Chapter 547: Some Ways of Practicing Fist Techniques Are Different

Chapter 547: Some Ways of Practicing Fist Techniques Are Different

Chen Ping'an, reeking of alcohol, returned to his residence in Cloud Platform City.

The walls of the house were painted with a ring of Snow Mud Talismans. These could keep out petty thieves but not ascendant immortals, though having them was better than nothing.

Entering the courtyard, Chen Ping'an gently shook his blue gown, dispersing the smell of alcohol. He walked into the place where the venerable Xu Gongfeng had long cultivated the Dao and sat down on a meditation cushion that could gather the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. Chen Ping'an had already hung the couplet on the wall behind him. The originally empty room, with this couplet, now had a bit of a scholarly study feel to it. Chen Ping'an planned that when he returned to Fallen Mountain, this couplet would be hung on the first floor of the bamboo building. He absolutely would not sell it; he would keep it as a family heirloom, just like the cursive calligraphy copybook written by the county lieutenant when he was drunk.

Chen Ping'an took out that cinnabar-red Daoist jujube wood token. He had to refine it successfully as soon as possible; otherwise, any Qi refiner who got their hands on it could casually open the door and enter. Just doing a minor refinement into void and storing it in the Qi prefecture was not very meaningful.

In the world of refining objects, minor refinement into void was like the immortal money in one's hand—it inevitably came and went. Medium refinement, however, was like building an ancestral hall on a mountain peak, truly taking root in the Qi prefecture. And major refinement was a practitioner's lifebound object.

Before refining the Inch-Long Item, Chen Ping'an took out three other treasures to feast his eyes on, which could nourish his heart.

Back then, inside that Water Hall, Chen Ping'an had used talismans to make three deals with Old Man Sun.

A wood-carved statue of a Primordial Lord, lifelike, with the beauty of wind rustling and water flowing.

A round fan. The most interesting thing was that the fan itself was embroidered with a picture of a gentlewoman from a boudoir holding a round fan, a gracefully standing lady amusing a yellow bird on a branch in the painting.

A pair of Dragon King Creels, inscribed with "Struggling with Flood Dragons" and "Hidden Coiling."

Chen Ping'an planned to give the wood-carved statue to Li Huai.

As for the round fan, he would give it to the little girl in the pink dress. On Fallen Mountain, the busiest person every day was not the big steward Zhu Lian, nor the diligently fist-practicing Cen Yuanji, and certainly not Zheng Dafeng who sunbathed and moonbathed all day. It could only be the little girl Chen Ruchu. Chen Ping'an even believed that as long as Fallen Mountain existed for a day, Chen Ruchu would keep busy like this, carrying a bucket, holding a cloth, with a string of keys jingling at her waist. Unshakable every day, she would greet Cui Cheng in the bamboo building, hand a handful of melon seeds to Pei Qian, water the flowers and trees with a ladle, wipe the bamboo building clean, and regularly go to the small town or the prefectural city to purchase items needed on the mountain.

In Chen Ping'an's view, how was this not a big deal?

It was very big.

Anyone who wasn't blind should see it and take it to heart.

Not to mention other practitioners outside of Fallen Mountain in Dragon Spring Prefecture, even on their own Fallen Mountain, who dared to bully the little girl in the pink dress? Just try it.

This wasn't Chen Ping'an being partial; it was that in Chen Ping'an's eyes, the little girl in the pink dress was the one who made the least mistakes. No one could compare to her, and Chen Ping'an was no exception.

Hence, he talked about heaven, earth, and the human heart with Old Man Sun.

And listened to the loose cultivator Gold Mountain talk about trivial matters.

Chen Ping'an found both very satisfying; they were two kinds of comfort.

Chen Ping'an grabbed one small bamboo creel, and the other attached creel swayed lightly with it.

At the moment, what was swinging back and forth in his hand were two veritable mountains of gold and silver.

Chen Ping'an was actually a bit uncertain about how to settle these Dragon King Creels. First, the pair was severely damaged; repairing them would definitely require a huge sum of immortal money. Second, although the Dragon King Creels had great uses—able to catch dragon-type creatures in the world and possessing innate suppression methods—they also had many specific requirements. Unlike some attack treasures that could be used directly, the Dragon King Creels might very well be lost forever if not used with a unique immortal technique.

After thinking it over, Chen Ping'an decided to take things one step at a time.

Since he now had an extra Inch-Long Item without having to pay extra, he definitely needed to acquire two of the flying sword replicas of sword immortal lifebound objects forged by Sword-Hating Mountain.

If the price was cheaper than expected, three would also be fine.

When he arrived at Dragon Palace Cave Heaven, he would first determine the price of the Dragon King Creels and then see if there was any overly generous fool.

For such a once-in-a-century item, why talk to me about repair costs?

But it was better not to sell the Dragon King Creels if possible.

After all, every time it came to gifts, always trying to fool his eldest disciple with quantity over quality wasn't really the right way to go.

Chen Ping'an began to calm his mind and concentrate, refining that token, the Inch-Long Item.

This matter couldn't be rushed, nor could it be accomplished overnight.

After two hours, Chen Ping'an stopped at a certain refinement juncture, put on a Dharma robe, and turned to refine the spiritual qi imbued in the robe.

His mind sank into stillness.

Unknowingly, it reached midnight. Chen Ping'an opened his eyes, heavily exhaled a mouthful of turbid qi, and waved it away with his hand.

According to Cui Dongshan's mysterious explanation, in the small heaven and earth of the human body, all mortal beings had changed many lives. The cultivation of Qi refiners required an utmost emphasis on removing the dross and keeping the essence, using heaven and earth's spiritual qi to temper bones, open up Qi prefectures, and forge the soul—all were fine work.

Hence, for cultivators of the Dao, the person was no longer a person.

Not entirely a scary statement.

Chen Ping'an turned to use his mind to tour his Qi prefecture.

The Water Mansion still had no door closed. The stream containing water-transport spiritual qi flowed murmuringly. This was just the scene after Chen Ping'an had drunk up the water droplets condensed on the tips of green bamboo leaves. He had yet to absorb the more pure and rich water transport from the green bricks. The green-clad lads were increasingly busy. The meticulously painted river landscape mural in the Water Mansion was being painted with more and more brilliant colors by the green-clad lads.

The small pond under the suspended Water Character Seal seemed to have its well-mouth expanded a bit, and the water was deeper.

Chen Ping'an was hesitating whether to perform medium refinement on those Daoist temple green bricks and then pave them on the ground of the Water Mansion.

Even without the wispy water transport, the material of the green bricks themselves was very valuable.

Chen Ping'an had initially planned to take them back to Fallen Mountain. The thirty-six green bricks, drained of their water transport, could just pave six small paths for practicing the six-step standing stake of the Mountain-Toppling Fist.

For himself, Pei Qian, Zhu Lian, Zheng Dafeng, Cen Yuanji.

And of course, Lu Baixiang, who was very compatible with him.

Wei Xian could be left out.

Sui Youbian could also be left out; she had already gone to the Jade Gui Sect in Parasol Leaf Continent, switching from a pure martial artist to practicing cultivation, hoping to become a female sword immortal who would ascend flying in the Haoran Heaven.

But if the green bricks could add luster to the Water Mansion, then the six bricks belonging to Chen Ping'an could all undergo medium refinement.

With the Water Character Seal suspended above, green bricks paved below, and murals on the walls.

Chen Ping'an felt that with this, his Water Mansion could be considered as having no small atmosphere.

He would keep those one hundred and twenty-two pieces of emerald green glazed tiles for now; their origins were unclear.

Huan Yun hadn't dared to jump to conclusions either, only confirming that they were certainly priceless. If they were of the same origin as that Glazed Pavilion in Middle-Earth White Emperor City, it would be even more frightening.

It was said that the most precious items in that Glazed Pavilion, besides the twelve glazed pillar beams, were the glazed tiles on the roof ridge.

Chen Ping'an withdrew his mind, got up and left the room, and practiced the six-step standing stake in the courtyard.

Unexpectedly, another guest came hurrying in.

It was Wu Min, the Law-Cherishing Ancestor of Sparrow Palace, her face full of joy that couldn't be hidden.

Chen Ping'an took Wu Min to the pavilion atop the rockery. Wu Min had come to bring Chen Ping'an a top-grade Dharma robe from Sparrow Palace.

Wu Min said that after that caisson ceiling had been moved to Sparrow Palace by the Palace Lord, it fit perfectly with their mountain and water, and not only could it stabilize the landscape, but it could also gather luck from all directions. This was still without being refined; it was only temporarily placed in the ancestral hall, and it already had such mysterious signs. After refinement, it would be something else entirely—it was practically a foundation object that only a sect-level immortal ancestral hall could have. So in this deal with Cloud Platform City, she, Sun Qing, had profited too much and her conscience was uneasy. She had to send a Dharma robe as compensation. If Sword Immortal Chen didn't accept, that was fine—at least she, Sun Qing, had been polite. If Sword Immortal Chen was also polite, then she wouldn't be polite.

Chen Ping'an quickly said he wouldn't be polite, he wouldn't be polite. He took the beautiful Dharma robe of excellent quality from Wu Min and stored it in the Inch-Long Item token.

The only flaw was that the style of this Sparrow Palace Dharma robe was too feminine. Unlike the Snow Flower Dharma robe from the female ghost of Flesh-Greasy City, which Chen Ping'an could wear.

Wu Min didn't stay long, but she left several large jars of tea leaves, saying this was the last of Sparrow Palace's Small Dark Wall this year.

Wu Min finally said with a smile, "If Sword Immortal Chen wants to sell them, please sell them at a high price, or else it won't do justice to the reputation of Sparrow Palace's Small Dark Wall."

Chen Ping'an felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Please tell Palace Lord Sun that I will keep one jar of Small Dark Wall to give to someone."

Wu Min smiled knowingly, nodded, and flew away on the wind.

No sooner had Wu Min left than Shen Zhenze arrived.

Chen Ping'an had just sat down but had to get up again to welcome him.

The Cloud Platform City Lord laughed, "Wu Min couldn't be inviting Mr. Chen to be a mountain peak offering, could she? Can't go, can't go. So many female cultivators, too many flowers blinding the eyes, it would only delay Mr. Chen's cultivation."

Chen Ping'an shook his head, "Sparrow Palace has no such intention."

Shen Zhenze sat down and said, "Mr. Chen, since Sparrow Palace lacks such foresight, why not put your name on our rolls? Besides the annual offering immortal money, this residence, and the entire Shu Jade Street in Cloud Platform City—thirty-two large and small residences and shops—all will belong to Mr. Chen."

Chen Ping'an said, "It's not that I don't want to agree to the City Lord, it's that I simply cannot."

His journey to North Juque Continent was fraught with many worries.

The Haisu at Bone Burial Mound's Jingguan City, the person behind hiring the Ge Falls assassins, and the death of Huai Qian.

Chen Ping'an didn't want to involve more people. Being alone, traveling the world, with only fists, sword, and wine as companions, was much cleaner.

Shen Zhenze didn't press further.

Chen Ping'an smiled, "City Lord, although I can't agree to become a Cloud Platform City offering who collects rent while lying down, I appreciate your goodwill. When I think the time is right, I will take the initiative to ask Cloud Platform City for Shu Jade Street."

Shen Zhenze nodded, "Then it's settled."

Even if he, Shen Zhenze, couldn't live to see that day, it didn't matter—Cloud Platform City still had Xu Xingjiu.

Shen Zhenze was a very straightforward man.

He didn't linger long; he left as soon as he finished talking.

Chen Ping'an also took the opportunity to ask Cloud Platform City for some landscape gazettes, new or old didn't matter.

Shen Zhenze agreed, saying he would have Xu Xingjiu bring them over later.

Chen Ping'an then walked around the stone table in the pavilion, practicing the standing stake with his fists, half-asleep and half-awake, with fist intent flowing through his whole body.

After practicing fists for two hours, he went back to his room for a short nap, then sat back on the meditation cushion to refine spiritual qi.

Around noon, Chen Ping'an took out a spiritual artifact he had obtained from the burial-shrouded sect ferry boat. He placed it on the stone table in the pavilion—a celadon brush washer. It was connected to the mountain and water roots of Whetstone Mountain, so when Whetstone Mountain opened its restrictions, the scene would be like a mirror flower, water moon mountain scenery. As long as cultivators didn't leave North Juque Continent, they could clearly see the landscape scroll of Whetstone Mountain. If they looked from across continents, it would be very blurry.

Although Chen Ping'an had built the Water Mansion, he had no water methods to rely on, so he had to take out a piece of yellow paper material, a Great River Crossing Talisman, and gently crush it. Instantly, the brush washer filled with water, with clouds and mist swirling.

In the blink of an eye, above the brush washer, an extremely flat and huge green stone platform appeared. This was the most famous Whetstone Mountain in North Juque Continent, known to all practitioners more than any imperial mountain.

On the green stone platform, neither side had appeared yet.

The scene outside the platform was invisible, like the white mist of an immortal mansion ruin, with a clear boundary.

Chen Ping'an felt a bit regretful; he had wanted to see the viewing mountain peak bought by Qionglin Sect.

And this merchant sect, known as "Two Sleeves Clean of Qionglin Sect, Unrivaled Killing Power of Jade Pure Realm," was exactly one of the targets Chen Ping'an most wanted to deal with on this trip to North Juque Continent. Not because he admired that Jade Pure Realm sect leader, the "sword immortal who admits defeat in the upper five realms," but because this Qionglin Sect, rolling in wealth, was the largest buyer from other continents of the Destiny Porcelain from Li Zhu Cave Heaven back in the day—no exceptions.

Of course, Chen Ping'an wouldn't go knocking on Qionglin Sect's door.

He wasn't a peddler for nothing; he needed to make the other party come to him.

How both sides could meet reasonably, at what time and place, required Chen Ping'an to carefully proceed step by step, laying the groundwork cautiously, controlling the heat.

A sect-level mountain gate that could withstand the cold mockery of an entire continent's practitioners indicated that the other party was extremely forbearing. Forbearance, meanwhile, might mean they acted without any bottom line when doing things—truly formidable opponents.

Xu Xingjiu arrived with a large stack of landscape gazettes, visiting with a smile, "Mr. Chen is also watching Whetstone Mountain?"

Chen Ping'an took the gazettes and greeted him with a smile, "If you're not busy, sit and watch together."

Chen Ping'an took out two jars of immortal wine and handed one to Xu Xingjiu. They sat facing each other, slowly drinking.

At Whetstone Mountain, the battle between loose cultivator Huang Xi and martial aunt Xiu Niang, ranked fourth and fifth among the North Juque Continent's top ten young talents, was close.

In a recent landscape gazette, there were new speculations about the reason for their life-and-death battle. Some said it was love turned to hate, others said that Huang Xi, though young, had killed too many people and had accidentally killed a close relative of Xiu Niang.

Xu Xingjiu took out a Snowflake Coin and gently tossed it into the brush washer on the table. It vanished in an instant, turning into a wisp of spiritual qi, merging into the mountain and water luck of Whetstone Mountain millions of miles away. All spiritual artifacts that could carry the mirror flower, water moon had this "money-eating" ability.

Last time, it had been Qi Jinglong from the Taiwei Sword Sect and Huang Ting, the female Daoist from Peace Mountain, fighting in pairs. Both were Nascent Soul sword cultivators at a bottleneck. Their battle had actually had a considerable impact on Whetstone Mountain's mountain and water landscape. After the battle, Whetstone Mountain's spiritual qi had been severely depleted. If upper five realms cultivators fought, it would surely devour even more heaven and earth spiritual qi. Yet Whetstone Mountain remained so full of spiritual qi because countless observing cultivators were continuously tossing in immortal money.

Xu Xingjiu hesitated, then tentatively asked, "Mr. Chen, if I ever get the chance to go down the mountain on a far journey in the future, can I visit Mr. Liu at Taiwei Sword Sect?"

Xu Xingjiu blushed slightly, "I've always admired Mr. Liu."

Chen Ping'an smiled, "I can help you give a heads-up, but I can't guarantee that Liu Jinglong will definitely see you."

Xu Xingjiu's eyes lit up, and he quickly stood up and bowed in thanks.

Chen Ping'an said, "Remember one thing: when you go to Taiwei Sword Sect to visit Liu Jinglong in the future, be sure to bring several jars of good wine. When you actually meet him, you don't need to say much. Just clink glasses and drink first. Liu Jinglong loves to drink, but he usually can't let loose easily. Someone needs to take the lead. If he says he doesn't drink, don't believe him—it just means you, Xu Xingjiu, haven't drunk enough."

Xu Xingjiu sighed emotionally, "I see now! I understand! Mr. Liu is exactly as I, a junior, imagined him to be, a land-bound flood dragon! A sword immortal willing to be convinced by reason must be a man of true character!"

Chen Ping'an nodded vigorously, "Absolutely."

Chen Ping'an looked at Whetstone Mountain on the table and waved his sleeves. The green stone platform of Whetstone Mountain instantly expanded in all directions.

He and Xu Xingjiu were like "two majestic gods," personally arriving at Whetstone Mountain, standing on the stone platform.

But the more important the mountain and water, the greater the restrictions, and the quality of the spiritual artifact carrying the mirror flower, water moon also affected the viewing effect.

Chen Ping'an found that with this celadon brush washer, he could only see the figures of Huang Xi and Xiu Niang, tiny as grains of rice.

Chen Ping'an had once asked Qi Jinglong if a great sword immortal's sword qi could kill someone from thousands of miles away at Whetstone Mountain.

At the time, Qi Jinglong had smiled and shaken his head, saying that an immortal realm might have a chance, but a Jade Pure realm shouldn't hope for it. Because a sword cultivator's sword qi valued sword intent the most, and it would never be as pure as immortal money's spiritual qi, without any other meaning. That little bit of meaning would cause the fragile spiritual artifact carrying the mirror flower, water moon to shatter on the spot. However, Qi Jinglong also said that there were indeed some ancient divine abilities and heterodox techniques in history that used the bridge of mirror flower, water moon to harm certain mountain peaks that profited from it. But cultivators who used such methods had to be very careful to hide their identities; otherwise, they could easily become enemies of an entire continent. For example, it might arouse the curiosity of some immortal realm or even flying ascension realm grand cultivators.

About the time of an incense stick until noon.

Chen Ping'an suddenly noticed a tiny ripple splashing on the sky screen of Whetstone Mountain.

Then someone laughed aloud, "Where is that 'invincible under heaven' Jade Pure realm cultivator of Qionglin Sect?"

Soon, another ripple appeared on the Whetstone Mountain scroll, and someone answered, "This junior does not know what guidance the elder has."

The first speaker had obviously tossed another immortal coin and chuckled, "Regret that I gave birth to you back then."

That dignified Jade Pure realm cultivator, the head of a whole sect like Qionglin Sect, really had a good temper. Not only did he not curse back, but he tossed another Grain Rain Coin and said respectfully, "The elder is joking."

The two didn't speak further.

But suddenly someone said with a smile, "Sect Leader He, have you considered? If you don't speak, I'll take it as your agreement."

Xu Xingjiu said softly, "It must be Xu Xuan."

Chen Ping'an nodded.

The top disciple of Bai Chang, the greatest sword immortal in the north. The second person among the ten young talents, ranked ahead of Qi Jinglong.

A hoarse voice sounded, "Aiyo, am I going to drink the wedding wine of you, Xu Xuan, and He Xiaoliang? Such a match made in heaven, I must have this wedding wine."

A woman's voice, cold and clear, said, "I already have a Dao partner."

A single stone stirred up a thousand layers of waves.

"Congratulations, Sect Leader He."

"Dare I ask, Sect Leader He, who is this person you've formed a Dao partnership with?"

"Fairy He, my Dao heart is shattered. From now on, there will be one less lovesick person in this world."

In the end, Xu Xuan's words silenced all the clamor, "No matter. Once he dies, you'll have no immortal Dao partner."

He Xiaoliang sneered, "How about we make an appointment? Go to Whetstone Mountain for a round? As long as you dare to kill this person, I'll make sure Bai Chang's incense line is cut off."

Xu Xuan said no more.

Xu Xingjiu sighed regretfully, "I didn't expect Sect Leader He, such an immortal being, to already have a Dao partner. I wonder which man has such good fortune."

Chen Ping'an suddenly noticed that the sword immortal senior across from him didn't look too good.

Chen Ping'an lowered his head and took a sip of wine, his expression returning to normal.

Soon it would be noon.

A white rainbow pierced through the air and landed in the center of the green stone platform of Whetstone Mountain.

At the edge of Whetstone Mountain, a woman wearing a veiled hat walked onto the green stone platform. She had a long knife and a short sword hanging at her waist.

Chen Ping'an manipulated the misty scroll of Whetstone Mountain, trying to keep both combatants within the picture. Whether their faces could be seen clearly was utterly unimportant.

In fact, many Qi refiners who watched Whetstone Mountain through mirror flower, water moon might never see the specific moves from start to finish. They just watched the excitement. Many middle-five-realm cultivators would probably not even see the figures on the scroll a few times, at most seeing the brilliant colors of attacking treasures and immortal techniques blooming.

Hence, there had always been a rumor on North Juque Continent that without being a Golden Core earth immortal, one couldn't hope to see any of the tricks in those one-on-one fights at Whetstone Mountain.

As for the origins of this female martial master Xiu Niang, especially her martial arts background, no landscape gazette in North Juque Continent could clarify it.

Xu Xingjiu soon began to feel lucky that he had come here instead of staying with his master to watch the Whetstone Mountain battle. Usually, when watching Whetstone Mountain battles with his master, Shen Zhenze would also adjust the scroll angle and shrink or expand the scroll size, but they would still miss many key scenes. But as far as Xu Xingjiu could see, none of that matched the precision of this sword immortal senior in grasping the battle situation. The elusive Xiu Niang, her punches, and the loose cultivator Huang Xi's overwhelming spells and attacking treasures—though there were inevitably some omissions, Xu Xingjiu found that for the first time, watching a Whetstone Mountain battle was so "real," with one thing leading to another. He could at least see a general thread of the combat between the two sides.

Chen Ping'an watched intently, constantly switching the scroll.

That female martial artist, for now showing the strength of a true Far Traveling realm, punched extremely quickly and had a very tough physique.

And she hadn't even drawn her knife or sword.

If she was a Mountain Summit realm martial artist, he would just have to wait and see.

The appearance and age of a martial grandmaster, unlike those of mountain cultivators who practiced Dao, were not as hard to discern. But the higher the realm of a pure martial artist, the faster they ascended the mountain, and the less directly the two were connected.

Especially for female martial artists; it was presumably the same—they could also delay the aging of their appearance.

Huang Xi was an extremely young Nascent Soul realm cultivator, a few years younger than Qi Jinglong. Both the third and fourth on the list were under a hundred years old.

The mere existence of these cultivation prodigies was a kind of pressure. It really did make those Golden Core earth immortals, often two or three hundred years old, feel like a whole lot of their time had been snatched away by dogs.

Suddenly, the mountain and water scroll became blurry and unstable.

Chen Ping'an was stunned.

Xu Xingjiu quickly, as if by habit, tossed in a few Snowflake Coins, and the scroll became clear again.

Chen Ping'an then felt that this mirror flower, water moon business of the immortal mountain peaks was a venture that cost next to nothing and brought in huge profits. But if Fallen Mountain were to have this business in the future, how would they make money? Could they rely on Zhu Lian and Zheng Dafeng telling stories? Chen Ping'an would be worried that Fallen Mountain's reputation would be ruined. If his disciples went down the mountain for training in the future, maybe the women would be fine, but the men would be regarded with suspicion by everyone! As for other ways, Chen Ping'an really couldn't think of any. Drag Qi Jinglong to Fallen Mountain to be a school teacher and hold discussions once or twice? Zhu Lian the old cook cooking a big table of sumptuous dishes? Or have Pei Qian practice a set of Crazy Devil Sword Techniques? Let Wei Po play chess with someone?

Chen Ping'an set aside distractions and continued to watch the battle with full concentration.

For some reason, neither side seemed to be in a hurry to decide life or death.

Xu Xingjiu was already feeling a bit dizzy and took a sip of wine to calm his nerves.

Chen Ping'an remained as steady as a mountain, still manipulating the mirror flower, water moon scroll to pan and zoom.

This made Xu Xingjiu admire him even more.

Chen Ping'an asked, "What was the longest-lasting battle at Whetstone Mountain?"

Xu Xingjiu said, "The longest battle in history was between a Jade Pure realm sword immortal and an immortal realm cultivator. One attacked with all his might, the other defended desperately. They were evenly matched, and it lasted over a month."

Chen Ping'an reached out a finger and rubbed his brow. If he watched the battle to the end, how many Snowflake Coins would he have to spend?

Xu Xingjiu added, "There was also a battle between two sword immortals in history that only took half an hour. They directly drained Whetstone Mountain's spiritual qi. No matter how frantically the observing cultivators tossed in immortal money, it was like trying to fill a tea cup with a bucket of water. So for that earth-shattering battle, only the mountain peak mansion near Whetstone Mountain could see some of it. But it was said that the sword qi overflowed from Whetstone Mountain so violently that Qionglin Sect had to activate their mountain and water grand formation to protect their peak from being affected. They used up over a hundred Grain Rain Coins in one go and borrowed two hundred more from other cultivators, compensating them double afterward. From then on, Qionglin Sect kept three hundred Grain Rain Coins in reserve, unchanged year after year."

Xu Xingjiu's whole body suddenly trembled with spiritual energy, and he stood up, intending to take his leave.

Chen Ping'an smiled, "Good thing. When the grotto-heaven opens its door, ascend the tower to view the vast ocean."

Xu Xingjiu flew away on the wind. Cloud Platform City had already prepared a place for his breakthrough.

These days, he had been on the verge of breaking through, just waiting for a subtle opportunity.

After Xu Xingjiu left, his master Shen Zhenze would naturally help protect him during the breakthrough.

It could be as short as three to five days or as long as two to three years; no one could say for sure. Breaking through quickly wasn't necessarily better, nor was breaking through slowly necessarily more stable. It all depended on one's opportunity.

A hundred bones and acupoints, wind rustling. Deep in the water, see the true face.

Unfortunately, Chen Ping'an had yet to experience this sight.

His path as a third-realm Qi refiner had taken many detours and had some small bumps.

Chen Ping'an continued to watch the battle.

On Whetstone Mountain, both combatants were full of killing intent.

But they were still probing each other, clearly looking for a one-strike-kill opportunity.

Chen Ping'an himself had already tossed a few Snowflake Coins.

He drank a few mouthfuls of wine. It was always the case that one picks snacks from a plate, not toss coins into it.

These two fighters were a bit unscrupulous.

An hour later.

Chen Ping'an sat cross-legged on a stone stool, propping his cheek with one hand. Beside him, a small mountain of Snowflake Coins had formed.

Judging by their stances, they could fight for a long time.

After another hour, the peak of Chen Ping'an's coin mountain had been flattened.

A high cultivator tossed a Grain Rain Coin and shouted with a laugh, "You two dogs and bitches! If you really want to love and kill each other, why drag other people's immortal money into it! Huang Xi, since you're a sword cultivator, if you don't die at Whetstone Mountain, sooner or later you'll take one of my swords!"

So the loose cultivator Huang Xi was actually a sword cultivator in disguise.

And the martial artist Xiu Niang also surprised everyone by being proficient in many immortal techniques.

Although it seemed they were sharpening each other's Dao skills, their fighting was full of lethal intent. Chen Ping'an was somewhat curious about what kind of enmity and love had driven them to place their life-and-death battle in the public eye of Whetstone Mountain.

At a certain moment during the incense stick time, Chen Ping'an stood up and suddenly crushed a large handful of Snowflake Coins directly into spiritual qi, struggling to maintain the mountain and water scroll formed by the celadon brush washer.

That female martial artist seemed to have sacrificed a very high-grade mountain heavy treasure, like a great sun's light, covering the entire Whetstone Mountain. Even just looking at the mountain and water scroll, Chen Ping'an found it somewhat dazzling.

It stirred up the mountain and water luck of Whetstone Mountain like muddy water, making it impossible for viewers to see clearly.

Chen Ping'an could only faintly see a slender black line cutting through the brilliant light that covered heaven and earth.

A moment later.

On the green stone platform of Whetstone Mountain.

Huang Xi, half of his flesh melted away, reduced to little more than half a skeleton, surprisingly wasn't dead. On the other side, the formidable female martial artist Xiu Niang had vanished without a trace. Whether her physical body and soul had been utterly destroyed, or she had successfully fled in the narrow gap between life and death, was unknown.

Huang Xi staggered, took a few steps, then rose on the wind and left Whetstone Mountain.

Chen Ping'an sighed with emotion. As long as the disparity in realms wasn't too great in battle, thousands of techniques and methods ultimately couldn't withstand a single sword strike.

One sword breaks ten thousand techniques.

Chen Ping'an put away the celadon brush washer and the pile of Snowflake Coins.

Watching this battle had still yielded some gains.

The female martial artist Xiu Niang's fist techniques and the root of her fist intent were very interesting, seemingly an extreme opposite to Gu Can's Mountain-Toppling Fist and Cui Cheng's fist techniques from the bamboo building.

In the pavilion, Chen Ping'an imitated a rough, form-like fist frame, using the way Xiu Niang had thrown her fists and palms, slowly walking the stake and punching.

After a moment, Chen Ping'an stopped and withdrew his fists, because he couldn't learn it at all—no fist intent came to him.

But the gain was never in the fist stances; Chen Ping'an had anticipated this. The real benefit was that Chen Ping'an's understanding of fist techniques in the world broadened, making him more aware in future fights.

Chen Ping'an began to close his eyes and rest, striving to remember more of her fist intent. Even if he could only use a few percent of its form, at least it would be a kind of disguise technique.

After opening his eyes, Chen Ping'an started to walk around, practicing more. Once he had a general idea, a sad matter suddenly came to mind.

Those golden talisman papers were running low.

Only ten sheets were left.

He had to be very careful with them.

The ancient talismans recorded in the "Authentic Calligraphy of the Dan Book"—now that Chen Ping'an was only a third-realm Qi refiner, he couldn't draw them except for basic ones like the Sun Qi Lighting Talisman.

In fact, Chen Ping'an could draw talismans more easily and of higher quality when doing so as a pure martial artist than as a Qi refiner.

Unfortunately, talismans drawn by a martial artist couldn't seal mountains or close gates; the spiritual light of the talisman guts faded too quickly.

Chen Ping'an took out the ten golden talisman papers from his dimension-reducing item, counted them over and over, but of course, none would appear out of nowhere.

He left the pavilion, went to the house and sat on the meditation cushion, took down the sword immortal from the wall and laid it across his knees, then took out the Sword-Nurturing Gourd and carefully guided that mass of shattered sword qi out of the gourd.

For a full ten days after that.

The young peddler who had been selling talismans at a stall outside Cloud Platform City was never seen again.

In the capital of Great Li, the young emperor was holding a small court session in the imperial study as usual.

Over twenty ministers, generals, and dukes were gathered together. The imperial study wasn't large, so it was a bit crowded with so many people.

The oldest was the Minister of Personnel, Old Master Guan. It seemed that the large court session had already consumed too much of the old man's energy. Now he was dozing in a chair, holding a small charcoal brazier wrapped in cotton cloth. This was a gift from the previous emperor, and the palace eunuchs would bring it for him during winter court sessions without the old master needing to remind them. It was for the centenarian minister.

At the moment, the old man was lightly snoring, but from the emperor to the other important ministers of Great Li, no one intended to remind him. Anyway, when the old minister felt a serious matter was being discussed, he would wake up on his own and say a few words.

A vigorous Vice Minister of Justice was currently reporting the aftermath of an important matter to the assembled officials.

That female cultivator who had used the alias Shi Qiu had been rescued and was now missing.

Previously, two groups of Zhu Ying Dynasty's offerings and death warriors, varying in cultivation level, were all cautious and experienced old spies without exception. They had successively traveled across continents to North Juque Continent, going to Dao-Offering Mountain to investigate the records of all ferry boat owners from back then. They hoped to find clues to expose the key evidence of Great Li Dynasty colluding with Dao-Offering Mountain to frame the sword cultivator of Zhu Ying.

In fact, one of the groups had succeeded. Instead of taking a cross-continental ferry back to Vase Spirit Continent, they took a detour by sea. But they were intercepted and killed by Great Li cultivators at sea.

The most troublesome was still that woman from Dao-Offering Mountain, whose real name was Qiu Shi.

During a mirror flower, water moon session, she had revealed a heavenly secret, saying that the Sword Urn gentleman of North Juque Continent was actually the one who had framed Zhu Ying Dynasty. She hoped someone could relay this to Heavenly Lord Xie Shi. She, Qiu Shi, was willing to die to prove the truth of this matter.

The mountain peak that had taken in Qiu Shi was now under lockdown by Great Li Qi refiners.

The Shang pillar of state from the Yuan family, a gaunt old man, stroked his hand and smiled, "What a fine 'pull one hair and the whole body moves.' I wonder what our National Master's Green Wave Pavilion is busy with."

The sturdy head of the Cao family leaned back in his chair and sneered, "Even if Green Wave Pavilion made a mistake, at least they do more real work than you, Yuan Yunshui, who only spits saliva in the court. Grand Pillar Yuan, you're the best at finding fault and cursing heaven and earth and your colleagues."

The head of the Yuan family smiled, "Cao Qiao, I am still the Shang pillar of state. As for whether you think you're a Grand Pillar, I'm not sure."

The Minister of Rites had been lost in thought.

As always.

The Minister of Justice, who also managed many mountain and water spirits and ghosts, would have been an unremarkable middle-aged man if not for his conspicuous official robe. He took the initiative to meddle in the two grand pillars' messy affairs, saying with a stern face, "Minister Cao, Minister Yuan, every word spoken in this small court session determines the fortunes and deaths of Great Li's subjects. Could you put aside your personal grudges for a moment?"

An elderly member of the Song clan, who now managed the Song imperial clan registry, chuckled, "Damn, I almost thought Great Li belonged to the Yuan or Cao family. Scared an old man named Song to death."

A general who, unlike Cao Ping and Su Gaoshan, hadn't led iron cavalry south, was short but extremely sturdy. Sitting on a chair, he looked somewhat comical, but his words carried no less weight. He said gravely, "With all this idle time, it would be better to just get rid of that troublesome female cultivator from Dao-Offering Mountain. If Green Wave Pavilion likes to waste time, let my army's accompanying cultivators do it. I guarantee they'll clean up the person who rescued her as well."

The young emperor wasn't sitting behind his desk. He had moved a chair closer to the ministers and hadn't spoken at all. He sat by the stove, bending over to warm his hands.

Beside him was an ordinary-looking boxwood chair that had been in this room for over a hundred years.

Several emperors of the Great Li Dynasty had been "watched grow up" by this chair.

The previous emperor had touched it as a child but never sat in it. As the new emperor, he too had only touched it as a child but never sat in it.

That dragon throne had changed several emperors, but this chair, rarely sat in, had never changed its occupant.

In the hallway outside the imperial study, an old eunuch said softly, "The National Master has arrived."

All the important ministers of Great Li who were eligible to attend this small court session rose to their feet. Even Old Master Guan shifted his buttocks, supporting himself on the armrests of his chair, apparently awake, and then stood up to welcome that Embroidery Tiger.

The young emperor didn't rise to greet him, but he did straighten his back.

An old Confucian scholar stepped over the threshold and bowed to the emperor. There was no hint of arrogance in his demeanor.

Emperor Song He smiled and nodded.

Cui Chan sat down in a chair, turned his head to look at the Minister of Personnel, Old Master Guan, who was still supporting himself on the armrests, and said with a smile, "Secretary Guan, are you trying to stand or sit?"

Old Master Guan said with a grin, "Forgive me, National Master. At this old age, the only thing I can do is squat in the latrine without producing anything—just take small advantages. Everything else is difficult."

Cui Chan waved his hand, "Let's talk business."

As soon as the National Master arrived, the atmosphere in the entire imperial study became solemn.

Everyone involuntarily became fully alert.

Cui Chan said, "Today, I intend to discuss with you all the current situation and trends of three places: Zhu Ying Dynasty, Book-Scroll Lake, and Azure Phoenix Country. If we can set respective protocols, then in the future, both above and below the mountains in Vase Spirit Continent will have laws to rely on and reasons to follow. So today's discussions can be said to determine the national situation of Great Li for the next hundred years. Every word spoken by everyone today will be recorded word for word in the annals. Who coughed a few times, who dozed off a few times, who drank a few cups of tea in the middle, who said a few fatuous and erroneous grand empty words, who said a few far-sighted words beneficial to Great Li's national fortune—all future emperors, kings, generals, and ministers who have the right to sit in this room will see it all clearly."

Cui Chan concluded, "Whether the emperor can become the foremost monarch in the history of Vase Spirit Continent, whether our Great Li iron cavalry can make everyone in the Haoran Heaven have no choice but to open their eyes wide and look closely at our Great Li Dynasty, remembering the name of Great Li's emperor and which famous ministers and good generals are by his side—this depends on your words and deeds today."

Cui Chan stood up, his expression solemn.

At the small court session.

The young emperor slowly rose to his feet, his heart surging with emotion.

The civil officials rose and bowed.

The military officials rose and clasped their fists.

On Golden Armor Continent, at an ancient battlefield site, everywhere were scattered remnants of collapsed divine statues.

The gale winds here could make any Qi refiner below the Golden Core earth immortal realm suffer worse than death even if they only stayed for the time of an incense stick.

Many pure martial artists also liked to come here to temper their bodies, but most never left alive. The sudden gusts of wind were unpredictable. Some were as fine as a burst of sword qi, fragmented like goose feathers drifting. Some gales could cover an area of ten li, each gust like a sword immortal's strike. Once a gale passed, even a Golden Body realm martial artist would have no bones left.

A young woman who had once broken through the bottleneck with the strongest fifth realm in the world, relying on a unique talent, was able to drift here, living for many years.

Now she was throwing punches like thunder at a slowly walking man in white.

He was only at the Golden Body realm.

An ordinary Golden Body realm, she could probably kill with a single punch.

But facing this Golden Body realm martial artist, younger than her, she had already thrown thousands of punches, but each one was neutralized by his own fist intent without exception.

Simply put, he hadn't even struck back. She, a pure martial artist who had hopes of entering the Golden Body realm with the strongest sixth realm, hadn't even touched a corner of his clothes.

This young man in white's Golden Body realm was truly just the Golden Body realm.

It's a pity he was Cao Ci, who had traveled here from Middle-Earth Divine Continent.

Every realm of Cao Ci was an unprecedented martial arts realm.

The girl, who had been training here since she was young, had never believed it.

Then she went through a complex series of mental journeys: eager to try, testing punches, going all out, gradually despairing, and finally becoming numb.

Just as she was about to stop punching, Cao Ci finally spoke his second sentence, "Since your fist intent is still growing, why stop?"

After that, the young woman gritted her teeth and continued to punch furiously.

Cao Ci's first sentence had been spoken after Liu Youzhou said something.

At that time, Liu Youzhou of Sweeping Snow Continent, relying on Cao Ci being by his side, had thrown a harsh remark at her: "Huai Qian was right. In Cao Ci's eyes, this sixth realm of yours is made of paper and mud—utterly fragile."

Cao Ci didn't want her to misunderstand, so he had to say his first sentence after meeting her: "I never said that."

At this moment, Liu Youzhou was crouching in the palm of a fallen divine statue. On the giant palm, a clump of dense flowers and grass had grown.

They hadn't been swept away by the gale winds of the ancient battlefield—another strange thing.

Liu Youzhou couldn't figure it out. A top sect that almost every generation saw someone enter the top ten of the Middle-Earth, an ancient martial arts clan from a Middle-Earth dynasty—they were such a good match. How did they both end up eloping from arranged marriages, making such a big joke? It wasn't like they were being forced into immortal Dao partnerships; it was just an extra marriage contract. A nominal title like that wouldn't have any substantive constraints on either of them. If it were him, Liu Youzhou, as long as the price was reasonable, he could sell himself.

Cao Ci had been touring and admiring the site's divine statues, looking at each one.

Trying to see some fist technique divine intent.

In fact, he had seen quite a bit.

So the woman's punches were destined to be even more futile.

Because her fist intent growth would only be far slower than his, Cao Ci's.

Cao Ci stopped before a half-body divine statue, looking up. It seemed to have been split by a sword strike, from the shoulder down to the waist.

The woman, barefoot and in white, stopped punching, bent over, hands on knees, vomiting blood heavily.

Liu Youzhou felt his scalp tingle. It seemed that every pure martial artist with good talent was a madman.

Cultivation is much better.

As long as you have enough treasures on you, you can hide safely in a turtle shell.

For example, on this trip, accompanying Cao Ci on a long journey, they had been to Ripple Cloud Continent and now to Golden Armor Continent. Besides several supreme-grade Dharma robes, Liu Youzhou had two Ares Divine Armors alone. But one of them he had given to his friend Huai Qian a few years ago.

Speaking of friends, they were really just friends.

Not the kind with compatible temperaments, but family acquaintances—surnames becoming friends.

But compared to those who called him "brother" casually and were "table friends," always thinking of "borrowing" some treasures from him, the son of the God of Wealth of Sweeping Snow Continent, Liu Youzhou actually got along reasonably well with Huai Qian, who never took advantage of him.

In fact, many times, Liu Youzhou wanted to tell those "friends" who borrowed treasures and rarely returned them that it wasn't because they were clever, but because he, Liu Youzhou, had a bad habit since childhood: "if I don't scatter wealth and give away treasures, I feel uncomfortable all over." His parents never bothered him about it. Once, he sincerely gave a precious gift to a close friend, only to find out later that the guy didn't see him as a friend. It made Liu Youzhou, who was only ten or so at the time, cry his heart out. Then his father took him to the Liu family's treasure mountain. It really was a mountain. The man, the richest in the continent, asked his only son, "If you give away one item every day, how many years would you need to live to finish giving away this entire 'treasure mountain'?"

Liu Youzhou counted on his fingers and gave the exact number.

Then his father waved his sleeve, opened a secret restriction, and behind the first treasure mountain appeared another, even more majestic. What a mountain beyond mountains! So many rainbow-colored treasure lights that they almost blinded the child's eyes.

Liu Youzhou immediately burst into loud wails.

How could his family be so rich?

That day, the child was covered in treasures all over, swaggering and clattering out of the family's forbidden zone, beaming from ear to ear, not forgetting to wipe his snot and tears on his father's sleeve.

But that day, the God of Wealth of Sweeping Snow Continent, who never liked to discipline his son, taught Liu Youzhou a family ancestral hall precept: "Making money has never been easy; the difficulty lies in keeping money without inviting disaster, and spending money without causing trouble."

To a little brat, the man told some bloody and painful lessons from the family's history.

Liu Youzhou learned that even a large family with deep foundations, if they didn't pay attention and only focused on making money the old way, then often having money would bring death, and spending money would invite disaster.

In all his life, the only time Liu Youzhou was slapped by his father was when a family friend who liked to earn dirty money unscrupulously got into trouble. He helped that pitiful friend, who was crying and begging, by lending him money to tide over his family's crisis, and comforted him a few words, even cursing the culprit for him. Of course, Liu Youzhou didn't miss out on getting his share of the dividends. But just after the friend left, Liu Youzhou's father showed up and slapped Liu Youzhou so hard that his face bled. He asked Liu Youzhou if he knew where he was wrong. Liu Youzhou said he shouldn't have lent money. Then he got slapped again and fell to the ground.

Liu Youzhou struggled to get up, sat on the ground, and said nothing.

The man sneered, "What's wrong with business? The cleanest thing in this world is money."

To this day, Liu Youzhou never got the second half of the answer from his father.

Probably it was a piece of paper left by the merchant ancestor to the Liu clan ancestors.

On that paper, enshrined in the ancestral hall by generations of Liu family heads, were written eight characters: "When wealthy, cultivate conscience; if not, it will be scattered."

Liu Youzhou, crouching in the flowers and grass on the palm of the dilapidated divine statue, sighed. Every family has its own hard-to-read scripture. He just hoped he wouldn't become the head of the Liu family too soon, so he wouldn't have to deal with conscience so much.

Liu Youzhou used his mind to ask Cao Ci from afar, "When do you think Huai Qian will return from North Juque Continent?"

Cao Ci grunted.

Liu Youzhou rolled his eyes.

That was Cao Ci's answer—indicating he hadn't thought about it and wouldn't think about it.

Liu Youzhou often asked him all sorts of random questions. Cao Ci probably felt that not responding would be impolite, so he would often just grunt to show he heard.

That young woman thought she saw an opportunity and threw a full-force punch. But there was a crack at her wrist. When she landed, her shoulder shook, and after steadying herself, one arm hung limply.

Liu Youzhou reached out both hands and massaged his temples gently. He always felt that urging Cao Ci to visit this site to see what kind of woman would look down on Huai Qian was probably not a good idea.

Liu Youzhou then wondered if this woman, possibly the strongest sixth realm in the world, needed any treasures. He, Liu Youzhou, had plenty—just take them. Even if she didn't need them herself, she had been away from home for many years. When she returned, surely there were some juniors in her family? Might as well be New Year's gift money for the children.

As Dragon Spring Prefecture was upgraded to a province.

Near Fallen Mountain, a new prefect from the vassal Yellow Court Country appeared. A provincial city god was also established. As for that mansion with the plaque "Elegant Water, High Wind," the yin spirit of the Gu clan, based on merit, was promoted as if in a single leap, becoming the mountain lord of the old northern sacred mountain of Great Li. That female ghost in a wedding dress also returned to her mansion, living in seclusion, only visiting the Embroidery River Water God occasionally.

Among the five mountain gods of the old five sacred mountains of Great Li, four were transferred away to occupy other mountains in Vase Spirit Continent. So besides the obscure yin spirit of the Gu clan, there were three other local mountain gods of Great Li who had worked hard with great merit and received promotions step by step. Even though they weren't the true gods of the new five sacred mountains, they had become the first-class mountain lords and gods of Vase Spirit Continent, second only to the new five sacred mountains.

The northern sacred mountain god, Wei Po, had begun seclusion.

The area around Piyun Mountain was heavily guarded.

The Great Li court attached great importance to this matter. Besides the sage Ruan Qiong, they even specially sent Xu Ruo to protect Wei Po during his breakthrough.

On Fallen Mountain, Zhu Lian and Zheng Dafeng were playing chess.

The little boy in green had been watching the game for a while but grew increasingly sleepy. He lay down beside the stone table and fell asleep, drooling all over the table. Zheng Dafeng pressed down on the boy's head, twisted his wrist to wipe the drool off Chen Lingjun's face, and then pushed his head further from the chessboard.

Zhu Lian rubbed his chin and said slowly, "Even counting Wei Po's breakthrough and a subsequent night tour banquet, there's still a considerable shortfall."

Zheng Dafeng said, "If it really comes to that, we can send a letter to our mountain master, who's out touring the mountains and waters. Ask him to take out some treasures to supplement the household expenses. I don't believe that after wandering around North Juque Continent for so long, he hasn't got some surplus stuffed in his pockets, even if he's managed to seduce a beautiful woman to come back to Vase Spirit Continent."

Zhu Lian smiled, "Brother Dafeng, your calligraphy is so beautiful, so pleasant to the eye. Why don't you write this letter? When my young master sees it, it might improve his mood."

Sitting shoulder to shoulder opposite Chen Lingjun were two little girls: the black-clad little girl Zhou Mili and the pink-dress little girl Chen Ruchu.

Zhou Mili coughed immediately.

Zheng Dafeng turned his head and pretended to be shocked, "This big water monster, where are you from?!"

Zhou Mili crossed her arms, "Coincidentally, also from North Juque Continent. A place called Mute Girl Lake!"

The bamboo building banged loudly.

Zheng Dafeng's eyelids twitched. With great righteousness, he said, "Chess, chess. When it comes to money, let fate decide. Let it be, let it be."

Zhou Mili dropped her head.

Chen Ruchu gently handed over a palmful of melon seeds.

Zhou Mili shook her head. No appetite.

Chen Ruchu excused herself, put away the seeds, and then led Zhou Mili to the bamboo building.

They estimated that in about half an hour, the commotion on the second floor would stop.

It was like this every day.

She needed to boil water with Zhou Mili first, then go to the second floor to carry someone.

That night.

In her room, Pei Qian was grinning and wincing for a long time, hopping and jumping, stretching her muscles. Then she pretended to look refreshed and walked out of the first floor. Chen Ruchu and Zhou Mili were sitting on two small bamboo chairs at the door.

Pei Qian reached out and grabbed the walking staff from Zhou Mili's hand.

Zhou Mili exclaimed, "Wow!" and started clapping, her eyes shining, "Divine skill achieved!"

Pei Qian nodded, "The old man on the second floor also thinks so. He said that either tomorrow or the day after—at most the day after that—he probably won't be able to teach me more fist techniques. When he said this, he was all tears, the old man. But in those blurry presbyopic eyes, there was also a look of 'the younger generation is formidable'..."

From the second floor, Cui Cheng chuckled, "Practicing fists in the middle of the night, isn't that also a good thing?"

Pei Qian angrily said, "Zhou Mili, what nonsense are you talking?! Is practicing fists something you do in a day or two?!"

Zhou Mili's face crumpled, "I was wrong."

Pei Qian secretly gave a thumbs-up.

Responsible.

Truly the right protector of the New Year's Gift Shop on Riding Dragon Lane. Loyal and devoted.

That left protector, who spent all day jumping around, deserved a beating.

Cui Cheng said, "Why aren't you going off to feed Cen Yuanji some punches?"

Pei Qian said, "Oh," and walked to an open space. Looking up, she asked, "How much strength should I use?"

Cui Cheng said, "Depends on your mood."

Pei Qian thought for a moment and began to seriously consider the question.

This old man was really bad. Feeding punches, my foot! He was just thinking of letting Cen Yuanji beat her up!

Cui Cheng said, "Regardless of your mood, if you don't get out of here soon, my mood won't be too good anyway."

Pei Qian sighed, made a big silent face at the second floor of the bamboo building, a ferocious display of claws and teeth with no sound, then gently tossed the walking staff to Zhou Mili.

With one hand behind her back and the other gently clenched into a fist, she twisted her ankle. With a bang, dust flew up from the ground.

Her figure vanished like green smoke.

Cen Yuanji was practicing the standing stake on the steps of Fallen Mountain.

Suddenly, her heartstrings tightened, and she turned her head.

Someone's fist lightly touched her forehead, then brushed past her and disappeared in an instant.

Cen Yuanji was drenched in sweat. She looked at the spot where the figure had vanished. There was a familiar slender silhouette.

The figure stood on the tip of a slender pine branch at the top of a tree, one foot on the branch and the other stepping on its own instep.

Cen Yuanji knew that Pei Qian had been practicing fists on the second floor lately.

But this little charcoal-stick girl had only been practicing for a few days?

Pei Qian said seriously, "Sister Cen, that just now was a greeting. Next, I'm going to feed you some punches. You can't hit me too hard. You're older, you've practiced longer, and you're taller. Go easy on me."

Cen Yuanji took a deep breath, assumed a fist stance, and said sternly, "Please!"

As if facing a great enemy.

Pei Qian felt a bit flustered. What's this? We should trade moves, like that big white goose, just go through the motions!

Pei Qian hesitated, then quickly took out a talisman and stuck it on her forehead.

First, give herself some courage.

It looked like she'd have to take it seriously, or else if Cen Yuanji punched her half to death, what then?

Pei Qian was fully aware that this Sister Cen practiced fists very diligently every day, nonstop, going up and down the mountain. The old cook always said that this was the kind of tenacious character a fist practitioner should have.

Pei Qian's toe tapped lightly.

The branch under her foot bent into a huge arc but didn't break. Then, when Pei Qian's toe force emptied, the branch snapped back instantly, and Pei Qian had vanished.

Cen Yuanji was stunned for a moment. In the next instant, someone punched her in the back, sending her falling down the mountain.

In midair, she was elbowed on the spine. Cen Yuanji crashed heavily onto the steps, bouncing once hard, then rolled her eyes and passed out.

Pei Qian floated down, crouched beside her, sweating profusely. She wiped her face hard. What the hell happened?!

Zhu Lian and Zheng Dafeng stood on the steps, looking at each other in shock.

Pei Qian quickly straightened the talisman on her forehead, quietly nudged Cen Yuanji with one hand, and shouted loudly, "Heaven and earth as my witness! It really wasn't my fault! Cen Yuanji fainted from her own fall! I couldn't catch her!"

On a ferry boat passing by Cloud Platform City, about to arrive at Dragon Palace Cave Heaven.

Chen Ping'an, in a blue gown, with the sword immortal on his back and a cloth bundle slung across his shoulder, leaned on the railing.

Soon, he would have two million punches.

But he wondered how things were at Riding Dragon Lane. Was Pei Qian doing well at the school? Was her work at the shop making money interfering with copying books? And could she get along with that big water monster from Mute Girl Lake?