Unsheathed

The two talismanic boats directly entered Cloudtop City, with Shen Zhenze personally welcoming them.

Xu Xingjiu eloquently explained the “events” that had taken place, recounting Guest Elder Xu’s sinister schemes and attacks as well as Spiritual Master Huan Yun’s timely arrival and protection.

Afterward, they had come across this like-minded friend, a mighty senior who had previously purchased talismans at their market. Traveling together, they had then overcome many challenges in the immortal abode ruins that were filled with countless mechanisms and traps.

Shen Zhenze was astonished by what he heard. Xu Xingjiu and the others had truly walked on a tightrope between life and death.

As for how they had ultimately escaped from danger, even Huan Yun was completely in the dark, to say nothing of Xu Xingjiu. Thus, Shen Zhenze became increasingly convinced that his two disciples had experienced great fortune while traveling around the martial world to train, and it was because of this that they had managed to avoid death and return to Cloudtop City in one piece.

Not only that, but they had even managed to return with a few treasures from the white jade brush shaft. This was an outstanding achievement. Shen Zhenze immediately split the four treasures up, handing them to Spiritual Master Huan Yun, the mighty senior with the surname Chen, Xu Xingjiu, and Zhao Qingwan. Each person received one treasure.

Huan Yun was unable to decline the offer no matter what, so he had no option but to enjoy the first choice for one of the four treasures. That being the case, he chose the immortal treasure with the worst quality and the worst grade out of the lot.

Chen Ping’an was very direct, and he boldly chose the treasure that he liked the look of the most. This was a couplet with a blue base, golden characters, and cloud and bat patterns.

“A meter-long sword amid the wind and rain outside the mountains, brandishing the sword and leaving the mountains when matters arise; A room of books amid the flowers and birds in the clouds, sages arriving when perusing the books without worry.”

Xu Xingjiu let Zhao Qingwan choose first, and there was a sulky look in her eyes when he told her to go first. Xu Xingjiu recalled the guidance from the senior sword immortal, so he immediately pushed aside his hesitation and picked one of the two remaining treasures.

This was a critical matter that pertained to the betrayal and defection of one of Cloudtop City’s chief guest elders, so the celebration feast that only had five guests in attendance quickly concluded and dispersed.

Shen Zhenze naturally needed to go over the matters again and again with Xu Xingjiu. He didn’t doubt his most valued direct disciple, but he was worried that Xu Xingjiu had overlooked some critical details, things that he, Xu Xingjiu’s master, could help amend.

Truth be told, there were many times when Shen Zhenze felt like he, a Golden Core Tier city lord, was an unworthy master for Xu Xingjiu.

However, he couldn’t say this glaring truth out loud, and he could only keep it hidden in his mind.

When they arrived at the secret room in Shen Zhenze’s cultivation abode, Zhao Qingwan quietly sat to the side as she always did, watching her senior brother discussing matters with their master.

However, upon thinking of the fact that Xu Xingjiu, who respected their master the most, was actually trying his best to deceive their master today, albeit with no malicious intent, Zhao Qingwan couldn’t help but let a smile creep up the corners of her lips. This was a fresh and interesting matter that she wouldn’t have even dared to imagine before. She lowered her head to hide her smile, but as she continued to smile, tears eventually started to silently roll down her cheeks.

Shen Zhenze noticed her abnormal state, and he asked in a soft voice, “What’s wrong, Qingwan?”

Zhao Qingwan was slightly flustered, not knowing how to respond.

Xu Xingjiu smiled and replied, “Master, Qingwan always called herself a hindrance before leaving the mountains to train, but she was only saying this as a joke to me at the time. However, looking back at the events now… Huh? She discovered that this was actually the truth. Because of this, she’s been crying and laughing the entire way back. Don’t mind her, Master, I’ll scold her after we leave, what with her mental cultivation not being up to scratch. After I scold her, however…”

Xu Xingjiu started to chuckle by himself.

“What’s the matter?” Shen Zhenze asked in puzzlement.

Xu Xingjiu stood up and bowed in respect, saying in a solemn voice, “Master, I earnestly ask you to allow Qingwan and me to become Dao partners.”

Shen Zhenze roared with hearty laughter, replying, “Will it be of any use even if your master doesn’t agree? The two of you will disagree with my disagreement.”

Zhao Qingwan looked up, and she was filled with grief and happiness as she buried her head and started to sob loudly.

Shen Zhenze looked at Xu Xingjiu, with a slightly solemn expression on the Golden Core Tier cultivator’s face.

Xu Xingjiu shook his head with a limpid look in his eyes.

Shen Zhenze didn’t probe any further.

When it came to Golden Core Tier cultivators in the world, there were those with solid foundations and those with fragile foundations, and there were also those with superior cultivation and those with inferior cultivation. Regardless, their intelligence was far above that of ordinary people.

Perhaps grand feats like Golden Core Tier cultivators killing Nascent Tier cultivators were extremely rare.

However, Golden Core Tier cultivators scheming against Nascent Tier cultivators to harm or kill them was a very common occurrence.

Of course, this wasn’t unique to Golden Core Tier cultivators, and it was the same for cultivators at all tiers.

As such, how could one afford to be careless on the path of cultivation?

Chen Ping’an temporarily stayed at a residence in Cloudtop City.

This was none other than the private residence of Guest Elder Xu, the Dragon Gate Tier cultivator who ranked below only Shen Zhenze in Cloudtop City. He didn’t have any relatives, nor did he have any disciples.

Thus, Chen Ping’an was able to settle down in peace and quiet.

Right now, Huan Yun was sitting in a scenic viewing pavilion atop the peak of an artificial mountain. The two people were once again sitting opposite each other.

“When will this journey of examining the conscience draw to a close?” Huan Yun asked.

Chen Ping’an bent down and retrieved an item from his bamboo case, something that Huang Shi had gifted him back then for the sake of not needing to owe him a favor. This was a dark-green abstinence plaque crafted from walrus ivory and decorated with cloud patterns, measuring one inch in width and two inches in length. This plaque could be worn near the chest, and its base material appeared the same as the colored glaze tiles used for the Daoist temple sitting atop the mountain peak. However, there was also a slight difference, but this was a feeling that Chen Ping’an was unable to put into words.

There was only a single ancient seal script character on the front side: Heart.

On the backside was a line from a poem: The gullies beside the fields are dark and hazy, the sun and moon through the doorway shake one’s soul.

“This is a Daoist abstinence plaque, although they aren’t very popular nowadays.”

Huan Yun only took a quick glance at it before saying in an indifferent voice, “The Daoist Sect has always had the saying: Dao gathers and presents itself in an unoccupied and peaceful mind; being unoccupied implying a pure state of the mind.[1] In reality, the Three Teachings all have roughly similar concepts.”

Chen Ping’an held the plaque in his palm and slowly rubbed it as he chuckled, “So you do understand these principles, and you understand them even better than me.”

“But it’s a shame that my cultivation base isn’t as high as Sword Immortal’s,” Huan Yun replied with a smile.

“Is one reasonable and correct because of their high cultivation base? Or does one possess a high cultivation base because they’re reasonable and correct?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“The cultivation bases of Qi refiners are often unrelated to their principles,” Huan Yun replied.

“That makes a little sense,” Chen Ping’an said with a nod.

“I still need to thank you for not directly visiting my residence,” Huan Yun said.

Chen Ping’an lightly placed the abstinence plaque on the table, after which he retrieved the two other items gifted to him by Huang Shi. One was a jade bracelet inscribed with a palindrome poem, with embers of light shimmering inside the bracelet. The other was an ancient-looking tree gall pot that was slowly absorbing spiritual energy.

These were all valuable and high-grade items.

It was simply the case that Chen Ping’an was unable to decipher just how outstanding they truly were.

Huang Shi’s large bags had only appeared so large because he had been carrying a large item around. When Huang Shi had adjusted his large bags to retrieve the treasures, Chen Ping’an had listened to the faint clanking sounds and guessed that Huang Shi had also obtained another incredible fated opportunity. Apart from that large item, there were still at least seven or eight other miscellaneous items. However, Huang Shi had given Chen Ping’an three of these items in the end. Even so, he had still obtained a huge number of treasures. In any case, regardless of how high the quality and the grade of Huang Shi’s remaining treasures, they still couldn’t be as good as the Daoist scripture owned by Liu Guibao, nor as good as the badge owned by Sun Qing.

Chen Ping’an was only privy to these matters due to the nature of his personality.

It wouldn’t matter even if he were oblivious to these matters. After all, he definitely wouldn’t try to fight Huang Shi for these treasures.

Would it make any difference whether he was aware of these matters or not?

Of course it would. It would make a colossal difference.

A person’s heart and thoughts were like flowing water and a riverbed. The flowing water was a minor component, with countless matters undergoing a myriad of changes in the world. A person’s character was the riverbed, and if one could control it completely, it could then become a large stream, a large river, or a deep waterway.

In the end, these waterways could ultimately flow into the sea like flood dragons.

Chen Ping’an was walking along the rivers for the sake of Chen Lingjun, the little boy in azure.

In reality, however, was Chen Ping’an’s journey and cultivation of the mind not a case of a dragon rearing its head in his mind and silently crossing the rivers and waterways?

To kill Huan Yun or Zhao Qingwan with one or two sword strikes or two or three punches…

Would this be very difficult?

Not at all.

However, the act of always choosing the easier options most likely couldn’t be regarded as cultivation.

“The base material of the jade bracelet is good to begin with, and there’s even a poem that a mighty talismanic figure has transformed into a talismanic formation,” Huan Yun continued. “With the passing of time, it’s almost as if fire has appeared amid the water. As for the tree gall pot, this is something that can help Qi refiners absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. At the same time, it can automatically temper spiritual energy into an energy that’s suitable for wood element spirit treasures. The tree gall pot isn’t an immortal treasure, but in the hands of some Qi refiners who are specifically cultivating wood element immortal techniques, it’s a valuable treasure that’s even more precious than many immortal treasures.”

This explanation saved Chen Ping’an a lot of trouble in the future. He definitely wouldn’t sell the tree gall pot, and even if he sold the jade bracelet, it would definitely be for an exorbitant price.

However, Chen Ping’an still asked, “How many snowflake coins do you think this bracelet can sell for?”

“Why not ask how many grain rain coins?” Huan Yun questioned.

Chen Ping’an shook his head and remarked, “Sure enough, Old Spiritual Master can’t succeed as a wandering merchant. You’re not very adept at counting money.”

Huan Yun gave a price: two grain rain coins.

Even to Golden Core Tier cultivators like the Rainbow Sparrow Residence’s Sun Qing and the Water Dragon Sect’s Bai Bi, one grain rain coin was still a significant sum of money.

Many Middle Five Tier vagrant cultivators under the Golden Core Tier — especially those at the Abode Tier and the Sea Observation Tier — most likely couldn’t scrap together one grain rain coin’s worth of belongings, especially when disregarding their bonded items. Even wealthy vagrant cultivators wouldn’t carry grain rain coins on them for no reason, instead choosing to carry some lesser heat coins to prepare for rainy days. Moreover, when it came to spending money, it was very easy to exchange lesser heat coins for snowflake coins at any immortal ferry station in the world.

“Old Spiritual Master has very good appraisal skills,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile.

“Having good appraisal skills isn’t enough. At the end of the day, it still can’t compare to the carefree nature of sword immortals,” Huan Yun replied with a bleak expression.

“Old Spiritual Master, you need to change your bad habit of disliking other people’s strengths,” Chen Ping’an said.

Huan Yun chuckled coldly and mused, “As a measly Golden Core Tier cultivator, how can I, Huan Yun, dare to ignore the teachings and principles of a sword immortal?”

Chen Ping’an shot a glance at him and said, “I’m afraid that after listening to some principles with much difficulty, you’ll still fail to accept them and adhere to them.”

Huan Yun fell silent.

However, Chen Ping’an smiled and continued, “I’m a bit better than Old Spiritual Master in this regard, and I’m most fond of listening to other people speak reason in a calm and collected manner. Old Spiritual Master, how about we discuss the knowledge relating to talismans? We can challenge each other’s understanding and stand to gain mutual benefit.”

Huan Yun looked at the young man, someone who was truly unpredictable. The old spiritual master felt extremely uneasy, and the displeasure in his mind pushed him to say in a mocking voice, “How about I directly retrieve a few secret talismanic texts and place them on the table? And I’ll open them up and turn the pages whenever Sword Immortal Chen asks me to? How about that?”

Chen Ping’an paid no heed to Huan Yun’s words, carefully putting the jade bracelet and the tree gall pot back inside his bamboo case. He then smiled and opened a package inside the bamboo case, retrieving an item and forcefully slamming it on the table.

It was a brick that he had plucked from the paved ground of the Daoist temple atop the mountain peak.

Huan Yun closed his eyes and started to rest his mind.

This brick could perhaps be treated as a prized treasure for many ordinary immortal forces.

Chen Ping’an thought for a moment before taking out some paper and ink, using his calligraphy brush to carefully sketch the buildings belonging to the ruins of that immortal abode, especially that white jade arch bridge.

The only structure that he wouldn’t sketch in a casual manner was that Daoist temple atop the mountain peak.

After finishing his two sketches, Chen Ping’an asked, “Care to help me, Old Spiritual Master? Can you sketch those large structures located at the back of the mountain?”

Huan Yun suppressed his anger and retrieved some paper and a calligraphy brush from his pocket treasure, starting to sketch the structures according to Chen Ping’an’s request.

Chen Ping’an stood up and walked around the stone table, watching the old spiritual master sketching the large structures as he remarked with emotion, “Your drawing is indeed a bit better than mine. As expected of a mighty figure from the talismanic branch.”

Huan Yun was just about to stop drawing.

Chen Ping’an prepared to raise his hand.

Huan Yun had no option but to continue drawing.

This couldn’t be helped. Chen Ping’an was speaking in a polite manner, but he was also holding a grey brick in his hand.

1. This is a line from Zhuangzi, an ancient Chinese text from the late Warring States period. ☜