Unsheathed

There was harsh sword qi inside the room, and there was biting cold snow outside the room.

It was as if the sword piercing through Tan Xue’s heart and impaled in the door was linking the two worlds together.

Tan Xue already knew that begging for its life would be futile, so both it and Chen Ping’an fell into a long period of silence.

The young man standing in front of Tan Xue had started off with an entire lecture about principles and reasons, after which he had suddenly launched a swift and deadly attack. His words after he succeeded sounded like a review of his actions, something that made Tan Xue’s hair stand on end.

Almost all of the cultivators on Cyan Gorge Island felt like the bookkeeper living at the entrance of the island was a good-tempered and easy-going person.

They were all blind!

Tan Xue inhaled softly, yet this immediately caused it to feel searing pain rip through its chest. Not only was its physical body severely wounded, but there was surging chaos in the depths of its soul.

All living beings feared death, and this was the most realistic feeling in the world. This was the so-called minor singularity that Chen Ping’an had alluded to. Tan Xue had understood him, yet it had pretended to be puzzled.

When Tan Xue clearly felt its life force flowing away, and when it even started to detect its incredibly mystical Great Dao crumbling away piece by piece, it was as if Tan Xue were the most miserly and wealthy person in the world looking on helplessly as their taels of gold fell to the ground one after another yet they were unable to pick them up no matter what.

The small catfish naturally started to struggle, seemingly wanting to stride forward in a single step and forcefully remove its tough body that was equivalent to the physique of ninth tier pure martial artists from the door that was acting like a sturdy wall, leaving only the sword behind.

It would then reach over with a single hand and twist off the young man’s head, venting the wrathful fury in its mind.

However, Tan Xue quickly ceased its struggle. One reason was the excruciating pain that would shoot through its body every time it moved, no matter how small its movements. More importantly, the young man who had victory firmly within his grasp — the bookkeeper who liked to slowly and steadily build a foundation and enact his plan — didn’t show any signs of worry. There was an increasingly derisive smile on his face, and it didn’t seem like he was facing a powerful enemy at all.

Chen Ping’an’s face was as pale as a sheet, and his cheeks were also slightly red in a sickly sense. Perhaps this was due to the four secret alchemical pills from the Water Palace that Chen Ping’an had ingested, and perhaps things were exacerbated by his manipulation of Sword Immortal, a pseudo-celestial tool. He was pushing himself too hard.

Chen Ping’an’s voice was slow as he said, “Even though I haven’t refined this sword and transformed it into my own, carrying it around for an extended period of time has allowed its sword qi to wash through my soul. Our minds are somewhat linked, and the sword is like a young child who can’t yet speak.”

Chen Ping’an pointed at the remaining half of the blade that hadn’t penetrated through Tan Xue’s body, continuing, “It’s clearly telling me that you still harbored killing intent toward me when you were begging for your life just then. You wanted to unleash your full power and sacrifice yourself in order to kill me. What’s this? You’re feeling too embarrassed and ashamed after becoming such a pitiful victim of my plans, so you want to fight to your last breath and win back some face?”

Tan Xue could only respond with silence.

The small catfish was filled with grief and pain.

Perhaps it was truly wrong? But where and how was it wrong?

As if seeing through Tan Xue’s thoughts, Chen Ping’an explained, “If you want to know where you were wrong, what if I said that as the descendant of a True Dragon, you shouldn’t have used your extremely powerful mind and willpower to continuously and subtly influence Gu Can’s mind? In reality, Liu Zhimao can’t be regarded as Gu Can’s master at all. Gu Can’s mother and you, a beast, are his true masters. This is because Gu Can trusts the two of you the most. On the other hand, he’s always remained wary of Liu Zhimao, although Liu Zhimao has also influenced him quite significantly.

“For example, Gu Can’s understanding of Bamboo Scroll Lake and his understanding of how to interact with people in this toilet of a world are greatly influenced by what he secretly learned from Liu Zhimao. It’s just that this is nothing compared to what Gu Can learned from you and his mother. You definitely won’t admit your wrongdoings after hearing this from me, so let’s just pretend that your mistake was being too stupid. You mistakenly thought that I was also a member of Bamboo Scroll Lake, so my relatively low cultivation base would allow you to achieve victory through brute strength.”

“What are you trying to do?” Tan Xue asked.

“I’m thinking about how you’re going to die, and I’m contemplating how to make the most of your corpse after you’re dead,” Chen Ping’an replied.

“I no longer doubt the fact that I’ll die, but don’t forget that I’m ultimately a Nascent Tier cultivator. You’ll also be killed,” Tan Xue said.

Chen Ping’an’s eyes were filled with disappointment as he looked at the small catfish.

At this moment, Tan Xue finally attempted to consider problems from the stance and perspective of Chen Ping’an.

It was as if Tan Xue were finally viewing him as a worthy equal on the Go board. It was as if Tan Xue were finally putting some thought into his Go philosophy and Go strategies.

“I’m sure that you have your ways to stay alive, so I hope you can reveal them to me and kill off my final glimmer of hope. Don’t try to fool me and say that it’s your two flying swords. I know they’re not your trump card,” Tan Xue said.

“On Osmanthus Island, an intercontinental ship from Old Dragon City, there was an elderly boatman who’s extremely famous in the history books,” Chen Ping’an said slowly. “He owned a Dragon Beating Pole which had the characters ‘concentrate on the task at hand’ engraved on it, and he used this pole as a means to safely sail his boat across the Flood Dragon Trench.

“I was able to witness it when I traveled on an intercontinental ship to Stalactite Mountain, yet all of the cultivators on Osmanthus Island were unaware that the characters on the pole were actually a Lock Slashing Talisman described in an ancient text. This talisman is specifically used to suppress flood dragons, and it only becomes a complete talisman after four extra characters, ‘decree of the rain gods’, are added in ancient seal script.

“Unfortunately for you, I also know this talisman and am able to draw the required characters. Moreover, the power of the talisman will be quite decent. The talisman wouldn’t be able to kill you if it wasn’t for Sword Immortal impaling you to the door, and it would perhaps even struggle to keep you contained. With your current state, however, the talisman is more than powerful enough to suppress you. After all, I spent a very long time late one night to complete a Lock Slashing Talisman that contained brimming spiritual energy in its talismanic core.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and continued, “I asked you to sit beside the table just then, so are you now feeling regretful that you didn’t listen to me just then? In reality, there’s no need for you to feel so upset. Your thought process is far too simple, after all, and I’m completely aware of what you’re thinking. You’re simply oblivious to this fact. You and Gu Can left the Jewel Small World relatively early back then, so you didn’t see how I killed Dawn Cloud Mountain’s Cai Jinjian before I started to practice fist techniques, nor did you see how I almost killed Old Dragon City’s Fu Nanhua.”

Chen Ping’an pointed at his brain and chuckled, “So even though you’ve assumed human form, you’re a human in appearance only. Because you’re lacking this.”

Tan Xue’s back was seared by scorching heat as it leaned against the door, causing it to come to a sudden realization and screech, “You drew that talisman on the door!”

Chen Ping’an raised a finger to his lips, gesturing for the small catfish to lower its voice.

He then smiled and asked, “Do you find this very strange? Why were you completely unable to detect the presence of such a powerful talisman?”

There was ice-cold despair in Tan Xue’s heart.

Chen Ping’an answered his own question, revealing, “This is because the talisman was incomplete, still lacking some spiritual energy in its talismanic core. It’s not that I can’t draw a complete Lock Slashing Talisman right now, but I’ll need to pay a relatively high price to draw such a high-grade talisman. Moreover, you’re a Nascent Tier cultivator, after all, meaning that you’re extremely sensitive to the flow of spiritual energy in the world. If the talisman was complete, then you might have refused to enter the room after knocking on the door.

“Doesn’t everyone like to refer to me as Mr. Bookkeeper? That being the case, I felt like I couldn’t betray the love shown to me by everyone on Cyan Gorge Island. The blood from your heart completed the last critical component of the talisman.”

Chen Ping’an looked at the small catfish and asked, “Do you think I named you Tan Xue for no reason? The situation right now is a case of charcoal and snow coexisting in the same cauldron. However, it’s a shame that I’m not Gu Can. I don’t have a close relationship with you.”

As he spoke, Chen Ping’an retrieved two golden talismans from his minimization treasure, after which he continued, “In fact, I did draw two complete talismans as well, so what are you going to do now? Are you still confident that you can kill me before you die? You said that the two flying swords aren’t my trump card, but you were only half correct in your assessment. We’ve traveled together for a long time, and you can’t begin to imagine how many powerful enemies and life-and-death struggles we’ve overcome together.”

First and Fifteenth soared out from Chen Ping’an’s Sword Nurturing Gourd, with each piercing through the talismanic core of a talisman and unleashing a brilliant burst of spiritual light. It was as if two warm and bright charcoal baskets had appeared in the room.

One flying sword hovered in front of Tan Xue’s glabella, pointing straight at the small catfish’s acupoint in that location.

The other flying sword hovered in front of the sea of Qi located in Tan Xue’s abdomen.

Chen Ping’an smiled and said in reassurance, “Don’t worry, I wasn’t targeting you when I drove the blade further in just then. I was simply greeting the guest outside the door. At the same time, I wanted you to understand the concept of making the most of everything, lest you mistakenly think that I’m bluffing again.”

Chen Ping’an took several steps forward, surprisingly ignoring the young woman impaled to the door as he lightly opened it and said with a faint smile, “Sorry for making you wait, True Lord.”

As it turned out, the River Severing True Lord Liu Zhimao had already been standing in the snow outside for a long time.

Liu Zhimao was a powerful Nascent Tier cultivator, so if he purposely concealed his aura, even someone as powerful as Tan Xue wouldn’t be able to detect his presence. As such, Chen Ping’an shouldn’t have been able to detect his presence either.

Liu Zhimao had extremely sharp senses, and he had already noticed the commotion from his residence, the Hengbo Residence, when Chen Ping’an’s pseudo-celestial tool left its scabbard. However, he had been hesitant and indecisive at the time, and he was unwilling to rashly visit Chen Ping’an’s residence to investigate the situation.

In the end, Liu Zhimao was ultimately unable to sit still when the tip of Sword Immortal pierced through the door. He silently left the secret room in his residence and made his way to the entrance of Cyan Gorge Island.

Liu Zhimao had already been standing in the snow outside for ten minutes.

Chen Ping’an turned to his side and said, “Please come in and take a seat, True Lord.”

Liu Zhimao sighed in his mind, yet there was a smile on his face as he strode inside and walked around the bluestone slab before taking a seat beside the study table.

Chen Ping’an closed the door again, and even though his motion was gentle, the sword running through the pitiful Tan Xue’s heart still made it feel ice-cold and agonizing pain. Meanwhile, the talisman drawn on the door made Tan Xue feel as if it were being cooked in a pot of boiling oil. Punished by both freezing cold and searing heat, Tan Xue was experiencing inhumane torture at this moment.

Chen Ping’an and Liu Zhimao sat opposite each other again.