Chapter 722: The Drinker Leaves His Name, the Old Master Turns a Page

Chapter 722: The Drinker Leaves His Name, the Old Master Turns a Page

On the battlefield ruins of Jinjia Continent, a short, thin old man with white hair, purple robes, and a wine gourd at his waist stood barefoot on the tip of an iron spear thrust diagonally into the ground. Yu Xuan looked around. In every direction lay the corpses of elite soldiers from the continent's foothills and Qi refiners from the mountains. There were also numerous mountains of piled-up corpses, which ought to have been the various large and small "skull mounds" built by the demon beasts for that Bone Throne great demon Bai Ying, so that she could use those puppet bone ghosts to push northward in one fell swoop and capture the remaining territory of Jinjia Continent, which had no strength left for a decisive battle.

Bai Ying was truly the most deserving of death among the fourteen Throne great demons. Otherwise, the trouble would be endless. She had already wreaked such havoc in Jinjia Continent—if this beast were to reach the Central Earth Divine Continent, how terrible would that be?

Unfortunately, he had arrived a step too late, unable to stop the insane Wanyan Lao Jing, nor to take the opportunity to meet this Bai Ying. In fact, Yu Xuan had originally crossed continents to come here with the intention of setting aside past grievances with Wanyan Lao Jing and help Jinjia Continent hold out a little longer.

Yu Xuan considered his dozens or even hundreds of petty talisman techniques to be relatively naturally suited to suppressing Bai Ying's bone army. After all, Yu Xuan didn't have much of anything, but he did have a fair number of talismans—quantity was the key to victory. Besides, Bai Ying didn't seem particularly skilled at one-on-one combat. Yu Xuan figured that as long as he could protect his life, he could come here to join the fun. As long as he didn't act like Zhou Shenzhi, it shouldn't be a problem.

But now Yu Xuan stood on the spear tip. The dark wind howled, his wide sleeves billowed, and the old man tugged at his beard, his heart even more troubled.

Bai Ying had disappeared without a trace. She must have gone to Fuyao Continent to besiege Bai Ye, seeking to gain an advantage by being near the scene first?

But he wondered how this Throne great demon, who seemed not very good at one-on-one combat, was feeling. Was she as troubled as Yu Xuan? After all, killing Bai Ye would require paying some price.

Yu Xuan watched a young girl slowly approaching, stopping a little way off. The old man chuckled, "You're called Pei Qian, right? Quite the reputation. You and that Cao Ci are both fine examples. You young people scare us old fogies to death. Very good, very good."

Pei Qian had been looking around left and right. She stopped, clasped her fists, and then asked, "Old Immortal Yu, may I clean up the battlefield? If possible, at most the time it takes to burn one stick of incense. Half a stick would be fine too."

A flick of the finger could kill a Jade Gem realm demon cultivator. With such an outfit, Pei Qian immediately recognized him: Yu Xuan of the Central Earth Divine Continent, the Talisman Master.

During an early distant journey home with her master, her master had mentioned Yu Xuan with great admiration. For an old immortal whom even her master admired, and who was willing to come alone to the Jinjia Continent battlefield, Pei Qian felt that even though she had missed Zhou, the old Sword Immortal, meeting Old Immortal Yu was not a wasted fight. Pei Qian had once asked her master whether the yellow paper talisman on her forehead was more valuable than the talismans Yu the old fellow had put his heart into drawing. Her master had hummed in agreement, squinting with a smile, and ladled her an extra bowl of fish soup. In truth, that charcoal-faced girl was already full, her belly round as a drum. When she took the bowl with a wry face, she didn't know whether she had said the right thing or the wrong thing.

Pei Qian suddenly recalled these childhood memories and felt a bit sorry for Old Immortal Yu. Not because of the comparison of talisman values, but because back then, ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, she had casually called him "Yu the old fellow." So now that Pei Qian was fortunate enough to meet him in person, she was especially respectful and polite. Besides, this old senior's state of mind and bearing were as bright and upright as a galaxy hanging in the sky, stars twinkling brilliantly. Pei Qian had only glanced twice before, not daring to look more. After roughly determining the inclination of such a person's heart, Pei Qian dared not look further, nor should she.

Yu Xuan nodded. "Afraid Bai Ying is hiding among them? No such thing. She's long gone. No beast dares to come and die now. Rest assured. Not just one stick of incense—even an hour is fine. But why are you, little girl, staying here? As a pure martial artist, you may be high in realm, but you can't properly handle these corpses. Let me do it."

Pei Qian was a bit embarrassed but still spoke frankly, "Old Immortal Yu, this junior wants to strip some items from those demon cultivators' bodies to exchange for immortal money."

Yu Xuan was stunned for a long moment. Such a young pure martial artist, a favored child of heaven who felt only a hair's breadth behind Cao Ci—was she shamelessly asking him if she could pick up money?

A hair's breadth behind Cao Ci? Was that really so bad? It was already quite frightening for an old senior. And she was even younger than Cao Ci. Yu Xuan almost shamelessly asked, "Little girl, do you have a master? If not, what a coincidence—I know a bit of fist technique. Why not become my disciple?" As for whether he actually knew fist techniques, he could figure that out after tricking her into being his disciple. But Yu Xuan was well aware that such a young genius must have a very high-level master.

Yu Xuan laughed heartily, "Just go ahead and pick up the money. I'll keep an eye out for you for a moment."

After a moment, he would make a decision.

Anyway, Bai Ye wasn't so easy to kill.

Pei Qian received the old immortal's decree, clasped her fists heavily, smiled radiantly, and took out an ancient seal from her sleeve. Then she gently stamped her foot, causing several of the most radiant mountain treasures she had spotted early on, which were on the bodies of some demon earthly immortal cultivators, to vibrate into the air simultaneously. With a wave of her hand, she stored them into her storage artifact. Pei Qian dashed off. Wherever her footsteps fell, within a radius of several miles, only the items on the demon bodies would rise from the ground, precisely guided by her fist intent, like guests arriving at a door, all entering the mansion of her storage device.

She had long ago borrowed a seal-type storage object from Zixi, and later borrowed a square-inch storage artifact from Zhu Mei. The spoils from previous battles had been minimal. After all, battlefields were always brutal, and staying alive was the priority. Pei Qian had never dared to get distracted. Today was the only exception. But even now, with the battlefield covered in heavenly materials and earth treasures, Pei Qian still planned to leave after one stick of incense. She couldn't waste any more of Old Immortal Yu's time.

Yu Xuan seemed to be standing on the spear tip, gazing south toward Fuyao Continent, but he was actually watching the female martial artist picking up scraps behind him.

He wanted to see if she kept her promise, only taking the important mountain treasures from the demon corpses. If she accidentally picked up the wrong thing, don't blame the old man for also having an "accident."

Very good.

The little girl had good taste in picking items, and she was very disciplined and cautious.

Since that was the case, no matter how many opportunities fell her way, they were hers to take—as long as she could see them, handle them, and carry them away. Yu Xuan naturally looked down on these items of too-low quality. At most, he would tidy up the battlefield corpses to prevent future trouble. Why would he bother earning money? Besides, Yu Xuan had never worried about immortal money or lifebond objects in his entire life of cultivation. They always came uninvited by his own skill.

Pity, pity. Such a pretty girl. What good was being a pure martial artist? Why not enter my mountain gate, learn my Dao techniques and talismans, kill people without even moving a fist? You should know that in the Central Earth Divine Continent, there's always been a saying: "Killing with immortal grace, talisman Yu Xuan." Little girl, have you heard it? Tempted? You could be tempted.

But the little girl's eyes were only shining for money. She didn't realize that a true immortal money was standing right in front of her, untouched.

Exactly one stick of incense.

Pei Qian returned to the spot where she had first stopped and clasped her fists. She clasped her fists again, thanked Old Immortal Yu, and took her leave.

Yu Xuan nodded. The little girl was much more pleasing to the eye than that brat Cao Ci.

The old man had made up his mind. He would go take a look, just a few glances at Fuyao Continent, throw a few talismans, and if he couldn't win, he'd run.

Pei Qian, covered in blood, took a deep breath. Before flying away from the battlefield, she looked at the corpses that could never be buried—even burying them would be meaningless. She bit her lip and silently recited, "May you all go well."

Pei Qian bent her knees slightly, then launched herself into the air. The earth trembled, creating layers of ripples that shattered the true-form corpses of many demon earthly immortal cultivators.

Yu Xuan heard Pei Qian's inner thoughts and smiled faintly. He lightly tapped the spear tip, and the old man landed barefoot. The spear, however, flipped over, as if an immortal riding the wind, chasing after Pei Qian. Neither fast nor slow, it ran alongside her like two riders traveling together. Pei Qian hesitated for a moment, then grasped the spear inscribed with golden talismans—it was the lifebound attack weapon of a Jade Gem realm demon cultivator killed by Old Immortal Yu. She turned and shouted, "Old Immortal Yu, you live up to your reputation! No wonder my master once said, 'Talisman Yu, peerless; killing immortals, grace mysterious.' When it comes to the Way of Talismans, in your hands it's like gathering rivers into the sea—a myriad of scenes. You truly make the Central Earth Divine Continent stand as a single peak of Dao techniques in the world."

Pei Qian felt a little uneasy. Her master had never said that. She didn't know if her flattery was over the top. If only her master were here—his sense of timing and moderation would surely be better.

Pei Qian dared not look too much at the human world. The sorrowful things in the world were not limited to her master not being by her side in the martial world.

It didn't matter. She had temporarily taken on an unregistered disciple, a little mute who didn't like to talk and couldn't say much.

A thousand miles away from the battlefield, Pei Qian found the child on the summit of a great mountain. He was still in the habit of squatting on the ground. Cao Ci and Zixi stood side by side, both in white robes, like a pair of immortal lovers stepping out of a painting.

Pei Qian landed gracefully and called out, "Aman." The little mute, who was unwilling to say anything, just lifted his head to look at her, then lowered it again.

Pei Qian glanced at Cao Ci with some helplessness. It wasn't until she had witnessed Cao Ci's confrontation with a Flying Ascension realm great demon earlier that she realized the truth. Cao Ci had been at a disadvantage, but not in a desperate situation. Pei Qian now understood that even in his previous battles, Cao Ci had never used his full fist strength. Killing demons, saving people, throwing punches—the force, the trajectory, the withdrawal, the next punch—every punch was just right. Cao Ci seemed to know the outcome in advance, so there was no need to compete for the first strike.

After Pei Qian flew away on the wind, Yu Xuan changed from tugging his beard to stroking it. So the little girl was so polite because she had a good master who taught her well. He wondered how old that master was, to have such steady insight.

Yu Xuan's smile faded. He vanished in a flash, heading south across continents, muttering, "Dead is dead."

The old man was alone, accompanied only by his talismans.

The one who came to save Bai Ye in the Hao Ran world: Talisman Yu Xuan.

---

Fuyao Continent.

Bai Ye, wielding his sword alone, in a blue robe, ascended into the sky like a soaring immortal.

Below him, the mountains and rivers of the continent had become a massive formation world. From the sky to the ground, everything was enveloped by the celestial time and fortune of the Barren Wasteland World. The coast of the continent served as the boundary, forming a huge cage to imprison, suppress, and besiege Bai Ye alone.

Bai Ye didn't care. He just needed to keep the battlefield away from the human world. When gods fight, mortals suffer. Bai Ye had seen too much of that. How could his final battle of swordsmanship, the concluding piece of his poetry, be like that?

As for everything else, do as you please. Be happy.

Bai Ye hovered in the air, sword in hand, looking around without a trace of confusion in his heart.

His only regret was that he hated being indebted to anyone. But this sword that had accompanied him for so many years would most likely be unable to be returned to that Daoist Sun from the Great Profound Capital Observatory.

This immortal sword was named "Taibai."

The first time he met Daoist Sun and the immortal sword "Taibai," it was also the first time Daoist Sun had traveled far in the Hao Ran world to clear his mind. Daoist Sun had initially wanted to give him the sword, but Bai Ye refused. So Sun changed the gift to a loan, reasoning that the name of this immortal sword clashed slightly with the color of the peach blossoms in his own observatory—it wasn't very auspicious. The immortal sword Taibai was a perfect match for you, Bai Ye. Let's say the poor Daoist is marrying off a daughter, marrying her far away to the Hao Ran world. By the way, I'm also recognizing a son-in-law. No loss, no loss. From this you can see that my actions are only about big profits or small profits...

Only three people could make Bai Ye feel indebted, yet not too troubled: the founder of the Daoist Sword Immortal lineage, Observatory Master Sun Huaizhong; his fellow traveler in seeking immortals, Jun Qian; and Master Wen Sheng, Confucius.

The Great Ancestor of Supporting Moon Mountain. Wen Hai, Zhou Mi. Swordsman Liu Cha. Bai Ying, Yang Zhi, Fei Fei. Yuan Shou, Yao Jia, Huang Luan, the Lotus Hut Master. Niu Dao, Qie Yun, the Dragon Lord, Wu Yue.

The Barren Wasteland World once had fourteen Thrones. Now, those matters are done.

During the final stage of the Sword Qi Great Wall battle, the Lotus Hut Master, who had refined half a moon, was killed by Dong San'geng while ascending to the sky. Not only that, but the great demon and the moon were both cut down together.

The great demon Huang Luan, who had refined countless immortal caves, pavilions, and towers, was said to have been mostly killed by A Liang in cooperation with Sword Immortal Yao Chongdao, causing him to continuously drop in realm. He had to change his shell and fell to the Nascent Soul realm, a fate worse than death.

As for the first Throne great demon to fall in the Hao Ran world, right here on Fuyao Continent, he went by the name Yao Jia. According to Old Scholar, he liked to show off his wealth whenever he had money, and he couldn't stand such types.

This demon had slaughtered countless mountain and river deities on Fuyao Continent to compensate for his losses in Dao on the Sword Qi Great Wall. Bai Ye delivered three swords in succession, ultimately killing him at the ruins of Inverted Hanging Mountain. The first sword was to send away spectators from Fuyao Continent to avoid harming the innocent. The second sword, he and Yao Jia traveled across the sea together, as a return gift to the Barren Wasteland World. The third sword, Bai Ye put the most effort into, as a sacrifice to the sword cultivators who died heroically on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

In truth, Bai Ye should have delivered one or two more swords to truly kill Yao Jia.

But someone had intervened at that time, suppressing the Great Ancestor of Supporting Moon Mountain's great divine ability to alter heaven and earth.

Otherwise, Bai Ye wouldn't have minded traveling with his sword and paying a visit to the remaining half of the Sword Qi Great Wall, which still belonged to the Hao Ran world.

At this moment, Bai Ye hovered in the center of the clouds above the continent.

Beneath his feet, the sea of clouds was the lifebound technique of the bone demon Bai Ying, composed entirely of the raging resentment of wronged souls and fierce ghosts. Countless bone skulls and arms surged toward Bai Ye, only to be dispersed by his Hao Ran Qi without even needing to draw his sword.

Bai Ying no longer sat high on her bone throne. She stood up, and beside her stood a powerful sword attendant with the face of the Dragon Lord formation master from years past.

On a floating ancient divine corpse, the great demon Wu Yue stood on the corpse's head, reaching out to grasp a spear that pierced through the skull. Thunder boomed, and multicolored lightning coiled around the spear and Wu Yue's entire arm. The thunder resounded across the continent's sky, making Wu Yue look like a supreme Thunder God returned to the mortal world.

A giant with three heads and six arms sat on a cushion made of golden books spread out. The sword scar on his chest, which had come from the Sword Qi Great Wall, had only been half-erased. He purposely left the other half.

He would wait until he personally destroyed that Flying Ascension City of the Fifth World before completely erasing the sword scar.

The great demon Yang Zhi, wearing an imperial crown and a black dragon robe, had a human head and a serpentine body. Around his massive form floated numerous feathered maidens holding pipa, which his old friend Yuan Shou, who had crossed continents at the same moment, grabbed and chewed like spiced soybeans to heal his wounds. Yuan Shou had swung two staff strikes at the Old Dragon City battlefield and taken quite a few flying swords from Northern Ju Luzhou's sword cultivators. While not enough to damage his Dao foundation, he was still significantly injured. And a great demon's true body was so resilient that once injured, facing an ordinary Flying Ascension enemy who wasn't a sword cultivator, he had no fear. But now, facing Bai Ye, Yuan Shou was never polite with Yang Zhi, and Yang Zhi didn't mind the loss. Both needed to return to peak combat strength.

Yuan Shou still hovered on his sword, a staff over his shoulder, and a string of beads refined from numerous mountains on his wrist. The beads had increased in number, all from the great mountains of Tongye Continent.

Whether there was a chance of victory wasn't even worth discussing. It was a sure win. On their side, whether it was Liu Cha or A Liang, who had returned from the outer heavens to the Sword Qi Great Wall, anyone who exchanged places with Bai Ye would end up the same. The only thing that Yang Zhi, Yuan Shou, and all the great demons cared about was whether one of them—the six—would die, and which one. That was crucial. Bai Ye's final sword would inevitably drag one down with him. Even if he couldn't kill anyone, if they ended up like Huang Luan, that was as good as dead.

A burly great demon in golden armor, human in appearance but a hundred zhang tall, wore an ancient golden suit that was both a cage and a barely adequate protection. The golden armor was on the verge of shattering, with streams of golden light thick as water flowing like mountain streams out of rocky crevices. He went by the name "Niu Dao," a name as crude as could be. Unlike the other Throne great demons, who stared at the Hao Ran world each seeking what they needed, Niu Dao's true enemy was in the Qing Ming World—not even in the White Jade Capital, but a "young old fellow" who liked to stay in the Lotus Cave Heaven observing the Dao!

The only great demon who never liked to appear in true form was Qie Yun, with his exceptionally handsome face and a sword-nurturing gourd at his waist.

Thus, he appeared especially small, roughly the same size as the scholar Bai Ye.

Bai Ying, Wu Yue, Yang Zhi, Yuan Shou, Niu Dao, Qie Yun.

They came from different battlefields and different positions, but in an instant, they all converged on Fuyao Continent.

The six great demons besieging Bai Ye were all unmistakable Throne great demons.

The Lotus Hut Master, Huang Luan, Yao Jia—these three great demons were already old history. Now there was a newly elevated Throne, Xiao Xun, who held a fairly high position, and two more newly ascended Flying Ascension realm demons who weren't entirely convincing. The two newest Throne great demons hadn't even been taken seriously in their previous Throne positions—they were just fillers. For this unprecedented encirclement, Zhou Mi hadn't even let them show their faces.

Bai Ye smiled faintly. "The new fourteen Thrones, less than half came to Fuyao Continent. Do you look down on me, Bai Ye?"

Qie Yun twisted a strand of hair at his temple and said with a smile, "That's something only the Ultimate Sage could say."

Bai Ye shook his head. "Some words, even the Ultimate Sage may not be able to say."

The implication was naturally that there were words in heaven and earth that only he, Bai Ye, could speak.

The six great demons all fell silent. Perhaps they had nothing to say.

Bai Ye reached out and gently grasped his sword hilt. "What are you all standing around for? Just come and kill Bai Ye. Afraid to kill? Then I'll start killing demons."

The sword left its sheath.

Immortal sword Taibai, sword light Taibai.

Suddenly, the world was filled only with light.

The first mountain-and-river barrier of the Barren Wasteland World on the sky of Fuyao Continent shattered completely. A torrential rain fell, colorful as glazed glass—all of it was sword qi transformed by Bai Ye, a sword array crashing down upon the sea of clouds and the six great demons.

---

At the northern ferry of Tongye Continent, a total of four people—the master and students of the Barren Wasteland World's Wen Hai lineage—were taking a walk together.

Zhou Mi was in a good mood, rarely sharing some old stories with his three direct disciples.

"After the disappointed man Jia Sheng left the Central Earth Divine Continent, to become Wen Hai Zhou Mi of the Barren Wasteland World, he naturally had to pass through the Sword Qi Great Wall."

"At that time, the scholar who styled himself as wanting to open a hundred generations of peace for humanity still hadn't given up on his homeland. He went to find Chen Qingdu, the old Sword Immortal who had nothing to do all day."

At this point, Zhou Mi smiled knowingly. "It could be considered a false imperial edict. At the time, he claimed to have gained the tacit understanding of a Vice Leader of the Central Earth Confucian Temple and the Sacrificial Wine of the Academy. As long as the tens of thousands of sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall were willing to assist, and follow the Qi refiners of the Hao Ran world to attack Supporting Moon Mountain in the Barren Wasteland World, expanding the Hao Ran world's territory and creating a feat unprecedented in ten thousand years, then the ten-thousand-year convict status of the sword cultivators would truly become old history. The Confucian Temple was willing to offer a large blessed land for the sword cultivators to govern. From then on, both sides would leave each other alone."

A young blind man full of bookish air said, "In terms of reason, sentiment, and the general trend, the Confucian Temple should have made such a sacrifice. No, they would have made such a sacrifice."

In the past, he was the clogs of the Jiayin Tent. Now, he was Zhou Mi's closed-door disciple, Zhou Qinggao.

The master said that as the times change, many good words turn bad. Just like the name "Qinggao"—originally so good. But in today's world? As the closed-door disciple of Wen Hai Zhou Mi, you must first strive to turn these two characters back into good words in people's hearts.

Zhou Mi smiled faintly. "Of course I needed to guarantee to Chen Qingdu that half of the sword cultivators would survive the war—at the very least! Otherwise, scholars like Jia Sheng are the most prone to regret and then renege."

Zhou Qinggao asked curiously, "What did that old Sword Immortal say?"

"Chen Qingdu liked to walk on the city wall with his hands behind his back. I accompanied him for a few miles. Chen Qingdu laughed and said, 'Such matters have little to do with me. If you can convince the Central Earth Confucian Temple and a few Sword Immortals besides me, I have no problem here.'"

"I was the previous penal officer in the history of the Sword Qi Great Wall. I served for over a hundred years. Of course, I used a pseudonym. Chen Qingdu helped me cover up my true identity. Can you guess that?"

Zhou Mi chuckled. For some reason, although Chen Qingdu was surprisingly easy to talk to, he seemed from the very beginning to feel that Zhou Mi wouldn't succeed.

The Sword Immortal Shou Chen laughed. "No matter how we guess, we'd never guess."

Liu Bai suddenly asked, "Master, why is Bai Ye willing to fight alone on Fuyao Continent?"

The master only laughed heartily and didn't explain to his direct disciple.

Zhou Qinggao had to help the master patiently explain to his senior sister: "Senior Sister thinks Bai Ye will die in vain?"

Zhou Qinggao shook his head slowly. "Yes and no. Right and wrong. When Zhou Shenzhi was in the Central Earth Divine Continent, he was the old immortal in the hearts of almost all mountain Qi refiners, especially local sword cultivators. One of the Ten of the Central Earth Divine Continent, even if ranked low—only ninth—he was still sincerely regarded as invincible in swordsmanship."

"But after he was brutally killed by one of our Throne great demons, many people in the Central Earth Divine Continent began to speak up for Huai Yin, the 'old abacus' at the bottom of the Ten. Many even thought Zhou Shenzhi was a useless old waste who didn't live up to his name. What kind of Sword Immortal? Maybe if he had gone to that barbaric Sword Qi Great Wall, he might not have even been able to carve his name. With Zhou Shenzhi dead and Wanyan Lao Jing's defection, if you were already at the Flying Ascension realm, would you step into that muddy water?"

"Didn't Bai Ye have higher swordsmanship than Zhou Shenzhi? Did he use three swords to kill that Throne and avenge Zhou Shenzhi? Then what would happen if Bai Ye died? But the problem is, if Bai Ye doesn't go to Fuyao Continent, who can go? Who dares to go? Whether it's Fuyao Continent or Tongye Continent, are they the decisive battlegrounds for the ownership of the world?"

Liu Bai wasn't actually dull. Otherwise, back in the Jiayin Tent, she wouldn't have become the right-hand man of the clogs in planning. She nodded. "In the end, it comes down to the war situation in the Central Earth Divine Continent. As long as the Hao Ran world can hold its ground, it will be in an invincible position. We'll be in trouble, a lot of trouble. Many of the accumulated first-mover advantages will gradually turn into various hidden dangers, surfacing one by one."

Shou Chen suddenly said, "Bai Ye should have known when to stop. He should have returned to the Central Earth Divine Continent. Opening a new world is already a great merit. Killing a Throne with his sword is enough to have a clear conscience. It's time for someone else to take the stage."

Zhou Qinggao shook his head. "If even Bai Ye thought like that, if such people existed, then the Hao Ran world would indeed be easy to fight."

Liu Bai was very impressed with this closed-door disciple, who had just been named by the master and was now her junior brother.

Back in the Jiayin Tent, Liu Bai had already deeply admired the strategic planning of their tent leader, the clogs.

Now as a fellow disciple, Liu Bai felt even more inadequate.

In front of the master, Zhou Qinggao was never the least bit timid, as if he was never afraid of saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong thing.

When talking with senior brother Shou Chen, he never lost ground, yet he never deliberately tried to defeat his senior brother in words.

Zhou Mi laughed. "You few are still thinking too shallowly."

"Don't think that just because the Sword Qi Great Wall held us back for so many years, your own world isn't strong. Well, it's fine for you to think that way. As for my hometown, it would be even better if everyone in the foothills and mid-levels of this Hao Ran world thought the same way. A few, like Embroidery Tiger and Bai Ye, dare to be sober while the world is drunk. More people, on the contrary, are most afraid of this. Let the heated arguments of those fools in the foothills annoy, annoy, and annoy endlessly—well, the tempers of the mountain immortals have never been small."

The Sword Qi Great Wall was too hard to conquer, which was both a bad thing and a good thing.

After conquering the Sword Qi Great Wall, attacking Tongye Continent and Fuyao Continent was as easy as turning one's hand. The battlefield morale wouldn't drop; instead, it would rise. Then Southern Bodhisattva Continent would eventually be breached, Jinjia Continent would be smashed, and this Vase Bottle Continent before them.

"If it weren't for Zhou Shenzhi seeking death—and he had to die, or it would have slightly hindered the situation on Fuyao Continent—plus him being a stubborn fool who wouldn't retreat even in death, I was actually prepared to give him a chance to gain great fame. Then there wouldn't have been Bai Ye killing a Throne with three swords later. Bai Ye wouldn't even have had the chance to draw his sword, because Zhou Shenzhi would have already severely wounded the Throne great demon with one sword much earlier. From this, you can see that the Sword Immortals and sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall are all ants, like paper figurines. Look at our ninth-ranked Zhou Shenzhi of the Central Earth Divine Continent—there are only fourteen Thrones in total, and our Old Sword Immortal Zhou settled one with a single sword in the Water and Mountain Cave. So this war is actually quite easy to fight. Those demon beasts, even if they exhaust half the strength of their world, so what? They're not worth mentioning."

"So it was just a fluke to capture two continents."

"Even more so, it's just that the Central Earth Confucian Temple was too cautious, the Confucian sages made a mountain out of a molehill, and they were too unworthy of being sages and too lacking in responsibility. It's laughable and disappointing, truly infuriating."

Liu Bai was dumbfounded.

Zhou Mi gently shook his head, looking toward the Central Earth Divine Continent, and smiled. "The Hao Ran world still hasn't changed. It always makes one want to laugh until one's tears dry up."

"The strong don't ask about right or wrong, don't distinguish between right and wrong, and must have no attachments. As long as the strong are strong enough and sit firmly in the highest position, their words, their actions, even their silence—everything is truth. The whole world will help them reason."

Zhou Mi smiled faintly. "Bai Ye will die in vain. By then, the Hao Ran world will only witness a truth: the most proud Bai Ye was killed by Liu Cha of the Barren Wasteland World with a single sword. That's all. Wasn't everyone fearless before? Now we'll make you all scared out of your wits."

From the mountains to the foothills, when it came to being accustomed to the brutality of slaughter, to dying as soon as it was said, to having to die—how could the Hao Ran world, which had enjoyed peace for ten thousand years, compare to the Barren Wasteland World?

As for mobilizing the full strength of an entire world? Your Hao Ran world, scattered like grains of sand, each playing in your own mud.

Zhou Mi laughed loudly, then adjusted his robes and shook his sleeves. He actually took the initiative to open the continental celestial fortune barrier, bowed to heaven and earth, and said in a clear voice, "Ultimate Sage, my hometown made the scholar Jia Sheng despair for too many years. Now you must also allow me, Wen Hai Zhou Mi, to disgust you all."

Above the clouds of Vase Bottle Continent.

Xu Ruo asked, "This Jia Sheng?"

Cui Chan said, "Putting on an act, hiding his trump card."

Zhou Mi turned his head toward Vase Bottle Continent. "Only Embroidery Tiger knows my heart in heaven and earth."

Zhou Qinggao asked only a crucial question: "The Confucian Temple?"

Zhou Mi smiled. "Why is it so important? This hometown of mine isn't a place that listens to reason."

He, Zhou Mi, was relatively reasonable, so he had already spoken for the Confucian Temple. He had long ago revealed why the Central Earth Confucian Temple had drawn such boundaries for itself and tied its own hands.

Back then, the Twelve Policies for Peace by Jia Sheng! Which of those strategies wasn't intended to prevent today's situation for the Confucian Temple?! Which one wasn't the root cause of the current mess? A Hao Ran world where even gentlemen and worthies couldn't serve as court national masters or behind-the-scenes rulers, where even emperors and kings couldn't all be disciples of Confucianism—this world deserved today's suffering. It was trouble the Confucian Temple had brought upon itself. When it came time for people to die on the battlefield, what reasoning could sages, gentlemen, and worthies offer? Could they carry a few books of sage wisdom and speak those sage principles to the dying?

Back then, the Hao Ran world refused to listen. They shelved the Twelve Policies for Peace that he had painstakingly written.

Now, listen more, think more, and ponder carefully.

It's a pity there's only one Cui Chan. It's a pity that Embroidery Tiger will not only die himself but also be vilified for eternity in the history books—even if, even if the Hao Ran world wins this war, it will still be so. It's destined.

Your Confucian Temple gave the world too many paths to walk, gave the human world too much freedom, yet it only made people feel that no one was free, far from enough.

Very good!

If you want pure, unrestrained freedom, Supporting Moon Mountain gives it to you.

If you want the strong to be the only truth, the Barren Wasteland World has always spoken this truth. It's not just words from my, Zhou Mi's, mouth.

Zhou Mi quickened his pace slightly, and the three students tactfully let the master walk alone by the seaside.

Shou Chen stopped, looking toward the battlefield at the southernmost point of Vase Bottle Continent. Fei Fei had already sent those plague gods and two passersby to Old Dragon City, and it seemed the effect was good.

Zhou Qinggao and Liu Bai turned and walked slowly. Zhou Qinggao was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Senior Sister, do you know that you like that Hidden Officer?"

Liu Bai was dumbfounded, then scolded with a laugh, "What?! Clogs, have you lost your mind?!"

Zhou Qinggao stopped walking and laughed. "Who's lost their mind? No one has lost their mind."

Liu Bai's face turned pale, and she gritted her teeth. "Impossible! Junior Brother, don't talk nonsense."

Zhou Qinggao continued walking. "Instead of worrying that your future heart demon will be that Hidden Officer, it's better to open your heart and admit that you like him. First, Chen Ping'an will definitely die on the Sword Qi Great Wall. Even if, by a million-to-one chance, he doesn't die, you, Senior Sister, know in your heart that you will never be able to take personal revenge on him in this lifetime. Then the heart demon will lie in wait on your path of cultivation, waiting for you, Liu Bai. The more you deceive yourself, the more the heart demon will find an opportunity. Second, not only should you like him, but you should also make it your true, deepest love. Then you, Liu Bai, need only hold one thought: that one day you will personally ask for a sword duel at Flying Ascension City, to let the culprit who caused Chen Ping'an's death—to let Ning Yao know one thing: Chen Ping'an likes Ning Yao, but his true heart likes you, Liu Bai, more."

Liu Bai was drenched in sweat. She never moved a step to follow the junior brother.

Shou Chen said to Zhou Mi through telepathy with a smile, "Master has taken in a good disciple."

Zhou Mi smiled faintly. "It's normal for a junior brother to surpass his senior brother, just don't let it happen too early."

"Zhou Qinggao is somewhat different from you senior brothers and sisters. He genuinely admires the Sword Qi Great Wall, his heart yearns for that young Hidden Officer. Therefore, his denial of the Hao Ran world is heavier than all of yours. At the same time, he has a greater chance of becoming the Chen Ping'an of the Barren Wasteland World. He must first become like him before he can surpass him. As for that Fei Ran, he already had his own path early on. His alias Chen Yin was more out of boredom after landing on Tongye Continent, and besides, Fei Ran doesn't need to become someone else."

"Today, Master is in a very good mood, so I'll say a few words to you in advance. There are some young people I have high hopes for. Besides you and Zhou Qinggao, there's Fei Ran, Yu Si, ? Tan, Dou Kou, and so on. About a dozen or so, less than twenty young people. I look forward to your achievements on the path. Trust your master—they won't be low."

"I'm going to find Zhe Yue and take her to see that parasol tree and that demon-suppressing tower. Shou Chen, you and your junior brother keep an eye on the Old Dragon City battlefield."

Shou Chen accepted the order.

Master Zhou Mi—thorough and meticulous in dealing with the world.

Junior brother Qinggao—clear water and high mountains in dealing with the world.

---

The Old Scholar staggered and sat down at the sky curtain of Southern Bodhisattva Continent, not far from an associate sage from the Lineage of Li Sheng.

One temporarily didn't want to speak, while the other waited for him to speak—after all, the Old Scholar beside him would definitely speak. No one could stop him.

"You sages have been lonely since ancient times. Hard work, hard work."

Sure enough, the Old Scholar coughed a few times forcefully. Being in uniting with the Dao across three continents, he couldn't spit out much real blood, so he used it to moisten his throat. He first said how hard others worked, then began to pour out his own grievances to the sage. "I'm not easy either. Forget the merit book of the Confucian Temple—it doesn't lack this one or two entries. But you have to write an extra merit for me first. When we argue in the Confucian Temple later, you have to stand on my side and say a few fair words."

The Confucian Temple associate sage nodded. "I'll speak objectively and judge the matter on its merits. What I should say, I won't leave out a single word for Wen Sheng. What I shouldn't say, even if Wen Sheng rolls around on the ground here, it won't do any good."

The Old Scholar sat cross-legged, beating his chest in grievance. "You're far less magnanimous in your actions than your master. No wonder you didn't get a prefix before the word 'sage.' Look at me, learn from me..."

The sage cut him off bluntly. "I've watched plenty. I can't learn it."

The Lineage of Li Sheng in the Confucian Temple and the Lineage of Wen Sheng, which had few followers, had actually always been closest. Otherwise, the Grand Sacrificial Wine of the Book of Rites Academy wouldn't have so much hoped that Mao Xiaodong, who wasn't a direct disciple of Wen Sheng's lineage but was a registered disciple, would stay at their academy to devote himself to scholarship.

And back then, the supervisor officer on the Sword Qi Great Wall, the gentleman Wang Zai from the Book of Rites Academy, wouldn't have voluntarily spoken a few harsh words with hidden good intentions for Chen Ping'an, who wasn't yet the Hidden Officer, and even took the initiative to ask Chen Ping'an for a seal with the inscription "The sun shines by day, the moon shines by night," and even insisted that Chen Ping'an sign it, as if he were family.

The Old Scholar sighed. What a boring fellow. If he weren't too lazy to go far, he would have long gone to chat with someone more interesting and witty.

The Central Earth Confucian Temple had a total of seventy-two associate sages. Among them, those responsible for guarding the sky curtains of the nine continents, year after year "sitting on wax," had to patrol day and night the brightest human lights among the mountains and rivers of each continent, suppress all actions of Flying Ascension realm grand cultivators, forbid them from leaving their continent without permission, and monitor the movements and wanton use of divine powers by immortals, to avoid harming the mortal world. For example, back then, Tongye Continent and Fuyao Continent each had three. Vase Bottle Continent, being the smallest, had only two. As for this Southern Bodhisattva Continent, because it was closest to Inverted Hanging Mountain and the Sword Qi Great Wall, it had as many as four.

Among them, one on Fuyao Continent had a temperament that matched the Old Scholar's and was relatively talkative. He once privately joked with the Old Scholar, saying that when he saw the distant human world's lamps of prayer and blessing rising one by one, getting closer and closer to him, he felt that the beauty of the human world reached its peak at that moment.

It was because of this sage's words that the Old Scholar came up with the witty evaluation of "sitting on wax." Turning bad words into genuinely good words was the Old Scholar's unique specialty.

As for turning good words into something passive-aggressive and all wrong... Screw that! I, the Old Scholar, am a scholar with a reputation! Would I say a single bad word about anyone?!

The Old Scholar asked, "Any wine? There's never a shortage of good wine in the human world. Borrow two jugs from a wealthy family, and let's you and me share a drink. Just don't pick any immortal brew from mountain immortal palaces—I'm not that fussy of a person."

The sage shook his head.

The Old Scholar slapped his fist into his palm. "Then I'll find Chen Chun'an to get some wine later. I won't even need to borrow it. Sigh, look at this—it suddenly makes the readers of Li Sheng's lineage seem less generous than those of Ya Sheng's lineage. It's all my fault, my fault. I can't escape the blame. If only there were wine here, I'd definitely fine myself three cups first."

The sage said, "If Wen Sheng says so, then so be it."

The Old Scholar immediately laughed heartily. "With a righteous standing, one's Hao Ran Qi is abundant. No wonder you can be the sage above Chen Chun'an. Those other associate sages aren't as impressive as you. The only flaw is that you're a bit stingy on small matters."

The sage said, "If I remember correctly, someone once almost stuffed his registered disciple into a sack and dropped him off at the Book of Rites Academy. And before doing that, he encouraged his disciple, saying that if he ever became an associate sage of Li Sheng's lineage, he must go to Southern Bodhisattva Continent to guard the sky curtain. He had to help his master vent his anger?"

The Old Scholar waved his hand vigorously, denying it. "Impossible, impossible. Mao Xiaodong respects his master the most. He would never betray his master."

He didn't deny the act itself.

The sage said, "Mao Xiaodong, while drinking heavily with the Grand Sacrificial Wine, told it as an example of his master's enduring style."

The Old Scholar stroked his beard and nodded, praising, "Makes sense, makes sense. Satisfying, satisfying."

The sage suddenly looked far beyond the continent's mountains and rivers and asked, "Wen Sheng, can we win? Can we reduce the number of deaths?"

The Old Scholar thought for a moment and replied, "Since we can't do more, just think positively."

Some sages in the Confucian Temple, at the cost of consuming their own Dao cultivation, searched for fragmented secret realms within the River of Time. They placed them on the map of the Hao Ran world, either waiting for a destined person or emerging in response to fate. These would eventually become the newest cave heavens or blessed lands of the Hao Ran world. The Confucian Temple itself never occupied them. A Vice Leader once laughed and said, "If we compete with the world for benefits, what use are the sage principles?"

In the past ten thousand years, the biggest gain was, of course, the emergence of that Fifth World. The credit for discovering its traces and stabilizing its path went to an associate sage who had quarreled the most with the Old Scholar and had given him the hardest time during the Third-Fourth Debate. After waiting for the Old Scholar to appear with Bai Ye, he finally set his mind at ease and passed away, exchanging only a smile with the Old Scholar.

As for the remaining associate sages, some in full, some half, they went to distant lands from which they would never return, to accompany Li Sheng for a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand years.

That was why the Old Scholar, who had always cherished his youngest disciple the most, never said a word about this matter of distant travel to his now-closed-door disciple.

But back then, in the Fifth World, when he met the wife his closed-door disciple had found after countless hardships—that excellent, excellent little girl Ning Yao—the Old Scholar suddenly felt a rush of sorrow. He almost burst into tears in front of his good friend Bai Ye, in front of a junior. These hardships were truly unspeakable. And it wasn't just his closed-door disciple who had such a difficult time.

The sage rarely spoke first, and with a hint of a smile, he shared an old story with the Old Scholar. Although the time wasn't far apart for beings like them, thinking of it now felt like a distant memory: "My old friend, passing by here before returning to Tongye Continent, said many unpleasant things about Wen Sheng."

The Old Scholar scratched his head, then crossed his arms and sneered. "Let him curse a few times. I won't lose a few ounces of flesh. If I took it seriously even a little, I wouldn't be Wen Sheng, and I'd have read tens of thousands of catties of sage books for nothing!"

The sage laughed again. "My old friend's final words were: 'The cold pig head meat of the Confucian Temple is really delicious. That Old Scholar can't get any anyway. If that fellow shamelessly goes to the Confucian Temple one day, he can sneak a few pieces to eat from my portion.'"

The Old Scholar slapped his knee. "Eat, then eat! Who's afraid of who? Can a scholar stealing cold pig head meat be called stealing?!"

Years ago, the Old Scholar had rarely put on a stern face and heartily disciplined a young disciple who never needed his master to worry about his studies. He told that youth about the long road ahead: "Xiao Qi! Today, your master is truly angry with you for the first time! Listen carefully: if your master raises his voice, you're not allowed to cry... Fine, fine, reasoning indeed doesn't depend on volume... Cold pig head meat—is it so easy to eat? Is it so delicious? If you can eat it, that's best; if not, then don't eat! But never become a sage just to eat pig head meat! What's wrong with being a gentleman, being a mountain head of an academy? Why isn't that a lofty ambition?"

The saying "eat cold pig head meat" wasn't the Old Scholar's invention, but he certainly popularized it. Many sages, when occasionally mocking themselves, willingly brought up this phrase.

Was it easy to be a sage?

The Old Scholar once said about the Confucian tradition: gentlemen die easily, sages die hard. But he only spoke half of it: sages die hard—does that mean they suffer less?

Why was it that the Confucian sages guarding the sky curtain, these sages of the Confucian Temple who had supposedly mastered all the world's scholarship, could perform Confucian divine powers like gentlemen and worthies?

For example, the mountain heads and gentlemen of the seventy-two academies on Fuyao Continent and Tongye Continent, those scholars who would never have the chance to turn another page of a sage book—they could still kill enemies before dying.

So why, when facing the Barren Wasteland World's great invasion, could the associate sages guarding the sky curtain only merge their fortune into the continent's heaven and earth?

That was the only thing these pitiful sages could do within their power. Did that old villain Wanyan Lao Jing know? Of course he did. Did he care? Not in the slightest.

Did those who either grumbled or loudly condemned the Central Earth Confucian Temple for accomplishing nothing and doing nothing, know what had happened to the gentlemen, worthies, mountain heads, and Confucian scholars of the three continents' academies? Yes. Did they care? Not necessarily. They wanted heroes to die, yet also spoke of "the winner takes all."

Like the "old friend" the sage beside him mentioned—it was that associate sage who had allowed Du Mao to pass through to Old Dragon City back on Tongye Continent. The Old Scholar had cursed him. If Ya Sheng hadn't intervened, he would have fought him.

So what? He lost the cold pig head meat at the Central Earth Confucian Temple. But after guarding the sky curtain year after year, he still diligently honed his scholarship, managed to re-earn the incense of the Confucian Temple, and insisted on returning to Tongye Continent—not just seeking death, but rushing to be the first to die.

And that fellow's true self, following Li Sheng in defending the Hao Ran world, had long been shattered in the battles against the remnants of ancient deities.

Should the Old Scholar give him a thumbs up? He had to.

In the Qing Ming World, they built the White Jade Capital to suppress the outer-realm demons. In the Lotus World, the Western Buddhist Kingdom suppressed countless the most stubborn resentful souls, fierce ghosts, and evil spirits.

The Hao Ran world seemed responsible for dealing with the demons of the Barren Wasteland World. But it was far more than that.

As the most important enclave of the Hao Ran world, the Sword Qi Great Wall, with its tens of thousands of sword cultivators, had held the ground for ten thousand years, containing the demons of the Barren Wasteland World. For ten thousand years, the Sword Qi Great Wall stood. Had the Confucian Temple been carefree all that time? Just watching the show from the sidelines? Why was it that Li Sheng, the second-highest in the Confucian Temple, almost never appeared there? He didn't even speak during the Third-Fourth Debate? There were a thousand reasons, but the biggest one was that the external threat had always been too great, and the distant worry had never been far away.

All the associate sages guarding the nine continents' sky curtains had their true bodies beyond the heavens! Following Li Sheng to fight against the remnants of ancient deities! Only their yin spirits remained in their homeland, half-dead, yet still had to guard the continent's sky curtain as pathetic "heavenly lords"!

Otherwise, how could the ancient deities who had penetrated the sky curtains to visit the Hao Ran world have been just staring blankly for ten thousand years, obediently serving as gatekeepers for our Hao Ran world?!

The Old Scholar said, "Like you just said, speak objectively and judge the matter on its merits. Your friend, through moral essays, truly benefited the world. He did quite well. I'm not just saying this to your face; I've said the same to my disciples."

The sage nodded. "Wen Sheng's reasoning resonates most with my heart."

In fact, aside from sage principles, the most memorable thing the Old Scholar had said to this sky-curtain sage was very "Old Scholar," not very "Wen Sheng."

Are those who disagree with me all rotten-hearted villains? Are those who compete with me on the path all hateful enemies with no merits? Are scholars from a different lineage from mine all heretics who study blindly?

Who the hell do I think I am?!

Back then, the Old Scholar was in the Confucian Temple, speaking at the top of his voice. He seemed to be talking about himself first, but in reality, he was talking about everyone else later.

The Old Scholar turned his head, his face full of sincerity. "Since you admire my scholarship so much and look up to my character, why not become my disciple?"

The sage said calmly, "I am a few hundred years older than Wen Sheng. Besides, whether the scholarship of our Li Sheng lineage is good or not, I trust Wen Sheng knows in his heart."

The Old Scholar rubbed his hands together. "Ah, you, you're still too thin-skinned. My relationship with your master, Lord Li Sheng, is excellent. If you change allegiances, it'll be fine. I might even have to praise you for your good eye. Even if Lord Li Sheng doesn't praise you, I'll praise you a few times in front of him—saying I've really taken in a good student who has no sectarian bias at all."

The sage didn't respond.

The Old Scholar was famously fond of climbing poles—and if there was no pole, he'd cut bamboo and split wood to make one himself.

Whether he was facing Li Sheng, or even the Ultimate Sage.

Or whether he was facing a country bumpkin, or even a schoolchild.

The Old Scholar coughed lightly.

In the remote, uninhabited corners of the two continents, where the Hao Ran world's fortune had not yet been completely stripped away, strange phenomena immediately occurred. Clouds rolled and unrolled, waters rose and fell.

As for Southern Bodhisattva Continent, with the sage beside the Old Scholar guarding the continent's fortune, the slightest ripples vanished as soon as they appeared.

The Old Scholar laughed. "I've troubled you. I'm not a good guest."

The sage shook his head. "Anyway, I have no wine to offer Wen Sheng."

The Old Scholar asked, "You're not kicking me out, are you?"

The sage nodded and laughed. "If Wen Sheng says so, then so be it."

The Old Scholar sighed. "Just sitting here waiting to die—it doesn't feel good, does it?"

The sage shook his head. "At least it's better than Wen Sheng. I don't have to suffer pain."

The sages, leaving only their yin spirits to guard the sky curtain, were responsible for stabilizing the continent's fortune. This was both a helpless move by the Confucian Temple and a fortunate thing for the human world. Since sages had no true bodies, they were purer and more in tune with the Heavenly Dao.

The Old Scholar stood up, cursing as he walked away. He stumbled and quickly vanished.

Anyway, the Qi refiners of the Hao Ran world were all impassioned and indignant these days, cursing these sages as nothing but good men offering their heads. They wouldn't miss a few curses from him.

The sage sighed. That Xiao Xun had drawn his sword and clashed with Zuo You. The Old Scholar needed more than just a few drinks. For an ordinary Flying Ascension realm grand cultivator, he would have already swallowed mountains and rivers to make up for his Dao foundation.

This sage looked down. At the Pure Confucian Chen family academy, which was the epitome of all the family archways in the world, there was another argument going on.

Nowadays, in the official schools and academies of the various Central Earth Divine Continent dynasties, even among the Confucian scholars of these seventy-two academies, there were not a few who spoke out boldly. They seemed willing to lose their Confucian identity, to risk everything, just to curse the sages for doing nothing. They were as clueless as if they had never read a single book on military strategy. They had allowed Tongye, Fuyao, and most of Jinjia to fall before their very eyes. Did the Central Earth Divine Continent need to build a defensive line? How could our grand Central Earth not even hold two small places like Tongye and Fuyao? If only the sages of the Confucian Temple all came out, assisted by the Ten of the Central Earth, and if ten weren't enough, add the reserve ten, plus the countless Jade Gem and Immortal cultivators assisting—those beasts of the Barren Wasteland World, their so-called fourteen Thrones or whatever, would all be easily smashed to dust in a flick of the finger.

A young woman in a red cotton-padded jacket sat quietly at a gathering of Confucian scholars, listening for a long time. Regardless of whether they were right or wrong, she listened first.

But hearing more and more of their confident words, she also wanted to ask a few questions. So she found a Confucian scholar from an academy and asked, "Will you go and invite the Flying Ascension realm cultivators and Immortals to come out of seclusion?"

"They have the Ultimate Sage, Li Sheng, and Ya Sheng to handle that."

"What if they still aren't willing to come out? After all, wars mean death. The Flying Ascension realm cultivators on Tongye Continent all died. They cherish their lives and fear death—I think mountain cultivators are like us. After all, they went up the mountain to cultivate precisely to prove the Dao and achieve immortality."

"I don't even need to mention the Ultimate Sage. Just Li Sheng's rules—who would dare not listen? Who would dare disobey?"

"And if they still dare to disobey? Kill a few to make an example? Then the rest, unwillingly, would have to go to the battlefield? In the end, as you say, they would all die heroically, all dying in distant lands? Isn't there a saying circulating now from the Great Ancestor of Supporting Moon Mountain, that the great cultivators of our Hao Ran world are very unfree? What if they finally become free—for example, by simply defecting to the Barren Wasteland World? Then we'd have to fight the Barren Wasteland World while also preventing our own people from betraying us. Wouldn't that be very difficult? And more importantly, there's the matter of public sentiment. The higher the people and matters, the further they see. Similarly, the higher they see, the more their actions are visible to the foothills. People see it in their eyes. Then how would public sentiment in the entire Central Earth Divine Continent be?"

"Public sentiment? In times of great chaos, what does a little public sentiment amount to? Those who do great things are not bound by trifles! As long as we win a great battle, the public sentiment in the mountains and foothills will naturally turn."

"Of course it matters. Because the Barren Wasteland World, from the Great Ancestor of Supporting Moon Mountain to Wen Hai Zhou Mi, and down to the entire Jiayin Tent, has been calculating public sentiment all along. For example, didn't Zhou Mi say that when they eventually land on the Central Earth Divine Continent, the Barren Wasteland World will only dismantle the Confucian Temple and the academies, and leave everything else untouched? The dynasties remain, the immortal clans remain, everything remains. The power that vacates when the Confucian Temple moves—they won't keep it all to themselves. They're willing to sign contracts with the Central Earth Immortals and Flying Ascension cultivators, planning to divide the continent equally with all the major sects of the Central Earth. The precondition is that the upper five realm patriarchs of those immortal mountain clans stand neutral, just watching from the sidelines. As for the registered immortal masters below the upper five realms, even if they go to the various continents to kill demons, the Barren Wasteland World won't settle scores with them later. You see? Isn't this all about public sentiment?"

"Why are you dragging up all this nonsense? All this vague talk—how dare you arrogantly speak of mountain public sentiment? And you call yourself a Confucian scholar of the Clifftop Academy? Really a person from a small place with shallow insight. Your heart lacks much benevolence and morality."

"Aren't I just discussing the matter with you objectively?"

"Go, go, go. Stop with your noise. What does a woman know?"

This Central Earth Confucian scholar, who was studying at this academy, went elsewhere and continued to speak loudly with his like-minded fellows, full of spirit and pointing out the state of the world.

If it were Embroidery Tiger Cui Chan, he would probably have all these people arrested and shipped directly to the northern battlefield of Jinjia Continent on a few transcontinental ferries. Whether they truly wanted to die or were just seeking fame, let them die first.

Li Baoping, who had traveled alone from the Central Earth Divine Continent to the Pure Confucian Chen family, couldn't help but sigh. She took out her wine gourd and took a secret sip.

Talking to people was really tiring. Whether I'm right or wrong, at least listen to what I have to say. It's not like just because I say something right, you must be wrong.

---

The Old Scholar descended to the mortal world.

By chance, he caught a glimpse of that red-clad figure. The Old Scholar's mood suddenly brightened. He planned to chat with Chen Chun'an first, then go meet Little Baoping.

On a rocky cliff by the water, the Pure Confucian, who had gone from shouldering the sun and moon alone to having the sun and moon hang over the continent, didn't turn his head. "Liu Cha went to Fuyao Continent. Xiao Xun is still on the road, blocking Zuo You."

The Old Scholar lamented. "That little girl with the two little braids looks cute, but the way she acts is really not cute at all."

Chen Chun'an laughed and asked, "Do you really not hold any grudge against Xiao Xun for what she did?"

The Old Scholar said, "A person has to be allowed to live, right? As for other matters, we'll deal with them as they come. If you make a mistake, first take responsibility for the mistake, then talk about correcting it."

Chen Chun'an said, "Zuo You has it the hardest."

The Old Scholar nodded. "Inside and outside the books are different. It's hard for any scholar."

Chen Chun'an made a surprised sound and, for the first time, joked, "Old Scholar, are you about to start cursing? If you're going to curse, don't just curse the Wen Sheng lineage. Remember to include the scholars of the other lineages too."

The Old Scholar said, "The first few pages of the old history books—I borrowed them from the old fellow with great effort. Do you want to hear them? Not to mention you—even your master might not know as well as I do. And you, who like to only read sage books and ignore the world outside, not fond of inquiring about old sesame seeds and rotten millet—and our Ya Sheng is so reserved. From the way he acts, it seems like he wants to light a stick of incense before turning every page. He might not be tired, but I'm exhausted just watching."

Chen Chun'an raised his hand, and a jug of wine appeared. He handed it to the Old Scholar.

The Old Scholar shook the unusual wine jug. The wine inside was even more extraordinary. He frowned and threw it back to Chen Chun'an. "Keep the fortune of this land and water for yourself. I don't lack a little bit."

The Old Scholar said, "I'm a bit short on energy right now. Help me cover it up a little. If something leaks and the heavenly secrets are exposed, it's all on you."

Chen Chun'an immediately isolated the area.

Whenever it came to serious matters, the Old Scholar was never careless.

The Old Scholar looked at the great river outside the cliff and began to recount some old history to Chen Chun'an.

Ten thousand years ago, humanity climbed the mountain, reached the summit, and ascended to the heavens. They shattered the Heavenly Court, either killing or driving away the beings who had once sat high above. Those beings who regarded humanity as a source of incense and controlled all human life and death became things of the past. In truth, when that moment came, almost all humans couldn't believe they had actually won. From then on, it seemed that humanity would be responsible for opening ten thousand generations of peace in the entire heaven and earth.

The demons, who had existed before humanity, had both merit and fault. The old grudges with humanity were still deep. In the end, they were allotted a quarter of heaven and earth, which became the later Barren Wasteland World—vast and boundless in territory, but the most barren in resources and relatively thin in spiritual energy. After that, the sword cultivators, who had accomplished unparalleled merit, were exiled to the area now known as the Sword Qi Great Wall after a cataclysmic internal conflict. They built a high city. Three ancestors appeared successively and eventually combined their strength to turn the Sword Qi Great Wall into a great formation, capable of ignoring the celestial timing of the Barren Wasteland World, holding their ground and standing unshaken.

Chen Chun'an asked, "Those ancient sword cultivators, back then they didn't hesitate to break with all the other factions. What was the reason? I only know that if the sword cultivators hadn't split among themselves first, it's hard to say what the world would be like today."

The Old Scholar sighed. "What else could it be? The sword cultivators—the ones with the greatest killing power in heaven and earth, the ones who killed the most heavenly deities—some of them were arrogant. They felt that the ruins of the Heavenly Court, which none of the three religions' ancestors dared to touch, should be sealed off. But those sword cultivators thought they should occupy it. They promised to hunt down and kill all the fleeing remnant deities, saying others needn't worry. The other faction of sword cultivators, led by Chen Qingdu, the Dragon Lord, and Guan Zhao, felt it shouldn't be that way. They could choose a larger piece of the human world to recuperate. The result was what it was. They fought another fierce battle, nearly turning heaven and earth upside down again."

"Although Chen Qingdu's faction didn't fight, the founding ancestor of the Military Strategist lineage had long aligned with the faction that drew their swords. They almost—truly almost—won."

Chen Chun'an asked again, "At that time, humanity had barely won. How could they trust the remaining sword cultivators? What if something went wrong? Chen Qingdu and those sword cultivators didn't draw their swords then, but so many seeds of hatred would eventually grow into towering trees that pierced the sky with sword qi. If Chen Qingdu, Guan Zhao, and the others ever changed their minds, or if the sword cultivators clashed with other humans again, they would surely draw their swords for real."

"And so," the Old Scholar said helplessly, "they became convicts. Pitiful? Absolutely pitiful! But you need to understand that back then, the remaining sword cultivators were lucky to even be convicts! Look at the later sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall—did our Confucian Temple ever impose any restrictions on them? At that time, the second ancestor of the Military Strategist lineage, who had lost his love, directly declared, 'These unruly fellows have the temperament closest to the deities. They'll be a huge problem sooner or later. Weren't the previous group of sword cultivators unwilling to be disciplined? They thought their merits were great and wanted to occupy the Heavenly Court ruins. Fine. They weren't deities but wanted to be new deities. The rest changed their minds and joined the battle one after another, drawing their swords in no small number. Since that's the case, why not just let both sides be straightforward? At worst, we'll fight for a few hundred years and see which side is wiped out first. That would be easy. Only then can there be true peace for a thousand, ten thousand years!"

Chen Chun'an understood somewhat.

The Old Scholar lightly waved his sleeve. "Watch closely. Some of this was said to me personally by the old fellow. Some are scenes I imagined. But combining the two, they shouldn't be too far from the truth."

Chen Chun'an looked up. By the side of this great river, figures from ancient times appeared.

On the riverbank, figures stood, seemingly close, yet also distant as heaven and earth.

An old master stood by the water. "Thus it passes by, like the flowing river." He seemed to have some realization.

A wooden-faced monk stood on the opposite bank, looking toward this shore.

A young Daoist sat by the water, washing his face with cupped hands. A green ox lay beside him. Then the young Daoist looked up and smiled faintly at the Old Scholar and Chen Chun'an from ten thousand years ago.

A burly man in armor, both hands resting on a long blade, frowned in silence, murderous aura billowing. He looked toward the nearest youth with a sword on his back.

This conclave by the river had only one sword cultivator present. His name was Chen Qingdu.

Additionally, two demon ancestors participated in the discussion. One was the later master of Supporting Moon Mountain, the Great Ancestor of the Barren Wasteland World. The other was Bai Ze.

Beside Bai Ze stood a middle-aged man in blue robes—Li Sheng.

Further away, there were still several majestic figures full of ancient meaning, but they were relatively blurred. Even Chen Chun'an couldn't see their faces clearly.

The farthest of all, standing furthest from everyone, was a tall figure who seemed to be gathering up a lock of black hair.

The Old Scholar said, "Chen Qingdu's first sentence was so spirited it seemed to prop up heaven and earth with his spine. Just one sentence! Chen Qingdu said, 'If you want to fight, then fight!'"

As if beside the greatest River of Time in the world, that youth with the sword on his back spoke exactly that.

The Old Scholar then pointed at the burly man near the youth, who had one hand on his blade and the other rubbing his chin. "Excellent."

Further away, Bai Ze wanted to speak, but Li Sheng gently tugged his sleeve and shook his head, indicating not to rush.

The tall figure in the farthest distance, though his form was blurry, had a clear, cold voice. "I'll help Chen Qingdu."

The monk on the opposite bank shook his head.

The young Daoist sighed. "Don't you all see the true great enemy?"

Even just witnessing a scroll of time from ten thousand years ago, even knowing the final outcome, Chen Chun'an still couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted.

The Old Scholar chuckled. "Next, it was our old fellow's turn to make his move. How grand, how grand! Do you think my heartfelt words were just flattery? No way!"

Chen Chun'an saw that old master—the Ultimate Sage of the Hao Ran world. He waved his hand, walked to the youth's side, gently pressed down on the sword hilt, and looked up with a smile. "I'll take charge of the sword cultivators. I'll make an oath. No matter what the sword cultivators choose later, no matter who they draw their swords against, my Confucian lineage will bear all the karma and responsibility."

The monk on the opposite bank pressed his palms together. The Daoist by the river nodded lightly.

Then the old master withdrew his gaze and said to the youth with a smile, "Chen Qingdu, trust me. I will eventually give the sword cultivators an account. I dare not say it will be very good, but I guarantee it won't be bad."

"Chen Qingdu, if you can't trust me, then it's even simpler. You can just draw your sword and enjoy yourself from now on. I'll shield the world's sword cultivators for a while. I've long been used to it."

Chen Chun'an suddenly became serious. This Pure Confucian's expression grew even more solemn and heavy. He made a deep bow to the Ultimate Sage from ten thousand years ago, a distant salute.

I pay respects to the true sage in my heart.

The tall figure in the farthest distance said indifferently, "Fighting would be best. If not, I'll go to your territory later."

The Old Scholar put away the scroll of time.

There were no more figures outside the cliff by the great river.

This was the fact and the truth.

Otherwise, who could have defined those sword cultivators, the best killers of their time, as convicts?! It was everyone besides the sword cultivators! Not only humanity, but also the two demon ancestors.

And it wasn't as if the sword cultivators were entirely in the right.

If the sword cultivators' scabbards couldn't restrain their swords, and the cultivators' Dao hearts couldn't restrain their Dao techniques, then no matter how many thousands or tens of thousands of years passed, humanity would only ever be a cesspool!

Before, the deities were high in the heavens, treating all humans on the earth as puppets on strings. Would humanity henceforth be able to rest easy? Then start slaughtering each other?

At that time, the two leaders representing the demons in the discussion also had a major disagreement on the exile of the sword cultivators. One agreed, one did not.

But since a piece of the Barren Wasteland World had been allocated to them, they didn't say much. However, the one who agreed to make the sword cultivators convicts—the common master of the Barren Wasteland World—absolutely never imagined that the convicts' garrison would be located precisely between the Barren Wasteland World and the Hao Ran world.

After all, compared to the sword cultivators, who were fellow humans, the grudges between the demons and humanity were far more complicated.

At that riverside, the two discussing demon great ancestors were one—the current master of Supporting Moon Mountain—and the other, Bai Ze, who was later ostensibly suppressed beneath the Xiongzhen Tower.

Why were there so many remnant ancient deities who had lain dormant for ten thousand years suddenly swarming out? And why were they all coming for our Hao Ran world? Why weren't they attacking the White Jade Capital, or kicking a few times at Supporting Moon Mountain in the Barren Wasteland World? Because the Hao Ran world had taken in all the sword cultivators. The earliest two scholars had shouldered the burden, preserving the incense of the world's sword cultivators! Otherwise, the Hao Ran world and the Barren Wasteland World