Unsheathed

Zhu Quan was silent for a long while, then jibed, “Don’t get ahead of yourself! You’re still not a Wing Formation Tier martial artist yet, so you could still fall to your death if you’re not careful!”

In the absence of Sword Immortal beneath his feet, Chen Ping’an discovered that the sea of clouds down below had become as solid as a white jade slab, no doubt a result of Zhu Quan’s mystical abilities.

“Thanks,” he said with a smile.

“Do you feel a little better now that you’ve gotten all of that off your chest?” Zhu Quan asked.

“Much better,” Chen Ping’an replied as he interlaced his fingers behind his head.

Zhu Quan shook her head as she sighed, “Venting like this every once in a while isn’t a permanent solution. If you keep this up, you’re going to be crushed under the weight of your own mental burden someday. One’s energy, essence, and spirit are not like one’s fist intent. The latter can be hammered down to the size of a mustard seed, at which point every punch that is thrown will be imbued with almighty power.

“In contrast, energy, essence, and spirit must be nurtured. Otherwise, they will be unsustainable. Having said that, I suppose the constant mental burden that you carry with you is what’s kept you alive up to this point. If I possessed the same cultivation base as you and were thrust into your shoes, I would’ve already died several dozen times over in the face of Gao Cheng’s tireless pursuit.”

“This is why I admire you, Sect Leader Zhu. The pursuit of the Great Dao is an arduous endeavor, yet you’ve managed to remain true to yourself and make the pursuit much simpler than most,” Chen Ping’an said in an earnest manner.

There were very few cultivators of Zhu Quan’s caliber that would have the humility and candor to admit their mistake and that they owed someone a massive favor, particularly after they had already done everything in their power to do the best job possible.

Zhu Quan waved a dismissive hand as she scoffed, “Quit trying to suck up to me! I don’t have any more female heavenly official mural replicas to give you!”

“I’m going to lay down for a bit. Please don’t take it as a gesture of disrespect, Sect Leader Zhu,” Chen Ping’an said with a smile.

“I’ll be fine as long as I have some wine,” Zhu Quan replied as she extended a hand.

Chen Ping’an was just about to pull some wine out of his minimization treasure when Zhu Quan demanded, “It has to be good wine! Don’t try to placate me with ordinary rice wine! I’ve grown up my entire life in the cultivation world, so I can’t stomach the wine of mortals!”

Chen Ping’an was left in a rather difficult predicament. He didn’t have much immortal wine in his minimization treasure, and if Zhu Quan kept asking for more, then he would run out very soon.

However, her demands had to be satisfied, and Chen Ping’an went above and beyond, pulling out three flagons of immortal wine of different varieties, namely osmanthus wine from Old Dragon City, well-water immortal wine from the Wasp Tail Ferry Station, and crow caw wine from Bamboo Scroll Lake.

He tossed the flagons of wine at Zhu Quan one by one, and despite her remarks of how this was too much for her to accept, her actions didn’t match her words at all, and she eagerly tucked two of the flagons up her sleeve, leaving one out to drink.

Chen Ping’an laid down on the solidified sea of clouds, much as he had laid down on the green bamboo corridor in Cui Dongshan’s residence in Mountain Cliff Academy. Neither of those were his home, but they were like homes away from home.

He was truly feeling a little weary from his journey.

Zhu Quan sat down beside him, then gently set Zhou Mili down beside herself. She gently swept a sleeve over Zhou Mili, serving as a barrier to shield her from the wind above the clouds, ensuring that she continued to sleep soundly.

Zhu Quan sipped on some wine as she sighed, “If the situation really had spiraled to the point where you had to call upon all of those aforementioned allies, then Gao Cheng would’ve been backed into a corner.

“If he had decided to bring Skeleton Wall City and the Malicious Ghost Valley down with him, then not only would Wood Garment Mountain have been completely destroyed, the same would’ve applied to the Skeleton Shoal as well, and the water fortune of Swaying River would’ve surely been implicated too.

“Additionally, the baleful yin energy of the Malicious Ghost Valley would’ve spread upstream to kill countless people in those upstream nations. It would’ve truly been a calamity.”

“Sect Leader Zhu, do you know how many people pass through Mural City each day, how many people visit the Helpless Pass market, how many sects there are in the Skeleton Shoal, and the populations of the Swaying River’s upstream nations?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“Why would I know all of that?” Zhu Quan asked. “I can’t be bothered! I have to cultivate while also performing my duties as a sect leader, and it’s really exhausting!”

“While passing through the Skeleton Shoal, I saw, I calculated, I asked, and I read books, so I know the answers to all of those questions,” Chen Ping’an said.

“What is going on in that head of yours, Chen Ping’an?” Zhu Quan sighed in an exasperated manner.

Chen Ping’an folded his hands beneath the back of his head as he said, “After leaving Wood Garment Mountain, I felt like everyone was Gao Cheng, and after arriving in that ghost estate in Imperial Accompanying City, I felt like everyone was Chen Ping’an, so I’m really tired as well.”

“Then why did you come to the Northern Complete Reed Continent?” Zhu Quan asked in a puzzled manner. “This place is renowned for its peril and unpredictability. If you’re so afraid of death, why couldn’t you have delayed your trip until your cultivation base was a bit more advanced? Also, you don’t have enough life-saving tricks up your sleeve.

“Fundamentally, you’re still a pure martial artist, so the only way you can open up any distance between yourself and your assailants is by using Inch Movement Talismans and that pseudo-celestial sword of yours. Even if we discount cultivators of the Upper Five Tiers like myself, any earth immortal could easily travel thousands of kilometers without breaking a sweat.

“If you’re unable to get close to them and end the battle quickly, then you’ll eventually be worn down from a distance and killed! You know what? Forget it. Why am I trying to talk sense into a complete nutcase like you?”

Not only was a Dao-robe-wearer, he was wearing two at once. On top of that, he was carrying a Sword Nurturing Gourd, within which were two flying swords that weren’t even bonded to him!

He could impersonate a Lower Five Tiers cultivator one moment, then a swordsman the next, and the rest of the time, he could pose as a fourth or fifth tier martial artist. He had so many tricks and red herrings up his sleeve, and given his fist techniques, Inch Movement Talismans, and flying swords, the average Golden Core Tier cultivator really would be no match for him if they were caught off guard and allowed him to get close.

On top of that, his capacity for taking a beating was nothing short of incredible! Those punches from that Vajra Body Tier martial artist on the ship had bounced off him as if they had been thrown by an infant! Even Zhu Quan was feeling tempted to attack Chen Ping’an just to test out the limits of his durability!

“I haven’t actually reached the Vajra Body Tier yet,” Chen Ping’an suddenly said. “I suffered some very heavy losses during the heavenly tribulation in Imperial Accompanying City, having been forced to use up almost all of my best talismans, but I also benefitted immensely in terms of bodily refinement, even more so than from my training in the bamboo building back home. After all, while taking those punches, I’m aware that the old man isn’t going to kill me, but the heavenly tribulation had no such reservations.

“Even so, I still wasn’t quite able to break my Vajra Body Tier bottleneck. My first shortcoming was that I was unable to manifest a Hero’s Gall Pill, and my second shortcoming was that I had bitten off more than I could chew and tried to learn too many fist techniques at once, so all of those fist techniques were conflicting with one another.”

“You’re telling me you’re able to do all of this while still only being a sixth tier martial artist?!” Zhu Quan exclaimed.

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

“In that case, all of the seventh tier martial artists of our Northern Complete Reed Continent should just go kill themselves!” Zhu Quan exclaimed in exasperation.

“That’s not exactly fair,” Chen Ping’an countered. “Otherwise, all of the pure martial artists under the heavens below the Mountain Summit Tier should go kill themselves, with the sole exception of Cao Ci.”

Zhu Quan took a swig of wine, then said, “Even someone as oblivious as me has heard of Cao Ci. Do you know him or something?”

Chen Ping’an sat up as he nodded and replied, “I lost three consecutive battles to him on the Sword Qi Great Wall.”

Zhu Quan’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“That’s a bit of an embarrassing admission to make,” Chen Ping’an said with a bashful expression, but a resilient smile then quickly appeared on his face as he declared, “But that’s fine. As long as I remain within one tier behind Cao Ci and don’t allow the gap between us to widen to two tiers, I have chances of catching up and surpassing him in this lifetime!”

Zhu Quan knew that he had misunderstood her. How many young martial artists under the heavens could convince Cao Ci to have three consecutive battles against them? It was just like how the lord of White Emperor City spared extra games for no one but Cui Dongshan.

Of course, what was even more impressive was Qi Jingchun, the scholar that had made the lord of White Emperor City voluntarily leave his city, just to be able to play a game of Go against him. The Scholarly Sage branch had very few people, but all of them were incredible in their own way. Qi Jingchun had made a name for himself by singlehandedly bearing the full brunt of that catastrophic calamity.

Due to the fact that the Skeleton Shoal was situated in a southernmost region of the Northern Complete Reed Continent, while the Great Li Empire was in the northernmost region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, Zhu Quan had actually caught a glimpse of what had happened at the time from Wood Garment Mountain.

Then, there was the swordsman who was very late to pick up the way of the sword, but had since surpassed almost all of the swordsmen under the heavens. He was very enigmatic and clearly preferred to keep to himself, but some years ago, he had once appeared over the sea near the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

At the time, four sword immortals had gone to confront him in succession, and three of them had returned in silence after their encounter. The only one who spoke of their encounter was the first swordsman, also the most powerful of all of the continent’s Unpolished Jade Tier swordsmen.

Following his return, he declared to the entire continent: “Don’t bother going if you’re at the Unpolished Jade Tier or below. Make sure you’re at least at the Immortal Tier if you don’t want to make an absolute fool out of yourself!”

There were many more stories pertaining to the Scholarly Sage’s disciples. The Second Sage’s branch was teeming with bright talents, and in comparison, the Scholarly Sage’s branch barely had anyone, but it had no shortage of stories, and the Northern Complete Reed Continent was perhaps the continent that was most fond of the Scholarly Sage’s branch in this world.

The reason for this was very simple: all of the Scholarly Sage’s disciples were extremely formidable in battle. In particular, Zhu Quan had immense admiration for Zuo You. He never wasted time with words, and his temper was so short that he put even the swordsmen of the Northern Complete Reed Continent to shame.

She had heard that he was quite refined and handsome in appearance, but beneath that civilized facade was an absolute demon. All of the sword immortals of the Northern Complete Reed Continent were lamenting the fact that someone like him was so reclusive and didn’t reside on the Northern Complete Reed Continent. Otherwise, they would be able to go to him for sparring every day.

Zhu Quan grinned as she wiped the back of her hand across her lips. Meeting him would truly be a dream-come-true.

As for the misunderstanding, Zhu Quan couldn’t be bothered to clear it up. If Chen Ping’an misconstrued her stunned silence as an expression of ridicule in response to the revelation that he had lost three consecutive battles to Cao Ci, then he could think as he pleased.

Hold on a second!

Zhu Quan turned to Chen Ping’an with a menacing expression as she asked, “Who did you just say your senior brother was?! And which Mr. Qi were you talking about?!”

Initially, she had been momentarily stunned by Chen Ping’an’s aura and the mention of the tenth tier martial artist that owed him a favor, the student who was temporarily only a Nascent Tier cultivator, and that martial artist at the pinnacle of the tenth tier who was technically half a master of his.

On top of that, she had been distracted by her concern over the possibility that Chen Ping’an’s mental state would crumble on the spot, but now that she had a chance to process what she had just heard…

“How did Zuo You end up becoming your senior brother?!”

“What are you talking about, Sect Leader Zhu? Are you drunk?” Chen Ping’an asked with an innocent and puzzled expression.

Zhu Quan stood up with a warm smile on her face, then sat down right next to Chen Ping’an as she requested in a quiet voice, “Can you get that senior brother of yours, the swordsman, to come and visit my Wood Garment Mountain? Tell him that someone wants to treat him to some wine, and that if he doesn’t want to come to Wood Garment Mountain, then that’s fine, I can go out to meet him at seat instead.

“All you need to do is arrange a time and place of meeting for us, and I’ll go meet him with Pang Shanling. Once there, I’ll stand by his side and get Pang Shanling to draw a portrait of us. Oh my goodness, I’m getting embarrassed!”

Chen Ping’an massaged his own glabella in exasperation.

If you feel embarrassed, then don’t make the request in the first place!

“Don’t play dumb with me!” Zhu Quan snapped. “Just answer me straight up! Is it a yes, or is it a hell yes?!”

Chen Ping’an could feel a headache coming on, and he decided to come clean with Zhu Quan as he revealed, “He doesn’t think I have the right to be his junior brother. He told me that to my face. That’s why I told you earlier that I have to go and beg him for his help. There’s no guarantee that he’ll help me even if I beg.”

Zhu Quan swung a frustrated backhand at Chen Ping’an, who leaned back to evade the swat, only straightening back up once Zhu Quan’s hand had passed over his head.

Zhu Quan withdrew her hand in a sheepish manner, then offered, “How about I return your wine to you?”

“I can’t make any promises,” Chen Ping’an replied with a shake of his head.

“You’re such a pain in the ass! No wonder Zuo You doesn’t acknowledge you as his junior brother!” Zuo You complained.

However, in the wake of this revelation, Zhu Quan finally understood why Chen Ping’an had said what he did to the abbot’s disciple.

If Zuo You were to come to the Northern Complete Reed Continent, he really wouldn’t spare a glance at that Nascent Tier Daoist priest, not even half a glance, in fact.

It wasn’t because of the drastic disparity in cultivation base between them. Zuo You wasn’t the type of person to pay extra attention to someone just because they were an Ascension Tier cultivator, nor was he the type of person to completely disregard someone just because they were a mortal.

This made Zuo You unique among swordsmen of Middle Earth Divine Continent, and it was the reason why he was so revered by the swordsmen of the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

Zhu Quan took a glance at the sky, then grumbled, “Ah, shoot! I have to go. I didn’t think I would stay and chat for this long. Those two uncle masters of mine are so eager to marry me off that they would gladly hand me over to any man that would take me, then revere him like a Bodhisattva!

“Those two old bastards are definitely going to think that I had a fling with you here! My reputation will be ruined! Everyone on Wood Garment Mountain will be teasing me about preferring younger men!”

Chen Ping’an was even more panicked than Zhu Quan upon hearing this, and he hurriedly rose to his feet and took a couple of steps backward as he implored in a serious manner, “Please, please, please squash those rumors before they have a chance to spread, Sect Leader Lan! Otherwise, I’m never going to visit Wood Garment Mountain again for as long as I live!”