Chapter 1114: Mountains and Seas, A Single Spirit Travels
A bright moon rose over the sea.
The character "rose" was truly exquisite, leaving a lingering aftertaste.
Even a sword immortal, employing the method of spirit travel, no matter how fast they could fly on their sword, would certainly still be slower than the casually cross-continent Three Mountains Talisman, and slower than that night-traveling boat.
An ethereal dharma image swept past countless islands in the sea. Above the ocean, a majestic sword energy tore through endless clouds and mists, a blue figure opening up extremely long paths through the clouds.
Occasionally, a water spirit would look up in alarm, only to see the cyan sword light flicker past, now bright, now dim. Only after a moment would a series of deafening thunderclaps arrive, echoing between the lonely sea and sky.
The sword immortal occasionally slowed his sword flight, letting the sword energy cleave through waves as he passed a solitary island far out at sea. The green of the mountain would lean to one side, rustling.
Passing by an unknown sea immortal mansion, the ornate buildings stood in close array, brightly lit.
That blue figure, which had almost been flying in a straight line straight into the island, instantly split into a dozen or more streams of sword light, some high, some low, just barely skirting around this ancestral mountain.
The brilliant sword light, dividing upon encountering the mountain, dragged dazzling trails through the air, flowing with radiance, before coalescing back into a single line on the sea surface over a hundred miles away.
During a pause to catch his breath, Chen Ping'an slowed his sword light and revealed himself. Tracing a half-arc, his blue robe settled onto the sea surface. He strode forward, walking on the waves, his wide sleeves billowing and filled with the sea wind.
To encounter a ferry boat or a Qi refiner traveling far on the wind over the vast, boundless sea was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Tonight, Chen Ping'an actually ran into someone. The man was piloting a talisman boat, slowly following a patch of extraordinary, colorful clouds shimmering under the moon. A young cultivator was casting his fishing rod into the sea of clouds.
Chen Ping'an stopped at the edge of the colorful cloud sea. The young man, who was fishing with considerable leisure, lifted his eyes and asked in the refined speech of Southern Bodhisattva Continent, "Who goes there?"
Chen Ping'an smiled, replying in the most authentic, native accent of that continent, "A terrestrial immortal who has come out to sea in search of immortals." The young man twisted his wrist, retrieving his rod and dispersing his bait. Ripples spread through the colorful cloud sea. He pulled back the fishing line, then pinched a piece of specially made bait and attached it to the hook. With a single cast, it whistled through the wind. The faint, almost invisible golden fishing line was over a hundred zhang long. The young man chuckled, "A fellow traveler?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "A grandmaster of this path, not inferior to anyone."
The young man was speechless for a moment, then laughed. He didn't say anything else, and that suspicious, strangely dressed man in blue just stood there, moving with the clouds, extremely patient, watching for almost half an hour.
The young man finally had to speak. "I could sit here for ten days without catching a single fish, friend. If you're waiting for me to hook a Rainbow-Wing Phoenix-Head Fish before you leave, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
Chen Ping'an raised his chin slightly. "Let me have a look at your creel?"
A bamboo creel was tied to the bow of the boat, submerged in the clouds. It was of no small rank, clearly a Dragon King creel from the mountains.
The young man laughed. "Looking around and seeing no one, confirming I don't have a protector, thinking I'm low in realm, so you're planning robbery and murder?"
Chen Ping'an smiled faintly. "Fellow Daoist, are you from the Great Water's Cai Zhi Prefecture?"
The young man, with an ancient jade seal hanging at his waist, frowned and said nothing. This person had come prepared? He wanted both the Dragon King creel and this ancestral heirloom? The ambitions of wild cultivators out at sea these days were not small.
Could it be that he had run into some remnant of the wilderness hiding in the sea?
Fine. If the small fish won't bite, let the big fish come. Let me see just what this fellow is made of. The founding ancestor of the Great Water, Long Cheng, also the young man's grandmaster, had once obtained an ancient stone box protected by a divine being in the water. Inside the box were five seals. Long Cheng kept only one jade seal for himself and gave the rest to the Confucian Temple. Long Cheng had meticulously refined that jade seal for three hundred years, making it the sect's treasure, practically a token of the sect leader. It was now hanging from the young cultivator's waist.
The young man put away his fishing rod and stood up, announcing his identity: "Great Water, Cai Zhi Prefecture lineage, Liu Xiang. May I ask your esteemed name and the lineage of your teachings?"
Chen Ping'an waved his hand, indicating he had no intention of sparring in Daoist arts. He smiled and said, "I am quite familiar with Yuan Qingshu."
The young man laughed. "Is Uncle Master Yuan familiar with you?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Also familiar."
Liu Xiang narrowed his eyes. "Oh? Why didn't you just say it straight out, that there's a Wushi Plaque hanging in your shop, inscribed with the line, 'Let this world know that I, Yuan Qingshu, am a sword immortal'?"
Unexpectedly, the fellow's skin was quite thick, as he nodded again. "Friend, you've said exactly what I was going to say."
It was a good thing Liu Xiang had considerable cultivation in patience, or he would have cursed out loud. Here I am, fishing on the Southern Sea, far from Bottle Gourd Continent, and I run into some passerby who claims to be the last Hidden Officer of the Sword Qi Great Wall?! Is this wild mountain cultivator blinded by greed, or does he take me, Liu Xiang, for a fool?
Chen Ping'an said, "Li Cai once returned a broken Sword-Nurturing Gourd to the Great Water."
Liu Xiang was startled and doubtful. How did this fellow know such a confidential inside story? The Great Water had a total of five Dao lineages. It was Uncle Master Yuan who had established the sword cultivator lineage. That relic had indeed been handed over to the Great Water's Blowing Fall Prefecture by Sword Immortal Li of the Floating Duckweed Sword Lake.
Chen Ping'an said, "Sword Immortal Yuan was fond of drink. He once joked with Gao Kui on the city wall that using a Sword-Nurturing Gourd to hold wine, using the names of great demons as appetizers, the flavor was endless, the most delicious."
Liu Xiang asked, "Who the hell are you?!"
If you really are that young Hidden Officer, I'll take your surname!
In any case, Liu Xiang simply refused to believe that this man in blue was that Chen Sword Immortal he had been yearning to meet. How could there be such a coincidence in the world? Besides, over the years, sword immortals like Li Cai who had visited the Great Water all said that the new Hidden Officer, who had first revealed his identity at the Spring Banners Studio of Inverted Mountain, was intensely murderous, almost killing even his own people... On this point, Liu Xiang had verified, through various mountain rumors and insider information, the accounts of certain cross-continent ferry managers and ship owners. That young Hidden Officer was indeed swift and decisive, once ready to shut the door and kill over a single disagreement.
The most crucial point was that they all swore that the young sword immortal was exceptionally handsome, elegant and graceful, that an outsider could immediately recognize his uniqueness at a glance.
Liu Xiang looked him over carefully. The man before him had a jade hairpin, wore a blue robe and long gown with cloth shoes. As for his appearance... it could only be called ordinary. As for his bearing... he had stood there foolishly watching him fish for half an hour. He definitely wasn't Chen Ping'an!
Chen Ping'an smiled faintly. "Friend, you're being vulgar, aren't you? You can't judge a book by its cover."
Liu Xiang was silent for a long time before tentatively asking, "Friend, are you using a concealing technique, some immortal disguise art?"
Chen Ping'an was momentarily speechless.
If you're not a sword cultivator, it's hard to have a conversation.
Liu Xiang still harbored a sliver of hope and wanted to chat a bit more, but then he saw the man in blue wave his sleeve. In an instant, a vast colorful cloud sea churned violently. Several fish leaped out of the clouds on their own and jumped into the talisman boat.
The next moment, the figure in blue had vanished. The words lingering in Liu Xiang's ear were, "When you return home, friend, just say you caught them yourself. No need to waste money at the Southern Sea fish market."
Liu Xiang stared blankly. Although he still couldn't confirm the man's identity, he was definitely a "fellow traveler" — that much was certain.
...
Later, at the junction of the Southern Sea and the Eastern Sea, Chen Ping'an abruptly halted his form. He looked down at the bright moon in the sea, and an old Daoist in purple robes with a gourd on his back rose slowly from within the moon.
It was a phantom of Yu Xuan, manifested through a divine ability, appearing in the mortal world.
Chen Ping'an made a Daoist salute. "Your junior pays respects to Old True Man Yu."
Yu Xuan smiled and returned the salute. "Fellow Daoist Chen, no need for such formality."
Chen Ping'an asked with a smile, "Is Senior worried that I might mislead the disciples?"
Yu Xuan waved his hand. "How could that be? My judgment of people and your skill in transmitting the Dao are both among the top in this world."
That was the way he said it, but after all, an Immortal Realm cultivator daring to speak of Featless Ascension methods was indeed a bit too shocking. Even Bai Jing had thought at the time that their Mountain Lord must have had too much to drink and was talking nonsense.
Yu Xuan naturally still had a little concern. Walking together on the sea surface, paved with moonbeams like layered white fish scales, Chen Ping'an, knowing the old true man's worry, chose his words carefully and said slowly, "For this closed-door cultivation, Daoist Ding needs to consume a real span of time, at the shortest ten-odd years, at the longest a hundred years."
Yu Xuan silently stroked his beard. He would have to calculate.
Given Daoist Ding's aptitude for cultivation, it was not impossible for him to attain the Dao and achieve Featless Ascent within two to three hundred years.
Chen Ping'an continued on his own, "I'm not saying it can't take longer, but it would be meaningless."
Yu Xuan finally couldn't help asking, "What do you mean?"
Chen Ping'an said with a sly smile, "Don't they say 'a cycle of sixty years in the mountains, a thousand years have passed in the world'? How can the nominal age of a cultivator be compared with the actual age of a mortal down the mountain?" Yu Xuan tensed up and said tentatively, "Fellow Daoist Chen, Daoist Ding is the best seedling in my sect. Even if jade needs carving to become a vessel, there must be a limit, right? How about giving me, this bystander, a bit of a hint? This 'nominal age' of yours — how many years does it actually amount to?"
Chen Ping'an only gave a vague answer. "Shortest, ten thousand years; longest, one hundred million years."
Yu Xuan was dumbfounded.
Half true, half false.
True in that Fellow Daoist Chen's method was indeed extraordinary, unprecedented, thinking of what no one else had thought. False in that he was still worried Daoist Ding might drift along the river of time, consumed too much, his Dao heart unable to endure.
Chen Ping'an smiled faintly. "Those who see their true self within chaos can attain the Dao and achieve Featless Ascent outside the Dao."
Yu Xuan asked, "Could you elaborate a bit?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "It's not that I'm unwilling, but that I truly cannot."
Yu Xuan grabbed Chen Ping'an's arm. "It's only been a few days, and Fellow Daoist Chen is already acting distant. Didn't we have a very sincere talk atop Gathering Spirit Peak last time?"
Fellow Daoist Chen, you still owe me five hundred Golden Essence Copper Coins. It's rare for me to make a trip to Haoran; shouldn't we discuss it, plan a bit?
Chen Ping'an said helplessly, "From now on, every so often, I will faithfully and periodically report Daoist Ding's cultivation progress to you, Senior."
Yu Xuan nodded. "That's good too. An occasional surprise is more worth looking forward to than a one-shot deal."
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, then gave an obscure, so-called answer. "The Featless Ascension method I've worked out requires first seeking internal proof, then building a Bridge of Eternal Life, and finally seeking the Dao externally."
Yu Xuan pondered this. "Just hearing this explanation, I've already gained something from this trip."
Chen Ping'an began to change the subject. "Senior, your presence here — is there something else you need to say?"
Yu Xuan hummed in acknowledgment and pointed into the distance. "Earlier, I cast a divination on a whim. There will be a reunion soon. It could be related to you, or it could be completely unrelated. It depends on whether you're willing to wade into the muddy waters." Chen Ping'an guessed the general reason, made a decision in his heart, and asked a tangential question. "That Quanjiao Mountain in Fúyáo Continent — why has it never had a mountain god, whether one legitimately enfeoffed by the imperial court or self-established shrines for heroes? It seems there has never been one in history."
Yu Xuan hesitated for a moment, then laughed. "Mountains and rivers, a hundred spirits walk them; if it's not a god, it's an immortal. There are always those who cultivate divine abilities or immortal arts in the mountains and prefer quiet."
The old true man withdrew the lunar phantom. Chen Ping'an continued his sword flight far out at sea.
---
A few legitimate ordination Daoists were all working as unpaid teachers at Jump Fish Mountain, imparting some shallow Daoist techniques to the eight carefully selected cultivation seedlings of the Great Li Dynasty — techniques that didn't involve sect secrets or violate mountain taboos. It wasn't really a difficult task. These four Daoists, from the same ancestor but different lineages, saw each other every day, and over time, they naturally became quite familiar.
Also at Jump Fish Mountain, while fist teaching was done in the martial arts arena, the place for transmitting the Dao was inside a spacious hall with a few meditation mats on the floor, said to be purchased at a high price from the Three-Lang Temple of Northern Reed Continent.
Bai Feng and the others had all talked about their own experiences, but Xiangtong refused to say a single word. Even Heavenly Lord Xue Zhisui, the highest in realm and seniority, had not concealed anything, saying that Mountain Lord Chen had taken him into a nine-story glazed pagoda, handed him a broom, and they swept the pagoda together every day. Xue Zhisui started sweeping from the bottom, and Chen Ping'an started from the top. Whenever Xue Zhisui chose to start from the top, Chen Ping'an would start from the first floor.
Today, Liang Chaoguan was pestering him again. Xiangtong was thoroughly annoyed by the bunch and finally squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "Aimless wandering."
It wasn't that Xiangtong was being fussy; it was simply that the past was too bitter to recall. Every time he thought of it, Xiangtong couldn't help but feel sorry for himself. That guy, relying on his high realm, strange methods, and addled brain, had dragged him along on a journey across thousands of mountains and rivers for what felt like a hundred illusory years. That surnamed Chen always gave him difficult problems. He would strip him of all his Daoist arts, leaving no spiritual Qi flowing between heaven and earth, and then force him to be a beggar fleeing famine. He had to rely on his own skill and a broken bowl to become a wealthy local squire before he passed the test. He had been a constable in a county yamen for many years, relying on some "ancestral" superficial martial arts, yet every day he had to track down bandits and outlaws who could leap over roofs and walk on walls, suppressing water bandits, nearly being hacked to death by random blades several times. When the imperial exam results were announced, he ran errands for the newly appointed officials, begging for a few tips. Even when he managed to earn some money by being quick on his feet and knowing the shortcuts over walls, he might get cornered in an alley by a few colleagues and beaten up. Then that guy would jump out, say something nauseating like, "Under the broad daylight, beneath the Son of Heaven's feet, cease your lawlessness!", scare off those bastards, and then stand there with arms crossed, leaning against the wall, grinning at his bruised and battered self staggering to his feet. Chen Ping'an even made him do the street performer's act of breaking stones on his chest in the middle of busy markets or at canal docks. He'd raise his arm high and bring a hammer down, smashing against his chest, making him feel suffocated and seeing stars. Amidst the noisy cheers, that guy would already be hawking his miracle pills at the top of his lungs.
There were also occasional leisurely mountain walks. That guy said it was to balance work and rest, afraid his Dao heart would shatter, making it hard to explain to Fellow Daoist Yu later. They wore straw sandals and carried baskets into the mountains to gather herbs, casually searching for immortals and enjoying the scenery. That guy would spout doggerel verses that neither used proper allusions nor followed tonal patterns—things like "The ruler scorns the poet-guest, the prime minister disdains the martial man. Only the Chen physician takes pity on this Xiangtong." Once, in a dynasty's capital, they took over a boot shop that was doing poor business. Xiangtong knew nothing about it and was completely lost. Finally, under the guidance of that surnamed Chen, Xiangtong managed to make some money by also selling an official directory. Xiangtong had also been a lazy silversmith, utterly steeped in the merchant's stench of copper. He felt he still had some moral bottom line, and was about to fall out with that guy completely.
But they also opened a pretty successful incense and candle shop outside a temple.
They didn't make money, but they didn't lose any either. Xiangtong was neither busy nor idle every day; it was just relatively peaceful.
Liang Chaoguan saw that the notoriously proud Xiangtong was clamming up again and asked suspiciously, "Xiangtong, if you hate Mountain Lord Chen so much, why do you stay? If you walk away, you won't see him and won't be annoyed."
Xiangtong was silent for a moment, then said sullenly, "Staying here tempers my Dao heart."
Liang Chaoguan slapped Xiangtong on the shoulder and laughed loudly. "Face the difficulties head-on! That's the spirit for Featless Ascent!"
Xiangtong glanced sideways at Liang Chaoguan, who was trying to get close, and the latter withdrew his hand awkwardly.
Only then did Xiangtong ask, "Among the youngest generation of ordination Daoists in our Peach Rune Mountain, what grade do these children's aptitudes roughly fall into?"
Bai Feng, with her ten fingers interlaced, straightened her waist and stretched luxuriously. She simply couldn't be bothered to answer such an idiotic yet very Xiangtong-like question. Liang Chaoguan laughed. "After all, they are immortal seedlings selected by the Great Li Song Clan with the full strength of the nation. Over on our side, it wouldn't be difficult for them to become personal disciples of the Patriarch Hall members of various peaks. One or two of the best, if their luck is good enough to catch the eye of a certain patriarch, taken as disciples and cultivated for a hundred years or so, they might even become the next Lu Biyu of a Flying Immortal Palace peak?"
Lu Biyu felt helpless. Although he was at Flying Immortal Palace and Liang Chaoguan at the ancestral court of One Marquise Peak in Peach Rune Mountain—one mountain with four sects, countless Daoists—before coming to Fallen Mountain, they had been total strangers with no interaction whatsoever. But he had long heard of Liang Chaoguan, a cultivation genius with great immortal fortune who had trained in the Cloud Dream Cave Heaven based on his own true ability. Apart from cultivation, based on internal sect bulletins and various rumors, Liang Chaoguan was a very serious Daoist, cultivating talismans and also refining swords. He didn't seem so frivolous in speech. The mink-capped girl checked the cultivation progress of those little greenhorns, her face unhappy, brow deeply furrowed. She was clearly dissatisfied. She had carefully taught them the Daoist formulas and explained every step in detail, but they were still bumping around like headless flies. Scolding them a bit would only make her own teaching abilities look bad. So Xie Gou forced herself to offer some words of encouragement, intending to have a certain ordinary attached elder follow her outline and teach them a few more times thoroughly. Teaching fools to fools might, by double negatives, produce a positive effect?
Xie Gou looked at Bai Feng's chest. The mink-capped girl said nothing, just shook her head, sighed, and walked away.
Liang Chaoguan lowered his voice and asked, "What did Miss Xie mean by that?"
Lu Biyu dared not express an opinion on such a matter.
Xiangtong said bluntly, "She thinks it's a burden."
Lu Biyu said, "Miss Xie is very remarkable."
Liang Chaoguan agreed. "Unfathomable."
Bai Feng sneered. "She understands her wine."
Xiangtong, from Crane Back Peak, had the highest realm and in fact the broadest vision. He hesitated, wanting to speak, but ultimately didn't voice his conjecture.
That girl-looking Xie Gou was highly likely a sword cultivator whose swordsmanship far surpassed Mi Yu's.
This second-rank attached elder of Fallen Mountain—Xiangtong deeply believed her claim of having once chopped down an old throne.
He had heard she also had a Dao partner, named "Xiao Mo," who, barring any accidents, would also be a sword immortal.
Liang Chaoguan clasped his hands behind his head and sighed. "I really don't know how Mr. Chen managed to gather them all on one mountain."
Aside from the Central Earth Divine Continent, each continent either had a Heavenly Lord like Qi Zhen or Xie Shi, nominally the Dao master of the continent, or mountain leaders like Jing Hao, infinitely glorious.
But if one were to calculate territorial size, how vast were the Four Seas outside the Nine Continents? They were far from comparable to the land mountains and rivers of a single continent.
Besides the influential Lady Dandan, who presided over land and water transport, the new Four Seas Water Lords were: the Eastern Sea True Dragon King Zhu, the Southern Sea Divine Title "Bright Moon" Li Yehou, the Western Sea Bi Yuan Liu Rouxuan, and the Northern Sea Divine Title "Great Fortune" Wei Tianting.
The Eastern Sea Water Lord's underwater mansion. Recently, within the mansion, purple mist had been rising, a grand phenomenon forming a huge vortex on the sea surface. Water mansion clerks and soldiers were constantly patrolling and cordoning off the area. Unless one held a special pass personally issued by the Patrol and Inspection Department, no unrelated persons were allowed to approach.
Now, the water mansion's jurisdiction had twenty-four departments, scattered like stars across the land, like the imperial city of a mortal dynasty, occupying ten thousand li of territory, guarding this central "palace city."
Outside the nine-zhang-high vermilion lacquer gate, on the blue-green jade square, an old man in a blue robe appeared with his hands behind his back. "Splendid and magnificent, quite impressive, very good for scaring people."
A golden-armored general holding an iron spear gently tapped the ground with the butt of his spear and asked sternly, "Who goes there? State your identity at once!"
The old man ignored him, just looking up at the few plaques hanging high and low.
Another high-ranking water mansion divine general came to the gate, followed by a group of elite armored soldiers clanking.
The uninvited guest, who had somehow crossed multiple barriers, still didn't so much as glance at the assembled water mansion divine officials and soldiers.
That divine general reached for his sword hilt and warned, "Trespassing into the water mansion is a serious crime."
The old man withdrew his gaze, yawned out of boredom, and laughed. "I have to suppress my realm so as not to scare you to death. It's very hard work."
The sword-wielding divine general stepped forward. "Still playing tricks? If you don't state your name, don't blame me for taking you into custody and throwing you in the water prison."
The old man in blue said, "Alright, there's nothing to talk about with you. Tell that Wang Zhu to get her ass out here and see an old acquaintance."
The divine general was about to activate the water mansion’s grand formation and send a water vein smashing at this insolent old fellow.
But to his horror, the divine general found that the water vein, part of the mansion's great array, was completely unresponsive.
The old man muttered to himself, "Yes, she wouldn't dare show herself before me."
"A heavy downpour, plenty of rainwater distributed among the four seas. That little girl was lucky to have made the first move and broken through by a fluke. Indeed, in terms of qi fortune, compared to this scourge that survived the calamity, Li Yehou and the others don't have the advantage."
"So she dare not see me even more."
A ritual department divine lady hurried over, her expression respectful. She hesitated, wanting to speak.
How to address him was indeed a problem.
The visitor was the Dragon-Slayer, Chen Qingliu!
The old man said, "Oh, finally someone who isn't blind shows up."
The ritual department director made a curtsy. "This maidservant pays respects to Immortal Lord Chen."
Chen Qingliu nodded and said with a sly smile, "Has Wang Zhu made up her mind not to receive guests today?"
The female official looked awkward.
The Water Lord Wang Zhu had just issued an order, roughly meaning that the mansion was closed to visitors today.
Chen Qingliu snorted. "Scared shitless, is she?"
Some water mansion divine generals, harboring thoughts of sharing their lord's humiliation even unto death, were ready to fight him, even though they had already guessed the identity of the old man in blue.
Chen Qingliu stepped forward. Along with the ritual department female official, the assembled water mansion divine generals and soldiers found themselves involuntarily, no matter how they struggled or operated their innate divine abilities, forced to kneel on the ground.
It was as if the Heavenly Dao was pressing down upon them and they could not stand.
With each step Chen Qingliu took, inside a great hall of the water mansion, the Water Lord Wang Zhu, who had been sitting on her dragon throne, with a twisted, deathly pale face, her hands gripping the armrests tightly, began to tremble.
By the time Chen Qingliu entered the water mansion and drew closer to this great hall, Wang Zhu, who had already reached the Fourteenth Realm, didn't even dare to entertain the thought of leaving her dragon throne.
When Chen Qingliu, strolling leisurely, arrived outside the threshold of the great hall, inside the hall, the Fourteenth Realm Wang Zhu was no longer in human form. Instead, a pure white giant dragon coiled there.
The massive body of a true dragon, even as it tried to curl up as much as possible, still occupied half of the spacious and deep hall.
Chen Qingliu still had his hands behind his back, his expression normal, but a hint of mockery appeared in his eyes. He raised one foot and placed it on the threshold. "Tsk tsk, slightly stronger than back then, but you only hid. You didn't run."
The pure white giant dragon slowly raised its head about a zhang. Such a minute movement seemed to drain all its spirit and Dao power.
It stared fixedly at that... butcher!
A blood debt like a sea of blood, this was it.
Chen Qingliu smiled faintly. "Isn't it despairing? You've already reached the Fourteenth Realm, yet you find yourself unable to even lift your head properly when you see me. After a sliver of faint hope is extinguished, that's probably the true despair."
Wang Zhu, in a daze, maintaining a sliver of true spirit, spoke hoarsely, "If you kill me, you will also fall in realm!"
The rules of the Confucian Temple? They would surely not be able to stop this Dragon-Slayer.
And Wang Zhu would absolutely not go begging for mercy from the Confucian Temple.
Chen Qingliu said mockingly, "The world is different now. Are there still a lack of true dragons? If I kill one Wang Zhu, a second one will naturally take her place. I have plenty of work to do."
Three thousand years ago, the Dragon-Slaying War had killed all true dragons in the world, single-handedly creating the Li Pearl Cave Heaven.
Chen Qingliu had withdrawn from the world after his success and had never been seen again. But even though he hadn't shown his face in three thousand years, still, no dragon kind in the human world dared to cross the line.
"I was just passing through and planned to drop in for a visit. But those words of yours didn't sound good."
Chen Qingliu smiled faintly. "Should I use your head to test the sharpness of my long sword, honed for three thousand years?"
A clear hesitation appeared in the golden eyes of the pure white true dragon. Its two whiskers swayed slowly, rippling with pure golden light.
Chen Qingliu had a little-known Daoist title, "Green Lord."
This Dragon-Slayer possessed an even more concealed single-word flying sword. But it hadn't been like that from the beginning. The sword was nurtured through battle, the edge tempered and honed bit by bit.
The flying sword's innate divine ability was just one word.
Slash.
Chen Qingliu reached out and grasped. The boundless seawater in the water mansion's territory instantly dried up completely, eventually condensing into a cyan long sword.
Setting the long sword upright, Chen Qingliu pressed his two fingers together and gently flicked the blade. The sword body vibrated, humming incessantly.
Wang Zhu was already barely able to resist that pressure, like the Heavenly Dao's might pressing down upon her. But she absolutely refused to offer her neck for the blade. She raised a claw and pressed it heavily against the floor of the great hall.
Chen Qingliu shook his head. "You lot of new Fourteenth Realm cultivators are simply pathetically weak."
Wang Zhu was actually suppressed to the point of shedding her true dragon form, reverting to human shape. Blood flowed from her seven orifices as she curled up on the dragon throne.
Just then, as Chen Qingliu was about to cross the threshold and behead the wretch with a single stroke, he suddenly stopped and laughed in mock anger. "Old Yu, always meddling!"
A middle-aged man had appeared beside him, also dressed in a blue scholar's robe.
It was Chen Ping'an.
Chen Qingliu gave a start. "Haven't the two of you already dissolved your contract?"
Chen Ping'an smiled and nodded. "Unbeknownst to me, I was passively bound by the contract. Once I came to my senses, I actively dissolved it."
Chen Qingliu glanced at the young mountain lord askance and clicked his tongue. "Young man, you already have Ning Yao as your Dao partner, and you're still not satisfied? Eating what's in your mouth while thinking about what's in the pot. That's not good, is it?"
Chen Ping'an didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What was he talking about?
"Want to save her? How? A mere Nascent Infant realm cultivator, just a step above Jade Pu before Immortal Realm, and you dare to show up here?"
Chen Qingliu turned around, casually shaking the long sword in his hand. "Putting aside realms, shall we not talk about realms?"
Chen Ping'an glanced at Wang Zhu on the dragon throne inside the hall. Wang Zhu's face was icy cold, as if she wasn't very grateful.
Chen Qingliu held his sword in one hand and took a step towards Chen Ping'an, grinning. "Can't figure it out, very curious. How are you going to stop me? Just because we both have the surname Chen?"
Chen Ping'an made a deep bow. "I take the liberty of begging you, Senior, to sheathe your sword."
Wang Zhu inexplicably flew into a rage and screamed, "Don't beg him!"
Begged when young, begged when older, and now she still had to beg?!
I, Wang Zhu, am already Fourteenth Realm, the qi fortune of all dragons under heaven gathered in my body. I should carry the burden of my own life and death. I don't need you to meddle!
Chen Ping'an glanced sideways into the great hall and said bluntly, "Shut up, will you?"
Wang Zhu trembled with rage.
Chen Qingliu chuckled and warned, "Chen Ping'an, think it through. If you stand against me today, the price will not be small, and the aftereffects will be even greater." Chen Ping'an's eyes were firm as he said slowly, "Regarding Wang Zhu, Master Qi entrusted me with something. I need to be her guardian at least once. From what I've seen so far, Wang Zhu, having left Li Pearl Cave Heaven, has committed no transgressive acts. For now, you have no need to use your sword against a dragon."
"Oh?"
Chen Qingliu twisted his lips. "Did Qi Jingchun tell you that himself?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "Master Qi didn't need to say it."
Chen Qingliu smiled faintly. "Immortal Realm is too weak. Why don't you call on the Old Scholar to come and stir the pot? I also suggest you bring the Ritual Saint along."
Chen Ping'an remained silent.
Chen Qingliu waited patiently for a moment, then said mockingly, "How can a person live so pitifully?"
He shook his head, and with a shudder of his wrist, the long sword dissolved into seawater. "I won't bully a junior. Just consider it you owe me a swordsmanship duel at the same realm."
Chen Qingliu glanced at Wang Zhu and joked, "He has saved your life twice. Doesn't that mean you have to give yourself to him twice? I can help watch the door."
Wang Zhu shakily raised an arm, lowered her head, and wiped the blood from her face with her dragon robe sleeve.
Chen Qingliu clasped his hands behind his back. "Great Sword Immortal Chen, care to take a walk with me?"
Chen Ping'an nodded.
Chen Qingliu's first question was unexpected. "At the Sword Qi Great Wall, did Chen Qingdu ever comment on my swordsmanship?"
Chen Ping'an replied truthfully, "The Old Great Sword Immortal never mentioned you, Senior."
Chen Qingliu rubbed his chin. "How infuriating."
Chen Ping'an smiled.
Chen Ping'an asked curiously, "I have a question. During your cultivation journey, Senior, did Zou Zi ever target you?"
Chen Qingliu laughed heartily. "I'm not the type to enjoy meddling in others' affairs when I have nothing better to do. Besides, I cannot become a Fifteenth Realm pure sword cultivator; I'm not pure enough."
Chen Qingliu changed the topic again. "I briefly showed a bit of water-controlling sword technique just now. How do you think it compares to Chen Qingdu?"
Chen Ping'an said truthfully, "Setting aside killing power, in terms of the Dao of the sword, each has its own merits. As for sword technique, the gap is considerable. Even if both are perfected, a circle can be large or small."
Chen Qingliu nodded, said nothing, but began to turn around.
Wang Zhu inside the hall, who had just sat up, suddenly turned deathly pale.
Chen Ping'an had to add, "You said you were doomed never to become a Fifteenth Realm sword cultivator, Senior. I think that was a self-deprecating joke. The spirit of the 'Green Lord,' who drew his sword to go down the mountain and sheathed it to retire, would never be so low."
Chen Qingliu hummed in response.
Only talking about spirit, not about achievement. That was indeed an honest statement.
The two walked side by side in silence.
Before leaving the Eastern Sea Water Mansion, Chen Qingliu said out of the blue, "So what if one cultivates to the pinnacle of the human world? It is then that one is least free. If one establishes a school and calls oneself an ancestor, one finds the Dao narrow and the world cramped."
Having said this, Chen Qingliu departed for the Barren Wild World through a Guixu passage.
Chen Ping'an was about to fly off on his sword again and continue his journey.
Wang Zhu, having recovered, came to his side.
After all, she was a Fourteenth Realm cultivator in her own Dao field.
Chen Ping'an said, "Back then, I was able to obtain that opportunity and become the sword-bearer. What I did and thought was not the real key. Ultimately, it was because Master Qi gave me his trust."
Wang Zhu pursed her lips.
Chen Ping'an said calmly, "Whether they are still here or not, don't disappoint those who gave us hope."
Wang Zhu bit her lip.
Chen Ping'an put his hands in his sleeves. "As long as you never disappoint Master Qi, I had to beg a senior to sheathe his sword today. In the future, I won't need to beg."
Wang Zhu turned her head to look at this former neighbor. She slowly raised her hand.
Chen Ping'an instantly sidestepped several paces, his expression full of vigilance.
After all, there were now two realms between them.
But Wang Zhu just looked at him with a sly glint in her eyes and smoothed her temple hair.
Chen Ping'an pushed off the ground with his toe, and a streak of sword light shot out of the water mansion.
---
In these peaceful times, the land was all spring, the smoke from village chimneys thick. A guest came from the west, his clothes still stained with the rain of apricot blossoms.
At Fallen Mountain, on this day came a gaunt old man in Daoist robes. A gourd ladle was tied at his waist, he was dusty from travel, and carried a qin case on his back.
Old Immortal Jia Sheng happened to be here today, drinking tea at a table, eagerly chatting with Xianwei, who had now been promoted to Mountain Lord.
The visitor called himself a Daoist from Lushan, Hong Chengxian, style name Yujian. Because he hadn't intended to ascend the mountain, he hadn't registered his name with the Daoist Xianwei.
The old Daoist was quite talkative. He claimed to be skilled at playing a qin carved by Lei, and having met another equally talkative Old Immortal Jia, they got along famously. The old Daoist took down his qin case and demonstrated his skill.
Jia Sheng praised him endlessly, giving an honest review from the bottom of his heart: "Indeed, the sound is crisp and clear, without the least trace of worldly fire, its meaning otherworldly."
Actually, cultivators like Hong Chengxian, pretending to "pass by" the foot of the mountain, were quite common. But ones like this old Daoist, who dared to take a seat at the table, were rare.
Hong Chengxian drank his tea, getting along very well with Old Immortal Jia. They chatted freely, letting the conversation drift wherever it pleased. Speaking of the sky, it naturally led to one thing and another. At this point, he mentioned a friend of his, who had had a fairly smooth official career, once reaching the position of Minister of Rites in a certain kingdom. Old Immortal Jia saw through it but didn't call him out. "Inventing a friend," eh.
Hong Chengxian continued, "I met this poor priest when we were young. When he was a Secretary of the Imperial Library, I got to know this arrogant young man who served as a Palace Guard."
Jia Sheng asked tentatively, "Your first official position?"
Hong Chengxian smiled and nodded, confessing his own shortcomings. "Indeed, my first position was that of a Secretary of the Imperial Library — one of those positions where you get on the carriage without falling and you're considered a writer, and if asked how you are, you become a secretary."
Jia Sheng stroked his beard and laughed. "Friend, you come from a good family. No wonder your speech and manner are so elegant and natural." Hong Chengxian continued the story of that friend. A prodigal son who turned over a new leaf, from a youth who ran wild and acted absurdly in the capital, he saw the light, began to study diligently, and after becoming Minister of Rites, he once advised the emperor: the ruler of the state and his ministers, if they are devout Buddhists, that is naturally a good thing. But they should not blindly flatter the Buddha. If they exhaust the people's blood and sweat to provide offerings, and if the Buddha has a spirit, would he be willing to accept them? Damaging the national treasury, delaying agriculture, and wasting the people's strength to obtain blessings — do such blessings necessarily exceed the blessings one prays for? Cultivating and upholding the Buddha's teachings might lead to the resources for a future life. The Confucian cultivation of self, ordering the family, and governing the state, however, addresses the urgent matters of the present. A second ruler changed course, beginning to venerate Daoist teachings, and turned to destroying monasteries and eradicating Buddhism. This same old man, who had just received the title of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, publicly opposed the emperor's destruction of Buddhism and veneration of Daoism. His argument was: if one says the present is near and the future life far, and one abandons the near to seek the far, that is wrong. Then conversely, if the future life is far and the present near, and one only looks at the present day's tomorrow, not the present body's future life, that is also wrong. Within the court and without, some said he was seeking fame and losing his integrity in his later years. Only a few considered him a true Confucian scholar. Having said this, the old Daoist raised a withered hand and lightly patted the qin case on the table. "From youth to old age, we were close friends. But he became an official, and I became an immortal cultivator. Inevitably, we drifted apart and gradually had no more letters. Times change. I revisited the old place. The romances of the past were all washed away by wind and rain. My old friend's house was overgrown with weeds. Old trees stood crooked, tough and gaunt, their branches like veins. Only a single ancient crabapple remained, still graceful, like a peerless beauty lost in her own admiration."
Old Immortal Jia sighed deeply, adding, "How many times in life does one get to be drunk in the shadow of flowers?"
Cui Chengxian picked up his water bowl and said sadly, "No solution."
Jia Sheng didn't want to comment much on this matter, so he just raised his bowl and clinked it with Cui Chengxian's.
At that moment, the young Daoist sitting on a bamboo chair spoke up unexpectedly. "There is a solution."
Cui Chengxian turned his head and asked with a smile, "What solution?" Xianwei replied, "If one is willing but powerless, one can hang up one's official seal and resign, retreat to the mountains and forests. Such lofty integrity, when seen by one's descendants and clan, by the court and the common folk, will make them understand that there are indeed scholars in this world who study books in such a way. Therefore, this is correct."
"If one is truly unable to do anything, and finds it difficult to change the situation from turbid to clear, one has no choice but to go along with the flow and associate with those of a different path. But one does one's utmost, quietly making up for things in the dark, doing many good deeds that benefit the people and the state. Let outsiders curse if they will; a lifetime's reputation may be ruined in an instant, but one has a clear conscience. Therefore, this is also correct."
"Two kinds of affairs, two kinds of people, two kinds of hearts. None of them are in vain. They take root and bear fruit in people's hearts. The leaves may not be lush, but they are like that crabapple."
Hearing this, the old man thought it over carefully for a moment, then sighed. "So that's it."
The Daoist Xianwei smiled but said nothing.
Indeed, he couldn't be asked to discuss the details of cultivating Dao from books. Speaking of these "vague Daoist words" was what he was good at.
After that whole affair with Li Muzhou of the Classic Views Temple, Xianwei now got nervous whenever he met a real Daoist. It was only with great difficulty that he had mustered the courage to spout a few lines.
Of course, it was mainly because Old Immortal Jia was there, guarding the mountain gate, that Daoist Xianwei wasn't worried about saying the wrong thing.
Still, when in Rome, one must do as the Romans do. One should treat others with sincerity. Xianwei wanted to add a few more words while the iron was hot, but he couldn't think of a good way to put it, so he cast a meaningful glance at the grandmaster of this path at the table!
Old Immortal Jia immediately understood. It was his duty, after all! He quickly followed up with a few sincere lines. "The principle is exactly this great principle."
"People naturally cannot be vulgar, but they cannot be completely uncustomary."
"But to make these vague principles take root, as Daoist Xianwei said, like sprouting, blooming, and bearing fruit, or making a sapling grow big and straight, allowing it one day to reach for the sky, to provide shade for relatives, neighbors, and passing travelers, we still need our Mountain Lord to take the great principles apart, layer by layer, and explain them in detail."
Xianwei was deeply impressed. This was what they meant by "an expert knows if there is any." It was indeed a few notches above his own ability.
Cui Chengxian put down his white bowl. "Since Old Immortal Jia is willing to treat people with sincerity, I, for my part, shouldn't continue hiding my true identity. My Daoist name is actually Kongshan. My dwelling hall is called the Cocoon Studio."
Jia Sheng asked, "The 'empty mountain' from 'burning incense and sitting quietly, alone in the empty mountain'? And the 'cocoon' from 'caught in one's own web'?"
Cui Chengxian nodded. "I once, in a small place called Quanjiao Mountain, dug a well and refined pills, cultivating for many years. Regrettably, my talent wasn't sufficient. The great Dao of eternal life has misled me."
This old Daoist slapped the gourd ladle at his waist and laughed heartily. "I usually brew some wine myself, which is quite decent. But it is I who have let the fine wine down. The great Dao misled me, and I misled the wine. We're even."
Jia Sheng raised his bowl, using tea instead of wine, and sighed. "A Daoist walks the Dao. He stops at a mountain, stays by the water. A single spirit travels."
At the mountain gate, there were only the three of them, and all were Daoists. By praising the two of them, he couldn't help but praise himself too. Cui Chengxian, whose Daoist name was Kongshan, stood up. The gaunt old man shouldered his qin case again and laughed. "It's laughable to say, but when I first entered the mountains to cultivate, I was also young and arrogant. I didn't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth. I looked down on all Qi refiners under heaven, leaving only the Three Mountains to stand above me."
The old Daoist continued his solitary wandering.
Old Immortal Jia didn't take this encounter too seriously. It was just his usual performance, at an average level.
...
By the time Chen Ping'an had finished flying across the sea on his sword, landed on the soil of Bottle Gourd Continent, and entered the Northern Mountainous Region's territory, he let Lord Wei help him instantly return to Fallen Mountain.
At the mountain gate, after hearing a rough account from Old Immortal Jia, Chen Ping'an laughed. "It seems I missed meeting a true transcendent figure."
Jia Sheng corrected him gently. "You both missed each other. Let it be."
Sect Leader Cui had already sent a flying sword message, urging Great Sword Immortal Mi not to forget to return to his sect on time. At Dense Snow Peak, they were about to start the mirror flowers, water, and moon event. Everything was ready, only Chief Mi was missing.
Jiang Shangzhen, who was teaching as a village schoolteacher, had actually lured a few more children from neighboring villages to study at his school. He felt that his skill in providing elementary education had already surpassed that of Mountain Lord Chen.
At Jump Fish Mountain, Grandmaster Wen, who without fail slept every day, took a bath, and then sat on a bench in the sun, whether he was itching for a fight or felt he could again, one day he actually took the initiative to ask Pei Qian, who only delivered one punch a day, to raise her realm to the Limit Realm.
After Pei Qian made sure Wen Zixi wasn't joking, she delivered a punch. A large, human-shaped hole appeared in the wall next to the martial arts arena.
Before Wen Zixi lost consciousness, he vaguely heard Master Zheng saying, "As per the old rules, put it on the tab. For a brother, 20% off."
That fellow named Bai Xuan often came to the arena to loiter. When he saw this punch, he hurriedly lifted his purple clay pot and took a sip of goji berry tea to calm his nerves.
Zheng Dafeng coaxed and cajoled, swearing several solemn oaths, before he was allowed the honor of flipping through that Book of Heroes. After closing the volume, Zheng Dafeng gave an impartial assessment: "It truly is a Book of Life and Death." Bai Xuan sat on a bamboo chair under the eaves, looking at that martial arts master, whom Zheng Dafeng had described as "weak in body but strong in spirit." He felt this man had an indomitable spirit, rare in the world. One day, when the time was ripe, all he needed was to give the signal of smashing his cup, and they would gang up on Pei Qian together. Brother Wen could be the vanguard general.
Little did Wen Zixi know the ins and outs of this, nor did he understand the matter of his special enrollment. In the eyes of Master Zheng, who saw through it all but didn't say a word, he was basically sleeping at the gates of hell. Regardless, Bai Xuan, though strange in character and speaking like an old man, was the second person, besides Master Zheng, to recognize him as a member of Fallen Mountain's registry. So, whenever they sat together under the eaves, Wen Zixi was willing to chat with Bai Xuan a little more. Especially after he learned that Bai Xuan, at such a young age, was already a deeply hidden Dragon Gate Realm sword cultivator, Wen Zixi became even more eager to converse with him. Zheng Dafeng, meanwhile, was secretly holding back his laughter.
The two who spent their days loafing around on Gathering Spirit Peak, having been reported on by someone to Mountain Lord Chen, were banished to Jump Fish Mountain. But they weren't sent to work in the martial arts arena on Yingyu Peak at Jump Fish Mountain. Instead, on Huaying Peak, Great Sword Immortal Mi poked at those cultivation seedlings with his flying sword, while Zhong Qian, a Golden Body Realm martial artist, acted as a target, letting the eight Qi refiners hurl their techniques at him. The mink-capped girl, who had appointed herself the head seat and chief teacher, was fairly satisfied. It was chaotic, but it looked lively.
However, they didn't go to Huaying Peak often. There was no official attendance requirement. They would go three days and fish for two, but as long as no one pushed them, they resolutely wouldn't go.
Zhong Qian wanted Attendant Gantang to put in more effort and urged the old man to settle down on Huaying Peak, to save him the back-and-forth between Jump Fish Mountain and the Sword Worship Platform. The old deaf man chuckled and said nothing.
I may be called Old Deaf Child, but I'm not an old fool.
Outside Fúyáo Village, Chen Ping'an also set up a Cloud Nest Formation at Jump Fish Mountain.
Before that, it was obvious that Mountain Lord Chen didn't want Millet to have too much interaction with this group of "outsiders" — strictly speaking, unregistered outer disciples of Fallen Mountain.
But maybe he changed his mind, suddenly realized something, and so Guardian Zhou's mountain-patrolling career flourished.
Fallen Mountain's protective mountain attached elders seemed to have gained two more silent and taciturn stalwarts in Fúyáo Village and Jump Fish Mountain. The little girl in black wandered alone on the patrol path. In places with no one around, she would go "thump thump" with her green bamboo staff and "whoosh whoosh" with her small carrying pole. Secretly donning the cloak that Old Cook had tailored just for her, which fit perfectly, she would, following the method taught by the kind mountain lord, first stand still, pinch the edge of the cloak with two fingers, then give it a hard snap, and stride along majestically, "ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh," imposing in every direction.
Between Yingyu Peak and Huaying Peak at Jump Fish Mountain, there was a snow-white waterfall that plunged straight down for over a hundred zhang, and a rainbow-shaped stone slab bridge. Millet, wearing her cloak and carrying her bag, would always stop here. Sometimes she would meet a colleague from Riding Dragon Lane at this spot. Standing across the bridge, the two would face each other. The Left Guardian of Riding Dragon Lane would be waiting there, crouching. The little girl in black would look solemn and nod.
On a narrow path, the brave wins. One would sprint, the other would charge forward and then leap high. Neither would lose; both would win.
Landing on her feet, the little girl in black would turn around and clasp her fists. The road of the martial world is long; we part here today. Until we meet again.
Actually, what convinced Chen Ping'an to change his mind was Gu Can, who was an outsider to Fallen Mountain.
Gu Can said, "You worry too much about protecting Zhou Millet. Is it really necessary to be so cautious? Before she met you at Mute Girl Lake, did Zhou Millet have a protector?"
On the grounds of your own Fallen Mountain, if you are this cautious, aren't you underestimating your own protective mountain attached elder?
Today, the little girl in black, still wearing her cloak, arms crossed over her chest, clutching her green bamboo staff and golden carrying pole, stood in the middle of the stone bridge. She looked up at the waterfall.
Her expression was serious, her brow furrowed.
Yesterday, Sister Xie Gou had suggested that she reveal her true form, sit in the pool, open her mouth wide, and drink the water—or more accurately, catch the waterfall—to see if she could drink her fill.
So, Millet was very seriously considering whether this suggestion was feasible or not, and whether, in the off chance someone saw her, it would be embarrassing or not.
A warm hand rested on her head. Millet tilted her head. "Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh!" It was the kind mountain lord.
Chen Ping'an explained to her his thoughts and reasons for setting up the Cloud Nest. Millet scratched her cheek. "Ha, I thought it was something serious. No big deal."
They strolled leisurely along the mountain path. Chen Ping'an borrowed her green bamboo staff, while the little girl in black carried the golden carrying pole over her shoulder.
The mountain walking staff tapped on the blue stone slabs, making a "thump, thump" sound.
Millet held out her palm, which held a pile of melon seeds.
Chen Ping'an, while cracking and eating the seeds, complained, "Cultivation isn't easy, and worldly affairs keep me busy. I owe a lot of debts of gratitude and reading debts."
"Things far and near, big and small, like cow's hair. Old Cook has a backlog of various letters on his desk. Whether to reply or not, and how to write a reply if I do, it's all a headache."
This grumbling and full-of-complaints Mountain Lord Chen was talking about his true feelings with someone for the first time.
The big and the small, after cracking and eating all the seeds together, Millet made a fist and extended it towards Chen Ping'an.
Chen Ping'an didn't understand but still held out his hand, asking with a smile, "What?"
Millet grinned. "I've saved up a lot of happiness. Lending some to the kind mountain lord."
He let go of his fist; she closed her fist.
Chen Ping'an shook his fist, indicating he had received it, and asked with a smile, "Not a gift?"
Millet nodded vigorously. "Only lend, not give."
Chen Ping'an squinted his eyes, laughing. "Then I'll have to pay interest?"
Millet shook her head and laughed heartily. "Absolutely!"
Chen Ping'an exclaimed in sudden understanding. "Good deal!"
On their way back, under the sunlight, a rainbow was hanging over the waterfall.