Chapter 790: Preparing for War
The Confucian Temple's discussion hall.
Compared to the two previous meetings held in this location, where the rules were strict and the seating was rigidly hierarchical, this meeting was relatively casual. People could choose their seats freely, and there was no distinction between a primary seat and a seat of last resort. Those who shared personal friendships, came from families with generations of acquaintance, or had close ties of shared devotion tended to sit together. The Sage of Rites was not present, and the Secondary Sage and the Sage of Culture were likewise absent. It was obvious that for everyone present, even for the officials of the Confucian Temple like the libationers and siye, as well as the heads of the academies, it felt much more relaxed.
A Liang sat down on the ground with a plop, propping himself up with his hands behind him and stretching his legs out long, letting out a long sigh of relief.
The scholar Xi Ping had already prepared low tables and green bamboo mats. On each low table were brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone, a plate of celestial fruits, a few immortal dates from a celestial mansion on the Immortal Mist Ancient Path—the skin of the dates was textured like flowing sunset clouds—a few golden apricots from the Jingwei Temple of the Central Earth Daoist School, green peaches that the founding master of the Qunyu Rhyme Mansion had planted next to the Evening Emerald Pavilion, and also plums and water chestnuts from various cave heavens and blessed lands. There wasn’t much of any single item, but they looked colorful and festive. A Liang picked up a green peach and took a bite. The flavor was exquisite, so delicious that he narrowed his eyes in bliss. Indeed, this kind of thing was only good to eat when it was ripe.
Back when he had visited the Qunyu Rhyme Mansion, no one had told him whether the green peaches at the Evening Emerald Pavilion were ripe or not. Anyway, even a fully ripe green peach wouldn't turn bright red. A Liang had picked a big sackful, and because he had matters to attend to at the time, he left in a hurry without greeting the mansion's master. Once he got down the mountain, he nearly broke his teeth from the sourness. But since he had picked the peaches himself, he had to endure the tears and finish them, right? The joy of one person is not as good as the joy of everyone. Later, as he traveled far and wide, A Liang gave away many of those peaches to friends in the mountains, settling several debts for wine. For some unknown reason, in the following decades, there arose a rumor that the green peaches of the Evening Emerald Pavilion did not live up to their reputation. The “world’s best peach,” once filled with nothing but praise in every landscape gazette, became the worst. That was going too far. A Liang felt it was unjust, thinking that while the flavor of the green peach was indeed strange, calling it the worst was truly undeserved. So he even went through several familiar landscape gazettes to say a few fair words for the Evening Emerald Pavilion's green peaches. He never expected that the Qunyu Rhyme Mansion would be unable to distinguish good from bad, and they set up a very hurtful “prohibition tablet” at the foot of the mountain: “A Liang and dogs are forbidden from climbing the mountain to pick peaches.”
A Liang repaid enmity with virtue, still insisting on speaking well of the Evening Emerald Pavilion's green peaches. He said that eating one green peach from the Evening Emerald Pavilion could open the apertures of a scholar, allowing them to gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and transform it into literary fortune; a pure martial artist could increase their strength by sixty years; and for cultivators, their qi breathing and refining would be aided as if by a god. Later, he heard that in those years, many guests visited the Qunyu Rhyme Mansion drawn by this reputation, causing the harvest of green peaches from the Evening Emerald Pavilion to be rather poor.
He did his good deed, brushed off his clothes, and hid his merit. Always doing good to others, always making things convenient for everyone—this was A Liang's principle for walking the jianghu.
On the low table were also two flasks of wine: one flask of green bamboo wine from the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven, and one flask of ten-flower brew from the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land.
The wine cup was a unique “Imitation Flower God Cup” from the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land, which was itself an imitation of an official style, and quite expensive.
The wine cup on A Liang's table was a peach blossom cup. Painted with a cluster of peach blossoms, deep red and light red were both lovely, like a woman's makeup, light or heavy. Beside it was inscribed a poem on flowers composed by the Confucian Temple vice-leader, Elder Han.
A Liang turned his head to look at Xi Ping, who was standing at the entrance. Without needing A Liang to ask, Xi Ping sensed his gaze and took the initiative to say, “Other than the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, you can take everything else.”
A Liang asked, “What about the low tables and bamboo mats?”
Xi Ping retorted, “What do you think?”
A Liang immediately understood. Yes, he could take them.
Brother Xi Ping, you are generous and righteous.
Xi Ping also immediately understood and said, “Later, when we get to the Grove of Merit, you can still drink a pot of this year’s ‘Rain Before Green Armor’ tea just released from the Pure Friend Blessed Land. It was personally picked by Master Lu and entrusted to the Never Night Envoy to deliver to the Confucian Temple. Even Master Dong usually doesn't dare to drink much of it.”
A Liang smiled knowingly and understood again. He would have his attendants go to the Grove of Merit later to pack it up and take it away, or simply give it to the old scholar.
Lu Zhi poured herself a cup of green bamboo wine and downed it in one gulp. It tasted like fake wine?
The flavor of the wine was actually not bad, but it just didn't feel right. She was more accustomed to the Green God Mountain wine from the Diezhang Shop in the Sword Qi Great Wall.
A Liang turned to ask Qi Tingji if he wanted to eat or drink. Qi Tingji smiled and said, “Take it all.” A Liang didn't stand on ceremony. A scholar like him, unversed in worldly affairs and thin-skinned, found it hard to earn money. He owed a lot of debts outside, so he could only accumulate wealth bit by bit, like a swallow carrying mud in its beak, making a small profit here and there. As for Zuo You, he didn't even need to ask. A Liang moved all their wine, cups, and celestial fruits to his own table. At a nearby seat were young people like Zhao Yaoguang and Lin Junbi. A Liang asked the young Heavenly Master to help pass the word: those who didn't drink, bring their wine flasks and cups; those who did, keep the wine, don't be petty. Drinking should be heroic; what's the point of using a wine cup? Hand over the cups; you can't gulp down a Flying Ascension Realm in one go. Bring them all.
Soon, A Liang had assembled a complete set of twelve Flower God Cups. The cups were stacked up, lonely and solitary. A Liang then had Zhao Yaoguang and the others help him summon friends, and they gathered another complete set of Flower God Cups. The same peach blossom cup, but with different paintings and poems. A Liang sighed in admiration. The Flower Mistress of the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land really knew how to handle people.
As the Confucian Temple's leader, Elder Dong was the first to speak, saying in a deep voice, “‘Repay injury with justice.’ Even the Barbaric World knows this principle. There's no reason for you not to know it.”
This statement was not directed at the mountain-peak cultivators, but at several academy heads whose learning was deep enough but whose hearts were too broad for the sake of multiple worlds.
Some masters were extremely rigorous in their scholarship and often had pedantic and stubborn temperaments. Their learning greatly benefited the world, but when it came to governing and benefiting the people, they were not so good.
Therefore, for this Confucian Temple vacancy-filling of the seventy-two academy heads, some candidates were actually controversial within the Confucian Temple.
This opening remark by the Confucian Temple leader immediately brought a heavy atmosphere to the meeting.
Regardless, now that the Sage of Rites had taken that step, it meant that this time, the Confucian Temple was definitely going to get serious with the Barbaric World.
Between the low tables arranged on both sides, mist rose, and finally, five landscape scrolls appeared.
In the Four Seas of Haoran, there was a guixu entrance leading to the Barbaric World in each place.
The Confucian Temple had names for all four guixu: Heavenly Eye, Tattoo Trace, Divine Village, and Sun Fall.
In addition, there were three ferry crossings, named the Candle-Holding Ferry, the Running Horse Ferry, and the Earth-Vein Ferry. Among these, the Earth-Vein Ferry had been transformed into a city by the Mohist Giant.
To the north of the three ferry crossings was the Sword Qi Great Wall, which was extremely difficult to repair.
Compared to the four guixu, which were spaced far apart, the three ferry crossings, together with the two sections of the Sword Qi Great Wall, could be considered one location.
And the four guixu scattered across the Barbaric World, plus the three ferry crossings located at the northernmost part of the Barbaric World—these five places would be the five footholds of the Haoran World in the Barbaric World.
Everyone received five booklets.
The booklets were very thick, detailing the situation of the five entrances down to the smallest detail, involving the geography of each Barbaric World sect, mountain dynasty, tribe, and the accurate distribution and reserves of various produce and resources.
Yu Panshui stared intently at the scrolls. Barring any surprises, these would soon become battlefields filled with the smoke of gunpowder.
This fat old man, who looked like a wealthy man of leisure, asked with a worried expression: “What about the old blind man in the Hundred Thousand Mountains to the south of the Sword Qi Great Wall? What do we do about him? If we're not careful, he'll cut off the connection between the Sword Qi Great Wall and the three ferry crossings right in the middle.”
Those golden-armored puppets in the Hundred Thousand Mountains were not just capable of moving mountain peaks. Once they were thrown into the battlefield, they would inflict immeasurable losses on the Haoran World.
Especially since the old blind man was a very senior Fourteen Realm great cultivator, and he was in his own home world. For ten thousand years, even the Moon Holding Mountain had to turn a blind eye to him. If the old blind man insisted on blocking the way, who would stop him? Even if they could stop him, it would tie up a huge number of the Haoran World's top combat power. For example, Yu Xuan, the Great Heavenly Master Zhao Tianlai, and Fire Dragon True Man—would they have to accompany that old blind man every day drinking the northwest wind and basking in the sun?
As for ordinary Flying Ascension Realm cultivators, they wouldn't even be in the running against that old blind man. They might even be caught in the teeth of that Flying Ascension Realm great demon guarding the gate and be eaten in a few good meals.
Once you reached the Fourteen Realm, especially if you were a mountain-peak great cultivator who had merged with the local geography, facing him in battle was simply a nightmare.
Elder Dong seemed to be somewhat hesitant to speak.
But judging by his expression, this Confucian Temple leader did not look solemn; on the contrary, there was a hint of a smile.
A Liang had a strange look on his face.
Wow, for the sake of his founding disciple, that old blind man really threw all his face away.
He had gone to stand next to Moon Holding Mountain, pretending to cheer for the Barbaric World, but in fact, he was still not helping either side. It was clearly his way of telling the Confucian Temple a truth: “I was originally going to help Moon Holding Mountain, but now I've taken on a good disciple who is both my first and my last. Because that kid also has the identity of a Confucian disciple, I won't take sides with the Barbaric World anymore. If there's ever a need to ask me for help in the future, you people of the Confucian Temple can negotiate with my disciple. His words carry weight…”
Li Huai and the Flying Ascension Realm demon servant, Old Man Tender. At this moment, the master and servant, whose ages were vastly different, were still leisurely strolling around in Panshui County, enjoying themselves.
Old Man Tender felt that, by riding on Master Li's coattails, he had become a familiar face to the Confucian Temple. From now on, when he traveled through the Haoran World again, he would be safe.
He wouldn't dare say he could lie around and enjoy life every day, but at least he no longer had to worry all day about being struck by lightning or hit by flying swords.
Li Huai was in a great mood after meeting Chen Ping'an. While browsing a bookshop, he hinted to Old Man Tender whether he had any valuable items, something with good appearance, to give as a gift. He would later settle the bill with the old blind man, who was his “more than half master.” They were all family, so why be polite?
Old Man Tender was in an even better mood. While swearing to ensure that Master Li's gift would not be beneath his dignity, his mind sank into his miniature world, rapidly browsing through the several inch-long items, dazzled by the choices.
If he had only seen where the old blind man was standing at that time, he would have been scared out of his wits on the spot.
That old blind man's Fourteen Realm was hard to kill, but just a few steps away from the Confucian Temple, what difficulty was there in casually butchering a Flying Ascension Realm like him?
He also didn't know what the old blind man had done—“throwing his old face on the ground and saying he didn't want it”—just to go from being a “more than half master” to a full master.
Elder Dong didn't say much. After deliberating his wording for a bit, he only gave a vague explanation: “This senior, although he stood on the opposite side during the earlier meeting, definitely will not get involved in this war. Everyone can rest assured. The Hundred Thousand Mountains will remain neutral.”
Elder Han poured himself a cup of ten-flower brew and drank it slowly. Compared to the hundred-flower brew, the quality was much lower. It wasn't that the Flower Mistress of the blessed land couldn't provide enough hundred-flower brew; it was just that the Confucian Temple had politely declined, and all the wine, as well as the celestial fruits, had been paid for by the Confucian Temple. However, the price was, of course, much lower than the market price. In fact, the wine and fruits on the low tables were practically priceless items on the market, but everyone believed that no sect or celestial being who had the chance to show up even once would think they had lost money.
Lu Zhi asked via mind voice: “Will this meeting go on for a long time?”
Because looking at the Confucian Temple's setup, after they closed the door today, they wouldn't be able to open it again for at least an hour or two.
Zuo You nodded and said, “If we were at the Sword Qi Great Wall, we could have at least ten meetings.”
Qi Tingji smiled and comforted their chief retainer: “Such meetings are rare. As long as you get through this one, it will be hard to have another meeting like this in the future.”
Lu Zhi still felt a bit uncomfortable and drank a cup of wine in silence.
At the Sword Qi Great Wall, the so-called meetings of the ten or so peak sword immortals were really just a few words from the Oldest Sword Immortal. If there were no objections, it was passed.
Even if it was a meeting of the sword workshop or the clothing workshop, it was estimated that within half an hour, a large number of sword cultivators would not be able to hold on and would make excuses to leave. Lu Zhi had rarely participated in a few important meetings chaired by Dong San'geng or Chen Xi. The sword cultivators didn't have the guts to run away, so they would gather one by one outside the meeting hall to drink. While things were being discussed inside, they were drinking outside, neither interfering with the other. Lu Zhi was of a high realm, and there were also candidates for peak like Yue Qing and Mi Hu, who could sit on the steps outside and keep drinking. Some Jade Purity Realm sword cultivators could also dawdle and drink an entire flask of wine. But those poor Earth Immortal sword cultivators with insufficient realms often had to be kicked back inside after just a few sips, or else the big sword immortals would give them a look, and they would have to get up and return. After all, if half the seats were empty inside, it looked bad. But Dong San'geng and Chen Xi themselves would also come out to have a couple of drinks.
The only exception in the history of the Sword Qi Great Wall was probably the summer retreat led by Chen Ping'an.
Elder Han smiled and said, “In this meeting, none of you outside the Confucian Temple need to be ashamed to talk about profit.”
This vice-leader of the Confucian Temple, who was the most “bosom friend” of the Secondary Sage and the first to propose the complete “Theory of the Dao Lineage,” said something very surprising today: “Fame, fortune, money, using military merit and virtue to make an exception and exchange for the location of a branch sect, and the limited slots for the next opening of the Five-Colored World—everyone can talk about these things today. Open up and chat freely, with no taboos.”
Having said this, Elder Han glanced at the Wealth God of the Aiai Continent, Liu, and then at Song Changjing of the Vase Bottle Continent.
Liu Tui, who had the appearance of a youth, had just finished flipping through the booklet and had unknowingly finished all the fruits on the table. He asked, “Apart from the various dynasties and vassal states of the Central Earth Divine Continent, where will the remaining troops come from? For our Fuyao Continent alone, the number of mountain cultivators and mortal troops we can gather is far from sufficient.”
Liu Tui's remarks could hardly be called airing one's dirty linen in public. Everyone present knew the ins and outs.
The Fuyao Continent was only slightly better off than the Tung Leaf Continent.
After this great war, apart from continents like Fuyao, which had been shattered beyond recognition, the other continents—the Central Earth Divine Continent, the Aiai Continent, the Beiju Continent, and the Liuxia Continent—had all relatively preserved their strength, not to mention the casualties among mountain cultivators, but also regarding the mortal forces.
A total of eight people, including Liu Tui, each a representative of their continent, had a new booklet appear on their low tables.
Elder Han said, “After you have finished reading, you may add or reduce personnel as you see fit.”
Wei Ying opened the booklet, quickly finished reading it, then pulled out a few pieces of white paper from the low table. He picked up his brush and added a group of cultivators from the True Realm Sect, as well as some mountain forces that the Confucian Temple had overlooked. However, apart from his own True Realm Sect, he had to be mindful of proportion for the other celestial beings; otherwise, he might be suspected of being generous at others' expense. Ultimately, it had to be about mutual benefit. Wei Ying was not foolish enough to make himself a public enemy of the entire continent just to please the Confucian Temple.
Finally, Wei Ying wrote down the three characters “Tung Leaf Sect” on a piece of white paper. Then he looked up and asked Elder Han, “If there are cultivators from the Tung Leaf Sect who are willing to go to the Barbaric World battlefield, would the Confucian Temple allow it?”
Elder Han clearly showed a look of approval and nodded, saying, “Of course, there is no problem. After you return, Sect Master Wei, you can help the Confucian Temple discuss this matter with the cultivators of the Tung Leaf Sect.”
Chao Pu, the national master of the Shaoyuan Dynasty, was intimately familiar with the mountain and mortal forces of the Golden Armor Continent and raised a few points of dissent. A Confucian Temple school libationer was responsible for answering him.
This discussion about the available troops of the nine continents alone lasted a full half an hour, and it still hadn't reached a final conclusion. Elder Han gave the Confucian Temple's opinion: after this meeting ended, each continent would hold another meeting. The Confucian Temple would summon more great cultivators from each continent for separate discussions to hammer out more details.
The patriarch of a powerful clan known as the “Zhuolu Scion” suddenly said, “The locations of the four guixu entrances were obviously carefully chosen by the Barbaric World.”
The spiritual energy was thin, the products were barren, and within a radius of ten thousand miles, there were either crisscrossing networks of rivers or high mountains and steep ridges. This made it extremely inconvenient for the advancement of mortal troops on the battlefield. It also gave the Haoran cultivators no geographical advantage at all.
Zhao Tianlai, Zheng Juzhong, Pei Bei, Huai Yin, and others had all previously guarded certain guixu or ferry crossings to prevent great cultivators of the Barbaric World from doing anything there, especially to watch for the traces of formation masters.
Elder Dong asked, “Are there any places that need to be filled in or corrected?”
Zheng Juzhong moved his mind slightly. At the guixu exit named Divine Village and at the Running Horse Ferry, compared to the two extremely detailed topographical maps already provided by the Confucian Temple, he added many more mountains and rivers, expanding the territory by nearly double.
The Great Heavenly Master Zhao raised one hand, with two fingers pressed together, and “pointed out the country” at the Heavenly Eye guixu exit. On the landscape scroll, several dozen points of light of varying brightness appeared, all traces of hidden great demons. In addition, in several border areas, six golden threads appeared, which were concealed formations carefully arranged by the great demons of the Barbaric World.
Huai Yin felt his scalp go numb. He had previously guarded those two places, the ferry and the guixu. Although his tenure was not long, just two or three years, he had been diligent, flying everywhere, helping the Confucian Temple survey the geography and terrain. He had even scattered talismans to form soldiers without regard for cost, dispatching over a hundred puppets to patrol the mountains and rivers. He had worked hard, not idling a single day, and thought his results were outstanding. He had originally thought he would stand out from the crowd, but he never expected to be outdone.
The City Lord of White Emperor City and the Great Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain: these two hadn't been hiding their abilities; they hadn't deliberately concealed these inside information from the Confucian Temple. It was clearly the latest results obtained by Zheng Juzhong and Zhao Tianlai through their respective magical powers and divine abilities after they had already left the ferry crossings.
Fire Dragon True Man was, for the first time, somewhat embarrassed. Comparing people could drive you mad; this poor Daoist had become a mere idler and good-for-nothing like Huai Calculating.
There was no other way; he would just have to put in more effort next time when he got to the Barbaric World. Trees need bark, and people need face. One couldn't be too much like Huai Yin.
Yu Xuan asked, “Could the guixu itself contain some hidden tricks from Moon Holding Mountain?”
Elder Dong nodded and said, “We cannot rule out that possibility.”
Yuan Pang spoke up, “We must prepare for the worst. We can assume that each guixu passageway harbors a Royal Seat Great Demon with combat power equivalent to Crimson Consort.”
Liu Qi smiled and asked, “Does Academy Head Yuan have a countermeasure?”
Yuan Pang nodded. Once again, a small booklet appeared on every low table.
Common scholars, who liked to talk loftily with their hands in their sleeves, often could raise questions but couldn't solve them, or simply never thought of solving them.
Liu Qi casually flipped open the booklet and smiled, nodding. Young Master Yuan's remarks were well-aimed.
Now in charge of the world's land and water transportation were Lady Dan Dan of the Lu Shui Pit, the Water Lord of Jiao Yue Lake, Li Ye Hou, and a large group of water gods, water immortals, and water descendants. Their names all appeared one by one in the booklet. Among them were the Water Lord of Shen Ze Lake in the Central Earth Divine Continent, the Ling Yuan Gong of the Ji River in the Beiju Continent, Shen Lin of the Nan Xun Hall, Long Ting Marquis Li Yuan, the Iron Reed River Water God Yang Hua of the Great Li Dynasty in the Vase Bottle Continent, an old dragon from the Qiantang River in the southeast… In short, high-ranking water gods from each continent, along with their approximate power and the depth of their water mansions, had all been recorded in detail by the Confucian Temple, omitting nothing.
A Liang clicked his tongue in wonder and said, “Water gods acting as escorts for provisions—how interesting.”
Before the troops move, provisions go first. Now that they had discussed where the troops would come from and roughly how they would march, it was time to talk about the matter of garrisoning the Barbaric World.
The Mohist Giant, with his one man and one city at the Earth-Vein Ferry, would continue to move south. Inside the great city, two hundred thousand elite mortal soldiers could be stationed.
In addition, the three Mohist lineages would dispatch over six thousand people, and together with the Artisan School, they would send a total of over twelve thousand qi refiners.
The two sides, relying on the Candle-Holding and Running Horse ferries respectively, would be responsible for building massive cities that could also migrate south.
The remaining four guixu gateways would all have arrangements.
Yu Xuan's talisman lineage and the Dragon Tiger Mountain Heavenly Master Mansion would, at the Heavenly Eye and Divine Village guixu respectively, use talisman giants and mountain-moving puppets to open roads, relocate mountains and ridges, and build bridges.
Military cultivators and Yin-Yang formation masters would, near the Tattoo Trace and Sun Fall guixu respectively, be responsible for setting up grand formations to gather the spiritual energy of the mountains and rivers.
The Merchant School would be responsible for spending money, using immortal currency to create heavenly and earthly phenomena at the four guixu, making the spiritual energy abundant.
Qi refiners from the Farmer School and the Medicine School would be responsible for planting celestial plants and the five grains in various places.
In addition, the Confucian Temple would mobilize all the remaining sword boats that had been built for war preparation but not yet used in the Haoran world, as well as all the mountain-crossing ferry ships.
Among these, all the debts that the Great Li Dynasty's Song family owed the Mohist School would be transferred to the Confucian Temple, who would also pay an additional sum of immortal currency to the Great Li Dynasty's Song family.
Song Changjing said, “Give the Great Li Dynasty at least three sect slots.”
Elder Dong smiled and said, “That's acceptable. Three, and no more.”
Fire Dragon True Man said in a deep voice, “The sword cultivators of the Beiju Continent, even if they volunteer to go to the battlefield, the Confucian Temple can't have no expression of appreciation at all.”
Elder Dong nodded and said, “Naturally.”
The Grand Libationer of the Li Ji Academy smiled and said, “We would trouble the True Man to come up with an overall plan: what compensation should be given for what realm of sword cultivator. The Confucian Temple will await it. You of the Beiju Continent just need to make your demands.”
The Grand Libationer said to Lin Junbi, “Junbi, you will be responsible for coordinating this matter with Fire Dragon True Man.”
Lin Junbi accepted the order and stood up, bowing to Fire Dragon True Man without a word.
He was a sword cultivator of the Hidden Official lineage, so he was considered half a family member to the Beiju Continent.
Thus, there was no need for any polite words with Fire Dragon True Man. Even one more word would be superfluous.
Fire Dragon True Man had a favorable impression of this kid.
He was pleasing to the eye.
He had heard that at the Sword Qi Great Wall's summer retreat, he had been a sword cultivator of the Hidden Official lineage for several years and had repeatedly thrown himself into the battlefield. As for things like “breaking through three realms in three years,” they were actually secondary.
Elder Han suddenly said, “For the Beiju Continent, True Man, you can tell all the sword cultivators plainly: even if they go to the Barbaric World just for a sword-riding trip, just to travel and explore, without even drawing their swords, regardless of their realm, the Confucian Temple will still pay them. There's no need to be embarrassed.”
Fire Dragon True Man asked with a smile, “What about young sword cultivators who are going to the Sword Qi Great Wall for the first time? Will the Confucian Temple still pay them?”
Elder Dong said solemnly, “Yes, of course we will! Even if the Confucian Temple needs to borrow money, we won't frown.”
The Wealth God of the Aiai Continent's Liu family smiled and said, “Within the next hundred years, we will forgo that ten percent share of the Liu family's revenue from Snowflake Coin.”
Elder Dong asked with a smile, “Such a deal isn't really appropriate, is it?”
Liu Jubao smiled and didn't speak.
Elder Han nodded and said, “But since the Wealth God himself said so, the Confucian Temple can hardly decline; otherwise, it would seem disingenuous.”
Liu Jubao nodded gently.
Fire Dragon True Man was truly enlightened. So when Elder Dong said earlier, “Don't be embarrassed to talk about money,” he was laying the groundwork for the Confucian Temple himself?
Then Fire Dragon True Man glanced at that fat woman.
Lady Dan Dan looked a bit lost.
Yu Xuan comforted her via mind voice, saying, “This is the look of a pauper looking at a rich man. Lady Dan Dan, don't worry about this kind of envy.”
Lady Dan Dan, having received this “reminder,” immediately said in a trembling voice, “The Lu Shui Pit is willing to give all its family assets to the Confucian Temple for management.”
Man cannot be greater than heaven. Having seen the immortals, they loved to visit mountains. Having seen ghosts, they feared the dark.
She was truly terrified of Fire Dragon True Man.
A Great Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain from a different surname, a veritable bandit chief of the Beiju Continent's mountains. Back then, he had blocked her door at Lu Shui Pit, not just for a few days. Two enormous fire dragons, ten thousand feet long, swimming swiftly in the water, circled the Lu Shui Pit every day. That wasn't even the worst part: Fire Dragon True Man would say anything, and he had the face to say any kind of threat. Every day outside the main gate, he would help Lady Dan Dan count the days, because Fire Dragon True Man said that his sworn brother, Brother Zhao of Dragon Tiger Mountain, had received his flying sword message and had immediately taken his seal and sword and descended the mountain. He would soon visit Lu Shui Pit.
Of course, Lady Dan Dan felt each day was like a year, and she could only grit her teeth and hold out.
As for the water-dwelling spirits hiding inside the Lu Shui Pit, they were trembling every day, mourning as if they had lost their parents, day after day, always feeling that any tomorrow might be the day they would see the Heavenly Master's face, only to have the immortal sword cleave open the Lu Shui Pit's prohibition, then be smacked with the Heavenly Master's seal, and then Fire Dragon True Man's two fire dragons would stir things up—wouldn't they all be dead?
Lady Dan Dan's statement at least left some room: it was “management,” not “given away for free.”
But if the Confucian Temple was ruthless and hid it all, she would just consider it a loss of wealth to avoid disaster.
Not to mention the fishing immortal stationed at Xie Long Rock under her command, and that group of lone riders from the South Sea, but the water immortals and spirits of Lu Shui Pit, hundreds of thousands of shrimp soldiers and crab generals—apart from rare guests like Fire Dragon True Man, Lu Shui Pit was a veritable hegemon in that great sea. Moreover, each world was itself one of the ancient sites. There were many relics of ancient battlefields left in the Haoran Sea. There were also many immortal opportunities born due to the times. The sea was vast, and Lu Shui Pit had many minions. Over the long millennia, they had plundered many treasures, all of which were extraordinary celestial materials and earthly treasures of high rank. Ordinary items wouldn't even catch Lady Dan Dan's eye. Just the piles of dragon pearls—weren't they left to gradually “turn yellow” in the treasury? Once, a great cultivator took the initiative to visit, hoping to trade for the dragon pearls, but Lu Shui Pit, which could have made a huge profit with a small investment, didn't even open its doors.
Earn such small money? She would be ashamed.
Then the Confucian Temple produced a list of cultivators to be stationed at various locations, responsible for the initial safety of the five footholds in the Barbaric World. Once the battle lines were truly extended, they would no longer need to act as “escorts.”
The figures on the list were those who had to be present. Additionally, the Confucian Temple would continue to add or adjust certain candidates as they saw fit. Eventually, not a single top-tier combat power of the Haoran World would be missed; no one could stay out of it.
At the Heavenly Eye guixu: Two Confucian Temple vice-leaders, three academy libationers.
At Divine Village: Yu Xuan, Zhao Tianlai, Fire Dragon True Man, Bai Shang.
At Tattoo Trace: Zheng Juzhong, Pei Bei, Huai Yin, Guo Outing, Liu Tui, Cong Qian.
At Sun Fall: Su Zi, Liu Qi, Song Changjing, Wei Ying.
At the Sword Qi Great Wall: Qi Tingji, Lu Zhi, A Liang, Zuo You.
Elder Dong said, “For now, we can only do armchair strategy and conduct a few sand table simulations of the battlefield.”
A group of Confucian Temple military strategists, including Yuan Pang, chose the Barbaric World's side and engaged in battle with Haoran on five battlefields.
Zheng Juzhong glanced at the advances and retreats of both sides on the sand table but didn't say much.
The most basic and fundamental numerical calculation methods were the most important.
The City Lord of White Emperor City didn't speak, but the Confucian Temple didn't intend to let this chess player who had dedicated himself to the world go.
Especially the three founding masters of the Numerical School, who were all clearly looking forward to hearing what Zheng Juzhong had to say.
The battlefield simulation was like building a structure; the so-called general rules were the key.
Only with a stable underlying structure could one talk about making additions or subtractions to the upper part of the building at will. The styles of mortise and tenon, the turning system, the origins of curves and arcs, the sloping norms of side feet and rising, the fixed rules of large woodwork and cutting…
To give the simplest example: for two different Earth Immortal cultivators from different training methods, how do you determine their precise combat power on the battlefield? It certainly isn't two rigid numbers; there are fluctuations. Otherwise, this simulation would be a child's game. And even if this fluctuation is calculated, if it is not sufficiently perfect, and errors and mistakes accumulate, the results of the sand table simulation—a self-deprecating “armchair strategy” by the Confucian Temple—would still be a pile of waste paper.
Lu Zhi asked, “The summer retreat tried, but it didn't succeed.”
Zuo You nodded and said, “The difficulty was too great. At that time, there were simply too few sword cultivators proficient in numerical calculations. And no one dared to easily try this matter.”
A Liang sighed and said, “If I had been at the summer retreat, I could definitely have helped Chen Ping'an.”
Qi Tingji remembered something and asked curiously, “What about that Dragon Slayer? What's his story?”
A Liang lifted his chin towards the man in white, whose bearing was a match for his own—Brother Huaixian—and said, “Go ask him.”
That Dragon Slayer from three thousand years ago was indeed strange. Not only were his actions unreasonable, but his merging with the Dao and his realm decline were even more unpredictable.
When it came to killing those flood dragons, even A Liang had to admit it was like cutting through vegetables: he would kill one when he saw one, and kill a whole bunch when he saw a bunch.
Regarding this matter, A Liang had even gone to the Sword Qi Great Wall and had to ask the Oldest Sword Immortal what was going on. There was no reason for him to be that fierce.
No matter how high his sword technique was, it couldn't surpass Chen Qingdu. No matter how broad his sword path, A Liang really didn't think that Dragon Slayer was stronger than him.
But if A Liang were to face those dragon groups, he absolutely wouldn't dare say he could do it with such ease, like that green-robed traveler, slaying flood dragons as if they were falling rain.
The Oldest Sword Immortal replied at the time, “No matter how strong, he's not stronger than me. Why should I bother my head with this? You figure it out yourself.”
It had pissed A Liang off so much that he almost took a couple of kids in open-crotch pants to sneakily water the thatched hut at night.
Now it was even stranger.
That Dragon Slayer had likely fallen in realm back then, which was why he had vanished for three thousand years. And now he had merged with the Dao and broken through to return to the Fourteen Realm.
So A Liang shamelessly asked Zheng Juzhong via mind voice, “Brother Huaixian? Little brother is confused about something. I hope big brother can help clear it up.”
Zheng Juzhong smiled and said, “I can't help with that.”
Zheng Juzhong and that Dragon Slayer, master and disciple, had had a reunion after a long separation in the Vase Bottle Continent. At that time, Zheng Juzhong, as the disciple, had already firmly surpassed his mentor.
At that time, the blind old Taoist “Jia Sheng” had indeed admitted this matter, acknowledging that his realm and cultivation were no longer a match for Zheng Juzhong.
As for now, it was hard to say.
Back then, when Pei Bei returned from the Hanging Mountain to the Central Earth Divine Continent, this martial god of the Great Duan Dynasty had once challenged the White Emperor City to a fist fight.
Both were among the Ten of the Central Earth.
But about that fist fight, the outside world only knew that the two had not reached a true victor.
In fact, the two had never even fought.
Zheng Juzhong said to Pei Bei, “Come back and fight me with all your might after you have both feet across that threshold; otherwise, it would be a pity.”
Pei Bei didn't think Zheng Juzhong was bragging or bluffing, so she agreed.
After that, the White Emperor City spread the news that it was a draw.
In reality, the two mountain-peak man and woman had simply been drinking in the colorful clouds.
At the end, Zheng Juzhong also played a game of Go with Cao Ci.
Actually, Cao Ci's Go skills were not bad. It was just that this young martial artist's extensive knowledge was overshadowed by his too-brilliant martial arts talent.
In fact, Cao Ci's qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting were all quite remarkable.
A Liang's and Qi Tingji's doubts had long been harbored by Zheng Juzhong's senior disciple, Fu Jin.
“Little White Emperor” Fu Jin, as a pure sword cultivator with an intense desire to win, very much wanted to try a sword duel with that grandmaster.
Anyway, as long as a cultivator of the White Emperor City was capable, even betraying their master was fine.
Zheng Juzhong had once meticulously planned a rebellion, scheming for a full six hundred years.
Han Qiaose and these junior fellow disciples, plus Fu Jin and several other direct disciples, allied with guest elders and retainers.
And the mastermind who tried to turn the entire White Emperor City upside down was a person transformed from a sliver of Zheng Juzhong's divine thought, a person “kept in the dark by himself,” who then rallied a large group of enemy forces of the White Emperor City. They were aggressive and confident, feeling that even killing a Fourteen Realm would be no problem.
From beginning to end, only that fool Liu Chicheng didn't get involved.
Zheng Juzhong was both greatly disappointed in this little junior brother, the master of the Liuli Pavilion, thinking Liu Chicheng was a waste, and yet, to some extent, he retained a shred of fellow-disciple warmth.
As for those who participated in the rebellion, the cultivators of the White Emperor City—he didn't settle accounts with any of them afterwards. A nest of trash, they could be kept as decorations.
As for those enemy forces that “Zheng Juzhong” himself had colluded with, their fates were rather pitiful.
In the following three hundred years, Zheng Juzhong didn't personally kill a single one of them. Instead, the various ancestor halls were in constant internal strife, endlessly scheming against each other. Within the same sect, assassination methods emerged in an endless stream. Whenever a cultivator succeeded, they would be smug. Two of the originally deeply rooted Central Earth sects killed each other with such abandon that they eventually couldn't even keep their “sect” title.
The most frightening thing was that even Fu Jin, Zheng Juzhong's senior disciple, was still, deep down, suspecting one thing until today: was he really Fu Jin, or one of his master's clones?
In Panshui County.
Gu Can was playing out a Go game by himself. His martial aunt, Han Qiaose, was sitting by the doorway when she suddenly called out, “Senior Brother.”
Zheng Juzhong ignored her, walked into the room, and sat down opposite the Go board.
Han Qiaose didn't mind.
Gu Can slowly put down the Go manual he was holding, looked up, and asked, “Is the meeting over?”
Zheng Juzhong shook his head and said, “Still in session. I came here as a distraction.”
In the entire White Emperor City, the only person Zheng Juzhong was willing to exchange a few extra words with was this last disciple he had taken in just a few years ago.
Gu Can said, “If the grandmaster wants to remain in the Fourteen Realm, does that mean there must be at least one true dragon left in the human world?”
This was actually a paradox. The grandmaster had sworn to slay all the true dragons in the world. By virtue of this grand vow, his sword heart merged with his heart of the Dao, becoming a Fourteen Realm cultivator. But once he truly killed all the true dragons, he would fall in realm, becoming a Flying Ascension Realm sword cultivator again, and would be backlashed by his sword heart, severely damaging his vitality.
Zheng Juzhong nodded.
Han Qiaose turned her head sharply, obviously startled by this statement.
Regarding the Dragon Slayer's realm, some said it was the Fourteen Realm, some said it was the peak of Flying Ascension Realm. Some even insisted that the reason he could slay dragons was because he possessed a fourth celestial sword besides the Supreme White, the Ten Thousand Methods, and the Dao Canon.
Gu Can asked doubtfully, “The grandmaster is also a native of the Haoran World. Why did his becoming a Fourteen Realm sword cultivator not incur the enmity of the extraterrestrial gods? Was it because the dragon tribe betrayed us and sided with our human race back then?”
Zheng Juzhong smiled and said, “Something like that.”
Gu Can said, “But the rise of the dragon tribe was an unstoppable trend. The Confucian Temple still needs dragons to manage the orderly flow of water transport in the world. When that time comes, how will the grandmaster handle himself?”
Zheng Juzhong retorted, “You, a mere Jade Purity Realm cultivator, need to worry about the survival of the Dao of a Fourteen Realm sword cultivator?”
Gu Can said bluntly, “I want to learn swordsmanship from the grandmaster. Because my master is not very willing to teach me everything he knows.”
Zheng Juzhong nodded and said, “I can help make the connection. Your grandmaster has disliked me for many years. He would be very happy to cause me some trouble.”
Han Qiaose sighed mournfully.
The master and disciple in the room, plus that grandmaster—what minds they all had!
She continued to look at herself in the mirror, applying makeup. She pursed her lips, turned her head, and asked, “Little Can, what color is better?”
Gu Can turned to look and smiled, “Light red is better. The palace’s peony red is a bit too bright. It’s better to use the tender fragrance from the Plum Blossom Hermitage.”
Han Qiaose smiled charmingly, wiped her lips clean, and indeed changed to the lip color Gu Can had suggested.
At the Mandarin Duck Shoal, there were many fishermen.
In fact, while Chen Ping'an was participating in the riverside meeting, another “Chen Ping'an” had been sent by the Sage of Rites to the vicinity of the Mandarin Duck Shoal. This was probably to prevent any attentive person among those present at the Confucian Temple meeting from making conjectures. Otherwise, given his identity as the Hidden Official, he should have appeared inside the Confucian Temple by all rights.
Meeting, fishing—neither would be affected. He hardly had to speak, so he gladly enjoyed the leisure.
Chen Ping'an simply chose a secluded spot, sat there fishing, and set up two spots, planning to switch between them. Fishing was something Chen Ping'an was quite familiar with. In his inch-long item, he had specially prepared fishing rods and bait.
But because Zhang Tiaoxia and those other martial arts masters had gathered here earlier, it seemed to have become a famous spot.
Soon, Chen Ping'an had two more groups of fishermen around him, men and women, all very young. It was obvious that they weren't interested in fishing.
It was a pity about the spot Chen Ping'an had baited earlier. These celestial beings didn't even understand how to cast out the rod and scatter the bait. They threw the line once and then stood there like stubborn rocks, foolishly waiting for a fish to bite. Were they trying to wait for a stupid fish?
Madam Tuo Yan and a young flower goddess from the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land happened to be passing by for a walk. When they saw that green-robed figure from afar, they were so frightened that they fled.
Chen Ping'an suddenly stood up and waved vigorously into the distance.
On the road, there was a young woman in red, leading a horse and walking slowly.
She quickly hid her wine flask, let go of the horse's reins, and ran all the way here. She jumped and landed, shouting loudly, “Little Master!”