Chapter 276: The Strongest Among the Strong
Chen Ping'an had seen many good-looking peers in his life. There was Song Jixin from the Mud Vase Lane, Zhao Yao who once studied under Master Qi in the academy, Lin Shouyi, and the androgynous beauty in red from Osmanthus Island, Gao Xuan the Great Sui prince. But none of them could compare to this youth in the Yellow Millet Wine Shop.
After inscribing his words on the wall, this person hugged a wine jar and sat down at the adjacent table. He asked for two large white bowls and called Xu Jia over to drink with him. Xu Jia, who knew the price of Yellow Millet Wine the best, didn't find anything wrong with it at all. He opened the clay seal, helped pour the wine, clinked bowls and drank heartily. Even the old shopkeeper's smile grew a bit wider. The only pitiable one was the caged sparrow, which had its back to the sunlit youth and looked listless and sickly.
The youth took the initiative to raise his wine bowl towards Chen Ping'an and said with a smile, "My name is Cao Ci. I'm from the Great Duan dynasty in the Central Continent."
Chen Ping'an had no choice but to pick up his own wine bowl as well. "I'm Chen Ping'an, from the Great Li dynasty in the Treasured Vase Continent."
Cao Ci nodded, his eyes full of admiration. "The foundation you've laid for your three Martial Forging realms is quite impressive."
Chen Ping'an didn't know how to respond, so he silently took a sip of wine, feeling that something was a bit off.
After thinking for a long time, he finally figured out what it was. This youth from the Central Continent Sacred Land, whether in demeanor or tone, didn't seem like a peer at all. Instead, he resembled that barefoot old man in the bamboo building of the Fallen Mountain. However, the youth lacked the condescending arrogance of the old man surnamed Cui. On the contrary, Cao Ci, the Great Duan youth, spoke calmly and peacefully. Yet even when they were just chatting casually, Chen Ping'an felt an invisible pressure.
As for Cao Ci, Ning Yao didn't have much of a reaction. She was just a bit displeased that there was suddenly an eyesore around, which diminished her enjoyment of drinking.
After hastily finishing half a jar of Yellow Millet Wine with Chen Ping'an, she pulled him towards the shop door.
Just as Chen Ping'an was about to leave the wine shop, Cao Ci called out with a smile, "Chen Ping'an, the Miss Ning you like is very good. The only flaw is that we've met many times, yet she still doesn't remember my name."
Chen Ping'an smiled back and replied, "I think that makes her even better."
Cao Ci laughed heartily, raising his wine bowl with one hand and waving goodbye to Chen Ping'an with the other. His smile was genuine. "Chen Ping'an, in three days, start striving to become the strongest Fourth Realm in the world."
Another statement that, if you chewed on it a bit, would sound quite odd.
Chen Ping'an cupped his fists in a salute, didn't say much else, and turned to follow Ning Yao out of this cramped Yellow Millet Blessed Land.
Inside the wine shop, Xu Jia asked in confusion, "You like Miss Ning?"
Cao Ci shook his head with a smile. "I like my master, who I consider undefeated in my eyes. I like the Empress Dowager, who smiles and has two small dimples. I like Miss Ning, who doesn't put me in her eyes. But none of it is the kind you're thinking of. Romantic entanglements between men and women really hold back one's cultivation."
Cao Ci took a sip of wine and sighed. "I simply can't imagine what I'll look like when I come to like some girl someday."
Xu Jia said "oh" and took whatever Cao Ci said at face value. Then the shop assistant's face lit up with excitement as he changed the subject. "From the way you talk, you're about to break into the Fifth Realm?"
Cao Ci nodded. "After enduring for so long at the Sword Qi Great Wall, it's time to break through."
Xu Jia grinned widely. "If you were in your hometown, I reckon you'd be in the Seventh Realm by now."
Before Cao Ci could respond, Xu Jia quickly added, "And before the Seventh Realm, you'll still be the strongest Fourth Realm, the strongest Fifth Realm, the strongest Sixth Realm!"
Xu Jia was happier talking about this than Cao Ci himself. "The old shopkeeper said you're the strongest Fourth Realm in history, not just the number one among current Fourth Realm martial artists, but unmatched in the past and likely the future. Is that true?"
Cao Ci said helplessly, "Being unmatched in the past, I can be fairly certain. But as for no one in the future, I'm just a pure martial artist; I can't predict the flow of martial destiny in the world for the next hundred or thousand years."
Xu Jia burst out laughing. "Cao Ci! The day I can't resist going to find the eldest miss, I'll definitely stop by the Great Duan dynasty to visit you."
Cao Ci nodded. "Then I'll have some fine wine ready early."
Xu Jia suddenly lowered his voice, pleading, "Cao Ci, how about we have a fight? You can lose to me on purpose. Then, after I leave Hanging Mountain, I can go around telling people I beat Cao Ci. Just think, ten years from now, a hundred years from now, when you're invincible under heaven, even able to make the second Dao ancestor of the Green Shade Heaven, who was truly invincible, actually have a real enemy, I'll be the only one who ever beat you, Cao Ci. Then everyone in the world will be asking who this guy is. Maybe the eldest miss will look at me differently."
Cao Ci squinted his eyes with a laugh. Holding a bowl in one hand, he lightly tapped his own head with the other. "Alright, you, Xu Jia, have beaten me, Cao Ci. Once you leave Hanging Mountain, just go ahead and tell people that."
Xu Jia felt a bit guilty. "You don't care now, but you won't go back on it later, will you?"
Cao Ci had already finished the wine in his bowl. He turned to the old shopkeeper and waved. "Old Lv, can you spare a jar of wine for me? I'm already regretting it right now. Without some wine in my stomach, I can't suppress this feeling of regret! If I drink another jar of Forget Sorrow Wine, I'll have no regrets for at least a hundred years!"
Xu Jia looked at the old shopkeeper with pitiful eyes.
The old man chuckled. "Xu Jia, go fetch a jar of wine for Cao Ci. And remember, think kindly of your shopkeeper from now on, instead of secretly cursing me for being stingy or complaining that I won't let you go out and explore the martial world."
Xu Jia scurried off happily to fetch the wine.
Cao Ci had only one bowl of wine left. While waiting for the new wine to arrive, he picked up his wine bowl and walked over to stand beneath the wall, his gaze sweeping across it. It had been nearly three years since he first drank here, and many new characters had appeared on the wall. Finally, Cao Ci looked at the three characters in the lower corner, written neatly but rigidly. He asked curiously, "Old Lv, did Chen Ping'an leave those three characters, 'Sword Qi Long'?"
The old man asked, "What, is that kid not simple?"
Cao Ci crouched down, took a small sip of wine from the large white bowl, and said calmly, "He might be the strongest Third Realm after me."
The old man felt a bit regretful. The martial sparrow in the cage, which could determine the martial destiny of a pure martial artist, had a time limit. It wasn't that after someone inscribed their words, the sparrow could fly out of the cage at any time to peek at them. As it happened, Chen Ping'an's inscription fell right between the time when the master and disciple were one at the beginning and one at the end. During this period, there was no hope of the sparrow leaving its cage.
It didn't have the guts.
Cao Ci and Xu Jia shared another jar of Forget Sorrow Wine.
Xu Jia had a low tolerance for alcohol. The more he drank, the drunker he got. Eventually, he passed out on the table.
Cao Ci, on the other hand, became clearer the more he drank, his eyes gleaming.
Suddenly, Cao Ci said, "If my master hadn't come to pick me up, I'd really want to go to that world south of the Sword Qi Great Wall. In forty or fifty years at most, I could go toe-to-toe with those dozen or so great demons. Before that, there would inevitably be a series of exhilarating life-and-death battles."
The old man laughed. "Do you believe that if you set foot off that city wall, you would die?"
Cao Ci sighed.
The reasoning was simple, and the old man's words hit the nail on the head.
He, Cao Ci, was very likely already in the sights of the peak great demons. They would definitely kill him, and they wouldn't give him forty or fifty years. They wouldn't even give him a single extra day.
Cao Ci said helplessly, "Then I'll just obediently go back to the Central Continent Sacred Land."
The old man said, as if deliberately or not, "The Dong family ancestor who cut through the wild wasteland world and ultimately burst into prominence is enough for the Sword Qi Great Wall. There will only ever be one. If the demon race once again nurtures a tiger to bring calamity, raising a Cao Ci who might reach the Eleventh Realm of martial arts, I think they might as well just commit suicide."
Cao Ci hummed in agreement. "I need to ask my master if he has actually reached the Eleventh Realm. I hope he hasn't..."
The old man teased him with a smile. "You're a disciple with no conscience, aren't you? How come you don't wish for your master's good fortune? In this aspect, you, Cao Ci, are not much different from Xu Jia in character. That's very bad. You're Cao Ci! How can you be so mediocre."
Cao Ci shook his head. He raised his arm, extended his hand above his head, and swiped it in the air above the table. His voice was soft, but his gaze was resolute. "My master's martial arts have already reached such heights. He can almost match those true peaks of peaks... If it's not the Eleventh Realm, then my master, or the future me, would be..."
The old man smiled. "You can wait and see."
Cao Ci turned to look at the old man. "There are too few old seniors like you who are easy to talk to."
The old man said self-deprecatingly, "That's because this old coot has already accepted his fate."
Cao Ci sat silently at the table beside the wine shop. Xu Jia was snoring like thunder. The old man had already vanished to somewhere else. The Yellow Millet Blessed Land was, of course, a bit larger than it seemed, not just limited to the wine shop. But it was indeed already broken and incomplete. If not for the strenuous efforts of one of the founding patriarchs of the Hundred Schools of Thought, it would have long since ended up like the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven, losing its qualification to be called a "Cave Heaven Blessed Land."
What did the sages of the Three Teachings and the Hundred Schools of Thought busy themselves with every day?
Where did the Ten Major Cave Heavens, the Thirty-Six Minor Cave Heavens, and the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands come from?
After the Pear Blossom Cave Heaven in the Treasured Vase Continent shattered, were there only thirty-five cave heavens?
In reality, many of the sages of the Righteous Qi Heaven needed to open up new territories and expand the map of the Righteous Qi Heaven.
In this regard, the Daoist sages of the Green Shade Heaven were somewhat different. Their primary pursuit was the height of the Jade Capital, layering it higher and higher.
As for the Buddhist world, they sought the distance of Buddhist dharma—past, present, and future lives—so that people would live without doubts or attachments.
Of course, the Confucians of the Righteous Qi Heaven, besides opening up new cave heavens and blessed lands and educating the living, also had to keep an eye on the demon race of the wild wasteland world.
The other two worlds weren't idle either.
The Daoist Patriarch Lu Chen was stirring up trouble and setting his pieces in the Righteous Qi Heaven.
Was the Confucian Second Sage not taking disciples and spreading teachings in the Green Shade Heaven?
Inside the wine shop, even with no one to talk to and no wine to drink, Cao Ci remained calm at heart, just sitting there.
It was hard to imagine that a martial artist would find breaking through realms boring and suppressing one's realm fun.
When the old shopkeeper returned, he asked with a smile, "Cao Ci, besides reaching the pinnacle of martial arts, don't you want anything else in this life?"
Cao Ci laughed. "I'm thinking about what I might want to think about."
The old man teased, "Then you're not as good as my Xu Jia or that Great Li youth."
Cao Ci nodded.
Finally, the white-clad youth walked out of the wine shop. Instead of going to find his master, who was staying in some big-name private residence on Hanging Mountain, he went straight to the foot of the Lone Peak. When he reached the plaza near the main gate, the little Daoist boy and the sword-carrying man both greeted the youth. Cao Ci stopped and chatted with them for a long time before stepping into the mirror surface. On the other side, the old sword cultivator, who was engrossed in refining his natal sword, and the sword-and-dagger wielding female Daoist with a Dharma blade at her waist, also greeted him with smiles. Cao Ci stopped again and chatted with them for a long time.
They talked about Daoist methods, swordsmanship, and the world.
Cao Ci could talk about anything with anyone.
It had been like this for the past few years.
And some of those accomplished senior gods and immortals, whether they were reclusive masters or famous sword immortals, would even benefit greatly. Some would even feel ashamed in the presence of a mere Fourth Realm martial artist youth.
Cao Ci.
Cao Ci of the Central Continent Sacred Land.
He came from an ordinary family. His ancestors had been farmers for generations, not even considered a well-off household. A war had razed their paradise to the ground, and he began to drift with the refugees, experiencing separation by life and death every day.
Then he was seen by a tall woman who was riding a horse alone through the martial world. She accepted him as her disciple.
At the time, she held him in her arms, riding a fine steed through a snowy night. She laughed and said to the boy, who was no more than seven or eight years old, "Cao Ci, from now on, you are my only disciple, Pei Bei."
Cao Ci slowly made his way through the cities north of the Sword Qi Great Wall. Along the way, if an acquaintance stopped to chat, he would chat with them. If no one called out to him, he would occasionally stop and look up at the kites fluttering around, the high up-turned eaves, or the dull painted door gods pasted on the doors.
He finally walked slowly onto the city wall and returned to the small thatched hut behind the old thatched hut. With nothing to do, he casually flipped through a few books, but put them down after reading a few pages. He walked out of the hut and walked a full seven or eight li along the horse path before finding that old man Chen, who was standing on the city wall, gazing southward.
The white-clad youth lightly leaped onto the city wall.
The old and the young stood side by side, silent.
———
After leaving the shop, Ning Yao asked about the location of the Stork Inn and then led Chen Ping'an towards the direction of the Capture and Release Ferry.
At the entrance of the small alley where the inn was located, Chen Ping'an immediately encountered Lady Gui, who was full of anxiety, and Jin Su, who was sullen and unhappy.
Seeing that Chen Ping'an was safe and sound, Lady Gui looked relieved. She didn't say anything harsh, nor did she even ask why Chen Ping'an had been gone so long. She merely greeted the "Miss Ning" that Chen Ping'an had mentioned and then returned to Osmanthus Island at the Capture and Release Ferry. She had a huge business to run, which kept her frantic, and the incident involving the son of the Jade Gui Sect's Jiang clan was also giving her a headache.
Jin Su had initially wanted to complain a few times. This guy had gotten her scolded bloody by her master. But when she first laid eyes on the girl in the dark green robe with a sword at her side, seeing her composed yet sharp demeanor, Jin Su didn't dare to speak.
The three didn't go to the small alley inn. When Ning Yao heard that they were planning to visit the sights of Hanging Mountain, including Deer Antler Cliff, she said she hadn't seen them either and would go with them.
Although Jin Su felt a bit uneasy inside, she didn't want to appear too cowardly, so she took the initiative to speak, making small talk with the "Miss Ning," who seemed a bit hard to get along with.
Ning Yao actually wasn't arrogant; she was just lazy. But if someone like Jin Su, who was only half-familiar, asked her something, Ning Yao would still answer, though her answers were always very brief.
In the end, Jin Su simply didn't know how to deal with her anymore. So she fell silent, and the atmosphere became a bit awkward.
But deep down, Jin Su's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.
This Miss Ning, not very old, claimed to be from the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Outsiders could enter the Sword Qi Great Wall from Hanging Mountain as long as they had money, but for sword cultivators from the Sword Qi Great Wall to enter Hanging Mountain, it was said to be difficult even for sword immortals with brilliant war records.
No wonder Jin Su's imagination was running wild. In fact, her guesses weren't wrong. Miss Ning's surname played a huge role.
But Jin Su was only half right.
Many of the inside stories happening at the Sword Qi Great Wall, Lady Gui was unwilling to discuss in detail with her proud disciple. So Jin Su only knew roughly about that stirring battle of thirteen. Even though the girl beside her was surnamed Ning, she only dared to believe she was one of the direct disciples of the Ning clan of the Sword Qi Great Wall. This trip might be for a family mission.
The reason Jin Su didn't dare to lean towards the most exaggerated "truth" was simple: there was Chen Ping'an by their side.
Because of Ning Yao's presence, Deer Antler Cliff, Incense Offering Tower, and Marsh Ze Terrace—these three scenic spots—Jin Su toured them all feeling constrained and uncomfortable, finding them bland and tasteless.
After all, Jin Su was a young woman from Osmanthus Island. Not only did she have excellent talent for cultivation, but she was also sharp-minded. So often, she would deliberately keep her distance, letting Chen Ping'an and the taciturn girl be alone together. When Ning Yao was with Chen Ping'an, she often said whatever came to mind.
Chen Ping'an wasn't very interested in those turbulent dynastic changes, the grand trends of the world, or the rise and fall of humanity.
In truth, he didn't understand them, nor did he want to.
But since Ning Yao talked about them, he was willing to remember them one by one and keep them in his heart.
Jin Su was actually a bit curious. Why was a girl with such a cold temperament willing to talk so much with the taciturn Chen Ping'an?
During their tour, the three of them climbed onto Marsh Ze Terrace with other tourists. Suddenly, an old Daoist appeared, holding a whisk with silver and gold strands. He stood on the steps and said to Ning Yao with a smile, "My master has instructed me. If Miss Ning needs anything while on Hanging Mountain, please feel free to ask. Even if it's to see the San Qing Bell on Lone Peak, it is permissible."
Ning Yao naturally looked towards Chen Ping'an. He shook his head slightly, so she shook her head as well and said, "We won't go up Lone Peak."
The old Daoist chuckled. "Then I won't bother you any longer. If anything comes up, Miss Ning, just find any Daoist to inform Hanging Mountain."
Ning Yao didn't really want to respond, but she saw Chen Ping'an cupping his fists in thanks to the old Daoist, so she nodded and said two words, "Okay."
Jin Su murmured, "Dragon Lord?"
The old Daoist had been about to leave Marsh Ze Terrace. As the third in command of Hanging Mountain, his Daoist arts were so profound that even cultivators throughout the entire Southern Bodhisattva Continent knew his name like thunder. Even Jin Su's silent murmur was heard clearly by him. After hearing it, he asked with a smile, "Miss, is something the matter?"
Jin Su was so frightened that her face turned pale. She quickly shook her head and said, "Nothing, it's just that I deeply admire the venerable Dragon Lord, so I couldn't help blurting it out. I beg the venerable Dragon Lord's forgiveness."
The old Daoist laughed heartily. "I'm not that domineering. And there's no rule on Hanging Mountain that says one must be punished for directly calling out my Dao title."
The old Daoist flashed away in an instant.
Jin Su swallowed hard.
This upper-fifth-realm old immortal from Hanging Mountain, famous throughout the world as the Daoist Lord who killed the South Sea Dragon, had just stood before her and chatted with her?
The Dragon Lord's Eleventh Realm cultivation was absolutely enough to crush most Jade Perfection realm Qi refiners.
No one doubted that the title of Heavenly Lord was already within the old man's grasp.
Finally, when the three returned to the Stork Inn, it was Ning Yao who initiated the conversation, asking Jin Su questions and receiving answers, but Jin Su spoke less.
Ning Yao was in a good mood. Earlier, at the stall at the foot of Deer Antler Cliff, Chen Ping'an had bought a pair of small spirit artifacts shaped like yin-yang fish.
When they reached the Stork Inn, the stern-faced young innkeeper said they were full. Ning Yao, without any hesitation, directly took out a Grain Rain Coin and placed it on the counter, asking if it was enough.
The young innkeeper's eyelid twitched. Before he could speak, Chen Ping'an had already taken the Grain Rain Coin back. He smiled at the young innkeeper and said, "Miss Ning is a friend of ours. Boss, can you make an exception for us?"
The young innkeeper laughed. "I'd like to make an exception, but I can't very well kick out other guests, can I? Would the Stork Inn not care about its reputation anymore? How would we do business in the future?"
Ning Yao said directly, "Then I'll find another inn to stay at."
Chen Ping'an took a deep breath, took out another Grain Rain Coin, and gently placed it on the counter. "Could you trouble the boss to discuss it with a guest?"
The young innkeeper smiled slightly, put away the Grain Rain Coin, and said, "Easy enough. Wait here, guests."
Chen Ping'an tried to return the original Grain Rain Coin to Ning Yao, but she asked, "What are you doing?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "I'm inviting you to stay at the inn."
Ning Yao shook the coin in her palm, weighing it, and said helplessly, "You have to work so hard to earn one Grain Rain Coin, but here on our Sword Qi Great Wall side, this thing isn't worth much. You're just trying to puff yourself up, which is pretty boring. What's the difference in changing to a single inn? Wherever I stay is fine. I'm not as delicate as you think."
Chen Ping'an reached out his hand and smiled. "Then give me back the Grain Rain Coin?"
Ning Yao rolled her eyes at him, decisively pocketed the Grain Rain Coin, and said with schadenfreude, "Just wait for the heartache."
In the end, the Stork Inn vacated the largest set of rooms. There was a private courtyard outside a side door of a study, and Chen Ping'an thought it was excellent.
Ning Yao didn't have much of an opinion.
Before the young innkeeper left, he smiled at the three of them, placed the Grain Rain Coin on the table, and said, "After thinking it over, I felt this coin might be too hot to handle. I don't dare take it. Miss, you'll stay here just like Young Master Chen. I'll put it on the tab and settle it with Osmanthus Island later."
Chen Ping'an was confused.
Jin Su gave him a grateful look.
Chen Ping'an sat by the table and reached out to pick up the Grain Rain Coin, but Ning Yao slapped his hand away and pocketed it again.
Seeing Chen Ping'an's bewildered look, Ning Yao raised her eyebrow slightly, as if in challenge. Chen Ping'an just smiled and pretended nothing had happened.
Jin Su tactfully took her leave and left.
After the door was closed, Chen Ping'an took out all his possessions and treasures one by one and placed them on the table.
Even Ning Yao was a bit surprised. She sighed, "Chen Ping'an, you're something else. Your ability to earn money is amazing. How did you turn from a Child of Fortune into a Child of Wealth? Are you the fake Chen Ping'an?"
Chen Ping'an imitated Ning Yao, leaning back with his arms crossed over his chest.
The youth was full of pride.
Today at Hanging Mountain.
There was a Ning Yao who had never been like this before, and a Chen Ping'an who had never been like this either.
Until the beautiful moment when they met and reunited.