Unsheathed

Standing atop the mountain peak was a cultivator whose figure was shrouded in clouds and mist.

He peered down at the thatched cottage in the mountain pass and said with a faint smile, ”An elementary flame under the alchemy cauldron, the immortal peach trees shedding their blossoms. Your alchemy skills are mediocre, but your ability to pick a good location is outstanding. The Xu Clan has treated you very well, but it’s a pity that you’re seeking death, not even agreeing to become an unofficial guest elder.”

This person boldly showed himself after purposely allowing Wei Benyuan to notice him. He appeared composed and unhurried.

He naturally wasn’t relying on his lofty cultivation base to act carelessly.

Rather, he had meticulously set up a formation to surround and suppress the entire mountain pass, including Wei Benyuan’s formation.

He had peeled back the layers of Wei Benyuan’s mountain-protection formation to find a weak point, after which he had launched a decisive strike and used brute strength to shatter it. Having succeeded in doing this, there was no further point in sneaking around and remaining concealed.

Wei Benyuan formed hand seals in his sleeves, causing the mountain wind and rain to condense into a blanket of clouds, trying to use this to block the man’s vision.

Unexpectedly, however, the Qi refiner speaking in the official dialect of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent appeared to possess a profound cultivation base, with his mere gaze shockingly able to dissolve the clouds that were connected to Wei Benyuan’s mountain-protection formation.

Wei Benyuan looked around, astonished by the lofty skills of the man. A dark green glow was rising from the stream, betraying the presence of an immortal treasure.

The dark green glow quickly emanated from the water to the land, spreading outward like an army of ants.

The harmonious interaction between fire and water was crucial to alchemy, so the water fortune of this stream, with its innate yin energy, was a key reason Wei Benyuan chose to set up his cauldron and refine alchemical pills here.

The old man didn’t hesitate at all as he silently recited a mantra, attempting to flip this piece of land upside down and directly destroy the mountain roots and water fortune of the area. He was willing to sacrifice his refinement of alchemical pills for the sake of preventing this man’s immortal treasure from seeping into his mountain-protection formation.

The man was unfazed by Wei Benyuan’s crude techniques. After all, could a measly Golden Core Tier cultivator, who wasn’t even a formation cultivator, possibly defeat his secret technique and immortal treasure?

After some additional thought, however, the man silently recited a mantra, worried that Wei Benyuan was trying to cause a commotion to seek reinforcement from Light Breeze City. The dark green light that had crept ashore immediately seeped into the ground, preventing Wei Benyuan’s immortal technique from damaging the stream.

The man smiled and said, ”Your immortal technique is extremely impressive, but it’s a pity that your ability to wield it is absolutely pathetic. I’ll definitely grab your soul for interrogation after capturing you. This is truly an unexpected surprise, and I can’t even stop this fortune from rushing toward me.”

He then shifted his gaze to Li Baoping and continued, ”Your abundant wealth is truly shocking, young lady, so much so that I didn’t dare to make a move earlier. I could only follow you the entire time, even helping you dispose of two groups of vagrant cultivators. How should you thank me for saving your life? If you’re willing to offer yourself to me in gratitude, becoming my personal maidservant and giving me both a young beauty and immense wealth, I’m more than happy to accept. I can spare your life if you give me the Sword Nurturing Gourd, Auspicious Talisman, and the two unexpected talismans.”

Li Baoping patted the small and exquisite wine gourd by her waist and said, ”What a boatload of rubbish. Come and take it if you can.”

The man looked at Wei Benyuan and remarked with a cold snicker, ”You’re a useless Golden Core Tier cultivator who possesses poor offensive capabilities and can only refine some alchemical pills and forge relationships with people everywhere. Yet, in the end, you can’t even protect this young lady.”

Wei Benyuan was stunned.

He had initially thought that only the slender saber at Li Baoping’s waist was an immortal treasure, failing to see through the concealment technique on her silver wine gourd. Meanwhile, the cultivator standing atop the mountain had seen through everything, even managing to reveal the name of the slender saber.

He claimed to have followed Li Baoping for a long time, so it was clear that he was only showing himself now because he was extremely confident in his ability to subdue her. Taking this into account, the man was at least at the peak stage of the Golden Core Tier. Otherwise, things would be exceedingly dire if he were an elderly Nascent Tier immortal who had remained hidden for countless years.

Wei Benyuan felt extremely remorseful about turning down the offer to become a guest elder of Light Breeze City’s Xu Clan. If he were a guest elder, he could now utilize the communication method that linked directly with the formation of the city, allowing him to call Xu Hun over to help. In that case, perhaps the man on the mountain wouldn’t dare to act so wantonly. Now, however, Wei Benyuan’s mountain-protection formation, which blocked the prying eyes of outsiders, had become a cage for himself.

He took a deep breath and composed his Dao Heart, forcing his voice to remain calm as he said to Li Baoping using his mind’s lake, ”Don’t be scared, Little Baoping. I will definitely help you leave. Shattering the alchemical cauldron will cause a huge commotion, and Light Breeze City will definitely notice something amiss. Don’t hesitate after you leave the peach tree forest, and make your way directly to Light Breeze City. I might not be the best at fighting, but it definitely won’t be difficult for me to stay alive relying on my geographical advantage.”

The man atop the mountain shook his head and interjected, ”No, it will be very difficult. You’re already struggling to break through the barrier of the Golden Core Tier, so what’s the point of staying alive any longer?”

Wei Benyuan instantly felt as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss. This man was definitely an experienced and powerful Nascent Tier cultivator.

Many regions had collapsed under the thundering hooves of the Great Li Empire’s heavy cavalry, causing a large number of concealed vagrant cultivators to leave the mountains and re-enter the martial world, with a significant number of them profiting off the chaos.

”I would have mailed the talismans to you if I had known this earlier, Grandpa Wei,” Li Baoping said.

”What nonsense are you spouting?” Wei Benyuan replied with a huff.

Li Baoping didn’t explain anything. There were some things that could be discussed later.

The man’s gaze lingered over Li Baoping’s slender saber.

Compared to the Great Dao and immortality, human beauty was utterly worthless and insignificant.

He coincidentally recognized the slender saber, which had once been a subjugation treasure of the Divine Water Nation. Its name was Auspicious Talisman, and it had been the undisputed paramount treasure of the nation, especially with its ability to suppress and gather martial fortune. In fact, this immortal treasure could already be regarded as a paramount treasure of the mountain and rivers, viewed as a pseudo-celestial tool even though it was only at the level of an immortal tool.

As for the Sword Nurturing Gourd, the man could only tell it was extremely high grade. However, he was temporarily unable to decipher any more than this.

In any case, he could simply travel afar to another continent after obtaining these treasures, making sure to act with an abundance of caution. Anyhow, the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent didn’t seem like an ideal place for vagrant cultivators to prosper and thrive right now.

”Grandpa Wei, I won’t be able to provide compensation for this cultivation land if a fight breaks out in a moment,” Li Baoping said in a quiet voice. ”But no matter, I’ll ask my older brother to compensate you afterward.”

Wei Benyuan smiled bitterly. Was this the time to talk about compensation?

The cultivator standing atop the mountain had already come up with a way to comprehensively breach Wei Benyuan’s formation. Even so, he still pondered carefully, making sure he had accounted for all the variables and possible surprises.

Official immortals always liked to pay homage to the mountains before leaving to train in the outside world. Since this young lady’s background and backer were limited to those at the same level as Wei Benyuan, people who didn’t even have the right to become esteemed guests of Light Breeze City’s Xu Hun, things were looking very positive and safe for the man.

As a Nascent Tier vagrant cultivator, he had no choice but to show extreme caution.

After all, vagrant cultivators only had a single life, regardless of how high their cultivation bases were.

On the other hand, official immortals enjoying fortune with their names in the merit registers of the ancestral halls would essentially have two lives, regardless of how low their cultivation bases were.

With this in mind, the man resolutely decided to act.

His figure suddenly became hazy and elusive, yet seemingly as large as a mountain. He had summoned a Dao Manifestation that appeared like an ancient mountain god, and not only that, but there were even azure flood dragon kin wrapped around the arms of his golden manifestation.

There was a large halberd in his hand, and the spiritual energy around his Dao Manifestation became unbelievably chaotic. Possessing the aura of both mountains and rivers, the colossal ”deity” was like a mountain descending on the thatched cottage beside the small stream.

Hovering in mid-air, the Golden Dao Manifestation roared with laughter and exclaimed, ”Such bold words for a little girl! Your older brother? Perhaps I would have believed a smidgen of your words if you had threatened me with your old ancestor. What, is your older brother True Martial Mountain’s Ma Kuxuan? Or is he Wind Lightning Field’s Great Sword Immortal Huang He?”

Wei Benyuan was just about to summon his bonded golden core to fight to the death with the bastardly Nascent Tier cultivator.

Li Baoping strode forward and used her thumb to push Auspicious Talisman an inch from its scabbard. At the same time, she secretly retrieved an item with her left hand, which was hidden inside her sleeve. This item produced no ripple as it appeared, rendering it completely insignificant compared to her slender saber.

Right at this moment, however, the Golden Dao Manifestation suddenly stopped in mid-air for some unknown reason, unable to ascend or descend.

This Dao Manifestation wasn’t a little girl jumping off a wall, was it? Why did it look to be spasming and cramping before making a move?

Li Baoping turned around and looked into the distance.

Atop another green mountain, a young man in pink Daoist robes slowly walked through the sky, extending two fingers and lightly drawing a circle.

With each stride, a cloud drifted over from the distant sea of clouds, landing perfectly under the strange young man’s foot and forming a step.

Following this, the colossal Dao Manifestation that had seemingly been frozen started to move again, essentially being reduced to a puppet of the strange young man.

Wei Benyuan was stunned.

What a remarkably powerful immortal from the pinnacle of the mountains!

Did there exist an Upper Five Tier immortal with this appearance in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent?

Was he a Daoist spiritual master? Was he the Divine Edict Sect’s Heavenly Lord Qi Zhen? No, that was definitely impossible. There were extremely strict rules for immortals belonging to that Daoist branch, and not a single mistake was allowed regarding the Daoist hats and Daoist robes they wore.

Moreover, just how lofty was Sect Leader Qi? Would he travel all the way to Light Breeze City?

The young man’s pink Daoist robe was extremely loose-fitting and eye-catching, even more so as it rippled in the wind like heavenly water.

In the end, the young ”Daoist priest” lightly jumped forward and sat cross-legged on the Golden Dao Manifestation’s head, bending a finger and softly tapping its head. He appeared like a senior scolding a disobedient junior as he said, ”You like to act all high and mighty with the demeanor of an immortal, huh? Your old ancestor is right here, okay? What an absolute joke.”

Wei Benyuan didn’t relax at all, and he instead felt an increasing sense of worry, afraid that the newcomer would also develop ill intent following his conflict with the man. At that time, he would be even less capable of protecting Little Baoping.

”To isolate heaven and earth and envelop a Golden Dao Manifestation so easily... What should I do? Whatever should I do?” Wei Benyuan murmured to himself.

The Nascent Tier cultivator had fallen silent after summoning a Dao Manifestation, and he was truly unable to voice his immense pain right now. He wanted to flee, yet he was genuinely unable to move.

The young man in pink had casually isolated heaven and earth, so his unorthodox secret techniques were completely ineffective right now, regardless of whether he was at the Golden Core Tier or Nascent Tier. That being the case, how could he possibly flee? He could only break free if he were a Nascent Tier sword cultivator. However, would he have needed to scurry around and hide from his enemies for several hundred years if he were a powerful sword cultivator?

The young Daoist priest in pink simply sat on the colossal Dao Manifestation’s head and said to Wei Benyuan with a faint smile, ”I once owed the Wei Clan some roundabout favor in the past, Wei Benyuan, but I won’t bore you with all the details. There’s no point opening the old lunar almanac that’s covered in dust.”

Liu Chicheng was naturally uttering complete bullshit.

He had no other option, given that Gu Can didn’t want to reveal his identity, so Liu Chicheng could only make up a crappy story. However, cultivators in the mountains were genuinely prone to believing these things.

For example, Wei Benyuan half-believed Liu Chicheng’s words.

Meanwhile, Li Baoping didn’t believe him at all.

Liu Chicheng cocked his head and continued to suppress the Golden Dao Manifestation. The measly Nascent Tier cultivator could easily break free from his restriction, especially since he was going easy. However, the vagrant cultivator didn’t dare to act rashly.

This was the correct choice.

His journey with Gu Can was incredibly dull, so Liu Chicheng felt like he needed a lackey to serve and entertain him. A Nascent Tier vagrant cultivator just barely qualified for this honor.

If he were an official immortal, the group of people Liu Chicheng detested the most, however, then he would have most likely become a corpse already.

If a senior came after he killed a junior? Just how senior could they be? Did they want to fight him at White Emperor City? Even if Liu Chicheng stood still for them to hit, they still wouldn’t dare to hit him, not even if they were Ascension Tier immortals.