Chapter 357: The Rain Stops
(Ten thousand word chapter.)
Wei Xian, wearing the Western March Sweet Dew Armor, with Chen Ping'an's approval, attempted to strike directly at the heart of the enemy formation while Wei Xian occupied most of the accompanying army cultivators, seeking an opportunity to kill that prince, Liu Cong, even if it meant exchanging his own life.
On the other side, after Sui Youbian had killed Xu Tong, the immortal master from the Thatched Hut Temple, Xu Qingzhou, even knowing that Liu Cong would take out his anger on his entire clan, left the mountain without a second word and returned to Dragon Mirage City to discuss countermeasures with his grandfather, who served as the General of the Western Expedition. As a military family ranked among the top in the Great Spring Dynasty, and having been rooted in Dragon Mirage City for several generations, the Xu clan feared the Great Prince Liu Cong, but they were not about to just wait for death.
The one sitting on the dragon throne was still the current Emperor Liu Zhen, not Liu Cong. If they really fell out with Liu Cong, at worst, the Xu clan would resolutely side with the Second Prince and help a different true dragon ascend to the throne.
On the battlefield where Lu Baixiang was fighting, the situation remained deadlocked. These five thousand suicide troops from the Great Spring border army were truly Liu Cong's direct subordinates. They knew the severity of military law; even though they were scared out of their wits, watching their comrades die one by one under that man's blade, they still desperately charged forward, disregarding their own lives. The martial grandmasters and army cultivators hidden in the shadows found it hard to bear—it was too tragic. Some of the hard-hearted supervising military officers had tears and rainwater streaming down their faces, yet they still strictly performed their duties, executing anyone who dared to retreat out of cowardice!
Ethereal and transcendent "Immortal Roaming Poetry" might be able to depict the divine demeanor of those on the mountain.
But no frontier poem had ever truly captured the bloodiness and cruelty of the battlefield.
The River Burial water demon, after falling from another peak, came charging over on foot, rushing straight ahead, swatting away any trees that blocked its path with one hand.
Chen Ping'an watched the momentum of the approaching figure and made a decision.
He replaced the single talisman between the two fingers of his right hand, which had been hidden in his sleeve, with three talismans stacked together.
Back in the Jasper Journey Mansion, Zhong Kui had borrowed that Small Snow Cone and, as repayment, wrote a total of six talismans for Chen Ping'an. Three of them were on his own talisman paper, inscribed with a Three Talents Troop Seal, also known as the "Iron Cavalry Surrounding the City Talisman." Before drawing the talismans, Zhong Kui exhaled a mouthful of righteous qi. Under his brush, over a hundred rice-grain-sized cavalry generals, clad in silver armor and riding white horses, charged out from the talisman paper. They eventually formed their battle formation, reined in their horses, and transformed into the strokes and patterns of the talisman.
Afterwards, Chen Ping'an paid out of his own pocket, providing two sheets of golden talisman paper and one cyan sheet made from a sage's manuscript. Zhong Kui, with a bitter expression, complied with Chen Ping'an's requests and wrote a True Five Thunder Orthodox Talisman from the Celestial Master's Mansion of Dragon Tiger Mountain, a Barrier-Breaking Talisman for navigating mountains and rivers to prevent being trapped by ghosts, and finally, a Sword-Suppressing Talisman of a rank and power far surpassing the Well Character Talisman, which Zhong Kui praised as "the sleeve-raised sword rises, boiling the seas of the Nine Provinces."
The River Burial water demon, not daring to reveal its true form, charged forward, now less than a hundred paces away.
Chen Ping'an slowly walked out from under the eaves, moving to his right. Soon, only fifty paces separated them.
Chen Ping'an flicked his wrist. The three talismans ignited with a breath of pure true qi and shot out from his sleeve. He silently chanted in his heart: "Formation, stand before me!"
The burly giant laughed heartily, not pausing his steps. He leaped into the air, attacking the young man holding a withered branch. "A martial artist playing with talismans? Don't make me laugh my teeth out!"
But soon, the River Burial water demon couldn't laugh at all.
After the three golden talismans themselves had burnt away, the giant, still in mid-air, was shocked to find that the ethereal remnants of the three talismans began to spin rapidly around him. The giant sank his qi into his dantian, used a Heavy Body technique to hurriedly land, and as he did, three illusory cavalry generals in white armor on white horses charged out from each of the three talismans, wielding lances.
The giant snarled, "Die!"
He twisted his body, spun around, and threw three rapid punches, shattering the three riders.
But more and more riders charged out from the talismans, exactly three at a time, silent and soundless.
The giant felt trapped in the center of a battle formation, but he remained fearless. His punches were like rainbows, each time destroying the riders that charged out from the talismans.
Whenever the giant tried to shift the battlefield, the three talismans of the Three Talents Troop Seal drifted along with him, always maintaining the original distance.
The burly giant fought with rising excitement, revealing a fierce expression. He felt exhilarated and shouted in delight.
These three Iron Cavalry Surrounding the City Troop Seals were easily capable of temporarily trapping and exhausting a River Demon that was on the verge of forming a Golden Core, perhaps even forcing it to reveal its true form. But it was utterly impossible to drain this great River Burial demon to death.
Chen Ping'an naturally understood this. He didn't expect these three talismans to trap and kill the giant.
Wang Qi, the Academy Noble stationed on the mountaintop, was patiently waiting for Chen Ping'an to show a flaw. But Chen Ping'an was also seeking a fleeting opportunity to either suppress the giant with a talisman or kill it with a single sword strike.
The heavy rain continued, showing no signs of letting up yet.
But the River Burial water demon was growing increasingly irritated by the entanglement of those three strange talismans. Why were the riders condensed from the talisman's spirit essence unending? How many had he shattered back into spiritual energy? One hundred and fifty? Two hundred?
It felt the situation was becoming more and more unfavorable. That young man, who had stopped thirty paces away holding a withered branch, certainly wasn't kindly waiting for it to break through the talisman formation for some pointless "gentleman's duel"!
Especially that withered branch in its peripheral vision, which unsettled its mind. Something was wrong, definitely strange!
Never mind.
Let Wang Qi be his shrinking turtle self, refusing to act. It couldn't care less how he would reason with the Grand Vault Academy.
The River Burial water demon now had several small wounds on its body. It saw that the heavy rain was about to lose its intensity. If it didn't seize the advantage of this celestial timing now, the power of its true form would drastically decrease.
The demon's eyes turned completely white. Its knotted muscles began to twist violently.
Wang Qi at the mountain peak clearly saw the River Burial demon's intention and roared, "No!"
The demon paid no attention. The ground suddenly trembled as it revealed its massive true form. Its eyes were as large as lanterns, its body a hundred zhang long. Its head rested exactly where the "giant" had been standing.
The Iron Cavalry Surrounding the City seal, its spiritual energy not yet exhausted, expanded its distance accordingly.
Still, iron riders charged towards the great demon.
Some of the Great Spring border soldiers who had been hiding on the flanks, waiting for an opportunity, were directly flung away by the huge body of the eel demon. They flew backwards, blood flowing from seven orifices; dozens were either injured or killed.
The heavy rain fell on the demon's body. As it slid onto the mountain, it didn't seep into the soil but quickly gathered into a stream.
Chen Ping'an recognized the identity of this great demon. It was precisely the giant eel demon that had been fighting the Water God Lady at the bottom of the River Burial.
It seemed that the lofty expert on the mountaintop, who had been hiding his identity, was undoubtedly Wang Qi, the Academy Noble.
Pinching that talisman from Dragon Tiger Mountain, which Zhong Kui called the "Five Dragons Holding Pearls" Orthodox Law Talisman, Chen Ping'an infused it with true qi and tossed it over the River Burial water demon's head.
Sure enough, five "slender" dragons, over ten zhang long, appeared in the air. They held white pearls in their mouths, surrounded by lightning and thunder.
The River Burial water demon, just thinking it was time to display its divine powers, was shocked to find these dragons containing a hint of heavenly might above its head. Its mind froze for a moment, then it let out a sky-shaking roar of fury. It began to struggle violently, trying to escape the encirclement of the Iron Cavalry Surrounding the City talisman, hoping to avoid as many of those "lightning pearls" as possible.
The iron horsemen, wielding lances, stabbed into the eel demon's body again and again. The River Burial demon swept them away with its body, their forms and spiritual energy dissipating back into the world.
A dragon opened its mouth, and a snow-white lightning pearl shot out, smashing into the River Burial water demon's head.
The mountain peak trembled.
Two more pearls struck, hitting the demon's vital spot at seven cun and its tail respectively.
Not only did the demon's body shake in agony, but its soul and golden core also trembled together.
The only benefit was that the immense force generated had finally scattered and shattered those three damned troop talismans.
A cyan rainbow descended from another mountaintop onto a tree trunk on this peak. Wang Qi pleaded with Chen Ping'an via mind-to-mind communication: "Let us both stop here. I will have Liu Cong withdraw his troops immediately. How about it?"
As Wang Qi spoke these words, he ground his teeth.
That River Burial water demon was truly a liability, capable of ruining everything!
After a dragon holding a pearl spat out its lightning pearl, it would automatically dissipate and disappear.
Chen Ping'an had no intention of stopping.
The last two dragons naturally and unhesitatingly spat out their lightning law pearls, which were the most upright of the myriad laws of heaven.
The five dragons were gone, but the five pearls were firmly embedded in the River Burial water demon's body, from its head to its tail. When they eventually connected in a line, they shone with great brilliance. Within the demon's body, lightning rapidly coursed, eventually forming a massive lightning bolt almost as thick as the demon's body itself.
First and Fifteen, who shared a mental connection with Chen Ping'an, changed their original strategy. They traced two streaks of firefly-light and pierced into the River Burial water demon's lantern-sized eyes.
Sui Youbian also wielded her Heart-Dreaming Sword, which had pierced countless hearts, precisely driving it into the head of the River Burial water demon. It pierced straight through, the entire sword burying itself deep into the ground below the head—a testament to its sharpness.
Meanwhile, Wang Qi and Chen Ping'an attacked almost simultaneously, both with killing intent.
Chen Ping'an used the withered branch as a sword and flashed forward.
And the heavy rain between heaven and earth seemed to be completely controlled by the Academy Noble Wang Qi in an instant. Every single raindrop changed its falling trajectory, thousands of them all shooting towards Chen Ping'an.
After one sword stroke.
The figure of Wang Qi was no longer on the tree branch. Chen Ping'an stood in the Academy Noble's place. He shook his shoulders, and his magic robe, Golden Libation, rippled like a pool of clear water, deflecting all the raindrops embedded in the golden fabric.
Wang Qi, an actual Academy Noble, had actually retreated from the battle!
The River Burial water demon, on the verge of death, could no longer control the water that had formed a stream beside it. Blood and rainwater seeped together into the mud.
The withered branch in Chen Ping'an's hand turned to powder.
He flashed over to where the River Burial water demon's head lay, reached out in mid-air, grabbed the Heart-Dreaming Sword, and directly sliced off the entire head of the demon.
The heavy rain gradually ceased.
Soon, the armored soldiers on the mountain began their retreat.
Wei Xian ultimately failed to capture the Great Prince Liu Cong. He only managed to kill a sword cultivator who was defending the prince with his life. He had no choice but to let Liu Cong retreat to the foot of the mountain, putting away the Military Tiger Tally in his sleeve.
Zhu Lian was the most severely injured, but he hadn't died even once. Lu Baixiang walked over to the corpse of the River Burial water demon. Only then did he get a chance to pull out the specially made arrows embedded in his body. He didn't throw them away casually but held them in his hand. His narrow saber, Snow Halt, was already back in its sheath.
---
On the Western Sea of the Indus Leaf Continent, the great demon that had revealed its true form to flee was inexplicably killed by a single sword stroke. Its entire head, as large as a mountain peak, was sliced cleanly off by a single thread of silk and fell neatly into the sea. Its corpse, long as a mountain range, still floated on the sea, rising and falling.
The three great cultivators of the Indus Leaf Continent who had been pursuing it all the way here had different thoughts.
Song Mao, the current sect master of the Peace Mountain, held his sword backwards, the tip pointing behind him, a gesture of sincerity and gratitude. He said in a clear voice: "Song Mao of Peace Mountain thanks the senior for lending a hand and slaying this great demon!"
But the sword cultivator, whose body was madly overflowing with sword qi like a waterfall, ignored the gestures of goodwill from the esteemed Peace Mountain sect master entirely.
An ancestral master of the Indus Leaf Sect, in charge of its precepts and registers, had a flickering and uncertain expression.
During this whole pursuit, only Song Mao had exerted himself fully, without regard for his own life, as if he wanted to die together with the great demon. However, although Song Mao was the nominal leader of Peace Mountain, his cultivation wasn't exceptionally high. Due to the recent incident with the Well Prison at the sect, he dared not bring one of the mountain's guardian immortal swords with him. So his heart was willing but his strength was insufficient. As for this ancestral master of the Indus Leaf Sect, the leading force among the immortal families of the Indus Leaf Continent, he was unwilling to kill the demon at the cost of damaging his cultivation. A great demon that had dropped in realm but was still at the Eleventh Realm was formidable, with an immense and exceptionally tough true form. It wasn't easy to deal with. The overall situation was already decided; this beast couldn't possibly escape their sight. Killing it slowly, like cutting meat with a blunt knife, was fine. What was the hurry?
So, upon being sent out of the mountain this time, this Jade Pure Realm ancestral master of the Indus Leaf Sect saw it as a pleasant task. Killing the demon that had thrown the Abyss Divination Sect into chaos would bring him hidden merit, and it would also make Ji Hai, the sect master of the Abyss Divination Sect who had lost his Dao companion, grateful. So, although he had been somewhat evasive during this pursuit, not bringing out the sect's ultimate treasure, deep down he was determined to get the great demon.
The head of the Jiang clan of the Jade Rule Sect, who controlled that Cloud Cavern Blessed Land, had a face as fair as jade. In terms of appearance alone, he looked younger and more handsome than his only son, Jiang Beihai. At this moment, he was beaming. The sword cultivator at sea had killed the demon, ruining the plans of that Indus Leaf Sect ancestral master. He was in an excellent mood. After all, he hadn't brought any of the sect's immortal soldiers with great killing power. To help his good friend Lu Fang with his sword path, he had secretly slipped into the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, effectively disappearing from the Indus Leaf Continent for sixty years. There had been quite a bit of grumbling within the Jade Rule Sect. So they had pushed him out again. Wanting the horse to run but not giving it grass—this Jiang clan head was naturally going to slack off.
Wearing a Daoist robe and a Hibiscus Crown on his head, Song Mao, the True Lord of Peace Mountain, was slightly displeased but clear on the important principles. The other party held his head high, completely disregarding him and Peace Mountain. He had his reasons for that confidence. Song Mao just couldn't figure out when a sword cultivator with such extraordinary sword techniques had appeared on the Indus Leaf Continent. He couldn't get a read on the other's temperament or background. Why had he struck his sword? Was it to seize the opportunity to steal the kill, gain merit, and prove his Dao? Or was it purely out of righteousness? Was he coveting the valuable corpse of the great demon? Was he planning to take everything for himself, not allowing the three of them to touch even a part? Song Mao naturally didn't care about the demon's corpse. But with the current chaos on the Indus Leaf Continent, this demon was the obvious culprit, coordinating with that old beast, the White Ape with a Sword on its Back, allowing demons and monsters to run rampant in the central part of the continent. The corpse had to be brought back for the Confucian Academy to examine, and then the Academy would ask the School of Yin-Yang to calculate the celestial mechanisms.
So Song Mao didn't know what to say for a moment.
The strange sword cultivator looked at the Indus Leaf Sect ancestral master and spoke two words: "Disagree?"
This old ancestral master, renowned even within the entire Indus Leaf Sect, replied with words full of hidden murderous intent: "This great demon should ideally have been kept alive and brought back to the Indus Leaf Sect. We might have been able to extract a larger conspiracy. You saw it was severely wounded and killed it with a single stroke, cutting off the leads. How are we supposed to follow the clues and find the mastermind behind all this? Otherwise, why would the three of us have chased it so far? Coincidentally, the Western Sea of the Indus Leaf Sect is so vast, and you just happened to appear on the demon's escape route?"
The smile on the face of the Jiang clan head from the Jade Rule Sect remained unchanged. He had never been one to shy away from a bit of excitement.
Song Mao was about to speak.
That strange sword cultivator, who appeared no more than a middle-aged man, said calmly: "Then let's fight."
From start to finish, this sword cultivator had only spoken two sentences.
Disagree.
So fight.
This was hardly the bearing of an immortal. Even Qi Refiners in the Middle Five Realms were rarely so vulgar. It was more like a martial artist from the bottom of the secular world.
Song Mao had no time to play peacemaker.
Another sword stroke.
But this time, it was aimed at the "disagreeing" Indus Leaf Sect ancestral master.
That old immortal's expression changed drastically. He couldn't utter a single word. He hurriedly summoned a lifeblood treasure he had refined for a thousand years: an ancient bronze ritual music bell obtained from a shattered Lesser Paradise. The bell was the head of the eight tones. This bronze ancient bell, no taller than an arm after refinement, hung above the old ancestral master's head. Its dharma form, over ten zhang tall, enveloped the old man. On the outer wall of the ancient bell was inscribed a passage from an ancient Confucian text about a virtuous sage. At this moment, the fist-sized characters rapidly swirled. The old man stood within, his appearance majestic and solemn.
But when that line of sword qi slashed down, the old man, who thought his dharma bell could at least hold for a while, found that it was directly split apart. He no longer dared to be the slightest bit arrogant. He retreated backwards with both his person and his lifeblood bronze ancient bell, hoping that the sword qi would weaken after he retreated a thousand zhang.
He retreated again and again.
A deep trench formed on the sea surface, stretching for over ten li, a trench that seemed unwilling to be filled by the seawater.
When the sword qi finally dissipated, the Indus Leaf Sect ancestral master was pale as death. Beyond shock, he was heartbroken. He held his lifeblood bell in his hands, seeing a faint scratch on its surface.
How many heavenly materials and earthly treasures would this require for him to repair back to its original state?!
How could that sword cultivator's casual sword stroke have such power?
Not just on the Indus Leaf Continent, let alone that small northern place called Vase Continent, but even on the Firmament Continent, there shouldn't be such a Sword Immortal! Even Cao Xi, who had refined a great river into a flying sword on his wrist, the guardian of the Sea-Calming Tower, would never have such sword qi!
After that sword cultivator’s single strike sent the old cultivator flying so far away that he was no longer an eyesore, he turned to the other man and asked, "Was the show good to watch?"
The smile on the Jiang clan head's face immediately stiffened. He cupped his hands and apologized, "My many improprieties, I beg the Sword Immortal senior to forgive me."
The sword cultivator sneered, "Senior? You are much older than me."
This Jiang clan head was well-known on the Indus Leaf Continent for being thick-skinned and unrepentant. He said seriously, "On the path of cultivation, the one who arrives first is the teacher. How would I, Jiang Shangzhen, dare to put myself on the same level as you, senior?"
The sword cultivator ignored this Jiang Shangzhen, whose name he had never heard before. He looked towards the distant old man, who was still in shock. "You seem to be carrying a heavy treasure, quite good at attacking. Let me have a look?"
The old ancestral master, who had just suffered greatly, now had a general idea of this sword cultivator's temper. It was even fiercer than the Heavenly Lord of Peace Mountain. How would he foolishly show off the sect's heavy treasure? He could use his ass to think that the sword cultivator wouldn't let it go. What if he said, "Since you've taken it out, don't let it go to waste. How about we trade a blow and see just how good we are?" Then should he, the old man, take the blow or not? If he didn't take it, the people from the Jade Rule Sect and Peace Mountain would be watching. If he took it, it would be one thing if he could withstand the sword; but if he couldn't, would he end up in the same grave as that dead great demon?
The old cultivator no longer dared to put on airs. He hastily said, "I carry the sect's heavy treasure only to successfully kill the demon. It cannot be casually revealed."
His heart was full of grumbling.
Since when did such an arrogant and unreasonable sword cultivator exist in the world? What were those Confucian sages doing? Why didn't they do something about it?!
Before the old cultivator could think that his retreat and show of weakness would be enough, and that the sword cultivator, having some brains, should know when to stop...
The sword cultivator had already asked, "If you don't bring it out, how will you withstand my second sword?"
The Indus Leaf Sect ancestral master was furious. Did he think he was a clay Buddha with no temper at all?
Jiang Shangzhen kept a straight face, but he was secretly laughing.
He had long been disgusted with that arrogant attitude of the Indus Leaf Sect cultivators. It wasn't just him, but the entire Jade Rule Sect felt the same. Especially their old sect master, whose few instances of great anger in his life were almost all thanks to the cultivators of the Indus Leaf Sect.
Song Mao, the True Lord of Peace Mountain, said in a deep voice: "The Indus Leaf Continent is currently overrun with demons. I beseech the Sword Immortal senior to refrain from striking today."
The sword cultivator withdrew his gaze. "Then will you take this sword stroke?"
Song Mao said without hesitation, "I can! Whether or not I can withstand it, the people from the Indus Leaf Sect and the Jade Rule Sect are here to witness. They will send word to my Peace Mountain that it was I, Song Mao, whose skills were inferior. Even if I die here, Peace Mountain will never resent you, senior!"
The sword cultivator muttered "Peace Mountain" a couple of times, as if remembering something. He broke into an unprecedented smile. "Truly a cultivator of Peace Mountain. Not bad. You people on the Indus Leaf Continent are the only ones presentable. The rest are not worth mentioning."
Song Mao was stunned, not understanding.
The sword cultivator suppressed some of the rampant sword qi surging from his body, a gesture that he wouldn't attack again.
Never mind. He remembered that Little Qi had once mentioned this Peace Mountain. What did he say? Something about having an ancient chivalrous spirit?
The sword cultivator said, "You can have the demon's corpse."
Song Mao was immensely relieved. He sheathed his sword and cupped his hands. "Thank you, Sword Immortal senior, for slaying the demon."
The sword cultivator hesitated for a moment, then looked at the three of them and asked, "Does anyone know a young man named Chen Ping'an? Do you know where he is now?"
Song Mao and the Indus Leaf Sect ancestral master were both confused and ignorant.
Jiang Shangzhen quickly weighed the situation in his mind and smiled, "As it happens, I do know."
The sword cultivator asked, "How so?"
Jiang Shangzhen, using mind-to-mind communication, told the strangely skilled sword cultivator, concisely explaining his experiences and encounters in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land.
The sword cultivator nodded, unconcerned. "The world's number one in a small blessed land... that's still just barely acceptable."
Jiang Shangzhen probingly asked, "Does senior need me to look after him a bit?"
The sword cultivator cast a sidelong glance. "Do you deserve to?"
Jiang Shangzhen smiled bitterly and said nothing more.
The sword cultivator then went on his way.
He went further and further from the Indus Leaf Continent.
He couldn't be bothered to be some kind of protector for anyone.
After that sword cultivator left the area, Jiang Shangzhen grinned playfully. "As expected, it's more interesting here in the Haoran World."
Song Mao asked, curious, "Do you know that great Sword Immortal?"
Jiang Shangzhen smiled but said nothing.
The old cultivator from the Indus Leaf Sect cautiously returned to their side. He snorted, "This man's sword techniques are indeed high, but..."
Jiang Shangzhen said with schadenfreude, "But what?"
The old cultivator forcefully swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
He was truly afraid of the other party's sword strikes. They were too unreasonable.
The next moment, the old cultivator thought that the spirits of his ancestors must have been watching over him.
That sword cultivator had returned in a flash. He glanced at the old cultivator but tossed a word to Jiang Shangzhen. "This great demon's demonic core is yours."
Jiang Shangzhen cupped his hands and smiled, "This junior understands what to do."
The sword cultivator, having said his piece, once again left the mortal world.
---
In the detached palace on the broken dragon vein of the Indus Leaf Continent, the White Ape saw a tall, elderly man wearing a Daoist robe.
The young Daoist smiled awkwardly.
The old Daoist laughed and asked, "Having your wish come true, are you happy?"
The young Daoist said bitterly, "Quite unexpected."
Sitting on the Dragon Subduing Platform, the White Ape, although unable to devise schemes like that young Daoist to plunge half a continent into chaos, had cultivated for several thousand years and had a good eye for such things.
The Daoist temple's temple master. That old Daoist of the Eastern Sea, whom no one could find, they said.
To enter the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, people could only find that little Daoist boy carrying a huge golden gourd on his back, and a bunch of genuine terrestrial immortals had to patiently negotiate deals with the little fellow.
The young Daoist stood up and asked, "Old Daoist, have you come here to enforce heaven's will and kill me?"
The old Daoist scoffed, "The sky has already collapsed. Where would there be any enforcement of heaven's will? I came here to see who had the guts and the ability to covet that Indus Leaf Umbrella I gave away."
The young Daoist understood. "It was that little paper umbrella that the little girl casually held in her hand?"
He sighed, "If I had known that Chen Ping'an had a connection with you, old Daoist, I wouldn't have dared to offend. That would just be asking for trouble!"
The old Daoist brushed past the young Daoist, climbing step by step up the Dragon Subduing Platform. "I have no interest in the mortal world. I won't kill you. It's time for some people in their comfortable nests to learn a lesson. Otherwise, they'll have long forgotten what those old bones did back in the day."
The young Daoist turned around, smiled, and followed behind the old Daoist of the Eastern Sea, ascending step by step. "Thank you, old senior, for your mercy."
With those words from the old Daoist,
His schemes on the Indus Leaf Continent, even if exposed early, could still be considered half a success. Perhaps this misfortune might even turn into a blessing.
After returning to the Primordial Wilderness, at least he wouldn't be banished to that mountain range, forced to work as a laborer for a blind man, moving mountains year after year, placing them here and there. Others might find it amusing, but which great demon trapped in the middle of it wouldn't find it worse than death? The key was, he didn't know why, but the overlords of the Primordial Wilderness never seemed to consider joining forces to pull out this big nail and throw it to the Sword Qi Great Wall.
The old Daoist walked onto the Dragon Subduing Platform. He glanced at the White Ape, who looked as if it were facing a great enemy, and nodded. "Little beast, you're somewhat interesting. I'll go with the flow. Remember, in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, use your Sword-Bearing Technique."
In an instant, the White Ape of Peace Mountain, which no longer had an immortal sword to bear, vanished from the Dragon Subduing Platform.
The young Daoist's mind raced, frantically deducing. He said aloud, "The White Ape is gone. Old senior, why not be straightforward? What is it you want me to do?"
The old Daoist asked in return, "What is it in your heart that you want to do?"
The young Daoist admitted, "If I say it, I'll die here on the Dragon Subduing Platform. So I'd better not say it."
The old Daoist seemed a little disappointed. "I gave you a chance. A great demon at the peak of your true form, a hair's breadth away from the Thirteenth Realm, and you didn't even dare to kill a Chen Ping'an. So you missed a tremendous opportunity. Back then, Chen Qingdu of the Sword Qi Great Wall lent his personal sword to Chen Ping'an, precisely to transfer some of his karma onto Chen Ping'an's shoulders. If you had killed him, you would have gained great merit in the Primordial Wilderness. As for me, I could have taken the opportunity to take Chen Ping'an into my temple as a disciple. I could have both pissed off that old scholar and raised my own position on the cushion a big step."
The young Daoist's heart trembled violently.
The old Daoist smiled. "Now, it's too late."
The young Daoist stamped his foot, filled with regret.
The ancient Dragon Subduing Platform beneath him rumbled. Outside the platform, in the pitch-black void, lightning and thunder flashed continuously.
The old Daoist said, "If you were a human, you would have had a good future as a strategist in the Haoran World. As a yin-yang practitioner, well, your talent wasn't quite up to par."
The young Daoist nodded helplessly. "Indeed."
The old Daoist suddenly spoke a sentence with extremely profound meaning. "In truth, if you juniors of these two worlds had been born much earlier and had managed to survive to this day, many of you wouldn't be that much worse off."
The young Daoist sank into deep thought.
The old Daoist, hands behind his back, reached out and grabbed. The lightning and thunder from outside the Dragon Subduing Platform shattered the prohibitions and rules, rushing inside. They gathered in the old Daoist's palm, eventually forming a lightning orb the size of a fist.
This sight forced the young Daoist to interrupt his thoughts, smiling bitterly.
This was the gap.
It wasn't even about the level of one's realm.
The old Daoist put the lightning orb into his sleeve and said softly, "In the Hundred Schools of Thought, which that old scholar so despises, there was one person who leaked the greatest heavenly secret for this world."
The young Daoist's eyes blazed with fervor. "I beseech the old senior to enlighten this junior!"
The old Daoist turned his head, his gaze cold. "You, a demon tribe member, calling me 'senior' and yourself 'junior'? Are you calling me an old beast?"
He gave the young Daoist no chance.
The already incomplete soul of the young Daoist drifted out of his meticulously chosen physical shell. The old Daoist reached out and grabbed his neck. The body of the "young Daoist of Peace Mountain" collapsed limply to the ground, then vanished into thin air, just like the White Ape.
But the Hibiscus Crown, one of the three treasures of the Daoist path, remained on the Dragon Subduing Platform.
The old Daoist waved his hand casually. The illusory human form of the great demon's soul, still looking like a young Daoist, was slammed heavily onto the ground. Its face was filled with pain. Still, it hurriedly retrieved the Hibiscus Crown, brought it into its hand, and hastily placed it on its head.
Although, to successfully cross that Sword Qi Great Wall, it had only been able to hide one yang soul and four yin souls to leave the Primordial Wilderness, enter that Inverted Suspension Mountain, and finally reach this Indus Leaf Continent.
Yet having cultivated for so long in the Haoran World, and possessing an excellent physical shell, it had ultimately still squeezed into the Twelfth Realm, the Immortal Realm.
But under the old Daoist's hands, it had no power to resist at all.
The old Daoist said slowly, "Someone once said, 'A one-foot stick, cut in half every day, will never be exhausted for ten thousand generations.'"
The great demon, relying on the Hibiscus Crown to stabilize its soul, said with difficulty, "That's one of the less famous teachings of the founding patriarch of the School of Names. I've seen it in many books but never seriously considered it."
The old Daoist sneered, "That's why I say you're stupid."
The great demon, reduced to only a soul without a physical body, wore the Hibiscus Crown, its heart full of anxiety. It had never missed its homeland so much.
The old Daoist turned his head and said with a slight smile, "The restrictions on that 'relic of yesteryear,' the narrow saber Snow Halt, have already been erased by me. Do you mind?"
The great demon shook its head without speaking.
The old Daoist chuckled. "Can't even flatter someone properly. You deserve this calamity."
The great demon was utterly confused.
The old Daoist had already stepped into the void and left.
---
When Chen Ping'an unfurled Sui Youbian's lifebound painting and threw a Golden Essence Copper Coin into it,
In the Southern Garden Kingdom capital of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, a light rain began to fall.
It was early winter. Although the rain wasn't heavy, it was still somewhat annoying.
Four people were walking down a street. The leader was a young person, of ambiguous gender, very handsome. Despite it being winter, he held a folding fan in his hand, not opening it but lightly tapping his palm with it. In the eyes of the Southern Garden Kingdom citizens, if he weren't so good-looking, he would be a complete vulgarian trying to be cultured.
The four walked down a main street. The young man looked left and right, clicking his tongue in wonder.
There was a boy named Cao Qinglang who had already left his humble alley and arrived on the street. But as the rain started abruptly, he had to run home to get an oiled-paper umbrella. Now, as he walked to the corner of the street, he saw the group from afar. He widened his eyes, full of hope. But after getting a vague look at that young master's face, he realized it wasn't the person he was hoping for. Cao Qinglang was a little disappointed. He walked briskly alone towards the private school. Master Zhong, their teacher, hated it when students were late.
Cao Qinglang couldn't see the young master very clearly.
But the latter could see him perfectly. As a banished immortal who had retained all his cultivation, entering the Lotus Flower Blessed Land in his true body with a complete soul, Lu Tai immediately ranked among the current top ten in the world upon arrival.
As for his three attendants, they had received the same treatment. But limited by their shallow foundations laid in the Haoran World and their youth, they were at best second-rate peak experts in this martial world, still some distance from first-rate grandmasters.
There was Huan Yin, who had nearly collapsed mentally during that great calamity and had switched allegiances to Lu Tai. Huang Shang, the young Daoist. Tao Xieyang, an outstanding young talent from outside the Flying Eagle Fort, a Jindan heretic cultivator with the Five Sacred Mountains True Shape Crown on his head, who had been planted as a spy inside the Flying Eagle Fort.
Now, all three were Lu Tai's nominal disciples.
Lu Tai arrived near the Number One Scholar Lane and a certain street. There was a martial arts school nearby. Lu Tai looked at a small residence, once the temporary dwelling of Ding Ying and the Crow Girl after they entered the capital, which served as a stronghold for the demon cult in the Southern Garden Kingdom. After the great war ended, the State Preceptor Zhong Qiu had kept the house. Lu Tai smiled and said, "From now on, this is my private residence."
He turned around and instructed the three men: "Huang Shang, you go to the Lake and Mountain Sect. Whatever you can learn from Yu Zhenyi is up to your own fortune."
"As for Tao Xieyang and Huan Yin, wander freely around this blessed land. Tao Xieyang, you can pay more attention to Dragon Might General Tang Tieyi. Huan Yin, you can try to get close to Arm Saint Cheng Yuanshan out beyond the frontier."
"In sixty years, if you can't even make it into the top ten of the world, then you can just become fertilizer for this blessed land. Good luck. I've already given each of you life-saving items. If you still drown in this tiny martial world, I'll feel like bringing you down here was a complete waste of money."
Lu Tai waved his hand, and the three men respectfully took their leave.
Not far away stood a Confucian scholar in blue robes, his temples slightly frosted with grey. He was Master Zhong in Cao Qinglang's eyes. Today, it wasn't the lazy old students who were late for the private school, but this stern old Master himself who had arrived late.
Lu Tai smiled as he looked at the State Preceptor Zhong Qiu. "I am a friend of Chen Ping'an. I have already witnessed your style with my own eyes, State Preceptor Zhong. That is why I have chosen to settle here in the Southern Garden Kingdom."
Zhong Qiu nodded. "Since that's the case, I will wait and see. I still hope you will not act without restraint, even if you are a friend of Chen Ping'an."
With a snap, Lu Tai opened his elegant bamboo fan, gently fanning the breeze and drizzle. He said with a sly grin, "Have you ever thought about what it would be like to go out and see the outside world after sixty years?"
Zhong Qiu shook his head, turned, and left.
Lu Tai was unconcerned. He turned to look at the gate of the residence. After a year of wind and sun, the posted door gods were already looking a bit old. He muttered to himself, "It's almost New Year's. The door gods need to be changed, spring couplets need to be pasted up, and I need to find a few pretty girls to be maids... Maybe I should first take a trip to Spring Tide Palace and ask that Wreath-Wearing Gentleman Zhou Shi for a few?"
After Chen Ping'an threw a second Golden Essence Copper Coin into the painting.
A thin, drizzling sunshower fell over the Lake and Mountain Sect in the Pine Music Kingdom. No one made a big fuss about it, except for the sect's Grand Cultivator, Yu Zhenyi, who looked like a young boy and ascended into the sky on his flying sword.
Yu Zhenyi hovered at an extremely high altitude on his sword. The high wind blew his Daoist robe, making it rustle loudly. He said softly, "A storm is coming."
At an official residence in the Southern Garden Kingdom capital, a young boy had just come out of the library carrying a book when something fell from the sky and landed right in front of him, nearly hitting him and giving him a big fright.
Looking closely, it was a little white ape covered in blood, very thin and scrawny.
The little creature lay on the ground, listless, its eyes even more confused than those of the boy holding the book.
And on the border of the Northern Jin Kingdom in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, a young Daoist stood by a lake, muttering, staring blankly at his reflection in the water. He repeated over and over: "Who am I? Who am I?"
Finally, with a splitting headache, he crouched down, holding his head in his hands.
---
Inside the ruined temple, the atmosphere was strange.
Everyone sat around the campfire.
Chen Ping'an said only one word: "You've worked hard."
Zhu Lian refused the porcelain bottle Chen Ping'an offered him, saying that injuries like this were perfect for tempering his bones and muscles; there was no need to waste the young master's miraculous medicines.
Then, he glanced at Sui Youbian, who was now in the Golden Body Realm. This martial madman chuckled and said, "Young master, I also have a question that I've been pondering over and can't figure out."
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Tell me."
Zhu Lian was covered in blood and dirt, with white bones exposed in many places, but his smile remained as usual. "After taking one coin, from eleven to ten, then stop from there—how do you interpret that?"
Sui Youbian suddenly stood up, her murderous aura skyrocketing. But she found that her Heart-Dreaming Sword, which Chen Ping'an had taken, had not yet been returned to her.
Sui Youbian stared fixedly at the hunched old man. "Zhu Lian, why didn't you say this earlier?!"
Chen Ping'an said slowly, "It probably means that each time you die, after I use a Golden Essence Copper Coin to invite you out of the painting again, your future highest martial arts achievement will drop from the legendary Martial Saint Realm of the Eleventh Realm to the Tenth Realm. After taking two coins, you will only be able to become a Ninth Realm grandmaster, the so-called Summit Realm, the end of the martial path in the eyes of ordinary secular martial artists."
Sui Youbian's expression was tragic, her murderous aura even denser.
She hated Zhu Lian, and she hated Chen Ping'an even more, unable to contain it.
Zhu Lian chuckled. "I understand. Thank you, young master, for resolving this old servant's confusion."
Chen Ping'an suddenly stood up and walked straight out of the temple. "Sui Youbian, come out with me. I have something to say to you."
Within the temple, Sui Youbian's gaze was icy.
Chen Ping'an didn't turn around as he stepped over the threshold. "Within one incense stick's time, if you don't come out to find me, I will burn the painting. The two Golden Essence Copper Coins you owe me, you don't have to repay."
Only then did Sui Youbian walk out of the ruined temple with an expressionless face, quickly catching up to the receding figure walking along the mountain path.
After Sui Youbian caught up, seemingly unconcerned whether she would suddenly attack and kill him, Chen Ping'an said slowly, "Your mindset is ruined now. What's the point of continuing to practice swordsmanship? With such weak mental fortitude, Sui Youbian, I think you might as well not practice swordsmanship at all. Regardless of whether the restrictions of that old Daoist of the Eastern Sea are in place, you would never reach the highest peak anyway."
Sui Youbian's fingers twitched slightly.
Chen Ping'an continued walking slowly ahead, but said calmly, "You would die. If you truly want to die, before you die, I still have something to say to you."
Sui Youbian remained silent.
---
A quarter of an hour later, Chen Ping'an and Sui Youbian returned to the ruined temple, one after the other.
Although Sui Youbian's expression was terrible, her mindset seemed to have improved somewhat. There was no longer any killing intent, nor the insane death wish of wanting everyone in the temple to be buried with her because her martial path had crumbled.
The two sat back down by the campfire.
Chen Ping'an took a bowl of food from Pei Qian and started on his second bowl of rice for the night. The little flatterer Pei Qian even crouched beside him, holding a small jar of pickled vegetables in both hands. Chen Ping'an looked around and asked with a smile, "Now that you're in this strange new world, any thoughts?"
The four were silent for a moment, before Lu Baixiang was the first to speak with a smile: "In the mountains, what happens? Pine flowers make wine, spring water brews tea—wishing only for great freedom."
Zhu Lian snickered. "The heart stirs in the world—nothing more than a bowl of plum soup with white porcelain in midsummer, ice shards clinking against the rim. Wishing only for a beauty’s heart."
Wei Xian thought for a moment, then said something befitting a founding emperor: "Slaughter a million soldiers, the precious sword still dripping with blood."
Pei Qian glared. "Old Wei, bullshit! Can't you talk properly?"
Wei Xian nodded. "That line was sent to me by a scholar from the Southern Garden Kingdom. If I were to recite a poem myself, it would be... The rain pours down, firewood and rice all raise their price. When the benches are used as firewood, the bed gets scared."
Only then did Pei Qian nod and smile. "Old Wei, this poem is much better than the last one. I can even understand it!"
Wei Xian graciously accepted the praise. "Hmm. Back in the day, many great scholars sincerely said that I did have some talent for literature."
Pei Qian rolled her eyes dramatically.
Sui Youbian said nonchalantly, "I wish to follow the Master on the heavenly altar, leisurely sweeping fallen blossoms for the immortals."
Finally, looking at Pei Qian beside him, Chen Ping'an asked with a smile, "That just leaves you."
Pei Qian jumped in surprise. "Ah!" she said, feeling a bit shy. "I haven't read many books yet. I can't compose poems right now."
Chen Ping'an took a big mouthful of rice, picked up a piece of pickled vegetable with his chopsticks, and said with a smile, "I didn't ask you to compose a poem either."
Pei Qian said, "Oh!" Her expression became lively and bright. "Then I'll really say it! Don't get mad, and don't scold me!"
Chen Ping'an nodded.
Pei Qian said loudly: "I want to read the thinnest books, eat the most expensive dishes, scold the worst people, and punch the wildest dogs!"
Chen Ping'an almost choked on his rice.
Pei Qian, sensing she might be in trouble, thought perhaps her ambitions weren't grand enough. Spotting the Mountain Walker staff by her feet, she quickly added: "How about... adding 'poke the biggest wasp nest'?!"
Wei Xian put on a stern face. "So young, yet with such kingly ambition."
Pei Qian grinned at Old Wei, giving him a thumbs-up. "Old Wei, you really get it! You have a good eye! No wonder you got to be an emperor. Sigh, it's just that you're a bit poor now."
Chen Ping'an shook his head, then laughed along with them.
Outside the ruined temple, the rain had stopped.