Chapter 738: Learning from Many Teachers, They Are My Teachers

Chapter 738: Learning from Many Teachers, They Are My Teachers

Atop Sui Mountain.
The Old Scholar and the Golden Armored Deity sat side by side at the top of the steps.
The Sui Mountain orthodox deity, who even while seated was taller than the Old Scholar standing, asked, "Not even a glance south toward Vial Continent? That doesn't seem like your style."
The Old Scholar sat to the right of the Sui Mountain god, as if that might let him keep a greater distance from East Vial Continent. He shook his head. "No look-see, no look-see. A man's heart may be tough as iron, but how many times can it break?"
The Golden Armored Deity suddenly raised his head to gaze into the distance, astonished. "A rare guest visits Sui Mountain. Do you want to see him, Old Scholar? If you find him annoying, I won't open the gate."
The Old Scholar said, "If it's one of the Confucian Temple's three—Dong, Han, or Zhu—just tell them the old man himself has said it: don't bother our Ultimate Sage while he's fighting."
Those three Confucian masters were the principal and vice principal of the Confucian Temple of the Vast World, true literary ancestors for a hundred generations. They had extended the Confucian lineage, passing the torch, with merits that would last a thousand autumns.
The principal of the Confucian Temple, Old Master Dong, was the great synthesizer of Confucian learning.
He proposed the theory of Heaven-Human Interaction. Under his hand, he unified diverse literary veins. Besides setting the framework of three academies and seventy-two schools for later generations, he also established the Imperial Academy in mortal dynasties, promoted official schooling, and devised a complete set of pure methods for the cultivation of academy and school Confucians. He also made it so that later emperors and monarchs, whenever they encountered natural disasters or anomalies, or discovered errors in governance, had to issue edicts of self-blame to the world. In every dynasty, in every country, the original draft of each self-blame edict was collected by academy noblemen and ultimately stored in the Central Earth Confucian Temple.
Old Master Dong's greatest feat was that he almost abolished the hundred schools of thought. Only when Rite Saint rejected the matter did he settle for second best. On his own, he evaluated the gains and losses, the roots and heights of the various schools. Secular founding monarchs often compiled genealogical rankings for the hundred surnames within their domains. Old Master Dong then ranked the "Vast World Hundred Schools," with the schools of tactics and merchants at the bottom, forced to swallow their resentment.
Furthermore, Old Master Dong revered the unity of rites and law, embracing all. Thus, his learning had the greatest influence on the Legalist and Yin-Yang schools, both highly esteemed among the later hundred schools.
Hence, Old Master Dong was hailed as "the Ancestor of All Confucians Under Heaven."
Vice principals Old Master Han and Old Master Zhu—one sorted and reshaped the entire Confucian lineage, further refining the boundaries between noblemen and worthies. Old Master Han was naturally closest to the lineage of the Second Sage; indeed, one could say he deserved half the credit for the Second Sage's rise in status within the Confucian Temple. The other broke new ground, raising another peak in the literary lineage, evolving "rites" into "principle."
And the Old Scholar's own lineage of learning happened to have disputes great and small with all three principals and vice principals of the Confucian Temple.
Old Master Dong had long proposed, "Upright the path without seeking profit; cultivate the principle without hurrying achievement." Yet the Literary Sage lineage ultimately promoted the doctrine of practical achievement, triggering the Three-Four Debate that moved from behind the scenes to the forefront. Although the doctrine of practical achievement was proposed by Cui Chan, the chief disciple of the Literary Sage lineage, various veins within the Confucian tradition naturally regarded it as the Old Scholar's second major orthodox doctrine after "human nature is evil." Hence, at the time, the Central Earth Confucian Temple all viewed the doctrine of practical achievement as the fundamental tenet of the Old Scholar's learning. Additionally, because Cui Chan had always suggested changing "extinguish" to "upright," which was more appropriate, this displeased Old Master Zhu's lineage. Master Zhu's side then seized upon the word "evil" to question Cui Chan in turn: which of our two lineages was truly making startling claims...
A disciple may no longer recognize his master as master, but which master does not still miss his disciple?
The Golden Armored Deity truly admired the Old Scholar's audacity. In the past, when it was just the two of them on Sui Mountain, talking nonsense was one thing. But now the Ultimate Sage was sitting right beside them—how dare the Old Scholar be so irreverent?
To his surprise, the old master smiled and said, "I heard nothing."
That scholar had the nerve to speak nonsense, and he wasn't afraid of settling accounts later. He had his own ways of weathering the criticism at the Confucian Temple. Besides, when the arguments started, it was hard to say who would be scolding whom.
The Golden Armored Deity said helplessly, "It's not one of the three Confucian Temple masters. It's Mr. Zheng of White Emperor City."
The Old Scholar laughed heartily. First, he gave a wink to his friend beside him, probably not trusting him to open the gate promptly—to avoid wasting his breath. So the Old Scholar craned his neck first, and only when he saw that the gate was indeed opened did he deliberately turn to the Golden Armored Deity and say loudly, "Mr. Zheng? Isn't that a bit distant? If you're unhappy, Old Man, I'll take the responsibility. I won't let Brother Huai Xian get into trouble. Look here, this old Zheng, being a demonic titan, still dares to meet the Ultimate Sage. With that kind of courage alone, how can he not be the number one demonic cultivator? He's number one. If anyone else tried to sit in that seat, I'd be the first to object. Back then, if the Second Sage hadn't stopped me, I'd have sent a plaque to White Emperor City long ago. You know the horizontal scroll at the gate of Old Brother Tian Lai of Dragon Tiger Mountain? How was the calligraphy? Just so-so. But Old Brother Tian Lai hung it up anyway. When it came to Old Brother Zheng's White Emperor City, as long as I drink some wine and get poetically inspired, with just eighty percent of my ability, I'd definitely surpass the Celestial Master Estate..."
As the Sui Mountain Deity opened the gate, Zheng Juzhong, clad in a snow-white robe, strode from the boundary edge in a single step, directly to the entrance of the mountain. He stopped there, first bowing to the Ultimate Sage, then looked up at the Old Scholar who was rambling on. The latter stood up with a smile. Zheng Juzhong then snapped his fingers, shattering the two miniature mountain-and-water prohibitions around his ears.
The White Emperor City lord clearly did not want to owe the Old Scholar any favor.
The Old Scholar, whose efforts went to waste, stood frozen. Damn it, this Zheng Juzhong was so shameless! Next time, he would definitely send him a plaque with the words "White Emperor City's Terrible Go Player."
The Golden Armored Deity asked, "Are you still going to see him?"
The Old Scholar sighed and nodded. He let the Sui Mountain Deity press a hand on his shoulder, and together they went to the mountain gate.
Zheng Juzhong said, "I have always wanted to play one game of go each with two people. One I can wait for slowly. As for the other? If he can also wait, I can take my people to South Bodhi Continent or Flowery Haze Continent. White Emperor City has only seventeen men, but we can still help with small matters. For instance, six of them can use White Emperor City's secret arts to infiltrate the ranks of the Desolate Wilderness demons, stealing positions of moderate importance in various military tents. It won't be difficult at all."
The Old Scholar plopped down on the steps. "Forget it, forget it. Don't rub salt in the wound. Go to those two continents or not, it's up to you."
But he'd definitely go. White Emperor City might have already done the deed.
Zheng Juzhong's methods had always been wild.
"It seems that both of your disciples, Literary Sage Master, have no path left to turn back."
Zheng Juzhong sat beside the Old Scholar, silent for a moment, then said, "Back then, after settling the game on Colorful Clouds with Embroidered Tiger, he actually left behind a saying that the world didn't know. He said that his junior brother Qi Jingchun had even greater go skills, so beating him, Cui Chan, meant beating one person, not the entire Literary Sage lineage. That's why I was so curious back then, going out of the city to welcome Qi Jingchun and inviting him to a game. Because I wanted to know who on earth could make someone as arrogant as Embroidered Tiger willingly admit inferiority to another."
The Old Scholar was silent.
But then Zheng Juzhong said something no one expected: "Yet I've always felt that Cui Chan's skill is higher off the board. When he lost that game—especially the final one that never spread—with a board of twenty-three lines, he lost because the board for both players was too small. Even today, I still think so. Qi Jingchun's stone placements were ultimately intermittent, scattered here and there. Afterward, Cui Chan had to both place his own stones and connect every fixed stone on the board, ensuring every follow-up move connected, eventually making the entire board breathe as one. That is no small feat; ordinary people cannot imagine it."
The Old Scholar still said nothing.
Zheng Juzhong suddenly asked, "Back when Old Master Dong was teaching in the countryside before entering the Confucian Temple, that uninvited guest who strongly disagreed with the classics—was he an ordinary old fox spirit of the wilds, or one of the incarnations of Lu Chen's Great Way Heart-Phase... a field mouse?"
The Old Scholar said softly, "I'll ask around for you later."
Zheng Juzhong asked, "Can the Old Scholar really not persuade Cui Chan to change his mind?"
The Old Scholar shook his head. "Every disciple is too good. The master can't bear to speak, and even if he did, it wouldn't help."
Zheng Juzhong stood up. The White Emperor City lord would immediately return to Support Isle. This was a secret agreement between him and Cui Chan.
He would give a final disciple worthy of inheriting his mantle and Great Way to White Emperor City. In return, Zheng Juzhong had to exchange a Support Isle regained for this person.
And that direct disciple Zheng Juzhong truly wanted to cultivate well was none other than Gu Can, whom Cui Chan had used in the Book-Sweeping Lake to test Chen Ping'an's heart.
That test of the heart—the tempering of the dao heart—was for both the despondent Chen Ping'an and the Gu Can who refused to admit fault but had learned to respect "rules."
If Gu Can had admitted fault, then at most Great Li Dynasty or Vial Continent would have gained a half-baked scholar named Gu Can. But because his heart refused to admit fault while his actions were willing to correct mistakes, then the Vast World would gain a Gu Can of White Emperor City—one who would let many later self-proclaimed clever heretics and demons truly know what the Embroidered Tiger Cui Chan and White Emperor City's Zheng Juzhong considered true demonic dao.

Beside the pavilion on Gathering Mushroom Mountain, there was a crooked pine tree a hundred spans around, its roots wedged in ancient cliff crevices. Its branches slanted across the pavilion's plaque, as if an immortal master were painting eyebrows for the small pavilion. When the wind rose, the rustling pines made the mountain seem more secluded. Sunlight filtered through the ancient pine's branches and leaves, falling to the ground and scattering into fine golden flecks within the pavilion, moving with the wind in silent harmony. A white-clad youth and a green-robed girl sat at either end of the cliff railing, like a pair of immortal lovers descended from heaven.
Cui Dongshan curled up, head against the pavilion pillar. He asked Green Pure for a jug of the world-famous Green God Mountain brew, an indispensable part of the Bamboo Sea Grotto-Heaven's Green God Feast. Green Pure hadn't skimped on liquor this trip; her portable dimension held several hundred altars large and small. Her mountain master father had said that when traveling, if one met kindred spirits—whether martial heroes of the mortal world or common peddlers in the marketplace—one shouldn't begrudge one's own wine. Green Pure gently tossed a jug to the mysterious and strange Cui Xiaoxiansheng. The white-clad youth twisted his neck, caught the jug on his head, then flicked his head forward, letting the jug fall forward as he caught it with his hand.
Green Pure, though young, had seen much, but someone like Cui Dongshan was truly new to her.
Cui Dongshan removed the clay seal, sniffed it, craned his neck to look beyond the cliff, and clicked his tongue. "How many on level ground can look up and see me among the azure clouds?"
Green Pure said, "Cui Xiaoxiansheng is already at the immortal realm. No need to gild the lily, right?"
Cui Dongshan turned his head and smiled. "Miss Green Pure, do you play go? Chess or go, either works." Green Pure shook her head. "I know how, but not much interest. I'm not good at it. Grandmaster Jiang often drags Xu Bai to play; Mr. Yu can't butt into the games, so he stands on Xu Bai's side, hoping Xu Bai wins. He likes to ask, 'Is this move brilliant? Isn't that move superb?' How would I know if it's good? So it's annoying. Later on, whenever Mr. Yu turned his head, I'd immediately nod and say, 'Right, right, yes, yes, brilliant, brilliant, superb, superb.' I thought if I was so perfunctory, he'd stop. But in the end, it didn't work at all."
Cui Dongshan sighed. "Miss Green Pure, you've suffered from not treating others sincerely enough. Once you visit Fallen Mountain as a guest, first spend a few days at the shop in Riding Dragon Alley and study the art of speech from an old immortal surnamed Jia. Within ten days, you'll definitely benefit greatly, your skill will soar, and you'll be invincible."
Green Pure said, "Forget it. I have no interest in Fallen Mountain or Cloak Cloud Mountain. If Cui Xiaoxiansheng can teach me a quick fix, I'll consider going."
Cui Dongshan immediately grinned. "What's so hard about that? I'll pass you a method guaranteed to work. For example, next time Old Man Yu annoys you, first make your expression serious, look at the game board as if deep in thought. After a moment, raise your head and tell Old Man Yu with a straight face, 'It's wrong to call Xu Bai the 'Youthful Grandmaster Jiang.' No, no, it should be changed to 'Grandmaster Jiang is the 'Aged Xu Xian.'"
Green Pure asked doubtfully, "Will that really work?"
Cui Dongshan said, "Let's make a bet. If it works, you give me a hundred altars of Green God Mountain immortal brew. If it doesn't, I'll owe you a hundred altars of Fallen Mountain's most famous brew. You can collect them at Riding Dragon Alley later."
Green Pure thought it over. She had over seven hundred altars of wine saved up. A hundred altars won or lost—the quantity going up or down didn't seem like a big deal. But she didn't understand why Cui Dongshan kept urging her to go to Fallen Mountain. As a guest elder? An offering? Did Fallen Mountain need that? Green Pure thought not. And having seen Cui Dongshan's bizarre behavior firsthand, and hearing about Cloak Cloud Mountain's famous Night Travel Banquet, she felt that even if she went to Fallen Mountain, she'd probably suffer from cultural shock.
Cui Dongshan sat on the railing, swinging his legs, humming an anonymous "Dragon and Serpent Song": "A dragon wished to soar, five serpents as its aides. The dragon has ascended the clouds, found its place. Four serpents followed, receiving their rain and dew, each entering their dwelling. One serpent alone grieved, withered and dead in the wilds."
Green Pure asked, "Is this about the true dragon of the Bead Grotto-Heaven?"
Cui Dongshan didn't explain but instead mumbled to himself, "Bai's poems and Su's lyrics exist, their radiance soaring ten thousand zhang. Melting and casting a thousand images—that is one literary heart."
Green Pure suddenly said, "When Mr. Qi was young, was his temper... not too good?"
Cui Dongshan thought for a moment. "Don't say young. His temper was never good since childhood. He and Cui Chan argued constantly. When he couldn't win, he'd tattle to the Old Scholar. He loved to fight with Zuo You, but never won once. Sometimes Zuo You couldn't bear to beat him up again, but the black-and-blue youth would still provoke him to keep fighting. As Zuo You was dragged away by Cui Chan, he'd even try to kick Zuo You a few times. If I were Zuo You, I wouldn't have tolerated it either."
Green Pure sighed in amazement.
Cui Dongshan kept muttering strange things.
In the deep winter season, the lotus pond was dry, withered leaves were gone, broken stems slanted sideways, no longer bearing the appearance of "umbrellas against the rain," so the fish had scattered.
Thunder struck at midnight, the sky turned like a wheel. A poor old man couldn't sleep, while a child woke up crying. Sighs and sobs rose together.
The world's paths were like sheep's intestines. The narrow bird paths had been leveled, the dragon palace had no water. Snow fell on thinner clothes, chilling the plum blossom dream outside the door. A white-haired old man leaned on his staff and saw to the point of speechlessness. He was confused: was he a flower, was he snow, or were snow and flower both him?
Might as well all sleep deeply...

Tongye Continent, central region, Great Spring Dynasty, Peach Leaf Ferry.
On the ferry boat, She Yue still boiled tea for guests, but the tea drinker now included Feiran, the foremost of the Hundred Sword Immortals of Tuo Yue Mountain.
She Yue was never interested in fighting. The two battles she had been in were both baffling and unreasonable, and in both cases, the other party had harassed her persistently. Two damned bastards—one surnamed Jiang, one surnamed Chen—both fond of saying things that stabbed at the heart. No wonder they were such good brothers. Jiang Shangzhen was a smiling tiger with a belly full of scheming. Chen Ping'an was someone She Yue never wanted to see again in this life. Young but scheming. If his realm were on par with Jiang Shangzhen's, that young hidden official would probably only strike more ruthlessly.
And Feiran was the only one among the many military tents whose actions were similar to She Yue's. At sea, he had obtained Reed Flower Island and a creation cave. On Tongye Continent, Feiran only took Mirage City into his possession. Once past the Sword Qi Wall, Feiran seemed from start to finish to have hardly fought or killed anyone. So she felt Feiran could be considered a kindred spirit. And another so, the round-faced girl took an extra large handful of tea leaves from the long-necked tin canister.
A moment later, judging that the tea was about ready, She Yue handed a cup to Feiran. Feiran took it, took a light sip, then couldn't help turning to look at the round-faced girl in the cotton coat. She blinked, somewhat expectantly, and asked, "Does the tea taste better indeed?"
Feiran said helplessly, "I suppose so. It's not proper for tea not to be bitter."
She Yue was a bit happy, eager to try. "My tea-boiling skills are actually mediocre, but my cooking is really good. We can source ingredients here at Peach Leaf Ferry. I'll catch a few fat mandarin fish. Steamed, braised, stewed—whatever you like. The boat's kitchen has all the seasonings. Will you and Mr. Zhou try the freshest catch? Want some rice? I have several hundred catties of immortal rice in my portable dimension. I'm just worried I can't finish it."
Zhou Mi smiled and nodded. "Alright. It ought to be better than drinking plain water and eating tea leaves."
She Yue was a bit irritated. "Mr. Zhou earlier grabbed me into his sleeve to borrow some moonlight and lunar essence to disguise himself for the Moon Palace. I let it go—I was outmatched, nothing to say. But boiling tea? How big a deal is that? Mr. Zhou has to be so petty?"
Zhou Mi laughed. "Fine, fine. About the tea, I apologize to Miss She Yue. Steamed mandarin fish tastes better. Also make a pot of rice for me and Feiran. Actually, stinky mandarin fish has its own flavor, but not today. I'll teach you another time."
She Yue nodded and busied herself, going to the bow to look for mandarin fish that had eaten more peach blossoms near the water. Boiling tea was too taxing and not appreciated.
Feiran was somewhat impressed by this girl's carefree attitude. She really didn't worry about anything, just focused on eating, drinking, and having fun?
Previously, when She Yue was taken by Zhou Mi into his sleeve outside the Demon Suppressing Tower on Tongye Continent, life and death unknown, it turned out Feiran was the only outsider who worried. She Yue herself didn't seem to care at all. Such a remarkable woman—he wondered who would be lucky enough to marry her one day.
As She Yue busied herself, Feiran wanted to speak but held back. He had too many questions to ask but didn't know where to start. Why had his senior brother Qie Yun been willing to die? In the Desolate Wilderness, great demons clung desperately to life!
Before Qie Yun had rushed to the Support Isle battlefield, those joking words to Feiran had been his last testament.
Zhou Mi took a seal from his sleeve and tossed it to Feiran, saying with a smile, "I'm giving this to you."
Feiran took it, but it held no mystery.
In the Desolate Wilderness, Zhou Mi styled himself "Old Bookworm Wen Hai." This was his favorite personal book-collection seal. The side inscription was dense with seal script: "Three million volumes of books gathered by hand, cold heaven and frozen earth I enjoy myself. In later years, when I've feasted on immortal words, I won't have lived in vain as a bookworm." The bottom read "Old Bookworm Starved But Not Filled."
But Zhou Mi rarely took out this seal to stamp books.
Feiran had studied under Zhou Mi for many years and had seen the seal twice. The material was not some heavenly treasure. Setting aside the owner's identity and the engraving, the seal's material alone probably couldn't match the collection seals of an ordinary wealthy scholar's family.
And the seal in Feiran's hand now was precisely this.
Zhou Mi teased, "The seal material was a random roadside stone I picked up on my way out of my hometown. Compared to Bai Ye's gift of a sword, this gift is indeed a bit lighter."
Feiran's heart tightened as if facing a great enemy.
Feiran asked, "Mr. Zhou, have you truly thought about winning this war?"
Zhou Mi asked with a smile, "I didn't expect Feiran to be the one to ask this first."
To this day, Feiran was still utterly perplexed. Why had the Immortal Sword Tai Bai been split into four, and why was Bai Ye willing to give one portion of the opportunity to him, an alien demon of the Desolate Wilderness? Feiran considered himself completely unrelated to Bai Ye, never having met him. Even adding his homeland's teacher lineage, there was still no connection with the "Most Proud Man Under Heaven." His master and his senior brother Qie Yun, who had accepted disciples on behalf of the master, had never been to the Vast World. And Bai Ye had never set foot on the walls of the Sword Qi Wall. In fact, Bai Ye had never even stepped foot on Inverted Suspension Mountain in his entire life.
Zhou Mi explained for Feiran, "When Bai Ye delivered that final sword as a Fourteen Realm cultivator, the phenomenon was in great chaos. He might have slightly glimpsed some heavenly secrets. Perhaps he saw a certain scroll of time-light, a scene at the future ferry of the River of Time, and thus learned how important you are in my eyes."
Feiran gently placed the seal on the side table and said, "Among Mr. Zhou's direct disciples, there are many swordsmen."
Zhou Mi was particular in choosing disciples and willing to nurture them carefully. Among his many direct disciples, the chief disciple Shou Chen, Cai Ying, Tong Xuan, Tong Yin, Yu Zao, plus Liu Bai of the Jia Shen Tent—all were swordsmen, all had become part of Tuo Yue Mountain's Hundred Sword Immortals.
Only a newly accepted final disciple, who had changed his surname to Zhou and been renamed Zhou Qinggao, was not a swordsman.
Zhou Mi smiled. "Confucian scholars in the Vast World have long warned against lending books to outsiders. The scholars of some literary families often place admonitions at the front and back of their family collections, warning descendants who turn the pages: 'Better to scatter wealth than to lend books.' Some even include a harsh line in family rules: 'Selling or lending is unfilial.'"
Feiran said, "Please, Mr. Zhou, speak directly."
Zhou Mi shook his head, pressed two fingers together, and gently swiped, conjuring a landscape scroll like a letter.
An extra-celestial battlefield.
Within a vortex formed by countless stars, a pillar of snow-white light appeared, like the purest sword light in heaven and earth, charging straight toward the middle-aged scholar who protected the entire Vast World.
The scroll suspended between Zhou Mi and Feiran shattered with a bang, touched only by the ripples of a hint of the Great Way's true intent.
Feiran's face turned ashen.
Because deep in his heart, Feiran most admired the Rite Saint of the Vast World! On this matter, Feiran had never mentioned even half a word to his senior brother Qie Yun.
Zhou Mi's smile remained. He helped voice Feiran's unspoken thoughts: "Heaven and earth have order, the mortal world has laws, all beings establish their destiny. All things follow their own path, coexisting peacefully. Everything harmonious! Rite Saint's actions are certainly admirable. In fact, on this point, I was almost exactly like you back then. I revered him most too. Almost."
Since Zhou Mi had seen through him, Feiran no longer concealed it. He said gravely, "In my eyes, this Rite Saint of Confucianism is the most admirable among all sages of the three teachings. Because he hoped that heaven, earth, and all spiritual beings would survive, thrive, pursue freedom, cultivate to greater heights, gain more freedom, all within the framework of rules, satisfying a moderate amount of bestial nature. Human nature gradually moves toward purity, ultimately approaching divinity, yet not divinity. Spiritual beings are still emotional beings. The lanterns of the mortal world slowly rise, gradually ascending, with the strong protecting and guiding the weak. Rite Saint hopes that one day, we can step out of the existing 'One' that neither increases nor decreases."
Feiran finally looked directly at Zhou Mi. "I have never thought that you, Zhou Mi, could do better than Rite Saint."
Zhou Mi asked with a smile, "Since that's the case, if you're destined never to do better, why not change paths and go higher? Or simply smash and rebuild, start from scratch—wouldn't that be more perfect? A dull blade killing for ten thousand years, innocent deaths, inexplicable grudges, wronged souls unable to find release, countless self-proclaimed cultivators spawning endless, inexhaustible heavenly demons of the external world. These things are merely hidden from the world's eyes. In fact, compared to a clean, neat slash, there are more deaths and more troubles."
Zhou Mi raised a hand and made a chopping motion. "Cut the Gordian knot with a quick knife. The tangled hemp is all shattered, and heaven and earth return to clarity."
Feiran gritted his teeth and said, "It is said that the Ultimate Sage believes that if all people in the world were the same, that would be the greatest selfishness."
Zhou Mi withdrew his hand. "Then convince me with your ability. I can promise you one thing right here: Feiran can be both a new Rite Saint and a new Bai Ze. Treat the humans of the Vast World and the demons of the Desolate Wilderness equally. Because in the future, whatever the rules of heaven and earth become, you, Feiran, will have immense authority. Except for a certain framework I have in mind, all the veins and details will be decided by your word alone. I will not interfere."
You Feiran sincerely admire Rite Saint, don't you? So now, will you seize this ready-made opportunity and become him yourself?
Feiran, willing to stake his life, finally uttered a long-held thought: "I simply cannot trust a Zhou Mi who practices the 'Way of Asking the Road and Killing the Woodcutter'!"
Zhou Mi gave a knowing smile. "Just wait and see."
In ancient times, Rite Saint personally set the celestial phenomena and earthly laws, established the five measures, observed signs to mark time, cast tripods to establish writings, and created calendars. This was the beginning of human civilization.
Rite Saint, whom Bai Ze respectfully called "Little Master," was the first to establish verifiable, precedent-following standards of measurement: measuring length, calculating size, weighing weight. He also fixed the divisions of time, surveyed the four directions of heaven and earth, used the "handful" method to measure mountains, seas, and the River of Time, calculated the amount of heavenly spiritual energy, set the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the hours, the twelve months, and the twenty-four solar terms.
Measuring length without missing a hair. He named the five powers, dividing five artifacts among five people. Three of them became the founding ancestors of the Yin-Yang, Techniques, and Geography schools among the hundred masters. He personally forged the first copper coin and snowflake coin in the human world. Heaven forms patterns, earth forms shapes, humans form fate. Heaven, earth, and man each rest in their own destiny, each follow their own path, yet the three talents converge, and the way harmonizes. Size, length, weight, height, time, spiritual energy—these originally intangible words, in Rite Saint's hands, were all manifested as tangible objects of the Great Way.
Thus, within the Confucian Temple, Rite Saint was jokingly called the "Great Accountant." There was also a accompanying sacrificial sage called the "Little Accountant," who earned real money and was so skilled at it that he didn't let the merchant school steal the show.
Zhou Mi traveled the Desolate Wilderness, debated with the Great Ancestor of the Desolate Wilderness on Tuo Yue Mountain for a thousand years, and the two deduced myriad possibilities. One of the things Zhou Mi sought was nothing less than overturning heaven and earth, plunging all things into darkness, making yin and yang baseless, knowledge and consciousness nonexistent, and the Way without support. That would be true rites collapsing and music decaying, earthenware pots thundering like bells. In the end, Zhou Mi would re-establish the celestial laws and earthly rituals, re-create the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to fix the calendar. Under such a crushing Great Way, dragging along all affairs, the so-called fluctuations of the human heart, the so-called changes of the seas and mulberry fields—all become insignificant.

After the three of them finished eating rice with braised mandarin fish, Zhou Mi set down his bowl and chopsticks, and suddenly laughed for no reason. "Those who have waited long will fly high. Those who bloom early will wither soon."
After the blue-robed scholar on Vial Continent, who had only a tiny spark of numinous light, laughed and asked, "Where is Jia Sheng?"
Zhou Mi stood up and answered with a smile, "Zhou Mi is here."
Zhou Mi said to himself, "Indeed, I must do something now, to let the scholars of the Vast World know what true..."
He paused mid-sentence, stood up, and smiled at Feiran and She Yue.
She Yue said, "Do you know what it's like when immortal gods of the fourteen realms fight? Mountains move, seas overturn, heaven and earth turn upside down?"
Feiran glanced at the seal beside him and said softly, "It's the opening of a book that brings profit."
The three teachings and hundred schools, three million scrolls in the library.
The throne-sitting great demon Bai Ying of Support Isle, and Qie Yun's master "Lu Fa Yan" from the Desolate Wilderness, almost simultaneously shrank the earth and rivers to arrive at Peach Leaf Ferry in Tongye Continent, standing on the water's surface.
Zhou Mi took a step forth, first forming a dao union with the skeletal great demon Bai Ying, then walked toward the blue-robed old man with a bamboo flute at his waist. The three in one were the true "Jia Sheng," the true Wen Hai Zhou Mi.
In the past, in the Vast World, there was a Confucian scholar of quick aptitude. As a child reading, he could read several lines at once and never forget. He forgot to eat and sleep, reading and copying books day and night, until he became emaciated and wasted away. After recovering from a serious illness, he turned to cultivation, only to have a longer lifespan to read more books, insisting on using the finite to seek the infinite. The scholar began building a mountain of books in his heart. As he cultivated and climbed, there was no one to teach him the way, no true immortal scriptures at hand. He relied solely on the three-teaching, hundred-school books he had memorized in his heart. From the vast sea of Vast World books, he extracted the essence, forcibly piecing together fragments and scattered words into a cultivation manual. In the qi refiner's Abiding Realm, he leaped straight to the Jade Obscurity Realm. Later, he manifested a boundless sea of learning in his heart, using his yin spirit to travel far, dividing his mind to remain immersed within. He refined his essence to roam the eight extremes, his mind wandering ten thousand fathoms. In the long years of traveling and studying, cultivating, he continued to gather books extensively, inquiring into the fundamental tenets of the hundred schools, constantly expanding the heaven and earth of his heart's sea of learning. He entered the Jade Obscurity Realm through Confucian learning, but used the Daoist secret method of "emptiness as the furnace, sun and moon as the candle" to enter the Immortal Realm, returning to simplicity. Then he turned to delve into the Buddhist Sixteen Visualizations, finally choosing the White Bone Visualization among them, achieving the Ascending Realm. Then he used his heterogeneous learning to unite with the Way in the Fourteen Realm, secretly devouring and merging with Master Qie Yun.
Now, the Desolate Wilderness had recently supplemented several thrones. After the Support Isle battle, the old faces among the thrones were few.
The gray-clad old man who continuously struggled with Sui Mountain across Dragon Trench, the Great Ancestor of Tuo Yue Mountain.
The sword cultivator Xiao Xun, who arbitrarily elevated the throne to the second highest position. Wen Hai Zhou Mi, who didn't care at all. The swordsman Liu Cha.
Yang Zhi, heading to the sea near South Bodhi Continent, targeting the Sea Suppressing Tower standing in the continent's center. The pure Confucian Chen Chun'an, bearing the sun and moon on his shoulders, would be left to Liu Cha to handle.
Fei Fei was still on the battlefield between Vial Continent and Tongye Continent.
Niu Dao, having lost his golden armor's restraint, was stationed on Golden Armor Continent.
The great demon Wu Yue, and the one wielding a spear, using a high-ranking deity's corpse as his throne, were both already on the South Bodhi Continent battlefield.
And Yuan Shou, responsible for dealing with Jade Gui Sect and Jiang Shangzhen—this throne-sitting great demon was the one near Gathering Mushroom Mountain that Cui Dongshan and Green Pure had called "that little brother of our Upright Sun Mountain's moving mountain ancestor."
Moreover, Lotus Hermitage Master, Huang Luan, Yao Jia, Qie Yun, Bai Ying, and plus the Desolate Wilderness's Fourteen Realm "Lu Fa Yan"—all had been "united with the Way" by Zhou Mi.
Among these, there was also a human of the Ascending Realm from Golden Armor Continent, Wan Yan Lao Jing.
It should be noted that as Zhou Mi's yang spirit incarnation, the throne Bai Ying, over thousands of years in the Desolate Wilderness, had refined countless demon cultivators into puppets.
Old Bookworm Starved but Not Filled? Wen Hai Zhou Mi, or Jia Sheng of the Vast World—eating again and again was indeed terrifyingly voracious.

As Zhou Mi left, She Yue put down her bowl and chopsticks on the small table, sat cross-legged, and let out a long breath.
Feiran laughed. "You're scared too?"
She Yue rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid. Pretending not to be scared is fine. Actually not being scared—I can't do that."
Jiang Shangzhen, Chen Ping'an, and then Mr. Zhou—scholars were all cut from the same cloth. Terrifying.
Feiran couldn't refute that.
She Yue suddenly asked, "How was the immortal rice, the braised mandarin fish, and the fish broth mixed with rice?"
Feiran said helplessly, "Not bad."
He hadn't had any appetite for food or soup just now.
After all, seeing his teacher who had passed on the Way, what was Feiran supposed to think? How could he still hate Zhou Mi? His master was already Zhou Mi. Even his senior brother Qie Yun was Zhou Mi. In fact, if the situation stabilized in the future, Zhou Mi could fully give Feiran back a master and a senior brother. But Feiran couldn't even be sure who the future Feiran would be. Until this moment, Feiran somewhat understood the pathetic bitterness of Li Zhen.
She Yue said with some regret, "At least he's someone who's read books. Couldn't he say something elegantly nice?"
Feiran lay on the bow, as if his life had never been so devoid of spirit, so utterly defeated.
She Yue said, "Don't overthink. Eat your fill, drink your fill, and you'll go far."
Feiran said, "I envy you."
Feiran sat up, put back on the face he was used to wearing. She Yue glanced at him and flew into a rage. "Spit out the tea, rice, and fish soup!"
Feiran planned to rise into the wind to watch the great battle.
A battle that might very well be the pinnacle of the Fourteen Realm... a one-on-one duel.
In an instant, Feiran and She Yue both tensed up almost simultaneously. Not only because Zhou Mi had returned and was standing right next to Feiran, but also because at the other end of the bow, there was now an extremely unfamiliar blue-robed scholar.
Then the two scholars, each separately, swept Feiran and She Yue into their sleeves.
Zhou Mi smiled. "Taking without asking in front of me—even if you were dead, you'd come back to life."
The blue-robed scholar said, "Books read through, all misunderstood. You think you've achieved refined unity and inner sagehood with outer kingship. That's why it's bad to be too clever."
Zhou Mi proposed, "You're reluctant to give up half of Vial Continent, and I'm reluctant to give up half of Tongye Continent. How about we switch places?"
The world shifted, and the two found themselves in a vast sea of books.
But the next moment, they were back at opposite ends of the boat's bow.