Sword of Coming

Sword of Coming

Xu Xingjiu visited the residence with a large stack of newspapers, and he asked with a smile, ”Mr. Chen is also keeping an eye on Temper Mountain?”

Chen Ping’an accepted the newspapers and offered with a smile, ”If you’re not busy, then why don’t you sit down and read some newspapers with me?”

Chen Ping’an retrieved two pots of immortal wine and passed one to Xu Xingjiu, with the two of them slowly enjoying wine as they sat opposite each other and flicked through the newspapers.

Regarding the battle at Temper Mountain, the two parties were ranked next to each other in the list of top ten young cultivators in the Northern Complete Reed Continent. Vagrant Cultivator Huang Xi was ranked fourth, while Martial Artist Xiu Niang was ranked fifth.

There were many new speculations about the reason for this life and death battle between the two cultivators in the most recent newspaper, with some people claiming that this was a mutual hatred born from love. There were also some who claimed that Huang Xi wasn’t very old, yet he was far too apathetic when it came to killing people, and he had accidentally killed one of Xiu Niang’s close relatives.

Xu Xingjiu retrieved a snowflake coin and lightly tossed it into the brush washer on the stone table, causing it to instantly disintegrate and transform into a wisp of spiritual energy that fused into the mountain and water fortune of Temper Mountain, which was located tens of thousands of kilometers away. All of the spirit tools and immortal treasures that could be used as enchanted picture scrolls in the world possessed the mystical ability to ”eat money.”

The Great Emblem Sword Sect’s Qi Jinglong had fought with Peace and Tranquility Mountain’s Huang Ting on Temper Mountain not too long ago, with the two sword cultivators who were at the peak stage of the Nascent Tier causing noticeable damage to the fortune of Temper Mountain. Their battle had severely exhausted the spiritual energy of Temper Mountain, so a battle between Upper Five Tier cultivators would presumably engulf an even greater volume of spiritual energy. That being the case, why was Temper Mountain still flowing with an abundant amount of spiritual energy? This was because countless spectating cultivators were pouring an endless amount of immortal coins into their enchanted picture scrolls.

Xu Xingjiu hesitated for a moment before asking in an uncertain voice, ”Mr. Chen, if I have the opportunity to leave the mountains and embark on a distant journey in the future, can I go to the Great Emblem Sword Sect to visit Mr. Liu?”

Xu Xingjiu appeared slightly embarrassed as he added, ”I’ve always greatly admired Mr. Liu.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, ”I can help you give some notice in advance, but I can’t guarantee that Liu Jinglong will definitely meet you.”

Xu Xingjiu’s eyes lit up, and he immediately stood up and bowed in gratitude.

”There’s one thing you need to remember,” Chen Ping’an continued. ”Make sure to bring a few pots of good wine when you go to the Great Emblem Sword Sect to visit Liu Jinglong in the future. If you’re truly able to meet him, you don’t need to say anything, and you simply need to down some wine to show your respect. Liu Jinglong likes to drink, but he’s generally not able to relax and indulge himself unless someone else takes the lead. Don’t believe him if he claims that he doesn’t drink. If that happens, then it’s definitely because you haven’t drunk enough yet.”

Xu Xingjiu sighed with emotion and remarked, ”So that’s how it is. I understand! Sure enough, Mr. Liu is exactly like the Terrestrial Flood Dragon that I imagined him to be! A sword immortal who’s willing to subdue others through reason is definitely a sincere and carefree person!”

”Without a doubt,” Chen Ping’an concurred with an earnest nod.

Chen Ping’an looked at the projection of Temper Mountain above the stone table, and with a flick of his sleeves, the bluestone plateau immediately expanded into the surroundings.

He and Xu Xingjiu were like two magnificent deities who were personally descending upon Temper Mountain and standing on the stone plateau.

However, the more important an area, the more restrictions it would naturally have. Moreover, the quality of the spirit tools being used as enchanted picture scrolls would also affect the quality of the viewing experience.

Chen Ping’an discovered that if his guess was correct, then his porcelain brush washer would only be able to show them an extremely zoomed-out view of the battle between Huang Xi and Xiu Niang. In fact, the two cultivators would only appear as large as small grains of rice.

Chen Ping’an had once asked Qi Jinglong whether the sword qi of great sword immortals could borrow these opportunities to surge forth tens of thousands of kilometers and kill those atop Temper Mountain.

Hearing this, Qi Jinglong had smiled and shaken his head, saying that those at the Immortal Tier might have a chance, but those at the Unpolished Jade Tier didn’t even need to dream about it. This was because the sword qi of sword cultivators depended heavily on sword intent, so they wouldn’t be as pure as the spiritual energy of immortal coins no matter what. In other words, this small ”impurity” would cause the fragile spirit tools hosting the enchanted picture scrolls to immediately shatter.

However, Qi Jinglong had also said that looking back at history, there were indeed some ancient mystical abilities and unorthodox techniques in the mountains that had allowed people to use enchanted picture scrolls as a medium, causing harm to those who had wanted to profit from streaming through the picture scrolls. Of course, cultivators who used these mystical abilities and unorthodox techniques needed to hide themselves very well, or else they would very easily become public enemies of an entire continent. For example, they might attract the attention of those lofty Immortal Tier cultivators or perhaps even those paramount Ascension Tier cultivators.

There were still roughly fifteen minutes until noon.

Chen Ping’an suddenly noticed a subtle ripple in the sky above Temper Mountain.

Shortly afterward, a person laughed heartily and asked, ”Where is that unparalleled Unpolished Jade Tier cultivator from the Jade Forest Sect?”

It wasn’t long before another ripple appeared above the projection of Temper Mountain, with someone else replying, ”What guidance does Senior have for me?”

The person who had spoken first evidently spent another immortal coin, saying with a chuckle, ”I regret giving birth to you.”

The Unpolished Jade Tier cultivator, the esteemed sect leader of the Jade Forest Sect, was truly someone with a good temper. Not only did he not insult the other person back, but he even spent another grain rain coin and said in a respectful voice, ”You jest, Senior.”

The two of them didn’t say anything else.

However, someone suddenly smiled faintly and asked, ”Have you made up your mind yet, Sect Leader He? If you don’t say anything, then I’ll take that as a yes.”

”That’s definitely Xu Xuan,” Xu Xingjiu said quietly.

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

Xu Xuan was the prized disciple of Bai Shang, the number one great sword immortal in the north. He was ranked second among the top ten young cultivators, even above Qi Jinglong.

A voice that was filled with vicissitudes sounded at this moment, exclaiming, ”Oh? Am I about to drink celebration wine for Xu Xuan and He Xiaoliang’s wedding? The two of them are a match made in heaven, so this old man will definitely drink the celebration wine.”

”I already have a Dao partner,” a woman revealed in a cold and aloof voice.

Her words stirred up a thousand waves.

”Congratulations, Sect Leader He.”

”Dare I ask, Sect Leader He, which esteemed person has become your Dao partner?”

”My Dao Heart is shattered, Celestial Maiden He. From today onward, the world is going to lose another deeply love-struck person.”

In the end, it was a remark from Xu Xuan that brought a halt to the rowdiness. ”That’s not an issue. You won’t have an immortal Dao partner once he dies.”

He Xiaoliang chuckled coldly and suggested, ”Why don’t the two of us agree on a time to do battle at Temper Mountain? If you dare to kill him, then I’ll dare to end the lineage of Bai Shang.”

Xu Xuan didn’t say anything else.

Xu Xingjiu sighed in pity and remarked, ”I didn’t expect a lofty immortal like Sect Leader He to actually have a Dao partner. I genuinely wonder which man is enjoying such good fortune.”

However, he suddenly noticed the slightly grim expression on Senior Sword Immortal Chen’s face.

Chen Ping’an lowered his head and drank a sip of wine, with his expression quickly returning to normal.

It was almost noon.

A ray of white light burst through the sky before hovering down onto the central region of Temper Mountain’s bluestone plateau.

On the perimeter of Temper Mountain, a woman wearing a veiled hat stepped onto the bluestone plateau with a long saber and a short sword by her waist.

Chen Ping’an adjusted the misty projection of Temper Mountain, trying his best to capture both cultivators who were involved in the battle. As for the clarity of their faces, this wasn’t important at all.

In reality, most Qi refiners spectating the battle through enchanted picture scrolls very likely wouldn’t be able to clearly see the exchanges between the two people. They were simply watching for entertainment. Indeed, many Middle Five Tier cultivators were destined to only see the two people a very small number of times. At most, they would only see the dazzling light show resulting from the offensive immortal treasures and powerful immortal techniques.

Thus, there was a popular saying in the mountains of the Northern Complete Reed Continent: If one wasn’t a Golden Core Tier earth immortal, then one didn’t need to dream about catching the intricate details of the battles taking place at Temper Mountain.

Regarding the background of Martial Arts Grandmaster Xiu Niang, especially the origin of her martial arts skills, not a single report or newspaper in the Northern Complete Reed Continent could explain it clearly.

Xu Xingjiu quickly started to celebrate his decision to visit Chen Ping’an’s residence rather than staying by his master’s side to spectate the battle at Temper Mountain. When spectating the battles at Temper Mountain with his master, Shen Zhenze would frequently adjust the angle of the projection as well, continually zooming out at the same time. Even so, he would still miss many critical exchanges of the battles.

In Xu Xingjiu’s eyes, his master’s control of the projection couldn’t compare to the precision displayed by Mr. Chen. Even though it was inevitable that they would still miss some key moments — Xiu Niang’s elusive movement and her powerful punches, as well as Vagrant Cultivator Huang Xi’s furious rain of immortal techniques and offensive immortal treasures — Xu Xingjiu discovered that this was his first time experiencing a battle at Temper Mountain in such a vivid manner. Each exchange was linked with the next, allowing him to roughly understand the flow of the battle.

Chen Ping’an was fully concentrated on the battle, continuing to change the angles of the projection as he watched.

The strength temporarily displayed by Xiu Niang was that of a genuine Far Roaming Tier martial artist. Her fists were extremely quick, and her physique was incredibly strong.

However, the female martial artist was yet to draw her saber or her sword.

As for whether or not she was a Mountain Summit Tier martial artist? They would wait and see.

Even though the appearances and ages of martial arts grandmasters wouldn’t be as difficult to distinguish as those of cultivators in the mountains, the higher the cultivation base of a pure martial artist and the faster their cultivation, the less of a direct relationship there would be between their appearance and their age.

This was presumably even more true for female martial artists, also possessing the ability to delay the aging of their appearance.

Huang Xi was an extremely young Nascent Tier cultivator, even a few years younger than Qi Jinglong. Indeed, the two prodigies ranked third and fourth on the list of top ten young cultivators were both yet to reach one hundred years old.

The existence of these cultivation prodigies put huge pressure on everyone else. Indeed, those Golden Core Tier earth immortals who were two hundred or three hundred years old would be made to feel like they had wasted a huge chunk of their lives.

The enchanted picture scroll suddenly became blurry, with the projection shaking in an unstable manner.

Chen Ping’an faltered upon seeing this.

Xu Xingjiu hurriedly tossed a few snowflake coins into the brush washer, causing the projection to immediately regain clarity and stability.

Chen Ping’an felt like streaming through enchanted picture scrolls was truly a brilliant way to make money with little effort and investment. However, if Downtrodden Mountain adopted this business tactic in the future, what would it rely on to make money? Perhaps Zhu Lian and Zheng Dafeng could become storytellers? Chen Ping’an was worried that the reputation of Downtrodden Mountain would take a huge beating. When its disciples left the mountains to train in the outside world in the future, perhaps the female disciples would be okay, but wouldn’t the male disciples all be treated like criminals?

Chen Ping’an was truly unable to think of any other avenue. Dragging Qi Jinglong to Downtrodden Mountain to work as a teacher for one or two Dao discussions? Having Old Cook Zhu Lian fire up his stove and cook up an entire table of scrumptious dishes? Or telling Pei Qian to perform her Deranged Demon Sword Techniques? Or perhaps asking Wei Bo to play Go with someone?

Chen Ping’an pushed aside these thoughts and continued to focus on the battle.

For some unknown reason, Xiu Niang and Huang Xi were in no hurry to battle to the death.

Xu Xingjiu was already becoming slightly dizzy from the action, and he quickly drank a sip of wine to suppress his astonishment.

Chen Ping’an remained unmoving like a mountain, continuing to adjust the projection above the brush washer the entire time.

Xu Xingjiu felt increasingly impressed by this.

”How long did the longest battle at Temper Mountain last?” Chen Ping’an asked.

”The longest battle in history was between an Unpolished Jade Tier sword immortal and an Immortal Tier cultivator, with one going all out to attack and the other going all out to defend. They were very evenly matched, and if I remember correctly, the battle lasted around a month or so,” Xu Xingjiu replied.

Chen Ping’an massaged his glabella upon hearing this. Just how many snowflake coins would it cost to watch such a battle until the end?

”There was another battle between two sword immortals that exhausted all of the spiritual energy in Temper Mountain in just one hour,” Xu Xingjiu continued. ”This issue couldn’t be rectified no matter how the spectating cultivators furiously tossed immortal coins into their enchanted picture scrolls, so as a result, only the residence atop a mountain near Temper Mountain could roughly spectate the remainder of the battle.

”However, it was said that the surging sword qi seeped out of Temper Mountain, forcing the Jade Forest Sect to activate its mountain and water formation to prevent its mountain from being damaged. This cost the Jade Forest Sect one hundred or so grain rain coins, and they even needed to borrow a further two hundred from other cultivators in the mountains, promising to repay this later and with interest. After experiencing this dangerous situation, the Jade Forest Sect now has three hundred grain rain coins permanently stored atop the mountain as a safety measure, not using these immortal coins for any other purpose.”

Spiritual energy coursed through Xu Xingjiu’s body as he suddenly stood up, planning to bid farewell and take his leave.

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, ”This is a good thing. You’ll be able to ascend the building and observe the vast sea once the cave abode door opens.”

Xu Xingjiu flew away on the wind. Cloudtop City had already prepared an area for him to break through to the Sea Observation Tier.

He had been on the verge of breaking through for the past few days, and all he had been waiting for was the right moment.

After Xu Xingjiu arrived, his master, Shen Zhenze, would naturally look after his safety as he broke through.

If Xu Xingjiu was quick, then three to five days would be enough. If he were slow, however, then it might take anywhere from two to three years. No one could say for sure, nor was it the case that being faster would be better. Similarly, it wasn’t the case that being slower would guarantee a more stable cultivation base. At the end of the day, this was all up to each person’s fated opportunities.

A gentle breeze rises from the body and its acupoints, seeing one’s true nature through the depths of the still water.

However, it was a shame that Chen Ping’an was still yet to come across such scenery.

He was a third tier Qi refiner, and he had encountered some small obstacles and taken many winding paths.

Chen Ping’an continued to spectate the battle.

Atop Temper Mountain, both Xiu Niang and Huang Xi were brimming with killing intent.

Even so, both of them were still feeling out each other’s abilities, clearly looking for an opportunity to end the battle with a single decisive strike.

Chen Ping’an had already spent several snowflake coins.

He drank a few sips of wine. He only ever picked up snacks from plates and bowls, and since when had he ever needed to toss money into porcelain wares instead?

These two people were being quite unkind to the spectators.