Unsheathed

After finishing his pot of wine, Chen Ping’an was reluctant to even throw the wine pot away, instead putting the empty wine pot back inside his minimization treasure. He was slightly disappointed that he hadn’t come across any ghosts and demons as he walked, and this was fairly similar to what he had experienced at Copper Official Mountain. Just as he was about to leave a mountain, however, he suddenly discovered an argument between two groups of people at the foot of a mountain in the distance. Both groups of people had their weapons drawn as they faced off against each other.

Chen Ping’an quickly snuck over, suppressing his aura and choosing a concealed location to hide.

There was a huge and crude carriage, one that wasn’t covered on the four sides even though it was shaped like a carriage. In reality, it looked more like a wooden raft with a treasure seat placed on top. There was a burly and muscular man sitting on the treasure seat, measuring six meters in height and with his fists as large as bowls. He was holding a huge but appropriately sized wine bowl in his hand, and he was currently drinking to his heart’s content with his head thrown back. Wine flowed down his hairy chest, and it was as if a dense forest were facing a deluge of rain.

There were many empty wine pots lying around the burly man’s feet, and sitting beside his treasure seat was a curled-up spirit with a slender body and two pointy ears. She was holding a large bowl of wine in her hands, but she would occasionally glance at a certain person in the so-called enemy camp, with her eyes sparkling and tender as she did so.

The huge carriage was resting on the shoulders of eight small spirits.

In addition to them, there were dozens of underling spirits suited in armor and brandishing their weapons nearby, shouting in arrogance as they did so.

Facing off against these spirits from the mountains were a dozen or so ghosts dressed up as elite soldiers. These ghosts were tall and burly, and they were armed with sabers and crossbows as if they were elite soldiers on a mortal battlefield.

Their leader, a ghost general in silver armor, had an expression of fury on his face as he stood beside a living man who was an entire head shorter than him. The living man appeared arrogant even though he was standing amid ghosts and spirits, and there was not a single hint of fear on his face. He was surprisingly wearing a bright red scholarly official robe with a white pheasant embroidered on the chest, with his undershirt white, his socks white and his shoes black, and his belt decorated with jade. This seemingly young-looking “official” was currently pointing at the huge carriage and unleashing a torrent of abuse.

The burly man who appeared like a small mountain as he sat on the treasure chair listened to the living man’s rambling abuse for a while before lightly kicking the woman beside him and asking in a low voice, “What the hell is he saying?”

“He’s cursing Master and saying that Master isn’t a human,” the coquettish female spirit replied with a smile.

The burly man faltered for a moment before musing, “Since when was I ever a human? In fact, which of us and which skeleton from Copper Stench City is a human? Isn’t this naive scholar the only human around here?”

The female spirit lowered her head and covered her mouth as she giggled. When the burly man tossed away the wine bowl in his hand, she hurriedly raised the full wine bowl in her hands and handed it over to him. After doing this, she started to massage his legs as she chuckled, “Master, this is just the nonsensical manner in which scholars from Copper Stench City speak. It’s a good thing that Master can’t understand them. Otherwise, if Master understands their speech, will Master go to Copper Stench City to become an official as well?”

The burly man grinned and replied, “I do indeed want to become a minor official who serves that female prime minister or whatnot. We can discuss those boring literary matters in the morning, and we can have a huge battle in bed at night. Listening to her moans will be like music to my ears. Just thinking about this makes me feel pure ecstasy.”

The ghost general heard this clearly, and his expression was dark as he placed his hand on the hilt of his saber and scolded in anger, “The prime minister is like a celestial maiden, so how dare a beast like you, who is yet to evolve and shed all of your hair, defile her with your words?!”

The burly man paid no heed to this, and he drank half the bowl of wine and spilled the other half, after which he tossed the wine bowl out of the carriage and wiped his mouth with his hand. He then leaned forward, putting a finger in his mouth to floss his teeth as he chuckled, “I beheaded chickens and burned yellow paper and became brothers with the Demon Hunting Immortal’s primary attendant, and I’m more importantly an adopted son of the Mountain-Moving Great Sage. That being the case, what does it matter that I ate a few woodsmen in the territory of City Lord Tang?”

The scholarly official stepped forward and scolded loudly, “Stop playing stupid in front of me, you old dog! We’ve sought you out to ask for the new hand-picked scholar back! This person is a scholar whom the esteemed prime minister values the most, so make haste and hand him back! Otherwise, Copper Stench City will deploy a large army to the border of your territory and no longer treat you kindly just because you’re a neighbor! I encourage you to think about this carefully. Is your dog life tougher, or are the sabers and spears of Copper Stench City’s large army sharper?!”

Observing this heated exchange, Chen Ping’an could vaguely see the Origin Manifestation of the burly man on the huge carriage — there was a mountain-chasing dog lying on the ground behind him.

However, this image was very blurry, and it continued to flicker in and out of existence.

The primary attendant of the Demon Hunting Immortal? This wasn’t the rat spirit who had hidden a knife behind his back and been killed by a single flick of Chen Ping’an’s finger at the entrance of Sheep Intestine Palace, was it?

Chen Ping’an took a glance at the huge carriage and thought that the most frightening thing was to have one’s product compared to someone else’s. This carriage was truly far too crude and basic compared to the treasure chariot of Meticulous Skin City’s Fan Yunluo. It was no wonder that this dog spirit had become brothers with Sheep Intestine Palace’s rat spirit.

The so-called hand-picked scholar whom the scholarly official of Copper Stench City was asking for was definitely the fragile scholar whom the “noble scholar” holding the folding fan had brought to Peeling Mountain to ask for a reward. In other words, the scholar in question was none other than Yang Ningxing.

Chen Ping’an was mostly interested in the living man, the scholarly official from Copper Stench City.

It was clear that he had left Copper Stench City for official duties, but judging from the hint of schadenfreude shimmering in his eyes, it was evident that he hoped for the captured scholar — someone who might compete with him for favor in the officialdom — to be dead and turning into fertilizer in the mountain-chasing dog’s belly.

One shouldn’t expose another person’s shortcomings when scolding them, and the burly man also flared up in rage when the truth was blatantly exposed. His spittle flew everywhere as he started to hurl abuse, shouting that the official from Copper Stench City was someone who was bound to suffer hardship and die an early death.

The two sides hurled abuse at each other for what seemed like half a day.

However, Chen Ping’an didn’t see either side trying to physically attack the other first.

In the end, they surprisingly turned around and each returned to their own homes.

Chen Ping’an was left slightly speechless by what he saw.

He slapped his Sword Nurturing Gourd before jumping down from the branch and following the ghosts from Copper Stench City from a great distance.

The burly man remained unmoving on the huge carriage, and it was as if he were taking a nap after drinking too much wine.

When the spirits arrived back at their cave abode and the huge carriage was slowly lowered to the ground, the coquettish female spirit sitting beside the burly man’s treasure seat suddenly shrieked in a high-pitched voice.

As it turned out, her supremely powerful master had mysteriously passed away, with a single bead of blood seeping from the glabella of the mountain-chasing dog from Copper Official Mountain who had assumed the form of a burly man.

When Chen Ping’an arrived near Copper Stench City, he retrieved the jade tablet that he had received from the Flax Robe Sect and hung it by his waist.

He also carried a huge sack on his back, inside of which were the jars and vials that he had obtained from Peeling Mountain’s Moon Hall and the Black River’s underwater cave abode.

As for whether trading these items would expose any clues, Chen Ping’an naturally didn’t care about this at all. In fact, he earnestly hoped for the demons to notice these clues and look for him to seek revenge.

However, the Demon Hunting Immortal didn’t even dare to stay at his own residence, Sheep Intestine Palace, for too long, so would he dare to barge into Copper Stench City to seek death?

Just then, First had seemingly been reluctant to leave the Sword Nurturing Gourd to kill the mountain-chasing dog.

As such, it was Fifteenth that had flown out to kill the demon.

Chen Ping’an adjusted his bamboo hat and once again put on the face mask of the old man.

While splitting the treasures at the water goddess temple on the bank of the Black River before, Yang Ningxing had said that he wanted to keep the face mask of the young man as a small memorabilia.

However, Chen Ping’an had turned down his request.

The scholar had taken a step back and said that he was willing to purchase the face mask for a high price.

Chen Ping’an had agreed to sell the face mask, and he had put the price at ten grain rain coins. Moreover, since the two of them were good brothers who had gone through thick and thin together, it was naturally bad for their relationship to talk about money. As such, Chen Ping’an had given the scholar a discount of negative ten percent.

It was only after hearing this that the scholar had reluctantly returned the face mask to Chen Ping’an.

He had remarked that it was truly difficult to find a brother as kind and generous as Brother Haoren in the world.

Copper Stench City was a relatively large city among the numerous cities in the southern region of Malicious Ghost Valley, and it had a tall and mighty city wall as well as three city gates. A large palatial complex similar to those in mortal empires was located in the north of the city, and a significant number of officials and nobles lived in close vicinity to this complex.

There were also ten markets of varying sizes in the city, with trade and business flourishing. The Be At Ease Compilation written by the Flax Robe Sect had detailed records of the city, and it was mentioned that one would face no restriction in entering the city if one wore the jade tablet of the Flax Robe Sect as one entered. Not only that, but those wearing the jade tablets of the Flax Robe Sect would also receive additional discounts or benefits when they engaged in transactions in the city.

From this, it could be seen that the city lord who had established his force near Green Cottage Town and grown his business in Copper Stench City was a very smart person… No, a very smart ghost.

Sure enough, the ghosts in armor and with sabers by their side immediately changed their attitude when they saw the jade tablet by Chen Ping’an’s waist. Not only did they not interrogate Chen Ping’an after accepting the entrance fee, but they even put on respectful expressions as they bowed their heads and bent their backs, smiling as they interacted with the “old man.” They even wished the esteemed immortal good fortune and a bountiful yield in unison, and this caught Chen Ping’an slightly off guard.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ping’an didn’t leave straight away, and he instead acted as if he were a wealthy outsider traveling around the vicinity of Green Cottage Town. He flicked a snowflake coin to the ghost general who was responsible for guarding the city gate, and the latter hurriedly caught the immortal coin with both hands before lightly biting down on it. A beaming smile immediately spread across his face.

There were three large markets in Copper Stench City that were renowned throughout Malicious Ghost Valley. There was the Daughter Market which was filled with brothels and the smell of makeup, and this was because the human women in Copper Stench City were all exceptionally beautiful. Apart from engaging in prostitution, the Daughter Market was also involved in the trade of humans, with young girls who looked pretty being picked out and labeled with a clear price.

Looking back through history, there were indeed esteemed immortals from the outside world who had taken a fancy to the aptitude of the young girls being sold, purchasing these girls and bringing them outside Malicious Ghost Valley. It was said that one such girl had been a brilliant cultivation talent whose Eight Characters was Pure Yin, and both she and her benefactor had eventually become earth immortals together.[1]

When cultivators from immortal forces in the mountains left the mountains to look for disciples with suitable aptitude, it was often the case that the potential disciples would each have their own unique strengths and weaknesses. It was incredibly difficult to truly decipher everything, and this was not to mention the myriad of strange and wonderful physiques and fated opportunities. One person’s treasure might be another person’s trash, and cases like this were as common as could be.

Chen Ping’an knew very well about these matters. After leaving Bamboo Scroll Lake and traveling north, he had inadvertently come across two young shop attendants in a gold and silver shop of a small county city. The two young men had been oblivious to the fortune that they were enjoying, completely unaware that they were being observed by two old immortals who had concealed their identities as they traveled through the mortal world. The old cultivator with the higher cultivation base had chosen the seemingly simple and naive young man as his disciple, while the cultivator with the lower cultivation base had chosen the clever and quick-witted young man as his disciple.

Another renowned market was the Horse Riding Market, and the transactions made here were primarily through bartering. From ores to spiritual flowers and herbs, and then to white jade skeletons and all kinds of relics that were obtained from the ruins of the empires, everything that one obtained in Malicious Ghost Valley could be traded at this market. Visitors could barter according to their own needs. Indeed, there were also many requirements and specificities when ghosts and yin entities cultivated, but just like human cultivators, each advance in cultivation base would imply an increase in lifespan.

Finally, there was Gold Dust Market, a market especially for transacting treasures with the so-called prime minister examiner. Of course, cultivators from the outside world could also sell their treasures to the prime minister examiner, the younger sister of the city lord.

This was Chen Ping’an’s reason for visiting Copper Stench City. If he wanted to become a wandering merchant himself, then it was only appropriate that he get some practice and learn to become more shameless first.

As Chen Ping’an walked through the city, he saw ghosts wandering around in the daylight without any issues, and the living humans in the city weren’t afraid of these ghosts in the least. Things were harmonious as everyone continued to shop and go about their lives.

The Malicious Ghost Valley had likely “refined” the radiance of the Majestic World’s sun and moon already, so the sunlight in this mystical realm no longer had a damaging effect on ghosts and yin entities.

Gold Dust Market wasn’t very large, and apart from one street of shops, it was a hotspot for scholars who had failed to become champion scholars but were still talented and renowned. These scholars liked to seek temporary residence in the market.

The prime minister examiner’s idea to run this market was indeed very bold and imaginative.

Chen Ping’an arrived at the first shop on the street, and the shopkeeper here was a young female ghost dressed in extravagant clothes. There were also two younger ghosts with snow-white faces, a little boy ghost and a little girl ghost.

The two little ghosts felt slightly apprehensive when they saw the jade tablet of the Flax Robe Sect hanging by Chen Ping’an’s waist.

Copper Stench City had suffered many disasters in its history, and all of these disasters had been caused by immortals from the outside world unleashing their bloodlust in the city and killing countless people.

However, the expression of the young female ghost was normal as she asked in a polite voice, “Are you here to purchase goods or sell goods, Old Esteemed Immortal? Since I was able to open my shop at the start of the street, my goods are naturally authentic and of high quality.”

Chen Ping’an changed his voice and asked in a hoarse voice, “But won’t this be the end of the street if I walk over from the other side?”

The female shopkeeper smiled warmly and was unfazed by this question. At the end of the day, it was completely up to the customer whether they wanted to buy goods and sell goods or not. She wouldn’t try to force any transactions.

Meanwhile, the two little ghosts who had initially shrank back in apprehension exchanged a smile with each other. As it turned out, this old immortal who was wearing a bamboo hat knew how to tell jokes too!

Chen Ping’an had a look at the antiques and curios displayed on the many treasure shelves in the shop, but very few of these items were flowing with spiritual energy. The large majority of them were relics of past empires unearthed from the ancient battlefield at Skeleton Shoal, and they were in a similar state to the weapons and suits of armor that Chen Ping’an had come across at Crow Peak. The only difference was that the items in this shop were in good condition and sparkling brightly as if they were brand new, while the weapons and suits of armor at Crow Peak had been discarded in the desolate mountains and left to rust.

When it came to treasures in the mountains, it wasn’t the case that they could be regarded as spirit tools simply because they possessed some spiritual energy. Only items that were meticulously crafted by cultivators and able to nurture the acupoints of Qi refiners could be regarded as spirit tools. Moreover, this was only the most basic requirement.

In addition to this, spirit tools needed to be capable of drawing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth by themselves, following which they needed to refine this spiritual energy into something purer and more condensed. This was another big hurdle, and it adhered to the saying, “heaven and earth bestow form, spirit tools birth spirit.” The treasure chambers of many empires in the world were viewed as unfathomably magnificent and valuable in the eyes of mortal humans, but they were viewed as nothing more than trash in the eyes of lofty cultivators from the mountains. This saying explained the reason why.

However, the most prized treasure in the shop could undoubtedly be regarded as a spirit tool. It was a heavy iron arrow with no fletchings, and it could be presumed that the owner of this arrow had most definitely possessed astonishing arm power. He had definitely been a fearsome warrior on the battlefield, and this was exemplified by the blood stains on the tip of the arrow that were yet to fade away after so long. In fact, these stains had already penetrated into the arrow itself.

Seeing that the customer was gazing down and examining the arrow, the female ghost shopkeeper smiled faintly and remarked, “You truly have a good eye for treasures, Old Esteemed Immortal. The name of this arrow is ‘Mountain Shattering Arrow,’ and it was once the weapon of a formidable warrior who could face ten thousand enemies on the battlefield by himself. This great general was from the Longxi nation, and he was a Militarian cultivator whose bonded item was a Mountain Shattering Bow. This bow was paired with twelve Mountain Shattering Arrows, and each arrow was powerful enough to destroy a mountain peak when fired from the bow. The might of this weapon was deeply astonishing.

“The Mountain Shattering Arrow displayed here is even rarer than the rest because of the blood stains that you can see on its tip. This arrow was shot through the eyeball of an enemy Militarian cultivator, and it’s because of this that the blood stains on the arrow haven’t faded away even after one thousand years. Hence, my master has also given the arrow the name ‘Eye Piercing Arrow.’

“Ordinary ghosts and mountain spirits in Copper Stench City will feel piercing pain in their eyes if they take so much as a single glance at this arrow. If you purchase this arrow and carry it with you as you traverse the mountains and cross the rivers, you can naturally ward off evil and deter ghosts and yin entities.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and asked, “And where has the Mountain Shattering Bow ended up nowadays?”

There was a look of pity on the female ghost shopkeeper’s face as she replied, “The great general drew the bow so far back that it directly broke during that intense and soul-stirring battle at Skeleton Shoal. Not only did the bowstring snap, but even the bow itself snapped in half.”

“What a brutal battle that must have been,” Chen Ping’an remarked with emotion.

The female ghost smiled and said, “If that weren’t the case, then would the ghosts like me have received the opportunity to come back to life? We need to thank those warriors who were willing to risk their lives on the battlefield.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and said, “I’ll take a look around the market.”

The female ghost shopkeeper didn’t try to force any sales, and she allowed the old cultivator wearing the bamboo hat to leave her shop.

1. The Eight Characters (八字) is a Chinese astrological concept that a person’s destiny or fate can be divined by the two sexagenary cycle characters assigned to their birth year, month, day, and hour. ☜