Unsheathed

By the time Pei Qian and the others returned to the medicinal shop, it was already very late at night. Chen Ping’an had been waiting for them at the entrance of the shop the entire time, and she called out to Sui Youbian, telling her that he had something to discuss with her.

The two of them slowly walked down the alley together, and Chen Ping’an told her about the old man’s intentions of inviting her to cultivate as a swordsman in his sect.

Sui Youbian asked Chen Ping’an if he knew anything about the old man, including his name, his cultivation base, and what exactly this sect of his was.

Chen Ping’an replied that he would only ask these questions if Sui Youbian agreed to the proposal. In fact, he would even go as far as to send a flying sword letter to Peace and Tranquility Mountain and request the old Heavenly Lord to verify the information provided by the old man. Only after ensuring that nothing was amiss would he allow Sui Youbian to go with the old man.

Sui Youbian fell silent upon hearing this, and she was silent for a long while. Chen Ping’an could only walk out of the alley with her, making their way out onto the street, which was far less lively than it had been during the day.

Sui Youbian had perished twice during the battle at the rundown temple, and she met her demise one more time during the battle outside Old Dragon City. Having already died thrice, her martial arts ceiling had been capped at the eighth tier.

All of a sudden, Sui Youbian stopped in her tracks as she asked, “You must really want me to go with him, don’t you? That way, you’ll at least be able to earn a treasure or two as compensation, and the old man will also owe you a favor for your troubles, isn’t that right?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head in response.

“If it isn’t for the fact that I have no other choice, I would much rather have you remain by my side. Ideally, I would personally help you scatter your True Qi safely, then become a swordsman so that your ceiling can be elevated beyond what you can achieve as a martial artist. However, you have to understand that right now, I’m only a fifth tier martial artist, and I’ve only just begun reconstructing my bridge of immortality.

“Compared with all those powerful immortal sects out there, I am far less equipped to help you, so if you stay with me, your progress will only be hindered. Time is of the essence on the path of cultivation, and even the slightest delay could have dire consequences.”

“If I choose to leave, what are you going to do with my picture scroll?” Sui Youbian asked.

“I would keep it safe, of course,” Chen Ping’an replied without any hesitation. “There’s no one else that I can trust wholeheartedly other than myself. At the very least, I know that I won’t use the picture scroll to harm you or extort you. As for whether you believe me or not, that’s up to you. Only when the picture scroll is in my possession can I be sure that it won’t be used for nefarious purposes.

“Even if that old man really does intend to treat you well and make you his direct disciple, how can I be sure that everyone around him will also treat you the same way? How can I be certain that they won’t use the picture scroll against you to force you to do certain things against your will? When people are in high-up places, they’re sometimes forced by the circumstances that they’re in to make certain decisions, but that doesn’t apply to me.

“I’m not saying I’m more kind-hearted than the old man, or that I’ll treat you better. All I can promise you is that at the very least, I won’t treat you like an object that I’ll sell to the highest bidder.”

Sui Youbian stared intently at Chen Ping’an, and he looked back at her in a tranquil manner.

“I’m telling you all of this from the bottom of my heart.”

Sui Youbian didn’t immediately make a decision on the old man’s offer. Instead, she suddenly changed the subject to something that seemed to be completely unrelated.

“That woman from Peace and Tranquility Mountain is very beautiful, and she’s also a Nascent Tier swordsman.”

“So?” Chen Ping’an asked with a puzzled expression.

“Are you not even the slightest bit attracted to her?” Sui Youbian asked.

Chen Ping’an rolled his eyes in response, then interlaced his fingers behind his own head as he replied, “There are countless beautiful women under the heavens. If I encounter one, then I’ll take an extra glance or two at them. After all, beautiful women are always a sight for sore eyes, but why would I be attracted to them?”

In an extremely rare display, Sui Youbian burst into laughter upon hearing this.

“You’re a man, are you not? How do you not feel any lust when you see a beautiful woman? Is there something wrong with you?”

“If you want to talk, then I’ll gladly oblige, but don’t go insulting me,” Chen Ping’an said in a lazy voice.

The two of them returned to the Dust Medicinal Shop, remaining silent the entire time. Pei Qian still wasn’t feeling sleepy yet, and she was waiting for Chen Ping’an at the entrance of the shop with her hiking pole in her hand, telling Chen Ping’an that she wanted to show him the fruits of her training. She confidently declared that after witnessing her sword and saber techniques, both Wei Xian and Lu Baixiang had been absolutely entranced.

The four picture scroll martial artists were all aware that Pei Qian had been taught the White Ape Saber-Wielding Technique and the White Ape Sword-Carrying Technique by Huang Ting, but they all pretended to be oblivious, and they certainly didn’t try and goad Pei Qian into passing the techniques onto them, either.

They did this partially to uphold a code of honor, and also because they knew that Pei Qian would definitely promise not to tell anyone, only to immediately report them to Chen Ping’an. Given Chen Ping’an’s personality, he most likely wasn’t going to be very pleased, and the four picture scroll martial artists didn’t dare to try and push their luck on something like this.

Hence, Sui Youbian made her way into the backyard to avoid watching Pei Qian’s demonstration, and only then did Chen Ping’an turn to Pei Qian with a smile as he prompted, “Show me what you’ve got.”

Pei Qian nodded in response with a serious expression, then let loose a delicate roar as she stepped forward and swept her hiking pole through the air, unleashing the White Ape Saber-Wielding Technique.

However, she went into her demonstration with a little too much vigor, and the hiking pole flew straight out of her grasp. Thankfully, Chen Ping’an was able to react in time and catch it right before it struck the wall of the alley. Otherwise, the bamboo hiking pole would’ve been shattered upon impact.

Pei Qian was horrified by her slip-up, and she was anticipating copping another knock to the head.

To her surprise, Chen Ping’an returned her hiking pole to her with a smile as he said, “You’ve got the right spirit, just make sure to practice your six-step walking meditation diligently from now on. Otherwise, even if you have the best sword and saber techniques, if you don’t have the physical constitution required to unleash them, then you’ll only be making a fool out of yourself.”

Pei Qian stomped a foot onto the ground in frustration and dismay upon hearing this. If she had known that this would be the outcome, then she wouldn’t have tried to show off to Chen Ping’an. At the end of all of this, she still had to go back to practicing her walking meditation, and that was a massive pain in the backside!

“You need to experience more hardships while you’re still young,” Chen Ping’an said as he patted her on the head.

Pei Qian raised her head with a hopeful look on her face as she asked, “Does that mean that I’ll be able to enjoy myself every day once I’m all grown up? Will I no longer have to make transcriptions? Can I drink wine whenever I want and eat whatever I want?”

“You’ll know the answer to those questions once you’re grown up,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile, then led her into the shop before closing the doors.

Pei Qian hung her head as she sighed, “I don’t really want to grow up. That woman said that I’m not very pretty to look at, so I most likely won’t be very pretty even after I’ve grown up. At my current age, even if I’m ugly, people will still say that I’m cute, but if I grow into an ugly woman, then no one will call me cute anymore.

“While we were looking at the lanterns today, Zhu Lian suddenly said that in a few years, I’ll be able to ward off evil spirits even more effectively than a door god. At the time, I was really happy to hear that, but I couldn’t help but feel like something wasn’t quite right. I asked Old Man Wei about it, and he tried to fool me, telling me that what Zhu Lian was implying was that once I become an unmatched swordsman, my sword qi will be so powerful that all evil spirits will be afraid of me.

“In the end, it was Big Sister Sui that told me the truth. She told me that what Zhu Lian was saying is that once I grow up, I’ll be so hideous that even ghosts will be afraid of me. How could he be so heartless? I always eat an extra half bowl of rice when he’s cooking, and I’m always the one who praises his cooking the most, so how could he talk about me like that?”

An amused look appeared in Chen Ping’an’s eyes, and he emulated Pei Qian’s demeanor as he sighed, “How vexing.”

Pei Qian found this to be very funny, and a wide smile immediately broke through her sullen expression.

After returning to her room, Pei Qian sat down across from Sui Youbian, who was practicing her standing meditation. Pei Qian rested her chin on her hands as she stared intently at Sui Youbian, then asked in a quiet voice, “How are you so beautiful, Big Sister Sui? Can you teach me?”

Sui Youbian opened her eyes, and she seemed to be in a rather good mood today as she suppressed her amusement and put on a serious expression before replying, “You have to make sure to be earnest and diligent in everything that you do, including your reading, making transcriptions, your walking meditation, standing meditation, your sword and saber technique practice, and even seemingly trivial tasks like doing your chores.”

Pei Qian turned her head to the side as she scoffed, “That’s clearly not true, Big Sister Sui.”

Sui Youbian nodded in response, then imitated Huang Ting as she sighed, “You’re such a smart girl, it’s a pity that you’re so depressing to look at.”

Pei Qian turned away with a sullen expression, then laid her head down onto the edge of the table. After that, she pulled out her prized yellow paper talisman before plastering it to her own forehead as she asked, “Big Sister Sui, do you like my father?”

Sui Youbian was rendered speechless by this sudden question.

It didn’t seem like Pei Qian was actually interested in hearing her answer, either, and before long, Sui Youbian had already closed her eyes again to continue practicing her standing meditation, widening her meridians and nourishing her own physical constitution.

Pei Qian carefully adjusted the yellow paper talisman on her forehead, then prayed in a quiet voice, “Please protect me and ward off all ghosts and evil spirits, talisman.”

————

That night, the Zhao Clan yin soul approached Chen Ping’an, telling him that he had something to pass on to him from the Scholarly Sage. As it turned out, Parasol Leaf Sect had officially given its compensation.

The golden core of that twelfth tier great demon had been refined by Du Mao in Parasol Leaf Small World in his desperate attempt to ascend. In exchange, Parasol Leaf Sect was offering up two five-colored dao manifestation fragments, one of which was roughly the size of a finger, while the other was around the size of a fist.

Upon the passing of a twelfth tier cultivator, there was a chance that they would leave behind a set of immortal remains. As for twelfth tier cultivators that failed in their attempt to ascend, they would leave behind some dao manifestation fragments that resembled pieces of five-colored glass.

Du Mao had completely disregarded the survival of the disciples of his sect, and he had even gone as far as to destroy Parasol Leaf Small World.

The only act of redemption that he had made to slightly quell the fury that everyone in Parasol Leaf Sect felt toward him was that in his final moments in this world, he ensured that three of the four five-colored fragments formed by his upper body fell back onto the ancestral mountain of Parasol Leaf Sect.

The sect had only kept a single one of those fragments, while the other two had been offered up to Chen Ping’an as compensation.

After delivering this important piece of news to Chen Ping’an, the Zhao Clan yin soul carefully pulled out a palm-sized parasol leaf. This was a minimization treasure that had also been offered up by Parasol Leaf Sect, and it contained the two dao manifestation fragments.

On top of that, the Scholarly Sage had also prepared two sets of mountain-protection formations for Chen Ping’an. One copied Peace and Tranquility Mountain’s formidable sword formation, while the other was a copy of Planchette Writing Sect’s mountain-protection formation.

Parasol Leaf Sect was made to pay the costs of hiring the powerful Mohist cultivators that would place the formations, amounting to a sizable sum of grain rain coins that were also in the minimization treasure.

However, Chen Ping’an would have to find the treasures to serve as the cores of the formations on his own, whether that be through making purchases or obtaining suitable treasures from fated opportunities.

Finally, the yin soul concluded, “The Scholarly Sage advised you to keep the parasol leaf on you at all times, but to try and refrain from opening it to inspect its contents before you return to your hometown. Otherwise, once a minimization treasure is opened, it’s the equivalent of temporarily opening a small world, revealing the aura of the contents inside.

“Ascension Tier dao manifestation fragments are extremely rare and highly sought after by all cultivators of the Upper Five Tiers, so they must be carefully concealed. The Scholarly Sage has also asked me to advise you to elevate your Golden Sweet Wine robe to a pseudo-celestial tool, and he says that you won’t regret it.”

Chen Ping’an stowed the parasol leaf away, while the Zhao Clan yin soul slowly dissipated into thin air.

He had also benefited immensely from passing on those two messages for the Scholarly Sage.

Chen Ping’an laid back down onto his makeshift bed in the shop, then stroked the white hairpin in his hair for a moment before closing his eyes to sleep.

The next morning, Fan Junmao arrived at the medicinal shop at first light, then took Chen Ping’an to the sea of clouds above Old Dragon City.

The old man was already waiting outside the shop, and before he had a chance to say anything to Chen Ping’an, Sui Youbian emerged from the shop to strike up a conversation with him.

After that, Sui Youbian made her way into the backyard, while the old man remained outside the shop with a pleased look on his face.

It wasn’t the best outcome that he had hoped for, but it was certainly close. All he would have to do was wait for a few years, and Jade Tablet Sect would have a brilliant prodigy with hopes of becoming a Nascent Tier swordsman within a century.

Once she reached the Nascent Tier, he was going to personally take her to visit Parasol Leaf Sect to see if they could “contribute” in any way to the reconstruction of their ancestral hall.

As the sun rose up in the east, its resplendent radiance presented a stunning sight to behold on top of the sea of clouds.

When the right moment came, both heaven and earth would offer their strength.

The refinement of Chen Ping’an’s water seal went very smoothly, and the process was completed without a hitch over the span of ten days.

With the water seal successfully refined, a painting of a flowing white river had appeared on the inner wall of his core abode.

In the instant that he succeeded, he suddenly felt as if his Golden Sweet Wine robe had become far lighter than before.

Emboldened by this liberating sensation, Chen Ping’an allowed the spiritual energy in the sea of clouds to gush into his acupoints as it pleased, and it flowed into a lake in one of his acupoints, producing an ethereal cloud in the process.

All it took was a slight bit of effort from Chen Ping’an, and he could ensure that his True Qi didn’t conflict with the lake in his acupoint and the streams of spiritual energy flowing into it.

It was a situation akin to that of the officials in an imperial court. They weren’t necessarily going to be close allies, but they weren’t sworn enemies, either, and they coexisted in relative peace and harmony.

Late that night, Chen Ping’an returned to Dust Medicinal Shop together with Fan Junmao.

The four picture scroll martial artists opened their eyes momentarily upon sensing his return, then closed their eyes to continue sleeping.

The Zhao Clan yin soul phased into a nearby wall as a cloud of black smoke, while Zheng Dafeng and Pei Qian remained sound asleep.

Chen Ping’an sat down onto the bench, then took a small sip of his basic refinement medicinal wine.

Fan Junmao was standing beside him, and she asked, “If you were in my place, would you trade this sea of clouds that’s been with you for countless years for the position of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s Southern Mountain God?”

“I don’t know,” Chen Ping’an replied in a truthful manner.

Fan Junmao was already in a very foul mood, and she snapped, “Then what exactly do you know?!”

“I know that there are many things that I don’t know,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

Fan Junmao tossed him a sword that she had prepared in advance in her minimization treasure, then vanished from the spot with a displeased expression.

The next morning, Chen Ping’an, Pei Qian, and the four picture scroll martial artists departed from Dust Medicinal Shop to make their way to the immortal ferry station on the western side of Old Dragon City. From there, they were going to travel by ship to Azure Phoenix Nation, which was situated in the northeastern region of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

Fan Er accompanied them to the ferry station, and he made Chen Ping’an promise not to forget the porcelain that he had promised to craft for Fan Er the next time they met.

Zheng Dafeng was staying in his shop on his own, and after looking at the “fortune” character on the wall for a while, he concluded that it was indeed a lot better-looking than the “spring” character.

He then walked a lap around the table in the hall, which had been so often laden with Zhu Lian’s delicious cooking over the past few days, before sitting down onto the doorstep to look out at the bench under the skywell.

That was where Chen Ping’an had frequently sat during his stay, and Pei Qian had sat on it a few times as well.

Over time, it was as if that area had become Chen Ping’an’s territory.

Zheng Dafeng began smoking on his pipe while scratching his own head, thinking about the scolding that he was going to receive from Old Man Yang upon his return to Dragon Spring Prefecture.

On the ship, Chen Ping’an was once again carrying a sword on his back.

The sword had a very interesting name: Sword Immortal.