Unsheathed

Chapter 663: Drunk

The great demon who had taken Zhu Qie and the others from the foot of the Sword Qi Great Wall using the small world up their sleeve was none other than Huang Luan.

Lu Zhi had departed from the top of the city walls to personally pursue Huang Luan, and Sword Immortal Mi Hu was also there to intercept her at the golden river, but with the help of Yang Zhi, she was still able to get away and successfully flee back to the Jia Shen Tent. However, her escape had come at the cost of half of her right sleeve, thereby ruining the small world within.

Instead of returning to the Sword Qi Great Wall, Lu Zhi was standing atop the golden river like a dutiful sentry.

Previously, she had been forced to be very restrained and careful in battle because there were too many allied sword cultivators on the battlefield between the golden river and the city walls.

Yin Chen was seated with his legs crossed on the city wall, shaking his head with a disdainful expression as he scoffed, "If I had your cultivation base, Huang Luan definitely wouldn't have gotten away. How are you still failing to weigh up your options at this point in the battle? Is it not abundantly clear that some collateral damage is a worthy price to pay in exchange for Huang Luan's life? You may be a far superior sword cultivator to me, Lu Zhi, but at the end of the day, you're still just a woman who doesn't know what she's doing."

It was remarks like these that had earned Yin Chen his "beloved" reputation on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

Outside the Jia Shen Tent, Huang Luan shook out her right sleeve, and several tiny young sword cultivators the size of mustard seeds spilled down onto the ground.

Zhu Qie extended a gesture of gratitude to Huang Luan, while Li Zhen wore a dark expression. Yu Si was looking rather worse for wear, and he was supporting the unconscious Tun Tan.

Liu Bai was the one who had sustained the most severe injuries out of everyone in the group, but thankfully, her soul had already been gathered up by Tun Tan.

After learning of Liu Bai's current condition, Mu Ji, the leader of the Jia Shen Tent, was feeling extremely concerned and agitated, but he still made sure to extend a grateful bow toward Huang Luan, who smiled and said, "All of you are crucial to the fortune of our world, and you all have bright futures ahead, so you'll have plenty of opportunities to repay me."

"I will never forget what you did for us today, Senior," Mu Ji vowed with a sincere expression.

Zhu Qie's group consisted entirely of exceptionally bright talents with the makings of sword immortals, so if any of them had lost their lives, then that would've been an extremely heavy loss for the Savage World, and as the leader of the Jia Shen Tent, Mu Ji would've been held culpable. Hence, Huang Luan had essentially saved Mu Ji's life as well.

With a wave of her hand, Yang Zhi restrained Yu Si and forced him back, then took his place to gently cradle Tun Tan in her arms. She extended a finger and pressed it against Tun Tan's glabella, and a stream of the purest water fortune flowed forth from her fingertip, trickling into all of Tun Tan's major acupoints.

At the same time, she rubbed her fingertips together to conjure up a short, white sword. It was an ancient artifact that had been a prized item in her collection for many years, and she pressed it against Tun Tan's glabella. He had lost a bonded flying sword, so she was giving him another.

Moments later, Tun Tan slowly awakened, and tears immediately welled up in his eyes at the sight of Yang Zhi's familiar features.

"Do not be disheartened," Yang Zhi consoled in a gentle voice. "This is nothing but a minor setback."

However, Tun Tan was still just a boy, and after suffering such a grueling ordeal, it was already very remarkable that his Dao Heart remained unharmed, but he had still been deeply hurt by the experience, both physically and emotionally.

"We... We just couldn't get away from him," he sniffled. "It was like he was constantly on our tail wherever we went. What's going to happen to Big Sister Liu Bai?"

Ultimately, Liu Bai was still the one he was most concerned for.

"She'll be fine," Yang Zhi reassured with a smile. "I always felt like she wasn't good-looking enough to be a match for you anyway. Now that her body's been destroyed, we'll get Mr. Zhou to get her a better-looking one, and after that, you two can get married."

Tun Tan hurriedly shook his head. That was not what he wanted.

"Fine, we'll do whatever you want then," Yang Zhi said as she rubbed his head in a doting fashion.

Huang Luan was very surprised. She was not aware that Yang Zhi had a direct disciple.

Sword Immortal Shou Chen hurriedly arrived in the Jia Shen Tent, then took his junior sister's soul from Tun Tan. He was very relieved to see that Liu Bai's golden core and nascent tier cultivation base were both relatively unharmed, and he expressed his gratitude to everyone present. He then carefully gathered up Liu Bai's soul before immediately setting off to go and see his master, but even though he was in a hurry, he made sure to take a longer route in order to avoid A'Liang.

Huang Luan quickly departed, returning to her collection of spires and palaces. She sat down with her legs crossed in peace, then began meditating, taking in all of the abundant spiritual energy in the area.

She was the one who had suffered the heaviest losses from this past operation. She had used Hou Kuimen as a puppet to target Chen Ping'an, and not only did she end up losing an important pawn, but she also took a blow each from Lu Zhi and Mi Hu, destroying half of the right sleeve of her Dao robe, as well as a small world. What was most damning of all was that she had lost three hundred years' worth of cultivation base for nothing.

All of a sudden, her attention was drawn to a certain direction, and a pavilion constructed from the remains of many flood dragons appeared out of thin air nearby. Huang Luan immediately opened up her small world and accepted the offering, then smiled and expressed her gratitude to the old man in gray.

Mu Ji had already returned to the tent, while Zhu Qie and Li Zhen stood side by side, watching the battle from afar.

During their attempted assassination of Chen Ping'an, neither of them had been given an opportunity to strike with full force, and they didn't even sustain any injuries. However, both of them were feeling extremely frustrated, far more so than Liu Bai, Tun Tan, and Yu Si.

"I never thought we would be defeated by the innate ability of a flying sword," Li Zhen said through his mind's lake. "If it wasn't for that, even if Chen Ping'an had two more bonded flying swords up his sleeve, we would've still had him for sure!"

"You can complain and vent all you want, but I hope you're not going to take out your frustrations on Tun Tan and Yu Si," Zhu Qie said.

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would've already forgotten that those three were even there." Li Zhen sneered. "Absolutely useless, every single one of them! Did they do anything aside from weigh us down?"

Zhu Qie's brows furrowed slightly as he said, "I'm willing to bet that in a hundred years, even the most severely injured Liu Bai will have become a superior sword cultivator to you."

Li Zhen was silent for a moment, then scoffed in a self-deprecating fashion. "Are you sure I'll even be able to live for another hundred years?"

"Does it really matter that much whether you're Li Zhen or not?" Zhu Qie asked, feeling very perplexed.

In the past, Li Zhen had been very arrogant and untamed, but Zhu Qie saw no problem with that. Any prodigious sword cultivator with lofty aspirations had to be as sharp and unyielding as their sword, and that was exactly what Li Zhen was back on Holding Moon Mountain.

However, for some reason, after he "died" once, it seemed like Li Zhen's personality was becoming more and more extreme, to the point that he almost seemed completely defeated and disillusioned.

Li Zhen rubbed his hands over his face as he asked, "Have you ever walked through the river of time? Maybe you have, maybe you haven't, but you definitely haven't seen the riverbed of the river of time. I have, and that's fate."

Zhu Qie's brows were furrowed tightly as he listened to Li Zhen's dejected musings.

Meanwhile, Yu Si was standing on his own, feeling even more disheartened than the defeated Li Zhen.

While being alone could easily evoke a sense of loneliness, the type of loneliness that one felt while standing in a crowd was often even more potent and crushing.

All of a sudden, a figure appeared beside him, seemingly out of thin air. It was a young girl with a pair of bright red eyes. She was wearing a Dao robe that was interwoven with thin, green threads, which represented the rivers, lakes, and streams that she had refined over the course of her long existence.

"It's alright, Young Master. I'm here for you," she consoled in a gentle voice, then turned to glower intently at Yang Zhi, and Yang Zhi didn't back down, looking back at her with just as much hostility.

It was a showdown between the current and former owners of Elite Cavalry River.

Yu Si brushed the young girl's hand aside, then said in an indifferent voice, "Let's go."

The two of them promptly departed, while Tun Tan looked on with a bewildered expression.

Inside the tent, Mu Ji looked up from his chair, then lowered his head again.

Mu Ji had always been aware of who Li Zhen, Zhu Qie, and Liu Bai's masters were, but only just now had he come to realize who Tun Tan and Yu Si's true backers were.

With that in mind, he scratched his head and wondered to himself when he would be able to take on disciples and become their backer.

All of a sudden, Chen Ping'an awoke violently before sitting upright on his bed. Thankfully, he found himself in the Ning Residence, as opposed to the foot of the Sword Qi Great Wall.

He pressed the back of his hand against his forehead to fight back against his splitting headache as he exhaled heavily. However, just the act of exhalation alone was enough to stir up his entire internal small world into a state of turmoil. It didn't seem like this was a dream. There were countless immortal techniques and strange occurrences in the world, so it paid to be vigilant at all times.

Chen Ping'an cast a blank stare toward the entrance of the room, where a man was sitting on the doorstep, drinking wine from a gourd.

Even the strong medicinal smell in the room wasn't enough to mask the fragrance of the wine.

A'Liang stood up, then leaned against the door frame as he reassured, "Don't worry, I only appear in the dreams of girls."

He then wiped a hand across his mouth and began chuckling at his own joke.

Chen Ping'an was very relieved. Only the real A'Liang could be so corny.

The two of them stared at one another for quite some time, and Chen Ping'an was the first to break the silence, asking a rather unwelcoming question. "When're you going to leave?"

He wanted A'Liang to return to the Sword Qi Great Wall, but he didn't want A'Liang to stay here, as it could easily lead to his demise.

In this battle, the only one who could be absolutely confident in their survival was the old man in gray from the Savage World. Aside from him, even the great demons of the twelve thrones like Yang Zhi and Huang Luan weren't guaranteed to survive, and the same applied to everyone on the Sword Qi Great Wall.

"If I want to go, then even an army of Ascension Tier cultivators wouldn't be able to stop me. If I want to stay, then even the old great sword immortal wouldn't be able to chase me away, so I suggest you save your breath and don't bother trying to dissuade me. You haven't changed at all, have you? Why think so much? These matters are out of your hands anyway.

“You didn't seem like a boy back when you were a boy, and now that you're a young man, you don't seem like a young man, either. You think it'll all be smooth sailing ahead if you can overcome this hurdle? Keep dreaming!"

The effects of today seemed like the conclusion of yesterday's causes, yet they often actually proved to be the causes of tomorrow's effects.

A'Liang reached out to tap Chen Ping'an with his wine gourd as he remarked, "You should've never been allowed to simultaneously practice fist techniques and cultivate so early. Zuo You has failed you as your senior brother. I'll make sure to give him a piece of my mind next time I see him."

Cultivation strained the mind while sparing the body, while martial arts strained the body while sparing the mind. By choosing to do both, Chen Ping'an had gone down the most difficult route, where he was straining both the body and the mind.

However, A'Liang didn't raise any excessively severe criticisms as he really wasn't in much of a position to be making comments on these matters.

He gestured for Chen Ping'an to lie down and continue resting, while he sat back down onto the doorstep and continued drinking. He had borrowed this flagon of immortal wine from Sun Juyuan's residence on the way here. There was no one home, so he could hardly be blamed for not notifying anyone.

"Have you already fought?" Chen Ping'an asked.

A'Liang turned to face the courtyard with a lazy expression, his back to Chen Ping'an as he replied, "I have, but only two battles. If I had kept going, the Jia Zi Tent would've likely sent everyone they had after me. I've been afraid of hornet nests ever since I was a kid, so I ran here in a hurry to drink some wine and compose myself."

A'Liang could never get excited for a battle unless he was being ganged up on.

He had finally returned to the Sword Qi Great Wall, and the wine here still tasted as delectable as ever, but he was saddened by the fact that many of his friends could now only be referred to in the past tense.

This had been a rather common theme throughout his life, so no matter how much wine he had, his sorrows refused to be drowned.

"You promised the old great sword immortal something, didn't you?" A'Liang casually asked.

"I told him that I would defend the Sword Qi Great Wall for another three years," Chen Ping'an replied.

Without even realizing it, he had already spent some years on the Sword Qi Great Wall. Back in the Majestic World, this would've been enough time for Chen Ping'an to explore the entire Bamboo Scroll Lake. In fact, if he were traveling on his own, it would've been enough time for him to fully explore the Northern Complete Reed Continent or the Parasol Leaf Continent.

Ever since he became Hidden Official, every day that he spent in the summer palace had felt extremely arduous, and the only pastime that gave him some respite was going to the winter palace to teach the children fist techniques.

"You're a real idiot." A'Liang scoffed with a shake of his head. "Have you considered how much easier things would be for you if Chou Miao were the Hidden Official, while you served as his right-hand man? There wouldn't even be much of a difference for the Sword Qi Great Wall. At this point, the fifth world has already been created. Has the old great sword immortal told you the truth about the Mirage Market north of the city?"

Chen Ping'an intentionally ignored the first question, replying, "He did. He told me that the entire Mirage Market is an ascension altar replica that has had construction carried out on it for the past several thousand years on an on-and-off basis. Together with the summer palace and the winter palace, they form an ancient three-mountain formation, and when the time comes, it'll break open the heavens to allow a small group of the Sword Qi Great Wall's finest talents to travel to the new world.

“However, the problem with the ascension altar is that it can't accommodate any Upper Five Tiers sword immortals, so only sword cultivators of the Middle and Lower Five Tiers can go to the new world using the altar, and the old great sword immortal doesn't trust certain sword immortals enough to let them use the ascension altar anyway."

"The old great sword immortal sure is good at keeping secrets," A'Liang mused. "Even I don't know about this. I was only able to get a rough idea of things on my own during my travels. The old great sword immortal doesn't mind forcing all of the native sword immortals down a path of no return, but if there's one good thing about him, it's that he's always been very gracious to young people, and he'll be sure to give them a way out, so what you've just told me makes a lot of sense. As a means of maintaining order in the new world, no Upper Five Tiers cultivators will be allowed into it over the next five hundred years."

Sending cultivators to another world was going to be a monumental feat, and someone was going to have to break open the heavens. Naturally, that task was going to fall upon the old great sword immortal.

A'Liang took a large swig of wine, then sighed. "The old great sword immortal may just be the most miserable sword cultivator in all of history. He's been forced to lead this incredibly frustrating existence for the past ten thousand years, all so that he can split open the heavens for the benefit of others. That's why you need to be more tolerant of him. You can speak badly of him and curse him if you have gripes against some of the unscrupulous things he's done, but don't resent him."

"I won't resent him, nor will I curse him," Chen Ping'an replied with a shake of his head.

"It's fine if you curse him from time to time." A'Liang chuckled.

"The old great sword immortal is not one to let go of grudges," Chen Ping'an said in an exasperated manner. "If I curse him, I'm not going to be able to get away with it."

A'Liang nodded in response, then advised in a meaningful and heartfelt manner, "In that case, you should suck up to him instead. Go visit him whenever you have some spare time to drink and chat with him; maybe give him a shoulder massage. Also, you might as well take advantage of these injuries. Go limp over to the old great sword immortal thatched cottage to look at the scenery, and you don't even have to say anything while you're there.

“If someone tries to accuse you of putting on a pitiful act, you can tell them to kiss your bottom! If I were you, I would be setting up a bed right in front of the old great sword immortal's thatched cottage and sleeping there every single night!"

Chen Ping'an flashed a smile of amusement, then quickly returned to sleep, still exhausted from his ordeal.

A'Liang sat alone on the doorstep and continued drinking wine, displaying no intention to leave.

"At the end of the day, the child who cries louder than the others gets all the attention. That's something that you've never understood, Chen Ping'an, and it's why you always end up worse off than others."

Those who were competent often shouldered more responsibility than others, and over time, people would eventually take their contributions for granted.

Out of everyone in the Scholarly Sage's branch, the old scholar had played an important hand in creating the fifth world; Cui Chan was presiding over the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, Zuo You had traveled to the Parasol Leaf Continent, while Chen Ping'an had already been serving as the Hidden Official of the Sword Qi Great Wall for two and a half years.

Shortly thereafter, Chen Ping'an snapped awake again and instantly sat bolt upright in his bed, his forehead drenched with sweat.

"You gotta do something about that," A'Liang said without even turning to look at him. "Otherwise, you're going to end up with internal demons."

Chen Ping'an raised an arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead with a sullen expression, then lay back down and closed his eyes.

All the while, A'Liang continued to sit and drink in silence.

After some time, it seemed like the doorstep was hurting his bottom, so he got down into a squat instead and continued to drink.

Back on the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, A'Liang had swindled Chen Ping'an into picking up a drinking habit.

There were no supposed wine immortals in the world who gained more grace and flair the more they drank, only drunkards who had drunk themselves to death or were on the way there.

On top of the city wall, Zhou Cheng's swing sat empty.

A certain sword immortal no longer had to stare at bowls of yangchun noodles and reminisce about his deceased wife and daughter.

Yuan Qingshu had fought until his final breath on the battlefield, as had Han Huaizi.

Bai Lianshuang was sitting at the entrance of the Ning Residence, waiting for someone who would never return.