Chapter 947: High Places
The young Daoist priest, wearing a lotus crown, walked on the highest railing of the Jade Capital. He tucked his hands into his sleeves, palms stacked, and strolled slowly. Looking down, he surveyed the Five Cities and Twelve Towers one by one.
It seemed there were a few new faces.
Lu Chen looked up at the sky. The moonlight was bright and clear.
The immortals had polished the flying mirror, and two moons hung side by side like the character for "friend."
Gazing at that brand-new bright moon, he withdrew his gaze. Lu Chen stopped, turned around, and continued his stroll along the railing.
The abrupt appearance of the Jade Capital's Lu Sect Leader made the peak cultivators of the Azure Void World, who were outside closed-door meditation, sense something amiss.
This fellow Lu Chen, for thousands of years, had been undeniably eccentric in his actions, yet extremely low-key. Every time he traveled abroad and returned to the Jade Capital, he always did so silently.
Could it be that on the Haoran World side, he had been caught stealing chickens and molesting dogs, and then the Ritual Sage had closed the door to beat the dog, forcing him to forcibly break through the restrictions of the world and flee back to the Jade Capital in disgrace?
Yu Dou appeared in the corridor, frowned, and asked, "What's going on?"
Lu Chen never stood on ceremony with Senior Brother Yu either. He still stood high on the white jade railing and laughed, "First, I'll make a trip to the Bright Moon. Senior Brother Yu, wait a moment. You can call a few people over here to welcome me back, consider it a welcoming banquet."
Yu Dou asked, "Who should I call?"
Lu Chen laughed, "For example, Jiang Yunsheng from Emerald City, Pang Ding from Numinous Treasure City, Jiang Zhaomo from Purple Qi Tower. And allow them to each bring one person."
Before the Multicolor World was discovered, developed, and stabilized by the Confucian Temple, the celestial time of the other four worlds differed, roughly matching spring, summer, autumn, and winter, each occupying one season.
In the eyes of a small group of sharp-eyed peak cultivators, this was like the most spectacular and magnificent huge formation that combined celestial time, geographical advantage, and human harmony.
In the Azure Void World's Jade Capital, there were Five Cities and Twelve Towers. The Five Cities were Emerald City, Numinous Treasure City, Nanhua City, Divine Thunder City, and Pivot City.
Emerald City, also known as Jade Emperor City, was the former Daoist field of Great Sect Leader Kou Ming. Numinous Treasure City was where Zhen Wudi Yu Dou attained the Dao. However, the two sect leaders had long since resigned as city lords.
Only Nanhua City was still under the city lordship of Third Sect Leader Lu Chen. The first deputy city lord was a female Daoist at the peak of the Ascension realm. The other two deputy city lords were both at the Immortal realm.
The deputy positions for cities and towers had no fixed precedent in the Jade Capital since ancient times. If not for Senior Brother Yu's obstruction, Lu Chen would have wished to add a whole bunch of deputy city lords for Nanhua City. Every time they held a meeting, the entire hall would be full of deputy city lords—a unique sight in the Jade Capital.
As for Emerald City and the two towers among the Twelve Towers, Glittering Tower and Cloud Water Tower, they maintained secular New Year celebrations year after year.
The Purple Qi Tower's sunrise and purple qi coming from the east, the old sites of Hangu and Mianchi within Emerald City, Divine Thunder City's thousand-mile peach forest and immortal wine, the Cloud Water Tower's "where white clouds are born is the immortal homeland," Numinous Treasure City's "heavenly wind sends clear chime sounds from afar," Pivot City's "mighty five thunders melted into water by immortals," and the common Daoist officials' dream journeys to Nanhua City—these were all extremely famous in the Azure Void World.
The suspended positions of the Five Cities and Twelve Towers were not fixed. Their heights could rise or fall.
This depended on merit. And the height of the cities and towers was tied to the thickness of luck and the abundance of spiritual energy.
This ledger, which only the three sect leaders could peruse and write in, was jokingly called the "Worry-Relieving Book" and the "Work-Measure Score" by Lu Chen.
For example, the positions of Emerald City and Divine Thunder City had been declining in recent years because the city lords had been vacant for a long time, and the Daoist officials of the two cities did not go out much.
Even Emerald City, the former Daoist field of the Jade Capital's Great Sect Leader, was no exception.
Lu Chen's gaze lingered most on that city: "The Twelve Towers of Jade Capital, towering lofty, leaning against emerald green."
In the old days, Senior Brother Kou Ming spread the Dao to the world at Emerald City, not discriminating by status, setting no threshold, truly achieving teaching without distinction.
Not only could Daoist officials from the Jade Capital and the Fourteen Prefectures come to Emerald City to attend lectures, but even those side branches not recognized as orthodox by the Jade Capital, and even crooked heretical paths, could enter Emerald City to audit.
Among them, Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquises once secretly entered Emerald City and audited the lectures for three days and two nights.
His identity was seen through by Great Sect Leader Kou Ming, who performed the courtesy of a junior and humbly sought advice on talisman inscriptions from this mountain elder who was one of the four candidates of the "Ten Heroes under Heaven."
In the end, Kou Ming created several great talismans, including the "Three Mountains Talisman."
The White Bone True Man, one of Lu Chen's five dreams, once traveled to Emerald City together with Lü Yan, whose Daoist name was Pure Yang.
And Lü Yan traveled from the Haoran World to tour the Azure Void World, not only because Pure Yang True Man was naturally fond of landscapes, but also concurrently cultivating.
This was because the Azure Void World was the opposite of the Haoran World, which was rich in water luck. The Azure Void's Fourteen Prefectures had abundant mountain luck, but each prefecture had a great river. It was probably a case of "rarity makes precious," so the dukes and marquises of the great rivers had transcendental status, extremely revered, even surpassing the five mountain lords.
Yu Dou was about to ask again, but Lu Chen had already cupped his hands and laughed, "Much obliged, much obliged. I'll be back in a moment."
As he spoke, his form turned into a rainbow, suddenly soaring into the air, heading toward that bright moon that had been relocated by the sword cultivators.
Within the bright moon, two newly opened Daoist fields had been established. One was a translucent and clear white jade palace, where a venerable celestial immortal from Pivot City of the Jade Capital had requested permission from Second Sect Leader Yu Dou to "build a thatched hut" for cultivation, hoping to rely on the pure moonlight and ancient Dao energy here to make further progress, break through the Immortal realm bottleneck, and take the "moving the house" route to attain the Dao and ascend.
The other Daoist field was relatively crude, just a small residence. The main house was the alchemy room, while the east and west wings were used for living quarters.
Under the eaves stood a tall old Daoist priest, with a gaunt face and flowing long beard.
Lu Chen landed gracefully, shook his sleeves, and saw the old Daoist priest. He immediately made a Daoist salute, his face full of smiles, saying, "Lu Chen pays respects to Uncle Master Bixiao."
The former cave lord of the Luobao Beach Bixiao Cave, and the former sect master of Donghai Guandao Temple. According to Lu Chen's address, his master was the Dao Ancestor, so this old Daoist priest would be the Dao Ancestor's fellow disciple of the same generation.
The old sect master snorted, "Uncle master? Is that a title you bestowed on yourself?"
Ingratiating and flattering.
Lu Chen laughed heartily, "Under heaven, who doesn't want an uncle master who can fight, is willing to protect, and can be a backer?"
From the west wing walked out the Executioner Hao Su. From the alchemy room, there was a little Daoist boy with a large gourd slanted on his back, sitting on a small stool watching the fire under the bronze furnace. Although he knew that Lu Laosan, who wouldn't fight back or curse back, had arrived, the little Daoist still didn't dare leave his post. He just pricked up his ears, hoping that his master's idle chat wouldn't use heart-to-heart communication.
Lu Chen cupped his hands and smiled, "When does Executioner plan to set off for Divine Thunder City?"
Using his butt to think, Hao Su would only stop at Divine Thunder City when going to the Jade Capital, for the same reason as that batch of young sword cultivators led by Dong Huafu.
Hao Su said, "Any time is fine. Could Sect Leader Lu help pick an auspicious day?"
Lu Chen chuckled, "Hurrying is not as good as coinciding. Going late is still going. I think today is not bad."
Hao Su nodded, "Then I'll accompany Sect Leader Lu to the Jade Capital. At Divine Thunder City, I can serve as a guest elder. Only one request: drinking the peach pulp immortal brew need not be reported to the stores."
Lu Chen rubbed his chin, "Just a guest elder? Wouldn't that make our Jade Capital look too petty? Although it's difficult to directly take the top seat of Divine Thunder City, for an Executioner to condescend to be a deputy city lord is a matter of course. I can guarantee with my chest that even if I have to roll around and throw away my face, I'll make sure you get a deputy city lord position. Besides, now that the city lord of Divine Thunder City has been vacant for a long time, and the two deputy city lords are lazy old immortals who don't like dealing with mundane affairs, you being the nominal second-in-command would actually make you the de facto top boss."
Hao Su shook his head, "Your Jade Capital is different from the Sword Qi Great Wall. If I take on a big identity, even if it's just for a period as the city lord of Divine Thunder City, how will I be able to draw my sword in the future?"
The old sect master carefully examined Lu Chen for a few moments, gloating, "Extremely dangerous."
Lu Chen sighed, "Isn't it? It's not just 'extremely dangerous,' it's perilous. I almost, almost couldn't come here to reminisce with Uncle Master Bixiao."
The old sect master clicked his tongue in wonder, "You managed to escape this calamity? Did you burn some last-minute incense on the spot?"
Lu Chen's journey this time—saying it hung by a thread was no exaggeration.
Hao Su was bewildered.
The old sect master laughed, "Earlier, when you finished walking through the Primordial Wilderness, the Embroidery Tiger Cui Chan set up an ambush for Lu Chen. The person responsible for closing the net was none other than one of the chess pieces, junior brother Chen Ping'an."
Hao Su looked at Lu Chen. He could still laugh at this?
Could it be, as Sun Daochang of Profound Capital Monastery said, that ordinary hermits smile and chuckle when faced with trouble, which is unfathomable and meaningful? As for Lu Laosan, that's just a fool's giggle.
Hao Su thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, "Although I once had a mediocre impression of Chen Ping'an, I believe he wouldn't do such a thing."
Hao Su then said, "But if the Hidden Official had spoken at that time, I would definitely have joined forces with them and drawn my sword without hesitation."
Once. Chen Ping'an. Hidden Official.
These were all quite evocative terms.
The old sect master nodded.
Hao Su was a straightforward person, a pure sword cultivator at heart.
They say ice and charcoal don't mix, but this obscure final Executioner had ice in his liver and lungs and a fiery heart.
If Hao Su didn't suit his taste, he wouldn't have been allowed to rest here.
If Hao Su had been born ten thousand years ago, his achievements in the sword Dao would probably have been even higher.
However, given Hao Su's temperament, in the battle of the Heaven Ascension incident, he would have been hard to avoid perishing.
The old sect master stretched out a hand, counted on his fingers. In an instant, purple qi swirled around his fingertips, stars shifted, and sword light was like threads flickering on and off. What a wonderful "yin and yang creation in one palm."
Because these were established matters, just a review, plus Lu Chen had hurried back from the Haoran World without deliberately erasing traces, and the old Daoist priest himself was proficient in the study of context, he deduced the general picture in no time. He spoke leisurely, "When the moon was being relocated, the celestial time was chaotic. Ning Yao, besides being an Ascension realm sword cultivator, was also the master of her entire world. The abundance of luck she carries cannot be calculated by normal means—this was an unreasonable move. Lu Zhi has always been unafraid to fight to the death. Her natal flying sword 'Big Dipper' was a crucial move. Qi Tingji's flying sword 'Release' was also crucial. Coupled with Hao Su's two natal flying swords, it equaled occupying a geographical advantage for free. If they could descend from the moon to the human world and aim directly at Lu Chen, their power would be even greater than delivering swords on an ordinary battlefield."
"In this way, it roughly equals four Ascension realm sword cultivators ganging up on a Fourteen Realm cultivator."
"In the earlier Battle of Fuyao Continent, Bai Ye's killing power was certainly unreasonably high. But in this encirclement, Bai Ye only had the Four Immortal Swords to single-handedly challenge the Eight Thrones of the Primordial Wilderness."
"But to truly keep Lu Chen and severely damage his Dao foundation, it seems they still lacked a cultivator proficient in formations to help isolate the world and block his escape route. The identity of this person would be similar to Zhou Mi of Wenhai in the Fuyao Continent battle or Pang Ding of the Jade Capital in the Lizhu Cave Heaven battle."
Upon hearing this, Hao Su couldn't help asking, "With our group of sword cultivators, we still couldn't kill Lu Chen?"
As for formations, Qi Tingji was not unfamiliar. Not to mention Chen Ping'an's natal flying sword "Cage Sparrow."
Assuming they also combined with Ning Yao's single sword to open the sky, turning the battlefield directly into the Multicolor World? In that case, their five sword cultivators would have all the advantages of celestial time, geographical position, and human harmony.
Speaking of this, Hao Su laughed, "No offense meant, Sect Leader Lu."
Lu Chen waved his hand, grinning mischievously, "No offense, no offense."
The old sect master nodded and smiled, "It's hard. That's the tricky thing about Fourteen Realm cultivators. Each has their own method of merging with the Dao. And our Sect Leader Lu is famously multi-incarnated. Five dreams and seven mind-phases. Putting aside the butterfly which is both dream and mind-phase, that's at least eleven avatars. The advantage is that he's extremely hard to kill. The disadvantage, before untying the dreams and gathering the mind-phases, his killing power is slightly weaker."
Lu Chen looked aggrieved, "My killing power isn't high, only compared to you peak predecessors. Actually, it's not weak."
The old sect master pointed at the fire-tending boy by the alchemy furnace and sneered, "Compared to him, you're in the heavens. Happy?"
Lu Chen smiled, "Uncle Master, could you calculate again? At that time, was there another person beside Mr. Zheng?"
Wu Shuangjiang of the Suichu Palace had briefly appeared at the Sword Qi Great Wall and hadn't deliberately concealed his tracks.
At the Moji Ferry, there were the Female Martial God Pei Bei of the Great Duan Dynasty, Huai Yin, Guo Outing of Tieshu Mountain, Liu Tui—sect master of Tianyao Township in Fuyao Continent—and Cong Qian of Liuxia Continent.
But the real backbone of this ferry was, of course, the White Emperor City's city lord Zheng Juzhong. Together with Pei Bei, one directed the specific scheduling of mountain immortals, and the other was responsible for the deployment of troops in the mortal world.
The old sect master's mental calculations continued, and his expression gradually became grave as he looked at Lu Chen.
Zheng Juzhong had once let his junior sister Han Qiaose secretly return to the Central Divine Continent through the Guixu Sunfall Place. And she had been flipping through military books in White Emperor City all this time?!
This Zheng Juzhong was incredibly bold, trying to join hands with Wu Shuangjiang to get involved with the Military Strategist lineage? Trying to perform another "joint beheading" of the First Ancestor of the Military Strategist?
Lu Chen squatted under the eaves and groaned. Sure enough, Cui Chan and Zheng Juzhong had done a big business deal. No wonder they could convince Zheng Juzhong to act against him.
The old sect master glanced at the guy squatting on the ground scratching his head and sneered, "Foresight this, hindsight that. Isn't this 'what goes around comes around'?"
Peak cultivators across several worlds knew that the Jade Capital's Third Sect Leader was mysterious and profound, so difficult that he seemed to have cocooned himself, to the point that even Lu Chen himself couldn't unravel it.
But this self-inflicted cocooning was, of course, for breaking out of the cocoon to become a butterfly.
Lu Chen's five dreams and seven mind-phases each had their own Dao manifestation and innate divine abilities.
Thus, every time Lu Chen untied a dream and gathered a mind-phase, his cultivation and Dao progress would increase by a notch. Especially his Dao heart—it wouldn't just become one notch closer to perfection; it would become a full circle more perfect.
Before "collecting debts" by untying dreams and gathering mind-phases, the Jade Capital's Third Sect Leader, who seemed to have "dismantled" himself, was essentially destroying his own Dao progress and reducing his own cultivation.
This was the root of why Sun Huaizhong of Profound Capital Monastery had that evaluation about "can't fight."
Ordinary cultivation practitioners would be extremely cautious about splitting off even a mustard seed of divine thought, fearing it would be imprisoned by great cultivators. Especially if refined without killing, it would lead to incomplete soul, flaws in the Dao heart, and lifelong hopelessness for the great Dao.
Lu Chen obviously had a backup plan. Since they were dreams and mind-phases, their escape methods would surely be unparalleled by any ordinary evasion technique. Because historically, Lu Chen had never been in such a dangerous situation, the truth remained to be verified. But according to common sense, even if Lu Chen fought with a Fourteen Realm great cultivator, at worst a dream or mind-phase would shatter like glass. Lu Chen would certainly consume a huge amount of Dao progress, often hundreds or even thousands of years. But since they were dreams and mind-phases, not a part of his divine mind, they could be re-stitched. And the Fourteen Realm cultivator who killed a certain incarnation of Lu Chen would then have to face a "serious" Lu Chen.
Therefore, for thousands of years, no Fourteen Realm cultivator had been willing to fall out with Lu Chen. Sun Daochang described him as "chewy cowhide candy that sticks to the sole of your shoe and can't be shaken off"—a crude but accurate analogy.
The old sect master laughed, "You're just too comfortable. You thought that since Cui Chan was dead, you could take your time waiting for Chen Ping'an to grow up, and in the meantime, continue watching the show."
No wonder. Who could imagine that a living Great Li National Teacher would only set an ambush but not act, while a dead Embroidery Tiger could start acting through others?
Back when Lu Chen went to Lizhu Cave Heaven, he had taken back "two dreams" and one mind-phase: the "Dream of the Oak Tree Living" and the "Dream of the Spirit Turtle Dying."
Plus the "Yellow Bird," one of the seven mind-phases, whose Dao implication was "Heaven and Earth Cage" (prison).
Since he held a Jade Capital, he could at any time cross worlds and smash it down on Baoping Continent, with enough killing power.
That was why Lu Chen hadn't taken back the White Bone True Man, who had been trying to "rebel" and "usurp authority."
Because at that time, Lu Chen was only ensuring that Daoist Lu, who set up his stall in the small town, could transcend life and death. When going out, one always had to be cautious to keep the ship afloat for ten thousand years and preserve his life.
That Yellow Bird, which superficially pecked at copper coins to test literary luck, was actually one of the manifestations of Lu Chen's mind-phase Dao. It was similar to the two innate divine abilities granted by a sword cultivator's flying sword.
At a critical moment, it could ignore the Dao suppression of the Haoran World and help Lu Chen "turn from guest to host," restoring the peak Fourteen Realm state within Lizhu Cave Heaven.
But even if his cultivation was restored to the peak, his Dao heart might not truly be perfect. And Lu Chen, from the very first day of his cultivation, had never cared about realms, truly maintaining consistency, caring only about the great Dao.
When he arrived at the Haoran World, before entering Lizhu Cave Heaven, out of caution, he didn't care much about Qi Jingchun or Cui Chan at the time. His main worry was the Little Master of the Confucian Temple. So Lu Chen changed his plan on the spot and took a detour to take back a mind-phase, the "Yuanchu" (a mythical bird), which had once traveled the world in the identity of a Yellow and Purple noble of the Dragon Tiger Mountain Heavenly Master Temple.
At this point, he had already gathered two dreams and two mind-phases.
Because at the Night Sailboat, Wu Shuangjiang and an old friend who had once had a "Hao Liang Debate" with Lu Chen—one acted, one spoke—Lu Chen went along with the current and gathered another mind-phase.
Later, Lu Chen's Dao heart stirred slightly. In one of the Lotus Flower Blessed Lands within the Multicolor World, he found Yu Zhenyi, who had the "Wooden Chicken" mind-phase, through the Confucian scholar Zheng Huan, who had sneaked in long ago, and gathered another dream and a mind-phase.
This move by Lu Chen was taking advantage of a not-so-small loophole in the Confucian Temple, because the Confucian scholar Zheng Huan was a genuine "no-realm person," or a "fake person."
When Ning Yao ascended with her sword to the Haoran World, Zheng Huan, carrying the Wooden Chicken mind-phase, quietly followed. Later, Lu Chen rushed to the Sword Qi Great Wall to meet up with Zheng Huan.
Wu Shuangjiang had long known that Zheng Huan was hiding in the Multicolor World.
If he succeeded, the "fake person" Zheng Huan and the mind-phase "Yu Zhenyi" would likely suffer.
Lu Chen grimaced, "Could it be that the old sect master leaked the celestial secret to Palace Master Wu?"
The old sect master chuckled drily, too lazy to answer such an idiotic question.
The old sect master said, "How to imprison your dreams and mind-phases—this is the most critical matter."
Lu Chen said helplessly, "The Embroidery Tiger and Mr. Three Mountains and Nine Marquises had met. With Cui Chan's cultivation aptitude, it's not strange that he learned one or two ancient 'seal mountain' methods. Plus, the soul-separation techniques he developed on his own, it was quite promising to trap me."
The old sect master shook his head, "Even with eighty or ninety percent certainty, that's enough for anyone else. But dealing with you, Lu Chen, doesn't seem solid enough."
Lu Chen looked wronged, muttered, "Who I fear most—others can't calculate, but Qi Jingchun could definitely calculate."
It was the Buddha.
And Qi Jingchun was a person who had nearly had the hope of fusing the roots of the Three Teachings and establishing his own sect and becoming a founder.
Moreover, if nothing unexpected happened, these two brothers, Cui Chan and Qi Jingchun, must have each carefully studied the divine ability of the "Imaginer," one of the Twelve High Deities.
After they chose to join forces, they would surely inspire each other, learn from each other's strengths, and perfect this method.
Lu Chen cradled the back of his head, beaming, "Besides being scared and trembling with lingering fear, I also feel proud."
So it wasn't only Bai Ye of Haoran who could be so targeted; there was also Lu Chen of the Jade Capital.
"Four months."
The old sect master said, "Even if they couldn't completely kill you, just imprisoning you for four months would be enough to turn the Azure Void World upside down."
For example, just one spring would be enough to overturn heaven and earth. In this Azure Void World, it would be like wildfire that can't be burned out, spring wind blows it back to life.
"The world has suffered under the Jade Capital for too long."
In the final analysis, it needed a more accurate statement.
"The world has suffered under Dao Old Second for too long."
Lu Chen lowered his voice and asked, "Did the Embroidery Tiger and Uncle Master Bixiao...?"
Were the two of you secretly colluding long ago?
The old sect master looked at this nephew who seemed to have been picked up on the road, his gaze pitying, "Jokes aside, you need to be more careful. Don't panic before anything happens, and then what you fear will come."
In the old days, the Untethered Boat drifted freely. Once you start suspecting things, the boat becomes an enemy country.
Sun Huaizhong, Wu Shuangjiang, and "together" the Night Watcher Xiao Bai of Suichu Palace, the Elegant Minister Yao Qing of the Qing Shen Dynasty, the female Daoist with the style name Taiyin—Wu Zhou, the Daoist with the style name Fuken—Zhao Ge...
These were all people Lu Chen had once joked and laughed with. Now they seemed to have transformed into potentially deadly enemies.
Even Bai Ye of Profound Capital Monastery.
Lu Chen said crossly, "Uncle Master Bixiao deliberately revealed this matter. How is that counted?"
Wasn't that adding fuel to the fire? Is this how you act as a little master uncle? Look at Qi Jingchun of old, and now Chen Ping'an?
The old sect master laughed, "In this matter, others would find it tricky, stretched thin, maybe needing to rob Peter to pay Paul. But Lu Chen, I imagine, will have no problem."
Lu Chen's only problem was that his great Dao foundation might not necessarily be on this present Jade Capital's Sect Leader Lu. Even Zhu Lian might be a decoy.
It wasn't that he couldn't take back all the dreams and mind-phases. But once taken back, forcing the dreams to be untied or waking up midway would be a waste of all previous efforts. Lu Chen would likely find it very difficult to maintain his old Dao heart.
But this possibility was just the old sect master's personal guess.
Lu Chen did have some sincere respect for this stinky old Daoist.
All things are born. What does "born" mean? One interpretation: a cow plowing the land.
The Lotus Flower Blessed Land and the Lotus Small Cave Heaven were interconnected. And this Bixiao Cave lord had been competing with his master for ten thousand years.
Lu Chen's works were magnificent in imagination, encompassing the nine streams, covering everything. He had imagined numerous fictitious people in his books.
But later readers didn't realize one thing: the person most frequently mentioned by Lu Chen was the Most Holy Teacher.
Lu Chen thought of that Mo who had been like an old friend at first sight on the city wall, and laughed, "That Daoist friend who used to brew wine with Uncle Master at Luobao Beach has now received the instructions of a certain existence and is staying by Chen Ping'an's side as a death warrior, helping to protect the Dao. He is named Mosheng, likes to call himself Xiao Mo, with the Daoist name 'Happy Candle.'"
The old sect master laughed, "Mosheng? Xiao Mo? That'll do."
It seemed that mentioning this like-minded Daoist friend made the old sect master show a few sincere smiles. He stroked his beard and laughed, "He and Bai Jing—one purifies his robe with moonlight, the other tempers his sword edge with sunlight. And they are both sword cultivators. What a matching pair."
Executioner Hao Su asked doubtfully, "Bai Jing?"
It was a name he had never heard. Judging by the old sect master's meaning, this was an extremely formidable demon sword cultivator?
Lu Chen laughed and explained, "Bai Jing is one generation lower than Uncle Master Bixiao, but is a cultivation predecessor with roughly the same Dao age as Daoist Xiao Mo. This female sword cultivator, whether in offense or defense, might be slightly better than Xiao Mo?"
The old sect master nodded, "That woman has a violent temper and is also extremely capable in a fight. Back then, Xiao Mo really couldn't beat her. He was forced to receive her sword three times and lost each time."
The old sect master suddenly laughed loudly, "So when we were brewing wine at Luobao Beach back then, I advised him: always hiding from Bai Jing is no way to live. Rather than being forcibly 'slept with' by Bai Jing one day, it's better to submit willingly. If it's really hard, just get yourself drunk—close your eyes and open them, done deal. Then you can legitimately become a pair of Dao companions and dominate the world."
From this, one could see that the old sect master had a really good relationship with Xiao Mo.
The old sect master asked, "Lu Chen, aren't you going to the next bright moon to see how that celestial immortal from Pivot City is progressing in his seclusion?"
Lu Chen shook his head, "Forget it. What if that Daoist friend asks me to help protect his Dao? Agreeing would invite trouble, refusing would hurt the friendship."
In ancient times, there were heavenly gods and earthly deities. Later, sword light and spells fell like rain onto the human world, and on the earth, there appeared cultivation practitioners. The superior scholars heard the Dao, and heavenly immortals were not touched by worldly karma. The inferior scholars heard the Dao, and earthly immortals did not eat human food.
Thus came Daoist priests, scholars, craftsmen, the Hundred Schools, and various lineages of Qi practitioners.
It was both a hundred flowers blooming in a garden and the human world being overgrown with weeds.
In that long and arduous period of cultivation history, speaking only of the human race, they rose the fastest, had the least internal strife, almost no sectarian prejudice, and almost everyone was a propagator of the Dao and a protector of the Dao.
The old sect master suddenly said, "Don't touch that Wang Yuanlu from the Jade Capital. I plan to take him as a disciple."
During the earlier observation of the moon relocation, Wang Yuanlu had stood near Sun Huaizhong of Profound Capital Monastery. He looked like a thin Daoist priest with a bitter face, only in his thirties but looking quite old. He wore an old felt hat, cotton shoes, and a faded blue cotton Daoist robe with the cotton padding turned outward and yellowed. He exuded a strong air of poverty. He was one of the young candidates of the Ten, yet he didn't even have a decent Dharma robe.
But this timid, cowering, and poverty-stricken Daoist priest was not sloppy at all on the cultivation path. Even disregarding the guards and attendants of the Daoist officials with formal registry status, Wang Yuanlu had already killed nearly a hundred of them.
Lu Chen looked troubled.
Uncle Master Bixiao, you can just do this business quietly. There's no need to greet your nephew about it.
That young Daoist priest who came from the "Rice Thief" lineage was indeed an interesting person.
Between Shan Qing and Wang Yuanlu, Lu Chen had actually hesitated about taking a disciple on behalf of his master. It was only because, according to mountain rules, Sun Daochang was considered Wang Yuanlu's half-propagator of the Dao that Lu Chen gave up the plan. Otherwise, the current closed-door disciple of the Dao Ancestor might have been this ill-fated Wang Yuanlu.
It was said that at the beginning of his cultivation, Wang Yuanlu once stood at the entrance of a donkey-grinding mill in a market alley, gnawing on a baked naan bread, staring blankly at the grinding marks on the wall inside the house. As he watched, he burst into loud cries.
Lu Chen communicated with the old sect master via heart voice about one matter.
The young Hidden Official had once been open with Lu Chen, saying that when he had entered the Stagnation realm's gas-solid layer, he had seen a divine figure on a strange mountain peak.
Lu Chen had immediately guessed the identity of that existence. The culprit who nearly split the human race in ancient times was none other than the First Ancestor of the Military Strategist, who for ten thousand years had controlled the circulation of martial luck across several worlds.
Merits and faults didn't cancel each other. The ten-thousand-year deadline would soon arrive.
The "Three Teachings and One Family" of several worlds and the "Hundred Schools" of the Haoran World had always been calculated separately.
The Military Strategist lineage, which was only one step away from establishing a sect and becoming a founder.
There had once been a thrilling "joint beheading."
The old sect master said, "If you regard Wu Shuangjiang's inquiry sword as a pure inquiry sword, then your Jade Capital is underestimating this person."
Enough said; stop where appropriate. Saying more would create complications, and saying more would lead to more mistakes.
Lu Chen nodded, silent for a long time. Then he said abruptly, "Since ancient times, the one without fault."
The old sect master said calmly, "Can only be a deity."
Lu Chen sighed with emotion, "No wonder Uncle Master had such a good opinion of Chen Ping'an so early. It's not without reason. The two of you really hit it off."
Chen Ping'an had once praised Sun Daochang of Profound Capital Monastery with a heartfelt "Daochang, Daochang."
And Sun Huaizhong really did "lean on the sky, ten thousand miles, must have a long sword," and by virtue of this, he entered the Fourteen Realm.
Earlier, in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, there was a phrase: "Senior's Dao skills truly penetrate the heavens."
Perhaps any ten thousand good words couldn't compare to the essence of the word "penetrate the heavens."
Was this using intentless calculation against intent, and an unintentional word becoming a prophecy?
The fire-tending boy inside the house timidly asked his master via heart voice, received a decree allowing him a short break, stood up immediately, puffed out his chest, stepped over the threshold, and said rudely, "Lu Laosan, are you here to freeload?"
This was following local customs. In the Azure Void World, they all called Lu Chen "Lu Laosan." This was already a polite address. Sun Daochang liked to call Lu Chen "Little San'er."
Lu Chen glanced at the large gourd on the little Daoist boy's back. It was one of the sword-nurturing gourds "fruited" by his master's hand-planted gourd vine, named "Douliang."
Presumably, this gourd contained a lot of East Sea water taken from the Haoran World, rich in water luck, immeasurable.
Once the old sect master let the little fire-tending boy pour all that seawater somewhere, it would be a considerable act of creation and merit for this "mountain-rich, water-poor" Azure Void World.
But the old sect master certainly didn't lack this; it was probably left for this little Daoist boy who didn't know his good fortune.
Lu Chen grinned, "Hard cultivation, meet at the peak. When we meet, ask not about worldly affairs."
The little Daoist boy, carrying a gourd as tall as a man, said impatiently, "Don't spout those sour and cheesy things at me. Little Daoist Ye hates that stuff the most."
Lu Chen put on a stern face, "The Old Scholar personally told me that if I see you next time and you're still not behaving, talking nonsense, and being disrespectful, I should hit you with a tree branch."
The little Daoist boy glared, "Pah! The Old Scholar and I are friends despite age difference, good brothers. I'm not at all familiar with you, Lu Chen. Stop talking nonsense here."
Lu Chen snickered, "Written on your face are the four words 'shame turns to anger, all bark and no bite.'"
The little Daoist boy was stunned. Aren't those eight words? Could Lu Laosan be implying something, hiding a secret?
Lu Chen gave a thumbs up, "Good arithmetic!"
The old sect master said, "I won't see you off."
Lu Chen smiled, made a Daoist salute, and said goodbye to Uncle Master Bixiao.
Executioner Hao Su had nothing to pack; he was alone and unattached.
Their forms turned into rainbows, a flash of sword light, and the two of them sped together toward the Jade Capital.
The fire-tending little Daoist boy asked cautiously, "Master, are you really going to take a disciple?"
The old sect master ignored him.
The little Daoist boy pitifully said, "Master, can I call him senior brother?"
His words were a bit roundabout, but the implication was clear: Master, could you casually accept me as a nominal disciple? Even being the junior brother of the Rice Thief Wang Yuanlu would be fine.
Because this fire-tending little Daoist boy, though he constantly called the old sect master "Master," actually had no true master-disciple relationship.
The old sect master was noncommittal, just saying, "Go back and watch the furnace fire."
The little Daoist boy said "oh," and obediently returned inside.
The old Daoist priest walked out of the small residence and looked down at the human world from within the bright moon.
All living beings have no roots; they drift like dust on the road.
The recluse comes and goes alone; in high places, the cold is unbearable.
The water recedes, the rocks emerge. Heroes rise together, watching like tigers, ready to strike.
They only wait for the Three Teachings' Patriarchs to disperse the Dao, for the world to change, and for the next rain to fall.
After that, there will be a chaotic yet vibrant struggle for survival.
Using the Ascension realm cultivators as a boundary line.
Above them, the Fourteen Realm, like those sitting across the rapids, blocking the way on a single-plank bridge. What they block may not necessarily be those behind them who share the same Dao path.
Below the Fourteen Realm, including the Ascension realm, opportunities arise in countless numbers, as if broad avenues have appeared out of thin air under their feet, promising to reach the summit.
Then all the peak Ascension realm cultivators who have placed their hopes on merging with the Dao will view those Fourteen Realm great cultivators who seem to hang in the sky as potential Daoist enemies.
The Fourteen Realm cultivators will naturally look even more unfavorably upon certain Ascension realm cultivators.
The old sect master lightly sighed.
Old friends on the Dao path gradually grow scarce. I, too, have been drifting for a long time.