Chapter 249 (1): Flowers in Full Bloom
The ferry station where Chen Ping'an's ship was set to depart was different from the one for the ship traveling to Cloud Pine Nation. After paying ten snowflake coins, he received a wooden badge and submitted in exchange the seal given to him by the chief military governor's manor. After that, Chen Ping'an traveled to the ferry station together with dozens of other people.
They were directed to the entrance of an underground tunnel, which was around twenty meters wide, and it was riddled with phrases engraved by renowned figures of eras past. The interior of the cave was brightly lit, and everyone made their way to the tunnel for about fifteen minutes before arriving in a massive underground hall.
The stone walls on either side of the hall were covered in life-like murals depicting gorgeous celestial maidens adorned in beautiful dresses with long, flowing sleeves. The facial features of the women were clearly visible, and they were all quite voluptuous and curvaceous but stopped short of what would be categorized as chubby.
Docked at the ferry station was a three-story louchuan[1] with a dragon's head on the bow and a dragon's tail on the stern. The louchuan was enormous, almost rivaling the size of an imperial warship, but aside from that, it appeared to be no different from the average mortal ship. In addition to the group of people that Chen Ping'an was in, over 300 people were already gathered at the ferry station.
There were also all types of shops at the ferry station, most of which were quite small, and instead of plaques hanging above the entrance, they only had signs hanging outside.
The shops sold all manners of wares, such as calligraphy and art pieces, snakes and fruits, as well as some specialty local products of Water Combing Nation, including small ground gowns, cockfighting cups, pine needle calligraphy pieces from Pine Stream Nation, and elm wood carvings from Ancient Elm Nation.
Earlier, Chen Ping'an had paid ten snowflake coins to rent a room on the second floor, while a room on the first floor only cost three snowflake coins, which was equivalent to 3,000 taels of silver. While it was true that this was an immortal ferry station, and the journey was quite a long one, this was still an astonishing price compared with how much it would normally cost to go on a long journey in a mortal empire.
Thankfully, Chen Ping'an had traveled on a Kun ship in the past, so he already knew what to expect. On top of that, after selling the Five Mountain Bowl and that piece of lightning strike ebony at the Green Beetle Shop, he had an additional 450 snowflake coins in his pocket, so he had the money to spare. Additionally, he had to practice his fist techniques and walking meditation every day, so he couldn't afford to be stingy here.
There was a Qi refiner seated on a taishi chair on a small stone platform at the edge of the ferry station, and he was holding a teapot riddled with spots that made it look like a fat partridge. He had taken countless sips of the teapot, yet the tea inside still hadn't run out.
The Qi refiner issued a verbal reminder to everyone that the ship was going to be setting off in an hour, and that they could consider buying some quality and affordable specialty local products to take back home before boarding. He then went into particular detail about the ground gowns of Colorful Garment Nation and the bonsai plants of Mountain Orchid Nation, sparing no praise as he vehemently advertised these two things.
Additionally, he also specifically recommended two shops, mentioning them by name. Sure enough, many of the ship passengers were convinced to visit those shops, and this was met with either envy or disdain from the shopkeepers of the other shops, who didn't have funds required to recruit the Qi refiner's advertising services.
Chen Ping'an was standing among the crowd in silence, and he suddenly thought of Liu Gaohua, the son of the Blusher Prefectural Overseer, as well as the tree spirit scholar of Ancient Elm Nation and the cockfighting cup that they had been carrying with them at the time.
He heard that these cups were far more valuable elsewhere, so he also purchased a pair of cockfighting cups for one snowflake coin each. After stowing the poplar box that contained the pair of cups away, he purchased a large bag of fresh fruits, which he carried in his hand.
Standing among the throngs of people, Chen Ping'an had a pair of straw sandals on his feet, a sword case and a cloth pouch on his back, and a bag full of fruits in his hand.
There were many people on the ferry station, and were all quite tightly packed together, but it was still far quieter here than in the prefectural markets. Everyone mostly kept to themselves or formed small groups chatting quietly to one another.
Very few people raised their voices, and some children were unable to suppress their childish exuberance, but they were all accompanied by guardians who held them tightly by the hand to prevent them from running around.
When it came to traveling Qi refiners, none of them would openly display the sects or powers that they belonged to, and they certainly wouldn't reveal their true cultivation bases.
The Lower Five Tiers and the Middle Five Tiers amounted to a total of ten tiers. That was set in stone, but humans weren't. The teachings of sages described humans as creatures with similar natures, but vastly differing personalities.
The pursuit of the Great Dao was an extremely long journey. Who could predict how the personality of a Qi refiner would change over the course of decades, even centuries of cultivation?
If one were to constantly act without foresight or discretion, relying on their power to do whatever they pleased, then there would inevitably come a day where they would be punished for their ill discipline and be stomped into the ground by someone else.
However, for those who were fortunate enough to belong to prestigious immortal powers, such as Divine Edict Sect, True Martial Mountain, Wind Snow Temple, and particularly Lake View Academy, they still demanded respect wherever they were on the continent even if they weren't direct disciples, and one certainly had to think twice before crossing such individuals.
Additionally, if one were fortunate enough to have a master at the Golden Core Tier or the Nascent Tier, then that would also ensure their safety under the vast majority of circumstances.
Grudges and vendettas among Qi refiners could last for the span of several lifetimes for a mortal, so it was never a good idea to make enemies for no good reason. The blood feud between Wind Lightning Field and Sun Scorch Mountain was a perfect example of this. Su Jia had once been a proud celestial maiden who possessed beauty and aptitude in equal measure, yet what had become of her since? New novel chapters are published on
Her top-tier Sword Nurturing Gourd had been confiscated by her sect, and her sword heart and cultivation base were both in tatters. All of a sudden, she had completely faded into obscurity, much to the dismay and sympathy of countless young male Qi refiners who regarded her as the woman of their dreams.
Chen Ping'an remained silent as he took sips of wine out of his Sword Nurturing Gourd, waiting for the ship to set sail. This was going to be a southbound journey of over 100,000 kilometers, and at the destination ferry station would be another ship that traveled directly to Old Dragon City.
By Chen Ping'an's estimates, he would spend roughly five or six hours a day on sleeping, eating, and other menial tasks, which left roughly eighteen hours a day for fist technique practice.
Now that he had sped up in his fist technique practice, he had a significant advantage over his past self, and he would be able to practice his six-step walking meditation roughly 3,600 times a day. Over the course of two months, that would equate to over 200,000 repetitions.
This sounded like nothing more than a simple mathematical calculation, but for a seasoned fist technique practitioner like Chen Ping'an, he knew that putting this into practice would be extraordinarily difficult. Even with his exceptional mental fortitude, he felt this was going to be a titanic task.
In the past, regardless of whether he had been traveling to Great Sui Nation or southward to Water Combing Nation, he had always been passing through all types of diverse scenery. However, here on this ship, he was confined to this small room, and the monotony of repeating the same motions for twenty hours a day in such a bland setting would be enough to drive anyone insane.
Most importantly, this type of torment was completely different from the torment that he had suffered while practicing fist techniques under Cui Chan's grandfather. The latter was a test of ability to endure excruciating pain over short periods of time, while the former appeared to be far more casual and relaxing, consisting of nothing more than leisurely fist technique practice, but it was a different type of slow burn that would constantly chip away at his sanity.
It would be exactly like the winter storm that he had endured while traveling over the boardwalk in Yellow Court Nation to the Great Li Empire, by the end of which every single breath that he took felt as if he were swallowing daggers.
It was no wonder that Cui Chan's grandfather had once told him that a martial artist had to contend with heaven and earth, enduring the most unimaginable pain, while also contending with oneself, honing one's mental fortitude through slow and monotonous repetition.
Chen Ping'an took a deep breath, and after closing the door of the balcony, he began to practice his walking meditation, treading lightly while throwing swift punches.
The days passed by in this continuous, monotonous grind, and during this time, Chen Ping'an didn't even go to the restaurants on the ship for meals, merely having some dried rations with wine for sustenance.
With the arrival of summer, even though it was quite cool in the underground channel, Chen Ping'an was still sweating profusely every day. He started his walking meditation from the door of his room, and he stopped precisely at the edge of the wooden door leading to the balcony. After one repetition, he would turn around and perform the same motions again.
Over time, the floorboards in his room became riddled with sweat stains. Whenever he became utterly exhausted from his fist technique practice, he would take a short nap. Unlike during his previous travels, where there were constantly other things on his mind, he could focus wholeheartedly on his fist technique practice here in this confined room.
Throughout the twenty-four hours of a day, eighteen of them were spent on this constant, repetitive grind, while four hours were allocated to sleeping and the last two hours for breaks. He became completely immersed in the process, and it was as if this room had become his entire world. There were no longer any mountains or rivers, wind, rain, or snow...
It was as if the passage of the seasons and all stages of life took place within this tiny space.
Over the course of twenty days, the wooden door leading to the balcony wasn't opened even once.
One night, Chen Ping'an was laying on the ground with his clothes completely soaked, as were the floorboards beneath him. He was gasping for air like a fish that had just been dragged onto the shore, and he wanted to laugh, and he wanted to smile, but didn't have the energy to do so.
He was wondering what he was going to do if the owner of the Case Purchasing Pagoda were to suddenly attack him while he was in such a vulnerable state.
With that in mind, he cast his gaze toward his Sword Nurturing Gourd. In that situation, he would have to rely on these two precious little divas to save him.
Over the next ten days, Chen Ping'an had to remove the wine gourd from his waist and even take off his straw sandals as well. With his sleeves and pant legs rolled up, he continued to practice his walking meditation back and forth in the room.
He already had one foot in the fourth tier, and felt as if all it would take would be one bout of spirited effort for him to drag his other foot into the fourth tier as well, but it was as if that lagging foot were stuck deep in the mud, refusing to budge no matter how hard he tried. Even after an entire month of walking meditation, his progress was still agonizingly slow, and he had only slightly extricated his foot from the mud.
During this time, the world around him wasn't completely silent. After growing accustomed to life on the ship, the passengers staying in the neighboring rooms weren't exercising as much restraint as they had initially. The room to Chen Ping'an's left seemed to be housing a group of traveling heroes, and they would feast on wine and meat every single day while conversing freely about whatever sprang into their minds.
However, they mostly spoke in the official dialects of other nations, and only very rarely would a few sentences spoken in the official dialect of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent pop up.
At certain points throughout the day, Chen Ping'an would snap out of his profound, immersive state, and in those moments, any sound that he heard would rumble like thunder in his ears, so he would become very agitated by the sound of the boisterous conversation ringing out to his left.
As for the passengers staying in the room to his right, they appeared to be a group of immortals from a small cultivating sect, and were relatively quiet compared with those staying in the room to the left.
However, their cultivation required them to recite the teachings of their sect twice a day, once in the morning, and once at night. The soundproofing between the rooms was rather lackluster, and they were using a certain breathing technique, so that was also a source of frustration for Chen Ping'an.
1. A louchuan (lit. "tower ship") is a massive warship that looks and functions like a floating fortress. ?
