Unsheathed

Chapter 355 (1): Peaceful and Tranquil No Longer

The rain was only growing heavier and heavier on the mountain summit, and it was pelting urgently against the armor worn by Liu Cong's forces in an audible fashion.

In order to allow Xu Qingzhou and Xu Tong to focus single-mindedly on the task at hand without also having to worry about protecting him, Liu Cong had already retreated to a point halfway up the mountain, where he was accompanied by dozens of his most reliable guards, all of whom were clad in suits of armor much heavier and sturdier than the ones worn by his other troops.

Additionally, there were also three exceptionally powerful cultivators by his side, consisting of a Sea Observation Tier swordsman with a sharp and formidable bonded flying sword, a Daoist priest who was adept at creating formations, and a Militarian cultivator clad in a suit of Dew Armor.

Liu Cong was determined to claim Chen Ping'an's head, but it certainly never hurt to be safe, and he definitely didn't want to lose his life here in a moment of complacency.

At this moment, it was unclear where Wang Qi was hiding, and the fact that he was willing to be personally involved with this conspiracy made him an untrustworthy figure in Liu Cong's eyes. If it weren't for the excessively alluring terms offered by Gao Shizhen and the involvement of the Xu Clan and the Flora Convent, Liu Cong wouldn't have dared to take such a major risk.

He was extremely curious about just how precious the treasures of Green Roving Residence were, to the point that even a noble scholar would be willing to cast aside his morality to orchestrate this sinister plot.

Of course, Wang Qi could explain his own actions after the event. He could tell the mountain master of Great Subduing Academy that he had hunted down an imposter who was posing as a direct disciple of the ancestral hall of Peace and Tranquility Mountain.

In fact, he could drag Chen Ping'an through the mud even further by claiming that he suspected Chen Ping'an to be a powerful demon who had adopted a false appearance, and that would explain why he had to recruit the help of five thousand soldiers to surround the mountain. However, that was far from a flawless alibi in Liu Cong's eyes.

In any case, that didn't matter to him. At the moment, Wang Qi was still a bona fide noble scholar of Great Subduing Academy, and the word of a noble scholar was akin to a holy decree even to the emperor of a mortal empire, let alone a prince like Liu Cong.

All of his actions were in perfect compliance with the rules established by the academy. As for how Wang Qi was going to explain his actions to the academy after killing Chen Ping'an, that was not something for Liu Cong to be concerned about.

Having said that, Liu Cong had truly been astonished when Wang Qi had left Mirage City in secret to find him on the border before revealing to him some of the hidden pawns that had been set up by Li Li.

Upon receiving this information, Liu Cong had been truly flabbergasted. Li Li had always been referred to as the imperial guardian of the Great Quan Empire, and he had no idea whatsoever that Li Li had already established such a complex network of pawns across the entire empire.

At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder why Wang Qi, a seasoned noble scholar revered across the central region of Parasol Leaf Continent, had become involved with a eunuch.

Regardless of how stellar a reputation Li Li had in the imperial court, he was ultimately still just an old fart missing a pair of gonads, and to compare someone like him to a respected noble scholar was nothing more than an insult.

Li Li's death was a very fortunate turn of events for Liu Cong; Li Li was an ardent supporter of the third prince, who had painstakingly hatched a plot over the course of over a decade, even going as far as to personally venture deep into Northern Jin Nation.

He was able to spoil the plans of Pine Needle Lake's water god temple and the Jin Huang Mountain God's Manor, but he lost Gao Shuyi on the Yao Clan's territory, and even Li Li met his demise. All of a sudden, he lost everything, and in Liu Cong's eyes, that was an indisputable sign that even the heavens were on his side!

However, even though Liu Cong had been leading his troops on the border for so many years and had personally fought countless battles, he was still unable to suppress the anxiety that he felt at this very moment.

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Just like during the battle in the inn, Wei Xian was stationed firmly in front of the run-down temple, defending its entrance and striking down any enemy soldiers that dared to approach him.

Clad in his West Mountain armor, he feared no enemy attacks, merely allowing them to ricochet off him before retaliating with his fists to send the enemy flying. Whenever some of the dead bodies began to pile up near the entrance, he would kick them away to ensure that he had a clear view of the battlefield.

The only attacks that he made a point to evade were the occasional specially made arrows coming his way, all of which had been shot by master archers wielding bows with extremely high draw weights drawn back as far as they would go.

Compared with the whirlwind of destruction that was Zhu Lian, Wei Xian could almost be described as gentle in his approach.

Anyone who allowed Zhu Lian to get within an arm's length would undoubtedly suffer catastrophic consequences, having their suits of armor shattered and either perishing on the spot or suffering horrific injuries.

Meanwhile, Sui Youbian continued to unleash streaks of formidable swordlight that swept through the air in all directions, often cutting down trees alongside enemy soldiers. At this point in the battle, there wasn't a single tree standing within a radius of several hundred meters around her.

As for Lu Baixiang, he was darting around like an agile dragonfly, accompanied by Halting Snow, and all that could be seen left in his wake were bright white saber projections lingering in the night.

Within the short span of no more than fifteen minutes, six hundred of Liu Cong's troops had already been cut down, and that number would've only been higher if it wasn't for the fact that the confined environment of the forest was unfit for large influxes of troops.

Chen Ping'an had been standing at the entrance of the temple this entire time, and he suddenly looked down with a smile, right as a little lotus spirit sprang out of the ground.

The lotus spirit waved its only remaining arm at him while making some unintelligible sounds, then pointed in a certain direction.

Chen Ping'an cast his gaze in that direction to find that the little lotus spirit was pointing at a mountain summit in the distance, and it was telling him that there were two very powerful figures observing the battle from that mountain summit, and that it didn't dare to approach them.

"Did you see that young Daoist priest in the hibiscus hat?" Chen Ping'an asked.

The little lotus spirit shook its head vigorously in response.

Chen Ping'an gave it a thumbs-up, then instructed, "Go hide in the temple."

The little lotus spirit nodded in response, then jumped high over the doorstep of the temple after a running start. Upon entering the temple, it spotted Pei Qian, and an apprehensive look immediately appeared on its face. It hadn't been very fond of her even back when they had first met. Over time, its apprehension toward her seemed to have decreased a little, and it would occasionally appear by Chen Ping'an's side.

One time, it had only just poked its head out of the soil when Pei Qian took a swing at it with her hiking pole. Thankfully, it was able to evade the attack before popping up elsewhere, and Pei Qian continued to chase it around while brandishing her hiking pole. In the end, she was left utterly exhausted, and she didn't manage to land even a single blow on the little lotus spirit.

On top of that, Chen Ping'an punished her by dragging her along by the ear for half a kilometer while she yelled and cried the entire time.

Pei Qian began to sneak over to her hiking pole, and a disgruntled look appeared on the little lotus spirit's face. This time, it wasn't fearful of her at all, and it strode over to her before laying on the ground right beside her feet.

Pei Qian picked up her hiking pole before taking a hesitant glance at Chen Ping'an, and in the end, she tossed the hiking pole aside again as she crouched down with a smile and said, "You are completely and utterly useless! My father is definitely going to sell you for money so he can buy me a bunch of tanghulus!"

The little lotus spirit turned onto its side, stoically ignoring Pei Qian with a displeased look on its face.

Pei Qian poked it in the armpit as she continued, "If you become my lackey, then I'll convince my father not to sell you. What do you say?"

The little lotus spirit scrambled to its feet, then rushed away before sitting down with its legs crossed, just like Chen Ping'an did whenever he was reading.

Pei Qian rolled her eyes as she continued, "Do you know how rich I am right now? I have a little treasure trove that's filled with all types of treasures, so you better learn to be more respectful to me, do you understand? As long as you're good and obedient, I'll take you under my wing as a lackey, and if I'm in a good mood someday, I may just pull out a pretty copper coin from my treasure trove and give it to you as a reward!"

The little lotus spirit remained completely unmoved.

"How could you be so ignorant, you little fool!" Pei Qian grumbled. "Once I become an unmatched swordswoman, I'll tap your head until you're bruisrd all over! Do you really think I don't know where you are when you're hiding underground?"

The little lotus spirit was a little fearful upon hearing this, and it turned to Chen Ping'an with a pitiable expression.

Pei Qian hurriedly put on a comforting smile as she said, "I'm just kidding around! You need to learn to take a joke."

Standing at the entrance of the temple, Chen Ping'an was feeling a bit more assured.

Seeing as there were two people observing the unfolding battle from that nearby mountain, at the very least, he knew that he wouldn't suddenly be struck down and killed out of the blue.

He had a strong suspicion that one of those two people was the academy noble scholar stationed in Mirage City.

He had already met a true noble person in the form of Zhong Kui, and he could only presume that he was dealing with a phony on this occasion.

The wealth of one's knowledge really didn't necessarily correlate with the strength of one's moral compass. In addition to that, many academy disciples were also cultivators, and the higher one ascended in the world of cultivation, the more perils and temptations they would encounter, so it was not a simple task to remain steadfast to one's initial beliefs.

Back at Green Roving Residence, Chen Ping'an had felt it very strange that the Great Quan Empire wasn't doing anything to restrain that great demon in the river, even though it was harassing the water goddess.

Perhaps that noble scholar had already long renounced the sagely teachings that he had once held dear. Perhaps he was now pursuing immortality or some other self-serving objective, rather than dedicating himself to educating the masses.

Greed had corrupted many good men in the past, and it really wasn't that strange to see a noble scholar quite advanced in age succumb to his desire for immortality.

At his peak, Cui Chan had been the first disciple of a twelfth tier immortal, yet he had also ultimately strayed down the path of blasphemy.

However, the one that Chen Ping'an was currently most apprehensive of was that young Daoist priest from Peace and Tranquility Mountain who had put him in this perilous situation.

He was the one who had visited that relay station in Riding Crane City to personally bestow that jade tablet upon Chen Ping'an, and he only realized that something wasn't quite right after hearing what Liu Cong had to say earlier.

Chen Ping'an had always been very cautious and meticulous by nature, but he had fallen headfirst into this trap, and the reason for this was the stellar impression that Peace and Tranquility Mountain had made on him.

Chen Ping'an had a very good impression of Daoist Nun Huang Ting, and he harbored even more admiration for the grand elder of Peace and Tranquility Mountain, who had slain Bai Yuan at the expense of the two immortal swords in the mountain formation and willingly sacrificed his own cultivation base to save the remnants of Zhong Kui's soul.

The first time Chen Ping'an heard of Peace and Tranquility Mountain was back when he and Lu Tai foiled the century-long plan of that evil Golden Core Tier cultivator in the Flying Eagle Fortress. That Golden Core Tier cultivator had almost killed Chen Ping'an, and he had also attempted to nurture that ghost infant in the heart of the fortress lord's wife.

Prior to that, the young Daoist priest from Peace and Tranquility Mountain who had been pursuing the Golden Core Tier cultivator had most likely been Huang Ting.

According to Lu Tai, there had once been a Nascent Tier cultivator of Peace and Tranquility Mountain who knew that immortality was beyond his reach. His body and soul were both on the verge of giving out, and he knew that his life was coming to an end, so he set off on a journey, hoping to do as much good as possible before he met his demise.

For some reason, a conflict arose between him and a Golden Core Tier earth immortal from Planchette Writing Sect. A brutal battle ensued between the two, and the Golden Core Tier earth immortal was astonished to discover that his opponent, clinging onto life by a thread, was a Nascent Tier cultivator.

The Golden Core Tier earth immortal was pursued all the way to the mountain where the Flying Eagle Fortress was situated, and as a desperate last resort, he used Planchette Writing Sect's deity invitation technique, but instead of summoning a deity, he unleashed a forbidden technique at the expense of his own blood essence to summon the avatar of an ancient demonic deity.

In the end, both of the combatants perished in the battle.

In the wake of the battle, so much yin energy gathered in the area that it was equivalent to an ancient battlefield where hundreds of thousands had perished, and that provided the conditions required for the evil Golden Core Tier cultivator to hatch his sinister plot.

All of the Daoist priests of Peace and Tranquility Mountain that Chen Ping'an had seen or heard of were extremely admirable figures in his eyes. Actually, Lu Baixiang's Halting Snow had been left behind by that Nascent Tier earth immortal.

Hence, the jade tablet that was bestowed upon him hadn't roused any suspicions in him at all. Instead, he had merely thought that perhaps the grand elder had made a spur of the moment decision to gift him the jade tablet following his departure from the relay station, or perhaps Zhong Kui had put in a good word for him, but looking back now, it was clear that he had been too naive and complacent.

Chen Ping'an removed the jade tablet from his waist. The tablet was crafted from an exceptional material, making it impossible to refine or destroy in a short time.

With that in mind, he tossed it at Pei Qian and instructed, "Put this jade tablet in the oil paper umbrella, then close the umbrella and make sure you don't open it again."

Even though Pei Qian had been eying the pretty jade tablet for a long time, she did as she was told without any hesitation, not even pausing to examine it for a moment.

Under these circumstances, she didn't dare to do anything that could draw Chen Ping'an's ire.

The only time Chen Ping'an had gotten angry at her, she had been forced to work at that crappy inn in Fox Town, and if Zhong Kui hadn't convinced Chen Ping'an to forgive her, she would've most likely still been there.