Chapter 764: Inside the Ancestral Hall
Forty-three members of the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall registry led the way, followed by thirty-six observers. Following the Mountain Lord Chen Ping'an, they offered incense, bowed to the hanging portraits, and performed three formal bows. Then, each person inserted incense into the censer according to the order of reverence. As the host, Chen Ping'an also had to return the courtesy and thank each observer individually. This alone took a full three-quarters of an hour.
Below the three hanging portraits stood a table and two chairs. One chair was empty, the other belonged to Chen Ping'an, but he never sat down. The man in the blue shirt, his back to the portraits, faced the direction of the ancestral hall's main entrance, returning the courtesy to each person who offered incense. Among the more than thirty observing guests, some smiled and nodded to the Mountain Lord, while others, even if they spoke, kept their words extremely brief—at most, offering a quiet congratulations. No one took this opportunity to engage in lengthy pleasantries with Chen Ping'an.
Warm Tree, whose registered name was Chen Ruchu, served as the incense official responsible for chanting the mountain and river praises, so she stood beside Chen Ping'an. She needed to announce the names and sect origins of the guests offering incense, then follow the Mountain Lord in returning the courtesy to each guest.
Chen Ping'an was the first to sit down, and then the hosts and guests followed suit, taking their seats in an orderly fashion.
Today, the seats in the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall were divided into three types. The first type, of course, belonged to those qualified to participate in the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall discussions—those who already possessed a "unshakable" seat in the Fallen Mountain Ancestral Hall. Besides the Mountain Lord Chen Ping'an, these included his student Cui Dongshan, his chief disciple Pei Qian, and his student Cao Qinglang.
Also included were the head steward Zhu Lian, the mountain guardian Zhou Mili, Sui Youbian, Lu Baixiang, Wei Xian, Zhou Fei, Zhong Qiu, Zheng Dafeng, Chen Lingjun, and Chen Ruchu.
Of course, a few more chairs of this type would be added today. For example, the law keeper Changming, the accountant Wei Wenlong, Mi Yu, the guardian Cui Wei, Pei Xiang, and Hong Xia.
Next were those who, though listed in the ancestral hall's mountain and river registry, were second-generation direct disciples by seniority—such as Cen Yuanji, Yuanbao, Yuanlai, and others. Also included were ordinary guardians and guest elders, such as Jia Sheng and his two disciples from Qilong Lane, Du Wensi and Pang Lanxi from the Sackcloth Sect, and the nominal guest elders of Fallen Mountain.
Finally, there were the thirty-plus observing guests from various continents of Haoran.
The latter two types of chairs would only be brought out on days like today for people to sit on.
Today, the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall would inevitably gain a large number of new guest elders, all drawn from among the observing guests.
Chen Ping'an sat alone on the chair beneath the portraits, gazing at his student Cui Dongshan, who had just rushed back to Bottle Gourd Continent from the Central Earth Divine Continent. He nodded.
Cui Dongshan, for the first time, had changed from his snow-white dharma robe into a blue Confucian scholar's robe. He stood up and said softly, "Pei Qian, Cao Qinglang."
Pei Qian and Cao Qinglang stood up simultaneously.
Chen Ping'an also stood up. Cui Dongshan took the golden book and jade tablet obtained from the Confucian Temple and handed them to Pei Qian and Cao Qinglang respectively. Just as he was about to step forward to present a ritual artifact also obtained from the Confucian Temple to his teacher, Chen Ping'an gently shook his head. Instead, he took out a stack of books from his sleeve. Cui Dongshan understood and smiled, thinking that a bit of deviation from the rules was no big deal. Everyone inside the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall was family; no one would go spreading gossip to the Confucian Temple.
The golden book was offered to the heavens, transforming into a wisp of pure qi. The jade tablet was buried in the earth, merging with the mountain and river qi. These were used to announce the matter to heaven and earth, and to a continent's mountains and rivers.
The Central Earth Confucian Temple had sent a ritual artifact to be enshrined in the sect's ancestral hall.
Chen Ping'an didn't break this rule, but he added his own teacher's works to be enshrined alongside it.
Cao Qinglang took the golden book from Cui Dongshan and read the contents aloud. It was just over a hundred characters, all copied from an ancient ritual text.
Pei Qian took the jade tablet and, following his example, read the text on it.
Both the members of Fallen Mountain's registry and the observing guests had already stood up again.
These were inevitable formalities.
Then, Cao Qinglang and Pei Qian walked side-by-side out of the ancestral hall—one flew upward into the sky, the other went to the foot of the mountain.
They met up outside the gate and returned to the ancestral hall together, each saying in turn, "The ritual is complete."
Finally, Chen Ping'an and Cui Dongshan placed the stack of books and the Confucian Temple ritual artifact on the table.
Chen Warm Tree's voice rang out clearly: "The ritual is concluded!"
From that moment onward, Fallen Mountain on Bottle Gourd Continent had officially joined the ranks of the sects of Haoran.
The rituals observed by all the guests at today's ancestral hall gathering were, of course, the grandest rite of Haoran—Fallen Mountain's elevation to sect status.
For ordinary immortal mountain estates in Haoran to become sects, if they lacked the backing of a higher sect, the standard procedure was for the emperor of the dynasty where the ancestral hall was located to first recommend to the Central Earth Confucian Temple that the estate be made a sect candidate. After approval by a sacrificial sage guarding the continent's sky screen, the matter would be sent to the Confucian Temple for review and verification. The three vice-leaders and the three academy grand sacrificers of the Confucian Temple were responsible for jointly approving the matter, which would ultimately be decided by Ritual Sage. If any one of the seven Confucian sages did not nod, the sect could not be established. Of course, there had been cases in history where six had nodded but Ritual Sage did not—though this had only happened twice in ten thousand years.
The True Realm Sect at Book Tarn Lake, because its higher sect was the Jade Gui Sect of Parasol Leaf Continent and thanks to Xun Yuan's clever planning, actually didn't have much to do with the Great Li Song Family's emperor. This was somewhat against the rules, which was why both Jiang Shangzhen and Wei Ying, as successive lower sect leaders, regardless of their personal temperaments, realms, or methods, were extremely restrained when managing affairs at Book Tarn Lake. They placed great importance on mending relations with the Great Li Iron Cavalry, striving to conform to local customs and make amends for past faults.
As for Ruan Qiong's Dragon Spring Sword Sect, and the former sect candidates, Bright Yang Mountain and Pure Breeze City, all three required the recommendation of Emperor Song He of the Great Li Dynasty. They all eventually became the newest sects on Bottle Gourd Continent. It was said that Bright Yang Mountain had even begun preparations to establish a lower sect for many years, but the Central Yue Mountain Lord Jin Qing had always been ambiguous about the matter. Within the Great Li Song Clan's court, there seemed to be some disagreement between the emperor in the capital and the feudal prince in the secondary capital. Emperor Song He's opinion was that although Bright Yang Mountain's military contributions were insufficient, since they had borrowed plenty from various forces, including the Divine Edict Sect, the Yunlin Jiang Clan, and the Old Dragon City, it wouldn't hurt to go with the flow and support Bright Yang Mountain a little more.
But Prince Song Mu, who should have been closer to Bright Yang Mountain, said that even if Bright Yang Mountain patched together enough military contributions on the Great Li's merit list, they were still seriously lacking in virtue. Even if the Song Clan recommended them to the Central Earth Confucian Temple, the application would very likely be returned to Great Li with the word "reconsider." Times had changed; it was a peaceful era now. Feeding Bright Yang Mountain too much would easily cause resentment among other sect candidates, making them feel that the Great Li Dynasty was too biased.
At the end of the secret letter Prince Song Mu sent to the imperial study in the capital, he wrote one sentence: "Unless the sword cultivators of Bright Yang Mountain dare to open up new territories on the Barbarian Continent and accumulate virtue through such military exploits."
Regardless, Fallen Mountain had finally become a sect-level mountain gate.
At this very moment, Fallen Mountain was also the "youngest" sect in the Haoran world.
Chen Ping'an let out a soft sigh of relief. He raised his hand and pressed down twice, saying with a smile, "Everyone, sit down, sit down. Today, we're all family. From now on, let's be casual. As long as you don't bare your chests or take off your shoes to sit cross-legged, anything goes."
After everyone had sat down, Chen Ping'an also sat down. He smiled as he looked at Fallen Mountain's right guardian and said softly, "Mili, serve tea."
"Received orders!"
Zhou Mili shook her shoulders lightly, quickly slid down from the somewhat large chair, and puffed out her chest. The little girl's face was flushed red. Finally, it was her turn to shine! Today, she had another official title: Tea Officer! Responsible for serving tea to everyone in the ancestral hall. How prestigious was that?! Sister Warm Tree and Jing Qing were just assistant tea officers helping out. A little girl in black immediately led a pink-dressed girl and a blue-clad child to begin distributing tea to everyone. Chen Lingjun was responsible for taking out the tea from his storage item, holding a tea bowl in each hand. Little Mili and Warm Tree were responsible for handing the tea to people.
When Liu Xianyang took the tea from Little Mili, he laughed and said, "The big water monster from Mute Lake really has a reputation bigger than the sky now."
Zhou Mili glared at Liu Xianyang. She wasn't the type to care about fame, but the little girl couldn't help breaking into a wide smile. Liu Xianyang reached out to ruffle her head, but Zhou Mili quickly bumped his hand away with her head and hurried to respectfully serve tea to the next guest.
Chen Ping'an only symbolically took a sip of tea before putting down his cup.
Fallen Mountain's mountain and river registry had taken a major leap. It had gone from being filed under the Great Li Ministry of Rites to being recorded by the Central Earth Confucian Temple. It seemed that Fallen Mountain had intentionally bypassed the Great Li Dynasty. They hadn't sought the Great Li Song Clan's help or asked for their recommendation. Fallen Mountain had merely sent a flying sword message to the Ministry of Rites in the capital, informing the Great Li court of the matter as a courtesy.
As for observing such ceremonies, Chen Ping'an could only be said to be not entirely unfamiliar with them, as he had only done it once. As for those who climbed the mountain, aside from wild cultivators, registered mountain cultivators should not have had so few opportunities to observe ceremonies. The larger the sect or immortal clan, the more opportunities and times they had to observe ceremonies. In his early years, Chen Ping'an had only traveled through Green Luan Country and passed by the Golden Osmanthus Temple on Qingyao Mountain. The old temple master Zhang Guo, a golden core earth immortal, had been about to accept nine registered disciples at that time.
Compared to the Golden Osmanthus Temple's disciple-recruiting ceremony, the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall's ceremony for elevating to a sect was already as simple as it could possibly be.
When Pure Breeze City and Bright Yang Mountain had their elevation ceremonies, both lasted from morning until night. Just the single matter of "bringing out" the golden book, jade tablet, and Confucian Temple ritual artifact was said to have taken two hours. During the sect celebration, when the ceremony reciter announced the observing guests and they took their seats, the reciter would use a drawn-out chanting tone similar to Taoist blessed lyrics and precious declarations, extremely slow. And before the ritual official brought out and recited the golden book and jade tablet, which was only a little over a hundred characters, there would be all sorts of elaborate celebratory ceremonies as preludes. For example, Bright Yang Mountain's sword cultivators would jointly offer swords to honor the successive patriarchs in the ancestral hall, and they would create various auspicious signs, ranging from six to nine different types. Then, through the mountain and water formations and the activated mirror flowers and water moon spells, it would be broadcast to all the mountain immortal clans on the continent. Furthermore, just for the immortal tea and mountain fruits provided to the distinguished guests, as well as the rare flowers and exotic plants planted along the way, the cranes and spirit birds singing in the sky, the Ritual Department of the ancestral hall would meticulously prepare for at least a month. The immortal coin spent on this was measured in valley rain coins.
As for Fallen Mountain, they simply served a bowl of clear tea to their guests.
Liu Xianyang had inexplicably dropped a realm, but his natal flying sword, physical body and soul, qi palaces and meridians were all undamaged. It was just that one nascent soul was there but practically useless—extremely strange. That was why Ruan Qiong had allowed him to stay at the blacksmith's shop to recover from his injuries.
Every time Liu Xianyang looked at Chen Ping'an, he was grinning. Whenever their eyes met, Chen Ping'an put on a look of "a clear conscience fears no midnight knocking."
The Northern Yue Mountain Lord Wei Bo was the first upper fifth realm mountain lord in Bottle Gourd Continent's history, and now he was also the first great mountain lord equivalent to the immortal realm.
So, in previous years, Clothes Cloud Mountain had held a proper night tour banquet. After the great war ended, everyone had earned military merits, and the Great Li had made many rewards. So, all the registered immortal masters and mountain and river deities, whose money pouches had previously been empty, were full again. The Northern Yue domain wasn't reduced to selling off family property or wailing in despair anymore.
Taihui Sword Sect's previous sect leader, Han Huaizi, died in battle at the Sword Qi Great Wall. The law-keeping ancestor Huang Tong died in battle on the central battlefield of Bottle Gourd Continent. Both died in foreign lands.
As a result, the entire sect now only had one upper fifth realm sword immortal, the sect leader Liu Jinglong, who was at the Jade Pure realm. His disciple Bai Shou was a golden core sword cultivator. After forming his golden core, he was allowed to open a peak and became the new mountain lord of Piaoran Peak.
Bai Shou found it strange today. Among the nine little kids from the Sword Qi Great Wall, there was one named Bai Xuan who kept staring at him, as if they were very familiar with each other.
From the Golden Crow Palace, Liu Zhiqing, and from the Cloud City, Xu Xingjiu, both sat near Liu Jinglong. Both had gone to Piaoran Peak in the past to drink with the young sect leader of Taihui Sword Sect. Liu Jinglong's now-famous drinking capacity across two continents was partly due to Xu Xingjiu and Liu Zhiqing's efforts. Later, with the help of the female sword immortal Li Cai, the old martial artist Wang Fushu, and others, a conclusion was reached: Sword Immortal Liu either didn't drink, but when he did, his capacity was invincible.
So, when he came to visit this time, Liu Jinglong was both congratulating Fallen Mountain and thanking Chen Ping'an.
Dragon Spring Sword Sect's founding disciple, Dong Gu, who was also Liu Xianyang's senior brother, was now at the nascent soul stage, but he was not a sword cultivator. His junior sister, Xu Xiaoqiao, was a golden core sword cultivator. Xie Ling was a nascent soul sword cultivator, proficient in both talismans and formations. He was listed among the Bottle Gourd Continent's Young Ten, and over the years, his ranking had been rising. He had already surpassed the Wind Thunder Garden sword cultivator Liu Baqiao.
The Young Ten. The leader was Ma Kuxuan of True Martial Mountain. Besides Dragon Spring Sword Sect's direct disciple Xie Ling, there was also nascent soul sword cultivator Liu Baqiao. From the Yunlin Jiang Clan, nascent soul cultivator Jiang Yun. From Guanhu Academy, the virtuous man Zhou Ju, who had served as a junzi three times, happily going back and forth between the titles of junzi and virtuous man. From the True Realm Sect, golden core bottleneck sword cultivator Sui Youbian. The other members of the Young Ten were all new faces who had risen during the war, such as Ma Kuxuan's martial uncle, the military cultivator Yu Shiwu.
Bottle Gourd Continent also had a Reserve Ten. Among them was a young sword cultivator from Bright Yang Mountain, a sword immortal seed named Wu Tijing. When Bright Yang Mountain was elevated to sect status, the youth was simultaneously accepted as a closed-door disciple by Bright Yang Mountain's mountain lord.
The Young Ten and Reserve Ten of Bottle Gourd Continent, totaling twenty cultivation geniuses. Fortunately, Fallen Mountain still had Sui Youbian, occupying one spot.
Dong Gu sat beside the great sword immortal Wei Jin of the Wind Snow Temple. After all, the Wind Snow Temple could be considered the "home" of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect, and Wei Jin was now undeniably the number one sword cultivator on Bottle Gourd Continent. Dong Gu was naturally very respectful towards Wei Jin. And the great sword immortal Wei, known for being aloof to the point of eccentricity on the mountain, was also making an exception for this Dragon Spring Sword Sect senior disciple who was originally a mountain-and-river spirit. Although his words were few, there was a hint of a smile on his face. Wei Jin was notoriously unwilling to be polite; even when he returned to the Wind Snow Temple, he would only go to the Immortal Terrace.
His two duels with Heaven Lord Xie Shi, questioning the sword, and his duels with great demons on the Sword Qi Great Wall and Bottle Gourd Continent battlefields, were all conducted without a word—only sword strikes.
The Sun Clan head Sun Jiashu and Lady Gui's sole direct disciple Jin Su had already married and become a pair of dao partners on the mountain.
Zhang Shanfeng, the beloved disciple of the Fire Dragon True Man of Crawling Ground Peak, was in seclusion, so he couldn't attend the ceremony. According to Yuan Lingdian of the Finger Abyss Peak, little junior brother Zhang Shanfeng was breaking through from the cave abode realm to the sightseeing realm this time. Back when they parted in Green Luan Country, Zhang Shanfeng wasn't even a middle fifth realm cultivator yet.
Besides Yuan Lingdian, who was observing Fallen Mountain, Zhang Shanfeng's several senior brothers and their master were all "protecting the path" for him. Seclusion to seek sightseeing realm... a flying ascent realm Fire Dragon True Man, a patriarch of the White Cloud lineage, a Taoshan lineage, a Taixia lineage—all guarding the cave entrance for a cave abode realm cultivator...
This kind of thing probably only Crawling Ground Peak would do. But the so-called "path protection" was actually just the few senior brothers accompanying the old master in chitchat, setting up a table, preparing wine and snacks, a big basin of fruit, enjoying the moonlight and wind and rain, waiting for the master's poetic inspiration to strike, composing a few doggerel verses, and then everyone looking at him with sincere eyes and applauding. Yuan Lingdian had been displeased with those two brown-nosing senior brothers for many years. Especially this time, he had prepared brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, feeling sure he could turn the tables, but unexpectedly, the master sent him to attend Fallen Mountain's ceremony, so he couldn't put his plan to use.
Li Xisheng, with his book boy Cui Ci, was traveling in the Tianyu Cave Heaven of Flowing Sunset Continent.
Zhong Kui, along with Gao Cheng, the city lord of Jingguan City in the Skeleton Beach Ghost Domain, escorted back to Haoran from the Tuoyue Mountain of the Barbarian Continent by a sub-sage, was following the old monk of chicken soup and heading to the Western Buddhist Kingdom.
The closed-door disciple of White Emperor City's city lord, Gu Can, was now on Floating Algae Continent. It was said that through a twist of fate, he had found a small cave heaven secret realm and was in seclusion refining it.
The leader of the Sackcloth Sect, Zhu Quan, had gone to the higher sect in the Central Earth.
Shao Yunyan and Madame Tuoyan were traveling together and had arrived at Bottle Gourd Continent. Sword Immortal Shao had once asked Liu Jinglong and Lu Sui of Water Classic Mountain to help take away the string of gourds from Spring Curtain Studio. The fourteen small gourds that had formed back then had finally ripened. Spring Curtain Studio was extremely lucky; the number of nurturing sword gourds far exceeded the expected seven, reaching as many as ten. Since seven were already reserved, Shao Yunyan now had an extra three nurturing sword gourds of extremely high quality. The congratulatory gift for this ceremony was a pair of nurturing sword gourds, symbolizing good things coming in pairs. This also helped Madame Tuoyan, who was penniless and embarrassed, out of a huge jam. Otherwise, Madame Tuoyan would have been so anxious along the way that she might have turned around before climbing the mountain and dared not see that Hidden Officer again. Shao Yunyan temporarily gave her a nurturing sword gourd, which gave her the courage to climb the mountain and congratulate Fallen Mountain.
Lin Junbi and Yu Juanfu were brought to Fallen Mountain by Cui Dongshan "along the way."
This time, Fallen Mountain did not invite any cultivators from Spring Dew Garden.
Taking advantage of everyone's tea break, Chen Ping'an quickly exchanged thoughts with Cui Dongshan and learned that this student's trip to the Central Earth Confucian Temple had indeed been very busy.
Cui Dongshan had set out from the Great Spring Dynasty on Parasol Leaf Continent, traveling across continents. He first went to the Merit Forest and met his teacher's teacher, the old scholar old scholar. He was doing very well there, often playing chess with an old master Dong, known as the "Ancestor of Confucian Scholars Under Heaven," and Zhou Mi, the head of the old Yufu Academy in North Juzhou. The three of them were terrible chess players. Then, Cui Dongshan received instructions from the patriarch, first leaving behind the collection seal, then receiving a message from the patriarch and a letter from old master Dong. He then went to the Rites Academy to find the grand sacrificer.
And Mao Xiaodong had resigned from his post as vice-head of the Dayu Cliff Academy and entered the Rites Academy, one of the three major academies, to serve as a siye, a position second only to the grand sacrificer. According to mountain gossips who calculated things like the officialdom, the position of academy siye was lower than that of a sacrificer but slightly higher than that of the seventy-two academies' headmasters, virtuous men, junzi, and then "righteous men" junzi. Academy headmaster, academy siye, academy grand sacrificer, sacrificial sage, Confucian Temple vice-leader, Confucian Temple leader—this was the relatively step-by-step "official advancement" in the Confucian Temple.
Mao Xiaodong led Li Baoping, Li Huai, and a group of academy Confucian scholars southward, traveling through the Suosuo Continent, the Rain Dragon Sect, and the Sword Qi Great Wall.
By now, they should be on the Sword Qi Great Wall. The journey was long, so they missed this ceremony.
Cui Dongshan coordinated with the academy's grand sacrificer and, in the name of Rites Academy Siye Mao, recommended that Fallen Mountain be elevated to sect status.
Cui Dongshan also went through various channels to find a venerable Confucian Temple sage of extremely high seniority and great merit, Fu Sheng. So, he acquired another letter of recommendation. Finally, he added Zhou Mi, who was about to assume the post of headmaster of an academy on Parasol Leaf Continent. With letters from a headmaster, a siye, and a sacrificial sage—three letters of recommendation in hand—he then went to the Central Earth Confucian Temple and found Vice-Leader Han, the old Confucian scholar. In the end, the three leaders and vice-leaders and the three academy grand sacrificers gathered at the Confucian Temple to discuss the matter. Among them, two advocates for "reconsideration," arguing that since Fallen Mountain's mountain lord, according to Cui Dongshan, was "just a nascent soul sword cultivator and a ninth realm martial artist," elevating it to a sect was against the rites.
Cui Dongshan was so angry he almost threw a tantrum, but then the Ritual Sage appeared and said only one sentence: "No need to reconsider."
And so, naturally, there was no need to reconsider.
By the time Zhou Mili and the others had finished serving tea and everyone had drunk theirs, Pei Qian and Cao Qinglang had already set up a desk and chair between Chen Ping'an and Daoist Changming's positions. This was for recording the registry. Because a large number of registry cultivators, including Changming, Mi Yu, and Wei Wenlong, had not yet been formally recorded in the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall's mountain and river registry—Chen Ping'an had been away from home for too many years—they needed to be added today. Chen Ping'an stood up and walked towards the desk, saying with a smile, "According to mountain rules, recording names in the mountain and river registry should be done by the law keeper. Our Fallen Mountain is a small, modest clan, and we hadn't had time to set up the position of law keeper before. So today, I'll do it for now. After I personally record Changming's name in the registry, I'll let Law Keeper Changming sit here."
Although the three direct disciples, including Pei Qian, stood in a position second only to the Mountain Lord Chen Ping'an when offering incense, the seat placement in Fallen Mountain's ancestral hall placed Daoist Changming and accountant Wei Wenlong closest to Chen Ping'an's "head chair," followed by Cao Qinglang and the other two.
This was mountain protocol. The law keeper, the treasury accountant, and the chief guardian occupied these three positions, and their chairs in the ancestral hall were extremely forward.
Daoist Changming stood up, first bowing to the Mountain Lord, then bowing again to everyone else.
In fact, all the observers who were relatively distant from Fallen Mountain were very curious about this woman in a snow-white robe with a warm smile. Who was she, exactly, to stand out and become Fallen Mountain's law keeper? How much weight did the law-keeping patriarch of Fallen Mountain carry? The observing guests, even Jin Su, a female cultivator from Old Dragon City who had found a good master and a good husband and so rarely needed to concern herself with mountain affairs, knew very well. Chen Ping'an was already notoriously fond of reasoning, and the law-keeping patriarch of Fallen Mountain meant that this was the only person on Fallen Mountain who, in name, had "reason" equal to—or even greater than—the Mountain Lord in certain critical moments, a transcendent existence.
Chen Ping'an wrote the two characters "Changming" in the "Law Keeper" column on the first page of the Fallen Mountain registry.
Then, Chen Ping'an smiled, put down the brush, and stood up. Changming walked over to take his place at the desk.
Next was the head of Fallen Mountain's Spring Mansion, Wei Wenlong.
Wei Wenlong stood up, first cupping his fists to Chen Ping'an in salute, then bowing to everyone else. Finally, still with fists cupped, he looked towards his mentor, the Spring Curtain Studio sword immortal Shao Yunyan.
Shao Yunyan laughed heartily, stood up, and returned the salute with an equal's courtesy to his former disciple Wei Wenlong. According to mountain rules, the etiquette inside the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall and outside the main gate could be treated separately.
Sword Immortal Shao had truly never expected that his direct disciple, of ordinary cultivation aptitude, would become Fallen Mountain's accountant—a right-hand man to the Hidden Officer.
Madame Tuoyan glanced at the beaming Shao Yunyan and felt a twinge of bitterness. Among the four private estates of Inverted Mountain, Spring Curtain Studio, probably because of its auspicious name, was now the most prosperous and pleased with itself.
She quickly averted her gaze and sat up straight. It turned out that the young Hidden Officer was smilingly looking at her.
Among the four great ladies of Haoran, two were now inside Fallen Mountain's ancestral hall: Madame Tuoyan of the Plum Garden and Lady Gui of the Osmanthus Island.
After Law Keeper Changming and Spring Mansion's Wei Wenlong came the sword immortal Mi Yu, who had recently resigned from his post as guest elder at Clothes Cloud Mountain.
Following him were nascent soul sword cultivator Cui Wei, Zhang Jiazhen of the accounting lineage, talisman cultivator Jiang Qu, Zhao Shuxia, Zhao Luan, and Pei Qian's founding disciple, Zhou Junchen, nicknamed Aman.
Also included were the nascent soul fox spirit Pei Xiang, who had been cultivating in the Lotus Root Paradise Cave Heaven for years; the nascent soul water flood dragon Hong Xia; and Yun Zi, who had just formed a golden core.
And nine sword immortal seeds from the Sword Qi Great Wall.
After these, there were three more rituals.
The first was for the sword cultivator Guo Zhujiu to have her name recorded on the second page of the ancestral hall registry under "Sect Leader's Direct Disciple," making her a direct disciple of Mountain Lord Chen Ping'an.
The second was for the young martial artist Zhao Shuxia to also become a direct disciple of Chen Ping'an, officially becoming another direct disciple of the Mountain Lord.
From that moment on, Chen Ping'an's direct disciples included Cui Dongshan, Pei Qian, Cao Qinglang, Guo Zhujiu, and Zhao Shuxia—five in total.
The third was for Zhou Junchen to become Pei Qian's disciple, which effectively made him a second-generation disciple of Chen Ping'an.
For the disciple-accepting ceremony, the disciple needed to kowtow, and the master needed to drink tea.
After accepting disciples along with his disciple Pei Qian, Chen Ping'an drank a cup of Zhao Shuxia's disciple tea and a cup of Zhou Junchen's grand-discipline tea. Putting down the cup, Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Everyone, regarding the matter of Fallen Mountain inviting guest elders, why don't we strike while the iron is hot and finalize everything today?"
If it weren't for the constraints of mountain customs, Chen Ping'an would have already asked Cui Dongshan to close the doors.
Some were Confucian scholars within the same lineage as the Literati Sage, so they needed no further embellishment. For example, Lin Shouyi, Yu Lu, Xie Xie, and Dong Shuijing.
Wei Bo was the Northern Yue Mountain Lord, Liu Jinglong was a sect leader, Liu Zhongrun was an island lord, Sun Qing was the sect leader of the Multicolored Sparrow Sect, and Xu Xingjiu was the city lord of Cloud City. According to ritual propriety, they could not be appointed.
Some were business allies, so there was no need to add unnecessary details to avoid confusion in accounting. For example, Fan Er of Old Dragon City, Sun Jiashu, and Wei Yusong of the Sackcloth Sect.
So the final candidates for Fallen Mountain's nominal guest elders were Shao Yunyan, Madame Tuoyan, Huan Yun, Xie Songhua, Liu Zhiqing, and Li Fuli.
Also included were Wei Jin of the Wind Snow Temple and Yuan Lingdian of the Finger Abyss Peak. Neither of them had any inclination to become a guest elder, but Chen Ping'an convinced them with reason and moved them with emotion. It wasn't difficult to persuade Wei Jin. "Great Sword Immortal Wei, you've at least received sword techniques from my senior brother, Zuo You. If you don't give me this face, it's not very reasonable." As for Senior Yuan Lingdian of the Finger Abyss Peak, he agreed partly out of consideration for little junior brother Zhang Shanfeng and partly because he was already familiar with Chen Ping'an.
The last one was Chen Li of the Floating Duckweed Sword Lake, the "Little Hidden Officer," who communicated with the Hidden Officer via heart voice and actively requested to become a guest elder.
Chen Li and Bai Shou had a similar feeling. Why did that sword immortal seed named Bai Xuan seem to have a look of completely unreasonable familiarity in his eyes?
And Bai Shou was even more perceptive and had a stronger sense of crisis. He felt that Pei Qian's trademark expression and smile were becoming more and more hair-raising.
Bai Shou made up his mind to stay far away from that Bai Xuan to avoid being caught in the crossfire. You see, before Pei Qian's second trip to the Central Earth Divine Continent to duel with Cao Ci, when she passed by the Taihui Sword Sect in North Juzhou again, Bai Shou had just broken through to golden core sword cultivator and couldn't leave Piaoran Peak. He happened to run into Pei Qian, who came to visit the mountain and reunite with old friends after a long time. You can run, but you can't hide. Somehow, Pei Qian and that surnamed Liu started talking and eventually brought him up. At that time, Bai Shou sized himself up, saw that Pei Qian was quite tall, but unfortunately looked like a bamboo pole and didn't seem to have heavy punches, so he thought that since he had just reached golden core, he might not be able to win for sure, but at least he should be able to put up a fight. So, swaggeringly, he sparred with Pei Qian. The result was that Pei Qian threw one punch, and he was responsible for falling to the ground, foaming at the mouth. A golden core sword cultivator lay on the ground twitching uncontrollably, like a martial artist performing a pile-walking meditation.
By the time he woke up dizzily in bed, Pei Qian and that surnamed Liu had already found some excuse and fled. At that moment, Bai Shou was overcome with sorrow. He pulled the blanket over his head and pretended to sleep.
When Chen Ping'an was already very satisfied, Li Liu suddenly smiled and communicated with her heart voice, saying that she also wanted to become a guest elder of Fallen Mountain.
Chen Ping'an certainly couldn't refuse.
And although Li Liu's face was pale, as if she hadn't recovered from a serious illness, making her look even more delicate, this seemingly fragile Li Liu, even after losing her realm, was still an immortal.
And Cui Dongshan had once said that among cultivators of the same realm, Li Liu and Jiang Shangzhen were the most troublesome immortals, and one also had to add the former Zhi Gui. Compared to ordinary great sword immortals, like Xu Ruo of the Mo Family or Wei Jin of the Wind Snow Temple, they would be even more troublesome.
The Fox Kingdom's ruler, Pei Xiang, was probably just as anxious as Madame Tuoyan.
She was worried that after such a grand ceremony with many eyes and ears, Pure Breeze City would learn of her and the entire Fox Kingdom's whereabouts by tomorrow.
She wasn't afraid of Xu Hun of Pure Breeze City coming to demand an explanation. Even if a Jade Pure realm military cultivator came, so what? If Fallen Mountain wanted to keep him, Xu Hun probably wouldn't be leaving.
Pei Xiang was only worried about the methods of the person behind that Madam Xu.
The water flood dragon Hong Xia, who had undergone the river transformation, was meeting the young Mountain Lord for the first time formally. Facing a very kind-looking Chen Ping'an, the nascent soul Hong Xia felt a deep, natural awe.
Pei Xiang and Hong Xia, seated next to each other, both mighty nascent soul great cultivators, found that the other seemed even more nervous than themselves. Gradually, their minds calmed down.
The matter of guest elders was settled.
The Fallen Mountain ceremony came to an end.
Next, the ancestral hall needed to hold a closed-door meeting involving sect secrets. Chen Ping'an escorted the guests to the ancestral hall's main entrance. All the observing guests were lodged in a large area of immortal estates halfway up Jise Peak. After the meeting, Chen Ping'an would certainly need to visit each estate individually.
Fallen Mountain had three peaks. The main peak was Jiling Peak, where the bamboo building and the temple at the summit were located. Jise Peak, where the ancestral hall was built, was actually the secondary peak.
Because it was an ancestral hall meeting, many of Fallen Mountain's second-generation disciples and ordinary guardians also had to leave, following the observing guests down the mountain. Even Chen Ping'an's direct disciple Zhao Shuxia, due to his insufficient seniority, could not stay today. But for this young man, who was only a fourth realm martial artist at the time, it was still like a dream—becoming a disciple like that, then leaving like that. Even now, the young martial artist hadn't come back to his senses. Because no one from Fallen Mountain had told him beforehand that he would become Teacher Chen's direct disciple today.
Zhao Shuxia turned to Zhao Luan beside him and said softly, "Luan Luan, I'm not dreaming, am I?"
The extremely beautiful young woman, wearing a Multicolored Sparrow Sect's immortal dharma robe, smiled and said, "Punch yourself. If it hurts, it's not a dream."
Zhao Shuxia sighed. "If I had known, I would have told Mr. Chen to switch me with you. Your aptitude is so good, and you're already at the Dragon Gate realm. I practiced two million punches and barely broke through to the fourth realm as a martial artist."
Unexpectedly, Zhao Luan's beautiful eyes narrowed into crescent moons, as if she were even happier that she hadn't become Teacher Chen's direct disciple.
Liu Xianyang naturally had to walk with his senior brother Dong Gu, bringing along the Wind Snow Temple's great sword immortal Wei Jin.
Lady Gui and Madame Tuoyan walked together, whispering among themselves.
Shao Yunyan found Liu Jinglong and naturally got to know Liu Zhiqing, Xu Xingjiu, and the old true man Huan Yun. This group, all from North Juzhou, chatted and laughed.
Chen Li led Gao Youqing, along with Juxing and Zhaomu—four sword immortal seeds who had left the Sword Qi Great Wall earlier—as well as the other nine children who had followed the Hidden Officer to Fallen Mountain.
Another large group of fellow townspeople.
Lin Shouyi and his three classmates walked side by side.
Walking ahead of them were the peak realm martial artist Li Er, the immortal Li Liu, and the lower fifth realm cultivator Han Chengjiang—now a family.
Liu Xianyang finished chatting with Wei Jin, then quickly ran over to Lin Shouyi and Dong Shuijing, putting one hand on each of their shoulders, and cheerfully called out, "Han Chengjiang!"
Han Chengjiang's face stiffened, his body tense. He turned his head and squeezed out a smile at Liu Xianyang, not daring to meet his eyes.
Lin Shouyi, who had once been the temple master of Qidu Temple, narrowed his eyes. Dong Shuijing, the credit sword merchant, curled his lip.
The scholar Han Chengjiang immediately broke out in a sweat on his forehead.
In truth, the Hualing Dynasty was one of the few great dynasties in North Juzhou, and the Han Clan was its "de facto imperial family," somewhat like the Yu Clan in the Central Earth. As a legitimate descendant of the Han Clan, Han Chengjiang was actually from one of the top noble families in Haoran. However, being in a foreign land, unfamiliar with the place, he couldn't help but feel unsettled. He didn't mind eating pickled vegetables and drinking cheap wine, nor did he mind doing chores like carrying water and chopping wood—he actually enjoyed it—but he was truly frightened away by the only good friend he had made in town, Liu Xianyang. According to Liu Xianyang, Lin Shouyi and Dong Shuijing had been local troublemakers since childhood, who liked to ambush people, put sacks over their heads, drag them into the fields, and beat them up. Han Chengjiang wasn't afraid of arguments, but he was afraid of fights! If he returned to the house with bruises, even if he didn't feel embarrassed, his mother-in-law was very concerned about face, and the neighbors were all gossipmongers. What could he do? Say he fell on the road?
When Li Liu slightly turned her head to look back, Lin Shouyi and Dong Shuijing immediately put on calm expressions and looked away.
Sun Qing of the Multicolored Sparrow Sect led her direct disciple Liu Guibao, walking with the True Realm Sect's nascent soul female cultivator Li Fuli and her direct disciple Zhou Caizhen, behind the group of Liu Jinglong and the others.
Bai Shou understood the hidden dynamics. Behind him, Sect Leader Sun and Lu Sui of Water Classic Mountain were both among the top ten female immortals of North Juzhou, both infatuated with that surnamed Liu. And Spring Curtain Studio's Sword Immortal Shao and Lu Sui's master had been fated to be but were not fated to be half-dao partners. So now, the two groups, separated by only a short distance, were full of hidden dangers.
Fan Er, Sun Jiashu, and Jin Su talked business with the Sackcloth Sect's money god Wei Yusong.
Mountain Lord Wei Bo, the female sword immortal Xie Songhua, Yuan Lingdian of the Finger Abyss Peak, Yu Juanfu, and Lin Junbi—five people from four continents—chatted happily.
The two shops originating from the same "Qilong Lane lineage"—Shi Rou, the little mute Aman, the blind Daoist Jia Sheng, Zhao Denggao, and Tian Jiu'er—along with Zhang Jiazhen and Jiang Qu, who had worked as second shopkeeper and odd-jobber in Qilong Lane, headed down the mountain.
The old Daoist stroked his beard and smiled, feeling refreshed. There was no helping it; he had been promoted again, and couldn't stop it. Fallen Mountain's guardians were divided into three grades. He had just been lying around and had enjoyed the blessings of a second-grade guardian.
Arriving at the halfway point of the mountain, the immortal estates of Jise Peak, along with the rows of buildings at the back of Fallen Mountain, had all been constructed with the funding of the former guardian Zhou Fei, costing over ten valley rain coins. Every estate was personally designed and supervised by the head steward Zhu Lian. He was indeed the old cook who had compiled a "Building Manual" in the Lotus Root Paradise. Compared to the estates near the bamboo building on Jiling Peak, this one was built later and surpassed its predecessor. But everyone knew that whether one was considered a true "old-timer" of Fallen Mountain depended on whether they had a "worthless little shabby house" near the bamboo building. This was the same principle as whether you were familiar with Fallen Mountain depended on whether you could share a plate of melon seeds.
All the observing guests noticed that the groups chatting along the way hardly needed to disperse, because their lodgings were all adjacent. So most of them chose a certain estate and continued their conversations. Cultivators on the mountain each practiced their own cultivation, and they came from all corners of Haoran. Opportunities to gather like today were actually rare.
And all this was a meticulous arrangement made by Little Warm Tree, the old cook, and Accountant Wei after careful deliberation. Just the draft papers alone filled a wastebasket for the little steward Chen Warm Tree.
Because she had to attend the ancestral hall meeting, Warm Tree had previously handed several bunches of keys to Tian Jiu'er and Little Aman. Sister Jiu'er was always meticulous, and although Aman seemed like a little mute, he was actually very clever.
Aman, whose real name was Zhou Junchen, had a relatively good relationship only with Shopkeeper Shi Rou down the mountain, and on the mountain, he only spoke a few words with Warm Tree. Even when he was with his master Pei Qian, Aman still preferred to play dumb.
In a large courtyard, the "Little Hidden Officer," Chen Li, sat sideways on a stone table, looking at the "Even Littler Hidden Officer," Bai Xuan, who had his hands behind his back.
Chen Li asked, "Bai Xuan, have you reached the sightseeing realm?"
Bai Xuan felt as if struck by lightning. Then he cursed inwardly: How the hell are you talking to me? So what if you're recognized as the Little Hidden Officer of the Sword Qi Great Wall? You've only hung around Master Cao for a few days?
Gao Youqing couldn't help but defend the child. "Chen Li, you can't bully people like that. Bai Xuan isn't even ten years old yet."
The youth Juxing sat on the steps, a green bamboo staff lying across his knees, watching the show with a smile. He was now a Dragon Gate realm sword cultivator, stuck at a bottleneck, one realm lower than Chen Li.
The girl Zhaomu, a direct disciple of Xie Songhua, had only just broken through to the sightseeing realm sword cultivator.
Chen Li shot a sidelong glance, and Gao Youqing immediately shut up. Chen Li asked again, "What were you staring at earlier in the ancestral hall and on the way down the mountain?"
Bai Xuan rolled his eyes but then grinned and said, "I was admiring the Little Hidden Officer's demeanor."
Chen Li said, "Focus on your cultivation from now on."
Bai Xuan suppressed the urge to roll his eyes again and cheerfully cupped his hands. "Easy."
Nalan Yudie and Yao Xiaoyan were both familiar with Gao Youqing. They were now crouching on either side of Sister Gao, both eyeing the small bamboo basket that was said to be a gift from Sister Pei Qian.
Yu Qingzhang and He Xiangting sat beside Juxing, asking in their hometown dialect about the customs and people of the Aiai Continent.
The Sword Qi Great Wall, if you talk about big, it was very big—too many sword cultivators and sword immortals. If you talk about small, it was very small—just that many people.
And for the children who had merely greeted each other in the streets and alleys of their hometown, they would become very close once they reached Haoran.
There was only one exception: the little girl Sun Chunwang, who had already picked a room and begun to nurture her flying sword in solitude.
Inside the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall.
The doors were closed again for the meeting.
The extra chairs had all been removed.
Only two chairs were empty: one for the gatekeeper Zheng Dafeng, and one for the sect leader's direct disciple Guo Zhujiu.
Everyone else had taken their seats.
The sect leader of the sect-level Fallen Mountain: Chen Ping'an.
Law Keeper Changming: Jade Pure realm.
Spring Mansion Accountant Wei Wenlong: golden core realm.
Cui Dongshan: immortal.
Pei Qian: peak realm martial artist.
Cao Qinglang: Dragon Gate realm cultivator.
Mountain Guardian Zhou Mili: cave abode realm.
Head Steward Zhu Lian: peak realm martial artist.
Sui Youbian: golden core bottleneck sword cultivator.
Lu Baixiang: far roaming realm martial artist.
Wei Xian: far roaming realm martial artist.
Zhong Qiu: far roaming realm martial artist, also a golden core earth immortal and Confucian qi refiner.
Chen Lingjun: nascent soul stage, having undergone the flood dragon transformation.
Chen Warm Tree: Dragon Gate realm, having refined the literary fortune in the Lotus Root Paradise.
"Zhou Fei": immortal realm, sword cultivator.
Mi Yu: Jade Pure realm bottleneck sword cultivator.
Cui Wei: nascent soul sword cultivator.
Pei Xiang: nascent soul fox spirit.
Hong Xia: nascent soul water flood dragon.
At this moment, there were nineteen people in total in the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall.
Upper fifth realm qi refiners: five. Chen Ping'an, Changming, Cui Dongshan, Jiang Shangzhen, Mi Yu.
Far roaming realm and above martial artists: six. Chen Ping'an, Pei Qian, Zhu Lian, Lu Baixiang, Wei Xian, Zhong Qiu.
Nascent soul cultivators: four. Chen Lingjun, Cui Wei, Pei Xiang, Hong Xia.
And this didn't even include Zheng Dafeng and Guo Zhujiu.
A sect like this was no longer an ordinary behemoth.
Like a flood dragon coiled at the bottom of a deep ancient well, slowly raising its head.
Apart from lacking a flying ascent realm cultivator to sit at the sect, Fallen Mountain had no shortcomings.
The most important thing was that Fallen Mountain's registered cultivators were all very young, yet their realms were astonishingly high.
Chen Ping'an pressed both index fingers against his tea cup, gently rotating it, and closed his eyes to rest.
His mind was divided into countless threads, thoughts surging, but he did not restrain them.
Pei Xiang and Hong Xia, the two new faces, hardly dared to breathe. Cui Wei was not at ease either. This young Mountain Lord was the Hidden Officer who had single-handedly guarded the Sword Qi Great Wall for many years, one of the Young Ten of several worlds, and now the leader of a sect in Haoran.
Chen Ping'an slowly opened his eyes and said with a smile, "I am very fortunate to have met all of you and to be walking the same path. It is my great honor that all of you are present in this Jise Peak Ancestral Hall."
The ancestral hall fell silent, so quiet that a falling pin could be heard.
Only Little Mili clapped her hands silently.
Chen Ping'an's gaze was gentle. After Little Mili stopped, he continued, "In the near future, our Fallen Mountain will still not make too big a show of things. To the outside world, we will say that it is because the Great Sword Immortal Mi left the Clothes Cloud Mountain registry and strongly supported our Fallen Mountain, allowing us to be promoted to a sect. Whether the outside world believes it or not, we don't care. As for why we are hiding our light so much, repeatedly, I will explain in detail later."
Mi Yu's face went blank.
Jiang Shangzhen praised, "Thanks to Sword Immortal Mi, we were able to fool heaven and cross the sea so smoothly and seamlessly."
Cui Dongshan nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes. It wouldn't make sense for Great Sword Immortal Mi not to be the chief guardian."
Jiang Shangzhen was stunned for a moment, then shuddered. What? The sealed letter had promised him the chief guardian position! Had it all been talk about crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang himself in front of his teacher?
Chen Ping'an said with a smile, "So the first major issue for today's meeting is to discuss who will be the chief guardian of Fallen Mountain."
Pei Qian said, "Master, I have no objection to whoever becomes the chief guardian. I'll just listen to you and the law keeper. Anyway, I suggest that Zhou Fei be the secondary guardian to avoid revealing that Zhou Fei is the former leader of the Jade Gui Sect, Old Leader Jiang."
The former leader of the Jade Gui Sect? The one from Parasol Leaf Continent who made his name in North Juzhou, Jiang Shangzhen? The great sword immortal who almost single-handedly defended the Divine Talisman Peak?
Chen Lingjun's eyelids twitched violently. He immediately began to carefully calculate whether he had ever said or done anything offensive to Brother Zhou Fei during his previous visits to Fallen Mountain.
Hong Xia and Pei Xiang's faces turned slightly pale.
Jiang Shangzhen, the former sect leader of the Jade Gui Sect!
The number one person who turned the tide on Parasol Leaf Continent!
Zhou Mili's mouth fell open. The little girl quickly turned her head and gave Jiang Shangzhen her most sincere look of approval. This guardian, going by the alias Zhou Fei, was pretty impressive. Looking at him, he didn't seem that old either.
What a big shot. Jiang Shangzhen really lived up to the name of being surnamed Zhou.
Zhu Lian smiled and said, "Brother Zhou being the secondary guardian is very convincing. If anyone disagrees, they can fight me. If I lose, I'll still insist on my opinion. No one else is fit to be the secondary guardian except Brother Zhou."
Lu Baixiang chimed in, "Old Sect Leader Jiang is ultimately very busy. It's a great sacrifice for him to be our Fallen Mountain's secondary guardian, but it's really unavoidable."
Jiang Shangzhen looked mournful and said helplessly, "I'm not busy at all! I'm no longer the sect leader of the Jade Gui Sect or the True Realm Sect."
Wei Xian, who had been dozing with his arms crossed, finally added, "I'm a rough man, so I'll speak plainly. Zhou Fei, you look like you're destined for the flying ascent realm. You'll inevitably need to go into seclusion often in the future. The chief guardian is the face of the sect and needs to occasionally slip down the mountain to fight and kill. Fallen Mountain can't bear to hinder Brother Zhou's cultivation."
Mi Yu listened with trembling fear. Among those in the ancestral hall, he definitely wanted Jiang Shangzhen to be the chief guardian the most. Just giving him a registered guardian title was enough. He didn't need to be the chief, or even the secondary.
Cao Qinglang was slightly surprised, but he still gave his opinion. "I think Old Sect Leader Jiang as the chief guardian is the most reasonable. Then let Sword Immortal Mi be the secondary guardian. However, we can temporarily keep the choice of chief and secondary guardians secret from the outside world."
Jiang Shangzhen was almost moved to tears. Finally, someone spoke up for him! It seemed he could still rely on this pure stream in Fallen Mountain, the conscience of the sect, Cao Qinglang!
Chen Ping'an suppressed a smile and turned to Changming. "There's a big disagreement. What does the law keeper say?"
Daoist Changming stood up and said, "The Mountain Lord decides with a single word. Changming only needs to fill in the blanks for the chief and secondary guardian columns in the registry."
Changming walked to the desk that hadn't been removed, took out the Jise Peak Ancestral Hall registry again, and spread it open, landing exactly on the two blank pages for the chief and secondary guardian entries under the "Guardians" section.
Cui Dongshan's two big white sleeves drooped over the armrests of his chair. After fanning the flames, he decided to sit back and watch from a safe distance.
One was shamelessly determined to be the chief; the other was so terrified that his sword heart was unstable, absolutely refusing to be the chief.
This kind of situation could only happen in their own ancestral hall.
As for whether Jiang Shangzhen would blame him for being unkind—damn it, this was an ancestral hall meeting. What did it have to do with him, Cui Dongshan, even half a coin?
Chen Ping'an suddenly stood up with a smile and cupped his hands towards Jiang Shangzhen. "Congratulations, Chief Zhou. I'll trouble you from now on."
Inside the ancestral hall, everyone except Jiang Shangzhen stood up almost simultaneously, cupping their hands towards Jiang Shangzhen, congratulating him repeatedly.
The person who was most sincere was Mi Yu, who had been addressed as "sword immortal" and "great sword immortal" by others.
Jiang Shangzhen shook his sleeves, straightened his collar, cupped his hands in return, and said with a loud laugh, "I am unworthy of such favor, and ashamed to receive it. My virtue does not match my position. I am ashamed."
Seeing the Mountain Lord's slight smile, Jiang Shangzhen immediately changed his tune. "Since it is the unanimous choice and there is no objection, I will move my chair!"
Jiang Shangzhen picked up his chair and bustled it to a position behind Changming and Wei Wenlong. At the same time, Cui Dongshan, Pei Qian, Cao Qinglang, and everyone else all laughed and moved their positions accordingly.
In an ancestral hall, the chief guardian's seat naturally had a very forward position.
Jiang Shangzhen plopped down onto his chair, turned around, and said with a smile, "Brother Cui, it looks like we'll be neighbors now."
Cui Dongshan stretched out his palm. Jiang Shangzhen smiled and lightly slapped it.
Cui Dongshan grabbed Jiang Shangzhen's hand and asked softly, "Red packets? If you don't give one to each of us, it'll seem a bit stingy, don't you think?"
Jiang Shangzhen said, "I've already prepared two of them for everyone."
Pei Qian rubbed her forehead.
Chen Ping'an stood up and said, "Dongshan, open the mountain and river painting of the entire western part of the town."
Cui Dongshan snapped his fingers. A topographical map of undulating mountains appeared inside the ancestral hall, with rising clouds and mist, flowing spiritual qi, and clear veins.
Cui Dongshan stood up, walked to the edge of the painting, and used a finger to draw a small circle, encircling a group of mountains and rivers. He said slowly, "Including Clothes Cloud Mountain, where Mountain Lord Wei Bo is located, there are a total of sixty-two peaks. Dragon Spring Sword Sect occupies Divine Show Mountain, Light Lamp Mountain, and Horizontal Lance Peak. In addition, the surrounding Treasure Talisman Mountain, Colorful Cloud Peak, and Immortal Herb Mountain are actually subordinate peaks of Fallen Mountain, but they are leased to Dragon Spring Sword Sect for three hundred years. Later, Dragon Spring Sword Sect bought four more peaks. Generally, they surround the ancestral mountain. After Ruan Qiong moved the ancestral hall to the old mountain domain north of the capital, if there are no surprises, given Ruan Qiong's temperament, he will lease these four peaks—or possibly even sell them directly—to our Fallen Mountain as a return gift for the three peaks we leased to them earlier."
Cui Dongshan began pointing. "Master bought the Grey Mist Mountain north of Fallen Mountain, split the Ox Horn Mountain with Mountain Lord Wei, the Cinnabar Mountain that the Xu Clan of Pure Breeze City vacated is temporarily leased to the Turtle Carp Back of the Pearl Hairpin Island at Book Tarn Lake, the Azure Haze Peak, the Sword Worshiping Platform in the far west, and the True Pearl Mountain in the far east. Plus, through Chen Lingjun's connection, we bought the Yellow Lake Mountain. During Master's travels, under Zhu Lian's management, our Fallen Mountain gradually purchased the Incense Volcano, the Far Curtain Peak, and the Illumination Reading Ridge at low prices."
Every time Cui Dongshan "pointed," various sizes of mountain roots and water veins were manifested one by one.
Cui Dongshan said in a deep voice, "Besides the Dragon Spring Sword Sect, the Dragon Ridge Mountain has the Dragon-Slaying Cliff. The Wind Snow Temple and True Martial Mountain certainly won't give it up, and we won't think too much about it. As for the group of immortal masters cultivating on the Belt Peak, their ancestral hall registry belongs to the Dream Liang Kingdom, neighbors with the Cloud Sunset Mountain. The former is a second-rate immortal force on Bottle Gourd Continent, near the bottom. But since they have a good relationship with our Fallen Mountain, there's no need to think too much. However, the remaining ten or so immortal forces have no ties of incense or affection. We won't bully them..."
At this point, Cui Dongshan looked at Jiang Shangzhen.
Jiang Shangzhen said with a smile, "Buy, buy, buy. Sell, sell, sell. If both sides are willing, doesn't that create ties of incense and affection?"
Wei Wenlong said, "The Spring Mansion's account book actually has a slight surplus."
Chen Ping'an finally interjected, asking with a smile, "What do you mean by a slight surplus?"
Wei Wenlong immediately stood up and reported a sum.
The trade route with the Sackcloth Sect at Skeleton Beach, the Spring Dew Garden, the Multicolored Sparrow Sect, and the Cloud City, plus the newly opened second trade route through the Sackcloth Sect, the Floating Duckweed Sword Lake, and the Dragon Palace Cave Heaven, plus the third route through Red Candle Town's Sanjiang, Dong Shuijing, Old Dragon City's Fan Family, and Sun Jiashu. In addition, there was income from the Ox Horn Mountain ferry crossing and the bale collectors, as well as a large income from the bottleneck-quality Lotus Root Paradise Cave Heaven.
So Accountant Wei's "slight surplus" meant that Fallen Mountain had not only repaid a large debt but also had three thousand six hundred valley rain coins in cash on the books.
And on top of that, the Spring Mansion's account book still had six hundred gilded bronze coins.
And the income from the Lotus Root Paradise Cave Heaven and the three trade routes was continuous.
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, stood up, and walked to the edge of the painting. "A total of sixty-two peaks. We'll strive to encompass at least half within a hundred years. Simply put, except for Clothes Cloud Mountain where Mountain Lord Wei is located, Master Ruan's Dragon Spring Sword Sect, the Dragon Ridge Mountain occupied by Wind Snow Temple and True Martial Mountain, and the Belt Peak, we can negotiate and discuss all the other peaks occupied by those ten or so immortal forces. But remember, since it's a discussion, let's discuss it properly. No forced sales. A close neighbor is better than a distant relative. It's best if they can be connected in a continuous stretch. If not, we'll look for a few subordinate enclaves on Bottle Gourd Continent."
Chen Ping'an stared at the painting, speaking slowly to himself. "Treasure Talisman Mountain, Colorful Cloud Peak, and Immortal Herb Mountain—no need to mention them. Fallen Mountain is the ancestral mountain. Turtle Carp Back has been leased to Island Lord Liu. True Pearl Mountain is too small. Ox Horn Mountain is an immortal ferry. Hong Xia has already established a water palace at the bottom of Yellow Lake Mountain. Lingjun and Warm Tree's Dragon King's creel is also being refined into a mountain and river formation there. So the currently idle surplus peaks are Grey Mist Mountain, Cinnabar Mountain, Azure Haze Peak, Sword Worshiping Platform, Incense Volcano, Far Curtain Peak, and Illumination Reading Ridge. We won't hold peak-opening ceremonies within ten years. You can start choosing among the seven peaks now."
Hong Xia stood up and said tremblingly, "Mountain Lord, I have already moved to the Lotus Root Paradise Cave Heaven and have occupied a river there. Logically, I should give up Yellow Lake Mountain and give the water palace to... Yun Zi."
Chen Ping'an looked up, smiled at Hong Xia, and shook his head. "No need. Your immortal opportunity lies at Yellow Lake Mountain. Both publicly and privately, you cannot give up Yellow Lake Mountain."
Hong Xia wanted to say more, but Chen Ping'an waved his hand. "Just rest assured. Keep the water palace."
Hong Xia dared not say another word and quickly performed a curtsey. "Thank you, Mountain Lord."
Jiang Shangzhen sighed with emotion. And he said it wasn't a one-man rule? If this were the Divine Talisman Peak ancestral hall, how many people would be spitting at him and throwing chairs?
Chen Ping'an said with a soft laugh, "Hong Xia, there's no need to be so formal. In the ancestral hall meetings, you are a part of it and have a seat. Here, reason prevails. If anyone dares to give you trouble outside the ancestral hall, just come to me, and I'll personally reason with them."
Cui Dongshan nodded. "Yes, yes."
Chen Ping'an laughed in exasperation. "I'm talking about you. Don't go around scaring Hong Xia for no reason."
Cui Dongshan's eyes darted to the side, glancing at Hong Xia. Hong Xia instinctively looked at the Mountain Lord, but Chen Ping'an, who had just turned his gaze back to the mountain and river painting, had to look at Cui Dongshan again. Cui Dongshan had no choice but to raise both sleeves.
Sui Youbian, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up. "I want the Sword Worshiping Platform as my cultivation ground."
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "No."
Sui Youbian frowned and asked, "Why?"
Chen Ping'an made up a reason on the spot. "At other sects, golden core cultivators can open a peak. At Fallen Mountain, it has to be nascent soul."
The Sword Worshiping Platform—Chen Ping'an already had someone in mind: Cui Wei leading the nine sword immortal seeds to stay there.
Sui Youbian wasn't a sword cultivator from the Sword Qi Great Wall, so she wasn't suitable.
Sui Youbian smiled.
Chen Ping'an knew why Sui Youbian was like this. Breaking through her golden core bottleneck wasn't actually difficult for her. If she really wanted to reach the nascent soul stage, she could have done it back at the Flying Ascension Platform. But for some reason, Sui Youbian had deliberately stalled her cultivation.
Chen Ping'an added, "Don't make a decision in a hurry."
With a flick of his sleeve, Chen Ping'an put away the painting. He stepped back a few paces, stood by his chair, and placed one hand on its back. "The reason Fallen Mountain continues to hide its strength is threefold. First, I served as the Hidden Officer of the Sword Qi Great Wall for over a decade, and I have quite a few enemies in hiding. Not all of them are necessarily from the demon race. Second, I have two personal grudges from my early years—one involving the natal porcelain and the Great Li Dynasty's Dragon Kiln supervisor, and the other involving the parents of Ma Kuxuan of Apricot Flower Lane. This is a deadly feud with far-reaching implications, possibly involving people from North Juzhou. Then there is the incident when the Xu Clan of Pure Breeze City joined forces with Bright Yang Mountain, and Liu Xianyang and I were almost beaten to death. Third, as the closed-door disciple of the Literati Sage's lineage, my identity will soon come to light. When that happens, there will be both advantages and disadvantages. An overwhelming tide will come. Many problems will not be solved by flying swords and fists alone. I'm telling you this in advance so you can all be prepared. Of course, as long as I'm here, the other side won't have an easy time succeeding either."
"But when I need you all to put in effort, I won't stand on ceremony."
Chen Ping'an had one hand behind his back, the other lightly tapping the back of the chair. "So, before that, I must cut through the knot quickly and deal with the family matters close at hand: the Great Li Song Clan, Bright Yang Mountain, and Pure Breeze City. Those are the main three. Oh, and there is Spring Dew Garden, which is relatively easier to handle. So, I will personally make a trip to North Juzhou in the near future."
Chen Ping'an looked at Pei Xiang. The Fox Kingdom ruler immediately stood up.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Pei Xiang, rest assured and stay in the Lotus Root Paradise Cave Heaven. Handle the affairs of the Fox Kingdom properly. The sky won't fall. Since you have become a guardian of our Fallen Mountain's ancestral hall, there's no need to speak like outsiders. I will sever your karmic ties with the Xu Clan of Pure Breeze City myself, leaving no hidden dangers. But I'll say this in advance: there's no need to go out of your way to curry favor with this ancestral hall by doing things that harm the interests of the Fox Kingdom. That's completely unnecessary. Our Fallen Mountain has a different atmosphere from ordinary peaks. We value reason quite a bit. After these many years of association, I believe Guardian Pei Xiang has a good understanding."
Pei Xiang immediately performed a curtsey.
Chen Ping'an nodded in acknowledgment and then continued, "Next, we will discuss the matter of selecting a location for Fallen Mountain's lower sect on Parasol Leaf Continent."
Chen Lingjun's eyes went wide. What? They already had a lower sect? Then he, as the first sect leader of the lower sect, had a rightful claim. He coughed a few times and was about to stand up when Chen Ping'an had already said with a smile, "What, does Lord Lingjun intend to make a personal trip to Parasol Leaf Continent? Wouldn't that be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"
Chen Lingjun immediately plopped his rear back into the chair and said with a laugh, "No, no, no. Master is joking. My arms and legs are too thin. I already have a heavy burden on Fallen Mountain."
Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment, but still said straightforwardly, "I originally planned to have Cao Qinglang serve as the first sect leader of the lower sect. But I worry that selecting the lower sect won't just be complicated by the situation of Bottle Gourd, Parasol Leaf, and North Juzhou continents. Once my two identities are revealed, there will be many unexpected complications targeting the lower sect."
Cui Dongshan said with a smile, "I'll be the vice-head of the lower sect for the time being—a transitional arrangement."
Then, feigning surprise, Cui Dongshan leaned forward, craning his neck to look at Mi Yu. "Oh, look at that! The position of chief guardian of the lower sect has just opened up again. Great Sword Immortal Mi, isn't that a coincidence?"
Mi Yu, who had just been feeling comfortable all over, was now again confronted with a crisis. He looked pitifully at Chen Ping'an and said with a bitter face, "Hidden Officer, I really can't be an official. Even if you don't appoint me as the chief guardian but still want me to do the chief guardian's work, I'll accept it!"
At the Multicolored Sparrow Sect, not to mention Liu Guibao, there were several female registered cultivators with burning gazes that already made Mi Yu very anxious.
Chen Ping'an said with a smile, "The chief guardian of the lower sect can be temporarily decided. We'll discuss it later. Anyway, as long as you break through to the immortal realm, everything can be discussed."
Mi Yu breathed a sigh of relief. One more day's delay was fine.
Chen Ping'an turned to Sui Youbian and communicated with his heart voice. "In the Cloud Grotto Paradise, I met your teacher. He now goes by the alias Ni Zan, an old ferryman punting a boat at Yellow Crane Rock. He left the Lotus Root Paradise Cave Heaven long ago. He is now a Jade Pure realm sword cultivator, with stories of slaying mosquitoes on the river. When you were cultivating at the Jade Gui Sect, you probably heard of him. The Riding Crane City we once visited is a 'immortal trace' left behind when your teacher 'ascended' and left his hometown."
Sui Youbian nodded slowly, her expression complex, her hands gripping the armrests tightly.
Chen Ping'an brushed his sleeve, and a painting of the Eternal Lord Mountain's ten-thousand-mile landscape in the paradise appeared.
Chen Ping'an first gave everyone a general description of the current situation on and off Parasol Leaf Continent—the Peace Mountain, the Yao Clan's ascension to emperor in the Great Spring Dynasty, the Alliance of Peach Leaves, the Driving Mountain Ferry, the Heavenly Gate Peak...
Zhong Qiu sighed. "Selecting the site for the lower sect on Parasol Leaf Continent is actually more difficult to handle than on Bottle Gourd Continent. One misstep, and we'll make enemies of cultivators from both Bottle Gourd and North Juzhou continents. Now that cultivators from both continents are infiltrating Parasol Leaf Continent with unstoppable momentum, it's easy to come into conflict with them over interests. If everyone is just seeking profit without interfering with each other, it might be alright. We might even form alliances. But if Fallen Mountain also insists on reason, it will be difficult."
Wei Xian squinted at the mountain and river painting. "Difficult? I think not. After choosing the lower sect site, according to the Mountain Lord's intention to cut the knot quickly, take North Juzhou as an example. Make an example of the Qionglin Sect. As for Bottle Gourd Continent, take a major clan other than Fan and Sun of Old Dragon City as an example. As long as the knife is fast enough, even if others don't get cut, as long as they aren't blind, they'll see it and feel the pain."
Cui Dongshan smiled and nodded, but his gaze, seemingly casually, was actually directed at Cao Qinglang, who was deep in thought.
Cao Qinglang was silent for a moment. "Instead of stirring around in a mess where everyone has their own reasons, it might be better to follow Wei Xian's advice. Pick two factions among the two continents that obviously have no reason on their side. Then we can present our reasoning very clearly. When others see the edge of the knife, they will indeed be more reasonable, at least when dealing with us, they will choose to take a detour. But this kind of... domineering behavior... is still not enough. We also need to form alliances. The Alliance of Peach Leaves? We can do that too. Teacher has already selected the Pushan Yun-Thatched Hall, the Heavenly Gate Peak, and the Great Spring Yao Clan. Adding North Juzhou and Bottle Gourd Continent, we can pick an ally from each. It would be best to also build a good relationship with the Liu Clan of Aiai Continent. That's enough, more than enough! For example, Sword Immortal Xie is both a guardian of the Liu Clan and our guest elder. Could we trouble her to send a message? But we absolutely must not make Sword Immortal Xie feel put out, otherwise we'll lose more than we gain and waste a very precious bond of incense fire that Teacher has cultivated."
Cui Dongshan clapped his hands and laughed.
Little Mili didn't quite understand, but she figured clapping along was fine.
Sui Youbian suddenly said, "I can be the chief guardian of the lower sect, after I reach the nascent soul stage."
Zhong Qiu said with a smile, "I can accompany Cao Qinglang on a trip to Parasol Leaf Continent. Let Qinglang gain some experience for a few years first; there's no rush for him to become a sect leader."
Seeing that the situation was settled, Mi Yu immediately changed his mind and said with a smile, "I can assist Scholar Zhong."
Cao Qinglang, Cui Dongshan, Zhong Qiu, Mi Yu, and Sui Youbian.
Plus Jiang Shangzhen secretly coordinating.
It was almost foolproof.
Chen Ping'an asked, "The Lotus Root Paradise Cave Heaven?"
Zhong Qiu smiled and asked back, "Mountain Lord?"
Chen Ping'an chuckled.
Changming suddenly asked, "What about Grey Mist Mountain?"
On Grey Mist Mountain, there were actually three people living in seclusion: the remnants of the Zhu Ying Dynasty under the alias Shao Poxian, the maid Meng Long, and the former North Juzhou Daijiao Mountain ferry boat female cultivator under the alias Shi Qiu, Qiu Shi.
Chen Ping'an was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Let's see the observing guests off first. Then I'll go to Grey Mist Mountain. If they are willing, they may join the Fallen Mountain registry."
Law Keeper Changming said no more.
Chen Ping'an sat in his chair, his hands tucked into his sleeves, staring blankly at the main entrance.
There were still many matters to discuss, such as the Lotus Root Paradise Cave Heaven, the three trade routes, handling the relationship with the Great Li Dynasty, the disposal of so many immortal coins from the account, the cultivation of mountain and river gazettes, and the ruins of the mountain god temple at the summit of the main peak Jiling Peak—whether it could be transformed into a core formation for the mountain-guarding sword array...
When Chen Ping'an came back to his senses, he found that the ancestral hall was empty except for himself. Everyone had left.
Chen Ping'an stood up, turned around, and walked backward. He stopped, looked up at the three hanging portraits.
He suddenly remembered a time when he was still a muddy-legged boy, before he drew his sword to cleave Swaying Mountain, and had once said, quite casually, "Then fight."
It was only after chatting with A Liang that he learned that ten thousand years ago, a young sword cultivator had once dropped the same line by a riverbank: "Then fight, then."
Chen Ping'an smiled, turned around, and strode toward the main entrance of the ancestral hall.
As for the decisive move in the heart-contest of Second Dream, at Qidu, Chen Ping'an had already understood that to win against his senior brother Cui Chan, he first needed the spirit of thinking, "I can play chess and beat the Embroidery Tiger." With that heart, one might still not win, but without it, everything would surely be lost.
A man in a blue shirt, a sword on his back, left, saying with a smile, "I am the Qingdu Mountain and Water Official."
When the blue-shirted sword cultivator crossed the threshold, bathed in sunlight, everyone waiting outside fixed their gazes on him in unison.
Whether they saw him as their teacher, their master, or their mountain lord,
they all felt that the man walking out of the gate was like a god.