Chapter 1071: Green Mountains in Water, Flowers About to Burn

Chapter 1071: Green Mountains in Water, Flowers About to Burn

Small Four Prefectures, Thunder Marsh Lake.
On Plum Peak Island, the plum blossoms were as thin as poetry.
The female Daoist Yang Qing strolled among them, breaking off a plum branch and carrying it. The white clouds beneath her feet were condensed from water transport, and the most miraculous thing was that these clouds, large and small, naturally formed petal shapes.
Beside her was one of the two lake masters, Thunder Rain, who came from the demon race but had managed to establish a foothold in Small Four Prefectures, gradually growing to become one of the two lake masters of this vast Thunder Marsh Lake and its mistress.
Previously, they had traveled together beyond the heavens to congratulate Yu Xuan, the talisman master who had successfully merged with the stars.
Thunder Rain laughed, "That Xu Xuyuan doesn't hide his gaze when he looks at you. What do you say, want to become formal Dao companions, or just have a brief romantic encounter?"
Yang Qing shook her head with a smile, "Don't drag me into the fire pit with you."
Thunder Rain pouted, "The affairs between men and women are the natural yin-yang great path. You're so restrained, missing out on so much pleasure."
Yang Qing remained silent, lost in thought.
As the highest-realm Daoist of the Hongnong Yang Clan in Youzhou, with the Dao name "Shenlou", Yang Qing was also the vice mountain master of Shoushan Pavilion.
This put her in a difficult position.
So she had to leave her Dao arena and come here to seek peace and quiet.
But then she ran into Xu Xuyuan, who fancied himself a romantic, and she still couldn't find peace.

The latest list of the world's ten greatest figures actually had eleven, because the bottom two were tied for tenth: Wang Sun, Dao name "Kongshan" of Xuandu Temple, and the martial artist Xin Ku from Leap Month Peak.
Above them, the first nine were Yu Dou at the top, Lu Chen second, then the Azure Firmament Cave Master whose arena was in the bright moonlight, and the female Daoist Wu Zhou who had recently encircled an underwater Lotus Goddess Temple as her arena. These four were all recognized as fourteenth-realm grand cultivators.
Sun Huaizhong, the current master of Qizhou's Xuandu Temple, martial artist Lin Jiangxian, Suichu Palace's Wu Shuangjiang, Youzhou's Difu Mountain Huayang Palace's Gao Gu, and the Qing Divine Dynasty's elegant minister Yao Qing.
It was said that when Wu Shuangjiang last appeared at Xuandu Temple, he already had the aura of a fourteenth-realm cultivator. Did that mean Daoist Sun had secretly advanced to the fourteenth realm? And martial artist Lin Jiangxian—had he reached the legendary eleventh realm of martial arts? And Gao Gu, Dao name "Juyue", ranked just after Wu Shuangjiang? All were mysteries.
Like wind swirling clouds, or seeing flowers through the mist.

A short, hunched old Daoist in a snow-white Dao robe appeared from his own arena, stepping across mountains and rivers to manifest among the plum blossoms here. He carried a lacquered box made of ancient wood.
This place was at the foot of Plum Peak, called Dragon Tail Slope. The mountaintop was called Ge Boat Tip.
Thunder Rain leaned against an old plum tree with branches like twisting dragons, arms crossed, glaring at the uninvited guest. "Wang Xing, what are you doing here?"
The short old Daoist bowed slightly, gently placing the box by his feet. "I hurry here to advise you not to drag Small Four Prefectures into the chaos of the world. It's not worth it."
Thunder Rain sneered, "The lake is split in half. Can you control me? I also advise you: mind your geese and don't meddle. Careful—you might cause an internal strife, and that would be even more disadvantageous."
The old man ignored Thunder Rain's threat, shifting his gaze to the out-of-province female Daoist. He continued, "And I advise Shenlou Daoist to bring a message back to Hongnong Yang Clan: a hundred generations of fortune are hard-won. Don't act on impulse and lose everything in an instant."
Yang Qing remained calm, nodding. "Taiyi Daoist's words will certainly be delivered to the clan."
Thunder Rain sneered, "How strange! You have no personal friendship with Chief Instructor Yu. If memory serves, there's a bit of personal enmity between you?"
"Personal enmity, indeed," the old Daoist nodded. "But as you said, it's personal."
Yang Qing asked with a smile, "Taiyi Daoist, I'm curious: what are your thoughts?"
The old Daoist replied bluntly, "It's simple. I don't think anyone in this world can replace Chief Instructor Yu. Since no one can take his place, don't stir up trouble. When the world falls into chaos, people die—and many of them."
Yang Qing nodded. "Understood."
Thunder Rain chuckled grimly, "Well said, I understand that human speech too. Since you're here, I have a question for you."
The old Daoist said, "Ask, and I'll answer whatever I know."
Thunder Rain raised a hand and wiped her mouth. "What ability do you have to meddle in the domestic affairs of my Thunder Marsh Lake?"
"Plenty of abilities," the old Daoist said. "Just from what I've learned in this life: fire methods, water methods, earth methods, talisman methods, thunder methods, and sword methods. Especially my specialty—the Suppression Method."
Thunder Rain feigned surprise, "Granny finally learned that you, a close neighbor, know so many techniques. That makes me even more curious—why don't you, Wang Xing, go to the White Jade Capital and snatch a chief instructor position?"
The old Daoist replied stiffly, "I can't be the chief instructor of White Jade Capital, but managing the territory of Small Four Prefectures should be more than enough."
Thunder Rain's gaze sharpened as she straightened her back. "Since you're here, you might as well stay. It's a good chance to weigh your worth, Taiyi Feather Guest."
Yang Qing smiled, "Why not wait until the matter is upon us to decide? Before that, as Taiyi Daoist said, let's all avoid causing trouble."
The old Daoist nodded. "That's fine with me. It depends on Lake Master Lei's intention."
To prevent a sudden fight, Yang Qing had to take the lead. She smiled, "I won't see you out."
The old Daoist reminded, "Shenlou Daoist, remember to bring the message to Hongnong Yang Clan."
Yang Qing smiled and nodded.
The old Daoist vanished in a flash, but left the box behind.
After confirming the old man had left Thunder Marsh Lake's territory, Thunder Rain shook her head. "That old thing—heroic spirit short-lived. The more he lives, the more he regresses."
Yang Qing laughed, "That's a contradiction in terms."
Thunder Rain snorted, kicking the three-layer wooden box to pieces. The delicacies inside scattered all over the ground. She fumed, "With so little food, can I get full? It's not even enough to fill my teeth."
Yang Qing said, "Wang Xing's meaning is simple: don't be too full with nothing to do. Act according to your ability."
Thunder Rain fell silent, grinding her teeth.
Yang Qing sighed, "No need to regret. Even if I had helped just now, we still couldn't have kept him."
She let out a faint sigh.
There were many families and Daoist arenas like her Hongnong Yang Clan and Difu Mountain Huayang Palace.
But there were also many Dao officials like Taiyi Wang Xing outside the White Jade Capital.
The three chief instructors of White Jade Capital took turns ruling the Qingming Heaven for a hundred years, each holding the power of life and death.
Great Chief Instructor Kou Ming: when faced with someone who could be killed or spared, he definitely spared them. And besides sparing, Kou Ming personally taught them, making them atone for their faults.
For example, the former city lord of Shenxiao City, Dao name "Nigu" Zhang Kejiu, and the direct disciple of Nanhua City Vice City Lord Madam Wei, were among them.
Second Chief Instructor Yu Dou: when faced with someone who could be killed or spared, he definitely killed them.
Third Chief Instructor Lu Chen: whether to kill or not depended solely on his mood.

Thunder Rain suddenly felt surprised and flustered, seeing that her friend was covered in tears.
"Yang Qing, why are you crying?"
Yang Qing snapped back to reality, startled, and wiped her tears with her fingers. She said self-deprecatingly, "Just remembered some unpleasant old memories."
Thunder Rain wanted to speak but stopped, ultimately saying nothing.
Because she knew that Yang Qing had left the Hongnong Yang Clan back then to establish a mountain-sea immortal pavilion at Shoushan Pavilion precisely to distance herself from that place full of painful memories.
Yang Qing's only knot was her younger brother. They grew up together, very close. Yang Qing taught him reading, writing, and how to deal with people. When her brother later went to Difu Mountain to cultivate, she escorted him all the way to Huayang Palace. For his first trial journey outside, Yang Qing secretly protected him. When he made small mistakes, his master Gao Gu never spoke harshly; it was always Yang Qing who scolded him in person or by letter... This was probably what they meant by "an elder sister is like a mother."
Yang Qing said softly, "Just now I lost my focus and saw a blurry scene."
Thunder Rain asked directly, "Did you see the future?"
Yang Qing hesitated, "Hard to say. It's complicated, difficult to explain."
Thunder Rain grinned, "No matter. Just tell me—what did you see?"
Yang Qing whispered, "Mountain flowers about to burn, flowing water like fire."

The old Daoist who left Plum Peak did not return to his arena, Mount Lao Island, but went back to the bank of Peace Heart River, where he kept many white geese.
The old Daoist suddenly widened his eyes in fury, "Xu Xuyuan! You goddamned bastard! Give me back my white geese!"
A moment later, the old Daoist grew even angrier, looking around. The goose thief had long since vanished. The old man cursed and stamped his feet in a panic, "Unacceptable! Unacceptable! He stole more than one! Dear mother! Three whole geese! I kindly taught you a B-grade manual, and this is how you repay your teacher? If I hadn't thought your face resembled hers a little, I wouldn't have let you in the door... I really shouldn't have gone to Plum Peak to see that woman. A moment's carelessness and I got robbed by my own family. Regret, regret! Three friends, I have wronged you..."

In the Green Mud Heavenly Realm, on Manjuelong Road, osmanthus flowers fell like rain.
A young man with a somewhat feminine, handsome face held one white goose by the neck in one hand and two more in the other.
He smiled brightly and shouted, "Big sister! Call second sister! Today I'll light the stove myself—iron pot stewed goose!"
The realm's master, Xu Mian, appeared beside him and said helplessly, "Xuyuan, is this how you treat your unofficial disciple?"
The young man raised the struggling white goose high, as if to threaten his sister Xu Mian.
Xu Mian waved her hand. "You've never been proper since childhood."
Xu Yingning soon arrived from the Heaven-and-Earth Blessed Land, saw this scene, couldn't help but laugh. Unlike Xu Mian, she said with a smile, "Well done."
Xu Xuyuan grinned, "Even though Second Sister says that, I still like Big Sister just a tiny bit more."
Xu Yingning flicked her finger gently on her brother's forehead. "Such a mischievous one."
Xu Xuyuan said, "Big Sister, Second Sister, I've talked with Luo Yi and Wu Xi. They both don't like Zhu Xuan from Yongzhou arbitrarily divining the fortunes of other prefectures. I'm hesitating whether to follow that great river and visit the Yufu Dynasty."
Xu Mian said gently, "Listen to your sister—definitely don't wade into that muddy water."
Xu Yingning laughed, "Wu Xi, the Shade Marquis of the Right Mountain Kingdom, only just settled into a comfortable life as the de facto ruler of Peizhou. Of course he doesn't want that girl Zhu Xuan chopping branches off the old camphor tree. If it's auspicious, it just adds flowers to brocade. But if it's a great ominous sign, what then? To put it bluntly, even if the prefecture's luck originally wasn't bad, it could be twisted into something harmful. Since ancient times, who can distinguish truth from falsehood in so many children's rhymes and prophecies? If Zhu Xuan is a bit more black-hearted, the whole Peizhou will be in chaos. Wu Xi only just stabilized the entire prefecture through his hegemonic methods, gaining recognition as the leader of the Right Mountain Kingdom. He's calm enough; anyone else would have led troops to kill at the Lotus Goddess Temple. As for Luo Yi, he probably just went along with Wu Xi for the sake of your sworn brotherhood. The Hengyang Dynasty is not among the four prefectures anyway. How did he, the Dao name 'Fire Officer' and founding emperor status, come about? He started as a lowly soldier, killing his way up step by step to sit on the dragon throne."
Obviously, Fire Officer Luo Yi and Shade Marquis Wu Xi were both candidates for the world's top ten. Xu Yingning's opinion of Luo Yi was clearly higher.
Xu Xuyuan nodded, "That makes sense."
Xu Mian said softly, "Luo Yi is a rare hero with true spirit—loyal and responsible. Wu Xi, on the other hand, prefers to scheme inwardly. Xuyuan, you need to know where you stand with them in the future."
Fire Officer Luo Yi had spent his whole life in military campaigns. On his path of cultivation, he carried a heavy treasure: a Daoist imperial bell, said to be one of the ultimate treasures personally forged by the Dao Ancestor.
The ancient bell was engraved with the words "Heaven's Soldier".
But this item had passed through many hands in Qingming Heaven—at least ten Dao officials of various levels—yet no one could refine it.
Until Luo Yi got it. Probably because he had previously obtained a Taiqing Jade Book Dao scripture. At that time, Luo Yi was only in the Cave Dwelling realm, but he successfully refined it and could hurl fire for ten thousand miles when using it.
Xu Xuyuan said impatiently, "I know, I know! You always like to lecture, Big Sister. If not for this flaw, you'd be a moral paragon!"
Xu Yingning clicked her tongue. "Flatterer."

Walking on the golden road covered with fallen osmanthus flowers, a melodious bell suddenly rang.
Enter a pure land, give birth to a joyful heart.
The Buddha transmitting the mind is like holding a flower and pointing to the moon; the Daoist's enlightenment lies in morning bells and evening drums.
The three siblings each had their own thoughts.
Though it was said, "not in the position, not seeking its governance," from their positions, once the world's chaos began, how could they stay aloof?
Thinking and thinking only brought sorrow, hard to fathom.
Xu Xuyuan suddenly said, "Before going to Gan Lake, I first visited Difu Mountain to listen to Palace Master Gao's teachings. Then on the boat to Gan Lake, I heard those two pieces of news. You probably already know them?"
Xu Mian hummed in affirmation.
Xu Yingning sincerely praised, "Palace Master Gao—what boldness! Truly worthy of the Dao name 'Juyue'!"
It turned out that at the end of that teaching session, Gao Gu announced two things. His disciple Gao Fu would become the mountain master of Difu Mountain.
And an outsider Daoist named Mao Zhui would become the new palace master of Huayang Palace.
Both were strange beyond strange.
Gao Fu was Gao Gu's youngest disciple, though not his closed-door disciple. Still, Gao Fu was recognized inside and outside Huayang Palace as a cultivation genius. Normally, with his current insufficient realm, Gao Fu succeeding as palace master, though a stretch, would be better than letting an unknown "Mao Zhui" take over Huayang Palace. Making Gao Fu the mountain master of Difu Mountain was, in a sense, "expelling" him from Huayang Palace.
Xu Mian explained, "That Mao Zhui—I suspect he might be the White Bone True Man."
Xu Xuyuan shook the three white geese in his hands. "Pisses me off."

In the Qingming Heaven, since there were no Hundred Schools of Thought, all cultivators under heaven were Daoists.
The key to a cultivator's lineage tradition was who their initiation master was and which temple that master came from.
As the saying goes, martial artists seeking a master was like being reborn—they had to treat their master like a father. For Daoists in Qingming Heaven, finding an initiation master was equally important.
For instance, on the Haoran Heaven side, the first sect master of Dragon Spring Sword Sect, Ruan Qiong, came from Snowstorm Temple, one of the military ancestral halls of Bottle Gourd Continent. Though he was a sword cultivator, Ruan Qiong's lineage identity was still a military cultivator. And the ranger Xu Ruo was also a sword cultivator but still a Mohist disciple.
Similarly, Xuandu Temple was a lineage of Daoist sword immortals. Even though the temple had an extremely large number of sword cultivators, perhaps the most in the world, they were still proper registered Daoists.
Another example was the Qing Divine Dynasty's elegant minister Yao Qing. His knowledge was eclectic, especially close to Confucianism and Legalism, but who dared say Yao Qing was not a Dao official?
When Xu Xuyuan sought an initiation master, his first choice was the "Juyue" Gao Gu of Difu Mountain.
But Gao Gu saw through his intentions and didn't think Xu Xuyuan could inherit Huayang Palace's lineage or shoulder the mantle of Difu Mountain's tradition.
Originally, according to Xu Xuyuan's calculations and predictions, even if he couldn't become palace master, he could at least become the new mountain master of Difu Mountain.
His second choice was the fourteenth-realm cultivator Wu Zhou.
His father also thought so, but Xu Xuyuan couldn't even get through the gate of her hidden arena—clearly she looked down on his talent.
Finally, there was the Shanyin Feather Guest Wang Xing. Thankfully, that worked out well enough. Like a desperate patient seeking any doctor, Xu Xuyuan finally found a true "famous doctor." He settled there for years as an unofficial disciple. Actually, master and disciple got along very well. The Dao was not lightly transmitted, but Wang Xing still passed on to Xu Xuyuan that "sentient" B-grade manual.
Xu Xuyuan asked, "Big Sister, Second Sister, what are your thoughts?"
Xu Mian said, "A daughter has a daughter's duty. Besides, about the sealing of Green Mud Heavenly Realm back then, I have to demand a small explanation."
Xu Yingning said, "I'm different. I listen to Dad's advice: if you can avoid getting involved, don't step onto that muddy path."
Xu Mian asked, "Xuyuan, you've met Yang Qing. What's her stance?"
It was said that this hall master, Dao name "Shenlou", was proficient in Purple Star Astrology and Taiyi Divine Calculation, recognized as the best in the world.
Such a Daoist who could calculate fortune and decree fate was best left unprovoked. Once entangled, it was more troublesome than being enemies with a sword cultivator of the same realm.
Xu Xuyuan suddenly laughed, "Big Sister, I heard you went beyond the heavens and asked that old scholar for seals and folding fans."
Within the two lineages of Green Mud Heavenly Realm and Heaven-and-Earth Blessed Land, the latter favored Cao Ci more, while the former preferred that Chen Yin official.
Xu Yingning laughed, "True story. I can testify. Besides the seal collection and folding fan, your Big Sister even shamelessly asked the Literary Saint for two more seal collections, 'Hundred Sword Immortals' and 'Double Sword Immortals.'"
Xu Mian said helplessly, "I was just asking for those items on behalf of two guest elders in the realm."
Xu Yingning clicked her tongue. "False yet not false, true yet not true."
Xu Xuyuan nodded, "When I heard about this from Thunder Rain, I was thunderstruck, heartbroken. I thought Big Sister would never marry, but now she actually has thoughts of marrying."
Xu Mian didn't bother to explain.
Xu Xuyuan snorted, "If that Chen Ping'an wants to be my brother-in-law, he has to get through me first! Isn't he a sword cultivator? I'll challenge him to a sword duel."
Xu Mian said angrily, "Nonsense."
Xu Yingning teased, "Why not say he's a martial artist of the ultimate realm and challenge him to a fist fight?"
Xu Xuyuan shook his head, "I'm not stupid. I'm already nervous about a sword duel. A fist fight is unthinkable. Ah, got it—how about a drinking and poetry competition combined?"
Xu Xuyuan suddenly burst out laughing, "A woman three years older is like holding a gold brick. I heard Chen Ping'an is only a little over forty. If he marries Big Sister, how many gold bricks would that be?!"
Xu Yingning nodded, "Your sister's dowry is the entire Green Mud Heavenly Realm. That fits perfectly. Just be careful not to get challenged by Ning Yao to a sword duel."
Xu Mian blushed with anger, glaring, "Both of you shut up!"
Xu Xuyuan said softly, "Not long ago, I heard Dad mention an old memory. When Big Sister was young, she passed through a small place called Zou City and met an unknown fortune-teller who read faces and characters. He read the few characters Big Sister wrote on his stall, saying 'the face reflects the heart, the characters reveal the person. Literary skill and the ultimate Dao are actually one and the same key.' Finally, he gave a prediction: 'Xu Mian, your qi is soft and clear, your bone is cold. Your spirit is clear enough to become an immortal, but your coldness is enough to kill.' Lucky for Big Sister, you didn't think he was a fraud and paid to ward off bad luck. And luckily, he was willing to point out a solution—that you shouldn't be too vulgar in character or too empty in cultivation. That's why you have your current achievements."
Xu Yingning suppressed a laugh, "Actually, she didn't write just a few characters. She wrote two characters, which she always considered the most well-founded in the world..."
Xu Mian shouted, "Xu Yingning! Do you believe I'll tear your mouth off!"
Xu Yingning cried out in mock fear, "Oh my, someone's about to destroy her own family!"
Xu Xuyuan smiled, "Big Sister, Second Sister, do you know what love at first sight is? It's walking on the road, just glancing at someone, and feeling like you've collided with them."
Xu Yingning asked doubtfully, "Xuyuan, have you fallen for Yang Qing at first sight?"
Xu Xuyuan smiled and said nothing.
Xu Mian said, "Don't think about these useless things. Study the B-grade secret manual Taiyi Daoist passed to you. Though it's nominally a medical book, it points directly to the great Dao."
Xu Xuyuan chuckled, "Honestly, she (the manual) was unlucky to fall into my hands. Just like her repeated complaint: 'Alas, I entrust the most subtle and exquisite Dao to the most inferior and shallow person. Fortunately, the river flows on, and it hasn't been abandoned.'"
Xu Xuyuan sighed, "Let it be chaotic. It's just heroes killing heroes, both seeking fame and fortune. It all depends on this moment. They are all heroes of the world."
"As the Zhu person said well: 'It's not that scholars are the least free. Wrong. It's that the poor are the least free.'"
"So the most free are those impoverished scholars who curse heaven and earth. They know nothing, yet dare say anything."
"Enough of that. Just focus on the iron pot stewed goose!"
Xu Yingning asked in surprise, "You really killed them for stew?"
Xu Xuyuan rolled his eyes, "Otherwise? I went through the trouble of stealing them just to worship them like ancestors and serve them like masters, like my teacher does?"
Xu Yingning turned to look at Xu Mian.
Xu Mian smiled, "I'll go prepare the seasonings: cinnamon, star anise, Sichuan pepper, bean paste, aged vinegar, sesame oil..."
Xu Yingning immediately chimed in, "Add some cooking wine. It'll taste even better."

Yinzhou.
Great Tide Sect, a forbidden cave entrance had the four large characters "Deer Terrace Marriage" inscribed in red, deep-carved into the cliff.
But Yao Qing, who had read extensively, knew that before these characters, there had been four raised-carved characters "Wu Ding Morning Song", later ground flat by someone with sharp tools.
After that, a Two Capital Mountain appeared in Yinzhou, founded by the heavenly maiden Chaoge.
Yao Qing was invited here to guard the gate.
On this white jade square atop a lone peak, besides one person and one table, there was nothing else.
On the table were several Daoist books, a jug of wine, a pair of chopsticks, and several dishes of appetizers.
For these days, Yao Qing sat alone here guarding the gate, occasionally reading, drinking, and eating, otherwise as still as a clay statue.
During this time, patriarchs from the Great Tide Sect and Two Capital Mountain stood far away at the formation boundary, trying to inquire about the meditation affairs from Yao Qing, but he wouldn't even lift his eyelids, let alone speak.
Before coming to the Great Tide Sect, Yao Qing had already notified the emperor and the state preceptor Bai Ou that during his journey, even if the sky fell, they shouldn't think of sending him messages.
The Qing Divine Dynasty was located in Bingzhou, along with Ruzhou's Red Gold Dynasty and Youzhou's Yellow Black Dynasty—all among the top ten powerful dynasties in Qingming Heaven.
Youzhou was under the jurisdiction of Biyun Tower, while Bingzhou was under the jurisdiction of Green Emerald City.
Elegant Minister Yao Qing, courtesy name Zimei, Dao name "Shouling", was a three-dynasty prime minister. With a Dao age of only a thousand years, he was regarded alongside the "Juyue" Gao Gu as one of the small group of mountaintop cultivators most likely to break into the fourteenth realm.
He was universally recognized as a full Flying Ascension realm cultivator, meaning he was only half a step away from merging with the fourteenth realm's Dao.
Yao Qing was often invited to Green Emerald City for discussions and lectures.
And the Chief Instructor Lu, known as the "Little Yao Qing of White Jade Capital," attended every time, either clapping vigorously or cheering loudly.
The most famous move Yao Qing made was not his title of Elegant Minister, but his path of cultivation: beheading the three corpses. And not the ordinary way of beheading corpses to mend or perfect the Dao heart.
He successfully beheaded a clear Dao heart and shaped three Corpse Liberation Immortals. Thus, each Corpse Liberation Immortal, though unable to refine a yang-shen external body, still had yin-shen.
These three completely "autonomous" Corpse Liberation Immortals, within five hundred years, all became upper fifth-realm qi refiners. Plus the yin-shen, that was equal to Yao Qing's six "incarnations."
Coupled with his own true body's yin-shen and yang-shen, he effectively had eight "avatars."
It was said that Yao Qing also mastered two great talismans: one personally bestowed by the Dao Ancestor, and another, the Three Mountains Talisman, first created by the Great Chief Instructor of White Jade Capital. Yao Qing benefited greatly and was extremely proficient in it.
Yao Qing picked up a crudely printed copy of "Su Wen" (Basic Questions) B-grade. He had bought this when he was young and studying. The three silver taels for the book were saved by Yao Qing through frugality.
After flipping through the book for a while, Yao Qing looked up and gazed into the distance. Beyond the formation, mountains stretched endlessly, lush and green. A great river meandered away like a thread piercing a needle.
Withdrawing his gaze, Yao Qing picked up his chopsticks and began to drink and eat.
He wondered who in the future might embrace the wide blue sky.
In Qingming's fourteen prefectures, it was rare for a single Daoist immortal mansion to dominate a prefecture. More often, there were two sides in opposition, or a collection of first-class arenas with none standing out.
For example, in the prefecture of Zhu Prefecture, which had many feather guests, there were both the Harvest Mountain and the Green Shrine Palace, one of the ancestral halls of Daoist talismans. Youzhou had Difu Mountain Huayang Palace, competing with the Hongnong Yang Clan and the Shoushan Pavilion.
In Yongzhou, the Immortal Staff Sect and the Soldier Liberation Mountain each tried to surpass the other.
As for Soldier Liberation Mountain, because it recently produced two grandmasters who made the martial arts top ten, its reputation was booming. Some people brought up old grievances: the only thing criticized about Soldier Liberation Mountain was that, as the only major sect allied with the "Rice Thief" leader Song Maolu, they tore up the alliance at the last moment before the "matter was exposed," choosing to stand by and watch as the White Jade Capital punished the Rice Thief lineage’s many Dao officials—either killing them, imprisoning them, or expelling them permanently, never to serve as Dao officials again.
It was said that in the vast Yongzhou, where water transportation dominated, at the height of the Rice Thief lineage, there were as many as a million private-register Daoists!

In Yinzhou in the old days, the Great Tide Sect and Two Capital Mountain were mortal enemies. Of course, things were very different now—it was like the sky had changed.
Today, Yinzhou could be said to fit the strict definition of one sect dominating the prefecture more than any other.
During the joint seclusion of Sect Master Xu Jun and his Dao companion Chaoge, both the Great Tide Sect and Two Capital Mountain had already established their subordinate sects, though they had not yet hung up the patriarch's portrait or sent out any invitations.
Yao Qing smiled and turned to look at the cave entrance.
Chaoge’s move—was she making clothes for others or for herself? All her schemes were to help her Dao companion Xu Jun seize the lead, to secure a seat in advance.
After all, on the Haoran Heaven side, Tongye Continent had produced a gentleman named Zhong Kui.
Yao Qing rarely admired anyone, but his friend Fukai truly earned his respect. He had worked hard to cultivate to the peak of Flying Ascension realm, then discarded it without hesitation.
That was the only reason Yao Qing was willing to make an exception and help guard the gate here.
Otherwise, if he meddled in such Yinzhou affairs, White Jade Capital's Yuqing Palace would certainly note it down.
The matter was of great importance and far-reaching influence.
Because it might involve the birth of a future fourteenth-realm cultivator.

Today, a Dao couple of vastly different ages and realms emerged from seclusion together.
The female Daoist Chaoge, Dao name "Fukai", had a pale face. She performed a bow, "I trouble the Elegant Minister."
She had descended in realm again. Now she was only a Golden Core... ghostly creature.
In contrast, Xu Jun had reached the complete Flying Ascension realm, very likely standing at the threshold of a certain great Dao.
Yao Qing didn't care about that. Everyone had their own fate, each walking their own path to heaven.
Yao Qing stood up and said with a smile, "It's nothing. Mountains turn and waters flow. Helping others is helping myself."
Guarding the gate here was indeed very easy. Yao Qing was naturally the pillar.
But besides that, besides the two founding patriarchs responsible for establishing the subordinate sects, all the upper fifth-realm cultivators of both sects had gathered on various peaks of the Great Tide Sect.
All layers of formations were fully opened.
What did the consumption of immortal money matter? What did it matter that the cave madly absorbed the spiritual qi of heaven and earth?
Yao Qing said, "Apart from Chief Instructor Lu glancing here a few times, there was no other abnormal activity."
Earlier, Yao Qing had detected a trace of spying. As expected, it was the Lu Chief Instructor from White Jade Capital.
When discovered by Yao Qing, Chief Instructor Lu even had the nerve to say, "There are so many strange people and talents in the world. Am I the only one with nothing better to do?!"
Chaoge frowned slightly.
But Xu Jun smiled, "With the Elegant Minister helping guard the gate and Chief Instructor Lu having looked at this place, it's absolutely foolproof."
Yao Qing nodded.
That was Xu Jun's unique quality—when he spoke, every word was sincere.
One man serving as sect master of four sects at once was certainly an unprecedented feat. Whether it would be unsurpassed in the future remained to be seen.
Yao Qing said, "Then I'll head back now."
Chaoge said with a charming smile, "How can this be the way to treat a guest? Why not let the Elegant Minister preside over both subordinate sect ceremonies?"
Yao Qing laughed, "How is that treating a guest? Wouldn't it be repaying kindness with enmity?"
Chaoge laughed heartily.
Xu Jun made a Daoist bow, "Then the junior sees off the Elegant Minister."
Yao Qing nodded, and his figure turned into a rainbow, instantly traveling millions of miles.
Chaoge tugged at Xu Jun's sleeve and said softly, "Husband, I suspect Yao Qing has already broken into the fourteenth realm."
Xu Jun said joyfully, "That's wonderful news! Why didn't you say so earlier? I should at least congratulate the Elegant Minister."
As he spoke, the man gently took his wife's hand. Hand in hand, grow old together, whether in life or death.

Yongzhou.
Ten-thousand-year-old camphor trees, eight-thousand-year-old giant trees.
Yufu Dynasty, outside the Lotus Goddess Temple, a massive universal grand ceremony with complex rituals was currently being held.
But the female emperor Zhu Xuan, who was presiding over the ceremony, still stole some leisure time tonight to come to a taboo-laden mountain peak.
She could only stay here for one hour; then she needed to return to the Lotus Goddess Temple.
The fourteenth-realm great cultivator "Taiyin" Wu Zhou's birthday was April 14th.
Her arena was located here in Yongzhou, a hidden mountain peak with swords and halberds bristling across the landscape.
On the Haoran Heaven side, in Beiju Luzhou, there was the north-south Zhongtiao Mountain. Yongzhou in Qingming Heaven also had one, but the mountain range ran east-west. The ancestral mountain was called Nine Peaks Mountain.
But ever since Wu Zhou had gone into seclusion to merge with the fourteenth realm's Dao, this place had been sealed for a long time.
Because she had not shown her face for so long, people mistakenly thought she had already undergone corpse liberation and reincarnation.
After all, merging with the Dao, even for someone as talented as Wu Zhou, according to White Jade Capital's calculations back then, had only a sixty percent chance.
But no matter how the dynasties ruling her arena changed, no one dared to trespass here. Some Dao officials in history, hoping to find treasures or pick up scraps, either could not enter the mountain at all, or broke through layer after layer of landscape restrictions to finally see Nine Peaks Mountain, only to be instantly killed by the sword formation that silently activated.
There were no Daoist temples in the mountain, but there was a Buddhist Pure Land sect temple called Bitter Bamboo Temple.
The founding emperor of the Yufu Dynasty was a monk from this temple.
His ancestral home was a small place called West Sky Tail, not far from this mountain.

A young female Daoist sat cross-legged on a cushion. On the low table before her was a large pile of counting rods.
He was a warehouse official from the Yufu Dynasty's Ministry of War. But today he had the honor to sit opposite Wu Zhou along with the female emperor Zhu Xuan.
He looked at the pile of bamboo rods engraved with numbers. They were obviously made of ordinary material—perhaps split from mountain bamboo.
Wu Zhou looked at the slightly nervous young female emperor and smiled, "Relax. I'll give you a definite word: as long as I'm in Yongzhou, no one can cause you trouble. As for whether they dare or not, I won't guarantee. I only guarantee that if they come, they won't return. So the grand ceremony you're presiding over definitely won't be interrupted halfway."
Zhu Xuan nodded silently. It was unnecessary to verbally thank her.
Wu Zhou glanced in the direction of White Jade Capital. Since you, Yu Dou, rejected that deal, then White Jade Capital will have to pay a price.
Wu Zhou withdrew her gaze and looked at the middle-aged man sitting beside Zhu Xuan. "I heard you're also proficient in this art? When you led troops in your past life, did you always do calculations beforehand?"
The man smiled, "I wouldn't dare claim that. It's just a hobby, not a mastery."
In his private residence in the Yufu Dynasty capital, the man, who studied astrology and divination, had opened a hidden arena in his study called Fire Pearl Forest.
Wu Zhou smiled, "Cao Zhou Fox, I heard you once served as an official in the same court as a certain Daoist from Manifest Spirit Temple in Lingbao City. In military arts, you each had your strengths?"
Cao Zhou Fox said, "My military strategy is not as good as his. He truly employed troops like a god, reaching a realm of transformation."
Lingbao City's Zhi Ge Palace, similar to Biyun Tower's Zhenyue Palace, held a transcendent status. Under Zhi Ge Palace were thirty-six temples, among which Fangma Temple administered many more. Among them was Manifest Spirit Temple, not very famous. Its temple master was an elderly-looking Daoist who lived in seclusion here with his Dao companion, writing military books. This old man, with the Dao name "Medicine Master," occasionally traveled abroad, holding a staff made of spiritual wood from Guo Mountain, but never left the territory of Zhi Ge Palace.
Zhu Xuan said, "In terms of military merit, Mr. Cao is in no way inferior to him."
The man beside her had once been considered the nation's gall and courage, the foremost meritorious official in expanding borders. After death, he was posthumously awarded the title of Grand Commandant, with the posthumous name Zhenwu.
Cao Zhou Fox and that Manifest Spirit Temple Dao official, who cultivated in White Jade Capital as a heroic spirit, were both peerless famous generals in life. They were equally famous, with similar posthumous honors, and even their burial specifications were identical.
Wu Zhou curled her lip slightly, slightly sarcastic, "So he was invincible in civil war, and you were invincible in foreign war? Truly the nation's twin jades."
Throughout the various heavens and dynasties, there were countless famous generals. Wu Zhou knew the man opposite not for his achievements, but for a self-narration he made in his "old age."
Wu Zhou had heard it once and remembered his name.
"At twelve or thirteen, a thief who didn't cherish life, a desperado, a rogue thief, killing anyone met on the road.
At fourteen or fifteen, a difficult thief, somewhat knowledgeable, killing when seeing injustice on the road.
At twenty, a general leading troops, a good thief, leading from the front in battle, killing enemies at sight.
As a great general, a marshal leading troops, using killing to stop killing, using a killing sword to save the world, saving the chaotic world's people from death."
Cao Zhou Fox smiled, "A hundred years in the mortal world, gone in a flash. My achievements in merit and career are limited. Besides, compared to the Haoran Embroidery Tiger and the Barren Sea's Wen Hai, we so-called military generals are just men of courage in one time and one place."

Actually, this time Zhu Xuan came to Nine Peaks Mountain hoping to get two "definite words" from Wu Zhou. She only got one, so she wasn't ready to leave yet.
Wu Zhou sensed two unusual phenomena—one at Crow Mountain in Ruzhou, the other at the Great Tide Sect in Yinzhou.
The latter was within her expectations, but the former was puzzling. That Zhu Prefecture feather guest from the Gold Paulownia Arena—had he fallen out with Lin Jiangxian?
Actually, besides refining objects, Wu Zhou was also skilled in divination and celestial observation.
As long as one had good enough talent, one learned everything quickly. Others couldn't envy that.
Few Qingming cultivators could be considered her Dao friends. Among them was a Zhu person from Ruzhou with the Dao name "Green Duckweed," who was idle and interesting. They had never met, but if they ever did, Wu Zhou would be willing to chat with him.
She remembered once meeting a cloud-traveling Daoist named "Pure Yang." She also held him in high regard. At one moment, her heart, as still as dead water, was actually stirred.
Unfortunately, fate had no ties.
And in the unseen, Wu Zhou also sensed something wrong with that stirring. But over the years, she had never found any clues, not even a suspect.
Otherwise, with her realm and temper, if she had a suspect who dared to secretly scheme against her in this Qingming Heaven, could it be that the Dao Ancestor lent you his courage?
Wu Zhou smiled, "Child, don't worry too much about White Jade Capital. Given Chief Instructor Yu's consistent style, he won't deliberately target you and the Yufu Dynasty. What you really need to worry about is the lack of Yuqing Palace meetings recently. And if there are meetings, no Dao official has proposed this agenda. Chief Instructor Yu doesn't give a verdict. That gives the White Jade Capital Dao officials leeway."
The various Daoist lineages of Qingming Heaven, the mountaintop cultivators outside White Jade Capital, no matter how much they criticized Yu Dou, had only one point they couldn't fault: Yu Dou never showed favoritism.
Before entering White Jade Capital, Yu Dou had three close friends. One died in the sky beyond the heavens. Yu Dou chose to let him pass, then personally killed him.
That was Liu Changzhou, once self-styled "Gou Dirt Daoist," who died under Yu Dou's sword. It was only then that Purple Qi Tower got its later Jiang Zhaomo.
A Flying Ascension talisman great cultivator, once hailed as "daring to command seas and mountains," also died under Yu Dou's sword.
And it was the most thorough destruction of body and soul, true death of both body and Dao, with no possibility of reincarnation.
That cultivator's Dao companion, self-styled "Yellow Leaf Daoist," was actually a Flying Ascension female sword cultivator, Bao Lin.
It was Xing Lou, Dao name "Tianchi," who had greatly contributed to Yu Dou's early cultivation journey, even giving a precious treasure to his friend Yu Dou.
Xing Lou was to Yu Dou both a friend and an elder brother.
So when Yu Dou killed the already demonically possessed Liu Changzhou beyond the heavens, the world's Dao officials could somewhat understand.
But when Yu Dou killed Xing Lou, it shocked the world. After all, back then, the White Jade Capital's Zhenyue Palace's "Smoke Cloud Cave" had already prepared to welcome Xing Lou in.
Zhu Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Zhou squinted. Oh ho, interesting.
She would investigate later who had asked the two chief instructors about this during the Yuqing Palace meeting.
So Wu Zhou went with the flow and sold a favor, "Zhu Xuan, as long as you don't tamper with the divination results, you definitely won't be taken to Zhenyue Palace's Smoke Cloud Cave."
Zhu Xuan quickly stood up and made a bow. With Wu Zhou's words, Zhu Xuan and the Yufu Zhu clan had their hearts set at ease.
Wu Zhou teased, "Child Xuan, don't let a peck of rice become a bushel of enmity, and don't feel an overwhelming debt of gratitude."
Zhu Xuan sat back down, embarrassed, "How would I dare?"
Wu Zhou moved the bamboo rods on the table and spoke telepathically, "What Yinzhou's Chaoge seeks is nothing more than a true son of heaven in the mortal world, so she can assist the spirit and match the qian."
Cao Zhou Fox nodded, understanding in his heart.
Zhu Xuan sighed, "Such heaven-reaching methods. I am ashamed of my inferiority."
Wu Zhou smiled, "You're still very young. Give yourself a few thousand years to plan one thing carefully, and you won't be worse than Chaoge."
Cao Zhou Fox asked, "This time I followed His Majesty to Nine Peaks Mountain to pay respects to the elder. I have a matter to consult."
Wu Zhou nodded, "Speak."
Cao Zhou Fox asked, "Can't White Jade Capital condense all external heavenly demons into the size of a mustard seed and imprison them tightly? Is it because the heart demons of qi refiners continuously arise? Every qi refiner in the mortal world becomes a source of external heavenly demons, so blocking is worse than channeling?"
Wu Zhou countered, "Mustard seed size—is that large or small?"
Cao Zhou Fox was momentarily stunned.
Wu Zhou sneered, "Worrying about nothing."
The external heavenly demons beyond the heavens—how to cure the root cause—had been the greatest pursuit of White Jade Capital Dao officials throughout the ages. No other goal matched.
So much so that it was rumored: whoever could solve this huge problem might take over Qingming Heaven from the Dao Ancestor. And the Dao Ancestor could then travel far, seeking the Dao beyond the Dao.
It wasn't just White Jade Capital; great cultivators from all prefectures racked their brains, spending energy and even sacrificing their cultivation, hoping to find a permanent solution.
Unfortunately, for ten thousand years, whether Dao techniques, sword arts, talismans, or divine abilities—no matter how they combined or what formations they created—they were only temporary measures. Some methods were even proven to fuel the fire instead of suppressing the external heavenly demons.
Wu Zhou had a lot of free time in her cultivation life, so she also wanted to solve this unresolved ten-thousand-year problem.
In history, the two closest to the truth who dared to conclude that "this problem has a solution or is completely unsolvable" were:
Great Chief Instructor Kou Ming of White Jade Capital, and the junior disciple of Xuandu Temple's Master Sun.
But unfortunately, one had yet to create enough "measuring tools," and the other died halfway, abandoning the effort.
"Suppose we consider all external heavenly demons as a single fifteenth-realm cultivator," Wu Zhou slowly said. "Aggregation. Exhaustive method. Description, language, name and reality. Sword art, talisman formations, differentiation. Writing, formlessness, depiction. Naming, order from disorder, empty set not empty..."
Wu Zhou's insight coincidentally matched Lu Chen's leaked view to Chen Ping'an.
Great Chief Instructor Kou Ming, after stepping down as city lord of Green Emerald City, had been committed to solving the external heavenly demon problem, personally building armillary spheres and celestial globes to "label" the demons.
But the biggest problem was that Kou Ming discovered he lacked the knowledge, techniques, and abilities to complete the instrument he envisioned. Hence his mysterious disappearance from White Jade Capital—one qi transforming into three purities.
Wu Zhou looked at the thoughtful Cao Zhou Fox and smiled, "I'm not belittling you, but this matter is beyond your reach. Cao Zhou Fox, take the advice and eat your fill. Don't ponder this anymore. At least I can conclude: for you, it's meaningless, a waste of time. Better to withdraw and win some fame in the mortal world. Heaven is high and earth is thick. Heaven is high so that so-called brilliant people like you don't smash your heads. Earth is thick so that all you smart people who like to try jumping to touch the sky won't land on a thin piece of paper that breaks at a step."
Cao Zhou Fox clasped his hands and smiled, "I have learned well."
Wu Zhou waved her hand, "Go back, all of you. Do your duties and achieve great things."

Suichu Palace.
Today, a pair of Dao companions arrived from afar. The old man held a spiritual wood staff. His face was old but without senility.
His Dao companion, holding a red horsetail whisk, stood at his side. She was not conventionally beautiful but very heroic.
Palace Master Wu Shuangjiang personally received them, taking them up to the Stork Tower. On the top floor, they watched the great river rolling east and the Resting Dragon Platform, which stood like a pillar in the stream.
Going down the tower, they headed to the Resting Dragon Platform. Wu Shuangjiang called over Gao Ping, the palace's registrar Dao official. On the Eight Winds Pavilion beside the river's heart Resting Dragon Platform, there was a stone table and chessboard. Playing chess there was the most elegant.
As they walked toward the mountain peak pavilion, the old man holding the wooden staff smiled, "Thank you, Palace Master Wu, for the gift of books back then."
Wu Shuangjiang smiled, "Li Yaoshi, it was Zhang Yuanbo who gave you the military books. Why thank me?"
The woman holding the red whisk spoke bluntly, "Palace Master Wu, why pretend to be foolish? If Zhang Yuanbo hadn't received your instruction, how would he dare take on this karma?"
Wu Shuangjiang smiled, "Miss Zhang Xian is still as bold as ever, her style undimmed."
Li Yaoshi said, "I let you down by not entering Suichu Palace to cultivate but choosing to settle in White Jade Capital's Lingbao City instead."
Wu Shuangjiang shook his head, "It's nothing. Heroes are not controlled by fate."
Zhang Xian sighed, "Is Palace Master Wu speaking of himself?"
Back then, she could marry her husband largely thanks to Zhang Yuanbo playing the matchmaker. So their joint visit to Suichu Palace today was in part to thank him.
Wu Shuangjiang smiled and said nothing.

Since their climb up the tower and onto the island was not deliberately concealed, a group of people soon gathered to join the fun, already waiting in the pavilion.
Among them was Zhang Yuanbo, Dao name "Dragon in Cave," an Immortal realm cultivator. At first glance, he was just a disheveled old man with a red nose, white hair, and ancient appearance.
Zhang Yuanbo loved drinking most in his life, but he always drank very slowly. He was known for his three-step drinking rule: slurp, squint, shiver.
The Resting Dragon Platform was originally Zhang Yuanbo's arena, but when Cheng Quan and others came, the old immortal voluntarily moved out.
Beneath his current decrepit old man appearance, in his youth, he had once worn a great beard, roamed the mortal world, and had a truly magnificent capacity for drink.

On the mountain, the Dao companion of Yu Chou was Xie Chuntiao. The man was short and wiry, the woman stout and sturdy. Standing together, they hardly seemed matched.
Wu Shuangjiang's direct daughter, Wu Hui, had the Dao name "Lamp Candle."
But the second-in-command of Suichu Palace, the New Year's Eve Keeper Bai Luo, did not show up today.
This young-looking private-register Dao official, nicknamed "Little Bai" by Wu Shuangjiang, seemed like someone who never got angry and was easy to talk to.
Inside the pavilion, there were no outsiders. Yu Chou and his Dao companion were flirting. The man reached out to touch Xie Chuntiao's thigh, gently rubbing. This elasticity—could those so-called beauties who were skin and bones have it? What did young people know?
Xie Chuntiao punched her man's hand. Yu Chou yelped, shaking his arm.
This man was like a lustful ghost reincarnated, bothering her day and night. Now that the palace master and the guests were about to arrive at the mountaintop, he still dared to be so improper.

Two sword cultivators, one old and one young, flew in on their swords before Wu Shuangjiang appeared at the summit.
Cheng Quan, already seeing the flirting in the pavilion from afar, walked up the steps and chuckled, "If you untie her hair bun, wouldn't the boy be holding the reins and riding a big horse?"
Yu Chou's eyes first lit up, then he looked dejected, "Wouldn't dare, haven't tried, don't know how it tastes."
Xie Chuntiao, who loved dirty talk, wasn't afraid. She shot a flirtatious glance at Cheng Quan, "Too bad you only have quick tongue skills. I wonder how your 'sword technique' rates in length and ability."
Cheng Quan laughed heartily, "Having tongue skills—isn't that enough?"
The woman laughed, "An old bachelor like you, besides talking big, probably never even had the chance to 'oil the gun' before, right?"
The young-looking sword cultivator beside Cheng Quan said impatiently, "You two flirting like this—disgusting, isn't it?"
Yu Chou, who had been somewhat jealous, suddenly got upset. "Nalan Shaowei, if you find it disgusting, your ears are on your own head. If you can't stand it, don't listen."
Nalan Shaowei swore, "You two are truly a perfect match."
Cheng Quan, who had been about to retort more, saw figures at the distant peak and swallowed his dirty words.
Back home, Cheng Qian had rarely lost arguments. Only one person could beat him: the Hidden Official Chen Ping'an, with whom he had fought side by side on the city wall.
Actually, he wasn't entirely convinced, because Chen Ping'an used various dialects from Haoran Heaven in arguments, and Cheng Quan couldn't understand them at all. How could he argue back?
Wu Hui, who had once worked as a waitress at the Stork Inn in Inverted Suspension Mountain, was disguised as a girl named "Year Window Flower." She couldn't help asking, "Cheng Quan, is Chen Ping'an really that good at cursing?"
In her memory, when Chen Ping'an passed through Inverted Suspension Mountain twice, he stayed at the Stork Inn. That young man carrying a sword on his back seemed gentle, polite, and simple.
Cheng Quan nodded, "Formidable, very formidable. Even combined with some useless person, we couldn't out-argue the Hidden Official. If you don't believe me, ask Nalan, the old sword immortal. He's experienced it too."
Nalan Shaowei nodded, "It's very formidable. First he opened a wine shop, then went to the Summer Palace, and his speech became more and more sarcastic. Every word was like a flying sword, stabbing at the heart."
Wu Hui said, "Then it's the atmosphere of your Sword Qi Great Wall that's problematic. I remember when Chen Ping'an first arrived at Inverted Suspension Mountain, he was polite and well-behaved. Not only didn't he argue, he wouldn't even blush."
If the Hidden Official Chen had been present, he would have given her a thumbs-up and sincerely praised, "Miss Nian, your insight is truly sharp."
Xie Chuntiao covered her mouth and laughed, "He really is a proper gentleman. Aside from being a bit dark-skinned, looking thin but sturdy. I remember once in the inn corridor, I stumbled, falling toward that young man. Guess what? His first thought was not to pity the beauty. He suppressed his instinct to punch, sidestepped, watched me fall to the ground, and finally asked, 'Are you okay?'"
Yu Chou praised, "Our Hidden Official is truly a gentleman!"
But in his heart, he was grumbling: encountering such a voluptuous beauty and not taking advantage? Was he blind or stupid? What a fool, this Chen Ping'an.

In total, sixteen sword cultivators from the Sword Qi Great Wall had come. Nine were now in White Jade Capital, six in Suichu Palace, and one in Qizhou's Xuandu Temple.
Among them, the guardian old sword cultivator Cheng Quan, at the Nascent Soul realm, was in Suichu Palace. His sword case, wrapped in cotton cloth, rested on the Resting Dragon Stone.
Ostensibly, there were sixteen, but actually seventeen sword cultivators had come to this heaven. The true guardian was naturally not just the Nascent Soul realm Cheng Quan.
The old sword immortal who now served as a nominal honorary elder in Suichu Palace's ancestral hall seemed to have resolved some knot. Not long ago, he voluntarily requested a private-register Dao permit from Suichu Palace and became a Dao official.
Also obtaining a private-register permit was a young boy—none other than Nalan Shaowei, one of the top ten sword immortals of the Sword Qi Great Wall. On the sect's gold and jade register, he used his real name.
This "old sword immortal" was reincarnated using the life-sustaining lamp hidden in his sword case. Suichu Palace showed great sincerity, providing a rare immortal corpse of a Flying Ascension sword cultivator.
These days, the "young Dao boy" Nalan Shaowei often went to the Stork Tower to play chess with Gao Ping. In Nalan Shaowei's own words, their chess skills were matched, with wins and losses.
Cheng Quan spoke bluntly: "Anyone with half a brain knows you've never won. You've lost over and over again. Your spirit is commendable. No wonder you became a sword immortal in your past life."
Nalan Shaowei ignored this big-mouthed nuisance.

Zhang Yuanbo asked, "Li Yaoshi, will you play chess with the palace master or with Gao Ping?"
Nalan Shaowei said, "No need to bring out Gao Ping. I can handle the guests perfectly well."
Gao Ping was Suichu Palace's registrar Dao official, also titled "Literature." He had two Dao names, "Taihang" and "Zouge."
After becoming chess friends, Gao Ping liked to ask Nalan Shaowei about the details of the Sword Qi Great Wall's final battle during games. Over time, they got familiar, and the usually taciturn Gao Ping opened up a bit, calling himself a defeated general, an unpardonable sinner of a fallen country. Now with nothing to do, he only wanted to wage battles on paper.
Nalan Shaowei didn't press for details.

About the Haoran and Colorful heavens, the seemingly omniscient Palace Master Wu Shuangjiang had revealed much inside information to Nalan Shaowei.
Nalan Caihuan, that kid, was doing well, even becoming the sect master of Rain Dragon Sect.
Gao Yeyu was a son-in-law of the Nalan clan and now held the top position in Flying Ascension City's Spring Mansion.
Hearing the words "wage battles," Yu Chou's imagination ran wild. He wanted to ask for a bargain: could he ride horseback tonight? He quietly raised his elbow, "intending" to gently tap his Dao companion's arm, but "accidentally" collided with a mountain.
Xie Chuntiao slapped him across the face. The sound was crisp, and the man nearly fell flat on the ground.

Standing atop the Resting Dragon Platform, looking at the Stork Tower on the shore, Li Yaoshi couldn't help sighing, "Want to go up the high tower to avoid sorrow, but found sorrow everywhere. Only when sorrowful guests come down does the tower become empty."
After retiring from merit, he died and became a spirit, receiving incense offerings, then entered White Jade Capital's Lingbao City to live in seclusion.
Li Yaoshi had maintained a state of yin-shen leaving the body and traveling far. An avatar wandered the mortal world as a traveling physician, saving lives and curing diseases.
Inside his private arena, Manifest Spirit Temple, his true body's study was named "Youdao Room."
Not long ago, a female vice-city lord from Lingbao City had visited Manifest Spirit Temple, implying she wanted Li Yaoshi to come out of retirement to lead the Dao officials in one city and two towers' jurisdiction.
But Li Yaoshi only answered with a riddle-like phrase: "Peace flowers follow crabapple flowers."
There were many such heroic spirits like Li Yaoshi in White Jade Capital's five cities and twelve towers, some prominent, some hidden.
As for the exact number, Li Yaoshi hadn't looked into it, but estimated at least over three hundred.

At this moment in Suichu Palace, there was also a master-disciple trio who had arrived earlier than Li Yaoshi and Zhang Xian.
They were temporarily in seclusion at a landscape secret realm called Cuohe Mountain.
Bao Lin's two direct disciples, Lu Yi and Qiu Yuyi, had both met that Cai Daohuang. Especially the young female sword cultivator—she loved asking the old gentleman about historical perfect matches. During breaks from sword practice, the young boy, who wasn't really interested in these things, just watched her ask questions, his eyes full of her.
Bao Lin had learned that Gao Gu, Dao name "Juyue," the world's foremost alchemist, had simultaneously stepped down as Huayang Palace's palace master and Difu Mountain's mountain master.
This itself was a long-distance greeting between Huayang Palace and Suichu Palace.
It meant that for the upcoming Dao-seeking journey to White Jade Capital (whose exact date was not yet set), Gao Gu would surely travel with her and Wu Shuangjiang.
Since Wu Shuangjiang had personally promised to guide the two direct disciples' cultivation,
Bao Lin, no fool, could guess the truth.
For that joint Dao-seeking journey to White Jade Capital, she harbored a death wish, prepared not to return. That would certainly be the result.
But Wu Shuangjiang had a plan to return alive. How he would manage that, Bao Lin didn't care.
That was fine. Bao Lin had no regrets.
This was best.
Those who were good at chess all had opening moves, midgame, and endgame.

Mizhou.
Located at the northernmost part of Qingming Heaven, with abundant mountain fortune. The mountain ranges stretched but none were high. Only Leap Month Peak stood out among thousands of mountains.
At the foot of Leap Month Peak flowed the Weak Water River.
Under the moon and sparse stars, sitting atop the peak, a cultivator could reach out and pluck a bright moon.
Lu Tai lay drunk on a large rock, hands behind his head, legs crossed. Beside him sat Yuan Ying, who was determined to sleep with him.
Yuan Ying asked curiously, "How did you get a vice-sect master title?"
According to their prior agreement, her yet-to-be-married husband Lu Tai was just supposed to replace Xin Ku as the chief offering.
But the landscape gazettes of the prefectures said otherwise.
Yuan Ying didn't mind, of course, but Shi Xingyuan had some complaints. She wasn't jealous of Lu Tai's "glorious" status. She said that such matters should be discussed with everyone beforehand. Earlier, Shi Xingyuan had left the thatched hut and went to confront Lu Tai. At the time, the vice-sect master was busy making ink molds. He raised both hands, fingers together, and poked at the furious female Daoist, accusing her of rudeness and daring, asking how she spoke to the vice-sect master and chief offering... He was so disrespectful he almost got beaten.
Zhang Fenghai mediated by saying that if Shi Xingyuan wanted, she could also be a vice-sect master.
Shi Xingyuan was so angry she turned pale, threw her sleeves, and left. A sect—so frivolous?!
Lu Tai shouted after her, righteous-faced, "To help our sect gain fame faster, what does a little personal suffering matter!"
Such a fair and reasonable statement couldn't even convince Shi Xingyuan. Lu Tai was so annoyed he whistled to lure that dog "Lu Chen" into the house, then stepped on its tail, crouched down, pressed its head, and scolded it, "Dog! You really are a dog! All you do is eat without work! A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory!"
Xin Ku, focused on making ink, said impatiently, "Get out!"
Lu Tai grabbed the dog by the neck and threw it out of the house.
Xin Ku added, "You too!"
Lu Tai dropped to the ground and actually rolled out of the house.
Xin Ku's face darkened.
Zhang Fenghai smiled, "You can have him roll back in."
The harmonious relationship within the sect was evident.

Tonight was peaceful. The pine wind had stopped. In the southeast and northwest of the mortal world, mountain light suddenly fell. Weak Water floated the bright moon.
Zhang Fenghai walked out of the arena, carrying two jugs of wine. He threw one to Lu Tai, then with a tip of his toe, floated to a rock near a cliff.
He didn't sit but stood drinking, gazing at the scenery beyond the mountains.
After leaving Zhenyue Palace's Smoke Cloud Cave, Zhang Fenghai did only two things, one obvious, one hidden.
He convinced the martial artist Xin Ku to use Leap Month Peak as the sect's foundation. This was now known to all.
The other thing was to continue the great Dao deduction he had started in the cave.
With Lu Tai's support and help, Zhang Fenghai obtained a clearer, more precise answer.
Previously, Zhang Fenghai could only calculate a vague statement on a long clay tablet: "The Dao is lost for three hundred years, then this lord appears."
Now, two characters had changed.
"Three" changed to "five," and "this" changed to "Chen."
Thus: "The Dao is lost for five hundred years, then Lord Chen appears."
Unlike the previous arrangement, this time Zhang Fenghai obtained a nine-character prophecy in the form of a ring, like a palindrome inscribed on a jade bracelet.
Upon seeing the prophecy, Lu Tai feigned alarm, hopping around like an ant on a hot pan, muttering that it might be about his friend, and this absolutely must not reach White Jade Capital's ears. Grand Sect Master, this little one kowtows to you...
But both sides knew the truth: "The Dao is lost for five hundred years, then Lord Chen appears" actually referred to White Jade Capital's Great Chief Instructor Kou Ming.
In Pearl Cave Heaven, Fulu Street Li clan, the graveyard pagoda tree. The family matriarch favored her second son. During a family custom, the matriarch heard "mortal peach and ordinary plum" without anger; she even gave out joy money. But when she heard "substituting a rotten peach for a good plum," she was furious... The eldest son was Li Xisheng; his younger siblings were Li Baozhen and Li Baoping.
In a remote small kingdom called Qinghao Guo in Beiju Luzhou, there was a place called Dongxian Street. Li Xisheng once stayed there. Among the neighbors was a scholar named Chen Baozhou.
Turning to glance at Zhang Fenghai standing and drinking, Lu Tai teased, "Sect Master, standing like that, you're elegant indeed, but who are you showing off to?"
Zhang Fenghai ignored him.
Lu Tai had to admit that even among cultivation geniuses, there were levels. Zhang Fenghai belonged to the top tier. Lu Tai had never seen someone with such good talent.
Zhang Fenghai asked, "Three hundred years or five hundred—if the Great Chief Instructor has to wait so long to clean up the realm, will the world just remain chaotic in the meantime?"
Lu Tai chuckled, "Now you know the awkward position of fortune-telling Daoists, right? No matter how you go round, you can't escape: 'If fate is thus, where should I be?'"
Zhang Fenghai fell silent.
Lu Tai sat up, took a big gulp of wine, smacked his lips. Truly good wine.
Yuan Ying looked greedy, "Let me have a sip too?"
Lu Tai glared and scolded, "I've never seen good looks prioritized over virtue!"
Actually, Yuan Ying had good talent too, but she was too lazy. A girl, always thinking about wedding night and the value of spring nights—unseemly!
Yuan Ying let out a "ha."
Lu Tai said offhandedly, "The Barren Heaven has also produced some formidable figures. Grand Sect Master, when can we meet a few of them?"
Zhang Fenghai said, "Before Xin Ku and I each advance further, unless there are five Flying Ascension realm masters, only then could we travel the Barren Heaven without major incident."
Lu Tai sighed, "Then you and Xin Ku need to work harder."
Yuan Ying burst into laughter.
Zhang Fenghai knew the "formidable" figures Lu Tai referred to.
Fei Ran, Shou Chen, Zhou Qinggao.
These were the hottest big shots in the Barren Heaven now.
Two Flying Ascension sword cultivators who had broken through just days ago. Fei Ran, as the overlord of the Barren Heaven, had the highest status, but Shou Chen had the highest prestige both on and off the mountains.
As for Zhou Qinggao, originally named Mu Ji, he was more known as the closed-door disciple of Wen Hai Zhou Mi. Since he was inseparable from Fei Ran all year, he often appeared in public and became well-known in the Barren Heaven.
But in truth, people underestimated Zhou Qinggao's fortune.
Zhou Mi had no ordinary regard for this personally named direct disciple, the former youth leader of the Jia Shen Tent.
Now, Zhou Qinggao's yang-shen external body was made from the remnants of the old throne demon Bai Ying, personally refined by Zhou Mi. Additionally, the remnants of Huang Luan and Qie Yun were embedded into Zhou Qinggao's soul and po. That wasn't enough; Zhou Mi had specially left for this disciple a tailor-made celestial technique. Just as the master had once leaped from the Willow Tendon realm to heaven in one step, the disciple followed the steps directly into the Jade Embryo realm.
In less than ten years, Zhou Qinggao was at the Immortal realm.
How many levels had he jumped?
Not to mention that Zhou Mi had left a considerable portion of his collected books and secret manuscripts to this book-loving closed-door disciple.
It was obvious: give Zhou Qinggao a few more centuries of cultivation—say three to five hundred years—and with his mixed skills, he would likely become the Barren Heaven's Liu Qi.
Give him more time, and his Dao achievements would be at least equal to Liu Qi's, possibly even higher, such as both at the fourteenth realm.
Zhou Qinggao's senior brother, the sword immortal Shou Chen, was gifted by his master three immortal-grade swords.
As for his senior sister Liu Bai, she only got one immortal-grade and one semi-immortal-grade: a Dharma robe called "Little Heavenly Realm" and a matching green lotus crown.

Lu Tai held the wine jug in one hand and lightly tapped his knee with the other, singing a poem repeatedly in his native dialect: "Grasses on the plain, one year withered, one year lush..."

Youzhou.
Night was deep. At the ancient battlefield site of Zhuolu, a small Dao temple called Golden Flower Temple was beside Tiger Deer Town.
Zhu Lu couldn't fall asleep. Since she was awake, she left her guest room and strolled in the courtyard. She found Lu Chen squatting on the steps, reading a book by moonlight.
Seeing this White Jade Capital chief instructor, Zhu Lu felt complicated. Lu Chen had once been a reception Daoist here about a hundred years ago, a dusty old story.
Since this temple was a private-register jungle, it was obscure for a reason: no high-ranking cultivators inside. The previous temple master was only a hard-won Cave Dwelling realm.
This time, when Lu Chen returned to the temple, he knocked on the door and started spouting nonsense: "This humble Daoist has no talent. My ancestral home is Quyuan, my Dao name Sanmu. I'm traveling with a friend. We pause here for rest, stay a few days, then leave. I humbly thank you in advance..."
No matter how small the temple, offering a few vegetarian meals was no problem. But when Lu Chen entered the dining hall that day with Zhu Lu, she sensed something wrong. Lu Chen just lowered his head to eat. When the temple master questioned him, he refused to look up. Even so, "Lu Chen" was still recognized by the current abbot, who slammed the table and started cursing. The old Daoist forgot all propriety. If not for the other Daoists holding him back, the white-bearded old master might have come to blows with this "former reception Daoist."
The temple was poor. When Lu, the former receptionist, had been in charge, he was a spendthrift, often bringing friends to eat and drink at the temple's expense.
If that were all, the temple might have endured it. But the problem was that on the day "Lu Qi" stepped down as receptionist, under the cover of dark night, he swept away all the gold and valuables the temple master and the elders had accumulated. Before leaving, this despicable Daoist even wrote on the main hall wall: "This place doesn't keep me; there's always a place that will."
The first to see that heinous sentence was the current temple master, who had been a sweeping boy back then.
In fact, before that, the boy and the receptionist Lu Qi had a good relationship. The child loved listening to Lu's tall tales without a script.
The boy, now an old Daoist temple master, never dreamed that this scoundrel would have the nerve to come back for free meals. He had to settle old and new scores!
Since guests were guests, physical violence was inappropriate. The old temple master ordered the Daoists to be vigilant, not to slack on night patrols, and told the current receptionist to be careful: if the wood charcoal in the room ran out, don't replenish it, and don't add oil to the lamp. As for that Lu fellow, don't let him near the dining hall. The temple would deliver meals to his room: steamed buns and porridge, three meals a day, enough to fill his stomach.
That's why Lu Chen was reading with such hardship tonight.

Near the temple was a high mountain. A passing purple-robed monk rested there. He glanced at the small temple and let out an "oh," clearly surprised.
He took a step and appeared at the temple gate. He knocked gently, and the sound echoed in a courtyard with a strange rhythm, like knocking a wooden fish or chanting a precious proclamation.
"Beheading the giant turtle to stabilize the four poles; molding yellow earth to give life to all things."
Zhu Lu, who was practicing fist techniques in the courtyard, turned to look at Lu Chen.
Lu Chen put away his book, coughed a few times, thought a moment, and replied:
"Together we cook bamboo shoots at Bitter Bamboo Temple; then step down to pick lotus roots on Lotus Flower Isle."
Zhu Lu was baffled. Was this a code between Chief Instructor Lu and some worldly master?
Lu Chen lowered his voice, "I made it up. Even if we lose, we need to keep up appearances."
Zhu Lu actually believed that was the truth.
Lu Chen said, "The one who knocked on the door—'the monk knocks on the moonlit door'—uses the alias Jiang Xiu."
Zhu Lu was shocked. It was him?!
In the latest list of the world's ten alternate candidates, though there were many—twenty-one—the only one confirmed as "world's eleventh" among the alternates was the monk Jiang Xiu.
The other twenty were not ranked above each other.
Lu Chen nodded. "With my identity here, naturally the daily visitors are no low hands. This temple never understood my good intentions, always thinking those Flying Ascension cultivators were con artists mooching meals. How unjust for me, the temple's reception Daoist."
Zhu Lu took a deep breath, ready to welcome that master. But instead, Lu Chen laughed, "He ran away. Oh wait, he left."
She nearly took a sword to him.
Lu Chen tilted his head as if listening. After a moment, he suddenly stomped his foot, called the temple master by name, and shouted, "How can you treat guests like this? I have merit for this temple! I want wine and meat!"
Zhu Lu covered her forehead, vowing never to travel with Lu Chen again.

Bingzhou, Qing Divine Dynasty.
Yao Qing returned from the Great Tide Sect in Yinzhou and found Bai Ou at his residence, looking depressed.
Yao Qing pretended not to know what was going on and asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"
Bai Ou explained, "That Azure Firmament Cave Master brought a strange sword cultivator called 'Mosheng' not long ago. They're in the capital now. The latter is teaching sword techniques to Fu Xuanjie."
Yao Qing said, "That's good news. Why are you frowning, State Preceptor?"
Bai Ou became even more glum.
Yao Qing couldn't help laughing, "Alright, so he scolded you a bit. It's no big deal. You're a state preceptor; broaden your mind."
Bai Ou was aggrieved. It wasn't that simple. Earlier, when they met, she just asked a few extra questions, and the old Daoist not only told her to mind her own business but also insulted Yao Qing.
Yao Qing smiled, "Azure Firmament Cave Master doesn't sc