Unsheathed

Chapter 528 (2): The Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s Present and Future

“Mountain God Wei hosted another Night Travel Banquet,” Dong Gu said in a quiet voice. “The store that the Cloth Wrapper Shop left at Ox Horn Mountain’s ferry station has also reopened, and the goods being sold there are all treasures that the deities and cultivators offered as presents at the Night Travel Banquet.”

“It looks like Downtrodden Mountain is severely lacking money,” Ruan Qiong chuckled.

Compared to the Golden Core Tier Dong Gu, Ruan Qiong was not only at the Unpolished Jade Tier, but he was also the sage overseeing this region. As such, he was able to see further, see deeper, and see clearer. Wei Bo’s advance this time was a type that didn’t present any barriers.

More precisely, the barrier that Wei Bo should have faced when advancing to the Upper Five Tiers had already been shattered by someone long ago. Moreover, this had been done in a very clever and subtle manner, so much so that Ruan Qiong had only confirmed his suspicion after observing the situation for a very long time. Advancing to the Unpolished Jade Tier was as easy as could be for Wei Bo, so what he pursued wasn’t breaking through, but rather achieving a more flawless Unpolished Jade Tier.

And this was why that person’s strike using his bamboo saber back at Go Table Mountain had been extremely accurate.

Ruan Qiong felt a strong sense of melancholy.

When it came to normal great sword immortals, Upper Five Tier sword cultivators who were slightly inferior to them could still manage to somewhat discern the rough difference between the level of their sword techniques and the abundance of their sword intent.

However, some sword strikes of some individuals could only be properly understood many years after the fact.

Their sword strikes were profoundly powerful, yet their power was completely hidden.

At the end of the day, one might only be able to fathom the ability of these sword strikes if they were to land on one’s heart.

Ruan Qiong hoped that the Dragon Spring Sword Sect could produce such a sword cultivator one day. It wouldn’t matter even if this took a bit longer.

It wasn’t long before Dong Gu bade farewell and took his leave.

Ruan Qiong gazed into the distance.

The Northern Mountain was the origin of the Great Li Empire’s dynasty, and the only deity in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent who could rival the Northern Mountain’s Mountain God Wei Bo wasn’t the mountain god of the Central Mountain, but rather the mountain goddess of the Southern Mountain.

The current Central Mountain of the Great Li Empire was the previous Central Mountain of the Luminous Vermilion Empire, and the mountain god of the Central Mountain remained the same as before. It could be said that he had gained fortune from misfortune, now becoming a deity of a powerful empire in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

Sword Cultivator Xu Ruo, a Mohist wanderer, was still guarding his mountain and residing as a neighbor of the Central Mountain’s mountain god.

Ruan Qiong was keeping his eyes on Ganzhou Mountain, the new Western Mountain of the Great Li Empire. Ganzhou Mountain wasn’t far from Wind Snow Temple, and it had never belonged to the Five Mountains of any empire in the past. As such, Ruan Qiong’s trip to Ganzhou Mountain had been most relaxing, with the number one sword craftsman of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent even taking some time to visit Wind Snow Temple and reminisce about old times with his elders and senior brothers. In reality, this was a reward from the emperor of the Great Li Empire to show gratitude to the Dragon Spring Sword Sect for aiding him in ascending the throne.

Compared to the dangerous undercurrents and pervasive killing intent surrounding Xu Ruo, Ruan Qiong was relaxed and had no major matters to deal with. Meanwhile, Moraine Mountain, the newly chosen Eastern Mountain of the Great Li Empire, was engulfed in intense battles. Most of the high-level guest elders in the Great Li Empire were Golden Core Tier or Nascent Tier earth immortals, but an incredibly deadly battle had taken place right during the mountain appointing ceremony of the Eastern Mountain.

Cultivators had surged over from many nations, attempting to charge up Moraine Mountain and kill the emissary of the Great Li Empire. In the end, even the written edict of the new emperor — written with golden ink, stamped with the imperial seal, and held by a silver string — had almost been destroyed by an enemy Nascent Tier cultivator. The guest elders of the Great Li Empire had eventually managed to push these cultivators back, but they had also suffered severe casualties as a result.

Afterward, the Right Assistant Minister of the Great Li Empire’s Ministry of Rites had embarked on a patrol in the name of the heavens, evidently setting up a trap to kill his enemies. Even so, another group of cultivators hailing from the nations destroyed by the Great Li Empire had voluntarily charged over, unflinching in the face of death. This caused a region of five hundred kilometers in radius surrounding Moraine Mountain to suffer from chaotically turbulent spiritual energy.

Following the two intense battles, smaller conflicts broke out around the region due to continued resistance from the surviving cultivators of the destroyed nations. Even so, Moraine Mountain finally managed to overcome these significant bumps and become the new Eastern Mountain of the Great Li Empire. The mountain god of Moraine Mountain was previously a mountain god of the Great Li Empire’s former Five Mountains.

Something more major had taken place than the appointment of the Eastern Mountain, that being the Great Li Empire’s pending choice of a site in the southern region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent to build a secondary capital.

Song Jixin had been assigned as the feudal lord of Old Dragon City, and when the secondary capital was complete, Song Jixin — whose name was Song Mu in the clan genealogical records — would control this capital from a distance.

One of the several site candidates was the old capital of the Luminous Vermilion Empire, and the benefit of choosing this site was not needing to expend a great deal of resources and manpower. On the surface, the drawback of this site was its great distance from Lake View Academy. As for the more subtle taboos pertaining to the imperial court, some people naturally didn’t want Feudal Lord Song Mu to have his two territories too close together, allowing Old Dragon City and the secondary capital to easily join forces and control half of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

In any case, the imperial court of the Great Li Empire was yet to settle on the location of the second capital.

Ruan Qiong could make recommendations as the chief guest elder of the Great Li Empire, and the new emperor of the Great Li Empire would definitely listen to his suggestions. However, Ruan Qiong chose to remain silent.

Ruan Xiu appeared beside Ruan Qiong.

Having recently returned from an outside trip to the Wind Snow Temple, Ruan Qiong said in a soft voice, “When your dad was young, many elders and seniors in the Wind Snow Temple felt like the world wouldn’t change too much. They only needed to cultivate in earnest. Because of this, juniors like me thought in much the same way. Now, however, all of the elders and seniors are sighing with emotion and remarking that they’re completely unable to envision what the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent will look like in just a few decades’ time. Xiuxiu, do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing?”

Ruan Xiu thought for a moment before sidestepping the question and replying, “The Dragon Spring Sword Sect is lacking a blessed land that belongs to itself.”

Ruan Qiong’s expression became serious, and he used his mystical power as a sage to create an isolated small world, saying, “There are two matters that I need to explain. Firstly, the Dragon Slaying Platform from the cliff of Dragonspine Mountain was divided into three back then, with our Dragon Spring Sword Sect, the Wind Snow Temple, and True Martial Mountain receiving one piece each. However, you might not be aware that the piece of Dragon Slaying Platform that the Wind Snow Temple is responsible for looking after and mining is essentially an empty shell already.

“I pretended to be oblivious to this matter the entire time, but I finally brought it up when I visited the old ancestor of the Wind Snow Temple this time. The old ancestor simply replied that I don’t need to worry about this matter, essentially accepting the fact that the Dragon Slaying Platform has vanished without a trace. So, you don’t need to concern yourself with this matter either when you head over to cultivate in seclusion.

“Secondly, regarding the blessed land that you just mentioned, we can actually make transactions with the Yang Family’s medicine shop. There are existing blessed lands for sale, but the asking price will most likely be quite difficult to accept. Even so, this isn’t a big problem, and we can simply repay the amount later.”

After saying this, Ruan Qiong glanced at his daughter with an anxious expression and said, “Dad hopes that you don’t become involved in too many unnecessary troubles.”

To put things simply, he didn’t want Ruan Xiu to enter the Go board too early.

Everything that Ruan Qiong was doing — from leaving Wind Snow Temple, to sacrificing his cultivation to become the sage of the Jewel Small World, then to establishing his own sect and becoming the chief guest elder of the Great Li Empire, and so on — was for the sake of his daughter.

“That’s not an issue, Dad. Is Dad not aware of Old Man Yang’s temperament?” Ruan Xiu surprisingly replied.

“You dad genuinely isn’t aware,” Ruan Qiong responded with a smile.

Apart from Qi Jingchun, none of the many sages hailing from the Three Teachings and One Sect and overseeing the Jewel Small World for sixty years dared to claim that they clearly understood Old Man Yang’s thoughts.

Ruan Qiong was naturally no exception.

Ruan Xiu gazed in the direction of the small town and retrieved a silk handkerchief, popping a small treat into her mouth and saying in a muffled voice, “The answer is very simple. Whoever is purer is whoever will have a greater chance of ascending higher, and Old Man Yang will naturally place a larger bet on these individuals. I feel like I’m not too bad, so Dad can give it a try and negotiate with Old Man Yang. As for what price he’s willing to pay, Dad can simply tell Old Man Yang that the Dragon Spring Sword Sect wants all available blessed lands, regardless of how large or small they are. Regarding what Ruan Xiu needs to do in the future, this will be dependent on Ruan Xiu’s mood.”

“Something like this will actually work?” Ruan Qiong asked in puzzlement.

Ruan Xiu squinted her eyes and smiled, most likely because the small treat tasted fairly good. Her mood also became quite good, and she patted her hands clean and replied, “It’s worth a try.”

“You truly want me to try this with Old Man Yang?” Ruan Qiong asked in hesitation.

Ruan Xiu nodded in response.

She was just about to raise a hand.

However, Ruan Qiong had already channeled his mystical power as a sage and silently appeared in the backyard of the Yang Family’s medicine shop.

Ruan Xiu heaved a soft sigh. She had wanted to ask her dad to bring some desserts back.

Six or seven minutes passed, and Ruan Qiong returned to Divine Elegance Mountain with a strange expression. He looked at his darling daughter before shaking his head and remarking with emotion, “This is like a stuffed pancake falling from the sky. Are there truly such fortunate matters in the world?”

There was one thing that was guaranteed when doing business with Old Man Yang. In fact, this guarantee was even more reliable than any of the immortal vows in the world. That was, Old Man Yang’s promises and assessments were incredibly accurate. There was no need to doubt any of them.

Ruan Xiu glanced at the sky and thought to herself that it would be truly fortunate if some desserts could fall from the sky.

————

Two major events had recently taken place at Old Dragon City, which was located in the southernmost region of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. Fu Nanhua had married a direct descendant of the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan, and the city lord had battled against a ninth tier martial artist. Before the Qi refiners could even catch a small breath, however, Old Dragon City quickly became the subject of an even more major event.

Song Mu, who had the same parents as the current emperor of the Great Li Empire, had now become one of the most prominent feudal lords of the Song Clan, with his territory coincidentally being Old Dragon City. The other sons of the previous emperor also received their own feudal titles, although they only received third rank kingly titles. These imperial descendants left the Great Li Empire and settled down in the destroyed nations, bestowing lands on their subjects. Of course, this could barely compare to the terrifyingly magnificent treatment received by Song Mu, a first-rank king.

This should have been a nightmare for Old Dragon City, a place that was accustomed to freedom and a lack of strict organisation. Including the Fu Clan, however, several large clans had seemingly reached an agreement with the imperial court of the Great Li Empire already, providing no resistance and instead focusing on their businesses, allowing them to thrive in the vast region to the south of Old Dragon City and to the north of the Luminous Vermilion Empire.

Moreover, compared to the independence and clear delineations between the businesses of each clan before, the large clans in Old Dragon City were now starting to cooperate with each other. For example, the Fan Clan had a close relationship with the Sun Clan. Regardless of who was cooperating with whom, the only thing they all had in common was the fact that the Great Li Empire was helping them establish the required trade routes. As long as they carried a Peace and Safety Tablet, they could seek help from any of the Great Li Empire’s vassal states and heavy cavalry along their trade routes.

Because of this, no one was surprised when the Fu Clan gave up half of Old Dragon City’s inner city to act as the residence of Feudal Lord Song Mu.

Despite the lack of surprise, business in Old Dragon City, a critical region of the continent, still suffered a noticeable hit in the beginning, with many Qi refiners who had treated Old Dragon City as an otherworldly paradise choosing to quietly leave and observe the situation from somewhere else. However, when the Parasol Leaf Sect and the Jade Tablet Sect, two large sects in the continent to the south, clearly expressed their attitudes, business in Old Dragon City quickly returned to its peak level. Trade was thriving, perhaps even more than before. This was especially the case after Song Mu entered Old Dragon City but didn’t make any changes to how things were run. Many cultivators started to return to Old Dragon City, continuing to enjoy the benefits of the city.

On this day, a young man who had taken off his official garb as a feudal lord left his official residence, bringing his maidservant with him as he visited a medicine shop located in an impoverished alley in the outer city.

He didn’t bring any subordinates. He didn’t need to.

There was a four-legged snake with horns on its head hiding inside the young man’s sleeve.

In any case, the clan leader of Old Dragon City’s Fu Clan could be regarded as his personal guest elder.

The medicine shop had already closed for many years, but it was now reopened again, with the shopkeeper being an old man and the shop assistant being a young boy in white who had a birthmark on his glabella. The young boy was unbelievably handsome, and standing beside him was a little child who appeared slow and mentally challenged. His appearance was quite healthy, but his gaze was unfocused and he was unable to speak. This was quite a shame.

Song Jixin walked into the alley that was slightly cold due to the autumn weather. Walking beside him, Maidservant Zhi Gui was becoming increasingly lithe and beautiful by the day.

When the master and his maidservant entered the medicine shop, the old shopkeeper who had just started work in the outer city failed to recognize the esteemed young master. He smiled and asked, “Are you after some medicine? Please feel free to look around and pick out what you need. The prices of the medicines are all written clearly.”

Song Jixin furrowed his brows, taking a quick glance at the old shopkeeper before starting to look over the medicines.

Zhi Gui grabbed a chair from the medicine shop and sat at the door by herself.

The old shopkeeper smiled, thinking that these two young people were truly treating the medicine shop like their own home.

He wasn’t afraid of anything right now, and he even dared to swagger around the entire Eastern Treasured Vial Continent as he pleased. Of course, the condition was that he was accompanied by the young boy in white who had a birthmark on his glabella.

This old shopkeeper was none other than Immortal Colored Glaze Chen Xiaoyong, the cultivator who had failed to successfully carry out his plans in the Colorful Garment Nation’s Blusher Prefecture. Not only had he failed to obtain the City God Heavenly Master Seal owned by Golden City God Shen Wen, but he had almost lost his colored glaze bowl and died in the process as well.

Thankfully, neither the imperial preceptor nor the Green Ripple Pavilion had punished him for his mistake. This was only natural. Imperial Preceptor Cui was someone from the pinnacle of the mountains and had ambitions of conquering the entire continent, so why would he concern himself with these isolated gains and losses?

Even so, Immortal Colored Glaze had still suffered greatly after his hiding spot was found by the young boy in white. How had he suffered greatly? He had suffered so much that all of the plans and schemes in his mind had been easily read and countered by the young boy. Right now, he only knew that the “young boy” with the surname Cui was the person responsible for managing all of the spies and pawns in the southern region of the Great Li Empire.

A ripple appeared in Song Jixin’s mind, and after he received the message, he started to walk toward the backyard of the medicine shop.

He had only just pulled back the bamboo curtain when Immortal Colored Glaze hurriedly said, “Customer, the back of the medicine shop is off limits.”

“My name is Song Mu,” Song Jixin revealed with a smile.

Immortal Colored Glaze thought for a moment before smiling awkwardly and saying, “Please do as you please, customer.”

Song Jixin looked toward the entrance of the medicine shop and asked, “You don’t want to join?”

“I’m fine,” Zhi Gui turned around and replied with a smile.

She was only afraid of three people. One was already dead, one wasn’t in the Majestic World anymore, and half of the last one was currently in the backyard of this medicine shop.

Hearing this, Song Jixin walked to the backyard by himself, making his way to the main building that had its doors wide open. He slowed down a little and straightened his clothes before walking inside.

Song Jixin was only able to live until today thanks to the combined decision of the person inside this building and his uncle, Song Changjing.

As for his mother and his “older brother,” the emperor, they most likely wouldn’t care if his name were once again wiped from the genealogical records of the Song Clan.