Chapter 274: Sword Qi Great Wall, Chen Meets Chen
Just as she was about to kick Chen Ping'an.
Chen Ping'an vanished into thin air.
As if someone had grabbed him and yanked him into another world.
She suddenly felt empty, both in her sight and in her heart, and then she was filled with rage.
Just as she was about to draw her sword recklessly, trying to follow the trail and break open the gap between worlds, she suddenly blushed a little, as if hearing someone speak. She let out an "oh," then snorted coldly in the direction where Chen Ping'an had disappeared.
Then she flew all the way to the square at the foot of Solitary Peak.
And there he was again, that rule-breaking bastard. The little Daoist boy was almost exploding with anger. He slammed the book in his hands onto the ground, jumped up from his meditation cushion, and roared, "Little girl, do you really think Hanging Mountain is your own backyard?! Come when you want, leave when you want, three times, three times! Even a Sword Immortal from the Sword Qi Great Wall might not manage it once in a lifetime, but you, you've done it twice in one day!"
The sword-holding man yawned. "If you've got the guts, hit her."
The little Daoist boy fumed, "Do you really think I wouldn't? If I weren't pitying her background, I'd have punched her into..."
That heroic-faced girl walked expressionlessly into the mirror gate, leaning back slightly, and turned her head to say, "Why would you pity me? I don't even know you."
The little Daoist boy felt that the girl's words made no sense, yet somehow they did.
The sword-holding man burst out laughing by the hitching post.
—
At the entrance of the same wine shop on Hanging Mountain, after Chen Ping'an left the shop, he entered a secluded alley.
Liu Youzhou, however, was crouched under an ancient locust tree outside a high-walled courtyard, idly counting ants.
The Earth Immortal old woman quietly waited by his side, not disturbing her young master's daze.
As the sky began to lighten at the horizon, Liu Youzhou, his eyes bright, stood up and turned to the old woman, as if showing off a treasure. "I finally figured it out. The ants that grow up on Hanging Mountain aren't any different from the ants in the market alleys."
The old woman was used to the boy's wild imagination and smiled gently, nodding slightly.
Liu Youzhou glanced at the old locust tree, losing interest. "Not buying, not buying. Too expensive. I still feel bad about spending all those years' worth of New Year's money."
The old woman breathed a sigh of relief. She had been really worried that the young master might act on impulse, sell everything he had to buy a jar of Forgetfulness Wine. For a Middle Five Realm Qi refiner to drink that Millet Dream wine was of little significance. Even the Liu family of Aiai Island shouldn't waste money like that. The young master would never be punished for it; in fact, the family head and ancestors might even grit their teeth and force a smile, praising him for being a true Liu descendant, having the bearing of a general. If you spend money without blinking, is that any way for a future Liu family head to act?
But she would definitely get scolded.
It wasn't that she blamed the boy. She just wanted what was best for him. With all that New Year's money, wouldn't it be better to buy a half-immortal weapon? Why waste it on a jar of wine?
Liu Youzhou started heading back, then suddenly asked, "Grandma Liu, do you think Aunt Liu has returned from the northernmost ice plains?"
When the young master mentioned "Aunt Liu," the old woman's wrinkled, weathered face immediately lit up with pride. "She should be back. If we're lucky, that girl might have already broken through to the Ninth Realm of martial arts. Young master, according to the agreement, she can take you to the northern ice plains to travel and hunt great demons."
Liu Youzhou, still somewhat boyish, said childishly, "Why rush to the Ninth Realm? My father said that Aunt Liu's strongest Eighth Realm is more significant than an ordinary weak Tenth Realm grandmaster. My father personally advised her not to break through casually unless absolutely necessary."
The old woman chuckled softly. "The family head means well, but one shouldn't go to extremes in anything. If she can break through smoothly but suppresses her realm, that wouldn't be good for a pure martial artist. She might lose all possibility of reaching the realms above the Tenth. Of course, ordinary geniuses aside, barely managing to reach the Tenth Realm is already a great luxury. But your Aunt Liu is different."
Liu Youzhou wasn't very interested in these matters concerning the fundamentals of the Great Path. Instead, he thought about the least important thing and sighed, "Aunt Liu is really something. She's always shouting, 'Where have all the good men in this world gone?' and she keeps asking me if I've met any good men. I'm a man myself—how am I supposed to answer that? But my father introduced her to so many young talents from Aiai Island, and she never showed any interest in any of them. It's really headache-inducing."
Liu Youzhou's thoughts were erratic. He asked another question that made the old woman laugh. "If one day the demon army overwhelms the Sword Qi Great Wall, what will happen to Hanging Mountain? That nest of ants under the tree—they crawl so slowly. Will they have time to move?"
The old woman's expression was kind. She said gently, "Young master, the Sword Qi Great Wall has stood unshaken for so many years. On that other side of the world, the demons start a great war roughly every hundred years. Over all these years, how many bodies have those savage beasts left at the foot of the wall? And yet, they've returned empty-handed every time. Some of those especially powerful great demons might manage to stand on the wall for a while, but in the end, they're always driven down by the old Sword Immortals."
Liu Youzhou said "oh," but then jumped back to his own line of thought, unable to extricate himself. He said worriedly, "Our family's Ape Trample Manor is even worse than an ant nest—it can't be moved or relocated. Fortunately, Aiai Island is the farthest from Hanging Mountain. Ah, but Potala Continent is in a miserable position. If war breaks out, it will be a thousand miles of smoke and fire. I wonder if that ancestor of the Chen family of Pure Confucianism, the one who carries the sun and moon on his shoulders, can turn the tide and hold back the demons who've crossed the sea."
The old woman was amused by the young master's groundless fears. She couldn't help but laugh. "That's right. Our Aiai Island and this Hanging Mountain are not only separated by Southern Potala Continent, but also by the Central Plains Divine Continent, which is bigger than all eight continents combined. Young master, what is there to worry about?"
Liu Youzhou murmured, "I'm not worried about Aiai Island's safety. It's just that war means many people will die, and that makes me a little uncomfortable. Potala Continent at least has that number one disciple of the Second Sage to guard it. But the Southeastern Parasol Leaf Continent we visited, and Whirlwind Continent, which we're about to explore—they don't seem to have any particularly impressive experts."
The old woman was still smiling. "Young master, you can't compare everyone to your father. If a Qi refiner isn't as strong as our family head, that doesn't mean they're not strong. That's not how it works."
The richest man on Aiai Island and the most powerful Qi refiner on Aiai Island were the same person.
Liu Youzhou's father.
This man had higher cultivation and greater combat strength than any ancestor in the Liu family's history.
The most terrifying thing was that on Aiai Island, where the folk were fierce and immortals loved to fight, no one had ever successfully verified this man's ultimate power.
The man had a famous saying that was well-known in the cultivation world: "If you can solve a problem with immortal weapons or half-immortal weapons, why use your fists and feet?"
Liu Youzhou seemed to have some complaints about his father. "What's so good about having a bunch of wives and concubines?"
The old woman wouldn't dare to comment on the family head's merits or faults for anything in the world.
The family head's good temper was one thing; a servant who didn't know their place was another.
The Liu family held a tight grip on that Snow Money Jade Mine. Tall trees catch much wind. Every year, many servants died because of their loose tongues, and quite a few members of the Liu family's various branches also died suddenly.
Liu Youzhou was currently wearing a bright yellow "Coolness" bamboo garment, a magical treasure once favored by an emperor of a great dynasty, and it was known as a minor cave heaven.
The other bamboo garment, "Summer Retreat," which the Aiai Island Liu family had paired with it, was known as a minor blessed land.
Liu Youzhou liked to wear them alternately.
They were comfortable and not flashy. Otherwise, things like Daoist talisman robes or Divine Dew Armor were too eye-catching. Didn't that just scream "I'm rich"?
He had money, but he didn't like to talk about it.
Besides, Liu Youzhou didn't think he was really all that rich. Hadn't he just been unwilling to buy a jar of Forgetfulness Wine last night?
Liu Youzhou sighed. "Grandma Liu, can I really not go to the Sword Qi Great Wall?"
The old woman's tone was firm. "The family head has ordered that you absolutely must not go."
Liu Youzhou asked a question that cut straight to the heart. "The Sword Qi Great Wall, after all, is nothing more than a collection of exiles and refugees from the Righteous Qi World. Our relationship with them isn't actually as good as people think. There are plenty of dirty deeds on Hanging Mountain. After all this time of fighting and dying with the demons, hasn't anyone ever gotten so angry that they just rebelled against the Sword Qi Great Wall and defected to the demons?"
The old woman thought for a moment. "The Sword Qi Great Wall has those old Sword Immortals and the experts of the Three Teachings keeping watch. They probably can't cause too much trouble. But there are bound to be such people. I imagine the Sword Qi Great Wall doesn't want to air its dirty laundry in public. Young master, you don't need to worry too much about the situation over there. According to the intelligence from Ape Trample Manor, this generation of young sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall is especially talented. And not just a few—they're sprouting up like bamboo shoots after rain. They can almost rival that batch of Sword Immortals from three thousand years ago. Those people were truly formidable. They suppressed the demons for eight hundred years, to the point where the demons didn't dare to provoke the Sword Qi Great Wall. Many demons lived their entire lives without ever seeing that wall. So, I think for the next few hundred years, business on Hanging Mountain will be peaceful and prosperous."
The young man was a little sad. He murmured, "But the biggest source of income for our Liu family is profiting from the dead."
The old woman wanted to remind the young master to be careful with his words on Hanging Mountain, but seeing the disappointed look on his profile, she couldn't bear to.
A steward from Ape Trample Manor appeared in front of them. Two carriages were parked by the roadside. The old steward said softly, "Young master, there are distinguished guests at the manor."
Liu Youzhou nodded and boarded one of the carriages.
When they arrived at Ape Trample Manor, Liu Youzhou saw a refined man and a tall woman. The middle-aged man, radiating an air of scholarly refinement, was standing admiring a hanging painting, while the woman sat drinking tea.
The man seemed to be a connoisseur of calligraphy and painting. He praised, "I never expected this 'Old Lotus Hunchback Painting' to be the genuine article. Truly, in terms of power and bearing, it's outstanding and upright. In the art of painting lotuses alone, there has been no such brushwork in five hundred years."
On the way, the steward, being cautious, hadn't told Liu Youzhou who the guests were. It wasn't until they crossed the threshold of Ape Trample Manor that the steward quietly informed him that the emperor of the Great Duan Dynasty from the Central Plains Divine Continent and the national preceptor had come to the manor together.
Liu Youzhou made a respectful bow. "Liu Youzhou greets Your Majesty and the National Preceptor."
The man turned to the young man and smiled. "This time, I managed to steal a moment of leisure from my busy schedule to come to Hanging Mountain and get some fresh air, using the National Preceptor's need to quench a sword in Little Leize as an opportunity. Originally, I didn't want to disturb Ape Trample Manor, but I heard that Young Master Liu was also on Hanging Mountain, so I thought I must come and beg for a cup of tea."
Liu Youzhou bowed again. "Your Majesty is too kind."
Great Duan was one of the newest of the nine great dynasties in the Righteous Qi World.
It had swallowed most of the territory of an old dynasty. The new Great Duan was now in a state of reconstruction after a period of ruin. Logically, both the emperor and the national preceptor shouldn't have left the imperial court.
But these secret intrigues were not something Liu Youzhou could speculate about at the moment. As for why the Great Duan emperor was being so courteous to Ape Trample Manor, Liu Youzhou knew very well. The war that led to Great Duan destroying one of the former nine great dynasties, the Taixuan Dynasty, involved countless factions and lasted nearly a decade. Great Duan had worn down the Xie family of Taixuan, and the Liu family of Aiai Island—or rather, his father's deep pockets—had contributed greatly.
After Liu Youzhou straightened up, he bowed again to the Great Duan female national preceptor. "I have long admired the National Preceptor."
In truth, the Liu family was one of the secret benefactors behind the Great Duan dynasty. As the future family head, Liu Youzhou didn't need to humble himself like this.
The woman unexpectedly showed a hint of a smile. She put down her teacup and said, "Your temperament is so different from your father's. That's good."
The Great Duan emperor was a bit embarrassed.
Was that a compliment?
The tall woman asked with a smile, "Have you ever been to the Sword Qi Great Wall?"
Liu Youzhou hadn't even sat down; he was still standing respectfully. He shook his head. "Not yet. My father forbids me to go, for fear of accidents."
The woman thought for a moment. "My only disciple is currently tempering his martial arts on the Sword Qi Great Wall. If Young Master Liu is willing, you can travel with me. There will be no accidents."
The old woman and the steward of Ape Trample Manor exchanged glances. They both felt it was a bit tricky.
It wasn't that they thought the Great Duan national preceptor was boasting, but it involved the family head's wishes. The servants didn't dare to make decisions on their own.
Fortunately, Liu Youzhou had already shaken his head and declined. "I cannot disobey my father. I hope the National Preceptor will understand."
The tall woman didn't mind. She nodded and said, "My disciple will need to leave the Sword Qi Great Wall and Hanging Mountain soon. It would be good for him to train on Aiai Island. If Young Master Liu doesn't mind, you can take him along."
Liu Youzhou's expression relaxed a little, and his tone became much lighter. He smiled. "I would be delighted!"
After all, he, a young man, was facing the fifth-strongest person in the Central Plains Divine Continent.
Just like his father, who was undefeated on Aiai Island but said he was at best at the bottom of the top ten in the Central Plains Divine Continent.
Seeing the woman stand up, the Great Duan emperor smiled and said, "As for the exact time of our departure from Hanging Mountain, I'll have someone inform Ape Trample Manor at the earliest opportunity. No need to see us out. We'll leave on our own."
The man and woman walked out of Ape Trample Manor.
Or, to be more precise, it was a woman and a man.
No matter how you looked at it, the tall woman seemed to be the emperor of Great Duan, while the man only seemed like an attendant.
Only then did Liu Youzhou sit down. He tugged at the collar of his "Coolness" bamboo garment, drenched in sweat. Glancing at the treasure of Ape Trample Manor, the "Old Lotus Hunchback Painting" hanging on the wall, he instructed the old steward, "Take it down, pack it up, and send it to the Great Duan emperor."
The old steward looked troubled.
Liu Youzhou smiled brightly. "Do as I say."
The old steward nodded silently and obeyed.
After the old steward left the main hall with the ancient painting, the young man looked at the now-bare wall and asked with a smile, "Grandma Liu, what do you think about hanging that painting of a young man boating?"
The old woman looked panicked and was about to advise the young master not to act on impulse.
But Liu Youzhou had already laughed and said to himself, "Not here. When I get home, I'll hang it in my own study! Let's go, let's go! To show my sincerity, I'll paint one myself! Grandma Liu, have the servants prepare the brush and ink!"
The old woman's expression was hard to read.
The four maidservants of Ape Trample Manor were charmingly lovely, and two of them were Qi refiners at the Cave Abode realm. When they looked at the legendary young master with great anticipation, after he finished his painting with great effort, the maidservants became even more charmingly lovely. They had to hold back a lot of effort to keep from laughing out loud.
Liu Youzhou was quite proud. Although it was ugly, it was ugly in its own way, it was full of sincerity.
Liu Youzhou's painting and someone's calligraphy on the wall of a shop were two sides of the same coin.
Unfortunately, Liu Youzhou hadn't spent the money to buy a jar of Millet Dream wine back then. If he had seen those crawling earthworms, maybe they would have become kindred spirits and regretted not meeting sooner.
—
Between heaven and earth, there was a city wall, engraved with eighteen large characters.
Dao Law, Righteous Qi, Western Paradise.
Sword Qi Eternal, Thunder Pond Forbidden Ground.
Qi, Chen, Dong, Meng.
After that gambling battle where both sides dispatched thirteen peak experts, the demons broke their agreement. Not only did they refuse to hand over all the broken swords left by the sword cultivators south of the Great Wall, but they also, enraged and humiliated, launched wave after wave of attacks. However, compared to the desperate, life-for-life offensive before the gambling battle, these three intermittent sieges were all slightly weaker. It was said that within the demon army, many great demons were unwilling to participate in the siege, which dampened the demon army's morale.
The Sword Qi Great Wall was exactly as it had been from the beginning, except now it had these eighteen characters.
This wall was originally a great barrier formation jointly built by the saints of the Three Teachings. Unless it was completely destroyed in one fell swoop, it would quickly repair itself. If not, no matter how high the city or how solid the mountain, it would have long been leveled to the ground. Facing the swift attacks of peak great demons going all out, and the fierce sword strikes of successive Sword Immortals on the wall, the unparalleled sword qi that shook heaven and earth would inevitably tear through the wall's surface.
The demon army, stationed a hundred miles away, was as numerous as a swarm of ants. They had stopped their attacks for over a month now.
The Sword Qi Great Wall had welcomed a rare period of peace.
The city wall alone had a patrol path that was ten miles wide.
An old man of unknown age had built a thatched hut on the city wall. His descendants had long since spread out in the northern cities of the Sword Qi Great Wall, becoming one of the largest families. But the old man had never descended from the city wall. Year after year, he stayed here, keeping watch. He had a strange temper and never allowed his descendants to come see him. He did occasionally show a smile to children of other surnames.
Sword Immortal, Great Sword Immortal.
A single word's difference, a world of difference.
And on the Sword Qi Great Wall, Great Sword Immortal, Old Sword Immortal—a single word's difference, the gap was just as huge.
Because for a sword cultivator to live long on the Sword Qi Great Wall, they couldn't rely on their surname; they could only rely on their combat strength.
This old man, as the oldest generation on the Sword Qi Great Wall, had experienced countless storms and certainly had many regrets. His most recent regret, even in the long stretch of his life, must have been considerable. He regretted that, bound by the rules, he hadn't been able to fight, which had led to the tragic and disgraceful deaths of that pair of immortal-like younger generation.
The two of them were children the old man had watched grow up, year after year, realm after realm, until each eventually became a Great Sword Immortal in their own right.
The old man felt that watching such young people made life seem to hold some hope.
It made the old man feel that the world wasn't going downhill, that there were still very good young people.
Tonight, the old man sat alone on the city wall in a lotus position. His swords, aside from his destined flying sword, had broken one after another. Eventually, he simply stopped using them.
All the old people and children on the Sword Qi Great Wall were extremely familiar with this old man, who was of an unknown age. Coupled with his strange temper, they had long since stopped interacting with him.
A few years ago, an outsider youth of unknown origin had shamelessly built a small thatched hut behind the old man's hut.
Lately, every time the demons attacked, the youth would just guard the old man's hut and his own, and wouldn't make a move otherwise.
In truth, no one blamed the outsider youth. A Fourth Realm pure martial artist being able to stay on the city wall, eating, drinking, and taking care of his needs, was already quite an achievement.
The gaunt old man with sunken eyes and prominent cheekbones was lost in thought.
If it weren't for this city wall, but on the Righteous Qi World side of Hanging Mountain, no one who saw this frail, skinny old man would believe that he was nicknamed "Chief Sword Immortal" by some slacker who had carved the character "Meng."
A man and woman who looked like a couple appeared behind the old man. The old man didn't turn his head. He said hoarsely, "You don't have much time left. Do you need me to do anything else? Just say it. As long as it doesn't involve the direction of the two worlds, and is just your personal affairs, I can ignore the rules. Besides, I already broke the rules when I forcibly gathered your remaining souls. Those two old fellows turned a blind eye to it too."
The man gently held the woman's hand and shook his head. "It's already very good."
The woman glared at the man and smiled. "There is something."
The old man squeezed out a hint of a smile. "A mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, the more she looks, the more she likes him? Hmm, that's good. Better than having found a useless one. Speak up. Should I give that kid an immortal weapon, or should I teach him swordsmanship myself?"
The woman hesitated. "It might be a bit more difficult than that."
The gaunt old man turned his head. "What do you mean?"
The man sighed helplessly. "That child's Longevity Bridge was broken by someone."
The old man frowned. "Destroying someone's Longevity Bridge—we sword cultivators are the best in the world at that. But rebuilding a Longevity Bridge is harder than ascending to heaven. And if I remember correctly, in history, no one who had a Longevity Bridge built for them ever managed to become a powerful sword cultivator in the Upper Five Realms. After all, cultivating the Dao is already going against heaven. Building a bridge after it's broken, then cultivating again, is even more resented by the Great Dao. There's a very good chance it will be targeted relentlessly. Have you really thought this through? Aren't you afraid it might backfire?"
He paused, then smiled slightly. "After all, it's hard for others to ascend to heaven, but not for me."
The woman was somewhat indecisive. She had a disagreement with the man on this matter. The man thought it was best to let things take their natural course; martial arts wasn't necessarily a bad path. She, as a sword cultivator who had stood on the peak and seen the scenery of the Great Dao, knew that the mountain of martial arts was lower than that of Qi refiners. This was a fact with its own origins and justifications. It wasn't that she looked down on the child's martial arts, but walking the dead-end path of martial arts had an even smaller chance of reaching the highest point. It was simply too small. And what was a dead-end path? What was the Qi refiners' Longevity Bridge?
Then what would happen to their daughter?
The man smiled at her. "Why not just let it be? Let that kid find his own way. Wherever he ends up, so be it."
The woman still couldn't let go. She asked, "Or should we ask Grandpa Chen for an immortal weapon, to be our daughter's dowry?"
On the Sword Qi Great Wall, everyone, young and old, called the old man Grandpa Chen. Only two people were exceptions.
Of course, that one who had left this place wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a saber was once an exception too.
The man said angrily, "Let alone whether he can even afford to use a proud and unruly immortal weapon in this lifetime, Chen Ping'an, as a man, doesn't need this kind of charity..."
The woman interrupted the man's grand lecture. "He's still just a teenager."
The man had nothing to say.
Although the old man liked this young couple very much, he didn't enjoy listening to their trivial domestic matters.
However, upon hearing the young man's name, the old man turned his head again. "The boy is also named Chen?"
The woman smiled. "Isn't it a coincidence? After drinking Millet Dream wine, he wrote on the wall, freely and without restraint, the words 'Sword Qi Long.'"
The old man smiled, looking at the couple.
The man quickly waved his hand. "Absolutely no scheming. It happened naturally."
The woman nodded vigorously, her expression open.
They were terrified that the revered old Sword Immortal might mistakenly think they were plotting against him.
If the old man got angry...
The consequences would be... unimaginable!
The old man casually reached out a hand.
And from Hanging Mountain in the Righteous Qi World, he grabbed a young man and brought him to the city wall of this world.
Sword qi and sword intent covered the sky and the earth, omnipresent, surging like seawater into his Qi Mansion.
Almost suffocating.
Like a small fish that had been leisurely swimming in a stream, suddenly thrown onto the shore. And the so-called shore was a sun-scorched, cracked mudflat. A single jump or struggle would drain every last bit of water vapor from its body.
The old man sized up the young man suspended in the air over the city wall, his face twisted in pain. Then he casually waved his hand and sent the young man back to his original spot on Hanging Mountain. He smiled at the bewildered couple. "This is fine too."
—
Chen Ping'an wobbled, barely managing to steady himself.
The talisman hidden inside his sword case housed the withered-bone female ghost he had subdued in the Colorful Garment Kingdom. This "long-distance journey" had been very hard on Chen Ping'an, but it was even worse for her. She had almost completely dissipated. Fortunately, the time was short, and the yin energy inside the sword case, a natural "parasol tree residence," was dense enough to block most of the sword qi.
When he was suspended in the air, Chen Ping'an had seen a gaunt old man, a couple, and a fleeting glimpse of the Great Wall's city wall.
At the square at the foot of Solitary Peak, a girl with two swords at her waist walked out of the mirror. She thought for a moment, then slowed her pace a little, but still kept a blank expression. She barely managed to greet the petrified little Daoist boy proactively: "This time, I'm a little more familiar with you than last time. Actually, I'm still not familiar."
The little Daoist boy stammered, "So lawless! Doesn't your Sword Qi Great Wall care?"
The sword-holding man looked up at the night sky, where only the moon shone. He muttered to himself, "For your sake, so many of us have died. Doesn't the Righteous Qi World care?"