Unsheathed

Chapter 267: Approaching Stalactite Mountain

Chen Ping\'an trusted that old boatman.

Chen Ping\'an tied the Sword Nurturing Gourd to his waist and sat down cross-legged, turning his head to the east where the iridescent morning clouds were dazzling and beautiful.

His mental state was completely different from when he had left the Flood Dragon Trench to pursue Osmanthus Island. His mind had been restless and erratic back then, but it was calm and stable at this moment.

Chen Ping\'an stood up and shielded the sun with his hand as he enjoyed the brilliant colors of the clouds. He had once read such a line in some travel journal — the scattering colors of iridescent morning clouds put the wardrobe to shame[1]. He truly didn\'t know how scholars and literati could come up with such beautiful imagery.

Chen Ping\'an suddenly turned around to look outside the Guimai courtyard. There was a young girl dressed as an osmanthus girl standing under an osmanthus tree that offered scattered shade. She looked extremely bored, and she looked up and pointed her finger at the osmanthus leaves on a certain branch. She was most likely guessing the number of leaves on the branch. Chen Ping\'an followed her gaze and observed the branch for a moment. He then grinned and loudly announced, "Young miss, there are thirty-two leaves!"

The young girl dazedly turned around, and she flushed bright red when she saw the young sword immortal standing on the rooftop. By the looks of it, the iridescent morning clouds in the sky would also give more favor to beautiful people.

After her slacking was exposed, the osmanthus girl suppressed the embarrassment and shyness in her mind and asked, "Young Master, do you want some breakfast?"

"Sure thing! Can I trouble you with bringing me a bit more? I\'m quite hungry right now," Chen Ping\'an replied with a smile.

The osmanthus girl blinked as she looked at that figure drifting to the ground and suddenly vanishing from sight. Her mood immediately improved.

Even though the young sword immortal had been very polite, she had still been extremely scared of him. She had felt that he would remember her mistakes, no matter how small. Thus, even though it was almost certain that he wouldn\'t report her to Aunt Gui, she had been very afraid of him.

When Chen Ping\'an had asked her to turn away all visitors, she had respected his request and diligently turned away many visiting guests. She had summoned her courage to turn away numerous immortals from the mountains, and she had ended up receiving many supercilious looks and scoldings because of this.

After eating breakfast, Chen Ping\'an started to practice fist techniques in the courtyard. He practiced the Mountain Shaking Fist\'s walking meditation for the entire morning, and he started to practice sword techniques by himself in the afternoon. He still practiced without a physical sword, and he simply feigned holding a sword as he focused on practicing the offensive Avalanche Technique. Chen Ping\'an focused on this sword technique because he felt like it was extremely satisfying.

After advancing to the fourth tier and having his energy, essence, and spirit become increasingly hidden, his six-step walking meditation now appeared especially light and nimble as if he were a wild goose trodding over snow. However, each subtle but sudden pause would cause his fist intent and astral energy to pour outward in a swift and ferocious manner.

After starting to practice the sword, Chen Ping\'an discovered that the Qi channeling route for fist techniques and sword techniques were completely different. However, the so-called intent behind them shared things in common, and this allowed Chen Ping\'an to feel increasingly at ease. This was because he came to realize that earnestly practicing fist techniques was indeed a form of cultivation. Moreover, it was a very good form of cultivation.

Back then, Li Xisheng had stated that drawing talismans was also a form of cultivation while drawing talismans on the bamboo building in Downtrodden Mountain. After being smashed into the mortal world by a single punch, A\'Liang had also stood on the kun ship and told him that upon reaching the pinnacle state, practicing the fist was equivalent to practicing the sword.

In the past, Chen Ping\'an would have felt completely lost if he were to continue down the fourth tier of martial arts like this. He would have felt like he was walking on empty air. Now, however, he was already feeling much more confident than before.

Chen Ping\'an practiced standing meditation at night.

When it was time for his midnight snack, Lady Gui didn\'t ask the osmanthus girl to deliver the food. Instead, she personally came over with the food and snacks.

There seemed to be something weighing on Aunt Gui\'s mind, yet it was as if she didn\'t know where to begin. At this moment, Chen Ping\'an had already broken the silence and said, "Aunt Gui, I\'ve saved Osmanthus Island for Little Fan this time, so can you help me deliver a message to him using a flying sword? Tell him that I\'m very fond of this Guimai courtyard, so can this courtyard belong to me in the future? Also, I feel like Little Fan won\'t be too stingy. However, the elders in the Fan Clan most likely won\'t agree to my request. Can you help me persuade them when the time comes?"

Lady Gui was extremely puzzled by Chen Ping\'an\'s request. She carefully observed the young boy, yet she found that his expression was seemingly genuine and sincere. She felt a myriad of emotions, and she replied with a smile, "If the ancestral hall of the Fan Clan dares to disagree, then I\'ll drag Little Fan along with me and cry out about the injustice. I\'ll scold them loudly, while Little Fan will roll around on the floor. We\'ll definitely change their mind."

Aunt Gui sat beside Chen Ping\'an and watched him wolfing down the food. As if amused by her own words, she covered her mouth and giggled, saying, "Giving away an independent courtyard is a rare thing that Osmanthus Island has never done before. I\'ll head off to personally draft a title deed right away. According to the rules of the government office, we need two copies of this deed. The two of us can sign the deed first, and this way, we can act first and ask for permission later. Afterward, we can get Little Fan to toss the deed into the ancestral hall and sprint away before they can do anything. Who cares whether those old geezers agree or not."

Chen Ping\'an smiled and said, "Aunt Gui, there\'s no need for a title deed. There\'s no need to keep such a document between us."

Aunt Gui gazed at the young boy\'s eyes and asked, "You really don\'t need one?"

Chen Ping\'an also looked her in the eyes, replying with a nod, "Really."

Aunt Gui sighed softly before suddenly dragging the young boy over and holding him in an embrace. This woman with an ordinary appearance but a graceful manner smiled and said in a soft and gentle voice, "Even though you\'re a similar age to Little Fan, you appeared especially gallant when rowing the boat with the bamboo pole back then. And what you\'re doing today... Sigh, all women in the world would feel truly touched by your actions."

Chen Ping\'an was still holding his chopsticks, but his body was leaning over a bit like the crooked old willow tree on the bank of the Iron Talisman River. He didn\'t think much about this, and he simply felt like Lady Gui was praising him in some way. However, Chen Ping\'an genuinely didn\'t know what she was praising him for, especially regarding how his actions would touch all women. What was this all about? Was this another metaphor employed by scholars and literati?

Moreover, Aunt Gui\'s manner of displaying friendship and kindness was indeed a little inappropriate. Fortunately, there was a huge gulf between their seniority and age, so others most likely wouldn\'t think much about this even if they saw the two of them...

Aunt Gui had already released Chen Ping\'an while he was thinking about this, and she smiled faintly as she looked at the young boy who was neither blushing nor having his heart beat faster. The dazed expression in his eyes made him loko rather adorable.

Aunt Gui squinted her eyes and revealed a rare expression of seductive charm. There was amusement in her voice as she teased, "Oh, as it turns out, you\'re also the same as Little Fan. You\'re still just a child."

From the beginning to the end, Chen Ping\'an couldn\'t help but feel a little awkward. As such, he could only lower his head and eat, also drinking some wine from time to time.

Aunt Gui smiled as she stood up and left.

When she arrived at the door, however, she saw the old boatman with an amused smile on his face. He reeked of alcohol, and he swirled his wine pot as he strode into the courtyard. As he walked, he didn\'t forget to exclaim, "Wine is the drink of joy, ridding worries and bringing delight; even toads and rabbits are moved, the shade of osmanthus trees shake."

An exasperated smile appeared on Lady Gui\'s face, but she didn\'t think much about this as she calmly walked away, accompanied by the shade of osmanthus trees the entire time.

The old boatman suddenly exited his drunken state, a serious expression on his face as he said, "Chen Ping\'an, my master suddenly arrived at Osmanthus Island, and he\'s specifically asked to meet you. He said he has something to tell you. Do you want to meet him? I can only confirm that my master isn\'t a bad person. He\'s always been kind and compassionate. However, I can\'t confirm whether such a good person will decide to do one bad thing. In terms of why he isn\'t willing to climb the mountain and come to this small courtyard..."

The old boatman suddenly appeared to be in a difficult spot, and he continued, "As a disciple, I should logically respect my master and avoid mentioning his name or titles. However, because of the situation right now... Forget about it, I\'ll just tell you about this.

"Master was once the first boatman for Osmanthus Island. Whether it\'s the Dragon Beating Poles or the folded paper carriages, horses, and buildings, all of these were rules created and passed down by my master. However, he quickly disappeared after that, and he only appeared once 500 years ago, taking me as his unofficial disciple. I can tell that... Master misses Lady Gui a little. However, it\'s a shame that he somehow annoyed Lady Gui, so she\'s prohibited him from ever setting foot on Osmanthus Island."

The old boatman suddenly added, "I suspect that Master is the boatman mentioned in the Daoist classics. He\'ll go out to sea for hundreds of years at a time, and he was the boatman for... that person that you mentioned. So, now that he\'s here to visit you, all I can do is deliver the message for him. As for whether you meet him or not, that\'s something for you to carefully think about."

Chen Ping\'an pondered for a moment before nodding and replying, "I\'ll go and meet him. That Lu..."

The old boatman hurriedly signaled with his eyes and eyebrows, stopping Chen Ping\'an from going any further. He lowered his voice and warned, "If you directly mention the names or titles of some people, such as supremely powerful sages, they can detect their names being mentioned. Just think about it. Why do ordinary people always warn others not to directly mention the names of deceased elders? Is this simply due to etiquette? No, it\'s not that simple."

Chen Ping\'an nodded in understanding. He then descended the mountain with the old boatman.

"Aren\'t you afraid that I have ulterior motives?" the old boatman asked in a joking manner.

Chen Ping\'an purposely put on an air of mystery as he replied in a soft voice, "I can also detect it when others are trying to harm me. Say, old senior, does this mean that I have the potential of a sage?"

The old man couldn\'t help but chuckle. In reality, sages and Qi refiners at the Upper Five Tiers were two different categories of people. If one wanted to become a sage, especially one of the three teachings, that would be incredibly difficult. In fact, even becoming a 10th tier sage was likely more difficult than a Qi refiner advancing to the Unpolished Jade Tier.

Chen Ping\'an and the old boatman walked down the mountain and approached the familiar dock. When they arrived, they were both a little surprised by what they saw. However, they also felt like this was completely reasonable.

Her clothes billowing and her appearance transcendent, Lady Gui was standing at the dock and seemingly preventing a middle-aged man from mooring his boat and entering the island.

Lady Gui was the owner of Osmanthus Island, this small world, so she naturally noticed the arrival of Chen Ping\'an and the old boatman. She was unwilling to face the middle-aged man\'s pestering any longer, so her voice became quick and stern as she angrily scolded the plain-looking man, saying, "Hurry up and leave! If you want to chat with someone, then go and chat on the sea! Don\'t even dream about setting foot on Osmanthus Island! Otherwise, I\'ll fight you to the death!"

The rustic-looking middle-aged man was none other than the boatman who had rowed his boat beneath Zuo You the other day. He was most likely the respected master of the old boatman standing beside Chen Ping\'an as well.

The middle-aged man was actually an extremely taciturn person, yet Lady Gui who was standing on the dock was his greatest weakness. Upon seeing her harshness — in fact, this was the first time she had been so angry with him — the simple and honest middle-aged man felt as if his entire world were collapsing. It was as if the entire world had become dull and lusterless.

He became extremely anxious, and he tossed his bamboo pole aside and stomped his feet as he wailed, "Why? Oh, why? What did I do wrong? After you rejected me that time, I was feeling extremely hurt, so I drank some wine and ended up drunk. This gave a timid person like me some courage, so I secretly ran over to hug that osmanthus tree a few times. I truly couldn\'t help myself! This is surely justifiable and excusable... Just what kind of person am I? Are you not aware of this? Even my master says that I\'m honest and good-natured!"

Lady Gui was incensed, and she chuckled coldly and huffed. "Oh my, your arguments and excuses are all so well linked together! Appealing to emotion, then appealing to reason, and finally appealing to authority. How impressive! Who taught you this strategy?"

It had taken the middle-aged man much effort to muster his courage, yet he instantly deflated like a balloon upon hearing this. His voice was low and dejected as he replied, "Divine Edict Sect\'s Little Qi..."

Lady Gui pointed at him and raged, "As a grown man, do you still have any sense of responsibility and loyalty?! Qi Zhen helped you come up with a plan, yet you\'re going to sell him out just like this? Without even a shred of hesitation?! Scram!"

The middle-aged man collapsed to his small boat as if he had been struck by lightning. His arms and legs flailed around as he wailed, "I can\'t live anymore! There\'s nothing in the world to live for anymore!"

The old boatman stopped in his tracks and refused to take another step forward. He covered his face with a hand, and he refused to look at his master in his current state. The deranged behavior of his master truly brought great humiliation to him, his disciple.

The old boatman suddenly turned around and said, "Let\'s go, let\'s head somewhere else. If I stay here, then my fractured Dao Heart that wasn\'t shattered by the old flood dragon will be shattered by my own master."

However, the middle-aged man turned to the old boatman and shouted, "Little Water Bucket, aren\'t you going to greet your master?"

After hearing the nickname from his childhood exposed, the old boatman stopped and sighed, then turned around. However, he stubbornly refused to make eye contact with his master. After speedily bowing and cupping his hands in respect, he muttered, "I wish you a long life, Master. I will respectfully take my leave now."

He then hurriedly ran away and returned to the mountain.

Chen Ping\'an continued forward and arrived beside Lady Gui. They greeted each other with a nod and a smile, and Chen Ping\'an squatted down beside the water and looked at the middle-aged man glancing at him and Lady Gui. The middle-aged man\'s gaze made his hairs stand on end.

There was something wrong with his expression! Why was his expression so similar to those women in Clay Vase Alley and Apricot Blossom Alley, especially when those women glanced between their husbands and Gu Can\'s mother? However, Chen Ping\'an quickly came to a realization. This middle-aged man looked like a fairly honest person, so why was he so narrow-minded and petty? No wonder Lady Gui didn\'t like him.

"Are you looking for me?" Chen Ping\'an asked.

The middle-aged man roughly repeated to him what he had said to Zuo You not long ago.

Before going any further, the middle-aged man stomped his foot and caused his bamboo pole to jump high into the air. After grabbing it, he forcefully drove it into the planks of the small boat. Using his astounding mystical powers, the middle-aged man instantly created two temporary small worlds. The smaller one enveloped him and Chen Ping\'an, while the larger directly enveloped the entire Osmanthus Island. In this way, even the powerful Daoist priests from Stalactite Mountain and the profound sages from Southern Whirl Continent most likely wouldn\'t be able to eavesdrop on their conversation.

He was Branch Master Lu Chen\'s unofficial disciple, after all.

This person was unwilling to face Zuo You\'s sword, he was almost like a scoundrel in front of Lady Gui, and he was only remembered as a boatman in some uncommon classic in Majestic World. However, this didn\'t mean that he was weak, and this didn\'t mean that his Dao power was low.

Lady Gui was aware of his identity and background, so she wasn\'t surprised by his actions. In the small world beside her, the figures of the two people were hazy, and their voices were also completely insulated.

After listening to the middle-aged man\'s words, Chen Ping\'an nodded and replied, "Okay."

"You aren\'t willing to become my master\'s final disciple?" the middle-aged man asked slowly. "If you agree, I\'ll thank you and I\'ll also owe you a favor."

Chen Ping\'an looked at the middle-aged man, and decided to sit down on the edge of the dock and grab the Sword Nurturing Gourd from his waist. He simply drank and didn\'t say anything.

The middle-aged man held his bamboo pole against the ground with one hand as he gazed up at the sky and said in a soft voice, "Master has never viewed me as his disciple before; I\'m nothing more than a servant who rowed a boat for him back then. Even though his direct disciples all sought me out when they came to travel around this world, and they were willing to refer to me as Senior Brother, I\'m well aware of the fact that Master has always disliked my dull-wittedness and lack of talent. Not only that, but I\'m even unable to free myself from the notion of affection.

"Thus, I searched the vast seas for countless years, hoping to follow in Master\'s footsteps and head to that Heavenly World. I wanted to become an official disciple and study under his tutelage. Yet, Master is unwilling to see me. However, if you\'re willing to accept his proposal today, then he will definitely see me if he\'s in a good mood. I\'m certain of this."

Chen Ping\'an smiled lazily and replied, "Then do you know this? The disciple that your master wants is the one I am now, not the one I will be if I become his disciple."

The middle-aged man reached up and lightly smacked his head. However, he was still unable to make heads or tails of the young boy\'s reply. He appeared especially annoyed as he grumbled, "You\'ve completely confused me. Say, why do teachers and students like you all speak in such a strange and confusing manner? How irritating. Even Xie Shi from Complete Reed Continent speaks in such a sophisticated manner. In fact, he hides his curses amid words of praise. Because of this, I was only able to come to my senses after a hundred years. I realized that he was actually disparaging me and calling me stupid, saying that this is the reason why Lady Gui doesn\'t like me."

The middle-aged man sighed and continued, "But this is still my own fault. It\'s my fault for being stupid. I can\'t blame other people for being too smart."

Chen Ping\'an stopped drinking and asked with a smile, "Why don\'t you blame the world?"

The middle-aged man was standing on his small boat, and the young boy was sitting on the edge of the dock.

Their gazes were coincidentally level.

The middle-aged man cracked a grin.

However, Chen Ping\'an had already changed the topic, saying, "Your disciple is so gravely wounded, so aren\'t you going to help him? If I\'m not wrong, he already managed to reach the Nascent Tier before. However, he fell back to the Golden Core Tier afterward..."

"I\'m his master, not his father," the middle-aged man huffed. "He\'s already 500 years old, so does he still need me to feed him and wipe his ass?"

Chen Ping\'an put his Sword Nurturing Gourd away. He then raised a finger on his left hand and held it in the air. Afterward, he raised a finger on his right hand and moved it away from his left hand. It was as if there was an invisible ruler between his two fingers. "The principles that I speak of are on this side, while the principles that you speak of are on that side. Both seem reasonable, but your principles are, in fact, unable to refute my principles. Do you know why? Because your principles shouldn\'t have gone so far in a single step."

Chen Ping\'an\'s right hand slowly moved toward his left hand. He made a tapping motion halfway, and he made one more tapping motion with each hand. He smiled faintly and continued, "If your principle is only around here, then perhaps it needs to stand here to become genuinely reasonable. It can move slightly to the left or slightly to the right... However, when your principle reaches the correct spot, how can you measure the importance of said principle? Do you know about Fortellers? Not the type pertaining to the study of yin and yang, but the type pertaining to the divination of destiny. Along with Legalism, there are now two smaller rulers that you can use..."

"Don\'t try to ruin my Great Dao!" the middle-aged man interjected calmly.

He forcefully thumped his bamboo pole against the wooden planks of the small boat again.

There was a dazzling smile on Chen Ping\'an\'s face.

This was because he was correct again.

Chen Ping\'an stood up with a smile, not acting mystical or pulling theories out of thin air anymore. Last night, he had a dream. In his dream, he read for an entire night. That was a hazy and mystical experience.

Seemingly realizing that he had been toyed with, a slightly irritated expression appeared on the middle-aged man\'s face. He scratched his head, but he didn\'t take his anger out on the young boy.

Chen Ping\'an winked and said, "Lady Gui is still watching us. What impression will she have of you if she sees you treating your own disciple like this? Isn\'t that right?"

The middle-aged man instantly came to a realization. His eyes lit up, and he hesitated for a moment before retrieving a golden book that was strung together using a simple straw rope. "It took me a great deal of effort to retrieve these texts from the bottom of the sea. Here, give them to Little Water Bucket. Remember, you definitely have to hand them to him in front of Lady Gui, okay? Can you do this?"

"Of course!" Chen Ping\'an replied with a nod. "I can even put in some good words for you if you want."

"Then I won\'t hold a grudge against you for toying with me just now," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

Chen Ping\'an accepted the golden book and carefully placed it in his sleeve. He didn\'t so much as take a glance at it. He looked at Lady Gui who was seemingly nearby but was actually beyond their small world, and she was currently gazing at the bright moon above the sea with a slightly adrift expression.

Chen Ping\'an retracted his gaze, and he was a little curious as he asked in a soft voice, "You are a man of great seniority, and you\'ve already lived for so many years, so why are you still so stubbornly in love with Lady Gui? Moreover, you\'re clearly aware that the notion of affection is an obstacle to your Great Dao, so why does it seem like you\'re actually enjoying this?"

This struck a sensitive chord, and the middle-aged man snapped, "That\'s none of your business!"

Chen Ping\'an paced back and forth along the shore with his wine gourd in hand.

"Lady Gui can\'t hear our conversation, right?" he asked.

The middle-aged man nodded in response.

However, Chen Ping\'an still lowered his voice as he said, "Lady Gui\'s disposition is naturally top-notch. In terms of her appearance, however... It can\'t be considered too... outstanding, right? What\'s the story between you two? Care to tell? Why did you fall for her, and why does she dislike you? What can be considered liking a person, and how do separation and reunion work? How did you anger Lady Gui? I need to take this as a warning...uh, I meant to say that I\'ll help you come up with a plan! You might not know this, but I\'m actually acquainted with many girls. I\'m extremely knowledgeable when it comes to relationships and romance!"

The middle-aged man rolled his eyes and replied, "If there are so many specific reasons for liking a person, then what kind of crappy affection is that? Speaking to a vulgar person like you is so boring. Little Water Bucket must be blind to drink with someone like you."

Chen Ping\'an grimaced.

The middle-aged man suddenly reached up and thumped his chest, saying with confidence, "Also, in my eyes and mind, Lady Gui is a breathtaking beauty with no equal! She\'s the most beautiful person in the world. Be careful of what you say in the future, little brat. If you dare to say another bad word about her, then I\'ll smack you stupid with my bamboo pole! "

He angrily spat at Chen Ping\'an and scolded, "What kind of crappy tastes do you have? You\'re completely unable to differentiate between beautiful and ugly!"

The middle-aged man spun his boat around using his bamboo pole. He then rowed away by himself, traveling hundreds upon thousands of meters in an instant.

Chen Ping\'an patted his chest and happily called out to Aunt Gui. "Let\'s go, I managed to obtain a secret text for the old senior from his master."

He didn\'t forget to put in some good words for the middle-aged man, going as far as to offer two sentences of praise. "He\'s a magnanimous and genuine person. However, he\'s a bit too honest."

Lady Gui nodded with a wide smile, saying, "Mhm, but his appearance can\'t be considered too outstanding."

Chen Ping\'an gulped upon hearing this, with his neck stiff as he turned around to search for the man and boat that had already disappeared into the distance. That middle-aged man was truly disloyal...

Lady Gui lightly smacked the young boy\'s head, and it was clear that she wasn\'t genuinely angry with him. "What are you looking at? Let\'s go," she said in a gentle voice.

The two of them walked along the mountain path together, and Lady Gui casually asked, "We\'ll arrive at our destination in one month. Chen Ping\'an, do you have any acquaintances at Stalactite Mountain? If you don\'t, then it will be a little troublesome if you want to go to the Sword Qi Great Wall. The reputation of the Fan Clan and Osmanthus Island doesn\'t hold much weight there. Moreover, when you arrive at Stalactite Mountain, there are some things that even money can\'t solve. That\'s because..."

Lady Gui paused for a moment before continuing in an exasperated voice, "That\'s because the Dao Ancestor\'s second disciple created some strange rules that have never been broken, not once in tens of thousands of years."

Chen Ping\'an was slightly skeptical, and he challenged, "Never? Not by a single person?"

Lady Gui sighed and replied, "Many people have tried in the past. However, their corpses and souls were all tossed into a small lake of lightning in Stalactite Mountain by some Daoist Heavenly Lord. Almost all of the victims were top-notch cultivation prodigies, descendants from powerful clans in the nine continents, disciples of immortal sects, or impressive figures from the Hundred Schools of Thought... However, none of them came to a good end. No one can change that Daoist priest\'s decision."

When that golden Dao Manifestation had appeared near the Flood Dragon Trench before, the Daoist priest\'s true body that was far away in Stalactite Mountain had also used a mystical ability to isolate heaven and earth, preventing Osmanthus Island from seeing his true form.

Chen Ping\'an was filled with worry as he roughly described the Daoist priest\'s appearance.

"How did you become familiar with this Great Heavenly Lord from Stalactite Mountain?" Lady Gui asked in astonishment.

Chen Ping\'an grimaced and smiled bitterly.

Right at this moment, a streak of white light cut through the night sky and passed over Osmanthus Island, announcing, "All passengers on Osmanthus Island are exempt from paying the toll when entering Stalactite Mountain. If anyone wants to travel to the Sword Qi Great Wall through Stalactite Mountain, they\'ll also be exempt from paying the toll."

Chen Ping\'an suddenly raised his arms and clenched his fists, exclaiming with joyful laughter, "He won!"

One month later, the passengers on Osmanthus Island could already see the majestic silhouette of the hovering Stalactite Mountain in the distance.

Moreover, every so often, they would come across other intercontinental ships that were also impressive in size and spectacular in appearance.

As time passed, Stalactite Mountain also drew closer, making it appear increasingly lofty and majestic.

After getting Lady Gui\'s approval, Chen Ping\'an woke up before sunrise and secretly left the Guimai courtyard. Afterward, he sat on a tall branch of the osmanthus tree located on the mountain peak, swinging his legs as he craned his neck and looked up.

He heard other people say that Stalactite Mountain was the border pass between two worlds.

However, Chen Ping\'an was a pure martial artist at the fourth tier, and he wasn\'t a grandmaster at the Far Roaming Tier who could soar through the air. As such, he could only take an intercontinental ship or take things one step at a time.

There was already such a great distance between the northernmost Great Li Empire and the southern Old Dragon City. If someone wanted to travel from one world to another world, the distance between the two would be even more immense.

Sitting on the tall branch, Chen Ping\'an smiled as he casually threw punches, causing him to sway left and right.

Beneath the tree, a young girl had arrived atop the mountain peak very early in the morning. She sighed and murmured, "I still feel like this boy is an absolute idiot."

1. A line from Shen Quanqi\'s 七夕曝衣篇. Shen Quanqi was a Chinese poet and government official active during the Tang dynasty. ☜