Unsheathed

Cao Jun looked at the pile of trinkets. It was as if they were a bunch of heavily armored infantry standing in formation and resolutely defending their general, Li Xisheng.

He noticed something special about them after a while, and he said in admiration, “You’re definitely very skilled at Go. Moreover, you’re definitely proficient at the School of Naturalists’ methods of divination.”

Li Xisheng was only a sixth tier Qi refiner, so unless he was the reincarnation of one of the founders of the three largest teachings, there was no way he should have been able to manipulate so many items at once. However, it was clear that the young scholar in azure was using another, more efficient technique. Each time he defended against the short sword’s strikes, he would first calculate the rough trajectory and target of the sword. Thus, apart from using some of his energy to keep the spring leaves, autumn wind, and other items hovering in mid-air, there was only a small region where he actually needed to focus the large majority of his spiritual energy.

This battle was like the defense of a city. Cao Jun was a powerful attacker, yet he didn’t have enough soldiers at his disposal. As a result, he could only focus on attacking a single side of the city. Meanwhile, even though Li Xisheng looked like he had a large number of soldiers stationed on each wall, the reality was that three walls would always be guarded by unusable soldiers. However, he simply needed to predict the future and accurately calculate the target of Cao Jun’s next attack. With this done, he appeared extremely relaxed as he defended against the swordsman’s attacks.

With a single thought, Cao Jun’s snow-white sword retreated from the battlefield and returned to his side. Cao Jun glanced down at it, and he saw that both the tip and blade of the sword were slightly burred from battle. It was more damaged than he had anticipated. Fortunately, White Fish’s sword intent rose slightly after the short sword was struck and tempered hundreds of times. At the end of the day, this was still a profitable exchange.

Cao Jun felt slightly conflicted at this moment. The emperor of the Great Li Empire indeed hadn’t dared to go against the hidden forces of the three teachings for the sake of Qi Jingchun. However, he would most likely be willing to enter conflict with the Cao Clan — which had already taken root and settled down in another continent — for the sake of a local Qi refiner who had hopes of advancing to the Upper Five Tiers.

This was a rare moment of hesitation for Cao Jun. He sheathed White Fish, and he wrapped his hand around the hilt of his other sword, Ink Chi[1], at the same time.

He purposely pretended to be angry, and he spat, “If you’re so capable, then stop hiding behind your defenses like a coward!”

Li Xisheng smiled and countered, “Do you even have the capability to hide behind defenses like a coward?”

Cao Jun was rendered speechless. He was once a prodigious swordsman who a powerful sword immortal of a continent had placed high hopes in, and what he had pursued was peerless intensity and unrivaled killing power. Thus, it was only natural that he neither had the time nor the interest in cultivating defensive abilities like Li Xisheng. The young scholar didn’t counterattack no matter how he was attacked or taunted, and he simply relied on his large pile of strange and wonderful trinkets to earnestly defend himself. He stubbornly refused to attack.

Someone had once compared sword cultivators to light cavalry. Both were as agile and swift as the wind, and flying swords were like crossbows in the sense that they were used for close-quarter combat and small-scale battles. It was often the case that one exchange would be enough to determine life and death. As for the destructive power of terrestrial sword immortals at the Upper Five Tiers, their flying swords could be compared to bed crossbows[2] on the battlefield. Even though they simply sat on top of city walls, they acted as a powerful deterrence to enemy forces.

Meanwhile, Militarian cultivators could be compared to heavy cavalry. If they were allowed to raise their energy and aura to the peak, then they would be analogous to heavy cavalry charging at the enemy. They possessed powerful offensive and defensive capabilities, and they were peerless when it came to breaking through enemy formations.

As for pure martial artists whom people often viewed as unable to attain Dao, they could only be compared to clumsy heavy infantry who possessed mediocre offensive abilities. Even if it were a grandmaster at the Far Roaming Tier, the eighth tier of martial arts, they would still be far inferior to Qi refiners. Grandmasters at this tier could already walk on wind, but if they couldn’t defeat their enemies while engaged in close-quarter combat, they would immediately be at a disadvantage once the battle dragged on and once their enemies increased the distance between them.

When Li Xisheng noticed Cao Jun falling silent, he raised a hand and made a gentle sweeping motion, causing some of the summer thunder and autumn wind in front of him to shift to the side and thus broadening his field of view. “Your sword hasn’t been able to state its reasonings and principles thoroughly enough,” he said.

In other words, he was willing to listen to the reasoning and principles of Ink Chi, Cao Jun’s other sword.

Cao Jun lightly massaged his cheeks and replied, “You speak in such an unpleasant manner. However, I admit that you have the right to do so. I have a suggestion for you, and you can consider it for a while. Why don’t we have a life-and-death battle where we each take responsibility for our own life or death? This will have nothing to do with our clan or country. What do you say? Do you dare to gamble with your life?”

Li Xisheng shook his head and said, “You can already tell that I’m not adept when it comes to offensive abilities. In other words, you’ve already been enjoying an indomitable position this entire time.”

The young scholar didn’t mind revealing the true extent of his abilities.

“Are you honest, or are you stupid?” Cao Jun asked in exasperation.

As he looked at the young scholar, he couldn’t help but recall the most impressive scholar in the Southern Whirl Continent, the current clan leader of the Pure Confucian Chen Clan.

According to rumors, the old man who had gained immense knowledge from reading had gentle breezes hidden in his sleeve. Not only that, but he carried the bright moon on one shoulder while holding the red sun on the other.

Cao Jun pushed these thoughts out of his mind and turned his head, only to see a small and bright red fox standing on its hind legs on the roof of some old house in Clay Vase Alley. The fox looked at Cao Jun and said, “The patriarch sent me over to tell you not to overdo things. If you’re killed by Ruan Qiong, he’ll simply find a random spot here to bury you. In any case, that can be considered a burial in your ancestral hometown.”

An expression of disdain appeared on Cao Jun’s face, and he said, “What? Can you repeat that again?!”

The little fox cleared its throat and instantly went from refined and cultured to fierce and evil. It placed its front paws on its hips and cursed, “That old bastard Cao Xi told me to tell his bastard grandson to hurry up and stop. Otherwise, if you annoy the blacksmith Ruan Qiong and end up being pulverized into minced meat, he won’t try to seek revenge for you. He has hundreds of descendants, so he doesn’t have time to help all of you. He also said it’s a shame you haven’t married that woman yet. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have told me to come here to say all this. Instead, it would have been best if you were smashed to death. That way, he could seize the opportunity to take your wife.”

Cao Jun’s expression became nonchalant, and he nodded and remarked, “That sounds about right. This is indeed the tone of that old bastard.”

Li Xisheng didn’t care about these things, and he said, “If we’re not fighting, then please move aside and let us pass.”

“Yes, yes, we’re not going to fight anymore. I can’t kill you, and you can’t kill me either. How boring.”

Cao Jun smiled and continued, “I’m going to head over to the blacksmith shop to take a peek and pay homage to the sage.”

He stomped his feet and directly soared into the sky. He then rapidly descended toward the blacksmith shop by the river.

As for the shitty rule that prohibited one from unauthorized flying in Dragon Spring Prefecture? Cao Jun genuinely couldn’t give two shits about this.

The result was a loud boom.

Cao Jun was instantly sent flying like a meteor. In the end, he finally managed to stop himself after a great struggle. However, he was already several hundred kilometers away. He had spun countless times in the sea of clouds, and after sitting down, he couldn’t stop himself from vomiting blood. He was as pale as a sheet, yet he didn’t show any signs of anger or frustration. Instead, his habitual smile returned to his face as he said, “Sure enough, none of the cultivators from Wind Snow Temple have a good temper. I wonder if the Divine Platform’s Wei Jin will give me a surprise?”

The bright red fox flew circles around Cao Jun and took great joy in his misfortune. “You’ve suffered the painful consequences, huh?”

“Well, I haven’t died or anything,” Cao Jun chuckled.

The fox clicked its tongue in wonder and remarked, “Your habit of bullying the weak and fearing the strong is just like Cao Xi.”

“If I don’t bully the weak and fear the strong, then should I bully the strong and fear the weak instead? Are you retarded?” Cao Jun said.

The fox didn’t pay any heed to this. It raised a paw to its chin and stood on its tippy-toes to gaze at the small town. “That strange sword billet that you weren’t able to snatch over—what was that all about?”

Cao Jun’s expression was dark as he replied, “You still have the face to ask about this? If it weren’t for you egging me on to kill him and snatch the treasure, I would have at most completed a fair trade with that young boy.”

The fiery red fox put on a stern expression and lectured, “People need to stay true to their hearts. However you are in the outside world is however you should continue to carry yourself in the small Dragon Spring Prefecture. The only difference is that there’s an 11th tier Militarian sage here. However, don’t you also have an 11th tier Sword Immortal following behind your ass? One of them enjoys favorable timing and geographical advantage, and one of them possesses a powerful divine weapon. Both of them are the most unreasonably powerful types of Qi refiners. However, they’re evenly matched, so if you’re able to witness a battle between them, perhaps you might even gain some enlightenment? So why not take advantage of this?”

Cao Jun chuckled coldly and replied, “With Cao Xi’s temperament, he’ll definitely take advantage of me tenfold if I dare to take advantage of him like this.”

The fiery red fox rubbed it in, and it repeated like it always did, “Then just let him bed your wife a few times in the future! What is there to be afraid of?”

Cao Jun didn’t reply, and the faint smile remained on his face as he looked at the fox. The young swordsman’s smile didn’t waver in the least.

The fox pretended to be surprised, and it exclaimed, “Woah, you’re actually angry this time? After goofing around for a hundred years, you actually have moments when you become serious as well?”

Cao Jun smiled faintly and replied, “Swatting mosquitoes and flies in my boredom, suddenly I develop the urge to exterminate all mosquitoes and flies.”

White Fish was drawn from its scabbard, unleashing a brilliant arc of light.

The head of the fiery red fox was sent flying into the air. However, not a single drop of blood was spilled.

Moreover, the head continued to speak, saying, “Oh dear, your sword is as slow as a turtle moving house. And you still call yourself a prodigious swordsman? How embarrassing!”

The headless body of the fox swaggered along the roof, making sure to exaggerate the swinging of its bum as it did so. It completely ignored the flying sword that was piercing through its body again and again. Meanwhile, the head flying through the sky continued to taunt, “Are you trying to tickle me with your sewing needle?”

Sword light exploded in the air, sending rays of blinding white light into the surroundings.

To say nothing of the fox’s body that was already in 17 or 18 pieces, even its head had already been hacked into eight separate slices. However, the flying sword faltered for a moment, and the fiery red fox instantly recovered to normal.

This cycle repeated itself again and again.

In the end, Cao Jun sighed and resheathed his sword.

The fox twisted its neck around and walked beside Cao Jun before sitting down. “Young man, how much you boast should be correlated to how powerful you are.”

Cao Jun nodded and replied, “That makes sense. I’ll listen to you.”

“Since that’s the case, then let me borrow your wife for a bit after you guys get married? In any case, she’s a female, and I’m a female as well. It’s difficult to say who will be taking advantage of whom.”

The fiery red fox started to stir trouble again, jeering, “Woah, the ninth tier swordsman who was the number one sword prodigy in our Southern Whirl Continent a hundred years ago is actually being this obedient today?”

As it turned out, the “young” Cao Jun was already over 100 years old. He pursed his lips as he gazed into the distance, and he completely ignored the incessant taunting from the fiery red fox.

————

Chen Ping’an quickly jogged up to Li Xisheng and asked in deep concern, “Are you okay?”

Li Xisheng smiled and replied, “That was my first fight, and my opponent turned out to be a swordsman. Truth be told, I was actually quite flustered. However, the outcome was fairly good.”

Chen Ping’an breathed a sigh of relief.

The silver ingot sword billet in his sleeve had already calmed down. After Cao Jun left, the sword billet was no longer searing hot and trembling.

The little boy in azure suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Chen Ping’an’s waist, yelling, “That was terrifying! Far too terrifying! Sure enough, I didn’t guess wrong. Just a random person walking along almost smashed me to death with a single punch! There’s no way I can stay in the small town, absolutely no way! Master, can you show some benevolence and allow me to fuck off back to Downtrodden Mountain to cultivate? I promise, I swear to the heavens, that I’ll definitely start to cultivate earnestly from today onward. I won’t rest regardless of whether it’s day or night, and to say nothing of feeding on iridescent clouds and dew, I’m even willing to eat grass and chew soil on Downtrodden Mountain! I’ll do it all!”

Li Xisheng couldn’t help but chuckle. “Cultivators like Cao Jun are ultimately a very small minority. Even though I’ve never left the small town before, I can say with confidence that few people with a cultivation base as high as Cao Jun have a temperament as strange as his. There’s no need for you to be so worried,” he hurriedly said in comfort.

However, the little boy in azure ignored Li Xisheng, and he continued to beg Chen Ping’an to show him some mercy. After Chen Ping’an pushed his head away, he firmly latched onto the young boy’s arm instead. He then leaned back, stubbornly refusing to let Chen Ping’an walk forward. “Master, please show some kindness! I’m begging you! If you want, I can even return an ordinary snake gall pebble to you! Please?! Master, it’s not like you don’t know that I’ve always been a scaredy-cat. In fact, even my legs tremble when I’m traveling at night. And just how long have we been in the small town? Yet, just a normal trip out, and we encounter bursts of sword qi chaotically slicing through the air! I’m genuinely terrified…”

Chen Ping’an had no option but to stop. “Do you remember the way back to Downtrodden Mountain?” he asked in exasperation.

The little boy in azure wiped snot and tears from his face, and he was finally willing to act meekly in a rare display. “Master, it’s already come to this, so I’ll obviously say that I remember even if I don’t!”

“Master, I remember the way back,” the little girl in pink said quietly.

Chen Ping’an thought for a moment before saying, “Then the two of you can return to Downtrodden Mountain first and temporarily stay in the bamboo building. However, you have to promise me that you won’t cause any trouble. After I finish dealing with the matters here, I’ll immediately head over to check on you guys. I’ll try to get things done as quickly as possible, and I’ll try to visit Downtrodden Mountain once before the new year.”

The little boy in azure bowed deeply and said, “Thank you, wise and magnificent Master!”

“Master, I’ll come back after taking him to Downtrodden Mountain,” the little girl in pink said quietly.

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “There’s no need. The bamboo building is suitable for cultivation, so you should stay with him in the mountain as well. Don’t be afraid of him. If he dares to break his promise and tries to secretly bully you, I’ll make sure to deal with him when we see each other again.”

The little boy in azure stomped his feet and exclaimed, “Master, silly girl, can’t you two show me a bit of trust? Am I the type of person to go back on my word? Who in the imperial court of Yellow Court Nation doesn’t know that the river god of the Imperial River has a trustworthy and reliable brother? If I promise to exterminate someone, I definitely won’t allow them to go free. If I promise to kill someone’s ancestors, I definitely won’t turn around to kill their descendants instead…”

Chen Ping’an chuckled and remarked, “Oh, so you’re this powerful, huh?”

The little boy in azure immediately turned around with a fake expression of embarrassment. He lightly waved a hand and said, “Master, I’m just boasting to muster some courage. Please don’t believe any of it.”

Chen Ping’an placed a hand on his head before extending his other hand and saying, “Hand it over.”

The little boy in azure was slightly confused, and he looked up and asked, “What?”

“Just then, you agreed to return an ordinary snake gall pebble to Master if he allowed you to return to Downtrodden Mountain,” the little girl in pink reminded him quietly.

The little boy in azure squeezed out a smile and begged, “Master, you’re mighty and wealthy, so please don’t be like this.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t retract his hand.

In the end, the little boy in azure could only retrieve the smallest snake gall pebble in his possession and obediently place it in Chen Ping’an’s hand.

Chen Ping’an handed the snake gall pebble to the little girl in pink and said with a smile, “When you guys arrive in Downtrodden Mountain, you can give this to him as a reward if he doesn’t bully you.”

The little girl in pink carefully put the snake gall pebble away.

The little boy in azure hurriedly grabbed the little girl’s elbow and said, “Let’s hurry up and go to Downtrodden Mountain! We should leave this place as soon as possible!”

However, the little boy came to a sudden stop immediately after turning the corner. Without needing him to say anything, the little girl in pink swiftly took out the small snake gall pebble and tossed it back to

After putting the snake gall pebble away, the little boy in azure nodded and chuckled, “Silly girl, are you tired? Do you want me to carry the bookcase for you?”

The little girl in pink vigorously shook her head.

The little boy in azure sighed and lamented, “You’re destined to a life of hard work. However, you’re lucky in the sense that you’re a stupid person who has stupidly good luck.”

The little girl in pink cracked a grin.

The little boy in azure straightened his back and puffed out his chest, announcing, “Let’s go! Lead the way! It’s time to return home!”

Since there was no need to go to Liu Xianyang’s house anymore, Chen Ping’an took Li Xisheng to the entrance of the small alley.

Li Xisheng stopped and hesitated for a moment before finally saying, “It might be too early to say this, but just treat this the same way as my annotations in those books. Just like how you shouldn’t think about them after reading them, you shouldn’t think about this either after I tell it to you.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and said, “Please go ahead, Brother Li.”

“Have you heard of the story ‘When a White Horse Is Not A Horse’[3] before?” Li Xisheng asked slowly.

Chen Ping’an scratched his head and replied, “Baoping and Li Huai once argued about this topic when traveling to Great Sui Nation. However, the more I listened to them, the more confused I became.”

Li Xisheng smiled and pondered for a moment before saying, “Then let’s not delve too deep into it first. Let me put it another way. If I have one grain of sand and I add to it another grain of sand, how many grains of sand do I have now?”

“Shouldn’t it be two?” Chen Ping’an asked in confusion.

Li Xisheng smiled and replied, “Of course. Then what if I add one pile of sand to another pile of sand? How many piles of sand do I have now?”

“Still one?” Chen Ping’an answered uncertainly.

Li Xisheng patted Chen Ping’an’s shoulder and explained, “It’s rumored that when the sages of the ancient past invented written language, ghosts and gods in heaven and earth were astonished and terrified to the point of shedding tears. This was naturally an immense act of merit. However, you need to understand one thing. There are times when written language can act as an invisible barrier that prevents us from recognizing the true nature of the world. Thus, one should not be pedantic and pay excessive attention to wording when reading a book. If you encounter a bottleneck, why not take a step back before ascending several steps upward? You should try your best to walk upward. If one doesn’t reach the peak of a mountain, then one will fail to appreciate the nature of flat terrain[4].”

Chen Ping’an was at a loss, and he could feel a headache starting to form. This was a similar feeling to when he had flipped through ‘Principles of Life for Children’ not long ago. Lost in confusion, he felt as if there were no path forward and no path back.

“Take it slowly; there’s no need to hurry,” Li Xisheng comforted.

“Mhm, I understand,” Chen Ping’an replied with a nod.

————

Now missing a sleeve, Li Xisheng returned by himself to his large residence on Fortune Street. All of the servants and maidservants in the residence felt slightly baffled when they saw their young master’s awkward and disheveled appearance. Their young master was already an adult, yet apart from accompanying his elders to visit the ancestral graves, he almost never left the residence. Now that he had finally headed out for a rare stroll, he had actually had some kind of rough encounter that left him in such a sorry state? Surely he couldn’t have fought with someone, right?

Li Xisheng returned to his courtyard and checked on the peacefully coexisting crab and mountain crossing carp first. He then changed into a new robe and entered “Humble Abode” to read for a while. Afterward, he went to a building that was always locked. After opening the lock and entering the building that was owned by him, what entered Li Xisheng’s gaze was a row of display shelves lined against the wall. However, these shelves didn’t have any antiques or ancient trinkets on them. Nor did they have any exquisite porcelain pieces that Dragon Spring Prefecture was renowned for. Instead, these shelves were filled with seals of varying sizes and materials.

Apart from these shelves that were filled with seals, the only other thing in the building was a desk and a chair. There were three unfinished seals on the desk, and they were respectively carved from wood, yellow jade, and bronze. There was a large box of exquisitely made carving blades on the table, and there were also several ancient books that were written on precious material.

Li Xisheng gently closed the door before walking over and sitting down behind the desk. The three seals on the desk were all missing a single character only. The bronze seal had the characters, “Vanquish the Heretical”, and it was missing the character “Teachings”. The yellow jade seal had the characters, “Heaven Overseeing Lord”, and it was missing the character “Dharma” in front of “Lord”[5]. The wooden seal had the characters “Qi Creates Life”, and it was missing the character “Azure” at the start.

Carving seals was the same as drawing talismans, and it was important that these things were completed in a single go.

However, Li Xisheng clearly wasn’t adhering to this principle.

Not only did he not pick up a carving knife to engrave the final characters, but he instead shut his eyes and started to nap. His breathing was calm and slow, like a murmuring stream that couldn’t be exhausted.

This was a small room, but it was much more than met the eye.

————

Chen Ping’an returned home, and he discovered that the locust wood sword on the table had imperceptibly tilted.

Even though he was stunned, he still sat down beside the table with a calm and unchanging expression.

1. Chi (螭) means either a hornless dragon or mountain demon. ☜

2. Ancient Chinese siege weapons similar to ballista. ☜

3. This is a paradox in Chinese philosophy attributed to Gongsun Long, a philosopher and writer who was a member of the School of Names. ☜

4. This refers to the notion that without ascending a mountain, there’s no point of comparison to drive home the point that flat terrain is indeed flat. ☜

5. The Heaven Overseeing Dharma Lord is a Daoist deity from the Zhengyi Sect. This deity is said to have Buddhist influences. ☜