Chapter 942: It's About to Rain

Chapter 942: It's About to Rain

What a fine example of "doing as one pleases."

Truly, sword cultivators act with unrestrained freedom under heaven and earth.

Just as Chen Ping'an was about to leave the pavilion, Lu Chen said with a smile, "I heard your Bluestone Sword Sect has a Choumi Mountain."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "Xiandu Mountain is the main peak, with Choumi and Yunzheng as its auxiliaries—that's the three-mountain formation. Since Cui Dongshan is the sect master of the lower sect, he naturally has his own plans."

According to Cui Dongshan, if the heavens were about to change, one should take precautions before it rains and make early calculations.

Lu Chen also nodded. "Before I was able to land on Tongye Continent, I only took a distant look from the sea. At the mountain summit, a stele was erected, inscribed with 'We Do Not Emerge' and 'Heaven and Earth's Purple Qi.' The calligraphy on the stele was clearly by Sect Master Cui's hand. It no longer resembles the Embroidered Tiger's handwriting in form, but retains a bit of the spirit. It has broken free from the old mold—what mountain dwellers would call a kind of immortal shedding."

Lu Chen turned his head and smiled. "Let me offer you an early congratulations here. Your proud student Cao Qinglang has succeeded in his seclusion. His golden core is between first and second grade—that's very good. He doesn't have to be too sharp, yet preserves countless possibilities."

Chen Ping'an breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "That is indeed good."

The legendary first-grade golden core was widely recognized as the foundation for ascending, extremely rare. The second-grade was the foundation for the Upper Five Realms, but many of the current great mountain-top cultivators in Haoran, when they originally formed their golden cores, were actually only second-grade.

Lu Chen asked, "Regarding me, Qi Jingchun, Cui Chan, and that Cui Dongshan—did they tell you anything, like reminding you of a few points about how to deal with me?"

Chen Ping'an said, "Mr. Qi only said one sentence: 'A gentleman can be deceived by means of his own principles.' It wasn't specifically targeted at you, but at that matter."

The implication was that you, Lu Chen—or rather, the Third Sect Leader of the Jade Capital at that time—were not so important that Mr. Qi would have to give specific instructions to the young boy from the Mud Vase Alley.

Besides, the greatest original intention of that sentence—or rather, Mr. Qi's hope—was that Chen Ping'an, after learning the truth in the future, would not get stuck on a single point or feel too guilty.

Lu Chen muttered softly, "Qi Jingchun didn't care about it at all, so why are you, Chen Ping'an, making such a big deal? If it weren't for your hostility toward the Jade Capital, given everything you did on the Sword Qi Wall, if you went to the Azure Underworld, where wouldn't you be treated as an honored guest? To be even more generous, as long as you don't go against my Senior Brother Yu, even if you only locked horns with Jiang Zhaomo and Pang Ding, you would still be a welcome guest in the other four cities and eleven towers when you travel to the Jade Capital in the future. You have no idea how many immortal sisters in the Jade Capital are so curious and admiring of the youngest carver of inscriptions on the city wall in ten thousand years of history, 'Hidden Official Chen Eleven.'"

Chen Ping'an ignored him and only said on his own, "Cui Dongshan said one thing: if my husband ever truly goes against the Jade Capital, he must learn to pick out a 'Lu Chen' just like the old cook picks vegetables."

Obviously, Cui Dongshan's meaning was simple: if his husband wanted to challenge the Jade Capital with his sword, it would be best to bypass Lu Chen and separate the Third Sect Leader of the Jade Capital from the entire Jade Capital.

Only with such a first move could there be a chance to win the closing game.

"Hidden Official, you can't leave out the most crucial person," Lu Chen said with a smile. "Qi Jingchun was a true gentleman. No matter how high his dao skills or how vast his knowledge, he simply couldn't bring himself to act like a petty man. Your senior brother, Cui Chan, is a different story."

Chen Ping'an asked with a smile, "Aside from the Three Founders of the Teachings, is there someone Lu Chen also fears? To the point where he needs to be wary of what this person says?"

Lu Chen's expression turned serious, and he nodded. "If Cui Chan weren't distracted by the affairs of the world and instead focused entirely on targeting a specific person, then even if that person were Zheng Juzhong, Zheng Juzhong would still suffer—at the very least, they would be a headache for each other. Because the way Cui Chan does things is more or less the same as my own style."

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes and smiled, clasping his hands together and shaking them lightly. "I earnestly beg the Hidden Official to enlighten me, or else I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep or eat once I return to the Jade Capital."

Chen Ping'an said, "You've already guessed it. Why do you need me to waste words?"

"Cui Chan is ruthless enough!" Lu Chen touched the lotus crown on his head. "Chen Ping'an, compared to Cui Chan, you fall far short."

Cui Chan's plan was that journey led by the young Hidden Official into the heart of the Wildlands. After its success—for example, after Chen Ping'an opened Tuoyue Mountain with his sword and before moving a round moon's brilliance into the Azure Underworld.

Chen Ping'an, without any warning, suddenly joined forces with Ning Yao, Qi Tingji, the Executioner Hao Su, and Lu Zhi!

Together, they would kill Lu Chen!

With Lu Zhi's lifebound flying sword, in terms of offensive strength alone, she could be regarded as a Flying Ascension realm sword cultivator.

That would be Chen Ping'an plus four Flying Ascension sword cultivators!

Outside the Azure Underworld and the Jade Capital, they would besiege a Fourteen Realms Lu Chen.

Lu Chen sighed. "That was the plan Cui Chan told you last time he appeared on the Sword Qi Wall, wasn't it? And given your realm at the time, it would have been hard to conceal it from the heavens. Cui Chan must have used some unique secret method, first telling you about this matter, then making you forget it, and finally allowing you to recall it at a certain moment, so you could suddenly turn against me, burn the bridge after crossing, and attack without warning."

Even setting aside Chen Ping'an, who had returned to his former realm, just having four Flying Ascension sword cultivators join in a siege—especially one being the old sword immortal who carved inscriptions on the city wall, and another being the lord of a brand-new world... plus Lu Zhi's lifebound flying sword "Northern Dipper," the Executioner Hao Su's disregard for life and death when dueling with swords, and at a critical moment, Chen Ping'an's two lifebound flying swords might be the deciding factor.

Who could withstand that?

Chen Ping'an remained silent, not denying it, which was essentially an admission.

As for why Chen Ping'an had made up his mind not to do this, it was because there had been a test, and the result was unexpected. Chen Ping'an had obtained a certain outcome.

At that time, Chen Ping'an had said, "On this journey into the heart of the Wildlands, the one who accompanies and protects the Hidden Official Chen Ping'an is Lu Chen of Haoran."

And Lu Chen, for the first time, with a solemn expression, sincerely replied, "Lu Chen of Haoran is honored to accompany you."

At that moment, in a profound way, Chen Ping'an was absolutely certain that Lu Chen was not pretending. A man who had been the Third Sect Leader of the Jade Capital for thousands of years truly acknowledged his own "Haoran" identity and was willing to regard Haoran as his true homeland.

Lu Chen glanced at Chen Ping'an.

Thank goodness this guy was more like Qi Jingchun; he couldn't learn from Cui Chan very well.

In the end, the study of "practical affairs" that Cui Chan had extracted from the Wen Sheng lineage, compared to the fundamental learning passed down by the old scholar, was ultimately a "minor study." Cui Chan could master that study to its ultimate extent, while Chen Ping'an could only barely learn its form, lacking half of Cui Chan's temperament. So the remaining half was not something Chen Ping'an could simply learn if he wanted to.

Since the Hidden Official treated others with such sincerity, it wouldn't be good for me to hold back.

Then Lu Chen raised one sleeve, and with two fingers together, two women the size of mustard seeds appeared, walking slowly as if around a pillar.

One of them had her hair in a morning cloud bun, dignified and graceful; the other wore an lotus-white shirt and an emerald-green skirt, with a pair of embroidered shoes on her feet.

They were precisely the two women burning incense who had come out from the moon-shaped door of the Fen River God Temple. When Lu Chen "first saw" them "after the fact," he had murmured to himself, "Not a pear blossom, not an apricot blossom..."

This meant that Chen Ping'an had gone to great lengths to set a trap for Lu Chen—it was both true and false, depending only on Lu Chen's mood and whether he would expose it.

Because Chen Ping'an, who had been waiting by the pond like a hunter trapping a turtle in a jar, was actually the caged bird in Lu Chen's sleeve. It seemed like the mantis stalking the cicada with the oriole behind, but in reality, the slingshot was underneath.

But Chen Ping'an seemed to have anticipated this long ago. His dao heart did not waver at all; it was as calm as an ancient well.

Lu Chen asked, "Did Qi Tingji once quietly remind you that he would be willing to help?"

With Cui Chan's methods, he surely had enough reasons to convince Qi Tingji early on, making the old sword immortal willingly sacrifice his "Sword Release" to send Lu Chen off.

Chen Ping'an still said nothing.

Lu Chen leaned against the pavilion pillar. "Chen Ping'an, speak honestly. Tell me, shouldn't I be wary of this Embroidered Tiger?"

Chen Ping'an was silent for a long time, then said, "I've always heard that you have Five Dreams and Seven Mind Aspects, each revealing a grand dao, mysterious beyond measure. Legend has it that the Seven Mind Aspects are the Wooden Rooster, the Toon Tree, the Mole, the Kunpeng, the Yellow Sparrow, the Yuanchu, and the Butterfly."

Lu Chen put his hands in his sleeves and laughed. "This kind of ace in the hole can't be shown lightly. Earlier, when you were young and hot-blooded, completely reckless, I lent you my dao skills. But of course, I had to 'seal the mountain' a little. If someone like you, who loves to think too much, caught a clue, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Having said that, Lu Chen tested, "My mention of 'thinking too much' is a pun. You can tell, right?"

Lu Chen was referring to the Purple Qi coming from the east—the dao is in the east; the western Buddhist kingdom, the Dharma is in the west; you, Chen Ping'an, are a Confucian scholar, so your learning is right in the middle.

Chen Ping'an shot a sideways glance at Lu Chen.

Lu Chen sighed mournfully. "No way. After chatting too much with fellows like Daoist Qing Tong and Nen Daoist, I keep feeling that if I don't say things explicitly, it's like saying nothing at all. It really is easier talking to you."

Chen Ping'an smiled. "I heard that Grandmaster Sun gave you a brilliant assessment."

Lu Chen clasped his hands behind his head and said lazily, "You mean that seemingly repetitive 'Lu Chen can't beat anyone, can't beat anyone'?"

If it were changed to "Lu Chen can't beat anyone, and Lu Chen can't be beaten by anyone," the meaning would be simple.

Chen Ping'an said slowly, "Master of Dreams Zheng Huan claimed the achievements of heaven as his own and ultimately chose to commit suicide. He dreamt of a skull as a pillow and dreamed again, despising the joy of facing south as a king. He dreamt of a toon tree alive, of a spirit turtle dead, and of turning into a butterfly, not knowing which was which. These Five Dreams each reveal a grand dao. Among them, the White Bone True Man who walked the Azure Underworld is the most obvious. But at first, according to historical records from the Summer Resort Palace and the Merit Forest of the Literary Temple, it seems the entire Azure Underworld didn't know that besides the Seven Mind Aspects, you also had the more mysterious Five Dreams."

"To avoid having to fight with others, I had to show some strength so that the other side would back off and we wouldn't harm our goodwill." Lu Chen raised his hand, bent his elbow a few times, and laughed. "What do many pointless disputes fear most? It's when one side feels the face has been completely torn, and can only go all the way, but the other side truly doesn't think so, yet no one believes it. Is there any greater grievance in the world than that?"

In the early days of the Azure Underworld, the three sect leaders took turns managing the Jade Capital for a hundred years each.

Lu Chen seemed the most idle of the three, but he was still the nominal "lord" of a whole world for a hundred years. The undercurrents were entirely imaginable.

Moreover, according to the rules of the Jade Capital, if one of the brothers was "ruling the world," the other two were absolutely forbidden from interfering in any affairs. It was said that this was a rule personally established by the Dao Ancestor.

This meant that Lu Chen, who loved to leave the Jade Capital and travel alone, if he were to be killed on the road and completely perish, then the entire Azure Underworld would face a situation of "a dragon without a head, a world without a master." The other two sect leaders would still be unable to act. No matter how chaotic the world became, they would have to wait until the appointed time to take over the Jade Capital and clean up the mess.

Chen Ping'an asked, "Master of Dreams Zheng Huan claimed the achievements of heaven as his own and ultimately committed suicide, only able to entrust dreams to the fruits of the pine and cypress on the grave. Are you, as an ancestor of the Lu Clan, using this to allude to Zouzi, who was at odds with the Lu Clan of the Yin-Yang School?"

Lu Tai was from the Lu Clan of the Yin-Yang School. One of his two teaching masters, besides sword master Pei Min, was Zouzi, who "exhaustively spoke of heavenly matters."

Zouzi talked about heaven; the Lu Clan spoke about earth. This was widely acknowledged in Haoran. And Zouzi was considered to occupy half of the Yin-Yang School—a consensus among mountain dwellers.

Zouzi thought highly of Lu Tai, hence the sword cultivator Liu Cai. But when Lu Tai encountered Chen Ping'an, it seemed Lu Tai had a divergence in dao with his master Zouzi, somewhat similar to the split between Zheng Huan and his younger brother in Lu Chen's Five Dreams, which eventually divided into Confucianism and Mohism.

"It's true that I and Zouzi have different daos." Lu Chen quickly waved his hand to distance himself. "But I don't have that kind of ability to accurately predict that there would be a most unfilial descendant like Lu Tai in my family, and then you."

Chen Ping'an said, "I answered three of your questions earlier."

Lu Chen blinked. "Wasn't it just one question?"

Lu Chen hesitated. "Before I set up my stall in the Lizhu Cave Heaven, I retrieved 'two dreams' and one mind aspect from the Azure Underworld. When I arrived in Haoran, before entering the Lizhu Cave Heaven, I retrieved another mind aspect."

"You should have some guesses about the latter, otherwise you wouldn't have asked me about the origin of one of the ancestors of the Eight-Set Divine Man Dew-Collecting Armor, 'West Peak.' That mind aspect of mine is indeed the 'Yuanchu.' And it is indeed related to that Dharma robe, Golden Sweet Wine, and the Dragon Tiger Mountain Heavenly Master Mansion. To be honest, the longer I stay in the Jade Capital, the more I find the saying 'Wherever demons and monsters cause trouble, there will be Dragon Tiger Mountain Daoists' interesting. I hope to use it to unravel the foundation of the character 'Immortal'—for example, whether an ordinary cultivator attains the dao faster on 'mountain' but with limited heights, or slower in 'humanity' but with greater dao achievements. So I wanted to experience this firsthand in the capacity of a yellow-purple noble. In the end, that person 'sat in extinction' in a stone cavern near the Jiaolong Gully, using a military dissolution."

"But even though I retrieved two dreams and one mind aspect in one go, and even though I had performed a sufficiently thorough deduction and evolution of the Lizhu Cave Heaven," Lu Chen showed a trace of melancholy. "The facts proved that I was still overconfident and underestimated Qi Jingchun. If I had known, I should have retrieved the White Bone True Man who tried to 'usurp the host's role' as well. He is the most unruly of them all. Rebellion—you should be the emperor! But this fellow spent three thousand years of cultivation tirelessly seeking only one thing: rebelling against himself. No wonder he was flirting with our Elegant Prime Minister Yao Qing."

"Sect Leader Lu, you can say the second one now."

"Before going to the Sword Qi Wall to find you, to avoid capsizing in a gutter and turning a good thing into a bad one, I retrieved another dream and another mind aspect as a precaution. They were respectively the Confucian master Zheng Huan in the dream, and Yu Zhenyi from the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, who was 'as dull as a wooden rooster.' I also met Lu Tai, and we had a very enjoyable conversation."

Chen Ping'an smiled. "It seems I should listen to my student's reminder."

Lu Chen retorted, "The third answer—do you want to ask me which ones I'll retrieve when I return to the Azure Underworld, or do you want to ask about the fate of these 'retrievals' of mine—whether dream interpretations or mind aspects?"

"The latter."

"They gain a freedom that is no longer tied to being puppets. Whoever they are is whoever they are—they just aren't Lu Chen anymore."

Actually, regarding Lu Chen, there is another saying from Xuan Du Temple, but compared to Grandmaster Sun's golden words announced to the world, it's relatively less popular.

Lu Chen is not a true person. What he sees with his eyes is not real.

Chen Ping'an suddenly asked a shocking question. "That Mr. Zheng of White Emperor City? He isn't one of your Five Dreams and Seven Mind Aspects, is he?"

Lu Chen was dumbfounded. Could someone ask such a question unless their head had been slammed in a door? Lu Chen felt as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt. He quickly put his hands together, raised them high, mumbled a few incantations, and then said with a resentful look, "Chen Ping'an, can't we barely count this as a gentleman's dispute? You're a Confucian disciple with a legitimate lineage, and a martial artist who values rules above all. Can't you show a little bit of martial honor?! Even if there is some grudge or personal enmity between us, you can't use such a dirty method of framing, can you?"

That damned Zheng Juzhong really had a problem with his mind. If he came to think something like "Am I Dao?" or something—other than that, if he, fed up with doing nothing, added another "Am I Lu Chen?"—what would you have me, Lu Chen, do? Have you ever considered my feelings?

Chen Ping'an chuckled.

His mood improved somewhat.

Lu Chen turned his head to look at the landscape outside the pavilion and sighed for no reason. "Mountains and rivers are magnificent and easily catch the eye. If one is not careful, they can steal the heart. Wind moves, flag moves, heart moves. But nowadays, when people go up the mountain to cultivate, there are tens of thousands of dao techniques and spells, but in this one matter, they are probably too accustomed to it. Few pay attention, and few remind the younger generation: cultivators are no different from ordinary people. They need to concentrate their spirit, not let dazzling flowers blind their eyes, not let the mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, beautiful women, and other delightful scenes steal a single bit of their spirit. Instead, they should turn from guest to host, use them for their own purposes, swallow the mountains and rivers, and make themselves the master."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "That is a superior method."

"I'm not trying to make excuses for him, just speaking the truth. My Senior Brother Yu acts without any selfish motives whatsoever."

"It's very simple. Senior Brother Yu's cultivation talent is too good, his dao skills too broad, his sword techniques too high. For Senior Brother Yu himself, there can never be any personal grudges. Of course, his acting impartially doesn't mean he won't incur personal enmity. For example, the junior brother of Grandmaster Sun from Xuan Du Temple, or the dao partner of Wu Shuangjiang from Sui Chu Palace, and of course your Senior Brother Qi. It seems each of you is going to settle accounts with the Second Sect Leader of the Jade Capital, Yu Dou."

"Xuan Du Temple is manageable—after all, Senior Brother personally went there, donning a feathered robe and carrying an immortal sword, and killed Grandmaster Sun's junior brother with his own hands. I can somewhat understand Grandmaster Sun's inability to let go."

"But on Wu Shuangjiang's side, his dao partner died only within the dao rules set by Senior Brother Yu of the Jade Capital."

"As for your side, I can't deny that Jiang Zhaomo and Pang Ding killed Qi Jingchun. Under the eyes of everyone, those two venerable Jade Capital celestial immortals, relying on their status and dao skills, were not afraid of anyone seeking revenge. And you, the youngest junior brother, pieced together the truth through guesses and imagination, and then witnessed that scene with your own eyes. So it's reasonable for you to demand an explanation from them. But Senior Brother Yu didn't actually strike, and besides, it was I who forced Qi Jingchun into that dead end. I find it strange: why do you hold such hatred for Senior Brother Yu?"

Lu Chen was truly curious about this.

Logically, there was no way Chen Ping'an could deduce that conversation between himself and Senior Brother Yu.

At most, he could reach the point that the gatekeeper Lin Zhengcheng had reached: that the Third Sect Leader of the Jade Capital, Lu Chen, had held a Jade Capital that could cross worlds at any moment to arrive at Treasure Bottle Continent, forcing Qi Jingchun to take a detour.

If possible, Lu Chen would still prefer to take all this old debt upon himself.

Because if he wasn't careful, after the Three Founders of the Teachings scattered their daos, the first life-and-death battle between Fourteen Realm cultivators would occur in the Azure Underworld, right at the Jade Capital!

Otherwise, the "one of" senior brothers, Li Xisheng, would never have given him that warning early on at the Qingliang Sect in Northern Juzhou. That was a heavy "serious word"!

And combined with the conclusion Lu Chen had just drawn, it wouldn't be a fight between two Fourteen Realm great cultivators.

It would be three!

Senior Brother Yu Dou. Xuan Du Temple's Sun Huaizhong. Sui Chu Palace's Wu Shuangjiang!

"Down the mountain, matters are argued; up the mountain, the heart is questioned. Is it hard to guess? Not at all. Every cultivator on the mountain spends their entire life expounding and verifying some principle."

Chen Ping'an said calmly, "I believe that the Great Sect Leader of the Jade Capital, who has not yet 'One Qi Transformed into Three Purities,' is willing to bear the consequences of losing a dao dispute. That is the nature of Sect Leader Kou Ming's dao heart. So there is no need for Mr. Li from Fortune Street or Zhou Li, the Daoist from the Shengao Sect, to explain anything to anyone. It is an established fact. The same goes for our Li Sage of the Literary Temple. Once the young man, later the Li Sage of the Literary Temple, he stood wherever he stood, and that was propriety."

"You, Lu Chen, respect the senior brother, but you are Lu Chen. You will never be as stubborn as Yu Dou. So what you did in the Lizhu Cave Heaven was seemingly nothing—just 'seemingly.' However, I also believe that during those years of setting up a stall, you must have thought of many 'compromise' methods. The reason you couldn't achieve them was, first, you didn't dare to add surplus to perfection by meddling too much in the Great Sect Leader's merging with the dao; and second, even if Lu Chen was willing to step back and make way, it was simply impossible."

"Because Yu Dou is the true mastermind behind the scenes. He is the Second Sect Leader of the Jade Capital, who wholeheartedly wants to eliminate all rivals in the dao for his senior brother. Yu Dou absolutely does not allow that after his master scatters his dao, the Azure Underworld loses another senior brother—the only Daoist who can step into the Fifteenth Realm can only be his senior brother, who taught him. If I'm not mistaken, before you returned to Haoran and entered the Lizhu Cave Heaven, Yu Dou must have threatened you with words, just like I threatened Nen Daoist earlier. What, Sect Leader Lu, did you not catch my implication, or are you deliberately playing dumb?"

Lu Chen rubbed his face with both hands. I still prefer chatting with Fellow Daoist Qing Tong or Nen Daoist.

Actually, both sides knew it well. They just didn't want to point out one thing.

In the future, as long as Chen Ping'an challenged the Jade Capital with his sword, regardless of the reason, the Second Sect Leader of the Jade Capital, Yu Dou, would definitely not stand idly by.

Chen Ping'an narrowed his eyes. "I understand."

Lu Chen pretended to be surprised. "Ah?"

Stop imitating my speech.

Chen Ping'an smiled. "No wonder you said so much unnecessary talk."

So it turned out the Azure Underworld was already beset with serious internal troubles.

Otherwise, a sword cultivator who was not even in the Upper Five Realms wouldn't require someone like Lu Chen, who claimed to "understand," to waste so much effort.

It goes far beyond that.

The difficulty of challenging the Jade Capital with a sword is many times greater than challenging Tuoyue Mountain.

Then it was very possible that Grandmaster Sun had quietly stepped into the Fourteen Realms, and was a pure sword cultivator?

Wu Shuangjiang had also, at the Night Boat, practically conducted a "declaration of succession," and even began to restore some identity.

And Sui Chu Palace's Wu Shuangjiang not only had the identity of a Daoist official who followed local customs in the Azure Underworld, but don't forget that he was also a Military Strategist cultivator from Haoran who was worthy of being enshrined in the Martial Temple!

On the battlefield, would one observe "benevolence and righteousness"?

As for Xuan Du Temple, when it came to disputes on the mountain, it was notoriously known for "we gang up on you, or you take on all of us."

So could it be that Abbot Sun and Wu Shuangjiang would join forces to challenge the Jade Capital with their swords—to be precise, actually challenging Yu Dou alone?

Chen Ping'an asked, "After you return to the Jade Capital, will you interpret all the dreams and gather all the mind aspects you can?"

Lu Chen said helplessly, "No choice. I am ultimately the disciple the master loves most."

Chen Ping'an smiled. "Then I won't say polite words like 'smooth sailing.'"

Lu Chen said out of nowhere, "In today's world, credit goes to my master. The term 'Daoist' has been exclusively used by the Daoist sect for ten thousand years."

Chen Ping'an frowned slightly and said, "Ten thousand years from now, even if there are no more cultivators, your Daoist teachings shouldn't decline too much. They might even be called the 'root of literary teaching.' After all, just the phrase 'rule by non-action'—anyone, especially emperors and generals, would highly endorse it."

Lu Chen kept a straight face.

Chen Ping'an rolled his eyes. "If you want to laugh, laugh. That bit of shallow divination and calculation of mine can't compare to you grandmasters."

Lu Chen did indeed burst out laughing. It took him a while to stop. "In today's world, the term 'river and lake' has also changed greatly. 'Forget each other in the river and lake' has changed accordingly. But ten thousand years from now, will the waters of the river and lake all dry up, so that fish will be together on land, only able to moisten each other with their saliva?"

Lu Chen was referring to the arrival of the age of the end of Dharma: all living beings in the world would no longer be able to cultivate; the spiritual energy of heaven and earth would be exhausted, like the sea drying up; all sentient beings would be like fish stranded on land.

"Today, Confucianism is near, Buddha's Dharma is vast, and the Dao is high. What about ten thousand years from now? The life, death, glory, and shame of Daoists can be seen lightly, but the direction and destination of the Dao are hard to see lightly."

Regarding this matter, not only Lu Chen, but also his senior brother Kou Ming and his master, each had made some deductions. But Lu Chen didn't want to worry about heaven; his calculations were relatively shallow, just to pass the time. His senior brother, however, wanted to find a practical way to solve it. As for what the master thought, it was probably one level deeper, one step better, one floor higher than his senior brother.

Chen Ping'an asked, "Are you worried about an awkward situation of 'high but not fitting, low but not suitable'—still high, but missing a layer in the middle?"

Lu Chen sat up and shook his sleeves. "There's an old saying: 'Man proposes, heaven disposes.' It's really disheartening. Since cultivating the dao teaches you that it's not achieved by force—three parts human effort, seven parts heaven—why think too much about it?"

Suddenly, Lu Chen said, "Chen Ping'an, if you meet the Ultimate Sage later, the Ultimate Sage will probably ask you a question."

Chen Ping'an asked, "What do you mean?"

Lu Chen smiled. "For example, asking you what you think about that 'Three-Four dispute.'"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "Possibly."

Lu Chen asked, "Has the Ultimate Sage already asked you?"

Chen Ping'an said, "How do you think I should answer?"

Lu Chen said, "Difficult."

Elevating one's own Wen Sheng lineage and slightly belittling the Ya Sheng lineage—in terms of emotion and personal interest, there's no problem. But in terms of public duty and principle, there's a big problem.

And if Chen Ping'an didn't speak for his own lineage or completely rejected the Ya Sheng lineage, that would be even more wrong.

If he answered that both were good, that kind of muddled answer would just make the Ultimate Sage laugh at him.

Lu Chen smiled. "Why not directly bypass the Three-Four dispute, but without actually bypassing the learning of the Wen Sheng and Ya Sheng?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "That makes some sense."

Lu Chen said helplessly, "Sincerity?! Where is the tradition of the Fallen Mountain Sect treating others with sincerity? Tell me, what is your answer!"

Chen Ping'an said, "The Master said."

Lu Chen immediately continued, "Education without distinction?"

Chen Ping'an nodded.

Lu Chen gave a thumbs-up and exclaimed in amazement, "Neither belittles the Ya Sheng lineage, infinitely elevates the Ultimate Sage, and subtly puts the Wen Sheng lineage half a step above the Ya Sheng lineage. Even your senior brother Jun Qian, upon hearing this, would only smile knowingly and be very happy, thinking that the root of his own dao actually has such a use!"

Chen Ping'an said, "If I didn't truly think so in my heart, would I dare say it out loud?"

Lu Chen was silent for a moment, then had to nod. "That's true."

If I had known earlier, I should have hardened my heart and knocked this kid out with a club, stuffed him in a sack, and taken him to the Jade Capital as a junior disciple. How much trouble would that have saved? Nothing like all the troubles now.

Lu Chen looked up at the sky. "It's about to rain."

Chen Ping'an was the first to walk out of the pavilion.

When the straw-sandaled boy from Mud Vase Alley left his hometown, left the town.

The old man from the medicine shop had once reminded him: take the umbrella out of the back courtyard and give it to the academy teacher.

The two of them—one big, one small—walked together in the rain under the same umbrella.