Chapter 76: Back-to-Back

As Chen Pingan approached the stone arch bridge, he swallowed hard, hesitant to proceed. After a brief internal struggle, he opted to continue along the stream, heading upstream to its narrowest point. He sprinted, took a leap, and successfully crossed over before finally making his way towards the blue ox's back. Little did Chen Pingan know, his detour had caused him to miss Ruan Xiu. The girl in green, clutching a flask of peach blossom wine, dashed across the bridge. During her trip to town for wine, she'd hurried past the New Year's money shop, averting her gaze from the enticing pastries, determined to start saving her own private stash.

Chen Pingan first went to Liu Xianyang's house. He lit an oil lamp, and with the lamp in hand, walked through the house inside and out, making sure nothing was missing. Only when he was sure that all the household items were accounted for, did he turn off the lamp, lock the door and return to Mud Bottle Lane. As he passed the old house with the gaping hole, Chen Pingan breathed a sigh of relief. The burden on his shoulders was still there, but it was significantly lighter than when he'd last left Mud Bottle Lane. Chen Pingan couldn't help but secretly rejoice. The feeling of having money in his pocket wasn't bad at all!

In his life, Chen Pingan had only seen fragments of silver. He hadn't even glimpsed a heavy silver ingot, let alone the gold that was as rare as the immortals.

Chen Pingan returned to his ancestral home. After opening the door, he rushed to make sure the courtyard gate was properly bolted. Back inside, he carefully lit the oil lamp, its dim, yellow glow reflecting off the cold, mud-plastered walls. Chen Pingan reached into a pottery jar at the base of the wall and pulled out three money pouches: the Spring Welcoming Money, the Offering Money, and the Evil-Repelling Money. They contained twenty-five, twenty-six, and twenty-eight golden essence copper coins, respectively.

A total of seventy-nine copper coins.

Regarding these extraordinary copper coins, Ning Yao had briefly explained that they were an extension of worldly currency. Their immense value stemmed from their scarcity. Of course, the main reason was that outsiders needed the coins as tokens to enter the town. As for the origin of this unwritten rule, it was lost in the mists of time. Ning Yao wasn't a native of Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent, so she couldn't offer any definitive answers.

From the three types of coins, Chen Pingan took out one of each and placed them on the table. The Spring Welcoming Money was engraved with the auspicious phrase "New Year's Great Fortune," intricately carved with flowing auspicious clouds. It depicted an armored god beating a drum.

The Evil-Repelling Money featured five venomous creatures on its face: snakes, scorpions, centipedes, geckos, and toads. On the back, along with the four characters "Heavenly Center Wards Off Evil," was an image of a turtle and snake entwined around a sword.

The Offering Money simply had the words "Sincerity Brings Miracles" on the front and "Immortals Above" on the back. It lacked any elaborate designs, making it the most unadorned.

Chen Pingan picked up a Spring Welcoming Coin, examining it repeatedly. The young man found it difficult to imagine that such a small coin could buy the entire Pearl Mountain. Chen Pingan knew that the small hill that Master Ruan mentioned was where Old Yao had first taken him to find earth. He had visited the peak of Pearl Mountain, where the soil could be classified into light and heavy, fertile and barren. Even more complicated, he would have to identify the soil that was naturally compatible to water, fire, metal or wood, which needed to be properly learned. Chen Pingan had only learned about seventy to eighty percent of the knowledge from Old Yao when it came to "earth eating."

At that unremarkable Pearl Mountain, Old Yao had stamped his foot and then said to Chen Pingan, who was digging for earth, "The soil here has all the flavors, but it's a pity the place is too small, like being crammed into a corner. You stick your head out and bump into something, stick your leg out and trip. People call this kind of place a 'snail shell'."

Chen Pingan gently put down the Spring Welcoming Money and picked up the Evil-Repelling Money, but quickly placed it back down, his face clouding over.

The fifth day of the fifth month, the five poisons emerge. It just so happened to be the young man's birthday. Song Jixin from next door had even said that in many places, children born on this day were considered inauspicious, and there were customs of drowning them directly in the river.

Chen Pingan shook his head and picked up the last coin, the Offering Money, with its simple eight characters on either side.

Chen Pingan suddenly remembered something. When he first saw Ning Yao, Fu Nanhua, and Cai Jinjian, he remembered that they each had to give the gatekeeper a bag of copper coins when they entered the town gate. So who did those coins end up with? Did they go into the private coffers of the Great Li Dynasty's emperor?

Chen Pingan sighed, not wanting to dwell on questions he couldn't possibly answer, and began to calculate in his head. Master Ruan had said that Pearl Mountain only required one Spring Welcoming Money. Medium-sized mountains like Xuanli Mountain and Lotus Lamp Peak would cost about ten to fifteen coins. Large mountains, including the Dry Spring Mountain Range and Fragrant Fire Mountain, would require twenty-five to thirty coins.

Chen Pingan quickly understood Master Ruan's implied meaning.

Firstly, the Great Li Dynasty respected Master Ruan, so they were giving him three mountains for free. Secondly, since Master Ruan wanted to establish a sect, the three mountains should ideally be connected, clustered together. Otherwise, having them scattered would be inappropriate. This was probably the clever part of the court, knowing that Master Ruan couldn't possibly pick out three of the most valuable mountains, so they pretended to be generous. Finally, he, Chen Pingan, would naturally have to follow Master Ruan in selecting the mountains. Of course, Chen Pingan felt that he could choose one or two small to medium-sized mountains elsewhere, like Pearl Mountain, which would be very suitable. No one paid attention to the small hill, but Chen Pingan cared a lot. Even if the mountain was small, it was still a whole mountain! Moreover, it only cost one coin. Chen Pingan felt that he must acquire this small hill and secure it for himself!

Chen Pingan was not uninterested in the Dry Spring Mountain Range, Divine Show Mountain and Fragrant Fire Mountain that Master Ruan had mentioned. He aimed to buy a large mountain that was almost as good as them, and estimated that it would cost at most one bag of Golden Essence Copper Coins. Then he wanted to buy some small hills similar to Pearl Mountain, aiming to spend about ten coins or so. All the rest would be used to follow Master Ruan's lead. After Master Ruan chose three large mountains, Chen Pingan would buy nearby. He would buy and buy like crazy!

As for that unknown large mountain with the Dragon Slaying Platform, Chen Pingan had completely given up on it, warning himself never to touch it. Even though no one knew about it yet, and such a great opportunity was right in front of him, Chen Pingan would never buy it. Now that the town was open to visitors from all directions, it was no longer the isolated, forbidden Small Li Bead Grotto-Heaven. Even Chen Pingan himself could walk down the several hundred miles of mountain road. In the future, who could stop anyone, especially those immortals flying around on their long swords?

However, before taking out money to buy the mountains, Chen Pingan planned to personally go into the mountains again.Having spent so much money at once, without even knowing what he bought beforehand, made Chen Pingan uneasy, even though he knew it was a sure-fire, profitable deal.

This was simply the result of being accustomed to hardship.

Chen Pingan now had eight snake gallstones that hadn't faded in the slightest. The others, hidden at his own and Liu Xianyang's homes, were numerous. Perhaps because they escaped the stream early on, they had "avoided a calamity." Although their colors and luster had diminished to varying degrees, not as bright and pleasing as when they first emerged, they still possessed a hint of "spiritual energy." This indescribable feeling was similar to how Chen Pingan immediately knew that Gu Can from Mud Bottle Alley or Li Baoping from Fortune Carp Street were intelligent and clever children.

Chen Pingan put away the three bags of gold essence coins, returning them to the pottery jar. The thought of asking Master Ruan for another leave to go into the mountains made his head ache.

Old Man Yao was like this, and so was Master Ruan. Chen Pingan suspected he didn't have much affinity with elders, especially with masters.

Chen Pingan went to the corner and squatted beside the bamboo basket, staring at the Dragon Slaughtering Platform inside. He reached out to caress the black stone's smooth texture, which felt cool to the touch. He was curious how such an unremarkable stone was related to a sword-wielding immortal like Miss Ning, and even more curious about the extent to which the Dragon Slaughtering Platform could sharpen a sword.

Chen Pingan suddenly remembered something, and took out the five locust leaves. Back then, the little girl in the red padded jacket had picked up eight leaves from the old locust tree, and Chen Pingan had given her three as payment. Chen Pingan carefully examined the locust leaves. They appeared thin, but were actually quite tough. Unfortunately, they had lost that vibrant green glow that flowed along the veins. Chen Pingan guessed that was the so-called ancestral blessing. Only at some nodes were there traces of lingering green light.

Chen Pingan carefully placed the five locust leaves into the Shaking Mountain Fist manual.

After finishing all of this, Chen Pingan went outside to the courtyard to begin practicing his stances.

Both of his neighbors on either side had already moved away.

Chen Pingan quickly became immersed in his boxing stances, completely forgetting himself.

His fist intent flowed like a stream.

Miss Ning Yao had said that practicing boxing a million times was just the beginning of martial arts.

Chen Pingan had no desire to be lazy.

He inadvertently recalled the red dots and ink characters on the wooden dummy, those legendary acupoints and Qi reservoirs through which Qi could flow in and out.

He felt comfortable all over, a surging heat. It felt as if a fire dragon was rapidly moving through his body, traveling from head to toe, bumping and stumbling, not smoothly. Those acupoints were like dilapidated and rough barriers, and the paths between the barriers were definitely not smooth roads. Some were wide but uneven, others were narrow and steep. When the fire dragon passed, it swayed, like a traveler crossing a rope bridge.

Finally, this fire dragon shuttled back and forth between several Qi reservoirs near his lower dantian, as if searching for the most suitable place to settle down, to be its dragon palace.

Ning Yao had said that the martial path of body refinement had three realms. The first realm was the Clay Body Realm. At its peak, when complete, one would generate a Qi within oneself, like a clay bodhisattva sitting high on an altar. Qi would sink into the dantian, immovable as a mountain. The body would then have a new vitality, and begin to nourish flesh, blood, and bones, making the whole person feel as if dead wood had come back to life. Many impurities and blockages would be gradually expelled from the body.

Chen Pingan was on this path.

Without a famous teacher to guide him, it couldn't be considered a lucky break.

He relied on diligence making up for his shortcomings, eight full years of going up and down mountains, and traversing hills, as well as a kind of breathing and exhalation technique that, although crude, had the right method.

Eight years and he hadn't yet broken through the first realm of martial arts.

Secular dynasties and the Jianghu all emphasized "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts," except for Ning Yao's hometown. Fortunately, in martial arts, there was no bad habit of competing on the speed of realm advancement. The more those who entered the hall and mastered the art, the more they valued a grounded and realistic step with each step, and the degree of solidifying each martial arts stage. However, someone as slow as Chen Pingan was hardly shameful, since countless young people from powerful families were indeed blocked outside the first threshold, unable to find the existence of that Qi in their entire lives. But as it currently stands, Chen Pingan was definitely not related to the term “martial arts genius.”

Chen Pingan suddenly "awoke," and gently exhaled a breath of stale air.

He walked slowly in the courtyard, gradually relaxing his body and limbs.

Chen Pingan lowered his head and saw the locust branch leaning against the foot of the wall. He suddenly had a whimsical idea of carving a wooden sword for himself.

When Chen Pingan was a child, after his parents passed away, he would often watch other children play from afar near the Immortal Grave. Most of the girls were flying kites, while the boys used wooden and bamboo swords made by their fathers, practicing with crackling and popping sounds. Chen Pingan had always wanted one, but later he became a pottery apprentice, busying himself with work year-round, and gave up the idea.

Chen Pingan squatted in front of the locust branch, thinking that making one wooden sword would definitely be no problem, but making two would be doubtful.

Chen Pingan first carried the locust branch to the outside of the house, then went to get the firewood knife he used to clear paths in the mountains, preparing to make a wooden sword for himself.

But as Chen Pingan sat on the doorstep with the firewood knife, he hesitated. After thinking about it, he put the knife back, feeling that the old locust tree couldn't simply be regarded as an old tree, especially since Mr. Qi had had a conversation with the locust tree. So this locust branch made Chen Pingan feel a bit awkward.

Chen Pingan put the locust branch back at the foot of the wall, and realized that he really couldn't sleep, so he left the courtyard. After locking the door, he walked all the way out of Mud Bottle Alley.

He inexplicably came to the stone arch bridge, thinking that he couldn't jump into the river every time to cross the bank. With a sigh, he walked onto the stone bridge and sat on the middle stone slab again, his feet dangling over the stream. Chen Pingan was a bit nervous, looking down at the dark water surface, and murmured, "Whether you're a god or a demon, we should have no grudges. If you really have something to say to me, then stop sending me dreams. I'm right here now, you can just tell me."

An incense stick, a quarter of an hour, an hour.

Aside from feeling a bit cold, Chen Pingan didn't notice anything unusual.

Chen Pingan supported himself on the stone slab with his hands, swaying his feet, looking into the distance. When he was very young, he was curious about where the stream ended.

Chen Pingan was lost in thought.

Liu Xianyang, Gu Can, Miss Ning, Mr. Qi, Old Man Yao, they had all left.

Chen Pingan had never been so wealthy before.

But the boy had never been so lonely before either.Across the stone bridge, away from the straw-sandal-clad youth's back, stood a towering figure robed in snow-white splendor. He resembled an immortal yet possessed the aura of a phantom. His hands rested upon the stone bridge, his feet dangling in the air as he gazed upwards at the heavens.

This scene, however, remained unseen not only by the self-absorbed Chen Ping'an, but also by the experienced Yang old man and the skilled craftsman Ruan Qiong.