Chapter 355: Taiping Mountain Is Not Peaceful
On the mountain where the dilapidated temple stood, the rain grew heavier, beating urgently against the armor of the Great Spring northern border troops, crackling and popping.
The armor worn by the border troops was heavily worn, covered with scars from blades, spears, and arrows.
New rain on old armor.
A son worth a thousand gold does not sit beneath the eaves. To allow Xu Qingzhou and Xu Tong to move freely and seize a fleeting opportunity to kill Chen Ping'an's four attendants, the Great Prince Liu Cong had already silently retreated to the mountainside. Around him were dozens of trusted battlefield elites, these death warriors clad in armor even heavier than the border troops surrounding the temple—the standard iron armor of heavy infantry. There were also three extraordinarily skilled military cultivators: a Guanhai realm sword cultivator who had nurtured a fierce lifebound flying sword, a talisman Daoist skilled in forming formations, and a Militarist cultivator wearing Sweet Dew Armor.
Liu Cong was determined to have Chen Ping'an's head, but fearing the unforeseen, he had no desire to stumble on an unnamed small mountain.
The academy Exemplar Wang Qi, hidden somewhere unknown, had willingly participated in this conspiracy. Liu Cong did not entirely trust this highly respected leader of Great Spring's scholar-official circles. If not for the incredibly tempting conditions offered by Gao Shizhen, who had also brought in the Xu family military aristocracy and the Caomu Hut, Liu Cong would not have dared take such a great risk. He was truly curious about so-called treasures of the Biyou Mansion—how valuable must they be to make a Confucian academy Exemplar defy his conscience and orchestrate this siege?
Although Wang Qi later had his own reasoning to explain to the Dafu Academy's mountain master—claiming he was capturing a "heretic" falsely claiming to be a direct disciple of Taiping Mountain's Patriarch Hall, and even splashing more dirty water on Chen Ping'an, such as suspecting this outsider was a demon giant who had escaped from the Well Prison and changed his identity and appearance, hence requiring five thousand northern border troops to surround the mountain—Liu Cong did not think this was a flawless explanation.
But that didn't matter much to him. Wang Qi was still a bona fide Exemplar of the Dafu Academy. When an Exemplar speaks, even emperors and monarchs of secular dynasties must obey. Let alone Liu Cong, a mere prince. Leading troops up the mountain this time fully complied with the rules established by the Confucian academy. After killing that Chen Ping'an, how Wang Qi would account for it to the academy was not something Liu Cong could meddle in.
However, when Wang Qi secretly left Shenjing City and came to the border to find him, he had fully entrusted to Liu Cong some hidden agents of Li Li, the seal-holding eunuch of the Imperial Horse Administration. To be honest, after obtaining those dossiers of death warriors scattered among the capital's mansions, Great Spring's local martial arts circles, and mountain sects, Liu Cong was greatly shocked. The eunuch Li Li, hailed as "Great Spring's Guardian Locust Tree"—since when had his power become so intertwined, penetrating the entire map of Great Spring?
Wang Qi, a long-standing Exemplar renowned throughout central Tongye Continent—how had he come into contact with a eunuch in the palace?
Li Li's reputation among court and commoners might be good, but in the end, he was just a castrated old man without balls. Compared to you, Exemplar Wang Qi, he was mud compared to clouds.
But Li Li's death was good. That old eunuch had long looked favorably upon the third prince, who hid needles in cotton wool. Pitifully, the third prince had toiled for over ten years, personally taking risks deep into Northern Jin's heartland, only to have Gao Shuyi killed on Yao family turf after successively destroying the Pine Needle Lake Water God Temple and the Jinhuang Mountain God's residence. Even Li Li, invincible within the country, capsized in a gutter—a single careless move lost the whole game. Human calculations cannot match heaven's designs. Truly, the Mandate of Heaven lies with me, Liu Cong!
But Liu Cong had fought on the border for so many years, commanding over a hundred thousand elite border troops, and had charged into enemy lines countless times without fear. Yet today he found himself uncontrollably tense.
---
Before the dilapidated temple, Wei Xian was just like at the inn battle—one man holding the gateway, only guarding the entrance. If any Great Spring armored soldiers came seeking death, Wei Xian would not be polite.
Wearing Sweet Dew Armor, Xi Yue was utterly unafraid of ordinary blades and bows. Let them chop and shoot at the armor—then a single punch sufficed. Any armored soldier daring to approach was sent flying far away. Some corpses near the temple gate were flicked away by Wei Xian's toe. An emperor's nature is not to suffer others snoring by his bedside. Now, Wei Xian's nature was not to suffer corpses sullying the ground where he stood.
Only occasionally, specially made arrows containing hidden mechanisms would make Wei Xian dodge. Without exception, these were fired at full draw from strong bows by border sharpshooters in the woods.
Compared to the slaughter by the Martial Lunatic, Wei Xian's actions could be described as "gentle and soft."
Dodging and closing in, interlocking seamlessly. Once Zhu Lian got within arm's reach, the nearby armored soldiers almost invariably met a miserable end: armor shattered, embedded in flesh, blood and gore, dying on the spot, and their deaths were horrific.
In the battlefield where Sui Youbian was, sword light bloomed again and again in the woods. A single horizontal sweep often cut several armored soldiers and trees in half. By the end of the slaughter, within several hundred paces around Sui Youbian, there were no longer any tall trees on the mountain.
On Lu Baixiang's side, with Narrow Snow—a heirloom treasure from the Feiying Fort's Huan clan—he moved and stopped, sometimes lightly touching tree trunks like a dragonfly skimming water, his form flashing away. Only the blade edge of Narrow Snow, flowing with saber aura, left a long-lasting white light through the dark rain screen.
In the span of just one incense stick's time, the Great Spring border elite had already left six hundred corpses. This was partly because the mountain forest was unsuitable for soldiers to advance in a swarm.
Chen Ping'an, who had been standing at the temple entrance all along, lowered his head and smiled.
On the ground, a little lotus flower figure bounced up, waving its single remaining lotus root arm at him, babbling. Then it pointed a direction for Chen Ping'an.
Following the little one's finger, it was toward the highest peak of the mountain. The little lotus figure meant there were two fellows watching the battle from there, very powerful. It didn't dare approach that mountain too closely.
Chen Ping'an asked softly, "Then did you see a young man wearing a hibiscus crown and Daoist robes?"
The little lotus figure shook its head and waved its hands vigorously.
Chen Ping'an gave it a thumbs up and said gently, "Go hide in the temple."
The little lotus figure nodded vigorously, then sprinted with quick steps, leaping over the threshold high into the air. It saw Pei Qian, who was burping. It felt somewhat reluctant. The first time it saw her, it hadn't liked her. Later, it wasn't so annoyed anymore, occasionally appearing near Chen Ping'an. Once, when it had just emerged from the ground, Pei Qian whacked it back down with her Staff for Traveling the Mountains. It dodged quickly, poking its head out elsewhere, while Pei Qian ran around crazily with the staff, exhausting herself without hitting it once. In the end, Chen Ping'an dragged her by the ear for a li, making her cry loudly.
Seeing Pei Qian acting furtively, as if she wanted to grab the staff, the little lotus figure became somewhat angry. This time, it wasn't afraid of her at all. It walked to Pei Qian's feet and lay flat on the ground.
Pei Qian held the staff, hesitated for a long time, glanced at Chen Ping'an's back at the temple entrance, and finally threw down the staff. She crouched down, smiling slyly: "You little loss-maker, totally useless. Sooner or later, my dad will sell you for money. Then I can buy a whole bunch of sugar-coated hawthorns. Mmm, delicious."
The little lotus figure sulked, simply lying on its side, ignoring the dark-skinned little girl.
Pei Qian extended a finger and poked the little thing's armpit. "Little loss-maker, if you become my sidekick later, I won't let Dad sell you for money. How about that?"
The little lotus figure rolled and crawled away, sitting cross-legged in the distance, exactly like Chen Ping'an when he was reading.
Pei Qian rolled her eyes and said earnestly, "Do you know how rich I am now? I have a box that's supposedly a 'Treasure Grid,' filled with lots and lots of treasures. Show me some respect from now on, got it? If you behave and become my sidekick, maybe someday I'll be merciful and take out a pretty copper coin, just like Old Wei waving his hand, 'Reward!'"
The little lotus figure remained expressionless.
Pei Qian snapped angrily, "You little loss-maker, why are you so clueless? Don't believe me? Tonight I'll learn the ultimate sword technique, and every time you pop up, I'll poke you full of bumps! Don't you know I can see where you're hiding underground?"
The little lotus figure looked terrified, pitifully turning its head toward Chen Ping'an.
Pei Qian immediately smiled apologetically: "Just teasing you! Why can't you take a joke?"
At the temple entrance, Chen Ping'an's mind settled slightly.
Now that he knew there were two people on that mountain watching from the sidelines, at least he could be mentally prepared, not afraid of being caught off guard.
He guessed one of them was most likely the Exemplar who governed Shenjing City.
A true gentleman, he had already met—Zhong Kui.
He had also heard about the Confucian academy Worthy's "words carry the force of law" at the Shushui Kingdom sword estate.
Presumably, this time he had merely encountered a hypocrite. No need for alarm.
The extent of one's learning and one's moral character were not necessarily linked. Moreover, academy disciples also cultivated. On the path of cultivation, the higher one climbs as an immortal on the mountain, the greater the wind and rain, naturally more temptations and dangers. Staying true to one's original heart was not simple.
Back at Biyou Mansion, when he saw that great demon under the river battling the Water God Lady, he had wondered why the Great Spring court allowed this demon to run rampant.
Perhaps what that Exemplar sought was no longer the principles of sages, not single-mindedly teaching all living beings to be good, but rather his own eternal life, or other external things—such as the immortal technique on that bamboo slip that said "can refine all things."
Wealth stirs the heart.
The desire for immortality making an elderly academy Exemplar's heart flutter, leading him astray—what was so strange about that?
Cui Chan, at his peak a twelfth-realm immortal and the chief disciple of a sage, had he not also taken the path of betraying his master?
But what Chen Ping'an hated most was the "young Taiping Mountain Daoist" who had personally put him in this dangerous situation.
It was this man who had visited the courier station at Crane-Riding City and personally handed Chen Ping'an the direct disciple jade token of the Patriarch Hall.
It wasn't until Liu Cong, thinking he had a sure victory, let slip a bit of heavenly secret, that Chen Ping'an realized something was wrong.
Chen Ping'an, cautious by nature and attentive to details, had fallen so badly this time because beforehand, his impression of that Taiping Mountain had been too good.
Carrying the old sword immortal Chen Qingdu's Long Qi sword, he had inadvertently entered the Gourd Flower Blessed Land. At Mirror Heart Studio, Tong Qingqing and Fan Wan'er, using that mirror, had united the soul and body of the female Daoist Huang Ting.
He had a very good impression of her.
Then there was the Taiping Mountain patriarch, the old Heavenly Lord, who had destroyed two immortal swords of the mountain-protecting formation to kill the sword-bearing white ape, and even sacrificed his realm to save Zhong Kui's remnant soul.
An even better impression.
His earliest knowledge of Taiping Mountain was when he entered Feiying Fort with Lu Tai, uncovering and foiling the century-long scheme of that Golden Core heretic. The mastermind behind all Feiying Fort's troubles, the Golden Core heretic who had almost crushed Chen Ping'an with a mountain, was trying to raise an embryonic ghost in the heart orifice of Feiying Fort's fort master's wife. Before that, the Taiping Mountain young Daoist who had been pursuing this old Golden Core should have been Huang Ting, before she went to the blessed land as a Banished Immortal.
Even earlier, according to Lu Tai, a Nascent Soul grand cultivator of Taiping Mountain, with no hope of longevity, whose body and soul were both decaying and corrupt, knowing his end was near, had begun wandering the land, hoping to do some good deeds for the mortal world.
For some reason, he had clashed with a violent Golden Core earth immortal of the Planchette Sect. The battle was brutal. The latter never imagined the other had such faint life force—actually a Nascent Soul.
Chased to near the site of Feiying Fort's predecessor, he chose mutual destruction, using the Planchette Sect's method of summoning gods and descending true forms. But instead of summoning a deity, at the cost of his own lifeblood essence, he performed a forbidden technique, summoning a clone of an ancient demon giant. They fought to the death, both perishing.
The battlefield under their feet became a gathering place for yin qi, no different from a battlefield burial ground for over a hundred thousand soldiers.
Hence the later insidious layout by that Golden Core heretic, going with the flow.
Everything about Taiping Mountain Daoists, whether heard or seen, made Chen Ping'an's heart yearn.
Even the narrow saber Narrow Snow in Lu Baixiang's hands was a relic of that Nascent Soul earth immortal who had died heroically.
So after receiving that Patriarch Hall jade token, Chen Ping'an hadn't thought much, only assuming that after the Taiping Mountain patriarch left the courier station, out of kindness, or perhaps Zhong Kui spoke for him, he had hurriedly sent the token via flying sword, instructing a Daoist on a nearby mountain to give Chen Ping'an a protective jade token.
Now it seemed Chen Ping'an had been too naive.
Chen Ping'an took off that jade token that Liu Cong had called "genuine." The material was excellent; it would be hard to melt it into nothing or directly destroy it in a short time. He turned and threw it to Pei Qian: "Put this jade token into the oil-paper umbrella. Remember to close the umbrella and don't open it again."
Pei Qian caught the beautiful jade token she had been coveting for a long time. She obediently did as told, quick and nimble, without any dawdling.
She didn't dare be careless in big matters.
Pei Qian was afraid, scared that Chen Ping'an would be angry at her.
The only time Chen Ping'an had gotten angry, if not for Zhong Kui's pleas, she would most likely still be in that shabby inn at Fox Town, sweeping the floor and drawing water every day, serving as a beast of burden for that old woman with the jiggling chest.
---
At the mountaintop, the old Confucian scholar said coldly: "Chen Ping'an has discovered our whereabouts."
The burly man didn't care: "This fellow was never simple anyway. That huge commotion at Biyou Mansion was thanks to him. Otherwise, my master wouldn't bother dealing with a mere pure martial artist just starting out. Before leaving, my master joked with me: Chen Ping'an's sword-raising gourd at his waist is just a small bonus. What my master really values is what sacred being would be willing to give him a treasure that can conceal heavenly secrets. If it weren't too hot to handle, my master would naturally be willing to borrow it. But he fears that once he makes a move, the entire Tongye Continent would stir. So he wants us to test the waters, deduce the identity of the person behind the scenes. If it's really a masterstroke by some Confucian sage, even that 'immortal hand' specifically dealing with the chaos in Tongye Continent..."
The man quickly stopped, not daring to say another word.
Academy Exemplar Wang Qi asked: "What would happen?"
The burly man laughed ambiguously: "I've forgotten."
Wang Qi didn't press further, but his mood improved.
This burly, powerful man considered himself a mere little demon, an ant not even at Golden Core. But once he entered the water, his combat power could rival those mountain cultivators with weaker Golden Cores.
The torrential rain tonight was timely rain.
Before meeting his master, he had thought himself a local tyrant, ruling a lake, leading a bunch of stinking shrimp soldiers and crab generals, acting like a local emperor, quite impressive. Later, his master gave him a few pointers, and he achieved subsequent fortune. Using the ancient buried river—a remnant section of a once sea-connecting great river—as a route for a flood dragon to walk the river, his realm had soared. If not for that damn buried river water god lady blocking him above the Biyou Mansion and Water God Temple sections, because of some mortals' cheap lives, stubbornly refusing to let him pass, he would have already reached Golden Core by now. If he then entered the sea, Nascent Soul would be attainable!
Originally, if that woman had been willing to let him successfully complete the entire buried river, that would have formed a great good karmic bond between them. In the future, when he proved the Great Dao, regardless of his cold temperament and innate cruelty, he would have to find a chance to repay this bond, otherwise the cycles of heaven would cause various obstacles on his cultivation path. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why that woman was dead set on blocking his Great Dao. Was it really just because he had killed those mundane mortals? Wasn't that ridiculous? He firmly believed there must be undisclosed secrets behind it. Perhaps the men and women who ended up as his meals happened to have a deep connection with the Water God Temple. That's why she flew into such a rage, repeatedly making losing bets, fighting him to the death.
Over so many years of fighting, he knew well that the buried river water god lady's own cultivation wasn't high. But she had refined too many objects, and their quality was too good. Relying on an endless array of weapons, she managed to keep him suppressed. Later, she inexplicably obtained two great opportunities: first, her broken golden body was not only repaired but its rank was directly raised significantly; later, overnight, Biyou Mansion's water transportation flourished, becoming an immortal cave dwelling brimming with spiritual energy!
What Wang Qi sought was precisely that "directly pointing to the Great Dao" refining technique formula.
The master had personally told them, one Exemplar and one water demon, that it was the Great Dao foundation of an ancient immortal, vast and righteous, also suitable for Confucian cultivation.
Thus, Wang Qi, whose lifespan was nearly exhausted, if he obtained the immortal formula and cultivated successfully, could not only live longer but might even have a chance to contend for the title of vice mountain master of the academy.
For so many years, Wang Qi had used both soft and hard tactics on Biyou Mansion. He, the river demon, had ravaged the buried river, even flooded Biyou Mansion, and destroyed the golden body of that Water God Temple. Wang Qi hoped that water god lady would know the consequences and seek help from the Great Spring court. Wang Qi even once made a special trip from the capital to "travel" to the buried river Water God Temple, deliberately leaking some Exemplar divine powers. But that water god lady simply turned a blind eye! Nor did she complain a single word to this Exemplar.
Later, Wang Qi bestowed great favor, vigorously urging the Great Spring Liu emperor to upgrade Biyou Mansion to a palace, hoping that the water god lady would be grateful and voluntarily hand over the immortal formula on that rain-prayer stele—a formula only she had understood the true meaning of.
The buried river water god remained unmoved, even declaring that she would rather have the scriptures of that Literary Sage to enshrine in her temple and share incense, otherwise she would rather guard that broken plaque of Biyou Mansion.
That water god lady—really, she was immune to everything but her brain was full of water.
---
The mountain with the dilapidated temple was not peaceful.
Taiping Mountain was also not peaceful.
By the banks of the most famous great river in the Central Earth Divine Continent, today was also somewhat unpeaceful.
A man and a woman who had traveled far arrived. The woman wore a palace-style brocade dress. Though a veil concealed her face, just from her figure and bearing, she was clearly a femme fatale.
The man was slender, with a lean face, wearing a white sable fur coat, and at his waist hung a vermilion wine gourd.
If Chen Ping'an, the blue-clad child, and the pink-dressed little girl were here, they would recognize this as the master and servant they had encountered on a cliffside plank road during a snowy night at the border of the Huangting Kingdom and Great Li.
The palace-dressed woman was named Qing Ying.
After parting with Chen Ping'an and the other two in the canyon, the woman had revealed her true form as a white fox, as large as a mountain. Before her, the man, who seemed the size of a grain of rice, had merely called out her name, and she, having already grown eight fox tails, lost one.
She called the man "Lord Bai."
Now, the man looked up. Amidst the colorful clouds stood Baidi City. That demonic overlord, the city lord of Baidi City, recognized as the world's number one chess player, had erected a flagpole inscribed with "I yield the first move to all under heaven." No one had yet made the city lord lower that flag. What domineering spirit.
The man smiled slightly: "Too bad there's no more Glazed Tower."
The palace-dressed woman said softly: "Master, I heard that fellow who likes to wear pink Daoist robes admires you greatly."
The man seemed not to hear. Before withdrawing his gaze, he smiled and said: "City lord need not come out of the city. I'm just passing through."
The palace-dressed woman's heart surged with pride, feeling honored.
In a thousand years, only one person had ever made Baidi City's lord personally leave Baidi City!
That was only that disciple of the Literary Sage.
And our Lord Bai had just simply refused!
The man walked slowly along the banks of this great river that seemed to come from heaven. He sighed softly and said to her: "Leave for a moment."
The woman's heart tightened. She dared not ask and immediately flashed away.
The man stood still.
An old man in Confucian robes, his expression solemn, appeared beside the man, bowing with utmost respect: "Lu Xi, Grand Chancellor of the Academy of Rites, pays respects to Lord Bai."
The man showed no expression.
Lu Xi.
One of the three major Confucian academies of the Haoran Tianxia—the Academy of Rites' Grand Chancellor!
A Confucian sage destined to be enshrined beside the Ultimate Sage, with a statue in the Confucian Temple.
Yet such a nearly three-immortal Confucian sage was so reverently courteous to this man, who had been traveling from Bottle Gourd Continent to the Central Earth Divine Continent.
Lu Xi found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
The matter was too difficult to discuss, too vast.
The slender man, who seemed to be called "Lord Bai" by everyone who recognized him, murmured to himself: "Back then, I told that young master all the true names of the great demons in the world, helping him cast the Nine Great Tripods atop the Nine Great Mountains, hoping for peaceful coexistence."
"After that, all the demons in the world lay low, retreating to forests and mountains, staying hidden. Only then did you humans begin to climb mountains and cultivate Dao, giving rise to mountain immortals. Thus this world became magnificent with beautiful scenery."
"That young master, who had just attained human merit, swore to me: 'Since you treat all living beings with courtesy, our Confucian school will repay you with courtesy on behalf of all under heaven.'"
Saying this, the man turned to look at the academy's Grand Chancellor, twitching the corner of his mouth: "The title 'Master' has now almost been monopolized by your Confucians, huh."
Lu Xi wanted to speak but stopped, his expression heavy.
The man continued to gaze at the rolling river that flowed to the sea without return, saying: "Later came the 'Mountain-Searching Chart', and later still, the Nine Mighty Suppression Towers in the Haoran Tianxia, among which there was one called 'Suppress Bai Ze'. Now you come before me, asking me to go to the Three Continents of Suopo, Tongye, and Fuyao to help you 'search the mountains' for great demons? On what grounds? Based on the two 'Masters' that Sage of Rites called me back then? Or based on that tall building you built for me, allowing me a foothold in the Haoran Tianxia?"
The man turned his head again, slightly emphasizing his tone: "Hmm?"
Lu Xi couldn't utter a single word.
Fortunately, that Lord Bai showed a smile, sighing emotionally: "But I do trust him, and I know his difficulties. So for all these years, I have still followed the rules you established. As for you all, you are too unreasonable. Scholars should not be so domineering. They should use sage principles to educate all living beings, like spring breeze and rain, nourishing things silently."
Lu Xi, as if crushed by the five great mountains of the central earth, relaxed a little.
The man said self-deprecatingly: "The demon race having me, Bai Ze, is a great misfortune."
Lu Xi's scalp began to tingle again.
The man didn't want to argue with this junior. He slowly said: "This time I have broken the rules, leaving that building without authorization to wander the world, just wanting to see with my own eyes whether that future described to me by the young master back then has arrived, after so many years."
"May I ask, Master, what is the result? Has it become better or worse?"
Lu Xi's question actually had a tremble in his voice.
One must know that Lord Bai's impression affected the trend of one world—no, of two worlds!
The man smiled slightly: "I want to look a little longer."
He finally said: "May I?"
Although it seemed like a question, he didn't even look at the academy's Grand Chancellor. But just the momentum contained in this Lord Bai's words made it impossible for even Lu Xi's Fangzhang divine technique to conceal his aura. The great river surged, waves crashed against the shore, and the colorful clouds above gathered and scattered, revealing the towering true form of Baidi City.
Lu Xi finally said in a deep voice: "You may!"
---
Wei Xian still firmly held the open ground before the dilapidated temple, standing unyielding.
Zhu Lian was even more ferociously astonishing—the more injured he became, the greater his killing power.
Like a demon.
Unstoppable.
But Sui Youbian, whose sword style was grand and sweeping, after single-handedly breaking nine hundred armors—two hundred more than Lu Baixiang—when she was about to switch air, was ambushed by Xu Qingzhou and Xu Tong of the Caomu Hut. Yet even so, Sui Youbian used her last remaining aura to kill over a hundred and twenty armored border troops right under their noses. Then Xu Qingzhou chopped off her head with a saber. The Immortal Master Xu Tong, not daring to be careless, used his ultimate technique to smash her body and soul to pieces. Apart from a pitiful fallen Heart's Devotion Sword, there should be no more sword-bearing beauty Sui Youbian in the world.
But just as Xu Qingzhou bent down to pick up the spoils of war,
From the entrance of the dilapidated temple, a beautiful woman with an icy expression strode out. It was Sui Youbian!
As she brushed past Chen Ping'an, she said coldly: "Already broken over one thousand one hundred armors."
Chen Ping'an said helplessly: "One gold-essence copper coin is enough to buy another True Pearl Mountain in my hometown."
Sui Youbian snorted, her mood sour. She leaped away, as graceful as a startled swan. She casually reached out into the distance, and Heart's Devotion Sword shot back through the air, firmly caught in her hand. A vast sword aura shot straight out, scaring Xu Qingzhou and Xu Tong into separating left and right by over ten zhang.
It turned out that before the great battle, the secret Wei Xian had mentioned was this: If Chen Ping'an died, all four would die. If Chen Ping'an did not die, after the four died, one gold-essence copper coin could bring them back out of the painting scroll, their realms without any loss.
The two great enemies on the mountaintop, still watching with folded hands, had yet to show themselves.
Chen Ping'an, with nothing to do, shook the withered branch in his hand. While distressed about the gold-essence copper coin, he also felt somewhat amused. He whispered: "Senior, your Dao techniques are truly heaven-reaching."