Chapter 1096: Radiance
Whether Chen Ping'an truly knew or was just pretending to understand, Ma Kuxuan was indeed caught off guard for a moment. Taking advantage of that instant when Ma Kuxuan's mind hesitated and he paused slightly, Chen Ping'an felt as if granted a pardon, like a caged bird freed from its trap. He swiftly stepped back, and behind him, ripples appeared as a portal opened out of thin air. Chen Ping'an's figure vanished into a landscape secret realm that Zhou Mi had compared to a silkworm cocoon, thus leaving this illusory world of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
In his field of vision, that striking red color disappeared instantly. Ma Kuxuan couldn't see clearly but showed no sign of panic. Zhou Mi, however, saw through the trick at a glance and explained, "He used the method of moving mountains—a divine ability to make the mountain come to me. That step of his was merely a deliberate diversion. In short, on his own turf, he can switch secret realm positions at will. Compared to shrinking thousands of miles of earth veins into a single inch, this is more direct and more concealed. In a fight with an ordinary opponent of the same realm, he would be invincible."
Ma Kuxuan said, "Time is limited. Spare the nonsense and take me after him."
Zhou Mi smiled and nodded. He lightly tapped his own head, and three flowers gathered atop it, transforming into a golden crown that seemed to be assembled from pieces of the Jade Capital, the Immortal Hairpin City, and the Supporting Moon Mountain, radiating myriad forms. Ma Kuxuan shrank his form to the size of a mustard seed, turning into a rainbow light that shot into the golden crown, like an ancient god seated in the center of the heavenly court. Zhou Mi focused his gaze, following the faint traces of Chen Ping'an's Dao aura. He strode forward, tore open a door with his bare hands, and flashed inside, arriving at a bustling marketplace with small bridges and flowing water. Nearby was a sauce garden. Any mortal on the street who came close to Zhou Mi melted away like snow under the sun, turning into nothingness.
Zhou Mi waved his sleeve, and a majestic aura swept out. In this realm, all pedestrians, buildings, and mountain peaks had their "upper halves" sheared off. Zhou Mi then stomped his foot, and the "lower half" of this human world flipped like a giant turtle turning over, collapsing and sinking everywhere. In the blink of an eye, it was reduced to ruins. Everything turned to dust and ashes, drifting through the sky. In the far distance, a glimmer of light flashed and vanished. Zhou Mi smiled—he had found it. Ma Kuxuan, seated in the golden crown, formed a sword gesture with his hand, and a sword light flew through the air like a dragon swimming through water, shooting out from the "mountain peak." The trajectory of the sword light seemed winding, but in reality, it followed the river of time, flowing downstream, making it the straightest and shortest path.
The thread of sword light struck a figure that had been trying to dodge but failed, millions of miles away. The latter used fist energy to counter the sword energy, putting up a stubborn resistance. In that clash of offense and defense, a splash of water erupted on the spot.
Ma Kuxuan clearly heard the guy curse, grumbling like a mangy dog, before scurrying away in a sorry state to hide elsewhere, continuing to avoid the sharp edge, stalling for time first, then seeking a way to break the enemy's attack.
Zhou Mi said, "He's probably already confirmed that I'm not Zhou Mi's true body."
If it were truly Zhou Mi using Ma Kuxuan as a ferry point between heaven and man to scheme against Chen Ping'an, he wouldn't have gone to such trouble; he would have finished it back at the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Ma Kuxuan said angrily, "I thought that last speech of yours, which only you could say, would make him more certain that you were the real body. Instead, it made him suspicious?"
Zhou Mi smiled and said, "You added an unnecessary touch. I warned you to stop while you were ahead. It should have been false through and through, then it would have been completely real. Like a meticulously detailed landscape painting—if you suddenly add a freehand flower, anyone would think it's off."
As he spoke, Zhou Mi had already taken a step, directly breaking through the barrier between two illusory realms with his body, crossing over to another place. Around him, scenes shattered like glass, creating a dazzling display.
A torrential downpour. A fleeing convoy on a muddy road. On both sides were boxes that might have rolled off on their own or been pushed off by coachmen and servants. Many open boxes spilled out books. These well-preserved rare editions, stamped with numerous seals, had survived fire and insect damage but couldn't escape this military disaster. In this chaotic, war-torn world, the only things less valuable than antiques were probably books—heavy and unsellable. If not those, what else would they abandon?
Zhou Mi, wearing the golden crown, crouched down and picked up a muddy, soft book. Ma Kuxuan urged him to quickly find Chen Ping'an's whereabouts. Zhou Mi told him not to rush. He rapidly flipped through the pages, pressed a finger on the character "Chen" for a moment, then found the other two characters "Ping" and "An" on other pages. He gently flicked his wrist, and the rare edition, said to be worth one tael of gold per page, was shaken to pieces, leaving only three golden characters suspended in midair.
Zhou Mi then lightly stomped his foot, using a method similar to summoning gods or commanding the earth spirits.
The three golden characters wavered, their brilliance fading, eventually turning into lifeless ashes that fell into the mud with the rain. Yet there was still no sign of Chen Ping'an.
Ma Kuxuan laughed heartily, "Is your skill insufficient, or is Chen Ping'an's golden body just too steady?"
Zhou Mi chuckled, then picked up a few more books from the ground. He reassembled the name "Chen Ping'an" from the black characters on white paper.
He then quickly flipped through the pages to find "Luo Po" and "Mountain," then took "Hidden" from "Spirit Hidden" and "Official" from "Traveling Official."
To avoid embarrassment again, Zhou Mi went ahead and combined "Sword Qi Great Wall" with "Pearl Bead Paradise" and "Clay Bottle Alley."
Thus, two radiant talismans floated before Zhou Mi, one inscribed with "Luo Po Mountain Chen Ping'an" and the other with "Sword Qi Great Wall Hidden Official."
Additionally, each talisman had a small line of explanatory notes: Clay Bottle Alley, Pearl Bead Paradise.
Zhou Mi said, "It will surely succeed."
Ma Kuxuan understood tacitly. When Zhou Mi's lips moved slightly and he issued another command, the waiting Ma Kuxuan struck first with a punch, still following Cao Ci's boxing style and force.
The fist intent was even higher than in the Green-White Duel at the Central Confucian Temple. Clearly, in that duel, both Cao Ci and Chen Ping'an had tacitly refrained from going all out.
Chen Ping'an, forcibly summoned, didn't know what method Ma Kuxuan would use and couldn't apply the right remedy. He could only defend as best he could. Outside his bright red dharma robe, tens of thousands of various talismans floated, layer upon layer, like dozens of rivers of talismans coiled into a sphere, protecting his true body at the center. Unfortunately, despite his many methods, Ma Kuxuan's punch shattered the talisman rivers, twisting light and distorting scenes. Chen Ping'an only glanced at Zhou Mi, then raised both arms to block in front of him. His body was like a stone hitting a stretched curtain, pulling the fabric inward toward the stone's center, compressing the mountains, rivers, and human structures into the folds of the curtain.
Ma Kuxuan raised his hand, and countless golden lightning bolts crashed down furiously on the center of the pit at the bottom.
Zhou Mi issued another divine decree, forcibly recalling Chen Ping'an, the "landlord" of this realm.
A purple sword light shot out from between Zhou Mi's brows, straight at Chen Ping'an's head. It was too close to dodge.
Chen Ping'an could only turn his head slightly. The slender sword light slashed a wound on his face so deep that the white bone was visible.
In this fight, Ma Kuxuan had a solid upper hand. Working with Zhou Mi, he had beaten Chen Ping'an, who was supposed to be the host, into having no room to fight back.
When the divine talisman's spiritual light was exhausted, Chen Ping'an finally regained his freedom and fled into the boundless void. But Zhou Mi followed like a shadow, changing locations, manifesting a dharma image. He stood with his feet on the ground, crushing a mountain beneath him into powder. He bowed his head and arched his back, using his back to support the canopy of the sky. The dharma image was clad in golden armor, becoming a ten-thousand-zhang-tall god wielding a lightning whip. One lash of the whip struck the ground; the whip tip coiled several times, lashing the earth repeatedly. In the blink of an eye, it smashed a capital city of a million residents into a ruined wasteland, turning the place into a battlefield relic of immortal duels.
A fine sword light spread upward along the lightning whip.
Ma Kuxuan merely flicked his finger and severed it. A sword immortal's light was so fragile.
With the situation against him, Chen Ping'an had to use sword escape again to change the battlefield, trading different locations for the passage of time, delaying as much as possible.
Countless unenlightened beings on the earth stared blankly up at the fire that broke through the sky, lighting up the depths of the night like day, as if a celestial disaster was upon them.
A great swamp in a barbaric land was directly filled in by a falling star from beyond the sky.
The immense impact caused the entire small realm to crack. The sounds of the heavens and earth breaking echoed one after another. The illusion was like a piece of crackled porcelain about to shatter.
But Chen Ping'an had already left this place, fleeing to the previous landscape secret realm. It was as if someone had left through the side door of a house, circled around to the front door, and launched a counterattack.
Unexpectedly, a bronze bell appeared at the edge of the sky, followed by a giant hand as white as jade. With a gentle shake, a thunderous roar shook the entire realm to pieces.
The owner of the giant hand, Zhou Mi, reminded through telepathy, "Half an incense stick has passed."
Ma Kuxuan grinned, "As far as I know, this guy always goes head-on in fights. He's not this good at running away."
He had the upper hand but still couldn't severely wound Chen Ping'an, couldn't turn advantage into victory. It was like having a stack of banknotes in his pocket that he couldn't cash—ultimately unsatisfying.
Zhou Mi smiled and said, "Back then, his sword training wasn't complete, so running wouldn't have helped. He might as well fight tooth and nail. Now that he knows he can't match force with force, anyone would choose to retreat."
Ma Kuxuan clasped his hands behind his head, sitting in this chaotic, stitched-together dojo. "After scurrying around like a rat for so long, I wonder how far he's gotten in solving the puzzle."
Zhou Mi said, "Don't drag this out any longer. Delays breed changes."
Ma Kuxuan said lazily, "This game—you're an outsider."
To Ma Kuxuan, his leisurely pursuit and Chen Ping'an's wretched escape were like a game of hide-and-seek that children often play.
Ma Kuxuan said regretfully, "He got spooked. Didn't take the bait."
Zhou Mi said, "You deliberately let him choose the Sword Qi Great Wall. That was a good move. He would naturally think of 'me' and the Oldest Sword Immortal without you needing to calculate or set the stage more. But while he's still in the dark, not having him fixate on the name 'Chen Qingdu' was a bad move."
Ma Kuxuan said, "It's a pity. I was too cocky. In the end, I couldn't fully invoke the third god."
Zhou Mi smiled and said, "I told you long ago, this man is a scholar. He values being cautious in private and refuses to betray his conscience. So even in his mind, he won't call Chen Qingdu by his full name."
Ma Kuxuan curled his lip, not convinced.
Zhou Mi said, "Choosing Chen Qingdu is worse than choosing Zuo You."
Ma Kuxuan said indifferently, "For spectacle, I want the highest swordsmanship."
Even with half of Chen Qingdu's Dao, a fifty-percent-discounted sword technique—would its power be too weak?
Zhou Mi smiled and shook his head, looking helpless.
It turned out that in Ma Kuxuan's mental realm, he had set up three incense tables with only one incense burner holding incense, smoke curling up, enshrining three figures.
Besides Wenhai Zhou Mi and white-robed Cao Ci, there was an old man wielding a sword—the Oldest Sword Immortal of the Sword Qi Great Wall, Chen Qingdu.
But compared to the first two, Chen Qingdu's face was relatively blurred, his form ethereal and indistinct.
Ma Kuxuan's visualization was akin to some mysterious "refining and casting," able to erect a "faceless" clay statue on a divine altar.
Of course, the height of their golden bodies was limited, tied to Ma Kuxuan's own realm—Qi refiners stop at the Ascension Realm, martial artists at the Limit Realm.
Otherwise, since the audacious Ma Kuxuan dared to visualize even Wenhai Zhou Mi, why not directly bring out the Three Patriarchs and enshrine them on the altar?
Similarly, for canonizing landscape gods, the Central Confucian Temple, the Great Li Song Dynasty, and a small tributary state of Jewel Bottle Continent—all three canonizations were legitimate and orthodox, but their ranks differed like clouds and mud. Chen Ping'an's imagination, his thoughts related to someone, was equivalent to "opening the face" of the statue and adding gold paint, making the statue lifelike and closer to reality.
Ma Kuxuan had meticulously preset three "statues" for Chen Ping'an.
Zhou Mi in Dao magic, Cao Ci in martial arts, Chen Qingdu in swordsmanship.
Coincidentally, all three had appeared at the Sword Qi Great Wall.
In a secret realm where a civil official was setting up a table by the river to pray for rain and commoners were parading paper dragon kings through the streets, Chen Ping'an leaned on his sword with one hand, wiping away the blood that had trickled from his ear to his temple.
He had been on the receiving end the whole time, not lightly injured, but fortunately, it hadn't yet reached his true body, soul, or Dao foundation.
If Zhou Mi's appearance was a puzzle Ma Kuxuan had long hinted at, then the answer was indeed "visualization."
Assuming Ma Kuxuan was telling the truth and hadn't accepted Zhou Mi's invitation to ascend to heaven, then whether it was Zhou Mi's cultivation realm or Cao Ci's real boxing technique, Chen Ping'an was naturally closer to the truth than Ma Kuxuan.
In other words, Ma Kuxuan's seemingly cheating divine ability had a natural limitation: he couldn't visualize out of thin air; Chen Ping'an had to provide the imagination.
It was like a sure-win fishing trip. Zhou Mi of Wenhai, visualized by Ma Kuxuan, held the fishing rod, and the fish he caught was a certain "person's name" that Chen Ping'an thought of.
As soon as Chen Ping'an took the bait and thought of someone, Ma Kuxuan would seize the opportunity to reel in the line, storing the catch in his basket, turning it into "reality." And that person would become Chen Ping'an's current imaginary enemy.
For example, Cao Ci.
Because Chen Ping'an's thoughts and ideas were like a surging river, and all the people Chen Ping'an knew were fish of various sizes in the water.
No, besides Cao Ci, there was also that Zhou Mi!
At this moment, Chen Ping'an suddenly understood. Damn Ma Kuxuan! When did he get so smart?! The Zhou Mi who had appeared on the city wall at the beginning was clearly a hint to Chen Ping'an.
Thus, that Zhou Mi was initially just a façade, a scarecrow, likely not very skilled at the time. But when Ma Kuxuan used the visualization divine ability at that moment, Chen Ping'an, who had been on guard against the Zhou Mi in front of him, actually gave him real meaning. So only then did the Zhou Mi truly go from a fake to a second-rate original. It was like a man who existed only nominally finally coming to life.
In a sense, this was Chen Ping'an asking for trouble. Because whatever he feared in his heart would truly come.
Ma Kuxuan had silently and severely tricked Chen Ping'an. It was like a canonization ceremony for a landscape god. Ma Kuxuan was responsible for "the name," and Chen Ping'an, who had fallen into the trap, was responsible for "the substance," ultimately producing an orthodox enshrinement.
When commoners enter a temple to worship gods, they need to burn incense, usually lighting three sticks.
Presumably, Ma Kuxuan's method of summoning gods and manifesting reality followed a similar ritual.
Better that way.
What if Ma Kuxuan had lit nine sticks of incense or something... Chen Ping'an would have to endure for so long.
Not daring to stay long, and knowing that Zhou Mi, using some unknown method, was like a haunting spirit, Chen Ping'an barely exchanged a breath of pure true qi and immediately switched locations. Sure enough, no sooner had Chen Ping'an left than the next moment, a heavy rain poured down. Each raindrop, the size of a soybean, was condensed sword energy, piercing the earth and mountains until they were like a sieve full of holes.
Ma Kuxuan exclaimed in wonder, "Chen Qingdu's swordsmanship, at half his Dao, is this exaggerated?"
Zhou Mi smiled and asked, "Regret it now?"
Ma Kuxuan snorted, "Regret what? In this life, I love being forced to swallow bitter pills. Don't waste it. With half of Chen Qingdu's swordsmanship, you can get serious."
Zhou Mi smiled faintly, holding a sword. With one stroke, he slashed through several of Chen Ping'an's mental realms.
To block this sword light, a Nightwandering Sword of immortal-soldier rank was severed on the spot.
A bright red dharma robe, also of immortal rank, was torn apart by the unstoppable sword aura.
Standing in a boundless, vast realm of Great Emptiness, Chen Ping'an stabilized the two broken halves of his sword, placing them back behind him. Although his dharma robe was badly damaged, it could still close on its own for now.
He had almost been cut in half by that sword. An Ascension-realm Qi refiner, even if their body was cut, could recover after cultivation, but it would actually reduce their Dao power. The fear was that it might affect the soul.
Zhou Mi lifted his sword and again sent a sword light into the azure sky.
It shattered a golden arch bridge into powder.
Was this defensive sword technique of Chen Ping'an stolen from the wandering swordsman Xu Ruo?
The entire realm of Great Emptiness echoed with the violent sounds of sword aura.
Chen Ping'an stood on the broken pillar of a golden arch bridge and asked, "What price do you have to pay?"
On the mountains, the rituals of planchette and summoning gods all required adherence to certain rules. Although Qi refiners had various methods and shortcuts to minimize their own losses, the price a Qi refiner had to give was never left unpaid.
Zhou Mi was too lazy to even use telepathic reminders and said directly, "Why not just kill him, then you two can catch up?"
Ma Kuxuan and Chen Ping'an were like two village kids playing house, arranging armies, fighting with mud figures. One said he had a hundred thousand troops, the other said he had divine soldiers from heaven.
They went back and forth, as long as they dared to imagine. Of course, that was just a verbal scuffle.
But it was like one of the kids cheated—he could make his dreams come true, while the other could only fantasize.
Chen Ping'an and Zhou Mi each had questions, but Ma Kuxuan answered something else entirely. "You actually guessed that you had fallen into a certain situation, that I had turned the tables on you. But you only thought about it three times, and I foresaw each one, so each time it was ineffective. Then, restrained by the thought that 'three times is enough,' you didn't even dare to think anymore."
Zhou Mi sighed, his expression regretful. "Why give away the answer willingly, inviting trouble? Beware of failure at the last step. Ma Kuxuan, Ma Kuxuan, what were you thinking?"
Chen Ping'an's face was expressionless.
In an instant, the three divine altars and statues in Ma Kuxuan's mental realm collapsed with a roar, just like the final destination of the statues in their hometown's Immortal Graves—dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth.
Zhou Mi was slightly taken aback, then immediately understood the reason. He laughed loudly, and before his form dissipated, he sincerely praised, "Chen Ping'an, excellent method. Your earlier words did not deceive me."
It turned out that Chen Ping'an had used a method of cutting himself with his sword, severing Zhou Mi, Cao Ci, and Chen Qingdu all at once within his own mind.
Ma Kuxuan lightly tapped his foot, also landing on a pillar of the golden arch bridge. He crouched and asked with a smile, "You paid such a high price just to play with me until now? What for?"
Chen Ping'an sat cross-legged on the broken bridge piece and said, "To prove with facts that all those fights earlier were just me playing with you."
Ma Kuxuan questioned, "Really?"
Chen Ping'an sneered, "Why would I lie to a fool?"
Ma Kuxuan tilted his head, staring blankly at this peer.
The injuries Chen Ping'an had sustained this time were so severe, the price so high. Even his long sword had been broken. These were not fake.
Ma Kuxuan asked, "Was it after hearing Zhou Mi's words that you figured out the whole thing? Including which three gods I had summoned? You could really deduce that the last one was Chen Qingdu?"
Chen Ping'an snorted, "You're still thinking about 'Chen Qingdu'? Come on, give it a try. Let's see if the Oldest Sword Immortal you summon can deliver a sword faster, or if I can cut off the memory sooner."
Ma Kuxuan asked curiously, "You didn't use a method of reversing the River of Time, did you?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "I thought about trying it, but I don't have the ability yet. I can't drag your bodies along. Besides, the consumption of the River of Time from such a method is irreversible. It's not a smaller price than what I paid now."
Ma Kuxuan nodded. "That's reasonable. Otherwise, it would be too unfair—you'd be toying with an Ascension-realm expert who is a whole realm above you."
Ma Kuxuan stood up and said, "If I win, then everything ends for you. But if I accidentally lose, you have to promise me one thing."
Chen Ping'an said, "First tell me. Whether I agree or not, we'll see."
Ma Kuxuan said, "At the Ma family estate, if you think someone deserves to die, kill them cleanly. If they deserve to live, let them live. Don't alter their memories or manipulate their minds anymore."
Chen Ping'an was silent.
Ma Kuxuan smiled. "I'll take that as a silent agreement."
The next moment, Ma Kuxuan's form suddenly grew immensely large, gripping an ancient star in his hand and hurling it fiercely at Chen Ping'an.
Chen Ping'an tried it as well, likewise wielding such divine power. He casually waved his sleeve and sent a brilliant starry river smashing toward Ma Kuxuan's dharma image.
In this dual realm—existing both within Chen Ping'an's flying sword "Sparrow in a Cage" and within Ma Kuxuan's visualization—both sides displayed their abilities. The power of each method was at an inconceivable level.
Countless starry battlefields were blasted into vast blank ruins by both sides.
Fortunately, it was all illusory. Otherwise, the great cultivators of the Yin-Yang School and the Five Elements School, along with the Qi refiners of the Imperial Observatory, would probably go mad.
But while it was false to the outside world, it was extremely real to the combatants. No room for carelessness. A single mistake could harm the body and the Dao heart.
Time flowed slowly. No one knew how long passed.
Ma Kuxuan suddenly invoked a statue of Chen Qingdu.
Chen Ping'an instinctively delivered a full-force sword strike.
He cut Ma Kuxuan and the illusion into nothingness together.
Ma Kuxuan's form sat in the Great Emptiness, his body transforming into countless golden lights. At the edge of the sky, a point of light appeared. The golden mass carrying his soul could have followed that light and left this cage. Unexpectedly, the golden mass paused slightly, as if looking back at Chen Ping'an, his nemesis for many years. Then the golden light shook itself, completely shattering its own soul, refusing to have any reincarnation, absolutely refusing to accept Chen Ping'an's "kindness" of allowing him to escape through "soldier liberation." Within the "Sparrow in a Cage," a golden torrential rain fell.
He seemed deliberately not to look at the Ma family ancestral hall, where everyone was waking up from their dreams. He just trusted Chen Ping'an's verbal promise.
That Ma couple had only experienced half a "beautiful dream." First, their son Ma Kuxuan stopped Chen Ping'an, allowing them to smoothly become a pair of landscape gods protected by Fengdu, their family branching out... But the second half was a nightmare. Just when they were complacent, they were suddenly arrested and brought to the City God's temple for judgment. The verdict was harsh: more than twenty reincarnations without human form, then finally restored to human form and married again, but that life was full of suffering, ending in violent death.
The other Ma clan members also woke up. After looking at each other in confusion, they began to regard each other as enemies.
A family that was deeply rooted and colossal in Yuxuan Country was now disintegrating—either inferiors rebelling against superiors or vying to split the clan.
Chen Ping'an stood outside the Ma family's main gate. It was still the Qingming Festival season, but the rain had stopped.
He wore a blue long gown, a folded umbrella tucked under his arm, walking slowly toward another place.
---
In the capital, Changning County, the Taoist fortune-teller Wu Di had left his livelihood tools in the house he had rented.
As Chen Ping'an passed by the Yamen God Shrine, he heard a familiar inner voice. In a daze, he found himself on the city wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
On the city wall stood Li Sheng.
The situation now was both real and illusory.
Chen Ping'an put away the umbrella under his arm and made a bow.
Li Sheng nodded in acknowledgment and said, "The Zhou Mi visualized by Ma Kuxuan was fake. Don't worry about it. But whether Zhou Mi can see your current situation, realm, and mindset through this matter, I cannot guarantee."
Chen Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing is false; hearing is true.
Li Sheng said, "You're quite badly injured."
Chen Ping'an said, "Compared to my earliest expectations, it's still a bit better."
He would have to reforge the Nightwandering Sword and mend the immortal-shed dharma robe. Troublesome as that was, it was better than losing a realm.
Earlier, when he saw "Zhou Mi" behind Ma Kuxuan, he knew he had to take it seriously. If it really were a thread left by Zhou Mi in the human world, the consequences would be dire. He had to inform the Confucian Temple immediately while also trying not to let the sages there interfere with his revenge. It was simple to say but not simple to do, though not too difficult either—when in doubt, ask Li Sheng!
But Chen Ping'an only knew land-shrinking magic; he didn't know how to cross continents like Fiery Dragon True Man. He couldn't send a clone to the Central Confucian Temple to report. Flying sword messages were too slow. So he had no choice but to use the most direct method: call Li Sheng's... real name a few times in his heart.
Li Sheng had merely replied, "I know," and then nothing more.
Even so, Chen Ping'an felt reassured. He walked out of the Ma family ancestral hall and went all out to fight Ma Kuxuan one-on-one.
Li Sheng asked, "You've endured for many years and finally avenged your grievance. How does it feel?"
Chen Ping'an looked a bit weary. He casually crouched on the city wall, gazing into the distance. In this realm, aside from the Sword Qi Great Wall being strictly accurate, the landscape of the Wildlands was greatly distorted. The Hundred Thousand Mountains, Supporting Moon Mountain, Yer Luo River—wherever Chen Ping'an had been and seen with his own eyes—were all crowded together like items in a storeroom. After a moment of silence, he said calmly, "I did something I had to do. It doesn't seem to bring much joy."
It just felt right.
Li Sheng smiled. "If you want to drink, go ahead."
Chen Ping'an then took out the Sword-Nurturing Gourd and drank.
- Li Sheng suddenly asked, "If you were in my position, what would you do? You don't need to say much—sum it up in one sentence."
Chen Ping'an was at a loss for words. Such a huge question—he had never thought about it. How could he answer?
In ancient times, Li Sheng had once collaborated with Mr. Three Mountains Nine Marquis on a far-reaching reform.
Later generations who knew something about this old history often thought it was too lenient and failed due to over-meticulousness.
In fact, the opposite was true: Li Sheng's revised laws and regulations were too complicated and meticulous.
Chen Ping'an thought carefully and tentatively said, "Find the greatest common divisor for all living beings in the Boundless world?"
Li Sheng nodded and smiled. "That's not a bad answer. No wonder you became a state preceptor."
Chen Ping'an said nothing. "Not bad" meant it wasn't good. He was no stranger to this kind of official rhetoric.
He hesitated for a moment, then picked up some snow at his feet, formed it into a ball, and said boldly, "Li Sheng, don't send me to work at the Confucian Temple, alright?"
Assuming Li Sheng reached the fifteenth realm, the Confucian Temple would have an important vacancy that needed filling—someone to handle the complex affairs of the highest and lowest levels of the human world. Chen Ping'an certainly wasn't saying he wanted to fill Li Sheng's position; he wouldn't dare think that. Rather, it was like the relationship between a minister and a director in a secular dynasty's six ministries—two ranks apart, but the latter has no less work.
Li Sheng glanced at Chen Ping'an, a faint smile on his face.
Chen Ping'an immediately knew he was overthinking.
Li Sheng rarely joked, "You really dare to think and act. Why not directly say you want to fill my position at the Confucian Temple?"
Chatting like this had no burden. Chen Ping'an wasn't embarrassed. If he were to speak without taboos, who started the trend at the Summer Retreat Palace?
Because Li Sheng needed to sit outside the heavens and watch the trajectory of the Cyan Path at all times, Yuzhi Xuan, after returning to the Star River Dao Field, had roughly mentioned Chen Ping'an's method of breaking through realms to Li Sheng, praising him highly, even calling Chen Ping'an "Daoist Fellow Chen."
Chen Ping'an asked, "In all these years, have there been times when Li Sheng couldn't help but take action?"
Li Sheng smiled. "Not young anymore. Fighting and killing—how unbecoming."
Chen Ping'an couldn't tell at the moment whether Li Sheng's words were heartfelt or had a double meaning. Whatever the case, if Xiao Mo and Xie Gou were present, they wouldn't like to hear just the literal meaning.
He had once heard Xie Gou tell an embarrassing story about her Xiao Mo. There was a scholar with a foolhardy companion, a very strong fighter who never lost in a fight. Xiao Mo was unconvinced, saying, "No matter how strong he is, he's just one man. Why should I fear him?"
After that sword duel, Xiao Mo told the Falling Treasure Shoal's Bixiao Cave Lord that the young gentleman was not weak.
Chen Ping'an didn't fully trust Xie Gou—she liked to exaggerate—so he went to verify with the person involved. Xiao Mo looked sullen and didn't refute it, so it must be true.
Li Sheng asked, "On the Wildlands battlefield, the Confucian Temple's arrangements are mostly stable, but we lack a position similar to your Sword Qi Great Wall's Executioner. Do you have any thoughts? Don't worry, there will be compensation."
Chen Ping'an responded without hesitation, "No!"
Li Sheng nodded, not pressing Chen Ping'an. "Then I'll find someone else."
Chen Ping'an knew this was Li Sheng's style: decisive and unwavering.
He wouldn't beat around the bush with a junior.
As for the "Executioner" position, anyone who took it would be sitting on pins and needles.
Those with low realm couldn't command respect.
Those with high enough realm, like Celestial Master Zhang Tianlai of the Dragon Tiger Mountain or Fiery Dragon True Man—respected elders—it wasn't a question of commanding respect but of putting them in a difficult position.
Being Executioner meant making enemies. Interrogating demons wasn't hard, but rewarding merit and punishing faults within the Boundless World would be thankless.
Li Sheng smiled. "Don't feel burdened about refusing."
Chen Ping'an nodded and continued drinking.
Who was most familiar with the Wildlands? Only the Sword Qi Great Wall, no contest.
Who was most familiar to the Wildlands? Chen Ping'an, also no contest.
White Emperor City's Zheng Juzhong was actually the best candidate, and indeed the Confucian Temple's first choice.
Zheng Juzhong was proficient in everything, and now he possessed three Fourteen Realms in one body.
Unfortunately, Zheng Juzhong declined.
Not only that, but he even requested to withdraw from the Wildlands, saying he needed to go into seclusion in White Emperor City.
Li Sheng knew full well that Zheng Juzhong wanted to go a step further and establish a school to become a patriarch.
Li Sheng suddenly asked, "Have you ever been to Fellow Zhong Ci's Hundred Thousand Mountains?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "I've only seen them from afar. Never had the chance to go."
Li Sheng said, "The Hundred Thousand Mountains in the south, the Mirage Ruins in the north—if you want to go today, you can. Half an hour later, return to this city wall on time. Don't be late, or you'll have to run back to Jewel Bottle Continent yourself."
Chen Ping'an stood up, about to speak, but Li Sheng had already disappeared.
At the peak of the highest mountain in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, just as Chen Ping'an landed, he saw a stooped, emaciated old man with sunken cheeks, skin and bones. Yet this seemingly decrepit figure had his dojo rooted here for ten thousand years, preventing the Supporting Moon Mountain Great Ancestor from taking that half-step into the Fifteenth Realm. He recalled Bai Jing's comment: if she were the overlord of the Wildlands, she would have long used the entire Supporting Moon Mountain to smash these Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Chen Ping'an clasped his fists. "Junior Chen Ping'an pays respects to Senior Zhong Ci."
The blind old man said, "Ning Yao just left not long ago. Too bad you're only an Ascension realm weakling. Even if you chase her now, you won't catch her. Ning Yao is almost at Fuyang Continent."
Chen Ping'an got straight to the point. "There's something I want to ask Senior."
The old man said, "You want to ask why I stood by and watched Ning Yao get hurt in the Pearl Bead Paradise back then?"
Chen Ping'an said, "Not an interrogation, just seeking an explanation."
The old man rubbed his chin. "With my temper, I would have intervened. A Sword Qi Great Wall, ten thousand years—sword cultivators I think well of can be counted on one hand. From the earliest Dragon Lord, to Zong Yuan, who was good at everything but unlucky, to the one who passed by and was bitten by a dog, Three More Dong, and then Ning Yao—just a few. Not even five fingers. But Chen Qingdu seemed to have taken the wrong medicine; he stopped me, said there was no need to act. Strange, isn't it?"
Chen Ping'an asked, "Was it that the last Sacrificial Official revealed some heavenly secret to the Oldest Sword Immortal before leaving?"
The old man evaded. "Chen Qingdu is dead, and that Yan Guo isn't. When you're high enough in realm, bold enough, no longer need to swallow your pride as a tortoise, and dare to wander the Azure Underworld, then go ask Yan Guo yourself."
Chen Ping'an knew he couldn't get more hidden details. He cupped his fists, said farewell, and intended to visit the Mirage ruins.
But he hit a wall and had to turn back.
The old man grinned. "Come if you want, leave if you want. Does the Hidden Official think this is a latrine?"
Chen Ping'an's face showed no expression, and his mind was equally silent, his Dao heart calm like an ancient well.
The old man, with empty eye sockets, looked up at this sword cultivator—a sword immortal under fifty, exceptional even in the Sword Qi Great Wall's history. He clicked his tongue. "How many Chen Ping'ans do you have to kill to become this Chen Ping'an? Have you roughly counted?"
Chen Ping'an said, "Too many to count."
The old man laughed. "I have a foul mouth. When I talk, I like to spew nonsense, like I just ate hot shit. Don't mind me."
Chen Ping'an was caught off guard.
He couldn't beat him anyway, and when arguing, he never knew how to deal with this kind of tactic.
The old man picked at a bit of skin with his nail and sighed emotionally. "If I really meet someone I don't like, even if Young Gentleman lets you in, one slap from me sends you flying. If I meet someone slightly less annoying, I wouldn't bother talking so much. So don't think I dislike you because you killed Ma Kuxuan of Apricot Flower Lane, who was half-owner of one of my eyeballs. Far from it. I chose him back then because Ma Kuxuan had the faintest human scent."
Chen Ping'an didn't comment, just asked, "Xie Gou also left?"
The old man lifted his chin. "Bai Jing found a mountain to open a cave. She said she's going into seclusion for a few days, but really, she's just messing around over there. Here, I have to urge her to break through."
Chen Ping'an asked, "Does she have signs of breaking through?"
The old man said, "No. If she really finds a path and has a chance to break through, why would I urge her constantly? That would be no fun."
Chen Ping'an was speechless.
Amusing a perfected Ascension realm sword cultivator now and then?
Sure enough, the Fourteen Realm was remarkable.
The old man chuckled. "No matter how poor one's talent, if they can live ten thousand years, isn't that a skill?"
Chen Ping'an said, "A divine skill I dream of."
The old man asked, "Did you know that before the Wind and Snow Temple's Blacksmith Ruan went to the Pearl Bead Paradise, he had a proud disciple, but they didn't part on good terms and severed the master-disciple relationship?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "In the Great Li capital, I checked the Ministry of Justice archives. His name is Liu Jingzhuang. He liked divination, admired Liu Qi. It's said that because his cultivation talent was mediocre, he fell into a heart demon and voluntarily left the Wind and Snow Temple. According to secret records of the temple's genealogy, Liu Jingzhuang was actually from the former Divine Water Kingdom's Liu imperial clan. His status is similar to that of the current Grand Canal Changchun Marquis, the water god Yang Hua."
The old man snorted. "Then do you know that one of the private tutors of Chen Songfeng, the eldest legitimate grandson of the current clan head of the Dragon Tail Creek Chen clan—a branch from the Pearl Bead Paradise in your Jewel Bottle Continent—what's his name?"
Chen Ping'an said, "According to the archives, Master Liu Cun, background pure, ancestry traceable, official career documented. The Dragon Tail Creek Chen clan vetted him first, then the Great Li Ministry of Justice did another check. I didn't think much of it."
Back then, Chen Ping'an had a deep impression of Chen Songfeng, a frail scholar—gentle, polite, and well-mannered. Among the outsiders, Chen Songfeng, as a child of a powerful clan, was judged by Chen Ping'an to be... a good person who must have read many books. That year, Chen Songfeng had followed him, Ning Yao, and Liu Baqiao into the mountains to find that paper mulberry tree. Because Chen Songfeng hadn't practiced martial arts or Dao, he was too slow and became dead weight. Among the Chen clan's sons from the Pure Confucian Chen family, Chen Dui gave him a hard time, but Chen Songfeng had no complaints. What was rare was that he didn't even harbor resentment. At that time, Chen Ping'an was still a frog at the bottom of a well, but relying on intuition and observing the details of one's words and actions, he had a bit of an eye for people.
The old man said calmly, "A mere family tutor hired by a wealthy clan could dare to tell a youth with no talent for cultivation that meditating on the Dao Ancestor's lotus platform wasn't a big deal, and that becoming a banished immortal in a blessed land, leaving one's former self behind, was possible?"
Chen Ping'an looked up at the sky.
The old man, seeing that Chen Ping'an understood, muttered to himself, "I wonder what the world will be like a thousand or ten thousand years from now."
Chen Ping'an said, "Probably the human heart will still be that human heart."
The old man suddenly threw out a question. "Have you ever thought that besides the extradimensional demons forcibly suppressed by the Dao Ancestor, and the porcelain doll your senior brother Cui Chan willingly discarded, there might be other possibilities—just like ten thousand years ago—to turn the world upside down and replace its masters anew?"
Chen Ping'an hesitated, then said through telepathy, "I don't think so, but I hope that day never comes. If it does, I hope—just hope—we can leave a way out."
The old man patted the young sword immortal on the shoulder. "Chen Qingdu had bad looks, but good taste."
Chen Ping'an smiled bitterly, speechless.
The old man remembered something and pointed north. "Gan Tang happened to pass by with his disciple. They're at the Mirage now. Ning Yao recently convinced this old deaf man to become a guest elder of your Luo Po Mountain. When Gan Tang heard the proposal, his heart grew hot, and he agreed eagerly, determined to hitched to your wagon."
Chen Ping'an felt something was off. With Gan Tang's style of avoiding trouble whenever possible, it was unlikely he'd want to go to Jewel Bottle Continent. If he happened to meet Ning Yao, it would be more reasonable for him to follow her to the Multicolored World. Even if he wanted to defect to Chen Ping'an, he'd probably go to the Green Ping Sword Sect on Parasol Leaf Continent.
The old man suddenly sighed, "Pleasure, the beginning of sorrow."
Chen Ping'an thought seriously and slowly replied, "The reverse is also true."
The old man chuckled. "Some say that the last Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall is young and promising, responsible, strategic, both civil and martial, with limitless prospects."
Chen Ping'an knew something was wrong and firmly refused to respond.
The old man continued, "A man who, while alive, could be enshrined in the Martial Temple."
Chen Ping'an's head grew as big as a dustpan.
The old man said, "And if he also enters the Central Confucian Temple to eat pig's head meat? Wouldn't that be a man entering both the Civil and Martial Temples?"
Chen Ping'an, already haggard, heard this and nearly lost his Dao heart. He had to take a deep breath to steady himself.
A mountain lord accustomed to a certain atmosphere on Luo Po Mountain couldn't handle such flattery, especially malicious praise.
In the various dynasties of the Boundless World, no such figure had ever existed. Occasionally, in small states, someone could enter both the Civil and Martial Temples, but even those were few and far between.
Enter both the Central Divine Land Confucian Temple and the Martial Temple, the ancestral home of the military strategists? No matter who, don't even think about it!
Chen Ping'an asked solemnly, "May I ask Senior, which bastard said such nonsense?"
I'll twist his head off.
The old man laughed. "Just polite talk. Don't ask too much."
Chen Ping'an said with a smile, "I must go meet him and express my thanks in person."
The old man was silent for a moment, then gave the answer. "Me."
Chen Ping'an was silent for a long time. "I am honored by Senior's praise."
Whether his name or Dao name was Zhong Ci, the blind old man said, "What a pity."
Chen Ping'an knew what the senior meant but couldn't say anything.
In years past, two children of the same age.
One had the best fate, but he didn't think so.
One had the toughest destiny, and he didn't know it.
Different family circumstances, similar mindsets, so they both lived very lonely lives.
Their childhoods never included playing rough and tumble with peers.
The same starry brilliance—one propped his chin and looked at the sky, sitting on the small mound of Immortal Graves. The other lay on a ridge, chewing a blade of grass, legs crossed, with a babbling ditch beside him.
They gazed at the same starry sky together.