Unsheathed

The immortal ship that was heading from Dragon Head Ferry Station to Skeleton Shoal in the south slowly rose into the air, with the horizon in the distance decorated with the soft red glow of dusk.

Gu Mo leaned against the railing and silently shed tears. Her master had once said that her biggest wish was to ascend amid the dusk glow.

Gu Mo had still been a young and naive girl back then, so she had asked her master what was so good about ascending.

At the time, her master had simply gazed at the dusk glow in the sky, not explaining anything to the young girl.

Gu Mo wasn’t sad about losing her backer or whatnot. When it came to Daoist priests and Daoist nuns from the Profound Dawn Branch, they wouldn’t complain to their masters and seniors as long as they were able to return home alive after slaying demons and vanquishing fiends.

Sui Jingcheng stood beside Gu Mo.

Rong Chang didn’t appear, but Qi Jinglong was standing not too far away. This was because the immortal ship was traveling south in the same direction, with the route of the vessel passing over the territory of the Great Seal Script Empire.

However, Qi Jinglong quickly returned to his room.

On the ground, Chen Ping’an was dressed in azure and walking north on foot, making his way to the end of the river where it flowed into the sea.

Gu Mo and Sui Jingcheng were staying in neighboring rooms on the immortal ship, and Gu Mo had already recovered at this moment, boldly following Sui Jingcheng into her room and pouring herself a cup of tea, making herself feel at home. She completely ignored Sui Jingcheng’s expression, which was clearly saying that she wanted to cultivate alone right now. Gu Mo smiled widely, thinking to herself that Sui Jingcheng obviously couldn’t calm down and cultivate with how chaotic her mental state was right now. Sui Jingcheng wouldn’t be able to fool anyone.

“Did that young man with the surname Chen not give you any tokens of love?” Gu Mo asked.

Sui Jingcheng ignored the words of this female cultivator who had no filter.

Gu Mo glanced at the basically refined hiking pole in Sui Jingcheng’s hands, and she was easily able to see through Chen Ping’an’s crude illusion technique with her Dragon Gate Tier cultivation base. “This is all? Its quality is fairly good, and its appearance is also okay. However, with how beautiful you are, that man with the surname Chen clearly isn’t showing any sincerity. I’m not criticizing you or anything, Sui Jingcheng, but you shouldn’t fall for that man’s smooth and flowery words.”

Sui Jingcheng took off her veiled hat and placed the hiking pole on the table. She then sat opposite Gu Mo and rested her arms and head on the table.

Gu Mo clicked her tongue in wonder as she looked the “Jade Person of the Sui Clan” up and down.

Regardless of whether they spoke or not, genuinely beautiful women in the world would still be a stunning sight to behold.

Sui Jingcheng would only become more beautiful when she advanced to the Middle Five Tiers… Just how incredible would that be? Gu Mo couldn’t resist the temptation to extend her hand, wanting to stroke Sui Jingcheng’s soft and supple cheek.

Sui Jingcheng immediately swatted Gu Mo’s hand aside, straightening her back and sitting upright as she exclaimed with a frown, “Please conduct yourself with dignity, Celestial Maiden Gu!”

Gu Mo rolled her eyes and downed her cup of tea in a single gulp. She then put down her cup and asked in a soft voice, “I heard that you traveled across several nations with that young man with the surname Chen. How did you bathe when the two of you camped in the wilderness? And you haven’t stopped your periods yet, have you?[1] Wasn’t that troublesome?”

“Celestial Maiden Gu is an immortal cultivator, so it’s not appropriate for you to ask this kind of question, is it?”

Gu Mo grinned and replied, “Cultivators are still humans, no? And female cultivators are still females, no? I don’t need to spend a single snowflake coin to ask these questions, nor do you need to lose a single snowflake coin to answer them. So, why don’t you clear up my confusion?”

“Senior is a virtuous and upright person, and I’m only going to say this a single time, Celestial Maiden Gu: I don’t want to hear these kinds of remarks ever again!” Sui Jingcheng replied in a solemn voice.

Gu Mo feigned a look of terror and stammered, “Will you ask Sword Immortal Rong to hack me to death if you get angry?”

She then forcefully banged her head into the table and fell forward, sprawling herself across the table and flailing her arms around as she wailed, “Please don’t do that… I’m scared of dying…”

There was a knock on the door, and Rong Chang’s voice traveled over, saying, “It’s me.”

Sui Jingcheng felt extremely relieved, and she hurriedly said, “Please come in.”

Gu Mo had already adjusted her posture, sitting upright and drinking tea slowly.

Rong Chang was seemingly accustomed to this already, and he sat down and said to Sui Jingcheng, “We’re going to travel to Skeleton Shoal in the southernmost region of the Northern Complete Reed Continent now, and we’ll cross continents and travel to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent after that. I’ll explain some taboos of the mountains to you, and this might be slightly complicated. However, there’s nothing we can do about this. Even though the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent is the smallest continent in the Majestic World, there might still be many incredible and peculiar individuals in this region. As such, we still need to adhere to their traditions and customs.”

Rong Chang actually felt slightly awkward.

His temper couldn’t be regarded as good among those from Duckweed Sword Lake, and he only appeared friendly and approachable compared to his master, Li Cai.

Regarding Rong Chang’s true temper, the cultivators who had been killed or wounded by his sword were the most clear.

Rong Chang was an extremely influential Nascent Tier sword cultivator in the central region of the Northern Complete Reed Continent, and he actually had a few direct disciples at Duckweed Sword Lake as well. There was a popular saying outside the mountains, saying that sticks and rods would produce dutiful children. Rong Chang followed a similar principle, positing that a few extra sword strikes would advance his disciples’ cultivation.

Of course, he was naturally much more patient toward Sui Jingcheng, who could be regarded as half a junior sister.

Sui Jingcheng patiently listened to Rong Chang’s lecture-like explanation.

Gu Mo wasn’t an outsider, so Rong Chang didn’t shoo her away. She didn’t have the self-awareness to voluntarily leave either. As such, she simply sat there and drank cup after cup of tea, occasionally yawning as she listened to Rong Chang rambling on. Even so, she preferred to listen to his boring explanations rather than returning to her room and wallowing in boredom by herself.

Rong Chang breathed a sigh of relief. Sui Jingcheng had seemingly learned many rules and regulations of the mountains from Chen Ping’an.

Moreover, she was indeed a bit different from the junior sister whom he was familiar with.

His junior sister had the best temper out of everyone at Duckweed Sword Lake, yet she also had the worst temper at the same time. When she was in a good mood, she could teach the juniors sword techniques for a very long time, showing even more patience and commitment than their Dao mentors. When she was in a bad mood, however, even Master Li Cai would be powerless against her.

After returning from training in the outside world one time, Rong Chang’s junior sister had felt like she wasn’t wrong, while Master Li Cai had felt like she was more correct. After a heated argument, his junior sister had been suppressed and restrained by their enraged master, having her cultivation base reduced to the Abode Tier. Afterward, she had been locked under Duckweed Sword Lake for six entire months.

She had already been on the verge of death when she was dragged ashore, and Master Li Cai had asked her whether she admitted to her mistakes. However, Rong Chang’s junior sister had remarked that the scenery at the bottom of the lake was unmatched, and that she hadn’t enjoyed it for long enough yet.

In the end, their master had looked around with an ice-cold gaze, and as her opening disciple, Rong Chang had been left with no option but to step forward. Of course, he hadn’t forgotten to use his mind’s voice to tell several other junior brothers and junior sisters to step forward as well, with all of them saying that they were willing to face punishment in place of their junior sister. Only then did Master Li Cai go with the flow and reward them with one sword strike each, leaving the lake after she vented some of her anger.

Afterward, Rong Chang had almost been hunted and beaten up by his junior brothers and junior sisters, causing him to feel extremely stifled, especially since he couldn’t reveal the secret. In the end, he could only flee from Duckweek Sword Lake to wait out the commotion. At the time, Sword Immortal Li Cai had specifically singled him out, using her mind’s voice to instruct him to step forward and accept punishment, showcasing his demeanor as everyone’s senior brother. What could Rong Chang do?! His master’s skill in making life difficult for people was no inferior to her skills with the sword, huh?

At the end of the day, however, Duckweed Sword Lake was still a very good place.

For example, there was an unwritten rule in the ancestral hall of Duckweed Sword Lake, stating: Disciples are not allowed to use their identities as sword cultivators of Duckweed Sword Lake when leaving the mountains to practice their sword skills.

Disciples can follow the below three steps if they come across foes whom they can’t defeat. First step: Run. Second step: If running fails, then announce the name of Duckweed Sword Lake’s Li Cai. Third Step: If Li Cai’s name is ineffective, then don’t forget to use the ancestral hall’s talismanic sword to record and send over the enemy’s name. When your soul is laid to rest at the sect’s sword burial ground in the future, it will definitely be accompanied by the head of the enemy.

Rong Chang naturally wished that his junior sister could advance even further and become the second Sword Immortal Li Cai at Duckweed Sword Lake.

As for himself, the chances were quite slim.

After advancing to the Nascent Tier, he was actually aware of how much further he could advance already.

Those who form a golden core will become one of us.

However, beyond the great fortune of successfully forming a golden core, an even clearer division would appear at the same time.

This was similar to the scholars who participated in the imperial exams in the mortal empires. Some would become ecstatic simply by progressing to the final examination, feeling like they were living in a dream and enjoying the blessings of their ancestors. In fact, they would continue to feel a great sense of achievement for dozens of years afterward. These people were like vagrant cultivators, and they were like the so-called one-in-several-hundred-year cultivation prodigies in the small immortal forces.

Some would place among the second class, with some of these scholars feeling delighted and some still feeling disappointed. These people were quite like the official immortals of large immortal forces.

Some would place in the first class, obtaining the titles of second or third. They would feel like this was deserved, yet there was still a slight blemish due to not coming first. This was a very small group of people, and they were like the direct disciples of sect-level forces.

And finally, some would place first and obtain the title of champion scholar. The only reason they couldn’t place higher was because this was already the highest rank.

Liu Jinglong could be regarded as one such person.

As for the two so-called young cultivators who were ranked above Liu Jinglong, they very obviously belonged to the last category of cultivators as well.

Gu Mo, Liu Jinglong’s senior sister, and Rong Chang were all at different cultivation bases right now, but their final achievements in cultivation would most likely be very similar. They could dream of advancing to the Unpolished Jade Tier, but nothing more than this.

“Sword Immortal Rong, is the Golden Scale Palace on the way?” Sui Jingcheng suddenly changed the topic and asked.

“It’s not on the way, but we can take a detour to go there,” Rong Chang replied with a smile.

Sui Jingcheng felt slightly puzzled. Perhaps they were going to soar on the wind to travel to the Golden Scale Palace, following which they hurriedly chased after the immortal ship to re-embark?

“All it takes is a healthy sum of money,” Rong Chang explained. “The stewards of the immortal ship will agree, and we only need to provide some compensation to the other passengers. In any case, the detour will only add a few extra days to the trip.”

“What if the other passengers are unwilling to accept the compensation and take a detour?” Sui Jingcheng asked.

Rong Chang smiled and replied, “They should burn incense and count themselves lucky that they’re receiving free money from a Nascent Tier sword cultivator.”

Sui Jingcheng shook her head in response.

“What I explained to you just then was largely the taboos and customs of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent,” Rong Chang said with a serious expression. “But we’re still above the territory of the Northern Complete Reed Continent right now, and my suggestion adheres to the rules and regulations of the mountains here.”

“Forget about it. I’ll personally visit the Golden Scale Palace to seek justice when I achieve success in cultivation in the future,” Sui Jingcheng replied with a smile.

It was Rong Chang’s turn to shake his head.

Gu Mo couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.

She had heard that there was seemingly an unknown Nascent Tier cultivator guarding the Golden Scale Palace, but their true combat power was definitely trash-level compared to most other Nascent Tier cultivators. Even so, if Sui Jingcheng planned to resolve this grudge by herself, this implied that she needed to at least become a sword cultivator at the peak stage of the Golden Core Tier first.

When sword immortals sought revenge or challenged an immortal force, they would always arrive with nothing but their sword. They would make enemies with the entire immortal force, and they would shatter the mountain-protection formation before breaking through the immortal treasure attacks of the cultivators. Only then would they do battle against the pillar cultivators of the immortal force. This was akin to a pure martial artist riding a horse and charging through a formation of heavy cavalry — this was no joke at all. Indeed, how many arrogant sword cultivators had lost their lives due to recklessly challenging an immortal force in the Northern Complete Reed Continent?

Sui Jingcheng smiled faintly and said, “I know this will take a very long time, but I don’t mind.”

Rong Chang thought to himself that this wouldn’t necessarily be true.

Sui Jingcheng simply needed to have her soul become complete, allowing her to once again become his junior sister from Duckweed Sword Lake.

Sui Jingcheng hesitated for a moment before saying in a soft voice, “Sword Immortal Rong, I feel like exercising caution is important when traveling around the outside world to train. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Rong Chang suppressed a smile and replied with a nod, “Okay.”

Gu Mo also nodded in agreement, saying, “We need to be careful, Sword Immortal Rong. We should heed the advice of those old sayings in the cultivation world.”

Sui Jingcheng ignored Gu Mo’s teasing remark and continued, “Sword Immortal Rong, your expression and demeanor sometimes give too much away when you look at the passengers of the immortal ship. Your cultivation base can be concealed, but some of your aura as a sword immortal is very difficult to hide.

“Those who are perceptive will inevitably become cautious and guarded, so if there are truly criminals present, then those at the Abode Tier will try their best to come together and elevate their combat power to the Sea Observation Tier, those at the Sea Observation Tier will try their best to come together and elevate their combat power to the Dragon Gate Tier, and so on and so forth. Small matters will become big matters, and big matters will become catastrophic matters.”

Sui Jingcheng thought for a moment before continuing with an embarrassed look, “Perhaps I’m nervous and paranoid due to my low cultivation base, especially after encountering several dangers while traveling around the cultivation world. Sword Immortal Rong can simply regard me as a naive person who’s spouting nonsense.”

The teasing smile disappeared from Gu Mo’s face.

This wasn’t to say that Sui Jingcheng’s reason was extremely correct and enough to convince Rong Chang. Rather, Sui Jingcheng was an amateur cultivator who had only traveled around the cultivation world once in her life, yet she was already able to display such a mature temperament. In this sense, she was… definitely more willing to use her brain than Gu Mo.

Rong Chang smiled faintly and replied, “I naturally have my own plans.”

He was a Nascent Tier sword cultivator, after all, and he often traveled outside the mountains and had engaged in many life and death conflicts with cultivators at different cultivation bases.

However, Sui Jingcheng’s warning was very reasonable.

By the looks of it, it wasn’t entirely a bad thing for his junior sister to become Sui Jingcheng.

His junior sister had caused huge trouble that time, causing the relationship between Duckweed Sword Lake and the Yang Clan of the Esteemed Mystery Department’s Lofty Cloud Palace to deteriorate. Sword Immortal Li Cai didn’t allow her to leave the mountains and train outside again after imprisoning her under the lake for half a year, and his junior sister wasn’t willing to leave the mountains anyway.

However, she became more introverted after staying put at Duckweed Sword Lake to cultivate, and she completely stopped paying attention to outside matters. Afterward, the entire Duckweed Sword Lake started to feel a hint of panic, and even Sect Leader Li Cai was no exception. It wasn’t that Rong Chang’s junior sister was suffering stagnation in her cultivation, but rather that her cultivation base was advancing far too quickly!

In just a mere twenty years, she managed to break through the Dragon Gate Tier and the Golden Core Tier, directly advancing to the Nascent Tier. This was the fundamental reason behind Li Cai daring to claim that her prized disciple would definitely become one of the top ten most powerful young cultivators in the Northern Complete Reed Continent when the rankings were reassessed again in the future.

However, even Rong Chang was able to detect something amiss, having a nagging feeling that advancing so quickly would definitely leave many huge but hidden troubles for the future. Li Cai naturally had an even better understanding of this, and it was because of this that Rong Chang’s junior sister had been instructed to cultivate in seclusion, with the Profound Dawn Primordial Lord, Li Yu, secretly leaving the mountains and traveling to the Five Mountain Nation at the same time.

On this day, Sui Jingcheng returned the golden hairpin with the characters “Profound Dawn Commanding Ghost” to Gu Mo. However, according to a secret agreement between her and Sword Immortal Li Cai, Gu Mo wouldn’t bring this golden hairpin back to her immortal sect. Instead, she would hand it over to Rong Chang, asking him to temporarily look after it. As for why this was, Gu Mo wasn’t sure about the deeper reasoning.

In any case, Sword Immortal Li Cai was very good friends with her master, Li Yu, and one of the flying swords that Gu Mo had refined was a relic left behind by a deceased sword immortal of Duckweed Sword Lake, just as Chen Ping’an had speculated. Li Cai had gifted this sword to Gu Mo, so Gu Mo was extremely close to this female sword immortal who was almost like a senior of her clan.

After handing back the golden hairpin, Sui Jingcheng was finally able to obtain the final two volumes of the Upper Lofty Mystical Mystery.

The first volume introduced the fundamental purpose of this cultivation technique, and by itself, it would be a useless secret scripture even in the hands of ordinary earth immortals. Even so, Sui Jingcheng had somehow managed to advance to the peak stage of the second tier using nothing but this first volume. Because of this, even Rong Chang felt like Sui Jingcheng’s cultivation aptitude could be regarded as prodigious.

The second volume started to properly introduce cultivation mantras, and it could be regarded as a legitimate Golden Core Tier secret scripture. Meanwhile, the third and final volume introduced cultivation mantras critical for advancing to the Upper Five Tiers.

Rong Chang also gave Sui Jingcheng a unique jade tablet from the ancestral hall of Duckweed Sword Lake, and not only did this jade tablet symbolize her status as a direct disciple, but it even doubled as a minimization treasure that only Upper Five Tier cultivators would normally own. Indeed, Rong Chang only had a pocket treasure and not a minimization treasure.

The immortal ship traveled south, stopping briefly when it arrived at the Spring Dew Garden. Passengers could disembark and quickly wander around the immortal ferry station for approximately four hours.

Qi Jinglong walked down the immortal ship, but more of the passengers chose to soar away on the wind. Gu Mo shamelessly followed behind the Terrestrial Flood Dragon, continuing to ask him about the rumors pertaining to him in the mountains. When she returned home, just how envious would her love-struck junior sisters and senior sisters feel?

It wasn’t just the Profound Dawn Branch that was like this, and many female cultivators in the Secret Profound Branch and the White Cloud Branch felt immense admiration for this young sword immortal from the Great Emblem Sword Sect as well, someone who appeared even more bookish than ordinary scholars even though he wasn’t one. In fact, these female cultivators would almost start to drool at the mention of his name. After chattering in secret and turning around, they would immediately become cold and aloof in front of their junior brothers and senior brothers again, appearing as blunt as could be. These were extremely eye-opening experiences for Gu Mo.

In any case, Gu Mo had already made up her mind, deciding that she would say that Liu Jinglong was actually a sanctimonious pervert when she returned home, claiming that he liked to steal glances at people’s chests and bum as long as they were female. Not only that, but he was also as basic as could be, being especially fond of those seductive women who caked their faces with makeup. Gu Mo would anger to death those Daoist nuns who didn’t dare to leave home after secretly putting on some makeup. In some sense, she was helping them cultivate in peace, no? Taking ten thousand steps back, she was helping them save some money by not needing to buy makeup, no?

And thus, Gu Mo went from not being able to stand this young sword immortal from the Great Emblem Sword Sect to becoming fonder and fonder of him.

1. This is a Daoist concept whereby the period of females will be detrimental to their cultivation. Thus, females need to cease having periods (斩赤龙) if they want to cultivate Dao. ☜