# Chapter 684: The Moon in the Sky
Nian Xin was furious. "Chen Ping'an, what's wrong with you?!"
Shuang Jiang, crouching to the side, let out a soft sigh. She couldn't really blame the girl for her hot temper. The truth was, she had grown accustomed to the Hidden Officer Ancestor's tenacious spirit. He had endured every single previous garment-sewing session, so those who sewed had grown used to all kinds of surprises—no matter how dangerous the process, it always seemed to succeed eventually. That was why this particular accident was so utterly unexpected.
Inside this cage prison, after once again killing a Nascent Soul realm demon sword cultivator, Nian Xin had been working on today's sewing. She needed to inscribe the true name of an ancient fierce great demon, using her lifebound object, the embroidery needle, to pierce through the back of Chen Ping'an's heart, and also needed to connect it to his spine. She was only two strokes away from completion when everything collapsed. If Nian Xin hadn't withdrawn her needle in time, Chen Ping'an's entire spine would have snapped in two. The surging residual energy of the great demon's true name would have poured in like seawater rushing backward, wild baleful qi frantically flowing into Chen Ping'an's heart. If it hadn't been for the fact that a few remaining Golden Register and Jade Book characters still lingered in Chen Ping'an's heart chamber—characters Nian Xin was very familiar with, which she hurriedly used to suppress the true name's baleful qi, barely managing to offset it—then Chen Ping'an's physical body and soul would have turned into a string of exploding firecrackers. His fate would have been like an earth immortal self-destructing their golden core or nascent soul—beyond even divine salvation.
The young Hidden Officer lay collapsed on the ground, much of the skin on his back peeled away, his spine exposed. The young man curled up on the ground, convulsing, in a pool of blood. Within the blood, residual baleful qi from the great demon's true name lingered endlessly. Finally, faintly, the thick strands of baleful qi gathered into a mustard-seed-sized "golden core," attempting to use the blood as a "thatched hut for cultivation," hoping to become a yin spirit born into the world. If this had been in the Haoran World, left unmanaged, in the blink of an eye a true golden core ghostly entity might have been born. If it then found a suitable ancient battlefield with enough baleful qi, it could gather yin soldiers, build a nether mansion, raise a king banner, and become a ghost king that would wreak havoc for a thousand miles.
Nian Xin's condition was equally miserable. She vomited several large mouthfuls of pitch-black blood. This time she didn't force it back down her throat but turned her head and spat it on the ground.
The great external heavenly demon with the Er Qing Snake casually waved her Dharma robe sleeve, peeling away the mustard-seed true-name yin spirit that had quickly formed from the blood on the ground, suspending it in front of her. Shuang Jiang reached out two fingers and gently crushed it. The filthy baleful qi, which could have turned a lower-five-realm cultivator directly into a yin spirit puppet, vanished into thin air.
A moment later, Chen Ping'an sat up. His soul trembled, the muscles and bones within his body vibrating slightly, like a giant turtle turning over its shell deep underground. His blood boiled violently, as if floods were raging everywhere. Fortunately, his five-element lifebound objects began to operate on their own, helping to calm the anomalies, allowing Chen Ping'an to keep his physical body still. He said apologetically, "I really can't hold on anymore."
Shuang Jiang threw meaningful glances at Nian Xin, signaling the girl not to rub salt in the wound.
Although Nian Xin stopped cursing, her expression remained displeased. She said in a deep voice, "We're about to move against Chao Yunqing, Qingqiu, and the others. If you're still this ineffectual, I suggest you stop here. This true-name 'garment' can barely be used as it is anyway."
Chen Ping'an nodded.
Nian Xin helped Chen Ping'an roughly sew up his skin, then vanished in a flash.
Those few "accidental" extra strokes she added—Nian Xin pretended they were accidental, Chen Ping'an pretended they didn't exist, and Shuang Jiang pretended she hadn't seen them. All three maintained a tacit understanding.
After Nian Xin left, Shuang Jiang carefully advised, "Hidden Officer Ancestor, each time you use a life-for-life method, your body is already teetering on the edge. And now you insist on sewing the garment immediately after killing a demon—this approach is not appropriate."
If he didn't sew the garment, Chen Ping'an's physical body and spiritual intent recovered very quickly. It was like a chronic invalid finally recovering from a serious illness, or like someone blind for a long time finally seeing the light. The whole person was immersed in a relaxed, comfortable "small world." By now, Chen Ping'an could already stagger to his feet, his body hunched, slowly pacing. The large pool of blood on the ground, after Shuang Jiang had cleansed it of the true-name demonic taint, had been collected into a pouch by Nian Xin. Shuang Jiang silently praised—what a frugal seamstress, what a girl who said the opposite of what she meant.
Chen Ping'an said, "The sewing is too painful now. Every time after killing a demon, the thought of it makes my heart tremble. I want to get it done in one go. Besides, Nian Xin said the more pain I endure, the deeper the memory, and the better the effect."
Shuang Jiang said slowly, "Relying on the world suppression of 'Caged Sparrow,' each time at your critical moment of life-for-life exchange, you quietly create a place with no laws, using every means at your disposal, and just barely manage to kill a Nascent Soul sword cultivator. Take that Feilian-type sword cultivator, for example—even with most of his realm suppressed, he still managed to pierce your heart with one sword. If it had been someone else, taking his 'dripping' sword strike, they would have died completely."
"As for the rest of the Upper Five Realms, how do we kill them? Meng Po and Qingqiu are slightly easier. Meng Po's lifebound divine ability specializes in illusions, which actually don't affect you much. Just give her an opening. Qingqiu is naturally suppressed to some extent by Zhan Kan. As for Zhujie's lifebound painting scroll, inside the small world of 'Caged Sparrow,' it's hard for Zhujie to fully unleash his abilities. When Zhujie unfurls his scroll, you fold the mountains and rivers, opposing each other tit for tat—that's also manageable. Opportunities exist. But Yunqing—that's uncertain. These four—we're just discussing whether you have any chance at all. As for the Immortal realm Hou Changjun, you have no chance of victory whatsoever. Opening the prison door would be nothing but suicide."
Shuang Jiang concluded, "Unless... unless you break through to the Martial Artist Mountain Summit realm, and at the same time, your Qi Refiner cultivation breaks through two realms—Contemplating Sea and Dragon Gate—attaining the Golden Core realm. The prerequisite, of course, is that you don't court trouble by desperately fighting Hou Changjun. The gap in realms is too vast. No amount of scheming would help."
Chen Ping'an walked out of the prison. "Mountain Summit realm? Forming a Golden Core? You make it sound easy. Don't you know my current situation and plans?"
The great external heavenly demon trotted along beside him, clenching its fists again and again, raising its arms high above its head, shouting repeatedly, "Ancestor does things, regardless of size, handles heavy matters with ease. A thousand jun matters are like goose feathers, ten thousand years of sorrow like drizzle. Ancestor turns clouds and rain in a single palm stroke..."
It was met with a punch to the head from the displeased Chen Ping'an. The great external heavenly demon's body shattered with a bang, then reformed on the spot, looking dejected and sickly, no longer chattering annoyingly.
To be a loyal minister offering frank remonstrance—not trusted. To be a treacherous, fawning sycophant—beaten. Truly, the heavenly heart was hard to fathom; accompanying a ruler was like accompanying a tiger.
Chen Ping'an walked all the way toward the Travel Pavilion at the lower end of the prison.
When he challenged the five Nascent Soul demon sword cultivators including Huang He, the general approach was roughly what Shuang Jiang had previously sorted out and revealed. The sole principle was to use his own timing and terrain to overcome the demon sword cultivators' harmony with people. In this way, it couldn't be considered a pure sword challenge between sword cultivators, but neither was it a matter of winning through dishonorable means. Beings like Huang He, as sword cultivators, also had their own body-protecting secret arts and trump-card side-path divine abilities. Chen Ping'an's greatest reliance was still the lifebound divine ability small world of his flying sword "Caged Sparrow," where the Qi Refiner realms of both sides fluctuated by half a realm each way, plus his Far Roaming realm martial artist's Divine Being Drumming Technique.
According to Shuang Jiang's explanation, once Chen Ping'an reached the Jade Pure realm in the future, and had properly nourished "Caged Sparrow," then the "one rises while the other falls" would become a full realm—you drop one realm, I rise one realm. That would truly deserve to be called the grand atmosphere of a sword immortal, breaking through realms to kill enemies like taking things out of a pocket, like picking up money from the ground.
But these were all distant, unattainable matters. For now, he could only imagine them, stealing a little joy.
Arriving at the Travel Pavilion, Chen Ping'an sat cross-legged, placing Zhan Kan horizontally across his knees. He began to breathe and refine, forging the remaining martial luck, while simultaneously considering that business deal with Shuang Jiang—dividing his mind three ways, pursuing two cultivation tasks in parallel.
After breaking through to the Cavern Mansion realm, no matter how dismissively Shuang Jiang, a Flying Ascension realm, treated it, for Chen Ping'an himself—who had grown accustomed to his realm rising and falling as a lower-five-realm cultivator—to cultivate as a middle-five-realm divine immortal for the first time was a world of difference.
As he breathed slowly and deeply, white mist emerged from the acupoints on Chen Ping'an's face—pure spiritual essence, like slender but eye-catching white snow dragons hanging upside down on a cliff face.
Particularly at the center of Chen Ping'an's brow, a grain of nature's spiritual light flickered on and off.
And at his eyelids, a golden hue faintly flowed. His eyes were like two cavern rooms, with two clear lamps illuminating the bamboo curtain at the entrance.
This was the "Land Immortal, Attaining the Dao Appearance" that Qi Refiners below earth immortal status dreamed of.
Fighting five battles against Nascent Soul sword cultivators, whether it was honing his martial arts, forcibly forging martial luck into the root of his bones and tendons, or using injuries to check for deficiencies and refine the flaws in his lifebound objects at the finest level, his gains had been enormous.
Shuang Jiang strictly observed the rules, never setting foot in the Travel Pavilion, drifting around outside like a lonely ghost.
The agreement between Chen Ping'an and this great external heavenly demon, worth one Guyu coin, was also nearing its end.
One Guyu coin was divided into ten Xiaoshu coins, all of which were Shuang Jiang's buy-life money.
The gift of the ancient Dragon-Slaying Platform execution implement—the narrow knife "Zhan Kan"—earned Shuang Jiang the first Xiaoshu coin. An auspicious start.
The string of inscriptions including "Illuminate This Soul" helped Chen Ping'an, when sitting in meditation and breathing guidance, to more quickly forget his physical form, allowing his mind to sink deeper. The effect was similar to a cultivator sitting on an immortal meditation mat or lighting landscape incense in a cave dwelling. Although it was a slow, persistent approach, it was not to be underestimated. Lower-five-realm cultivators, drawing heavenly and earthly qi, were like scooping water with both hands—very laborious. After breaking into the middle-five-realm, it was like drawing water from an ancient well with a bucket—naturally faster.
Chen Ping'an had obtained both the Zhan Kan treasure blade that suppressed dragons and serpents, and a long-term benefit for his future Dao cultivation. A very good deal.
For the second Xiaoshu coin, Chen Ping'an had Shuang Jiang explain in detail the cultivation secrets of the Cavern Mansion, Contemplating Sea, and Dragon Gate realms, as well as the methods for arranging all major and medium-refined lifebound objects.
Chen Ping'an had decided to break through to the Cavern Mansion realm inside the prison. At that time, qi had poured into the small world. Shuang Jiang had asserted that this was a now-or-never opportunity. By taking advantage of this opportunity to tour within, and helping to identify the six deposed sovereign mountains among the ten opened lifebound acupoints, he succeeded in earning the third Xiaoshu coin.
While Shuang Jiang was transmitting the Dao, teaching, and resolving doubts, and earning money, she also managed to make an additional transaction using her abilities. Shuang Jiang only mentioned that the sword immortal banner, which had been medium-refined, needed to be erected at the peak of a mountain shrine using a secret method. At the time, she didn't provide details, so Chen Ping'an took the bait. The great external heavenly demon earned money, while the Hidden Officer Ancestor, a Cavern Mansion realm Qi Refiner, gained an additional cultivation art—icing on the cake.
Plus, for that imitation White Jade Capital pagoda—after opening a new acupoint in the Contemplating Sea realm and refining it as a lifebound object—it could serve as an important auxiliary lifebound object. Five-element lifebound objects could absorb heavenly and earthly qi, and the five-element qi naturally bred within the small world of the human body could be refined here at the "White Jade Capital," achieving twice the result with half the effort, and nurturing all five lifebound objects. This was Shuang Jiang's timely aid.
Added to that was how to add the finishing touch to the Water Mansion mural painting—three immortal secret arts orally transmitted by Shuang Jiang to the Hidden Officer Ancestor, all together costing Chen Ping'an only one Xiaoshu coin.
At this point, Shuang Jiang had already secured four Xiaoshu coins.
Two short swords that Shuang Jiang had casually mentioned, only saying they were "swords carved in the boat in bygone days." Shuang Jiang deliberately spoke vaguely, unwilling to reveal their true origins. These two short swords were respectively inscribed with the characters "Du" and "Hu." The former, the "Du" character short sword, was already inside Chen Ping'an's Sword Nurturing Gourd, not within the scope of the transaction. But as for that "Hu" character short sword, with the notion that "the Hidden Officer Ancestor might as well make good things come in pairs," Shuang Jiang set a price of one Xiaoshu coin, and Chen Ping'an agreed.
Without realizing it, the great external heavenly demon had already earned five Xiaoshu coins.
After Chen Ping'an broke through to the Dragon Gate realm, he could begin to refine these two ancient legacy swords into flood dragons for the two "Long Qiu" water ponds in the Water Mansion. As for the original aquatic fortune flood dragon condensed from the Water Pill, it could be refined into an aquatic fortune black pearl. On the path of cultivation in the future, the richer the aquatic fortune, the higher the grade of that black pearl.
First giving away the "Du" character short sword for free, then speaking of the benefits of refining the "Hu" character short sword—along with the sword immortal banner and the imitation White Jade Capital—these were all lines cast by the great external heavenly demon to fish. The bait was given half, withheld half.
Chen Ping'an didn't mind this kind of business tactic from Shuang Jiang. After all, it was a fair trade, not forced.
In addition, Shuang Jiang had gradually used the Celestial Immortal Cavern Robe on her body—whose Dharma aspect was both real and illusory—the two green snakes coiled at her ears, and all the golden sand and golden body fragments split fifty-fifty with "Dao Companion Changming," to conduct another four Xiaoshu coins' worth of business with Chen Ping'an.
Only one Xiaoshu coin remained.
When it was completed, forming a full Guyu coin, according to the agreement, the great external heavenly demon Shuang Jiang could immediately leave the prison, obtaining a free body with boundless freedom. Once she left the prison, neither Chen Ping'an nor Chen Qingdu could target her at all. As long as she didn't follow the demons into the Haoran World, or harm any sword cultivator of the Sword Qi Great Wall, then whether she went to the Desolate Barbarian World to become a local hegemon, or hid herself in the Haoran World, fostering puppets, founding sects, it was all up to her.
During this period, Shuang Jiang had once been willing to owe one Xuehua coin, to buy a small story of forming a covenant from Chen Ping'an.
In the end, Chen Ping'an quickly used one Xuehua coin to exchange with Shuang Jiang for the true material composition of that Five Thunder Dharma Seal.
Shuang Jiang suddenly spoke, "I originally thought that inconspicuous Xuehua coin would become the decisive move in our transaction. I didn't expect you to eliminate my doubt so quickly."
Once Shuang Jiang secured nine Xiaoshu coins, plus some scattered Xuehua coins, even if she was only one Xuehua coin short of a full Guyu coin, the transaction still wasn't complete.
The awkward position of Shuang Jiang, this great external heavenly demon, in this transaction was that being just one Xiaoshu coin short meant death. Being just one Xuehua coin short also meant death.
Chen Ping'an, still with his eyes closed, said frankly, "I did consider manipulating this Xuehua coin at first, but later I changed my mind."
Shuang Jiang stopped moving, speaking worriedly, "You're not planning to withhold the last Xiaoshu coin from me, are you? Hidden Officer Ancestor, don't do business like that. It's too damaging to one's character."
Chen Ping'an opened his eyes and shook his head. "Of course not. From the moment I made the first Xiaoshu coin transaction with you, you were already able to live."
Shuang Jiang nodded gently, then said doubtfully, "I know this. I just never dared to believe it."
Chen Ping'an said, "Do you really want to see Shuang Jiang face to face that badly? For a great external heavenly demon who has obtained pure freedom, do you still need such an obsession?"
Both fell silent. Chen Ping'an continued, "You two are no longer an immortal couple anymore. Moreover, with your Dao base and state of mind, at any time and any place, aren't you already living day and night with that great cultivator Shuang Jiang, inseparable?"
Because Shuang Jiang's heart demon was the woman he loved.
It should have been a piece of Dao affinity after Shuang Jiang broke into the Upper Five Realms. When Shuang Jiang reached the Flying Ascension realm, perhaps even when he was attempting to enter the lost realm, this great external heavenly demon truly manifested. But Shuang Jiang had never been able to completely cut off this heart demon. Ultimately, they ended up separated. Probably Shuang Jiang had used some mysterious Daoist immortal method, only expelling the heart demon, never truly subduing, refining, or killing it. But these were all groundless speculations. Heaven knew the truth. Unless Chen Ping'an could go to the Azure Underworld World in the future and meet that true "Shuang Jiang."
The great external heavenly demon narrowed her eyes and asked, "How did you figure it out exactly? Was it that woman's boudoir embroidered handkerchief that leaked my origins, or was it my instinctive evasion when you touched my head?"
Chen Ping'an asked back, "Figure what out? Didn't you deliberately want me to know the truth?"
That great external heavenly demon in the form of a white-haired child smiled sweetly, hovering in the air, lightly clapping her hands, and said with sincere admiration, "What a Hidden Officer Ancestor—truly a Chen Ping'an who never disappoints."
Chen Ping'an said, "For the last Xiaoshu coin, let's make a century-long agreement. Before we meet again, you help me secretly protect someone."
The white-haired child gently flicked the green snake at her ear and said, "The Fifth World only allows Qi Refiners below the Upper Five Realms to enter. I wouldn't dare violate the Confucian rules. No ability, no power. This transaction is too difficult for me. Chen Ping'an, this is unkind of you. Are you deliberately making things difficult?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "My master is over there. I believe the Confucian sage guarding the pass will ultimately turn a blind eye to you. But you'll only have one chance to act. After that, at most you'll be expelled by the Confucian sage. Then you follow the retreat arrangements set by my master. Whether it's returning to the Haoran World to settle at Fallen Mountain, or being imprisoned in the Merit Forest, I will come to find you. No matter what price I have to pay, I will keep my promise and restore your freedom. If you don't need to act, you and I will meet in the Fifth World."
The white-haired child asked, "What if?"
Chen Ping'an said in a deep voice, "If I cannot keep my promise to come find you, after a hundred years, regardless, you will still obtain your freedom."
The white-haired child began to circle the Travel Pavilion, as if weighing the pros and cons.
She started to discuss details with the young Hidden Officer. "Scholars care most about face. If I just swaggeringly conceal myself within the soul of some sword cultivator, that wouldn't really count as concealment anymore. Even if your master helps mediate, it wouldn't be appropriate, would it? If Nian Xin could go to the Fifth World, her soul is deep enough—but she's a Jade Pure realm, so she can't go. This can hardly be blamed on me. That great demon Zuo Fang Ting—first, its expertise is specific; second, it could hide deep in the mind of a border guard Golden Core sword cultivator, successfully fooling all the sword immortals—clearly that wasn't accomplished overnight. If you give me three to five years of careful work, I could also find a Golden Core cultivator to possess."
Chen Ping'an said, "I will find you a hiding place myself."
The white-haired child sighed emotionally, "Hidden Officer Ancestor, leaving no loopholes in your calculations. I have ten thousand words at my lips, yet I'm speechless."
Chen Ping'an stood up, re-hanging Zhan Kan at his waist. "If you agree to this matter, I beg you, Senior, once you're in that new world, don't do anything superfluous. Don't 'test things out' anymore. Otherwise, you'll have to burn incense every day, begging with all your heart for me to die here at the Sword Qi Great Wall."
Chen Ping'an smiled, narrowing his eyes. "In the past, before every fight, I never liked to threaten people. Today I'll make an exception for you, Senior. Please cherish it."
The white-haired child's playful expression vanished completely. She solemnly performed a Daoist bow. "I respectfully receive the Ancestor's decree. From this moment, the transaction of one Guyu coin is concluded."
Chen Ping'an fell backward, lying on the ground, hands pillowing his head. "I'll first test the depth of Meng Po and Qingqiu's cultivation. If I'm helpless even against them, then I'll trouble you to act on my behalf with your immortals-puppet technique."
Chen Ping'an closed his eyes. "Maybe you deliberately let me know you're a woman, making me mistakenly think you're the heart demon born from the woman Shuang Jiang loved—all of it was misdirection. It doesn't matter. You won, but I haven't lost anything either."
The white-haired child said with a sorrowful expression, "When fortune departs, even a hero has no freedom. Seeing the Ancestor in such a tragic state is truly heart-wrenching."
Chen Ping'an casually drew his knife halfway from its sheath without looking at the great external heavenly demon, then slashed ferociously. The demon quickly reformed, hopping toward the Travel Pavilion, giving a big thumbs-up, alternating hands repeatedly. "Not a hero who can save the heavens from collapsing, but a hegemon who can sink mountains and rivers. Ancestor... Aiyo! What fine blade skill!"
Nian Xin sat on the distant steps, watching the great external heavenly demon and the green-robed guest at the Travel Pavilion. Parting was imminent, and they would most likely go their separate ways. She suddenly felt some reluctance.
In her life of cultivation as a seamstress, she had never been so lively, yet so secure—without worrying about the unpredictable schemes from the mountains, and without anyone looking at her as if she were a ghost.
---
A trio walked down a lonely main street. Li Cai wore a snow-white long robe, with a slender white-sheathed sword called "Shuang Jiao" hanging at her waist. The sword within the sheath had already broken in two.
Besides this female sect master of the Floating Duckweed Sword Sect, there was also the young boy Chen Li and the girl Gao Youqing, both of whom would follow Li Cai to Northern Julu Continent, becoming her direct disciples.
Li Cai considered herself not as heroic as Lu Zhi. Her appearance had already recovered to its original state, the scars on her cheeks not very noticeable, though her complexion was deathly pale, clearly showing she had not yet healed from serious injuries. The real hidden trouble was that Li Cai's lifebound flying sword, Snowflake, had been severely damaged. She probably couldn't hope for the Immortal realm in this lifetime. Li Cai didn't care much anyway. If a woman's realm was too high, it was easy to remain unmarried—a good temper wouldn't help.
Arriving at the Sword Qi Great Wall, this female sword immortal had been fighting continuously, always leading from the front. In previous years, the Summer Retreat Palace had too many rules, and the Hidden Officer lineage's message flying swords were the most annoying, placing even heavier restrictions on sword immortals. Among the many sword cultivators, the one who cursed the young Hidden Officer the most and the most vigorously would definitely be Li Cai—far surpassing the native sword cultivators.
After being severely wounded and withdrawn from the city wall, Li Cai gave up all her battle merits, only demanding from the Sword Qi Great Wall a long sword from the sword workshop and a Dharma robe from the robe workshop.
There was a close friend of hers, Supreme Mistress Yuan Li. They had once agreed to go to the Sword Qi Great Wall together to kill demons.
At the wine shop, Li Cai looked over all the worry-free plaques, eventually pulling only one down from the wall, clutching it in her hand.
She wasn't in a hurry to return to Northern Julu Continent. She wanted to travel through Southern Bodhi Continent first, perhaps visiting the mountain of sword immortal Yuan Qingshu.
Li Cai carried with her a shattered Sword Nurturing Gourd, a relic of Yuan Qingshu's. It should be returned to his sect.
Years ago on the city wall, Yuan Qingshu had laughingly said to the native sword immortal Gao Kui that using a Sword Nurturing Gourd to hold wine, with a great demon's name to accompany the drink, was endlessly flavorful.
In the end, both had died.
Li Cai turned her head to look at the two small heads by the shop entrance and said with a smile, "Tell the second manager that this worry-free plaque is taken by Li Cai."
Feng Kangle said, "What's it matter? Just take it. A woman this beautiful—if the second manager saw her, he wouldn't dare fart."
Going to other shops to spend money and drink wine was one thing, but causing a big scene and losing face for their own shop...
Tao Ban had a good memory, remembering all the guests who came to buy and drink wine. "Sister Li, why hasn't our second manager shown his face yet? Has he put on a woman's face again, dressing himself up all fancy, killing demons on the sly?"
Li Cai laughed loudly. "Sister Li? Did the second manager teach you to call me that?"
Tao Ban nodded.
Feng Kangle complained, "Why are you nodding so foolishly? It loses all sincerity."
Li Cai suppressed her smile. "Give me one jar of each kind of wine. I'm going to take them to Southern Bodhi Continent."
Gao Youqing was inscribing characters on a worry-free plaque with her flying sword. Chen Li rolled his eyes. "What's so good about that Pang Yuanji?"
Gao Youqing turned around, hiding her plaque, furious. "None of your business!"
Li Cai stood on the threshold of the shop, gazing at the city wall.
She had come here to unleash her sword with abandon, never imagining her sword techniques were far from sufficient. In the end, she owed that sword immortal Yao a huge debt of gratitude. The key point was—how could she ever repay it? How could she?
The young boy looked dejected. "Master, from now on, I'm a disciple of the Floating Duckweed Sword Sect?"
Li Cai said, "Then learn from this second manager. In the Haoran World, 'Hidden Officer Chen Ping'an.' At the Sword Qi Great Wall, 'Floating Duckweed Sword Lake Chen Li.' Neither interferes with the other. Your hometown always comes first, your cultivation status second. That's not forgetting your roots."
The boy nodded. That was a solution.
Li Cai finally led the boy and girl away from the Sword Qi Great Wall.
There was no cross-continent ferry from Northern Julu Continent currently docked at Hanging Mountain, so they randomly found an immortal family inn to stay at.
Li Cai drank alone.
Li Tuimi, Tao Wen, Zhou Cheng, Nalan Yexing, Gao Kui, Yao Chongdao, Dong Ersan...
From Ai Ai Continent—Zhang Shao, Li Ding. From Southern Bodhi Continent—Yuan Qingshu. From Taihui Sword Sect—Han Huaizi. From Fu Yao Continent—Xie Zhi...
And so many young sword cultivators, many of them the same age as Chen Li and Gao Youqing.
In the future, there would only be more.
Li Cai's eyes were blurred with drunkenness as she leaned against the window. To hell with this damn Jade Pure realm; she wished she could just drink herself to death.
Gao Youqing was in the next room. The girl was still adapting to the vastly different environment between Hanging Mountain and the Sword Qi Great Wall—the spiritual qi and sword qi were worlds apart.
Chen Li was thick-skinned. While practicing his sword, he was in a shop on the inn's premises that specialized in selling mountain treasures, weighing his money pouch. Since the entire Lingzhi Studio had already relocated, they had cleared out their inventory beforehand, selling many miscellaneous spiritual tools of low grade at bargain prices to various forces on Hanging Mountain that they were familiar with. This inn was one of them. So there weren't many treasures, though at first glance the assortment was dazzling and confusing.
Li Cai, who had been keeping an eye on Chen Li's sword intent from afar, furrowed her brow. Her murderous aura surged and she flashed over.
Li Cai reached out and grabbed the boy's lifebound flying sword. Blood dripped from her palm onto the ground, and she didn't even notice. She said to Chen Li, "So many sword cultivators have died—not so you could come to the Haoran World and get yourself killed. If you want to die, fine, do it after you become a sword immortal. Dying as a Contemplating Sea realm sword cultivator—who would remember who you are? If you can't control yourself, you might as well become a wilderness rogue cultivator. You'll die quickly enough. Otherwise, in future cultivation, you'll be killed before I'm even half-angry to death, and I won't even know how to avenge you."
The person targeted by Chen Li's flying sword was a shopkeeper looking flustered. Seeing Li Cai, he bowed and apologized profusely, spouting many justifications—lack of discernment, not deserving death, all that. Of course, it really didn't warrant killing. At the end of the day, Chen Li's sword heart was unstable, his killing intent too heavy. He had left the battlefield, but his sword heart was still lingering there.
This was a good thing, but if Li Cai didn't manage it, even if Chen Li reached Northern Julu Continent, the moment he went down the mountain to travel, he would die.
Li Cai opened her palm, and the boy immediately withdrew his flying sword.
Chen Li said guiltily, "I have no complaints against Master, nor against Northern Julu Continent."
Li Cai smiled. "Master doesn't care about any of that. Only whether you practice your sword properly, and whether the Floating Duckweed Sword Lake can truly produce a sixty-year sword immortal."
Chen Li said honestly, "Becoming a sword immortal within sixty years is still a bit difficult."
Li Cai patted the boy's shoulder, wiping the blood from her hand. "Be a man! Show some spirit! My direct disciple, even if just a Middle Five Realm sword cultivator, when speaking to people, especially when talking about fighting and killing, must have the tone of an Upper Five Realm sword immortal!"
Hearing the terms "hundred-year sword immortal" and "sixty-year sword immortal," the shopkeeper in charge of the inn's store—a middle-aged man—was greatly shocked. He regretted his actions deeply and quickly thought of ways to make amends.
Li Cai spoke to the boy through mind voice, and the boy reluctantly "bought at a high price" the spiritual tool that had caught his eye.
On the way back to their rooms, Li Cai asked through mind voice, "Did you remember that guy? Get your revenge yourself later."
Chen Li beamed and nodded vigorously.
Li Cai knocked on Gao Youqing's door, grabbed the girl's cheek, and twisted hard. "Chen Li needs to restrain his nature. Gao Youqing, what's wrong with you? Are you too cowardly? When Chen Li draws his sword, Master will stop him, but I'm happy inside. You, on the other hand, just watching the excitement from afar, without even the thought of drawing your sword? That makes Master very unhappy!"
Gao Youqing, her cheek being twisted, said timidly, "Master, my brother told me that when I get to the Haoran World, I must endure and endure again, and absolutely cannot stir up trouble."
Li Cai spat. "No wonder Gao Yehou is still a lousy Nascent Soul."
Gao Youqing's eyes immediately reddened.
It wasn't just missing her brother, with whom she had been dependent since childhood. She also feared that their separation would be more than just a living parting—that it would be a silent death.
Li Cai immediately let go and said softly, "Alright, alright. If you have to endure, then endure. But Master can teach the two of you a clever little trick. If you yourself are bullied, endure it. But if your fellow disciple is bullied, then you chop the hell out of them. Those who deserve to die, kill. Those who don't deserve to die, don't just go hacking randomly—just chop them half to death. Our Floating Duckweed Sword Lake still has some money; we can afford medical expenses! That way, you and Chen Li have endured what you should endure, and vented what needed to be vented. If you really can't win, come home and call Master to handle it..."
The boy and girl were quite happy listening at first, but when they heard the words "come home," they both fell silent and gloomy.
Li Cai sighed softly, waved her hand, and went to drink on her own. She left her disciples with one sentence: "Go practice your swords."
---
Old Deaf returned to the prison. You Yu and Changming followed the old man, going to the Travel Pavilion for the first time.
The cell where Meng Po had been was now empty.
Old Deaf arrived at the steps and glanced at the figure in the Travel Pavilion—the young Hidden Officer wearing an unfamiliar Dharma robe that was far too large, its wide sleeves dragging on the ground.
Chen Ping'an seemed to be in deep meditation, completely unaware of Old Deaf's arrival.
Old Deaf reached out and summoned the blue jade hairpin pinned in Chen Ping'an's hair bundle to himself, saying in a deep voice, "The Great Sword Immortal needs to borrow this item. It will be returned to the Hidden Officer soon."
Chen Ping'an remained unmoved.
Old Deaf glanced at Nian Xin sitting below the steps, then carefully put the blue jade hairpin into his sleeve. The old man didn't trust that great external heavenly demon, but this single-minded girl was relatively reliable.
Nian Xin, sensing Old Deaf's scrutinizing gaze, said, "It's fine. He brought it on himself. It has little to do with Wu Shuangjiang."
The woman manifested by the Gold Essence Bronze Coin frowned slightly.
Shuang Jiang chuckled, "Dao Companion Changming, in the world of business, there's no such thing as taking all the advantages. Keep nine parts, return one part—that's the right principle. You should learn more from our Ancestor."
The woman nodded gently.
For some reason, looking at the silhouette of the young Hidden Officer at that moment, the youth You Yu felt a bit intimidated.
Old Deaf had hurried in, then vanished in a flash, leaving the prison.
The youth and the woman ascended the steps together.
Shuang Jiang followed behind. "Dao Companion Changming, shall we continue scraping together some 'land rent'?"
The woman smiled. "I've been waiting a long time."
---
Gao Kui's dying sword strike challenged the Patriarch Dragon Lord.
After receiving the sword, Dragon Lord personally killed the last sword immortal of his own lineage.
Not far from that gray-robed figure, Bone White Ying sat on the throne, watching this scene, thinking that these sword cultivators' minds were truly one more incomprehensible than the next.
Fortunately, once they reached the Haoran World, such beings would no longer exist. Except for Chen Chun'an in Southern Bodhi Continent, who was relatively troublesome, the cultivators of Fuyao Continent and Tung Leaf Continent—especially that handful of so-called peak Dao attainers and the vast majority of immortal family peaks—their true natures, the Great Throne demons all knew clearly. Who was on the registry books, how the inheritance was ordered, what famous deeds and activities those various patriarchs and earth immortal cultivators had done over the millennia, their respective temperaments, what the disciples within the sects sought—all were crystal clear.
The most elegant sword immortal of the Sword Qi Great Wall had once drunk from the Wine Spring Cup, liked to lean against the incense brazier in the corridor, watching beautiful women dance with swords, and personally made over a dozen types of sachets, all the rage in the boudoirs of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Sun Juyuan, hair disheveled, barefoot.
The battlefield around the sword immortal was strewn with the severed limbs and broken bodies of the demon army.
Holding a broken long sword, his Dharma robe covered in blood and filth.
The sword immortal, his vision blurry, looked around. Dream or intoxication? A great drunken spree in life.
A Central Earth sword immortal with a naturally bitter expression, on the battlefield, finally found a method that satisfied both sides.
There were also young demon cultivators, cutting off the head of an old sword cultivator from the Sword Qi Great Wall, their eyes brimming with tears of gratitude, raising it high, roaring, "Disciple has avenged the master!"
Then throwing away the head in their hands, charging forward to die. Since they were on the battlefield and had to die, they could only strive to earn more battle merits for their sect and tribe.
In the Desolate Barbarian World, those great demons and earth immortals were all going to the Haoran World to fight over territory. The Upper Five Realm great demons each had their own Dao path to walk. The earth immortals might be trying to break into the Upper Five Realms, or seizing more feng shui treasured lands and heavenly materials and earthly treasures. But the greatest number of ants-like demons were merely driven here. The entire Desolate Barbarian World, divided into twenty parts by Tuoyue Mountain, had twenty routes converging on the Sword Qi Great Wall battlefield. Along these routes, there were countless white bones of those who died before even reaching the battlefield.
The great demon Chongguang twisted off the head of a sword immortal. He seemed to be surnamed Zhao, but Chongguang didn't care. Naturally, the military tent would record this battle merit.
This Flying Ascension realm great demon, draped in a blood-red Dharma robe, had chosen to return to the battlefield voluntarily. It was different from the pitiful Huang Luan, who needed to atone for his mistakes. Chongguang had seen the complete reversal of the situation on the battlefield. After the last Confucian sage—that scholar—had dispersed his lifebound characters and fallen without hesitation, the matter of mountain and river fortune had completely shifted to the Desolate Barbarian World's suppression of the Sword Qi Great Wall. The sword cultivators who had left the city had to retreat to the city walls one after another. Just as the military tent had predicted, as the battle dragged on, the sword cultivators died more and more, faster and faster.
A Liang was surrounded by three Great Throne great demons within a separate world, having disappeared from the view of the city wall, missing for a long time.
Liu Cha had beaten back Qi Tingji.
In the heart of the battlefield, only Chen Xi and Nalan Shaowei, two sword immortals, remained.
Then came Lu Zhi, Yue Qing and Mi Hu, Guo Jia, Yan Ming, and Chou Miao, the sword immortal of the Hidden Officer's lineage, all holding a line, buying time for the sword cultivators behind to retreat to the city wall.
Aside from the sword immortals, there was also the figure of a short, elderly woman. Using only her fists, she had already pierced through the heads and bodies of countless demon cultivators.
The enemy now confronting the elderly woman was a burly military cultivator demon in golden armor. The precious armor gleamed brilliantly, a golden light trailing behind him. He held a saber with both hands, and another saber hung at his waist, never drawn.
The demons had clearly been targeting this female martial artist for a long time. From a distance on the battlefield, using a spatial contraction divine ability, they struck abruptly with a saber. After the blow, a bloody gash appeared across the elderly woman's entire back.
The short, elderly woman sidestepped a few paces, forcing herself back into her boxing stance.
If this were her prime, still at the tenth realm—a mere minor Nascent Soul realm military cultivator—I, Bai Lianshuang, could shatter him with one punch!
A white rainbow sword light, having painstakingly tracked the elderly woman's figure, arrived with a surge. The sword split the military cultivator, body and armor, in two. A young woman swept back to the elderly woman's side and said, "Let's go back together."
In the distance, several great demons began to reveal themselves.
"Miss, let it end here. Just let me be lazy from now on."
The elderly woman said softly, "Please return quickly, Miss. If you don't agree, how can I be at ease to throw my punches? In the Yao family, in the Ning estate, I have never slackened. Today, let me be selfish for once."
The elderly woman stepped in front of Ning Yao, facing the southern battlefield, her back to her homeland. She said with a smile, "Miss, take care of yourself from now on. And take care of your husband. A good man like that shouldn't be missed, easily given away to other women. Not just your parents—even I and old Nalan would not agree."
The elderly woman shouted angrily, "Ning girl! Don't wait for me! Wait for Chen Ping'an! A hundred years, a thousand years—it will be worth it!"
Ninth realm martial artist Bai Lianshuang, using her fists to clear the way, advanced. Person and fists went far away.
This journey, there was also guilt, reluctance, and release.
Chen Xi, at the very front of the battlefield, cleaved open the small world of a certain Great Throne great demon with one sword, then reversed his sword tip, going directly after the great demon Chongguang on the battlefield.
In the thirteenth great battle, during the previous siege of the city, the commanding demon of the Desolate Barbarian World had been this Flying Ascension realm great demon.
The great demon Chongguang was immediately dumbfounded. He had no idea what madness had seized Chen Xi, that he would abandon his life and Dao base, to deliver that sword.
If Chen Xi had only been pursuing, Chongguang wouldn't have been afraid at all. He had countless methods to avoid the blade's edge. At worst, he would lose some hard-earned centuries of Dao base and one or two defensive treasures.
The Great Throne great demon who had been fighting with Chen Xi earlier threw his thunder spear, aiming straight for the back of the old sword immortal Chen Xi.
Elsewhere, Nalan Shaowei, also sparing no cost, blocked this spear for her old friend Chen Xi, allowing herself to be trapped in the encirclement of two Great Throne great demons, watching Chen Xi's sword retreat into the distance.
The old man who had carved the character "Chen" on the city wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall—his life, Dao, and all his sword intent were in this sword.
The great demon Chongguang, even as a Flying Ascension realm, how could he not die?
Nalan Shaowei laughed heartily. "Why not another Great Throne beast!"
---
The group of Yin-Yang cultivators and Moisture Organ engineers from the Haoran World had already left.
Chen Sanqiu and Diezhang traveled together.
Both were visiting the Sword Qi Great Wall for the first time. They would take a cross-continent ferry named "Shan Hu Jue" from Central Earth Divine Continent.
After crossing the gate, Chen Sanqiu looked back once.
Diezhang said, "After reaching Central Earth Divine Continent, we can wait for the once-in-a-century gate opening."
The two found that inn, the Stork and Sparrow Inn.
The inn was located in a narrow alley. The young shopkeeper sat in the doorway, enjoying the sun. Seeing the white-clothed gentleman and the one-armed woman, he stood up and greeted them with a smile, "Two distinguished guests, please come in, come in."
Crossing the threshold, Chen Sanqiu said, "Chen Ping'an once said that if I ever saw the shopkeeper still at Hanging Mountain, I should ask him if he was a cultivator."
Chen Sanqiu smiled. "Chen Ping'an also said he had no other intention, just pure curiosity."
The young shopkeeper leaned on the counter, chuckling. "I just run a small business, barely keeping the family property. What sort of cultivator would I be?"
Chen Sanqiu nodded and didn't ask further.
The young shopkeeper looked up and glanced at a table inside the main hall where a bunch of lazy types were seated. He was exasperated. Opening a business, yet each one had a bigger air than the shopkeeper himself.
Business at the Stork and Sparrow Inn was sparse, so the inn's servants had nothing to do.
An old man responsible for opening and closing the door and keeping the night watch; a middle-aged cook who wasn't very skilled; a sturdy woman who cleaned the courtyard and rooms; a young girl who never had a good expression when dealing with visitors.
All four had the surname Nian—Nian Hong, Nian Doufang, Nian Chuntiao, Nian Chuanghua.
They gathered around a table. The man and the woman sat on a long bench. The old man and the girl sat facing each other. The girl lay on the table, yawning.
An old man with a wine-red nose sat on a bench, drinking. With each small sip, he would squint and shiver.
One jug of wine could last him half a day.
The man appeared to be daydreaming, but under the table, his hand was reaching for the woman's thigh. The woman slapped his paw away. After a moment, he tried again—admirable perseverance.
The woman, turned sideways, was busy gossiping with the girl, telling her rumors from various places around Hanging Mountain, all a bit risqué, otherwise not worth telling. Things like how Cloud Seal Immortal Master of the Aquamarine Palace left Hanging Mountain because a handsome young junior in the palace—who didn't care about seniority—had become infatuated with her. Cloud Seal Immortal Master couldn't bear to scold him, and certainly couldn't agree, so she fled in embarrassment and anger. Also, at Deer Antler Cliff, some female cultivator visitor had her buttock pinched hard again—strange, how come whenever she went there and wandered around several times, she had never suffered such a fate? The woman also asked the girl if she had heard that the recently relocated Lingzhi Studio's inn, despite many immortals coming and going, was actually quite chaotic. Tsk tsk, so many vixens, utterly shameless. How did they get repeat customers? It wasn't from immortals' banquets where they showed off their snow-white chests, and then in the bedrooms, calling each other "brother" and "sister."
The young shopkeeper brought two small dishes of appetizers from behind the counter and sat down on the only empty bench.
He put the two dishes—soybeans in sauce and aged vinegar peanuts—on the table, then said to the gossipy woman with a laugh, "Give it a rest, will you? Who was it earlier that pretended to be a fox spirit knocking on doors at night, and was rejected for being ugly?"
The girl, her cheek pressed against the table, asked softly, "Shopkeeper, is that Chen Sanqiu and Diezhang?"
The young shopkeeper nodded, picking up a peanut and putting it in his mouth. "Very impressive young people, just a bit heavy in their killing intent."
The old man took another sip of wine. The wine in his cup hadn't diminished at all, but he drank as if shrinking into himself. "Chen Sanqiu—looks like he has a lot of sword fortune and literary fortune. A talented man!"
"As for that little girl—missing an arm doesn't matter. I can tell at a glance she has a face that brings good fortune to her husband."
"Oh, shopkeeper, this wine with soybeans in sauce—absolutely perfect."
The man muttered, "Only you can drink a horse-piss-tasting wine and make it taste like the finest immortal brew."
The young shopkeeper said helplessly, "At least it's wine brewed in our own shop. Please say something nice. Save some karma."
The girl took a small, exquisite rattle drum from her sleeve. The drum surface was painted, sewn from dragon skin, with a peach wood handle, and a glass bead hanging from a red string.
The old man frowned. "Chuanghua, put it away."
The young shopkeeper smiled. "It doesn't matter."
Looking at the four of them, the young shopkeeper said, "All these years, you've worked hard."
The woman sighed mournfully, took an emerald bamboo hairpin from her sleeve, placed it on the table, and fiddled with it gently.
Taking advantage of the woman's distraction, the man smacked her on the buttock with a loud, crisp sound. The key was the trembling—a pleasure to behold. "Not hard, not hard. No rules here, very comfortable. I don't want to go back."
The woman gave the man a resounding slap across the face, sending him spinning and falling to the ground. He returned to the bench holding his cheek, only to be kicked hard by the woman to the farthest end of the bench.
The girl named Nian Chuanghua asked softly, "Shopkeeper, why did Lady Gui change her mind? If she followed us to our place, wouldn't she truly find peace? Then we could introduce her to the White Jade Capital..."
The young shopkeeper waved his hand, signaling the girl to stop.
The young shopkeeper looked toward the door, sighing sentimentally, "A lone lamp in a traveler's inn, unable to sleep. What turns the guest's heart so mournful? Holding a candle to count the strands at my temples, snow grows, another year."
The man slammed the table, loudly applauding. The old man quickly took a sip of wine. "Excellent, excellent. Drunk, drunk."
The girl, her face pressed to the table, was furious. Grabbing the table's edge, only her head visible above the surface, she kicked the man vigorously.
The young shopkeeper's smile was brilliant. He raised his hand in a clasped-fist salute.
The woman looked at the shopkeeper across from her and smiled knowingly.
A shopkeeper like this was far more lovable and approachable than the deputy palace master back home.
The young shopkeeper picked up an aged vinegar peanut, then gently dropped it back into the dish. Slowly, he said, "Before the lamp, small grass, writing peachwood charms."
The other four at the table stopped their horseplay and sat up straight.
The young shopkeeper said, "If it really doesn't work, I'll have to make a trip to the Sword Qi Great Wall myself. Even if it means taking advantage of someone's difficulty. As for you all, you don't need to follow me. It's not difficult for me to return home."
None of the four objected.
In the Azure Underworld World, the Year-End Palace was as famous as the Xuan Capital Temple.
The palace master was the one with the most authority but had been in seclusion for too many years.
So the strongest was this young shopkeeper—the Year Watcher.
Nian Hong—Dao name: Dragon Within Cave, real name: Zhang Yuanbo.
Nian Doufang—Dao name: Mountain Lord, Yu Chou.
The woman using the alias Nian Chuntiao was actually Yu Chou's Dao partner. The girl named Nian Chuanghua had the Dao name: Lantern Candle. She was the Year-End Palace Master's legitimate daughter. The Year-End Palace's custom of lighting lanterns all night on New Year's Eve to illuminate wastefulness, and the ancestral tradition of beating drums to drive away plague ghosts—both were done by this girl. It relied not on her status, but on her solid cultivation base and realm.
Speaking only of seniority and realm, not numbers, then half the Year-End Palace was in this little Stork and Sparrow Inn.
Except for the young shopkeeper, the other four had traveled far from home not with their complete souls. Their true bodies and sun souls were still in the Year-End Palace. This yin-soul journey of theirs could truly be called extremely far.
---
The ferry docked at Hanging Mountain. Chen Sanqiu and Diezhang left the Stork and Sparrow Inn and boarded the ship.
The ferry's name, "Shan Hu Jue"—especially the character "Jue"—made Chen Sanqiu grab the railing tightly.
He had read too many miscellaneous books, his realm was too low, his sword techniques too poor.
"The courier has arrived, the precious jue has just come. Holding the box, kneeling to open it, the five viscera shaken. The string cut, the box opens, dazzling in full view."
Chen Sanqiu smiled bitterly. He instinctively reached for the wine jug at his waist, remembering that he had already quit drinking. When he left home, he hadn't brought any wine.
Diezhang didn't know how to comfort Chen Sanqiu.
Once, a person alone, with neither relatives nor friends, carefree and unburdened—the one-armed girl had sometimes envied the lively atmosphere of the Chen family mansion on Taixiang Street. But now, she didn't know who should be envying whom.
Beside her, Chen Sanqiu—and then thinking of Sister Ning, Fatty Yan, Dong Heitan, and that little girl Guo Zhujiu—one by one, the guests who had hung a worry-free plaque on the wall of her wine shop...
The woman who hadn't shed a tear even when her arm was cut off suddenly raised her remaining arm and pressed it hard over her eyes.
---
Led by Nascent Soul sword cultivator Cheng Quan, carrying a sword case wrapped in cotton cloth, the old man brought over a dozen young people to Hanging Mountain.
Among them were Yan Ming and Dong Huafu, both at the bottleneck of the Golden Core realm.
They met an old true person holding a whisk refined from dragon beard. Cheng Quan handed the old true person a confidential letter personally written by a Daoist sage, along with a heavily forbidden "family letter," hoping the Great Heavenly Lord would bring it back to the Azure Underworld World in the future.
The old true person glanced at a young sword cultivator who took out the wooden handle of a duster. The old true person sighed. "Keep it yourself. It's your immortal affinity."
Under the leadership of the old true person, the group ascended the solitary mountain in the center of Hanging Mountain. The old true person personally settled them in a mansion halfway up the mountain. Cheng Quan found Yan Zhuo and handed him a "boundless object"—a secret storage item disguised by the Daoist sage's illusions—saying that the young Hidden Officer had first given it to A Liang, who gave it to the Daoist sage, who then asked him to pass it to Yan Zhuo. Later, in the Azure Underworld World, he could carry this item and travel to that Great Xuan Capital Temple.
Cheng Quan said, "Chen Ping'an must have his reasons for going through such trouble."
Yan Zhuo nodded and put away the boundless object.
Yan Zhuo's expression was wooden. Dong Huafu just sat quietly to the side.
Cheng Quan looked at the two young people, only able to say that no matter how hard the days were, they still had to be lived.
Outside the small courtyard, the ancient pines on the mountain were white as snow.
---
Wei Jin and Mi Yu—two sword immortals at the bottleneck of the Jade Pure realm—plus a Golden Core cultivator who easily felt inferior, Wei Wenlong.
Together, they left Hanging Mountain on the cross-continent ferry "Osmanthus Island" from Old Dragon City.
The entire Spring Pennant Studio disappeared overnight.
Of Hanging Mountain's four private residences, the Ape Trample Mansion had been dismantled into an empty shell; Plum Blossom Garden and Spring Pennant Studio were both gone; only the Aquamarine Palace remained, lonely and isolated. Moreover, the Cloud Seal Ancestor who had originally presided over this immortal mansion had already left, taking a large group of young disciples on a journey to seek immortals.
Wei Wenlong's fellow disciples would follow sword immortal Shao Yunyan to Southern Bodhi Continent.
Earlier, he had followed Mi Yu to the Sword Qi Great Wall for the first time; this time, he was also following Mi Yu away from Hanging Mountain.
Yan Ming had gone to the battlefield. Nalan Caihuan had taken the Nanqi Ferry of the Shanshui Cave to Fu Yao Continent, where she might not necessarily put down roots—she might go further north to Golden Armor Continent, or even Flowery Cloud Continent.
The "Haoliang" Sword Nurturing Gourd had still been secretly given to Shao Yunyan by the young Hidden Officer, to be passed on to Mi Yu.
Mi Yu planned to give it to that charcoal-black girl named Pei Qian, in the name of the young Hidden Officer. Actually, this Sword Nurturing Gourd, as his elder brother's possession, originally belonged to Chen Ping'an.
The three stayed in the Gui Vein small courtyard, which belonged to the young Hidden Officer.
When the ferry passed the Rain Dragon Sect, Mi Yu glanced at it from afar and curled his lips.
On Osmanthus Island, whether it was the few returning passengers or the many ferry crew members, except for the dignified Lady Gui, everyone was panicked.
Wei Jin discussed with the other two that upon returning to his hometown Vase-Gourd Continent, they would disembark at Old Dragon City, first visit Wind Snow Temple's Immortal Platform to offer wine at his master's grave, then go straight to Fallen Mountain. After that, Wei Wenlong would stay at Fallen Mountain, and Mi Yu would go to the Taihui Sword Sect in Northern Julu Continent. Wei Wenlong had no objection. Mi Yu said that if the Taihui Sword Sect was willing to take him on as a nominal guest elder, that was best—they could consider it doing him a favor. If not, then forget it; he had already decided he would freeload at Fallen Mountain.
The peak of Osmanthus Island was perfect for viewing the scenery. The sunset glow was splendid as brocade.
The Jade Pure realm sword immortal, whose lifebound flying sword was "Full Sky Rosy Clouds," sat alone on the railing, the "Haoliang" Sword Nurturing Gourd hanging at his waist, holding a jug of osmanthus wine, its fragrance filling the air.
For some reason, Guo Zhujiu hadn't been able to go with him to Vase-Gourd Continent.
She was also a sword cultivator of the Hidden Officer's lineage, and a formal disciple of the Hidden Officer himself. Besides, Mi Yu had desperately hoped to have a fellow townsman with whom he could chat in dialect in a foreign land.
The young Hidden Officer had mentioned that the manager of this Osmanthus Island ferry, a Golden Core old sword cultivator named Ma Zhi, was a senior worthy of befriending.
As for Lady Gui's only disciple, the Osmanthus Little Maiden, Jin Su—
Mi Yu had heard of her.
But now, Mi Yu just wanted to drink. He didn't want to think about anything.
In recent years, as cross-continent ferry business had become increasingly pure, the number of visitors touring Hanging Mountain had decreased year by year. Consequently, the Osmanthus Island painter's business had declined sharply. Over time, only one painting stall remained under the osmanthus trees. Many Fan family painters had already left Osmanthus Island to seek other opportunities at Old Dragon City.
The one who stayed was a middle-aged painter. His cultivation aptitude was poor, a lower-five-realm Qi Refiner. In a vassal state of Vase-Gourd Continent, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to become a court painter. But being under someone else's roof and earning little—even if a painting sold for several hundred or thousand taels of silver, which in the secular dynasty's art world was a sky-high price, compared to immortal coins, it wasn't much profit.
Seeing the man sitting on the railing in a daze, the painter picked up a pot of Old Dragon City market-quality wine from his table—he couldn't afford the osmanthus wine—and walked toward that unfamiliar fellow.
Using wine to make friends—maybe he could even get an extra commission. The painting stall hadn't had any business for days. Hard times.
Mi Yu turned his head, looking at the Fan family painter who had been standing beside him for a long time without knowing how to speak. He asked, "I heard that a painting here costs thirty snowflake coins. If I want three paintings, can I get a discount—say, twenty-five coins?"
The painter nodded. "When business was good, we could take a cut of five coins from twenty-five. Now business is hard. The Fan family is generous, so they give the whole amount to the painter."
This guest's Vase-Gourd Continent dialect was not fluent.
But he had heard that this exceptionally handsome young man was a friend of Wei Jin, the sword immortal of Wind Snow Temple.
Then he should at least be an earth immortal, right?
Mi Yu smiled. "You wouldn't happen to be named Su Yuting, would you?"
The painter was astonished. "How does the guest know my name?"
Su Yuting was self-aware. His painting skills, in the eyes of mountain immortals, while perhaps not utterly appalling, were certainly no masterful work.
Mi Yu said with a smile, "Does that 'ten percent discount for three' offer still stand? If so, I'll ask Master Su to paint three for me."
Master Su.
Adding "Master" to the surname, like adding "Sir" as a suffix—whether in the mountains or the secular world—it was a great compliment.
Su Yuting was first stunned, then suddenly enlightened. He stretched out a finger and shook it gently, racking his brains. It seemed he did remember someone, but he couldn't quite recall who.
Mi Yu prompted, "A young lad carrying a sword case, wearing straw sandals."
Su Yuting clapped his fist into his palm and laughed heartily. "I remember! I remember! That gentleman was a bit reserved at first, but after drinking some wine, he became quite spirited."
Su Yuting then broke into a sweat of embarrassment. "I never imagined that gentleman still remembered this Su."
Mi Yu nodded. "He spoke of you to me, praising you highly. He said Master Su's paintings are vibrant, lifelike, colorfully categorized, meticulously detailed, hitting the perfect note. So he told me that if I ever had a chance to board Osmanthus Island, I should definitely have you paint for me—I wouldn't regret it."
Su Yuting was even more abashed, lowering his head. "I am unworthy, unworthy."
Mi Yu jumped down from the railing and walked toward the ancestral osmanthus tree.
Dusk faded; twilight crept in. Mi Yu looked up.
Under the tree, waiting for the moon to rise.
---
Lu Zhi, accompanied by a woman wearing a bamboo hat with a veil that concealed her face—the Drunken Beauty.
Through that new gate, they walked out of the Sword Qi Great Wall. Sword immortal Shao Yunyan was accompanied by several direct disciples of the Spring Pennant Studio.
They all left Hanging Mountain together.
At the old gate, the young Daoist boy glanced at the solitary mountain, put away his book and cushion, and said, "I'm leaving."
The sword-bearing man crouched in place, nodded, and said nothing.
The young Daoist boy asked, "Are you really not coming with me to the Azure Underworld World?"
Zhang Lu shook his head. "I want to keep my eyes wide open and see if that Haoran World can still treat the Sword Qi Great Wall as a joke in the future."
The young Daoist boy vanished in a flash, appearing at the base of the Aquamarine Palace's mountain. He performed a divine ability—bending and then straightening his back—and flipped the entire Aquamarine Palace off Hanging Mountain, sending it crashing into the sea.
That day, the Great Heavenly Lord stood atop the mountain peak, casting his master's decree. It transformed into a rainbow light heading straight for the sky's edge. Then he activated the formation. This largest mountain-character seal in the world broke through the sky's canopy. Several Daoist immortals from the White Jade Capital, at the juncture of the two worlds, guided Hanging Mountain from the vortex's opening, pulling it toward the Azure Underworld World.
At the original site of Hanging Mountain, only an old gate between the Desolate Barbarian World and the Haoran World remained, along with Zhang Lu—the great sword immortal who had defected from the Sword Qi Great Wall.
---
Chen Qingdu manifested his Dharma aspect, one sword cleaving heaven open.
The entire city ascended.
The demon army had already surged in a mighty tide onto the city wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall, which had no one left to guard it.
All sword cultivators of the Desolate Barbarian World—whether sword immortals or sword cultivators—drew their swords to intercept that city.
Most of the Great Throne great demons of the Desolate Barbarian World, along with numerous Upper Five Realm demons, chose instead to strike at the Great Sword Immortal's Dharma aspect.
The Great Ancestor of Tuoyue Mountain—that old man in gray—snorted disdainfully. "Pathetic. This is your final sword. In this great war, when it comes to killing my demons, you, Chen Qingdu, are not even comparable to a lower-five-realm sword cultivator."
The old man in gray took a single step. His Dharma aspect was towering, its form even higher than the Sword Qi Great Wall. Clenching his fists, using the power of the entire Desolate Barbarian World's Great Dao, he struck down heavily toward the middle of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
He directly smashed a huge gap in the Sword Qi Great Wall—the wall that Chen Qingdu, unable to intercept the attack, could no longer fully protect.
The old man in gray's Dharma aspect stood within the gap. His fists pounded down on both sides of the wall top. With each punch, Chen Qingdu's Dharma aspect—which had remained unbreakable even when pounded by Great Throne great demons' lifebound divine abilities—grew more indistinct.
The Great Sword Immortal's Dharma aspect simply stood atop the city wall. After cleaving the sky open with one sword, it stood like a pillar between heaven and earth, using both hands to pull the vortex apart, refusing to let it close.
Since its construction, for the first time, the Sword Qi Great Wall suffered such a massive breach. The wall itself was cut into two sections.
From the prison, a figure emerged—bent, stumbling, walking. Was it... a person?
Dimly visible was the silhouette of a human form. Only a pair of golden eyes, flowing with brilliance and color. The rest was nothing but a blurry, heavy shadow, as if the entire physical body was formed by millions of densely packed black threads.
That figure rose from the ground, landing heavily on the city wall, shaking off countless demons.
Some demons of sufficient realm instinctively chose to avoid this strange being as much as possible.
The black shadow on the city wall looked up, raised an arm high, and bid her farewell.
It was as if the beloved was the moon in the sky—from then on, heaven and earth were separated.
This black shadow turned around, its back to the entire city that was slowly ascending, its back to the Great Sword Immortal Chen Qingdu.
Chen Qingdu's Dharma aspect spoke in a clear, resonant voice: "Boy, remember the agreement. I can break the agreement. You cannot!"
Hold firm to half of the Sword Qi Great Wall. If the Desolate Barbarian World ravaged the Haoran World for ten years, a hundred years, hold it for ten years, a hundred years. If for ten thousand years, then you, Chen Ping'an, will sit here in meditation for ten thousand years!
Chen Qingdu's remnant soul came to the side of that figure and said, "Hard work."
The black shadow shook its head gently, then nodded.
The Great Sword Immortal smiled and patted the young man's shoulder.
The black shadow took a step back, clasped its hands, and bowed to bid farewell to the Great Sword Immortal.
In the midst of these words, the Great Sword Immortal's soul scattered completely, truly merging into the half-section of the Sword Qi Great Wall beneath their feet. Chen Qingdu was no more in the world.
That ethereal black shadow remained silent. It took a single step onto the southern section of the city wall. Two fingers together, it wiped fiercely.
On the city wall, one after another, the true spirits of sword immortals emerged from the scrolls of the Respecting Sword Pavilion.
The sword immortals from the scrolls had no intelligence. They only knew that apart from the black shadow, anyone who stepped onto the city wall would be slain.
As long as the remaining half of the Sword Qi Great Wall still stood, these sword immortals could not fall.
After doing this, the black shadow instantly appeared at the gap in the city wall. Some demons tried to intercept it mid-course. Whether it was cultivators' true bodies or offensive dharma treasures, all were instantly reduced to powder.
The black shadow stood as if on a cliff edge, staring at the old man in gray standing on the other side of the wall, a distant confrontation.
Those golden eyes locked onto the opponent.
The old man in gray shook his head. "Why must you do this?"
Between the two sides, the gap between the two sections of the wall was like a broad road. Countless demon troops poured through like a flood.
The black shadow vanished into thin air.
Reappearing in the distance, it dragged a Jade Pure realm demon that had been flying over the city wall down from the sea of clouds. It grabbed its head with one hand. The demon's forehead instantly became a bloody pulp. It was just held in the air like that.
Let it be remembered: There is still Chen Ping'an guarding the city wall.