Unsheathed

Over the course of the journey to reach Sword Water Villa, Chen Ping’an had a lot of things on his mind, so the atmosphere had been rather gloomy and sullen. In contrast, the atmosphere during this trip to the ferry station on the border was completely different. The three of them revealed many of their secrets to one another, and that significantly solidified their relationship.

One night, while camping on a mountain summit, Xu Yuanxia had something to drink and spoke about that horrific incident that had resulted in the deaths of all of his friends. Zhang Shanfeng also opened up in a rare display, speaking about his background and his master. In the process, he accepted the wine gourd offered to him by Chen Ping’an and drank freely out of it in a very uncharacteristic manner.

While speaking about his master, Spiritual Master Fire Dragon, Zhang Shanfeng erupted into a torrent of abuse, speaking so harshly about his master that the unknowing would have been led to believe that they were sworn enemies.

However, despite his harsh words, it was clear from the look in his eyes that he missed his master greatly, and during the more emotional parts of his story, he had to pretend to take swigs of wine to conceal the tears in his eyes.

While telling his story, Zhang Shanfeng sneezed many time, and Xu Yuanxia had made a joking remark, wondering if his master could hear him all the way from another continent, and that if he were omniscient, then perhaps he really was a Heavenly Master of Mount Longhu.

In response, Zhang Shanfeng had scoffed that his master was no Heavenly Master. In fact, according to him, the old Daoist priest had never been to Middle Earth Divine Continent even once in his life.

He was constantly going on about how he had to go to Mount Longhu to pay his respects to his ancestors, but that would always be followed up by some type of excuse, such as his back being sore, or his legs acting up. Outside of that, he would sleep for prolonged periods of time, often sleeping ten to fifteen days in a row without waking up even once.

The most prolonged instance of this was on an occasion where it had snowed for two months straight, and the old Daoist priest had stood in the wind and snow atop the cliff and slept for the entirety of those two months. Only after the snow had completely melted did he finally wake up.

Prior to that, his disciples had already packed their things and were eager to go on their agreed-upon trip to Mount Longhu with their master, but of course, that completely fell through. In summary, the old man didn’t display a single ounce of sincerity, and he completely disregarded all of the complaints directed at him by his disciples.

Regardless of what they said, he merely treated their words as wind blowing past his ears.

Chen Ping’an also mentioned Mr. Qi, despite not being prompted. After all, Mr. Qi had met both Xu Yuanxia and Zhang Shanfeng when he appeared in the ancient temple in Water Combing Nation that night.

However, all that he revealed was that he had grown up in Jewel Small World, and that Mr. Qi had served as a schoolteacher there for many years.

It wasn’t that Chen Ping’an was reluctant to speak about Mr. Qi. Instead, he was worried that if he began talking about Mr. Qi while in his inebriated state, then he would end up talking about nothing else that entire night.

During the brief homebound journey he had taken with Cui Chan, the latter had been very disgruntled by how quiet Chen Ping’an always was, so he would constantly try to show off to Chen Ping’an by telling him about what things were like at the pinnacle of the cultivation world, such as the “interesting” plans that the sages of all of the Hundred Schools of Thought had on all of the continents.

Cui Chan was always quite vague when discussing such topics, only revealing tidbits of information and intentionally withholding the rest, so Chen Ping’an was never able to get a grasp on the full picture, but just the tidbits revealed to him alone were enough for him to realize that Cui Chan had told him about some extraordinary things.

Chen Ping’an also spoke about his experience in striking the waterfall and the strides that he had made in his cultivation base as a result.

As a fellow martial artist, Xu Yuanxia was astonished to hear this. Even though he had already guessed at Chen Ping’an’s potential, he still couldn’t help but give Chen Ping’an a thumbs-up while showering him with praise, predicting that he would surely rise to the top of the martial arts world someday.

In contrast, Zhang Shanfeng was rather perplexed, so Xu Yuanxia gave him an example, telling him that Chen Ping’an’s current cultivation base was the equivalent of a cultivator on the cusp of breaking through the bottleneck of the Lower Five Tiers to reach the Cave Abode Tier.

Only then did Zhang Shanfeng come to realize just how incredible a martial artist Chen Ping’an was, and he immediately began lamenting to the heavens, wondering if all of his hard work in cultivation had been eaten by dogs!

Chen Ping’an and Xu Yuanxia then burst into laughter and began picking on Zhang Shanfeng together.

They knew that Zhang Shanfeng wasn’t in need of consolation as his mental fortitude wasn’t inferior to Chen Ping’an’s at all. He didn’t fear powerful demons, nor did he fear the rigors of cultivation. The only thing that he feared was not having enough money to fill his stomach.

The journey after leaving Sword Water Villa proved to be a very smooth one, and having experienced the perils of the Blusher Prefecture and the festivities of Sword Water Villa, the trio was left feeling a little dejected in contrast.

Thankfully, it didn’t take them long before they reached the border pass, and all three of them had legitimate passports, so even though rigorous checks were conducted, they were still able to progress smoothly through the pass and continue on their journey to the chief military governor’s manor.

The package that had been given to Chen Ping’an by Song Yushao contained close to 2,000 light snow coins, as well as a letter that had been personally written by the old sword saint, and all Chen Ping’an had to do was present the letter to the chief military governor’s manor to be granted approval from the imperial court to enter the forbidden area.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the manor, Chen Ping’an approached one of the guards to announce the purpose of his visit, but what he failed to anticipate was that these border soldiers didn’t understand the official dialect of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

Chen Ping’an didn’t know the official dialect of Water Combing Nation, so there was a language barrier and a lot of gesturing, but not much progress being made. After a brief stalemate, the soldier gestured for Chen Ping’an to wait, then sent in one of his comrades to deliver a report, and before long, a scholarly old man in a Confucian robe emerged from the manor.

He was fluent in all of the official dialects of the entire continent, and Chen Ping’an handed the letter from Song Yushao over to the old man.

The old scholar accepted the letter with both hands, then hurriedly brought Chen Ping’an’s trio into the side hall, where they could take a seat. After some tea was brought to them, the old scholar rushed away to the office of the chief military governor, and it didn’t take long before a short old man with a dark complexion arrived in the side hall.

He wasn’t wearing any armor or official robes, and a rather wooden expression was on his face as he handed three bronze seals over to Chen Ping’an, then promptly departed without uttering a single word.

Even as the three of them were leaving the chief military governor’s manor, Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shanfeng were still feeling a little flabbergasted at how efficient the unremarkable-looking chief military governor was.

“When it comes to generals who have climbed all the way to the top from the very bottom, none of them will have very chatty personalities,” Xu Yunxia explained. “In the imperial, there’s a saying that important figures always speak last.”

“Speak last? He didn’t speak at all!” Zhang Shanfeng retorted.

The two of them had already been informed by Chen Ping’an about the battle that had been taken place earlier, so they were aware of the imperial court’s attitude toward Sword Water Villa, and Xu Yuanxia said, “It’s already quite remarkable that the chief military governor was willing to see us and even provide us with those three seals at a time like this. He must be very close friends with Sword Saint Song.”

“I’m sure someone who’s a friend of Senior Song’s can’t be a bad person,” Chen Ping’an chimed in with a nod.

Xu Yuanxia and Zhang Shanfeng exchanged a smile, following which the latter jibed, “You’re starting to get a little crafty with your words, Chen Ping’an! Wasn’t that just a roundabout way to compliment yourself?”

“Those who are friends of Senior Song’s friends also can’t be bad people!” Chen Ping’an added.

Xu Yuanxia immediately gave him a thumbs up as he exclaimed, “I like the sound of that!”

Zhang Shanfeng slung an arm across Chen Ping’an’s shoulders as he praised, “That was a perfect save!”

The three of them burst into laughter as they left the border pass through the southern gate, then continued southward with a bronze seal hanging from each of their waists.

They were going to enter the territory of the ferry station in less than a hundred kilometers, and while resting on a small hill along the way, Chen Ping’an started a fire to cook a meal.

During this time, some people had observed them in secret from afar, but they quickly departed instead of approaching them, presumably because they had spotted the seals hanging from their waists.

None of them drank any wine with their meal. They were about to enter a ferry station that was filled with Qi refiners, so it was best to proceed with caution.

Xu Yuanxia had come here mostly to see off Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shanfeng, but if there was a ship traveling to Azure Phoenix Nation in the southeast of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, then that would be even better. As for the shops selling immortal treasures in the ferry station, he was a pure martial artist, and he had just obtained an exceptional weapon, so he had no interest in visiting them at all.

Zhang Shanfeng wanted to purchase a Daoist sword, as well as to replenish his supply of talismans, such as divine movement talismans. He also wanted to find someone to appraise that pair of divine cloud bamboo chopsticks.

As for the white bowl capable of condensing spiritual energy into dew and the armor pellet that Chen Ping’an had given him, there was absolutely no way that he was going to sell those two treasures. In fact, he was going to keep them concealed the entire time he was in the ferry station in case envious onlookers decided to target him for his treasures.

Chen Ping’an had already decided that he wasn’t going to be selling anything that he had brought with him from Downtrodden Mountain.

He had decided to keep the premium snake gall pebble that He Xiaoliang had returned to him back on the Kun ship. Following the fall of Jewel Small World, there wasn’t a single snake gall pebble left in the Dragon Whisker River and the Iron Talisman River, and all of them had been reduced to ordinary rocks.

Chen Ping’an had heard that snake gall pebbles were unique to Jewel Small World, which meant that this was not only an exhaustible resource, but also in very short supply already. The longer he held onto them, the more precious they would become.

He also had to make sure to conceal the scholarly core that had been gifted to him by City God Shen Wen of the Blusher Prefecture, as well as the golden statue shards and silver shards that he had obtained.

The Heavenly Master Seal that had the words “Colorful Garment Nation Blusher Prefecture City God Protection Seal” engraved upon it was the treasure that Shen Wen had cherished the most. In his words, “divine artifacts should only be wielded by beacons of morality.”

It was said that this seal had to be used in conjunction with the Five Lightning Righteous Technique to unleash its full power, and as soon as Chen Ping’an learned of this, he immediately thought about giving the seal to either Zhang Shanfeng or Lin Shouyi, the latter of which was still studying at Mountain Cliff Academy.

However, after much deliberation, he decided not to give the seal to either of them, not because he didn’t want to, but instead because it didn’t feel appropriate. In his mind, even if he were to give the seal to one of those two, it would have to be at a later date, both to give himself time to truly understand what being a “beacon of morality” entailed, and also to give one of Zhang Shanfeng or Lin Shouyi the time to develop into such a vaunted figure.

In the past, Chen Ping’an would’ve given the seal away without a second thought, but that was no longer the case.

As for the piece of ebony that had still retained some vitality even after being struck by lightning, the white bowl with a painting of the Five Mountains, and the talisman that contained the beautiful skeletal ghost, Chen Ping’an planned to get them appraised to determine their prices before he decided if he wanted to sell them or not.

He was confident that the shops in the ferry station wouldn’t force him to sell his possessions against his will.

The light snow coins that Chen Ping’an had received from Song Yushao, coupled with the light snow coins and the lesser heat coins that he had received from the little boy in azure amounted to a total of around 4,000 light snow coins.

Just the mere thought of that put him in a very good mood, but the next thought that sprang into his mind immediately soured his mood again.

Wei Bo and Cui Chan’s grandfather had both told Chen Ping’an something similar in the past, which was that he had to reach the fourth tier before entering Stalactite Mountain as only then would he be able to gain a stable foothold on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

There, he would be able to refine his own body and soul with the most abundant sword intent under the heavens, and that would definitely be immensely beneficial to any pure martial artist of the Three Qi Tempering Tiers. According to Cui Chan’s grandfather, if he couldn’t reach the fourth tier, then he shouldn’t even bother going to Stalactite Mountain at all as he would only be making a fool out of himself.

Even if he could make his way up there, there was no guarantee that he would be able to crawl his way back down. All he would be able to do would be to deliver the sword to Ning Yao at the foot of the Sword Qi Great Wall, then scurry back to Downtrodden Mountain with his tail between his legs.

That wasn’t what Chen Ping’an wanted. Instead, he wanted to stay up there for as long as possible.

Before long, a line of seven or eight people emerged, then began making their way along the path at the foot of the mountain. None of them appeared to be mortals, and Chen Ping’an’s trio merely took a glance at them before looking away.

When in foreign lands, be wary of Daoist priests and monks, and when traveling through the wilderness, avoid women and children.

This was an unspoken rule among cultivators, and if one were to encounter a fellow cultivator, it was best not to look too much at them as you never knew when you could encounter a short-tempered cultivator that could snap at the drop of a hat.

The people passing through also only took a brief glance at Chen Ping’an’s trio before looking away.

They hadn’t reached the ferry station yet, but the several dozen kilometers that they had left wasn’t going to take very long to cover at all. They were about to part ways, and even though they had agreed not to drink, Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but take a sip out of habit.

Zhang Shanfeng asked for a drink as well upon seeing this, and Chen Ping’an handed his wine gourd to him. In the end, Xu Yuanxia also had a sip, and the three of them took turns passing the wine gourd around, taking sips out of it one after the other as they sat on the summit of the hill in silence.

After a prolonged period of silence, Xu Yuanxia began to tell a story. “I was once a soldier, and I served in the border army, so I was fighting in battles all the time. I couldn’t bear to see the people around me constantly dying, so I left the army to travel the world, but even then, there were still constantly people dying around me.

“You may not believe this, but I came from a highly educated family, so it was actually quite a surprise to everyone when I chose to join the army. We weren’t particularly wealthy, but we were certainly a well-respected family where I came from. In the blink of an eye, it’s already been many years since I last went back. What was supposed to be my hometown now feels like something from a previous life.”

Xu Yuanxia’s beard was soaked with wine as he sat with his legs crossed, and a reminiscent look appeared in his eyes as he continued, “Before joining the army, I was somewhat of a scholar, so I was more educated than most of my comrades, but that didn’t matter.

“All of the books glorify soldiers and proclaim that we fight for the sake of our nations, but in reality, all of us are solely focused on earning money and accolades. We kill to avenge our fallen comrades and because it’s cathartic, that’s it. However, there’s nothing cathartic when we’re the ones being struck down by our enemies.

“When we’re having our wounds sewn up or having arrowheads pulled out of our bodies in those bloodstained tents, all of us end up howling and crying like little girls, and no one is in a position to make fun of anyone else…”