Unsheathed

Inside the main building of the Flying Eagle Fortress, dozens of pillar members of the Huan Clan stood frozen with dark and ashen expressions.

To Fortress Lord Huan Yang’s absolute disbelief, the main culprit behind everything was actually the esteemed immortal from Peace and Tranquility Mountain whom his good friend had spent an exorbitant amount of money to invite over!

There were four braziers in the large hall, one in each corner, and the pine and cypress branches inside them had already burned up long ago. Some time before this, the esteemed immortal had claimed that this main building was a critical geographic location that those demons and ghosts had coveted for a long time.

Thus, it was necessary to gather everyone in the main building to perform a so-called Hall Burning Ritual. He needed to place unique talismans from Peace and Tranquility Mountain around the hall such that he could create a formation to dispel the filth. That way, those sinister and demonic cultivators with ulterior motives would no longer have any opportunity to infiltrate and take over this building.

The esteemed immortal had also claimed that he would only leave by himself to slay the demons and carry out justice once he guaranteed the safety of the main building.

The Flying Eagle Fortress naturally hadn’t had any complaints.

The overbearing dark clouds above the fortress were stifling and vomit-inducing, making it clear that they were up against genuine demonic cultivators. As crude people from the cultivation world, those in the Flying Eagle Fortress naturally saw it as their duty to fight for the survival of their clan and fortress, even if their opponents were powerful demonic cultivators from Agarwood Nation. They would fight even if it meant death.

However, asking them to fight against ghosts and yin entities? Just thinking about this made their skin crawl. They couldn’t help but feel a sense of apprehension. In fact, even their yang energy became slightly weaker when they thought about this.

Fortress Lord Huan Yang hadn’t put his full trust in this esteemed immortal from Peace and Tranquility Mountain in the beginning. Huan Yang hadn’t dared to be careless even though this immortal possessed the demeanor of a transcendent being as if he were an otherworldly being, and even though his good friend was the one who had introduced this immortal. This kind of caution was necessary for influential powerful clans in the cultivation world.

Thus, Huan Yang had specially asked Administrator He Ya to follow this immortal closely while he was wandering around the streets and alleys with his horse, using the excuse that Administrator He Ya could show him the way. However, the burning cypress and pine branches had indeed given off a refreshing fragrance, one that was filled with an air of righteousness.

Thanks to some coincidental fated opportunities, Administrator He Ya had a rough grasp of Dao power, though he couldn’t be regarded as skilled in the area. Even so, he was an experienced and knowledgable member of the cultivation world, what with how he had traveled all over the place with the old fortress lord.

Using this experience and knowledge, Administrator He Ya had confirmed that the esteemed immortal was indeed using proper and righteous immortal techniques. The Flying Eagle Fortress was facing an imminent disaster with nowhere to run, but they had finally regained some composure and confidence after hearing Administrator He Ya’s analysis.

And thus, just an hour ago, the esteemed immortal had held a fly-whisk in one hand and a calligraphy brush in his other hand as he had rolled up his sleeve and drew numerous talismans on the large wooden pillars in the large hall. The talismans flowed like water and appeared especially pleasant to the eyes.

In fact, Administrator He Ya—also the acting teacher in the Flying Eagle Fortress—had actively accompanied the esteemed immortal and held the dish of vibrant red ink for him.

Now, however, the old administrator was slumped in a chair, so enraged that his reddened eyes were almost about to pop out from their sockets. He glared at the man in white standing between Fortress Lord Huan Yang and the fortress lord’s wife, and he felt a strong urge to devour this person’s flesh and drink his blood.

Administrator He Ya was an old man who already cared little about worldly matters. He didn’t have children either, so each extra day that he lived was essentially a blessing from the heavens. Did he need to fear death? However, He Ya couldn’t fathom what face he would have to stand in front of the ancestors of the Huan Clan after his death.

Those with the right to sit in this large hall were mostly elderly members of the Flying Eagle Fortress’s Huan Clan. Due to their old age and the intense battle in that small alley all those years ago, a large majority of them were experiencing lingering issues as a result of the severe wounds that they had suffered back then.

Their vital energy was low, so their faces all became dark and sickly after they inhaled the smoke from the burning pine and cypress. Their bodies were convulsing, and it was possible that they would die without the man in white needing to do anything else.

Meanwhile, the youths standing behind their elders were mostly novices when it came to martial arts, so most of them collapsed to the floor after inhaling the smoke from the branches. Those with better martial arts cultivation were still able to sit cross-legged and channel their Qi, trying their best to remain conscious and clear-headed.

Still holding the snow-white fly-whisk in his hand, the tall and sturdy immortal in white gently placed a hand on Fortress Lord Huan Yang’s shoulder and chuckled, “There’s no need to blame yourself, Fortress Lord Huan. You don’t need to feel guilty about inviting a wolf into the house. After all, I’m only using such schemes on the Flying Eagle Fortress because I want to save myself some strength. Even if we genuinely fight each other, you gallant people from the cultivation world will still face near-certain death.

“I carefully planned everything out for several decades, and this is a case of someone with intricate plans catching their target completely off-guard. Not only that, this is also a case of someone from the mountains targeting someone from outside the mountains. With so many things stacked against you people, how can you people not die?”

Fortress Lord Huan Yang’s wife was trembling in fear. Of everyone in the large hall, only her expression remained normal, and this was likely because she hadn’t been affected by the poisonous smoke from the pine and cypress branches. However, she was already scared out of her wits. After all, she was merely someone who was born and had grown up in the Flying Eagle Fortress.

She preferred quiet over adventure, and she had never ventured more than 50 kilometers from the fortress. Indeed, she had only occasionally participated in the spring and autumn trips. That being the case, how could she possibly remain composed in the face of such terrifying calamity?

The tall immortal in white lifted his hand from Huan Yang’s shoulder and turned the woman’s face toward him in a gentle and adoring manner.

However, his eyes weren’t filled with the lust of a man coveting a beautiful woman, and they were instead filled with the satisfaction of a craftsman examining the proudest piece of work in their life.

He reluctantly retracted his hand and said with a smile, “Fortunately, that mysterious fight nearby didn’t affect our Flying Eagle Fortress. Otherwise, we would have lost everything if our plans were uncovered by some observant person. Truth be told, you people could have enjoyed your peaceful life for another half a year according to our original plans.

“However, my master was genuinely afraid that those fighting cultivators would somehow draw the attention of Planchette Writing Sect. What should we do at that time? Thus, I immediately hurried over here after receiving a secret letter from my master.”

No one in the large hall had the ability to speak, and this made the esteemed immortal in white feel a little bored. It was ultimately a small blemish that no one present could praise him for his greatness.

He looked around the large hall and sneered, “Are you people still holding onto the hope that the old Daoist priest and the young Daoist priest can save you? I encourage you to give up. That old Daoist priest is a measly fifth tier itinerant cultivator, so it would be his great fortune if a single smack from me doesn’t manage to kill him. I’m only leaving them be because the small amount of vital energy and spiritual energy provided by that master and disciple can add icing to the cake.”

The tall immortal in white felt slightly regretful as he said this. He wouldn’t have poured so much secret medicine on the pine and cypress branches if he had known about this earlier.

The hall was full of mutes, with not a single person able to raise their voice and abuse him, let alone fall to their knees and kowtow while begging for their life. This was truly very boring.

Since the conclusion was already forgone, and seizing the opportunity while his master hadn’t acted yet, the tall immortal in white wanted to do something to entertain himself. He looked around the hall, and his gaze eventually settled on a woman channeling her Qi to resist the effects of the secret medicine. He hadn’t noticed before, but this slender and delicate-looking woman was actually a fourth tier martial artist who had been hiding her true powers. She must have worked extremely hard to reach such a cultivation base.

He slowly walked over before squatting down and grabbing her chin. There was an intense and resolute look in the woman’s eyes.

The tall immortal in white smiled faintly and retrieved a dazzling and exquisite porcelain bottle from his sleeve. He then turned around and caught sight of a young boy whose appearance was very similar to that of the woman. He was collapsed on the ground and convulsing, with his eyes rolled back and froth pouring from his mouth. It was clear that he was approaching death.

The eyes of the tall immortal in white lit up. This was fairly interesting. This young man surprisingly possessed some cultivation aptitude, perhaps enough to make him a valued direct disciple in a third-rate force. Since the tall immortal in white had nothing better to do right now, he decided that he would give this young boy some help. However, it would ultimately depend on the young boy’s own skill and fortune whether he could survive and become an external disciple of his master.

Before this, however, the young boy could enjoy the body of a beautiful woman regardless of whether he lived or died in the end. As for the other people in the large hall, they could feast on this with their eyes.

The tall immortal in white who was disguising himself as an immortal from Peace and Tranquility Mountain extended a finger and placed it on the young boy’s glabella. With a casual bend of his finger, he then extracted a wisp of pungent green smoke and condensed it into a tiny ball. He lightly snapped his fingers afterward, causing the tiny ball of smoke to dissipate in the hall.

The handsome young boy immediately came to his senses and was just about to say something. However, the tall immortal in white immediately slammed a vermilion alchemical pill into his mouth.

He tossed the young boy into the middle of the hall before flicking his fly-whisk and shattering the breath of pure True Qi that the woman was trying her best to maintain and resist the poisonous smoke with. After doing this, he summoned clouds and mists to carry her over to the young boy.

The tall immortal in white smiled with squinted eyes and said, “Please enjoy the show, everyone.”

The face of the young boy flushed red as he curled up and trembled uncontrollably. However, his eyes immediately became fervent when he saw the woman, and he started to slowly crawl toward her.

“Tsk, tsk, sinister and heretical cultivators like us are unable to compare to those powerful and stable forces and sects. Not only do we have to adopt heretical methods that conflict with the etiquette of the world when we cultivate, but the most detestable thing is that our ultimate potential will still be limited even after we do this. Even reaching the barrier to the Golden Core Tier is nothing more than an unattainable dream for us.”

The tall immortal in white appeared slightly infuriated as he said this. However, he immediately smiled and said to the young boy, “Even so, this is no reason to underestimate the Sea Observation Tier and the Dragon Gate Tier. Young boy, your mind is relaxed after eating my boundlessly mystical Nanke Pill, and this is actually a rare state similar to that of the Wing Formation Tier.

“However, one of your seven emotions and six desires will be infinitely magnified because of this. This is also an untaught secret of my lineage. As for which emotion or desire is magnified, this depends on which type of Nanke Pill one ingests. The one I fed you is the most expensive type, so make sure not to waste it.

“You can enjoy yourself to the fullest, and you’ll be able to survive as long as you can maintain a shred of clarity the entire time. If you succeed, I’ll take you in as my disciple and guarantee you a smooth path early on in your cultivation journey. In fact, you’ll even have a chance to reach the Middle Five Tiers.”

The woman was extremely alarmed, yet she couldn’t move her body at all. A hint of terror and despair finally appeared on her face.

The tall immortal in white continued to encourage the young boy, saying, “There’s nothing to worry about. Everyone in the hall will die, so you don’t need to fear anything. The Heavenly Dao is emotionless, so how can there exist notions of good and evil when it comes to cultivation…?”

His heart suddenly jolted at this moment, and he immediately raised his head and gripped his fly-whisk as if he were facing a powerful enemy.

Someone was lazily yawning as they sat on a beam overhead. They looked down at the demonic cultivator, and they retrieved a bamboo folding fan from their sleeve, rocking it gently as they said, “Just how boring are you? Do you genuinely enjoy talking to yourself so much?”

This person was none other than Lu Tai.

The tall immortal in white narrowed his eyes and asked, “Friend, are you and the young boy with the sword on his back here to enjoy the show, or are you here to interfere with my plans? Or perhaps the two of you were the ones involved in the fight in the mountains near the Flying Eagle Fortress before?”

Lu Tai glanced at the lustful young boy crawling along the floor and clicked his tongue in wonder, saying with a disdainful expression, “Do you feel like everything can be blamed on that alchemical pill? Then allow me to tell you the truth. Right now, at least thirty to forty percent of your lust originates from your own heart. It’s no wonder that you were chosen by this person. This is because you’re also not a good person to begin with.”

The young boy’s hand was almost about to touch the woman’s knees, yet he immediately started to struggle at this moment, both mentally and physically. Blood started to trickle from all of the orifices on his face, caking his appearance in black blood. The young boy started to roll around the floor in pain.

The tall immortal in white was unfazed, but he felt like it was a slight pity that the alchemical pill had gone to waste. The young boy’s fragile Dao Heart had crumbled after the young man sitting on the beam had revealed the truth of the matter.

If no one had exposed the young boy’s true feelings, then he could have continued down this heretical path and stuck to it until the end. In fact, this was a fairly good option for him, and he might have genuinely become an in-house disciple of the tall immortal in white. At that time, he would be able to set foot on the path of cultivation.

There was apathy on Lu Tai’s face as he held two fingers together and made a swiping motion from top to bottom.

Needle Tip, his bonded flying sword, immediately materialized in midair and slashed down at the young boy who was suffering unspeakable agony.

The woman spat a mouthful of blood and shouted at Lu Tai, “Don’t!”

Needle Tip ground to a sudden halt just one inch from the young boy’s neck.

Lu Tai looked toward the tearful woman and said, “It will be better for him if he dies here. If he leaves here alive, then he’ll either kill you one day before falling to demonic ways, or he’ll eventually be stifled to death by the condemnation from others in the months and years to come.”

However, the woman simply shook her head and repeatedly murmured, “Please don’t kill him, Esteemed Immortal, I’m begging you…”

Still holding his fly-whisk, the tall immortal in white chuckled and asked, “I’m very curious, how did you sneak into my formation without making a sound?”

Lu Tai held his fan with one hand and propped himself up on the beam with his other as he smiled and replied, “In terms of formations, I don’t think anyone in the world is as capable as my clan. Say, don’t you find this infuriating?”

The tall immortal in white roared with laughter. However, his laughter suddenly cut off, and his figure immediately started to twist and turn as he leaped around the hall. At the same time, his snow-white fly-whisk with the characters “Extinguishing Worries” inscribed on it also unleashed the howls and rumbles of wind and thunder.

Each time he flicked his fly-whisk, a strand of hair originating from some type of spirit beast from the mountains would break free from the fly-whisk and viciously shoot toward Lu Tai.

While flying through the air, the strands of hair would transform into winged white snakes that were as thick as an arm and as quick as lightning. Their bodies also radiated with a chilling cold.

Lu Tai paid no heed to the dozens of white snakes as he closed his bamboo fan with a crack. Using it as a calligraphy brush, he started to draw talismans on the beams, with ancient-looking silver characters and symbols continually releasing from the tip of his fan. As if they were alive, the characters and symbols then started to flow through the beams, columns, and floor, infiltrating and eventually covering all of the original red ink.

He was taking over this hall.

Meanwhile, the white snakes formed from the strands of hair from the fly-whisk automatically disintegrated into dust when they arrived within six meters of Lu Tai.

The tall immortal in white was completely unable to discern what kind of secret technique this was. This was the most terrifying thing.

However, something even more terrifying than this quickly took place. The young man in azure who looked even more beautiful than a woman smiled faintly as he revealed a secret, saying, “I set up a small formation in the surroundings just then, a type that commonly appears in blessed lands. This formation can restrict all immortal techniques channeled by outsiders, while I myself can become the sage of this area. Doesn’t this sound impressive?”

Emotions surged in the immortal’s mind, and he hesitated for a moment before stopping his attacks with his fly-whisk. He rested the fly-whisk on his arm and said, “Esteemed Immortal, not only is your clan’s knowledge profound and ancient, but your skills and immortal techniques are also impressive and admirable! My master and I are willing to show our sincerity and offer you gifts as long as you show us mercy.

“For example, we can give all of the Flying Eagle Fortress’ treasures to you and your companion. I can even act privately and use some of my own money to ask my master for a high-grade spirit tool to give to you. What do you say, Esteemed Immortal?”

Lu Tai sidestepped the question and asked, “Is your master at the Golden Core Tier?”

The tall immortal in white nodded and replied with a faint smile, “I’m willing to reveal my master’s title to prove my sincerity. He was the one who killed the two Dragon Gate Tier cultivators from Peace and Tranquility Mountain back then, and his title is…”

Lu Tai hurriedly shook his hands and exclaimed, “Hold it right there! Your intentions are far too sinister!”

“Why do you say this, Esteemed Immortal?” the tall immortal in white asked with an innocent expression.

Lu Tai sighed and said, “You, a Sea Observation Tier cultivator, borrowing the might of a measly Golden Core Tier vagrant cultivator from Parasol Leaf Continent won’t scare me to death. However, it will make me laugh to death! And you almost succeeded!”

Lu Tai clutched his stomach and started to roar with laughter.

Of course, it was unknown whether the true mastermind was genuinely a Golden Core Tier cultivator or not.

A dark expression spread across the face of the tall immortal in white.

He had come across a mentally-challenged idiot.

More importantly, this androgynous person possessed a profound cultivation base that he couldn’t see through at all.