Unsheathed

A “waterfall” crashed down toward the young Cui Chan.

Cui Chan was stunned. His current body was young and full of vigor, and this somewhat affected his mind and temperament. Moreover, the speed of the sword qi would definitely be quicker than his speed of diving down the water in the well. Cui Chan had no path of retreat.

Since this was the case, he didn’t shirk from the situation either. He held one hand in front of his chest and formed a seal, while he extended the palm of his other hand toward the top of the well. He summoned an item that was arguably a life-saving trump card.

A mirror appeared in Cui Chan’s jade-white palm, and this was a mirror that was only slightly smaller than the mouth of the well. A faint yellow glow radiated from the face of the mirror.

Some of the white sword qi flowed past the side of the mirror and instantly evaporated all of the water in the well.

Meanwhile, the face of the mirror blocked the vast majority of the sword qi, with the collision between the two unleashing blinding and spectacular sparks.

There was a loud clang.

Cui Chan fell more than one meter down, and his entire arm started to shake uncontrollably. A moment later, his arm was slowly pushed down and bent by the sword qi, and his palm gradually drew level with the top of his head.

His head also started to tilt to the side, and after a while, it was his shoulder that was carrying the ancient mirror instead of his palm. Cui Chan could accept his head tilting, because if the mirror tilted?instead, then what would greet him would be the powerful burst of sword qi. At that time, the situation would be far more severe than simply losing this priceless body that was pristine and flawless. Indeed, this “young Cui Chan” would be killed by the sword qi, leaving only Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan alive.

This was a naturally formed ?”golden branch and jade leaves”[1] body of the highest quality, and at this moment, all of its joints were squeaking and popping like popcorn.

Cui Chan’s face was twisted and pale as angry red marks appeared on his shoulder due to the pressure exerted by the mirror. Inch by inch, his body was slowly pushed down into the bottom of the well. However, he still chuckled in a hoarse voice and remarked, “Someone like me is also going to suffer something like this? Old scholar[2], Qi Jingchun, you two bastards are always screwing me over! One of you caused me to drop from the 12th tier to the 10th tier, and one of you caused me to drop from the 10th tier to the 5th tier! If you two are so capable, then why don’t you get your disciple and junior brother to comprehensively turn me into a mortal?! Come on, if you’re so capable, then what are you still waiting for?! I refuse to believe that a burst of sword qi unleashed by a young boy at the second tier of martial arts can shatter this Lightning Division Stamp Mirror!”

Sword?qi unleashed by terrestrial sword immortals would often soar toward the stars. These bursts of sword qi would originate from the ground before rushing up and illuminating the entire sky.

Because Chen Ping’an had unleashed this attack toward the bottom of the well, the burst of sword qi appeared far more reserved and unremarkable in comparison. However, the waterway connecting the well to the river was already suffering a huge catastrophe. In fact, even the fortune of the Great Water Palace located far away down the river was being threatened.

The great river god of the Cold Food River had initially thought that tonight’s disastrous encounter was a blessing in disguise. Because of this, he was currently drinking wine and celebrating with two of his most trusted subordinates, the strategist Sui Bin and the river-blocking toad. However, calamity suddenly befell again.

In just a few seconds, a web of small cracks had already appeared on the plaque that was engraved with the golden words, “Great Water Palace”. The great river god had no option but to hastily run to the door and use his hands to stabilize the plaque and prevent the golden characters from crumbling. However, this caused the fortune of the river to flow out from his body and slowly dissipate.

Standing at the bottom of the well, the handsome Cui Chan had an expression of deep pain as he held up the mirror with his shoulder. “Chen Ping’an! If you fail to kill me this time, then I’ll definitely kill you with my own hands once I get back up there, even if that means leaving myself half-dead! I’ll slowly peel your soul from your body and force you to suffer agonizing pain for 100 years!”

During his time in the small town, Cui Chan had once stolen the couplets stuck on the wall of Song Jixin’s house. Afterward, Chen Ping’an had mentioned the name Embroidered Tiger and the title of uncle to Old Man Yang while visiting him in the courtyard of the Yang Family’s medicine shop. However, Old Man Yang hadn’t said anything, and Chen Ping’an hadn’t tried to dig any deeper either. Chen Ping’an had simply treated Old Man Yang’s silence as an indication that he was unaware or uninterested in the matter.

When reporting his name under the archway before, the young boy with a birthmark between his glabella had used his true name, Cui Chan. He had also said that the second character of his name was extremely obscure and uncommon. Thus, Chen Ping’an had only been able to confirm the character of his name, Cui.

Afterward, Chen Ping’an had recalled?something that Ning Yao had mentioned in passing. There was a person with the nickname Embroidered Tiger in the Great Li Empire, and this was someone who was incredibly skilled at the game of Go. He was the only person from the Great Li Empire who the Go expert from Great Sui Nation viewed as a challenging opponent.

Chen Ping’an had asked Li Baoping and the others whether they had heard of “Embroidered Tiger” before, yet the three children who had grown up in the small town like him had all shaken their heads in reply. After that, Chen Ping’an had also asked the Yin god the same question, yet the Yin god refused to answer him even though he was clearly knowledgeable about the situation.

He explained that he couldn’t reveal the answer because he needed to abide by some certain rules. If he broke these rules, Yin lightning would rise from the earth and obliterate his soul. Chen Ping’an was naturally unwilling to put him in such grave danger, so he had no option but to push these questions to the back of his mind.

Observing the Yin god’s attitude toward Cui Chan, Chen Ping’an had noticed that the Yin god was both distant and calm toward the young boy. At the very least, the Yin god didn’t treat Cui Chan as his enemy. This caused Chen Ping’an to feel slightly more at ease. Regardless of whether this young boy was Cui Dongshan or the Go player Embroidered Tiger, and regardless of what this young boy was trying to obtain from him, this was ultimately nothing more than a “fight between two people”.

Even if he lost this “game of Go”, he could still unleash a wisp of sword qi to ensure mutual destruction. If one wisp wasn’t enough, then he could simply unleash another wisp. If even two wisps of sword qi were unable to kill Cui Chan, then Chen Ping’an could only accept his fate.

After seeing those traces on the maps, however, the uneasiness in Chen Ping’an’s mind had become increasingly intense. He was extremely afraid that these traces had come from an origin even beyond the county magistrate’s office. He was afraid that this was a scheme that he couldn’t begin to fathom.

For example, Mr. Qi who was in perfectly good health had suddenly passed away. Afterward, Mr. Ma had also suffered a sudden death while taking Li Baoping and the others to Mountain Cliff Academy. In the end, it was surprisingly Chen Ping’an who had become the wealthiest person in the small town, even gaining possession of five entire mountains!

Before entering the well tonight, the young boy with the surname Cui had personally mentioned a seal with the characters “The World Welcomes Spring” while he was in the room. Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an was coincidentally in possession of a seal with the characters “Tranquil Mind Begets Enlightenment” gifted to him by Mr. Qi.

This was definitely related to Mr. Qi!

This was definitely related to Li Baoping, Lin Shouyi, and Li Huai!

Perhaps this was a situation that could leave one or more of them dead.

While in the small town, Chen Ping’an had already witnessed the cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness of cultivators first-hand.

If the adorable Li Baoping, scaredy-cat Li Huai, or intelligent Lin Shouyi died in front of him, yet he was helpless to do anything, Chen Ping’an was unable to imagine just how remorseful and guilt-ridden he would feel.

Chen Ping’an was not only slow, but also rigid when he played Go. He viewed himself as far inferior to Lin Shouyi.

Even though Chen Ping’an was ultimately unable to fully understand the situation, he had still come to the decision that he definitely couldn’t allow the extremely skilled Go player “Embroidered Tiger” to do as he pleased, especially since he could already see the worst-case scenario.

If Cui Chan were only after his possessions or Lin Shouyi’s abstruse Great Dao, then Chen Ping’an wouldn’t have made such a huge decision to seize the moment and strike first.

At this moment, after unleashing the wisp of sword qi, the acupoint where the sword qi had once resided became hollow and completely empty. As a result, the Qi nurtured by Chen Ping’an’s own body fervently took advantage of the situation to funnel into the acupoint. This then excited the Qi and flow of blood in the nearby acupoints, causing them?to shudder violently. Acute pain gripped at Chen?Ping’an’s chest, causing him to collapse into a sitting position?on the wall of the well. He hurriedly took deep breaths.

Meanwhile, the burst of sword qi in the well remained lingering for a long time due to the fact that it was being blocked by the ancient mirror.

Chen Ping’an kept his eyes locked on the bottom of the well as he hurriedly attempted to regulate his breathing. He tried to hold in a deep breath, yet he failed time and time again.

His eyes were bloodshot, his ears were ringing, his heart was thumping like someone banging a drum, and it was as if his meridians were wildly flowing rivers that had just experienced a torrential downpour. There was only a single thought?remaining in Chen Ping’an’s mind —?Again… I definitely have to do it again. I definitely have to prepare that last wisp of sword qi and have it ready to unleash in my acupoint. Otherwise, he’ll kill everyone if I leave him with enough strength to counterattack! I promised Mr. Qi before… Not a single one of them can be put in danger! I definitely have to succeed…

Driven by this stubborn thought, Chen Ping’an first stood up in a shaky manner before raising a single?foot and placing it onto the wall of the well. He then raised his other foot and pulled himself up onto the well.

Regardless of how much his body swayed, Chen Ping’an’s feet remained firmly planted on the wall of the well.

However, it was a shame that there was nowhere here to witness this.

With his body still swaying, the young boy formed a sword with his index finger and middle finger and pointed at the bottom of the well.

————

Next to a seashore?on the west side of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, there stood an impoverished scholar who was planning to leave the continent and return to the distant Middle Earth Divine Continent. He suddenly sensed the situation at someplace at this moment, and he grumbled in exasperation, “Oh, you little boy, the older you become the more you seek death. To teach without severity is the teacher’s fault[3]. So be it, the person who takes the shit has to wipe their own bottom.

“Let me see where you are… In the northern region of Yellow Court Nation and still yet to reach Great Sui Nation. Huh? You’re very close to that river, aren’t you? That’s very good. I coincidentally visited that Thundering Cliff not long ago, so this will save me a lot of time.

“Being too powerful and skillful is also a bad thing… It makes things much more difficult when trying to make a choice. Let me think for a moment… Mhm, I’ll use the Daoist Sect’s land-shortening technique[4].

The old scholar adjusted the luggage on his back before sighing and using the tip of his toes to form a mound of sand in front of him. After reciting some chant, he then flattened the mound of sand with his foot.

At the same time, the old scholar vanished from the seashore.

The next instant, an old scholar stumbled into appearance above the mountain face where the engravings of the ancient Shu Nation were located. He lightly placed his feet on the mountain peak, and after stabilizing himself, he cast a glance into the distance. He looked very pleased with himself as he said with emotion, “I do indeed feel slightly more powerful without the burden of this body.”

The entire mountain started to shudder, and the surface of the great river rippled violently like a silk tablecloth that was being violently shaken. Every few dozen meters, there was a wave that rose several stories?high.

The old scholar was unwilling to damage the environment on the two sides of the river, so he hurriedly extended a hand and made a downward pressing motion.

The tumultuous river that looked as if it were being troubled by a malicious flood dragon instantly became calm.

Only at this moment did the old scholar discover the two scholarly-looking travelers on the fringes of the mountain face, one old and one young. They were both wide-eyed with shock as they stared at him, and the old scholar could only chuckle awkwardly and remark, “Aha, the moon is quite full and beautiful tonight. Then I won’t disturb the two of you and let you enjoy the beautiful scenery. Just pretend that you didn’t see me.”

The old scholar then glanced at the distance before nodding and saying, “Mhm, that’s the place. Thankfully it’s not too far away.”

He was just about to stride forward, yet he suddenly came to a stop when his foot was just millimeters from the ground. The old scholar’s expression became solemn. “Huh?”

Taking this mountain face as the center point of a circle, wisps of sword qi suddenly appeared in the air along the circumference that had a radius of five kilometers from this point. There were hundreds upon thousands of wisps of sword qi, and as they gathered together, they formed an astounding and humongous sword formation.

Those who dared to touch this sword qi would be obliterated into nothingness.

This was Cui Minghuang’s first thought.

This was a lightning pond that definitely couldn’t be crossed.

This was also the thought running through the mind of the old scholar who had returned to the mortal world from the sea of stars[5].

The two men then exchanged a glance, with wryer smiles and astonishment on both of their faces.

It was often said that fights between immortals would cause suffering to the mortals. However, the two of them could already be considered as genuine immortals, so how could they describe the current situation?

The old scholar heaved a sigh. He had a slight headache, and he grumbled, “What are you guys playing at?”

The sneer of a woman traveled over, and she said, “What, only you people are allowed to have backers and helpers? And my Little Ping’an isn’t allowed to have any?”

1. Literally means a powerful skeleton with a golden spine and jade limbs. 👈

2. Referring to his master. 👈

3. A line from the ‘Three Character Classic’. 👈

4. Literally shortening the earth to an inch. 👈

5. The drunk old man. 👈