Unsheathed

Chapter 642 (4): Cui Dongshan’s Piece of Blank Paper

The True Realm Sect’s ancestral hall was located on Bamboo Scroll Lake’s Palace Willow Island.

Huge changes immediately took place after Jiang Shangzhen charged from the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent back to the Parasol Leaf Continent. These changes affected not just the Jade Tablet Sect, but the entire continent as a whole.

Focusing on just the Jade Tablet Sect, Jiang Shangzhen had personally and ”respectfully” asked the Unpolished Jade Tier Sword Immortal Wei Ying, the leader of the Nine Battle Peak, to leave and make his way to the True Realm Sect, the lower sect of the Jade Tablet Sect. Wei Ying would stay at Bamboo Scroll Lake and become the new sect leader of the True Realm Sect.

Wei Ying brought many others with him as he left the Parasol Leaf Continent and traveled north.

Among them was Jiang Shangzhen’s eldest legitimate son, Jiang Heng.

There was also a young woman, and she was none other than Ya’er, the person whom Jiang Shangzhen had brought out from the Lotus Flower Blessed Land back then.

Sword Immortal Wei Ying had six direct disciples at Nine Battle Peak, with one being a Militarian cultivator, one being a pure martial artist, and four being sword cultivators. The six cultivators each had their own disciples as well, numbering fourteen in total.

In addition to the cultivators from Nine Battle Peak, many disciples from the various other peaks of the Jade Tablet Sect left for the True Realm Sect as well. They were all cultivators under one hundred years old, and most of them were Middle Five Tier cultivators below the Nascent Tier. In fact, the majority of Qi refiners were young men and young women, making up sixty heads.

Liu Laocheng, the chief guest elder of the True Realm Sect, was coincidentally discussing matters in the capital of the Great Li Empire when Wei Ying led the large convoy of cultivators to Bamboo Scroll Lake.

However, even though Liu Laocheng wasn’t at Bamboo Scroll Lake, his influence had already seeped into all levels of the True Realm Sect. In fact, it could be said that Liu Laocheng had left significant marks in all corners of Bamboo Scroll Lake.

When Wei Ying arrived at the True Realm Sect, or once Jiang Shangzhen left Bamboo Scroll Lake, to be more precise, the situation became one where there were three distinct forces.

There were the old powers of Bamboo Scroll Lake, led by Liu Laocheng.

Li Fuqu and the other official immortals from the Jade Tablet Sect had left the Parasol Leaf Continent the earliest, and they hadn’t followed Jiang Shangzhen at the time. Rather, they had followed the former disciplinary elder of the Parasol Leaf Sect, who had defected to the Jade Tablet Sect and brought the paramount treasure of the Parasol Leaf Sect with him.

Liu Zhimao had become a guest elder and advanced to the Upper Five Tiers before successfully regaining Cyan Gorge Island. He was very close to Li Fuqu, and he could be regarded as a pillar of this force. Otherwise, Li Fuqu was just a ”passing dragon” that couldn’t hope to rival Liu Laocheng, the ”local dragon.”

The third force was headed by Wei Ying, the new sect leader of the True Realm Sect.

Things hadn’t been so complicated when Jiang Shangzhen was at Bamboo Scroll Lake — his possessions were his, and their possessions were also his.

Wei Ying didn’t make any moves after arriving at Bamboo Scroll Lake, especially since the True Realm Sect had already made plans for how to settle down the group of cultivators from the Jade Tablet Sect. There were many islands in Bamboo Scroll Lake, and almost all of them were vassals of the True Realm Sect. That being the case, would it not be easy for the subordinates of the new sect leader to find places to live?

Li Fuqu hailed from the Jade Tablet Sect, so she naturally didn’t dare to show any disrespect toward Wei Ying. However, her feelings of respect and fear were just that. Li Fuqu didn’t dare to join Wei Ying’s force.

Li Fuqu visited Cyan Gorge Island today, drinking tea with Liu Zhimao in the residence that the latter had rebuilt.

Li Fuqu was filled with worry, with her eyebrows knitted in a deep frown.

”Are you that afraid of Sect Leader Jiang?” Liu Zhimao asked with a smile.

Li Fuqu had a decent relationship with Liu Zhimao, but not to the level that she would completely open up her heart. This pertained to a significant matter, however, so she was willing to show some extra sincerity. ”How can I not be afraid? Every fibre of my being feels fear,” she replied honestly.

Liu Zhimao nodded and said, ”It’s not just you and me who are afraid, and Liu Laocheng is actually afraid as well. So, we’ll just accept and live with the current situation, and we’ll continue to do what we need to do. We can burn incense and thank the heavens if we manage to stay alive.”

”It’s not like we can do anything else,” Li Fuqu concurred with a bitter smile.

From establishing a lower sect at Bamboo Scroll Lake to becoming the sect leader of the Jade Tablet Sect after returning to the Parasol Leaf Continent, Jiang Shangzhen didn’t care much about speaking with Li Fuqu. He didn’t ask Li Fuqu to do anything either, and it was as if Li Fuqu could do whatever she pleased. Indeed, Jiang Shangzhen had returned to the Parasol Leaf Continent in a leisurely manner by himself without even notifying Li Fuqu.

Even so, Li Fuqu still felt fear and trepidation, not daring to make any secret moves. She diligently performed his role and guarded her own land, striving to maintain the status quo.

Even though Wei Ying was unanimously recognized as the most talented cultivator in the Jade Tablet Sect, also being the leader of Nine Battle Peak and now the sect leader of the True Realm Sect, Li Fuqu still didn’t dare to shirk her responsibilities. She could only grit her teeth and play the role of a foolish villain, fulfilling her responsibility as the third force of Bamboo Scroll Lake and keeping in check both Wei Ying and Liu Laocheng.

The reason for this was very simple. She was afraid of dying mysteriously, not knowing what had hit her.

In fact, Li Fuqu felt like it wouldn’t be strange even if Wei Ying suddenly died at Bamboo Scroll Lake one day. For example, he might die while cultivating in seclusion, he might fall into the lake by accident and drown, or he might choke to death on a steamed bun.

This was because Li Fuqu had no idea what Jiang Shangzhen wanted, what he would do, and what his end goal was.

In contrast, it was possible to analyze the actions and ambitions of the sharp and intense Wei Ying.

Jiang Shangzhen was seemingly right in front of their eyes, yet also as distant as the heavens at the same time.

The most terrifying part about this was that Jiang Shangzhen would clearly be extremely far away one moment, yet he would somehow be right in front of their eyes the next moment.

Jiang Shangzhen had left the Jade Tablet Sect in anger before, and it was rumored that Du Mao had invited him to join the Parasol Leaf Sect, promising Jiang Shangzhen, who was only at the Golden Core Tier at the time, that he could become the next sect leader as long as he advanced to the Upper Five Tiers.

Jiang Shangzhen had asked Du Mao whether turning down this offer would mean death, and Du Mao had laughed loudly and shaken his head in response. And thus, Jiang Shangzhen had turned down the offer and continued to travel north, making his way to the Northern Complete Reed Continent.

It was said that Jiang Shangzhen had purposely taken a detour afterward, avoiding the land and choosing to secretly travel south via the sea instead. Even so, he had still been blocked by an Unpolished Jade Tier cultivator from the Parasol Leaf Sect and hunted for tens of thousands of kilometers.

Jiang Shangzhen had eventually returned ashore, as dishevelled and haggard as a beggar, yet the elderly Unpolished Jade Tier immortal had suddenly vanished without a trace, with not a single piece of news about him. Even until today, Jiang Shangzhen hadn’t explained the reason for this, nor had the Parasol Leaf Sect asked for an explanation. The two sides acted as if nothing had happened at all, causing this to become a mystery case that outsiders loved to discuss and speculate on.

The True Realm Sect was yet to properly establish itself in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, yet Jiang Shangzhen was already pushing aside his responsibilities and traveling for leisure, making his way to the Northern Complete Reed Continent for the second time. He didn’t do anything useful, and he simply returned with a baby in his arms. The baby’s aptitude was exceedingly ordinary, but Jiang Shangzhen treated the baby as if it were his own child. Meanwhile, just how did he treat Jiang Heng, his only son? Who in the Jade Tablet Sect wasn’t aware of this?

There were all kinds of peculiar and bizarre stories about Jiang Shangzhen, so many that several large baskets wouldn’t be enough to fit them all.

Jiang Shangzhen hadn’t managed to join Nine Battle Peak in the past, so everyone had felt like he would have zero chance of becoming the sect leader in the future. Unexpectedly, however, he had replaced the disciplinary elder from the Parasol Leaf Sect who had defected to the Jade Tablet Sect, becoming the sect leader of the lower sect. And now, he had surprisingly risen to become the sect leader of the Jade Tablet Sect.

He had caused a huge commotion throughout the entire Northern Complete Reed Continent in the past, but he had mysteriously started to act in a very restrained manner after becoming the sect leader of the lower sect. Moreover, everyone thought Jiang Shangzhen would make a move against the Parasol Leaf Sect after becoming the sect leader of the Jade Tablet Sect, yet he personally visited the weakened and unstable sect and proposed an alliance.

”When will Liu Laocheng return? Will he join forces with Sect Leader Wei to target you and me?” Li Fuqu asked.

”Are you overestimating yourself and also overestimating me? And on the flipside, are you underestimating Liu Laocheng and underestimating Sect Leader Wei even more?” Liu Zhimao replied with a smile.

Li Fuqu became slightly angry, but she quickly nodded and concurred, ”That’s indeed the case.”

”So-called smart people like us always feel like there are benefits everywhere for us to casually reach over and grab, so we always try to plan more and do more,” Liu Zhimao said. ”In reality, however, those who are smarter know from the very beginning what they can’t and shouldn’t do.”

Li Fuqu pondered over this for a moment before saying, ”I fall short compared to you.”

Liu Zhimao smiled and replied, ”It’s not that your mind is inferior to mine, but rather, Qi refiners who were once vagrant cultivators always like to think more. On the other hand, official immortals from large sects don’t need to worry about very much, meaning they don’t need to cultivate their hearts and minds as much. They can simply follow the established processes and advance to the heavens one step at a time.

”The same can’t be said for vagrant cultivators, and even trivializing a minor matter can lead to disastrous consequences. Do you know what my greatest frustration in life was, something that I can’t get over even now?”

Li Fuqu shook her head.

”It was the moment I damaged a low-grade spirit tool due to my own stupidity after becoming a third tier Qi refiner,” Liu Zhimao revealed. ”It felt like the sky was collapsing, and my life was already over. I almost fell into despondency and severed my own path of the Great Dao. I’ve experienced many perilous dangers after that, teetering on the brink of death many times, but I’ve never again felt as disheartened as that time.”

”This is indeed unimaginable,” Li Fuqu said in a sincere voice.

————

Sect Leader Wei Ying seldom left his residence after arriving at Cyan Gorge Island.

Wei Ying was bored and had nothing better to do, so he composed a picture scroll of mountains and rivers in the main hall, after which he would draw and scribble on it.

For example, he drew a circle connecting the Northern Mountain and the Dragon Spring Sword Sect, a circle connecting the Central Mountain and Lake View Academy, one connecting the Southern Mountain and Old Dragon City, one connecting the Eastern Mountain and True Martial Mountain, one connecting the Western Mountain and the Wind Snow Temple, one connecting the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan and the Azure Phoenix Nation, and so on and so forth...

Wei Ying looked up and greeted with a smile, ”There’s no need to overly concern yourself with all that pedantic etiquette, Guest Elder Liu. You can feel free to directly enter the residence.”

He then casually retracted the picture scroll as Liu Laocheng arrived outside the great hall.

Liu Laocheng only caught a quick glance of the picture scroll.

Wei Ying and Liu Laocheng sat down, but the former didn’t sit in the main seat. Instead, the two of them sat opposite each other.

”It was very disrespectful of me not to welcome Sect Leader Wei,” Liu Laocheng said in apology.

Wei Ying smiled and replied, ”Cultivators like us simply need to maintain a clear conscience.”

Even though Liu Laocheng had signed a secret alliance at the capital of the Great Li Empire, Wei Ying had the right to know about this, given that he was the new sect leader of the True Martial Sect. This didn’t go against the agreement.

After listening to Liu Loacheng’s description, Wei Ying said, ”Imperial Preceptor Cui makes people feel a sense of longing. Since the True Realm Sect has chosen to establish itself in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, it’s only natural that it should do its utmost to retain the Dao Seeds here. It’s even more reasonable for the True Realm Sect to provide money and manpower as required.

”Guest Elder Liu can give a response to the emperor of the Great Li Empire straight away. Including me, Liu Zhimao, Li Fuqu, all of the cultivators of the True Realm Sect excluding the Dao Seeds, and all of our vassal forces can be utilized by the imperial court of the Great Li Empire.”

Liu Laocheng fell silent for a moment before standing up and cupping his fists, saying, ”Sect Leader is truly far-sighted.”

Wei Ying also stood up and said with a smile, ”I have one request to make, Guest Elder Liu.”

Liu Laocheng nodded in response without asking so much as a single question.

In the end, Wei Ying retrieved a sword from his table and left his residence alongside Liu Laocheng, finding a woman who was strolling along the perimeter of Palace Willow Island.

Sui Youbian.

Liu Laocheng felt slightly puzzled, unsure of why the young sect leader wanted to visit Sui Youbian, especially with him present as well.

Wei Ying walked up to Sui Youbian and said, ”I’m afraid that you’ll die for nothing again if you don’t bring Guest Elder Liu with you.”

Wei Ying wouldn’t ask Sui Youbian about how she had managed to stay alive, nor would he inquire about why she hadn’t returned to the Jade Tablet Sect with Jiang Shangzhen, allowing her to avoid him.

This was because many answers and truths in the world didn’t actually matter at all.

Sui Youbian stopped and asked, ”Have you finished?”

Wei Ying smiled faintly and replied, ”No matter what, I’m very surprised to see you again so soon.”

He then raised the sword in his hand and said, ”This is your sword, Deep Infatuation. I retrieved it for you. Its grade isn’t high, but its name is very good.”

He lightly tossed the sword to Sui Youbian.

However, Sui Youbian didn’t catch the sword, instead kicking it into Bamboo Scroll Lake when it fell to the ground. The sword sank toward the bottom of the lake, and Sui Youbian said, ”I’ll naturally retrieve the sword once my cultivation base is high enough.”

”Okay,” Wei Ying said with a nod.

Sui Youbian continued to walk forward.

Wei Ying remained standing in the same spot.

Uncle Jiang had only tasked him with two matters, both of which had absolutely nothing to do with the development of the True Realm Sect.

The first matter was for him to stop irritating Sui Youbian.

The second matter was for him to diligently look after the child that Jiang Shangzhen had brought back from the Northern Complete Reed Continent. He could record all of the expenses, and the Jiang Clan would repay him several-fold in the future.

Wei Ying had accepted both tasks.

As he looked at the disappearing figure of Sui Youbian, he started to eagerly anticipate that sword duel. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need to wait for too long.

Wei Ying’s only worry at this moment pertained to the Sword Dao fortune of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. There was a slightly strange feel about it, and this would affect his Great Dao.

————

A young boy in white was playing in a Go competition and earning money in some alley. He had already earned many copper coins, enough to pay for dinner.

As for the Go board, he had won this from a like-minded individual earlier. That person had lost everything, eventually cursing as he left.

There was an expressionless child squatting beside the young boy in white.

Cui Dongshan glanced up at the sky and decided that it was time to wrap up for the day.

He packed up his belongings and left the alley. As for the Go board and the Go stones, these were all carried in the luggage sack of the young child.

Cui Dongshan used the copper coins he had just earned to enjoy dinner with wine, after which he found an inn to stay the night.

He retrieved a blank piece of paper before lying down on the table and using the back of his calligraphy brush to lightly tap the table.

He glanced at the child who was silently sitting opposite him, and he smiled with squinted eyes and remarked, ”Brother Gao, perhaps you’ll become an old ancestor alongside Cui Ci in the future.”

The child was baffled as he looked at Cui Dongshan.

Cui Dongshan retracted his gaze, but he still didn’t write anything down, instead continuing to complete the three fundamental threads of thought, nine general concepts, and thirty-six detailed rules in his mind.

During this process, there were far too many matters for Cui Dongshan to sort through and define.

Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, grief, worry, confusion, shock, fear, silence, and contemplation.

Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

Self, family, customs, traditions, nations, the world, life, and death.

A sense of identity would ward off loneliness, a sense of belonging would provide peace of mind and body, and a sense of achievement would allow the intangible to dissolve the tangible.

There were a myriad of experiences in life. Farewells when alive, separations caused by death; boisterous gatherings, silent loneliness; painful solitude, joyful outings; filling meals, bitter starvation; leisurely comfort, embracing warmth; relaxing ease, fulfilling satisfaction; scorching summer, biting winter.

Stabbing pain, wrenched heart, incandescent range, mild anger, secret joy, pure luck, vexation, regret, admiration, adoration, envy, resentment, indignation, joy, sadness, sorrow, jealousy...

Then there was another level of relatively more complicated emotions: relief, bewilderment, adrift, conflicted, sudden enlightenment...

And then a higher level of emotions: resilience, collapse, persistence, indifference, aloofness, fervor, motivation, composure...

Cui Dongshan still needed to transpose, switch, and fix many of the three categories.

There was also an extremely complicated relation between the three categories as they went through a process of conflict, integration, destruction, disappearance, rebirth, growth, and return to nothingness.

There would be fading whirlpools of various sizes, with their ripples expanding outward. Some of these ripples would cancel each other out, some ripples would resonate and grow in size, some ripples would brush past one another, and some ripples would never interact with another.

One of the critical origins pertained to how many thoughts people stored in their minds, and how these thoughts should be categorized.

Bearing personal witness, reading from a book; happening nearby, hearing from others and committing to memory; clarity from conscious memory, haziness from unconscious memory; chaos, sudden inspiration during critical moments, like those divine Go moves that became set formations in the Go manuals.

And thus, the second matter was born, the identification of a trigger mechanism. Only such could speech and actions, poems and prose, ebbing and flowing emotions, and a myriad phenomena be birthed into existence.

No matter in the world could be regarded as purely unmoving and absolutely silent. Everything was pieced together from countless miniscule building blocks, forming tangible matters that could be seen with the naked eye. Countless seemingly insignificant matters would weave together to compose the dream-like symphony of life. Books would age and yellow, mountains would rise and fall, flora would flourish and wither, and people would mature and die.

Cui Dongshan continued to lightly tap the table with the butt of his calligraphy brush, staring at the glaringly blank piece of paper as he did so.

He had retrieved three items when traveling to the Great Sui Nation in the past: a bowl of water, a stone, and a branch.

He had also said something to his master, Little Baoping, and the others in a half-joking manner, remarking that mortal humans would be reborn anew several times throughout their life, silently experiencing the cycle of life and death again and again.

The stone was like the human body and the mountains. It would hold up all matter as it withstood the wind and sunshine, and it was actually a world that was in an eternally flowing state, yet so slow that it appeared static.

The bowl of water represented the flowing thoughts.

And finally, the branch represented the fundamental threads of thought, the rules that dictated the operation of the Great Dao.

Cui Dongshan had been stubbornly debating himself about these matters over the past few years.

The relatively general seven emotions and six desires were far from enough.

The first porcelain human that Cui Dongshan had crafted — Scholarly Attendant Cui Ci, who was now accompanying Li Xisheng — could already be regarded as meticulous. However, Cui Ci only felt very vague and weak emotions, and simply put, this was caused by the fundamental threads of thought being too fragile, making it very difficult to feel a sense of belonging. At the same time, Cui Ci’s physique was far too simple, and his barrier to the Great Dao was far too large, making it an impossible dream for him to form a golden core.

In contrast, the ”Brother Gao” sitting opposite him would have far more thoughts running through his mind, a result of the clearer and more stable threads of thought. Not only could Brother Gao play Go in the future, but he could even cultivate to the peak stage of the Nascent Tier, compose poems, and construct by himself all matters pertaining to emotions. Further than that, he would sincerely regard himself as a genuine human.

There didn’t exist truly intangible and abstruse matters in the world, and everything would leave its own traces and marks. Thus, those so-called sentient talismanic puppets should fall to their knees and respectfully greet their esteemed ancestors when they came across Cui Ci, and especially Brother Gao.

Even so, Cui Dongshan was far from satisfying his own expectations.

The cost was too high, and the barriers were too great. And then there was Cui Dongshan’s greatest concern: repeating the same old mistakes of gods and humans.

Cui Dongshan sighed in frustration.

He beckoned to Brother Gao, instructing the child to carry him on his back and run around the room.

Waving his large white sleeve with one arm and patting the child’s head with his other hand, Cui Dongshan copied his senior sister and remarked in happiness, ”Little Brother, why are you so obedient, hey?”