Unsheathed

Daoist Master Sun and Huang Shi had reaped some decent spoils together.

The two of them were each acting on their own, but there was never too large a gap between them. Daoist Master Sun was afraid that with his paltry cultivation base, he would be as good as dead if he strayed too far away from Huang Shi and found himself in a perilous situation. Huang Shi was also happy to keep Daoist Master Sun close as he didn’t want the latter to discover some prized treasures before sneaking away.

At the moment, Daoist Master Sun was situated in a two-story pavilion. Many of the books inside had already been burned to ashes, but he was able to find a secret Daoist scripture that he was unable to open, and even after all these years, it was still radiating five-colored light, which was so bright that it was still shining through, even concealed under his Daoist robe.

Daoist Master Sun was unable to recognize even a single one of the ancient golden characters on the scripture’s cover, which was no surprise, considering it was generally the case that only official immortals from sects with long heritages were familiar with these ancient scripts that were already long lost to time.

After reconvening with Huang Shi, Daoist Master Sun was feeling a little awkward and apprehensive, worried that the secret scripture that he had just obtained would land him in hot water.

Thankfully, Huang Shi merely smiled and pretended not to have seen the bundle of five-colored light shining beneath Daoist Master Sun’s robe.

“Have you made a good haul, Brother Huang?” Daoist Master Sun asked.

“A decent one,” Huang Shi replied with a nod.

The two of them split up once again to search for treasures on their own.

Huang Shi lingered momentarily following Daoist Master Sun’s departure, and the smile on his face widened further as he watched the latter depart.

Earlier, Huang Shi had discovered a pair of withered remains seated across from one another in a pergola, seemingly playing a game of Go at the time of their deaths. In between them was a stone table with a Go board engraved onto its surface, one that only had seventeen vertical and horizontal lines, as opposed to the usual nineteen, and judging from the number of stones on the board, it seemed that they were in an endgame.

Huang Shi had no interest at all in Go, but he could tell from the board state that the game had been approaching a decisive outcome. However, he didn’t bother to examine the game any closer than that.

Not only did Huang Shi obtain a pair of Dao robes from that pergola, he also took those two jars of Go stones. He was unable to identify the material from which the stones had been crafted, but the white stones were translucent and presented a slight golden coloration under the light, while the black stones were also translucent aside from their centers.

When placed under the light, a ring of green light would appear within each of the black stones, and it was clear that they had to have been extremely precious.

The two Dao robes were in less than ideal condition, while the two jars of Go stones had benefitted immensely from the time that they had spent in the immortal abode. They resembled stones that had been polished by flowing water on a riverbed for thousands of years, giving them extremely smooth and pleasant contours.

While attempting to gather the stones on the Go board, Huang Shi discovered that the white stones were burning hot, making it feel as if his soul were being roasted over an open flame, while the black stones chilled him to the bone. After quickly picking up two stones, one black and one white, before tossing them into their respective jars, he examined his fingertips to discover that they were completely unscathed, and the discovery made him ecstatic.

These Go stone jars were most definitely immortal treasures. The average offensive spirit weapon wielded by a cultivator could perhaps inflict physical harm upon a Vajra Body Tier martial artist, but it would nowhere near enough to affect his soul. However, these stones were so unbearable for him to hold that he had to drop them within seconds.

Thus, Huang Shi was able to deduce that this stone table that had carried these Go stones for so many years had to have been a prized treasure in itself. Otherwise, there was no way that it would’ve been able to remain unscathed after such prolonged contact with these stones.

However, he didn’t want to carry a stone table around on his treasure-hunting trip, so he decided to destroy it.

If he couldn’t have it, then at the very least, he wanted to deprive everyone else of this fated opportunity as well. However, as he slammed a palm down onto the table with all his might, it remained completely unharmed.

On top of that, the table seemed to have been capable of devouring fist aura. This only made Huang Shi even more disappointed that he couldn’t take it with him. Otherwise, this table paired with those two jars of Go stones would be sure to fetch an astronomical price.

Following Huang Shi’s departure, Chen Ping’an appeared in the pergola in a wraith-like manner. Perhaps it was because the Go stones had been sitting on the table for too long, but some of their color seemed to have seeped into the table. Even after the stones were removed, there were still some golden and green marks left behind.

Chen Ping’an took a glance at these residual marks that indicated where the stones had been positioned, then closed his eyes to memorize the board state. However, after reopening his eyes, he decided it was best not to rely on memory alone, so he pulled out a writing brush and a sheet of paper from his pocket treasure to record the board state.

The Go board only had seventeen vertical and horizontal lines, as opposed to the nineteen that had already been the norm in the Majestic World for a very long time, and that was a telltale sign in itself, while the board state of the game presented even more clues.

Huang Shi hadn’t paid any attention to these details that he had brushed off as trivial, but Chen Ping’an knew that the devil was often in the details. However, unlike Lu Tai and Cui Dongshan, he was unable to guess the approximate time period in which the game had taken place just by looking at the board state.

It was at times like this that Chen Ping’an really envied the mystical abilities of cultivators to transform their sleeves into miniature small worlds and observe the world through the palms of their hands.

Both of these mystical abilities were ones that Chen Ping’an was very eager to master, but they were both highly advanced mystical abilities that only a Nascent Tier earth immortal could hope to attain, while true mastery would only come in the Upper Five Tiers.

Chen Ping’an felt like this pergola was an ideal place for cultivation. The two jars of Go stones had accumulated a tremendous amount of spiritual energy that hadn’t dissipated at all over time, indicating that certain properties of this pergola made it exceptional for gathering and retaining spiritual energy.

With that in mind, Chen Ping’an removed the cloth bag that was slung across his chest, then stripped off his Hundred Eye Taotie Dao robe before exchanging it for Golden Sweet Wine. In the end, he put on the Snowflake Dao robe that he had obtained from that female ghost in Meticulous Skin City as well, and only after that did he put on the black Dao robe again. Wearing three Dao robes at once, he was able to take in more of the water fortune in this place.

From there, Chen Ping’an leaped on top of the pergola before sitting down with his legs crossed. Thanks to his Stele Carrying Talisman, he was able to remain hidden as he kept an eye on Huang Shi and Daoist Master Sun.

The residual golden and green spiritual energy that stained the Go board in the pergola slowly rose up into the air like tendrils of cloud and mist, gathering above the pergola before slowly seeping into Chen Ping’an’s Dao robes.

Chen Ping’an intentionally ensured that Golden Sweet Wine was the first to have its fill, at which point around 70% to 80% of the water fortune in the pergola had already been absorbed. As a result, the water fortune in the pergola wasn’t that much more abundant than it was elsewhere on the mountain.

After a brief hesitation, Chen Ping’an decided not to absorb all of the spiritual energy in this place as it would be highly suspicious to those who came after him if this pergola were somehow completely devoid of spiritual energy. While it was best to take full advantage of fated opportunities that came one’s way, one had to also consider whether doing so would bring calamity upon them.

The true test was only going to begin once more and more people began scaling the mountain, so one couldn’t afford to grow complacent just because it was still relatively quiet and uneventful.

Ultimately, some small sacrifices had to be made in exchange for greater returns in the future.

Only after the dust had settled could one truly swoop in and reap all the spoils without any qualms or reservations.

From there, Chen Ping’an changed tactics, secretly following Daoist Master Sun instead of keeping most of his attention on Huang Shi.

Prior to the discovery of that Daoist scripture, Daoist Master Sun was the one trying to stay close to Huang Shi. However, now that he had come into possession of such a prized scripture, Huang Shi wasn’t going to let him get away even if he wanted to.

This mountain wasn’t a true temple, so the central axis was the white jade staircase that led all the way from the foot of the mountain to its summit.

This place seemed more like an immortal sect that didn’t have any clear inclinations toward any of the Three Teachings and the Hundred Schools of Thought, and what was most strange to Chen Ping’an was that there was no ancestral hall on the mountain.

In particular, there were both thatched hermitages and spectacular palaces and manors littered all over the mountain in a completely haphazard fashion.

At this point, Daoist Master Sun was beginning to intentionally open up some distance between himself and Huang Shi. Furthermore, instead of openly walking around and revealing himself to Huang Shi whenever he entered or exited a building, he was now sneaking around in a hunch-backed manner, trying to remain concealed as much as possible.

In the end, he hid behind a small pavilion, the plaque of which had already fallen onto the ground and was in terrible condition, but the words “Water Palace” could still just barely be made out on its surface.

Worshipped inside the pavilion was a statue of a female deity with flowing ribbons drifting around her, giving the beholder the expression that she was on the verge of ascension.

Daoist Master Sun was using his robe as a bag as he explored all of the rooms of the pavilion, reaping plenty of spoils in the process. He didn’t discriminate at all, taking everything that hadn’t been reduced to ashes, whether it be trinkets of different sizes, antiques, pieces of artwork and calligraphy, or scholastic supplies.

Everything was stuffed in his makeshift bag, which he carried on his back, and even the Dao robe that he had obtained from Huang Shi in exchange for that incense burner had been fashioned into a back that was slung diagonally across his shoulder. He was truly loaded to the brim, but whether he got to enjoy his spoils or not would depend on whether he could leave this immortal abode alive.

As he departed from the pavilion, he closed the gates behind him, but then realized that he hadn’t closed the doors of any of the rooms inside the pavilion. Hence, he quietly reopened the palace gates in order to not leave behind any telltale signs indicating to Huang Shi that he had been here before.

Chen Ping’an was sitting on a nearby rooftop, still concealed thanks to his Stele Carrying Talisman, and he couldn’t help but shake his head in dismay. In his eyes, Daoist Master Sun’s actions were no different than if he had put up a sign telling Huang Shi that he had never been here.

If he truly wanted to save himself, then the best course of action would be to open the gates of more of the buildings in a line, giving off the appearance that he had crossed the central axis that was the white jade staircase and fled toward Qin Juyuan. Otherwise, as long as Huang Shi wasn’t a complete idiot, he would still begin his search from that water palace. If Chen Ping’an had been in Daoist Master Sun’s place, he would’ve made a decision to open or close all of those gates from the very beginning.

Due to the limited storage space at his disposal, Daoist Master Sun was having to make frequent choices, tossing away the treasures in his two cloth bags to accommodate new ones or choosing to leave behind the treasures that he came across. He had no idea which treasures were supposed to be worth more than others, so in the end, his choices were made purely on intuition and visual assessments.

Chen Ping’an followed him the entire way, picking up all of the treasures that he discarded or left behind.

Huang Shi was also doing the same thing, but whenever he discarded a treasure, he would smash it to bits with his fists so that no one else could have them. If he came across a treasure that he couldn’t pulverize with his fists, then he would reconsider his choice and perhaps replace it with another one.

Most of the treasures left in this place were already on the verge of destruction, and it would’ve required large sums of immortal coins to repair them, but for a Vajra Body Tier martial artist like Huang Shi, destroying them was an easy feat. If something that he originally planned to discard turned out to be able to survive his punches, then he would return them to his bag, and it was a rather strange but effective selection method.

Despite the terrible condition that most of the treasures in his immortal abode were in, this place still presented an enormous fated opportunity.

The average immortal abode would often be fought over by many vagrant cultivators, and everyone would count themselves extremely fortunate if they could each obtain two to three prized treasures on average.

However, that wasn’t enough to satisfy Huang Shi.

Sure enough, after losing sight of Daoist Master Sun, Huang Shi ceased his scavenging mission and raced along the trail of opened doors to arrive at the water palace that Daoist Master Sun had just entered not long ago.

As Huang Shi began to approach the scene, Chen Ping’an laid down on the rooftop instead of continuing to maintain his seated posture, and at the same time, he held his breath to further conceal his presence.

Huang Shi took a glance at the broken plaque on the ground, then smiled as he called out, “Are there any prized treasures in this water palace, Daoist Master Sun? How about I give you a hand? Rest assured, we’ll follow the rules that we agreed on in advance. Whoever opened the door to a place first would get all of the treasures inside, regardless of how precious those treasures are.”

Inside the water palace, Daoist Master Sun was fearfully praying to the Three Pure Ones in silence for Huang Shi to leave as soon as possible.

However, his prayers proved to be futile, perhaps because he wasn’t a true practitioner of Daoism at all, and Huang Shi promptly entered the water palace, his smile unchanged as he continued, “What’s going on, Daoist Master Sun? Have you turned on me now just because you’ve found some treasures?

“Should you really be wary of me when Di Yuanfeng is running around with that formidable saber of his? I’m nothing more than a fifth tier martial artist, is there really a need for you to be so afraid of me?”

Driven into a corner, Daoist Master Sun had no choice but to reveal himself, stepping out from behind a deity statue with a sheepish smile as he said, “Ah, Brother Huang, fancy meeting you here.”

“We’ve only explored a tiny portion of this immortal abode, and there’s still so much left to be seen. Setting aside everything else, we discovered back on the mountain summit that there were some exceptional sights and scenes to be taken in on the back of the mountain, so why have you already discarded that cloth bag fashioned from the Dao robe I gave you earlier?

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to hide the bag from me and come back to retrieve it later,” Huang Shi jibed.

Daoist Master Sun could only return to his hiding spot behind the deity statue to retrieve the cloth bag that he had set down onto the ground just now.

He slung the bag back over his shoulder, and sweat was beginning to bead up on his forehead as he proposed, “Brother Huang, let’s join forces to protect ourselves against Di Yuanfeng. If we turn on each other now, Di Yuanfeng would be the sole beneficiary to our conflict.”

“How about you let me take a look at the glowing scripture you have tucked under your robes?” Huang Shi asked.

“You have to be satisfied with what you already have, Brother Huang,” Daoist Master Sun wailed. “You already have that incense burner, and this scripture that I came across is a Daoist scripture, so it won’t be of any use to you anyway!”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Huang Shi said with a smile.

Daoist Master Sun’s expression darkened slightly as he took a more defiant approach, threatening, “I suggest you don’t underestimate me, Huang Shi. I am a Sea Observation Tier cultivator adept in close-quarters combat, so don’t think that you can just bend me to your will as you please!”

“I’m relieved to hear that you’re only at the Sea Observation Tier,” Huang Shi said. “I know that your trump card was those shattered Treasure Pagoda Bells, which are a set of defensive treasures. Unfortunately, you can no longer benefit from their protection.

“Outside of that, you also possess an offensive bonded item, but are you aware that I’m actually a sixth tier martial artist? I could beat you to death with ease and take everything that you have.”

“You’re a sixth tier martial artist?!” Daoist Master Sun exclaimed in astonishment.

However, a cold sneer then appeared on his face as he scoffed, “Anyone can make up lies about their cultivation base. What if I were to tell you that I’m a Golden Core Tier earth immortal? What then?”