Chapter 1120: Twenty People and the Candidates (Part 2)

Chapter 1120: Twenty People and the Candidates (Part 2)

The sun sank into the great river, turning it black; the moon rose over ten thousand mountains, covering them in white.

All sounds were still. Inside the great hall, the bonfire occasionally crackled and popped.

Everyone looked toward the man outside the hall, who was travel-worn. He appeared to be in his thirties, and perhaps because he had read a few books, he bore a calm and composed demeanor.

Qing Rang said nothing, Xian Zao remained silent as a cicada in winter. Seeing Xian Zao looking as if she had seen a ghost, Qing Rang, who had been somewhat uncertain, immediately understood the situation.

This scene was like a "clay idol" that had been enjoying incense offerings in a temple appearing before their very eyes.

Strangely enough, on the Barren Wild side, there were countless demon clan cultivators who admired the young Hidden Official, definitely more than in the Haoran World, and their devotion was particularly sincere.

A thousand sunrises and sunsets, ten thousand cries of Lord Chen's name.

No exaggeration at all.

After all, most Haoran cultivators just listened for the excitement, while almost every Barren Wild demon who had participated in the great war had witnessed the excitement firsthand.

To reach the Haoran World, one had to pass through that "great gate" that had been chiseled out. The demon clan only needed to look up to see that glaring blood-red robe.

Moreover, this man surnamed Chen had once killed a Jade Purity realm demon who had flown over his city wall—to be precise, he had... torn him apart.

Then he casually threw the corpse down from the city wall.

Such behavior was not at all unusual among the Barren Wild demon clan themselves. After winning a battle, it was common to chew up the defeated demon on the spot or swallow it raw to satisfy hunger.

But when a disciple of a saint from the Haoran World behaved like this, it was quite novel.

Therefore, the cultivators of the Haoran World would probably never understand the complex feelings of Fairy Qingjia of the Golden Emerald City when she passed under the archway of the Fallen Mountain.

The young Hidden Official from a foreign land, Ning Yao's Dao partner, the one who had slain Li Zhen, the one who had single-handedly challenged an entire Jia Shen tent, the one Chen Qingdu had entrusted with an important task. The last engraver on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

No one spoke inside the hall. The scholar outside was in no hurry to cross the threshold either.

The woman with the saber was tense. She took a deep breath, stood up, and pressed her hand on the saber handle, staring fixedly at the "frail scholar" outside the great hall who looked like a traveling student burdened with books. She got straight to the point: "How did the Hidden Officer find us?"

Her nickname was Dou Kou, and she was among the Hundred Sword Immortals of Mount Tuoyue. Perhaps having stayed in a foreign land for too long, she spoke with the elegant language of Tongye Continent.

Xian Zao's face instantly turned pale, as if struck by lightning. But Qing Rang remained completely relaxed, with no sign of facing a formidable enemy.

As for the two locals from Tongye Continent who were still in the dark, they were even more confused. Could this latecomer dressed as a scholar be notorious in the martial world around here?

Was he a murderous tyrant, or a man with a good family background and a prestigious teacher?

Chen Ping'an, however, used the most authentic and pure Barren Wild elegant language and replied with a smile: "Don't the books always say that a poor scholar heading to the capital for the imperial examinations, spending the night in a desolate temple, and encountering a beauty—such fate is not deliberately sought; it's just that without coincidences, there would be no story."

That seductive woman chuckled softly, probably finding his words amusing. He looked a bit over thirty, holding a green bamboo walking stick in both hands, standing there in the bright moonlight.

Chen Ping'an looked at the woman who went by the alias Dou Kou. "Since you are one of the young talents among the Hundred Sword Immortals of Mount Tuoyue, and not ranked low, why is it that I never seem to have seen you, Miss Dou Kou, on the city wall?"

This group of young sword cultivators, whom the Barren Wild had high hopes for, had all practiced swordsmanship on the city wall for varying lengths of time. During that period, many sword cultivators would often go over to "pay respects" to the last Hidden Officer of the Sword Qi Great Wall, euphemistically called "the gatekeeper."

"He's guarding our home for us; Lord Hidden Officer is such a good person," they'd say.

The woman with the saber said in a deep voice: "I was far from the Hidden Officer. I have an aloof personality and don't like crowds. My swordsmanship is neither here nor there, and my rank is neither high nor low. Even if we had met, I probably wouldn't have been able to speak with the Hidden Officer."

This was the truth. Half of the city wall where they practiced swordsmanship also had people acting as "gatekeepers." Zhou Mi's personal disciple, Liu Bai, was fine, but she didn't like to talk much. However, Li Zhen, the closed-door disciple of the Grand Ancestor of Mount Tuoyue, had a foul mouth. His skill at cursing improved daily; no one knew who he had learned it from. When dealing with sword cultivators who wanted to join the crowd, Li Zhen always liked to mock them with words like, "You think you're worthy of chatting with the Hidden Officer?" Moreover, that gray robe belonged to Dragon Lord, one of the old Throne Great Demons. Ordinary sword cultivators, without some backing, really didn't dare to act recklessly.

Qing Rang chewed on a large piece of deer meat, looking helpless, and said indistinctly: "With the Hidden Officer's current luck, there's no way he should have found me. Was it one of them who dragged me down?"

Chen Ping'an didn't answer directly. He smiled slightly: "Fellow Daoist, are you a fortune-teller who can read people's luck? If we had met by chance and set up stalls next to each other, we might have even competed for business."

It was this very guy who, by himself, had nearly ruined the excavation of the great river in Tongye Continent. The Fallen Mountain and the Qingping Sword Sect, among several other powers, had invested tens of thousands of divine coins in this—all of which were Guyu Coins. Wei Wenlong and Master Zhong had done a rough calculation. Because this guy had randomly smashed talismans along the route of the great river, not only did he delay the excavation, but he also caused various complications among the mountain powers and the nations on the plains, resulting in a loss of between three thousand and four thousand Guyu Coins.

Just to find this guy, the number of Upper Five Realm cultivators, including Mi Yu and Huang Ting, as well as the Dragon Gate Immortal Lord of Iron Tree Mountain, had reached almost ten, yet they still hadn't managed to capture him.

Keep in mind that he was only at the Golden Core realm now.

Earlier, Yu Xuan hadn't been able to use the residual talismans that Cui Dongshan had brought back to the Fallen Mountain to track him down.

Only Liu Xianyang had been able to strike him from afar in his sleep, but even that hadn't seriously wounded him.

A Barren Wild Golden Core talisman cultivator—what a massive operation he had caused!

Until now, Chen Ping'an had only known the name "Qing Rang," not even sure if it was an alias or a Daoist title.

He had carefully searched his own heart lake library and found that neither the secret archives of the Summer Resort, nor the documents from the Zhongtu Confucian Temple and the Great Li Dynasty, contained any record related to "Qing Rang."

So, was he a rising star who was "blooming within the wall but fragrant outside" for the various Barren Wild military camps?

Years had passed since the war ended, and cultivators from all continents had been searching the mountains in Tongye continuously. Never did they expect that this guy, who had both committed crimes and courted death, could still be alive and kicking today.

Chen Ping'an asked curiously: "Qing Rang, do you have a prominent teacher? Or are you a deliberate incarnation of a Great Demon left behind here? Of course, you don't have to answer."

"Answer? Why wouldn't I answer? I'd be delighted. Every extra word I get to speak with the Hidden Officer is a gain."

The man wiped his greasy hands. "As luck would have it, same as the Hidden Officer—I come from an origin as insignificant as an ant. Back then, if someone had stepped on me to death, they might have complained that it dirtied their shoes." He didn't stand up but remained squatting, stretching out his hands to warm them by the fire. His angular, wooden face was brilliantly illuminated by the flames. "Since the Hidden Officer could do great things in the Barren Wild World, then of course I can do some small things in the Haoran World."

This young female cultivator, whose background had always been unknown, no longer wore a wooden expression. Her eyes sparkled. "Now that we've finally met, and the Hidden Officer has caught me red-handed, do you want to skin me alive, drink my blood, and eat my flesh?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head with a faint smile: "My tastes aren't as heavy as you describe."

The cold and glamorous female cultivator with the Daoist name Xian Zao steeled herself and asked: "Dare I ask the Hidden Officer, what realm are you in now?"

Chen Ping'an smiled slightly: "My realm isn't high. Back on the Shaking River, I couldn't take out Fei Fei either. But to put it bluntly, killing a Golden Core cultivator is more than enough for me."

Xian Zao was speechless.

Qing Rang had sharper eyes. "According to the Sword Qi Great Wall's classification, he's a genuine Sword Immortal."

Xian Zao let out a sigh of despair and resigned herself to her fate. What else could she do? Even if she also learned from the Hidden Officer and, to put it bluntly, Chen Ping'an was only an Earth Immortal, could she escape? This guy was notorious on the battlefield for his black-hearted tricks and cunning schemes. In a fight between equals, he had a high chance of winning. Back then, when the Jia Shen tent set up an elaborate ambush, with Zhuzhe, Yusi, and Tan—those geniuses—surrounding and killing one person, if not for Feiran's rescue, some of them would have been killed instead.

Chen Ping'an asked curiously: "Miss Xian Zao, do you have a twin sister who is in charge of the Willow Branch Department? Her Daoist name seems to be Yinsu? Why didn't you follow your sister back to your hometown, stay in Guanghan City, continue managing your Snow Frost Department, and enjoy a few days of living off your past merits?"

Guanghan City was one of the three sect-level sects under Fei Fei. The leaders of all departments were Earth Immortal realm female cultivators with good aptitude.

Compared to those "noble individuals" of the Barren Wild's Jia Shen tent, who had everything—background, aptitude, connections—they were all obscure little figures.

The female cultivator with the Daoist name Xian Zao, in terms of seniority, had Fei Fei as her Supreme Patriarch. But this old Throne Great Demon had to address "Yusi" of the Jia Shen tent as "Young Master."

Comparisons kill.

Both she and her sister Yinsu were sword cultivators, but the threshold for the Hundred Sword Immortals of Mount Tuoyue was too high—they simply couldn't get in.

Chen Ping'an asked: "Fellow Daoist Qing Rang, with your talent, there's no reason to risk your life like this. The saying 'Great fortune lies in great danger' doesn't suit someone like you."

Seeing that Qing Rang was silent, Chen Ping'an continued: "Is it because you carry a grudge, have a pent-up anger that can't wait, and have to settle it here in Tongye Continent?"

They all looked at Qing Rang. It was indeed strange. Before meeting in Tongye Continent, they had never even heard of Qing Rang. Now, they had more than just a newfound respect for him. The longer they spent with him, the more unfathomable he seemed. Give him another hundred or three hundred years of cultivation, and his achievements would be limitless.

There was no reason for him to gamble his life here, especially targeting Chen Ping'an and the Qingping Sword Sect.

Talking about accumulating military merits here to win the favor of one or two Throne Great Demons when he returned alive to the Barren Wild—that was a load of nonsense.

He would have to survive to return home first.

With Qing Rang's talent and cunning, under the premise that he might lose his life here, he didn't need to rely on such "empty fame" that was just icing on the cake.

Qing Rang was silent for a moment. "I do have a bit of a grudge, but when I really think about it, it's not that big. And I don't blame the Hidden Officer for being ruthless. We each belong to different camps; we have to take responsibility."

A close friend who had led him onto the path of cultivation, a friend despite their age difference, had died at Chen Ping'an's hands. That friend was at the Jade Purity realm. At the time, their positions and realms were vastly different, yet without any calculation, he had imparted all his Daoist knowledge and skills to Qing Rang. He still said he wasn't qualified to be Qing Rang's Dao tutor and would help him find a good teacher, one no worse than Zhuzhe or Tan. The reason was that Qing Rang's aptitude was too good. If his teacher's Dao cultivation wasn't high, it would be a waste of talent and could easily hinder his future. Especially once he became famous and attracted attention in the mountains, when everyone knew his future potential, without the protection of a Flying Ascension realm or a major sect, he would likely die as soon as he left the mountain.

Thinking of this, Qing Rang unconsciously slowed down and chewed the deer meat carefully.

Chen Ping'an muttered to himself: "Bodhisattvas and sages fear causes; we mortals fear results."

Qing Rang nodded. "I didn't understand any of this before. But after coming to Tongye Continent and reading some books here, I deeply agree."

Chen Ping'an spoke frankly: "Miss Dou Kou, Xiao Xing, who is hidden in the Lotus Root Blessed Land, has seen you, and she remembers you vividly. That means I have seen you."

The young Hidden Officer then said something that made even the outsider Xian Zao's hair stand on end. "So all this time, I've been quite 'missing' Miss Dou Kou."

Qing Rang let out a long sigh. Sure enough, it was this woman who had dragged him down. But Qing Rang didn't really blame her. Only Xian Zao was the one who could spoil things without contributing.

Dou Kou felt a chill in her heart, but she was still puzzled. So what if they had met? There were countless mountain techniques; could such a divine ability exist? Xiao Xing belonged to the Barren Wild's Guiyou Tent. Back in the day, she was heavily wounded by Ning Yao on the Sword Qi Great Wall battlefield. When Xiao Xing landed on Tongye Continent, she and Dou Kou were friends, so they traveled together. When Xiao Xing fell into Chen Ping'an's hands and her memories were searched in a novel "mountain sweep," the images Xiao Xing's eyes had seen included the female cultivator Dou Kou. So, in Chen Ping'an's mind's eye, a vivid portrait of Dou Kou had been added.

Back when they reunited on the Sword Qi Great Wall, Liu Xianyang had generously taught Chen Ping'an his family's inherited Dream Travel Sword Technique. Liu Xianyang had always been like that—when he considered someone a friend, he wasn't stingy.

But at that time, Chen Ping'an simply couldn't learn it. The threshold for this sword technique was too high. Even now, with a realm to support him, Chen Ping'an only dared to say he had learned a bit of the surface.

However, Chen Ping'an had been restraining himself, not rushing to make a move, because he didn't want to alert the enemy. If Dou Kou really was traveling through Tongye Continent together with that slippery talisman cultivator, they might lose the big prize for a small one.

The result proved that this choice was correct.

He had been waiting for an opportunity—for her to doze off and enter a dream. But cultivators have very few dreams. So Chen Ping'an had been patiently waiting.

This divine ability could probably be called "Roaming in Others' Dreams." The same sword technique, but Chen Ping'an's and Liu Xianyang's paths to entering it were different.

Knowing that she couldn't defeat Ning Yao or Chen Ping'an, Xiao Xing had tried to create a plague that would sweep through the entire world inside the blessed land.

Most of those consequences would have to be shouldered by Chen Ping'an, the "landlord" of the blessed land.

There, she had opened a bookshop, hired printers, and sold modified erotic books at a loss, plus she had hidden a few mummified plague gods.

Through the tens of thousands of books sold, plus those who hadn't bought but had flipped through them, the number was already considerable. Once the plague erupted, it would sweep through the world in an instant.

If they had been at the same realm, with such meticulous planning—not to mention Qing Rang's actions in Tongye—Xiao Xing might have succeeded in the Lotus Root Blessed Land.

But everyone's realm was earned through their own abilities; they couldn't just lower their realm for the sake of fairness.

Besides, when it came to lowering realms, Chen Ping'an was in a league of his own.

The pair of one-night-stand lovers resting there were the most bewildered.

What Hidden Officer, Guanghan City, Haoran World, Barren Wild World—they only dabbled in the martial world on the plains. They didn't understand, only knew that the topics they discussed were very grand.

However, even dense as they were, they could tell the two sides were enemies.

That frail scholar carrying a book box had come to block the door.

The pale-faced man had already put his hands in order. He tentatively said: "A few immortal lords, why not let us leave first? We won't delay your catching up."

Xian Zao sneered: "Leave? Where do you think you can go? The entire mountain is now covered in a formation. Even if you had a hundred years, you'd just be wandering in circles."

The man wailed: "You gods can fight your battles, but why drag us mortals who only know a bit of martial arts into it?"

The woman quietly tugged at her collar, revealing a bit of white skin.

Qing Rang chuckled: "Who told you to be rough without picking a good spot? This is your retribution, isn't it?"

Xian Zao's expression was bitter. She used her mind to ask cautiously: "Why hasn't he struck yet?"

They had spoiled Chen Ping'an's plans in Tongye Continent. Seeing an enemy should make one's eyes red with anger. To be patient enough to chat with them for so long wasn't like the Hidden Officer's style.

Don't be fooled by the young Hidden Officer's polite "Miss Xian Zao," "Miss Dou Kou," "Fellow Daoist Qing Rang." He was also a man who killed demons without blinking.

"Nan Shouchen bei yinguan"—this saying had spread for a reason. It referred to these two sword cultivators, whose behavior was the least sword-like, and whose sword strikes were the most insidious.

Falling into the Hidden Officer's hands today, she knew roughly what her fate would be.

Chen Ping'an hadn't made a move yet; it couldn't be that he was coveting her beauty, could it?

Dou Kou said: "Once he found our traces, he must have rushed over as fast as he could. First, he cast a net to confirm our identities, then he drew it in to prevent any big fish from escaping. I just wonder how many formations he set up inside and outside this mountain before he showed himself."

Qing Rang's answer might have been closer to the truth: "You two are just the added bonuses. Chen Ping'an's real target is me. To make sure he could catch me, he had to put in a lot of extra effort."

Xian Zao asked: "Why are you calling him by his name?"

Qing Rang almost couldn't help but curse. Chen Ping'an was right there; what difference did it make whether he said his name or not?

Indeed, as this talisman cultivator said, Chen Ping'an's real aim was still Qing Rang, the big fish so gifted that even Yu Xuan had praised him. Dou Kou and Xian Zao were just extras.

Qing Rang then said another frank truth: "Because the Hidden Officer has guessed that my true body is probably not here. So he's been looking for clues elsewhere all along."

Hearing this, not to mention Xian Zao, even Dou Kou wanted to curse. The two of us were brought here by you, and now your true body is hiding somewhere else?

Chen Ping'an sighed with emotion: "I've worked very hard to find you all."

"You should know that I'm still in a crucial stage of seclusion. Well, 'I found it without any effort after searching high and low.'"

Chen Ping'an smiled slightly: "I also want to learn from the three fellow Daoists' excellent escape techniques."

When Qi refiners descend the mountain, whether for worldly experiences, visiting immortals and exploring mysteries, seeking treasures, or helping others, they naturally won't be invincible. They will always encounter troublesome opponents or be blocked by enemies. Therefore, Qi refiners must have both killing moves and life-saving escape methods.

As Guo Zhujiu said: When you encounter a strong enemy, don't panic; run away quickly.

If "Sleeve Universe" is a necessary technique for Jade Purity realm cultivators, and "Grasping Mountains and Rivers" is a skill that Nascent Soul realm cultivators must master, then mastering one or two life-saving escape techniques is a cultivation lesson that all mountain-climbing practitioners must go through.

Over the past ten thousand years, Qi refiners have developed thousands of strange and unique escape techniques. Among them, the Five Elements escape techniques are a major category, like "relying on the mountain to eat the mountain, relying on water to eat water." Some escape into earth veins, some flee through water, temporarily becoming formless. Combined with their refined life-bound artifacts, whether raising thick smoke on flat ground, turning into a wisp of green smoke, or shrinking into the clouds and mists of the sky—these are all methods of various schools.

There are also many bizarre secret techniques, such as "Immediate Corpse Liberation and Immortal Molting," but this is bound to significantly reduce one's Dao cultivation—it's essentially a losing deal where you completely abandon your physical shell.

There are also techniques that connect darkness and light, bridging yin and yang. The land officials of the Yin-Yang School's Lu family, depending on their respective realms, can visit an equivalent number of city god temples.

In the end, the ultimate purpose of the highest escape techniques is only one: to be able to ignore all mountain and river formations and the myriad prohibitions that seal off heaven and earth.

Chen Ping'an had already learned all the techniques Xiao Xing knew. Of course, he hoped that Dou Kou and Xian Zao's secret transmissions and life-saving techniques were as numerous as possible.

Escape techniques had always been Chen Ping'an's weakness. His earlier Earth Shrinking Talismans were only used by the martial artist Chen Ping'an in reverse—converting them from defense to attack.

He had been criticized for pursuing the extreme of killing power while being too careless in escape techniques, like walking with a limp. That's why Chen Ping'an had been repeatedly practicing the sword escape technique.

Chen Ping'an finally crossed the threshold, and the content of his words also began to get to the point. He looked at Xian Zao: "I heard that when you arrived in Tongye Continent, you liked to run around, kill people to claim merit, and gained quite a reputation. Were you trying to catch Yusi's eye? Bold, aren't you? Dare to steal Fei Fei's man from under your Supreme Patriarch's nose?"

"Yusi, I remember. One of my defeated opponents. Back in the Jia Shen tent, which was full of geniuses, he wasn't really outstanding."

Xian Zao had nothing to say. Dou Kou also felt that Chen Ping'an's words were arrogant, but he deserved to say them.

"I'm in urgent need of treasures now. Your life-bound flying sword, whatever its name and power, belongs to me from today on." Chen Ping'an also didn't overlook the sword cultivator Dou Kou: "The 'rightness' and 'evil' of people and objects—there's great learning in them. The key is to see who uses them and how. I have a bad habit of liking to teach others. I'll teach you well. From now on, remember to open your eyes and see clearly."

Chen Ping'an then looked at Qing Rang: "That talisman replacement method of yours—is there anything special about it?"

Qing Rang grinned generously: "A self-created talisman, tentatively named 'Paper Kite.' Whether to attach a mustard-seed mind-device to the replacement talisman depends on the situation."

Chen Ping'an suddenly understood. It was like flying a few paper kites. Qing Rang's true body held the strings lightly in his hand, and when things looked bad, he just let go.

No wonder even Yu Xuan couldn't track him down by following the clues. The difficulty was like an ordinary person trying to catch the wind or shadows.

Earlier, when he had deliberately mentioned "fortune-teller" to Qing Rang, Chen Ping'an wasn't randomly picking a sword from a "basket"—he had a target in mind.

It wasn't just about seeing the outer appearance, but also the bone structure. Besides reading a person's luck, he also had to read the luck of a nation or a continent.

This Qing Rang, beyond his main Dao practice of talismans, must be proficient in feng shui and fate studies.

Qing Rang said frankly: "If we really set up a fortune-telling stall next to each other in the market, the Hidden Officer's business might not necessarily be better than mine."

Chen Ping'an smiled and asked: "How so?"

Qing Rang said: "The Hidden Officer insists on filling the gap in Tongye Continent, which will clash with the residual Barren Wild Dao intent on the continent. During this time, I, being of demon origin, have the opposite situation from the Hidden Officer. One side's influence wanes while the other's waxes; only then did I dare to act."

"Whether you establish a subordinate sect, drive a nail into Tongye Continent, or dig a great river in the central part to connect points into a line, and then hope to expand from line to plane—all of this requires consuming your own and your sect's fortune. This is an unavoidable struggle for luck, like a sword cultivator in a prolonged standoff with an opponent, draining his spirit. You first want to use the Qingping Sword Sect to slowly erode the Barren Wild luck in Tongye Continent, but that's not enough. So you thought of another method—a great river rolling into the sea to carry away the residual Barren Wild luck. Now the East Sea Water Lord happens to be a true dragon, so she can conveniently accept this Barren Wild luck. For her Dao cultivation, this is actually a real good thing. Others can't take it, but King Zhu is stable enough. You have the chance to help this neighbor reach another level, harmonizing with the East Sea 'Water Luck' and advancing to the Fourteenth Realm. If King Zhu has already harmonized before that, it can also add icing on the cake to help her stabilize her realm. This is one of the reasons King Zhu is willing to invest money in supporting the creation of a new great river in Tongye Continent. She's not simply seeking the East Sea Water Luck; she's also coveting this Barren Wild luck that can't be bought with any amount of money."

At this point, Qing Rang smiled: "But there's a prerequisite: the two of you had to enter into a contract and then dissolve it. Otherwise, she would be implicated by you and wouldn't be able to fulfill her wish."

Chen Ping'an nodded: "It was dissolved back on the Sword Qi Great Wall."

Qing Rang continued: "Such long-term planning, bearing great responsibility yourself, and not being understood—misunderstood as coveting fame and profit—it's indeed very hard."

Nowadays, many Qi refiners in Tongye Continent say that the Fallen Mountain in the northern neighboring continent, with Chen Ping'an's ambition, after serving as the last Hidden Officer on the Sword Qi Great Wall, got addicted to being an official. When he returned to Haoran, he wanted to replace the declining Tongye Sect as the leader in the mountains. Through the excavation of the great river, he would maneuver among various forces, establish prestige, earn a good reputation, and at the same time make a huge profit of real gold and silver.

A sword cultivator just over fifty years old, wanting to be the "Dao Lord of Two Continents."

Chen Ping'an nodded, crouching by the fire, and said: "I didn't expect to meet another confidant."

Indeed, as Qing Rang had described, the Qingping Sword Sect's choice of Tongye Continent was a silent... Daoist tempering.

The Qingping Sword Sect itself was a sword Dao sect. If they lost, the subordinate sect would be silent for a long time. That's fine. We sword cultivators should endure heaven's trials.

This was also why Chen Ping'an hadn't taken that proud student's poaching too seriously, letting Cui Dongshan work here and there. In fact, Cui Dongshan presiding over the subordinate sect's affairs was quite difficult.

Since you recognized me as your teacher, don't complain to outsiders. The teacher understands.

This was also why Chen Ping'an's original intention was to let Cao Qinglang be in charge of the subordinate sect, but he finally changed his mind and accepted Cui Dongshan's self-recommendation, letting him serve as a transitional sect leader.

The so-called "transition" meant that Cui Dongshan and the entire subordinate sect would face this invisible "tribulation."

This was also why Cui Dongshan had repeatedly emphasized, hinting, that he could be regarded as half a Sword Immortal.

It wasn't that Cui Dongshan was trying to curry favor with his teacher or Chief Zhou. Rather, he was hinting, using the opportunity to remind Chen Ping'an.

The sect leader of the Qingping Sword Sect should either be let by Cui Dongshan to serve on behalf of his teacher, or it would have to be the teacher himself concurrently.

Chief Mi had already seen through Cui Dongshan's half-sword cultivator identity.

By the fire, the two sides were already close.

Qing Rang smiled and asked: "The Hidden Officer still can't find my true body?"

Chen Ping'an said: "Tongye Continent—how do you expect me to find it within an entire continent?"

Qing Rang nodded: "It is indeed difficult."

Chen Ping'an warmed his hands by the fire and said: "Let me tell you something, so you can brag to your friends later."

Qing Rang said: "I'm all ears."

Chen Ping'an smiled slightly: "To find your true body, I paid a considerable price."

Qing Rang waited for the rest.

Chen Ping'an rubbed his hands together. "For this, I made a deal with the Grotto Lord of Bixiao and the old temple master of the Guan Dao Temple in the East Sea. Of course, you were also a decent bonus. The old temple master helped me find this place. An Earth Immortal's free and unfettered travel, searching a whole continent's mountains and rivers, and also having to overpower the luck you carry—the difficulty is easy to imagine. I had no choice; I couldn't let you keep causing trouble here."

In Tongye Continent, who was the true host?

Zhou Mi had once visited the Demon Suppression Tower and met Qing Tong.

This Barren Wild Scholar of Literature would absolutely not create any unnecessary trouble that might offend the Grotto Lord of Bixiao. Zhou Mi wouldn't do a single unnecessary thing.

Similarly, the old blind man was stationed in the Barren Wild's Ten Thousand Mountains. Zhou Mi never went there; there was no need to talk.

In this matter, the Barren Wild World had the same mentality as the Sword Qi Great Wall. Just like Chen Qingdu had taken Ning Yao to see the old blind man and got an answer of neutrality, that was enough. Zhou Mi didn't have any illusions that the old blind man would side with the Barren Wild, go to the Haoran World to wreak havoc, or engage in a "one-on-one duel" in front of the great formation with Bai Ye, the most proud man in the world. Such a beautiful idea was not worth considering.

Beyond that, the most important reason was that these two had harmonized with the Dao since ten thousand years ago, these "old Fourteenth Realms." Whether it was the old blind man who hadn't used the name "Zhi Ci" for ten thousand years, or the Grotto Lord of Bixiao of the Falling Treasure Shoal, who called himself the Cai Zhou Daoist—both of them were very formidable.

Otherwise, given Zhou Mi's appetite, he had eaten Fourteenth Realm cultivators before.

First, there was Xiao Xing's vicious scheme, then Qing Rang lurking in Tongye Continent, and also a sneaky Fourteenth Realm cultivator who had repeatedly attacked in secret.

It was indeed annoying and worrying.

Qing Rang remained silent.

Dou Kou and Xian Zao had even more complicated feelings.

Chen Ping'an smiled: "That's not all. Earlier, in the Fallen Mountain, I asked Senior Yu Xuan to look at your broken talisman."

Qing Rang's complexion darkened even more.

Chen Ping'an said: "The true body of your true body should also be feeling terrified right now."

Qing Rang looked up, frowning heavily.

Was he doing this intentionally to disturb my Dao heart?!

Chen Ping'an smiled slightly: "Right, Fellow Daoist Yan Shi, the founding patriarch of Yufu Palace?"

The sword cultivator Dou Kou felt heavy-hearted. Xian Zao thought that this might indeed be the case. If Qing Rang was a "puppet" of that Barren Wild talisman technique number one, one of his methods to attempt harmonization with the Dao, then it would make sense.

Qing Rang curled his lips and decided not to believe such nonsense.

Chen Ping'an smiled: "You've always felt that you carved out your own path with your own hands, something to be proud of. You never expected to have such an origin, tied to that old Flying Ascension realm cultivator with the Daoist name 'Yun Shen.' Compared to Lord Hidden Officer Chen's ordinary background, it's indeed very different. Fellow Daoist Qing Rang, your current mood is quite complicated, isn't it?"

Qing Rang threw away the bone that had no meat left on it. "I really shouldn't have provoked the Hidden Officer so early."

The implication was that he should have waited until his realm was higher—at least until he had reached the Upper Five Realm—before challenging this deep and calculating Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an reached through the bonfire, twisted his two fingers as if picking something up, and when he withdrew his hand, a tiny flame appeared between his fingertips.

"Qing Rang" exploded in an instant.

Normally, the self-destruction of a Golden Core Earth Immortal would cause a tremendous uproar. Not to mention this desolate temple, the entire mountain would be affected by the surging qi, destroyed in one fell swoop.

But Qing Rang's explosion only expanded about an inch outward before it hit an invisible barrier, like a surging tide that immediately ebbed.

Chen Ping'an casually waved his sleeve, gently dispersing the talisman ashes. He flicked his finger, and the tiny flame instantly burrowed into Xian Zao's brow.

Within her personal microcosm of a human body, a wildfire instantly spread, burning everything. It was even like tens of thousands of snakes of fire, climbing mountains or floating into the sky.

Yu Xuan had once said that in the beginning of mountain climbing, one wants to learn every technique. But when one reaches the peak, it seems every technique is useless.

This was probably the root of harmonization—one had to find a path that no one had taken before.

Chen Ping'an smiled slightly: "Fellow Daoist Qing Rang, for a thief who steals every day and a guard who guards every day, let's see who can outlast whom. If you're capable, hide for a few decades or centuries."

Dou Kou didn't look at Xian Zao's miserable state. She only asked: "Qing Rang isn't really the avatar of Yan Shi of Yufu Palace, is he?"

Chen Ping'an raised his hand, collecting Xian Zao, who was now an empty shell, into his sleeve. He said: "'The strong die a violent death; the arrogant will meet their match.' Fellow Daoist, how do you want to die?"

Dou Kou didn't answer the question. Instead, she asked: "Isn't it a pity to just burn her clean? The Guanghan City ancestral hall has many secret techniques."

Chen Ping'an said: "The tide has risen and fallen many times, but you just don't remember. This is called making the best use of everything."

Dou Kou sneered: "Use?"

Chen Ping'an said calmly: "Otherwise, would you call it 'a person'? You don't deserve it."

Chen Ping'an lightly clapped his hands together.

It seemed that a dozen different "Dou Kous" from different circumstances merged into one.

They all had one thing in common: her life-bound flying sword had been stripped away.

Chen Ping'an muttered to himself: "I have had a flying sword for a long time but never understood its mystery. It's like a Daoist Qi Mansion with a storage mountain—it turns out I was missing an auxiliary flying sword to open the mountain. The mystery of the Dao is unfathomable, beyond words."

In an instant, Dou Kou arrived at a landscape secret realm. She found herself standing on a white jade arch bridge. Countless sword corpses hung along the mountain path.

Xiao Xing was already waiting there. She wiped the tears from her eyes, her expression excited. She grabbed Dou Kou's arm and sobbed, "Finally, I've waited for you."

Yu Shiwu leaned against the stone bridge railing and smiled: "No need for introductions. There's plenty of time; we'll get familiar with each other."

Time in this place was too tedious. Even someone like Yu Shiwu had come to take a look at the "fresh living person."

Chen Ping'an, sitting cross-legged, leaned back against his book box. He took out his Sword-Nurturing Gourd, looked at the two across the bonfire, and asked: "Do you know what you're called?"

The woman didn't dare to answer. The pale, burly man stammered: "A dirty couple."

Chen Ping'an was momentarily speechless.

The man asked: "What does the Immortal Lord plan to do with us?"

Chen Ping'an asked: "What's wrong with you? You look like an old hand in the underworld. With your fierce face, it's a shame you don't have dozens of lives on your hands. You've been a rogue cultivator in the wilderness for decades, yet you've never killed anyone in your life?"

Though puzzled, the man whispered: "I've been afraid of blood since childhood. Unless absolutely necessary, I wouldn't dare to kill."

He had, of course, killed before. The martial world was deep, and the mountain world murky. Several times, he had been in life-and-death situations. But why this immortal master said he had never killed anyone, heaven only knows.

Chen Ping'an tilted his chin toward the woman and said to the man: "Although you two are one-night-stand lovers, a half-way couple, she's been good to you. Treat her well. From now on, find a place to live in peace and don't wade into muddy waters."

The woman was actually a female ghost. In her lifetime, she had indeed been unfaithful, having an affair and being drowned in a pig cage. So when it seemed the man had "forcefully taken" her body, it was hard to say who had actually lost out.

The man was bewildered. How was she good?

Chen Ping'an took a sip of wine, picked up the last piece of deer meat, and smiled: "Since you're timid, it's better to live out your life as a long-lived old man on earth. There's no need to climb the mountain in search of immortality."

The man could only nod vigorously like a chicken pecking rice.

Chen Ping'an chewed the deer meat and asked: "Haven't you ever heard the name 'Chen Ping'an'?"

The man and woman looked at each other. They had better not accidentally give a wrong answer and anger the immortal master; they might be killed, right?

They heard that mountain immortals, much like officials, especially liked to speak in... what was it called? Yes, cryptic language.

The man thought for a moment and said quietly: "I'm deeply ashamed and embarrassed to say, but I've never heard of such a great figure."

The woman, perhaps relying on feminine intuition, wasn't as nervous anymore. She couldn't help covering her mouth and giggling. Oh my, the brute was even speaking in a cultured way!

Chen Ping'an smiled and asked: "You don't usually read mountain-and-river gazettes?"

The man answered honestly: "I don't waste that money."

The woman immediately elbowed the man. Fool! Are you that blunt?

Chen Ping'an drank and ate as he said: "You should still read some books."

The woman smoothed things over: "Reporting to the Immortal Lord, this servant has read a few books."

Chen Ping'an said: "You've read, but it's as if you haven't. That's when you've wasted your money."

The woman looked embarrassed.

The man barely held back a laugh.

Chen Ping'an thought about things. In the old days, the Lotus Root Blessed Land was divided into four parts, becoming four ink-wash landscape paintings.

So Chen Ping'an wanted to overlap the blessed lands, to restore the full bodies of all the spirits and souls in the Lotus Root Blessed Land.

Although the old temple master had mocked him a few words, he had still agreed to this deal that Chen Ping'an had been considering for a long time.

Anyway, he himself would profit; the only one losing was Chen Ping'an, this charitable boy who loved to meddle.

Because he had arrived in person, Chen Ping'an wasn't in a hurry to return to the Fusu Ridge Dao Field.

He turned his head to look outside the great hall.

Life's joys and sorrows, meeting on a narrow path in the same road.

Away from the mundane world, what is cultivating the Dao? Killing the thief in the mountain.

Cultivating the Dao, pursuing scholarship, killing thieves—one must strike at the throat.

Chen Ping'an stared blankly for a moment. Then he collected his thoughts, shouldered his book box, stood up, and smiled: "Thank you for the deer meat. It was a free meal. Farewell."

The man and woman quickly stood up. The woman performed a curtsy and said a few auspicious words. The man said, "Listening to your words is better than reading ten years of books."

The scholar holding a bamboo staff walked into the night, leaving the mountain alone.