Unsheathed

Chapter 222 (2): Some Who Part Can Still Reunite

Chapter 222 (2): Some Who Part Can Still Reunite

Inside a private residence called the "Great Luxuriant Residence" in Ancient Elm Nation, there was a tall and handsome scholar whose appearance was a little pale and sickly. He was eating a steamed peach flower mandarin fish at this moment, and there was a custom-made silver hook in his left hand and a pair of green bamboo chopsticks in his right hand. He slowly enjoyed his in-season meal, and even a pot of imperial-grade wine was beside his hand. From time to time, he would put his chopsticks down and grab this pot of wine to enjoy a sip.

Four of the most powerful martial arts grandmasters and Qi refiners in Ancient Elm Nation were standing in front of the elegant scholar's meal table. They were all renowned cultivators.

There was a sword grandmaster at the peak stage of the fourth tier of martial arts, a self-taught prodigy who had strong killing intent and was extremely bloodthirsty. Opinions about him were divided, and he received both praise and criticism from the cultivators in Ancient Elm Nation and the surrounding nations.

It was widely acknowledged that he had many achievements but was immoral. His admirers staunchly believed that he could achieve certain victory against any sword cultivator at the Lower Five Tiers, as long as they weren't a sword cultivator from a proper sect.

Another was an assassin at the fourth tier, and he surprisingly didn't conceal his face. He was a rustic-looking man with an unremarkable appearance.

On a closer look, though, it was clear that he was wearing a fake skin mask.

He was the leader of Ancient Elm Nation's Case Purchasing Pagoda, an organization of assassins that was renowned throughout several nations. The name Case Purchasing Pagoda symbolized the fair price of their work, with the customers only needing to pay the price of a wooden case if they wanted to obtain a pearl in return.

He had once accepted a request to assassinate a Qi refiner at the Middle Five Tiers, and he had only been a hair away from succeeding. If it hadn't been for a secret immortal treasure that his target had, it was very likely that he would have succeeded in his attempt. Afterward, the Case Purchasing Pagoda had suffered furious retribution and almost been forced to lie down low.

However, the Case Purchasing Pagoda had also displayed its courageous and merciless side. Without caring about the consequences, it had especially targeted and killed disciples from that immortal clan traveling around the world to train. This was a long-lasting conflict that had continued for more than 20 years, leaving one side on the verge of destruction and the other side severely wounded. In the end, the conflict only ended after personal intervention and mediation from the imperial preceptor of Ancient Elm Nation.

In the cultivation world, there were indeed people and forces who lived wretched lives and subjected themselves to the whims of others. However, there were also courageous and daring people and forces willing to spite themselves in order to drag immortals down from the mountains.

Of the two other Qi refiners, one was a bewitching woman who was an itinerant cultivator. She was skilled with poison, and had an endless array of abilities that were incredibly difficult to defend against. No one was willing to provoke this "scorpion lady," regardless if they were martial artists or immortals from the mountains.

The final Qi refiner was an unfamiliar face who had never shown himself in the imperial court of Ancient Elm Nation before.

The reason why the young man who looked like a scholar preparing for an imperial examination was able to gather these four powerful cultivators together was that he was none other than the imperial preceptor of Ancient Elm Nation.

After finishing the fragrant and succulent peach flower mandarin fish, the imperial preceptor retrieved three pieces of paper from his sleeve. Each piece of paper had the portrait of a person, and the imperial preceptor bent his finger and tapped on the portrait in the middle. This was the portrait of a young boy carrying a wooden case.

He smiled and said, "There's a black-grade immortal treasure in the imperial treasury, and whoever succeeds in killing him will be able to obtain this treasure. However, let me say this first. It's extremely likely that this young boy is a sixth tier sword cultivator, and his external appearance as a third tier pure martial artist is nothing more than a facade. Don't be fooled by this.

"I only care about receiving his head, and I couldn't care less about how you people go about killing him. As for the two other people, there will naturally be some rewards for killing them as well. You can rest assured about this."

Three of the four cultivators left, leaving only the Qi refiner who had never appeared before the imperial court of Ancient Elm Nation before.

"Imperial Preceptor Chu, using the possessions of others to achieve your own goals isn't very good, is it?" he sneered.

The young scholar smiled and asked, "Is this your opinion? Or is this the emperor's opinion?"

The Qi refiner remained silent.

The young scholar smiled and said, "Won't everything be fine as long as you're the one to bring that person's head back? The treasure will still belong to the imperial treasury of the Chu Clan, and it will simply take a detour through my hands."

The Qi refiner humphed coldly before turning around to leave.

————

After making a brief stop at Southern Stream Nation, the Kun ship owned by Ceremony Mountain hovered into the sky and continued to travel south.

The Kun ship traveled above the middle and slightly southern region of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and it was still flying in a leisurely manner through the clear blue skies.

On this evening, the old scholar with the mink fur hat and missing tooth walked out of his standalone residence and arrived at the bow of the ship. His field of view was wide, and he gazed at the magnificent sight of the sun setting in the west.

The old scholar stood there and watched the setting sun for a long time, and at some unknown time, a woman also taking a stroll around the ship walked over and stood beside him. She was a truly peculiar person, and was actually using the exquisite flying sword "Lightning" as her hairpin. The flying sword was famous throughout Complete Reed Continent. Thus, using it as a hairpin naturally demonstrated her lavishness and wealth.

There was a pearl pendant hanging from the hilt of the flying sword, and the reason for this was even more peculiar. This was because the woman's father was afraid of Lightning being too quick, causing his daughter to be unable to control it. Thus, he had obtained this hornless dragon pearl from some secret realm in some dragon palace. Not only that, but he had even gone as far as to refine his sword again in order to bore a hole through this pearl. After attaching it to his daughter's flying sword, it could be used to reduce its speed.

The old scholar didn't turn around to look at the young woman who had become "enemies" with him not long ago. There was a smile on his face, and his lips didn't move as he secretly transmitted a message using his mind. "Little girl, you shouldn't have come here to see me. Be careful of exposing yourself. Otherwise, your father won't let you off lightly regardless of how much he dotes on you."

The young woman had a cold expression, and she replied, "Mr. Sword Urn, why are you doing this? You have no relatives, no friends, no descendants, and no disciples either..."

The old scholar rubbed his mink fur hat and no longer tried to conceal his voice. He smiled and directly said, "Little girl, be honest with yourself and say it directly if you genuinely don't like Young Master Hulü. There's no need to force yourself to like a man simply because he's a good person. If you come across a man whom you like in the future, there's no need to force yourself to dislike him simply because he's a bad person either."

The young woman blushed slightly.

The old scholar sighed with emotion and said, "After experiencing a bumpy life where I've called the entire world my home, at the very end, it's surprisingly the small courtyard on this Kun ship that calms my mind the most. Thankfully, I brought a case of books with me when boarding the ships. When I open my door each day, I'm able to see a sea of clouds as well as mountains and rivers and the sun and moon. How pleasing to the eye... After returning to my room and shutting my door, what greets me is a desk full of books and essays about morality, things I can use to cultivate my mind..."

The young woman sighed softly.

It was her father who had organized this trip to the south for her, and he had said that she could use this trip to relax her mind.

In the beginning, she had thought that her father was attempting to set her up with Young Master Hulü. It was only after arriving at the Great Li Empire's Parasol Tree Mountain ferry station that she had realized that things were far more complicated than this.

In fact, it was only yesterday when she had finally learned the entire truth. She discovered that Mr. Sword Urn was surprisingly the most critical Go piece on this Kun ship.

This was a very bold and consequential play.

In fact, she almost felt like she was nothing more than a sacrificial Go piece as well.

The old scholar with the mink fur hat waved his hand and said, "Off you go. I'm not a handsome young man or anything, but you are indeed a young and unmarried woman. You might not feel awkward accompanying me to watch the sunset, but I can't help but feel a little uneasy."

The young woman silently turned around and left. After returning to her courtyard, she halted her breathing and focused, quietly waiting for the drastic change to arrive.

The old scholar from Complete Reed Continent who had the nickname of Sword Urn smacked his lips and took off his mink fur hat. After forcefully patting it two times, he casually tossed it overboard where it drifted away with the wind. "See you later, old companion."

The old scholar turned around to gaze toward the north. When he was young, he had once been a scholar in Complete Reed Continent who had possessed the talent to become a noble person. However, his temper had been bad, and he had also been arrogant and conceited. From morning to night, and from one year to the next, he had continued to scold other people. He had derided officials as useless fools, he had ridiculed generals as good-for-nothing gluttons, and he had accused the emperor of being a foolish and self-indulgent person. He had scolded everyone, but had he not been scolding himself as an utterly useless scholar as well?

After both his clan and nation disappeared, the old scholar was no longer able to scold anyone.

No longer wearing a mink fur hat, the old scholar walked back to his courtyard. The attendants and servants from Ceremony Mountain all greeted him with utmost respect when they saw him, and this caused the old man to feel a slight sense of guilt. However, he remained smiling as he greeted them back and joked around with them. He appeared extremely friendly, and he was far more "adorable" than the unsmiling Young Master Hulü or the sinister and ruthless-looking Mistress Azure Bone.

Night arrived, and the old man returned to his room and grabbed a Confucian classic. He then went to sit in the courtyard. He didn't read the book, and he simply closed his eyes and started to nap.

The Kun ship was flying over the territory of the Luminous Vermilion Empire right now, a powerful empire with the highest number of sword cultivators in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. It was rumored that Wind Snow Temple's Terrestrial Sword Immortal Wei Jin had stayed in this empire the longest when traveling around the world for the first time. He had engaged in several life-and-death battles during that time, and all of his opponents had been renowned sword cultivators in the Luminous Vermilion Empire.

The Luminous Vermilion Empire was a top-notch empire in the south-central region of the Great Li Empire, and it had an impressive dozen or so vassal states. In terms of territory, it was second to only the Great Li Empire which had conquered the Lu Empire. Moreover, among the old emperor's many sons, there were two who had given up their right to the throne and become ninth tier sword cultivators.

Of the four great guest elders of the imperial family, there was a 10th tier sword cultivator who had fought three times with Wind Lightning Field's Li Tuanjing, someone who was regarded as the most powerful cultivator beneath the Upper Five Tiers in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent. He had lost all three times, yet the difference in power between him and Li Tuanjing had not been that significant. Otherwise, Li Tuanjing wouldn't have accepted his two subsequent challenges.

Not long ago, the two powerful empires to the north of Lake View Academy had fought to the death and had both become severely depleted. Not far to the south, the Luminous Vermilion Empire had watched on without interfering. All of the officials in the imperial court had taken great pleasure in the misfortune of their two northern neighbors.

There were numerous nations in Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, yet only fewer than 10 of them could be regarded as legitimate empires.

The northern Lu Empire had already become history, and it was said that many members of the imperial had committed suicide by hanging themselves or jumping into wells. In terms of those who remained alive, they had all been reduced to convicts or refugees who were forced to do hard labor for the Great Li Empire. Great Sui Nation was unable to challenge the Great Li Empire by itself.

Traveling down south, two empires had fought each other to the death. In fact, the mortal enemies had even used up the last remaining treasures passed down by their ancestors. Both empires were severely depleted, and corpses lay strewn across their territories. Blood caked the land, and the location of their final battle was destined to become an ancient battlefield ruin that went down in history.

To the north of Southern Stream Nation and Lake View Academy, the northern region of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent was raging with war.

To the south, however, song and dance continued in peace.

Yet, it was on this evening that tens of thousands of bursts of sword qi suddenly erupted from an unnamed mountain inside the territory of the Luminous Vermilion Empire. The brilliant glow of the sword qi illuminated the land within dozens of kilometers, making it seem as if it were day. The bursts of sword qi soared into the sky like a waterfall flowing in reverse, and they accurately slammed into the Kun ship that was passing overhead.

The colossal intercontinental Kun ship was instantly riddled with holes, and hundreds of people aboard the ship were killed in a flash. The severely wounded Kun thrashed around violently as it wailed in agony. The numerous formations used to stabilize the structures on the Kun's back were destroyed by the furious bursts of sword qi, so the violent thrashing of the Kun naturally made matters even worse.

Combined with the brutal winds sweeping through the skies, hundreds of people were directly thrown off the Kun ship, plummeting to their deaths on the territory of the Luminous Vermilion Empire.

The destruction of the Kun ship was already a foregone conclusion. Including the ship owner, all of the Qi refiners from Ceremony Mountain were completely helpless against this situation. They could only stare on in helplessness as the dying Kun dove toward the ground.

During this time, powerful cultivators continued to soar into the sky in panic. Mistress Azure Bone and her companions were among these people.

The slender and extremely thin Mistress Azure Bone had a dark expression, and her eyes also became like sharp blades as she squinted. She held her son in one arm, and she held the neck of her husband with her other hand. She stared at the plummeting Kun ship long and hard before shifting her gaze to the mountain where the bursts of sword qi had erupted from. It was as if she was searching for the culprit.

Like small grains of rice, cultivators continued to soar into the air and distance themselves from the Kun ship as quickly as they could.

However, the Qi refiners who were unable to fly had no option but to leave their fate to the heavens. Moreover, if the Kun turned on its back when it landed on the ground, then it was without a doubt that all of them would be crushed to death. They would have no chance of survival.

Right at this moment, an extremely long ray of golden light materialized in the sky to the north.

The ray of golden light arrived beneath the head of the Kun.

This was surprisingly a middle-aged monk with an iron-willed expression. He held the Kun with his hands, and with a furious roar, he bent his knees slightly and summoned a giant pool of golden lotuses beneath his feet.

However, just how immense was the momentum of the plummeting Kun ship? It was as if an entire mountain were crashing down from the sky.

The monk was continually pushed down, and the golden lotuses beneath him were also obliterated one after another. Even though his appearance slowed the descent of Kun a little, he would still be crushed more than 30 meters into the earth by the head of the Kun if things continued as they were.

Blood flowed from all seven orifices on the middle-aged monk's face. However, his blood wasn't bright red, and it was instead golden-yellow.

He was surprisingly a Golden Arhat from the Buddhist Sect.

The monk showed no signs of giving up, and he unleashed an explosive bellow as he suddenly turned around to support the Kun with his back. With his hands now free, he used them to form seals on his chest.

The Buddhist monk raised his right forearm upright. His palm pointed outward, and his fingers pointed upward like five towering mountains.

This was the Abhayamudra, the gesture of fearlessness of the Buddhist Sect.

Golden blood drenched the middle-aged monk, yet his expression remained calm and unfazed. It was as if he were completely indifferent and unfeeling toward his intense pain and the sacrifice of his hard-earned cultivation base.

When the feet of the monk made contact with the ground, the Kun ship's descent had already become slow and stable. However, the monk was still eventually pushed into the earth. When the Kun ship finally rumbled to a stop, the monk was already nowhere to be seen.

After a long while, the earth started to loosen, and a dust-covered monk covered in golden blood slowly dug himself out. He walked out from under the Kun, and his face was filled with compassion and sympathy as he turned around and put his palms together. He lowered his head and said, "Amitabha."

Under the backdrop of night, the middle-aged monk walked across the back of the dead Kun and weaved his way through the collapsed buildings and dead bodies.

When he came across wounded individuals, he would do everything in his ability to look after them and provide them with help. In the end, he came across a young girl whose face was drenched in blood. The middle-aged monk sighed softly. Seeing that she was uninjured, he put his palms together and silently walked away.

The eyes of the young girl were expressionless, and there was a young girl of the same age lying in her embrace. The face of the corpse was unclear, and there was a beautiful embroidered pouch hanging limply from her waist.

The young girl who was still alive gently patted the back of the corpse and murmured over and over again, "Don't be scared, don't be scared..."

————

In Blusher Prefecture of Colorful Garment Nation...

The sun was high and bright, and the streets and alleys of the prefectural city were bustling with people. Outside the city, the official roads were also flooded with merchants and travelers.

The old immortal was staying in a large residence not far from the prefectural office. The owner of the residence was an extremely wealthy individual, and he sent invitations to many nobles in the city, both powerful nobles and relatively weak nobles. He invited them to his residence, and he especially constructed a tall stage for this occasion. Night was yet to arrive, yet his residence was already decorated with colorful lanterns. Guests arrived one after another, and many of them brought their family and children along. There were probably no fewer than 300 people.

Thanks to their relationship with Liu Gaohua, the son of the prefectural overseer, Chen Ping'an and his companions were also able to attend this grand event. However, their seats were not anything special. They were seated on two long benches inside a corridor beside a lake. Even so, they at least had a small table filled with fruits and snacks.

This was much better than some of the guests nearby, who only had seats but no tables or snacks. In fact, they had only received this table because Liu Gaohua had decided to sit with them instead of his father. Because of this, the host had decided to provide them with fruits and snacks as well.

Chen Ping'an had initially wanted to practice standing meditation, but he was afraid that doing so would be far too eye-catching. Thus, he could only grab his wine gourd and slowly sip wine.

Liu Gaohua was sitting between the big-bearded martial artist and Daoist Priest Zhang Shanfeng, and he was quietly telling them about the impressive wealth of this clan as well as their secret relationship with some great general in Colorful Garment Nation.

The old immortal and his yellow paper beauties arrived as scheduled, and he made his appearance by flying over from a tall building in the distance. He slowly descended onto the tall stage in the middle of the lake. When he landed, his large sleeves billowed slightly as if he were a dragonfly gently coming into contact with the water. His immortal aura was displayed to the max, and his impressive entrance won thunderous applause and shouts of approval from the audience sitting around the lake.

The old immortal's cheeks were rosy, and he appeared especially graceful and refined in his immortal robes. He didn't speak any nonsense after landing on the stage, and he didn't even make small talk with the prefectural overseer or the general of the prefectural city.

Instead, he shook his wrist and summoned a yellow talisman between his fingers. If one were a cultivation grandmaster with good vision, then one would be able to make out the outline of a woman on this talisman. However, this outline was far from appearing detailed or lively.

The old immortal gently snapped his fingers, causing the yellow talisman between his fingers to shoot forth and land on the ground. A plume of azure smoke slowly rose into the air.

Immediately afterward, a graceful woman in colorful garb walked out from the azure smoke in an elegant manner. She then performed a curtsy toward the most esteemed guests sitting in a waterside pavilion.

The big-bearded martial artist and the young Daoist priest clicked their tongues in wonder. Meanwhile, Liu Gaohua excitedly clapped his hands and roared in approval.

However, Chen Ping'an suddenly shifted his gaze upward at this moment.

Someone coincidentally looked over at the same time.

This person was half-squatting on a distant courtyard wall, and he was flashing a wide grin at Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an calmly stood up and told Zhang Shanfeng that he was going to the toilet. The young Daoist priest nodded in acknowledgment and told him to come back quickly, lest he miss the spectacular show that was sure to follow. Chen Ping'an smiled and nodded in response.

When Chen Ping'an left the corridor and walked down the steps, the young boy in black similar age to him also walked over along the courtyard wall.

The distance between them continued to shrink.

Chen Ping'an took a deep breath, and it was as if he were facing a formidable foe.

There were some partings where reunions were not desired. Yet, it was often the case that reunions would inadvertently occur.

For example, this reunion between Chen Ping'an and Ma Kuxuan.

However, there were some partings where reunions were clearly desired, yet it was most often these partings that would never lead to reunions again.

For example, the parting between Chen Ping'an and the young girl, Qiu Shi.