Chapter 678: The Fifth Item
Chen Ping'an put away his four true life objects and asked, "What is your real name?"
Wu Die was, of course, a name fabricated by this extraterrestrial demon; even You Yu and Du Shanyin didn't believe it.
The white-haired boy was silent for a moment, then said, "Frost's Descent."
Chen Ping'an casually asked, "Surname?"
The reason for this question was still the imprisonment of the demon race in the prison. For example, the five great demons of the upper five realms used the aliases Yun Qing, Qing Qiu, Dream Granny, Bamboo Joint, and Hou Changjun. Except for the last one, a supremely talented great demon at the Immortal realm who had a surname, the rest, even their aliases, had no surnames. As for their true names, they would never be easily revealed.
The same was true for the middle five realms demon race. No matter what aliases they used, it was only at the moment of death that Nian Xin, using the seamstress's techniques, could learn their true names from the golden cores and nascent souls she had stripped away.
For pure martial artists in the Haoran Heaven, choosing a teacher was like choosing a reincarnation; for the demon race, their true names had been considered a matter of life and death since ancient times.
Bai Ze compiled the "Searching-the-Mountains Chart," revealing the true names and origins of great demons, and handed it to the Rites Sage. Together, they cast a great cauldron atop a high mountain. That was one of the key reasons for the demon race's defeat back then.
If the Desolate Heaven were to break through the Sword Qi Great Wall and invade Haoran Heaven, then each true name character held by the Confucian sages would become a barrier for the demon race.
Those sword immortal seeds from the Jia Shen roster—Zhu Qie, Yu Si, ? Tan, and Liu Bai—all had no surnames. They were waiting for Tuo Yue Mountain to bestow a surname, and their given names were also chosen to be relatively obscure, precisely to avoid the Confucian sages' true name characters as much as possible.
The white-haired boy shook his head and laughed. "I'm originally from a lowly refugee family on Ai'ai Continent. I tagged along with the surname of a wealthy household; it's not worth mentioning. Actually, I had an original name, Little Grass. Later, when life settled down, I became a study boy for a rich young master. A private tutor helped me pick the name Frost's Descent—'the spirit of killing, yin begins to congeal.' It wasn't a great name to begin with. Back then, I didn't understand anything and was very happy, always thinking I was somehow connected to books."
The white-haired boy hovered in the air, then leaned back, crossing his legs. "That old tutor was also half my dao transmitter. He was a Cavern Realm cultivator, considered quite a remarkable immortal in that remote vassal kingdom. When he was young, he knew some crude Dragon-Supporting arts and worked as a strategist, but his luck was bad—nothing came of it. Later, disheartened, he became a teacher, occasionally selling his writings to earn some private money. Once, he went on a distant journey, saying he wanted to travel the mountains and waters, but he never returned. It was many years later that I learned the old tutor had gone to a demonic water shrine that had been stirring up trouble to seek justice for an official friend. He didn't get justice and lost his life there; his soul was used to light a water lantern. In a fit of rage, I risked half my life to shatter that river god's shrine and golden body, but even that wasn't enough to quell my hatred, so I swallowed the fragments of the golden body. However, that battle flooded a hundred li and submerged the prefectural city. The government pursued me, and I ended up in a very sorry state."
The extraterrestrial demon, whose original name was Frost's Descent, laughed. "'Little Grass knows not its worth, yet has forged a mountain's error.'"※
※Note: A poetic line alluding to his humble origins and his later mistakes.
Chen Ping'an had never heard of a Flying Ascension realm grand cultivator named "Frost's Descent" in the history of Ai'ai Continent.
If it were any of the upper five realm cultivators—Jade Pure, Immortal, Flying Ascension—Chen Ping'an knew little beyond the Bottle Gourd Continent, Parasol Leaf Continent, and North Ju Luzhou. He couldn't claim to have heard of them all, but when it came to Flying Ascension realm cultivators in Haoran Heaven, after becoming the Hidden Officer, he had made a point to learn about them. Besides, the secret records in the Summer Palace archives were mountainous; it was easy to follow the clues and he shouldn't have missed many.
The white-haired boy performed a graceful backflip, laughing heartily. "This is a fresh story I just made up. The Hidden Officer Patriarch can take it as he hears."
Chen Ping'an said, "I can't be sure whether the story is true or false, but I can be sure that you most likely come from the Azure Heaven."
The white-haired boy let out an "oh," then said in sudden realization, "I see where the leak is. I shouldn't have said I was pursued by the government. Except for the Azure Heaven, where officials must have a degree, the courts and governments of Haoran Heaven wouldn't have the guts or the capability."
In that heaven, which was vastly different from the contending schools of Haoran Heaven, the Daoist sect dominated, and most officials and courtiers were Daoists.
So there would never be a scene of officials praying for rain. In the Azure Heaven, local officials could use techniques to summon wind and rain, pray for blessings, and eliminate disasters. The mountain and water spirits there held low status. Although they weren't reduced to servants or laborers, compared to the glorious river deities and mountain lords of Haoran Heaven, the difference was enormous.
Chen Ping'an said, "I once had the fortune to travel with Daoist Sun of the Great Mysterious Capital Temple in North Ju Luzhou, and I gained a great deal. If I have the chance in the future, I must visit him to express my gratitude."
As the leader of the worldly Daoist sword immortal lineage, Daoist Sun was extremely accomplished in both Daoist methods and sword techniques. But what Chen Ping'an admired most about that old immortal was his mastery of pretending to be a ghost or god.
So refined it was pure perfection.
Compared to Daoist Sun, he was still millions of miles away.
The white-haired boy nodded. "I guessed as much. The middle-aged Daoist in the Wood House was originally Daoist Sun's junior brother. The wooden shrine statue was carved from the ancestral peach wood of the Great Mysterious Capital Temple. The mountain root of the five-colored mountain, the daointent contained within it, is also the root of the Great Mysterious Capital Temple's sword immortal lineage. My eyes aren't blind—I can see it. So Bamboo Joint said you were lucky in fate, both wrong and right."
To visit another heaven and visit the Great Mysterious Capital Temple meant Chen Ping'an would have to reach the Flying Ascension realm.
Chen Ping'an asked a key question: "Have you ever heard of the Three Mountains Art of Refining?"
The white-haired boy's expression turned strange. "Heard of it, but just barely heard of it."
Chen Ping'an asked again, "Then can I use it to refine that god's heart? That god's corpse was once the assistant officer of the ancient Fire God?"
The white-haired boy grinned. "Whether you can refine it, I don't know. As for the god's body, it has no fixed element of the five phases; it encompasses everything. Whatever you lack, it can supplement. This prison is a refined object, but that molten pool—the Sword Qi Great Wall never touched it, and it has remained undecayed for ten thousand years. I'm not afraid that you won't be able to refine it; I'm afraid that after you refine it, your body and soul won't be able to withstand it. Two great matters—piecing together the five phases and stitching the true name—will both fall short. If you don't believe me, ask Nian Xin."
Nian Xin stood by the steps and answered bluntly, "Unless I sacrifice the Golden Registers and Jade Books and use all the characters to construct the four walls of the heart chamber."
These two immortal treasures, both of half-immortal weapon rank, were the very foundation of Nian Xin's dao. The cost was not insignificant.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Conditions?"
Nian Xin said, "You've insisted that the stitching only be done on the upper body. Please abandon this delusional insistence."
Chen Ping'an replied, "Refused."
The white-haired boy gloated, having waited a long time for this good show; it was finally on stage.
Nian Xin said angrily, "Chen Ping'an! Thirty-two stitching points, if only on the limbs and upper body, will inevitably be unbalanced. Do you think that's acceptable? As a seamstress, in my current state, do you think I'm the kind of woman who cares about such gender taboos? And you are the Hidden Officer of the Sword Qi Great Wall, a dao cultivator with aspirations to reach the summit! Why must you be bothered by this so-called male-female barrier?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "I am bothered. In the eyes of Senior Nian Xin, I am merely a stitching object whose skin has been peeled, tendons drawn, bones scraped, and characters carved. But in my eyes, Senior Nian Xin is still, after all, a woman."
Nian Xin was livid. "Chen Ping'an, you are simply impossible to reason with!"
The white-haired boy rolled on the ground, clutching his belly with laughter, but he suppressed it hard, afraid to make a sound.
So amusing, so satisfying.
Chen Ping'an cupped his fists in apology. "I beg Senior Nian Xin to understand."
Nian Xin flickered and vanished.
Chen Ping'an wasn't too worried that Nian Xin would abandon the task halfway, leaving the stitching incomplete.
But it was very likely that in the next stitching session, Nian Xin would make him suffer more—and unnecessarily so.
Once Nian Xin was gone, the white-haired boy immediately sat up straight.
Chen Ping'an laughed. "Senior Frost's Descent, why aren't you still enjoying yourself?"
The white-haired boy lightly pounded his chest. "My heart aches, my heart aches. To see the Hidden Officer Patriarch being misunderstood by Nian Xin—my heart aches like it's being twisted."
You call me senior, I call you patriarch—brothers good.
Chen Ping'an asked, "If I refine it, will it affect the prison?"
The white-haired boy nodded. "Of course, the prison will lose half of its suppression restrictions. But it doesn't matter. Even if it all disappears, there's still Old Deaf Child, and farther away there's the Executioner. Even if those demon race all run wild, there won't be any trouble."
Demons like Yun Qing were exceptions. The middle five realms demon race in the prison had only five Nascent Soul sword cultivators left, all battle-hardened and very troublesome.
Chen Ping'an said, "Yun Qing will most likely break the restrictions and choose to leave the prison. Even if only for a moment of freedom, she wants to walk out and take a few glances at the ancient battlefield ruins. Dream Granny is also willing to die under the Executioner's sword rather than be killed by an unknown like me."
The white-haired boy rubbed his chin. "That's true. What to do?"
Chen Ping'an looked at him. Hadn't he said he had found a good ancestor?
The white-haired boy sighed. "I'll help the Hidden Officer Patriarch keep an eye on those prison doors, okay?"
Chen Ping'an said, "Senior Multiply Mountain, please inform the Oldest Sword Immortal that I want to refine an object."
Old Deaf Child's voice sounded in Chen Ping'an's mind lake. "Do you need some heavenly treasures and earthly treasures prepared?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "No need."
Besides the Five-Colored Gold Cauldron Stove, Chen Ping'an also had the "guidance" opportunity given by Fire Dragon True Person. After breaking into the Distant Wandering realm, it had become increasingly obvious. He just needed Nian Xin to help extract it, plus the Three Mountains Immortal Art of Refining—that was enough.
The white-haired boy looked somewhat gloomy. "Really not planning to jump from the three realms straight into the Jade Pure realm?"
If Chen Ping'an succeeded in refining, he might cross a major threshold and break into the Cavern realm.
Chen Ping'an ignored him.
The white-haired boy said seriously, "Then I'll take a step back. I'll give up my little schemes, no longer trying to take over your body like a cuckoo. I only seek a place to settle, a way to leave the prison alive, and hope to one day return to the Azure Heaven. The other conditions remain; consider it me buying my life with money."
Chen Ping'an still shook his head.
The white-haired boy slowly rose, changing his appearance into a knife-wielding Daoist holding a fly whisk. The Daoist robe's style was neither that of the three lineages of the White Jade Capital nor that of the Great Mysterious Capital Temple's sword immortal lineage. It was a purple dharma garment that Chen Ping'an had never seen or heard of. It had a front-opening style with long sleeves that followed the body, embroidered with gold and silver threads depicting sun, moon, stars, the eight trigrams, cloud patterns, ancient seal scripts, ten islands and three continents, and various immortal birds and strange beasts. It was as if the dharma robe itself was a vast heaven and earth, a blessed land teeming with life.
At this moment, the Daoist, clad in a Celestial Immortal Cave Garment, had eyes that seemed to contain shifting stars. With a calm expression, he smiled. "Chen Ping'an, you schemed against me, made me deliver a flying sword message, and cost me a hundred years of dao practice. But you, a cultivator of the lower five realms, still have such cunning. After I traveled through your mind five times and observed your heart, how could I not have left a backup plan?"
Not only did Old Deaf Child arrive instantly, but even that sword light that the Executioner had given to Du Shanyin flashed over, breaking through layers upon layers of void barriers, dazzling and brilliant.
Perhaps this was the "true form and truth" of the Flying Ascension realm grand cultivator Frost's Descent from the Azure Heaven.
Chen Ping'an waved his hand, signaling Old Deaf Child not to act. He looked at the extraterrestrial demon and asked, "Really insisting on a forced sale?"
The Daoist "Frost's Descent" smiled. "Want to give it a try?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Let's give it a try."
Old Deaf Child frowned deeply.
Even if after the attempt, this extraterrestrial demon would certainly die, what good would it do you, Chen Ping'an? Wasn't it better to continue with the pretense of civility as before? Why tear off the mask so thoroughly? For both sides, it wasn't a good deal. Of course, for "Frost's Descent," he truly had no way out. When Chen Ping'an left the prison, if he didn't ask the Oldest Sword Immortal for a favor to show leniency for the extraterrestrial demon, it meant that Chen Ping'an had already made up his mind to let the Oldest Sword Immortal use his sword.
If Chen Ping'an dawdled and tried to muddle through, neither saving nor killing, Old Deaf Child knew that given the Oldest Sword Immortal's temperament, he would let Chen Ping'an suffer the consequences.
A Flying Ascension realm extraterrestrial demon had means to follow him out, and from then on, on Chen Ping'an's cultivation path, before he could return to Haoran Heaven, there would be endless troubles.
Of course, that was assuming Chen Ping'an could actually survive and still have the chance to see his teacher, the Literary Saint Old Scholar, who had merged with heaven and earth.
Nian Xin, who had returned, cursed Chen Ping'an inwardly for his impatience. Why had breaking into the Distant Wandering realm, with martial fortune in his body, seemed to change his entire heart? That treacherous extraterrestrial demon should have been stalled first. Refine the object first to break through, then stitch the clothes successfully, and then bring out the Oldest Sword Immortal—that would have been better than rushing to spar with a Flying Ascension realm cultivator in heart-mind cultivation.
Dao cultivators were good at refining objects; extraterrestrial demons were good at refining hearts.
The Oldest Sword Immortal suddenly appeared. "Can't you give me a break?"
Every time he saw Chen Qingdu, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. This time, the extraterrestrial demon didn't revert to the white-haired boy's appearance but instead asked, "Chen Qingdu, does our agreement count or not? Can I leave the Sword Qi Great Wall or not?!"
Old Deaf Child wasn't surprised.
Chen Qingdu wasn't the type to keep an extraterrestrial demon as a pet for fun.
Sure enough, Chen Qingdu said, "You can change to someone with a higher realm, like Hou Changjun, or simply find someone with an innately good appearance, like the disciple Old Deaf Child picked. As for whether you can leave alive? Don't ask me."
Nian Xin was left speechless. The last three words—a familiar phrasing.
Old Deaf Child's face darkened a bit, but he didn't dare question Chen Qingdu's decision. He just regretted making that deal with Chen Ping'an too early.
Frost's Descent shook his head.
Chen Qingdu laughed. "You're biting the hand that feeds you, huh?"
Frost's Descent remained silent.
Chen Qingdu turned to look at Chen Ping'an.
Chen Ping'an said, "I'm just a cultivator of the lower five realms. I have to stitch the clothes, and now I have to play mind games with a Flying Ascension realm extraterrestrial demon. Oldest Sword Immortal, you have no reason to stand idly by."
Nian Xin thought this young Hidden Officer was in for another scolding.
But unexpectedly, Chen Qingdu nodded with a smile. "Finally, you've taken the initiative to ask for something once. Rare."
When Chen Ping'an was in Haoran Heaven, he sought everything from himself and never asked for outside help, so Chen Qingdu couldn't be bothered.
But now that he was the Hidden Officer of the Sword Qi Great Wall, if he didn't ask Chen Qingdu for a few things, did he think this Oldest Sword Immortal was just a decoration?
---
On Inverted Mountain, Mi Yu begged Shao Yunyan to take him to that Yellow Millet Tavern to drink the famous Forget-Sorrow Wine.
Unexpectedly, just when he got Shao Yunyan to agree, Nalan Caihuan said she would tag along too, enjoying the benefit without any effort.
The three entered the tavern. Shao Yunyan noticed that besides the old shopkeeper and the young attendant, there was now a woman of youthful appearance, not particularly striking. She was lying on the table, daydreaming, a stack of books placed on the table, one open in front of her, face down. The attendant Xu Jia sat beside his young mistress, daydreaming with her.
Shao Yunyan remembered that the first time he came to the tavern for a drink, the woman was like this; now it was still much the same. Women in cultivation, with their techniques for preserving youthful appearance, were a great temptation.
Mi Yu sat down, took a drink, and gulped it down heavily, ending up dead drunk. He didn't say anything drunken, but he looked somewhat lost.
Nalan Caihuan sipped her wine, her eyes dazed, as if reminded of something sorrowful.
The old shopkeeper was teasing a martial sparrow in a jade cage, laughing. "Tearing down the ape's lair, moving out the plum garden, and now even the Water Crystal Palace is restless. Immortal Master Cloud Sign intends to lead people north to select a site and open a mansion. The Rain Dragon Sect's sect leader personally came to Inverted Mountain, and the two sisters are not getting along well. All thanks to your new Hidden Officer, right?"
Shao Yunyan smiled and nodded. "The Hidden Officer is still kind-hearted. If it were me, I wouldn't wade into this muddy water. Ordinary people who don't know their fate—that's one thing. But cultivators who don't seek their own blessings and don't think to avoid misfortune—don't they deserve to die?"
Drinking in the Yellow Millet Blessed Land, words had no taboos.
Mi Yu staggered to his feet and walked to that wall. "Bring me a brush!"
Xu Jia got up and handed him a brush. The drunk Mi Yu wiped his face and wrote a line: "Deep night lights a lamp, small dreams think of home, startled by an oriole's call, a pillow of yellow millet."
Nalan Caihuan also walked over and wrote a line: "With close ones, it's hardest to behave properly."
Shao Yunyan turned his head and glanced at the words on the wall. The difference in temperament between the two sword cultivators, male and female, could be seen from this. One was ornate, the other pragmatic.
That woman suddenly looked up and asked Nalan Caihuan, "Now the Sword Qi Great Wall is on high alert, I can't go to the southern city. How is that A Liang?"
Nalan Caihuan sat back down and laughed. "What else could it be? Same as always."
The woman was sorrowful, her long autumn eyes like a spring pond filled with sadness. "He's back at the Sword Qi Great Wall and doesn't even think to come find me for a drink. With me in the tavern, at least the drinks are free. I came all the way from the White Paper Blessed Land to Inverted Mountain, and I haven't even seen him once."
The old shopkeeper laughed. "You'd still have to run a tab, and the debt would still have to be repaid."
The woman said, "A Liang said that money owed isn't money."
The old shopkeeper nodded. "And his face isn't a face either."
The woman lay back on the table, slapping it with both hands. "So boring! I wish I hadn't come back to Inverted Mountain. In that White Paper Blessed Land, I would have already borne many children with A Liang."
The old shopkeeper couldn't be bothered to lecture this daughter anymore.
Shao Yunyan didn't want to hear any more of these Yellow Millet Tavern family affairs. He asked, "Shopkeeper, what are your plans?"
The old man said, "There's a secret realm on Fuyao Continent that's only appeared in recent years. It's part of the former Yellow Millet Blessed Land. I'm planning to go take a look there. Once some sect takes it over, I'll negotiate. If we can come to an agreement, I'll spend the money to buy it and open a larger tavern. I'm leaving right away. If nothing unexpected happens, you should be the last batch of customers at the Inverted Mountain tavern."
The woman said, "I'm not leaving. Until I see A Liang, I'm going nowhere."
Xu Jia pointed upward and said softly, "Miss, going nowhere—that's not possible. You might end up there all of a sudden."
The woman glared at him, and the young attendant shrank his neck.
Mi Yu laughed. "May I ask this young lady, what are the sights like in Haoran Heaven?"
The woman glanced at Mi Yu. He wasn't bad-looking, but not as good as A Liang.
She said casually, "It's okay."
Mi Yu murmured, "How can it just be 'okay'?"
---
After leaving the gathering site of the Desolate Heaven's demon race army, the little girl with pigtails didn't rush to that ancient well where the fourteen thrones were placed.
She wandered around, not afraid of taking detours.
Pulling her two pigtails, she drifted along, traveling by wind. Where there were high mountains, she went to the peaks to enjoy the view; where there were great rivers, she sought out the water palaces. But it was said that the mountain and water gods of the Desolate Heaven weren't as flamboyant as those in Haoran Heaven, and indeed it was so. After visiting a few mountain god shrines and water god palaces, she was somewhat disappointed.
One punch killed a group of trash; one foot crushed a bunch of ants.
No rules, no restrictions, doing whatever she pleased—the taste was excellent. Like having no wine, she substituted it with snacks, chewing soybeans, crunching.
Then she was caught up by two sword immortals from the Hidden Officer lineage, Luo Shan and Zhu An, who chose to accompany her on her travels through the Desolate Heaven. They had defected from the Sword Qi Great Wall with Xiao Xun. In the military camp, there was really nothing to do, and besides, they wouldn't draw their swords against the Sword Qi Great Wall. Haoran Heaven was the place the two sword immortals longed for. Once there, they would challenge any sword sect that hadn't had a sword immortal go to the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Above the clouds, Luo Shan saw the Hidden Officer tugging at her pigtails, spinning like a bamboo dragonfly as she traveled by wind, and he was somewhat helpless.
The sword immortal Zhu An laughed. "The Hidden Officer should have left the Sword Qi Great Wall long ago."
Next, they were going to tour a great city in the Desolate Heaven, the capital of some dynasty. The threshold was very high. To settle or enter the city, one had to be in human form, which meant that within the city, all were demon race cultivators with minor accomplishments in technique. Of course, there were many shortcuts—spending money to bring in demon race servants of insufficient realm, buying talisman skins to put on and pretend.
This kind of rule was rare in the Desolate Heaven.
And it also meant that this dynasty had enormous power.
The emperor and empress were both Immortal realm cultivators, one of them a sword immortal. Neither had gone to the battlefield at the Sword Qi Great Wall this time. According to the gossip Zhu An had heard from the Jia Zi account, they had bought off disaster by emptying the national treasury.
A group of guards from the capital rose into the air by wind, their armor bright and resplendent, blocking the three from approaching the capital's sky. A Nascent Soul roared, "Who goes there?!"
Xiao Xun just kept spinning, circling around that group of demon race cultivators in a big loop. After a moment, a series of firecracker-like sounds rang out, and clouds of blood mist scattered with the wind.
A rainbow light shot up from the imperial palace, and a sword stopped at a distance. It was a handsome man with long hair draped over his shoulders, wearing a ceremonial robe embroidered with large circles of fiery red gold and woven threads, with peacock down embroidering dragon patterns. Thus, the robe was dazzlingly golden and emerald-green, very eye-catching. When the man saw the little girl with pigtails, he immediately bent at the waist and cupped his fists. "The Hidden Officer graces us with your presence; we failed to welcome you from afar."
Xiao Xun kept spinning, including the man along with Luo Shan and Zhu An in her circle. "I'm no longer the Hidden Officer. Are you insulting me?"
The man bowed even lower. "I would never dare to offend the Hidden Officer. In my heart, the Hidden Officer of the Sword Qi Great Wall will always and only be you."
Zhu An smiled knowingly. All this bending and twisting, learning from the mortal monarchs of Haoran Heaven—this demon race sword immortal had indeed picked up many bad habits.
Xiao Xun punched this great demon back to the capital.
When the great demon crashed through the ridge of a great hall in the imperial palace, Xiao Xun, appearing like a shadow, stomped on his back, and then delivered a final punch that drove the demon, now in his true form, more than a hundred zhang deep into the ground.
Above the clouds outside the capital, Luo Shan laughed. "He said 'Hidden Officer' three times."
The sword immortal Zhu An nodded. "Didn't learn his lesson."
---
In the Ten Thousand Mountains.
The old blind man guarding the thatched hut and vegetable garden had an old dog lying at his feet. The old man kicked it away and then looked up into the distance, scratching his face.
The old man's cheeks were sunken, skin and bones.
That old dog spoke from a distance, "The Sword Qi Great Wall and the sword Dao luck are difficult to separate cleanly. Once Tuo Yue Mountain takes them in, they can attack or defend. For the next ten thousand years, as this one wanes and that one waxes, it'll be Haoran Heaven's turn to worry."
The old blind man said slowly, "Does a dog know anything that Chen Qingdu wouldn't?"
Chen Qingdu wouldn't let the Desolate Heaven take too much. To manage that was already extremely difficult.
To want to leave nothing at all for the Desolate Heaven was a fool's dream. Just that wall that had stood for ten thousand years—how could it be moved? Who could move it? And those sword immortal seeds, great and small, laden with luck—how to settle them? You couldn't just throw them anywhere and be done with it.
Especially when Chen Qingdu might still want the young sword cultivators to keep a Sword Qi Great Wall in their hearts on their future cultivation paths, willing to pass down that intent generation after generation—that was even more impossibly difficult.
Those young people of the Sword Qi Great Wall would scatter to the four winds in the future, and they would soon understand one thing: without Chen Qingdu and the Sword Qi Great Wall, life and death would only be more inexplicable than in the battlefields of their hometowns back then.
On the Sword Qi Great Wall, a tavern was quiet and lonely. There was no helping it—as long as one was a sword cultivator, regardless of realm, everyone had gone to the city walls to fight.
Feng Kangle and Tao Ban sat side by side on a long bench, eating plain noodles together. Feng Kangle suddenly asked, "Do you think we'll die?"
Tao Ban thought for a moment and laughed. "No, we're still young, haven't earned any money, haven't even drunk any wine—it doesn't make sense. Besides, isn't the Second Shopkeeper still here?"
Feng Kangle nodded vigorously and laughed along, picking up a big chopstickful of plain noodles.
---
Outside the small door to the prison, Old Deaf Child asked, "Are you really willing to part with the Golden Registers and Jade Books?"
Nian Xin nodded.
Old Deaf Child sighed in admiration. "Not even a dao couple is like this."
Nian Xin sneered. "Watch your mouth."
Old Deaf Child scratched his head. Women's hearts changed faster than flipping through a book—really no different from an extraterrestrial demon.
The white-haired boy squatting at the door shouted, "Move aside, move aside, all of you! Let me be the sole guardian for the Hidden Officer Patriarch!"
Over by the pavilion building.
Chen Qingdu stood inside, looking around.
Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism. Pure martial artists.