Chapter 787: Riverside
Still the two worlds stood facing each other from afar, but at this moment, the straight line of the All-Heaven world took a step forward as one.
About three out of ten followed a young hidden official in a blue long gown and cloth shoes, ready to fight the Barren Wilderness world once more.
The remaining seven out of ten followed the Ritual Sage in taking that step.
Three out of ten—few? Actually, a lot.
And within that three out of ten were the four sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall—three ascension-tier, one celestial-tier—the talisman master Yu Xuan, who was about to merge with the River of Stars and enter the fourteenth realm, the Great Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain who never made empty threats, the lord of White Emperor City who had hidden two chess pieces on Tuo Yue Mountain, the martial artist master-disciple pair Pei Bei and Cao Ci, who were both in the tenth realm, and young talents like Yuan Pang and Xu Bai, future pillars of the righteous world. Moreover, among the Confucian sages of the Wen Temple, the academies, and the schools, many were not unwilling to take that step—they simply had to wait for the Ritual Sage to take the lead first.
Thus, it was not actually three out of ten; in truth, it was at least five out of ten.
What did this mean? It meant that the Wen Temple of the righteous world could open hostilities at any time, repaying the Barren Wilderness world by carving off an entire world in retaliation.
And if fighting started, it would be extremely brutal, not a minor skirmish. For both sides, there would be no room for retreat. This was not an empty bluff from some old scholar at the Wen Temple haggling for gain, nor a hot-headed impulse of a Confucian sage to cause a little painless trouble and then stop once they gained a small advantage.
For example, Ah Liang would definitely seek out that loose-tongued demon cultivator. Zuo You would challenge Xiao Xun in a sword duel to the death.
Heavenly Master Zhao would carry the Heavenly Master Seal and the immortal sword "Ten Thousand Laws," go deep into the Barren Wilderness hinterland, and find Yuan Shou to discuss Daoist techniques. And before finding Yuan Shou, during his long journey through the mountains and rivers, what else would this great heavenly master do? Naturally, he would slay demons and exorcise evil along the way.
Zheng Juzhong, that always-hidden great demonic master, would be even more at ease and act without restraint. Pei Bei, Cao Ci, Song Changjing—and very likely all ultimate-realm martial artists of the righteous world—would successively head to the Barren Wilderness world. This also meant that all the sword immortals who had returned from the Sword Qi Great Wall would once again set foot on it, fighting side by side, riding their swords south in unison.
Martial artists would throw punches; sword immortals would deliver their swords.
The poems of Liu Qi and Su Zi would manifest as great Dao in the Barren Wilderness world.
The Mohist leader would raise cities in the Barren Wilderness world. The Mohist wandering knights of the three schools would once again unite in shared hatred, willing to die in a foreign land.
The Fire Dragon True Man of Prostrate Peak would teach the Barren Wilderness world what it meant when "this poor Daoist somewhat understands both the fire and water methods."
Once the battlefield shifted and they were in a foreign land, with enemies on all sides, all the great cultivators from the peaks of the righteous world would no longer hold back.
Moreover, the real fear was that these arts, flying swords, and martial master fists from the righteous world's peaks, along with the assembly, advance, garrison, and further advance of every army, were all meticulously calculated and laid out, interlocking with each other. Every link would be filled with a color of "pursuing maximum benefit, where anyone can die," without any moral burden. Defending the righteous world: who lives, who dies—if you ask your conscience, there are many difficulties, worries everywhere, and everything drags on. Attacking the Barren Wilderness: what was there to think about? Since they were already on the battlefield, whether they were mountain cultivators or elite forces from the mortal world, whether driven by the righteousness of family and nation or the temptation of expanding territory, or by the desire to take revenge at any cost, it was simply a matter of separating life and death with the Barren Wilderness world.
Lu Zhi took a deep breath, radiant with spirit, her thumb gently stroking the hilt of her sword. She asked, "Zuo You, Ah Liang, how about the three of us go visit Tuo Yue Mountain?"
It would be imitating the great sword immortals of ten thousand years ago—Dragon Lord, Guan Zhao—the three of them going together to challenge the Barren Wilderness world.
Qi Tingji was now the head of a sect, so it was inappropriate for him to go challenge Tuo Yue Mountain on a whim. If the Dragon-Elephant Sword Sect only lost a chief patron, it wouldn't be a big deal.
Zuo You said, "I'll first challenge Xiao Xun with my sword. If I can still draw my sword afterward, I'll go to Tuo Yue Mountain together."
Ah Liang lowered his head and twisted the hem of his clothes with his fingers, complaining pitifully: "Sister Lu didn't even call me 'Little Brother Ah Liang.' I'm so heartbroken I can barely lift my sword."
Lu Zhi's expression turned ugly. "Barely lift my sword"—originally, no one would have thought much of that phrase. But because of this bastard, it first became widespread as a dirty joke at the Sword Qi Great Wall's drinking tables, then among pairs of sword-cultivator lovers as a kind of risqué talk. The atmosphere at the Sword Qi Great Wall, thanks to Ah Liang's meddling, had plummeted like a sudden waterfall, and then the second shopkeeper came along, and it plummeted even further, though relatively more subtly.
Lu Zhi said, "Wouldn't it be better to establish a subsidiary sect in the Barren Wilderness world rather than choosing Fu Yao Continent?"
Qi Tingji smiled and said, "No need to choose; we can have both."
Lu Zhi could be the first sect master of the subsidiary sect on Fu Yao Continent. As for the future sect master of the subsidiary sect in the Barren Wilderness world, they could simply pick any of the sword immortals who had roamed south.
Ah Liang stared hard at the ground, as if hesitating whether to take one more step than everyone else to show off.
Wearing a Confucian robe, he dared not speak, dared not even drink much. A lifetime of fame was ruined in an instant.
Ah Liang felt immensely wronged and thought to himself, "Sister Lu, how about you take one more step with me?"
Lu Zhi directly rewarded him with a line: "Why don't you just walk over to the other side?"
Ah Liang glanced at the opposite side.
Lu Zhi sneered, "If you have the guts, I'll let you touch my legs however you want."
Ah Liang stamped his foot, gently beat his chest with both hands, and said, "This life is unbearable."
Suddenly, Ah Liang's eyes lit up, and he asked, "If I don't have the guts, does that mean I get to touch Sister Lu however I want?"
Lu Zhi pressed her thumb against the sword hilt and said, "Sure. I'll chop off all three of your legs."
The God of Wealth, Liu Jubao, might have been the person above the Wen Temple line who was most grateful to the young hidden official. Both for public and private reasons, he hoped to fight another battle in the Barren Wilderness world.
Moreover, this time, the few major allies of the Ai Ai Continent Liu family would no longer be Yu Panshui. Instead, they would be Zheng Juzhong and White Emperor City, Qi Tingji of the Dragon-Elephant Sword Sect, Wei Ying of the Jade Gui Sect, and Liu Tui of Fu Yao Continent, among others.
The gathering and dispersal of wealth under heaven, when it came down to it, was just a four-word study: redistribution.
What situation could make countless safely stored immortal coins seem to grow legs and move? Of course, war. If the battlefield was in the righteous world, the Liu family of Ai Ai Continent would have to follow rules to make money and even spend generously, using today's silver to earn tomorrow's gold. In fact, the risk was not small. Otherwise, at the last meeting with Cui Chan, Liu Jubao had to confirm one thing: Could you, Embroidery Tiger, survive after all?
It turned out that Liu Jubao's concern was necessary. During the previous family meeting at the Wen Temple, certain rules given had already made Liu Jubao sense a bad omen. But once the battlefield shifted to the Barren Wilderness world, things would not be so strict—fewer taboos, fewer constraints, and greater profit.
The nine emperors and monarchs from the mortal dynasties all more or less had such a thought.
The young hidden official—it seemed this man's sword could stand for a million troops.
If this hidden official could become their right-hand man, even if it was temporarily inappropriate for him to be a national teacher, or if Chen Ping'an's sect was located within their territory—wouldn't that be wonderful?
But the emperors suddenly grew puzzled: they hadn't heard of any specific sect name for this young sword immortal? Had he not yet established a sect? If so, could they use connections to maneuver something? If the sect was to be located in his hometown of Bottle Gourd Continent, that was certain, but even if they settled for second best, how about the subsidiary sect? The reasoning was too obvious: if Chen Ping'an, the young hidden official, became either the next emperor's teacher or the leading figure on the mountains within their dynasty, the sovereign would have no worries.
Because behind Chen Ping'an stood all the sword immortals of the Sword Qi Great Wall—not just the four in today's meeting, but also Wei Jin of Snow Wind Temple on Bottle Gourd Continent, Qi Jinglong of Northern Ju Lu Continent, Li Cai, Xie Songhua of Ai Ai Continent, Xie Zhi of Fu Yao Continent, Song Pin of Golden Armor Continent, Si Tu Jiyu, Pu He of Flowing Sunset Continent...
Beyond them, there was Ning Yao of Ascension City, said to be Chen Ping'an's Dao companion, the number one under heaven in the Fifth World!
The key was that the hidden official was young, too young. And Chen Ping'an's Dao achievements would certainly be very high.
Yu Panshui said to the young emperor through mind transmission: "Your Majesty, if you have the ability to recruit Chen Ping'an to be our Xuanmi Dynasty's imperial teacher, I'll stop caring about your eating, drinking, and everything. I'll let you do as you please. How about that? All these years, even the number of pages of erotic paintings you flip through each day has to be monitored. You're tired of it, and so am I. Your Majesty is deep and scheming. If it weren't for the fact that you cannot cultivate and are destined not to outlive me, I'd worry that you might one day dig up my coffin and whip my corpse."
The exchanges between Yu Panshui and the young emperor had always been frank, ever since the emperor was a young prince in the side palace.
Grandfather Yu could send you to sit on the dragon throne for decades, so you must be obedient, even more filial than a biological grandson. Don't learn from that last monarch of the Great Cheng Dynasty, who privately complained to the Wen Temple, acted against the rules, and crossed the bottom line set by the two families' ancestors. What was his fate? The Yu family's study of the Wen Temple's rules and boundaries was more thorough than that of some academy heads.
Conversations like this, behind closed doors, were a regular occurrence between Yu Panshui and the young emperor.
The young emperor asked doubtfully, "Grandfather Yu, you've never met the hidden official. Why do you value him so much?"
Yu Panshui laughed. "Because I hope the righteous world will have one more young Embroidery Tiger. Even if he walks the same path as Cui Chan, I hope he can start well and end well."
The young emperor exclaimed in admiration, "Grandfather Yu, you hold him in such high regard!"
The Lu Emperor of the Dayuan Dynasty hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "National Teacher, I heard that the hidden official once traveled through the Dragon Palace Cave Heaven and has good relations with the Taiwei Sword Sect, the Floating Duckweed Sword Lake, the Linen Mourning Sect in the far south, and the Spring Dew Garden in the east?"
Yang Qingkong smiled and said, "Indeed, they are all good. Actually, if you consider it, our Dayuan still has a bit of incense-fellowship with Falling Mountain. A few years ago, there was an emerald-green snake at the Nascent Soul realm that traveled through rivers and streams in Northern Ju Lu Continent. Our Dayuan dynasty's various immortal sects along the way and local government offices, together with Lord Lingyuan and Marquis Longting, cleared the path and escorted it all the way. So Your Majesty, just wait. Next time the hidden official comes to travel in Northern Ju Lu Continent, you might get to see him."
Lu Emperor nodded, but his thoughts were complicated.
Yang Qingkong smiled and said, "As for the title of national teacher, even if I were willing to give it and Your Majesty wanted to give it, given Chen Ping'an's temperament, he would not accept it. But if it were some other substantial empty title from the mortal world, as long as Your Majesty can reach an agreement with him, he might not refuse. Chen Ping'an's Falling Mountain actually has very close trade relations with Northern Ju Lu Continent. To go further, it will be hard to bypass the Dayuan dynasty. That is Your Majesty's opportunity."
Hidden within this was that most ethereal thing: "human hearts."
Take Fire Dragon True Man. Just a moment ago, he thought that whoever at the Wen Temple wanted to fight and kill could go ahead and show off. This poor Daoist was going to focus on cultivation. The last fight had cost him dearly. The entire Prostrate Peak—the main line of Peach Mountain and Finger-Profundity—everyone who could fight had gone to Bottle Gourd Continent to battle. So the Wen Temple shouldn't talk to him about the great trend of the world.
Because Fire Dragon True Man had been convinced of one thing: unless the Wen Temple had already reached an internal consensus, and the Ritual Sage personally spoke, then they could fight. Otherwise, if the righteous world wanted to fight, it would only result in needless deaths, because it would be an empty framework. Facts had already proven that in a war involving the ownership of two worlds, the choices of mountain cultivators were certainly important, but what happened in the mortal world was the true key to victory or defeat.
Tongye Continent and Fu Yao Continent were negative examples. Bottle Gourd Continent was a positive example. Golden Armor Continent, which had once gathered nearly half a continent's strength to fight a desperate battle against the demons, was somewhere in the middle. If not for the old ascension-tier cultivator Wanyan Laojing's defection at the critical moment, the northern part of Golden Armor Continent could have held out a few more years. Consequently, the various immortal sects in the southern Flowing Sunset Continent, which had been caught in the crossfire, now wanted to kill every cultivator from Wanyan Laojing's sect. If not for two Confucian gentlemen stationed at that mountain, the ancestral hall would probably be hit by several spells every day.
But in truth, aside from Wanyan Laojing, everyone in that sect—from the founder to the direct disciples to the ordinary cultivators—had taken the lead in the battle, suffered heavy losses, and shown no sign of cowardice.
How do you calculate that principle? How do you calculate those human hearts?
In the southern part of Flowing Sunset Continent, those immortal sects and mortal magnate families that had contributed little or not at all to the effort were quietly relieved and secretly gloating, while loudly cursing the old thief Wanyan, saying that the upper beam was crooked, so the lower beam would be crooked too. It must be a nest of venomous snakes; perhaps they were even hiding remnants of the Barren Wilderness. The Wen Temple must thoroughly investigate, turn everything upside down, and rather kill the wrong one than let one go.
That was the troublesome part of human hearts in the righteous world. The moral standard was too high. They liked to take all the moral high ground and excelled at killing a hundred to punish one.
But when Chen Ping'an took that step, Fire Dragon True Man naturally changed his view. Of course, it wasn't because the old true man had some casual incense-fellowship with the young man.
Rather, it was because Fire Dragon True Man had witnessed the battle of the Sword Qi Great Wall—the general process and the final outcome. Otherwise, if they started a war recklessly, with everyone still of different minds and scattered like grains of sand, what would that be but a farce?
Fire Dragon True Man had even made up his mind: as long as the Wen Temple side fought, it was perfectly fine. But there had to be an additional summer palace for the Wen Temple, and it couldn't be just a matter of a group of young military officers discussing ideas. It couldn't be merely helping the Wen Temple find omissions and fill gaps, or at most offering a few imaginative but effective suggestions. They must have the sole authority to decide on key matters.
Who understood the Barren Wilderness world best? That young hidden official who said they should fight.
That kid was an outsider to the Sword Qi Great Wall, but in the end, the sword cultivators regarded him as one of their own. Even when he was promoted to hidden official against all conventions, there were no waves or ripples.
Chen Ping'an understood the nature of the righteous world even better. It didn't matter. Cui Chan's pragmatic studies had already won people's hearts after the Bottle Gourd Continent campaign.
Now, what was the mentality and situation on and off the mountains of Bottle Gourd Continent? That tiny Bottle Gourd Continent, once the lowest, insignificant little continent, now had only the Central Earth Divine Continent left in its eyes.
Earlier, at the Sword Qi Great Wall, the deployment of troops by the hidden official lineage in the summer palace—wasn't that also an embodiment of the same pragmatic studies?
If the entire righteous world, from the Wen Temple to the mountain peaks, to the mountains themselves, to the mortal dynasties, to the rivers and lakes and city markets, could truly and wholeheartedly prepare for a war.
Then why couldn't they fight?
Ju Lu Continent had once beaten Ai Ai Continent until it dropped the word "North" from its name.
Then the righteous world could well beat the Barren Wilderness world until it dropped the word "Barren." From then on, for ten thousand or a hundred thousand years, it could all be the righteous world's territory!
Many old cultivators who already held high positions in the righteous world were feeling very young today.
When you wanted to get close to certain positions, especially to stand firm in them, you couldn't help but carefully weigh pros and cons and meticulously calculate gains and losses.
Life cannot be not cherished, but it cannot be cherished wrongly.
Yu Xuan sighed with emotion: "A new atmosphere. The hearts of the people can be used."
Fire Dragon True Man smiled and said, "Whoever has the most money speaks the loudest. Whatever Old Yu says goes."
Yu Xuan teased him: "Isn't the God of Wealth Liu richer than me? I heard that he once found you privately and offered to return the word 'North' to Northern Ju Lu Continent in exchange for a 'Five Thousand Five Hundred Immortals' arrangement?"
The covenant between the two continents was for five thousand years. For every thousand years, Ai Ai Continent was willing to pay a huge sum of immortal coins to support a hundred sword-cultivator seeds from Northern Ju Lu Continent's Prostrate Peak, Taiwei Sword Sect, Floating Duckweed Sword Lake, and other major sects—throwing money at them until they became golden core earth immortals. Fire Dragon True Man only needed to provide a final list of a hundred names, and the Liu family of Ai Ai Continent and other major forces would not shortchange Northern Ju Lu Continent a single snowflake coin. If any of those sword cultivators managed to break into the upper five realms, they could earn an additional ten slots for Northern Ju Lu Continent.
Fire Dragon True Man sneered: "I'm just a cultivator, not the head of both the black and white paths of Northern Ju Lu Continent. Do I get the final say?"
Yu Xuan nodded and said, "Of course you do. Because you said no, that's why God of Wealth Liu gave up the idea."
Fire Dragon True Man didn't want to talk more about these old chestnuts. He stroked his beard and smiled. "Old Yu, later on, I'll introduce Chen Ping'an to you."
Yu Xuan tugged at his beard, chuckled, and said, "No need, no need. This hidden official has already heard of me long ago. Otherwise, how could he every day mention 'Talisman Master Yu Xian' to his founding disciple? Scholars say that contemporary people flipping through books is like having conversations with ancient sages. By that rule, it's hard to say which of us brothers got to know Chen Ping'an first."
Fire Dragon True Man sighed deeply. "I finally understand why I'm poor and you're rich. To make big money, you have to be shameless."
Yu Xuan shook his head. "No, no. I've never been poor since I was a child."
Fire Dragon True Man said, "That only proves you, Old Yu, are exceptionally talented."
Yu Xuan said, "It seems merging with the Dao will have to be delayed again."
Fire Dragon True Man said, "Old Yu, I admire you for this: you're very shrewd about small matters, but the most confused about big ones."
It didn't sound like a compliment, but Yu Xuan squinted his eyes, smiled, gently tugged his beard and nodded, as if he was quite pleased with the comment.
The Ritual Sage said to the young hidden official via mind transmission, with a smile: "Not acting on impulse?"
The question was strange—the Ritual Sage had already taken the step before asking. So it seemed quite redundant.
The bright red Dharma robe shook its head gently and replied with three words in mind transmission: "We can fight."
After a pause, the young hidden official added another sentence: "If there is a one-in-ten-thousand chance, it may be that we must fight."
The Ritual Sage smiled. "It's not a one-in-ten-thousand chance. Zhou Mi will definitely return to the mortal world."
Chen Ping'an asked bluntly: "In the worst case, how many years?"
"At least a hundred years, at most a thousand. An exact number is hard to say for now."
"After the meeting ends, I can privately hand over a detailed strategy immediately. But I'm worried about one thing."
"Tell me."
"I'm worried that Zhou Mi hopes to use half the Barren Wilderness world to buy time for himself, and ultimately exchange it for the destruction of the Ritual Sage's great Dao. Then his path back from the heavens to the mortal world would be hard for anyone to block. Unless..."
"Unless we press forward in one go, fight a quick battle to decide the outcome, exceed Zhou Mi's expectations, take the entire Barren Wilderness world as soon as possible, and then I will establish new rites and rules for the world that becomes one from two."
"It will be very difficult."
"Difficult? How difficult? As difficult as a young outsider who had only cultivated for a few years becoming the hidden official of the Sword Qi Great Wall?"
The Ritual Sage, who looked like a middle-aged Confucian, smiled and said, "I am the Ritual Sage. I've been reading books for many years."
Chen Ping'an was silent upon hearing this.
True.
The Ritual Sage of the righteous world was like the Great Old Sword Immortal of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Even if they said nothing, as long as they stood in that place, they could reassure everyone.
The top combat forces gathered on Tuo Yue Mountain in the Barren Wilderness world either looked at the Ritual Sage, who was acclaimed as the best fighter in the righteous world, or at the young hidden official who had only left the city wall a few years ago.
For a moment, they all felt somewhat helpless.
They almost had the illusion of returning to the battlefield of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Wasn't the discussion going well just a moment ago? Why did they suddenly overturn the table and fall out?
As expected, as long as this young hidden official was around, there would be no good outcome.
Earlier, when they fought the few continents of the righteous world, the young hidden official obediently stayed on the city wall, chatting every day with that gray-robed man. The Barren Wilderness world's battlefield advance on Tongye and Fu Yao Continents was like cutting tofu with a knife—it was hard to even need to sharpen the blade.
This was like two households in the market having a conflict. They had a fierce beating, but neither could kill the other. Both sides hadn't healed their wounds yet. Then, each with their own thoughts, they decided to talk. They set up a table on the main street and started negotiations. The thug who had invaded the other's territory sat cross-legged with his legs up, acting like a barefoot man who wasn't afraid of shoe-wearers. Anyway, he had no valuable possessions, so if they wanted to fight, they'd fight. The other side, from a scholarly family, had pens, ink, scrolls, and silks—were they really willing to risk their lives? Who were they bluffing?
Then, before anyone noticed, that scholar suddenly overturned the table, pulled out a knife, and wanted to kill.
The key point was that this scholar's relatives, friends, and neighbors—originally they had all read a few books of the sages, and even if they weren't proper Confucian disciples, they all went along with the madness.
Why did the Barren Wilderness world conquer Tongye, Fu Yao, and Golden Armor Continents as easily as playing? Even if there were occasional bumps, the general momentum was unstoppable. Yet why was the Sword Qi Great Wall so hard to bite?
Apart from Chen Qingdu's presence at the Sword Qi Great Wall, aside from the cloud-like sword cultivators who all faced death willingly, what truly made it difficult for the Barren Wilderness world to advance for ten thousand years was the cohesion of hearts. The sword cultivators didn't care what the righteous world thought or said. If you wanted to destroy their homes, you had to kill every last one of them first. So the sword cultivators stood on the city wall front line, delivering swords to the southern battlefield again and again. Their sword hearts were pure. They didn't even care about life and death, let alone gains and losses.
One side had already taken a step forward; the other remained motionless.
Following a step forward, or even taking an extra step, was actually quite meaningless. Could they retreat a step instead? They could only stand still.
Yuan Shou, standing on a flying sword, stretched his arm out with the end of a long staff, pointed it at the bright red Dharma robe, and roared, "Kid, get back!"
Little brat, if you managed to survive, you should be burning incense sticks, hiding away and enjoying yourself on your laurels. Instead, you're not satisfied, and you dare to talk about attacking an entire world? A thing that doesn't know its own weight. Now that you've lost the Dao of the Sword Qi Great Wall, if I, Grandfather Ape, hit you once with my staff, I'll kill at least two hidden officials.
Such was the Ape Ancestor, who had smashed countless mountains and immortal ancestral halls in two continents of the righteous world. He was overbearing and arrogant, considering himself supreme, looking down on the world.
His true name, Zhu Yan, appeared among the countless strands of the young hidden official's thread-sensing, woven together from text. Although it flashed briefly, Yuan Shou still saw those words through the entanglement of the Dao. This made Yuan Shou, born arrogant, even more ferocious. If he didn't kill this young hidden official, it would be endless trouble. If they were going to fight, then fight. Let the two worlds fight to the death. Break up the mountains and rivers, even smash Tuo Yue Mountain and the Old Blind Man's Hundred Thousand Mountains to pieces. Then he might be able to gather a large amount of mountain-root qi and enter the fourteenth realm.
In this great war of the righteous world, they hadn't even broken through Bottle Gourd Continent and Flowing Sunset Continent, so Yuan Shou's Dao benefit was less than half of what he had expected, and he couldn't break through the bottleneck.
This ancestor of the moving-mountain species, whose true name was Zhu Yan, had a chance to merge with the fourteenth realm through the saying, "Stones from other hills may serve to polish the jade." It seemed like merging with geographical advantage, but in truth, it was merging with human harmony.
For every mountain peak he smashed with his staff, he could create the same number and style of mountain ranges in his future fourteenth-realm Dao field.
He would break down rubble, move broken veins, pile up mountain roots, and then, in his own Dao field, create a new Five Sacred Mountains. His Dao would be immortal, and he would have an undying body.
In the early days, during the meetings of the Heroic Spirit Hall, even with the secret help of the woman Crimson Concubine, who benefited mutually from the arrangement, Yuan Shou had only moved two sacred mountains from his mind into his Dao field. Later, on Fu Yao Continent and Tongye Continent, he smashed countless mountain peaks and painstakingly accumulated two more. Once the Five Sacred Mountains stood in his Dao field, and he merged with the Dao to create a Kunlun Dao field, Yuan Shou would stand on this mountain, walking his Dao alone, ascending to the heavens!
What Green Under-Heaven? What Western Buddhist Kingdom? Anywhere under heaven with mountains and soil would be Grandfather Ape's Dao field territory.
When there were no more mountains left in the world—all moved into his Dao field—he would become the newest fifteenth realm after the three patriarchs of the three teachings! As eternal as heaven and earth, stepping on stars, smashing the sun and moon with his staff.
What Sui Mountain? What Dragon Tiger Mountain? They were just a bunch of chopsticks. Grandfather Ape didn't even need both hands; with one hand he could crush them.
Then he would kill Bai Ye, who no longer had his immortal sword. That would be nothing!
Fei Ran raised two fingers and pressed down gently in front of him. He pressed Yuan Shou's long staff down slightly.
Yuan Shou's expression darkened. He turned his head to have a good talk with this young master of Tuo Yue Mountain, who had contributed no effort in the great battle but had gained the most by picking up the leftovers.
Unexpectedly, a ripple appeared in his mind. It was the smile of the old man with the staff: "Zhu Yan, I'm not angry. Why are you angry? Do you want to lie at the bottom of a well, or learn from Ah Liang and become a guest on Tuo Yue Mountain?"
Yuan Shou snorted coldly, put away his long staff, and slung it over his shoulder.
The great demon Guan Xiang looked innocent and extremely helpless: "When did the scholars of the righteous world become so aggressive? You said you wanted to discuss matters. We just started talking, and now you say you want to fight. Please, be reasonable."
Shou Chen didn't feel like speaking. With Fei Ran in charge, and the established strategies left by his master, everything was fine.
Southern Shou Chen, Northern Hidden Official—this saying was once more about praising that young man of the Sword Qi Great Wall. In a few more years, would it instead become Shou Chen basking in his glory?
Beside him was Zhou Qinggao, this junior apprentice. After returning home, he had received unique advantages that were no less than Fei Ran, the new master of Tuo Yue Mountain.
Because Zhou Qinggao had obtained the shed skins of the throne-level great demons, and not just one.
The great demons merged with the Dao by Zhou Mi included the fourteenth-realm cultivator who had taken the alias Lu Fayan, as well as several throne-level demons: the external incarnation Bai Ying, Qie Yun, Yao Jia, and Huang Luan.
What Zhou Mi consumed were the great Daos; the leftover skins of the great demons were dispensable to him—not completely useless, but of little significance. Rather than taking them away, it was better to leave them behind.
Thus, the Jia-Shen Tent youth with poor cultivation aptitude, the wooden clogs wearer, later the closed-door disciple Zhou Qinggao, became the one who gained the most unexpectedly.
Before ascending, Zhou Mi had used the true body shed skin of the throne-level demon Bai Ying (a skeleton) to forge Zhou Qinggao's Yangshen external incarnation. Then, using the shed skins of the demons Huang Luan and Qie Yun, he refined and integrated them into Zhou Qinggao's soul and spirit, building a new Longevity Bridge in one step onto the path of ascension.
Moreover, Zhou Mi had left a celestial technique on Tuo Yue Mountain, specially reserved for Zhou Qinggao, who was originally unsuitable for cultivation.
It was the Willow Rib Realm secret method pioneered by Liu Qi. Zhou Mi, who was best at turning the rotten into the magical, had studied this method and shortcut so deeply that he might rival Liu Qi himself.
Thus, Zhou Qinggao had gone directly from the third realm of Qi refiner (the "Staying Realm") to the Jade Pu Realm. Within a few short years, he broke through another realm and became a Celestial.
That was what it meant to be the closed-door disciple of Wenhai Zhou Mi.
In less than ten years, he was already a Celestial.
As for the first disciple, Shou Chen, he received three immortal swords, all long swords. Shou Chen had originally carried five swords in his sword case, but lost three during the great war, so now he carried six.
The sword cultivator Liu Bai, relatively speaking, received the fewest gifts from his master: one immortal artifact, the "Small Cave Heaven" Dharma robe, and one half-immortal artifact, a green hibiscus crown.
Xiao Xun, sitting cross-legged, grinned. She raised her arms, grabbed two braids with her hands, and thought, "This little guy who took my place isn't bad, is he?"
Zhang Lu drank wine as he studied the miserable figure on the opposite side. It was hard to imagine that the young sword-carrying boy who had carefully traveled through the Inverted Suspended Mountain in those early years would become what he was today.
The sword cultivator Zhu Qie's long sword trembled, humming mournfully.
When Chen Ping'an took on that familiar form, Liu Bai's expression changed slightly.
During the years of practicing swordplay on the city wall, she and Li Zhen had dealt with Chen Ping'an the most.
And both of them had basically died once at the hands of the young hidden official.
Li Zhen, a direct disciple of the Tuo Yue Mountain Grand Ancestor, died in that paired combat. That shocking life-for-life exchange was the first time the Barren Wilderness world learned that someone on the Sword Qi Great Wall could replace Ning Yao in delivering a sword strike.
Afterward, Liu Bai and four other sword cultivators of the Jia-Shen Tent—Zhu Qie, Li Zhen, Yu Si, Tan—all ranked among the top of the Tuo Yue Mountain Hundred Sword Immortals. They set up an ambush but still failed to kill their target. In that ambush, Liu Bai was actually caught and had her neck twisted by Chen Ping'an.
Zhou Qinggao said loudly, "I can fully understand why the Hidden Official insists on fighting. The Sword Qi Great Wall suffered the heaviest losses. The sword cultivators of Ascension City in the Fifth Seat World are indeed the most qualified to seek revenge against our Barren Wilderness world. Moreover, the Hidden Official is from the Wen Sheng lineage. The Grand Li National Teacher Mr. Cui and the Cliff Academy Head Mr. Qi are no longer with us. As the closed-door disciple of Mr. Wensheng, the Hidden Official has every reason to 'speak of principle' with the Barren Wilderness world. Repaying injury with injury is perfectly natural."
Zhou Qinggao spoke with a smile, saying: "Whether in his capacity as a sword cultivator of the Sword Qi Great Wall or as a Confucian scholar of the Wen lineage now, Chen Ping'an is the most qualified to say 'let's fight,' and he can say it with a clear conscience."
The last great battle at the Sword Qi Great Wall was fought in a way that was not very Sword Qi Great Wall-like.
It was said that this was due to the hidden official lineage of the summer palace sword cultivators, but the sixty military tents of the Barren Wilderness world knew perfectly well that it was due to one person.
Not that Chen Ping'an alone had such great ability to successfully scheme against the entire Barren Wilderness world by himself.
But Chen Ping'an had "eaten" the thoughts of all the sword cultivators of the hidden official lineage, eaten all the secret archives of the summer palace, eaten all the battlefield deployments of the Barren Wilderness world.
He had even "eaten" the prestige of the Great Old Sword Immortal, so that any message-flying sword from the hidden official lineage could easily overpower any peak sword immortal candidate, like Yue Qing and Mi Hu.
On the battlefield, the great demon Yang Zhi twisted off the head of a Yue clan great sword immortal who had wandered south into the Barren Wilderness in front of everyone. The Sword Qi Great Wall was seething with anger, but the summer palace refused to send a rescue message. Although a number of sword cultivators disobeyed orders and went out of the city to deliver swords, it did not form a battlefield situation where one move affected the whole. Later, in the exchange of swords between sword cultivators, the flying swords were as vast as rivers, the sword qi surged like great waterfalls. The Sword Qi Great Wall's sword strikes were precisely targeted at every subdivided battlefield. Every earth immortal sword cultivator had rules about whom to strike, when to strike, and where the sword should land.
Thus, the young hidden official of the Sword Qi Great Wall seemed to be of the same school as Wenhai Zhou Mi, who sat in the second-highest throne.
It was like those at the Wen Temple meeting: they didn't care if the Barren Wilderness world had a few more flying-ascension sword cultivators, but none of them wanted the master of Tuo Yue Mountain, the future lord of the Barren Wilderness world, to become a new Wenhai.
Similarly, the peak great demons of the Barren Wilderness world did not want the righteous world to become a new Sword Qi Great Wall.
Yu Panshui clicked his tongue in admiration: "This little bastard really knows how to talk insidiously. Your Majesty, did you learn? This is what it means to be articulate."
Just a few sentences, but they carried many meanings, not too deeply hidden, and not completely nonsense—easily making people think a lot.
The other side was hinting to the Wen Temple meeting that if the two worlds fought again, the Sword Qi Great Wall had hardly anyone left to die. The reputation and prestige of the Wen Sheng lineage, and its position at the Wen Temple, would only rise further. As for the Wen Sheng lineage, there was Zuo You, Liu Shiliu, himself, and at most the old scholar. Just these few people. But what about the flourishing Ritual Sage lineage and the sub-sage lineage with their schools and academies?
The young hidden official would both settle personal grudges and gain the most benefits.
With such a huge advantage, why not fight?
Would you, the righteous world, still be willing to follow this young hidden official, who would profit regardless of circumstances, into another battle? That young man only needed to stay behind the scenes and orchestrate. The people who die certainly won't be him. In the first war, he survived returning from half the Sword Qi Great Wall to the righteous world. In this next one, he certainly won't die either.
That was a distorted argument in this place, a proper argument in another. That was how it was everywhere.
His heart might be bright, but others might only find it dazzling.
Thus, these words were not meant for those who had stepped forward with the young hidden official.
The words chose their audience.
Many people, even if they didn't take it in today and didn't take it seriously, would start to absorb them later when the real war began, and would definitely think more about them.
The young emperor nodded vigorously, "Mm, mm, mm," in agreement with Fatty Yu.
This emperor of the Xuanmi Dynasty was increasingly admiring the young hidden official. He could actually make the great demons of the Barren Wilderness world target him so deliberately. The early sarcastic remarks, seemingly mocking and disgusting the hidden official—but why didn't the Barren Wilderness world tease Huai Yin or joke about the Liu family's God of Wealth? No need. They looked down on them.
It seemed that he must find an opportunity to call him brother in the future. He had to cling to that thigh. If he did, perhaps even Old Fatty Yu would be a bit more respectful to him, and would no longer be the only ones in the imperial study as "monarch and minister, grandfather and grandson." Old Fatty often took scissors out of his sleeve, snip-snapping his nails, and occasionally glanced sideways at the emperor's crotch.
The Lady of Green Spirit Mountain frowned deeply.
The Flower Master of the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land felt that if she were in the young hidden official's shoes, she wouldn't have a very good countermeasure either. Many things, the more you explain, the murkier they become. But if you don't explain, you have to suffer the loss in silence.
Guan Xiang suddenly roared with laughter: "So what if the Hidden Official has a bit of selfishness? No matter how much reward the Wen Temple gives him, he deserves it. He survived by his own ability, became a sage through his military merits. Who dares to nitpick? I, for one, would be the first to object. Is their conscience eaten by dogs? If not for the Hidden Official's decisive intervention, today's meeting might well be taking place right on the Wen Temple square with both sides!"
Guan Xiang had originally wanted to say "conscience eaten by Ah Liang," but looking at the imposing straight line of the other side's formation, he felt it was best to leave some leeway.
Chen Ping'an glanced at Zhou Qinggao and sneered: "The reason the Jia-Shen Tent achieved nothing is precisely because you led them, you little waste."
The old man with the staff smiled and said a few words to Yuan Shou, Crimson Concubine, and Wu Yue through mind transmission.
Then, the young man in the bright red Dharma robe instantly bent his knees slightly, his body hunched like a hunchback. But in the blink of an eye, he straightened his back again.
Chen Ping'an looked at Zhou Qinggao and said, "I heard that Zhou Mi took you as his closed-door disciple. Then he should never open the door to see people again. If I were Shou Chen, I would be kneeling on the ground right now, thumping my head, begging you to be the senior disciple. Even if you had to be the senior sister, that would be fine, as long as you weren't the junior apprentice."
Shou Chen laughed silently.
As for the remaining hundred sword immortals of Tuo Yue Mountain who had practiced swordplay on the half city wall and had not quietly disappeared from the righteous world, they had a deep impression of this young hidden official, who often "elegantly conversed" with Dragon Lord and Li Zhen. Occasionally, whenever someone encountered a bottleneck in their sword practice or was simply too bored, the sword cultivators would drift toward Dragon Lord's vicinity to see if they could catch a glimpse of the Hidden Official. If anyone was lucky enough to exchange a word with that guy, it was a considerable honor. However, the young hidden official appeared very rarely; not everyone could see him. Even getting a scolding was hard—harder than breaking through a realm.
Here it comes.
Liu Bai sighed quietly in her heart.
Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "With you and Brother Fei Ran helping, the righteous world's chances of defeating the Barren Wilderness world just increased. Originally, we only had a ten-out-of-ten chance, but you two have forced it up to twelve out of ten. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare say the word 'fight.' If I have any say at the Wen Temple, once the situation is settled, you can become the 'Loss Sage of the Jia-Shen Tent' and the 'Lying-Down Sage of Tuo Yue Mountain.' One of you will diligently plan and help send heads—sending Yuan Shou's head tomorrow, Crimson Concubine's the day after. After sending flying-ascension realm heads, send celestial realm heads. You'll send so many that the righteous world won't be able to keep up. They'll probably have to beg you to stop sending, and let the two sides fight properly on the battlefield. Such merits feel undeserved. One of you, just by lying around, becomes the boss of Tuo Yue Mountain. Lying around becomes the greatest contributor to the Wen Temple. You two deserve to be sages. But later, I'll have to ask the Wen Temple: are you two suicidal operatives planted in the Barren Wilderness world? If so, and I accidentally mistake you for enemies and kill you, I'll carve two seals for you. One says 'A Hundred Deaths Without Regret,' the other says 'Heart Toward the Righteous.'"
Yu Xuan sucked in a cold breath.
So vicious. So ferocious.
Fire Dragon True Man was a bit puzzled. What kind of place was the Sword Qi Great Wall? The feng shui must be good. Before, that kid was so quiet. After a few years at the Sword Qi Great Wall, he turned out like this?
Zhou Qinggao clasped his fists and smiled, "The Hidden Official's style remains as impressive as ever."
The Ritual Sage suddenly asked, "Chen Ping'an, do you complain that I dragged you here to this meeting?"
Qi Tingji, although an old sword immortal of sufficient rank to represent part of the Sword Qi Great Wall, absolutely could not determine the choices of the Ascension City sword cultivators.
Chen Ping'an answered honestly: "At first, there was a little bit. I won't say none at all. But once the Wen Temple announced the restoration of my master's identity, it was gone."
The Ritual Sage asked again: "You say fight, so fight. Aren't you afraid of becoming the second Cui Chan?"
Chen Ping'an began to fall silent.
After he spoke.
Chen Ping'an already felt that his path, as if by some unseen fate, had involuntarily turned into a fork. At the end of that road, it seemed, stood his senior brother, who had once strayed from the orthodox path—the Embroidery Tiger of the righteous world.
Only at that moment did Chen Ping'an truly understand why his senior brother Cui Chan had chosen what others saw as betraying his master and abandoning his tradition, why he had cut ties with the Wen lineage and given up his identity as the senior disciple of Wen Sheng.
Some choices, on the great Dao, really seemed to only be possible when one was utterly alone, free from any burden or guilt.
For example, in this Wen Temple meeting, once the war with the Barren Wilderness world truly began, in the long run, it would bring far more harm than benefit to his own Wen Sheng lineage.
Any casualties on the battlefield would become permanent stains on the Wen Sheng lineage. Any campaign's failure would be a "merit flaw" for Chen Ping'an and the Wen Sheng lineage.
For a hundred or a thousand years afterward, people would settle old scores, flip through the old almanac. From the Wen Temple to the academies, to every mortal dynasty, later generations of scholars would hold differing views, arguing endlessly. Even if the Wen Sheng lineage branched out and flourished, and the Wen lineage could be long and enduring, it would be very difficult to truly study peacefully in a study. Not that the entire righteous world was like that, but the world was complicated. Out of a hundred people, if even two were unreasonable, it would stir things up into murky water. And if a few more seemingly reasonable people spoke a few partial and unfair words, or if someone stood aside and fanned the flames with a few cynical remarks?
Thus, at one point, a thought crossed Chen Ping'an's mind: to cut ties with the Wen Sheng lineage, temporarily retaining only his identity as the last hidden official of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
As for what would become of Falling Mountain, he could only make a few moves in advance and calculate a few steps ahead.
Actually, many things, after returning from the Sword Qi Great Wall to the righteous world, Chen Ping'an could have pretended not to know. He could have completely avoided thinking about them.
On the Sword Qi Great Wall, he had done everything he could. He could face his conscience without shame, because he had given twelve out of ten efforts.
He didn't want his life, ever since he first left home at fourteen, to seem like he was always on a journey to some foreign land. Even when he arrived somewhere, he was still a stranger.
He too hoped that there would be a long stretch of his life that was stable and settled, at home. In between practicing swordsmanship and boxing, he could think of the girl he loved.
But he had been able to arrange retreats for some of the children of the Sword Qi Great Wall. He had joined forces with the hidden official lineage sword cultivators of the summer palace to write those few booklets, to help Ascension City contend for the general momentum in the new world.
And what about Wenhai Zhou Mi, who seemed to have ascended and left?
Since Zhou Mi could ascend, he would certainly return to the mortal world.
Why had Senior Brother Cui Chan asked and answered himself at the Sword Qi Great Wall?
"Is the world at peace? Yes. Can we rest easy?"
"I think not."
Why could Fei Ran become the master of Tuo Yue Mountain and the master of the Barren Wilderness world?
Wasn't that very similar to how Chen Ping'an had suddenly been promoted to hidden official by the Great Old Sword Immortal back then?
Shou Chen and Liu Bai, as direct disciples and sword cultivators, why hadn't they followed Zhou Mi in his ascension?
Why had Zhou Qinggao's entire aura changed so dramatically? Even if the other side deliberately hid his realm, Chen Ping'an had paid very close attention to this former Jia-Shen Tent youth. Back then, when they faced each other from a distance on the cliff, the boy in wooden clogs absolutely did not have today's abundant Dao energy.
As for Zhou Mi himself, was it really impossible for him to devour the remaining thrones, including Yuan Shou and Crimson Concubine? He couldn't have just been full. Before even retrieving his Yangshen external incarnation Bai Ying, before devouring any throne-level great demon, Zhou Mi had already been able to devour a fourteenth-realm "Lu Fayan" of the Barren Wilderness world. If Zhou Mi truly staked everything on that ancient celestial court ruins, with his "solitary" nature, he wouldn't mind devouring a few more thrones and flying-ascension great demons.
This meant that Zhou Mi was seeking the equilibrium point of the two worlds' trend.
Even though Zhou Mi had left the mortal world, the Barren Wilderness world would still be under his tight control, continuing to operate quietly. Fei Ran, Shou Chen, Tuo Yue Mountain, the few remaining old thrones, and many more hidden chess pieces—all were Zhou Mi's pawns left in the world.
And the post-war hearts of the righteous world were also a chess piece of Zhou Mi.
When teaching chess, Cui Dongshan had once smiled and said that after an early game with Zheng Juzhong, both had two insights.
One was that the board was too small, only nineteen by nineteen.
The other was that in a game of Go, the true skill of a player was to break the rules, then establish new ones, while the opponent could only rigidly keep to the rules as they were.
That was the real unreasonable move.
At the time, Chen Ping'an had curiously asked, "For example?"
"On the board, the stones are either black or white. Black eats white, white eats black—that's the old rule. If black eats white, and the white stone turns black and stays on the board, that's still not clever because it's too obvious. But if that white stone remains on the board but functions as a black stone, and the timing of its transformation is decided by the player—to achieve that is to reach the state of 'conceding the world and making the first move.' In an instant, you can butcher a dragon at will. Or, in a desperate situation, bring the dead back to life."
Chen Ping'an certainly understood the chess principles Cui Dongshan spoke of.
But principles, like truths, are hard to truly comprehend in all their subtlety, danger, and unpredictability until one has experienced them personally.
Such was the Jia Sheng of the righteous world, worthy of the Tuo Yue Mountain Grand Ancestor willingly offering an entire Barren Wilderness world and entrusting it to Wenhai Zhou Mi.
Zhou Mi's upper, middle, and lower strategies. Because the righteous world had held Bottle Gourd Continent and Southern Bodhisattva Continent, Zhou Mi ultimately joined with the Tuo Yue Mountain Grand Ancestor to directly preserve their deep resources, turning the Barren Wilderness world's lower strategy into, it seemed, Wenhai Zhou Mi's personal upper strategy.
But one game of chess hadn't truly been finished. It had only entered the endgame.
Fei Ran, Zhou Qinggao—these were still not players. They had not yet escaped their identity as Zhou Mi's pawns.
Now it would be Zhou Mi's turn to sit in the ancient celestial court ruins, overlooking the mortal world across several worlds.
Tuo Yue Mountain had to buy Zhou Mi an opportunity. For example, within a hundred years, Tuo Yue Mountain absolutely had to hold back the righteous world, hold back the Ritual Sage from mending the heavenly gap!
They would be willing to give up a great deal of the Barren Wilderness world's territory, but they had to drag the qi refiners of the righteous world—from the peak cultivators to all the young cultivators—into the quagmire of war.
But Tuo Yue Mountain had to ensure one thing: the Barren Wilderness world could not truly be lost. This was an extremely delicate, extremely precise choice. The Barren Wilderness world could not be completely lost, otherwise Zhou Mi would become water without a source, a tree without roots. A new celestial court with a new master would only hang isolated outside the heavens. But they also could not allow the righteous world to recuperate, allowing the Ritual Sage to restore all the timing of the righteous world.
If Chen Ping'an had not attended this Wen Temple meeting, he wouldn't have had to worry about these matters.
But since he had come,
What was to be done?
Then simply fight a quick battle, smash the Barren Wilderness world to pieces, kill all the peak demon cultivators. Win a true ten thousand years of peace!
He had heard from Cui Dongshan that in the righteous world today, some had already begun to speak fair words for the Barren Wilderness world, saying that their world was barren, that they could barely survive, how pitiful. So their coming to the righteous world, though wrong, was actually understandable.
He wanted to make sure that Cui Chan's "I think not" became a settled conclusion in one fell swoop. Otherwise, when Zhou Mi succeeded in returning to the world, the next war would certainly be even more brutal. Because Zhou Mi had no intention of being a mender. He wanted to rebuild everything in his hands. Not just the life and death of the righteous world, but even the living beings and territorial map of the Barren Wilderness world—Zhou Mi wouldn't mind pushing it all back to the beginning and starting over.
Since that was the case, what the Ritual Sage was not suited to say, he would say.
The Ritual Sage asked, "No regrets?"
Chen Ping'an answered without hesitation: "None."
We must become strong. We should all do something for this world.
The Ritual Sage nodded gently. "Then I won't argue with your master about those endless circular arguments. They're genuinely annoying—so annoying I want to hit people."
The old scholar got along well with everyone.
But with the Ultimate Sage and him, he was truly capable of throwing tantrums and rolling on the ground. Once the old scholar was really desperate, he would be sarcastic and unreasonable.
Chen Ping'an had nothing to say. He endured for a long while, probably out of habit, and worried about that one-in-ten-thousand chance. So he tentatively said, "If the Ritual Sage truly wants to hit someone, I beg you to choose a place with no one around. My master cares about face."
The Ritual Sage made no reply. He looked up at the sky dome, withdrew his gaze, smiled, and said, "Since one heavenly crisis has already been averted, the sky won't fall. Zhou Mi is a problem—not one that Cui Chan left for you as a junior apprentice, but one for us old-timers."
"Pulling you into this meeting, as you thought, was indeed because I needed you to say those words."
"I'm old. Making harsh threats isn't interesting. Having a young person say them has more... presence?"
"So don't worry. Just cultivate with peace of mind. When things happen, just put in as much effort as you have. The Wen Temple is not a decoration. As for merits and so forth, don't learn from the old scholar. You understand the accounts well—from Ascension City to Falling Mountain, you're used to being an accountant. So don't play dumb with the Wen Temple."
Chen Ping'an just listened, then honestly kept silent.
The Ritual Sage—everything he said was principle.
The Ritual Sage flicked his sleeve.
The natural and earthly atmosphere changed completely.
Chen Ping'an, who had been almost suffocated by the true names of certain great demons like "Zhu Yan," suddenly felt relieved and reverted to his blue gown.
The Ritual Sage gave a final reminder: "Chen Ping'an, you will still need to attend the next riverside meeting."
At the same time.
On the straight line of the Barren Wilderness world, one on the left and one on the right, two figures appeared at the very edges.
But they did not manifest through Tuo Yue Mountain's mirror-pool reflection; rather, they seemed to cross from the Wen Temple side, over the map of the Barren Wilderness world, and go to that side.
Bai Ze!
The Bai Ze of the nine great commanding towers of the righteous world, the one who had suppressed Bai Ze.
The Old Blind Man of the Hundred Thousand Mountains!
The demon cultivators gathered on Tuo Yue Mountain first were stunned, then burst into uproar, finally making a deafening racket.
The vast majority of demons, whether flying-ascension great demons or jade-pu realm cultivators in some prominent position, for the first time so silently and uniformly, either saluted with fists or beat their chests to show respect. Occasionally, someone spoke, and they all used the same term: respectfully calling him Lord Bai Ze. Obviously, to the Barren Wilderness world, Bai Ze was the most qualified existence to be the lord of the world.
As for why Lord Bai Ze had betrayed all his own kind ten thousand years ago and why he had stood by and done nothing in the earlier great war—
Resentment was resentment, but respect was still respect.
The reasoning was simple: Bai Ze had lived long enough and was strong enough.
Moreover, as long as Lord Bai Ze was willing to return this time, then they could all go to the righteous world again, no problem!
And on top of that, there was the old blind man who had not taken sides for ten thousand years—this time he had also chosen to stand with the Barren Wilderness world.
On the side of the righteous world, however, one on the left and one on the right, two figures also appeared.
One was a chicken-soup old monk, who had once escorted the person who transmitted the law and lit the lamp for the righteous world. Some Buddhist texts record that the old monk had lit the lamp for him and protected him for thirty years.
And a dragon-slayer who had disappeared for three thousand years.
Because the lord of White Emperor City had already turned around and bowed with cupped fists to that old man.
Even Crimson Concubine, who could only see from afar in the Barren Wilderness world, felt extremely uncomfortable. Not to mention the Lady Tan Tan of Lu Shui Pit in the righteous world, as well as all the water lords of the Five Lakes—all felt a mighty, oppressive presence of the Dao.
The old blind man, thin as a bamboo pole with sunken eyes, stood with his hands behind his back and smiled, "I'm just watching the show. Where I stand, it doesn't matter."
The dragon-slayer, dressed in pure white robes and no longer wearing shabby blue, had finally restored his true appearance. He was a young-looking man, as if confronting the old blind man head-on. He smiled and said, "Killing whom is just killing."
On this day, the two sides stood in confrontation: the righteous world and the Barren Wilderness world.
Between them stood the Sword Qi Great Wall, which had stood for ten thousand years.
In fact, even among the attendees of the Wen Temple meeting, the vast majority of peak cultivators had never been to the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Most people in the righteous world had never truly understood the Sword Qi Great Wall.
They had only heard that sword cultivators were as numerous as clouds there, and that they all harbored hostility toward the righteous world.
It was as if the people there were only sword cultivators, nothing but sword cultivators.
They were unreasonable. Vulgar and crude. Only practicing the sword. They were outsiders.
There was no joy, anger, sorrow, or joy.
Life and death there seemed to have little to do with the righteous world.
Because they hadn't seen it, hadn't heard of it, didn't know.
And so, on the edge of the map of the Barren Wilderness world laid out on the ground, a new long line appeared—the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Then came a scene.
Even someone like Chen Ping'an blushed... thinking that the Ritual Sage's move was too unreasonable.
Because a landscape scroll appeared there, a wine shop, with a pair of couplets:
"A sword immortal's three-foot sword, looking around in bewilderment—where is the opponent? The hero is lonely.
"In the cup, two liang of wine, to drown all ancient sorrows with you. Get drunk and rest. What is money?"
Finally came the horizontal inscription: "Those who drink my wine can break through realms."
The old scholar nudged the sage Fu Sheng beside him with his elbow. "How about it?"
Fu Laozhu had no choice but to "return the original to the owner" and said helplessly, "Absolutely brilliant."
Zuo You pressed his hand against his forehead.
Ah Liang sighed with emotion, "Good calligraphy. Imitating me."
The Lady of Green Spirit Mountain smiled knowingly.
So this was that wine shop of the Sword Qi Great Wall?
Chen Ping'an suddenly took out a flask of wine and began to drink.
Because the next scroll was a wall covered with wooden plaques.
Numerous "Peace and Safety" plaques from the wine shop.
Some of these plaques, even Chen Ping'an had never seen before.
Because by the time Chen Ping'an had gone to the prison overseen by the old deaf man,
and then saw the light of day again and went to the city wall, Ascension City had already ascended and left.
"Flowers bloom, moon full, people live long." Signed: Sword Cultivator Gao Kui.
And this man was also the last sword cultivator of the Dragon Lord lineage on the Sword Qi Great Wall. The last time he drew his sword was Gao Kui challenging Dragon Lord—a junior challenging his ancestor.
"Trapped by love, the sword cannot be drawn." Signed: Wei Jin of Snow Wind Temple.
"The world should know that I, Yuan Qing Shu, am a sword immortal." A disciple of the Great Nang River of Southern Bodhisattva Continent.
"The wine here is cheap and good. Excellent. Even better if credit is allowed." Signed: Tao Wen.
"Master sells wine, disciple buys wine. The bond between master and disciple is touching, enduring as heaven and earth." Signed: Disciple Guo Zhu Wine.
"Past glory is not worth boasting, a hundred battles back and forth through several autumns. After drinking heavily, I sleep pillowed on my sword, once dreamed a green spirit came to pour wine."
Then that old Nascent Soul sword cultivator, who was not well-versed in literature, wasn't satisfied. He secretly used a pseudonym and wrote another plaque.
"When it comes to poetry contests, I dare to say second, no one dares to claim first. Except for the second shopkeeper."
"Half the sword immortals in the world are my friends. Which lady under heaven is not shy and charming? I wash my sword with fine wine. Who says I'm not romantic?"
This was written by a Nascent Soul sword cultivator from Northern Ju Lu Continent. He died in battle.
"Han Huaizi, the fourth generation sect master of the Taiwei Sword Sect. No great regrets in this life."
Han Huaizi also died in battle.
"Miss Ning, you have someone you like. I'm very sad." Signed: Liu Tiefu.
This was a native Dragon Gate realm sword cultivator of the Sword Qi Great Wall. Not long after he entered the Golden Core realm, he died in battle.
"I've read all the plaques and dare to say: the sword cultivators of our righteous world may have inferior sword techniques to those of the Sword Qi Great Wall, but their calligraphy is so much better!"
This was the only plaque with text on both sides.
"People like you who can't write, and the second shopkeeper who can't sell wine, send another dozen like you to our Sword Qi Great Wall. We wouldn't mind even more."
The front was written by a young Golden Core sword cultivator from Fu Yao Continent; the back was written by a Nascent Soul sword cultivator from the Sword Qi Great Wall. Later, the two became friends.
The Ritual Sage lineage gentleman Wang Zai also left a plaque.
"Treat others generously, be strict with yourself. Convince with reason, bind yourself with morality. The world is at peace, truly nothing happens."
"Practicing benevolence depends on oneself. If one desires benevolence, benevolence arrives. May those with this heart have no worries."
Two sentences on one plaque: the first in running script, the second in small, fine regular script.
A plaque with the character "immortal" smeared and changed to "cultivator."
"The second shopkeeper who never cheats, Chen Ping'an, unmatched in wine quality."
"Wen Sheng lineage, profound learning, even thicker skin. Second shopkeeper, when you come to Flowing Sunset Continent in the future, I'll treat you to truly good wine." Signed: Flowing Sunset Continent Sword Immortal Si Tu Jiyu. "I'm at the Jade Pu realm. How am I not a sword immortal?"
"Lin Junbi drank this wine and broke through three realms in three years."
"Came as a Nascent Soul, left as a Nascent Soul, didn't break through. Ashamed of the fine wine." Signed: Northern Ai Ai Continent, Deng Liang.
"Able to drink, able to kill demons, able to compose poems. My talent is no less than the second shopkeeper's. My looks, regrettably, lose to Wu Chengpei's. My life is quite complete, just missing a wife."
"Money in my pocket, enough to drink the wine shop dry."
"Swordsmanship passable."
"I, teamed with Ah Liang, can kill a flying-ascension great demon."
"If Ah Liang ever enters the fourteenth realm, he must have merged with the Dao of shamelessness."
"Nonsense! In this Dao struggle, that bastard can't compete with the second shopkeeper."
"Lan Caihuan, I'll go and come back."
"The shepherd's flute, the camel bell—all are the sound of wind passing."
"Great forests and springs are all left to idle folk. Good women have all been stolen away."
"In this lifetime, I've never been drunk. I blame the wine."
"Chen Li, sword name 'Gloom,' flying sword 'Sleep and Wake.' A hundred-year-old sword immortal, within easy reach."
"There's no good-tasting wine in the world. Give me back my damn wine money."
"Lu Zhi is indeed beautiful."
"Life is short. Practicing the sword is too hard."
"'Support'? That doesn't exist. The second shopkeeper is the banker, noble and upright, open and aboveboard."
"Ah Liang is from a scholarly family in the Central Earth Divine Continent? I'd rather die than believe it. The hidden official is truly not a scion of a noble house of the righteous world? I don't believe it."
"Old thief Nalan, either get the hell away or give Miss Bai a proper title."
"Zuo You's swordsmanship is slightly better than mine."
"Sister Diezhang, if the second shopkeeper gets handsy with you, tell me. I'll go tell Ning Yao."
"This time, come for fun, leave for fun."
"I pay the wine tab every time. If one day I'm not at the table, second shopkeeper, do me a favor. Break the rule for those broke friends and let them have credit. Thank you in advance."
"The righteous world has nine continents? I've heard of them, but I've forgotten."
"Saw her once, and the colors of the world turned to dust."
"I remember a summer when the cicadas were particularly noisy, and in winter the snow on the road froze my butt. But I've forgotten which year."
"Why is he a sword immortal and I'm only a Nascent Soul sword cultivator? When I was fifty, I was still at the Dragon Gate realm, and he was at the Nascent Soul realm. Why did he save me?"
"How can there be a world with only one moon? Is it single like me?"
"Some things always come late. Some people always leave in a hurry. Drinking is truly bitter."
"With such a big butt and such a thin waist, what's so good about it?"
"Yellow flowers, white clouds, green mountains, youthful youth."
"One punch, and the second shopkeeper falls. It makes my sides ache from laughter."
"Lamp half dark on the table, moon half bright outside the window. Some think it's not bright enough, some think it's not dark enough. Half a flask of wine left. Throw up, then drink again."
"Emperors, chancellors, top scholars—what are they? Can they be enjoyed with wine? What are ancestral graves?"
"Right and wrong are both in the wine bowl."
"Our city wall is higher than the white clouds. Does the righteous world have that?"
"The sword qi on the city wall, dragons and snakes dance."
"Didn't come for a few days to drink from large bowls. How did the plaques multiply so much?"
"Already let down the beauty, and failed the sword."
"Came into the world with a cry; leave with a great laugh."
"So what if I'm not a sword cultivator? I still come here to drink."
"Year after year, diligently practicing the sword, didn't even reach the upper five realms. But after just a few bowls of mute lake wine, I actually became mute."
"Nothing to write today. I'll add more next time after drinking."
"Recently, the second shopkeeper hasn't come to bum drinks. The number of girls buying wine has decreased. Drinking has no flavor."
"The plaques on the wall shake violently. But I'm not drunk. Compare drinking capacity, not swordsmanship. Even Dong San'geng plus Chen Xi would have to call me big brother."
"Great Old Sword Immortal, if you don't take me as your direct disciple, be honest: are you afraid my swordsmanship will surpass you, old man?"
"On our side, jade-pu realm cultivators are only called sword cultivators. I hear that in the righteous world, Golden Core and Nascent Soul sword cultivators are already called sword immortals. I wasn't killed by Shou Chen, but I almost died laughing at this."
"The second shopkeeper not being a woman is a real pity."
"Today I changed into a tighter dress and sat on a narrow bench drinking. It seemed the Hidden Official crouched by the roadside staring at me."
"Once I've had some wine, my sword chops Dong San'geng, my fist beats that bastard, and my foot kicks the second shopkeeper."
"I hear that the fairies of the righteous world spend half an hour applying rouge and powder to their faces. That must be seven or eight liang of makeup! Can they really look good?"
"Had a dream. Don't know where."
"Love