Chapter 434: The Girl in Blue Eats Pastries

Chapter 434: The Girl in Blue Eats Pastries

(Sniffling while typing, a bit bittersweet...)

Upon arriving at Green Gorge Island, Chen Ping'an went to the Sword Pavilion and retrieved the reply letter Wei Bo had sent from Cloakcloud Mountain. That flying sword flashed once and vanished, returning to Great Li's Dragon Spring County.

After parting ways with Gu Can, Chen Ping'an went alone to the small room at the mountain gate. He opened the secret letter, which contained answers to his questions. As expected of Wei Bo, he answered three things when asked about one, also addressing the other two questions Chen Ping'an had asked about Gentleman Zhong Kui and Old Dragon City's Fan Junmao. The letter was over ten thousand words long, explaining in detail the rules separating life and death, the conditions and reasons for a person to become an yin creature or ghost after death, the numerous formalities regarding reincarnation involving the two forbidden lands of Fengdu and the underworld, deviations in the entrances to the Yellow Spring Road caused by local customs, the differences between ghost messengers, and so on.

At the very end of the secret letter, Wei Bo appended two secret techniques he had personally written. One was a heretical method from the royal treasury of the Divine Water Kingdom, where Wei Bo had once lived. It utilized the essence of water luck between heaven and earth to quickly find the spark of true spiritual light, gather scattered souls, and reshape the spirit. Once mastered, it could especially command all water-adjacent ghosts, making it an untransmittable secret of the Divine Water Kingdom, only to be studied by the national preceptor and honored immortal masters.

The other secret technique was a heterodox Daoist method Wei Bo had accidentally obtained from the Divine Water Kingdom's armory. Its roots were close to shamanism, but it was mixed with some methods of commanding swords used by ancient Shu Kingdom's sword immortals. It was used to break through the barrier between yin and yang, using the area reached by sword light as a bridge and path to connect the living world and the underworld, to converse with deceased ancestors. However, it required finding a living person with a naturally strong yin constitution as a dwelling place for the yin creature returning to the living world. This person, referred to by Wei Bo as a "pavilion of journey" in the secret letter, had to be someone with heavy yin virtue from ancestral blessings, or a prodigy naturally suited for cultivating ghost path techniques, with the latter being preferable. The former could damage ancestral yin virtue, while the latter could use this to advance their cultivation, turning misfortune into fortune.

Chen Ping'an read through this secret letter from Cloakcloud Mountain repeatedly.

This accountant didn't know that after two battles, one at Cloud Rain Island and one at Cloud Tower City, there was no way to keep Green Gorge Island's secret. Now at Letter Bamboo Lake, rumors were spreading that Green Gorge Island had gained a young outsider enshrined immortal with astonishing combat power. Not only did he possess two talisman-spirit puppets that could effortlessly kill seventh-tier swordsmen, but he also carried two life-bound flying swords. Most terrifying of all, this man was also proficient in close-quarters combat, having once punched and killed a sixth-tier military strategist cultivator face to face.

A talisman immortal master, a terrestrial sword immortal, and a martial arts grandmaster?

What was the background of this accountant who kept the gate for Green Gorge Island?

For a time, on Palace Willow Island, Liu Zhimao's reputation soared, and many fence-sitters began leaning toward Green Gorge Island.

At the Spring Pavilion residence, during a meal one day, the woman said to Gu Can, who rarely came home to eat these days, "Can Can, don't learn from Chen Ping'an."

Gu Can was wolfing down his food and said indistinctly, "Won't learn, of course I won't learn."

The woman smiled with relief, took a silk handkerchief to wipe the oil from the corner of her son's mouth, and said softly, "Chen Ping'an is such a good person. I used to like him, but here at Letter Bamboo Lake, 'good people don't live long, while the wicked last for a thousand years' isn't really hard to say. Although I've never left Spring Pavilion to see the outside world, I chat with the maidservants every day. I know more than Chen Ping'an does about the difference between Letter Bamboo Lake and Mud Vase Alley. Here, we can't afford to be soft-hearted."

Gu Can nodded and said, "Mom, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. There's only one Chen Ping'an in the world. I can't learn from him, can't be like him."

Finally, Gu Can looked up and added, "Besides, there's only one Gu Can in the world!"

The woman suddenly asked, "Before, I only knew Chen Ping'an had achieved great things, but how great exactly? He didn't say, and I didn't dare ask too much. Now, hearing those open-fronted young ladies in the residence whispering, it seems Chen Ping'an could easily take control of a major island at Letter Bamboo Lake. I heard that that night, even Lu Caisang almost got killed by Chen Ping'an's sword?"

Gu Can thought for a moment. "I'm not too sure. I only know that sword, a half-immortal artifact called Sword Immortal. According to Liu Zhimao, Chen Ping'an can't fully control it yet. Otherwise, none of the Golden Core terrestrial immortals at Letter Bamboo Lake would be a match for him in three exchanges. Below terrestrial immortal rank, it would definitely be a single sword strike. But compared to this Sword Immortal that hasn't been fully refined, Liu Zhimao is more wary of that immortal talisman. He asked me if I knew its origin. I said I didn't—it's probably one of Chen Ping'an's trump cards. Actually, I had Little Loach follow Chen Ping'an to prevent any trouble from blind fools ruining his travels at Letter Bamboo Lake. So Little Loach saw those two Heavenly Soldier Divine Generals in action. Little Loach said they seem different from all talisman sect Daoists' immortal talisman registers. What's contained in the talisman core isn't a spark of spiritual light, but something like the fundamental golden body of a mountain or river god."

The woman sighed. "So Chen Ping'an has become this accomplished."

Gu Can had messy eating habits, his face covered in grease. He tilted his head and smiled. "Yeah. Chen Ping'an can achieve anything he sets his mind to. He's always been like that. What's so strange about it?"

The woman looked at her son's innocent, guileless face and felt helpless. Some things, a mother simply had to think about more. It had nothing to do with her ability as a woman.

While Gu Can took Little Loach to Palace Willow Island to join the fun, the woman went to a large hall in the back courtyard of Spring Pavilion. She called together all several dozen of the residence's open-fronted young ladies. In a flurry of chattering voices, she sternly warned them: no one was to gossip in front of Chen Ping'an. If discovered, they would be beaten to death immediately. Moreover, she would have someone dig out the incense burner room's secret archives of Spring Pavilion. If any of them had relatives who were already cultivators at Green Gorge Island, Tian Hujun would personally break their Longevity Bridge. If the relatives weren't at Letter Bamboo Lake but had become wealthy from Spring Pavilion's gifts, their homes would be confiscated and handed over to Pond Water City's Fan family for disposal.

At dusk that day, Chen Ping'an knocked on the door of an ordinary mansion on Green Gorge Island. It was the cultivation grounds of a second-tier enshrined immortal. His original name was long forgotten. His surname was Ma, and he had started as a ghost cultivator, reportedly once a royal "rice carrier" of a fallen kingdom—one of the miscellaneous servants in the "Emperor's Travel Records" when the emperor went on tour. Somehow he became a cultivator and step by step became a senior enshrined immortal at Green Gorge Island.

Ghost cultivators were already looked down upon by recorded immortals among the wild cultivators of mountains and marshes, and they were an especially unwelcome type. Hence, this mansion was located in a remote, quiet part of Green Gorge Island, not rich in spiritual aura but full of yin energy. It occupied a strange well from which yin winds would blow from time to time. The area around the mansion was perpetually gloomy, and there was no interaction with neighbors. This ghost cultivator enshrined immortal had originally been at the bottom of Green Gorge Island's top-tier enshrined immortals. But as Green Gorge Island annexed over a dozen major vassal islands, some island lords and enshrined guests, fearing death, chose to attach themselves to the now-dominant River-Cutting True Lord. Over time, the original power holders at Green Gorge Island kept getting pushed back. Fortunately, Liu Zhimao hadn't reduced the salaries and immortal coins of the meritorious senior enshrined immortals; in fact, he increased them by ten to twenty percent, so as not to "chill the hearts of the troops."

The gatekeeper was an emaciated old woman covered in a foul stench, but with a full head of black hair and white eyes. When she saw the accountant surnamed Chen, she immediately put on a fawning smile. Small living things like flies and maggots fell rustling from the folds of her withered face. Embarrassed, she quickly twisted her embroidered shoe on the ground, producing a series of crackling sounds—not eerie, but disgusting.

The old woman realized this too and actually blushed with shame, her lips moving but unable to utter a word.

Chen Ping'an remained calm and recognized that this "old woman" with thin yang aura and declining spirituality was actually just a young woman in her early twenties.

All women in the world loved beauty.

She rang a string of bells next to the door and said to Chen Ping'an, "My master will be here soon. Please wait a moment, Mr. Chen."

She hesitated briefly, pointed to a dark room next to the mansion gate, and said, "This servant won't be an eyesore here. Mr. Chen, if anything comes to mind, just call out. I'll be in the side room and can appear immediately."

Chen Ping'an nodded and asked, "May I ask how I should address you, young madam? I may need to visit frequently in the future, and it wouldn't be good to just call out 'hey' every time."

The grotesque old woman was stunned. Not daring to look directly at the young man with her current appearance, she turned her head and said in a thin voice, "Mr. Chen can call this servant Red Su, su as in the candy."

A stream of black smoke rolled in and stopped, revealing a short man. Black smoke still emanated from the hem of his robe and his wide sleeves. The man's expression was wooden. He frowned at the old woman gatekeeper and scolded, "You worthless, ignorant thing! How dare you stand here chatting with Mr. Chen? Get back to your room immediately! Aren't you afraid of dirtying Mr. Chen's eyes?"

She hurriedly hid in the side room, standing near the small window, not daring to take even a glance, only hoping to hear the voices of their conversation.

As Green Gorge Island flourished, her master had fallen from a top-tier enshrined immortal to a marginal second-tier one. With the island constantly building new mansions and eleven surrounding major islands being incorporated into Green Gorge Island's territory, visitors to the mansion had become rare over the past year or more. Familiar cultivators had long since gone elsewhere, enjoying nightly revelry, while unfamiliar cultivators weren't willing to come warm a cold stove. She guarded the gate day and night, and within the mansion, servants were strictly forbidden from speaking. So on ordinary days, even the chirping of birds that accidentally flew past the gate would give her something to savor for a long time.

Once inside the mansion, Chen Ping'an stated his purpose to the ghost cultivator.

The Ma-surnamed ghost cultivator pondered in silence, inwardly displeased. This accountant, who had recently made quite a name for himself at Letter Bamboo Lake, was going too far. Coming to his door to ask for those residual souls he had "picked up" and imprisoned over the years—these ghosts and spirits he had locked away in his soul-summoning banners and that yin wind well were part of his Great Path. Among them were over a dozen ghost generals who had been mid-fifth-tier cultivators in life, which he had refined. Now they each had their duties and were indispensable.

Even though the young man said he was willing to pay with immortal coins, was this even about money?

Did this fellow surnamed Chen truly not understand the rules of the path, or had he intended to throw his weight around from the start? Weren't you capable of slapping the little demon Gu Can twice? Then go ask Gu Can how many immortal coins it would take to buy the life of the woman at Spring Pavilion. See if Gu Can would agree!

Even as his anger mounted with each thought, the Ma-surnamed ghost cultivator still didn't dare break the peace. This mysterious accountant, if he truly wanted to stab him to death with a sword, that would be that. Would River-Cutting True Lord seek justice for a second-tier enshrined immortal who had already lost his life, going against his young disciple Gu Can and this young "sword immortal"? But the ghost cultivator was also stubborn by nature, so he shot back, saying that while he was indeed a ghost cultivator who captured souls, the one who truly reaped the greatest benefits wasn't him, but one of the vassal islands—Moon Hook Island—and its self-styled Mountain Lake Ghost King, Yu Gui. As the former lead general under Moon Hook Island's island lord, Yu Gui had not only been the first to betray Moon Hook Island but had also followed River-Cutting True Lord and his disciple Gu Can. Whenever battle ended, he was always responsible for cleaning up. Now, Tian Hujun's occupied Eyebrow Immortal Island, as well as numerous screen islands like Plain Scale Island—seventy to eighty percent of the souls of those who died in battle were divided between Yu Gui and another yin-yang master terrestrial immortal currently stationed at Jade Pot Island. He himself hadn't even had a chance to taste a fraction of it. He could only spend money to buy some ghosts with thick yin aura and strong bones from two of Green Gorge Island's top-tier enshrined immortals.

There was no deal in the world that couldn't be negotiated. In the end, it came down to whether the person paying had enough sincerity and whether the person taking the money was ruthless enough.

The ghost cultivator finally laid down his terms: since Mr. Chen's prices, based on the souls' cultivation levels before death, were reasonable, but this involved the crucial matter of his ghost cultivation path. It wasn't about giving face. Unless Mr. Chen could accomplish one task, he would nod his head. After that, the ghosts and spirits in the soul-summoning banners and yin wind well could be carefully selected, and then business could begin.

After learning what that task was, Chen Ping'an nodded and agreed.

Leaving the mansion, as he passed through the gate, Chen Ping'an bid farewell to the gatekeeper "old woman" named Red Su.

Returning to Green Gorge Island's mountain gate, Chen Ping'an didn't go back to his room. Instead, he went to the ferry, took a boat, and headed to Pearl Hairpin Island.

He met once again with the island lord, Liu Zhongrun, a tall, voluptuous beauty.

It turned out that the Ma-surnamed ghost cultivator and this woman were from the same kingdom, but their statuses were as different as heaven and earth. She was the blood aunt of the last young emperor, a woman who had held power over the entire court and had only stopped short of ascending the throne herself. He, on the other hand, had been a rice carrier among the palace servants. Chen Ping'an didn't ask about the details of how they had known each other back then or what story had unfolded between them. The reason the ghost cultivator had defected to Liu Zhimao and chosen Green Gorge Island as his place of establishment was simply to be near Pearl Hairpin Island's island lord, Liu Zhongrun.

Liu Zhongrun, whom Tian Hujun had praised as "having the spirit of a great man," had originally planned to make amends that day. Since last time she hadn't known the depth of the accountant's cultivation and had cautiously refused him entry to the island, after news of the battles at Cloud Rain Island and Cloud Tower City came out, she had regretted it. With this man's unfathomable cultivation, it probably wouldn't be difficult for him to single-handedly kill most of Pearl Hairpin Island's people. So she had quickly sent an invitation to Green Gorge Island, actively inviting Mr. Chen to visit Pearl Hairpin Island's Treasure Pearl Pavilion, to mend the fence after losing the sheep, lest she and Pearl Hairpin Island bear a grudge in the accountant's heart.

But when Liu Zhongrun heard that the Ma-surnamed ghost cultivator from Green Gorge Island wanted to see her, she immediately changed her expression, brushed Chen Ping'an aside, turned, and climbed the mountain, saying coldly, "Mr. Chen, if you wish to tour Pearl Hairpin Island, I, Liu Zhongrun, will certainly accompany you. But if you have come to act as a mediator for that stubborn lecher, I ask you to return the way you came immediately."

Chen Ping'an had no choice but to take his boat and leave, going to find Yu Gui, whose Dao name was Mountain Lake Ghost King. He was one of the few great ghost cultivators at Letter Bamboo Lake, with a Golden Core cultivation that couldn't be compared to the Ma-surnamed ghost cultivator's Dragon Gate tier.

He now occupied all of Moon Hook Island, with a status equivalent to Tian Hujun's, both being regional governors under Liu Zhimao. Compared to the Ma-surnamed ghost cultivator, whose reputation was fading and obscure, Yu Gui was notorious, his name increasingly spreading across Letter Bamboo Lake. Moon Hook Island was a major island with considerable strength, and its old Golden Core island lord was famed as a tough nut to crack. But precisely because of Yu Gui's betrayal, which destroyed Moon Hook Island's mountain and river formations, Liu Zhimao and Gu Can's Little Loach were able to exploit the weakness, catching over a thousand cultivators on Moon Hook Island off guard, resulting in heavy casualties. The brilliantly talented Yu Gui became rich overnight, gathering a large number of mid-fifth-tier cultivators' souls and refining them one by one with unique secret methods. Rumors suggested he was likely the next newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator at Letter Bamboo Lake. He had also taken possession of the old Moon Hook Island lord's wives, concubines, and daughters, living like an immortal over the past year. Even Liu Zhimao had joked about it at a Green Gorge Island celebration banquet, teasing that Yu Gui was the most skilled at enjoying himself at Letter Bamboo Lake.

Gu Can had even given Yu Gui a thumbs-up at the celebration banquet, making Yu Gui feel very honored. He quickly stood up and returned the toast with three full cups of wine.

It was worth noting that the arrogant little demon Gu Can almost never showed a friendly face to any enshrined immortal.

As the ferry boat approached the shore, Chen Ping'an took out the Day-and-Night Traveling Spirit Manifestation Talisman and summoned the two puppet true spirits with a spark of divine light nurtured within their talisman cores.

He simply climbed the mountain like this.

His style of conduct was very Letter Bamboo Lake.

He was no longer the amiable accountant of Green Gorge Island.

This frightened Yu Gui, who had been planning to maintain some airs, so he immediately went out personally to welcome the distinguished guest.

Upon learning that this Mr. Chen, who seemed ready to start a massacre on Moon Hook Island, had only come to buy some insignificant yin creature souls, Yu Gui was greatly relieved. At the same time, he began to obliquely tell the accountant about his many grievances—for instance, the deep-seated hatred between him and the damnable old island lord of Moon Hook Island, and how he had endured humiliation to finally reunite with a concubine who had been abused by that old lecher.

Chen Ping'an listened quietly to the Mountain Lake Ghost King's complaints. When Yu Gui himself felt he had nothing more to say, Chen Ping'an began to negotiate the transaction for yin souls with him. Whether because Yu Gui considered himself wealthy and powerful, or because he had more foresight and boldness, he was much easier to deal with than the Ma-surnamed ghost cultivator of Green Gorge Island. Many yin spirits that had little left of their three souls and seven spirits were practically given away to the accountant. If Yu Gui were not the poor little cultivator who once had to search village graves and mass burial pits for lowly ghosts to refine into his life-bound object, he would have already refined them all long ago. After all, ghost generals and the more highly ranked ghost kings needed to feed on these scattered souls.

Chen Ping'an also asked about some talisman methods for nurturing souls.

Yu Gui had been warily watching the two puppets behind the young man the entire time, fearing that if a disagreement occurred, they would suddenly attack and kill him. Faced with these harmless inquiries, he naturally told everything he knew, holding nothing back.

Outside Cloud Tower City, those two big fellows had killed a seventh-tier swordsman who had dozens of cultivators backing him up on the sidelines. This incident made all the terrestrial immortal cultivators at Letter Bamboo Lake, including Yu Gui himself, start to take precautions, racking their brains for countermeasures. Groups of island lords at Palace Willow Island would certainly join forces to break the situation.

Among the tens of thousands of wild cultivators at Letter Bamboo Lake, there was always a principle upheld as absolute truth: no magic treasure was truly invincible. If it was invincible today, it wouldn't be tomorrow. At the latest, by the day after, there would definitely be a way to counter it.

Chen Ping'an didn't let Yu Gui see him off. At the ferry, he put away the Day-and-Night Traveling Spirit Manifestation Talisman, whose talisman core divine light was growing increasingly dim, tucked it into his sleeve, and poled the boat away.

The autumn scenery of Letter Bamboo Lake was picturesque. Over a thousand islands each had their own autumnal beauty.

Chen Ping'an wasn't in a hurry to return to Green Gorge Island.

He stopped the boat on the lake, took off the Nurtured Sword Gourd, and took a drink to refresh himself.

He put the Nurtured Sword Gourd back in place and looked around at the lake scenery.

The old sage of Wen Sheng had once said that a noble person's nature is no different from others; it's just that he is good at using external things.

That was why Chen Ping'an had written those three letters and sent flying swords in three directions.

He didn't hesitate to use the Day-and-Night Traveling Spirit Manifestation Talisman, even at the cost of depleting its talisman core divine light, and he also forced that half-immortal artifact to leave its sheath.

Chen Ping'an now understood that worldly principles had thresholds. Those too lofty wouldn't be entered. Those too low wouldn't be taken seriously. Those neither high nor low were picked up and discarded, never constituting true principles. In the end, everything followed the underlying threads within a person's heart, the crisscrossing ridges of their inner fields, in how they dealt with people and matters. For example, Gu Can's mother had never believed that evil would be repaid with evil. Chen Ping'an had always believed this. This was the fundamental difference in their natures, leading to greater divergence in how they calculated gains and losses: one valued material things, while Chen Ping'an was willing to calculate gains and losses beyond the material. This had almost nothing to do with what experiences one had after leaving home or how many bookish principles one knew.

If one probed deeper, it involved a person's most basic view of the world, what the national preceptor Cui Chan had called "the One."

Chen Ping'an had actually already reached this point in his thinking before, but he had chosen to stop and turn back.

Too much thinking was useless.

All the fundamental cognitions that determined a person's character and behavior—whether broad or narrow, big or small, right or wrong, thick or thin—ultimately had to fall on the word "action," competing in various skills.

Chen Ping'an now had to neither practice boxing nor wield his sword. Even the important future matters of the ten-year agreement and the sixty-year agreement he temporarily set aside. Naturally, this gave him much time to quiet his mind and think. Looking at Letter Bamboo Lake now, compared to when he stood on the railing at Purple Sun Estate in Yellow Court Kingdom, he could think more and see farther. For example, he could be certain that Letter Bamboo Lake, as a strategic territory contested by military strategists, before the Great Li iron cavalry advanced southward, was a lawless refuge for wild cultivators of mountains and marshes. To the Crimson Fire Dynasty, it was a chicken rib—eating it cost too much, but not eating it was troublesome. Now that the balance had been broken, it was bound to undergo a major upheaval.

Chen Ping'an was also waiting.

Whether the Crimson Fire Dynasty, nearest to the water, occupied Letter Bamboo Lake, or the Great Li iron cavalry from the northernmost tip of Treasure Vase Continent took control, or the Lake View Academy mediated, unwilling to see any single faction dominant, a new delicate balance would emerge.

In any case, signs would appear that the law of a single kingdom could replace the customs of a local area.

At Palace Willow Island, the debates were still raging red-faced every day.

This was an extremely rare sight at Letter Bamboo Lake. In the past, there was no need for lip service; they would have already started throwing magic treasures and settling things by force.

Since it was the island lord alliance, the rules at the table still had to be followed. Gu Can, Lu Caisang, Yuan Yuan, and their friends didn't show their faces at Mountain Prosperity Hall. Although most island lords had to smile at them when they saw them, and some even called them brothers, it wasn't considered shameful. Palace Willow Island had been overcrowded lately, mostly with trusted confidants and henchmen of various island lords. After the female cultivator who had been appointed as the martial world monarch of Letter Bamboo Lake died suddenly during an outing, Palace Willow Island, which had been under her care, had been left unattended for over two hundred years. Only a few old wild cultivators who still remembered her sent people occasionally to clean up. Otherwise, Palace Willow Island would have long become a desolate ruin overgrown with weeds and infested with foxes and rabbits.

The old master of Palace Willow Island was the only upper-fifth-tier wild cultivator in Treasure Vase Continent, Liu Laocheng.

This man came from a small, run-down place in southeastern Treasure Vase Continent called Bee Tail Ferry. He formed his golden core on a plank road suspended between two peaks of a minor immortal sect, and made his name at Letter Bamboo Lake.

When Liu Laocheng first ascended to the upper fifth tier, according to the mountain etiquette established by Confucian academies, he could have established his own sect. However, Liu Laocheng simply pushed a female cultivator from Letter Bamboo Lake with whom he had a close friendship onto the throne of martial world monarch, then left Letter Bamboo Lake. He had no fixed residence, traveled everywhere, and no news of him ever returned to Letter Bamboo Lake. This was why Letter Bamboo Lake, which had finally seemed on the verge of unification, continued to maintain a chaotic pattern of separate powers dominating. This allowed Liu Zhimao and Green Gorge Island to rise quickly, letting a lawless brat from outside like Gu Can stir up storms at Letter Bamboo Lake.

By the start of winter, Chen Ping'an began to travel frequently between the Ma-surnamed ghost cultivator's mansion on Green Gorge Island, Pearl Hairpin Island's Treasure Pearl Pavilion, Moon Hook Island's Yu Gui, and that yin-yang master great cultivator.

Just when even Chen Ping'an felt that Palace Willow Island was about to argue its way to a conclusion, a shocking upheaval occurred at Lotus Hibiscus Mountain at Letter Bamboo Lake.

The island lord of Lotus Hibiscus Mountain himself wasn't very powerful. Lotus Hibiscus Mountain had always been a minor island dependent on Heavenly Mother Island, one of the major islands opposing Liu Zhimao becoming the martial world monarch.

Lotus Hibiscus Mountain, famous in central Treasure Vase Continent for producing excellent seal stone from hibiscus stone, was located on the edge of Letter Bamboo Lake, near one of the four great lakeside cities, Green Paulownia City. But overnight, a massive fire broke out, and a fierce battle erupted that was no less intense than the clash of two Nascent Soul cultivators. The cultivators of Lotus Hibiscus Mountain and over a dozen unknown cultivators who had infiltrated the island fought fiercely. Precious light illuminated half of Letter Bamboo Lake. Among the most astonishing sights was a huge lantern hanging in the nighttime sky above Letter Bamboo Lake, like an immortal palace from the Heavenly Court, seemingly competing with the moon for brilliance.

Finally, a fire dragon several hundred zhang long roared into existence, coiled atop Lotus Hibiscus Mountain, shaking the earth, stirring the waters, and raising waves. This made the great cultivators at Palace Willow Island who had originally wanted to rush over and investigate all abandon the idea. Everyone's gaze toward River-Cutting True Lord Liu Zhimao was somewhat playful, as well as filled with greater fear.

The island lord of Lotus Hibiscus Mountain was utterly devastated.

The island lord of Heavenly Mother Island was even more furious, loudly denouncing Liu Zhimao for violating the rules of the alliance by launching a devastating attack on Lotus Hibiscus Mountain during this period!

Liu Zhimao defended himself a few times, saying he wasn't stupid enough to draw public anger at this time by sneakily attacking a place like Lotus Hibiscus Mountain, which was an "enclave" of Green Gorge Island.

Heavenly Mother Island cursed Liu Zhimao out, but Liu Zhimao, without further words, engaged in a one-on-one fight with the island lord of Heavenly Mother Island, who, though not a Nascent Soul cultivator, possessed an extremely rare magic treasure.

That night, Gu Can and Little Loach stood side by side, gazing at the awe-inspiring fire dragon at Lotus Hibiscus Mountain.

Gu Can smiled and asked, "A fellow kindred spirit?"

Little Loach wiped his mouth. "If I eat it, I might directly ascend to the upper fifth tier, and I wouldn't need to beg the master for food for at least a hundred years."

Gu Can's eyes burned brightly. "What are our chances of winning?"

Little Loach stared fixedly at the brilliant flames of Lotus Hibiscus Mountain, drooling. He had to cover his mouth and chuckled, "If it's just a fight with it, with no cultivators interfering, here at Letter Bamboo Lake, sixty to forty, I have a slightly better chance."

Gu Can thought it over. "It's not that simple. This time, let's listen to Chen Ping'an and not rush. Those people dared to make a move at this time; they definitely aren't here to die."

Little Loach itched to dive into the lake bottom. "Can I just go take a look near Lotus Hibiscus Mountain?"

Gu Can shook his head. "Better not. Be careful not to fall into a trap. Once news reaches Green Gorge Island, I'll discuss a foolproof plan with Liu Zhimao."

Little Loach said aggrievedly, "That old fox Liu Zhimao might not want to see me break through to the next tier again."

Gu Can narrowed his eyes and said softly, "But what if Liu Laocheng appears at Palace Willow Island? Do you think my master would still be able to sit still?"

Little Loach tilted his head. "Has that Jade Pith realm wild cultivator sneaked back?"

Gu Can curled his lip. "As long as I confirm later that there's a real chance for you to have a full meal—one that will keep you from being hungry for a hundred years—then even if Liu Laocheng hasn't come to Palace Willow Island, I'll make 'Liu Laocheng' appear at some city at Letter Bamboo Lake. Tian Hujun, Lu Caisang, Yuan Yuan, Yu Gui—all these guys can be put to use. If we're going to do something, let's do it big!"

Atop Lotus Hibiscus Mountain.

In the night, a woman in blue with a ponytail shook her wrist, and the fire dragon coiled into a bracelet around her fair wrist.

Dong Gu and Xu Xiaoqiao looked at each other wryly. They had fought so hard breaking through the mountain and water formation and climbing the mountain, and even lost one of the two seventh-tier martial arts grandmasters. But as soon as the senior sister acted, it was over.

The woman in blue turned her head, took out a handkerchief, and ate a small piece of cake.

What could she do? Old Master Song had even used that lantern life-bound object, but he had still almost let that old Golden Core cultivator, who was skilled in soul-splitting techniques, escape.

Always having to chase after this master and disciple pair was making her very dissatisfied.

But traveling all the way south like this, bustling about, she didn't have the nerve to say she was actually already very, very bored.

Standing before her was a tall youth, his face covered in blood, his clothes in tatters, staring at her with hatred.

She finished her cake, feeling a bit happier, and met his gaze. "Want to die?"

The tall youth spat out a mouthful of blood. Remembering his miserable master, who had been swallowed into the belly of the fire dragon, the youth's heart was filled with boundless hatred. His gaze was firm enough to move people. Clenching his fists, he sneered, "Chasing us this far—what do you Great Li dogs with noses like hounds want? Isn't it just to get me to return to Great Li and work for you? To increase the military luck of your Great Li Song clan?"

She looked at the tall youth and said slowly, "You're quite clever. You really don't want to die at all. You just know that the Great Li Sticky Rod Lads definitely won't kill you. And you really wanted to get that immortal jade slip and life-bound magic treasure from your master, so you've been following him. But I can tell you do have some genuine feelings for your master. Now you want to avenge him. You plan to learn the immortal methods on that jade slip, refine that lifebound magic treasure, and then rebel against Great Li. Hmm, you also want to... not chop me into pieces, but turn me into an intelligent plaything puppet... Wait a moment."

She turned her head, ate another small piece of cake, and looked at the few remaining peach blossom cakes on the handkerchief. Her mood turned sour. She looked back at the tall youth, whose heart was now filled with terror, and added, "Think it over. I'll take another look. Either way, you're going to die."

The tall youth finally showed a hint of panic. He turned to look at Old Master Song, whom he recognized as the highest-ranking among them—the secretary of the Great Li Ministry of Rites' Department of Personnel. He sneered, "She says she's going to kill me. Do you think that's acceptable?"

She blinked. "If I want to kill you, even all of them combined couldn't stop me."

Old Master Song was caught in a dilemma.

Before heading south, he had some understanding of the most secret inner details—for example, why the Great Li court placed such high regard on the sage Ruan Qiong. An eleventh-tier cultivator was indeed a rare existence in Treasure Vase Continent, but Great Li was not just any secular dynasty in Treasure Vase Continent. Why would even the national preceptor himself be so accommodating to Ruan Qiong?

The answer lay in the gentle, beautiful young woman before him.

The national preceptor had only said one thing to this Ministry of Rites secretary: If Ruan Xiu dies, all of you die outside Great Li's borders, and no one will collect your bodies. If Ruan Xiu wants to kill you, it's your own fault. The Great Li court will not only refuse to back you up but will also pursue charges against your superiors.

Ruan Xiu gently flicked her wrist. The miniature fire dragon true form, as cute as a bracelet, "dripped" to the ground and eventually transformed into a golden-armored divine being, who strode toward the tall youth, who was now begging for mercy.

In an instant, the tall youth was wrapped all over in strands of golden molten lava, as if trapped in a cage, wailing loudly.

The golden divine being simply twisted off the tall youth's head, opened its wide mouth, and swallowed the head and body together.

Old Master Song's face was filled with sorrow, but he dared not intervene.

A journey of ten thousand li, a bitter pursuit, all for nothing.

Ruan Xiu turned her head to look in the direction of Palace Willow Island. She thought for a moment, opened her handkerchief, saw the few remaining cakes, reluctantly folded the handkerchief again, thinking she should ration them carefully. There was no pastry shop on Qilong Lane here.

Suddenly, the young woman in blue, whose gaze had always been as still as an ancient well or an abyss, brightened. Her eyes sparkled with brilliant light. Tilted her head, she looked with an incredulous expression, shifting her gaze to a certain spot at some distance from Palace Willow Island.

She looked as if she had spotted something more delicious than pastries.

She quickly took out her handkerchief again, ate one cake after another, even shook the handkerchief vigorously, then put it away. Finally, she clapped her hands and nodded contentedly.

Both her cheeks were bulging. Why did she look like she was hiding the evidence?