The outline of Stalactite Mountain was already faintly visible in the distance.

"Is that a mountain seal?" Cao Qinglang exclaimed with an incredulous expression.

"There really are many spectacular pieces of scenery to be seen in this world," Zhong Qiu mused.

Pei Qian and Cui Dongshan were sitting on the railing, and the former turned to the latter and said in a quiet voice, "Those two haven't even seen as much as I have! Was I surprised at all just now when I first saw Stalactite Mountain? Not in the slightest! This is what happens when you only read books, but don't go anywhere. I've been making transcriptions every day, but at the same time, I also traveled to a bunch of places with Master!

“Has Mr. Zhong ever been to the Parasol Leaf Continent? Has he been to the Azure Phoenix Nation? Even when it comes to making transcriptions, I daresay Big Sister Baoping is the only one under the heavens who has me beat!"

"I think I saw you drooling just now when you saw Stalactite Mountain," Cui Dongshan said with a puzzled expression. "Were you thinking to yourself that if you could take this mountain seal back with you to Downtrodden Mountain, then if anyone dared to argue with you in the future, you'd be able to use the mountain seal to give them a firm knock on the head?"

Pei Qian was a little embarrassed, and to defend herself, she argued, "Who wouldn't drool at least a little when they see such a massive treasure?"

"When it comes to making transcriptions, the old chef that you always look down on is actually someone you can learn a lot from. Back in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, he was tasked with copying the empire's historical records. He recruited around a dozen highly renowned administrative officials and reputable scholars to help him with the task, along with over twenty young and energetic scribes from the Imperial Hanlin Academy.

“Together, they worked day and night tirelessly and made transcriptions that totaled over ten million characters. Zhu Lian's compact script is truly exquisite. In fact, it's no exaggeration to call it the work of a master. Even the current most popular scripts in the Majestic World fail to compare with Zhu Lian's calligraphy from back in his younger years. Unfortunately, a certain bull-nosed old Daoist priest decided that he didn't like that, and with just a twiddle of his little finger, he brought calamity upon an entire nation.

“The calamity specifically targeted things like written texts and pieces of chinaware with inscriptions made upon them, and most of the knowledge in the nation was destroyed. That includes large sections of the transcriptions made by Zhu Lian and the others."

"Whose side are you on?" Pei Qian snapped with a menacing glare. "Why are you trying to make it sound like Zhu Lian is better than me? I ought to give you a firm knock on the head! Right now, I'm already an accomplished martial artist! I'd say I have about a tenth of my master's power, so a knock on the head from me is going to really hurt!"

As for the notion that Zhu Lian was a well-learned scribe and a master calligrapher, Pei Qian was convinced that this was utter nonsense.

All it would take would be a few sentences of preaching from my master to have him concede his inferiority and retreat to the kitchen!

"Lend me a yellow paper talisman for me to plaster to my forehead," Cui Dongshan requested as he extended a hand toward Pei Qian. "You really scared me just now, so I need something to calm my jangling nerves."

"Quit fooling around!" Pei Qian snapped. "Master told me not to flaunt my wealth by bringing out my talismans for no good reason when I'm out traveling the world. You run the risk of attracting envy from others, and where there's envy, there's always trouble. Even if you don't do anything wrong, if your actions seduce others into doing bad things, then you can't claim to be entirely faultless. If you're in a place with many mountain ghosts and deities, this will be seen as blatant provocation, and I'm not kidding!

“Back on the Parasol Leaf Continent, I was traveling through the wilderness with Master when we stumbled upon a mountain god marriage ceremony. All I did was take a single glance, just a single glance, I tell you, and all of the ghosts and spirits immediately turned to collectively glower at me. Thankfully, Master stood up for me by glaring back at them, and all of those cocky ghosts and deities immediately fell to their knees and began begging for mercy.

“Even the sedan chair that the bride was sitting in had no one to carry it, and she probably took a nasty fall inside. Even though it's already been so many years, I still feel a little bad thinking about it."

"You've clearly told me a true story; why don't you tell me a fake version of that story now?" Cui Dongshan suggested with a grin.

"The fake version of the story is that Master apologized to an old woman leading the marriage procession, then offered them his sincere well wishes," Pei Qian said. "After that, he scolded me and told me that he was only going to give me three strikes. He said that I had already committed two transgressions up to that point, and that if there was a third time, he wouldn't be so lenient with me anymore. Even though that's just a fake story, it still makes me want to shed tears."

"Save your crocodile tears." Cui Dongshan scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

Pei Qian threw a punch at Cui Dongshan, but her fist stopped an inch short of his head.

As she withdrew her fist, she grinned and asked, "Were you scared?"

Cui Dongshan was silent and still for a moment, following which his eyes rolled back, and he began trembling uncontrollably as he exclaimed in a slurred and indistinct voice, "What incredible fist aura! I've definitely suffered extremely severe internal injuries!"

Pei Qian joined her middle and index fingers, then pointed them at Cui Dongshan as she ordered, "Don't move!"

Cui Dongshan immediately fell completely still.

Pei Qian nodded to herself with a pleased expression.

Some time later, Cui Dongshan implored in an urgent voice, "Please undo your immobilizing spell, Senior Sister!"

Pei Qian was resting her chin on her hands, looking out into the distance as she said, "Don't distract me by talking to me. I have to focus all of my effort and attention on thinking of my master."

Cui Dongshan did as he was told, remaining silent and still as he looked up at Stalactite Mountain. However, his mind was already elsewhere. In fact, his thoughts weren't even contained within the boundaries of the Majestic World or the more distant Heavenly World. Instead, they had wandered all the way out to the heavens beyond heavens, and he was pondering the heavenly demons that no one aside from Ascension Tier cultivators knew anything about.

Zhong Qiu and Cao Qinglang were already accustomed to seeing Pei Qian and Cui Dongshan fooling around.

Occasionally, Cao Qinglang would encounter some problems in his cultivation that Zhong Qiu was unable to assist with, and whenever this happened, Cao Qinglang would turn to Cui Dongshan for guidance.

In response, Cui Dongshan provided only answers to the questions that he was asked, nothing more and nothing less. Once the questions were answered, he would dismiss Cao Qinglang, who would, in turn, thank him before departing. This happened every single time with no exceptions.

Cao Qinglang was among the first batch of cultivation prodigies after Yu Zhenyi to have sensed the changes in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land. Among that group of prodigies, he was the one endowed with the most fortune and natural talent.

At the time of his second encounter with Pei Qian, he had already embarked on the path of cultivation, and he had openly stated that even if Pei Qian had tried to put an end to his life during their previous encounter, she wouldn't have found success.

After that, Cao Qinglang had physically intervened and pitted himself against Pei Qian on several occasions at the Heart Manifestation Temple, showing that he was more than capable of holding his own against her.

Aside from the ceremony held to commemorate the construction of the Downtrodden Mountain ancestral hall, this was actually Zhong Qiu's first time coming to the Majestic World. It was only after embarking on this journey that he had truly left the Lotus Flower Blessed Land. Here, he discovered the Three Teachings, the Hundred Schools of Thought, and countless sagely scriptures, more than he could ever hope to read in this lifetime.

Thankfully, Wei Bo had lent him a pocket treasure back at the Ox Horn Mountain ferry station. Otherwise, Zhong Qiu would've had to pick and choose which books he wanted to purchase and take with him from Old Dragon City.

Back when he returned to the capital of the Southern Garden Nation to prepare for his departure from the Lotus Root Blessed Land, Zhong Qiu had said something very meaningful and heartfelt to Cao Qinglang. "The bigger the world becomes and the more options that are opened up to you, the more you need to remember not to lose sight of your direction."

Having spent most of his life confined to the capital of the Southern Garden Nation, Zhong Qiu had decided to embark on a journey across the entire blessed land before leaving it behind. On one hand, he really wanted to see the entire blessed land for himself, and over the course of the journey, he and Cao Qinglang had drawn up hundreds of maps.

Zhong Qiu had told Cao Qinglang that the blessed land was about to go through a period of unprecedented transformation. It was going to be visited by countless cultivators, and there were also going to be many shrines of mountain and water deities constructed, as well as many ghosts and spirits that would slip through the cracks to wreak havoc upon the world.

He told Cao Qinglang that Chen Ping'an wouldn't be able to dedicate too much time and effort to overseeing this world, so someone would have to shoulder that burden for him. Someone would have to give him advice, and perhaps even tell him some hard truths that may not necessarily be pleasing to hear when required. He asked Cao Qinglang if he would be willing to tell those hard truths should that responsibility fall upon him.

Cao Qinglang smiled and reassured Zhong Qiu that he was up to the task. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Zhong Qiu then asked what Cao Qinglang would do if he and Chen Ping'an got into an argument, one in which both sides had reason to believe that they were right.

Cao Qinglang replied that he wouldn't argue just for argument's sake. Instead, he would try to find the compelling points and flaws in what Chen Ping'an had to say to refine his own arguments, and he would trust Chen Ping'an to do the same. By working together, there was a chance that they would be able to transform the Lotus Flower Blessed Land into a world where everyone could have true freedom.

Finally, Zhong Qiu asked Cao Qinglang what he would do if his and Chen Ping'an's paths were to completely diverge in the future, to the point that they would only be able to argue without any possibility of reaching any constructive outcomes.

Cao Qinglang told him that in that situation, he would just have to think and adapt as the circumstances required.

Zhong Qiu was very pleased with these answers, and he didn't raise any further questions.

At the moment, Zhong Qiu's main focus was on how they should continue their studies now that they had left the Lotus Root Blessed Land and arrived in the Majestic World. When it came to cultivation, that was not Zhong Qiu's forte, so he was content to let Cao Qinglang forge his own path in that regard.

Cao Qinglang was an exceptional student who really didn't require too much supervision. However, even Zhong Qiu himself had never had a chance to see this world, and he also had very high hopes for Cao Qinglang, so he wanted to do everything in his power to ensure that this prized student of his remained on the right path.

The two worlds presented different pieces of scenery, but the same principles applied to both. There were various difficulties that one had to overcome in all walks of life, and Zhong Qiu didn't think that his paltry knowledge and martial arts cultivation base would be able to offer much guidance and protection to Cao Qinglang in the Majestic World.

Out of the native residents of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, Zhong Qiu, Ding Ying, and Yu Zhenyi were among only a tiny handful of people to be able to climb up from the bottom of the well all the way to the top on their own. Once there, they were able to truly comprehend just how massive the world was and how high the heavens were.

Upon the ship's arrival on Stalactite Mountain, Cui Dongshan led the three of them straight to the Ganoderma Inn. There, he reluctantly booked the four most expensive rooms, then asked if there were any better and more expensive rooms on offer. The female Ganoderma Inn cultivator who was attending to him was put at a loss for words. There was certainly no shortage of wealthy individuals who came to visit Stalactite Mountain, but not many were this blatant and straightforward when it came to flaunting their riches.

The female cultivator quickly became disgruntled by Cui Dongshan's skeptical gaze, and she told him that if the rooms at the Ganoderma Inn weren't to his liking, then he could go elsewhere. However, the only places that offered better accommodation than the Ganoderma Inn were the Ape Havoc Estate, the Spring Banner Inn, the Plum Blossom Garden, and the Water Essence Palace.

Cui Dongshan struck the palm of his hand with his fist as he questioned why the female cultivator didn't tell him this earlier, then promptly departed from the Ganoderma Inn with his three companions. Pei Qian was a bit in a daze as she followed him out of the Ganoderma Inn. She had actually been quite impressed with the inn. All of its furnishings and ornaments, and even the attire worn by the female attendant, all seemed to be quite valuable.

She asked Cui Dongshan if he knew anyone from the four private residences, and Cui Dongshan told her that he didn't know people from all four, but he was familiar with the owners of the Ape Havoc Estate and the Plum Blossom Garden. He told her that they were the type of friends who would exchange warm greetings and perhaps even a drink or two, but deep down, they would be wishing death upon one another. According to him, he had many such friends all over the Majestic World.

However, after making all those grand promises, Cui Dongshan ultimately led everyone into a small alley, where he booked rooms in the Stork Inn!

Zhong Qiu and Chen Ping'an naturally didn't care, but initially, Pei Qian was a little angry.

Cui Dongshan paid her a visit in her room, poured himself a cup of tea, and then explained his logic to her. In his words, the student's money belonged to the teacher, just as the disciple's money belonged to the master. Hence, they were both essentially spending Chen Ping'an's money, so they had an obligation to be frugal and save money for him.

Pei Qian was immediately enlightened, and her dissatisfaction quickly faded away.

Before long, she had returned to her usual joyful self, and she picked up her hiking pole and began practicing her Deranged Demon Sword Techniques.

After leaving Pei Qian's room, Cui Dongshan secretly left the Stork Inn.

Pei Qian didn't care where he was going. Even if he were picked on by someone outside and came crying to her, she wasn't going to do anything because she was a cold and heartless killer.

By the time Cui Dongshan snuck his way back into the inn, it was already late at night, but Pei Qian was still practicing her walking meditation in her room.

She slowly walked along in a half-asleep state, and the dust particles and rays of moonlight around her that would've otherwise been invisible to the naked eye were being warped and distorted by her fist intent.

All of a sudden, a window sprang open on its own, and a white-robed figure dropped down before sticking out their tongue as if they were the ghost of someone who had died by hanging.

The still-half-asleep Pei Qian reflexively plastered a talisman to her own forehead in the blink of an eye, then stepped forward and reached out to grab the hiking pole that was leaning against the table. Using her hiking pole as a sword, she thrust it straight into the glabella of the hanging figure outside, sending them flying back with a loud thump.

Immediately thereafter, Pei Qian sprang out of the window, leaving the hiking pole in the room behind her, and she adopted her fist stance, preparing to unleash the Heavy Cavalry Formation Shattering Technique.

This entire sequence of movements had been executed completely on instinct, and as a result, it had the smooth efficiency of flowing water.

Right as she was about to lash out at the ghostly intruder outside, she was met with the sight of a yawning Cui Dongshan.

"Whatcha doin' so late at night, Senior Sister? You wanted to come out for some fresh air?"

"Quit fooling around!" Pei Qian snapped with a furious expression. "What if I had beaten you to death just now?"

"Is it always a good thing to have your fists be faster? What if they're so fast that they outspeed your thoughts? In that case, are you even in control of your fists anymore?" Cui Dongshan asked with a smile.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Pei Qian grumbled.

"I'm going to tell my teacher that you hit me," Cui Dongshan threatened.

"Only because you scared me first!" Pei Qian protested angrily.

In the end, they decided to call a truce and sat outside together to look up at the bright moon.

Cui Dongshan had heard some rather interesting rumors. Apparently, some people on the Sword Qi Great Wall had dared to denounce the Scholarly Sage's lineage. In their words, the Scholarly Sage's lineage was beyond saving, even if it had the well-established Zuo You, and now, the rising star that was Chen Ping'an.

Cui Dongshan turned to Pei Qian with a smile and said, "Tomorrow, we'll explore Stalactite Mountain, and the day after that, we'll go to the Sword Qi Great Wall, where you'll be able to see your master."

"What's there to see on Stalactite Mountain? Let's just go straight to the Sword Qi Great Wall tomorrow," Pei Qian protested.

"There are so many good things on Stalactite Mountain; don't we have to at least buy some gifts?" Cui Dongshan asked with a smile.

Pei Qian felt like Cui Dongshan was right, so she carefully pulled out the scented pouch that Aunt Gui had given to her in Old Dragon City and began counting her money.

"I have money, so you don't need to pay for anything," Cui Dongshan said with a smile.

Pei Qian meticulously counted every single piece of money in the scented pouch, including even all of the scrap silver and copper coins. Unfortunately, there were very few immortal coins in this private stash of hers, so whenever she counted her money, she would always make sure to stroke them and talk to them as if they were her friends.

In response to Cui Dongshan's offer, she shook her head and replied, "I can't let you pay. I'm buying a gift for my master, so I have to pay for it myself."

"These little copper coins, pieces of scrap silver, and immortal coins have been with you for so long; wouldn't you feel bad if they had to leave your little scented pouch?" Cui Dongshan jibed. "Once you part ways with them, you may never be able to see them again. Doesn't that make you feel sad?"

Pei Qian picked up a snowflake coin that she had named in private, then raised it up high to hold it under the moonlight as she sighed. "There's no helping it. If they have to leave, then so be it. I'm going to miss them. I have all of their names written down in my little account book, so even after they're gone, I can still find students and disciples for them.

“This scented pouch of mine is a tiny little ancestral hall. I bet you didn't know that, did you? I've only ever told Master this, so not even Nuanshu and Mili know. After I told Master, he praised me for my thoughtfulness. These coins are very important to me, but Master is much more important, the most important of all!"

Pei Qian put her money back into the scented pouch, then tucked the pouch up her sleeve as she continued, "That's why I'm really grateful that the heavens sent Master down to me. However, if the heavens dare to try and take Master back..."

A menacing look appeared on her face at the thought, and she concluded, "I'm going to be really angry!"