Chapter 877: An Overwhelming Number of Matters

Chapter 877: An Overwhelming Number of Matters

The old scholar quickly tucked the sunflower seeds into his sleeve and strode toward the two, but instead of speaking to his closed-door disciple first, he turned to Ning Yao and smiled, "Ning girl, putting up with such a restless fellow requires plenty of tolerance. If one day you truly feel wronged, don't bother about who's right or wrong. Never, ever think that you're being unreasonable or worry about making a mountain out of a molehill. Don't think about any of that. Just come straight to me and complain. As Chen Ping'an's teacher, I'll definitely scold him for you and won't take his side!"

Probably only when Ning Yao and Chen Ping'an argued would the old man not support his own student.

In human affairs, the difference between good and bad often comes down to just a few words, enough to reverse right and wrong entirely.

In the heat of anger, one says one or two harsh and hurtful words that shouldn't be spoken. On ordinary days, one fails to offer one or two comforting words of nonsense.

Because the closer people are, the easier it is to take each other's actions for granted, thinking everything should be understood without words.

As a result, precisely when you think the other person should understand everything, that's often when they understand nothing at all.

Ning Yao smiled and nodded, "Alright, when it comes to complaining, I'll learn a thing or two from someone."

Just like how everyone thought Ning Yao's talent for swordsmanship was too good, that she should undoubtedly be the undisputed number one in the Multicolored Sky Realm, that nothing she accomplished could surprise anyone.

She was the unquestioned pillar of Ascension City.

As time passed, Ning Yao would even be regarded as the next Chen Qingdu on the path of the sword.

The old scholar didn't see it that way at all.

The old man simply thought of the young lady Ning Yao as a young junior who wanted to complain but had no one to complain to.

Ning Yao first excused herself, saying she might need to go into seclusion for a couple of days.

On her cultivation path, she had gone into seclusion only a handful of times.

Only then did the old scholar take Chen Ping'an's hand and gently pat his closed-door disciple's wrist. He didn't say anything, just gave a slight smile and uttered a single word, "Hey."

He Shou, stationed at the Sword Qi Great Wall, had already sent word back to the Confucian Temple at the fastest speed about the five sword cultivators jointly challenging Holding Moon Mountain. So Mao Xiaodong quickly passed the message to his teacher.

Now, Mao Xiaodong served as the Vice Director of the Rites and Music Academy, second only to the academy's Grand Sacrificial Official. A big official!

Chen Ping'an didn't hide his exhaustion in front of his teacher, but his eyes remained bright as he smiled back with a "Hey."

Most people didn't know that in seal carving, the character "hey" was actually a variant of "silence."

The old scholar had once made a rather amusing mistake. In his early years, when he hadn't read many miscellaneous books and his knowledge beyond the sages' teachings was insufficient, he came across a beautifully printed seal collection in a bookshop. Seeing a seal carved with the character "hey," he mistakenly thought the academy head who had carved it was a very witty scholar. Later, when the old scholar had his own statue in the Confucian Temple, he went specially to visit that academy head, only to find a stern, unsmiling old stick-in-the-mud.

The old scholar pulled Chen Ping'an to sit on the long bench at the doorway, took out another handful of sunflower seeds, and divided half with Chen Ping'an. Between cracking seeds, he said, "Your teacher can't help much. I just visited Luopo Mountain, and by then everything was already safe and sound—I arrived after the fact. But I did meet Zheng Juzhong, and the matter of establishing a branch sect in Tongye Continent remains unchanged."

Chen Ping'an was greatly surprised and seemed about to speak but hesitated.

The old scholar said, "Being able to help with a small matter makes your teacher quite happy."

Chen Ping'an nodded and didn't say anything more.

The old scholar laughed, "That boy Dongshan, when he met Zheng Juzhong again this time, got the short end of the stick and was quite furious. At least now he looks a bit like a young lad. So he took the initiative to ask me to discuss something with you, his teacher. He wants to be the first sect leader of Luopo Mountain's branch sect, so you'll need to explain things to Cao Qinglang."

Earlier, on the dragon boat ferry returning from Zhengyang Mountain to Luopo Mountain, everyone had already settled on a plan: regardless of whether the second sect outside Luopo Mountain with its own ancestor hall was a "branch sect" with a sect title or a "descendant sect" without one at the Confucian Temple, Cao Qinglang would be the first sect leader or mountain lord. Mi Yu, Chong Qiu, Cui Wei, and Sui Youbian would settle there to cultivate. Cui Dongshan and Pei Qian were only going to help for a few years—the former mainly keeping an eye on their "neighbor" Golden Summit Temple and the Ten Thousand Demon Sect of Sanshan Blessed Land, while the latter handled social relations with Blue Tiger Palace and Pusang Thatched Cottage.

Chen Ping'an said, "Actually, this was my original intention. But when I first discussed it with Dongshan, seeing he had no interest in taking on the responsibility, I took a step back."

His earliest plan was to have Cui Dongshan, who was at the Immortal realm, serve as the branch sect's leader. This way, they wouldn't need to argue with anyone at the Confucian Temple in the Central Continent about the sect title—it would be more legitimate.

This would also be good for Cao Qinglang. He could first train by Cui Dongshan's side for a few years, gaining experience in worldly affairs, cultivation realms, and connections both on and off the mountains. When the time was right, Cao Qinglang would naturally become the second sect leader. Otherwise, Chen Ping'an worried he might be trying to make Cao Qinglang grow too fast. No matter how steady and resilient Cao Qinglang was, in Chen Ping'an's eyes as his teacher, he couldn't help but... feel protective. He always felt Cao Qinglang was too young to bear such a heavy burden so early. If he had to handle sect affairs, how would his studies fare? How could he travel and study with his friends in the future, seeing the world's beautiful landscapes?

But since Cui Dongshan hadn't wanted to at the time, Chen Ping'an naturally wouldn't pull rank as his teacher and force the issue.

Now that Cui Dongshan was willing to step up personally, everything else would fall into place.

As for Cao Qinglang, even though Chen Ping'an believed Cao Qinglang wouldn't overthink it, he would still explain things clearly. It would just take the time of one jug of wine and a few sentences.

After all, Luopo Mountain never had that bureaucratic custom of deliberately leaving words half-spoken for others to guess intentions—everything was laid out in the open.

The old scholar glanced at the spider on Chen Ping'an's shoulder and asked with some confusion, "And this fellow cultivator is?"

Chen Ping'an gave a rough explanation through heart-to-heart communication, then spoke aloud, "Xiao Mo, this is my teacher. You can reveal yourself here, no need to be too constrained."

A snow-white spider, originally the size of a copper coin, leaped forward from Chen Ping'an's shoulder. When it landed, it had transformed into that young man in linen clothes, yellow cap, and green shoes. Xiao Mo made a bow to the old scholar and said, "Xiao Mo greets the Literary Sage."

The old scholar had already stood up and nodded enthusiastically, "Joy descends from heaven, an auspicious sign for the human world—good things, good things."

Since his teacher had stood to welcome someone, Chen Ping'an had to follow suit.

This was a "Myriad" generation Flying Ascension realm peak sword cultivator.

While the old scholar was squinting at Xiao Mo with a smile, Xiao Mo was also appraising this thin, not very tall scholar.

Both were perfectly straightforward, looking each other directly in the eye without any sidestepping.

In Xiao Mo's view, compared to ordinary mountain cultivation practitioners, the old man before him was actually not that old in years; he just looked aged.

This indicated two things: this person had started cultivating late, and when he reached a high enough realm to undergo a complete transformation, he hadn't bothered to change his appearance.

Fellow Daoist Lu had mentioned that this young master's teacher was the Confucian Literary Sage—the fourth seat in the Confucian Temple.

It seemed his fighting abilities weren't particularly high, which meant his scholarship must be extraordinary.

Using a qi viewing technique, Xiao Mo understood the situation: the Literary Sage seemed to have merged with the geographical fortunes of three continents: Bodhi Continent, Tongye Continent, and Fuyao Continent.

No wonder he could be this young master's teacher.

It wasn't about the fourteenth realm cultivation, but the fact that the Literary Sage had specifically chosen these three continents—precisely those whose mountains and rivers had been shattered by the great war.

As for "fighting abilities not being particularly high," this was only "not high" in Xiao Mo's eyes, specifically referring to killing power.

After all, among his contemporary cultivators, Xiao Mo had dealt with sword cultivators like Chen Qingdu, Dragon Lord, and Yuan Xiang, who was close to the Martial Ancestor.

But there had also been a genuine scholar who left a deep impression on Xiao Mo—one of the First Sage's beloved disciples, tall with a high crown and headpiece, broad-shouldered, and extremely skilled in swordsmanship.

The old scholar said, "Brother Xiao Mo, if you ever encounter stubborn scoundrels who won't let things go, just use my name. If that doesn't work, then bring up your position as Retainer of Luopo Mountain."

Regarding this ancient barbarian sword cultivator, it wasn't yet appropriate to register him at the Confucian Temple or announce him to the world through landscape gazettes.

The old scholar just needed to greet the Sub-Sage and the three chief and deputy heads of the Confucian Temple later. Actually, this matter wasn't difficult at all. This Xiao Mo had slept in the bright moon for ten thousand years and had just awakened. He hadn't been involved at all in the ten thousand years of enmity between the two worlds. His background was perfectly clean. The old scholar had already prepared his wording for how to claim merits from the Confucian Temple.

For example, regarding the branch sect's inauguration ceremony—wouldn't it be improper for our Confucian Temple not to send two heads to show up and offer congratulations? If they sent two deputies, wouldn't it be better to send one chief and one deputy? Isn't that the logic...

Xiao Mo first nodded, then bowed again, "Forgive me, but I dare not interact with Literary Sage on equal footing. My master once reminded me that upon arriving in the Grand Harmony World, I must follow local customs, observe rules and regulations, and not disrupt proper etiquette."

"Secondly, I am not currently a Retainer of Luopo Mountain. I am merely a devoted guard by my master's side."

"Finally, today I have met the Literary Sage—a man of profound learning who is nonetheless approachable. I consider this a great honor."

The old scholar suppressed a smile and glanced at his closed-door disciple standing nearby.

Where on earth did he find such a polite, proper treasure? One might almost mistake him for a virtuous gentleman from an academy or school.

Chen Ping'an immediately understood and smiled at Xiao Mo, "My teacher's words naturally carry more weight than his student's. Xiao Mo, this is also a form of following local customs—one must observe precedence. Since my teacher says you are a Retainer, then from this moment on, you are a registered retainer of Luopo Mountain. If my teacher wishes to address you as a brother, you may accept it openly."

The old scholar stroked his beard and smiled. His heart felt warm, like warming a pot of yellow wine in winter, adding two eggs and some ginger, and sitting around a stove.

Of course, what was most gratifying and joyous was the word "around." Sitting alone was just sitting alone; at least two or three people were needed for it to be called "sitting around a stove."

Xiao Mo seemed troubled.

At the Sword Qi Great Wall, he had hit it off with Fellow Daoist Lu, who told him that this young master had three unshakable habits. Since childhood, he had respected his teachers and valued the Way, which was why elders favored him. He enjoyed playing the part of a charitable benefactor, so he had friends everywhere.

Lastly, he liked keeping accounts. Fellow Daoist Lu had stated categorically that if Xiao Mo didn't believe it, once they arrived at the Great Li Capital and saw the young master's first disciple with their own eyes, they'd understand everything clearly.

There were two long benches by the entrance. The old scholar gestured for Xiao Mo to sit. "Brother Xiao Mo, let's sit and talk."

Chen Ping'an said, "Teacher, how about finding somewhere to have a drink?"

The old scholar looked concerned. "Can you drink?"

Chen Ping'an smiled. "My realm follows the wine—the more I drink, the more I have."

The old scholar made a sound of agreement. "Then let's go to the Parrot Pavilion. It's nearby."

If Brother Xiao Mo weren't present, the old scholar would have taken his closed-door disciple straight to the Fire God Temple to drink with Aunt Feng. There was a flower shed there, a nice shady spot.

Bumming drinks? The old scholar dared to put his hand on his heart and say that neither he nor his closed-door disciple was that kind of person. If anyone dared to say otherwise, let them step forward—the old scholar would return all the drinks.

As they walked toward that alley, at the mountain-and-river cultivation ground inside the alley's entrance, the old cultivator Liu Jia was drinking with his disciple Zhao Duanming.

Spotting the three approaching from outside the alley, Liu Jia immediately withdrew his cultivation ground's restrictions, first clasped his fist in greeting to the Literary Sage—the old cultivator had gotten quite familiar with the old scholar recently.

Chen Ping'an introduced, "This is Xiao Mo, with the character for 'strange.' He's a Retainer of Luopo Mountain."

Liu Jia nodded sternly, giving them passage. If he kept stupidly stopping everyone who came by, he might as well share Chen Ping'an's surname.

The old cultivator hesitated, then couldn't help but ask through heart-to-heart communication: "Mountain Lord Chen?"

Chen Ping'an immediately stopped. "Something on your mind?"

The old cultivator seemed to find it hard to speak, but steeled himself and asked, "There won't be any more out-of-towners passing through here recently, will there?"

At least give me some breathing room.

Chen Ping'an smiled. "How can I guarantee something like that? Other people's legs aren't attached to me. I'll be leaving the capital soon anyway."

Liu Jia breathed a sigh of relief.

The old cultivator looked at the young man in the yellow cap and green shoes.

Xiao Mo immediately smiled and nodded toward Liu Jia.

Chen Ping'an communicated through heart-to-heart: "After I leave, Immortal Master Liu, remember to clean Senior Brother Cui's residence."

It was a reminder that once he left the Great Li Capital, the old cultivator could go there to "pick up books."

Regarding the Thunder Method, Chen Ping'an couldn't claim to be an expert now—he was still far from reaching its peak. But in terms of having entered the hall, Chen Ping'an felt he had achieved it.

Take the Thunder Formation, for example, which he had observed at the Old Dragon City battlefield site, then repeatedly performed at Holding Moon Mountain until he became proficient. His skill was not low.

Liu Jia's face reddened slightly, then he asked with confusion, "Mountain Lord Chen has already compiled a book on the Thunder Method? Did you happen to meet a noble of purple and yellow from Celestial Master Mansion on this journey? Can the world really be such a coincidence?"

According to their previous agreement, this Mountain Lord Chen would have to travel to the Central Divine Continent, visit Celestial Master Mansion at Dragon Tiger Mountain, see his friend, borrow books to read, and only then might he piece together a decent Thunder Method manual. Then this book would accidentally be left behind in the Parrot Pavilion, Liu Jia would accidentally find it, flip through a few pages, and teach the method to his disciple who had been struck by lightning several times. Liu Jia had even thought of a reason—one day, drunk, he had sleepwalked into the ancient Thunder Ministry, where a divine being taught him the Thunder Method.

The more Liu Jia thought about it, the more something felt off. Being a straightforward person, he said bluntly, "Chen Ping'an, don't tell me you've changed your mind halfway, found it too troublesome to borrow the Thunder Method manual at Dragon Tiger Mountain, but couldn't save face, so you're just going to fob me off with some casual mountain Thunder Method mantras? That simply won't do. I don't understand the Thunder Method at all. I'd rather not teach Duanming anything than lead him down the wrong path!"

Chen Ping'an explained, "Don't worry. This Thunder Method manual I've written myself is of decent quality and won't mislead anyone. Zhao Duanming just needs to cultivate step by step, and there won't be any mistakes. If there's even the slightest flaw, Immortal Master Liu, come straight to Luopo Mountain's gates and curse me out."

Liu Jia sputtered with laughter. "Fine, Chen Ping'an, you're messing with me. How could you possibly have developed a profound Thunder Method in such a short time? Let's forget about it—pretend this never happened. You don't need to feel embarrassed. And cursing at someone's gates is something I wouldn't do anyway."

Do you take yourself for a noble of purple and yellow from Celestial Master Mansion? Or a great celestial master from outside the Dragon Tiger Mountain clan?

Chen Ping'an was momentarily dazed. Indeed, he had only traveled to the Barbarian World. Thanks to Ritual Sage helping him make the round trip and Lu Chen's Three Mountain Talismans over there, the actual time hadn't been long. But when he thought back, it felt like a lifetime ago. Two versions of himself in two worlds—one had crossed half the Barbarian World, the other had traveled from north to south through Vase Continent. On those two journeys, he had encountered too many people and experienced too many things.

Xiao Mo suddenly spoke up. "My master has extremely profound attainments in the Thunder Method."

Liu Jia was stunned for a moment. Because his disciple was present, he had been communicating with Chen Ping'an through heart-to-heart.

Chen Ping'an smiled. "There's no hurry anyway. After I've traveled to Dragon Tiger Mountain in the Central Divine Continent, I'll divide the book into upper and lower volumes. Immortal Master Liu can choose then."

Liu Jia nodded. "Mountain Lord Chen is still steady and reliable in how he handles things."

The matter was settled.

As they approached the residence, Xiao Mo communicated through heart-to-heart: "Master, this cultivator doesn't know his place at all."

Chen Ping'an smiled. "Teachers and masters under heaven are generally the same—they inevitably fret and worry. It's beyond reason."

The old scholar stroked his beard and smiled. "Indeed."

At the alley entrance, the young disciple suddenly said, "Teacher, Mr. Chen seems like a different person."

Liu Jia turned to look at the green-robed sword immortal and shook his head—he didn't think so.

Once inside the library, they sat around the small courtyard's stone table. Chen Ping'an took out three jugs of wine and three flower-spirit cups.

Xiao Mo stood to receive the wine jug and cups, then sat down. Suddenly remembering something, he said, "That female sword immortal named Lu Zhi has a very heavy killing aura. The way she looked at me was somewhat... piercing."

Chen Ping'an said, "Lu Zhi wasn't targeting you specifically; that's just her temperament. She and I are actually the same, both outsiders in a strict sense. But she long ago made the Sword Qi Great Wall her home. When Lu Zhi eventually breaks through to the Flying Ascension realm, she'll become one of the most lethal Flying Ascension cultivators. Her killing aura will only grow stronger."

If Lu Zhi could fully refine her destined flying sword "Northern Dipper" and carefully refine the eight long swords stored in that sword box, then Lu Zhi, who excelled at offense but was weak in defense, would become balanced in both attack and defense.

Similar to how talismans worked for Xuan, the great celestial master of Dragon Tiger Mountain, or Fiery Dragon True Man.

In the future, Lu Zhi's sword achievements might actually surpass Qi Tingji's.

Of course, this wasn't a certainty. But even having just that possibility was already quite remarkable.

Xiao Mo spoke openly, "Master, in addition to being a sword cultivator, according to current Grand Harmony World mountain terminology, I could also be considered a formation master. Beyond that, the only thing worth mentioning is that I'm fairly skilled at weaving dharma robes. Other than that, I have no particular merits worth noting."

A sword cultivator. A formation master. A weaver of dharma robes. Being proficient in even one of these would make one a hot commodity as a mountain retainer or guest elder.

The old scholar let out an "Oh?"—the phrasing sounded very familiar. After a moment's thought, he suddenly understood: this was the unique technique he himself used to find drinks.

Xiao Mo raised one hand and opened his palm, revealing a collection of green bamboo tubes of varying thicknesses, looking delicate and cute. There were fifty or sixty of them. Some contained "bolts of fabric" several tens of feet or even hundreds of feet long, rolled up inside a single tube. More were already formed dharma robes, shrunken and stored within one of the green bamboo tubes.

Xiao Mo said, "According to the customs of the mountains in Grand Harmony World, when someone pays respects to a mountain sect, they should bring a meeting gift. I would like to ask my master to help distribute these. As a devoted guard, I shouldn't act too ostentatiously, lest those with ulterior motives find clues. These dharma robes were casually woven during the long years when I was bored before the Bright Moon fell into slumber. So their quality isn't particularly high. According to current mountain rankings, they can't even be considered half-immortal weapons."

Before the Bright Moon had fallen into a deep slumber, Xiao Mo had left six cave lineages in the Barbarian World. Based on his master's previous calculations, only one cave lineage in the southern part of the Barbarian World still bore the "sect" character as a legacy of the ten-thousand-year-old lineage. The others had either dissipated over the long years or had changed beyond recognition. For instance, several weaving techniques used by Golden Emerald City clearly originated from Xiao Mo. This didn't mean Golden Emerald City was Xiao Mo's lineage—it was likely that one of those cave lineages had been absorbed by Golden Emerald City. For the Barbarian World's lineages, this effectively meant they no longer had any connection to Xiao Mo's lineage.

The old scholar took a sip of his wine with a slurp and didn't interrupt.

Chen Ping'an said with some resignation, "Did Lu Chen teach you this too? Is it about having a 'door-knocking brick' in hand when paying respects to a mountain?"

Xiao Mo smiled. "Master's calculations are impeccable."

There were probably enough dharma robes among the direct disciples and retainers of Luopo Mountain for everyone to have one.

As for the standard dharma robes woven by the female cultivators of Colored Sparrow Manor, they weren't really suitable for Luopo Mountain cultivators to wear.

But that didn't mean Chen Ping'an could accept such a generous gift with peace of mind. So he directly refused, "Xiao Mo, once you've fulfilled your agreement and can leave Luopo Mountain, if you still want to give them then, I won't stop you. Until then, let's not discuss this."

Xiao Mo had no choice but to turn to the old scholar.

The old scholar smiled. "Xiao Mo, on this matter, listen to your master. The Grand Harmony World has its own rules, and different mountain sects have their own customs. Not everything is so rigid."

Xiao Mo turned his palm over and put away the bamboo tubes containing the dharma robes.

The second ancestral hall meeting at Ji Se Peak was the celebration of Luopo Mountain's formal establishment as a sect.

At that time, there were forty-three registered members of the ancestral hall, plus thirty-six guests.

After the celebration ended, Chen Ping'an took advantage of the momentum to add another group of guest elders.

From Southern Bodhi Continent's Dragon Elephant Sword Sect: Shao Yunyan, Drunken Face Lady.

Old True Man Huan Yun, serving as a retainer in Cloud City. Female sword immortal Xie Songhua from White Snow Continent. Golden Crow Palace's Nascent Soul sword cultivator Liu Zhiqing.

Now, True Mirror Sect's second seat retainer, Li Fuqu. Snow Wind Temple's great sword immortal Wei Jin. Finger Peak's Yuan Lingdian.

And from Floating Lotus Sword Lake, a sword cultivator nicknamed "Little Hidden Officer," Chen Li.

At the Confucian Temple, Luopo Mountain had taken on a new retainer: old sword cultivator Yu Yue. In recent days, the old man had been staying at Luopo Mountain. Whether he could entice one or two sword immortal seedlings depended on his own skills and those children's individual fates.

At the Sword Qi Great Wall, another had been added: Cao Jun.

There was a saying in the mountains.

The number of retainers and the height of their realms indicated the depth of an immortal sect's foundation.

As for guest elders, they spoke volumes about how wide the path leading to a sect's ancestral hall truly was.

The old scholar began to discuss serious matters. "Ping'an, have you ever considered something? Among the demon cultivators, especially those as ancient as Xiao Mo who have lived for ten thousand or several thousand years—far more than could be counted on two hands—many have long been at the Flying Ascension realm, even its peak. So why, aside from that great demon who went by the alias Lu Fayuan, has not a single great demon successfully broken through to the fourteenth realm?"

Having said this, the old scholar had already raised his wine cup. "Brother Xiao Mo, I'm just discussing the matter. Please don't take offense. Let me drink a cup as self-punishment..."

Xiao Mo immediately held his cup with both hands, leaning forward with sincere expression and earnest words, "Literary Sage speaks directly. Straightforward people speak plainly—it means you already consider me half your own. Whether it's a cup or a larger bowl, in this world, there are only drinks that are downed in one gulp. At the wine table, there are no roundabout words. Say no more—I'll down one first. Literary Sage, drink as you please."

Xiao Mo tilted his head back, and the cup was empty.

Chen Ping'an felt somewhat helpless.

Where had he learned all this worldly wisdom and wine-table etiquette?

Had he overdone it by reminding Xiao Mo to follow local customs?

The old scholar poured himself another full cup. "Just for Brother Xiao Mo's thoughtfulness, I must drink another."

Chen Ping'an reminded him, "Teacher, this is our own wine. Drink slowly."

He was reminding his teacher that since it was their own wine, even if he drank a whole jug as self-punishment, he wouldn't be taking advantage of anyone.

Only when drinking someone else's wine did the speed and quantity matter as a skill.

But the real reason was that both his teacher and Chen Ping'an himself probably shouldn't drink too much or too fast at the moment.

The old scholar tugged at his beard with some chagrin.

Chen Ping'an suddenly said quietly, "Aunt Feng seems to still have about a hundred jars of Hundred Flower Brew."

The old scholar slapped his thigh. "Before leaving Vase Continent, I must say goodbye to Senior Feng."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "I'll go with you, Teacher."

The old scholar continued, "Although it's true that merging with the Dao is extremely difficult—and Xiao Mo and others needing to hibernate to heal their wounds is also true—could it be that those former War Throne demon cultivators lack talent in cultivation?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. The eldest disciple of the Holding Moon Mountain Grand Patriarch, Yuan Xiong, had excellent cultivation aptitude.

The innate advantage of a demon's true form also brought a subsequent advantage: there existed a threshold between the two—the ability to cultivate.

For demons climbing the mountain of cultivation, entry was far harder than for humans. But once they succeeded in refining their form, at the same realm, a demon cultivator's lifespan would far exceed a human's.

It was like some kind of karmic compensation from the Way.

Xiao Mo set down his cup and said quietly, "It's Bai Ze."

The old scholar nodded with a sigh. "That's right. It's because of Brother Bai's existence."

Bai Ze possessed the true names of all demon cultivators under heaven. This was Bai Ze's innate divine ability. Without needing to be told, as long as a demon succeeded in refining their form and acquired a true name, it would be "recorded" in Bai Ze's register.

The old scholar glanced at Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo smiled. "We couldn't defeat him in battle, and we couldn't take it from him by force. We've long since accepted our fate. It wasn't just me—all my contemporaries who chose to hibernate to heal their wounds felt the same."

Actually, Xiao Mo had fought Bai Ze—twice.

Once because he thought Bai Ze didn't look like someone who could fight.

The second time was after learning Bai Ze was planning to help that Little Master cast a great cauldron at the peak of Grand Harmony Mountain, to engrave countless demon true names.

That was why Xiao Mo had made that journey to the Bright Moon.

The old scholar revealed the heavenly secret in a single sentence, "Actually, Bai Ze himself is also in a difficult position. The matter of true names isn't something he can simply return to anyone whenever he wants."

This was probably the one thing in Bai Ze's cultivation path that could be called a great lack of freedom.

This meant the Grand Harmony World and the Central Confucian Temple were equally caught in a dilemma.

If Bai Ze died.

The Flying Ascension great demons of the Barbarian World would lose a barrier. Bai Ze's very existence was like an insurmountable chasm for all Flying Ascension great demons under heaven. They needed to gain some kind of recognition from the Way before later great demons could ascend to the fourteenth realm. Once Bai Ze perished in both body and Dao, it would be like losing some kind of prohibition of the Way.

If Bai Ze didn't die, and the two worlds attacked each other in brutal warfare, the more severely the Barbarian demon clan suffered casualties, the closer Bai Ze's realm would approach the fifteenth realm. Bai Ze's combat power would become an unprecedented and never-to-be-repeated fourteenth realm.

Simply put, at that point, Bai Ze's killing power would be so great that he could be regarded as a Chen Qingdu unrestricted by the Sword Qi Great Wall.

The old scholar turned to Xiao Mo. "Xiao Mo, the Grand Harmony World isn't like your homeland. The current age is not like it was ten thousand years ago. Having you follow local customs might be a bit uncomfortable at first, but I believe you'll grow more accustomed and at ease over time."

Xiao Mo nodded. "I've just arrived in Grand Harmony. I haven't seen many people or events yet. I may not believe that the world after ten thousand years will necessarily be much better than before, but I'm willing to trust my master and the Literary Sage."

The old scholar was very gratified. Brother Xiao Mo was so reasonable—it would be a shame if he didn't go to Luopo Mountain.

Chen Ping'an drank his wine slowly.

In the capital, besides that personal grudge, he also needed to drink with Guan Yiran.

And visit a book market with Cao Qinglang's examination peer—a young Honglu Temple official named Xun Qu.

He might also need to visit Su Gaoshan's residence in the capital. It wasn't necessarily about seeing anyone in particular or saying or doing anything specific.

Then he would bid farewell to his teacher, take Ning Yao, Pei Qian, and Cao Qinglang southward back to Luopo Mountain. He also needed to stop by Yang's Shop.

According to Little Mili, Zhang Shanfeng, seeing he wasn't on the mountain, had gone to find Xu Yuanxia first, saying he'd wait for him there.

So before going to Tongye Continent, Chen Ping'an would go directly to Qingyuan Commandery's Fairy Roaming County for a drink.

Back at Luopo Mountain, the old sword cultivator Yu Yue had been waiting for him all along, as Yu Yue was selecting sword seedlings to take as disciples. According to Little Mili, this matter had made some headway.

Chen Ping'an wouldn't feel disappointed about this. However many of those nine sword immortal seedlings ended up staying at Luopo Mountain to cultivate—that was a matter of fate.

After that came selecting a site and establishing the sect in Tongye Continent. The group could just take the "Wind Kite," the ferry presented by the Xuanmi Dynasty, on a cross-continent journey, testing out a relatively safe trade route for the ferry.

Upon reaching Tongye Continent, Chen Ping'an would also need to visit the Great Spring Dynasty to see Old General Yao.

After the branch sect matters were settled, he had originally planned to invite Liu Jinglong to tour the Central Divine Continent together. But now, due to his realm dropping, this would certainly be delayed for some time. Chen Ping'an would also, beyond refining his major life-bound objects, begin true seclusion as a cultivator, forging all his learning into one furnace, striving to re-enter the Jade Abyss realm before going to Taiwei Sword Sect to find Liu Jinglong.

Actually, the trivial matters, big and small, were numerous as cow hairs.

But none of them were particularly difficult to handle.

At the table by Luopo Mountain's entrance, after the old scholar and Zheng Juzhong had left.

The great white goose, the blue-robed child, and the black-clothed little girl looked at each other.

Chen Lingjun wasn't stupid. Seeing how polite the Literary Sage had been to that person earlier, he immediately knew he had probably messed up again.

Chen Lingjun hung his head, looking somewhat dejected and listless. "Why, before leaving, did that person say something so baffling about his teacher being honored by the association?"

Little Mili grinned. "Mr. Zheng was just being polite with Jingqing, isn't that obvious?"

Sigh, Jingqing still didn't have a very bright mind.

She'd been thinking of recommending Jingqing to join some martial arts sect—specifically the very secretive, high-threshold Bamboo Tower lineage.

She'd already mentioned it twice, but Nuan Shu sister always refused, and Pei Qian's attitude was ambiguous, so it had been put off.

Chen Lingjun communicated heart-to-heart with Cui Dongshan. "Who was that person? You must know his identity—give me a hint?"

So Little Mili wouldn't be scared.

But Cui Dongshan seemed distracted and waved his hand. "You don't need to know. Just know his surname is Zheng."

The old scholar was still very formidable.

Only he could make both Bai Ze and then Zheng Juzhong change their minds.

To do him a favor.

But Cui Dongshan felt uneasy inside.

Chen Lingjun lifted one sleeve and wiped the tabletop, saying aggrievedly, "What good does knowing his surname is Zheng do? It's definitely not Zheng Juzhong."

Cui Dongshan rolled his eyes.

Chen Lingjun didn't feel like thinking about it anymore. It was all in the past anyway. He grinned. "Brother Cui, what are you thinking about?"

Cui Dongshan said, "I'm thinking about the branch sect's name."

Chen Lingjun lightly slapped the table. "That's improper! Our master is the best at naming things. Why are you butting in? Do you think you're the branch sect's leader?"

Cui Dongshan nodded seriously. "I am."

Chen Lingjun laughed heartily. "Little Mili, don't you think that's a funny joke?"

Little Mili scratched her face and said nothing.

Cui Dongshan suddenly felt much better. His master had made that journey through the Barbarian World and accomplished so many things.

Things would become different. Very different.

Even though he had fallen heavily in realm, that didn't matter. What fell was only the realm; what surged was his Dao heart.

Cui Dongshan didn't need to go to the Great Li Capital to see his master to imagine how things were now.

The master before.

You could try.

The master now.

You'd better speak to him nicely.