Unsheathed

The white snake’s body was thinner than that of the black snake, and its wings were even smaller relative to its body. Furthermore, they were transparent, so one could easily fail to spot them unless they were looking carefully.

It was remarkable to think that such a tiny pair of wings would be able to allow it to rise up into the sky from outside the plateau, so one had to speculate that perhaps it had attained some type of flight-related mystical ability, much like the type used by cultivators.

The white snake had reared up before pouncing at Zhu Lu, opening its cavernous mouth in an attempt to devour her whole, only for a blade-wielding young boy to suddenly spring up out of nowhere. He used the back and the head of the black snake as a ladder and a springboard, leaping up into the air before slashing his bushcraft blade right into the spot where the white snake’s wing was connected to its body.

The white snake needed its wings to fly and control the direction of its movement while in mid-air, so after its wing was severed, even though its body continued to fly forward due to momentum, it immediately swerved over 10 feet away from its original target. As a result, its cavernous mouth just barely glanced past Zhu Lu’s shoulder, and its entire body crashed heavily down onto the stone plateau.

Zhu Lu and the three children behind her had all survived a close brush with death, and while the white snake was still reeling from landing headfirst on the ground, Li Baoping hurriedly hoisted her bookcase onto her back as she yelled for everyone to run. Lin Shouyi picked up his belongings before rushing along behind her, while Li Huai was so terrified that his teeth were chattering.

After running away with the other two children for a while, Li Huai suddenly noticed that Zhu Lu wasn’t with him, and as he turned around to look for her, he was immediately stunned by what he saw. As it turned out, Zhu Lu was rooted to the spot in a daze, looking as if she were offering herself up as prey.

“What are you doing, Zhu Lu?! Run!” Li Huai yelled.

Zhu Lu shuddered slightly upon hearing this, and she finally returned to her senses a little, but she was still in a daze. She turned to look at Li Huai with a disoriented expression, while Li Huai continued to yell, “Run! Do you want to die?!”

As soon as Zhu Lu returned to her senses, she immediately displayed the speed and agility of a martial artist at the pinnacle of the second tier, rushing over to Li Huai and the others in just four or five steps, fleeing away from the white snake with them.

As soon as Zhu Lu fled the scene, the white snake immediately began to thrash violently from the agony of losing its wing, while blood flowed incessantly out of its wound. Its tail was whipping ferociously in an agonized frenzy, smashing into the plateau with such force that rock shards were sent flying in all directions.

If Zhu Lu had reacted any later than she did, then she would’ve most likely been smashed into a puddle of mincemeat by the white snake’s thrashing tail.

The loss of its wing seemed to have been a very severe injury for the white snake, and it continued to thrash around violently for a long time without settling down.

However, Chen Ping’an wasn’t in great condition, either. The web between the thumb and index finger of his blade-wielding left hand had completely split open, and his hand was covered in blood.

He knelt down on one knee as he raised an arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead so that it didn’t get into his eyes and blur his vision.

Half of the bushcraft blade had already snapped off, and if Chen Ping’an hadn’t reacted in time, hurriedly dodging his head to the side as the blade segment flew back through the air, he would’ve at least had a large chunk of flesh sliced off his face, if not completely impaled by the blade segment.

At this moment, Chen Ping’an was situated in a triangular formation with the black snake and the white snake. The black snake was behaving in a very cunning fashion. After witnessing the injury sustained by the white snake, it didn’t immediately abandon Zhu He to go after Chen Ping’an.

Instead, it became even more calm and collected than before, slowly and methodically swaying its upper body from side to side, maintaining direct opposition to Zhu He the entire time. At the same time, its sinister silver eyes were occasionally darting over to the white snake, and the look in those eyes was no different from the expression worn by the white snake as it gazed upon Zhu Lu.

Meanwhile, the old mountain lord was standing at the center of the plateau, quivering in fear. The snapped segment of the bushcraft blade just so happened to have plunged into the ground near his feet, and he approached it in a timid fashion, then crouched down before carefully running his finger over the blade. Despite his cautious approach, a bead of earthy yellow blood instantly flowed out of his finger, and he hurriedly pulled back his hand in fear.

He then gently flicked the side of the blade with his finger, and a perplexed look appeared on his face as he stroked his own beard while murmuring to himself, “What an incredibly sharp blade! It’s just an ordinary bushcraft blade, yet even the blades of martial artists that have been refined hundreds of times can’t compare with its sharpness.

“The only flaw to this blade is that it’s far too brittle. If its sturdiness could match its sharpness, then perhaps there really would be a chance for him to slay that beast, but as things are now, all hope is lost.”

The old mountain lord continued to carefully inspect the sleek lines of the blade as he mused, “The reason behind the sharpness of this blade has to be the whetstone that he used, but that then begs the question: how exceptional would the whetstone have to be to give such a cheap and crude bushcraft blade such a peerlessly sharp edge?”

With that in mind, the old mountain lord snuck a glance at the group’s belongings with a hint of greed and longing in his eyes. Logically speaking, that was where the whetstone had to be.

However, he then heaved a forlorn sigh. Even if he could get his hands on such an exceptional whetstone, it wouldn’t matter as he was going to be dead soon.

He could only curse that fifth tier martial artist for using that Soil Molding Technique out of the blue. This was a technique that had already been lost for countless years, and while hiding underground, the old mountain lord had been watching Zhu He with amusement and derision. Never did he think that this Soil Molding Technique would spell his downfall.

This Soil Molding Technique wasn’t actually a particularly advanced mystical technique, it was just that the old mountain lord had been caught off guard as the technique had only been used on one previous occasion to invite him out of his abode, and on that occasion, it had been used by none other than the pair of immortals who had used the mountain summit as a go board.

Of course, those two were a pair of unfathomably powerful terrestrial immortals, and as a mere fifth tier martial artist, Zhu He wasn’t even worthy of becoming their servant. At the time, the two immortals had only invited him to the mountain summit using the Soil Molding Technique as they didn’t want to break certain old traditions, not because they were worried about offending a lowly mountain lord like him.

It wasn’t that Chen Ping’an didn’t want to take advantage of this opportunity to put an end to the white snake’s life, the problem was that his internal organs were all churning violently, and he was powerless to do anything. As soon as he wiped the sweat from his face, a new layer would quickly emerge to replace it, so in the end, Chen Ping’an didn’t even bother with it anymore.

Instead, he began to focus on his breathing, doing his best to quell his chaotic and restless aura. This type of adjustment was like repairing a set of broken windows on a rainy day. It wasn’t particularly effective, but he could only do his best.

The sound of a beating drum rang out once again from his chest, and it was gradually becoming louder and louder. However, the sound wasn’t traveling into his ears. Instead, it was an indescribable sound that was resonating internally, clearly conveying to him the strain that his body was enduring.

This type of instinctive sensation was something that Chen Ping’an had experienced on only two previous occasions, the first of which was when he had experienced that gut-wrenching agony in Clay Vase Alley, while the second time was during another one of his trips into the mountains.

However, he wasn’t rolling around in pain on this occasion, and this was because of that fiery dragon-like aura within his body. It was rising upward from his abdomen, and as it rose up through his body, regardless of whether it was passing through the acupoints that he had seen on that wooden figure in Song Jixin’s house, or flowing through the meridians that connected all of the important points in his body, it was significantly reducing his pain, much like a general leading an army to quell a rebellion.

The effect was very pronounced, and it didn’t heal his injuries on the spot, but at the very least, it ensured that he wasn’t debilitated by his pain.

Even though Zhu He had sustained severe injuries, his aura was only further elevated, and his entire body was giving off unyielding battle intent. His sleeves were flapping audibly in the wind, and he was certainly living up to the image of a martial artist.

The black snake’s eyes narrowed slightly as it slithered around the edge of the plateau, and despite the formidable combat prowess displayed by Zhu He, it remained calm and composed. Its head was swaying dramatically from side to side, as if it were trying to search for a hole in Zhu He’s defence, but in doing so, it was giving Zhu He time to repress the effects of his injuries.

The mountain lord was looking on from the side, and after a moment of hesitation, he sighed in a feeble voice, “I advise you to cease your futile struggles. The serpent is in no hurry to eat you because it’s waiting for you to fully activate your qi and energy.

“It’s simply waiting for the fruit to ripen, so don’t go thinking that it’s powerless to defeat you. Otherwise, even if it can devour your body, it still won’t be able to digest your energy, essence, and spirit, and those are the most prized things that it desires.”

The old mountain lord heaved a forlorn sigh, then began to arrange his disheveled hair and clothes as he mused in a self-deprecating voice, “Even if I am to die here, I am still a mountain lord, so I should die with dignity.”

The old mountain lord sat on the ground, and while cleaning himself up, a cold smile appeared on his face as he said, “By the way, I forgot to mention this but in addition to its speed and its powerful body, this serpent devoured a Daoist cultivator of the Middle Five Tiers over a century ago. At this point, I’m sure it’s managed to attain at least one or two mystical abilities.

“Its mastery of those abilities may be quite rudimentary, but if it decides to use them, I doubt you’ll be able to survive. Ultimately, the only thing that you can blame is your own ill fortune. If you were a sixth tier martial artist, these two beasts would’ve been able to devour you nonetheless, but perhaps they wouldn’t have been willing to engage you in battle for fear of incurring severe injuries themselves.

“If you were a seventh tier martial artist, then these two would’ve stayed far out of your way, cowering in their caves as they prayed for you to leave Go Table Mountain as soon as possible.”

Zhu Lu was horrified to hear this, and she fell even deeper into the depths of despair.

“Where is Senior A’Liang?” Lin Shouyi murmured to himself.

All of a sudden, Li Huai noticed Li Baoping rummaging through her bookcase, and she pulled out a small porcelain vial before holding it tightly in her hand.

He followed the direction of her gaze to find Chen Ping’an nodding at them discreetly from afar, and he was suddenly feeling a little envious of the tactic understanding that Li Baoping had with her junior uncle.

In the books that he had read, this was described as a connection between two hearts.

Even after hearing this revelation from the old mountain lord, Zhu He wasn’t alarmed or fearful in the slightest. Instead, he flexed his wrists as he said with a carefree smile, “I’ll die if I allow myself to be eaten, and I’ll most likely still die even if I fight to the bitter end. If I’m going to die anyway, then why should I care if I’m going to serve as a stepping stone for this beast to evolve into a dragon following my death?”

As a fifth tier martial artist, Zhu He possessed an extremely resolute will. Even in the face of certain death, he displayed no fear or timidity, and his aura had already climbed to a peak. He had primed his body to its most optimal state, and all that was left was to make one final stand.

All of a sudden, the black snake did away with its casual and lackadaisical demeanor, as if it had confirmed that Zhu He had already tapped into the entirety of his latent potential. His souls and senses had all gathered in his acupoints, while his qi and blood were rapidly circulating throughout his entire body, essentially making him a ripe fruit that was waiting to be picked.

The black snake raised its head up high, and at the same time, it opened its mouth, gradually revealing a pair of ivory-colored fangs that were as thick as the arms of a strong young man. In contrast with the white snake, which would drool whenever it opened its mouth, the black snake was far cleaner and more refined.

Its oral cavity was entirely of a snowy white color, and bursts of glacial energy were spilling out from within. The stark contrast between black and white gave the snake an unrivaled sense of majesty and authority, and it looked much more like a mountain lord than the disheveled old man.

The black snake abruptly pounced once again, and this time, it was no longer rushing headfirst at Zhu He. Instead, it instantly opened its mouth up as wide as it would go, looking as if it were going to bite off Zhu He’s head, but in reality, that was nothing more than a feint. As it swooped at Zhu He, it released a cloud of extremely nauseating mist out of its mouth, and the mist appeared as if it possessed substance, shooting directly at the ground like an arrow.

Zhu He had grown up his entire life in the Li Clan, so he didn’t have much practical battle experience. Throughout his martial arts journey, he had mostly only ever sparred with the patriarch of the Li Clan, so this was his first-ever battle of life and death.

However, having already fallen prey to a sneak attack from the black snake, Zhu He was well aware of how snide and cunning it could be, so he immediately took evasive measures, refraining from taking its attack head-on.

Sure enough, as soon as the gust of glacial energy landed on the ground, it immediately shattered against the ground. Zhu He had only just moved several steps away when a fierce gust of wind swept toward him from the side. Once again, the snake had unleashed a sneak attack following a direct attack. Zhu He had already anticipated this, and instead of retreating, he darted directly forward, pouncing straight at the black snake’s abdomen.

In response, the black snake reared back and released one cloud of glacial mist out of its mouth after another, not to strike Zhu He down, but to impede him from advancing instead. At the same time, it was extending its tail to form an encirclement around the mountain summit, creating a cage that trapped Zhu He within, forcing him to face the black snake in direct battle.

The black snake’s body was so long that even after forming two layers of encirclement around Zhu He, it was still able to raise its tail, using it like a patrolling soldier to prevent Zhu He from springing out of the encirclement. Zhu He had already reacted quite quickly, attempting to escape as soon as the second layer of encirclement took shape, but he had only just sprung up into the air when the black snake’s tail came crashing down with devastating force.

Zhu He could only shield his head with his arms before he was slammed back down onto the plateau, and even though his internal organs remained unharmed, his qi was churning like boiling water, causing his face to become bright red. In order to protect their host from further injury, his souls and senses were forced to leave his meridians to seep into his skin and flesh.

A hint of triumph flashed through the black snake’s cold, silver eyes upon seeing this.

If Zhu He had only been a 70% cooked meal prior to this, then in his current state, he was 90% ready to be devoured.

Hence, the black snake didn’t waste any more time and energy, opening its cavernous mouth as it pounced down upon Zhu He once again.

In response, Zhu He lashed out with his fists while maneuvering in an agile manner within the makeshift arena formed by the black snake’s body. Azure energy was erupting out of his arms, and each punch of his swept up a gust of fierce wind.

Even though he was in a dire situation, Zhu He’s eyes remained as sharp and resolute as ever, and his energy, essence, and spirit were unprecedentedly abundant.

The old mountain lord was quite intrigued to see this. Even though he couldn’t see the battle that was taking place, he was able to roughly piece together what was happening, and he could tell that Zhu He had a great deal of potential for growth as a martial artist, it was just a pity that he was going to die here.

All of a sudden, he sprang up from the ground as if something had burned his backside, and he picked up the green bamboo cane from the ground, then yelled out to Zhu Lu and the others, “One of you, come over here! Any one of you will do, as long as it’s a child. Use your foot to stamp the 岳 character on the ground flat, and I’ll be freed from the restraints of the talisman. After that, I’ll be able to assist him in battle.

“We won’t be able to slay that foul beast, but at the very least, I’ll definitely be able to help him escape! Hurry!”

The old man’s urgent gaze was roaming over the faces of Zhu Lu and the others as he was speaking.

After hearing what the old mountain lord had to say, a cold sneer appeared on Lin Shouyi’s face, while Li Huai was just about to muster up his courage to do as the mountain lord instructed, only to be tugged back by Li Baoping.

The old mountain lord was astonished to see this, and he stomped his foot onto the ground in desperation as he howled, “You fools! Are you just going to watch him be killed by that serpent?! Have you all had your conscience eaten by dogs?!”

Finally, Zhu Lu was unable to hold back any longer, and she heeded the mountain lord’s call, rushing toward the talisman on the ground as quickly as she could.

In the distance, Chen Ping’an hurriedly yelled, “Don’t go, Zhu Lu! If you don’t help him, he’ll be stuck here with us, and perhaps he’ll be willing to fight alongside us. If you help him, he’ll be sure to run away, given how much of a coward he’s already shown himself to be! Besides, we still aren’t sure if he’s allied with those two snakes, so we can’t do as he says!

“From the very beginning, it seems like he’s been helping us this entire time, but if you actually think about it, he hasn’t done anything to help Uncle Zhu!”

Zhu Lu was unwilling to listen to Chen Ping’an’s words of reason, continuing to rush ahead in blind determination.

In the same instant that Chen Ping’an issued this warning to Zhu Lu, he had already begun rushing toward the mountain lord, and his speed wasn’t inferior to Zhu Lu’s in the slightest.

Barring any unforeseen mishaps, there was a good chance that he would be able to stop her.

The mountain lord’s brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this.

After having one of its wings severed, the white snake had quickly settled down after thrashing around for a while, looking as if it were a completely spent force that was unable to take any further part in the battle.

However, as Chen Ping’an was rushing at the old mountain lord, he passed by around a dozen meters away from the white snake’s head, and the white snake suddenly sprang forward without any warning to try and swallow Chen Ping’an whole, looking as vicious and energetic as ever, even though it had been laying feebly on the ground just a moment ago.

Chen Ping’an abruptly stopped in his tracks, then sprang back to evade the white snake’s attack before yelling, “Do you see that, Zhu Lu? This snake also wants you to destroy the 岳 character molded by Uncle Zhu! If you ask me, there’s a good chance that man has been working with these two snakes all along!”

Chen Ping’an’s vision was obstructed by the white snake’s body, so he couldn’t see what was happening up ahead.

Meanwhile, the white snake turned to look at Zhu Lu with a hint of panic in its eyes, only to quickly turn back to Chen Ping’an with a derisive look on its face.

In that instant, Chen Ping’an’s heart was immediately filled with frustration and despair.

As a result of his raging emotions, the fiery dragon that was passing through his acupoints suddenly slowed down and became far more timid and submissive, but Chen Ping’an was too fixated on what was happening before him to notice that change.

At this point, Zhu Lu’s mind was completely muddled, and tears were streaming down her face as she rushed over to the 岳 character before stomping it into the ground as she sobbed, “I have to save my father! None of you care about him because he’s not your father, but I have to save him!”

The ashes of the yellow talisman on the 岳 character were stomped into the dirt, and the 岳 character itself was also quickly flattened by Zhu Lu’s panicked stomping.

The old mountain lord stared blankly at Zhu Lu’s feet, and all of a sudden, a sinister cackle began to escape his lips.

He then raised his head, turning to the panicked Zhu Lu with a mocking sneer, and with a casual flick of his wrist, the green bamboo cane in his hand released a burst of green radiance. As the green light washed over his body, his wizened face began to rapidly rejuvenate, and he smiled as he nodded in approval. “What a good daughter you are!”

The old man then began to quickly grow taller, while his appearance became more and more youthful, and his joints and tendons began to elongate amid a string of cracks and pops. Before long, he had already reverted back to the form of a middle-aged man, and he threw his head back as he chortled to the heavens in elation.

In this new appearance, the mountain lord had become very handsome, and he turned to the white snake with a smile as he said, “According to our agreement, I’ll deal with that cowardly swordsman. As for everyone else, you can do with them as you please. Of course, going forward, we won’t be able to coexist the same way we have for the past several centuries.

“Rest assured, once I’m assigned to become the mountain god, I’ll promote you to the mountain lord, and I’ll also provide your partner with some assistance in his journey through the river to the sea. As long as we work together, all of us will thrive and prosper.”

After making this declaration to the white snake, the mountain lord turned to the dumbstruck Zhu Lu with a smile, then said, “Come to think of it, I really have to thank your father. At the very most, I would’ve only been able to recover my status as a mountain lord thanks to the assignment of mountain and river gods by the Great Li Empire, but your father was able to call out the name of the Master of Three Mountains and Nine Lords.

“That truly came as quite a shock to me, and essentially, he helped me recover the title of mountain lord that had previously been stripped away by those immortals. Truth be told, if he had molded the 嶽 character rather than the 岳 character, then perhaps I would already have become the mountain god of Go Table Mountain even without requiring an assignment from the Great Li Empire.”

The mountain lord was ecstatic as he slowly paced back and forth, waving a hand with a smile as he mused, “It’s alright, I’m already extremely pleased with what I’ve been given. Your father is a good person, and you are as well. Both of you are my benefactors, it’s just a pity that I’m unable to repay you for the massive kindness that you’ve bestowed upon me.”

Zhu Lu’s face had become deathly pale, and her lips were trembling as she murmured over and over again, “You lied to me… You lied to me…”

The mountain lord took a glance at the white snake, then continued, “Neither of us could’ve anticipated that you would have a wing severed here, so don’t expect me to compensate you. Right now, I have nothing to give you. The two of you have already exhausted all of the valuable resources within a radius of several hundred kilometers of Go Table Mountain, and I’ve been left with nothing. What a ridiculous state of affairs this is!”

The white snake nodded in a docile manner, and a fawning look appeared on its face as it gently shook its head from side to side.

The mountain lord waved his bamboo cane in a dismissive manner as he said, “I have no interest in all the trash that you’ve gathered over the years, and I’m willing to leave all our differences behind us and let bygones be bygones.”

He then inspected his surroundings before asking, “Where is that man that all of you refer to as A’Liang? Not only did he refuse to bow to the mountain, he dared to sit on my thrones, and he even convinced that man to downgrade the 嶽 character to the 岳 character…”

All of a sudden, the elation on the mountain lord’s face turned to agony and bewilderment, and he looked down to find an ordinary bamboo saber protruding out of his chest.

A man in a conical bamboo hat was standing beside him, but they were facing in opposite directions. The man released the hilt of the bamboo saber, then patted the mountain lord on the shoulder as he asked, “You called?”