Unsheathed

Zhang Shan watched as the two scholars returned to the opposite room, then stood in the corridor as he extended a hand forward to catch a small handful of rain. After inspecting the rain for a while, he let it fall onto the ground before returning to the room and closing the door.

He then pulled out an ordinary yellow paper talisman with his dry hand as he said, “There really is something not right about this place. The rainwater is particularly heavy and cold, which indicates that it’s very likely to be harboring sinister energies. This talisman of mine is called an evil-incinerating talisman. It’s very ordinary, but extremely prevalently used as it can detect the presence of sinister energies.”

Zhang Shan held the talisman between two of his fingers as he silently recited an incantation, then abruptly stuck it to the remaining moisture in the palm of his other hand, and the talisman instantly ignited upon contact, then quickly burned to ashes. A grim look appeared on Zhang Shan’s face upon seeing this, and he scraped the ashes into the brazier.

“How much did that talisman cost?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Zhang Shan wasn’t surprised by this question at all, and he replied with a serious expression, “These types of spirit talismans are considered to be illegitimate, much like informal officials in the imperial court. Hence, they’re very cheap.

“All they cost to make is a sheet of yellow paper and the time and ink required for a Qi refiner of the Lower Five Tiers to inscribe the talisman. A single snowflake coin can purchase over 30 of these evil incinerating talismans, so it only works out to be around three taels of silver per talisman.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

When it came to talismans, he had once witnessed the effects of the barrier-shattering talisman. At the time, everyone had been fooled by the female ghost in the red wedding dress, and they were being led down to the Underworld, thereby placing them in a very perilous situation. Thankfully, Lin Shouyi had been able to guide everyone to safety using a barrier-shattering talisman that fell into the category of mountain and water talismans.

After that, in the bamboo building on Downtrodden Mountain, Li Xisheng had made some inscription talismans on the walls of the building. This was only something that could be accomplished by a cultivator of a lofty cultivation base and advanced talismanic mastery.

In the end, he had bestowed upon Chen Ping’an an elementary book about Daoist talismans, as well as a large stack of talisman papers of different materials. Of course, there was also that Wind and Snow Awl that would allow Chen Ping’an to draw talismans even without the need for red ink.

After carefully reading through the Authentic Death-Avoiding Book several times, he was able to learn five or six of the simplest talismans recorded in the book.

According to the book, talismans were split up into nine grades, with Qi refiners of the Upper Five Tiers inscribing talismans for the first, second, and third grades, otherwise known as the Upper Three Grades, cultivators of the Middle Five Tiers inscribed talismans of the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, also known as the Middle Three Grades, and cultivators of the Lower Five Tiers inscribed seventh, eighth, and ninth grade talismans, or talismans of the Lower Three Grades.

Chen Ping’an wasn’t a Qi refiner, but he was able to use his Eighteen Stops Qi channeling technique to inscribe some of the elementary talismans recorded in the Authentic Death-Avoiding Book. As for talismans above that level, they were out of Chen Ping’an’s reach for the moment.

Li Xisheng had once told him that inscribing talismans was much like sword practice. As the saying went, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Instead of teaching Chen Ping’an how to inscribe certain talismans, he had given Chen Ping’an this book so that he could learn for himself.

However, during his southbound journey, Chen Ping’an had still prioritized his fist technique practice above all else, and as a result, he was only able to inscribe three types of talismans during his free time: the land-shortening talisman, the Yang energy illumination talisman, and the treasure pagoda demon-suppressing talisman. He had inscribed two or three of each type of talisman in the event of unforeseen mishaps.

The land-shortening talisman could drastically shorten the land, allowing Chen Ping’an to reach any spot within a radius of 100 feet in just a single step. The Yang energy illumination talisman was a type of barrier-shattering talisman, and if he were to encounter another “ghost hitting the wall” situation in the ruins of ancient battlefields, unmarked burial grounds, or other similar places, he would be able to follow the Yang energy illumination talisman to safety.

As for the treasure pagoda demon-suppressing talisman, this was a more offensive type of talisman that could summon a treasured pagoda to temporarily trap an evil entity, and the pagoda would also lash the soul of said evil entity with the power of lightning.

All three of these talismans were among the most ordinary ones recorded in the Authentic Death-Avoiding Book, and they were only included in the book at all as they were referenced as classic examples of certain talismanic branches.

Zhang Shan’s alcohol tolerance was rather lackluster, and he was feeling rather drowsy after having some wine to drink. Having been pelted by the heavy storm earlier, he was already quite exhausted, and he was reassured by the thought of having Chen Ping’an on lookout duty through the night, so he quickly fell asleep.

Chen Ping’an was very familiar with nightly lookout duty, and he sat on his own while taking small sips of wine. All of a sudden, he abruptly turned toward the corner of the room, where the oil paper umbrella was propped up against the wall.

Initially, the umbrella had been carried by the scholar with the Liu surname, but after entering the estate, it had been carried instead by the scholar with the Chu surname.

At this moment, the umbrella was propped up against the wall with its tip on the ground and its handle facing upward, but there wasn’t any water on the ground beneath it, and that was clearly not normal.

Furthermore, Chen Ping’an could sense a cold aura in the air that sent chills running down his spine.

Hence, he rose to his feet, pretending to stumble a little as if he were drunk, and as he walked across the room, he grumbled to himself under his breath, “Which one of those geniuses put the umbrella here upside-down like this? If I did something like this back home, my elders would’ve made sure that I copped an earful…”

After making his way over to the corner of the room, Chen Ping’an pretended to hiccup as he reached out to grab the handle of the umbrella, as if he intended to tip it the right side up, but right as he reached out, a talisman slipped out of his sleeve, and a sharp and piercing look appeared in his eyes as he did away with his drunken facade.

He reached out like lightning to catch the yellow paper talisman between two of his fingers, and it was none other than a treasure pagoda demon-suppressing talisman. He then slapped the talisman against the handle of the umbrella, and a treasured pagoda projection emerged to encompass the entire umbrella, which immediately began to warp while giving off a sizzling sound akin to that of water being thrown over a hot pan.

The light radiating from the treasured pagoda quickly dimmed, following which the pagoda itself faded away.

Chen Ping’an was worried that the talismans he had inscribed were too mediocre in quality, so to ensure that whatever sinister force was inside the umbrella was successfully eradicated, he pulled out the other two treasure pagoda demon-suppressing talismans that he had inscribed and quicklty stuck them to the oil paper umbrella as well.

Immediately thereafter, his formidable fist intent erupted out of his body, and he unleashed a relentless barrage of one-inch punches upon the three demon-suppressing talismans, with every single one of his punches packing formidable explosive power. His fist aura wasn’t damaging the umbrella at all, but his powerful fist intent had all seeped into the umbrella.

This was the disparity between an ordinary third tier martial artist and one that had been taught by Cui Chan’s grandfather. The difference was truly night and day.

After doing all of that, Chen Ping’an stood in an alert and ready stance while gripping tightly onto his Sword Nurturing Gourd, ready to unleash First and Fifteenth at a moment’s notice.

However, the umbrella merely shuddered for a short while before a plume of rank black smoke rose up from it, and nothing else happened after the black smoke dissipated.

Chen Ping’an was a little dumbstruck by how quickly and easily the crisis had been averted.

Did this oil-paper umbrella really not have anything more to offer?

For example, perhaps a fearsome sinister entity was supposed to have erupted out of the black smoke with a thunderous roar.

Chen Ping’an could still clearly recall the encounter with the female ghost in the red wedding dress on that winding mountain path. On that occasion, it had been completely dominant, and even the blind monk who was skilled in lightning techniques had been no match for her.

If it weren’t for Wei Jin resolving the crisis with a single slash of his sword, Chen Ping’an would’ve most likely been forced to use up the two wisps of sword qi in his body, and that would’ve deprived him of the opportunity to engage in that later showdown against Cui Chan at the well.

Chen Ping’an crouched down as he stared blankly at the oil paper umbrella, and after taking a sip of wine, he reached out to rustle the umbrella a few times, only to be greeted by the sound of falling ashes.

He continued to remain in a crouched position, scratching his head while drinking wine with a rather empty feeling in his heart. Having grown accustomed to the hellish training that he had endured every single day in the bamboo building on Downtrodden Mountain, this had been far too easy in comparison. It was like… someone who was accustomed to drinking hard liquor being forced to drink water.

However, he then began to console himself. Regardless of whether the oil paper umbrella had something to do with one of the scholars, or if that sinister entity had only concealed itself within the umbrella after they had entered the estate, that thing had most definitely only been a lackey that had been sent out to test the water. Hence, he couldn’t afford to grow complacent.

With that in mind, he rose to his feet, then sat down beside the table and pulled out his Wind and Snow Awl from his pocket treasure, using it to inscribe a talisman under the light of the lamp. The talisman was still the same treasure pagoda demon-suppressing talisman, but this time, he was using a sheet of golden talisman paper rather than yellow paper talisman.

After completing a talisman, Chen Ping’an habitually picked up his wine flagon and took a large swig of wine. He then took a small break to settle his aura, and only after that did he dare to begin inscribing another talisman.

In the dark and stormy night, the Wind and Snow Awl was flying over the page with flair and gusto in the hands of the slightly inebriated Chen Ping’an.

Beside him was the Sword Nurturing Gourd and the wooden box that contained Subduing Demons and Eliminating Fiends, and of course, Zhang Shan was snoring away on the bed.

————

The darkness of the night was only punctuated occasionally by flashes of lightning, and on a small hill not far away from the estate, a middle-aged Daoist priest was holding a fly whisk. There was a dark look on his face, and he spread his hand open to reveal an antiquated copper coin, which suddenly shattered under his gaze.

The Daoist priest’s expression darkened even further, and there was a clear pained look in his eyes, but he put on a casual and nonchalant facade as he discarded the coin, then harrumphed coldly to himself, “The longer those two filthy creatures keep up their futile resistance, the more punishment they’ll be piling on themselves!”

Standing beside the middle-aged Daoist priest was a tall and imposing man with large eyes and bushy eyebrows. He was severely underdressed in this terrible weather, but didn’t seem to have been bothered at all by the heavy rain. An occasional hint of golden light would flash through his eyes, and there was a fist-sized seal box hanging from his waist.

He was beginning to grow a little impatient and disgruntled at the Daoist priest’s failed attempt at making a move, and a cold smile appeared on his face as he said, “If we still have to barge in there by force, then I’m not going to accept a 50:50 split anymore!”

The Daoist priest didn’t want to argue over this matter, so he dodged the subject as he asked, “Who is that man who entered the estate earlier, and why did he just so happen to visit on this night?”

A mocking sneer appeared on the tall man’s face as he replied, “I heard that a wandering hero came to our Colorful Garment Nation at the end of last year, and he earned quite a reputation for himself by slaying a few mediocre spirits with that saber of his. If my observation is correct, then he’s only a fourth tier martial artist at the very most.

“If we were elsewhere, perhaps I would have to be a little wary of him, but we’re on my territory right now, so he’s completely at my mercy. When the time comes, we’ll just have to take care of him as well. You can take his body and make it into a puppet or do whatever with it that you please, but I’m taking that saber.”

The middle-aged Daoist priest swept his fly whisk through the air, and a cloud of mist rose up from his entire body as his rain-soaked Daoist robes were instantly dried.

He then said with a smile, “Alright, you have yourself a deal.”

The tall man hesitated momentarily, then asked, “Are you sure that the backer of the owner of this estate has already fallen from grace in the Divine Edict Sect?”

The middle-aged Daoist priest nodded in response as he jeered, “Aren’t you supposed to be a mountain god? You seem awfully out of the loop.”

A dark look appeared on the tall man’s face as he spat through gritted teeth, “It’s all because of that estate! It contains some secret formation from Divine Edict Sect that slowly devoured all of the spiritual energy in the area.

“As a result, my godly body has been gradually eroded during this past century, and no one even regards me as a mountain god any more! In fact, I’m not even treated with the same level of respect as mountain lords elsewhere! I won’t be able to rest at night until I exact vengeance against them!”

The Daoist priest nodded in response before offering up some words of consolation.

The mountain god temple in this area was the place where the man’s godly body was revered, and it was an illegal temple that hadn’t been officially appointed by Colorful Garment Nation imperial court to begin with. On top of that, the area was riddled with unmarked graves, resulting in a vast abundance of sinister energies.

After the tall man became the mountain god, he accelerated the process of the natural environment’s decay for the sake of his own cultivation base. As the eye of the formation, the estate only drew upon sinister energies and left the natural spiritual energy of the area completely untouched, so it was actually serving to maintain balance, but there was no point in discussing such matters.

The middle-aged Daoist priest who had deviated onto devilish paths and the equally deplorable mountain god were both aware that neither of them were saints.

“I’m doing this to reclaim my territory, while you want to take that female ghost’s body to use as your puppet, so our objectives are clear, but what does that guy want? Could it be that there’s some secret precious treasure in this estate that we don’t know about?” the tall man suddenly asked.

“I’m not sure,” the Daoist priest chuckled in response. “How about we ask him together?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” the tall man replied with a knowing smile.

The Daoist priest inspected his surroundings to find a series of bleak and desolate mountains with extremely sparse vegetation, and he knew that what little vegetation was present here only existed thanks to that female ghost.

That female ghost’s fate and personality were both very rare, and that was why the Daoist priest had become increasingly more eager to claim her upon arriving here.

————

In the second section of the estate, the light in the room had already been snuffed out, indicating that the two scholars had already gone to bed, yet the lamp in Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shan’s room was still lit.

Before the old woman had a chance to knock on the door, the man who had just arrived in the estate had already caught a whiff of the wine in the room, and he immediately began pounding on the door as he yelled, “Do you have some wine that you can spare? I’d do just about anything for a drink right now!”

The old woman made no effort to stop him, merely remarking, “Sort out who’s staying in which room by yourselves.”

Chen Ping’an replaced the stopper on his wine gourd, then opened the door to find a man with a rugged appearance standing outside.

The man took a glance at Chen Ping’an, then said in a casual manner, “Are you also a martial artist, kid? I can tell from the way that you walk and breathe. Have you reached the second tier yet?”

Chen Ping’an smiled as he replied, “I’ve been studying martial arts from my seniors from a young age, and this is my first time exploring the world on my own, so I still don’t know the distinction between tiers yet.”

Meanwhile, Zhang Shan had already been woken up by the commotion and was sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on his shoes.

The man strode into the room before sitting down onto a chair as he mused, “You’re saying you don’t know the distinction between tiers? So you must be from some impoverished rural area, right? In that case, why have you embarked on such a long journey, and why are you so fluent in the official dialect of our Eastern Treasured Vial Continent? You can’t learn something like that from any rural area! You must be a spirit wearing human skin, aren’t you?!”

The man drew his saber most of the way out of its scabbard as he spoke, and the blade of the saber was giving off a bright gleam as he glowered at Chen Ping’an and roared, “Tell me your name! My saber doesn’t slay nameless ghosts!”

Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shan exchanged a flabbergasted glance with one another.

Could it be that the rain was so heavy that water had gushed into the man’s head?

Among Qi refiners, there were countless itinerant cultivators pursuing all types of unorthodox paths. Even demons and plants that attained sentience were inevitably discriminated against, but they certainly weren’t actively hunted. However, ghostly cultivators were an exception to this, and once discovered, it was virtually inevitable that they were going to be hunted down and killed.

The cycle of life dictated by the Heavenly Dao involved birth, aging, illness, and death. In their pursuit of immortality, Qi refiner were going against the Heavenly Dao. Those who perished were considered to be part of the natural order, but ghostly cultivators fell into neither camp, so they were widely denounced as unjust beings that had to be killed.

Ghostly cultivators weren’t cultivators when they were alive, nor were they mountain and river gods that were appointed by imperial courts after their deaths.

Hence, the targets that were hunted by the truly formidable Heavenly Masters of Mount Longhu primarily consisted of ghosts that wreaked havoc throughout the land, as opposed to spirits that were hiding in mortal society.

The more lively and prosperous a place was, the more neutral the term “spirits” was, holding neither negative nor positive connotations.

In some larger nations, particularly powerful empires with well-established immortal sects, even the mortals were often accustomed to coexisting with all types of strange and wacky spirits.

It was said that there were many petite winged spirits that could fly around and help women wash and comb their hair, apply makeup, and fold their clothes. These spirits were extremely close with their owners and were considered to be a great asset to society.

Chen Ping’an didn’t bother to defend himself, merely removing the stopper from his wine gourd before taking a sip of wine.

The saber-wielding man faltered slightly upon hearing this, then gulped slightly, clearly craving the wine that Chen Ping’an was drinking. His aggressive demeanor instantly faded, and he said in a shameless manner, “If you let me drink some of your wine, I can turn a blind eye even if you really are a ghost. As long as I don’t catch you committing any evil deeds, we can get along just fine.”

Chen Ping’an shook his head in response.

The man heaved a long sigh. “You’re a conniving and dishonest lad, that’s what you are! You’re using your wiles to trick good and honest men like me!”

Zhang Shan hurriedly sat down to act as mediator, striking up a conversation with the man in the official dialect of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

————

Inside the boudoir of the estate, the man and the woman were snuggled up next to each other on the reclining chair. The woman was wearing a dark green dress with a massive skirt that concealed her legs and feet.

The man gently whispered into the woman’s ear, “May you always have warm clothes to wear during the cold spring, may you always be happy, may you always be greeted by the sight of clear skies and stunning scenery whenever you look out the window…”

The hideous woman began to make a series of unintelligible sounds in response, almost as if she were sobbing, and the skirt of her dress was rippling like waves.

The old woman was walking through the pitch-black corridor, heaving a faint sigh to herself. In the end, she sat down beside the pillar where the lantern had been hung up. Day after day, year after year, the old woman stroked her own withered face, and she had long forgotten how many years it had been since she had last looked in the mirror.

She could only presume that the same applied to her young mistress, who hadn’t taken a single step out of her boudoir in the past century.

————

The saber-wielding man was in the process of chatting with Zhang Shan when his hand suddenly flew onto the hilt of his saber, and his joking demeanor instantly vanished as he said in a serious voice, “Just as the rumors in the nearby town say, the demonic Qi is coming from the backyard of this estate, and it’s extremely formidable demonic Qi!

“It’s no wonder that the feng shui in this place has completely wasted away, there could well be a sixth tier demon here! I’m going to slay the demon. If anything goes wrong, make sure to get out of here right away. Don’t brush off my words of warning! This is an extremely perilous place, and you could easily lose your lives here if you’re not careful!”

The man then paused momentarily before continuing, “There’s no need to run right away. Otherwise, the demon in this estate could pounce from the shadows. Even if I’m defeated, I’ll do everything in my power to keep them at bay. When the time comes, listen to my call, and when I tell you to run, don’t hesitate to do so!”

After that, the man took a deep breath before drawing his saber out of its scabbard. He then reached out a hand to brush aside the ashes in the brazier before pulling out a lump of lit charcoal that he held in his hand, rubbing it against the blade of the saber to send sparks flying in all directions, giving the saber an even sharper and more resplendent appearance.

Even though the chances of victory were quite slim, the man wasn’t displaying any fear, and he appeared to have a truly heroic heart.

The man’s courageous display earned Chen Ping’an’s respect, and he offered his gourd to the man, only for the latter to turn him down with a smile as he rose to his feet with his saber in his hand.

“I always crave a drink when there’s nothing happening to stave off the boredom, but slaying powerful demons and ghosts is far more exhilarating than drinking!”

The man pushed the door open and strode into the backyard in the stormy night, and the light radiating from his saber illuminated the surrounding area as he raised his head, casting his gaze into the distance.

“My name is Xu Yuanxia. Come out to face me!”

Zhang Shan picked up his peach wood sword and demon detecting bell, then said to Chen Ping’an in a solemn voice, “I’ll go help him slay the demon. You’re a pure martial artist, so you’re not fit to face ghosts and demons in battle before you reach the fourth tier. Hence, you should stay here, and I’ll call for you if we need you.”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

With that, Zhang Shan rushed out the room in a lithe and agile fashion, and after remaining in his chair for a moment, Chen Ping’an chose not to continue waiting in the room. Intead, he also stepped outside, peering through the rain to the room on the other side of the courtyard as he declared, “I know it’s you.”

The lamp in that room had already been snuffed out long ago, yet the door slowly swung open, and the scholar with the Chu surname emerged from inside. He was holding the torch that had been snuffed out by the rain earlier, and there was a faint smile on his face.

After looking across at Chen Ping’an for a while, he raised a hand, rubbing his palm against the end of the torch, and it was instantly ignited. After that, he gently plunged the other end of the torch into a nearby pillar, and the torch pierced halfway into the pillar with ease.

“You’re the one who talks the least out, but you’re the smartest of the bunch. Of course, you must have some skills to back up your smarts as well, considering you were able to vanquish Daoist White Deer’s copper coin ghost. However, that’s only a third tier ghost with not much merit to speak of, so don’t take that as a reason to grow arrogant and conceited…”

Chen Ping’an remained silent, and all of a sudden, he vanished from the spot without any warning.

The scholar faltered slightly upon seeing this.

A figure shot through the space between the two rooms like lightning, pouncing directly at him. The scholar wasn’t taking Chen Ping’an very seriously, and he didn’t even have a chance to react before he was struck on the head by a swift and vicious punch that left a trail of glowing white fist aura behind it.

He was sent flying through the air, crashing through the wall and the door before tumbling onto the corridor outside. In the end, his back crashed into a thick pillar, causing countless tiny cracks to appear on the pillar, and only then was he stopped in his tracks with blood gushing out of his mouth. His soul was jangling in his body, and there was an astonished look on his face.

Not only was the punch extraordinarily powerful, the fusion of fist intent and fist aura was even more remarkable, which had a suppressive effect on him, much like the ghost-striking whips used by immortals.

A resounding boom rang out as he was struck by another punch to the neck, and this time, even the pillar behind him was toppled.

These two punches had left tears and blood streaming down all over his face. His robes were in tatters, and he was utterly infuriated, so much so that he was about to revert to his true form and completely do away with the original plan.

Right at this moment, he heard Chen Ping’an utter a single word: “First.”