Unsheathed

Following Li Er’s visit, the situation in Old Dragon City was clarified even further. Even though he had only paid a brief visit to Dust Medicinal Shop, the fact that a tenth tier martial artist had visited the shop at all was a resounding statement in itself.

Perhaps the Sun, Ding, Fang, and Hou Clans were still oblivious to this, but everything that was going to unfold from this point onward was essentially already decided. The forces and resources of Old Dragon City would begin moving northward, getting closer and closer to the army of the Great Li Empire, which had already established itself in the central region of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

In contrast, the Fu Clan, the Fan Clan, and everyone in Dust Medicinal Shop was already fully aware of this.

Not long after Li Er departed, some people from the Fan Clan came to the shop to wish everyone a happy new year, all of them familiar faces for Chen Ping’an. Of course, Fan Junmao and Fan Er had come to visit, and they were accompanied by Aunt Gui from Osmanthus Island and her only direct disciple, Jin Su, the osmanthus girl who had served Chen Ping’an during his time on the Osmanthus Island.

There was also the Golden Core Tier swordsman Ma Zhi, who had trained Chen Ping’an in the way of the sword for some time.

Aunt Gui very rarely set foot ashore Old Dragon City. Even though Osmanthus Island traveled back and forth between Old Dragon City and Stalactite Mountain twice every year, many people in the Fan Clan’s ancestral hall had never even seen her once.

The old man with the title of Foot-Long Spear had thought that this was just going to be another uneventful day as usual, and he was saddened by the thought that perhaps he wouldn’t even be able to catch a glimpse of Sui Youbian, so he was delighted to see so many women visiting the shop. He immediately began making himself useful, attending to the women diligently, bringing them beverages and snacks, and it was almost as if he had become an employee of the shop.

After making her way into the shop, Aunt Gui took a glance at the old man, who just so happened to look at her at the same time, and their eyes met momentarily. Aunt Gui gave him a polite smile before looking away again. In the eyes of the old man, Aunt Gui’s looks weren’t particularly exceptional, but she was a very kind and elegant woman, the type that would be perfect as a wife and a mother.

It was no wonder that Jiang Shangzhen’s eldest son had used his ties with Jade Tablet Sect to pressure her, hoping to purchase Osmanthus Island that traveled back and forth between Old Dragon City and Stalactite Mountain from the Fan Clan.

Aunt Gui was unable to ascertain the old man’s cultivation base, but her appraisal of him was that he possessed an immaculate body, a vivacious spirit, and a supple soul. If he was truly only an earth immortal at the moment, then he surely possessed the potential to reach the Upper Five Tiers in the future.

Even among earth immortals, there were vast disparities in power and aptitude.

Chen Ping’an made his way into the shop to greet Aunt Gui in person. He had always been quite grateful to her, and it had nothing to do with her status or cultivation base.

On the way to Stalactite Mountain, Chen Ping’an had experienced a moment of empty-mindedness during the crisis that he had suffered while passing through the Flood Dragon Trench. It was a moment in which Chen Ping’an felt as if he could see into the hearts of all those around him, and it caught him completely off guard, making him feel as if this entire world was filled with evil and ill intent.

After that, he had fallen into a slight depression in his courtyard. During that dark period, he could only recall two sources of warmth and light in his life, the first of which was the artist with the Fan surname, who had drawn three paintings for him, and the second one was Aunt Gui, who was able to maintain a placid mental state even after witnessing so many facets of the world.

Fan Er excused himself to pay a visit to Zheng Dafeng’s room, only to be disappointed to find that the portrait of Sui Youbian was no longer there.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an was chatting with Aunt Gui and the others in the guest hall outside.

Inside his room, Zheng Dafeng cleared his throat as he said in a serious manner, “The cultivation of the mind is just as important as the training of the body, so don’t go doing such unscrupulous things anymore.”

Fan Er was initially rather perplexed by Zheng Dafeng’s serious demeanor, but a look of realization then immediately appeared on his face, following which he feigned an expression of shame and remorse as he said, “My artist is also partially to blame for this. My original intention was for him to create a painting of a beautiful woman in the hope that it would put you in a better mood.

“I know that you’ve always greatly admired Celestial Maiden Sui, and I’ve always wanted to do something for you as your disciple, so I gave my artist a description of Celestial Maiden Sui’s stunning beauty in the hope that he would paint a flattering portrait of her…”

Zheng Dafeng was very pleased at how wise his disciple had become.

As it turned out, Sui Youbian had arrived at the entrance of Zheng Dafeng’s room at some point, and she sneered, “That artist of your Fan Clan must truly be a miracle-worker to have painted such an accurate portrait of me with just a verbal description from you.”

Jin Su’s brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

Even though she had no romantic feelings for Fan Er, he was still the undisputed heir to the leader of the Fan Clan, and Osmanthus Island was technically already under his ownership. According to Chen Ping’an, Sui Youbian was a follower of his.

To put it in a more flattering light, she was like a guest elder, but to put it more frankly, she was essentially just a servant, and in Jin Su’s eyes, it was very unbecoming of a servant like her to be speaking to Fan Er like this. However, given all of the recent unrest in Old Dragon City, Aunt Gui had warned her to be very careful with her words and actions.

Hence, even though she was rather displeased by Sui Youbian’s disrespectful display, she didn’t say anything. Even though she was Aunt Gui’s only disciple, she was well aware that there was no place for her to speak in this gathering.

Hence, she looked away from Sui Youbian and returned her attention to Chen Ping’an.

It hadn’t been all that long since they last met, but in her eyes, Chen Ping’an had undergone a drastic transformation. He was no longer the little hillbilly drunkard that he once was. All of the childish immaturity about him had completely faded away, and it had been replaced by a type of… calmness and tranquility.

At this moment, he was dressed in a white robe with a white jade hairpin in his hair, and that familiar red wine gourd was still strapped to his waist. He had become a lot taller, and was seated in a very formal manner, yet somehow didn’t appear rigid at all. He liked to establish eye contact with those that he was speaking to, and he constantly wore a relaxed and earnest smile.

Jin Su then noticed the dark-skinned little girl standing beside Chen Ping’an. She had a pair of very large eyes that were quickly darting from side to side, sneaking furtive glances back and forth between Jin Su and Aunt Gui.

Jin Su gave her a warm smile, and Pei Qian responded in kind.

From Pei Qian’s perspective, all of these beautiful big sisters, including the likes of Yao Jin and Su Youbian, had bulging money pouches. According to Zheng Dafeng, there existed a type of spirit that was very fond of moving wealth around, and Pei Qian felt like she was a human embodiment of such a spirit.

Jin Su had no idea that she was going to encounter a little girl here, so she didn’t bring any New Year’s money with her. In contrast, Aunt Gui was much better prepared, bringing out an intricately stitched little perfume sachet. The perfume sachet was giving off wisps of white spiritual energy, and faint glimmers of green light could be seen flashing within it. On top of that, it was giving off a fragrant aroma, and it was clear that it was no ordinary perfume sachet.

Chen Ping’an was immediately able to guess that the sachet most likely contained a bonded osmanthus leaf from the ancestral tree on Osmanthus Island, and he immediately refused the gift. Pei Qian had become very observant at this point, and she could tell that Chen Ping’an didn’t want her to accept this gift, so she shook her head and turned it down as well.

Aunt Gui insisted on giving the perfume sachet to Pei Qian as a first time meeting gift, and in the end, Chen Ping’an had no choice but to relent and tell her to accept the gift. Of course, the perfume sachet was going to be in his possession for safekeeping purposes. Pei Qian accepted the perfume sachet respectfully with both hands from Aunt Gui, then extended a bow of gratitude before wishing Aunt Gui good health and eternal youth.

Aunt Gui was very pleased with her impeccable etiquette, and she patted Pei Qian on her little head as she told her about how Chen Ping’an already had a courtyard under his name on Osmanthus Island, and that she wanted to also give Pei Qian a little vacant courtyard on the ship by the name of the Toad Palace.

Pei Qian was truly startled by this gesture.

She’s giving me an entire house? Could it be that all of the older women under the heavens are extremely generous?

“Aunt Gui, I can’t accept this. It’s far too much,” Chen Ping’an said with a wry smile.

“I’m giving the courtyard to Pei Qian, what does it have to do with you?” Aunt Gui countered with a dismissive expression.

Chen Ping’an cleared his throat, then called out in a stern voice, “Pei Qian!”

Pei Qian immediately stood up straight and declared in a tender voice, “A master for a day, a father for a lifetime. The orders of my master cannot be disobeyed. Otherwise, I’ll be turning my back on the virtues of loyalty and filial piety!”

“Did you teach her that?” Aunt Gui asked as she turned to Chen Ping’an with an amused expression.

Chen Ping’an was feeling thoroughly embarrassed as he replied, “She must’ve learned this herself from all the books I’ve been making her transcribe every day.”

“It’s all because you taught me well, Master!” Pei Qian flattered, only to receive a knock on her head for her efforts.

Pei Qian immediately clasped her with a confused and indignant look on her face, wondering what she had done wrong.

After escorting Aunt Gui and the others out of the alley, Chen Ping’an strode along side by side with Ma Zhi, asking him some questions about sword nurturing and sword refinement, and Ma Zhi was happy to pass on his knowledge.

On the ninth day of the first month, it was customary for all of the households of Old Dragon City to prepare flowers, candles, and vegetarian dishes to pray to the heavens for good fortune in places that aren’t covered by any shelter overhead, such as skywells and on the corners of streets.

Even though there were no true residents of Old Dragon City in Dust Medicinal Shop, Zheng Dafeng observed this tradition even more diligently than the citizens of Old Dragon City. He hadn’t even prepared much for the turn of the year, but on this day, he personally prepared the flowers, candles, and fruits, then cooked several vegetarian dishes himself.

He set up three incense tables of varying heights in the skywell of the backyard, then lit three sticks of incense before kneeling down three times and kowtowing nine times. These were less formalities than what was observed by emperors when worshiping the heavens, but far beyond the formalities expected of the average person for the same occasion.

The Zhao Clan yin soul also took this very seriously, and even though he didn’t offer up any incense, he observed the formalities of kneeling and kowtowing just as diligently as Zheng Dafeng did.

Pei Qian was watching the two of them with an intrigued look in her eyes, while Chen Ping’an only took a single glance before looking away. This concerned certain secrets of Zheng Dafeng and the yin soul, and even though Zheng Dafeng hadn’t made any effort to hide this from Chen Ping’an, it would’ve been rude and intrusive for Chen Ping’an to stare.

On this day, Chen Ping’an was serving as the medicinal shop’s temporary shopkeeper and accountant as usual. He had already made the preparations required to refine his water seal, and so he could go up to the sea of clouds again soon.

As for exactly which pseudo-celestial tool Fu Qi would be offering up, that was something that he was very eager to see.

Ultimately, it was Du Mao and Parasol Leaf Sect’s actions that had implicated the emperor of the Great Li Empire. The emperor of the Great Li Empire naturally wasn’t going to try and make enemies out of Chen Ping’an and Zheng Dafeng, but he had clearly underestimated the sacrifice required for an Ascension Tier cultivator to break the rules and leave their sect.

Hence, no matter how many gold essence copper coins were offered up by the emperor of the Great Li Empire, Chen Ping’an would always feel justified in demanding more.

The pouch of gold essence copper coins given to him by Zheng Dafeng way back in the day had already been “devoured” by the Golden Sweet Wine robe. The jewel clasped in the mouth of the golden dragon embroidered onto the center of the robe was becoming more and more abundant with spiritual energy, and not only had the robe been restored to brand new condition, it had definitely been enhanced in the process.

According to the Zhao Clan yin soul, as long as Chen Ping’an could continue to feed it more gold essence copper coins, the robe would definitely be able to become a pseudo-celestial tool.

However, Chen Ping’an was rather reluctant to go that far. Gold essence copper coins were quite difficult to come by, and on top of that, Zheng Dafeng had told him that once he reached the Three Mind Tempering Tiers, the immortal artifacts in his possession would only become less and less useful, to the point that they might become hindrances.

On the eleventh day of the first month, all of the households of Old Dragon City observed another tradition, one that mandated that no stone tools, including things like mills and mortars and pestles, could be used on this day.

At this point, Pei Qian had already learned to complete her transcriptions earlier every day instead of stalling until it was right before bedtime. This was most likely a result of Chen Ping’an’s daily supervision of her as she made her transcriptions.

On this day, as Pei Qian was making her transcriptions, she suddenly asked Chen Ping’an a question. The question pertained to a passage in a book, which stated that one shouldn’t eat fish or kill birds during spring, leading her to wonder if that meant that one shouldn’t go fishing in spring. [1]

Chen Ping’an didn’t immediately answer her question. Instead, he urged Pei Qian to continue making her transcriptions, and only after she was done did Chen Ping’an give her an answer. He told her that this was a saying that encouraged people to be kind to the world around them. However, if one had to work hard just to survive, then it would be foolish of them to abide by such mantras that should only apply to those in more privileged positions.

If one didn’t have to worry about food for survival, then they could abide by this saying, but at the same time, it would be incorrect of them to reprimand a starving person for catching fish and birds to fill their belly during spring. Only by displaying sympathy and understanding of other humans could one hope to develop empathy for the entire world, so even though this was saying laid out in a book, it was still only applicable under certain circumstances.

Pei Qian nodded in response, telling Chen Ping’an that she felt like she understood what he had told her.

“It’s fine even if you don’t understand. Just remember what I’ve said and strive to understand it at a later date,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile.

“I was lying to you just now, I didn’t understand at all,” Pei Qian revealed with a smile of her own, receiving another knock on the head for her honesty.

It was another peaceful day at Dust Medicinal Shop, and Pei Qian was watching Chen Ping’an practice his six-step walking meditation in the courtyard.

All of a sudden, Chen Ping’an stopped in his tracks, then instructed Pei Qian to come into the shop with him before asking the Zhao Clan yin soul to create an isolated small world for the two of them.

Only then did he begin teaching Pei Qian the mantra, Qi circulation route, and the changes of pace of the Eighteen Stops Technique. He then pulled out a diagram depicting a human figure with all of its acupoints marked out before pointing out the relevant acupoints to Pei Qian one by one.

This was the version of the Eighteen Stops Technique that had been altered by A’Liang.

Out of all of the younger generation of swordsmen in the Sword Qi Great Wall, only a small group of people, including Ning Yao, had learned the version of the Eighteen Stops Technique that had been refined by A’Liang.

Pei Qian clearly wasn’t going to be able to endure the physical rigors of martial arts training, so Chen Ping’an decided to teach her the Eighteen Stops Technique, which wasn’t that hard on the body and mainly depended on one’s Sword Dao cultivation aptitude. As for how far she would be able to go down this path, Chen Ping’an didn’t have any expectations at all.

Pei Qian’s memory was even better than Chen Ping’an’s; this was something that the four picture scroll martial artists had realized long ago.

Hence, Chen Ping’an only showed her everything twice before sending her away with the diagram to study it on her own.

That same day, at about dusk, Pei Qian approached Chen Ping’an with a guilty expression, telling him that she wasn’t cut out for cultivation, after all. Even after practicing for so long, she was only able to get her sword qi to circulate to the third stop, and she was unable to make any further progress beyond that point.

Chen Ping’an gave her another knock on the head as he sternly scolded her, “Don’t be overly ambitious when trying to learn something! Make sure to take things one step at a time!”

Pei Qian gave an affirmative response before rushing back to her room to continue “playing with fire.”

She was already able to control that small current of fire, making it go wherever she wanted. It was able to race through her acupoints and meridians, and it was extremely obedient. At the moment, it was unable to make the fourth stop, but Pei Qian didn’t dwell on that and simply directed the current of fire to go and play in some other acupoints.

She had no idea how incredibly inferior Chen Ping’an felt when he compared his progress with hers.

On the eleventh day of the first month, Dust Medicinal Shop welcomed a rare guest.

It was Huang Ting of Peace and Tranquility Mountain.

When she appeared, she spotted a certain old man squatting at the entrance of the shop and snacking on sunflower seeds.

She was immediately rooted to the spot.

The old man blinked urgently at her, clearly not wanting her to blow his cover, so she could only pretend to not know him, but internally, she was screaming.

In terms of seniority, the old man ranked even higher than the old Heavenly Lord of Peace and Tranquility Mountain; in fact, only Du Mao could compared to him.

As for cultivation base… Du Mao had met his doom, and his Great Dao had completely collapsed, so it was difficult to say whether even his soul still remained. With that, the old man had become the most powerful cultivator on Parasol Leaf Continent.

Jade Tablet Sect hadn’t done anything, yet the status of the number one cultivating sect on Parasol Leaf Continent had fallen onto its lap, and as the sect leader, the old man’s status had naturally been even further elevated.

He was truly a lucky old man.

Huang Ting’s impression of the old man was quite neutral. After all, their personalities were so vastly different from each other’s that it was difficult for her to form any concrete opinions of him.

Chen Ping’an was very surprised by her visit, but she declared in a direct and straightforward manner, “By following some leads and my intuition, I found an ancient underground palace deep in an earth vein, and I was eventually able to find that Dragon Locking Platform inside, but that treacherous old ape was still nowhere to be found. It’s as if he’s vanished from Majestic World altogether.

“After that, I received a flying sword letter from our sect leader, telling me that there was no need to continue my search, so I returned to the sect right away. After that, we received that ancestral hall jade tablet from you. Our sect leader, Great Subduing Academy, and a Naturalist cultivator collectively arrived at the conclusion that the culprit behind the crisis in the central region of Parasol Leaf Continent was none other than that Nascent Tier cultivator from our Peace and Tranquility Mountain, the one who perished while in possession of that hibiscus dao hat.

“Our Peace and Tranquility Mountain is naturally extremely embarrassed by this, and our sect leader is too ashamed to come and see you, so he asked me to make a trip to Old Dragon City in the hope that I would be able to meet you before you left. I’ve come here with the sole purpose of delivering an apology to you.

“We suffered severe losses during the crisis, so we really don’t have any wealth to spare at the moment. Our sect leader wanted to give you some compensation, but I convinced him not to, so if you want to blame someone, then blame me, but don’t denounce our sect for being stingy. Under normal circumstances, we would never do something like this.”

A wry smile appeared on Huang Ting’s face as she continued, “Our sect has suffered extremely severe casualties in the process of hunting down all of the demonic beings that were set free from the well prison.”

“I can imagine,” Chen Ping’an replied with a heavy heart.

A smile then suddenly appeared on Huang Ting’s face as she continued, “Honestly, I should count our Peace and Tranquility Mountain fortunate compared to Parasol Leaf Sect. Somehow, they incurred the wrath of an almighty sword immortal that cut down Du Mao right as he was trying to ascend.

“Not long after that, a tenth-tier martial artist stormed all the way from the foot of their ancestral mountain to its summit and smashed their ancestral hall to bits. In the process, he only bothered to evade the attacks from a few of Parasol Leaf Sect’s Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators, while the attacks from all of the sect’s other cultivators simply bounced off his skin!

“I thoroughly enjoyed watching him, and Jiang Shangzhen of Jade Tablet Sect was even more ecstatic. In fact, he even went as far as to arrange for a ship to hover directly above Parasol Leaf Sect, and he held a celebratory banquet on the ship as he watched the tenth-tier cultivator make his way up the mountain.”

Chen Ping’an hurriedly took a sip of wine to help himself suppress his own astonishment.

Meanwhile, Zheng Dafeng, Zhu Lian, and the old man were all sneaking furtive glances at Huang Ting.

In terms of looks, Huang Ting was undisputedly one of the most stunning women of Majestic World, superior even to the likes of Sui Youbian, Fan Junmao, and Jin Su.

Chen Ping’an asked Huang Ting what her plans were from here onward, to which she replied that her original intention was to explore Middle Earth Divine Continent, but her sect leader sternly forbade her from going there, threatening to hang himself if she were to go against him.

Instead, he limited her options to only Eastern Treasured Vial Continent and Northern Complete Reed Continent. Huang Ting was very honest and forthright, telling Chen Ping’an that Eastern Treasured Vial Continent was simply too small for her tastes.

In contrast, Northern Complete Reed Continent was teeming with swordsmen, making it a perfect place for her to hone her swordsmanship, and perhaps she would even be able to make a breakthrough to the Unpolished Jade Tier there. She was determined not to let Wei Jin put all of the swordsmen of Parasol Leaf Continent to shame.

Huang Ting was not one to waste time, and after her conversation with Chen Ping’an drew to a conclusion, she immediately prepared to depart.

However, as she did so, she just so happened to spot Pei Qian practicing her swordsmanship in the yard. Peace and Tranquility Mountain still owed Chen Ping’an a massive favor, so after learning that Pei Qian was Chen Ping’an’s “first-ever disciple,” she asked Pei Qian if she wanted to learn the fastest sword and saber techniques on Parasol Leaf Continent.

Pei Qian asked her if it was going to hurt, to which Huang Ting erupted into laughter and assured her that it wouldn’t.

Pei Qian turned to Chen Ping’an with an inquisitive look in her eyes, and the latter gave her a smile and a nod.

Hence, Huang Ting stayed an extra day to teach Pei Qian a set of sword techniques and a saber technique, namely the White Ape Sword-Carrying Technique and the White Ape Saber-Wielding Technique.

Prior to her departure, she patted Pei Qian on her little head, then reached out to squeeze her cheek while shaking her head with a forlorn expression.

“You’re such a smart girl, it’s a pity that you’re so depressing to look at.”

Pei Qian was absolutely distraught after hearing this, and she was in a sour mood the entire day.

Even after plastering the yellow paper talisman to her own forehead, she was still feeling very sad and glum.

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but be reminded of Li Baoping as he looked at Pei Qian.

————

In the eyes of everyone in Mountain Cliff Academy, Li Baoping was a rather strange little girl. Every day, she would rush around like a cat on a hot tin roof with a little bamboo bookcase on her back, and she would go to her classes on her own, and leave on her own as well. She was always either climbing trees, mountains, and buildings, or squatting down by the lake to stare at the fish, gawking blankly at them as they swam through the water.

Whenever the opportunity arose, she would leave the academy to wander aimlessly through the streets and alleys of the capital city. No matter where she went in or out of the academy, she was always on her own, cutting a rather lonesome figure from the perspective of bystanders.

Despite her erratic nature, she was a very polite little girl. Whenever she encountered any of the teachers of the academy, she would always come to an abrupt halt, then extend a respectful bow and greeting before rushing away again like the wind.

In the beginning, those teachers would stop and return her greeting, but by the time they opened their mouths to speak, she would already be long gone. Over time, they grew accustomed to this, and they would merely smile and shake their heads in response to her respectful greetings, no longer bothering to stop and try to speak to her.

Li Baoping felt like she was having a decent time in Mountain Cliff Academy.

She very rarely saw Li Huai and Lin Shouyi, as was the case with Yu Lu and Xie Xie, and even if she did meet them, there wasn’t much to say between them.

She no longer regarded these matters with as much importance as before ever since her conversation with Cui Dongshan on that tree branch on the mountain summit.

They didn’t miss Chen Ping’an much anymore, but that didn’t matter in her eyes. She would just have to miss him even more to make up for them.

The days passed by one after another, and before long, the first month of the year was about to go by.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, Li Baoping looked at all of the red lanterns that had been hung up, and she began to miss her father, her mother, her grandpa, her brothers, and her home.

Of course, she also missed her junior uncle.

It had been a very long time since her junior uncle had last sent a letter to the academy, and that was a rather depressing thought for her.

1. Spring is typically the season when many animals give birth to offspring, so many fish will be carrying eggs, and many birds will be caring for hatchlings, so it’s best not to kill them from both a humanitarian and sustainability perspective. ☜