Unsheathed

Chapter 504 (4): Sword Immortal In A Sword Immortal’s Hand

Approximately two hours passed, and Du Yu continued to add dry branches to the campfire the entire time.

After a while, Du Yu noticed the mighty senior opening his eyes with a slight smile on his face. He appeared to be in a fairly good mood.

Chen Ping’an raised his head and glanced up.

The thick sea of clouds that had enveloped almost the entire area above Verdant Bamboo Lake had already dispersed.

There was a round moon in the sky.

“Du Yu, the traditions and customs of Verdant Bamboo Lake have already been this way for one thousand years, so do you think it’s impossible for anyone to change it?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“It will be impossible unless everyone from the top to the bottom is replaced,” Du Yu replied boldly. “From the lake lord to the water deities of the three rivers and the two canals, everyone needs to go. In fact, the lake lord of Verdant Bamboo Lake needs to be the first to go, and only then will there be any chance of implementing change.

“However, trying to achieve such a great feat is impossible unless it’s personally carried out by someone like Senior, a cultivator from the pinnacle of the mountains. Afterward, the powerful cultivator will need to waste dozens of years of their life to keep a close eye on the area. If this can’t be done, however, then not replacing the deities at all will be the better option, in my opinion.

“Truth be told, Lake Lord Yin Hou of Verdant Bamboo Lake is a powerful ruler who isn’t too cruel to his subjects. He did purposely cause some floods and droughts, but those were simply in order to obtain some beautiful maidservants for his dragon palace. Of course, several hundred commoners would die each time as a result.

“However, this is already better than some mentally challenged deities who can’t even control the power of their own mystical abilities. With a whoosh, these reckless deities will easily kill thousands upon thousands of people. If they’re a bit more short-tempered and always pick fights with other deities or offend other deities, then those in their jurisdiction will truly be subject to endless hardships and suffering.

“I’ve traveled around the cultivation world for many years, and I’ve come across many mountain gods, river gods, city gods, and mountain lords who only focus on the major matters and largely ignore the minor matters. They care nothing about mortal commoners, and they focus on building relationships with official immortals in the mountains, martial arts grandmasters with their own forces, the relatives of officials in the capital, scholars with good potential, and so on.”

Chen Ping’an took a glance at Du Yu.

There was an innocent expression on Du Yu’s face as he said, “I’m just telling the truth, Senior, and it’s not me doing these bad things. To say something unpleasant, the bad deeds that I’ve committed in the cultivation world are nothing compared to the sinister deeds committed by the lake lord of Verdant Bamboo Lake and the canal master of Algae Stream. It’s nothing but a drop in the ocean. I’m aware that Senior dislikes the cold-hearted nature of our immortal forces, but I’m speaking nothing but the sincere truth in front of Senior. I don’t dare to utter a single lie.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and didn’t say anything.

Du Yu didn’t push his luck, understanding that he wasn’t truly fancied by this old immortal from the pinnacle of the mountains. He knew that he couldn’t borrow this powerful senior’s domineering might to harass other people.

At most, the mighty senior wouldn’t kill him with a single flick of his sleeve.

Du Yu was smart enough to understand this much.

Perhaps this was the true nature of someone from the pinnacle of the mountains. Perhaps this was the true meaning of the Great Dao being heartless.

In reality, Du Yu had also felt slightly melancholy when gazing up at the moon just then. He had traveled through the cultivation world so many times already, but for some unknown reason, today was the first time in many years that he missed his parents.

However, he immediately became alert and focused after Chen Ping’an opened his eyes, carefully responding to the mighty senior’s seemingly casual questions.

He simply treated this as a form of tempering his mind. His parents had always said that tempering the mind wasn’t especially important, and the teachings of the ancestors in the immortal force and the repetitive nagging of the Dao mentors to their disciples were nothing more than superficial remarks. In actual fact, immortal coins, immortal treasures, and immortal techniques pertaining to the foundations of one’s Great Dao were the three most important things. Of course, it was still necessary to somewhat cultivate the mind.

Du Yu mustered his courage and asked, “Senior, how did the battle on Verdant Bamboo Lake go?”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “Just like you said, I simply pushed the water deities back. We need to make money in a peaceful and harmonious manner, after all.”

Du Yu had a nagging feeling that this wasn’t the case. However, he didn’t have the courage to delve any further.

He had used almost all of his future courage in a single night. What more could he possibly do at this moment?

Afterward, Chen Ping’an started to focus on practicing standing meditation.

Meanwhile, Du Yu used the Ghost Axe Palace’s secret mantra to slowly enter a meditative state and practice a breathing technique.

Dawn arrived.

Chen Ping’an stood up and started to practice walking meditation, and he said to Du Yu who had hurriedly stood up alongside him, “Look around this water goddess shrine and see if you can find any valuable treasures.”

Du Yu nodded in response and was just about to try his luck, seeing if he could find for this mighty senior an immortal tool or a few lesser heat coins.

However, Chen Ping’an suddenly added, “By valuable treasure, what I mean is anything worth a single snowflake coin.”

Du Yu faltered upon hearing this, thinking that he must have misheard the mighty senior’s words. “Senior, did you mean to say one lesser heat coin?” he asked in a careful voice.

“With such poor hearing, it’s truly a wonder how you’ve managed to survive in the cultivation world until now,” Chen Ping’an remarked in exasperation.

Du Yu immediately came to his senses, and he started to scour the entire shrine for anything of value. With the mighty senior standing beside him, he would even dare to dig up the dragon palace at the bottom of Verdant Bamboo Lake, to say nothing of an ownerless shrine of a canal master.

Chen Ping’an closed his eyes and continued to practice walking meditation.

Only when noon arrived did Du Yu return to the courtyard with two large sacks. He had returned with a bountiful yield.

“I’ll take the more valuable sack, and you can keep the other one,” Chen Ping’an said.

“Did I do something wrong, Senior?” Du Yu asked with an anxious expression.

Chen Ping’an continued to practice walking meditation as he replied in a slow voice, “There are rules when it comes to cultivation, there are rules when it comes to traveling through the cultivation world, and there are also rules when it comes to making transactions. Do you understand this?”

Du Yu didn’t actually understand, but he pretended that he did. In any case, he nervously accepted the sack of less valuable treasure according to Chen Ping’an’s instructions.

After thinking for a moment, Du Yu opened the two sacks and transferred a few of the most valuable items from his sack to the mighty senior’s sack.

Chen Ping’an didn’t stop him.

He stopped practicing walking meditation and leaped onto the roof ridge of the tallest building in the shrine, gazing toward the distant Imperial Accompanying City.

Afterward, Chen Ping’an started to walk along the numerous roof ridges as he practiced walking meditation.

Du Yu couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Why did it look like the mighty senior was practicing a martial arts fist stance of the cultivation world instead of some immortal technique?

However, he immediately felt a strong sense of admiration.

Sure enough, this mighty senior was different from the others and had already returned to a state of natural simplicity.

Evening arrived, and Du Yu started another campfire in the courtyard.

“Alright, you can continue to travel through the cultivation world now,” Chen Ping’an said. “You’ve stayed in the shrine for one day and one night already, so all of the people observing you are well aware of the situation by now.”

Du Yu felt slightly awkward.

Sure enough, his subtle tricks were unable to escape this mighty senior’s detection.

However, if the two of them had immediately parted ways at the dock, Du Yu was worried that he wouldn’t have been able to make it to Imperial Accompanying City alive.

Du Yu thought for a moment and felt like he should stop before he pushed his luck too far. With this in mind, he grabbed the less valuable sack of treasures and was just about to make his way to Imperial Accompanying City.

However, Chen Ping’an suddenly called him back and said, “Wait for a moment longer.”

Du Yu obeyed Chen Ping’an’s instructions and put down the hemp sack, sitting cross-legged on the ground and said in a quiet voice, “Senior, I actually know another secret talisman from the ancestral hall of my immortal sect, one that’s not much inferior to the Snow Soil Talisman and the Stele Carrying Talisman.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and shook his hand, saying, “You were facing a life-and-death situation just then, so it was understandable that you did something so immoral. However, now that you aren’t facing life-and-death danger anymore, trying to break the rules of your immortal force to gild the lily isn’t very good. When walking along the path of cultivation, one should learn to become a proper person before becoming an immortal.”

Du Yu faltered upon hearing this.

He glanced at the hemp sack on the ground.

It was as if he were finally able to grasp some vague clues at this moment.

Du Yu silently clenched his hands into fists.

Chen Ping’an stood up, and Du Yu was subconsciously about to stand up as well. However, Chen Ping’an gestured to him to remain seated.

Du Yu turned around, and he saw a familiar figure barge into his field of view a brief moment later.

She was genuinely beautiful no matter how he looked at her.

This was as expected of Celestial Maiden Yan Qing.

Chen Ping’an furrowed his brows.

Du Yu was feeling slightly fearful, and he prayed in his mind that the mighty old immortal wouldn’t ruthlessly crush this beautiful flower. Perhaps the mighty senior wouldn’t care about such a beautiful celestial maiden being killed, but Du Yu would definitely feel pained!

“You already managed to kill the two river gods and the one canal master in quick succession, so why did you purposely allow Lake Lord Yin Hou to flee?” Yan Qing asked.

Du Yu almost fell over, and he hurriedly placed his hands on the ground to support himself.

“Who gave you the courage to seek me out again and again?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Yan Qing smiled faintly and replied, “You’re a sword immortal who’s worried about the sea of clouds bearing down and bringing harm to the innocent commoners, so are you truly someone who will mercilessly kill others for no reason? I refuse to believe this.”

“What does it matter to me whether you believe me or not? Let me say this one more time: my patience is limited,” Chen Ping’an retorted.

Yan Qing directly walked toward the campfire.

Du Yu had already shifted his position slightly, allowing him to both observe the changing expressions of the mighty senior as well as appreciate the graceful beauty of the celestial maiden standing under the moon.

However, Du Yu’s jaw slowly dropped open.

A streak of azure dashed toward the celestial maiden in white who was able to compete with the moon’s radiance. Afterward, Yan Qing was lifted into the air as if she were a small chick and carried onto a rooftop.

The mighty senior stood on the roof ridge and spun in a circle, causing the beautiful young woman to spin in an even larger circle.

There was a loud whoosh.

Yan Qing was launched into the distance and disappeared from view.

Chen Ping’an jumped down from the roof ridge and walked back to the steps to sit down.

Du Yu gulped and wiped his mouth with his hand.

Chen Ping’an waved a hand and said, “You can leave now.”

Du Yu was just about to respectfully bid farewell.

However, an annoyed and slightly regretful expression suddenly appeared on the mighty senior’s face, after which he shot into the air and caused a huge tremor to ripple through the shrine similar to what he had caused at the dock of Verdant Bamboo Lake.

Du Yu felt slightly hesitant. Should he leave, or should he stay? He hadn’t bid farewell yet, so leaving just like this felt quite disrespectful. If he didn’t leave, however, what if the mighty senior suddenly started to cherish the beautiful celestial maiden? What if he returned with the soft and lithe Celestial Maiden Yan Qing to enjoy some intimacy here? The moon was beautiful, and the celestial maiden was even more breathtaking…

Du Yu immediately slapped himself in the face.

He slung the hemp sack on his back and quickly took his leave.

However, he felt slightly dazed after he made his way out of the water goddess shrine.

The mighty senior had hurriedly rushed away for some unknown reason just then, but perhaps this was the only time that he had truly unleashed his full strength?

He had charged from the water goddess shrine back to Verdant Bamboo Lake.

His azure figure had already vanished from sight, but the thunderous booms triggered by his immense speed still rumbled through the sky.

Du Yu heaved a heavy sigh.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an stood on the dock and narrowed his eyes.

The annoying young celestial maiden from the Treasure Basin Immortal Realm had been tossed into Verdant Bamboo Lake by his big throw just then, but she wouldn’t suffer any injuries and would at most experience some suffocation for a brief moment. She would only be slightly disheveled.

When Chen Ping’an realized that the lake lord of Verdant Bamboo Lake would very likely be nearby, however, he had no option but to rush over to check on the situation. Sure enough, Yan Qing disappeared without a trace after crashing into the lake.

Chen Ping’an retrieved the Pure Jade Illumination Talisman using his index finger and his middle finger.

Just as he was about to unleash the talisman between his fingertips…

Lake Lord Yin Hou, who was wearing the reddish-purple dragon robe, broke through the surface of the lake and walked out. Standing beside him was Yan Qing, the young female cultivator who had seemingly just been released from an immortal restriction, and she had a furious expression as she glared intensely at Chen Ping’an.

Lake Lord Yin Hou gestured with a hand and explained with a faint smile, “I was worried about Celestial Maiden Yan Qing’s safety just then, so I activated a minor immortal technique upon seeing the critical nature of the situation, trying to reduce the momentum of Celestial Maiden Yan Qing’s fall as she crashed into the lake. Please forgive me if I’ve caused any offense, and please feel free to return to shore, Celestial Maiden Yan Qing.”

Yan Qing’s expression was ice-cold as she expelled the remaining moisture from her body and flew back to the dock.

Yan Qing was unable to imagine what would have happened if the main culprit behind her predicament hadn’t rushed over to the dock.

Chen Ping’an glanced at her and asked, “You’re not going to leave yet? I can’t help you anymore if you enjoyed the tea of Algae Stream’s canal master, but I can indeed help you if you enjoy the taste of Verdant Bamboo Lake’s lake water.”

Yan Qing humphed coldly before soaring away on the wind.