Chapter 543 (1): All I See Are Children

The back of the mountain was abundant with exotic plants, but was devoid of all other living beings.

Furthermore, Chen Ping'an had noticed a minor detail. Back when he first entered the immortal abode, he had seen cranes flying around the mountain, but once he reached the mountain, the cranes were nowhere to be seen.

Regardless of whether he was looking up from the foot of the mountain, looking down from the mountain summit, or scouring the surrounding area while following Huang Shi and Daoist Master Sun, not a single crane appeared, and that hadn't changed even now that he had arrived at the back of the mountain.

If there really was some unfathomably powerful figure presiding over this place, and, in the worst-case scenario, this figure harbored sinister intentions toward all those who entered this immortal abode, then they were definitely a skilled master when it came to orchestrating traps and taking advantage of human nature.

If a mortal were to stumble into this place, they would perhaps only take a glance at the cranes in the sky before immediately having their attention drawn to the white jade arched bridge and the mighty archway. They would see this place as an immortal paradise, and with all of the skeletal remains littered over the ground, they would naturally be lulled into thinking that this place had no owner.

However, for cultivators, the more subtle observations, particularly the ones that came from a first glance, would be more impactful on their mental state and would affect them in subtle ways that even they themselves were unaware of.

From there, any Qi refiner, regardless of their cultivation base, would repeatedly ponder the situation that they were in.

Chen Ping'an was no exception to this trap. At first glance, he had seen a lush mountain and a flock of elegant cranes, and the first thought that sprang into his mind was that this was a beautiful immortal paradise.

From there, his observations told him that these were the ruins of an immortal abode, but it remained a fated opportunity, nevertheless.

There were countless signs littered all over the place pointing to something potentially more sinister, but the more of these signs one saw, the more one would become numb and desensitized to them, and eventually, they would begin to ignore those warning signs.

Chen Ping'an was also feeling a little lost, but the abrupt fall and rise of that streak of sword qi just now, the illusion of the immortal cranes flying around the mountain, and the inexplicable explosion of Daoist Master Sun's Treasure Pagoda Bells all connected together to form a line that implied a terrifying possibility.

This meticulous attention to detail and habitual approach of examining the two ends of a line, which presented the best and worst-case outcome of any situation, played a key role in Chen Ping'an's survival in the Malicious Ghost Valley under Gao Cheng's watchful eye.

Worldly affairs were extremely complicated, and knowing what to see and consider was an important skill.

As these thoughts were running through Chen Ping'an's mind, he continued to explore the back of the mountain with Huang Shi and Daoist Master Sun. At the very least, they seemed safer here than in the midst of the chaotic battle taking place on the other side of the mountain.

As for whether Di Yuanfeng lived or died, Chen Ping'an could hardly care less. Di Yuanfeng wasn't his father or ancestor, so why should he care? If he were someone with kindness in his heart, then perhaps Chen Ping'an would be inclined to step in and make a deal with him to help increase his chances of survival, but as things were, he was content to leave Di Yuanfeng to fend for himself.

Right at this moment, they encountered a bamboo tree on the side of the path. It was there all on its own, so it was rather eye-catching.

Its stalk had a similar diameter to a bowl, and its leaves were vibrant and green, so vibrant, in fact, that many of the leaves had water droplets hanging from their tips, and those water droplets would threaten to fall with even the lightest breeze. One of those water droplets just so happened to fall while Chen Ping'an's trio was observing the tree, and it instantly dissipated as soon as it struck the soil. Chen Ping'an was very intrigued.

The water fortune in the bamboo tree wasn't as abundant as what was in the glazed roof tiles and bricks of the Daoist temple, but the fact that the water fortune was rich enough to form water droplets indicated that the tree harbored a tremendous amount of spiritual energy.

As Daoist Master Sun passed by the bamboo tree, he gently tapped his knuckles against it while listening to the sound that it produced, and he seemed to have been intrigued by what he heard.

While Daoist Master Sun and Huang Shi were examining the bamboo tree, Chen Ping'an turned around so that his back was facing them, then removed his cloth pouch from his shoulder before pulling his Sword Nurturing Gourd out of his minimization treasure. He then slung the bag back over his shoulder before smiling as he requested, "Daoist Master Sun, please shake the bamboo tree for me so I can collect some of the dew on its leaves."

As a Sea Observation Tier cultivator, Daoist Master Sun was quite knowledgeable, and he shook his head with a smile as he said, "I suggest you don't waste your time, Brother Chen. These water droplets are formed by spiritual energy, and the spiritual energy within them will dissipate if you try to store them in an ordinary vessel.

“Even if you pluck off a leaf with the water droplets, the spiritual energy will still dissipate as soon as the leaf is removed from the tree, so trying to store the water droplets in a wine gourd would be completely futile."

As he was speaking, Daoist Master Sun removed the bag that he had fashioned out of the Dao robe from his shoulder before pulling out a small porcelain vial that was clearly no ordinary container.

Huang Shi was growing disgruntled by how much time his two companions were wasting, so he aimed a kick at the bamboo tree, and water droplets instantly came falling down like rain. Daoist Master Sun was delighted as he twirled around like a dexterous dancer, collecting the falling water droplets with his porcelain vial.

Chen Ping'an also followed suit, collecting all of the water droplets that Daoist Master Sun missed by using a water technique to condense the water droplets into a line that fed straight into the mouth of his Sword Nurturing Gourd.

Huang Shi took a glance at what Chen Ping'an was doing, but didn't find any suspicious signs indicating that he could be hiding his true power.

Having already brought out his Sword Nurturing Gourd, Chen Ping'an strapped it to his waist instead of returning it to his minimization treasure. All in all, the water droplets that he had collected was roughly equivalent in volume to half a liter of wine, but it weighed close to ten kilograms.

From there, the three of them continued onward, and Chen Ping'an took a thoughtful glance back at the bamboo tree.

Could it be that just like the bamboo forest that Wei Bo had carefully nurtured on Go Table Mountain, this bamboo tree also came from Azure Divine Mountain of the Bamboo Sea Small World?

According to the immortal book that Chen Ping'an had purchased from Stalactite Mountain, there were dozens of types of immortal bamboo in the Majestic World, but none of them seemed to be quite as exceptional when it came to accumulating water fortune.

Unfortunately, just like the stone table that served as a Go board in the pergola, this bamboo tree was also something that couldn't be taken away.

Daoist Master Sun was still hopeful of reaping more spoils from the bamboo tree, so he reached out a hand and smiled as he said, "During the early years of my cultivation journey, I once read in an ancient book that tea brewed using bamboo leaves is unmatched for quenching thirst and cooling the body.

“Even in the height of summer, one only needs a handful of bamboo leaves and several lotus flower seeds to brew a pot of tea that would have them feeling as blissful as an immortal in the heavens."

Chen Ping'an took a glance at Daoist Master Sun, then turned his gaze back to the bamboo tree, which hadn't reciprocated his praise at all.

Daoist Master Sun withdrew his hand with an indifferent expression as he said, "Looks like it wasn't meant to be. This fated opportunity will just have to fall upon someone else."

"These bamboo leaves would be prized treasures for cultivators of the Lower Five Tiers cultivating water techniques, potentially even something that can be refined into a bonded item for them," Huang Shi said. "If you don't accept this blessing from the heavens, you could risk having it turn from a benevolent blessing into a spiteful curse.

“Are you really not going to pluck off a few handfuls of leaves? Even if you don't use it to brew tea, you can gift it to some of your juniors in the Lightning God Manor, and I'm sure it would be very much appreciated."

"Gifts that concern the foundation of one's cultivation cannot simply be given out willy nilly," Daoist Master Sun countered in a composed manner. "I'm not the Dao mentor of those juniors, so it would be unbecoming of me to give them too precious a gift."

"Your words are always so brilliant and thought-provoking, Daoist Master Sun," Chen Ping'an praised.

Daoist Master Sun carefully tucked the small porcelain vial up his sleeve, then began stroking his beard with a pleased smile.

At this point, Chen Ping'an was really beginning to get on Huang Shi's nerves for constantly sucking up to Daoist Master Sun as soon as he found out that the latter was a disciple of Spiritual Master Jing Ming.

All of a sudden, Huang Shi charged toward Chen Ping'an at the speed of a Vajra Body Tier martial artist, but held back by restricting the power of his punch to just the fifth tier as he attacked Chen Ping'an without any warning.

Chen Ping'an was instantly sent flying with a loud thump, and he was sent tumbling over the ground before struggling up into a seated position, seemingly completely dazed from the sneak attack. All of a sudden, he threw up a mouthful of blood, and only then did he seem to have regained his bearings.

He hurriedly clambered to his feet with his hands concealed up his sleeves, clearly already holding some talismans between his fingertips, and he yelled in an enraged voice, "What the hell was that for?!"

Huang Shi's confidence was bolstered even further upon seeing this. Sure enough, Chen Ping'an really was completely useless.

Daoist Master Sun was so startled by this unexpected turn of events that he instantly jumped back several dozen feet, and he had also plucked out one of the offensive talismans that he had just bought from Chen Ping'an.

The three of them formed a triangle, and Huang Shi didn't even bother to look at Chen Ping'an as he turned to Daoist Master Sun with a smile and said, "We can never know if those around us are harboring sinister intentions, so we have to be careful, Daoist Master Sun.

“At the very least, Young Master Qin is a familiar ally of ours, whereas this man is a complete stranger that we met by chance. If he's just pretending to be strung along by us, then we could all fall prey to his cunning machinations. In the end, you could lose your life to him along with all of your treasures. I'm sure you wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"

Meanwhile, Daoist Master Sun was communicating to Chen Ping'an through his mind's lake, asking, "What do you want, Brother Chen? Should we fight him here? Huang Shi isn't going to be a pushover, so if we decide to turn on him, then our fates will be intertwined, and we'll both have to give it everything that we've got."

Compared with Huang Shi, Daoist Master Sun had more trust in Chen Ping'an. Of course, this was mostly because he regarded Chen Ping'an as someone who didn't possess the power to pose a threat to him. Then again, if Chen Ping'an had shown himself to be a conniving and opportunistic man this entire way, then Daoist Master Sun wouldn't have been willing to collaborate with him in earnest, either.

In spite of the question that he was posing to Chen Ping'an through his mind's lake, on the surface, he was trying to play the role of mediator as he said, "I'll admit that Brother Huang went too far there, but given the unpredictable situation that we're in, it'll only benefit others if we turn on each other here, so please allow me to mediate. Brother Chen, I will ask Brother Huang to apologize to you, and let's put this matter behind us, shall we?"

"No way!" Chen Ping'an exclaimed in an enraged manner. "I've just taken a punch out of nowhere and sustained severe injuries! If an apology is sufficient compensation, then how about Huang Shi cops a lightning talisman from me and we'll call it even!"

Huang Shi pursed his lips in disdain, then opened a corner of his cloth bag and pulled an item out from inside before tossing it to Chen Ping'an as he smiled and said, "If a verbal apology on its own isn't enough, then you can have an apology gift as well."

Chen Ping'an's eyes instantly lit up at the offering, and after a brief hesitation, he reached out with one hand for the item that had been tossed toward him, namely an antiquated copper mirror. At the same time, his other hand was still concealed up his sleeve with a talisman held between his fingertips.

Daoist Master Sun's expression changed drastically as he hurriedly warned through his mind's lake, "Don't fall for his trick!"

However, it was already too late.

Huang Shi took a step forward, displaying the cultivation base of a martial artist at the pinnacle of the sixth tier, and he instantly arrived in front of Chen Ping'an before throwing a punch his way.

Chen Ping'an was completely rooted to the spot with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape, seemingly paralyzed with shock and fear. Not only was he not able to catch the copper mirror that had been offered to him as an apology gift, he was going to have to withstand another punch.

Thankfully, Huang Shi's fist drew to an abrupt halt, and only a burst of force swept over Chen Ping'an's face, blowing his hair back like a stiff gale.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

From there, Huang Shi withdrew his fist, then adjusted the heavy bag on his back before turning and walking away.

After walking a few steps, he turned back with a smile and said, "You can have that mirror, Brother Chen."

Daoist Master Sun could only lament his own misfortune at finding such a naive ally.

It seemed that the journey ahead was going to be a difficult affair.

Chen Ping'an flashed Daoist Master Sun an apologetic smile, then crouched down to pick up the copper mirror from the ground before tucking it into a relatively empty cloth bag.

Even though he was doing his best to hide his lingering fear, his uncontrollably trembling hands betrayed his true feelings.

Daoist Master Sun was getting very frustrated with Chen Ping'an, and he shook his head before turning to set off after Huang Shi.

However, he couldn't afford to lose Chen Ping'an as an ally in this situation, so he communicated to him through his mind's lake in a meaningful and heartfelt manner, urging, "Brother Chen! Remember the situation that you're in and always stay a safe distance away from Huang Shi! Ideally, always keep me between the two of you.

“Otherwise, if you let Huang Shi get close to you, even all of the talismans in the world won't do you any good! A Qi refiner must never allow a pure martial artist to close the distance between them. How do you not know even such a simple principle?!"

"I understand, Daoist Master Sun, but as soon as he came at me, my mind went completely blank, and my body refused to listen to me!" Chen Ping'an sighed. "I understand all the principles, but my body just couldn't move."

After obtaining the copper mirror, Chen Ping'an hurriedly caught up to Daoist Master Sun, then slowed down to walk alongside him. However, he then quickly resorted to trailing along behind Daoist Master Sun, and the latter could only heave a forlorn sigh. At the very least, Chen Ping'an had learned from his mistake and was now keeping Daoist Master Sun between himself and Huang Shi, so he wasn't completely incorrigible.

Walking along at the end of the group, Chen Ping'an gently wiped the blood from the corner of his lips.

Chen Ping'an was quite disgruntled by the injuries that he had sustained, but the copper mirror more than sufficed as a consolation prize.

The copper mirror was marked with tiny characters, with the words "Avoid battle" engraved on the front and "Eliminate calamity" inscribed on the back.

It was undoubtedly a mirror designed to ward off evil spirits, and it was also an antique replica mirror. Chen Ping'an was able to determine this as through his prior observation, he had discovered the words "Made by the Gong Clan" in tiny text.

These tiny words were an indication of the mirror's value because only those who were confident in the quality of the copper artifacts they manufactured would dare to inscribe their clan's name on their products. Essentially, it was a quality guarantee of sorts.

There were records pertaining to this subject in the immortal book that Chen Ping'an had purchased from Stalactite Mountain, and it was described in those records that the Sea Beast Grape Pattern Mirrors made by the Li Shop and the Immortal Night Roaming Mirror made by the Three Nalan Mountains were the most precious antique replica mirrors.

As for many of the mirrors that could only be considered to be replicas of replicas, they were often scams that were traps for anyone who purchased them, regardless of how beautiful and exquisite their outward appearance was.

If someone were to mistake it as a precious treasure and sell it for a high price, then they could consider themselves very fortunate. If a less fortunate individual were to refine one such mirror into a bonded item of theirs, then that could well be a decision that they regretted for the rest of their days.

Just now, Chen Ping'an was almost unable to resist the urge to have Daoist Master Sun touch the mirror before stowing it into his cloth bag, and he would've done so under the guise of asking Daoist Master Sun to appraise the mirror for him.

Daoist Master Sun seemed to have the same ability as Sui Jingcheng of turning everything they touched into gold.

Even if Chen Ping'an were to discount the bamboo woven cages that were very likely to be Dragon King Baskets, those Treasure Pagoda Bells that had previously been in Daoist Master Sun's possession had clearly been prized treasures in themselves.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have self-detonated to serve as a warning back on the mountain summit.

There were far fewer buildings on the backside of the mountain than the front, only three in total, but they were all extremely majestic and imposing.

The vegetation was also much sparser, meaning that there were fewer places to hide, and that allowed Chen Ping'an's trio to make their way down the mountain with some degree of confidence.

With three buildings to be explored, the trio split up, with Huang Shi going to nearest cluster of buildings that all seemed to belong to a Daoist temple, while Daoist Master Sun made his way to a tall pavilion, leaving only a palace nearest to the foot of the mountain for Chen Ping'an.

After parting ways with Daoist Master Sun, Chen Ping'an made his way down the mountain on his own at a very leisurely pace, as if he were on a sightseeing tour. He removed his Sword Nurturing Gourd from his waist before taking a swig of the bamboo leaf spirit water, and it was truly a delightful beverage.

The only problem was that it was a little lacking in flavor compared with wine.

However, as soon as he thought of how abundant this water was with spiritual energy and how much more precious it was than even the most prized immortal wines, the spirit water instantly became much more flavorful.

Essentially, with each sip that he took, he was gulping down large handfuls of immortal coins, so how could it not be delectable?

He turned back to discover that Huang Shi and Daoist Master Sun were already nowhere to be seen, and only then did he strap his Sword Nurturing Gourd back to his waist before leaning forward and putting on a sudden burst of acceleration.

In the blink of an eye, he leaped over a tall wall before drifting down onto the ground as light as a feather.

It was as if he were one with heaven and earth and capable of moving without making the slightest sound or disturbance.