Unsheathed

The scholar felt a splitting headache after he woke up, and he discovered that he was located next to a steep cliff. There was a suspension bridge that looked like a long snake nearby, and the bridge swayed slightly in the mountain wind.

His Hundred Eye Taotie Dao robe was already gone, and the secret talisman hidden inside his sleeve had naturally fallen into Chen Haoren’s hands as well.

Moreover, he was bound by a golden demon-binding chain, and glancing down, he could tell that the grade of this treasure was quite high. It was actually crafted from two whiskers of a flood dragon, and the age of the flood dragon definitely wasn’t low. Comparing the so-called flood dragon whiskers of Copper Green Lake’s silver carp to the flood dragon whiskers of the demon-binding chain was probably the same as comparing Lady Bishu to a genuine toad from the Moon Palace, right? Perhaps the gulf wasn’t so great, but it wouldn’t be too far off either.

The scholar couldn’t help but chuckle in speechlessness.

He didn’t put up any struggle at all.

This was because two bonded flying swords were guarding him, one pointing at his glabella from in front and one pointing at his heart from behind.

Fortunately, he hadn’t woken up from the Soul-Returning Lotus Flower Light in his clan’s ancestral hall. That would have been the worst-case scenario.

The scholar sighed and said, “Brother Haoren, remember to return what you’ve borrowed afterward.”

Not far away, a young wanderer wearing a bamboo hat was sitting cross-legged on the cliff and practicing the Sword Furnace Stance.

He remained silent.

“Brother Haoren, your hobby of taking clothes off other people isn’t very good,” the scholar continued. “Was I correct in saying that the dragon robe worn by that ruler we found in Lady Bishu’s treasure chamber disintegrated at a single touch? And I genuinely didn’t lie to you about the Dao robe worn by that female cultivator from the Lofty Moral Sect either. It’s extremely ordinary, and it’s only a spirit tool like that ritual wine bowl from the ancestral hall of the Lofty Moral Sect. It won’t fetch a good price, and you’ll only make some money if you come across a cultivator who likes to collect Dao robes.”

Chen Ping’an continued to remain silent.

However, the scholar didn’t get angry or embarrassed at all. He had only lost a Dao robe that he couldn’t show in public anyway, and it wasn’t as if he had been stripped naked or anything.

Even so, it did pain him slightly to lose those three golden paper talismans. One talisman was called the Jade Heaven Residence Talisman, and it belonged to a branch of the mountain talismans. This talisman could summon the residence of a Thunder City True King, and cultivators would be able to block several attacks from the bonded immortal treasures of Nascent Tier cultivators if they hid inside this residence.

Meanwhile, Golden Core Tier cultivators would most likely need more than seven or eight minutes to breach the entrance of the summoned residence.

Another talisman was called the Pure Jade Illumination Talisman, and activating this talisman could illuminate the darkness and suppress the demons and ghosts. This talisman had an extremely wide area of effect, and it could envelop an area of several kilometers in radius. It didn’t target cultivators, however, and it was especially used for breaking through formations and encirclements.

The final talisman was the most valuable one, and it was a secret among secrets in the scholar’s clan. It was called the Cloud Slashing Fiend Talisman, and the talismanic core contained four specks of incredibly valuable divine light. Upon activating this talisman, the thunder guardian, lightning goddess, rain god, and wind deity would all appear in unison to launch one combined attack.

This was the talisman that the scholar had been pinching when standing in the backyard of Peeling Mountain’s Moon Hall.

However, Chen Ping’an had also been equally as sneaky at that time, and he had similarly made some subtle movements inside his sleeve. The scholar had been unsure about Chen Ping’an’s strength, and the two of them had also been too close. As such, he hadn’t been willing to risk heavy injuries to defeat his opponent, what with the excessive might of the talisman being able to obliterate half of Peeling Mountain. Moreover, using the talisman would have also exposed his whereabouts. It was because of these reasons that the scholar had suppressed his killing intent.

As for the talisman that had been destroyed by Chen Ping’an, it also possessed strong destructive ability, although it didn’t appear as mighty and magnificent as the Cloud Slashing Fiend Talisman.

At the same time, this talisman wasn’t a secret of his clan, and it was instead the pinnacle talisman of a talisman sect in the Northern Complete Reed Continent that was especially used for targeting sword cultivators. In other words, the scholar hadn’t actually been backed into a corner by the group of demons at the time, and he had merely appeared disheveled on the surface.

The scholar’s true goal had been to purposely cause some huge commotion that was visible from the mountain ranges, and this was because he was certain that Chen Haoren would definitely sneak back in secret and quietly hide at someplace. Afterward, Chen Haoren might look for an opportunity to launch a deadly sneak attack on him.

However, had the scholar not purposely appeared weak on the surface in order to lure Chen Haoren in, giving him the opportunity to kill his opponent?

However, it was a shame that things hadn’t gone his way.

The opposing forces were truly always one step ahead.

Chen Haoren’s sword was very strange… Far too strange. The scholar’s golden paper Earth Ancestor Palace Sword Locking Talisman had surprisingly failed to bind his opponent’s sword, and as a result, the earth movement technique and the Cloud Slashing Fiend Talisman that he had prepared were deprived of the opportunity to shine.

Otherwise, if his first talisman had succeeded and he were able to use his second talisman and escape through the earth, then Chen Haoren would have suffered severe injuries even if he weren’t directly killed. At that time, the scholar could have left him behind for the group of demons to deal with. Could Chen Haoren possibly survive that?

At the same time, that person inside him had made things even worse, unexpectedly causing trouble at that moment and forcefully wresting control of half of his soul, going as far as to drop all defenses against Chen Haoren. And what was the outcome? Chen Haoren had ruthlessly struck him with a punch, and he had now been reduced to a captive.

Thankfully, however, Chen Haoren hadn’t decided to resolutely kill him and take his treasures before destroying his corpse to eliminate the evidence.

Was this not some fortune that Chen Haoren had accumulated by choosing to be benevolent?

Otherwise, if Chen Haoren had decided to kill him, the scholar would have still been able to stay alive and wake up in his clan. However, he would have paid a huge price and lost part of his spirit and soul, suffering damage to the foundation of his Great Dao.

Even though his clan had secret techniques to address this, it would still delay his cultivation and breakthrough by at least one hundred years. At that time, how could his clan forgive Chen Haoren? To say nothing of pursuing him for tens of thousands of kilometers, his clan would pursue Chen Ping’an for tens upon hundreds of years even if he were the direct disciple of a sect-level force on another continent.

The Lofty Cloud Palace’s Yang Clan, which belonged to the Great Origin Empire’s Esteemed Mystery Department, was widely recognized by the continent to be a clan that remembered acts of kindness and would repay them manifold. At the same time, they would remember acts of hostility for a long time and repay them with utmost ferocity.

Be it the three golden paper talismans from the ancestral hall that he hadn’t used, or be it the Hundred Eye Taotie Dao robe, could these items possibly be worth as much as the life and Great Dao of a cultivator?

As such, the scholar was very open-minded about losing them.

His father always told him that he definitely needed to accept small losses on the path of cultivation.

The scholar smiled and asked, “Brother Haoren, how did you break free from the encirclement of demons with me? You must have spent a lot of energy, didn’t you?”

After Chen Ping’an finished channeling the Eighteen Stops Technique, he exited the Sword Furnace Stance and replied, “I didn’t need to spend much energy as the group of demons was already exhausted after fighting with you for so long. They were also afraid that there would be more reinforcements apart from me, so they all shrank back and refused to advance. As such, their so-called encirclement was nothing more than a perfunctory show.

“Even so, they still held me back for a while before I finally managed to find a gap to escape through, after which I fled south all the way until I reached this location of Malicious Ghost Valley. However, your Dao robe was snatched by those demons because I was unable to stop them in time, and I truly feel very guilty about this.”

“Then this demon-binding chain and the two flying swords?” the scholar asked with a bitter smile.

“I’m using them to protect you, of course,” Chen Ping’an replied with a righteous expression. “There are two great demons here, and they’ve been eying us off from the suspension bridge this entire time. There’s a python spirit and a spider spirit, and I’m sure that you’ve already detected their presence as well. I was afraid of getting you killed while I concentrated on cultivation.”

The scholar glanced over at the suspension bridge, and there were indeed two pitiful spirits. However, to regard them as great demons? They weren’t even able to assume human form yet, and it was already quite impressive that they hadn’t fled dozens of kilometers in fright after seeing the demon-binding chain around him.

Chen Ping’an smiled and continued, “I was naturally afraid that you would refuse to listen to my explanations and immediately try to fight me upon waking up. At that time, wouldn’t the misunderstandings between us deepen even more? Anyhow, can the two of us speak honestly with each other now?”

The scholar nodded and replied, “Not only is Brother Haoren a chivalrous person, but it’s even more commendable that you’re so cautious and thorough when doing things. I truly can’t pick any fault with your actions!”

Chen Ping’an smiled faintly and said, “Brother Mumao, can you reveal your surname now? We’re brothers who have risked our lives and gone through thick and thin together, so it’s not very good for you to conceal your surname, is it?”

There was a dazzling smile on the scholar’s face as he replied in an extremely sincere voice, “My surname is Yang, and my name is Mumao. I grew up in the Great Origin Empire’s Esteemed Mystery Department, and thanks to my decent aptitude and the fact that my ancestors have worked in the Esteemed Mystery Department for many generations, I was fortunate enough to become an internal disciple of the Lofty Cloud Palace.

“I traveled south after leaving home this time, and I was already short on immortal coins before I even reached Malicious Ghost Valley. As such, I planned to vanquish demons in Malicious Ghost Valley, both accumulating some hidden virtue and earning a small amount of money at the same time. That was, I can at least scrounge together a decent present for the birthday banquet of a king of the Great Origin Empire who has a good relationship with the Esteemed Mystery Department.”

Since Chen Haoren recognized the characters “Dragon Gate” on the stele, he had most likely seen through the three talismans hidden inside his sleeve as well.

With this in mind, the scholar — Yang Mumao — no longer treated Chen Haoren as a fool, lest he become angry and reward him with another punch.

There was a hint of a smile on Chen Ping’an’s face as he said, “As an outsider from another continent, even I’ve heard much about the greatness of the Great Origin Empire’s Esteemed Mystery Department. Say, is Brother Mumao familiar with Yang Ningxing, that innate Dao Seed?”

Yang Mumao rolled his eyes and replied, “As an internal disciple of the Lofty Cloud Palace, how can I not be familiar with this widely renowned junior immortal? Not only am I familiar with him, but I’m even familiar with Young Master Yang Ningzhen who likes to travel around the world. I have a fairly good relationship with both of them. Of course, the two of them are lofty direct disciples of the Yang Clan, so my relationship with these two brothers is only very shallow. We can’t be regarded as good friends or anything.”

Chen Ping’an had a skeptical expression, but there was nothing Yang Mumao could do to clear up this doubt. After all, Chen Haoren couldn’t torture him and interrogate him, could he? However, if he truly chose that route, a single demon-binding chain and two flying swords wouldn’t necessarily be enough to restrict him.

“You were playing around with that bunch of wild dogs before, and your purpose was to make me think that I had an opportunity to kick you while you were down, so you could turn around and kill me instead?” Chen Ping’an suddenly asked.

Yang Mumao was just about to spin a story, but he suddenly furrowed his brows as a piercing pain struck his glabella. His entire aura changed the next moment, and he was filled with so-called “pure yang righteous energy” as he had claimed when meeting Chen Ping’an for the first time. Qi refiners and pure martial artists could conceal their presence or change their auras, but it would be incredibly difficult to disguise the aura of one’s spirit that was imperceptibly formed.

Chen Ping’an frowned and asked, “Are you suffering from soul-separation syndrome? Are there two of you fighting for the same soul?”

This was similar to two brothers continually arguing and fighting with each other inside their house.

Generally speaking, this was a huge taboo for cultivators.

If a Qi refiner suffered from soul-separation syndrome, then trying to break through to the subsequent cultivation tiers would be like someone with crippled legs trying to climb a mountain. Reaching the Golden Core Tier was already extremely fortunate, but trying to overcome the mental demons of the Nascent Tier would be nothing more than an unrealistic dream.

Yang Mumao sat up straight, with his eyes clear and limpid as he smiled faintly and replied, “You suffered some injuries and expended a lot of energy to rescue me, and the golden paper Land-Shortening Talisman that you used in the end was not only precious, but it likely also has some links to the talisman branch of my clan. That being the case, you can keep the Hundred Eye Taotie Dao robe and the three talismans inside its sleeve as a thank-you gift. As for me, I’m naturally not called Yang Mumao or whatnot. However, I am indeed from the Great Origin Empire’s Esteemed Mystery Department. I won’t tell you my real name, but you can feel free to guess.”

“When ‘he’ loses consciousness in your body, ‘you’ can actually still remain conscious and observe the outside world?” Chen Ping’an asked in puzzlement.

The scholar nodded in response, but he didn’t offer any further explanation.

“But wanting to kill me is a genuine desire of yours,” Chen Ping’an said.

“And is the same not true for you?” the scholar asked with a smile.

Chen Ping’an remained silent.

“Since you eventually decided to rescue me instead of kill me, I felt like it was necessary for me to come out to meet you one more time,” the scholar continued. “In my view, battles of the Great Dao should be fair and square. If you agree with this, then we can choose a day after we finish our training to fight to the death on Temper Mountain. What do you say?

“Oh, and also, I need to warn you that I have a nagging feeling that someone is keeping an eye on you from afar in Malicious Ghost Valley. Their observation of you is on and off, and it doesn’t last for long each time. Their cultivation base is also profound, and I can only vaguely determine that they’re located somewhere in the north. You need to be careful.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t offer a comment on this.

The scholar smiled and said, “I’m going to concentrate on refining the Dragon Gate Stele now, and I must do so without any external distractions. You can interact with the other me, so I ask you to please bear with him. How should I put this? He can be regarded as the evil in my heart, and even though I’ve already compressed him to the size of a seemingly tiny seed, he’s still extremely big in reality and also very pure. His evil is pure and he acts in an unrestrained manner, and there’s no need to beat around the bush about this.

“However, every time I need to focus on something else and hand him control of this body, I make sure to place restrictions on him and prevent him from overstepping the boundaries too much. Oh, that’s right. I can also observe the situation without restrictions when he’s in control, and I can borrow these opportunities to observe Dao and temper my mind. On the other hand, he can only slumber when I’m in control of the body.”

Chen Ping’an’s heart shuddered, and he was just about to say something in reply. However, the young scholar had already closed his eyes.