Unsheathed

Chen Ping’an’s first destination was a small immortal force in the Stone Brush Nation. When he let the female yin entities leave his immortal treasures and walk around the world, he would often ask for their opinion and whether they wanted to enter Zeng Ye’s body and become the temporary host. If they found this uncomfortable, they could temporarily enter the Fox Skin Beauty Talismans that were produced by Light Breeze City’s Xu Clan. This talisman would be placed in Chen Ping’an’s sleeve or his minimization treasure during the daytime, and the yin entity inside the talisman would be allowed to transform into a beautiful talisman woman and enter the world to travel with Chen Ping’an and Zeng Ye during nighttime.

Chen Ping’an had twelve Fox Skin Beauty Talismans, and like rooms in an inn, they were all occupied by guests right now. Moreover, all of the yin entities staying inside the talismans were originally from the Stone Brush Nation. Thus, whenever night fell and there was no one around, Chen Ping’an would retrieve these talismans and allow them to appear. However, this required Chen Ping’an to spend some snowflake coins, or else the talisman papers would remain closed and prevent those inside from entering the world. They would be prevented from seeing the stunning snow scenery that wouldn’t make them feel cold anymore.

If this were an ordinary night, Chen Ping’an and Zeng Ye would be surrounded by chatter and silvery laughs right now, with the atmosphere as lively as could be. Of those residing in the twelve talismans, even the female yin entities who were initially not fond of interacting with others gradually became familiar and friendly with one or two others after traveling together for a period of time. They all had their own friendship groups, and they would chatter about feminine matters whenever they gathered together. As for the Great Dao and cultivation? They wouldn’t speak a single word about these matters, as doing so would be pointless and only succeed in making them feel aggrieved.

As for why they weren’t released into the world tonight, this was because Chen Ping’an had asked them to return inside the talisman papers. They were staying at a Daoist enforcer temple tonight, so they needed to respect the rules and customs and refrain from offending the temple.

A few of the female yin entities were quite brave, and they even started to tease and grumble at Chen Ping’an, saying that these rules and customs only applied to the common people. Mr. Chen was a guest elder from Cyan Gorge Island, so did he still need to care about these matters? If the measly deity at this Daoist enforcer temple truly dared to walk out of his clay statue, then Mr. Chen could simply beat him back with a single punch.

However, Chen Ping’an didn’t waver, so the female yin entities could only return inside the Fox Skin Beauty Talismans that had been carefully crafted by the Xu Clan.

Chen Ping’an was standing inside a corridor right now, and in the main hall behind him was the statue of a Daoist enforcer with a red face and a large beard. He was dressed in yellow robes and golden armor, and he appeared especially mighty as he stood in a golden rooster posture with an iron whip in one hand.

It was said that he was one of more than two hundred official Daoist enforcers recorded in the official documents of the Daoist Sect.

There was also an extremely secretive rumor that started to spread in the past one hundred years, with only Upper Five Tier cultivators and earth immortals like Liu Zhimao having the right to hear of it.

This pertained to a suggestion made by the Daoist second disciple, one of the three Daoist branch masters and the previous overseer of White Jade Capital. The Daoist second disciple also enjoyed the revered title of True Invincible, and he had suggested that everyone in the three worlds — even the Heavenly Masters from Mount Longhu, and even those who weren’t Daoist disciples and belonged to the two other teachings or the Hundred Schools of Thought — should have the opportunity to obtain a position and receive limitless worship in the Daoist Enforcer Hall located in one of the five cities of White Jade Capital if they accumulated enough virtue and fortune.

There were five hundred positions for Daoist enforcers, so disregarding the two hundred or so positions that had already been filled, half of the positions were still vacant and up for grabs. The destinies of these positions were waiting for fated individuals.

Chen Ping’an walked down the steps and made a snowball, gently compacting it with his hands. He didn’t go to the front hall, and he simply paced back and forth in the courtyard between the two halls.

This could probably be regarded as him minding his own business.

Chen Ping’an was mulling over some matters.

Extremely valuable treasures had appeared in the Southern Whirl Continent, the Parasol Leaf Continent, and the Circling Ascension Continent, the three continents located closest to Stalactite Mountain, causing many powerful elites to rush over and fight for them.

Du Mao had failed to ascend, with his colored glaze golden body falling apart and scattering into the surroundings. It was said that this huge fated opportunity triggered many fights between the Upper Five Tier cultivators of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

Afterward, there was the matter pertaining to the five hundred Daoist enforcers.

This was genuinely the unstoppable trend of the world.

Among these matters, Chen Ping’an had personally experienced the chaos in the Parasol Leaf Continent and even been slightly caught up in it. Fortunately, he hadn’t faced any life-threatening danger, but he had indeed been royally screwed over by the “young Daoist priest” who had handed him the ancestral hall jade tablet of Peace and Tranquility Mountain.

Zhong Kui had further been killed and reduced to a ghost because of this matter, losing his status as a noble scholar of a Confucian academy.

The path of the Great Dao was filled with perilous dangers, yet it was also filled with great mysticalities at the same time. Dangers and fated opportunities existed together, and it was ultimately up to each cultivator’s own ability whether they obtained great fortune or severely damaged their own cultivation. As the unstoppable trend swept through the world, Peace and Tranquility Mountain’s Zhong Kui suffered misfortune no different from how the Parasol Leaf Sect’s Du Mao suffered misfortune. The unstoppable trend didn’t discriminate between good and bad.

There were some matters where it didn’t necessarily help to know about them, but understanding the factors behind these matters was definitely better than being kept in the dark from the beginning to the end.

Because this journey would take them through many states and provinces from the south to the north of the Stone Brush Nation, Chen Ping’an had already researched and learned a lot about the imperial court and cultivation world of the nation while he was still at Cyan Gorge Island.

The Stone Brush Nation held Daosim in the highest regard, and they respectfully worshipped a vagrant Daoist Spiritual Master as their imperial preceptor. A so-called vagrant Daoist was naturally an unorthodox Daoist priest who didn’t belong to one of the four main branches of Daoism. There were three branches belonging to the Dao Ancestor, and the Daoist robes of each branch were different. However, it was much easier to differentiate these branches according to their Daoist hats. There was the hibiscus hat, the fish tail hat, and the lotus flower hat. Depending on the status of a Daoist priest, many fine details on their Daoist hats would also be different.

Apart from these three branches, there was also the branch belonging to the Middle Earth Divine Continent’s Mount Longhu. This Daoist branch could be regarded as indigenous to the Majestic World.

According to rumors, the Daoist imperial preceptor was contributing immensely to obstructing the southward advance of the northern barbarians from the Great Li Empire. He summoned wind and rain on the front lines, and he also scattered beans and transformed them into entire armies, unleashing his mystical abilities to defend the capital and prevent it from falling.

Apart from written intelligence reports from the immortal force on Willow Catkin Island, Chen Ping’an had also found some time to specially host a banquet at Pond Water City, inviting two of Gu Can’s friends in Han Jingling and Huang He. The former was a prince from the Stone Brush Nation who had taken refuge in Bamboo Scroll Lake for almost a year, while the latter was the son of a great general from the military of the Stone Brush Nation.

Chen Ping’an asked many questions, but he only engaged in surface-level conversations in a very polite manner.

Even though Han Jingling was an esteemed prince of the Stone Brush Nation, a legitimate son of the emperor and a genuine royal, he had already left the capital for many years and had even found an excuse to leave his own jurisdiction before the war even began, quickly traveling south to flee from the chaos. Thus, it wasn’t difficult to roughly guess his temperament.

However, worldly matters were difficult to predict, and as the iron hooves of the Great Li Empire’s heavy cavalry trampled south, the cities in the stubborn northern region of the Stone Brush Nation were often razed to the ground, with not a single blade of grass being left alive. Amid the raging flames of war, it was surprisingly Han Jingling’s jurisdiction that escaped relatively unscathed due to their lack of leader. They weren’t attacked by any enemies, and Han Jingling mysteriously gained the esteemed title of “Noble King.”

Of course, Chen Ping’an was aware that this was most likely thanks to the schemes of the officials supporting Han Jingling and working to install him as the next emperor.

When Han Jingling came face to face with the extremely renowned bookkeeper from Cyan Gorge Island, he naturally spilled everything that he knew, going so far that it appeared as if he wanted to pull out his brain to show Mr. Chen, the young man who had achieved many great feats at Bamboo Scroll Lake.

Huang He had left Bamboo Scroll Lake for a period of time earlier, meeting up with his father who had defected to the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire. Together, the two of them strategized how they could support Han Jingling and install him as the next emperor of the Stone Brush Nation. According to rumors, they had already met with Su Gaoshan, so they were now returning to Bamboo Scroll Lake’s Pond Water City to deliver some good news to Han Jingling.

Chen Ping’an hadn’t given the two of them any opportunity to get close to him and refer to him as a brother. Of course, Han Jingling and Huang He didn’t have the courage to do so anyway. However, their temperaments were slightly different, with the former becoming relatively modest after his nation fell into disarray. Thus, what would happen once he successfully ascended the throne and became the next emperor of the Stone Brush Nation? Would he regret his servile behavior at this banquet held in Pond Water City? He most likely hadn’t thought this far ahead yet. Meanwhile, Chen Ping’an didn’t care about this at all.

As for Huang He, he had appeared even more respectful and modest in front of Chen Ping’an. However, hidden beneath this facade was a string of emotions being gradually tightened like a bowstring. This was because General Su Gaoshan from the Great Li Empire was like a towering mountain that gave immense confidence to the army of the Huang Clan. When they genuinely forged a proper relationship with this lofty mountain, he would no longer need to care about Little Devil Gu Can who had already lost his teeth. Not only that, but even Chen Ping’an would most likely need to treat him with courtesy and respect if they met again in the future.

Chen Ping’an had silently observed these subtle motions of the human mind.

As for the written intelligence reports from Willow Catkin Island, it had revealed that the emperor of the Stone Brush Nation had issued an edict and made a declaration to the imperial court, describing Huang He’s father as “arrogantly disloyal and traitorously inflicting disaster on the people.” This was in stark contrast to the title of “Firmly Loyal General” bestowed upon him by the previous emperor.

Huang He had spoken little as he drank with Chen Ping’an and Han Jingling, and it was only when they discussed this matter that he became livelier and had a wide smile stretch across his face. He revealed that his father wasn’t angry at all upon hearing this declaration, and he had simply commented, “The emperor is completely flustered and exasperated.”

Chen Ping’an had drunk a cup of wine by himself when looking at Huang He’s young and high-spirited expression. Upon seeing Chen Ping’an drink, Han Jingling had hurriedly gestured to Huang He for them to raise their cup and drink together as well.

There was a slight sense of partaking in the grand event together.

Chen Ping’an didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

What the hell was with this drinking etiquette? Even the finest wine wouldn’t taste delicious anymore.

Following the conclusion of the banquet where both the host and the guests had seemingly chatted merrily and happily, Chen Ping’an had returned to Cyan Gorge Island by himself. His opinion of General Su Gaoshan grew even higher, and the previous time this had happened was due to Millet Grain Island’s Tan Yuanyi being forced into a dilemma where he could neither advance nor retreat.

Chen Ping’an returned to his senses.

As it turned out, a tall and sturdy yin entity dressed in a suit of armor had appeared near the front hall. This yin entity had potentially been a military officer when he was still alive.

The yin entity walked out of the front hall, stepping over the door threshold with his left foot first. He cupped his fists and said, “Esteemed Immortal, my subordinates and I were out of line just then, and we almost disturbed the Daoist enforcer in the main hall. Your warning saved us a lot of trouble.”

The deathly pale yin entity smiled tragically after saying this, putting his hands down and habitually resting one on the hilt of the long saber that was hanging by his waist.

Be it the yin entity’s armor, saber, or body, they were all products of his desires as well as things that he couldn’t let go of.

Looking at the countless wounds on the yin entity’s body, especially the deep gashes left by anti-cavalry swords on his chest and neck, Chen Ping’an could clearly tell that the military officer had died a brave and heroic death on the battlefield. This was evident even though Chen Ping’an had not yet witnessed any battle between the two armies.

The yin entity glanced back at the front hall before turning to Chen Ping’an and continuing, “Esteemed Immortal is from the mountains, so you might be aware that for ghosts like us who are detested by heaven and earth, our desire for death is even stronger than that of living people. The more dead we are, the stronger our desire. We’ll pull no stops to maintain our measly existence, and it’s because of this that my soldiers and I remain as ghosts even after dying on the battlefields.

“We rest during the day and travel at night, and we’ve traveled south the entire time and eventually arrived at this temple. Some brothers were unable to hang on, and they already vanished for good during our journey. Some managed to reach their hometown, and after seeing their parents, wives, and children, most of them left relatively peacefully at their ancestral hall or at the graves of their ancestors.

“However, there were also some who became increasingly restless and demonic, yearning to feast on the yang energy of any human whom they came across at night. When passing Daoist enforcer temples or other similar temples that were already derelict and with no deity, they would ignore all matters and give in to their desires to enjoy a feast. These individuals were incredibly difficult to restrain, and things only became increasingly difficult as time went on…”

Chen Ping’an nodded and asked, “Dare I ask, Officer, how did you deal with these individuals? If one of your companions acted as such and desired to harm an innocent person, yet you weren’t able to restrain them, how did you resolve the situation?”

This was a question that completely ruined the mood.

The yin entity lightly patted his saber, not hesitating in the least as he replied with a pained expression, “They would need to talk to my saber first! We were martial artists protecting our nation when we were alive, but this is no longer an option now that we’re dead. Even so, they need to go through me first if they want to bring harm to innocent civilians.”

The military officer yin entity took a deep breath and continued with a grin, “You might find this funny, Esteemed Immortal, but as we traveled south and had brothers gradually return home and depart, we shrunk from an initial army of six hundred or so yin entities to fewer than ten right now. Not only did we not harm a single innocent person, but we even vanquished close to one hundred wandering ghosts that were lingering around unmarked burial grounds and filled with violent fury.

“However, it was a shame that the accompanying cultivators of our army all ran away, with each fleeing quicker than the other. This meant that I couldn’t ask them any questions following my death. I do wonder, will our act of vanquishing violent ghosts for the benefit of the people allow us to accumulate hidden virtue? Will my brothers enjoy a good reincarnation?”

Chen Ping’an cupped his fists in respect before replying in a firm and solemn voice, “Heaven and earth don’t discriminate, but human morals pertain to Dao. I’m sure that you and your companions will all be blessed by hidden virtue, receiving its protection and bringing fortune to your families and descendants!”

After hearing this resolute answer coming from the mouth of an esteemed immortal, the unyielding warrior surprisingly started to shed tears, turning around and exclaiming to his brothers, “Did you all hear that? I didn’t lie to you!”

Several yin entities appeared near the back door of the front hall, with the former soldiers cupping their fists in respect in the direction of Chen Ping’an and the military officer. Perhaps they were thanking their superior who had gone through thick and thin with them, or perhaps they were thanking the young man in azure cotton robes for his confirmation.

When the cold was biting and when their nation was on the brink of destruction, their armor and courage rang loud and clear.