Unsheathed

Cui Dongshan wiped away his tears after landing on the ground. He then jogged over and lamented, “Master, you must have had a difficult time camping in the wilderness while traveling more than a million kilometers through the world. You must have suffered far too much. Yet, as your disciple, I was unable to accompany you and make life easier for you. I deserve to be punished… I truly deserve to be punished…!”

Lu Baixiang immediately understood the situation. He remembered that Chen Ping’an had once mentioned something about an unofficial disciple who was seeking knowledge in the Great Sui Nation’s Mountain Cliff Academy. This unofficial disciple of his was very good at playing Go, so Chen Ping’an had told Lu Baixiang that he could play Go with this person if he had an opportunity in the future.

Chen Ping’an returned inside and sat down at the dining table. Pei Qian, who still had the yellow paper talisman stuck to her forehead, hesitated for a moment before vacating her seat and walking over to sit next to Sui Youbian.

Cui Dongshan strode inside, yet he didn’t sit down next to Chen Ping’an. Instead, he first went to the kitchen to grab himself a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. Afterward, he chose to sit down next to Lu Baixiang.

He was just about to grab a piece of fermented bean curd to go with his congee, yet he suddenly put his chopsticks down and sighed, “My heart aches so much that I can’t bring myself to eat.”

Chen Ping’an cut to the chase and asked, “Did you make your way over because you read that letter that I sent to Li Baoping? But why are you coming to the Azure Phoenix Nation? After all, I was always planning to visit Mountain Cliff Academy to look for you guys. Perhaps you’re here for the debate between Buddhism and Daoism?”

Cui Dongshan smiled and replied, “That debate is nothing more than a bunch of little chicks fighting for food—there’s nothing interesting about it. I’m afraid that I might accidentally slip up and…”

Under the watchful gazes of everyone, the boastful young immortal suddenly slapped himself and scolded, “Will you die if you don’t boast?!”

Chen Ping’an didn’t ask anything else, so Cui Dongshan also fell silent as he started to eat. His chopsticks became a blur, and it was clear that he was famished.

After breakfast, Zhu Lian and Pei Qian worked together to clean the dishes and wipe the table. Cui Dongshan asked the hunchbacked old man whether he needed any help, and Zhu Lian politely replied that everything was under control. Cui Dongshan nodded and left the dining room with Chen Ping’an, casually walking toward the courtyard with a skywell.

Lu Baixiang turned to Cui Dongshan and asked, “Do you mind playing a game of Go when you’re free?”

Cui Dongshan didn’t even bother to turn around as he waved a hand dismissively and replied, “I don’t know how to play Go.”

Everyone felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from their shoulders when he finally disappeared from view.

Zhu Lian was standing at the entrance of the kitchen and drying his hands. He looked toward Wei Xian, who was sitting on the steps, and asked with a smile, “What are your thoughts?”

“I see a large fish in a deep river,” Wei Xian replied in a calm voice.

Meanwhile, Lu Baixiang turned to Sui Youbian and asked, “Do you think this person views me as too unskilled to play Go with him, or do you think he’s too afraid to make a fool of himself?”

Sui Youbian dodged the question and responded, “His physical body is quite strange.”

Pei Qian was poking her head outside the door to observe the situation in the courtyard, as if she was trying to hide from that handsome young boy in elegant white robes. It was as if she feared that he would suddenly dash over from the corridor in the blink of an eye.

By the looks of it, she was genuinely very afraid of Cui Dongshan.

They had only eaten a single meal together, yet Pei Qian already viewed Cui Dongshan as if he were a ferocious beast.

Chen Ping’an strolled around the alleys of the mountain village with Cui Dongshan, walking along the smooth and mirror-like paths paved from bluestone slabs. Cui Dongshan obediently walked behind Chen Ping’an, and the master and disciple appeared like two white sparrows as they walked between the tall walls of the slightly dim alley with a bluestone path.

Then Cui Dongshan quickened his pace and walked next to Chen Ping’an, holding one hand behind his back and slapping the wall with his other hand as he said quietly, “Master, I heard that you obtained the yang body of Du Mao, that Ascension Tier cultivator. Is that right? This yang body is equivalent to the physical body of an Immortal Tier cultivator, and its toughness is able to rival that of ninth-tier martial artists. Not to mention, Du Mao has already tempered and refined this yang body into something like a small world. In other words, whoever occupies this body has a guaranteed path to the Upper Five Tiers.”

Chen Ping’an raised an eyebrow. “You heard? Heard from whom exactly?”

Cui Dongshan smiled faintly and replied, “Those from the mountains naturally have their clever ways, and your disciple naturally has his own.”

“You want this immortal yang body?” Chen Ping’an directly asked.

Cui Dongshan’s expression became complicated, and he shook his head and replied, “My current body is an immortal body left behind by an ancient immortal. Moreover, it’s the body of some type of flood dragon from the ancient Shu Nation, so it’s just as valuable as Du Mao’s yang body, if not more. But with that said… Who won’t be tempted by such a rare and valuable treasure? Master, if you take pity on me and decides to bestow the yang body upon me with a wave of his hand, then I’ll naturally shed tears of gratitude and be willing to loyally serve you—”

“Where can I find a powerful yin entity who’s compatible with this immortal yang body?” Chen Ping’an asked. “Do I need a heroic spirit from some ancient battlefield? Or do I need a ghost general or ghost king from some unmarked burial ground?”

Cui Dongshan grinned widely and replied, “It seems like you are quite familiar with the concept of occupying an immortal body. However, I have some bad news to tell you. Whether it’s ancient battlefields brimming with countless yin soldiers and yin generals or unmarked burial grounds housing the corpses of hundreds of thousands of victims, the yin entities produced by these places are far too lowly.

“In terms of cultivation base, they’ll be at the Nascent Tier at the very most. That’s simply insufficient to occupy and suppress an immortal body like this. If such a yin entity enters this immortal body, it will be like throwing a bucket of boiling oil into a barrel of water. Both sides will repel and erode each other, leading to a mutually destructive outcome. At the end of the day, it’s up to your own skills and fortune to see whether you can find a yin entity with suitably strong aptitude and affinity. That’s the important aspect. As for the cultivation base of the yin entity, that isn’t especially important.”

Chen Ping’an silently committed this to memory. He then said, “We’re about to set off for the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation, and we might pass by a chief military governor’s official residence on our way there. We might not visit this official residence, but the chief military governor might look for us anyway. I want to let you know about this beforehand.”

Cui Dongshan cupped his hands and bowed in respect, replying, “I’ll listen to your instructions, Master; I don’t have any complaints.”

For the next five days, Cui Dongshan would occasionally flatter Chen Ping’an as they traversed mountains and crossed rivers. Apart from this, he seldom interacted with Pei Qian and the four martial artists from the picture scrolls, with almost no words spoken between them.

It was as if Chen Ping’an had gained a lazy follower who had only appeared extraordinary during his initial appearance. Afterward, Cui Dongshan had appeared completely idle and mediocre. He didn’t observe the games of Go between Lu Baixiang and Sui Youbian, nor did he watch Pei Qian when she practiced her Deranged Demon Sword Techniques. He never helped Zhu Lian cook either. From the morning until night, all he did was giddily follow Chen Ping’an around.

On this day, they arrived at a small county city that had both a scholarly temple and a martial sage temple. The former had few worshippers and incense offerings, while the latter was enjoying a large number of worshippers and an abundance of incense offerings. It was said that this martial sage temple was incredibly effective at granting wealth, after all, so how could it not be popular?

Boisterous and bustling during the day, the martial sage temple became much more peaceful and quiet at night. Unlike other temples and shrines in the local regions, scholarly temples and martial sage temples generally didn’t close at night. After resting in the county city during the day, Chen Ping’an and Cui Dongshan decided to visit the scholarly temple and the martial sage temple at night. Chen Ping’an told Wei Xian and the others to stay back at the inn to protect Pei Qian.

The two of them visited the scholarly temple first, and a scholarly official who had been bestowed the posthumous title of Wenzhen was honored in this temple. He had once worked as an official in the prefecture and brought prosperity to the region, so many scholarly temples in the area, regardless of their size, had chosen to enshrine and honor him.

Why were they visiting the scholarly temple at night? This was because Chen Ping’an had stood atop a distant mountain and gazed over at the county city not long ago, and he had vaguely noticed that dark clouds were gathered above two locations in the city. These dark clouds were filled with murderous aura, and they slowly permeated through the county city.

After Chen Ping’an noticed this abnormal situation, Cui Dongshan had casually revealed the secret behind it, saying, “The scholarly temple and the martial sage temple have fallen victim to a sinister plot, and some cultivators are using these two temples as gateways to forcefully channel and steal someone’s fortunes. While offering incense in the temples recently, some locals with innate cultivation aptitude might have seen the divine statues of the scholarly sage or the martial sage shed tears of blood[1]. Some of them might have even received warnings from the two deities in their dreams.”

However, Chen Ping’an and Cui Dongshan didn’t find anything out of the ordinary when they walked around the scholarly temple. Apart from the yin energy being slightly more concentrated, the divine statue didn’t perform any divine deeds. It was nothing more than a clay statue that lacked incense offerings and vitality.

While leaving, Cui Dongshan smiled and explained, “We’re outsiders, after all, and we’ve never offered incense in the scholarly temple either. This local deity had a weak spirit to begin with, and it’s already beginning to wane even further. Materializing and conversing with us will be extremely difficult.

“Moreover, this deity is understandably suspicious of us, so it may as well remain in hiding and wait for death. This is naturally a better outcome than recklessly leaving its gold statue and being captured by ill-intentioned Qi refiners through methods such as soul-binding techniques. Falling into the hands of such people might imply a more pitiful fate than having their gold statue destroyed.”

A sense of worry immediately gripped at Chen Ping’an’s heart when they arrived at the martial sage temple. Even though the temple was already empty, with no one lighting and offering incense, Chen Ping’an could still see wisps of curling smoke rising from the countless sticks of incense when he looked closely. However, though everything seemed to be thriving, there was a hint of chilly yin energy cutting through the image. And this wasn’t all. When Chen Ping’an walked over to the large censer and pinched some remnant pieces of the incense sticks, they quickly transformed into ashes and released a vaguely foul aura.

Cui Dongshan had already strode inside the main hall and started to carefully observe the three-meter-tall gold statue with his hands clasped behind his back. This was the martial sage temple of a small county city that didn’t have much gold to gild statues, so it was only natural that the clay statues of the deities weren’t especially large. Right now, the trapped deity was stuck in a deep slumber, with only two things that it could do. It could either appear in the dreams of the local residents and officials and warn them of the situation, or it could struggle to resist the gradual contamination caused by the incense smoke from impure sources.

After Chen Ping’an entered the main hall as well, Cui Dongshan extended a hand and flicked his sleeve, saying with a faint smile, “Master, you can borrow this opportunity to witness the manifestation of martial fortune in this world.”

After Cui Dongshan finished speaking, Chen Ping’an immediately heard a “ding dong” sound in his mind’s lake.

Looking up, he saw a golden water drop fall down from high up and eventually land in the censer in front of the divine statue’s feet, causing numerous ripples to spread outward.

Chen Ping’an waited for a long time, yet no other golden water drop was forthcoming.

Cui Dongshan sniggered and said, “This is the martial fortune of the Azure Phoenix Nation. If this were the Lu Empire from the past, any random martial sage temple could have produced drop after drop of golden rainwater, so many that they would have quickly formed a stream. This is unrelated to the rank of a deity; it’s solely determined by the lifespan and martial fortune of a nation. Moreover, ordinary Qi refiners will be unable to witness this, even if they’re powerful earth immortals.

“I’m simply aware of some ancient secret techniques and have learned a few abilities pertaining to the Dao of gods and deities from the old man in the small town’s medicine shop, and it’s because of this that I can make visible the manifestation of this nation’s martial fortune. As for the Water Combing Nation, the Colorful Garment Nation, and the other nations that I visited before meeting up with you, I have to say that they’re even inferior to the Azure Phoenix Nation, which can only produce a single drop of golden incense fluid every fifteen minutes. Perhaps these nations can only produce a single drop of golden incense fluid every thirty or forty minutes.”

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, another golden water drop representing the martial fortune of the Azure Phoenix Nation fell down.

Chen Ping’an came to a slight realization. The sword spirit had called Pei Qian a martial fortune prodigy back in Old Dragon City, and that was the first time he had ever heard of such a title.

Combining that with Cui Dongshan’s explanations tonight, Chen Ping’an was starting to get a clearer picture of the situation. This was presumably a mystical ability in the same vein as how the water goddess of the Burial River could determine the quality of her incense offerings, and how there were many spiritual herbs and plants in the immortal mountains that could assist cultivators in examining the fortunes of mountains and rivers.

Chen Ping’an smiled and asked, “Are you waiting for me to ask about the situation in the martial sage temples of the Great Li Empire?”

Cui Dongshan cupped his hands and chuckled with his head lowered, replying, “Master is truly able to see through all worldly matters. You have only traveled through the world for a short few years, yet you’ve already become so sharp and perceptive. As expected of a divine prodigy. As expected of an immortal being.”

Chen Ping’an shot a glance at Cui Dongshan and hesitated for a moment. However, he eventually decided to ask, “Won’t the manifestation of martial fortune in the Great Duan Empire, the empire with the martial goddess, appear even more magnificent than that of the Lu Empire, Yu Lu’s home nation?”

Cui Dongshan laughed loudly and replied, “Naturally. Otherwise, how could the divinely wealthy Liu Clan of the Pure White Continent be willing to put its wager on the Great Duan Empire? Apart from the Commercialists and Diplomatists, many other schools from the hundred schools of thought also chose the Great Duan Empire.”

A slight hint of disappointment appeared on Cui Dongshan’s face as he continued, “Apart from viewing the martial fortune of a nation through the golden water drops in a martial sage temple, one can actually observe even more in the official martial sage temple of a nation’s capital. In fact, one can even observe the fluctuation of martial fortune due to certain people’s actions.”

Cui Dongshan walked over to sit on the door threshold of the main hall. Looking up at the trapped and lusterless divine statue of the martial god, he sighed with emotion and said, “Some years ago, I heard that a young boy with terrifying martial fortune appeared in the Great Duan Empire. On the day that he became an official citizen of the Great Duan Empire, the martial fortune that was already very spectacular in all of the martial sage temples directly transformed from a stream into a thundering waterfall. The censers became like deep pools, and countless golden water drops splashed into the surroundings. This caused extremely loud rumbling, and gods and deities were able to hear this commotion from very far away.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and remarked, “That person’s called Cao Ci. I ran across him in the Sword Qi Great Wall, and I even fought against him three times. However, I lost all three battles, and I wholeheartedly accepted my losses. I hope that I can still keep up with him in the future, and I hope that we’ll have the opportunity to spar again.”

Looking at Chen Ping’an’s calm smile and listening to his genuine words, Cui Dongshan raised a thumb and sincerely praised him. “Master, you are so impressive. Your ambitions are so lofty…”

These words didn’t sound like flattery at all. If there were outsiders present—for example, the four martial artists from the picture scrolls—they might even feel like Cui Dongshan was being sarcastic and delivering a backhanded compliment. But Chen Ping’an was well aware that Cui Dongshan was being completely sincere at this moment. These were probably the most sincere words that he had spoken in a while.

However, Cui Dongshan immediately sighed in grief, with an expression of lamentation spreading across his face. “Master, you are so unlucky to be born in the same generation as this person.”

Chen Ping’an walked toward the door, and Cui Dongshan also stood up to exit the main hall alongside his master. Chen Ping’an suddenly turned around at this moment and asked, “Did Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan detect some changes in the martial fortune of the Great Li Empire’s official martial sage temple? Is that why he sent you over as a messenger? Is he afraid that I’ll become a citizen of another nation along with Wei Xian and the others? For example, the Great Sui Nation?”

Cui Dongshan didn’t flatter Chen Ping’an this time, and he simply nodded and replied, “Mhm, the old divine lord over there received some news and learned that you were about to start cultivating and now need to refine some bonded items. The imperial preceptor suggested that a transaction be made, and this involves Wei Xian, Sui Youbian, Zhu Lian, and Lu Baixiang becoming citizens of the Great Li Empire.

“If you agree, then the Great Li Empire can help you regarding the refinement of five-colored soil as one of your bonded items. The empire can tell you the final locations of the Five Mountains in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. Moreover, the empire can also prepare five kilograms of soil from the roots of each of the five mountains. This will be enough for Master to refine your bonded item two times over.”

Before Chen Ping’an could say anything, Cui Dongshan had already opened his mouth again and explained, “It’s a matter of urgency for you to refine your second bonded item. However, there’s no need to worry. Apart from Cloud Drape Mountain, the Northern Mountain that Wei Bo is ruling over, there are only some slight indications about the Southern Mountain that Fan Junmao will rule over. As for the Central Mountain, Eastern Mountain, and Western Mountain, the Great Li Empire’s Imperial Song Clan does indeed have thoughts about which mountains to choose. However, they might not be able to successfully appoint these mountains in the next ten to twenty years.

“In any case, there’s no need for you to worry about these things. This is actually a positive outcome, especially since refining the five-colored soil will be much easier now compared to the future. Moreover, you have only just started to cultivate as a Qi refiner, so there’s no need for you to refine bonded items that are too high in quality. When the Five Mountains are fully recognized by the imperial court of the Great Li Empire and the Confucian school in the Middle Earth Divine Continent, allowing them to become linked with the fortune of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, then the quality of your bonded item will naturally rise in leaps and bounds as well.”

Chen Ping’an and Cui Dongshan left the martial sage temple and walked along the large street blanketed by the night sky. As they walked, Chen Ping’an asked, “This is a transaction that Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan wants to do with me, but what do you think, Cui Dongshan?”

Cui Dongshan stopped and asked, “Are you willing to trust me, Master?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and replied, “No. But I do want to hear your opinion, even if it’s a lie.”

Cui Dongshan couldn’t help but chuckle. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Then please listen to some of my lies, Master. In your disciple’s eyes, having the four of them become citizens of the Great Li Empire will bring a myriad of benefits and zero harm to you. You can use this as a starting point for your discussions with the Great Li Empire and obtain five kilograms of five-colored soil from each of the Five Mountains.

“As for whether you will change your citizenship from the Great Li Empire to the Great Sui Nation or some other random place, it won’t be too late to make this decision when the Five Mountains of the Great Li Empire become officially recognized in the future. As for what you will do during this time and whether you refine the five-colored soil as your bonded item or not, this won’t take away from the fact that obtaining the five-colored soil is a definitive benefit. In other words, it’s better to accept the benefits now.”

Chen Ping’an remained silent and continued to walk forward.

After taking several steps, he noticed that Cui Dongshan was still standing in the same spot. Chen Ping’an looked back, and Cui Dongshan chuckled, “I’ll take a look at the unfortunate situation surrounding the scholarly temple and the martial sage temple tonight. If there are sinister cultivators and demons causing trouble, then I’ll deliver justice on behalf of the heavens and earn some hidden virtue for you. But if this is caused by impure teachings and the local residents committing sins themselves, then please allow me to stand aside and do nothing. We’ll allow these temples to decide their own fates.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, “I’m fine with that.”

He then turned around, planning to return to the inn.

“Master!” Cui Dongshan suddenly called.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Ping’an turned around and asked.

Cui Dongshan was filled with righteous indignation as he exclaimed, “Those four pure martial artists who are as measly as ants are so disrespectful toward you even though they’re your subordinates. I’ve conducted myself as a disciple should these past few days, and I could only observe their behaviors without saying anything. This was a devastating experience! I beseech you, Master, please allow me to teach them properly from tomorrow onward!”

Chen Ping’an smiled and asked, “How do you plan to teach them?”

Standing on the steps in front of the martial sage temple’s entrance, Cui Dongshan replied in a righteous voice, “I’ll naturally abide by your teachings and educate them through reasoning and virtue.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t say anything else, and he hastily headed back to the inn. While walking back, he mulled over Cui Dongshan’s true reasons for coming to this place. Why had he suddenly left the Great Sui Nation’s Mountain Cliff Academy?

Du Mao’s immortal body that many people coveted, Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan’s proposed transaction, and the dark undercurrent accompanying the debate between Buddhism and Daoism in the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation… Chen Ping’an had a nagging feeling that Cui Dongshan had come here for all of these three reasons. However, these weren’t the main reasons.

Far behind Chen Ping’an, Cui Dongshan turned around and walked up the steps, yawning as he returned inside the martial sage temple.

1. Scholarly sage in a general sense, not Mr. Qi’s master. ☜