Chapter 546 (3): Acts of Sword Cultivators

The next day...

Cloudtop City's Shen Zhenze insisted on buying the caisson ceiling of the immortal abode that was currently being stored in the private courtyard.

The Golden Core Tier city lord appeared extremely determined, with his tone sincere as he claimed that he would purchase this valuable immortal treasure even if it meant selling a large number of his belongings. This was an immortal treasure that could stabilize the mountain and water fortune of a region, so he was even willing to pay with all of the stores on a certain street of Cloudtop City.

Chen Ping'an didn't agree straight away.

In reality, Huan Yun also had thoughts about purchasing this incredibly valuable caisson ceiling.

He just didn't dare to ask.

Shen Zhenze wanted to ask for Huan Yun's help in convincing Chen Ping'an, but Huan Yun immediately felt a throbbing headache when he thought about the grey brick in that young man's hand. With this in mind, he chose to politely decline Shen Zhenze's request.

Shen Zhenze had chuckled in frustration at the time and remarked, "Good one, Spiritual Master Huan. Perhaps you want to compete with me for this treasure?"

Huan Yun didn't feel guilty or embarrassed, and he replied frankly, "This is a rare fated opportunity, so we'll compete fairly using our abilities."

Shen Zhenze could only begrudgingly accept this. However, he also said that since this treasure had already been placed in a residence in Cloudtop City, it should logically be kept and used in Cloudtop City as well.

Huan Yun smiled and said, "Watch your step when you leave. I won't see you off this time."

Shen Zhenze huffed and left in anger.

Chen Ping'an made another trip to the market outside Cloudtop City, acting as a wandering merchant once again. However, he only peddled talismans and nothing else this time.

He squatted on the side of the road with his hands inside his opposite sleeves, not shouting to attract the attention of the passers-by. He simply explained a few things when people stopped to ask questions.

Chen Ping'an had seen an announcement in the newspaper just then, saying that Vagrant Cultivator Huang Xi was going to battle against Martial Artist Xiu Niang on Temper Mountain in two days' time.

Chen Ping'an naturally wouldn't miss this event.

Following Huan Yun's departure yesterday, Chen Ping'an had started to carefully take inventory of his yield from his treasure-hunting trip.

He had obtained the shattered wood fragments belonging to the deity statues enshrined in the Daoist temple.

He had obtained thirty-six grey bricks from the Daoist temple.

He had also collected a total of one hundred and twenty-two green glazed roof tiles.

There were the droplets of water from the tip of the green bamboo leaf inside his Sword Nurturing Gourd.

Of course, there was also a vast amount of bamboo leaves and bamboo branches. He was temporarily nurturing an orb of shattered sword qi in his Sword Nurturing Gourd.

There was the book that Chen Ping'an had eventually obtained but still hadn't read yet.

There were the four items that Huang Shi had gifted him on two separate occasions: the copper mirror, the abstinence plaque, the jade bracelet, and the tree gall pot.

In reality, he also needed to count the wisp of concentrated spiritual energy that he had absorbed into his Dao robe while inside that pavilion.

He had also waded through the river of time once again.

This morning, Old Spiritual Master Huan Yun had also entrusted that little child to Shen Zhenze, asking a guest elder to secretly take the little child back to his mountain.

Chen Ping'an naturally wouldn't stop them from doing this.

Without first easing one's mind, how could one calm the mind and cultivate the mind?

People rested when the night grew old, and this was the state of tranquility espoused by the Daoist Sect.

This was similar to burning the first incense stick in Buddhist temples. In reality, the time and the location didn't matter at all.

Chen Ping'an suddenly looked up with a smile, greeting the visitor who had stopped at his stall.

Xu Xingjiu squatted down on the other side of Chen Ping'an's stall, and he didn't know what to say first even though there were a million things he wanted to say.

"Still doing well?" Chen Ping'an asked.

"Still doing well," Xu Xingjiu replied with a radiant smile.

"That's good to hear," Chen Ping'an said with a nod.

"Can I purchase some talismans from Senior?" Xu Xingjiu asked.

"Of course. All visitors are customers," Chen Ping'an replied. "However, the prices of the talismans won't change. Also, don't take out the treasure that you obtained earlier. I won't accept it here."

There was an awkward expression on Xu Xingjiu's face.

He had indeed come here with immortal treasures. Not one, but two. As for immortal coins, he hadn't brought a single one with him. This was a miscalculation on his part.

After having a heart-to-heart conversation with Zhao Qingwan last night, both of them felt like they should offer their respective treasures as an expression of gratitude.

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "I won't be there to drink the celebratory wine at your wedding. If you feel guilty, then just treat these treasures as my wedding gifts to the two of you."

"Then I won't disturb Senior's business for too long," Xu Xingjiu replied.

Chen Ping'an waved a hand and said, "If you truly want to thank me, then help me attract some willing victims who are weighed down by immortal coins."

"I'll try my best," Xu Xingjiu said with a wry smile.

"You're actually taking my joke seriously?" Chen Ping'an chuckled. "If you have the choice, then it's best to avoid doing things that go against your conscience."

Xu Xingjiu squatted there in dazed silence.

Chen Ping'an pinched his forehead and sighed, "I was just making a casual joke. Don't take everything so seriously, okay? Do you not find it tiring?"

"When I observe Senior's speech and actions, all aspects are in harmony with the Great Dao," Xu Xingjiu changed the topic and said.

Chen Ping'an's forehead almost became drenched in sweat as he stated, "My mountains aren't currently recruiting disciples."

Xu Xingjiu was extremely confused by this remark that had seemingly come from nowhere. Even so, he still respectfully bade farewell and took his leave.

What an impressive senior sword immortal. Every single word of his was filled with mysterious and profound meaning.

Standing further away on the street was a graceful young woman who didn't dare to walk over to meet this so-called wandering merchant.

Chen Ping'an looked over and smiled, nodding in acknowledgment.

Zhao Qingwan curtsied in response.

Xu Xingjiu held her hand, and Zhao Qingwan lowered her head.

Xu Xingjiu looked at her and softly said something.

Chen Ping'an held his hands inside his opposite sleeves as he watched this slightly familiar scene. He felt like even though the human mind was wavering and impermanent, there were ultimately still reunions amid the mountains and waters. This was truly as good as could be.

However, one small blemish was the fact that his business as a wandering merchant was far worse than before.

He only sold a few talismans after an entire day, making a measly thirty snowflake coins.

Chen Ping'an arrived at the residence left behind by Guest Elder Xu.

He squatted down in the courtyard and carefully cleaned the caisson ceiling that was resting diagonally against the wall. Chen Ping'an occasionally breathed onto the caisson ceiling as he cleaned it, and he would almost need to press his head against the ceiling to do this.

Huan Yun stood nearby with a strange expression.

Was this truly a sword immortal who could travel around the world with Liu Jinglong?

Huan Yun finally opened his mouth and asked, "Why did you ask me to send a letter to the ancestral hall of the Rainbow Sparrow Residence using a talisman paper? Why do you want Sun Qing and Wu Qun to come here and view the caisson ceiling?"

Chen Ping'an stood with his back facing the old spiritual master, and he replied, "If Xu Xingjiu and Zhao Qingwan are viewed as anomalies in your mind, then Sun Qing and the two other people from the Rainbow Sparrow Residence can be regarded as anomalies as well. Moreover, they're anomalies that can very easily attract disaster. Since this is your perspective, I want to see whether I can transform these anomalies into beneficial matters while I continue to earn large sums of money.

"Regardless of whether the caisson ceiling is sold to the Rainbow Sparrow Residence or not in the end, Sun Qing and the others should still feel gratitude toward you for this opportunity. In fact, you've also said yourself that Sun Qing — and especially her disciple, Liu Guibao — are both very smart and straightforward people. That's even more reason for you and me to give this a try."

"Why are you helping me like this?" Huan Yun asked.

Chen Ping'an used his sleeve to gently clean the exquisite pictures on the caisson ceiling, not turning his head back as he replied in a slow voice, "I'm helping the old mister who helped me enjoy a good opening to my business."

"The heart's barrier is difficult to overcome," Huan Yun sighed.

"Looking at the mortal world outside the mountains, the arrival of the New Year brings about many hardships, but the New Year is still celebrated yearly all the same," Chen Ping'an said with a smile.[1]

Huan Yun fell silent again.

"I can't help you with the Water Dragon Sect's Bai Bi," Chen Ping'an said. "She's the disciple of a large sect, so a measly vagrant cultivator and wandering merchant like me will feel nervous and terrified whenever I see her."

"Truth be told, she's also facing a headache right now," Huan Yun said. "I can find an opportunity to secretly meet her and resolve this hidden danger."

After all, the Rainbow Sparrow Residence's Sun Qing and the Water Dragon Sect's Bai Bi were seemingly oblivious to Elder Xu's schemes to harm Xu Xingjiu and his companion, but in reality, they actually knew everything.

What they didn't know about were the events that had taken place afterward.

It was a fortune that the two Golden Core Tier cultivators didn't know about these events.

Rather, only the young sword immortal standing in front of Huan Yun was aware of what had taken place.

"I feel like it's not too late to have the mighty cultivator from the Water Dragon Sect come to seek you out first," Chen Ping'an said. "Only this type of favor can be regarded as a true favor in the eyes of someone like Bai Bi. Otherwise, if you stay guarded against my big mouth and I remain anxious about you selling my treasures, it will ultimately reach a point where we hunt for opportunities to kill each other for the sake of achieving peace of mind, no?

"I'm sure that if you remain at Cloudtop City for the near term, showing yourself in public a few times or traveling to the Northern Pavilion Nation or the Celestial Water Nation to enjoy the scenery, the Water Dragon Sect will eventually take initiative and pay you a visit. That will definitely be better than you and Bai Bi having secretive and suspicious discussions behind closed doors."

Huan Yun faltered for a moment before smiling and saying, "That will naturally be best."

The next morning, the Rainbow Sparrow Residence's Sun Qing came to visit Cloudtop City with her disciple, Liu Guibao.

Shen Zhenze almost stomped his foot and swore. However, there was nothing more he could do at this moment. When the two talismanic boats had entered the city back then, the true appearance of the gigantic caisson ceiling had been forcibly revealed for a brief moment due to reasons pertaining to the mountain and water restrictions and the large protection formation.

There were presumably secret pawns of the Rainbow Sparrow Residence at the marketplace, and these pawns would have immediately sent letters to the Peach Blossom Ferry Station to inform them of the situation.

This was completely normal. After all, Cloudtop City had also installed secret pawns at the Peach Blossom Ferry Station.

Shen Zhenze wasn't so small-minded that he would directly prohibit Sun Qing from entering the city.

However, he shamelessly made his way to the residence holding the caisson ceiling as well.

If Sun Qing offered a higher price than him, could Shen Zhenze not maliciously raise the price even if he couldn't afford the caisson ceiling? Doing so wouldn't cost him a single immortal coin.

At that time, if Sun Qing angrily abandoned her pursuit of the caisson ceiling, Shen Zhenze could grit his teeth and genuinely part ways with a large sum of his wealth to purchase the valuable treasure. In fact, Shen Zhenze could even offer a large swathe of Cloudtop City's land. If this still wasn't enough, then he would take on a debt or shamelessly borrow some grain rain coins from Huan Yun.

Standing in the courtyard, Chen Ping'an looked at the livid Sun Qing as well as the carefree Shen Zhenze who was leisurely raising the price.

Huan Yun was also unsure about the actual value of this caisson ceiling, only saying that it definitely wouldn't be unfair to give it an asking price of eighty grain rain coins.

Chen Ping'an stood there with a stern expression, also showing a hint of innocence and a slight dash of helplessness.

In reality, he almost couldn't stop himself from giving Shen Zhenze a big thumbs up.

Shen Zhenze had already raised the price to eighty-six grain rain coins.

Judging from Shen Zhenze's attitude, he could stand here from morning until night and raise the price to one thousand grain rain coins.

"Shen Zhenze, enough is enough!" Sun Qing snapped in a cold voice.

Shen Zhenze smiled faintly and asked, "Is Residence Head Sun planning to reluctantly part with this treasure? Then I'll have to thank Residence Head Sun on behalf of Cloudtop City."

Liu Guibao remained silent the entire time.

There were also two other people who had entered the courtyard together with Shen Zhenze. They were both familiar faces.

Xu Xingjiu and Zhao Qingwan.

Liu Guibao didn't feel too much curiosity about the young man in black who wasn't carrying a sword on his back today. Mighty figures from the mountains were involved in many strange matters, after all, and in any case, his appearance wasn't actually that handsome even after he tore off the old man face mask. There was nothing interesting to look at.

Instead, she secretly observed Xu Xingjiu and Zhao Qingwan a bit more, attempting to find some clues.

Perhaps Old Spiritual Master Huan Yun purposely turning a blind eye to the actions of Cloudtop City's Guest Elder Xu back then was because he was very confident in achieving his objectives? It wasn't because he wanted to borrow someone else's blade to strike his targets, killing two birds with one stone and being able to safeguard his reputation while also obtaining treasures? If this were truly the case, then Old Spiritual Master Huan Yun truly deserved a newfound respect from her.

In the depths of Chen Ping'an's heart, however, he still hoped to sell the caisson ceiling to the Rainbow Sparrow Residence.

Even though Daoist Master Sun had already left the Majestic World, Chen Ping'an could clearly tell through his speech and actions that he genuinely felt a strong sense of pity regarding Liu Guibao. Even though Daoist Master Sun hadn't taken the young girl as his disciple, saying that their Dao didn't align, he had still given the young girl that Daoist text.

From Chen Ping'an's perspective, he couldn't continue to carry such a large "millstone" around with him as he traversed mountains and crossed rivers, so he might as well go with the flow and sell the caisson ceiling to the Rainbow Sparrow Residence. Daoist Master Sun had gifted him so many fated opportunities, after all, so he felt like he needed to do a little something for him as well as a token of gratitude. Only by doing so would he feel at ease.

He felt this way even though the two of them might never cross paths again for the rest of their lives.

Of course, this was unless Chen Ping'an genuinely became an Ascension Tier great sword immortal one day, giving him an opportunity to travel to the Heavenly World.

When it came to some matters that could be done or could be ignored, and doing them would allow one to feel more at ease, then one didn't need to hesitate any longer.

In any case, this wouldn't delay him from making money.

Sun Qing suddenly used her mind's lake to communicate with Chen Ping'an, proposing, "Young Master Chen, I'll offer you thirty grain rain coins and give you a minimization treasure on top of that. What do you say?! Give me a straight answer on whether you accept this or not. If you don't accept, then I'll leave right away! Rest assured, Young Master Chen will still be an esteemed guest of the Rainbow Sparrow Residence. I, Sun Qing, never beat around the bush to speak in a complimentary manner!"

Minimization treasures were naturally very precious, but to Sun Qing, the Residence Head of the Rainbow Sparrow Residence, the caisson ceiling that could stabilize the mountain and water fortune of a region was the most precious paramount treasure.

Chen Ping'an was clearly very surprised.

He hesitated for a moment before replying, "Then I'll accept the offer of thirty grain rain coins. You can keep the minimization treasure, and you can hold a debt for the remaining grain rain coins first. Residence Head Sun can repay me a sum of grain rain coins representing the value of minimization treasures in the mountains in the future."

However, Sun Qing surprisingly rejected Chen Ping'an's suggestion, saying, "Minimization treasures are useless to me at the moment, and this will be the case for the next one hundred years or even the next several hundred years. On the other hand, each grain rain coin is useful to the Rainbow Sparrow Residence. There's Wu Qun, Liu Guibao, and so many other cultivators, with each of them needing immortal coins for their cultivation. I can't delay their cultivation by giving away more immortal coins.

"So, Young Master Chen, what's your answer? Are you going to sell me the caisson ceiling or not?! In any case, I mysteriously obtained that minimization treasure, and it hasn't been 'locked' as of yet. I was just about to refine it to a preliminary stage when I received Old Spiritual Master Huan's secret letter, so I wiped away all of the existing restrictions. Young Master Chen can use it straight away."

In the end, Sun Qing said boldly, "Even if this transaction falls through, the amicable relationship between us will still exist. Young Master Chen will still be an esteemed guest of the Rainbow Sparrow Residence. However, the next time Young Master Chen visits us, it's difficult to say whether you'll be served ordinary tea or be treated to our specialty tea."

Chen Ping'an held back a smile and replied using his mind's lake, "Then I'll accept your offer of thirty grain rain coins and an additional minimization treasure."

"Deal!" Sun Qing exclaimed aloud with a hearty laugh.

She didn't try to conceal the fact that she had already reached a deal with Young Master Chen.

Shen Zhenze felt slightly disappointed, but nothing more than this.

It was his fortune if he succeeded, and it was his fate if he failed.

Sun Qing turned around and said to Shen Zhenze, "I managed to purchase this treasure at Cloudtop City, so I'll regard this as me owing you a favor."

Shen Zhenze smiled and nodded in response.

He then flew away on the wind with Xu Xingjiu and Zhao Qingwan.

Huan Yun gifted the Rainbow Sparrow Residence a talismanic boat.

Sun Qing accepted it without hesitation, not turning down the gift.

Otherwise, was she supposed to soar through the sky with the gigantic caisson ceiling on her shoulders? Would that be appropriate? Did there exist such a shameless cultivator in the world?

Sun Qing glanced at the caisson ceiling, after which she turned around to look at the young sword immortal with the surname Chen.

She quickly came to a realization, thinking that Chen Ping'an most likely already owned a minimization treasure.

Chen Ping'an guessed her thoughts, and he was extremely calm as he responded with a faint smile.

Sun Qing felt a slight sense of guilt at this moment.

Bloody hell, did she owe him another huge favor now? Chen Ping'an already had a minimization treasure to begin with, so her giving him another minimization treasure, one that she had only possessed for a short while, no longer appeared as valuable anymore. This caused Sun Qing to feel a slight sense of resignation. Forget about it. Chen Ping'an was Liu Jinglong's friend, so was there any need for her to be polite with him?

Huan Yun tactfully took his leave.

Sun Qing handed over the minimization treasure and the thirty grain rain coins.

She then boarded the talismanic boat with Liu Guibao and the caisson ceiling and left Cloudtop City.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The residence master of the Rainbow Sparrow Residence couldn't wipe the smile from her face, and she immediately started to drink wine after the talismanic boat took flight. She didn't forget to look down at Huan Yun and say with a loud laugh, "Spiritual Master Huan, Cloudtop City is tiny and boring, and a fart in the east can even be heard in the west. So, you should come to the Rainbow Sparrow Residence if you have free time, and it will be even better if you become a guest elder!"

Shen Zhenze chuckled and scolded, "Utter nonsense! Spiritual Master Huan is already an unofficial guest elder of Cloudtop City!"

Huan Yun smiled and shook his head.

He was in a fairly good mood right now.

Standing in the courtyard with a new minimization treasure, it was as if a pressing issue had just been solved for Chen Ping'an. Like an ant moving nests, he started to sort through and categorize all of his belongings, both new and old.

Huan Yun left and returned within fifteen minutes.

Chen Ping'an was already sitting in the pavilion atop the artificial stone mountain, cocking his head and listening to the crisp sound of two grain rain coins striking each other.

Huan Yun sat down opposite him, smiling and remarking with emotion, "The room small but the world large, the heart compact but heaven and earth vast. I always felt like I understood this in the past, and it's only now that I've discovered that I don't understand it well at all."

Chen Ping'an continued to tap the two grain rain coins against each other, nodding and replying in a casual voice, "Understanding that you don't understand is a preliminary form of understanding."

In reality, Chen Ping'an still felt a slight lack of self-confidence as he spoke these "grand principles" to a Golden Core Tier earth immortal who excelled at talismans. However, this didn't matter, and he was simply borrowing many of these sayings and phrases from his student, Cui Dongshan.

Huan Yun smiled and said, "If you trust me, then I'm preparing to travel around the mountains and waters of the Northern Pavilion Nation."

Chen Ping'an put away the two grain rain coins and sat up straight, replying, "Then I'll wish Old Mister all the best in overcoming your heart's barrier."

"It's still too early," Huan Yun said. "Only when I can candidly explain this matter to Shen Zhenze and sincerely apologize to my two juniors can I truly untie the knot in my heart."

Chen Ping'an nodded and remarked with a smile, "Old Mister is as graceful as ever."

Huan Yun stood up and bowed in respect, saying, "Take care, friend."

Chen Ping'an also stood up, cupping his fists and replying, "Take care."

Huan Yun flew away on the wind.

There was still a talisman paper pocket treasure left behind on the table.

Chen Ping'an put it away, treating it as something that was temporarily in his care.

He wouldn't so much as open this pocket treasure.

Afterward, Chen Ping'an started to carefully calculate the remaining natural treasures needed to refine his wood-element bonded item.

Cui Dongshan had actually helped Chen Ping'an put together a list before the latter left Downtrodden Mountain to journey around the Northern Complete Reed Continent, with the metal, wood, and fire element bonded items each needing different natural treasures to refine.

Moreover, Cui Dongshan stressed that the listed natural treasures were only the bare minimum, and being in possession of these natural treasures could guarantee that nothing would go wrong. However, they were far from enough by themselves, especially since bonded items of the five elements essentially all came with their own unique circumstances and requirements. As such, Chen Ping'an needed to carefully explore and investigate after he obtained the relevant fated opportunities, as only by doing so could he genuinely succeed in refining the bonded items.

Chen Ping'an was in no hurry to leave Cloudtop City.

In any case, the immortal ship to the Dragon Palace Small World would stop at Cloudtop City.

Apart from cultivating, Chen Ping'an continued to visit the market to act as a wandering merchant every single day.

On this day, Chen Ping'an saw a familiar face at the market: Jin Shan.

The vagrant cultivator almost fell to his knees and kowtowed when he saw Chen Ping'an, but after being stopped by Chen Ping'an, he squatted down beside the stall together with the young sword cultivator.

The vagrant cultivator planned to return the unused offensive talismans and the last remaining Stele Carrying Talisman, which still had some spiritual energy, to this senior.

Chen Ping'an didn't take them back, shaking his head and saying, "You can keep them. They're not worth much anyway."

The vagrant cultivator insisted on returning them no matter what, even choking back tears as he spoke.

It was a treasure-hunting expedition that hadn't appeared too dangerous to begin with, yet how many of those lofty cultivators with high cultivation bases had managed to make it out alive in the end?

Jin Shan felt like he needed to have some conscience.

It was because of this that he had insisted on traveling to Cloudtop City to try his luck, seeing if he, the "pig butcher," could meet that "double damn it" again.

Chen Ping'an finally accepted the talismans.

He then smiled and suggested, "How about us two brothers enjoy some wine after I pack up for the day?"

"I'll foot the bill, Senior. Is that okay?" Jin Shan asked with a smile.

Chen Ping'an nodded and replied, "That will be okay, but we won't be able to enjoy good wine anymore."

Jin Shan cracked a grin upon hearing this. This was indeed the case.

In the end, the vagrant cultivator treated his senior to some wine and acted slightly generously at his own cost. However, he didn't feel bad at all about spending this money.

Cloudtop City had its own fleet of small immortal ships traveling back and forth.

Jin Shan spent one snowflake coin for a ticket, and after boarding the immortal ship at the ferry station, he cupped his fists and bade farewell to the senior. The senior was as polite and easygoing as always, surprisingly cupping his fists to see him off.

The immortal ship slowly flew into the distance.

After enjoying some wine, and on the way to the ferry station, the senior had returned those talismans to Jin Shan again. Jin Shan had been left with no option but to carefully place the talismans in his sleeve.

The senior had also urged him to return to his hometown, warning that the regions surrounding Cloudtop City were still relatively tumultuous.

Jin Shan naturally didn't dare to doubt this.

When drinking wine just then, he had discussed many trivial matters with the senior. For example, how his wife was virtuous and good at managing the family, how his two children were quite impressive and good at studying even though they were still young, and how they could definitely become top scholars or champion scholars in the future...

After sobering up a bit, Jin Shan felt increasingly embarrassed as he thought about this. He slapped himself across the face.

After disembarking the immortal ship and arriving at a secluded location, Jin Shan decided to hide the talismans in his boots instead. He couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about leaving them in his sleeves.

However, only when he retrieved them did he discover the two gold paper talismans hidden between the other talismans. They weren't the original yellow paper talismans.

Jin Shan stood there in a daze.

He involuntarily recalled a remark by the senior from when they were drinking just then.

"Sword cultivators only seek satisfaction when they act; they don't speak reason."

1. In the past, people needed to repay their debts before the New Year, hence, the arrival of the New Year would create many hardships. ☜