Unsheathed

Chapter 550 (3): It’s a Pity the Sky Doesn’t Rain Money

Li Yuan had just arrived at the sea of clouds when Water Goddess Shen Lin arrived soon after him.

As long as the two of them wanted to conceal their movements in the Dragon Palace Small World, even the two Nascent Tier cultivators of the Water Dragon Sect who were responsible for guarding this small world wouldn’t be able to detect any traces.

In any case, the two Unpolished Jade Tier cultivators of the Water Dragon Sect didn’t choose to guard the Dragon Palace Small World, the foundation of the sect, all year round.

This was a silent show of respect to Water Official Li Yuan and Water Goddess Shen Lin.

Apart from the most prestigious gold edict ceremony, Sect Leader Sun Jie wouldn’t enter the small world during jade edict ceremonies or yellow edict ceremonies.

Compared to the northern sect, the southern sect’s Shao Jingzhi had a better relationship with the Southern Fragrance Water Palace, with Shao Jingzhi visiting Shen Lin once every few years.

“Li Yuan, you’re not able to casually say something?” Shen Lin asked with a complicated expression.

Li Yuan smiled faintly and didn’t say anything.

Even if he responded with a “no,” that would at least allow Shen Lin to guess the direction of the correct answer.

However, Li Yuan didn’t say anything from the beginning to the end, only saying that Mr. Chen was a junior of two old friends. As such, Shen Lin could simply refer to him as Young Master Chen. No further information was revealed, so Shen Lin was unable to confirm the truth.

That being the case, the water goddess would be gambling with her life if she did anything extra.

Shen Lin tried another method, asking in an uncertain voice, “Then I’ll go and ask Shao Jingzhi?”

“You can do whatever you please,” Li Yuan replied with a smile.

Wisps of light shimmered in Shen Lin’s golden eyes as she stared intently at her colleague.

Li Yuan’s expression remained calm and composed.

One was the water official of the Plenty River, and the other was the goddess of the summer palace.

Their deity ranks were roughly the same, and translated to the mortal world, one was like an attendant responsible for the incense offerings in a shrine, while the other was like a maidservant responsible for the miscellaneous matters in the courtyards.

Neither could order around the other, and neither were lofty and indispensable beings.

If Shen Lin genuinely went to ask Shao Jingzhi about these matters, it could, on the one hand, be regarded as an incredibly minor and trivial matter. On the other hand, if that person learned of Shen Lin’s actions and became displeased, Shen Lin’s spying on her whereabouts would warrant a death penalty. At that time, Shen Lin would no longer need to worry about living for another three hundred years with her decaying godly body. A single smack, and she would vanish from this world.

It wasn’t that Li Yuan didn’t want to help Shen Lin overcome this tribulation, but rather, he didn’t dare to. Was he not a mud deity crossing the river as well? Was he not also facing an existential crisis?

Agreeing to let Shen Lin enter Paddling Island was already a case of Li Yuan displaying reckless courage and doing her a huge favor.

Shen Lin smiled bitterly and remarked, “It’s often said that better a close neighbor than a distant relative, and the two of us have already been neighbors for so many years…”

Li Yuan frowned and cut her off, exclaiming with a gloomy expression, “Water Goddess Shen Lin of the Water Palace, I urge you to stop before you go too far!”

Shen Lin was astonished and frightened, so she could only bow and apologize for her inappropriate remark.

Li Yuan flicked his sleeve and left.

Shen Lin silently left the sea of clouds, returning to the lake and activating a water-repelling mystical ability as she returned to her residence.

Shen Lin didn’t directly go to her residence after arriving at the majestic water palace that was as large as a magnificent mortal city. Instead, she would walk through that large entrance with the plaque reading “Calm Wind Gentle Rain” each time she entered and exited, and she would only walk through the side door rather than the main door.

The main door was never opened, and this was the case even when the sect leader of the Water Dragon Sect visited. In fact, even the clan leader of the Great Origin Empire’s Esteemed Mystery Department and Sword Immortal Li Cai of Duckweed Sword Lake could only enter through the side door when they visited this majestic water palace.

Shen Lin quickly vanished after entering through the side door, arriving beside the flowerbed in her courtyard, where she planted all kinds of strange and wonderful things. The rare and exotic birds that swooped through the vegetation and sang on the branches were also species that had long gone extinct in the Majestic World.

A female deity appeared and reported, “Milady, the southern sect’s Shao Jingzhi has come to visit. Does Milady want to see her?”

Shen Lin hesitated for a moment before shaking her head and replying, “No, just tell her that I’m cultivating in seclusion and don’t have time to entertain guests right now.”

As Shen Lin turned down Shao Jingzhi’s visit, Li Yuan, meanwhile, was far more relaxed and carefree, activating an illusion technique and disguising himself as an ordinary-looking young man in yellow robes. He appeared on the white jade stairs and slowly descended the mountain, walking through the city gate and making his way to the restaurant on the stone arch bridge to drink wine.

He didn’t walk up to the fifth level, and he casually picked a seat in the main hall of the first level because it was far busier and livelier here. Because the two ceremonies had already concluded, the restaurant was nowhere near as packed as before, what with Chen Ping’an barely able to find a table and eventually needing to share a table with three other people. There were many more spare tables right now.

Li Yuan could come and go as he pleased in the Dragon Palace Small World and on the stone arch bridge spanning the Plenty River, since both could be regarded as territories of the Plenty River. However, following the establishment of the Water Dragon Sect and their basic refinement of the Plenty River’s middle shrine, Li Yuan’s role was to guard the small world and, at most, leave the small world to walk back and forth along the long bridge, disguising himself each time. However, there were a few times when he actually walked all the way to the end of the bridge.

He had held this responsibility for hundreds of thousands of years, and even if he held it for ten thousand years, completing these tasks would still be expected as part of his role. However, if Li Yuan failed to abide by some rule, even just a single time, then that would be an irredeemable catastrophe for a high-ranking deity such as himself.

Shen Lin’s godly body was now on the verge of collapse, so she was showing hints of wanting to break the rules and risk her life to maintain her deityhood. Li Yuan truly couldn’t bring himself to watch on.

In reality, Li Yuan had already given up all hope after seeing the current reincarnation of that person.

This was because he was finally able to say for sure that she didn’t care about them at all. She didn’t care about the life and death of Water Official Li Yuan and the Southern Fragrance Water Palace’s Shen Lin, nor did she care about the collapse of their godly bodies.

This was one of the reasons why Li Yuan hadn’t provided any further warnings to Shen Lin. Since that person no longer cared about the Dragon Palace Small World and the Plenty River, would she also not care about Shen Lin secretly overstepping the boundaries?

What if Shen Lin somehow managed to take a risk and successfully repair her godly body? If that were the case, then could Li Yuan also follow the same path and repair his godly body, thereby extending his lifespan?

Truth be told, Li Yuan wasn’t particularly fond of this extremely terrible feeling.

Thus, he wanted to visit the restaurant that was filled with the scent of the mortal world to drink wine and wash away his sorrows.

Li Yuan didn’t know what Mr. Chen was worrying about at Paddling Island, needing him to stroll around with an umbrella every time it rained. In any case, Li Yuan felt like he wouldn’t be able to wash away all of his sorrows even if all of the rain in the Dragon Palace Small World were turned into wine for him to drink.

Not to mention, deities couldn’t get drunk regardless of whether they drank mortal wine or immortal wine.

Li Yuan wanted to squeeze out a tear to express pity for himself, but even something as simple as this couldn’t be done.

He started to drink Midnight Wine, slamming his hands on the table and wailing in pity.

He appeared much like a mortal young man who couldn’t hold his liquor.

“You’re too bloody loud, young brat. Shut the hell up!” a nearby customer roared in fury.

Li Yuan wiped his face and turned around in pity, lightly sweeping his hands across the table as he replied, “I’m in a bad mood right now, so what’s wrong with wailing for a bit?”

“You’re affecting my drinking mood, young brat, so tell me, are you looking for a beating?” the man asked with a mocking smile.

Li Yuan raised his hands and rubbed his cheeks.

He planned to bring this man to the Plenty River, where he could drink some water instead of wine. Not only that, but he could even drink the water for free.

Right at this moment, an old man and a young female cultivator coincidentally walked down from a higher level, with the latter wearing a jade tablet by her waist that showed off her status as a direct disciple of the Water Dragon Sect’s ancestral hall.

“Please calm down. Don’t ruin the peace and harmony,” the old man looked at the man and said with a smile.

“Just who the fuck do you think you are, old geezer?!” the man chided in anger.

“I’m just the person footing the bill,” the old man chuckled in response. “I’m paying for all of the wine on the first level today, and we’ll treat this as everyone giving me some face.”

The man was instantly rendered speechless. He stood up and cupped his fists in apology, saying, “Oh, it’s Spiritual Master Huan. Please forgive my rudeness!”

Huan Yun cupped his fists in response and walked down the remaining stairs, paying the bill for all of the customers on the first level. This instantly drew cheers and shouts of approval from the customers.

Li Yuan glanced at the old man, determining that he was a Golden Core Tier earth immortal who was close to breaking through. The young woman walking beside him had just advanced to the Golden Core Tier, and if memory served him right, her name was Bai Bi or something like that. She was held in relatively high regard by Sect Leader Sun Jie. Her fortune was indeed quite good, so it was no wonder that Sun Jie was pouring a lot of effort and resources into nurturing her.

Sun Jie had insisted on bestowing that Inch Gold Talisman — which even the Nascent Tier guest elders coveted — to his direct disciple, but even taking into account the fact that Bai Bi had just advanced to the Golden Core Tier, there were still strong suspicions that Sun Jie was doing this to feather his own nest. This had resulted in heated arguments between the northern sect and the southern sect in the ancestral hall, with even Shao Jingzhi, who seldom spoke against Sun Jie on the surface, speaking very critically in a rare display. As the true master of the Water Dragon Sect’s ancestral hall, Li Yuan had hidden inside the painting of some ancestor to secretly watch the good show. It was quite lively and entertaining.

In reality, Sun Jie could be regarded as a fairly good leader.

He was fair in his treatment of the northern sect and the southern sect.

However, it was exactly because of this that some people felt hard done by.

If Sun Jie were willing to abandon his face and blatantly favor the disciples of the northern sect, that could actually reduce a lot of the foul schemes and conflicts.

If he appointed the successor of the Water Dragon Sect early on, showing a strong will to continue the sect’s tradition of favoring the north and suppressing the south, would Shao Jingzhi and the southern sect not suffer even greater hardships? Would they not be forced to lower their heads and yield in the end?

However, he was far too easy-going and far too impartial.

This was why Sun Jie was unable to win over the elders and disciples of the sect.

Otherwise, of the guest elders who were sitting in the same row as the southern sect’s Shao Jingzhi, two or three of them would have already shifted their seats to align with the northern sect.

Of course, all of these problems would vanish into thin air if Sun Jie could advance to the Immortal Tier.

However, Sun Jie didn’t possess such talent or fortune.

Li Yuan lowered his head and continued to drink wine.

Huan Yun and Bai Bi didn’t walk over to disturb him either, acting in a very tactful manner.

After leaving the restaurant and walking to one end of the long stone arch bridge, Bai Bi smiled and said in a soft voice, “Old Spiritual Master, I’ve only just advanced to the Golden Core Tier, so my experience is still lacking, and I’m yet to obtain an individual residence. The next time Old Spiritual Master graces our sect with his presence, I hope that I already own some island in the Dragon Palace Small World and can warmly welcome Old Spiritual Master.”

“If Lady Bai manages to obtain a residence in the small world, then you can send me a letter beforehand to let me know. I’ll personally pay a visit to congratulate Lady Bai,” Huan Yun said with a smile.

Bai Bi smiled and nodded in response, bowing to the old spiritual master of the Daoist Sect and saying, “Words cannot express my gratitude.”

Huan Yun sighed with emotion and returned the gesture, saying, “Cultivation isn’t easy, so let us both work hard.”

Those who form a golden core will become one of us. As long as Huan Yun didn’t advance to the Nascent Tier, then regardless of how much older than Bai Bi he was, he would still share the same status as this young direct disciple of the Water Dragon Sect.

Bai Bi didn’t show excessive humility and courtesy, and she simply bade farewell to the old spiritual master with her gaze before taking her leave. However, the young Golden Core Tier earth immortal’s feeling of gratitude came from the bottom of her heart.

In reality, Bai Bi had felt slightly regretful about not discussing how to tie up the matters in advance with Huan Yun after returning to the Water Dragon Sect. Bai Bi wouldn’t have hesitated even if she needed to offer an extremely valuable gift, lest the southern sect take advantage of this opportunity to suppress not only her future at the Water Dragon Sect, but even target her master, the sect leader.

For example, Vagrant Cultivator Wu Lingting was a guest elder of the Water Dragon Sect, but in reality, he was more specifically a guest elder of the northern sect. However, he had almost shifted his seat in the ancestral hall to the opposite side because of this matter.

Her master had also felt incredibly frustrated.

Thankfully, every cloud had a silver lining.

Bai Bi had never imagined that Huan Yun would be willing to speak up for her without the two of them making a deal and reaching an agreement beforehand. Not only had he helped her in a difficult moment, helping her wash away all suspicions in the sect, but he had even provided her with icing on the cake, allowing her to become a prudent and cautious person during her training at that ruin. Regardless of whether the statements were true or false, Huan Yun had said everything that should be said to the disciplinary elder of the Water Dragon Sect, not uttering a single word that shouldn’t be said.

Bai Bi had felt a little shocked after hearing this from her extremely relieved master, with a look of incredulity spreading across her face.

Sun Jie hadn’t said anything extra at the time, simply telling his disciple to cherish this rare display of kindness in the mountains.

After learning that Huan Yun was already a guest elder of Cloudtop City, Sun Jie had no option but to warn the inexperienced Bai Bi that she should secretly make a trip to the Sacred Lotus Nation if she had the chance. Afterward, she could “conveniently” visit Cloudtop City. In any case, City Lord Shen Zhenze was also a Golden Core Tier earth immortal.

Bai Bi remembered all of these things.

Thus, she had cordially invited Huan Yun, who was traveling around the Northern Pavilion Nation, to visit the Water Dragon Sect.

When Huan Yun learned that she had yet to obtain an island and establish her own residence, he had become quite pedantic, saying that he needed to immediately return to his mountains after traveling around outside for so long.

And thus, that conversation had taken place on the bridge between the two Golden Core Tier earth immortals.

These were interpersonal skills and worldly abilities that masters and Dao mentors wouldn’t teach, nor would they explicitly try to teach.

Bai Bi was given a lot to think about as she stood at the end of the bridge by herself.

In the past, she had always blindly followed that golden rule in the mountains: Those who can’t put down worldly matters will fail to become immortals in the mountains.

Looking at it now, however, were there not a large number of cultivators like that in the mountains around her, occupying both lofty and lowly positions? By the looks of it, putting down worldly matters didn’t necessarily mean ignoring them altogether, taking a lazy approach where one was a law unto oneself.

Elsewhere, Li Yuan was leaning on the railing of the bridge, still roughly fifty kilometers away from reaching the end of the bridge. Even so, he was able to clearly see the figure of that young Golden Core Tier cultivator. He felt like her aptitude was actually quite good.

“Young brat!” someone suddenly shouted from behind Li Yuan.

Li Yuan turned around, and the man from before smiled and tossed over a pot of wine, saying, “I spent my own money to purchase this pot of Midnight Wine, so don’t go fucking wailing in the restaurant in the future. As a man, don’t you find that embarrassing and unsightly?”

Li Yuan smiled and hugged the pot of wine to his chest, bowing and saying loudly, “Thank you, good sir. Have a safe trip home, good sir.”

The man faltered upon hearing this, scolding Li Yuan with a chuckle before striding away.

Li Yuan drank wine as he walked, causing his mood to improve slightly.

Meanwhile, Huan Yun didn’t take an immortal ship or soar on the wind; instead walking slowly along the bank of the Plenty River.

He had once embarked on a journey of examining his conscience with a young man at Cloudtop City.

The young man had seemingly spoken some lofty but empty principles.

He had explained that some principles were like water veins, flowing slowly and helping people act in a smooth and natural manner.

Some principles were like mountain roots, helping people’s hearts remain stable and unmoving in a world where matters were impermanent.

Both types of principles were good, but worldly matters remained difficult because these principles would often fight with each other, beating one another black and blue and causing blood to flow from their heads. In fact, they might even beat each other to death, just like that.

Huan Yun was able to accept Chen Ping’an’s words because the old Spiritual Master had suffered greatly at the hands of such a battle during the treasure-hunting trip, which was filled with twists and turns.

Was Huan Yun a good person? Of course he was. Not only was this a publicly acknowledged fact, but Huan Yun also regarded himself as a good person.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to Cloudtop City to speak for Shen Zhenze, someone who had no hope of advancing to the Nascent Tier in his lifetime. In the end, he had even agreed to become a Dao guardian for Xu Xingjiu and Zhao Qingwan.

Would good people make mistakes? Of course they would. First, it was the temptation of valuable treasures, after which it was the reputation that he had accumulated over a lifetime. In fact, Huan Yun had already gone against his conscience and his heart, yearning to kill other people to snatch the treasures and safeguard his reputation. He had almost committed an unforgivable mistake.

Many times, it seemed like the difference of a single breath could lead to completely opposite outcomes of right and wrong, good and bad, with the chasm between these results like the gulf between heaven and earth.

The bright moon hung high in the night sky.

Huan Yun took a deep breath, feeling relaxed and at ease.

That young sword immortal was so open-minded, so Huan Yun wondered if he also faced mental tribulations that were very difficult to overcome.

If he did, then wouldn’t those tribulations be like insurmountable chasms?

Huan Yun could only wish that person the best, hoping that he could lay bridges over water, pave roads in the mountains, and remain unwavering amid the wind and rain.