A great mountain stood shrouded in clouds and mist year-round. The local folk all said immortals lived within it.
Chen Ping'an and Ning Yao stopped near the foot of the mountain. At its summit sat an ancient-looking Daoist priest, cross-legged upon a meditation cushion, breathing in and refining qi. His realm was not high, not yet Golden Core, yet his Dao aura ran deep enough to influence the flow of fortune through the mountains and waters of the region.
Chen Ping'an withdrew his gaze, unable to help feeling moved. Perhaps this was what they meant by: Who, without a care, sits feasting in an empty mountain? What a true immortal with nothing to do.
They did not disturb that recluse cultivating in peace. Each formed a hand seal, shrinking the earth vein all the way to Huangnibian Ferry, crossing mountains and rivers as easily as folding paper.
At long last, they were alone together. For now, they need not concern themselves with heaven or earth, the grudges of the mountains, or the great tides of the mortal world.
Thus Chen Ping'an and Ning Yao walked side by side through the Immortal Ferry Crossing. He still cast a layer of Illusion Technique over himself, clad in green robes with a saber at his waist, his bearing relaxed and unhurried.
It was true that he was tall and slender. As for whether he could be called jade-tree-in-the-wind handsome, that probably depended on whether he was at Luopo Mountain.
As for Ning Yao, she was still Ning Yao. She wore a long emerald-green robe and carried her sword on her back.
Over here in the Vast Heaven and Earth, not many cultivators yet knew Ning Yao's true appearance, and almost all of those who did stood at the mountain's summit.
Huangnibian Ferry lay