Unsheathed

Thankfully, the flow of time had already ground to a halt at the Sword Qi Great Wall, or else the tall woman’s words would have shaken the sword hearts of a great many sword immortals.

Of course, the nearby Zuo You and the slightly further Hidden Official and Dong Sangeng could remain unrestrained, but they were still unable to detect what was going on around Chen Qingdu. If anyone dared to wantonly challenge the barrier erected by Chen Qingdu, that would essentially be an act of challenging the old great sword immortal to a sword duel. Chen Qingdu never went easy on other people, and the number of sword immortals who had died at his hands was more than just the solitary Dong Guanpu from ten years ago.

Only sword immortals were able to witness Chen Qingdu’s sword strikes — this wasn’t a baseless statement.

Chen Qingdu wasn’t angered by the tall woman’s words at all, and he smiled as he jumped onto the parapet and sat down cross-legged, gazing at the vast expanse of land to the south as he asked, ”How did the Confucian temple dare to let you stand here? These sages most certainly won’t be oblivious to the consequences. Perhaps the old scholar vouched for you? Indeed, he just made a huge contribution for no compensation to speak of. He’s truly willing to use up his merit for the sake of his closing disciple.”

One was standing on the parapet while the other was sitting, highlighting a clear distinction between their seniority.

The tall woman frowned and commented slowly, ”Chen Qingdu, your courage has also grown considerably after ten thousand years of cultivation.”

Chen Qingdu smiled and replied, ”It’s been a long time since I last spoke with you, Senior. This is a rare opportunity, so what does it matter if I’m scolded a bit?”

The tall woman had only stood here for a brief moment, yet she had already become aware of some secrets that perhaps even the sages of the Three Teachings and the many sword immortals were unable to gain knowledge of. She shook her head and said, ”How pitiful. Why act like that if you knew things would turn out like this? Do you feel any regret?”

Chen Qingdu nodded and replied, ”Focusing on just myself, I do indeed have many regrets. Back then, I actually had other paths in front of me, allowing me to be unrestrained amid heaven and earth, perhaps even more than most gods and deities. However, I still brandished my sword and ascended higher, continuing to fight alongside many like-minded people in the human world, pointing my blade at the heavens. Those who died didn’t feel any regret, so whether or not I feel regret isn’t important at all.”

Chen Qingdu looked up and asked, ”Does Senior feel any regret?”

The tall woman was leaning against her sword, her palms resting on its hilt. She fell silent for a moment before sidestepping the question and asking, ”You wouldn’t have missed the three wisps of sword qi in his acupoints, would you?”

”I noticed some traces, but I didn’t dare to believe it,” Chen Qingdu replied. ”At the same time, I was also worried about this being a profound scheme of the Confucian Sect.”

Chen Qingdu gazed up at the sky, sighing with emotion before continuing, ”Prior to that child, just how lofty and peerless were the individuals accompanying you, Senior? A sword strike here and a sword strike there, and they could casually leave in their wake a mountain of deity corpses and a trail of shattered blessed lands.

”Following them, however, the ordinary young boy only possessed the aptitude to become an earth immortal, yet his bridge of immortality was shattered, and he was only a... third or fourth tier martial artist at the time. How could I believe my eyes, Senior? Even until now, I’m still unable to comprehend why you decided to choose Chen Ping’an.

”So, I purposely turned a blind eye to this, waiting for this day to arrive. I hope that the moment I attain enlightenment is when I meet you, and I hope that the last sight before my death is to take another look at those wisps of sword qi.”

There was a faint smile on Chen Qingdu’s face as he put his index finger and middle finger together, lightly drawing them through the air and instantly causing a river of sword qi to light up far in the distance. This wasn’t a perfectly straight river; it was instead a winding river, seemingly gazing down at the human world from the heavens.

”This is the first sword technique that I learned,” Chen Qingdu said with a smile. ”Truth be told, the sword cultivators nowadays have murky sword hearts and wavering Dao Hearts, with their aptitudes truly inferior to those from our generation. All it took was a single glance for us to identify our Great Dao.”

This sword strike would presumably cause significant commotion if it landed in the Savage World close to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

For example, was Chen Qingdu going to leave the Sword Qi Great Wall and challenge the entire Savage World for the first time after ten thousand years?

”Are you flaunting these trifling techniques in front of me?” the tall woman asked.

”I wouldn’t dare to,” Chen Qingdu replied with a smile.

After saying this, the extremely old man — the old great sword immortal in the eyes of everyone at the Sword Qi Great Wall — finally rediscovered the spirit expected of him, saying, ”In any case, this junior’s sword techniques truly can’t be regarded as low-level anymore. I naturally wouldn’t have stood a chance if I fought against you ten thousand years ago, Senior, but if I get another opportunity to travel against the flow of time and return to the past with my sword, going to that battlefield...”

The tall woman seemingly didn’t move, but her sword was already hovering in the air, with its tip pointing at the seated Chen Qingdu.

Chen Qingdu remained upright and unfazed despite the blade being just three inches from his head, and he formed a tiny speck of light at the tip of the sword.

”Others might not be able to deal with you at the Sword Qi Great Wall, Chen Qingdu, but I’m an exception,” the tall woman said.

In the beginning, the sword techniques in the world split into four lineages, with Chen Qingdu representing one at the Sword Qi Great Wall, the heavenly masters representing one at Mount Longhu, the Daoist sword immortals representing one at the Mystery Capital Temple, and the Buddhists representing one at the Lotus Flower Buddhist Nation.

This was the extremely hidden inheritance of the sword technique orthodoxies over the past ten thousand years, unknown to almost everyone in the world. In fact, many sword immortals from the Northern Complete Reed Continent were completely oblivious to this piece of history as well, only knowing that there existed four immortal swords in the large worlds.

Each of the four sword technique lineages had its own focus, but in terms of destructive ability alone, the lineage represented by the Sword Qi Great Wall’s Chen Qingdu was undisputedly number one.

Chen Qingdu naturally wasn’t afraid of the tall woman beside him, someone who was far away from reaching the pinnacle of the Sword Dao. Rather, he simply respected her.

This was a feeling of respect even greater than heaven and earth.

However, even though he didn’t fear her, how could he truly not feel worried at all? Just like she had mentioned, if they disregarded combat power and cultivation base for the moment, Chen Qingdu’s sword techniques would never be the loftiest in front of her, regardless of how lofty they were.

This remark from her was actually even more astonishing than her quip for Chen Qingdu to piss off.

One had to realize that Chen Qingdu would legitimately be peerless at the Sword Qi Great Wall unless the sages of the Three Teachings personally visited the great wall with the tokens of their teachings. Even the Daoist second disciple, armed with an immortal sword, would stand no chance against Chen Qingdu.

Why did Stalactite Mountain exist? Why was there a Catch and Release Pavilion at Stalactite Mountain? The Daoist second disciple had already arrived at Stalactite Mountain back then, so why hadn’t he taken another step forward? He was someone who liked to battle against heaven and earth, so why had he visited the Majestic World with an immortal sword, yet returned to the Heavenly World without unleashing a single sword strike?

After all, the Daoist second disciple’s initial intention had been to stand on the largest mountain seal in the world and engage in an all-out battle against the Sword Qi Great Wall’s Chen Qingdu! He wanted to prove that not only was his Dao power profound, hence half of the White Jade Capital being crafted by his hands, but his sword techniques had also opened a new chapter for the world, establishing a fifth lineage of sword technique orthodoxy!

In the end, however, the Daoist second disciple ultimately didn’t unleash a sword strike in his first and only visit to the Majestic World.

The tall woman and Chen Qingdu both gazed into the distance, with the former never sparing so much as a single glance for the latter.

Looking at the southern wall of the Sword Qi Great Wall, dust started to rustle and fall from the strokes that made up the humongous characters. Some of the earth immortal sword cultivators over there swayed back and forth as a result, yet they didn’t notice this at all.

”Senior, this is enough, no?” Chen Qingdu asked with a faint smile.

”Are you aware that your inaction back then caused my master’s cultivation speed to become significantly slower? He should have overcome the barriers of the Sword Qi Eighteen Stops Technique a long time ago,” the tall woman replied.

”Is it a big deal for young people to progress more slowly and face some additional hardships?” Chen Qingdu asked. ”Progressing too fast, ascending to the pinnacle too early, and having your company as well, won’t necessarily be a good thing for the world. Zuo You’s comments to Wei Jin about wielding a sword were absolutely spot on, and he should explain this same concept to his junior brother.

”If Chen Ping’an is unable to truly become your master, then my opinion is that he should walk even slower on the path of cultivation. It’s best that he’s never able to wield a sword, and the slower he reaches the pinnacle, the better. If he one day becomes fond of unleashing sword strikes on a whim, then I’ll truly regret ever letting him enter the Lotus Flower Blessed Land to train and temper himself, giving him an opportunity to rebuild his bridge of immortality.

”If I remember correctly, that blessed land borders a small world that was shattered by your emanating sword qi when you killed a genuine deity back then, yes, Senior?”

The tall woman didn’t offer a response.

The tiny speck of light on the tip of her sword suddenly expanded to the size of a fist, causing Chen Qingdu’s hair to slowly float and sway in the air. Some strands of his hair were severed, carried away by the wind, and astonishingly sliced apart the frozen river of time with ease.

”Chen Qingdu, I’m giving you face, so you need to cherish this leniency!”

Her expression was cold, and the depths of her eyes housed a radiance even brighter than the sun and the moon. ”My previous master from ten thousand years ago felt pity for you people, the ants on the ground, and you people accepted their pity. Ten thousand years later, I’ve already fallen significantly, while your Sword Dao has risen several notches. However, this is no excuse for you to speak to me like this. The old scholar was alarmed and anxious while taking me here, and he told me a whole load of nonsense. This wasn’t without reason.”

Chen Qingdu smiled bitterly and asked, ”The old scholar didn’t tell you about the marriage proposal, did he? Are you squabbling with me because of this? That old man is truly miserly! He’s never willing to accept even the smallest of losses!”

He reached over and grabbed the orb of light on the sword tip, continuing, ”I can’t offer any more than this. Senior, you can feel free to take this pure sword intent, and you can treat this as compensation for me delaying the tempering of your sword.”

The tall woman frowned and withdrew her sword, with the orb of light instantly disappearing from its tip and slowly flowing through the blade. She once again rested her hands on the hilt and leaned against the sword like before.

Chen Qingdu turned around and asked with a smile, ”What do you think when looking at the human world again?”

”It’s too small,” the tall woman replied coldly.

Chen Qingdu nodded and concurred, ”Indeed. Even the sun, the moon, and the stars lost their radiance before your sword light in the past, or to be more precise, it was your existence that created the dazzling galaxies we see now.”

The tens of thousands of stars in the sky were all floating corpses.

Chen Qingdu stood up, hunchbacked as if he were unable to withstand the weight, unable to truly straighten his back throughout the past ten thousand years.

Apart from a small number of great sword immortals, all of the sword cultivators in the world had already become oblivious to the fact that, looking back to the foundation, all of the sword techniques in the world originated from the heavens. It was from those fundamental sword techniques that tens of thousands of mystical abilities had sprouted, struck by swords from the human world, and knocked to the ground alongside the many deities. These mystical abilities were then collected by the measly humans who had initially lived a life of struggle, allowing them to cultivate and become immortals atop the mountains.

Initially, puppets raised as livestock by the many deities, lowly puppets to offer incense, these measly humans gradually transformed themselves and became rulers of the world. That was an extremely long and arduous process.

Chen Qingdu was one of the first people to learn sword techniques in the world, making him one of the most experienced founders of sword cultivation and eventually allowing him to open the heavens with the others. Why were swords the way they were, and why did sword cultivators possess the greatest destructive ability, even surpassing heaven and earth? These were the reasons.

During the late stages of that earth-shattering great war, however, disagreement and conflict flared up among the humans, resulting in the sword cultivators becoming prisoners who were exiled to the Sword Qi Great Wall. At the same time, the demon tribe was also exiled to the desolate land of barbarians.

Afterward, the Majestic World established the Confucian temple in the Middle Earth Divine Continent and constructed the nine Mighty Suppressing Pagodas that towered between heaven and earth. The young Daoist priest riding atop the ox had traveled far to the Heavenly World, building the White Jade Capital as his base. Meanwhile, Buddha had trodden upon lotus flowers and allowed his divine light to grace the vast lands.

Compared to this, was the extermination of flood dragons eight thousand years ago not just a measly matter?

”Why were you willing to choose that child, Senior?” Chen Qingdu asked in a quiet voice.

”Qi Jingchun said that a one-in-a-million chance for some people is a certainty, so he told me to give this a try,” the tall woman replied.

”Have you been disappointed again?” Chen Qingdu asked.

The tall woman casually raised her sword and thrust forward, piercing Chen Qinqdu’s head. Golden light poured from her sword, appearing like a small Milky Way hovering in the human world.

Chen Qingdu remained unfazed and unmoving, simply sighing with emotion and remarking, ”Senior, your temper is still as bad as always.”

”It’s already improved a lot,” the tall woman replied.

Chen Qingdu shifted several steps to the side, avoiding her sword as he smiled and asked, ”Then why did you split apart Stalactite Mountain with a single slash before?”

If it weren’t for the Second Sage personally stopping her and appearing at the Confucian temple in a rare display, then Stalactite Mountain might have already collapsed and ceased to exist a long time ago.

”Master was unconscious at the time, so I was able to act as I pleased,” the tall woman responded.

”I would have never imagined that your master would be Chen Ping’an,” Chen Qingdu said in helplessness. ”Thinking about this a bit more, however, no one else seems to be more suitable. If it were anyone else, it would be difficult to say whether they were the master or you were the master.”

Chen Qingdu suddenly chuckled and remarked, ”Just how divine was Qi Jingchun’s final move on the Go board?”

The tall woman made a casual grabbing motion, drawing the golden light from her sword and regathering it into a dazzling orb of light that landed in her palm. She casually squeezed down, shattering the orb and saying with a cold chuckle, ”Offering me sword intent? From you, Chen Qingdu?”

Chen Qingdu smiled and nodded in response.

The tall woman held her index finger and middle finger together, saying with a faint smile, ”I’ll extract it myself.”

Specks of golden light started to materialize around the entire Sword Qi Great Wall.

Chen Qingdu’s expression changed slightly, and he heaved a soft sigh. He could stop her if he truly wanted to, but the price to pay would be far too great. In any case, he genuinely didn’t understand her temperament right now, so he could only use his trump card.

And thus, the young man in azure who had shaken away the effects of the alcohol and was just about to arrive at the Ning Residence, suddenly turned around and stumbled his way to the city wall, arriving beside the tall woman.

There was puzzlement and delight on Chen Ping’an’s face as he exclaimed in a soft voice, ”Big Sister Immortal?”

The tall woman flicked her sleeve and caused the specks of golden light to disperse, with the sword in her hand also vanishing from sight. She turned around and smiled, pulling Chen Ping’an into an embrace. Chen Ping’an was slightly flustered, and he spread his arms and turned around to look at Chen Qingdu with an innocent expression. However, the tall woman placed a hand on his head and pulled it forward.

Chen Qingdu closed his eyes and opened them again. No, he truly wasn’t seeing things.

The old great sword immortal reached up and massaged his temples. The sword strike from before naturally hurt.

Chen Ping’an flushed beet red. The tall woman had thankfully let go of him already, and she bent down slightly to gaze at him. She smiled widely and said in a gentle voice, ”Master, you have grown taller again.”

Seeing her reach over again, Chen Ping’an hurriedly extended his hands and lightly placed them on her arms, saying with a bitter smile, ”I’m dead meat if Ning Yao sees this.”

There was a tragic expression on the tall woman’s face as she clutched her heart and asked, ”Are you not afraid of me dying of heartbreak first?”

There was a peculiar glimmer in Chen Ping’an’s eyes as he smiled widely and gazed up at the sky. He raised his arm, pointing at the three moons as he asked, ”Big Sister Immortal, I’ve heard that this world will be fine even if two of the three moons go missing. The cycle of the four seasons will continue as normal, and the growth of all matters will progress without impediment. That being the case, can we perhaps hack one of the moons down to take home in the future? For example, we can secretly place a moon inside the Lotus Root Blessed Land.”

The tall woman looked up and replied with a faint smile, ”This isn’t possible right now, but it won’t be difficult in the future.”

Chen Qingdu was almost stifled to death as he stood beside them and listened on.

The tall woman shot a sideways glance at him, and the old great sword immortal took his leave upon seeing this.

Before leaving, however, Chen Qingdu said in a seemingly casual manner, ”Rest assured, I won’t tell Little Ning about this.”

Chen Ping’an turned around and said with a limpid gaze, ”I’ll tell her myself.”

The tall woman continued to smile widely as she stood beside Chen Ping’an.

However, three words instantly exploded in Chen Qingdu’s mind’s lake, ”Fuck off further.”

Chen Qingdu clasped his hands behind his back as he slowly walked away.

Chen Ping’an placed his hands inside his opposite sleeves as he walked alongside the sword spirit.

He was extremely familiar with the river of time, so not only did he not feel uncomfortable as he walked along it, but he even took to it like a fish in water. His shuddering soul wasn’t an issue at all. If he didn’t care about face, and if the sword spirit weren’t present, he could have easily sprinted along the river of time. After all, it was an incredibly rare opportunity to enter a frozen river of time and reap its corresponding benefits.

He turned around and asked with a smile, ”Why have you come here? Did my master visit the Dragon Spring Prefecture?”

The sword spirit nodded in response.

The old scholar was still worried about the safety of his closing disciple at the Sword Qi Great Wall. Of course, he had also said frankly to her that so be it if Chen Qingdu, that old geezer, didn’t give him face, but how could he not give Chen Ping’an’s master face? Was this acceptable? Was this not the same as refusing to give face to his disciple, who was also her master? Who gave Chen Qingdu such wanton courage?

”I initially thought I could only see you again after a few decades,” Chen Ping’an said.

”Regarding the matter of sharpening the sword, the Dragon Slaying Platform at the Wind Snow Temple has already been completely consumed,” the sword spirit said with a smile. ”Rest assured, Master, I still spoke reason with them. The Wind Snow Temple was absolutely terrified when they noticed something amiss in the beginning, and none of the sword cultivators guarding the Dragon Slaying Platform dared to act rashly.

”Afterward, a baby-faced little child secretly made his way to Dragonspine Mountain and adhered to all of the etiquette, so I decided to see him and teach him a sword technique as compensation for the Wind Snow Temple. The little child was quite happy, especially since this sword technique could help him advance his cultivation base.

”Following this was Ruan Qiong’s Dragon Slaying Platform, and he also agreed to my request. It’s because of this that the Great Li Empire is especially choosing another site for the Dragon Spring Sword Sect now. Ruan Qiong was fairly smart and didn’t make any requests, so I became happy and taught him a sword-forging technique. Otherwise, his dreams and ambitions would have been nothing but just that with his crappy cultivation base.

”As for the Dragon Slaying Platform owned by True Martial Mountain... It’s best to forget about that. It has far too many ties and implications, and touching it could easily cause trouble. I don’t mind trouble at all, but it would have caused a huge headache for you, Master.”

There were some things she wasn’t incapable of doing, but, as with Chen Qingdu’s concern about the master-subordinate dynamic involving her, she was also worried about causing trouble for Chen Ping’an.

Chen Qingdu had genuinely raised some good points, but she simply felt like a measly Chen Qingdu didn’t have the right to lecture her.

Chen Ping’an held his hands inside his opposite sleeves and said in a calm voice, ”There will eventually come a day when troubles are nothing more than measly troubles for me.”

The sword spirit was extremely happy.

There were many twists and turns, and she had initially thought that their affinity would drift further and further apart, eventually leaving a huge chasm between them. She wouldn’t necessarily have felt disappointed, but she would have somewhat felt that the situation was a pity. In the end, however, he unexpectedly matched her ideal image and became the perfect person to wield the sword.

”What kind of person do you want to become if you are able to keep ascending higher, Master?” the sword spirit asked with a smile.

”Someone who speaks with reason, and someone who acts with principle,” Chen Ping’an replied without hesitation. ”And when I launch a sword strike beyond the heavens and throw a punch toward the earth, all of the martial artists in the world will feel like divine might has been unleashed.”