Unsheathed

The divine maiden in white and the two azure-robed deities had already vanished.

The screens of water would reappear once more in five days.

If there were still more than five survivors in this place at the end of the ten days, then a heavenly tribulation would descend to strike down everyone.

Huan Yuan discovered that the talisman that he had buried under the caisson ceiling had already been destroyed, leaving him with no way out.

Over at the arched bridge, everyone had begun taking wary looks at one another.

Huan Yun had only just brought everyone together under some semblance of harmony and cohesion, but in the blink of an eye, all of his hard work was undone, and all of a sudden, it was once again every man for himself.

Even the six people that had gathered to negotiate terms had each taken a step back to distance themselves from everyone else.

The only exceptions were Bai Bi and Zhan Qing, who were standing close to each other, communicating in secret.

It had become so quiet that even the slightest pindrop could’ve been audibly heard, and the two young cultivators from Cloudtop City were growing more concerned by the second.

“Will Spiritual Master Huan really be able to protect us, Senior Brother?” the young woman asked.

“I’d say Spiritual Master Huan would already be doing us a massive favor by not coming after us himself,” the man replied with a wry smile, much to the horror of his female companion.

“Ultimately, Spiritual Master Huan is not a cultivator of our Cloudtop City. The only one that we can place our trust in now is Guest Elder Xu,” the young man said in a resigned manner.

The two of them immediately began racking their brains for a way out of this predicament, but despite their best efforts, they were unable to come up with any sound plans.

Shortly thereafter, the Dragon Gate Tier guest elder that was their true Dao guardian arrived on the scene with a grim expression, then proposed, “How about you give that brush to me, and I’ll divert everyone’s attention away from you?”

“Thank you, Guest Elder Xu,” the young man said in a grateful manner as he handed over his pocket treasure without any hesitation.

The old guest elder carefully tucked the brush up his sleeve, then promptly departed, while the young woman looked on with a surprised expression.

The man shook his head, gesturing for her not to speak.

The young woman wasn’t as meticulous and steadfast as her senior brother, and she was always being scolded by Shen Zhenze for it, but even she knew that handing over the pocket treasure to the guest elder at a time like this definitely wasn’t a good thing.

“If I didn’t hand over the brush, the two of us would already be dead by now,” the man explained through his mind’s lake. “If all three of us manage to survive until five days later, then the pocket treasure will naturally return to me.”

“But wouldn’t it just be taken again?” the woman asked with a bleak expression.

“Yes, but what else can we do?” the man asked with a smile.

Tears began streaming down his female companion’s face, and he gently caressed them away for her in silence.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to say something, it was just that he had nothing to say.

Under the bamboo tree on the backside of the mountain, Di Yuanfeng took a glance up at Chen Ping’an with a grim expression. However, he had no intention of trying to confront Chen Ping’an for his treasures. Instead, he intended to get as far away as possible before going into hiding.

Thus, he rushed down the mountain without any hesitation, then skirted his way around the Daoist temple.

Chen Ping’an slid down from the bamboo tree, and Huang Shi took no action even as he passed by the Daoist temple, leaving Chen Ping’an to wonder what Huang Shi’s plans were.

Daoist Master Sun removed the two cloth bags from his shoulders before setting them down by his feet.

He didn’t dare to abandon the bags and run away for fear that he would be hunted down anyway.

He could only pray that the next group of people that he came across would be content with only taking his treasures and sparing his life, at which point he would be able to make it clear to everyone that had been robbed of his treasures and would no longer be among the top five beneficiaries of this immortal abode.

In this situation, it wouldn’t do him any good even if he were truly an official immortal of the Lightning God Manor!

Chen Ping’an was very pleased with Daoist Master Sun upon seeing this. It seemed that he had finally wisened up for once and wasn’t just abandoning his treasure and running away like before.

Daoist Master Sun cast a pitiable gaze toward Chen Ping’an, who was watching him from atop a nearby wall, and there were tears swimming in Daoist Master Sun’s eyes as he waved a dismissive hand to shoo Chen Ping’an away.

“Get out of here! Get as far away from here as you can!”

“Take care,” Chen Ping’an said with a parting nod, but prior to his departure, he tossed three talismans Daoist Master Sun’s way, all of which were Stele Carrying Talisman for concealment purposes.

At this point, offensive talismans were largely pointless.

After telling Daoist Master Sun how to use the talismans through his mind’s lake, Chen Ping’an rushed his way down the mountain.

Daoist Master Sun caught the talismans, and by the time he looked up, Chen Ping’an was already nowhere to be seen.

“It really is only in times of calamity that your true friends are revealed,” he sighed.

Chen Ping’an’s only hope was that Daoist Master Sun would be able to temporarily ensure his own survival by sacrificing his treasures.

If he could survive this immediate ordeal, then there was a chance that he would be able to survive to the end.

A similar story had unfolded back in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land. After a series of horrific battles, Arm Sage Cheng Yuanshan was able to survive to the very end without engaging in a single battle, and if he had arrived on the top of the city wall in a timely fashion, then he would’ve even secured an opportunity to ascend to the Majestic World without having to shed a single drop of blood, whether it be of his own or others.

As for the purported opportunity for the final five survivors to be accepted as direct and unofficial disciples of an Ascension Tier immortal, Chen Ping’an didn’t believe that for even a single second.

On the path of cultivation, it was easy for one to make a spurious correlation between fortune and aptitude. On a surface-level assessment, the more treasures and fated opportunities one obtained, the more they appeared to be cut out for cultivation.

However, Chen Ping’an knew that the loftier one’s cultivation base, the more stringent their requirements for their prospective disciples, and one had to be the perfect package of aptitude, potential, temperament, and fortune in order to be chosen.

With that in mind, it was absurd to think that an ancient Ascension Tier cultivator would choose a disciple, particularly a direct disciple, based solely on how many treasures people could gather in a past immortal abode of theirs.

This place was rife with peril around every turn. Prior to this, everything had been progressing in a fairly logical and reasonable fashion, with everyone competing against one another for treasures and fated opportunities. Hence, Chen Ping’an wasn’t able to arrive at a definitive conclusion on whether this place was a sinister trap or not.

However, the immortal abode had just shown its true colors, forcing everyone to turn on each other, and it was clear that whoever was presiding over this place was not some benevolent being. In fact, there was a very good chance that their intentions from the very beginning were to lure everyone in here, then benefit from having all of the treasure-hunters kill one another.

In light of the abrupt detonation of Daoist Master Sun’s Treasure Pagoda Bells from earlier, Chen Ping’an had arrived at the bold conclusion that the one pulling the strings behind the scenes here was very likely a great demon. However, they were unable to do as they pleased due to certain rules and restrictions. For example, the streak of sword qi was most likely a measure put in place to keep the great demon in check.

All of a sudden, Chen Ping’an thought of his conversation with Cui Chan on those steps on Downtrodden Mountain.

Cui Chan was incredibly certain of the situation that the world was in, and at the time, Chen Ping’an had been tempted to ask him why he hadn’t revealed this to some other people or even divulged the information to the entire world at large.

However, he didn’t raise the question, and he quickly realized the answer to the question for himself.

No one would listen, and those who listened wouldn’t believe.

Chen Ping’an didn’t stray too far away from the cluster of buildings that Daoist Master Sun had just looted, and he was beginning to consider using Sword Immortal to tear open the heavens of this small world.

This was a decision that was very likely going to decide whether he lived or died.

After witnessing the ruse that was staged earlier with the two azure deities and the divine maidens in white, Chen Ping’an had come to realize that whoever was presiding over this place was an extremely formidable being indeed. Back in the Malicious Ghost Valley, he was only able to successfully escape as he had acted without any warning, thereby managing to catch Gao Cheng a little off guard, but it was very likely that the being that was playing god in this small world was already keeping a very close eye on him.

With that in mind, he thought of a compromise.

Perhaps he could do what Arm Sage Cheng Yuanshan had done in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land and hide until the ten days were up. The intentions of the being presiding over this small world would be revealed then, and it would become very clear whether he would have to force his way out of this place using Sword Immortal’s power.

Huang Shi emerged from around the corner with a puzzled expression as he asked, “Do you really care that much about Daoist Master Sun’s survival? Do you really not find his claims about being an official immortal of the Lightning God Manor suspicious at all?”

“Why don’t you take a guess?” Chen Ping’an asked with a smile.

Huang Shi pursed his lips for a moment, then asked, “How about you and I join forces to ward off the enemy?”

“You’re not worried that I’ll weigh you down?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Huang Shi was becoming more and more confused, and finally, his curiosity got the better of him as he asked, “What exactly is your cultivation base? Are you actually a Dragon Gate Tier cultivator with some skill in the taslimanic, or are you a Golden Core Tier earth immortal?”

“What about you?” Chen Ping’an countered.

A candid smile appeared on Huang Shi’s face as he revealed, “I’m a decent Vajra Body Tier martial artist. I have a vendetta to settle, so I can’t afford to die yet.”

“Alright, then you can regard me as a Golden Core Tier cultivator. A decent one,” Chen Ping’an replied in kind.

After some contemplation, Huang Shi suggested, “What say we leave this mountain to avoid being surrounded? Of course, being surrounded and targeted by everyone would only be the worst-case scenario, but in this situation, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to prepare for the worst.”

“Why don’t you do what Daoist Master Sun did and surrender all your treasures?” Chen Ping’an asked.

“What? You’re asking me to put my faith in the notion that all of those official immortals are kind saints, or are you hoping that all of the vagrant cultivators will have a change of heart and become good people willing to sacrifice themselves to save others?” Huang Shi sneered.

Chen Ping’an began rubbing his own chin with a contemplative expression, as if he were considering whether to work with Huang Shi or not.

“Time is of the essence,” Huang Shi urged. “The more time we waste here, the more danger we’ll be in.”

“I’ll pass,” Chen Ping’an said. “I’m worried that you’ll punch me again out of the blue. These old bones of mine can’t handle much more jostling.”

“You’re definitely going to die before me,” Huang Shi said with a shake of his head, then took a few steps back and disappeared around the corner.

Only then did Chen Ping’an put on another Stele Carrying Talisman before making his way to a peaceful area and putting on an ordinary scholar’s robe. He was looking a little bloated, wearing an additional robe outside of his three Dao robes, but given the winter chill in the air, it was arguably a justifiable amount of clothes to be wearing.

Chen Ping’an replaced the elderly facade that he was wearing on his face with that of a young man, then adopted Zhu Lian’s monkey fist stance, hunching over slightly to make himself appear a little shorter. After that, he removed the two cloth bags he had slung over his shoulders before burying them in the ground. As for Sword Immortal and his Sword Nurturing Gourd, he removed them from his body as well before placing them into his pocket treasure.

At this moment, Chen Ping’an placed a second pocket treasure on his shopping list in addition to the two replica swords of Hatred Sword Mountain that were already on there.

After making all these preparations, Chen Ping’an planned to follow the river flowing around the foot of the mountain to return to the front side of the mountain. From there, he would find an opportunity to go and examine the situation at the arched bridge, and he felt in no hurry to go on the run.

A tree that towered over the rest was often the first to be cut down, but a tree that blended into the forest around it could often be spared of calamity.

This was a principle that he had taught to Gu Can back in Bamboo Scroll Lake, and he would be wise to follow it himself.

All of the decisions that he made from here onward, including whether he was going to be traveling with Daoist Master Sun, would work to serve this principle.

Cui Dongshan had once said something very thought-provoking.

Understanding the principles on the two ends of a line was akin to falling in the middle after a battle between two sides. Only then would one be able to glean the truth.

Otherwise, principles wouldn’t be principles. As soon as one tried to apply such hollow principles to the world around them, they would only do harm and no good.

During the journey that the two of them had made through the Great Sui Nation, Cui Dongshan had actually said many similarly thought-provoking things, but Chen Ping’an didn’t take them to heart at the time, perhaps because these nuggets of wisdom were always delivered in such a joking and lackadaisical fashion.

Thinking back, it was the student that had been teaching the teacher all along.

A tall and imposing old man was slowly taking a stroll along the boundary of this small world.

His ethereal body was destroyed over and over again by a streak of sword qi, only to reform every single time. The streak of sword qi was relentless in its futile endeavor, while the old man simply didn’t care.

The old man was naturally aware of why the trap that he had set was so brilliant.

The situation that he had manufactured presented both the threat of impending doom and the hope of securing a tremendous fated opportunity in the form of an immortal’s inheritance. By taking advantage of both the fear and greed present inherently present in human nature, it was only inevitable that everyone would begin plotting against one another and turning on each other, and that was naturally precisely what he wanted to see.

He thoroughly enjoyed watching everyone’s machinations unfold, and witnessing the process of how people hunted down one another, who they chose to target, and how they chose to kill their victims was like sampling a series of incredibly flavorful dishes.

Unfortunately for him, there were far too many residual rules in this small world, one of which, in particular, served as an enormous hindrance to him. Otherwise, he would’ve most likely been able to refine this entire small world a very long time ago, as opposed to having to constantly sneak around whenever he approached that mountain and the surrounding river. Once he truly became the master of this small world, it would be about time for him to attain his Great Dao.

Throughout all these years, he had been forced to move from place to place, having to resort to filling his belly with a bunch of lowly ants, but that hadn’t entirely been a bad thing. Through observing others, he was able to hone his own Dao Heart, and after repeating this process so many times, he had developed more and more insight into what the objective truth was.

After this meal, he would have to move again. Otherwise, the nearby sects in the Northern Complete Reed Continent could catch onto his trail.

He couldn’t go to the Middle Earth Divine Continent as there were too many unfathomable figures there, but the northernmost Pure White Continent was a decent choice.

As for the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent in the south, he had overheard from conversations between some cultivators in the outside world that unless he was to go the long way around, he would inevitably have to pass through the territory of the Northern Mountain, and once the Northern Mountain God reached the Unpolished Jade Tier, his powers would be equal to those of an Immortal Tier cultivator, thereby making him rather difficult to deal with.

The fact that he was dealing with a mountain god would make it even more difficult for him to completely conceal himself.

He couldn’t just go to serve as a lowly guest elder for the Great Li Empire. If he had heard about the rise of the Great Li Empire earlier, before the new gods of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s Five Mountains had been appointed, then it would’ve been a decent option for him to go and claim one of those spots.

Seemingly annoyed by the relentless streak of sword qi, the old man retreated back into the mist, where he sat down with his legs crossed, and there were only some folded paper cranes circling through the air around him.

The chamber with the four deity murals on the walls that served as the entrance of this small world was actually something left behind by a fallen sect. He had simply recovered it and refined it to be repurposed for his own uses. As it turned out, this wasn’t the only renowned mountain that he had refined. Hence, the next time this small world of his emerged, it would be presented in a completely different form.

Once a cultivator of a suitably low cultivation base stumbled into the mountain, he would intentionally set up a crude restriction that would fail to attract the interest of earth immortals. Even if earth immortals were to venture into the small world, at the very most, they would only be people like Sun Qing, Bai Bi, and Huan Yun, who were serving as Dao guardians.

It wasn’t that the old man couldn’t stomach an earth immortal or two, he simply wanted to be as safe as possible.

Just as Chen Ping’an had suspected, the passages of text on the walls had all been left behind by him, and they were designed to trick those who felt themselves to be smarter than everyone else.

The final group of fifty or so people to arrive in the chamber were too stupid, far less intelligent and observant than the first three groups of cultivators, so the old man had deactivated all of the restrictions and employed a small trick to lure one person into charging in ahead of everyone else.

With that person leading the way, everyone immediately impulsively rushed in after him, completely failing to consider how suspicious it was that the restrictions had suddenly ceased to take effect.

Humans were always so predictable.

The circling cranes witnessed by the first group of people to enter the immortal abode was also a little trick of his.

Cultivators were generally very suspicious and wary of everything, so if he didn’t use a few tricks here and there, then everyone would either be too stupid to take his bait, or too much a coward to make a move.

Funnily enough, if all of the people who entered this immortal abode were righteous figures of justice who were happy to avoid bloodshed and focus only on securing treasures for themselves, then he would be powerless to do anything aside from close the immortal abode and trap everyone inside until they died of old age.

That was what had happened to the two people playing Go in that pergola.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t kill people in here, the cost was simply too great.

Once he revealed his true body, that streak of sword qi would immediately pounce, and it could even follow the trail and hunt him into the boundless expanse of white mist.