Unsheathed

Chapter 236: There’s Always a Taller Mountain

It was a secluded place, and it was also a dark and windy night. This was the best time to kill people and steal goods. At the same time, it was also the best time to slay demons and eliminate fiends. The outcome was dependent on who was more powerful. Were the cultivators more skilled, or were the demons more vicious?

Pleasant chatter and silvery laughter traveled over to the rundown temple in Water Combing Nation. In the end, there was knocking on the front door. The big-bearded martial artist glanced at Chen Ping’an and Zhang Shanfeng before teasing, “Which of you is going to open the door to welcome our guests? If I go, I’m afraid that I’ll frighten these female spirits. At that time, what will we do if they turn around and flee without saying a word?”

Zhang Shanfeng patted his chest and said, “This Daoist priest is slightly more handsome than Chen Ping’an, so…”

Liu Chicheng was woken up by the chiming of the demon-detecting bell, and he was still muddle-headed and barely awake. Upon hearing the phrase “female spirits”, he immediately thought of the fox spirits and beautiful ghosts from the supernatural tales.

This instantly filled him with courage, and he hurriedly crawled up and shouted, “I’ll go, I’ll go! The ghosts and spirits from the tales are most fond of feeble scholars like me. All three of you are carrying sabers and swords, so I’m definitely the most suitable candidate since I’m unarmed.

“However, let me say this first. If we encounter good spirits, then let’s treat them in a friendly manner. If they’re willing to spend a lovely night with me, then don’t try to stop me from accompanying them. If we encounter bad fiends who want to eat our livers, however, then you guys have to save me!”

Liu Chicheng giddily ran over to open the door. A strong gust of wind whooshed in, slamming into the scholar and forcing him to close his eyes. Afterward, he felt a fragrance waft past him as two silvery voices sounded beside him. A silk sleeve brushed over his face as well, and it felt incredibly delicate and smooth. Liu Chicheng was slightly intoxicated. He hurriedly closed the door.

When the mountain wind finally subsided, he turned around and saw three beautiful women. Two of them smiled sweetly and ran toward the campfire where Xu Yuanxia and the others were sitting. Their figures were shapely, and just looking at them from behind caused Liu Chicheng’s heart to flutter.

There was also a slightly younger woman, and she was dressed in a light pink dress and wearing a pair of embroidered satin shoes. She timidly stood in front of Liu Chicheng and nervously pinched her dress with her fingers. Compared to her bold and beautiful big sisters, Liu Chicheng found her to be especially adorable and attractive.

The big-bearded martial artist was sitting cross-legged and drinking wine. The two bold women walked over, and their low-cut collars revealed large swathes of their delicate white skin. The bashful Daoist priest flushed a slight shade of red when he saw this.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an was attending to the campfire. He shifted the branches around and continued to add more in. The dry branches burned and continued to release crisp crackling sounds.

The two beautiful women with deep valleys between their breasts quickly chose their targets. There was deep emotion in their eyes as one sat beside the young Daoist priest and one sat beside Chen Ping’an. Xu Yuanxia was already opening his arms, yet his movements quickly froze when he saw this. He faltered for a moment, and he started to drink again to disguise his awkwardness.

The enchanting woman next to Zhang Shanfeng placed a hand on her collar in a seemingly reserved manner. It was as if she were trying to cover her exposed skin. In reality, however, she lightly pressed down and caused her clothes to hug her breasts even tighter. Her breasts looked like they were about to burst out. She nudged the young Daoist priest with her shoulder and asked in a sweet voice, “Oh my, young Daoist priest. You’re even carrying a wooden sword on your back? Is this a legendary peach wood sword? Why don’t you pull it out to show big sister how long it is?”

Zhang Shanfeng flushed bright red. He didn’t dare to reply.

The woman snuggling up to Chen Ping’an had a sharp chin and seductive eyebrows. She extended her slender hands and said in a gentle and mellow voice, “Young Master, my sisters and I encountered strong mountain winds while we were traveling at night, and this caused my small hands to become ice-cold. Young Master, if you don’t believe me, why don’t you touch them to see?”

Chen Ping’an pointed at the campfire and said with a smile, “Miss, if your hands are cold, why don’t you warm them up by the fire? It won’t take long for you to get warm.”

The young woman in the light pink dress didn’t join in on the conversations. Instead, she squatted in front of the campfire by herself. Her head was lowered, and she reached her hands over to warm them up. Liu Chicheng sat down beside her and actively tried to get familiar with her, asking with a smile, “Young miss, are you and your sisters from Water Combing Nation?”

The young woman nodded in reply. She looked up with trembling eyelashes, and she looked like she wanted to speak. However, she couldn’t help but hesitate.

The big-bearded martial artist shot a sideways glance at the young woman’s embroidered satin shoes. He then looked at the two seductive women and chuckled, “Apart from the small amount of dirt on her feet, how did you both manage to remain so spotless after traveling across so many mountain paths? You’re not mountain ghosts and spirits, are you?

“If that’s the case, then the four of us are truly in big trouble. When the time comes, we’ll have no option but to beg the two of you for a quick and painless death. However, dying at the hands of two beautiful women is also a fairly elegant fate. Hehe, what do you say, big sisters?”

Liu Chicheng chuckled and remarked, “These two big sisters are so stunningly beautiful, so how can they possibly be ghosts or spirits? Appearances are born from the mind, so this is simply impossible. Taking 10,000 steps back, even if these two big sisters are truly ghosts, they’re definitely good ghosts who only perform good deeds. Why don’t we recite poems and drink tonight?

“Even though yin and yang have different paths, this chance encounter between humans and ghosts is still worth some celebration and drinks. Only that will make this an elegant and refined encounter. Isn’t that right, big sisters? When we drink in a while, please don’t reveal your ghostly attributes by accident. Otherwise, that will ruin the beauty of the moment.”

The two enchanting women exchanged a smile. They had hunted people for a hundred or so years here, yet this was the first time they had come across such a simple-minded person. Was he daring because of his incredible power? Or was he naive because of his inexperience? Perhaps he was completely oblivious to the viciousness of ghosts and fiends in the mountains and rivers?

One of them covered their mouth and giggled, while one of them directly clutched their stomach and chortled with laughter. Her body rocked back and forth, causing her breasts to bounce up and down. Standing opposite her, Liu Chicheng gulped when he saw this.

The young woman suddenly looked up with a deathly pale face and shrieked, “Hurry up and run! They’re…”

The beautiful woman covering her mouth and giggling suddenly became serious. She lashed out with a hand, striking the young woman’s forehead and causing her to collapse backward onto the ground. There was a bright red welt on her forehead.

Liu Chicheng was given a huge fright.

At almost exactly the same time, Zhang Shanfeng put two fingers together to form a sword seal. The peach wood sword on his back instantly flew out, rapidly drawing an arc in the air before directly piercing the back of the beautiful woman who had lashed out.

The beautiful woman collapsed to the ground after being stabbed by the peach wood sword. However, no blood flowed from her body, and it was as if the peach wood sword shrouded in spiritual light had simply pierced into empty clothes.

The woman’s face and body contorted severely. It was clear that she wasn’t a spirit who had cultivated a human form. Instead, she was a ghost or a similar entity who didn’t possess a physical body. Black smoke rose from the female ghost, and she continued to struggle in an attempt to flee from this area. However, she couldn’t break free from the restriction of the peach wood sword that was impaled into the ground no matter what. It was as if she were a chained beast.

Zhang Shanfeng recited a spell, causing the spiritual glow on the peach wood sword to become increasingly brilliant. The female ghost was no longer able to maintain her human form.

A flash of saber aura blasted over. As it turned out, the big-bearded martial artist had also drawn his saber in a ferocious manner. His saber slashed through the flames of the campfire, and countless streams of fire danced across his blade like soaring fire dragons. He was like an immortal tempering his divine weapon.

Xu Yuanxia slashed down, obliterating all of the black smoke formed by the female ghost whose soul had been ensnared by Zhang Shanfeng’s peach wood sword. The black smoke immediately dissolved upon coming into contact with the saber brimming with a powerful aura. The female ghost’s ear-piercing shrieks of agony echoed throughout the old temple.

Xu Yuanxia turned around, and was left feeling slightly ashamed by what he saw.

Chen Ping’an was holding the neck of the female ghost in one hand and punching her in the gut with the other. The female ghost was already in a dire state, with little black smoke remaining in her body.

They had both annihilated a female ghost, but Chen Ping’an’s actions were truly silent and deadly. He was ruthless, and he was showing no mercy even toward such a beautiful woman.

Liu Chicheng wasn’t stupid, and he had no time to worry about protecting the beautiful young woman. He was on the verge of wetting himself as he ran away from the young woman and navigated around the campfire, eventually arriving behind Chen Ping’an and the others.

The young woman struggled to sit up, and she was close to tears as she sobbed, “Hurry up and run, our mama[1] will arrive soon…”

Just as she finished speaking, the demon-detecting bell shook violently again. A strong gust of yin wind blasted the door open, and a wisp of chilly mountain wind directly slammed into the young woman’s back, causing her to spit blood. Her slender body was sent flying past the campfire, and she was forced to stumble toward the young Daoist priest and the big-bearded martial artist.

Xu Yuanxia hurriedly put his saber away, lest he injure the innocent young woman. However, a sly smile suddenly spread across the young woman’s face at this moment. Her hands shot forward and jabbed at Xu Yuanxia and Zhang Shanfeng’s chests several times. While doing this, she also borrowed the opposing momentum to jump back slightly and land in the fire. She used her embroidered satin shoes to play around with the raging flames, yet the scorching hot firewood and the flickering flames were unable to injure her at all.

She paid no more heed to the frozen Daoist priest and martial artist. However, she stepped forward to kick the peach wood sword and send it flying away. A faint black scorch mark appeared on her embroidered satin shoe when it came into contact with the wooden sword.

The young woman peered down and focused her gaze on the young boy, the only person who could still fight. There was an amused smile on her face, and she said, “If you’re willing to flee, then I can allow you to go free.”

Gusts of cold and eerie wind howled past the door. At the same time, several men and women with ghostly auras materialized and looked toward the young woman inside the temple with fervent expressions. There were black banners in their hands, and they loudly exclaimed, “Mama’s powers are unparalleled and everlasting!”

Chen Ping’an stood up straight and asked, “Are you a human or a ghost?”

The so-called mama who was in the form of a young woman smiled eerily and replied, “The human heart is full of evil ghosts. The human heart comes first, and the evil ghosts come later. From this, the human heart is slightly more terrifying. I’ve lived in this place in Water Combing Nation for 200 years, and my specialty dish after all these years is called the stir-fry heart. The heart must be freshly plucked, and I also need to add lots of spices. Otherwise, the heart will taste too earthy, and who likes that?

“However, there are also some exceptions. An old Daoist priest passed by this place a few years ago, and he managed to kill a few obedient maidservants of mine with his powerful cultivation. That Daoist priest had a top-notch heart. It was a rare delicacy. The four of you are also quite powerful, so I wonder what your hearts will taste like? I suppose they won’t taste too bad. After all, the physiques and souls of cultivators are ultimately superior to those of mortals…”

Suddenly, someplace extremely far away from the old temple, the voice of an old man clearly echoed. “A suitable day for swinging a sword, isn’t it?”

The young woman’s expression changed drastically.

Flashes of sword light burst across the front door, separating the heads of the ghosts and yin entities from their bodies. Naturally, being beheaded meant nothing whatsoever to a ghost. However, these ghosts and yin entities who dominated the region appeared as weak as mortals under the attacks of the sword light. After being beheaded, they had no chance of recovering and surviving.

It wasn’t long before an old man in black stepped through the door. His expression was plain, and an empty sword scabbard was hanging by his waist. Meanwhile, an unsheathed sword floated beside him. Its bronze blade was filled with cracks, and there wasn’t a single lick of sword qi or spiritual light flowing over it. However, the rusty sword still radiated a formless might as it quietly hovered beside the old man.

Pure sword qi, brimming sword intent, and fearsome sword skills.

When traveling around the world, there would always be a taller mountain[2].

The young woman was clearly aware of this old man’s identity. Her fingernails became as long as hooks, and she arched her back as she stared at the old man in black.

“Song Yushao, as someone from the cultivation world, are you truly going to make enemies of the four evil spirits of Water Combing Nation?!” she shouted. “Are you not afraid of us joining forces to destroy your Sword Water Villa?!”

The old man remained calm and unfazed as he looked at the powerful and notorious demonic cultivator from Water Combing Nation. Hearing this threat, which was nothing more than the ghost trying to look tough, he simply tilted his head.

“Are you an idiot?”

1. This isn’t referring to mama in the literal sense. It’s referring to a senior and respected woman of high status. ?

2. Referring to a more powerful person. ?