Unsheathed

This course of action was very typical of a vagrant cultivator. After exercising great caution in ascertaining who he was dealing with, the black-robed old man had transformed into an opportunist trying to curry favor with Daoist Master Sun.

While he came across as a little rude, the two men were feeling quite reassured by the notion that the black-robed man seemed to be someone in a similar position as them.

The four men sat down together on the stone cliff, and Daoist Master Sun smiled as he asked, “Have you come for the immortal abode in the mountains.”

The black-robed old man seemed to have been convinced that Daoist Master Sun was an official immortal of Infant Mountain.

After testing Daoist Master Sun multiple times, all of his suspicions had been erased, and a resigned look appeared on his face as he revealed in a candid fashion, “Of course. However, I was unable to secure a map of the area from the local authorities, and after entering the mountains, I’ve been searching for a long time to no avail. Otherwise, with some luck, I should’ve already found the entrance to that immortal abode.”

Daoist Master Sun cast his gaze toward Di Yuanfeng, and the latter smiled as he pulled a neatly folded replica map of the nearby area out of his pocket.

Maps had always been sensitive items that were not to be leaked as far as all regional authorities were concerned, and of course, it was once again Daoist Master Sun’s purported status as a cultivator of the Lightning God Manor that had allowed Di Yuanfeng’s trio the chance to make a replica of the map.

However, the prefectural overseer hadn’t made their job easy. He had requested Daoist Master Sun to show off some of his mystical abilities for identity verification purposes, and he had also asked for a dozen Dao talismans that could be plastered all over the prefectural office in exchange for allowing them access to the map.

Daoist Master Sun’s talisman inscription skills were actually quite mediocre. He had only seen some elementary talismans of Infant Mountain on several occasions, and he was able to make some crude replicas of those talismans.

The secret scripture that he had stolen from the Daoist temple contained no information at all pertaining to talismans, but the cores of the talismans inscribed by the old Daoist priest did indeed contain hints of spiritual energy, so they would suffice for the purpose of warding off the sparse negative energies of the mortal world.

Of course, those talismans weren’t actually going to be plastered all over the prefectural office. Instead, they would be sold by the prefectural overseer to wealthy individuals who had no shortage of funds and were deathly afraid of death.

The black-robed man expressed his gratitude to Di Yuanfeng, then accepted the map from him before giving it a careful examination, following which he praised, “As expected of Daoist Master Sun to be able to create such a fine replica map.”

Daoist Master Sun stroked his beard in silence with a composed smile on his face, while the unkempt man, who had introduced himself as Huang Shi, also remained silent.

The black-robed man opened his mouth to say something, but seemed rather hesitant about how to begin, and Di Yuanfeng knew that he had finally taken the bait.

It seemed that Di Yuanfeng’s trio all had a tacit understanding with one another, and all three of them remained silent, waiting for the black-robed man to display some sincerity and invest in their cause.

The “conflicted” black-robed man was, of course, none other than Chen Ping’an wearing a facade.

His current appearance was that of an old man with a pair of murky eyes and a rather sickly complexion.

From the very beginning, Chen Ping’an had never believed that Daoist Master Sun was truly an unofficial disciple of Spiritual Master Jing Ming. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have used such an elementary trick to test him.

Infant Mountain was an important sect situated at the western estuary of the great river, and Chen Ping’an had looked briefly into the sect even before coming to the Northern Complete Reed Continent. After that, he had also enquired Qi Jinglong in detail about the talismanic doctrines of the Lightning God Manor.

Even though Qi Jinglong was a disciple of the Great Emblem Sword Sect, it was well-known across the entire continent that he was an outstanding talisman master.

Chen Ping’an was even aware of the true key to the five lightning talismans of the Lightning God Manor’s ancestral hall, which was that they had to be emblazoned with the manor’s five ancestral seals. On top of that, Qi Jinglong had even personally inscribed the five talismans for Chen Ping’an to show him their power.

Of course, the talismans were missing the all-important five lightning seals, so they weren’t as formidable as the ones that had been personally inscribed by the earth immortal spiritual masters of the Lightning God Manor. However, Chen Ping’an was confident that outside of the five seal-bearing spiritual masters, not a single one of the direct disciples of the Infant Mountain ancestral hall would be able to match the talismans inscribed by Qi Jinglong.

Comparison truly was the thief of joy.

The reason why Chen Ping’an had pretended to have fallen for their ruse was that he was hoping to add an additional layer of disguise to his identity by traveling with this trio, as opposed to visiting the immortal abode on his own.

As for how to deal with vagrant cultivators, Chen Ping’an had some experience from the mind games that he had played against Liu Zhimao and Liu Laocheng.

Even though different continents had different customs and traditions, vagrant cultivators were still vagrant cultivators, and they were all very similar in nature, cherishing profit and self-interest above all else.

After pretending to carefully weigh up his options for some time, Chen Ping’an asked in a timid fashion, “Daoist Master Sun, may I ask if you’re looking for any additional allies? Can I have the honor of joining your party?”

After some contemplation, Daoist Master Sun made it look as if he were about to nod in response because he knew that “Qin Juyuan” would stop him.

Sure enough, there wasn’t even any need for communication between them through their minds’ lakes as Di Yuanfeng interjected, “Please pardon me for being frank, Brother Chen, but this is our first-ever meeting. If you were in our shoes, would you be willing to accept a stranger that you didn’t even know the name of as an ally?”

Chen Ping’an gritted his teeth, then reluctantly fished a stack of yellow paper talismans out of his sleeve, then laid them out in front of him in several distinct piles. In addition to that Celestial Lightning Talisman, there were also two each of Vast Flowing River Talismans and Earth Pinch Talismans, as well as several Barrier-Shattering Talismans, all of which had been inscribed using gold and silver powder.

Compared with the fifty talismans that he had sold in that market in Cloudtop City, the only common trait shared by the talismans was that they had all been made with the most ordinary yellow talisman paper. However, these talismans were far superior to those in terms of inscription method, quality, and power, and of course, they were much more expensive as well.

There were many rules in the art of talisman inscription.

In terms of the “ink” alone, there were the commonplace cinnabar and gold and silver powder, as well as immortal sands, which was a massive rabbit hole in itself.

Hence, expenditure was often very high for Qi refiners of the talismanic branch, and the higher the quality of the materials used, the more expensive they were to produce. The only saving grace here was that talisman cultivators could immediately begin earning money as soon as they developed an elementary level of skill in their craft.

However, cultivating as a talisman cultivator was an extremely stern test of one’s aptitude, and it was often the case that the first few strokes made by a young child would be enough to indicate whether they had a future in this field. Of course, there were always exceptions to everything, and there were examples of late bloomers that went on to become highly proficient talisman masters, but they were often cultivators that had been abandoned by official immortal sects long ago.

All of the talismans that Chen Ping’an had brought out were crafted from golden talisman paper ground down from golden ingots, and they were naturally more valuable and of a higher quality than normal cinnabar and silver powder talismans.

Daoist Master Sun took a glance at the talismans, then turned his gaze back to the black-robed old man as he remained silent with a smile on his face.

A sheepish smile appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face, and only then did he pull the Celestial Lightning Talisman inscribed using immortal sand from the Spring Dew Garden out of his sleeve.

“Where did you get all these precious talismans from, Brother Chen?” Di Yuanfeng asked with a smile. “They look to be of quite a high quality, and if possible, I’d like to purchase some for myself.”

A proud look appeared on Chen Ping’an’s face as he said, “I may not be an official immortal, nor do I have a master in talisman inscription, but I do have some aptitude in the talismanic arts…”

Chen Ping’an’s voice abruptly cut off here, and a sheepish look returned to his face as he continued, “Of course, compared with Daoist Master Sun, I may as well be nothing more than a clueless child playing with mud and twigs.”

Daoist Master Sun felt like it was about time to close the trap, and he said with an indifferent expression, “Don’t underestimate yourself, Brother Chen. Truth be told, even though I’ve been cultivating on Infant Mountain for many years, I’m sure you’re aware that the cultivators of our Lightning God Manor are split up into two general categories, one of which focuses on cultivating the Five Lightning Righteous Techniques, while the other specializes in talisman inscription.

“I fall into the former category, so if you really are a skilled talisman master, then I’d be willing to invite you to join our party.”

“May I ask how formidable your best talismans are, Brother Chen?” Huang Shi asked.

Chen Ping’an hesitated momentarily, then picked up a Vast Flowing River Talisman before making a hand seal while pretending to chant an incantation. Moments later, he tossed the talisman into the stream, then began making a rapid string of hand seals, his hands transforming into a blurred flurry of action.

The talisman disintegrated as soon as it entered the water, and light began radiating from its core like a series of glowing fishing lines.

Di Yuanfeng’s trio watched as Chen Ping’an let loose a quiet yell, and he made no further hand seals as he joined his index and middle fingers together before sweeping them horizontally through the air. A flood dragon formed entirely by water from the stream rose up into the air, then circled around the stone cliff once before returning to the stream at the exact spot where Chen Ping’an’s joint fingers were pointing.

The talisman was one of quite a high quality, so it still had a great deal of power left, as evidenced by the fact that most of the glowing strands of light in the water still remained. Furthermore, the old man appeared eager to show off his abilities to the trio as much as possible, and he still wasn’t done yet.

As he raised both arms into the air, numerous pillars of water erupted out of the stream before rapidly revolving around the stone cliff, filling the entire air with a watery mist and a biting chill.

Di Yuanfeng asked Huang Shi through his mind’s lake what the latter thought of Chen Ping’an’s abilities, and the latter responded by condensing his voice into a line as martial artists would, replying, “He has some skill, I’ll give him that, but his talisman is very limited in destructive power.

“He’s putting on quite a show, but I could easily shatter these pillars of water with just a few punches. Having said that, he could still be a very useful ally for us. After all, we’re missing a cultivator that’s adept in long-range combat, and a talisman cultivator is also ideal for dispelling illusions and leading the way forward.”

As the power of the talisman subsided, the stream returned to its original tranquil state, and there were no longer glowing strands of light formed by spiritual energy from the talismanic core left within it. Chen Ping’an took a deep breath, and his complexion had become a little red from exertion.

Daoist Master Sun also gave his input, communicating to his two companions through his mind’s lake, “At the very most, he’s only an Abode Tier cultivator. Even if he’s intentionally hiding some of his true power in order to lull us into a sense of complacency, I’m certain that he’s definitely not at the Dragon Gate Tier. Hence, we can regard him as an Abode Tier cultivator, or a Sea Observation Tier cultivator who isn’t adept at close-quarters combat.

“I think he’s the perfect candidate to join our party. His powers will be useful to us, but at the same time, he poses no threat to us. Having said that, judging from the lightning talisman he displayed earlier, it’s safe to assume that he must have some trump cards hidden up his sleeve, so we should be on our guard.”

“That black robe that he’s wearing could be a Dao robe,” Huang Xi suddenly speculated to his two companions.

“There’s no need to jump to premature conclusions,” Di Yuanfeng said with a smile. “Let’s continue to observe and only make conclusions when we have all the necessary information.”

Daoist Master Sun turned to Chen Ping’an, then said, “If this trip goes smoothly, you can return with me to Infant Mountain, and I can try and induct you into our sect.”

Chen Ping’an was clearly very much taken aback by this generous offer. He was so moved that his lips were quivering slightly, and he was unable to speak.

For a vagrant cultivator, the opportunity to join a sect like Infant Mountain, which had multiple Nascent Tier cultivators at its helm, was essentially like being given a second chance at life.

After witnessing Chen Ping’an’s reaction, Di Yuanfeng knew that they had him wrapped around their finger, and he smiled as he asked, “Brother Chen, would you be able to go into some detail about what these talismans do?”

Chen Ping’an pointed at the talismans on the ground and described their functions to the trio one by one. He didn’t say much about the Barrier-Shattering Talismans, merely telling the trio that it was a type of bridge crossing talisman that he had learned by chance.

After all, general Barrier-Shattering Talismans were all quite similar in their uses and properties, and he also barely bothered to say anything about the water talisman as he had already given everyone a demonstration of its power.

However, he was eager to tell the trio about the tremendous power of his lightning talismans and Earth Pinch Talismans. Di Yuanfeng’s trio suspected that there was some element of embellishment and exaggeration to his claims, but nevertheless, they were still quite impressed with his mastery in talismans.

His willingness to reveal so much about his talismans was both a show of sincerity and a display of intimidation, and the tactics that he was employing here were very typical of a vagrant cultivator.

It was very similar to how Di Yuanfeng had intentionally displayed that replica map earlier. That was something that an official immortal of the Lightning God Manor should’ve been able to get their hands on.

After a brief chat, the four men resumed their journey together.

Once again, Chen Ping’an was making sure to stay close to Daoist Master Sun, making it appear as if he were sucking up to the latter.

Di Yuanfeng and Huang Xi were trailing along slightly behind them, and the former shook his head in dismay at Chen Ping’an’s sycophantic demeanor, while the latter’s gaze remained on Chen Ping’an’s black robe.

“Daoist Master Sun, if even we know about the ancient immortal abode that’s appeared in the Northern Pavilion Nation, then Cloudtop City and the Rainbow Sparrow Residence must be aware of it as well. What if they join forces to keep everyone out, then split the spoils among themselves?”

Daoist Master Sun sneered internally at the question. In his eyes, Chen Ping’an was clearly a vagrant cultivator who had traveled here from afar and didn’t dare to get too close with the local authorities, so he was completely unaware of the history of bad blood between the two sects.

The prefectural overseer that had granted the trio access to the map of the area had revealed to them once, after a few too many drinks, that he had heard a story from a minister that served in the capital of the Northern Pavilion Nation.

According to this minister, there was some bad blood between City Lord Shen Zhenze of Cloudtop City and the stunningly beautiful head of the Rainbow Sparrow Residence. As a matter of fact, the two sects had already been at odds with each other for many years. This seemingly insignificant piece of information was actually even more valuable than the map provided by the prefectural overseer.

If Cloudtop City and the Rainbow Sparrow Residence were to join forces to keep out everyone else, then there would be no way that any vagrant cultivators of their caliber would be able to access the immortal abode. If they were to attempt to do something so foolish, they would be extremely fortunate just to escape with their lives, let alone secure any treasures. However, the rift between the two sects presented a golden opportunity for everyone.