Unsheathed

Drops of rain ferociously pitter-pattered down on the Dragon Whisker River.

A woman whose hair was as dense and lush as water grass was floating under the stone arch bridge and sobbing. She was thinking of her grandson. She suddenly recalled her pitiful fate of having half her godly body destroyed as well, and she became even sadder as she sobbed. Things were already so difficult so close to home, so what would the situation be like for her grandson who was far away in True Martial Mountain, a place filled with immortals and non-human creatures?

Not long ago, she had been happily patrolling the Dragon Whisker River every day. Borrowing the immortal’s power, and using shameless scare tactics, she had accumulated many valuable and not-so-valuable treasures after much difficulty. She dreamed about giving all of this to her grandson one day, so that he wouldn’t need to worry about money while he was cultivating.

Now, however, she was enduring immense pain. She had disintegrated half of her godly body at the river source, and this had caused her, a river guardian who was yet to obtain a river guardian temple, to genuinely understand the unpredictable nature of the Heavenly Dao and the difficulty of cultivation. For the past while, she had been hiding under the stone arch bridge and washing her face with tears every day.

The woman abruptly stopped sobbing, and she suppressed the shock in her mind as she rapidly swam to someplace near the banks. She obediently moved aside for her superior.

The woman naturally recognized the formal god of Iron Talisman River. Her name was Yang Hua, and it was very likely that she was the youngest high-ranking river god in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. Her golden hair was three meters long, and her face was concealed by armor. There was also a long sword in her arms, and her temper was as bad as could be. Countless passing spirits and creatures had died at her hands.

Dragon Whisker River was upstream of Iron Talisman River, so it naturally fell under the control of Iron Talisman River. As such, it was only right for Yang Hua to patrol Dragon Whisker River. However, Yang Hua had never visited the waterfall after being appointed to the position of river goddess. Today was the first time.

The river guardian had been called Ma Lanhua while still alive, but even after becoming a deity, she still remained as timid as before. She nervously lowered her head and offered a respectful greeting. When she looked up again, however, Yang Hua had already disappeared several kilometers into the distance.

The woman huffed in her mind. She felt like this young lady was far too unfriendly. Yang Hua was indeed her superior, yet to not even greet or acknowledge her subordinate? This was far too uncaring.

And thus, the woman started to float there and mope in self-pity again. She felt like she was being bullied.

In the end, the woman felt afraid that her grandson was also being ignored and treated like thin air by others. She held a hand to her heart, and she used her other hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. Then, like a carp swishing its tail, she quickly swam back to her residence in the river.

She took a few glances at her treasures and daydreamed about using them as betrothal gifts for her grandson in the future. Only when thinking about this would her mood improve a little, and only with this glimmer of hope would she feel a sense of anticipation for the future while suffering even after death.

————

A single-wheeled fortune-telling stall was parked outside the relay station. The young Daoist priest had yet to set up the stall, yet he was already observing the palm patterns of a relay station worker and telling his fortune. In the eyes of the other relay station petty officials, this was as comical as could be. One person was spewing bullshit, while one person was nodding like a chick pecking rice.

In the end, the young Daoist priest didn’t accept any copper coins from the relay station worker. In fact, the relay station worker hadn’t intended to pay the Daoist priest either. Fortunately, the young Daoist priest was a very tactful person, and he only asked for a bowl of hot water. He stood beside his stall and merrily glugged the water down.

The young Daoist priest wiped his mouth and waved goodbye to the relay station with a wide smile on his face. He pushed his cart and continued onward.

Someone at the relay station vigorously rubbed their eyes.

Huh? Why has a woman dressed up as a Daoist nun suddenly appeared behind that fortune-telling scammer?

“Junior Uncle, you said that you’re not the most impressive when it comes to fortune telling and playing Go. Then who’s the most impressive?” the beautiful Daoist nun asked in a soft and gentle voice.

Lu Chen, the young Daoist priest, smiled and replied, “Your genuine Junior Uncle and my Senior Brother. He’ll be better at Go than me in the future, and he’ll defeat that demon in White Emperor City. He’s also better at fortune telling than me, and he’ll… Ah, forget about it, let’s not talk about this. It will only hurt my feelings. In any case, Senior Brother has always been more impressive than me. For him, one plus one is still one, and plus another one is even more definitely one.”

The Daoist nun was none other than He Xiaoliang, whom Lu Chen had tricked over from Divine Edict Sect. She was the unsympathetic woman who had rejected Wind Snow Temple’s Wei Jin and left him heartbroken time and time again.

In fact, she had represented the Daoist orthodoxy of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent and come here as the Jade Girl before. Accompanied by the Golden Boy, the two of them had retrieved the subjugation treasure that their old ancestor had left in Jewel Small World.

When leaving, she had failed to bring Ma Kuxuan with her, but she had instead obtained a beautiful snake gall pebble. She couldn’t help this. Her fortune was far too immense, so much so that she was renowned for this in the continent. It was as if treasures and fated opportunities would chase after her no matter where she went. She couldn’t block them or keep them away even if she wanted to.

The Daoist nun was slightly hesitant at this moment.

She wanted to ask a question that even her junior uncle in Divine Edict Sect hadn’t been able to find a satisfactory answer to.

Why was the person standing beside her the true crux of the death trap that had led to Qi Jingchun’s demise?

What right did he have?!

One had to realize that Qi Jingchun had displayed an immense cultivation base back then. If it weren’t for the fact that he had been unwilling to cause Eastern Treasured Vial Continent to collapse into the sea, and unwilling to sacrifice the innocent lives in the small town, and if he had chosen to summon his two kindred characters to face his enemies with his full strength, could this mysterious young Daoist priest truly have been able to rival him? Could he have guaranteed Qi Jingchun’s death?!

Defeating a cultivator at the Upper Five Tiers and killing a cultivator at the Upper Five Tiers were two completely different concepts. Moreover, if a cultivator at the Upper Five Tiers knew that they were facing a certain death, they would be able to unleash unimaginably devastating destructive power.

This was unless an immortal one or two tiers higher exerted their full strength to control the situation, or if someone was able to summon a small world to act as a prison.

Indeed, why did Xie Shi dare to charge into the small town by himself? It was because of this very reason.

He, Xie Shi, could die in Dragon Spring County. However, the Great Li Empire needed to carefully consider the consequences first.

The same principle had applied when Li Er had charged into the imperial palace of Great Sui Nation back then.

Lu Chen had already worked out her question, and he replied with a faint smile, “The Dao that can be explained isn’t the universal Dao[1]. What does this mean? Characters and words can be used for speech. However, they’re nowhere near enough to explain the Great Dao. As for what I’m implying? Simple. I’m not going to answer the question that you want to ask.”

He Xiaoliang could only smile wryly.

This “junior uncle” had mysteriously appeared in the Divine Edict Sect, and had uttered many strange and peculiar things during their journey here. She had always been baffled by his words, and in the end, she had decided to give up and stop thinking about them altogether. If the young Daoist priest wanted to speak, then he would naturally ramble on without rest. Even if one blocked their ears and closed off their mind, his voice would still ring in their heart. If he didn’t want to speak, however, he could remain silent for 10 days or even half a month.

Lu Chen looked toward the small town and started to spew mysterious words again, saying, “Mortals are all envious of the good lives of gods and immortals. Are the lives of gods and immortals good? Naturally. However, why don’t you, Wei Bo, feel envious? Because you’ve never been a genuine god, huh?

“Examine your own conscience, and you’ll find the presence of guilt. If there’s guilt, then… Let’s take the character guilt — a ghost inside one’s heart[2]. Your future path toward the position of Heavenly Lord will be a fairly difficult one.

“Tsk, tsk, your grandson being bullied by other people? He can be considered kindhearted and benevolent if he doesn’t bully others. Hoho, he’s very impressive now! However, his character is far too unlikable. However, what can others do about this? A good destiny is a good destiny, after all.

“Say, this is indeed quite mysterious. They both walked out from this small town, and they’ve both returned at the same time now. Xie Shi has been an upright immortal his entire life, yet he’s going to do something against his conscience soon. Meanwhile, Cao Xi has been a bastard his entire life, yet he’s going to do something kind and virtuous soon.”

After saying all this, the young Daoist priest suddenly turned around to look at He Xiaoliang walking behind him. He smiled and asked, “Can you hear the thoughts of the mortal people?”

“Only 10th tier Qi refiners can vaguely hear the thoughts of mortal people, so how can I possibly do this with my cultivation base?” He Xiaoliang replied helplessly.

“Oh, then you do indeed need to cultivate more earnestly,” Lu Chen remarked.

He Xiaoliang could only smile wryly.

The young Daoist priest felt like he could expand on this, so he cleared his throat and started to ramble again, not caring at all whether He Xiaoliang was interested in his explanations or not. “Let me tell you, this kind of thing is very mysterious, yet it’s also not mysterious at the same time. One type of situation is where one’s sincerity reaches a pinnacle state. As the saying goes, one’s sincerity can move the heavens and crack apart gold[3]. Thus, the sages also said that only essence and sincerity can move a person. At some point in time, mortals will also be able to attract the attention of gods and immortals.

“Another type of situation is naturally when one’s cultivation base reaches a great height, or if one is supremely talented. If that’s the case, then the volume of their thoughts will naturally be louder and clearer. For example, you don’t want to listen to me, but I want to speak to you, so you have no option but to listen.

“However, I feel like this has got nothing to do with my cultivation base. Rather, this is because of my utmost sincerity. What do you say?”

He Xiaoliang wasn’t one to speak obsequiously, so she replied, “I say this is because of Junior Uncle’s profound Dao power.”

Lu Chen was slightly disappointed, and he didn’t want to speak anymore.

When Li Xisheng had directly uttered the words “Bai Ze” while entering the mountains, Master Bai had immediately heard his call despite being far away on the western seashore of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. However, even if his student, Cui Ci, cursed Bai Ze 100 times, Bai Ze wouldn’t hear him at all. To be more precise, Bai Ze wouldn’t care even if he heard. Of course, on the off chance Bai Ze decided to hear him, Cui Ci would definitely die a violent death for no apparent reason.

These kinds of impressive prodigies were like stars that shone brightly in the sky. Thus, they were naturally more able to attract one’s attention. Qi refiners at the 10th tier were often referred to as “sages” by mortal people, and some of these Qi refiners hid themselves as if they were thousand-year-old bastard turtles. In reality, however, some profoundly powerful beings could see through these people even more easily than they could see through ordinary mortals.

Of course, when immortal beings observed mountains and rivers through their palms, hiding their hands inside their sleeves wouldn’t be so easy anymore. Nations and empires naturally had invisible barriers around them to obstruct the unwanted gazes of other people. The so-called barriers of small worlds and blessed lands were also derived from this notion. If one wanted to observe a small world through the barrier of a world, then one’s cultivation base genuinely needed to be as lofty as the heavens.

To the south of the small town, the sound of steel smashing against steel occasionally reverberated across the heavens. This was an incredibly imposing sound, yet mortal people were surprisingly unaware of this. To Qi refiners, however, this was a fairly big commotion. In reality, the sound of Ruan Qiong forging iron in the sword furnace boomed like relentless and deafening thunder in the ears of the demons in the surroundings.

The spirits and demons who had taken a gamble were all forced to revert to their true form. Their sea of Qi shuddered violently, and they suffered unbearable pain that was even more torturous than death. Many of them descended into madness. Afterward, the well-prepared Qi refiners and pure martial artists from the Great Li Empire combined forces to subdue these spirits and demons before tossing them into the mountains. Their actions were undoubtedly benevolent acts of saving lives.

At the same time, everyone couldn’t help but sigh with emotion when they saw the phenomenon caused by Ruan Qiong forging the sword. A sage was a sage, after all.

However, He Xiaoliang was slightly astonished, and she asked, “The sword is already nearing completion, so why is there still so much commotion? Even the mountains and rivers inside the small world are shaking slightly as a result. Perhaps the quality of this sword is so high that it will gain renown throughout the world?”

Lu Chen smiled and didn’t offer a response.

Sages also had their own deals to make.

Anyhow, since Qi Jingchun had already reached an agreement with his teacher, he definitely wouldn’t interfere in this matter anymore.

This was to show respect to his teacher, and it was more importantly to express deep respect toward that Confucian scholar.

Thinking back to the past…

Fortune Teller Lu Chen had stood with his back facing the private school and performed divinations for people.

Behind him, a Confucian sage had taught in the private school and imparted knowledge to young students.

As for why Qi Jingchun had to die?

This pertained to a profound Great Dao.

While overseeing Jewel Small World, Qi Jingchun had studied all of the scriptures of the three teachings.

Moreover, Qi Jingchun was regarded as impressive enough to found his own teaching. What teaching would this be?

No matter what, his thoughts had aligned with that of a certain other person’s, so as that person’s disciple, Lu Chen had been left with no option but to come here personally.

Lu Chen gazed up at the sky.

A scholar had once sat there and fought against immortals from the three teachings by himself.

Even though Lu Chen admired and respected that Confucian scholar…

… He had still acted against his conscience and did what he had to do.

Afterward, he had gone with the flow and roughly figured out Qi Jingchun’s genuine trump card. Thus, he had given four characters to that young boy, saying that this was for handwriting practice. This was indeed true. However, the most significant purpose of giving the young boy those four characters was in the hopes that he could figure out the most critical move while the young boy was copying those characters. This was purely the curiosity of a Go master.

Strangely, however, the young boy had only given Lu Chen a single chance.

Moreover, Lu Chen hadn’t been able to figure out very much.

Lu Chen wasn’t worried about this, especially since the outcome was already a foregone conclusion. He genuinely wouldn’t take advantage of Qi Jingchun’s death to beat others while they were down.

The young Daoist priest had once smiled at the young boy and said, “Something might look like a kind deed performed with good intentions, but it isn’t necessarily the case that the person is good and the deed is kind.”

There was deep meaning behind these words. He was referring to the four characters contained within those three sheets of medicinal ingredients, and he was also referring to the stick of tanghulu that had been the culmination of a long-planned scheme.

Lu Chen released the handles of the single-wheeled cart and stretched his body lazily. He smiled and said, “If there is no worry in my heart… What’s the next line again?”

“All four seasons in the world will be pretty[4],” the young Daoist nun replied with a faint smile.

1. The first line of Laozi’s Dao De Jing. ☜

2. The character for guilt (愧) has a heart radical (心) on the left and a ghost component (鬼) on the right. As such, it can be interpreted as “having a ghost in one’s heart”, which is a phrase that means feeling guilt in Chinese. ☜

3. An idiom from the ‘Book of the Later Han’. ☜

4. A line from Wumen Huikai’s poem, ‘Ode to the Balanced Mind Being Dao’. (Spring brings blooming flowers, and Autumn brings the full moon; Summer brings a cool breeze, and Winter brings the white snow. If there is no worry in my heart, all four seasons in the world will be pretty.) Wumen Huikai was a Chan (zen) master from the Song Dynasty. This poem tells us that only by having a balanced mind can one appreciate the beauty of life. ☜