Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an’s tour of the Golden Osmanthus Temple came to an end after he saw the ancient osmanthus trees located near the back of the temple. Xu Borui led Chen Ping’an and his companions to the entrance of the temple again, and he sincerely invited them to attend the disciple recruiting ceremony that was going to take place in two days. He also offered to organize seats for Chen Ping’an and his companions.

Chen Ping’an expressed his thanks before leaving and heading back to the waist of the mountain. After walking one hundred or so paces, Xu Yuanxia glanced back at Xu Borui, who was yet to turn around and return inside the temple. He was still standing there and watching them depart. Xu Yuanxia turned back around and said with a soft chuckle, “Daoist Priest Xu is an intelligent person; he’ll definitely do well in the Golden Osmanthus Temple.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and concurred, “Immortal clans and forces in the mountains all need someone who’s intelligent and able to remain flawless when hosting guests and attending to matters.”

Zhang Shanfeng felt a tinge of sadness.

It was clear that he was thinking of the Daoist temple that he was from. After traveling around the world for so many years, it was inevitable that he missed his master, even including his bulbous nose and thunderous snores.

If it weren’t for his chance encounters with Chen Ping’an and Xu Yuanxia, it was very likely that this external Heavenly Master who didn’t carry the Zhang surname and was yet to become an official Daoist priest would have dejectedly returned to the Northern Complete Reed Continent a long time ago.

After Chen Ping’an and his companions arrived at the extravagant residence constructed by the Great Marsh Gang, they found that an astute and capable steward had already been waiting for them at the entrance for a long time. The steward turned and bowed slightly before leading Chen Ping’an and the others inside the residence.

After Chen Ping’an and the others all settled down…

Xu Borui respectfully stood inside the courtyard of a tranquil and refined residence located even deeper within the Golden Osmanthus Temple than the ancient osmanthus trees.

The corridor under the eaves was extremely wide and clean, and there were three pairs of wooden-soled shoes placed at the bottom of the steps. There was also an old Daoist priest who possessed the demeanor of a transcendent being sitting in the corridor under the eaves. He was none other than Temple Master Zhang Guo, a Dragon Gate Tier cultivator.

There were also two esteemed guests who had offered their help in a chivalrous manner and suppressed the sinister beings with ill intentions. In reality, both of them had interacted with Chen Ping’an before, whether directly or indirectly.

One was Jiang Yun, the burly young man, and the other was Wei Liang, a chief military governor of the Azure Phoenix Nation.

Right now, the three of them were sitting around a table and eating a bowl of vegetarian noodles each. There were spring bamboo shoots, mountain mushrooms, several types of wild vegetables that grew in the mountain during spring, fried gluten balls, and slow-cooked soup. The fragrance of the vegetarian noodles wafted through the air.

After Xu Borui roughly explained his impression of Chen Ping’an and his companions to the three people, Temple Master Zhang Guo smiled and told his disciple to take his leave and have a rest.

The old temple master then asked, “Is this a coincidence, or have they followed the traces and found their way here?”

Wei Liang pondered for a moment before replying, “It should be a coincidence. If it weren’t for Xu Borui, these people would have run over to block the entrance of my governor’s office already.”

He then turned to Jiang Yun and asked, “Judging by the change in your expression just then… Perhaps you’re familiar with this person as well?”

Jiang Yun nodded and explained, “He’s a native from the Jewel Small World, and he was still an ordinary commoner the first time I saw him. However, he’s gone through significant changes these past few years, and I was almost unable to recognize him when I saw him again. He’s a fairly decent person, but I hazard a guess that he’s caught up in many different matters. I didn’t dare to speak with him too much when I came across him at Wasp Tail Ferry Station a while ago.”

Wei Liang smiled and remarked, “Since he’s a native from the Jewel Small World, then all of the strange matters pertaining to him aren’t so strange anymore.”

Jiang Yun didn’t have any objections to this statement.

Even though he had entered the Jewel Small World with a bag of gold essence copper coins to search for opportunities, the number of fated opportunities that he could obtain was still incomparable to some certain locals who had simply stayed put and waited for fortunes to descend upon them.

Even so, he could be counted as one of the more fortunate outsiders, especially since he had obtained the dragon-binding chain and refined it into his bonded item. This was a huge and unexpected surprise, and even his powerful master was quite astonished and delighted. His master had smiled and speculated that he had perhaps snatched away a significant portion of the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan’s good fortune, and that was what had allowed him to obtain this huge fated opportunity.

Jiang Yun had immediately taken a liking to the iron chain hanging from the Iron Lock Well in the Jewel Small World back then, and his master asked a friend to appraise the iron chain for Jiang Yun after he managed to obtain it. The conclusion was that the iron chain was a precious relic left behind by a powerful cultivator who was at least at the Immortal Tier. Moreover, it could already be regarded as a genuine pseudo-celestial tool even before all of the secret restrictions were removed.

It was rumored that the highest-grade dragon-binding chains were actually called dragon-slaying chains, and their might more profound than that of dragon king baskets which were used to restrict and capture ancient earth immortal flood dragons. Powerful cultivators could easily bind and restrict flood dragons with a simple toss of these chains. With a casual shake of the chain, they could then directly flay the flood dragon and sever their tendons on the spot, leaving only their spine and dragon pearl.

However, the most profound fated opportunities from the Jewel Small World were not these inanimate objects, but actually five small creatures.

Of course, it wasn’t the case that simply digging three feet into the ground in enough places would allow one to find one of those five small creatures. It was up to fate whether one could encounter and obtain those incredible fated opportunities.

For example, Jiang Yun had failed to come across any of the five creatures.

Temple Master Zhang Guo put down his chopsticks before patting his belly and remarking, “I’ve abstained from food for many years, but I made an exception in order to welcome my two esteemed guests. I have to say that eating a hearty meal feels quite good.

“Chief Military Governor Wei,” he said with a wide smile, “the Golden Osmanthus Temple is providing you with significant help this time. Not only is the temple opening its doors to recruit disciples, but we purposely revealed the secret about our ancestral osmanthus tree and how it can be refined into a pseudo-celestial tool. This will attract many ill-intentioned individuals and allow us to encircle and suppress them, and we’ll help the Azure Phoenix Nation kill more than a dozen cultivators from outside the nation. That being the case, is the emperor not going to express his gratitude?”

Wei Liang smiled and replied, “Express gratitude? Of course we will! Aren’t I sitting here and enjoying a bowl of vegetarian noodles with you?”

Zhang Guo pointed at Wei Liang and said, “The ancestor of the temple wasn’t wrong back then—you’re an absolute miser! No wonder the ancestors told the future generations of the Golden Osmanthus Temple to minimize our contact with your office.”

Wei Liang still had half a bowl of vegetarian noodles remaining, yet he had already stopped eating and put his chopsticks down. The remaining noodles were taken by Jiang Yun, and Wei Liang turned a blind eye to the burly young man’s actions. He looked at Temple Master Zhang Guo and said, “You should be satisfied with what you have right now. The Golden Osmanthus Temple didn’t have many worshippers and didn’t receive many offerings during its earlier days, but who was it that invited Li Tuanjing over and had him eat vegetarian noodles in the temple?

“Oh, and this time as well. Did you, Zhang Guo, invite the young master of the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan over by yourself? Even if you personally carried a bowl of crappy vegetarian noodles over to Jiang Yun and offered it to him, would he be willing to pick up the pair of chopsticks and accept your offer?”

Jiang Yun continued to gobble up the noodles, and he didn’t give Wei Liang much face as he interjected, “A single pair of chopsticks is all I need. I’ll eat however many bowls of vegetarian noodles come my way.”

Zhang Guo laughed heartily upon hearing this, clearly in an exuberant mood.

In his impression, descendants from the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan were each more arrogant and haughty than the other. However, this young cultivator called Jiang Yun was very different. Since he was traveling with Wei Liang, and the relationship between them appeared very good, it was unlikely that he was from a small side branch of the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan. This made things very interesting.

Wei Liang hesitated for a moment before eventually saying, “Zhang Guo, I’ll need to trouble you with looking after that young girl from Blusher Hall in the future.”

An amused smile appeared on Zhang Guo’s face as he replied, “The paper-cutting knife, Miniature One, that the young girl is wearing by her waist… Is this what you gifted to one of Blusher Hall’s previous leaders back then?”

Wei Liang responded with a soft sigh.

Zhang Guo didn’t take things any further. After all, which cultivator at the Middle Five Tiers didn’t have some links with the mortal world? It was just a matter of how much or how little.

Looking back, these mortal links could be sturdy as heavy iron chains or transient as the fleeting clouds.

The only difference was whether a cultivator felt nostalgic about these mortal links or not.

People would have many feelings of gratitude or hostility in the mortal world, yet things would become far more complicated once they became immortals in the mountains.

When cultivators bore grudges, these feelings would remain fresh even after one hundred years. As a result, it was quite common to see some powerful clans in the regions suddenly suffering calamity for no apparent reason. These calamities would often destroy entire clans and leave no survivors.

When cultivators felt gratitude, the descendants of some certain mortals outside the mountains might continue to enjoy the blessings of their ancestors for more than a dozen generations. In fact, even these people would feel confused about how they were always able to overcome obstacles and escape from dangers. It was as if a large and invisible hand were blocking the winds of calamity for them.

“Zhu Fengxian’s granddaughter, the young girl from the Great Marsh Gang, possesses the best aptitude,” Zhang Guo said. “She’s already a third-tier Qi refiner, and she’s likely the only one who has the potential to become an earth immortal. Among the others, the young girl from Blusher Hall has the best potential. She can reach the Abode Tier, and maybe even the Sea Observation Tier if she’s lucky. In other words, apart from the two of them, my opinion is that none of the seven other disciples will be able to advance to the Middle Five Tiers.”

“Not necessarily,” Wei Liang and Jiang Yun replied in unison.

Zhang Guo’s eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, “Who else has the potential?!”

Wei Liang smiled and didn’t offer a response.

Jiang Yun looked up, and he didn’t offer an answer to this question either. Instead, he changed the topic and asked Wei Liang, “You’re not going to deal with that earth bull? Didn’t you want to capture it and take it as a subordinate since a long time ago? Didn’t you want the earth bull to become a mount for the mountain god of the Azure Phoenix Nation’s Northern Mountain?”

Wei Liang shook his head and replied, “Forget about it. When it comes to fated opportunities, one can only go with the flow. Seizing something by force won’t necessarily lead to good results. Actually, the mountain god of the Northern Mountain told me a long time ago that the yellow earth bull only looks gentle and harmless on the surface. However, it’s actually an extremely ferocious demon at the Dragon Gate Tier. What kind of demon that strong would be willing to be suppressed and trapped in a mountain to act as someone’s mount for the rest of their life?”

Zhang Guo clicked his tongue in wonder and remarked, “It would be a mutually beneficial outcome if this demon could guard Azure Waist Mountain. If it’s necessary, we can also treat each other as equals—the Golden Osmanthus Temple will regard the earth bull as a guest elder protecting the mountain. What do you say, Chief Military Governor Wei?”

Wei Liang shook his head again, a solemn expression in his eyes as he smiled faintly and warned, “It’s best that you don’t provoke the young man called Chen Ping’an. After he left the Jewel Small World, it’s extremely likely that he became the disciple of some profoundly powerful Legalist cultivator. You should be well aware of how Legalist disciples like me conduct ourselves. Whether we’re in the mountains or outside, in our eyes, everyone is equal.”

An expression of helplessness appeared on Zhang Guo’s face as he lamented, “I know, they’re one of the four types of cultivators from the mountains who are the most troublesome to deal with. There are bloody sword cultivators, saber-lending cultivators from the Mohist Sect, Daoist priests from the Daoist Saber Room, and finally the most unreasonable people like you, disciples of the Legalist Sect.”

“We’re unreasonable?” Wei Liang asked with a smile.

Zhang Guo felt slightly guilty, but he suddenly smiled and asked, “You aren’t? Then why don’t you, Chief Military Governor Wei, go and speak reason with that earth bull?”

“The principles of Legalism revolve around people first and foremost,” Wei Liang replied in a calm voice.

————

Inside Chen Ping’an’s room, Pei Qian was sitting at the table copying out a text.

Next door, Zhang Shanfeng was earnestly cultivating in his own room.

The young Daoist priest from the Northern Complete Reed Continent claimed to have mediocre cultivation aptitude, and it was only due to him having nowhere to go that his master had taken pity on him and reluctantly taken him as a final disciple. His cultivation journey had only confirmed his master’s astute observations. Zhang Shanfeng’s cultivation progress was indeed very slow, and even now, he was yet to successfully advance to the Middle Five Tiers.

However, Zhang Shanfeng was a resilient person, and he had never felt discouraged or given up hope. He would occasionally feel disappointed, but this disappointment stemmed from the fact that he wasn’t strong enough when it came to subduing demons and eliminating fiends. In some sense, Zhang Shanfeng’s mindset was identical to Chen Ping’an’s. The path underfoot was for him to walk, so there wouldn’t be any notions of talent or lack thereof as long as he didn’t compare himself to other people. This mindset allowed him to remain extremely determined and grounded.

There were many principles and theories regarding talent and aptitude, and the mystical nature of these principles and theories could all be captured by the word “innate.” The core abode created by each person would vary in size, and this would then determine how much spiritual energy each person could absorb. There was also the issue of spiritual energy absorption rate, and delving even deeper, there were differences in terms of the purity of the spiritual energy absorbed. Some people could only absorb spiritual energy in a pitifully small stream, while other people could absorb spiritual energy in astonishingly large waves.

It was only after considering these aspects that one had the right to consider the environment inside their core abode as well as the form of their nascent soul.

Chen Ping’an frequently practiced the strange Heaven and Earth Stance now, flipping upside-down and standing on his hands. After practicing fist techniques for so long, Chen Ping’an was also able to figure out some things. For example, he could practice three stances of the Mountain Shaking Fist in unison, performing the six-step walking meditation while assuming the Heaven and Earth Stance. While doing this, he could also perform the Sword Furnace Stance of standing meditation with a single hand. At the same time, he could also use the Eighteen Stops Technique.

This was like a different world altogether.

The only problem was that he couldn’t exactly see where he was going. When walking through the desolate mountain forests, Chen Ping’an would often wander away as he walked, splitting up from his companions walking along the mountain path and falling into streams or rolling down hills.

In the end, Pei Qian was the one who had come up with a dumb but useful solution, suggesting that they tie a rope to the tip of her hiking pole and to the Sword Nurturing Gourd hanging by Chen Ping’an’s waist. She would walk in front and keep Chen Ping’an on track. Of course, Pei Qian also needed to perform the six-step walking meditation now.

And just like that, the young man and the little girl started to walk together one in front of another. They were cultivators walking along the same path of the Great Dao, both literally and figuratively.