Unsheathed

Chapter 366 (1): The Sword Spirit Travels North, While Zuo You Goes South

The river of time continued to slowly flow past outside the small world, and the friction between the two types of laws of heaven and earth created breathtaking rainbow-like ripples.

Chen Ping'an and the sword spirit were seated side by side on the edge of the hole in the city wall with their feet dangling outside.

Chen Ping'an looked down at his own abdomen to discover that the bleeding had already stopped and the flesh around the wound had already healed, but the gruesome mass of organs inside still presented a harrowing sight that could send shivers running down the beholder's spine.

Even though it was nowhere near an all-out attack, it was still a wound inflicted by the bonded celestial weapon of an Ascension Tier cultivator, and he was going to be suffering tremendous after-effects from the injury for a long time to come.

In the distance, everyone was standing completely still on the spot, with the exception of the old maidservant who had just had her bonded flying sword snapped into two.

She was constantly swaying from side to side ever so slightly, presenting a tragic sight to behold.

After being knocked out, the unconscious Sun Jiashu was handed over to an old steward.

The vast majority of people had elated smiles on their faces.

According to the sword spirit, Zheng Dafeng had had his spine snapped, so the pure True Qi that he had nurtured as a ninth tier martial artist had completely dissipated, reducing him to a cripple. However, the physical foundation that he had built up ensured that his body was still equivalent to that of a fifth or sixth-tier martial artist.

He had been sent to the Dust Medicinal Shop by the Scholarly Sage, so his life wasn't under any threat. However, even if he could stand up and walk again someday, the rest of his life was going to be spent in excruciating agony.

She also told Chen Ping'an that the Scholarly Sage had volunteered to take care of this mess, and that he would ensure that Chen Ping'an didn't get the short end of the stick. For all of the benefits that Du Mao had received for his involvement in this matter, he was only going to lose even more, and this was nowhere near the end of the matter.

As the two of them looked up at the sky of the small world together, the sword spirit suddenly said, "I have to go. My sword sharpening cannot be delayed any further."

A thought occurred to Chen Ping'an, and he said, "I have an oil-paper umbrella capable of concealing auras. Why don't you take it, Big Sister Immortal? You just said that even the Scholarly Sage's sworn enemy made an appearance and promised that I'll never have to face an old monster like Du Mao again.

“As long as I don't have to face a cultivator of the Upper Five Tiers, I can look after myself, and I won't go looking for trouble, either. Helping out Zheng Dafeng this time is only a one-off event."

The sword spirit patted Chen Ping'an on the head as she nodded and said, "Sure, I'll take it. Come to think of it, this is the first thing that you've ever given me."

Chen Ping'an raised an eyebrow in objection.

A justified look appeared on the sword spirit's face as she asked, "Are you thinking about that piece of Dragon Slaying Platform that appeared in your basket as you were crossing the river? That's not something that you gave me, I stole it myself!"

Chen Ping'an smiled as he asked, "What do you want, Big Sister Immortal? I'll give you something else in addition to the oil-paper umbrella. I've traveled a very long way, and I'm going to continue traveling from here onward, so I may run into something that you'll like."

The sword spirit turned to him with an amused smile as she jibed, "Are you not afraid of that girl getting mad at you?"

"If worse comes to worst, I'll just have to let her beat me up," Chen Ping'an replied with a bright smile.

The sword spirit tapped a finger against Chen Ping'an's forehead as she sighed, "You're all grown up now."

"I have, haven't I?" Chen Ping'an replied with a pleased expression as he reached out with one hand to compare their heights.

She gently bumped Chen Ping'an's shoulder with her own as she smiled and asked, "You really like that girl, don't you? How much do you like her?"

A faint blush appeared on Chen Ping'an's pale face as he cast his gaze into the distance and replied in an embarrassed manner, "I can't tell you that."

"Oh my goodness, I'm about to get jealous," the sword spirit chuckled.

"You wouldn't do that," Chen Ping'an said with a shake of his head. "You're the best, Big Sister Immortal."

The sword spirit smiled as she rose to her feet, then said, "Let's go fetch the umbrella from the medicinal shop. By the way, that body on the ground is Du Mao's yang soul avatar, so I suggest you take it. It belongs to a twelfth tier immortal, and you can sell it for a lot of money."

Chen Ping'an took a reluctant glance at the body on the ground.

The sword spirit smiled as she continued, "Even if you don't sell it, someone else can occupy it, such as Cui Chan."

Chen Ping'an stowed the body into his minimization treasure.

Even though his acupoints had been severely ravaged, he was still able to move just fine. However, he wasn't going to be able to do battle anytime soon, and at the moment, his powers were most likely inferior to back when he had first reached the third tier.

Chen Ping'an rose to his feet and looked down at his tattered Golden Sweet Wine robe with a pained expression.

The sword spirit was carrying the three pieces of Dragon Slaying Platform that had fallen out of the jade tablet minimization treasure, and she smiled as she consoled, "It's alright, you can mend it, and it'll only cost you a few pouches of gold essence copper coins. Perhaps you'll even be able to elevate it to become a pseudo-celestial tool. Old Man Yang has to chip in some money, and Du whatever-his-name-was has to as well, whether he likes it or not."

Chen Ping'an nodded in response.

She strode forward within the huge hole that had been blasted into the city wall as she said, "Don't be disheartened. The end of the Great Dao is still far away, and I'll still be by your side once you get there."

Chen Ping'an hurriedly followed along, and she grabbed onto his shoulders before leaping out of the hole in the city wall. From there, Chen Ping'an pointed out the direction to the Dust Medicinal Shop, and she set off through the air.

The restrictions placed on Old Dragon City by the Scholarly Sage were still in place, so everything was still frozen in time.

Outside the medicinal shop, Pei Qian was pacing back and forth with her hiking pole in her hand like a cat on a hot tin roof. After she had finished unleashing her Deranged Demon Sword Techniques, she discovered that the yin soul with the Zhao surname was standing completely still on the spot like a wooden figure, and no matter how she called out to him, he displayed no reaction.

It was as if the black smoke rising up from his body had been frozen solid, and she was unable to move it even after grabbing onto it and tugging with both hands. In the end, she threw her hiking pole aside and crouched down onto the ground to sob into her own arms.

After her tears dried, she rushed out of the alley as quickly as she could, but right as she was about to run out onto the street, she recalled Chen Ping'an's warning for her to stay in the medicinal shop, and she didn't know what to do.

In the end, she began sobbing once again while calling out for Chen Ping'an, and after she was too tired to cry any longer, she pulled out the talisman that Chen Ping'an had given her before slapping it onto her own forehead. Emboldened by the talisman, she finally made up her mind to step out onto the street to look for Chen Ping'an.

Right at this moment, a familiar voice rang out from behind her.

"Come back."

Pei Qian turned around to discover Chen Ping'an standing behind her, and she was immediately overcome by a wave of emotions, grinning through her sobs as she rushed over to Chen Ping'an before wrapping her arms around him while the sword spirit looked on with an intrigued expression.

Given her powers and her vast wealth of experience, she was naturally able to immediately tell that there was something very special about Pei Qian's eyes.

She could see that they contained the sun and the moon. Of course, they weren't the sun and moon of Majestic World, but the essence of the celestial bodies of a certain blessed land. Even so, this was an enormous blessing that would be too much to bear even for a ninth tier martial artist or an earth immortal.

However, the sword spirit didn't really care to know how Pei Qian was able to accept such a tremendous blessing while remaining completely unscathed. She had seen far too many extraordinary people, to the point that she had already become desensitized to the extraordinary, and she had already lost count of how many such extraordinary figures had perished to her old blade.

Only after letting go of Chen Ping'an did Pei Qian spot the white-robed woman standing behind him, and her eyes widened as a dazed look appeared on her face.

"It's rare to see such a pure martial fortune prodigy nowadays; why don't you teach her martial arts?" the sword spirit asked with a smile.

Chen Ping'an patted Pei Qian's head as he replied, "In the past, I was worried that she would cause trouble if she learned martial arts, but from now on, I'll begin teaching her."

Pei Qian began to slowly back away. It was a completely reflexive movement, and even she wasn't aware that she was doing it.

The sword spirit's eyes narrowed slightly as she mused, "Looks like it's not the ordinary blessed land newly discovered by the Confucian Sect. Perhaps it's one of the ones that I cut down into the mortal world?"

Chen Ping'an had no idea what she was talking about.

The sword spirit smiled as she assured, "You don't need to know about this stuff for now. It's all ancient history, and just the thought of it makes me want to roll my eyes."

After that, she turned and made her way toward the medicinal shop, and only then did Pei Qian snap back to her senses before timidly ducking behind Chen Ping'an.

The oil-paper umbrella that had been referred to by the old Daoist priest from the East Sea as the "parasol leaf umbrella" was leaning against the doorframe. She bent down to pick it up, and as soon as she opened the umbrella, the jade tablet from the ancestral hall of Peace and Tranquility Mountain fell out.

She took a glance at it, then crushed it into powder in a disdainful manner.

Chen Ping'an stomped his foot in agitation and yelled, "Hey! I have to return that thing to Peace and Tranquility Mountain!"

"You should've said so earlier," the sword spirit said with a smile. "It's alright, just tell them that I broke it, and if they want compensation, then they can come and find me in Jewel Small World."

"Forget it," Chen Ping'an sighed in a resigned manner. "I'll write a letter to the old Heavenly Lord of Peace and Tranquility Mountain, and it should be fine."

The sword spirit raised the umbrella above her head as she said, "Alright, I'm going now."

Chen Ping'an still had so many things that he wanted to say to her, but he didn't know where to begin, and in the end, he only smiled and nodded in response.

The sword spirit strode over to him, then bent down to gently press her forehead against his as she said in a gentle voice, "Chen Ping'an, how fortunate I am to have met you."

After that, she sped away as a streak of white light, breaking through the heavens of Old Dragon City and the sea of clouds up above. She paused momentarily in mid-air before flying back to the Dragon Slaying Platform in Jewel Small World.

At the entrance of the medicinal shop, Pei Qian tugged on Chen Ping'an's sleeve in a fearful manner as she said, "That big sister is the most powerful immortal I've ever seen! I didn't even dare to try and flatter her to her face."

Chen Ping'an smiled as he said, "No matter how high you climb, there will always be someone above you. Make sure to be humble and diligent in your martial arts practice."

Pei Qian nodded firmly in response, then suddenly asked, "That's the girl that you like, right? Should I call her mother next time I see her?"

Chen Ping'an was in the process of stepping over the doorstep, and he almost fell flat on his face upon hearing this.

"It would be great to have a mother like her!" Pei Qian continued in an excited manner.

Chen Ping'an hurriedly swung around and clasped a hand over her mouth as he scolded in a stern voice, "Don't go around spouting nonsense!"

Pei Qian looked back at him with a perplexed expression as she asked, "In that case, should I just think it and not say it?"

Chen Ping'an's expression darkened even further as he grabbed her by the earlobe, and Pei Qian was forced to tilt her head to the side and yelp in pain as she Chen Ping'an dragged her all the way to the backyard of the medicinal shop before letting go of her ear.

Pei Qian crouched down as she massaged her sore ear, while Chen Ping'an made his way into Zheng Dafeng's room.

Zheng Dafeng was lying on the bed, still in an unconscious state; just like Chen Ping'an's, his injuries had only been temporarily suppressed.

However, he was in far worse condition than Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an dragged a chair over to the side of the bed, then sat down onto it and stared blankly at Zheng Dafeng in the dimly lit room.

Pei Qian snuck over to the entrance of the room, and upon seeing Chen Ping'an's forlorn figure, she hesitated momentarily before departing in silence.

She sat down onto the staircase with her chin resting on her hands.

She had never seen Chen Ping'an look so sad before, and as a result, she was also feeling a little sad as she blew on the yellow talisman plastered to her forehead.

The talisman remained stuck to her forehead, refusing to go anywhere, just like her sorrow.

Is this what it feels like to be grown up?

All of a sudden, the flow of time in the southern region of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent returned to normal.

However, aside from the Golden Core and Nascent Tier earth immortals, no one was able to detect anything amiss.

Moments later, some of the more shrewd individuals in Old Dragon City finally began to realize that something wasn't quite right.

It was no surprise that Chen Ping'an was nowhere to be seen. After all, Du Mao's Sword Devouring Ark had just pierced through his abdomen and sent him crashing into the city wall. However, Du Mao and Zheng Dafeng had also gone missing, and that was rather difficult to explain.

On top of that, there were also some other inexplicable events that had taken place.

For example, the old maidservant from the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan, who was supposed to have been the second-most powerful figure in the entirety of Old Dragon City behind only Du Mao, had fallen to the ground in a completely unconscious state with blood flowing out of all of her orifices, injuries indicating that the foundation of her Great Dao had sustained irreparable damage.

Fu Qi hurriedly rushed down from the Dragon Scaling Platform, then crouched down beside the old maidservant with a grim expression, unable to make sense of what he was seeing. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little resentment toward Fan Junmao. If it wasn't for her, there was no way that he would've been completely oblivious to what had just transpired.

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