Unsheathed

Chapter 465 (3): A Downtrodden Mountain Without Chen Ping’an

It was very difficult to receive any news from the Southern Whirl Continent, but presumably, he couldn’t have gone very far in the short time that he had been with the Pure Confucian Chen Clan. For cultivators of the Three Teachings and Hundred Schools of Thought, the more orthodox the branch they belonged to, the slower cultivation progress tended to be, but they would have greater potential for going further and ascending higher than others.

However, in the initial period of their cultivation, it was often the case that their progress was slower than the prodigious disciples of the more unorthodox branches.

As for Gu Can, Xie Ling had heard that he had been dealt a terrible hand. He had lost that True Dragon descendant of his, so his Great Dao had most likely collapsed.

Out of the five fated opportunities of the Jewel Small World, Gu Can was the first one to lose his.

Xie Ling wasn’t overly interested in the matters of the outside world, and even when he was told stories by Senior Brother Dong Gu and Senior Sister Xu Xiaoqiao, he often disregarded them as unimportant.

On this day, Chen Ping’an was wearing an azure robe. There was a white jade hairpin in his hair, and he was carrying his Sword Nurturing Gourd at his waist and Sword Immortal on his back.

He didn’t particularly stand out among everyone, but at the least, he wasn’t outshone by anyone present, even though he wasn’t making any active effort to be the center of attention. His demeanor was warm and composed, and he spoke amicably to everyone present.

He caught up with the old flood dragon, chatting about the cliff carvings in the Yellow Court Nation and the delicious meal they had been treated to in the old flood dragon’s manor. He also spoke with the other assistant mountain master of the academy, telling him that he had read his works and that he would visit the academy when the opportunity arose to raise questions from his readings.

The old assistant minister was very happy to see this.

Of course, the old assistant minister had an impression of Chen Ping’an. The first time they had met was at Sage Ruan’s swordsmithing workshop, and at the time, he had been standing beside Ruan Xiu. Not only that, but the two of them had been friends, and neither of them had felt that strange.

Over his years in the officialdom, the old assistant minister had developed a very sharp eye, and he immediately marked down Chen Ping’an in his heart as one to be remembered.

On this day, Wei Bo remained standing by Chen Ping’an’s side, and even Dong Gu of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect, who was clearly a very quiet man, had struck up a brief conversation with Chen Ping’an.

The signing of the contracts normally wasn’t a very complicated process. However, the Assistant Minister of Rites had added a few steps to the procedure to make things more ceremonious, perhaps because Wei Bo and Ruan Qiong were both taking part. Of course, all of this still fell within the rules of the Great Li Empire.

The process went smoothly from beginning to end, and everyone got along very well with one another. In any other setting, everyone would’ve perhaps exchanged a few drinks, but that was clearly not appropriate, given that they were at Forest Deer Academy.

Furthermore, the Assistant Minister of Rites was very busy, and he was responsible for grading the regional officials of the Great Li Empire this year, so he had to travel to Ox Horn Mountain right away before returning to the capital by immortal ship.

After the contracts were signed, Chen Ping’an and Wei Bo made their way to a peaceful pergola in Forest Deer Academy.

Chen Ping’an didn’t ask about Gao Xuan as it would be inappropriate for him to ask about a royal hostage that had been sent to the Great Li Empire by the Great Sui Nation.

“What are you looking at?” Wei Bo asked with a smile.

“Nothing in particular,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

Looking out at the old and abandoned school from the new and spectacular Forest Deer Academy, he could just barely make out the outlines of the small town.

“The nearby immortal powers will be sure to visit you on Downtrodden Mountain over the near future, so make sure to be prepared,” Wei Bo said.

“It’s fine. I’m already accustomed to such social engagements, so I’ll be fine,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

“Do you not feel frustrated at having to delay your martial arts training?” Wei Bo jibed.

Chen Ping’an shook his head as he replied, “No. These social engagements are unavoidable, so as opposed to going into them with negative emotions, it’s better to embrace them and treat them as a learning experience.”

“Why are you trying to indirectly gather information on Dong Shuijing? Do you not trust him?” Wei Bo asked.

Chen Ping’an hurriedly shook his head to clear up the understanding, and he replied, “No, Dong Shuijing and I are friends. It’s just that the deal between us concerns another friend, and seeing business is being conducted, I can’t favor either side.

“They may both be my friends, but there’s a chance that they won’t get along with one another, only to be forced to become business partners by me. In that case, a deal that should’ve been beneficial to all three parties could turn into a catastrophic disaster, in the midst of which I’ll be losing two good friends, and that would be a real shame.”

Chen Ping’an was already planning to write a letter to Guan Yiran in Pond Water City. The letter was going to tell Guan Yiran that he had a friend by the name of Dong Shuijing who came from the same hometown as him.

It would reveal that Dong Shuijing was a kind but shrewd businessman, but he would also tell Guan Yiran not to force the matter if there were any difficulties standing in his path, or this simply wasn’t the right time to be making money.

He was most likely going to be able to receive Guan Yiran’s return letter prior to his departure from the Dragon Spring Prefecture, and once he did, he would visit Dong Shuijing once again to further clarify some matters to him. Even if they weren’t necessarily going to be pleasant, some disclaimers still had to be made.

“I’ve ruined friendships over similar matters in the past,” Chen Ping’an sighed.

Wei Bo nodded in response. Chen Ping’an had told him about what had happened between Liu Baqiao of the Wind Lightning Field and Sun Jiashu of Old Dragon City.

A joyful smile appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he said, “I can do many things now with so many mountains in my possession.”

“Like assign who gets to be the king of each mountain?” Wei Bo chuckled.

“Just the thought of it gets me excited,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile.

Wei Bo remained silent.

From this day forth, all of those mountains belonged to Chen Ping’an, so it was up to him what he did with them.

All of a sudden, Wei Bo recalled something, and he said, “The first Deity Night Travel Banquet that’s to be held in the Northern Mountain’s territory since my inauguration is going to take place soon. Deities from far and wide will have to leave their territories to come and attend the banquet on Cloud Drape Mountain. If you’re interested, I can take you to Cloud Drape Mountain when the time comes.”

Chen Ping’an had read meticulously through that immortal book that he had purchased from Stalactite Mountain, so he was aware of this event.

The official mountain gods of all nations were highly revered beings, and even the official river gods of the highest caliber were never going to match the status of the gods of the Five Mountains. According to the rules of the Majestic World, all mountain and river deities within the territory of the gods of the Five Mountains had to periodically pay their respects to said mountain gods.

From the lowest-ranking mountain lords and river guardians to the gods of all of the more prominent rivers and mountains, as well as the deities of the scholarly temples, martial sage temples, and city god pavilions, all of them had to leave their territories on a certain day and visit Wei Bo with gifts to pay their respects.

During the banquet, a nightly curfew was going to be enforced in the Dragon Spring Prefectural City.

This was a tradition that had existed for a very long time, and generally speaking, once every thirty years, or sixty, or a hundred at the very most, a Night Travel Banquet would be arranged in the temple of the formal mountain god.

There was another scenario where a similar ceremony would be held, and that was whenever a cultivator reached the Upper Five Tiers. All mountain and river deities within a radius of several thousand kilometers, regardless of which nation they belonged to, would flock to visit the almighty immortal and pay their respects.

Over a hundred deities were going to be attending the Deity Night Travel Banquet, and with all of their mystical abilities on full display, it was truly going to be a marvelous spectacle to behold.

“It’s alright, I’ll just watch from Downtrodden Mountain,” Chen Ping’an refused, and Wei Bo didn’t insist.

Chen Ping’an didn’t immediately return to Downtrodden Mountain. He was going to leave Zhu Lian on his own to “enjoy” his training with Cui Cheng, and he also wanted to take this opportunity to comb through his own thoughts.

Wei Bo was content to appreciate the scenery with Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an turned to cast his gaze toward the north. On the other side of the sea in that direction was the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

“Do you feel disappointed that you didn’t get to visit the Southern Whirl Continent or the Circling Ascension Continent when you traveled to Stalactite Mountain?” Wei Bo asked with a smile.

“Not really, I was too busy to feel disappointed at the time,” Chen Ping’an replied with a wry smile.

Wei Bo sat down onto the railing of the pergola as he said, “I heard that the worst two continents to serve as academy sages on are the Northern Complete Reed Continent and the Circling Ascension Continent. The sages of the former are constantly having to defuse conflicts, while those of the latter are constantly having to clean up the messes of others, leaving them no peace or time to focus on developing their teachings.”

Wei Bo then turned his gaze to Chen Ping’an as he asked, “By the way, what did you think of the Parasol Leaf Continent during your visit, aside from the fact that it’s obviously much larger than the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent?”

Chen Ping’an considered the question momentarily, then replied, “Perhaps it’s because the continent is so large, but many places are very isolated, and there are wide gaps in the abundance of spiritual energy from place to place, thereby making it easier for massive sects and immortal abodes to be established, such as the Parasol Leaf Sect, the Jade Tablet Sect, Peace and Tranquility Mountain, and the Planchette Writing Sect.

“All of these enormous superpowers, and on our Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, only the Divine Edict Sect can compare with them. However, there are also many small nations on the Parasol Leaf Continent, where many people spend their entire lives without the knowledge that cultivators even exist, and those are truly lawless places.”

Wei Bo nodded in response, then smiled as he asked, “Did you know that aside from the Middle Earth Divine Continent, the fortune of each of the other eight continents in the Majestic World is actually the same?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head with a puzzled expression.

“The Eastern Treasured Vial Continent may be small and lacking in native powerful cultivators, but that doesn’t mean that there’s a dearth of talent to come out of this place,” Wei Bo explained. “Even if we look solely at people who have come out of the Jewel Small World, there was Xie Shi from Peach Leaf Alley, Cao Xi from your Clay Vase Alley, as well as the likes of Liu Xianyang and Zhao Yao.

“However, many of them choose to leave the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and it’s this inability to keep its native talents that makes the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent appear inferior to the other continents.”

“I can’t imagine the Circling Ascension Continent would’ve emerged unscathed in the wake of the crisis on the Parasol Leaf Continent. Even though the Parasol Leaf Sect has been left severely ravaged by the demon tribe’s actions, with Peace and Tranquility Mountain and the Planchette Writing Sect suffering the brunt of the consequences, at the very least, the worst is already behind them.

“Back when I was on Stalactite Mountain, I learned that powerful treasures had emerged on the Southern Whirl Continent, the Circling Ascension Continent, and the Parasol Leaf Sect. I’ve heard that the mortal world of the Circling Ascension Continent was already the most chaotic of the nine continents to begin with, and now, the cultivation world there is also in a state of turmoil.

“I can’t even begin to imagine how much the academy sages and noble scholars on the continent have on their plates right now,” Chen Ping’an sighed.

Through the contents of the immortal books that he had purchased, Chen Ping’an had learned that the Circling Ascension Continent could be described with just a single word: chaotic. If the Circling Ascension Continent were likened to an empire, then over the course of its history, it had already been fractured into over a dozen vassal states.

Countless factions on the continent were constantly at odds with one another, and as a result of the constant turmoil and unrest there, it was mockingly referred to as the Water Bucket Continent by the cultivators of the Middle Earth Divine Continent as it resembled a water bucket that was constantly wobbling from side to side.

As for the Southern Whirl Continent, which was closest to Stalactite Mountain, that was a continent that was abundant in both scholarly lineages and martial fortune.

It was one of the very few continents that weren’t looked down on by the cultivators of the Middle Earth Divine Continent.

Furthermore, Chen Chun’an had come out of the Southern Whirl Continent.

There was not much more to be discussed about the state of the world.

Chen Ping’an was concerned about these matters that didn’t seem to have any bearing on him because they had an impact on the Sword Qi Great Wall, while Wei Bo was concerned about such matters because he was going to be the Northern Mountain God of a continent in the future, and these matters were eventually going to concern him.

“Send me to True Jewel Mountain. I want to go to the small town to visit Pei Qian,” Chen Ping’an requested with a smile.

Wei Bo nodded in response, then sent Chen Ping’an to True Jewel Mountain with a gentle sweep of his sleeve.

Following Chen Ping’an’s departure, Wei Bo sat down on the railing of the pergola on his own, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face as he had suddenly thought of something amusing.

Xie Ling had sought out Chen Ping’an in private, and after they had exchanged greetings, he had smiled and asked, “Are you not curious about why Big Sister Xiuxiu didn’t come to Cloud Drape Mountain?”

Big Sister Xiuxiu.

That was a very interesting pet name.

In response, Chen Ping’an had smiled and replied, “I don’t know you or Ms. Ruan very well.”

Xie Ling had been completely stumped by that response, rendered speechless and stunned like a charging bull that had been brought to a juddering halt by a sturdy wall.

Even a blind man could most likely tell that Xie Ling harbored a great deal of admiration toward his senior sister, let alone the other disciples of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect.

However, in spite of Xie Ling’s exceptional cultivation aptitude, he was still lacking in worldly experience, and he had thought that no one would be able to see through his intentions.

Even though he and Chen Ping’an were very similar in age, when it came to worldly experience and their grasps on human nature, it was really no different from a contest between a pair of cultivators, one of whom was at the Lower Five Tiers, while the other in the Upper Five Tiers. Most importantly, Xie Ling had brought this upon himself, intently scrutinizing Chen Ping’an from the moment that they first met.

In the face of Ruan Qiong, Chen Ping’an would naturally have no choice but to run and hide, but he certainly wasn’t going to cower in the presence of Xie Ling.

Wei Bo stretched lazily before turning his gaze to the Palace of Eternal Spring in the northern area of the Great Li Empire’s capital city.

He wondered if the osmanthus flowers had bloomed yet, and whether there was another woman walking along on a rugged, wilderness path, using an osmanthus branch as a hiking pole.

He wondered if she had a man that she loved in this lifetime, and if so, he hoped that the man was a kind and moral scholar.

In the wise words of Zhu Lian, a powerless scholar could be thrown into a rucksack and beaten without any qualms, while a cultivator would be comparatively more difficult to deal with. Having said that, this was not a concern. If Wei Bo couldn’t do the deed himself, then he would just have to get his good friend, Zhu Lian, to go in his place.

Catching one off guard with a rucksack over the head, then delivering a swift and brutal beating before fleeing like the wind was a sequence that had to be well rehearsed for someone traveling through the cultivation world, and Zhu Lian was certainly very adept in this field.

Wei Bo felt truly fortunate to have such a great friend.

He then suddenly thought of everything that Chen Ping’an had done since his return to Downtrodden Mountain, and he heaved a faint sigh before murmuring to himself, “He owns such a massive territory now, how can he be content with continuing to stay in that small room on the first floor of the bamboo building?”

However, he then quickly realized that this was a rather shallow thought.

One’s physical abode didn’t have to be large, but a large abode was required to house one’s heart.

Even in the tiniest of places, there could be vast freedom.

Wei Bo placed his hands onto the railing and began singing a folk song that he had learned from Pei Qian, one about eating stinky tofu, and all of a sudden, he began feeling a little peckish, a sensation that he hadn’t felt in many years.

He didn’t know if Chen Ping’an was going to be staying until winter, when the winter bamboo shoots would begin to sprout in the forest. If so, then he would harvest a few winter bamboo shoots and take them to the bamboo building. He had heard from Zhu Lian that Chen Ping’an made a very fine stew.

Unbeknownst to Wei Bo, the only time that Chen Ping’an had felt disheartened on the journey to Mountain Cliff Academy in the Great Sui Nation was when those ungrateful children had complained about his cooking, declaring that the pot of fish soup that he had cooked up couldn’t even hold a candle to the delicious feast that they had enjoyed at the old flood dragon’s manor.

This was something that weighed on Chen Ping’an’s mind to this day, and during his subsequent travels, whenever he had some time to focus on cooking, he would make sure to cook up the best meal possible.

Over time, his skills naturally improved.

Over in the small town.

As soon as Chen Ping’an stepped into the shop, he was greeted by the sight of the head sitting on the countertop. What made the sight an even more harrowing one was that Pei Qian was intentionally keeping her eyes completely still, and even in broad daylight, that was enough to send chills running down the beholder’s spine. Overcome with exasperation, Chen Ping’an quickly strode over to her before giving her a flick on the forehead.

Pei Qian threw her hands onto her head as she complained, “Why, Master? I wasn’t slacking off or doing anything wrong!”

Chen Ping’an reached out to twist her ear, and she immediately put on a sincere expression as she apologized, “I’m sorry, Master!”

Only then did Chen Ping’an withdraw his hand.

A wide grin appeared on Pei Qian’s face as she asked, “Can you tell me what I did wrong now, Master?”

“Nothing, I just felt like flicking you,” Chen Ping’an replied with a smile.

Shi Rou had to suppress an amused smile.

“What’s wrong with you, Big Sister Shi Rou?! Why are you smirking at yourself like that? People like you are always the first to be beaten to death!” Pei Qian declared with a stern glare.

“I’m already dead,” Shi Rou countered with a smile.

“In that case, I’ll beat you alive again with a punch!” Pei Qian snapped.

Shi Rou raised her chin slightly, reminding Pei Qian that her master was still present.

Pei Qian immediately put on a warm smile as she amended, “There’s no place for violence in the world, and I’m certainly not the type to resort to violence on a whim. Otherwise, if word were to spread to my violent ways, then that would ruin my master’s reputation.”

Chen Ping’an picked up a piece of pastry before putting it into his own mouth, then picked out one each for Pei Qian and Shi Rou as well.

Pei Qian took a bite of her pastry, and a radiant smile immediately appeared on her face as she exclaimed, “Wow, today’s pastries are really good!”

Shi Rou was taking small bites out of her pastry like an elegant and refined lady, but to see such an effeminate gesture performed in Du Mao’s visage was no less disturbing a sight than that of Pei Qian’s head resting on the counter.

All of a sudden, Chen Ping’an smacked a hand to his own forehead as he feigned an enlightened expression and exclaimed, “No wonder business is so terrible with you two here! Are you being paid any wages? If so, then I’m docking half your pay!”

Pei Qian turned her gaze to Shi Rou, indicating that it was her time to shine. Compared with Shi Rou, she was nowhere near as proficient in dealing with her master.

A seductive smile appeared on Shi Rou’s face.

Chen Ping’an instantly had chills running down his spine as he hurriedly said, “Forget it, just pretend like I didn’t say anything.”

Pei Qian raised a hand, and Shi Rou hesitated momentarily, then pressed her palm against Pei Qian’s in a gesture of celebration.

“I’m going to take a look at the other shop,” Chen Ping’an sighed in a resigned manner.

Pei Qian hurriedly jumped down from her little stool, then rushed out from behind the counter as she volunteered to guide her master to the shop, which was also on Dragon Riding Alley and very close by.

Shi Rou also smiled as she watched the two of them leave the shop.

Only in this instant had she come to realize that Downtrodden Mountain really did seem different without Chen Ping’an present.