Chapter 688: Meeting on the Jianghu, Uttering the Phrase "Hard at Work"

Chapter 688: Meeting on the Jianghu, Uttering the Phrase "Hard at Work"

Wei Bo invited Mi Yu to be a guest at the Great Mountain Lord's mansion atop Piyun Mountain.
It was truly a place of excellent feng shui, a worthy immortal grotto-heaven, covering a vast area, resembling a garden, with no cultivators or common folk. Snow weighed down the tips of pine branches, startling the deer, while water nymphs and mountain spirits were full of vitality.
Wei Bo finally led Mi Yu to a high platform concealed by an illusion spell, named Yingran.
Wei Bo often liked to sit here alone, drinking wine and enjoying the scenery, with a panoramic view in all directions.
On the Yingran platform, there were only a few white meditation cushions and nothing else.
It was the time when the night moon had just risen, snow and moonlight vying for beauty. Beyond the mountains, in different directions, one could faintly see the lights of Longzhou City, Huaihuang County, and Hongzhu Town, like three lanterns of different sizes placed on the snow, making even an immortal on the mountain mansion reluctant to exhale, fearing to blow out the lanterns under the moon.

Mi Yu took off the Haoliang Sword-Nurturing Gourd, which he had no chance to give away yet, took a sip of wine, and looked around at the night scene. Sighing, he said, "It's truly a good place, a land of outstanding people and natural beauty. Thanks to Wei Wenlong, on my way here, I learned that many of the peers of the Hidden Official from the Pearl-Sealing Grotto-Heaven have become quite outstanding after leaving. Ma Kuxuan of True Martial Mountain, Gu Can of the Book-Scouring Lake, and Da Li's vassal prince Song Mu. As for Liu Xianyang, I met him a few times on the Sword Qi Great Wall. He's very impressive. That life-bound flying sword of his is quite rare even on the Sword Qi Great Wall."

Wei Bo said self-deprecatingly, "The land and water are good, of course. Not every mountain god and mansion lord can hold so many Night-Excursion Banquets one after another. Within the jurisdiction of the Northern Great Mountain, the sound of smelting pots and iron resounds endlessly. But you have to have pots and iron, right?"

Mi Yu laughed heartily. This Northern Great Mountain Lord, who held great power in Bottle Gourd Continent, was more witty than expected. That was good. If he had been a pedantic and rigid mountain-and-water god, it would have ruined the atmosphere.

After a big gulp of wine, Mi Yu suppressed his smile and said, "The Hidden Official said that if it weren't for Lord Wei's protection, Falling Mountain wouldn't have today's assets. Even if they had obtained them, they wouldn't have been able to hold onto them, and it would have been a disaster instead."

Wei Bo replied, "Similarly, if it weren't for Chen Ping'an, I, Wei Bo, wouldn't have become this Great Mountain Lord. Falling Mountain borrows influence from Piyun Mountain, and Piyun Mountain also needs to borrow influence from Falling Mountain. It's just that one is in the open, the other in the shadows."

One could confide in the other, and one could trust the other, so their subsequent conversation was very candid.
Wei Bo discussed Falling Mountain's immediate concerns and long-term worries in detail with this sword immortal, while Mi Yu told the mountain lord about the situation on the Sword Qi Great Wall. As for the Hidden Official's matters, Mi Yu didn't say much.

After some deliberation, Wei Bo told Mi Yu some inside information that shouldn't be discussed but could be said privately.
Mi Yu finally said helplessly, "A tangled mess. It doesn't seem like something that can be solved by just killing someone with a sword or two, does it?"

Wei Bo shook his head and said, "Since Chen Ping'an is destined not to return home in the near future, Falling Mountain's reception of guests will be different. Blindly lying low is not the best strategy. As for whether to draw the sword, when, and at whom, it depends on Zhu Lian's judgment."

Mi Yu nodded and said, "The Hidden Official has great respect for this Zhu Lian. I'll just follow his orders."

He had heard of Zhu Lian's name for a long time but had never met him.

Wei Bo couldn't help but ask, "Sword Immortal Mi, may I ask a presumptuous question? Why do you hold Chen Ping'an in such high regard?"

Mi Yu corrected him, "It should be 'awe' instead. I'm a lazy fellow who doesn't like to use his brain. For someone who is extremely clever, I've always been afraid to deal with them. To be honest, in this Hao Ran World, I would rather be an enemy of an entire continent's cultivators than be an enemy of the Hidden Official alone."

Since Mi Yu was holding back, Wei Bo didn't press further about Chen Ping'an's specific deeds and experiences on the Sword Qi Great Wall. A sword immortal at the Jade Pure bottleneck constantly addressing Chen Ping'an as "Hidden Official" was already very telling.

Wei Bo sighed, "I knew Chen Ping'an would definitely grow up, but I never thought it would be this fast."

Mi Yu didn't want to talk about this. He asked, "Why do you pat the railing when drinking?"

Wei Bo smiled and said, "No one responds, so I find my own joy."

Mi Yu nodded and said, "Indeed, Lord Wei, like the Hidden Official, is someone who has studied books."

One good night in a year, a thousand miles of bright moonlight.

Wei Bo said, "Sword Immortal Mi, I have a favor to ask. If you agree, it might consume about a year or two of your time. As for Falling Mountain, I'll keep an eye on it."

Mi Yu said, "Speak freely."

Wei Bo said, "The Everlasting Spring Palace will soon send a group of registered immortal masters on a southern tour. They will soon pass through Hongzhu Town. Among the five, the highest cultivation level is only at the Dragon Gate Realm. But now in the central region of Bottle Gourd Continent, there are still many cultivators from destroyed countries who harbor hatred for Da Li. The Everlasting Spring Palace has been particularly generous during several Night-Excursion Banquets. I want to repay that favor. Their tour this time is quite far, and they need to leave the Northern Great Mountain's jurisdiction. Rather than owe the Middle Great Mountain Lord Jin Qing a favor, it's better to have you, as a friend, go out on a trip."

Mi Yu joked, "I'll just familiarize myself with the customs of Bottle Gourd Continent. Previously, when I accompanied Wei Jin north, everywhere I went, people were flattering me. It was hard to even have a quiet drink at a flower house."

Wei Bo explained the general situation of this "guardianship" and then handed over an official document prepared in advance. Mi Yu opened it and saw the name: Yu Mi, originally from Longquan County, Da Li. Mi Yu smiled knowingly. Yu Mi, a good name.

In addition, Wei Bo also gave Mi Yu a branch with a few emerald green leaves. Wei Bo said, "This is one piece of a 'twin-branch.' If there is a real emergency that even I cannot handle, I will burn the other half. The branch in your hand will wither. Once you return to the Northern Great Mountain's jurisdiction, burn your half, and I can immediately appear and send you back to Falling Mountain."

Sword Immortal Mi put it away into his sleeve universe.
Wei Bo seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

Mi Yu laughed and said, "Don't worry, I, Mi Yu, will absolutely not dabble in romantic affairs."

After all, Wei Jin had once said that the Everlasting Spring Palace was a sect full of female cultivators. Falling Mountain had long established a secret archive. Although the records on the Everlasting Spring Palace were few, far fewer than those on Zhengyang Mountain or Qingfeng City, Mi Yu had studied them carefully. After Wei Wenlong joined Falling Mountain, he brought with him a storage item given by his master, Sword Immortal Shao Yunyan, which contained various national records, historical archives, and excerpts of mountain-and-water gazettes from Bottle Gourd Continent. Thus, the secret archive of Falling Mountain doubled overnight.

Wei Bo said helplessly, "Chen Ping'an wrote in his letter that I don't need to worry about your character, only about your face."

Mi Yu sighed, "The Hidden Official knows me well. I'm not a bad person. The thing that causes trouble is really just this face."

Wei Bo suppressed a smile and didn't pick up on that topic. Instead, he said, "If Sword Immortal Mi doesn't mind the trouble, Zhu Lian has carefully made several face-skins on Falling Mountain that you can choose from."

Mi Yu was a genuine sword immortal, and moreover, he came from the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Regardless of Mi Yu's relationship with Chen Ping'an or how harmonious things were between Mi Yu and Falling Mountain, Wei Bo was willing and needed to treat him with courtesy.

Mi Yu nodded and said, "A small matter."

The following day, five cultivators from the Everlasting Spring Palace arrived at Niujiao Mountain Ferry on a cross-continental ferry of the Pima Sect. Among them was a young female cultivator with delicate features, originally from a boatman's family in Hongzhu Town. Her childhood name was Yishan, and her full name was Yishan. Because she came from a humble background, she had abandoned her surname. In the ancestral hall registry of the Everlasting Spring Palace, she had changed her name to Zhongnan. It was rumored that she still hadn't chosen a surname or followed her master's surname because she was waiting until she reached the Golden Core realm, at which point the Da Li empress dowager would personally bestow upon her the national surname "Song."

She was currently at the Cavern Dwelling realm, not high in cultivation, but she held the highest seniority among the group because her teacher was the Everlasting Spring Palace's Supreme Elder. The Everlasting Spring Palace had once been a summer retreat for the Da Li empress dowager, so it had considerable prestige among the mountain sects of the continent. The leading female cultivator, who was at the Sea Observing realm, still had to address her as "Aunt-Master." The other three female cultivators were young, and their seniority was even more distant from Zhongnan's.

At Niujiao Mountain Ferry, there were a series of immortal architecture built by the "Bundle-Peddler" in the past. Later, they were transferred to Piyun Mountain and Falling Mountain along with the ferry. The Everlasting Spring Palace had rented two shops, selling unique immortal items from the palace, mostly legal robes and accessories suitable for female cultivators, similar to the Colored Bird Mansion in North Ju Lu Continent.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged woman who personally welcomed her junior sister Zhongnan. Beside her stood a distinguished, elegant middle-aged man with a noble bearing and a smile on his face.

The shopkeeper chatted cheerfully, introducing this Yu Mi as one of the registered guest elders of Piyun Mountain. His family's ancestor had connections with Lord Wei.

The woman communicated telepathically with her sect sisters, saying that Yu Mi had been cultivating for only sixty years and was already at the Sea Observing realm. He was a kind of "refining master" similar to a sword master, proficient in sword talismans, thus his combat strength was not low. More importantly, Yu Mi had once coincidentally met Sword Immortal Wei Jin in the jianghu and had the fortune to drink at the same table. Although their relationship was ordinary and couldn't be considered close friends, he could still barely help put in a good word at Wind Snow Temple. Since Yu Mi was also heading south to travel and visit immortals, he could travel with them. Since he was a guest elder of Piyun Mountain, even if he was an unregistered low-level guest elder of the kind that had never attended Night-Excursion Banquets, his Sea Observing realm couldn't be faked. Moreover, how many guest elders did Piyun Mountain currently have? The fact that Yu Mi's realm was not particularly high actually proved that his family's relationship with the Great Mountain Lord Wei Bo was not shallow.

This Yu Mi, both knowing Sword Immortal Wei Jin personally and having a deep karmic connection with Piyun Mountain from his ancestors, was qualified to talk about taking care of matters when traveling.

The old woman at the Dragon Gate realm agreed to this matter, but out of caution, she still had the shopkeeper send a flying sword message to the Everlasting Spring Palace to explain the situation in detail. After all, little Aunt-Master Zhongnan was too special to the Everlasting Spring Palace. If the presiding elder at the Everlasting Spring Palace thought Yu Mi unsuitable to travel with them, they would have to call it off midway. Even if it harmed their relationship, they couldn't covet the small advantage of having an outsider at the Sea Observing realm as a protector.

Thinking of this, the old woman felt helpless. Nowadays, all the Earth Immortals of the Everlasting Spring Palace had quietly left the mountain, seemingly with important missions. But none of them, whether ancestors of the ancestral hall, resident elders, or guest elders, had leaked a single word to their Dao companions or direct disciples. Where they were going and what they were doing were all secret. So for this first trip down the mountain for Zhongnan and her three companions, only she, a Dragon Gate cultivator, could act as protector. At the very least, there should have been a Golden Core Earth Immortal leading the way, or if they didn't want the disciples to be too relaxed and lack the expected tempering of the Dao heart, there should have been at least a secret escort.

After some conversation, Yu Mi followed the group south on foot toward Hongzhu Town. The sword talismans forged by the Dragon Spring Sword Sect allowed qi refiners to travel by wind within Longzhou, but they were rare items with no market price. Among the female cultivators of the Everlasting Spring Palace, only Zhongnan possessed one such expensive sword talisman, a gift from her master, so everyone else had to travel on foot.

They could visit the Iron Talisman River God Temple, which held the highest rank in Da Li, and Chess Pillar Mountain, the place where Lord Wei's fortunes began. Besides, for cultivators, such a journey through mountains and rivers was hardly a hardship.

The Iron Talisman River had such excellent water and soil that even in the depths of winter, the banks were warm and sunny, with various trees in bloom and beautiful scenery.
Thus, there were many tourists, and a continuous stream of pilgrims went to the river god temple to offer incense, pray for blessings, and fulfill vows.

Since Longzhou had become a tourist destination and had the immortal ferry at Niujiao Mountain, especially after Piyun Mountain held several Night-Excursion Banquets, there had been frequent visits from mountain immortals for over a decade. The common people and wealthy families who came to burn incense were not overly surprised by this group of Everlasting Spring Palace fairies. Only some children pointed and shouted, "Fairy! Fairy sister!" Their elders, worried about offending these female immortals from the mountains, told the children to be quieter and not to shout, but they didn't stop their chattering.

Mi Yu actually understood Lord Wei's intention. Protecting the woman was real, but it was even more real to let him, a sword immortal, experience more of the customs and habits of Bottle Gourd Continent's mundane world.
Mi Yu appreciated Wei Bo's kindness. Moreover, the Hidden Official had always advocated "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." He just had to follow suit, and Mi Yu believed he could manage that.

The only thing he wasn't used to was that in this foreign land, there was too little sword qi, too few sword cultivators, and even fewer sword immortals.
The peaceful life here was too good, so good that Mi Yu felt like he was dreaming, so much so that he didn't want to wake up.

So Mi Yu took off his sword-nurturing gourd and took a big gulp of the rice wine stored in large quantities on Falling Mountain.

The face-skin Mi Yu currently wore was quite handsome. Though it couldn't compare to his true face, it was still a worthy good-looking face.
Thus, not long after meeting the Everlasting Spring Palace female cultivators, just walking from the mountains to this riverbank, the Sword Immortal felt that two young women's eyes were about to eat him alive.

---

At dusk, at the New Year's Gift Shop on Riding Dragon Alley, the blind Daoist, whose butt seemed nailed to the bench, finally finished his long-winded talk about how difficult his breakthrough had been, how much progress he had made in the Five Thunder True Method, how the straw hat shop business was decent, and how his two disciples were unpromising but still filial. Seeing that Old Brother Shi was speechless, probably feeling ashamed, Old Daoist Jia Sheng finally went to the next shop satisfied. Shi Rou closed the shop for the day. It was the same as yesterday, and probably the same tomorrow. Shi Rou didn't understand why an old Daoist who had stumbled his way to the Sea Observing realm would compete with her for what? If he had any real skill, why didn't he go to Falling Mountain to show off his glory? Go find your good buddy Chen Lingjun? Or find Pei Qian?

Shi Rou went to the side room. The main room was empty, but Shi Rou kept it vacant. She closed the door now, secretly opened the drawer, and took out a makeup mirror, rouge, and powder. She didn't dare use them improperly; they were all from her own salary. Moreover, on holidays, Falling Mountain would give out a few snow money red packets. On the mountain, it might not be much, but in the market town, it was not a small sum. So all the items on the table were bought with Shi Rou's own private money.

As a female ghost wearing a celestial's discarded body, Shi Rou actually didn't need sleep. But in this small town, she didn't dare to cultivate diligently under the cover of night. As for some unorthodox ghostly methods, she absolutely didn't dare. That would be asking for death. The Da Li spies or the Dragon Spring Sword Sect wouldn't even need to act; her own Falling Mountain would make sure she suffered. Besides, Shi Rou didn't have such thoughts. She was quite satisfied with this leisurely life, day after day, each tomorrow seeming like yesterday. Occasionally, it got a little boring, but that was all. The business of the New Year's Gift Shop was mediocre, far less prosperous than the straw hat shop next door. Shi Rou actually felt a little guilty.

Shi Ruo formed a hand seal, chanted silently in her heart, then "stripped off" her body, becoming her true ghost form.
That discarded body still sat upright on the chair, motionless, as if she had gone on an out-of-body journey.

After Shi Rou restored her true appearance, she was dressed in colorful clothes, with long robes and wide sleeves, her figure graceful, just like when she was imprisoned by the Glassy Immortal.

Being able to "travel" like this was thanks to Pei Qian, who had asked the White Goose little senior brother for this minor spell to "go out" on her behalf. But Pei Qian had warned her that it could last at most the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. If it took longer, it might be hard to return, and she wouldn't take responsibility. Besides, if the White Goose wasn't around, she couldn't do anything anyway. The white-clothed boy had added with a smile that if she couldn't return, he would first slap her half to death. Wasn't she fond of looking in the mirror? Then he would lock her soul in a mirror to look to her heart's content. Although Cui Dongshan had been scolded by Pei Qian at the time, Shi Rou didn't dare take it lightly.

Shi Rou gently picked up a comb and combed her hair in front of the mirror. In the mirror, she now looked almost unfamiliar.
This female ghost softly hummed an ancient ballad:
"Form like withered bones, heart like dead ashes, true knowledge, not proud of the past. Dim and dark, with no mind, one cannot scheme with her. Who is that person…"

After Longquan County was promoted to Longzhou, it governed four counties: Celadon, Baoxi, Sanjiang, and Xianghuo. The chief governor of the prefecture was Wei Li, a native of Huangting State. Yuan Zhengding, a descendant of the Yuan family of the Pillar State, served as the governor of Celadon County. Fu Yu, the former assistant to Wu Yuan, the first governor of Huaihuang County in the Pearl-Sealing Grotto-Heaven's history, had been promoted to governor of Baoxi County. The other two governors came from commoner families and capital officials, and it was said that they had no personal dealings with Yuan Zhengding and Fu Yu beyond official matters.

The current supervisor of kiln affairs, Cao Gengxin, continued to play his role as the careless supervisor, both inside and outside the yamen. Every day, he was either drinking or on his way to buy wine. He still played with children, was teased by women, and called men brothers.

In Huaihuang County, the civil and military temples respectively enshrined the ancestral masters of Governor Yuan and Supervisor Cao.
Not only that, but now at least half of Bottle Gourd Continent had households pasting door gods, which were portraits of Yuan and Cao, the two famous ministers who had contributed greatly to the Da Li Song clan.

Within the prefectural city, the City God Pavilion had flourishing incense offerings. The little incense-fire spirit, who claimed he had almost starved to death and been laughed to death by his peers, had initially liked to visit doors and show off. It was rumored that he had been severely punished twice by the City God, who pressed him into an incense burner to eat ash, but he still didn't mend his ways. In front of a large group of high-ranking City God judges, netherworld officers, and day-and-night patrols, he jumped in the incense burner and cursed the master of the City God Pavilion, pointing at his nose, shouting, "You ungrateful bastard! I've suffered so much with you! Now that I've finally made it, endured hardship to enjoy sweetness, can't I show off a bit? I don't harm people, I don't disturb the people, I diligently patrol your jurisdiction and record all the unregistered lonely souls and wild ghosts. What the hell do you care? You idiot with water in your head! If you keep nagging, I'll run away from home! Then who will give you remonstrances to the death..."

This little fellow, who was reportedly thrown out of the City God Pavilion together with the incense burner by the City God, later sneaked the burner back. He still liked to gather a bunch of little lackeys and give orders to the Day and Night Patrol Gods, who had become his sworn brothers. He would "grace" the various county and prefectural City God temples within the prefecture, or howl through the alleys at night from one ancestral hall to another. But somehow, he suddenly changed his nature. Not only did he dismiss those hangers-on, but he also began to regularly leave the City God Pavilion and head into the mountains to a certain place. Actually, it was a miserable roll call, but he claimed he was visiting relatives and friends, regardless of wind or rain.

Today, a light drizzle was falling. A hardworking little incense-fire spirit, holding a miniature "umbrella" made of leaves, ran all the way to the gate of Falling Mountain.
The little fellow ran up to Yuan Lai and said with an air of old maturity, "Yuan Lai, in the past half month, have you been diligent in reading and practicing your fists?"

The boy sitting under the eaves reading a book nodded and smiled, "Not bad."

Falling Mountain had very few visitors. When Yuan Lai got tired of reading, he practiced walking stakes; when he got tired of walking stakes, he read. Occasionally, he would watch Miss Cen pass by the mountain gate while walking stakes or practicing fists. The day passed quickly, at most with his sister occasionally complaining about him.

The little fellow grinned, "On my way up the mountain, if I see Miss Cen, should I pass along your regards?"

Yuan Lai said helplessly, "I wouldn't dare trouble the Right Protector."

The little fellow casually threw away the leaf umbrella, put his hands behind his back, and paced in circles on the muddy ground, frowning and sighing, "Remember, remember, I'm only the Right Protector of Riding Dragon Alley. In officialdom, you can't get titles wrong. If Protector Zhou were present, wouldn't you have offended two big officials at once? If you were in real official cultivation, calling people like that would get people killed. Yuan Lai, you're still too young. You must be careful in the future. As someone temporarily guarding the mountain gate for Brother Dafeng, although you have no official rank, you are still the face of Falling Mountain. There's a lot of learning in dealing with people. Just reading books isn't enough."

Having patiently listened to the little fellow's chatter, Yuan Lai smiled and said, "Got it."

Learning wasn't only in books. The incense-fire spirit's words also contained reason, even if the speaker didn't mean much; the listener could take it to heart.
Senior Dafeng had advised him to carefully observe others' words and deeds. That was the best mountain cultivation. Don't be deaf and blind, wasting Falling Mountain's feng shui.

The little fellow began to climb the mountain in earnest.
When he reached the cliffside near the bamboo building, he saw the Right Protector of Falling Mountain sitting there in a daze.

The little fellow told Zhou Mili about the roll call, making sure she didn't forget to have Nuannu record it in the ledger. Then he asked curiously, "Where's my big brother Corn?"

Zhou Mili propped her chin with her hands and said, "He went down the mountain to handle some serious business."

The little fellow said angrily, "What kind of brother is this? Doesn't he know to say goodbye before leaving? Heartless and faithless. I wouldn't even want a basketful of such bastard brothers."

Zhou Mili reached out to shield the little fellow from the drizzle, chuckling, "Why haven't you grown taller?"

The little fellow said seriously, "The Protector's lesson is well taken. When I return to my post, I will definitely eat more incense ash."

The little girl bent down, covered her mouth with her hand, and lowered her voice, "Pei Qian said flattery is the most unacceptable. Our Falling Mountain never goes in for that. It's been our family's, sect's, and mountain's style since her master's time."

The little fellow had an epiphany and nodded vigorously: "The Mountain Lord has foresight! The Helmsman's martial arts are unrivaled! And the Right Protector is not far behind. Any casual word is a golden saying. No wonder you carry a golden shoulder pole every day. If you also had a jade pendant, that would be something else—you'd be worthy of being a refined scholar of the academy! Right Protector, when the Mountain Lord or Helmsman Pei return home, I will definitely act as a loyal minister, remonstrate with iron backbone, and request a jade pendant for you..."

The little girl tilted her head, frowning her sparse eyebrows, feeling that something was off. Then she suddenly understood and grinned.

The incense-fire spirit also realized his slip of the tongue. "Iron backbone" was a taboo on Falling Mountain!

Zhou Mili covered her mouth with both hands and laughed loudly.

The little fellow happily joined in the laughter. Our Right Protector is quite a lady, isn't she?

---

In the city of Yanzi County, Colored Clothes State, a young man and woman traveling south together in Bottle Gourd Continent had just visited Fisherman Weng and taken their leave.

Wu Shuowen, whose Dao name was Fisherman Weng, with his two disciples, Zhao Shuxia and Zhao Luan (brother and sister), had just returned from an excursion to Old Dragon City and the New Southern Great Mountain not long ago. Otherwise, the two visiting guests from afar would have missed them.

A light rain had just stopped. The young woman wore a veil hat, and the young man carried a bamboo rain hat on his back. After bidding farewell to the old Confucian scholar, they left the alley.
They were Yu Lu and Xie Xie.

Among their friends from the academy, besides the two of them not studying at the Cliff Academy in Great Sui, Lin Shouyi had also left early, saying he wanted to visit the excavation of the Great River. Li Huai and Pei Qian had gone to travel in North Ju Lu Continent. Even Li Baoping, after returning from the Da Li capital to the academy, had followed the Academy Master Mao to travel to the Rite Academy in the Central Divine Continent with dozens of fellow students. So among those who had traveled to Great Sui to study together in the past, besides Cui Dongshan who had left the academy earliest, not a single one was still in the Great Sui capital now. Regarding the trip to the Central Divine Continent's academy, Master Mao had consulted Yu Lu and Xie Xie. Xie Xie had received a letter from Cui Dongshan and declined the old master's offer. Xie Xie was truly afraid of that white-clothed boy to the bone. Every instruction from Cui Dongshan was like a divine decree to her.

Yu Lu also had no interest in the Confucian temples, academies, and schools of the Central Divine Continent, so he simply accompanied Xie Xie south. He was afraid that Xie Xie might encounter accidents if she traveled alone. In Yu Lu's view, Xie Xie's temperament was still only suitable for staying on the mountain to cultivate, not for traveling far alone.

So in the end, among the former companions, it seemed only Li Baoping had gone to the Central Divine Continent this time.
He and Xie Xie—one a Golden Body martial artist, the other a Dragon Gate qi refiner—were both at bottlenecks.

Yu Lu's bottleneck was due to too few life-and-death battles and insufficient tempering of his martial path. Although he had become a Seven Realm martial artist early on, he couldn't break through the Golden Body bottleneck.
Previously, on Falling Mountain, Yu Lu had privately consulted Mr. Zhu and benefited greatly. So he had embarked on this journey, planning to visit several ancient battlefield ruins in Bottle Gourd Continent.

As for Xie Xie, she had been constrained by the trapped dragon nail for many years, which had damaged her Dao foundation. She had been carefully repairing her body over the years. But that wasn't the most critical issue. The real reason hindering Xie Xie's breakthrough was her heavy "heart demon." She had too many knots, tangled into dead ends. Her sect had been destroyed, her family and country shattered; then she became a criminal remnant; later, that woman from the Da Li empress's family had drilled the trapped dragon nail into her three souls and seven spirits with a secret technique, greatly harming her vitality. Finally, she encountered the unpredictable Cui Dongshan. After leaving her homeland, her experiences had been extremely rough. Otherwise, with her outstanding cultivation aptitude, she should be a Golden Core Earth Immortal by now.

Her and Yu Lu's current bottlenecks were two major hurdles. Especially regarding combat power, they were respectively the greatest thresholds for a pure martial artist and a cultivator.
Once a pure martial artist broke through to the Far Traveling realm, he could ride the wind. In battles with qi refiners, the difference between this and the Golden Body realm was like heaven and earth.
As for a qi refiner, whether they could form a Golden Core was immensely significant.

Lu's Dynasty, as the suzerain state of the Da Li Song clan in history, had been the undisputed northern hegemon of Bottle Gourd Continent. When Xie Xie was young, her master sect had cultivated her as a future Upper Five Realm cultivator.
Yu Lu, as the former crown prince of the Lu's Dynasty, had some understanding of his family's mountain affairs. About "Xie Xie," there had always been a saying that compared to He Xiaoliang of the Divine Bestowal Sect, she only lacked in terms of fortune.

But now, the two seemed worlds apart.
He Xiaoliang was the sect master of a sect in North Ju Lu Continent, at the Jade Pure realm, with a promising Dao path. The great sword immortal Bai Shang of North Ju Lu had once said that he would prevent He Xiaoliang from ever reaching the Flying Ascension realm in this life. Meaning that this great sword immortal would intervene with his sword; otherwise, He Xiaoliang of the Cool Breeze Sect was destined to become a Flying Ascension grand cultivator.
In contrast, Xie Xie wasn't even a Golden Core cultivator yet.

Yu Lu was an easygoing person, not too anxious about his slow martial path. But Xie Xie was the most competitive and ambitious. Her feelings over the years could be imagined.

At a street corner, Xie Xie looked back at the alley and said quietly, "That Zhao Luan, is she...?"
Yu Lu smiled and said, "Don't ask me. I don't know anything. I didn't notice anything."
Xie Xie glared at this prince of a fallen state, who bore half the national fortune. "Besides playing dumb, what else can you do?"
Yu Lu chuckled, "Nothing else."
Xie Xie said, "Zhao Luan's cultivation aptitude is too good. Mr. Wu's worried expression isn't unfounded. He should help Zhao Luan plan for a registered identity. Mr. Wu might lack in some things, but he doesn't lack this broad-mindedness. He won't let Zhao Luan waste time down the mountain just for the sake of the master-disciple title. Since Zhao Luan is already at the Cavern Dwelling realm, becoming a registered immortal master isn't hard. The hard part is becoming a direct disciple of a major immortal sect. For example..."
Here, Xie Xie stared straight at Yu Lu. When it came to thinking thoroughly, Yu Lu was still better. She had to admit it.
Yu Lu took over, "Yunxia Mountain or the Everlasting Spring Palace, or... the ancestral hall of Turtleback Pearl Hairpin Island. Yunxia Mountain offers better prospects and suits Zhao Luan's temperament, but unfortunately, we have no connections. The Everlasting Spring Palace is the safest, but it requires Lord Wei's help. As for Liu Chongrun of Turtleback, even we can negotiate that easily. But I'm afraid it might hinder Zhao Luan's cultivation achievements—after all, Liu Chongrun is only at the Golden Core realm. That being said, relying on others is not as good as relying on yourself. You, half a Golden Core, personally teaching Zhao Luan seems sufficient. Unfortunately, you fear trouble and even more so, adding superfluous details, which would end up causing harm and inevitably displease Mr. Cui."
Xie Xie said angrily, "Going around in circles and ending up saying nothing?"
Yu Lu smiled, "At least we know what not to do. That's not useless talk, right?"
Xie Xie fell silent. Arguing with Yu Lu was very boring.

Compared to Xie Xie, whose mind was focused on Zhao Luan's outstanding appearance and even better aptitude, Yu Lu was more concerned about Zhao Shuxia, who was wholeheartedly practicing his fists.
Xie Xie said, "That Zhao Shuxia said he had a pact of five hundred thousand punches with Chen Ping'an, and still has one hundred and eighty thousand to go. You're a martial artist—did you sense how much fist intent Zhao Shuxia has?"
Yu Lu said, "Not much, indeed."
Xie Xie frowned, "Is he practicing his fists to a dead end?"
Yu Lu shook his head, "Not exactly."
Xie Xie wondered, "Chen Ping'an made a special trip here before, taught Zhao Shuxia the method of walking stakes, and then left him to his own devices? That doesn't seem like his style."
Yu Lu smiled, "Don't worry. Chen Ping'an must have his own plans."
Xie Xie asked, "Is it about Falling Mountain?"
Yu Lu shook his head, "Not necessarily."

Later, as night fell, Yu Lu and Xie Xie took shelter in a dilapidated ancient temple on the border between Colored Clothes State and Combing Water State.
Xie Xie took off her veil hat, looked around, and asked, "Is this the place Chen Ping'an told you about where those who stay overnight will definitely encounter a seductive ghost?"
Yu Lu lit a campfire and laughed, "If you want to curse that all men are bad, just say it. I'll accept it on Chen Ping'an's behalf."
And so Xie Xie's prepared remarks were rendered useless.
Yu Lu placed his walking stick horizontally on his knee and began to read a scholar's notebook.
Xie Xie hugged her knees, staring at the campfire, "If I remember correctly, during the earliest study tour, you and Chen Ping'an seemed particularly fond of standing guard at night?"
Yu Lu chuckled softly, "I don't know what Chen Ping'an thought. For myself, I neither particularly liked it nor considered it a hardship. The only annoying thing was Li Huai in the middle of the night... Can I say it?"
Xie Xie said, "Say it. I'll forget it right after hearing."
Yu Lu said, "Li Huai was timid and not very familiar with me. When I was on guard, he would pull me to a distant spot. He called it 'relieving water.' That was fine, quick and done. But if it was 'fertilizing,' he neither wanted me too close nor too far. He would ask me every now and then if I was there. I'd answer, and he'd continue his business. Once, I got annoyed and didn't answer. He came running back with his pants up, crying out for me. When he saw I was still standing there, he went back cursing with his pants up. The scene was... unbearable to look back on. Fortunately, Li Huai was just a little kid back then."
Xie Xie said bluntly, "Disgusting."
Yu Lu threw a twig into the fire and laughed, "Every time Chen Ping'an stood guard, Baoping was carefree. Even if the sky fell, as long as her little master uncle was there, she could sleep soundly. You and Lin Shouyi were already cultivators, so you were also at ease. Only I, who always slept lightly, often heard Li Huai chasing after Chen Ping'an, asking, 'Is it fragrant? Is it fragrant?'"
Xie Xie said, "Forget it. I beg you, change the subject."
Yu Lu gently prodded the edge of the campfire with a twig. In early spring, the twigs were damp, often crackling and oozing water droplets. In autumn, the withered twigs burned easily and silently.
Yu Lu was full of smiles, muttering to himself, "Chen Ping'an would just answer, 'If it were a village vegetable patch, it would be fine, but it easily attracts dog barking.'"
Xie Xie rolled her eyes.
Yu Lu looked up at Xie Xie and smiled, "What I find amusing isn't just this one thing. The entire study tour was full of such trivial matters. So don't blame Li Huai for being closest to Chen Ping'an. We can't compare. Even Lin Shouyi is no exception. Lin Shouyi doesn't show annoyance to Li Huai verbally, but the one who isn't annoyed in his heart is actually only Chen Ping'an."
Xie Xie laughed angrily, "Why would I blame that?!"
Yu Lu turned his gaze toward the temple gate. It creaked open. The spring chill was biting, a draft through the hall was even more eerie. A pair of mud-stained embroidered shoes crossed the threshold.
The owner of the embroidered shoes was a round-faced, apricot-eyed teenage girl holding a lantern as she traveled.
Yu Lu smiled. Suffering a setback leads to wisdom. This little girl, one of the "Four Evils" of Combing Water State, had made progress.

Behind the girl followed a cold, stunning woman with a high chignon, tall and slender, like a lady from a noble family, who seemed to have lost her way with her maid late at night.
The girl glanced at the walking stick placed horizontally across Yu Lu's knee. It was ordinary green bamboo, but it made her eyelids twitch. She suddenly stopped and asked, "Sir, do you know Chen Ping'an?"
Yu Lu smiled and nodded, "It seems I do."
The girl, whose real name was Wei Wei, stamped her foot and turned to leave.
The tall woman followed in a panic, clearly terrified of the green-robed swordsman named Chen Ping'an.

The night passed without incident.
Yu Lu and Xie Xie later visited a scenic spot, then went to Sword Water Manor in Combing Water State.
Finally, at a battlefield ruin on the border of the old Zhu Ying Dynasty, during a grand encounter of a ghost army crossing, they met a pair of young people who could be considered half-countrymen: two employees of Yang's Shop. The young female martial artist, nicknamed Yan Zhi, was Su Dian, and her junior brother, Shi Lingshan, who looked at all men in the world as if they were thieves.

Shi Lingshan had been trembling every day on this trip, afraid that Zheng Dafeng's words would come true and he'd have to call some man his "senior sister's husband." So after holding it in for a long time, he could only resort to the trump card taught by Zheng Dafeng. He found Yu Lu, who was too handsome, privately and claimed that he was actually Su Dian's son, not her junior brother. But Su Dian, with her sharp ears, punched him flying seven or eight zhang away. The poor boy fell flat on his face and couldn't get up for a long time.

---

Mi Yu quickly figured out the general background of this group of Everlasting Spring Palace sisters.
They all told him themselves, without any need for Mi Yu to probe.

The young woman who had changed her name to Zhongnan still liked to be called Yishan. She had just entered the Middle Five Realm, hence this tour.
The other three female cultivators, about the same age as Zhongnan, were called Chu Mengjiao. She came from a scholarly family in the Da Li capital region. It was said that in the ancestral mansion, there was an erudite "Hanlin ghost" acting as a family tutor, and many in the family had passed the imperial examinations. Because she was praised by the old Minister Guan as an "elegant ghost," she was allowed to live in the capital as a ghost.

Another, Lin Caifu, was born on the day her mother dreamed of a seller of Dragon Boat Festival colored talismans visiting their home and presenting a talisman, saying that they had been close friends with an ancestor of the Lin family and that this talisman was a blessing from accumulated virtue. So the girl was given that name.

The last one, Han Biya, came from a military family in Da Li. However, her ancestors only held minor official positions, the highest being a patrol inspector. But in the family courtyard, the Han family's wisteria was one of the oldest trees in the capital. When blooming, it was like purple clouds hanging down, fragrant throughout the street, as famous as the peonies in the Da Li capital's Huguo Temple and the green parasol tree outside Minister Guan's study.

None of these three had yet reached the Cavern Dwelling realm.
In Bottle Gourd Continent, immortals of the Middle Five Realm, even if only at the Cavern Dwelling realm, were quite precious, like golden branches and jade leaves, among the immortals. In the vassal small states, spirit monsters and ghosts at the Cavern Dwelling or Sea Observing realms were considered great demons and fierce ghosts.

As for the old woman at the Dragon Gate realm, she had been a registered immortal master of the Everlasting Spring Palace since childhood.
The line of the Everlasting Spring Palace's Supreme Elder did not avoid romantic love between men and women; instead, they regarded it as one of the necessary temperings on the path of cultivation.

Since their trip south was a training journey, they wouldn't just sightsee.
After Zhongnan "returned home in glory," she would go to the border of Huangting State, a Da Li vassal, to exorcise a painted demon in the Yunshan Temple of Huanghua County. In the guest room of the temple, there was a painted ancient picture hanging on the wall. On moonlit nights, with no one in the room, moonlight streaming through the window would make the painted figure walk along the wall, like a shadow play in the market. The painted demon often haunted on moonlit nights. Although it didn't harm people, it tarnished the temple's reputation. So Yunshan Temple asked for help from the Da Li Ministry of Rites, and the Everlasting Spring Palace took on this task.

After that, in a destroyed small country that had submitted to the Da Li Song clan, Yunshui County, they needed to help an old immortal with a deep connection to the Everlasting Spring Palace achieve "soldier liberation."
Then they would go to the territory of the former Zhu Ying Dynasty to help a Da Li military general who had died in battle guide his soul home.

Finally, there was a secret matter: buying a small piece of the Ten-Thousand-Year Pine from the Immortal Terrace of Wind Snow Temple. This was the most troublesome, and the old woman didn't go into detail with the four female cultivators. She also spoke vaguely to "Yu Mi," only hoping that Yu Mi could help smooth things over at Wind Snow Temple. Mi Yu smiled and agreed, saying he would do his best. His relationship with the Great Sword Immortal Wei of the Immortal Terrace was actually very ordinary. If Sword Immortal Wei happened to be at the Immortal Terrace, he might dare to ask with a thick face. But if Sword Immortal Wei wasn't there, then as "Yu Mi," a rustic cultivator who had luckily climbed the mountain, he would probably be scared just meeting some of the old military immortal masters from Sill Valley or Green Water Pool.

The old woman also said frankly that she didn't dare force this matter. It was enough that Brother Yu was willing to put in a good word.

Generally, their southward training involved these four tasks, some difficult, some easy. If they encountered opportunities or accidents along the way, that would be even more tempering.

With Yu Mi, a Sea Observing cultivator with a deep family background, the old woman felt a bit more at ease.

When they reached the prosperous Hongzhu Town, Zhongnan went alone to the water bend of her hometown.
For a former boatman's daughter, that water bend and Hongzhu Town were two different worlds.
A girl from a humble background was not even allowed to set foot on the shore roads of Hongzhu Town. If she violated this, her crime would be increased, and she would be exiled to the Da Li border as a laborer, resulting in a fate worse than death.

Mi Yu and the others stayed at a courier station. With the immortal master documents from the Everlasting Spring Palace, they didn't have to spend any money.

After arriving at the inn in Hongzhu Town, Mi Yu glanced at the peak of Chess Pillar Mountain, shook his head, and thought, "I didn't expect Lord Wei to be such a lovesick fool. Truly a kindred spirit." No wonder he felt a connection.

Near dusk, Mi Yu left the inn and went for a walk alone.
Although he had traveled with the Everlasting Spring Palace female cultivators for only a few days, Mi Yu had already discovered many nuances. It turned out that even among registered immortal masters, there were gradations just based on birth. They didn't show it in words, but in certain moments, their expressions couldn't hide it. For example, Zhongnan, nicknamed Yishan, was the highest in seniority, but because she had been a low-class boatman's daughter and only went to the Everlasting Spring Palace as a teenage girl, in the hearts of Chu Mengjiao, Lin Caifu, and Han Biya, there was a line. When their "Grandmaster" Zhongnan, who was about their age, invited them to gather at the water bend with small boats and painted pleasure boats, they all declined.
This seemed like kindness, but wasn't it also intentional?

Mi Yu stopped and slowly turned his head. It was Chu Mengjiao and the other two, who just happened to come across him while sightseeing. Sensing Mi Yu's stop, they began to pretend to browse at a fan shop.
Mi Yu walked over and took the initiative to greet them, then enjoyed the scenery together.
Beautiful women and beautiful scenery—neither should be wasted.
Anyway, he had already confirmed that the one Lord Wei secretly cherished in his heart wasn't any of them.

The former land god of Chess Pillar Mountain, now the Northern Great Mountain Lord, was in a divine painting, his heart following a bird toward Zhongnan.
The sun was setting in the west.
Mi Yu looked back at his shadow, then asked them if the immortal techniques of "catching wind and shadow" that mountain cultivators talked about were real. If they were, wouldn't that be very frightening?

When speaking to others, his eyes roamed but never favored one over the other; he never neglected any girl.
It was a pity that Wei Jin had never truly witnessed Sword Immortal Mi's innate divine ability.

In a small, unremarkable bookshop in an alley connecting Guan Water Street and Guan Mountain Street in Hongzhu Town, a young man in black clothes was lying on a reclining chair, reading a newly printed collection of strange tales from the Da Li folk. The scent of ink was faint.

Beside the rattan chair of this river god, who had taken the alias Li Jin, was a small flower table bearing a teapot made by a famous potter from the former Lu's Dynasty. It was a small purple clay pot, plain in style. It was said that only eighteen genuine pieces of this kind remained in the world, equally divided between the Da Li Song clan and the immortal sects of Bottle Gourd Continent. It was known as "the envy of the palace, the competition of the mountains." An old scholar traveling here, who had come to look at books, was intrigued and asked if he could look at the teapot. Li Jin said that buying one book would do. The old scholar agreed, carefully lifted the teapot, looked at the inscription, and was greatly disappointed. It was a fake. If it were another famous potter, it might be genuine, but since it was this particular potter, it was definitely a fake. How could a market town bookshop own such a valuable pot? However, the old scholar still bought a rare book before leaving. The bookshop was small but had strict rules: no bargaining. The rare books had good quality but were hard to call a bargain.

Li Jin collected the money, threw it into the counter drawer, and continued to lie back and enjoy his leisure, sipping tea and reading.

Nowadays, as long as one was a scholar from the territory of the former Da Li dynasty, even a down-and-out scholar with no hope of passing the imperial exams, they had no worry about making money. As long as they went outside, no one would remain destitute. By plagiarizing from here and there, most could publish books. Out-of-town booksellers queued up at the bookshops in the Da Li capital. There was only one prerequisite: the preface of the book had to be written by a native Da Li civil official, and an official with rank would do. If they could find a high-ranking noble from the Hanlin Academy, they would be given a large deposit just for the preface and a crucial private seal. Even if the content was terrible, they wouldn't worry about profits. It wasn't that the booksellers were foolish and had too much money; it was that nowadays, Da Li scholars in Bottle Gourd Continent had truly risen to an immeasurable height.

Li Jin originally had no interest in reading the book after seeing the preface—it was written by a minor official from the Da Li Ministry of Rites, with mediocre literary skill. But unexpectedly, the following articles were surprisingly good, so he noted the author's name.

This idle river god of Chongdan River still preferred selling books in Hongzhu Town. As for the river god temple of Chongdan River, Li Jin had casually found an honest temple priest to manage the incense affairs. Occasionally, when sincere good men and women made wishes that produced pure incense essence, Li Jin would hear their thoughts and weigh the matter, granting some modest wishes. But as for those who wished for immediate prosperity, passing the imperial examinations, or sudden wealth and riches—Li Jin ignored them. He was just a small river god being careful, not the Heavenly Lord.

Li Jin had recruited some drowned ghosts and hanged female ghosts as officials to patrol his jurisdiction. Of course, they were those who had suffered injustices in life and didn't want to find living substitutes after death. If they had conflicts with counterparts from Chongdan River or Jade Liquid River, they had to endure. If they truly couldn't bear it, they could come and complain to him. After pouring out their grievances, they went back to endure. Life was still better than being a hungry ghost without descendants to offer sacrifices.

The only thing Li Jin truly cared about was the households in his jurisdiction with deep ancestral blessings or those whose descendants were promising scholars, as well as chaste widows and virtuous people. Some needed support, some needed care, and some commoners who accumulated virtue but had weak bodies. Li Jin would use a certain innate divine ability of a mountain-and-water god to guide them with one or two large red lanterns in the night, preventing their yang energy from being harmed by the negative energy of lonely souls and wild ghosts. These highly particular large red lanterns were not something any qi refiner could see. Earth Immortals could, of course. Those below Golden Core or Infant realm who were skilled in observing aura could also see them. But just as the number of divine beings in a country had a fixed number depending on the country's fortune and territory, these large red lanterns depended on the rank of the god. They weren't something that could be casually given away. Some more mercenary mountain-and-water gods would facilitate things for wealthy households, as long as it wasn't excessive, as long as neighbors and colleagues didn't report them, or they weren't reprimanded by their superior mountain lord or City God Pavilion, the Ministry of Rites wouldn't mind much.

Some time ago, Li Jin personally hung two lanterns: one behind a poor young scholar from the market town, and one outside his house. The first lantern would follow him inseparably, appearing at night and disappearing in the day. When filthy yin objects saw it, they would retreat on their own. Not only that, but Li Jin had written on the lamp inside the lantern: "Specially produced by the Chongdan River God's Mansion." The meaning was clear: this person was under his, Li Jin's, personal protection. Any ghost, monster, or qi refiner who dared to disturb the young man's soul and harm his scholarly future would be making a path-conflict with him, the Chongdan River God.

Some mountain-and-water gods would focus on the literary fortune and fate in their jurisdiction, favoring the scholars. Once they achieved fame and brought glory to their families, these scholar-officials could be recorded in local records, helping the local gods add a merit in the Ministry of Rites' merit book. Others chose martial fortune. Loyalty, filial piety, etc., could all be choices for gods who protected their territory.

So it's said that being human is hard; being a ghost or a god is also not easy.

Among them, ghosts had the most taboos. Even a slight mistake could lead to punishment by the netherworld officials. Ghosts in the wilderness were better off. In the prefectural cities and large towns, there were pitfalls everywhere. The longer a country's dynastic fortune, the more authority the gods had, and the less willing ghosts were to cause trouble. Besides mountain-and-water gods and civil-military temples, there were City God pavilions of various sizes, as well as schools, Taoist temples, Buddhist temples, and door gods pasted on the gates of wealthy houses. A filthy ghost would find it hard to find a foothold, let alone the various absurd acts of bullying among ghosts themselves. They weren't much different from the dirty deeds in the mortal world.

"When virtue is manifested, a righteous man naturally has majesty; ghosts and monsters retreat and take detours" was never an empty saying.

The shop's business was slow. Li Jin missed two regular customers who had been frequent patrons over the years: first, Brother Dafeng, and later, Brother Zhu. Those two bought books with great generosity—half a sack or a whole sack at a time.

His familiarity with Zhu Lian was thanks to the incident at Jade Liquid River. After that, Zhu Lian often came here to buy books.

That Jade Liquid River God's wife hadn't been formally held accountable by the Da Li Ministry of Rites after the incident, but it was obvious that a file had been placed in the Ministry's Ritual-Cultivation and Purification Department. Because Li Jin was familiar with the Director of that department. In Da Li, the Personnel Ministry's Merit Evaluation Department, the Military Ministry's Selection Department, and the Ritual Ministry's Ritual-Cultivation and Purification Department, though only at the fifth rank, held great power. Especially the Ritual-Cultivation and Purification Department, which specifically managed the merit evaluations of all mountain-and-water gods in Da Li. It was considered the most important, often called the "Little Heavenly Official." The Director had recently gone on an incognito tour of the Three Rivers jurisdiction and stopped by this bookshop for a chat. The reason this Director deigned to visit Hongzhu Town personally was, of course, the enormous mess caused by the Jade Liquid River God's wife.

As a colleague of the Jade Liquid River God, Li Jin couldn't say he was gloating, but he did feel a sense of sympathy. Even when one is a true river god, isn't the Dao path still unpredictable, with year-round busyness and no rest?

Of course, since Li Jin had achieved his dream of becoming a true river god, he wasn't very ambitious. He was quite leisurely. If he had wanted to reach higher, to elevate the Chongdan River to the same rank as the Iron Talisman River, like Yang Hua to become a first-class water god, then he would have had plenty to do.

Li Jin closed the book, tossed it onto his chest, and began to rest his eyes.
He was a bit nostalgic for his conversations with Brother Zhu. Setting aside their identities and positions, they really hit it off. Li Jin was even willing to let Brother Zhu lie on the reclining chair while he himself stood behind the counter.
He remembered Zhu Lian once joking, "I believe in Buddhism but not necessarily in monks; I believe in Daoism but not necessarily in Daoists; I believe in the teachings of sages but not necessarily in the sages themselves."

Zhu Lian of Falling Mountain was indeed a rare transcendent expert, not only skilled in fist techniques but also highly learned.

A customer arrived. Li Jin opened his eyes, lifted the teapot, took a sip, and said lazily, "Pick any book you like. No bargaining."
Li Jin glanced at them. Besides the smiling middle-aged man, the three Everlasting Spring Palace female cultivators, whose status was evident from their legal robes and hairpins, Li Jin could immediately gauge their Dao cultivation depth.

As a true river god who controlled the flow of aura in the region, being skilled in aura observation within his jurisdiction was a unique innate divine ability. The three young female cultivators in the shop were not high in cultivation, but their fortune was good. Besides immortal fortunes, each of them carried a trace of literary, mountain, or martial fortune. For cultivators, so-called "ignoring worldly affairs and cutting off the mundane" was never that simple.

But the middle-aged man—Li Jin could see through him at all.
It was like encountering a true immortal, vaguely hidden in the clouds.

Li Jin was slightly surprised but quickly decided: he wouldn't look further. If the other party was an Earth Immortal or similar, a local god staring like this would be an impolite intrusion.
It would be like facing a pure martial artist like Zhu Lian and repeatedly throwing punches and shouting around him. Wasn't that asking for a beating?

Mi Yu didn't act overly attentive to any of the women, always maintaining propriety.
When spending time with multiple women, if there was the slightest sign of favoritism, women among themselves are very thin-skinned. In the end, a man would end up empty-handed, at most gaining one beauty's heart while the rest became strangers on the same road.

Of course, Sword Immortal Mi had no improper intentions. He was on this trip for serious business.

At the border of Huangting State in Huanghua County, when dealing with the painted demon of Yunshan Temple, the Everlasting Spring Palace female cultivators handled it effortlessly. The woman in the mural was only a Cavern Dwelling female ghost, and she was sent to the Everlasting Spring Palace. Mi Yu watched as a pleasant sight. Yunshan Temple was very grateful, and the local government established a karmic connection with the Everlasting Spring Palace. It was a win-win.

But in the small place called Yunshui County, within a deep mountain forest amidst a stone chamber cliff, the "old immortal" at the Dragon Gate bottleneck was an eye-opener for Mi Yu. In this world, there were cultivators who had cultivated themselves into a situation where their physical body was a prison for their yin soul. The old cultivator was inexplicably embedded in the stone wall, suffering for decades. His hair trailed like vines to the ground, and his skin was like wood and stone. Such a pitiful state was very rare. The reason he had fallen to this state was that he had obtained a fragment of a "White Sun Ascension True Scroll" but it was only a small, incomplete part. Unwilling to publicize the Dao method, he went astray in his cultivation. Such was the misfortune of rustic cultivators: even if they had immortal bones and immortal encounters, if their fortune wasn't sufficient and they lacked guidance from a wise master on the mountain, how could they talk about ascension?

The old cultivator had been trapped for many years, his form and spirit haggard, his soul almost decayed. He could only appear in a woodcutter's dream, asking the woodcutter to pass a message to the local government office, hoping for a flying sword message to the Everlasting Spring Palace to help him achieve "soldier liberation." If successful, the messenger would be heavily rewarded.

Mi Yu was sensible, knowing he was an outsider. He didn't approach the stone wall, saying he would wait at the foot of the mountain. After all, that old Golden Core cultivator's incomplete Dao method, which he swore was something that, if completed, could allow a cultivator to ascend directly to the Upper Five Realm, was a Dao technique that many Earth Immortals dreamed of.

Of course, Mi Yu knew these secrets because he had used the divine ability of "viewing mountains and rivers through his palm." He only looked; coveting such fortune would be a disgrace to him, Mi Yu.

The old woman from the Everlasting Spring Palace was prepared. She carefully took out a short sword of artifact quality from a wooden box and, using the Everlasting Spring Palace's unique secret method, executed the old immortal and collected his soul into a heavy immortal treasure. It was a jade-carved coiled dragon, an item from the imperial tomb of the ancient Shu State. It had been found during an exploration of an immortal mansion ruin and collected by a certain ancestor of the Everlasting Spring Palace. This object was best for nurturing souls.

So-called "soldier liberation and reincarnation" was, of course, a pretext. Reincarnation cultivation was never that simple. A mere Dragon Gate cultivator wasn't worth such treatment by the Everlasting Spring Palace. The old cultivator didn't have that realm or root bone to talk about maintaining a trace of true nature in reincarnation. Without that crucial true nature, even if reincarnated, he would never be able to awaken and remember his past life.

In exchange for giving the incomplete Dao method to the Everlasting Spring Palace's ancestral hall, the old cultivator would be allowed to continue cultivating as a ghost and a guest elder in a vassal sect of the Everlasting Spring Palace. If he later achieved Golden Core, he could be promoted to a registered resident elder.

Mi Yu sat on a large tree branch at the foot of the mountain, leisurely drinking rice wine from his sword-nurturing gourd. He increasingly felt the... busyness of an ordinary immortal sect in the Hao Ran World.
Just dealing with local governments, immortal inns, immortal ferries, and mountain sects, speaking differently to different people—speaking human language to humans, ghost language to ghosts, and immortal language without worldly fire to immortals—besides all that, everyone had to cultivate diligently. The older ones had to teach and guide the younger ones, making them talented but not allowing them to become fickle and switch sects... Tiring. Truly tiring.

Mi Yu began to understand why the Hidden Official was the Hidden Official.
Because the Hidden Official was a master at this, young but already the best.

In Mi Yu's eyes, from the perspective of someone who considered himself a layman, the old woman's conversations with various parties still had many flaws. For instance, when she spoke kindly to mountain seniors, her expression, especially her eyes, wasn't sincere enough—far from the Hidden Official's genuine, effortless "if you don't believe me, you don't believe yourself" manner. When speaking amiably to junior cultivators from other sects, the arrogance in her bones wasn't restrained enough, not deeply concealed. And when she needed to speak harshly, she talked a bit too much, and her face was too deliberately stern. Mi Yu felt she had excessive wording but insufficient intimidation.

When laughing, one should kill with a blink.

After successfully handling the "soldier liberation," they reunited at the foot of the mountain. The old woman was in a good mood, probably not unrelated to Yu Mi's sensible distant behavior earlier.

After that, they went to a new military temple to fetch a piece of secret-forged armor for the hero's spirit of a fallen military general. The spirit put on the armor, enabling it to walk unimpeded at night, not affected by the harsh heavenly winds that could blow away its soul. During the day, the spirit would turn into a wisp of blue smoke and hide in a double-eared incense burner, which the old woman carried, inscribed with a Academy Refined Scholar's handwriting: "Inner Altar Suburban Altar." Then Zhongnan personally lit a stick of incense: mountain incense when crossing mountains, water incense when crossing rivers, always holding the incense burner. They rarely rode the wind, and when they had to take an immortal ferry, they would light a cloud-and-mountain incense specially made by Yunxia Mountain.

The hero's spirit was taciturn even when traveling at night. In the eyes of the young female cultivators, Mi Yu seemed to speak less as well.

Since ancient times, fierce generals with indomitable spirit, whose unyielding energy remains after death, can be called heroic spirits.
The Everlasting Spring Palace cultivators were guiding this spirit to Tonglu County in the Da Li capital region. The spirit would first serve as a local earth god, and if it passed the Ministry of Rites' assessment, it could fill a vacant county city god position within a few years.

During this journey, there were only two small incidents.

One time, in a prefectural city, a ghost caused trouble. Three hunters were successively haunted, becoming listless day and night. At night, they would sleepwalk out of their homes and gather. When they met, they would stand there slapping each other's faces. The City God and the earth god were at a loss.

The old woman told "Aunt-Master" Zhongnan to set up an altar, report to the Thunder Department, and invite divine generals. They successfully detained an old fox immortal at the Sea Observing realm. The old fox spirit wailed heartbreakingly, complaining to the female immortal masters, saying that the hunters had killed dozens of his disciples and grandchildren. How should this account be settled? If he hadn't stopped his descendants from taking revenge, the three hunters would have died long ago. Was a few hundred slaps too much?

The old woman didn't want to waste words with the fox spirit and was about to kill it with thunder. But Zhongnan mediated and calmed things down, ending the grudges. She didn't forget to admonish the old fox, hoping he would cultivate well in the future, be careful in his fox den, and not let woodcutters and hunters discover him so easily. However, the old woman was dissatisfied and severely scolded the old fox. The old fox cowered, saying he would give some silver to compensate the three families. Zhongnan wanted to say something, but seeing the old woman's face, she dared not speak further. In the end, she was privately scolded by the old woman for being too soft-hearted toward such mountain spirits and ghosts.

Sword Immortal Mi had watched coldly from beginning to end, sitting on a railing and drinking.
If the Hidden Official were here, it probably wouldn't have ended like this.

But that little girl named Han Biya surprised Mi Yu slightly. She muttered to herself, "The old fox admitted his fault, that's enough. Why give money?"

Mi Yu heard it clearly.
After all, he was a sword immortal.

Another time, deep in the wilderness far from smoke, they met a female Da Li military cultivator on a journey for relaxation. She wore a standard Da Li border army saber at her waist, but she had removed her armor and changed into a tight-sleeved brocade garment, black gauze trousers, and a pair of small embroidered shoes with two beads at the tips. During the day, the beads showed no light; at night, they shone like dragon eyes, gleaming. At a scenic pavilion on a mountain peak, she met the Everlasting Spring Palace cultivators.

At that time, the woman was stepping on the back of a kneeling mountain god, who was telling her about a secret matter of immortal masters within his jurisdiction. She was drinking while looking up. When she saw the Everlasting Spring Palace group, she wiped her mouth, tossed the empty wine jug off the cliff, and pointed her thumb elsewhere. The meaning was clear: this place was already taken; please go elsewhere.

The old woman frowned. The Everlasting Spring Palace had a ancestral immortal cultivation formula that could refine morning clouds and moonlight. On the fifteenth of every month, especially at midnight, they would choose a mountain peak with abundant spiritual energy to refine moonlight. This mountain and this spot were undoubtedly the best for tonight's cultivation.
If they went elsewhere, both tonight's moon refinement and tomorrow morning's cloud refinement would be greatly reduced.

The woman kicked the mountain god, who had just been registered in the Ministry of Rites' records, away. The god immediately fled underground, absolutely not wanting to get involved in such immortal conflicts.

What truly made the old woman unwilling to yield was the female military cultivator's words: "All you women of the Everlasting Spring Palace—on the battlefield, I don't see even half of you, but now you all pop up like bamboo shoots after the rain?"
Not only that, but the woman also looked up and muttered to herself, adding fuel to the fire: "But there's no rain either."

Mi Yu stood aside, expressionless, but found it very pleasant to hear. Listen—that tone sounded very much like the Hidden Official's. Familiar. Very familiar.

In the end, this conflict didn't turn into a disaster for a simple reason: when the female cultivator saw the old woman's face turn pale, she didn't waste words. She said they could spar a bit. Setting aside her status as a Da Li military cultivator and not mentioning her identity as a disciple of Wenqing Peak, they wouldn't fight to the death. There was no need; it would harm harmony. Only needing one side to fall was enough. But no one should go crying back to their sect to complain. That would be boring.

As soon as the old woman heard that the other party came from Wenqing Peak of Wind Snow Temple, her anger immediately subsided, and she proactively apologized.

The woman probably found it even more boring, so she directly rode the wind away from the pavilion.

Mi Yu looked at her and thought: "This sort of woman has a bit of the flavor of my hometown's drink."

Afterward, the old woman, including Zhongnan, cultivated their breathing in the pavilion.
Mi Yu again went far away.
In another mountain forest, he lay on a thick tree branch, drinking alone.
He took out a yellow paper talisman of mountain-and-water command, lit it with a bit of sword qi, and threw it out.

Soon, the little mountain god appeared, addressing him as "Immortal Master" at the foot of the tree.
Mi Yu asked about the situation and laughed aloud. It turned out that a nearby river god's mansion habitually liked to forcibly take female ghosts as concubines. A female ghost had submitted a petition to the earth god's temple to no avail, and the earth god even leaked it to the river god, who almost flogged her to death on the spot. The female ghost then petitioned the county City God temple. The river god, used to being domineering, actually grabbed the female ghost by the hair, dragged her into the City God temple, and wanted to flog her to death in front of the City God's friend. Just then, the female cultivator happened to pass by and saw this. But perhaps constrained by the Da Li mountain-and-water laws, she could only report the matter to the Ministry of Rites. She couldn't personally kill the river god, the earth god, or the City God. That was why she came to this mountain to relax tonight and took out her anger on the poor mountain god as well, on the grounds of dereliction of duty.

Mi Yu remembered something and asked, "If someone has military merits, according to Da Li's border army regulations, can't they be exchanged for heads? That woman seemed to have accumulated quite a few war merits."

The mountain god carefully chose his words: "That female immortal master indeed has many war merits. She has built a considerable reputation on the battlefield. I've heard that even a Da Li Patrol Envoy once personally praised her. But it's also said that she gave away all her merits to her friends."

Mi Yu sat on the branch, waved his hand, and said, "Mountain God, go and calm yourself down."

Mi Yu muttered to himself, "What a good girl."

Then Mi Yu suddenly shuddered and quickly turned his head.

On a nearby branch stood the saber-bearing woman, graceful and upright.

Mi Yu was silent for a moment, then smiled and asked, "That female ghost?"

The woman said nothing.
Mi Yu had to drink his wine alone.

She sneered, "Traveling with that Everlasting Spring Palace group, and you still put a sword on your back, pretending to be a swordsman and a knight-errant?"
Mi Yu smiled, "To be honest, I've met the Great Sword Immortal Wei and even drank with him."
The woman was startled, then pressed her saber hilt and said angrily, "Lies! How dare you insult Uncle-Master Wei? Are you asking to be cut down?"

Mi Yu was helpless. Was Wei Jin blind? Couldn't he see such a woman?

Mi Yu had to wave his hands in surrender: "Just consider me bewitched. Sister, don't be angry. How could I possibly know the Great Sword Immortal Wei? I'm just a rustic cultivator drinking market-town rice wine…"

The woman said coldly, "Uncle-Master Wei would never judge friends by their cultivation level or family background. Please choose your words carefully, very carefully!"

She clearly didn't want to speak further with this man. She vanished in a flash, like a bird darting from branch to branch.

Mi Yu lay back on the branch, his mood somewhat improved.

Finally, the Everlasting Spring Palace group arrived at the mountain gate of Wind Snow Temple. But "Yu Mi" said he had some business and would leave for a while. They agreed to meet at an immortal ferry.

Mi Yu truly had business. He went to Yanzi County in Colored Clothes State and found Mr. Fisherman. He identified himself as Yu Mi, a registered guest elder of Falling Mountain, and brought a personal letter from the Great Mountain Lord Wei Bo, as well as several old stories that would let the trio of master and disciples believe his identity.

Because the young Hidden Official had mentioned in a letter to Wei Bo, carried by Wei Wenlong, that if Mi Yu ultimately chose to stay at Falling Mountain, he should go find the three in Yanzi County first, then take them back to Falling Mountain. Afterwards, Mi Yu would accompany the three to North Ju Lu Continent, where Zhao Shuxia would go to Lion's Peak to practice fists under Li Er, Zhao Luan would go to Colored Bird Mansion to cultivate, and Old Mr. Wu could visit Cloud-on-High City. During this time, Mi Yu could decide whether to help guide Zhao Shuxia in the "Eighteen Sword Qi Stops" for which he had already obtained the formula.

Doing these things made Mi Yu very happy, like returning to the Summer Retreat Palace or the Spring Banners Studio.
Otherwise, just being at Falling Mountain, comfortable as it was, he still felt somewhat empty.

After sending the trio onto a boat heading for Fanmo Ferry, Mi Yu found Liu Chongrun before heading to the immortal ferry near Wind Snow Temple.

Unexpectedly, the Everlasting Spring Palace cultivators hadn't shown up at the appointed time. Mi Yu waited for half a day and had to use the cultivation level of a Sea Observing cultivator to ride the wind toward Wind Snow Temple's mountain gate.

He found them just leaving the mountain gate, the old woman looking dispirited.
The most important thing on their trip was to purchase a small piece of the Ten-Thousand-Year Pine from the Immortal Terrace of Wind Snow Temple. A female relative of a big incense patron of the Everlasting Spring Palace urgently needed this for medical treatment. That incense patron was immensely powerful—now a Da Li Patrol Envoy. This military post had been newly established after the Da Li iron cavalry moved south, considered an exclusive "Pillar State" for generals. Together with Cao Bing and Su Gaoshan, there were now only four such envoys in all of Da Li. For that envoy's female relative's rare disease, the mountain immortal masters said plainly that only a slice of Immortal Terrace Ten-Thousand-Year Pine as medicine could cure it. Otherwise, they would have to invite an Upper Five Realm immortal from the medicine family.

But unfortunately, that Great General had a very good relationship with True Martial Mountain and a very bad relationship with Wind Snow Temple. So he entrusted the matter to the Everlasting Spring Palace. If they succeeded, besides a generous reward, there would be a long-lasting karmic connection. If they failed, the Everlasting Spring Palace would have to handle the consequences themselves.

In Da Li, or rather, in all of Bottle Gourd Continent nowadays,
The mountain world no longer resembled a mountain world.

And the Ten-Thousand-Year Pine named "Long Affection" at Wind Snow Temple grew beside the cliff of Immortal Terrace, its branches above the ridge, but its roots extended all the way to the bottom of the ravine, clinging to the mountain roots and soaking up water fortune. Thus, it had miraculous effects when used as medicine. The bark was over an inch thick, and when peeled, it was the color of amber. Its medicinal effect was especially good for women. Whether it was well-informed noblewomen of the mundane world or female immortal masters who hadn't yet severed the red dragon, everyone needed it, but it was unattainable. The reason was simple: the Ten-Thousand-Year Pine was on Immortal Terrace, and matters on Immortal Terrace had to be asked of Sword Immortal Wei Jin. Even the ancestral masters of Wind Snow Temple, it was believed, wouldn't have the face to ask Wei Jin for a piece of the pine.

The Supreme Elder of the Everlasting Spring Palace had an old acquaintance with the Qin clan ancestor of Sill Valley; otherwise, there was no way to accomplish this matter—it couldn't be solved with any amount of immortal money. The old woman thought it would be difficult but at least negotiable. But when she arrived at Sill Valley of Wind Snow Temple, as soon as the Qin clan ancestor heard about it, his expression immediately changed. He was extremely firm, saying it absolutely couldn't be done, and advised the old woman not to be delusional.

When Mi Yu met up with the Everlasting Spring Palace female cultivators, he simply said he would go to Wind Snow Temple and try his luck.
Not for the Everlasting Spring Palace, but because he thought that since the Ten-Thousand-Year Pine was so valuable, as a member of Falling Mountain, how could he go home without cutting a good chunk of it?

After all, when he had passed by that Ten-Thousand-Year Pine with Wei Jin previously, Wei Jin had mentioned that if this tree were on Wenqing Peak or Green Water Pool, it would save him a lot of trouble.

When Mi Yu arrived at Immortal Terrace, familiar with the place, he began to break branches. He broke one branch, saying "good things come in pairs," broke two, saying "the three talents are complete." When he muttered about "the four images gathering