Unsheathed

The white jade plaza in front of the residence of Meticulous Skin City’s city lord was smooth and mirror-like.

A little girl stood there with her fists clenched in front of her chest, her face scrunched up and her lips puckered as she looked at the severely damaged chariot. She wanted to cry, but no tears were forthcoming.

She had suffered a huge loss.

After fleeing from deadly danger two times, City Lord Fan Yunluo didn’t feel happy or fortunate at all. Instead, she only felt pain in her heart.

She had accepted her loss the first time, since being defeated by a more skillful foe was a common occurrence in Malicious Ghost Valley. Indeed, there were some city lords who had enjoyed resplendent fame in the past, yet these individuals were now faring even worse than her. They were lowly lackeys of White Cage City, Incense Shrine City, and the other cities, and they were living a life even inferior to chickens and dogs. Chickens and dogs could at least cluck at people and bark at passers-by, but would these individuals who had once been city lords dare to make any noise at their masters?

The second time, however, Fan Yunluo had lost in a seemingly calm and nonchalant manner. There hadn’t been any bloodshed or sanguine aura. Yet, it was this loss that made Fan Yunluo feel the most troubled and agonized.

She now owed a favor to the well-renowned “White Skeleton Sword Immortal” of Malicious Ghost Valley, and favors owed to him always had to be repaid.

There was never an exception.

Fan Yunluo sniffed and wiped her face, walking in a circle around her precious chariot and touching it here and stroking it there. She felt extremely pained.

It would cost quite some lesser heat coins to fully repair the chariot in Malicious Ghost Valley, but just how difficult would this be if she didn’t sacrifice some of her current assets to earn some new immortal coins?

Fan Yunluo suddenly banged her forehead into the chariot with a loud clang.

She then started to wail hysterically at the top of her lungs.

The old woman who had fortunately survived and made it back to the city felt increasingly anxious and lacking in confidence. She and the female officials of Meticulous Skin City had fled in all directions at Crow Peak just then, and some who were unlucky had suffered even further, being kidnapped by that Golden Core Tier ghost and his subordinates. The old woman had managed to hide quickly, and she had even found and brought together a few female officials of Meticulous Skin City, somewhat rectifying her previous mistake to a small degree. Upon seeing the city lord’s current state, however, the old woman immediately started to feel a little worried. By the looks of it, the city lord intended to use her personal wealth to repair this precious chariot?

The old woman started to have thoughts about defecting to another city.

In Malicious Ghost Valley, big fish would eat small fish, small fish would eat small shrimp, and the lowliest small shrimps could only eat dirt.

Once a city lord started to lose their generals, the consequences would often be unimaginable. It was very likely that their territory would be coveted by the nearby forces. Thus, once a few forces formed an alliance in secret and charged over with ferocity, it was inevitable that Meticulous Skin City would suffer the fate of being shattered and conquered by the attacking forces.

When it came to doing battle here, the biggest taboo was failing to resist for long enough or having to make huge sacrifices to kill enemy soldiers. This was because larger forces in the surroundings would always be looking for opportunities to take advantage of, attacking those who were already weakened. If two sides fought tooth and nail, yet were both defeated and conquered by a more powerful force in the end, then what would they have been struggling for in the first place?

Of course, the city lords of Malicious Ghost Valley would often pore over the details and consider all the benefits and downfalls before making a move, and after locking onto their prey, they would usually take them down in a single blow and face no nasty surprises.

Even though Fan Yunluo was a Golden Core Tier cultivator, Meticulous Skin City still appeared isolated and weak. As such, Fan Yunluo was a huge fan of playing mind games, and she would conceal some of the truth as she revealed to the others that she had a relatively good relationship with the Flax Robe Sect. In fact, she even claimed that she had recognized a direct disciple from the ancestral hall of the Flax Robe Sect’s Green Cottage Town as a half-brother.

However, the old woman was well aware of the truth. All of these claims were absolute rubbish. If the cultivator from the ancestral hall of Green Cottage Town were willing to nod and agree, Fan Yunluo would be willing to even recognize him as her father or old ancestor, to say nothing of recognizing him as a half-brother of equal standing.

Thankfully, this cultivator was fully focused on cultivating Dao and didn’t concern himself with mortal matters. As a member of the Flax Robe Sect, he was similar to Mural City’s Yang Lin in the sense that they were both prodigious talents with huge chances of attaining Dao. Because of this, he didn’t have the time or effort to care about Meticulous Skin City’s underhanded techniques.

Meticulous Skin City was one of the weakest forces in the southern region of Meticulous Skin City, and the group of female ghosts that Fan Yunluo had brought to Crow Peak were all ghosts whom she trusted and were good at fighting. Following the death and kidnapping of many of them, it could be said that this was truly a huge blow to the foundation of Meticulous Skin City.

Lady Bai had suffered severe wounds, and it would take her at least sixty years and up to one hundred years to make a full recovery. Losing some of her combat power wouldn’t be a huge issue, especially since Lady Bai’s strength wasn’t related to her combat power. However, she was the lover of Pink Gentleman City’s city lord who was being secretly raised outside, and this was actually an open secret that everyone in the southern region of Malicious Ghost Valley was aware of. Meanwhile, the city lord’s proper wife was not only his wife, but she was also his Dao partner and the one who truly managed the affairs of the city. As a result, Pink Gentleman City had always had a huge bone to pick with Meticulous Skin City thanks to Lady Bai’s existence.

There was a cloudy expression on the old woman’s face as she lowered her head slightly. She considered going all out and defecting to the lady in Pink Gentleman City, so she should perhaps steal the core immortal tool of Meticulous Skin City’s city protection formation?

Once Pink Gentleman City conquered Meticulous Skin City, perhaps it would even be possible for her to become the next city lord of Meticulous Skin City?

There were a total of thirty-six cities of varying sizes in the north and south of Malicious Ghost Valley, and it had always been the case that the city lords would change while the cities would always remain the same. Whenever an old city lord was displaced, the new city lord would simply change the name of the city based on their own tastes.

This was an unwritten rule of Malicious Ghost Valley, and it was said to have been started by Skeleton Wall City. When attacking other cities and engaging in all-out wars, the victor was allowed to massacre the loser and torture and abuse them however they wanted. However, they were prohibited from severely damaging the defeated city and turning it into rubble. Of course, this was unless they had the resources and power to rebuild the city within ten years. Otherwise, once the ten-year time limit was up, several earth immortal ghost generals of Skeleton Wall City would march south with an army to cause true unrest.

The old woman felt extremely hesitant. Even though she felt more inclined to betray Meticulous Skin City and the pathetic Fan Yunluo, she couldn’t help but feel slightly troubled. After all, engaging in such filthy acts of betraying one’s master to seek glory elsewhere was still frowned upon in Malicious Ghost Valley. Even if she served another city lord, she would still be suppressed and targeted by the meritorious officials of the city.

Her only hope was that Pink Gentleman City’s true leader was also a woman, so as fellow women, perhaps this powerful ruler wouldn’t care so much about her swaying loyalty.

Fan Yunluo suddenly stopped her crazy behavior, turning to the old woman and saying with a pitiful expression, “After I was rescued by City lord Pu Rang of White Cage City, he said that our tribute this year and next time both need to be doubled. What should we do, Granny Chang? With our measly number of defeated soldiers, how can Meticulous Skin City find immortal tools that are valuable enough to satisfy White Cage City’s standards?”

The old woman’s heart shuddered, and she replied with a smile, “City Lord, this is a silver lining! A rare fortune amid all our misfortunes! Since Great City Lord Pu has spoken, Meticulous Skin City won’t need to worry about being coveted by those ill-intentioned forces for at least the next one hundred years.”

Fan Yunluo’s childish face remained gloomy as she said, “But Meticulous Skin City is spending more than we earn, and we need to give away all of our wealth every time we pay tribute. Even if we struggle hard and forcefully hang in there for one hundred years, we’ll still suffer the same fate after that. We’re doing nothing but delaying the inevitable.”

The old woman could only squeeze out a smile and say in consolation, “There’s no need to be so pessimistic, City Lord. One hundred years isn’t a long time, but it isn’t a short time either. Every dog has its day, so if we manage to enjoy good fortune once or twice, perhaps Meticulous Skin City can undergo a significant transformation and become the strongest city in the southern region of Malicious Ghost Valley. At that time, even City Lord Pu might need to rely on City Lord Fan, to say nothing of Incense Shrine City and Pink Gentleman City.”

Fan Yunluo nodded in response.

She extended a finger and scratched the corner of her eye like a kitten scratching its cheek, and she asked in puzzlement, “I’m feeling so heartbroken right now, so why am I not shedding a few tears? This is quite unreasonable.”

The old woman was rendered speechless.

Fan Yunluo waved her hand and summoned the gigantic chariot into her large sleeve. She then walked toward her residence and hollered, “I’m going to stab a voodoo doll now! I’m going to stab that bastard wearing a bamboo hat to death!”

The old woman’s mind whirred as she walked behind Fan Yunluo.

Was City Lord Fan saying this as a warning to her? Or was this nothing more than a casual remark?

Fan Yunluo didn’t stop as she suddenly turned around and asked, “Oh, that’s right. What was that person’s name again?”

“I don’t think he ever mentioned his name,” the old woman replied with an awkward expression.

Fan Yunluo stopped in her tracks, a dumbfounded look on her face. She suddenly swung her sleeves around and chaotically stomped her feet, wailing in grief, “I can’t even make a voodoo doll and stab it anymore, the thing that I’m most skilled at!”

The old woman felt utterly helpless.

Fan Yunluo’s room in the city lord’s residence was piled high with voodoo dolls, yet when had they ever been effective? Had they been effective even once?

Fan Yunluo was short and petite to begin with, yet her dress was long and loose-fitting in contrast. As a result, she looked much like a… radish that could walk.

————

Over at the deep mountain stream flowing through Treasure Mirror Mountain, Chen Ping’an attempted many different methods after deciding to have a go at obtaining the fated opportunity of the mountain stream. For example, he retrieved the fishing rod that he had obtained from Bamboo Scroll Lake’s Purple Bamboo Island, and he wouldn’t dare to observe the stream for too long after identifying a certain item that he wanted to fish for.

Chen Ping’an would hold his breath and focus his attention before casting his line, attempting to either fish up some crystalline skeleton or some damaged immortal tool that was shimmering with a faint golden glow. After trying a few times, however, Chen Ping’an was surprised to discover that the scenes at the bottom of the stream were seemingly nothing more than illusions. There would be nothing on his fishing hook each time he reeled the line back in.

Even so, Chen Ping’an was still unwilling to give up, and he tried several more methods, one after another. However, he was ultimately unable to retrieve a single item from the bottom of the stream, and he felt like this was possibly because of the spiritual energy formed in the stream transforming into something similar to a mountain and water barrier.

In the end, Chen Ping’an even retrieved a yellow paper Barrier-Shattering Talisman, attempting to use this to open up a path. He rapidly tossed the talisman into the stream, after which he cast a line and had it follow the small path created by the talisman. However, the talisman combusted extremely quickly in the stream water that was brimming with yin energy, so Chen Ping’an was once again left empty-handed.

Chen Ping’an squatted down beside the stream, feeling slightly pained about the Barrier-Shattering Talisman that he had just wasted.

Lying on the snow-white stone cliff on the opposite side of the mountain stream, Yang Chongxuan smiled and said, “To say nothing of your flashy and opportune methods, just how many earth immortals have summoned and used all of their immortal treasures throughout history? In fact, there was even a cultivator who used an exorbitantly expensive drinking bottle, exhausting their spiritual energy and channeling a mystical ability to suck up a huge amount of water from the stream. The water in the bottle was enough to drown a large city of a mortal empire. However, the cultivator still failed to retrieve a single item from this stream, making a huge loss as a result. Do you know the reason why?”

“Please enlighten me, Fellow Cultivator Yang,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile.

When traveling around in the outside world, referring to other people as “Fellow Cultivator” was the safest option and least likely to cause any offense.

Yang Chongxuan placed his hands behind his head, using them as a pillow as he basked in the sun and looked up at the sky with squinted eyes. “Many mountains like to have beautiful female cultivators use enchanted picture scrolls as a means to make money,” he explained slowly. “When male cultivators observe the bowl of water before them, what they see is a beautiful and amorous celestial maiden right before their eyes, so close that they can seemingly reach forward and touch her. But what’s the true distance between them? And just how long is your fishing line? Is it tens of thousands of kilometers long?”

Chen Ping’an came to a sudden realization, and he remarked, “So that’s how it is. It looks like I’ve been trying in vain.”

“When it comes to mystical treasures in the world, only those that have just appeared in the world might potentially be regarded as treasures that can be obtained by whoever comes across them first,” Yang Chongxuan continued. “As for Treasure Mirror Mountain, it has already existed for thousands of years and been visited by countless cultivators, so how can the fated opportunity here be that easy to obtain unless one has some good fortune?

“I’ve stayed here for several years already, and aren’t I just waiting bitterly as well? So, you don’t need to feel embarrassed about your failed attempts. I tried even more laughable methods in the past, and I directly jumped into the stream in an attempt to scour the bottom. However, diving down was easy, but swimming back up was a huge struggle, taking me an entire month. I almost drowned in the process.”

“Such impressive cultivation base and abilities, Fellow Cultivator Yang,” Chen Ping’an praised sincerely.

Yang Chongxuan sighed and said, “It’s so-so. The city lord of Skeleton Wall City was said to have entered the stream and explored it for an entire year, yet even he failed to find the golden hairpin that can open the door to the treasure mirror. Even though the city lord is a yin entity, giving him a huge advantage, I still wouldn’t be able to stay in the stream for a year even if I were to die and become a ghost.”

“This stream water is filled with abundant yin energy, so if one finds a suitable customer outside Malicious Ghost Valley, perhaps a few liters of stream water can sell for a few snowflake coins. The cultivator who used a drinking bottle managed to suck up a huge amount of stream water back then, so how come he didn’t sell the stream water and make a huge profit? How did he make a huge loss instead?” Chen Ping’an asked in curiosity.

Yang Chongxuan smiled and replied, “The yin energy of the stream water will disperse extremely quickly once the water is taken outside Treasure Mirror Mountain. Moreover, unless one stores the water in a minimization treasure or pocket treasure, it will become like flood water breaking through a dam wall once it’s brought outside Treasure Mirror Mountain.

“The Upper Five Tier cultivator from back then became careless one time, and he retrieved the drinking bottle immortal treasure from his minimization treasure when he arrived at Skeleton Shoal. However, the drinking bottle was filled with too much stream water, and it was unable to withstand the surging current of yin energy, so it ended up exploding on the spot. The cultivator was fortunately at Skeleton Shoal and not too far from the Swaying River, allowing him to control the situation. Otherwise, if this had happened elsewhere, the sages of the Confucian academies would have perhaps held him accountable for the inevitable calamity.”

Yang Chongxuan smiled and continued, “Five liters of unprocessed water from the mountain stream can easily be sold for one snowflake coin at Skeleton Shoal, with the condition being that you have a minimization treasure or pocket treasure to store the stream water first. In addition, you’ll also need one or two immortal treasures like that Upper Five Tier cultivator’s drinking bottle.

“The grade of this treasure shouldn’t be too high, or else it will cause too much trouble and be prone to causing failed deals. However, its grade shouldn’t be too low either, or else it will take up more space than it’s worth. In any case, those under the level of earth immortal don’t dare to venture here to collect stream water, while those who are earth immortals couldn’t care less about earning a few snowflake coins.”

Hearing this, Chen Ping’an grabbed his Sword Nurturing Gourd and placed it in the stream, filling it to the brim with stream water.

He was a half-assed Qi refiner who had opened up his water palace already, and he had thought about replenishing the water there when spending some money to drink gloomy tea at the stall on the bank of Swaying River a short while back. If he were able to collect a gourd-full of water from this mountain stream, then it could be said that he had roughly broken even on this trip to Treasure Mirror Mountain.

In fact, Chen Ping’an could indeed make another trip to Treasure Mirror Mountain before leaving Malicious Ghost Valley. He didn’t need to dream about obtaining a drinking bottle immortal treasure, but he could indeed prepare some extra bottles and jars, allowing him to collect a few hundred liters of stream water. When he returned to Skeleton Shoal afterward, he could visit the tea stall again and see whether he could strike a deal with the stall owner. Success would mean a healthy sum of snowflake coins.

Yang Chongxuan simply glanced at the vermilion “wine gourd” in Chen Ping’an’s hand. He felt slightly surprised, but he didn’t think too much of it.

“Thank you for the information, Fellow Cultivator Yang.”

Chen Ping’an stood up and cupped his fists, saying, “Since I’m destined to obtain no fated opportunity at Treasure Mirror Mountain, it’s time for me to take my leave now. Farewell, Fellow Cultivator Yang.”

Yang Chongxuan sat up, appearing very surprised as he asked, “You’re leaving just like that?”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response as he put on his bamboo hat.

Yang Chongxuan lay back down, closing his eyes and resting his mind. However, only a short moment passed before he opened his eyes again, asking, “Are you truly leaving? Should I think of you as decisive, or should I regard you as having no patience?”

Chen Ping’an had clearly used a pocket treasure when retrieving and putting away his bamboo fishing rod just then, and he hadn’t attempted to hide this fact at all.

This was similar to how Yang Chongxuan had openly stuck his feet inside the stream just then, a small act of expressing friendliness.

In the Northern Complete Reed Continent, one needed to understand how to subtly display one’s abilities if one wanted to avoid unnecessary fights.

Otherwise, there would be many ants who had few abilities but a big temper. Even if one were to crush these ants underfoot, they would still continue to shout and curse until their last breath, sending their spittle flying everywhere and refusing to change their ways even in the face of death.

However, killing people couldn’t be treated as eating rice, and after experiencing such scenarios too many times, “Yang Chongxuan” started to feel increasingly annoyed and disinterested. Because of this, his temperament gradually changed, and he slowly became more and more friendly. For example, the past him would have killed that foul-mouthed old fox from West Mountain eighty times over if not one hundred times over.

Yang Chongxuan’s mood improved slightly after the young wanderer wearing the bamboo hat left Treasure Mirror Mountain.

The young man had said something that truly spoke to his heart.

It would be a better choice to avoid potential trouble.

These words rang especially true since Yang Chongxuan was now at a critical stage of obtaining his fated opportunity.

He sat up and narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the deep mountain stream. It was as if his gaze could pierce through the water.

Regarding this treasure mirror, the speculation in the Be At Ease Compilation was incorrect. It wasn’t a radiant mirror or whatnot, and it definitely wasn’t a paramount demon-exposing mirror used to target demons and ghosts. Rather, it was the Three Mountains and Nine Lords Mirror that had already been lost for a very long time.

This was a pseudo-celestial tool.