Chapter 963: Drink a Cup of Wine
Long Xinpu stared blankly at the clean-cut youth in the tiger-head cap. Could it be, might it be, was it actually…?
For a moment, he felt dizzy, the world spinning. Absolutely, certainly, it simply could not be!
One had to understand that even in the Azure Expanse World, there were countless legions who worshipped, admired, and yearned for that most arrogant of Dao Officials among the human world.
And Long Xinpu was one of them. Moreover, this Dragon Master had a friend on the path who had “sewn” several hundred of Bai Ye’s poems onto his body.
If that fellow were to see the person before him now, he would probably lose his mind on the spot. It would be a bolt from the blue, like enduring a Thunder Calamity.
Long Xinpu quickly took out a jug of wine, tilted his head back, and drained it in one gulp. He needed to slow down, take it slow.
Those who had arrived at Gupu Lake were Daoist Sun, Bai Ye, and Yan Zhuo.
Just now, the old Abbot had instructed his two disciples to get along well with those three fellow cultivators from the Spring Society whom they had met by chance. They rarely went out, so they should chat a bit more. His reasoning was that having more friends on the mountain meant having more paths to walk in the world outside the temple.
Daoist Sun waved his hand and exclaimed in wonder, “What unique adornments, overflowing with fragrance, assailing the nostrils. It would be enough to make the Pear Blossom Palace Maiden feel ashamed to show her face.”
Yan Zhuo’s scalp tingled.
The old Abbot’s words almost reached the point of “there being no bamboo left in the world.”
The Dragon Master before him had once served as prime minister, senior grand secretary, or Guardian True Man for several nations in Yongzhou. Moreover, he had held these positions concurrently, without ever worrying about having too many duties.
Probably a few hundred years ago, he had resigned from all of them in a single day and once again embarked on a wandering, unsettled life. Outside of Bingsie Mountain, he had established over a dozen major and minor cultivation sites. It was said that his most recent one was three rooms of a thatched cottage built on the banks of the Mandrake River in Mizhou.
Long Xinpu spoke with a thick Yongzhou accent, his words full of melancholy sighs. “I still have an iron zither, now in Zhenzhou. I did not bring it, so I cannot play for you.”
The two sides were talking past each other, like a chicken talking to a duck.
“Here to feed the fish again?”
“You can’t say that. That’s both a drink and a dish right there.”
Daoist Sun sneered, “It’s already a business of picking up other people’s scraps. And you still have to flaunt it, put on airs, and make a fool of yourself in another world. At your age, you have no shame.”
Long Xinpu smiled softly. “You can’t say that. In a certain place over there, I’m at least a Jade Pu realm cultivator. How can that be considered putting on airs? Besides, if it weren’t for the old Abbot calling that little Daoist Chen a ‘young fellow cultivator’ one after another, I wouldn’t have traveled such a long distance just for this.”
Daoist Sun glanced at Long Xinpu. “How did you get hurt? Is it because you didn’t name your own sect properly? Going to fall? Before your Soldier Emancipation, do you need me to protect your path a bit?”
Although Long Xinpu liked to cause trouble down in the mortal world, his reputation among the mountain sects was actually passable. He could barely be considered someone who made good connections, with friends all over the world.
If one really thought about it, it was indeed rare for a Qi refiner to make the old Abbot leave Qizhou and seek him out on his own.
Long Xinpu smiled bitterly, not minding the old Abbot’s teasing. “I blame myself. I can’t resent anyone else. I was just too arrogant.”
“Oh? How so?”
Daoist Sun asked with a chuckle, “Did you secretly go pick a fight with that Second Daoist? Do you think you’re Daoist Baolin, able to stand undefeated every time you exchange blows with the Truly Invincible?”
Long Xinpu automatically ignored Daoist Sun’s strange remarks and asked, “Is this a good place to talk?”
Daoist Sun nodded. “You can talk freely.”
Long Xinpu sighed in sincere admiration, “The current old Abbot is truly enviable.”
Afterwards, Long Xinpu concealed nothing. However, the old Abbot deliberately prevented Yan Zhuo from hearing this person’s true thoughts.
It turned out that this famous Dragon Master had once followed a trail of clues to Runyue Peak, looking to “pay respects” to Xinku.
He hadn’t climbed the mountain, nor had he needed to. In the end, at the foot of the mountain, Long Xinpu, who had made thorough preparations, had only uttered four words.
And it had directly injured the very foundation of his Dao.
He immediately vomited a large mouthful of blood. It was like a tangled mess, threads tightly wrapped around each other, of various colors: purple, yellow, red, green.
He had directly dropped an entire realm.
Because Long Xinpu’s four-word prophecy had been far too treasonous.
“The great mansion is about to fall.”
After Daoist Sun heard the gist and process from Long Xinpu, he averted his gaze and quickly returned to his usual expression, sneering, “You people, one after another, can’t you show a bit of masterly bearing, a bit of senior demeanor? You can’t just keep targeting Xinku alone, fleece him dry, can you? That’s just not fair.”
If it weren’t for the fact that the old Abbot had taken a liking to that young friend Xinku from Runyue Peak at first sight, he would have had a much more vivid metaphor.
You people act like you’re queuing up to visit a brothel.
Long Xinpu’s expression was strange. After all, aside from Dao Ancestor and Lu Chen, the third cultivator to set foot on Runyue Peak was the old Abbot before him.
Daoist Sun saw through the other’s thoughts in an instant and said impatiently, “How can I be the same as you people? Back then, I was about to leave my homeland and travel far away, so I went to Runyue Peak to say goodbye to my young friend Xinku.”
“Young friend Xinku,” “my own grandson Wang Yuanlu,” “that little rascal,” and the latest “young fellow cultivator Chen.”
These were all Daoist Sun’s nicknames for some younger juniors on the mountain.
But seeing as Long Xinpu had dropped a realm, he was being a bit nicer to him, holding back a few heartfelt comments.
Daoist Sun said, “It’s only because the Dao Ancestor is magnanimous. Otherwise, he’d have crushed you with a single finger.”
Among the peak cultivators of the Azure Expanse World, regarding this flower-wearing man, the old ancestor of Bingsie Mountain, a famous saying circulated: “Three falls, Two Ascensions.”
It didn’t mean he had successfully beheaded his Three Corpses to become a Corpse Emancipation Immortal like the elegant minister Yao Qing. Instead, it meant he had dropped realms three times. The first time was from Immortal to Jade Pu, and the subsequent two times were from Ascension realm. Yet each time, he had managed to re-enter the Ascension realm.
He had no one to blame but himself. A leopard can’t change its spots. He generally didn’t court trouble, but every time he did, it was major trouble.
“Jade Pu, Immortal, Jade Pu, Immortal, Ascension, Immortal, Ascension, Immortal.”
Daoist Sun raised his left hand, counting on his fingers. Then he raised his right hand. “Can’t count them on one hand. Worthy of being called the Yongzhou Dragon Master. Dropping realms, breaking realms, dropping realms again. Just playing around.”
Long Xinpu suddenly blurted out a string of incoherent words, “In the past, I wouldn’t bow for five bushels of rice. Now, I can lower my head for six. Gentlemen, listen to my random words. I implore you to cherish the lamp at the crossroads. To pour out your own heart for yourself, and to clear others’ grievances and prove their innocence—that is the foremost principle of Heaven.”
Daoist Sun looked displeased and sneered, “So you really want to be a guest at my Xuan Du Temple? How about I arrange for you to clean the latrines? Later, when Old Lu number three comes, you can help receive the guests.”
Yan Zhuo was filled with admiration. When others said such words, they were just cursing. But when Daoist Sun said them… they had a peculiar charm.
Long Xinpu suddenly said, no reason, “Back when the Sage of Literature’s statue was moved out of the Central Earth Literature Temple, I was vehemently opposed.”
Yan Zhuo suddenly realized that this guy deserved to be cursed by Daoist Sun.
Long Xinpu’s words were clearly meant for the youth in the tiger-head cap. Following Daoist Sun’s example, he was actively showing goodwill early. Otherwise, by the time those young people had become great cultivators who had established their own sects, trying to get close to them would be far too costly, time-consuming, and might not even yield results.
The rise of Bai Ye in this life was unstoppable. It was an established fact that even a blind man could see. The favorable timing, earthly advantages, and human harmony were all with “Swordsman Bai Ye.”
Forget it. Let’s just treat him as if he really were Bai Ye.
Upon hearing this, Bai Ye nodded in acknowledgment.
He was helping the old scholar accept this goodwill.
Daoist Sun laughed, “You think you’re some big shot.”
He liked to travel down the mountain, wander around everywhere, never idle. Either spreading prophecies or composing children’s rhymes.
According to speculations from those fond of such matters, for two thousand years, half of the prophecies and rhymes in the three prefectures, including Yongzhou, had come from his mouth.
To use Daoist Sun’s words, it was like letting a fart at someone’s doorstep. It boomed like thunder, but that was it; the wind blew and it dissipated. But if you took a dump at their doorstep… then you’ve made an enemy.
Daoist Sun asked, “Next, are you planning to go to Yongzhou?”
That little girl Zhu Xuan from the Yu Fu Dynasty was afraid of nothing. She suited his taste. It wasn’t for nothing that he had secretly protected her path back then.
Long Xinpu didn’t hide anything. He generously admitted, “Of course. I’ve always loved a crowd. How could I miss that Grand Pujiao ceremony? It’s a grand event that Yongzhou wouldn’t see even once in several hundred years.”
Since his Dao arts were inferior to those like Lu Chen and Gao Gu, some matters of people and events, just watching from the sidelines, couldn’t be calculated even if one broke all one’s fingers.
One could only enter the game first and then get out to gain something.
“I believe the Abbot can already see that I don’t have much time left. I just want to see her one last time, help open the door. Don’t stop me from going to find her. As for whether I can see her once I’m inside, that depends on my own ability. How about it? This request isn’t too much, right?”
“It’s not too much, it’s not.”
And then there was no follow-up.
Long Xinpu said helplessly, “That’s no fun. You have to give a definite answer.”
Daoist Sun suddenly looked very puzzled. “I just can’t understand. You and Bingsie Mountain have no enmity with the White Jade Capital. Besides, inside your sect, you have Fu Quan. This child has naturally sturdy bones and such good talent for cultivation. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have nicknames like ‘Second in Wind Sea’ or ‘Yongzhou Yao Qing’. Back then, Xuan Du Temple just didn’t fight you for him. Otherwise, Fu Quan would be cultivating in Xuan Du Temple right now. Tell me, why are you jumping around like this? Thin arms and spindly legs. Today, it’s me who found you. If you bumped into the Truly Invincible one day, he’d just twist you in two like a grasshopper.”
That young cultivator from Bingsie Mountain worthy of the title ‘genius’ was named Fu Quan, with the Dao name ‘Xuan Chan’. He was the closed-door disciple of the current Bingsie Mountain master.
If he hadn’t just passed the age limit, Fu Quan would definitely have a spot on the list of the top ten young talents from several worlds.
Long Xinpu spoke with his heart’s voice, smiling, “Zhengyang Mountain.”
Daoist Sun was stunned. “What the heck is that?”
Long Xinpu said, “There’s a mountain in Treasure Bottle Continent called Zhengyang Mountain. It’s a sect that has just been promoted to the sect-head level.”
Daoist Sun laughed, “You’re really trying every way possible to get into Xuan Du Temple to sweep the floors. Fine, I’ll let you have your wish.”
I only recently traveled through the Grand Unity World. How could I not know about that ‘Sword Immortal-Filled’ Zhengyang Mountain?
Xuan Du Temple. Peach blossoms bloomed beautifully.
The grandson of the Dao, with the Dao name ‘Kongshan’, sat under a peach tree, hands folded, eyes closed in meditation.
Idle sitting in the peach grove, sword drawn and laid across his lap.
The moon over the creek was faint, and the mountain peaches were red as blood.
When Long Xinpu saw his long-cherished fellow villager, Wang Sun, who still had the face of a young girl, he even showed a hint of shyness. His voice wasn’t loud either. “Long time no see.”
Her brows were like peaks gathering sorrow, her eyes like a willow-bending ferry.
She was still as she had been back then. No matter how he looked, she was beautiful.
The beauty of the woman in one’s heart was always so moving. It was a beauty so great that eyes capable of holding the sun and moon couldn’t contain her. One had to move her into one’s heart, leave her in one’s heart.
Wang Sun looked up at that famous ‘Dragon Master’. Besides, he was a fellow villager. She nodded, her voice crisp. “It seems like a long time.”
Old acquaintances. In a reunion, the worst thing was to have too little old news to talk about, to exchange a few pleasantries and then have nothing to say.
The fear was that old news was just old news.
Wang Sun seemed to feel that sitting while talking wasn’t sincere enough. But just as she was about to stand up, Long Xinpu sat down on the ground with a plop. He gently flicked a few peach petals by his feet into the distance and asked softly, “Fellow Daoist Kongshan, can I have a drink?”
Wang Sun smiled. “What kind of question is that?”
Long Xinpu took out a miniature flask made of emerald green glass, only the size of a fist. He tilted his head back and took a sip of wine.
When we first met, she slowly passed through my heart. From that wasteland, flowers bloomed.
That melancholy young man traveled all spring, among the silk and fine clothes and clusters of flowers. The one who captured my attention the most was Wang Sun. Still Wang Sun. Only Wang Sun.
I first met you at nine. When I saw you again, I was ninety.
The boy who rode bamboo horses turns into a white-haired old man.
He clearly had a thousand words to say, but he didn’t know where to begin. After a long silence, Long Xinpu just made a self-deprecating comment. “My talent isn’t good. It’s only natural that you don’t think much of me.”
Wang Sun frowned slightly. “That’s not what this is about at all.”
Long Xinpu mustered his courage to retort. “Actually, it is. Think about it: if I had the sword arts of that Truly Invincible, or the Dao arts of Headmaster Lu, wouldn’t you give me a few more glances, listen more patiently to a few more things about me?”
Wang Sun thought for a moment. “It seems… that’s actually true.”
But in truth, the Dragon Master knew very well that it wasn’t actually like that at all.
Raising his realm, making his name bigger—it would only make Wang Sun look at him a few more times and listen to a few more things. In the end, it still had nothing to do with liking.
The reason he was being so ‘deliberately difficult’ was just to talk a bit more with her, to avoid an awkward silence, to avoid staring at each other speechless.
If it were just awkwardness, that would be fine. But he was afraid she would feel awkward, have nothing to say, just exchange a pleasantry or two, and then turn and leave.
All the infatuations of unrequited love in the world seemed to be worth nothing.
But if it were worth something, why would one need to pine away?
Long Xinpu said cautiously, “Regarding persuading Bai Ye to be a lecturer or a hall master… I can try. It would be best if I can help you… people out. If I can’t, it’s no loss for your Xuan Du Temple either.”
Wang Sun seemed slightly surprised. She nodded without hesitation. “Regardless of success or failure, I thank you in advance.”
Long Xinpu fell silent. Finding things to say was actually not an easy task.
Wang Sun said, “Entering the Ascension realm twice is an extraordinary feat.”
Long Xinpu mocked himself. “It’s okay, I guess.”
Wang Sun raised an eyebrow.
Long Xinpu immediately changed his tune. “It is indeed very good!”
Regarding the newly released list of the world’s top ten, Long Xinpu hesitated, looking worried.
He was an ancestor in this business. He knew best the tricks and dangers hidden within.
If it weren’t for this list that had inexplicably spread across the world, Long Xinpu probably wouldn’t have come to Xuan Du Temple to see Wang Sun.
The Azure Expanse World’s newest list of the world’s top ten.
To be precise, it was eleven people.
Yu Dou, Lu Chen, Bixiao Cave Master, Wu Zhou, Sun Huaizhong, Lin Jiangxian, Wu Shuangjiang, Gao Gu, Yao Qing, Wang Sun, Xinku.
Actually, before this, in several worlds, no matter how those fond of such matters drew up their own lists, ten people were ten people.
This was because the last list of the top ten young talents (and top ten reserves) from several worlds had set a precedent: a list of ten people, yet it became eleven.
It seemed to have formed a tradition.
Long Xinpu’s smile was dry. “Fellow Daoist Kongshan, about that list of the world’s top ten…”
Wang Sun stated bluntly, “Based on Dao techniques and killing power, I shouldn’t be among the top ten. At most, I should be thrown into the reserve list.”
Long Xinpu let out a heavy sigh.
The reserve candidates were extremely numerous. A full twenty-one people!
Apart from the leading monk, “Jiang Xiu,” a completely unknown figure who was explicitly defined as “the world’s eleventh,” the remaining twenty were ranked without distinction of high or low.
It was truly impossible to distinguish the superiority of these great cultivators and martial arts masters.
Many might never have even met each other. Moreover, many peak cultivators, in the last millennium or several centuries, had no records of fighting, no instances of dueling with anyone in terms of Dao techniques or sword arts.
The Five Cities and Twelve Towers of the White Jade Capital had three Dao Officials on the reserve list.
The First Deputy City Lord of Nanhua City, Purple Vacuity Prime Minister, Lady Wei. This female Daoist was jointly venerated as the first generation ancestor by the Huang Ting Temple lineage of the Azure Expanse World.
Lady Wei had many disciples. Among them, a direct disciple was in charge of the world’s hundred flowers, possessing a celestial trace known as “commanding the flowers not to leave the mountain.”
The Master of the Purple Qi Tower, Jiang Zhaomo.
The Palace Master of the Zhenyue Palace within the Biyun Tower, an old True Man named Huang Jieshou, Dao name “Quanheng,” also known as “Xuanhuang.” Besides guarding the Misty Grotto of Zhenyue Palace, he was also responsible for managing that suit of extremely high-quality armor. There was a library building named “A Day Without Leisure Building.” The old Daoist always wore a string of keys weighing several pounds at his waist. It was said that his reason for calling himself “Xuanhuang” was because the Dao Ancestor had personally bestowed the character “Xuan” as a study plaque for the library, probably a sign of the Dao Ancestor’s high hopes for Huang Jieshou.
The previous Master and current Master of the Biyun Tower were Huang Jieshou’s disciple and second-generation disciple. Huang Jieshou and Pang Ding, the City Lord of Lingbao City (Dao name “Xuxin”), were Dao seekers of roughly the same age. According to mountain calculations, a cycle of sixty years or a hundred years counted as one generation. They were “same-year” Qi refiners on the mountain. There was also a saying of a millennium being one generation, which was a larger generational division. Huang Jieshou and Pang Ding, these two “same-generation” old Daoists, had actually been cultivating for longer than Yu Dou and Lu Chen, the two Headmasters of the White Jade Capital. If one only spoke of Dao age, regardless of status, then apart from the Great Headmaster Kou Ming, all other Celestial Immortal Dao Officials were their juniors on the mountain.
If one were to add the Ascension realm swordsman currently cultivating within the Shenxiao City of the White Jade Capital, the last Executioner of the Sword Qi Great Wall, Hao Su.
Then the White Jade Capital would effectively have four reserves.
Bingzhou, Qingshen Dynasty: National Teacher Bai Ou, a Martial Artist at the Ultimate Realm, the world’s third greatest martial artist.
The top person on the mountain in Ruzhou: a certain Zhu. His newest Dao name was “Lüping.” In years past, he was a nailed-on candidate for the world’s eleventh. Now, he’d had his position snatched by a Jiang Xiu who had appeared out of nowhere.
Yanzhou: a loose cultivator sword immortal named Nie Bixia. Three thousand years of wandering life, drifting everywhere, missing for a long time. However, it was said that her fate lamp kept in the Huayang Palace on Difei Mountain had never gone out in a thousand years. Theories about Nie Bixia’s whereabouts were numerous and varied. Some said she had long gone beyond the sky to forge her sword. Others said she might be in the Heaven Beyond Heaven, using Outer Realm Demons to hone her sword path. Still, others even said she had gone to the Western Buddhist Kingdom.
Zhu Prefecture: the founding ancestor of the Qingci Palace, the grand-uncle of the current Palace Master, Yuan Huanxian. His Dao name was Nanyang Yu. He was proficient in talismans and had created several grand talismans. His other alias was ‘innocent poet’. However, his most famous Dao name, which somehow spread, was ‘Hundred Calamities’. It was said that Yuan Huanxian bore the literary fortune of two prefectures and had a very good chance of reaching the Fourteenth Realm.
Bao Lin: a loose cultivator. She was even more of a female Ascension realm swordsman. Her most famous story was her ‘entanglements of gratitude and enmity’ with the Truly Invincible, though it had nothing to do with romantic love.
The founding female ancestor of the Liangjing Mountain: Zhaoge. Her Dao name was ‘Fukan’.
Suichu Palace: the Night-watcher, Bai Luo.
It was said that the Headmaster Lu of the White Jade Capital held this person in very high esteem, claiming that he seemed overestimated but was actually still underestimated.
Unfortunately, Bai Luo had almost no records of sparring or seeking the Dao with others.
A shaded mountain guest: surnamed Wang, Dao name ‘Taiyi’. He liked raising geese.
In the Azure Expanse World, besides the Fourteen Prefectures, there was also a saying of ‘Small Four Prefectures’. These were actually four islands located within a great lake. The largest of these islands was not inferior in size to Yong Prefecture.
The surnamed Wang was one of the nominal two lake masters of this giant lake.
The other lake master was a female cultivator named Lei Yu. She was of demonic origin, her true form being a python.
A female Daoist named Yang Qing, Dao name ‘Shen Lou’. She was from the Hongnong Yang clan of Youzhou. She was also the owner of the Hai Shan Celestial Mansion within the Shoushan Pavilion.
Additionally, there was a pair of twin sisters. However, they had different surnames, following their father’s and mother’s surnames respectively. One was named Xu Mian, extremely beautiful. The other was named Xu Yingning, but her face was terrifyingly hideous. They were the founding ancestors of two heretical lineages: the Dressing Maiden Officials and the Crimson Scented Hands. They each owned a Green Clay Grotto-Heaven and a Heavenly Earth Blessed Land. Because their Dao lineages were not considered orthodox, they had almost no contact with the outside world. Their inclusion on the reserve list caused a massive shock throughout the world.
Mizhou: the founding emperor of the Hengyang Dynasty, Luo Yi. His Dao name was ‘Fire Official’.
Peizhou, Youshan Country: ‘Shade Marquis’ Wu Xi.
Bone Skeleton True Man.
A monk from the Hongfu Temple in Yanzhou: Dharma name ‘Weishi’, secular name Chen Tongxing.
Jiang Xiu. Huang Jieshou, Lady Wei, Jiang Zhaomo. Hao Su.
Bai Ou, that Zhu, Bao Lin, Bai Luo, Zhaoge, Nie Bixia, Lei Yu, Bone Skeleton True Man, Yuan Huanxian, surnamed Wang, Yang Qing, Wu Xi, Luo Yi, Chen Tongxing, Xu Mian, Xu Yingning.
The reserve list totaled twenty-one people, including nine female cultivators.
Long Xinpu smiled bitterly. “These two lists are essentially a declaration of war.”
Wang Sun nodded. “Little Sun says the same thing.”
Xuan Du Temple, Suichu Palace, Huayang Palace on Difei Mountain. There were Sun Huaizhong, Wang Sun. Wu Shuangjiang, Bai Luo. Gao Gu.
There were two monks, Jiang Xiu and Chen Tongxing. And the situation of monks and temples in the Azure Expanse World was… well, you could imagine.
Additionally, Lü Bixia, Bao Lin, Yang Qing of the Hongnong Yang clan, Xu Mian of the Green Clay Grotto-Heaven, and Xu Yingning of the Heavenly Earth Blessed Land all had historical grievances with the White Jade Capital due to their respective life experiences, family backgrounds, or treatment of their Dao lineages.
In previous selections, there were those reclusive experts who would contact the Immortal Staff sect in advance, volunteering not to be ranked or evaluated, to avoid being burdened by fame, attracting unwanted social obligations or needless Dao technique duels. Of course, there were also those peak cultivators who sought fame or, out of consideration for their own interests, had to desperately fight for a spot. The latter were mostly dynasty emperors, or abbots/founding ancestors of some temples and sects that were at the bottom of the top-tier sects. The former wanted to attract talents and heroes from various prefectures; the latter wanted to absorb more immortal materials and cultivation talents from outside the mountains.
But this time, it wasn't the work of the Immortal Staff sect. How could anyone send word in advance?
Many who probably didn't want to be ranked ended up on the list. Many who wanted to be evaluated couldn't find the temple even carrying a pig's head.
Back on the wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall, Lu Chen had met Xiao Mo and felt like old friends. They had chatted about the Azure Expanse World. Headmaster Lu had casually mentioned over a dozen names of recluses and experts. Most of those who were mentioned ended up on the evaluation list. It showed that Headmaster Lu often stood on the highest railing of the White Jade Capital, either sunbathing or moon-gazing. He hadn't wasted his time observing the customs of a whole world.
The twenty-one people led by Jiang Xiu.
All of them were only on the reserve list.
Yet they explicitly placed Wang Sun of Xuan Du Temple on the top ten list.
And furthermore, the world’s tenth was a tie between two people.
Couldn’t they have placed Wang Sun eleventh?
Of course they could.
Even in Long Xinpu’s eyes, as long as Wang Sun hadn’t reached the Fourteenth Realm, she was at best a reserve candidate. She couldn’t compete with Jiang Xiu for the eleventh spot.
Others didn’t know Jiang Xiu’s background and sword arts, but Long Xinpu knew them very well.
This was equivalent to deliberately putting Xuan Du Temple on the fire.
Having two of the world’s top ten within a single sect.
Apart from the White Jade Capital, this was an unprecedented feat in the history of the Azure Expanse World.
The key point was that Xuan Du Temple was famously at odds with the White Jade Capital. Xuan Du Temple was a bit different from Huayang Palace on Difei Mountain. The latter, at least, had a specific grudge, allowing it to maintain a tolerable relationship with the White Jade Capital on the surface. However, because of Daoist Sun, Xuan Du Temple was universally recognized as the number one force daring to openly wrestle with the White Jade Capital. Then came Suichu Palace and Wu Shuangjiang.
If it had been the work of the Immortal Staff sect, Long Xinpu would never have let Wang Sun be on the list. Not even the reserve list was acceptable. After all, Bingsie Mountain and the Immortal Staff sect were old neighbors in Yongzhou. And Long Xinpu was the highest-generation cultivator in Bingsie Mountain, very familiar with several old ancestors of the Immortal Staff sect; they had personal friendships.
The reason why Xuan Du Temple had formed a mortal enmity with the White Jade Capital—or, more precisely, with the Headmaster Yu Dou—was a case of ‘irreconcilable hatred’.
It stemmed from a pair of master and disciples in Xuan Du Temple: Huang Gan and Song Maolu.
This pair, one with the Dao name ‘Qingli’, the other respectfully called ‘Teacher Song’.
But when the former was alive, he hadn’t even made the reserve list. Song Maolu had made the reserve list once. The reason this ‘Teacher of All Nations’ from Yongzhou didn’t rank higher and failed to enter the world’s top ten was said to be due to the Immortal Staff sect’s efforts, to avoid being too conspicuous and attracting trouble.
But even so, there was ultimately that infamous ‘Granary Pacification’ battle in Yongzhou. From then on, the Azure Expanse World gained the scattered Rice Bandit lineage.
And Huang Gan, as hers and the old Abbot’s junior fellow disciple, died at the hands of Yu Dou. What’s more, Huang Gan died inside Xuan Du Temple itself!
So before going to Yongzhou, Long Xinpu planned to take a detour, go back to his hometown, and first visit the Immortal Staff sect.
His goal was to produce a new ‘more convincing’ list of the world’s top ten.
Simply put, besides being persuasive, it needed a bigger gimmick, to attract more attention and discussion, and to override the influence of the previous list.
Given Wang Sun’s temperament, even if her status as ‘the world’s tenth’ was undeserved, she would absolutely never give it up voluntarily.
Even if she knew this ‘declaration of war’ was full of danger, Wang Sun would only accept it calmly. The only response was to draw her sword with determination.
To have Xuan Du Temple’s official gazette publish some hesitant, vague words, beating around the bush like a bullied little daughter-in-law, shuttling between gourd ladle and calabash… that would be a huge joke. It would appear both guilty and futile. The more they tried to explain, the more suspicion would arise, only causing the opposite effect. And it would definitely not be in line with the usual style of Xuan Du Temple’s Daoists.
Wang Sun said, “It’s fine. Once I reach the Fourteenth Realm, those who are laughing now won’t be able to laugh anymore.”
Long Xinpu said grimly, “I actually hope you don’t reach the Fourteenth Realm.”
Wang Sun was silent for a rare moment. She needed to formulate her words. “Find someone else to like.”
Long Xinpu drained the wine from his flask, saying with carefree laughter, “Hard. Harder than making Wang Sun like me.”
Wang Sun remained silent.
Long Xinpu looked up, murmuring softly, “It’s going to snow again.”
This snowstorm would be very heavy.
Setting aside his selfish motives, the scroll of the landscape that was slowly unrolling its corner… it would certainly be very spectacular.
Long Xinpu stood up to take his leave. He slowly walked out of the peach grove. He didn’t ride the wind. He didn’t shrink the earth. He just walked step by step out of the peach grove, slowly leaving the field of vision of the woman behind him.
The old Abbot came to his senior sister’s side, watching the dejected Long Xinpu leave. For such matters, outsiders couldn’t really say anything.
Wang Sun suddenly said, “If Song Maolu had been born in the Grand Unity World, would it have been better?”
The old Abbot nodded. “Absolutely.”
He hesitated for a moment, then said with a slight bitterness, “If this child had gone to the White Jade Capital earlier, maybe he would be the rightful Headmaster Song by now.”
Wang Sun said, “You can’t put it that way. I believe Song Maolu might resent Xuan Du Temple, might resent you, might resent me. But he wouldn’t regret cultivating at Xuan Du Temple.”
The old Abbot hummed in agreement. “Obviously. No doubt about it.”
Wang Sun said, “Since we know he doesn’t regret it, we, as his elders, should feel even more guilty.”
The old Abbot said, “We can’t just slap ourselves in the face every day, can we?”
Wang Sun said, “You can stick your face out here. I have two hands. Finding one to spare isn’t hard.”
The old Abbot was speechless and then laughed. His senior sister still had such interesting ideas.
The closed-door disciple of junior fellow disciple Huang Gan, nephew-discipline Song Maolu.
The flower in the wall scented the garden outside. In Yongzhou, which didn’t even border Qizhou, he established his own sect. The prosperity and grandeur of his Dao lineage were worthy of the phrase ‘unprecedented and unrepeatable’.
It was all because of that turbulent ‘Granary Pacification of Yongzhou’ battle. On the side of Xuan Du Temple, for some unknown reason, they chose to stand idly by. It was said that Sun Huaizhong himself had issued a dharma decree, forbidding anyone from leaving the temple to rush to Yongzhou to aid Song Maolu. As a result, Song Maolu’s batch of direct disciples fled or were killed. In the end, only a handful remained, displaced and wandering like homeless dogs, scattered across Yongzhou, Qizhou, and several other prefectures. They barely managed to gain a foothold, passing down a few sparse and fading Dao lineages for their grand-master Huang Gan and master Song Maolu.
And these few Daoists from these struggling lineages harbored no less hatred for Xuan Du Temple than they did for the White Jade Capital.
The older the Dao officials, especially those who had experienced that battle, the harder it was for them to let go of their feelings towards Xuan Du Temple.
In the vast Yongzhou, with all its nations, every single one, without exception, had revered Song Maolu as their National Teacher.
In his time, Song Maolu may not have had the formal name of establishing a religion and being called an ancestor, but he had the reality of being a religious leader.
This was a feat worthy of being called unprecedented and unrepeatable.
Similar to Lin Jiangxian being respectfully called ‘Teacher Lin’, Song Maolu was also respectfully called ‘Teacher Song’ by the mountain sects back then, rather than being addressed by his Dao name.
Song Maolu and Zhang Haifeng of the White Jade Capital (nicknamed ‘Little Headmaster’) were once praised as the Twin Jewels of the world.
In the eyes of the outside world, these Daoists of Yongzhou were defeated but honorable. As the headmaster, Song Maolu died a glorious death.
Song Maolu would rather his body perish and his Dao vanish than drag out a miserable existence, imprisoned in the Misty Grotto of Zhenyue Palace in the White Jade Capital.
It was said that Song Maolu once declared, “If I really go to the White Jade Capital, I will go neither as a guest nor as a prisoner. The only way is to cross swords with you.”
The reason Sun Huaizhong had actively gone to the Qingshen Dynasty to find Wang Yuanlu, who was from the Rice Bandit lineage, and the old Abbot’s joking back then about it being Wang Yuanlu’s ancestor… in a sense, it truly was all a joke.
But the current Rice Bandit lineage was vastly different from the Yongzhou Daoists of that time. Most were just taking advantage of the situation, with mixed and impure private talismans. Furthermore, this matter was a taboo for the White Jade Capital, not recorded in Daoist temples or official histories. As time passed, so much so that the young Daoists of the current Rice Bandit lineage had no idea why, when their own lineage clearly cultivated the orthodox and correct methods of the Daoist path, they were called ‘Rice Bandits’!
History was a forgetful old man. Books of history, then, were a skinny fellow.
So, it was said that inside Xuan Du Temple, there was an unwritten rule of the Patriarch Hall. It was passed down orally through generations, not recorded in writing, warning the temple’s Dao seekers: if you encounter the old fellow disciples from those few lineages on the road one day, let them hit you without fighting back, let them scold you without talking back. Whether you can win or not, just don’t make a move. This was quite a unique and strange rule.
Sun Huaizhong of Xuan Du Temple dared to curse the White Jade Capital. He dared to curse everyone in the world.
Only these few lineages, spread across a dozen or so temples and monasteries—even a newly entered Dao boy—dared, and would, curse Sun Huaizhong.
And Bingsie Mountain, as the only top-notch sect that had openly allied with Song Maolu back then, although it seemed to have received a timely warning from Song Maolu and unilaterally tore up the alliance to avoid severe losses, apart from Long Xinpu, their feelings towards Daoist Sun and Xuan Du Temple were…
You, Abbot Sun, have cultivated for thousands of years, your sword arts bordering on divine. Besides offering a few insubstantial curses towards the White Jade Capital, what else have you done? And what do you dare to do?
Daoist Sun said, “Senior Sister, about that matter… let’s just forget it.”
Seeing his senior sister remain silent, Daoist Sun continued, “Junior brother was junior brother. On my side, there’s Zhan Qing and Di Yuanfeng. Plus your two. We are all different people now. I believe little junior brother also wouldn’t want us to go to all this trouble. If senior sister hasn’t forgotten, back when we fellow disciples discussed this matter specifically, only little junior brother had the most unique viewpoint, the farthest from ours.”
Wang Sun leaned her back against a peach tree, arms crossed over her chest, her head slightly raised, staring straight at Sun Huaizhong.
It seemed she was saying: I’ve worked hard for over a thousand years, and now, at this critical juncture, you tell me to forget it? Little Sun, are you looking for a beating or a thrashing? Come on, give me a definite answer.
How was this any different from taking a shit in the latrine and not using toilet paper to wipe?
Just thinking about it made Wang Sun feel she was letting her little junior brother down.
Sun Huaizhong steeled himself and said, “Senior Sister, just listen to me for a moment.”
Wang Sun still remained silent.
Sun Huaizhong sighed. “Senior Sister, what we are doing might make little junior brother even more resentful. It’s not worth it. It won’t make him feel good.”
Wang Sun withdrew her gaze and softly hummed in agreement.
Now it was Sun Huaizhong’s turn to be uncertain. He asked cautiously, “Senior Sister can truly let it go?”
“It’s nothing.”
Wang Sun murmured, “I just suddenly realized I can almost no longer remember what Huang Gan looked like. That makes me a bit sad.”
With just this one sentence, the old Abbot immediately turned his head away, not daring to look at his senior sister anymore.
Wang Sun waved her hand. “Don’t disturb my cultivation. Go cool off somewhere.”
The old Abbot nodded silently and walked to a study room that had been unoccupied for years.
Inside the study hung a couplet. It was written by the little junior brother himself.
Pipa, Huang Gan, Qing Li. A lone crane rushes up to the Southern Sky. It must do what must be done throughout the ages.
Penglai, Yingzhou, Fanghu. Immortals ride the wind down the Northern Mountain. It must be an indispensable person through the millennia.
Stories of old friends. The storytellers are no longer young, let alone the characters in those stories.
The old Abbot picked up the broom and dustpan from the corner and began to sweep the spotless study.
After closing the door, the old Abbot went to Bai Ye’s thatched hut. He didn’t stand on ceremony with Bai Ye, actually boiling a pot of eggs for himself.
The old Abbot picked up a boiled egg. Bai Ye shook his head. The old Abbot then lightly tapped the egg on the table and swallowed it whole. He laughed indistinctly, “Back in the day, little junior brother read the most books. He read a lot of Buddhist scriptures, treatises, and rules. He probably read all the Buddhist texts in the whole Azure Expanse World. Of course, that has to do with the fact that there aren’t that many Buddhist texts here.”
The old Abbot picked up another boiled egg and laughed. “Break the shell of ignorance, exhaust the river of afflictions. Be liberated from all birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, and suffering.”
Bai Ye just sat across the table.
After eating three boiled eggs, the old Abbot clapped his hands. “Letting personal grudges entangle the whole world is not my wish.”
The old man’s expression was calm. He paused for a moment, then continued, “But if it’s unavoidable… then this is how it must be.”
Bai Ye said, “Since you’ve thought so much, why keep thinking?”
The old Daoist smiled knowingly and nodded. “Makes sense.”
It must do what must be done throughout the ages. It must be an indispensable person through the millennia.
If the thing that must be done and the person who is indispensable came to a conflict where a choice had to be made, then choose the former and discard the latter.
The children in the marketplace all played the game of “Eagle Catches Chicks.” The child at the tail was like the closed-door disciple of a sect master, the little junior disciple of the senior brothers and sisters.
Huang Gan and Song Maolu. This pair of master and disciple. One was the closed-door disciple of the previous Abbot. The other was the closed-door disciple of the former.
The vast Xuan Du Temple had failed to protect either of them.
Even if there were reasons, they didn’t count as excuses.
Over so many years, under Daoist Sun’s leadership, Xuan Du Temple had actually gained much deeper foundations compared to the time of their master, Qing Yuan Daoist.
Plant a towering tree that future generations can rest under. Dig a well. Build a pavilion for people to rest in.
Whatever it was, one had to do something, leave something behind.
The old Abbot laughed. “How about a drink?”
Bai Ye said, “I’ll only have one cup. Daoist Sun can drink as he pleases.”
The old Abbot said, “One cup is enough.”
The old man took out a wine jug and two cups. They were all old things. Even the wine was old. He had been reluctant to drink it, treasuring it for many years.
Bai Ye adjusted his tiger-head cap and drank the wine. His face immediately flushed bright red.
The old Abbot laughed heartily. Was this still the most arrogant man in the human world, Bai Ye?
The old Abbot quickly finished his cup of wine and turned his head to look out the door.
A youth travels far. It seems he always bears the scorching sun on his back, always carries moonlight on his shoulders.
It seems that every ‘today’ of a youth, his eyes always look forward, longing for ‘tomorrow’, hoping for ‘the day after tomorrow’.
It seems all the past can be collectively called ‘yesterday’.
Dreaming back into the crowd of youths, I too am a youth.
Bai Ye across the table.
Perhaps this former ‘most arrogant in the human world’ of the Grand Unity World himself didn’t know, couldn’t predict, that some of his poems were written as if for himself.
For example, for his home world, the most arrogant one who had built his cultivation site on an isolated island overseas was like a sea traveler riding the celestial wind, like a cloud bird, vanishing without a trace.
For example, for the foreign Azure Expanse World, it would be ‘the sword flower and autumn lotus shine out of the sheath’.
The old man squinted and smiled, his expression calm.
Drain a cup of wine. Cross swords with the White Jade Capital.