Chapter 856: A Few Matters
At the mountain summit of a sect located in the heart of the Barren Wild World, two human sword cultivators stood.
Within less than half a stick of incense, Baihua City, a forest of bones, had become a page of the past, turned calendar leaf, destined to become an old, forgotten calendar as the years flowed by.
At Qi Tingji's command, four golden-armored gods, each a thousand zhang in height, stood at the four cardinal directions of Baihua City's border. They formed a formation like a net, preventing any large fish that had slipped through the cracks from escaping in the chaos.
Beyond this, various phenomena occurred: thunder rose within white clouds, the moon was born above green waves, and hundreds of majestic golden lightning bolts rained down upon the world, like thunder deities whipping the earth at will. Mountains and rivers shattered, the ground churned, and demon clans hiding in caves and secret passages were flushed out one by one. A dozen or so ink-black flood dragons swam and swayed through the air, swallowing fleeing wind-riding demon cultivators, chewing them with a sound like strings of firecrackers.
Don't forget that sword cultivators are also qi refiners. Aside from their lifebound flying swords, they also possess a bizarre array of great-refined and mid-refined lifebound objects.
These were all casual displays of Qi Tingji's power. Setting aside his identity as a sword cultivator and his lifebound flying sword, Qi Tingji could be considered an Ascension realm cultivator of immense killing power.
Placed in any world, a cultivator wielding such magical techniques and methods would be considered possessed of genius that overshadowed past and present. Yet on the Sword Qi Great Wall, the Great Sword Immortal Old Man considered Qi Tingji unsettled in heart, his techniques flashy but lacking substance—a man straying further from the word “pure”… in short, not a single good word was said.
This was still when Chen Qingdu was in a decent mood and would deign to offer a few rare words of instruction. More often than not, Chen Qingdu couldn't be bothered to say a single word. The higher the realm of the sword cultivator, the less he liked to chat. On the other hand, when children came in groups to play on the city wall and passed by that thatched hut, they might get to exchange a few more words with the Great Sword Immortal Old Man.
Once, a child's kite broke its string and fell onto the thatched roof. The child didn't dare ask the Great Sword Immortal for it back, nor did he dare climb onto the roof. He went home dejectedly, only to find his parents waiting at the doorstep with happy faces. In his father's hand was the kite, which seemed to have grown legs and run home on its own. Only upon asking did the child learn that the Great Sword Immortal Old Man had casually tossed it back. In the years from childhood to youth, this small matter was the biggest topic of conversation. Later, when that child became a sword cultivator, before he grew old, he too became like that broken kite—a small matter in life, casually tossed away on the battlefield.
Earlier, Lu Zhi had taken two longswords that most appealed to her from her sword case: Autumn Water and Chisel Orifice. Wielding both swords and coordinating with her lifebound flying sword “Embrace Simplicity,” she personally killed a Jade Pupil realm demon cultivator, apparently the discipline master of Baihua City's Patriarch Hall. During the process, Lu Zhi expended a bit of energy. There were also a handful of earthly immortal cultivators who didn't require much effort, and below that, demon cultivators—she neither remembered them nor needed to.
Demon cultivators struck by the longsword Autumn Water found their lifebound acupoints, where they stored spiritual energy, suddenly burst like a flood breaking a dam, drowning a vast area of their qi mansions with utter unreasonable force. If wounded by Chisel Orifice, the demon's inner world of heaven and earth would also suffer. Chisel Orifice's innate pure sword intent, combined with Lu Zhi's vast sword qi, was like having a feng shui master skilled in dragon-seeking and point-acupoint leading the way. The sword qi was like iron cavalry charging a formation—crushing through, causing chain after chain of mountains to shatter.
Lu Zhi recalled her flying sword “Embrace Simplicity” into her acupoint for nurturing. As for the other sword, “Big Dipper,” it was being refined with a sword-washing talisman.
Her lifebound flying sword “Embrace Simplicity” possessed two lifebound divine abilities. One ability allowed the flying sword to immobilize a cultivator's shadow, instantly damaging their yin spirit. The yin spirit reflection was like a piece of black cloth nailed in place by the sword. If the cultivator tried to shift position, they would tear their own yin spirit. At the same time, if the cultivator was unwilling to abandon their yin spirit and didn't act decisively, they would immediately face the sword's second ability, one that could be described as “exhausting minutiae, unraveling silk from cocoon,” using pure sword intent to severely wound the yang spirit's external incarnation. But whether it was yin spirit or yang spirit, both involved a cultivator's fundamental dao. The flying sword's ability was like an embrace, following like a shadow on the battlefield.
Hence, earlier on the sect battlefield, when Lu Zhi twisted her wrist and shook Autumn Water, forming sword blossoms, the sword light gleamed white like autumn water, illuminating all directions, and cultivators' shadows appeared instantly.
Qi Tingji said solemnly, “The Great Sword Immortal Old Man had a reason for sending you to White Jade Capital to temper your sword. It's not just that the second ‘Big Dipper’ aligns with White Jade Capital's dao. I suspect that the flying sword ‘Embrace Simplicity’ has a chance to gain a third lifebound divine ability. Moreover, you are different from Chen Xi and me. In terms of opening cave abodes, we've more or less stopped here; it's hard to make further progress even from a hundred-foot pole. But your personal small heaven and earth is not the same—it still has far too many possibilities.”
Lu Zhi listened absentmindedly. It wasn't that she couldn't tell good advice from bad; she simply had no interest.
Her cold and aloof nature was partly innate, partly influenced by the refining of her two lifebound flying swords, making her extraordinarily indifferent to desires.
At the moment, Lu Zhi's mind was still on the swords hidden in that sword box. The other six Dao sect legal swords, including “Wandering Duck” and “Deliberate,” each came with some superior secret technique. Lu Zhi thought that if they could all return alive, she would privately seek out Chen Ping'an and have a talk. When the Third Lord of White Jade Capital came to the Dragon Elephant Sword Sect to collect debts in the future, it would be simple. Return the swords? The Hidden Official borrowed them from you—why come to me, Lu Zhi?
Seeing Lu Zhi oblivious, Qi Tingji stopped advising. After all, she was a woman even the Great Sword Immortal Old Man couldn't persuade.
Lu Zhi's personal small heaven and earth was like a territory spanning a thousand li but with only a few houses. To say she was rich was true—it was like owning ten thousand mu of fertile fields. To say she was poor was also not false—the only land that truly saw spring planting and autumn harvest was a meager one mu and three fen of land. Because aside from her two lifebound flying swords, Lu Zhi had only three great-refined lifebound objects. For any Upper Five Realm qi refiner, this was a pitifully meager number.
All three objects were used by Lu Zhi to assist her cultivation, helping her absorb heaven and earth's spiritual energy more quickly and nourish her three souls and seven spirits. Her instruments of attack remained only those two lifebound flying swords.
A cultivator's body, though small, is like heaven and earth, with vast mountains, rivers, and territories. What truly “belongs to oneself” is the use of absorbing heaven and earth's spiritual energy as water to irrigate the mountains and rivers. So-called cultivation is like tilling fields and opening mansions. When these connect into a continuous stretch, they form a grand city. With many cities, they become a nation. The cultivator is like a nation's ruler, and ultimately “attaining the dao” is like becoming the lord of all under heaven within one's personal small heaven and earth.
But for each individual qi refiner, in the excavation of cave abodes and construction of alchemy chambers within their personal small heaven and earth, they are limited by their aptitude, and each has a bottleneck. At most, when their realm is high and they aren't short on immortal money or heavenly treasures, they begin to replace old lifebound objects without regard for cost. Thus, every peak Ascension realm cultivator is forced to start pursuing the illusory Fourteen Realm.
For a great cultivator like Qi Tingji, immortal money, spiritual qi, and treasures were all easily within reach. But unfortunately, all tangible things in the world had become true external objects. Greed turned into burden—adding even a fraction would be too much.
Qi Tingji smiled and said, “It hasn't been half a stick of incense yet. If we're not in a hurry to head to the next mountain market, we can chat a bit more.”
In his hand appeared a tattered dark-green dharma robe, a relic of that Immortal realm sect master. It was called Azure Eye, a semi-immortal artifact. Repairing it would cost some money—Lu Zhi's sword strikes had been too fierce.
This Azure Eye dharma robe should be recorded in the Summer Resort Palace, as cultivators from Baihua City had frequently visited the Sword Qi Great Wall battlefield throughout history. That Immortal realm master of a sect had been the fastest to flee today, but Qi Tingji still blocked his path and forcibly “sent him on his way.” However, the demon had used a lifebound escape technique, but with his yin spirit severed, it would be hard to say if he could even retain a Jade Pupil realm.
Additionally, there were several demon cores: one from a Jade Pupil realm, several from earthly immortals, all stripped from the corpses by Qi Tingji. He held them loosely in his palm, slowly rotating.
Qi Tingji acted as if he were admiring the scenery.
Any sword cultivator on the Sword Qi Great Wall worthy of the title “sword immortal” had emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. How many of them were normal people?
Lu Zhi glanced at those demon cores, her expression dark.
She remembered a woman sword cultivator from her early years who recorded battle merits. She had a low realm, an unremarkable Golden Core realm, and wasn't skilled in combat. In fact, Lu Zhi didn't even know her name—only that she had a gentle temperament and was fairly attractive. No one knew why she never married. Her appearance couldn't compare to Zhou Cheng, but she was certainly far more beautiful than Lu Zhi.
This woman, whose name Lu Zhi couldn't even recall, would join others after every battle to record, verify, and archive battle merits. When she saw those female sword cultivators leaving the battlefield, she would smile… beautifully.
Lu Zhi's memory of the woman's face was already very blurry, but that smile seemed impossible to forget, even if she tried.
A Golden Core realm female sword cultivator, not skilled in combat, yet in the end she chose to go to the battlefield. Between living and dying, she didn't choose the latter. Instead of following Feisheng City to a foreign land, she rode her sword to the city wall. Perhaps she thought that since the Sword Qi Great Wall was doomed to fall and there was no longer a homeland in the human world, there was no need for her to record battle merits anymore.
It wasn't a big thing. She wasn't an important woman.
Lu Zhi hadn't even found it so hard to let go of her friend Zhou Cheng's departure. It was simply inexplicable.
But it seemed that only at this moment, when Lu Zhi remembered this most ordinary of women on the Sword Qi Great Wall and thought of her not being there anymore, did Lu Zhi realize belatedly that the Sword Qi Great Wall was truly gone.
Lu Zhi felt irritable. She coldly looked around—there were no more demons to kill.
Damn it. If only she could chop them all down again from the beginning.
As for the owner of that Jade Pupil realm demon core, his form was now wavering. He stood trembling beside this old sword immortal who had engraved his name, his three souls and seven spirits pitifully trapped in a cage of sharp sword qi. His spirit was tormented, and he worried that this “Old Man Qi of the Road” from the Sword Qi Great Wall might go back on his word and simply send him on his way.
It turned out that Qi Tingji, who was responsible for catching those who slipped through the net, had not only set up formations with magical techniques but also sent his yin spirit on a distant journey earlier. On the way, he casually grabbed a Baihua City guest elder who hadn't escaped in time—this was the Jade Pupil realm demon whose soul was now imprisoned. Qi Tingji promised to spare its life in exchange for directions to several secret treasuries of Baihua City. Then he made the demon lead the way to plunder them. The demon didn't even need to show eagerness—Qi Tingji simply opened the layered mountain and water restrictions with his sword qi all the way.
Generally, immortal mansion forces of sect level would have multiple hideouts, storing cultivation manuals, immortal money, and magical treasures in different places. Of course, this was only “general”—places like Fu Lu Yu Xuan in the Haoran World, the Celestial Master Mansion of Dragon Tiger Mountain, and Zheng Juzhong's White Emperor City naturally didn't follow such practices.
Since they had agreed with Chen Ping'an on half a stick of incense, Qi Tingji didn't continue looting. Digging three feet into the ground was more the Hidden Official's specialty.
But Qi Tingji didn't waste anything within sight. The shattered magical treasures and artifacts that Lu Zhi had cut down lay all over the ground, a motley collection. Although the price of broken mountain treasures was vastly lower than before, being not so valuable didn't mean they were worthless.
There were also the true forms of many demon cultivators killed in battle, along with some heroic skeletal remains, all collected by Qi Tingji into his sleeve.
The Dragon Elephant Sword Sect had been founded not long ago, and it needed money everywhere. Unexpectedly, passing by Baihua City today, with bits and pieces gathered together, they had amassed a considerable amount of immortal money.
The trapped Jade Pupil realm demon spirit plucked up courage and asked softly, “Old Sword Immortal Qi, your word is good, right? I am willing to serve you!”
Qi Tingji smiled but said nothing.
Forget about serving as a horse or cow—the Dragon Spring Sword Sect only accepted sword cultivators.
Seeing that the old sword immortal didn't respond, the demon's heart died like ash. Trembling, it said, “It doesn't matter if you don't keep your word. Can you at least give me a clean death?”
Qi Tingji smiled slightly. “Have you ever been to the Sword Qi Great Wall in this life?”
The demon's heart surged with wild joy, and it quickly replied, “Never been, I swear by the heavens—I have absolutely never been to fight sword cultivators. The road is far, my realm is low, how would I dare go to the Sword Qi Great Wall seeking death…”
Qi Tingji nodded. “Then in your next life, be reborn into a good family and go see the scenery there.”
With a casual wave of his sleeve, the demon's soul scattered to dust.
Nowadays, many peak cultivators in the Haoran World might know of the existence of the Two Hundred Sword Immortal Seal Compendium. But before that compendium, on the Sword Qi Great Wall, the earliest version was a crudely block-printed Hundred Sword Immortal Compendium.
Qi Tingji had flipped through it in his spare time but had no interest in surreptitiously buying those seals. In this old sword immortal's view, the Hidden Official's carving skill was too sloppy, not yet truly entering the hall of masters or becoming a great scholar of inscriptions. However, there was one border inscription on the seal compendium that Qi Tingji found rather good.
It read: “No scenic mountains or waters here, yet this is the highest city in the human world.”
Lu Zhi said, “Made a good profit from this operation?”
Their group had appeared at this mountain gate abruptly, giving the Immortal realm demon no time to first visit its treasury. As they said, men die for wealth, birds die for food, but when life hangs by a thread, there's no hesitation. Cultivators, whether registered celestial masters or wild cultivators, all understood this simple truth—dying on a pile of money was the most frustrating.
“Adding it all together, it's quite a lot. Saying we've filled our coffers to overflowing wouldn't be an exaggeration. It's a sect's foundation after all. Even after subtracting the three sword-washing talismans, we've still made a tidy profit.”
Qi Tingji smiled. “Didn't those gamblers on the Sword Qi Great Wall say long ago that partnering with the Hidden Official to run a gambling ring makes it hard to lose money? You just lie there and make money.”
Lu Zhi reminded him, “Chen Ping'an is an accountant who pinches every penny.”
Qi Tingji nodded. “Later, when we tally the harvest from our trip to Baihua City, we'll let the Hidden Official take… forty percent?”
Unexpectedly, Lu Zhi said, “Forty percent? He didn't do any work. Giving him twenty percent is generous enough.”
Qi Tingji said with relief, “Finally starting to look like a chief offering.”
Lu Zhi said, “That robe is nice. It's mine. Later I can give it to that little girl Wu Manyan.”
Qi Tingji took out the Azure Eye dharma robe from his sleeve and tossed it to Lu Zhi.
Lu Zhi caught it, gently shook the robe, and said in surprise, “This business of dividing spoils seems addictive.”
Qi Tingji nodded. “I just discovered that too.”
Lu Zhi curled her lip. Back on the Sword Qi Great Wall, sword cultivators never had this habit. Was this a bad habit spoiled by the Hidden Official?
Afterward, the two arrived together at a mountain market beneath the Three Mountain Talisman. Ning Yao had already left this ancient battlefield site. It seemed that after delivering her sword strike, she left the residual sword qi alone, so that the battlefield site was still filled with sharp sword light, wantonly killing the scattered yin soldiers and ghost creatures.
After offering incense, Qi Tingji said softly with a smile, “It's hard to imagine how we, cultivators at the Ascension realm who can still fight, would conduct ourselves in this world without constraints.”
The existence of the Three Patriarchs was like three figures sitting astride the torrential river of time, locking it with iron chains across the river.
These three didn't need to say or do anything—their very existence was a tremendous deterrent.
Even in this Barren Wild World, known for its chaotic order, there was still Tuoyue Mountain. Without it, if only the Mountain-Moving Old Ancestor Zhu Yan joined forces with the former master of the Yeluo River, Yang Zhi, and could pull in one of the old Throne great demons, they could run rampant across the world. In the end, perhaps fewer than twenty Fourteen Realm and peak Ascension realm great demons would divide the world, temporarily cease hostilities, then continue killing until only a small handful of Fourteen Realm remained.
Qi Tingji took out a banner and tossed it to the center of the ancient battlefield. It stood up abruptly, like opening a gate. Soon, tens of thousands of yin soldiers with chaotic spiritual intelligence gathered from all directions, as if receiving a decree, rushing madly into the banner like armies sounding the retreat. Furthermore, the banner itself, somewhere between a cave heaven and a blessed land, was a Senluo dao field suitable for ghost cultivation. But some earthly immortal heroic spirits and ghost generals who had established themselves in the site naturally didn't want to be subjugated and lose their freedom. One by one, they hid their aura, trying to conceal themselves.
As a result, Qi Tingji selected one of his many lifebound objects, offered it up, and a golden bamboo whip imbued with the true intent of thunder magic landed near the banner. The whip took root upon landing. In the blink of an eye, a golden bamboo forest appeared on the ancient battlefield, covering several hundred li. The entire ground was woven with lightning. Moreover, through the bamboo roots spreading underground, golden dots flickered—all golden bamboo shoots. They sprouted extremely quickly, continuing to grow into new bamboo. The bamboo forest shone with golden light, every leaf imbued with the charm of thunder magic, creating a Thunder Pool beneath the forest.
Both the great dao of thunder magic and the material of the bamboo whip itself inherently restrained ghost creatures.
Only four paths leading to the banner were left in the site; the ghost creatures had no other way out.
Lu Zhi looked at the soul-summoning banner in the distance and asked suspiciously, “You can do this?”
Qi Tingji explained with a smile, “Before, on the battlefield of the Sword Qi Great Wall, every time we delivered a sword strike, we were countered. Naturally, I couldn't leisurely display these flashy tricks.”
In short, myriad magical techniques and abilities were not worth a flash of sword light.
A mountain sword cultivator who dabbled in side paths outside the sword dao would be suspected of not tending to his proper duty, much like a scholar excelling at blacksmithing and woodcutting.
Lu Zhi, with nothing to do for now, took out the other two swords from her sword case. One was “Cicada Shell,” which turned out to be a rare relic of a White Jade Capital Ascension realm cultivator's discarded shell. It could be used as a dharma robe similar to a military armor pill, allowing a cultivator to seemingly learn without a teacher, mastering two extremely superior secret techniques of White Jade Capital—one offensive, one defensive. But Lu Zhi found it extremely awkward and tossed it back into the sword case.
As for “Southern Abyss,” holding the sword granted her an additional strange formation. Lu Zhi found herself standing as if in the middle of a vast heavenly lake. Though she seemed only a few steps away from Qi Tingji, the actual distance was a thousand li. It was suitable for dealing with heavy offensive treasures kept up one's sleeve, and also for countering enemy sword cultivators' flying swords.
As for “Wandering Blade,” it was also ingenious. Holding this longsword, Lu Zhi gained an illusory spirit creature in the form of a fish-dragon. This green giant fish circled around Lu Zhi in the air.
Lu Zhi found the sight pleasing and didn't retract this Wandering Blade sword.
Moreover, holding both Southern Abyss and Wandering Blade, Lu Zhi soon discovered another surprise. That green fish wagging its tail could actually draw genuine water fortune from the heavenly lake beneath her feet, which was originally an illusory construct, bringing it into being from nothing and strengthening itself.
Lu Zhi said, “Lu Chen's dao magic is somewhat interesting.”
Qi Tingji said helplessly, “He is, after all, the Third Lord of White Jade Capital.”
Lu Zhi said, “No help for it. When Lu Chen stays by Chen Ping'an's side, he seems like just a shop assistant running errands. It's hard for me to link him with a Fourteen Realm great cultivator.”
Qi Tingji laughed silently.
Lu Zhi stopped chatting. With still half a stick of incense left, she began tempering her sword—more precisely, refining the sword-washing talisman from Yushu City.
It truly lived up to its reputation as a great talisman that shook the Azure Void World. The threshold for drawing it was extremely high, but refining it from outside was very fast.
Three priceless sword-washing talismans. If Lu Zhi used them all to sharpen the edge of her flying sword “Big Dipper,” the effect would be marked. She estimated that the sword's sharpness could increase by one tenth.
The sword-washing talisman saved Lu Zhi at least nearly sixty years of cultivation time. That sixty years wasn't the constantly flowing sixty years of ordinary time, but the time a sword cultivator spent in focused cultivation and dedicated sword tempering—the “breath-holding, spirit-gathering, closed-door meditation” that refined spirit and energy. This was a qi refiner's “full year,” true dao age. Anything else was just “nominal age” of wasted time.
Thus, one tenth was truly not small. On the path of refining flying swords, a journey of a hundred miles is half completed at ninety. Especially for Lu Zhi's “Big Dipper,” even if it was only a hair's breadth away from perfection, it would still be difficult to kill a Ascension realm great demon with a single sword strike. But once she crossed that threshold, Lu Zhi's flying sword's killing power, even in the ten-thousand-year history of the Sword Qi Great Wall, would be among the very best.
If the flying sword Big Dipper's quality could be refined to a flawless state, and if she later successfully ascended to the Ascension realm, it would mean that anyone seeking to kill Lu Zhi would need two Ascension realm cultivators working together, and they would have to willingly give up two lives.
Qi Tingji was well aware that in his early years, the Great Sword Immortal Old Man had no expectation that he or Chen Xi would ever reach the Fourteen Realm. Only for Lu Zhi, who took forever to break through the Immortal realm bottleneck, did he hold great hope. Additionally, the great sword immortal Mihu and later Chou Miao of the Summer Resort Palace. As for Ning Yao, hope wasn't needed—in the Great Sword Immortal Old Man's view, it was a foregone conclusion.
Lu Zhi looked up and said out of nowhere, “Actually, if we set aside right and wrong, that one is remarkable.”
She was referring to the one hailed as the Literary Sea of the Barren Wild, the Old Fox of Heaven, Zhou Mi.
Admiration was one thing, but it wouldn't stop Lu Zhi from cutting Zhou Mi to death on the battlefield, without hesitation.
Qi Tingji said, “Lu Zhi, the reason I initially wanted to break my oath and rush to the Fifth World was out of wishful thinking. I hoped to seize the great dao fortune of the world's number one, using another's stone to attack my jade, to break that enormous bottleneck. Because I wanted to prove a fact to the Great Sword Immortal Old Man: Chen Qingdu was wrong about Qi Tingji.”
Lu Zhi was not skilled at heart-to-heart conversation. In fact, Qi Tingji liked heart-to-heart talks even less. Bringing this up today was a rare event.
Lu Zhi opened her eyes. She never spoke in a roundabout way. “The Great Sword Immortal Old Man is gone. Why are you still angry with him? Besides, even if the Great Sword Immortal Old Man were still alive and saw you reach the Fourteen Realm in the Five Colors World, he would only be even more disappointed and look down on Qi Tingji even more.”
Qi Tingji was somewhat sorrowful. “I wish there was still a chance for him to feel disappointed in me.”
Nowadays, the young sword cultivators of Feisheng City had a very different attitude toward the Great Sword Immortal Old Man's departure compared to the complex mentality of elders like Qi Tingji.
Suddenly, Qi Tingji laughed angrily. “In the future, at Feisheng City, no matter what we talk about over drinks, whether praise or criticism, we can't avoid our esteemed Hidden Official Chen. Just thinking about it is irritating.”
Lu Zhi advised, “You're a sect master now. Be more broad-minded.”
Qi Tingji sighed. “When you advise others in the future, don't advise.”
Lu Zhi chuckled. “I'm someone who takes advice best.”
Before them stood a great mountain of the Barren Wild World called Qingshan.
The four sword cultivators held the first set of Three Mountain Talismans. The three mountain market ferry crossings were: Baihua City, the ancient battlefield site, and the great mountain Qingshan.
After offering incense and paying respects to the Three Mountains and Nine Marquis Gentlemen at the mountain's foot, Ning Yao did not head to the next mountain market. Instead, she climbed the steps along the incense-offering sacred path.
This mountain held an exalted status, one of the few famous great mountains in the Barren Wild World. It was exceptionally allowed to have a double-digit number of subsidiary storage mountains. The mountain's name, “Qingshan,” was unique.
Inside the shrine hall of the mountain god, the colored clay statue shimmered with golden ripples. An old man emerged, holding a string of wooden prayer beads, like a devotee of vegetarianism and Buddha recitation. He had a rugged, ancient appearance, lean as a wild crane, with coarse bark-like skin.
This great mountain god had the dao name Biwu. He was born with a strange phenomenon—double pupils of eight colors, wearing crimson robes, hair loose, and treading on straw-woven cloud-walking shoes.
Sensing the sword qi, the mountain god Biwu hurriedly went out to greet the guests. Looking at the female sword cultivator, he said with shock, “Ning Yao?!”
Ning Yao nodded. “No worries. I'm just taking a stroll.”
Biwu's first thought was whether the Haoran World had already fought its way to his mountain gate. He laughed at himself. How could the advance be so fast? Besides, if even Qingshan couldn't be protected, it meant that at least half of the Barren Wild World's territory belonged to the Central Earth Confucian Temple.
Biwu cupped his fists and said, “Mountain God Biwu greets Sword Immortal Ning.”
Seeing this Ascension realm great mountain god, and especially the string of prayer beads in his hand, Ning Yao understood why Qingshan was still safe.
She thought for a moment. She only vaguely remembered Biwu's dao name and realm. He possessed an immortal treasure of immortal artifact rank, a “fire chariot with lightning,” said to be wondrously inscribed with “General Directorate of Thunder and Fire.”
Additionally, this mountain god was a devout Buddhist, having built a Manjushri Monastery resembling a family temple.
More than that, she didn't know. Chen Ping'an would likely be able to recite the details.
Hearing Ning Yao's polite words, Biwu laughed bitterly. It wasn't that he worried for his own safety. On his own turf, even facing an Ascension realm sword cultivator, he wasn't without a chance to fight. Even if the odds were small, he could protect his life. Measured out, his mountain had no grudges with the Sword Qi Great Wall. But Ning Yao couldn't have come here alone, could she?
Biwu tentatively asked, “Is the Hidden Official traveling with Sword Immortal Ning?”
Ning Yao kept silent.
Biwu hesitated, then wisely shut his mouth, swallowing some words that might seem ingratiating.
The Sword Qi Great Wall and the Barren Wild World had been mortal enemies for ten thousand years. When they met, there was no need for “a single word of displeasure”—they simply cut each other down on sight.
After climbing the mountain for a moment, Ning Yao asked, “Does the Mountain God know him?”
Biwu, accompanying her all the way, smiled and said, “How could someone like me, who has lived in the mountains without budging, know the Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall? It's just that a few years ago, a good friend, born from the waters of a great marsh, made a special trip to visit the ruins of Daoxuan Mountain. He happened to see the Hidden Official standing on a cliff, and sketched a painting. When my friend returned home, he passed by here and gave me the scroll.”
Ning Yao said, “He was here earlier. You just didn't notice.”
Biwu didn't think Ning Yao was bluffing. He couldn't help but marvel, “So the Hidden Official's dao magic is also so profound. Truly a master who doesn't show his face.”
Ning Yao reminded him, “Treat it as if neither of us came.”
Biwu nodded, understanding. “Today, the mountain is as usual—nothing happening, idly watching clouds roll and flowers bloom.”
Sensing that Ning Yao was about to leave, the mountain god Biwu tentatively asked, “Sword Immortal Ning, wouldn't you like to take a look at the painting?”
Ning Yao, holding a talisman for her long-distance journey, said with confusion, “There's a living person to see. Why look at a painting?”
For a moment, the mountain god Biwu was speechless.
Confirming that Ning Yao had already journeyed far, Biwu took a step, shrinking mountains and rivers, and arrived at a quiet courtyard. Two young female mountain sprites, dressed in light yellow and tender green respectively, curtsied to the mountain god and opened the door. Biwu stepped over the threshold. On the desk lay a scroll. Unrolling it, the painting depicted none other than the last Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Dressed in a bright red dharma robe, the man stood on a cliff at the city wall, his features blurred, hands tucked into sleeves, a narrow knife tucked under his arm as he gazed down at the earth.
The Yunwen Dynasty of Cloud Pattern, its capital Jade Plate City, had been established for over twelve hundred years. The imperial surname had changed several times, but the dynasty's name remained unchanged. Who sat on the dragon throne didn't matter much here.
In the Barren Wild World, any mortal dynasty that had lasted more than a thousand years was absolutely more troublesome than a mountain sect of the same age.
And the capital of such a dynasty was no different from a mountain patriarch hall.
But at this moment, in a highest pavilion within the imperial palace, an outsider had taken the liberty of entering.
A man in a green gauze dao robe, one hand clenched into a fist, the other behind his back, strolled as if in his own courtyard.
He paused, looked up, and saw a row of bells hanging under the eaves. Inside each bell hung two miniature swords spaced closely together. With the slightest breeze, they clinked against each other.
According to records from the Summer Resort Palace, the emperor of this city had missed the great war because he was in secluded cultivation for many years, and had donated a large sum of Guyu Rain money to Tuoyue Mountain.
Moreover, the Yunwen Dynasty had good relations with two old Throne great demons, Huang Luan and the Lotus Nunnery Master. Otherwise, an Immortal realm cultivator alone couldn't have protected the Yunwen Dynasty.
Fortunately, even though Huang Luan and the Lotus Nunnery Master were now dead, this emperor had also broken through and become a newly promoted Ascension realm great cultivator.
A burly man in a dragon robe appeared in the corridor out of thin air. He said in a deep voice, “A rare guest graces us. I have failed to welcome you from afar. But, Daoist, why didn't you announce your arrival? I would have prepared a feast to welcome you and wash away the dust of travel.”
Beside him stood a slender female attendant, her cheeks powdered with gold, a waist knife at her side. She was a genuine Qi-Stop realm martial artist.
Her eyebrows were naturally connected, her ears long and thin—a celestial appearance as recorded in ancient books.
Chen Ping'an smiled and said, “No need to think about how to host me. It's no trouble at all. You only need to lend me that sword formation. Easy as raising a hand.”
This emperor of the Yunwen Dynasty, using the alias Ye Pu, had two dao names. The first was Pohe; after reaching the Ascension realm, he gave himself a more domineering one, calling himself Dúbù.
The female martial artist beside Ye Pu was named Bai Ren, a famous martial arts fanatic. She was over a hundred years old but had preserved her youth. At just over fifty, she had reached the Qi-Stop realm.
Jade Plate City had activated a capital defense formation, imitating a glass realm. The capital seemed trapped in a frozen stream of time, glowing in multicolored splendor. All cultivators in the city chose to stay put, not daring to act rashly. Firstly, Upper Five Realm cultivators and even earthly immortals found it difficult to move; secondly, it was a sign of a great enemy's approach—who would dare cause trouble?
Ye Pu had naturally recognized the other's identity, but instinct told him it might be better to pretend not to know.
As for how a Jade Pupil realm sword cultivator from the city wall had become a dao practitioner starting at the Ascension realm, Ye Pu wasn't curious. On the path of cultivation in the Barren Wild World, all processes were illusory; only results mattered. The pursuit of cultivation was simply a crude principle: how to live, and live as long as possible. Once conflict arose, or if someone on the road became an eyesore, they died as quickly as possible.
Ye Pu heard the other's great jest. “The Hidden Official lives up to his reputation. He's very good at chatting, even more amusing than the legends say.”
The woman smirked and touched the handle of her waist knife.
This female martial artist looked at the man in the new Daoist outfit with burning eyes. She recognized him—how could she not? Portraits of this fellow were now all over the Barren Wild World. Perhaps on half of the ten thousand mountain peaks, at least half had them. Especially after the failed negotiations between Tuoyue Mountain and the Central Earth Confucian Temple, this young but famous Hidden Official became even more renowned. Though he was in Haoran, his fame in the Barren Wild World was unparalleled, to the point that a qi refiner who didn't know the name “Chen Ping'an” might as well not have cultivated.
In the previous hundred years, the name of this damned Sword Qi Great Waller had only circulated among mountain-immortal sects above the mid-level. Who would have thought a last-generation Hidden Official would emerge.
Chen Ping'an looked at the female martial artist. “Thinking of trying?”
Inside Chen Ping'an's dao crown, in that lotus petal dao field that even Ye Pu couldn't peer into, Lu Chen was practicing his boxing stances while eyeing the clueless woman, clicking his tongue in wonder. “Eager to move. Truly eager to move.”
Ye Pu moved to stop the woman beside him. “Bai Ren, don't be rude.”
But Bai Ren squinted and smiled, “I think it's worth a try. As long as the Hidden Official is willing to only use pure martial arts punches.”
“Fine.”
As Chen Ping'an spoke, he took a step forward, his two fingers pressed together. They seemed to lightly touch Bai Ren's forehead. The female martial artist flew backward with a bang, smashing through the railing behind her and shooting straight out of Jade Plate City in a line.
Ye Pu, caught between divergent thoughts, weighed the pros and cons rapidly and chose not to interfere.
The entire capital, originally frozen in the glass realm, was like pulling one hair to move the whole body. Bai Ren's impact created a crack, which then shattered outward. In the end, Jade Plate City seemed to undergo a sudden downpour of brilliant colors.
A formation that even an Immortal realm sword cultivator couldn't cleave open was broken with such a casual finger point—touched and shattered.
A boxing technique? Not like it.
The most terrifying part was that this young sword cultivator seemed not to have deliberately used any sword techniques.
Ye Pu finally began to doubt whether the Chen Ping'an before him was still the watchdog of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Chen Ping'an said with a grin, “Ye Pu, if I go into the pavilion myself to take the swords, it's not borrowing. That's called looting.”
Ye Pu laughed bitterly. “Is there a difference?”
“I'll count to ten. After that, Jade Plate City will probably disappear.”
Chen Ping'an spread one hand, clearly signaling Ye Pu to hurry. “You should be grateful that Jade Plate City isn't Xianzan City. Otherwise, it would already be gone.”
Xianzan City was known as the highest city in the Barren Wild World.
This city happened to be near the last of the three mountain markets covered by the Three Mountain Talisman.
Ye Pu sighed inwardly. This emperor of the Yunwen Dynasty was indeed a top-notch villain. He actually took the initiative to open the restrictions, invoked secret arts to withdraw eighteen mountain and water restrictions, and summoned a red coral brush rest that had been suspended in the pavilion. The formation-flying swords were placed on it like ink brushes.
Ye Pu gently pushed the red coral brush rest to the strange daoist who had disguised himself as the Hidden Official, and said with a faint smile, “I hope ‘Daoist Chen’ can leave the Barren Wild World safely.”
Chen Ping'an pocketed the brush rest and flying swords into his sleeve. “Then I'll take your good wishes. As a return gift, I'll give you a piece of advice: hope this Jade Plate City is sturdy enough, and your Ascension realm stable enough.”
Having confirmed that the uninvited guest had left Jade Plate City, Ye Pu didn't rush to find his wife, the Empress Bai Ren. Instead, he released his spiritual sense and began counting silently.
Blast you to death.
That brush rest was an immortal artifact, and with half of the flying swords detonating simultaneously, even a peak Ascension realm cultivator would be severely wounded. After the enemy was injured, Ye Pu only needed to follow the disturbance to retrieve at least half of the flying swords and kill a peak enemy.
But after finishing his calculation, Ye Pu was dumbfounded. Why had he lost connection with that sword formation?! It was gone just like that?
In the dao field, Lu Chen rolled up his sleeves, then continued his boxing stances, chuckling. “Displaying formation skills under my nose? Interesting, interesting—naively adorable.”
After offering incense at the second mountain market, Chen Ping'an immediately rushed to Xianzan City.
Legend had it that this high city was the transformation of the dao hairpin of the world's first cultivator.
But the reason it could claim to be the highest city in the Barren Wild World was also related to its terrain's great height.
Ning Yao arrived at the immortal ferry outside Jade Plate City, strolled along the water, and then continued to the next location.
But by the time Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi arrived, a thought suddenly appeared in both sword cultivators' heart lakes, as if waiting for them: “Feel free to hack up Jade Plate City. If half a stick of incense isn't enough, use a full stick.”
Chen Ping'an stood on a small-to-medium mountain peak a hundred li outside Xianzan City. The reason it was recorded in the Summer Resort Palace was that it basked in the light of that high city.
After offering incense, Chen Ping'an put his hands in his sleeves and crouched down. He extended one hand from his sleeve, pinched a bit of soil, and rubbed it gently in his palm.
Lu Chen asked curiously, “Back in Jade Plate City, when you finally made a move, why were you still so restrained?”
Lu Chen had lent Chen Ping'an this set of Fourteen Realm dao techniques without holding anything back. In this Barren Wild World, where every path was filled with enemies, a casual wave of his sleeve could unleash magic power comparable to heavenly tribulations—that was no exaggeration. Yet whether at Baihua City or Jade Plate City, Chen Ping'an was very restrained. Even more unreasonable was that every time Chen Ping'an made a move, it was a rare and invaluable dao experience. The tempering of various dao methods today was like ferry crossings on the road to the summit, ensuring Chen Ping'an could reach the top faster. And both parties had a tacit understanding: Chen Ping'an knew that Lu Chen would never tamper with this matter.
“I'm used to walking around with a low realm. Now I have a higher realm out of nowhere. I'm a bit unaccustomed.”
Chen Ping'an opened his hand, letting the soil scatter to the ground. He said softly, “So this entire journey, I've been reminding myself of a truth: it's easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but hard to go from extravagant to frugal.”
Lu Chen nodded, then asked curiously, “Have you decided on the route for the last Three Mountain Talisman?”
Lu Chen took out from his sleeve the handwritten copy of the Yellow Court Scripture by his senior brother. This scripture was divided into three versions: internal, external, and central. Lu Chen, Lady Wei, and a Daoist whose name contained the character “Zhi” in White Jade Capital each obtained one version.
Chen Ping'an said, “Mm. Jiuzuan Sect. Wuding River.”
The qi refiners of Jiuzuan Sect had no other skill—they only knew how to brew fine wine. Many great demons of the Barren Wild, including the old Throne Qie Yun and Yang Zhi, had given this sect special care.
As for the Wuding River, it belonged to the Yeluo River system. The path through these two places would ultimately deliver the sword strike to Tuoyue Mountain.
Chen Ping'an asked, “Do you think it's feasible?”
Lu Chen looked up at the moon. “About sixty percent.”
The Barren Wild had three moons. Two had once had owners: the already dead Lotus Nunnery Master, and the one now raising a flock of ducks by Longxu River, She Yue. The central moon alone had been masterless for ten thousand years. Peak cultivators of the Barren Wild could travel to it freely, but Tuoyue Mountain forbade building cultivation sites there.
Lu Chen pointed to the central white jade disc. “Why not try this moon?”
Chen Ping'an shook his head. “No chance at all.”
Lu Chen deduced and said, “There's still about thirty percent chance.”
Chen Ping'an smiled. “Still no different from no chance.”
The Punishment Officer Hao Su, after Chen Ping'an decided to change the route, used a moon-jumping talisman from Lu Chen to silently “ascend” alone.
In the end, Hao Su would stay there to receive Qi Tingji and Lu Zhi.
Poetic sayings: to see a thousand li, climb higher. Immortal matters: to view the world's towers, stand within the moon.
Chen Ping'an's plan was to make sure only one moon remained in the Barren Wild World.
Chen Ping'an clapped his hands, slowly stood up, and took out a flask of wine—from his own wine shop, Qingshen Mountain wine. He took a sip.
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Chen Ping'an asked, “The three souls and seven spirits—it seems the knowledge of the seven spirits isn't great. But I read at the Confucian Temple that the three souls originally had the names ‘Heavenly, Earthly, and Human’?”
Lu Chen stopped practicing his fists and sat cross-legged, hands folded on his abdomen. “The destinations of the three souls are the greatest knowledge. The heavenly soul goes to the heavenly prison. Isn't there a saying, ‘the soul flies beyond the heavens’? Now you know where extraterrestrial demons come from, right? The earthly soul is concerned with cause and effect, reincarnation, so it returns to places like the underworld Fengdu. As for certain lonely ghosts that linger in the yang world after death, that's actually the human soul. The seven spirits alone follow this soul. What common folk call ‘soul scattered, spirit vanished’ is that saying. There is a subtle dao connection with our surnames and the true names of demon clans. Mortal sayings like ‘soul ill at ease,’ ‘breath like a hanging thread,’ ‘fortune exhausted’—these sayings passed down through generations have actually long revealed heavenly secrets, just slightly vague.”
Chen Ping'an nodded.
Lu Chen asked with a smile, “You let Hao Su go to that bright moon. It seems no one, including him, asked why.”
Chen Ping'an answered obliquely, “For example, if there's a principle taught for ten thousand years, would you believe it?”
This principle was simple: I am a sword cultivator of the Sword Qi Great Wall.
Lu Chen looked suddenly enlightened and clapped his hands with a smile. “That's wonderfully said.”
Chen Ping'an took a deep gulp of wine, put away the flask, took a deep breath, and squinted as he stared hard at Xianzan City.
Lu Chen asked, “Next, do we still first visit the door and exchange pleasantries with the owner?”
The next moment, Chen Ping'an used his tiptoe as a fulcrum. The mountain peak beneath his feet instantly collapsed and shattered. The great dao manifested a majestic dharma appearance of a Fourteen Realm great cultivator. One foot stamped the ground, and he swung an arm, sending a fist smashing directly into that high city.