Unsheathed

Compared to the water immortal shrine that was neglected and seemingly abandoned, with even the deity herself living somewhere else, the shrine of Algae Stream’s canal master appeared much more impressive and also enjoyed far more incense offerings.

It was clear that this water deity understood what she was doing.

However, since she was able to suppress the other canal master so badly that the latter abandoned her shrine and couldn’t raise her head anymore, she was clearly a difficult person to deal with.

When descending the mountain, Chen Ping’an told Du Yu about the tragic case that had taken place in Imperial Accompanying City, asking him to inquire about the contents of the secret letter.

Du Yu had essentially died two times tonight, so with this in mind, did he still need to be afraid of offending a measly canal master? As such, he didn’t hesitate at all when agreeing to Chen Ping’an’s request. To say nothing of the canal master of Algae Stream, a measly river guardian, he would resolutely go on the attack even if the lake lord of Verdant Bamboo Lake stood before him and dared to anger him.

If it weren’t for the fact that Chen Ping’an had told him to discuss matters calmly, Du Yu would have drawn his saber and kicked open the gates of the canal master’s shrine, directly hacking the canal master of Algae Stream half-dead with a single slash. He would then order the canal master to report the matters to Lord Du Yu, after which he would hack her dead with another slash. Only then could he vent the fury in his chest.

It was entirely the fault of Verdant Bamboo Lake’s shitty feng shui that he was now forced to walk behind this mighty senior and wag his tail like a pitiful and obedient dog. Most detestable of all was the fact that just wagging his tail wasn’t enough, and he even needed to worry about not wagging his tail properly and being mysteriously smacked to death as a consequence.

The two of them retracted their auras as they walked down the mountain, making sure that they didn’t warn the canal master of their presence.

“What would you have done if you had learned about this tragic case of Imperial Accompanying City earlier? Just say what’s on your mind,” Chen Ping’an asked casually.

Du Yu smiled and replied, “This matter doesn’t affect me, so I would have naturally ignored it altogether. The city god of a prefectural city is no ordinary river guardian appointed by the imperial court, so to say nothing of whether we can kill them or not, killing them will definitely attract far too much karmic fate.

“In any case, grudges in the cultivation world and conflict in the imperial court truly aren’t interesting at all. It’s always the same bullshit trivial matters being repeated over and over again. To be fair, the situation in the mountains isn’t much better. Of course, there are indeed a fair number of cultivators truly focused on cultivating Dao, neither harming other people nor helping other people and simply focused on cultivating in peace.

“As for me, I have a short temper and have also come across a barrier in my cultivation, and it’s because of this that I’m traveling around the cultivation world to seek entertainment.”

Du Yu felt slightly uneasy, so he asked after saying this, “Senior won’t feel displeased after hearing my honest thoughts, right?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head and replied, “No. I’ve witnessed and heard many things before, so it’s hard to cause a ripple in my mind now.”

Du Yu fell silent for a long time before suddenly saying, “However, if I were the type of cultivator standing at the pinnacle of the mountains that my parents speak of, then I might perhaps suddenly become happy and perform a good deed. Or perhaps I’ll find the city god displeasing to look at and casually hack him to death with a single slash. As for the tragic case pertaining to the prefectural overseer, I definitely won’t get involved as it has absolutely nothing to do with me. Getting involved will be more trouble than it’s worth.

“In regards to killing the city god, I won’t seek fame and will only seek wealth. After all, the shards of a deity’s shattered gold statue are worth a huge fortune. As for what I was doing in Imperial Accompanying City, I would have simply indulged myself in food, drink, and entertainment if there weren’t the matter pertaining to the appearance of a rare treasure. Afterward, I would have patted my backside and left.”

“When you truly reach the pinnacle of the mountain, you’ll discover that the city god of a prefectural city won’t be able to attract your interest in seeking wealth at all,” Chen Ping’an said. “What you desire today, you’ll dismiss with a smile in the future.”

Du Yu carefully ruminated over this for a while before saying in self-ridicule, “My aptitude is only okay, and I don’t have the cultivation aptitude of Yellow Axe City’s city lord or the Treasure Basin Immortal Realm’s old ancestor. To say nothing of these paramount beings who have already attained the Great Dao, even He Lu and Yan Qing are lofty mountains that I definitely won’t be able to surmount in my lifetime. When I’m wandering around the cultivation world seeking entertainment, there are times when I feel like the saying about washing away one’s sorrow with wine isn’t a lie at all.”

“You’ve traveled around the cultivation world for many years, so are there people in the cultivation world who you’ve found… very foolish?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“Naturally. However, most of them are dead,” Du Yu replied with a smile. “It’s difficult to judge their character when they’re alive, but they’re nothing special either when they’re dead.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and remarked, “You’ll still say a few unpleasant but human things when your mind isn’t so tense.”

Du Yu was rendered speechless.

The senior’s remark sounded so awkward, so why was he feeling slightly happy and relieved?

The two of them descended the mountain and walked along the wide and bubbling stream for several more kilometers. Du Yu saw the brightly lit shrine in the distance, and it could be said that the extravagance of the shrine had completely transgressed its actual status. It appeared like a royal residence rather than an ordinary shrine.

Du Yu placed his hand on the hilt of his saber and said in a low voice, “Something feels off, Senior. It can’t be that the lake lord of Verdant Bamboo Lake has personally come here and set up a trap for us to walk into, right?”

After traveling here and seeing nothing wrong with Du Yu’s health, Chen Ping’an absorbed the bead of water fortune essence that most likely hadn’t been tampered with. However, he didn’t directly refine it, not choosing to toss it into his water palace for the little children in green to help absorb. Instead, he used an internal observation technique to enter his body with his mind, with his yin soul becoming as small as a speck of dust as he personally traveled to his water palace.

The bead of water fortune essence had been very small in the outside world, yet it was as if Chen Ping’an’s yin soul were carrying a gigantic ball of water in his arms at this moment. The little children in green were ecstatic after receiving the water fortune essence, but Chen Ping’an had no clue at all as to how they had appraised its value. They looked at Chen Ping’an with satisfied expressions for the first time.

Chen Ping’an immediately understood that the more of these water fortune essence beads, the better.

In other words, it was necessary for him to visit the shrine of Algae Stream’s canal master.

Chen Ping’an didn’t really dare to barge into the dragon palace at the bottom of Verdant Bamboo Lake by himself, or else he would have wanted to engage in a so-called transaction with the lake lord as well.

This would have also been a business transaction, but Chen Ping’an’s methods would have been different from before.

After all, it was only natural that doing business with Du Yu, the canal masters, and the lake lord would be different from doing business with the Flax Robe Sect.

With the former, Chen Ping’an would haggle over every single copper coin, and he would even consider beating them to death if they dared to short him a single copper coin.

With the latter, he would be willing to make less profit, and he might even be willing to make a loss.

Upon hearing Du Yu’s warning, Chen Ping’an said in amusement, “Just then at the water immortal shrine, weren’t you hollering about fighting with the lake lord as long as he dared to come on shore?”

Du Yu smiled and replied, “Senior has taught me some lessons about life, so I’m truly nervous and fearful at the slightest sound and view everything as a potential threat now. I’m sorry for letting Senior see me in such an embarrassing state.”

Chen Ping’an patted Du Yu’s shoulder and said, “If there’s another fight, remember not to offer your opponent a free hit or whatnot this time.”

Du Yu appeared very sheepish.

He thought about whether or not he should find an opportunity to kill the group of seven or eight young men who had been eating and drinking at the water immortal shrine. Otherwise, wouldn’t he become a huge laughing stock if word of his embarrassing defeat got out?

However, the mighty senior immediately smiled and said, “Even I didn’t kill them, so are you repaying my favor and teaching me a life lesson as well by going back to kill them? Or perhaps you feel like you have good fortune, and you won’t come across anyone else like me for the rest of your life?”

Du Yu was terrified upon hearing this, and he replied in a resolute voice, “I definitely won’t forget Senior’s earnest teachings!”

Chen Ping’an slowly walked forward and chuckled, “Doing good deeds and being kind to others might be very difficult, but is it truly so difficult to not do evil deeds and trample on the lives of mortal people? But again, who doesn’t yearn for an unrestrained life where they can do as they please? One is no longer a mortal human after learning immortal techniques, and many cultivators feel like the emotions of sympathy and pity are nothing more than baggage weighing down on their progress. Trying to change this mindset is akin to convincing mortal people to feel sympathy for livestock and immediately become vegetarians. This is indeed a very difficult ask.”

Du Yu didn’t dare to confirm straight away whether Chen Ping’an was saying this sincerely from the bottom of his heart. As such, he didn’t dare to respond no matter what.

Chen Ping’an heaved a soft sigh.

He pushed a certain thread further and further down.

Was this truly useful?

He adjusted his bamboo hat and continued to walk forward.

The two of them arrived outside the extravagant shrine.

Chen Ping’an stopped and said, “Go ahead and scout out the situation. I’ll definitely collect your corpse if you die, and I might even help to avenge your death.”

After trying to find the right words for a long time, Du Yu could only say in helplessness, “Senior is truly… very honest with this junior.”

Du Yu tightly gripped his Militarian armor pellet, causing it to instantly flow over his body like mercury and transform into a valuable suit of Divine Dewbearing Armor.

He then strode through the wide-open gates of the shrine.

However, Du Yu returned a few minutes later with an awful expression, and he walked to Chen Ping’an’s side and said in a low voice, “Yan Qing is coincidentally visiting this shrine as a guest as well, so I didn’t attend to the proper matters for the fear of creating new problems and complicating the issue.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t mind this, and he asked in puzzlement, “Yan Qing, as in the celestial maiden from the Treasure Basin Immortal Realm?”

Du Yu nodded solemnly and replied, “The cultivators of the Treasure Basin Immortal Realm have just arrived at Verdant Bamboo Lake. Yan Qing is an aloof person, and she doesn’t like the bustling atmosphere of the dragon palace, so she came here by herself to seek some peace and quiet.”

“And He Lu isn’t here?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Du Yu faltered for a moment before shaking his head and replying, “Senior, the two of them can’t be this bold, right? Their two immortal forces are imminently about to fight to the death at Imperial Accompanying City, so would they dare to secretly contact each other and have a meeting between lovers right under the noses of their seniors? The canal master of Algae Stream will indeed keep such a secret for them and keep her lips tightly sealed, even going as far as to help conceal such a meeting for them. However, Yan Qing and He Lu shouldn’t be so desperate. The former is aloof, and the latter is fairly focused on cultivation.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and said, “The Treasure Basin Immortal Realm is making a lot of noise as they visit the dragon palace at the bottom of the lake. Even you’re aware of Yan Qing’s personality, so how can He Lu not be aware? Moreover, will Yan Qing not be clear about He Lu’s understanding of her intentions? Do the two of them need to contact each other beforehand to set up a secret meeting?

“If both of them act in the interests of their immortal sects and take part in the imminent battle, then won’t tonight be their last chance to meet each other in peace? However, the commotion that we caused at the water immortal shrine and the canal master hurrying back to the dragon palace to report the matters to the lake lord most likely disturbed the tacit understanding between Yan Qing and He Lu.

“Perhaps He Lu is hiding somewhere right now and cursing you for ruining his final chance to meet Yan Qing. Was Yan Qing quite displeased to see you when you met her in the shrine? And what about the canal master’s expression and speech? Can these things verify my speculation?”

There was a look of shame on Du Yu’s face as he replied, “I was simply thinking about barging into the shrine and attacking the canal master with my saber so that I could do something small for Senior before, so I truly didn’t consider too many things.”

Chen Ping’an was in no hurry to enter the shrine, and he glanced at the uneasy Du Yu before looking around at the surroundings and casually asking, “How did you travel around the cultivation world? How did you manage to survive until today? Or perhaps everyone in the Silver Screen Nation and the surrounding dozen or so nations are all extremely simple and honest? But when I was at the water immortal shrine just then, neither the cultivators, the deities, or the common people appeared simple or honest.”

Du Yu could only respond by saying, “Compared to Senior, who’s faultless when it comes to analyzing people, analyzing matters, and analyzing thoughts, I’m naturally nothing more than a foolish and laughable junior.”

Chen Ping’an smiled and commented, “Faultless when it comes to analyzing people, analyzing matters, and analyzing thoughts… Mhm, this is a fairly good remark. I’ll remember it.”

Du Yu couldn’t help but feel confused. What was the point of remembering this remark?

Chen Ping’an walked forward, leading the way and entering the extravagant shrine.

The shrine was large and dazzling and didn’t appear like a shrine at all.

They arrived outside an internal residence that had a golden plaque with the characters “Flowing Rivers Never Dry” hanging outside.

There was a woman with slightly long and narrow peach blossom eyes dressed in palatial robes, and she appeared refined and regal as she stood there with a faint smile.

A young woman was standing beside her, dressed in white garb and wearing a golden phoenix crown that appeared divinely exquisite, with the tail of the phoenix swaying slightly as a gentle breeze brushed past. There was the faint sound of a young phoenix’s call.

Chen Ping’an took a quick glance at the two women before shooting a few extra glances at the golden phoenix crown.

This was probably a good quality immortal tool.