Unsheathed

Pei Qian turned to the little boy in azure as she grabbed onto the hilts of the sword and saber strapped to her waist, then said in a meaningful and heartfelt manner, “You may be my friend, but my master is the most important person in my life. If you continue to be so unscrupulous and constantly think about how to extort my master for money, then I’ll be forced to claim your head.”

As usual, she was speaking in a manner much more suited to someone many years her senior.

The little boy in azure rolled his eyes as he scoffed, “You’re going to claim my head with your half-arsed martial arts? I’d like to see you try!”

Pei Qian shook her head as she said, “I’m friends with that old cook. I can ask him to kill you, then claim your head once you’re dead!”

The amused smile that the little girl in pink wore quickly turned to a look of anxiety, and she was worried that a physical altercation would break out between the two.

Even though the two of them often bickered with one another, they had never actually gotten into a fight before. Instead, they preferred “verbal battles,” which was essentially just the two of them yelling the most impressive names for immortal techniques that they could think of at each other.

The little boy in azure took a moment to consider his chances against a Far Roaming Tier martial artist, then assessed Zhu Lian’s relationship with Pei Qian.

It then also dawned on him that Wei Bo also seemed to have been rather fond of Pei Qian, and with that in mind, he was forced to take the approach of appeasement as he sprang to his feet and said with a fawning smile, “Don’t be like that, you should learn to take a joke! Chen Ping’an is your master and also mine, so we’re basically family, and family members shouldn’t threaten other family members with decapitation on a whim.

“Don’t forget that I’m a great flood dragon that has met even the Third Branch Master of Daoism before, and just for that alone, you should give me some more respect, so don’t go saying such hurtful and immature things in the future.”

“I wasn’t joking around with you at all,” Pei Qian said in a serious manner. “People from the cultivation world like myself never make promises that they can’t keep!”

“Yes, yes, whatever you say,” the little boy in azure replied with a nonchalant smile, while the little girl in pink heaved a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, the two of them hadn’t actually turned on each other. Otherwise, she had no idea how to act as a mediator.

The three of them skipped over the rooftops of Red Candle Town and quickly departed from the town to enter the mountains, where a giant, black python slithered forth, leaving a deep trench in its wake. Pei Qian jumped onto the black python’s head, then sat down with her legs crossed, while her bamboo sword and bamboo saber rested on her legs.

The little girl in pink sat down onto the middle section of the black python’s back, while the little boy in azure stood on its tail.

A glum look flashed through his eyes as he cast his gaze toward the slender Pei Qian seated on the head of the black python. Just now, he had once again felt the natural sense of pressure that she had over him, and it was far from a pleasant feeling.

The first time he had noticed this sense of pressure from Pei Qian was back when they had trapped that dog spirit together in the mountains. At the time, there had been scraps of wood and grass all over her body, and there were also several small scratches on her face where her skin had torn open by branches, but after finally capturing that dog spirit, she had been completely oblivious to her own minor injuries.

In that moment, the trapped dog spirit had occupied the entirety of her attention, and she was hunched over like a prowling predator as she slowly drew her saber from its scabbard with a fervent look in her eyes. With each successive inch that her saber emerged from its scabbard, the fervent light in her eyes would glow a little brighter.

It was from that moment forth that the little boy in azure knew not to regard Pei Qian as just a little girl who didn’t know anything.

At the time, he had also been quite perplexed. How was it that someone as serious and sensible as Chen Ping’an had found such a strange little girl to be his disciple, and his first-ever one, no less?

The black python from Go Table Mountain continued to slither its way back home, while Pei Qian, the little girl in pink, and the little boy in azure were all lost in their own thoughts.

Pei Qian gently tapped the end of the scabbard of her saber against the black python’s head as she scolded in a displeased manner, “Don’t slack off! Hurry up or I’ll practice my Deranged Demon Sword Techniques on you!”

The black python could only speed up as she demanded.

Over on Downtrodden Mountain.

Chen Ping’an was overcome by a myriad of emotions upon returning to the bamboo building.

On the way there, Wei Bo and Chen Ping’an had already discussed everything that had to be discussed, and the former had returned to Cloud Drape Mountain using a land-shortening technique.

Shi Rou watched as Chen Ping’an made his way up to the second floor, and after a brief hesitation, she dragged over a bamboo chair to sit down under the eaves. She was very curious about what type of relationship Chen Ping’an had with Cui Chan’s grandfather.

In her eyes, the old man seemed far more like a reclusive old scholar than a pure martial artist. It seemed that there was some type of tacit understanding between Wei Bo and Zhu Lian as neither of them spoke about the old man in her presence, as if he didn’t exist at all.

In the beginning, the old man had planned to nurture Pei Qian. However, he had only just begun gently squeezing her bones and tendons to examine her aptitude for martial arts, and that was already enough for her to begin bawling in agony.

She had looked up at the old man with a pitiable expression through a film of tears, while the old man looked back at her with an expression reminiscent of someone that had just trodden on a pile of dog shit. Pei Qian hurriedly snuck away while the old man remained rooted to the spot, still stunned by her overreaction, and for many days after that, she refused to even approach the bamboo building, instead preferring to roam the mountains.

After that, she left the mountains altogether and went to the pastry shop on Dragon Riding Alley to serve as the little shopkeeper. It seemed that she was content to do anything as long as it didn’t involve having to see the old man again. Eventually, Cui Chan’s grandfather gave up on Pei Qian. Occasionally, he would catch a glimpse of her while looking out at the scenery from the second floor.

She was like a phoenix hatchling who reveled in spending all day in a chicken’s nest, gleefully surrendering herself to mediocrity, much to the old man’s exasperation.

Chen Ping’an knocked on the door before entering the room, and Cui Chan’s grandfather opened his eyes from his meditation to examine him.

Chen Ping’an sat down across from him with Sword Immortal strapped to his back and the Sword Nurturing Gourd hanging from his waist.

The sword was quite an eyesore for the old man. As for the Sword Nurturing Gourd, that was slightly more tolerable in his eyes as drinking was far from an unacceptable vice.

“Was it only thanks to these external objects that you were able to leave that place filth alive?”

“I wouldn’t say that they’re the sole reason why I was able to survive, but I really would’ve met my demise if not for this sword. I was almost beaten to death by a vagrant cultivator of the Upper Five Tiers on Cyan Gorge Island of Bamboo Scroll Lake,” Chen Ping’an replied.

“If he truly wanted to kill you, it wouldn’t have mattered at all whether you had this sword or not,” the old man sneered.

“That’s true, but my possession of this sword strongly influenced his decision not to kill me,” Chen Ping’an replied.

The old man furrowed his brows in displeasure upon hearing this.

“As a martial artist, one must pursue purity and self-dependence, but I don’t think it’s a good thing to be intentionally putting oneself in life-threatening danger over and over again just for the sake of dogmatically pursuing purity,” Chen Ping’an continued. “One may be able to overcome such an ordeal once, or even twice or thrice, but eventually, there will come an insurmountable hurdle, and one will pay the ultimate price for repeatedly tempting fate.

“I think that the pursuit of purity must begin in the mind. Only after achieving a purer and more pristine mental state that cultivators should we begin to shed our reliance on external objects. This is the foundation of purity in martial arts. The path to pursuing martial arts is one that is long and fraught with peril, and if one is constantly telling oneself ‘if I die, then so be it,’ then how could they possibly expect to go far down this path?”

The old man rested his hands on his knees, then leaned forward slightly as he sneered, “What? You think you’re a big deal now, do you? You think that just because you’ve traveled the world for a few years, you’ve earned yourself the right to preach to me, is that right?”

All he had done was lean forward slightly, but the entire room was instantly filled with an almighty wave of fist intent that crashed down upon Chen Ping’an, and even Shi Rou was able to sense the astonishing fist intent from outside the bamboo building.

Chen Ping’an remained seated on the spot in a completely still manner, both in body and mind.

Gusts of fierce wind swept through the room, causing him to slide back along the floor, but his back remained ramrod straight, and even as it was forced into the wall behind him, his posture remained completely unchanged.

The old man heaved a faint sigh as a sympathetic look appeared in his eyes.

“Was a single trip to Bamboo Scroll Lake enough to make you this afraid of death, Chen Ping’an? Are you not curious about why you still haven’t been able to break through your fifth tier bottleneck, even though you’re fully ready for a breakthrough? Do you really think it’s because you’re suppressing the breakthrough, or are you too afraid to even ask yourself these questions?”

Chen Ping’an remained silent.

The old man observed Chen Ping’an as he continued, “There’s no denying that you’re afraid of death, you just don’t dare to admit it. Of course, you have many reasons to fear death, and I won’t fault you for that, but that’s what’s so complicated about life. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter whether what you think is right or reasonable.

“Your principles are correct, but unfortunately, you can’t use these objectively correct principles to convince yourself and overcome your subjective biases. At the moment, you want to become a swordsman, and that thought is taking root deeper and deeper in your mind. I’m guessing that during these few years that you spent in Bamboo Scroll Lake, a certain thought has often surfaced in your mind like a fleeting shadow, one that has had an impact on you, but you’re oblivious to it.

“You feel like martial artists don’t seem to be all that powerful, and that they’re outmatched by sword immortals, who seem to both be more powerful and more flamboyant. This is an understandable idea for you to develop. After all, you’ve never seen me truly display the full extent of my power, but you’ve traveled to the Sword Immortal, and I’m sure you’ve seen a great number of sword immortals there.”

Chen Ping’an opened his mouth, seemingly intending to raise some objections, but ultimately decided against it.

The old man smiled as he continued, “I nurtured you with my fists, and every single punch I dealt upon you was precise and purposeful, pounding out the smoothest possible path for you to reach the third tier. Hence, while it’s true that you had to endure immense physical torment, you were able to make very smooth and steady progress.

“In the process, I didn’t cause any lasting harm to your body, nor did I negatively impact your mental state at all, and I can confidently say that there are very few people under the heavens capable of replicating this feat. However, the sword immortals that you witnessed don’t have anywhere near the same regard for your mental state.

“They unleash their sword intent to their hearts’ content, blasting through the clouds with their sword qi, and in the process, they’re also blasting holes into your conviction. You’re also a half-arsed scholar who likes to self-reflect, so you often look back to see if you’ve strayed down the wrong path, but whenever you do, you’re forced to look into those holes, which are like bottomless abysses that attempt to suck you in whether you like it or not.”

Chen Ping’an nodded as he replied, “I already came to this realization back in Osmanthus Island. The sword strike that Zuo You unleashed in the Flood Dragon Trench had a very big impact on me, as did Wei Jin’s sword strike to split the heavens and the one unleashed by Fan Junmao while flying to the Osmanthus Island.

“Unlike what you said, I wasn’t oblivious to all of this. In fact, I’ve been intentionally trying to smooth over these holes in my mental state ever since I entered Bamboo Scroll Lake.”

“You’re trying to smooth over those holes, you say? What you’re doing is throwing stones into a well while having to be careful not to make a splash. When will you ever be able to fill the well?” the old man guffawed.

A look of realization appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face upon hearing this, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead as he asked, “In that case, what should I do, Senior?”

“Looks like this trip to Bamboo Scroll Lake hasn’t just made you physically frail, it’s also made you even dumber than before!” the old man sneered.

Chen Ping’an was unbothered by these scathing remarks as he continued to stare at the old man in earnest.

The old man was silent for a moment, then said, “Thankfully, some things haven’t been completely lost. Otherwise, you would truly be beyond saving.”

The old man raised fist and said, “Martial arts.”

He then raised his other hand, joining his middle and index fingers as he said, “Swordsmanship.”

With both hands raised aloft, the old man rose to his feet and looked down upon the seated Chen Ping’an as he asked, “Even if you can pursue both at once, which one is to take precedence? Even if you’ve decided which one is to take precedence, in what sequence should you pursue them? You don’t have anything figured out, so you’re constantly stumbling around like a blind idiot.

“Do you think that you can just stumble through completely blind and expect good things to fall into your lap? How laughable is it that you think that your inability to make a breakthrough is simply a result of your unwillingness to do so!

“Then again, a breakthrough to the sixth tier really is quite simple for you, but it would be like a man wearing a pair of pants full of shit entering a room under the impression that they would be able to change into a clean set of clothes once they were inside. In reality, they’ve taken the shit with them into the room, and even though it’s no longer on their body, it’s been left in the room.

“It’s a good thing that you didn’t inadvertently make a breakthrough. Otherwise, if you had progressed to the sixth tier, you would essentially be coming to see me right now with your pants full of shit and piss.”

As soon as his voice trailed off, he gently stomped a foot down onto the ground, and Chen Ping’an’s back was instantly pressed tightly against the wall behind him by the fierce wind blowing toward him, forcing him to support himself with his elbows against the wall.

A burst of pure True Qi began to roam through the acupoints in his body like a fiery dragon.

The old man peered at Chen Ping’an through a pair of narrowed eyes for a moment, and he remained standing on the spot as he suddenly raised a foot before aiming a kick in the direction of Chen Ping’an’s forehead. The back of his head was slammed forcefully against the wall, and the burst of True Qi in his body was stopped cold in its tracks, as if a mountain had crashed down onto the fiery dragon’s back, crushing it to the ground.

“Chen Ping’an, have you not wondered why your body hasn’t fallen apart even after three years without any fist technique practice? Fist intent can still be honed even when one isn’t practicing any fist techniques, but what’s keeping you alive? Do you think that you’re a Vajra Body Tier martial artist? Have you never asked yourself that?” the old man asked.

Chen Ping’an was barely even able to breathe, let alone answer the questions posed at him.

He had known that he was going to suffer upon his return to the bamboo building, but he hadn’t expected the suffering to come in such a straightforward fashion.

However, the questions raised by the old man served as an anchor in his heart, allowing him to temporarily ignore the discomfort of being exposed to the old man’s fist intent as he focused on considering this question, which he had previously thought about in passing, but had quickly relegated to the back of his mind.

The old man raised his foot again before kicking out at Chen Ping’an’s abdomen, releasing a burst of fist intent that struck that tiny wisp of dragon-like True Qi with unerring accuracy.

Three loud bangs that resembled the sound of firecrackers being set off rang out from the head, tail, and four limbs of the fiery dragon.

“A cultivator has used some type of extremely advanced immortal technique to help you preserve and nurture this wisp of pure True Qi in your body. If I’m not mistaken, it had to have been a powerful Daoist cultivator, and he seems to have planted three fire seeds into your body using the head of a True Qi fire dragon to serve as a ‘inner courtyard.’

“After that, he used a fire refinement method to help you open up the spinal column of the fire dragon inch by inch, granting you the physical foundation of a Vajra Body Tier martial artist even before you’ve reached the sixth tier. The effect is similar to that of the golden jade body pursued by cultivators. What’s most remarkable about this is the level of control and precision on display. Who did this for you?” the old man asked.

A puzzled look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face.

The old man could see that Chen Ping’an wasn’t putting on an act, so he withdrew his aura, allowing Chen Ping’an to slump down the wall in his sweat-soaked clothes.

A thought then suddenly occurred to Chen Ping’an, and he said, “I once met the master of a friend of mine, and his Dao title was Spiritual Master Fire Dragon. Now that I think back to when we parted ways, he did point at me a few times from afar, although I had no idea what he was doing at the time.”

“Why would he have done that for you free of charge?” the old man asked with slightly furrowed brows.

“I suppose it must’ve been to repay me for that seal that was engraved by a Heavenly Master of Mount Longhu, which I gave to that friend of mine,” Chen Ping’an replied as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The old man nodded in response.

“That makes sense. The more advanced a Qi refiner’s cultivation base is, the more reluctant they are to owe others favors for fear of being burdened by karmic ties. He must’ve done this for you in order to sever any karma between the two of you. Is that all?”

Before Chen Ping’an had a chance to reply, the old man lashed out with yet another kick, slamming the back of Chen Ping’an’s head against the wall behind him to knock him unconscious.

“Young men shouldn’t mope around like old geezers!” the old man scolded as he kicked Chen Ping’an into the wall once again, and as his body collapsed to the ground, he regained some consciousness from the pain, only to fall unconscious again, also from the pain.

This entire time, the old man hadn’t taken any measures to conceal his words and actions from the prying eyes and ears of others.

Under the eaves of the bamboo building, Shi Rou was seated on her bamboo chair in an anxious manner. Compared with Chen Ping’an, who was getting the living daylights pummeled out of him, she felt like these past few years that she had spent on Downtrodden Mountain had been the most blissful experience imaginable.