Unsheathed

The handsome fox demon that referred to itself as Master Qing suddenly asked, “Hey, foreigner woman, are you really a Daoist nun from that renowned Daoist Saber Room?”

The middle-aged Daoist nun was seemingly a little amused by this question, and she placed one hand on the hilt of her saber and used one finger to gently flick the lotus flower hat on her head before replying, “Why do you ask? Is someone impersonating me in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent? If there is, then tell me their name. This can be regarded as a meritorious contribution, so I can agree to give you a quicker and more painless death.”

The young man in black who had wreaked havoc in the Lion Garden all by himself clicked his tongue in wonder and remarked, “Tsk, looks like you’re genuinely from the Daoist Saber Room. I wonder if I’ll be stuffed to death after eating your precious golden core.”

The corners of the Daoist nun’s mouth curled up into a smile as she remarked, “As expected of the smallest continent in the Majestic World. Whether it’s in the mountains or outside the mountains, those who are tangentially related to Qi refiner are all haughty and boastful even though they barely have any power.

“Oh, that’s right, my name is Liu Boqi, and I initially came here because those in the Lion Garden also have the surname Liu. After having experienced terrible fortune all the time, I now see that my luck is finally turning for the better. I need to thank you for this, and that’s why I’m telling you about all this. That way, a slug demon like you can die without any confusion.”

The young man’s expression changed drastically, and he was unable to fathom how this detestable woman had seen through his disguise no matter how he racked his brains.

There was one thing that the slug demon was unaware of. The vermilion wine gourd hanging by Chen Ping’an’s waist was protected by an illusion technique that could prevent Golden Core Tier earth immortals from observing its true form, yet after Liu Boqi channeled her mystical powers, she was able to see it was a high-quality Sword Nurturing Gourd straight away.

The voice of Liu Boqi was still as calm and emotionless as always as she continued, “And that’s why I view that willow tree spirit as nothing more than a blind person. You’ve entered and exited the Lion Garden so many times, yet she was still unable to see through your disguise and identify your true form. You merely relied on the smell of foxes and a few strands of fox fur, yet she genuinely believed that you were a fox demon. You’ve successfully misled everyone and caused great harm.

“In fact, the person secretly supporting you in the background and having you cause calamity in the Lion Garden is also as blind as a bat. Otherwise, they would have skinned you alive and taken your coat of fox fur a long time ago, no? After all, what is the downfall of the Liu Clan worth? How can it compare to the value of the items in your belly?”

The slug demon had once announced that it wouldn’t be afraid even if it were hunted by a Nascent Tier cultivator, yet at this moment, it was already displaying a rare sense of nervousness.

“Will you let me go if I leave the Lion Garden right now?” it asked.

The middle-aged Daoist nun didn’t answer this question, seemingly finding it beneath her to respond to such a braindead inquiry. Instead, she gently tapped the hilt of her saber with her palm and said to herself, “This Dao saber that I carry with me everywhere is called Jing God, ranked seventeenth in Stalactite Mountain’s Daoist Saber Room.[1] As for my bonded item, it’s also a saber, one called Jiazuo[2]. However, rest assured that you won’t be able to see my bonded item. You should count yourself extremely lucky.”

The slug demon’s knees almost gave out from under him when he heard this.

“The fox demon that I ate wasn’t a good fox to begin with,” it said in a pitiful voice. “It wanted to rely on marriage to attain the Dao and form a golden core, and it even wanted to take advantage of this situation to slowly eat away at the Liu Clan’s fortune. Not only that, but it was so delusional that it even wanted to participate in the imperial examinations. By killing it and devouring it in a quick gulp, I actually helped the Lion Garden avert disaster one time.

“Afterward, an elderly esteemed immortal from the Azure Phoenix Nation coveted the imperial seal of the fallen empire passed down as an heirloom by the Liu Clan, so he joined forces with a supremely powerful person of high status in the imperial court of the capital. And thus, I went with the flow as well, allowing all three parties to achieve our own goals. In any case, this is only a trivial transaction that’s barely worth a mention.

“Miss Daoist Nun, mighty people should be tolerant and magnanimous, so just release me like a fart? If I’ve disturbed you and your enjoyment of the scenery, then I’ll compensate you by giving you the fox demon’s half-formed golden core? What do you say?”

Daoist Nun Liu Boqi from the Daoist Saber Room chuckled and replied, “Are you playing dumb and acting stupid because you’re convinced that I definitely can’t find your true body?”

The young man suddenly abandoned his facade and roared with laughter, exclaiming, “Ohoho, very impressive, stinky lady, you’re not quite as stupid as I thought. Daoist Saber Room? So what? Some random Dao Saber Jing God or whatnot from Stalactite Mountain? What about it? Don’t forget, this is the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and we’re standing in the Azure Phoenix Nation that’s right next to the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan!

“Ugly woman, you turned down the offer that I made out of goodwill, and you insist on having me scold you instead? Do you need Master Qing to scold you to make you feel more comfortable? What a detestable bitch. Go on, hurry up and run off to the capital to pray to gods and kowtow to Buddhas. Otherwise, if you fall into my hands again in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, then I’ll make sure to whip you until your flesh is broken and bloodied! Heh, who knows, you might actually be filled with joy at that time, am I right?”

Liu Boqi surprisingly wasn’t enraged, and she said with an amused smile. “As the saying goes, the smaller the temple the more ferocious the demonic winds—this really does ring true. Chatting with a slug demon like you is quite interesting. Compared to those powerful demons and fiends who earnestly kowtowed and begged for forgiveness when they saw me draw my saber, or even those who crazily screamed and yelled threats at me when they were facing imminent death, your response is truly much more interesting.”

The handsome young man looked arrogant and haughty, yet in reality, the slug demon was actually grumbling in its mind the entire time. It wasn’t like the Daoist nun to waffle on like this, so perhaps there was actually a trap lying around here somewhere?

However, no one knew that it had tampered with the body of the willow tree spirit, the mountain lord of the Lion Garden. In other words, it could immediately sense any noticeable change in feng shui in the Lion Garden.

If there were schemes and traps waiting for it in Liu Qingqing’s room, then so be it if it had to suppress its urge and wait for a while. It would bide its time and choose not to eat the scholarly fortune contained within the young woman’s body for the moment. It would wait to see who could outlast whom. After all, could this Daoist nun from the Daoist Saber Room and that young man with the sword on his back possibly stay in the Lion Garden and protect it for six months or a year?

But then… what was this ugly Daoist nun relying on? Was it something that it hadn’t anticipated? Otherwise, how did she suddenly become so patient and calm? After all this time, she still hadn’t drawn her saber and obliterated its illusory body like she had back then in the small courtyard.

Liu Boqi turned to her side and stood on the railing of the arch bridge, extending her hand and gesturing for the slug demon to cross the bridge as it pleased. She signaled that she definitely wouldn’t block it, and she revealed, “You’ll understand the truth if you go to the young lady’s residence.”

The slug demon had felt a strong urge to charge across the bridge when the Daoist nun was blocking the way before, and it had wanted to rush over to Liu Qingqing’s residence to check on the situation. Now that the Daoist nun was giving it a free pass, however, it started to feel like the small arch bridge was a mountain of sabers and a sea of flames.

The sinister human mind was far more terrifying than ghosts and demons.

The slug demon had suffered many huge losses during its long life, or else it was entirely possible that it would have already been on the verge of reaching the Upper Five Tiers.

The “handsome young man” had devoured the fox demon and was using its skin as an illusory technique to disguise itself. Not only was it in fact a kind of rare slug, but there was also another significant reason why Liu Boqi was targeting it and unwilling to let it go.

Namely, the slug demon was also a treasure-creation demon. As the saying went, “Heaven and earth rotate, a myriad items are created.” It was extremely difficult for slugs to become spirits to begin with, and it was even more difficult and rare for them to become treasure-creation demons.

Slug demons liked to feed on all kinds of spirits, ghosts, and fiends, and the most mysterious thing about them wasn’t their impressive ability to disguise themselves, hide, or flee. Nor was it the fact that they were incredibly difficult to kill even with the help of immortal treasures.

Rather, it was the fact that the cultivation paths of slug demons would seemingly absorb the cultivation fortunes of the many spirits and ghosts that they devoured. In other words, slug demons could cultivate several paths in unison, using their original demon core as a gateway to eventually form multiple golden cores.

With this in mind, slug demons were essentially Treasure Swallowing Whales but on land! Killing a slug demon would definitely allow one to strike it rich!

Thus, even someone as haughty as Liu Boqi was hellbent on obtaining this laughable earth immortal slug demon. If that young man with the surname Chen dared to fight her for it, then the Dao saber by her waist, Jing God, and her bonded item, the ancient saber Jiazuo, would truly attack without discrimination.

Seeing the slug demon furtively look around in a timid manner, Daoist Nun Liu Boqi smiled and said, “I’m aware that your true body is deep underground somewhere nearby. You’re hiding near the root of a mountain or a vein of water, preventing me from sensing your presence.”

The slug demon cocked its head and replied, “Since you’re so mighty and impressive, then why don’t you draw your saber and indiscriminately attack the surroundings? After all, the measly number of mountain roots and water veins in this area won’t be able to withstand your attacks for more than a few minutes. At that time, won’t I be forced out of my hiding place? Why don’t you do this? There’s something else that you’re worried about, right?”

The slug demon answered its own question, saying, “Oh, I’ve come up with a possibility. After all, I’ve paid more attention to your actions these past few days compared to the actions of that young master with a sword cultivator for a maidservant.”

Liu Boqi narrowed her eyes.

The young man raised his hands and chuckled, “I’m well aware that you won’t let me utter these words. Come on, attack me with your saber. Show some decisiveness. Green mountains unchanged and flowing rivers never dry, you’ll definitely pay for your actions in the future!”

Sure enough, Liu Boqi tore the illusory body of the slug demon standing on the other side of the arch bridge to shreds with her saber.

Just like before, a single strand of fox fur drifted to the ground.

Liu Boqi looked around at the surroundings. The Lion Garden was indeed surrounded by green mountains.

Charming the green mountains appeared in her eyes…[3] It was love at first sight.

Liu Boqi flushed slightly red, but there was fortunately no one around to see this. Moreover, her skin was slightly tanned, so the blush on her cheeks wasn’t obvious at all.

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind and once again adopted her cold and aloof expression. Sensing the wisps of aura circulating around the Lion Garden, Liu Boqi stood on the bridge and waited for the show to begin. The slug demon whose body was full of treasures was about to suffer a huge fall.

Since she was helping others and helping herself at this moment, Liu Boqi drew Jing God, the Dao saber that was renowned in the Daoist Saber Room. She dashed away, starting to unleash precise saber strikes at various locations around the Lion Garden. She would either sever the link between mountain roots and water veins, or she would stab at the locations that were most likely to be hiding spots. At the same time, she purposely caused some commotion and riled up the astral energy, temporarily causing the feng shui in the Lion Garden to become turbulent and murky.

She continued to buy time for the young man in white who had a Sword Nurturing Gourd hanging by his waist.

Having come across a slug demon, an extremely crafty type of demon that was easier to kill than it was to capture, Liu Boqi could only pinch her nose and engage in this type of boring behavior.

————

Outside a study that had its door tightly shut, a handsome young man once again materialized into existence. With his hands clasped behind his back, he violently kicked the door open before striding into the building.

The slug demon sniffed around for a second, and it found itself slightly unaccustomed to the environment. It rolled its eyes and grumbled, “I seriously don’t know what kind of good deeds the ancestors of the Liu Clan performed to accumulate such a great deal of scholarly fortune. This scholarly fortune is flowing throughout the entire Lion Garden without dispersing, and it’s no wonder that the Dragon Gate Tier fox demon wanted to grab a slice of this fortune. Ahhh, what a shame that it had a bad fate. It went to all of that effort for nothing.”

The slug demon started to tap things here and touch things there, and it also stomped its foot the entire time to determine whether there were any mechanisms or secret rooms present. After realizing that there was no such thing present, it started to rummage through the areas where it was easier to conceal things.

That treasure should have indeed been hidden in this study.

There were two powerful masterminds behind the calamity that was gripping the Lion Garden, and the slug demon had made contact with both of them already. They were naturally formidable beings very difficult to deal with, with one possessing a lofty cultivation base and one wielding immense power and influence. In fact, even the slug demon wasn’t willing to interact with them too much.

The old geezer who liked to collect the imperial seals of fallen nations in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent had an aquiline nose, and he appeared even more ghastly and sinister than ghosts when he smiled. There was a saying from the School of Naturalists that perfectly described this old geezer: “A nose like an eagle’s beak, used to peck at others’ hearts.” This saying hit the nail on the head.

The freakish old geezer was walking a path of aiding the imperial clan, and his favorite thing to do was to collect the surviving relics of fallen nations. The closer the age of these relics was to the year when the corresponding nation had fallen, the more the freakish old geezer would like the relic. He would naturally be willing to pay more for such relics as well.

In fact, it was rumored that the old geezer had already collected close to one hundred imperial seals belonging to the emperors of various nations and time periods. He possessed almost all of the imperial seals that one could wish for. However, there were still two matters that he found to be a great pity.

Firstly, he was missing one imperial seal that belonged to a set of several. There were some small rumors about this seal appearing in Wasp Tail Ferry Station, but the old geezer was seemingly quite apprehensive of the alley that had once produced an Upper Five Tier cultivator. He didn’t dare to disguise himself and head over to Wasp Tail Ferry Station to snatch the imperial seal.

Secondly, he dearly coveted the treasure that the Lion Garden had passed down and cherished for generation after generation. This treasure was known as the treasure that had followed an emperor around on his inspection tour of the nation. Once a paramount treasure, this surviving relic had belonged to a fallen nation located in the southern regions of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

This treasure wasn’t big; it only measured two inches in length and in width. It was crafted from gold, and someone had actually dared to engrave these words onto the small golden block: “Encompassing heaven and earth, secretly assisted by the gods; golden armor glistening, autumn hunting throughout the lands.”

The slug demon occasionally raised its head to glance outside the window.

Sure enough, that stinky woman was unwilling to yield, and was now using the crudest and most time-consuming method to look for its true body.

Haha, it would truly be impressive if she genuinely managed to find it!

The slug demon smirked in smugness. In fact, this was all thanks to a martial arts novel that it had read, especially the line about the most dangerous place actually being the safest place. The more the slug demon ruminated over this, the more it made sense.

However, it was feeling slightly agitated at this moment as it continued to look for the small golden block.

That little cripple from the Liu Clan was quite good at hiding things.

Even though the slug demon would be temporarily unable to take the small golden block away even if it found it, it could at the very least feast its eyes on the treasure first.

The current situation was quite absurd. After forming some connections with the feng shui of the Lion Garden, the slug demon surprisingly became a pitiful being who couldn’t even pick up the small golden block.

Of course, it could indeed pick up the small golden block if it disregarded the consequences. However, the slug demon wasn’t willing to go down this path, especially since time was the most abundant resource for demons walking the path of cultivation.

Perhaps this was compensation from the heavens given how difficult it was for demons to cultivate. Becoming a spirit and gaining intelligence was one barrier, and shapeshifting into human form to cultivate was another barrier. Afterward, finding a secret immortal scripture that paved a path to the Great Dao—or being incredibly lucky and receiving official recognition—could be regarded as the third barrier.

According to the historical records, there was an unfathomably lucky Upper Five Tier fox demon in Mount Longhu’s Heavenly Master Residence. After the Heavenly Master Seal was used to gently stamp the fox demon’s fur, the fox demon was able to easily block the vast tribulation of lightning that would descend whenever someone tried to break through the Nascent Tier and advance to the Upper Five Tiers. The fox demon had hopped around and leaped over several seemingly insurmountable gulfs. Which demon in the Majestic World didn’t envy this?

The slug demon had only heard others gossip about this, but just listening to this story made it feel green with envy.

Looking around the study, the slug demon inadvertently glanced at the couplets that were hanging high up on the walls. The little cripple, Liu Qingshan, had written these couplets, and the slug demon had no idea whether they were original or copied from a sagely text. The slug demon had only read a small number of books, after all, so it was only natural that it didn’t know the answer.

One couplet was: “A formation of a thousand soldiers under my brush, an army of ten thousand cavalry in my poems.”

The other couplet was: “Upholding virtue to match the sages, collecting books to educate our descendants.”

One possessed a mighty aura that radiated outward, while one possessed a steadfast aura that remained hidden.

The slug demon could obviously see through something as minor as this.

It raised its head and looked left and right, launching a large ball of phlegm at each of the couplets on the wall.

It then roared with laughter.

To see a studious scholar, especially one who was talented and in their prime, fall to the mud and become even more pathetic than a drowning dog… The slug demon was beside itself with delight and satisfaction.

1. Jing (獍) is a tiger and leopard-like mythical beast that devours its mother immediately after birth. ☜

2. Jiazuo (甲作) is one of twelve mythical beasts in Nuo folk religion, and by extension, Chinese exorcism religion. It is said that Jiazuo devours that which is ominous. ☜

3. This is a line from one of Xin Qiji’s poems. The green mountains are a symbol for someone with noble character. ☜