Chapter 221: Watching the Excitement
Yanzhi Commandery, Grand Administrator's Mansion.
Having stolen his own father's survey map of the commandery's geomantic prospects, the household thief Liu Gaohua felt a twinge of guilt. He found the fifty taels of silver somewhat hot in his hands and thought to make amends. So he left the big-bearded blade guest and his two companions cooling their heels in the reception hall while he ran off to his father's official chambers where the magistrate handled government affairs. He claimed that during his recent travels, he had encountered immortals straight out of the books. Among them, the big-bearded man wielding a blade was a renowned chivalrous hero whose name shook the martial world. Even the foremost expert in the commandery would be no match for him in three exchanges—he must not be slighted in the slightest. There was also a Celestial Master Zhang from Dragon Tiger Mountain, carrying a peachwood sword on his back, with a family tradition of scholarship; he could slay demons and subdue monsters with ease. Finally, there was one surnamed Chen, who was even more extraordinary. Though he appeared to be a youth, he was actually eighty or ninety years old—it was just that "his cultivation had succeeded, and his face was like that of a young boy."
His son Liu Gaohua's extravagant flattery left the Prefect half-believing, half-doubting. With a hint of trepidation, he brought along an experienced mansion advisor and went together to the reception hall to entertain the honored guests. The result was a great disappointment for Prefect Liu. He might never have seen many monsters or spirits, but his judgment of people was not poor. After exchanging greetings, they sat down, drank a cup of tea, and the Prefect lost interest. He told Liu Gaohua to entertain the three guests well, then found an excuse to return to the official hall.
Along the way, Prefect Liu shook his head. "What chivalrous hero, what Celestial Master—they don't live up to their reputations. They've come to my mansion to swindle and con, truly bold beyond measure. If they dare make any excessive demands later, I'll make sure they rot in prison and eat their fill of jail food."
The old advisor chuckled softly. "They're not exactly here to freeload, though. It's hard to say about the young Daoist and the youth with the case on his back, but that blade guest does have some real skill. The mansion's guards certainly wouldn't be a match for him. Prefect Liu, you should know that before I entered your service, I roamed the martial world for over twenty years and met several great renowned martial masters. Here in the south of our Caiyi Kingdom, they are all top-tier experts, few and far between. In terms of bearing alone, that big-bearded man is in no way inferior—his eyes gleam with sharp light, and his demeanor is stern and imposing."
The Prefect nodded. "So you say, there might be some truth to it."
The old advisor whispered a reminder, "Prefect Liu, think about it. The general stationed in this province is universally acknowledged as a grandmaster of the four borders. We once observed him from afar at a banquet. Even when drinking and laughing, he exuded a majestic air of authority without anger—quite intimidating. If you think carefully, doesn't that martial artist who calls himself Xu resemble him somewhat?"
Prefect Liu frowned. "You mean I should curry favor with them? But I've heard that when dealing with martial artists, it's considered heroic to spend money like water. If you only offer a few taels for travel expenses, it's not courtesy but an insult, and it will offend those roughnecks. I have always been an incorruptible official with no surplus funds. What can I offer? Do I have to borrow silver from the wealthy families in the commandery city?"
At this point, the local parent-official's expression soured. "If this is the kind of relationship reeking of copper, I'd rather have none of it."
Scholars—especially those with official court positions—still looked down on martial artists in their hearts.
The old advisor sighed inwardly. Here was a martial connection delivered right to his doorstep, and this Prefect Liu couldn't even grasp it. No wonder, despite writing excellent essays, he was only a fourth-rank official—especially since his mentors and examiners were now high-ranking ministers in the Caiyi Kingdom. If it were him as Prefect, he wouldn't hesitate to borrow money from the rich, even sell his pots and pans. Suppose that big-bearded blade guest was a third-realm minor grandmaster of the martial world. Once the relationship was established, the things that could be done under the table would be numerous. Besides, human connections—without give and take, how could there be any connection? Expecting everyone to come begging to you is not the way of an official. A little exchange with the powerful clans of the commandery city, borrowing a few hundred taels—would Prefect Liu really lose face? Wrong—he would be doing that family a favor. But Prefect Liu didn't like to hear such things; he found them beneath his dignity. After the old advisor said it once or twice, he kept it to himself.
Thinking of this, the old advisor felt somewhat disheartened. The officialdom was so winding and twisted—wasn't the martial world the same? Before he had gone into hiding, he had actually served as a trusted strategist for an alliance leader of the southern martial world of the Caiyi Kingdom. There had been quick vengeance and righteous indignation, but more often it was the trivialities of human life, countless as hair. No matter how heroic your spirit, in a few years it would be worn away. Back then, the old alliance leader was so bold and high-spirited, but in the end, didn't he end up with his family broken and scattered?
After Prefect Liu left with his lukewarm attitude, Liu Gaohua felt awkward. Moreover, the entire Prefect's mansion was so shabby that it couldn't even spare a few guest rooms. The big-bearded blade guest asked Liu Gaohua to take them to the nearest inn to stay, telling him to notify the three of them as soon as the old Daoist from the Divine Proclamation Sect entered the commandery city. Liu Gaohua repeatedly agreed.
Because of its prime location and long-established reputation, the inn was thriving. Fortunately, the Prefect's legitimate son still had some face value, and they managed to squeeze out three guest rooms without hiking the price excessively. Liu Gaohua took this favor for granted the whole time, completely unaware of the innkeeper's heartache at giving up profit. This amused the big-bearded blade guest, and even the Daoist Zhang Shanfeng shook his head.
The ways of the world and human relationships—that was also a kind of knowledge. The sages' books didn't teach much of it, but the martial world had it. Chen Ping'an saw it with his eyes and remembered it in his heart.
In fact, such things had existed in the market alleys like Mud Vase Alley and Apricot Alley back home.
The three of them chatted idly in the big-bearded man's room, naturally bringing up their trip to the old mansion and Zhang Shanfeng's speed talisman. After Xu Yuanxia asked about the price and learned how expensive it was, he felt a bit sorry for this Julu Prefecture Daoist. He joked that on the next demon-slaying trip, they'd have to get something in return. Although Zhang Shanfeng had been terrified of poverty in the past, he didn't complain at all. This made Xu Yuanxia look at him with new respect. The man knew how important it was for Qi refiners to accumulate resources on the path of cultivation. He was well-versed in the rules and customs of the mountain immortal clans, having traveled north and south. Qi refiners cultivated and cultivated—they cultivated mind and power, but above all, they cultivated real gold and silver. If the young Daoist kept spending more than he earned like this, it would be very hard for him to reach higher realms. No matter how good his nature, it couldn't withstand this kind of slow, relentlessly draining pain.
Through their chat, Chen Ping'an learned for the first time about the specifics of the lower five realms of Qi refiners.
Earlier, when he had traveled back from Great Sui with his "disciple" Cui Chan, since Lin Shouyi was already half a mountain immortal, Chen Ping'an had been curious about these things. During a rare moment of conversation, Chen Ping'an had taken the initiative to ask about cultivation and Qi refining.
Young Cui Chan had rolled his eyes and tossed out a line: "Lower five realms? All garbage. Talking about that is boring—it's an insult to your elevated taste, Master. Let's talk about the upper five realms instead? After all, I, your disciple, was once a twelfth-realm cultivator…"
At the time, Chen Ping'an had a strong prejudice against him, so he didn't want to listen to the white-clothed youth's boastful talk. He got up and went far away to practice his standing stance with the sword furnace.
Now, Chen Ping'an wondered: had that hurt Cui Chan's pride? "At least" he had once been a twelfth-realm immortal, and had even played chess with the lord of White Emperor City in the Azure Clouds…
Chen Ping'an scratched his head and took a sip of tea. But in his heart, he was regretting the two thousand taels of silver notes he had sent to "Cui Dongshan" along with the letter. Being so polite with a disciple who had once been an immortal—that wasn't proper; it was practically an insult.
The lower five realms of Qi refiners were the five realms of ascending the mountain: Copper Skin Realm, Grass Root Realm, Willow Sinew Realm, Bone Spirit Realm, and Building Dwelling Realm. Among these, the first four realms cultivated the skin, flesh, sinews, and bones respectively. Although they were called Qi refiners, nurturing a tough and resilient physique was also heavily emphasized. The reasoning was simple: the human body is like a water bowl. If you refine one catty of Qi, but the bowl can only hold eight ounces, the remaining two ounces are just empty talk. The final realm was about integration and fusion, forging everything into one furnace—it was the realm of perfection for the human body as a vessel for Qi refinement. Roughly speaking, it meant you could officially start climbing the mountain.
Since the ghost Yang Huang had repeatedly mentioned the Willow Sinew Realm, calling it the "Retaining People Realm," the big-bearded man explained it in detail for Chen Ping'an, an outsider. He spoke with relish, full of the pure martial artist's teasing of mountain immortals, which made the young Daoist, stuck at the third realm, feel helpless.
"Once, there was a staggeringly brilliant cultivator surnamed Liu who, relying solely on refining his sinews, directly entered the upper five realms and achieved a supreme immortal body—truly unprecedented and unlikely to be repeated. That's why the realm was specifically named Willow Sinew. It also came to be called the Retaining People Realm, because many cultivators who coveted shortcuts went astray, obsessing over incomplete secret manuals left by that Liu cultivator at this realm, wasting too much time and ruining their lives."
The big-bearded man drank tea with the same abandon as he drank wine, and his words carried plenty of sarcastic humor. "We martial artists are always looked down upon by mountain cultivators, but there's one thing where we surpass Qi refiners: every step is solid, with no messy shortcuts. We're the most down-to-earth. So this Willow Sinew Realm has held back countless young cultivators who harbored vain hopes. Moreover, among the lower five realms, unless the Qi refiner is from a military sect or a swordsman lineage, when they meet a third-realm pure martial artist like us, they won't get any advantage!"
The young Daoist, being the only Qi refiner present, said gloomily, "When you martial artists break into the third Qi-refining realm, and we Qi refiners break into the middle five realms, then let's compare! We Qi refiners would definitely have a better chance of winning."
The big-bearded man chuckled darkly. "Let's just compare within the same realm. Ninth-realm Golden Core Qi refiners—they're almost immortals, right? Let them try against a Summit Realm pure martial artist! That Great Li vassal king Song Changjing—would any of you ten-realm Qi refiners dare to act arrogant in front of him? This Song Changjing is the top of the pure martial artists in our Vase Prefecture!"
The big-bearded man stuck out his thumb.
He refused to put his thumb away and praised loudly, "A martial artist like that is a true hero of the world. He stands below the mountains yet looks down on those above. I only regret that I, Xu Yuanxia, cannot meet him face to face. Otherwise, I'd shamelessly insist on offering him a bowl of wine!"
Chen Ping'an's expression turned strange.
The vassal king Song Changjing—wasn't he Song Jixin's uncle? He had passed by Mud Vase Alley once, and Chen Ping'an had even crossed paths with him.
Moreover, there was another pure martial artist of a similar realm to Song Changjing just in his hometown town—Li Huai's father, not to mention Cui Chan's grandfather…
Chen Ping'an could only silently sip his tea.
Later, the three went downstairs to eat in the inn's first-floor dining hall. The tables were buzzing with discussion. It turned out that an old immortal was about to grace Yanzhi Commandery with his presence. His divine abilities were unpredictable. The immortals in books could scatter beans and turn them into soldiers; he could throw paper and turn it into beauties. Those graceful, elegant women, after pieces of yellow paper fell to the ground and manifested, were completely indistinguishable from real living people. They could sing, dance, and converse fluently.
This old immortal, traveling south all the way, had already left the nobles and high officials of various places along the route in the Caiyi Kingdom utterly amazed. So before he had even arrived in Yanzhi Commandery, this commandery city, famous throughout the kingdom for its beautiful women, was already looking forward to his arrival. Men hoped to see if the paper-transformed beauties would have a unique charm. Women with any degree of good looks were stirred by competitive spirit—how could a thin piece of paper surpass them as real people?
Chen Ping'an wasn't very interested.
The big-bearded man and the Daoist Zhang Shanfeng were eager to go and insisted they had to take a look. One swore solemnly that the old immortal might be a monster or demon wearing human skin. The other nodded vigorously in agreement, declaring that they would never allow demons to beguile people's hearts.
Chen Ping'an looked at the two righteous fellows and thought to himself, "Can you two wipe the drool off your mouths before you speak? You just want to see pretty women—just say it. I'm not going to laugh at you."
Ah, when it came down to it, they had never seen a truly beautiful girl. On this point, Chen Ping'an was very confident.
Because he felt he had already seen the most beautiful girl in the world.
Her eyebrows were like distant mountains.