Unsheathed

Du Yu didn’t dare to draw his saber, so he chose to snap off a tree branch before squatting down to draw the two talismans on the ground. He then used his mind’s voice to teach Chen Ping’an the corresponding mantras used to activate these talismans.

The Stele Carrying Talisman could conceal one’s presence and aura exceptionally well, causing one to appear like an old tortoise carrying a stele, remaining completely still for one thousand years and thus appearing lifeless.

However, one’s ability to observe the outside world would also be restricted when using this talisman, with one’s range of observation reduced drastically. After all, there were few things in the world that could be perfect with no compromise.

The Stele Carrying Talisman was one of the trump cards for Militarian cultivators of the Ghost Axe Palace who were skilled at assassination.

As for the Snow Soil Talisman, this was a talisman that many formation cultivators in the mountains dreamed of obtaining. This talisman was also known as the Flying Bird Seal Script, and it had a long history and was the signature skill of the Ghost Axe Palace’s founding ancestor. However, disciples of the Ghost Axe Palace were largely only able to scratch the surface of this talisman, with few being able to master its essence. It was the same case for Du Yu, but his mother was indeed very skilled with this talisman. In fact, she was the most skilled at drawing the Snow Soil Talisman in the past three hundred years of the Ghost Axe Palace’s history.

Du Yu’s mother had once secretly taught the Snow Soil Talisman to a powerful cultivator from a top-notch immortal force, allowing that cultivator’s Dao power to rise significantly. After the Ghost Axe Palace learned of this, it had still yet to say anything when an immortal force that was enemies with the powerful cultivator had run over to condemn their actions. Both parties had been extremely displeased, and the matter had eventually been left unsettled.

Afterward, the ancestral hall’s punishment of Du Yu’s mother had simply been reflecting in seclusion for ten years. To cultivators, a mere ten years would pass in the blink of an eye. In other words, this so-called punishment was nothing but a small slap on the wrist. Not only that, but the area where Du Yu’s mother was asked to reflect in seclusion was a place brimming with spiritual energy and with extremely good feng shui. It was only afterward that Du Yu had learned that the powerful cultivator who had learned the Snow Soil Talisman from his mother had secretly paid a visit to the Ghost Axe Palace, most likely pleading for leniency for his mother.

In the beginning, Du Yu had been worried that the young wanderer was actually unskilled at the Dao of talismans and was only coveting the two talismans with the mindset that learning more skills wouldn’t hurt. As such, Du Yu was already mentally prepared to waste his breath and act as an annoyed old teacher. Unexpectedly, however, the young wanderer simply stood there and listened to him explain the talisman, from the main principles of the talisman to the specifics of the corresponding mantra and then to the fine details. He didn’t ask a single question, and he simply asked Du Yu to repeat the explanation three times.

When repeating the explanation the second time, Du Yu inadvertently forgot to repeat an insignificant sentence due to his strong familiarity with the talisman. However, he saw the young wanderer narrow his eyes and slightly raise his hiking pole that had initially been resting on the ground. Du Yu was so terrified that he almost slapped himself in the face, and he hurriedly rectified the situation by repeating the missed sentence word for word.

After Du Yu repeated the explanation three times…

Chen Ping’an looked down at the two talismans on the ground.

Du Yu didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.

Chen Ping’an used his hiking pole to draw the talismans, copying Du Yu’s drawing and drawing a relatively crude Stele Carrying Talisman and Snow Soil Talisman. There was a flash of spiritual light when the talismans were completed, and even though the talismanic cores were relatively mediocre, the talismans were ultimately drawn successfully.

Beads of sweat formed on Du Yu’s forehead.

Good heavens! These talismans genuinely weren’t so easy to draw, and the Dao of talismans genuinely wasn’t so easy to master. Otherwise, why was his skilled father and the old ancestors of the immortal force unable to achieve a state of “capturing the essence?” Some cultivators were innately not suited to drawing talismans. As such, there was a brutal saying pertaining to the immortal forces of the Daoist Sect’s talismanic branch examining the aptitudes of disciples: A single brush stroke will reveal whether one’s a talent or a flop.

The senior standing in front of him was definitely a talisman expert! In fact, it was entirely possible that he was a mighty talismanic cultivator who was concealing his impressive abilities!

And he was claiming to be a pure martial artist? No, this was nothing but a smokescreen…

Upon thinking of this, however, Du Yu found the situation to be even more inconceivable. If this were the case, then wasn’t the senior in front of him far too unreasonable?

Chen Ping’an used his hiking pole to brush away the four talismans that the two of them had drawn, causing the spiritual light of the talismanic cores to fade away. “You’ve shown enough sincerity now, so why don’t we engage in a genuine transaction now?”

“Care to explain?” Du Yu replied in puzzlement.

Chen Ping’an retrieved the Militarian armor pellet and the refined demon core from his sleeve and explained, “People always say that one will likely run into ghosts if one always wanders around at night. I was fairly lucky tonight, and I picked these two items up from the side of the path just then. I feel like they’re quite suitable for your cultivation, so are you interested in them or not? Do you want to buy them from me?”

“It’s rare to come across a senior who’s willing to reluctantly part ways with their treasures, so please feel free to name your price!” Du Yu replied in a righteous voice. “I’m willing to pay a fortune for these two treasures, and I’m willing to pay overs even if it means selling my other possessions!”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response. He remembered another matter at this moment, and he extended a finger and summoned a spinning bead of dark green water. Chen Ping’an extracted a portion — approximately one ounce of water fortune essence — before putting the rest away. He then smiled and said, “This is a gift that I received from the canal master, so just treat this bead of water fortune essence as my show of sincerity and goodwill toward you. You’re injured right now, and you desperately need some spiritual energy to heal your wounds. This bead of water fortune essence is the foundation of a water deity’s Great Dao, so hurry up and accept it so that you can refine it to treat your wounds.”

Du Yu had no other choice at this moment, so he could only accept the beat of water fortune essence and lightly smack it into his heart. He slowly refined the bead of water, and his expression gradually became strange.

This was genuinely a bead of water condensed from water fortune essence?

Not only did he not feel uncomfortable, but there was even a drizzle of sweet rain that descended upon his mind’s lake, making his mind and soul feel increasingly relieved and comfortable.

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “Alright, it’s time to discuss the proper matters now. How much are you planning to fork out to purchase this extremely high-grade Divine Dewbearing Armor and this refined demon core which possesses mighty offensive and defensive abilities?”

“Senior, can I barter for these two treasures instead?” Du Yu asked in a careful voice. “I genuinely don’t have many immortal coins on me right now, and I don’t have any minimization treasures or pocket treasures either.”

“That’s naturally acceptable,” Chen Ping’an nodded and replied with a smile.

Du Yu retrieved a small embroidered pouch that was flowing with colorful light from his clothes, with his movements gentle as he undid the knot of the pouch and retrieved a folded piece of paper from within. He unfolded the piece of paper, and there was surprisingly no crease to be seen.

“This item is extremely precious, and it was something that I obtained by coincidence from a rundown ancient temple when I was fighting against someone many years ago,” Du Yu explained. “My parents told me that I definitely needed to look after this item carefully, saying that it’s incredibly precious and valuable. If I want to sell it, I have to sell it for at least some lesser heat coins. Otherwise, I’ll be doing wrong by this page of ancient Buddhist scripture.”

Chen Ping’an accepted the piece of paper, a page of ancient Buddhist scripture written in golden characters.

He smiled as he put it away and handed the armor pellet and refined demon core to Du Yu.

Chen Ping’an took a deep breath and turned around to face Verdant Bamboo Lake, resting both hands on his hiking pole as he did so.

Du Yu instinctively took a step back.

There was a grim expression on Du Yu’s face, yet he still didn’t dare to open his mouth to say anything.

Determining someone’s life and death was never an easy task.

It was because of this that Chen Ping’an was unable to completely conceal his barely perceptible mental state.

Back on the banks of the Black River in Malicious Ghost Valley, the Sea Turning Primordial Lord had still turned to the clearly more untrustworthy Yang Ningxing to beg for her life even after receiving a guarantee from Chen Ping’an. She had insisted on the scholar making a vow before she was willing to go to the bottom of the Black River to undo the restriction on her underwater cave abode.

At that moment, she had very likely noticed that her life and death had already been decided.

This was the same case for Du Yu right now.

Cultivators always had unbelievably accurate intuition when it came to these fleeting moments of life and death.

Du Yu spread his hands open, staring dazedly at the two rare treasures that he had lost and then regained, yet was imminently about to lose again. He sighed and looked up, asking with a smile, “Since this is the case, then why did Senior take the extra step to complete this transaction with me? Is this not a case of taking your pants off to fart? Or are you perhaps purposely forcing me to attack you, making me wishfully put on the Divine Dewbearing Armor and unleash the refined demon core in an act of futility? And that way, Senior can kill me in a justified and righteous manner, thereby reducing the amount of karmic fate?

“As expected of a mighty figure from the pinnacle of the mountains. This is indeed a splendid plan. I definitely wouldn’t have acted so carelessly and arrogantly if I had known that someone as impressive and mighty as Senior would appear on the shallow shores of the cultivation world.”

Chen Ping’an looked into the distance and asked, “The canal master said that you’re the son of a pair of Dao partners?”

Du Yu nodded and replied, “One has the surname Du, and one has the surname Yu, so my name is Du Yu.”

Chen Ping’an turned around and chuckled, “That’s quite a decent name.”

He then waved a hand and said, “You can leave now. Don’t let me see you again in the future.”

Du Yu smiled bitterly and replied, “I’m afraid that I’ll die immediately after I turn around. Senior, I truly don’t want to die here. It’s far too vexing.”

“That’s a fair point. Then why don’t you accompany me for a while? I’m going to pay a visit to the canal master of Algae Stream — do you know the way?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Du Yu nodded in response.

The two of them started to traverse the mountains, making their way to the territory of Algae Stream together.

As they walked, Chen Ping’an asked Du Yu about the situation both in the mountains and outside the mountains in the Silver Screen Nation as well as the dozen or so surrounding nations.

Du Yu naturally answered all of Chen Ping’an’s questions.

The powerful senior flew through the mountains, with his movements nimble yet as quick as lightning. He was like a flash of faint azure, and Du Yu surprisingly struggled to keep up with him even though he was traveling on the wind.

However, Chen Ping’an would revert to walking normally when he asked questions, giving Du Yu an opportunity to answer them properly.

As they walked through the mountain forests, Chen Ping’an was able to learn more about the Golden Boy and Jade Girl of this region. He smiled and asked, “Why do Yellow Axe City’s He Lu and the Treasure Basin Immortal Realm’s Celestial Maiden Yan Qing sound like a perfect couple from some novel about the cultivation world? Yet, they’re tragically unable to become immortal Dao partners simply because of a hundred-year-old grudge between their immortal forces pitting them against each other.”

“Perhaps this is humorous in Senior’s eyes, but I feel a sense of shame whenever I see either of them,” Du Yu said. “Seeing them reminds me of what a genuine cultivation prodigy looks like.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t offer any comment on this.

The two of them arrived at the peak of a mountain, and gazing into the distant west, they could see the territory of Algae Stream. The water goddess shrine was already drawing closer and closer.

“A priceless treasure of the city god temple is about to appear, so for what purpose did you come here?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Du Yu didn’t dare to conceal anything as he replied, “Apart from me, an uncle master and three junior brothers and junior sisters also traveled to Imperial Accompanying City. However, the peculiar treasure has already been internally assigned by Yellow Axe City and the Treasure Basin Immortal Realm, so the Ghost Axe Palace is simply here to cheer on the Treasure Basin Immortal Realm whom we have a slightly better relationship with.

“As for me… At the risk of being laughed at by Senior, I admit that I simply want to see He Lu and Yan Qing as Yellow Axe City and the Imperial Accompanying City start to bash each other’s brains out. I want to see how they’re forced to fight each other despite their romantic feelings at that time. I surmise that their expressions will be as if they’ve eaten shit. Just thinking about this improves my mood.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and commented, “Can you be regarded as a genuinely evil person?”

“You flatter me, Senior. I’m too ashamed to accept Senior’s praise,” Du Yu said with a forced smile.

Chen Ping’an nodded and said, “The word ‘genuine’ does indeed carry too much weight.”

“Senior’s words appear casual, but after carefully ruminating on them, it’s truly the case that each word is filled with profound meaning that inspires deep reflection,” Du Yu said in a sincere voice.

“Are you trying to snatch business from me?” Chen Ping’an asked with a strange look in his eyes.

Du Yu was at a complete loss, but he immediately shut his mouth as he trembled in fright.

The two of them continued to travel to Algae Stream.