Unsheathed

As his visage was displayed on the screen of water, he waved to everyone with a smile and said, “Have a smooth trip to the afterlife, everyone.”

He then turned to another direction and called out, “Are you going to keep serving as a door god for me outside, Huang Shi? How kind of you. May you live a long and prosperous life.”

The third-ranked figure on the list was none other than Huang Shi, who had concealed himself in a ditch deep in the mountains. He was seated at the bottom of the ditch with his legs crossed, and there was a layer of branches, twigs, and grass over his head, concealed under a layer of soil, but the image of him on the screen of water was as bright as day.

Huang Shi took a glance at the screen of water, then raised his middle finger to everyone.

Immediately thereafter, he abruptly rose to his feet and jumped out of the ditch. Outside was what appeared to have been the entrance of an abode, but it was concealed behind a layer of rainbow cloud and mist.

As it turned out, Huang Shi had pursued Di Yuanfeng all the way to this place, but not only was the latter able to survive, he had fled into the abode, while Huang Shi was unable to break through the restrictions at the entrance.

Hence, he decided to bury himself outside to try and ambush Di Yuanfeng once the latter came out, and he wasn’t surprised that Di Yuanfeng had predicted his plan.

The person at the top of the list was still the same black-robed old man. He seemed to have been hiding in a cave that should’ve been very dimly lit, if not submerged in complete darkness, but just like with Huang Shi, his visage was as bright and clear as day.

He still had the same two cloth bags slung across his shoulders and was carrying the same sword on his back, and as he turned to the screen of water, an infuriated look appeared on his face as he yelled, “I’m telling you all, there has to be a mistake! I’ll kill any of you that dares to come after me! You don’t wanna mess with me! My sword is peerlessly sharp, and when I go all-out, even I’m afraid of my own power!”

Daoist Master Sun was staying near the ruins of the Daoist temple on the mountain summit, having already resigned himself to waiting for the embrace of death, and he heaved a faint sigh upon seeing this.

Over these past few days, he had been staying on the mountain summit the entire time in a state of constant unease, with the exception of a trip that he made down the backside of the mountain, but that proved to be a completely unfruitful trip.

Over the past five days, other people had also been progressively carrying treasures up to the mountain summit, and at this point, a small mountain of treasures had already taken shape outside of the ruins of the Daoist temple.

Daoist Master Sun could hardly even be bothered to look at the mountain of treasures anymore.

Daoist Master Sun shook the porcelain vial that he had used to collect those water droplets from the bamboo tree. He had been very conservative in his drinking, so there was still some left.

Earlier, he had mustered up some courage and made his way back to the bamboo tree, only to discover that not even a single drop of water remained.

Daoist Master Sun couldn’t help but be impressed with Chen Ping’an. He was like a walking swarm of locusts, leaving nothing in his wake.

It would be a real pity if someone so cut out to be a vagrant cultivator were to become an official immortal.

Liu Guibao was standing together with Huai Qian next to the stone railing on the edge of the mountain summit. This was already the second time that Huai Qian had noticed the black-robed old man, and he murmured to himself, “Looks like he’s got some tricks up his sleeve.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Liu Guibao asked in a puzzled manner.

“It means exactly what it sounds like,” Huai Qian replied with a smile.

Liu Guibao faltered slightly at this response, then asked, “Are you hiding something from me, Huai Qian.”

“I am,” Huai Qian admitted in a tentative manner. “Back home, the seniors of my clan already arranged a marriage for me, and I’ve come here this time to escape from that marriage.”

“What’s your marriage partner like?” Liu Guibao asked with a smile.

“I only ever met her once, so I barely even remember her,” Huai Qian sighed. “All I can recall is that she had a decent personality. However, she was a martial artist, and she went to even more extreme measures than I have, fleeing to the Golden Armor Continent to avoid having to marry me.”

Liu Guibao merely nodded and spoke no further on the matter.

Huai Qian was a little anxious, and his gaze was drifting back and forth in an uncertain fashion as he said, “Can I tell you something else, Ms. Liu?”

“I know what you want to say. You like me, right? What’re you looking so uneasy for? I like you, too!” Liu Guibao chuckled.

Huai Qian had no response for this.

After that largely trivial conversation, Liu Guibao began to consider what she was going to do next.

Sometimes, brains were more useful than brawn, and in her eyes, Zhan Qing possessed neither.

While Liu Guibao was deep in thought, Huai Qian took a glance at her from the side, then smiled as he leaned against the railing and cast his gaze into the distance.

What he had actually wanted to tell her was that the two of them weren’t meant to be. There was simply too much of a disparity between the two of them in all facets, and the only reason why they were even able to hold a conversation with each other at all was because he was catering to her.

There was a vast disparity between them in terms of cultivation base, intentions, and background, and with that in mind, he had taken pity on this foolish girl.

Among all those who had entered this immortal abode, he was most likely the one most aware of the magnitude of the fated opportunity that this place presented, and he had come here with the sole purpose of pursuing that streak of sword qi.

He was only putting on this act and pretending to be a frail scholar for his own entertainment.

Having said that, this streak of sword qi had truly been a pleasant surprise.

Originally, his plan was to make a trip to the north to meet with Sword Immortal Bai Shang before returning to his hometown.

Barring any extraordinary circumstances, he anticipated that Bai Shang would come out to personally greet him.

The thought of his hometown was one that filled him with a sense of distaste and monotony.

He had been watching these ants being manipulated like puppets on strings for the past five days, and it was becoming a rather wearisome sight.

As for the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, they couldn’t have been all that powerful if they were being kept in check by a streak of sword qi.

Even if he didn’t bring up his background, he would be able to negotiate with the one presiding over this immortal abode. He would obtain the streak of sword qi, while the latter would be freed, and it would be a win-win situation for both.

He took a glance at the foolish girl who was still thinking about a bunch of completely pointless things, and he smiled as he asked, “How about I spare you the wait and make you the head of the Rainbow Sparrow Residence today, Ms. Liu?”

Liu Guibao instantly sprang back through the air as she yelled with an alarmed expression, “Who are you?!”

Huai Qian raised a finger to his lips to make a quieting gesture, then said to her through her mind’s lake, “Prior to coming to the Northern Complete Reed Continent, our ancestor warned me that the sword immortals here are very unreasonable people who take pride in killing the prodigies of other continents, so I have to constantly be on my guard and keep a low profile.”

Liu Guibao’s expression remained unchanged, but her mind was racing, and she discovered that she was unable to communicate with Sun Qing through her mind’s lake.

“Don’t try any funny business, Ms. Liu. If you keep this up, then we can’t even be friends anymore,” Huai Qian sighed.

He then cast his gaze into the heavens and mused, “I don’t want to waste any more time here. These childish manipulation tactics are making me a little sick. I have to educate the so-called god of this world and old Spiritual Master Huan what a true talisman master looks like.”

Immediately thereafter, an object appeared in each of his hands, and one of them was a golden Militarian armor pellet, a suit of Incense Fire Deity Armor of the highest caliber.

Even among Incense Fire Deity Armor, this was one of the oldest suits in existence.

Clad in the suit of armor, Huai Qian was also holding two azure talismans in his other hand, and he casually tossed out one of them with a smile as he chanted an incantation: “With an iron tablet sent to the underworld, I call upon the Lightning God to descend.”

A deity that was clad in a suit of golden armor and standing at over twenty feet tall appeared out of thin air, its entire body flashing with blinding white lightning. As soon as its feet touched the ground, the entire mountain shuddered, as did the mountain and water fortune in the entire immortal abode.

After the second talisman was tossed out, a man dressed in a flowing white robe with a sword on his back appeared.

He had a rather stiff and wooden expression on his face, but there was formidable sword qi emanating from his body, eradicating all of the spiritual energy around him.

Finally, Huai Qian raised up a small, golden openwork ball that was sitting on the palm of his hand.

Inside the ball, streaks of sword light could be seen racing back and forth, clashing against the interior of the ball to raise flurries of sparks.

Huai Qian had come to the Northern Complete Reed Continent in order to advance the cultivation base of this puppet servant of his. At the moment, the puppet was on the cusp of the Nascent Tier, and he was hoping that it would be able to overcome its bottleneck once it devoured a few bonded flying swords of Golden Core Tier swordsmen and drew upon the Sword Dao fortune of the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

Huai Qian gently tossed the golden ball at the white-robed swordsman, and it immediately vanished into one of the puppet’s acupoints.

The streak of sword qi that had been patrolling this small world for countless years abruptly drew to a halt, as if it were observing Huai Jian from above.

“I knew you would choose me,” Huai Qian said with a smile, then cast his gaze toward the heavens in a certain direction as he mused, “I’ve never sensed this type of demon energy before, and I don’t know of any demons fond of refining mountains for food, either. Does something like this even exist in our Majestic World?”

Deathly silence ensued.

Everyone was completely flabbergasted by what they were witnessing.

“How about this? If we engage in a battle, and I am unable to kill you, nor are you able to kill me, then you have to come with me to the Middle Earth Divine Continent. I guarantee you a bright future ahead,” Huai Qian proposed.

The sea of clouds descended slightly, and a tall and imposing man appeared, sitting on its edge as he chuckled, “You sure talk big for someone so young.”

With a sweep of his sleep, an all-encompassing scroll was unfurled, depicting a piece of scenery, and anyone could see it from anywhere in the small world as long as they raised their heads.

Huai Qian had made a display of sincerity, and the old man felt like he had to reciprocate.

Huai Qian smiled as he shrugged, “I can’t help it when my ancestor is one of top ten cultivators of the Middle Earth Divine Continent.”

As it turned out, a junior heavenly master of Mount Longhu and Liu Youzhou of the Pure White Continent were both very good friends of his.

The old man sitting atop the sea of clouds fell silent, while Huai Qian continued with a look of undisguised disdain on his face, “If I’m going to be unpleasantly frank here, even if I stuck out my neck and allowed you to kill me, would you dare?”

The old man remained silent.

Huai Qian looked around as he asked, “Are you going kill these useless pieces of trash, or am I going to have to do it? If you’re going to do it, then I’ll have to ask you to spare a few that I intend to take with me.”

Just like everyone else, Chen Ping’an was also stunned by this turn of events.

Earlier, he had immediately disguised himself as a young man as soon as the screens of water had disappeared, and this was truly an eye-opening experience for him.

While he was impressed with the young man’s audacity, he didn’t aspire to become someone like that at all.

If someone like that young man had experienced the same things that he had, then even if their cultivation base had been superior to his, they would’ve already died countless times over.

However, that was hardly a fair assessment to make.

The fact that he was able to stand there and make such a bold declaration was an indication that he had certain positive traits and advantages over others.

Chen Ping’an was currently only seeing one facet of the young man, and it was unfair to judge his character solely based on that.

If Chen Ping’an were in his place, then he would’ve also definitely failed to reach the young man’s current heights.

However, in Chen Ping’an’s eyes, the young man was far too lacking in tolerance and shrewdness. If his luck were to take a turn for the worse, then there really was a chance that he would lose his life on the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

He could only thank his lucky stars that he hadn’t encountered anyone like Sword Immortal Ji Yue thus far.

However, his decision to tear off his own facade and reveal his true power had clearly been made after weighing up his options, and at the moment, it appeared that not only was he going to leave this place alive, he would also be able to take the old man back to the Middle Earth Divine Continent with him.

It was undeniable that he was a very impressive young man, as expected of someone who had come to the Northern Complete Reed Continent from the Middle Earth Divine Continent with the sole purpose of killing swordsmen.

Chen Ping’an wasn’t so spiteful that he would actively root against someone like this.

Everyone had their own path, and just because someone walked a path different from your own wasn’t a just cause for spite and resentment.

It was just like how Chen Ping’an was pursuing the same path of martial arts as Cao Ci, but he felt no resentment toward the latter just because he was always lagging far behind.

What was he supposed to do? Make a voodoo doll of Cao Ci and pray for his downfall?

Chen Ping’an rubbed his own chin in a thoughtful manner. He felt like he shouldn’t have been thinking about this type of nonsense in this situation, but it was rather amusing.

Thinking back to the three battles that he had fought against Cao Ci on the Sword Qi Great Wall, Chen Ping’an did feel a little indignant, but not because he had been defeated in all three battles. After all, Cao Ci had beaten him fair and square, and he had no complaints in that regard.

What he did feel indignant about was how much of an infuriating bastard Cao Ci was! Not only was he absurdly handsome, he always seemed so tranquil and nonchalant, constantly looking past everyone, as if the only thing in his line of sight was the legendary summit of the Martial Dao.

The fact that he couldn’t beat Cao Ci in a fight only made Chen Ping’an even more frustrated, but there was nothing that he could do.

However, it was only what happened next that truly had Chen Ping’an’s skin crawling.

In the wake of this stunning revelation, Daoist Master Sun had fallen onto his backside in shock, but all of a sudden, he rose to his feet, only to fall back down to the ground in a limp and lifeless state.

However, out of the lifeless body emerged an ethereal Daoist Master Sun, as if his yin soul had drifted out of his body.

Daoist Master Sun reached out with one hand, easily grabbing onto the streak of sword qi that was struggling to get away.

The old man on the sea of clouds didn’t know what had happened to Daoist Master Sun, but he knew that something had gone terribly wrong, and he immediately turned and tried to flee back into the protection of the sea of clouds.

“To think that a lowly little demon like you would dare to try and refine this mountain and claim this Daoist temple,” Daoist Master Sun mused expressionlessly.

He then took a glance at the ruins of the Daoist temple, and a hint of sorrow appeared in his eyes. He cast his gaze into the distance, somewhere within the sea of clouds, then harrumphed coldly, “You thought you’d have nothing to worry about in this Majestic World? You thought I wouldn’t be able to do anything to you just because my branch is far from its heyday?”

Daoist Master Sun closed his hand into a fist, and the streak of sword qi was crushed within his grasp.

He then joined his middle and index fingers before gently swiping them forward, and the sea of clouds was parted down the center, while a tiny figure the size of a mustard seed was also sliced into two.

Huai Qian was just about to say something when Daoist Master Sun turned to him and sneered, “Who do you think you are? Did your seniors not teach you about the importance of humility? Are you not worried that you could sprain your tongue with those cocky words? If there really is a bonded lamp for you in your clan’s ancestral hall, then your ancestor can come to the Majestic World and seek me out for vengeance.”

Huai Qian opened his mouth to speak again, intending to declare the name of his ancestor, but he was killed on the spot by another swipe of Daoist Master Sun’s joined fingers.

Even his Nascent Tier swordsman puppet was destroyed, drifting back down to the ground as two halves of a severed talisman.

Finally, Daoist Master Sun turned his gaze to the ruins of the Daoist temple. That temple had been erected to worship his junior brother, who was once a central figure of the Heavenly World’s sword immortal branch, just like him.

Unfortunately, it seemed that even the heavens envied his junior brother for his extraordinary talents, and he met his demise at a very young age.

The White Jade Capital was not to blame. He could only blame himself for being so indecisive, to the point that even his senior brother wasn’t able to avenge him.

There were countless ways to die in this world, but the only ones who couldn’t be saved were those who sought out death for themselves.

On the mountain summit in the distance, Chen Ping’an had already pulled out all of the fragments of the wooden deity statue.

“You really are an alert lad,” Daoist Master Sun chuckled. “I look away for one second, and you’ve already saved yourself.”

He reached out to make a grabbing motion, and Di Yuanfeng, Zhan Qing, and Liu Guibao were all plucked out thin air to appear before him.

“Are the three of you willing to follow me to the Heavenly World?” he asked in an indifferent manner.

He had accumulated enough merit throughout his travels in this world to be able to take three people with him.

While waiting for the answers from the trio, the flow of time seemed to have fallen completely still.

Daoist Master Sun stroked his beard with a smile as he cast his gaze toward Chen Ping’an and said, “In light of those three sticks of incense that you offered up earlier, you can keep those fragments.”

“It was actually six sticks of incense, Daoist Master Sun,” Chen Ping’an corrected.

Daoist Master Sun burst into laughter, and he swept a sleeve through the air, seemingly to collect something, only to scatter it again.

“You can have this then. It’ll be enough to feed that sword of yours.”

On the mountain summit several hundred kilometers away, a ball of broken sword qi appeared before Chen Ping’an.