Unsheathed

In a narrow and deserted alley with no one else…

A man leaned against the wall and gulped in apprehension. It appeared like the young sword immortal in white hadn’t chased after him?

It was truly challenging to earn that single lesser heat coin.

Even though the official immortal who had been his point of contact hadn’t appeared like someone who could produce a lesser heat coin, immortal coins weren’t something that could be forged. In any case, he would have been killed if he hadn’t accepted this task, so he had been left with no option but to obediently do as he was told.

He had found a petty official in Imperial Accompanying City, and similar to how he had been bribed and threatened, he had also offered a pouch of silver coins to the petty official and threatened him with death if he didn’t accept the task. The petty official wasn’t stupid, so he had helped the man find the deplorable couple in Sprouting Alley. It was thanks to this that the young woman had been able to cause a commotion in front of the ghost residence just then.

The vagrant cultivator retrieved the lesser heat coin and smiled widely, murmuring that the official immortal was truly someone who didn’t treat money like money. He wished that he could partake in such a transaction again.

“You’re quite impressive as well, not treating human lives like lives,” someone chuckled beside his ear.

The vagrant cultivator rigidly turned his head around, only to see the otherworldly immortal in white standing several paces away and rocking his folding fan back and forth. He hadn’t detected the sword immortal’s presence at all.

The vagrant cultivator’s voice was quivering as he replied, “No, I’m not impressive at all, Great Sword Immortal. I was forced to do this, and I had no option but to comply. The official immortal from Blissful Dream Peak who instructed me to do this simply didn’t want to dirty his own hands with this kind of matter. In reality, he’s even more of a vagrant cultivator than me, and he’s even more dismissive of the lives of ordinary mortal humans.”

He forced a smile and continued, “Great Sword Immortal, you might not know this, but the young woman from Sprouting Alley has a truly sinister mind, with her late husband being even more detestable and deserving of death. Thankfully, this mortal couple had poor cultivation aptitude and could only roll around in the muddy mortal world, or else they would have truly been impressive in their sinister ways if they had embarked on the path of cultivation.”

Chen Ping’an smiled faintly and commented, “I’m not asking about your thoughts, and I’m simply observing your actions. Otherwise, how many people in the world can get away? What do you say?”

The vagrant cultivator nodded earnestly and replied, “Yes, yes, yes, Great Sword Immortal is correct.”

After saying this, he heard the outsider sword immortal, who was surprisingly able to block a heavenly tribulation and survive, ask in a slightly astonished voice, “A measly official immortal from Blissful Dream Peak felt like it would dirty his hands to kill a few mortal humans, so with me being a sword immortal, would I be dirtying my hands if I wanted to kill you? Otherwise, why didn’t I kill the money-chasing young women, the three hooligans pushing the cart of faeces around, or the assassin hiding in the cart of faeces and eating shit?”

The vagrant cultivator bowed deeply and held up the lesser heat coin with both hands, smiling obsequiously and replying, “Since Great Sword Immortal thinks that killing us will dirty your hands, then why don’t you act benevolently and spare me this time? I don’t want to dirty Great Sword Immortal’s divine weapon, and a foul-smelling insect like me isn’t worthy of Great Sword Immortal’s blade anyway.”

“There are a myriad of immortal techniques, so do I need to draw my sword to deal with you?” Chen Ping’an asked.

The vagrant cultivator immediately became drenched in sweat when he heard this, not daring to utter another word.

“You’re only feeling afraid now that I’m acting the same sinister way as you people?” Chen Ping’an mused.

He lightly tapped his head with his folding fan, appearing relaxed and lazy as he chuckled in a soft voice, “To fall silent in front of evil doers, and to stab the backs of well-intentioned people. You people are quiet and taciturn at times, yet you people also speak with vigor and a barbed tongue at other times. How very strange, how very mystical.”

It wasn’t that the vagrant cultivator didn’t want to flee, but his hands and feet were completely ignoring his commands at this moment.

“Go on, I give you permission to shout at the top of your lungs and alert everyone in the city that the sword immortal is about to ruthlessly kill someone. I can spare your life if you manage to successfully alert the entire city,” Chen Ping’an said.

The vagrant cultivator furiously shook his head, mustering his courage and saying in a sobbing voice, “I wouldn’t dare to. This lowly person wouldn’t dare to carelessly smear Great Sword Immortal like this!”

The sword immortal replied with an “oh” and remarked that he was in for some suffering then. Before the vagrant cultivator could say anything, Chen Ping’an lightly smacked the man’s head with his folding fan, after which he casually flicked his sleeve and captured the man’s three immortal souls and seven mortal forms, using his astral energy to slowly grind them down.

If all of the good people in the world comforted themselves and eased their pain by thinking that there would naturally be sinister people to punish other sinister people, then the world genuinely wouldn’t be a very good place.

As for the lesser heat coin, Chen Ping’an allowed it to fall beside the corpse just like that. In the end, the immortal coin rolled into a crack in the alleyway.

A young man in white slowly walked out of the alley.

A short moment later, a ray of golden sword light surged up from the ground as the immortal in white left Imperial Accompanying City on his sword and directly flew toward Verdant Bamboo Lake.

A dark green flying sword dashed out from the ghost residence and followed after the ray of golden sword light.

————

Inside the imperial preceptor’s office in the capital of the Blissful Dream Nation…

Two powerful cultivators sat opposite each other, with a small turquoise lake between them.

There was an old scholar with white hair and dressed in azure robes who appeared like he had never served as an official before, and a young man still in his twenties. There was a small monkey barely alive lying on the old scholar’s knees, and a small azure snake that was seemingly asleep located on the young man’s waist. There were already horns poking out from the azure snake’s head, and its head and tail were connected at this moment as if it were an azure belt around the young man’s waist.

Standing far behind the old scholar in Confucian robes was a deathly pale woman. This fox spirit’s appearance was ordinary, yet her eyes were incredibly seductive. Even though she was standing behind her master with a small lake between her and the young man, she still couldn’t help but tremble with fear and unease. After all, the might and renown of this so-called young man were far too terrifying.

His name was Xia Zhen, and he had once been a vagrant cultivator who had controlled a vast mountain all by himself. He had never taken any direct disciples, and had only raised some servants and children with passable aptitude. Afterward, he had given the mountain with abundant spiritual energy and incredible feng shui away, only relocating his immortal abode using a profound mystical ability. Afterward, he had vanished from the southeastern region of the Northern Complete Reed Continent, with no one ever hearing about him again.

It was this powerful immortal who had made a secret deal with her master.

However, the fox spirit knew that her master had paid a huge price back then, exhausting a significant amount of his vital energy to unleash a profound ability and suppress that elusive and peculiar treasure of virtue, eventually managing to obtain it. Meanwhile, Xia Zhen had become an ally with his master, and through gifting his vast mountain to two powerful neighboring immortal forces in exchange, he had been able to obtain the dozen or so nations, which were relatively barren and had always lacked spiritual energy, as his exclusive property. This was similar to the… small lake in front of Xia Zhen right now.

Both sides were taking what they needed and planning for the long term.

However, the fox spirit hadn’t imagined that her master, who should have been cultivating in seclusion outside the dozen or so nations, would suddenly disguise himself and transform into a “locally born” imperial preceptor of the Blissful Dream Nation!

Having read the intelligence reports from the Silver Screen Nation many years ago, she was naturally familiar with the state of affairs in the Blissful Dream Nation. Her master had most likely started off as a so-called child prodigy in an impoverished clan in the Blissful Dream Nation, after which he had participated in the imperial examination and become a champion scholar, bringing glory to his clan.

After entering the officialdom, it was as if he had been assisted by the heavens, not only showing remarkable talent in terms of writing essays and composing poems, but also showing a strong ability to govern. In the end, he had become the youngest prime minister in the history of the Blissful Dream Nation, reaching this lofty position in just his forties.

However, he had suddenly resigned and disappeared from public view, with rumors claiming that he had hung up his official seal after encountering an immortal who had taught him cultivation techniques. At the time, countless people’s umbrellas had been sincerely crafted to commemorate his service and bid him farewell.[1]

After entering the mountain forests, he had refined alchemical pills and cultivated in seclusion, mastering the immortal techniques that he had been taught in just a measly ten years. The fox spirit had initially viewed this as a joke, thinking that her master was simply toying around with the common people. Auspicious scenes had continuously appeared in the capital of the Blissful Dream Nation and in the surrounding cities, and the new emperor who had just ascended the throne had personally visited the immortal mountain to invite the former prime minister back to the capital of the nation, appointing him as the new imperial preceptor.

The nation had been peaceful and prosperous while he had served as an official, and it had experienced good weather and bountiful harvests after he became an immortal. It was as if the Blissful Dream Nation had become an otherworldly paradise thanks to this person’s incredible abilities. There had been no shortage of scholarly talents and martial talents in the imperial court, and the officials in the regions had also been amicable and cooperative with each other. Thanks to his support, both the former emperor and the new emperor had been able to strive for further prosperity without ever provoking the neighboring nations.

When being pursued by the horde of cultivators in Imperial Accompanying City, the fox spirit had lost two of her tails and suffered wounds to the foundation of her Great Dao. After her master appeared, however, he simply brought her and her colleague to this imperial preceptor’s office in the capital of the Blissful Dream Nation, and he was still yet to reward them for successfully obtaining the valuable treasure. This caused the fox spirit to wallow in self-pity. She had lost her fame and glory as the empress of the Silver Screen Nation, and she was surprisingly feeling unaccustomed now that she had returned to her original position as a measly maidservant of her master.

Xia Zhen smiled faintly and said, “Congratulations on achieving your objective, fellow cultivator. It’s only a matter of time before you can establish your own sect.”

“I’ll naturally retract the remaining restrictions from that golden thunder pool and allow the spiritual energy outside to slowly flow toward the dozen or so nations,” the old man in Confucian robes replied in a calm and indifferent voice. “After one hundred years, countless cultivation prodigies will appear in this region. As for He Lu, Yan Qing, and the others, they’re still very young, so they can reap the benefits of this change before everyone else and easily become Golden Core Tier cultivators. If fellow cultivator is able to nurture seven or eight Golden Core Tier earth immortals at the same time, then this will also set a strong foundation for you to establish your own sect. So, congratulations to you as well.”

There was a sincere look in Xia Zhen’s eyes as he remarked with emotion, “Compared to fellow cultivator’s strategies and abilities, I have to concede that I’m inferior. Fellow cultivator was genuinely able to obtain that treasure of virtue, and the treasure was actually an innate sword pellet as well. Truth be told, I initially thought that there was a greater than sixty percent chance that fellow cultivator’s gamble would yield no results.”

Xia Zhen felt extremely impressed as he glanced at the glowing abdomen of the small monkey. This old cultivator, who had almost been on the verge of falling to the Golden Core Tier, had unexpectedly managed to conceal his identity and escape from the various forces that had been coveting his treasures and baying for his blood. Afterward, the old cultivator had acted in a shockingly bold manner and hid right under his nose, eventually using his accumulated virtue from benefitting a nation to righteously obtain the valuable treasure of virtue. This plot of his was truly befitting his status as a Nascent Tier cultivator.

The old cultivator smiled and replied, “Fellow cultivator, you also made a bold and courageous move, willingly giving up a feng shui treasure land in exchange for a dozen or so nations that no one fancied at all. If managed properly, fellow cultivator can definitely break even after one hundred years and enjoy bountiful yields for one thousand years.”

One person sought valuable treasures, while the other person sought impressive talents.

With these goals in mind, the two powerful Nascent Tier cultivators had joined forces to orchestrate their grand schemes.

The final result was success and satisfaction for both parties.

However, both of them were well aware that things would become unpredictable again once either one of them advanced to the Upper Five Tiers first.

After establishing a sect, it was natural for people to desire expansion of their territory.

When the old man retracted the thunder pool and allowed spiritual energy to funnel into the dozen or so nations, would Xia Zhen stand by and look on as the abundant spiritual energy freely flowed into his territory and was wasted on the measly ants who had pathetically skirmished with each other for so many years?

As for Fan Weiran and Ye Han leading their trash disciples and failing to snatch the valuable treasure from the fox spirit and the elderly cultivator, Xia Zhen genuinely didn’t feel very disappointed or frustrated about this. After all, the abundant spiritual energy was the foundation of his Great Dao, so he shouldn’t become too greedy and covet the other treasures as well. In any case, the Nascent Tier alliance between him and the old man in Confucian robes hadn’t been a perfunctory deal, and it was understandably impossible for someone to obtain all of the benefits in the world.

Since the current situation was favorable and stable, Xia Zhen would focus on voraciously absorbing the abundant spiritual energy while the old man in Confucian robes focused on refining his treasure of virtue and embarked on the dangerous journey of changing paths to become a sword cultivator. Xia Zhen also had a chance to overcome the numerous barriers and rapidly advance to the Upper Five Tiers. It was necessary to have some small smarts, but one couldn’t rely on these small smarts to feed themselves forever. Earth immortals needed to develop the vision and mindset befitting of earth immortals.

As if remembering something, Xia Zhen said, “I visited Imperial Accompanying City after the descent of the heavenly tribulation, and I discovered something that was a very big surprise to me.”

“Please go on, fellow cultivator,” the old man in Confucian robes said with a smile.

Xia Zhen rested his hands on his azure “belt” and continued with a faint smile, “If my eyes didn’t deceive me, then the sword on that outsider sword immortal’s back was a pseudo-celestial tool! I’m decently capable when it comes to doing battle, but it’s a shame that I’m extremely mediocre when it comes to refining treasures. However, fellow cultivator is coincidentally skilled at refining treasures, so how about we sign another contract and become allies again?”

A brilliant gleam appeared in the old man’s eyes, yet this gleam disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

He was completely uninterested in immortal treasures, as the innate sword pellet that contained abundant virtue was going to be his foundation to become an Upper Five Tier cultivator in the future. As such, he didn’t want to delay its refinement by a single day.

But a pseudo-celestial tool?

However, the old man in Confucian robes quickly resisted the temptation.

Was Xia Zhen his father or his son? Was Xia Zhen perhaps telling him about this rare treasure out of the goodness of his heart?

With this in mind, the old Nascent Tier cultivator who was temporarily the imperial preceptor of the Blissful Dream Nation shook his hand and said with loud laughter, “Fellow cultivator can take the treasure if you please. Indeed, fellow cultivator deserves to obtain this fated opportunity. As for me? Forget about it. There are many taboos for me to navigate regarding my movements before I manage to successfully refine this valuable treasure, and I’m sure that fellow cultivator is well aware of these extremely troublesome matters as well. With fellow cultivator’s cultivation base, killing a young and wounded sword cultivator definitely won’t be too difficult. So, let me wish fellow cultivator good luck and success in obtaining a pseudo-celestial tool!”

Xia Zhen smiled and nodded in response, not surprised at all about the old man’s cautious nature. They were both Nascent Tier vagrant cultivators, so they couldn’t have survived until today if they took bait so easily.

After doing many shady things over the years — killing people and stealing treasures — however, they still needed to be wary of other powerful cultivators.

Xia Zhen had committed this principle to memory ever since a young age, and it was still fresh in his mind even after countless years. This was the greatest wealth that his master, a fifth tier vagrant cultivator who had died at his hands back then, had left him. Xia Zhen had only been at the second tier at the time, so how had he managed to overcome the deadly dangers to kill his master and snatch his treasures? This was because the master and his disciple had accidentally come across a huge obstacle.

Thus, whenever Xia Zhen found himself becoming smug and complacent in the many years afterward, he would bring up that old principle in his mind and silently recite it a few times.

Xia Zhen stood up and said with a smile, “There’s no need to see me off, fellow cultivator.”

The old man in Confucian robes grabbed the small monkey with one hand and still stood up to see Xia Zhen off anyway, saying, “Fellow cultivator can also feel at ease. I’ll be leaving the Blissful Dream Nation shortly.”

Xia Zhen transformed into a ray of light and soared into the distance, instantly becoming a tiny speck as he shot through a patch of low-hanging clouds and leisurely flew away.

The imperial preceptor of the Blissful Dream Nation lightly shook the small monkey in his hand as he gazed up and chuckled, “He was actually able to restrain himself and not attack. This is truly a difficult feat for Xia Zhen.”

The fox spirit and the skinny elderly cultivator stood respectfully with their hands by their sides in the distance.

“Master, are you truly going to ignore that pseudo-celestial tool?” the fox spirit asked. “Even though Xia Zhen won’t benefit much from obtaining it, it’s a completely different story for Master…”

The old man in Confucian robes used a mystical ability to imprison the small monkey in a small world inside his sleeve.

He then turned around and replied, “I receive very limited news in this tiny Blissful Dream Nation, and my current intelligence is far inferior to Xia Zhen’s. If you’re so interested in that pseudo-celestial tool, then why don’t you head over to obtain it for me?”

The fox spirit didn’t dare to say anything else, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

Her true identity had already been exposed by City Lord Ye Han of Yellow Axe City, so she was no longer the empress of the Silver Screen Nation or whatnot. If she returned to Imperial Accompanying City and revealed her presence, she would definitely become nothing more than a hunted rodent.

The old man in Confucian robes smiled in ridicule and continued, “He’s a sword cultivator who’s willing to face the heavenly tribulation, and he’s a young man who’s willing to reveal his pseudo-celestial tool to other people. That being the case, will he be a measly pushover? If he is, then why didn’t Xia Zhen target him, instead running over to me and kindly revealing this huge secret? In any case, once a pseudo-celestial tool chooses its master, what violently tragic scene will take place once its master dies and the pseudo-celestial tool loses control? The two of you are truly like frogs living at the bottom of the well, completely oblivious to the weight and dangers of these matters.”

1. People’s umbrella (万民伞) is a type of large umbrella that people in ancient China used to express respect toward virtuous officials. There would be many silk strips hanging from the umbrella with the names of the people who had gifted them, hence the name people’s umbrella. ☜