Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an was a bit annoyed with himself, and he thought that he shouldn’t have been so whimsical with his actions. An impulsive thought had occurred to him back then, leading him to go on this aimless trip 150 kilometers down the river. In the end, he had drawn the attention of those water ghosts and water demons and was now being coveted by them.

What would he have done if a battle had broken out? His Sword Nurturing Gourd was still with his physical body, and his movements had been extremely stiff when he had practiced the six-step walking meditation above the river just then. His punches had been soft and powerless. In fact, it seemed like his yin soul was innately poor at martial arts and fist techniques.

Right now, Chen Ping’an felt a sense of lingering fear as he thought about that pair of lantern-sized silver eyes at the bottom of the river.

Seemingly reading Chen Ping’an’s thoughts, Zhong Kui explained, “Yin souls like to travel through heaven and earth at night, yet your yin soul has insisted on coming to Burial River’s water god temple during its first trip out of your physical body. According to the explanations of Qi refiners, this might indicate that there exists an exceptional fated opportunity in this place. However, you still have to be careful. When it comes to fated opportunities, it’s difficult to say whether you’ll enjoy fortune or suffer misfortune. Fated opportunities aren’t always good things.”

“Is the temple attendant in the water god temple a cultivator? Will they be able to see my yin soul?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Zhong Kui huffed and replied, “With how hot-tempered the water goddess of Burial River is, she’ll charge over to fight with that water demon every so often. Moreover, there are so many wronged souls and malicious ghosts in the river, and all of them are controlled by that water demon. That being the case, do you think there’ll be no powerful cultivator watching over the water god temple where her gold statue is placed? If that were the case, then the water demon that refers to itself as Immortal Lord Huang would have swallowed the temple along with the small mountain a long time ago.”

Chen Ping’an blushed with shame and said, “That does seem to make sense.”

Zhong Kui finally revealed a piece of good news, saying, “However, you don’t need to worry. Your yin soul is very indistinct, so the cultivators in the water god temple won’t notice you unless you enter the temple to offer incense.”

Zhong Kui frowned and swam in a circle around Chen Ping’an before continuing, “Tsk, tsk, Chen Ping’an, have you suffered two great calamities before? One calamity was extremely early on in your life, and it affected your destiny and damaged your fortune. One calamity was a few years ago, and it severed your bridge of immortality. Am I correct?”

Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment, but he still nodded in confirmation. He had always been an extremely cautious person, yet he made an exception this time and didn’t purposely hide anything. “That’s the gist of it,” he replied.

This was because Zhong Kui was a noble scholar from Great Subduing Academy. More importantly, Zhong Kui had mentioned Mr. Qi before.

Zhong Kui rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought.

“How did you figure this out?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Zhong Kui was still looking Chen Ping’an up and down as he slowly replied, “Trees have rings that reveal their age, and human souls are actually quite similar. It’s just that the human body is a small world, while the world is a big human body. The human skin, blood, flesh, tendons, and bones are like a wall between the two entities.”

Seeing the baffled expression on Chen Ping’an’s face, Zhong Kui gave an example, saying, “Take, for instance, Majestic World and Heavenly World. If a cultivator wants to observe a fellow cultivator from the other world, it will be impossible even if they can observe mountains and rivers through their palms and even if they’re at the twelfth tier. After a person manifests their yin soul, however, their soul will become much clearer and much easier to see. At that time, many more clues can be identified.”

Zhong Kui suddenly chuckled and remarked, “Chen Ping’an, you’ve been working quite hard to patch everything up.”

Chen Ping’an’s bonded porcelain had shattered, preventing him from obtaining any fated opportunities in Jewel Small World. Afterward, his bridge of immortality had also been severed, causing his body to become like a dilapidated house that leaked wind and rain. It was because of this that he had been forced to practice the Mountain Shaking Fist to stay alive.

Zhong Kui was spot-on in saying that Chen Ping’an had been working quite hard to patch everything up.

In the past, there was Virtuous Scholar Zhou Ju from Eastern Treasured Vial Continent who could trap his opponents in astral winds and instantly reduce them to a rack of bones simply by reciting a poem. Now, there was Noble Scholar Zhong Kui from Parasol Leaf Continent who was even more powerful and profound. This caused Chen Ping’an to develop deeper and more complicated feelings toward the Confucian academies.

“Are you going to enter the temple to offer incense? Is it really okay for a noble scholar from a Confucian academy to do this?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Zhong Kui couldn’t help but chuckle. “If some of the more pedantic scholars in the academy learn about this, there might indeed be some criticism. It won’t be anything major, though. Scholars aren’t as stubborn as you think.”

A teasing smile suddenly appeared his face, and he remarked, “Huh? So that’s how it’s going to be. Thanks to you, I’ll also be able to experience the short temper of Burial River’s water goddess.”

Zhong Kui’s lips moved slightly, causing the river current to flow around them as if they were pillar rocks in the river. At the same time, a faint glow appeared around them, appearing like a large umbrella that shrouded them and concealed their presence.

The noble scholar then grabbed Chen Ping’an’s arm and said, “Come on, let’s go and enjoy a show together.”

Burial River became incredibly murky and tumultuous, as if a burst of thunder were rumbling through the river.

At the bottom of a section of the river two to three kilometers away from the water god temple, the surroundings had already become a battlefield.

Chen Ping’an looked over from the distance, and saw a petite woman dressed in black holding some sort of item and swinging it around. Each time she swung it, a spectacular silver arc would slide through the water. However, she was swinging far too quickly, causing the silver arcs to stack and accumulate. In the end, the silver light appeared like a chaotic sheet of cursive script that was written in an extremely free and bold manner.

The figure in the distance was radiating with a faint golden light, making her appear like a bright light in the pitch-black depths of the river. She was as eye-catching as could be.

The woman was very short, and this caused her to appear quite dainty and cute. She also looked fairly young, though her appearance was ordinary and unremarkable. In fact, she had a bit of a baby face due to how round her face was. However, the pure golden glow around her and the intense look in her eyes made her appear very mighty and imposing.

There was a saber by her waist, a sword on her back, and even an iron spear in her hand. The spear was extremely long, so long that it almost doubled her in height.

Her saber scabbard was azure and purple, and more than half of it was wrapped in golden thread.

Five-colored iridescent clouds were rising from the connection between her sword scabbard and sword hilt, and the magnificence of this scene led one to believe that the sword in the scabbard was definitely an extraordinary weapon.

The water goddess was like a gust of wind as she dashed back and forth in the water, experiencing no resistance at all. She was as swift as lightning, and the long spear in her hands slashed through the water demon’s colossal body several times, causing clouds of blood to bloom into the surroundings. A bloody smell filled this section of Burial River.

One time, the water goddess was struck by the water demon’s head and smashed into the bottom of the river, sending a loud rumble through the surroundings. However, she immediately charged back up and thrust her spear through the colossal water demon’s chin, causing its deafening wail of anguish to ring through the river.

The water demon furiously thrashed around, sending huge waves across the surface of Burial River. In fact, even the common people living near the water god temple noticed this abnormal scene. However, no one was afraid, and they instead stood on their tippy-toes and peered into the distance, treating this as an interesting matter.

The short woman was more than just aggressive and swift with her attacks. She also liked to curse her opponent as she fought.

“Evil beast, are you trying to rebel against the heavens?! You should be thanking the fortune of your ancestors that I didn’t charge over to attack you… Forget about it, you’re a vile beast that doesn’t have ancestors, aren’t you? Since you dared to approach my temple, let me collect a few hundred kilograms of meat from you this time!

“Don’t think that I’m afraid of you just because you have allies in the imperial court and you sent eight hundred thousand taels of silver to Mirage City every year. You’ve been trying to strip me of my title as commandery governor this entire time, but what does it matter even my temple becomes an illegal temple in the Great Quan Empire? What does it matter even if I sacrifice my gold statue? If I say that I’ll hack you into eighteen pieces, I definitely won’t hack you into just seventeen pieces!

“Come on, vile beast, come here and eat another attack from my spear! When our battle is over, I’m going to ask my kitchen to make a bowl of stir-fried eel noodles! It’s incredibly delicious!”

The water demon was colossal and golden, yet its body was naked and without any scales. This strange contrast was repulsive and vomit-inducing.

This water demon had once lived in a renowned lake in the Great Quan Empire. All beings in the world could become spirits after living for long enough, and it was just that their cultivation speed would be very slow. Though the water demon had obtained a huge fated opportunity a long time ago and reached the threshold of the Dragon Gate Tier after cultivating in earnest for six hundred years, it was stuck at the threshold for a full hundred years.

Afterward, thanks to some guidance from a mighty figure who was traveling across the lake, the water demon left its old home and climbed ashore. It experienced many obstacles and hardships, and it started to walk downstream from the start of Burial River, emulating the act of flood dragons crossing rivers. This had allowed the water demon to break through the barrier and advance to the Dragon Gate Tier.

If the water demon had been allowed to continue walking down the river without obstruction, eventually arriving at the intersection between the river and the great river and finally entering the sea, it could have perhaps formed a golden core and advanced to the Golden Core Tier.

Unexpectedly, however, things took a turn for the worse when he passed Burial River’s water god temple. That damned woman actually became angry at him for killing some mortal humans, and she claimed that she was going to carry out justice for the heavens. In fact, she even went as far as to fight with her life on the line.

The water demon had just advanced to the Dragon Gate Tier at that time, so it was extremely confident and didn’t pay too much heed to the water goddess. There was also a water god in its old home, the renowned lake in the Great Quan Empire, yet this water god was nothing more than a subservient underling for it. The water god would kneel and bow in its presence, and would even offer it tributes every year.

Starting from the section of Burial River outside the water god temple, the two of them continued to fight and travel upstream, unleashing such intensity that the river water spilled more than 150 kilometers past each shore. Fortunately, those were deserted banks of the river with no inhabitants. It was thanks to this that the mortals weren’t affected.

Suirprisingly, the water demon was weaker than the water goddess while fighting underwater, so it was eventually left with no option but to return upstream and recuperate for several dozen years. After stabilizing its cultivation, it had gained the ability to assume human form. Thus, it had transformed into a burly man and walked ashore with many precious treasures.

It personally visited the Green Roving Residence to apologize and seek forgiveness, yet that damned brain-dead woman surprisingly attacked him without so much as saying a single word. The water demon also flared up in violent rage at that time, and both sides unleashed all of their immortal treasures.

The battle was even more violent and ruthless than the first time, and half of the water goddess’ Green Roving Residence was obliterated. Cracks also appeared on her gold statue located in the water god temple. The water demon didn’t fare any better; one of his bonded immortal treasures was damaged, and one of his water-subduing treasures was destroyed. It retreated after suffering a heavy defeat.

For the next two hundred years, it viewed the battle at Green Roving Residence as an utter humiliation. Even though its cultivation base rose explosively after careful planning and earnest cultivation, allowing it to approach the threshold to the Golden Core Tier, it still refused to assume human form for a second time. The water demon vowed that it would only assume human form and swagger onto shore once it shattered that crazy woman’s gold statue and rendered her water god temple completely useless.

As for the shards of her gold statue, those would naturally become a hearty meal for the water demon. After devouring them, it could perhaps advance to the Golden Core Tier without even needing to travel to the sea!

However, the water demon was genuinely no match for Burial River’s water goddess when it fought with her underwater. It never enjoyed an advantage against her, not even once.

After fighting for more than two hundred years, it was quite clear that the damned woman was hellbent on stopping it from traveling any further downstream. Because of this foolish decision that harmed the two of them and benefited no one, the water goddess was also making little progress in refining her gold statue even though she was enjoying so many incense offerings from the mortal world.

Tonight, the water demon unsurprisingly suffered another defeat. It rapidly retreated upstream.

The short woman only scowled in anger and stopped her attacks once she understood that the water demon would rush ashore to kill innocent mortals if she continued to pursue it.

Her iron spear had sunk to the bottom of the river at some time during their intense battle, so she sheathed her saber and sword before diving down to retrieve her favorite weapon. She cursed under her breath, and returned to Green Roving Residence in a flash.

Only then did Zhong Kui appear with Chen Ping’an.

The two of them swam ashore and walked to the water god temple.

To Chen Ping’an’s surprise, there were close to one thousand people standing outside the temple, waiting for it to open so that they could go inside to offer incense. The bottom of the mountain was clogged with carriages and hinnies, while the area outside the temple was bustling with many snack stalls. Add to that the peculiar phenomenon that had taken place upstream of Burial River just then, and everyone was as lively and excited as could be.

Zhong Kui accompanied Chen Ping’an as he walked over to look at those white jade tablets, each of which looked like a bamboo shoot rising up through the soil after spring rain.

Most of the white jade tablets contained prayers for rain, and these were largely erected by past emperors of the Great Quan Empire as well as the local officials. Some jade tablets also contained imperial edicts in which the emperors admitted mistakes and reproached themselves.

Of course, there were also jade tablets erected after successfully praying for and receiving rain, thanking the water god for bestowing rain upon the land. Chen Ping’an skimmed over these few types of jade tablets very quickly.

Zhong Kui had already walked to the very front of the forest jade tablets, and was squatting on the ground and looking at an ancient and severely weathered stone tablet. Only a few dozen words were still legible, and much of the original contents had already been lost.

Chen Ping’an walked and stood beside Zhong Kui. He discovered that the contents of the stone tablet was a poem, yet there was no signature to indicate who had composed this work. Perhaps due to its ancient age and punishment from the elements, only half of the characters still remained on the stone tablet.

Heaven and earth are deaf, the sun and moon are blind… the mountains and rivers are haggard, the grass and trees are withered; the heavens are merry, the people lament their misfortune.

…will be captured and sent to the netherworld.

Manipulating the lightning lord, controlling thunder and lightning; wind and clouds doth rapidly flow and transform in the sky… wields a divine weapon, a drop of water from a golden bottle, weaving through the sky like fabric being made.

…the scorching heat is swept away...[1]

“Can you decipher anything?” Zhong Kui asked.

“I only recognize the characters,” Chen Ping’an replied with a shake of his head.

“Master once said that the poem recorded on this stone tablet is actually a long-lost Daoist cultivation mantra,” Zhong Kui revealed with emotion.

“Then can you decipher anything?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“I only recognize the characters,” Zhong Kui replied in a serious manner.

Chen Ping’an chuckled in response.

The two of them stood up, and they saw that the front of the rain god temple was still overflowing with people. “Thanks to you, I might not be able to offer the first stick of incense anymore…” Zhong Kui grumbled.

However, a sense of helplessness quickly crept into Zhong Kui’s voice as he continued, “Officials and wealthy nobles are definitely waiting at the back door already. That small door will open fifteen to thirty minutes earlier than the main entrance. In other words, the common people can wait here for days and years if they want, but they’ll never be able to offer the first stick of incense unless they go around to the back and convince the temple attendant to personally open the back door for them.”

Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment before saying, “There’s a Buddhist saying in my hometown that goes—refrain from looking outward.”[2]

“Mhm, this saying is excellent,” Zhong Kui remarked with a nod. “Buddhists talk about ‘proper faith,’ and this means to faithfully believe in the proper Dharma. Regarding the matter of offering the first stick of incense, many people in the world have actually misunderstood this concept.

“Offering the first stick of incense doesn’t mean physically entering the temple first to place the first stick of incense in the censer. Rather, it’s just like you said—refrain from looking outward. The first stick of incense refers to the first stick of incense offered by each sincere visitor. The first stick of incense in one’s life, the first stick of incense in a year, the first stick of incense in a month—all of these can be regarded as the first stick of incense.”

“This makes sense,” Chen Ping’an said with a nod.

“Do you think it’s easy to become a noble scholar in a Confucian academy?” Zhong Kui asked with a chuckle. “It requires very profound knowledge.”

“Then why don’t you compose a poem for me?” Chen Ping’an challenged. “The topic can be your thoughts after reading the inscriptions on the rain praying tablet. Literati often talk about composing poems in their travel journals, so why don’t you give it a go as well?”

Zhong Kui gazed up at the moon and replied, “Tonight is suitable for climbing mountains and entering rivers, it’s suitable for visiting the residences of others, and it’s also suitable for visiting deities. However, tonight is not suitable for composing poems.”

Chen Ping’an replied with a cold chuckle.

“Chen Ping’an, you’re being quite insincere now!” Zhong Kui huffed, with his embarrassment turning into mock anger.

He then chuckled and asked, “Do you want to accompany me to Green Roving Residence? It’s going to become a water god palace in the future, and this is an extremely rare case. Few such palaces exist in Parasol Leaf Continent, and I can count all of them on my fingers. If you’re lucky, you might even be able to see Burial River’s water goddess…”

“Didn’t we see her just then?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Zhong Kui slapped his forehead in response. However, this slap also caused a flash of realization to hit him, and he exclaimed, “The fated opportunity! Now that your yin soul is wandering around at night, perhaps your fated opportunity rests in Green Roving Residence and rests with the water goddess!”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and said, “Forget about it. I need to hurry back to my physical body.”

Zhong Kui’s expression was as if he had seen a ghost. There existed someone in the world who was this nonchalant toward fated opportunities?

1. This poem is Praying for Rain written by Bai Yuchan, a Daoist and alchemist from the Southern Song Dynasty. The full poem reads:

Heaven and earth are deaf, the sun and moon are blind; no rain falls, severe droughts are aplenty; the mountains and rivers are haggard, the grass and trees are withered; the heavens are merry, the people lament their misfortune.

Wait for me to ride an immortal crane east; I’ll wake the dragon with a roar, I’ll split the heavens with an ax; the arrogant sun god under the Kui star will be captured, and sent to the netherworld.

Manipulating the lightning lord, controlling thunder and lightning; wind and clouds doth rapidly flow and transform in the sky; the fiery warrior wields a divine weapon, a drop of water from a golden bottle, weaving through the sky like fabric being made. ☜

2. Refrain from looking outward means to not seek external help all the time, which includes praying to deities. ☜