Unsheathed

Chapter 293 (1): The Eagle Isn’t Flying

Once again, the head of the deathly pale young boy in white mourning clothes turned 180 degrees before he followed the adult forward and vanished into the depths of the small alley.

Chen Ping’an’s expression remained calm the entire time. He didn’t gaze at those eerie scenes anymore, and he simply stole a glance at the Demon-suppressing Talisman on the courtyard door. His heart didn’t need to ache too much because the talisman was only made from ordinary yellow talisman paper. The courtyard door was drenched from the heavy downpour just then, yet the talisman that Chen Ping’an had casually wacked on was stuck to it surprisingly firmly.

There were also two of the most commonly seen colorful door gods stuck on the courtyard door. However, it was unknown whether they were sages from Parasol Leaf Continent’s martial sage temple or meritorious generals from Agarwood Nation.

It was already more than halfway through the year, so the colorful door gods had already lost most of their color thanks to the punishment from the elements. They were slightly dull, and there was even a hint of age and decay about them.

Chen Ping’an’s Qi and blood were much stronger after advancing to the fourth tier of martial arts, and his soul was also considerably tougher than before. Thus, his manner of viewing the world was naturally different from before.

Similar to how Qi refiners could observe Qi, Chen Ping’an could also catch glimpses of the flowing spiritual energy now. This was especially the case after wearing Golden Sweet Wine, as he could verify his observations by understanding the amount of spiritual energy that his Dao robe absorbed. This was incredibly helpful.

He looked up at the two door gods dressed in bright and dignified armor. In reality, their small amount of divine aura had long since vanished, slowly eaten away and eventually extinguished by the yin energy that permeated through this strange small alley.

Could this be considered heroes caught in difficult circumstances?

Chen Ping’an sighed and stood up on his tippy-toes, using his fingers to flatten out the small creases on the Treasure Pagoda Demon-suppressing Talisman. According to the market value, how many pairs of colorful door gods could he purchase for the price of one Treasure Pagoda Demon-suppressing Talisman? He felt a little angry upon thinking of this.

Chen Ping’an was well aware of what those ghosts and yin entities were intending to do. They were showing their strength and most likely trying to dissuade Chen Ping’an and Lu Tai from doing anything funny. They were giving these two outsiders with abundant yang energy a warning, persuading them to leave this place as soon as possible. That way, the two parties could each mind their own business.

Chen Ping’an walked inside and locked the door. Lu Tai had no intention of going back to sleep after waking up, so he also grabbed a chair and sat in the courtyard. Before Chen Ping’an could say anything, Lu Tai seized the initiative and explained, “When it comes to yin entities with weak cultivation bases, some of them will just frighten people and at most harm those mortals with innately weak yang energy. Or they might wander around during the night and suddenly jump out to scare people, taking advantage of people’s shuddering souls to extract a tiny bit of their souls.

“Some of these yin entities will also target people whose ancestors didn’t accumulate merit and whose door gods have lost their power. They’ll enter the nightmares of these people and cause them to suffer from sleep paralysis. Mhm, there are some mortals who don’t understand the rules and seek trouble for themselves. For example, they might piss on the ghostly streets of yin entities and thus draw trouble to themselves.”

Lu Tai retrieved his bamboo folding fan and started to loudly rock it back and forth. The frigid air in the courtyard was instantly sent scattering, replaced by an unexplained sense of comfort and warmth. Wisps of gray smoke rose from the rain before circling around and eventually dissipating.

Lu Tai smiled and continued, “These ghosts and yin entities are just as clueless as the people in the Flying Eagle Fortress. They’re completely oblivious to our actual strength. However, it’s a shame about that Demon-suppressing Talisman. Imagine if the talisman were drawn by a Heavenly Master or an esteemed master from the Spirit Treasure Faction using the same material as a base…”

Lu Tai paused for a moment before purposely rubbing salt into Chen Ping’an’s wounds, saying, “In that case, just a single talisman stuck on the city gate of the Flying Eagle Fortress would be enough to protect its population of several hundred people for at least three to five years. They won’t need to worry about being harassed by ghosts and yin entities.

“That’s quite unlike you, an absolute novice when it comes to talismans. You’re relying on a breath of True Qi to draw talismans, so it’s destined that you won’t be able to draw spiritual energy from heaven and earth. That being the case, your talisman is akin to a body of water without a lasting source, so how long can it possibly last?”

Sitting on a chair opposite Lu Tai, Chen Ping’an asked, “Why didn’t you come out earlier?”

Lu Tai smiled faintly and replied, “Come out to do what? Chatter with those yin entities? Discuss the local people and customs with them? Ask them why they’re trying to scare us, and what their subsequent schedule is? Inquire about why the downpour suddenly transformed into blood?

“No, I would simply tell them that as ghosts and yin entities, their methods of frightening people are truly far too inferior. In fact, I might even feel the urge to teach them a few impressive techniques…”

Lu Tai’s words became increasingly preposterous.

Chen Ping’an held his wine gourd with one hand and pointed at the courtyard door with his other, gesturing that Lu Tai could walk over to chatter with the ghosts and yin entities right away.

However, Lu Tai remained seated, as immovable as a mountain. He closed his folding fan with a crack and said, “I liked to interact with the demons and spirits raised in my clan ever since I was little. In fact, one can say that I interacted with them day and night, so I’ve already become accustomed to them since long ago. Chen Ping’an, if it weren’t for you finding them annoying, I would have actually slept better with them wandering around outside.”

“Is this not a taboo for Naturalist disciples?” Chen Ping’an asked in puzzlement.

Lu Tai gazed up at the rainy sky and replied in a soft voice, “One can’t understand good if one doesn’t interact with evil.”

“Is there a genuine malicious ghost hiding in the Flying Eagle Fortress?” Chen Ping’an asked in curiosity.

Lu Tai nodded and replied, “Indeed. Otherwise, why did I say that this is ‘a brilliant location to kill people and steal goods before fabricating evidence and framing someone else’ before our battle just then?”

Chen Ping’an nodded in understanding. He remembered this remark very clearly.

Lu Tai’s hands were lazily resting on the armrests of his chair, causing his large sleeves to droop down. “If the two of us had become a pair of dead lovers in the deep mountain forest before, do you think anyone would have suspected these martial arts brutes from the Flying Eagle Fortress? Naturally not. Thus, those bandits were clearly trying to frame the nest of ghosts and yin entities here.”

Chen Ping’an noticed something at this moment, and he suddenly stood up and walked toward the courtyard door,

There was a momentary commotion in the small alley outside the courtyard, causing the Demon-suppressing Talisman on the courtyard door to shine with a flash of explosive golden brilliance.

Lu Tai turned around and chuckled, “There’s no need to go over. Those ghosts and yin entities refuse to give up, and they’re only willing to relent if they’re taught a harsh lesson. Now that they’ve been punished, they’ll probably keep a respectful distance from us for the next while. Ahhh, it will be difficult for me to hear their heavenly voices and enjoy a good night’s sleep in the future!”

Chen Ping’an opened the courtyard door and stepped outside to look up at the Treasure Pagoda Demon-suppressing Talisman. Apart from a faint little stain, the talisman showed no signs of crumbling or losing its spiritual energy. Just as Lu Tai had said, the ghost or yin entity that had come to test the power of the talisman indeed didn’t possess a high cultivation base.

Chen Ping’an returned to the courtyard and made up his mind. If the ghosts and yin entities came to provoke him again, then they couldn’t blame him for stepping forward and becoming an aggressive neighbor.

Lu Tai wrapped his hands behind his head and explained, “Parasol Leaf Continent is a very conservative continent. It doesn’t really welcome outsiders from other continents. If Complete Reed Continent’s Xie Shi had tried to target Parasol Leaf Continent instead of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, then he would have already been beaten to the brink of death long ago. That’s completely different from Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, where he’s actually being politely invited over to chat and negotiate over some tea.”

Chen Ping’an rubbed the soles of his boots against the steps and wiped off the mud. He pondered for a moment before slowly saying, “Eastern Treasured Vial Continent is very close to Complete Reed Continent, and the Great Li Empire’s relationship with Xie Shi is also very mysterious. These are all relevant factors to consider, so we can’t attribute everything to the people and customs of a continent. What do you think, Lu Tai?”

Lu Tai clicked his tongue in wonder and remarked, “Very impressive, Chen Ping’an. You’re increasingly able to look at problems from the view of those from the mountains. As expected of someone who’s traveled to Stalactite Mountain and the Sword Qi Great Wall before.”

Chen Ping’an was preparing to stand up and carry his chair back inside when Lu Tai suddenly said, “Chen Ping’an, counting Ma Wanfa as part of the bandits, they were actually strong enough to deal with a pseudo-Golden Core Tier cultivator without much difficulty. It was actually quite an achievement for the two of us to defeat them.”

Chen Ping’an stood beside his chair and asked, “What about us? Do we have any chance of victory against a Golden Core Tier Qi refiner?”

“Yes, but not a very big chance,” Lu Tai replied.

“Almost every single Golden Core Tier cultivator is someone with strong conviction and tenacity. Moreover, they also have mastery over a myriad of mystical abilities and immortal techniques. As such, we have to fight with our lives on the line, or else we’ll be slowly exhausted to death by them.

“You should already know, right? Things will become completely different after a Qi refiner reaches the ninth tier, the Golden Core Tier, and after a pure martial artist reaches the seventh tier. Combined together, these advances to the ninth tier and the seventh tier are called ‘heaven-turning and earth-shaking.’”

Chen Ping’an sat back down and shook his head, replying, “I actually don’t know much about this. Can you explain it to me?”

Lu Tai’s eyes lit up, and he asked, “Can I give you one hundred fewer snowflake coins the next time we share spoils if I explain this to you?”

Chen Ping’an didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “You still care about one hundred snowflake coins?”

Lu Tai laughed and replied, “Of course I don’t care about these snowflake coins. Rather, I simply like the feeling of gaining a small advantage.”

Chen Ping’an extended a hand and gestured for Lu Tai to continue. The handsome young man could pocket this money.

Lu Tai was in a brilliant mood, so he kicked off his boots and sat cross-legged on his chair, explaining with a faint smile, “The process of pure martial artists advancing from the sixth tier to the seventh tier is called ‘earth-shaking.’ Apart from reaching the Far Roaming Tier which allows martial artists to travel on the wind like immortals, reaching the seventh tier will also allow the soul, spirit, and gall of martial artists to combine into one. Thus, martial artists will gain a completely new outlook on the world after advancing to the seventh tier.

“As for Qi refiners advancing to the ninth tier, the Golden Core Tier, there’s the famous and almost overused saying that ‘those who form a golden core will become one of us. The truly mystical nature of the Golden Core Tier lies in the fact that there’s a huge limitation to Qi refiners using mystical abilities before they advance to this tier.

“This is because the amount of spiritual energy a Qi refiner can possess is limited by the number of acupoints that they’ve uncovered and refined. In other words, they have to conserve their spiritual energy when they fight, just like how you have to conserve your money when you purchase things.

“However, the amount of spiritual energy a Qi refiner can possess will no longer be restricted by their acupoints after they form a golden core. Like a wealthy person building an ice cellar, they can enjoy ice even when it’s scorching hot. More importantly, they can even borrow spiritual energy from heaven and earth if they need to.

“After saying all this, however, what actually is the bridge of immortality? Apart from allowing one to set foot on the path of cultivation, this bridge can also connect one to heaven and earth and allow one to become an independent small world and blessed land.”

Chen Ping’an listened to this very carefully.

Lu Tai smiled and concluded, “This is why the two of us won’t necessarily be able to defeat a Golden Core Tier cultivator even though we killed Ma Wanfa and all those bandits. Does it make sense now?”

“So that’s how it is,” Chen Ping’an replied with a nod.

Lu Tai’s expression was as if he had seen a ghost, and he asked in confusion, “Did the people who taught you fist techniques, sword techniques, and drawing talismans not teach you about these things?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and replied, “No, they didn’t teach me these things. The old man who taught me fist technique only taught me…”

Chen Ping’an stood up and threw a light punch at the curtain of rain before continuing, “How to blast the curtain of rain thirty meters or three hundred meters back with a casual punch.”

Chen Ping’an then retracted his fist and gently rotated his wrists as if he were holding a calligraphy brush and drawing talismans. “The person who taught me how to draw talismans stated that one needed to exude talismanic true intent from the tip of their brush. A wisp of righteous aura in the mind of a virtuous Confucian disciple should give rise to blissful winds that sweep hundreds of kilometers through heaven and earth.”[1]

Chen Ping’an feigned holding a sword and slashing down as he continued, “There is no lack of extraordinary things in the myriad worlds, but I only have a single sword.”

Lu Tai dazedly looked at the young boy in white standing under the eaves of the opposite building. He was slightly different from normal.

The handsome young man curled up in his chair and placed his hands inside his opposite sleeves, falling silent for a long time.

Chen Ping’an cracked a grin and picked up his chair, preparing to return to his room. “You should sleep earlier as well.”

“Chen Ping’an, which path would you pick if you could only pick one of the three paths?” Lu Tai asked with a serious expression.

Chen Ping’an faltered upon hearing this. He had genuinely never considered this before. After contemplating for a moment, he replied, “I only started to practice fist techniques in order to stay alive and increase my lifespan. In this sense, it can be considered the foundation of everything.

“I’ll continue to practice fist techniques in the future, and if I manage to live for long enough, I hope that I can throw more than ten million punches. Of course, I definitely have to advance to the seventh tier of martial arts during this time.

“As for drawing talismans, this is simply a defensive skill that I don’t plan to study too much. I’ll follow the natural flow of things. In terms of what I genuinely want to master, that has to be…”

Chen Ping’an raised a thumb and pointed at the sword on his back before saying, “The sword.”

Chen Ping’an’s expression was calm, and there was unwavering resolve in his eyes as he announced, “I’m going to become a sword immortal, a great sword immortal!”

“What for?” Lu Tai cocked his head and asked.

Chen Ping’an chuckled and didn’t say anything else. He picked up his chair and jogged back to his room, closing the door and going to sleep.

Lu Tai rolled his eyes. He didn’t feel sleepy anymore, so he hummed a tune from his hometown in boredom. In the end, he decided to stand up and slowly dance on his chair, with his large sleeves twirling like flowing water. Afterward, he sat back down and yawned as he rocked his bamboo folding fan.

From time to time, he would form seals with his fingers to perform divinations and analyze future events. He would also place his head on the armrest with his eyes rolled back and his tongue sticking out, pretending to be a ghost who had died from hanging…

He did this all the way until the next morning.

Chen Ping’an woke up at the same time as always, and he first walked outside to retrieve the Demon-suppressing Talisman from the courtyard door. He then walked around the courtyard and practiced walking meditation under the eaves.

Lu Tai glanced at Chen Ping’an’s boots and said, “I’ll find you a pair of boots specially made for immortals later. That way, you won’t need to worry about rainy days or snowy days anymore. The more expensive ones can even resist fire and water.”

“Why would I need that?” Chen Ping’an asked with a huff. “If I wear such expensive boots, I’ll need to worry about whether or not they’ll be damaged when I’m fighting against other people. Just how troublesome would that be? It’s an extra thing to worry about.”

“You’ll never enjoy fortune with a mindset like that,” Lu Tai sighed.

“No other strange things happened last night, right?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Lu Tai nodded and replied, “Now that you mention it, something strange did indeed happen. It seems like someone from the Flying Eagle Fortress came across a ghost not too far from here. They got into a fight, a fairly grisly one at that, but no one ended up dying.”

Chen Ping’an thought for a moment before suggesting, “Then let’s wander around during the day to see if we can uncover the truth. We’ll decide on whether to interfere or not after we make heads or tails of the situation.”

Lu Tai didn’t have any complaints.

He was fairly skilled at feng shui, geomancy, divination, and other mystical techniques. He couldn’t help this. The grand elder always bestowed him with knowledge, so he ended up far superior to everyone else his age even though he put in minimal effort and always looked for new ways to slack off.

This was truly very troublesome.

1. This references a sentence from one of Su Shi’s lyrics. Su Shi is one of the most accomplished figures in classical Chinese literature. ☜