Chapter 694: The Peak Realm at the Highest Summit
The rain poured down in torrents. A man walked out from a thatched hut by the riverside, stepping through the curtain of rain without his clothes getting wet.
Zuo You stood by the riverbank. Raindrops the size of soybeans pounded the river surface with urgent, crashing sounds, creating an immense clamor. The rain curtain combined with the night veil made heaven and earth even deeper, darker, and more obscure.
During the heyday of the Tongye Sect, its territory had been vast, spanning over twelve hundred square li, all of it the sect's domain, resembling a mortal dynasty. The main reason was the abundant spiritual qi, suitable for cultivation. After that upheaval, when the tree fell, the monkeys scattered. Over a dozen vassal forces successively broke away from the Tongye Sect, causing its territory to shrink drastically. Three choices emerged: some directly established their own mountain strongholds, amending the old mountain alliance contracts with the Tongye Sect's ancestral hall, transforming from vassals into allies, occupying a piece of blessed land previously allocated by the sect without having to pay any immortal money—this was considered generous. Other immortal sects directly defected to the Yugui Sect or forged contracts with neighboring dynasties to serve as dragon-supporting offerings.
The rain gradually lessened. Three guests arrived at the riverside hut. One was a purple-robed immortal, none other than Fu Lingqing, the sect leader of the Tongye Sect who had clashed with Zuo You multiple times before. He was at the Immortal Realm, having forcibly broken through the Jade Pith Realm bottleneck, which damaged his Great Dao, leaving him permanently stuck at the Immortal Realm. Fu Lingqing's breakthrough was a move born of necessity. Without a powerful immortal to hold the fort, the Tongye Sect couldn't have defended its crumbling ancestral legacy. From this, one could see the stark difference in character between Fu Lingqing and the revivalist patriarch Du Mao.
Accompanying Fu Lingqing were a young man and woman. The woman wore a gold-embroidered jacket and a water-red silk skirt, over which she donned a misty, ethereal Dragon Maiden Immortal Garment called the Xiangshui Skirt. On her feet were embroidered shoes from the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land. Her name was Yu Xin.
The dashing young man was named Li Wanyong. On his back was a long sword named "Chi Zhuan," one of the rare and lethal treasures of the Tongye Sect.
Yu Xin, the sword cultivator Li Wanyong, along with Du Yan and Qin Shuihu, were hailed as the four pillars of the Tongye Sect's younger generation's revival. They grew rapidly, each being a top-tier cultivation prodigy—this was the foundation of a great sect.
Even though the Tongye Sect had suffered severe damage, setting aside favorable conditions of heaven and earth and speaking only of cultivators, the only thing it truly lacked compared to the Yugui Sect was a sect leader like Jiang Shangzhen, whose Great Dao held promise, and a lower-sect leader like Wei Ying of the Zhenjing Sect, whose talent was extraordinary. Excluding Jiang Shangzhen and Wei Ying, the Tongye Sect was still not far behind the Yugui Sect in other aspects. As for the upper-five-realm enshrined elders and guest ministers scattered in all directions who had previously moved their chairs out of the Tongye Sect's ancestral hall, as long as Yu Xin and the other three grew up smoothly and two of them could reach the Jade Pith Realm—especially the sword cultivator Li Wanyong—they could move those chairs back without damaging relations in the future.
Sect leader Fu Lingqing approached Zuo You and addressed him as "Mr. Zuo."
Zuo You nodded.
Fu Lingqing said, "Including our Tongye Sect, all the immortal ferry boats, talisman boats, and all the distance-compressing and space-storing items of the qi refiners on this continent have been requisitioned by the academy. They are doing their utmost to transport coastal people away from their homes for refuge. As for some immortal forces who, seeking self-preservation, are unwilling to contribute fully—that is unavoidable. After the academy gentlemen and sages admonished them, it could only be said to have improved slightly; the overall situation remains hard to change. However, Jiang Shangzhen has already taken the lead in opening the restrictions of the Cloud Grotto Blessed Land, welcoming a large influx of people from the Yugui Sect's territory. As for the Four Symbols Grand Formation, it can be activated at any time to alter the heavenly and earthly conditions to resist the demon army."
Mentioning Jiang Shangzhen and his Cloud Grotto Blessed Land, Fu Lingqing felt some admiration. Once a massive number of ordinary mortals flooded in, the heaven and earth's spiritual qi would gradually be divided and contaminated, causing an originally high-grade blessed land to degrade to a medium-grade one. This "fall in rank," unlike a cultivator's pursuit of the Dao, was almost irreversible. Because the quality of a blessed land was essentially spiritual qi forged with immortal money. Once the qi was consumed by millions of mortals, at most it would be evenly distributed into negligible amounts that extended longevity. But for cultivators in the blessed land, it was as if the sky lowered, the suppression of the Great Dao became more pronounced, and their achievements became increasingly "low."
So, putting himself in Jiang Shangzhen's shoes, Fu Lingqing thought that merely suppressing the local cultivators of the Cloud Grotto Blessed Land alone would be a headache and deeply troublesome.
Historically, the mountain strongholds and cultivators of Tongye Continent were notoriously accustomed to each sweeping the snow in front of their own doors.
For instance, even now, Tongye Continent still did not have a single cross-continent ferry. In contrast, the small Bottle Gourd Continent's Old Dragon City had several ferries. Moreover, no sword immortal had ever gone to the Sword Qi Great Wall for training, and the lower sects of the Bright Heaven World never chose Tongye Continent for their site, among other things.
Zuo You said, "Jiang Shangzhen finally did something human."
Something that a human does.
If he had known this earlier, back when he had traveled by sword to the Mirage City of the Great Spring Dynasty, that sword greeting from Zuo You should have been more polite.
Fu Lingqing didn't respond, since Jiang Shangzhen was now the sect leader of the Yugui Sect. Although the highest realm was still held by the old sect leader Xun Yuan, according to mountain rules, in name, Jiang Shangzhen had become the undisputed leader of the continent's immortals, much like Fu Lingqing had once been. Fu Lingqing knew very well that in peaceful times, this title could greatly benefit the sect, but in a tumultuous era of upheaval, it could be deadly.
Changing the subject, Fu Lingqing sighed, "If only we had the mountain-like ferries of Bottle Gourd Continent, moving people into large mountains for shelter would be much more convenient."
Zuo You shook his head. "Apart from the Great Li Song Clan, which is determined to annex an entire continent, few dynasties dared to go heavily into debt to build mountain ferries."
Those unimaginably massive ferries were truly refined from the mountains and rivers of a region. Their scale was even more exaggerated than cross-continent ferries. The Great Li Song Clan had only succeeded in building them thanks to the strong support of the Mohist branch and then the main branch in succession.
Fu Lingqing lamented, "Only after the waters receded did we realize that a monarch's courage surpassed even that of mountain immortals. It's a pity I'll never have the chance to visit that late emperor of Great Li."
A selfish intention, driven by personal desire, could still accomplish a feat that turned the tide.
Now, all the mountain cultivators of the Bright Heaven World had noted and remembered the "foresight" of the Great Li National Teacher Cui Chan working together with the Great Li Song Clan.
Zuo You made no comment on this.
The personal grudge between Zuo You and Cui Chan, who were once fellow disciples in the same sect, was a private matter. Zuo You wouldn't let his personal feelings override public duty and ignore Cui Chan's actions. Otherwise, when they "reunited as fellow disciples" at the Sword Qi Great Wall, Cui Dongshan wouldn't have just been slashed off the city wall by a single sword strike.
Li Wanyong said softly, "It's a pity that the associated sages of the Literary Temple who guard the heavenly canopy don't have much actual combat strength."
The Confucian faction had two forces, one visible and one hidden. The seventy-two Confucian academies had seventy-two Confucian sages as mountain masters, spanning the Nascent Soul, Jade Pith, and Immortal realms.
Additionally, there were many associated sages of the Literary Temple stationed in the heavenly canopy to monitor the world. Another part of the Literary Temple sages wandered through the river of time, seeking and opening up cave heavens and blessed lands to integrate into the Bright Heaven World's territory. For example, the recently opened fifth world. Finally, some sages followed the Rite Sage to resist certain extremely troublesome ancient deities, secretly protecting the entire Bright Heaven World from destruction. Unlike those academy libationers or academy masters, when these associated sages fell, the world often knew nothing about it, and there were no records. Mountain cultivators were unaware, let alone mortals below.
This young sword cultivator, hailed as "the second Fu Lingqing," had in his early youth, ignorant of heaven and earth's bounds, openly contradicted Zuo You and nearly had his sword heart destroyed. If not for the sect leader taking a sword strike for him and Yu Xin pleading for mercy, there might be no Li Wanyong among the four pillars of the Tongye Sect's revival now.
What Li Wanyong said was also fact. The associated sages of the Literary Temple stationed over each continent of the Bright Heaven World were tasked with monitoring the upper-five-realm cultivators on that continent, especially requiring attention to mountain-peak great cultivators at the Immortal and Flying Ascension realms. They drew boundaries for themselves and never went down to the mortal world, year after year merely overlooking the human lights. Back then, when Du Mao of Tongye Continent, a Flying Ascension cultivator, left the sect to travel across continents to Old Dragon City in Bottle Gourd Continent, he needed permission from the sages in the sky.
Similarly, when the Fire Dragon True Lord of North Jambu Continent went on long journeys, he needed permission. There were many Flying Ascension cultivators on various continents whose requests were denied.
Thus, the ancestor of Tuoyue Mountain joked that the peak experts of Bright Heaven World had no freedom at all. That was no lie.
The Bright Heaven World most constrained the strong, and as for the strong within the Confucian school, there was no need to elaborate. The fate of the associated sages of the Literary Temple was the greatest proof.
Some very uncomfortable principles had been applied to Confucianism itself early on, so that those old immortals at the Flying Ascension realm had to hold their noses and endure. They could complain, but after complaining, they were kindly asked to continue adhering to etiquette. Only then could they prevent those at the mountain peaks from descending to the mortal world and causing turbulence across a thousand li of mountains and rivers with just a sneeze or a stomp.
Fu Lingqing was furious. "Li Wanyong! Watch your words!"
Li Wanyong's face turned slightly pale.
The usually gentle and refined sect leader rarely got this angry.
Zuo You said, "No need to put on a show for me."
Fu Lingqing almost choked on his own injury.
He genuinely respected the Confucian sages.
Moreover, these Literary Temple sages, paying the price of their own death and Dao dissolution, returned to the mortal world with great significance. They protected the environment and customs of a continent, allowing cultivators to gain advantages of heaven and earth, greatly reducing the intensity of the attacks from the barbaric demon world's demons before and after they came ashore. This connected the continent-wide grand formation and the mountain-protecting formations of various peaks with heaven and earth. For example, the Tongye Sect's mountain-river grand formation, the "Wutong Heavenly Umbrella," was now more sturdy than when Zuo You had challenged the sect with his sword.
Zuo You said, "What Li Wanyong said, though unpleasant, is the truth. Human strength has limits, and sages are no exception. We are all the same."
That associated sage of the northern canopy of Tongye Continent who had privately allowed Du Mao to leave the continent had now fallen to the mortal world of Fuyao Continent. Like other sages, he made no grand declarations—he just vanished quietly.
But matters of the world, when complicated, became like scholars debating merits and faults, each pointing fingers. Nominally, they reasoned, but in reality, they argued to win. So it was easy to talk past each other, each having their own justification. If simplified, it was just discussing the matter at hand, both sides willing to admit that no one is a sage and everyone makes mistakes. Only then could reasoning sharpen each other and allow the Dao to proceed together.
Li Wanyong was clearly surprised and greatly curious. This extremely arrogant sword immortal had actually said a good word for him.
Zuo You glanced at the young sword cultivator. "Among the four of you, you were the first to harbor thoughts of death. So some words can be spoken directly. But don't forget, expressing your heart is not complaining, especially for a sword cultivator."
Li Wanyong hated hearing this kind of talk. He felt that Zuo You was condescendingly imposing righteousness on him. Did his swordplay need commentary from an outsider like Zuo You?
Yu Xin was anxious, afraid that Li Wanyong would say more angry words. So she quickly sent a thought to remind him, "Some words from Senior Zuo, just let them pass."
Li Wanyong didn't dare to openly contradict Zuo You, but Yu Xin's use of "Senior" stung the young man deeply.
Senior, my foot!
A sword cultivator arrived by flying sword. It was Wang Shizi, who had returned from the Sword Qi Great Wall alongside Zuo You. He was a Golden Core bottleneck sword cultivator who often received guidance on swordsmanship from Zuo You, and he was now likely to break through the bottleneck.
In the past fourteen years, he had mounted the city wall three times and gone out to fight twice. Among Golden Core sword cultivators, his battle merits were average. For a wandering wild cultivator, this seemed ordinary, but it was actually a quite remarkable achievement. More importantly, Wang Shizi had risked his life in every strike and almost never suffered serious injury, leaving no hidden cultivation problems. As Zuo You said, his life was tough. That sword immortal destiny that should be his wouldn't escape him.
Wang Shizi cupped his fists. "Senior Zuo, Sect Leader Fu."
Then he nodded to Yu Xin and Li Wanyong.
The two proud geniuses of Tongye Sect returned the greeting. Both of them, part of the young "four pillars of revival," greatly admired Wang Shizi, who had previously been unknown in the Tongye Continent's mountain circles. It turned out that before going to the Inverted Mountain, Wang Shizi liked to travel the mountains and rivers alone, always concealing his identity, never joining any sect. After hitting the Dragon Gate realm bottleneck, he quietly traveled across continents to the Sword Qi Great Wall, where he soon broke through and formed his golden core. This time, following Zuo You back to his homeland, he busied himself around the Tongye Sect. Gradually, this Wang Shizi, who had the "air of a sword immortal embryo," became well-known.
Wang Shizi was about the same age as Zuo You but liked to call Zuo You "Senior"—from the heart. Perhaps following Zuo You's instructions, when asked about the Sword Qi Great Wall, Wang Shizi pleaded ignorance, at most talking about the local customs there.
Wang Shizi was a mountain-swamp wild cultivator from Tongye Continent. Zuo You had originally intended for him to go to the more stable Yugui Sect, but Wang Shizi insisted on staying with the Tongye Sect, helping supervise the construction of the grand formation over the years. Now he had a good relationship with Du Yan and Qin Shuihu. Occasionally there were conflicts, such as when disagreements arose with Yin-Yang formation masters and Mohist mechanism masters on certain matters. Then Wang Shizi would be pushed forward by the Tongye Sect cultivators to reluctantly seek help from Senior Zuo.
Wang Shizi succinctly reported a troublesome matter that both the Tongye Sect and outside cultivators were arguing about. Fu Lingqing immediately gave a suggestion: let the Tongye Sect make the first concession. Zuo You nodded in agreement.
Wang Shizi took his leave and flew away on his sword.
The heavy rain stopped. Li Wanyong followed the sect leader on a sword flight to inspect the placement of suppressing objects at some key mountain strongholds.
Zuo You stood still. The woman didn't leave for some reason.
In the Bright Heaven World, people's hearts had long been like ducks floating in water.
Seeing that she had no intention of leaving, Zuo You turned and asked, "Miss Yu, is there something?"
Yu Xin mustered her courage. "Senior Zuo, the Bright Heaven World has nine great fortified towers: the South Potala Continent has the Sword-Suppressing Tower, rumored to be guarded by the sword immortal Cao Xi from the Li Zhu Cave Heaven. Fuyao Continent also has a Mountain-Suppressing Tower. Why doesn't our Tongye Continent have one?"
Zuo You said, "Actually, it does. And a very important one—the Demon-Suppressing Tower, which is the Guan Dao Temple in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land. In the whole world, only two cave heavens and blessed lands are interconnected. Your Tongye Continent's Lotus Flower Blessed Land is connected to the Dao Ancestor's Little Lotus Cave Heaven. But that temple's master ascended to the Green Abyss World to seek the Dao from the Dao Ancestor. Since the Literary Temple didn't stop him, there must have been an agreement."
Yu Xin asked curiously, "Since it's so important, why didn't the Literary Temple negotiate with the old temple master to postpone his ascension, or at least leave that Demon-Suppressing Tower behind for the academy to manage? Then now that the demon army is invading, wouldn't we have more support and a better chance of victory?"
The nine great fortified towers of Bright Heaven World were: Mountain-Suppressing, Nation-Suppressing, Sea-Suppressing, Demon-Suppressing, Monster-Suppressing, Immortal-Suppressing, Sword-Suppressing, Dragon-Suppressing, and Baize-Suppressing.
Zuo You shook his head. "Many things, our Confucians put in great effort but get little gratitude. For example, allowing the hundred schools of thought to contend freely in Bright Heaven World, not exterminating the demon race completely, granting worldly dynasties the authority to enshrine mountain and river deities, and not directly participating in the dynastic changes below the mountains. There have always been internal disputes within the Literary Temple—between academies, between schools of thought, and even within a single school of thought, countless debates on sage teachings."
Zuo You continued, "Reasoning is the most draining of energy. I was never good at it. According to Buddhist terms, I'm at most a self-liberated man. Even after learning the sword, it's the same. Speaking of teaching and passing on the tradition, within the Wen Sheng lineage, Mao Xiaodong originally had the best hope of inheriting our master's robe. But limited by his scholarly threshold and cultivation aptitude, and also because of our master's circumstances, Mao Xiaodong, unwilling to leave the Wen Sheng lineage, found it even harder to make a move. He even had to personally travel to the Central Continent just to get the Shanya Academy recognized as one of the seventy-two academies. Fortunately, now I have a junior brother who is quite good at reasoning with people. He's worth looking forward to."
Yu Xin noticed that this usually ill-tempered Senior Zuo actually showed a rare trace of a smile when mentioning that junior brother.
Zuo You fell silent. It was probably his unique way of issuing a dismissal.
But Yu Xin had one more question. "Senior Zuo, you clearly have a very bad impression of our Tongye Sect. Why are you still willing to stay here?"
Zuo You replied, "Your sect leader, Fu Lingqing, is a man willing to reason. On a mountain, as long as the person most capable of reasoning is willing to reason, then the local customs and atmosphere have a chance to turn from turbid to clear. Secondly, I was instructed by my master and the old sword immortal to guard the Tongye Continent, not to guard your Tongye Sect. Since I gained my sword skills from this world, when it's time to repay the sword, I should return it to heaven and earth."
Yu Xin respectfully took her leave.
She was a little happy. Today, although Senior Zuo still had an indifferent expression, he spoke more and patiently told her many things about the celestial realm.
She had once harbored some resentment towards this great sword immortal who didn't look like a scholar at all. He was foul-mouthed and bullied people, challenged others with his sword without reason, causing the sect to nearly fall apart and forcing the sect leader to break through to the Immortal Realm... But when Zuo You returned to the Tongye Sect from the Sword Qi Great Wall, and by Wang Shizi's account, had "on the way" killed a great demon hiding in the Creation Grotto of Reed Flower Island, and was willing to help the Tongye Sect resist the demon army from the barbaric world, her anger dissipated like smoke. The young woman's repressed lake of heart felt refreshed after the rain, like early spring sprouts—no visible movement, yet there was some movement.
Now, across the entire Tongye Continent, due to the Four Symbols Grand Formation jointly constructed by the Tongye Sect, Yugui Sect, Taiping Mountain, and Fuji Sect, combined with the "Three Enclosures" celestial phenomenon created by the three canopy sages before they fell to the mortal world, the Flying Ascension cultivator Xun Yuan, the old Heavenly Lord of Taiping Mountain, and the Immortal Realm cultivator Jiang Shangzhen each guarded one. The old Heavenly Lord and Jiang Shangzhen each had two academy sages who had traveled from afar to assist, as if they were sitting in a cave heaven and presiding over the flow of the continent's qi. Once the Three Enclosures and Four Symbols Grand Formation were activated, the three great cultivators continuously gathered scattered qi from all directions. This made the heavenly timing on Tongye Continent extremely strange. For instance, right after a torrential rain that came and went quickly over the Tongye Sect's territory, there were signs of a heavy snow, catching everyone off guard.
Once the continental grand formation was fully stabilized, the territory of Taiping Mountain would become perpetual spring like spring, the Yugui Sect would have scorching sun all year round, the Fuji Sect would have the killing autumn winds, and the Tongye Sect would have constant snowfall.
Zuo You returned to the hut to sit in meditation and nurture his sword.
Elsewhere in the Tongye Sect, Qin Shuihu was dead drunk, sleeping beneath the flowers, waiting only for the demon army to attack. Previously, when the rain was heavy, countless flower petals fell and covered his body, but he remained unaware.
Between the heavy rain stopping and the heavy snow approaching, at a cliffside immortal mansion, the window was opened to a full moon. Below, a deep pool, steep cliffs, and deep water, with no path to cross. Du Yan, the direct descendant of Du Mao's lineage, had endured years of sidelong glances and criticism. Originally seeing Jiang Shangzhen as his lifelong pursuit, Du Yan had wasted years as a debauchee, but in less than ten years, he made rapid progress, breaking through two realms in a row. Now, Du Yan first wore a pained expression, then turned resolute. For the sake of the Du family's incense and future generations, he would sacrifice life and death, raise his arms, and act—all in one move!
It was time for heavy snow.
The purple-robed sword immortal Fu Lingqing, a man long regarded as a puppet sect leader on Tongye Continent, climbed alone to the mountain peak ancestral hall. He looked around and laughed heartily, "The vast snow covers heaven and earth, a world of white jade. It makes our hearts and souls clear and pure, most suitable for drawing swords."
——
At the northernmost ferry port of Tongye Continent, a group of traveling immortal masters looked somewhat helpless. They had just learned that, a week ago, two cross-continent ferries, including those of the Fu family from Old Dragon City, had notified the port that the ferries would no longer travel between the two continents. Many of the port's ferries were insufficient for cross-continent travel, and the few large ferries that could barely make the journey to Old Dragon City had also been requisitioned by the academy to the south. Yun Qian had earlier given most of her sect's talisman boats and a treasured distance-compressing item to Taiping Mountain.
Immortal Master Yun Qian, frowning, was accompanied by a group of disciples from the Rain Dragon Sect who were willing to follow her on a distant journey. After secretly landing at the Fuji Sect on Tongye Continent, they had rushed straight to Taiping Mountain, carrying a secret letter to visit the highly respected old Heavenly Lord and the sect leader Song Mao. Before Yun Qian could decide whether to stay at Taiping Mountain, the old Heavenly Lord took the initiative to suggest that Yun Qian take the Rain Dragon Sect disciples to Bottle Gourd Continent. As for Yun Qian's gift, the old Heavenly Lord was a straightforward man. He frankly told Yun Qian that within a hundred years, Taiping Mountain would have no way to repay her. And even after a hundred years, even if this mountain still existed, it might not be able to do much. He hoped that Daoist friend Yun Qian would be mentally prepared.
Yun Qian gazed at the vast, hazy sea and sighed. She had no choice but to continue traveling by wind. It would be hard on the lower-five-realm disciples who could only ride crude talisman boats.
Ancestor Yun Qian shifted her gaze to the southwest. The Inverted Mountain had, in plain sight, ascended and departed with great commotion. Yun Qian was an upper-five-realm cultivator, and she had sensed something unusual about the Inverted Mountain's departure. She wondered what had become of the Water Crystal Palace on the Inverted Mountain, and what would happen to the Rain Dragon Sect's ancestral hall?
Yun Qian dared not imagine, nor did she want to think too much. If it had simply vanished, many would die. If it still existed, she had no idea how the entire Bright Heaven World would view the Rain Dragon Sect in the future, and she didn't know how she and these Rain Dragon Sect disciples should live as strangers in a foreign land.
At the ferry port, registered immortal masters and mountain-swamp wild cultivators crowded together, all refugees from Tongye Continent desperately fleeing north to Old Dragon City.
Apart from cultivation practitioners, there were also many high-ranking officials and nobles from various countries who had long-standing good relations with the mountain immortals and had inside information. This made the immense ferry port seem overcrowded.
A breathtakingly beautiful sword-bearing female Daoist murmured to herself, "How am I different from them?"
As a cultivator of Tongye Continent, when disaster loomed, the first thing to do was flee.
A young man wearing Confucian robes but no academy ornaments shook his head. "Huang Ting, if you keep brooding like that, I'll have to scold you. The old Heavenly Lord personally issued a decree, and Sect Leader Song stamped it with the ancestral hall's seal—it's practically expelling you from the sect. Why? So that you can go to the fifth world in peace. Even in the worst-case scenario, you can preserve a branch of Taiping Mountain's lineage. Their heartfelt intentions are not for you to wallow in self-pity. If you keep thinking like that, even if you go to the fifth world, your Nascent Soul bottleneck won't be broken. Not only will it not break, but it will become your heart demon. Let me tell you, there are already many sword cultivators from the Sword Qi Great Wall over there, each with tremendous killing power. Even in same-realm fights among sword cultivators, the odds are slim for Bright Heaven World. If you fall into demonic possession there, they will certainly hunt you down."
Huang Ting said, "If I really lose to my heart demon and get killed by those sword cultivators, I'd die a worthy death. Better than being picked off by some rotten cultivator who gains merit from slaying demons and eliminating evil."
Zhong Kui said angrily, "Huang Ting!"
Huang Ting said, "I'm just feeling frustrated. Let me say a few foul words to vent. What's the rush? I can not value my own life, but I will never treat the sect as a joke."
Zhong Kui breathed a sigh of relief.
Huang Ting frowned deeply. "People's hearts are collapsing so quickly."
Zhong Kui was even more worried than her. He could only tell a good news to comfort himself, lowering his voice, "According to my master, Fuyao Continent is much better than us. They're used to fighting and killing. On the mountains and below, they don't cling to life like we Tongye Continent people do. Led by the academy, several large dynasties have united. Most of the sect-level immortal forces are also not willing to fall behind. Especially a large northern dynasty that directly ordered a ban on all cross-continent ferries leaving. Anyone caught trying to flee to Golden Armor Continent or Central Continent will be summarily executed."
Zhong Kui rubbed his face. "And look at us. It's human nature to fear death and love life, but if everyone is like that, it's just absurd. Officials abandon their posts, Immortal Masters abandon their cultivation mansions, ancestral halls are ignored, and sect halls discarded. People move when the tree dies—they can even carry their ancestor tablets and portraits on the road..."
There was one more thing Zhong Kui didn't want to mention.
Over in Bottle Gourd Continent, they were doing something enormous. For this purpose, Jiang Shangzhen, the sect leader of Yugui Sect, the old Heavenly Lord of Taiping Mountain, Ji Hai, the sect leader of Fuji Sect, and the mountain master of Dafu Academy had all hastily traveled to the sea between the two continents to meet with the Great Li National Teacher, hoping that Bottle Gourd Continent would change its mind and cooperate with Tongye Continent. Ji Hai even offered to hand over the entire Fuji Sect to the Great Li dynasty, making it a vassal of the Great Li Song Clan!
But Cui Chan still refused the proposal from Tongye Continent: first boil the sea with great fire to expose a seabed ridge connecting the two continents, then use water methods to stabilize a road to link Tongye and Bottle Gourd into one continent!
Only after the war was over would they re-flood the road and separate the two continents.
Because that Embroidery Tiger had already chosen North Jambu Continent. Cui Chan's reasoning was simple: the cultivators of Tongye Continent wanted to survive in Bottle Gourd Continent, while the cultivators of North Jambu Continent were willing to die in Bottle Gourd Continent. Which should Bottle Gourd choose? Even a child in a private school knew.
Zhong Kui had been there at the time and could only remain silent.
That meeting, which might determine the fate of three continents, didn't exactly end in discord. No one spoke harsh words to the Great Li National Teacher, because those who went to the sea already knew the answer. Forcing others was impossible. After all, they were dealing with Cui Chan, a man ruthless enough to betray his master and bring ruin to his lineage, something even the deputy leader of the Literary Temple disdained. There was no need for heated words or threats with someone like Cui Chan. The old Heavenly Lord and Ji Hai, both mountain-peak great cultivators of Tongye Continent, had enough dignity for that.
As for Cui Chan, aside from that decisive reasoning, he didn't sneer or mock Tongye Continent's customs.
At that time, someone asked Cui Chan if Tongye Continent's unusual plan to merge the two continents was forced by circumstances; if North Jambu Continent tried the same, the Literary Temple might not agree.
Cui Chan only said one sentence: "If the sword cultivators of North Jambu Continent agree to this matter, it means the entire continent's cultivators agree. The Literary Temple must agree. Even if they don't, what can the Literary Temple do?"
Zhong Kui felt some admiration for this former leading disciple of the Wen Sheng, a man notorious within Confucian circles.
When I, Cui Chan, reason with the general trend of the world, whoever you are, just listen obediently.
Zhong Kui looked at the distant group of Rain Dragon Sect cultivators. "If everyone in the Rain Dragon Sect were like this, it would be good."
Huang Ting shook her head. "The upper beam is crooked, so the lower beam is twisted. For a sect as chaotic as the Rain Dragon Sect, having a figure like Ancestor Yun Qian is already quite surprising."
Eventually, Ancestor Yun Qian led the group of Rain Dragon Sect disciples on a arduous journey to Old Dragon City. There, they announced their names at the princely mansion, stating that they were willing to contribute their modest efforts to the excavation of the Great River in central Bottle Gourd Continent. Prince Song Mu of the vassal state personally received them. Before even arriving at the hall, he urgently ordered a large military ferry of the Great Li to change its route and pick up Immortal Master Yun Qian and dozens of other cultivators, rushing them to central Bottle Gourd Continent. From the time Yun Qian sat down to drink tea at the princely mansion to when the tea had barely cooled—less than half an incense stick's time—they were already ready to depart.
Song Mu personally escorted the Rain Dragon Sect group to the inner city military ferry port. Finally, he cupped his fists and thanked everyone, including Ancestor Yun Qian, saying that from today on, within this princely domain, all Rain Dragon Sect cultivators would have unrestricted entry and exit.
Apart from that, the young prince exchanged no pleasantries.
When the ferry docked at the source of the Great River, the person who came to greet them via flying sword message was Liu Qingfeng, one of the three overseers of the great river's excavation. He handed the Rain Dragon Sect cultivators a copy of the excavation progress and, while inquiring about the water methods of the Rain Dragon Sect with Ancestor Yun Qian, sought her advice. Together, they meticulously revised and improved an existing plan that had been hastily drafted overnight by the overseeing office. If the young Prince Song Mu of Old Dragon City had given them a sense of swift and decisive action, then Overseer Liu Qingfeng gave them a feeling of spring breeze.
Yun Qian was full of emotions.
Over in Tongye Continent, even desperate flight seemed chaotic and disorganized. But in Bottle Gourd Continent, everything seemed to operate smoothly without hitch—fast and orderly.
In Huaiju County, Longzhou, Great Li, there was a new shopkeeper at the shop on Riding Dragon Alley, named Changming.
The mountain god Wei Po had just extricated himself from a night banquet. Along with the sword immortal Mi Yu, he held a secret discussion with this distant visitor, Daoist friend Changming. After confirming her identity, Wei Po didn't rashly open the restrictions of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land. He said that this matter still needed the decision of Zhu Lian, the steward of Fallen Mountain. So for now, Changming stayed to help at the New Year Sui Shop on Riding Dragon Alley.
Changming pulled out her natal golden essence copper coin and was somewhat surprised. Golden light flowed around it, radiating brilliance. It seemed her natal object resonated with this heaven and earth.
Indeed, choosing this place for cultivation was the best of choices.
Changming became even more expectant about the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, a medium-grade blessed land.
On Fallen Mountain, Wei Po and Mi Yu sat by a stone table. The Northern Mountain God looked somewhat helpless. In truth, given his friendship with Fallen Mountain, letting Daoist friend Changming settle in didn't need Zhu Lian's permission. But in reality, Wei Po couldn't handle this matter at all. The Tongye Umbrella had already been handed over to Cui Dongshan according to the instructions in the secret letter. Unless something unexpected happened, it would likely end up in the hands of some cultivator on Tongye Continent—possibly Taiping Mountain, Zhong Kui, or even that Fallen Mountain guest elder "Zhou Fei"—to accommodate refugees from the mountains below.
Wei Po just didn't know if the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, which had just been upgraded to a medium-grade blessed land a few years ago, would, after returning to Fallen Mountain, revert to its original form and become a low-grade blessed land with thin spiritual qi again. After all, once the refugees returned to their homeland, they would take the qi with them. The more people, the more qi and fortune they carried away, and the more the Lotus Flower Blessed Land would lose.
Wei Po looked into the distance, recalling that malicious mountain-river travelogue. He murmured, "Chen Ping'an, Chen Ping'an... is it worth it? Does it mean that much?"
Mi Yu smiled. "Mountain God Wei, it seems you still don't fully understand our mountain lord. Or perhaps you don't understand the Hidden Officer of the Sword Qi Great Wall."
Mi Yu turned to the black-clad little girl who was silently eating sunflower seeds and asked, "Little Millet, at that shop selling Mute Lake wine, how did the couplet go?"
Zhou Mili quickly put down the seeds, picked up the small golden carrying pole on the table, stood up, and announced loudly, "The sword immortal's three-foot sword, looking around in confusion, where is the opponent? The hero is lonely!"
Zhou Mili cleared her throat and continued in an even louder voice, "The two ounces of wine in the cup, let me share your eternal sorrow with you. Let's drink to our hearts' content! What is money, anyway?"
The little girl raised the golden pole high, glanced at it, and thought, "I have a golden pole. What does money matter?"
Mi Yu took a big gulp of wine and thought back to that year when snow fell in the summer palace. The sword cultivators of the Hidden Officer lineage built snowmen together, and the young Hidden Officer, along with his disciple Guo Zhujiu, said something.
"I just don't believe the world is that bad!"
Mi Yu felt that even today, standing here, the young Hidden Officer would think the same and firmly believe it.
Because some insights have little to do with how the world actually is.
Over at the Yang Family Shop.
The assistant named Yang Shu rarely had a smile on his face, because he recognized the woman who came to visit today. Li Liu, Li Er's daughter, and Li Huai's little bastard sister. Yang Shu once had some ideas, but his elders didn't agree. It wasn't about money. When Yang Shu asked further, they said it was the old patriarch's intention. He didn't want to nod, so Yang Shu should give up.
But the usually solitary Li Liu had an obese woman in coarse linen by her side today, which was a bit off-putting. Yang Shu couldn't help but slant a few more glances at her. How much could a woman eat to be this fat? The woman gave him a "shy smile," which startled Yang Shu. The woman lifted the curtain, stood sideways, and waited for Li Liu to step into the back courtyard before lowering the curtain. She smiled at Yang Shu again. Yang Shu looked at the woman, who was like a small mountain. Behind the counter, he secretly lifted his own arm and felt that even as a grown man, he was no match for her.
Li Liu sat down on a creaking bamboo chair, which was a piece of work by her brother Li Huai.
The woman who carried the entire Lu Shui Pit stood behind Li Liu, hardly daring to breathe.
Because she knew the identity of the old man sitting on the steps, puffing smoke.
In ancient times, he had been in charge of one of the two Ascension Platforms.
A woman in a green dress flew into the courtyard on her sword and sat down on a bench in the corridor.
Old Man Yang lightly tapped his tobacco pipe on the steps and said, "It's like this. If it succeeds, only holding Bottle Gourd Continent counts as merit. If it fails, it becomes a disaster. I've been keeping you two acting like humans all along. After this matter, you can do as you please."
The woman, who was only at the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul realm, was shocked and terrified when she saw the green-dressed woman—a completely instinctive feeling beyond reason.
The woman was not stupid. As a Flying Ascension great demon well-versed in ancient history, and considering the true identity of Li Liu in front of her, she instantly guessed the true identity of the stranger.
The Supreme Deity, high on the throne, overlooking the mortal world, cooking the sea with the sun, refining and killing all things! Where the sunlight reached was his territory.
The woman first grew increasingly tense, then gradually changed. Her entire face and eyes began to shift faintly, until a fierce nature erupted. After all, she was a genuine Flying Ascension great demon. Even though she was terrified to the extreme, once fear reached its limit, her true nature surfaced. A Flying Ascension realm demon would never sit idly and wait for death—she would fight to the death even if it meant killing!
Ruan Xiu slowly withdrew her gaze from the woman, took out an embroidered handkerchief, picked up a pastry, and chewed slowly.
Li Liu said, "I have no problem. The key is her."
Ruan Xiu nodded. "I have only one condition: whether it succeeds or fails, the merit from the Literary Temple must be credited to the Dragon Spring Sword Sect immediately. It can be halved."
Old Man Yang hesitated for a moment. "I'll go discuss this with Cui Chan. Since you're willing to halve it, it shouldn't be a big problem."
Li Liu said, "Then I'll do the same. Count it on Li Huai."
Old Man Yang said crossly, "What's the point of giving it to him? Does that little brat need it? Won't he just complain that stepping on dog shit makes his shoes too heavy?"
Li Liu smiled and then dropped the thought.
But she took out the red string she had gotten from Li Huai and tossed it to Old Man Yang. "Explain this. You're setting your sights on my brother? Tired of living? How about I exchange that merit for that wretched woman's life? Is that enough?"
Old Man Yang frowned. "Don't meddle in this. I'll clean up the mess."
Ruan Xiu suddenly asked, "What's the truth behind that travelogue?"
Old Man Yang snorted. "Two branches of the family: one leans toward official history, trying to shed their identity as unofficial chroniclers, unwilling to be mere appendages of history, hoping to attain the Great Dao through a White Paper Blessed Land. The other branch burrows into unofficial history. The latter has far grander plans."
Old Man Yang waved his tobacco pipe. "None of you need to bother with these matters. Breaking through to the Jade Pith Realm as soon as possible is the urgent task. You no longer need to hide so much."
Ruan Xiu glanced at the outsider woman. She had finished her pastries.
If she could refine and kill her, she might have a chance to go directly to the Immortal Realm.
Li Liu said coldly, "Ruan Xiu, restrain yourself."
Ruan Xiu lazily leaned on the bench and asked with a squinting smile, "Who do you think you are?"
The woman was uneasy.
This was truly "immortals fighting" in the flesh.
Ruan Xiu asked, "Can he still come back?"
Old Man Yang remained silent, but the smoke in the courtyard grew thicker.
Then the woman started again, shocked. She turned to look at a woman in white behind Old Man Yang, tall and with a pair of golden eyes.
Upon seeing "this person," the Lu Shui Pit woman felt her heart grow weary. She shouldn't have followed Li Liu to wander here. Even she, a Flying Ascension realm demon, seemed insignificant here. She might as well have gone to North Jambu Continent to provoke the Fire Dragon True Lord.
The tall woman smiled slightly. "Of course."
Her gaze lowered a little, looking down at Old Man Yang sitting on the ground. "Tell Cui Chan, and then have him inform the Literary Temple: beware that I might make Bright Heaven World and Green Abyss World one family."
Old Man Yang said, "As long as you stay here, Chen Ping'an has a chance. His life is tough. Besides, his restraint is right. If you had followed him there, his life might have been completely delivered to the Sword Qi Great Wall."
She said, "Staying alone there—isn't that worse than death?"
Old Man Yang said, "I think staying there is the best cultivation. Climbing the mountain is a major matter, cultivating the heart is a difficult matter. It's not just being scolded a few times or doing a few good deeds that counts as cultivation."
She sneered. "You and Chen Qingdu seem quite qualified to say such things."
Old Man Yang nodded. "Passable."
Old Man Yang waved his smoke pole. "Still, be careful. Those great demons on the throne won't let you boil the sea and move water unchallenged."
Ruan Xiu flew away on her sword. Li Liu took the woman to visit the ancestral home.
Old Man Yang stood up. "If something happens to me, please look after my affairs a little."
She nodded. "There aren't many old friends left. You old bones, take care."
Old Man Yang smiled and repeated his earlier words: "Passable."
At the middle section of the Great River in Bottle Gourd Continent, on a newly built dike, a boy in white rode on a child's back. Beside them was an old Confucian scholar with graying temples, and Lin Shouyi silently followed.
The boy was furiously cursing the old turtle-bastard for not being a decent thing.
Lin Shouyi pretended not to hear anything. Actually, the old and the young were both considered his senior uncles in his heart.
National Teacher Cui Chan asked Lin Shouyi, "What do you think of Liu Qingfeng as a person?"
Lin Shouyi said, "He's naturally suited to studying your pragmatic philosophy. He's an excellent person, and his scholarship never falls short of practical application."
Cui Chan said, "You're fine at observing matters, but you're biased when observing people. Liu Qingfeng has a cold eye and a warm heart. Don't be misled by the warm heart—the key is the cold eye."
Cui Dongshan smirked. "The old turtle-bastard actually said something human. Rare, rare. Right, right. Liu Qingfeng is willing to treat the world with goodwill, but that doesn't mean he thinks highly of it. In fact, Liu Qingfeng simply doesn't care about the world's opinion of him. The reason I appreciate him is that he's like me. The order can't be wrong."
Cui Chan said, "I'm going to the Ghost Valley on Bone Beach in North Jambu Continent soon."
Cui Dongshan hesitated. "Why not me? I have Old Gao to guide me."
Cui Chan said, "Your realm is too low. That Gao Cheng may not listen to you. Bottle Gourd Continent doesn't have time to play mind games with him. He needs to complete his Great Dao and learn the most fundamental cycle of reincarnation. Bottle Gourd Continent will give him that chance. At a critical moment, I'll borrow Zhong Kui from Tongye Continent. You first go find that great monk who's been wandering to White Cloud Temple. Some things need to be arranged beforehand, otherwise the taboos are too great, and the loss will outweigh the gain. I absolutely will not allow Bottle Gourd Continent to be a battered mess even if it is defended."
If Tongye Continent's people weren't so scattered and demoralized, Cui Chan might have considered linking Bottle Gourd Continent with it.
Zhong Kui plus Gao Cheng, and of course Cui Dongshan, could have accomplished much.
Cui Dongshan pressed the child's head and cursed, "Old Gao, this shameless old turtle-bastard is planning to screw you. Hurry up and spit a mouthful of saliva in his face to help him wash up..."
Cui Chan emphasized, "I'm talking serious business!"
Cui Dongshan said angrily, "I'm not deaf!"
Before leaving, Cui Chan seemed to say some pointless words: "Cultivate well in the future. If you see Old Scholar, tell him that all the rights and wrongs, merits and faults are only in my own heart. There's really nothing to say to him."
Cui Dongshan said gloomily, "If you're capable, say it yourself. I'm not a messenger. I'm two generations removed now—calling him Old Scholar Ancestor Master is embarrassing."
Cui Chan looked up at the canopy and said calmly, "Because I'm not capable, I'm asking you to say it."
The Great Li National Teacher shrank the earth, traversing mountains and rivers instantly, disappearing over a thousand li away. The entire Bottle Gourd Continent was like the small world of this Flying Ascension scholar.
Cui Dongshan jumped down from the child, jumped up and furiously waved his sleeves, punching in the direction where Cui Chan had vanished, cursing, "Get lost, get lost, get lost!"
But Lin Shouyi knew that the young-looking, seemingly frivolous Junior Uncle Cui Dongshan was actually very sad.
At the moment when Cui Chan left Bottle Gourd Continent for North Jambu Continent.
Great cultivators had already jointly deployed a great divine power to isolate heaven and earth.
In the northernmost part of Bottle Gourd Continent, Ruan Xiu shook the bracelet on her hand. A fire dragon suddenly appeared, shooting north in a line. Under the blazing sun, countless rays of light seemed to converge along that path.
At the southernmost edge of North Jambu Continent, Li Liu stood by the seashore, parting the sea.
On that line, to the right were many sword immortals and upper-five-realm cultivators of North Jambu Continent forming a protective formation, including the sect leader of Taihui Sword Sect, Qi Jinglong, the law-enforcing patriarch Huang Tong, Li Cai of the Floating Lotus Sword Lake who had just returned from traveling in South Potala Continent, the number one northern sword immortal Bai Chang, the ancestor of the Mourning Garment Sect's upper sect, Patriarch Na Lan, and the sect leader Zhu Quan...
On the left were only two Flying Ascension cultivators, old acquaintances: the Fire Dragon True Lord and the Lu Shui Pit woman. The Fire Dragon True Lord chuckled, and the woman smirked along.
Lu Zhi, the Drunk Face Lady, and the Spring Banner Studio sword immortal Shao Yunyan had all arrived at South Potala Continent.
The great bearded demon ranger from the barbaric world's throne came first to the coast of South Potala Continent, challenging the pure Confucian Chen Chun'an with his sword.
Half of the cultivation practitioners of South Potala Continent could see the sword light that tore open the night.
Half a moon rose from the sea, just enclosing the entire Potala Continent. The sharp sword light, after breaking through the moon barrier, was taken into the sleeve of Chen Chun'an's towering dharma image.
At the peak of an immortal mountain by the sea, the Drunk Face Lady asked softly, "Why is Liu Cha doing this? Isn't he temporarily relieving Chen Chun'an?"
Shao Yunyan said, "It's precisely because he respects Chen Chun'an that Liu Cha made a special trip to deliver this sword. Of course, it's not entirely that. After this sword strike, the Central Continent will focus more on defending South Potala Continent. A large group of central cultivators, including the Huai family ancestor, are already on their way to South Potala Continent."
The Drunk Face Lady sneered, "Coming here to watch the show? Why not learn from Zhou Shenzhi and go straight to the Mountain Water Grotto in Fuyao Continent?"
Shao Yunyan said nothing more.
The tall, thin female great sword immortal, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes and nodded slightly. It turned out that Chen Chun'an had withdrawn his dharma image and appeared beside them.
The Drunk Face Lady, who had been mockingly critical a moment ago, fell silent in fear. She had never had much goodwill toward Bright Heaven World. Since following Lu Zhi, she had become accustomed to calling herself half a person of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
But this pure Confucian beside her was too awe-inspiring.
After all, there were still some scholars in Bright Heaven World who seemed to embody reason wherever they stood.
Provoking them was even more terrifying than provoking some unruly Flying Ascension cultivator.
Chen Chun'an smiled and greeted everyone. Gazing at the sea, he had a sun and a moon on each shoulder, but the moon had a crack.
Chen Chun'an and Lu Zhi almost simultaneously shared a knowing smile.
In Bright Heaven World, nine awe-inspiring martial fortunes surged massively into the half of the Sword Qi Great Wall within the barbaric world.
Similarly, a vast martial fortune from the barbaric world surged into the Sword Qi Great Wall.
At the cliff of the Sword Qi Great Wall, Dragon Lord clicked his tongue and chuckled, "Mad dog."
There was a mentally ill qi refiner who had never intended to break through to some Nascent Soul sword cultivator realm in one go. Instead, he deliberately shattered his golden core repeatedly, churning his soul each time, and then, by merging with the Sword Qi Great Wall, remolded his flesh and restored his soul. In this way—unprecedented and likely never to be repeated—he tempered his martial body and entered the pure martial artist's Mountain Summit Realm.