Unsheathed

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon smiled as he looked at the young man who liked to ponder over matters again and again.

When it came to vagrant cultivators, they wouldn’t give a toss about anything, and they would hurriedly refine valuable treasures after obtaining them.

When it came to official immortals with orderly inheritances, the seniors in the immortal force would help make plans for their juniors, and they would perhaps be even more earnest and careful than their disciples.

“You need to calm your mind before starting the refinement,” Spiritual Master Fire Dragon said.

He then chuckled and joked, “Do you still have any other treasures? Why don’t you take them all out for me to look at?”

Chen Ping’an didn’t hold back anymore, retrieving treasure after treasure from his minimization treasure.

In the end, he even retrieved that Buddhist scripture that was only a single page.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon came to some sort of understanding when he saw the Buddhist scripture.

He helped Chen Ping’an appraise the treasures, during which he picked up the exquisite round fan and gave it a gentle shake as if he were shaking off some dust. He smiled and handed the round fan to Chen Ping’an, saying, “Take another look at it.”

Chen Ping’an accepted the round fan, with the drawing on the fan still being that of a young lady holding a fan. Looking closely, however, he discovered that the small round fan in the young lady’s hand also had a drawing of a young lady holding a fan. This was a drawing inside a drawing. Chen Ping’an paused for a moment before hurriedly closing his eyes, clenching a hand into a fist and lightly placing it against his glabella.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon smiled and said, “You can put it away now. Make sure to treasure it.”

He then placed the pair of Dragon King Baskets in his sleeves and said, “These are far too damaged, so let me take them and repair them for you. I’m not trying to brag, but this is no longer a repair job that only costs a few immortal coins. Rather, these Dragon King Baskets can only be repaired to their original state without damaging their essence through meticulous refinement using a mixture of fire and water. It’s best that you don’t sell these small baskets, and if your mountains have large bodies of water in the future, you can use them to raise flood dragons and their kin. You have to understand that, apart from suppressing flood dragons, Dragon King Baskets can also be treated as small dragon palaces. They’re weapons in the hands of cultivators, and they’re natural water palaces in the claws of flood dragons.”

Chen Ping’an bowed and thanked the old spiritual master.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon wanted to say something after Chen Ping’an put away all of his treasures, but he couldn’t help but hesitate.

He eventually smiled and asked, “This probably isn’t a personal matter of yours. I understand now. Are you puzzled about my Ground Lying Peak?”

Chen Ping’an could only muster his courage and reply, “Forgive my impudence, Old Spiritual Master, but I think you can teach Zhang Shanfeng some loftier Dao abilities now.”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon laughed heartily upon hearing this.

Perhaps the cultivation bases of cultivators could be viewed as the most substantial immortal currency in the world.

However, it was exactly because of this that Spiritual Master Fire Dragon didn’t allow any of his disciples to make arguments using their cultivation bases at Ground Lying Peak.

The old spiritual master never revealed the reason to any outsider.

However, the young man in front of him couldn’t be regarded as an outsider.

Thus, Spiritual Master Fire Dragon smiled and asked, “Are you very curious about why I’m purposely hiding things from Shanfeng?”

Chen Ping’an nodded in response.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon turned around and walked near the wall where Sword Immortal was hanging, explaining with a faint smile, “I only look at one’s character and disposition when I’m taking disciples, and I don’t consider one’s aptitude at all. Who said immortal forces have to fight for so-called prodigies for the sake of accumulating wealth and influence? An immortal force might peacefully raise several kind-hearted Lower Five Tier cultivators, or it might accidentally nurture a bastardly Upper Five Tier cultivator. Which is better and which is worse?”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon retracted his gaze. This was a good sword, but it was actually fighting with itself as well.

As expected of Chen Ping’an.

He turned around and said with a smile, “It’s not because of my cultivation base that I’m able to say these things, but rather, it’s because I’ve acted according to these principles and resolutely pursued Dao, cultivating both my strength and my heart, that I’ve been able to reach my current cultivation base.”

“Of course,” Chen Ping’an concurred.

“It’s like I’ve planted a big tree at Ground Lying Peak, with this tree growing many branches and producing all kinds of different flowers and fruits. Some are high up and some are low down, and some bloom earlier and some ripen later,” Spiritual Master Fire Dragon continued.

“Some people are limited by their aptitude, causing their branches and fruits to fall to the ground. For example, many of Zhang Shanfeng’s senior brothers and senior sisters failed to overcome their cultivation barriers and thus departed from the world. On the other hand, some of my disciples are indeed natural talents for cultivation, allowing them to live longer and attain greater Dao power. For example, the founders of the Profound Dawn Branch, the Peach Mountain Branch, the Secret Profound Branch, and the White Cloud Branch, among other branches.

“In my eyes, a disciple doesn’t become impressive or special simply because their cultivation base is higher. The level of a person’s Dao power isn’t determined by their fists, but rather, by their heart. Of course, having greater Dao power does indeed make speaking reason a bit easier — the reason might be the same, but it will seemingly appear more reasonable from the mouth of someone with greater Dao power.

“In reality, Ground Lying Peak is trying to stop this phenomenon from proliferating. From my point of view, many of my disciples who have already departed from this world were no inferior to the Upper Five Tier cultivators of the White Cloud Branch and the other branches. Their words and actions still live in my heart.”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon smiled and continued, “Be it the disciples who are cultivating at Ground Lying Peak or the disciples who have left Ground Lying Peak to establish their own mountains, I’ll teach them different Dao techniques based on their character and disposition. Some disciples require scoldings from me to set them on the right path and take fewer detours, while others need a push from me to walk a bit quicker and become a bit braver.

“Generally speaking, however, it’s me teaching them the basics and them walking the path of cultivation by themselves. Zhang Shanfeng is a bit different. Unlike ordinary masters teaching their disciples and making sure they understand things, there’s no need for me to explicitly teach him. What I’m imparting unto Zhang Shanfeng is the most natural, allowing him to understand things by himself and ignore all other matters. Am I being selfish and showing favoritism? Yes and no. Do Zhang Shanfeng’s senior brothers and senior sisters care about this? They don’t think about it at all. This is Ground Lying Peak, where the disciples cultivate Dao and pursue truth.”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon smiled and mused, “Fundamentally speaking, is there any difference between a cultivator’s view of cultivation bases, treasures, and fated opportunities and a mortal human’s view of wealth, power, and fortune? If cultivators want to become genuine immortals in the mountains, they ultimately have to display some unique thoughts, no? Can one become a loftier immortal simply because their fist is stronger, their life is longer, and their immortal techniques are greater in number? If so, then there are truly a bit too many lofty immortals in the world.”

Chen Ping’an carefully ruminated over the old spiritual master’s words.

Some of the principles spoken by Spiritual Master Fire Dragon today could be directly borrowed and used as rules of Downtrodden Mountain in the future.

“Once your cultivation base reaches a great height and your renown grows, you’ll naturally face an increasing number of complaints and criticisms from other people, with these outsiders wanting to teach you how to live,” Spiritual Master Fire Dragon said.

He then smiled and offered some guidance, saying, “That being the case, there are a few things you need to remember. Those in the present criticizing those in the past and those who are alive criticizing those who are dead are both cases of picking on people who can no longer speak up for themselves. So, firstly, you must not die, Chen Ping’an. And secondly, genuinely sinister people are actually most fond of the existence of good people.

“Only fools will wholeheartedly loathe good people, grumbling to heaven and earth all day long, dissatisfied that the good people aren’t doing enough good deeds to a high enough standard. These people lack understanding, can’t be taught, and refuse to change. Their brains are filled with mush, and their bodies radiate with hostility. In my eyes, these fools are the most impressive people in the world — I’m completely unable to deal with them.

“A great many principles spoken by people in the world are simply for the sake of winning arguments and achieving a sense of satisfaction, resulting in a tendency to speak in extremes. People are afraid that their principles will be too small and too lacking if they don’t adopt extreme positions. These people are seemingly masters of principles and reason, but in reality, they’re actually the most unreasonable. You need to be careful of these smart people.

“It’s because of this that I sincerely admire the Scholarly Sage. When he speaks reason with other people, what’s correct will be regarded as correct, and what’s good will be regarded as good. Speaking reason is never a matter of fighting with other people, where victory is only achieved by using one’s words to beat other people black and blue and forcing them to kneel on the ground and beg for mercy. Rather, speaking reason is for the sake of finding common ground and obtaining mutual benefit.”

Even though Chen Ping’an hadn’t spoken the entire time, Spiritual Master Fire Dragon was now aware of a part of the answer regarding a certain speculation.

This was already enough.

These were good intentions with schemes and setups stretching thousands of kilometers and hundreds of thousands of years.

As it turned out, one could also act as a Dao guardian in such a manner.

By the looks of it, he had still been underestimating Qi Jingchun’s knowledge and ability before.

Sure enough, everyone in the Scholarly Sage’s lineage was unbelievably protective of their own.

Thus, Spiritual Master Fire Dragon said something extremely meaningful and mystical, remarking, “Chen Ping’an, there are times when you might feel like you’ve comprehensively lost something, yet it’s at these times that you’ve genuinely managed to obtain them. In this sense, some of your perceived disappointments are the cradle of other people’s hopes.”

In the end, the old spiritual master patted the young man on the shoulder and said, “Alright, you should strike the iron while it’s hot and make haste to refine your third bonded item! I’ll personally help you oversee things, and this is a privilege that ordinary cultivators don’t even dare to dream of. Otherwise, won’t you feel embarrassed to randomly wander around as a third tier Qi refiner?”

Chen Ping’an smiled wryly and commented, “Old Spiritual Master, didn’t you just say that one shouldn’t judge other cultivators according to their cultivation bases?”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon chuckled. “But Chen Ping’an, you’re not a cultivator from Ground Lying Peak.”

Chen Ping’an sighed in resignation. “I can’t argue with that.”

The old spiritual master clicked his tongue in wonder and judged, “You’re not very good at flattering people, young lad.”

“I’m indeed not very good at speaking,” Chen Ping’an agreed with a nod.

“You can just be a good person who has a clear conscience even if you’re beaten to a pulp,” Spiritual Master Fire Dragon said with a knowing smile.

————

With Spiritual Master Fire Dragon overseeing things, Paddling Island would find it difficult to experience trouble even if it wanted to.

Chen Ping’an was refining his third bonded item in seclusion.

Before this, Spiritual Master Fire Dragon had first taught Chen Ping’an an ancient refinement mantra named Refining Three Mountains, telling him to start with refining the Dao power true intent of the thirty-six gray bricks in order to strengthen his mountain shrine and transform it into a fundamental vein for his mountain range. However, Chen Ping’an surprisingly asked the old spiritual master whether he could refine only the true intent without refining the gray bricks. Spiritual Master Fire Dragon simply replied, “No problem,” not asking Chen Ping’an what he wanted the thirty-six gray bricks for after they were stripped of their Dao intent and water fortune.

The reason for refining the gray bricks first was that the aura released by the successful refinement of the wood element bonded item would be extremely significant otherwise. There wouldn’t be too much commotion at the water palace, but the mountain shrine formed from the five-colored soil of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent’s Five Mountains would inevitably be influenced by the aura. The three bonded items should complement each other and form a favorable situation, but if things went awry and they started to lose equilibrium, then Chen Ping’an would need to spend a huge amount of time and effort to repair his bonded items. Spiritual Master Fire Dragon couldn’t afford to embarrass himself like this.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon was genuinely someone from the pinnacle of the mountains, allowing him to clearly understand Chen Ping’an’s current situation as he looked down from above.

Looking at Chen Ping’an’s water palace, there was already no need to ask for more, given the existence of the bonded water seal, the mural that had already taken shape but was yet to receive the most important stroke to breathe life into it, and the small pond.

There were at most only twenty prodigies in the Northern Complete Reed Continent who possessed such impressive water palaces. Moreover, what was critical was the future growth of the small pond. When would the small pond transform into a deep pool, and when would the deep pool transform into a dragon pool?

As for Chen Ping’an’s bonded mountain shrine, the material used was relatively ordinary, but it was already no inferior to the materials used by the direct disciples in the ancestral halls of the sect-level immortal forces. In addition, it was advantageous in terms of its future potential. Even so, it ultimately couldn’t compare to his water palace and his future wood residence.

Chen Ping’an surprisingly used ten entire days to refine the Dao intent and extract the water fortune of the thirty-six gray bricks.

If it were the old spiritual master’s disciples who had established their own mountains, three days would have presumably been enough.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon didn’t think much of this. Some people walked earlier and walked quicker on the path of the Great Dao, but what was difficult was maintaining this pace as they ascended the mountains. As such, it was very common for some people to continually slow down as they kept walking forward. Even casting one’s gaze over those prodigies who rapidly advanced from one tier to the next, not a single one of them was able to maintain their speed of breakthroughs after becoming earth immortals. In fact, even Li Liu was no exception, lingering at the Nascent Tier for a decent period of time. It was necessary to slow down after advancing to the Upper Five Tiers.

However, there was an extremely small number of people who were different, continuing to speed up as they forged ahead.

The former type of people were ordinary prodigies, while the latter type of people could make these ordinary prodigies suddenly feel like also-rans one day after being happy for many years.

Chen Ping’an was busy cultivating.

Meanwhile, Zhang Shanfeng hung around at Paddling Island, refining Qi, practicing fist techniques, and chatting with his master.

Zhang Shanfeng opened the umbrella and strolled along the shore on a rainy day, and he came across a young man poking his head out of the water. This person asked him a very strange question, wondering whether Zhang Shanfeng would go crying to his master if he punched him once.

Zhang Shanfeng squatted down beside the water and asked the young man whether this would be a light punch or a forceful punch.

The young man was clearly bored and had nothing better to do, so he started to carefully discuss the power of the punch with the young Daoist priest.

Water Official Li Yuan felt like he had a chance after his discussion with Zhang Shanfeng.

However, the young Daoist priest directly said, “I feel like it’s necessary for me to ask my master for his opinion before I decide whether or not I face this punch.”

Li Yuan felt as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. He had secretly observed the young Daoist priest for the past few days, concluding that this person was quite simple and stupid. However, why wasn’t he acting in a naive manner right now?

“I’m just kidding.” Zhang Shanfeng couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’ve wandered around Paddling Island many times already, and I finally have someone else to chat with now.”

Li Yuan, who only had his head sticking out of the water, leaped onto the shore and sat cross-legged, placing his hands on his knees and asking, “Young Daoist Priest, why is your cultivation base so pathetic even though you have such a good master?”

Zhang Shanfeng smiled and replied, “My master can’t cultivate in my stead.”

In fact, he had a nagging feeling that there was something wrong with the brain of this young man sitting beside him.

Li Yuan swayed his head around, feeling a slight sense of pity for this fool from Ground Lying Peak as he clicked his tongue in wonder and said, “You don’t realize how lucky you are, Young Daoist Priest. Your aptitude is definitely very mediocre, or else anyone else would have already shot up to Golden Core Tier or the Nascent Tier. You should cry and shout afterward and ask your master for a few valuable treasures. That way, you can do whatever you want when you travel outside the mountains, and the others will also have to refer to you as young master, no?”

Zhang Shanfeng smiled faintly and replied, “I’m not bragging or blowing my own trumpet because I’m from Ground Lying Peak, but with your attitude and temperament, I can tell you right now that you wouldn’t qualify to become a Daoist priest at Ground Lying Peak. Of course, each person has their own fate, so it’s not necessarily a bad thing that you can’t become a Daoist priest at Ground Lying Peak. By the looks of it, you’re one of the water gods in the Dragon Palace Small World, correct? I’m quite envious of you, what with your innate mystical ability to travel through water. I’m fairly lacking in this regard, and I’m extremely slow when it comes to learning and cultivating immortal techniques with my master.”

Li Yuan shot a sideways glance at the young Daoist priest and sniggered, “But it seems like you don’t feel any sense of urgency?”

Zhang Shanfeng rolled his eyes and replied, “If being anxious is helpful, don’t you think I would be anxious? Since I know it’s not useful, then what’s the point of being anxious?”

“The old spiritual master definitely feels upset about taking a disciple as unbearably basic as you,” Li Yuan said with a sigh.

Zhang Shanfeng chuckled in response.

Li Yuan became increasingly convinced that this young Daoist priest was a little fool.

That being the case, Spiritual Master Fire Dragon could be regarded as a big old fool?

Li Yuan felt quite satisfied as he thought about this, leading him to also chuckle with the young Daoist priest.

However, it wasn’t long before his smile froze.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon was smiling with squinted eyes as he stood beside Zhang Shanfeng.

Li Yuan stood up and said, “Congratulations on recruiting such an astonishingly talented disciple, Old Spiritual Master. He’s one in a million, and it won’t be long before he attains the Great Dao. It won’t be long at all.”

Perhaps this was the aspect where Li Yuan was more impressive than Sect Leader Sun Jie of the Water Dragon Sect.

Including Sun Jie, the water god of Mirage Lake, and of course, Li Yuan’s colleague, Shen Lin, who dared to speak to Spiritual Master Fire Dragon like this?

“Go and deliver a message to White Armor Island and Gray Beard Island. Afterward, give a heads up to the Southern Fragrance Water Palace and say there’s no need to worry about what happens next,” Spiritual Master Fire Dragon instructed.

This was a proper matter.

Thus, Water Official Li Yuan no longer messed around as he nodded and transformed into specks of golden light, disappearing in a flash. He wasn’t willing to show himself at White Armor Island and Gray Beard Island, so the solution was very simple. He would tell Shen Lin and the Southern Fragrance Water Palace to deal with the mess.

Li Yuan couldn’t be bothered dealing with these matters that didn’t pertain to the Plenty River and the incense offerings of the small world.

Zhang Shanfeng noticed that it had stopped raining on Paddling Island again, so he closed the oil-paper umbrella and said in a quiet voice, “Master, I feel like Paddling Island is quite strange. The rain at this place comes and goes without any warning.”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon nodded and remarked, “Shanfeng, your observation skills are quite sharp and in-depth.”

“I learned this from Chen Ping’an,” Zhang Shanfeng said with a smile.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon smiled and asked, “Then did Chen Ping’an learn anything from you?”

Zhang Shanfeng thought about this question carefully before answering, “Crying poor and hungry?”

“That’s not bad either,” Spiritual Master Fire Dragon chuckled.

Around fifteen minutes later, Zhang Shanfeng and Spiritual Master Fire Dragon sailed toward the sea of clouds on the talismanic boat that they had rented from the Water Dragon Sect, peering down at Paddling Island from far away.

Zhang Shanfeng suddenly saw a horse-drawn carriage charging out from the region of the lake between White Armor Island and Gray Beard Island, with a female deity standing in front and seemingly channeling a mystical ability to funnel the spiritual energy of heaven and earth toward Paddling Island.

“With Chen Ping’an’s temperament, he’ll definitely remember this debt of gratitude for a long time if he learns of this water goddess’ actions,” Zhang Shanfeng suddenly said.

“Heaven and earth give birth to a myriad of matters and a myriad of people, and how to view heaven and earth is a profound question for cultivators,” Spiritual Master Fire Dragon said slowly. “Take a table of food, for example. Some people will devour the food ravenously, some will eat and chew slowly, and some will express gratitude and remember the goodwill. These are ordinary people. Some people will pay the bill, afraid to have a debt of even a single copper coin. These are cultivators like us.

“There are also some people who will flip the table after eating, afraid that others might also enjoy the privilege of eating. However, the people behind them will exclaim that the table-flippers are powerful beings, feeling a sense of respect and fear as they turn around to look for other tables of food. They’ll emulate the powerful beings, insisting on slamming their chopsticks down and cursing, even if they’re not able to flip the tables. Before leaving, they might even spit in the bowls and plates on the tables.

“Then there are some people who will pack away the bowls and chopsticks after standing up. However, they’ll still be unwilling to leave straight away, and they’ll even help to repair the shaky chairs and tables. Yet, the people waiting behind them will grumble in dissatisfaction, perhaps even walking over to kick them a few times.”

Zhang Shanfeng felt slightly baffled.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon sighed with emotion and remarked, “It’s forever scholars whom the Confucian sages are most disappointed in, it’s always cultivators who bring the most pollution to Dao, and it’s always those chanting sutras who bring the most damage to the proper Dharma of Buddhism.”

“What can we do?” Zhang Shanfeng asked.

“Have self-restraint, pursue truth, and cultivate oneself,” the old spiritual master replied slowly.

Zhang Shanfeng was racked with worry as he asked in a quiet voice, “And how is Chen Ping’an doing?”

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon thought for a moment before replying, “Qi Jingchun’s knowledge has never been ignored.”

“Does Chen Ping’an know?” Zhang Shanfeng asked.

“He doesn’t know,” Spiritual Master Fire Dragon replied.

“I feel like this is correct,” Zhang Shanfeng suddenly said.

Spiritual Master Fire Dragon faltered in a rare sight, and he focused his gaze and looked down before shaking his head and chuckling. “It’s a wooden residence in a small alley, yet a locust wood door has suddenly appeared from nowhere. This is quite unreasonable.”

The locust wood courtyard door to the small residence was half-closed, and one could hear the faint sound of crying each time one walked past.

There was a peach tree inside, though it was yet to grow leaves and yet to produce flowers.

It was unknown when the soft crying that was seemingly knocking on the door of one’s heart could gradually fade away. It was also unknown when one could meet the peach leaves and enjoy the peach blossoms.

Perhaps it would be spring next year.

Or perhaps it would be even further in the future.

There was a lonely young man in azure standing outside the door of the small residence, dazedly looking toward a nearby area in the small alley. There was a child joyfully skipping home, exclaiming that he could soon enjoy a stick of tanghulu.

Chen Ping’an was no longer a young boy, and he slowly raised a hand as if greeting the child.

The carefree and innocent child stopped and cocked his head as he looked at the young man.

In the end, the child seemingly failed to recognize this person in azure.

However, the child also stopped shouting in joy, silently walking through the young man just like that. He then entered the small residence and closed the courtyard door.

He left his older self standing outside the door.

In the end, the child seemingly became a little older, appearing slightly taller and looking much more tanned than before. He opened the door and walked out of the residence, carrying a large basket on his back. There were woks, bowls, utensils, medicine pots, and even torn and faded spring couplets.

The child kept his head down, tightly gripping the ropes of the basket as he unsteadily left his residence and the small alley, only to never return.