Unsheathed

Chapter 392 (3): A Storm is Brewing, Myriad Talismans Fill the Building

There were four gallant cultivators who had traveled to the Lion Garden from far away, and they were staying in a small courtyard at the moment and had become esteemed guests of the Liu Clan even before Chen Ping'an and his companions.

There was the young master with the surname Dugu, his personal maidservant Meng Long, and the master and disciple who had a small fox and an emerald snake, respectively.

The two groups of people had met by chance, and they worked together to suppress a mountain that was riddled with demons. Young Master Dugu contributed the most, yet he only chose some of the most ordinary items in return. Meanwhile, he left a few precious spirit tools and a large pile of immortal coins to the master and his disciple.

The master and his disciple discussed this in private, and they reached the conclusion that their lives weren't worth enough for Young Master Dugu to bait them with impure motives. Thus, they shamelessly asked to travel together with Young Master Dugu and his maidservant. Sure enough, they experienced some favorable outcomes again afterward, obtaining another couple hundred immortal coins after vanquishing two different groups of demons.

Of course, the elderly cultivator carefully observed the situation the entire time, and he found that Young Master Dugu—who claimed to be a young master from the Luminous Vermilion Empire—indeed didn't seem like someone who would pick a fight with other people for the sake of money and treasures.

Young Master Dugu never joined the battles, explaining that he was a crude martial artist who had only learned some of the most basic skills. The master and his disciple weren't stupid, so they naturally didn't believe this explanation. At the same time, his personal maidservant engaged in battles several times, and her skills were genuinely terrifying.

She was a sword cultivator. Not only that, but she could surprisingly use a legendary immortal technique as well, one that allowed her to summon a night-wandering deity that measured nine meters in height!

Meng Long wasn't an old witch who simply looked young on the surface. Rather, she was genuinely a young woman who was yet to reach twenty.

She was a sword cultivator who was about to reach the fifth tier, yet when unleashing her vicious attacks during battle, it was clear that her strength could already rival those at the Abode Tier.

Indeed, the maidservant who ran errands for Young Master Dugu was actually a prodigy who had a huge chance at becoming an earth immortal sword cultivator. Moreover, Young Master Dugu didn't see any issue with treating her as a maidservant.

Those with a brain all understood that Young Master Dugu's background was as deep and profound as the sea.

However, it was a shame that even after racking his brains for a long while, the elderly cultivator was still unable to recall any powerful figure with the surname Dugu in the Luminous Vermilion Empire. After considering the lands further north and further south, he was indeed able to recall two powerful forces. One force was the pillar clan of their nation, and one force had Golden Core Tier cultivators in their clan. Even so, these clans still didn't match the incredible talent and wealth that Young Master Dugu had already displayed.

After mulling over this again and again, the elderly cultivator could only assume that there were far too many old and powerful people who liked to keep a low profile in the Luminous Vermilion Empire, an empire that was brimming with sword cultivators. In other words, Young Master Dugu was likely from an immortal clan that didn't like publicity and preferred to keep a low profile.

This was also why the two opportunistic vagrant cultivators dared to encourage Young Master Dugu and his maidservant to come to the Lion Garden and vanquish the fox demon.

Right now, Young Master Dugu was standing by his window and looking at the abnormal sky outside. "By the looks of it, that young man with the surname Chen has stepped on the fox demon's tail pretty badly. This is even better, and there's no need for us to interfere. But it's a shame about those three ancient relics from the Lion Garden. Among them, the painting and the plum blossom vase are both top quality. I wonder if that Chen guy will be willing to sell them to us once he gets his hands on them."

The maidservant smiled and remarked, "Those with a good understanding of treasures are all coveting that heirloom immortal treasure that's useless in the hands of the Liu Clan, yet you simply want those trinkets that are only worth a few immortal coins."

Young Master Dugu sighed and said, "We'll become busy and be forced to travel all over the place again once the matter here concludes."

Meng Long's brows were also furrowed in worry, and she replied, "Young Master, trying to search for people and clues like this is much like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It seems quite difficult."

"There's no other simpler method," Young Master Du Gu lamented in helplessness. "We can only use this crude method. In fact, why don't we treat it as a journey of relaxation? We'll continue to wait for news as we wander around."

Meng Long was slightly angry as she grumbled, "We found those who were willing to speak, yet they didn't know anything useful. As for those who are unwilling to speak, all of them have powerful backgrounds which makes things much more difficult for us, especially since we can't reveal our identities. We have no way of forcing them to speak.

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"These people from the Complete Reed Continent have their noses turned to the sky and their eyes peering down at the world. Tch, what is there to be so arrogant about? Are they not just relying on the fact that they've lived for a few hundred years more than us, so their cultivation bases are a little higher? If you ask me, I would say that you can definitely defeat them with a single hand in thirty years' time."

Young Master Dugu didn't pay any heed to his maidservant's grumbling, and he suggested, "Let's discuss things after we find that young woman."

Meng Long had nothing better to do while sitting beside the table, so she randomly shuffled around the playing stones on the Go board resting on the table. "We only have a surname, and that person is simply a no-name cultivator with a low cultivation base from Ceremony Mountain's intercontinental ship. There are nowhere near enough leads.

"If it weren't for that traveling Buddhist monk mentioning her, we would have still been buzzing around without any direction right now. Young Master, I miss home a little. You're not allowed to trick me anymore, and we definitely need to pack up and return home after we find that minor cultivator."

Young Master Dugu turned around and said in amusement, "Oh? A Qi refiner at the Lower Five Tiers such as yourself actually dares to call that person a minor cultivator?"

Meng Long smiled widely and replied, "But your maidservant is a sword cultivator."

Young Master Dugu was wide-eyed with mock anger as he exclaimed, "Sword cultivators are gluttons that eat money and damage relationships. Is there anything to be proud of?"

Meng Long covered her mouth and giggled in a silvery voice. "Others can say this, but you definitely can't. To say nothing of the fact that I can definitely earn back the immortal money that I've consumed in the future, is this immortal money not just a negligible amount compared to the vast wealth of your clan?"

Young Master Dugu shook his head and replied, "You won't say this when you genuinely advance to the fifth tier. During an earth immortal sword cultivator's journey of cultivation, they'll exhaust at least double the amount of rare treasures an ordinary earth immortal needs."

Meng Long nodded and said in a soft voice, "Milord and Milady do indeed spend an exorbitant amount of money. Otherwise, we wouldn't be any inferior to Old Dragon City's Fu Clan."

Young Master Dugu chuckled in exasperation and exclaimed, "Getting quite bold now, are we? You're even judging my parents now?"

Meng Long pouted and acted cute, replying, "Because you are a good person, Young Master, so there's nothing for this maidservant to be afraid of."

Young Master Dugu smiled and said, ''A daughter married off is like water that has been splashed—neither can be retrieved. This is inevitable, and your young master is the willing victim."

Meng Long shook her head and said, "I'm not going to marry anyone. Why would I marry an embroidered pillow that's attractive on the outside but lacking substance on the inside? This maidservant will follow her Young Master for life."

Young Master Dugu didn't comment on this, and he continued to observe the sky as he said, "The actions of that fox demon reek of mystery and strangeness. It's not an easy foe to deal with. I hope that the young man and the saber-wielding Daoist nun can dispose of it without too many issues."

"Young Master, you truly have the kind heart of a Bodhisattva," Meng Long praised with a smile.

"I simply wish to spend some money to purchase those two items; I would rather not get involved in the troublesome situation and have to fight," Young Master Dugu said in a self-ridiculing voice. "As for the fate of the Lion Garden and those related to it? I'm not interested in this at all. Whether the outcome is good or bad, and the people die or not, all of this is self-inflicted fate."

Approximately one hour passed, and Zhu Lian, Old Steward Zhao, and Liu Qingshan finally hurried over with a pot of specially created gold ink each. The pots were around the same size as ordinary wine pots.

Inside Liu Qingqing's room, Shi Rou had already returned into Du Mao's immortal body and was now sitting in a corner, resting her mind with her eyes closed.

In the beginning, Pei Qian had hated the fact that she couldn't transcribe texts here. Otherwise, waiting around would be extremely boring if she didn't have something to occupy herself with.

Afterward, Zhao Ya had found the little girl with the talisman on her forehead extremely interesting, so she had shuffled over to start speaking with her. After a while, she brought Pei Qian—who had been very interested the entire time yet too embarrassed to ask—over to the table to check out the phoenix cage. This was an eye-opening experience for Pei Qian.

Neither the old steward nor Liu Qingshan visited Liu Qingqing's room. Instead, they both returned to the ancestral hall.

Before leaving, Liu Qingshan respectfully bowed toward the second floor of Liu Qingqing's residence.

Inside the room, Chen Ping'an accepted the calligraphy brush while Zhu Lian stood beside him holding a clay pot "ink holder" filled with gold ink. He started to draw the first talisman on a column.

Chen Ping'an was drawing talismans that he had learned from the Authentic Death-Avoiding Book, the ancient book that Li Xisheng had given him.

He dipped the tip of the calligraphy brush into the gold ink.

There was no need for Chen Ping'an to say anything, and Zhu Lian offered his shoulder and said, "Please go ahead, Young Master."

With a tap of his foot, Chen Ping'an gracefully leaped up with the calligraphy brush still in his hand, gently landing on Zhu Lian's shoulders. He then drew a Treasure Pagoda Demon-Suppressing Talisman on the edge of the column in a single go.

Zhu Lian bent his knees slightly, upon which Chen Ping'an summoned the spiritual energy gathered by his Dao robe, Golden Sweet Wine, and his water palace and used another method to draw the same Demon-Suppressing Talisman.

Afterward, both Chen Ping'an and Zhu Lian straightened up, allowing the former to cover the roof beams with talismans.

Stepping down from Zhu Lian's shoulders, Chen Ping'an continued to draw talismans on the windows and walls of the room. Apart from the Treasure Pagoda Demon-Suppressing Talisman that most specifically targeted the fox demon, Chen Ping'an also drew three other types of talismans. There was the Calming Talisman and the Cleansing Talisman, two of the elementary talismans recorded in the Authentic Death-Avoiding Book. In addition to these, there was also the Yang Energy Illumination Talisman, of which Chen Ping'an drew several around the door.

While Chen Ping'an was drawing the talismans, Zhu Lian asked, "Young Master, do you need to rest for a moment?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head, saying, "Perhaps the great demon is already rushing over right now. There's no time to dally; the more talismans I can draw, the better."

Some time passed, and Chen Ping'an finished his task of drawing talismans in Liu Qingqing's room.

Chen Ping'an had only used a bit more than half of a pot of gold ink, so he walked over to the corridor outside the room and continued to draw Demon-Suppressing Talismans on the railings and railing benches. At the same time, he also attempted to draw a few Sword Edict Talismans and Lock Slashing Talismans. However, it was still rather difficult for him to draw these talismans.

When a talismanic core was successfully completed, it was one matter how long its spiritual aura could last and how long it could resist the corrosion of murderous aura, and it was another matter altogether regarding how many powerful demonic techniques it could defend against.

Chen Ping'an was like a hard-working farmer, yet his farmland was relatively infertile, reducing the yield he could achieve. Thus, he had to make up for this by sowing more plots of land.

There was still gold ink left in the clay pot, so Chen Ping'an stood on top of the railings and leaped onto the roof with Zhu Lian, squatting down on the roof ridge and continuing to draw more talismans.

Pei Qian finally found an opportunity to show off, and she started to brag to Maidservant Zhao Ya not long after Chen Ping'an began to draw talismans around the room. She crossed her arms and tilted her chin up, saying, "Big Sister Ya'er, isn't my master very impressive when it comes to drawing talismans? What do you think about these Flower and Bird Talismans? Aren't they beautiful? Don't they look like the works of powerful immortals?"

Zhao Ya wasn't a cultivator, so she naturally couldn't determine the level of Chen Ping'an's talismans. However, as Young Mistress Liu Qingqing's personal maidservant, she was especially knowledgeable in music, Go, calligraphy, and painting. Based on this knowledge, she genuinely didn't find the talismanic characters written in ancient script by the young immortal in white very impressive at all. Even so, she didn't want to disappoint the little girl, so she could only praise the talismans in a perfunctory manner.

Unexpectedly, Pei Qian bobbed her head back and forth after hearing Zhao Ya's dull praise, and she said, "You don't understand, Big Sister Ya'er. My master's characters are impressive in the sense that... they possess immortal qi!"

Pei Qian was very satisfied with the explanation that she had come up with on the spot.

Zhao Ya couldn't help but smile, feigning realization as she remarked, "So that's how it is. Forgive my poor observation skills. I'm not an immortal from the mountains, after all, so I was unable to notice the truly impressive nature of these talismans."

Pei Qian could easily tell that Zhao Ya was still speaking in a perfunctory manner, so she secretly rolled her eyes and couldn't be bothered saying anything else. She lay down on the table and opened her eyes wide, observing the scenery inside the phoenix cage.

Her big eyes looked at their little eyes.

Many spirits inside the phoenix cage flew out of their residences, gathering together to look at the tanned little girl.

Zhao Ya walked over to Liu Qingqing and exclaimed in astonishment, "Do you feel it, Young Mistress? It seems like your room has become brighter and more refreshing?"

"I don't feel anything," Liu Qingqing replied in an anguished voice.

Zhao Ya carried a chair over and sat down beside Liu Qingqing, gently grabbing her Young Mistress' ice-cold hands.

Chen Ping'an and Zhu Lian gracefully jumped down from the roof and landed in the corridor outside. Zhu Lian's hands were now empty, and he asked Shi Rou to pick up the two remaining pots of gold ink.

Shi Rou didn't understand his intention, but she did as he instructed anyway. Zhu Lian was an eighth-tier martial artist, someone whom she couldn't offend at the current moment. Back in the courtyard not long ago, Zhu Lian hadn't concealed his soaring killing intent toward her at all, causing her to feel absolutely terrified.

Pei Qian hurriedly ran over when she saw the sweating Chen Ping'an, and she asked, "Master, do you need me to wipe your sweat?"

Chen Ping'an smiled and shook his head, replying, "I need to go to various locations around the Lion Garden with Shi Rou and continue to draw talismans. That way, the talismans will activate once there's any whiff of trouble. Zhu Lian will stay here to protect you, so you won't be in too much danger. Even if the fox demon comes here, I can still hurry back in time as long as it gets slowed down by the talismans."

Pei Qian patted the bamboo saber and bamboo sword by her hip and said with a nod, "Rest assured, Master, I'll definitely protect Young Mistress Liu and Big Sister Ya'er."

Chen Ping'an patted her head and replied softly, "Make sure to protect yourself first."

A brilliant smile appeared on her face.

Zhu Lian smiled faintly and didn't say anything.

While on the roof just then, Chen Ping'an had quietly stressed to him that he definitely had to protect Pei Qian. Delving deeper into the meaning behind Chen Ping'an's words... Zhu Lian couldn't help but feel a strong sense of reassurance.

If his young master had turned out to be a true-blue moral sage intent on gaining a statue in the Confucian temples, then he would have felt nothing but annoyance.

Chen Ping'an and Shi Rou gracefully jumped down from the second floor of Liu Qingqing's residence and landed in the courtyard.

Chen Ping'an asked Shi Rou to hand one pot of gold ink to him, then told her, "Go and deliver a message to Young Master Dugu's group, as well as that immortal couple. If they're willing to, ask them to guard the ancestral hall and ideally choose a location that is high up and offers them a wide field of view. It's possible that the fox demon is going to appear very soon."

Shi Rou silently left to deliver this message.

Meanwhile, at an arch bridge in the Lion Garden, there stood two people facing off against each other. On one side was a young man in black robes, and on the other side was a saber-wielding Daoist nun.

The handsome young man placed a hand on the railing of the arch bridge, causing it to crumble into dust under his palm. "Stinky nun, are you hellbent on standing in my way?"

Standing on the railings, the Daoist nun shook her head and replied, "Standing in your way? No, I'm here to kill you and take your treasures."

The fox demon's expression changed slightly.

The Daoist nun from the Daoist Saber Room chuckled coldly and continued, "Daring to covet the fortune of the human world even though you're a demon... You've already crossed the line by a significant amount."

The handsome young man gritted his teeth and spat out, "Aren't you curious about why I can openly scheme in the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation right under the emperor's nose even though I'm a demon?"

"These mortal trivialities are of no concern to me," the middle-aged Daoist nun replied, resting her hand on the hilt of her saber.