Unsheathed

First and Fifteenth continued to whittle away at the piece of Dragon Slaying Platform, and by the time that had almost “consumed” the entire piece of Dragon Slaying Platform, it was already the twenty-ninth day of the last month of the year.

Pei Qian, Wei Xian, and Sui Youbian had gone out five or six times to purchase a ton of things for the Dust Medicinal Shop in anticipation of the new year. Each time, Pei Qian had begged Sui Youbian to accompany them, and that turned out to be for good reason. All Sui Youbian had to do was stand near the shops that they visited, and the shopkeepers would voluntarily drop their prices without requiring any bartering from Pei Qian and Wei Xian.

They always went out early in the morning and returned late at night, and upon their return, the old man would still be reading under the locust tree at the intersection between the street and the alley. Initially, he was a bit more subdued, but after familiarizing himself with everyone from the medicinal shop, he began to greet them whenever they returned.

For the last two trips, Wei Xian didn’t accompany them. Instead, it was just Sui Youbian and Pei Qian, and the latter was carrying Chen Ping’an’s bamboo bookcase on her back to store all of their purchases. As they returned to the alley, the old man greeted them again. Pei Qian eagerly responded in a sweet and exuberant manner, while Sui Youbian remained silent.

As they stepped into the medicinal shop, Chen Ping’an was still seated behind the counter as usual, and Pei Qian immdiately began giving him a detailed account of all of the shops that they had visited at what time, as well as the original prices and the final prices of all of the items that they purchased, while Chen Ping’an made calculations on his abacus.

As soon as Pei Qian’s account concluded, the sound of the clacking abacus beads also instantly subsided, and Chen Ping’an gave Sui Youbian a thumbs-up as he said, “We’ve saved roughly a hundred taels of silver on stationery alone.”

Pei Qian lifted the bamboo curtain for Sui Youbian, while the latter made her way to the back of the shop to unload their purchases.

Pei Qian snuck back over to the counter, then got up onto the tips of her toes and rested her chin on the table with an expectant smile on her face, clearly asking for a reward.

Chen Ping’an took a glance over at the bamboo curtain, then sneakily handed seven or eight copper coins to Pei Qian as he said, “Make sure to keep this safe, and don’t let anyone else see it. If Sui Youbian sees this, both of us will be in trouble.”

Pei Qian carefully stowed the copper coins away, then rushed into the backyard and into her room to place the coins into her little treasure trove.

“Make sure to help Sui Youbian unload everything. Don’t just make her do it all on her own, and thank her for her hard work at the end,” Chen Ping’an called out.

“Got it!” Pei Qian yelled in response, and a faint smile appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face.

The next day was going to be the final day of the year, the gateway from one year to the next.

Never had Chen Ping’an imagined that there would be so many people celebrating the turn of the year together in the Dust Medicinal Shop.

For the first few shopping trips, Sui Youbian was very reluctant to go. After that, Wei Xian no longer wanted to go, but Sui Youbian had really developed a taste for shopping, and she dragged Pei Qian around everywhere on their epic shopping sprees.

Initially, it was Zhu Lian who had approached Pei Qian in secret, promising to gift her a set of four treasures of the study and some pocket money if she could convince Sui Youbian to go out shopping with her. Pei Qian told him that she would consider his offer, then went to Chen Ping’an. Chen Ping’an felt like it would be a good thing for Sui Youbian to go out more.

At the very least, it would help her get in better touch with the world around her instead of being so cold and detached all the time, so he instructed Pei Qian to agree to Zhu Lian’s offer. Hence, Pei Qian began nagging her insistently like an annoying little fly, constantly disrupting her cultivation, so in the end, she could only cave and go out shopping with her and Wei Xian.

After that, Sui Youbian grabbed the bamboo bookcase in the corner of her shared room with Pei Qian, then took the initiative to drag Pei Qian out for a shopping spree. Chen Ping’an made an agreement with Pei Qian in secret, promising to give her a copper coin for each time Sui Youbian bartered with a shopkeeper.

All of a sudden, Chen Ping’an cast his gaze out of the medicinal shop.

The light outside the alley had suddenly become very dim, as if a heavy, dark cloud had suddenly descended upon the alley, but there was no cloud to be seen.

Immediately thereafter, the green-robed Fan Junmao descended out of the sky.

Chen Ping’an made his way around the counter, then emerged from the shop.

“Have you made up your mind?” Fan Junmao asked.

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

“Hopefully, this year can have a good conclusion.”

Fan Junmao turned to the Zhao Clan yin soul as she warned, “Don’t try to use your powers to see what’s happening above the sea of clouds. Otherwise, Chen Ping’an will be the one who suffers the consequences.”

The yin soul nodded in response. By using the formation in the medicinal shop to attain Unpolished Jade Tier powers, he would indeed be able to observe what was taking place above the sea of clouds. However, the spiritual energy of the sea of clouds was very pristine and pure, while his energy as a yin soul was the complete opposite.

The two conflicting types of energy could easily cause the sea of clouds to descend into a state of disarray, thereby ruining Chen Ping’an’s bonded item refinement and harming the foundation of his Great Dao.

Fan Junmao grabbed onto Chen Ping’an’s shoulder, and she was just about to fly up to the sea of clouds above when Chen Ping’an suddenly said, “According to the books I’ve read, immortals will pick out a suitable time, date, and location prior to commencing pill refinement, and on that day, they’ll fast, bathe, and change into new clothes, then kneel down while holding a cauldron to pray to heaven and earth. You’re saying I don’t need to do that?”

A disdainful sneer appeared on Fan Junmao’s face as she replied, “On the sea of clouds, I am the equivalent of a mountain master in their academy, an abbot in their Daoist temple, or an Arhat in their monastery. I am the sage of the small world that is the sea of clouds, so who do you need to pray to? Me?

“If you’re willing to kneel down and kowtow to me, I’m most likely going to be struck down again and drop down another cultivation rank, but that’s not really a concern for me. I can always regain my lost cultivation base, but there won’t be that many opportunities where I can make you kowtow to me.”

Chen Ping’an was enlightened upon hearing this.

It seemed that even though Lu Yong was a Nascent Tier cultivator, he still couldn’t be considered a sage on Clear Realm Mountain, so he was unable to draw upon the fortune of the land around him as he pleased.

After being dragged up into the sea of clouds by Fan Junmao, Chen Ping’an took a moment to steady himself. He gently trod down onto the sea of clouds below and discovered that it had the same consistency as the average dirt road, just like how it had felt when he stood upon the water after his yin soul had emerged from the water god temple.

Fan Junmao swept a sleeve through the air, and a large, white table formed by cloud and mist appeared in front of Chen Ping’an. The surface of the table was as smooth as a mirror, and there were tendrils of mist drifting all over it.

The pocket treasure, Fifteenth, and the minimization treasure that was the white jade tablet were hovering above the table before him. In a very slow and deliberate fashion, he pulled out a series of items required to refine his bonded item from the pair of storage treasures.

Aside from the cauldron that Chen Ping’an had purchased from Lu Yong for fifty grain rain coins, there were also the close to fifty types of natural treasures that Chen Ping’an had secured from Fan Junmao in exchange for the Nascent Tier food dragon’s golden core. There were twelve types of sand alone, and they were to be used at different points in the refinement process for various different purposes.

Chen Ping’an was pulling out the items one after another in an unhurried manner, while Fan Junmao was becoming more and more agitated by the second, having to fight back the urge to tell him to hurry up.

All of a sudden, she slapped a jade pendant onto the cloud table as she said, “In order to refine that water seal, the most important secondary ingredient is water essence of a sufficient caliber for the task. Otherwise, it’ll have a detrimental effect on the entire refinement process.

“This Old Dragon Rainbringer is the best piece of water essence that I can currently find. It’s about as old as Old Dragon City itself, and it’s absorbed much of the water fortune essence of the sea of clouds. There’s no need to talk money with me, just treat this as a bet that I’m making on you, just like that flagon of basic refinement medicinal wine.

“Having said that, if you insist on talking money, then that’s fine too. I can sell this jade pendant to you for the cheap price of thirty grain rain coins!”

“Aren’t you the only one talking money here?” Chen Ping’an asked with a smile.

A perplexed look appeared on Fan Junmao’s face upon hearing this, and she asked, “Do you really feel justified in accepting such a precious Old Dragon Rainbringer free of charge? This thing has been worshiped in the Fu Clan’s ancestral hall for over a thousand years, and it’s extremely valuable!

“I’m only charging you thirty grain rain coins, and this item is vital to ensure that you can refine a bonded item of the best possible caliber. Does that not make it worth the money in your eyes?”

“This is only a part of the compensation that the Fu Clan has promised us, and you’re only passing it onto me as a middle man, yet you want to earn thirty grain rain coins just for running such a simple errand?” Chen Ping’an scoffed. “It looks like you must’ve stumbled upon some hard times lately.

“I presume that your drop in cultivation base isn’t just a simple reversion from the Nascent Tier to the Golden Core Tier. Has your foundation been harmed, just like that Sword Devouring Ark did to me? You’ve been trying to devour the sea of clouds to treat your injuries, but that must not be working very well. It must be very costly to replenish the water essence that’s been sucked into your acupoints from the sea of clouds, right?”

“You may do some stupid things, but you’re not a fool at all!” Fan Junmao grumbled in a disgruntled manner.

Finally, Chen Ping’an pulled out the water seal before gently placing it onto the cloud table.

Fan Junmao took a long glance at the seal, then asked, “Are you really going to refine this seal? Once it becomes a bonded item of yours, you’ll be directly harming the foundation of your own Great Dao if you ever use it to grant fortune to other bodies of water. Of course, if you don’t do such a foolish thing, then this water seal will be immensely beneficial to you once it becomes your water-attribute bonded item.

“Normally, the acupoint opened through this process is the size of a well or a small pond, but you have a chance to create a little lake for yourself! Right now, spiritual energy is gushing into all of your acupoints to whittle away at your True Qi, but if you can pull this off successfully, then that crisis can be easily averted.”

“I’ve already made up my mind,” Chen Ping’an replied with a determined nod.

He then reached out to stroke the Old Dragon Rainbringer, and he was struck by a sense of familiarity.

His brows furrowed slightly as he looked up at Fan Junmao, then asked, “This is a piece of water essence?”

“Why the skeptical look? Are you worried that I’m trying to scam you?” Fan Junmao sneered with a cold look in her eyes.

Chen Ping’an shook his head in response, and after a brief moment of hesitation, he pulled out the jade slip that had been bestowed upon him by the Burial River Goddess, then asked, “Is this thing water essence as well?”

As soon the jade slip appeared, the surrounding sea of clouds immediately began to dance with joy like a bunch of small children eyeing a piece of candy.

A stunned look appeared on Fan Junmao’s face as she asked, “Where did you get that from?”

Chen Ping’an smiled as he said, “I’ll take that as a yes to my question then. It seems like this is a superior piece of water essence to this Old Dragon Rainbringer.”

This was the second time since hearing about the twelfth demon core in Chen Ping’an’s possession that she had been struck by the urge to take something from him by force.

However, on this occasion, she quickly suppressed that impulsive urge. After learning about Chen Ping’an’s relationship with the sword spirit, she didn’t dare to consider making any moves on Chen Ping’an. All she could do was scoot a little closer to Chen Ping’an so that she could take a longing glance at the jade tablet.

Chen Ping’an didn’t know the true value of this jade tablet, but she did, and she could tell that this was definitely an item manifested from the water fortune essence of a certain large water vein from dragon palace in a major river. Compared with this Old Dragon Rainbringer… Well, there really was no comparison between the two. It was like night and day.

The reason why Fan Junmao desired this jade slip so intensely was that she could tell that refining this jade slip would be sufficient to replenish the sea of clouds to its original condition, and it would also be more than enough to restore her cultivation base to the Nascent Tier.

From there, she would be able to easily reach the Upper Five Tiers in just three or four more decades, and once she reached the Upper Five Tiers, it would be a simple matter of revisiting places that she had already explored, breaking open different small world secret areas in search of fated opportunities.

The process would be much safer and make for far more bountiful returns compared with the average cultivator that had to venture into secret areas that were fraught with peril.

“I can use this as the water essence to refine the water seal into my water-attribute bonded item, right?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“Of course you can!” Fan Junmao spat through gritted teeth. “You are the luckiest bastard I’ve ever met! Do you know how rare this thing is? This is an innate immortal treasure! If this thing were to appear in a small world that’s not presided over by a sage, a bunch of Golden Core and Nascent Tier earth immortals would fight to the death over something like this!

“In fact, there’s a very good chance that even some Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators would throw their hats into the ring!”

“Fate has different things in store for everyone,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile. “If I had grown up my entire life in Old Dragon City, I could perhaps stay here for a thousand years without earning a single opportunity to stand atop this sea of clouds. Just the same, had you gone and explored that water god temple for ten thousand years, there’s still no guarantee that you would’ve been able to secure this jade slip.”

“That is true,” Fan Junmao admitted with a nod. “Alright, cut the chit-chat and hurry up! You’ve already wasted more than enough time!”

She then took a deep breath before making a series of hand seals, and the outermost parts of the giant sea of clouds looming over the entirety of Old Dragon City began to rapidly curl up, presenting a sight much like a lotus flower in full bloom reverting back to a flower bud.

The sea of clouds encompassed Chen Ping’an, Fan Junmao, and the cloud table from all directions, and countless rays of white light began to cascade down from above like water from a flowing creek.

Spiritual energy rose up from all directions, making it rather difficult for Chen Ping’an to breathe. Upon noticing the mocking look in Fan Junmao’s eyes, he pulled out the golden jade tablet that carried the inscription of “nurturing the noble spirit” and hung it at his waist.

The surrounding spiritual energy instantly began to surge into the jade tablet in a frenzy, and Fan Junmao hurriedly swept a sleeve through to scatter the surrounding water essence from the sea of clouds that was exerting pressure upon Chen Ping’an. Otherwise, all of it would be sucked into the jade tablet, thereby further whittling down the sea of clouds.

After that, Fan Junmao flew out of the giant flower bud formed by the sea of clouds, then communicated to Chen Ping’an through voice transmission, “If you encounter any trouble, then stop the refinement process right away.

“You run the risk of sustaining injuries and losing all of your materials if you do that, but the alternative could quite possibly cost you your life. Also, you can adjust the height of that cloud table as you please with just a single thought.”

Chen Ping’an sat down with his legs crossed, and the cloud table indeed descended in front of him until it resembled a white mat draped over the ground.

On the cloud table were the water seal, the Five-Colored Golden Box Cauldron, the water essence jade slip from the unknown dragon palace, and the Old Dragon Rainbringer, which was currently looking rather redundant.

There were also over forty natural treasures, which included twelve types of sand of different colors, all of which were supposed to become more and more profound the longer that they were refined. There was the dense and heavy Infernal Water Sand, the Great Dipper Sand that glowed with radiant starlight… All of these priceless types of sand were stored in transparent glass containers of different sizes.

Chen Ping’an was seated atop the sea of clouds, inspecting his surroundings. Even though he was situated in the giant flower bud formed by the sea of clouds, his vision wasn’t impeded at all, and he was still able to see the ocean on three sides.

Ideally, he would be able to successfully carry out the refinement process on his first try and refine the water seal into his bonded item using the jade slip as water essence.

If he were to fail, then jade slip would disintegrate, releasing all of the water essence that it contained. However, the water essence would not go to waste as it would be drawn into the golden jade slip that he was wearing as spiritual energy. Even if some of the water essence were to escape, it would fuse into the sea of clouds, and that would serve as compensation for the assistance that Fan Junmao had provided.

In this case, he could still use the Old Dragon Rainbringer as his backup water essence to attempt the process again.

Chen Ping’an practiced his standing meditation momentarily to calm himself down, and in his mind, he was visualizing the process of pottery firing that he had frequently carried out as a child.

After tossing a large handful of lesser heat coins into the Five-Colored Golden Box Cauldron on the cloud table, five-colored clouds began to billow out of the mouths of the five beasts on the edge of the cauldron.

Chen Ping’an drew upon the True Qi in his own body, then gently exhaled into the cauldron to “start the fire.”