Chapter 1102: Husband, Please Unknit Your Brows
A Flowing Cloud Boat sped along like lightning, mountains and rivers unfurled beneath it like a magnificent scroll.
The ferry had just left the territory of Northern Yue when Liu Xianyang bellowed for Chen Ping'an.
Chen Ping'an, who had been sleeping with his head on the table, stood up, called out to the Night Traveler God with his heart voice a few times, but got no response. He had no choice but to walk out of the room and onto the bow of the boat, where he directly addressed Wei Bo by his true name.
Wei Bo soon appeared on the deck. In truth, when he had heard the divine title, Wei Bo had immediately breathed a sigh of relief back at Piyun Mountain. For this long-planned revenge of Chen Ping'an's, especially the "apotheosis" of Ma Kuxuan, Wei Bo was actually more worried—to the point of being terrified—than those at Fallen Mountain who knew about it, such as the old chef and Zheng Dafeng, precisely because he himself was now walking the divine path.
Chen Ping'an had already taken off his boots and was sitting cross-legged on the bow, shaking a vermilion gourd, not drinking, just listening to the sound of the wine sloshing around.
Relieved, Wei Bo leaned against the railing and asked curiously, "The flying sword message from the Dali Ministry of Justice—did the Sword Chamber at Jise Peak not receive it?"
Chen Ping'an said, "I received it and looked it over, but I was busy with important matters, so I couldn't be bothered to reply."
Wei Bo was furious. Just because you didn't reply, the entire Dali Ministry of Justice has been carefully trying to guess the intentions of you, His Excellency the Grand Preceptor. Even the Emperor had to have the Ministry of Rites send word to Piyun Mountain, forcing him to personally make a trip to the Ministry of Justice. What kind of nonsense was this? The emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is?
Chen Ping'an squeezed out a smile, clasped his fists and shook them a few times in apology, saying, "We're all family here, no need for formalities between us."
Wei Bo asked, "How are you going to settle them?"
Chen Ping'an obviously had a plan already worked out in his mind. "For now, put these sixteen people on Tiaoyu Mountain. Both martial artists and cultivators can stay there. If another batch of sword cultivators is sent in a year or two, do the same—no need to send them to the Sword Worship Platform. Even if Tiaoyu Mountain isn't big, throwing thirty people in there is no big deal. If I remember correctly, there are quite a few existing buildings on the mountain, over a hundred rooms of various sizes, which is more than enough. Besides, it's close to Fallen Mountain, and I might also open up Fuyang Ridge as a personal cultivation site."
Choosing someone to teach boxing was actually easy: Zheng Dafeng had taught boxing for many years in the Secluded Cold Palace in the Colorful World.
But choosing someone to pass on the Dao was a bit awkward.
Of course Chen Ping'an could teach, but it definitely wouldn't be appropriate.
After all, this wasn't the Sword Qi Great Wall. In the Bright World of Hao Ran, whether cultivating the Dao or learning boxing, if the starting point was too high, it wasn't necessarily all good for this group of sixteen newcomers.
As for the white-haired child who now served as the editor and registrar of Fallen Mountain, saying she was an erudite scholar was no exaggeration; she could teach as well. But her identity was special, so it still wasn't suitable.
Wei Bo pulled a booklet from his sleeve, recording detailed files of those sixteen people.
Unexpectedly, Chen Ping'an shook his head and said, "I won't look at it."
Normally, Wei Bo would have complained a bit, saying things like "You're addicted to being a hands-off manager," but looking at Chen Ping'an's haggard face now, he held back. Forget it.
Chen Ping'an said, "Besides Zheng Dafeng being in charge of teaching boxing, we can also have Cen Yuanji serve as his assistant. Teaching others boxing and helping them practice boxing is actually a form of learning boxing in itself."
Wei Bo paused for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "Good idea."
Wei Bo said, "Lu Yong and Zheng Qingjia have both arrived at the mountain."
Chen Ping'an asked doubtfully, "What is Senior Lu doing here?"
Wei Bo said, "Helping Zhao Zhu get a guest elder status with Fallen Mountain, the kind with a seat in the Jise Peak Founder's Hall."
Chen Ping'an said helplessly, "Did Senior Lu really need to travel across continents just to personally come to Fallen Mountain? Was that specifically to offer congratulations and gifts to you?"
Wei Bo shrugged it off with a smile.
Chen Ping'an said softly, "She added a surname to herself."
Gu Lingyan. Zheng Qingjia.
For an alien cultivator from the Wildlands, adding a surname was no trivial matter.
Her Dao name was Yuan Hu, and her alias was "Five Flowers Scribe."
In the Wildlands, she was one of the few Upper Fifth Realm cultivators who disliked conflict and wasn't particularly skilled at fighting.
Wei Bo smiled. "According to her, she came to recognize her ancestry with Mr. Xiao Mo. Another matter is to have Gu Can return to the clan."
Chen Ping'an asked a strange question, "Did she come alone?"
Wei Bo was puzzled but too lazy to ask more. "Just her alone."
Of course, any Jade Purity cultivator could almost certainly use the sleeve-containing universe technique.
But exactly how many people or how much they could carry depended on the skill level.
Chen Ping'an didn't ask any more.
Because this involved a secret that could be either big or small.
Back when Chen Ping'an was alone guarding the city wall, there was once a carriage carrying a group of female cultivators from the Wildlands, chirping and chattering as they traveled north just to catch a glimpse of the young Hidden Officer.
Among those in the carriage, besides descendants of great demon officials, there was a female cultivator from the Golden Jade City's registry who was said to be the most valued direct disciple of City Lord Yuan Hu, having truly inherited her teachings.
Wei Bo asked, "Do I need to have a few words with Tong Wenchang?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "No need. My relationship with Lord Tong is better than yours."
Wei Bo laughed. "Then I guess I'm being presumptuous."
Without waiting for Mountain Lord Chen to explain, this Night Traveler God immediately returned to Piyun Mountain.
Chen Ping'an walked back to the room in a huff, pulled out three gold essence copper coins from his sleeve, and placed them gently on the table, lined up in a row: a Spring Welcome Coin, an Offering Coin, and a Lucky Coin.
An inch of time is an inch of gold, but an inch of gold cannot buy an inch of time.
Down in the mortal world, this was a saying encouraging study. In the cultivation world, however, it carried a deeper meaning. That "gold" referred to the gold essence copper coins.
Old Master Yu Zhen was indeed a decisive man. After attending the Confucian Temple deification ceremony at Piyun Mountain, he had returned directly to his Star River cultivation site in the heavens. But Yu Xuan left a message: within a month at most, someone from Taofu Mountain would come to Fallen Mountain bearing a thousand gold essence copper coins, half lent and half given to Chen Ping'an. Of the five hundred lent coins, no interest would be charged, and they could be repaid at any time.
Moreover, Yu Xuan had also voluntarily forgiven the three hundred coins he had lent to Chen Ping'an earlier in the heavens.
Thus, the true shortfall for Chen Ping'an to upgrade his flying sword's grade—the fourteen hundred fifty coins mentioned by Zheng Juzhong—was actually very small now: only two hundred coins.
And this didn't even include the bag of gold essence copper coins given by Liu Xu.
But those thirty-six gold essence copper coins happened to form a complete set of "Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars of the Big Dipper Cluster," which was extremely rare and could be considered priceless.
If Chen Ping'an simply refined them into the water of the River of Time, it would be an enormous waste of heavenly treasures.
Instead, they could be refined into a grand formation that required no "summoning of gods and immortals," with thirty-six divine generals stationed beside the River of Time.
From Yu Shiwu, Chen Ping'an had also earned a considerable number of gold essence copper coins, which could have filled this gap. But since they had become temporary allies, Chen Ping'an felt too embarrassed to keep them. At first, Yu Shiwu refused to take them back, saying they were useless. Chen Ping'an had to persuade him before Yu Shiwu reluctantly took them. Now, thinking back, it was indeed a lack of skill—he hadn't truly grasped the essence of Fire Dragon Master's business philosophy: "When doing business with people, one's face can't be too thin."
In fact, in the earlier battle with Ma Kuxuan, the body of the counterfeit "Zhou Mi" had been made from gold essence copper coins. A thousand? Two thousand?
So many gold essence copper coins—where had Ma Kuxuan gotten them? Throughout the entire fight, Chen Ping'an had never asked.
In truth, after Ma Kuxuan was struck down by a single sword, that fellow had abandoned even his own soul at the very last moment, clearly intending to leave all these gold essence copper coins behind within the "Caged Sparrow."
Whether they were relics Ma Kuxuan couldn't take with him or spoils of victory, in the end, Chen Ping'an simply didn't accept them.
Instead, using these "leftover" gold essence copper coins, Chen Ping'an helped Ma Kuxuan carve out a brand new path. Not only did he protect part of Ma Kuxuan's soul and allow it to reincarnate, but he also helped Ma Kuxuan completely sever all ties with the divine path that once belonged to the Old Heavenly Court, both in his present life and this body.
Chen Ping'an split off a sliver of his mind and entered the small world of the Caged Sparrow, arriving at the arched bridge at the foot of the immortal mansion ruins. His mind merged with the young Daoist's.
Three figures arrived together, and Yu Shiwu immediately asked, "What happened?"
Besides Yu Shiwu, there were also the barbarian female cultivator Xiao Xing and Ma Mansion's cook Yu Qing—or rather, the former Cherry Blossom Robe Gongsun Lingling.
Obviously, it wasn't just Yu Shiwu; they were all curious about why such a huge commotion had occurred, with a sense of heaven and earth cracking apart.
During the fight with Ma Kuxuan, Chen Ping'an had been worried about unexpected complications, so he had "detained" the three of them here, temporarily depriving them of the authority to freely traverse between different worlds.
Chen Ping'an didn't explain the detailed reasons. He just gave Yu Shiwu a rough account of the outcome. Yu Shiwu was speechless for a moment, then murmured, "Not bad, not bad at all, this is the best outcome..."
Xiao Xing wanted to sarcastically say something like "Soft-heartedness will never accomplish great deeds," but before she could speak, her figure instantly plunged into the long river and nearly drowned.
Gongsun Lingling found this quite satisfying—that deranged slut finally got her comeuppance... The next moment, the restored Xiao Xing suddenly appeared behind Gongsun Lingling, rubbing up against her intimately before pressing against her back. At the same time, Xiao Xing quickly extended an arm like a white lotus root, wrapped it around Gongsun Lingling's waist, and abruptly lifted it a few inches, aiming to grab a heavy handful at her chest...
The young Daoist wearing a lotus crown frowned slightly. Xiao Xing stopped at once, her toe touching the ground as she retreated, landing on the bridge railing. She reached out to caress the top of a balustrade column and said coquettishly, "About the same size, you know."
Chen Ping'an acted as if he hadn't heard and said, "Many of the illusory realms have been severely damaged. From now on, I'll leave the hard work of repairs to all of you."
Xiao Xing's gaze became ardent as she looked at the cook's waist—her skirt was billowing outward, revealing an astonishing curve, plump and exceptional. Xiao Xing pressed a finger to her blood-red lips and said in a syrupy voice, "Lord Hidden Officer, how about a deal? Give her to me as a reward, and I'll serve you loyally, never leaving your side. Give me some time, and I'll have her docile and obedient in no time."
Chen Ping'an narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
The sky and earth grew dim and unclear, yet a tinge of red began to seep through.
Xiao Xing immediately understood the danger and fell silent, not daring to step out of line.
Heaven and man were in mutual resonance. If Chen Ping'an was the undisputed god of this realm, his mood fluctuations would be announced to heaven and earth through different natural phenomena.
Chen Ping'an looked at Gongsun Lingling. "If she dares to harass you again and disrupt your progress in constructing this realm and adding finishing touches, I'll make sure she learns how to write the word 'regret.'"
Gongsun Lingling said, "I am willing to work here willingly, but I need remuneration that has nothing to do with spirit money."
Chen Ping'an asked curiously, "Tell me about it."
Gongsun Lingling said, "If you can guarantee that she won't keep pestering me, then I want you to make sure that while keeping Xiao Xing's appearance and figure unchanged, she grows a penis in her pants."
Xiao Xing laughed heartily, completely unafraid. "Then I'll just spend all my time naked. I won't even touch your body—I'll just walk my dog."
Chen Ping'an was speechless.
Yu Shiwu's scalp went numb.
Gongsun Lingling said, "Then let me change my request. Let me have that thing instead, and let her spend a certain period each day unable to control herself. I want to fuck her to death."
Chen Ping'an said helplessly, "You two should both go see a doctor. Before that, each of you mind your own business and don't see each other anymore. I'll set up a barrier—a mere distance of ten thousand miles."
Yu Shiwu was dumbfounded, his heart pounding.
Xiao Xing covered her mouth and chuckled. "Yu Qing, sooner or later you won't be able to stand the loneliness. You'll come to me willingly for a roll in the hay."
Chen Ping'an remembered something and said, "Gongsun Lingling, I just saw Xiao Pu and Liu Taozhi at the Chongyang Temple in the capital. When the time is right, I can help you restore your Cherry Blossom Robe identity."
Gongsun Lingling was silent for a moment, her fists clenched tightly. She just nodded.
Chen Ping'an said, "Yu Shiwu, let's talk as we walk."
Yu Shiwu was only too happy to get away from those two women. He followed Chen Ping'an up the divine path, where the same harrowing scene of bodies hanging from swords lined the mountain road on both sides.
Compared to Xiao Xing and Gongsun Lingling, Yu Shiwu was the last to enter this mental cultivation realm of Chen Ping'an's. The more familiar he became with the "foundation" here, the more he admired Chen Ping'an's craftsmanship. It was breathtaking and eye-opening!
Especially after Chen Ping'an handed him the passage permit and the control hub, Yu Shiwu finally understood why Xiao Xing had been able to depict heaven and earth so quickly. He had originally assumed she was simply gifted at it. It turned out Chen Ping'an had already laid the groundwork. Xiao Xing, and Yu Qing as well, only needed to select components and assemble them. For example, in a peculiar realm that seemed to be the "source of all laws," there were countless buildings of various types, scattered everywhere in a bewildering array, yet orderly and systematic. Yu Shiwu and the women could freely manipulate any object, shrinking it to the size of a mustard seed or expanding it to the size of a star, entirely at will.
Just taking the Daoist and Buddhist temples as an example: there were sixty-two Daoist temples and eighty-one Buddhist temples serving as "manuscripts," each with its own unique features. For instance, there was a temple borrowing the Twenty-Four Heavenly Statues from the Iron Buddha Temple, the Guardian Statues from Lingxiao Temple, the "Pilgrimage of the Immortals" mural from the Great Pure Yang Longevity Palace, the Linggu Temple with its horse-riding pass, the lifelike five hundred wooden arhats from Jingci Temple on Nanping Mountain...
In addition, there were two "base manuscripts" for both Daoist and Buddhist temples that had all their "unique features" stripped away, similar to how the imperial government would cast "mother coins" for minting... The dismantled components were even more numerous: plaques, couplets, divine statues, murals, caissons, oil lamps, beams, tenon-and-mortise joints, bricks, stones... All were classified by type, ranked by grade, and arranged according to the Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and so on.
It wasn't a simple matter of patching, stacking, and combining. It was more like a Confucian-style, broad-scale "establishment of institutions." "Righteousness alone is insufficient to govern." "From inner sagehood to outer kingship."
An entire building could be broken down into hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of fragmented, tiny components. The three of them could just take and use them directly. That was why Xiao Xing had been able to construct so quickly. Now, although they were adding to the quantity of things in the realm—doing "addition"—the difficulty was actually "subtraction."
Such ingenious ideas, such innovative thinking. Yu Shiwu was no longer merely admiring or in awe—he felt a primal fear rising from the depths of his heart.
Furthermore, at the mountaintop, there was a clear spring. The spiritual energy was as thick as the spring water itself, confined there like a deep, dim pool.
Whenever anyone felt tired, they could come directly to this spring to drink, sit in meditation, rest their spirit, and replenish spiritual energy.
According to Xiao Xing, this amount of spiritual energy was equivalent to the spiritual energy reserves of a Flying Ascension cultivator.
Arriving at the mountaintop paved with blue bricks, Chen Ping'an walked over to the spring and said out of the blue, "Ma Kuxuan was a clever man. He was even more of a stubborn person."
Regarding his life-bound flying sword, Ma Kuxuan had already experienced it firsthand on the banks of the Great River.
Yet the "Zhou Mi" that Ma Kuxuan had visualized and summoned was completely unaware of this.
There are actually many people who like to be "stubborn" with themselves, with others, and with this world.
For example, Liu Xianyang never liked to verbally apologize.
Similarly, Song Jixin was much the same—many times he wanted to mend fences with his neighbor but never wanted to take the initiative to speak.
Perhaps Ma Kuxuan's stubbornness was simply that he refused to speak nicely to anyone. He absolutely refused to beg anyone?
Yu Shiwu couldn't guess why Chen Ping'an was saying this.
Chen Ping'an didn't continue this topic either.
Yu Shiwu asked, "Chen Ping'an, do you really need us—these 'outside forces'?"
Chen Ping'an said firmly, "Of course I do."
Yu Shiwu pressed, "Why?"
Chen Ping'an said, "If someone was forced to eat braised pork belly three meals a day, every single day, and couldn't stop even if they wanted to, how would it taste? Would it be enjoyable?"
Yu Shiwu smiled. "Of course not."
Chen Ping'an said, "It's the same for me. If I single-handedly constructed all these lands, mountains, rivers, and various structures, no matter how exquisitely crafted, every detail, every thing, every person, even if they could all surpass what you all could do—if you looked at it long enough, you'd eventually feel disgusted, tired, even nauseated. That instinct isn't very reasonable. So, I need you all."
Yu Shiwu sighed deeply. "I understand."
"Many years ago, I was always pursuing a state of 'being free from mistakes.' But one day, I discovered that certain 'mistakes' are actually so precious."
Chen Ping'an said slowly, "I need someone to constantly make mistakes on behalf of this realm. The more mistakes, the more real and believable this world becomes."
Yu Shiwu praised, "That's an epiphany."
If he could truly escape that calamity, Yu Shiwu really wanted to go to Fallen Mountain and beg for a place there, even if it was just as a gatekeeper.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "To become a gatekeeper at Fallen Mountain is actually more difficult than having a seat in the Jise Peak Founder's Hall."
Yu Shiwu felt quite helpless.
Chen Ping'an extended a palm and said with a smile, "The gold essence copper coins that I temporarily entrusted to your care?"
Yu Shiwu laughed through his anger. "Obviously, they're returning to their original owner. How did they become something you entrusted to me for safekeeping? If you're robbing me on the road, just say you're robbing me. Why bother calling it borrowing!"
Chen Ping'an kept his pose unchanged and indeed nodded. "I'm robbing you."
Yu Shiwu pulled a money pouch from his sleeve and slapped it heavily onto the other's palm. "Take it all. Just over two hundred and thirty."
Chen Ping'an said a thank you.
Yu Shiwu shook his head.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Daoist friend Yu, would you like to see a certain 'truth' that is not the whole picture? Think before you answer."
Yu Shiwu didn't hesitate. "Yes! Why not?"
At the center of heaven and earth stood a Dao Tree, hanging with countless "ones" that were nearly the smallest possible.
Yu Shiwu was speechless, his eyes wide with shock. He was utterly stunned by what he saw.
It was both magnificent and breathtaking, and at the same time deeply unsettling and chilling.
Chen Ping'an—whether it was ambition or aspiration—was clearly trying to remake the world! And thoroughly confuse the boundaries between truth and falsehood, reality and illusion.
The scenes he had glimpsed in passing were always sketchy; he often knew the results but not the reasons.
Many truths in the world, even if they turned out to be deceptions or proven facts, always made people feel "so that's all there is to it."
But when Chen Ping'an had only just lifted the curtain on a "full picture of the truth," Yu Shiwu's Dao heart was already shaken.
At this moment, still dressed as a Daoist, Chen Ping'an said with self-mockery, "If you're not pure, you've got to walk an impure path."
Back in the Flowing Cloud Boat, Chen Ping'an's sliver of consciousness returned to his true body. He pressed his hand to his brow for a moment, then leaned back in his chair, slowly exhaling a turbid breath.
He took a yellowed book from his sleeve, placed it gently on the table, and casually flipped to a page. On it was recorded a technique that cultivators valued more the higher their realm was.
"Sky and earth connect, mountain walls join, soft as apricot blossoms, thin as paper. My finger points a sword, a door opens swiftly. By the command of Master Three Mountains and Nine Marquises."
Looking down at these words, after a moment Chen Ping'an felt dizzy and his vision blurred. He had to look away and close his eyes to rest.
This old book had the preface and the last few pages torn out. In addition, five pages in the middle, not consecutive, had also been torn out.
But by a stroke of luck, Chen Ping'an had managed to restore those five pages.
This book had been given to Chen Ping'an earlier at the Central Plains Confucian Temple by Li Huai. It was a "ghost scrawl."
It was a random gift from Old Man Yang at the medicine shop to Li Huai, who then casually gave it to Chen Ping'an—a timely gift, like charcoal in a snowstorm.
Earlier, the Grand Dowager of Dali had obtained five pages from the Lu family on Fulu Street, which they had "offered up" to the court. One of those pages recorded a technique for passing through walls and entering rooms.
She had poor judgment, completely unaware of its value, and merely regarded it as a wall-penetrating spell.
Eventually, Chen Ping'an, who had entered the palace with Xiao Mo, obtained those five pages. Then Li Huai gave him the book.
After many twists and turns, it was truly a case of "no coincidence, no story."
Li Huai had said that he got a headache just looking at it. That wasn't just a polite remark. Regarding reading, as Secretary Mao had commented on Li Huai, "His ability falls short," but he made up for it with "diligence in study."
Although Chen Ping'an had only obtained this ancient Daoist scripture for a short time, it had helped him immensely along his path of cultivation. He could discern many insights and even, from the four characters "my finger points a sword," connect this complete incantation with the sword art of Pei Min. Pei Min was the unacknowledged master of Lu Fang from Bird's Peak, and also tied to the finger sword technique of Mirror Mind Studio in Lotus Paradise. Chen Ping'an even speculated that Bai Chang, whose previous incarnation was Lu Yue from the town, must have a killer move related to this finger sword technique. Perhaps in a future encounter on the road, Bai Chang could use this technique to slice open the restrictions of Chen Ping'an's Caged Sparrow world, just as the incantation said: "soft as apricot blossoms, thin as paper." Bai Chang could then easily pass through walls back and forth. So Chen Ping'an had to be careful and guard against this move from Bai Chang.
Chen Ping'an also recalled a puzzling, strange matter. In his youth as an apprentice at the Dragon Kiln, he often followed Old Man Yao into the mountains to search for clay. Every time he climbed to a high point, he could see a tall mountain to the east. But after the Li Zhu Cave Heaven fell to the ground, that mountain had vanished without a trace. To be precise, it was actually two mountains that had both disappeared. The first was named Twin Peaks Mountain, also called Broken Head Mountain; the other, about fifty li away, was called Pingmu Mountain, also known as East Mountain!
Chen Ping'an had once asked Cui Dongshan about the whereabouts of these two mountains—whether they had been secretly moved away by someone using great divine powers, or whether someone had cast a mountain-sealing spell, leaving them in place but hidden from the world. Cui Dongshan didn't know either. Whenever he had nothing else to do, he would just blame that stitch-hunting figure, seizing every opportunity to curse that old bastard to vent his frustrations.
Having too many thoughts in his mind, Chen Ping'an's head began to ache as if splitting. He had to quickly rein in his thoughts, raise his arm, make a fist, and gently tap his forehead to suppress the small world of his own body.
Chen Ping'an stretched his arms a few times. With his eyes closed, he tilted his head back and gently knocked it against the chair back.
Bai Ze had said that bearing the true names of demon beasts would become much more bearable once Chen Ping'an entered the Immortal Realm.
Indeed, he hadn't lied.
Gu Can stood outside the door in the corridor. After hesitating for a moment, he gently knocked on the door.
After Gu Can entered the room and closed the door, Chen Ping'an was still resting with his eyes closed. He said, "Go ahead and ask if you want to."
Gu Can sat down across the table and asked, "Can you actually erase a Qi master's memory?"
Chen Ping'an still didn't open his eyes. He said softly, "Against a Nascent Soul cultivator, it's a piece of cake. For example, that old woman Pu Liu, or Xiao Xing, the demon cultivator hidden in the Lotus Paradise. Against a Jade Purity cultivator, it's not easy. I need to expend a lot of energy and spiritual qi. Moreover, it can't last very long. It's like wrapping a spark in many layers of thick paper. The more steadfast a Jade Purity cultivator's Dao heart is, the bigger the flame."
Gu Can said in a low voice, "Being able to handle a Nascent Soul cultivator is already astonishing enough! If you could arbitrarily erase key memories from a Nascent Soul cultivator and apply the right remedy, wouldn't that mean you have a fundamental cure for dealing with heart demons?"
Gu Can said "you."
Chen Ping'an deliberately ignored the plural. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "Don't forget, the word I used earlier was 'cut away.'"
He drew a line on the table with his fingernail and asked, "What do you use to fill this seemingly trivial but actually huge chasm?"
It was like cutting a piece of flesh from a person. No matter the size, it wasn't simply a matter of the wound healing into a scar or flesh regenerating from white bone.
Chen Ping'an said slowly, "Ordinary Qi masters, sect-registered cultivators, and even many earthly transcendents might not know a certain truth, but you have no reason not to."
Gu Can nodded. "Everything we see, hear, eat, smell, grieve, rejoice, think, and imagine is recorded one by one within the spirit soul, without our knowledge and difficult for us to perceive consciously."
Chen Ping'an said, "'As for this person, his eyes meet the Way and it resides.' This saying is usually used to describe geniuses. In fact, it can be seen as a marginal note or an alternative interpretation of 'memory.'"
Speaking of talent, for example, the scion of Xuan Du Temple in Qi Zhou of the Azure Sky World.
Gu Can and Chen Ping'an had too much tacit understanding.
This alternative interpretation—was it a misinterpretation?
Are you more familiar with Lu Chen or am I?
Why hold a grudge against me? Go hold a grudge against Liu Xianyang, that big mouth.
I don't hold a grudge against a big mouth. I only settle scores with someone as petty as you.
Chen Ping'an continued, "Secondly, to Pu Liu and Xiao Xing, 'Chen Ping'an' was not deeply imprinted in their memories, nor widely connected. Cutting it out was relatively simple. That was one of the reasons I sent them to you—not just to add a touch of refinement to your work. Once they spend a long time with me or cultivate at Fallen Mountain, they will almost completely lose their chance to advance to the Jade Purity Realm. As for altering memories—deleting some and adding others—to the point of making the fake look real, the difficulty isn't actually too great. The hard part is making it conform to both feeling and reason, logic and Dao. But to think that such a means could stop all Nascent Soul cultivators from being troubled by heart demons is nothing short of wishful thinking. It can only be done occasionally for certain people, when the time is right."
Acting in such a way was equivalent to voluntarily taking on a share of karma.
Among those who cultivate the Dao, who isn't pursuing a state of "no branches, no vines"?
Those who want to do it can't. They have the will but not the power.
Those who can do it don't want to. They have the power but not the will.
There was one more thing Chen Ping'an didn't tell Gu Can.
Were there two identical snowflakes in heaven and earth?
Zheng Juzhong said he had seen them.
That meant Zheng Juzhong could... make any Nascent Soul cultivator ascend to the Jade Purity Realm at will, without heart demons!
Chen Ping'an even suspected that one of the purposes of Zheng Juzhong's current "seclusion" was to wait for an extradimensional demon that could be seen as a fake Fifteenth Realm cultivator, waiting for it to descend upon White Emperor City for a discussion of the Dao!
Gu Can said, "I will try to establish a sect in the fourth month, and arrive at Treasure Vase Continent by the first of the fifth month."
Chen Ping'an asked doubtfully, "Why are you rushing?"
Gu Can looked at him.
Chen Ping'an was even more puzzled.
Gu Can said with a slight pout, "For someone as smart as you, you can't figure it out?"
Chen Ping'an chuckled angrily. "Stop being so cryptic."
Gu Can said, "Liu Xianyang is planning to hold the wedding on the fifth day of the fifth month."
Chen Ping'an wanted to speak but stopped, falling into a long silence.
He tried hard to keep his face straight, so he stood up and walked over to the window, looking outside.
This answer from Gu Can was something Chen Ping'an had never dared to imagine.
Not dared to think.
Gu Can silently turned his head and looked toward the doorway.
The tall boy, the grass-sandal boy, the sniveling little one.
Back then, they often walked together on the ridges between the fields, chewing on dog-tail grass in their mouths. Perhaps because their hometown was too small, their age too small, their horizons too small, they didn't dare to dream too big about the future.
***
Liu Taozhi needed to immediately travel across continents to the main hall of the Exoneration Society, hand over Xiao Pu's Dharma robe, and ask an expert to meticulously examine it for any traces or clues.
Before leaving Chongyang Temple, he gave Xiao Pu a few instructions, telling her to be careful while acting as escort for Master Cheng.
He had come to Treasure Vase Continent this time for three things: to escort Master Cheng for a while, to go to the Gui Mountain of Yuan Chao at Hu Prefecture for cultivation, and to persuade Chen Ping'an to accept the position of chief guest elder of the West Hill Sword Hidden lineage.
Xiao Pu asked, "What about Yuan Chaoxian? Should we just leave her in the cold for a few years and wear down her edges first?"
There was an expert at the main hall who had long ago calculated that Yuan Chaoxian was a born talent among the gold-and-jade forests. She had to be brought back to the mountain from Treasure Vase Continent.
Liu Taozhi nodded. "Although nine out of ten tribulations on the mountain are inescapable, if cultivators refine their spirit within and accumulate external merits, they can indeed mitigate their tribulations to a certain extent. She still needs more training in the mortal world."
Xiao Pu said, "Even so, Senior Brother Liu cannot delay the optimal time for her cultivation."
Liu Taozhi said, "I'll go see her first and pass down a sword technique. Junior Sister Xiao doesn't need to offer guidance from the sidelines. We descend the mountain to save people as fate dictates; they ascend the mountain to cultivate, but they must save themselves."
Xiao Pu shook her head. "After going through this calamity myself, I don't have the spirit for it anymore. I'll just hide here."
The middle-aged Daoist priest was naturally robust and heavy with Daoist energy, so he gave off a very oppressive feeling. Especially for a woman of average height, looking at him felt like a mountain pressing down on her.
That was why Bao Shu was so nervous. When the other party gave him that Daoist scripture, regardless of whether he understood it, the middle-aged priest simply explained it word by word. Bao Shu's mind went completely blank.
Zhong Shan, who was as tall and thin as a bamboo pole, went to a certain shabby alley in Changning County. He ran all the way back to Chongyang Temple and saw the old priest. The youth's face was full of regret. "Bai Yun and his grandfather have moved away. I asked the neighbors, but they all said they didn't know anything. Then I went to the person who rented them the house; he also said he didn't know where they had gone. He only said that the grandfather and grandson left some loose silver in the room."
The old priest stroked his beard and smiled. "The fate isn't ripe, so seeking is in vain. This holds true for both you and your friend Bai Yun. No need to be sad. Whether we meet tomorrow will be known tomorrow."
Zhong Shan said, "Mm."
The short Daoist boy Song Juchuan suddenly asked, "Master Jing, have you ever heard of the term 'crane breath'?"
The old master let out an "Eh" and asked, "How do you know such a Daoist term?"
Song Juchuan was stunned. "It's real?"
Cheng Fengxuan smiled. "Of course it's real. This is a term from the cultivation world, but it's not very common—it's rather obscure. I can know about 'crane breath,' but an ordinary Daoist priest might never have heard of it."
Song Juchuan grumbled inwardly. That guy has so many tricks up his sleeve!
After thinking it over, the old priest decided to go to the haunted house on Bamboo Pole Lane in Yongjia County. He dipped his finger in talisman water and opened his purifying eyes. Sure enough, he saw wormwood hanging at the door—two branches, in fact—but they weren't attached to the door itself.
Not having the face to take them without asking, the old priest gently knocked on the door knocker. Soon, a woman opened the door. She took a look at him and asked a strange question, "Are you Daoist Wu?"
The old priest was confused. "Miss Xue, I presume? This humble Daoist's surname is Cheng. My Daoist name is Huilu. I cultivate at Chongyang Temple. I came here because Daoist Wu reminded me. Forgive the intrusion. I wish to purchase the wormwood hanging at your door."
Xue Ruyi was very puzzled. She looked and looked but couldn't see anything. "Where is the wormwood?"
Before this, a slick-tongued young Daoist priest had come to her door, trying to curry favor, saying something about giving her a pair of wormwood.
Ordinary mortals hung calamus and wormwood at their doors to ward off evil spirits. That made sense. But she, Xue Ruyi, a ghostly entity, was supposed to hang wormwood at her haunted house? What an absurd idea that swindler of a Daoist came up with!
Nevertheless, Xue Ruyi didn't care about any of that. Too lazy to argue with the old Daoist, she turned and walked away. The door closed by itself, and she just tossed out, "Take it yourself. Don't talk to me about money. It's a gift, not for sale."
This move of hers immediately startled the old Daoist. He thought, "No wonder this female ghost can attract the attention of Lord Tong. Her cultivation level might not be high, but her demeanor is excellent."
Xue Ruyi didn't care about the wormwood or Chongyang Temple. Listless, her feet not touching the ground, she drifted back to that swing and began to sway gently, her embroidered shoes rising and falling.
It was as if, as long as she didn't turn around, there would be a bowl-holding Daoist squatting behind her. But the moment she turned around, there was nothing.
Looking at the flowers and plants, she rubbed her eyes and looked carefully. Sure enough, one pot of flowers was missing—the one the Daoist had called the "commander" of spring.
Her eyes sparkled, her face bloomed into a smile, as if she had finally filled that empty space left by the missing pot.
***
Pei Qian used a Three Mountains Talisman to cross continents to the Yunyan Kingdom. She sat on a large tree branch at a mountain outside the capital, silently drinking.
From afar, she could see the Fish Scale Ferry's lights stretching on like day. Pei Qian wasn't in a hurry to go to the Wutong Shadow Ferryboat there. She was lost in thought about some matters.
Behind her, someone hooked their feet on a branch, hanging upside down, making faces and saying scary things. "Little girl, guess who I am? Scared, are you?"
Pei Qian didn't even look. She simply threw a punch backward, hitting the other's forehead. The white goose pretending to be a hanged ghost swayed back and forth, crying out in pain.
The white-clad youth with a mole between his eyebrows rubbed his forehead, flipped over, and drifted down to sit beside Pei Qian. Cui Dongshan smiled and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Pei Qian shook her head.
Cui Dongshan looked into the distance and murmured, "A continent's mountains and rivers shattered like this. Those who should have carried coffins and mourned have all become new ghosts. For a thousand miles, no smoke from cooking fires rises. The dead are scattered like tangled hemp. Corpses lie exposed in cities and fields; heads hang one after another on the roads. Swallows return in spring, building nests in the forest."
"Unexpectedly, the Tongye Continent has recovered its vitality so quickly. I only hope that the immortal masters on the mountains and the powerful nobles of the various states won't forget things so quickly. Otherwise, so many people died—truly died in vain."
"I'm worried."
Pei Qian took a jug of wine from her inch-grasping object and handed it toward Cui Dongshan.
Cui Dongshan waved his hand. "Forget about the wine. I'm abstaining today."
Then Cui Dongshan rubbed his hands together. "There are a few things I, as your little junior brother, need to report to you, Senior Sister Pei. First, I saw Yu Lu and Bukeqi. Yu Lu is an open and straightforward person. He confessed directly that he saw his own family's ancestor, Bai Chang, in the territory of the old Lu clan. The latter even gave him a box of pills—very precious. They are the fourth formula of the so-called 'Hundred Days to Immortality,' written by the hand of Immortal Lord Ge herself. And this Immortal Lord Ge is the one written on the talisman you used just now."
"The only disciple of Bai Chang is that Xu Xuan, who keeps pestering He Xiaoliang. He's about to become one of Yu Lu's aides in founding his kingdom. That Yu Lu is a sly one. He asked me if it was okay. Me, an adult male—how could I say no? Also, Wu Yi, the founding patriarch of the Ziyang Temple of the Huangting Kingdom, whose Daoist name is Dong Ling, the eldest daughter of Old Dragon Cheng Zhou, has begun to start anew by the Lin River, once again establishing her mountain and lineage as the founder. If nothing unexpected happens, the sect should be called 'Pure Yang Temple.' She probably hopes that in the future, she can change one character to make it 'Pure Yang Sect.' The idea is good, and Wu Yi does have some skill—just not a lot."
"Not long ago, your little junior brother and Cao Qinglang brought those people from the Lotus Paradise who were willing to leave and return to the Tongye Continent. They came through a well that connects to the Mirage City of the Great Fountain Dynasty. Cao Qinglang found that emperor, the Yao sister you're familiar with. They had a good talk, and the atmosphere was harmonious. Nearly half of the Qi refiners and their immortal clan descendants were willing to form connections with the Yao clan of Great Fountain. They queued up all night to sign various secret treaties with Yao Jinzhi. Once they had a backer, they eagerly rushed back to restore their respective nations and reclaim their divine authority and territory. As payment, the Great Fountain Dynasty will give our Green Lotus Sword Sect a cross-continental ferry called 'Thunder Chariot.'"
Upon hearing this, Pei Qian, who had been silently drinking, finally spoke. "How does it become 'your' Green Lotus Sword Sect? It has to go through the Fallen Mountain Founder's Hall assembly for it to count."
Cui Dongshan sighed. "Those words are like flying swords going 'swoosh swoosh swoosh,' poking countless holes in my little senior brother's heart..."
Pei Qian raised her wine jug. "Stop with the nonsense. Continue with the important matters."
Cui Dongshan said plaintively, "First heartbreak, then a chill—that's double the damage."
Pei Qian rolled her eyes.
Cui Dongshan clasped his hands behind his head, swinging his legs leisurely. "On our blessed land side, there's the quite talented female cultivator Sun Wanyan, the direct disciple of the Fox Kingdom's Pei Xiang, Luo Fumei, the newly Golden Body realm sword guest Cao Ni, who's dead set on going to Fallen Mountain to learn a few boxing techniques from my master, Yuan Huang. The unreliable but dependable young hero Wujiang, the female martial artist He Qizhou from Jiangzhou in the Songlai Kingdom, and others—after completing the matter of 'Dao protection,' they all found the opportunity rare and are willing to travel around the Tongye Continent to broaden their horizons. They should be on their way to Yunyan Kingdom together right now. You don't know—at the Damu Temple, my master's god-like manner of transmitting the Dao made countless men admire him and women adore him. My master, oh my master, never misleads himself and is especially pure in matters of love between men and women. Not a single flaw can be found. But how many women's hearts has he led astray? The one who never misleads himself is the one who misleads others the most. There's no helping it."
Pei Qian smiled, finding that agreeable. That woman she used to call Sister Yao—now the female emperor Yao Jinzhi—wasn't she one of them?
Cui Dongshan smiled. "As for our hardworking, long-suffering Chief Zhou, his heart is anxious now. For the first time, he's encountered a Dao struggle that he might not win against Mr. Xiao Mo. He's holding his breath, trying his damnedest to prove himself. He brought four sword cultivators who were born in the Lotus Paradise due to fate and came to the Tongye Continent earlier than Cao Qinglang and me. Chief Zhou also brought a female dead warrior from the Paradise who goes by the alias Xu Jiaoqie but whose real name is 'Xiao Xing.' They went to the Tianmu Academy. She and Academy Head Wen Yu of Tianmu cooperated seamlessly, fooling many observers hiding behind the scenes."
Cui Dongshan laughed. "That's all for now. Reporting complete. I respectfully request Senior Sister Pei to issue instructions."
Pei Qian just said, "I really want to travel with Master throughout Hao Ran, but I can't bring myself to say it."
Cui Dongshan laughed heartily. "So this is what you were worried about."
Pei Qian looked at him sideways. "Is it that funny?"
Cui Dongshan immediately brought two fingers together and wiped them across his lips, then shook his head vigorously like a rattle-drum.
Pei Qian said, "Master asked me to pass on a message to you. He already has a clue about those remaining alien troublemakers. He has an image in his mind—it's that alien sword cultivator who uses the alias 'Cardamom.' Master told you to relax. He has his means, and with the opportunity to follow the clues, he might be able to find that Golden Core talisman-using cultivator as well."
Cui Dongshan imitated the white-haired child's mannerism, raising his arms and shouting, "Master is brilliant! Master is heroic! Master is more invincible than truly invincible!"
Pei Qian said, "Ma Kuxuan is dead. Master was seriously injured. His long sword, Night Travel, broke in half. His life-bound Dharma robe, which carried the true names of demon beasts, was also torn. Then Master went to Chongyang Temple in the capital of the Jade Xuan Kingdom, and for some reason, he was injured again. Master told me not to worry. I'd like to not worry, but I just can't help it."
Cui Dongshan nodded.
Pei Qian said, "When Master went into seclusion this time, besides breaking through to the Immortal Realm, he also returned to the Return to Truth layer of the Extreme-Stop Stage."
Cui Dongshan hesitated, then asked curiously, "That's good news, isn't it? Why do you still look so troubled?"
Pei Qian didn't speak, nor did she drink.
Cui Dongshan said, "Out in the heavens, Master assisted the Ritual Saint, coordinating with those incomparably high experts to prevent the collision of two worlds. He was in charge of the grand formation, which was very good for tempering a martial artist's physique. So Master going from Qi Sheng to Return to Truth was a natural progression."
Pei Qian said gloomily, "Master didn't reach 'Supreme' when entering the Return to Truth realm."
Cui Dongshan grinned. "That sort of thing can't be forced. If it's meant to be, it'll happen. If not, it won't. Besides, now that the Bright World of Hao Ran and the Wildlands are connected, and it happened to be the 'rainy' period that only comes once every ten thousand years, all sorts of strange people and things are bound to appear. Master not getting the 'Supreme' label is regrettable, but it shouldn't make you, the Grand Senior Sister, so depressed..."
Pei Qian stared into the distance, as if she were seeing yesterday or the day before, or perhaps tomorrow or the day after.
Cui Dongshan shook his head and shoulders, swinging his sleeves as if taking credit. "Senior Sister, don't you worry. That bastard who stole your master's martial fortune—I'll find him sooner or later. When I do..."
Suddenly, Cui Dongshan was jolted awake, as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. He couldn't say another word.
He slowly turned his head and asked tentatively, "Senior Sister, could it be that...?"
Pei Qian nodded. "Blame me."
Even Cui Dongshan had to scratch his head, not knowing what to say.
If it had been anyone else saying this to his face, Cui Dongshan would have jumped up and slapped them. "Who the hell do you think you are? A mere Return to Truth first-layer martial artist dares to claim they stole my master's martial fortune? So arrogant—how many times have you gotten the 'Supreme' label? How many 'gifts of martial luck' have you collected?"
But the answer was Pei Qian.
So Cui Dongshan was a bit dumbfounded.
Pei Qian said softly, "I was originally going to give Master a little surprise. Now it's turned out just as my name suggests—'péi' meaning worthless—I really am a waste of money, aren't I?"
Even though Cui Dongshan had hundreds of reasons in his mind, he knew that none of them could convince Pei Qian to stop feeling this way. It was completely useless.
So Cui Dongshan resorted to a last-ditch effort. He raised his hand to cover his mouth, gritted his teeth, and directly called his master by name, whispering, "Chen Ping'an, Chen Ping'an..."
Pei Qian was furious. She turned and glared. "White Goose, are you asking for death?"
In an instant, it seemed that Chen Ping'an, having been informed through Cui Dongshan's report, immediately used some divine ability to temporarily release the white-robed divine being. He spoke to his disciple and student from afar, his tone unable to hide the laughter in his voice. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? That's not right. I'll save those chestnuts for later. Enough talk—first, on behalf of your master, teach a lesson to that audacious student who dares to commit treason and disrespect."
Cui Dongshan cried out in grievance, "Master, you're happy, Senior Sister is relieved. Am I the only one who ends up caught in the middle... ahhh."
The series of "ahhhs" after that were actually Cui Dongshan's preplanned act, deliberately putting on a pitiful show for his master.
But the White Goose never expected that his Senior Sister wouldn't actually hit him.
For the first time, a slightly embarrassed Cui Dongshan scratched his face. He had overplayed his hand.
Pei Qian tilted her head back and gulped down a mouthful of wine. She wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Her entire demeanor changed completely. She no longer looked gloomy. Her brows raised, and she said cheerfully, "Little Junior Brother, thanks!"
Taking advantage of her good mood, Cui Dongshan said with a smirk, "Besides Yu Juanfu and Liu Suiyu, there's also Liu Youzhou in the capital."
Pei Qian twitched the corner of her mouth.
In front of her master, she could pretend not to catch certain subtexts. But there was no need to hide anything from this White Goose. So what if Liu Youzhou liked her? That was a trivial matter.
He liked what he liked. It had nothing to do with her, Pei Qian.
Just because a girl grows up, does she have to get married? Even if she becomes an old maiden, so what?
In this world, she already had her master. She had a life and a road to walk.
Cui Dongshan clicked his tongue. "If Liu Youzhou knew Senior Sister's thoughts, I wonder if he'd be relieved that he won't have a sack thrown over his head, or heartbroken enough to tie his innards into knots."
Pei Qian showed her signature smile.
Cui Dongshan immediately changed his tune, bouncing up and patting his stomach. He laughed. "My stomach's growling like thunder. Let's go grab some snails or hotpot. What do you say?"
Pei Qian stood up as well. "Let's go to the Wutong Shadow Ferryboat."
Cui Dongshan nodded eagerly. "Senior Sister, you have no idea. The great Sword Immortal Mi is such a show-off now. His fame is unmatched."
Together, they flew toward the Fish Scale Ferry.
The Yunyan Kingdom, located in the middle of the Tongye Continent, was a small state, shaped like a basin, no bigger than the palm of a hand.
Though it wasn't a vassal of any dynasty, its only claim to fame was being the "capital of vinegar," along with yam spirits and ink-making.
But now it was the most famous country in the entire Tongye Continent. The Yunyan Qin clan had hastily built a Fish Scale Ferry to facilitate the travel of immortal masters from the mountains.
Previously, when the Kite Ferryboat had been docked here, Mi Yu—who rarely left his room—had only occasionally stood by the deck railing. At the ferry, voices would rise and fall in whispers, dreamy stares, ecstatic expressions, and even women's screams. They would spare no effort, lying in wait, just to catch a distant glimpse of Sword Immortal Mi.
This bothered Mi Yu to no end. Those women from noble families of various states were one thing, but even cultivators? Should they be so easily seduced by good looks?
Now, the number of women coming to Mi Yu's defense was not small, and they were growing in number. They were almost ready to form a faction in the capital of Yunyan.
Mi Yu, the Great Sword Immortal and chief honored elder of the Green Lotus Sword Sect, didn't even have a seat in the newly formed Founder's Hall. That spot had been given to a young man named Cao Qinglang from Jingxing Peak. After much thought, they had only found one possible explanation: this must be the unique state of mind of a free-spirited sword immortal. Thinking of this, they only admired their "Lang Mi" all the more for his noble character.
They simply couldn't imagine how imposing the Sword Immortal Mi must have been back then, on the city wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall, spending years in solitude, drunk on clouds and sunset, sleeping in drunken stupor.
The Green Lotus Sword Sect, a subordinate sect to Fallen Mountain and a fish crossing the river, already had Sword Immortal Mi as its cornerstone. How could it not open a mirror-flower-water-moon channel? That would be a waste of a treasure.
Poor our Mi Lang.
No wonder every time before, when he was seen in all his jade-tree elegance, he couldn't hide that air of desolation and neglect.
And Mi Yu's true feelings were the simplest: "I'm just a drunkard and a glutton. I'm no good. I don't deserve it."
"Look, look! Sword Immortal Mi is in a great mood today. He's even willing to drink with someone, just a little to make the mood."
"Our Mi Lang, the way he walks with one hand behind his back and his other hand pinching a wine jug—it's so handsome it's to die for."
"Who is he drinking with at the same table?"
"Whatever his identity, as long as it's not a woman, it's fine."
Previously, the God of Wealth from the Aiai Continent, Liu Cai Shen, had attended the Green Lotus Sword Sect's ceremony with great generosity, directly gifting them a Wutong Shadow Ferryboat.
Although the Wutong Shadow was not a cross-continental ferry, its cargo capacity surpassed even the Upper Sect Fallen Mountain's Ink Dragon Boat.
Now, this Wutong Shadow Ferryboat had replaced the Kite Ferryboat and docked at Fish Scale Ferry. It had almost become a private residence for Sword Immortal Mi Yu.
Tonight, on the second-floor deck of the ferryboat, Mi Yu had set up a table with two jugs of wine. Feng Xuetao, who was drinking with him, had personally cooked a few cold dishes to go with the wine.
Feng Xuetao, a rogue cultivator by origin, had one good quality: he could be particular, but he could also make do. He was versatile in various odd skills.
Feng Xuetao teased, "It's easy to see that Sword Immortal Mi is quite popular here."
Mi Yu smiled bitterly and said self-deprecatingly, "If Daoist friend Qing Mi revealed your identity, you'd be even more popular than this good-for-nothing."
Feng Xuetao said helplessly, "Forget it. My reputation is completely ruined across this Tongye Continent. If I'd known, I would never have agreed to Daoist friend Jiang's offer to become a mere honored elder of the Jade Gui Sect."
This flying-ascension rogue cultivator from Aiai Continent had the Dao name Qing Mi. He wore a python robe with a white jade belt and carried an iron mace tucked at his side.
Earlier, he had followed Jiang Shangzhen to the famous Fallen Mountain. Just a few steps away from Feng Xuetao stood a youth in a yellow cap and blue shoes, as well as a girl in a sable hat with flushed cheeks. When Jiang Shangzhen revealed both their realms, Feng Xuetao—who was himself a flying-ascension cultivator—was thoroughly shaken.
Returning to the Tongye Continent, he followed Jiang Shangzhen again to the Founder's Hall of the Jade Gui Sect. The procedure was incredibly simple, and he became a registered honored elder. But Feng Xuetao noticed that everyone looked at him with strange expressions.
It was only when Feng Xuetao went to the Cloud Cave Blessed Land and took a solitary walk that he learned the reason. Now, the entire continent's cultivation world was buzzing with talk about him.
The rumor was that it was only at Jiang the Bandit's enthusiastic invitation that Feng Xuetao had agreed to lower his status and become an honored elder of the Jade Gui Sect—after all, his cultivation level was even higher than the sect leader Wei Ying's.
The story was told with great detail. They said Jiang Shangzhen was utterly shameless, kneeling and kowtowing to Feng Xuetao until his forehead bled, nearly smashing his head off.
And one of the conditions Feng Xuetao had proposed at the time was very much in line with a rogue cultivator and a manly man: within the Cloud Cave Blessed Land, he had to be served by women daily to warm his bed.
That was only reasonable. Since he could befriend that lecherous scoundrel Jiang Shangzhen—who was rumored to have a mother-in-law in every village—it would have been strange if Feng Xuetao didn't share that taste.
Back in his home continent of Aiai, he had been a mountain-and-lake rogue cultivator for so long and never ended up with such a tarnished reputation. Even if he didn't care much about his good name, he still had some face left.
Mi Yu had, of course, heard these little rumors and couldn't help laughing. But since the person in question was right across the table drinking with him, he had to be polite. Borrowing a saying from the young people at the Summer Retreat Palace: "Look at how that word 'freedom' is written, and you'll know whether you're free or not."
Feng Xuetao nodded, raised his wine bowl, and said, "That's a good saying. Worth a toast."
Mi Yu clinked his bowl against the other's, and they each drank. He then said, "Daoist friend Qing Mi, I've troubled you to make a few more trips regarding that matter."
Regarding the excavation of the Great River, from the initial alliance to the day of February 2nd (the Dragon Raises His Head), when the Founder's Hall was established, the early progress had been smooth, a good start.
But then a troublemaker showed up, randomly throwing talismans around, causing a loss of morale. Whether they were seeking wealth or just a full belly, they couldn't afford to lose their lives.
To this end, Mi Yu, two senior sword cultivators from his homeland (Xing Yun and Liu Shui), Huang Ting of Taiping Mountain, the flying-ascension immortal from Zhongtu Tieshu Mountain whose Daoist name was "Dragon Gate," and even the youth from Zhen Yao Tower, had all secretly taken action.
But in the end, only Huang Ting was lucky enough to run into that scoundrel. Even so, Huang Ting couldn't kill him on the spot. The fellow's incredible luck was his most hateful and frightening trait.
Two figures drifted down and landed beside the table. Mi Yu quickly stood up to greet them.
Pei Qian clasped her fists and smiled. "Chief Mi. Senior Qing Mi."
Feng Xuetao smiled and nodded, returning the greeting. "Greetings, Patriarch Pei. Sect Leader Cui."
Pei Qian took a cotton-wrapped bundle from her inch-grasping object and handed it to Mi Yu, explaining, "Xiaomi Li asked me to give this to you. It has dried fish, melon seeds, and preserved fruit."
Mi Yu's mood greatly improved; the haze in his heart was swept away.
If Sect Leader Cui weren't also present, the great Sword Immortal Mi would have wanted to resign from his position as chief honored elder of the Green Lotus Sword Sect right then and there, act first and report later, and head straight to Fallen Mountain the next day.
Let them scold him for quitting. They could scold all they wanted; he wouldn't talk back. After all, when had Mi Yu ever been able to shoulder heavy responsibilities?
Cui Dongshan, smiling, extended a palm and patted back and forth on the great Sword Immortal Mi's shoulder, saying, "Great Sword Immortal Mi, you're a big talent used for small tasks. The burden on your shoulders has been too light."
Mi Yu didn't know how to retort.
Cui Dongshan grinned and said, "It's a good thing that the Great Sword Immortal Mi is one of us, so you won't scold me. Otherwise, if I put myself in your shoes and was cursing, I'd definitely say something like: 'Too bad such a handsome young man isn't a mute,' or 'If I can't beat the shit out of you with one sword, I haven't eaten enough.'"
Mi Yu, being Mi Yu, held the bundle and was still in a good mood.
Other than the Hidden Officer himself, if anyone could use words to disgust me, Mi Yu, then I hadn't cultivated my mind enough.
Cui Dongshan waved his hand toward Mi Yu and smiled. "Chief Mi, I'll give you a vacation. One month. You can go back to the Upper Sect and play with Xiaomi Li."
Mi Yu was overjoyed. "Really?"
Cui Dongshan asked back, "If you don't take it seriously, then treat it as false?"
Mi Yu laughed. "I'll definitely take it as true."
Cui Dongshan laughed mockingly. "And I am Jiang Shangzhen. Does that rhyme?"
Pei Qian reminded him, "That's about enough."
Cui Dongshan brought two fingers together and muttered something. After a moment, two chairs came wobbling over and "stood" beside the table.
Pei Qian put her hand to her forehead, finding the sight unbearable.
Among the younger generation of Li Zhu Cave Heaven, someone had first proposed the term, which had gradually been recognized across the Bright World of Hao Ran: "the Door-Opening Generation."
As the Hidden Officer's senior disciple, a very young yet early-famed Extreme-Stop Grandmaster of Golden Armor Continent, Pei Qian was naturally included in this group, and she was at the forefront.
Just as Pei Qian sat down, she immediately stood up again. "I need to go to the Lotus Paradise."
Cui Dongshan blinked. "About to break through?"
Pei Qian nodded. "Break through!"
At Fallen Mountain, the young boy in green and the little girl in black weren't sleepy. They sat at the stone table by the bamboo building, eating melon seeds. They would clack their seeds together like clinking wine bowls before eating.
In the house that was never locked, the old chef was lying on a rattan chair, dreaming. In his dream, he saw a phoenix hairpin with a butterfly perched—or maybe stuck—on it.
At the foot of the mountain, Zheng Dafeng couldn't sleep on the long, lonely night. He scratched his head and muttered, "It can't be... My masterful moves of playing hard to get, executed to perfection—could all those tricks in the books be lies?" Next door, the Daoist Xian Wei was burning the midnight oil in his study, reading a most orthodox Daoist scripture—one of the very few books he could understand. Occasionally, the Daoist would wet his fingers with saliva and gently turn the pages. He felt an instant kinship with the words in the book.
On a Flowing Cloud Boat, Chen Ping'an lay on his bed, fast asleep, snoring like thunder.
Even his sleeping posture was so proper: his hands folded on his abdomen, his lips unconsciously pressed together, a slight frown on his forehead.
Ning Yao sat by the bed. Her face slightly flushed, her eyelashes fluttering, she whispered a few words. Gently, she reached out a finger and smoothed his brow.