Unsheathed

For the past few days, almost all of the cultivators in Dragon Spring Prefecture had involuntarily turned their attention to the blacksmith shop beside the river. Qi refiners would often crowd on the newly constructed pagodas and pavilions on the mountain peaks, as well as that dangerously high bridge between the two mountains. From these high vantage points, they would gaze at the distant scene of Ruan Qiong forging iron in the sword furnace.

In fact, even the convicts and refugees from the Lu Empire, as well as the soldiers from the Great Li Empire responsible for supervising them, would often engage in spirited discussions about this in their spare time. They speculated whether Ruan Qiong would trigger a peculiar phenomenon of heaven and earth once he succeeded in forging the sword.

The commotion by the river suddenly intensified at an explosive rate today, and all of the vagrant demon cultivators in the mountain started to feel restless and uneasy. In fact, some weaker demons and fiends felt as if they were being melted in a furnace even though they were already being protected by the formless fortune of the mountains and rivers in this area. They were suffering immense pain. Thus, everyone felt like Sage Ruan Qiong had reached a critical stage of the sword-forging process. This was the moment that would decide success or failure.

Inside the bamboo building in Downtrodden Mountain, Chen Ping\'an had already made all of the necessary preparations and was ready to set off at any time. He was ready to head to the ferry station at Parasol Tree Mountain. The last time Wei Bo had taken the young boy around his territory, Chen Ping\'an had already seen the peculiar sight above Parasol Tree Mountain.

The entire mountaintop had been sliced flat, and there was an empty area that measured around two kilometers in radius. Wei Bo purposely hadn\'t revealed everything to Chen Ping\'an last time, and he hadn\'t told him what kind of ferry would be used to carry cultivators on their long journeys.

Ruan Xiu had given him a bag of peach cakes as a farewell gift, and Chen Ping\'an naturally hadn\'t turned down her present. In fact, not long ago, he had also asked Wei Bo to visit Ruan Qiong and mention his intention of gifting Treasured Scripture Mountain to him. However, Wei Bo had returned to the bamboo building in a very disheveled state. He told Chen Ping\'an that Ruan Qiong had rewarded him with two words after hearing his proposal — piss off! Afterward, he had offered Chen Ping\'an a slightly longer response, "Tell that brat to piss off as far away as he can."

Chen Ping\'an had no option but to drop the matter. He knew that his thinking had gone awry regarding this matter. After all, true acts of goodwill weren\'t one-sided affairs. Thus, he decided to put this matter aside for the moment. In any case, the little boy in azure always said that people in the cultivation world believed in the notion of there being ample time to deal with gratitude and revenge. Chen Ping\'an felt like this was very reasonable. There would indeed be ample time for him to thank Ruan Qiong and Ruan Xiu in the future. As such, there was no need to rush things.

However, Chen Ping\'an still mulled over this for a while, and he also had a serious discussion with the little boy in azure and the little girl in pink. The two little children saw no problem with his proposal, so he made up his mind and asked Wei Bo, the formal god of Northern Mountain, to hire two extremely skilled dessert chefs. These two chefs would start working in his pastry shop after he left Dragon Spring Prefecture. Afterward, he also asked the little boy in azure and the little girl in pink to give Ruan Xiu a heads up, telling her that she could eat for free in his pastry shop.

In reality, the little boy in azure and the little girl in pink both wanted to accompany him on his trip down south. The former was afraid that after losing Chen Ping\'an\'s protection, some random person would walk over tomorrow and smash him to death with a single punch. Thus, when Chen Ping\'an returned again, he would only be able to visit his tomb and burn incense for him.

In addition to this, the water snake from the Imperial River had already advanced another tier, so he wanted to return to the cultivation world to enjoy a free and unfettered life. He wanted to travel around the outside world to rediscover his face and heroic aura that he had lost in Dragon Spring County.

Meanwhile, the little girl in pink viewed herself as Chen Ping\'an\'s maidservant, so she was worried that there would be no one to look after and serve her master if she didn\'t accompany him. She would feel extremely guilty if she stayed in Downtrodden Mountain and did nothing to help.

However, Chen Ping\'an didn\'t agree to their request.

The little boy in azure threw everything at Chen Ping\'an to convince the young boy to take him along — crying, shouting, threatening to hang himself, threatening to jump off a cliff, and kneeling on the floor. After much persuasion from Chen Ping\'an, the little boy in azure finally agreed to stay in the bamboo building to cultivate. Fortunately, the little boy had a fairly good relationship with the black python from Go Table Mountain now, so he would often run over to brag and speak nonsense with it. He even forcefully became brothers with the black python.

Even though the little boy in azure was extremely talented, he was in fact only a youth when considering the fact that he was from the ilk of flood dragons. Not only that, but he was also a relatively disobedient and mischievous youth. He had never received guidance or education from a sagacious teacher before, so even the so-called righteousness of the cultivation world that he believed in appeared slightly childish and fickle to the little girl in pink, someone who had read countless books.

However, after interacting with each other for so long, the little boy in azure had already fixed many of his bad behaviors. He wasn\'t evil-natured either, so Chen Ping\'an wasn\'t too worried about him. He simply told the little boy not to bully the little girl in pink. The little boy in azure patted his chest and promised that he definitely wouldn\'t bully her. He was a big man after all, so why would he bully a little girl?

Everything was ready.

Wei Bo subtly pointed at the room on the second floor and asked with a smile, "Almost time to leave? Are you going to say goodbye to the old senior?"

Chen Ping\'an nodded before turning around to knock on the door. "I\'m leaving now."

The barefoot old man was sitting cross-legged inside the room, and there was a hint of frustration and anger in his voice as he asked, "You\'re not going to reconsider my offer for a while longer?"

Chen Ping\'an shook his head and replied, "I can\'t delay things any longer. I have to leave immediately."

"How cowardly!" the old man said with a cold humph.

Chen Ping\'an was helpless against this, and he could only turn to Wei Bo and say, "Let\'s set off for Parasol Tree Mountain."

Ruan Xiu stood beside the bamboo railings and gently waved goodbye.

Chen Ping\'an was still wearing a pair of straw sandals, and this was something that he had already grown accustomed to. He held the brand-new sword in his arms, and this sword was tightly wrapped in many layers of cotton cloth. There was also a vermilion Sword Nurturing Gourd by his waist and a locust wood sword strapped to his back, and apart from these, he had nothing else.

He wanted to say something to Ruan Xiu, yet he felt like doing so would be extra. In the end, he scratched his head and said in a soft voice, "Take care, Ruan Xiu."

Her lashes shuddered slightly, and she nodded with a faint smile.

Chen Ping\'an then turned to the two little children and exhorted, "Make sure to cultivate earnestly in Downtrodden Mountain in the future. If you come across any troubles, remember not to be rash. Apart from spending some money to buy these mountains, there hasn\'t been any additional expense. So, you don\'t need to worry about these mountains too much.

"I already discussed this with Mountain God Wei, and if the situation truly becomes very bad, he\'ll use his mystical powers to move the bamboo building to Cloud Drape Mountain. You guys will definitely be safe if you stay inside the bamboo building. Moreover, the old senior will also help us look after the bamboo building, so you guys don\'t need to worry about these things too much."

For the first time, the little boy in azure couldn\'t bring himself to feel annoyed at Chen Ping\'an\'s fussiness.

The little girl in pink grabbed her master\'s sleeve, and there was an extremely reluctant expression on her small face as tears streamed from her eyes.

Chen Ping\'an turned around and gazed into the distance. This trip was too hasty, so he didn\'t have the opportunity to return to his ancestral home in Clay Vase Alley. In fact, he didn\'t even have the opportunity to visit his parents\' tombs. Chen Ping\'an inevitably felt a sense of disappointment, but there was naturally nothing he could do about this. He understood what was more important.

One had to realize that his trip to the south to deliver this sword pertained to the plans of three people — Old Man Yang, Ruan Qiong, and Wei Bo. Among them, Old Man Yang was doing this because of the golden incense girl. He was completing a transaction with Chen Ping\'an, or more accurately, Mr. Qi. He was helping Chen Ping\'an leave this increasingly complicated small town, a place that was becoming filled with conflicts and schemes.

In terms of the reason, and regarding what these conflicts and schemes referred to, Chen Ping\'an didn\'t know the details. However, Li Xisheng had mentioned that he should leave as soon as possible, so Chen Ping\'an was entirely convinced that leaving the small town was for the better.

Wei Bo reached over and placed a hand on Chen Ping’an\'s shoulder. "You might feel a bit dizzy," he warned.

"Understood," Chen Ping\'an replied with a smile.

After tempering his third tier martial arts cultivation base with the barefoot old man, experiencing pain was truly as normal as eating and drinking for Chen Ping\'an. After all, he had walked a tightrope between life and death every day.

When he thought about the fact that he wouldn\'t experience such brutal training sessions again today, tomorrow, and in the future, Chen Ping\'an felt a sense of relief as most people would. However, he felt an even stronger sense of emptiness.

He looked at Ruan Xiu and the two little children and said, "I\'m leaving now."

Wei Bo and Chen Ping\'an instantly vanished from Downtrodden Mountain. Their disappearance was silent and still, and not even the tiniest wisp of wind was generated as a result.

Standing beside the bamboo railing, the little girl in pink said in a quiet voice, "Big Sister Ruan, Master will definitely think of you and miss you in the future."

The little boy in azure tossed an ordinary snake gall pebble into his mouth and crunched down on it. He then put on a serious expression and started to utter absolute nonsense, saying, "That\'s right, Master always calls \'Ruan Xiu, Ruan Xiu\' when he dreams about you in his sleep. It\'s very embarrassing."

Ruan Xiu naturally wouldn\'t believe his nonsense. However, she still smiled very happily.

————

Wei Bo and Chen Ping\'an appeared in a secluded mountain forest at the foot of Parasol Tree Mountain. Wei Bo told Chen Ping\'an to wait for a moment, and he quickly left before returning a short time later. There was a strange locust wood scabbard in his hand, a scabbard that could hold two swords at once. He told Chen Ping\'an to place the sword in his arms and the locust wood sword on his back inside the scabbard.

And thus, Chen Ping\'an became an adventurer with twin swords on his back and a wine gourd by his waist. He did indeed look like a sword cultivator from the cultivation world.

Wei Bo walked around Chen Ping\'an and chuckled, "Oh, pretty good-looking."

A grin spread across the young boy\'s face.

He walked up the mountain with Wei Bo.

Because the barefoot old man had rewarded him with 31 punches instead of 30 using the Deity Drumming Technique, the extra punch was now causing his fist intent to gradually stabilize and conceal itself.

This was the same concept as a sword being sheathed.

Wei Bo was still dressed in white robes with large sleeves, while Chen Ping\'an was carrying two swords on his back and a wine gourd by his waist. The former appeared divine and ethereal, and the latter appeared youthful and gallant.

Chen Ping\'an tried to suppress his curiosity, but he eventually gave in and asked, "Wei Bo, is the small town very dangerous?"

Wei Bo nodded and replied, "Try to imagine this. Many flood dragons rush into a small pond at once, so when they casually swish their tails, it will naturally trigger surging waves that tower into the sky. Moreover, just a single wave crashing down will be powerful enough to pulverize a Qi refiner at the Middle Five Tiers.

"As for you? Even though you\'re not a key focus point for those powerful beings, your existence on the Go board alone dictates that your life is in the hands of others, regardless of how unremarkable a stone you may be. So, Old Man Yang was correct in telling you to immediately leave Dragon Spring Prefecture. The fact that you were able to understand this and accept it is very good."

Chen Ping\'an smiled and said, "I wanted to go outside to explore a bit anyway. Moreover, I can also borrow this opportunity to improve my martial arts, and I can strive to discover the catalyst for breaking through to the next tier by myself."

"The old senior in the bamboo building is still sulking about something. Did you turn down some kind of offer?" Wei Bo asked in curiosity.

Chen Ping\'an was unwilling to dive into this topic. After all, this pertained to the old man\'s private matters. However, Wei Bo had indeed been busily running around to help him these past few weeks, and he had also been open and honest with him regarding other important matters. Not only that, but there was also his relationship with A\'Liang to consider. Thus, Chen Ping\'an was willing to reveal some of the less sensitive information.

"I only know that an extremely powerful Daoist immortal arrived in the small town. Old Senior said that he wanted to give me a profound fated opportunity, so he would let me observe the battle between him and that powerful Daoist immortal, such that I could comprehend the true essence of fist intent. It would be up to me how much I could comprehend. In fact, Old Senior said that I might even advance to the fourth tier in a single breath and develop an extremely solid foundation at the same time."

Chen Ping\'an paused for a moment before continuing, "I asked Old Senior what his chances of winning were. He was extremely honest with me, and he said not even 10 percent. Instead, he would almost certainly die. This is because he still hasn\'t returned to his peak yet. Even if he were at his peak, he would still have zero chance of victory.

"I was very baffled at the time, and I didn\'t understand why he wanted to fight with the Daoist immortal if his defeat was already a foregone conclusion. However, Old Senior said that one of the biggest wishes of his life was to fight against the so-called strongest Daoist immortal in the world. Only then would he have no regrets.

"Since that uninvited guest has a very close relationship with True Invincible, the old man said that he would fight him first to gauge his own power in relation to True Invincible. He would use this fight to determine the gulf in power between them. In terms of helping me advance to the fourth tier and giving me a profound fated opportunity, all of this was only secondary."

Chen Ping\'an chuckled in a self-deprecating manner and continued, "I naturally have my own selfish desires as well. I didn\'t dare to take the risk and render the plans of you, Old Man Yang, and Master Ruan useless. After all, what would I do if the battle caused too much commotion? So, I directly voiced these thoughts to Old Senior. He became angry after hearing this, but he didn\'t punish me in any way. He simply scolded me and said that my courage was even smaller than a grain of rice.

"He continued to scold me, and I continued to persuade him. I said that no matter what, he needed to wait until he returned to his peak before engaging in the fight. Waiting for a while longer wouldn\'t hurt. Otherwise, he wouldn\'t be able to fight to his heart\'s content. Old Senior was clearly persuaded by this. Even though he didn\'t say anything, he most likely agreed that it would be disappointing if he wasn\'t able to fight at his full strength. As such, he eventually abandoned his plan to challenge the Daoist immortal. However, he\'s still annoyed at me. You also saw it when you were in the bamboo building back then. He\'s still a bit angry."

Chen Ping\'an suddenly gave a knowing smile and remarked, "In fact, Old Senior is quite childish as well sometimes."

Wei Bo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. If the barefoot old man and the young Daoist priest had truly fought against each other, things would have genuinely gone to shit.

Fortunately, Chen Ping\'an hadn\'t been lured in by the temptation of advancing to the fourth tier. Otherwise, Wei Bo could imagine the outcome even if he used his bum to think. The old man would have died without any regrets. However, the shattered Jewel Small World would have been shaken to the core and revealed many hidden secrets. There would have been bloody carnage afterward, and many powerful cultivators would have attempted to seize this chaos to make a profit. As the "first move" in this game of Go, Chen Ping\'an would have definitely suffered a miserable fate.

As for Wei Bo, Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan, Ruan Qiong, Xie Shi, Cao Xi, Xu Ruo, Cheng Shuidong, and so on, none of them would have been able to escape. All of them would have been embroiled in the chaos, and all of them would have lost control over their own fate. Indeed, they would have become just like Chen Ping\'an, someone who could only rely on luck and listen to heaven\'s will.

In terms of the 30-odd mountains, it was difficult to say how many of them would have managed to survive. However, big trees would naturally catch more wind, and Cloud Drape Mountain — which was only a step away from becoming the Northern Mountain of the Great Li Empire — would have definitely crumbled into nothingness. It was often said that the mystical powers of immortals could move mountains and turn seas, and this wasn\'t generous or unfounded praise. Instead, it was the absolute truth.