Chapter 590: Continuous Rain, Unaware Spring Is Leaving

Chapter 590: Continuous Rain, Unaware Spring Is Leaving

The spring wind summoned a spring rain.

Beneath the eaves, Chen Ping'an, who had been sitting in a chair flipping through a literary notebook, stood up and reached out to catch the rainwater.

Back when he was returning to the Ning residence from the city wall, Chen Qingdu had asked him a question: whether he wanted to leave behind a life-bound lamp. That way, if he died on the southern battlefield in the next great war, even though it would damage his fundamental path, he would at least have half a life left. But the soul-stele rubbing method—the first step was especially grueling. Ordinary cultivators couldn't endure that kind of suffering. In the Haoran world, the gods of mountains and rivers punished ghosts and spirits within their jurisdiction by lighting water lamps or mountain lamps, using souls as wicks. The method's strength lay in its longevity; as for the brief pain, it was far less than the rubbing method.

The second step was to light the lamp in one's ancestral hall. The biggest drawback of this life-bound lamp, once one got through the first step, was that it consumed money. The wick was crafted using immortal secret arts, burning nothing but spirit coins—every single day meant spending money. Thus, in the Haoran world, the life-bound lamp was something only immortal sects with deep foundations could afford to light for the most important direct disciples of their ancestral hall. Whether or not one knew this technique was one threshold; crafting the life-bound lamp was the second; and the subsequent consumption of spirit coins was often a major expense for an ancestral hall. Once lit, it couldn't be extinguished. If the flame went out, it would rebound and harm the cultivator's original soul and spirit, often causing a drop in cultivation level.

The third step was to use the life-bound lamp to reshape the soul, both yin and yang spirits and the true body. But this didn't always succeed. Even if it did, future achievements on the path would be greatly diminished.

Therefore, creating a life-bound lamp was truly a last resort—a helpless measure for mountain sect cultivators in response to the "what ifs." Still, it was better than a soldier being released from the body, having their soul scatter, and having to rely on reincarnation, wandering far and wide in search of a chance to be brought back to a mountain sect to continue the legacy. But for such cultivators, the three souls and seven spirits from their previous life were often incomplete. How much was exchanged depended on fate, so whether they could open their spiritual aperture also depended on fate. And after opening that aperture, how to account for the previous life and the present body was hard to say.

Chen Ping'an snapped back to his senses, withdrawing his thoughts, and turned to look. It was Fatty Yan and his group, and Diezhang was with them too, which was rare. At the wine shop, rainy days meant they had to close for business, but they didn't move the tables and chairs; left outside the shop, according to the method Chen Ping'an had taught her, on rainy or snowy days, the shop didn't do business, but on each table they placed a jar of the cheapest Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven wine and a few wine bowls. This jar was free for anyone to drink from, but each person could only have one bowl.

Ning Yao was still cultivating on Dragon-Slaying Cliff. After her last return to the Ning residence from the main street, Bai Momo and Nalan Yexing had noticed that their young lady was different—she had started taking cultivation seriously.

Fatty Yan had come to discuss Chen Ping'an and Diezhang joining the silk shop venture. Chen Sanqiu and Dong Huafu were just there for the fun. Everyone held umbrellas as they walked under the eaves, then folded them and leaned them against the wall. Chen Ping'an, holding a book in one hand and carrying a chair in the other, went into the side room. Fatty Yan looked at the absurdly clean room and sighed in dismay, "My good brother Yan Zhuo, the Ning family's prized son-in-law, why are you living in such a shabby place?" Chen Sanqiu took out a tea set from his storage item, said to be from some great dynasty in the Central Continent. He started brewing tea. He wanted to drag Chen Ping'an into drinking, but dared he? Did he ever want to visit the Ning residence again?

While brewing tea, Chen Sanqiu laughed, "About Fan Dache—thanks."

Chen Ping'an waved his hand. The literary notebook on the table, *Flower Tree Parasol Shade Collected Talks*, was a fine edition that Chen Sanqiu had helped him buy from the mirage market, along with many palace edition history books. It must have cost quite a few spirit coins, but talking about money with a young master of Chen Sanqiu's standing would be slapping one's own face.

As for Dong Heitan, who came from an equally top-tier noble family, forget it. That guy's money-saving skills were more extraordinary than Chen Ping'an's. From childhood, they said he'd never taken out a single snowflake coin from his pocket. Chen Ping'an even wanted to find someone to run a betting pool, letting people bet on when Dong Huafu would spend money, and then he'd split the profits with Dong Huafu on the sly.

Chen Ping'an thought it was a good deal, so he told Dong Huafu about it.

Dong Huafu shook his head. "I'm not spending money anyway. Why earn it? My family doesn't lack money either."

Chen Ping'an was stumped.

That... kind of made sense?

Diezhang laughed the most happily, but before she could laugh for long, she heard Chen Ping'an say, "You don't have to spend money. I'll make a deal with the bookmaker. People can bet on whether you spend money within ten days, within a month, or still not spend within a month. As for how much you spend, there are also bets—one snowflake coin or several, or a minor summer coin. Then I'll ask him to leak the news deliberately, saying that I, Chen Ping'an, have placed a heavy bet that you'll spend money soon, but never specify whether it'll be within ten days or a month. In reality, I'll be betting you won't spend money for a month. See? You won't have spent a single coin, you'll drink as usual, and you'll still earn money for nothing."

Diezhang felt that this second shopkeeper, when running a betting pool, seemed more ruthless than A Liang.

Chen Sanqiu kind of wanted to drink.

Yan Zhuo was eager to try. "Then I'll earn some easy money too—bet that Dong Heitan won't spend!"

Chen Ping'an gave him a sidelong glance. "Of course, you'll help the bookmaker I've hired at a high price. You'll stabilize the betting pool. When those sly gamblers are wavering, you, Fatty Yan, will 'accidentally' send a servant to deliver money, but you'll 'carelessly' let it slip. The rumor will spread that Young Master Yan has secretly thrown down a pile of spirit coins, betting on spending within ten days. That will confirm the earlier rumor that I bet on Dong Heitan spending. Otherwise, those shrewd old gamblers probably won't take the bait. The money you spend will just circle through my pocket and back to yours. Afterward, you'll split the take with me and Dong Heitan."

Yan Zhuo punched his palm. "Brilliant!"

Diezhang and Chen Sanqiu exchanged glances.

Diezhang was about to join in—just a few snowflake coins, nothing big. This kind of conscience-less money, earning a little was enough; if she earned too much, she'd feel bad.

But Chen Sanqiu shook his head. "Don't drag me into this. My conscience hurts."

Diezhang hesitated.

Chen Ping'an said with a disgusted look, "You can't use the same trick twice. Using it too much makes people suspicious."

Chen Sanqiu cupped his hands and shook them. "Thanks a lot."

Dong Huafu said bluntly, "I want fifty percent. You two can split the other fifty percent between yourselves."

Chen Ping'an said earnestly, "Heitan, I heard that everyone in the city knows that Ning Yao can beat a hundred Chen Ping'ans with one hand. I don't really mind, but look at Fan Dache—he cursed me in my territory and threw a bowl at me. Do I hold a grudge? Not at all! Now we're good friends who fought and reconciled, laughing off old grudges."

Dong Huafu didn't even blink. "I meant you take fifty percent, and I'll split the rest with Fatty Yan."

Then they got down to business. The silk shop under Yan Zhuo's name—Chen Ping'an and Diezhang planned to join in, each taking a ten percent share.

Chen Ping'an led them to the opposite side room and pushed open the door. The table was piled high with all sorts of seals, tall and short, big and small—no fewer than a hundred. There was also a seal catalog Chen Ping'an had compiled himself, titled *One Hundred Sword Immortal Seal Impressions*. Chen Ping'an laughed, "All the seal texts are carved—all auspicious and joyful words. Women giving to women, women giving to men, men giving to women—they're all excellent. At the shop, just buying silk fabric doesn't get you a seal. Only if you pay a deposit in advance—starting at one minor summer coin—do you get a seal. First payers get first pick. But the side inscriptions aren't carved yet. If you want more characters, especially with my signature Chen Ping'an, you'll have to pay extra. In addition to the shop share, I'll take an extra commission. If a woman leaves a deposit, she'll get a small discount when buying clothes or fabric later—just a token. If a woman slaps a grain rain coin right on Young Master Yan's face, we'll give a steeper discount."

Yan Zhuo picked up a seal with the inscription "Most Longing Chamber" and said hesitantly, "Over here, although some women from noble families dabble in letters, their learning is pretty average. Will they like these? Besides, the material of these seals might be too ordinary."

Chen Ping'an said, "If the seal material were too good, why use it as a giveaway in a silk shop? That would be a loss-making gimmick, completely pointless. These are just hand-held trinkets, for play and appreciation. Besides, there's no one in the world who doesn't like nice words and good calligraphy; they just haven't had much chance to see them before."

Chen Sanqiu rummaged around and finally settled on a small seal with the inscription "Heart Attached to Beauty, Thinking of Her, Yearning for Her." He tossed a grain rain coin to Yan Zhuo and laughed, "Consider this coin as a deposit in your shop. This seal is mine."

Yan Zhuo knew that Chen Sanqiu was far more discerning than him about such things, but he still wasn't sure. "Chen Ping'an, joining the shop is fine—you and Diezhang each get ten percent. But these seals, I'm worried only Chen Sanqiu will like them. People like Chen Sanqiu, who have nothing better to do than read books, are too rare. If they can't even be given away, let alone sold, it's fine with me—the shop isn't exactly thriving anyway. But if you lose face, don't blame my shop's bad feng shui. And the idea of paying before buying—are any women really willing to be such suckers?"

Chen Ping'an picked up a small booklet from elsewhere and handed it to Yan Zhuo, laughing, "Take this, read it a few times, and just copy it. The shop's business can't get much worse anyway."

Dong Huafu suddenly said, "I want this seal."

Chen Ping'an glanced at it. He knew his own carving at a glance—red characters reading, "Hate that I cannot travel far; sword unsheathed hangs like a rainbow."

Yan Zhuo laughed, "So you're paying now? Then how do we run the betting pool?"

Dong Huafu said, "Originally it was four-ten split. Now it's three for me, two for you."

Yan Zhuo didn't hesitate. "Deal!"

Diezhang was also browsing the seal inscriptions.

There was "Clear and Bright."

Also, "Young and Old Dreams; Gentle Breeze and Sweet Rain."

"Bowing Low All My Life to Sword Immortals." "Behind the North; Beautiful Eyes That Gaze."

"Deer Call Softly; Orioles Chirp; Reluctant to Part."

"Here in the World, This Sword Qi Is the Longest."

"Dare Not Take Sword Up the City Wall, Fearful of Driving Away Three Moons."

When Diezhang found this last seal, Yan Zhuo suddenly reddened, and said to Chen Ping'an with a trembling voice, "This seal—if I want it, how do we settle accounts?"

Diezhang was surprised, and Dong Huafu was also stunned.

Chen Sanqiu looked somewhat sorrowful.

Yan Zhuo's father, after losing both arms, would never go up to the city wall to look into the distance—except that one time he carried the badly injured Fatty Yan down from the wall.

Chen Ping'an gently took the seal from Diezhang's hand and handed it to Yan Zhuo. "In business, it's about brothers settling accounts. I'm giving you this seal as a gift—it's not a sale, so no talk of money."

---

When Ning Yao came there, she happened to meet Fatty Yan and the others leaving under umbrellas at the courtyard gate. After walking into the yard with Chen Ping'an, she asked, "What happened?"

Chen Ping'an gave a rough explanation, and Ning Yao went into the side room where the seals were stored. She sat down, picked up a seal, and said, "You've been busy with this the past few days? It's not just for money, is it?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head. "It's really not for money."

Ning Yao said, "Bai Momo just told me that the heavenly materials and earthly treasures to assist the refining of your fourth life-bound object are almost secretly gathered. Don't worry—besides the Ning family's vault items, Grandpa Nalan is personally overseeing things. No one will tamper."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "I really should step it up. Being surrounded by a bunch of Golden Core seniors every day makes me nervous—I even dare not speak loudly."

Chen Ping'an had broken through the Willow Tendon Realm at North Ju Luzhou's Lion Peak. Now he was at the fourth realm of cultivators, the Bone Qi Realm. Confucian cultivators had a unique advantage at this realm, with the best skill in nurturing qi. As for the fifth realm of cultivators, "In the world between heaven and earth, the body is a furnace"—the Hearth Dwelling Realm—Daoist and Buddhist cultivators had an even greater advantage. The reason the Three Teachings surpassed the various other schools was partly due to their significant advantages at these two realms. Though the lower five realms were low in cultivation, they were called the Mountain Ascending Five Realms, the foundation of the Great Path.

Whether one could subsequently break into the middle five realms' Grotto Dwelling Realm was as crucial as a pure martial artist breaking through the life-or-death barrier of the third realm.

Ning Yao leaned on the table, looking over each seal one by one, and said slowly, "The gate of the dwelling opens wide, the apertures open to receive qi. The human body is a small heaven and earth; the qi sea is like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea—that is the Grotto Dwelling Realm. From this moment on, a cultivator can truly begin to orderly refine heavenly and earthly qi. The three hundred and sixty-five apertures in the human body are like three hundred and sixty-five naturally occurring grotto heavens and blessed lands, waiting for the cultivator to ascend the mountain and build a hut to cultivate the Dao. For us on the Sword Qi Great Wall, whether one can be born with a innate sword embryo is the dividing line between genius and ordinary person. Similarly, in the Barbarian World, whether an demon can transform into human form early and cultivate qi in human form is also crucial. At the Grotto Dwelling Realm, male cultivators need to open nine apertures to advance to the Sea Observation Realm; women have it harder—they need to open fifteen apertures. So female cultivators in the Grotto Dwelling Realm outnumber males by a lot, but female cultivators in the Sea Observation Realm often have greater combat power than males."

"You're special. You already have three life-bound apertures, and three other apertures have been soaked by sword qi for years. Plus the back-and-forth of the Eighteen-Stop Sword Technique, and with Chu Yi and Shi Wu sitting in two of them, that's five and a half. Once you refine the other two life-bound objects to complete the Five Elements, you'll have opened seven and a half grotto dwellings. As soon as you reach the Grotto Dwelling Realm, you might quickly break through to the Sea Observation Realm. The Grotto Dwelling Realm is originally about opening the gate wide to welcome guests from all directions. Ordinary cultivators suffer a lot at this realm because they can't bear the torment of qi pouring in like a flood—it's considered a water disaster. If the soul and body are unstable, the path often requires taking three steps forward and two steps back, making progress difficult. But you're least afraid of that. The subsequent Sea Observation Realm won't be much of a barrier for you either. You're also a pure martial artist at the Golden Body Realm, with extremely rapid true qi circulation. For ordinary cultivators, slowly accumulating qi to open and expand pathways is a problem, but for you, it's no issue. Only at the Dragon Gate Realm will you run into some trouble."

Chen Ping'an laughed. "That's a lot of trouble for you."

She must have asked Nalan Yexing about all this on the fly, because Ning Yao herself didn't need to know such details in her own cultivation.

Ning Yao picked up a seal, held it in her palm, shook it, and said casually, "You should know this better than I do. So consider it unsaid."

Chen Ping'an put his hands into his sleeves, folded them on the table, rested his chin on his arms, and looked at the seals.

Outside, the rain kept falling. It had rained a lot lately, over the past month.

Continuous rain, unaware spring is leaving.

Chen Ping'an turned his head to look out the window. Back in his hometown, his first disciple, Pei Qian, had once sat with him on the mountain steps. As the wind blew through the pines and cypresses, shadows danced, and time passed slowly. She had whispered to her master that if she looked closely enough, everything in the world—whether flowing water or people moving—would become very, very slow. She would feel anxious for them.

Pei Qian would also often lie on the second-floor railing of the bamboo building with Nuan Shu and Mi Li, watching the rain or snow, looking at the icicles hanging from the eaves. She would swing her mountain-walking staff and smash them to pieces, then ask her friends how her swordsmanship was. When Mi Li was bullied too much, she would sulk with Pei Qian, shouting loudly that she would never play with her again. Probably even Zheng Dafeng at the mountain foot could hear. Then Nuan Shu would act as peacemaker, and Pei Qian would give Mi Li a way to save face, and soon they'd be laughing again. But when Chen Ping'an was on Luopo Mountain, Pei Qian would never dare to use the bedsheet as a cape and drag Mi Li around everywhere.

Here at the Sword Qi Great Wall, if one looked closely, there were also lively and adorable scenes like that.

For instance, sometimes when Chen Ping'an went to the city wall to practice swords, he would deliberately land his talisman boat a bit further away and see a row of children lying on the wall, sticking out their bottoms, pointing at the southern Barbarian World, telling all kinds of stories, or busy ranking the sword immortals of the Great Wall. Just arguing about who was strongest among the old sword immortals Dong San'geng, Chen Xi, and Qi Tingji was enough to make the children red-faced. If they added all the sword immortals in the history of the Great Wall, there would be even more to argue about.

He heard that Guo Zhujiu also practiced boxing a lot at home—blowing a breath of hot air into her palm, channeling spiritual qi, and shouting, "Watch my Flame Palm!" Hehe haha, a whole set of boxing from the family gate all the way to the back garden. In the garden, she would sink her qi into her dan tian, stand on one leg like a golden rooster, and execute a spinning tornado kick—exactly eighteen rotations, not one more, not one less. Poor Sword Immortal Guo Jia's carefully cultivated precious flowers—her fists and feet had no eyes, and they suffered greatly. In the end, the entire Guo residence was in chaos, and everyone worried that this girl might have gone mad. Maybe Sword Immortal Guo Jia regretted grounding her at home.

Now when Chen Ping'an went to the street corner near the wine shop, Zhang Jiazhen would occasionally come. The youngest child who had brought a clay pot to learn boxing was the first to squat next to the little stool. So compared to his peers, he had heard many more tales of mountain gods and monsters. I heard that with these stories no one else had heard, he had become quite familiar with a pretty girl from the next alley. Once, during a game of house, he finally wasn't just playing the sedan bearer or groom—he and that little girl got to be husband and wife for once. Later, when he squatted next to Chen Ping'an to snack on sunflower seeds, the kid grinned foolishly for a long time.

Inside the room, it was silent. Silence spoke louder than words.

Afterward, Chen Ping'an went to the city wall again but still couldn't step within thirty paces of the sword qi. So Little Junior Brother was still Little Junior Brother, and Big Senior Brother was still Big Senior Brother.

After practicing swords, Zuo You in the distance asked the poor fellow who was taking out bottles and jars to apply ointment if he had any message for the teacher.

In the last two sword practices, Zuo You had shown restraint.

Chen Ping'an said seriously, "How could that be!"

Zuo You then asked, "How's the wine shop business?"

Chen Ping'an said, "Very good."

Zuo You turned his head.

Chen Ping'an immediately corrected himself: "But I still humbly ask Senior Brother to add brilliance to the present splendor."

Zuo You then refrained from breaking the pot and changed the subject. "The Heavenly Questions and Heavenly Answers I mentioned before—have you read them?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "I've read them all."

Zuo You said, "Now you answer the questions. Respond to question one hundred seventy-three."

Chen Ping'an was caught off guard. Zuo You said calmly, "You can begin. If you don't know, skip it."

Chen Ping'an tackled the problems with difficulty and barely answered about half of them.

Zuo You said, "The correctness of the answers doesn't matter. Before the Teacher attained sagehood, the most famous debate was about two things. The first was 'how to pursue learning.' Was it to start with each thing and accumulate gradually, slowly achieving merit? Or was it to first establish the great fundamentals and not blindly immerse in fragmented pursuits? If you look back, does the result matter? Two sages still couldn't agree. If it were truly an either-or, how could either have become a sage? Back then, the Teacher told us that in learning, both meticulousness and simplicity are acceptable. A young person studying and an old person studying are two different realms. A youth should first think more and seek meticulousness; an old person should return to simplicity and seek ease. As for whether one needs to set grand aspirations early—that's not so important. Setting them early doesn't mean they'll hold. Of course, having them is better than not, but if you don't have them, don't worry. You can accumulate them along the path of learning. Worldly knowledge is the cheapest thing, like a street lined with noble mansions and countless gardens, cultivated by someone but unguarded, doors wide open, gardens in full bloom—you can pick whatever you want and leave loaded."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "The Teacher is widely learned; Senior Brother has a strong memory."

Zuo You couldn't help turning his head. "You've never stayed long by the Teacher's side—where did you learn all these platitudes?"

Chen Ping'an looked aggrieved. "From books. Especially the Teacher's works—I know them by heart."

Zuo You said sternly, "Very good."

---

In the martial arts arena's small heaven and earth, Chen Ping'an was learning swords with Nalan Yexing.

It was called learning swords, but it was actually about tempering his physique. It was a method Chen Ping'an had figured out himself. At first, he wanted his senior brother Zuo You to help with the sword strikes, but that senior brother inexplicably said that such a minor matter could be done even by Nalan Yexing. As a result, even Nalan Yexing, a sword immortal, hesitated, finally understanding why the great sword immortal Zuo You was unwilling to do it himself.

Because according to Chen Ping'an's explanation, even if the person striking was a sword immortal, and Chen Ping'an himself was a Golden Body Realm martial artist, there was still considerable danger and the possibility of accidents.

If he wasn't careful, Chen Ping'an would have to lie in bed for a month or two—far worse than the bone-regeneration afterward.

Chen Ping'an wanted Nalan Yexing to strike sequentially from top to bottom, following the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" method, to help forge the major apertures along the spine, the great dragon of the body.

Starting from the cervical vertebrae—Da Zhui, Tao Dao, Shen Zhu, Shen Dao, Ling Tai, Zhi Yang, Zhong Shu, Xuan Shu, Ming Men, Yao Yang Guan—these key apertures particularly needed sword strikes, using sword qi and sword intent to temper this path and these passes.

Because he also needed to coordinate the circuit of pure true qi like a fire dragon, Chen Ping'an couldn't stand still—that would be dead practice. Combined with the varying amounts of residual spiritual qi in each qi mansion, this made Nalan Yexing's precision extremely demanding.

Ning Yao sat in the pavilion on Dragon-Slaying Terrace. Today, Dong Bude and Dong Huafu came to visit the Ning residence. She said she wanted to ask Chen Ping'an for a seal—the silk shop was too extortionate, so it was better to buy directly from him.

The sword practice between Chen Ping'an and Nalan Yexing wasn't deliberately hidden from Dong Bude.

After the four consecutive fights on the street last year, the major clans like the Dongs had a rough idea of Chen Ping'an's capabilities.

Dong Bude lounged lazily on the railing and asked, "Ning Yao, seeing him train like this, doesn't your heart ache?"

Ning Yao didn't answer.

This time, Nalan Yexing was extremely cautious, so the results were minimal.

Chen Ping'an hadn't expected immediate benefits anyway. After leaving the arena with Nalan Yexing, he walked up Dragon-Slaying Cliff alone.

Dong Bude said that she and a few close friends each wanted a personal book collection seal. They couldn't decide on the inscriptions, so they left them to Chen Ping'an. She had also brought three pieces of fine jade suitable for carving seals, saying that one seal would cost one minor summer coin, and the leftover material would be Chen Ping'an's labor fee.

Chen Ping'an wasn't foolish—did money come that easily? He immediately looked at Ning Yao. She nodded, and only then did he agree. This scene made Dong Bude so sour that she clicked her tongue and said nothing.

Dong Bude also mentioned an interesting matter somewhat related to the Ning residence. At Daoxuan Mountain, a group of cultivators on a training journey from a great Central Continent dynasty had recently arrived, led by a sword immortal who had previously come to kill demons. An Nascent Soul cultivator was handling the specific arrangements, leading seven or eight young geniuses from different sects and mountain immortal abodes to train at the Sword Qi Great Wall for about three to five years. The youngest was only twelve; the oldest was just over thirty.

Upon arriving at Daoxuan Mountain, they stayed directly at the Plum Blossom Garden, one of the four private residences famed alongside the Ape Rubbing Residence—clearly a sign of their high background.

Among the younger generation at the Sword Qi Great Wall, the major factions were essentially three: Ning Yao and Dong Heitan's group, of course now with Chen Ping'an added; then Qi Shou's group; and finally Pang Yuanji and Gao Yihou's group, which was more scattered and less cohesive. These young sword cultivators mostly came from common backgrounds, but if someone called them together, their numbers and combat power were not to be underestimated.

Whenever young people from the Haoran world came to train here—first Cao Ci, then Chen Ping'an—they had to pass through three gates. That was the old rule.

But who was responsible for guarding these three gates also had some unwritten rules. For instance, the prodigies from the Central Continent were hosted by Qi Shou and his friends.

Ning Yao's faction didn't care much for this system. Occasionally, Chen Sanqiu would show up and join the fun, but in over a decade, he had only made two moves. Ning Yao had never bothered with these minor skirmishes.

However, since Qi Shou's group had been thoroughly beaten by Chen Ping'an, and even Pang Yuanji hadn't escaped, for this round of three gates, Ning Yao's side was expected to send someone. When such groups of outsiders came in droves to train at the Great Wall, the two sides each fielded three people—and if one person could take down all three, that was the real excitement.

Chen Ping'an, having gone from being the one watched to the one watching, found it amusing and asked if they could set the battlefield on that street to help his wine shop business.

Dong Bude laughed. "The location is always casual—no fixed rule. It usually depends on the last gatekeeper's preference. If you're willing to fight, putting it on the street or even on Diezhang's wine table would be fine."

Chen Ping'an shook his head. "If I get beaten up, the pittance I earn from the wine won't even cover my medicine. Our shop is famously cheap—we earn hard money."

Dong Bude's smile turned playful.

This guy really was as thick-faced as the rumors said.

Dong Huafu said, "Fan Dache plans to fight the first match. Sanqiu will probably accompany him. The third person might be Gao Yihou or Sima Weiran—it's not decided yet."

Chen Ping'an asked, "What's the cultivation level of those sword cultivator geniuses?"

As for Sima Weiran, Chen Ping'an knew she was also a Golden Core sword cultivator, but slightly inferior to Pang Yuanji and Gao Yihou. However, she had been in seclusion for years, and interestingly, she had two teachers: one was the Inspector Sword Immortal Zhu An of the Hidden Official lineage, and the other had even greater origins—an old sword immortal responsible for guarding the prison, rumored to be of demon race origin. It wasn't known if after emerging from seclusion, Sima Weiran would surpass Gao Yihou.

Dong Huafu paused. "Do we need to know that?"

Dong Bude chimed in, "I don't think we need to know."

Chen Ping'an glanced at Ning Yao, who seemed to share the same attitude. He sighed helplessly. "Forget I asked."

---

The group of sword cultivators from the Central Continent passed through the main gate of Daoxuan Mountain and lodged at the mansion of Sword Immortal Sun Juyuan within the city.

Sword Immortal Sun Juyuan's clan, much like the Yan family, had frequent business dealings with the Haoran world, so they had wide connections.

But Sun Juyuan probably had a headache right now, because on their first day at the Sword Qi Great Wall, these guests announced that they would send three people—one for each of three realms: Sea Observation, Dragon Gate, and Golden Core—and if they lost even one match, they would consider it a total loss.

That day, Chen Ping'an was drinking at the shop. Ning Yao was still cultivating. Yan Zhuo and Chen Sanqiu were there, along with Fan Dache, so the second shopkeeper had a rare opportunity to sit at the table and drink.

The shop was doing well. Over a dozen sword cultivators were squatting by the roadside drinking, cursing up a storm, saying these outsiders had no shame, were too arrogant, thick-skinned, cunning, stingy...

For some reason, as they said these things, the drunkards spat and fumed indignantly, but all of them looked at the green-robed, white-jade-haired-pin second shopkeeper.

Chen Ping'an grinned. "Big shopkeeper, our Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven wine—it's time to raise the price."

The surroundings fell silent instantly, then erupted in lamentations.

Diezhang received a look from the second shopkeeper and shook her head. "No price increase. Why raise it? What's money, anyway!"

A drinker shouted directly, "Just for that fair word from the big shopkeeper, another pot of wine!"

Soon others clamored to buy wine.

Diezhang laughed. "Take it yourselves."

Yan Zhuo glanced at the one who had ordered first, then at Chen Ping'an, and sent a voice transmission. "Plant?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and nodded, then replied via voice transmission, "Can't I handle these bastards? Plants everywhere—impossible to guard against."

Then Chen Ping'an said to Fan Dache, "These outsider sword cultivators aren't arrogant or ignorant of the sky's height—they're calculating you. They've already gained a huge advantage just by starting, gaining publicity for free. If all three fights were at Golden Core, they'd definitely lose. So their real bet is on the first match at Sea Observation Realm. Among those Central Continent sword cultivators, there must be an exceptionally brilliant genius who not only stands the best chance of winning but might win decisively. The second match they also have a decent chance, and even if they lose, it won't be too ugly—after all, if they lose, there's no third match. Aren't you frustrated? As for the third match, they don't plan to win at all. Even if they could win, they wouldn't. Of course, they really can't win anyway. Fan Dache, you're at Dragon Gate Realm, so I suggest you don't fight. But if you think you can afford to lose, then it doesn't matter."

Fan Dache said decisively, "I can't afford to lose."

Chen Ping'an gave him a thumbs-up. "Impressive. No wonder you're Chen Sanqiu's friend."

Chen Sanqiu said helplessly, "What does that have to do with me?"

Then, from the main street, a few young people came, including some teenagers, heading straight for this wine shop. They only bought wine, though one young man purchased a pot of Qingshen Mountain wine for five snowflake coins and, as he walked, removed the clay seal, sniffed it, but in the refined Central Continent Haoran language said, "Looks like when I return to the Haoran world, I'll have to visit the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven and tell them someone is selling wine under the mountain god's wife's name, even selling it at the Sword Qi Great Wall. Quite something."

Yan Zhuo looked at Chen Ping'an. "Can you stand for that?"

Chen Ping'an nodded with a smile. "I can stand for it."

A tall, sturdy teenager turned to look at the shop's wine table and laughed. "The Confucian Sage's lineage—what else can they do but endure?"

In an instant.

This burly, sword-carrying teenager was grabbed by the head with five fingers, lifted high into the air. The man holding him had one hand behind his back, tilted his head, and asked with a smile, "What did you say? Say it louder."