Chapter 533: That Fellow Dares to Come to Zhengyang Mountain?

Chapter 533: That Fellow Dares to Come to Zhengyang Mountain?

Chen Ping'an spent two days on the mountaintop, from morning till night, stumbling through his practice of walking the stakes.

At dawn on this day, a young man dressed as a green-robed Confucian scholar came riding the wind. After discovering the chasm on the plain, he suddenly halted in midair, and quickly spotted Chen Ping'an on the mountaintop. Qi Jinglong drifted down to the ground, travel-worn and weary. For a sword cultivator at the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul realm to appear so haggard, he must have been traveling in great haste.

However, from riding the wind to landing, Qi Jinglong remained completely silent and invisible. Only when he lightly shook his robe, causing the talismanic spiritual light to dissipate, did he reveal his form.

Chen Ping'an smiled faintly. The string that had been taut in his heart quietly loosened a bit. As long as Qi Jinglong had shown up, it was fine to slack off.

Earlier, before parting at Dragon Head Ferry, Chen Ping'an had taken the sword case flying sword given to him by Zhu Quan of the Pima Sect, which contained two message-bearing flying swords, and given one of them to Qi Jinglong for them to keep in touch. But Chen Ping'an never imagined he would need to use it so soon. Who knew why that group of Gulu Mountain assassins would be willing to smash even their own golden reputation just to target an outsider like him?

The two had simply exchanged a message-bearing flying sword. Qi Jinglong's reply was very simple, almost absurdly concise: "Wait a moment. Don't die."

Now Qi Jinglong looked around, carefully examining the surroundings, and asked, "What happened? Two groups of people?"

Chen Ping'an sat on the bamboo chest, took out the Sword-Nurturing Gourd, and shook it.

Qi Jinglong's head throbbed, and he quickly said, "Spare me."

Chen Ping'an was now wearing the "picked up by the roadside" Hundred-Eyed Taotie Dharma Robe. He took a gulp of wine and said, "One of them was an old senior. I’d rather not say his name. Do you remember that story I told you about the 'Ants Moving Mountains' in southeastern North Ju Luzhou?"

Qi Jinglong nodded. Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "This senior is the one who wrote the fist manual I study. After finding me, he rewarded me with three punches. I didn’t die, and he also helped me take care of six Gulu Mountain assassins."

Qi Jinglong asked, "It’s him?" Chen Ping'an blinked and said nothing. So that was the case. Qi Jinglong didn’t ask further.

The second group of Gulu Mountain assassins hadn't left many traces around the mountaintop, but they had clearly been willing to break the rules to act. This meant the other side already regarded Chen Ping'an as a Nascent Soul cultivator, or even a formidable Nascent Soul. Only then could they ensure no accidents and leave no traces. As for a pure martial artist who, after Chen Ping'an had suffered such heavy injuries from three punches, could casually kill six Gulu Mountain cultivators single-handedly, he had to be at least a Mountain Peak realm martial artist.

Even counting from Wuling Kingdom, traveling upstream from Green Oriole Kingdom all the way to this Lotus Kingdom, there wasn't a single Ninth Realm martial artist. In the capital of Great Seal Kingdom, there was indeed a female grandmaster, but unfortunately she had to confront and fight the evil flood dragon of the Jade Seal River. Connecting this with what Chen Ping'an said about the ants, and some earlier rumors in southeastern North Ju Luzhou, it naturally became clear.

Easy to guess—it had to be Gu You. Gu You, the Apex Realm martial artist, had never formally taken a disciple in his life. Even the female grandmaster in the capital of Great Seal Kingdom was only considered half a disciple. Gu You was extremely peculiar when it came to teaching fist techniques.

There were various theories. The only somewhat reliable one was a rumor that Gu You had once said himself: "My fist techniques anyone can learn, but no one can master."

Qi Jinglong thought for a moment. "You'll be relatively safe for the near future. Since that senior threw those punches, it's almost impossible that any information has leaked out. This means Gulu Mountain is still waiting for results, so they won't be able to dispatch another group of assassins to target you. You can continue your distant travels. I'll go find the founding patriarch of Gulu Mountain and try to clean up this mess. But let me be clear: I'm fairly confident I can get Gulu Mountain to stop. However, the mastermind who paid them to break the rules and target you—you'll need to be careful on your own regarding that."

Chen Ping'an crossed his arms and said, "When it comes to traveling the jianghu, I have more experience than you."

Qi Jinglong asked, "How many more days do you plan to stay here?"

Chen Ping'an said directly, "I need three more days. I'll wait until my physique has recovered a bit before continuing my journey."

Qi Jinglong took a single stride, arriving at the foot of the mountain. Then he began drawing talismans along the base, one hand behind his back, the other pointing. Each time he completed a talisman, he would glide more than a hundred feet, smooth and flowing without any hesitation.

Don't forget, Qi Jinglong's skill in talismans was such that even Yang Ningzhen of the Cloud Palace couldn't catch up. You needed to know that the Cloud Palace of the Office of Mystic Worship was one of the ancestral halls of the Talisman Sect in North Ju Luzhou.

After about the time it takes a stick of incense to burn, Qi Jinglong returned to the mountaintop. "It can withstand three attacks from an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, provided they are not a sword cultivator and don't have a half-immortal weapon."

Chen Ping'an gave a thumbs up. "You just saw me draw a wall of Snow Mud Talismans, and you've already mastered seventy to eighty percent of the technique. No wonder you're the land dragon of North Ju Luzhou, so accomplished at such a young age!"

Qi Jinglong couldn't be bothered to reply and prepared to leave. The earlier he left, the sooner he could find the person in charge at Gulu Mountain, and this fellow would be safer. As for finding the people of Gulu Mountain, of course they would be reasoned with.

But now Qi Jinglong glanced at Chen Ping'an. The skin outside his dharma robe was mostly torn and mangled, with a few places where white bone was exposed. Frowning, he asked, "Don't you ever feel pain, you bastard?"

Chen Ping'an chuckled. "Us martial artists, a few minor injuries..."

Qi Jinglong suddenly appeared beside Chen Ping'an and grabbed his shoulder. Chen Ping'an's face contorted in pain. He shrugged his shoulder down, dodging Qi Jinglong. "What are you doing!"

Only then did Qi Jinglong smile. "Good, you're still human after all."

Qi Jinglong looked around, raised his hand and grabbed. Several beams of golden light flew into his sleeve—they should be his unique talismans, used to check if there were any hidden killing intent in the vicinity.

Chen Ping'an asked with a smile, "You really won't have a drink before leaving?"

Qi Jinglong laughed angrily. "Drink, drink, drink. You get beaten so much you lose a few pounds of blood, and you think drinking can make up for it? Is this how you pure martial artists show your boldness?"

Chen Ping'an said seriously, "To be honest, after taking that senior's three punches, my realm has skyrocketed. This is what they mean by 'look at someone with new eyes after three days' separation.' If you don't hurry up and break through your realm, Qi Jinglong, you won't have the face to see me later."

Qi Jinglong asked, "Are you at the Golden Body realm or the Distant Traveling realm now?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Talking with you is really boring."

Without another word, Qi Jinglong directly rode the wind and departed into the distance. His form was ethereal like smoke, then instantly vanished. This was definitely due to his superior talismans.

Coming in haste and leaving in haste—nothing surpassed this. Chen Ping'an felt no guilt, nor did he need to offer thanks. The reason was simple: in the future, if Qi Jinglong called on Chen Ping'an for help, he would do the same.

But Chen Ping'an still hoped that such an opportunity wouldn't come. Even if it did, he hoped it would come later—after his swordsmanship was higher, his strikes faster, and of course his fists harder. The later, the better.

Because the two words that could withstand the most scrutiny in the world were his name: Ping'an.

After Qi Jinglong had gone far away, Chen Ping'an had nothing to do. When it came to recuperation, especially healing the physical body, one couldn't rush.

Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment, but since no one was around, he began to invert himself, supporting the ground with his head, trying to merge the Heaven and Earth Stakes with the other three stakes. He pointed his head at the ground, "walking slowly." After half an incense stick's time, Chen Ping'an slapped the ground with his palm, spun gracefully, and stood up again. He patted the dirt and dust off his head, feeling it wasn't good.

Then Chen Ping'an saw Qi Jinglong standing by the bamboo chest, having come back. Chen Ping'an said, "You're like a ghost, scaring people in broad daylight?"

Qi Jinglong asked curiously, "What are you doing?" Chen Ping'an kept patting his head and said solemnly, "Practicing walking the stakes. It's a special secret technique. Do you want to learn? For most people, I wouldn't teach them even if they asked."

Qi Jinglong shook his sleeves and placed two jugs of immortal wine, bought from the Skeleton Beach, on the bamboo chest. "Then continue." Qi Jinglong once again transformed into a rainbow and ascended, and his figure again abruptly vanished without a trace.

Chen Ping'an sat on the bamboo chest, picked up one jug of wine—it was genuine immortal wine, not the glutinous rice wine from the marketplace. This guy seemed a bit more generous than himself.

---

Zhengyang Mountain held a grand feast to celebrate Tao Zi, the legitimate granddaughter of the Tao family ancestor (one of the mountain's sword immortals), for advancing to the Grotto Realm.

The Grotto Realm was a major threshold. Advancing to the Grotto Realm meant becoming a deity of the middle five realms.

In addition to the many mountain-visiting gifts from various forces coming to congratulate, Zhengyang Mountain itself naturally gave even heavier gifts. They directly gave the girl a mountain peak moved from another place as Tao Zi's private garden. It wasn't considered establishing a new peak, since the girl was not yet at the Golden Core realm. But besides the mountain she had at birth, later when Su Jia left Zhengyang Mountain, Su Jia's peak was allocated to Tao Zi. Now the girl held three feng shui treasures rich in spiritual energy in her hands. This was a generous dowry. If anyone could become her dao companion on the mountain in the future, it would be the greatest blessing cultivated from a previous life.

And that mountain peak given as a gift by Zhengyang Mountain's Patriarch Hall was an old mountain from a small kingdom!

There was a small kingdom that stubbornly resisted and was completely overwhelmed by the Great Li iron cavalry. The golden body of the mountain's proper god was destroyed in the war, and the mountain became completely masterless. Zhengyang Mountain then used the battle merits of their mountain cultivators to trade with the Great Li court, buying this small kingdom's northern mountain peak. They then gave it to that Zhengyang Mountain guardian old ape. Using his innate ability, he severed the mountain's root, carried the massive peak on his back. Since this northern mountain of the small kingdom wasn't too towering, the mountain-moving ape only needed to reveal an incomplete true form, a height of just over ten zhang. He carried the mountain like a strong young man carrying a boulder, then boarded their own ferry boat, brought it back to Zhengyang Mountain, planted it down, and could then connect the mountain and water.

Tao Zi had been the apple of the old sword immortals' eyes since childhood at Zhengyang Mountain. Besides her noble status, her excellent natural talent was also key. She was a rarity in five hundred years at Zhengyang Mountain. While her talent was good, her root bones, aptitude, temperament, and opportunities were all well-balanced. This meant Tao Zi's advancement speed wouldn't be too fast, but bottlenecks would be small. Advancing to Golden Core was beyond doubt, and the chance of becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator high in the clouds in the future was extremely high.

For immortal caves dedicated to establishing sects, a stunning genius like Wei Jin of the Wind and Snow Temple was of course envied by everyone. But a cultivation seedling like Tao Zi was also important. In some ways, a Nascent Soul cultivator who unhurriedly reaches the peak was actually more reliable than those prodigies who became famous young. Because the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be broken by the wind.

But among the gifts, one was the most eye-catching. Even though the giver didn't show up, the entire Zhengyang Mountain, except for Tao family ancestor's peak, felt honored. That gift came from the princely mansion of Old Dragon City, and the giver was none other than Song Mu, the king of equal status with the Great Li Song clan.

Before this, there were some rumors that Tao Zi had visited Lizhu Cave Heaven when she was young, and had met Prince Song Mu, whose identity had not yet been revealed, at that time.

On the new mountain peak, the northern mountain shrine was dilapidated and would require significant manpower, materials, and money to repair.

The banquet gradually dispersed. A graceful young girl stood outside the shrine gate. Hanging from her waist was a shiny, crystal clear emerald green little gourd. It was a small gift given to her by her "Firewood-Carrying Brother" back then. In fact, at the time, no one realized that this emerald gourd was actually a priceless, excellent magical treasure. It was only when Tao family ancestor personally found an expert to appraise it that its rarity was confirmed.

The young girl Tao Zi stood next to the burly old ape, the Zhengyang Mountain guardian. Tao Zi withdrew her gaze from the magnificent shrine and turned to ask with a smile, "White Ape Grandpa, is Sister Su really unable to return to Zhengyang Mountain?"

The old ape shook his head. "She's already useless. Staying at Zhengyang Mountain would only invite ridicule."

Tao Zi complained, "That young garden master of Wind Thunder Garden is really something. He doesn't go into seclusion earlier, doesn't go later, but chooses this critical moment to hide away. What a sly fox."

The old ape grinned. "With Li Tuanjing dead, Wind Thunder Garden has mostly collapsed. Even if the new garden master Huang He's talent is good, a single tree cannot make a forest. As for that Liu Baqiao, that coward trapped by love, don't let his current glory and not-slow breakthrough fool you. In fact, the later it gets, the more dim his path becomes. When Huang He comes out of seclusion, that will be the time for Zhengyang Mountain to openly challenge them with swords. That day will be the day Wind Thunder Garden is struck from the register."

The old ape looked towards the ancestral vein main mountain where the Patriarch Hall was located, Zhengyang Mountain. The old ape laughed, "Our Zhengyang Mountain is different. Every path of swordsmanship reaches the peak. Once we gather more momentum among mortals, we can not only rise to become a sect-level immortal clan in one go, but there might even be more than one upper fifth realm sword immortal! At that time, sword cultivators of the entire continent will worship us. The strong have strong fate. For the next hundred or even thousand years, Zhengyang Mountain will only become more prosperous. Compared to the decaying Wind and Snow Temple and True Martial Mountain, our path is definitely higher."

Tao Zi sighed. "White Ape Grandpa, I'm not very interested in what you're saying."

The old ape suddenly said, "The Xu clan of Qingfeng City has arrived."

Tao Zi rolled her eyes. "That annoying pest."

The old ape chuckled.

The clan head of Qingfeng City Xu, after obtaining that Wart Armor, thoroughly purged the branch forces within the Xu family, quickly cleaning up internal dangers. Apart from moving out of that Vermillion Sand Mountain back then, which left a poor impression with the Great Li court, there were no other bad moves. Later, the Qingfeng City Xu married their legitimate daughter to a concubine-born son of the Yuan clan, mending the fold after the sheep was lost, and latched onto a powerful Pillar State surname. Now they were considered a mid-level force supporting the dragon vein on the mountain, but still slightly inferior to Zhengyang Mountain. In recent years, that scheming fox-like wife of Qingfeng City had been dropping hints, hoping her legitimate son could become a divine dao companion with Tao Zi. But Tao family ancestor had yet to agree. In fact, if the Tao family and Qingfeng City formed a marriage alliance, it would be a beneficial matter for the entire Zhengyang Mountain, allowing both families to add splendor to each other.

A dignified palace-dressed woman and a handsome youth in a bright red robe came riding the wind together.

Tao Zi smiled brightly and bowed. "Greetings, Madam." The youth bowed to the mountain-moving old ape. "Greetings, Ape Grandpa."

The old ape just nodded, which served as his reply to the youth. The woman gently reached out and took the girl's hand, her expression affectionate, smiling. "It's only been a few years since I last saw you, and my girl Tao has grown so lovely."

After an exchange of pleasantries, the woman and the old ape tacitly allowed the young pair to be alone.

The two elders walked towards the old mountain shrine.

Outside the shrine, Tao Zi glared and extended her hand. "Annoying pest, where's your gift?"

The handsome youth in bright red robe extended his hand into a fist, then suddenly opened it—empty. He lightly patted the girl's palm. "Keep it well."

Tao Zi frowned. The youth raised his hands, grinning cheekily. "Don't rush. Our Qingfeng City's fox kingdom will have a surprise soon. I can only wait. I'll make up the gift later."

Tao Zi snorted coldly.

The two walked on the white jade square at the peak of this other kingdom's old mountain, strolling slowly along the railing. The scenery of Zhengyang Mountain's peaks was a famous scenic beauty in Bottle Gourd Continent.

The youth glanced at the emerald gourd at Tao Zi's waist. "Why hasn't your 'Firewood-Carrying Brother' come to congratulate you?"

Tao Zi sneered. "Do you think he's as idle as you? He's now a feudatory prince of Great Li, lord of half a continent's territory."

The youth smiled. "Don't say things like that carelessly."

Tao Zi laughed scornfully. "The consequences of me saying such things here carelessly versus the consequences of you hearing them and spreading them carelessly—which is greater?"

The youth was helpless. This arrogant girl spoke the truth.

He leaned on the railing. "Ma Kuxuan is really formidable. That Sea Tide Iron Cavalry is completely gone now. I heard that the woman who angered Ma Kuxuan back then knelt and kowtowed for mercy along with her grandfather, but it didn't make Ma Kuxuan change his mind."

Tao Zi said "Oh," "Is that the one from Xinghua Lane in Lizhu Cave Heaven? After going to True Martial Mountain, his breakthroughs have been like crazy. People like that, just don't bother with them."

The youth was silent for a moment, his face dark. Because he thought of someone he had disliked from the first moment he saw him back then. But what made him feel slightly better was that his dislike for that mud-legged bastard was just a personal grudge, while the grudge between the girl and the entire Zhengyang Mountain and that guy was an eternal knot that not even immortals could untie, an undeniable mortal enemy. What was even more interesting was that no one knew how, but that guy had a new trick every few years. A cripple whose Longevity Bridge was broken actually turned to martial arts, loved to travel abroad, was always away from home instead of enjoying himself. Now not only did he have a family business, it was even huge—so many peaks including Luopo Mountain, among which their own Vermillion Sand Mountain was used as a wedding garment for this person, giving away an established mountain mansion for free. Thinking of this, his mood became very bad again.

Unfortunately, in Longquan Prefecture, news was tightly sealed, and with Saint Ruan Qiong stationed there, the Qingfeng City Xu clan dared not investigate rashly. Many fragmented secrets wrapped in clouds and fog were only transmitted bit by bit back to her maiden home through the Yuan family she married into—not very useful.

As long as that person didn't die, he was a thorn in the heart of the future city lord of Qingfeng City. And of course, a thorn in the eye for Zhengyang Mountain, very irritating.

Believed that what worried Zhengyang Mountain most was not the young man's personal background, but the fear that the bastard would actually attach himself to the Longquan Sword Sect, especially if he really developed an unclear relationship with that green-clad, ponytailed woman—it would cause a lot of trouble. After all, she was Ruan Qiong's only daughter.

Longquan Prefecture was a forbidden zone tacitly acknowledged by both the Great Li court and the mountain world; no one dared to investigate it on their own. Because Saint Ruan Qiong was Great Li's undisputed chief offering. Two generations of Great Li Song emperors sincerely regarded this sword-forger from Wind and Snow Temple as an honored guest.

The youth looked back. Inside the old mountain shrine site. The woman and the old ape had talked about some of Bottle Gourd Continent's situation, then turned to the main topic. She said softly, "That Liu Xianyang, once he returns to the Longquan Sword Sect from the Pure Confucian Chen clan, will be a huge trouble."

The old ape sneered. "Compared to our Zhengyang Mountain, this little future trouble for your Xu family is nothing."

The woman's brows were furrowed with worry. "Cultivating on the mountain, twenty or thirty years is but a snap of the fingers. Both our Qingfeng City and your Zhengyang Mountain aim for sect level. Without long-term concerns, there will be immediate worries. Especially that Chen fellow—he must die."

The old ape said calmly, "Just don't give me an opportunity. Otherwise, one punch and the world will be clear and bright."

The woman said angrily, "Is it that simple?!"

The old ape retorted, "If I don't go looking for trouble with him, that kid should be burning high incense to thank his stars. Could it be that he dares to come to Zhengyang Mountain to seek revenge?"

The woman sighed mournfully. She actually understood: even if Liu Xianyang entered Longquan Sword Sect and became Ruan Qiong's direct disciple, he still couldn't stir up too many waves. As for that mud-legged bumpkin from Mud Vase Alley, even if he had now accumulated a considerable family fortune of unknown depth, facing Zhengyang Mountain, whose backing was the Great Li court, he would still be an ant trying to shake a tree. Even leaving aside Great Li and not mentioning those sword-cultivator ancestors of Zhengyang Mountain, just this mountain-moving ape beside her—how could a Luopo Mountain and a young martial artist stand against that?

But for some reason, the woman had been feeling uneasy these past years.

The old ape twitched the corner of his mouth, his face full of sarcasm. "Madam, what do you think of Wei Jin, the sword immortal of Wind and Snow Temple?"

Although the woman didn't know why this old beast was asking, she still answered, "He is the number one genius of the continent after Li Tuanjing and before Ma Kuxuan."

The old ape said, "Then if Wei Jin were to challenge our Zhengyang Mountain with a sword, would he dare? Could he make Zhengyang Mountain bow its head with one sword stroke?"

The woman smiled. "He would naturally dare, but he also could not."

The old ape finally said, "A bastard born in Mud Vase Alley, an ant whose Longevity Bridge was broken—even if I lent him the courage, would he dare to come