Chapter 470 (1): Haven't You Seen a Pseudo-Celestial Weapon Before?

It was early dawn when a group of travelers from the cultivation world arrived at the city gates of the Colorful Garment Nation's Blusher Prefecture, waiting on their horses for the gates to open. Among them was a well-renowned individual from the martial arts world of the Water Combing Nation, and he slowly rubbed a jade ornament in his palm as he sat on his horse.

He had nothing better to do at this moment, so he looked around at his surroundings, catching sight of a travel-worn young man walking over from the distance. There was a look of exhaustion in his eyes, yet his eyes weren't murky at all. The old man thought to himself that the young man was probably a martial artist, but judging by the imprints left by his footsteps, he most likely wasn't very strong.

The old man's gaze continued to wander around, looking at some women and young maidens nearby. However, it was a shame that most of them were women from the countryside, with their skin dry and their looks ordinary. The old man hoped that the women inside the prefectural city weren't as mediocre as this.

The young man in azure gazed at the large crowd gathered outside the city gates, and he decided to walk over to a breakfast stall rather than squeezing in front of the city gates with everyone else. There were already no empty seats left at the stall, but the young man still asked the stall owner for a serving of steamed white sugar sponge cake and a bowl of congee anyway. After the young man collected his food, the stall owner initially wanted to remind him that he needed to return the bowls and chopsticks after he ate. Upon seeing the sword on the young man's back, however, the stall owner decided to swallow his words and show some extra politeness to this member of the cultivation world.

The young wanderer squatted by the side of the road to eat after paying and collecting his food, and the sponge cake and congee were breakfast sorted for him. He ate extremely slowly, however, and the city gates had already opened by the time he finished eating and returned the cutlery to the stall owner. He then stood in line outside the city gates.

The old man put away the beautiful jade ornament in his hand, and he couldn't help but steal a glance at that junior from the cultivation world again. He smiled to himself, thinking that he had already broken free from such an abject state when he was the same age as this young cultivator.

Chen Ping'an ignored the judgmental gaze of the old man, following the line of people and handing over his travel documents to enter the prefectural city. It wasn't that Chen Ping'an didn't want to ride atop his sword and return to that residence, but he was genuinely exhausted after making a return trip from Blusher Prefecture to Misty Mountain.

If he tried to push on, then he wouldn't be practicing Corpse Sitting anymore, and he would genuinely be a corpse falling down from the sky. Even though sitting meditation would allow him to temper his soul simply by sitting still, damaging his physical body and wounding his vital energy for the sake of this was obviously a bad trade-off. Going too far would also lead to negative consequences.

However, performing sitting meditation when he traveled on his sword in the future was indeed a very good idea.

This was definitely fine in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, but it wouldn't necessarily be okay once he arrived at the Northern Complete Reed Continent which was brimming with sword cultivators. After all, that was a place where one could smash the brains out of someone simply because of a reason as absurd as not liking the look of someone.

Chen Ping'an didn't directly go to Wu Shuowen's residence, and he instead paid a visit to the city god pavilion first. Upon arriving, he found that the city god had already been replaced by someone else, and it was no longer the Golden City God, Shen Wen. Chen Ping'an heaved a soft sigh. This couldn't be regarded as the imperial court of the Colorful Garment Nation kicking Shen Wen to the curb after the city god outlived his usefulness, especially since Blusher Prefecture was a critical region of the nation. Following Shen Wen's death, it was necessary for a new city god to be appointed and take responsibility for overseeing the mountains and rivers of the prefecture.

Chen Ping'an didn't enter the city god pavilion, and he walked along the same streets as back then to visit a mountain lord temple that was still as peaceful and quiet as before. The temple was small and didn't have any temple attendants, so those who came to offer incense and pray for blessings needed to bring their own incense. It was here that Chen Ping'an had bid a final farewell to Golden City God Shen Wen of Blusher Prefecture.

Chen Ping'an pondered for a moment before stepping into the small temple, retrieving three sticks of incense from his minimization treasure while there was no one else around. The incense sticks were refreshingly fragrant, and being items from the mountains, they could do much more than just repel insects and mosquitoes. They could even ward off evil spirits in an entire area.

Chen Ping'an had visited a water god temple in the Azure Phoenix Nation during his previous travels, and the incense provider had caught up to Chen Ping'an and his companions when they were halfway to the Lion Garden, delivering them a bamboo incense tube from the temple attendant. Looking at the tube afterward, Chen Ping'an had found twenty-four sticks of precious water incense.

Chen Ping'an left most of the water incense on Downtrodden Mountain before embarking on his current journey, but he brought with him the bamboo incense tube as well as three sticks of water incense just in case. However, he unexpectedly needed to use them so soon. When it came to offering incense, there were some taboos regarding offering the wrong type of incense in the wrong temples. For example, offering mountain incense in water god temples. However, it was okay to offer either mountain incense or water incense at city god pavilions, scholarly temples, and martial sage temples.

Chen Ping'an lightly rubbed the tip of the incense sticks in his fingers, lighting them up without any fire.

He then stood still and raised the incense sticks above his head, silently saying something in his mind.

In the end, he placed the three sticks of incense into a copper censer, closing his eyes for a moment before turning around to leave.

Chen Ping'an once again knocked using the door knockers when he returned to the residence in the small alley.

It wasn't Zhao Shuxia who opened the door this time, and it was instead Zhao Luan. There was a slightly sulky look in the young girl's eyes, and it was as if her eyes could speak.

Wu Shuowen and Zhao Shuxia were standing near the spirit wall in the courtyard.

Chen Ping'an had been around Pei Qian and Chen Ruchu, the little girl in pink, for a long time, so he initially thought about patting her head to gloss over this matter. However, he suddenly realized that Luanluan was already a young girl, so he could only smile and say, "It's okay. The cultivators at Misty Mountain were quite reasonable, so you can peacefully cultivate with your master in the future."

Zhao Shuxia secretly clenched his fists in celebration.

Sure enough, Mr. Chen, the person who had taught him fist techniques, was able to do everything!

There were many questions in Wu Shuowen's mind, but it would be unsuitable for him to ask them in front of the two young children. As such, he had no option but to smile and nod in acknowledgement to Chen Ping'an, after which they walked to the main hall in the backyard together.

Zhao Shuxia and Zhao Luan drank tea just like before, using this beverage to slowly nurture their souls.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping'an took out two pots of crow caw wine, enjoying one pot each with Wu Shuowen.

"It's a shame that Luanluan and Shuxia are far too young to drink," Wu Shuowen said in pity.

He was reluctant to drink any more after taking a single sip, and he continued with a smile, "I'll save this up first, and I'll take it out again when these two children grow up and are old enough to drink."

Chen Ping'an hurriedly retrieved another pot of crow caw wine, placing it in front of Wu Shuowen and saying with a begrudging expression, "Mr. Wu is truly very talented at tricking people for more wine. Here, drink to your heart's content. I still have more wine."

Wu Shuowen didn't hold back, and he didn't relent either as he drank Chen Ping'an's wine, saying, "Young Master Chen, it's not good to project one's shortcomings onto someone else."

Chen Ping'an smiled and raised his wine pot, and Wu Shuowen did the same. This could be viewed as a toast between them, and they both tilted their heads back to drink.

Chen Ping'an didn't plan to explain his trip to Misty Mountain in much detail, but after looking at the good mood of Wu Shuowen, he still said in a soft voice, "Mr. Wu, the issues with Misty Mountain have been resolved for good. If you're still worried, then it won't be a bad idea to travel around the mountains and rivers of the various nations. After all, Shuxia and Luanluan have reached the age where they need to explore the world and broaden their horizons. As such, seeing more of the outside world and even just accumulating some experience in the cultivation world can only be a good thing."

Wu Shuowen nodded and replied, "That sounds good."

There was a faint smile on Chen Ping'an's face as he took small sips of wine and chatted with Wu Shuowen, asking him about the imperial court and cultivation world of the Colorful Garment Nation and the Water Combing Nation. He occasionally glanced at the young boy who was seemingly craving some wine, and he also glanced at the young girl who was secretly stealing glances at him from time to time. Chen Ping'an's mental state became peaceful again, and it was as if he had returned from the tip of the ruler to the middle of the ruler.

In reality, Zhao Shuxia had already been extremely familiar with drinking tea when Chen Ping'an first saw him upon arriving at Wu Shuowen's residence. The young boy hadn't been overly cautious or uncomfortable, and it was clear that he was very accustomed to drinking tea.

This was what Chen Ping'an admired the most about Wu Shuowen.

Zhao Luan possessed cultivation aptitude, and this already created a formless gulf between her and Zhao Shuxia. Not only that, but her extremely strong cultivation talent meant that she could easily overtake Zhao Shuxia in a few years. She had needed Zhao Shuxia to protect her with his life back then, but it wouldn't be long before Zhao Shuxia couldn't even see her shadows anymore. Wu Shuowen was naturally aware of this, but he still used immortal coins to buy this immortal tea for Zhao Shuxia whenever he bought it for Zhao Luan. He didn't discriminate against the young boy because of his lesser talent.

He wasn't treating the two siblings as in-house disciples at all, and he was clearly raising them as if they were his own children instead. To put things bluntly, many parents might not be able to treat their own children as fairly as Wu Shuowen was treating Zhao Shuxia and Zhao Luan.

Chen Ping'an felt like this old scholar with a middling cultivation base was genuinely a noble and virtuous person.

However, it was exactly because of this that he didn't dare to give Wu Shuowen too much crow caw wine.

He also needed to reconsider some other things that he had initially decided to do.

For example, should he provide immortal coins for Zhao Luan's future cultivation needs? If he did, how should he provide them? And how much should he provide? Would Mr. Wu accept them? Under what conditions would he accept them? And given that Mr. Wu accepted them, what should he do so that Mr. Wu didn't feel guilty or uncomfortable at all?

As he pondered over these roundabout issues, Chen Ping'an felt like Ma Duyi was indeed correct in calling him too hesitant and indecisive. However, this wasn't a habit that he could change overnight.

"Mr. Wu, there's something that I want to tell the three of you," Chen Ping'an suddenly said with an apologetic expression. "After teaching Shuxia a few more fist techniques, I might leave for the Water Combing Nation before today's night curfew kicks in. I'll be traveling quite quickly, so I won't be able to accompany the three of you even if you decide to travel around the Water Combing Nation first."

Wu Shuowen nodded in understanding and replied, "When it comes to cultivation, one shouldn't be overly delayed and held back by mortal matters. This isn't a derogatory remark, and it's simply stating the truth."

Chen Ping'an stood up and rolled back his sleeves, saying to Zhao Shuxia, "Let's go to the courtyard. I'll teach you a Qi refinement mantra, standing meditation, and another fist stance. There are only three things, but don't complain about this being too little."

Wu Shuowen decided to leave to avoid arousing suspicion. After all, even those in the same immortal force shouldn't casually listen to the immortal mantras of their fellow cultivators, regardless of whether it was fist mantras or cultivation mantras. He wanted to take Zhao Luan away with him, but the young girl who was usually obedient and clever was unwilling to leave no matter what.

The old scholar was slightly dumbfounded.

Chen Ping'an also noticed the commotion in the room, and he hesitated briefly before smiling and saying, "It's okay, you can stay here and watch. However, please allow me to say this first. Make sure to keep these things between the four of us and don't reveal them to anyone else."

Wu Shuowen sighed and shook his head before leaving by himself.

Zhao Luan rested her cheeks in her hands, sitting near the door as she said in a quiet voice, "Mr. Chen, you only need to tell my big brother the mantra. I won't eavesdrop, and I'll just watch the two of you perform fist techniques."

Chen Ping'an was indeed worried that the Sword Qi Eighteen Stops Technique was incompatible with Zhao Luan's current cultivation technique, so he used a martial arts technique to compress his voice into a thread as he taught the mantra to Zhao Shuxia. He repeated the mantra three times, only stopping when Zhao Shuxia nodded and said that he had remembered everything.

Afterward, Chen Ping'an started to teach the young boy standing meditation — the Sword Furnace Stance — as well as a new fist stance that was created by Zhong Qiu. This fist stance was called Examining the Dragon, and it also drew on Zhu Lian's ape-style martial intent. This fist stance, along with the six-step walking meditation, were both martial arts fundamentals, and it wouldn't be over the top no matter how much one practiced them. Chen Ping'an was confident that Zhao Shuxia wouldn't injure himself from practicing too much with Mr. Wu watching over him.

Not only did Chen Ping'an personally demonstrate standing meditation and the fist stance, but he was also very patient and detailed as he explained them to Zhao Shuxia, deconstructing each move and explaining their purpose to the young boy. He then put everything back together to explain the purpose of each technique. In the end, he eloquently talked about the mystical concepts that were naturally derived from these techniques. When Zhao Shuxia didn't understand something, for example, sparring with fist technique, Chen Ping'an would repeatedly explain the concept until the young boy understood.

Zhao Shuxia naturally wasn't stupid, and he was at least much better than Zeng Ye.

Zeng Ye was such a blockhead that even someone as patient as Chen Ping'an couldn't help but scratch his head and want to emulate the methods of Cui Cheng, the barefoot old man in the bamboo building. If Zeng Ye didn't understand something? Make him understand with a single punch! If this wasn't enough? Then make him understand with two punches!

Zhao Luan had her hands on her cheeks, with a wide smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she looked at the two people in the courtyard.

In reality, everyone would face many headaches and challenges on the path of cultivation, whether that was herself, her big brother, or even her master.

For example, she was afraid of the gazes of many people, and she was actually a very timid person. Similarly, her big brother would also feel envious and dejected when he saw those cultivators who were the same age as them. He was actually not very good at disguising his emotions. Meanwhile, their master would often sit there in a daze by himself, worrying about daily necessities and feeling anxious about his clan affairs.

Zhao Luan didn't feel like she was a naive little girl who didn't understand anything.

Over at the courtyard, Mr. Chen who looked more like a scholar now compared to back then still had his sleeves rolled up as he taught fist techniques to her big brother. In her eyes, Mr. Chen didn't look any less impressive when performing fist techniques than he had when flying away on his sword a while ago.

However, it was clear that Mr. Chen still treated her as a child upon seeing her again after so many years. Zhai Luan was very happy, but she also felt slightly unhappy.

Lunch was cooked by Zhao Shuxia, but Chen Ping'an also went over to help.

Wu Shuowen remarked that noble gentlemen should stay out of the kitchen, but this didn't stop him from eating and drinking his fill.[1] In fact, he drank so much wine that he became red in the face.

Afternoon arrived, and Mr. Chen was still as patient as always as he practiced fist techniques with Zhao Shuxia again and again.

Evening was about to settle in.

1. There's more context and nuance to the actual saying, which states that a noble individual stays out of the kitchen not because they think cooking is beneath them, but instead because they can't bear to see live animals being killed for food. ☜