Chapter 746: The Night Homecomer
In the blizzard night, a figure in a bright red dharma robe casually opened the mountain-and-water prohibition and stepped out of a cave. He stood at the entrance and turned to look at the cliffside carving: three characters—"Creation Grotto."
Reed Flower Island? The Creation Grotto that once hid a great demon of the Ascension realm?
He gazed into the distance. The heavy snow had not yet stopped; snowflakes were as large as mats. There was a profound beauty between heaven and earth—a thousand miles of white under the snow, coupled with a perfectly round moon.
Earlier, Chen Ping'an had dreamed three dreams, then woke up. Had he truly woken, or had he just entered another dream?
When Chen Ping'an opened the door, ripples surged.
This tense immortal estate on the sea immediately detected the anomaly.
Sword light and treasure light flared up, tearing through the night. Within a few blinks, figures converged on the Creation Grotto from different directions, encircling it—a dozen or more cultivators.
Chen Ping'an quickly tapped his robe with a finger. The bright red dharma robe instantly changed to the same white as the snow. Then he covered his face with a young man's mask.
Chen Ping'an reached out to catch a snowflake, as if needing to confirm whether he was still in a dream.
The cultivators formed a formation, on high alert.
A Nascent Soul realm sword cultivator, standing in the air on his flying sword, took the lead in the center. His expression was solemn, fearing it might be a hidden great demon that had been committing crimes at sea, now making a desperate last stand. In recent years, the number of immortal estates and sects on the sea that had been destroyed was even greater than during the war, all due to the demons and monsters that had fled from the five continents on land to hide in the sea.
Beside the old man in the tall crown were two young men and women, also sword cultivators. They looked like a golden boy and jade girl, a pity they weren't celestial lovers.
All three sword cultivators wore at their waists a jade seal with a long gold tassel, inscribed with ancient seal script and water patterns, and carved with a miniature flying sword.
Seeing so many people at once—something that hadn't happened in years—made Chen Ping'an feel a bit unaccustomed. He held the snowflake, its coolness in his palm.
Chen Ping'an had already recognized the origins of the three sword cultivators: outsiders from Reed Flower Island. Based on the form of the jade seals, they were orthodox disciples of the Darang River sect on the southern side of Posua Continent.
From the very fact that these three had appeared here tonight, Chen Ping'an inferred quite a bit about the current situation.
Reed Flower Island and the Rain Dragon Sect were a crucial hub connecting the former site of Inverted Suspension Mountain and Tongye Continent. Yet only one Nascent Soul sword cultivator was stationed here—and he had crossed the sea from southern Posua Continent. Could it be that the world had truly found peace? That southern Posua Continent had not only successfully defended its territory but also had enough surplus strength after the war to send cultivators across the sea to garrison here? Then what about his three dreams? How long had he been dreaming? Where were the Upper Five Realm great demons of the Barren Wastelands world? Had they all been wiped out by the Righteous Qi world? Otherwise, a place as important as the Rain Dragon Sect and Reed Flower Island would certainly be guarded by Upper Five Realm cultivators with formidable killing power, at least two or three. If it were in the closing stages, having an Ascension realm great cultivator in charge, with twenty or thirty Upper Five Realm cultivators joining forces to cut off the demons' escape, would not be excessive.
Sure enough, as Cui Chan had said, he had missed a lot.
But at least the world had become stable.
The three sword cultivators noticed that the young man's eyes softened, especially when his gaze fell on them—there was even... warmth.
This made the young female sword cultivator unconsciously sidle closer to the old man. That sneaky-looking youth had a handsome face, but who would have thought he was so frivolous?
He was tall and slender, with a jade hairpin in his hair, wearing a white robe. However, there was a slight, almost imperceptible stoop to his posture.
He seemed to have the aura of a Golden Core realm cultivator.
The old Nascent Soul sword cultivator still didn't dare let his guard down. In a somewhat stiff Middle-Earth Divine Continent elegant speech, he asked, "Who are you?"
The youth, however, responded in Tongye Continent's elegant speech with a smile: "Tongye Continent, Jade Gui Sect second-grade guest elder, Cao Mo. Traveling far and passing through here. My apologies for the disturbance. I've long admired the Creation Grotto and wanted to visit secretly, but I couldn't resist and accidentally triggered the prohibition."
An old man from Reed Flower Island immediately asked in Tongye Continent's elegant speech, "If you are a guest elder of Jade Gui Sect, have you ever visited Cloud Cavern Paradise?"
Chen Ping'an was waiting for this. He nodded. "Naturally. I've visited all eighteen scenic spots of Cloud Cavern."
Back in the Summer Retreat Palace, during occasional idle moments, he had browsed through various long-sealed secret archives, so he was familiar with both Tongye Sect and Jade Gui Sect.
The old man from Reed Flower Island smiled. "Since Immortal Master Cao has traveled to Cloud Cavern Paradise, you should know about the Rotten Rope Pavilion at Cloud Gate Ferry. There's a permanent stall there. What does the stall outside the pavilion sell? And what are the old woman's rules for selling her goods?"
Chen Ping'an raised his hand, and a jade-bamboo folding fan appeared. He tapped it lightly against his palm and sneered. "As a guest elder, would I stoop to the Rotten Rope Pavilion, a place that cheats outsiders out of a few Snow Flower coins? I can't bear the shame. When I traveled Cloud Cavern Paradise, I only went to Yellow Crane Rock to drink three bowls of Moonlight Wine, then slept in the White Cloud Pile at Cloud Archive Peak. At dawn, I used a white reed broom to sweep the clouds. I gathered white clouds into my sleeves—no paltry one jin limit. I took three jin every time, and the price could be discounted by 40 percent. Jealous, aren't you?"
The old man from Reed Flower Island was quite taken aback, but believed most of it. Especially the arrogance in the manner of this youth-faced cultivator from Tongye Continent—it felt very familiar to the old man. In the early years, the registered immortal masters of Tongye Continent all had that kind of attitude, so infuriating that one wanted to punch them in the face. The younger they were, the more their eyes were on top of their heads. But nowadays, among Tongye Continent cultivators, most of those types had rolled off to the Fifth World.
The old Nascent Soul cultivator from Darang River transmitted a private thought: "Huchen, first confirm whether he's a demon."
The disciple named Huchen obeyed his master's command and immediately sacrificed a life-bound ancient mirror. The young man silently recited the dao incantation. With one hand holding the mirror and the other forming a hand seal, he gently brushed it across the mirror's surface. The sound was clear and cold. The ancient mirror was inscribed with two rings of inscriptions, and two strings of golden characters began to rotate, flowing with brilliant colors. The inscriptions read: "Ancient mirror reflects spirit, simplicity stores purity, riding the moon returns to truth," and "A round moon holds true method; myriad forms cannot hide."
Chen Ping'an continued to tap his palm with the folded fan. He looked up, squinting. It was a Pure Moon Mirror, one of the six great demon-revealing mirror categories of the Righteous Qi world. From the barely perceptible ripples of the young cultivator's mind-spirit, combined with the lightning method signs, it should be a divine lightning technique from the side paths of lightning methods—specifically designed to suppress demons, mountain sprites, malevolent ghosts, and improperly worshipped shrine deities.
The young sword cultivator raised his arm high, and the ancient mirror shot out a brilliant beam of light, clear and penetrating, enveloping the white-robed youth standing at the entrance of the Creation Grotto.
Chen Ping'an remained calm, merely tightening his grip on the jade-bamboo fan.
In the eyes of those cultivators—
The youth stood motionless, letting the white mirror light shine upon him.
White robe like snow, a young man of fine bearing.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Daoist friend, this Pure Moon Ancient Mirror of yours has actually been spell-veiled by your master. Its true form is the higher-grade Macaque View Ancient Moon-Raking Mirror, isn't it? This is a dharma artifact that can be used as a half-immortal weapon. If I were a Jade Perfection realm demon, I wouldn't be able to hide my true form. No wonder, fellow Daoist, with only a Dragon Gate realm cultivation, can train here—you hold a heavy treasure and are fully confident. Young as you are, already a Darang River orthodox sword cultivator, and wielding such an immortal artifact that combines offense and defense, I, Cao Mo, regard you as a fellow Golden Core practitioner."
"Those who form a Golden Core are my kind."
Chen Ping'an cupped his hands in salute, shook them, and sourly quoted an old verse: "In dreams, I rake the moon from the water; dear friend, I view ancient winds with the macaque."
The young Dragon Gate cultivator put away the ancient mirror.
The old Golden Core cultivator from Reed Flower Island said helplessly, "There really isn't much immortal fortune left in this Creation Grotto."
The youth seemed to be of a stubborn nature, confessing frankly, "If I don't see it with my own eyes, I can't give up."
The old Golden Core said, "Immortal Master Cao sneaked into Reed Flower Island and triggered the Creation Grotto's prohibition, breaking our sect's rules. You need to come to the Ancestral Hall."
But the youth only laughed. "You've asked your questions, and the demon-revealing mirror has been used. Drinking tea at the Ancestral Hall shouldn't be necessary, right?"
The old Nascent Soul sword cultivator from Darang River in southern Posua Continent said, "You've already broken one rule. I advise Immortal Master Cao to keep one more rule. Once we send a flying sword message to Divine Seal Peak and receive a reply, we will let you go. Until then, why not stay as a guest on Reed Flower Island for a few days?"
Chen Ping'an said helplessly, "I'm just a guest elder of Jade Gui Sect. The name Cao Mo isn't on Divine Seal Peak's mountain-and-water register. Once the great chaos started, I couldn't go to the Fifth World, so I hid. Now that the world is peaceful, I dared to come down from the mountain and travel."
None of the cultivators looked pleased.
Their earlier wary gazes turned into undisguised contempt.
The backbone-hard Jade Gui Sect—how did they end up with such a guest elder? Could it be that he was actually a guest elder of Tongye Sect?
The female sword cultivator said, "What about your guest elder token?!"
The youth blinked. "Sect Master Jiang of Jade Gui Sect once invited me and Lu Fang to go to Divine Seal Peak and help out. I was afraid of death and didn't dare go, so I sent a flying sword to Jade Gui Sect, returning that rare gui token."
The old Golden Core from Reed Flower Island was slightly surprised. "Does that mean Sword Immortal Lu didn't pass away via reincarnation sorrow?"
The youth seemed to regret his loose tongue. He said nothing, but under the watchful eyes of the two groups of cultivators, after hesitating for a long while, he said, "Lu Fang and I once traveled together in Lotus Flower Paradise, both cultivating at Bird Gaze Peak. I just left that paradise earlier."
The old Golden Core clearly knew the Jade Gui Sect and Tongye Continent very well. He now began exchanging thoughts via heart-to-heart voice with the three Darang River sword cultivators.
Finally, the old Golden Core said, "One last question. Please, Immortal Master Cao, tell me about that Sword Immortal Lu. I implore you to speak without reservation and to be careful. I have actually drunk at the same table as both Sect Master Jiang and Sword Immortal Lu!"
The youth seemed somewhat annoyed. He turned his head, craning his neck. "Are you people done or not?! Why don't you just beat me to death already? Come on, use your flying sword and chop this way. Such arrogance from you Darang River sword cultivators! No wonder Sect Master Jiang once drank wine with that love-tormented Sword Immortal Lu and discussed heroes, saying that among all the sword immortals on your southern Posua Continent, someone like Cao Xi wasn't even worthy of shining his shoes. Only the Darang River's Yuan Sword Immortal—man and sword, both elegant—deserved his toast."
The three Darang River sword cultivators immediately looked more amiable.
Their own sect, their own master, being so admired by the Jade Gui Sect leader—how could they not genuinely feel happy?
Yet in the depths of their eyes, there was a faint trace of sorrow.
Of the five branches of Darang River, not all were sword cultivators. Only one branch inherited the legacy of Sword Immortal Yuan Qingshu.
The old Nascent Soul sword cultivator waved his sleeve, as if finding this cowardly wretch too annoying—better to let him leave as soon as possible.
Chen Ping'an tucked the jade-bamboo fan into his waist, again cupped his hands in a distant salute to the three sword cultivators, and then flew away from Reed Flower Island, heading toward Tongye Continent. First, he would go see Jade Gui Sect.
Jiang Shangzhen was still alive, and he had become the sect master of Jade Gui Sect?
Truly a registered offering master of Decadent Mountain.
On Reed Flower Island, Chen Ping'an hadn't asked anything more.
What he needed to know, he would know.
What he didn't want to hear or know, he wouldn't be able to stop anyway.
That Darang River Nascent Soul sword cultivator was hiding his aura, using water escape technique to trail him from afar.
Chen Ping'an pretended not to notice.
But after about an incense stick's time, he moved a thought, activated the Water Character Seal among his five-element lifebound objects, and executed a water-evading divine ability. In an instant, he escaped from the Nascent Soul cultivator's sight.
The old sword cultivator returned to Reed Flower Island and said, "It shouldn't be a demon. But we still need to send flying sword letters separately to Rain Dragon Sect and Jade Gui Sect. That Cao Mo is deeply hidden—likely a Nascent Soul cultivator, extremely skilled in water techniques, which explains how he became a guest elder of Jade Gui Sect. Most likely, he really came coveting the Creation Grotto."
The female sword cultivator said indignantly, "Tongye Continent has the most of this kind of person! Their skill at fleeing is second to none in the world!"
The old Golden Core from Reed Flower Island sighed. "To be blunt, being a coward and hiding in the mountains is still better than those bastards who attached themselves to demon beasts and did great evil."
The old sword cultivator sneered. "The entire Tongye Continent—ten mountains, nine empty. Most fled. They deserved to have Bottle Gourd Continent cultivators come south and penetrate deeply. And they still have the nerve to complain at the Middle-Earth Confucian Temple? If I were one of those Confucian Temple sages, I'd have slapped them long ago."
Chen Ping'an walked on the sea. The blizzard had started again.
Snow and wind vast and boundless. He stood alone, looking around—it all seemed like a celestial capital.
At that moment, Chen Ping'an had a nearby dimensional object in his sleeve. He didn't worry about it; it was a gift from Cui Chan, without any mountain-and-water prohibition set on it.
After confirming that no cultivators were spying on him, Chen Ping'an took off the white jade hairpin.
No matter how hard he racked his brains, he would never have expected this.
When he immersed his mind into it, he found that within the shattered small heaven realm lived a group of children from the Sword Qi Great Wall—all sword immortal seedlings. The oldest was seven or eight, the youngest four or five.
The children were all familiar with each other, having lived together in the small heaven realm inside the white jade hairpin.
The small heaven realm wasn't large, but it was complete despite its size. Besides houses and buildings, it had mountains, water, plants, and all the necessities: pots, pans, bowls, utensils, firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar.
There was even a Dragon-Slaying Cliff used for tempering flying swords, as large as the pillar base of a mountain-and-water shrine—priceless.
Chen Ping'an took out one of the talisman boats from the dimensional object. There were three boats in total, including a Flowing Cloud Boat. Chen Ping'an chose a relatively simple talisman boat, large enough for three or four dozen people. He brought the children out of the small heaven realm one by one, then reinserted the white jade hairpin.
A boy with his hands clasped behind his back raised his head high and frowned slightly. "Who are you, sir? Where is the Hidden Lord?"
"I am Chen Ping'an."
Chen Ping'an crouched down and rubbed his brow. "Report your names."
Five little boys: He Gu, Cheng Zhaolu, Bai Xuan, Yu Xichui, Yu Qingzhang.
Four little girls: He Xiangting, Yao Xiaoyan, Nalan Yudie, Sun Chunwang.
Seven Lower Five Realm sword cultivators, two Cavern Dwelling realm sword cultivators—Bai Xuan and Yudie.
Chen Ping'an said, "First: Do not tell anyone your hometown. From now on, I will teach you the elegant speech of both Bottle Gourd Continent and Tongye Continent every day."
He Gu crossed his arms and said angrily, "Why can't we say our hometown? Are you ashamed of us? How did you become Hidden Lord? If I'd known, I'd have put you at the bottom of the list. Study elegant speech? Not interested!"
He was the one who had thrown aside the old deaf man from the top ten sword immortals and replaced him with this young, low-realm Hidden Lord.
Yu Xichui nodded gently and said in a mature tone, "We sword cultivators put our words into our sword challenges."
Chen Ping'an ignored the children's complaints and continued, "Second: Practice sword well from now on. That's all. Just those two requirements."
He Gu wasn't happy again. He glared. "What? That's it? My elders at home all said you have a lot of schemes and a sharp mind. Especially that you didn't study well and were best at cheating people. At the city wall, you could even participate in the top ten sword immortals' council, and you weren't a sword immortal. My mother asked how, and my father said: by relying on a mouth that could cheat people to death without paying. But today you're not talking much. Could you be a fake Hidden Lord?"
"Didn't study well, best at cheating people"?
My tavern is famous for fair prices and no cheating children. My betting games are famous for everyone making money and dividing the spoils.
Chen Ping'an stood up, smiled, and *bapped* him on the head. The little troublemaker clutched his head but wasn't angry. Instead, he nodded, his childish face full of satisfaction. "No wonder my dad said the second boss is a treacherous scholar who flips his temper faster than flipping a book. You really are the Hidden Lord."
Chen Ping'an laughed despite himself. Must have lost his bet—not a shill. Can't blame me.
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment. "Add one more thing: From now on, call me Cao Mo—that's my alias—or Master Cao. I'll be your sword art guardian for now. When you reach my hometown later, whether you enter my mountain sect is up to fate. No forcing."
These children, now traveling far from home, had probably exhausted all their grief of parting with family and friends inside the white jade hairpin.
They were leaving home, but he was returning home.
"Then let's high-five, seal the deal. Consider it meeting each other."
Chen Ping'an's eyes were gentle. He bent down, extended his hand, and high-fived each child. Some kids kept a straight face, standing still, neither raising their hands nor slapping. Chen Ping'an didn't mind.
Chen Ping'an stood at one end of the boat, steering the talisman boat on the wind. He didn't fly too high above the sea. He was already feeling a headache. He had thought he would travel alone through Tongye Continent, but this chaotic scene was unexpected.
Some children leaned on the railing, whispering among themselves.
Some sat cross-legged, beginning to nurture their flying swords.
"Such a huge expanse of water—can't see the end. How deep do you think it is? If we threw our Great Wall in here, would we be on the water or under it?"
"Go ask the Hidden... ask Cao Mo. He's read a lot, plenty of knowledge."
The talisman boat skimmed the sea. During the journey, Chen Ping'an spotted a group of Reed Flower Island pearl fishers heading out to sea. He cast an illusion on the boat and took a detour.
But traveling this far on a talisman boat consumed way too much immortal money. Chen Ping'an looked up, hoping for a cross-continent ferry passing by from west to east. Compared to his own boat crossing the ocean, riding a ferry would be much more economical. Moreover, these children, now in the Righteous Qi world, would inevitably have to interact with people outside the Sword Qi Great Wall. A ferry ride would be relatively safe, a good choice. But Chen Ping'an didn't really expect a ferry to appear. Historically, Tongye Continent was too isolated; there was no such thing.
Chen Ping'an took out his Sword-Nurturing Gourd, tied it at his waist, and gently patted the gourd. Old friend, we meet again.
He then tucked the jade-bamboo folding fan, gifted by his student Cui Dongshan, at a slant into his waist. Sitting at the bow, he asked the children about their situation inside the white jade hairpin.
The little girl named Nalan Yudie had a crisp voice, clear in her narration. She spoke like a string of popping beans, recounting their "cultivation" over the years.
The flow of time inside was slow, outside fast—truly a separate heaven.
So actually, these nine children hadn't practiced sword for long inside the broken small heaven realm of the white jade hairpin.
Chen Ping'an was silent for a long time, then suddenly asked, "For tonight's midnight snack, how about we have fish stew? The taste of sea fish and river fish is different, you know."
He Gu was the least shy. "Not really in the mood, but I can force myself to eat it."
Yu Zhang added, "This Hidden Lord isn't imposing at all. Why not just give orders directly?"
Then the kid added, "There's no outsider here, no need to call you Cao Mo."
Chen Ping'an smiled.
Yu Zha immediately raised both hands. "Fine, fine, so many rules. Cao Mo, Master Cao, Sir Cao, good enough?"
Chen Ping'an sighed.
A bit like back then when he had Li Huai around.
Chen Ping'an used a water technique to condense a fishing rod that seemed made of jade. Then he used a strand of martial artist's true qi to form the fishing line and hook. No bait. He cast it far out, dropping it into the sea.
Then he closed his eyes and focused, using the subtle vibrations of the slender line to sense the fish in the water around.
Xiaoyan exclaimed in admiration. "Cao Mo is very celestial!"
Nalan Yudie raised an eyebrow, smug. "Of course he is. Otherwise, how could he make my sister so devotedly admire the Hidden... Master Cao?! My sister saved up all her immortal money and bought stamp fans and the Bi Jian Xian Pu from the Yan Family Shop. How many times did she go to the tavern to drink, but never caught a glimpse of Master Cao. But every time she came home, she was still very happy. Grandpa said she was bewitched. She wouldn't listen to advice, slackened in sword practice, and often secretly practiced calligraphy, copying the inscriptions on the fans—chicken scratch."
Xiaoyan said softly, "When can we see Sister Wanwan?"
Nalan Yudie sighed. "Hard to say. I only know my sister went to Inverted Suspension Mountain with Fatty Yan and the others."
Chen Ping'an opened his eyes, holding the rod in his right hand, removed the Sword-Nurturing Gourd with his left, and took a sip.
The long-missed taste of wine. It was the *scorching sword* from his own tavern.
Maybe it had been too long since he last drank. Maybe it was because there was no pickled vegetable to accompany it. Maybe it was because there was no bowl of scallion noodles waiting for him to pick up his chopsticks. So just that one sip burned fiercely, nearly making him cry, his guts twist.
On the road of life, there are many fleeting passersby you meet and never see again. But in the heart, those passersby might be the permanent dwellers of others. They still smile, still speak loudly, still sit at the same table drinking drunk. They still make you think of someone, and they seem to be staring back at you, wordless, leaving you speechless.
Chen Ping'an slowly turned his head and looked at the children—some chattering away, some silently practicing their swords.
The dream seemed real. Really, it felt like a dream.
This must be what books mean by "a lifetime apart."
Chen Ping'an didn't dare drink too much. He turned around and shouted to those little sparrows from the city wall, "Hey."
The children who were chatting all turned their heads at once. Even the ones practicing swords perked up their ears.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Once you're in the Righteous Qi world, if anyone dares to bully you, I'll beat them to death."
Bai Xuan asked, "What if you run into an Immortal realm cultivator in Tongye Continent, or even an Ascension realm? You wouldn't be able to beat them."
This child liked to hold his hands behind his back, pretending to be an adult.
Chen Ping'an smiled and shook his head.
Among the indigenous cultivators of Tongye Continent, there probably weren't any Ascension realm cultivators left.
As for Immortal realm—
Whether he could beat them, they could find out for themselves.
But the Upper Five Realm cultivators who remained in Tongye Continent now, since they didn't leave back then and survived, were all heroes or hegemon that deserved respect.
If he could avoid fighting, he would. Peace brings prosperity.
Now that Chen Ping'an no longer needed to merge with half of the Sword Qi Great Wall, he had both lost his crutch and broken free of his cage.
As for how Cui Chan had done it—only heaven knows.
Because the sewing needle work of the wick carried the true names of great demons, this meant Chen Ping'an was constantly practicing his fists. Everywhere, all the time, under the invisible suppression of the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
In the small world of his own body—sinew, bone, blood, flesh, channels, energy palaces, and even his soul—it was as if an entire mountain-and-river small world was being subjected to a mysterious, heavy pressure. Everything trembled. It was like several grandmasters were ruthlessly feeding him punches, tempering his physique. This familiar feeling was also a long-lost... peace of mind.
So earlier, at the Creation Grotto, when he opened that mountain-and-water prohibition, Chen Ping'an had inadvertently failed to adapt to the heaven-and-earth qi force, and his realm "dropped" to a Golden Core aura. With his normally cautious nature, he wouldn't have let those cultivators detect his presence.
From meeting Cui Chan to inexplicably ending up in the Creation Grotto on Reed Flower Island—everything was strange. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Get used to it.
For now, he needed to use concealment techniques to disguise himself as a Golden Core earthly immortal.
The white-robed "youth" tilted his head back, took a big gulp from the gourd, raised it high, and murmured with a smile, "Wine has a separate stomach; one need not be big."
Xiao Yan timidly asked, "Where's the fish?"
Chen Ping'an suddenly lifted the rod, yanking a small fish the size of a palm out of the water and flinging it onto the boat.
The children stared at each other in shock.
That's it?
Not a mountain-like big fish?
Cheng Zhaolu immediately ran to catch the little fish, earning a taunt of "little lackey" from his peers.
Inside the small heaven realm, Cheng Zhaolu did all the cooking. He was quite good at it.
Yu Xichui whispered to He Gu, "I still think he's a fake Hidden Lord. Let's be careful. We don't want to get sold and still count the money."
Many of the children nodded like little chicks pecking at rice.
Chen Ping'an remembered something. He took out a sapphire-blue dharma robe woven from fine bamboo strips and put it on, then removed his previous mask and put on a middle-aged man's face. At the same time, he suppressed all his qi cultivator energy, revealing instead a Golden Body realm martial artist aura. He hung the narrow saber *Zhan Kan* at his waist, reached out to condense water energy into a bamboo hat, and put it on his head.
A true blade-drawing wanderer, Cao Mo.
And now, Chen Ping'an's disguise techniques touched upon the operation of his own small world. Unless someone had Immortal realm cultivation, they would rarely see through it.
Bai Xuan sat at the bow, hands still behind his back. "Fake my foot. You don't think he's the Hidden Lord? How many sword cultivators from our Sword Qi Great Wall change faces every day, even sometimes dressing up as women to scavenge on the battlefield?"
Sima Yudie nodded. "My sister said the Hidden Lord back then was very colorful, even prettier and more womanly than her!"
Chen Ping'an continued fishing, holding the Sword-Nurturing Gourd and taking small sips, squinting with a smile. He murmured softly, "In the ancient post station, snow filled the courtyard. A traveler came riding on horseback. The snow on his hat was an inch thick. The knight dismounted and entered the hall. Snowlight shone, making his face even darker. He drank to drunkenness, spoke not a word. He cast down a gold leaf, mounted, and suddenly rode away with a short whip. Charging into the snow, he cut down bandits without rest. Unknown his name."
The children waited a long time for the next sentence, but none came. Yu Xichui began his habit of undercutting again. "Where's the second fish?"
Chen Ping'an snapped back irritably, "Nag, nag, nag—what's the rush? The fish is calling its friends and family to bring its ancestor. Travel takes time!"
Chen Ping'an suddenly looked up, straining his eyes into the distance. Was his luck that good tonight? There really was a cross-continent ferry heading toward Tongye Continent?
But before that, it seemed he had to deal with an Immortal realm cultivator. She came flying at lightning speed, using a secret technique to connect with water energy, scanning the waters within a hundred li for him—probably still unwilling to give up on finding the water-escaping Cao Mo. Then she discovered this talisman boat. She turned into a rainbow and arrived, but didn't land on the boat. Instead, she flew side by side with the boat, about a hundred paces away, and warned Chen Ping'an, "You're taking so many children on a night journey over the sea. Be careful."
Chen Ping'an was stunned for a moment. He put down his fishing rod, stood up, cupped his hands, and asked with a smile, "Senior doesn't suspect our identity?"
The female Immortal realm cultivator laughed. "The demons and monsters around here, big and small, have all been killed off by me. Why would I suspect you?"
Chen Ping'an said nothing more.
She asked, "Do you really know Jiang Shangzhen?"