Caiyun Peak, the summit of the mountain.

The evening breeze was cool, and the moon shone softly.

Qin Luo held the black pieces, and Hua Ying held the white pieces. They played chess for entertainment on the mountaintop when they had nothing to do.

"Your chess skills have improved."

"You're letting me have my way."

"No."

Qin Luo smiled and shook his head.

A white chess piece rolled between Huaying's fingers. She raised an eyebrow. "What question do you want to ask Immortal Caiyun?"

As Qin Luo placed his piece, he said softly, "The ephemeral mushroom knows not the dawn and dusk, the cicada knows not spring and autumn, the mayfly is born in the morning and dies in the evening. A person's life is but a hundred years, and what they see is but a fleeting moment. The longer one lives, the more one knows. I want to ask, what in this world is eternal and unchanging?"

"Unchanging and eternal?"

Hua Ying thought for a moment, "You want to pursue eternity?"

Qin Luo shook his head and said with a smile, "I just want to live a good life and live out my days in a carefree manner."

Hua Ying pondered carefully and quickly came to the answer: only the Great Dao is eternal and unchanging. Qin Luo's foundation of the Great Dao was damaged, and he wanted to find the origin of the Great Dao to repair his foundation.

"I will help you find the origin of the Great Dao."

Qin Luo wanted to refuse, but seeing Hua Ying's determined eyes, he could only smile and nod, "Thank you."

In the blink of an eye, it was early morning, and the mountains were shrouded in a sea of ​​clouds. A gentle breeze blew, and the sea of ​​clouds churned.

Qin Luo and Hua Ying arrived at the edge of the cliff. They gazed into the distance, where a ray of dawn pierced through the sea of ​​clouds. As the sun rose, the entire sea of ​​clouds was dyed golden.

"The sunrise at Luoxia Peak is still the most beautiful."

I think so too.

"I thought you would say they all look good."

"They all look good."

Hua Ying covered her mouth.

But the smile in her eyes was hard to hide.

As the sun rose fully, casting its glow over the mountaintop, Qin Luo and Hua Ying walked towards the foot of the mountain. When they reached the fifth pavilion, the young man in white suddenly looked up.

The young man in white was taken aback at first, but upon closer inspection, he excitedly stood up, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and said, "Brother Dao!"

Qin Luo returned the greeting with a bow.

The young man in white said respectfully, "My name is Chen Xu, from the Chen family of Jinling. I never expected to meet you here twice, fellow Daoist. It is truly an honor."

Qin Luo smiled and said, "My name is Qin Luo, and I come from Longhu Temple. What do you want from Immortal Caiyun?"

Chen Xu sighed softly, "I am of dull talent and only managed to achieve Foundation Establishment with the help of my family, but it is difficult to advance any further. I would like to ask Immortal Caiyun for help."

Qin Luo asked curiously, "Why do you cultivate immortality?"

"I want to become a world-renowned sword immortal."

Chen Xu shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

Qin Luo sized up Chen Xu and sensed that he was a refined and cultured man. He hadn't expected that Chen Xu's dream was to become a sword immortal. He said earnestly, "If you can put this kind of perseverance into your sword practice, I believe you can go very far in the way of the sword."

“Brother Dao is right.”

Chen Xu couldn't help but blush; he had indeed wasted a lot of time here.

Do you know what autumn leaves are?

"I've heard of him. He's the owner of Qiufeng Tower, but he seems to be a rogue cultivator."

"He is indeed a rogue cultivator, but his understanding of swordsmanship is very advanced. You can go and ask him for guidance."

Chen Xu knew Qin Luo was no ordinary person, and his suggestion must be reasonable, so he quickly bowed and thanked him, "Thank you, fellow Daoist!"

Qin Luo smiled and nodded.

Chen Xu followed Qin Luo and the others away from Caiyun Peak.

"Brother Dao, have you returned to secular life?" Chen Xu looked at Qin Luo and Hua Ying's simple attire and thought they looked like a married couple.

Qin Luo knew that Chen Xu might have misunderstood, so he smiled and explained, "At Longhu Temple, we don't require people to return to secular life to get married and have children."

Chen Xu then asked, "Where are you planning to go, fellow Daoist?"

"We're going to the Green Mountain Sword Sect."

"There's a fork in the road ahead. It seems we'll have to part ways here. What a pity."

If they were on the same path, Chen Xu would have liked to ask Qin Luo some questions about cultivation, but since they were on different paths, he felt embarrassed to bother him.

Qin Luo chuckled and said, "Perhaps we'll meet again."

"Uh-huh."

Chen Xu's eyes were full of anticipation.

After Qin Luo and his group left Caiyun Peak, a cloud of color landed on the mountaintop. Caiyun Immortal looked at the chessboard on the mountaintop, stroked his beard, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "There is such a harmonious situation on the chessboard. This nineteenth and a half game is wonderful."

...

Three days later.

Deep in the Qingyun Mountains lies Qingshan Town.

Qingshan Town was bustling with activity, as young people from all over came to wait for the Qingshan Sword Sect's assessment.

Qin Luo and Hua Ying walked to the riverbank in the town. There were many stonemasons in the river, sweating profusely. A middle-aged man wearing a straw hat walked up to them and said with a warm smile, "You two look like you're from out of town. What brings you to Qingshan Town?"

Hua Ying did not answer.

Qin Luo said with a smile, "Just here to join in the fun."

The middle-aged man in the straw hat said with a smile, "The immortals in these green mountains are amazing. They can fly on swords. Ordinary people rarely see such a thing in their entire lives. Every year, quite a few people come to watch the spectacle. In addition, there is an assessment every three years. Recently, all the inns in town have been full. My family has a room available. I can take you to see them. The price is cheap, thirty coins a day. You will be able to see the immortals of the green mountains in a few days."

Qin Luo smiled and shook his head, saying softly, "No need, we'll just take a look at the Green Mountain Sword Sect and then leave."

"There are restrictions outside the Green Mountain Sword Sect, so ordinary people like you can't get close," the middle-aged man in the straw hat warned.

"knew."

Qin Luo and Hua Ying continued walking towards the mist-shrouded green mountains. The middle-aged man in the straw hat mocked, "Even cultivators can't enter at will, so don't even dream about it."

A gentle breeze dispersed the mountain mists. Qin Luo walked on the ancient bluestone steps. Hua Ying said softly, "Pingyuan County has the Great Xia Sword Sect, and Jiangnan County has the Xuancan Sect. Why did you come to the Green Mountain Sword Sect? Do you have friends here?"

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