Chapter 401

Seven days later, Chaotian Palace.

Wang Longxiang's agarwood flying boat landed in front of Qian Chen's small courtyard. The old servant of the Wang family followed behind him, holding the Yangqing stone sword box, following step by step, and knocked gently on the gate for his master, with perfect etiquette. When Qian Chen personally pushed open the door to welcome them, the old servant still had a strange expression. Qian Chen lived in this small courtyard and had never asked the people of Chaotian Palace for any servants to order about. His concepts were ultimately different from those of the people of this world, and he did not feel that he needed anyone to serve him.

Therefore, there was not even a single Daoist boy in the courtyard.

According to the etiquette of Southern Jin, the host honors the guest, so for the host to welcome the guest at the steps of the main hall when they visit is already extremely thorough.

A scene like this, where he personally opens the door for the guest, only happens when the guest's status is much higher than the host's.

If it were before, the old servant would not have felt it inappropriate, thinking only that Qian Chen had lowered his own status, which, although slightly flattering, was reasonable—how precious was the status of the Wang family's direct descendant? But after the battle seven days ago, even the most oblivious person in the Chaotian Palace market knew that this Li Taibai, who had interrupted the river's flow and slain the River God with his sword, was a top-tier sword cultivator not inferior to their own young master...

What kind of temper does a sword cultivator have?

The old servant hurriedly bowed his head and presented the sword box, saying: "The day before yesterday, to save our young master, you broke your iron sword. The masters in our family all feel guilty, so they opened the treasury and found this Frost-Blade Sword to give to you as a temporary weapon."

Qian Chen untied the sword box and took out the Frost-Blade Sword from inside.

The sword was four feet long, and its shape was somewhat similar to the broken iron sword Qian Chen used to use, clearly carefully selected. The sword body was entirely silver-white, the blade's cold light was piercing, and its essence was extremely sharp, perfectly matching the principles of flying sword operation. Qian Chen held it in his hand and slightly urged his true qi, and the blade revealed a seven-inch sword glow, truly cutting through gold and iron as if slicing through mud.

Such a flying sword was already no less valuable than the Bodhi Mani Pearl that people had fought over at the treasure gathering before.

Moreover, the weight, length, and shape of this flying sword were all similar to that previous broken iron sword. One must know that that iron sword was just something Qian Chen had picked up casually. For a good flying sword, let alone these minor details, even if there were differences between flying swords and flying hooks, cultivators would often be willing to change their own sword-using habits to adapt to a good sword. The Wang family, however, was willing to carefully select one that was most suitable, which shows the degree of care put into this gift.

Qian Chen was slightly stunned, but shook his head and smiled: "That iron sword of mine only cost a few strings of cash to have a village blacksmith make. How can it be worth such a precious gift to compensate me?"

He said blandly: "For someone like me, wanting sharp weapons in the world is rarely impossible. At worst, I could go to the overseas Dragon Palace and beg the Dragon King for a favor to get a good sword. The reason I used that ordinary iron sword was simply because my sword art is inherited from Taibai, and its killing intent is extremely heavy and unstoppable. To prevent the sword qi from harming the innocent and fostering a killing heart, I used a blunt sword to seal myself. Although this divine weapon is good, I fear that possessing a sharp weapon will naturally give rise to a killing heart, ruining my ability to tolerate vermin."

Qian Chen put the flying sword back into the box, shook his head, and sighed: "Attending the banquet this time, I inevitably have to deal with people from the aristocratic families. There are many vermin in Jiankang City. Since it is an invitation from Lord Xie, I shouldn't splatter blood in Lord Xie's mansion..."

Hearing the first half of the sentence, the old servant was already terrified to the extreme. If Qian Chen had used other excuses to decline, he would have had something to say, but this reason was truly flawless, and it made the old servant believe it deeply, because it was truly too consistent with everyone's impression of a sword cultivator. In the previous battle, Qian Chen's killing intent was indeed extremely intense, and even against a true god of the Heavenly Court, he had not shown the slightest mercy. Hearing the second half, he hurriedly closed the lid of the sword box in a panic.

The old servant also noticed that while listening to Qian Chen's explanation, the young master beside him was even nodding slightly involuntarily.

Clearly, he felt deep agreement!

It was hard to tell if Wang Longxiang's introverted nature was also because he had seen too many idiots but couldn't easily slay them with a sword, and had been stifled by it! The old servant was now terrified and couldn't care about being rude, hurriedly putting the sword box away, even somewhat worried that Qian Chen would lead his young master astray.

Wang Longxiang was full of spirit and energy, and his injuries were clearly no longer an issue. He felt deep agreement and said: "Such vulgarity is indeed unbearable, but Taibai, you have no sword weapon in your hand, might there be some inconvenience?"

Qian Chen pondered slightly, then walked a few steps to a clump of bamboo in the courtyard, chose one whose shape best matched the intent of a sword, reached out and snapped off a five-foot-long section, tucked it into his sleeve, and said: "This will do!"

Wang Longxiang nodded and said: "Taibai's sword qi is blue and magnificent, manifesting as a lotus. Using bamboo and wood as a weapon is very appropriate. I just don't know how much of your sword art Taibai can display with just a piece of bamboo?"

Qian Chen smiled and said: "Before, with the iron sword, I could display about seventy percent. Changing to bamboo and wood, it should increase the power by another ten percent."

The old servant beside him was covered in cold sweat. Just seventy percent was enough to kill a Dragon God; if he changed to a divine weapon or a flying sword at the level of a magic treasure, and his temper flared, wouldn't he turn Jiankang City into a river of blood? Given the power of Qian Chen's five swords that day, the old servant's feeling was by no means a fantasy. The Xie family's grand banquet, in the few words between these two, had been turned into a feeling of a dragon's pool and a tiger's den.

This was not because the Xie family's banquet had any killing intent, but because the dragon had returned to the deep pool and the tiger had entered the stone cave—the visitors were not coming with good intentions!

Jiankang City, Wuyi Lane!

During the decisive battle before the Zhu Que Bridge that day, in order to deal with Sima Shi, Qian Chen had taken away the southern suppression object of the Four Symbols Zhou Tian Array, which was the Zhu Que stone bridge transformed from the Copper Sparrow Pavilion's legacy treasure.

Now, that Zhu Que Fire-Pointed Spear was still kept in Qian Chen's sleeve!

In the past, the Wang and Xie families built this Copper Sparrow Pavilion to suppress this treasure, but they didn't expect that despite all precautions, thieves are hard to guard against, and it was still taken by Qian Chen. The newly built Zhu Que Bridge was now three-tenths wider than the old one, using many precious spiritual materials. It was ancient, elegant, and extremely exquisite, and in many places, one could see inscribed restrictions and arrays. But even so, the luck suppressed by the Zhu Que Bridge inevitably leaked, and most of it ran to Junior Sister's White Deer Hall!

"The Four Symbols positions of Jiankang each have magic treasures suppressing them. In Xuanwu Lake, there is the Celestial Master Sword; at the Zhu Que Bridge, the ancient Copper Sparrow; in the Taichu Palace, the Heavenly Heart Yin Ring; and at the Three Mao Temple on Zhong Shan, the Dragon Well Golden Lock. It's a pity that since I abducted the ancient Copper Sparrow, the other suppression objects should be guarded even more tightly! Pfft... am I such an unseemly person?"

Qian Chen kept up his sword cultivator persona while quietly observing the various changes in Jiankang City three years after that battle.

It could be seen that the imperial court was working very hard to modify the city-protecting array that suppressed Jiankang, and those twenty-eight array eyes had changed a lot... but Qian Chen just wanted to tell them frankly, it's useless! As long as the Jiankang array does not deviate from the principles of the Four Symbols Zhou Tian Array, for someone like Qian Chen who is well-versed in the Eight Trigrams Array, these changes will only make it more convenient for him to act. After all, the array cultivators of the Monitoring Bureau and the aristocratic families used to at least occupy the advantage of being 'skilled,' but now that the array has changed, they don't even have that advantage. Dealing with Qian Chen again, wouldn't they be even more helpless?

Most of the tricks Qian Chen played last time had not been discovered or destroyed, which is evidence enough.

When Wang Longxiang and Qian Chen arrived at the foot of the Copper Sparrow Pavilion, aristocratic family disciples and dignitaries were coming and going, either riding in various carriages, surrounded by servants, or driving cloud-chariots and flying shuttles. Others were boating directly on the Qin Huai River, docking at the shore. Aristocratic disciples stood in twos and threes along the Qin Huai River, each with an extraordinary appearance. The true transmissions of the immortal sects were also dressed in Daoist robes, but there was a distinct sense of separation between them.

Qian Chen was alone, and Wang Longxiang only brought one old servant, which was considered a small entourage.

The other aristocratic disciples all had crowds of servants, and even the immortal sects often had a dozen or so disciples gathered together to attend the banquet.

For this grand banquet at the Xie mansion, to welcome guests, the two ends of the Zhu Que Bridge were sealed off, and one could only enter with an invitation card. The Zhu Que Bridge activated its restrictions, stretching this section of the river surface by several hundred feet, and the Copper Sparrow Pavilion was raised higher, with flying bridges connecting the two buildings. Cultivators from all directions could land on the flying bridges and corridors. This time, a great number of people came, not only the famous disciples of the aristocratic families but also many young disciples from various immortal sects in Southern Jin.

Being able to make a name for oneself here meant at least being able to get to know sixty or seventy percent of the aristocratic and sect disciples in Southern Jin, and having connections in every commandery of Southern Jin.

It allowed one's own reputation to circulate among the upper echelons of Southern Jin.

Qian Chen looked around and realized that the styles of the imperial court and aristocratic families in this world of cultivation were also different. Many of the passing aristocratic disciples rode spiritual birds and beasts. The Copper Sparrow Pavilion was a hundred feet high, with nine stories, and each story was like a palace. There were many rays of light falling on the flying bridges between the two buildings, making Qian Chen feel as if this was not a banquet of the imperial court's high officials and great clans, but some immortal mountain dharma assembly or immortal banquet. In the short time Qian Chen had been in contact with the cultivators of this world, he had also gained some understanding, knowing that magic treasures were quite precious things. Ninety percent of the cultivators in the world only took things engraved with a few runes, without even a single layer of restriction, and used them as 'magic treasures.'

But the cultivators coming and going here seemed to have a proper magic treasure on their person.

The various spiritual lights filling the building were colorful and brilliant, and with the bright pearls and candles everywhere in the Copper Sparrow Pavilion, it was like the neon lights of later cities, with extremely heavy light pollution. Yet, the common people on both sides of the Qin Huai River loved this, and wherever the Copper Sparrow Pavilion could be seen on both banks, there were dense crowds of heads.

The aristocratic disciples and sect cultivators in the building also regarded this as a scene of the banquet, standing on the building and pointing.

The common people watched the excitement of the Copper Sparrow Pavilion by the river, and the cultivators in the excitement also watched the commoners from the building.

When Qian Chen stepped into the Copper Sparrow Pavilion, he saw that this floor was extremely lively. Although his current identity had a great reputation, not many people had truly met him face-to-face, but Wang Longxiang beside him was different; at least sixty or seventy percent of the people from both aristocratic and immortal sects had seen him.

Therefore, as soon as they stepped into the building, someone greeted them: "Brother Wang, you've finally arrived! Xie Lingyun doesn't know where he got a top-grade Keting flute, but it made me extremely jealous. Now they are all in one place appreciating magic treasures and commenting on the new disciples of various sects and families. Brother Wang, come along too, and that will make up the most outstanding Wang and Xie of our generation in Great Jin! Only by having the most outstanding figures of this generation comment on the most outstanding few of the next generation can people be convinced!"

This person was wearing a robe with large sleeves, his hair tied with a green turban, and wearing a cage-cap. He held a green jade ruyi in his hand, and the three spirit shells embedded on the head of the ruyi were the most eye-catching. The three spirit treasures were the Divine Light Clam, the Mirage Tower Shell, and the Thousand Illusion Shell, which were extremely rare overseas and were all spiritual objects good at manipulating light, shadows, mirages, and illusions. Embedded on this jade ruyi, which changed in jade light and was like a dream or illusion, it was truly a top-notch illusion magic treasure.

The ruyi in this person's hand emitted strange light, reflecting on his face and blurring his features.

Through that illusory light, one could only glimpse a flawless, extremely elegant face.

"Huan Xuan! The Wang and Xie are just leaders of the aristocratic families below the mountain; when can they comment on us people above the mountain?" A young cultivator, surrounded by eight or nine people, said somewhat arrogantly: "If the Central Lands only have the Wang and Xie as first-class, then what class is Li Er?"

Huan Xuan said with a gloomy face: "Chu Wengong! Li Er is a figure from the North; how can he be counted as a talent of our Great Jin?"

That Chu Wengong smiled slightly and said arrogantly: "If a nameless nobody from the North can surpass the most outstanding figures of our Great Jin, doesn't that mean the South is not as good as the North?"

Huan Xuan sneered: "When was Li Er ever a nameless nobody? He is naturally a first-class figure of the North. Chu Wengong, if you are not convinced, you can compare with me and see what class you are!"

Chu Wengong laughed loudly: "Before that battle, who knew Li Er? Wasn't he a nameless nobody? Even if he is a first-class figure of the North, if your most outstanding aristocratic figures cannot win against the North's first-class, isn't that the South not as good as the North? In my opinion, the Wang and Xie are just the most outstanding figures of your commandery aristocratic families, with big reputations, but if you really want to talk about cultivation and Daoist practice, you still have to look at our immortal sect aristocratic families!"

"Chu Wengong, are you here to cause trouble! Why don't we compare and see who is not as good as whom." Huan Xuan said angrily.