Chapter 1073: Ask About Fist, Ask About Dao, Ask About Sword – All Together Now
Liu Xu walked out of the Lotus Root Blessed Land, ripples gently spreading, and arrived at a courtyard. An umbrella bloomed like a flower, suspended in the air, slowly rotating. Liu Xu appeared within the "cool shade."
At the "doorway" stood a straight-backed little girl in black, her head slowly turning, twisting to the far left then moving her gaze to the right, cycling back and forth, which she called patrolling.
Nearby was a white-haired child, responsible for recording the exact times outsiders entered and exited the Blessed Land. This compiler official of Luopo Mountain served as a gate guardian alongside the little girl with a cotton satchel slung across her shoulder.
Liu Xu only learned upon reaching Luopo Mountain that this place was called Jiling Peak, but the mountain’s Founder Hall was located on Jise Peak, which was a secondary peak, not the main mountain.
Because the mountain lord, the head steward Zhu Lian, and the disciplinary elder Changming were all currently away from the mountain, the "key" to opening the Blessed Land had been entrusted to Nuan Shu. A special residence had been built on the mountain specifically to store the Parasol Tree Umbrella. In fact, aside from a simple concealment technique, no mountain or water restrictions had been set up around this residence.
After first being registered at the mountain gate, the current head of the Luoma River Liu clan said he wanted to discuss some matters with Mountain Lord Chen. Upon hearing that Chen Ping'an had gone to the Blessed Land, Liu Xu originally planned to wait. The pink-skirted girl asked if it was urgent, and Liu Xu said not particularly; he could wait. So the pink-skirted girl asked Sword Immortal Liu to wait a moment, then ran off to find Wei Wenlong, the manager of the Spring Treasury who held the highest official post on the mountain at the time. With Wei Wenlong's approval, Nuan Shu opened the Parasol Tree Umbrella, which led to Liu Xu's trip to Autumn Qi Lake. Before setting off, Liu Xu took out a bag of Grain Rain Coins, saying that according to regulations, when a cultivator entered and exited a Blessed Land, some spiritual qi would leak out, and there was a chance some luck would adhere to them and be carried out, much like mountain climbing where one’s clothes get wet with dew and clouds. So this money counted as travel expenses. Nuan Shu simply shook her head and said it wasn’t necessary—Sword Immortal Liu was a good friend of their mountain lord, so there was no need to be so particular. If the mountain lord found out about this afterwards, he would surely blame her for being a poor host... At the time, the white-haired child just grinned, thinking that no matter who the Hidden Official blamed, it wouldn’t fall on Nuan Shu. However, Liu Xu insisted on paying, saying otherwise he would just wait outside for Chen Ping'an to return. The pink-skirted girl couldn’t argue with this solemn-looking Sword Immortal from the Luoma River Liu clan, so she had to temporarily accept the bag of immortal coins, which was quite heavy in her hand.
They definitely weren’t Snow Flower Coins or Small Heat Coins.
Liu Xu returned to Jiling Peak and soon took his leave, declining the little girl in black’s offer to see him down the mountain. He returned alone to Oxhorn Ferry, boarded the Ever-Spring Palace’s ferry boat, and continued his southern journey.
But before parting, Liu Xu invited his "fellow townsman" Xiao Mili to visit the Luoma River Liu clan whenever she had time, saying that his clan all thought the liquor from Mute Lake was excellent and that they greatly admired and felt honored by Guardian Zhou, who served as the mountain guardian of Luopo Mountain.
This delighted Xiao Mili, who stuffed all the dried fish from her cotton satchel into Sword Immortal Liu’s hands, saying he could take them as appetizers for his drinks. Liu Xu didn’t stand on ceremony, saying that back at the tavern, the second manager often said that pairing the dried fish from their mountain with spirits was a unique treat, unmatched in flavor.
When Nuan Shu later handed the money bag to Accountant Wei, Wei Wenlong opened it and discovered that while the top layer did indeed contain Grain Rain Coins, beneath them were all priceless Gold Essence Bronze Coins.
After carefully counting them, there were thirty-six ancient-style Gold Essence Bronze Coins, quite different from the Welcome Spring Coins, Offering Coins, and Victory Pressing Coins from the old town back in the day.
The white-haired child clicked his tongue in wonder, repeatedly praising how rich the Luoma River Liu clan truly was, how generous Sword Immortal Liu was, and how there was no denying the Hidden Official Ancestor’s knack for making friends!
It seemed to be a complete set of "Big Dipper Cluster of Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits" Gold Essence Bronze Coins. On one side were engraved star names and a propitious phrase, with city outlines carved at the bottom. On the other side were celestial star charts and a radiantly haloed guardian deity seated in command... Even Wei Wenlong, widely read as he was, didn’t know the origin or reason for minting these coins. They could probably ask Cui Dongshan, who was currently receiving guests in another mansion, but it was obvious that these old Gold Essence Bronze Coins, with their excellent quality and beauty, were worth far more than ordinary ones.
Earlier, at the mountain gate, Liu Xu had seen a mysterious middle-aged man in blue robes. The man clasped his fists and smiled at Liu Xu, saying, "Zhou Fei, chief offering of Luopo Mountain, greets Clan Head Liu."
Originally, when Jiang Shangzhen heard that someone from the Luoma River in North Juzhou had come to Luopo Mountain, he had started hiding in Brother Dafeng’s mountain-foot residence, unwilling to show himself. But after opening a certain ledger and carefully calculating, he thought, "Wait, I never provoked any woman from the Luoma River Liu clan back then. The Liu clan only has good relations with the neighboring Yuan clan of Sanlang Temple. I’ve lived an upright life, so there’s no reason for me to hide and avoid people." So he lay in wait here, waiting for Liu Xu to appear.
Liu Xu stopped, clasped his fists in return, and said, "Liu Xu of Luoma River greets Old Sect Leader Jiang."
If not for the fact that Jiang Shangzhen had lived up to the title of "Sword Immortal" during the battle on Tongye Continent, which had improved many on North Juzhou’s opinion of him, Liu Xu wouldn’t have been willing to stop and greet him. Otherwise, as the local saying went, "If you’re rich, be rich; if your realm is high, be high—I just won’t stick to you." Besides, even if Liu Xu didn’t think gossip was fearsome, better to have less trouble than more. He really didn’t want to get mud on his pants, because if North Juzhou found out he had shared a drink with Jiang Shangzhen, the reputation of the Luoma River Liu clan would be ruined.
So when Jiang Shangzhen offered to escort Liu Xu to Oxhorn Ferry, Liu Xu flatly refused his kindness.
He only said that nowadays in North Juzhou, whenever the young Hidden Official was mentioned, people felt a small regret, a sense of a flaw in an otherwise perfect jade—how could they have let that Jiang thief become a nominal offering?
But soon they made excuses for the young Hidden Official, assuming that Luopo Mountain must have been truly short of money back then, allowing the wealthy Jiang thief to find a loophole and occupy a sinecure at Luopo Mountain. This showed how difficult it must have been for Mountain Lord Chen when he first founded his sect in his hometown. He must have been so poor he couldn’t even keep the pot boiling. But that Jiang thief’s face was too thick—he should have taken his profit and gotten out! What was he doing shamelessly staying on the mountain, ruining the good reputation of Chen Hidden Official and Luopo Mountain?
Nowadays, whenever a visitor came to Luopo Mountain and sat down for tea at the mountain gate or came up to drink, Luopo Mountain would present them with a sword talisman forged back in the day by the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect.
Using heart-to-heart communication, Liu Xu said, "I’d trouble Old Sect Leader Jiang to pass a message to Mountain Lord Chen. That bag of immortal coins is my personal congratulatory gift. The subsequent business between Luopo Mountain and the Liu clan will be calculated separately."
That bag of Gold Essence Bronze Coins had been sent to Liu Xu by flying sword from the Luoma River Liu clan after a swift reply.
Jiang Shangzhen nodded. "A small matter. Happy to oblige."
Zheng Dafeng sat on a bamboo chair beside Immortal Wei, closed his book, and laughed. "He clearly looks like an old man with a story."
Jiang Shangzhen nodded. "The Luoma River Liu clan is enough to fill a dozen or so martial arts legends."
Zheng Dafeng exclaimed in surprise, "This guy is the current clan head of the Luoma River Liu clan in North Juzhou?"
He slapped his forehead and clicked his tongue in wonder. "Now I remember. You really can’t judge a book by its cover. I never expected that the sword cultivator who produced such an untroublesome tablet could be such a great scholar, yet dressed like this when he goes out!"
Jiang Shangzhen smiled. "That’s why he gets along with the mountain lord."
Back at that drinking table in the Great Li capital, Chen Ping'an had placed three Gold Essence Bronze Coins on the table.
"Liu Xu, do you have this kind of Gold Essence Bronze Coin? Is the Luoma River Liu clan willing to sell?"
"I don’t have any on hand, but if the Luoma River Liu clan has any in storage, they will definitely be willing to sell."
"Not too difficult?"
"If anyone else asked this kind of question, the Luoma River Liu clan wouldn’t entertain them. But for you, fine. Self-penalty, one bowl."
Business was business; sword cultivators were sword cultivators.
Inside the private residence of the Great White Goose, Cui Dongshan pulled along his senior sister Pei Qian, receiving the talisman master Yu Xuan as a guest.
Jun Qian and Bai Ye seemed to be acting as secondary hosts. This made the old true man feel incredibly honored. This trip to Luopo Mountain on Vase Continent had been a huge gain.
In the history of the Hao Ran world, there were very few immortal palaces that could simultaneously possess a legitimate ancestral court and both an upper and lower sect.
Yu Xuan’s Peach Talisman Mountain happened to be one of them.
On the surface, the old true man had come to see Pei Qian. Back on Golden Armor Continent, when he had seen Pei Qian cleaning up the battlefield, the old true man had taken a good liking to the little girl—she was a steady person who took her earnings properly.
There were two other reasons. One was to meet the tiger-head-hatted youth, who was also a guest here. As the years passed, Yu Xuan and this "most arrogant man in the world" had never had a proper chat, so he needed to make up for that. The other was that the old true man wanted to meet the self-proclaimed "Little Dragon King of Luopo Mountain," Daoist Jing Qing. Previously, in the celestial river of the outer world, the old scholar had roughly recounted some of the glorious deeds of the green-clothed child, which sparked Yu Xuan’s interest. How bold did one have to be to address Zheng Juzhong as "nephew" to his face?
Chen Lingjun was originally unwilling to join the Great White Goose in entertaining Yu Xuan, after all, this venerable old true man from the Central Lands was listed among the earliest pages of *The Passerby Collection*.
But the old true man specifically requested that Daoist Jing Qing join them for a few drinks. This stunned the green-clothed child, who reluctantly took a seat, sitting stiff and upright. Whenever Yu Xuan casually struck up a conversation, Chen Lingjun’s gaze would wander, never meeting the old true man’s eyes. If he could explain something in two words, he absolutely wouldn’t use three.
This naturally made the old true man wonder: Could it be that my reputation on Luopo Mountain is bad?
No, that couldn’t be. He remembered that when Pei Qian left the battlefield, she had sincerely said a few words, mentioning that her master had once told her, "Talismans have no equal in Yu; killing immortals’ spirit is subtle." Wasn’t that a pretty high compliment?
So much so that in recent years, the landscape gazettes of his three sects had frequently borrowed and copied this saying. It was said that the outside world also greatly approved, finding it quite apt and a perfect match for the old true man.
Yu Xuan asked curiously, "Sect Leader Cui, that sword boat?"
Cui Dongshan belched, grinned, and said, "It’s a congratulatory gift that some old bastard reserved for my master. Ha, I, the student, intercepted it. Now I’m just worried about how to explain it to my master without getting a spanking."
It was indeed a congratulatory gift from Xiu Hu to his junior brother Chen Ping'an for his sect’s founding. The "Bing Ding" sword boat had long been secretly extracted from the Great Li military sequence.
What was the master’s was the student’s. The upper sect Luopo Mountain wasn’t a sword-cultivation sect, after all, so Sect Leader Cui had just poached it.
As for the sword boat’s function, it was completely different from the fake Jade Capital over the Great River of the accompanying capital. The latter specialized in killing high-level cultivators, while the former had been the nightmare of the ancient barbarian army’s goblin formations on the battlefield. As long as the sword boat predetermined the battlefield’s position and longitude-latitude coordinates, a single massive sword boat hovering outside the battlefield could, with just one volley from afar, pinpoint and clear a location a thousand li away. Dense flying swords would fall like heavy rain over the land, sweeping across a battlefield of dozens of li in one go.
When thirty Great Li sword boats hovered simultaneously outside a battlefield, the downpour was torrential, with hundreds of thousands of flying swords shooting together, covering nearly a thousand li of land.
Cui Dongshan asked, "Old Immortal Yu, have you come to our mountain as a guest today to first lend out high-interest loans, then come knocking to collect debts?"
Yu Xuan looked embarrassed and waved his hand. "No such thing."
Pei Qian looked bewildered. Lending out high-interest loans? Had the old true man done this to her master?
Chen Lingjun, who had been sitting upright and silent, admired his own foresight. See? These lofty seniors listed earlier in *The Passerby Collection*—were they fearsome or not?
They had even come in person to demand money! A rare occurrence!
Lucky for him, he hadn’t gotten cocky and wagged his tail just because he had managed to scrape an acquaintance with Jing Hao, the Green Palace Grand Guardian of Flowing Xia Continent.
He would add a few lines to the booklet later, circle all five Central Lands sects including Peach Talisman Mountain, and annotate in the margin: "Take a detour."
Cui Dongshan furtively glanced at the tiger-head-hatted youth.
Bai Ye said calmly, "A debt must be repaid; that’s only natural."
He clearly didn’t want Cui Dongshan to borrow his authority to intimidate others. Since Mountain Lord Chen dared to borrow high-interest loans from Yu Xuan and Peach Talisman Mountain, he certainly had to repay them.
Jun Qian nodded. "Even if it’s money scraped from under one’s fingernails, it’s still money. Bai Ye’s impartial remark is reasonable."
Yu Xuan looked even more embarrassed.
So you two are playing good cop, bad cop.
Earlier, beyond the celestial realm, Zheng Juzhong, claiming to "have exactly three hundred Gold Essence Bronze Coins at hand," had lent them to Chen Ping'an to temporarily shore up his lifebound flying sword, Moon in the Well, raising its rank. They could be converted at a ratio of one to ten, meaning three thousand Grain Rain Coins to repay the debt, with three percent annual interest.
But Chen Ping'an had needed five hundred Gold Essence Bronze Coins at the time, so Yu Xuan had also taken out three hundred. They had agreed on a barter exchange, not converted to Grain Rain Coins, with compound interest and three percent annual interest. So Cui Dongshan was not wrong to call it high-interest lending.
However, according to Chen Ping'an’s plan, the mountain’s Spring Treasury had three hundred Gold Essence Bronze Coins in stock. He simply wanted to be free of debt and quickly repay this "favor debt." But he really didn’t trust flying sword messaging to deliver items, as some wild mountain cultivators who didn’t fear taboos liked to intercept flying swords. So Chen Ping'an planned to have Xie Gou carry this large sum and personally travel to Fill Gold Peak on Peach Talisman Mountain in the Central Lands. As for the three thousand Grain Rain Coins he owed White Emperor City, that was no immediate crisis. Considering the revenue from Han Qiaose’s initiative to buy books from Chen Ping'an, he believed that hole would be filled soon enough.
According to Zheng Juzhong’s estimate at the time, to give Chen Ping'an’s lifebound flying sword another major upgrade and raise its rank, he would still need roughly one thousand five hundred Gold Essence Bronze Coins.
If converted at Zheng Juzhong’s rate, that would be fifteen thousand Grain Rain Coins for Chen Ping'an to raise one lifebound flying sword’s rank.
This showed just how expensive sword cultivation was. It was like eating mountains of gold and silver. No wonder it was said there were no wealthy sword cultivators under heaven—they were either in debt or on their way to being in debt.
That was Lu Zhi, who had once consumed several Jade Capital sword-washing talismans, and also Hao Su, who had once thought of becoming the city lord of Green Emerald City.
The old true man was the founding ancestor of Peach Talisman Mountain in the Central Lands, with his cultivation site on Fill Gold Peak.
The world-renowned "one mountain, five sects"—one ancestral court, one upper sect, three lower sects—was unique not only in the Hao Ran world but across several worlds.
Peach Talisman Mountain simultaneously possessed a top-tier blessed land and a small Yunmeng cave heaven, as well as two medium-tier blessed lands, "Old Pit" and "Hundred Refinements," that gushed wealth.
Except for Jingwei Temple, presided over by Yu Xuan’s disciple-in-succession Zhao Wenmin (the "Pine Snow Daoist"), which was slightly poorer, the other four sect-level immortal mansions were individually wealthy, with deep foundations.
So Jun Qian’s remark that that sum was pocket change Yu Xuan had scraped from under his fingernails indeed did not wrong the old true man, who had "never worried about money throughout his smooth cultivation life."
Damn it, these disciples of the Wen Sheng lineage all talked as if they were cut from the same mold.
At the time, beyond the celestial realm, Yu Xuan’s "senior demeanor" had been slightly lacking, because the old true man was also in need of a large amount of Gold Essence Bronze Coins—the more, the better. This was because, in the past few centuries, Yu Xuan had been meticulously developing two grand talismans that had never been revealed. Both involved the "River of Time." In the way of talismans, besides competing in the variety of grand talismans, quantity was even more important.
The reason Yu Xuan could monopolize the term "talismans" in the Hao Ran world, besides being able to draw countless indescribably wonderful cloud-seal cinnabar scripts, was his adherence to a simple and extremely brutal principle:
Win by quantity!
However, later, the old scholar had made a trip to the celestial river of the outer world. Not only had he proactively gifted Yu Xuan a bag of ten jin of Sui Mountain soil, but the old scholar also seemed to have reversed roles, taking command in the river and "discussing the Dao" with Yu Xuan, the host, helping him stabilize his realm.
So this time, rushing to Luopo Mountain, Yu Xuan wanted to personally inform Chen Ping'an that there was no need to repay the three hundred Gold Essence Bronze Coins previously owed. He would also speak openly and honestly. When it came down to it, it was actually Yu Xuan who owed the Wen Sheng a favor. The old scholar was your master; if he wouldn’t accept repayment, then let it be counted on Luopo Mountain’s behalf. Yu Xuan had already decided: in addition to not requiring repayment of the three hundred Gold Essence Bronze Coins, Fill Gold Peak of Peach Talisman Mountain was willing to half-give and half-lend Luopo Mountain one thousand Gold Essence Bronze Coins. Of those, five hundred would be loans with no interest. Chen Ping'an could repay them whenever he had the means.
Hah, when Zheng Juzhong brought up that topic beyond the celestial realm, it would be White Emperor City’s turn now. Fill Gold Peak had put forward one thousand Gold Essence Bronze Coins; shouldn’t Mr. Zheng make up the remaining five hundred?
Ordinary sects wouldn’t know the inside story, but Yu Xuan was well aware that at least a thousand years ago, White Emperor City had begun secretly and extensively collecting Gold Essence Bronze Coins.
From the upper fifth realm to earth immortals, all registered and unregistered offerings and guest elders of White Emperor City had to present varying amounts of Gold Essence Bronze Coins to the city at set intervals. Additionally, the mountain and wild cultivators who proactively contacted White Emperor City from the nine provinces of the Hao Ran world—these cultivators, of no low status or realm—needed to exchange Gold Essence Bronze Coins to buy or borrow certain unique manuscripts and Daoist books. For a full millennium, the golden-body fragments of mountain and water gods from the various states, and the Gold Essence Bronze Coins minted into currency, flowed continuously into White Emperor City, coin by coin, bag by bag.
If we were to compare solely the accumulated quantity of Gold Essence Bronze Coins, White Emperor City might well be able to spar with the Liu clan of Ai’ai Continent. Adding Zheng Juzhong’s personal holdings, especially his hidden income from the barbarian world, it was likely more than the Liu clan’s!
At Oxhorn Ferry, Liu Chicheng, at a loss for words but needing to justify himself, had a flash of inspiration and found a not-too-awkward legitimate reason: he had come to find his junior nephew Gu Can to discuss matters. He would finish the important business first, then go to Luopo Mountain to trouble Mountain Lord Chen.
The Great Wood Temple at Autumn Qi Lake.
There was still about two quarters of an hour until the scheduled discussion time.
A figure in blue robes, carrying Night Traveler on his back, arrived at the mountain gate of the Great Wood Temple. Several Daoist officials, like golden lads and jade maidens, were startled and quickly asked who he was.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Chen Ping'an of Luopo Mountain."
The group exchanged glances. It seemed there was no such person on the invitation list.
Just then, the temple master Gong Hua, who also served as the lake lord, belatedly emerged from the Great Wood Temple. At her waist hung a famous sword named "Autumn Heng." As a female Daoist who had become a deity through a heroic spirit’s body after death, she stood at the top of the steps, made a Daoist bow toward the blue-robed man at the foot of the mountain, and said respectfully, "Gong Hua, whose Dao name is ‘Ci,’ the Lake Lord of Autumn Qi Lake, welcomes the arrival of Sword Immortal Chen."
Chen Ping'an looked up at the female Daoist and cupped his hands in greeting. As he stepped onto the stairs, Gong Hua had already hurried down the steps, paused, then turned sideways to make way for this legendary master of the blessed land. As they passed each other, Gong Hua turned to follow him. But the blue-robed man intentionally slowed his pace. The female Daoist, who had originally planned to lag a step behind to show respect, ended up walking shoulder to shoulder with Chen Ping'an. After a moment’s hesitation, she stopped being pretentious and walked alongside him toward the temple gate. Gong Hua didn’t know how to make small talk. Earlier, when he had demonstrated his skill by the lakeside, casually wrapping a fishing line around the dragon-robed girl’s neck and knocking her unconscious on the lake’s surface, it had shocked her greatly. Although, after last night’s meeting at the Falling Flowers Courtyard and the revelation of heavenly secrets by Gao Jun, she had already formed an estimate of this Sword Immortal Chen, she still felt she might have underestimated his realm.
Chen Ping'an casually asked, "May I ask which dynasty Palace Master Gong originally belonged to?"
Gong Hua smiled. "Sword Immortal Chen, why ask when you already know? I am from the same dynasty as Zhu Lian. But I can’t compare with that noble scion from a long line of officials. My former self was just a martial artist who hadn’t trained well, a mere outlaw from the martial world. My past life isn’t worth mentioning."
If it weren’t for his status, she might have followed up that "asking when you already know" with some sarcasm, but she didn’t waste her breath.
Chen Ping'an let it go with a smile. It was indeed his fault for not looking closely, or rather, for relying on the older cook’s booklet, *The Beauty Chapter of the Human World*, which had placed Gong Hua under "Mortal Beauties" rather than "Mountain and Water Spirits."
After entering the Great Wood Temple, in the white jade square in front of the Founder Hall, the temple had already removed the incense burners, clearing a large, tidy open space. Two rows of simple, elegant Huanghuali official-hat chairs were placed there, appearing to be typical Eagle-Song Kingdom Beijing-style craftsmanship. If traced further back, they might have been from the woodworking skills of Zhu Lian in the previous dynasty. Each chair was clearly crafted with care. While the shapes were uniform, the backrests had different carved patterns—curling grasses, cloud patterns, lingzhi mushrooms, flowers, and birds—with smooth lines full of vitality. They were unmistakably the work of a master hand. Looking more closely at the grain, it seemed to contain sword intent; perhaps they were even the handiwork of Gong Hua herself.
But two chairs on the square stood out, looking isolated, one at the south and one at the north, facing each other.
Clearly, one was reserved for Mountain Lord Chen, and the other for the initiator of this discussion, the current sect leader of Lake Mountain Sect, Gao Jun. It was unclear where Zhong Qian would sit.
Since it was still early before the discussion hour, only a sparse few had taken their seats. They looked toward the blue-robed man standing beside Gong Hua at the temple gate, all very confused.
Chen Ping'an laughed self-deprecatingly. "As Palace Master Wu said well: ‘If a ruler does not cultivate virtue, even those in his own boat become enemies.’"
Gong Hua pretended not to understand this remark, pointing instead at the "south-facing" chair against the main hall. She smiled and said, "There is still some time before the discussion. Sword Immortal Chen can sit here, or go to the Falling Flowers Courtyard for tea. Of course, I would be delighted to accompany you on a tour of the Great Wood Temple."
But Chen Ping'an walked toward the chair facing the main hall, placed his hand on the armrest, and said with a smile, "I’m a guest; I’ll sit here."
This move clearly caught Gong Hua off guard, and for a moment she didn’t know how to respond.
Last night, those qualified to sit in the Falling Flowers Courtyard for tea and discussion numbered seven, including Gong Hua herself.
Afterward, there was actually a second round of discussion, with four more added. These were direct guests who had checked into the Great Wood Temple: the four monarchs of the current world—Tang Tieyi of the Northern Jin Kingdom, who had usurped the throne; Wei Yan, the emperor of the Southern Garden Kingdom who had inherited the throne through an abdication; Huang Mian, the young ruler of the Eagle-Song Kingdom who had ascended only a few years prior; and Tuoba Daze, the current monarch of the Golden Tents Tuoba clan, ruler of the northern grasslands.
What interested them most about Luopo Mountain and Chen Ping'an were three things: the depth of Luopo Mountain’s foundation, Chen Ping'an’s realm, and his temperament.
In fact, Wei Yan, when still a prince, had long dealt with Chen Ping'an. But during the discussion, this Southern Garden emperor maintained a kind of meditative silence, absolutely refusing to mention the time he had once shared a drink with the young sword immortal as equals. Because Wei Yan lacked the aptitude and roots to cultivate immortal techniques, in recent years, whenever he saw Wei Liang, the retired emperor who seemed to grow younger, Wei Yan felt immensely complex emotions. Even though Wei Liang was now a sixth-realm martial artist and still the ruler of a nation, when facing his unfathomable father, Wei Yan grew more fearful instead. If someone who didn’t know the situation saw this father and son, they would probably mistake them for brothers.
Zhong Qian skimmed across the lake surface like a dragonfly touching water, rushing in a long sweep toward the Great Wood Temple on the island in the middle of the lake.
Wei Liang had already picked up the unconscious dragon-robed girl, apparently truly obeying the decree to leave Autumn Qi Lake and withdraw from the discussion.
Chen Ping'an recalled something and said, "About the two positions vacated by Wei Liang and the others, I’ll trouble Palace Master Gong to discuss it temporarily with Sect Leader Gao and find two replacements to fill the gaps."
Gong Hua nodded. "That would be best."
Although she wasn’t sure what had happened on the lakeshore that had caused a baffling conflict between Chen Ping'an and Wei Liang, Gong Hua didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing. Everyone knew that Wei Yan’s Southern Garden clan had an unusual relationship with Chen Ping'an. Because of that connection, in the second round of discussions last night, which involved the four monarchs, Wei Yan had been completely silent the whole time. In reality, besides Wei Yan, everyone else had used secret methods—sound-condensing threads or heart-to-heart communication—to talk amongst themselves a great deal. They had effectively completely distanced themselves from the Southern Garden Kingdom. And Wei Yan had indeed been patient enough; throughout nearly an hour of discussion, there was no visible change in the Southern Garden emperor’s expression.
Otherwise, Chen Ping'an would have had quite a few paper allies present: Emperor Wei Yan, Retired Emperor Wei Liang, the dragon-robed girl with the Dao name "Unhorn," the former head of the Admiration Tower Zhou Shuzhen, the Fox Kingdom ruler Pei Xiang, and Zhong Qian!
That made six.
If you added the martial arts grandmaster within Southern Garden Kingdom’s borders, a river deity, and two qi refiners there who had founded sects and set up cultivation sites?
Consider that the total attendees for today’s discussion were only thirty-two.
Gong Hua wasted no time, made a Daoist bow, and took her leave to go to the Falling Flowers Courtyard to discuss this with Gao Jun. Since Chen Ping'an was willing to actively weaken his own strength, whether he was confident and arrogant or not, this reduction in one side and increase in the other was definitely not a bad thing.
Zhong Qian entered the temple and walked straight to Chen Ping'an. He looked around; he couldn't care less about public opinion. Being quick to speak, he didn’t even use the martial artist’s sound-condensing technique. With a puzzled expression, he asked, "Has Sect Leader Gao lost his mind? Arranging the seats like this? Isn’t it clearly inviting a fight, where whoever stands last gets to speak?"
Gong Hua turned her head to glance back. Although Gao Jun had already warned them about the possibility, and Gong Hua knew that Zhong Qian, the number one martial artist in the world, had likely already sided with Luopo Mountain, seeing this firsthand still made her heart sink.
Chen Ping'an had already walked behind the chair, folded his hands on its back, and lazily rested his chin on them. He tilted his chin toward the north-facing chair and explained with a smile, "Originally, I was supposed to sit there. I took the liberty of choosing to sit here instead."
Zhong Qian nodded. "That makes more sense. You scared me."
Chen Ping'an laughed. "When the discussion starts, don’t speak. Just sit there and stare blankly."
Zhong Qian nodded again. "I’m not stupid. I’ll pretend to be impartial, so I don’t end up offending everyone. I still plan to visit here often; being a street rat everyone shouts at and beats is no fun. Unless..."
At this point, Zhong Qian grinned foolishly.
Chen Ping'an finished the thought for him. "Unless you master a peerless martial art, put a huge gap between the world’s number one and number two, so that at least no one dares to condemn you to your face. And if they gossip behind your back, they’ll have to consider the consequences of loose lips."
Zhong Qian asked, "Does our mountain have such a boxing manual?"
Chen Ping'an squinted and smiled. "You could ask my first disciple. When she was little, she had the same idea as you. She asked everyone if there was any kind soul who could transfer sixty or a hundred years of skill to her, or if there was a secret manual that could make her invincible overnight."
Zhong Qian chuckled. Learning martial arts and practicing boxing were hard work; there was no such cheap shortcut in the world. Having stayed at Luopo Mountain for a while, he had come to understand that the Hao Ran world and his home blessed land weren’t much different, except that immortal techniques really did have thousands of shortcuts. But when it came to the martial path, there was no difference—you could only temper your body bit by bit. The only difference between the two places might be whether you had a good teacher to guide you and feed you punches. As for boxing manuals, postures, and stances, they were refined, but as the old cook said, if your spirit doesn’t go far, your boxing intent won’t be pure. In other words, he was calling Zhong Qian a waste waiting to die. No matter. As long as the old cook could stir-fry a decent dish, Zhong Qian would just coast along for him.
One by one, the discussion members arrived.
Among them was an old woman who appeared to be a shrine deity from the border of Northern Jin. She looked decrepit and walked with a habitual totter. When she saw Zhong Qian and the blue-robed sword immortal, her expression became restrained, her smile ingratiating. She took the initiative to greet Zhong Qian. Zhong Qian frowned slightly and made no response, only using sound-condensing threads to explain to his mountain lord about this old woman’s mountain and river reputation. Although she appeared to be a kindly old granny, she was actually quite domineering on her own mountain. The ceremonial system of her mountain god mansion was full of presumptuous transgressions. For instance, the height of her own golden-body painted statue was the highest in the world, even taller than any five-peak mountain monarch or river deity. She monopolized an undiscovered gold mine, making her golden body truly a "golden body," consuming countless amounts of gold. Her methods of control were extremely harsh; she kept a pack of ferocious ghosts to serve as yamen clerks in her mansion. Even Tang Tieyi had to show her some respect. It was said that in earlier years, the city god of a nearby province, along with a group of city god officials including the night patrolman, had gone to her mountain god mansion to demand an explanation. Soon afterward, a new city god was appointed to fill the vacancy—obviously, the previous ones had not returned. She was considered a vile presence. If not for her notoriously bad reputation within Northern Jin’s court, Tang Tieyi would have long enfeoffed her as one of the kingdom’s Five Peaks Mountain Monarchs.
The old woman was walking out of the temple. Once outside the gate, she flew by wind to Jade Hairpin Island and Conch Eyebrow Island, summoning an orthodox mountain god from Eagle-Song Kingdom and a familiar ghost qi refiner. The latter’s Dao name was "Potter," and he had previously joined the old woman at the bamboo mat drinking party hosted by the dragon-robed girl "Unhorn." As for the Eagle-Song mountain god, when Gao Jun returned to Lake Mountain Sect, she had advised the young emperor to select a crown prince mountain for each of the country’s Five Peaks Mountain Monarchs. This god had thus become the first crown prince mountain god in the blessed land’s history. Hastily arranged, he had been inexplicably promoted one rank in the mountain and water bureaucracy. This time at the Autumn Qi Lake discussion, since the minor Five Peaks Mountain Monarchs from all states were excluded, no mountain monarch had come to Autumn Qi Lake to invite trouble. Instead, he had stumbled into a great opportunity and secured a seat at the discussion.
However, besides the two replacement members summoned by the old woman, there was another person who came to the Great Wood Temple—the only female cultivator Chen Ping'an had glimpsed in *The Beauty Chapter of the Human World*: Sun Wanyan, whose Dao name was "Spirit Talisman." She wore a single-color silk long dress, with a long nail guard on her little finger. She swept her gaze across the square and walked directly to a chair carved with flower-and-bird patterns. Rather than sitting down immediately, she bent at the waist. As a naturally graceful and curvaceous woman, her figure suddenly became exceptionally pronounced. A few men across from her couldn’t help but glance at her back more than once. The smooth silk garment, as good as nothing, only accentuated her roundness.
She seemed oblivious, maintaining that enticing posture. She raised a finger and used her nail guard to gently trace along the flower-and-bird patterns, as if performing the so-called "finishing touch" from supernatural tales. In an instant, a small bird fluttered out of the wood panel, chirping crisply. She turned and sat in the chair, and the bird landed on her chest. She reached out and gently stroked its feathers.
Chen Ping'an was still leaning on the back of the chair, only smiling as he reminded the staring Zhong Qian, "Thank goodness you’re not a qi refiner. Just that glance alone could have stolen some of your spirit—that’s a major taboo in cultivation."
Zhong Qian was skeptical. "So strange? What kind of art is it?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "The reverse application of the ‘Mountain Ascension Single-Method’."
She cast a sparkling glance toward the blue-robed sword immortal. "You have good insight, friend. May I ask your sect and Dao name?"
Could it be the sword immortal lineage of Lake Mountain Sect? It seemed that besides them, no other qi refiner in the mortal world dared to call themselves a land-bound sword immortal.
Chen Ping'an paid her no attention.
This Sun Wanyan might well become the blessed land’s first talisman qi refiner, but for now, she lacks a "true immortal scripture."
Chen Ping'an instead carefully observed a middle-aged scholar whose seat was relatively close to him. This man had a refined golden body but a low divine rank. Chen Ping'an paid him such close attention because of a hidden identity that should not be underestimated.
Concerning the very first golden-body deity in this mortal world that had opened its celestial eyes without being enfeoffed by a court, the Lotus Root Blessed Land’s native inhabitants had been arguing for years without conclusion. Every government claimed that a mountain or water god or a city god from a certain province within their borders had first appeared. But even Gao Jun couldn’t be sure which unorthodox shrine deity had first been bestowed with incense offerings and revealed its spirit through an infused golden body.
In fact, according to Luopo Mountain’s records, the very first golden-body deity outside the orthodox state system was precisely the Qijiang River God of Eagle-Song Kingdom, Song Jian, whose golden body was neither high nor low.
Inside the Falling Flowers Courtyard, Gong Hua tentatively spoke via heart-to-heart communication: "Sect Leader Gao, how about we start the discussion a quarter of an hour early?"
Gao Jun shook her head. "Keep the schedule. Let Mountain Lord Chen, who arrived early, wait."
Gao Jun wore an apricot-yellow Daoist robe and a snow-white lotus Daoist crown, an imitation her master had made.
Gong Hua smiled sweetly. "I can see now that the beauty trap is useless."
Gao Jun didn’t respond.
If one wanted to talk about a "beauty trap," Luopo Mountain only needed to send that old cook surnamed Zhu. That would be enough.
Perhaps seeing that the old woman had gone to summon people on both islands, several "pure martial artists" and old seniors from the martial arts world on Jade Hairpin Island also came to the Great Wood Temple in a group.
Among them were Cheng Yuanshan, the arm sage who had become a secret offering at Lake Mountain Sect; Zhou Shuzhen, the former head of the Admiration Tower and the Empress Dowager of Southern Garden Kingdom, who had preserved her youth; and blade-arts grandmaster Wu Que.
Also present were two nearly septuagenarian veterans of the martial arts world, of the same generation as Cheng Yuanshan and Wu Que, now both sixth-realm martial artists.
One of them was a vigorous old man with long, deep breaths named Cao Ni, dressed entirely in black and also carrying a sword on his back. He was known as a "sword immortal" in the martial world below, so he cast a few extra glances at the blue-robed sword immortal beside Zhong Qian.
Cao Ni was also one of the four grandmasters of the martial world ranked by the Admiration Tower. A late bloomer who had accumulated steadily, he had been unknown twenty years ago but was now unquestionably the world’s number one in swordsmanship. It was said that his sword arts had reached a level of divinity, with sword aura extending up to a zhang from the blade. With just a three-foot green blade, he could, like a qi refiner, subdue ghosts and slay evil entities.
When Cheng Yuanshan saw the blue-robed sword immortal wearing a jade hairpin, his expression shifted slightly but he said nothing. He had seen him twice before—once in the Southern Garden Kingdom capital many years ago, and once more recently within Lake Mountain Sect.
Zhou Shuzhen performed a curtsy bow to Chen Ping'an, beaming radiantly. "Greetings to Sword Immortal Chen."
Chen Ping'an cupped his hands in return. "Greetings to Head Zhou."
Zhou Shuzhen covered her mouth and laughed. "That’s all old history. Now I’m just the gatekeeper of that book tower."
Unlike Earth Immortal Gao Jun and host Gong Hua, they had only just entered the middle five realms, so they weren’t yet aware of the lakeside incident.
Chen Ping'an smiled and nodded. "Free from official duties, light and at ease—you can focus on cultivation. That’s a good thing."
Zhou Shuzhen kept her smile as usual, but inwardly she sighed. If it weren’t for her identity and faction, she truly didn’t want to end up opposing this Sword Immortal Chen.
Wu Que, with his white hair and beard, wore a dharma saber, a treasure of the immortal families, at his waist. Although a genuine pure martial artist, that didn’t stop the old man from spending a fortune on a suitable weapon.
The burly Wu Que reached out and pressed his hand on the saber hilt, squinting at the blue-robed man who had gained great fame in the Southern Garden capital years ago as "Sword Immortal Chen." After so many years, he had finally met the real person.
That old woman named Zhang Ji acted like the guest- welcoming Daoist official of the Great Wood Temple, bustling around obsequiously, helping the various reclusive experts and fellow mountain-and-water cultivators take their seats.
Anyone unfamiliar with the old woman’s background might truly take her for a village crone who had never seen the world and had narrow perspectives.
Wei Yan of Southern Garden was the first emperor to show his face. Upon arriving in the square, he neither spoke to Zhou Shuzhen (for the Southern Garden Empress Dowager had already "died of illness," and very few knew of her identity as the former head of the Admiration Tower at the time) nor greeted Chen Ping'an. He silently took his seat, appearing somewhat isolated.
Then Tang Tieyi of Northern Jin and Tuoba Daze appeared together. The two states shared a border and had been locked in fierce conflict. But as times changed and immortal spirits and monsters appeared in the mortal world, in recent years the two kingdoms had adopted an unspoken agreement. They both held their troops in place, focusing on internal affairs, conducting fengshan sacrifices to the five peaks, enfeoffing various legitimate mountain and river deities, competing for heaven and earth’s spiritual qi, and vigorously cultivating, courting, and supporting qi refiners. To some extent, this was also a form of military preparedness across the world.
Tang Tieyi wore at his waist the "Refiner" saber he had used back in the Southern Garden capital to "claim the first city."
Feng Qingbai, the chivalrous wanderer who was a banished immortal and the world’s tenth-ranked expert at the time, had died at the hands of Tang Tieyi, whom he called "brother." Tang Tieyi struck from ambush, splitting him in two with one slash.
But Ding Ying, who had been the world’s number one, ultimately died at the hands of a banished immortal.
Tang Tieyi had once taken a punch from Chen Ping'an.
Now, meeting again, Tang Tieyi bore no grudges. His face full of smiles, he cupped his fists from afar and called out, "Sword Immortal Chen’s bearing is even more remarkable than in the past."
Chen Ping'an was still leaning behind his chair, just smiling and nodding in acknowledgment.
Cheng Yuanshan, seated, couldn’t help but glance at Tang Tieyi’s saber. His eyelids twitched slightly. The old man regretted it bitterly. In truth, the person to whom this blade, regarded as a demonic weapon, had originally bound itself had died at Cheng Yuanshan’s hands. But because the saber was too mysterious and its reputation too fierce, Cheng Yuanshan, cautious by nature his whole life, had dared not touch it. He let it pass through various hands until it reached Tang Tieyi. His intention had been to sabotage his long-time enemy Tang Tieyi, but unexpectedly, Tang Tieyi didn’t die like the previous owners. Instead, he gained this divine weapon, and his killing power rose accordingly. Later, this dharma saber became a prized "immortal family" treasure, joining the ranks of the silver lotus crown Ding Ying wore, the cyan dress in Southern Garden capital, and the arhat golden body of White River Temple. Back then, besides Yu Zhenyi alone ascending the mountain to cultivate, there were no qi refiners, gods, ghosts, or spirits. When the skies began to churn with anomalies, Cheng Yuanshan regretted it so much he wanted to slap himself.
Those martial artists who had successfully climbed the city walls back then, except for those who had "ascended" and departed, each received a magical artifact or immortal opportunity.
For example, Yu Zhenyi obtained a golden jade pedigree register, Zhong Qiu got the Painting of the Five Peaks’ True Form, and the monk Yun Ni obtained a section of white jade lotus root.
But during the time Zhong Qiu served as the Southern Garden national preceptor, the Southern Garden spies were never able to glean any information about what Tang Tieyi had obtained.
An old man full of Daoist aura, holding a horsetail whisk, stepped lightly into the square.
Then a "child" in hemp clothing and straw sandals, with a flower in his hair, followed. Then a young man with an elegant, jade-like demeanor. Each took their seats.
With their arrival, the square, which had had a few whispers, fell instantly into perfect silence—so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Two more mountain monarchs used the divine power of contracting the land to appear directly in their seats, sitting slowly.
The world’s Five Great Mountain Monarchs—Central Peak Zheng Fengzhou, Eastern Peak Zhao Juran, Northern Peak Yudie Shangren, Western Peak Song Huaibao, and Southern Peak Huai Fu—had all arrived.
Gao Jun also appeared, accompanied by Temple Master Gong Hua and the young Eagle-Song Emperor Huang Mian.
Thus, all four monarchs had taken their seats.
The Fox Kingdom ruler Pei Xiang was the last to arrive, so her seat was easy to find.
Including the sole outsider, Chen Ping'an of Luopo Mountain, there were a total of thirty-three people participating in today’s Autumn Qi Lake discussion.
Gao Jun stood by the northernmost chair, facing the blue-robed man in the south. She gave a Daoist salute. "Gao Jun of Lake Mountain Sect, out of respect, dares to occupy this seat with all due modesty."
Chen Ping'an stood up, walked around the chair, lifted the hem of his robe, and sat down lightly, smiling. "Not at all."
The two rows of seats had the four monarchs on the left, as the most honored, and the Five Peaks Mountain Monarchs on the right.
On both sides, in order, were: martial artist Zhong Qian; Admiration Tower’s Zhou Shuzhen; Cheng Yuanshan; Cao Ni; Wu Que... and Great Wood Temple’s Gong Hua; Fox Kingdom’s Pei Xiang; a Dragon Gate realm qi refiner from Lake Mountain Sect; Sun Wanyan, Dao name "Spirit Talisman," of peerless beauty; Northern Jin’s old woman mountain god Zhang Ji; the Potter; the Water God Song Jian...
Just then, at the temple gate, a young boy who looked like an immortal’s attendant stood there, panicked, at a loss, hesitant to speak.
Gong Hua frowned slightly and turned to look at Gao Jun. Gao Jun also seemed hesitant. Zhou Shuzhen cast her gaze downward, holding her breath.
Chen Ping'an turned his head toward the gate. Before seeing the person, he heard a voice declare in a deep tone: "Jiang Quan, a failed scholar of Southern Garden, demands a fight to the death with Sword Immortal Chen."
The square, which had been grave, erupted into uproar.
At the gate appeared a slender figure wearing a mask, a saber at his waist, and a zither case on his back.
Wasn’t this the rising knife-wielder River Godly Son? How had he become a Southern Garden scholar?
Jiang Quan removed his mask, tossing it casually to the ground. Everyone saw him gently take off the zither case from his back and set it slantingly against the base of the wall. Then from his sleeve he pulled out an old money pouch and two banknotes, placing them on the zither case.
Jiang Quan changed his address. "Mr. Chen, do you still remember me?"
The blue-robed man before him, who seemed untouched by the ravages of time even after mountain cultivation, had once pretended to be a member of the Gu family to meet him and then given Jiang Quan traveling money for his next spring examination in the capital.
Chen Ping'an stood up and nodded. "Of course I remember."
Jiang Quan was silent for a moment. "Then you must certainly remember Gu Ling."
Chen Ping'an said nothing.
Jiang Quan spoke calmly. "A personal vendetta from old grievances won’t delay you all for long."
Pei Xiang was bewildered. What was happening? Could Mountain Lord Chen’s earlier talk of playing the villain not have been a joke?
Zhong Qian rubbed his chin, lost in thought. He vaguely remembered that during the ambush and siege in Southern Garden capital back then, there had indeed been a female zither player skilled in assassination who had made the first move?
In the Lotus Root Blessed Land years ago, regarding Gu Ling, Chen Ping'an had considered three options and ultimately chosen the third: three years later, let Zhong Qiu tell Jiang Quan the whole truth.
But when Zhong Qiu left the blessed land and arrived at Luopo Mountain, Chen Ping'an asked and discovered that the old temple master had obviously done something, because Zhong Qiu had completely forgotten this matter.
Jiang Quan took a deep breath, reached out, and pressed his hand on the saber hilt. "Sword Immortal Chen, I understand the principle. In martial grudges, the clash of blades and swords—ultimately, it’s life or death on one’s own responsibility. That’s all."
Chen Ping'an nodded. "That is indeed the principle."
Zhou Shuzhen slowly spoke. "After Jiang Quan dies, I, Zhou Shuzhen of the Admiration Tower, with everyone present as witnesses, even if we must draw up a life-or-death pact, will dare to challenge Mountain Lord Chen in a Dao inquiry."
Cao Ni’s eyes gleamed. "Martial artist Cao Ni wishes to cross swords with Sword Immortal Chen, asking with the sword. No personal grievance, no public outrage. I do not begrudge dying—I only want to learn what it truly means to be a sword immortal."
Chen Ping'an smiled. "No need to rush. First, let Jiang Quan draw his saber and begin. After this bout, any of you present who wish to rise—whether for a sparring match, a Dao inquiry, a magical duel, or a sword query—can come at me all together."