A wandering scholar named Chen Zhuoliu, hailing from beyond the borders, sent a flying sword missive to Luopo Mountain from Changchun Palace. After strolling through the capital of Dali, he leisurely traveled south on foot, eventually reaching the Aged Blessings Shop in Dragon-Riding Lane, a small town. There, he encountered the shopkeeper, Shi Rou, and a young clerk named A-Man. As he considered his purse, contemplating which pastries to choose, the owner of the neighboring herbalist shop, Jia Sheng, came over for a chat. The old immortal’s Daoist robe now seemed more plain than before. After all, his realm had reached great heights, and such robes were mere external adornments; to focus too much on them would be a descent into superficiality. Chen Zhuoliu glanced at the old Daoist and smiled. Jia Sheng noticed the other’s gaze and nodded, stroking his beard.

After leaving the Aged Blessings Shop, Chen Zhuoliu made a trip to the Yang family’s shop, but was disappointed not to find old man Yang there. He regretted not having come sooner to reminisce about days gone by.

Chen Lingjun arrived in a flurry, riding the wind. He had received the flying sword message, his good brother saying he would arrive in the town today. The two had agreed to meet at the shop in Dragon-Riding Lane. Chen Lingjun had descended the mountain an hour early, three sword talismans hanging from his waist. He’d borrowed one each from Xiaomili and silly Warm-Tree before leaving, so he could give his own to Chen Zhuoliu. Borrow? What borrowing? How stingy! Reaching the shop, he waited for nearly an hour. Cracking melon seeds wasn’t doing it for him, so out of sheer boredom, Chen Lingjun teased the aloof young A-Man, telling him that learning some fist form or stance was too much trouble. “I’ll teach you a secret fist technique of my family, not easily taught to outsiders, called Centipede Leap. Practicing this fist here in Dragon-Riding Lane is absolutely perfect!”

But the young clerk simply stood on a stool behind the counter, reading a book, completely ignoring the boy in green robes.

So Chen Lingjun, with his hands clasped behind his back, went next door to chat with his old friend Jia Sheng, boasting that he would introduce him to a new acquaintance. But when the appointed hour arrived, and then another incense stick’s worth of time had passed, Chen Lingjun squatted at the entrance of the shop, still waiting in vain for Chen Zhuoliu. He ran back to the Aged Blessings Shop and asked Shi Rou if a scholar carrying a book box had come by today. Shi Rou said yes, one had bought pastries at the shop an hour ago and then left. Chen Lingjun stamped his foot, cast a spell of illusion, and soared into the sky, surveying the town from above. Still, he couldn’t spot the familiar figure of his friend. “Strange,” he thought, “Could it be that I was too focused on rushing here and didn’t look carefully enough at the mountain, so we just missed each other, one going up the mountain as the other came down?” Chen Lingjun rushed back to Luopo Mountain, but when he asked Xiaomili, she said she hadn’t seen Chen Zhuoliu either. Chen Lingjun squatted on the ground, clutching his head in his hands, sighing deeply. “What is going on?”

In truth, Chen Zhuoliu was currently on Yellow Lake Mountain, sitting outside a thatched hut, basking in the sun.

The dragon slayer, upon reaching the water’s edge, did not slay the dragon, just as a fisherman would not cast his net, or a woodcutter would not chop wood.

“It matters not.”

He simply needed to wait patiently. Something even stranger would soon occur. Chen Zhuoliu could not afford to miss it this time, for it was an extraordinary event unseen for ten thousand years.

Since old man Yang was not in the town, having walked out of his ten-thousand-year confinement, then currently, only Chen Zhuoliu in Longzhou was aware of this subtle shift. Even the mountain deity of Piyun Mountain, Wei Bo, was incapable of such a feat, not just because the Mountain Lord of the Northern Peak lacked sufficient cultivation. Even “Chen Zhuoliu” himself, relied on his years of “seclusion” here, following the subtle clues, coupled with the causal entanglement of dragon slaying and his calculations, only then had he deduced these subtle signs of change.

He was only curious, did that Embroidered Tiger know of this matter?

In the desolate wilderness, atop a mountain in the Ten Thousand Mountains, an old blind man stood hunched, facing the vast expanse of mountains and rivers he had claimed for himself.

He had once gouged out his own eyes, throwing one into the vast world and the other into the Azure Heavens.

The “scenery” before him was empty. Too empty. Too pristine.

An old dog lay prostrate at the door, raising its head slightly to look at the old man standing on the cliff’s edge. “Why doesn’t he just fall off and die? I feel this slight disappointment every day.”

The old blind man asked, “Do you know why, after A-Liang carved his name and left Sword Qi Great Wall, he never returned home?”

The venerable dog, having reached the Ascendant Realm, shook its head. “I don’t know.”

The old blind man cursed, “You have a dog’s brain!”

The old dog didn’t feel the least bit aggrieved, but really wanted to say, “What else would it be? You’re the one who likes to tell tall tales. If we swapped realms, hehe…”

After leaving Upside-down Mountain, A-Liang went directly to the Liju Grotto-Heaven, and then ascended to the Azure Heavens, to the Jade Capital. In the Outer Heavens, he fought against extraterrestrial demons while challenging Dao Laoer.

After rising to become a fourteenth-realm swordsman, he still didn’t go to his homeland in the Central Earth Continent, but went straight back to Sword Qi Great Wall, and was then suppressed under Mount Tuoyue. One of the two ancient Ascension Platforms, where three swordsmen had once challenged Mount Tuoyue with their swords, severing the path that might have reopened communication between Heaven and Man. The so-called “communication between Heaven and Earth” was, in the end, to allow later cultivators to reach that shattered Heavenly Court of countless deities in the past. No one could refine that ruin, not even the Three Sages of the Three Religions could do anything but place restrictions on it.

The old blind man reached out and grabbed his gaunt cheek. “With A-Liang’s personality, if he hadn’t broken through, how could he not go back to his old friends to… pretend to brag? That guy would definitely say, ‘A fourteenth-realm swordsman is nothing special.’ He would definitely say that. I can tell what he ate just by looking at his ass.”

The guard dog nodded, suddenly understanding. “I see. A-Liang can’t go home. A homeless dog, that’s what he is. All scholars are like that. Our Master of the Literary Sea is pretty much the same. Other worlds are fine, but if anyone in the Vast World reaches the fourteenth realm as a swordsman, it will drive the remnants of ancient deities outside the heavens, regardless of which camp they historically belonged to, to flood into the Vast World. No wonder Old Master would not want his disciples to attain that realm. It’s not only dangerous, but it would also cause a great disaster. That explains it. That little girl with pigtails attaining the fourteenth realm must have been a plot by Zhou Mi to shift the blame to the Vast World.” The old blind man scoffed, “Not a pig’s brain after all.”

The old dog was helpless. “Curse away, curse away. You only know how to bully your own loyal dog.”
The old blind man, you claim to guard a Fourteenth Realm cultivator who’s doing nothing but freeloading? Go have a proper fight with the Great Ancestor of Mount Tuoyue! If you win, the entire Wildlands is yours. Or, go cause trouble at the Literary Temple in the Central Plains; they’ll definitely help you look after your little Ten Thousand Mountains domain.

Why would the Great Ancestor of Mount Tuoyue and Zhou Mi be willing to let Xiao Xun, a guy who does whatever he wants, a former Hidden Official even Chen Qingdu couldn’t control, be in the Hall of Heroes, merging with the Fourteenth Realm? Turns out, besides adding a top-tier combatant to the Wildlands, there’s another scheme afoot. Just thinking about these convoluted plans gives the old dog a headache, and suddenly, the old blind man seems rather amiable. If only he’d slip and fall off a cliff, half-dead would do.

The old blind man turned his head to look at the Sword Qi Great Wall, then glanced at Mount Tuoyue, and considering the current invasion routes of the Wildlands, something felt off.

A Fourteenth Realm Great Cultivator doesn’t really need eyes. It’s just that the past ten thousand years in this world have been an eyesore. However, some young people, no matter how much the old blind man scolds them, he still appreciates them in his heart. It’s just that there are too few of them, and their endings all seem rather grim.

The old blind man was unusually pensive. “It’s time I took on a presentable direct disciple.”

The old dog trembled. “Just don’t let it be that Hidden Official. That guy doesn’t look at me right, what’s he looking at? Like I’m a dish on a plate.”

The more he talked, the angrier he became. The old dog raised his head and extended a paw, lightly scratching the ground. It only left a slight mark, clearly not daring to make too much noise, but his tone was filled with resentment. “If I didn’t have so much going on at home, I’d already be at the Sword Qi Great Wall hacking him half to death. I don’t have any flying swords, but it’s not like I don’t know any swordsmanship.”

The old blind man scoffed. “Even the Dragon Sovereign couldn’t kill him, what makes you think you can? Carve off some meat for him to eat with his wine, and stuff our Hidden Official to death?”

The old dog prostrated himself again, sighing. “That thieving old deaf man, he didn’t even think to come here and pay respects before heading south. It’s outrageous. Master, are you just going to let it slide?”

The old blind man appeared next to the old dog without warning, raising a foot and stomping heavily on its back. A series of crunching sounds like firecrackers exploded. He rubbed his chin. “You sneak off to Treasure Bottle Continent in the Vast World and find a young man named Li Huai, then bring him back. If you do it, I’ll grant you your freedom. You can frolic anywhere in the Wildlands.”

The old dog started to play dead.

Compared to some free life, staying alive was more important. Going to the Vast World now, especially Treasure Bottle Continent? Dog meat on the menu? That embroidered tiger would definitely stew him until he was mush.

The old blind man kicked the old dog away, muttering to himself. “Am I really going to have to make a trip to Treasure Bottle Continent myself? Is there such a thing as begging to take on a disciple?”

Fei Ran was left behind by Zhou Mi at Peach Leaf Ferry.

At the time of parting, Zhou Mi seemed to be seriously injured, able to make a Fourteenth Realm peak cultivator look pale.

At that time, there was extremely sharp sword energy and residual thunder law intent on Zhou Mi’s body, in addition to an oddly persistent fist force.

After Fei Ran casually tossed away the book collection seal, he returned to the military tent. For some reason, Jiazi Tent’s Mu Ji, or rather, Zhou Mi’s closed-door disciple Zhou Qinggao, was already waiting there. He said that he would travel with Fei Ran to Tongye Continent and then to Creation Grotto at Reed Flower Island. Fei Ran actually admired this young man, but he didn’t like this feeling of being a puppet, constantly running into obstacles. Since Zhou Qinggao had come, it was definitely Zhou Mi’s instruction. As for what Fei Ran himself thought, it was no longer important.

Fei Ran asked only one question: what would be the fate of Mirage City of the Great Spring Dynasty.

Zhou Qinggao answered with two words: as before.

Fei Ran took Zhou Qinggao back to Zhao Ping Peak, and then went south together. Fei Ran landed in a desolate human city and walked together on a stone arch bridge covered in vegetation.

Fei Ran, dressed in green, carrying a sword on his back, and covering his face, stopped at the top of the stone bridge and asked, “Since we have chosen to go all in, why do we still need to divide our troops into the Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent and the Southern Posa Continent? Taking down one of the continents wouldn’t be difficult. According to the current method of fighting, this is no longer a war, but a desperate gamble. Without replenishing the follow-up troops from Fuyou Continent and Jinjia Continent, instead pouring them all into Treasure Bottle Continent and Posa Continent, what is this? Does no one in the major military tents have any objections? As long as we occupy one of the continents, whichever one, if we take down Treasure Bottle Continent, we can then attack Northern Club Arrogance Continent, and if we take down Southern Posa Continent, we can use Jinjia Continent as a large ferry, and continue to attack Liuxia Continent to the north. Then this war can continue to drag on, for decades or even a hundred years, and we will have a good chance of winning.”

Especially in Treasure Bottle Continent, with the Great Li capital as the dividing line between the north and south of the continent, demonic races are emerging crazily everywhere along the southern coast, appearing from the sea.

Zhou Qinggao said, “I had this doubt before, but the master did not answer.”

Fei Ran reached out and touched the jade-white bridge railing, his palm full of dust. After a moment of silence, he asked, “What is the Great Ancestor of Mount Tuoyue thinking?”

Zhou Qinggao thought for a while and shook his head. “I didn’t dare to ask the master about this.”

Fei Ran finally asked, “Why aren’t you by your master’s side?”

Zhou Qinggao still shook his head. “The master orders, and the student obeys. I don’t ask questions that I shouldn’t, and I try to think as little as possible about things I shouldn’t think about…”

Fei Ran turned around, leaned against the bridge railing, leaned back, and looked up at the sky.

An empty sky, an empty heart.

After Fei Ran made some achievements in cultivation, he actually got used to treating himself as a mountain person, but he still separated his hometown and the Vast World very clearly. So whether it was strategizing for the military tent or killing people on the battlefield of the Sword Qi Great Wall, Fei Ran was not ambiguous in any way. It was just that outside of the battlefield, such as in this Tongye Continent, Fei Ran was not completely different from Yu Si, Tan, and others. Even with Zhou Qinggao, who yearned for the learning of the various schools of thought in the Vast World, there was still a difference between the two sides.

Zhou Qinggao smiled and said, “I don’t drink, so I don’t carry wine with me, but I can make an exception and have a drink with Brother Fei Ran.”

Fei Ran shook his head. “Forget it, you can’t drink when you’re sad.”
If life is a bridge paved with the bricks of years, months, and days, then a common man in the mortal realm, reaching his thirties or at most his forties, would have likely arrived at the highest point of the arch. Walking along, one can look back, but there is no turning back. That is why one is eager to grow up in childhood but fears old age when grown. Ascetics who cultivate the Dao and climb mountains seem free from this predicament. In reality, however, when a cultivator’s spirit decays and there is no hope of breaking through, the torment is even worse than that of a commoner on the mountain.

Fei Ran suddenly laughed, “Our esteemed Hidden Official, named Chen Ping’an, seems to be the most tormented of all. Thinking of it that way, I feel much better.”

Fei Ran took out two jugs of wine, tossing one to Zhou Qinggao, and suddenly asked, “There’s nothing more to see in Tongye Continent. How about we skip the Creation Grotto and go straight to the Great Wall of Sword Qi to visit the Hidden Official?”

Zhou Qinggao hesitated.

Fei Ran patted his shoulder, “Last time we passed by the Great Wall of Sword Qi, Chen Ping’an ignored you. Now that things are almost finalized, you two will definitely have something to talk about. Once you get to know him, you’ll realize he’s more long-winded than anyone else.”

Zhou Qinggao nodded, took a sip of wine, and smiled, “Then let’s give it a try. But you must guarantee that he won’t beat me to death.”

Fei Ran chuckled, “Easy.”

At the Great Wall of Sword Qi, on the ramparts, a Dragon Gate realm military strategist of the demon race was panting heavily, his hand gripping his blade trembling slightly.

Before ascending the wall, he had agreed with the renowned Hidden Official that they would only spar in swordsmanship and fist techniques, with no need for a life-or-death struggle. If he lost, he would simply consider it a wasted trip to the northernmost part of the Wildlands. After descending the wall, he would immediately return home. The Hidden Official gave him a thumbs-up, praising his integrity with an accent of the Wildlands even more authentic than his own, saying his honorable spirit was a welcome change. Therefore, there was no problem at all.

Thus, the fight was vigorous, although it really consisted of this military strategist alone hacking away on the ramparts, while the young Hidden Official in his crimson robes allowed the blows to land on him. Occasionally, he used the narrow blade concealed in its scabbard to parry, or raised the scabbard to block, lest he appear insincere as a host and discourage his opponent too quickly. To encourage this good fellow, Chen Ping’an even deliberately unleashed his palm lightning technique, so that each clash of the scabbard and blade would erupt with bursts of snow-white lightning like serpentine bolts.

At that moment, using the narrow blade as a crutch, Chen Ping’an looked at the fellow who had sheathed his blade and stopped, smiling, “Tired of hacking? Or should I have a turn?”

The demon race cultivator immediately puffed out his chest, declaring heroically, “Not tired, not tired at all! Just let me rest for a moment, what’s the rush?”

Chen Ping’an smiled slightly, “You, an uninvited guest, came to my door. Shouldn’t you address me as Hidden Official? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

He unhesitatingly called out, “Hidden Official!”

He even added, “Well-deserved reputation, excellent fist techniques!”

Chen Ping’an suddenly looked around blankly, but instantly composed himself, waving at him, “Go back.”

He was not truly foolish, asking, “You won’t kill me?”

Chen Ping’an smiled, “This is your first time ascending the wall, and you’ve never been to the battlefield. Maybe you’ll never have a chance to get near here again in your life. Why would I kill you?”

After sheathing his blade, he cupped his fist and said, “Slightly inferior, Hidden Official’s fist techniques are indeed superior.”

Chen Ping’an pressed one hand on the hilt of his blade and rubbed his brow with the other, glancing at the guest who was being quite humble in his words and even more sincere in his expression, “When you return home, say that you defeated the Hidden Official. If anyone asks me, I’ll help you cover up the story and admit it.”

He was a bit embarrassed, saying softly, “That wouldn’t be very good, would it?”

Chen Ping’an grabbed the Zhan Kan in his hand. Sensing something amiss, he immediately fled, riding the wind. After the “great demon,” whose mind was not quite clear, had departed, Chen Ping’an looked up and saw that a heavy snow had inexplicably begun to fall, without any warning.

The wind and snow obscured his vision.

Before today, he would still have doubts.

He wondered if there would be a chance to revisit his old haunts and eat a bowl of eel noodles he hadn’t had the chance to try back then.

He wondered if there would be a chance to return to his hometown and eat a meal of stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with meat, something he never grew tired of. Would the wine bowls on the table be replaced with wine cups?

Would he be dragged to a hotpot in the summer? Would there still be an old person who would trick him into thinking that drinking wine could reduce the spice, making his eyes water with the heat?

Over the years, after obtaining that Mountain and Water Travelogue, he had been eagerly awaiting this day, but it also seemed that he was dreading its arrival.

In an instant, the weather changed drastically, causing the entire Great Wall of Sword Qi to shake. Chen Ping’an desperately steadied his mind.

Mountains and rivers were inverted.

A scholar in a green robe stood on the ramparts, turning to look at the young man, “You can return now.”

Chen Ping’an took out a white jade hairpin and fastened it in his hair.

He stepped onto the ramparts and squatted down, “Could you let me have a meal and drink a jug of wine first? Let me make a decision after I’m full?”

Cui Chan nodded, “The major event is over, everything else is minor.”

Chen Ping’an plopped down on the ramparts, falling backward. Although he said he wanted to eat and drink his fill, he didn’t eat or drink anything. He simply lay on the ground, staring wide-eyed, watching the snowy night sky in a daze, “Made me wait so long, almost couldn’t hold on any longer.”