Chapter 990: Double Happiness Arrives
At the corridor on the first floor of the bamboo building, Chen Ping'an held a booklet in his hand, with Nuan Shu and Little Rice sitting on either side. Both tilted their heads to look at the contents of the third page, the "chronicle."
The white-haired boy said smugly, "I aim to compile and narrate, shining brightly for a thousand autumns. Hidden Official Ancestor, if you hadn't reminded me that the chronicle needs simple and unadorned language, the plainer the better, I would have shown you what it means for literary quality to shine brilliantly."
Chen Ping'an laughed, rolled up the booklet, and tapped it on the boy's head. Nuan Shu continued to lower her head and sew cloth shoes, while Little Rice immediately turned away, not looking.
As Chen Ping'an tapped the white-haired boy, he said with a mix of anger and amusement, "Trouble the compiler-official to explain to me what those three annotations mean?"
It turned out that on the chronicle, it was written: In the sixth year of Chunping, on the twenty-seventh day of the first month, Liu Baqiao, the Nascent Soul stage sword cultivator from Wind and Thunder Garden, accompanied by eighteen-year-old Guanhai stage sword cultivator Nangong Xingyan, visited Fallen Mountain as guests. They discussed with Mountain Lord Chen Ping'an attending the opening ceremony of Wind and Thunder Garden's Golden Core sword cultivator Xing Youheng. The mountain lord was scheduled to descend the mountain on the day of Lixia. On the twenty-eighth day of the first month, Liu Baqiao and Nangong Xingyan returned home through the Horn Ferry at the Si hour. (Note 1: False age reported; Nangong Xingyan's actual cultivation age is twenty-one. Note 2: Liu Baqian entered the mountain on foot, lending the pass sword talisman issued by the Dragon Spring Sword Sect to Nangong Xingyan. Note 3: Concerning the congratulatory gift for attending the Wind and Thunder Garden's opening ceremony, it was temporarily undecided whether the mountain lord would pay out of his own pocket or select from Fallen Mountain's Spring Treasury.)
The white-haired boy said pitifully, "Isn't it better to be more detailed?"
Chen Ping'an handed the booklet back to the white-haired boy, hesitated a moment, and said, "Make another supplementary volume. Put all the annotation content into that supplementary chronicle. In the future, only three to five people in Fallen Mountain will be allowed to read the supplementary volume."
The white-haired boy asked tentatively, "Three to five people, meaning only the mountain lord, the discipline master, the chief, the Spring Treasury master, and the old cook? What about Nuan Shu and the Right Protector? Can't even Mr. Xiao Mo see it?"
Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "What, are you starting to sow discord now?"
The white-haired boy raised two fingers and declared with great righteousness, "The sun and moon can bear witness; heaven and earth are my conscience!"
Chen Ping'an turned his head to look. A group of three was hurrying over to the bamboo building, all with happy expressions. Among them was the ruler of the Fox Country, who had come from the Lotus Root Blessed Land.
Discipline Master Chang Ming treated the Lotus Root Blessed Land, which had been elevated to an upper-grade rank, like carefully tending her own vegetable garden. Every time she entered, she would take out one to five Golden Essence Copper Coins at places of scenic beauty with concentrated spiritual energy or bustling prosperous cities, first refine them, then condense into mysterious locations similar to "relay stations." Mountains had mountain veins, water had watercourses, and wealth also had its "path of wealth." These Golden Essence Copper Coins were, of course, her private savings.
Chen Ping'an roughly guessed the situation in the blessed land but only smiled without speaking.
Pei Xiang performed a graceful bow, her face full of smiles, and said, "Good news!"
Zhu Lian smiled and said, "As soon as the young master returns home, good fortune comes knocking. Truly a new year with new atmospheres."
Chen Ping'an gestured for the three to sit down and chat, asking with a smile, "What exactly happened?"
Pei Xiang sat on the steps, turned sideways, and explained to the mountain lord, "Double happiness arrives! The blessed land has simultaneously produced 'two golds.' When Yu Zhenyi 'attained the Dao and ascended' to leave the blessed land, he left behind quite a bit of fortune for the Lake and Mountain Sect of the Song Lai Kingdom, considered ancestral blessings. And as it turned out, someone stumbled upon an opportunity through sheer luck and successfully formed a Golden Core! Also, a pure martial artist, around the same time, broke through to the Golden Body stage."
Chen Ping'an nodded and asked, "The first Golden Core cultivator is not the old emperor Wei Liang of the Southern Garden Kingdom? And that seventh-stage martial artist, is it Arm Saint Cheng Zongyuan? General Tang Tieyi, or Empress Dowager Zhou Shuzhen of the Southern Garden Kingdom?"
Zhu Lian shook his head and said, "The Lake and Mountain Sect's qi refiner is named Gao Jun—Gao as in lofty, Jun as in gentleman. The pure martial artist is named Zhong Qian—Zhong as in affection, Qian as in beautiful."
Chang Ming smiled and said, "The appearance of a Golden Core cultivator and a Golden Body martial artist in the blessed land isn't the main point. The most important thing is that it indicates the blessed land's operations have entered the right track. Spring planting and autumn harvest, the cycle of heaven's principles. Natural development, vitality abounding, the flow of spiritual energy in all directions. If the emergence of auspicious signs and spirits everywhere were just omens, now we truly have the 'land of fish and rice, resting under the grain' atmosphere described in ancient immortal texts."
Yu Zhenyi was once the first transcendent existence in the blessed land to transition from martial arts to cultivating immortal techniques.
Having achieved cultivation success, he returned to simplicity and became young again. Yu Zhenyi, a close friend from the same hometown as Zhong Qiu, finally appeared in the Southern Garden Kingdom's capital with the face of a child and the posture of an immortal riding a sword.
Before his "immortal molting and ascension," Yu Zhenyi left two books for the Lake and Mountain Sect: one was a martial arts compilation gathering the essence of many schools, and the other was the "Heavenly Immortal Scripture" that helped him prove the Dao and ascend.
This meant that the Lake and Mountain Sect had further solidified its position as the top "mountain" power. Because it proved that the Dao inheritance left by the founding ancestor Yu Zhenyi wasn't just high-sounding lectures suitable only for gathering dust and incense; it could actually be studied and applied, serving as a ladder to heaven for future disciples of the sect. Now it remained to be seen whether this Golden Core earth immortal, the second-generation ancestor of the Lake and Mountain Sect, could maintain this excellent situation.
Zhong Qiu and Cao Qinglang also originated from the blessed land, and both had achieved cultivation success. However, they had developed a certain barrier with the blessed land because both had embarked on the path of cultivation in the Haoran World. Thus, they were not recognized as orthodox by this brand-new world, much like those not listed in the ancestral hall's genealogy. So the "legitimate" first earth immortal was still Gao Jun of the Lake and Mountain Sect. If he encountered no unexpected problems, his future cultivation would likely be relatively smooth, as if favored by the world's great Dao, resembling the eldest son expected to inherit the orthodox line.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Is Wei Liang still at the Dragon Gate stage?"
Pei Xiang nodded and said, "In recent years, Wei Liang has been stuck at the Dragon Gate stage bottleneck. He's come out of seclusion twice but hasn't been able to break through."
Chen Ping'an said, "Find an opportunity to talk to him. Wei Liang is too attached to gain and loss. Be careful he doesn't accidentally go into demonic deviation. Perhaps the first one to detect the strange phenomena in the blessed land's heaven and earth isn't you guys, but Wei Liang."
The retired emperor Wei Liang of the Southern Garden Kingdom failed to become the first to form a Golden Core. Chen Ping'an wasn't too surprised. After all, Wei Liang was old and had started cultivation late. He began formal mountain cultivation at the age of sixty, though he had secret manuals. Fallen Mountain, as agreed, had gifted him a stone chest containing three volumes of Dao scriptures. The Southern Garden Kingdom also selected a place with abundant dragon energy for this retired emperor, undertaking major construction to secretly build a Daoist temple. Wei Liang's cultivation aptitude was indeed excellent, and his speed of breaking through realms was not slow. Although he took some shortcuts, within the mountain cultivation world, these could be classified as heterodox but not necessarily evil or deviant practices. Wei Liang had both geographical advantage and human support, yet he was still beaten to the punch by Gao Jun of the Lake and Mountain Sect. It seemed that despite his meticulous calculations, Wei Liang was only missing "heavenly timing." This was actually a sign that the great Dao of the Lotus Root Blessed Land was operating in an orderly manner, creating an intangible "repulsion" against interference from external forces.
However, according to the earliest agreement between Fallen Mountain and the Southern Garden Kingdom, Fallen Mountain only guaranteed that Wei Liang could break through to the middle five stages. The fear was that human hearts are insatiable. Once a person climbs high and their field of vision expands, ambition can grow like an appetite stretched too thin, always feeling hungry, never satisfied.
Zhu Lian said, "Being suppressed by the ethereal great Dao, causing Wei Liang to fail to be the first to form a Golden Core, is actually good for Fallen Mountain. The great Dao of the Lotus Root Blessed Land has become more concise. Perhaps in the future, there might even be a chance for a legendary 'Little Heavenly Lord' to appear."
These so-called "Little Heavenly Lords" are grotto-heaven blessed land masters, similar to the Flower Lord of the Hundred Flowers Blessed Land or the Green God Mountain Lady of the Bamboo Sea Grotto-Heaven. They all emerge in response to destiny and are extremely rare.
Chen Ping'an said calmly, "The catastrophe in the Cloud Cavern Blessed Land back then serves as a cautionary tale. With such things, it's hard to tell good from bad."
Jiang Shangzhen had always suspected that the changes in the Cloud Cavern Blessed Land back then were only superficially caused by a few old-timers in the Jade Gui Sect's ancestral hall.
But Jiang Shangzhen had searched for so many years and still couldn't find that existence.
Thus, a very mysterious confrontation had emerged. The Jiang clan and this deeply hidden existence each could be considered half-owners of the Cloud Cavern Blessed Land.
Zhu Lian smiled and said, "If such a Dao companion really appears, the young master just needs to go personally, chat with them, and sit down to discuss the Dao. Everything will be settled."
Moreover, Fallen Mountain's nurturing and care of the Lotus Root Blessed Land could be considered benevolent and fair.
Chen Ping'an said wryly, "Easier said than done."
Back when he was about to leave the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, which hadn't yet been divided into four by the old temple master, Chen Ping'an was in the capital city's restaurant when he met Emperor Wei Liang, who had personally hosted a banquet. At that time, still in his prime and vigorous, the emperor had lofty aspirations and wanted to unify the world. Later, when the world became turbulent and Zhong Qiu resigned as National Teacher, Wei Liang chose between unifying the world and pursuing eternal immortality alone. He chose the latter, voluntarily abdicating to his son Wei Yan, while the second prince Wei Yun was placed under house arrest. Later, Wei Xian once returned to the blessed land. As the founding emperor of the Southern Garden Kingdom and the first mortal monarch in history to send alchemists to seek immortals, this ancestor met with the retired emperor Wei Liang, the new emperor Wei Yan, and these "descendants." According to Pei Qian, the scene of that meeting was quite amusing. Presumably, from that moment on, Wei Liang developed an interest in cultivation. However, through National Teacher Zhong Qiu, Wei Liang reached a verbal agreement with Fallen Mountain: In the future, Wei Liang would be willing to join Fallen Mountain's genealogy and "rank among the immortals," but he hoped to see the Southern Garden Kingdom unify the world with his own eyes. The implication was that Wei Liang was testing Fallen Mountain. If he succeeded in cultivation and could command wind and rain, he would help the Southern Garden Kingdom swallow up the Song Lai Kingdom and the other two forces with an immortal's posture.
At the time, Fallen Mountain neither agreed nor disagreed, mainly because Wei Liang still didn't fully understand that once there were more and more qi refiners in the world, no one would dare claim supremacy. A pattern of mutual checks and balances would naturally form. In such a world—national astronomy departments' qi refiners keeping tabs on martial arts masters, qi refiners dueling in Dao techniques, disciples of similar lineages competing on a single-plank bridge, and each time a mountain treasure appeared or a cultivation seedling was fought over—it often came with the downfall of old qi refiners in their scheming. Meanwhile, military soldiers on battlefields would also develop various countermeasures against qi refiners.
Believe that Wei Liang has now realized this. With the rise of the Lake and Mountain Sect in the Song Lai Kingdom and the increasing number of qi refiners, their cultivation advantages and stamina obviously surpass those of the Southern Garden Kingdom. In the coming decades, it's hard to say who will annex whom. This forces the Southern Garden Kingdom to invest more energy in supporting the mountain gods of the Five Sacred Mountains and the river deities to counter the cultivators of the Lake and Mountain Sect.
Pei Xiang said, "Mountain Lord, on the way here, Zhu Lian and I discussed with Discipline Master Chang Ming: we should meet Gao Jun and Zhong Qian to fulfill our duties as hosts."
Chen Ping'an nodded and then asked, "How did this Golden Body martial artist break through?"
Pei Xiang smiled charmingly and said, "He was originally an unknown young martial artist from the Northern Jin Kingdom. His aptitude and bone structure were good, and his luck was even better. He caused a big disturbance in the Northern Jin Kingdom's capital, escaped from the city, and found himself surrounded. Two sixth-stage martial artists led the pursuit, but he actually managed to kill one of them, thanks to a temporary breakthrough. During his escape, he obtained a martial fortune that neither side had anticipated."
When she said this, Pei Xiang glanced seductively at the old man beside her, who was beaming.
Under the hands of that old temple master with profound Dao techniques, in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land's world of ten people, the drum could be struck once per sixty-year cycle to obtain immortal fate. Only "Noble Son Zhu Lian, Banished Immortal Zhu Lang" had almost accomplished an unprecedented feat: killing nine people alone in the Southern Garden Kingdom's capital. Strangely, Zhu Lian could have struck the drum and "ascended to immortality" on his own, but he seemed tired of living, deliberately offering his head to Ding Ying. The young Ding Ying, who obtained the silver lotus Dao crown, began his martial ascent from there.
Zhu Lian smiled faintly and said, "I wonder when the Lotus Root Blessed Land will produce its first true sword cultivator."
Chen Ping'an laughed and said, "Such things can't be forced. We can only wait patiently."
After a blessed land reaches upper-grade rank, the bottleneck of its "Heavenly Dao" tends to stabilize, becoming immovable. It can no longer be broken through human effort or wealth.
There is a chance for an upper-five-stage cultivator to emerge from within, break the bottleneck, and ascend to the Haoran World.
In a lower-grade blessed land, limited by spiritual energy, local qi refiners find it extremely difficult to cross the threshold of the Grotto Dwelling stage. In a middle-grade blessed land, cultivators have hope of forming a Golden Core, becoming earth-bound true immortals with the potential for yin spirits to travel far, but it's hard to shape a yang spirit's external body. In an upper-grade blessed land, qi refiners can hope to form a Golden Core, nurture a Nascent Soul with the primordial energy of heaven and earth, or even go a step further—either by relying on immortal formulas, secret manuals, and Dao cultivation methods, or by creating their own orthodox lineage—to ascend directly to the Jade Pu stage.
Chen Ping'an stood up with a smile and said, "Then I'll go meet that earth immortal Gao Jun. You all talk to Wei Liang and Zhong Qian. After we finish our respective conversations, we'll hold an ancestral hall meeting on Ji Se Peak."
Zhu Lian nodded.
Pei Xiang curled her lips. The mountain lord really wasn't surprising at all.
Over on Mi Xue Peak, Cui Dongshan had tentatively offered a suggestion.
Let our Daoist Priest Xian Wei go to the Lotus Root Blessed Land. As soon as his feet touch the ground, he wouldn't need to do or say anything.
It might be more effective than tossing a hundred Dao scriptures into the blessed land.
Such mysterious matters probably wouldn't work with anyone else; only Daoist Priest Xian Wei could do it!
But Chen Ping'an hesitated and ultimately didn't agree.
It wasn't that he didn't want the Lotus Flower Blessed Land to increase its "Dao aura," but he feared this move might inadvertently diminish Xian Wei's own fortune.
If tossing Xian Wei into the blessed land was a half-joking idea,
Then Cui Dongshan had even proposed a "fantastical" plan.
All sentient beings in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land would have the opportunity to cultivate martial arts or Dao techniques.
The various national courts, martial arts sects, and mountain immortal mansions would open their doors wide, not only not prohibiting the spread of martial arts and Dao scriptures but actively printing
related books.
Weeds would grow everywhere, vitality abounding.
At that time, Chen Ping'an only asked one question: "In the ten-thousand-year history of the various worlds, have any large or small sects with blessed lands ever had such a precedent?"
Cui Dongshan replied, "Some have tried, but none succeeded. The aftereffects were severe, with many hidden dangers, and almost all turned into a mess. Those blessed lands only gradually recovered their vitality after centuries of recuperation. So generally, people would choose a lower-grade blessed land. The Liu clan of Ai Ai Continent, Fu Lu Yu Xuan, and Cave Lord Shu of Tian Yu Grotto-Heaven on Liu Xia Continent all attempted similar things, but they weren't thorough enough. This is called 'weak foundation leading to earth-shattering consequences.' Their biggest mistake was that they thought too little and did too much, engaging in pointless fuss. The fundamental reason for their failure was that their underlying thinking wasn't comprehensive, precise, and stable enough. The settings of their basic rules were extremely inappropriate in terms of density. Relying on a bunch of half-baked scholars operating behind closed doors, the so-called Dao derivations and vein evolutions were pure chaos."
"Then how can you be confident you can pull this off?"
"Of course, because I have the master, and the master has me, his proud student. The master controls a crucial general direction, while the student is responsible for formulating a dozen fundamental veins and adjusting tens of thousands of details, working together seamlessly."
---
In the northern part of Tongye Continent, the ancestral mountain of Little Long Qiu was named Dragon Sleep. The peak where the ancestral hall stood was also called Mind's Sharp Tip, a name full of poetic charm.
An ancestral hall meeting was about to be held today.
The new mountain lord was the immortal "Dragon Beard," Sima Mengjing, from the Great Long Qiu of the Central Earth Divine Continent.
He sat in the central chair of the ancestral hall, facing the door, with his back to the row of hanging portraits on the wall.
It was a bit comical because this Central Earth immortal, on the genealogy of the Great Long Qiu, actually had higher cultivation age, seniority, and realm than the "ancestors" depicted in the portraits of Little Long Qiu. So the matter of the "new mountain lord" offering incense was waived; those in the portraits really couldn't bear the respect of the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord.
This was the first time Sima Mengjing was presiding over an ancestral hall meeting. Previously, when he came and went, he only publicly announced that Little Long Qiu would seal the mountain for sixty years without going through the ancestral hall's resolution.
Naturally, there were no objections, and the cultivators of Little Long Qiu dared not utter half a word of criticism, not even in private.
After all, the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord had once been the elder patriarch most likely to succeed as the Great Long Qiu sect leader, but Sima Mengjing himself hadn't wanted the position.
Sima Mengjing was the first to arrive. He sat in his chair and began to meditate with his eyes closed, hands folded.
An immortal exuded an imposing aura without intention.
Back when Huang Ting challenged Little Long Qiu, she only sent three swords, utterly destroying the entire immortal mansion's spirit.
The first sword sliced directly through the protective mountain array, the second sword severely wounded the current mountain lord Lin Huizhi, and the third sword split the ancestral hall in two.
Such was the elegance of a sword immortal.
Onlookers would find it dazzling and exhilarating, but the poor recipients of those swords would only feel dazed and terrified, their livers and gallbladders splitting.
From the name of the sect, Little Long Qiu was closely associated with water. The mountain was surrounded by watery regions, with a well-developed network of waterways intersecting. There was a Boiling Stone Platform within the mountain and a Rolling Mountain River outside—indeed, not very compatible with a mountain. The two guardian offerings were an extremely rare Moon-Grabbing Ape and an ancient giant turtle said to have lived for thousands of years. As for the two old fish that had become spirits in the Rolling Mountain River, both were at the Golden Core stage, each occupying a tributary of the rolling river, styling themselves as the Saint of Liu River and the King of Huang Water.
After the great war ended on Tongye Continent, a mountain that originally possessed two Nascent Soul earth immortals was already a first-rate mountain sect.
In the northern part of Tongye Continent, apart from the Jade Gui Sect, which—like a starved camel larger than a horse—still had power, the Golden Summit Temple, the Qing Hu Palace of Qing Jing Mountain, and the White Dragon Cave were actually all inferior to Little Long Qiu.
But the mountain lord Lin Huizhi and her junior brother Quan Qingqiu were both taken away by Sima Mengjing in person to the Great Long Qiu. Little Long Qiu had received no news of their fate and dared not inquire casually.
Even setting aside this venerable Dragon Beard Immortal Lord, although Little Long Qiu had lost two Nascent Soul ancestors, it was still not too shabby.
Today, about twenty genealogical qi refiners came to the ancestral hall meeting on Mind's Sharp Tip. Aside from one Golden Core earth immortal, who was the close disciple of the former mountain lord Lin Huizhi, the rest were all Dragon Gate and Guanhai stage cultivators.
Adding the two guardian offerings and the two Golden Core Saint of Liu River and King of Huang Water, Little Long Qiu still had as many as five Golden Core earth immortals.
And the six important guest elders who originally had the right to attend the meeting—nominally listed as offerings from other genealogical families—were all left out this time.
For example, the chief guest elder, the Nascent Soul old immortal with the Dao title "Water Immortal," Zhang Liuzhu, didn't even return to the mountain for such an important meeting.
The martial artist Cheng Mi, who supervised the Savage Garden affairs, was instead allowed to attend this meeting. Sima Mengjing had personally sent someone to invite him.
After everyone was seated, Sima Mengjing opened his eyes and said calmly, "Hong Yan, go call Linghu Jiaoyu here."
Hong Yan, the direct disciple of Quan Qingqiu, was temporarily handling the specific affairs of Little Long Qiu. She was a female Golden Core cultivator. She immediately stood up and left to find Linghu Jiaoyu.
When the young girl was brought to the ancestral hall, Hong Yan had her sit near the door.
Linghu Jiaoyu, Dao title Fu Shu.
A genealogical qi refiner with a Dao title meant she was definitely a middle-five-stage cultivator.
She had a magical artifact called Bi Luo hanging at her waist. According to mountain classification, it belonged to the category of "mountain-calling" magical treasures. Against some low-ranked mountain gods and earth spirits, this item could be used to "discipline the mountain," but the rank of Bi Luo was ultimately not comparable to the Qu Shan Duo, which could relocate mountains and shift mountain veins.
This young girl was the only genealogical qi refiner in Little Long Qiu that Huang Ting had found tolerable during her sojourn over there.
On the "Flower God Mountain Rouge List" compiled during the last selection from the Jade Gui Sect's Cloud Cavern Blessed Land, Linghu Jiaoyu had made the list, and she was the youngest female cultivator.
Originally, she had nothing to do with the ancestral hall meeting, so the young girl had been wandering around on her own.
Not far from the ancestral hall's location on Mind's Sharp Tip, there was a sealed immortal cave, on whose stone wall was inscribed "A Separate Heaven" in clerical script.
The former mountain lord, Frosty Upper Man Lin Huizhi, had gone into seclusion there to recover after receiving one of Huang Ting's swords.
Passing that cave, Linghu Jiaoyu went to the pine tree chess-playing spot. Seeing no one around, she first carefully examined the ancient pine tree, then crouched down to look at the bottom of the stone table.
It seemed that the last time the young Hidden Official came had scared the young girl quite badly, leaving her with lingering effects. She always felt that the other party's talismans and flying swords were everywhere.
The founding ancestor of the Great Long Qiu—the current mountain lord's master—had once played a game of chess here with the immortal Han Jiangshu of the Wan Yao Sect, ending in a deadlocked board. After that, no outsider, whether from Little Long Qiu or visiting mountain cultivators, could make a move to break the deadlock. The stone chessboard, together with the pieces, formed a mysterious array that stabilized the mountain's root and water transportation.
But last time, the young Hidden Official visited here and made two moves. It was said that there was a celestial phenomenon of drawing down stars, completely overcoming the old game, truly making it a settled situation.
Then Linghu Jiaoyu was quickly called by that Golden Core ancestor to attend the meeting. The young girl sat down in a daze, her mind blank.
Sima Mengjing got straight to the point: "Lin Huizhi and Quan Qingqiu have both been removed from the Great Long Qiu genealogy. Their Dao lineage and orthodox traditions in Little Long Qiu will be retained, but their cultivator seniority will be reduced by one level."
As the immortal's words fell, two portraits on the wall crashed to the ground.
The assembled cultivators looked at each other in dismay.
There were two young female cultivators, twin sisters, with only slight differences in their eyes and expressions. Their other facial features and figures were exactly alike, as if cut from the same mold.
Both sisters were direct disciples of Lin Huizhi. Though they had come up the mountain late, their seniority was high, and their talent was excellent. Both were now at the Guanhai stage.
Hearing this, both had pale faces.
Sima Mengjing continued, "My taking over as the mountain lord of Little Long Qiu is only a temporary measure. With the mountain sealed for sixty years, I will serve as the mountain lord for that duration."
"Within these sixty years, future ancestral hall meetings will be seated according to the current number. Generally, the number will only decrease, not increase, unless I personally invite someone to sit."
"Except for continuing Zhang Liuzhu's position as chief guest elder, all other guest elders and nominal offerings who didn't attend today's meeting will have their salaries stopped. Write each of them a letter, severing ties, and tell them not to come to Little Long Qiu anymore."
"Close the Savage Garden. Kill those who should be killed, release those who should be released. For those who hold grudges against Little Long Qiu but don't deserve death, release them as well. First clarify this with the Tianmu Academy. If the academy is willing to accept them, send them there. If not, let them leave Little Long Qiu's territory and fend for themselves. Keep an eye on them in secret. The cultivators sent down the mountain to oversee this matter will be led by Golden Core Hong Yan and martial artist Cheng Mi. They are exempt from the mountain-sealing prohibition. If any member of these demonic tribes is found violating prohibitions and committing murder, execute them on the spot. No need to report to the Little Long Qiu ancestral hall. However, if any Little Long Qiu cultivator dares to kill indiscriminately, the punishment will be the same as for the demonic tribes. Once the ancestral hall's discipline master verifies it, execution on the spot without needing to report to me. If the discipline master dares to mete out improper rewards and punishments, then I will carry out the execution on the spot, and I won't need to report to the Great Long Qiu either."
Three consecutive "executions on the spot" left everyone in the ancestral hall feeling endangered.
Next, Sima Mengjing directly confined the Moon-Grabbing Ape and the ancient giant turtle, ordering the two guardian offerings to go to the "Separate Heaven" immortal cave and reflect on their mistakes behind closed doors for sixty years.
The ancient giant turtle stood up tremblingly, without any unnecessary words, merely saying, "I respectfully obey the immortal lord's decree." With a despondent back, he walked out of the ancestral hall. The Moon-Grabbing Ape, full of anger, was about to speak, to defend himself or demand an explanation from the immortal lord. But Sima Mengjing directly swept him out of the hall, chair and all, with a flick of his sleeve. Then he snapped his finger toward the door. The Moon-Grabbing Ape, which had revealed its true form and was roaring incessantly, was struck as if by a heavy hammer, flew out of Mind's Sharp Tip, and its massive body plunged into the Huang River, sinking to the bottom. Blood immediately filled the river water.
As for the Saint of Liu River and the King of Huang Water, their fate was worse. They were directly expelled. Besides being immediately removed from the ancestral hall's landscape genealogy, Sima Mengjing also forbade these two Golden Core old fish spirits from appearing anywhere near Little Long Qiu.
So many changes, all significant matters, but inside the ancestral hall, the genealogical cultivators still didn't dare breathe loudly. The atmosphere was heavy, and you could hear a pin drop.
The two old fish spirits were still grateful, bowing and thanking the immortal who had issued such an impersonal decree. They even voluntarily promised that they would absolutely not dare mention old matters. After leaving Little Long Qiu, they would change their appearance, use aliases, and establish new Daoist temples elsewhere, cultivating quietly. They dared not act recklessly, lest they be traced by observant people and damage even a shred of Little Long Qiu's reputation.
Sima Mengjing said indifferently, "I hope you will live up to your words."
Such was the authority of a Central Earth immortal.
Moreover, the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord also bore the surname "Sima."
Furthermore, in Little Long Qiu, it was perfectly justified for the new mountain lord to enforce family discipline.
Then came Linghu Jiaoyu. She was suddenly blessed with two great fortunes that even a Nascent Soul earth immortal would covet.
Sima Mengjing bestowed two heavy treasures in one go upon this mere Grotto Dwelling stage female cultivator, attending her first ancestral hall meeting.
A Guyu gourd.
It had once belonged to the former mountain lord Lin Huizhi and was also the mountain lord's token and a mountain-guarding treasure of Little Long Qiu.
Traditionally, it could only be passed down from mountain lord to mountain lord, following the sect's ancestral teachings. It could only be refined on a small scale; the Guyu gourd could not be greatly refined into a true lifebound artifact, somewhat similar to the talisman on a certain large door of the Dragon Tiger Mountain Heavenly Master's residence, with layers of enhancements. This gourd was also the object of Quan Qingqiu's, Lin Huizhi's junior brother's, dreams. It could even be said that the reason he came down from the Great Long Qiu was on his parents' orders, aiming for this half-immortal weapon. Because Quan Qingqiu's Dao resonated with the Guyu gourd, it could help him increase his chances of breaking through to the Jade Pu stage.
A fishing rod, short like a sword pendant, wrapped with silver silk thread around a bamboo pole, flowing like moonlight.
This was a heirloom of Quan Qingqiu's family, equivalent to half a Dragon King's Basket. Using the moon's reflection in water as bait, it was most effective for fishing rare aquatic beings, especially moon-worshipping water spirit creatures.
Hong Yan, serving as Little Long Qiu's discipline master, was full of envy. She suddenly sensed the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord's gaze. The Golden Core cultivator immediately trembled with fear, lowered her eyes, and quickly restrained her thoughts, daring not to have any improper ideas.
Then Hong Yan noticed an unusually long silence in the meeting hall. When she slightly raised her eyes, she found everyone looking at her. She shifted her gaze and saw that the immortal lord was staring right at her.
Sima Mengjing asked, "Hong Yan, tell me, in your view, what is cultivation?"
Hong Yan broke out in sweat instantly and said tremulously, "Reporting to the immortal lord, cultivation is to seek the true self."
This was one of the cultivation tenets of that Peace Mountain. Surely it was correct?
Sima Mengjing narrowed his eyes. "Oh?"
Hong Yan was drenched in sweat and felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.
"You have cultivated for over two hundred and eighty years, arduously seeking the true self through cultivation. And you have cultivated a 'true self' that covets the Guyu gourd and the fishing rod?"
"With such cultivation, you could practice anywhere. Why sit on this chair as Little Long Qiu's discipline master, wasting your mind and time? Why not go keep the two guardian offerings company?"
"What, are you waiting for sixty years to pass, the mountain seal lifted, and for me to return to the Great Long Qiu, so you can make your plans? Whom do you intend to emulate? Your master Quan Qingqiu's methods? Or Lin Huizhi's machinations?"
Hong Yan quickly stood up and knelt down, prostrating on the ground, knocking her head vigorously and pleading with the immortal lord to forgive her.
Sima Mengjing leaned slightly sideways, resting his elbow on the armrest and crossing his hands. He just watched this Golden Core female cultivator who kept kowtowing.
Hong Yan just kept knocking her head. As long as that immortal lord
didn't speak, she continued.
The female cultivator's forehead was bloody and mangled, forming a pool of blood on the gold-powdered brick floor.
The martial artist Cheng Mi, who was something of an outsider, sat on a chair near the door, opposite Linghu Jiaoyu.
As for methods, an immortal realm great cultivator could surely move mountains and overturn seas with ease. When displayed, Cheng Mi would only find it strange and marvelous, but not particularly shocking or admirable.
The key was that Sima Mengjing was ruthless enough.
With such a Little Long Qiu—an immense immortal mansion just one step away from being classified as a sect—two Nascent Soul cultivators were simply gone because of this man's arrival.
Today, in the ancestral hall, there were a total of five Golden Cores. Two had already been confined, and two driven away. If Hong Yan, the discipline master, were to suffer the same fate, then Little Long Qiu's earth immortal cultivators would truly be reduced to none.
Was this Dragon Beard Immortal Lord, or the Great Long Qiu, planning to completely abandon Little Long Qiu and Tongye Continent?
Sima Mengjing finally spoke: "From today onwards, Cheng Mi will serve as Little Long Qiu's discipline master. Hong Yan will participate in the down-mountain demonic tribe supervision as an ordinary cultivator, assisting Cheng Mi and atoning for her crimes with meritorious deeds. If she returns without merit, she need not see me. Go to the treasury, collect a sum of immortal money and a spiritual artifact, and be automatically removed from the genealogy."
Cheng Mi hesitated for a moment, then stood up and clasped his fists. "Mountain Lord Sima, I respectfully decline this order."
Sima Mengjing asked with a smile, "Is it because you think a martial artist serving as discipline master doesn't conform to mountain etiquette? Or because you think you lack the ability to be a good discipline master for Little Long Qiu?"
The Dragon Beard Immortal Lord finally showed a bit of a smile. The more than twenty people felt as if they had received a great pardon.
Cheng Mi, being a former military general, was straightforward and spoke bluntly: "Both."
This burly man was just a severely wounded Golden Body stage martial artist, a mere facade. In some small kingdoms of Tongye Continent, he might still be able to put on airs and fool people into thinking he was a master.
Sima Mengjing smiled slightly and said, "As for rules and etiquette, in Little Long Qiu now, I have the final say. As for whether you can be a good discipline master, you think you can't, but I think you can."
Cheng Mi was momentarily speechless.
Damn it, if you weren't an immortal, I'd start cursing you now.
Sima Mengjing said, "Little Long Qiu has sealed its mountain. It doesn't need a puppet to show face and deal with others. It only needs a discipline master who rewards and punishes clearly and handles matters fairly. As for someone to uphold Little Long Qiu's reputation, I alone am enough."
"From now on, I will hold three types of preaching and teaching sessions each month. The first type is open to all direct and indirect disciples of the ancestral hall, even those without cultivation aptitude, regardless of status. The second type is limited to middle-five-stage qi refiners. The last type is for those whose current realm bottlenecks have loosened or who are preparing to go into seclusion."
With that, the ancestral hall meeting, executed with vigor and brevity, was concluded.
It was a world apart from Little Long Qiu's previous meetings that could waste one or two hours.
Sima Mengjing called Linghu Jiaoyu and went to Cheng Mi's residence in the Savage Garden. He had the martial artist cook three bowls of oil-splashed noodles.
Cheng Mi was indeed good at it, quickly bringing out three bowls of noodles.
After the noodles were cooked and tossed, he added some minced garlic, sprinkled a handful of dried chili peppers, and poured hot oil over them. The flavor was outstanding.
Sima Mengjing nodded with a smile and praised endlessly.
Cheng Mi was already homeless. The capital of his former homeland was extremely prosperous, with no night curfews since the founding of the country. The lamps blazed, making the night as bright as day, earning it the nickname "Moonless City" among mountain people.
Previously, the only person he could chat with idly was the chief guest elder with the Dao title "Water Immortal," Zhang Liuzhu—who had disappeared.
Cheng Mi asked, "Mountain Lord, are all these orders from the Great Long Qiu?"
Sima Mengjing shook his head and said, "No, they're just my personal intentions."
Cheng Mi was stunned.
Sima Mengjing smiled and said, "Act first and report later. By the time the Great Long Qiu learns the news, what can they do? Send someone else to be the mountain lord here? Hold another ancestral hall meeting, release the Moon-Grabbing Ape and the old giant turtle, invite the Saint of Liu River and the King of Huang Water back? Cheng Mi, if you were the sect leader of the Great Long Qiu, would you find such fuss interesting?"
Cheng Mi gave a thumbs up, then thought it might be inappropriate and a bit rude, so he quickly put his hand down, grinning as he said, "So satisfying."
Sima Mengjing teased, "Don't put that thumbs down. More money never weighs on the hand; more politeness never offends."
Cheng Mi took a swig of wine, wiped his mouth, and laughed, "To say something perhaps improper..."
At this moment, the Dragon Beard Immortal Lord was a completely different person from the immortal mountain lord in the ancestral hall meeting.
The Sima clan was a top-tier powerful family in the Central Earth Divine Continent, with deep roots both on and off the mountain. Their main ancestral hall was located in the Central Earth Divine Continent, with branch halls and lineage titles spread across the Golden Armor Continent and the Liu Xia Continent. They were the kind of family that would need cabinets full of genealogy books.
Besides Sima Mengjing, the immortal from the Great Long Qiu, the clan also had two Jade Pu stage sword immortals. One served as the chief offering for a certain sect on the Ai Ai Continent. The other was a loose immortal, whose ancestral home was naturally in the Central Earth but whose registered residence was in the Liu Xia Continent. Regardless, a clan that simultaneously possessed a living immortal and two Jade Pu stage sword immortals was tantamount to a flourishing mountain sect.
That loose immortal was the Liu Xia Continent sword immortal Sima Jiyu. A man of solitary temperament, he always liked to act alone. His relationship with the clan was extremely distant. In his homeland, even among mountain friends, he had few. Later, he went to the Sword Qi Great Wall. His fame wasn't great there. After all, in a place teeming with sword cultivators, the threshold for being a sword immortal was quite high. Sima Jiyu returned alive to the Haoran World, still a lone cloud and wild crane. He never participated in clan ceremonies like ancestor worship and still refused to establish his own sect.
Moreover, the Sima clan was famous for another thing: its women were often stunningly beautiful. Hence, the Sima clan was widely recognized as a "nest of beauties."
After eating his noodles, Sima Mengjing put down his chopsticks, let out a long breath, and rubbed his brow, feeling a headache coming on.
Earlier, Sima Jiyu had received a flying-sword letter that Sima Mengjing had sent, in which he touched on some things he could mention, not involving sect secrets.
Originally, Sima Mengjing had no prior acquaintance with this Liu Xia Continent sword immortal. The last time they met was when Sima Jiyu returned to the Haoran World and traveled through the Central Earth, passing by the Great Long Qiu.
The time before that, Sima Mengjing couldn't even remember when it was, several hundred years ago. He didn't have much impression of that unruly clan member.
Likely, the feeling was mutual. They didn't think highly of each other.
Sima Jiyu quickly replied with a letter to the Great Long Qiu. When Sima Mengjing opened it, he could almost feel the spittle flying off the page.
In the letter, the other party cursed him roundly: "I knew I was right about you, Sima Mengjing. The first time we met back then, I thought you were a slick, fake gentleman..."
Sima Mengjing was at a loss. Even now, he didn't know what exactly was wrong with his "family letter."
The gist of his earlier letter was merely that the young Hidden Official would be traveling to the Liu Xia Continent in the future and had agreed to find Sima Jiyu for a drink.
Damn it, that bastard Sima Jiyu's wording in the letter was unspeakably indecent. We share the same ancestor—who are you cursing?
Whatever. Let it be. Treat it like being bitten by a dog.
Sima Mengjing suddenly asked, "Linghu Jiaoyu, do you know why I sealed Little Long Qiu's mountain for sixty years?"
The young girl shook her head. She wasn't pretending to be clueless; she genuinely didn't know.
Sima Mengjing said, "The Great Long Qiu has never given up on the idea of making Little Long Qiu a full-fledged sect."
Without beating around the bush, Sima Mengjing said directly, "While I serve as mountain lord here for sixty years, I will personally teach you the secret Dao techniques of the Great Long Qiu. Our relationship will be similar to that of an unregistered master and disciple. In sixty years, whether you become a Golden Core or a Nascent Soul, you will succeed me as mountain lord. Even if there are then fellow disciples with higher realms than you, such as Hong Yan, who has just been stripped of her discipline master position, or Lin Huizhi's two direct disciples, this resolution that I set today will not change. The only exception would be if Little Long Qiu suddenly produces an extraordinary genius like Qiu Zhi of the Jade Gui Sect, capable of breaking through to the Jade Pu stage within sixty years. But such a thing is nearly impossible."
Linghu Jiaoyu's face turned pale, and she said tremblingly, "Ancestor, why me?"
The young girl felt she was completely not cut out to be a mountain lord. Even setting aside the former mountain lord Frosty Upper Man and her grand-uncle Quan Qingqiu, she would still feel inferior to those twin sisters who were Lin Huizhi's direct disciples. So sitting by the table, she had been distracted, thinking of reasons to return the two precious artifacts to the ancestral hall.
Sima Mengjing smiled and asked back, "Why can't it be you?"
Linghu Jiaoyu was speechless.
"The master of a family, the lord of a mountain, the patriarch of a sect, the ruler of a nation. What commonality do you think these identities share?"
Probably thinking the young girl couldn't provide an answer, Sima Mengjing answered his own question: "It is a water source."
"So it is necessary to rectify the source. Only if the source water is clear, even if the flow is slight, is it better than a muddy source that branches into several seemingly stronger water veins."
"Starlight Steps."
"This idea isn't mine; it was the young Hidden Official who said it to me. It was both a friendly chat and more than a suggestion—an unsubtle hint."
Sima Mengjing smiled and said, "So when I proposed at the Great Long Qiu that you become the next mountain lord of Little Long Qiu, it passed the ancestral hall meeting smoothly and became a final decision. Otherwise, relying solely on my realm and qualifications, it might have been possible, but I would have had to argue and scrap with people. The reason is simple: Fallen Mountain of the Vase Continent, the Qing Ping Sword Sect of Tongye Continent, plus Huang Ting's Peace Mountain—all of a sudden, you have three sect allies. Note: it's you, not Little Long Qiu. When you become mountain lord one day, Little Long Qiu will bask in the reflected glory."
Cheng Mi nodded. That made sense.
The young girl was first bewildered, then shocked, and finally understood.
Wow, so I'm this formidable? I didn't even know it myself.
She was adorably naive.
Sima Mengjing also smiled.
Like the conclusion the young Hidden Official had drawn when chatting with him: if you want to change customs and practices, the first priority is to rectify the source.
---
At the Lake and Mountain Sect of the Song Lai Kingdom, an elegant study built by the lakeside bore a plaque inscribed "Heaven and Earth Pavilion."
A woman was copying a Dao scripture with a brush. Her desk was by the window, outside which stood several old plum trees. The vase's fallen flowers perfumed the ink, returning to the characters.
A place of blue sky and secluded mystery, a chamber of attaining the Dao and purifying the heart.
Breathing the lake's light, drinking the mountain's verdure, she stored the essence of heaven and earth, devouring the entire library. The first line was the origin of the Lake and Mountain Sect's name; the latter line seemed more like a prophecy.
The woman's Dao heart stirred slightly. She frowned, raised her head, and looked toward the door. Then she stood up, breathing deeply, moving lightly, her steps in harmony with heaven and earth.
If forced to describe this mysterious state in words, it would be the literal "acting on behalf of heaven's Dao"—the walking of steps, the Dao of the path.
In the Haoran World, a Golden Core earth immortal would not possess such mysterious aura of resonance with heaven and earth.
But if she left the blessed land and went to the Haoran World, she would naturally lose this extraordinary Dao significance.
She wore an apricot-colored Dao robe, her temperament cold and elegant, her appearance extremely beautiful. She looked at the man in blue robes standing by the lake.
This man was quite different from his former appearance on a treasured painting that the Lake and Mountain Sect had preserved for many years. Yet she recognized him at once.
She made a Daoist salute. "Current sect leader of the Lake and Mountain Sect, Gao Jun, pays respects to Immortal Chen."
Chen Ping'an knew that the old cook and Pei Xiang had conspired to set him up.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Sect Leader Gao recognizes me?"
Gao Jun's expression was neither humble nor arrogant. She smiled and said, "I once had the honor of accompanying Patriarch Yu to the capital of the Southern Garden Kingdom. At that time, my skills were lacking and my Dao conduct shallow, but I was fortunate enough to witness Sword Immortal Chen's unparalleled grace from afar. Now, I barely recognize Sword Immortal Chen."
Chen Ping'an asked directly, "Do you know the origins of this world and its connections to the outside world?"
Gao Jun nodded and said, "Before Patriarch Yu 'ascended and transformed,' he spoke with me privately and roughly shared his conjectures and views. For instance, the outside world is called the Haoran World, with nine continents and vast landscapes. There are ten great grotto-heavens, thirty-six minor grotto-heavens, and seventy-two blessed lands, controlled by some Haoran true immortal sects. Our Lotus Flower Blessed Land is located in Tongye Continent. Banished immortals come here to experience the mortal world, polish their Dao hearts, travel through mountains and waters, play among humans, each seeking something. As for Sword Immortal Chen's identity, native place, and background, they are blank."
"I once traveled down the mountain for three years and knew that the seasons had changed. Consequently, geographical and human advantages had also changed drastically. Many unprecedented strange and marvelous events had appeared in the world."
"But in these years, I have never encountered a single banished immortal from foreign lands."
Chen Ping'an nodded and said, "You penetrate the profound and subtle, observing the heart of heaven."
Gao Jun hesitated for a moment and asked, "Sword Immortal Chen, may I presumptuously ask, if I were to engage in a life-or-death Dao technique sparring with you, what are my chances of victory?"
Back then, Patriarch Yu went down the mountain to the capital of the Southern Garden Kingdom to "wade through muddy waters," also having just formed his Golden Core.
Chen Ping'an had to lie and give an answer: "With Sect Leader Gao currently occupying the advantages of time and place, you should have at least a one-in-ten chance of victory."