Unsheathed

The emperor of the Great Sui Nation attended the Thousand Elders Banquet, and the envoy from the Great Li Empire was the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites who had visited the Dragon Spring Prefecture back then. If Chen Ping’an were present, he would definitely recognize this person in a single glance.

This was a banquet where elders with white hair were the majority, and sitting to the left and right of the Great Li Empire’s assistant minister were Song Jixin and Xu Ruo, respectively. They were both using a pseudonym, and Zhi Gui was nowhere to be seen.

Xu Ruo was still dressed like a traveling swordsman, with a sword resting horizontally across his legs as he sat there.

Apart from the young Embroidered Tiger, it was very likely that no one else knew that Xu Ruo had just done something incredibly significant.

He had directly faced Mr. Fan and spoken on behalf of the Great Li Empire’s Imperial Song Clan, allowing one branch of Commercialists to enter the grand feast that was sweeping through the entire continent. They could enter halfway and grow to their heart’s content, and the Great Li Empire wouldn’t interfere in their affairs for the next thirty years.

As Xu Ruo drank, what he thought about wasn’t these matters pertaining to the unstoppable trend. Rather, he was contemplating how he could nurture Dong Shuijing, the young man who was still selling wontons every day, into a genuine saber-lending cultivator.

Song Jixin looked at the emperor of the Great Sui Nation before sweeping his gaze across the surroundings. Looking at all of the elders, he felt like the imperial court of the Great Sui Nation was gloomy and bleak.

Zhi Gui — or Wang Zhu, to be more precise — stayed back in the quiet relay station by herself.

A tall and skinny middle-aged Daoist priest channeled an illusion technique and concealed his true appearance before bringing two cultivators from True Martial Mountain with him and silently arriving at the relay station. He found Zhi Gui currently leaning against the railing under the eaves and listening to the chiming bells.

The middle-aged Daoist priest retracted his mystical ability and revealed his true appearance. There was immortal energy lingering around him and a fish tail hat on his head, and just standing there made it seem like he possessed a profound Great Dao that was one with heaven and earth. He was like a towering mountain standing in the world.

Zhi Gui simply took a quick glance at this Dao Lord from the Divine Edict Sect. He was none other than Qi Zhen, the leader of the Daoist orthodoxy in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. As for the sword-bearing cultivator from True Martial Mountain, she didn’t so much as spare a single glance at him. More of her attention was focused on the young man who had a black cat sitting on his shoulder.

He appeared gentle and quiet right now, and this was similar to her memory of that mentally challenged young boy from Apricot Blossom Alley. His face was slightly pale, but he was still smiling warmly as he looked at Zhi Gui. At the same time, there was also a fervent possessive desire hidden in the depths of his eyes.

Zhi Gui didn’t like this young man very much, and it wasn’t because she was prejudiced against him. Instead, Ma Kuxuan’s grandmother was truly far too detestable, possessing all of the bad habits that were both common and uncommon among women in the common class. Every time she went to the Iron Lock Well to collect water, she would definitely hear a few unpleasant remarks from that old hag. If she hadn’t been suppressed by the regulations of the Jewel Small World back then, she would have had more than one hundred methods to torture that blabbering old hag.

Afterward, Old Man Yang had gone mad and actually decided to gift a fated opportunity to the old woman, allowing her to become the river guardian of the Dragon Whisker River that flowed through the small town. As a result, Zhi Gui could only restrain herself and continue to wait for an opportunity. One day, she would have that old hag, Ma Lanhua, taste the excruciating pain of hell on earth.

As for how Ma Kuxuan would react at that time? Would she care about this? The answer was a resounding no.

Qi Zhen smiled faintly and said, “Miss Zhi Gui, I’ve already completed the task that Branch Master Lu has instructed me to do. The Divine Edict Sect has just obtained a brand new shattered blessed land, and I hereby welcome Miss Zhi Gui to enter the blessed land to search for fated opportunities. I’m willing to accompany and protect you while you travel around inside the blessed land.”

Tracing Qi Zhen’s roots, one would find that he actually belonged to the Daoist branch led by the Daoist second disciple. However, Lu Chen was one of the three branch masters, and he was also responsible for overseeing the White Jade Capital right now. Thus, Qi Zhen was naturally delighted to assist Lu Chen. After all, he was confident that his ambition to advance to the Ascension Tier would no longer be an impossible dream if he managed to impress Branch Master Lu.

When Qi Zhen was young, he had once been told a prophecy by a powerful figure — immortals also needed to console themselves with illusions. Before reaching the twelfth tier, this was naturally a hugely auspicious prophecy. After Qi Zhen became a Heavenly Lord and essentially reached the limit of his potential, however, then this became an inauspicious prophecy that implied that he could only wait for death.

Meanwhile, Branch Master Lu was coincidentally a profoundly powerful person who greatly enjoyed changing the fortunes of those whom he liked. According to rumors, there were four idle hobbies that Branch Master Lu enjoyed the most, with one of them being carving rotten wood and bringing them back to life.

Ma Kuxuan only had eyes for Zhi Gui, and there was a faint smile on his face as he looked at the girl whom he had liked for a long time, saying, “There’s no need to trouble Heavenly Lord Qi with these matters. I can accompany her into the blessed land.”

Zhi Gui completely ignored the Daoist Heavenly Lord, and she didn’t even sit up straight to show a modicum of respect to him. Her head was still cocked sideways in a lazy manner as she looked at Ma Kuxuan and asked, “Are you the fated opportunity that Lu Chen promised to give me? Will you be listening to my commands in the future?”

Lu Chen had set up a fortune-telling stall in the small town back then, and after being visited by the emperor of the Great Li Empire as well as Song Jixin, he had visited Zhi Gui and told her that he had used some small schemes to receive a promise that he wanted from Song Zhengchun: “let them off the hook this time.” Thus, he was able to go with the flow and obtain Ma Kuxuan in a legitimate manner. And now, Lu Chen was planning to give Ma Kuxuan to Zhi Gui.

Zhi Gui didn’t care about the details of the process, and she hadn’t paid much attention to this matter to begin with. This was because she hadn’t felt like Ma Kuxuan would become an influential figure.

Afterward, however, Ma Kuxuan had shot to fame in True Martial Mountain, advancing with ease two times and breaking through tier after tier. Only then did Zhi Gui feel like there might be something special about Ma Kuxuan even though he wasn’t one of the five chosen people.

Even so, Zhi Gui couldn’t be bothered thinking too much about this. After all, it wasn’t a bad thing to have an extra weapon in her possession. Apart from Old Dragon City’s Fu Clan, there weren’t any other underlings for her to freely use at this moment.

Ma Kuxuan nodded and replied, “Yes, I’ll be listening to you. If you want to kill someone, then just give me the word. I promise to bring their heads back as long as they aren’t old bastards at the Upper Five Tiers. As for those at the Upper Five Tiers, just give me some time, and I’ll eventually be able to kill them as well. In fact, it shouldn’t take too long for that day to arrive.”

Back in his ancestral residence in Apricot Blossom Alley, Ma Kuxuan had heard his grandma grumble and complain countless times because of his romantic interest in Zhi Gui.

However, this was the only matter on which his doting grandmother had complained to him about.

“Then can you kill Chen Ping’an?” Zhi Gui asked.

The heart of the Dao guardian from True Martial Mountain jolted when he heard this, and he interjected in a solemn voice, “No.”

Zhi Gui simply fixed her eyes on Ma Kuxuan.

Ma Kuxuan smiled wryly and replied, “There are sages guarding Mountain Cliff Academy, so I’m naturally unable to kill Chen Ping’an right now. However, feel free to give me a time limit. For example, one year, three years, or something like that. To be honest with you, it will be quite difficult to kill Chen Ping’an right now if the rumors are true. Of course, that’s unless…”

Zhi Gui nodded and directly cut Ma Kuxuan off, saying, “Oh, is that so? Then forget about it. By the looks of it, you aren’t very powerful either. Lu Chen is quite unkind. He gave Heavenly Lord Xie Shi’s descendant — that muddleheaded Long Eyebrows — a miniature treasure pagoda without any hesitation. However, he’s suddenly become so stingy when it comes to giving me a fated opportunity.”

The Militarian cultivator from True Martial Mountain was afraid that Ma Kuxuan would become angry after hearing this, yet when he used a secret technique to observe the mind’s lake of the young man, he was surprised to discover that it was as calm as could be. In fact, there was even a sense of joy radiating from it.

There was a dazzling smile on Ma Kuxuan’s face as he announced, “Just you wait, Wang Zhu, there’ll eventually come a day when you realize that I’m the best. Extraordinarily expensive celestial tools? Prodigious cultivation talents? Looking back at these things in the future, you’ll realize that they’re nothing more than trash and insects.”

Zhi Gui was slightly puzzled, and she asked, “What do you like about me? We barely had any interactions in the small town, and I honestly can’t even recall whether we had any conversations with each other?”

Ma Kuxuan was being belittled and insulted by Zhi Gui, yet his reaction at this moment would be enough to astonish all of the old ancestors from True Martial Mountain. He was displaying a rare expression of embarrassment, and he didn’t respond to Zhi Gui’s question.

Zhi Gui suddenly laughed and pointed at Ma Kuxuan, saying, “Ma Kuxuan, aren’t you the most renowned and prodigious cultivation talent in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent right now?”

The corners of Ma Kuxuan’s lips curled up, and he instantly transformed back into the domineering cultivator whom many people in the cultivation world were familiar with. He was supremely talented, so much so that he made everyone else in the same generation feel a sense of helplessness and despair. Meanwhile, older cultivators would feel like they had wasted hundreds of years of their lives.

Most importantly, Ma Kuxuan had left the mountains to train several times, and he had also engaged in many sparring sessions with fellow disciples from True Martial Mountain. During these times, he had shown his ruthless, cruel, and bloodthirsty nature, often turning ordinary battles into life-and-death struggles in an instant. Moreover, he liked to purge his foes completely, not showing any mercy regardless of whether he was in the right or in the wrong.

“I’m not a prodigious cultivation talent or whatnot,” Ma Kuxuan said slowly.

The black cat sitting on his shoulder curled up and raised its paw, licking it in an especially gentle manner.

Zhi Gui looked him up and down for a brief moment before pursing her lips and replying, “Whatever you say.”

“Will you become angry if I kill Song Jixin one day?” Ma Kuxuan asked.

Zhi Gui appeared slightly angry as she glared at Ma Kuxuan and scolded, “Ma Kuxuan, can you please refrain from boasting before you’ve actually become powerful? Otherwise, it will make you become very unlikable.”

Ma Kuxuan smiled and replied, “I’ll listen to you.”

The Dao guardian from True Martial Mountain who had accompanied Ma Kuxuan and watched him grow step-by-step couldn’t help but feel mixed emotions.

Meanwhile, Heavenly Lord Qi Zhen felt indifferent toward these matters.

It was only because he respected Branch Master Lu, who had already returned to the White Jade Capital, that he remained patient and watched the mundane quibble between his juniors.

It didn’t matter what Zhi Gui and Ma Kuxuan’s identities and backgrounds were; they would be nothing more than beautiful but fragile porcelain that could shatter at any moment as long as they didn’t advance to the Upper Five Tiers.

Ma Kuxuan’s expression became slightly disappointed as he continued, “I’m about to head to the Luminous Vermilion Empire to kill a few earth immortals in order to help me break through to the next cultivation tier.”

“Do I care where you’re going?” Zhi Gui replied in an indifferent voice.

Ma Kuxuan laughed loudly before turning to Qi Zhen and saying, “Then please lead us out of the city, Heavenly Lord.”

Qi Zhen nodded and bid farewell to Zhi Gui before disappearing with Ma Kuxuan and the other cultivator from True Martial Mountain.

The large formation surrounding the capital of the Great Sui Nation didn’t detect any anomalies.

It was as if they were entering and exiting their own home.

Among all of the mortal regions outside the mountains in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, Heavenly Lord Qi Zhen was perhaps only slightly apprehensive of the capital of the Great Li Empire.

Zhi Gui rested her arms on the railings, closing her eyes as she started to feel slightly drowsy. She dragged her slender finger across the top of the railing, with her nail causing a sharp grating sound.

She then turned her body and leaned back on the railings, tilting her head backward and revealing her shapely body.

She bent her finger and flicked it again and again, causing the wind chime under the eave to ring with her movements.

Evening arrived.

Zhi Gui opened her golden eyes with vertical pupils.

The peculiar phenomenon quickly disappeared.

She stood up in a graceful manner and smiled as she looked toward the courtyard door.

The faint smell of wine lingered around Song Jixin as he walked into the courtyard.

“Was the Thousand Elders Banquet fun?” Zhi Gui asked.

Song Jixin shook his sleeves and lamented, “Those old people at the banquet could barely stop themselves from rushing over to skin the three of us alive, devour our flesh, and drink our blood. We were absolutely terrified.”

“Didn’t they form an alliance of one hundred years with the Great Li Empire?” Zhi Gui asked in curiosity. “They have no bad blood with Young Master, and the heavy cavalry of our empire didn’t charge through their nation either, heading directly south instead. Why are they so hostile?”

Song Jixin slumped down against the railing and pondered for a moment before replying, “They’re probably accustomed to peace and prosperity, so they can’t handle any hardship at all.”

There was a look of realization on Zhi Gui’s face as she exclaimed, “Is that so? Then this maidservant has a much better temper than them.”

Song Jixin mistakenly thought that she was talking about the trivial matters that had taken place in the streets and alleys of the small town, so he smiled and replied, “I’ll definitely seek justice for you after I become powerful enough.”

Zhi Gui nodded and asked, “Young Master, you still haven’t figured out what’s so special about those three books yet?”

Song Jixin was a little exhausted, so he closed his eyes and rubbed his face before replying, “Perhaps they’re just some ordinary books. Maybe I’ve wasted my time feeling paranoid about them.”

Song Jixin suddenly reached inside his sleeve and retrieved a four-legged snake that looked like the type common in regional areas and the wilderness. After casually tossing it to the ground, he continued, “It was itching to do something the entire time I was at the Thousand Elders Banquet, and if it weren’t for Xu Ruo using his sword intent to suppress it, I surmise it would have directly lunged at the emperor of the Great Sui Nation and munched on his head for supper.”

Zhi Gui squatted down and retrieved a grain rain coin, placing it in her palm.

The four-legged snake was very timid, and it didn’t dare to eat this delicacy no matter what.

Song Jixin bent down and looked at the four-legged snake that now had a small horn-like matter growing out of its forehead, and he said in exasperation, “Just look at how cowardly you are, and then look at that flood dragon at Bamboo Scroll Lake. The gulf between the two of you is truly like the gulf between heaven and earth.”

After saying this, Song Jixin turned his attention away from the small creature, yawning as he went back to his room to sleep.

Zhi Gui swayed her palm around, yet the four-legged snake still didn’t dare to approach her and eat the grain rain coin.

“Heh, at least you’re smart enough now.”

Zhi Gui smiled with squinted eyes and tossed the grain rain coin into her mouth. Meanwhile, the four-legged snake appeared a little aggrieved as it hissed in a soft voice.

Zhi Gui clenched her hand into a fist and punched the four-legged snake’s head, saying, “To remain idle for long periods at a time, but to make enough to live for years on end once springing into action — do you not understand this?”

She stood up and kicked the four-legged snake, sending it flying into the courtyard. “You’re unable to do anything, yet you still dare to covet the ancient immortal body owned by the imperial preceptor? So be it if you drool in secret, but you were actually caught in the act as well. How did I end up with you, a pathetic little thing that fails to achieve any success and only manages to leave a trail of failures in its wake?”

Zhi Gui sat down on the steps and removed a shoe, after which she beckoned at the four-legged snake.

This little creature obediently ran over to her side, allowing the angry Zhi Gui to hit it again and again.

————

Prince Gao Xuan from the Great Sui Nation was currently studying at the newly established Forest Deer Academy located at the Dragon Spring Prefecture’s Cloud Drape Mountain. However, neither the Great Sui Nation nor the Great Li Empire tried to purposely conceal this matter.

This was the second time that Gao Xuan had entered the Dragon Spring Prefecture. However, his first visit had been in the sky, and he had needed to climb up a towering set of cloud steps to reach the Jewel Small World back then. This time, he was genuinely standing on the soil of the Great Li Empire.

Cloud Drape Mountain was now the Northern Mountain of the Great Li Empire. Its title was new, and the academy located on the mountain was new as well. The teaching scholars and the young students in the academy could also be considered new.

Forest Deer Academy was funded and run by the imperial court of the Great Li Empire, and it wasn’t regarded as one of the seventy-two Confucian academies. The mountain master and the deputy mountain master weren’t especially renowned, and the latter was once the assistant minister of the Yellow Court Nation, a vassal state of the Great Li Empire. However, everyone knew that Forest Deer Academy was definitely aiming to become one of the seventy-two Confucian academies. The Imperial Song Clan was determined to achieve this goal.

In the beginning, Gao Xuan had thought that he would definitely face many challenges and conflicts in the academy. At the very least, he would be looked down on and dismissed by the others. Otherwise, he would be tested out by those with ulterior motives just like what Li Baoping, Yu Lu, and the others had experienced in Mountain Cliff Academy. He would definitely be the victim of some bullying and harassment.

However, Gao Xuan couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed after staying at Mountain Cliff Academy for several months. This was because no one in the academy — neither the teachers nor the students — treated him, a prince from an enemy nation, with any sense of importance. Almost no one expressed any feeling of clear hostility toward him.

Gao Xuan had been puzzled about this for a very long time. It was only afterward that an explanation from the old ancestor of the Geyang Gao Clan, who was cultivating in a thatched cottage in Cloud Drape Mountain, had allowed him to come to a sudden realization.

In just a short one hundred years, the Great Li Empire had transformed from a vassal state of the Lu Empire into the dominant ruler of the northern region of the Great Li Empire. They were no longer eunuchs working to influence another empire, nor were they external clans with little influence and power.

War had raged continuously for these one hundred years, and death and destruction had been the constant. The Great Li Empire had continued to conquer and engulf their neighboring countries.

Because of this, the residents living in the capital of the Great Li Empire came from many different nations. Unlike the imperial court of the Great Sui Nation, their statuses wouldn’t remain stagnant either. Indeed, those in the imperial court of the Great Sui Nation had the same status as their ancestors from two or three hundred years ago.

Gao Xuan understood the situation straight away. Running water wouldn’t become stale, just as a moving door hinge wouldn’t be infested by insects. Indeed, constant activity would prevent decay.

However, the old ancestor of the Geyang Gao Clan who had once mingled in the capital of the Great Sui Nation as a teacher had also remarked with emotion, “Running water? More like flowing blood.”

Whenever Gao Xuan had free time, he would carry his bookcase and travel to the large mountain in the western region of the Dragon Spring Prefecture by himself. Otherwise, he would wander through the streets and alleys of the small town or stroll through the newly constructed prefectural city in the north. If he went to the prefectural city, he would purposely take a detour to a road that led to a mountain god temple. There, he would eat a bowl of wonton at a stall owned by someone with the surname Dong. Stall Owner Dong was a tall young man who treated his customers in a friendly manner, and after a few visits, Gao Xuan also became friends with him. If Dong Shuijing weren’t busy, then he would personally go into the kitchen to cook two dishes that they could enjoy with some wine.

Gao Xuan would occasionally visit an uninhabited residence, and it was said that the owner of this residence was a man called Li Er. His wife’s family had now taken over the residence, and they were currently trying to sell it for a high price. However, they had seemingly run into issues at the county office, and this was only natural since they didn’t have a title deed for the land.

There was a Dragon King Basket sitting in Gao Xuan’s bookcase.

Adhering to the secret technique taught to him by the old ancestor of the Gao Clan, Gao Xuan would pour lesser heat coins into the basket every day, causing the spiritual energy inside to become as viscous as water.

Inside the bamboo-woven basket was a slowly swimming golden carp.

That was the first time that Gao Xuan had met Li Er. Of course, it was also the first time that he had met Chen Ping’an.

Gao Xuan had already mentally prepared himself before coming to the Great Li Empire. Perhaps a day would come when he needed to hand the Dragon King Basket as well as the golden carp to some powerful figure in the Great Li Empire as the price for him studying peacefully at Forest Deer Academy.

However, up until today, even County Magistrate Yuan and Prefectural Overseer Wu hadn’t come over to visit him yet.

Gao Xuan was currently squatting by the stream and washing his face, yet he suddenly turned around at this moment, only to see a handsome man dressed in snow-white robes with a golden earring on one ear.

Gao Xuan hurriedly stood up and bowed in respect, saying, “Gao Xuan pays his respects to the formal god of the Northern Mountain.”

Wei Bo smiled and replied, “There’s no need to be so polite. I’ve seen you visit many places, and you always carry the Dragon King Basket with you no matter where you go. This won’t do. If you trust me, then why don’t you open the Dragon King Basket and release the golden carp into the stream, allowing it to be raised in flowing water? Using spiritual energy as water is to raise the golden carp in a stagnant manner, and as time goes on, the golden carp will eventually lose its spirit.

“Its cultivation base might rise very quickly in the short term, but it will ultimately be trapped at the barrier of the Nascent Tier. Even though the golden carp will absorb much less spiritual energy every day if it lives in the stream, causing its cultivation speed to slow down significantly as well, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks in the long term.”

Wei Bo pointed at the distance and continued, “The golden carp can swim freely from here to the Dragon Whisker River and the Iron Talisman River. I’ll notify the two river guardians and tell them not to suppress its cultivation.”

In reality, Gao Xuan was feeling quite hesitant right now.

He had never interacted with this formal mountain god of the Great Li Empire before, so how could he feel at ease?

His old ancestor had once said that the golden carp in the Dragon King Basket might have the opportunity to leap through the dragon gate in the Middle Earth Divine Continent in the future and transform into a genuine dragon.

The human mind was meticulous and unpredictable when it came to the Great Dao, and it was filled with all kinds of plots and scheming.

Gao Xuan was already at the mercy of the Great Li Empire, so he would have no option but to take the loss in silence if someone truly took his fated opportunity by force. He could only attribute this to the unstoppable trend. At the same time, however, his Dao Heart would become increasingly firm. Working hard and marching forward in the face of adversity was the best way to temper one’s mind.

If he fell victim to someone’s schemes and lost a fated opportunity that was already in his hands, however, then he would lose more than just a golden carp. Gao Xuan’s Great Dao would also become damaged and flawed.

Wei Bo smiled faintly and said, “It’s okay, there’s no rush. It won’t be too late to release the carp into the stream if you change your mind in the future.”

He then turned around and prepared to leave.

At this moment, the old ancestor of the Gao Clan suddenly flew over from Cloud Drape Mountain and appeared beside Gao Xuan, saying to the prince, “You can listen to Mr. Wei. His suggestion will bring many benefits and no harm.”

Seeing the old ancestor of his clan appear and say this, Gao Xuan no longer hesitated and directly opened his bookcase to retrieve the Dragon King Basket, releasing the golden carp into the stream.

With a happy swish of its tail, the golden carp quickly swam away and disappeared downstream.

Gao Xuan squatted down beside the stream, still holding the empty Dragon King Basket in his hands as he murmured, “Caged for a long time, freedom finally calls.”