Chapter 679: All the World Is a Distant Traveler

Chapter 679: All the World Is a Distant Traveler

Nian Xin was not one to enjoy watching a spectacle, but for this otherworldly celestial demon from the Azure World, she felt a spark of curiosity for the first time. The "true immortal visage" that the celestial demon had displayed earlier had left Nian Xin deeply shaken, especially the way that "Daoist Frostfall" had draped himself in a celestial immortal's cave robe of astonishing quality. Nian Xin felt that if she could painstakingly unravel the tens of thousands of warp and weft threads one by one, it would allow her needlework skills to ascend to an even higher level. If her luck was a bit better, perhaps this would be the key to her long-stalled great path.

Nian Xin said, "Your name is Wu Shuangjiang."

The white-haired boy, squatting on the ground, looked up. "And then?"

Nian Xin said, "Wu Shuangjiang was a military cultivator while alive, not a Daoist."

Having said that, "As it stands now, Wu Shuangjiang may not necessarily be dead at all."

The white-haired boy chuckled. "Why a military cultivator? Give me a reason."

Nian Xin said, "Wu Shuangjiang, unparalleled general—sounds like a fine name to be thrown onto a battlefield. Not being a military cultivator would be a bit of a waste."

Old Deaf Man felt that this young lady's mind was truly muddled. Following Nian Xin's logic, his own nickname was Old Deaf Man, and down south in the hundred-thousand great mountains there was an Old Blind Man—were they long-lost brothers? Right, if Nian Xin's mind were really clear, she wouldn't have remained a seamstress all this time. Those most notorious demonic cultivators—the Lone Rider of the Southern Seas, the Passerby, the Plague God, the Corpse Beauty, and so on—all belonged to dead-end paths that couldn't be switched. But seamstresses, executioners, and mirror sellers could change paths midway. With proper maneuvering, secretly switching to become a registered immortal master wasn't difficult. But Nian Xin, regardless of how she had first become a seamstress or whether she was willing in her heart, had clearly made up her mind to walk this path to the end.

The white-haired boy spat, rubbed his face with both hands, and looked utterly incredulous. "That actually works?!"

Old Deaf Man asked, "Did Nian Xin really hit the mark?"

The white-haired boy imitated his own ancestor, tucking his hands into his sleeves. He looked at Nian Xin with pity, then at Old Deaf Man—two fools, why not just acknowledge each other as father and daughter.

If it weren't for the fact that his great path was currently in jeopardy and his life might be at stake, he could have, based on Nian Xin's so-called military cultivator ancestor identity, rattled off a series of thrilling tales about Wu Shuangjiang: flooding the Water Spirit Palace, burning down the Fire God Temple, trampling the Xuan Du Temple, smashing the Heaven-Summoning Drum, and attacking the White Jade Capital. He guaranteed every story would be tightly interwoven and logically sound.

He turned sideways, lifted his rear, and pressed both hands and ears tightly against the small door. "Why isn't there any movement? I'm so worried about the Hidden Officer Ancestor. With his old grudge-holding nature, if the refining fails, he'll definitely come after me. Grandson, great-granddaughter, you two hurry up and pray to gods and bodhisattvas for me. Be sincere. If it works out, I'll count it as a merit for you. From now on, our family of three will set up our own mountain stronghold and jointly worship the Hidden Officer as our ancestor. Then we won't have to envy the Executioner's side for having more people. At that time, I'll deal with that Clothes-Beating Woman and Silk-Washing Maiden, Old Deaf Man and the Executioner can beat each other's brains out, and Nian Xin, you can stand by with a bucket to catch them..."

Nian Xin placed her foot against the white-haired boy's head and slowly increased the pressure, pressing half of his face against the door.

The white-haired boy wasn't the least bit angry.

Old Deaf Man was a bit envious of Nian Xin. In the early years when he had first encountered this celestial demon, they had butted heads quite a bit. And between it and the Executioner, the rivalry continued to this day. Yet for some reason, Frostfall alone never paid much attention to Nian Xin. Old Deaf Man wasn't afraid that this celestial demon would stir up trouble, but the lack of peace and quiet was ultimately annoying. Back when the celestial demon had followed Old Deaf Man around, inseparable for eighty years, even a moment of peaceful cultivation was difficult. Later, he could only call it "grandfather" to barely shake it off.

Nian Xin withdrew her foot.

The white-haired boy maintained his posture and said, "If you say hello to the Hidden Officer Ancestor, and then have him say hello to me, I'll agree to conjure that 'crimson-purple' dharma robe and let you look your fill."

The white-haired boy seemed worried that Nian Xin, as a Haoran World Qi refiner, wouldn't understand the marvel of the "crimson-purple" dharma robe, and explained, "That feathered robe of mine is one of three imitations of the Dao Ancestor's robe when he rode an ox out of the pass. Although it was woven in later ages, it still contains endless Dao intent. It is one of the mountain-treasures of that Year-Ending Palace, the core of the mountain-and-river formation. When the ancestor shakes his robe, the mountain peak is like wearing a feathered robe. No matter how many times a sword immortal strikes, it remains unbreakable."

Having said this, the white-haired boy sneered coldly. "The Year-Ending Palace is as famous as the Grand Xuan Du Temple. Nian Xin, you weigh that yourself."

Nian Xin offered her thanks and no longer lingered by the door wasting time. The characters on the golden talisman and jade scroll could now begin to be peeled off.

Old Deaf Man praised, "Good skill."

Frostfall stood up, shook his sleeves, and said, "Obedient grandson."

His action had helped Nian Xin, granting her a tremendous Dao opportunity. It also helped Chen Ping'an, ensuring he wouldn't suffer extra hardship at Nian Xin's hands. At the same time, it could repay the debt of the golden talisman and jade scroll. As for Frostfall, it also helped himself. He had already received a secret instruction from Chen Qingdu earlier: rather than choosing to be an enemy of Chen Ping'an in the realm of the mind, it was better to choose to be a friend of Chen Ping'an's companions. The guidance was fake, but the threat was real. It was clearly telling him to stop meddling, to no longer tamper with Chen Ping'an's state of mind, set traps, or dig pitfalls.

Frostfall hadn't been trying to scare Chen Ping'an earlier. Over several travels, using the Three Mountains and Nine Marquises Art as a foundation, and the derived Twenty-Four Mountain-Aspect Method—called dragon-seeking—he had appraised a "auspicious site"—called point-acupoint—and in a secluded corner of a useless grotto within the personal world of the human body, had dug a round pit the size of a mirror—called earth-breaking. The round pit was named "golden well," then covered with a bushel-shaped wooden box. From then on, the heart well was like a covered, dried-up well, no longer seeing the "light of sun, moon, and stars."

Seeking the dragon, pointing the acupoint, breaking the earth, covering the box—each travel completed one step, and each time he had to secretly avoid that patrolling fire dragon, especially that little golden figure riding the dragon, wearing a sword, and carrying sutras. Every time he entered Chen Ping'an's heart lake, the celestial demon would play hide-and-seek with that little fellow.

This maneuver was extremely deeply hidden and would not have any impact on Chen Ping'an's current realm or cultivation. However, once this scholar's heart became stained, if there was a place that didn't see light—even if minuscule—when Chen Ping'an's realm became high, it would become as vast as a mountain. Or if Frostfall simply smashed the golden well right now, it could leave a flaw in Chen Ping'an's heart. The foundation of the great path would no longer be complete. Could it be mended? Of course—Chen Ping'an would only need to gift this golden well to the celestial demon as a grotto dwelling. Not only could it patch the leak, but it could also benefit the realm and become a source of Dao arts for a Qi refiner.

As for the method of refining the three mountains, Frostfall was certainly no stranger to it. It was far more than just having heard of it.

But Frostfall still hadn't figured out one thing: from Chen Ping'an actively asking his name, to mentioning the Fire Dragon True Person's transmission of the Three Mountains Refining Art, whether Chen Ping'an had done this deliberately, whether he had already detected that anomaly, and thus didn't hesitate to tear off the mask and call in Chen Qingdu to keep the situation under control.

The white-haired boy couldn't help but lament, "I can only perform the Dao in a snail's shell. It restrains the vast divine powers of this grandfather."

Chen Ping'an had successively refined four life-bound objects: the sea of clouds at Old Dragon City, the immortal guesthouse at the mouth of the Great River, the Dragon Palace Grotto-Heaven, and the secret chamber of the Ning Estate on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

The final one was of the five-element category, along with two more or less superfluous dharma protectors: the flying-ascension great demon Cheng Shan, and the flying-ascension otherworldly celestial demon, Frostfall.

The small door slowly opened, and Chen Ping'an appeared.

The white-haired boy immediately said fawningly, "Hidden Officer Ancestor, your talent is so outstanding it's outrageous. The speed of refining is so fast. To hell with Cao Ci and the like—they're not even worthy of holding the Hidden Officer's shoes... Huh? Why hasn't the Hidden Officer started refining yet? Is it because there's too much martial luck in your body that hasn't been fully tempered? Among the worries of the world, how many martial artists can understand this?"

Old Deaf Man felt that when it came to sycophantic flattery, calling it "grandfather" a few times wasn't losing anything.

Chen Ping'an said, "Coming out for some air."

Chen Ping'an strolled along the stairs. All around was natural, dark, and murky. How far one could see depended solely on cultivation.

Because the young Hidden Officer was walking downward, the white-haired boy walked ahead, moving sideways, bending over, and extending both hands, reminding the Hidden Officer Ancestor to be careful where he stepped.

If they were going up the steps, the white-haired boy would follow behind, also extending both hands, lest the Hidden Officer Ancestor accidentally fall backward.

In terms of outward fawning, it was likely that the entire Hidden Officer lineage of the Summer Palace—including Mi Yu, Gu Jianlong, and Cao Gun—couldn't match this celestial demon.

It seemed interesting yet boring, but the white-haired boy would silently count in his heart, waiting to see when Chen Ping'an would speak up to deny this. It was truly boring yet interesting.

Chen Ping'an paid no attention to the celestial demon's absurd antics and let it carry on as it pleased.

Chen Ping'an had indeed not yet begun to refine that lava furnace. The martial luck in his body was not the reason. Nian Xin had already helped extract two sparks from that fire dragon earlier, which were precisely the two fire dragon eyes. For the pure martial artist's true qi-converged patrolling fire dragon, the two sparks that continuously merged to become the dragon's eyes were originally external objects. After Nian Xin scraped them away, it didn't harm the fire dragon's vitality. However, the process of "taking the eyes" had some complications. As a jade-grotto realm seamstress, she was unable to suppress that unruly true qi fire dragon. If she forcibly gouged out the two eyes, it would likely cause a major commotion and damage the foundation of Chen Ping'an's physical body. This was probably the inherent incompatibility between Qi refiners and pure martial artists.

Chen Ping'an had to negotiate with that little golden figure. After much persuasion and receiving countless scoldings, the latter finally stepped on the fire dragon's head, making it docile and motionless, allowing Nian Xin to take what she needed.

Up to this point, everything had gone smoothly. But when Chen Ping'an entered the small door and began operating the ancient immortal art taught by the Fire Dragon True Person, he found himself in an awkward situation. It stemmed from the rain-praying stele outside the Water God Temple of Biyou Manor. The refining incantation that had evolved from it seemed faintly like a disappointed person hiding away, lamenting to itself, and its self-operation of techniques stirred up the ripples of his heart lake. In normal times, this would be a good omen of successful cultivation and communion with the heavens—a great blessing. But at the critical moment of refining fire-attribute objects, it was a fatal trouble. By the time Chen Ping'an sensed the abnormality and his mind- mustard-seed went to the water manor, he saw that the green-clad children were all restless, huddled under the mural that resembled a water-immortal pilgrimage map. Clearly, within the small world of the human body, a struggle between water and fire had begun to brew. Because Chen Ping'an's great path was water-affiliated, refining a divine heart of unimaginable rank into a fire-attribute object caused this water-fire conflict to be most pronounced. Previously, when he first refined the water manor and then the mountain shrine, they complemented each other as mountain and water, which instead benefited the refining process. Later, when he refined the wood-attribute life-bound object, both water and earth assisted, and the aura of the small world of the human body did not drag anything down.

Now, no matter how Chen Ping'an tried to suppress the aura of the heart lake water manor, the effect was minimal.

Chen Ping'an stood outside a prison cell. Inside, an imprisoned Nascent Soul sword cultivator demon, going by the alias Yellow-Brown, had a life-bound flying sword called "Drenching." His true form was a scorpion, belonging to the cockroach family according to the *Record of Mountain Searches*.

Chen Ping'an often stood here without speaking. Yellow-Brown, in turn, was devoted to nurturing his sword and pretended not to notice the young man outside.

Chen Ping'an asked, "Do you have any suppression methods? Use a mountain-sealing technique to close the water manor."

The white-haired boy said with a mournful face, "Hidden Officer Ancestor, seniority is seniority, business is business. Right now, our relationship is cleanly cut. Don't try to take advantage of me, okay?"

Chen Ping'an said, "Why not do business? Starting now, we'll truly do business. If you give enough, you can earn a life. Your oaths are useless, but my oath is genuine. When the time comes, I'll go plead with the Great Sword Immortal. But there's a bottom line: you can scheme against others. I've already arranged with the Great Sword Immortal that if you scheme against me again, I'll just chop you down with a sword."

The white-haired boy asked, "Are you really willing to change your mind and let me leave this prison?"

Chen Ping'an said, "Things have a sequence. You schemed against me first, wanting to seize my body and soul, coveting my karmic entanglements and bit of luck, so you could hide even deeper. If you succeeded, even the Great Sword Immortal might find it hard to kill you completely. You wanted to take all the advantages. Why would I let you leave the prison alive? Do you think I'm your real grandfather or ancestor? If I were your real ancestor, with such a degenerate descendant, I would have already killed you to show justice."

The white-haired boy curled his lips. "And you want me to pave the way for you, tell you more about the inside rules of the Azure World, so you can plan ahead for when you ascend to the Azure World and make that challenge to White Jade Capital."

"Did I say I didn't?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and rubbed the white-haired boy's head. "Why aren't you calling me ancestor anymore?"

The celestial demon said cheerfully, "Okay! Ancestor!"

Chen Ping'an turned his palm into a fist, and the otherworldly celestial demon shattered with a bang. It then coalesced into human form elsewhere, with green snakes coiled around its ears and a dao robe draped over it. It hopped all the way back, exclaiming excitedly, "The Hidden Officer Ancestor's punch truly showcases the grace of the Distant Journey Realm!"

Chen Ping'an gently twisted his wrist. Having broken into the Distant Journey Realm, he was indeed much more powerful than the Golden Body Realm. But he wondered what realm Cao Ci was in now.

The white-haired boy leaked some heavenly secrets, grinning. "Refining objects with Dao arts, the Hidden Officer Ancestor holds two immortal arts that both claim to refine all things. How about using one art to refine the other?"

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, then shook his head. "If I must keep one and abandon the other, it's truly hard to choose. And once they are refined into one art, I have no idea what the result would be. Moreover, this process has too many unexpected turns. The ranks of the two immortal arts are too high, and my realm as a Qi refiner is too low. So you can speak your true thoughts now. The first deal—how to count the payment? Let's tally it up."

The white-haired boy held up two fingers. "Actually, this is the second deal. Nian Xin will come to you soon."

Chen Ping'an, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, said with a smile, "This doesn't count as business; it counts as the incense-and-fire bond of acknowledging your ancestor."

The white-haired boy also tucked his hands into his sleeves, rolled his eyes, and nodded. "Damn, that makes sense."

Chen Ping'an said, "I told you earlier, nothing in the world cannot be negotiated. You just didn't believe it."

The white-haired boy admitted frankly, "After all, I'm a flying-ascension cultivator. It's easy to get full of myself."

The Nascent Soul bottleneck sword cultivator demon stopped nurturing his life-bound flying sword, watching those "happy family" ancestral descendants outside the sword-light bars. A thought suddenly crossed Yellow-Brown's mind: if the young people of the Haoran World were all like this, then his clan better not go stirring up trouble over there. Reading and studying, their livers and hearts were soaked in ink. Their hearts, livers, and intestines were all pitch black.

Leaving that cell, the white-haired boy knew why Chen Ping'an had lingered for so long. But having seen the young man's two heart-mind landscape paintings, he absolutely dared not joke about such matters.

Chen Ping'an asked, "Regarding the Five Poisons, does the Azure World have corresponding folk customs?"

Frostfall nodded. "Plenty. For example, among the common people, they cut five-colored small gourds from colored paper and paste them upside down on doors, called 'upside-down disaster gourds.' In government offices, those registered officials of pure stream would change into a set of dharma robes bestowed by the Daoist sect, embroidered with patterns of the five poisons, then go to all the wells where the people draw water and throw in Grain Rain talismans."

Chen Ping'an said, "In the southeastern part of the Northern Juzhou Continent, both on the mountains and below, there is also the custom of posting Grain Rain talismans. In wealthy families, if they have a talisman personally written by an immortal posted at the door, it's something worth showing off, no less prestigious than a hall plaque hanging in the main house."

Frostfall said, "With a higher realm, new worries may come one after another, but one good thing is that the realm of a cultivator can truly solve many problems. Once the realm is high, many troubles will naturally disperse. Good fortune comes uninvited, and unwelcome guests leave without being dismissed."

Chen Ping'an seemed to have a slight realization and nodded. "That's a proper human statement. I've been taught."

Frostfall raised a hand to wipe away some bitter tears and sobbed, "Ancestor's words touch the heart."

Nian Xin soon arrived. Matters concerning the foundation of the great path required no embarrassment.

She was not like Chen Ping'an, a grown man who would be shy about such things—that would be effeminate and indecisive.

Chen Ping'an was extremely interested and decided to observe from the sidelines.

A celestial immortal's cave robe that was also renowned in the Azure World—Nian Xin, using her seamstress divine ability, would meticulously disassemble thirty-six thousand interwoven warp and weft threads. Even just this process was an unrepeatable "observation of the Dao."

Nian Xin first produced the golden talisman and jade scroll. "I was planning to let you suffer a bit first after you succeeded in refining, and then help you build a heart chamber," she said.

Suddenly she added, "Do you have any talisman paper of relatively high rank? Otherwise, it won't be able to hold these characters. If the rank isn't good enough, we'll have to stack them up, which is no small number."

Chen Ping'an took out a piece of green-colored talisman paper from his storage artifact.

The white-haired boy's eyelids twitched slightly.

Nian Xin nodded and had Chen Ping'an place the talisman paper beside the golden talisman and jade scroll.

She took out her life-bound dharma knife, "Willow Sinews," and began to peel off individual characters from the golden talisman and jade scroll. The knife looked ordinary, but the tip was extremely fine.

Whenever a character left the talisman scroll, Nian Xin immediately used the knife tip to guide it onto the green talisman paper. The character landed on the paper and instantly embedded itself into it, sinking down slightly, but fortunately without piercing the paper.

Finally, Nian Xin's face was deathly pale. The body below her head churned as her five organs and six viscera ground against each other, turning into a bloody mess, like a muddy pond.

Nian Xin opened her embroidered pouch, took out some unknown crimson pills, poured a big handful into her mouth, chewed them carelessly, and swallowed them.

Chen Ping'an folded the talisman paper that seemed extremely heavy and carefully put it into his sleeve. After standing up, he solemnly cupped his fists in thanks.

Nian Xin ignored him.

From beginning to end, suffering great damage to her foundation to the point that her jade-grotto realm began to waver, the woman had never once frowned.

Chen Ping'an felt that Nian Xin could actually switch to martial arts.

To have someone else's knife carving on your body without moving, and to have your own knife carving on your body without flinching—those are two different realms.

Nian Xin looked at the white-haired boy.

The white-haired boy did not assume his true form as "Flying-ascension Great Cultivator Frostfall." Instead, glancing at the expressionless Hidden Officer Ancestor beside him, he shrank his head, extended two fingers, pinched a corner, and slowly pulled. Suddenly, a radiant light flowed, and countless beams of rosy light shot out, gradually revealing the dao robe dharma garment. Then, with a sharp tug, he pulled the robe out and held it in his hand. A phantasmal dao robe, shimmering with brilliance, cascaded down like a waterfall, suffused with clouds and mists.

Chen Ping'an asked curiously, "The dharma appearance is false, the robe is false—why does it seem so real?"

Nian Xin's eyes burned with passion, feeling that Chen Ping'an was too much of an outsider. "It contains Dao intent. When it manifests in the world, it is almost a manifestation of the Great Dao itself. Why talk about true or false?"

Chen Ping'an had his eyes opened wide. His own dharma robe, "Golden Sweet Wine," though repeatedly 'fed' with golden essence copper coins to raise its rank to immortal weapon, was nowhere near the marvel of this robe.

The white-haired boy snapped, "Little girl, how dare you speak to my ancestor like that?! Show some respect to your grandfather!"

Nian Xin responded with a cold sneer, glanced at Chen Ping'an, who then looked at the white-haired boy. The boy looked left and right, laughing awkwardly.

Nian Xin took the robe, which was extremely light in hand, almost weightless, spread it out on her palm, and gently stroked it. Her expression was like a drunkard savoring fine wine, or a lover caressing the skin of his beloved.

Chen Ping'an felt a bit intimidated. Earlier, the female sword immortal Xie Songhua's risqué talk, and now Nian Xin's gaze at her beloved object—both made Chen Ping'an uncomfortable.

The white-haired boy told Nian Xin the layers of prohibitions on this robe. She sat down, gently placed the robe on her knees, and wielded ten life-bound embroidery needles. Together, they picked up a thread end, slowly drew it out, and wound it into a ball, placing it at her feet.

Just drawing out a single thread took a full incense-stick's worth of time.

Nian Xin, greatly drained of spirit, closed her eyes and slowly breathed in and out for a while.

At one point, a minuscule error in threading triggered multiple prohibitions. The sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, and myriad things on the robe changed color, and eventually, the robe directly clad itself around Nian Xin. Her soul trembled, and she felt as if she had been thrown into a forbidden world. Frostfall quickly maneuvered the robe off Nian Xin's body. This showed the danger involved. Nian Xin spat out a mouthful of stagnant blood and then collected the blood into her embroidered pouch.

Chen Ping'an sat on the steps, watched for about an hour, then silently stood up and left.

Before that, it was like being in a common household, watching a woman mend clothes under a lamp.

The white-haired boy communicated via heart voice, "No need to close the water manor?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head. "No need. My heart is calm."

The white-haired boy, for once, did not follow. He cupped his cheeks with both hands and gazed at Nian Xin's needlework. "If this were a real object, your initial threading would have triggered the prohibitions. No one would have been able to take it off you, and you would have died."

Nian Xin, focused and undisturbed, treated it as wind passing by her ears.

The thread balls at her feet were piling up, clustered together like miniature suns and moons leaning on each other.

The white-haired boy suddenly said, "Nian Xin, why is it that you clearly want to live, yet you have no fear of death? Let alone the life-loving Old Deaf Man, even the ascetic Executioner fears death. In my view, among the prisoners, your state of mind is the closest to Chen Qingdu's."

Nian Xin had just pulled out another warp thread that had pierced countless mountains and rivers on the robe. She planned to rest for a moment and replied, "There are things worth clinging to in life, but nothing so much that I can't let go. Death is regrettable, but I have no great regrets either. Since it is so, what can I do?"

The white-haired boy said, "You're just lacking a bit of innate talent. If not, your great path would be promising, and breaking into the flying-ascension realm would still have great hope."

Seeing that Nian Xin showed no intention to continue, he smiled. "Have you ever heard of the Azure World's 'Glazed Cellar'? Even if you don't seek beauty, changing your skin could increase your Dao conduct considerably."

Nian Xin said, "I've only heard of the 'Fox Den' in the Barren Wasteland World."

The white-haired boy was a bit helpless. Nian Xin's deadpan humor really could kill a conversation.

Just then, the white-haired boy was the first to frown. He stood up and, for the first time, looked somewhat serious.

Nian Xin, about to thread her needle, also stopped.

Someone pushed open the door and walked out. The sound of his heartbeat was like the divine drumming of a god.

With each heartbeat like a drum, the entire small prison world began to shake.

——

The Summer Palace received a flying sword message.

Sword Immortal Chou Miao handed the secret letter to Song Gaoyuan. It came from the Water Crystal Palace of the Inverted Suspension Mountain. The envelope only bore a single stamped cipher, no signature, making it impossible to identify the owner of the cipher.

Song Gaoyuan was accompanying Xuan Shen, both paying attention to a battlefield on a painting on the ground. After reading the secret letter, he seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

These days, the sword cultivators of the Hidden Officer lineage had it easier. If they wanted to go fight on the city wall, they no longer had to follow the rule of going in groups of three. Whether alone or in groups, they could go as they pleased. Currently, Dong bude, Guo Zhujiu, and Luo Zhenyi—three female sword cultivators—had left the Summer Palace together. Besides them, Xu Ning, Gu Jianlong, and Cao Gun had also set off on their swords.

Chou Miao smiled. "What are you hesitating about? Learn from Lin Junbi."

Song Gaoyuan hesitated, then said, "I'll reply to a letter to the Water Crystal Palace of the Inverted Suspension Mountain. I want to wait until Sword Immortal Xie Zhi withdraws from the battlefield, then go to the Inverted Suspension Mountain together with this senior."

Chou Miao asked, "Just going to leave your sect's senior waiting at the Inverted Suspension Mountain? Not appropriate, is it?"

Song Gaoyuan said, "Ancestor Rongguan won't mind. She originally wanted to tour the Inverted Suspension Mountain anyway."

Chou Miao let it be.

The next day, Dong bude and the other two female sword cultivators returned to the Summer Palace together. Luo Zhenyi remembered something and told Song Gaoyuan that on the battlefield, she had briefly passed by Sword Immortal Xie Zhi, who had sent him a message: don't wait for her.

Pang Yuanji stood up, strode over the threshold, and before setting off on his sword to the city wall, said, "Song Gaoyuan, I won't see you off."

On that day, Song Gaoyuan left the Summer Palace. Before leaving, Chou Miao handed a package to this Deer Antler Palace cultivator, saying it was a gift from the Hidden Officer.

Song Gaoyuan slung the package across his shoulder and walked alone through the gate to the Inverted Suspension Mountain. He found the Water Crystal Palace and met his sect's founding female ancestor, Ancestor Rongguan.

The young sword cultivator saw his founder. Regardless of the few female immortal masters from the Rain Dragon Sect beside Ancestor Rongguan, the young man's eyes reddened, and he choked, "So many people died. Senior Xie Zhi is not returning home either."

Ancestor Rongguan sighed, not knowing how to comfort this junior.

The young sword cultivator Xuan Shen from Golden Armor Continent, along with the female sword immortal Song Ping carrying a longsword on her back, crossed the gate that day to the Inverted Suspension Mountain and headed straight for a ferry.

Song Ping carried a heavy aura of killing and bloodlust, as if her heart and mind had not truly left the battlefield.

Also accompanying them were two little girls from the Sword Qi Great Wall, both young and already sword cultivators. The one trying hard to keep a straight face was named Sun Zao; her older sister Sun Qu practiced martial arts. Unlike Sun Zao, the child looking around was named Jin Luan.

Both would study under Sword Immortal Song Ping. When they reached Song Ping's sect, they would be formally accepted as direct disciples in the ancestral hall.

The group arrived at the Elk Cliff ferry, where they would board a intercontinental ferry from Fuyao Continent.

Song Ping and Xuan Shen were returning home, while the two children were leaving their homeland for thousands of miles.

The female sword immortal bought only two boarding jade tokens at the ferry. When boarding, the ferry overseer responsible for passage questioned why the two little girls had no tokens, saying it was against the rules.

Sword Immortal Song Ping certainly recognized him—he wasn't blind. With such a beautiful woman, and carrying the longsword "Fuyao," rumored to contain an immense amount of sword fortune from an entire continent, cultivators from both Golden Armor and Fuyao Continents would recognize her identity at a glance.

Song Ping said, "I'm giving you face. Take it and keep it."

Xuan Shen's expression was calm, feeling that Senior Song Ping's statement was perfectly natural.

Finally, the ferry manager rushed over frantically and personally cleared the way for the four to board.

Jin Luan's mouth was slightly agape, the little girl completely baffled. Sword Immortal Song Ping, when alone with them, was not like this—she smiled a lot, had a gentle voice, and was extremely good-natured.

The ferry vacated several fine rooms. Song Ping took the two little girls to an open observation deck, smiled, and said, "This is the scenery of the Haoran World."

Jin Luan said softly, "Too little sword qi."

Sun Zao rolled her eyes. "No kidding, can it compare to our Sword Qi Great Wall?"

Jin Luan said no more. It wasn't that she was afraid of Sun Zao; it was mainly that she loved hearing Sun Zao's strange and wondrous mountain-and-river stories.

Song Ping said gently, "So you need to adapt quickly. When we reach the sect in Golden Armor Continent, Master will reserve two spiritually rich peaks for you. When you break into the Golden Core realm, we can hold a peak-opening ceremony. Those will be your estates. From that moment, you can truly have a foothold in the Haoran World."

From the observation deck of the adjacent room, the young sword cultivator reached out his hand and gently waved to greet the two little girls.

Jin Luan stood on tiptoe and said brightly, "Brother Xuan Shen!"

Xuan Shen made a funny face.

Sun Zao suddenly felt sad, gently tugged on the female sword immortal's sleeve, and sobbed, "Master, I miss home."

Song Ping held the little girl's hand and said softly, "From now on, apart from Master, don't say this to anyone."

Sun Zao didn't understand, but quickly wiped away her tears and nodded with a smile.

One night, a gaunt, tall old man with a withered face crossed the gate. He immediately stopped, closed his eyes, raised his head, sniffed, and chuckled, "Long time no see."

This was the jade-grotto realm sword immortal Pu He, but he had now fallen to the Nascent Soul realm. Even wearing a dharmarobe, he couldn't hide the stench of blood.

Following Pu He into the Inverted Suspension Mountain were Cao Gun and a pair of teenage boys and girls from the Sword Qi Great Wall.

When Cao Gun had become a sword cultivator of the Hidden Officer lineage, he was only at the Dragon Gate realm. Now he was already a Golden Core guest.

The boy and girl Pu He had brought from the Sword Qi Great Wall—the boy was only at the Grotto Dwelling realm, not particularly outstanding in talent even by Sword Qi Great Wall standards, and not considered much of a genius.

But he suited Pu He's taste.

As for the Observing Sea realm girl, her talent was even better, but Pu He planned to have a good friend on the mountain pass on the teachings to her. As a sword immortal from Liuxia Continent known for his ferocity in battle, how could he not have a few confidantes? Even if she was now a realm above him, even if she still looked like a young girl, when they met, she would still have to call him "Brother Pu" a hundred times in her heart.

The boy complained, "Old Pu, when are you going to become a sword immortal again? Otherwise, being your apprentice is so embarrassing."

Pu He snorted dismissively. "I accepted such a grotto-dwelling realm disciple, and you think I look good? Do you know that at my drinking parties in Liuxia Continent, Golden Core cultivators don't even qualify for a seat? They can only stand and drink and pick up dishes?"

Beside him, Cao Gun was at a loss for words. Because what Sword Immortal Pu He said was absolutely true. Golden Core earthly immortals with some pride often wouldn't attend banquets where Pu He was present, but more people were willing to go.

The boy retorted, "Stop saying 'I' to me all the time!"

Pu He wasn't angry; instead, he laughed. "Truly Pu He's disciple—say drunken words without drinking, and after drinking, if a single word disagrees, you draw your sword and make an entire continent look sideways!"

But the boy remained unimpressed. "Just a little Nascent Soul, such a big mouth. If someone didn't know you, they'd think there was a flying ascension cultivator here yawning."

Cao Gun was even more speechless.

Like master, like disciple. A family that doesn't enter the same door.

That quiet, silent girl envied the boy's boldness. She would never dare to speak to Sword Immortal Pu He like that.

The boy said, "I heard you have many enemies in Liuxia Continent. Now that you've fallen in realm, will I get killed together with you by those enemies?"

Pu He reached out and pushed the boy's head away. "Say a few less ominous words."

The intercontinental ferry they were boarding would stop at the ferry near Lingzhi Studio. Pu He planned to buy a few things at that immortal shop, but he didn't have much money, so he could only pick cheap items. If things got tough, he would just borrow money from that kid Cao Gun. On the Sword Qi Great Wall, the depth of friendship was measured by whether you could borrow money or invite someone for a drink—it would never be returned anyway.

At Lingzhi Studio, the girl was full of excitement, but the boy refused to go inside and just sat on the steps.

Cao Gun sat beside him.

That night, they boarded the ferry. The boy lay on the railing, listless. "Old Pu, this is your Haoran World, huh? Doesn't look very impressive to me."

Pu He smiled. "Keep one thing in mind: cultivating on the Sword Qi Great Wall and practicing the sword in the Haoran World are two different things. So if your realm becomes stagnant later, that's normal. There's no need to rush. Pu He's final disciple is bound to become a great sword immortal sooner or later!"

The ferry manager stood nearby in trepidation.

Although they had lost contact with Sword Immortal Pu He for a long time, only hearing that Pu He had lost a sword challenge at the Sword Qi Great Wall, Pu He's fearsome reputation, especially his eccentric and cunning temper, still made many upper-five-realm cultivators and earthly immortals tremble.

There was a saying: when Pu He smiles, someone has to die.

Dammit, that definitely meant he was going to draw his sword and kill someone.

Pu He was a sect patriarch, a legitimate registered immortal master, but he had always acted without restraint, committing murder, robbery, swindling—nothing was off-limits. He was also skilled in disguise and especially adept at framing others. His methods were so wild that even wild cultivators called him "ancestor." So Pu He had a bad reputation among mountain cultivators, but among the wandering cultivators and outlaws, he enjoyed great prestige. Back in the day, Jiang Shangzhen had stirred up trouble in Northern Juzhou Continent and was once hailed as "the second Pu He" — both were the kind who would shit in their pants and then run around causing trouble.

But the ferry manager, seeing the old man now, found it hard to match him with the Sword Immortal Pu He he remembered.

At the door of the room, Pu He tossed two bottles of medicine to his disciple, telling the boy to apply one topically and take the other internally. The boy closed the door, took off his clothes, and grimaced in pain. There was a huge wound on his body, far from healed.

It was that Old Pu who had pulled him out of a pile of corpses.

After applying the ointment and swallowing the pills, the boy put his clothes back on and sat cross-legged on the bed, diligently cultivating and nurturing his life-bound flying sword.

A moment later, a knock came, and Cao Gun announced himself.

The boy was unrestrained with Pu He, but for this out-of-town sword cultivator who had come from the Hidden Officer lineage, even though Cao Gun's realm was not high, the boy was actually quite awed by him.

The boy quickly went to open the door. Cao Gun saw the somewhat restrained boy and smiled. "Let me tell you some things to pay attention to when cultivating in the Haoran World. Don't get annoyed. As a registered immortal master, there are tedious formalities that may not be pleasant, but just listen for now."

The boy listened attentively, very focused.

Finally, Cao Gun said, "Ye Du, take care to value your cultivation under Sword Immortal Pu He in the future."

The boy named Ye Du nodded vigorously. "My master... is this!"

Cao Gun looked at the boy's beaming face sticking out his thumb, and suppressed a smile. Outside the corridor, Old Pu, who had been standing still for a long time, smiled and nodded, then went off to find a drink.

The Ai'ai Continent sword cultivator Deng Liang, alone and looking dejected, left the Sword Qi Great Wall.

After years of training here, he had only slowly pushed his realm to the Nascent Soul bottleneck, never managing to break into the upper five realms.

Earlier, the sect had sent two flying sword messages through the intercontinental ferry to the Summer Palace, asking when he would return, but Deng Liang had ignored them.

Although Deng Liang wasn't as "outstanding" as several young sword immortals like Cao Gun and Xuan Shen at the Summer Palace, it was easy to forget one fact: Deng Liang was an extremely young Nascent Soul sword cultivator!

Not only did he have a seat in his sect's ancestral hall on Ai'ai Continent, but it was placed quite prominently.

Deng Liang was also a former wild cultivator, having scrabbled through the mortal world for many years. After becoming a registered immortal master, he handled people flawlessly, so he was well-liked, and had become a person the sect master greatly valued and relied upon.

Before leaving the Sword Qi Great Wall, Deng Liang went to that wine shop and wrote on a wish plaque: "Arrived as Nascent Soul, leave as Nascent Soul, broke no realm, ashamed before fine wine."

With his bag slung across his shoulder, he boarded the ferry.

The ferry manager personally greeted him, and Deng Liang exchanged pleasantries with him appropriately.

Deng Liang first sent a flying sword message to his sect, simply saying he had set off on his return journey.

In his cabin, he took off the bag. Besides a few wish plaques that had become relics, there were some odds and ends. Deng Liang took out a letter that Sword Immortal Chou Miao had told him to open after boarding. It was said to be a personal letter from the Hidden Officer, in a very familiar handwriting. The letter mentioned several things. One was a request for Deng Liang to deliver a letter to Sword Immortal Xie Songhua. Another was to ask Deng Liang to help take care of the sword cultivator disciples that Sword Immortal Xie had brought from the Sword Qi Great Wall. At the end of the letter, it also mentioned a secret matter concerning the Fifth World, which he should bring to his sect's ancestral hall. If Deng Liang's sect truly had the idea, they could start preparing early.

Deng Liang put away the letter, left his room, and went to admire the night view. The sky was high, and the moon was bright.

He missed the Summer Palace greatly and admired the young Hidden Officer.

At the Spring Breeze Studio on the Inverted Suspension Mountain, a major matter had just been concluded. Yan Ming stood up from behind the desk and said, "These past days, working with all of you has been a true pleasure."

Mi Yu, Shao Yunyan, Nalan Caihuan, and Wei Wenlong all stood up at the same time.

Mi Yu said nothing, just cupped his fists in farewell.

Shao Yunyan smiled. "To have spent day and night with Sword Immortal Yan is the greatest fortune. I am honored."

Nalan Caihuan cupped her fists. "Yan Ming, taking charge and generating wealth, I might not best you, but as a sword cultivator, I am inferior to you."

Mi Yu's expression darkened. "I even more so."

Yan Ming smiled and nodded, then strode out of the room. To his fellow countrymen Mi Yu and Nalan Caihuan, he only said one thing: those who are alive—how can they be so at ease? There is no need for guilt.

At the Summer Palace, all the out-of-town sword cultivators had left for home. Sword Immortal Chou Miao stood up and said, "From today, until the Hidden Officer returns, Dong bude and Xu Ning will jointly be responsible for making decisions."

Luo Zhenyi wanted to speak but hesitated, ultimately unable to say a single word of farewell.

Chou Miao stepped over the threshold, turned his back to everyone, and laughed. "I'll take the first step."

Yan Ming, who had lost both arms, fastened a seal to his waist and returned to the Sword Qi Great Wall, returning to the city wall as a sword cultivator.

The ninth-realm female martial artist, Bai Lianshuang, no longer taught boxing to the children. She left the Cold Avoidance Palace, returned to the Ning Estate, cleaned and tidied every corner of the estate, then lingered at the main gate for a long time, muttering many words softly before heading to the city wall.

The Nascent Soul sword cultivator Yin Chen left his cultivation grounds for the first time, riding his sword to the battlefield—never to return.

In the Barren Wasteland World, a moon was dragged from the sky to the mortal world, hurtling toward the Sword Qi Great Wall.

The old sword immortal Dong San'geng on the city wall snorted, "Go to hell," and then rode his sword to greet the moon.