Unsheathed

The immortal ship stopped for two hours when it arrived near Golden Light Peak, yet the passengers failed to catch sight of a single gold back goose.

Song Lanqiao offered some explanations as he stood beside Chen Ping’an, saying that even those cultivators who coveted gold back geese and had waited here for several years might have only seen them a rare few times.

The immortal ship of the Spring Dew Garden continued to slowly sail forward, coincidentally passing by Moonlight Mountain when it was nighttime. However, it didn’t dare to steer too close to the mountain, maintaining a distance of three to four kilometers as it circled the mountain once. It wasn’t the first or the fifteenth day of the new month, so the giant frog naturally didn’t appear on the mountain.

This made Song Lanqiao feel slightly awkward, especially since the giant frog would occasionally appear atop the mountain peak to absorb the essence of the moon on other days as well. As such, Song Lanqiao didn’t even show up beside Chen Ping’an this time.

He saw the young cultivator wearing the bamboo hat only returning to his room when the immortal ship sailed far away from Moonlight Mountain.

Song Lanqiao couldn’t help but smile bitterly. This young man’s luck was very ordinary.

It would be extravagantly hopeful to see a gold back goose when the immortal ship sailed past this pair of Dao partner mountains, and Song Lanqiao had only seen them fewer than ten times after working as the steward of this immortal ship for more than two hundred years. However, there was roughly a fifty-fifty chance for passengers of the immortal ship to see the giant frog of Moonlight Mountain.

Two days passed, and the immortal ship slowly gained altitude.

The young cultivator actively sought out Song Lanqiao, asking him why the immortal ship was suddenly rising higher. Song Lanqiao didn’t try to hide anything, especially since this was a semi-open secret regarding the immortal ship’s route. This wasn’t a forbidden secret of their immortal force.

There were many tricks and secrets regarding stable routes that had already been operated for many years, and immortal ships would often lower their altitude when sailing past beautiful mountains and rivers. The reason was to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and thus slightly reduce the expenditure of immortal coins needed to sail the immortal ship.

On the other hand, maintaining a low altitude when sailing past so-called lawless lands with a paucity of spiritual energy would lead to a higher expenditure of immortal coins, so immortal ships would naturally increase their altitude to avoid this extra cost. As for how to navigate these situations in the territories of immortal forces without breaking their rules yet making some small earnings at the same time, this was largely up to the skills and experience of those steering the immortal ships. Even more important than this was the ability to build a suitable relationship with each local force.

These matters weren’t necessarily taboos or secrets, so Song Lanqiao didn’t hold back as he explained them to Chen Ping’an.

This could also be regarded as building some goodwill with the young cultivator. In any case, explaining these things didn’t cost Song Lanqiao a single copper coin.

Through his interactions with Chen Ping’an, Song Lanqiao also speculated that this young cultivator from another continent was most likely the direct disciple of an old ancestor from a large sect, the type of disciple who was completely focused on cultivation and understood little about the world. Otherwise, it didn’t make sense for him to know nothing about the simple secrets regarding the operations of immortal ships.

After all, there was a strong and clear correlation between an immortal force’s foundation and wealth and the distance that their immortal ships could travel, whether that be a measly few tens of thousands of kilometers, enough distance to cover half a continent, or enough distance to embark on intercontinental journeys.

When asking Song Lanqiao about the change in altitude of the immortal ship, Chen Ping’an had retrieved a pot of immortal wine that he had purchased at Skeleton Shoal. This immortal wine was called Wind and Hail Wine, and it was an extremely potent wine that wasn’t as renowned as gloomy tea.

Song Lanqiao suddenly left his room one day, ordering the immortal ship to descend to a lower altitude. He walked to the bow of the immortal ship after approximately fifteen minutes and stood with his hands on the railing, peering down at the mountains and rivers below. The old cultivator couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder as he vaguely saw a peculiar scene below.

The immortal ship wasn’t very far from the ground, and the weather was also clear, allowing an excellent view of the terrain below. Even so, ordinary cultivators would still be unable to notice the peculiar scene on the ground.

Song Lanqiao was only observing this for his amusement, and he wouldn’t leave the immortal ship to interfere in the matters below. It could be argued that he was wasting the Spring Dew Garden’s money for personal gain, but the old ancestor responsible for managing the finances of the immortal force wouldn’t care much about spending a few dozen more snowflake coins over a period of seven or eight minutes. At most, he would only ask Song Lanqiao whether he had seen any new or interesting things.

A Golden Core Tier cultivator wasting their time acting as a steward of an immortal ship was a clear sign that they were a pitiful person who had reached a dead end in their pursuit of the Great Dao. As such, ordinary cultivators didn’t dare to provoke such stewards, especially if they were an earth immortal.

Chen Ping’an walked over to where Song Lanqiao was standing, gazing down at the city that was enveloped in hazy black mist and asking, “Elder Song, why is there black mist enveloping that city?”

“You have very good eyesight, Young Master Chen. Even I’m having some trouble seeing things clearly,” Song Lanqiao stroked his beard and remarked.

He then chuckled and continued, “That’s a prefectural city of the Silver Screen Nation, and the aura around it is so clear because it appears like the city is going to face a calamity soon. There are two potential reasons for this, with one being demons causing trouble. The other potential reason is the local mountain god, river god, or city god appointed by the imperial court reaching a dire state where their godly body has decayed significantly and is about to crumble.

“The Silver Screen Nation seems to have a large territory, but it’s actually a genuinely minor nation in the southeastern region of the Northern Complete Reed Continent. This is because the nation lacks spiritual energy and is unable to produce many Qi refiners, and even if it does, it loses these cultivators to other nations with better conditions and opportunities. So, despite its size, the Silver Screen Nation is a poor and undeveloped nation that Qi refiners don’t like to visit.”

Song Lanqiao was clearly treating Chen Ping’an as a young and inexperienced cultivator who had just left the mountains as he explained this, and the elderly Golden Core Tier cultivator quickly realized the inappropriate nature of his explanation. However, he breathed a sigh of relief when he carefully observed Chen Ping’an’s expression and saw that he was still listening intently. Sure enough, he was an esteemed disciple of some sect-level immortal force of another continent.

Thankfully, he was from the Spring Dew Garden, a friendly immortal force. Otherwise, if this young man were traveling on an immortal ship owned by some powerful force in the central region or northern region of the Northern Complete Reed Continent, he would very likely be teased and harassed once the others found out about his identity. Once the conflict escalated and both sides became emotionally charged, they would probably refrain from fighting to the death on the immortal ship. However, the cultivators who picked on this young man would definitely find an opportunity to disguise themselves as vagrant cultivators and kill him before destroying all evidence. This was a common occurrence in the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

Song Lanqiao hesitated for a moment before swallowing the words of warning that had already reached the tip of his tongue.

Disciples from large sects cared a lot about their face, so if he gilded the lily and warned Chen Ping’an about these dangers, it was entirely likely that the young man would resent him instead of thanking him for his goodwill.

Chen Ping’an looked around and adjusted his bamboo hat, saying with a smile, “Senior Song, I’m a bit bored and have nothing to do right now, so I’m going to head down to take a look and entertain myself. I might arrive at the Spring Dew Garden a bit later, but I’ll definitely visit you and treat you to some wine at that time. Also, I might affect the formation of the immortal ship when I leave in a moment.”

Song Lanqiao faltered upon hearing this, feeling slightly surprised by Chen Ping’an’s decision. However, cultivators always acted according to their hearts, so he didn’t say anything extra or try to dissuade Chen Ping’an. He simply said a few auspicious words to bid Chen Ping’an farewell.

Afterward, the elderly Golden Core Tier cultivator saw Chen Ping’an’s expression become slightly awkward.

Why didn’t he soar away on his sword? If this were too eye-catching, then surely he could fly away on the wind?

Chen Ping’an had no option but to pat his Sword Nurturing Gourd before placing one hand on the railing and jumping overboard. He casually slashed apart the formation of the immortal ship with one hand and dashed out, appearing as quick as an arrow as he soared away and seemingly stood atop the tip of a burst of dark green sword light.

Chen Ping’an then bent his knees slightly and instantly exerted immense force, causing his body to lean forward and rapidly swoop down. Huge ripples appeared in the surroundings, with thunderous booms traveling through the air. The eyelids of Song Lanqiao twitched as he watched on. How very impressive. So be it if he were just a young sword immortal, but he even possessed a physique as tough as a Vajra Body Tier martial artist?

Fucking sword cultivators!

Chen Ping’an landed on the peak of a mountain and waved goodbye to Song Lanqiao from far away.

Song Lanqiao also waved goodbye in response. This young man was someone who understood etiquette, after all, so the elderly cultivator couldn’t bring himself to dislike him.

Just how difficult was it for cultivators in the mountains to enjoy amicable encounters and amicable partings?

Chen Ping’an retrieved a bamboo box and slung it on his back.

Sword Immortal was unwilling to leave its scabbard, and it was clear that it was still throwing a small tantrum after not being allowed to enjoy a hearty battle at Malicious Ghost Valley.

As for First, whose original name was Little Capital, Chen Ping’an didn’t dare to let it carelessly leave his Sword Nurturing Gourd.

Chen Ping’an retrieved his walnut bracelet and wore it around his wrist, after which he retrieved the three talismans from the Lofty Cloud Palace and placed them inside his left sleeve.

Failing to come across gold back geese and drum croak frogs on Golden Light Peak and Moonlight Mountain, respectively, was a good outcome.

This was one of the subtle reasons why Chen Ping’an had chosen to travel on the Spring Dew Garden’s immortal ship.

Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment, but he didn’t rush himself to go anywhere. Instead, he found a quiet and secluded place and started to refine the longest golden lightning whip that he had obtained at Accumulating Cloud Mountain. After approximately four hours, Chen Ping’an managed to refine the lightning whip into the rough shape that he wanted. Holding a hiking pole in his hand, he then started to walk toward the prefectural city of the Silver Screen Nation that was still roughly twenty to thirty kilometers away.

When parting ways with Pang Lanxi at the ferry station before, the young man had gifted Chen Ping’an two sets of premium mural replicas, the proudest works of his great-grandfather that were genuinely worth a fortune. A single set was worth one grain rain coin, but it still couldn’t be purchased because there was none available on the market. However, Pang Lanxi had told Chen Ping’an that he didn’t need to pay, revealing that his great-grandfather had remarked that Chen Ping’an’s sincere words in the immortal residence were extremely refreshing and refined. His words had been like fragrant orchids and nothing like basic words of flattery.

Hearing this, Chen Ping’an had shamelessly accepted the two sets of divine maiden mural replicas, smiling and saying to Pang Lanxi that he would definitely enjoy some merry drink and chat with his great-grandfather the next time he visited Skeleton Shoal.

Pang Lanxi was an honest person, and he had replied that his great-grandfather had already given away all three sets of his remaining mural replicas, two to Chen Ping’an and one to the old ancestor responsible for maintaining rule and order in the ancestral hall. As such, Chen Ping’an would be asking a lot of his great-grandfather if he wanted to obtain another set of mural replicas by lavishing him with praise.

With his expression sincere, Chen Ping’an had said that Pang Lanxi’s great-grandfather definitely possessed a profound artistic conception in his mind. He was already incredibly familiar with the spiritual auras of the female heavenly officials depicted in Mural City, so it would be as if he were being assisted by the gods once he raised his brush and put ink to paper. From his heart to the brush, and from the brush to the paper, the divine maidens would appear spirited and life-like as they were brought into existence, and they would seemingly be in tacit understanding with Pang Lanxi’s great-grandfather as his divine skills created them with smoothness and ease…

A dumbstruck expression had appeared on Pang Lanxi’s face.

However, the young man had been slightly reluctant to part ways when Chen Ping’an had boarded the immortal ship and sailed far away.

He had wanted to learn more about the principles that Chen Ping’an had comprehended from drinking.

At the same time, an old ancestor of the Flax Robe Sect had been standing far away from the immortal ship and looking down at his palm.

Standing beside him, Pang Shanling had nodded and said with a faint smile, “His words are very much to my liking.”

The old ancestor had been rendered speechless for a long time, unable to say anything fancy. In the end, he could only give up and ask, “Do you actually believe his clichéd words of flattery?”

Pang Shanling had raised a brow and retorted, “Am I able to hear these words of flattery at your Flax Robe Sect?”

The old ancestor had become infuriated upon hearing this, and he had loudly scolded the young wanderer for being utterly shameless. If it weren’t for his relatively proper attitude towards women, it was very likely that he would become a second Jiang Shangzhen in the future.

At the time, Chen Ping’an had only known that the old ancestor of the Flax Robe Sect and Pang Lanxi were definitely using immortal observation techniques to observe him and Pang Lanxi from afar. However, he had been completely oblivious to the irritation and anger of the old ancestor.

Holding just a hiking pole, a young wanderer dressed in azure and carrying a bamboo box on his back walked along the cold and desolate small mountain paths of winter.

He hoped that the small rat spirit guarding the gates of Sheep Intestine Palace would have an endless supply of books to read, and that he could safely return with bountiful yields of new books in his bookcase every time he traveled between Malicious Ghost Valley and Skeleton Shoal.

He hoped that the two demons on the suspension bridge would focus on cultivation and refrain from doing bad deeds, allowing them to attain Dao and achieve immortality.

He hoped that the old turtle could make up for his mistakes after returning to the temple to learn Buddhist scriptures, thereby correcting his ways and achieving Buddhahood.

He wondered whether the young fox spirit hiding behind her small green umbrella on Treasure Mirror Mountain could find a good man who held the umbrella for her and blocked out the rain.

He wondered whether the skeleton sword cultivator called Pu Rang could one day be more than just a skeleton in azure wielding a sword, returning to the world as a woman who smiled without worries.

Chen Ping’an didn’t know whether these things would happen or not.

This was just like how he didn’t know that in the slightly oblivious Pang Lanxi’s eyes, in the small rat spirit’s eyes, and in the eyes of the young scholar, Cao Qinglang, in the faraway Lotus Flower Blessed Land, encountering Chen Ping’an was like him encountering Mr. Qi and A’Liang during his childhood…