Unsheathed

Shattering the heavenly barrier, the sword landed on the street in front of the extravagant residence.

Meanwhile, the long comet-like trail of sword qi didn’t dissipate even long after the sword had finished its journey through the air and the powerful barrier. Instead, it lingered like a ray of blinding sunshine shooting into a dreary and lifeless room.

As if it had come across an old friend in a foreign town, the white donkey started to joyously run circles around the sword.

Lady Chu was clearly dumbfounded. As the owner of these mountains and rivers, she could clearly sense the might of this sword better than anyone else. The foundations of the mountains shuddered, and the water in the rivers boiled. If she hadn’t used her aura to envelop the residence behind her, then it was very likely that the close to 1000 lanterns hanging inside it would have been extinguished in a single breath as well.

The female ghost was both astonished and enraged. She didn’t look at where the sword had landed, and she instead turned to glower at the irreparable fissure in the dark sky. At the same time, beads of blood started to seep out from her bright red wedding dress. Like beads of water rolling across a lotus leaf, more and more blood seeped from her wedding dress, eventually connecting together to form a pool.

She waved her sleeves and roared in fury, “Those who dare to trespass, death penalty! Impudent sword immortal, I’m going to twist your head off and plant it in my garden! I’m going to make you live a torturous life for tens upon hundreds of years!”

A loud laugh traveled over from the distance, and in the end, this voice gathered onto the flying sword. Not only was this voice gentle and honest, but it even possessed a unique charm. It was as if a gentle spring breeze were washing over them as a noble disciple told them a romantic story.

However, the soaring pride in the voice was unconcealed as it said, “Please wait for a moment, young girl. My physical body is yet to completely stabilize, so I’m unable to travel as quickly as my flying sword. However, I do wonder what the scenery in your garden is like…”

“My garden isn’t large, and the scenery isn’t anything to write home about either. However, it’s good enough to plant an extra head!”

The deathly pale face of the female ghost became livid purple and increasingly eerie. Her smile was sinister, and two streams of sanguine water shot out from her large sleeves and rushed toward the fissure in the sky.

“Sword arrives, filth subsides!” someone declared loudly.

The dense barrier shuddered violently.

After rushing upward and converging at the fissure in the sky, the two streams of blood suddenly exploded apart and shot out in all directions. It was as if it were raining blood. The female ghost shuddered, and she lightly shook her sleeves. Countless drops of blood returned to the sleeves of her wedding

A young man dressed in white robes descended from the sky. There was a layer of misty white aura around him, and it was as if he were surrounded by the mists of a large lake or the astral energy of a mountain peak. His hair was bound, yet it was neither decorated with a hairpin nor covered by a crown. His index finger and middle finger were held together to form a sword, and there was a majestic column of sword qi that was as thick as a muscular arm emanating from his body.

This was a blinding column of sword qi, and it was like a white flood dragon as it rapidly soared around the surroundings. The drops of blood and the dark aura of filth instantly dissipated upon being struck by this radiant sword qi.

The handsome young man who looked no older than 30 gracefully landed between the female ghost and the group of children led by Chen Ping’an. With a whoosh, the flying sword on the ground flew to the man’s side, with the tip of its blade directly pointing at the plaque that read “Beautiful Water Noble Wind”.

The man retracted his two fingers, causing the powerful and seemingly tangible column of sword qi to momentarily falter. He glanced back, and he came to a sudden realization when he saw the little girl in red with the small bamboo bookcase. He suddenly remembered that the old item that had once accompanied him through thick and thin for many years already no longer belonged to him.

A carefree smile appeared on his face, and with a wave of his hand, Li Baoping’s green bamboo bookcase shuddered slightly. The small silver gourd hidden inside trembled gently, and a snow-white flying sword that was only two inches long flew out from the Sword Nurturing Gourd. The column of sword qi reluctantly flew inside the flying sword. Afterward, the flying sword quickly dashed toward the young man’s glabella, disappearing in a flash.

The sword immortal massaged his glabella and said in amusement, “Why don’t we treat this entire continent as our home in the future? You’re not a young girl waiting for marriage in your room anymore, so there’s no need for you to coop yourself up in that building all the time.”

There was a spring in the white donkey’s steps as it clip-clopped up to the young man and affectionately nudged his shoulder with its head.

The man smiled faintly as he reached over to stroke the white donkey’s head. “Long time no see, old friend. I’ve truly missed you.”

Following the young man’s forceful entry, the fissure in the sky had already slowly closed up. However, this had used up a large amount of spiritual energy from the mountains and rivers. In just a short moment, almost 50 years of accumulated energy was flushed away, transforming into nothing more than polluted air.

Lady Chu regained her composure, and she sneered, “A sword by the waist, externalizing sword qi, and a bonded flying sword… Each is more powerful than the former. What an outstanding terrestrial sword immortal. You’re probably not from the Great Li Empire, right?”

The sword immortal who had suddenly appeared from out of nowhere smiled faintly and replied, “I’m nothing more than rootless duckweed, someone with no roots and no ties. My name isn’t worth mentioning.”

After saying this, the man didn’t only turn his head around, but he instead turned his entire body around, boldly exposing his back to the female ghost. Having just exited seclusion, the terrestrial sword immortal’s voice was gentle as he explained, “I can be regarded as somewhat of a friend of A’Liang’s. Mhm, only somewhat. The other part of our relationship is me being somewhat of a disciple of his. However, it’s a shame that A’Liang isn’t willing to acknowledge this.

“He said that my nature is too pedantic, and that I’m also too soft-handed when I deal with matters. Because of this, I’m never quick enough when I draw my blade. He can’t bear to embarrass himself by acknowledging me as his disciple. In any case, I rushed over from far away because I sensed the presence of my old friend and also the anomaly inside the Sword Nurturing Gourd. Forgive me for asking, but where is A’Liang? And who are you children?”

“We’re also A’Liang’s friends,” Chen Ping’an explained. “The gourd was given to Li Baoping by A’Liang, and Li Huai was responsible for looking after the donkey. As for where A’Liang went, I’m sure you’ll hear about it in the future.”

Compared to the female ghost, Li Huai — who always had strange thoughts running around in his mind — felt much more familiar with this terrestrial sword immortal who claimed to be A’Liang’s friend. In his view, wouldn’t A’Liang’s friend be his friend as well? In terms of whether he was an immortal or not, could this be more important than the fact that they were friends?

However, the incident on the ship had traumatized Li Huai, and he no longer dared to speak so carelessly. Nonetheless, he continued to gesture to the white donkey with his eyes.

The young swordsman attentively listened to Chen Ping’an’s explanation, and in the end, he nodded and said, “I largely understand the situation now.”

Almost everyone noticed a sudden but slight tremor coming from the earth. It was as if an Ao[1] were turning its body, and it was as if the mountain range were about to collapse. The female ghost’s expression changed drastically. She wanted to leave, yet she discovered that a bonded flying sword had already sealed off her path of retreat. A snow-white flying sword had already arrived one meter before her forehead at some unknown time.

She was filled with rage, and she roared, “Palace Minister Han, great river god of the Embroidered Flower River, are you two not going to do anything about this?! If that Yin god truly severs the mountain root here, not only will the Embroidered Flower River and the two other great rivers be affected, but which of Go Table Mountain, Iron Talisman River, and Dragon Whisker River in the north will be spared? Which of them won’t be affected?!”

Holding a large red lantern in his hand, there stood an old man in the sky beyond the barrier. He chuckled coldly and replied, “Lady Chu, where has your imposing and confident manner disappeared to?”

The female ghost’s expression became grim.

Standing beside the old man was a god suited in armor and with an azure snake coiled around his arm. He was here to lighten the mood, lest conflict break out between Palace Minister Han and the female ghost and affect the fortune of the Great Li Empire. His voice was solemn as he said, “Lady Chu, Palace Minister Han and I can ask the Yin god to stop his actions of severing the mountain root. However, we hope that Lady Chu can remain calm and refrain from any provocative speech as well.”

The female ghost smiled and replied, “What if I want to spar with this great sword immortal? Is this also a provocative request?”

Palace Minister Han chuckled in anger and spat, “Oh, how benevolent of you, Lady Chu! I’ve truly learned a valuable lesson today. Very well… Very well! The Ministry of Rites of the Great Li Empire will definitely thank you in the future!”

“You’re nothing but a measly palace minister, yet you still dare to utter such wanton and threatening words? Are you trying to scare a little child?” the female ghost sneered. “You’ll only have the right to order me around when you become the minister in charge of the Ministry of Rites.”

The azure snake on the great river god’s arm hissed rapidly, sending plumes of white mist into the air. The great river god was clearly more familiar with the imperial court and future direction of the Great Li Empire than the secluded female ghost, and there was displeasure on his face as he warned, “Lady Chu!”

The female ghost held a hand to her mouth as she giggled. At the same time, she turned slightly and held her dress with her other hand, performing a curtsy and saying, “Then my apologies to Lord Han.”

The old man’s face was red with anger, yet he chose to remain silent for the sake of the stability of the mountains and rivers in the Great Li Empire.

Otherwise, with Lady Chu’s habit of wantonly and brutally killing passing scholars, would the Great Li Empire have chosen to turn a blind eye for so many dozens of years?

However, the old man had never felt that the imperial court’s decision was incorrect.

This was a majestic empire that was destined to last for thousands of years and tens of thousands of generations. What did a few dead scholars matter? What did their innocence or guilt matter?

If he weren’t an official of the Great Li Empire, and if he weren’t the palace minister of the Ministry of Rites responsible for contacting and recruiting Qi refiners, then his temperament and identity as a Confucianism disciple would have definitely pushed him to resolutely attack the female ghost. He would do so even if this meant an internecine outcome.

However, during his ascension to his current position, he had witnessed brutal battles resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, he had witnessed the changing titles of the myriad official residences in the capital, he had witnessed assassins and spies from other nations lunging over like moth to flames, and he had witnessed battles between immortals that had ruthlessly inflicted death upon hundreds upon thousands innocent mortals.

His position as palace minister dictated that he had to consider problems from a different perspective.

Palace Minister Han was no longer the youth of years gone by who needed to studiously read Confucian classics. He was no longer an impoverished scholar who knew only the knowledge written on paper.

In fact, for the sake of upholding the law of the Great Li Empire, he had once personally executed a brave and righteous martial artist who had been seeking revenge against immortals on behalf of innocent mortals.

Before succumbing to his grave wounds, the martial artists had unleashed a torrent of abuse and sneered that the Great Li Empire was truly as comical as could be. He had scolded Palace Minister Han and labeled him a lackey of the immortals.

However, Palace Minister Han had calmly told the martial artist that there would eventually come a day — perhaps in 30 years, or perhaps in 50 years — when the Great Li Empire would no longer suffer from innocent deaths like this. Before drawing his final breath, the righteous martial artist had spat a mixture of spit and blood onto his face.

What matters in the world were truly clear-cut and black-and-white?

Holding the lantern in his hand, and with complicated emotions in mind, the old man looked up and gazed toward the north. For some reason, his superior didn’t seem to be in a hurry to show himself or interfere.

The young sword immortal paid no heed to Lady Chu and the palace minister of the Great Li Empire. As for the great river god and Yin god, he cared even less about them. He simply turned around to face the female ghost who had been stopped by his sword, smiling and asking in amusement, “You want to engage in swordplay with me?”

Lady Chu smiled with squinted eyes and replied, “If we’re only sparring, then I’m more than willing to. After all, this is my first time seeing a terrestrial sword immortal as young as you.”

The young sword immortal waved his hand, and the white donkey hurriedly ran back to Li Huai. He then reached toward the hilt of his sword before nodding and saying, “Sure thing.”

The female ghost squinted her eyes and replied, “Oh? You’re not joking?”

Grabbing the hilt of his sword, the young sword immortal said in a soft voice, “High Radiance.”

He slashed down in a simple motion.

However, heaven and earth changed colors, and the small and misty world was instantly illuminated with a brilliant radiance.

A burst of sword qi surged toward Lady Chu.

The shocked and flustered female ghost had no time to do anything but raise her hands and block her face. Meanwhile, her large sleeves blocked her entire body.

Even so, she was still ruthlessly cut into two.

The anguished wails of Lady Chu reverberated around the magnificent residence that stood behind her.

The servants and maids froze and fell into a trance, with blood starting to trickle from the orifices on their faces. Some of them directly collapsed to the floor and dissolved into puddles of pus.

Inside the residence, there was a young lady oblivious to the fact that she was stabbing her arm again and again as she learned embroidery. There were also two guards exchanging punches and eventually obliterating each other’s heads as they practiced martial arts. However, their movements continued even though only less than half of their heads remained.

The female ghost hurriedly dashed toward the gate of the residence. As she did so, countless sanguine threads materialized between the two halves of her body like the fibers of lotus roots. She rapidly knitted back together as she soared through the sky.

“Again,” the young sword immortal said calmly.

His sword swept sideways.

Like the sparkling surface of water, an arc of sword light stretched across the sky.

Lady Chu was severed at the waist, making her appear much like a “beauty stepping out of the water”.

Her wedding dress softly landed on the top step in front of the residence.

The female ghost transformed into wisps of chaotic smoke as she flew into the golden plaque, causing blood to continuously pitter-patter onto the floor below. At the same time, her pained and twisted face occasionally pushed against the surface of the plaque, during which she would beg, “Please spare me, sword immortal!”

The young immortal had only attacked twice, unleashing one downward slash and one sideward slash. Yet, this was already enough to slice the arrogant and imposing female ghost’s soul into four, forcing her to return inside the plaque that maintained this small world. Indeed, this plaque was the “root of the mountains and source of the rivers”, and it was only inside here that the female ghost could keep herself alive.

There was a common saying in the world — “living under the eaves of others”[2]. In fact, this saying already revealed some secrets. Regardless of whether it was crossbeams or plaques that rested under the eaves, it was often the case that they were filled with secrets and mystery.

Lin Shouyi’s mind wavered. No wonder A’Liang had remarked that sword immortals were the most carefree, deadly, and unreasonable among Qi refiners. However, it was a shame that the sword was unsuitable for Lin Shouyi even though he was extremely talented in cultivation. He couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. However, he quickly resolved his Dao Heart again.

If he could rely on his supreme Dao powers to achieve victory over divinely powerful terrestrial sword immortals in the future, then wouldn’t that be even better? However, Lin Shouyi was extremely aware that the terrestrial sword immortal standing in front of them was most likely a Qi refiner at the legendary Upper Five Tiers. If pure martial artists were regarded as inferior to Qi refiners, then sword immortals could be regarded as superior to all other kinds of Qi refiners.

The reason for this was simple — no one was willing to fight against powerful sword immortals.

It was rumored that someone had once performed some analysis before. Among those who had severed the bridge to immortality of others, one-third of them were sword immortals. This was even more than the Militarian cultivators who were decisive in battle and were reluctant to attract karmic fate. One had to realize that there existed tens of thousands of paths of cultivation, each with its own fated opportunities. There were the Hundred Schools of Thought, the formal sects and the heretical sects, and so on and so forth. Sword immortals belonged to but one of the myriad paths.

Chen Ping’an’s thoughts were much simpler than Lin Shouyi’s. He was only contemplating a single thing. As it turned out, swords could also be used like this…

The young sword immortal held one hand behind his back and gripped his sword with the other. “The same mistake shouldn’t be made more than three times. Lady Chu, why don’t you accept one more sword strike?” he asked with a smile.

A figure silently appeared under the plaque. This was also an ordinary-looking young man with a sword resting behind his waist. “Wei Jin of Wind Snow Temple, this is enough,” he said slowly.

“It should be Wei Jin from the Divine Platform,” the sword immortal in white corrected with a smile.

He said no more, and the terrestrial sword immortal who claimed that he was yet to stabilize his cultivation base immediately unleashed another slash.

The young swordsman opposite him was expressionless as he gripped the hilt of his sword and slowly drew it one inch from its scabbard. He didn’t draw his sword any further.

However, a miniature and adorable mountain range surprisingly appeared between the two swordsmen. This was a winding mountain range that hovered in mid-air.

The young sword immortal, Wei Jin, severed the mountain range with his slash. However, the sword intent of his slash was almost completely exhausted as a result. Wei Jin didn’t persist, and he didn’t unleash any further sword strikes.

Some thousands of kilometers away, a gigantic fissure appeared in an undulating mountain range that stretched 50 kilometers, creating a huge canyon. It was as if the mountain range had been struck by an immortal’s blade.

1. Ao is a mythical creature with a dragon head and fish body. ☜

2. This means to live under someone’s thumb. ☜