Unsheathed

Cui Dongshan had spoken candidly in the letter, stating that he was going to take advantage of this opportunity to secure soil from the other four of the new Five Mountains. Even if Chen Ping’an ultimately chose not to choose the soil of the new Five Mountains to serve as his next bonded item, he was going to fill a pocket treasure with the precious soil, and that could be sold for a large sum of lesser heat coins.

The regulations weren’t very strict at the moment, so this was the perfect time to strike. As for soil from the Northern Mountain, Chen Ping’an could easily secure that himself, given his ties with Wei Bo.

Before he knew it, Chen Ping’an had already arrived at the Iron Talisman River God Temple.

The temple didn’t receive as many worshippers as the Burial River God Temple, which was so popular that there were always still hundreds, perhaps even thousands of worshippers standing outside even in the dead of night, waiting for an opportunity to enter the temple and offer up incense.

This was no surprise, given the relatively small population of the Dragon Spring Prefecture. Once the Dragon Spring Prefecture was elevated to a province, it would attract many more residents from all over the Great Li Empire.

After a brief hesitation, Chen Ping’an entered the temple.

He strode over the doorstep to enter the main hall, then raised his head to look up at the painted clay deity statue, which was around forty feet tall and extremely lifelike, looking as if it could spring to life and ascend at any moment.

The height of a deity’s statue was a very good indication of the deity’s status in a nation’s mountain and water genealogical records.

The statue in the temple that Chen Ping’an had passed by on the way here was only just over ten feet tall.

Chen Ping’an was aware of the background of this river goddess.

She was a woman by the name of Yang Hua, and she had once been a maidservant to the empress of the Great Li Empire. Her signature trait was that ancient sword with the golden tassels that she constantly held in her arms. For some reason, she had abandoned her human body and perished in order to become the goddess of this river.

She had endured immense pain in the water, and while forging her own godly body, she had triggered spectacular natural phenomena and attained a godly body of an extremely high caliber, so she was held in very high regard by the Great Li Empire’s imperial court. Firstly, the status of her river had been elevated, following which her status had also been elevated to the very pinnacle among river gods.

Chen Ping’an didn’t offer up any incense, nor did he extend any respectful gestures. All he did was stay in the hall for a moment before departing, emerging from the vast temple to return the same way that he had come from.

This time, Chen Ping’an didn’t trouble Wei Bo, and by the time he made his way back to Downtrodden Mountain on foot, it was already dusk the following day. On the way back, he had visited several mountains.

After obtaining those pouches of gold essence copper coins all those years ago, Ruan Qiong had advised him to purchase mountains, and he had traveled through the mountains on his own, armed with a map drawn for him by the kiln supervision office. In the end, he had chosen five mountains, among which were Downtrodden Mountain and True Jewel Mountain. Looking back now, it felt like an experience from a past life.

After scaling the mountain, Chen Ping’an paid a visit to the bamboo building. It wasn’t like he could hide from Cui Chan’s grandfather every day, and if the latter really wanted to beat him, then there was nowhere that he could hide anyway.

He wrote several letters on the first floor, letters that he was planning to send to Mountain Cliff Academy, Liu Zhimao and Gu Can on Cyan Gorge Island, and Song Yushao in the Water Combing Nation. Enclosed in the letter addressed to Gu Can was a request for him to pass on a message to Liu Chongrun of Bejeweled Hairpin Island, and he mentioned Hong Su’s current situation in the flying sword letter meant for Liu Zhimao.

Liu Zhimao had survived what had appeared to have been certain death, and not only had he emerged safely from the water dungeon below Palace Willow Island, he had returned to Cyan Gorge Island and was now serving as a guest elder of the Jade Tablet Sect’s lower sect, just like Liu Laocheng. On top of that, he was the third-ranked guest elder.

Many of the powers in Bamboo Scroll Lake that had lashed out at Cyan Gorge Island during his imprisonment were most likely going to suffer the consequences of their transgressions. As for the disciples and guest elders of Cyan Gorge Island, they were probably going to suffer as well, particularly Tian Hujun, who had stood to profit the most from Liu Zhimao’s demise.

This was why it was always important not to overstep certain lines.

The final letter was addressed to Zhong Kui of Peace and Tranquility Mountain. It had to be sent to Old Dragon City first before being sent to Zhong Kui via intercontinental flying sword. The other letters could all be sent from the sword chamber of the ferry station on Ox Horn Mountain, and as long as the intended destinations weren’t too secluded, the sword chamber could send letters to anywhere on the continent.

However, all of the flying swords in the sword chamber were strictly under the control of the Great Li Empire’s military, so he would have to use his connection to Wei Bo to access them. Of course, someone like Ruan Qiong would be able to access the flying swords much more easily, but Chen Ping’an still wasn’t quite there yet.

After writing the letters, he instructed Pei Qian and Zhu Lian to take them to Ox Horn Mountain.

Pei Qian was very excited at the prospect of the trip, and she wanted to call upon the little boy in azure and the little girl in pink to accompany her.

After all, the more the merrier.

However, Chen Ping’an forbade them from going with her, so Pei Qian could only descend the mountain with Zhu Lian. Prior to departure, she asked if she could take Qu Huang with her, and after securing approval from Chen Ping’an, she swaggered excitedly out of the courtyard.

She had thought that she would only be able to ask for a small donkey from Chen Ping’an the next time she went out to travel the world, never had she imagined that she would get to ride such a big horse so soon. She was beginning to rethink her plans of going out to travel the world.

Couldn’t she simply ride her horse around Downtrodden Mountain instead? She wouldn’t encounter any bad people, and she could return to Downtrodden Mountain whenever she felt hungry. It was a small world, but one that sounded much more appealing to her.

Zheng Dafeng wasn’t on the mountain. Apparently, he had gone to the Dragon Spring Prefectural City to settle a few debts, following which he would settle permanently on Downtrodden Mountain. He had most likely accumulated a bunch of debt with various restaurants and inns. He had borrowed some money from Zhu Lian, but it was yet to be seen whether he actually intended to repay his debts.

Cen Yuanji had been standing in the courtyard at the time with her cheeks deeply flushed with embarrassment, not daring to look directly at Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an naturally wasn’t holding a grudge against her over their earlier misunderstanding. Truth be told, he had felt a little disappointed as he had truly thought that Zhu Lian was right, and that he had inadvertently captured Cen Yuanji’s heart.

Of course, he wasn’t actually interested in a romantic entanglement with her, but it was always flattering to receive the affection of the opposite sex.

Chen Ping’an didn’t give her the cold shoulder. Instead, he repeated what he had told her at the entrance of the Cen Clan’s residence. Now that she was on Downtrodden Mountain and was going to be training martial arts here, she had to follow the rules. He advised her to ask Zhu Lian what those rules were so she could act within their boundaries.

Furthermore, if she were to ever receive a punishment that she felt unjust, then she could come and reason with him, and no one would try to stop her. As long as her reasoning was sound, Chen Ping’an would accept her point of view.

Cen Yuanji nodded in response in a daze, but remained silent.

She was feeling both relieved and concerned, relieved that Downtrodden Mountain wasn’t a bandits’ den, but concerned that all of the people on the mountain aside from Zhu Lian, including Chen Ping’an, Pei Qian, the little boy in azure, and the little girl in pink were all drastically different from what she imagined cultivators were supposed to have been like.

The one person that she had encountered thus far that fit best with her mental image of an immortal was Wei Bo, yet he wasn’t even a cultivator of Downtrodden Mountain.

As for the old man by the name of Shi Rou, he didn’t like to speak, and just the mere sight of him was enough to send chills running down Cen Yuanji’s spine.

Cen Yuanji heaved a forlorn internal sigh. All she could do for now was focus on her martial arts training.

Chen Ping’an made his way to the stone table on the cliff near the bamboo building with the little girl in pink and the little boy in azure.

The little girl in pink sat down beside Chen Ping’an to the north so that she didn’t obstruct his view of the south, while the little boy in azure had no such qualms and sat down directly across from Chen Ping’an, then reached out a demanding hand.

The little girl in pink pulled out a handful of sunflower seeds before handing them to him. Pei Qian was an avid fan of sunflower seeds, and as the little girl in pink spent more and more time with her, she was becoming more and more like a sunflower seed peddler.

A serious look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he said, “The two of you still don’t have official names, and that doesn’t sit right with me. In the future, there may be a sect established on Downtrodden Mountain, perhaps even an ancestral hall. I’ve never asked for your kindred names, nor will I do so in the future, even if Downtrodden Mountain becomes a true immortal mountain.

“If anyone tries to make any inflammatory remarks about this at any point, you can come and tell me, and I’ll have a chat with them. Having said that, the two of you must have names that can be written down on the genealogical records of the ancestral hall. Do you have any names that you like?”

All spirits and demons had to have a kindred name that they had to carefully engrave somewhere within their hearts.

In particular, such a name was indispensable once they attained human forms, and it was the equivalent of choosing a name for a nation.

It was said that spirits and demons that didn’t have kindred names would be marginalized by the Great Dao of the Majestic World, thereby giving rise to countless obstacles on their cultivation journeys.

Many spirits that stayed far away from human settlements were unaware of this, and as a result, they could easily spend centuries or even millennia without a kindred name, making extremely slow progress in their cultivation during that time. One of the key reasons for their agonizingly slow progress was the fact that they weren’t acknowledged by the Majestic World.

However, if a spirit’s true name were to be uncovered by a cultivator, then that would put them in a severely compromised position, and that was why Chen Ping’an had never asked the little girl in pink and the little boy in azure for their kindred names.

All of a sudden, a confident smile appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he said, “If you can’t decide on a name, then I’ll give you one. I’ve always been really good at naming people and things.”

The little boy in azure had been casually munching on sunflower seeds up to this point, but as soon as he heard this, his entire body instantly stiffened as if he had been struck by lightning, and he threw his sunflower seeds onto the table as he wailed, “There’s no need for that! I can think of a name in my own time! You already have far too much on your plate, so there’s no need to burden yourself with such trivial tasks, Master!”

The little girl in pink offered no response, but even her expression had stiffened slightly.

Chen Ping’an took a glance at the two of them, then asked, “Are you sure you don’t need my help? This is the only chance you’ll get, so you better not regret it!”

The little boy in azure collapsed onto the table in relief as he murmured to himself, “That was way too close…”

The little girl in pink was worried that Chen Ping’an would be sad, so she put on a stoic expression and did her best not to let her elation show.

Chen Ping’an was still unwilling to give up, and he proposed, “I thought of quite a few names on the journey back home. Would you two like to hear it?”

The little boy in azure was on the verge of tears as he said, “I heard that the knowledge of scholars is an exhaustible resource. You’ve already used a large chunk of your knowledge on naming First, Fifteenth, Subduing Demons, and Eliminating Fiends, so you should save it from now on.”

He then laid his head down onto the stone table to play dead, but he quickly became bored and began sneakily swiping sunflower seeds from the table to nibble on with his head still pressed against the table.

“Fine. Tell me if you change your mind,” Chen Ping’an sighed.

The little boy in azure turned his head slightly to the side to make a funny face at the little boy in azure, and the latter hurriedly covered her mouth to conceal her amused smile.

Chen Ping’an patted her on the head with a warm smile on his face.

On the journey back home, Chen Ping’an had carefully read through the contents of his bamboo slips while on horseback in order to think of good names for the two children, but it seemed like his efforts had been wasted.

After being spared the terrible fate of being named by Chen Ping’an, the two children hurriedly fled the scene, much to Chen Ping’an’s amusement.

There were still some sunflower seeds left behind on the table by the little boy in azure, and he began eating them one by one.

An assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites would be sent by the Great Li Empire’s imperial court to oversee the signing of his contract with the Song Clan regarding his mountain purchases.

Chen Ping’an pulled out the Day and Night Wandering Deity True Body Talisman with a hesitant look on his face.

Wei Bo had told him that the Fortune Street Li Clan had once possessed immense wealth, but much of it had been expended in order to facilitate the Li Clan patriarch’s forced breakthrough to the Nascent Tier. Furthermore, the Li Clan patriarch had grown accustomed to the environment of the Jewel Small World, and following its reintegration with the rest of the world, he had been left in a very precarious situation.

His foundation was too shallow, while his cultivation base was too lofty, and as a result, he was suffering spiritual energy backlash. In order to rectify this situation, more money had to be spent to construct a figurative dam to keep out the sinister energies constantly fighting to infiltrate his acupoints.

Additionally, the Li Clan had purchased a large manor in the Great Li Empire’s capital that belonged to the descendants of a noble that had fallen from grace. In light of all of these massive expenditures, the Li Clan had been left desperately short of funds.

The Four Families and Ten Clans on Fortune Street and Peach Leaf Alley had already changed drastically.

Some had moved out of the small town and never been heard from again, and some had fallen into obscurity, with it being unclear whether they were still at the peaks of their powers and were simply biding their time, or had been dealt heavy blows by the massive changes that had taken place since the fall of the Jewel Small World.

At the same time, some clans that hadn’t been all that prominent in the past, such as the Xie Clan on Peach Leaf Alley, had since risen to the prominence in the wake of the revelation that Heavenly Lord Xie Shi of the Northern Complete Reed Continent was the clan’s ancestor.

On the second floor, Cui Chan’s grandfather declared, “Your training begins tomorrow.”

Chen Ping’an gave an affirmative response, then stood up and made his way to the small pond behind the bamboo building. The pond was incredibly clear, and it derived its water from Cloud Drape Mountain. It had been personally created by Wei Bo, following which that golden lotus seed had been planted inside.

Chen Ping’an crouched down, then gently patted the ground beside him with a smile as he said, “Come out.”

The little lotus spirit burst out of the earth, but there wasn’t even the slightest bit of soil clinging to its body as it climbed up Chen Ping’an’s robe to sit on his shoulder.

Chen Ping’an had entrusted Wei Bo with the task of looking after the little lotus spirit, a task that Wei Bo had accepted with nothing more than a nod.

After observing the small pond for a short while, Chen Ping’an stood up and made his way toward the first floor of the bamboo building with the little lotus spirit still perched on his shoulder.

The first floor of the bamboo buildings was his official residence on Downtrodden Mountain, and many of his belongings were still inside. During his absence, the little girl in pink made sure to clean the first floor every single day while also prohibiting the little boy in azure from entry.

Chen Ping’an sat down at the table with a smile on his face, and he decided that it was time to reprise his occupation as an accountant to examine his current wealth.

The little lotus spirit jumped onto the table and began rushing back and forth, checking to see if the items and books on the table were placed in an orderly fashion. As soon as it noticed anything that was even slightly disorderly, it would immediately take it upon itself to organize the offending item.

All of a sudden, Chen Ping’an spotted a seal box on the table, and he opened it to discover a private seal sitting inside. He had chosen not to bring it with him on any of his long journeys, and it had inadvertently become the foremost treasure on Downtrodden Mountain.

Chen Ping’an raised the seal up high to examine the three characters engraved upon it.

Chen Shiyi.

He continued to stare at the engraved characters as he set the seal down onto the table on its side before resting his chin on his folded arms.

Some time later, he sat up straight again, then pulled his water seal out of his bonded water palace, then gently set it down beside the seal that was already on the table.

With that, neither of the seals were alone anymore.

After that, Chen Ping’an rested his chin on his folded arms again as he murmured to himself, “I hope that someday, when I encounter people who refuse to listen to reason, I’ll be able to force them to see reason with my fists and my sword. The problem is that my fist and sword techniques are both quite mediocre at the moment, and more than half of the ten-year promise has already transpired. What should I do?”