Unsheathed

There was abnormal yin energy and a murderous aura contained within the heavy downpour, and Chen Ping’an had revealed this to the others with a few simple words. But what proved critical in having the Great Marsh Gang and Blusher Hall stop their trivial argument wasn’t Chen Ping’an persuading them against burning bridges and making their cultivation paths narrower, nor was it the Yang Energy Illumination Talisman that he had used. Instead, it was his remark that the immortals from the Golden Osmanthus Temple hadn’t come out to address the situation yet.

This implied that the Golden Osmanthus Temple was either planning first and making a move later, purposely appearing weak to draw their enemies out, or the Daoists there were genuinely weaker than their enemies and could only hide in the temple to avoid any conflict.

No matter which of these two situations was true, the women from the Lofty Sky Nation’s Blusher Hall were unwilling to become involved in a fight between immortals and potentially sacrifice themselves, even if they were acquainted with the old immortal from the Golden Osmanthus Temple.

As for Old Demon Zhu Fengxian who had once caused bloodshed in the cultivation worlds of several nations, he was even more experienced and prudent. He was climbing Azure Waist Mountain in the hopes of building a relationship with the temple for the sake of his granddaughter’s cultivation. The Daoist temple would also gain a prized disciple, so this was simply a case of both parties satisfying their own needs. The Great Marsh Gang would never bow its head to other people, and Zhu Fengxian naturally wasn’t willing to become a lackey for the Golden Osmanthus Temple.

Chen Ping’an returned to his original spot, and Pei Qian appeared like an obsequious lackey as she brought a small stone slab from some unknown place and offered it to Chen Ping’an as a small stool. She squatted on the ground and furiously cleaned the dirt from the stone slab as she looked up and consoled, “It’s okay, Master, you still appeared very elegant and refined. There were only some slight blemishes during the end game, but these blemishes can be ignored and treated as negligible.”

Pei Qian had learned the concept of end game from constantly watching games of Go between Lu Baixiang and other people. In fact, Pei Qian had learned many things through her constant interaction with the four martial artists from the Lotus Flower Blessed Land. For example, she had learned about military formations from Old Man Wei, who had claimed that there was no such thing as single-line formations or dragon gate formations on the battlefield. Rather, formations simply came down to organizing the ranks and making sure that the vertical lines and horizontal lines were adhered to. In the end, it was down to each person’s own ability to kill their enemies amid the chaos.

Pei Qian had also learned some rules about musical instruments and Go from Little Bai, and she had learned how to cook a few wine-accompanying dishes from Zhu Lian. Seeing that Pei Qian always helped and was relatively hard-working, Zhu Lian had rewarded her with a novel about wandering martial artists in the cultivation world. Pei Qian was engrossed by this novel, so much so that she almost forgot to eat and sleep. In addition to this, she had also learned many code phrases pertaining to the cultivation world from Sui Youbian. For example, “This road is mine, and these trees were planted by me. If you want to pass, then pay up!” There was also “Impudent bandit, you dare to block my path and rob me? Eat my spear!” and so on.

Zhang Shanfeng glanced at the thick curtain of rain outside, and he felt slightly anxious as he said in a quiet voice, “This downpour filled with yin energy has been going on for such a long time already. Even Qi refiners at the Sea Observation Tier might not be able to sustain it for such a long time. Of course, this is unless they set up a rain-summoning formation.

“However, if this downpour is genuinely caused by a formation rather than the mystical abilities of Qi refiners, then the amount of money required is so exorbitant that they may as well scatter snowflake coins from the sky. In other words, it’s more likely that this is being orchestrated by a Qi refiner at the Dragon Gate Tier. I wonder what cultivation bases the Daoist priests from the Golden Osmanthus Temple have? Can they deal with this yin rain that’s affecting the fortune of this area?”

Zhang Shanfeng spoke softly, yet Zhu Fengxian and the old woman from Blusher Hall were martial arts grandmasters from the cultivation world, so they could naturally hear him clearly if they concentrated a little. Zhu Fengxian paid no heed to the fact that he was eavesdropping, and he smiled at the old woman and asked, “Since Blusher Hall has such a good relationship with the Golden Osmanthus Temple, I presume that you’re aware of how powerful the temple master’s mystical abilities are?”

The old woman hesitated for a moment before nodding and replying, “It’s said that Temple Master Zhang Guo is two hundred years old, and he is at the Dragon Gate Tier, allowing him to command wind and rain like those flood dragons in the clouds.”

Zhu Fengxian frowned and asked, “A rumor has caused a huge stir in the cultivation world recently. They say Zhang Guo cultivated in seclusion for several decades and when he came out, he had already become a legendary terrestrial immortal. Is this not the case?”

The old woman smiled bitterly and replied, “Just how paramount and transcendent will one become after forming a golden core and becoming an earth immortal? Will they still need to recruit disciples? They can simply focus on cultivation and pursue the Great Dao. Old Gang Leader Zhu, if you became an earth immortal, would you still be willing to pick up money from a small and muddy pond? Even if there’s genuine gold and silver, things that people from the cultivation world value and would bend down to collect. Would immortals from the mountains care about these things?

“Of course, it’s actually true that Temple Master Zhang Guo has the potential to become an earth immortal. You don’t need to doubt that, it’s only a matter of time. Your granddaughter will definitely have a bright future if she becomes a disciple of Temple Master Zhang Guo and cultivates in the Golden Osmanthus Temple.”

Zhu Fengxian nodded in understanding, with his expression also becoming slightly more amiable.

As a seventh-tier martial artist, Zhu Fengxian would feel slight apprehension toward Qi refiners at the Dragon Gate Tier. However, he wouldn’t exactly fear them. Several Abode Tier and Sea Observation Tier Qi refiners had already died at his hands.

However, Zhu Fengxian was willing to show respect toward a Dragon Gate Tier Daoist priest who had the potential to become a Golden Core Tier earth immortal in the future. Such a person naturally had the competence to be his granddaughter’s Dao mentor.

The Great Marsh Gang would definitely instruct someone to secretly travel to Azure Waist Mountain’s Golden Osmanthus Temple to give them some offerings of silver every year.

Zhang Shanfeng sighed in his mind. Those outside the mountains naturally didn’t understand those from the mountains. Old Gang Leader Zhu Fengxian and the old woman from Blusher Hall both had very idealistic impressions of immortals from the mountains, viewing them as paramount beings who didn’t defile themselves with impure mortal matters. However, what was so special about Golden Core Tier earth immortals? They also needed to work diligently to accumulate wealth. After all, there was nothing quite like cultivation when it came to spending money.

Of course, with the exception of vagrant cultivators who were accustomed to being alone, most earth immortals who owned a mountain or a cave abode wouldn’t need to concern themselves with trivial mortal matters. They would naturally have subordinates to deal with these things, and they simply needed to focus on cultivation. In this sense, the old woman from Blusher Hall was half-correct with her guess.

At this moment, thunder and lightning suddenly boomed through the depths of the mountain covered by the curtain of rain in the distance, causing the earth to tremble and the wind and rain to change directions. One after another, several deafening howls tore through the mountain. It was as if a lion were roaring in rage.

However, this peculiar phenomenon only lasted for a brief moment. Once again, there was only the sound of howling wind and lashing rain between heaven and earth

Approximately fifteen minutes later, Sui Youbian, Zhu Lian, and Zhu Fengxian looked up and peered outside the cave at almost exactly the same time.

Zhu Fengxian’s expression remained unchanged, yet he couldn’t help but immediately tense up.

Among the young esteemed immortal’s group of subordinates, two of them had intuition no less sharp than his?

One had to realize that Zhu Fengxian was one of the four superior grandmasters of the Azure Phoenix Nation, Fortune Mountain Nation, and Lofty Sky Nation. His fight with an immortal thirty years ago had damaged the foundation of his Martial Dao, and he was still yet to return to his peak even after recuperating for thirty years. This resulted in him becoming the weakest of the four superior grandmasters. But a sickly tiger was still a tiger, after all, and Zhu Fengxian was far from being in dire straits. He had simply gone from second to fourth, and to everyone else besides the three people above, he was a paramount existence.

With grand events pertaining to Buddhism and Daoism being hosted in this region three years in a row, it was indeed the case that many cultivators had been drawn out from their hiding. But how many top-notch ones could there be among them? There were indeed some so-called lesser grandmasters, but these people were nothing more than weak seventh-tier martial artists with unstable cultivation bases. In a real battle, these people would barely be able to take a few punches from Zhu Fengxian and the other superior grandmasters.

So how had so many powerful elites appeared at once in this chance encounter in the mountains? Apart from the stunningly beautiful woman with a sword on her back and the seemingly amiable old man with a hunched back, there was also the dignified and imposing man with a saber as well as that taciturn but powerful-looking man. These two were clearly extremely capable elites from the cultivation world as well. This was the only reason Zhu Fengxian had been impressed by Chen Ping’an right from the very beginning.

Clouds only yielded to dragons and wind only submitted to tigers, so if the young esteemed immortal wasn’t strong enough, how could he have possibly won over such grandmasters?

The thundering rain gradually subsided.

Walking through the pouring rain, several young Daoist priests from the Golden Osmanthus Temple arrived outside the stone cave. The leader of the group was a priest with a jade-like face and a mesmerizing smile.

Apart from their own umbrellas, the priests standing behind him were also carrying a bundle of oil-paper umbrellas in their arms. Only the Daoist priest standing in front didn’t have anything else in his hands, appearing especially graceful and dignified as he closed his umbrella and walked inside the stone cave. However, his aura was different from that of ordinary young masters from wealthy clans.

The Daoist priest looked at the people inside the cave and said with a faint smile, “There are sinister people causing trouble and attempting to ruin the fortune of the Golden Osmanthus Temple. But there’s no need to panic. The temple master and two of his good friends from afar have already retracted their mystical abilities. You can rest assured and ascend the mountain with me. The sinister people have already been caught and punished, and not a single one of them managed to escape.”

The old woman from Blusher Hall stole a glance at Qingcheng, unable to suppress the excitement in her eyes. When hearing the deafening thunder and lightning just then, the old woman had already been speculating in hope and feeling extremely moved. Blusher Hall had high hopes for Qingcheng, and it was extremely unlikely that any further accidents would occur once she managed to become a disciple of the Golden Osmanthus Temple.

Hearing the handsome Daoist priest confirm that two good friends of the temple master had come from afar to help, the old woman couldn’t help but feel mixed emotions upon recalling the immortal portrait cherished by the old ancestor of Blusher Hall. Before passing away, the old ancestor had still asked the young her and another senior sister of hers to hold the two sides of the picture scroll and unfurl it, allowing her to gaze upon the appearance of that man one final time.

It was because that immortal man had instructed someone to deliver a message to Blusher Hall that they were going to such great lengths to guard Qingcheng and bring her to the Golden Osmanthus Temple to cultivate. One hundred or so years had passed, and this was the first time that he had actively made contact with Blusher Hall. Thus, everyone in Blusher Hall had been absolutely delighted.

The handsome Daoist priest who looked ethereal and transcendent smiled and continued, “The canopies of these umbrellas are normal oil paper, but the shafts are special; they’re made of osmanthus branches infused with spiritual energy by seniors in the temple. These umbrellas can block demonic wind and murderous rain, so you don’t need to worry about being attacked by sinister energy even if you are crossing mountains and rivers, or walking through graveyards at night by yourselves. Yin entities will naturally retreat and flee far away when they come across these umbrellas. The temple master was worried that there would be family members among your forces who have never practiced martial arts, so he especially asked me to come down the mountain to hand you these umbrellas.”

He gave away a dozen or so oil-paper umbrellas.

A little Daoist priest with full lips and sparkling teeth noticef Pei Qian straight away, as she seemed to be the same age as him. When the handsome Daoist priest instructed them to give the umbrellas out, he immediately ran toward the tanned little girl, giving her an umbrella with a wide smile.

Pei Qian didn’t care for these crappy umbrellas from the Golden Osmanthus Daoist Temple, but she couldn’t turn it down in a rude manner because Chen Ping’an was standing right next to her. She needed to abide by the rules set by her master. Thus, she politely declined the little Daoist priest’s offer before earnestly thanking him for asking.

The little Daoist priest was slightly worried, and he said that one shouldn’t underestimate the rain filled with yin energy. This was especially the case for people with frail bodies and fragile fortunes, as being drenched by this rain would very likely leave them with deep-rooted illnesses. At that time, even medicine wouldn’t be able to cure them. Moreover, the temple was lending them these umbrellas for free, so there was no reason not to accept them and use them. In any case, these oil-paper umbrellas with osmanthus branch shafts weren’t heavy at all.

Pei Qian was supremely annoyed at the fact that she couldn’t roll her eyes.

Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but chuckle as he looked at the adorable little Daoist priest explaining the dangers of this downpour to Pei Qian with a serious expression. He patted Pei Qian’s head and told her to accept the oil-paper umbrella. He then looked at the handsome Daoist priest and asked, “Senior Daoist Priest, I’ve heard that your esteemed temple is opening its doors to recruit disciples right now. My companions and I have arrived here by chance, so would we be able to visit the temple atop the mountain to witness this grand ceremony?”

The handsome Daoist priest nodded and replied with a smile, “Of course you can visit and attend the ceremony. When you reach the top of Azure Waist Mountain, you simply need to collect a small booklet and keep in mind the rules and taboos detailed inside it.”

The little Daoist priest immediately turned to the handsome Daoist priest and shouted, “Junior Uncle, I’ve already memorized everything in the booklet. Maybe I can explain it to this young master instead?”

The handsome Daoist priest smiled faintly and replied, “Then you can accompany this young master up the mountain if he’s willing to listen to your explanations.”

Chen Ping’an cupped his fists, smiled, and said, “Thank you, Senior Daoist Priest, and thank you in advance, Little Daoist Priest.”

Chen Ping’an turned around and looked at Xu Yuanxia and Zhang Shanfeng, and both of them nodded lightly in response, signaling that it was fine to climb the mountain and enter the Daoist temple.