Unsheathed

There was a lot of commotion at the city gate of the Dragon Palace Small World because no one else was allowed to enter following the entrance of a young man and a young woman.

Even the gatekeeper, a water element cultivator from the Water Dragon Sect, was unable to notice the specks of golden light flowing out from the many plaques and hovering to the ground, gathering together like fireflies and transforming into a young man wearing a tall hat and loose-fitting robes. This young man strode through the city gates, after which they closed behind him. The gatekeeper was at a complete loss, what with this being a peculiar sight not seen in one thousand years. He immediately sent a messenger flying sword to the ancestral hall of the Water Dragon Sect’s northern sect.

Not long after Chen Ping’an walked down the white jade stairs, the young man appeared beside Li Liu and kowtowed at her following an ancient etiquette. His voice was also hoarse and ancient-sounding, with his words obscure and difficult to understand. This was in stark contrast to his appearance.

Li Liu remained sitting on the stairs, gazing at the disappearing figure of the young man walking down the mountain. Presumably annoyed at the kowtowing young man being in her way, Li Liu lightly waved her hand and moved the young man, who had just stood up, three meters to the side.

He stood up straight, not feeling the least bit embarrassed or angry about being treated with such disdain and neglect. Instead, he glanced at the miniscule figure in the distance that was just about to reach the city gate, saying in a soft voice, “His Great Dao possesses strong affinity with water. This is quite impressive.”

He hadn’t dared to spy on the white jade stairs without permission, so he was simply regarding the young swordsman in azure as one of Li Lu’s Go pieces.

Li Liu’s expression was apathetic as she said slowly, “Li Yuan, looking at the three shrines of the Plenty River, the incense offerings at your middle shrine are far inferior to the incense offerings at the upper shrine at the Great Origin Empire’s Esteemed Mystery Department.”

“I’ve failed to meet the lofty expectations, and I deserve to be punished by death,” the strange young man called Li Yuan replied in guilt and shame.

There had once been three shrines located along the Plenty River that stretched across the Northern Complete Reed Continent from the east to the west. The lower shrine had already disappeared long ago, while the middle shrine had been refined into the ancestral hall of the Water Dragon Sect and the upper shrine had been taken over by the Yang Clan of the Esteemed Mystery Department’s Lofty Cloud Palace.

Li Liu had met with Yang Ningxing at Skeleton Shoal’s Malicious Ghost Valley before, revealing some information that he hadn’t dared to believe, but had no choice but to believe. As the eldest direct son of the Lofty Cloud Palace, and as the older brother of Young Heavenly Lord Yang Ningxing, Yang Ningzhen had managed to become one of the top ten young cultivators of the Northern Complete Reed Continent as nothing more than a pure martial artist going by a pseudonym. However, facing Li Liu at Treasure Mirror Mountain, Yang Ningzhen wasn’t completely powerless, but he indeed had zero chance at victory against the young woman who had only just returned to the path of cultivation for a mere few years.

“Failed to meet the lofty expectations? Was it a lofty expectation for you to oversee the incense offerings at this small shrine?” Li Liu asked.

Li Yuan was rendered speechless.

His golden eyes appeared slightly dull, causing him to look even older than he actually was.

The ancient deity who had the appearance of a young man but exuded an aura of decay and vicissitudes was one of the two remaining water officials of the Plenty River. In fact, he was most likely even older than the founding ancestor of the Water Dragon Sect.

In the Majestic World, water officials belonged to an ancient and little-known category of officials that were yet to go extinct, and they were often the individuals responsible for overseeing the incense offerings in the temples and shrines of large rivers. The scholarly temple in the Middle Earth Divine Continent seldom paid any attention to these water officials, leaving them to their own devices most of the time. Thus, looking at all of the water officials of the large rivers in the world, the decay and collapse of each godly body would signify the loss of one water official from the world.

Water officials weren’t bound by the control of mortal empires, nor did they have many interactions with immortal forces in the mountains.

However, water officials were extremely lofty and important deities with clear lineages in the Heavenly World, which was overseen by the Daoist Sect. There was only a single water official for each large river, and the loftiness of their statuses was far superior to that of river gods and lake lords. In fact, even the formal gods of the mortal empires’ Five Mountains couldn’t compare to these water officials.

On the surface, it appeared as if the Water Dragon Sect had refined the shrine of the Plenty River and used it as the foundation of the sect, relying on it to grow and repel the many haughty sword cultivators of the Northern Complete Reed Continent. In reality, however, there were far more internal secrets.

Li Yuan was like a lowly petty official of an imperial court who was fortunate enough to come across a paramount pillar official as he stood in front of the extremely noble young woman, so how could he not be immensely respectful and careful?

Being reprimanded for his performance was also a great blessing from the heavens.

The Water Dragon Sect was large, yet very few people were aware of Li Liu’s true identity. There was only Li Yuan, the measly water official, as well as the sect leaders of the Water Dragon Sect who learned this from their predecessors.

The hornless dragon jade tablet looked like an ordinary jade tablet that the Water Dragon Sect issued to guest elders and direct disciples in the ancestral hall, but in reality, all of these jade tablets were actually exquisite replicas of the jade tablet in Li Liu’s hand. The gatekeeper from the Water Dragon Sect was unable to tell the two apart, but Li Yuan could discern them with ease. Thus, even though the appearance and the status of the young woman had changed in this lifetime, Li Yuan had still hurried over straight away after detecting the hornless dragon jade tablet.

Li Liu suddenly started to smile.

The young man whom she had never met and never interacted with in their hometown, the Jewel Small World, had actually noticed Li Yuan’s presence the instant that he had appeared. However, Chen Ping’an continued to quietly descend the mountain, not once looking back to observe the water official.

Li Yuan was a bit tactless, and he didn’t deactivate the restriction straight away, forcing Chen Ping’an to wait around near the city gates.

Li Liu thought for a moment before saying, “This works as well. Having Mr. Chen stay here for a few days will help him calm down and stabilize his mind.”

This was Li Liu’s first time looking at Li Yuan properly, and she continued, “Li Yuan, are there any areas with abundant spiritual energy that are relatively peaceful and quiet? If there are, then let our esteemed guest enjoy some good hospitality. If there aren’t, then have someone offer up their spot for a while.”

Li Yuan nodded and replied, “There are.”

There had to be some even if there weren’t any.

This was someone whom Li Liu was referring to as “mister,” so if it weren’t for being afraid of causing too much commotion, Li Yuan, the gatekeeper of the Dragon Palace Small World and the water official of the Plenty River’s middle shrine, even wanted to shoo everyone out of the small world.

Did he care that the Water Dragon Sect was going to host a jade edict ceremony or a water official ceremony? Did he care that shooing everyone out would infuriate the earth immortals who were cultivating in the small world?

“Don’t reveal anything to the Water Dragon Sect for the moment,” Li Liu instructed. “Just tell them that a descendant of an old friend has come to visit. Of course, you can offer another explanation if you can come up with a better one. In any case, just don’t let anyone disturb Mr. Chen’s peace and quiet in this small world.”

Li Yuan bowed and cupped his fists, replying, “Understood!”

Li Liu stood up and strode forward, directly arriving at the city gate in a single step and saying, “Mr. Chen, it will be a slight pity if you travel past one of the thirty-six small worlds but don’t enter. There are many natural treasures accumulated inside the Dragon Palace Small World, especially treasures possessing a strong affinity with water or wood. These treasures are very dear, but their quality is remarkable. If Mr. Chen takes a fancy to any of these treasures, using this jade tablet will allow you to take out a debt with the Water Dragon Sect as long as the treasure costs under one hundred grain rain coins.”

Li Liu didn’t tell the truth.

Take out a debt?

The Dragon Palace Small World, which earned an incredible amount of immortal coins for the Water Dragon Sect, the Esteemed Mystery Department, and Duckweed Sword Lake, had actually been one of Li Liu’s summer palaces in the past. Moreover, if Li Liu wanted to regain control of this small world, did it matter how masterful the refinement techniques of the Water Dragon Sect’s old ancestors were? Did it matter that the mountain and water formation, which the sect had established with much effort and difficulty, could block the attacks of sword immortals?

In any case, how had the founding ancestor of the Water Dragon Sect transformed from an untalented mortal into a cultivator? How had he managed to come across those fated opportunities and soar to the heavens? Were the subsequent sect leaders of the Water Dragon Sect not aware of this?

That being the case, who owed a debt to whom? This was abundantly clear.

Right now, Chen Ping’an would feel terrified whenever he heard the words “grain rain coin.”

Li Liu was in no hurry to remove her jade tablet and hand it to Chen Ping’an, and she said, “If Mr. Chen can’t calm his mind, then you’ll only be going in circles no matter how far you travel.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, “Okay, then I’ll be troubling Miss Li.”

Li Liu shook her head and chuckled, “There’s no need to be polite, Mr. Chen. Li Huai has been thinking about Mr. Chen for many years, and he mentions Mr. Chen each time we exchange letters from Mountain Cliff Academy and Lion Peak. Li Liu doesn’t dare to forget the huge debt of gratitude we owe Mr. Chen for being a guardian and teaching Dao to Li Huai.”

“Miss Li is far more polite than me,” Chen Ping’an replied.

This was the truth. He had only been upholding a promise when looking after Li Huai and accompanying him to the Great Sui Nation’s Mountain Cliff Academy back then, and apart from being slightly more mischievous, Li Huai hadn’t caused him too much trouble.

Of course, when Li Huai was little, his tongue had truly been coated in honey but also dipped in arsenic, especially when it came to his unrivalled ability to act as a little tyrant both at home and among his friends. Even so, he was fundamentally a pure and kind child, not able to hold grudges but able to remember other people’s kindness.

Chen Ping’an raised his head and looked up, but the figure of that strange young man was already nowhere to be seen.

“That person is the gatekeeper of the region,” Li Liu explained.

“Similar to Zheng Dafeng?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Li Liu smiled and replied, “Their positions are relatively similar, but compared to Uncle Zheng, the gulf between them is like the gulf between heaven and earth.”

Thinking back to when her younger brother was still a little child, Zheng Dafeng had often carried Li Huai on his back and brought him to the Yang Family’s medicine shop.

Li Huai would holler that he couldn’t hold it in anymore, and Zheng Dafeng would be as swift as the wind as he sprinted forward, hurriedly telling the little boy that he should hold it in for a while longer if he were a true hero. He could relieve himself when they arrived at the backyard of the medicine shop.

However, regardless of whether Li Huai managed to hold it in or not, the man and the little boy would eventually make their way to the pastry shop on Dragon Riding Alley anyway.

Li Liu had come across many peaceful and pure cultivators in her long life, with these individuals being flawless and unsullied as they transcended above mortal matters.

It was only when staying in the Jewel Small World in this life that she had come across many “genuine people,” with their state having nothing to do with their cultivation bases. This was a small place with grand scenery, and even Li Liu had to think about it with longing from time to time.

The two of them walked side by side as they ascended the white jade stairs again.

After discussing the proper matters, it was as if there were nothing else for the two of them to discuss.

Chen Ping’an had too much to think about and found it difficult to say anything, lest he accidentally drag Li Liu into some unnecessary trouble.

Meanwhile, Li Liu always thought about very little, paying no heed to the myriad of matters around her.

————

After the ancestral hall of the Water Dragon Sect’s northern sect received the messenger flying sword from the entrance of the Dragon Palace Small World, more than half of the sixteen chairs in the hall were already occupied. The empty chairs belonged to the powerful cultivators who were currently traveling outside the mountain. Apart from a Nascent Tier cultivator who had already been cultivating in seclusion for many years, everyone else who could make it to this urgent meeting had already taken their seat in the ancestral hall.

Among those inside the ancestral hall was Sun Jie, the sect leader of the Water Dragon Sect and the Dao mentor of the Golden Core Tier Bai Bi.

There was also Wu Lingting, the esteemed mentor of the Northern Pavilion Nation’s Young Feudal Lord Zhan Qing. However, as a relatively inexperienced Nascent Tier guest elder and a vagrant cultivator, his seat was naturally closer to the end.

Wu Lingting was in a terrible mood lately, with his only disciple unexpectedly vanishing from the world, his body or corpse nowhere to be seen. This was absolutely preposterous.

If it weren’t for Spiritual Master Huan Yun, a talismanic cultivator who had a fairly good reputation in the mountains, speaking up for that young lady, Bai Bi, and helping to prove her innocence and lack of direct involvement in relation to Zhan Qing’s mysterious disappearance, Wu Lingting would have directly caused a ruckus in the ancestral hall of the Water Dragon Sect and demanded an answer from Sun Jie.

With this weighing on his mind and a ball of fury burning in his chest, it was only natural that Wu Lingting’s expression was absolutely livid at this moment. Zhan Qing was an extremely prized disciple of his, and compared to official immortals taking disciples, it was actually far more significant when vagrant cultivators took disciples, especially with Wu Lingting being an earth immortal vagrant cultivator. This could be viewed as vagrant cultivators taking a huge risk and sacrificing half their life to gamble on their lineage being passed down.

After all, it wasn’t abnormal for vagrant cultivators to trick and kill fellow vagrant cultivators, even if it were masters killing their disciples or disciples killing their masters. On the other hand, almost no official immortals who belonged to immortal sects with ancestral halls dared to commit such heinous and blasphemous crimes.

The gates to the Dragon Palace Small World had closed by themself.

This naturally wasn’t a small matter.

Sect Leader Sun Jie immediately gathered together the members of the ancestral hall.

Back then, a sword immortal had disguised themself for many years and stolen a subjugation treasure from the Dragon Palace Small World, even managing to successfully escape from the small world afterward. From losing their prized treasure to snatching it back, the process had been nothing short of bloody and tragic.

There were a dozen or so seats in the ancestral hall of the Water Dragon Sect, and apart from the left head chair being reserved for the sect leader, the right head chair was almost always empty.

However many years the ancestral hall of the sect had existed was however many years this rule had been passed down, firm and unaltered.

This was a taboo subject for the cultivators of the Water Dragon Sect, regardless of which guest elder of the sect asked about it.

The current situation was very simple.

Sun Jie was able to explain it in a few brief sentences.

However, everyone in the ancestral hall had solemn expressions.

It was first an unfamiliar young woman showing her guest elder jade tablet and entering the city gates to ascend the white jade stairs, following which the city gates had closed and sealed the region off from the rest of the Water Dragon Sect. Not only that, but the cultivators of the sect were surprisingly unable to observe what was going on inside.

Shao Jingzhi, a graceful and young-looking female Unpolished Jade Tier cultivator from the Water Dragon Sect’s southern sect, slowly suggested, “Sect Leader, how about I immediately make a trip to the sea of clouds beyond the ferry station of the small world to guard the area and wait for the culprit to show up?”

Sun Jie furrowed his brows and replied, “Apart from this, what we really need to consider right now is whether or not we need to place the entire small world under martial law. Once we do so, it’s inevitable that panic will spread and speculations will swirl, affecting this year’s gold edict ceremony and water official ceremony. Our Water Dragon Sect has always been renowned for its stability and safety, and disregarding our good friends from the mountains, many officials and generals from the Great Origin Empire will also be participating in these two ceremonies. If we’re not careful, we’ll be giving ammunition to the Esteemed Mystery Department and Duckweed Sword Lake.”

“These short-life profligates from outside the mountains have little in the way of capability, but are each more smooth-skinned and fragile than the next,” Wu Lingting sneered.

An old woman who had her eyes shut and was resting her hands on a dragon head walking stick looked like she was nodding off and half-dead. It was clear that she was a cultivator from the southern sect, given that she was sitting beside Shao Jingzhi. At this moment, she opened her eyes the tiniest bit and turned around slightly to face Sect Leader Sun Jie, saying in a hoarse voice, “Junior Nephew Sun, if you want my opinion, I’d say that we directly have Jingzhi bring the paramount treasure of the sect with her and kill all of the ill-intentioned people that she comes across. I find it difficult to believe that anyone can cause significant commotion in our Dragon Palace Small World.”

Wu Lingting was sitting opposite this old woman, and he felt slightly impressed by her bluntness. They were both at the Nascent Tier, but she was disgruntled with everyone whom she saw in the sect.

Moreover, she relied on her higher seniority to refer to Sect Leader Sun as Junior Nephew Sun, while she referred to the southern sect’s Shao Jingzhi as Jingzhi, clearly showing whom she was closer to.

Fortunately, Sun Jie was a magnanimous person. Otherwise, if Wu Lingting were the sect leader of the Water Dragon Sect, he would have pulverized the face of this old woman a long time ago.

Just as Sun Jie was about to speak, specks of golden light appeared on the right head chair beside him, eventually gathering and transforming into a young-looking man with a haggard expression.

It was none other than Li Yuan, the water official of the Plenty River.