Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an put away his Sword Nurturing Gourd and leaned back slightly, instantly sliding back and arriving beside that middle-aged swordsman in a flash. He raised a palm and placed it on the swordsman’s face, giving a gentle push and causing him to crash to the ground more than thirty meters away. The swordsman collapsed in a heap and surprisingly lost his consciousness just like that.

Chen Ping’an then continued to glide backward, eventually landing between the convoy of carriages and the group of gallant cultivators. As he stood there, he was coincidentally blocking both the elite cavalry of the convoy as well as the gallant cultivators from the cultivation world.

Several arrows pierced through the air, viciously shooting toward the front row of gallant cultivators.

Chen Ping’an flicked his sleeve, causing the three arrows to travel at an unnatural angle as they rapidly descended and stabbed into the ground.

A young man stopped and pointed the tip of his sword at Chen Ping’an, his eyes bloodshot as he bellowed in anger, “Are you a dog of the Chu Clan?! Why are you stopping the Sword Water Villa from carrying out justice and killing these traitors?”

Chen Ping’an sighed and said, “You should turn around and leave. Also, don’t pretend to be from the Sword Water Villa next time you try to kill someone.”

An elder suddenly stepped forward and exclaimed loudly, “Chu Yueyi, as the adopted son of Steward Chu and as the unofficial disciple of Sword Saint Song, why do you refuse to stand with us to slay these enemies? Forget about it. We can sympathize with your ambition to reach the summit of the Sword Dao, so we won’t ask you to fight side-by-side with us today. However, my brothers and I aren’t afraid of death, so we simply ask you to move aside and allow us to fight!”

Chen Ping’an didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. This elder was quite witty, and sure enough, the second wave of arrows from the light cavalry all shot toward him when they heard that he was the Sword Water Villa’s Chu Yueyi.

The burly man called Ma Lu took things one step further, not uttering a single word of nonsense as he grabbed his eye-catching ox horn bow and galloped forward on his horse. He sat up straight and drew his bow full, loosing an arrow specially made from fine steel at the back of that eyesore in azure.

The local mountain god fortunate enough to drink with a so-called sword immortal just then was sweating buckets inside his mountain god temple, feeling slightly regretful that he had channeled his innate ability to observe the surrounding mountains and waters.

He had experienced something similar back then, and the martial artist from the Middle Earth Divine Continent who had graced the Sword Water Villa with his presence hadn’t cared about his prying eyes from the beginning to the end. After the unfathomably powerful pure martial artist obtained the bamboo sword scabbard and flew away on the wind, however, he had unexpectedly unleashed a punch and directly annihilated a mountain peak close to the mountain god temple. The relatively high-ranking mountain god of the Water Combing Nation had been terrified, almost losing his wits.

In the eyes of this mountain god whose rank was only beneath that of the formal gods of the Five Mountains, the relatives and attendants of Great General Chu Hao and the cultivators from the cultivation world who were baying for blood were all fools who were asking for death. They were completely oblivious to who they were provoking.

Su Lang was the number one elite in the cultivation world of the Water Combing Nation, the Colorful Garment Nation, and the dozen or so surrounding nations, but what did this matter? Did he really think he was a sword immortal? Did he not understand that there was always someone more powerful? One needed to sear into one’s mind that, in this world, there were still cultivators from the mountains peering down at the world with their ice-cold gazes!

So, what was the result? Over at the archway of the small town, Green Bamboo Sword Immortal Su Lang had been disposed of in a single punch! In fact, this young sword immortal hadn’t even drawn his blade. Afterward, Su Lang had lowered his ego and run to the Sword Water Villa in an attempt to remedy the situation, going to great lengths to seek some commotion. However, if it weren’t for the young sword immortal being extremely benevolent and giving Su Lang face, his lifelong reputation would have been shattered and trampled on right there and then.

The mountain god decided that he wouldn’t get involved in this messy situation no matter what.

The baby-faced Han Yuanxue tugged on Wang Shanhu’s sleeve and asked in a quiet voice, “Is he a powerful elite, Big Sister Hushan?”

Wang Shanhu nodded and replied, “Perhaps he even has the right to spar with my father.”

After pausing for a moment, Wang Shanhu added in a firm voice, “Of course, he definitely isn’t powerful enough to make my father use his full strength. However, being a junior in the cultivation world who can push my father to use seventy to eighty percent of his full strength is already something that he can brag about for the rest of his life.”

Han Yuanxue took this at face value, and she exclaimed in astonishment, “But that person looks so young, so how is he so powerful? Perhaps he’s eaten some mysterious flower that allowed him to gain sixty years of cultivation progress like those tropes in the cultivation novels? Or did he fall off a cliff and obtain one or two secret martial arts scriptures?”

Wang Shanhu was rendered speechless.

There were no simple and effective shortcuts like this for pure martial artists.

Only Qi refiners from the mountains could enjoy these enviable and seemingly unreasonable fated opportunities, and it was because of this that they were so haughty and domineering, with each more arrogant than the other as they looked down on the cultivation world.

Even as powerful and gallant as her father was, he still had many complaints and gripes when he talked about those immortals who were transcendent above the mortal world.

Lady Chu was quite amused by Han Yuanxue’s naive and childish remark. There was nothing impressive about this young woman from the Han Clan, and her only strong point was that she enjoyed a good fate. Fortune favored the foolish, and Han Yuanxue had reincarnated into a good family, had a good older brother in Han Yuanshan, and had also married a good husband. Just thinking about this was quite infuriating.

And thus, Lady Chu’s gaze started to wander around, and she glanced at Han Yuanxue who was spectating the battle outside with her full attention. Lady Chu felt displeased no matter how she looked at this baby-faced young woman, and she contemplated whether she should throw some challenges and hardships at this young woman. Of course, she couldn’t take things too far, and she needed to make Han Yuanxue suffer in silence with no ability to complain. Otherwise, she would definitely suffer greatly at the hands of her “husband,” Han Yuanshan, if he learned that she had dared to harm his little sister.

Lady Chu yawned again and again, and the corners of her lips curled up into a slight smile as she glanced at the gallant individuals from the cultivation world and murmured, “These foolish little fish take the bait so easily, rushing over one after another to give us free money. My dear husband, just how difficult is it to find a wife who’s as good at housekeeping as me?”

Neither the light cavalry nor the cultivators saw how the young wanderer in azure moved, yet he quickly caught the three arrows just like that.

The Unruly Saber Villa’s Ma Lu was renowned as the best archer in the Water Combing Nation, and it was said that a general from the Great Li Empire had once asked Wang Yiran to part ways with his subordinate and allow Ma Lu to join the army. For some unknown reason, however, Ma Lu was able to remain at the Unruly Saber Villa and give up the opportunity to obtain immense wealth and fame.

A leader of the light cavalry raised his arm high into the air, stopping his subordinates from releasing another volley of arrows. After a pure martial artist advanced to the level of grandmaster in the cultivation world, shooting mere arrows at them would be completely futile. Of course, this was unless there were enough archers. Otherwise, attacking such a grandmaster would only provoke them and lead to negative consequences.

The leader of the light cavalry turned his head, but he didn’t look at Ma Lu, and he instead looked at the two seemingly unremarkable and expressionless elders. They were accompanying cultivators whom the imperial court of the Water Combing Nation had established and appointed according to the regulations of the Great Li Empire’s heavy cavalry, and these accompanying cultivators held legitimate official positions in the nation. One was a subordinate of Lady Chu who had accompanied her south from the capital, and one was a cultivator from the prefectural office. Compared to the Unruly Saber Villa’s Ma Lu, these two were the true leaders of the convoy.

One of the cultivators was a short old man, and it was as if his old bones might fall apart at any moment as he rode alongside the carriages on a horse. His aura rose explosively at this moment, and the sword by his hip rang loudly.

In the group of gallant individuals on the opposite side, a tall and slender woman had a look of despair on her beautiful face as she exclaimed in a quivering voice, “He’s a sword immortal from the mountains!”

The short old man who couldn’t be judged by his appearance lightly squeezed the belly of his horse with his legs. He was in no hurry to draw his ringing sword which stoked fear into the hearts of his enemies.

He rode forward slowly, staring intently at the swordsman in azure who was wearing a bamboo hat as he said, “I know that you’re not Chu Yueyi from the Sword Water Villa or whatnot. I’ll spare your life if you hurry up and scram.”

Chen Ping’an smiled faintly and replied, “Immortals should adhere to local customs and speak nicely in human tongue when they leave the mountains.”

The short old man roared with laughter and asked, “Are you in a hurry to reincarnate?”

Just how capable could the measly cultivation world of the Water Combing Nation be?

If the Pine Stream Nation’s Su Lang and the Sword Water Villa’s Song Yushao were present, he would be willing to offer them some more respect. However, just how powerful could the young man in front of him be? He could flick him away with a single finger. Since the young man didn’t take his offer to leave, he couldn’t blame him for drawing his sword in a moment. Moreover, since the young man wasn’t a disciple of the Sword Water Villa, this also meant that he didn’t have any life-saving backers. As such, he would die for absolutely nothing.

Before traveling south this time, Great General Chu had privately told him that he couldn’t engage in conflict with Song Yushao or the Sword Water Villa. As for the other grandmasters in the cultivation world or the passing vagrant cultivators who were looking for easy treasures, they would be walking military merit regardless of how many of them he killed. He could kill them until his blade became dull and deformed.

Chen Ping’an looked back and waved his hand at the group of gallant individuals from the cultivation world, saying patiently, “You should leave now. I’m sure that you’ve already realized that this isn’t a conflict that you can become involved in. I surmise that you’ll most likely be unwilling to think about whether you cause any innocent collateral damage when you act gallantly and attack the Chu Clan or whatnot in the future. That being the case, I simply urge you not to drag the Sword Water Villa into this mess in the future. You need to have honor as members of the cultivation world, and it’s not the case that you can do as you please simply because you have the moral high ground.”

The short old man continued to ride forward the entire time, and he had already passed the light cavalry and arrived fewer than thirty paces from the swordsman in azure as he snickered and said, “Even if these insects from the cultivation world want to leave, they have to possess the ability to do so first. Have I agreed to that? Do you know how many silver coins a single one of their heads is worth? The head of the person you knocked unconscious is worth three snowflake coins.

“You should also recognize that lady who has fairly good observation skills and knew how to respectfully refer to me as a sword immortal, right? Countless men in the cultivation world want to become the horse under her bum and be ridden by her. The husband of this widow was a so-called great hero, and he relied on his own strength to kill two accompanying cultivators of the Great Li Empire. Even after he died, this widow still enjoys great fame and reputation in your Water Combing Nation. That being the case, her head should be worth at least one lesser heat coin.”

Chen Ping’an clenched his fists lightly as he listened to the short old man’s rambling, and he took a deep breath and silently suppressed his irritation and urge to draw his blade straight away.

Before Chen Ping’an left Downtrodden Mountain, Cui Cheng had said something extremely important to him in addition to displaying the strength of a martial artist at the peak stage of the tenth tier during their final training session on the second floor of the bamboo building.

“Chen Ping’an, it’s time for you to cultivate your mind. Otherwise, you’ll become the second Cui Cheng, and you’ll either go mad or… even worse, fall to demonic ways. How much you like to speak reason today is how unreasonable you’ll become in the future.”

Chen Ping’an adjusted his bamboo hat and looked around. It was autumn in the world, and it was also autumn in his heart. All he felt was anxiety and melancholy.

There had to be a way to resolve this conflict.

Chen Ping’an retracted his gaze and looked toward the short old sword cultivator from the mountain, saying, “Since you have a sword, why don’t you draw it and use it?”

The short old man glanced at the impudent young wanderer before casting his gaze further away and looking at the widow who was renowned throughout the Water Combing Nation, saying, “However, me? A sword immortal? The cultivation world of the Water Combing Nation is truly a hilarious joke. On second thought, however, it does seem to make sense for you people to regard me as such.”

There was a clang as his sword left its scabbard, its aura like booming lightning.

Meanwhile, the short old man maintained his carefree and leisurely demeanor as he sat on his horse with both hands on its reins.

His sword shot forward, and everyone’s eardrum started to ring, regardless of whether they were friend or foe. Their hearts also shuddered at the same time.

However, the other accompanying cultivator who hailed from an immortal force in the Water Combing Nation immediately knew that something was amiss.

The swordsman in azure tapped his foot and jumped up, directly landing on the tip of the short old man’s flying sword. He then raised his other foot as if he were using the flying sword as a step, causing it to diagonally pierce into the ground. The young man stood on the hilt of the sword which was now semi-embedded in the earth.

The short old man who had unleashed the sword strike immediately cupped his fists without hesitation and said, “Please forgive me for my provocation, Senior.”

He had unleashed a sword strike quickly, and he was now apologizing just as quickly.

Regarding the intricacies involved, perhaps this was only understood by the two people involved as well as the accompanying cultivator from the Water Combing Nation.

Chen Ping’an strode forward and landed on solid ground again. He placed his foot on the sword in the ground and swept outward, causing it to slide back with its tip pointing toward him. He then lightly stomped on the ground, making the sword stop before rising straight up into the air. Chen Ping’an held up his index finger and middle finger, twirling them around and using the sword manipulation techniques of sword experts to push the sword back into its scabbard.

The short old cultivator’s fists remained cupped the entire time, and he said, “Thank you for showing benevolence and returning my sword, Senior…”

Chen Ping’an had already put down his right hand and clasped it behind his back, and he was now holding the index finger and middle finger of his left hand together, with a blinding glow measuring an inch long appearing between his fingers.

“You’ll definitely repay me generously?” Chen Ping’an said with a smile.

The short old cultivator was expressionless as he shook both of his sleeves.

Sword cultivators were an extremely talented group, so even those who advanced to the Sea Observation Tier could still be regarded as having mediocre talent and aptitude. However, sword cultivators were still sword cultivators, after all, and their disposition, talent, and combat methods were definitely top-notch among all cultivators.

Outside the mountains, it was often said that the poor would become scholarly disciples while the wealthy would become martial arts disciples. In the mountains, it was similarly said that the poor would cultivate the Hundred Schools of Thought while the wealthy would cultivate swordsmanship. It was said that a flying sword could eat a mountain of gold, and almost every single bonded flying sword was unique in its own way.

The bonded flying sword of this Sea Observation Tier sword cultivator wasn’t unique in the sense that it was sharp enough to shatter all techniques, nor was it unique in the sense that it was very quick. Rather, it was unique in the sense that it traveled in an unpredictable manner, making it become very elusive. In addition to this, the flying sword could also be used with a secret technique where it would seemingly create copies of itself.

In the next instant…

Twelve identical flying swords materialized around the young swordsman in azure who was holding a bonded flying sword between his fingers, encircling him as they hovered in position. Some were higher and some were lower, yet their tips were all pointed at Chen Ping’an’s critical acupoints without fail. It was difficult to decipher which sword was the real one. Or perhaps, all twelve swords were real?

The sword rays of the twelve swords varied in strength, and this was the only shortcoming of the short old cultivator’s secret technique. He was unable to have the eleven replica flying swords fully replicate the strength of the “ancestor” flying sword.

The accompanying cultivator from the Water Combing Nation frowned upon seeing this. His colleague had never used this technique in front of him before, and it was presumably one of his most powerful trump cards.

As a Dragon Gate Tier cultivator who was more skilled at talismans and formations, he surmised that he would at least suffer severe injuries and become half dead if he placed himself in the young swordsman’s current position.

The young man knew that he was facing a sword cultivator, yet he still dared to act so carelessly and trap his opponent’s flying sword with only two fingers? He was truly far too arrogant.

Of the two accompanying cultivators, one was a Dragon Gate Tier immortal and one was a Sea Observation Tier sword cultivator. In reality, it was slightly overkill for them to serve Chu Hao and the prefectural overseer of the Green Pine Prefecture. This was especially the case with the prefectural overseer, and it was analogous to a little child’s teacher being a profoundly knowledgeable Confucian sage.

However, Great General Chu Hao wielded immense power in the imperial court now, and he wasn’t a person who would act benevolently for the greater good. Almost all of the top-notch accompanying cultivators were secretly assigned to his trusted subordinates, and the special treatment that his subordinates enjoyed was already far greater than that of the Water Combing Nation’s imperial family.

The short old cultivator smiled faintly, sure of his success.

In the next moment, however, the smile on his face became frozen.

The young man raised a hand and threw another punch, striking at someplace that appeared completely insignificant.

Blood seeped from the corners of the short old cultivator’s mouth.

Ten of the twelve flying swords that were only maintained by a mental link vanished in puffs of smoke, leaving only two. One was still firmly trapped between the two fingers on Chen Ping’an’s left hand, while the other which possessed the true killing intent was obstructed by his surging fist intent. Chen Ping’an’s azure robe was clearly an extremely high-grade Dao robe, and the spiritual energy gathered in the area targeted by the flying sword caused the flying sword to freeze and quiver in the air.

Chen Ping’an looked down at the bonded flying sword between his fingers and murmured to himself, “It is time that I should travel to the Northern Complete Reed Continent to see some true sword cultivators. She did say that this cold and bitter land has always produced many gallant and powerful individuals.”

Chen Ping’an flicked his fingers and tossed the trapped flying sword into his Sword Nurturing Gourd.

Apart from nurturing swords, Sword Nurturing Gourds could actually be used to wash swords as well. However, washing a bonded flying sword was no easy task, and either the Sword Nurturing Gourd needed to be extremely high grade, or the bonded flying sword needed to be very low grade. Coincidentally, Chen Ping’an’s Sword Nurturing Gourd, Jiang Hu, could be regarded as high grade compared to the short old cultivator’s bonded flying sword.

After the “ancestor” flying sword was tossed into Chen Ping’an’s Sword Nurturing Gourd, its subordinate flying sword also vanished like ink being washed off paper. The short old cultivator’s bonded flying sword trembled with fear in the Sword Nurturing Gourd, and this was understandable since it was accompanied by First and Fifteenth.

Chen Ping’an looked at the short old cultivator and said, “Don’t ask the others for help.”

He then turned around, smiling at the gallant individuals from the cultivation world of the Water Combing Nation and saying, “What are you all standing there in a daze for? Are you not going to hurry up and run away? Do you really want to be killed and have your heads exchanged for money? Do you people think you’re a charity or something?”

These people had initially been willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of righteousness, yet they instantly scattered like frightened birds at this moment, retreating back into the mountain forest.

Looking at their disappearing figures, Chen Ping’an suddenly felt like all of this was a little… silly.

He surmised that even if he mentioned these matters to Senior Song, the old sword saint whose spirit had already become deflated would no longer care about it anymore. Just like he had done when they were drinking together last time, he would most likely smile and say, “There’s no headache in the world that can’t be treated with some hotpot. If there is, then just wash it away with some wine.”

Chen Ping’an glanced at the accompanying cultivator who had stood on the sidelines and observed the conflict from the beginning to the end.

The cultivator nodded in acknowledgement, showing no signs of wanting to fight Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an didn’t target them any further either, and he simply borrowed a horse from them. Of course, he was borrowing this horse with no intention of returning it. He then jumped onto the horse and rode away.

The short old cultivator who had lost his flying sword didn’t dare to speak up for some reason, allowing the young man to take away half his life just like that. It was as if he would lose the remaining half of his life as well if he dared to say anything.

The Dragon Gate Tier cultivator naturally wouldn’t step forward to voluntarily plead the case for his companion.

Meanwhile, the gallant individuals from the cultivation world of the Water Combing Nation furiously fled through the mountains.

Some of them murmured quietly to each other, saying that the young man in azure was truly profound and powerful. Perhaps he was an old immortal from the mountains who was able to maintain his youthful appearance?

Meanwhile, some other people grumbled in their minds. An immortal? What utter nonsense. Anyhow, what did it matter even if he really was an immortal? Was he not the same as that short old cultivator who had his flying sword stolen? It was merely a case of unscrupulous people fighting against each other. So what if these kinds of people were powerful? Could they be regarded as gallant heroes?

However, there was also a young boy who felt a sense of respect and yearning. The young boy also didn’t like that young man in azure, but he yearned to emulate that person’s demeanor.

There was also a woman who sighed softly.

Several of them jumped onto tall branches, checking to see if the group of light cavalry was pursuing them. Among them, those with the best eyesight simply saw the young man wearing a bamboo hat gallop away on his horse, his hands placed inside opposite sleeves. He didn’t appear proud or smug, and he instead appeared a little lonely and melancholy.

One person turned their head and spat at the ground, and it was unknown whether they were feeling jealous or angry as they furiously cursed the young man.

However, as if detecting their discontent, Chen Ping’an turned around and looked back, causing the person on the branch to lose their balance out of fear and crash to the ground.

Chen Ping’an suddenly looked in some direction and said, “Wei Wei, help me deliver a message to Senior Song. Regarding the sword scabbard that was taken to the Middle Earth Divine Continent, tell him that I’ll retrieve it from that person the same way that it was retrieved from the Sword Water Villa.”

A faint puff of azure smoke materialized behind Chen Ping’an and his steed, and this ghost traveling on the wind in her embroidered shoes was none other than Wei Wei, one of the four evil spirits of the Water Combing Nation.

Chen Ping’an suddenly started to smile, and he continued, “Also, tell Senior Song that it might take a very long time, so I have no option but to trouble Senior Song with waiting patiently. In any case, I’ll definitely visit him for a drink before I travel to the Middle Earth Divine Continent.”

Wei Wei smiled beautifully in response.

She hovered in the air and didn’t follow Chen Ping’an any further.

She farewelled with her gaze the young man riding into the distance.