Chapter 405: Dueling Techniques on the Mountain Peak
The old scholar who had visited East Mount Hua was invited by a vice head of the Cliff School to give a lecture at the Exhortation Study Hall this afternoon.
Chen Ping'an led Pei Qian through winding corridors and around beams, arriving at the Exhortation Study Hall, shaded by thick green foliage, just as the lecture ended. He saw Li Baoping darting through the crowd like a small, agile koi fish; she was the first to dash out of the courtyard. Once outside, she clenched her fist in self-congratulation. Soon spotting Chen Ping'an and Pei Qian, she quickened her pace. Pei Qian watched Li Baoping rushing through the school like a whirlwind, and felt even more admiration. Bao Bao Sister is truly fearless.
The three met up and headed toward the guest quarters. Li Baoping shared many interesting stories with Chen Ping'an. For instance, during the old scholar's lecture, a pure white elk had actually been coiled up beside him. It was said that when this old scholar had founded his private academy back in the day, a celestial being resonated with him, and a white elk guarded the master. It was only thanks to that elk that the academy, built deep in the remote mountains and forests, could remain free from beast attacks and mountain spirit destruction.
Finally, Li Baoping remarked that the white elk beside Old Master Zhao didn't seem as spiritually vibrant or beautiful as the one that Sister He from the Divine Edict Sect had brought into their Luminous Pearl Cavern back in the day.
Just thinking about He Xiaoliang gave Chen Ping'an a headache. And when he thought about his future plans, the headache only grew worse. He only hoped he would never have to see that female Daoist, once blessed with unrivaled fortune across the continent, ever again.
Back then, on the stone cliffs by Dragon Whisker River, Chen Ping'an had first met He Xiaoliang of the Divine Edict Sect, which represented a certain orthodox lineage. He had seen that white elk shimmering with divine light. Later, he casually asked Cui Dongshan about it and learned that the elk was no ordinary creature. Its pure white appearance was merely an illusion cast by Dao Lord Qi Zhen; in reality, it was a multi-colored elk coveted even by cultivators in the Upper Five Realms. Since ancient times, only those burdened with immense fortune could keep such a beast by their side.
Back then, Sect Leader Lu Chen had used his supreme Daoist arts to construct a bridge of fortune between Chen Ping'an and He Xiaoliang. After the Luminous Pearl Cavern shattered and sank, this allowed Chen Ping'an to share He Xiaoliang's blessings evenly. Of course, deep within this was Lu Chen's far-reaching scheme targeting Master Qi Jingchun's literary lineage. This kind of tug-of-war in terms of temperament was extremely dangerous, and it had happened repeatedly. Had it been anyone else, they might have already ended up in some corner of the Five Cities and Twelve Towers of the Azure Banner Heaven in the Azure Sky World, seemingly glorious but actually a puppet.
Thus, Chen Ping'an had a profound understanding of the concept "fortune and misfortune depend on each other."
However, although Chen Ping'an's temperament had not been pulled over to Lu Chen's side in the Azure Banner Heaven, he had still accumulated many invisible "roots of illness." For example, he had always been resistant to exploring the secret realms of shattered cave paradises. It was only after a journey with Lu Tai, and then Zhu Lian's unintentional words, that Chen Ping'an began to seek change. His determination to make the inevitable journey to Northern Juque Continent grew stronger.
That place, reputed to have more sword cultivators than trees and being the most martial place in the Righteous Qi World, even the Confucian sages had to lose their temper and beat down earth immortals to get their point across.
Chen Ping'an wanted to go there to practice his sword.
Just by himself.
The purest form of sword practice.
Chen Ping'an smiled and asked, "How was the old master's lecture? What did you think?"
Li Baoping thought for a moment, then said, "There's a book that praises this Old Master Zhao. It says his lectures are like a solitary crane flying across the river from the east, letting out a sudden cry, and the river surges with moonlight. I listened for a long time. I think there is some truth to it, but it's not as exaggerated as the book says. Still, what this old master excels at most is the insight gained from climbing towers and gazing at the sea. He advocates 'meeting' ancient sages and worthies through poetry, rhymes, and odes. Across hundreds and thousands of years, he can still resonate with them. Then he further elaborates and deduces his own heavenly principles and learning. But this time, the lecture was very detailed. He only selected a single Confucian classic for exegesis; he didn't bring out the signature skills of their literary lineage. I was a bit disappointed. If I hadn't been so eager to find Little Uncle, I would have wanted to ask the old master when he would lecture on heavenly principles and the human heart."
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment and asked, "This old master is a disciple of the Sage Lu from the Goose Lake Academy on Southern Bodhisattva Continent, isn't he?"
Li Baoping beamed, "Little Uncle, you know so much! That's right, the founding master of this Old Master Zhao is that Sage Lu, who is hailed as 'Embracing the World, Contemplating the Great Sea.'"
Chen Ping'an recalled what he had read in the "Records of Mountains and Seas," which he had given to Yu Lu. The Record mentioned that Sage Lu had a good relationship with the Chen Clan of Pure Confucianism. He wondered if Liu Xianyang would have a chance to meet him.
Pei Qian had been wanting to interject, but she was completely lost. She was afraid that opening her mouth would expose her ignorance and make her look foolish in front of her master and Bao Bao Sister. So she felt a bit dejected.
Fortunately, Chen Ping'an tugged on Pei Qian's ear and scolded, "See now? Your Bao Bao Sister already knows so many schools of thought and their core principles. Even though you're not a school student and studying isn't your main duty..."
Pei Qian stamped her foot and said aggrievedly, "Master, she's Bao Bao Sister. How can I compare to her? Compare me to someone else, like Li Huai? He's been studying at the school for years. If you compare me to him, I'm at a disadvantage!"
Chen Ping'an stopped nagging and laughed heartily. He let go of her ear and patted her head. "You're always too clever for your own good."
When they returned to the guest quarters, Yu Lu was already waiting there early, standing side by side with Zhu Lian under the eaves. They seemed to be hitting it off quite well.
With Yu Lu around, Chen Ping'an felt a bit more at ease.
Back during the school incident, it was Yu Lu, without a word, who had sealed the deal. He had brazenly beaten that worthy man Li Changying until he had to be carried down from East Mount Hua, all in front of a sword cultivator.
After eating, Chen Ping'an went back to Mao Xiaodong's study to continue discussing the refinement of his lifebound objects. He asked Yu Lu to keep an eye on Pei Qian, and Yu Lu agreed with a smile.
After Chen Ping'an left, Li Baoping said she needed to return to her study quarters to write up her notes on today's lecture. Pei Qian used that as an excuse not to follow, then went to Chen Ping'an's guest room, dragged out a bamboo chest, and took out a multi-treasure box. She and Li Huai had a secret champion battle, a duel to be held at the peak of East Mount Hua.
Yu Lu accompanied Pei Qian up the mountain. Zhu Lian had already silently departed, following Chen Ping'an's instructions to secretly protect Li Baoping.
When they reached the top of East Mount Hua, Li Huai was already sitting upright there, with the exquisite yellow wooden box of unknown origin placed before him.
Pei Qian grinned and placed her multi-treasure box on the stone table.
Yu Lu crouched on a stone stool, watching the two kids face off. He found it quite amusing.
When Li Huai saw the multi-treasure box, he braced himself. "Pei Qian, you make the first move!"
Pei Qian snorted derisively and opened the multi-treasure box that Yao Jinzhi had given her. It was in a nine-grid format. Inside were delicate, small carved wooden lingzhi mushrooms, a few rare and exquisite coins that Yao Jinzhi had purchased, considered premier numismatic treasures, and a heavy, time-worn Daoist talisman plaque with a rich patina. It was carved with a Daoist guardian deity image: red-faced, bearded, in golden armor and red robe, with a celestial eye in the center of its forehead. After examination by her master Chen Ping'an, aside from the guardian plaque and the wooden lingzhi, the rest were mostly worldly curios, not considered immortal spiritual artifacts.
Pei Qian gently took out the plaque and placed it on the table. "Go ahead, take this!"
Li Huai opened the yellow box and took out a clay figurine of a wandering swordsman, crossing his arms over his chest. "I have a sword immortal to repel enemies, and even to kill them. What are you going to do?"
Pei Qian immediately took out the finely crafted, ancient-style wooden lingzhi. "Even if I get a sword strike from your general's sword immortal, this lingzhi is a powerful tonic that can extend life! You go next!"
Li Huai grumbled and pulled out a second clay figurine, a night watchman with a gong and drum. "I'll play the gong and drum and annoy you to death!"
Pei Qian sneered and produced those few premier coins, placing them on the table. "Money can make the devil turn the mill. Be careful, your little minions might mutiny and start banging gongs and drums right outside your window! Your turn!"
Li Huai set out a third clay figure, a statue of an armored general. "This battlefield general is utterly loyal to me. Using money on him is like throwing a meat bun to a dog—it won't come back!"
Then Li Huai took out a clay figure of a Taoist with a fly whisk. "This is a divine immortal who dwells in a Taoist temple on the mountain. One swing of his fly whisk can reverse rivers and overturn the seas. Do you admit defeat?"
Pei Qian didn't take a treasure from the multi-treasure box this time. Instead, she carefully fished out the scented purse that Madam Gui had given her from her sleeve. She first turned around to pour out her private savings and the cassia twigs and leaves inside, hid them well, then placed the purse, which gave off a fresh, fragrant scent, on the table. "This is my cosmos bag. It can collect any immortal technique or magic treasure. What's a fly whisk of some stinking old Daoist priest worth!"
Then Pei Qian placed the crystal-clear, lovely cassia twig on the table and started bragging. "This is a branch from the osmanthus tree in the Moon Palace. If I drop it on the ground, tomorrow it will grow into an osmanthus tree taller than a building!"
Li Huai quickly took out a final clay figure—a fairy riding a crane. "My maidservant's mount is a celestial crane. It can sneakily snatch your cassia branch away!"
Pei Qian unclipped the bamboo sword and bamboo saber from her waist and slammed them onto the table. "One slash to sever the crane's claws, one slice to cut off the maidservant's head!"
Li Huai finally brought out his top general, a painted wooden doll half an arm's height, far surpassing the clay figures given by Wei Jin of the Wind Snow Temple. "With one hand, I'll grab your sword; with the other, I'll seize your saber!"
After that, the two started using every trick in the book.
The slightly refined mountain-walking staff, and the other secular items in the multi-treasure box that were valuable but useless for cultivation.
Li Huai brought out the book "Breaking Water on the Great Cliff," even claiming that the spirits who lived inside the book—whom A Liang had once slapped into it—were also at his disposal.
Overall, Pei Qian was getting the upper hand.
The stone table was a dazzling display of Pei Qian and Li Huai's entire possessions.
Yu Lu watched the two kids' scheming with great interest.
Finally, Li Huai let out a long sigh and clasped his hands in a salute. "Alright, I admit defeat. I'm outmatched, a hair's breadth short. I, Li Huai, am an upright man and can take a loss!"
Pei Qian folded her arms and nodded, looking at Li Huai with approval. "It's okay. This is what they call an honorable defeat. In the world of martial arts, there are very few heroes who can match me for so many rounds!"
Li Huai turned his head and said to Yu Lu, "Yu Lu, consider yourself lucky to have witnessed this supreme battle."
Pei Qian said with the air of a worldly elder, "I'm not the type of martial artist who craves empty fame, so you just remember it yourself, Yu Lu. No need to go around spreading it."
Li Huai and Pei Qian exchanged glances and grinned at the same time.
Mutual admiration.
Pei Qian thought that when Li Huai traveled with his book bag in the future, she would make sure he knew what a true martial arts master was, what the ultimate sword techniques and domineering saber styles in the human world were.
Li Huai thought that when he left the school to travel in the future, he would definitely drag Pei Qian along to roam the jianghu together. They got along well, and it would put his mind at ease.
Yu Lu silently crouched to the side, amazed.
Amazed both at the precious items the two kids possessed, and at their thick skin and kindred spirits.
Since Li Huai was skipping class, there were no other school students or visitors touring the summit at this hour. This spared Yu Lu a lot of trouble, and he let them slowly pack up their belongings.
Yu Lu was the Crown Prince of the Lu Dynasty, and Lu had been famous in northern Bottle Gourd Continent for its "rich treasures." Among the group, aside from Chen Ping'an, his eye for value might be even better than Xie Xie's, who had cultivated on the mountains. So Yu Lu knew that the possessions of these two kids could almost rival a Dragon Gate realm cultivator, or even some Golden Core earth immortals among rogue cultivators. If you set aside lifebound objects, some might not even have such a rich arsenal.
Yu Lu joked to Pei Qian, "Pei Qian, aren't you afraid I might be tempted by your wealth and turn against you?"
Yu Lu knew Li Huai's character well—he was carefree and unbothered—so he didn't ask him the same question.
Pei Qian rolled her eyes at Yu Lu, a bit disdainfully, thinking that this fellow called Yu Lu didn't seem very bright. "You're my master's friend. How could I not trust your character?"
Yu Lu was speechless.
---
At the study, after they had finished deducing all the details of refining the lifebound object together, Mao Xiaodong slapped the ruler at his waist. One by one, the heavenly materials and earthly treasures needed to refine the Golden Literary Guts floated out of the ruler and landed on the table. There were eighteen kinds in total, varying in size and price. At the moment, they were still short six items. Four of those could be delivered to the Cliff School soon, but two were trickier. There were no substitutes, but they would more or less affect the final rank of the refined Golden Literary Guts. Mao Xiaodong had high hopes for this; he wanted Chen Ping'an to refine a perfect, flawless lifebound object here at East Mount Hua, where he himself was stationed, to sit in Chen Ping'an's second vital palace.
Mao Xiaodong had some things he didn't tell Chen Ping'an. First, he wanted to give Chen Ping'an a pleasant surprise. Second, he was worried that if Chen Ping'an knew, he would become anxious and second-guess himself, which would spoil the result.
Once the Golden Literary Guts were successfully refined, it would be like a noble mansion opening its courtyard, or a general raising a banner on the battlefield. At specific times and places, it could accelerate the absorption of spiritual energy. For example, in the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches belonging to the Metal element—Geng, Xin, Shen, You. Suitable locations for absorbing qi would be the due west and southwest of spiritually endowed mountains and rivers. Furthermore, Metal represents righteousness and governs slaughter. If a cultivator is chivalrous and righteous, with a strong, stern character and a thick aura of slaughter, they would be twice as effective with half the effort. Hence, it was praised as "a great autumn wind blows, resounding like bells and drums; why worry about having no great name in court?"
However, these mysteries were mostly inherent potentials common to all Metal-element lifebound objects in the world. Chen Ping'an's Golden Literary Guts had an even more hidden layer of fortune.
Mao Xiaodong had only learned the inside story from a very obscure and esoteric rare book. Even Cui Dongshan wouldn't know.
To refine a Golden Literary Guts of extremely high rank as a lifebound object was difficult to the point of near impossibility. But if you could refine it to be flawless, the most crucial point was that the person refining it must not only be a cultivator with good fortune and aptitude for slaughter; their very nature and temperament must match the literary aura contained within the Literary Guts. Then, combine that with supreme refining methods, linking each step perfectly without any error. Only then could the final Golden Literary Guts achieve a profound, mystical state: "When morality is embodied in oneself, one will not be confused by external things."
Entering a polluted and sinister place, one might not be completely immune to all evil, but at least they could force all yin creatures and ghosts to keep their distance, to stay at least three feet away. At the very least, they would inherently suppress and dominate those entities not considered orthodox by the Righteous Qi World.
This effect was similar to the ancient flood dragons that lived in rivers and lakes, which were born with the ability to command and intimidate thousands of aquatic creatures.
Mao Xiaodong gathered his thoughts. As Chen Ping'an carefully examined those heavenly materials and earthly treasures, he said slowly, "In the next few days, let's avoid the daytime when too many eyes are around. We'll visit the Grand Sui capital's Confucian temple and a few other places with dense literary aura at night. I need to retrieve and borrow some literary fortune from those deities. Some of it is essentially 'deposited' with them by our Cliff School. To put it crudely, it's like receiving dividends from a business partnership. The Grand Sui Gao royal clan and the Ministry of Rites will turn a blind eye to this. After all, it's just me taking back what belongs to East Mount Hua. As you said, East Mount Hua is still part of Grand Sui's territory."
Mao Xiaodong reminded him, "During this time, you just stand by my side. You don't need to say anything. The reason I'm bringing you along is to see if there's any literary fortune unique to you. What, do you find it awkward? Chen Ping'an, you're overthinking this. You only know the surface of the Confucian literary lineage conflicts. You see the outer appearance but don't understand their true meaning. Anyway, for now, don't worry about this. Just do as I say. It's not like I'm asking you to trace your roots back to some literary lineage. Don't be nervous."
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Alright."
Mao Xiaodong said bluntly, "Right now, the Grand Sui capital is brewing with evil winds and demonic rains, very unsettled. This time, I'm taking you away from the school, and there's another thought behind it. This should help you escape a dilemma where you're caught between two hard places. But it will be dangerous, and not a little. Do you have any thoughts on that?"
Mao Xiaodong was clearly planning to use himself as bait.
Chen Ping'an said worriedly, "I am certainly willing, but if you, School Master Mao, leave the school, you are leaving the Sage's domain. If the enemy is prepared, they would target you, School Master Mao, who is in the school, first. In that case, wouldn't School Master Mao be in extreme danger?"
"To deal with me, even if I leave East Mount Hua, the other side would need a Jade Perfection realm cultivator to be sure of success."
Mao Xiaodong laughed heartily. "But do you think an Upper Five Realm cultivator on Bottle Gourd Continent is something you can just pull out and show off, like those little trinkets Pei Qian and Li Huai collect? The only Jade Perfection realm cultivator in Grand Sui is an old ancestor of the Geyang Gao clan, who is a storyteller not good at fighting. He's already gone to Piyun Mountain in your hometown. Plus, now that that Ascension realm great cultivator from Tóngyè Continent is dead and gone, with fragments of his crystallized golden body scattered across the sky over Bottle Gourd Continent, those thousand-year-old old turtles who qualify to fight over them—like Divine Edict Sect Heavenly Lord Qi Zhen, the rumored Jiang clan old ancestor who's secretly entered the Immortal realm, and that Jade Perfection realm rogue cultivator from Bee Tail Ferry—they're all busy scheming against each other. As for the others, like Wei Jin of Wind Snow Temple, they're gathering in central Bottle Gourd Continent, preparing to fight off Northern Juque Continent's Heavenly Lord Xie Shi."
Mao Xiaodong sighed emotionally. "Bottle Gourd Continent has more than two hundred kingdoms and vassal states, both large and small. But how many Upper Five Realm cultivators are native to this continent? You can count them on one hand. Before Cui Chan and Qi Jingchun came to Bottle Gourd Continent, during lean times, maybe you could even use just one hand. So no wonder cultivators from other continents look down on Bottle Gourd Continent. There's simply no comparison, in every aspect. Hmm, I should say except in martial arts. After all, Song Changjing and Li Er appeared one after the other, and both were so young—that's truly astonishing and earth-shaking."
Chen Ping'an then told him about what he had seen in the Master's Sword Chamber of Inverted Mountain, regarding the bounty on Song Changjing's head.
Mao Xiaodong laughed. "The Righteous Qi World is used to underestimating Bottle Gourd Continent. When you travel to other continents later, if you say you're from the smallest Bottle Gourd Continent, people will often look down on you. Take the founding of the Cliff School, for example. Do you know the single thing that Qi Jingchun managed to accomplish in those twenty or thirty years?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "I don't know."
Mao Xiaodong smiled faintly. "It was to painstakingly cultivate batch after batch of scholarly seeds for the Great Li Dynasty. But none of them wanted to stay. They all scrambled to get into the more prestigious Lake View School. Qi Jingchun didn't stop them. The most ridiculous part is that Qi Jingchun had to write letters of recommendation for those young scholars, putting in a good word for them so they could be accepted smoothly into the Lake View School."
Chen Ping'an was stunned.
Mao Xiaodong said calmly, "Back then, almost all the scholars in the Great Li Dynasty believed that even a worthy man or gentleman from the Lake View School could expound on the sages' truths better than the head of the Cliff School."
There was a long silence in the study.
Mao Xiaodong turned to look out the window and said self-deprecatingly, "So, from our Master, to Qi Jingchun, and finally to me, Mao Xiaodong—none of us could give a straight answer. About who counts as a legitimate direct disciple, how many are truly official inner disciples, and who is the real final disciple—none of it is clear. Chen Ping'an, isn't that funny? Look at the other major literary lineages. They have orderly succession, strict rules, a brilliant constellation of talents, and magnificent spectacles."
Chen Ping'an didn't know what to say. He could only take down his Sword-Nurturing Gourd and take a sip of wine.
Mao Xiaodong walked to the window. Unnoticed, the scene outside had become one of bright moon and sparse stars.
The tall old man turned around and saw that the young man who kept refusing to acknowledge him as his junior brother was hesitating whether to take another drink.