Unsheathed

Sword Immortal had already left, yet wisps of bone-piercing sword qi still lingered around the ancestral hall on the peak of Misty Mountain.

The young and handsome third tier sword cultivator was drenched in sweat as he collapsed into a sitting position on the ground.

His master hurriedly helped him up, and she consoled her prized disciple whom she had high hopes for even though the fear on her face was yet to disappear. She lowered her voice and said, “Don’t let this affect your sword heart, and make sure not to lose your composure. You should make haste and calm down your bonded flying sword, or else you’ll face many challenges and bumps on your path of the Great Dao in the future…

“Of course, it’s even better if you can suppress your anxiety and fear. Your master isn’t a sword cultivator, but I’ve heard that sword cultivators subduing their internal demons is also one way to temper their bonded flying swords. Ever since ancient times, there has always been a saying about tempering one’s sword on the banks of the mind’s lake…”

There was a dazed look in the young sword cultivator’s eyes, and it was only after he heard his master’s words that he broke free from his confused and trance-like state. He had no time or effort to care about the strange things taking place in the acupoint where his bonded flying sword was being nurtured, and he hurriedly recited the mantra passed down by the ancestral hall of Misty Mountain in his mind, channeling his spiritual energy at the same time in an attempt to stabilize his mental state.

No one else in Misty Mountain was paying attention to this master and disciple.

This was because everyone was standing around Mountain Master Lü Yundai. His face was as pale as a sheet, but he thankfully hadn’t suffered any irrevocable wounds to his foundation. He could still return to his peak level after carefully recuperating for a few years, and this was the only good news from this terrible situation. If Lü Yundai had been beaten back to the Sea Observation Tier after just advancing to the Dragon Gate Tier, then this along with the ancestral hall being split into two would have dealt a huge blow to their intangible fortune. At that time, the cultivators of Misty Mountain would have truly been filled with petrification.

Lü Yundai waved a hand and said, “Everyone can leave now. Regarding today’s disturbances, we’ll discuss it tomorrow in the ancestral hall… No, we’ll discuss it in my Rising Mist Residence.”

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts as they took their leave.

Lü Tingjiao accompanied his father and walked toward the ancestral hall together. They instructed someone to deactivate the mountain-protection formation, or else they would need to spend one lesser heat coin every fifteen minutes to maintain it.

There was a fissure measuring one finger wide along the path, and this fissure extended all the way forward, where it eventually split the ancestral hall into two.

Lü Yundai stopped outside the entrance of the ancestral hall and asked, “Did you notice anything?”

Lü Tingjiao shook his head in response.

Lü Yundai’s voice was calm as he said, “His sword qi was so overwhelming, yet he was able to leave such a neat fissure with a casual swing of his sword. How did he achieve this? Generally speaking, this would undoubtedly prove his status as a genuine sword immortal. However, I had a nagging feeling that something was off, and the events that followed proved that my intuition was correct. That person indeed isn’t some Golden Core Tier sword immortal, and he’s instead… a very abnormal cultivator.

“He uses the techniques of martial arts grandmasters, yet he possesses the aura of a sword cultivator. It’s difficult to determine his identity and background at the current moment, but he’s more than powerful enough to threaten our Misty Mountain which is only domineering and influential in the Colorful Garment Nation. Tingjiao, since you were the one who successfully built a relationship with the Great Li Empire’s General Ma in the past, you now have two choices in front of you.”

“Please go ahead, Father,” Lü Tingjiao said with a wry smile.

Lü Yundai clutched his chest and broke into a coughing fit. However, he waved his hand and gestured for his son not to worry as he continued slowly, “Truth be told, both of these choices are a gamble. The first choice is to gamble for the best outcome, where General Ma, whose backer is a pillar clan of the Great Li Empire, is willing to accept money to resolve the problem for us.

“If everything goes according to plan, General Ma can act according to what I mentioned before, swiftly using the justification of rules and regulations to stand up for Misty Mountain and kill that young person. At that time, what does it matter if we kill Wu Shuowen as well? Zhao Luan will become your woman, and Misty Mountain will also gain a junior who has the potential to reach the Golden Core Tier in the future. If you choose this option, then you should immediately leave the mountain with Uncle Master Hong to visit General Ma.

“The second choice is to accept the worst possible outcome, that being admitting to the fact that we’ve provoked someone whom we shouldn’t have provoked. We’ll concede that we offended the wrong person and voluntarily accept our loss, immediately sending someone to Blusher Prefecture to yield and apologize to that person. We won’t hesitate to compensate that person, whether it’s money or something else. In any case, the biggest taboo right now is to hesitate and waste time.”

Lü Tingjiao’s expression was bitter as he replied, “This pertains to the survival of our immortal force and the survival of the Lü Clan’s ancestral hall, so perhaps it’s better for Father to make this decision?”

Lü Yundai shook his head and said, “I’m unable to see the situation clearly now, similar to how I rejected your proposal back then. You could only go against Misty Mountain and rely on yourself to place a wager on that general of the Great Li Empire. And what was the result? The entire Misty Mountain was wrong, and only you were correct.

“The world is embroiled in chaos now, so it isn’t necessarily the case that those who possess a higher cultivation base will definitely be right. That being the case, I’m willing to trust your intuition again. If we gamble on the latter choice, then we’ll lose big no matter what. If we gamble on the former choice, however, we might stand to win very big.

“Losing the latter gamble will mean the destruction of our clan. On the other hand, winning the latter gamble will make you a true friend of General Ma. In the past, it was simply you taking advantage of the current trend and him choosing to give charity. In the future, perhaps you can even make use of this relationship to become acquainted with that pillar clan.”

“What if that person is truly a citizen of the Great Li Empire?” Lü Tingjiao asked in a quiet voice.

Lü Yundai chuckled in ridicule and replied, “So what if he’s a fellow citizen of the Great Li Empire with General Ma? Is Uncle Master Ma loyal and devoted to our Lü Clan? Are the Pillar Yuan Clan and Pillar Cao Clan of the Great Li Empire always on good terms with each other? Does General Ma not have his own competitors and people whom he doesn’t like?

“Killing this so-called sword immortal who has broken the rules is an act of displaying one’s might and building one’s prestige. However, even if General Ma has stabilized his position in the Colorful Garment Nation and risen above the other ‘imperial supervisors’ at the same rank as him, he would still be taking a gamble if he were to go down this path!”

“Judging by Father’s tone, Father is leaning more toward the first choice?” Lü Tingjiao asked in a hesitant voice.

Lü Yundai sighed upon hearing this. Apart from having mediocre aptitude and no hope of embarking on the path of cultivation, another weakness of his son was his smarts and tendency to think about many things. This was naturally a good thing most of the time, but it could potentially prove counterproductive at other times. Smart people were able to chase their goals with strong conviction and assess the situations and adapt accordingly, but many of them also had a bad habit of being scared of death and afraid of shouldering responsibilities.

Why had Lü Yundai gritted his teeth and risked his life to advance to the Dragon Gate Tier back then? This was because he feared that Lü Tingjiao would be unable to win over his subordinates in the future, causing the Lü Clan to lose their lofty status in Misty Mountain.

For example, they might lose their power and influence to that Cave Abode Tier female cultivator whose disciple was a sword cultivator, or they might lose their position to Uncle Master Hong who suddenly developed an interest in leading the immortal force again.

In addition, many of the guest elders who had joined the immortal force recently were quite difficult to deal with as well. Otherwise, an extra seven or eight people should have appeared outside the ancestral hall just then.

Lü Yundai suddenly spat out a mouthful of thick blood. This looked terrifying, but it was actually a good thing.

It was as if some pressure had been taken off his chest, with the Qi inside his body no longer feeling so stifled.

Lü Yundai suddenly widened his eyes in shock and dashed to the edge of the cliff. He focused his gaze and looked ahead, and what he saw was a small but exquisite flying sword hovering a short distance from the cliff. Meanwhile, the talisman nearby had only just finished burning.

Lü Yundai stomped his foot, finally appearing panicked for the first time. That talisman was most likely a Sound Transmission Talisman! Even if it wasn’t, there were a myriad of other talismans in the world that possessed similar functionality.

That bastard was truly scheming and ill-intentioned!

Sure enough, sword light soared through the curtain of rain and pierced through the mountain-protection formation again.

Uncle Master Hong had just arrived outside his residence, he stopped and stood still, expressing his respect.

The Cave Abode Tier cultivator had finally stabilized the mental state of her disciple through much difficulty, yet she discovered that his breathing was once again labored and chaotic following the return of the sword light and thunderous booms. He looked even worse off than the mountain master who had been punched once and stabbed twice.

The woman gritted her teeth and held onto her sword as she charged back to the mountain peak, wanting to fight to the death with that sword immortal!

If the foundation of her disciple’s Great Dao were damaged, causing his sword heart to be buried and depriving him of any chance to have a bright future, then was she really going to become Lü Tingjiao’s mistress and plaything in the future?!

Atop Misty Mountain…

Chen Ping’an once again landed on the mountain peak, patting his Sword Nurturing Gourd and summoning back First, the flying sword that he had secretly left behind near the cliff.

Meanwhile, he couldn’t be bothered returning Sword Immortal to its scabbard on his back this time, and he instead allowed it to slowly rise up beside him, stopping at just the right height for him to grab. Chen Ping’an raised his sword and pointed it at Lü Yundai who was standing in front of the ancestral hall.

He smiled faintly and said, “General Ma, was it? How about I visit him with you and your son?”

His sleeves billowed as he spoke in a calm and friendly manner, yet his aura wasn’t weak at all. This was especially the case with the tip of his sword, and a bead of golden sword qi surprisingly condensed on the sword and dripped to the ground, releasing a dazzling radiance as it rapidly spread into the surroundings.

Lü Tingjiao’s knees buckled when he inadvertently recalled what the young man in azure had said just then: “Don’t delay my cultivation!”

Lü Yundai cupped his fists and bowed deeply, saying, “I sincerely admit defeat, Senior Sword Immortal! If Senior doesn’t believe me, then I can enter the ancestral hall and use three drops of blood from my heart to burn three sticks of incense, making a blood vow to the heavens in the name of my seniors and ancestors.”

Chen Ping’an remained silent for a moment before finally saying, “You can only burn this incense if you still have an ancestral hall, right?”

This was the first time that Lü Yundai had felt such dread after advancing to the Middle Five Tiers.

Ancestral halls had never been optional structures that could be built or demolished on a whim. Rather, they were half the life force of all immortal forces and clans in the mountains!

Lü Tingjiao’s expression changed again and again as he wracked his brain for ways to get out of this perilous situation.

Chen Ping’an suddenly trained his gaze on Lü Yundai and asked, “Between Lü Tingjiao’s life and the survival of Misty Mountain’s ancestral hall, which do you choose?”

Lü Tingjiao was incredibly anxious, and there were tears streaming down his cheeks as he fell to his knees and pleaded, “Father, he’s trying to drive a wedge between us! Don’t fall for his poisonous plan…”

Lü Yundai exchanged a glance with Chen Ping’an, not looking at his son as he raised his hand slowly.

His movement was extremely obvious, so it was clear that he wasn’t trying to resist and fight to the death with that sword immortal.

Lü Tingjiao’s heart shuddered violently, and he somersaulted backward before madly sprinting away and fleeing for his life as quickly as he could. His Reed Flower Dao Robe provided a lot of help, allowing his speed to rival that of Sea Observation Tier cultivators.

Even though his chances of escaping successfully were incredibly slim, Lü Tingjiao couldn’t just stand still and wait for death, could he? Not only that, but he would be brutally beaten to death by his own father outside the ancestral hall.

As Lü Yundai’s son, how could Lü Tingjiao not know that his father was a wildly ambitious person? His father would genuinely kill him for the sake of reducing this major problem to a minor one, and a minor one to nothing at all. At the very least, his father would kill him to make it through this difficult situation.

Moreover, there was still a sliver of hope in Lü Tingjiao’s heart. As long as he fled out of that sword immortal’s view, then his father might potentially lose the opportunity to make a choice. At that time, it would be his ruthless father’s turn to face the wrath of that sword immortal.

Chen Ping’an glanced at Lü Tingjiao whose aura had already been locked onto by his father, Lü Yundai. He was expressionless as he said, “Lü Yundai, you can enter the ancestral hall to offer incense now, and I’ll leave the matter at this. Cultivators need to think about hidden virtue and fortune, after all. This pertains to not only interactions but more importantly, the heart.”

Lü Yundai hurriedly retracted his hand and turned around, suppressing the grief and agony in his heart as he strode toward the ancestral hall. He deactivated the protection formation and extracted three drops of blood from his heart as he faced the spirit tablets and portraits in front of him, silently lighting the three divine incense sticks made using secret techniques. Afterward, he activated a secret immortal technique that was rumored to be capable of bringing people high into the sky and deep underground, holding his end of the bargain and loudly making a vow as he offered the three sticks of incense to his ancestors.

When the woman at the Cave Abode Tier arrived at the peak of the mountain…

…What she heard was the mountain master making a vow in the ancestral hall of Misty Mountain.

Meanwhile, what she saw was the young sword immortal in azure standing in the mountain rain with a jade hairpin atop his head and a wine gourd by his hip. His hair and sleeves billowed in the wind.

The young sword immortal glided backward, lightly stepping onto Sword Immortal that followed him like a shadow. After drawing a large arc in the sky above Misty Mountain, the streak of golden light once again soared away toward the south.

It was as if a primordial immortal had raised a calligraphy brush and drawn a large circle in the mortal world.

Not only did the woman think this as her mind wavered, but almost every single cultivator in Misty Mountain had a similar thought as their minds shuddered in astonishment.

He possessed the paramount might of a sword immortal.

In the distance, a person and their sword ferociously broke through the thick curtain of wind and rain, returning to the outside world that was brightly lit by the blazing sun.

Chen Ping’an changed from a standing position to a strange sitting position where he was hovering slightly and not fully seated. He was able to sit still thanks to the link between him and Sword Immortal, but this most certainly wasn’t the kind of mental link that sword cultivators had with their swords. Chen Ping’an wasn’t in a state of “connecting with a small world” that sword immortals were said to be capable of.

Rather, this was a new fist stance from the Mountain Shaking Guide, a sitting meditation called Corpse Sitting.

According to the description of the fist guide, ancient deities were like sitting corpses as they domineeringly sat in the Heavenly Court.

Even though Chen Ping’an could “ride atop his sword” and travel great distances, he was, in fact, merely standing atop Sword Immortal and enduring the pain caused by the lashing astral wind. Apart from his surprisingly tough physique, he was also able to endure this thanks to the immovable sitting meditation.

Cui Cheng had once said that fist stances were rigid and not very sophisticated. As such, it was up to the mental state of the practitioner whether they could nurture any might and develop any aura. Even an ordinary and elementary fist stance could bring one to the highest point on Martial Dao.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky.

Beneath it, a swordsman in azure sat on his sword. The person and sword were pure and radiant, as was the sword and the person’s heart.