Chapter 675: Bearing the True Names
On Daoxuan Mountain, the earlier disappearance of the entire Plum Garden had become a well-discussed immortal tale. Then one day, a large group of sword cultivators arrived at Yuanrou Manor, led by two Sword Immortals—one was the well-connected Sun Juyuan, and the other was Mi Hu, who was said to have already reached the Immortal Realm. They came on foot but left with a continuous procession of carriages, horses, talisman boats, and banners, bustling both in the sky and on the ground. Yet for all the sword cultivators putting on such a show, the native people of Daoxuan Mountain pretended not to notice, and traveling outsiders dared not approach for a closer look.
If one were separated from the Sword Qi Great Wall by thousands of mountains and rivers, which Sword Immortal wouldn't dare to curse?
But once within arm's reach of sword cultivators, what could one do but keep silent?
Only one lineage immortal master who had traveled from afar refused to believe it. He secretly used the divine ability of Palm-Viewing Mountains and Rivers and saw a horrifying scene inside Yuanrou Manor: pavilions and towers had been smashed to pieces. This old Nascent Soul cultivator from Ai'ai Continent sensed something was wrong and was about to withdraw his hand and dispel the technique when a dazzling sword light followed in the night sky, piercing straight through his palm. The sword light flashed again, entering from the left side of his cheek and exiting from the right. In a single flicker, the flying sword had already returned to Yuanrou Manor.
The old cultivator, burning with pain, understood: his eyes could not see, his mouth could not speak.
But having suffered such a mute loss, he couldn't help resenting the Sword Immortal's overbearing actions. In his homeland, as a dignified Nascent Soul, how could he be humiliated like this?!
The sword cultivators emptied the Yuanrou Manor of the Liu clan of Ai'ai Continent and returned to the Sword Qi Great Wall that very night. Meanwhile, the bustling mirage market of the Sword Qi Great Wall had grown increasingly desolate over the past few months. Shops moved their goods out one after another, gradually relocating to Daoxuan Mountain. For those without ancestral footholds on Daoxuan Mountain, they had no choice but to return to their respective sects across the Eight Continents of Haoran World. After all, land on Daoxuan Mountain was as precious as gold, and now, with the boundary set at the Sword Qi Great Wall's city wall, everything to the south became forbidden ground. The mountain-and-river grand formation had been activated and layered with illusion spells. Hence, that towering city wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall was no longer a scenic site worth visiting, making business on Daoxuan Mountain even more sluggish. Nowadays, ferry boats traveling between Daoxuan Mountain and the Eight Continents carried extremely few passengers—mostly goods rather than people. Many cross-continent ferries rode deep in the water; for example, at the Osmanthus Island of Old Dragon City, the original dock was completely submerged. And many cross-continent ferries that traveled through clouds and rain had also slowed down a few notches.
With war pressing and the situation perilous, it was clear that this assault by Barren World was out of the ordinary. Daoxuan Mountain understood this well. Historically, the Sword Qi Great Wall had closed its gates more than once or twice, so it didn't cause too much panic. Many lineage immortal masters, who had once sold off immortal property deeds, shops, and residences at low prices during previous gate closures, later regretted it bitterly, their intestines turning green with remorse.
One of the four great private residences on Daoxuan Mountain was the Water Crystal Palace, guarded by a female Jade Purity Realm cultivator named Yun Qian, one of the founding patriarchs of the Rain Dragon Sect. One of her direct disciples had deep fortune and chose that down-and-out wandering cultivator Fu Ke, who later encountered the opportunity of Fish-Dragon Transformation and broke through realms at an astonishing speed, considered outstanding even in the history of the Rain Dragon Sect, which was full of talented individuals.
Yun Qian thought further ahead. Besides the future of her own Rain Dragon Sect, she also worried about the war at the Sword Qi Great Wall. After all, the Water Crystal Palace was unlike the Spring Banner Studio or the Plum Garden—it hadn't been refined and couldn't be carried away. Nor was it like the Ai'ai Continent's Liu clan, which was a god of wealth for whom a priceless Yuanrou Manor was merely optional.
But now the Sword Qi Great Wall was on high alert, especially the Hidden Officer lineage currently in power. The sword cultivators acted with meticulous and ruthless precision. Any cultivator who broke the rules, whether intentional or not, never returned. Several people had come to the Water Crystal Palace before, all accomplished cultivators with some ties to the Rain Dragon Sect. Among them were two Nascent Soul cultivators and an old Jade Purity Realm divine master from the Talisman School. They all hoped she could help smooth things over—perhaps send a message to the Celestial Lord of Daoxuan Mountain, or plead with a familiar Sword Immortal on the Sword Qi Great Wall. But the Celestial Lord had already gone into seclusion. Yun Qian went to the Lonely Peak to find that old True Lord who had refined a whisk immortal weapon from a flood dragon's whiskers, only to be shut out directly. Then she tried to send a letter to her longtime friend, the Sword Immortal Sun Juyuan, but the letter disappeared without a trace, as if Sun Juyuan had never received the secret missive at all.
Yun Qian, staying in the Water Crystal Palace, felt restless and unable to calm her mind for cultivation. So she hurried back to the Rain Dragon Sect's Patriarch Hall and called a meeting, proposing the suggestion to relocate the sect. The response was a barrage of cold mockery. Although Yun Qian had prepared herself and knew it wouldn't be easy—and that it sounded too fanciful—watching those Patriarch Hall members turn their talk to various business dealings, she couldn't help but feel disheartened.
At the time when the sword cultivators left Yuanrou Manor, a message flying sword from the Spring Banner Studio quietly arrived at the Water Crystal Palace.
After Yun Qian opened the secret letter, there were only two words on the paper.
Move north.
The letter bore both the signature of the Sword Immortal Sun Juyuan, which Yun Qian recognized well, and two ancient seal-script stamps: Hidden Officer. She had heard of the Hidden Officer for a long time but was seeing it for the first time with her own eyes.
The Hidden Officer seal-script was above, the Sword Immortal's signature below.
Very proper.
It shouldn't be a forgery.
Yun Qian dared not be negligent. She quietly left Daoxuan Mountain again and hurried back to the Rain Dragon Sect. This time, she only sought out the sect leader, her senior sister.
Unexpectedly, the senior sister casually tossed the letter aside and sneered, "What, smashing Yuanrou Manor wasn't enough? Now you want to smash the Water Crystal Palace? That young Hidden Officer has quite the scheme. Yun Qian, mark my words: if you so much as set foot in Spring Banner Studio, Shao Yunyan, now a confidant of the Hidden Officer, will start discussing with you the ownership of the Water Crystal Palace."
Yun Qian was skeptical, but she still carefully retrieved the letter and tucked it into her sleeve.
Seeing this, the sect leader grew even angrier and raised her voice: "This ancestral legacy of the Rain Dragon Sect was hard-won. You and I know best the hardships involved. Yun Qian, when it comes to expanding territory, the two of us have achieved nothing. Now can't we even hold what we have? Have you forgotten why you were exiled to the Water Crystal Palace back then? Even those Nascent Soul offerings dared to boss you around, all because you incurred the wrath of the Patriarch Hall. You couldn't even swallow that tiny Reed Flower Island. And now if you lose the Water Crystal Palace too, how will you face the generations of Rain Dragon Sect patriarchs? Do you know what everyone says behind your back? 'Soft-hearted woman!' A Jade Purity Realm immortal master—do you think that's proper?"
The sect leader didn't want to belittle her junior sister too much; after all, the Water Crystal Palace still required Yun Qian's personal presence. If the stubborn Yun Qian, in a fit of anger, made up some excuse to go on a sea voyage to seek immortals or travel to Tongye Continent for a change of scenery, the sect leader couldn't stop her. So she softened her tone and continued, "And don't forget, the business deal we struck back then with the founding ancestor of the Landscape Cave on Fuyao Continent—there's an old score with the Sword Qi Great Wall. Now that the new Hidden Officer holds great power, what's become of that grand Landscape Cave on Fuyao Continent? Is the Patriarch Hall still standing? Yun Qian, don't you lead the Rain Dragon Sect down the same path! This Hidden Officer's methods are like a needle hidden in silk—not to be underestimated, especially skilled at using influence to suppress others."
Yun Qian nodded slightly.
The sect leader pressed on, "Yun Qian, I'll say one last thing. The Sword Qi Great Wall has old grudges with the Rain Dragon Sect. Does the new Hidden Officer have any old friendship with you? Why would he go out of his way to plan an escape route for our sect? Do you really think it's some virtuous, magnanimous act of repaying evil with good? Yun Qian, I've said all I have to say. Think it over carefully!"
Yun Qian left the Rain Dragon Sect dejectedly and returned to the Water Crystal Palace. In truth, she had heard her senior sister's words clearly. The deceit and scheming among lineage immortal masters were indeed frightening. On her cultivation path, Yun Qian had suffered greatly from that. In her life, she had faced three great calamities; besides one from heaven's disasters, the rest were man-made and came from those closest to her. Yet she still couldn't give up. She visited the Spring Banner Studio, where the Sword Immortal Shao Yunyan seemed to have expected her. He handed her another secret letter, saying that the Hidden Officer had reviewed the Rain Dragon Sect's archives and greatly admired Yun Qian's 'soft-heartedness.' Yun Qian frowned. Shao Yunyan laughed and said, "The Hidden Officer didn't expect you to believe his suggestion. He only asks that you read the letter and then destroy it on the spot. Otherwise, it might cause unnecessary trouble—not good for either the Hidden Officer or you."
Yun Qian returned to the Water Crystal Palace and spent a sleepless night staring at the detailed letter. At the end of the letter were eight words: "Sect divided north and south; firewood lies in the green mountain."
Over at the Spring Banner Studio, after Yun Qian left, Mi Yu and Nalan Caihuan appeared simultaneously. Mi Yu smiled and asked, "Brother Shao, do you think Yun Qian will actually move north? If she really has that kind of courage and means, how many Rain Dragon Sect disciples can she save?"
Shao Yunyan replied, "For sect-head level immortal families, like attracts like. Yun Qian, in that profit-driven Rain Dragon Sect, has only her realm and cultivation, but she's very unpopular. So even if she's willing to move, she won't be able to take many people with her."
Mi Yu said, "Those she can't take, there's no need to take anyway."
Nalan Caihuan frowned unhappily, "You still dare to call Yun Qian soft-hearted? Mark my words: if Yun Qian really moves north and splits the Rain Dragon Sect, the immortal masters from the south who escape and integrate into the northern sect will only resent the Sword Qi Great Wall even more for not saving them. Especially our kind-hearted Hidden Officer. If Yun Qian slips up and reveals the contents of those two letters, she'll end up being hated instead."
Shao Yunyan nodded, "That's why we asked Yun Qian to destroy the letter. We anticipated such unpredictable human hearts. I believe that no matter how dedicated Yun Qian is to cultivation, she should still be able to grasp these pros and cons."
Mi Yu chuckled, "And if Yun Qian can't grasp them, does our Hidden Officer really care?"
Shao Yunyan sighed, "I'm afraid that in the Rain Dragon Sect—which believes all worldly affairs boil down to business—more than one high-ranking figure in the Patriarch Hall is thinking of becoming dragon-supporting ministers, still treating everything as a transaction."
Nalan Caihuan snorted coldly, "Without the Hidden Officer's brains, they dare to talk about transactions under the tide of events?!"
Realizing she had misspoken, she left gracefully to continue her bookkeeping.
Shao Yunyan and Mi Yu exchanged a smile.
At the Daoxuan Mountain dock, a cross-continent ferry from Northern Ju'lu Continent arrived with sixty-two sword cultivators. They were taciturn, heading straight for the great gate and onward to the Sword Qi Great Wall.
---
Inside that suspended pavilion-like structure, Chen Ping'an sat cross-legged on the ground, fists resting on his knees, breathing deeply.
What he sat on was the bamboo mat he had picked up from the Plum Garden. It not only helped cultivators calm their minds and focus but also had a wonderful effect: allowing Chen Ping'an to more quickly refine those verdant water beads rich in water movement. Moreover, perhaps due to the mat's material, besides the water mansion benefiting greatly, the wood residence also gained significant advantage. The excess water movement spiritual energy from the water beads Chen Ping'an refined could be guided, with a little effort, to the qi mansion where the wood residence was located. A continuous thread of water movement flowed along like a long line, moistening the internal organs.
In mountain cultivation, such immortal objects might not be of the highest rank, but they were indispensable. Bit by bit, they accumulated. In two or three years, the effect might not be obvious. But if one cultivated with devotion, staying in the mountains for decades or centuries without regard for seasons, the difference would be like heaven and earth. That was why lineage immortal masters of major sects, as Lu Tai had said, always had at least one life-bound object for auxiliary cultivation. If they had enough immortal currency, they would seek even more than the life-bound object. Their goal was the long-term path, building a tower ten thousand zhang high from flat ground.
Depending on the time of day, the immortal cave dwelling, and the corresponding cultivation realm, these objects had to be constantly replaced. There were many rules to follow.
That Outsider Heavenly Demon drifted and hovered around the building without speaking, as if the young man were more worth investigating than the cloud-shrouded Execution Officer Sword Immortal.
The young Hidden Officer had just returned from a secret realm; otherwise, he wouldn't be so relaxed now. The place he had been dragged to by Nian Xin, grabbing him by the neck, was a world refined from the corpse of an ancient god. In the heart area of that world was a forbidden zone that the Old Deaf, the Outsider Heavenly Demon, and the Seamstress could not enter. There was a small door there, symbolically locked with a padlock. The Old Deaf could only produce the key as a formality, and then Nian Xin would throw the young Hidden Officer inside.
That was a golden pond with boiling magma, the chamber filled with blinding golden light.
Every time Chen Ping'an was thrown into the golden magma by the Seamstress, after a few hours at most, he would walk out of the small door completely healed, his injuries fully recovered.
But the inch-object and the sword-nurturing gourd had to stay outside the pavilion.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Ancient gods also had qi mansions and acupoints, roughly similar in structure to humans?"
The white-haired boy stopped moving, "Generally similar, but you humans ultimately are not as closely connected to heaven and earth as the gods. After all, you were puppets crafted by them, seeking nothing more than incense worship. Your human body's minor heaven and earth naturally aren't too exquisite at birth. But compared to other species, you are already exceptionally favored. Otherwise, why would mountain spirits, strange ghosts, and even the demon clans of the Barren World tirelessly strive to take human form?"
Chen Ping'an caught a key phrase, "Closely connected? Does it have something to do with the Daoist pursuit of 'stainlessness'?"
The Outsider Heavenly Demon slowly rotated his body, answering evasively with a smile, "A sword cultivator's flying sword can break ten thousand methods. A common cleaver can chop vegetables, cut melons, and split firewood. But do you know the underlying principle of what exactly the flying sword breaks or what the cleaver's blade splits?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head.
His student, Cui Dongshan, might understand the reason.
Chen Ping'an finally opened his eyes and asked, "As part of our exchange, I additionally allowed you to enter my heart-lake three times. What did you see?"
The white-haired boy with a green snake earring sat cross-legged, furious. He gritted his teeth but refused to speak.
Four trades with this man—helping him build a structure, gifting him a female Sword Immortal's relic body, plus two daggers—what a huge loss!
Chen Ping'an was a bit curious. He picked up the sword-nurturing gourd from the ground and took out a dagger, "If you're willing to talk, I'll return this dagger to you."
Inside the sword-nurturing gourd was also the life-bound flying sword "Tian Lai" of that Zhengrong Sect sword cultivator, still being nurtured.
The white-haired boy reached out, grabbed the dagger, and tucked it into his waist. One dagger remained, still being nurtured in that mediocre sword-nurturing gourd. He said, "The first time I visited, I saw a middle-aged Daoist who wanted to discuss Daoist techniques with me. I was so scared I almost peed myself."
"The second time, I didn't go to that shabby little house. Instead, I saw an old man who looked young but had a decrepit aura, wearing straw sandals, a cleaver at his waist, walking the earth. When we met, he wanted to talk to me about Buddhism. The moment he said 'Please sit,' I jumped again."
After recounting the first two visits, the Outsider Heavenly Demon fell silent for some reason.
Chen Ping'an asked, "What about the third and last time?"
The Outsider Heavenly Demon retorted, "You sure do like reasoning, don't you?"
Chen Ping'an looked puzzled, "What do you mean?"
The white-haired boy leaped to his feet and yelled, "Some guy, according to different speeds of the river of time, must have spent the equivalent of several years reasoning with me. And he wouldn't let me leave! And I really couldn't leave!"
Chen Ping'an smiled, "So I'm that annoying, am I? Even an Outsider Heavenly Demon can't stand it?"
The white-haired boy glanced deliberately at the four pillars supporting the building.
After that, Chen Ping'an continued his cultivation, and the Outsider Heavenly Demon continued his wandering. Both remained silent.
On this day, Chen Ping'an took off his top, exposing his back.
Nian Xin casually pulled out his spine, began to strip his skin and sew his clothes, and then used several ancient seal scripts, including the Nine-Fold Seal Script, to inscribe "true names" on the young man's spine and the skin on either side. Each true name belonged to a great demon that had died under a Sword Immortal's sword—ancient fearsome creatures that had countless ties to the demons currently imprisoned in the cages. The closer the relationship, the greater the karmic link, and the better the sewing effect. Naturally, the suffering the young man endured would be greater.
To prevent the young Hidden Officer from collapsing under the weight, his Dao heart breaking and his flesh and blood dissolving, ultimately ruining all their work, Nian Xin had no choice but to teach Chen Ping'an a unique secret technique that allowed him to distract himself slightly.
This was truly a last resort, for Chen Ping'an had not yet reached the Far Travel Realm. Even after being tempered by that golden magma, his martial physique still could not bear too many great demon true names. Nian Xin could only inscribe three at a time, which was the limit.
With only one hand available to command, by the later stages of the sewing—after Nian Xin inscribed the second great demon's true name—Chen Ping'an didn't even dare to stir a single thought. Yet even without any thoughts to support him, his finger still traced in the air, repeatedly writing two words: Ning Yao, Ning Yao...
Nian Xin, imprisoned, never asked about the Sword Qi Great Wall, so she didn't know who this Ning Yao was.
During occasional rests, Nian Xin would glance at the young man's handiwork and couldn't help but wonder: what woman could make him like her so much? Like her so much?