Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an’s forceful charge invited volley after volley of powerful and accurate shots from the archers. The guards that General Ma had left at the prefectural office were all top-notch elite soldiers that he had brought over from the borders. The strength in their arms was incredible, and they were also extremely experienced in war and battles. Even against an immortal from the mountains, they would still be able to cooperate flawlessly with each other.

Chen Ping’an dashed over from the roof ridges and landed deep inside the prefectural office. This had only taken him a few seconds, yet he had already been forced to swat aside two incredibly ferocious and accurate shots.

“I’m Liu Gaoxin, the daughter of Prefectural Overseer Liu! The old immortal has come to help our allies! Please lower your bows!” the young girl with the silver bells shouted.

Chen Ping’an landed in front of the door of the main hall. He didn’t turn around, and he took two steps to the side as he reached out to catch an arrow that had whizzed over from behind him. There were ancient and simple-looking cloud patterns engraved on the arrow, and there were also three small and dazzling grooves carved into the arrowhead. Chen Ping’an casually tossed the arrow aside, causing it to stab into the earth.

“Brother Xu, Zhang Shanfeng, are you guys in the main hall?” he asked in a solemn voice. “The main culprit behind the incident at the city god pavilion is the old immortal who performed on the tall stage in the middle of the lake that night!”

The big-bearded martial artist was the first person to rush out. Zhang Shanfeng and the armored general followed closely behind him.

A copper-armored warrior nine meters tall strode out with a boom and directly charged over to throw a punch at Chen Ping’an. Chen Ping’an had no option but to raise a hand and block the attack. This copper-armored warrior had been summoned by a talisman carefully drawn by Daoist Chong Miao. It was quite powerful.

Even though it wasn’t high-grade, its combat power could still rival that of pure martial artists at the peak stage of the second tier. However, the joints of the copper-armored warrior started to violently groan and shake after Chen Ping’an caught its fist. It creaked loudly, yet it was unable to advance no matter what.

Prefectural Overseer Liu also ran out of the main hall. He looked up, and he saw the young girl with silver bells standing on top of the wall. “She’s my daughter! She’s my daughter, Liu Gaoxin. Please don’t injure her by accident!” he immediately shouted.

The big-bearded martial artist hurriedly explained the situation to the people beside him as well. “He’s my friend, Chen Ping’an, and he went to the city god pavilion to investigate the situation.”

The armored general nodded and used his arm to give a military signal. The archers hidden around the prefectural office didn’t put their bows away immediately, and they instead lowered them slightly and went from full draw to half draw. Their actions were identical, and even the curvatures of their bows were almost exactly the same.

Xu Yuanxia had traveled to many nations before, and he astutely noticed this small detail. He was instantly impressed. He hadn’t imagined that a place as bookish as Colorful Garment Nation would also have such disciplined and powerful soldiers. General Ma, the one guarding the east gate of the prefectural city, was definitely a talented general.

Daoist Chong Miao made a hand seal and commanded the copper-armored warrior to return. The armored warrior had failed to suppress the young boy, so there was a slightly displeased expression on Daoist Chong Miao’s face as he sneered, “Old Immortal Huang is the main culprit? Hahaha! You scheming little boy, I feel like you’re the sinister person who’s trying to take advantage of this situation!”

The old Daoist priest with bright-colored robes turned to Prefectural Overseer Liu and the general and said, “If the profoundly powerful Old Immortal Huang is really the main culprit with ulterior motives, then why are we still discussing things and coming up with plans here? We might as well wait for death. Moreover, if Old Immortal Huang is the main culprit, then why did he actively give us a warning? Was there any need to go this extra step?”

“It does seem quite illogical,” Prefectural Overseer Liu concurred after contemplating for a brief moment.

However, the general spoke in fairness for the young boy, and he said, “Heretical and demonic cultivators are extremely skilled at making risky moves. They can’t be viewed through ordinary lenses. The best choice right now is to be skeptical of everyone. Anyhow, why don’t we hear this young boy out first?”

Liu Gaoxin jumped down from the wall and sprinted over. Her movements were filled with energy, and the silver bells on her wrists and ankles also chimed and released waves of golden ripples. It was clear that she was already a legitimate cultivator. Prefectural Overseer Liu had no time to think about how his youngest daughter had suddenly become an immortal.

When she arrived in front of him, he immediately asked with an anxious expression, “Are you hurt anywhere? Silly girl, why are you still running around everywhere now that the prefectural city is so chaotic and dangerous? How utterly foolish!”

Liu Gaoxin pointed at Chen Ping’an and began, “The old immortal…”

However, she suddenly realized that she had misspoken. This was because while rushing over, the old immortal — an incredibly skilled swordsman — had specially told her to keep the battle in the city god pavilion a secret. He was still unwilling to reveal his true identity, lest there were also demons hiding inside the prefectural office. He didn’t want to reveal his abilities to them.

Liu Gaoxin hurriedly made up for her mistake, saying, “Chen Ping’an and I encountered a female bone ghost in the city god pavilion. She was the beautiful woman in colorful robes who performed on the tall stage in the middle of the lake that night, and she was one of the demons who were causing trouble in the prefectural city.

“It took Chen Ping’an and me a lot of effort to finally subdue her, yet the city god and his two subordinate gods had unexpectedly succumbed to demonic ways as well. Black smoke was billowing from their faces, and they were just about to hunt us down. Fortunately, an old immortal who could manipulate flying swords rushed over at that moment and rescued us.

“However, the old immortal was also severely wounded because of this, so he told us to rush over to explain the situation first. That old man with the surname Huang is scheming to obtain an immortal treasure with his allies. The old immortal wanted me to tell you not to bring wolves into the prefectural office, Father! He also said that if it’s necessary, he’ll definitely offer assistance again once he recuperates his sea of Qi and bonded flying sword. He’ll help us subdue demons and eliminate fiends!”

Chen Ping’an’s expression was calm, and he praised the sharp-witted young girl in his mind.

Compared to Zhu Lu’s behavior in Go Table Mountain, and the group of youths outside the rundown temple back then, Liu Gaoxin was truly much more impressive.

Everyone briskly returned to the main hall. Before they could sit down, however, an elite soldier drenched in blood walked in and informed them that commoners who had seemingly fallen to demonic ways had appeared in several places inside the prefectural city. These people were violently killing others, regardless of whether they were family, friends, or neighbors.

The commoners were like pure martial artists who had fallen to demonic ways, and they all shared a similarity in that there was blood seeping from their eyes. They were also incredibly agile, and this made them incredibly difficult to deal with. Many soldiers and law enforcers had already been wounded.

Not only this, but sanguine glows also appeared in unison in many places around the prefectural city. They appeared on stone arch bridges filled with travelers, they appeared in quiet alleys, and in many other places. Wherever they appeared, plants would wither and fish would turn belly up.

The atmosphere in the main hall was solemn. Prefectural Overseer Liu forcefully composed himself and started to organize his men. Apart from ordering people to rush over to the east gate as quickly as possible to warn General Ma about Old Immortal Huang’s potential identity, the people inside the main hall were also divided into groups of two. They would head to different places in the city to investigate the abnormalities and guard against further accidents. If they came across demonic beings or affected commoners, they had the right to execute them on the spot.

Apart from this, the petty officials in the prefectural office were also told to leave the office. They were tasked with warning the commoners about the situation and telling them to immediately go home. They weren’t allowed to leave their house after that, and those who flouted the command would be severely punished as if they had disobeyed the night curfew.

Xu Yuanxia was grouped together with Zhang Shanfeng, with the former being a pure martial artist and the latter being a Daoist priest. This was a perfect combination. Meanwhile, Daoist Chong Miao was grouped together with the armored general. At Liu Gaoxin’s earnest request, she was put together with Chen Ping’an. However, regardless of how selfless Prefectural Overseer Liu was, how could be fine with his daughter rushing into danger?

Fortunately, a gallant cultivator offered to go to the Zhao Clan residence along with Chen Ping’an and Liu Gaoxin. Only then did Prefectural Overseer Liu repeatedly warn Liu Gaoxin not to be reckless. She had to listen to the two powerful cultivators.

Liu Gaoxin was naturally overjoyed. She nodded and promised her father that she would definitely be careful. However, Prefectural Overseer Liu was still worried that she wasn’t taking this seriously enough, so he dragged her over and warned her again.

The young girl became slightly impatient, but the young-looking old immortal next to her suddenly said, “Young Mistress Liu, don’t make Prefectural Overseer Liu worry about you.”

Liu Gaoxin faltered for a moment before looking over at Chen Ping’an. She saw that he wasn’t angry, and he wasn’t taking advantage of his seniority either. Instead, he simply looked like he wanted to do things a bit better. Even though Liu Gaoxin was puzzled about his intentions, she still forced herself to patiently bid farewell to her father. She promised him that she definitely wouldn’t be reckless. Prefectural Overseer Liu felt slightly more at ease, and he cupped his fists and thanked Chen Ping’an and the martial artist.

“Then I’ll leave my daughter to the two of you,” he said sincerely.

Chen Ping’an and the martial artist returned the gesture. The three of them then rushed to the Zhao Clan residence, which was only two streets away from the prefectural office.

The martial artist with the surname Dou looked up at the sky. He shook his head and sighed with emotion, saying, “Be it immortals from the mountains or be it demons and fiends, none of them care about the lives of mortal humans. It shouldn’t be like this.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t know how to respond. In the end, he chose to remain silent.

The three of them arrived in front of the Zhao Clan residence, and there were already men and women who had fallen to demonic ways baring their teeth and swinging their arms as they charged out to attack. The archers and guards outside were mainly from the law enforcement office and prefectural office, so how could they have come across such a scene before? After all, they would only be dealing with thieves and robbers at most for their work.

Most of them were deathly pale, and the accuracy of the archers was simply unbearable. Moreover, the family members and servants from the Zhao Clan surprisingly continued to charge forward even after being struck by arrows. Chen Ping’an personally witnessed a young boy with a bloody face being struck in the chest by a powerful arrow from 20 paces away. He was sent flying and knocked to the ground, but he immediately struggled to his feet with the arrow sticking out from his chest. Afterward, he vomited blood as he continued to charge at them.

The crude formation of the archers and guards was immediately dismantled by the charging commoners who had fallen to demonic ways. As such, they had no option but to engage in close-quarters combat with these people who didn’t fear death.

If Chen Ping’an and the others hadn’t arrived in a timely manner, it was very likely that the people rushing out from the Zhao Clan residence would have soon spread all over the prefectural city. Like a plague of locusts, they would have caused immense damage.

Chen Ping’an didn’t know whether this demonic infection could be cured, so he mainly focused on using his fists and legs to push these people back toward the Zhao Clan residence. Liu Gaoxin rang her silver bells, and numerous golden flowers materialized in the air and floated into the surroundings. The demonic commoners who came into contact with the golden flowers would all crumble and transform into puddles of thick blood. A foul stench filled the air.

The saber-wielding martial artist with the surname Dou drew his saber, which radiated a blinding snow-white light. Each time he slashed down, a demonic commoner would be cleaved into two, regardless of whether they were men or women, old or young. His saber skills were very impressive, and he was clearly a grandmaster who had already returned to a state of natural simplicity. His strikes were direct and simple, and there wasn’t any unnecessary flourish at all.

Compared to Xu Yuanxia’s saber skills, however, his movements were missing the coarse aura of a warrior on the battlefield. Instead, there was an additional aura of mysticality. It was extremely likely that he was a martial arts grandmaster at or above the fourth tier. This person hadn’t revealed his true abilities in the main hall in the prefectural office, and it was clear that he was adhering to the so-called notion of grandmasters not flouting their strength.

After blocking a wave of demonic commoners from the Zhao Clan residence, Liu Gaoxin discovered that the ground around her was filled with blood and torn limbs. She suddenly squatted down and started to throw up.

A speck of red light suddenly flashed and disappeared from inside the Zhao Clan residence, releasing a concentrated yin aura.

Seeing that there was temporarily no danger in front of the Zhao Clan residence, Chen Ping’an nimbly leaped over the tall wall of the residence with a tap of his foot. He dashed toward the location where the red light had appeared.

Following the traces left by the red light, Chen Ping’an arrived at an elegant and tranquil courtyard with a three-storey scripture library. There was a young man in white sitting on the steps of the building in a lazy manner, and one of his hands held his cheek while his other hand held an ancient book. He opened his mouth and yawned.

The extremely handsome young man looked sideways at Chen Ping’an and asked with a faint smile, “Why have you arrived so late? Your bearing is quite extraordinary, so perhaps you’re an immortal from the mountains? Or are you a sect disciple traveling around the martial arts world?”

After sitting up straight, the young master from the Zhao Clan moistened his finger with saliva and gently flipped the page of his book. Another speck of red light flashed and disappeared.

The red light transformed into a thick rope, as if a python were contorting itself in the air. After pausing near the tall wall of the courtyard for a moment, it was just about to shoot toward someplace in the residence and attach itself to the body of a commoner.

Chen Ping’an patted his Sword Nurturing Gourd.

The bright red light was instantly sliced apart.

The young master in white raised his brows and said in amusement, “Oh? You’re also a minor sword immortal? How very impressive. I’ve heard that sword cultivators at the Lower Five Tiers had immense destructive power, but it’s also very easy for their stamina to be too low. After unleashing a few dazzling bursts of sword qi, it’s very easy for them to become exhausted and powerless. I wonder if you’re the same or more powerful?”

The young master in white held the ancient book in one hand and used his other hand to flip through it from the beginning to the end.

Several dozen streaks of red light that were snake-like and as thick as a thumb soared into the sky next to the scripture library. They were just about to shoot off in different directions. However, the young master in white saw that the young boy with a vermilion wine gourd by his waist was surprisingly in the mood to take a sip of wine. He was just about to sneer and mock the young boy some more, but the expression on his face quickly froze.

This was because the banded red snakes in the sky were instantly sliced apart by bursts of criss-crossing white light.

A cold sensation then spread over his glabella, and his eyes widened in shock as if he had seen a ghost during daytime. He died a miserable death.

As it turned out, the flying sword had done more than just pierce through its head. A wisp of sword qi had also seeped into his body and soul and rapidly annihilated all of his vitality without giving him a chance to react.

Chen Ping’an retied the wine gourd to his waist. At the same time, First and Fifteenth returned to the Sword Nurturing Gourd in a leisurely manner.

The martial artist with the surname Dou was standing on top of the courtyard wall, and he cupped his fists at Chen Ping’an upon seeing this scene.

A thought suddenly occurred to Chen Ping’an, and he said, “Tell Liu Gaoxin that I’m going to head over to the mountain lord temple first. I won’t be long.”

The martial artist laughed heartily and replied, “This place is already under control, and there are only a few small fry left. Please be at ease and head over.”

Chen Ping’an felt slightly exasperated. He had intended to conclude the battle as quickly as possible, but his act of killing his enemy using his flying swords had still been seen by someone else. He nodded in acknowledgment before tapping his feet and dashing away into the distance.

————

Chen Ping’an sprinted through the city and leaped over the city walls, and he eventually arrived at a deserted mountain lord temple following the voice in his mind’s lake. He looked up, and he saw an elegant scholar beckoning him over from the mountain lord temple. There was a smile on his face, yet his body was faint and swaying as if it were a flickering flame that was about to extinguish.

Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment before making his way over.

The deity was standing behind the door threshold in a dimly lit room, while Chen Ping’an was standing outside in a slightly better-lit area.

The scholar clasped his hands and bowed in respect. After standing up straight, he smiled faintly and said, “This is our second encounter. I’m Shen Wen, and I’m the city god of Blusher Prefecture. I’ve watched over this prefectural city for hundreds of years. The outcome today was predestined by the karma of the past, and it was my mistake that led to this eventual result.

“If it weren’t for you preventing me from comprehensively falling to demonic ways, perhaps the mighty golden city god of Colorful Garment Nation would have ended up helping those sinister demons. Perhaps I might have become a sinister god who massacred his own people. I need to thank you for your help.”

The scholar smiled in a carefree manner after saying this, and he continued, “I was oblivious to the fact that I was falling to demonic ways back then, so my actions must have been foolish and comical in your eyes, young immortal. I need to thank you for helping me, such that I didn’t attack my own people and end up with a foul reputation in the history books. I also need to thank you for your honesty and trust. Your willingness to return that azure wooden box to me is truly extraordinary.”

When entering the city god hall back then, Chen Ping’an had been willing to return the wooden box to City God Shen Wen. This was a good deed.

Chen Ping’an clearly possessed a pocket treasure, yet when returning the azure wooden box to City God Shen Wen, he had retrieved it from his sleeve instead of his pocket treasure. This signified that the young foreign boy had always viewed the wooden box as a possession of the city god hall.

This was a good heart.

Chen Ping’an carefully observed City God Shen Wen, and he was no longer able to detect traces of demonic aura. He breathed a small sigh of relief.

He hesitated for a moment before cupping his fists and saying, “I was trying to protect myself in the city god hall back then, so I had no option but to destroy your gold statue…”

Shen Wen was no longer appearing in front of others as the golden city god of Colorful Garment Nation, and he waved his hand and changed the topic, asking, “Young esteemed immortal, are you a scholar?”

Chen Ping’an felt slightly ashamed, and he shook his head and replied, “I can’t be regarded as a scholar. Right now, I only know how to flip through books and make some notes. I simply hope that I can learn some more characters and learn some moral principles.”

City God Shen Wen smiled and asked, “Do you know about the uses of gold statue shards?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head in response. He indeed didn’t know.

“You have to take care of those golden shards,” City God Shen Wen said softly. “Regardless of whether it’s formal gods of mountains and rivers, gods of the city god temples, or gods of the martial temples and scholarly temples, all of the deities who enjoy incense offerings in the world have something called a gold statue.

“We’re appointed to our position by the imperial court, and we’ll have a gold statue made of us after that. Afterward, we’ll nurture our own spiritual nature and divine aura. However, gold statues are also separated by grade, just like how officials are separated by rank. The gold statues of the formal gods of the Five Mountains are the highest grade, and this is followed by the formal gods of the great rivers as well as the city god of the capital, and so on and so forth.

“The item inside the azure wooden box is a seal personally carved by some Great Heavenly Master from Mount Longhu’s Heavenly Master Residence, Colorful Garment Nation Blusher Prefecture City God Protection Seal. This is a supremely powerful immortal tool that possesses the mighty power of the heavens, but it can only be used if one channels a five-lightning cultivation method.

“Even though I’m the current city god of Blusher Prefecture’s prefectural city, deities like me are unable to wield lightning techniques from the Daoist orthodoxy. In reality, it was more of a symbolic gesture when Heavenly Master Residence bestowed this seal to Blusher Prefecture. It was in order to protect the feng shui of Blusher Prefecture, and it wasn’t for the sake of granting power to the city god or to the Qi refiners from Colorful Garment Nation.

“If it weren’t for this Heavenly Master Seal formlessly deterring the demons, the unmarked graveyards filled with resentful auras outside the prefectural city would have already affected us long ago.”

Chen Ping’an thought for a moment and asked, “Should I hand it over to Prefectural Overseer Liu for you? Or should I hand it over to the emperor of Colorful Garment Nation?”

City God Shen Wen carefully looked into the pure and limpid eyes of the young boy. He then waved his sleeve and said with a hearty laugh, “The sages teach us that divine artifacts in the world should only go to those with virtue!”