Unsheathed

Ceremony Mountain seemed to have adopted a method similar to rubbing to preserve all of the scenes that had unfolded on the scroll, and one sheet of thin veil-like paper was torn off after another, totalling 10 sheets of paper, which were then sold in an auction format.

The ship owner specifically called upon Chun Shui and Qiu Shi to step forward and serve as auctioneers.

Initially, Chen Ping’an didn’t think much of this, but he then noticed that even though both Chun Shui and Qiu Shi had been called upon to serve as auctioneers, only Chun Shui was actually doing her job, and she was doing so immaculately, seemingly very familiar with the duties of an auctioneer.

In contrast, Qiu Shi was standing off to the side, staring directly at Chen Ping’an, and only after seeing him direct his gaze toward her did a pleased look appear on her face, and she raised her chin slightly in a proud manner, as if only now did she feel as if she were standing on equal terms with Chen Ping’an for once.

Chen Ping’an didn’t really understand what she was thinking, so he turned his attention to the sheets of paper that were being sold instead. Out of the 10 rubbings, each successive one harbored less spiritual qi than the previous one and was also more blurry. Furthemore, the final sheet could only be viewed once, and it was also the cheapest of the lot, starting at a price of only 30 snowflake jade coins.

The type of jade used to craft these coins was called snowflake jade, and it was a specialty local product of the northern Pure White Continent.

It was primarily distributed throughout two blessed lands, and if these coins were placed under the light of the sun, it would appear as if there were translucent snowflakes drifting around inside. That was why they were also known as minor snow coins. On the front of these coins was inscribed the words “Prosperous Year,” while on the back were the words “Snow-covered Ground.”

Due to the large volumes of production of snowflake jade and the fact that it contained a considerable amount of spiritual energy, over time, it gradually became the universal currency used by all immortals on the nine continents.

In fact, it was so prevalently used that it was something that low-tier cultivators had to prepare whenever they went on journeys of any considerable length. Snowflake coins could definitely be exchanged for gold and silver, but the reverse wasn’t always guaranteed.

The reason for this was very simple. The wealthy and powerful individuals of the mortal world all had their own territories and immortals that they made offerings to, and there was no way that they could make these offerings in the form of carriage-loads of gold and silver.

That was far too conspicuous and also very cumbersome. In contrast, offering a box of snowflake coins was a far better alternative, and if some special attention were paid to the construction and material of the box, then that would be even better.

Chen Ping’an gritted his teeth to steel himself before purchasing the final one of the 10 pages for 30 minor snow coins. Due to the fact that it was the final one, the ship owner handed it over to Chen Ping’an in person. Qiu Shi wasn’t as mature and reliable as her sister, Chun Shui, and she didn’t have much fear or respect for the ship owner, constantly chirping and prancing around him like a little warbler on a branch.

Thankfully, the ship owner had watched the two girls grow up their entire lives, and Qiu Shi had superior aptitude to Chun Shui with hopes of reaching the Middle Five Tiers someday, so the ship owner had a great deal of patience for her. Essentially, he was seeing her as a long-term investment.

For someone like him, who made a living catering to cultivators, he had to look at the big picture and set his sights far into the future. Not only did he have to keep tabs on what was directly in front of him, he had to think many years down the line as well.

After all of the sheets of paper were sold, the ship owner played a prank on Qiu Shi, picking up a fire pear from the fruit platter on the table next to the sandalwood chairs and handing it to her, following which he promptly departed. Chen Ping’an was rather perplexed to see this, but his puzzled gaze was met with a vicious glare from Qiu Shi.

As it turned out, this fire pear was her commission for assisting in the sale of the sheets of paper. However, after glaring at Chen Ping’an, a smug smile appeared on Qiu Shi’s face, and she flaunted her fire pear to Chun Shi by waving it in front of her.

Following the conclusion of the showdown between Wind Lightning Field and Sun Scorch Mountain, Chen Ping’an parted ways with Zhang Shan, then returned to the Heaven-grade Room C with Chun Shui and Qiu Shi. However, not long after the two parted ways, they met again.

As the Kun ship slowly descended upon the ferry station in Southern Stream Nation, Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shan chose to disembark from the Kun ship together. There, Chen Ping’an waved farewell to the pair of maidservants, and that spelled the end of their time together.

The ferry station in Southern Stream Nation was constructed on a large lake on the border that Southern Stream Nation shared with Ancient Elm Nation.

In contrast with the ferry station on Parasol Tree Mountain in the Dragon Spring Prefecture, this one was far larger, with five Kun ships able to dock there at the same time.

Parting ways with Chun Shui and Qiu Shi hadn’t exactly been an emotional affair for Chen Ping’an. During the time that he had spent on the Kun ship, he had shamelessly asked Ceremony Mountain for many fruits and snacks, and the two maidservants had been direct beneficiaries of this.

At some point, the people of Ceremony Mountain began to speculate that Chen Ping’an had to be some short-sighted hillbilly who had never seen the outside world and was keen on taking advantage of all of the free stuff that he could get his hands on.

Even if Chen Ping’an had known about this, he wouldn’t have been bothered, but Qiu Shi was quite unhappy on his behalf, and in the end, Chun Shui was the one going to the Kun ship’s kitchen to request fruits and snacks.

As he disembarked from the Kun ship, Chen Ping’an was carrying a bunch of fruit peels and cores with him.

Due to the fact that there weren’t many people disembarking from the ship at Southern Stream Nation, Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shan quickly ran into one another, and they decided to travel together.

Near the railing of the ship, Qiu Shi harrumphed coldly, “Look at how heartless he is, Big Sister! He wasn’t sad at all as he left the ship! I bet he’s already thinking about all the women and vices of the mortal world.”

An exasperated look appeared on Chun Shui’s face as she sighed, “Young Master Chen wasn’t even interested in Apricot Blossom Tavern, what makes you think he’d be interested in brothels? We’ve both seen countless men who’ve appeared esteemed and well-mannered on the surface, only to completely succumb to the allure of Apricot Blossom Tavern.

“The women in the tavern who go out of their way to suck up to them are no inferior to goddesses and celestial maidens in the eyes of mortal men, and after having a few drinks, all of those men immediately show their true colors. If only all men were like Young Master Chen.”

“That’s only because Chen Ping’an is still young!” Qiu Shi retorted, seemingly completely unconvinced. “Once he grows up, he’ll be just as bad as all of those other men. Perhaps next time he travels on our Kun ship, he’ll start trying to sweet-talk us and lure us into bed with him.”

Chun Shui’s eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced at the embroidered pouch hanging from Qiu Shi’s waist as she asked, “Do you really think that?”

All of a sudden, Qiu Shi turned around, pretending to not be able to see Chen Ping’an’s gesture of farewell.

Chun Shui cast her gaze into the distance, and only then did she discover that Chen Ping’an was cupping his fist toward the two of them in a farewell salute, a gesture that was very much befitting a martial artist who practiced his fist techniques so earnestly.

Chun Shui hurriedly raised an arm to wave farewell in response.

Only after Chen Ping’an had turned to depart did Qiu Shi turn back around with a disgruntled look on her face, and Chun Shui was quite amused to see this. “Why do this to yourself? He’s already so far away, it’s not like you’re going to lose a pound of flesh if you just politely bid farewell to him.”

Qiu Shi took a glance at her sister’s voluptuous chest, and she was fighting back a smirk as she retorted, “Of course with that body of yours, you’re not afraid of losing a pound of flesh, but I can’t afford to spare any flesh from my body.”

The two immediately erupted into a playfight.

After a brief chat, Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shan learned that both of them were planning to travel southward. Chen Ping’an was doing so for a rather inexplicable reason. Both Lu Chen and Old Man Yang had told him to disembark from the Kun ship at Southern Stream Nation, so he didn’t dare to take the ship to the next ferry station in Old Dragon City instead, even though that would’ve been more convenient.

As for Zhang Shan, he was simply too impoverished to be able to afford traveling on the ship any longer, and if he didn’t disembark, then he would most likely have to start working on the ship as a manual laborer just to be able to fill his belly.

Personality-wise, the two of them got along quite well with each other, so they agreed to travel southward together. As for when they were going to part ways, it would be a conversation for another time.

The ferry station where they had disembarked from the Kun ship was situated on the border between Southern Stream Nation and Ancient Elm Nation, and Zhang Shan was somewhat fluent in the official dialect of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, so he began explaining to Chen Ping’an some things about Ancient Elm Nation.

The imperial clan of Ancient Elm Nation was the Chu Clan, and there was a story about the origins of the nation’s name. It was said that back in ancient times, there had been a goddess responsible for heralding the arrival of spring and for the life cycles of all plant life under the heavens.

However, there was a large tree in Ancient Elm Nation that was always a little slower to turn green in spring and a little slower to turn yellow in autumn than all of the other plants, much to the goddess’s annoyance. As punishment, she decreed that this tree was to never attain sentience or intelligence, and that was the origin of the saying of “elm wood lump.” [1]

Zhang San was a third tier Qi refiner still yet to consolidate his cultivation base, but as a Daoist priest from the Mount Longhu Daoist orthodoxy, he couldn’t have been more familiar with the laborious task of traversing mountains and valleys.

Prior to entering the mountains, Zhang Shan had pulled out a copper bell from his bags and tied it to the end of his peach wood sword’s hilt. As he did so, he explained to Chen Ping’an, “This is a demon detecting bell, and it’s a very popular item in Daoist circles. It serves a similar purpose to the Bai Ze Album that’s prevalent among Qi refiners, but this bell of mine is only one of the lowest tier, so it can only just barely be considered to be a demon subduing instrument.

“After being injected with spiritual energy, it can detect demonic beings up to a tier higher than me for a duration of several hours. At the moment, I’m only at the third tier, so it won’t be able to detect any great demons at or above the fifth tier.”

Chen Ping’an wanted to say something, but refrained from doing so in the end.

He was rather perplexed at how easily Zhang Shan had revealed his cultivation base to someone that he had only just met. On top of that, it was rather strange that he was referring to fifth tier demons as great demons, and this left Chen Ping’an feeling rather perplexed.

Could it be that Zhang Shan wasn’t from the same world that he was? The little girl in pink and the little boy in azure were both Qi refiners of the Middle Five Tiers, yet back in Dragon Tail County, the little boy in azure was constantly going on and on about how worried he was that he would be pummeled to death by a single punch by someone someday.

Despite his befuddlement, Chen Ping’an’s impression of Zhang Shan had improved even further.

Zhang Shan was completely oblivious to Chen Ping’an’s befuddlement, and he was still trying to console him. “But don’t worry, Young Master Chen, everyone in our circles say that no great demons would dare to wreak havoc within a radius of hundreds of kilometers of any territory under the jurisdiction of a righteous immortal sect.

“The reason for this is very simple: those great demons simply don’t have the guts to do anything out of line. Otherwise, if an immortal of the Middle Five Tiers hears of what they’ve been doing, they could lose their lives the very same day, isn’t that right?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and nodded in response.

Scholars venturing into the mountains to visit immortals had always been a common trope in many stories that had been written throughout the ages, as was the concept of immortals posing as ordinary people to mess around in the mortal world.

The mortal and immortal worlds had always been closely interconnected.

It was only after he had gotten onto the Kun ship did Chen Ping’an come to realize that places like the Dragon Spring Prefecture were extremely rare on the three continents including Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. Many mortals would spend their entire lives without seeing a so-called immortal even once.

Zhang Shan was a very kind-hearted and hospitable person, and after learning from Chen Ping’an through their conversation that he wasn’t even carrying a Bai Ze Album with him, he immediately insisted on giving his Bai Ze Album to Chen Ping’an, telling him that it had only cost him three minor snow coins, and that just like his demon detecting bell, it was a very low quality product that had been made in a private workshop.

He proclaimed that it was too shoddy a Bai Ze Album for him to gift to anyone under normal circumstances, but seeing as Chen Ping’an needed one right now, he could use it to get by for now. In any case, Zhang Shan had already completely memorized the Bai Ze Album, so he didn’t need it anymore anyway.

Chen Ping’an wasn’t willing to accept the Bai Ze Album free of charge, so he tucked a hand up his sleeve to conceal it before pulling two minor snow coins out of his pocket treasure, Fifteenth, then offered them to Zhang Shan, who hesitated momentarily before only accepting one minor snow coin. As he did so, he told Chen Ping’an that for such an old and low quality Bai Ze Album, even one minor snow coin was too much to ask for.

Back when Chen Ping’an encountered that female ghost in the red wedding dress, the blind Daoist priest had already given him a Mountain Scouring Album that had been passed down from generations, and it was indeed countless times better than the Bai Ze Album, but Chen Ping’an had given it to Lin Shouyi.

Chen Ping’an continued to scale the mountain while flipping through the pages of the Bai Ze Album, and he was very intrigued by what he saw. In particular, there were some images of demons and spirits that hadn’t been recorded in the Mountain Scouring Album, and it felt quite rewarding accumulating this new knowledge.

When it came to traversing through mountains, even if Zhang Shan traveled for 10 more years, he most likely still wouldn’t be able to match Chen Ping’an’s level of proficiency.

Chen Ping’an was traversing the mountain terrain as if he were taking a stroll in the park, while Zhang Shan wasn’t exactly gasping for air, but he was definitely proceeding far more laboriously.

Unlike when he was back on the Kun ship, where he had to proceed with caution at all times, Chen Ping’an was intentionally making his footsteps heavier and louder. Following his fist technique practice back in the bamboo building, he had learned that he had to relax from time to time so that he wasn’t constantly wound too tightly.

Furthermore, traveling on the Kun ship was completely different from traveling here. Now that he was no longer on the Kun ship, he didn’t have to be so careful as even the average third tier martial artist wouldn’t have been in much danger traversing through a nation on their own. Most importantly, Chen Ping’an had a great deal of trust in Zhang Shan.

Even though they had only recently met, he felt like they were already old friends, and this was the same feeling that he had gotten back when he first saw Mr. Qi outside the school, or Li Xisheng at the Li Clan’s manor.

1. In China, calling someone an elm wood lump is the same as calling them ignorant or unintelligent. ?