Unsheathed

It was the end of winter, with the weather cold and the sky bleak. The mountains were frozen and the clouds were still, and as Chen Ping’an looked around, all that entered his gaze was an endless expanse of silence and desolation.

This was the color of the world, something that certainly couldn’t be appreciated when one peered down at the vast lands from atop immortal ships. It was because of this that cultivators in the mountains didn’t understand the harsh winters and blazing summers of the world.

The hiking pole in Chen Ping’an’s hand, which he had refined using the immortal mantra of the Green Roving Palace, was verdant green in color, causing the golden lightning whip to appear more like a bamboo whip instead. This was because the hiking pole would be far too eye-catching if it were a dazzling gold. However, this roughly formed ghost-striking whip that had only undergone initial refinement could easily return to its original form once Chen Ping’an deactivated a certain restriction.

There was one good thing about the Northern Complete Reed Continent, and the fact that people only spoke a single official dialect, meaning no need to worry about being unable to communicate with other people. This was as opposed to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent and the Parasol Leaf Continent where there were countless official dialects and local dialects in each nation, making it extremely difficult to communicate when traveling around the continent.

Chen Ping’an walked to the foot of the mountain, and there was still not a single person in the surroundings. He gently pinched a Yang Energy Illumination Talisman between two fingers, and saw that it was burning at a normal speed, meaning that it was unlikely for there to be demons causing trouble in the prefectural city. In other words, it was very likely that the second possibility that Steward Song Lanqiao had mentioned was taking place, with some deity of the prefectural city facing a large tribulation and having their godly body approach a state of collapse. This in turn affected the feng shui and fortune of the prefectural city, thereby causing natural calamities to also descend.

However, nothing in the world was absolute, so Chen Ping’an planned to take things one step at a time. He slowly walked forward with the talisman in his hand, all the way until he saw an ox-drawn cart piled high with firewood in the distance. There was a sturdy man in tattered clothes walking toward the prefectural city with his young son and young daughter who had many frostbites on their hands, and it was only upon seeing them that Chen Ping’an extinguished the talisman between his fingers.

Chen Ping’an quickly walked toward the three people, and the eyes of the two little children were filled with curiosity. However, children from the regions were generally very shy, so they both shrunk back and moved closer to their father. Meanwhile, the sturdy man in tattered clothes didn’t say anything when he saw the young man holding a hiking pole and carrying a bamboo case on his back.

The chilly winter froze the ground, and the ox-drawn cart violently rocked back and forth as it trundled over the extremely solid ground. The sturdy man didn’t dare to walk too fast upon seeing this, as the firewood would fetch a lower price if it were to break. The stewards of the wealthy clans and forces in the prefectural city were all extremely shrewd and eagle-eyed, and they were the best at creating conflict and causing trouble. When they offered aggressively low prices, their words and arguments would be even colder than the inescapable winter chill. This was a coldness that chilled one to the core.

However, slowing down caused suffering for his two little children, forcing them to endure the biting cold for a much longer time. This caused the man to feel slightly gloomy. He had told them not to follow along for fun before, saying that there was nothing interesting to look at in the city. The only difference was the scary-looking stone lions outside the residences and the slightly larger door gods, things that would become bland once they were seen a few times. He would naturally buy some snacks and bring them back for his children if the firewood sold for a good price, and he would also buy all of the New Year goods that they needed.

The man breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the silhouette of the prefectural city’s tall city wall, and the bustling crowds in the city meant that the temperature inside would be slightly warmer than outside. As such, his children would probably forget about the cold once their attention was captured by something else.

However, the young man wearing a bamboo hat walked at a medium pace and followed behind the ox-drawn cart the entire time, causing the man to feel slightly worried.

Chen Ping’an walked slightly faster and asked with a smile, “Hi Brother, I’m an outsider who’s traveled here from far away, so can you please tell me the name of this prefectural city? Is there anywhere worth visiting in the city?”

The man was a quiet and taciturn person, but he didn’t dare to feign deafness or muteness at this moment. As such, he could only force a smile and reply in a hoarse voice, “This is called Imperial Accompanying City, and it was said that a past emperor personally bestowed this name upon the city after falling sick when traveling south and recuperating in this city for a period of time. I only know about the city god temple in the north and the fire god shrine in the south being the most popular locations on most days, so Young Master can visit these places to take a look.”

“Alright, then I’ll enter the city and visit these two places,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile and a nod.

He then lightly placed a hand on the ox-drawn cart and continued, “We’re coincidentally heading to the same place, and I’m not in a rush either, so how about we enter the city together? That way, I can also ask Brother a bit more about the situation of Imperial Accompanying City.”

The man appeared slightly uneasy, but upon looking up and seeing the city gate draw closer and closer, he felt like it was highly unlikely for anything to go wrong. This allowed him to feel slightly more at ease, and he tried his best to speak like a more refined city dweller as he replied, “Then I’ll say what I know. It’s best if I can help Young Master, but please forgive me if I say something wrong. I’ve never gone to school before, so please tolerate my mistakes.”

With one hand holding his hiking pole and one hand resting on the ox-drawn cart, Chen Ping’an said, “No worries, please go ahead and speak without worry.”

The man introduced whatever came to mind, and Chen Ping’an learned from this that Imperial Accompanying City wasn’t a small city in the Silver Screen Nation. This city had produced a prime minister in the past, so both the city god temple and the Star Deity Pagoda enjoyed a huge number of worshippers and incense offerings.

The fire god shrine was also very popular, and it was said that it was very efficacious to pray for wealth there. As such, those who were wealthy and dealt with large transactions in the city all liked to visit the fire god shrine to pray and offer incense. Because of this, the man also planned to bring his ox-drawn cart to the market near the fire god shrine to sell his firewood. Afterward, he could directly buy some New Year goods from the shops nearby.

The two little children secretly looked at Chen Ping’an the entire time, but they would immediately turn their heads and appear slightly embarrassed whenever Chen Ping’an smiled at them.

Before they knew it, the ox-drawn cart had already arrived in front of the city gate. It was still quite early in the day, however, so they needed to line up and wait their turn to enter the city. There was a breakfast stall nearby, so Chen Ping’an bought a bowl of congee and a wrap before taking off his bamboo hat and sitting down to eat. The two children nearby gulped in envy upon seeing this, and the man hesitated for a moment before grabbing a small handful of copper coins and handing them to his daughter.

The two children happily ran toward the breakfast stall after receiving the money, and they also bought a bowl of congee and a fragrant egg and vegetable wrap like Chen Ping’an. The little girl carried the wrap to her father, and the man only took a bite before tearing it into two and returning it to his daughter. The little girl ran back to the table and handed one half of the wrap to her little brother, after which they started to eat the bowl of congee together. The man guarded the cart of firewood, and there was a grin on his face as he wiped his mouth.

Business at the breakfast stall was fairly good, and the two little children were sitting opposite Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an had already developed a habit of chewing slowly and thinking as he ate.

When traveling around Malicious Ghost Valley before, he had constantly schemed against the scholar and also fought head-on against the golden eagle spirit of Accumulating Cloud Mountain. In reality, however, neither of these conflicts had been especially dangerous.

On the other hand, his journey from Copper Stench City to Green Cottage Town was a different story. More precisely, it was the time when he had stepped off the intercontinental ship of the Flax Robe Sect and the time when he had slashed open the sky to flee to Wood Garment Mountain. Chen Ping’an still felt a sense of lingering apprehension regarding these two events, and he felt like he had walked a tightrope between life and death when he reviewed his experiences several times after fleeing from Malicious Ghost Valley.

Upon thinking of his bountiful yields of immortal coins and precious treasures, however, Chen Ping’an felt like he had nothing to mope or complain about. The only disappointment was the lack of opportunity to engage in more fights. The conflicts had been quite ordinary, and they had surprisingly ended up inferior to his training sessions in the bamboo building at Downtrodden Mountain. It was nowhere near satisfying enough. Perhaps things would have been more exciting if the Mountain-Moving Great Sage had joined forces with the Imperial Thunder Divine General of Accumulating Cloud Mountain, or if an Upper Five Tier heroic spirit like Gao Cheng continued to covet his treasures as he traveled north.

Afterward, Chen Ping’an had rested and recuperated at the immortal residence on Wood Garment Mountain and learned about many interesting things regarding the Northern Complete Reed Continent from the immortal reports that he had asked people to bring over for him.

The biggest surprise of all was naturally Daoist Nun Huang Ting from Peace and Tranquility Mountain, and she had lost to the young prodigy called Liu Jinglong in an intense battle on Temper Mountain. One had to realize that Huang Ting had traveled to the Northern Complete Reed Continent for the purpose of breaking through the barrier of the Nascent Tier.

Even though Huang Ting was only a new Nascent Tier cultivator, the lofty height of her sword skills was unquestionable. Meanwhile, there were two so-called young cultivators who possessed even better cultivation bases, aptitudes, and fortunes than Liu Jinglong, someone who was roughly the same age and at the same cultivation base as Huang Ting. As for the seven prodigies who were ranked after Liu Jinglong on the list of top ten young prodigies, Chen Ping’an didn’t dare to underestimate them at all when taking into account the temperament and abilities of the Lofty Cloud Palace’s Yang Ningxing.

Apart from these matters, there was also one place on Temper Mountain that Chen Ping’an was very curious about.

There was always a taller mountain, and close to Temper Mountain which was always raging with battles was Hundred Springs Mountain, a place that was most suitable for spectating battles. There were more than one hundred spirit springs on the mountain, making Hundred Springs Mountain an innate treasured land that was filled with abundant spiritual energy.

There were one thousand or so immortal residences of varying sizes on the mountain, tucked away amid the green mountains, blue waters, serene environments, and beautiful sceneries. These residences had all been meticulously constructed by Mohist craftsmen at locations carefully chosen by esteemed Naturalist cultivators, and they were top-notch cultivation abodes that were only rented and not up for sale. The Jade Forest Sect, the owner of these immortal residences, allowed cultivators to rent these immortal abodes for long periods of time, but the longer the rent period, the higher the rent price.

Relying on this long-term business strategy, the Jade Forest Sect was able to earn an impressive amount of money and brute-force a guest elder to the Unpolished Jade Tier — albeit mediocre — allowing them to become a sect-level force.

The Jade Forest Sect had never enjoyed a good reputation in the Northern Complete Reed Continent, and this was because they valued money above all else. They never valued their relationships, and they only cared about making more and more money.

Because of this, cultivators both envied and looked down on the Jade Forest Sect. There was a popular and derisive saying that had spread throughout the continent, reading: An Upper Five Tier cultivator who’s useless, a sect with pure wind in its sleeves.

Chen Ping’an put down his chopsticks and looked toward the city gate. There was the sound of thundering hooves pounding across the earth in the distance, and it was most likely a formation with eight tall and majestic horses galloping out of the city together. These horses didn’t slow down when they reached the bustling city gate, and their riders actually whipped them and commanded them to go faster instead.

This caused commotion and chaos at the city gate, with the commoners entering Imperial Accompanying City hurriedly running to the walls to dodge the charging horses. However, they seemed completely unsurprised by this, and the man also hurriedly but calmly shuffled to the wall with his ox-drawn cart. A wide path was instantly formed for the eight galloping horses.

This was something that happened everywhere.

The profligate disciples with extravagant clothes and fearsome horses sat high atop their steeds as they burst out of the city, with the thundering hooves of the horses sounding like the endless explosion of firecrackers. There was arrogance and haughtiness on the faces of the wealthy profligate disciples, and they appeared calm and adept as they rushed past the large crowd of commoners. They were all dressed in expensive mink fur coats, holding brocade whips, and armed with curved sabers and bows. There were even esteemed servants accompanying them and carrying an eagle cage. It was as if they were chasing the wind and pursuing the lightning, appearing as mighty as could be.

However, Chen Ping’an’s attention was focused more on two young people who were sitting at a stall in the distance, one male and one female. They were dressed simply and cleanly, and both carrying long swords on their backs. Their appearances weren’t extraordinary, but they possessed a naturally impressive presence. They were both eating a bowl of wontons with apathetic expressions, but the young man immediately furrowed his brows when he saw the group of profligate disciples charging out of the city on their horses. However, the young woman put down her chopsticks and shook her head at the young man.

Chen Ping’an nodded in understanding when he saw this.

They were most likely cultivators who had come here after noticing the black mist shrouding Imperial Accompanying City.

However, neither of them had high cultivation bases, and judging by the subtle details of their spiritual energy circulation, they were Qi refiners who had yet to advance to the Abode Tier. They were both carrying swords on their backs, but they definitely weren’t legitimate sword cultivators.

When the young woman looked over, she saw a young man paying a stall owner for his food. He was holding a bamboo hat and a bamboo hiking pole in his hand, and his expression was calm and his aura was mediocre, making him appear no different to the adventurers who wandered around the cultivation world.

The young woman sighed upon seeing this. If this person was an adventurer who had inadvertently wandered to Imperial Accompanying City, then it could only be said that he was very unfortunate. On the other hand, if he had especially come to Imperial Accompanying City because of the impending calamity and the accompanying treasures that would appear just like they had, then he was truly naive and impudent.

After all, did he not know that this peculiar treasure had already been internally assigned an owner by the two powerful immortal forces of the Silver Screen Nation? Who dared to covet this treasure? She and her junior brother certainly didn’t, and they were only here to complete a secret mission assigned by their master. They were treating this as a training exercise filled with hidden dangers.

This was a genuine fight between immortals, and mortals would be ruthlessly pounded into smithereens if they dared to get involved and accidentally blocked the path of some powerful immortal.