Chapter 898: The Future
"Before meeting the Hidden Official, I was curious—what sort of extraordinary man could be worthy of Sword Immortal Ning, the number one woman under heaven? Even in front of my sworn brother Zhong, I bluntly expressed my doubts, and not just once or twice. Only after seeing them today did I understand what is meant by 'a match made in heaven, tied by the Old Man Under the Moon, an immortal couple!'"
"After meeting Sword Immortal Ning, I realized that all women under heaven are but common beauties. After laying eyes on the Hidden Official himself, I came to know what it means to be 'young and accomplished.' I have wasted my years, lived a long life in vain—it might as well have been lived by a dog."
"Ah, right, Mountain Master Chen, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Su Gu—'Gu' as in 'lonely and alone.' My Dao name is Gusu, but it's also 'Gu' as in 'gossipy aunties.' My temperament aligns with Brother Zhong's; we hit it off at first sight. To be honest, the reason I was able to become sworn brothers with Zhong Kui and travel together in Tongyezhou—say what you will—ultimately, I have to thank Sword Immortal Ning for making the connection."
Zhong Kui looked at the fat man, whose expression was sincere and words earnest, and felt a bit sorry for him.
Not all of it was a lie. Gusu had indeed repeatedly questioned Chen Ping'an, saying things like 'this fellow is definitely a playboy with a roving eye, and he has a bad stomach—can't handle any roughage. He's read a few sage books, only learned the bad, not the good, and is anything but a gentleman. He's good with sweet talk. Most likely, Ning Yao's talent is too great, so she doesn't know the dangers of the mundane world. She grew up on the Sword Qi Great Wall, so she's probably a naive little girl unfamiliar with worldly affairs. Then an outsider, a scholar, came and stole her away from the entire Sword Qi Great Wall, bewitching her with glib words.' Stories like this are common in romance and immortal tales, aren't they?
But the reason the fat man was so well-behaved now, so flattering and ingratiating, was naturally his fear of Ning Yao, who was currently nowhere to be seen.
All ghostly beings under heaven, besides fearing thunder magic and the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Heavenly Masters of the yellow and purple nobility, also feared those great cultivators with abundant qi fortune, because they would be naturally suppressed and overpowered.
Cui Dongshan flicked his sleeves. This was very much in the style of Fallen Mountain.
This family tradition of theirs was truly a strange affair.
Counting on his fingers, it seemed that only the Old Observatory Master and Zheng Juzhong, as Fourteen Realms cultivators, could avoid it?
This ghost, originally a human emperor, had been one of Zhou Mi's hidden agents left behind in the Haoran World. His pieces had been laid out long ago, but after Zhou Mi ascended and departed, it was like his qi fortune was withdrawn. He was quickly discovered by Ning Yao, who had soared with her sword to the Haoran World, and then intercepted and pursued by the Literary Academy at sea.
But a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. Since he had fallen from the Flying Ascension Realm to the Immortal Realm, he couldn't be treated as an ordinary immortal. It was like Jiang Shangzhen—how many immortals in today's Haoran World dared claim to be his match? For example, the aloof and proud Great Sword Immortal Xu Xie, who was at Qushan Ford, living day and night with Wang Ji of the Yigui Sect. When speaking of the old sect leader Jiang Shangzhen, Xu Xie could only say he dared to challenge him with a sword, but he never believed he could defeat Jiang Shangzhen.
Under normal circumstances, this ghost was practically unrivaled in Tongyezhou, which was severely lacking in top-tier combat strength.
That sea tomb, with its floating grave, was beyond the reach of heaven and earth, which was why it had remained hidden for so long. If a wandering Night Voyage Ship were like a mosquito in a grand mansion, darting about and occasionally making noise, then this fat man's cultivation site was like a gecko clinging to a corner, motionless, making it even harder for the Literary Academy to detect its traces.
Probably because one doesn't strike a smiling face.
Looking at the young Hidden Official with his faint smile, the fat man felt reassured. He had only shown off a minor technique of official cultivation, and he had passed the test easily.
Ha.
After all, the young man liked this kind of superficial flattery. He valued face and couldn't resist praise.
The fat man probed, "Mountain Master Chen, where is Sword Immortal Ning? By rights and reason, I ought to thank her in person."
He held back, not following Zhong Kui's example of directly calling Ning Yao "sister-in-law."
Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "She has already returned to the Multicolored World."
The fat man feigned regret, rubbing his hands lightly. His demeanor shifted somewhat. Although he kept his head lowered, his back straightened a bit.
So that meant Chen Ping'an currently had no Flying Ascension Realm sword cultivator by his side, right?
Don't let the fat man's oily tongue and flattering words fool you into thinking he was just an uneducated street loafer. There was one thing he had judged correctly.
If Chen Ping'an had burst onto the scene like "Sword Immortal Xu Jun" of the Golden Armor Continent, the fat man would never have followed Zhong Kui to the Immortal Capital Mountain. He would have stayed far away, waiting for Zhong Kui to finish the branch sect celebration before continuing their travels.
But since Chen Ping'an was still in the Jade Purity Realm a few years ago, no matter what spine-chilling feats he had accomplished in the Desolate World, the fat man was certain of one thing: Chen Ping'an was definitely not a Fourteen Realm cultivator. As for how he had managed to break the highest city in the human world, tussle with Crimson Consort over dragging the Eluo River, and even split Tuoyue Mountain with his sword, slaying a Flying Ascension Realm peak great demon sword cultivator... It didn't matter. The fat man would still cling to one truth: Chen Ping'an, who had taken a shortcut, was like a "robber who stole heaven's merits for himself." Once the young Hidden Official returned to Haoran, forget about Fourteen Realm—if he could even keep his Golden Core Realm, that would be a blessing from heaven.
The fat man's idea was deduced solely from fragments of conversation he had with Zhong Kui. In Zhong Kui's view, there was actually nothing wrong with it; it might even be the truth.
The fat man suddenly noticed that the young cultivator in the yellow hat and blue robe had that faint, knowing smile again.
I have cultivated for three thousand years, a pity and a wonder to have no equal.
If it weren't for the fact that Lady Dandan was truly too unsightly—couldn't even bear to look at her with the lights off—the Greenwater Pit would have long since changed masters.
Chen Ping'an turned his head and smiled, "Xiao Mo, entertain our distinguished guest properly."
Xiao Mo nodded. "Rest assured, young master."
Only two kinds of guests were considered distinguished.
One was personally welcomed by the young master. The other was someone who could sit down and crack sunflower seeds.
Zhong Kui glanced at the fat man. You're on your own.
On the way here, Gusu had confidently declared that he would test the depths of this mist-shrouded Immortal Capital Mountain. If the other side's cultivator fought one-on-one, no worries. As a senior on the mountain, he would teach them that 'there's always a higher mountain,' so that the youngsters wouldn't get cocky after establishing a branch sect, looking down on the heroes of the world and suffering greatly for it.
But if the other side didn't follow martial ethics and ganged up on him, then Zhong Kui would need to stop the fight. Otherwise, Gusu might get carried away and hurt Chen Ping'an's underlings, making them attend the celebration with injuries—that wouldn't look good.
Chen Ping'an took Zhong Kui aside to go for a walk alone.
Everything is hard at the start. In the early stages of establishing a new sect, many array secrets were involved, making it unsuitable to hire mountain craftsmen or mechanism masters. The "founding elders" had to do it themselves. At the moment, there were over two hundred talisman force servants and mechanism puppets bustling about the ferry and the mountain. Their ranks were not high, far below the Rain Workers, Porters, and Fish Catchers on the ship, but they were more than adequate for manual labor. The "overseers" responsible for controlling the puppets and directing the force servants were three exiled cultivators from the Shuyi Tower of the Yuzhi Hill. They were not old, just over a hundred, with realms at two in the Viewing Sea Realm and one in the Cave Abode Realm. For now, they were unregistered guest elders of Immortal Capital Mountain.
Just as Zhong Kui reached out his hand, Chen Ping'an had already handed him a jug of wine.
Zhong Kui removed the red paper seal, lowered his head to sniff it, praised it as good wine, and asked with a smile, "Did you fall in realm over at Tuoyue Mountain?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "I guess you could say it was a give-and-take. Fortunately, my martial arts realm didn't drop too much—just from Returning to Truth Layer back to Vigorous Qi Layer. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare step out the door."
Zhong Kui turned his head, jerking his chin towards Xiao Mo, "With a guardian like him by your side, what's there to fear? If it were me traveling around, I'd swagger about like I owned the place, like a bodyguard showing my flag and shouting 'I'm here!' as I went."
Chen Ping'an asked doubtfully, "Can you see Xiao Mo's realm and cultivation?"
"Mr. Xiao Mo suppresses his realm cleverly."
Zhong Kui shook his head with a smile, speaking through heart words: "I can only see some long-standing causal entanglements, enough to roughly piece together the truth. For example, his Dao age is ancient, he comes from the Desolate World, and he is a sword cultivator. The souls that have died by Mr. Xiao Mo's sword—many of them Earth Immortals—are still not freed. So naturally, he is a Flying Ascension Realm senior with many stories."
Mortals and mountain cultivators see the world entirely differently. And qi observers differ from ordinary cultivators as heaven differs from earth.
The two sat on a piece of immortal wood as thick as a well opening. Chen Ping'an took a wooden box from his sleeve and handed it to Zhong Kui. "I've wanted to give this to you for a long time. I got it years ago, but we never had the chance to meet."
It was a set of four Heavenly Master ghost-slaying coins, a premium item he had bought at the Qingfu Workshop on the Dilongshan Ferry.
Zhong Kui took it and opened the box directly. "Oh, nice stuff. Must have cost you a pretty penny."
Chen Ping'an didn't mince words and quoted the price. "Not cheap—five Guyu Coins."
Zhong Kui exclaimed, "How many jars of five-year-aged green plum wine and whole roast lambs could that buy? Even I, who used to be a bookkeeper, can't calculate that."
Chen Ping'an said out of the blue, "I learned how to be a bookkeeper from you."
Zhong Kui grinned. "Didn't feel too good, did it."
Zhong Kui had been to the Book-Splitting Lake, but at the time, Chen Ping'an was exhausted and sleeping on the ground, so Zhong Kui hadn't disturbed him.
Chen Ping'an let it go with a smile.
Zhong Kui took a sip of wine and remarked that the three Confucian academies in Tongyezhou in the old days—he actually had quite a few friends among them.
Teachers, classmates, friends—old acquaintances were like trees in the courtyard; the autumn wind comes, and day by day they dwindle.
Chen Ping'an said, "I heard Ninth Lady went to the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Heavenly Master Mansion. Did you see her when she returned home this time?"
Zhong Kui rolled his eyes. "You're really poking at a sore spot."
After a moment of silence, Zhong Kui couldn't help but sigh. Resting his chin on his palm, he said, "What would I say if I went? I haven't even figured it out yet. Besides, I might get the door slammed in my face. I'll think about it later."
In truth, the biggest knot in his heart was that the Celestial Fox Ninth Lady, now cultivating at the Dragon and Tiger Mountain, didn't seem to be the same innkeeper she once was, in Zhong Kui's eyes.
Back when he was ordered to go to the Western Buddhist Kingdom along with the heroic spirit Gao Cheng, he had once asked a highly respected Buddhist dragon-elephant two questions: If I am reborn as a human, am I still me? Even if I later awaken and regain my memories of past lives, who is the real me? Who is the older and who is the younger?
Chen Ping'an roughly guessed the conflict in Zhong Kui's heart and didn't press further. Some dilemmas weren't solely caused by the party involved being confused while the bystanders saw clearly. It might also be that the party involved had thought it through too thoroughly.
Zhong Kui began to change the subject. "Thanks to you, I got to see Wuti of the Immortal Hairpin City. He and his master Qiong'ou have been hiding in the underworld, because those two Flying Ascension Realm ghosts are extremely cautious over there—pretty much like the mountain and marsh wild cultivators on this side. Even though they were in the Flying Ascension Realm, they still didn't expand their forces, refused to gather ghost soldiers and become a warlord, and had unique means to conceal their aura. They just slowly devoured clear spiritual energy. The underworld authorities are quite troubled by them, though they're not exactly thorns in their side. But leaving them be forever is unseemly and could be seen as negligence."
"So when I met Wuti, I appealed to his emotions and reason, calling him 'senior' this and that. I finally persuaded him and helped him secure an official position. Before we parted—"
"Not long ago, I heard that Senior Wuti quickly... pulled up the radish and brought out the mud. He's had some small gains. If nothing unexpected happens, Senior Wuti is probably busy looking for his master right now."
Chen Ping'an asked through heart words: "And the founding master of Immortal Hairpin City, Gui Lingxiang?"
Zhong Kui shook his head. "I checked two archives after meeting Wuti. No clues at all. There's one more place I can't go yet. I'll find another opportunity to see if I can browse the registers there."
Chen Ping'an then asked about the "Green Register." Being listed on the Green Register was roughly equivalent to what later tales called 'being ranked among the immortals.'
For instance, when the Old Observatory Master had previously followed the Dao Ancestor on a tour of the town and voluntarily visited Fallen Mountain, the rare Daoist scroll he presented as a gift was, in ancient times, of the sort 'not to be taught to those not named on the Immortal Green Register.'
In fact, the separation of the living and the dead was the true meaning of 'well water not interfering with river water.'
Just as Chen Ping'an had traveled through the landscapes of three continents, pure martial artists and qi refiners, registered immortal masters and mountain and marsh wild cultivators—their relationships were complex and fraught with conflict. However, there were almost no instances of qi refiners directly clashing with mountain and river spirits, especially City God temples.
As for the archives of the underworld, the Summer Resort Palace records were sparse, containing only a few scattering fragments. At the Fire God Temple in the Great Li capital, the offerings sealed with ten-thousand-year earth from the hundred-flower blessed land, brewed by Lady Feng, were once tributed to three underworld forces every hundred years. But at that time, Lady Feng seemed to have deliberately omitted one force. She only mentioned the Six Palaces of Fengdu Ghost Mansion and the Fangzhu Mountain Lord Qing, who was in charge of all earthly cave heavens and blessed lands as well as all earth immortal registers. According to Lady Feng, Fangzhu Mountain, ruled by Lord Qing, was a department of destiny that managed the removal of death records and the addition of life names, ranking even above the ancient Five Peaks. Its rules were strict, its rituals cumbersome, and everything proceeded in an orderly manner, resembling the officialdom of the living world.
Chen Ping'an then told Zhong Kui about that fake Daoist, hoping that Zhong Kui, without violating regulations or breaking prohibitions, could help investigate the man's past-life background as much as possible.
Zhong Kui agreed, noting the Bottle Gourd Continent cultivator who had masqueraded as a Daoist was named Nian Jing, styled Xian Wei, and titled Master Xuan Xuan. He also noted his birthplace and birth date.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Having friends in high places sure is convenient."
Zhong Kui said with a straight face, "Having a friend like me is your skill. You should be proud of yourself."
Chen Ping'an took a deep gulp of wine and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Learned a lesson, learned a lesson."
Chen Ping'an glanced at the fat man and asked through heart words: "How did this Yu Jin end up by your side?"
Zhong Kui swirled his wine jug. "It was the Sage of Rites' idea. How could I refuse? But after spending some time with him, he's actually tolerable—of course, only because Yu Jin is temporarily keeping in line. Otherwise, this unpredictable fat man would have beaten me to death hundreds of times by now."
This fat man, who now called himself Su Gu with the Daoist name Gusu, was really named Yu Jin. When alive, he was hailed as a thousand-year-unique emperor, but after death, he garnered countless curses.
Regardless, an emperor who nearly accomplished the feat of 'one country equals one continent' before the Great Li Song clan—no matter how much later history might curse his tyranny, it probably wasn't too harsh. But simply calling him stupid and muddled wasn't very reasonable.
Zhong Kui raised his wine jug, gently clinking it against Chen Ping'an's. "Hey, you're pretty well-informed. You already know the fat man's real name?"
Chen Ping'an smiled. "I'm just afraid Yu Jin might seek revenge on me. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll never be in danger."
In fact, setting aside some palace secrets, Chen Ping'an now might know more about Yu Jin than Yu Jin knew himself.
The name of the dynasty, the various reign titles, important edicts issued, governance strategies, the resumes, posthumous titles, and honorary names of court ministers—everything recorded in the Literary Academy's Hall of Merit archives, Chen Ping'an had copied word for word. He had also specifically asked the scholar Xiping about some rumors that the Literary Academy deemed unfit to record.
Therefore, in Chen Ping'an's heart-lake library, a secret dossier had long been compiled, specifically targeting the ghost Yu Jin, treating him as a Flying Ascension Realm peak cultivator.
From the True Scripture on Cinnabar Writing, he had recorded several talisman types specifically used to suppress ghosts. Chen Ping'an had painstakingly refined seven or eight hundred Yellow Seal talismans, just so that 'if I am fortunate enough to meet him one day, I will be able to properly entertain our distinguished guest.'
Only a handful of cultivators were given similar treatment, such as Wu Shuangjiang of the Year-End Palace and Pei Min, one of the Haoran Three Uniques.
It was no exaggeration to say that if Chen Ping'an hadn't fallen in realm and still been a Jade Purity Realm sword cultivator and a Return to Truth perfected martial artist, he could have wrestled with an Immortal Realm ghost alone without any external help. After all, it wasn't like he hadn't fought immortals before—Yun Miao of the Nine True Immortal Pavilion and Han Yushu of the Wanyao Sect had both learned that lesson.
If Yu Jin hadn't been by Zhong Kui's side, but instead met him on a narrow road, even without Xiao Mo as his bodyguard, Chen Ping'an wouldn't have been afraid of a ghost who had fallen to the Immortal Realm.
Zhong Kui clicked his tongue. "That's just asking for a beating."
With Ning Yao as his Dao partner, who would dare to provoke Chen Ping'an easily?
There might be some behind-the-scenes scheming, but open provocation was unlikely.
Now, the two nominal rulers under heaven were Ning Yao of the Multicolored World and Fei Ran of the Desolate World.
And both were Flying Ascension Realm sword cultivators with promising futures on the Great Dao.
Below the Fourteen Realm, who wouldn't have to weigh their own worth?
Maybe it was still manageable now. First, Ning Yao hadn't yet reached the Fourteen Realm. The number one person in the Multicolored World wasn't quite as terrifying yet. Second, the world hadn't truly 'changed' yet. For now, the Fourteen Realm great cultivators of the various worlds didn't dare act too willfully.
Once the world changed, like a chain being lifted, all Fourteen Realm cultivators' natures, or rather their Dao hearts, would undergo many subtle changes. At that point, they wouldn't be so bound by rules.
As for Ning Yao's temper, the mountain-top cultivators of the Haoran World had more or less figured it out. If she were good-tempered, she wouldn't have flown with her sword to the Haoran World without notifying the Literary Academy.
Once Zhong Kui left, Yu Jin felt a bit of pressure.
After all, the other side had numbers. He was a dragon from the river, and a powerful dragon doesn't oppress a local snake. If a conflict really broke out, that Zhong Kui would definitely side with the outsiders.
That young Chen Ping'an seemed to be injured, his Dao foundation damaged, forcing him to hide here and recuperate. It seemed he had a good relationship with Zhong Kui, willing to come out of seclusion temporarily. That's why his sword intent and dao aura had been revealed earlier—a sign of an unsettled Dao heart and unstable realm.
So that slight shift a moment ago? Ha, just a show of weakness.
The fat man looked at the little girl, putting on a senior's airs, and said with a grin, "I heard you've known Zhong Kui for a long time?"
Pei Qian nodded.
This ghost's mental landscape was quite complex. There were horrific scenes of corpses strewn across the fields and starvation for thousands of miles, but also scenes of a prosperous era with singing and dancing and fertile lands. There was also a skinny man in a very loose dragon robe, sitting on the dragon throne, drinking alone and staring blankly at a series of open doors, stretching from north to south, his field of vision spreading out.
Yu Jin sighed and nodded. "In the blink of an eye, you've become a big girl."
Pei Qian twitched the corner of her mouth.
How could Yu Jin know Pei Qian's exceptional talent? For now, the fat man only knew that Chen Ping'an's senior disciple, a girl who went by the alias "Zheng Qian," was a Ninth Realm martial artist with some fame in Haoran.
But he didn't know that the three people he was facing were actually a Perfected Realm martial artist, an Immortal, and a Flying Ascension Realm peak sword cultivator.
And he didn't know that the white-robed youth was practically half of the Embroidery Tiger of Bottle Gourd Continent.
Nor did he know that the young man in the yellow hat and blue robe had once brewed wine with the Old Observatory Master and, ten thousand years ago, most enjoyed dueling with the strong.
In fact, after leaving that undersea tomb, the person Yu Jin most wanted to see was the Great Li State Teacher, Embroidery Tiger Cui Chan, whom he sincerely regarded as half a kindred spirit.
A fine landscape was the greatest beauty. Iron cavalry shaking the earth like thunder, trampling mountains and rivers—that was a form of conquest.
Zhong Kui suddenly said, "Give me your hand."
Chen Ping'an held out a hand.
Zhong Kui felt his pulse like a doctor.
In an instant, strange phenomena erupted across heaven and earth. The sky above the entire Immortal Capital Mountain region was covered in dark clouds, rolling like a thick sea, blotting out the sunlight. In the blink of an eye, day turned to night.
Xiao Mo hesitated for a moment, then didn't go over.
Since this Zhong Kui was the young master's friend, he could be trusted.
Pei Qian was worried.
Cui Dongshan suddenly flicked his white sleeve, summoning a golden flying sword that resembled an ear of wheat. It shot out like a rainbow, its sword light spinning rapidly in the air, quickly forming a huge golden ring that seemed to cordon off the phenomenon, preventing the heavenly secrets from leaking out.
Yu Jin's eyelids twitched. This white-robed youth named Cui Dongshan was actually a hidden Immortal Realm cultivator, and a sword cultivator at that?
So Yu Jin said cautiously, "Perhaps this is just a misunderstanding? Why don't we let it blow over?"
Suffering and bitterness. Was there a more unfortunate ghost under heaven than himself?
Everything was difficult, always at the bottom.
Like the ghost immortal Wuti of the Immortal Hairpin City, Yu Jin had heard from Zhong Kui that the last time Wuti appeared in the Desolate World, he had joined forces with his master Qiong'ou to fight against Zhu Yan, the Mountain-Moving Patriarch and one of the old thrones. They paid compensation and even brought out their founding master to beg for mercy before they could save the Immortal Hairpin City.
But what Yu Jin couldn't imagine was that the man named Xiao Mo in front of him was the one who had once pursued Yang Zhi, another old throne, and only withdrew his sword when Zhu Yan heard the news and rushed to Yang Zhi's aid.
Xiao Mo reached out and grabbed the fat man's arm, asking with a smile, "Senior Gusu, how about we pick a quiet place and have a little spar?"
The fat man snorted contemptuously, "Wait a moment."
Then he turned to look at Zhong Kui, coughed a few times, and with the speed of a thunderbolt, let out a pig-butchering shriek that shook the heavens, shouting to Zhong Kui, "Brother Zhong, save me!"
Xiao Mo had to let go, abandoning the idea of inviting this ghost into a 'Drunken Village' flying sword world.
He had said they'd practice a bit, but the other side immediately threw himself on the ground, waiting for a shoe to land on his face.
Xiao Mo wasn't quite street-smart enough to deal with this kind of shameless rogue.
The fat man rubbed his arm, his eyes mournful. "Mr. Xiao Mo, such strength."
A real man can bend and stretch. What's a little face?
Pei Qian rubbed her temples, gaining a new respect for this fat man. He was clearly one who would never starve on the road.
Cui Dongshan began to look on the fat man with a bit more favor. This one's a talent.
He would have to find an opportunity to persuade Yu Jin to go to the Central Earth Literary Academy and make a scene—roll on the ground, cry, threaten to hang himself—at least to get the Literary Academy to return his cultivation site. Then Yu Jin could settle it here at Immortal Capital Mountain. The mountain could oversee it, and Yu Jin would just need to pay the Green Ping Sword Sect a regular sum of immortal money. Everything could be negotiated.
But Zhong Kui paid no attention to Yu Jin. He was entirely focused on examining Chen Ping'an's soul. After a moment, he frowned and asked, "Since that's the case, why didn't you stay on the Sword Qi Great Wall?"
Chen Ping'an's three souls and seven spirits were indeed seriously problematic.
It meant that whenever Chen Ping'an left the Sword Qi Great Wall, where he had merged with the Dao, he would constantly be consuming his essence, qi, and spirit—like a transaction.
Fortunately, his physique as a Perfected Realm martial artist was powerful, with abundant blood qi and strong bones and sinews, able to nourish his spirit. Plus, as a sword cultivator, his natal flying sword could naturally nourish his physique. If Chen Ping'an were just a Far-Traveling Realm martial artist, he would have long been skin and bones, withered in form and spirit.
Zhong Kui had once seen a portrait at the Literary Academy. On the city wall, a figure in a bright red dharma robe, leaning on a knife, its shape blurred—no longer flesh and blood, but composed of thousands of threads crisscrossing. In Zhong Kui's view, it was... too ghastly to behold.
He should have stabilized his soul once he broke through to the Immortal Realm, but instead, after a trip to the heart of the Desolate World and Tuoyue Mountain, he had fallen in realm again.
"Staying there would have made it harder to settle down and cultivate properly."
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "Besides, it wasn't too bad a deal. After all, it tempered my physique. The reason I was able to break through to the Perfected Realm at the foot of Taiping Mountain just a few days after returning to Haoran was largely due to this relentless sparring with myself."
Zhong Kui laughed angrily. "And it was a bit painful?"
Chen Ping'an smiled slightly. "Boxing is never without hardship. You get used to it."
Seeing that Zhong Kui showed no sign of stopping, Chen Ping'an had to gently remind him, "That's enough. Don't push yourself."
Zhong Kui's expression was grave, and he remained silent.
Chen Ping'an was about to raise his hand and push away Zhong Kui's "pulse-taking" fingers.
Inside his current physique, it was like a grinding wheel polishing jade, constantly grinding at his three souls and six spirits, sending jade shavings flying. Zhong Kui was trying to manually stop the rapidly spinning grindstone.
It was equivalent to a sword duel.
Zhong Kui glared fiercely at Chen Ping'an. "Scorning me? Half-human, half-ghost—fun, is it?"
Chen Ping'an joked, "Since we're friends, shouldn't we share both fortune and misfortune?"
Zhong Kui said solemnly, "Open your palm."
Chen Ping'an hesitated.
But Zhong Kui wouldn't allow Chen Ping'an to refuse. He had already stamped his foot, like a stone plunging into the river of time. Beneath his feet, ripples shimmered on the water's surface, and the water paths layered upon each other, eventually showing a reverse surge. Zhong Kui, who had once separated the living and the dead into two realms, now revealed his dharma form—a set of bright red official robes. He exhaled gently, and his breath condensed into a cinnabar inkstick, as if specially used for reviewing official documents. Then Zhong Kui pressed his two fingers together, wiped them across the colored ink, and used his hand as a brush. Muttering obscure ancient incantations, he drew a Talisman of Stilling Motion on Chen Ping'an's palm.
The task completed, Zhong Kui said with a grin, "Truly a ghost-drawn talisman."
Chen Ping'an shook his palm, feeling as if a layer of sluggishness had been peeled away.
It was like having a 'Half-Pound, Eight-Tael' qi talisman from the Yang Family Pharmacy removed from each hand and foot.
Even sitting still, he felt a sense of relief and lightness, as if riding the wind.
Chen Ping'an took a deep breath, twisted his wrist, and said with a bright smile, "Thanks."
Zhong Kui grumbled, "So formal."
Chen Ping'an teased, "If I didn't say a few polite words, you'd definitely be muttering that I don't know how to be a person. What bookkeeper under heaven isn't petty?"
First scold yourself, and you'll be invincible.
Saying one more angry word often leads to complications, ruining everything. All the reasonable arguments you've so painstakingly made will die.
Saying one less unnecessary word leads to misunderstandings. Weeds of suspicion, disappointment, and resentment grow everywhere in people's hearts.
Only old hands know the value of silence.
Meeting by fate, dismounting to share a drink, encountering injustice, killing in the marketplace.
Zhong Kui said, "This Talisman of Stilling Motion I drew won't last long—at most a year or so. But no worries, I'll come find you again."
Chen Ping'an calculated the time and said, "Around the middle of next year, I might travel to the Central Earth Divine Continent. I'll trouble you to make another trip to Immortal Capital Mountain then."
Zhong Kui nodded. "Maybe we can travel together for a stretch of the road."
Zhong Kui said softly, "May I say a few things that aren't so festive?"
Chen Ping'an nodded.
"If not for the inscription on the wall, you would be in a terrible state. Don't forget, at the first negotiation between the two worlds, the first person to call for war was you. Not even the Sage of Rites."
"Suppose on the Desolate battlefield, if we lose more than we win, it's still bearable. The Haoran World might still remember you and the Sword Qi Great Wall fondly. But if we advance like a hot knife through butter, winning battles everywhere, you will be in a very bad state. This fat man Yu Jin had a phrase earlier, maybe unintentional, maybe meant to warn you: 'a robber who stole heaven's merits for himself.'"
"Because you are the last Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall, you bear the entire Sword Qi Great Wall's battle merits on your shoulders. No matter what you yourself think, or what you actually did as the Hidden Official and what you paid, once that day comes, it will all become unimportant. But since you engraved those words on the city wall, no matter whether the future situation is good or bad, at least for a hundred years, it can block a lot of idle gossip."
Chen Ping'an raised his wine jug. "Let's just drink."
Zhong Kui clinked his jug against it. "Consider my words ghostly ramblings. Let them in one ear and out the other. Forget them as soon as you hear them."
"There's one thing I might need your help with."
"..."
Zhong Kui stood up. "Is there a City God temple nearby?"
Seek gods and buddhas, find the Earth God, pay respects at the mountain.
Chen Ping'an stood up as well and shook his head. "There's only a small Earth God shrine called Daoshe. It's not big, but I've heard it's quite efficacious. Shall I show the way?"
Zhong Kui shook his head. "No, don't let me interrupt your closed-door recuperation. I'll go chat with the Earth God over there myself, then look around a bit." He gave the blue-robed youth a firm slap on the shoulder, grinning wickedly. "There's some wine you wouldn't dare to drink."
Chen Ping'an laughed. "Drinking and whoring is one thing, but remember not to put it on my tab."
Zhong Kui was momentarily speechless. This kid could see into the future!
Chen Ping'an warned, "Don't you dare do anything that scummy!"
Zhong Kui waved his hand grandly. "Senior Gusu, we're moving on."
The fat man, as if granted amnesty, scurried over to Zhong Kui.
The two didn't fly, just walked briskly out of the Immortal Capital Mountain territory.
Chen Ping'an watched Zhong Kui go, then used his Cloud Water Body and returned to the Changchun Cave Heaven, where the sect's gate was set, to continue his seclusion.
The fat man, sure they were alone, said quietly, "I've tested the waters. They're deep."
Zhong Kui didn't bother to respond.
The fat man immediately changed his tune. "Brother Chen has built up quite a fortune at such a young age. Congratulations! It warms my heart just thinking about it. I'm happy for him."
"Congratulations, you say?"
Zhong Kui asked with a smile, "Didn't you leave anything behind in your old lair?"
Once a Flying Ascension Realm ghost, he must have had considerable wealth.
When Yu Jin was tracked down by Ning Yao and forced out of his old lair, it was a panicked escape. Perhaps because it was so sudden, caught off guard by a single sword stroke, the fat man hadn't been carrying any dimension-bending items. So recently, it wasn't that Yu Jin was faking poverty in front of Zhong Kui. The fat man truly had no money.
Yu Jin stopped in his tracks, stamped his foot in frustration, and said bitterly, "Zhong Kui, why rub salt in the wound? If you scholars are willing to throw away your face and are determined to make money, are you any less black-hearted than merchants? Did the Literary Academy leave me anything but leftovers and scraps?"
The more he spoke, the angrier he got. He pounded his chest and wailed, "Heart torn asunder! Painful, so painful!"
Zhong Kui kept walking and said testily, "Enough. Crying poverty to me is useless. It's not like I want to be a guest elder of the Green Ping Sword Sect."
Money can make ghosts push the millstone, but in the underworld, what was ground was quite eerie.
The fat man continued walking and asked, "If I pay, can I really become one?"
Zhong Kui smiled. "I'm just giving a suggestion. Whether it works or not, I don't have the final say."
But judging by his implication, this fat man must have a big stash of private money?
Sure that the Literary Academy, even digging three feet down, hadn't managed to scrounge it all up? Or had he buried countless treasures while he was alive?
The fat man was the type who wouldn't let go of a rabbit until he saw it. He grabbed Zhong Kui's arm and said, "Zhong Kui, you have to give me a straight answer."
Suddenly, Yu Jin felt something was off, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't put his finger on it.
Sensing the fat man's change in mood, Zhong Kui asked, "What's wrong?"
Yu Jin shook his head vigorously. "Strange. I feel like something's not right."
Zhong Kui shot the fat man a pitying look. "Of all the people to mess with, you had to pick Pei Qian."
Yu Jin asked doubtfully, "That little girl? She seems quite polite to me."
Zhong Kui chuckled. "Take my word for it. When you get to the Earth God shrine, burn some incense properly."
Back at Immortal Capital Mountain, Pei Qian asked, puzzled, "Senior brother is going on a long trip?"
Cui Dongshan nodded. "I'm taking Xiao Mo with me to sea to visit immortal sites and try my luck."
Pei Qian said "Oh" and, with an unchanged expression, said, "If Master asks, I'll explain well."
This was the unspoken understanding between fellow disciples.
So the white-robed youth and the man in yellow hat and blue shoes set aside their tasks and shot off together towards the sea, sneakily going to "dig up the old dirt."
—-
Qilong Alley.
Grandchild Suo's shop's Konghou, Grass Head Shop's Cui Huasheng. Two small stools, one big and one small, sitting side by side.
The white-haired boy began hinting that he had a very good relationship with such-and-such shop and could help buy rouge and powder, with a ten percent discount. If she begged a little more, maybe twenty percent.
Cui Huasheng finally couldn't take it anymore. Once or twice was one thing, but how could he keep scamming her like this? It wasn't easy for her to earn money now.
Besides, her brother wasn't around. Although Zhao Denggao and Sister Jiu'er in the shop were good people, she was still making a living in a foreign place, and if she had no money in her pocket, what would she do? As a result, most of her wages had ended up in the pocket of this white-haired boy named Konghou.
The girl said angrily, "Do you think I'm stupid?"
The white-haired boy smirked. "You're not stupid, either."
Today, Bai Xuan brought Yao Xiaoyan with him down from the Sword Worship Terrace to the town. Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to come down the mountain alone.
Yao Xiaoyan had a craving and wanted to buy some pastries from Grandchild Suo's shop. Besides, there was a master at the shop to whom she needed to pay respects.
That guy Bai Xuan might not talk straight, but he had his ways when it came to doing things.
Arriving outside the shop, the white-haired boy stood up, hands on his hips, and laughed heartily. "My good disciple!"
The little girl smiled cheerfully. "Good master!"
Look at that, master and disciple, one family, so loving.
Bai Xuan walked with his hands behind his back. His stall in the rest pavilion hadn't been open for days. Lately, he had been diligently cultivating on the Sword Worship Terrace, training hard in swordsmanship.
Even if he couldn't compare to Sun Chunwang, who did nothing but train, he was still more than a match for seven or eight Yao Xiaoyans.
Wasn't he about to break through to the next realm?
So he came to the town to strut around. Who would dare mess with Master Bai Xuan? Come on, I dare you! I'm invincible in one-on-one fights. Quick as a flash, my flying swords zoom.
Too bad Brother Jia wasn't at the shop right now. He heard from the right protector at the mountain gate that he'd been promoted.
Konghou laughed. "Oh, if it isn't Brother Bai."
Bai Xuan, still with his hands behind his back, nodded and said "Mm." He stepped over the threshold and began his inspection of the shop's business.
The white-haired boy asked Yao Xiaoyan, "How's the training going on those seven or eight sword manuals I threw at you?"
Yao Xiaoyan grimaced. "Hard to learn!"
She thought she was going to get scolded, but instead, the white-haired boy patted her head and praised, "Good, very good. Just like your master."
Back in the day, when it came to the female cultivator Tianran from the Year-End Palace, the difference in cultivation aptitude between her and that person was far more than a hundred thousand miles.
So the Hidden Official Ancestor had done very, very well to throw this little ditz into his care.
Bai Xuan curled his finger and knocked on the counter, saying to the little mute girl standing on the small stool, "A-Man, bring the account book. I want to check the accounts."
The mute girl looked woodenly up at him, her lips moving slightly.
From the shape of her lips, she seemed to say, "Scram."
Bai Xuan sighed sadly. Truly a little mute.
Bai Xuan asked casually, "Where's Manager Stone?"
A-Man continued to play deaf and dumb.
Bai Xuan didn't bother with the little mute. He turned around, grabbed a piece of pastry, and said indistinctly, "Yao Xiaoyan, put it on your tab. I can't be running around for nothing."
Yao Xiaoyan outside said, "Oh," and started fumbling for money.
The white-haired boy said with satisfaction, "That's my good disciple! So generous!"
"Master, won't you have some pastries? Consider it a gift from me to you."
The white-haired boy glared. "Your master may be poor, but he's not poor in ambition—"
Bai Xuan yelled inside, "Sis Konghou, you want some apricot blossom cake? There's not much left. If you don't, I'll eat it all!"
Konghou immediately shouted back from outside, "Leave two pieces for me!"
The white-haired boy suddenly turned his head. At the corner of the alley, the Great Sword Immortal came over.
Beside him was a wooden-faced little girl, apparently named Sun Chunwang.
The Fengyuan ferryboat was about to depart from Niujiao Ferry for the Northern Juzhou Continent, so Mi Yu had come to call Bai Xuan to board.
Bai Xuan finished his pastries, clapped his hands, and said goodbye to Yao Xiaoyan, asking if she needed him to escort her back to the Sword Worship Terrace. The little girl said no, she had her master.
Bai Xuan left the shop and followed Mi Yu to Niujiao Ferry.
Once on the ferry, Bai Xuan asked curiously through heart words, "Dead Eyes is coming along, so why isn't Little Ditz coming with us to the branch sect?"
Mi Yu said seriously, "The Hidden Official ordered you specifically to attend the branch sect celebration. Also, Nuan Shu, Zhao Shuxia, Zhao Luan, and Yao Xiaoyan probably won't be going to Immortal Capital Mountain."
Guo Zhujiu and Xiao Mili had gotten very close lately, happy to patrol the mountain and guard the gate together every day.
Bai Xuan put his hands behind his back and said "Mm," then said solemnly, "Indeed, the Hidden Official values me, his little Hidden Official, the most."
Mi Yu nodded with a smile.
Bai Xuan had been eyeing Mi Yu from the corner of his eye. "No trick, right?"
Mi Yu curled his lip.
Bai Xuan hesitated. "Mi Yu, you have to swear it's not Pei Qian calling me over. Otherwise, I'm going back to the Sword Worship Terrace to train!"
Mi Yu raised a palm. "I swear it's not Pei Qian looking for trouble."
Bai Xuan burst out laughing. "As if I'm afraid of her!"
Mi Yu smiled without saying a word.
This kid Bai Xuan had a natal flying sword called "Cloud Roaming."
Its "heaven-granted" ability was similar to Jiang Shangzhen's willow leaf, excelling at trading wounds for lives.
When it came to sword cultivators dueling, he had a great advantage.
If he had such an advantage against sword cultivators, it went without saying against other qi refiners.
Too bad he was from the Sword Qi Great Wall, which made it a bit of a chicken rib. In the early days at the Summer Resort Palace, he had only been rated "C-".
Plus, compared to Little Abacus and Little Ditz, he was outmatched in the number of natal flying swords. For example, Lan Yu Die had two natal flying swords, "Apricot Blossom Sky" and "Lantern," both offensive and defensive.
And Yao Xiaoyan, who was the only one among the nine peers to simultaneously possess three flying swords at the Lower Five Realms—"Spring Shirt," "Spiderweb," and "Rainbow Skirt."
Even though Bai Xuan called her "Little Ditz," Yao Xiaoyan was the one among the nine sword immortal seeds most likely to steadily break through to the Jade Purity Realm.
In contrast, while Sun Chunwang and Bai Xuan would certainly break through to Golden Core and Nascent Soul earlier, when it came to "smoothness" and "stability" in breaking through realms, Yao Xiaoyan had the edge.
So poor Master Bai Xuan still thought his "aptitude was average," but compared to when he first left home and met the Hidden Official, when his "aptitude was rock bottom," he had slowly realized he wasn't bad. Bai Xuan wasn't stupid. Earlier, on the Sword Worship Terrace, training with a bunch of peers and occasionally receiving guidance from Sui Youbian, he had more or less figured out his aptitude wasn't bad.
The Fengyuan ferryboat stopped briefly at the Changchun Palace ferry. As usual, Zhong Fu was handling the mountain relationships.
Mi Yu didn't disembark; he just leaned on the railing.
On the ferry, besides Chai Wu, there were now a few more children.
Bai Xuan, who hadn't taken on any master.
Sun Chunwang, temporarily an unregistered disciple of Ning Yao.
And Mi Yu's new disciple, He Gu.
Sun Chunwang was still unsociable, but Bai Xuan and Chai Wu seemed to get along well. They didn't talk much, but they often hung out together, one drinking tea, the other drinking wine. Good company.
Mi Yu still had high hopes for Sun Chunwang. She had great talent and worked hard, always pushing herself in cultivation. He just didn't know if this little girl had any relation to Sun Juyuan.
Before being brought to the Haoran World by the Hidden Official, Mi Yu had never heard of a sword immortal seed like her.
But that was normal. Back in the day, the youngest generation of the Sword Qi Great Wall was, of course, led by Ning Yao.
Besides Chen Sanqiu, Dong Huafu, and their little clique, there were groups like Qi Shou and others, as well as Gao Yewei and Pang Yuanji.
Although they were all young, they were too brilliant—it was a truly great year.
The even younger ones were the "Little Hidden Official" Chen Li, Guo Zhujiu, and the like.
Originally, children like Bai Xuan and Sun Chunwang were supposed to be of the same generation as Chen Li.
If not for that war, these children, in another few years or a decade, would have been the ones to guard the pass and entertain sword cultivators from other lands.
In a room, Chai Wu, as hostess, lifted a wine jug and shook it at Bai Xuan and He Gu, as if asking if they wanted a drink.
Bai Xuan raised his teapot. He Gu waved his hand. Chai Wu poured herself a bowl of wine.
He Gu asked, "Bai Xuan, which is a bigger official—Chief Supporter or Discipline Patriarch?"
At Fallen Mountain, Zhou Fei and Sister Everlasting didn't seem to outrank each other either.
At the branch sect, Immortal Capital Mountain, Mi Yu was the Chief Supporter, and Cui Wei was the Discipline Patriarch.
Among the nine children, the tallest, He Gu, had a natal flying sword called "Flying Peak." Its ability was similar to the Five Marchmount Lords' power to move mountains and fill seas.
The He family wasn't a major clan on the Sword Qi Great Wall, so they didn't have a mansion on Taixiang Street or Yuhu Street, but they had considerable background. Their ancestral sword cultivators had all belonged to the Executioner lineage.
By the time Hao Su served as the last Executioner, it was practically a title in name only. He Gu wore a short sword at her waist called "Reading Maid," a family heirloom.
Bai Xuan, with his legs crossed, said, "If we go by the seating arrangements on Jise Peak, the Chief Supporter has a more honorable position, but the Discipline Patriarch has more real power. They each have their strengths. It's hard to say which is bigger."
At the bow of the ship, Mi Yu leaned on the railing.
He had heard Cui Dongshan mention in private that on Miquan Peak, only sword cultivators could carve on the cliff.
Mi Yu was already looking forward to Fallen Mountain and the Green Ping Sword Sect a hundred years from now.
A multitude of masters emerging, sword immortals gathering. The future is promising. The future is about to arrive.