Chapter 825: Supreme Patriarch
A dragon boat ferry named Overturning Ink, having removed its concealment technique at the border of Bright Yang Mountain, slowly sailed northward.
On this side of the ferry, the people of Fallen Mountain all landed one after another.
Only Sui Youbian did not board the ship; she chose to travel far alone on her flying sword.
Hong Xia and Pei Xiang still stood together. One was a horned dragon descendant who had successfully traveled through a river, the other a fox kingdom's sovereign. Both were born from mountain and water spirits, and now both cultivated at the Lotus Root Paradise. Every time there was a discussion at Jise Peak, they always felt out of place, so they appeared to depend on each other. Even if they had nothing to talk about, they would unconsciously stand together. As for the breakthrough opportunity Pei Xiang had earlier, everyone saw it but no one took it seriously. Even Pei Xiang herself didn't think it was worth mentioning. After all, even if she were to reach the Jade Capital realm tomorrow, so what?
Zhu Lian, his figure stooped and hands behind his back, was chatting cheerfully with the Confucian scholar Zhong Qiu.
Little Mili, holding her mountain-walking staff, ran around Pei Qian nonstop, chattering away, saying how she had accompanied Little Senior Brother while hovering in the wind. She said she was like a radish planted in a field, motionless and steady, from start to finish. Not even a trace of nervousness, not even the size of a drizzle, was ever there.
Chen Lingjun had once again begun to display some mysterious innate divine ability, becoming sworn brothers with that old Jade Capital realm sword cultivator who used the alias Yu Daoxuan. The two hit it off extremely well.
One said that in the Northern Peak territory and the Northern Julu Continent, he was very well-connected. If you just dropped his name, you could drink without spending money.
The other said that on Liuxia Continent and Aiai Continent, he also had a bit of a reputation, but compared to Brother Jingqing, he was inevitably inferior.
As for that mountain lord's wife who hadn't yet been formally married into the family, when Ni Yao boarded the ship, Chen Lingjun, keeping a bit of distance, made several fluid sliding steps, like a fish swimming through the crowd. He clasped his hands, bowed deeply, stuck his butt out high, and was about to speak when he got kicked by Cui Dongshan, falling flat on his face. Lying on the ground, Chen Lingjun simply didn't get up and shouted loudly: "Jingqing pays respects to the Mountain Lord's Wife."
Ni Yao said helplessly, "Get up and speak."
Chen Lingjun blurted out: "In reply to the Mountain Lord's Wife, the ground is cool."
A man's knees are precious; the more you kneel, the more you gain.
Earlier, with Pei Qian's precedent at the Ning family doorstep on the Sword Qi Great Wall, Ni Yao was barely able to adapt to the customs of Fallen Mountain.
Actually, from Chen Ping'an, she had heard many stories about this green-clad little boy.
Whenever Chen Lingjun was mentioned, Ni Yao could see, from Chen Ping'an's expression and eyes, as if she were glimpsing a river-lake world that lacked no good wine.
Perhaps Chen Lingjun himself didn't know that the river-lake world he had walked through had filled many of the young mountain lord's inner regrets. It was as if, in some other river-lake world that Chen Ping'an had only brushed past, he hadn't walked through it but had at least seen it—a place with friends feasting, cups clinking, big bowls of wine, big pieces of meat, and swift vengeance.
The green-clad little boy had just gotten up when the big white goose made a move to kick again.
Chen Lingjun assumed a defensive boxing stance, but Cui Dongshan withdrew his foot and turned around. Suddenly turning back to throw a punch, Chen Lingjun immediately hopped and sidestepped, his palms flowing smoothly into a boxing stance. Finally, the two exchanged glances, nodded to each other, and simultaneously stood still, raising their sleeves, sinking their qi into their dantians. Masters dueling like this—a literary contest—was more dangerous than a martial one, killing without form. The knowledge involved was as vast as the heavens.
Jiang Shangzhen stood alone by the railing. Cui Dongshan came up beside him, stood on tiptoe, and leaned on the railing. "Planning to go back?"
Jiang Shangzhen nodded. "Wei Ying is fine as sect leader, but he may not know how to earn big money. Besides, it's not appropriate for him to interfere with my Cloud Cavern Paradise. I need to show up personally, press down on some people's heads, and teach them hand in hand how to bend down and pick up money. After that, once the site for Fallen Mountain's lower sect is chosen, I plan to make a trip to the Sword Qi Great Wall ruins. There are some old debts to settle."
At the moment, this dragon boat ferry was only missing one person—the mountain lord of Fallen Mountain.
Jiang Shangzhen turned his head to glance at the outline of Bright Yang Mountain. "The mountain lord is still too polite. If it were me, I would have made that account book public. Then I'd have Zhu Huang explain clearly, presenting facts and reasoning, why the mountain-guarding venerable was expelled."
Cui Dongshan grinned. "You could say that old Ancestor Mountain-Mover earned his own end through his own skills. Compared to those old sword immortals like Xia Yuancui who like to be turtles, he showed more heroic spirit. Lose if you lose, die if you die—upright and honorable, open and aboveboard."
Jiang Shangzhen curled his lip. "He rampaged unchecked across a continent's mountains and rivers, committing sins for a thousand years. In plain sight and in shadow, on the mountains and off them, he's at least responsible for thousands of lives. Yet people deliberately turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. They only saw today's heroic death and give him a thumbs-up, regarding him as a hero? If I remember correctly, among the observing immortal families, quite a few sects suffered silent losses and great hardships at Yuan Zhenye's hands back in the day."
Cui Dongshan was still grinning. "Chief Jiang, if you talk like this, it's no fun. What's the point of 'liveliness'? It's those young female cultivators on Qiongzhi Peak who had no choice but to submit to high officials and nobles. Those who couldn't endure died waiting; those who endured then eagerly waited to watch others' liveliness."
Jiang Shangzhen said lazily, "Helping people carry a lantern in the night, holding an umbrella for them in the rain, only to be disliked because the lantern isn't bright enough and complained about because the umbrella got their shoes wet."
Cui Dongshan put his hands into his sleeves. "You have to think this way: without such human hearts, why would the strong bother to rise up?"
On the path of life, the real faults and missed opportunities aren't the chances that slip by or the benefactors you fail to meet, but the mistakes you had a chance to correct. Then you miss them and lose them.
Jiang Shangzhen smiled and nodded. "That reasoning is enough to make an old man's heart like mine, dry wood meeting spring, return to being a handsome youth."
Cui Dongshan said casually, "Besides my master's hometown, Huaihuang County, there are actually two other good places, truly immortal caves, forests of gold and jade."
Jiang Shangzhen asked curiously, "Is that so?"
Cui Dongshan said, "In the Azure Underworld, in the capital region of a great dynasty, a large group of cultivation geniuses known as the 'Five Mound Youths' emerged. The most famous among them was Wang Yuanlu, whom the White Jade Capital called a 'rice thief.' Another, also among the top ten young candidates, actually came from there as well. As for the Wildlands, Liu Cha's senior disciple, Bamboo Box, and a few of the Hundred Sword Immortals of Tuoyue Mountain, along with several even younger ones who weren't sword cultivators but had excellent cultivation aptitude—they all came from a small place."
Jiang Shangzhen asked, "Is someone behind the scenes manipulating the celestial timing, deliberately causing this?"
Cui Dongshan shook his head. "Such things easily invite heavenly punishment. Human power cannot achieve it. At most, you can guide a bit from the side, add fuel to the fire, trim the lamp wick. No one can create such a situation out of nothing."
Jiang Shangzhen asked, "Our mountain lord, he left and then went back—what does he plan to do?"
Cui Dongshan winked. Jiang Shangzhen turned around and began to write on his palm. Cui Dongshan did the same. When they opened their palms and clasped them together, they both laughed heartily. Their minds connected as one; great minds thought alike.
Both had written four characters:
Supreme Patriarch.
---
The Sword Summit Ancestral Hall was completely empty. A whole immortal mountain, Backing Sword Peak, was shattered. Rain Foot Peak had its mountaintop replaced. Several smaller satellite peaks of various new and old peaks were uprooted entirely. Within a thousand miles of private mountain and river territory, the qi and energy of the landscape was thrown into chaos.
On Autumn Command Mountain's Summer-Cooling Lake, the water level was now as shallow as a stream. Full Moon Peak had a tunnel road carved through it. Qiongzhi Peak had not only endured Cao Jun's three sword strikes but also seemed to have been scoured by Mi Yu's radiant sword qi. The meticulously raised water-dragon descendants on Water Dragon Peak were still trembling from the Dragon King's Basket's suppression earlier. On Cloud-Peeling Peak, the ancient mirror, their mountain-guarding treasure, hadn't had time to be put away. Someone had casually spun it earlier, like a child's rattle, gathering and dispersing clouds, making Cloud-Peeling Peak alternate between dark night and bright day...
On Bright Yang Mountain, the sword cultivators of the various peaks who had tried to obstruct Liu Xianyang's mountain-climbing sword challenge suffered few deaths but dozens of injuries. Their morale plummeted to rock bottom.
The venerable Yuan Bai defected from Facing Snow Peak and switched allegiance to the Central Peak mountain lord Jin Qing, openly returning to his hometown by boat.
Wu Tijing, considered the "Little Wei Jin of Bottle Gourd Continent" and the "Second Li Tuanying," had vanished without a trace. It was said that Tian Wan of Dogwood Peak received a letter in which Wu Tijing, that rebellious disciple, cursed his master Zhu Huang viciously, saying he was no human, unworthy of being a sword cultivator. From now on, if master and disciple met again, they would still have that title, but it would be him, Wu Tijing, as the master and you, Zhu Huang, as the disciple.
At the Great Li capital, Vice Minister of Rites Dong Hu no longer had to worry about climbing the mountain or not. He wrote a secret letter, lightly blew on the ink, and admired his own regular script. His calligraphy was rigorous in form yet had a certain free and easy elegance. In his early years, in Great Li officialdom and literary circles, he had enjoyed the reputation of being "spiritually akin to Embroidery Tiger's brushwork." It was truly pleasing to the eye. After reporting the situation to the Minister of Rites, the old vice minister, unburdened, ordered the ferry northward. Man and boat, both leisurely among the white clouds.
Just as Wei Jin was about to leave the ferry, Yu Huiting asked, "Uncle Wei, are you going to see that young Hidden Official?"
Wei Jin shook his head. "No. That man's drinking manners are too poor. Seeing him brings no good."
Back then on the Sword Qi Great Wall, when the wine shop sold wine, it was Wei Jin who was cheated out of the most money.
But Yu Huiting knew in her heart that her proud Uncle Wei would never say such a thing if he didn't consider the Hidden Official a friend.
A celebration originally meant to congratulate Ancestor Mountain-Mover on reaching the upper five realms ended so dismally. Sect Leader Zhu Huang was still personally cleaning up the mess. No matter how much of a shambles, at least it was still a semblance of a sect—a sect that was about to establish a lower branch.
Zhu Huang clasped his hands in salute to the heavens, earth, and the observing guests from the various peaks, smiling freely: "The celebration is canceled. Everyone has made a trip for nothing today. Bright Yang Mountain will send return gifts and compensation afterward."
Leng Qi, the peak master of Qiongzhi Peak, received the sect leader's instructions and ordered the pale-faced female cultivators of the Flower and Wood Workshop to quickly remove all the tables.
Zhu Huang withdrew his gaze and spoke to the group of peak masters through sound transmission: "Do not stop any guests who wish to leave Bright Yang Mountain. Do not show any dissatisfaction. Do not say a single offensive word. Even if you have to pretend, put on a smiling face. Law-Keeper Yan, send people to the various peaks to watch over everyone seeing the guests off. Anyone found violating this will be immediately removed from the gold and jade registry. If any guests are willing to stay on Bright Yang Mountain, treat them well. Remember this bond of incense-fire friendship. A friend in need is a friend indeed—treasure it."
Using his qi-watching technique, Zhu Huang observed the chaotic and severely damaged qi of the mountains beyond First Thread Peak. Yet he was not disheartened. Instead, he had the mood to joke with the old sword immortals beside him, each harboring their own thoughts: "It's a pity the celebration hadn't even started before Mountain Lord Chen and Sword Immortal Liu each climbed the mountain to challenge us. Otherwise, we could have collected the congratulatory gifts and at least patched some of the holes. Now we have to mend the landscape, robbing Peter to pay Paul, scrambling so much we might have to divert funds from the lower sect's site selection."
Xia Yuancui sighed deeply. This junior apprentice-brother truly had remarkable mental fortitude. Even at this point, he could speak so lightly. This Full Moon Peak ancestor, the highest seniority on Bright Yang Mountain, momentarily restrained some of his dark and gloomy thoughts. The great enemy had left. If Fallen Mountain could truly stop here, could Full Moon Peak set aside past grievances with Zhu Huang's First Thread Peak and cooperate sincerely?
The money god Tao Yanbo seemed to want to speak but stopped himself.
Yan Chu couldn't hide his surprise and joy, because Zhu Huang had said this while looking directly at him with a smile, not at Tao Yanbo, the money god of Autumn Command Mountain.
It was obvious that Autumn Command Mountain, once so glorious, was destined to decline.
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. When the person leaves, the tea grows cold.
Few guests remained.
One by one, the observing ferries flew away like mountain birds along bird-trail trajectories. Bright Yang Mountain, this place of trouble, was not to be lingered in.
Zhu Huang said seriously, "Just in time, since all the venerables and guest elders are here, we'll hold a second discussion."
Yan Chu immediately, in his capacity as the law-keeping patriarch, waved his hand sternly and said, "All unrelated personnel, hurry down the mountain. Stay at the Sword-Pausing Pavilion. Do not wander about. Await further orders from the Ancestral Hall."
Zhu Huang smiled. "Since Yuan Zhenye has been expunged, the position of mountain-guarding venerable for Bright Yang Mountain will be left vacant for now. Tao Yanbo, what do you think?"
Regarding Yuan Zhenye, who had guarded the mountain for a thousand years, Zhu Huang still only spoke of expulsion, not of life or death.
Tao Yanbo said bleakly, "Sect Leader, having suffered this calamity, Autumn Command Mountain cannot escape blame. I voluntarily resign from my post and will reflect on my mistakes behind closed doors for sixty years."
The tide had turned, and struggle was pointless. It would only incur public wrath and drag the entire Autumn Command Mountain down, earning the deep resentment of the ambitious and ruthless Sect Leader Zhu Huang.
Zhu Huang stared at Tao Yanbo and said slowly, "Then let Law-Keeper Yan take over this post. From today, Autumn Command Mountain will be sealed off for a hundred years. From now on, any sword cultivator of Autumn Command Mountain who wishes to descend the mountain for training must follow the arrangements of First Thread Peak's Ancestral Hall. No objections are permitted. I trouble Sword Immortal Tao, after returning to your mountain, to calm people's hearts. Uncle-Master Xia is of high virtue and great prestige. In this time of crisis, I must trouble you to leave seclusion and temporarily set aside your sword cultivation. Please serve as the Ancestral Hall's law-keeper."
Xia Yuancui stroked his beard and pondered. "It has to be this way."
Although Yan Chu felt reluctant—he had hoped to serve as both law-keeping patriarch and money god—being in charge of the finances for both the upper and lower sects was still a gain.
Tao Yanbo was furious upon hearing this. A hundred-year seal? First Thread Peak taking complete control over all sword cultivators of Autumn Command Mountain? Was Zhu Huang using a dull knife to slowly cut flesh, intending to wipe out the several peaks of Autumn Command Mountain's sword cultivator lineage?
Once Autumn Command Mountain was sealed for a hundred years, wouldn't every sword cultivator of this lineage, especially the younger two generations, change their hearts one by one, like Green Mist Peak, and go to cultivate on other peaks?
Add bricks and mortar, push and shove, each with their own grievances and difficulties. When the wall is about to fall, everyone pushes. Even a fool knows that.
Zhu Huang said, "Tao Yanbo, do you have an objection?"
Tao Yanbo's expression shifted uncertainly. He glanced at the jade token hanging at Zhu Huang's waist, and ultimately shook his head.
Although this was an Ancestral Hall discussion, Zhu Huang clearly gave no one a chance to say no. Without the Sword Summit Ancestral Hall, Zhu Huang's word was law today.
Zhu Huang turned his head and smiled at the female ancestor of Dogwood Peak. "Tian Wan, your duties remain unchanged. You still oversee three areas: Mirror Flower Water Moon, Mountain and River Gazettes, and sect intelligence."
Tian Wan's expression was panicked. She said in a trembling voice, "Sect Leader, it was precisely because Dogwood Peak's intelligence was faulty that we underestimated those two young men. Tian Wan's crime is beyond redemption. I am willing to follow Ancestor Tao and reflect behind closed doors."
Zhu Huang smiled and shook his head, refusing Tian Wan's resignation.
Of course, he knew this woman was very suspicious.
He was even certain that she either had deep ties with Fallen Mountain or had reached some agreement with them. But there was no helping it—this was the price Bright Yang Mountain had to pay, a token of sincerity that First Thread Peak and he, Zhu Huang, had no choice but to offer to Mountain Lord Chen.
Yan Chu's heart immediately tightened. He no longer dared to haggle over concurrent posts. After all, Water Dragon Peak had always held the real power over intelligence.
That damn woman Tian Wan had brought up the one pot that shouldn't be mentioned.
As for Dogwood Peak, it didn't even have any miscellaneous disciple servants, let alone direct disciples. Tian Wan had always lived there in seclusion alone. Wasn't this clearly splashing dirty water on Water Dragon Peak?
Zhu Huang's mood was complex. The sect leader's state of mind was far from as calm as it appeared on the surface. In truth, he was already exhausted. At the slightest sign of trouble, even Zhu Huang felt he could barely hold up the tottering pillar.
As the water receded, the rocks emerged. Human hearts were laid bare. There was no need to look at the bewildered and terrified direct disciples of the various peaks at the Sword-Pausing Pavilion. Here on Sword Summit, there were either stupid good-for-nothings or clever schemers, or else fence-sitters who chose to stand by and watch, playing it safe. Zhu Huang couldn't help but laugh bitterly to himself. Wasn't there an old saying: Birds of a feather flock together?
Zhu Huang's gaze swept across the area quickly, trying to find a trace of that person.
He dared to assert that at this very moment, that person was definitely somewhere on the mountain.
---
Inside the Cloud-Gazing Pavilion built on a cliff of Full Moon Peak, the two siblings of the Yunlin Jiang clan remained.
The plaque read "Solitary Cloud Pavilion" in black characters on a gold background. On the two pillars of the pavilion hung a rather long couplet:
"Opening the door at dawn, snow fills the mountains. Watching cranes calling in the wind through pines. Time cast aside, the moon of the heart is round by nature.
Returning at dusk, drunk in dreams, hearing the woodcutter's song. You speak of the method of ascending in broad daylight. Flowers and trees offer true appreciation. Burning incense, listening to the rain."
Inside the pavilion, Jiang Sheng was puzzled. "In that case, does Bright Yang Mountain still have the face to establish a lower sect?"
That sect leader, Zhu Huang, was practically a man with a face as thick as a city wall. It was an eye-opener for Jiang Sheng.
On Bottle Gourd Continent, all mountain cultivators and the major noble families of the lowlands had witnessed this scene. The Mirror Flower Water Moon had been turned off too late.
Besides, it was said that the Confucian Temple had already lifted the ban on Mountain and River Gazettes. Bright Yang Mountain could at most control people's eyes today, but not their mouths.
Jiang Shan, who held the status of a Confucian gentleman, nodded. "Of course."
Zhu Huang was actually a sect leader with deep cunning and resilience. A person like that would thrive wherever he cultivated. As long as he wasn't killed, if he could grab hold of a straw or two, he could climb back to the top.
Jiang Sheng's shock at hearing these two words from her brother seemed even more absurd to her than witnessing Liu Xianyang's sword challenges and his climb to the summit.
Jiang Shan said, "The establishment of the lower sect is beyond doubt. Together with the upper sect of Bright Yang Mountain, they will simply repeat the same cycle, becoming the same as they were for centuries—like being trampled underfoot by Li Tuanying, unable to breathe. Of course, this time the situation is more perilous for Bright Yang Mountain, because Fallen Mountain is not Wind Thunder Garden. They have more than one sword immortal. Moreover, the two mountain lords—Chen Ping'an and Li Tuanying—are both sword immortals, but their styles of action are vastly different."
Jiang Shan looked out. The hearts of the people on Bright Yang Mountain were like clouds and rain gathering and scattering, fragile as glass, easily broken and scattered. After a few sword challenges, they were indeed fragile.
What Wei Liang had called "dismantling" was essentially the art of "splitting."
Jiang Shan smiled. "Through the Patrol Envoy Cao Ping, they make a certain degree of distinction between the Great Li court and the Great Li border army. Not entirely, but the significance is great. Then, through Yuan Bai, who will most likely go to cultivate at Letter Lake, they let Central Peak Jin Qing and True Realm Sect surround the Bright Yang Mountain lower sect, which will be established within the old Zhu Ying territory. The Southern Peak heir, Caizhi Mountain, the Yong River water god, and the old flood dragon from the Qiantang River Feng Shui cave near our home—they have each made their choices. To accomplish all this, the young mountain lord of Fallen Mountain needs to spend a great deal of his mountain incense-fire friendships, the networks he has secretly cultivated, and engage in genuine exchanges of interests."
"This is only the first step."
Jiang Shan continued leisurely, "The second step targets the interior of Bright Yang Mountain. It separates the sword immortals from peaks like Cloud-Peeling Peak and Pianxian Peak—those who often take a stand first at First Thread Peak's Ancestral Hall—from those who sit through the entire discussion without saying a word. This splits the already scattered sand even more. But the most important thing is the hidden move within: to create some irreconcilable division between Bright Yang Mountain's upper sect and its future lower sect, starting from today."
"If I were that young Hidden Official of Fallen Mountain, after the sword challenge ended, I would have a fourth step: on the surface, I would seem to let Bright Yang Mountain be—of course, anyone who wants to challenge Fallen Mountain would be warmly welcomed. In this way, Fallen Mountain gives the Great Li court face, leaving steps for both sides. Only in secret, allied with Central Peak and True Realm Sect, would I focus all my efforts on Bright Yang Mountain's lower sect. Simply put, as long as a sword cultivator doesn't come from a few peaks like Cloud-Peeling Peak, they can't expect a good day, or even dare to go out for training."
Jiang Sheng asked doubtfully, "On the surface? Fourth step?"
Jiang Shan smiled. "White Egret Ferry and Green Mist Peak and the like are already insignificant. Xia Yuancui of Full Moon Peak knows how to read the times best. Leng Qi of Qiongzhi Peak is best at clinging to the strong. Yan Chu is a careerist, only interested in profit. Autumn Command Mountain lost Yuan Zhenye, who was almost their own mountain-guarding venerable, and suffered the most severe damage to its vitality. Otherwise, Tao Yanbo was actually the most suitable and most promising candidate for lower sect leader. But whatever the reasons, the decline of Bright Yang Mountain to this point is completely different from when Li Tuanying alone suppressed Bright Yang Mountain back then."
"Li Tuanying could challenge Bright Yang Mountain anytime, kill any sword cultivator. But for those three hundred years, Bright Yang Mountain bore the pressure and united against a common enemy, because no one believed a single Wind Thunder Garden, a single Li Tuanying, could truly destroy Bright Yang Mountain. But this time, Fallen Mountain's joint observation is different. Therefore, this observing ceremony is the young Hidden Official's third step: he makes everyone on Bright Yang Mountain, from the oldest patriarchs to the youngest disciples, understand one thing in their hearts: don't clash head-on with Fallen Mountain. Seeking revenge is a fool's dream. The old ones can't win a fight. The most outstanding of the younger generation, Yu Lin, lost disgracefully. Wu Tijing has already left. The hearts are this scattered. In strategy, they can't compete—the gap is too wide. In a direct confrontation, a test of strength, forget it. So, Jiang Sheng, I ask you: if you were a direct disciple of Bright Yang Mountain and still needed to continue your cultivation here, what could you do?"
Jiang Sheng asked tentatively, "Internal strife?"
Jiang Shan nodded, but then shook his head. "Yes and no."
Jiang Sheng said angrily, "Again?!"
Jiang Shan, who rarely drank, pulled out a flask of wine, took a sip, leaned against the pavilion pillar, and looked into the distance at First Thread Peak. "To outsiders, it looks like internal strife. But to the people of Bright Yang Mountain themselves, it's just everyone naturally fighting for what they should: outer disciples vie for direct disciple status, direct disciples fight for rankings among the peaks, compete for the heavenly treasures needed for sword forging. Fame and profit are inseparable. The path of cultivation is hard to walk, and climbing higher is even harder. Everywhere, you have to fight."
"It will only become fiercer than before, because they suddenly realize that Bright Yang Mountain, which they once believed was invincible on the continent, is not at all a worthy successor to the Divine Edict Sect. Even if the First Thread Peak Ancestral Hall is rebuilt, it seems precarious every day, as if it might disappear at any moment."
Jiang Shan raised the flask, stretched out his arm, and drew a large circle. "Before, Bright Yang Mountain could keep expanding, temporarily ignoring the hidden dangers, even having a chance to ignore them forever."
Then Jiang Shan drew a small circle the size of a palm. "Now it seems to have shrunk to this much territory."
Finally, Jiang Shan drew another circle between the large and small ones with his flask. "In truth, it's still this big. But people's hearts won't be so optimistic. They've gone to extremes—from blind optimism and looking down on everyone, feeling that the entire continent's mountains and rivers were their own sect's backyard, to blind pessimism, with no spirit left. Now they just stare at the few feet of land right under their noses."
Jiang Sheng frowned deeply. "Just hearing you say it is already this complicated. So actually doing it for Fallen Mountain must be even more exaggerated?"
Jiang Shan smiled. "Whether it's complicated to do, I, as an outsider, can't casually comment. But just talking about it, it's really not that complicated, is it?"
In short, Chen Ping'an's sword challenge was not over; it had only just begun.
For the next round of sword challenges, Jiang Shan guessed that the green-robed sword immortal would target the candidate for the lower sect leader of Bright Yang Mountain.
Jiang Sheng complained endlessly, "Just hearing about it is annoying as hell."
"Looking down from above, taking the key points by the main rope, the knot unties itself, and everything follows naturally."
Jiang Shan pointed at a winding stream called Rouged Stream on the ground below the cliff. "Since Fallen Mountain has helped Bright Yang Mountain carve out a riverbed, the hearts of the people will naturally flow into it like water. Those who walk into it will do so without even realizing it."
Suddenly, Jiang Shan stood up, made a deep bow toward the steps of the pavilion, and then straightened up with a smile. "Mountain Lord Chen, I wonder if my shallow opinions contain any mistakes?"
Chen Ping'an, who had returned, smiled and said, "All correct. No major errors. But it's not as mystical and lofty as Gentleman Jiang makes it sound. In my view, the foundation of all knowledge under heaven is simply the word 'patience.'"
Jiang Shan pondered for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Mountain Lord Chen's insight is unique. It is indeed more concise and to the point than what I said. One word hits the mark."
Chen Ping'an knew this man was waiting for him.
So he had come to meet this future head of the Yunlin Jiang clan.
Jiang Sheng was shocked. She turned her head abruptly and saw an uninvited guest who had returned.
Bright Yang Mountain was truly cursed to have such a persistent and troublesome ghost clinging to them.
The man had a smile on his face as he slowly ascended the steps. This young mountain lord of Fallen Mountain, the last Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall, had changed his attire. He wore a lotus crown that overstepped the bounds of the Dao tradition, a green gauze Daoist robe, cloud-treading shoes, and held a white jade ganoderma in his hands. His aura was ethereal, like clouds and water. The immortals of mountain and river tales—the so-called transcendent demeanor—were nothing more than this.
After they took their seats in the pavilion, Jiang Shan smiled and asked, "Mountain Lord Chen, would it have been better not to kill Yuan Zhenye?"
Chen Ping'an said, "Speaking only of the result, it would have been better. But when doing things, you cannot resort to any means just because the final outcome is right. Manipulating people's hearts and playing with people's hearts—even if the results are the same, the processes are somewhat different. For one's own conscience, the difference is even greater. What does Gentleman Jiang think?"
Not killing Yuan Zhenye would have left a great uncertainty for Bright Yang Mountain. In truth, Chen Ping'an could have done it, even without anyone knowing. At Backing Sword Peak, he could have used the Cage Sparrow.
Jiang Shan nodded solemnly. "Exactly."
Chen Ping'an smiled and handed over a flask of wine brewed at his own shop, made from Green Divine Mountain. "It's not a great wine, and not expensive either. But I don't have much stock. One flask less with each drink."
Jiang Shan thanked him, took the flask, took a sip, then another, and finally said, "It tastes rather ordinary."
Chen Ping'an said with a straight face, "Then Gentleman Jiang must not have drunk enough."
Jiang Shan changed the subject. "Mountain Lord Chen, why didn't you make public Yuan Zhenye's past deeds—how he acted violently, killed innocents indiscriminately—and announce them to the continent today? That way, at least you could reduce some of the slander from those who don't know the truth. Even if you only picked the simplest matter, like when Yuan Zhenye relocated three broken mountains and didn't even bother to have the local court notify the common people, the woodcutters and commoners who died in those mountains."
Chen Ping'an shook his head and smiled. "Even those who know the truth will still curse. Let alone those cultivators who don't know the full story. We can't stop them. If Fallen Mountain is too easygoing, reasonable about everything, and strictly follows the rules, then fewer people will curse—but some will take advantage. If Fallen Mountain is difficult, more people will curse behind our backs, but they won't dare to provoke us. Since it's hard to have both, let's be pragmatic and get some real benefits."
Jiang Shan thought for a moment. "Reasonable."
This Confucian gentleman put down his wine flask, sat up straight, and faced the young mountain lord with a smile. "If Bright Yang Mountain were to rise step by step and eventually become the number one sword sect on our Bottle Gourd Continent, at least in my view, it would be a huge joke."
Jiang Sheng looked embarrassed. She was thin-skinned after all. Had her brother forgotten, while drinking, that it was their Yunlin Jiang clan who helped Bright Yang Mountain get the lower sect established at the Confucian Temple?
Chen Ping'an glanced at this "plump" daughter-in-law of the Old Dragon City Fu clan, feeling a bit curious. Jiang Shan and Jiang Yun were both very clever. It seemed this woman alone wasn't particularly bright?
In supporting Bright Yang Mountain's founding of a lower sect, the Yunlin Jiang clan naturally had some private motives, but it wasn't exactly taking sides. Because Bright Yang Mountain still didn't know that the Confucian Temple was about to launch a large-scale attack on the Wildlands. As a condition, Bright Yang Mountain had to provide a considerable number of "extra" sword cultivators to go to the Wildlands. On top of that, there was the quota from the Great Li Song clan. After these two groups of sword cultivators descended the mountain, not many would remain. And this time, the distant journey and sword attacks were no child's play. At the Wildlands ferries, even the Great Li iron cavalry had to follow orders. Bright Yang Mountain would find it difficult to buy their way out of trouble this time.
So Jiang Shan's words, frankly expressing his displeasure with Bright Yang Mountain, were not a problem. Jiang Sheng had no reason to feel guilty.
But without today's sword challenge, given the survival skills of those old sword immortals of Bright Yang Mountain, they could have repeated their old tricks, using the sword cultivators of Cloud-Peeling Peak and Pianxian Peak to fight and die, helping First Thread Peak reap fame and profit.
Jiang Shan knew more about the truth of the Sword Qi Great Wall than Jiang Sheng, who had already married far away to Old Dragon City.
That battle under the city wall: she had taken Ni Yao's place and killed Li Zhen with her sword.
A carefully laid ambush scheme at the Jia Shen Record. Bamboo Box, Li Zhen, Yu Si, Tan, Liu Bai—these five genius sword cultivators, all lacking in neither lineage, opportunity, nor talent—were all among the Tuoyue Mountain Hundred Sword Immortals. Yet Chen Ping'an not only escaped the trap but also killed Liu Bai.
Southern Su Chen, Northern Hidden Official.
Leading the Hidden Official lineage and guarding the Summer Refuge Palace, he had bought the Haoran world roughly an extra three years. He had preserved the sword cultivator seeds of Flying Rise City to the greatest extent, allowing Flying Rise City to dominate the Five Colors World, expanding its territory far beyond other forces.
It was said that the current master of Tuoyue Mountain, the nominal sovereign of the Wildlands, Fei Ran, had even specifically targeted Chen Ping'an on the battlefield.
He had stood alone on the city wall for years, facing off against the Dragon Lord, a Great Demon of the Throne.
During that Confucian Temple discussion, when the clan head returned home, he had said with a smile that many great demons had joked about Chen Ping'an during the standoff between the two worlds.
It was said that Zhou Qinggao, in his high position and a close disciple of Wenhai's Zhou Mi, had always hoped to replay a game of chess with Chen Ping'an, but never got the chance.
Jiang Shan admitted to himself that he was far inferior to this young man of the same age.
Except that the young Hidden Official had not been powerful enough back then to personally kill a Flying Rise realm great demon and carve his name on the city wall.
This young man, also from Bottle Gourd Continent, seemed to have accomplished everything else.
But in truth, Jiang Shan knew very well that in the future, on Bottle Gourd Continent's mountains, there would still be a small group of people who, even after learning all this news and inside information, would still think: Chen Ping'an wasn't even a Jade Capital realm sword cultivator back then. Was he worthy of being the Hidden Official? Was he worthy of the respect of Haoran sword cultivators?
Some people believe the strong are always right, even when they are trampled by the strong.
Some people believe the strong are always wrong, even when they are protected by the strong.
Chen Ping'an put his hands into his sleeves and looked outside. It seemed that after the storm, the green mountains remained, the clouds and water were unharmed. He was silent for a moment, then turned his head and smiled. "Jiang Shan, does the Yunlin Jiang clan, or you yourself, have any interest in becoming the behind-the-scenes Supreme Patriarch of Bright Yang Mountain?"
Jiang Shan looked regretful and shook his head. "Ultimately, that is not the act of a gentleman."
Chen Ping'an stood up, smiled, and nodded. "Fortunately, I'm not even a worthy of the Academy."
Jiang Shan also stood up and asked, "Mountain Lord Chen, do you intend to take personal charge? Would the Confucian Temple have any objections?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "How could that be? I am a proper scholar. I wouldn't do such a thing."
Jiang Shan asked tentatively, "Is the candidate for Bright Yang Mountain's lower sect leader Yuan Bai, whose name hasn't been formally removed from the mountain and river registry?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "I originally recommended one person to Sect Leader Zhu Huang: let Liu Zhimao, the second-ranked venerable of True Realm Sect, change sects and serve as the lower sect leader. Of course, that would be very difficult. He might even have to break all ties with Zhu Huang and start a big fight. It seems Gentleman Jiang's suggestion is better."
Jiang Shan was stunned, then shook his head helplessly. "Mountain Lord Chen, that is not very fair."
Chen Ping'an clasped his hands. "Jiang Shan, I am determined to make you my friend! You are definitely a true and honest friend."
Jiang Sheng couldn't get a word in anyway, so she just sat there listening to their conversation. Earlier, she had merely been careless enough to take that flying sword message. Brother, you're even worse—you knew what kind of person he was, yet you still drank and chatted. Now look what's happened! And you said "yes and no"?
Jiang Shan looked around, somewhat surprised that Zhu Huang, as he had anticipated, had not shown up near the pavilion. It seemed this young Hidden Official was still decent.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "It's not decent of Gentleman Jiang to think that way."
Jiang Shan clasped his hands and took his leave, not saying another word. But he didn't forget to take the flask of wine. After walking far from Solitary Cloud Pavilion, Jiang Shan turned back to look. There was no longer any figure inside the pavilion. That was very decent—it seemed the other party had only appeared to chat about a few off-topic matters.
Outside Green Mist Peak, beside White Egret Ferry, inside the Cloud-Passing Inn, Ni Yuerong, who had just returned to the inn in a daze, hadn't yet recovered her senses when she froze again, staring blankly at the "young Daoist" wearing the lotus crown. Again?!
Chen Ping'an asked for that same room in Building A again, then quietly waited for Zhu Huang's discussion to end and for him to hear the news and come.
He lay back in the rattan chair, closing his eyes to rest, basking in the sun. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look. It seemed he saw a fool who had actually built a snowman in summer.