Unsheathed

The commotion was far too great, and the aura of the visitor was far too domineering. He didn’t look like a friend of Misty Mountain who had come here to reminisce about the past.

Misty Mountain activated its mountain-protection formation without hesitation, with the ancestral hall being the central control point of the large formation. The mountain was dark due to the heavy downpour, and there was also white mist rising and suffusing into the surroundings from the foot of the mountain, gradually shrouding the entire mountain from the inside to the outside.

However, as opposed to the outside, things on the mountain were as clear as day behind the veil of mist. Meanwhile, ordinary woodsmen and hunters would see nothing more than a curtain of hazy white when they looked at Misty Mountain. In fact, they couldn’t even see the silhouette of the mountain.

Not only was the mountain-protection formation activated, but several streaks of white light measuring dozens of meters in length shot out from the ancestral hall located at the peak of Misty Mountain as well, soaring through the wind and mist surrounding the mountain.

They were prepared to fight at any moment.

Many cultivators who wielded power in Misty Mountain had already left their abodes, gathering together at the ancestral hall. Deep down, they naturally hoped that this mighty and domineering sword immortal was a friend rather than a foe.

The leader of Misty Mountain was Lü Yundai, and his direct disciple was Lü Tingjiao. Both of them were extremely renowned in the Colorful Garment Nation, the former because of his cultivation base and the latter because of his father.

There were several dozen elderly cultivators, direct disciples, and guest elders who were renowned throughout the nation gathered around the father and son right now, with many of them feeling extremely solemn.

They could only stand there helplessly as they watched the golden ray of light draw closer and closer to Misty Mountain.

They couldn’t fly out to greet this uninvited guest, could they?

Sword cultivators were both the poorest and wealthiest people in the world, and as the first-ranked of the four most difficult breeds of cultivators to deal with, they were incredibly troublesome due to their extraordinary destructive ability. Not only were their attacks swift, but they were also able to run away very quickly. Of course, one would do well to understand that the large majority of times, sword cultivators would only run away after killing their foes.

If this were in the past, Misty Mountain might have still felt apprehensive, but they definitely wouldn’t have felt as fearful as they were now. The current state of affairs was far too unforgiving, and the backbones of the mortal nations and armies had all been shattered.

At the same time, the courage of the cultivators in the mountains had almost been completely obliterated as well. Neighboring mountains banding together to defend against enemies, mountain gods and river gods rushing over as reinforcements, or having the power to command the armies of mortal nations had all become things of the past. These things would never happen again.

Things had changed drastically, after all.

Many immortal rules that had been accepted and adhered to for hundreds upon thousands of years suddenly became ineffective.

Because they needed to occasionally interact with cultivators from the Great Li Empire, the immortal forces in the Colorful Garment Nation and the dozen or so surrounding nations all discovered that their cultivation bases and immortal forces were nothing more than wet lettuce in front of the Great Li Empire.

The southward expedition of the Great Li Empire’s heavy cavalry had crushed many outwardly powerful but inwardly weak forces underfoot.

Almost everyone was easily frightened right now, regardless of whether they were in the mountains or outside the mountains.

In the past, the army of the Colorful Garment Nation had been regarded as the strongest in the central region of the continent. Meanwhile, the Ancient Elm Nation was famous for its heavy infantry, the Pine Stream Nation was famous for its swift light cavalry, and the Water Combing Nation was famous for its mountain warfare. However, these nations had either refrained from deploying a single soldier or suffered crushing losses after genuinely coming face to face with the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire.

This was in stark contrast to the Stone Brush Nation, the Plum Glaze Nation, and the other vassal states of the Luminous Vermilion Empire in the south. These nations had fought to the death and refused to retreat, causing no small trouble for the armies of Su Gaoshan and Cao Ping. In comparison, the armies of the Colorful Garment Nation and the dozen or so surrounding nations appeared weak and impotent, causing them to become the laughing stock of the entire continent.

After a general of the Water Combing Nation who had initially provided meritorious service suffered a resounding defeat, it was rumored that he had actually learned all of his military strategies and tactics from the Great Li Empire’s Song Changjing. He was unfortunately a mediocre student, however, and his biggest wish in life was to meet Song Changjing and humbly ask for guidance regarding the essence of military strategy. And thus, a “beautiful story” about recognizing one’s heritage and origin was born.

Of course, the most powerful nation in the central region of the continent didn’t have any right to laugh at the second-most powerful nation in the region. The Colorful Garment Nation didn’t fare much better, and it had actually refrained from fighting a single battle even though it was widely renowned for its heavy infantry. In addition, the imperial family of the nation always liked to announce to the outside world that there were Golden Core Tier earth immortals guarding the capital.

The imperial family often spread mysterious pieces of news, concealing many things at the same time and causing people to be unsure of what was true and what was false. In any case, the cultivators of the Colorful Garment Nation always liked to look down on their counterparts in the dozen or so surrounding nations. However, this didn’t end well following the arrival of the Great Li Empire’s heavy cavalry.

The Ancient Elm Nation at least put up some symbolic resistance at their borders, mobilizing ten thousand soldiers and forming an elite army to clash head-on with the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire. The outcome was naturally a foregone conclusion, with a single brigade of the Great Li Empire’s heavy cavalry being more powerful than the entire army of the Ancient Elm Nation.

The Ancient Elm Nation paid a heavy price for their symbolic resistance, and upon realizing the dire nature of the situation, the Colorful Garment Nation had surprisingly surrendered even before the Ancient Elm Nation. The diplomatic envoy of the Great Li Empire had not yet entered the Colorful Garment Nation, but the Colorful Garment Nation had already dispatched its diplomatic envoy headed by the head minister of the Ministry of Rites. They had actively sought an audience with the heavy cavalry of the Great Li Empire and voluntarily offered to become a vassal state of the Imperial Song Clan.

This wasn’t all, and there had been further revelations when the Great Li Empire had gone through the many genealogical records of the various mountains of each nation. It was thanks to this that people had discovered the surprising power of the Ancient Elm Nation, with a Dragon Gate Tier sword immortal from the Luminous Vermilion Empire hidden within their ranks. In the end, this sword immortal had been killed by a group of martial secretaries from the Great Li Empire after an intense and soul-stirring battle.

On the other hand, the Colorful Garment Nation had only saved some face thanks to Lü Yundai breaking through to the Dragon Gate Tier. Otherwise, the strongest immortal in their nation would have been nothing more than a Sea Observation Tier cultivator. Apart from the imperial court of the Ancient Elm Nation looking down on the cowardly Colorful Garment Nation, even those in the mountains and cultivation world of the neighboring Water Combing Nation almost laughed their heads off.

Lü Yundai was an extremely refined-looking old man dressed in extravagant clothes and wearing a tall crown.

Meanwhile, Lü Tingjiao was a handsome young man with slightly sunken eyes. His appearance was decent, and this was further helped by his clothing. He was wearing a high-grade spirit tool in the form of a snow-white Dao robe called Reed Flower. He was in his thirties, yet he looked to be in his twenties.

Regardless of whether he had reached his current cultivation base through spending a huge sum of immortal coins or through talent, it couldn’t be denied that he was a fifth tier cultivator on the surface. Lü Tingjiao also liked to travel around the mountains and rivers, and he would often do so with his wealthy and influential friends. As such, it could be said that he was faring quite okay in the Colorful Garment Nation. He could indeed be regarded as a young, carefree, and successful member of a mortal nation.

However, things were different in the eyes of true cultivators, especially the rare few Middle Five Tier cultivators of the Colorful Garment Nation, as well as the mountain gods of the Five Mountains. Lü Tingjiao was naturally nothing much in their eyes, with his Dao Heart wavering and his fondness for seeking carnal pleasure. He wasted much of his time in the arms of women outside the mountains, so it went without saying that he couldn’t achieve anything great. If Lü Yundai truly wanted to hand Misty Mountain to his son in the future, he would perhaps face stiff opposition and even cause internal conflict.

In any case, there were some small rumors quietly floating around in recent years, saying that it was thanks to Lü Tingjiao that Misty Mountain had successfully forged a relationship with a general of the Great Li Empire. It was due to Lü Tingjiao’s help that his father, Lü Yundai, now had the opportunity to become the next imperial preceptor of the Colorful Garment Nation. If this were true, then it could only be said that Lü Tingjiao had concealed his strength very well.

An elderly cultivator holding a walking stick asked in a quiet voice, “Leader Lü, forgive this old man for his bad eyesight, but I’m unable to determine the true cultivation base of this visitor. Is he… a legendary earth immortal?”

Lü Yundai was calm and composed as he retorted with a smile, “An earth immortal sword cultivator?”

The elderly cultivator felt like he was indeed scaring himself. They had activated the mountain-protection formation, and they were now gathered at the entrance of the ancestral hall, so he shouldn’t be so anxious and flustered at this moment. He huffed and replied, “That would be far too astonishing. I surmise that our visitor isn’t at such a lofty level.”

A beautiful woman with an ancient sword hanging by her hip chuckled coldly and said, “What does matter even if he’s a Middle Five Tier sword cultivator passing by? Will he dare to forcefully charge into Misty Mountain’s mountain-protection formation? Will he truly dare to view Misty Mountain as a pushover that anyone can pick on?!”

Lü Tingjiao glanced at the woman’s shapely bosom, squinting his eyes a little before quickly retracting his gaze. The cultivation base of this female guest elder wasn’t very high, and she was only at the Cave Abode Tier. Even though she was a Qi refiner, she was also skilled at the sword manipulation techniques of sword experts from the cultivation world. She had achieved an impressive feat one time, relying on her pinnacle sword manipulation technique to feign being a Cave Abode Tier sword cultivator and scaring away a powerful Sea Observation Tier cultivator from the Water Combing Nation.

However, she was far too hot-tempered and unfriendly, and this was a complete turn-off and waste of her good body. Lü Tingjiao could only sigh in pity, and he wouldn’t have given up on pursuing her back then if it weren’t for these reasons. He would have tried a bit harder no matter what. However, Lü Tingjiao had engaged in a heart-to-heart conversation with his father after things had settled down in the Colorful Garment Nation, and his father had promised him that he could personally be their matchmaker as long as Lü Tingjiao advanced to the Cave Abode Tier. At that time, Lü Tingjiao and the shapely woman could interact as Dao partners without actually being Dao partners. In other words, Lü Tingjiao could take her as a mistress.

A young and relatively talented direct disciple asked in a quiet voice, “Are we not going to deal with that arrogant cultivator from the Great Li Empire?”

Even though he had the right to stand here tonight, he was standing relatively far back due to his low seniority. He was none other than the prized disciple of the sword-wielding woman at the Cave Abode Tier, and he was carrying a sword bestowed upon him by the ancestral hall because he was a legitimate sword cultivator. However, he was only at the third tier right now, yet he had almost exhausted all of his master’s savings. After doing everything he could to nurture his bonded flying sword, he was still only able to forge a weak sword blade.

As such, the young cultivator felt both yearning and jealousy when he saw the sword immortal soaring over with overbearing might. In fact, he hoped dearly that the sword immortal would crash into Misty Mountain’s mountain-protection formation and be brutally killed by its flying swords. If that were to happen, perhaps the sword currently under the sword immortal’s feet would become his. After all, he was the only sword cultivator in Misty Mountain, so who else could the sword be given to? Could they truly leave it in the ancestral hall to gather dust?

The golden thread in the sky became clearer and clearer.

There was a thunderous rumble as the uninvited guest cut through the sky on his sword, and his aura was so domineering that even the spiritual energy of Misty Mountain started to tremble, causing the six flying swords of the mountain-protection formation to surprisingly quiver as well. The flying swords were initially following the paths of constellations, yet they actually started to fall into slight disarray at this moment.

“The situation will be more manageable if he’s willing to stop outside the formation. That will signify that he’s not here to seek revenge,” Lü Yundai said in a quiet voice.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The elderly cultivator holding a walking stick opened his eyes as much as he could as he gazed into the distance, trying his best to determine the approximate cultivation base of the uninvited guest. That way, they could respond accordingly, no?

However, the sword light was unexpectedly radiant and blinding, causing the eyes of the powerful Sea Observation Tier cultivator to ache in pain. The elderly cultivator almost shed tears, and he hurriedly shifted his gaze in fright, lest the sword immortal view his direct gaze as an act of provocation. At that time, he might die a miserable death if the sword immortal picked him to set an example.

With this in mind, the elderly cultivator hurriedly placed both hands on his redwood dragon head walking stick, hunching down and lowering his head as he murmured, “How can there be such intense sword light in the world? He’s dozens of kilometers away, yet the sword light is already so resplendent. He’s definitely wielding an immortal treasure. Mountain Master, why don’t we open our gates to welcome the guest instead, lest we gild the lily? Perhaps he’s nothing more than a sword immortal passing by, yet Misty Mountain activating its mountain-protection formation might be taken as an act of provocation. At that time, the sword immortal might draw his blade and attack us…”

The elderly cultivator became increasingly cowardly with age, yet his murmurings were as quiet as a mosquito. As such, those with slightly poorer hearing couldn’t hear a single word that he said.

Lü Yundai was a Dragon Gate Tier cultivator and the paragon cultivator of the nation, so he naturally heard the words of his uncle master who wanted to appease both parties. He smiled and replied, “Uncle Master Hong, this person is undoubtedly targeting our Misty Mountain.”

Even Uncle Master Hong was unable to directly look at the brilliant ray of golden sword light, so it went without saying that the same was true for Young Mountain Master Lü Tingjiao, the shapely woman at the Cave Abode Tier, and the prized disciple of the latter.

In the end, only Lü Yundai was able to directly gaze at the sword light.

“He’s here,” Lü Yundai said, both as a warning to the others and as a musing to himself.