Chapter 1216: Calming the Storm

Chapter 1216: Calming the Storm

“Under Heaven.”
“On Earth.”
Both used as verbs.

During this time, Xiao Mo filled the vacancy left by Bai Jing, and without retracting one of his life-bound flying swords, “Ou Si,” he continued to pull that celestial star to come and “fill the gap.”

A star slowly revealed an astonishingly huge silhouette, as if the mortal world had gained an extra pitch-black sun and moon, but as this star drew closer to that golden line, it gradually seemed to shrink. By the time it was like a tiny sleeve-bead blocking that golden line of “Under Heaven,” it was truly a case of the heavenly Dao pressing down from above, rapidly eroding Xiao Mo’s vast true body and abundant sword intent. The tenacity of an ancient great demon’s true body, unmatched in resilience, and the profound dao power of a Fourteen Realm pure sword cultivator—yet still so fragile.

The life-bound flying sword “Ou Si” suddenly shattered, and a star began to collapse. Xiao Mo either held out to the end, layer by layer falling in realm, eventually turning into tribulation ash and drifting away across the mortal world, still slowing “Under Heaven” for a moment, but unable to change the tragic outcome of the final result. Or he could withdraw early from this golden “Heavenly Dao” of the Heaven-Earth Passage, perhaps leaving behind a bit of realm. If it were someone else, they might have done so, but Xiao Mo, who had performed the same act of scattering the Dao as “Bai Jing” and followed in her footsteps, remained composed. His true body’s head was already tilted sideways, and just as his severely wounded neck was about to be crushed, he lowered his head to look at the mortal world.

He could no longer communicate through heart-voice. To maintain his true body and sword intent “propping up the sky,” he couldn’t even think much. In the end, Xiao Mo could only move his lips slightly, as if giving the most sincere and briefest response to that confession from the sable-hatted girl—just one word: “Also.”

Also love.

Just as he was about to descend in realm, once he fell from the Fourteen Realm to the Ascension Realm, the subsequent chain of realm descents would truly be a matter of life and death in an instant.

At that moment, a brilliant river of talismans appeared beyond the heavens, surging with lightning speed toward the gap in the golden line. It encircled Xiao Mo’s true body and barely held that golden line upward. Xiao Mo received divine assistance, and his sword intent swelled instantly.

On the Wildlands side, an old true man from a mountain peak lying on the ground spoke loudly of the righteous Dao flourishing and offered a flame dragon ascending to heaven. The mortal world’s Dao techniques were like dragons.

Also in the Wildlands, Heavenly Master Zhao Tianlai of the Dragon Tiger Mountain manifested his dharma form, holding the Heavenly Master Sword in one hand and a seal in the other, riding the flame dragon, a flying dragon in the sky, like a beam spanning heaven and earth, also filling the gap.

“Under Heaven” was blocked.
“Earth” slowly rose.

On Qingming Continent, that six-armed dharma form fought with increasing ferocity, having already shattered five divine weapons and lost five arms.

This Fourteen Realm female Daoist of Qingming Heaven, with such killing intent and such desperate effort, willingly damaging her own great Dao foundation, all for the simple reason of “I don’t like Zhou Mi.”

Within the White Jade Capital, at the easternmost edge, another Dao official wearing a fishtail crown stepped into the void and arrived at the battlefield. The frenzied Wu Zhou glanced sideways, greatly surprised.

It was Jiang Zhaomo, the master of the Purple Mist Tower, who had quietly broken into the Fourteen Realm. He extended his hand. “I request that Daoist Wu Zhou sever the Great Dao connection to this divine weapon and lend it to me.”

Wu Zhou hesitated rarely. “If you try something sneaky against that Chen fellow, won’t I have the worst luck? You must first explain the reason to me.”

“Personal grudges are personal grudges; public justice is public justice.”

Jiang Zhaomo removed his Dao crown and tossed it into a sleeve that had already rolled up his Dao robe, saying calmly, “Daoist Wu Zhou, do not underestimate the White Jade Capital.”

Wu Zhou still wore a scornful expression, unwilling to lend out that ancient divine weapon. She preferred to shatter it herself than give these stinking Daoists of the White Jade Capital a chance to act.

Jiang Zhaomo maintained the pose of reaching out for the weapon. “Moreover, this one is unwilling to live under another’s roof in martial arts, to depend on their breath. Especially now that he is at the mountain peak, I will abandon even the martial path of the Stopping Realm, so that later, when I settle private scores, I can do it cleanly. Wu Zhou, don’t hesitate. This strike will be the culmination of Jiang Zhaomo’s lifelong martial arts power. It is not weak.”

Jiang Zhaomo sighed inwardly, looking down at that pure golden line. If there were a “later.” To have such an opponent was worth this life. A pity, truly a pity.

Seeing that Wu Zhou refused to yield, Jiang Zhaomo smiled and no longer pressed. His dharma form took a martial stance; the Dao Lord moved his fists and feet, using his entire martial arts mastery to weigh the majestic heavenly might of the divine Dao.

Just as one of Wu Zhou’s arms shattered, she tossed the divine weapon to Jiang Zhaomo. The female Daoist, radiating a solemn aura, laughed loudly, “Don’t say ‘not weak’! Say ‘very strong’!”

Jiang Zhaomo grasped the blade, shook his wrist, and said with a slight regret, “A bit light.”

Wu Zhou gritted her teeth, ready to attach her Dao body to the blade, but Jiang Zhaomo guessed her intention and immediately reached out to stop her impulse. Then, holding the blade, Jiang Zhaomo—who could almost be said to have achieved divine status through the body—actually abandoned this martial arts trump card. Against that golden line originating from the new heavenly court, the martial artist Jiang Zhaomo, within his Daoist dharma form, slashed out an unstoppable strike. The saber light carrying his martial arts created a string of dazzling rainbow-like radiance.

Shattering that layer of Dao barrier like a crystal dharma realm, Jiang Zhaomo’s face shone brightly. His hair flew wildly, his eyes and expression filled with great exhilaration, as he cut a faint Dao scar on that golden pillar of heavenly light.

In Beiju Continent, a magnificent sword formation had been arranged. Countless sword lights rising from the earth and mountains continuously added sword qi to this great formation.

Liu Jinglong used his life-bound flying sword “Gui Ju” as the formation’s hub, with Bai Shang’s sword pass as the formation’s “sword tip,” successfully simulating a nearly real golden line of “On Earth” in a short time!

Jiang Zhaomo had no bloodstains; his dharma form remained spotless, but there were cracks on his face from the abandonment of martial arts. Wu Zhou, now armless, rolled him back to her side with her sleeve. The female Daoist let her sleeves fall, her expression stern. “That’s enough. If Bai Jing hadn’t torn open a gap, this truly wouldn’t have been a Great Dao struggle we could easily meddle in.”

Although Jiang Zhaomo had suffered great damage to his Great Dao, his Dao heart showed no sign of dejection. “Doing something doesn’t always require achieving something. Doing something that is destined to achieve nothing—that is the Dao heart.”

Wu Zhou exclaimed in surprise, “Found a gold nugget in a pile of shit!”

Jiang Zhaomo laughed. “Don’t say such angry words. If Wu Zhou were to go to Haoran Heaven, or any other heaven, she would only feel equally stifled and unhappy.”

Wu Zhou said, “True. Taking this chance, I’ll go to Vase Bottle Continent in Haoran Heaven, to reassure that… Mr. Chen. Jiang Zhaomo, what do you say?”

Jiang Zhaomo replied, “Going back to heal my wounds.”

Wu Zhou fixed her gaze, chose a landing spot, turned into a rainbow light, and descended straight to the mortal world. Casually, she grabbed the shoulder of “Zhou Haijing,” who was spear in hand ascending the sky, saying, “Young lady, your Dao power is still weak; don’t add fuel to the fire. The Heaven-Earth Passage isn’t stir-frying.” Wu Zhou brought Zhou Haijing back near that high platform. Seeing Zhou Haijing still furious, glaring at her, Wu Zhou released her hand and smiled. “Scatter, everyone scatter. As for what comes next, we’ve all done our best and now leave it to fate. Just seek a clear conscience.”

“Zhou Haijing” planted the iron spear into the ground. The twelve swirling ribbons gradually dissipated, and the vertical eye at her brow quickly faded.

Wu Zhou said, “The divine weapons ‘Xing Xing’ and ‘Zhan Kan,’ you young ones can keep them safely. Earlier, I shamelessly snatched from Chen Ping’an, but I don’t have the face to bully you juniors who still seem to be wearing open-crotch pants.”

The twelve earth branch members gathered together, not worrying about being instantly killed by Wu Zhou.

Wu Zhou looked at these young faces, both anxious and full of vitality, and gave them a thumbs-up. “Young in age, but not lacking in spirit. Great Li has good fortune.”

Wu Zhou’s shoulders moved slightly, and two fresh, lotus-root-like arms grew out. She muttered to herself, “This young National Teacher of yours… truly never errs in reading our hearts…”

Earlier, during the Middle Earth Confucian Temple council, there had been a highly secretive riverside discussion. Perhaps the three teaching founders set the questions, and Ritual Sage was in charge of invigilation and grading?

In that great examination by the River of Time, aside from the Fourteen Realm cultivators of the Wildlands, Yu Dou, Wu Zhou, and others, each had their own choices. But two were exceptions.

Zheng Juzhong did not “take the exam,” and Chen Ping’an was even more exceptional—he appeared by the river but actually didn’t have to “answer questions”?

Wu Zhou’s Dao heart shook. Damn it, that Zhou Mi of the Wildlands had indeed left a hidden hand in the mortal world!

In the vast territory south of the Great River in Vase Bottle Continent, as well as in Fuyao Continent and Tongye Continent, within the temples and shrines of varying but considerable numbers, all the mountain and river orthodox gods, and illicit shrine golden idols, seemed connected by a golden line. They began to shatter simultaneously, as if these gods who enjoyed incense in the mortal world had no choice but to sacrifice themselves at this moment, to “please the gods” and pledge allegiance to “Under Heaven.”

Not to mention the Wildlands, where countless fragments of golden light turned into threads, rising like strands of incense smoke. Truly, starving the world to fatten oneself—that was Zhou Mi’s Great Dao.

All the demon clan cultivators who had cultivated through Zhou Mi’s Cloud-Fluid Mountain essays also drew out a grain of incense from their heart cavities. Divinity, everyone had it. It was as if Zhou Mi used their bodies to cultivate a pure grain of divinity’s incense, and now it was time for the Wildlands to repay with interest.

Zhao Tianlai withdrew from the gap. His spotless Dao body burned with great fire, pulling out the blood-soaked Xiao Mo as well. Relying on the Heavenly Master Seal forming a great earth and the dharma sword manifesting as a green mountain, the altar formation was instantly crushed and shattered by the “golden line.” Human power has its limits. Having lost two fundamental artifacts inherited for thousands of years from the Heavenly Master Mansion, this Heavenly Master, who had already fallen to the Immortal realm, remained calm. A purple-gold dharma robe turned to ash, and the Heavenly Master’s form fell like an autumn leaf back to the mortal world.

A pure white ten-tailed celestial fox leaped from the Heavenly Master Mansion, gently catching the Heavenly Master and that sword cultivator.

Even though the Old Scholar said there was no need to go to the Wildlands, the Second Sage still personally descended into the Wildlands’ heartland.

Bai Ze understood the intention of this Confucian Temple sage, but still shook his head.

The Second Sage looked at the divinity continuously converging toward that golden line above, and again tugged at his collar.

Chen Qingliu smiled. “Killing anyone is the same. I don’t mind joining forces. As for the cost, we’ll figure it out after the kill.”

Fei Ran and Gui Ke both felt their heartstrings tighten. The now-familiar Xie Shiji suddenly seemed distant.

Zheng Juzhong’s Fourteen Realm yin spirit appeared here out of thin air, standing behind Bai Ze. Along with Chen Qingliu, who was confronting Bai Ze, the three formed a straight line.

Since Bai Ze of the future was a hidden danger no one could control, it was best to eliminate him early.

Unexpectedly, the Fourteen Realm great demon Chu Sheng brought a little girl with horns and stood behind Zheng Juzhong’s yin spirit, still on the same line.

Chen Qingliu smiled. “Good, things are getting lively. That’s more like it.”

Zheng Juzhong ignored the two Fourteen Realms behind him and said, “Bai Ze, you’re like a very lucky person whom heaven and earth favor, nothing more. There are many such figures in the world, simply blessed by fate. But you are especially blessed, which is why you became ‘Master Bai Ze’ of this Wildlands. Zhou Mi didn’t dare eat you, the Confucian Temple didn’t dare insult you, everyone respects you a bit, only out of fear that you might go berserk.”

Bai Ze smiled. “Can’t argue with that.”

Zheng Juzhong said calmly, “Otherwise, in terms of talent, tactics, and spirit, you are quite mediocre. Your heart is too soft; you can never be ruthless. You always want ‘everything to be fine.’ Do you think you can have whatever you want? The Wildlands has been waiting for your Great Dao to give back, but you have always refused to fulfill that expectation.”

“So you gave Zhou Mi the opportunity to exploit the weakness. In the end, you allowed Zhou Mi to successfully bring harm to the ancient heavenly court.”

“And precisely because of your inaction while occupying the Wildlands, Chen Ping’an’s plan to connect the five heavens through the ‘Great Five Elements’ to counter the new divine Dao fell through. Bai Ze, you truly deserve to die.”

Bai Ze remained silent.

The great demon Chu Sheng, leaning on his staff, urgently said, “Bai Ze, don’t let your Dao heart be disturbed. If you hold on just a little longer, Zhou Mi can use the divine Dao ‘Under Heaven’ to settle the mortal world!”

Whether the demon clan could turn from guest to host depended on this one move! Once Zhou Mi’s plan succeeded, the heavens would be the gods’ heavens, and the earth would be the demon clan’s earth. They could take or leave as they pleased; all sentient beings would have to obey. Would the mortal world walk an old path again? For the demon clan, which had been barely surviving in a corner of the Wildlands for ten thousand years, this was a brand new path to heaven!

Suddenly, Chu Sheng felt a chill down his back. It turned out that Zheng Juzhong’s Fourteen Realm yang spirit had already appeared behind him and Xiao Xun. So from beginning to end, they were always on a straight line.

Yin spirit Zheng Juzhong suddenly laughed. “But ‘Bai Ze who deserves to die’ was also calculated long ago. If Bai Ze weren’t like this, how could heaven and earth manifest a greater pure human nature, creating a second invisible ‘Heaven-Earth Passage’?”

Great demon Chu Sheng frowned. What did Zheng Juzhong’s words mean?

Xiao Xun chuckled. “Not enough brains, huh?”

Chu Sheng’s mind was more drawn to Zheng Juzhong; it was difficult to face Zheng Juzhong as an enemy. The key was that the third Zheng Juzhong was hidden somewhere unknown.

Without any warning, Xiao Xun punched straight through Chu Sheng’s chest.

“Beast, do you know what the freedom I pursue is?”

Xiao Xun grinned. Chu Sheng had already teleported ten thousand li away in an instant, but Xiao Xun followed like a shadow. The surrounding sky and earth turned white, black, and colored, like a child’s random patchwork of a chaotic heap, like various crystal realms cut by sword qi, blocking the terrified Chu Sheng. He shouted in reprimand, “Xiao Xun, have you gone mad?!”

“I have the freedom to not become a pure sword cultivator, the freedom to hate Haoran and defect from the Sword Qi Great Wall, the freedom to kill anyone I find annoying in the Wildlands. Always the freedom to be Xiao Xun!”

“Chen Qingdu, who has meddled in everything for ten thousand years, never controlled me. These damn throne masters want to control me? Die!”

Having been called a “beast,” the great demon Chu Sheng now found himself inside a “Hall of Heroes” he had personally created in the Wildlands. His face dark, suspended in a pitch-black boundless void, leaning on his staff, Chu Sheng was furious in his heart. Chen Qingdu was truly… Initially, he and Zhu Yan and other great demons had worried whether Xiao Xun’s defection from the Sword Qi Great Wall was a plan for Chen Qingdu to collaborate with her from within. Later, Zhou Mi said no, and Fei Ran and Gui Ke also confirmed that Xiao Xun had not the slightest intention of allying with Haoran Heaven. Among the throne masters most eager to counterattack Haoran, Xiao Xun was definitely one… Had Chen Qingdu really sent the Wildlands an utterly unreasonable, undisciplined brat? Was it that simple?

Xiao Xun stood on a floating high platform. She frowned—there was an outsider who had slipped in.

Zheng Juzhong stood beside her, smiling. “Why not follow me to clean up the mess in the Wildlands? Start something new, establish a sect, and become a patriarch.”

Bai Ze was incompatible with the Great Dao of the Wildlands, but Xiao Xun was different.

Xiao Xun sneered. “Who will establish the sect and who will become patriarch? Zheng Juzhong, who are you trying to disgust? Do you think I would be your assistant? Ugh, I’m nauseous, sick to my stomach…”

Zheng Juzhong said, “I will establish the sect, and you will become patriarch.”

Xiao Xun was stunned, grabbing her horned braids with both hands. “What?!”

In the southeastern Wildlands, inside an unknown cave dwelling, Liu Bai asked curiously, “Senior Brother, since we are all existences born from the Master’s cutting off the three corpses, when the Master returns to the mortal world, he should have an excellent Dao body, enough to carry his infinite divinity.”

Shou Chen said, “Gui Ke, who was born from the manifestation of the Wildlands’ Great Dao, the Master has divided and merged him countless times. He has long opened a path of occupying another’s nest. Probably that study called ‘Haoran’ is the Dao field for re-merging the Dao.”

Zhou Qinggao nodded. “Truly a master of long-term scheming.”

Liu Bai felt strange, very awkward. “I am a woman, Gui Ke is also female. Doesn’t the Master find it tiresome?”

Shou Chen laughed. “Where the Dao is, what does this matter?”

At the cave dwelling entrance, Zheng Juzhong had twice waved his sleeves, as if dispersing something.

Wu Ying asked, “Why didn’t you just kill Liu Xianyang at the same time?”

Zheng Juzhong’s true body smiled. “Then I would truly have to drain all humanity and completely ‘become a god.’ Then what would be the point of targeting Zhou Mi? Zhou Mi would probably welcome it, willingly choosing the Heaven-Earth Passage to invite ‘him’ into the new heavenly court. In that way, the three teaching founders scattering the Dao, Zhi Ci ascending the heavens to block the path, and of course, Cui Chan and Qi Jingchun’s joint plan—would all become the greatest joke of the mortal world.”

Wu Ying was puzzled. “Don’t understand.”

Zheng Juzhong said, “If you could understand everything, would Zhou Mi have been lured into the trap?”

“In the past ten thousand years, who has been jointly targeted by the three teaching founders and so many Fourteen Realms?”

“Only Zhou Mi.”

Wu Ying said, “Then say something that I, Gu Can, can understand.”

Zheng Juzhong said, “Cui Chan asked me to guard the path for a while. It was indeed to guard for ‘Chen Ping’an,’ but not the Chen Ping’an you see returning to Haoran. It is the Chen Ping’an he has imprisoned.”

“The divine-natured Chen Ping’an has imprisoned the human-natured Chen Ping’an.”

Hearing this, Gu Can shouted angrily, “Bullshit! Stop spouting nonsense here, trying to be mysterious…”

Zheng Juzhong continued as if he hadn’t heard, “From his youth, the two lines of good and evil in his heart were too close, nearly merged. The closer you are to Chen Ping’an, the harder it is to see. That’s called the darkness beneath the lamp. In fact, Chen Ping’an himself couldn’t distinguish what was true humanity and what was divinity. Later, he finally knew, but by then he was no longer in control. Since he became half of one, he had to bear the burden of half of one.”

“When Chen Ping’an was young, he always pursued ‘no mistakes.’ He thought that was natural, that everyone should be like that. But he didn’t know that throughout history, only gods have thought and acted in this way. ‘Cultivators are no longer human’—this refers to that situation.”

“Think back. In his life, those rare great bursts of anger—were they truly purely ‘seeing evil with good’? Was it right or wrong, good or evil in the heart? Yes and no, but not entirely. The earliest, back in Nipin Alley in the rain, when the kiln apprentice almost choked Song Jixin to death. Recently, by the River of Time, when he saw the new sword-bearer who had devoured the ‘sword spirit’ that accompanied him through many difficult heart barriers. The divinity-dominated Chen Ping’an knew too well the difference between the two, so he was angry, as if repeatedly shouting, ‘Give her back,’ ‘Return her…’”

“An extremely cautious orphan—all the uncontrollable anger in his life can be summed up in one sentence: ‘You are human, how can you do such a thing?!’”

Zheng Juzhong smiled. “Wrong, completely wrong. Precisely because you are human, you can be so absurd, make mistakes. The entire mortal world is vibrant precisely because of ‘errors.’”

The mortal world is woven from countless errors, like grass on the wild plains, growing thick and lush, giving birth to infinite wild and gentle vitality.

The Dao is impartial—does it truly only accommodate the good summarized by later generations, but not the evil defined by human texts?

“Because he was like this since childhood, even after separating divinity and humanity, Chen Ping’an was still Chen Ping’an. That is why the Grand Master went to Tongye Continent to see for himself.”

“That is why the Dao Ancestor and the Buddha went to Huaihuang County town, also to see, to determine whether Cui Chan and Qi Jingchun were right or wrong.”

“Cui Chan went to the Sword Qi Great Wall and borrowed two innate characters. ‘Reversing mountains and rivers’—what was truly reversed was the humanity and divinity of that young wanderer among the green hills and clear waters.”

When he parted from Senior Brother Cui Chan on the city wall, Chen Ping’an woke up from that “Cauldron of Creation” at sea. “Divinity” wandering in the mortal world—wasn’t that a great dream? How could there be no confusion of dreams within dreams?

The two golden lines, one in heaven and one on earth, merged again, colliding once more. It was simple to identify the node of the Heaven-Earth Passage: just look at where the fire rain burst out, and it was immediately clear.

The fire rain was getting closer and closer to the mortal world. Occasionally it rose, but ultimately it could not gather the strength to turn “Under Heaven” into a permanent “Above Heaven.”

Zheng Juzhong looked up at that magnificent spectacle unprecedented in ten thousand years. Outsiders could not imagine Chen Ping’an’s situation, but he could barely understand a little.

Surely it must be many times more painful and difficult than when that young sandal-wearing boy walked across that covered bridge back then?

After all, the boy was walking step by step toward the future back then, whereas now he was walking toward the end of his life’s Great Dao.

A person who had been so attached to the mortal world his whole life—

But in the end, he proved one thing to the outsiders who had long peered into his heart, and to the many people and events deep within that he could not retain.

“From Nipin Alley, Chen Ping’an—I have been a good person since I was little.”

“I must watch over Chen Ping’an for Cui Chan. Divinity must not be too much, humanity must not be too little. Whether Chen Ping’an is suffering or pitiful is not within my consideration.”

“I once played ten games of Caiyun with Cui Chan.”

“The reason Cui Chan lost to me was that the chessboard was too small.”

The larger the chessboard, the higher Cui Chan’s skill. The one who took over the chessboard was divine-natured Chen Ping’an.

Hence, in the battle against Immortal Han Yushu in Tongye Continent, when the latter activated the sect’s heavy treasure, “Chen Ping’an” was completely at ease, completely indifferent, only saying that that goddess was… committing lèse-majesté!

During the joint beheading of Jiang She, the “divinity” released by “Chen Ping’an”—was it truly more like an eternal, rational, errorless god? Wasn’t it a person full of the seven emotions and six desires?

In the capital of Great Li, the so-called “divinity” released by the stopped water mirror—why was it most vicious toward Confucian scholars?

It was because the Martial Ancestor Jiang She knew this that in the latter half of the life-or-death battle, he chose a tacit moderate restraint, allowing the true human-natured Chen Ping’an to behead and usurp his position.

Before that, how intense was Jiang She’s killing intent, how thick his murderous aura? He publicly declared to “Chen Ping’an” that he, Jiang She, was the first person in history to slay a god!

Wu Ying was silent for a long time, then asked softly, “Why didn’t you wait? Wait for Chen Ping’an to forge the ‘Great Five Elements.’ I don’t believe you couldn’t help him dissolve the Fourteen Realm gift from ‘Xian.’”

Zheng Juzhong was somewhat resigned. “Only because you are my personal disciple do I have such patience. Chen Ping’an would never ask such a stupid question.”

Wu Ying, for the first time, did not continue cursing him.

Zheng Juzhong explained, “If you want to meet on a narrow path and kill the strong with the weak, you must imitate the method used to kill Cai Jinjian back in the town back then. The victory lies in sudden, unexpected moves. There is no true foolproof plan. The two stacks of blueprints in the National Teacher’s mansion were deliberately shown to Zhou Mi, to make him mistakenly think that after one sword strike, both sides would begin to accumulate strength, deploy troops steadily, and one day fight a proper battle on the battlefield. Gu Can, let me ask you—is Chen Ping’an smarter than Zhou Mi?”

Wu Ying said, “I think he is.”

Zheng Juzhong, for the first time, also showed some anger. He too had a compulsive disorder and hated fools the most.

Fortunately, Wu Ying added, “Chen Ping’an only suffers from being young.”

Zheng Juzhong said, “That sword strike—delivering it and receiving it—both sides did it deliberately. Zhou Mi first made Chen Ping’an drop his guard, mistakenly thinking that through Chen Ping’an he could gain more connection with the mortal world. Chen Ping’an, on the other hand, made Zhou Mi mistake the final battle to be a hundred or two hundred years away. At the same time, what truly connected Zhou Mi to the mortal world was not a bridge full of worldly human hearts, but a temple—an ‘On Earth’ incense refined by divine-natured Chen Ping’an, mixed with the infinite small yet infinite many human hearts and humanity Chen Ping’an had accumulated before facing his inner demon, after killing himself a million times. Zhou Mi dared not refine it easily, nor would he discard it. The new heavenly court was ultimately a complete, indestructible divine Dao field, so he had to split some off and forcefully stuff it into Li Zhen and a few others, wanting to observe the situation. But these new supreme beings were ultimately false supreme beings. Those looking down from the heights saw the mountains and rivers clearly; those looking up the cliff saw heavenly light veiled by clouds and mist. On the Great Dao, a single line connecting heaven and earth—Zhou Mi had no choice but to forcibly devour Li Zhen and the others, cursing Chen Ping’an as ‘bastard seed.’ That was already good restraint from Zhou Mi.”

Indeed, as Zheng Juzhong spoke, that unstoppable golden line of “Under Heaven” unexpectedly showed a slight, completely unreasonable wobble. Without any interference from mortal cultivators, there came a “fine” cracking sound like porcelain breaking. Throughout heaven and earth, it resounded like great bells and enormous cauldrons, waves of the Great Dao surging. The already majestic fire rain became even more dazzling. The divine nature crashing together shook fiercely, escalating. The golden line instantly rose very high “on earth.”

Zheng Juzhong smiled and added a tangential remark: “Chen Ping’an said on Tuoyue Mountain that if he were the culprit at that age, the culprit wouldn’t even see how he delivered his sword. That wasn’t bragging.”

“Gu Can, do you think what Cui Chan truly wanted to conceal was that the old sword blade had acknowledged Chen Ping’an as its master?”

“No, it was Chen Ping’an’s human-divine nature, which had accumulated and become indistinct since he was an orphan. That was Chen Ping’an’s true terror. Using the ‘sword spirit’ of the old sword blade to obscure this was the most fitting.”

Zheng Juzhong continued, “The few of us have been plotting for a long time. The true first and second moves were two sentences from that foremost classic.”

“The first hexagram: ‘Heaven moves vigorously; the gentleman strives to unceasingly strengthen himself.’”

Back in the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven, amidst deadly intrigues, a fatal situation was set for Qi Jingchun. But no one expected that the two brothers were already considering how to untie the mortal world’s deadlock.

To sweep away that eternal gloomy dark cloud, the remains of the ancient heavenly court.

Without reaching the ultimate of achievement, naturally nothing could be accomplished. But purely based on Cui Chan’s utilitarian philosophy, it would not work. Calculating human hearts to the extreme would lose the heavenly heart.

No matter how grand your opening essay, no matter how ambitious, it would eventually be partial and unworthy of the Great Dao’s practice. At least Cui Chan’s utilitarian philosophy had only been practiced for a hundred years, not a thousand.

With the great tide bearing down, Cui Chan didn’t have time.

“The second hexagram: ‘Earth’s posture is compliant; the gentleman carries external things with thick virtue.’ That was the answer to this heaven-sized problem, the only solution. Gu Can, can you recite it?”

Gu Can, sensing the decline of that golden line on earth, was anxious and angrily said, “I can recite your mother…”

Zheng Juzhong laughed dryly. Patience has its limits. After all, you brat are now a useless piece irrelevant to the big picture.

Fortunately, Gu Can quickly changed his tune, reciting like a village schoolboy: “Yellow lower garment, great good; elegance within. Dragons fight in the wild, their path exhausted…”

Gu Can suddenly shut his mouth, shocked. “Did you or Cui Chan prearrange this with him?!”

Zheng Juzhong shook his head. “No, he thought of it himself. Or rather, it was a heavenly intuition he obtained after attaining the Ascension Realm.”

The first disciple of the Tuoyue Mountain Patriarch, the “Culprit,” was originally named “Yuan Ji” by Bai Ze. The little Dao boy who followed his master, hugging a lute through thousands of waters and mountains, was named “Huang Shang.”

The last true dragon in the world landed on the southern shore of Vase Bottle Continent, fled north along a dragon path, and fell in the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven. That was “dragons fight in the wild.”

The ghostly entity that roamed Great Shou Kingdom for many years, bearing seven thousand years of heavenly punishment and suffering for three thousand years, “Xian,” met a dissolution, “its path exhausted.”

Gu Can said sadly, “Even the Dao Ancestor said, ‘Do not dare to be first under heaven.’”

Zheng Juzhong laughed. “That was said for you to hear, not for some people.”

In the end, he was a scholar who had never attended a single day of school, a true scholar’s nature that long wished others would not be disappointed for long.

Zhou Mi of Wildlands Wenhai, Chen Ping’an of Falling Mountain.

Before this Heaven-Earth Passage, in their respective processes of becoming half of one, what was their true Great Dao struggle?

Using humanity to give birth to the most divinity.
Hence ascending to heaven.

Using divinity to give birth to the greatest humanity.
Thus being on earth.

The three teaching founders scattered the Dao to suppress Zhou Mi’s desire to extract more humanity from the mortal world.

The Daoist Xian Wei guarding the gate was to prevent divine-natured Chen Ping’an from becoming more divine.

After returning to Haoran, those especially prominent bursts of anger, deep attachment-filled sadness, gentle gazes or words—that was humanity born from divinity.

Gu Can asked an extremely important question. “What will Ruan Xiu do?”

Zheng Juzhong said, “It depends on what Qi Jingchun and Cui Chan talked to her about back then.”

Gu Can was silent for a long time, then asked the last question. “Did you ever ask Chen Ping’an his own wishes? Did you ever care about his thoughts and feelings?”

Zheng Juzhong gave an answer that could have many interpretations. “Hard to say.”

Back then.

The two brothers cooperated and, on a boat at Taoye Ferry in Tongye Continent, spoke face to face with Zhou Mi of the Wildlands for a few sentences.

Before Ruan Xiu devoured all of Li Liu’s divinity, they came together to the foot of Shenxiu Mountain, where the words “Heaven Opened the Divine and Beautiful” were carved on the cliff.

Ruan Xiu sat at the topmost stroke of the character “Heaven,” and said calmly, “Mr. Qi, I don’t want to see him.”

Qi Jingchun smiled. “I know. That’s why I brought him here.”

Ruan Xiu thought for a moment, then nodded.

Qi Jingchun turned to look at Cui Chan beside him. Senior Brother, how about it? Isn’t our likability clearly stratified?

Cui Chan’s face was expressionless, unmoved.

Among the former fellow disciples, you Qi Jingchun had the strongest desire to compete. Serious, stubborn, determined to win, had to be first. In short, small-minded.

As Qi Jingchun spoke with Ruan Xiu, Cui Chan recalled some past trivialities, certain images. They also had something to do with A Liang.

The stubbly short man, shamelessly urging drinks: “Little Qi, your conduct at the table is rock-solid first, but your drinking capacity is a bit lacking—not just first, nearly last.”

The blushing youth immediately looked displeased, slapping the table. “What?! Another jug!”

“Senior Brother Zuo and Senior Brother Liu are already passed out under the table. How am I last?”

“A Liang, Cui Chan, don’t either of you run!”

Later, the youth was muttering nonsense on the table.

The young man put down his cup, his eyes still bright. A Liang was bending over to pick at dishes, cleaning up the battlefield, scraping together leftovers from the plates—still a chopstick’s worth.

The greasy-lipped man wiped his mouth and muttered, not knowing which female immortal or heroine would marry him, thrifty and virtuous as he was; he was happy for her.

Finally, he sat on the only chair, which he had either stolen or bought cheaply from somewhere—a “throne.” He put his legs on the table, patted his belly, picked his teeth with a toothpick, burped, and cursed with a laugh, “Why do you have to compete with him?”

Cui Chan smiled. “It’s fun.”

A Liang rolled his eyes, gently patted the youth’s back, and forced him to endure one more time without vomiting. With that little capacity, how much could he drink? What a… stubborn streak! Heh, I like it.

Cui Chan frowned. “Mind the rules. Put your legs down.”

A Liang said “Oh” and immediately lowered his legs.

Cui Chan got up to clear the dishes, glancing at a huge man snoring like thunder at the table. “Liu Shiliu, stop pretending to sleep. Lend a hand.”

Liu Shiliu immediately straightened up, pretending to be clueless. “Is it dawn?”

A Liang snuck his legs back up. Heh, I put them back again.

Cui Chan glared, but lowered his voice to warn, “A Liang!”

A Liang reluctantly put his legs down. That Cui Chan had all sorts of preposterous compulsive disorder. For example, if he saw a folded page corner, he had to smooth it out. Whether on the bookshelf or the scholars’ desk, every item had to be placed precisely. But even when his fellow disciples messed everything up, he never said anything; he just silently “adjusted” the items. Zuo Dazi was a bit better, Liu Shiliu was sometimes careless, sometimes intentional, and Little Qi… of course, intentional!

Seeing Cui Chan cursing as he cleared the dishes, A Liang laughed. “That’s right, finally showing some humanity.”

Zuo You suddenly sat up, starting to settle accounts. He reached out his hand. “A Liang, six qian of silver. Settle the bill.”

A Liang feigned ignorance, looking hurt. “Ah? I’m the dog-headed strategist of the Wen Sheng lineage—one of our own, Zuo You, that’s no fun. When you’re poor, I’m generous…”

Zuo You just kept his hand out. “No nonsense. Liu Shiliu, block the door. If he doesn’t pay, he doesn’t leave.”

In the end, at that drinking table, only the most innocent youth was fast asleep.

The Old Scholar had just finished writing a book, unsure if it would ever be carved and printed. He arranged the manuscript, then followed the scent of wine here. After watching the commotion from the doorway with a smile, he felt pained, fearing they would wake his youngest student. So the Master put his hands on his hips and quietly scolded everyone awake in the room. A Liang slapped a silver ingot on the table, his nostrils in the air. The scholar cried “Aiyo” and quickly stepped over the threshold, coming behind the generous Brother A Liang. He slapped Zuo You on the head. “What are you gaping for? Pour wine for A Liang. Take the money and buy some braised meat and snacks. Take Shiliu with you—he’s tall, bargaining has presence, can save a bit. I’ll drink more with A Liang. Cui Chan, first take Little Qi back to rest. We’ll play finger-guessing later, don’t wake Little Qi… Come, come, A Liang, let’s have one. Eh, why did you fill your cup so full? My cup is short—a bit short. It’s only six qian of silver, why the long face? You’re such a handsome, suave, dashing hero—aren’t you generous anymore?”

Lingjing Temple.

The old man smiled. “Young man, the story is finished. A new chapter begins.”

“Chen Cong” smiled and nodded, stood up, picked a peanut from the plate, put it in his mouth, chewed slowly, and said with a smile, “Big Senior Brother, the rest is left for you.”

Beyond the heavens, the tall woman who had already neared the new heavenly court, holding her sword in both hands, paused for a moment and said with a smile, “Agreed.”

Cui Chan stood up and made a deep bow to his junior brother.

Chen Ping’an, in whom infinite humanity resided, bowed farewell to his big senior brother.

A speck of light suddenly blazed up in the ancestral house of Nipin Alley, Chuzhou, Vase Bottle Continent, Haoran Heaven.

A dashed line traced the path the sandal-wearing youth had walked, drawing an extremely bright fire dragon across the mortal earth.

Fire God Ruan Xiu entered the new heavenly court and sat high on the throne.

Beyond the heavens, the sword-bearer received this light originating from the mortal world.

Heaven, earth, and the mortal world thus gave birth to a second “Heaven-Earth Passage.”

The sword-bearer’s wide sleeves fluttered as she went toward the mortal world. Her smile was warm, her expression radiant. It seemed that in her pure golden eyes she held the entire mortal world of ten thousand years past and ten thousand years to come.

“Master.”

All divinity transformed into a single sword. The tall woman’s form became ethereal and vague.

The heavens and earth met. Chen Ping’an held the long sword and extended one hand, pressing it against hers as she knelt on one knee.

“Heavenly Dao collapses. I, Chen Ping’an, have but one sword: it can move mountains, sever rivers, overturn seas, subdue demons, suppress fiends, command gods, pluck stars, destroy cities, and open the heavens!”

Heaven and earth will surely give the long-silent one the greatest thunder.

“Heavenly Dao collapses. I, Chen Ping’an, have but one sword: it can move mountains, sever rivers, overturn seas, subdue demons, suppress fiends, command gods, pluck stars, destroy cities, and open the heavens!”