"Just then at the shrine, Yan Qing had drawn her sword but decided against launching an attack. Instead, she intended to retreat, most likely understanding that she was no match for me. She wanted to travel to Verdant Bamboo Lake to ask for reinforcements. So, Du Yu, tell me what were the true intentions in the depths of her heart? Was she more focused on fleeing to save herself, or was she more focused on trying to save He Lu?" Chen Ping'an asked in a casual voice. Du Yu smiled and replied, "Yan Qing made the most correct decision, one that didn't compromise on saving herself or saving He Lu. I'm sure that He Lu wouldn't hold anything against Yan Qing even if he learned about this. Switching their positions around, it's very likely that He Lu would have made the exact same decision. Similar situations also appear in the cultivation world, and many heroic and gallant individuals charge head-first toward their death even though they know it's a trap. This is justifiably laughable, but it's also... slightly respectable." Chen Ping'an pondered for a moment, seemingly reaching some sort of realization as he nodded and mused, "Only like-minded people can end up together. In this sense, the Great Dao of He Lu and Yan Qing do indeed have good affinity with one another, allowing them to tacitly understand each other and be on the same wavelength." The canal master of Algae Stream was walking in front of them and secretly listening in on the conversation, and she couldn't help but chuckle coldly in her mind when she heard Chen Ping'an's words. Was he trying to trick her? He was a bastard vagrant cultivator who was referring to Du Yu as his brother, yet he dared to spew absolute bullshit such as Celestial Maiden Yan Qing knowing that she was no match for him? However, the canal master still felt a slight sense of apprehension. What if, on the off chance, this were actually true? After all, she had indeed been as weak as a little child in front of this vagrant cultivator just then. This was the undeniable truth. In any case, these matters weren't important anymore. She would take things one step at a time, and once they arrived at Verdant Bamboo Lake, the truth would naturally be revealed. Even if the heavens collapsed, there would still be the lake lord of Verdant Bamboo Lake and the old ancestor of the Treasure Basin Immortal Realm to hold it up first. She refused to believe that someone could be powerful enough to block the joint attacks of these two formidable individuals. This bastard vagrant cultivator would definitely be skinned alive and have his tendons and soul ripped out in the end, with his soul being used to light a water lamp. At that time, she would definitely ask the lake lord for a wisp of his soul so that she could bring it back to her water goddess shrine and torture him forever! Chen Ping'an glanced at the canal master walking in front of them and asked, "She's like an old madam from the mortal brothels, so how is she able to enjoy such power and freedom in the territory of Verdant Bamboo Lake?" "Perhaps only people like her can enjoy a good life here?" Du Yu replied in an uncertain voice. Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Brother Du Yu, you've spoken like a human again." Du Yu tried to restrain himself, but he ultimately couldn't help but burst out in loud laughter. This was the first time that he had felt so content and carefree tonight. Seeing Du Yu become slightly complacent, Chen Ping'an pursed his lips and asked, "Is this really that funny?" As if being choked by someone, Du Yu immediately ceased his laughter and shut up. Chen Ping'an fell silent for a long time before asking, "What would you have done if you were that scholar? Let's split his life up into three main periods. First, when he was fortunate enough to flee from Imperial Accompanying City and seek shelter from an old acquaintance of his clan. What would you have done then? “Second, when he achieved impressive results in the imperial examination and entered the Imperial Hanlin Academy of the Silver Screen Nation. And thirdly, after he gained great fame and had a bright future ahead of him. He was dispatched as an official and returned to his hometown to become the prefectural overseer, yet his true identity was discovered by the city god temple and he was plunged into a situation of certain death." Du Yu cracked a grin. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on noveⅼfire.net However, Chen Ping'an didn't ask him to answer straight away this time, and he instead said, "There's no hurry to answer this question, and I want you to genuinely put yourself in his shoes." Du Yu had no option but to entertain Chen Ping'an after being defeated by him, so he thought carefully for a long time before replying slowly, "In the first stage, I would have done my best to cultivate immortal techniques and strived to set foot on the path of cultivation if I were fortunate enough to learn about the existence of Qi refiners. If this weren't possible, then I would have focused on my studies and entered the officialdom, much the same as what the scholar did. Exacting revenge would naturally be necessary, but being able to survive first would obviously be the prerequisite. The better one's life, the greater the chance of success when trying to exact revenge. "In the second stage, I would have been more careful if I had learned about the city god temple's involvement in the massacre. I would have refused to leave the capital unless I became a high-ranking official in the Six Ministries of the Silver Screen Nation. I wouldn't have carelessly returned to Imperial Accompanying City either, and I would have sought to crush the perpetrators in a single blow. "However, if I had been oblivious to the severity of the situation, then perhaps I would have made the same decisions as that scholar, thinking that the position of prefectural overseer was high enough, seeing that such an official can already govern a substantial territory. Not only that, but the scholar was also young and capable and a future candidate to become a pillar official in the emperor's mind. That being the case, it genuinely appeared like he wielded more than enough power to review an old case and deal with some bandits. "In the third stage, I would have done whatever the city god asked me to do. I definitely wouldn't have accepted the fate of death so readily." "It's clear that it's very difficult for us to truly put ourselves in someone else's shoes," Chen Ping'an said. Du Yu appeared slightly embarrassed. His thinking had probably been too shallow and surface-level. After all, the mighty senior standing beside him was genuinely someone from the pinnacle of the mountains, meaning that he was presumably able to see further and deeper than him when observing these mortal matters. Chen Ping'an didn't say anything else afterward. Du Yu was completely fine with this, as it allowed him to feel much more relaxed and at ease. Throughout his entire life, his brain had definitely whirred the fastest and hardest tonight. Compared to Peony Stream which was controlled by the water immortal shrine, Algae Stream was wider and deeper, causing many large towns and villages that had initially been constructed near Peony Stream to gradually relocate to the banks of Algae Stream over the past several hundred years. As time went on, the incense offerings at the water immortal shrine of Peony Stream naturally withered down and became close to zero. On the flipside, it also made much more sense why the Green Water Residence in the water goddess shrine of Algae Stream was able to be decorated in such an extravagant manner. Godly bodies thrived on incense offerings, while extravagant residences relied on gold and silver. The canal master of Peony Stream had already fled to the dragon palace at the bottom of Verdant Bamboo Lake, and she had been resoundingly defeated in all areas by her colleague who was walking in front of Chen Ping'an right now. Otherwise, the lake lord of Verdant Bamboo Lake wouldn't have asked the canal master of Algae Stream to deal with the secret letter back then, even bestowing her a badge of the lake lord and allowing her to leave the territory of Algae Stream. The canal master had been able to traverse the mountains and rivers and build relationships in the capital of the nation. Du Yu was very familiar with the various deities in the jurisdiction of Verdant Bamboo Lake, and according to the explanations of this Militarian cultivator from the Ghost Axe Palace, the dragon palace of Verdant Bamboo Lake was nothing more than a residence full of women in the mountains. This was a place that the lake lord used to win over influential individuals from outside, individuals who had both money and free time to spare. And where were these renowned and beautiful maidservants in the dragon palace actually from? They had naturally come from beyond Algae Stream, an area that was already bordering on ruins and desolation. Floods had plagued the three rivers and one canal in the past, and a passing esteemed immortal at the time had taught the people a method to resolve these natural disasters. They needed to choose one beautiful young girl of around fifteen years old and throw her into the water to seek forgiveness for their crimes. When these regions suffered droughts, the natural disasters could largely be alleviated when the local officials visited the lake lord temple in the city to pray for rain. After rain fell, the local residents would once again throw young women into the water to thank the lake lord for his benevolence. Du Yu revealed that these schemes were all thought up by the canal master of Algae Stream. She would often disguise herself as an ordinary woman, acting like an official inspecting their jurisdiction in disguise as she secretly traveled around the various areas in the jurisdiction of Verdant Bamboo Lake and looked for young mortal girls who were beautiful and possessed good cultivation aptitude. After these young girls matured, the three rivers and two canals would be pummeled by thunderous rain, causing floodwaters to ravage the cities and towns. Alternatively, the canal master would channel mystical abilities to drive away the rain, causing severe drought to befall an area of hundreds upon thousands of kilometers in radius. After experiencing these natural disasters for several hundred years, the local officials in the area were already extremely familiar with the old rules and how to deal with these situations. The commoners had also come to accept the act of throwing beautiful young women into the water, and as time went on, they became accustomed to sacrificing one person for the sake of saving everyone else. In fact, the commoners started to treat these sacrifices as some sort of celebration, with many people getting involved and even dressing the chosen girls in wedding garb and giving them extremely beautiful makeup. As for the families of these chosen girls, they would naturally receive a hefty sum of silver as compensation as well. Moreover, the elders in the towns and cities all said that the young girls would quickly be invited into the dragon palace at the bottom of the lake by the lake lord once they were offered as a sacrifice. Afterward, they wouldn't need to worry about food and shelter anymore as they lived in the immortal paradise underwater. They would become immortals who were dressed in gold and jade, and it was truly a huge fortune for them to be chosen as sacrifices and enjoy such extravagant lives. The canal master of Algae Stream was also responsible for personally initiating contact and interacting with the wealthy and influential individuals in the cities and regions, and she was truly a capable deity extremely tactful and good at dealing with people. It was because of this that she was highly regarded by the lake lord. However, there was a single area where she wasn't able to compete with the canal master of Peony Stream, that being the fact that the latter was a so-called dragon-following official who had already served the lake lord before he had been appointed as the formal god of Verdant Bamboo Lake by the Silver Screen Nation. When Chen Ping'an and Du Yu had been making their way to the water goddess shrine of Algae River before, Du Yu had expressed some admiration toward the canal master who was apparently even more refined and regal than the empress and concubines of the nation. He had remarked that she was a deity who knew how to use her brain. As such, it was quite unfortunate that she was still a measly canal master, a position equivalent to that of river guardian. If he were the lake lord of Verdant Bamboo Lake, he would have helped her rise to the position of river goddess a long time ago. As for the position of great river goddess, this was something that they didn't need to consider at all. There were no large rivers in the Silver Screen Nation, after all, so it was naturally impossible for a deity to become a great river god. In fact, it seemed as if the large majority of the nation's water fortune had been taken by Verdant Bamboo Lake. They were already less than five kilometers away from Verdant Bamboo Lake. However, Chen Ping'an suddenly stopped in his tracks. The canal master of Algae Stream hesitated for a moment before also stopping in her tracks. She turned around, with her peach blossom eyes becoming naturally watery. She appeared confused and pitiful, looking fragile and timid as if she wanted to ask a question but didn't dare to. In reality, however, she was chuckling coldly in her mind, thinking to herself, Why aren't you walking forward anymore? You were so arrogant just then, yet you've finally come to understand the deadly danger up ahead now? Meanwhile, Du Yu had already made up his mind that he would only watch on from the sidelines. This was what the mighty senior had instructed him to do, in any case. Chen Ping'an turned around. Yan Qing had surprisingly caught up to them. He Lu wasn't with her, or he was perhaps following them from an even greater distance and concealing his presence. This young cultivation prodigy was seemingly very adept at concealment techniques or escape techniques. It was just that his physique was a bit too weak. Otherwise, Chen Ping'an would have found him slightly troublesome. The young female cultivator from the Treasure Basin Immortal Realm who was dressed in white and wearing an exquisite phoenix crown flew over on the wind. Compared to Du Yu walking beside him, Chen Ping'an had to admit that good-looking men and women were indeed more pleasing to the eye, especially when they soared into the sky and flew on the wind. Du Yu noticed the mighty senior taking a glance at him, and there was seemingly a hint of pity in his eyes? What's this? Perhaps the mighty senior wants me to walk forward by myself and test the traps of Verdant Bamboo Lake first? Senior, didn't you tell me to do nothing and observe from the sidelines? Old Senior's words are like edicts from the heaven, so it's not good for you to go back on your word now, is it? "Yan Qing has caught up to us," Chen Ping'an said. Du Yu followed his gaze and looked over, and sure enough, a small speck that looked like a grain of rice appeared very far away, just close enough for him to see. He faltered and exclaimed, "Celestial Maiden Yan hasn't gone crazy, has she? She refuses to accept the situation, and she wants to challenge Sen... Brother Chen?" Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "There are some people whose thoughts I can't understand no matter what." The canal master of Algae Stream felt much more reassured at this moment. Once Celestial Maiden Yan Qing arrived, she would probably be in much less danger even if they were yet to arrive at Verdant Bamboo Lake. Even though the canal master didn't know why the two parties hadn't fought to the death with each other in her water goddess shrine, but since Celestial Maiden Yan Qing had relentlessly pursued them, she knew that they would definitely descend into conflict if the bastard vagrant cultivator dared to attack again. There could have potentially been unexpected consequences if they had fought at her Green Water Residence, but they were only a few steps away from Verdant Bamboo Lake now, so how much commotion could a crude vagrant cultivator and a disciple of the Ghost Axe Palace — a force that only knew how to suck up to the second old ancestor of the Treasure Basin Immortal Realm — kick up? Yan Qing gracefully hovered down with her short sword in her hand, keeping it in its scabbard this time. She was only ten paces away from the vagrant cultivator dressed in azure and wearing a bamboo hat, yet she continued to slowly walk forward. The canal master of Algae Stream regarded herself as someone who had some ability to see the big picture from small details, so she couldn't help but feel even more satisfied and delighted at this moment. Judging by Celestial Maiden Yan Qing's attitude, she genuinely didn't treat this vagrant cultivator as a threat or someone to be worried about. Despite knowing that he was skilled at close-quarter combat, she remained completely unfazed as she continued to walk forward. Du Yu looked at the young celestial maiden who was renowned throughout the region, someone who was said to make a perfect couple with the equally lofty and prodigious He Lu. In the past, he had only been able to concede this point regardless of how jealous he felt. Tonight, however, he was finally able to lay eyes on their appearances. Disregarding He Lu, Celestial Maiden Yan Qing was truly very beautiful. This caused Du Yu to feel slightly displeased. Yan Qing was like a delicacy that was placed in front of him but he couldn't eat, and this feeling was even more revolting than having his head pressed down and being forced to eat a steaming pile of shit. "Is anything the matter?" Chen Ping'an asked. Yan Qing's expression was cold and aloof as she continued to walk forward with a resolute look in her eyes. She had carefully refined her Dao Heart as a cultivator, and it was evident that the ripples in her Dao Heart had already died down at this moment, making it calm and limpid again. Chen Ping'an raised his hiking pole and pointed it at the celestial maiden whose appearance and demeanor were essentially flawless, saying, "You can stop now." Yan Qing stood still, not insisting on continuing forward. Du Yu secretly inhaled a few times. As expected of a prodigious celestial maiden who was renowned throughout the region, the sweet fragrance that exuded from Yan Qing's body was natural and otherworldly. "He dissuaded you out of goodwill, so why did you still insist on attacking him so viciously?" Yan Qing asked. The canal master of Algae Stream had initially felt carefree and relaxed, yet the corners of her lips immediately twitched when she heard this question. Attacking him so viciously? Cultivators and deities, regardless of their cultivation bases, naturally weren't utter fools. She glanced at the nearby Algae Stream out of the corners of her eyes, and was just about to channel her mystical technique to transform into mist and flee into the distance. Standing with his back facing Du Yu and the canal master, Chen Ping'an flicked his wrist and caused the hiking pole in his hand to fly backward, directly striking the canal master in the forehead. This was like a hammer blow, and the canal master stumbled around as stars appeared in her eyes. The hiking pole flew back and returned to Chen Ping'an's hand, after which he asked, "Yan Qing, was the tea that you drank at the water goddess shrine of Algae Stream's canal master any good?" Even though Yan Qing was young, she was an intelligent and prodigious cultivation talent, after all. She noticed the hint of mockery in Chen Ping'an's voice, so she replied in an indifferent voice, "If the tea leaves and water are good, then the tea will naturally taste good. The time, the place, and the person drinking the tea are all external factors. Cultivators with an unsullied mind will remain pure and unobstructed even if they're standing in mud." Chen Ping'an waved his hand, not wanting to speak any more nonsense with her. However, Yan Qing added, "You can feel free to visit the dragon palace of Verdant Bamboo Lake. We can each go our own way on the path of the Great Dao, and I won't do anything else to interfere with your matters." Chen Ping'an turned around, gesturing to the canal master who was rubbing her forehead to keep leading the way. Yan Qing continued to walk behind them. Chen Ping'an didn't try to stop her.