Chapter 904: One Man, Half a Continent

Chapter 904: One Man, Half a Continent

Little Dragon Qiu Ancestral Mountain, the dragon vein ridge shaped like a ruyi scepter.

Beneath an ancient pine, Sima Mengjing seemed certain that Chen Ping'an would hasten here. He began to close his eyes and rest his mind, patiently waiting for the young Hidden Official to visit Little Dragon Qiu.

Huang Ting felt a bit bored, so she called over Linghu Jiaoyu to keep her company. But with the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord, this grand-uncle from the Grand Dragon Qiu, present, how could the girl dare to act presumptuously? Whatever Huang Ting asked, she merely nodded or shook her head, absolutely not daring to disturb the meditation of the ancestral master of the upper sect.

As a wandering mountain cultivator, she was naturally familiar with all sorts of strange tales and legendary deeds of her upper sect, Grand Dragon Qiu. They were things she could discuss with great relish.

The stories about this Dragon Beard Immortal Lord were endless. He was a good friend of Zhou Shenzhi, one of the ten great figures of the Central Continent and an old sword immortal. He had attended the Green Spirit Mountain wine banquet in the Bamboo Sea Cave Heaven. A Flower God of the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land was his confidante. He had traveled to Hanging Mountain and engaged in the "Catching and Releasing Pavilion Snow Night Debate" with a Daoist high priest who held a dragon-whisk fly whisk and whose grandmaster was the invincible True Friend of the Jade Capital. He had stayed at the Crystal Palace, one of the four private residences on Hanging Mountain. Rumor had it that Mistress Yun Qian of the Rain Dragon Sect was quite close to him. He was also a cross-generational friend with the Great Luo Immortal from the Snowy Continent, who styled himself "Master of Thirty-Seven Peaks." In the early days of cultivation, despite their vast difference in realms, the old immortal had affectionately called him "Young Friend Dragon Beard"...

Only when Sima Mengjing finished circulating his qi through a small cycle and opened his eyes did he look kindly at the girl and take the initiative to speak: "Fushu, would you be willing to go with me to Grand Dragon Qiu? My junior brother, Xuanzhong, is planning to take on a disciple recently. If you are willing, I can help introduce you."

A cultivator's Dao name on the mountain is like a nickname. For an elder to address one by that name is certainly a sign of recognition and closeness.

Linghu Jiaoyu quickly stood up. The girl certainly didn't want to go to Grand Dragon Qiu, but she dared not speak her true feelings, so she felt a bit uneasy.

Sima Mengjing smiled and gestured with his hand, pressing downward twice. "No need to be nervous. If you don't want to go, then don't go. If one day you ever wish to travel to the Central Continent, you can send a flying sword message to the Cloud Grotto Residence at Grand Dragon Qiu."

The Cloud Grotto Residence was precisely the mountain Daoist temple of this Dragon Beard Immortal Lord.

In the girl, one could faintly see the shadow of someone, both similar and dissimilar.

Linghu Jiaoyu quickly performed a bow of thanks.

This Central Continent immortal suddenly stood up and said, "Grand Dragon Qiu cultivator Sima Mengjing pays respects to Mountain Lord Chen."

A green-robed swordsman descended gracefully onto the cliff edge, smiling. "Mount Luopo's Chen Ping'an pays respects to Dragon Beard Immortal Lord."

Behind him followed a retainer in a yellow hat and green shoes, gently tapping the ground with his green bamboo staff.

It was only recently that Sima Mengjing had received a landscape bulletin from Grand Dragon Qiu, originating from the Mountain and Sea Sect.

Tongye Continent was simply too isolated. In the past, they had been arrogant, thinking that only the Central Continent existed, but now they lacked both the heart and the strength to pay attention to the grand situation of the world.

Seeing the contents of the bulletin, even an immortal found it hard to believe, utterly bewildering.

Linghu Jiaoyu stood up along with the ancestral master, feeling a bit confused. Mount Luopo? Mountain Lord Chen?

She had never seen nor heard of him before. It was probably just her own ignorance.

A stone table, four stools.

The Dragon Beard Immortal Lord, temporarily acting as host, Sister Huang Ting, plus the two guests.

Linghu Jiaoyu was about to move and offer her seat to the Mountain Lord Chen's attendant.

She saw the young man holding a green bamboo staff, standing behind the green-robed swordsman in the long gown and cloth shoes. At this moment, he smiled at her and said, "Miss Linghu, please just sit."

Sima Mengjing extended a hand toward Chen Ping'an, using his other hand to hold his sleeve. "Please, sit."

Chen Ping'an sat down and asked with a smile, "I wonder what instructions the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord has for me?"

Sima Mengjing gave a faint, knowing smile. Truly, this one was worthy of being called the scholar from the Sage Wen's lineage who most resembled the old scholar in style—not thin-skinned at all.

This Central Continent immortal had a gaunt, clear-cut face and a beautiful beard, like a poor scholar living in seclusion in the mountains.

In the Central Continent, even though Grand Dragon Qiu had two immortals sitting at its peak, raking in money every day and possessing a deep family foundation, it was still considered a second-rate sect. This was because the territory of the Central Continent was vast beyond imagination. In the other eight continents, a sect that possessed a single immortal was already an unquestionable "top-tier" sect immortal mansion. But in the Central Continent, there was an insurmountable chasm for a second-rate sect to ascend to the first rank: whether the mountain had a Flying Ascension realm cultivator!

Sima Mengjing didn't want to beat around the bush with the other party. He said directly, "I believe Mountain Lord Chen is already very familiar with our Little Dragon Qiu. What I discussed with Huang Ting earlier, you must have heard quite clearly. May I ask Mountain Lord Chen, what counsel can you offer me?"

Chen Ping'an, however, answered the question with a non sequitur. "If I remember correctly, it has been over two hundred years since your Central Continent Grand Dragon Qiu, plus this branch mountain, has produced a new Jade Pure realm cultivator."

Currently, Grand Dragon Qiu had only one Jade Pure realm cultivator: the one with the Dao name "Xuanzhong," the sect's law keeper, and the junior disciple of the sect master and Sima Mengjing.

The rest were all "old Nascent Souls," like the branch mountain's Lin Huizhi.

Quan Qingqiu was slightly better, and possessed good aptitude, with the hope of reaching the upper five realms. This was believed to be the difficult point for Grand Dragon Qiu's sect master and ancestral hall.

Given Sima Mengjing's temperament, he would certainly never become sect master. That law keeper Xuanzhong, naturally hot-tempered, was even less suitable to succeed as sect master.

So once the old sect master passed away, leaving the world via a heavenly dissolution, what would become of Grand Dragon Qiu's three-thousand-year continuous incense fire? Where would the sect's cultivators go? How would they establish themselves in the Central Continent?

They couldn't very well let a Nascent Soul realm cultivator be the sect master, could they? Wouldn't that be the world's greatest joke?

Sima Mengjing nodded. "Without long-term concerns, one must have immediate worries."

Chen Ping'an smiled. "Fortunately, even if there is a gap in generations, as long as the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord is present, it is still better than those immortal mansions that have had the 'sect' title removed. At most, it's a bit embarrassing on the surface, and they might be ridiculed by outsiders."

The years of a sect's orthodox lineage transmission are divided into full years and nominal years, depending on whether they have a Jade Pure realm cultivator.

The Literary Temple gives a three-hundred-year deadline. If a sect has no Jade Pure realm cultivator within three hundred years, it must, according to the rules, have the 'sect' title removed.

But even if Grand Dragon Qiu's old sect master were to pass away, with Sima Mengjing, this young immortal, and his junior brother Xuanzhong, there was no way they would ever fall to the point of counting "nominal years."

Linghu Jiaoyu had actually been listening intently all along. She appeared to be sitting upright, not shifting her gaze, but she secretly mustered her courage and stole a glance at the green-robed guest beside her from the corner of her eye.

This young mountain lord, with his smiles and words, plus that last phrase "might be ridiculed by outsiders," was really quite... deserving of a beating.

Huang Ting looked at the guy sitting cross-legged, utterly carefree and lighthearted.

She was filled with emotion. If she herself was said to have good fortune, this guy had a hard life.

Back in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, Chen Ping'an had only that little bit of a cultivation realm, yet he could rely on his own strength to break through the encirclement.

Not to mention that invincible Ding Ying, but even Zhou Fei and Lu Fang were no easy opponents.

In truth, Huang Ting had secretly traveled to the Flying Ascension City in the Five Colors World. There, the sword cultivators at the wine table, whenever they mentioned that last Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall, would all have clear-cut attitudes, never any kind of indifferent "whatever."

Chen Ping'an looked at the chess game on the table and said casually, "So if the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord were truly determined to clean house and immediately remove two Nascent Soul cultivators from Little Dragon Qiu, it would indeed be too great a loss of vitality. The loved ones would grieve and the enemies would rejoice. If you're not careful, you might even implicate the branch mountain and lose this detached territory. I believe that is the reason why the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord has delayed taking action. If you are already feeling guilty toward the past patriarchs for not becoming mountain lord of Grand Dragon Qiu, how could you bear to personally destroy the branch mountain's foundation? Whoever it was would have a heavy heart."

Sima Mengjing remained silent.

Chen Ping'an lifted his sleeve, reached out a hand, and made a pinching motion, as if holding a go stone. At his fingertip, a pitch-black go stone materialized out of thin air. He gently placed it on the chessboard. In an instant, the board showed signs of wind sweeping away the clouds, a tumultuous atmosphere, causing all the previously placed stones to tremble together, like a cave heaven of modest size where a flood dragon stirred up rivers and overturned seas.

Then he changed hands, pinching a pure white go stone between two fingers, and placed it on the board again. Instantly, the previous chaotic atmosphere dissipated, and all the stones settled into calmness, as if returning to a state of clear skies and bright earth. Chen Ping'an said to himself, "Good words always make people uncomfortable. Truths that make one feel relaxed are often not truths at all."

In the Meritorious Forest, Chen Ping'an had done quite a bit of reading. Not to mention, he had Master Xi Ping, whose worldly knowledge was the most diverse, to ask freely.

So he knew everything about the Jade Gui Sect, the Tongye Sect, and the Ten Thousand Yao Sect of the Three Mountains Blessed Land, as well as Grand Dragon Qiu, the upper sect of Little Dragon Qiu. He could reel them off like pearls.

Even many of the relatively young offerings in the Grand Dragon Qiu ancestral hall did not know their sect's secret histories, or the merits and faults of the past patriarchs that were not suitable to be publicized. Chen Ping'an knew it all clearly.

Sima Mengjing lowered his head, squinting as he stared at the chess game on the table. Slowly, he said, "An exquisitely brilliant move. Even if my master and Han Jiangshu were present to continue this game, neither would have a solution."

Sima Mengjing raised his head and laughed. "Mountain Lord Chen truly lives up to being the young junior disciple of Grand Tutor Cui. He is equally proficient in the art of chess."

The constellations of life have their respective values. Heaven gives me birth, but where is my star?

Tonight, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. After this young sword immortal placed his stones, Sima Mengjing, an immortal, exerted his eyesight to the utmost and could only faintly see two slender "starlights," as if receiving a decree, being summoned and descending from the heavens to the mortal world, finally landing on the chessboard.

This meant that Chen Ping'an's two brilliant moves not only mysteriously conformed to the "will of heaven" of the Great Dao but also completely suppressed the entire previous endgame.

Xiao Mo stood behind his master, expressionless.

In truth, it was a certain day on Snow Peak. When Sect Master Cui learned of this chess game, he took out two jars of go stones and had his master set up the board. Sect Master Cui glanced at the endgame, then gathered all the black and white stones on the table and placed them again one by one. During the process, he continuously removed black and white stones, as if personally witnessing the original game of chess played under the pines between two immortals. As he placed and removed stones, Sect Master Cui cursed the two idiots, saying they were terrible players competing to see who was worse, a disgrace and a laughingstock... and finally, he played the two moves that Chen Ping'an used today.

Sima Mengjing asked with doubt, "Is Mountain Lord Chen also a qi seer?"

A sword cultivator, a pure martial artist, a talisman cultivator.

Chen Ping'an smiled and asked in return, "Is that possible?"

Sima Mengjing sighed and got straight to the point. "How are you certain that Lin Huizhi and Quan Qingqiu have betrayed the Righteous One?"

Linghu Jiaoyu's face instantly turned pale.

Chen Ping'an laughed. "Then I shall just speak at random?"

Sima Mengjing smiled. "Then I shall just listen at random."

Chen Ping'an stood up, looked at the wild garden in the distance that Quan Qingqiu had meticulously crafted, and said softly, "The Dragon Beard Immortal Lord will soon know the answer."

Sima Mengjing suddenly said, "Let me warn Mountain Lord Chen in advance. In the final disposition of the traitors, whether to kill or imprison, Grand Dragon Qiu has no need for outsiders to interfere."

Last time Chen Ping'an visited Heart's Intent Point and reunited with Huang Ting of Taiping Mountain, he had stayed briefly at the thatched cottage. Sima Mengjing had sensed a killing intent.

It was like a straight line, a streak of sword light, sweeping across the sky of Little Dragon Qiu. It was enough to make Sima Mengjing feel a momentary chill in his Dao heart.

Chen Ping'an turned his head and smiled at Sima Mengjing, without a word.

Xiao Mo smiled. "Since your Grand Dragon Qiu doesn't know how to handle things properly, then don't teach my master how to do things."

Chen Ping'an said, "You can't say that. This is, after all, Grand Dragon Qiu's household affair. As outsiders, it is already a great honor for us to be able to help out a little."

Xiao Mo nodded. "Master is always right."

Sima Mengjing, however, did not find it amusing at all. His heart heavy, he slowly got up and said, "If you can help us resolve this great hidden danger, Grand Dragon Qiu will surely repay you handsomely."

Chen Ping'an stepped to the edge of the cliff, extended a hand, and pressed his palm against the hilt of one of the two stacked narrow sabers at his waist, the "Zhan Kan" (Executioner's Judgment), facing the wild garden that was not too far away.

The mountain wind gently brushed the hair at his temples. Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "As long as we talk nicely, everything can be discussed."

In the present Righteous Ones' World, besides a handful of people, probably few understood a certain principle.

Mount Luopo's Mountain Lord, Chen Ping'an.

Xiao Mo, Mount Luopo's nominal offering, a peak Flying Ascension realm sword cultivator.

Chief offering Jiang Shangzhen, an immortal.

Lower sect sect master Cui Dongshan, an immortal.

Mount Luopo's law keeper Chang Ming, who could be considered an immortal.

A certain menial disciple of the New Year's Shop on Riding Dragon Alley, an outer-heavenly demon, Flying Ascension realm.

Lower sect chief offering Mi Yu, a Jade Pure realm sword cultivator.

Mount Luopo's chief steward Zhu Lian, a peak mountain summit realm martial artist.

Opening senior disciple Pei Qian, a stop realm martial artist.

As for qi refiners below the Jade Pure realm, pure martial artists below the mountain summit realm, and the nominal guests of the upper and lower sects, they seemed hardly worth mentioning.

Outside the Central Continent, sword light joined with fist strength was enough to sweep across half a continent.

Just like.

In the old days, the Da Li dynasty: one country, one continent.

Now, Chen Ping'an, however, seemed to be: one man, half a continent.

Chen Ping'an said, "May I trouble the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord to summon Quan Qingqiu and Chief Advisor Zhang."

Quan Qingqiu and Zhang Liuzhu soon arrived separately, rushing on the wind.

Quan Qingqiu did not recognize the green-robed swordsman who seemed to put on quite an air.

But Chief Advisor Zhang, the moment he saw that green-robed back, his scalp went numb, and his Dao heart was like a bucket of water, sloshing up and down.

Chen Ping'an turned his head and smiled. "Chief Advisor Zhang, long time no see."

Zhang Liuzhu's expression was tense. He couldn't help but swallow his saliva, not knowing how to answer.

In truth, it wasn't a "long time." It had only been a few days since their parting at the Taiping Mountain ruins.

Earlier, that old Nascent Soul and Dai Yuan, the inner court offering of the Yu clan dynasty and a Golden Core cultivator, had truly shared joys and hardships. Together, they had watched the mirror flowers and moon shadows, drunk fine wine. That Dai Yuan, though his realm was not high, was very skilled in dealing with people. He was able to summon a group of graceful, beautiful immortals, some from his own sect, some from other peaks. They all called him "Brother Zhang" and "Immortal Zhang," making the old Nascent Soul's bones go weak. It wasn't that he had never seen such a siege of rouge and powder, but a flock of chirping songbirds, all registered female cultivators! That had never happened before!

But in the end, they became a pair of miserable brothers. Both were caught by that ruthless green-robed sword immortal, who used a sinister secret art to rip away and imprison their souls. Finally, Zhang Liuzhu and Dai Yuan, at the foot of the Taiping Mountain ruins, ended up like two gatekeeper gods. The torment they endured during that time was truly indescribable; they didn't even want to think about it. So much so that after returning alive to Little Dragon Qiu, when he resumed his position as chief advisor, he had a smile for everyone. Every day, the old Nascent Soul reminded himself to cherish this present immortal life.

Back then, at the entrance, Zhang Liuzhu was forced to give up that black stone of unknown material to Jiang Shangzhen, a case of losing money to avoid disaster, barely seeing off those two plagues.

To this day, the old Nascent Soul, a former wild cultivator, still did not know that the inconspicuous stone he had stumbled upon long ago was actually one of the ancient "Sparkling Heaps." If he had known its origins, in the Central Continent, finding a knowledgeable buyer, it would have fetched at least three hundred Guyu coins! But for many years, it had only been used by Zhang Liuzhu to watch the mirror flowers and moon shadows of the entire continent, a terrible waste of a heavenly treasure.

Chen Ping'an shifted his gaze to the "young" Nascent Soul with a fishing rod hanging at his waist, and asked with a smile, "You are Quan Qingqiu? A good surname, and an even better given name."

Quan Qingqiu glanced at the grand-uncle master, who showed no intention of giving him any pointers. He had no choice but to reply cautiously, "I am indeed Quan Qingqiu. May I ask, Senior, who are you?"

Chen Ping'an laughed. "A foreigner. Even if I told you, you wouldn't know. I once met a cultivator with the same name as yours, across a railing. We hit it off immediately and had a wonderful conversation. That friend 'Qingqiu' and you are like chopsticks that can't drink soup, and spoons that can't eat noodles—each has their strengths, each has their weaknesses."

In the prison of the Old Deaf Man, there had once been an immortal realm great demon imprisoned, named Qingqiu, whose true form was a green loach. One of the Four Fiends of the Yeluo River.

Quan Qingqiu was baffled. A foreigner, daring to play mysterious in front of the grand-uncle master? What on earth did he want?

Chen Ping'an asked, "That wild garden. Setting aside those not yet fully formed into human shape, have you thoroughly investigated the identities and backgrounds of those seventy-six demon clan cultivators?"

A wild garden, covering several tens of square miles, imprisoned all those demons together, almost all of them being lower five realm cultivators.

Chief Advisor Zhang Liuzhu was in charge of the overall situation, but the person responsible for specific affairs was an old Golden Core cultivator from Little Dragon Qiu, and another guest offering recruited in recent years, a pure martial artist, a former general from a fallen kingdom, at the Golden Body realm. With his homeland shattered and no hope of restoration, he harbored a deep killing intent toward these demon remnants.

The Little Dragon Qiu cultivators had meticulously crafted a spirit array, setting up a landscape barrier to prevent the demon cultivators from escaping. On the boundary line of the spirit array, several dozen demon-reflection mirrors crafted by Little Dragon Qiu's mirror artisans were hung. In the center of the wild garden, there was a small hilltop with a wide view. On top of the hill, a mansion was temporarily built, where the martial artist named Cheng Mi permanently resided. Quan Qingqiu and Zhang Liuzhu occasionally stayed there. Outsiders could tour the wild garden on several spirit boats.

Quan Qingqiu couldn't help but glance at the grand-uncle master again, but Sima Mengjing still gave no warning. Quan Qingqiu felt a surge of anger. Listening to this fellow's tone, did he really think he had taken over the place and become the master?

But Quan Qingqiu still tried to answer in a calm tone, "All have been carefully examined. Through mutual verification of identities among the demon beasts, we know which mountain peaks or sects they came from, which barbarian military camps they belonged to. Everything is clear, and recorded in detail. There will be no omissions. Through this opportunity, we also helped the academy uncover quite a bit of hidden information."

Only one Dragon Gate realm and a few Cave Dwelling realm beasts. What omissions could there be? If Quan Qingqiu wished, he could kill all the demons in the wild garden with one hand.

Chen Ping'an took a step forward, shrinking the distance, and directly appeared above the wild garden.

In the moonlit night, a green-robed figure stopped in midair, lightly tapping the hilt of the narrow saber Zhan Kan, his gaze lowered, overlooking the earth.

Xiao Mo did not follow Chen Ping'an to the wild garden. He had received a telepathic message and stood by the cliff, watching his master's immortal grace. Xiao Mo very much looked forward to the day when he and his master would travel together through the bright moon of the Righteous Ones' World.

In those distant, vast, and boundless ancient times, countless strange sights had existed. For example, the Golden Crow of the Sun Palace descending from the crimson towers, and the August Son coming down from the mountain.

These were all sights Xiao Mo had personally witnessed.

There had even been that magnificent battle between water and fire.

The bright moon melting, mountains shattering, great rivers drying up, the sea beginning to burn, the sun beginning to freeze.

Without needing to hold any spirit array pass token, the green robe flew in a straight line, easily breaking through the array's restrictions, entering as if entering unoccupied land, and landing on the square outside the hilltop mansion.

Zhang Liuzhu hesitated for a moment, then, after receiving permission via telepathy from the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord, immediately flew on the wind to the wild garden mansion.

A burly man practicing his stance on the square stopped, his face displeased. He asked in a deep voice, "Who goes there? State your name!"

The uninvited guest said, "My surname is Chen, given name Ping'an. I come from Xiandu Mountain. Greetings, General Cheng."

The martial artist glanced at the stacked sabers at the other's waist, relaxed his brow a little, and asked in a milder tone, "Do you have Little Dragon Qiu's token?"

Zhang Liuzhu arrived at the square, frantic. "Cheng Mi, do not be rude to Mountain Lord Chen. Mountain Lord Chen is a distinguished guest of our Little Dragon Qiu."

Chen Ping'an smiled and asked, "He's just doing his duty, checking identities. How is that being rude? Chief Advisor Zhang, I know we're friends, but I still have to say something to you. A man can't be too quick to sell out his own people."

Zhang Liuzhu immediately bent at the waist, nodding. "Mountain Lord Chen's lesson shall be engraved on my heart."

This old Nascent Soul was a former wild cultivator. Talk to him about face? Who was being shameless here?

Cheng Mi was accustomed to this. He neither liked nor disliked this old Nascent Soul with the Dao name Water Immortal. At any rate, among the short, he was a general. In Little Dragon Qiu, he was at least someone one could drink and chat with. Cheng Mi had nothing to talk about with that year-round icy-faced mountain lord Lin Huizhi, or that snobbish Quan Qingqiu. He figured they wouldn't want to talk to him either. A lousy Golden Body realm physique wasn't worth much in the cultivation world anyway.

Chen Ping'an slowly drew his saber from its sheath.

The blade of the narrow saber Zhan Kan revealed itself. Cool and clear as water, it reflected the moonlight, extremely pure and bright.

After drawing the saber, the green-robed figure did not stand taller; instead, he seemed to stoop slightly.

An immensely ancient and vast aura instantly filled the entire wild garden's landscape.

Like the Heavenly Dao descending to earth.

Those demons that had not yet successfully transformed felt as if they had seen the primal existence of their own bloodlines, as if recognizing their ancestors. All of them involuntarily prostrated on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

As for the demon cultivators within the wild garden, even if they did not recognize the green-robed figure, they recognized that narrow saber, already famous in all the barbarian military camps.

It was that ... freak from the Sword Qi Great Wall!

His face and figure were blurred, but he stood alone on the city wall, leaning on his saber.

Only, a blood-red robe had become a green robe.

Chen Ping'an squinted his eyes, looking toward one spot. "Found you."

He really knew how to hide. Choosing to hide here was indeed quite clever.

Otherwise, relying solely on those few wind and rain talismans of his, he might not have been able to find any trace.

Fortunately, he had Xiao Mo by his side.

He produced a "Caged Sparrow."

Chen Ping'an took another step forward, pressing one hand onto the head of a "lower five realm demon cultivator," and with the narrow saber, he horizontally sliced, slowly cutting off the head.

At the same time, he had already imprisoned the soul into a ball, held it in his palm, and casually tossed it toward Xiao Mo, who stood by the cliff at Heart's Intent Point.

Xiao Mo took it into one of his natal flying swords. After a moment, he exchanged telepathic words with his master.

Besides Quan Qingqiu, there was indeed also Lin Huizhi.

This demon cultivator's realm was not high, only a Nascent Soul realm, but he was one of the relatively core figures of a certain barbarian military camp. It was a matter of having a good master.

In a major battle at Old Dragon City, his Dao heart had been damaged, and his true form was broken. He had returned near Little Dragon Qiu to heal his wounds, and ultimately failed to retreat from Tongye Continent in time.

Even though all the imprisoned demons here were still wild and untamed, not one of them dared to approach that last Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall, who had once defended half the wall with an invincible posture.

After all, in those years, only the Sword Immortal Dragon Lord, one of the old throne-holders, had stood against him.

Chen Ping'an sheathed his saber and returned to the square outside the hilltop mansion. He smiled and asked, "General Cheng, would you be willing to move? Over at my mountain, there are plenty of martial artists. You won't lack opponents for sparring. Little Dragon Qiu owes me a favor; they won't stop you."

Cheng Mi grinned and shook his head. "It's fine here. Every day watching those beasts locked in cages, it helps me remember that I'm not still dreaming."

In the Literary Temple, he was a loyal and outspoken subject. On the battlefield, he was an arm and thigh general.

Born into a noble family, yet joining the army in his youth, he spent decades of his life in military affairs, dealing with wind, sand, and horse manure.

The capital of his fallen homeland was once called the Moonless City by the continent's immortals.

Because since the founding of the dynasty, there had been no curfew. The year-round lights were as bright as day, making the moon seem redundant.

Desiring to take but being unable, a short journey becomes a long sojourn. Desiring to return but being unable, a foreign land becomes home.

But aside from missing his family and comrades-in-arms, for some reason, what Cheng Mi now yearned for most was a greasy spoon he used to frequent back home.

A bowl of noodles, a handful of minced garlic, a sprinkle of dried chili, drizzled with hot oil. Ah.

Chen Ping'an smiled and took his leave.

Cheng Mi bowed heavily with his fists, his expression solemn.

Zhang Liuzhu did not immediately follow Chen Ping'an out of the wild garden.

He needed to calm down first, to steady himself, before he could move.

After his heart felt a little calmer, the old Nascent Soul stroked his beard and smiled. "Cheng Mi, do you want to know who that was?"

Cheng Mi chuckled, threw out a line, and continued his stance.

"Seeing a gentleman is enough."

Zhang Liuzhu was quite put out. Although Cheng Mi was a rough fellow, he actually had some literary knowledge in his belly.

Cheng Mi suddenly stopped his fist posture and asked, "That group of demon cultivators earlier seemed to all be saying the same word in their barbarian tongue. What does it mean?"

Zhang Liuzhu teased, "Beasts chattering nonsense. How would I understand? It would be strange if I did."

Chen Ping'an returned to the pine tree at Ruyi Point.

Sima Mengjing had already exchanged telepathic words with the cultivator who called himself Xiao Mo. An immortal with an unyielding Dao heart felt both relieved and inevitably a touch sorrowful.

Sima Mengjing heaved a heavy sigh, straightened his clothes, and made a deep bow to Chen Ping'an. "On behalf of Grand Dragon Qiu, I thank the Hidden Official."

After straightening up, Sima Mengjing laughed. "I have a somewhat distant relative. After returning to the Righteous Ones' World, he once passed through Grand Dragon Qiu and spoke very highly of the Hidden Official. He hopes that if the Hidden Official ever passes through Flowing Cloud Continent, he will definitely go find him for a drink."

Chen Ping'an smiled without speaking.

He knew who Sima Mengjing was talking about. It was a foreign sword cultivator, Sima Jiyu of Flowing Cloud Continent, a Jade Pure realm.

The other party was a regular customer at his wine shop, quite familiar. He had a poor capacity for alcohol and bad manners when drunk. When they squatted by the roadside with pickled vegetables to go with their drinks, he liked to put his arm around Chen Ping'an's shoulder and ask if he dared to take a concubine. He also said that his clan was a famous beauty den...

Go to Flowing Cloud Continent to find him for a drink? If he didn't chop Sima Jiyu, it would already be very polite.

Chen Ping'an directly led Xiao Mo back to Xiandu Mountain.

Earlier, Xiao Mo had delivered Guo Ran and the others to the Xiandu Mountain area, then taken his leave, transforming into a streak of sword light that shot across the sky, vanishing in an instant.

Guo Ran was himself an immortal, and he cultivated in a large sect like Iron Tree Mountain. Although he didn't like to travel afar, because his master was bound by that promise, it was always the great cultivators who took the initiative to visit Iron Tree Mountain. Thus, Guo Ran didn't need to leave home to see the elegance of the continent's peak cultivators. For instance, that Fire Dragon True Man, who was hailed as the "number one in fire techniques and number two in thunder techniques" in the world, once, after a drunk binge, revealed a rare water technique divine ability.

Because his master, Guo Outing, had lost in a single sword duel, and had fallen to that Chen surnamed sword cultivator who cut down flood dragons wherever there were dragons, so as his close disciple, Guo Ran was extremely knowledgeable about sword cultivators.

According to legend, in ancient times, the sword light of sword cultivators was so resplendent it could shine alongside the sun and moon.

Tan Yingzhou asked, "Master, what's wrong?"

Guo Ran smiled. "This Mr. Xiao Mo must be a great sword immortal."

Zheng Youqian grinned. "The Hidden Official is our junior grand-uncle, after all. It's no surprise that there are sword immortals around him."

Tan Yingzhou crossed her arms and chuckled. "And you know that, do you?"

Zheng Youqian sighed helplessly. This was her attitude once his junior grand-uncle was gone.

At the nearly completed ferry, they spotted a white-robed boy who seemed to be overseeing the work, and a tall, slender young woman.

Zheng Youqian called out, "Senior Brother Cui, Senior Sister Pei."

Although his master was the junior grand-uncle's senior brother, he himself had joined the sect later. So calling them senior brother and sister was sure to be correct.

He wasn't stupid; he was very well-versed in worldly wisdom. It was all clearly written in black and white in the books.

Pei Qian smiled and nodded. "A good name."

Cui Dongshan chuckled. "Youqian, next time you see us, remember to greet Senior Sister Pei first, then Senior Brother Cui."

Since he knew everything would be tallied anyway, he might as well do it himself.

Tan Yingzhou asked curiously, "Are you Zheng Qian?"

She probably felt it was a bit ill-mannered, so the girl quickly added, "Great Grandmaster Zheng!"

Pei Qian smiled. "Just call me Sister Pei."

Zheng Youqian explained to his two fellow disciples, "On the way here, I happened to meet Junior Grand-uncle. He said he was going to Little Dragon Qiu to chop... well, to have a sword duel. I think he'll be back soon."

Tan Yingzhou glared at him. "The Hidden Official said nothing of the sort. He just said he was going to visit a friend. Stop adding your own color!"

Zheng Youqian sighed. Junior Grand-uncle was his junior grand-uncle, not hers... Ah, whatever. Not arguing with a woman was always the right thing to do.

Two beams of sword light left the territory of Little Dragon Qiu, heading south in the night sky.

Sword light accompanied the moonlight. A few stars fell before their chests. A hundred thousand peaks were green beneath their feet.