Chapter 142: Chapter 31: A Gathering of Friends Before Seclusion

Mountain Peak Dao Field.

The chirping of insects and birds was incessant in the summer air. Wang Ping, dressed in a loose-fitting robe, sat at the stone table in the small courtyard with a relaxed and cheerful expression. He held a vintage wine aged for over fifty years, admiring the beauty of the Spirit Wood that filled the yard and taking a couple of swigs from time to time.

Before long, a figure descended from the sky and landed outside the small courtyard. It was Guangxuan from Sanhe Temple. Wang Ping had met many people over the years, but few he truly considered friends. Aside from his original fellow disciples, Guangxuan was one. Xia Yao, Feng Miao, and Cheng Ji—whom he had known before reaching Foundation Establishment—could also barely be counted among them.

When he had something to celebrate and wanted to drink, Guangxuan was about the only one who could come. Xia Yao would never visit, and Feng Miao and Cheng Ji were in closed-door ascetic cultivation, seeking an opportunity for a breakthrough.

"I smell a fine wine." Guangxuan didn’t stand on ceremony, entering the courtyard and sitting down opposite Wang Ping.

Wang Ping immediately ordered someone to fetch two more jugs of wine from the cellar.

After a few drinks, Liu Zixiu, who had just recently completed his Foundation Establishment, also appeared at the Dao Field’s entrance. He was followed by Liu Shuang, and finally Hu Qianqian, who was engaged in Pure Cultivation at Baisui Lake.

"The day of the agreement with Liu Chang is almost here, isn’t it?" Wang Ping suddenly recalled.

"Yes. A hundred years have flown by," Guangxuan said with a smile, raising his cup.

"How the world has changed... Suddenly, everything feels a little different," Liu Zixiu said, leaning against the courtyard gate and admiring the beautiful gardens outside.

"How so?" Guangxuan asked.

Liu Shuang and Hu Qianqian, who had been whispering to each other off to the side, couldn’t help but look over upon hearing Liu Zixiu’s topic. On the eaves, Yu Lian, who had been sunbathing, opened her eyes.

"The people around me, the things I see... they’ve all changed." Liu Zixiu walked over and took a game board from his storage pouch. Seeing this, the distant Hu Qianqian’s fluffy ears twitched, and she got up with Liu Shuang to clear the stone table.

"It’s like this game board..."

Liu Zixiu placed a piece on it. "When I used to look at the world, all I saw was the game on the board, not myself as the player. Once you see yourself, you realize the world is different."

Wang Ping followed by placing a piece of his own and smiled. "Senior Brother, you’ve finally escaped the sea of suffering. You have a good chance of a breakthrough in the future."

But Liu Zixiu shook his head. "It is a sea of suffering, that’s true, but there’s no need to escape it. My path of cultivation is to be *in* the world." He placed another piece and looked at Wang Ping. "Our new Emperor is planning to send troops to the north again."

"What are your thoughts on that?" Wang Ping asked.

This was no idle question. Liu Zixiu’s influence was now immense; his students were everywhere. He had formed his own faction within the Imperial Court, and his disciples were spread throughout the provinces. Even in the Shangjing Region, which was controlled by the Imperial Family, his words sometimes carried more weight than the Emperor’s. This was because he could communicate directly with the common people, thereby influencing the Divine Technique the Emperor cultivated.

Liu Zixiu wasn’t the only one doing this; anyone with the opportunity was. This was the opening created by the decadent lifestyle, and some people were, without even realizing it, undermining the very foundation of the Emperor’s power.

Wang Ping truly admired the Xiao Shan Lord. This kind of slow death was far more terrifying than a real battle with swords and spears.

"My opinion is that the time is not yet right."

Liu Zixiu picked up a game piece, speaking as he contemplated the board. Just then, Hu Qianqian brought out wine cups from a nearby room and filled them for the three men before coming to stand behind Wang Ping.

"How many more years of peace can this world maintain?" Guangxuan asked.

"I have sixty years left to live, at most. Who cares what happens after that..." Liu Zixiu seemed to mutter to himself.

"The Earth Spirit can take form in sixty years. Don’t you want to try for it, Senior Brother?" Wang Ping asked, placing a piece on the board.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Liu Zixiu’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a magnanimous smile. "I won’t compete with the younger generation. If you’re really so inclined, save my share for my disciple. Oh, and I’ll bring him to see you the next time we meet."

"It’s your decision," Wang Ping said, raising his cup and waiting quietly for Liu Zixiu to make his move.

...

Wang Ping spent the entire day in idle conversation, his mind in a state of complete relaxation.

As dusk approached, the guests left one after another, and the courtyard returned to its usual quiet. Wang Ping stood there for a while, lost in thought, before calling Yu Lian and heading toward the back mountain.

Yu Cheng Taoist was just having his dinner.

"Have you eaten?"

"Not yet..."

"Come, eat with me."

Yu Cheng Taoist’s dinner was simple: two vegetable dishes and a bowl of tofu soup, served with white rice. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

While master and disciple ate, Yu Lian went to a nearby kitchen in search of meat. Qianmu Temple was no longer what it used to be. The disciples’ meals were quite substantial now, mainly because there were too many of them to care for individually. They had to rely on the most basic method—eating—to strengthen the disciples’ bodies.

After the meal, Yu Cheng Taoist slowly took out his tea set. Smelling the fragrance of the tea, Yu Lian immediately ran over and sat down, her eyes fixed on the flowing liquid.

"Have you decided when you will enter meditation?" Yu Cheng Taoist asked as he poured the first cup of tea.

"Tonight."

"You’re very confident?"

"Yes!"

"Good..."

Just as their conversation reached this point, someone walked into the small courtyard. It was Wang Ping’s youngest junior brother, Xingshan. He now had his own Dao Field, one that had been funded by the Wang Family.

"Serve your senior brother a cup of tea," Yu Cheng Taoist instructed Xingshan.

"Yes!"

Xingshan did as he was told, respectfully picking up a teacup and presenting it to Wang Ping.

Wang Ping was puzzled but did not refuse. As he accepted the tea, Yu Cheng Taoist asked, "Will war break out in the north?"

Wang Ping’s gaze, however, fell on Xingshan as he relayed what their second senior brother had said earlier. "Second Senior Brother said the time is not yet right."

"Senior Brother, I ask that you protect the Wang Family when the time comes," Xingshan said earnestly.

"Why do you say that?"

"This life of luxury has made the Wang Family complacent. The Imperial Guard’s combat effectiveness is not what it once was. Once the war starts, it will undoubtedly be a catastrophic defeat. I’m worried that the court and the opposition will make the Wang Family the scapegoat. That would be a dead end."

"The Emperor’s Divine Technique monitors the entire world. How could he not be monitoring something as important as the Imperial Guard?" Wang Ping asked, confused.

"The Imperial Guard’s training continues as usual, but... the decadence has spread to their ranks. Their pride and complacency, from top to bottom, have morphed into arrogance. For an army, that is disastrous."

Wang Ping thought for a moment before stating his position. "You should discuss this with Second Senior Brother."

Hearing this, Xingshan cupped his fist in a salute.

...

Mountain Peak Dao Field.

After speaking with his master, Wang Ping returned to his own small courtyard. He drank alone for a while longer and admired the moonlight for a time before composing himself and walking over to the locust tree in the middle of the garden to sit down.

"Kid, you’re not going to wait any longer?" The figure of Tongyu Taoist materialized.

"There’s no need."

Wang Ping calmed his mind and first turned his focus inward to inspect the state of his Qi Sea. The ’Spirit Communication Talisman’ was now completely fused with it. All it took was a single thought, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi would automatically be converted.

After immersing himself in his Qi Sea for a short while, Wang Ping opened his eyes again and felt the state of the Spirit Gathering Array.

’Good.’

Next, he condensed his spiritual soul and had a simple exchange with the locust tree behind him. The tree had basic thoughts, but it also had a terrible temper and was often in a rage.

’Finally.’

Wang Ping glanced at Yu Lian in front of him, adjusted his mindset, and summoned the blank Talisman he had already drawn inside his body. He confirmed it was intact, then put it away again.

Shortly after, he entered meditation.