Unsheathed

A’Liang had come in a hurry, and he had also left in a hurry. However, not only did Chen Ping’an not lose his respect for the badass A’Liang after seeing him being punched down by someone else, but he even felt like this version of A’Liang was especially handsome and dashing.

Even so, Chen Ping’an still couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. Even until today, he still hadn’t seen A’Liang draw his sword yet.

Chen Ping’an retracted his gaze and untied Jiang Hu, the Sword Nurturing Gourd, from his waist. After taking a small sip of wine, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion and say, “After throwing one million punches, I’ll need to shift my focus to practicing the sword.”

After tying his wine gourd back to his waist, Chen Ping’an was no longer as cautious as he was before. There was a wide smile on his face as he started to openly practice standing meditation.

There were the sword immortals who had flown over the small town on their flying swords, and they had soared through the sky and enjoyed the strong winds amid the clouds as they had journeyed afar and watched the ebbing and flowing tides. There was Patriarch Cui whose punches could move the earth and shake the mountains, and there was Wind Snow Temple’s Wei Jin whose sword had arrived before he had and unleashed a brilliant radiance between heaven and earth…

If these beautiful and glorious things were displayed by others, then one should attempt to emulate them after one got over their feeling of envy. In terms of whether one would succeed or not, this could be discussed after one put in sufficient effort.

This was a very simple concept.

The violent tremor caused many people on the Kun ship to become frightened and uneasy. Because of this, and because Chen Ping’an had still yet to return from the observation platform, Chun Shui became afraid that an accident might have occurred. Thus, she risked offending the esteemed guest and walked through the study to the door leading to the observation platform.

After arriving here, she discovered that the cultivator who was friends with the formal god of the Great Li Empire’s Northern Mountain had already vanished without a trace. Chun Shui couldn’t help but grumble in her mind. This person was truly mysterious and elusive.

When she saw Chen Ping’an cultivating, she silently turned around without saying anything. At the same time, she purposely walked quietly as she returned to the main hall.

Interrupting the cultivation of a Qi refiner or a pure martial artist was a huge taboo regardless of whether one was from the mountains or from outside the mountains.

When powerful Qi refiners entered seclusion, these would be incredibly important matters for an entire force. A hundred or so years ago, Ceremony Mountain had experienced a huge commotion related to this matter. A “young” elder at the ninth tier had entered seclusion in an attempt to advance to the 10th tier, yet it was at this moment that a mortal enemy had infiltrated Ceremony Mountain due to their carelessness. Of course, it could also be said that this was due to their enemy’s superior power.

In any case, the foundation of the elder’s Great Dao had been destroyed, meaning that he could only remain at the Golden Core Tier for the rest of his life. Not long after that, the mental state of the elder had decayed and eventually crumbled. He had initially enjoyed a wonderful reputation in Ceremony Mountain, yet after that incident, he had become incredibly violent and cruel. He would kill his concubines and maidservants on a whim, and he had even crippled his Sea Observation Tier disciple and almost shattered his bridge of immortality.

In the end, the disciplinary elder who had viewed this elder as her own child had been left with no option but to personally suppress him and confine him to the prison behind the mountains.

Afterward, the disciplinary elder who hadn’t left the mountains for a hundred years had made an astounding decision. She had gone to the ancestral hall of Ceremony Mountain and retrieved the sword of the founding ancestor. She had then left the mountains and charged into the sect of their mortal enemy, going on a killing spree and personally executing the cultivator who had ruined the young elder’s life. She had roared with laughter before returning to Ceremony Mountain. Within a year after returning, however, she had suddenly passed away.

Regarding this matter, the disciples of Ceremony Mountain only dared to discuss it in secret. This was especially the case regarding whether the disciplinary elder’s decision to exact revenge was worth it or not. However, even the immortal sects and clans outside of Ceremony Mountain admired and praised the disciplinary elder’s bold and heroic actions. They felt like she had displayed the might and demeanor of Ceremony Mountain’s founding ancestor. Afterward, these immortal sects and clans had shown increased goodwill toward Ceremony Mountain, which had already lost its title of sect.

Supervisor Ma, the person responsible for all matters pertaining to the premium rooms on the Kun ship, was a chubby old man who had jade rings of various colors on his fingers. He went around to all of the premium rooms and personally explained to the esteemed guests that the violent tremor hadn’t been caused by an enemy attack. Instead, the Kun had simply been acting mischievously in a rare one-in-100-year occurrence.

In terms of the guests in the other rooms, Ceremony Mountain couldn’t be bothered wasting its time to explain the situation to them.

Qiu Shi opened the door, and when Supervisor Ma heard that Chen Ping’an was cultivating on the observation deck, he smiled and told her to deliver the message afterward.

Before leaving, Supervisor Ma looked over the young girl’s slender shoulder and gazed at her more voluptuous sister, Chun Shui. She was shapely and graceful as she stood beside the table, and even from the front, he could still see the beautiful curves of her bottom. The old man reluctantly retracted his gaze and joked, “Qiu Shi, you need to eat more. Look at how skinny you are. It’s not good for young girls like you to be too skinny. If you can’t afford it, then don’t worry, Big Brother Ma can still spare this amount of money for you. There’s no need to be polite with me, and just ask if you need to, understand?”

Qiu Shi smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

After closing the door and sitting down beside her older sister, however, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes and grumble, “Damn old pervert. Having him look at me is like having a slug crawl over the back of my hand. It feels slimy and disgusting! And Big Brother Ma? Big Sister, I genuinely want to punch him blind!”

“You have a beautiful appearance, but you won’t allow others to look at you for even a second longer? How temperamental! Do you truly think you’re a celestial maiden from the immortal sects?” Chun Shui said in a gentle voice of amusement. “I wonder, are you close friends with Yellow Millet Pavilion’s Celestial Maiden Liu? Could you please introduce this lowly maidservant to her?”

Qiu Shi’s eyes widened upon hearing this, and she huffed, “Big Sister, how can you tease me like this?”

“This young master from the Great Li Empire’s Dragon Spring Prefecture is an easy-going person,” Chun Shui suddenly said.

Qiu Shi blinked her watery eyes and said, “What, you’re not thinking of genuinely offering yourself to him, are you? He’s only a young child, after all, so how can Big Sister like him?”

“What nonsense are you uttering?” Chun Shui said in exasperation.

Qiu Shi giggled and replied, “I know, I know, you like Ceremony Mountain’s Esteemed Immortal Han. Indeed, he’s the direct disciple of the mountain leader, and he’s also extremely talented and very handsome. Most importantly, he’s polite and amicable to everyone he comes across. He also made a huge name for himself during his two trips down the mountain to train. When we attended Ceremony Mountain’s celebration that’s held once every three years, the expression you had when you watched him sparring with someone from a distance… Tsk, tsk, your gaze was like a spring breeze that could melt snow…”

Chun Shui leaned forward, and her chest inadvertently formed a stunning curve as it pressed against the edge of the table. She reached over and gently slapped her younger sister’s forehead, saying, “You’re at the second tier, and I’m also at the second tier. Combined together, our cultivation tier is still lower than his. He reached the Abode Tier three years ago, and perhaps he will have already reached the Sea Observation Tier when we return this time.”

Qiu Shi smiled and grabbed her older sister’s hand. Mimicking the tone and demeanor of Supervisor Ma, she teased, “Oh, Miss Chun Shui, your dainty hands are truly pale, and your appearance is truly beautiful. The hands of other celestial maidens might not be as pretty as yours even if they don’t need to do housework all year round…”

One of her hands was being held by her younger sister, so Chun Shui raised her other hand to cover her mouth as she giggled.

The path of cultivation was difficult, but there were always happy things that could make one smile. For example, the twin sisters depended on each other, and they had enjoyed a relatively peaceful life ever since a young age. When they had free time, they could even secretly think about some lofty people and matters.

Chen Ping’an had already finished cultivating and walked to the door threshold leading to the main hall. After seeing this, however, he silently returned to the observation deck, unwilling to disturb this sweet moment.

His movements had been quiet and gentle the entire time, so the twin sisters hadn’t detected his presence at all.

Chen Ping’an decided to practice walking meditation on the observation deck.

He had set himself a goal to throw one million punches, and it wasn’t the case that any random punch would count. Instead, it would only count after he completed all six steps of walking meditation.

If he simply pursued speed, it couldn’t be said that he would complete the one million punches within a few days. However, if he relentlessly practiced for 12 hours every day during this trip down south, then combined with the punches he had accumulated while traveling to Great Sui Nation and back, he could reach one million punches in approximately two and a half years.

However, Chen Ping’an wasn’t pursuing speed. Instead, he was pursuing slowness and steadiness. This was because after breaking through the sixth stop of the Eighteen Stops technique that A’Liang had taught him, Chen Ping’an was now experiencing a completely different scenario compared to the first six stops. It was as if his Qi was a flowing river, slow but substantial. As such, Chen Ping’an couldn’t be careless. Moreover, the principle of “more haste less speed” was something that often appeared in the books, so Chen Ping’an naturally didn’t dare to ignore this.

If everything continued as normal, then it would be impossible for him to reach his target of one million punches before arriving at Stalactite Mountain.

This caused Chen Ping’an to feel slightly

He had initially wanted to achieve at least one thing before meeting her again.

Right now, Chen Ping’an was already fairly skilled at performing walking meditation. Even if he thought about other matters, he could still use these fist stances to temper his body and mind.

Practicing fist techniques was like reading.

The meaning of a book would become clear after one read it many times, and one’s writing would also be as if one were being assisted by the gods if one read countless books. Sure enough, the sagely principles in the books didn’t lie.

After resting for a short while, Chen Ping’an rested his arms on the deck railing and gazed into the distance. The sun was setting to the west, draping a golden robe over the sea of clouds. The golden light was dazzling and magnificent as it rippled over the clouds, and this was a sight that could relax one’s mind.

When the twin sisters had taken him for a tour around the room before, the sea of clouds had appeared like gigantic sheets of cotton in Chen Ping’an’s eyes. Moreover, it had appeared like two sheets of cotton between which the Kun ship traveled. Because of this, it had seemed as if the sky were close and the earth were also close. That had been a very interesting feeling.

Chen Ping’an slowly looked away. His room was the highest, and all of the remaining premium rooms were considerably lower than his. There were also some Qi refiners standing on the observation decks of these residences and enjoying the iridescent clouds of dusk. Inside the sturdy railings that lined the outside perimeter of the tall building, there were quite a few people taking walks, and children running around and playing under the supervision of their guardians. There was the sound of chatter and laughter.

Chen Ping’an saw the back of a figure, and with his current vision, he was able to clearly see the bag that was diagonally slung across the person’s back. There was also a wooden sword beneath the bag. The person was dressed in well-worn Daoist robes, and also had a wooden hairpin in his hair. The young man slowly turned to his side and gazed down at the land. He raised a hand to block the sun from his eyes, and his expression appeared slightly adrift.

Even though there was a formless barrier imperceptibly rippling and protecting the area on the Kun’s back, a gentle breeze could still make it through. The young Daoist priest had dry and cracked lips, and the passing breeze gently lifted his sideburns into the air.

He also had a wooden sword strapped to his back.

The young boy from Clay Vase Alley was staying in a premium room and standing on an observation deck above all others. When his maidservants chatted, they would talk about stories pertaining to immortals at the Upper Five Tiers. Beneath them was the smallest continent in the Majestic World, and it was very likely that the Qi refiners in the small forces — and especially itinerant cultivators and vagrant cultivators who were struggling like rootless duckweed in the mountains and marshes — would never learn of the names of the Upper Five Tiers, even until their death.

Meanwhile, the young Daoist priest from who-knows-where was silently standing in front of the railings on the lowest level of the Kun ship and counting his remaining money as he starved. He was determining whether he had enough money to take the Kun ship to Southern Stream Nation.

Chen Ping’an retreated a few steps and continued to practice his fist techniques.

His movements were natural, and his fist intent was plain but elegant.

Chen Ping’an continued to practice walking meditation on the observation deck all the way until late at night, when the moon shone bright and blanketed the radiance of the stars.