Unsheathed

Following the unexpected commotion at the outer wall of the Lion Garden…

…Daoist Nun Liu Boqi was the first person to leap onto the roof of a pavilion. She nodded lightly, with a rare look of approval in her eyes.

When cultivating at Stalactite Mountain’s Daoist Saber Room, one could witness more interesting people and matters compared to any other continent in the Majestic World. Liu Boqi was also a cultivation prodigy whom the Great Heavenly Lord at Stalactite Mountain had placed extremely high hopes in, and she had often gone out to sea with her seniors to capture old flood dragons that were exhausted after controlling the rain in a certain region and returning home. Thus, she naturally had very high standards.

Zhu Lian was standing beside the railings in a corridor, while Pei Qian was standing on top of the railings as she asked in curiosity, “Was that my master?”

Zhu Lian smiled and replied, “I knew that Young Master is able to use talismans; I personally witnessed that during the battle in the mountains at the border of the Great Quan Empire. He used three Cavalry Circling City Talismans to create a weapon talisman formation, and the incredible might of this formation was able to trap that great demon in the Burial River. But it’s quite surprising that he is also able to draw talismans by himself. Not only that, but he’s quite skilled…”

“What can’t my master do? What’s so surprising about this?!” Pei Qian snapped.

“Then why did you open your eyes as wide as a dustpan just then? And why did you smile so widely that you cracked open your bloody maw?” Zhu Lian teased.

Pei Qian put on a stern expression and didn’t engage in a nonsensical argument with the old cook. She looked up and glanced at the eaves above her head, after which she looked straight ahead at the ground beyond the railings. She took a deep breath before leaping high up with vigor, grabbing the eaves with both hands and attempting to swing herself onto the roof. However, both she and the roof tiles slid down and plummeted toward the ground.

Zhu Lian was just about to reach over to grab the reckless little girl’s collar and drag her back into the corridor, yet he suddenly changed his mind, allowing Pei Qian to fall toward the courtyard ground. Pei Qian’s mind went blank as she fell, and she simply relied on instinct. A burst of fiery Qi surged through her body, causing her to curl up and adopt a position somewhat similar to Zhu Lian’s ape-like fist stance from before. Her arms and legs suddenly spread apart when she was three meters above the ground, and she appeared like a small wild cat as she nimbly landed in the courtyard.

Zhu Lian leaned on the railing and clicked his tongue in wonder, remarking, “Ah, this gallant young lady is even able to fly across eaves and run along walls. Your qinggong is truly very impressive.[1]”

Pei Qian plonked to the ground, so afraid that her face had already become as white as a sheet. When she finally returned to her senses, she looked at Zhu Lian who was standing there in an idle manner and let loose a torrent of abuse, scolding, “Why didn’t you rescue me, old cook?! What if I smashed into the ground and ended up half dead with a missing arm and a missing leg? What if Master dislikes me even more? I’m already slowing Master down to begin with, and my slow speed always delays his journeys. What if Master becomes unhappy and directly abandons me…?”

Upon thinking of this tragic outcome, Pei Qian couldn’t help but burst into tears and bawl at the top of her lungs.

This was severe noise pollution for Zhu Lian’s ears, and even the maidservant, Zhao Ya, hurriedly ran outside to check on the situation. Zhao Ya had been quietly chattering with her young mistress just then, and her face was filled with puzzlement at this moment, unsure of why the mischievous little girl was suddenly sitting in the courtyard.

Zhu Lian pretended to be flustered as he exclaimed, “Hurry, go upstairs, there’s a demon!”

Pei Qian jumped up without saying a word and immediately ceased her loud crying. She then hurriedly dashed into the building and ran upstairs, charging into Liu Qingqing’s room, which wasn’t locked right now. She turned around and tightly shut the door behind her, after which she grabbed her hiking pole and ran to Zhu Lian’s side in a single breath. She looked around, wiping the tears from her face as she slapped a yellow paper talisman onto her forehead. “Where is it? Where is the demon?” she asked.

Zhu Lian suppressed his laughter and casually replied, “You can count yourself lucky. The demon has already left, most likely because it saw that this building was too difficult for it to attack.”

Pei Qian roughly wiped the sweat and tears from her face, feeling so afraid that she didn’t notice Zhu Lian’s teasing expression the entire time. She opened her eyes as wide as possible and carefully looked around for traces of the demon, saying in an earnest voice, “Zhu Lian, you definitely have to protect Young Mistress Liu and Big Sister Ya’er if the demon comes here again. Otherwise, if Master finds them missing when he returns, he’ll definitely feel angry at me, even if he doesn’t scold me.”

Zhao Ya turned to the side, covering her mouth as she giggled in secret

“You’re not worried about your own safety at all?” Zhu Lian asked with a smile.

Pei Qian retrieved another talisman and slapped it on her forehead, also gripping her hiking pole tightly as she replied, “Master told me to protect myself, so I definitely have to listen to him and protect myself properly!”

Zhu Lian clenched a hand into a fist and clasped it behind his back, while he held his other hand in front of his abdomen, making him appear much like a grandmaster as he said with a faint smile, “Rest assured, your master also told me to protect you.”

————

Inside the scripture library…

Young Master Dugu smiled and said, “It seems like that sneaky demon is going to be trapped and beaten up.”

“Can the formation genuinely cover the entire Lion Garden and trap the demon?” Meng Long asked.

“The formation won’t necessarily be able to hold up against a few charging strikes from the demon. But the moment the demon shows its true body is the moment that Daoist nun draws her saber to hack it to death,” Young Master Dugu explained.

“But what if the demon decides to stay in hiding?” Meng Long asked.

Young Master Dugu pointed at the peculiar phenomenon of spiritual energy around the perimeter of the Lion Garden. Mortals inside the Lion Garden might not be able to notice anything special, but those with some measure of cultivation would be able to see the rays of golden light flowing around the Lion Garden like a small stream.

“This formation of talismans, whatever its name is, is transforming spiritual energy into liquid,” Young Master Dugu replied. “And what’s ingenious about it isn’t simply its ability to trap the target. If I’m not mistaken, this formation will also affect the mountain roots and water veins of this area. Now that the mountain lord has broken free from her shackles as well, searching for the hiding place of the demon will be much easier than before.

“Moreover, since the young immortal was able to create such a large talisman formation, he can naturally continue to draw talismans all around the Lion Garden, filling the critical areas of good feng shui with talismans. That way, even if the demon isn’t suffocated to death, it will be disgusted to death. It will feel as if it’s trapped in a pot of water slowly brought to a boil.”

Meng Long had a dismissive expression. “Drawing so many talismans to reap so little benefit can’t be regarded as impressive at all. Your teacher can easily summon purple smoke and Qi with a casual wave of his hand and have them envelop a city of hundreds of thousands of people. Or he can directly grab a dark cloud and transform it into a flying snake, commanding it to suppress and kill a Golden Core Tier great demon with ease…”

There was a sense of exasperation in Young Master Dugu’s voice as he said, “I’m praising the good qualities of that young man, while you’re singing the praises of my master. The two matters aren’t mutually exclusive. Look, you shouldn’t keep belittling other Qi refiners and pure martial artists just because they aren’t me…”

“I can’t stand to see other people compete with you, Young Master,” Meng Long replied bluntly. “If that person with the surname Chen were a female, would I envy her at all? In fact, my feelings wouldn’t change even if she were a sword immortal.”

“Then what if in addition to the fact that she was a young female sword immortal, she was also more beautiful than you?”

Meng Long leaned on the railing and replied, “Then your maidservant would feel so jealous that she would want to kill someone.”

Young Master Dugu smiled faintly. “Like a rat’s belly and a chicken’s intestine, to have many desires yet a narrow mind… You need to heed this warning.”

Meng Long gazed into the distance and said in a quiet voice, “Sword cultivators like us are already walking on the narrowest and most precipitous paths to begin with. Everything will be fine as long as the paths are wide enough for our flying swords to pass through.”

Young Master Dugu shook his head. “That’s because you haven’t walked high enough or far enough yet. However, this doesn’t matter. Your cultivation aptitude is good enough, so you can afford to slowly advance on the path of the sword. Even my parents have high hopes for you, and both of them feel like you’re an extraordinarily impressive innate sword talent. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have bestowed that night-wandering deity upon you.”

Meng Long suddenly felt like her young master was forcefully stopping himself from speaking his mind. Upon noticing this, she turned around and placed her cheek on the railing of the corridor.

Young Master Dugu fell silent for a moment before chuckling and continuing, “Perhaps you’re a parasite in a belly? Alright, let me tell you an interesting story then. Back then, both of my parents accompanied that person to travel to Wind Lightning Field and visit Li Tuanjing, allowing them to witness the third battle between the two Nascent Tier sword cultivators. Our side naturally lost, yet Li Tuanjing said something very strange when he was brewing tea and hosting his guests after the battle.

“He was the most powerful Nascent Tier cultivator in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent back then. He chuckled and questioned how Qi refiners were shamelessly confident enough to look down on everyone else in the mortal world, especially those outside the mountains. After all, it was only by coincidence that they had embarked on the glorious path of cultivation.

“In other words, what if the rules established in the beginning had nothing to do with refining spiritual energy? What if affinity with Dao was based on who could grow crops the best? Or what if people’s talent was measured on who could mend shoes the best? If that were the case, then would the haughty immortals still enjoy such a comfortable life?”

“Li Tuanjing is truly someone who likes to say strange things and perform strange actions,” Meng Long said in a soft voice.

“Mhm, Li Tuanjing was someone who truly attained the Dao,” Young Master Dugu replied. “However, Wind Lightning Field can no longer suppress the soaring sword qi from Sun Scorch Mountain following the death of Li Tuanjing. This is the case even though they still have Huang He and Liu Baqiao.”

Meng Long suddenly recalled something, and she asked, “What’s going on with that Liu Baqiao and Su Jia? Did they eventually become a loving couple and enjoy a happy ending like those novels?”

Young Master Dugu pondered for a moment before responding, “Even if the romantic story between them genuinely enjoys a happy ending like those novels, I think we’ve only reached the halfway point of the novel right now.”

Meng Long suddenly lowered her voice and whispered, “Young Master, are there genuinely Fictionists gathered at that White Paper Blessed Land? And do the myriad beings of that blessed land truly act according to the stories written by those Fictionists? Your mother also mentioned that the sages of the School of Fiction are truly very impressive.

“Those with a higher cultivation base can bring to reality a story about a nation’s fate, while those with a lower cultivation base can make true a story about a state or a smaller region. Meanwhile, Fictionist disciples who have just started cultivating and possess the lowest cultivation base can only dictate a single person’s life and death with their stories. Finally, the more characters that the Fictionists write about, the larger that the White Paper Blessed Land will become.”

Young Master Dugu smiled and replied, “There is no lack of extraordinary matters in the myriad worlds, matters both true and false. That being the case, who’s to say whether this is true or false?”

“Young Master, should we head over to see whether this is true or false after we both become earth immortals one day?”

Young Master Dugu placed his hands behind his head and replied with a wide smile, “Sure thing.”

————

Standing inside Liu Qingshan’s study, the slug demon in the form of a young man in black had a panicked expression on its face.

That godforsaken young man with a sword on his back… How in the world was he skilled at drawing talismans as well? Not only that, but he was also carrying this many high-grade talismans with him?!

Was this young man hellbent on fighting it to the death? Was he not afraid of causing both parties to suffer and potentially die in the end? At that time, neither side would come out unscathed! What was this person with the surname Chen—an outsider to the Lion Garden’s Liu Clan—trying to achieve? After all, the treasure on the study table was only useful to that old freak who was trying to aid the imperial clan! Yet, the young man was actually using such a large number of talismans? Did he genuinely think that he was a descendant of the Pure White Continent’s unfathomably wealthy Liu Clan?

The slug demon anxiously paced around the study like an ant on a hot pan.

They’re crazy, they’re all crazy!

So be it if there was only the Daoist saber nun with her bullshit Jing God and Jiazuo or whatnot, yet a righteous person who performed good deeds without seeking anything in return had suddenly popped out from nowhere as well? It made no sense for these two people to interact with each other and work together, yet they had shockingly decided to join forces and set up this trap, targeting it with the intention to kill. One was walking along the outside perimeter of the Lion Garden and drawing talismans on the wall, while one remained inside the Lion Garden to draw its attention and affect its concentration.

Perhaps its scheme to follow the great trend and target the Lion Garden was going to end up in failure? The slug demon couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous as it thought about that old freak with the aquiline nose as well as that old man from the Imperial Tang Clan who wielded immense power in the imperial court.

The slug demon almost followed its impulses and assumed its true form, as doing so would allow it to smash through the walls of the Lion Garden without needing to care about anything else. After breaking free, it would then have many options regarding where to flee. It was innately talented at traveling through the ground, and the Lion Garden was also surrounded by mountains on all sides, making it an optimal environment for it to flee. Unless a Nascent Tier earth immortal with earth-shattering strength personally came here to hunt it down, casually splitting apart the mountains with a swing of their hand, the slug demon wouldn’t be afraid of anyone else.

However, the slug demon quickly told itself that it shouldn’t become flustered in the face of danger. The Lion Garden had temporarily become a cage, and this was a reality that couldn’t be changed. Thus, it couldn’t be reckless, and it definitely shouldn’t dig itself into more trouble at this critical moment.

It smiled widely as it came up with an idea, saying to itself, “Then let Master Qing test out the true strength of you people and see whether you’re bluffing or not.”

Atop the wall on the outermost perimeter of the Lion Garden, Chen Ping’an was currently hesitating about whether he should have Shi Rou ask the Liu Clan for some official silver ingots of the Azure Phoenix Nation as well. Ink made from silver could also be used to draw talismans, with the only drawback being that talismans drawn using silver ink would be much inferior to talismans drawn using gold ink.

There were both advantages and disadvantages to this. The disadvantage was that the talismans would be far less effective in comparison, while the advantage was that they would be much easier for Chen Ping’an to draw. He wouldn’t need to exhaust his mind and energy as much as before.

Truth be told, this was a hugely disadvantageous deal for Chen Ping’an, one that made him lose a great deal of wealth. Not only had he used up all of the yellow paper talismans that he had accumulated over a long period of time, but a large portion of the spiritual energy collected but not yet refined by his Dao robe, Golden Sweet Wine, had been consumed as well.

However, Chen Ping’an didn’t reveal this information to anyone else.

He tried his best to remain positive.

For example, if he genuinely managed to achieve the grand feat of filling the entire Lion Garden with talismans, then this would be an amazing story that he could tell Zhang Shanfeng and Xu Yuanxia in the future. It would be… a great accompaniment to some wine.

Just as Chen Ping’an made up his mind, he narrowed his eyes and looked around the Lion Garden.

What he saw was close to one hundred young men in black robes appearing around the vast Lion Garden in unison, with some sprinting through the corridors and paths, some leaping over the roofs, and some nimbly dashing over the creeks and streams.

They were all fleeing from the Lion Garden.

It was extremely likely that one of these young men in black robes was the true body of the demon.

Once the demon broke free and fled from the Lion Garden, Chen Ping’an would genuinely be powerless against it when it snuck back inside sometime in the future.

Chen Ping’an was well aware of the mediocre power of his talismans, and they could only be regarded as full of spirit and vigor if he were being generous. However, they weren’t durable or long-lasting enough, with their spiritual energy being consumed far too quickly. This was the most critical shortcoming when it came to martial artists drawing talismans.

“I’ll stay here, and you head over to guard the wall on the right-hand side,” Chen Ping’an said resolutely. “It’s not difficult to shatter the illusory bodies of fox demons, and you only need to hold it back for a short moment if you manage to find its true body. The demon-binding chain that I’ve lent you…”

Shi Rou thought that Chen Ping’an was asking for his immortal treasure back, so she calmly retrieved the golden rope and handed it to her master. Upon seeing this, Chen Ping’an chuckled in anger and continued, “…Is for you to properly make use of. Now hurry up and head over to guard that area!”

Shi Rou was slightly surprised, and she kept the extremely high-grade demon-binding chain in her hand as she leaped over to guard the instructed area.

Chen Ping’an gently patted his Sword Nurturing Gourd and said in his mind, There’s no need to be impatient. The two of you are my trump cards, so it won’t be too late for you to fly out after we confirm the direction that the demon is fleeing in.

1. Qinggong (轻功) literally means lightness technique. It refers to a technique of climbing and jumping off vertical surfaces from Chinese martial arts. ☜