Unsheathed

At the end of winter last year…

Yuan Lingdian flew north after leaving the Dragon Palace Small World, after which he suddenly swooped down and made his way toward the peak of an unfrequented green mountain. This wasn’t an immortal mountain, and it was simply a tranquil mountain with an ordinary amount of spiritual energy.

Upon arriving, Yuan Lingdian saw his master playing Go with a young woman. They had casually refined the mountain roots to use as black stones and the water fortune to use as white stones.

Yuan Lingdian bowed in respect to both of them before standing beside Spiritual Master Fire Dragon, not taking so much as a single glance at the Go board lest his Dao Heart become unstable.

There wasn’t any genuine master of instruments, Go, calligraphy, or paintings outside the mountains, as they were all languishing in terms of technique.

Even when it came to the Hundred Schools of Thought, there was still a distinction between high-level, medium-level, and low-level. Of instruments, Go, calligraphy, and painting, those who played and studied instruments were slightly better off due to the conclusions of the sages, allowing instruments to have vague links with morality and virtue.

Meanwhile, calligraphers were held in the lowest regard, with those who played Go looking down on those who painted, and those who painted looking down on those who were calligraphers. As such, calligraphers could only refer to the immensely virtuous act of the sages creating characters to vigorously argue with the others, becoming beet-red in the face as they did so. This was the situation in the past, and it was still the case in the present.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon grabbed a Go stone and lightly placed it on the board with criss-crossing lines of Dao intent, asking, “You only gifted him a replica sword from Hatred Sword Mountain?”

“I didn’t do anything extra,” Yuan Lingdian replied with a nod.

Yuan Lingdian understood his master’s intentions, given that he had also been a pure martial artist in the past. In fact, he had even advanced to the Far Roaming Tier as the strongest Vajra Body Tier martial artist. However, he had abandoned the martial fortune bequeathment after receiving guidance from his master, essentially accumulating martial fortune for the Northern Complete Reed Continent. In the end, he had shown great resolve to abandon martial arts and focus on pursuing Dao instead. The challenges and obstacles of doing so were even greater than those of ordinary Nascent Tier cultivators advancing to the Upper Five Tiers.

Yuan Lingdian understood that his master wanted him to provide Chen Ping’an with some guidance regarding fist techniques, but he didn’t have much interest in doing so. In any case, he didn’t feel like his involvement and guidance would necessarily be beneficial.

At Ground Lying Peak, unless Spiritual Master Fire Dragon explicitly stated what his disciples needed to think and do, the many disciples were free to think and act as they pleased without any issues.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon didn’t say anything about Yang Lingdian’s decision. Even though he had already lost the game of Go, he unexpectedly chuckled and remarked, “Seeking life from near certain death is indeed slightly difficult.”

“The Go board is so small, so having such intentions is essentially the same as earnestly pursuing death,” Li Liu said.

Li Liu casually shattered the mountain roots and water fortune, allowing them to return to heaven and earth. Spiritual Master Fire Dragon also retracted the Go board manifested from Dao intent.

Only at this moment did Spiritual Master Fire Dragon ask, “What was written in the letter you intercepted while it was en route to Lion Peak?”

Li Liu sidestepped the question, replying, “Sure enough, it was Water Official Li Yuan who delivered the letter just as Spiritual Master guessed. It wasn’t the Southern Fragrance Water Palace that helped with this task. He also chose to write an accompanying letter instead of directly sending the jade tablet to Lion Peak.”

“Which is why you have a long and arduous journey in front of you by choosing this path,” Spiritual Master Fire Dragon said with a smile. “It’s not the case that you’ll necessarily know the most and be the most correct simply because you’ve lived many lives, while others have only lived a single life. Very well, I’ve lost the game of Go, but I’ve had a win beyond the Go board.”

Li Liu didn’t mind these victories and losses on the Go board, nor did she mind those outside the Go board. She had experienced far too many things, after all, so much so that she didn’t even pay much attention to her current lifetime.

She was treating this more as a journey through the undulating mountains and winding rivers.

Since Li Liu was born with the knowledge of her past lives, it was only natural that she knew more than most people. This knowledge pertained not only to worldly matters but also to the human heart.

Most of the deity statues enshrined in the Daoist temples and Buddhist temples in the world were gilded with gold. Thus, Old Man Yang had asked them — prisoners and sinister remnants — to take the opposite approach and wrap themselves with a human heart first. Even if it were only perfunctory, they should still embark on a proper journey around the genuine human world.

Now, however, there were also matters that Li Liu genuinely cared about. For example, the battle between the Great Dao that had caused earth-shattering turmoil back then was rearing its head again. Li Liu would occasionally think about finishing this battle before it could proceed any further, handing the current reincarnation of those people a comprehensive loss.

Disregarding Chen Ping’an, Spiritual Master Fire Dragon still had some intentions behind placing stones on the Go board of the Water Dragon Sect. There was Shen Lin’s promotion, the benefits for Sect Leader Sun Jie of the Water Dragon Sect, and his remarks to Water Official Li Yuan.

In reality, it wasn’t false that Spiritual Master Fire Dragon had gone with the flow and helped the three individuals overcome their barriers, but his bigger hope was that some of Li Yuan’s actions after he gained sense and reason would include repeating some remarks to Li Liu.

After all, when it came to conducting oneself, Li Liu was ultimately still a junior even though she had already lived for thousands upon thousands of years.

However, it was a pity that Li Yuan was unwilling to heed his guidance, while Spiritual Master Fire Dragon was unwilling to get overly involved.

Yuan Lingdian sighed with emotion.

While at the Middle Earth Divine Continent, his master had actually detected the unusual fluctuations of martial fortune at the ancient battlefield ruins of the Golden Armor Continent already. If Chen Ping’an were able to obtain that martial fortune and “win” that game of Go, then he and that young woman from the Middle Earth Divine Continent, who was a similar age to him, would become a very interesting pair of opponents.

However, things became increasingly complicated due to the appearance of Cao Ci, who hadn’t intended to interfere.

If Cao Ci hadn’t gone to the ancient battlefield ruins, then the young woman, Shi Zaixi, who had advanced to the sixth tier of martial arts as the strongest fifth tier, might have already broken through. However, she wouldn’t have done so as the strongest in the tier because there was still Chen Ping’an, who was currently at the Northern Complete Reed Continent and possessed an even stronger and more stable cultivation base, along with more powerful fist intent.

Yet, Cao Ci’s appearance caused Shi Zaixi to be filled with fighting spirit, which was driven by her competitive nature. Being as prodigiously talented as she was, she managed to forcefully raise her cultivation barrier by another level, hellbent on striking the seventh tier Cao Ci with her sixth tier fist. She was only willing to advance after striking Cao Ci with her fist, even if it were only a light brush. On the other hand, Chen Ping’an’s martial arts barrier was higher than Shi Zaixi’s to begin with, so he naturally needed to go against his nature and advance slowly.

One was delaying things, and one was taking things slowly.

This created a situation where they were unknowingly playing a game of Go with each other.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon only knew that Shi Zaixi was at the battlefield ruins littered with collapsed deity statues in the Golden Armor Continent, and he had only heard that Cao Ci had made his way to the same ruins as well.

Relying on this information, he had performed some calculations to predict the current situation.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon smiled and said, “If Shi Zaixi is able to stop thinking about becoming the strongest, then that will be a very impressive feat. This might be a bad sign of losing spirit for other pure martial artists, but for Shi Zaixi, this will be a case of seeking life from the verge of death and attaining great freedom for her fist intent. This is presumably what Cao Ci wants to see, hence his decision to remain at the ancient battlefield ruins and voluntarily spar with Shi Zaixi. Even though Cao Ci is only at the Vajra Body Tier, he’s coincidentally the best whetstone in the world for the proud and haughty Shi Zaixi. Indeed, the effectiveness definitely wouldn’t be as apparent if she were facing a martial artist at the Mountain Summit Tier.”

Yuan Lingdian nodded and concurred, “Shi Zaixi’s true barrier is with her heart, not with her fists.”

He then smiled and continued, “In fact, if Chen Ping’an’s fortune is good enough and he continues to advance slowly, allowing him to remain as the ‘current’ strongest sixth tier and not break through before Shi Zaixi, then he can still obtain a share of martial fortune bequeathment.”

“I say that’s quite doubtful,” Spiritual Master Fire Dragon commented.

He then turned around and looked at his disciple, saying, “I instructed you to deliver the money to Paddling Island because I hoped you would personally reveal this truth to Chen Ping’an. Martial artists speaking with fellow martial artists is more meaningful than an old spiritual master talking about the grand principles of fist techniques with a third tier cultivator. I wanted to see whether Chen Ping’an would hold onto a sliver of a hope, showing some subtle signs of slowing down even further for the sake of that martial fortune bequeathment.

“Or would he also use another method to seek life from the verge of death like Shi Zaixi? Chen Ping’an has reached a dead end in terms of training fist techniques, and this isn’t due to him slacking off. His life and death battles with other people have also not been incorrect. He can already console himself with the notion that human power has its limits, so can he naively launch punches to shatter the alley wall after reaching the dead end? Can he forge a path for himself?”

Yuan Lingdian smiled wryly, feeling a little guilty as he said, “It was this disciple’s fault for ruining Master’s plans. Should I return to the Dragon Palace Small World now?”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon smiled and replied, “Let it be. We should go with the flow for all matters. Do you think it will necessarily be a good matter for you to reveal this truth? Will Chen Ping’an necessarily succeed in becoming the strongest? When it comes to the path of mental cultivation, do you think there won’t be side effects from going all out each time? If a person refuses to accept fate each and every time on the path of cultivation, thinking that seeking the absolute pinnacle is the better choice, the outcome will be death.

“After fighting to become the strongest sixth tier, one will fight to become the strongest seventh tier. And after becoming the strongest seventh tier, one will think that it’s only right to obtain the title of strongest eighth tier. Achieving this, who would dare to fight them for the title of strongest ninth tier? Does such a person not deserve to die? Is this not a battle between the Great Dao? If a person follows this path, they’ll simply be gritting their teeth and displaying the anger of a common person. Since when has the Martial Dao been so lowly?”

“These principles are too extreme,” Li Liu said with a shake of her head.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon also shook his head, responding, “Those who are pure need to quash these extreme principles as soon as possible.”

Yuan Lingdian didn’t feel the least bit puzzled about these principles.

Cao Ci did very well in this regard. He would ascend to great heights on the path of martial arts, but he wouldn’t prevent others from doing the same. He would even render help to others when given the opportunity, just like how he was helping Shi Zaixi temper her cultivation base.

This was one of the reasons why Cao Ci was able to become “peerless” in the Middle Earth Divine Continent.

This wasn’t simply because his master was Martial Godden Pei Bei, preventing him from being accidentally killed by Upper Five Tier cultivators. Otherwise, there were far more than one or two Upper Five Tier enemies from that destroyed empire, and even though killing Pei Bei would be an impossible dream, it wouldn’t be too difficult to kill her disciple, the traveling Cao Ci, who was on a different continent. At the very least, they would still enjoy some chance of success.

Cao Ci’s thoughts and actions were his strongest Dao guardian. For example, he had traveled to the Golden Armor Continent with his friend, Liu Youzhou, this time, and on the surface, it looked like the decision of the Pure White Continent’s god of wealth regarding how much he was willing to value Cao Ci’s life, and whether it was equally as valuable as that of Liu Youzhou. In reality, however, this wasn’t a result of the Pure White Continent’s god of wealth weighing up the pros and cons, and it was instead Cao Ci’s own decision.

The genuine pure martial artists of the Middle Earth Divine Continent were more or less willing to display voluntary goodwill toward Cao Ci. They might even put in some good words for this junior during their casual conversations, and it was possible that they would perhaps step forward to personally quash some budding dangers.

It was an ability to transform bad into good, and it was an even greater skill to transform good into better.

What was truly observing the myriad of matters in the world wasn’t one’s eyes, but rather, one’s heart.

Some people only saw Cao Ci’s unparalleled aptitude and his master, Pei Bei, when they observed him.

This was a case of their eyes being very observant, but their hearts being closed.

Li Liu was most likely accustomed to Spiritual Master Fire Dragon’s hostile remarks, so she smiled and replied, “These principles are only suitable for a small number of people.”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon laughed heartily and said, “We’ll objectively focus on the matters at hand, just as we’ll objectively focus on the people of concern. We can’t disregard all matters because of a single person, nor can we disregard an entire person because of a single matter. In this way, the notions of right and wrong won’t be so convoluted and difficult to untangle.”

“That’s difficult,” Li Liu said.

“Master is correct,” Yuan Lingdian said with a nod.

Would he help an outsider instead of helping his own master?

In any case, Yuan Lingdian truly felt like his master was more correct.

However, Spiritual Master Fire Dragon unexpectedly smiled and asked, “Then let me ask you this. What do you think about the examination of the heart for Cao Ci and the strongest young cultivator of the Northern Complete Reed Continent? Where and when will they take place?”

Yuan Lingdian was a cultivator who was accustomed to speaking using “power,” and he was actually still yet to reach a state of perfection even after cultivating his mind for so many years. Thus, he had been stuck at the barrier of the Unpolished Jade Tier for all these years. This wasn’t to say that Yuan Lingdian was an arrogant and haughty person. He also wielded the Dao power and spoke the reasons of Ground Lying Peak, and when they left the mountains to train in the outside world, Secret Profound Peak’s Yuan Lingdian actually enjoyed the best reputation out of everyone from their immortal force. However, he was surprisingly the person who was punished the most and punished the most severely by Spiritual Master Fire Dragon.

Yuan Lingdian thought for a moment before smiling and replying, “It will naturally take place when the unparalleled Cao Ci encounters the latter and stands beside them or not far behind them. Not only that, but the latter will even have the opportunity to overtake Cao Ci. That will be the critical moment when Cao Ci’s true self is displayed. As for Lin Su, who achieves certain victory whenever he decides to fight an opponent, he’ll only face excruciating hardship when he loses comprehensively.”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon nodded in response, seemingly approving of these two answers. He then asked, “Then what about you, Lingdian? Why are you unable to advance? Are there any Daoist cultivators in the world who are like you, possessing Immortal Tier abilities but only being at the Unpolished Jade Tier? I’ve opened my eyes wide and looked around, but I haven’t been able to find many more.”

“This is naturally because my cultivation of strength is more than sufficient, but my cultivation of the heart is still lacking,” Yuan Lingdian replied.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon smiled and said, “Is your understanding of the profound Dao power true intent the most shallow compared to your seniors at Profound Dawn Mountain, White Cloud Mountain, and the other mountains, simply because you started cultivating earlier, possess too much strength, contemplate too few matters, and advanced too quickly? Or is it because I’ve punished you too severely, and you believe you simply haven’t thought of the reason, even when you feel like you weren’t wrong? And thus, you’ve been contemplating behind closed doors the entire time, trying to reflect on how you were wrong? And you’ll be able to break through when you make heads or tails of these matters?”

“That’s indeed the case,” Yuan Lingdian admitted with a nod.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon asked, “Have you considered the possibility that you’re contemplating your mistakes with the mindset that you were correct? And you’re going in circles on this stray path?”

He sighed and remarked, “Naive child! When masters teach their disciples, are they only allowed to point out the paths and the shortcuts? Are they not allowed to place barriers and challenges on the path, guiding their disciples in the right direction but making the journey difficult, thereby strengthening the Dao Heart of their disciples?”

Yuan Lingdian felt slightly aggrieved in an uncharacteristic display, and he replied, “Master’s Dao power is profound, and his knowledge is vast, so this disciple isn’t willing to question Master at all.”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon pointed at his disciple from Secret Profound Peak and scolded in anger, “Go and ask that young man at Paddling Island if he has these thoughts given his young age: Even when it comes to Qi Jingchun, the Mr. Qi whom he respected the most, it wasn’t necessarily the case that he was right all the time, was it?! Ask him, does he dare to think this?! Does he dare to earnestly mull over the sagely principles beyond the scholarly lineage, yet remain unafraid of these principles suppressing his earlier convictions and beliefs?

“Lingdian, if you feel like masters embody all of the principles and reasons in the world, yet disciples are only able to learn seventy to eighty percent of them, then what happens when these principles and reasons are passed down by disciples to their disciples and so on? How many principles and reasons will be left in the world? You don’t even dare to think about these matters, Lingdian, so has your earnest cultivation for the past six hundred years only advanced your strength without advancing your Dao Heart?! What’s this? Does Ground Lying Peak need someone to move mountains and split firewood? Is that why there exists someone as physically strong as you?”

Yuan Lingdian glanced at his master’s slightly billowing sleeves and said carefully, “Don’t get angry, Master. We can discuss these matters calmly.”

Li Liu fanned the flames and interjected, “Yuan Zhixuan only said he isn’t willing, not that he doesn’t dare. Spiritual Master, don’t wrongly accuse Yuan Zhixuan because you’re too focused on speaking your own principles.”

Yuan Lingdian was almost angered to death by Li Liu’s “help.”

Just what kind of temper did his master have? Yuan Lingdian was most familiar with this, especially since he was the disciple who had suffered the most scoldings and beatings. If he claimed to be second at Ground Lying Peak, then no one would dare to claim they were first.

“Being unwilling is even worse than not daring! Not daring implies that consideration has at least been made, just that the step hasn’t been taken yet.”

Sure enough, Spiritual Master Fire Dragon flared up in rage, eventually commanding in a cold voice, “Go to the stone cave at Peach Mountain to enter seclusion for ten years. Don’t leave until you understand these matters!”

Yuan Lingdian fell silent for a moment before sighing in grief in his mind. Ten years wasn’t much, and it would pass quickly with a short nap. However, this was very embarrassing! Following master’s distant journey, it was only he who needed to roll up his blankets and leave Secret Profound Peak to enter seclusion in the stone cave at Peach Mountain. This being the case, would his two senior brothers from White Cloud Peak and Peach Mountain not frequently sit outside the stone cave to leisurely drink tea? And perhaps they would even ask him whether he was thirsty or not?