Chapter 855: Overlooking
In the Barren Wasteland World, four streaks of sword light flashed like rainbows, tearing across the long sky. Wherever the sword light passed, clusters of clouds shattered.
Chen Ping'an wore a lotus crown and a green gauze Daoist robe, with the Night Traveler sword on his back.
Ning Yao wore a Dharma robe called Golden Sweet Wine, with a sword case on her back.
Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi traveled far on their flying swords.
Lu Chen condensed his divine sense into a form the size of a mustard seed, using one petal of the lotus crown as a Dao field, sitting cross-legged within. Feeling a bit bored from the journey, he leaped up and performed a set of boxing techniques.
Qi Tingji communicated through heart voice, smiling: "The Hidden Official seems to be taking our flying sword speed into account, otherwise he could be faster."
At this moment, Chen Ping'an was truly drifting through the unity of heaven and earth's qi, like a small boat always traveling downstream on the river of time. In contrast, the other three sword cultivators needed to wade through the water to hurry.
Lu Zhi was somewhat distracted, pouting as she focused on examining the swords contained in that sword box. Each sword had its own inscription. The small sword box was likely a treasured artifact of the Jade Capital, possessing the miraculous ability of containing Sumeru within a mustard seed, making the eight long swords inside as small and delicate as flying swords. Their names were: Autumn Water, Swimming Duck, Deliberate Effort, Chisel Opening, Southern Darkness, Skilled Blade, Cicada Shell, and Mountain Wood. These eight ancient swords were brimming with sword qi, each imbued with a true intent of the Great Way. No wonder the Third Teaching Master of the Jade Capital had produced this item on the city wall earlier with such a pained expression. Could it be Lu Chen's own lineage's heirloom treasure?
Lu Chen practiced his stances with flair, huffing and puffing like a common martial arts performer, and asked curiously, "Mr. Lu, the senior grand sword immortal didn't arrange an escape route for you?"
According to reason, Chen Qingdu, who hated being indebted to others, would have treated Lu Zhi, an outsider female sword cultivator with outstanding battle merits, with special generosity.
Lu Zhi, considering the sword box, answered Lu Chen honestly, "He did come to me, wanting me to go to the Divine Thunder City to refine swords. I didn't agree."
Otherwise, the senior grand sword immortal would have notified the Confucian Temple, and after the Southern Potala battle, Lu Zhi could have rushed to the Azure World.
Chen Qingdu had actually advised Lu Zhi twice. First, not to be too stubborn and overly pursue the refinement of her second innate flying sword, "Big Dipper," but to first break through to the Flying Ascension Realm.
The second time, he hoped Lu Zhi would travel far to the Azure World, perhaps obtain an unregistered guest elder status at the Jade Capital, first peacefully refine the two innate flying swords there, and advance in realm and sword refinement simultaneously. After reaching the Flying Ascension Realm, if she found the cultivation in the Jade Capital boring with too many rules, she could go to the Great Mysterious Capital Temple to seek Sun Huaizhong's help and easily get a Daoist official identity.
Lu Chen said, "It's a pity that Mr. Lu has been unable to break through. The senior grand sword immortal's advice was excellent. If you went to the Jade Capital, neither I nor Senior Brother Yu would restrict you. Why didn't you agree?"
Lu Zhi gave a very Lu Zhi-like answer: "I don't want to travel such a long way."
Firstly, she didn't want the senior grand sword immortal to negotiate with the Confucian Temple on her behalf. Moreover, in that Azure World, she knew no one and had no face to borrow money.
On the Sword Qi Great Wall, Lu Zhi was a poor ghost with no spare cash. All her salary as a great sword immortal and the rewards from killing demons on the battlefield were poured into the bottomless pit of refining the flying sword "Big Dipper."
When Lu Chen heard this, he was not surprised but found it reasonable. He thought even more highly of Lu Zhi, couldn't help glancing at her a few more times, and decided to see if there might be an opportunity to poach her in the future.
On the matter of tempering her second innate flying sword "Big Dipper," Lu Zhi had expended too much mental and physical energy. Although she was from the Haoran World, she seemed to have no attachment to her homeland and never spoke of it, to the point that many young sword cultivators on the Sword Qi Great Wall always thought Lu Zhi was a native sword cultivator.
In fact, Lu Zhi's innate flying sword, which had never been revealed on the Sword Qi Great Wall, governed life with the Southern Dipper and death with the Big Dipper, and also had a natural Dao affinity with the Azure World, given the saying that all the Zhenren of the Jade Capital converge on the Big Dipper.
Back when sixteen sword cultivators followed the Hanging Mountain to travel far to the Azure World, led by the Nascent Soul old sword cultivator Cheng Quan, if Lu Zhi had agreed, she could have also taken care of the other fifteen sword immortal embryos.
But Lu Zhi didn't nod, and Chen Qingdu let it go.
To a woman who would barter her life for the inscription of her name on the city wall, telling her how great her future on the Great Way would be if she did this or that seemed useless.
Even Lu Chen had heard a bit of gossip: Senior Brother Yu Dou had secretly sent a message through the senior disciple of the Hanging Mountain to Lu Zhi, inviting her to the Jade Capital to serve as the master of a tower. Unfortunately, he was refused. The female Daoist who guarded the Master's Sword Chamber ultimately never met Lu Zhi.
Chen Ping'an suddenly spoke: "Lu Zhi, you could actually register under Lu Zhujiao's Southern Glory City as an unregistered guest elder. That would make you half a member of the family, like a distant relative who doesn't visit often."
The Jade Capital had five cities and twelve towers, with the three Teaching Masters each possessing one city. The other two cities and twelve towers were either attachments to the three lineages or independent Dao lineages. For example, Emerald Green City was the cultivation place of the First Teaching Master, and Southern Glory City was Lu Chen's exclusive territory.
Qi Tingji echoed, "I have no objection."
Since they were half a family, Lu Zhi wouldn't need to return that sword box, right?
Ning Yao nodded: "That's a good thing."
Lu Chen said resolutely, "If Mr. Lu is willing to condescend to become a guest elder of Southern Glory City, this poor Daoist welcomes it with open arms. But even between brothers, accounts must be settled clearly. Borrow and return, then borrowing again is easy."
On this joint long journey, they had already passed by no fewer than a hundred dynasties, sects, and immortal forces in the Barren Wasteland World, but Chen Ping'an's performance could be described in two words: restraint. Mostly, he just glanced down a few times and then, leading Ning Yao and the others, swiftly passed by without stopping. His Dao heart was as calm as an ancient well.
Chen Ping'an said, "On the third-to-last page of the 'True Book of the Elixir,' there is a record of the Three Mountains Talisman. But according to the book, aside from the number of uses, this talisman has a crucial limitation. Does Lord Lu Zhujiao have a way to overcome it?"
Lu Chen smiled: "It's not difficult to overcome, but it's a bit expensive. Of course, it also requires a secret Jade Capital method as a guide. Back when my senior brother taught the Daoist officials of the world at the Jade Emperor City, Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquises was hidden among them, listening for three days and two nights. My senior brother saw through him and consulted with Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquises on some talisman lore. I was watching the excitement at the time. Later, my senior brother created the Three Mountains Talisman. I was fortunate enough to witness the drawing of the first talisman."
This talisman uses visualization techniques to create three mountain city-like ferries, like opening three doors between heaven and earth on the banks of the river of time, forming a pattern where mountains and waters depend on each other.
But according to the annotations in the "True Book," the three mountains visualized must be ones the cultivator has personally walked.
Otherwise, this Three Mountains Talisman would be too unreasonable, becoming a life-saving talisman coveted by any Upper Five Realm cultivator, and could also be used for murder and theft.
Chen Ping'an roughly explained the use of the Three Mountains Talisman to Lu Zhi and Qi Tingji. Besides being most suitable for long-distance travel, its greater wonder was nourishing the soul.
The only requirement for using the talisman to travel far was that the physique of the qi practitioner or pure martial artist must withstand the impact of the river of time. Three uses were optimal. If the talisman was overused, it would incur the invisible suppression of the mountain fortune of the world. After that, one would have to avoid mountains when traveling, or else strange disasters, big and small, would occur once near a mountain. For qi practitioners, this was naturally a loss outweighing gain. In the human world, everything was either mountains or water; wasn't one's own mountain also a mountain?
Lu Zhi said in surprise: "Such a good thing exists in the world?"
Nourishing the soul is harder for qi practitioners the higher their realm; immediate results are rare.
Chen Ping'an smiled: "Pity that today you'll have to use up three chances at once."
Lu Chen asked: "Do you already have an idea for the nine mountains to visualize?"
Chen Ping'an nodded: "I've seen many Barren Wasteland mountain peaks both in the Summer Resort Palace and later during the Confucian Temple discussions."
Above the earth, they passed another sect-level force. It scrambled to activate several mountain-and-river grand formations, as if facing a great enemy.
Even though the four streaks of sword light flashed by and disappeared for a thousand miles in an instant, the sect's mountain-protecting grand formation dared not be removed for a long time.
Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment: "Lord Lu Zhujiao only needs to provide two Three Mountains Talismans for now."
The last three mountains still needed careful selection, with utmost caution.
In fact, from the moment Chen Ping'an stepped out of the Yang Family Medicine Shop, he had begun planning this. Unfortunately, the Dao Ancestor stopped at the entrance of Mud Vase Alley.
And at that moment, Chen Ping'an had just thought of the eight mountains besides Support Moon Mountain. What could be better at shielding heavenly secrets than staying by the Dao Ancestor's side?
The Dao Ancestor's action must have had profound meaning. It was highly possible that the route for the last Three Mountains Talisman in Chen Ping'an's mind was flawed.
Lu Chen sighed with relief. If each person needed three Three Mountains Talismans, that would be nine mountains.
Then the four sword cultivators would need a total of thirty-six rare talisman papers!
He, the poorest city lord of the Jade Capital, couldn't scrape together that many Descending Truth Azure Green Talisman papers even by selling everything he owned.
Ning Yao said: "For my talismans, the paper can be any substitute. It doesn't have to be that Descending Truth Azure Green Talisman paper."
Lu Chen said firmly: "How can that be? Playing favorites like that damages one's character. This poor Daoist would rather slap his face to look fat. Even if there aren't enough Azure Green talisman papers, I'll tear up books!"
Considering that Lu Chen was indeed spending a lot, Chen Ping'an didn't expose the Third Teaching Master's little scheme. Ning Yao using this talisman meant forming a modest but significant karmic bond with Southern Glory City. Such incense friendship with the world's number one was a profitable deal no matter how precious the Azure Green talisman papers. On the Night Boat, Wu Shuangjiang had given out several Azure Green talisman papers. In both the Haoran and Azure worlds, if Daoists of the three Jade Capital lineages successfully became Celestial Lords, they would burn this talisman to welcome the revered Teaching Master Patriarch of the Jade Capital.
Lu Zhi said: "For my share, don't substitute. Use the most valuable ones."
Qi Tingji smiled slightly: "I'll use the same talisman paper as Chief Lu."
In the end, Lu Chen truly emptied all his savings, pulling out over twenty Azure Green talisman papers. Besides that, he also produced a Yellow Court Classic entwined with purple and yellow qi. Lu Chen finally stood up in the lotus Dao field, pinched a Daoist hand seal, muttered incantations, and carefully tore off a few pages of the book to use as talisman paper. However, the actual talisman drawing was done by Chen Ping'an, who temporarily borrowed a set of Dao techniques. By now, Lu Chen only had thoughts left.
Lu Chen tentatively asked: "Since none of us have personally walked those six mountains, I need to split off a particle of my mind, enter your heart lakes momentarily, and use a secret Jade Capital Dao method to help transform the virtual into the real, faking the genuine..."
Lu Chen paused, smiled, and asked: "Do you all trust this poor Daoist? Of course, you can cut out a piece of territory in advance with your sword hearts as a place of hospitality. Besides, the one truly being hosted is Chen Ping'an. I'm just following along."
The result was that Ning Yao, Qi Tingji, and Lu Zhi all looked at Chen Ping'an.
Chen Ping'an nodded, and the matter was settled.
It was clear that all three didn't trust Lu Chen, only Chen Ping'an's decision.
With a single point of spiritual resonance,
Chen Ping'an instantly mastered that Jade Capital immortal technique and simultaneously sent his mind to the heart lakes of Ning Yao, Qi Tingji, and Lu Zhi, helping them shape the mental outlines of the six mountain cities.
In each of their heart lakes, sword qi was everywhere, leaving only a small area tightly isolated from other scenes. Lu Chen followed the rules strictly, but with just a glance, he was astonished. Especially Ning Yao's: with a little deduction, one could see that her heart-phantom world was an entire multicolored world.
After withdrawing from the three heart lakes, Chen Ping'an reminded: "At each mountain city, you can stay at most the time it takes to burn one incense stick. Be sure to pay attention to this; don't be careless."
Then Chen Ping'an smiled and asked: "Are there any taboos regarding offering incense?"
As the old saying goes, inviting a god is easy, but sending them off is hard. The Three Mountains Talisman requires a "return gift to send off the sage." At each mountain, they had to burn incense to honor Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquises, who had been shrouded in clouds and mist for ten thousand years.
Qi Tingji smiled: "I've admired Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquises for a long time. No taboos."
Lu Zhi said: "What's the big deal? It's just burning a few incense sticks."
Anyway, it wasn't her money.
Lu Chen muttered: "Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquises, even as a transcendent expert, must be delighted."
Chen Ping'an, Ning Yao, Qi Tingji, and Lu Zhi all burned incense to honor the same person.
Lu Chen asked: "Do you have mountain incense?"
At this moment, he was truly afraid of this Hidden Official, who could ruthlessly scheme until death. Fortunately, Chen Ping'an smiled and pulled out a bamboo incense tube from his sleeve. It was a gift from the temple keeper when he traveled with Pei Qian and the others to the River God Temple in the past. He handed a bunch of mountain incense to Ning Yao, Qi Tingji, and Lu Zhi. But when handing it to Lu Zhi, he smiled: "According to the rules, you have to pay for the incense yourselves."
Qi Tingji tossed Chen Ping'an and Lu Zhi each a Grain Rain coin. Lu Zhi flicked her finger, and that Grain Rain coin also fell into Chen Ping'an's sleeve.
Chen Ping'an was the first to use the talisman to travel far. At the first mountain city, he took out three incense sticks, lit the mountain incense. Since he was left-handed, he held the incense in his right hand, lightly gripped with his left, and raised it high above his head.
Lu Chen clicked his tongue: "You voluntarily giving up that little misdirection shows great sincerity."
After offering the incense, Chen Ping'an smiled slightly: "Sincerity brings spiritual response. One still needs to believe a little."
Ning Yao, Qi Tingji, and Lu Zhi were a beat slower than Chen Ping'an, so he waited on the spot for a moment.
Chen Ping'an asked: "I heard that the Lord of the Pivot City of the Jade Capital, Guo Jie, created a great talisman called Sword Washing Talisman? Since Lord Lu Zhujiao has such a good relationship with Lord Guo Jie and even opened a 'Thousand Swords Study' there, I suppose you have some?"
Lu Chen said bitterly: "Such a great talisman is extremely rare, not something that Azure Green talisman papers can compare to..."
The city lord of Pivot City was Guo Jie, and the deputy city lord was Shao Xiang. Both were truly established Daoist old sword immortals.
In the words of Sun Daozhang of the Great Mysterious Capital Temple, among those in the Jade Capital who understood swordsmanship, there were altogether two.
Of course, Yu Dou counted as one, and Guo Jie plus Shao Xiang counted as one.
Pivot City had a sword-washing object: an ancient star with a very significant origin. The Sword Washing Talisman evolved from the process of tempering flying swords.
Lu Chen tentatively asked: "Still borrowing, right?"
Indeed, a loose tongue brings disaster. He shouldn't have mentioned the Thousand Swords Study.
Chen Ping'an said: "Don't worry. We'll buy them. How many does Lord Lu Zhujiao have? We'll buy that many."
Lu Chen sighed with relief: "Only three!"
Finally, Qi Tingji spent the money to buy the three Pivot City Sword Washing Talismans and gave them all to Lu Zhi, urging her to refine and temper her flying sword Big Dipper's edge.
Lu Zhi, for the first time, wanted to be polite, but fighting her nature, she said to Chen Ping'an: "Thank you."
A sword box, Three Mountains Talismans, Sword Washing Talismans.
Plus the earlier chase across the sea to kill that Flying Ascension Realm great demon named Border.
If at that time she hadn't needed to join forces with Chen Chun'an and had instead risked her life to unleash the Big Dipper, she might have already inscribed her name on the city wall.
Chen Ping'an smiled and shook his head.
Lu Chen felt sympathetic. This kid was being generous with others' wealth. He remembered that young man from Mud Vase Alley; he wasn't like this. He was such a simple person.
Chen Ping'an's figure dispersed, and he went to the next mountain city. After burning incense and paying respects there, he didn't wait for Ning Yao and the others this time, directly arriving at the third mountain city.
Lu Chen asked: "For the last Three Mountains Talisman, why not directly visualize Support Moon Mountain?"
Chen Ping'an said: "Even if it's already an unmoored boat, one still needs to sail cautiously for ten thousand years."
Lu Chen deeply agreed: "Makes sense, and it's also a good omen."
This Third Teaching Master of the Jade Capital suddenly grinned mischievously: "Chen Ping'an, don't forget, any casual words you say right now carry great weight."
Chen Ping'an ignored him, just looking at the scene before him. This mountain city was a peak with soaring murderous qi, piled with white bones and corpses, rolling black clouds, and bones everywhere on the mountain ridges. Heaven and earth seemed to be only black and white.
This sect in the Barren Wasteland World had built a memorial archway at its mountain gate, imitating the Haoran immortal mansions, with a plaque reading "White Flower City."
The gatekeepers were two skeletons, apparently sword cultivators in life, who had died miserably. One was pierced through the heart by a long sword, nailed firmly to a stone pillar of the archway.
The other knelt on the ground, body leaning forward, a long sword planted in the ground, the hilt passing through his chin and piercing through his skull.
They were two predecessors from the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Chen Ping'an walked to one skeleton, crouched down, pulled out the rusted long sword, stored it in his sleeve, raised his hand, and gently brushed it over the skull.
The skeleton instantly scattered like smoke. Chen Ping'an took out an empty wine jug and collected it.
Then he stood up and walked to the other kneeling skeleton. He seemed to help the predecessor stand up, gave a gentle shake, turning it to dust as well, collecting it in another empty wine jug, and then took the sword into his sleeve.
On the Sword Qi Great Wall, very few sword cultivators disliked drinking.
After doing these things, Chen Ping'an tucked his hands into his sleeves.
A demon cultivator at the Immortal Realm flew over on the wind, landing on the mountain gate steps, his expression shifting unpredictably: "Who comes? Leave your true name!"
Almost simultaneously, over a hundred demon cultivators from the sect appeared, surging toward the mountain gate.
Chen Ping'an said with a calm expression: "Sword Qi Great Wall, Hidden Official Chen Ping'an."
That Immortal Realm demon first was stunned, then burst into loud laughter, the sound like rolling thunder, making the bones on the mountain ridges fall rustling like rising clouds and mist.
Which madman? What a joke!
One of the consultant cultivators reminded through heart voice: "Sect Master, this kid's appearance does look quite like that Hidden Official."
But soon a cultivator laughed loudly: "Could it be that the Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall couldn't make it in the Haoran World and became a Daoist instead?"
Then behind the man wearing a Daoist crown and carrying a sword on his back, three others appeared almost simultaneously.
A handsome young man said cheerfully: "What were you talking about that was so funny?"
Chen Ping'an joked: "I said I know Senior Sword Immortal Qi of the Sword Qi Great Wall, and this guy absolutely doesn't believe it."
Native sword cultivators of the Sword Qi Great Wall were all familiar with the official language of the Barren Wasteland World; almost everyone could speak several languages.
Especially sword cultivators like Qiu Miao in the past who often traveled far.
Qi Tingji nodded: "Then let's beat him to death and see if he believes then."
Qi Tingji only had one innate flying sword, named "Disintegration."
When he was young, he had a nickname: Qi the Farewell.
He liked to help people disintegrate and send them on their way.
Qi Tingji, Lu Zhi, Ning Yao...
That Immortal Realm sect master didn't say a word, turned and fled, and then there was a chaotic scattering like birds and beasts.
Lu Zhi squinted: "I'll chop enough here before I leave. Guarantee not even half an incense stick time."
Qi Tingji said: "I'll handle the ones that slip through the net."
Chen Ping'an nodded: "As long as it's within half an incense stick, it won't delay the main business."
After using the Three Mountains Talisman, the journey to Support Moon Mountain was greatly shortened, saving a lot of time.
Chen Ping'an left first, with Ning Yao following behind.
The next mountain city was near an ancient battlefield ruin. Here, it was perpetually dark without sunlight, with fierce yin spirits and dense ghostly presences, with yin soldiers numbering over a hundred thousand.
Similar to the Ghost Valley in the Northern Juzhou's Skeleton Beach. But here, there was no suppression from the Linen Sect. In the Haoran World, battlefield ruins had suppression from Confucian academies, water-and-land Daoist altars set up by various dynasties and vassal states, and the down-the-mountain training and merit accumulation of registered immortal masters, making it rare for such places to become formidable. The Barren Wasteland World was different.
Ning Yao said she would strike her sword here.
Chen Ping'an continued to use the talisman to travel far to the next mountain city.
For any Flying Ascension Realm sword cultivator with no worries behind, once they fully unleashed their swordsmanship, their killing power could only be described in four words: beyond comprehension.
Sure enough, within less than half an incense stick, a Barren Wasteland sect had its incense fire completely extinguished.
Lu Zhi stopped with her sword at the mountain peak, calling out by name: "Qi Tingji, I hope that in the future, the Elephant Dragon Sword Sect and the Fallen Mountain can help each other. Otherwise, if disputes arise between the two sides, I might side with outsiders."
Qi Tingji teased: "Chief Lu, that would be turning your elbow outward."
Lu Zhi was not one to keep things to herself: "Dong Sangang, Chen Xi, and you—if I had a choice, I definitely wouldn't follow you to be the founding patriarch of some sect in the Haoran World."
"Because among the three sword immortals who inscribed their names on the city wall, you are the most ambitious, with the least pure sword heart. From the first day I arrived at the Sword Qi Great Wall, I wasn't willing to get close to you. On the surface, you're kind to everyone, but in reality, you're distant to everyone. I believe you've long seen this."
Qi Tingji nodded: "Finally, I get to hear these true words."
If Lu Zhi had never spoken up and voluntarily revealed this, Qi Tingji would not have considered it a good thing.
When two people's hearts are not in harmony, the slightest gap is like a mountain or river that cannot be crossed. A Liang once said that words in the world are all bridges. This statement is true.
Since it was out in the open, it didn't matter if it hurt. Lu Zhi said bluntly: "Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost—that's the kind of person you are."
Qi Tingji opened his mouth as if to speak, then held back a smile.
Lu Zhi frowned: "Did I say something wrong?"
Qi Tingji explained: "The word 'wei' in that saying should actually be pronounced in the second tone, not the falling tone. It was originally a solid cultivation secret, warning later generations to cultivate nature and virtue, to know oneself and seek truth."
Among the inscribing sword immortals, besides Dong Sangang, Qi Tingji and Chen Xi—just their scholarship alone would be more than enough to qualify as a prominent Confucian scholar in the Haoran World. As for sword cultivators like Sun Juyuan, they could easily be refined and unconventional celebrities.
Lu Zhi turned her head and said: "But after arriving in the Haoran World, you've changed quite a bit too."
Qi Tingji smiled: "Well, I'm the patriarch who founded a sect."
A mountain peak soaring into the clouds.
Since ancient times, amidst vast clouds and waters, where is the Dao mountain and the crimson palace?
This place was like the immortal Crimson Mansion described in books, filled with dense, rich spiritual qi, flowing Dao qi, like moving clouds and flowing water.
It was a very famous great mountain in the Barren Wasteland World.
The Barren Wasteland World also had dynastic cities, five sacred mountains, and even a great dynasty where human cultivators thrived and bustled, with humans, ghostly mountain spirits, and water descendants living together.
Chen Ping'an didn't go to the great mountain temple at the summit. He stood in place and asked: "Can you calculate which great demons are stationed at Support Moon Mountain?"
Lu Chen smiled: "Hard to say. I can only say that the eldest disciple of the Barren Wasteland Grand Ancestor is definitely there. As for that one with the Dao name 'New Makeup,' there's a greater chance she went to reminisce with A Liang."
Chen Ping'an was silent.
Lu Chen asked: "Are you still worried that Zhou Mi foresaw this and that our group will be trapped in some mountain city, or fall into a similar situation?"
Chen Ping'an nodded.
Lu Chen asked in confusion: "Why did you come here?"
Chen Ping'an looked up: "Just to come here and take a look."
Withdrawing his gaze, Chen Ping'an said: "I plan to give that 'True Book of the Elixir' to Huang Ting of the Peace Mountain."
Lu Chen understood immediately: "The book's material itself is good, plus those over twelve hundred characters have been refined. It can indeed support a Great Dipper Daoist Ritual, to be used as a mountain-protecting grand formation. But my senior brother gave it to you. Why are you telling me this? Besides, your Fallen Mountain doesn't lack such things. What about your subsidiary sect?"
"The Peace Mountain will definitely rebuild its sect in the Parasol Leaf Continent. That book was given to me by Brother Li, so you can help me inform him. If it's really feasible, I'll do it."
The Dao lineage of the Peace Mountain in the Parasol Leaf Continent belonged to the orthodox lineage of the First Teaching Master of the Jade Capital.
"Oh, indeed, you haven't changed a bit. Still a generous boy. Fine, it's a small matter. Leave it to me. Actually, given my senior brother's temperament, you don't even need to ask."
Chen Ping'an's expression softened: "Even with close people, one must still maintain proper etiquette."
Lu Chen smiled. His senior brother was really impressive; no matter where he went, he was so well received.
Lu Chen couldn't help but sigh: "Life is a traveler's lodge; nowhere is truly home. All things in the world have their own destinations. There is no real owner; we are all just pawnshop clerks."
Chen Ping'an said: "Let's go."
The next mountain city was an immortal ferry in the capital region of a great dynasty.
Chen Ping'an's attire wasn't too conspicuous.
Chen Ping'an said: "I came here to borrow swords."
The diagram for the Peace Mountain Sword Formation had long been prepared, but they had lacked suitable long swords. According to Cui Dongshan's estimate, traveling to the Sword Hatred Mountain in Northern Juzhou to purchase a complete set of immortal sword replicas of decent quality would cost about eight hundred Grain Rain coins.
And that was only if Sword Hatred Mountain was willing to empty half its treasury; they certainly wouldn't produce that many replicas.
But this dynasty's capital grand formation was a sword formation that completely abandoned defense and only attacked.
Lu Chen sighed with relief. The sword box lent to Lu Zhi,
lent to the Elephant Dragon Sword Sect, still had some chance of being reclaimed.
Lent to Fallen Mountain? That's like throwing a meat bun at a dog.
Lu Chen smiled: "Borrow?"
"Otherwise?"
Chen Ping'an asked in confusion: "Didn't you say before? Borrow and return, then borrowing again is easy. As long as they come to Fallen Mountain to ask, I'll definitely return them."
Lu Chen asked: "Do we strike now?"
Chen Ping'an put his hands in his sleeves, lost in thought for a moment.
The gatekeeper, Zheng Dafeng.
First, he kept the gate for the small town. Later, he kept the gate for Fallen Mountain.
Was this what they called the unseen hand of fate?
Chen Ping'an hesitated, then said: "I once saw a person on a mountain peak."
Lu Chen sighed: "No need to doubt. It was the First Ancestor of the Military Strategists, whose merits and demerits do not offset each other."
Li of Fortune Street. Emerald Green City, also known as Jade Emperor City. The Jade Emperor plums are truly crisp.
Confucian Li Xisheng, Daoist Zhou Li. Who was the third person?
Lu Chen asked: "Chen Ping'an, you've been pursuing 'no mistakes.' But have you ever thought about who can achieve no mistakes? Is it truly the cultivators climbing step by step to the heavens?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head: "It's the gods."
---
The old blind man stood with Chen Qingliu at a cliff edge, one squatting, one sitting, each drinking.
The Hundred Thousand Mountains were a large piece of territory the old blind man had forcibly cut away from the Barren Wasteland World.
Chen Qingliu asked: "That Support Moon Mountain Grand Ancestor was only a little short of reaching the Fifteenth Realm. Aside from being injured in the foundation of his Great Way during the Support Moon Mountain battle by Chen Qingdu and the others, does the loss of these Hundred Thousand Mountains have anything to do with it?"
The old blind man raised a withered finger and scratched his face: "What does it have to do with it? If it were you, wouldn't you fight me to the death?"
Chen Qingliu smiled: "Fight to the death? Even if you won, you'd consume a lot of your Dao conduct and still wouldn't be able to reach the Fifteenth Realm."
The old blind man laughed hoarsely: "True."
Chen Qingliu asked: "So it made way for Zhou Mi?"
The old blind man thought for a moment: "Not quite. Probably the same as me—my cultivation aptitude is poor. That Fifteenth Realm is sought but unobtainable."
Chen Qingliu looked up at the sky.
The old blind man said: "Nothing to see."
The canopy of the sky hung with stars.
The old man was as thin as a stick, wearing a purple robe embroidered with black-and-white yin-yang eight trigrams patterns.
The wine gourd hanging at his waist shimmered with brilliance, seeming to contain the magnificent scenery of an entire Milky Way, but it was far inferior to its peak form.
An uninvited guest could use concentration to ascend into the void, focusing his spirit to perceive the truth. Like an immortal riding a raft, with the turning of stars and shifting of stars, crossing the celestial river.
Throughout the ages, there were eighteen schools of thought on the heavens, and all had to revolve around astrology.
The young man looked at the talisman master Yu Xuan, his expression indifferent: "Congratulations, that's worth celebrating."
Yu Xuan tugged at his beard and smiled: "Saving Bai Ye almost backfired. I was so ashamed afterwards I dared not see anyone. I never expected the Ultimate Sage to appoint me to cultivate here, monopolizing a share of heavenly fortune, making me even more ashamed."
Having said that, when Yu Xuan chatted with the Great Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain and Fiery Dragon Elder at the Confucian Temple meetings, he showed no shame at all.
Yu Xuan took a jug of Green Spirit Mountain wine from his sleeve, raised it high: "Care for a jug?"
The young man shook his head.
Yu Xuan took a sip himself and asked curiously: "Why did an old venerable man of high virtue like you get involved in the affairs of the Bead Grotto-Heaven?"
He referred to the matter of the dragon kiln firing destiny porcelain.
And this young-looking enlightened man had once been the Lord of Earth Immortals, with the reputation of the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Methods.
One of this man's cultivation sites was called Prison Mountain, said to be located in the center of the great sea, immovable by gods, unattainable by immortals, far from the human world.
On the mountain were steles, platforms, and ravines.
The stele was inscribed: "Peace Under Heaven, Slay the Stubborn and Foolish." Beneath the demon-refining platform was a deep ravine called Touch Money Ravine.
And the water of that deep ravine consisted of Snow Flower coins, Small Summer coins, and Grain Rain coins—the three types of immortal money. Before that, the only standardized currency circulating through several worlds was the predecessor of the later gold essence copper coins.
The original intention of this was to completely divide and disperse divinity. But later, a significant flaw emerged. After more than a thousand years of constant replacement, consolidation, and collection, it was converted into the current three types of immortal money.
The young man said: "The Green Child Celestial Lord is my good friend. He had a request, and I helped where I could."
Yu Xuan drank his wine, refraining from commenting on these past events.
Among the disciples of Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquises was the Green Lord, whose seat was at Square Pillar Mountain. In the old days, the position of the Three Mountains was even higher than the Five Sacred Mountains of Haoran, including Sui Mountain.
A key part of Ritual Saint's experiment back then was to specially invite this Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquises to come out of seclusion and jointly formulate the rules of etiquette and ritual.
He also had two unregistered disciples: the Daoist Wang Min, who was a contemporary of Bai Ye, and the sword cultivator Lu Yue. Neither was famous among the human world or the immortal mountains; all their deeds were only circulated at the peaks of Haoran.
One was ordered to go overseas to seek immortals; the other, Lu Yue, rose and fell like a comet streaking across the sky.
This "young man" had once stayed in the Bead Grotto-Heaven for a period.
Fortune Street? Talisman Street.
And that unregistered disciple, the sword cultivator, came from the Lu clan of Fortune Street.
As for the peach blossoms in Peach Leaf Alley, he planted them himself, of course casually done.
The mold for the gold essence copper coins of the Great Li Dynasty was given by him.
After the Bead Grotto-Heaven fell to earth, the Lu clan of Fortune Street, which had countless ties with the Lu Dynasty, secretly gave the then Empress of Great Li a few pages of an ancient book.
One page recorded a talisman that seemed low in rank and of little use.
Back then, South Hairpin, at Mud Vase Alley, learned and used it on the spot, personally performing that wall-passing technique, stepping from Song Jixin's house into Chen Ping'an's ancestral home.
"Heaven and earth connect, mountains and walls link, soft as apricot blossoms, thin as paper pages. My finger forms a sword, opens quickly. By the decree of Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquises."
But even Empress South Hairpin, or later the Empress Dowager Lu Jiang, had never heard of the name Three Mountains and Nine Marquises, let alone knew the origins of the Great Way.
Unfortunately, after returning to the capital, South Hairpin failed to uncover the truth. As a result, for so many years, she didn't value this talisman. If it had fallen into the hands of someone knowledgeable, just that page alone would be a mountain-guarding treasure.
Yu Xuan sighed with emotion: "The ultimate man is divine, crossing the galaxy, riding sun and moon, roaming beyond the three mountains, four seas, and five peaks. Life and death have no effect on him."
The young man shook his head: "Ten thousand years ago, the gods were the masters of this world. Crossing the galaxy was easy, but riding sun and moon—let's not talk about that."
Yu Xuan turned his head to look into the distance: "That fellow, is he staring at the two of us right now?"
But the young man didn't follow Talisman Master Yu Xuan's gaze. Instead, he looked toward the mountains and rivers of the Barren Wasteland World and said: "It seems it's not just about moving mountains."
A golden arch bridge.
Even a Flying Ascension Realm cultivator at the peak would not be able to see its end.
Zhou Mi ascended to heaven and naturally occupied the main seat of the ancient Heavenly Court ruins.
The Fire God returned to his position, equal in status, sitting side by side with no distinction of high or low.
Li Zhen, the new Armor Bearer.
The three sword cultivators who had jointly beheaded Support Moon Mountain in early years—Chen Qingdu's innate flying sword "Duckweed" was completely shattered at Support Moon Mountain, leading to his later synthesis with the Sword Qi Great Wall.
The Dragon Lord's innate flying sword was called "Great Ruins Immortal Grave."
As for Li Zhen's predecessor, the sword cultivator Guan Zhao, his innate flying sword was named "River of Time."
The new Water God Yu Si, master of the throne great demon Crimson Consort.
The Water God Li Liu's divine nature, which Ruan Xiu had stripped away, was casually thrown by her to Yu Si.
When ascending to heaven, Zhou Mi brought several blessed lands with him. Inner caves in the Barren Wasteland World were meaningless here, only burdens.
The sentient beings in those blessed lands were both the source of incense fire and a source of candidates for various divine positions.
Originally, the sword cultivator Fei Ran best met Zhou Mi's expectations, being the ideal candidate to replace the Sword Bearer, with a divine position lower than the Five Supremes of the ancient Heavenly Court but higher than the Twelve High Positions.
After all, the Sword Bearer still existed.
But the section of the White Star Sword bestowed by Bai Ye chose Chen Ping'an, Liu Cai, Zhao Yao, and Fei Ran, who was clearly a demon cultivator!
This was like an unreasonable move that even Zheng Juzhong of White Emperor City couldn't make.
It was definitely not an arrangement by the Central Earth Confucian Temple. This was a form of invisible Great Way suppression that the Haoran World exerted on Haoran Jia Sheng.
Zhou Mi had to settle for the next best, leaving Fei Ran in the Barren Wasteland World, making him the lord of that world at once.
Without Fei Ran, he had to choose Tan Tan. In addition, the dozens of sword cultivators Zhou Mi brought here, besides being the Hundred Sword Immortals of Support Moon Mountain, were also reincarnated gods planned for two thousand years by Support Moon Mountain. But similar to Yu Si and Tan Tan, although they all occupied divine positions, there were varying degrees of incomplete divine nature. These were just minor matters, all within Zhou Mi's calculations, with very little error.
The biggest surprise came after ascending to heaven, when Zhou Mi realized that his pure divine nature had indeed not been lacking—in fact, it was ten percent higher than expected. But the crux was that the "One"—he had only obtained nearly half. The problem was that this near half was infinitely close, but this minute difference was the difference between heaven and earth.
And even if Zhou Mi activated his backup plans, that "One" would rise with the tide, making it impossible for Zhou Mi to surpass half.
Even now, Zhou Mi had most of the realm of the former Heavenly Court Lord, but he still couldn't piece together a complete "One," forcing him to delay his return to the human world.
Thus, the existence with the most complete divine nature at present was the Fire God, who sat high on the throne.
The Three Patriarchs of the Three Teachings would either continue to synthesize the Dao; after passing half, the three worlds would be assimilated by the Dao, and the speed of assimilation would accelerate.
Or they would have to... scatter the Dao.
Additionally, many relatively young peak cultivators nowadays didn't know a secret: the First Ancestor of the Military Strategists had a ten-thousand-year pact with the Three Patriarchs of the Three Teachings.
Before returning to the human world, Zhou Mi, for unknown reasons, allowed a small number of newly promoted high-position gods to retain part of their humanity.
For example, Li Zhen, Yu Si, and Tan Tan, the three old friends from the Jia Shen Record.
In the battle that swept two worlds, if a high-position god fell on the battlefield, it was a long journey home after ten thousand years of wandering, a kind of return, but with varying degrees of loss of pure divine nature.
The vastness of the ancient Heavenly Court surpassed the imagination of any peak cultivator.
Any high-position god occupied a territory equivalent to several worlds, but compared to their homeland, it seemed dead and silent.
Just the distance between the four heavenly gates might take a Jade Purity Realm cultivator a lifetime to travel from one gate to another.
In a narrow sense, the ancient Heavenly Court ruins were like a capital city in a human dynasty.
Li Zhen, Yu Si, Tan Tan.
Today, the three agreed to meet at one end of the golden arch bridge, walking slowly.
They all, coincidentally, used disguises, looking more... human.
Relying on that bit of preserved humanity to act human, that bizarre feeling was probably truly involuntary.
Once they achieved immortality, it seemed that the word "freedom" became the most meaningless term.
Tan Tan murmured: "While I can still feel regret..."
Yu Si said coldly: "Pretending to be human is simple. Later, just manifest a new world somewhere, split off a bit of divinity, and that 'self' will certainly be freer than before, able to make mistakes casually."
Tan Tan's face was full of anger, gritting his teeth: "Is that 'self' still oneself? Isn't this self just coldly watching that self, stupidly overlooking for a hundred years, a thousand years, or ten thousand years? What's the point?"
When divinity completely covers humanity, there will be no more joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness. For gods like them, it seems they have countless freedoms, countless possibilities, but the only lack of freedom is that they are not allowed to not be gods, not allowed to destroy themselves.
Li Zhen seemed the most indifferent, hands behind his head, smiling: "I really miss the days on the Sword Qi Great Wall. I've already completely copied them without a single error. In the future, I can chat with the Hidden Official often."
Li Zhen continued: "According to what Chen Qingdu and the Dragon Lord said long ago, if one becomes one of the true Five Supremes, one might be able to slightly break that shackle, not having to be as... boring as we are now."
Tan Tan's eyes lit up.
Suddenly, radiant light burst forth between heaven and earth. A female voice devoid of any emotion said abruptly: "Just because of a few trash like you?"
Water God Yu Si nearly suffocated in an instant.
His humanity was squeezed to the size of a speck of dust, forced to reveal a pair of golden eyes. His golden body was as large as a star.
Tan Tan was in a similar situation, but the Great Way suppression he suffered wasn't as exaggerated as Yu Si's at the moment.
Li Zhen was relatively better, still able to maintain his human form.
Li Zhen grinned mischievously: "Yu Si, this is a golden opportunity. Provoke Miss Ruan a few more words, and maybe you'll get beaten to death. At least you'll have a moment of relief, and then Zhou Mi will piece you back together."
Gods are known as the sleepless.
Zhou Mi intentionally or unintentionally let them keep a bit of humanity, like a person in the mortal world who loves to sleep but happens to suffer from insomnia.
But if they wore away all residual humanity, devoured entirely by divinity, naturally they wouldn't feel this pain.
So-called gods are like a chessboard, each grid containing an emotion. Precisely lift, precisely replace.
The higher the divine position, the larger the chessboard, with more grids.
The problem is that every rise, fall, overlap, and fusion of individual or multiple emotions is never without purpose; it cannot follow one's whim because it is orderly and always has a clear goal.
And the total number of black and white chess pieces is always in an absolute state of being split in half.
If humanity is a natural prison granted to humans by the gods,
then absolute, pure freedom is an even larger prison.
But this is only the human perspective; gods are not self-aware, or to be precise, gods will never perceive it this way.
In the end, whether human or god, freedom seems to be a prison.
"To err is human, to forgive divine."
Being able to make mistakes and correct them—that is freedom.
There is no more comforting beautiful saying than this.
A woman who no longer wore a ponytail stood on the railing at the center of the golden arch bridge.
With a wave of her hand, she dragged Yu Si, the majestic Water God, into a great sun and roasted him with fire until he was destroyed.
Yu Si, equivalent to a Fourteen Realm great cultivator, had no power to resist against her.
Zhou Mi appeared on the scene but didn't stop her wanton destruction. After all, the Water God's divine nature was still there, not a single gap missing. He could simply piece it back together later.
Zhou Mi leaned on the railing, looking down from afar at several worlds, smiling: "Who would have thought that I would miss the 'One' by a hair's breadth on the city wall?"
Unfortunately, he couldn't become that "One." Now, many places were temporarily beyond Zhou Mi's sight.
But she, standing on the railing, had no such Dao restriction, because wherever sunlight reached, it was her domain.
She remained silent.
Her eyes were golden, her hair golden, her robe golden.
Zhou Mi knew that after ascending to heaven, she had looked over the entire human world, but not once did she look at that person.