Unsheathed

In the territory of Treasure Mirror Mountain…

A young man in tattered clothes was filled with spirit.

This was because he was being accompanied by a divine maiden who had walked out from one of the wall paintings in Mural City.

She was such a lofty divine maiden, yet she surprisingly wasn’t walking shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Instead, she was walking one step behind him.

This was a clear distinction of status.

One had to realize that she was the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden!

Not only that, but she even told him that her name was Shushi. She didn’t have a surname. She would do everything in her power to help him cultivate to a loft height in the next sixty years.

The young man enjoyed the feeling of being at the center of attention. From the moment that he left Mural City to the moment that he passed through the archways and was told by the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden that there was a fated opportunity inside Malicious Ghost Valley that belonged to him, everyone in the surroundings had been looking at him. In fact, they had all been gazing up at him.

He was no longer a pitiful insect who carried the heavy burden of revenge yet was ignored by both heaven and earth.

In fact, he suddenly felt like his feeling of resentment toward those people was no longer as intense after the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden chose to follow and serve him.

The divine maiden who had introduced herself as Shushi also told him that her current cultivation base and combat power were equivalent to the Golden Core Tier. When it came to her defenses and survival ability, however, she could rival those at the Nascent Tier.

This filled the young man with confidence, so much so that he hadn’t wavered even when the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden explicitly told him that his fated opportunity in Treasure Mirror Mountain could be filled with unexpected danger or fortune. Things were starting to turn around for him, and he was now favored by the heavens!

As they walked, it was the young man asking questions and the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden answering these questions. She told him everything that she knew without holding back.

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden only remained silent regarding the identity of the young woman who had stood beneath the mural at that time.

When they arrived near Treasure Mirror Mountain, the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden suddenly stopped and looked up at the mountain waist with a solemn expression, using her mind’s voice to slowly tell the young man, “This fated opportunity might not be a positive one. Jiang Qujiang, I hope you reconsider things carefully.”

A look of astonishment flashed across the young man’s face, but his expression quickly became one of determination as he gritted his teeth and replied, “The heavens owe me so much, so it’s high time for me to collect some interest!”

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden sighed softly in the depths of her heart.

When they walked past the rundown temple, the old fox from West Mountain appeared once again with his walking stick in hand.

Jiang Qujiang looked just as well off as Beggar Yang, so the old fox directly ignored his presence and stared at the ethereal divine maiden instead. There was actually a detestable woman in the world who could rival his darling daughter in terms of beauty? Why didn’t she go and die? This woman needed to hurry up and piss off to the Soul Restraining Stream at the waist of the mountain, and it would be best if she fell headfirst into the stream and ended her life!

The old fox from West Mountain suddenly noticed a small detail, so he smiled at the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden and asked, “Celestial Maiden, are you planning to climb the mountain with your young master?”

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden could easily see through the small tricks of the old fox.

Jiang Qujiang smiled faintly.

The old fox from West Mountain came to an understanding.

Sure enough, these two people were wealthy idiots who were much easier to deal with than that scheming and heartless man wearing a bamboo hat.

Since this was the case, however, then this foolish young man was truly enjoying some fool’s luck. After all, how could ordinary cultivators wallowing in despondency be accompanied by such an exceptionally beautiful woman? Not only that, but they were even able to make their way to Treasure Mirror Mountain without facing any dangers.

Alright then, he would have his daughter become this young man’s legitimate wife, and he would have this beautiful woman become the mistress… Or better yet, she could become a maidservant!

The old fox from West Mountain smiled and said, “Young Master, you might not know this, but I’m the mountain lord of Treasure Mirror Mountain, and my daughter is the river guardian of a deep stream in the mountain. You most definitely won’t be able to obtain the fated opportunity if you don’t have the help of my daughter and me. Give me a moment while I go and call my daughter over.

“Young Master is clearly a dragon among the people, so it’s only natural that you should obtain this fated opportunity. If the fated opportunity possessed sentience, it would have actively run over and jumped into Young Master’s lap. Otherwise, even the heavens would feel slighted… Please wait for a moment, Young Master, I’ll be just a second or two. My daughter is stunningly beautiful, and she most admires handsome and graceful young men like Young Master…

Jiang Qujiang was slightly dumbfounded.

“Do you genuinely want to enter the mountain to search for treasures?” the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden asked.

Jiang Qujiang furrowed his brows. What was this? Was this her third warning already?

“Shushi, if it’s truly difficult to predict whether I’ll face fortune or misfortune, then why don’t you calculate the possibilities of each since you’re so skilled at divination?” Jiang Qujiang asked in a quiet voice.

“Things are quite strange,” the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden replied. “When leaving Mural City, the probability of fortune to misfortune was nine to one. When we reached the archway entrance of Malicious Ghost Valley, the probability of fortune to misfortune changed to seven to three. And now, this number has already fallen to five to five.”

Jiang Qujiang looked at the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden who always appeared aloof but was frowning slightly at this moment. She was surprisingly attractive, and his gaze became slightly adrift. However, his experiences of hardships and difficulties over the years allowed him to quickly reel in his emotions. “A fifty-fifty chance? This is already very good. It’s time to enter the mountain!”

In the past, his clan had suffered calamity due to their heirloom jade pendant being coveted by immortals from the mountains. His clan had initially been a large clan in the prefecture, but in the end, he was the sole survivor of the calamity. He had fled south afterward, and he had told himself that he couldn’t die until he reached Mural City in Skeleton Shoal. What was the point of traveling south? It was to make a gamble on that one in ten thousand opportunity. Just one in ten thousand!

It wasn’t long before the old fox returned with Wei Taizhen, his daughter who was carrying a small green umbrella.

The young fox spirit was stunned when she saw Jiang Qujiang, with her cheeks immediately flushing red.

Even she found this very strange.

The old fox from West Mountain was secretly delighted. There was a chance!

The young man also appeared slightly entranced as he looked at his daughter.

Sigh, the only problem was that this young man was a bit too dumb.

However, thinking about this from another angle, wasn’t this actually a great thing?

Having a son-in-law who was a bit dumber but a bit richer was much better than having a scheming son-in-law like that person wearing a bamboo hat, no?

With this in mind, the old fox from West Mountain immediately found Jiang Qujiang more pleasing to the eye.

Right at this moment, however, a tall and sturdy young man sprinted over and grabbed the old fox and Wei Taizhen, shaking his head furiously and saying, “Don’t go! You can’t go over there! Perhaps this is the day that Yang Chongxuan has been waiting for! The marriage prophecy that the traveling Daoist priest told my younger sister isn’t necessarily a good thing! Those cultivators from the mountains are each more scheming than the next…”

The old fox flared up in rage, and he forcefully removed the paw on his arm before kicking his foolish son aside and scolding, “Don’t interfere with your younger sister’s marriage matters.”

Wei Gaowu stood up with much struggle, and he still wanted to block his younger sister from entering the mountain. However, the old fox threw his wooden walking stick and struck Wei Gaowu in the forehead, causing him to collapse to the ground with his eyes rolled into his head. Even so, he still said in a feeble voice, “You can’t enter the mountain…”

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden looked at the old fox from West Mountain as well as the young woman holding the small green umbrella who was finally experiencing romantic attraction for the first time.

For some reason, however, she felt like she was peering down at them with not a single ripple in her heart.

Was this the same feeling that the young woman in Mural City had experienced when standing under her mural and confidently giving instructions to her?

Who in the world was she?

Why did she instill such a strong sense of respect and fear inside her, feelings that seemingly appeared innate?

The two groups climbed the mountain together.

Even though Jiang Qujiang tried his best, he still couldn’t help but take a few extra glances at the young woman.

She was truly as beautiful as could be.

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden standing behind him would cause him to feel ashamed and inferior, and he would involuntarily feel like she was someone who could only be admired from afar and couldn’t be sullied.

However, the young woman holding the small green umbrella was different.

She invited pity and care at all times, and this was something that made his heart beat in excitement.

Over at the deep stream, Yang Chongxuan stood up and said slowly with a fervent look in his eyes, “Very well, I can practice my abilities against this divine maiden with mediocre combat power from Mural City.”

He no longer appeared carefree, and his bones and joints started to pop like firecrackers.

A boundless astral energy instantly coursed through his entire body.

In the next moment, Yang Chongxuan contracted his fist intent to the size of a seed and sat back down on the snow-white stone cliff. He once again appeared as lazy and carefree as always.

The young fox spirit had an ancient restriction on her body that had been passed down through the generations, a restriction that aligned with the ancestral prophecy, “Witness the hairpin to open the gate, obtain the jewel to climb the mountain.”

Her romantic feelings would be unlocked when she met the fated person, and this fated man saw the hairpin, one of her eyes would transform into the key that could unlock the deep stream.

At that time, Yang Chongxuan would dig out her eyeball and ascend Treasure Mirror Mountain. Since the treasure was a Three Mountain Mirror, the place to open the gate wouldn’t be the bottom of the deep stream or whatnot. Rather, it would be at the so-called dragon head location atop the mountain. That being the case, how could the city lord of Skeleton Wall City find a method to obtain the treasure mirror by searching through the stream?

This was a huge secret that had been passed down through the generations in Lofty Cloud Palace, a fated opportunity that had stretched for a thousand years. However, even though an Upper Five Tier ancestor of the clan had already learned of this prophecy one thousand years ago, he had still been left with no option but to wait. In fact, he had passed away before witnessing the fulfilment of this prophecy.

It wasn’t that the ancestors of his clan hadn’t attempted to obtain the treasure by force before, and it was simply the case that they hadn’t been able to succeed. Afterward, Incense Shrine City had exhausted an immense amount of human and material resources in an attempt to move the mountain, and that had also been at the secret instructions of the Lofty Cloud Palace. However, it was a shame that this had ended in failure. This was the stubborn and unreasonable nature of some huge fated opportunities in the world.

This was because the prophecy had another sentence that read, “The person close to the mountain obtains the treasure.” This sentence had stumped the many scholarly clan leaders of the Yang Clan, and it was only after the birth of him and his younger brother and his display of innate affinity with the mountains that Lofty Cloud Palace had come to a sudden realization.

Yang Chongxuan sat cross-legged and held his head in one hand. He was waiting for the fated opportunity to arrive.

Meanwhile, a group of people appeared on the opposite bank of the stream.

The old fox was filled with joyous delight.

He was oblivious to the fact that Wei Taizhen’s life was already at stake. Digging out her eyeball would be equivalent to digging out all of her energy and spirit. That being the case, how could she possibly live?

There was the smiling Jiang Qujiang.

And there was the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden who had a solemn expression.

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Yang Chongxuan’s lips.

What did it matter even if the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden were swapped out for the Hanging Inkstone Divine Maiden who was more skilled at combat?

He had been the strongest sixth tier martial artist before advancing to the Vajra Body Tier.

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden wanted to say something, but she couldn’t help but hesitate.

Jiang Qujiang stood at the bank and gazed down at the mountain stream, only to see a streak of golden light slowly moving along. It continued to rise upward, becoming clearer and clearer. It was indeed the hairpin of a lady, and he pointed at it and asked, “Is this the golden hairpin that you were talking about?”

Wei Taizhen covered her mouth, with her vision becoming blurry as tears brimmed in her eyes. She was the definition of delicate and charming at this moment.

Sure enough, he was the one!

He was the one destined to become her partner.

However, Wei Taizhen suddenly felt a stabbing pain. She subconsciously blinked, and one of her extremely lively eyes started to gather golden light from all of the acupoints in her body. She felt agonizing pain, and she raised a hand to cover one half of her face. She was drenched in cold sweat, and blood continued to seep through her fingers.

The young woman appeared delicate and feeble, but she was actually a very stubborn person, with her temper being incredibly strong and unwavering. She gritted her teeth and squatted down, refusing to make a single sound even though her body was trembling violently.

Which woman in the world would be willing for her fancied man to see her in such a wretched state?

Yang Chongxuan looked around, and he unexpectedly wasn’t able to see that foolish young man anywhere. This made him feel slightly disappointed.

When he stood up, both Jiang Qujiang and the old fox from West Mountain took several steps back at almost exactly the same time.

It was as if a majestic mountain were bearing down on them.

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden finally opened her mouth, saying, “We don’t want this fated opportunity. You can take it as you please!”

The entire stream started to shake when Yang Chongxuan stopped purposely suppressing his aura.

Yang Chongxuan stretched lazily and stared intently at the so-called heavenly official divine maiden, saying with a cold smile, “Well, that will depend on my mood!”

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden didn’t avert her gaze, continuing to look at the incredibly dangerous man standing on the opposite side of the stream as she said in a solemn voice, “You people leave first. Don’t hesitate! The further you run the better. Go directly to Green Cottage Town!”

“Feel free to run,” Yang Chongxuan said.

He laughed out loud and continued, “I want to see whether my fist is quicker or you people can run away quicker.”

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden raised her hand lightly, and the water in the stream immediately became chaotic as if receiving a command. The water rose with a loud whoosh, instantly forming an ice wall of more than thirty meters in height between her and Yang Chongxuan.

Fortunately, they were doing battle near water, something that provided her with a geographical advantage.

Yang Chongxuan easily smashed through the wall with his fist.

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden held two fingers together and lightly dragged them through the air, causing a water flood dragon to form at the origin of the stream. The flood dragon viciously lunged at Yang Chongxuan who was leaping over the ice wall.

Yang Chongxuan stood still in midair and casually extended a palm, with his astral energy surging as he collided with the water flood dragon. Both his astral energy and the flood dragon shattered into pieces, and under the illumination of the sun, this surprisingly formed a rainbow at the waist of Treasure Mirror Mountain.

Yang Chongxuan strode forward, and he was just about to reach the opposite shore. Meanwhile, the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden took a step back and twisted her hands, causing a clear water mirror the size of a well to form in front of her. A ring of ancient golden seal script characters appeared around the perimeter of the mirror.

Yang Chongxuan roared with laughter as he charged forward and unleashed a fist. However, he frowned slightly when he failed to shatter the water mirror and was instead sucked into a misty illusion.

He chuckled and sneered, “Not bad. It looks like you have some tricks up your sleeves as well. However, are you perhaps not aware of my surname? The Yang Clan is the undisputed leader when it comes to talismanic techniques in the Northern Complete Reed Continent!”

Fucking hell. Thinking about this reminded Yang Chongxuan of Liu Jinglong, and this made him extremely irritated and angry, so much so that he surprisingly gave up on the idea of using immortal techniques to deal with this formation. Instead, he pirouetted on the spot and unleashed a flurry of punches, sending explosive fist aura surging outward in all directions. He then roared with laughter and exclaimed, “Let me see how long you can maintain this illusion realm for!”

Yang Chongxuan went wild, and he was like a descended heavenly demon as he let loose his formidable fist aura. Was this an aura that an ordinary Vajra Body Tier martial artist could possibly possess?

Standing by the bank of the stream, Jiang Qujiang saw the Rain Bringer Divine Maiden slowly walk toward the water one step at a time. The water mirror in front of her trembled and cracked, but she continued to draw water from the deep stream to repair the surface of the mirror.

The Rain Bringer Divine Maiden bitterly held on, with deep grief and sorrow in her mind. She had already given up on telling the three people behind her to leave Treasure Mirror Mountain. This was because she had no doubt in her mind that fleeing would be pointless.

They would still be caught by this madman even if they left Treasure Mirror Mountain.

Their fates were sealed.