Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an used his hiking pole to skillfully tap the ground, causing a wisp of astral energy to snake through the ground and strike the canal master on the back of her head, instantly waking her up. She pulled her head out from the ground and dazedly sat there with a blank expression on her face.

“Those two detestable maidservants… After accompanying you for so many years, are they just fools who are meandering about and waiting for death?!” Chen Ping’an scolded with a furious expression.

The canal master felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had always grumbled about her two maidservants being foolish and slow before, complaining that they weren’t as efficient and capable as those seductive women serving the lake lord in his dragon palace. They were also unable to capture and imprison the hearts of men. Now, however, she felt like this was actually a good thing.

If Verdant Bamboo Lake were dragged into this mess, then not only would her two maidservants be transformed into water lamps, but she would very likely lose her position as canal master as well. The detestable canal master of Algae Stream loved to cause conflict with her words and secretly bring harm to other people, and she had already caused the water immortal shrine to suffer from few worshippers and little incense offerings for many years. Not only that, but the canal master of Algae Stream even wanted to take things one step further and get her killed. This had been going on for a long time already, and the entire Verdant Bamboo Lake was standing around and watching on with keen interest.

“Go and call the lake lord over,” Chen Ping’an said. “Just tell him that I’ve helped him kill the Ghost Axe Palace’s Du Yu, so he should personally come over here to thank me. Remember to remind the lake lord that I have pure wind in my two sleeves, and I’m most averse to the stench of copper. I only accept peculiar treasures of lakes and rivers that I take a fancy to.”

“Is Esteemed Immortal asking me to go?” the canal master asked with a dumbfounded expression.

“Or else? Perhaps you want me to go?” Chen Ping’an retorted with a cold smile.

The canal master stood up and was just about to use her innate mystical ability to transform into mist and travel far away.

Chen Ping’an pointed at the two unconscious maidservants lying collapsed on the ground and said, “The two of them are far better looking than you, Canal Master. After I receive a thank you gift from the lake lord and go to Imperial Accompanying City to obtain the imminently appearing natural treasure, I’ll definitely pay a visit to the dragon palace at the bottom of Verdant Bamboo Lake.

“I haven’t traveled around the cultivation world much, but I’ve read many books and seen the many records by scholars and literati about dragon women being affectionate and their maidservants being seductively charming. I definitely have to witness this myself and see whether they’re more impressive than the two maidservants who accompany you.

“If the dragon women and their maidservants are more beautiful, then there will naturally be no need for you to look for new maidservants. If they’re equally as beautiful as your maidservants, however, then I’ll ask for both of your maidservants at that time. They can fetch a high price if I sell them in the capital of the Silver Screen Nation.”

“It will be a huge fortune for these two lowly maidservants to accompany and serve Esteemed Immortal…” the canal master hurriedly said in agreement.

Chen Ping’an cut her off and sneered, “But if I see those dragon women and their maidservants and are extremely disappointed in them, then you and the canal master of Algae Stream, whom you have a very deep sisterly relationship with, will have to accompany me into the capital.”

The canal master wasn’t especially worried about these matters. After all, there was the lake lord to deal with the brunt of the issue, and everything would be fine as long as she could safely return to the dragon palace of Verdant Bamboo Lake and explain the situation to him.

It was still too early to say who would emerge as the final victor.

The canal master shook her sleeves, causing two wisps of green water fortune spiritual energy to flow into the faces of her two maidservants and wake them up. She then apologized to the esteemed immortal and said that she would definitely go quickly and return quickly.

However, Chen Ping’an suddenly called out to the canal master and told her to stop.

The canal master froze and turned around in a stiff manner, asking with a bitter expression, “What further instructions does Esteemed Immortal have for me?”

Chen Ping’an extended a hand and replied with a faint smile, “Lend me some water fortune essence. I don’t need much, and just two ounces will suffice.”

The canal master was astonished, reluctant, but also a bit relieved. Water fortune essence was a fundamental matter to the Great Dao of water deities, but giving some of this away was clearly a better deal than losing her life right here and right now. She hurriedly extended a finger and placed it on her glabella, causing a spot of azure light to glow before transforming into a golden thread that flowed down her shoulder and arm like a stream rushing down from a mountain peak. The golden thread flowed past her wrist and eventually gathered in her palm, turning into a dark green water bead that she gently pushed toward Chen Ping’an.

The canal master wiped away the sweat on her forehead and said with a smile, “Esteemed Immortal, you truly embarrass me by saying that you’re borrowing this. It’s my great fortune to encounter Esteemed Immortal, so just treat these three or four ounces of water fortune essence as a small meeting gift to Esteemed Immortal.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “It is indeed a small gift compared to your rippling cup.”

The canal master didn’t dare to say anything.

The rippling cup was the foundation of her Great Dao, and beyond using incense offerings to temper their godly bodies, immortal treasures that could be used to advance a deity’s cultivation were exceptionally rare, with each one being a paramount treasure. The rippling cup was an extremely valuable treasure from the lake lord’s dragon palace, and the reason why the canal master of Algae Stream detested her so much was because of this rippling cup which had a rich history. According to the explanation of the lake lord, the rippling cup had once been a critical ceremonial artifact of a large Daoist temple. It had bathed in incense offerings for one thousand years, and it was thanks to this that it was so uniquely valuable.

After the canal master and her two maidservants left the water immortal shrine…

Chen Ping’an put away the water fortune bead that weighed four ounces. This bead could temporarily quench his thirst, and it would, in fact, have strong effects even superior to valuable alchemical pills. However, this wasn’t a long-term solution.

There were some shortcuts on the path of cultivation that could allow Qi refiners to rapidly make their way to the waist of the mountain. However, the higher one climbed, the more hidden dangers this would create.

Chen Ping’an was in no hurry to refine the water fortune bead to replenish the spiritual energy in his water palace. Instead, he sat down and started to ponder some matters.

Chen Ping’an knew that the canal master and her two maidservants wouldn’t necessarily return after leaving. Moreover, the lake lord of Verdant Bamboo Lake most likely wouldn’t come ashore and make his way to the water immortal shrine to meet him either. He was the owner of Verdant Bamboo Lake, after all, so would he run over to help collect the corpse of the Ghost Axe Palace’s Du Yu? Entering the shrine would be equivalent to being slapped in the face and having shit smeared across his cheeks by Chen Ping’an.

Would Du Yu’s parents, the powerful Dao partners of the Ghost Axe Palace, care about the fact that he was dragged into this mess and wasn’t at fault? In any case, he was the paramount water deity of the Silver Screen Nation, so would he have the face to say that he was merely caught in the crossfire?

As for the two maidservants of the canal master…

One had responded correctly to Chen Ping’an, and one had responded correctly as a subordinate of the canal master.

As such, they were both allowed to live.

Chen Ping’an twisted his wrist and summoned an orb formed by ten wisps of black smoke, and this orb eventually transformed into the agonized and twisted face of a man. This was none other than Du Yu.

Whenever an ordinary breeze blew past, the orb that was formed from the three immortal souls and seven mortal forms of Du Yu would suffer immeasurable pain as if he were being punished by a fearsome lightning tribulation.

This was a clear reflection of how yin entities in the world were not tolerated by heaven and earth. The half-dead Du Yu tried his best to speak, yet his voice was still as quiet as a mosquito as he said, “I’m begging you, please make haste and return my soul to my body. I can still be saved, and as long as I live, I’ll use three drops of blood essence from my heart to make a vow to the ancestors of heaven and earth and a secret immortal poisonous vow of my immortal clan that I won’t dare to ever become enemies with you again. I definitely won’t dare to do this again…”

Chen Ping’an paid no heed to Du Yu’s words, and he murmured, “A brief moment of intimacy is such a good saying, but why did it sound so lowly and vulgar coming out of your mouth? Hmm?”

Chen Ping’an’s fingers were like hooks as he bent them slightly, causing wisps of astral energy to circulate and envelop the orb that was Du Yu’s soul.

Du Yu instantly started to wail in pain.

“What do gallant female cultivators in the cultivation world taste like?” Chen Ping’an asked slowly. “Why don’t you tell me about this? I’ve also traveled around the cultivation world before, yet I surprisingly don’t know anything about this.”

Du Yu was just about to speak.

Chen Ping’an cocked his head to listen, but he exerted even more force from his hand, condensing the astral energy further and causing it to shockingly become as viscous as water and seemingly on the verge of becoming ice. Pricking his ears up to listen, Chen Ping’an asked, “What are you saying? I can’t hear you. Speak louder so I can hear.”

Du Yu’s three immortal souls and seven mortal forms had just been extracted from his body using a secret technique, so he was naturally in an incredibly frail state right now. He was suffering torturous pain at this moment, with his soul chaotic and the ten wisps of black smoke completely jumbled. If this continued, then he would be reduced to nothing more than a mindless wandering ghost even if his soul were eventually released. He would become a deranged malicious ghost, something that was hunted and vanquished by all immortal cultivators.

Chen Ping’an loosened his grip and raised his hand, turning around and lightly waving his hand forward, causing the corpse at the back of the shrine to fly over and crash into the middle of the courtyard.

Chen Ping’an stood up and walked over to squat down beside Du Yu’s corpse, after which he turned his palm around and forcefully pressed down.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, Du Yu started to convulse uncontrollably and froth at the mouth, with blood flowing from all orifices on his face. This was a terrifying sight, but it was actually a good sign for Du Yu.

If these seemingly scary reactions hadn’t taken place, then it would have signified that Du Yu’s body was already rejecting his corpse from entering. If that were the case, his soul could only leave his body and wander around, either scattering into nothingness if it were unable to withstand the winds of heaven and earth, or forcefully transforming into a yin entity if it were fortunate enough to maintain some spiritual energy and sentience.

Du Yu sat up and vomited large mouthfuls of blood, after which he hurriedly crossed his legs and started to form hand seals, completely immersing himself in the act of stabilizing his critical acupoints which were still in turmoil.

The blood-soaked Du Yu heavily exhaled a turbulent breath before turning around.

The young wanderer was squatting nearby and staring at the saber on the ground with his hands inside his opposite sleeves.

Du Yu’s mind whirred as he sat there.

Chen Ping’an remained unmoving.

Du Yu sighed in grief and abandoned all thoughts of fighting to the death. He slowly stood up and used his finger to tap his chest three times, with his face contorting as he combusted three drops of blood essence from his heart as if they were an incense stick. Three wisps of smoke curled up from the three “sticks of incense,” and Du Yu bowed his head slightly and feigned holding the incense sticks to his glabella as he vowed in a loud voice, “From this moment onward, Militarian Disciple Du Yu of the Ghost Axe Palace informs heaven, earth, rulers, parents, teachers that he won’t seek revenge in the future.[1] Like the mountains and waters being independent from each other, I swear that I’ll put these grudges behind me…”

Chen Ping’an stood up and lightly stepped on the hilt of the saber with his toes. There was a flash of saber light as the saber perfectly shot into the scabbard beside Du Yu’s waist.

Du Yu was so terrified that he went slightly weak at the knees again.

This was a perfect case of once bitten, twice shy.

Holding the hiking pole in his hand as he walked toward the entrance of the shrine, Chen Ping’an said, “To encounter each other is fate, and there are some things that I need your guidance on.”

There were mixed feelings in Du Yu’s mind. Fate his fucking ass. He had almost died in this backwater shrine! However, he still obediently walked behind Chen Ping’an and followed him out of the water immortal shrine.

Du Yu’s sleeves were empty, and even the Divine Dewbearing Armor that he had borrowed from his father was gone. Similarly, the refined demon core that he had begged his mother for was also gone. His insides hurt so badly that it was almost as if his intestines were about to tie themself into a knot. However, Du Yu involuntarily shuddered when he thought about the torturous pain of his soul being imprisoned by this young wanderer.

Du Yu’s mind was wavering and his soul was uneasy, and these were both after-effects of having his soul forcefully dragged out of his body. He would need to rest and recuperate for the next few decades to properly recover from this. Indeed, it could be said that he had mysteriously suffered a disastrous outcome on this trip to Imperial Accompanying City. Not only had he suffered damage to the foundation of his Great Dao, but he even needed to explain the situation to his parents after he returned to the Ghost Axe Palace. That would be another big headache.

The two of them walked one in front of the other along the overgrown small path.

The night was quiet, and the mist was cool.

However, Du Yu’s heart felt even colder.

Just who in the world was this powerful young cultivator? Du Yu had traveled around the dozen or so nations and had seen and heard many things, allowing him to be very familiar with all of the powerful martial arts grandmasters. However, he had genuinely never seen or heard of this person before.

Moreover, only very few young cultivators could make Du Yu feel as stifled as this.

Chen Ping’an cleared the path with his hiking pole, and it was as if he were taking a stroll under the moonlight as his mind gradually became calmer and calmer. “Do you know why I returned your soul to your body?” he asked with a smile.

Du Yu smiled bitterly and replied, “Senior wants to learn the two secret talismans of the Ghost Axe Palace, am I correct? I’ll be punished by having my bridge of immortality shattered and being expelled from the Ghost Axe Palace if I dare to reveal the secret techniques of the ancestral hall.”

“The only entities aware of this are heaven and earth and you and I, so what is there to be afraid of?” Chen Ping’an said. “In any case, you’ve traveled around the cultivation world for so many years, and you even dare to treat a water deity like a fish and fish for her. That being the case, is there any need for you to be afraid of these rules? People like you find joy in breaking the rules, no?”

The chill in Du Yu’s heart grew even more intense.

Only people who had attained the Great Dao and become truly unfeeling could say something like this so naturally.

He had experienced similar tones and attitudes during his private conversations with his parents.

“If you die in the water immortal shrine near Verdant Bamboo Lake tonight, it will be difficult for the Ghost Axe Palace to find me, and it will be equally as challenging for the canal master and the lake lord to find me. In the end, will this not be a confused and worthless death for you?” Chen Ping’an continued. “So, what you should be worried about right now isn’t being punished for revealing the secrets of your immortal force, but rather being silenced and killed after I learn how to draw the talismans and learn the corresponding mantras needed to activate them.”

This was a handy technique that he had learned from Yang Ningxing, the young scholar whom he had encountered in Malicious Ghost Valley — framing, blaming, and accusing other people.

Du Yu fell completely silent.

The young man carrying a bamboo box on his back and holding a hiking pole in his hand spoke in a warm and gentle manner, and it was as if they were genuinely good friends enjoying a casual chat as he said, “Now that I understand your reasons and principles, it’s time for me to speak my reasons and principles. This makes the conversation far smoother than before.”

Du Yu stopped and asked, “Senior, how can you guarantee that you won’t kill me and erase all traces of conflict after I reveal the secrets of the Stele Carrying Talisman and the Snow Soil Talisman?”

Chen Ping’an also stopped, turning around and replying, “Your only choice is to gamble with your life.”

“Senior! I’ve already made a significant vow! Why is Senior still so overbearing?!” Du Yu exclaimed in a tragic voice.

However, there was a look of astonishment on Chen Ping’an’s face as he replied, “When you leave the mountains and travel around the cultivation world to seek entertainment, don’t you rely on your position and power as the direct disciple of a large immortal force to show complete disregard for other people’s lives? Since I’m stronger than you, is it not logical for me to adopt this same attitude to view you as an ant and toy around with you? Is this very difficult to understand? You seem quite slow and stupid to me, so are your parents not worried at all?”

Du Yu wanted to cry, but no tears were forthcoming.

Having come across such an “honest” senior from the mountains, was it truly his fault for not reading the lunar almanac before embarking on his trip this time?

Chen Ping’an looked toward Verdant Bamboo Lake in the distance and said, “You might not have the opportunity to speak anymore once the lake lord comes ashore. If you ask me, I feel like it’s a good deal to exchange two talismans for a life.”

Du Yu gritted his teeth and said, “Then I’ll gamble that Senior isn’t willing to dirty his hands and attract extra karmic fate for no reason.”

Chen Ping’an shifted his gaze, a hint of a smile on his face as he looked toward Imperial Accompanying City.

1. The five entities — heaven, earth, rulers, parents, teachers (天地君亲师) — represent the core values and relationships in Confucianism, signifying the importance of these entities in one’s life. ☜