Unsheathed

After placing Pei Qian’s treasure box back inside his bamboo bookcase, Chen Ping’an left the inn by himself and casually wandered around the county city to experience the local customs and traditions.

Even though the county city was small, it still contained all of the necessary essentials. There was a scholarly temple and a martial sage temple, a county office and a private school, and all kinds of shops and stalls selling a variety of different things. There was everything that one could wish for.

There were uneven and muddy paths, willow trees that were sprouting new branches, crowing roosters and barking dogs, and brand new spring couplets and door gods.

There were merchants from foreign lands bustling about and peddling goods with no set location, and there were also little children sprinting through the streets, with most of them still wearing brand-new clothes they had been given for the New Year. They were filled with energy and vigor.

Chen Ping’an continued to wander around, and before he knew it, he had arrived at the martial sage temple. On the way, he had also passed a god of wealth temple that was enjoying a relatively large number of worshippers and incense offerings compared to the scholarly temple.

Chen Ping’an had traveled tens of thousands of kilometers these past few years, and he had discovered something very interesting. Ordinary mortals seemingly respected yet were distant from the temples of larger gods, yet they were quite attracted to the shrines and temples of smaller gods and deities such as the god of wealth, the mountain lords, and all kinds of female deities.

For example, in the Azure Phoenix Nation that was filled with Buddhist temples and Daoist temples, commoners would often offer incense to the gods in the main hall and that was that. They wouldn’t stay in the main hall for a long time. However, they would often kowtow sincerely before the feet of the gods and deities who were responsible for ruling over some specific matter. After doing this, they would quietly murmur their hopes and wishes.

Chen Ping’an entered the martial sage temple that only had a small handful of worshippers right now.

The divine statue in this temple was a painted clay statue of a martial general who had a ferocious expression and was holding a steel truncheon. It was an extremely dignified-looking statue.

The temple attendant of the martial sage temple didn’t come out to greet him. Chen Ping’an was at the fifth tier of martial arts now, but he was still yet to fully recover from his injuries. This had both pros and cons. In any case, he had a sliver of a chance to fight for that elusive and intangible title of the strongest fifth-tier martial artist in the world. Of course, the prerequisite was that Cao Ci, that supreme prodigy from the Great Duan Empire, had already advanced to the sixth tier.

The most important task when one advanced to the sixth tier was to acquire a Hero’s Gall Pill, something similar to the golden cores of Qi refiners. There were two main ways to do that.

The first option was to visit a martial sage temple and try your luck—maybe you could obtain the favor of a martial sage and thus obtain a wisp of martial fortune.

The second option was to visit the ruins of an ancient battlefield and battle with the dead heroes’ yin souls that were unwilling to disperse. However, this was very dangerous, as there were few heroic spirits that would wander around by themselves in the ruins of ancient battlefields. Many times, those generals with a heroic spirit would still possess intelligence and command an army of many commanders and a great many soldiers, making them incredibly difficult to defeat.

The immortal book that Chen Ping’an had purchased in Stalactite Mountain described a gigantic battlefield ruin in the Middle Earth Divine Continent. In that ancient battlefield ruin, there was a heroic spirit that was as powerful as a twelfth-tier Qi refiner and also possessed control over the area, similar to how Militarian sages could control battlefields. Because of this, the heroic spirit was essentially as powerful as legendary Ascension Tier cultivators. Not only that, but the heroic spirit also commanded an army of several hundred thousand yin soldiers and many yin generals.

According to rumors, the Heavenly Masters of Mount Longhu all needed to enter this ancient battlefield to train before they could be promoted to Great Heavenly Masters. Many tragic deaths had occurred because of this requirement.

Chen Ping’an had never held onto the hope that he could receive the blessings of a martial sage temple. He had simply strolled over here by coincidence today. Indeed, he yearned to visit those ancient battlefield ruins that were renowned in the history books, and he wished to advance to the sixth tier of martial arts through his fists and his own hard work.

Chen Ping’an was all by himself as he stood in the main hall of the martial sage temple. The martial sage temple of the county city was very small, so there wasn’t anywhere to purchase incense in the temple. Instead, worshippers would need to prepare and bring incense here by themselves. Chen Ping’an felt like it would be inappropriate to put his palms together in prayer, so he decided to cup his hands instead, paying respects to the martial sage using the customs of a martial artist. He then turned around and left.

The warm sunshine of spring shone outside the main hall.

Chen Ping’an stepped over the door threshold.

With his bridge of immortality reconstructed and his first bonded item refined, it could be said that Chen Ping’an had now put one foot through the door of becoming a legitimate Qi refiner.

However, this most certainly wasn’t some kind of divine fortune. After all, there were few situations in the world where one could have their cake and eat it too. This was especially the case since Qi refiners and pure martial artists cultivated according to principles that were not just different, but simply incompatible. This wasn’t to say that there didn’t exist cultivators who were both Qi refiners and pure martial artists, but even among several different worlds, there were very few. Some sword cultivators from the Sword Qi Great Wall, a few Daoist priests from the Daoist Saber Room, and the several types of cultivation freaks that Cui Chan had unintentionally mentioned before all belonged to this rare category.

Why did orthodox cultivators view this type of dual cultivation as foolish? This was because the further one advanced, the more likely it was that one would come across dangerous and near-fatal flaws. It was already difficult enough for Qi refiners to form golden cores, and it would be orders of magnitude harder for them to vanquish their internal demons when they broke through to the Nascent Tier.

When Buddhist monks cultivated their Indestructible Golden Physiques and when Daoist priests refined their Untainted Physiques, they were indeed both embarking on the tireless journey of achieving flawlessness. When it came to martial arts cultivation, cultivators were further pursuing the notion of purity.

If one chose to walk two paths in parallel, however, that would essentially be equivalent to asking for pain and trouble. It was very likely that one would fall short on both paths and eventually limit their own potential.

Chen Ping’an was just about to step over the door threshold of the main hall with his right foot as well, yet the spiritual energy behind him rippled, bringing with it a rich and mellow voice that said, “Please wait a moment, Esteemed Immortal.”

Chen Ping’an stepped back before turning around and returning inside the main hall. A layer of golden light shimmered over the painted statue of the martial sage, after which a middle-aged general in golden armor walked out from the statue and arrived in the main hall.

The martial sage hailing from this part of the Azure Phoenix Nation cupped his fists and said with a smile, “I need to thank your esteemed disciple for resolving the troubles that plagued the scholarly temple and the martial sage temple, allowing us to survive this calamity. Esteemed Immortal, can you please grant us an opportunity to thank you? Please feel free to let us know if you need anything. The scholarly temple and the martial sage temple definitely won’t refuse if it’s something that we can do.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “It was purely my disciple’s decision to help this time, and it had nothing at all to do with me. As such, there’s no need to thank me, Martial Sage. I only came here by coincidence today, so I apologize if I’ve disturbed you.”

“I wish I could be disturbed more,” the martial sage sighed in helplessness.

Chen Ping’an didn’t know how to respond.

The Dao of gods and deities was truly the most mysterious and mystical.

Chen Ping’an didn’t have anything else to attend to right now, so he decided to find a straw mat to sit down on. After setting up some illusion techniques to avoid frightening the mortal commoners, the martial sage also sat down on a straw mat.

Chen Ping’an asked some questions pertaining to the origin and etiquette of the scholarly temple and the martial sage temple, and he also asked some questions regarding scholarly cores. These latter questions didn’t appear out of place when weaved in with all of his other questions.

The martial sage answered Chen Ping’an’s questions one by one, revealing everything that he knew.

After receiving satisfactory answers to all of his questions, Chen Ping’an stood up to thank the martial sage before taking his leave. The martial sage saw the young man off to the entrance of the main hall. After the young esteemed immortal disappeared into the distance, the martial sage also returned inside his clay statue to rest.

A young man in white walked along the streets of the county city, walking past the lush green trees, walking past the dogs lying stretched on the ground and basking in the sun, and walking past the cheerfully laughing children. The young man continued to murmur to himself the entire time.

“At your age, there are always things that you can’t do. There are also things that you can try your best to do, but you still won’t be able to do them well. But what does this matter? It doesn’t matter.

“In addition, not doing well enough is distinct from doing something wrong. You don’t need be afraid if you commit a mistake while you’re young. But being young isn’t an excuse to give up and refuse to change.

“If you have reasonable parents, then your parents will scold you when you do something wrong. If you go to school, then your teacher will strike your palm with a ruler if you make a mistake. Little Baoping had Mr. Qi and also has her older brother, Li Xisheng. Cao Qinglang had his parents and he’s going to school now. But you never had any of these things. Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll be the one to teach you.

“But what will be the best way to teach you? There was no one to teach me when I was your age.”

The young man from a foreign land walked past some very ordinarily written spring couplets and breezed past a couple of poorly illustrated door gods.

He was in no hurry to return to the inn.

Chen Ping’an suddenly recalled something, and he turned into a secluded alley and retrieved a yellow paper talisman from his jade tablet minimization treasure. This was none other than the yellow paper talisman that housed the beautiful skeletal ghost from the Colorful Garment Nation. While Chen Ping’an was traveling to Stalactite Mountain on Osmanthus Island, Aunt Gui and Ma Zhi, the Golden Core Tier sword cultivator, had helped him establish a contract with the female bone ghost.

However, Chen Ping’an had suffered greatly at the hands of a female ghost wearing a bright red wedding dress during his younger days, so he had an innate dislike of ghosts and yin entities who caused trouble. After leaving Osmanthus Island, he had never allowed the female bone ghost to leave the yellow paper talisman, not even once.

Now that she was finally released into the world again, it was only normal that she felt some slight discomfort. She appeared lithe and beautiful as she stood in the shadows, yet she also exuded a concentrated and chilly yin energy.

She was wearing an exquisite and colorful dress with large sleeves, and both of her hands were hidden inside these sleeves. However, Chen Ping’an was well aware that apart from her beautiful face, the female ghost was nothing but a rack of bones from her neck down.

The beautiful skeletal ghost curtsied to Chen Ping’an, revealing two sections of snow-white… wrist bones. She appeared feminine and frail as she said, “This maidservant pays respects to Master.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t know where to begin, so he couldn’t help but hesitate.

When establishing the contract, Chen Ping’an had learned that the true name of this beautiful skeletal ghost was Shi Rou.

Chen Ping’an continued to wrack his brain for words as he remained vigilant of whether there was anyone walking past nearby.

Shi Rou smiled and asked, “Master, do you need this servant to deal with some impure matters? There’s no need to hesitate, Master, it’s my duty as a servant to deal with these matters for you.”

Chen Ping’an sighed and shook his head, replying, “I don’t need you to do anything dirty and unable to see the light of day. You’re a lady, so I want to ask you some things that you might have more expertise in.”

Shi Rou narrowed her eyes and remarked, “Oh? Dare I ask, Master, does this pertain to the intimate relationships between men and women?”

She smiled and extended a skeletal arm out of her large sleeves, covering her mouth as she chuckled. However, her eyes were ice-cold as she continued, “Who would have thought that you had such a strange fetish? This is truly a blessing for this maidservant.”

Chen Ping’an paid no heed to her thinly veiled taunts, and he asked in exasperation, “Would it kill you if you waited for me to finish? I want to ask you whether you ever married, gave birth, and educated children before. Do you know how to establish rules for children and juniors in the family?”

Shi Rou was utterly confused by Chen Ping’an’s question. It was clear that this question was completely beyond her expectations. When her soul was trapped in that picture scroll in the past, the old immortal had always instructed her to assist him in his sinister and malicious deeds. She had gone against her conscience and done many revolting things, and that was still a better option than watching the souls of her sisters shatter and disperse.

Even so, some pitiful sisters of hers had suffered the vile wrath of that old immortal, with their souls lit up like candles through an extraordinarily sinister immortal technique. Their souls would become candle wicks that slowly burned down, causing them unbearable pain as they tragically faded from the world. Apart from her, Shi Rou, who else had dared to go against that old immortal?

Now that she had a new master… why were things suddenly so different?

She breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head, replying, “My apologies, Master. I never married when I was alive, and I have little understanding of what you are asking for.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and summoned her back inside the yellow paper talisman without saying another word. He then placed the talisman back inside his jade tablet minimization treasure.

There was a dumbfounded expression on the face of the hovering female bone ghost as she was thrown back inside the darkness of the talisman prison. That was all?

Shi Rou felt slightly irritated and regretful. If she had known this earlier, then perhaps she could have made up some nonsense to trick him for a while. Just how long had she been trapped here for? How long had it been since she had last seen the outside world?

She would have been willing to stay outside for a little longer even if it meant astral winds brushing past her like blades through her flesh and spring thunder rumbling over her like blades scraping her bones.

Chen Ping’an walked out of the alley, eventually stopping on the steps of a residence with tightly shut doors. He sat down, hugging his knees as he stared blankly into the distance.

A family of three walked past. The child was innocent and pure, and he didn’t have a worry in the world. The rims of the woman’s eyes were red; it seemed she was upset about something. The man smiled apologetically and consoled her, and there was a long strip of meat wrapped in oil paper in his hand. However, the more the man consoled her, the angrier the woman became. In the end, she directly grabbed her son’s hand and briskly walked away, leaving her husband languishing behind by himself.

The man bent down in slight exhaustion. He had accompanied his wife to visit her family just then, and of the two other sons-in-law, one was an official from the local government and one a teacher who taught at private schools for wealthy families. As for him… he was nothing more than a farmer.

When offering return gifts, his father-in-law had given his two other sons-in-law a pork leg each. However, he had been singled out and given a thin strip of meat. He was naturally angry, and this also caused his wife to feel annoyed with him. However, as a man, could he possibly argue with his wife in front of their young son? At the end of the day, was this not caused by his own incompetence?

The man heaved a sigh. However, he suddenly noticed an unfamiliar young man sitting on the front steps of a residence not far away from where he was walking. The man subconsciously straightened his back and smiled at Chen Ping’an. Only after doing this did he jog after his wife and son who were walking further and further into the distance.

Looking at this scene, Chen Ping’an could sympathize with how these trivial matters would slowly drain a person. Even though there was no common language between them, Chen Ping’an had also grown up in an impoverished family in Clay Vase Alley. Thus, he was well aware of the bumps and challenges that faced people on the bottom rungs of society.

Because of this, Chen Ping’an surmised that the young boy would gradually start to understand his parents’ pains and worries when he eventually grew older. Perhaps he would study harder at school, perhaps he would smile a lot less, or perhaps he would realize that the father whom he admired was actually a little pathetic. Perhaps he would start to disdain his father just like his mother did.

Of course, it was also possible that he would help his father carry the thin strip of meat while returning home today. Upon seeing this, perhaps his parents would also reconcile and become as intimate as before. Perhaps they would feel like it was still okay to live on like this.

Anything was possible.

————

Pei Qian was transcribing texts in her room.

When she finished transcribing the required number of characters, she quietly snuck over to her door to eavesdrop on what was happening outside. However, she didn’t hear any footsteps even after waiting for a long time.

She leaned against the door and squatted down, looking at the tips of her toes.

In the beginning, she had suffered many blisters on the soles of her feet because she hadn’t been accustomed to trekking across the mountain paths. However, she hadn’t dared to poke her blisters.

At that time, someone had squatted down beside her and helped her pop them one by one. After rubbing some medicinal herb paste on her feet, the popped blisters didn’t hurt anymore.

While Pei Qian was staring blankly at her feet, a familiar voice suddenly sounded outside her door. “Have you finished transcribing the texts today?”

Pei Qian immediately jumped up, loudly replying, “Yep, I’ve finished transcribing them!”

The footsteps gradually faded away. She then heard the neighboring door softly open and close.