Unsheathed

Approximately fifteen minutes later, the misty flood dragon rocked gently and placed its four feet on the ground. The clouds and mist in the surroundings dispersed, causing the view to open up before them.

Chen Ping’an discovered that he was standing atop a sea of clouds.

Looking down, what he saw was a majestic city constructed on a gigantic island, appearing like the capital of an empire that was surrounded by green mountains and iridescent light.

There were other islands of varying sizes around the gigantic island with the majestic city, with these islands each having ancient structures built near mountains or built near water. They looked like stars surrounding the bright moon, protecting the capital that was seemingly at the center of the world.

The rippling dark green water stretched for as far as the eye could see.

Numerous dark green talismanic boats were hovering above the sea of clouds, with some as small as awning boats and some as large as louchuan and battleships.

Water Official Li Yuan was sitting nearby.

Li Liu and Chen Ping’an walked toward the young man whom even the elders in the ancestral hall of the Water Dragon Sect weren’t familiar with.

Li Yuan led the two of them toward a louchuan, and after boarding, the louchuan started to move by itself even though there didn’t appear to be any cultivator steering it.

“There’s abundant water fortune and spiritual energy at Paddling Island, and seeing that it’s already been empty for one hundred years, Mr. Chen can stay there and cultivate there. Moreover, it isn’t too far from the old palace either, only being one hour away by talismanic boat,” Li Yuan said in a soft voice.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Li Liu said with a nod.

Li Yuan felt slightly uneasy.

“Is there a need to organize some dexterous maidservants for Paddling Island?” Li Yuan asked in a careful voice.

“Why are you asking me? Ask Mr. Chen,” Li Liu responded.

Li Yuan immediately turned around to ask Chen Ping’an.

Chen Ping’an smiled and replied, “I’m already troubling you a lot, so there’s no need to go to more trouble.”

Li Yuan didn’t say anything else.

There was a tall and slightly out-of-place building atop the sea of clouds. There was a Nascent Tier cultivator responsible for guarding this area standing near the railings on the top level, and he retracted his surveilling gaze when he saw the hornless dragon jade tablets hanging by the waists of the young woman and the young man.

Even so, he couldn’t help but feel slightly puzzled. He was familiar with almost all of the guest elders of the Water Dragon Sect, so why were both of these cultivators unfamiliar faces? Perhaps they were cultivators who had close relationships with the Esteemed Mystery Department or Duckweed Sword Lake?

In any case, the two jade tablets couldn’t be faked, so the elderly Nascent Tier cultivator responsible for guarding the sea of clouds didn’t try to cause any unnecessary trouble for himself.

The louchuan surged forward like a flying sword, not heading to the ferry station of Paddling Island but instead coming to a stop above an empty immortal plaza. The plaque on the immortal residence read: Dragon Lord Stopping Clouds.

The gates of the residence slowly opened as the three of them disembarked the louchuan and stepped onto the plaza.

“Paddling Island was once a place of cultivation for an old guest elder of the Water Dragon Sect, but after he passed away, none of his disciples have achieved any sort of success,” Li Yuan explained. “For the sake of forcefully breaking through, one of his Golden Core Tier disciples secretly sold Paddling Island back to the Water Dragon Sect, and after being fortunate enough to advance to the Nascent Tier, he traveled away to another continent. As a result, his senior brothers and juniors had no option but to move out of the Dragon Palace Small World.”

The three of them stepped over the door threshold together, and Li Yuan continued, “Apart from this cultivation residence, Paddling Island also has the Diving Pool, Eternal Joy Mountain’s stone cave, the old site of the iron workshop, and the four main tablets of Lord Immortal Ascension. There’s no one on the island and no owner either, so Mr. Chen can feel free to wander around when you have free time.”

In the end, Li Yuan retrieved the jade tablet from his waist, one side of which was engraved with dragons and the other side of which was engraved with the ancient seal-script characters “Mountains Green Rain Like Mist,” and handed it to Chen Ping’an, saying, “Mr. Chen, this is the core control of the formation around Paddling Island. There’s no need to refine it, and you’ll be able to manipulate the formation simply by wearing this jade tablet anywhere on your body. Nascent Tier cultivators will be unable to spy on the building on Paddling Island, and Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators will cause ripples to form on the formation if they try to secretly pry on the island.”

Li Liu was relatively satisfied with this.

This place was clearly Li Yuan’s private residence.

As for the ancient matters regarding an old guest elder of the Water Dragon Sect passing away and his disciples facing internal strife? Li Liu naturally couldn’t care less about these matters.

The truth of these matters had nothing to do with her.

Chen Ping’an didn’t turn down the offer, and he accepted the heavy jade tablet after expressing his thanks. He then hung it by his waist beside the mandarin wood tablet of the Water Dragon Sect, the token used to cross the long stone arch bridge.

Only at this moment did Li Liu grab the jade tablet with the characters “Three Feet Sweet Rain” from her waist, handing it to Chen Ping’an with a smile and saying, “Mr. Chen, just treat this as me helping my younger brother repay some of his debts of gratitude.”

In other words, there was no need for Chen Ping’an to return this jade tablet.

Li Yuan’s eyelids involuntarily quivered as he watched on.

If it were him, he would most probably fall to his knees and express his deep gratitude.

Chen Ping’an shook his head and said, “This gift is too valuable, so I have to return it in the future.”

Li Liu didn’t say anything, simply handing the jade tablet to Chen Ping’an.

Li Yuan didn’t dare to watch any further, respectfully bidding farewell and taking his leave.

And thus, there were now three tablets hanging by Chen Ping’an’s waist.

Li Liu and Chen Ping’an walked through the immortal residence together, and Li Liu planned to leave this summer palace, which wasn’t worth cherishing or reminiscing about, after staying here for a brief while.

After she left, how could Chen Ping’an possibly return the jade tablet? Would Li Yuan dare to accept and temporarily look after the jade tablet?

Was the measly water official of the Plenty River not afraid of drowning to death?

Just how many fire deities had been burned to death in the past?

In the same vein, just how many water deities had been drowned to death by her in the past?

Chen Ping’an retrieved a primordial lord deity statue from his minimization treasure and said with a smile, “Miss Li, I was planning to give this to Li Huai the next time I met him, but how about you help me pass it on to him instead?”

Li Liu’s expression immediately became soft and gentle, and it was as if she had instantly transformed back into the young girl who had carried a bucket to the ancient well in the small town each day. She appeared lithe and fragile, and it was as if she would never be anything but smooth.

She accepted the small present and held it up, waving it around and remarking in amusement, “See, I’m different from Mr. Chen. I’m never overly polite when it comes to accepting valuable presents, and I even feel like it’s natural and justified.”

Chen Ping’an also became slightly more relaxed as he chuckled, “I do need to take a leaf out of Miss Li’s book.”

Li Liu couldn’t help but sigh with emotion as she looked at the warmly smiling young man.

When her younger brother had embarked on a distant journey to a foreign land back then, he had appeared like the most ordinary child out of everyone from the private school. He couldn’t compare to Li Baoping, Lin Shouyi, Yu Lu, or Xie Xie.

Chen Ping’an had treated Li Huai in a normal manner during their journey to the Great Sui Nation.

After the appearance of her father, Li Er, Chen Ping’an had still treated Li Huai in a normal manner.

And now that Li Liu had appeared at the Water Dragon Sect, he was still treating Li Huai the same as always.

She was Li Huai’s older sister and Li Er’s daughter, but regardless of her cultivation base and her experiences, Chen Ping’an would still try his best to avoid causing trouble for her. He would be happy if she were doing well, but that was all there was to it.

To treat others with generosity, and to exercise self-restraint and discipline.

This was the sign of a true scholar. Even if he weren’t a genuine teacher today, he would definitely become a genuine teacher in the future.

With this in mind, Li Liu smiled and said, “Lest Mr. Chen think I can only deliver some bad news, there are two things that I must congratulate Mr. Chen for.”

Chen Ping’an’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. Perhaps the requirement of two thousand to three thousand grain rain coins for the Lotus Root Blessed Land was an overestimation by Downtrodden Mountain?

“This sword has actually been a celestial tool for a period of time already,” Li Liu revealed.

Chen Ping’an immediately faltered when he heard this.

Golden Sweet Wine, the Dao robe that he had obtained from the Flood Dragon Trench, could be evolved into a celestial tool through feeding it a large number of gold essence copper coins. Chen Ping’an had understood this from the beginning, and he was simply yet to make this a reality.

However, how had Sword Immortal suddenly gone from being a pseudo-celestial tool to being a fabled celestial tool?

Li Liu revealed the secret, saying, “The sword has a wisp of righteous aura, and it also has a speck of pure Dao intent.”

Chen Ping’an fell deep into thought. The latter was understandable, since Sword Immortal had refined the shattered sword qi gifted to him by Daoist Master Sun.

However, what was the explanation for the righteous aura?

Li Liu didn’t say anything else regarding this matter, changing the topic and continuing, “Also, Mr. Chen doesn’t need to worry about anything while staying at Paddling Island. You can feel free to extract the surrounding water fortune and spiritual energy, and the Dragon Palace Small World won’t care at all about this small expenditure. In any case, this portion belongs to Paddling Island to begin with.

“There’s another piece of news that can’t really be regarded as good news. I’ve asked that person called Li Yuan to help deliver a letter to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s Downtrodden Mountain. He won’t leave behind any traces at all.”

Li Liu stopped and said, “I’m going to wander around the main city of the dragon palace for a while.”

Chen Ping’an nodded and replied, “Miss Li definitely has to notify me before she leaves the Water Dragon Sect. That way, I can return the jade tablet to Miss Li.”

Li Liu didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

Chen Ping’an also didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. Sure enough, he had guessed correctly regarding Miss Li’s secret plan.

Li Liu nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll visit Paddling Island before I leave.”

Chen Ping’an didn’t keep her any longer after receiving this confirmation.

Li Liu transformed into a streak of light and soared away, not causing a ripple of single spiritual energy amid heaven and earth.

As she soared through the sky, her aura was identical to that of Sword Immortal Li Cai.

Chen Ping’an started wandering around the residence by himself, preparing to find a tranquil area that was suitable for cultivation. After finding a location that he was satisfied with, he would visit the Diving Pool and the Immortal Ascension Tablets.

Li Liu had silently dashed into the sky, after which she had gracefully landed back near the residence. She then made her way toward the sea of clouds again.

She regarded this as having upheld her promise to Chen Ping’an.

Water Official Li Yuan was standing at attention amid the sea of clouds.

“How are things at the ancestral hall of the Water Dragon Sect?” Li Liu asked.

“Everything has been resolved,” Li Yuan replied succinctly.

Li Liu smiled and said, “Li Yuan, you’ve at least earned some credit for your hard work.”

Li Yuan responded with a wide smile.

“There’s something between you and that old woman?” Li Liu asked.

As long as Li Liu was in the Dragon Palace Small World, her mystical abilities would be superior to all ordinary sages.

Li Yuan shook his head and sighed, “It’s my fault for pretending to be a water ghost and frightening that young girl all those years ago.”

Li Liu immediately lost interest upon hearing this. After instructing Li Yuan to look after Mr. Chen as he cultivated, she casually opened the sky and left. When she dashed into some region of the Plenty River through a boundary that was connected to the small world, she traveled hundreds upon thousands of kilometers in an instant, quicker and more inconspicuous than any land-shortening immortal technique.

Any river, lake, or sea in the world was a territory and a small world of Li Liu’s.

In reality, Li Liu was perhaps the most qualified person in the world to provide feedback and suggestions regarding Chen Ping’an’s water palace. However, she didn’t go out of her way to say anything.

Chen Ping’an chose a suitable area for cultivation, after which he started to wander around by himself. After visiting the famous sites in the surroundings, he made his way back to the residence and retrieved six grey bricks from the Daoist temple, placing them on the ground. He then started to practice walking meditation.

He hung Sword Immortal on the wall, and he rested his hiking pole diagonally against the wall.

Chen Ping’an walked into the study to write a letter after he finished practicing fist techniques, discussing some matters pertaining to the Lotus Root Blessed Land with Zhu Lian. Of course, there were many other minor and trivial matters as well. At the end of the letter, he told Zhu Lian that he would only leave the Water Dragon Sect’s Dragon Palace Small World and continue his journey after he received a reply from Downtrodden Mountain.

In the letter, he also claimed with confidence that, as a wandering merchant who had traveled around almost half of the Northern Complete Reed Continent, he indeed had some treasures and immortal coins to spare. However, if Downtrodden Mountain were able to borrow money without any hidden risks or future troubles, making up for the missing amount in a timely manner, then he wouldn’t sell his treasures for a low price. On the other hand, Zhu Lian didn’t need to conceal anything if there still existed a gap in the required funding. He could work as a wandering merchant again in the Dragon Palace Small World. In addition, the Spring Dew Garden’s Pi Fu Shop could also clear its stock to provide some grain rain coins to Downtrodden Mountain.

After putting down his calligraphy brush, Chen Ping’an was in no rush to ask Li Yuan to help him deliver the letter to Downtrodden Mountain.

He started to earnestly contemplate a matter after putting away the calligraphy brush and the secret letter.

Should he refine his third bonded item in the Dragon Palace Small World?

He turned around and glanced at Sword Immortal that was hanging on the wall, thinking that he was already someone who possessed a celestial tool. That being the case, having a debt of a few thousand grain rain coins didn’t seem like too big a deal.