The snow fell again and again until the bodhi tree was covered in frost. Its golden leaves did not fall, shimmering through the snow.

  The metal gourd was raised high into the air and tilted upside down before getting shaken a few times vigorously, letting the last droplet of alcohol trickle out helplessly.

  Li Qingshan smacked his lips forcefully. “Seems like it’s almost the new year.”
As they said, there was no concept of time when it came to cultivation. The passage of time to cultivators was measured in centuries and millennia. The year-long plans of mortals did not seem to hold much meaning to them.

  However, since he had once been a mortal, he was not completely without any sentiment, especially when he was alone in the world, all by himself, drifting from place to place.

  Time shot past like an arrow. Before long, they had reached deep winter.

  Everything stopped growing, and the work lessened. Everyone gathered in the small town to celebrate. Due to the Hundred Herbs garden, they noticed the changing of seasons much more sharply than any regular cultivator.

  The sounds of joy and laughter drifted through the mountains, arriving with the cold winds alongside the fragrance of food.

  Li Qingshan could not help but take in a deep breath. Of course, no one had invited him. Apart from Shen Yushu, he basically had not even spoken to them before. He preferred peace and quiet. However, ever since the nine-coloured deer came to test him, Ruan Yaozhu had not visited him again. As it seemed, she had made the clever decision of accepting his suggestion.

  He did not regret that, but he could not help but feel some pity. He had to admit that he still liked her very much. If it were not for his ambition beyond the Nine Heavens, spending his life with her in the Hundred Herbs garden did not seem to be a bad choice, but why did it have to be her?

  He advanced forwards regardless of the cost. He had already let down far too many women.

  Shaking his head, he sent his consciousness into the World of the Five Continents. It was the middle of winter in the Human realm, but it was the season of harvest there, a golden autumn.

  On the flat, fertile land stood a mighty city. Its layout bore some resemblance to Myriad city. In particular, the buildings in the city were basically identical to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, except it was several times smaller in scale.

  This was the Cloudwisp city tha Li Qingshan had personally created with his great powers as the god of the world for the sake of his great plan.

  Yes, the name originated from the Cloudwisp association of the past, and Liu Chuanfeng had become the lord of Cloudwisp city.

  In the past, the hundred schools of thought all possessed their own “holy lands”, such as the Spirit Kṣetra temple for the school of Buddhism, the imperial medical college for the school of Medicine, and the imperial college for the school of Confucianism. Only the school of Novels was without one.

  Now, due to the prosperity and development brought on by Li Qingshan as a disciple of the school of Novels, they finally had one too. Unlike the various holy lands of the other schools, it was not a place unique to cultivators. Most of the city was composed of mortals without any powers at all.

  That was because the geographic location Li Qingshan had chosen was far too great. All of a sudden, it had become an important hub of traffic on the continent. Countless people of the jianghu and merchants travelled to and from this place. There were also countless despondent people who put everything they had experienced and everything they had thought into words in an attempt to make a career out of it.

  During the first year, under Qian Lingzhi’s advice, the lord of Cloudwisp city, Liu Chuanfeng, splurged like money was worthless. He paid gold and silver without any regard, regardless of the quality of the novels in hopes of drawing even more people over. Only towards the end did he begin to control the quality, but the barrier of entry was still extremely low.

  And the reality proved that as long as there were sufficient benefits, humans would always be overcome with unimaginably great motivation. In just a few years, the “fake Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes” had already accumulated over ten thousand novels. After a close selection, there were almost a hundred remaining.

  Li Qingshan glanced through them and recorded them all in a jade slip. He stood up and smiled. “Time to go and get some alcohol!’
With a long path ahead of him, he should not lament that it was a lonely journey. There would be a day when the world learnt who stood at the top.

  The town surrounded by the mountains was noisy as people celebrated and had a good time. It was as busy as it could get.

  Everyone had a few drinks. Shen Yushu sat high above and everyone flattered him, but his face was gloomy. There was not any joy at all.

  Ruan Yaozhu had not accepted his invitation, while that damned Li Qingshan was constantly expanding his territory. In two or three short months, it had already reached fifty kilometres across. Even worse, he managed to take perfect care of the thousand or so exotic plants in that area, not only proving himself, but also proving Ruan Yaozhu’s sharp judgement.

  The good graces that Ruan Yaozhu showed Li Qingshan were basically at an extraordinary level. The implications made him shiver.

  Ruan Yaozhu was clearly very dissatisfied with him already. If Li Qingshan underwent the fourth heavenly tribulation some day and obtained even greater power with even more clones, then he would be out of this place immediately, just like the failures he had chased out himself.

  At the very least, those failures had other choices, but to him, there was no other place more suited for cultivation than the Hundred Herbs garden. If that happened, his dream of undergoing the fifth heavenly tribulation and becoming a direct disciple would be delayed indefinitely, while becoming a cultivation partner with Ruan Yaozhu would become nothing more than a pipe dream.

  He could not help but become slightly regretful. Perhaps he should not have been so direct. He should have waited until he became a direct disciple before he made any attempts. However, if it were not for obtaining her assistance, why did he go to such great lengths, getting closer and closer to her at the risk of offending her?

  He had been far too confident. He thought with the Heavenly Tome of Nature alone, no one could replace him. Otherwise, he never would have found the courage to take things further and further either. However, he never expected that someone who practised a different heavenly tome could also take his place.

  Dammit!

  A vicious light flashed through his eyes. The cup in his hand cracked open. Danger constantly pressed closer, yet he could only sit there, incapable of doing anything. This was the Hundred Herbs garden. Everything was within her control, so he could not try anything here.

  She seemed to be looking down on him from above. It was her usual gentleness and simple-mindedness that gave him a false impression, that made him think they were very close. Only now did he suddenly discover how great of a gulf existed between inner disciples and direct disciples.

  Once he was expelled from the Hundred Herbs garden, not only would it drastically affect his cultivation, but it would lead to countless questions as well, or even oppression, as her prestige in the Myriad sect was far too great. Opposing her was basically equivalent to tattooing the words “bad person” on his face.

  Right when he was overwhelmed by the potential consequences, a cultivator silently arrived behind Shen Yushu and communicated with his soul sense, “Senior brother Shen, that kid has left the Hundred Herbs garden.”
“Good! Very good!”
Shen Yushu tilted his head back and drank all of the alcohol before tossing the cup aside, shooting off into the air.

  Everyone exchanged glances. They had no idea what had just happened.

  In the Hundred Herbs dwelling, Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows slightly. “Shen Yushu is going too far.”
The nine-coloured deer had turned into human form, laying in the basket as she kicked her delicate legs around. She said lazily, “He’s afraid of being expelled from the Hundred Herbs garden. He wants to stake it all on this.”
Ruan Yaozhu sighed. “He’s worked in the Hundred Herbs garden for all these years. Even if he hasn’t done anything of merit, he’s still put in the hard work. As long as he restrains himself a little and works seriously, why would I be so heartless?”
“Hehe, the two of you might both practise the Heavenly Tome of Nature, but your directions are completely different. You see the growth of living things. You see the heaven caring for every living thing, nurturing them all through compassion and benevolence. That is the view of a king. It has taken him innumerable trials and hardships to reach where he is, so what he sees is the contention of living things. That’s why he desperately squeezes out everyone who threatens him, even wanting to obtain more sunlight, rain, and dew from you. That is the view of a common person.”
“However, cultivation methods are still inanimate at the end of the day. Only people are alive. People like us have surpassed the so-called notion of kings and common people that mortals held a long time ago! Junior brother Li isn’t born a noble, but the ambitions, determination, and resolve he possesses even surpasses me.”
“That kid is a strange one. I’m begging you, stop praising him. From Shen Yushu’s perspective alone, of course, you should expel him from the Hundred Herbs garden. No matter how benevolent and virtuous kings are, the common people will still be sceptical. Speaking of which, who could tolerate people who affect their cultivation around them? You’ve always been far too easy-going. You should have put him in his place a long time ago. But that’s fine too. At least he won’t actually get in your way. He’s much safer than that kid.”
“No, I’m going to stop him.”
“But he hasn’t done anything yet. Tsk, have you finally learnt how to oppress others with your identity as a direct disciple?” the nine-coloured deer jokingly said.

  “I should warn junior brother Li at the very least.”
“You want to see him?”
“Who said that?”
“If you don’t want to see him, then save it! How can someone who’s bold enough to gamble against Le Tian be afraid of another person staking it all on this? In his words, if you don’t have the determination to gamble your life, don’t stir up conflict on a whim.”