Chen Ping'an didn't make his way to the Mountain-Moving Great Sage's mountain, and he instead took a detour and went to the Demon Hunting Immortal's Sheep Intestine Palace. Even though it was called a palace, it was actually no better than the rundown temple at the foot of Treasure Mirror Mountain. It was equivalent to a large courtyard in Dragon Spring Prefecture. There were surprisingly only two small spirits guarding the main entrance, with each of them holding a wooden spear in their arms as they sat on the steps and casually chatted with each other. One of the spirits, a rat spirit, even had a tattered paper book resting on his knees. Chen Ping'an didn't care much about whether this was an illusion technique or not, since the Demon Hunting Immortal was most likely still at the Mountain-Moving Great Sage's place discussing how to encircle and hunt him. And thus, the two spirits saw an old man in azure walking toward the entrance of Sheep Intestine Palace. The larger rat rubbed his eyes and sniffed the air, remarking, "It's genuinely a living person? I'm not dreaming, am I?" The shorter rat hurriedly put away the book, a slightly hesitant look on his face. In the end, however, he suddenly stood up and raised his wooden spear, bellowing in anger, "Impudence! Who allowed you to wantonly enter Sheep Intestine Palace? Identify yourself, and I can spare you from death!" "I was sent here by Peeling Mountain's Lady Bishu, and I'm extending an invitation to the Demon Hunting Immortal to visit Moon Hall," Chen Ping'an replied in a hoarse voice. "Where is the Great Immortal? Make haste and inform him of this matter. Lady Bishu just captured a scholar in Copper Stench City." The rat at the door drooled uncontrollably, and he giddily ran over and asked, "For real?" There was strong skepticism on the shorter rat's face, and he feigned two spear thrusts in Chen Ping'an's direction before replying, "Our old ancestor has said that Lady Bishu, that stinking lady, always likes to eat good things by herself, so don't try to lie to us!" Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Truth be told, Lady Bishu has a favor to ask of the Demon Hunting Immortal, and Milady has sent me here to ask for your master's assistance. Lady Bishu hopes that the Demon Hunting Immortal can help her deal with a young sword immortal who's acting arrogantly in her mountain." "It's definitely that powerful sword immortal whom the old ancestor was talking about," the larger rat who was continually wiping away drool said in a low voice. "He's gone to look for Lady Bishu. Peeling Mountain is close to Copper Official Mountain, so it makes sense for the sword immortal to cause trouble there first." The smaller rat holding the wooden spear pondered for a moment before nodding and saying, "Alright, then you can piss off back to Peeling Mountain now. I'll enter the palace to inform our old ancestor, and I definitely won't delay the reinforcement request of Lady Bishu." The larger rat felt slightly frantic, and he hurriedly signalled to the smaller rat with his eyes. There was a defenseless living person in front of them, and even though he was quite old, would it not be easy enough to cook him up after tossing him into a large pot? It wouldn't hurt to kill him before heading to the Mountain-Moving Great Sage's residence to report this matter to their old ancestor. Since it was Peeling Mountain asking a favor of Sheep Intestine Palace, what would it matter if they killed a mere messenger? Lady Bishu presumably wouldn't dare to make a peep about this. That being the case, wouldn't the two of them be able to enjoy a scrumptious meal? However, the smaller rat seemingly failed to understand the message, and he jabbed his wooden spear at Chen Ping'an again, scolding, "Are you not going to hurry up and piss off? Do you think you can gain an audience with our old ancestor on a whim? Have you gone stupid? Are you seeking death?" Chen Ping'an noticed that this smaller rat spirit was secretly signaling to him with his eyes, most likely urging him to leave. However, the larger rat had already secretly retrieved a sharp knife from his sleeve and hidden it behind his back, walking toward Chen Ping'an and saying with a smile, "It's okay to have an audience with our old ancestor. Sheep Intestine Palace has always been a very hospitable place." Chen Ping'an kept his gaze on the worried expression of the smaller rat as he lightly flicked a finger, causing a bloody hole to appear in the forehead of the larger rat who was hiding a knife behind his back. The larger rat was sent flying back, dying instantly as he collapsed outside the entrance of Sheep Intestine Palace. The smaller rat holding the wooden spear appeared slightly dazed, but it wasn't long before shock and fear consumed him and he turned around to flee. However, a hand pressed down on his shoulder, and the small rat spirit didn't dare to move. His mind was completely blank, and in his vision was his companion collapsed in a pool of blood. His companion had somehow been killed just like that. Their old ancestor had once personally said that the larger rat had hopes of becoming a great demon in the future. Their old ancestor had always been fonder of the larger rat, and he had even said that he would allow the larger rat to oversee some aspects of Sheep Intestine Palace once it was expanded in the future. The area that he oversaw would be no smaller than Moon Hall. On the other hand, their old ancestor had never liked him too much. He would often reward the larger rat with food from the banquets hosted at other mountains, and he had even taught him some saber techniques. Meanwhile, their old ancestor would always scold and beat him for the smallest of reasons. Chen Ping'an carried the small rat spirit to the steps and sat down, following which he retrieved a yellowing book from the rat spirit's sleeve. This was surprisingly an extremely worn book of literati notes, and things became even more interesting once Chen Ping'an started to flick through the pages. There were some wonky notations written with an extremely thin charcoal pencil, and it was evident that they had been written with quite a bit of care. Even so, the characters still looked like wriggling worms. The notations were mostly short, and there were even some childish questions and obsequious remarks. Chen Ping'an was fairly amused, and he closed the book and returned it to the trembling rat spirit who was as pale as a sheet. "Do you know where the Demon-Hunting Immortal hides his treasures?" Chen Ping'an asked. The small rat spirit's movements were stiff as he accepted the book, and he replied in a quivering voice, "I don't know... I wouldn't tell you even if I knew... Not even if you kill me..." Chen Ping'an couldn't help but chuckle in speechlessness. He waved a hand and retrieved a brand-new book that still carried the slight fragrance of fresh ink, and he said, "Remember to hide this well. It's best that you dig a hole and bury it first. Otherwise, if the Demon Hunting Immortal is fortunate enough to survive and returns to Sheep Intestine Palace, then it will be your turn to die. Your old ancestor has a sensitive nose, and even I was almost discovered by him not long ago." The small rat spirit was stupefied. Chen Ping'an placed the book in his hands and asked, "Do you remember the warning?" The small rat spirit dazedly nodded in response. Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Then get a move on and hide the book. After you do that, either I can knock you out, or you can run into the door and knock yourself out. As for running away, don't even dream about doing that." The small rat spirit dropped his wooden spear and started to dig a hole somewhere, hiding his new book. He then ran to the main entrance, hesitating for a moment before ferociously ramming his head into the door. However, he was still conscious as he fell back with a thud, so he could only pitifully look over and say, "Esteemed Immortal, how about you knock me out instead. Drawing some blood will also be better." Chen Ping'an flicked a sleeve and knocked the small rat spirit unconscious, causing blood to slowly seep from the seven orifices on his face. He looked very pitiful, but this was only on the surface. After doing this, Chen Ping'an kicked open the door of Sheep Intestine Palace and stepped inside, starting to search for the hidden treasures of the Demon Hunting Immortal. He patted his Sword Nurturing Gourd and summoned First and Fifteenth to help him look for clues. In the end, he pulled up a wooden plank under the incense table in the main hall of Sheep Intestine Palace and found the entrance to a secret passageway. This passageway was extremely narrow compared to the wide underground path at Peeling Mountain, and Chen Ping'an would need to get down on all fours to fit inside. As such, he could only task First with opening up the passageway and Fifteenth with guarding the rear. After approximately fifteen minutes, he finally arrived at a dark cave that could fit one standing person. Chen Ping'an lit up a flame stick and discovered that there was only a single iron box that was covered in crooked talismans. The talismans were filled with spiritual energy, and it seemed like the Demon Hunting Immortal came here very often to swap them out. However, Chen Ping'an wasn't sure about whether these talismans were used for alerting their owner or for attacking those who attempted to open the box. Chen Ping'an took a step back and let First and Fifteenth deal with the talismans. Meanwhile, he gathered his attention and prepared to deal with any hidden surprises. The two flying swords rapidly flow forward, circling around the metal box and quickly cutting the yellow talismans into pieces, destroying their talismanic cores. There was some violent shuddering caused by a burst of escaping spiritual energy, but there was no further commotion apart from this. Chen Ping'an opened the metal box, and he was rendered slightly speechless by what he saw. The box wasn't filled with immortal treasures or spirit tools, and it wasn't filled with immortal coins either. Instead, it was filled with stacks of books. However, this did make sense. Books were indeed very rare in Malicious Ghost Valley. Chen Ping'an flipped open a random ancient book and saw that it was a military book. By the looks of it, the Demon Hunting Immortal was a spirit who liked to study military strategy. Chen Ping'an suddenly held two fingers together, his movements lightning quick as he caught a centipede that had lunged toward his face. The centipede was glistening black, and Chen Ping'an shook it to death with his fist aura before tossing it aside. Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment, and he decided that he didn't have time to carefully flip through these military books. He placed all of them into his minimization treasure and looked around for a while longer, making sure that there were no other hidden mechanisms in the small cave. He then returned along the narrow passageway and made his way back to Sheep Intestine Palace. This Demon Hunting Immortal was truly a poor bastard. Afterward, Chen Ping'an still didn't choose to go to the Mountain-Moving Great Sage's mountain, and he instead traveled to Accumulating Cloud Mountain which was located furthest north out of the territories of the Six Sages. This was the territory of the Imperial Thunder Divine General. This demon liked to keep to himself, and this was in stark contrast to the Mountain-Moving Great Sage and the Black River Great King who liked to recruit many underlings. However, he possessed the strongest combat ability out of the Six Sages. Thunderous clouds circled around Accumulating Cloud Mountain all year long, with arcs of lightning continuing to form webs in the clouds. Spirits and ghosts were both innately afraid of thunder, so Accumulating Cloud Mountain was a strongly disliked location in Malicious Ghost Valley. However, the Imperial Thunder Divine General had obtained a damaged thunder cultivation technique from some unknown place, and practicing this technique had caused him to go deaf in both ears and blow up one eye. After facing many hardships, he finally managed to master some thunder element mystical abilities, allowing him to shoot flames from his nostrils, exhale smoke from his mouth, and summon lightning in his hands when he did battle. The Imperial Thunder Divine General was a demon with a tough physique and exceptional mystical abilities. Moreover, thunder element mystical abilities had an innate suppressive nature against yin entities and spirits, so this allowed the Imperial Thunder Divine General to enjoy a lofty standing among the Six Sages. There was no mountain path in Accumulating Cloud Mountain, and almost no trees and vegetation in this lifeless region either. There was a sea of clouds surrounding the waist of the mountain, with the booming thunder and crackling lightning blocking the view of the top half of the mountain. Chen Ping'an dashed around the rocks on the mountain as he rapidly made his way up. However, he suddenly ground to a halt when he noticed the dazzling light show erupting at Gushing Earth Mountain. This was accompanied by loud and ceaseless explosions. It was as if an intense large-scale battle were taking place. Had the scholar entered a den of demons? Chen Ping'an started to ascend the mountain even quicker. Bolts of lightning lashed down toward him when he approached the sea of clouds circling the waist of the mountain. Chen Ping'an shattered these attacks with his fist, destroying no fewer than one hundred bolts of lightning in seven or eight minutes. His arms started to go numb, but his field of view suddenly opened up. There was an even thicker layer of clouds above the peak of Accumulating Cloud Mountain, and the bolts of golden lightning were like thick pillars as they descended toward the mountaintop in unison. The violent thunder was deafening. Even Chen Ping'an felt slightly dazed and blurry-eyed. He took a deep breath before continuing to climb the mountain. The arcs of lightning were like an endless cage when Chen Ping'an neared the peak of the mountain, and he was unable to approach this lightning and had no option but to soar into the sky on his sword. Standing on Sword Immortal and gazing down, Chen Ping'an was surprised to discover that there was actually a thunder pool the size of a small pond atop Accumulating Cloud Mountain. There was a thick soup of lightning, as if they were sending drops of water through the air. There was a crooked stone tablet as well, and inscribed upon the tablet were the large characters, "Doushu Academy Sword Washing Pond." These were all ancient seal script characters from the Authentic Death-Avoiding Book. The stone tablet presumably wasn't an ordinary item, or else it wouldn't have been able to withstand the punishment of the lightning for so many years and only become crooked. It wasn't damaged at all, and there wasn't so much as a slight fracture. Chen Ping'an came to a hovering stop on Sword Immortal. He knew very clearly that this thunder pool was a small immortal realm that even sect-level immortal forces would covet. However, there was no way for him to obtain it. As for whether there were any natural treasures inside the thunder pool, this was even more impossible for him to detect. Chen Ping'an had no idea what Doushu Academy meant, and he had even less clue regarding the genuine secret principles of thunder techniques. Yang Chongxuan could wait for the fated opportunity at Treasure Mirror Mountain because he had come to Malicious Ghost Valley well-prepared. He was simply waiting for the right opportunity to make his move. On the other hand, Chen Ping'an would simply be wasting his time even if he waited at this mountain for hundreds upon thousands of years. Chen Ping'an glanced at the golden lightning above the thunder pool before considering the toughness of his own physique. He could perhaps withstand this lightning for a short moment, and he could perhaps even jump into the thunder pool and withstand the lightning there. However, the worry was that it would be easy to enter but difficult to leave. If he activated some unknown restriction and caused the thunder and lightning to suddenly become more powerful, then the outcome at that time would be unimaginable. Chen Ping'an shifted his gaze upward. Could he have Sword Immortal cause chaos in the sea of clouds and make the thunder pool temporarily lose its "reinforcement." Sword Immortal was eager to have a try, and it shook slightly and rang softly as if it were yearning to have a competition with this loud thunder and lightning. There was indecision on Chen Ping'an's face. How was this thunder pool able to exist atop Accumulating Cloud Mountain without being moved away? Perhaps Pu Rang and Skeleton Wall City were unable to take this thunder even if they wanted to. They were ghostly yin entities, after all, and they weren't formal deities. Meanwhile, cultivators from the mountains of the Northern Complete Reed Continent were unable to snatch away this so-called sword washing pond from under Malicious Ghost Valley's nose. As for whether the Flax Robe Sect had thought about taking this thunder pool before, and regarding whether or not they were capable enough to do so, this was anyone's guess. One had to realize that Accumulating Cloud Mountain wasn't far from Green Cottage Town. At the same time, Sect Leader Zhu Quan of the Flax Robe Sect wasn't someone who would be afraid of Pu Rang or powerful cultivators from Skeleton Wall City. She likely wouldn't dilly-dally if she were able to succeed. That being the case, the most likely explanation was that she wasn't able to move the thunder pool. This thunder pool could temper swords and refine their sharpness? However, none of his swords displayed any interest at all, regardless of whether it was Sword Immortal, First, or Fifteenth. This was especially the case for First, which appeared abnormally quiet. Chen Ping'an heaved a soft sigh. He hoped that if Downtrodden Mountain truly established an immortal force in the future, his disciples — be that Pei Qian, Cen Yuanji, or even younger generations than them — would no longer need to feel as powerless as he was now when they came across innate secret treasures and significant fated opportunities. He hoped that the scriptures and inheritances of his many mountains would allow the disciples of his immortal force to know about the matters of the world and thus gain some advantages. Chen Ping'an peered down at the surroundings, and he discovered that apart from the lack of vegetation on Accumulating Cloud Mountain, there were also a few stone cliffs that glistened with light as they were illuminated by the many bolts of lightning. Chen Ping'an descended to the ground, and Sword Immortal automatically returned to its scabbard. After arriving in front of a stone cliff, he discovered a thin golden vein that was as long as an arm. Extending a finger to touch this vein, Chen Ping'an not only felt a bone-piercing pain, but even his soul shuddered as a result. Chen Ping'an was deeply astonished, and he grabbed Sword Immortal and started to cut and dig the vein out from the stone cliff. In the end, the golden vein lay quietly in the stone crevice, appearing like a golden bamboo whip that contained flowing golden light. Chen Ping'an reached forward and grabbed the golden bamboo whip, causing a searing sensation to course through his palm. He let go after a brief moment, feeling a little dizzy and with his forehead already drenched in sweat. He wiped away his sweat before quickly pinching the golden bamboo whip between his fingers and placing it inside his minimization treasure. With this done, Chen Ping'an jumped onto Sword Immortal and soared into the sky again, looking for the next "bamboo whip" that contained the true intent of thunder. After flying a circle around Accumulating Cloud Mountain on his sword, Chen Ping'an only managed to find four locations with flowing golden light. He landed at each location, and like an earnest old farmer, he chipped away at the cliff faces to dig out the golden bamboo whips of varying sizes. The shortest whip was only the length of a finger, while the longest whip was half a person long. If Chen Ping'an could refine this long whip, he could craft it into a hiking pole. Chen Ping'an flew another circle around Accumulating Cloud Mountain, and only after making sure that there was no more golden light or golden threads did he rapidly descend through the sea of clouds and shatter the bolts of lightning that were chaotically crashing toward him. He successfully descended Accumulating Cloud Mountain. Chen Ping'an returned Sword Immortal to its scabbard and looked up, feeling a slight sense of pity as he thought about that thunder pool. However, he felt quite happy once he thought about the five golden thunder whips in his minimization treasure. Was he starting to worry about his gains and losses again? Chen Ping'an shook his head and silently told himself, "Have you forgotten? Don't dwell on things that aren't destined to be yours." He turned around and looked toward Gushing Earth Mountain, and he saw that the commotion was even greater now. The brilliant glow of immortal treasures continued to illuminate the sky. It was as if an imperceptible voice were reverberating in his mind. There was no joy or sadness in this voice, nor was there any sense of good or evil. However, Chen Ping'an felt incredibly shocked and terrified. He was certain that the "him" referred to that scholar. Chen Ping'an closed his eyes for a moment, and they had already regained clarity when he opened them again. To kill him or to save him... Either option would be better than running away from the problem. This was the third time that Chen Ping'an had heard his mysterious mind's voice, which originated from some unknown place. The first time was during his childhood when he had collapsed to the ground after descending the mountain and when returning to Clay Vase Alley. The voice had spoken three words that time, and his heart had been beating violently as if there were a deity beating a drum and roaring in anger.