Unsheathed

A group of around a dozen people stepped out of the gate from the blistering summer heat of the Sword Qi Great Wall and arrived on the snowy Stalactite Mountain.

They had all cast illusions on themselves, and they went out in the dead of the night to visit the Spring Banner Inn.

Both Yan Ming and Nalan Caihuan were part of this group, and they were able to remain undetected by everyone aside from the Great Heavenly Lord, who was observing the proceedings from afar.

Standing beside him was the old Spiritual Master holding the golden horsetail whisk, and he asked in a quiet voice, ”This isn’t going to spell trouble, is it, Master?”

The Great Heavenly Lord sneered. ”You think they would dare to cause trouble under my watch?”

The old Spiritual Master stroked the advanced refined flood dragon whiskers that formed the golden threads of his horsetail whisk as he mused, ”Pure intimidation may not be enough to get the job done.”

The Great Heavenly Lord turned to a man standing nearby before giving him a nod, and the latter took a glance at the Great Heavenly Lord before responding with a nod of his own.

It seemed that the Great Heavenly Lord had come here with the sole purpose of seeing this man, and after exchanging those nods, he turned to depart, but before he did so, he said, ”After I go into seclusion, you’ll be in charge, and your job is very simple: Just don’t do anything.”

The old Spiritual Master was very much taken aback to hear this, but he still extended a Daoist salute and replied, ”As you wish, Master.”

”What about Uncle Master Jiang?” the old Spiritual Master asked.

Once the Great Heavenly Lord went into seclusion, there would be no one left on Stalactite Mountain capable of keeping the little Daoist priest from White Jade Capital in check.

Despite his status as a True Lord, the Spiritual Master was inferior to the little Daoist priest in both seniority and cultivation base, and they also hailed from different Daoist branches, making it very difficult for him to even try to reason with the little Daoist priest.

The Great Heavenly Lord turned his gaze to the old gate, where the little Daoist priest was seated on a cushion, reading a book while discussing the storyline with Sword Immortal Zhang Lu.

After a brief hesitation, the Great Heavenly Lord said, ”Just let him be. He’s already been quite well-behaved during the past few centuries in which he’s served as gatekeeper. If he were back home, then he would’ve been much more of a pain to deal with. That junior uncle of mine adores him more than anyone else, and he always makes sure to bring him along whenever he goes to cause trouble at the Mystery Capital Temple.

“If it wasn’t for the fact that Daoist Master Sun has set his sights on him with the intent to kill, he wouldn’t even have had to come to the Majestic World to seek refuge.”

”I’m sure Uncle Master Jiang will be granted immense fortune after surviving that ordeal,” the old Spiritual Master mused.

The Great Heavenly Lord went into seclusion, while the old Spiritual Master remained standing at the railing, looking down upon the entirety of Stalactite Mountain. Many people were aware that Stalactite Mountain was the largest mountain seal under the heavens, but it was much less well known that the eight attractions on the mountain and the Lone Peak the old Spiritual Master was standing on formed an ancient formation passed down from the Master of Three Mountains and Nine Lords. The ultimate finished product was something akin to an ancient ascension platform.

The old Spiritual Master was a disciple that the Great Heavenly Lord had taken on in the Majestic World, and this was his home. However, the old Spiritual Master wasn’t much different from the old boatman who had served Branch Master Lu Chen during his journey out at sea. For cultivators, their place of residence from before they embarked on the path of cultivation was their first home.

After they began cultivating, their place of cultivation would become their true home. Thus, both the old Spiritual Master stationed on Stalactite Mountain and the old boatman who was constantly drifting out at sea held an intense desire to cultivate in the Heavenly World.

However, the Great Dao was extremely lofty, and the journey was very long. Unless they had someone to take them there, their lackluster cultivation bases meant that ascending to another world was nothing more than a distant dream.

The old Spiritual Master watched the cultivators sneaking onto Stalactite Mountain and found it very boring. His master had already ordered him not to do anything, so he simply left. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in the Catch and Release Pavilion, which was completely deserted at this late hour, and in the next instant, he appeared out at sea, having decided that he would pay a visit to the Flood Dragon Trench.

If it weren’t for something that Jiang Yunsheng had said to the old Spiritual Master, he would’ve already slain all of the True Dragon descendants in the Flood Dragon Trench. All he would’ve had to do was intercept and kill all of the rainbringer flood dragons one after another, and had he done that, his horsetail whisk would’ve already been elevated into a celestial tool long ago.

The old True Lord excelled in accumulating a large quantity of a certain thing before refining it into a celestial tool, as was the case with the flood dragon whiskers that he had refined into his horsetail whisk.

A reminiscent look appeared on the old Spiritual Master’s face as he stood atop the waves and thought back to a certain secret event of the past.

Back then, the only one who was capable of convincing that sword immortal to stand down was Lu Chen.

He was truly an unfathomable figure who stood at the top of the world, and it was no wonder that in his eyes, all of the immortal sects of the Majestic World were utterly insignificant.

The more the old Spiritual Master learned, the more insignificant and inept he felt in comparison with the almighty Branch Master, and as he dwelled on these thoughts, he entered a somewhat immersive state.

All of a sudden, the little Daoist priest turned his gaze to the railing of the tall building sitting on the summit of the Lone Peak.

”What’s up?” Sword Immortal Zhang Lu asked with a curious expression.

”He seems to have entered a state of enlightenment similar to what’s described in Buddhism, but he’s not quite there,” the little Daoist priest replied.

”You’re not going to lend him a hand?” Zhang Lu asked with a smile. ”You two have already known each other for several hundred years; surely you should help him out here.”

”Not just anyone can help him in this situation,” the little Daoist priest replied with a shake of his head. ”At the very least, I certainly don’t possess the necessary capabilities. If I try to help him, it’s most likely the case that I will only end up hindering him.”

”Let’s keep reading then,” Zhang Lu encouraged. ”Whenever the protagonists of these stories stop to rest on a riverbank at night, they always run into a beautiful maiden stripping off her clothes to bathe in the river.”

However, the little Daoist priest didn’t continue reading. Instead, he suddenly said, ”Be careful, they haven’t gone through this gate the past two times.”

”Sentimental as ever, aren’t you?” Zhang Lu chuckled. ”I don’t think you’re going to ever be a true believer of Daoist teachings.”

”I’m issuing this warning as a matter of principle, not because I hold any sentimental attachment to them,” the little Daoist priest disagreed with a shake of his head. ”Besides, those who are extremely emotional and sincere are actually considered bright talents in Daoism. The teachings of Daoism are broader, deeper, and more profound than you think. You can’t look down on Daoism as a whole just because I’m not a good Daoist.”

”Just turn the page.” Zhang Lu yawned. ”If you don’t keep reading, I’m going to fall asleep soon.”

The little Daoist priest resumed his reading.

Not long ago, the Clay Pot intercontinental ship of the Mountain and Water Cave had only just traveled several hundred kilometers away from Stalactite Mountain when it suddenly received a flying sword message from Stalactite Mountain.

The old Nascent Tier administrator on the ship had a feeling that his ship wasn’t the only one to receive such a message, and sure enough, it didn’t take long before more messenger flying swords from the other intercontinental ships arrived in his ship’s sword chamber. After weighing up his options, the old Nascent Tier administrator decided to leave the ship and return to Stalactite Mountain.

As it turned out, the other intercontinental ship administrators who had been present at the meeting in the Ganoderma Inn had also received flying sword messages not long after leaving Stalactite Mountain, requesting that they return to Stalactite Mountain.

As a matter of fact, all of the intercontinental ships that had recently been at Stalactite Mountain and hadn’t traveled too far away had been invited to visit Shao Yunyan’s Spring Banner Inn.

The invitation hadn’t come from Yan Ming, nor was it from Nalan Caihuan. Instead, it was from the entire Sword Qi Great Wall, and that was something that had never been seen before.

Given the peculiar nature of the invitation, everyone knew that this wasn’t something they could simply choose to ignore, and of course, many of them were very curious about exactly who it was that had sent out these invitations. Who had the right to send out these invitations on behalf of the Sword Qi Great Wall? Was it Nalan Shaowei?

If it were him, then the administrators of the intercontinental ships felt like they had nothing to fear. While Nalan Shaowei was undoubtedly one of the most powerful sword immortals alive, his business acumen was significantly lacking compared with his cultivation base.

The majority of the intercontinental ships to receive this invitation were from the Middle Earth Divine Continent and the Pure White Continent, and all of them chose to oblige and return to Stalactite Mountain. Most of them arranged to meet up somewhere on the way back to try and figure out what the Sword Qi Great Wall’s intentions were. They were confident that their lives weren’t under threat; the Sword Qi Great Wall wouldn’t be so demented as to kill them.

The only concern was that the Sword Qi Great Wall would do something foolish that would negatively impact everyone’s profit margins. If they could work out a plan to collectively stifle whatever the Sword Qi Great Wall’s plans were, that would undoubtedly be massively beneficial to them.

Shao Yunyan personally greeted everyone at the entrance of the Spring Banner Inn along with the few remaining trusted subordinates left in the inn, and they arranged places to stay for all of the guests. The entire time, Shao Yunyan maintained a very pleasant and approachable demeanor, and many of the ship administrators felt extremely flattered to be receiving such hospitality from a sword immortal of Shao Yunyan’s status.

Thanks to his prized gourd vine, Shao Yunyan had countless powerful connections all over the entire Majestic World, so the Spring Banner Inn was definitely far superior in status to the likes of the Plum Blossom Garden and the Water Essence Palace.

Those who were able to stay in the Ape Havoc Estate on Stalactite Mountain were all extremely wealthy, but for the most part, those who were able to stay in the Spring Banner Inn had extremely bright futures ahead on the path of cultivation.

The Spring Banner Inn had arranged around a dozen peaceful courtyards for the administrators of the intercontinental ships to stay in, and before everyone went to their respective courtyards, Shao Yunyan encouraged them to take a rest and drink some tea before making their way to the main hall of the Spring Banner Inn.

The Nascent Tier administrator from the Mountain and Water Cave was called Bai Xi, and he had no idea what Shao Yunyan was plotting. However, as soon as he entered his assigned courtyard, he spotted a person looking at him from the main room, and his heart immediately sank.

It was Sword Immortal Xie Zhi from the Circling Ascension Continent.

He was a vagrant cultivator through and through, and even after he became a sword immortal, he still displayed no intention of founding a sect or faction of his own. Instead, he preferred traveling to wherever he pleased, and his travels ultimately took him to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

He didn’t have any ties to the immortal sects and factions of the Circling Ascension Continent, and in particular, he had once openly expressed his severe disdain for the Mountain and Water Cave. He was on such bad terms with the patriarch of the Mountain and Water Cave that they wouldn’t even bother to acknowledge each other in a chance encounter.

Inside the main room were several other intercontinental ship administrators, all of whom were seated in tense, upright postures, looking every bit as anxious as Bai Xi.

Similarly, in another courtyard, an intercontinental ship administrator from the Golden Armor Continent was greeted by the sight of a woman sitting in the main room with a sword on her back.

Her physical appearance was nothing special, but the sword on her back, Circling Ascension, was a household name on the Golden Armor Continent and the Circling Ascension Continent. The Circling Ascension Continent had been named after her sword, yet she wasn’t even a swordsman from the Circling Ascension Continent, and as one might expect, there were many spectacular stories behind this legendary woman.

She was the female sword immortal, Song Pin.

A highly respected poet from the Circling Ascension Continent had once caught a glimpse of Song Pin from afar, and that became an unforgettable memory for him. He was so deeply infatuated with Song Pin that he never married, and the poems that he wrote about her were enough to fill several anthologies.

The intercontinental ship administrators in the room with Song Pin all wore concerned expressions, and the arrival of their latest comrade didn’t bring them any joy.

The hospitality from Shao Yunyan had left them all feeling a little suspicious and apprehensive, and sure enough, their apprehension had been vindicated.

”Is that everyone?” Song Pin asked as she opened her eyes. ”If so, then I’m going to propose a toast, and once we’ve all had a drink we can get down to business.”

She picked up a cup that was sitting on the table beside her, then downed the wine inside in one go.

Sword Immortal Pu He of the Flowing Dawn Continent was a tall and thin old man with a set of rather gaunt facial features. Instead of sitting in the main room, he was standing at the entrance of the courtyard, watching the falling snow. Thus, the intercontinental ship administrators could only stand in the walkway behind him to watch the snow with him.

Pu He was once known as the sword immortal with the most unpredictable personality on the Flowing Dawn Continent, often killing people purely on a whim. Apparently, he had been defeated while challenging the Sword Qi Great Wall, and since then, he had remained here to cultivate.

After all of the intercontinental ship administrators arrived, Pu He said, ”All of you are businessmen, so I’m sure you’re all familiar with buying and selling. How about you all sell me a favor? What do you say?”

The administrators looked back and forth at one another, and one of them mustered up some courage before cupping his fist in a salute as he asked, ”May I ask if you’re asking us this question as a swordsman of the Sword Qi Great Wall, or as a sword immortal of the Flowing Dawn Continent?”

Pu He took a side-eyed glance at the Nascent Tier cultivator who had just spoken, then said, ”Leave. Tell your patriarch, Li Xun, that once I return to the Flowing Dawn Continent, I’ll be paying a visit to your sect’s ancestral hall with a few of my good friends.”

Before the Nascent Tier cultivator had a chance to say anything else, Pu He’s bonded flying sword was already hovering directly in front of his glabella, completely rooting him to the spot.

Pu He then grabbed him by the neck and casually tossed him onto the street outside the Spring Banner Inn, following which he communicated through his mind’s lake, ”Your ship is called Tight Weave, right? It doesn’t look to be in very good condition. How about I demolish it for you so you can get a new one? I see you have the Unpolished Jade Tier swordsman, Leng Ran, hiding inside. I wonder if he’ll be able to stop me.”

The Nascent Tier cultivator was just about to storm away in a fit of rage, but this was too severe a threat for him to ignore.

The intercontinental ship was the lifeblood of the sect, and it was renowned for its size and durability. Of course, significant investments had to be made to achieve this level of size and durability, and that was why the sect had spent an exorbitant sum to secretly hire the Unpolished Jade Tier sword immortal, Leng Ran, to guard the ship.

However, even on the ship, the administrator should’ve been the only one aware of this, and the few times that Leng Ran had to defend the ship, he made sure to cover his tracks extremely well.

The Nascent Tier cultivator could only swallow his dissatisfaction and return to the Spring Banner Inn to apologize to Pu He.

He knew that the Sword Qi Great Wall wouldn’t kill him or even target him, but if Pu He so desired, he could make the entire sect’s existence a living hell.