Unsheathed

It was late at night, and after pushing through her initial exhaustion, Sui Jingcheng surprisingly didn’t feel sleepy anymore. The fantastical novels talked about a type of people called night owls, and she felt like she belonged to this category of people right now.

The breathing techniques recorded in the small book all required cultivation at noon, although the specific time for cultivation would vary slightly depending on the different solar terms. There were four extremely moving words at the end of the book: Ascending during the day.

When parting ways on the official road before, the old assistant minister had taken off the extremely thin bamboo Dao robe and returned it to his daughter. While reluctantly bidding farewell, the old assistant minister had privately warned his daughter that she needed to conduct herself in a proper manner and maintain a good attitude since it was thanks to the blessings of the Sui Clan’s ancestors that she was now fortunate enough to cultivate immortal techniques with a sword immortal. She shouldn’t act all high and mighty like the young maiden of a wealthy family anymore, or else she would be trampling on the hidden virtue of her ancestors.

Chen Ping’an continued to practice the monotonous fist stance the entire time.

Sui Jingcheng stood up and collected some more dry branches from the surroundings, emulating Chen Ping’an’s behavior from before and drying them out beside the campfire first, making sure all of the moisture was evaporated. She didn’t toss the branches into the campfire straight away.

Sui Jingcheng had faced a bumpy ride when cultivating over the past few years, encountering many obstacles on the way. She had also lacked a good teacher to guide her, so she had only managed to somewhat master the mystical ability that allowed her to use the three golden hairpins as if they were flying swords.

As for the rest of the small book, it was as if the contents were stating the purpose and principles of some Daoist scripture, appearing far too lofty and high-level. This caused her to feel extremely confused. Just as the sword immortal had said before, the principles were inevitably lofty and intangible. With no one to help her review these principles and explain their meaning to her, Sui Jingcheng was unable to make heads or tails of them even though she had started to earnestly study the small book ever since she was very young. As a result, she was still stuck at the pinnacle of the second tier even though she was already in her early thirties.

In reality, Sui Jingcheng was slightly hesitant about whether she should actively take out the bamboo Dao robe, the golden hairpins, and the small book, the three immortal items in her possession. She didn’t mind showing these items to the incredibly powerful sword immortal, but she was very afraid that the senior would mistake her actions for being a small trick with ulterior motives. After all, she had already overcooked things more than once.

Chen Ping’an stopped his fist stance and sat back down in front of the campfire, reaching his hand over and saying, “Show me the items. I’ll help you clear up this matter on your mind.”

Sui Jingcheng carefully reached into her sleeve and retrieved three golden hairpins as well as a flawless small book that appeared as good as new. The small book had no sign of wear, and its title was written in ancient seal script and read, Upper Lofty Mystical Mystery.

“Senior, these hairpins are quite strange,” Sui Jingcheng said in a quiet voice. “They’ve been attached to me ever since I was young, and they’ll heat up and become scalding hot whenever someone else holds them. A maidservant attempted to steal the golden hairpins in the past, yet her entire palm was severely burned as a result, causing her to collapse to the ground and roll around in pain. Even though the wound on her palm healed afterward, it was as if she had lost her soul, going between states of clear-headedness and mindlessness. I don’t know why this was.”

“That’s no problem,” Chen Ping’an said.

He accepted the small book in one hand and spread open his other hand, following which Sui Jingcheng loosened her grip and allowed the three dazzling golden hairpins to drop into his palm. The golden hairpins shuddered slightly, yet Chen Ping’an’s palm remained unharmed as he carefully examined the hairpins for a brief moment.

“These golden hairpins can be regarded as your bonded items,” Chen Ping’an explained slowly. “Refinement can be separated into three levels, with elementary refinement allowing items to become intangible and thus giving Qi refiners the ability to place these items in their acupoints. However, anyone can snatch these items away. Intermediate refinement can unlock the mystical abilities of an immortal item, and this is similar to… a nameless mountain having the protection of a mountain god and a mountain god temple. And finally, advanced refinement allows an item to become a bonded item.

“The lofty individual who gifted you these three fated opportunities is truly a mighty figure who possesses incredibly mystical abilities. This cultivator is at least an earth immortal, and they’re perhaps even a Nascent Tier immortal. As for why this immortal gifted you Dao opportunities to embark on the path of cultivation, yet abandoned you and left you alone for thirty to forty years…

Sui Jingcheng was listening carefully the entire time, and she softly interjected, “It’s only been thirty-two years.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and asked, “Do you want to say how many months as well?”

An awkward expression spread across Sui Jingcheng’s face.

Chen Ping’an put the small book on his knees before picking up a golden hairpin with two fingers and lightly tapping it against one of the other hairpins in his hand, causing a crisp and metallic ringing sound. Rings of light rippled outward each time Chen Ping’an tapped the hairpins together, and he looked up and said, “These three golden hairpins are a complete set of immortal treasures. They look identical, yet they’re not actually the same. Their names are Plain Spirit Delicate Purity, Literary Minister Divine Heaven, and Profound Dawn Commanding Ghosts. These golden hairpins are most likely related to lightning techniques, the most paramount of all techniques.”

There was a look of astonishment and disbelief on Sui Jingcheng’s face as she remarked sincerely, “Senior is truly knowledgeable and all-knowing!”

She was speaking from the bottom of her heart.

The three golden hairpins looked identical, yet this sword immortal in azure was even able to decipher their names?

Chen Ping’an glanced at her and revealed, “There are characters inscribed on the golden hairpins, but you’re naturally unable to see these extremely tiny characters due to your low cultivation base.”

Sui Jingcheng’s expression became stiff and awkward.

Chen Ping’an tossed the three golden hairpins back to Sui Jingcheng and started to flick through the small book with a strange name. However, he frowned and immediately closed the book after reading two pages.

The characters on the pages of Upper Lofty Mystical Mystery had started to shimmer when Chen Ping’an scanned over them, and he was unable to remember the contents of the pages even with his impressive vision and memory. It was as if an initially orderly military formation had suddenly broken apart and become chaotic and disorderly by itself.

This small book was no doubt another bonded item of Sui Jingcheng’s, and it was extremely likely that the restrictions on it extended beyond simply needing Sui Jingcheng to hold the book and flick through its pages. Even if Chen Ping’an tried to read its contents with Sui Jingcheng holding the small book, it was very likely that the contents seen by the two of them would still be vastly different.

Chen Ping’an gestured for Sui Jingcheng to sit beside him, after which he asked her to open the small book and look at its contents. Sui Jingcheng was slightly confused, but she still followed Chen Ping’an’s instructions and did as she was told. Chen Ping’an quickly told her to put the small book away, saying, “This immortal technique is quite high-grade, but it’s also incomplete. The cultivator who gifted you this book back then most likely had extremely high hopes for you. However, they were unable to become both your Dao mentor and Dao guardian, and it’s because of this that they’ve left without returning for more than thirty years.”

There was a wide smile on Sui Jingcheng’s face and a feeling of joy in her heart as she held the golden hairpins in one hand and the small book in her other hand. She was feeling even more delighted at this moment than when she had been chosen as the so-called Jade Person of the Sui Clan or whatnot.

Chen Ping’an closed his eyes and started to rest his mind, placing his hands on the golden lightning whip that had been refined into something resembling a verdant bamboo hiking pole.

There were no characters on the “green bamboo,” and there was only a dense array of inscribed lines.

“Does Senior want to take a look at the Dao robe called Bamboo Robe as well?” Sui Jingcheng suddenly asked.

Chen Ping’an opened his eyes, and his expression was strange as he looked at the sincere and eager Sui Jingcheng. He appeared slightly helpless as he replied, “There’s no need to look at it, and it’s without a doubt a fairly decent immortal treasure. Dao robes have always been precious and coveted, and cultivators in the mountains often fight to the death to obtain these treasures. Generally speaking, Qi refiners all have two bonded items, one for offense and one for defense. Since that mighty figure gifted you the three golden hairpins, this Bamboo Robe Dao Robe is most likely at the same grade as well.”

Sui Jingcheng finally realized her mistake, with her face flushing slightly red as she fell silent.

After remaining silent for a moment, she saw that the sword immortal in azure didn’t stand up to practice his fist techniques anymore, instead focusing his mind and entering a state of meditation like Qi refiners, with his breathing steady and subtle. Sui Jingcheng felt like there were seemingly layers of colorful light flowing over his body, with some as brilliant as blazing torches and some as soft as the glowing moon.

Sui Jingcheng attributed this to the fact that the sword immortal was someone who had attained Dao, allowing even someone with a lowly cultivation base like her to witness traces of the peculiar phenomenon. In reality, Sui Jingcheng was a cultivation talent with outstanding aptitude, and it was only due to the limits of her vision that she hadn’t been able to read the tiny inscriptions on the golden hairpins. Indeed, it was thanks to her extraordinary talent that she was now able to see the peculiar phenomenon of Chen Ping’an’s cultivation. Her ability to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was far superior to that of ordinary Lower Five Tier cultivators.

Sui Jingcheng suddenly recalled something, and she hesitated for a long time before deciding that this matter was quite significant and worth mentioning. Thus, she eventually spoke up and asked, “Senior, Cao Fu and Xiao Shuye acted in a sneaky and roundabout manner this time, so apart from being unwilling to catch the attention of the Great Seal Script Empire and the emperor of some small nation in the north, were they also very apprehensive of the mighty figure who gifted me the fated opportunities back then?

“Cao Fu’s master, that Golden Core Tier earth immortal or whatnot, and the old ancestor of the Golden Scale Palace’s palace leader had both been unwilling to show themselves. Was this similar to how Cao Fu had instructed that saber-wielding martial artist to step forward and block our path first, testing the waters to determine if Senior was hiding nearby? Is this a similar scenario?”

Chen Ping’an opened his eyes again, remaining silent as he smiled faintly in response.

Sui Jingcheng truly possessed an extraordinary mind and temperament.

Chen Ping’an was very patient as he explained, “When cultivators in the mountains develop grudges against each other, it’s very easy for them to scuffle with each other for one hundred years. The mountains have their own rules, just as the cultivation world has its own rules. Cao Fu and Xiao Shuye looked down on the cultivation world from the bottom of their hearts, and they believed that they could easily trample on the cultivation world and reach its bottom once they stepped down from the mountains. They believed that the cultivation world would be filled with nothing but small fry.

“However, in stark contrast to those behind the scenes who were well aware of everything, Cao Fu and Xiao Shuye weren’t familiar with the taboos of cultivation and the complexities of matters in the mountains, causing them to suffer the deadly outcomes that they did. These people feel apprehensive of me now, yet Cao Fu is only fearful of my flying sword. On the other hand, the mastermind behind him is fearful of one more thing, that being the mighty figure whom you mentioned.

“If your Dao mentor is an outsider earth immortal, then after weighing things up, they won’t mind getting involved to engage in a bigger transaction. However, if the Dao guardian sent out to protect you by your Dao mentor is a Golden Core Tier sword cultivator, then those behind the scenes will need to reconsider their strength and abilities, mulling over whether they can withstand retribution from two Nascent Tier immortals.”

Sui Jingcheng’s eyelashes shuddered slightly.

Chen Ping’an had spoken in a direct and simple manner, yet his words had also contained a hidden killing intent, allowing the extremely clever Sui Jingcheng to understand many things as she pondered over his explanation. She felt like the painting of the magnificent immortal mountains in her mind was finally starting to slowly reveal a corner of itself to her.

Sui Jingcheng asked a question that didn’t align with her temperament, asking, “Senior, you genuinely don’t want a single one of these three immortal treasures?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and replied, “Virtuous people obtain their fortunes in a proper manner.”

Sui Jingcheng smiled knowingly in response.

“You don’t have anything else in mind?” Chen Ping’an suddenly asked.

Sui Jingcheng faltered upon hearing this, and she thought about the question for a brief moment before shaking her head and replying, “No, I don’t.”

“Cao Fu used Xiao Shuye to draw me away before, mistakenly thinking that victory was easily within reach. He then blocked your path and directly told you the consequences of following him to the mountains. Did you not feel afraid?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Sui Jingcheng indeed felt a lingering sense of apprehension, especially regarding being refined into a living cauldron by Cao Fu’s master and becoming a dual cultivation partner of the Golden Scale Palace’s old ancestor after she was taught the relevant immortal techniques.

Even though Sui Jingcheng was completely focused on cultivation, she wasn’t a pitiful puppet who couldn’t control her own destiny.

Chen Ping’an sighed and asked, “Then have you ever thought about the intentions of the mighty figure who gifted you these fated opportunities? Have you considered the possibility that they possess an even higher cultivation base than Cao Fu’s master and have an even longer-term plan with even more sinister intentions?”

Sui Jingcheng instantly became drenched in cold sweat.

Chen Ping’an extended a hand and gestured for Sui Jingcheng to calm down and not be too afraid, saying in a quiet voice, “This is only one possibility. Why did the mighty figure dare to gift you three valuable treasures, both granting you a huge cultivation opportunity but also formlessly placing you in great danger? Why didn’t the mighty figure directly take you to their immortal force? Why didn’t they leave a Dao guardian behind to protect you? Why were they confident that you could rely on your own abilities to become a cultivator? Was there something deeper behind your mother’s strange dream of a divine person carrying a female infant?”

Sui Jingcheng wiped the sweat from her forehead, after which she rested the back of her hand against her forehead and shook her head, saying, “I don’t understand any of this.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and said, “This is how it is for most things in the world, with most being difficult to understand. Truly understanding these matters isn’t necessarily a good thing either.”

There was a blank expression on Sui Jingcheng’s face.

She had been fleeing and running all over the place like a homeless dog the past few days, experiencing ebbs and flows and many sudden surprises. And tonight, the words of this sword immortal further caused her emotions to fluctuate significantly.

“I only said these things to you because you decided to travel to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent,” Chen Ping’an said, “I want you to make another choice pertaining to your mental state, deciding how you should view that mighty figure who might appear tonight or might never appear again in your lifetime. Assuming this mighty figure has goodwill toward you, they might have disappeared because they didn’t want to hasten your growth too much after giving you too many fated opportunities in the beginning.

“However, they might be unaware of the matters pertaining to the Five Mountain Nation and the Sui Clan right now, especially since those with higher cultivation bases often grow oblivious to the challenges and hardships of the mortal world after cultivating in seclusion for too long. If this is the case, then you can temporarily travel to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, but you can’t hastily become the disciple of Cui Dongshan. On the other hand, this won’t be an issue if that mighty figure harbored ill will toward you since the very beginning. However, neither you nor I know the truth right now, so how should you deal with this matter?”

“How should I deal with this matter?” Sui Jingcheng repeated in a muddle-headed voice.

“What do you mean what should you do?” Chen Ping’an asked with a scoff.

Sui Jingcheng wiped her face before suddenly smiling and saying, “Before meeting Senior, or if it were someone else who had saved me, I would have run as far away as I could without caring about anything else. I would have refused to think about these matters even if it meant betraying the expectations of the mighty figure whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude to.

“Now, however, I feel like Senior Sword Immortal’s words are correct. When coming across deadly dangers in the world, scholars outside the mountains should still have at least a small amount of compassion. That being the case, cultivators in the mountains also need to remember debts of gratitude even when they’re fleeing from danger.

“As such, even if I’m fortunate enough to become the disciple of Senior Sword Immortal or Senior Cui Dongshan, I’ll only become an unofficial disciple until I’m able to meet that wandering mighty figure again. Even if that mighty figure doesn’t possess as high a cultivation base as Senior Sword Immortal or Senior Cui Dongshan, I’ll still ask the two seniors to give me permission to become their disciple!”

“This is the correct response,” Chen Ping’an said with a nod.

What was more commendable than this was the fact that Chen Ping’an could actually decipher whether Sui Jingcheng’s words were sincere or not.

There were some words that needed to be observed instead of listened to.

This was the benefit of cultivating in the mountains.

Thus, Chen Ping’an sighed with emotion and said, “I hope that my speculation just then was purely due to my pessimism and nothing else. At the end of the day, I still hope that you and the wandering mighty figure can become master and disciple in the future, ascending the mountains together and seeing more of the world together.”

Sui Jingcheng smiled secretly as she squinted her eyes and looked at the sword immortal in azure.

Chen Ping’an immediately understood the silent message conveyed by her eyes, and he shot a glare at her and said, “The two of us simply look at the world in the same way. However, our temperaments are vastly different.”

Sui Jingcheng couldn’t help but chuckle, feeling playful like a child in a rare scene as she started to look around and call, “Master, where are you?”

Who knew whether her master would be like this sword immortal in azure who had been carrying a bamboo case back then? Perhaps they were very far away, or perhaps they were right in front of her.

Chen Ping’an also started to chuckle.

Of course, Sui Jingcheng’s so-called master didn’t appear in front of them.