Chapter 706: The Fourteen Realm
On the cliffside of the half Sword Qi Great Wall, a gray robe fluttered in the wind.
Liu Bai arrived at this place to bid farewell to Senior Dragon Lord. She had just broken into the Nascent Soul realm and had received two gifts of pure sword intent one after another.
More than ninety sword immortal seedlings from Tuoyue Mountain who had been practicing swordsmanship here had mostly broken through their realms or obtained a share of sword intent earlier than Liu Bai, allowing them to leave the city wall one after another, ride their swords to the Haoran Heaven, and rush to the battlefields of the three continents.
Those strands of pure sword intent that had wandered the heavens and earth for a hundred years, a thousand years, or even ten thousand years were impartial. As long as one's sword heart was clear and they resonated with it, they would be recognized as a sword cultivator of the world and could obtain an opportunity, a pure inheritance without any so-called incense offerings or master-disciple ties.
There was only one kind of existence, no matter how high their talent or good their aptitude, that would absolutely never receive the favor of sword intent.
For example, She Yue, listed among the ten young talents of the Barren Wilderness, and the young girl nicknamed Doukou.
Liu Bai said softly, "Senior Dragon Lord, I am about to leave this place and go to Tongye Continent to follow my teacher and senior brother. I wonder if Senior has any words that I should convey to my teacher?"
The wind on the city wall howled in gusts, but the gray robe did not speak.
Liu Bai dared not urge this eccentric senior. She was not in a hurry to leave the city wall, so she looked toward the opposite cliff, but there was no trace of that bright red Dharma robe.
The Jiazi Tent had issued an order, setting up a highly imposing landscape prohibition against the half Sword Qi Great Wall opposite, completely isolating heaven and earth. Liu Bai could clearly see the scenery on the other side, but from the opposite city wall, looking here, there would only be a vast expanse of white mist.
This Senior Dragon Lord beside her was indeed too unpredictable in temperament. As one of the three old sword immortals who had challenged the sword at Tuoyue Mountain ten thousand years ago, he had once been a close friend of Chen Qingdu. Together, they had raised their swords on the mortal land and challenged the heavens. After becoming convicts, they eventually became puppets of Tuoyue Mountain along with Guan Zhao. But unlike Guan Zhao, whose soul had scattered and mind was unclear, Dragon Lord had willingly discarded his physical body and flesh, even allowing the throne, Bai Ying, to trample his head underfoot. On the battlefield, he had slain Gao Kui, the last sword immortal of his own lineage.
Gao Kui challenged the sword, and Dragon Lord received the sword. That was all.
In the end, he was personally severed by the old man from the last incense fire of his sword path.
Liu Bai truly did not understand Senior Dragon Lord's thoughts or actions.
In fact, Liu Bai could not even figure out Li Zhen. Li Zhen still remained on the city wall, seemingly determined to fight that young Hidden Officer to the bitter end.
As each Tuoyue Mountain sword immortal seedling obtained something, and as the fortune of the sword path flowed naturally, it would inevitably make the opposite half of the Sword Qi Great Wall weaker and weaker, and make that fellow's situation more and more precarious. Because the stability of that half of the Sword Qi Great Wall was closely related to the fortune of the sword path. That young Hidden Officer, who had merged with the half Great Wall, must surely be the most clear and sensitive perception of this in all the heavens and earth.
The ordinary mortals at the foot of the mountain, ignorant and unaware of their lifespan and fate, did not know that old age was approaching, nor did they know when their end would come.
But that young Hidden Officer was like someone who kept his eyes wide open every day staring at an Ancestral Hall longevity lamp, yet could only watch helplessly as the light of that lamp gradually dimmed.
Dragon Lord spoke, "Have your teacher invite Liu Cha to return here and exert his full sword. No later than one year, he must force that boy to break into the Jade Pure realm. Delay will bring change."
Liu Bai was stunned and confused, not understanding why Dragon Lord wanted that person to break into the Jade Pure realm. Could it be? No! She must not let that person's words affect her state of mind. Senior Dragon Lord could not possibly be in collusion with him.
So Liu Bai asked directly if she had doubts, determined not to let herself be suspicious. She asked bluntly, "Senior Dragon Lord, why is this? Please enlighten me!"
Dragon Lord smiled and explained, "For Chen Ping'an, shattering the golden core and forming a new golden core are both natural progressions. Becoming a Nascent Soul sword cultivator is not easy, nor is it too difficult, but it still requires some time and effort. He is indeed in no hurry at all about raising his Qi Practitioner realm. He puts more thought into how to increase his fist intent. That is probably what this little mad dog considers the most urgent matter. After all, cultivation depends on oneself. He has always been like climbing a mountain, entering deeper and deeper. But when it comes to practicing fists, he is as steady as a rock. How could he not be anxious? In the Haoran Heaven, a mountain summit martial artist is indeed formidable, but here, is it enough?"
Liu Bai felt dizzy and trembled, "Wasn't he saying at that time that he was about to reach the Jade Pure realm?"
"Do you believe everything he says?"
Dragon Lord chuckled, "The truth is, he was just casually scaring you and Li Zhen. At the time, I wanted to say he was about to reach Nascent Soul, but when I saw you believed it, I couldn't be bothered to speak."
Liu Bai let out a faint sigh.
Dragon Lord looked toward the opposite side, "This boy's temperament — is it really that hard to see through? Everything he can see, no matter the distance or difficulty, as long as he sets his mind to it and sees a path forward, he will be in no hurry at all. He just works silently, step by step, until it becomes easily attainable. But don't forget, the thing he is least good at is creating something from nothing, finding the 'one' on his own. He has the least confidence in that."
Having said this, Dragon Lord chuckled, "Don't you believe it?"
Liu Bai had no idea how to respond.
Senior Dragon Lord's statement left her skeptical.
Dragon Lord sighed helplessly, "It seems he really scared you silly with those two natal flying swords. Let me ask you, a martial artist so young, at the ninth realm, who also managed to become the Hidden Officer as an outsider and win over everyone — an intelligent man who has traveled, trained, and fought incessantly — but has Chen Ping'an ever comprehended a punch that truly belongs to him? Has he? No."
Liu Bai suddenly understood and nodded lightly.
Dragon Lord said, "All his actions are within the rules. You all forgot his other identity: a scholar. Self-reflection, self-restraint, and self-discipline in solitude are not only about cultivating the mind but also about having many constraints on oneself."
So the more this was the case, the more they must not let this young man ever truly comprehend a single punch. That would mean that the young Hidden Officer, who placed the most emphasis on cultivating his mind, might be able to draw boundaries for the heavens and earth by his own power. Above all, they must not let this man truly comprehend a single sword. When things are unbalanced, they cry out. This young man's heart already held enough accumulated grievances: anger, killing intent, malice, grief, indignation…
By the time he gathered them all and delivered that one sword, it might truly cause the heavens and earth to change color.
Having said this, Dragon Lord used countless fine sword energies to condense a vague figure, much like the sight of Chen Ping'an when he first appeared on the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Dragon Lord reached out and parted the landscape prohibition, then continued, "He wants to cultivate his mind step by step, so we must force him to take shortcuts, force him to be unreasonable. Even if he becomes a Nascent Soul sword cultivator, breaking into the Jade Pure realm will still be very difficult for this fellow. In haste, he will most likely have to use a shortcut secret method that compromises the height of his Great Path, forcing him to drink poison to quench his thirst. Once he enters the Jade Pure realm, he will be completely bound to the remaining half of the Sword Qi Great Wall, living and dying with it, truly becoming a second Chen Qingdu."
Liu Bai glanced at the opposite cliff. There was no sign of that person. She tested the waters, "It will be hard for him to leave the Sword Qi Great Wall again?"
"So when you worry about him breaking into the Jade Pure realm, he is actually even more afraid."
Dragon Lord nodded, "If he cannot break into the Jade Pure realm and can only hold the city wall with the shabby realm of a true Nascent Soul and false Jade Pure, that's even better. If Liu Cha delivers one sword, cutting the opposite city wall in half again, he will suffer damage to his Great Path foundation, half-dead. Even if Liu Cha delivers a few more swords, he won't die, but his cultivation path will be completely ruined. If his sword path reaches a dead end before his martial path, and his merging with the Sword Qi Great Wall becomes nominal, even if he reaches the tenth realm as a martial artist, so what? He will be at others' mercy, waiting for death. Sooner or later, whether it's me, you returning to this place, or Shou Chen, Fei Ran, whoever delivers the sword, it will be the same. Each sword will wound his Great Path foundation."
For others to climb the city wall was like visiting a grave. In that grave, there was a living person, but they were no different from the dead.
Liu Bai felt like she had reached the end of the road, only to suddenly see the clear waters and green mountains.
The only eyesore was that after Dragon Lord deliberately opened the prohibition, that bright red Dharma robe appeared as if on cue. He held a narrow saber, lightly tapping it on his shoulder as he walked slowly, finally standing on the opposite cliff.
He rested the narrow saber on his shoulder, facing off against them.
Although Liu Bai had broken into the Nascent Soul realm, she was not overjoyed; instead, she was filled with anxiety, as if she had actually regressed.
As one of the top figures among the hundred sword immortals of Tuoyue Mountain in the past, the unexpected event of the encirclement battle that led to her breaking into the Upper Five Realm sword immortal was as monumental as the sky. Until she truly broke into the Jade Pure realm, Liu Bai could not let go of this. Especially when she thought that to break through the Nascent Soul bottleneck in the future, she would have to face that inner demon. This made Liu Bai feel that breaking into the Nascent Soul realm was like taking a big step closer to that person. The dreadfulness of the inner demon lay in the mysterious law that the Way rises a foot, the demon rises a ten. Talent, Dharma techniques, realm, and even temperament were like clouds at the horizon — how could they be lower than that inner demon, firm as a rock?
Many who had attained the Way in the Upper Five Realm could subdue their inner demons largely because they did not know exactly what the inner demon was at first. When it came, they accepted it, making it easier to break through the bottleneck.
Once they knew too early what the inner demon was, all the methods they had prepared in advance to break it would actually become nourishment for the inner demon to grow.
But if Liu Bai faced that inner demon and the young Hidden Officer had already died and his path vanished, then Liu Bai would actually wish that the inner demon was Chen Ping'an.
Because then, deep in her heart, Liu Bai could maintain a glimmer of awareness, knowing that the inner demon was already dead.
After hearing Dragon Lord's words today, Liu Bai's Dao heart was greatly stabilized. She looked at the person opposite and smiled, "Let me bid farewell to the Hidden Officer. I hope we can meet again."
With this Dao heart in the present, Liu Bai felt her sword heart become clearer. She grew eager for that originally one-sided sword challenge.
That person wore a smile. Unprecedentedly, he remained silent, not using words to disturb her Dao heart.
Liu Bai could tell that he had not been well these past few years. After finally managing to reach the mountain summit realm and stabilize his appearance, he looked more and more haggard day by day.
For a cultivator who lived in the mountains, unaware of heat and cold, slumbering for years or even decades, like a dead dragon lying in a deep pond or a statue sitting silently in a temple, it was not strange.
For example, Fire Dragon Patriarch of the Prostrate Peak in Beiju Continent was famous for his great sleep, using snow as his garment.
And one of the newly assessed young ten talents, the Dream Traveler from Liuxia Continent, was probably a kindred spirit of Fire Dragon Patriarch.
Or, sitting in forgetfulness of the physical form, cultivating Dharma techniques for years, merely taking a short nap to nourish the soul—this was also not strange. Such naps had great significance, aligning with the saying 'the great death of the human body,' a highly respected method of deep sleep in mountain cultivation. Truly not arousing a single thought, according to Buddhist teachings, could distance one from all inverted dreams, thus being more beneficial to the three souls and seven spirits than the ordinary deep sleep of worldly scholars. The great rest of the soul would give Qi Practitioners an especially sweet feeling.
From 'eye' and 'droop,' meaning to sleep while sitting - cultivators sit quietly to nourish their spirits, sleeping without dreams. This was a sign of a Qi Practitioner entering the Middle Five Realm.
But for a Qi Practitioner to go without sleep for seven full years, to be in a state of excessive mental labor every moment, was very rare. It would naturally greatly damage their mind and spirit.
Thus, despite having the realm, their mind and spirit grew increasingly haggard.
Chen Ping'an laughed and asked, "Senior Dragon Lord, I just don't understand. Did I kick you in the alley, or did I stop you and Li Zhen from fighting over a bone? Why are you two so determined to bite at my heels?"
Dragon Lord smiled, "Even though only half of the Sword Qi Great Wall remains, Chen Qingdu's old bones are indeed a tough nut to crack. You've managed to survive all these years, and that is something to be proud of."
Chen Ping'an shifted his gaze to Liu Bai and said, "Why aren't you leaving yet? Even I have my limits when it comes to cherishing a beauty."
Liu Bai's gaze was resolute, "Our parting today might well be a parting of life and death. You may say what you will. When I challenge my inner demon with my sword in the future, it won't be the real Chen Ping'an anyway."
Chen Ping'an waved his hand, "I advise you to quit while you're ahead. Since I'm in a good mood today, get lost quickly."
Liu Bai did not move. Her posture was unwavering.
Dragon Lord sneered, "So you've comprehended a bit of shallow White Bone Contemplation, and by washing the killing intent from your heart lake, you feel a little better? The flavor of Zen cannot be clung to; dead water does not harbor a dragon. Zen concentration is not found in fixed times or places. You are still millions of miles away. To be blunt, the White Bone Contemplation is a true heretical path for you. You could gradually awaken for ten thousand years and never achieve sudden enlightenment. Even if you see yourself turn into an extremely pure white skeleton, your thoughts collapse, from destruction to completion, flesh grows on the bones, and in the end, it is radiant. Then you release your mind outward, and the boundless is all mixed with white bones. But in the end, it doesn't align with your Great Path. It is all illusion. Take that book, for instance. Are all those who died unjustly at Qingzhu Lake merely a pile of white bones?"
Having said this, Senior Dragon Lord glanced at Chen Ping'an, shook his head slightly, and said dismissively, "If you want to deceive yourself, scattering a thousand thoughts onto piles of white bones to barely snatch a moment's rest, then you should hide yourself away. Don't come here looking for trouble."
In fact, Chen Ping'an certainly would not go too far down the path of White Bone Contemplation. As Dragon Lord said, it was merely a makeshift method to temporarily 'snatch a short sleep.' So even if Chen Ping'an hadn't come today, Dragon Lord would have exposed it, giving him no chance to nourish his soul.
Chen Ping'an frowned slightly, then gave a carefree smile. Holding Zhan Kan, he pointed it from afar at the blurry old man inside the gray robe, "Senior Dragon Lord, your Dharma techniques are truly profound. You've pointed the way for this junior, preventing me from going astray. How should I thank you? After all these years of arduous protection, helping to temper my Dao heart, if not for your appearance, I might have mistaken you for that Left Guardian of Qilong Lane back in my hometown."
Dragon Lord smiled, "A dying man speaks kindly, but you do the opposite."
Chen Ping'an turned his head again and asked curiously, "Really not leaving? Do you really think that by standing still and gazing at me a few more times, you are tempering your Dao heart and sword intent?"
Liu Bai looked at the young man and said with unexpected emotion, "You are truly pitiful."
Chen Ping'an squinted and smiled.
Dragon Lord suddenly used a surge of abundant sword energy to instantly isolate heaven and earth, preventing Chen Ping'an's words from reaching Liu Bai's ears, not even allowing her to see him.
Without Dragon Lord's sword energy suppression, the landscape prohibition covering the half Sword Qi Great Wall closed again.
Liu Bai found her vision blurry and could no longer see anything on the other side. She was startled, "Senior Dragon Lord, why is this?"
Dragon Lord said, "You only need to know one thing: earlier, when he told you to quit while you were ahead, he was right. And him saying that was precisely a preparation for his last sentence. If he had spoken it and you had heard it, it could have made your inner demon surge."
Liu Bai shook her head, "I don't believe it!"
The old man's form, condensed from crisscrossing sword energy, gradually dissipated, once again becoming an empty gray robe. Dragon Lord said earnestly, "Go. There's no need to haggle with a mad dog. Practice your swordsmanship well in the future. If you can truly slay this manifested inner demon, it will be of great benefit to you. From misfortune, good fortune may arise, and your achievements on the Great Path might be higher than before."
Although Liu Bai did not understand the reason and was full of curiosity about Chen Ping'an's words, she would not defy Dragon Lord's teachings, nor would she dare to treat her own sword path as a game, engaging in meaningless conflicts with Chen Ping'an. She immediately flew away from the city wall on her sword.
After Liu Bai left the city wall, Li Zhen, who had been standing not far away, came to Dragon Lord's side.
Li Zhen said indignantly, "You treat that girl Liu Bai far better than you treat me."
Dragon Lord simply turned his head and looked north toward the ruins of that city.
Ten thousand years ago, the convicts, who had been exiled here under sentence, built everything from nothing, turning nothing into something.
Li Zhen asked, "Why are you so opposed to Chen Ping'an?"
Dragon Lord said indifferently, "A young man—what enmity could he have with me? But any sword cultivator who wants to become a second Chen Qingdu deserves to die."
Li Zhen asked again, "Although I am not Guan Zhao, I know that Guan Zhao was merely disappointed. Why are you this way?"
Guan Zhao's mindset was similar to that of the old blind man in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Sword Immortal Zhang Lu and the like were more or less the same. Toward both the old and new Haoran Heavens, they held the same attitude.
Dragon Lord withdrew his gaze and remained silent.
Li Zhen asked, "So our Hidden Officer really hasn't reached Nascent Soul yet? Is he still just a broken golden core?"
Dragon Lord could not be bothered to speak.
Li Zhen muttered to himself, "But that Liu Bai genuinely feeling sorry for him—it's not really strange."
The heavens and earth were desolate, and he was alone. When did the sun and moon ever shine here?
Occasionally, a bird would fly toward the city wall. After passing through that landscape formation, it would swiftly cross the city wall. Since there was no sun or moon, there was no distinction between day and night, nor any cycle of the four seasons.
Transforming the bones, condensing the mind and spirit, having a body outside the body — this was the Yang Spirit, fond of brightness, the perfect dwelling place for the golden core.
A grain of spiritual light, emerging from the darkness and diving into the shadows, unrestrained — this was the Yin Spirit, fond of night travel, the perfect place for the Nascent Soul's waking and sleeping practice.
Chen Ping'an's merging with the Sword Qi Great Wall came at no small cost.
The three had long been fused into one furnace; otherwise, he could not bear the heavy suppression of those great demon true names, nor could he truly merge with the Sword Qi Great Wall. But from then on, the young Hidden Officer would have no more Yin Spirit leaving his body for distant travel. As for the Holy Confucian's true character, that was completely impossible.
Li Zhen laughed, "Liu Bai is stupid, but being stupid is good. Her future inner demon won't be too much of a dead knot, impossible to untie."
Dragon Lord had decisively blocked the heaven and earth, effectively saving half of Liu Bai's life.
Otherwise, that Hidden Officer only needed to say one sentence to take half of Liu Bai's life.
Very simple: a single sentence, "What, you have a crush on me?" could collapse most of Liu Bai's Dao heart.
As for whether Liu Bai actually liked him or not, that was not important at all. That was precisely the most troublesome crux.
After all, not liking someone in this world was just a matter of indifference. But liking came in a thousand forms, with a thousand reasons.
Dragon Lord suddenly isolated a small, hard-to-notice space with sword energy and asked, "What exactly did you see?"
Li Zhen retorted, "What exactly are you talking about?"
Dragon Lord said heavily, "Your natal flying sword is called 'Time.'"
Li Zhen laughed, "So what? Aren't you more aware than anyone that I am the most idle sword cultivator under heaven, or at least one of them? With my meager realm, what could I see, and what could I do?"
Li Zhen shook his head, self-deprecatingly, "I didn't see anything. I didn't do anything."
The reason Li Zhen was unwilling to become Guan Zhao, no matter what, lay in that natal flying sword, which was like a great cage of heaven and earth.
Back then, when many young sword cultivators of the Jiazi Tent surrounded and attacked Chen Ping'an alone, Zhu Qie later noticed Li Zhen's depressed state of mind and advised him that if he continued with that state of mind for the next hundred years, he might not even achieve as much as Liu Bai. Zhu Qie also asked Li Zhen, who was determined to 'stay away from Guan Zhao and find his true self,' whether he would ever be able to disregard Guan Zhao and Li Zhen, and truly deliver a sword as a sword cultivator. Li Zhen's answer at that time was very strange. He asked Zhu Qie in return whether he had ever walked the river of time, and ultimately gave two statements: 'riverbed' and 'destiny.'
Grand Sword Immortal Chen Qingdu, after meeting an 'old friend,' had also once lamented that if he could swim upstream in the river of time for ten thousand years and return to the battlefield, he could challenge any 'predecessor.'
Li Zhen looked across and murmured, "I envy you so much."
And the young Hidden Officer whom Li Zhen envied, with Zhan Kan hanging at his waist, was slowly practicing punches on the city wall.
Just like in the old days, practicing punches alone and walking. Back then, on the city wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall, there were still two thatched huts, one large and one small. The old sword immortal was still there, and Cao Ci, who had defeated him three times in a row, was also there.
For Chen Ping'an, whose chaotic thoughts were constantly racing, the flow of the river of time was far too slow. Punching like this was even slower. Each punch felt like going back and forth from the mountain peak to the foot, scooping up a handful of earth, eventually moving a mountain.
On the opposite half of the Sword Qi Great Wall, every time the demon race killed a major human cultivator, they would carve a large character on the city wall. And the Jiazi Tent seemed to have changed its mind; they no longer needed to kill a Flying Ascension realm cultivator. Even an Immortal realm cultivator or the master of a major sect would suffice to have a character carved. They carved both the pseudonyms of the great demons and the names of those they killed.
Because the commotion caused by the great demons carving characters was too great, especially concerning the flow of heaven and earth fortune. Even separated by a landscape formation, Chen Ping'an, who presided over the half Sword Qi Great Wall, could still vaguely sense the anomaly on the other side. Occasionally punching or slashing to break the formation was not just a boring pastime for Chen Ping'an.
The master uncle of the Bitter Summer Sword Immortal, Zhou Shenzhi, one of the ten of the Middle Earth Divine Continent.
A Flying Ascension realm cultivator from Fuyao Continent. In addition, the old Heavenly Lord of Taiping Mountain in Tongye Continent, the mountain master of Taiping Mountain. The sect master of Fuji Sect, Ji Hai. Three Academy sages, including the teacher of Gentleman Zhong Kui, the mountain master of Dafu Academy…
All had died in battle.
Fortunately, Chen Chun'an of the Southern Potala Continent and Senior Brother Zuo You were still alive.
Xun Yuan of Yugui Sect in Tongye Continent, and Jiang Shangzhen, were also safe.
Through these, Chen Ping'an could roughly gauge the speed of the demon race advance in the Haoran Heaven.
Originally, it was meaningless, only adding to his worries.
But after obtaining that landscape travelogue, when Chen Ping'an refined all the characters and obtained the secret letter from the Great Li National Master, it became crucial.
Then a feeling arose in Chen Ping'an's heart: that Cui Chan must have a diseased mind to come up with such a method to send a letter.
Cui Chan's true brilliance was not even in being sure that Chen Ping'an could piece together this secret letter, but in being certain that the old Heavenly Fox, who called himself the Old Bookworm, Zhou Mi, would learn about this secret letter after him. What was especially terrifying was that, in Cui Chan's view, whether Zhou Mi knew about this matter or not wouldn't change the established situation in Cui Chan's mind. If Zhou Mi was unaware, that was of course best. But even if Zhou Mi truly knew all things and learned of this matter, it would not affect the situation.
However, there were several big and small implications hidden within that made Chen Ping'an regret that his own mind was as diseased as Cui Chan's, that he had accidentally deciphered this secret letter.
It was better not to know.
At the former site of Dafu Academy on Tongye Continent, a Throne great demon dressed like a green-robed Confucian scholar pondered slightly. He immediately ordered someone to bring a landscape travelogue, refined all the characters in it, thought for a moment, and refined the five characters including Cui, Chan, Gan, Ten, and One. He tried all combinations one by one. Finally, in his heart lake, Zhou Mi also obtained that secret letter of only eight characters: "When the time is right, invert the landscape."
Zhou Mi chuckled softly. He addressed Cui Chan by thought, then extended a hand, "I invite National Master Cui for a casual chat."
The other party was using an open scheme after all, betting whether Bottle Gourd Continent could ultimately determine the direction of the world's situation.
If Bottle Gourd Continent held, then the so-called inversion of the landscape would be meaningful. After all, the remaining half of the Sword Qi Great Wall left in the Barren Wilderness was still part of the Haoran Heaven's territory. If it couldn't hold, then at best, Cui Chan would exchange his life for another, at most saving one young man. And even that depended on whether that young man was willing to leave the Sword Qi Great Wall and swap places with Cui Chan. The most interesting part was that Zhou Mi dared to assert that if Chen Ping'an ever really sought help from Cui Chan, who would have lost Bottle Gourd Continent, it would most likely end in great disappointment. Cui Chan would turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. Then it would be truly interesting mind game.
Cui Chan's form slowly materialized before Zhou Mi.
Zhou Mi asked, "So-called 'when the time is right' — is it when Bottle Gourd Continent successfully blocks the demon race army's advance north, and the two worlds reach a stalemate?"
The old Confucian scholar, who was only projecting his Dharma form to Dafu Academy on Tongye Continent, smiled and nodded.
It was none other than the Great Li National Master, Cui Chan.
If Zhou Mi were not at the Academy ruins, Cui Chan would not have appeared.
Zhou Mi asked again, "Is National Master Cui so sure that Chen Ping'an received the secret letter first? That Bottle Gourd Continent can definitely hold? That Chen Ping'an can hold out until that day? In particular, that Chen Ping'an can endure the danger to his life and not swap places with you early, ruining all your previous efforts?"
Cui Chan said, "As the closed-door disciple of the Literary Sage lineage, he still has that much brains and sense of responsibility."
Zhou Mi smiled and asked, "National Master Cui, I only have one last question. How can you be certain that the half Sword Qi Great Wall can hold out until the time you say is right? Aren't you worried that I will free up my hands and target him personally?"
Cui Chan said indifferently, "Between you and me, we are contending for a situation that affects more than just two worlds. If you don't have that kind of spirit, you have no right to talk about reorganizing the Confucian orthodoxy, consolidating the literary vein, and establishing a sect to become a patriarch."
Zhou Mi was silent for a moment, then shook his head with a sigh, "Cui Chan, so you intend to use the life of Chen Ping'an and the half Sword Qi Great Wall as bait to exchange lives with the Ritual Sage… no, with the Sub-Sage?"
Cui Chan smiled slightly, "It might even be the Supreme Sage personally intervening."
Zhou Mi laughed, "I could only wish for that."
Cui Chan said, "Hurry and have that Tuoyue Mountain Great Ancestor break through the hole in the sky. I want to see what trouble those ancient deities blocked by the Ritual Sage can stir up on my Bottle Gourd Continent."
Zhou Mi nodded, "As you wish."
Then the two of them almost simultaneously looked toward Fuyao Continent. Zhou Mi laughed, "Why provoke him?"
The old blind man in the Hundred Thousand Mountains of the Barren Wilderness had long stated he would stand by.
The stinking Daoist of the Guan Dao Temple in the East Sea had mostly chosen to stay out of it. Even before the temple ascended, he had lent a small hand.
The old monk's whereabouts were still uncertain. The most likely scenario was that he had already reached Bottle Gourd Continent, but that was still within the Tuoyue Mountain's expectations.
Only that scholar from the Middle Earth Divine Continent, hailed as the most accomplished man in the world, had, according to the original calculations, gone to the Fifth World and would stay there, returning that sword to the Xuan Du Temple in the Azure Heavens.
No one expected that he still drew his sword.
A Fourteen Realm cultivator, the scholar Bai Ye, holding the Immortal Sword, appeared in the southwestern Fuyao Continent, which was now considered part of the Barren Wilderness' territory. He delivered a total of three swords: one sword knocked his opponent back out of Fuyao Continent, one sword crossed the sea, and one sword landed near the former site of Inverted Mountain, slaying a Throne great demon.