for producing Golden Cores.

Historically, they had boasted over a dozen Golden Core Earth Immortals, but not a single Nascent Soul.

Of course, this “fame” was relative, especially considering the state of Bottle Continent.

The Yellow Dream Sect’s invitation to Fallen Mountain was merely a long shot.

They did not expect the Last Hidden Envoy of the Sword Qi Great Wall to grace Lou Mountain, nor did they truly believe that any Fallen Mountain cultivator would accept.

Success would be a stroke of unimaginable fortune. Failure would be a disappointment, but expected.

To their surprise, Fallen Mountain quickly replied with a letter from the Ancestral Hall of Clear Weather Peak. It was written by the Grand Steward Zhu Lian, who carefully explained that the Mountain Lord was traveling and could not attend, but that Chen Lingjun and Guo Zhujiu would attend in his stead. He made sure to mention the pair’s respective positions.

The letter prompted a meeting of the Yellow Dream Sect Ancestral Hall.

Even if they disregarded Chen Lingjun’s status as a Nascent Soul cultivator, the fact that Guo Zhujiu was a direct disciple of Mountain Lord Chen, and, more importantly, his *youngest* disciple, was a matter of great significance.

Liu Runyun was well acquainted with the blue-robed Nascent Soul offering of Fallen Mountain. He frequently drank and chatted with her grandfather, calling him Old Brother Liu and her, Sister Liu. The whole situation was a mess.

Her grandfather often said that Chen Lingjun’s prospects were limitless.

Liu Runyun found it difficult to reconcile the image of the roguish blue-robed imp with that of an ancient Nascent Soul immortal.

She was far more interested in Guo Zhujiu, a newcomer to Fallen Mountain, whose background and strength were unknown.

The Mirror Flower, Water Moon show at Waistband Peak was becoming quite renowned.

Even the Yellow Dream Sect had heard of it.

Few people came, maybe two or three people a year, but they spent so much money that it was scary.

Soon, her grandfather was pocketing two Grains of Rain coins a year and turned a blind eye to the whole thing.

Anyway, Liu Runyun had no need for finery and seduction, unlike the Fairy Zhou of Green Plum Pavilion.

Sated and satisfied, Chen Lingjun paid the bill and, patting his belly, led the way onto the ferry bound for Yellow Dream.

The Tender Taoist had attempted to pay, but he couldn’t win against the crafty Jing Qing.

Guo Zhujiu smiled as she asked, “If you’re so concerned, why travel so far from the mountain?”

Her master had once mentioned that a figure had been following Chen Nuanshu on her shopping trips to the prefecture.

Chen Lingjun rolled his eyes. “No such thing.”

Guo Zhujiu pressed, “You know what I’m asking?”

Chen Lingjun declared emphatically, “I don’t!”

Guo Zhujiu chuckled.

Chen Lingjun shifted uncomfortably.

Li Huai was utterly lost. “Are you two speaking in code?”

Once Song Yuan and Liu Runyun had excused themselves, Guo Zhujiu and the others settled into Chen Lingjun’s room. She asked, “Are there many occasions like this?”

Chen Lingjun nodded vigorously. “Loads and loads. The larger the sect or fortress, the more frequent these things become. Opening Peak ceremonies like the Yellow Dream Sect’s, mountain weddings, Ancestral Hall disciple receptions, change of leadership, breakthroughs… Especially for the youngsters, achieving the Cave Realm in the middle five… It’s all back and forth.”

Chen Lingjun poured tea for his guests. “In Fallen Mountain, it was always the Old Man who handled this. He took care of everything.”

Guo Zhujiu smiled. “Are you worried we’re not… high enough profile?”

The etiquette of the world was far more complex than such ceremonies.

Chen Lingjun laughed heartily. “Don’t be silly! You two could turn up, and the Yellow Dream Sect would think it was Christmas! Their ancestral graves would start smoking…”

He quickly corrected himself. “Just talk amongst ourselves, of course. Not to be taken seriously.”

“Giving face to others is giving face to yourself. This is a lesson as vast as the heavens.”

The Tender Taoist nodded approvingly. “Friend Lingjun speaks with wisdom and experience.”

After a few more words, Li Huai led the Tender Taoist to their own quarters. They were not located near each other, because they did not pay extra money.

Chen Lingjun, for once, did not insist on settling the bill.

The transportation costs were covered by Song Yuan of Waistband Peak for both his own sect and the Yellow Dream Sect. So Chen Lingjun had reserved the best cabins when they purchased the boarding tokens at the dock.

The ferry ascended, through clouds roiling like an ocean, the setting sun plunging into the horizon.

As they entered the territory of the Yellow Dream Kingdom, Li Huai emerged from his cabin and went to the stern of the ship.

The Tender Taoist quickly joined him, peering out at the passing landscape. He nodded and narrowed his eyes. “Spiritual peaks radiating righteous energy, celestial guardians borrowing divine arms… There’s something about this Lou Mountain.”

“With the Dipper and Celestial Pivot reflected, the mountain appears as a man clad in crimson, a small gourd planted deep, revealing a long-life talisman with golden fish.”

The Tender Taoist grew increasingly curious, shaking his sleeve and extending a hand to perform calculations.

As the progenitor of the Mountain Wrangling lineage, he possessed a profound understanding of the “origins and courses” of the land.

Li Huai mentally cautioned him, “Don’t cause trouble! They’ve worked hard for over ten generations, and we’re guests.”

The Tender Taoist whined. “Master, those words wound me! My judgment and tact might not compare to yours, but it’s certainly a match for that Chen Ping’an.”

Li Huai chuckled dismissively.

The Tender Taoist probed, “Master, I’ve spotted a place of peculiar origin. Shall we investigate? No fighting, just a closer look. It might be a hidden opportunity! It’s been under the noses of the Yellow Dream Sect and Cloudglow Mountain for years, and it’s not within their territories, so according to the rules of the cultivation world, it’s free for the taking!”

The Opening Peak Festival was still half a month away; they might as well have a good time.

Li Huai waved dismissively. “No, go by yourself. As long as you don’t break the rules, you’re free to do what you want.”

His travels with Pei Qian to Northern Emerald Sea had left him with a fear of losing money.

The Tender Taoist asked, “Really? You won’t come?”

Li Huai shook his head.

The Tender Taoist sighed. “If Master won’t go, then neither shall I.”

A readily available opportunity, now lost. Like a cooked duck sitting on the table, out of reach.

Li Huai asked, “Was it a significant opportunity?”

The Tender Taoist, thinking that he might succeed, solemnly replied, “Very!”

Li Huai smiled. “Good, good. That makes it easier to give up. If I went, I’d only miss out.”

The Tender Taoist was speechless.

It didn’t make sense, and yet, it did.

He sighed. Oh, well.

The Tender Taoist often felt a shiver run down his spine when Guo Zhujiu looked at him.

Rumors swirled about him. Some said he was the one who offed Nan Guangzhao, but had done it in secret and used the name Hao Su to hide his true identity. Others said that Nan Guangzhao had been weakened during a duel with the Tender Taoist and was killed after this.

The Tender Taoist was unconcerned.

All the fame he had was fame that he had earned. And it was up to the rumors if they wanted to be true or not.

As long as the old blind man does not disapprove, you can call the Tender Taoist the old blind man’s junior brother and elder brother.

At the bow of the ship, Chen Lingjun and Guo Zhujiu were also enjoying the scenery. Chen Lingjun, being of short stature, rested his chin on the railing.

Guo Zhujiu chuckled. “At Summerheat Palace, Master spoke of you, saying that you’re always the one who insists on paying.”

Chen Lingjun blushed, understanding the implication. Master was calling him a fool.

Guo Zhujiu continued. “Master also said it wasn’t foolishness, but simply waiting for a friend to insist on paying with him.”

If he found such a friend, it would be an alliance. And if he did not, it would not be.

——————–

The Cyan Seal Sect was located on the site of a shattered secret realm, not quite a blessed land, but a location of potent geomancy.

The Sword-Tying Tree, one of its attractions, was bustling with activity, welcoming two sets of esteemed guests.

One group hailed from the burgeoning Yu Dynasty, led by Crown Prince Yu Lin and his consort, Zhu Xun.

The other was comprised of cultivators from other continents, true “dragons crossing the river.” One was a handsome man in black robes, adorned with an old Dragon-Bringing-Rain pendant: Fu Nanhua, the Young Lord of Old Dragon City.

Accompanying him was Hou Dao, a young talent of the Old Dragon City Hou family. Hou Dao was related to the Deputy Headmaster of Five Creeks Academy, Hou Mian.

The Hou family had first established a relationship with the old Yu Emperor. As for the Yu family and Fu family, they saw eye-to-eye.

The Cyan Seal Sect spared no expense in its hospitality, with Sect Leader Gao Shuwen and Dai Yuan, the caretaker of the Sword-Tying Tree, in attendance.

Besides these Golden Core Earth Immortals, the head of finances, Miao Yu, and a group of ancestral hall disciples were present as well.

Only Xu Bai, the law enforcement chief who was also Gao Shuwen’s disciple, was absent due to work.

Gao Shuwen gestured to the ancient sword hanging from the tree. “Young Master Fu, this sword belongs to Sword Immortal Lu Fang. He left it here after an intoxicated visit long ago.”

Dai Yuan privately scoffed. *Our Ancestor is good at diplomacy. He does not want to offend anyone!*

A Sword Immortal at the Nascent Soul bottleneck was a major figure in the old Emerald Leaf Continent.

More importantly, Lu Fang was an untamed cultivator, and when he broke through, there was a chance that he would become the first Emerald Leaf cultivator to get into the higher realms.

The problem was Lu Fang has been gone for years, with some saying that he went to the East Sea Daoist temple to break through as a “banished immortal”.

Fu Nanhua repeated the name to himself. “Lu Fang.

*To travel by boat on land? What an ominous name.*

Fu Nanhua turned to face the Yu prince. “I apologize for not meeting you in your capital of Luo. I was going to meet some business partners from other continents, and I was worried that meeting in Luo would divert your attention. I apologize.”

Fu Nanhua gave a bow as he spoke.

Yu Lin gave a bow of his own. “You are too kind.”

Everyone knew that the Yu was backed by the Hou and Fu families.

Without the Fous, the rebuilding of the Yu would not have occurred.

Yu Lin had prepared himself for the worst.

The Lord of the Fu family had been in seclusion for two years.

In those years, Fu Nanhua had been handling everything. His older brother, Fu Donghai, and older sister, Fu Chunhua, had removed themselves from the Fu family leadership contest.

However, Fu Nanhua’s wife was the daughter of the Emerald Vase continent Jiang family. Yu Lin had not expected Fu Nanhua to be polite.

Fu’s had an old expert, and a father about to break through.

Zhu Xun tugged on her husband’s sleeve. “Young Master Fu, I have heard that the women of your family are very important and have even been the lord of your city?”

Fu Nanhua smiled. “That is true. We do not discriminate, but we might favor women more than men.”

Zhu Xun liked Fu Nanhua.

In the Golden Coral Empire, which was at the bottom of the heap, the emperor had achieved the throne with the help of an Emerald Ash continent.

The celestial from this continent bossed around and cursed at his court ministers, but eventually, Wen Yu of the Heavenly Eyes Academy convinced them to stop.

Soon, a scholar from the Heavenly Eyes Academy and Yang Pu of the Great Repose Academy became the Minister of Rites and Vice Minister of Protocol.

Afterwards, the Jade Decree Sect lent a large sum of money to the empire with the money being overseen by Yang Pu. This soon had the emperor setting up the Finance Prefect position.

Yu Lin quietly asked, “If I may, what level are you at, Young Master Fu?”

*If he is at the Nascent Soul, he can become a minister for my kingdom.*

Fu Nanhua said, “I am ashamed, but I am at the Golden Core realm.”

Gao Shuwen did not react, while Dai Yuan stole a laugh.

*A young Golden Core thinks this is shameful? Then what about us?*

The head of finances frowned, only to get a glare from one of Fu Nanhua’s maids.

The power dynamic between the continents had shifted.

The continent of Bottle used to look down on Emerald Leaf.

Now Emerald Leaf looked down at Bottle.

Fu Nanhua was not interested in mocking the others.

After all, he used to be one of the best of his generation.

When he traveled the Emerald Pearl, he used to look down on Cai Jinjian of Cloudglow Mountain, but now she had become a Nascent Soul.

He did not even want to mention one other person.

He could not help but feel a heavy heart whenever he thought of that person. A mere dirt-covered youth at one point.

Fu Nanhua inwardly sighed before continuing the conversation.

He had heard that Huang Zhonghou of Cultivation Peak had made a major contribution and would become a sect head.

The Fu family had already received an invitation and would attend the ceremony.

Fu Nanhua and Cai Jinjian were old friends, but he had never interacted with the drunkard Huang Zhonghou.

He could only sigh. The past was in the past.

Since the guests had seen the locations, Gao Shuwen led the others to leave the others in peace, leaving Dai Yuan with the guests.

Yu Lin said some perfunctory words before leaving with his wife.

Fu Nanhua was sure to seek him out later.

Fu Nanhua said to Dai Yuan, “I know very little about the Cyan Seal Sect. May I ask what you do for the sect? Are you a chief, or do you manage the treasury?”

Dai Yuan replied respectfully, “I am of little talent, but I am very lucky. Other than managing the Sword-Tying Tree, I also manage the Jade Well business.”

He did not believe the others for a moment. The Fu family probably knew everything there was to know.

Fu Nanhua paused, seemingly confused, but soon realized. “I see. Gao Shuwen does not want you to be diverted from your cultivation.”

Dai Yuan, was very happy inside his heart.

Fu Nanhua asked, “So what about Luo?”

Dai Yuan replied, “I am honored to be one of their inner offerings.”

Fu Nanhua said, “I have heard that the inner offerings are ranked, but not openly.”

Dai Yuan said carefully, “There are about thirty of us, and I am in the middle. However, Gao Shuwen is the second one, after the Protector from Verdant Accumulation.”

Fu Nanhua hummed.

Dai Yuan felt very excited.

First Cui, then Fu.

*Are good things happening!?*

*Maybe I should go back to the old site of Serenity Mountain and honor it with some incense.*

After separating from Fu Nanhua, Dai Yuan found Gao Bai waiting for him and reluctantly said, “Senior Uncle.”

Gao Bai, as Gao’s disciple, should be a senior uncle.

However, there were rules among cultivators. Dai Yuan was at the Golden Core, while Gao Bai was merely at the Dragon Gate.

Gao Bai smiled. “Junior Nephew, you look to be in good spirits. Are you about to go into seclusion?”

*My master told me that Dai Yuan will amount to nothing, so I should not care about him.*

Dai Yuan smiled. “Not at all. The golden core is hard to find, and a bottleneck even more so. It is merely good news.”

Fu Nanhua strolled back to the residence where he was staying, and sighed before continuing. “Hou Dao, I can only promise to visit Hou Mian at the Five Creeks Academy. Success is not guaranteed.”

It was no easy task to convince Hou Mian to return. As a son, Hou Mian suffered greatly from his family.

If it were Fu Nanhua, he would have severed all ties.

Hou Dao nodded. “I know. Do not worry about it.”

Hou Dao continued. “This would not have happened in your family. Not that money is the problem. But a family’s values matters. Our family cannot compare to the Fu family. But how can we not come up with the money for medicine?”

Fu Nanhua smiled. “You must undo what caused it. Your grandfather must apologize to Hou Mian.”

Hou Dao just shook his head. It was not his place to say.

Every family had its own problems.

Fu Nanhua did not dig into the matter, saying, “The Hou family made its fortune this way. And it faces its current problem for this same reason.”

Hou Dao sighed.

Fu Nanhua smiled. “You will have a chance if you become the leader one day. You have the best relationship with Hou Mian. You are the only member of the Hou family that he mentions.”

Hou Dao nodded. “Like you said, there is a reason why he has become the Deputy Headmaster of the Academy.”

“All the transcontinental ferries of Old Dragon City have been requisitioned by the Great Li dynasty and escorted to the Savage Lands. Six ferries: The Fan family’s Osmanthus, the Sun family’s Sea Turtle, the Fu family’s Treasure Eating Whale, and a Mountain Boat.”

But it seemed like all the families had gotten new ferries from the Li dynasty.

Fu Nanhua chuckled. “It could be worse.”

After a moment, Fu Nanhua chuckled inwardly. “You have been mistreated by being at my side.”

The “maid” said expressionlessly, “There is nothing I can do about it.”

Fu Nanhua was left speechless.

The maid was a guard that his father had gotten for him before going into seclusion.

Fu knew that her name was Qing Tao, and she was from the Central Continent. She had taken a trip to the Emerald Leaf Continent before coming north on her own. Fu Nanhua did not know how old she was, but he knew that she was at the Golden Body and Golden Core.

From the outside, Qing Tao seemed to be the flower at Fu Nanhua’s side.

But Fu Nanhua felt as if he was next to a block of ice.

Last winter, Fu Nanhua had been ambushed, and Qing Tao had cleaned up the others.

The true power of the Cyan Seal Sect lies in the Jade Cave Heaven market.

Yu Lin and the others are already gone, you were still thinking about getting in?

There was a thin boy squatting on the railing, and the boy was holding onto the railing, looking down into the ground,

What a powerful, strong, overbearing sword aura!

In his mouth he’s got sweetgrass.

There’s a knife clipped under his arm.

Next to the railing there’s an old man, who is constantly coughing.

The boy spits out the chewed grass, “Old Han, the well water of that Green Pearl Well, is it really true that after a woman drinks a few mouthfuls, they can become radiant and a few years younger?”

The old man laughed, then put two fingers together, and lightly tapped at two holes, stopping his coughing, “You also believe in that stuff for scamming people?”

“Then Summoning Dragons Pond, definitely doesn’t have any dragons either, right?”

“Just a long family of dragons, the bloodline isn’t correct, if you put it in the streets, they’re distant relatives who are past the fifth degree, they’re not going to achieve anything in the Great Dao, at most they’re going to squeeze into the Golden Core, then that’s it at the end of the road.”

“As a martial artist, after glancing a few times, you can see all of these mountain’s systems, like the back of your hand?”

“Even if you’ve never eaten pork before, you can see a pig running?”

The boy gazes directly, asking from the distance, “Old Han, did the Green Tiger Palace, really didn’t have a single Feather Ascension Pill left, or did they just not want to sell any to us?”

The old man scolds smiling, “When speaking with others, look at the other person’s eyes, are you understanding those little rules and etiquette now? If you do, then don’t ever think about learning even a punch or half a kick from this old man’s side.”

The boy still didn’t turn around his head, still minding his own business saying, “Since Fu Nanhua and Old Dragon City’s reputation wasn’t helpful, then you should’ve directly reported your own name, Gilded Armor Island’s Han Manzhan, whose fist pressured an entire continent’s great grandmaster, that’s really something to intimidate people with, placing that in this Emerald Leaf continent, your standing in the martial arts world, is about the same as Martial Saint Wu Shu, right? Maybe even a bit higher?”

The old man shook his head, “What Fu Nanhua said, was that the Green Tiger Palace’s Lu Yong, always had a misunderstanding with the martial artists of the world below, with no small amount of grudges, so they most dislike our types who rely on using martial techniques, furthermore I’m a foreigner as well, even if I reported my name, Lu Yong still wouldn’t really care about it.”

The boy laughed in ridicule, “Then they still gave the Floating Mountain Cloud Grass Hall, two stoves full of Feather Ascension Pills for free?”

“That Pu Mountain’s Huang Yiwei, at most he’s a Return to Origin First Realm Limit, is he able to fight you?”

The old man smiled, “Of course in the past the victory was not in doubt, now that’s hard to say.”

The boy frowned, “And you can still laugh?”

“A fist losing to a woman, isn’t anything to be ashamed of, if you bumped into Pei Bei, who wouldn’t lose the fists.”

The old man held out a hand, and lightly patted the handrail, “Also that Zheng girl, Emerald Earth Divine Continent’s Yu Juanfu, Azure God Mountain’s Pure Azure, a little bit older, they also have Emerald Ash Continent’s Thunder God Temple’s Liu Suiyu, they’re all very outstanding female martial artists.”

“Especially Zheng girl, yeah, as in Falling Mountain’s Pei Qian, I have very high expectations of her.”

The boy didn’t have good air to release, saying, “You’ve already said her for I don’t know how many times, aren’t you annoyed?”

The martial artist called Old Han by the boy, was exactly the gilded armor continent’s martial arts number one, Han Guanghu.

Early on Upside Down Mountain’s The Teacher of the Knife’s room, there was a shadow wall, like the Mountain Below the official office yamen’s posting announcement for rewarding the wanted, filled with lists of rewards.

Back then Chen Pingan, on his first tour of Upside Down Mountain, he once saw three names of wanted who he was familiar with, Embroidered Tiger Cui Zhan, Wanderer Knight Xu Ruo, Great Li’s Vassal King Song Changjing.

The senior brother Cui Chan, had six of them, posters coming from four continents, from that it can be seen, that back then the Embroidered Tiger, in the Sacred Land of Confucian was so unwanted.

And Xu Ruo and Song Changjing also had one, the person offering to reward the first one, was named ‘Zheng Rong Lake Aquamarine Lord Liu Rouxi’.

As for the one who offered to reward Great Li Song Changjing, his named listed was gilded armor continent Han Manzhan, meaning exactly, the “Old Han” in the boy’s mouth.

Han Guanghu laughed, “You Bottle Continent is really something, it’s geomancy is weird to the extreme, these years beating this old man’s face until it’s been splitting with cracks and explosions, hotly burning painfully.”

The boy was called Jian Ming, coming from the Bottle Continent, originating from a vassal state of the past Scarlet Glow dynasty.

However Jian Ming’s original mountain and river, however they weren’t smashed by a demon race’s large army, rather it was the early Great Li Steel Riding coming south, the Stone Hairs country acting as one of the Scarlet Glow Lone Family’s vassal states, it was in order to stop the Great Li Dynasty, emptying out all of it’s elite troops, in the end tenaciously guarding the capital city, preferring death over surrender, but the Great Li Dynasty didn’t take this and targeted the Stone Hairs country, rather they treated the Stone Hairs with lots of benefits, permitting their restoration of the country, after that it was the Emperor Han Jingling who rose to the throne.

Jian Ming, for himself, chose an outlandish three-word name, ‘Song of the Yue People’.

He from within his sleeves took out a piece of jade pendant, lightly rubbing it.

On the jade pendant one side was engraved the three words ‘Cloudy Glow Mountain’, and one side was engraved the Cloudy Glow Mountain’s verse.

That was the current young face of the Jian Ming, during those years when he was also truly young, was accidentally picked up during a snowy weather.

From the far distance there came an old man wearing heavy cotton robes, suspending at his waist a long sword.

Jian Ming immediately jumped down the handrail, with a respectful expression, calling him Teacher Zeng.

In reason, Jian Ming should call him master, but the master and disciple, had an agreement, not using master disciple when in public.

The middle-aged man nodded, walking towards the old man’s side, together looking far to see the scenery of the Green Pearl Well from the other side.

And that knife with Jian Ming clipped under his arm, according to rumor, Teacher Zeng, during his early years had sent it to someone, letting them help take it back.

If they succeeded in retrieving it, he’d agree to take him as an unenrolled student.

Acting as the reward for becoming his student, sending the knife as a gift to Gao Jian.

So Gao Jian was very early on, all on his own, traveling south overseas to the Emerald Leaf Continent, walking a trip to Great Springs Dynasty’s Mirage City.

Then according to their agreement, after succeeding, he was there in the Quiet Clearing Mountain waiting for him.

This knife, was exactly that, the famous knife that was lost from within Yao Lingzhi’s hands, the Great Spring Dynasty’s Town National Heavy Weapon, the magic knife “Famous Springs.”

“Teacher Zeng, since we’ve already reached the Emerald Leaf continent, are we still not able to say what reason we are being called here?”

The old man was a bit impatient, congealing his sound into a thread, asking his side’s identity unknown Teacher Zeng, the distance since the two met last, was more than a hundred years, his expression still didn’t change by the slightest, however