Unsheathed

Chapter 315 (1): Breaking Through While Others Fight for Ascension

Zhou Shi had only just finished retrieving all of his prayer beads when two flying swords had smashed through the wall and severely wounded him.

Immediately afterward, Lu Fang, who had initially enjoyed an overwhelming advantage over Chen Ping'an, had been pushed back to this street by a relentless flurry of punches from the young boy, with the final punch sending him flying backward and causing him to become embedded in a wall.

And now, Imperial Preceptor Zhong Qiu from Southern Garden Nation had come to finish the fight.

Zhong Qiu was widely regarded as the strongest individual in this world, and his act of punching the young boy and pushing him back was equivalent to saving Lu Fang who was already unable to defend himself.

Feng Qingbai seized this opportunity to retrieve his sword. Not only that, but had also been looking for an opportunity to retrieve Dachun and return it to Lu Fang the entire time. However, Zhong Qiu's sudden appearance discouraged Feng Qingbai from doing this, lest he complicate the situation.

Feng Qingbai exhaled a long breath. If Zhong Qiu's punch had struck his temple instead, then he would have most likely needed to rely on his master to offer up wealth to get him out of this world. Otherwise, he could only reincarnate again and again in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, continually eroding his fundamental nature as a cultivator. He would eventually be fused into this world. This was the concept of heaven and earth being a furnace and all matter in between being molten metal.[1]

Meanwhile, the child assistant of that person was responsible for fanning the flames.

That person never showed himself, and he seemed unwilling to interact with the world. Only a young child holding a plantain fan was responsible for looking after the Lotus Flower Blessed Land. Of course, he would also interact and communicate with the various parties who had the right to know about the Lotus Flower Blessed Land.

Before entering this blessed land, Feng Qingbai had followed the founder of the force he belonged to and seen that young child. At the time, even the founder, an Unpolished Jade Tier cultivator, had treated the young child as an equal. This was even though the young child had spoken in a very blunt and aggressive manner.

Feng Qingbai had only been in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land for a short dozen or so years, yet it already felt as if he had been here for an entire lifetime.

Feng Qingbai had a vague and instinctual feeling that the tempering of his Great Dao and his sword heart had already reached a limit. If he were fortunate enough, he would at most obtain a valuable tool, the second weakest type of immortal treasure.

After all, his combat power was still intact at this moment, unlike Lu Fang who had already lost the ability to fight. In fact, Lu Fang might have even suffered damage to his Dao Heart. This would be extremely troublesome even after he returned to Parasol Leaf Continent.

The title of otherworldly immortal was very impressive and beautiful. In reality, however, this was far from being the case. Only Zhou Fei, who promoted the ideology that "if one doesn't enjoy life, then one is no different from plants and livestock," could be described as otherworldly. He had never attempted to temper his cultivation in this world, and he had instead lived a relaxed and carefree life.

However, this world was riddled with dangers for people like Feng Qingbai, Lu Fang, and the others. Even though their senior, Tong Qingqing, was already the esteemed leader of the Mirror Heart Hall and one of the four grandmasters of the world, she had still been in hiding for several decades and was still yet to show herself at this moment. She was the perfect example of how they needed to hide from danger.

Feng Qingbai pushed these random thoughts out of his mind and started to review the battle just then. He tried his best to draw some lessons and conclusions.

He had watched the battle between top-notch elites from a distance just then, and he had attempted to temper his mind in the same vein that one could borrow stones from another mountain to polish jade.[2] Though a different method to the Buddhist practice of meditation, it led to much the same results.

In reality, Feng Qingbai viewed this top-level battle in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land as no inferior to those battles between Golden Core Tier cultivators and Nascent Tier cultivators in Parasol Leaf Continent.

The battle between Lu Fang and the young boy in white was already so spectacular, so just how magnificent would a battle between Ding Ying and Yu Zhenyi be, one evil and one good?

Feng Qingbai initially hadn't placed much hope in Chen Ping'an because Lu Fang was a renowned sword cultivator from Parasol Leaf Continent. After overcoming numerous challenges and suppressions, Lu Fang was able to advance against the flow and carve out his own path, once again reaching the doorway to the Sword Dao in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land where spiritual energy was scant. Lu Fang was extremely skilled with the sword, able to attack at a distance but also defend at close range.

However, the result was beyond Feng Qingbai's expectations.

The decisive factor rested in the fact that Chen Ping'an discovered that Lu Fang would save Zhou Shi no matter what.

According to rumors spread in the cultivation world, Lu Fang and Zhou Fei were mortal enemies, with Lu Fang once climbing the mountain to the Spring Tide Palace with his sword and challenging Zhou Fei to a life-and-death battle. There was no way this could have been faked.

Feng Qingbai had already been in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land for a dozen or so years, while that young boy in white had only arrived not long ago. Theoretically speaking, Chen Ping'an should have been far more unfamiliar with this world and the matters pertaining to the cultivators in the mountains.

Feng Qingbai truly couldn't understand the current situation. Was it not the case that those closely involved in a situation would see less clearly than the bystanders? Perhaps that young boy hadn't just descended with his complete physical body and soul, but he was intimately familiar with many secrets of this world as well? And it was because of this that he had broken the rules and was now being viewed as a rebel by the Heavenly Dao, one who needed to be subdued and executed?

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Zhou Shi was severely wounded, with his entire shoulder completely pulverized and in tatters. Fortunately, however, these were only flesh wounds. Using a sagely healing medicine formulated by Zhou Fei in Spring Tide Palace, Zhou Shi was able to just barely stop his bleeding. He leaned against the wall with Ya'er, a pitiful and somber smile on his face as he said, "I already tried my best."

He was a talented and carefree young man who could attract blushes and shy smiles from countless beautiful women, yet it was a shame that he was no longer carefree at this moment. Instead, there was only despondence remaining on his face.

Beside him, Ya'er was channeling a secret technique from the demonic force with all her power in order to suppress her chaotic flow of Qi. This was a precious martial arts technique from the Hanging Flower Faction, one of the three factions of the demonic orthodoxy.

This secret technique could revive one's vitality, and it was said that one of the previous leaders of the Hanging Flower Faction had tricked the holy maiden of the Mirror Heart Hall from that generation and thus succeeded in reading half of the Return to Simplicity True Scripture through underhanded methods. This was a true scripture that allowed people to genuinely revert their age and return to youthhood.

The leader of the Hanging Flower Faction at that time had been an incredible prodigy, so they had unraveled the contents of the true scripture and transformed the knowledge into their own, eventually allowing them to create this secret technique for the demonic force.

However, using this secret technique would also cause significant side effects. Even though one could forcefully suppress their severe wounds and stabilize their body, they would age rapidly during the process and accelerate the deterioration of their body. Because of this, powerful cultivators from the Hanging Flower Faction would only use this secret technique if they were forced into a dead-end in a life-and-death battle.

Ya'er's expression was livid, and the hair in front of her ears surprisingly started to become pale white.

Zhou Shi sighed when he saw this. If he handed Ya'er a copper mirror at this moment, would the girl most proud about her beauty directly fall to heretical ways?

Perhaps consoling Ya'er, or perhaps consoling himself, Zhou Shi said, "Don't worry, my father will be here very soon. I'll be safe at that time, so you won't die either."

In front of some wall far away, a broken pipa lay on the ground all by itself. Its owner had already disappeared, though she left drops of blood on the ground every so often.

When Chen Ping'an stood up, Feng Qingbai who was holding a sword, Zhou Shi who was slumped against the wall, and Smiley Face who had gone over to check on Lu Fang's situation all felt anxiety grip at their hearts.

Lu Fang dragged himself out from the wall and lightly landed on the ground. His movements were unstable, and Smiley Face wanted to reach over to support him. However, Lu Fang lightly shook his head as he raised an arm, summoning his sword, Dachun, back to his side. The sword sheathed itself in midair before being held against the ground like a cane again.

Lu Fang's cultivation base had initially been lofty and profound in the context of the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, yet it had now plummeted significantly after he was struck by ten consecutive and relentless punches of the Deity Drumming Technique. Lu Fang's physique wasn't outstanding, so his body and soul had almost been shattered by Chen Ping'an's vicious attacks.

There was a dark look in Lu Fang's eyes as he turned to Smiley Face, whose real name was Qian Tang, and said, "Allow me to rest for a while. You can accompany me for a drink afterward."

Smiley Face nodded with a somber expression.

Just like the first time they had met, Lu Fang had become that dejected person once again.

In addition to protecting Zhou Shi, Lu Fang had chosen to enter the battle first because he felt an even greater need to fight for Smiley Face. This was because Smiley Face wasn't ranked among the Upper Ten Elites or Lower Ten Elites.

Before coming to the capital of Southern Garden Nation, however, Lu Fang had said that he would bring Smiley Face to the outside world to show him genuine immortals who could ride on the wind. Even though Lu Fang's demeanor had been calm at that time, Smiley Face had felt the unique emotion and spirit radiating from the sword immortal from Bird's Eye View Peak. He could have felt this even if he were blind.

The two of them left the street together.

Before leaving, Lu Fang cupped his fists and thanked Zhong Qiu. He then turned to Zhou Shi and said, "You're on your own now."

When they arrived at the wine shop run by that woman, the woman started to grumble and curse when she saw the person who had stolen that sword. Only after a lot of persuasion was Lu Fang able to bring two pots of the lowest quality wine to the table, slamming them down in annoyance. Smiley Face could barely contain his urge to slap that woman to death.

Lu Fang retrieved a simple and ancient-looking chi[3] from his sleeves and handed it to Smiley Face, saying in a solemn voice, "I might need to trouble you with two difficult tasks in the next twenty years. First, I want you to carry this item and find my reincarnated body. The chi will become boiling hot when it draws close to me, and this will allow you to sense my presence.

"Second, I want you to look for a sword called Chaoyuan. If we aren't forceful regarding this matter, then the sword might end up in someone else's hands like how Dachun ended up with me."

There was a surprised expression on Qian Tang's face.

"I've already made up my mind," Lu Fang said.

He didn't explain this any further, and he continued, "Take care of the chi, and make haste and immediately leave Southern Garden Nation after drinking these pots of wine. You'll only cause me to die quicker if you stay here."

Smiley Face had never seen Lu Fang speak in such a solemn manner before, so he had no option but to carefully accept the chi and nod in agreement.

Smiley Face glanced at his good friend after drinking his pot of wine in a somber mood, yet Lu Fang simply said in a calm voice, "You don't need to do anything if you truly manage to find me. You definitely shouldn't teach me martial arts on purpose either."

"I'll keep this in mind," Smiley Face replied.

However, he was no longer smiling anymore, and he was instead choking back tears as he spoke.

Lu Fang wasn't expressing such sadness at their parting, and he silently saw Smiley Face off from the wine shop before turning his gaze to someplace and sneering, "You can show yourself now. You can rely on your abilities to obtain my head, the head of an otherworldly immortal."

A hunchbacked old man who looked to be around eighty years old walked out from around the corner, coughing as he did so. Smiley Face would definitely recognize this feeble-looking old man if he were still present.

He was none other than the Eight-Armed Deity, Xue Yuan, someone who had been squeezed out from the ranks of the Upper Ten Elites twenty years ago and continued to decline, eventually ending up as the last ranked member of the Lower Ten Elites. He had once been targeted and pestered by Smiley Face for an entire year, causing him to become a laughingstock in the cultivation world.

Lu Fang sighed in his mind.

He hadn't imagined that the remark he had made in Bull Mountain would become a reality.

Yu Zhenyi had secretly gathered many powerful elites at the time, making it expressly clear that he wanted to hunt down and kill the four otherworldly immortals: Ding Ying, Zhou Fei, Tong Qingqing, and Feng Qingbai. Lu Fang had smiled and jokingly asked whether he would be hunted and killed as well.

Judging from the situation right now, the answer was already very clear. This might not have been Yu Zhenyi's initial plan and intention, but Yu Zhenyi's cold-blooded nature was such that he naturally wouldn't let slip this once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity now that Lu Fang was severely wounded and completely defeated.

"To have the sword immortal from Bird's Eye View Peak fall to such a miserable state... How heart-wrenching. I wouldn't have believed this if I weren't able to see it with my own two eyes."

Xue Yuan cracked a grin as he taunted Lu Fang, revealing the fact that he was missing several teeth. He slowly walked toward the wine shop, and it was extremely difficult to fathom that he was the most powerful external martial artist in the world before Zhong Qiu.

"How generous of Yu Zhenyi. He's willing to let you collect my head," Lu Fang chuckled.

Xue Yuan stood in a hunchbacked posture as he stopped twenty paces away from the door of the wine shop, replying, "Yu Zhenyi is a deity of the current age, so he naturally has no interest in such a measly fated opportunity unlike this mortal old man here. In any case, Great Sword Immortal Lu, you still have thirty to forty percent of your strength remaining, so you still have some chance to defeat me, the aging Xue Yuan."

"Great sword immortal? Have you seen them before? Are you worthy to utter this title?" Lu Fang sneered.

Xue Yuan chuckled and replied, "No, I'm not worthy, not worthy at all. I'll listen you, Great Sword Immortal Lu."

There was a look of ridicule in Lu Fang's eyes.

Xue Yuan caught Lu Fang's gaze and shook his head. Afterward, the Eight-Armed Deity shook his back and straightened his body like a flood dragon rearing its head, causing his aura to change drastically. This was the aura and disposition that a grandmaster should possess.

There was a frighteningly dark expression on Xue Yuan's face as he flared up in rage, and his voice was dripping with accumulated resentment and fury as he spat, "Haughty otherworldly immortals like you all deserve to die! That's right, that's the expression, the one in your eyes right now. You're like a phoenix that's already lost its feathers and become inferior to a chicken, yet you're still looking down on everyone else in the world with such a contemptuous expression. It's as if you view everyone as mere ants!"

Lu Fang didn't offer a response.

However, he knew that this would be the last battle of his life. This wasn't satisfying enough. His battle with Chen Ping'an just then hadn't been satisfying, and his battle with Xue Yuan, who was kicking him while he was down, would be even more stifling.

Yet, it was right at this moment when Xue Yuan had just cast away his disguise and descended upon Lu Fang like a deity that his body suddenly became rigid. His neck was held in a vice-like grip as he was slowly lifted into the air bit by bit.

Xue Yuan was like a snake being held by its head, unable to even put up a fight. His feet rose higher and higher into the air.

The person who had launched a surprise attack on the old man had a warm and mellow voice, and he chuckled, "What's wrong with viewing you people as mere ants? I don't see anything wrong with this because you people are indeed nothing more than ants."

There was an audible crack as Xue Yuan's neck was snapped in half, after which the assailant casually tossed him to the ground.

The woman looking after the wine shop shrieked in a high-pitched voice, while the customers all screamed about murder as they jumped up and scattered like frightened birds.

After Xue Yuan was tossed aside, one could see that the assailant was a handsome young man. Indeed, he was none other than Zhou Fei, who had just hurried over from the Vajra Temple.

Zhou Fei was holding the head of another person who had died a confused death, and he tossed the head toward Lu Fang, letting it roll across the ground and splatter blood everywhere.

It was surprisingly the head of Smiley Face Qian Tang.

Zhou Fei casually tossed the small chi onto the ground as well.

Lu Fang slowly squatted down and gently ran his hand over Qian Tang's face, closing the eyes of his good friend. There was a dazed expression on Lu Fang's face as he stared at Smiley Face, and he didn't look at Zhou Fei, nor did he pick up his small chi. Instead, he simply asked in a quivering voice, "Why?"

Zhou Fei remained silent for a moment before sidestepping the question and saying, "Since when did you become such a sloppy and hesitant piece of trash, Lu Fang? You came here for the sake of overcoming the hurdle of mortal relationships, yet in the end, you've failed to see through relationships much less overcome them.

"So be it if this is the case, and you can simply return empty-handed if worse comes to worst. Yet, you're now unable to let go of this head of some person who's no better than some random stranger? Lu Fang, even if you return to Parasol Leaf Continent, I'm confident that you won't be able to maintain your Nascent Tier cultivation base, to say nothing of advancing to the Upper Five Tiers!"

Zhou Fei squatted down and asked, "Tell me, why did you come here? As the clan leader of Jade Tablet Sect's Jiang Clan, why did I accompany you to the Lotus Flower Blessed Land and spend so many years here?"

At some unknown time, Lu Fang's sword, Dachun, silently appeared on the ground as well, resting on the street alongside the small chi and a severed head.

The stunningly beautiful ladies were standing far behind Zhou Fei, with some of them slender like willows and some of them shapely like rice grains in autumn.

"Why didn't you look for Zhou Shi first?" Lu Fang looked up and asked.

Zhou Fei chuckled in anger and replied, "I can always have a new child if my son dies. However, do you want me to waste another sixty years in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land if you die here?"

Zhou Fei stood up and waved his hand, gesturing for a beautiful woman who was still quite charming to come over. "Go, accompany your Senior Brother Lu whom you respected so much back then and have some wine with him. The two of you haven't met for so many years, so there's definitely a lot that you want to say to each other."

The beautiful woman instantly became pale.

Zhou Fei patted her cheek and said, "Come on, be an obedient girl."

The ground tremored as Zhou Fei vanished in a flash.

Like birds spreading their wings, the flowing robes and colorful ribbons of the other ladies fluttered in the air as they also soared into the sky. This was a stunning scene that intoxicated the passers-by on the nearby streets.

Lu Fang stood up and faced that woman who was both familiar yet unfamiliar, asking, "Let's sit down and chat?"

The woman nodded in a fearful manner.

The two of them sat opposite each other, yet Lu Fang discovered that the shopkeeper was still squatting behind the counter in terror. He stood up and grabbed two pots of wine himself. Before he could pour the wine, however, the woman who had stayed in Spring Tide Palace for many years and become accustomed to serving others hurriedly stood up and poured a bowl of wine for Lu Fang. Only then did she pour a bowl of wine for herself.

Lu Fang didn't look at her face, one which had made him feel heartbreak in the past. Instead, he simply looked at her hands which were as smooth and jade-like as those belonging to young girls before lifting his bowl of wine with a smile.

The beautiful woman breathed a soft sigh of relief. After contemplating for a moment, she stood up and walked to the street outside the wine shop, helping Lu Fang retrieve the small chi and Dachun. In fact, she even retrieved Smiley Face's head and placed it on another table in the wine shop. She then sat down and smiled at Lu Fang.

With a bowl of wine in one hand, Lu Fang turned around to gaze at the empty street outside.

It was as if he could see a young boy and a young girl, a match made in heaven, running around and playing happily with each other.

1. This symbolizes the fact that life is full of innate challenges that can't be avoided. ☜

2. This means observing someone else or receiving someone else's criticism and help to correct one's own mistakes and shortcomings. ☜

3. The chi is an ancient Chinese center-blown transverse flute with closed ends and front finger holes. ☜