Chapter 439 (1): Sharpening One's Sword While on Break from Sword Practice

On this day, someone from the sword chamber arrived at Chen Ping'an's room to inform him that another flying sword letter had arrived on Cyan Gorge Island, and he immediately left his room to retrieve it.

He was expecting it to be Zhong Kui's return letter.

Sure enough, upon reaching the sword chamber, Chen Ping'an was greeted by a secret letter from Peace and Tranquility Mountain. Unfortunately, Zhong Kui informed him through the letter that he had been very busy of late, and there were still demonic entities wreaking havoc all over the Parasol Leaf Continent.

The situation wasn't as dire as it had once been, but it was even more troublesome and annoying. All of the major threats had been dealt with, but there seemed to have been no end to all of the small fry that had to be dealt with.

As a result, he wouldn't be able to leave the Parasol Leaf Continent for now, but he would immediately make the trip as soon as he had some spare time. However, he concluded the letter by telling Chen Ping'an not to get his hopes up as he definitely wasn't going to be able to leave the Parasol Leaf Continent anytime soon.

Chen Ping'an was a little concerned. After all, not only had Zhong Kui been stripped of his noble scholar status by the academy, he had also become a ghostly entity. Without his status as a noble scholar, he would be without his most potent layer of protection if he were to encounter a Nascent Tier demon.

After tucking the secret letter away, Chen Ping'an emerged from the sword chamber, and internally, he was jokingly denouncing Zhong Kui for being a terrible friend.

His letter had included a bunch of stories much like the ones in the Bamboo Scroll Lake reports, such as Yao Jinzhi being selected into the imperial palace, the riveting, back and forth action between the three princes of the Great Quan Empire, the fortune to have befallen the Burial River Goddess, the successful promotion of the Green Roving Residence into the Green Roving Divine Water Palace, and other such stories.

The only thing that he failed to include in his return letter were answers to the questions that Chen Ping'an had raised in his initial letter.

Not long after Chen Ping'an's departure from the sword chamber, Liu Zhimao suddenly arrived without warning, much to the unease of all of the sword chamber cultivators. Liu Zhimao had virtually never set foot in this sword chamber, so this was an unimaginably rare event.

He had no need for the sword chamber as he had a premium, Small Sword Resting Ground in his own manor that he could receive and send flying sword letters from, and it was more convenient and obscure.

Additionally, Liu Zhimao was rarely sighted on Cyan Gorge Island, and aside from during his occasional visits to Gu Can in the Spring Courtyard Mansion, Tian Hujun and the masters of the subsidiary islands were the only ones who were ever granted an audience with him.

Liu Zhimao clasped his hands behind his back and lowered his head as to carefully examine the flying sword that had come from Peace and Tranquility Mountain that was still absorbing spiritual energy in the sword chamber, most likely to verify the authenticity of the "Peace and Tranquility Mountain" inscription engraved onto its surface.

On the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, the letter-bearing flying swords of all of the major sects were generally emblazoned with the names of the sects that they had come from through the use of unique secret techniques.

This was a display of power and status in itself, and this was a practice that was observed by the likes of the Divine Edict Sect, the Wind Snow Temple, and True Martial Mountain, as well as even the Wind Lightning Field, home of the vastly renowned Li Tuanjing.

As a matter of fact, the "Wind Lightning Field" inscriptions on around half of the letter-bearing flying swords of the Wind Lightning Field had been personally engraved by Li Tuanjing using the tip of his bonded flying sword.

However, it was rumored that Li Tuanjing had already passed away, and that the Wind Lightning Field had been passed down to Huang He and Liu Baqiao. On top of that, its sworn rival, Sun Scorch Mountain, was enjoying a meteoric rise.

Even though Huang He was an extremely bright prospect, and Liu Baqiao was also a top-tier prodigy in his own right, a Wind Lightning Field without Li Tuanjing at the helm was hardly the same Wind Lightning Field, and it was nowhere near as feared and respected as before. All of the cultivators on the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent were currently speculating about when Huang He was going to be able to truly take over the reins from Li Tuanjing.

Occasionally, there were some vagrant cultivators who dared to intercept letter-bearing flying swords, but generally speaking, they would immediately release any flying swords that they came across that had the names of major sects engraved upon them for fear of their greed leading to their demise.

The other immortal sects that were lesser in power and status all knew their place and refrained from dabbling in such a practice. Earth Immortal Dong Gu of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect had once suggested that they also made such inscriptions on their letter-bearing flying swords.

Ruan Qiong had always been very serious with his disciples, but he also very rarely lost his temper with them. However, on that occasion, a furious look had instantly appeared on his face at the suggestion, and Dong Gu was so frightened that he had immediately taken back the suggestion.

In the end, Ruan Qiong had scoffed in a self-deprecating manner, "What right does our sect have to do something like that when we don't even have a single Nascent Tier cultivator?"

The manager of the sword chamber mustered up some courage, then said in a timid manner, "Island Master, this flying sword has more than just 'Peace and Tranquility Mountain' engraved on it. There are some additional inscriptions on the other side as well."

Liu Zhimao nodded in response, then gently reached out a finger to flip the sword over to reveal the words "Ancestral Hall" engraved onto its other side.

Liu Zhimao's eyes narrowed slightly as he heaved an internal sigh. It seemed that Chen Ping'an had some extremely powerful connections on the Parasol Leaf Continent.

Earlier, Liu Zhimao had laid down his pride to visit Chen Ping'an to issue an apology, and the two of them had opened up to one another in a candid conversation. He had been rather skeptical about Chen Ping'an's claim that the Great Li Empire still owed him some things, and he still didn't fully believe it even now, but he was certainly more convinced than before.

This was a letter-bearing flying sword from the ancestral hall of Peace and Tranquility Mountain, the third most powerful sect on the Parasol Leaf Continent.

On the much smaller Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, this was roughly equivalent to a flying sword from the Heavenly Lord Qi Zhen's Lotus Flower Hall, and it was certainly a massive symbol of status.

Perhaps someone like Liu Laocheng wouldn't have been overly intimidated by something like this, but it was certainly not something that Liu Zhimao could simply overlook.

Flying swords expended immense amounts of spiritual energy during the course of intercontinental journeys, so they ate through huge sums of immortal currency.

The cultivators of the Cyan Gorge Island sword chamber had specially held a meeting over this matter, discussing whether it was necessary to report the matter of those few lesser heat coins to Tian Hujun when informing her of the arrival of this flying sword from Peace and Tranquility Mountain.

After some deliberation, it was decided that such a trivial matter was not worthy of bothering Tian Hujun over, and in the end, all of them contributed some money out of their own pockets to pool together the sum of lesser heat coins, and it was their way of doing their part for Cyan Gorge Island.

Liu Zhimao turned to the manager of the sword chamber, then asked, "Has Mr. Chen said anything about the immortal currency that this flying sword has consumed during its time in the sword chamber?"

"No," the manager replied with a shake of his head. "Mr. Chen doesn't seem to really know the rules of the sword chamber."

"Have you tried to drop any hints to Mr. Chen on the matter?" Liu Zhimao asked with a smile. "It can't hurt to inform him of the rules. Otherwise, your sword chamber is going to continue to lose money over this in the future."

"I can assure you that none of us have dropped any hints to Mr. Chen!" the manager hurriedly replied in a fearful manner.

"It seems like Mr. Chen is making him more and more at home here on our Cyan Gorge Island. I suppose that's a good thing," Liu Zhimao murmured to himself.

He then turned back to the sword chamber manager as he asked, "I heard that Mr. Chen sent two more letters back home recently, is that right?"

The manager nodded in response.

"Both of the flying sword letters were sent to the Dragon Spring Prefecture, but this time, one was sent to Cloud Drape Mountain, while the other was sent to Downtrodden Mountain."

"Do you feel like Mr. Chen is easy to deal with?" Liu Zhimao suddenly asked.

The cultivators of the sword chamber exchanged a few blank looks upon hearing this, and Liu Zhimao waved a hand as he said, "Forget it, none of you will have had enough interactions with him to provide worthwhile answers to that question."

With that, Liu Zhimao departed from the sword chamber and returned directly to his Hengbo Residence.

Tian Hujun had come to personally inform him of the arrival of the Peace and Tranquility Mountain flying sword, and she was still standing outside the Hengbo Residence.

"Make sure to carry out Chen Ping'an's request in accordance with his specifications, regardless of how much manpower and resources it ends up costing. Make it the top priority of our Cyan Gorge Island, but do it in secret and don't make a fuss about it. Chen Ping'an is smart enough to know what we've done for him, and we're not dealing with the Spring Courtyard Mansion, so there's no need to do anything unnecessary."

Tian Hujun nodded in response without a single word as she knew that her master didn’t want to hear any empty words anyway. He was an extremely pragmatic man who only cared about outcomes, and excessive chatter would only serve to irk him.

Liu Zhimao smiled as he said, "The sword chamber did a good thing for once today. At the very least, on this occasion, the four of them made a smart move. Go and erase all of the records of the money that they've embezzled over the past century. Over forty grain rain coins is not a small sum, but I'll let it slide and treat it as a bonus for all of their hard work over the years."

Tian Hujun nodded in response. Originally, Liu Zhimao had planned to make a series of major moves following his instatement as the ruler of the cultivation world, handing out rewards to those who had served him well, while simultaneously making examples out of those who had committed various transgressions. However, given that the entire situation had been turned on its head by the untimely return of Liu Laocheng, he no longer saw it fit to do the former, and it would have to be delayed until the situation clarified itself.

However, if anyone dared to step out of line in this sensitive time, then they would be given extra severe punishments. Given the precarious circumstances that Liu Zhimao currently found himself in, any missteps from his subordinates could potentially bring about his downfall.

Tian Hujun silently departed from the Hengbo Residence and returned to White Fish Island.

All of the people in her manor flocked to her side to flatter her with praise, and some did so somewhat in earnest, while the majority of them were putting on a completely fake act.

Tian Hujun felt completely neutral about their disingenuous flattery, neither pleased nor annoyed by the fawning words. This was an almost necessary skill if one wished to survive in Bamboo Scroll Lake. Either they learned to suck up to those above them, or be relegated to servitude for their entire lives, or even slowly starve to death.

The first thing that she did was call upon a pair of trusted, elderly subordinates of hers before instructing them to carry out the request that Chen Ping'an had made.

After that, she made her way down a secret passageway that was several kilometers in length on her own to arrive in the secret cultivation chamber, which was situated in the belly of White Fish Island beneath her manor. As one descended deeper and deeper into the belly of the island, they would encounter a greater and greater abundance of water fortune.

The so-called secret cultivation chamber was actually nothing more than a chair placed beside an underground river. The entire underground area was illuminated an exuberant, green color by the presence of the water fortune in the area, and on top of that, rays of white moonlight were also shining down from the ceiling of the secret chamber overhead before flowing into the mouths of the flood dragons engraved onto the chair.

Tian Hujun sat down on the dilapidated, old chair before taking a deep breath, and an intoxicated look of bliss appeared on her face as she grabbed onto the armrests of the chair with both hands. Bursts of Flood Dragon Qi and water fortune spiritual energy surged into her bonded acupoints in a frenzy through the palms of her hands, and her face immediately became slightly contorted with both pain and pleasure.

Before long, she was sweating profusely, and around two hours later, she opened her eyes as she exhaled deeply.

With a gentle sweep of her sleeve, the stale breath that she had released flowed downstream along the underground river into Bamboo Scroll Lake so that it didn't taint the precious water fortune of this place.

Tian Hujun was feeling a little weary, but her satisfaction far outweighed her fatigue. The hardships of cultivation were enough to strike fear into the hearts of many, but the bliss that one could derive from cultivation was far beyond anything that could be experienced through romantic intimacy.

Hence, in the eyes of cultivators of the Middle Five Tiers, and particularly earth immortals, all of the heartfelt vows and sweet nothings uttered between lovers were just as laughable as farts in the wind. However, there were no absolutes in this world, and if one's romantic ties had a direct bearing on their Great Dao, then even a Nascent Tier cultivator would be dragged down by their romantic affairs just as much as a mortal.

Li Tuanjing was the best example of this.

Given his astonishing cultivation aptitude, he should've reached the Upper Five Tiers even earlier than Wei Jin of Wind Snow Temple.

Had he overcome that near-insurmountable bottleneck to reach the Unpolished Jade Tier, there was a very good chance that he would've easily been able to reach the Immortal Tier as well, and as a twelfth tier swordsman, he would've been the undisputed number one native cultivator of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.

One had to realize that even Heavenly Lord Qi Zhen had only recently reached the Immortal Tier.

However, a man of Li Tuanjing's immense power and talents had been unable to overcome an obstacle that would've been all but non-existent even for the likes of Tian Hujun.

Such was the fickle and unpredictable nature of the Great Dao.

Tian Hujun cast aside that train of thought as she began carefully contemplating her own future.

The scenery atop the Great Dao was undoubtedly spectacular, but she couldn't spend all of her time marveling at the scenery of others. Instead, she had to focus on becoming a piece of enviable scenery herself.

The thought of her junior brother, who was still laying on his sickbed, entered her mind, and a myriad of complex emotions welled up in her heart.

She stood up from her chair, then instantly shook off the sweat on her dress before making her way to the bank of the underground river, where she fell into deep thought.

Between Liu Zhimao and Gu Can, she was actually more inclined toward the latter. Liu Zhimao was an extremely conniving and calculating man who was willing to kill anyone for the fulfilment of his own Great Dao. On top of that, what was most terrifying about him was that his victims were often left completely in the dark, unable to understand why they had been targeted even in the instant right before they met their demise.

In contrast, Gu Can was very untamed and volatile, but as long as she remained consistent and earnest with him, she would be able to remain relatively safe from him, and perhaps even curry some favor with him.

Ultimately, Gu Can was still just a child. He was able to deal with all of the surface-level powers in Bamboo Scroll Lake, but he was still yet to get a grasp on the fundamental elements of Bamboo Scroll Lake that lurked beneath the surface, and those were the true rules that governed the actions of the cultivators of Bamboo Scroll Lake.

He didn't know how to use people; he only knew how to kill people. All he had was an aggressive, one-dimensional approach to everything with zero ability to adapt, and that was simply not a sustainable strategy.

Hence, Tian Hujun's rational side told her that she could place a large bet on Gu Can, but she definitely couldn't afford to place all of her eggs in his basket as he was too prone to going to extremes.

She was still far from the point where she would be able to stand toe to toe against Liu Zhimao, and there was a very good chance that such a day would never come.

Whenever she thought of Gu Can, a pang of melancholy would well up in her heart. He had been able to create a small empire for himself in the span of just three short years, yet he had never considered how he was going to manage his empire once he attained it.

She was willing to teach him, to impart upon him all of the insights that she had gleaned over the course of the past two centuries, but Gu Can was simply developing far too quickly, to the point that even Liu Zhimao and the entirety of Bamboo Scroll Lake had been caught completely off guard, so how could he possibly be willing to take advice from someone like her?

If he were given several decades to slowly temper his own mental state, then perhaps he would truly be able to oppose Liu Zhimao as his equal, but for now, he was nothing more than a clueless brat with too much power for his own good.

Unfortunately, Liu Laocheng had arrived and given Gu Can and his catfish a comprehensive beatdown.

Ultimately Bamboo Scroll Lake was just a single place in the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, and given the massive changes that were currently sweeping over the entire continent, there was great peril lurking around every corner, but also brilliant opportunities for those who could grasp them.

Regardless of who became the new ruler of Bamboo Scroll Lake, whether it be the Great Li Empire or the Luminous Vermilion Empire, both of them wished to have a "feudal lord" capable of controlling Bamboo Scroll Lake for them. If they couldn't do that, then even if they were to become the ruler of the cultivation world, they would still be replaced in an instant.

Tian Hujun had never felt like Gu Can was incompetent. On the contrary, what he had been able to accomplish in such a short time was enough to strike fear and veneration into even her heart. However, he was still not... good enough, and given the current state of the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent, there wasn't going to be enough time for him to develop and mature.

An almighty flood was coming to Bamboo Scroll Lake.

The thought of Chen Ping'an suddenly sprang into Tian Hujun's mind.

Perhaps he would be able to slightly delay the floodwaters from inundating Bamboo Scroll Lake and Cyan Gorge Island, but would he be able to stop them entirely?

Tian Hujun shook her head.

That was simply far too much to ask.

————

After returning to his room, Chen Ping'an sat down at his desk. He had already collected and organized all of the relevant files that he could.

On top of that, he had already come to agreements with Yu Gui of Moon Hook Island and the Naturalist cultivator on Jade Flagon Island with regard to the yin entities that he wished to purchase. Ma Yuanzhi was still yet to agree to a deal, but he had already promised Chen Ping'an that he would gather and sift through the yin entities in his possession, and the transaction could immediately be completed once Chen Ping'an fulfilled his request.

However, as time passed and Chen Ping'an continued to be turned away by Liu Chongrun of Bejeweled Hairpin Island, it seemed as if Ma Yuanzhi were also becoming a little disheartened, and he was willing to make a compromise. As long as Chen Ping'an was able to convince Liu Chongrun to come to Cyan Gorge Island, he would be willing to hand over half of the yin entities that he had selected as a deposit.

In the letter that Chen Ping'an had sent to Wei Bo on Cloud Drape Mountain, he raised some questions on the subject of purchasing mountains while also asking a few small favors of Wei Bo.

In the letter that he sent to Downtrodden Mountain, he assured Zhu Lian that there was no need to worry as he was in no physical danger in Bamboo Scroll Lake, and that there was no need to come to Bamboo Scroll Lake to find him.

He also asked Zhu Lian to tell Pei Qian to stay in the Dragon Spring Prefecture, but on the final day of the year, she had to call upon the little girl in pink and the little boy in azure to go and spend the night at his ancestral residence on Clay Vase Alley.

If she was afraid of the cold, then she could buy some charcoal in the small town and light a fire for warmth throughout the night. If she felt sleepy, then there was no need to fight it and she could go to sleep, but the following day, she had to remember to put up couplets and "fortune" characters. Cui Chan's grandfather was a master calligrapher, so she could ask him to write the couplets and fortune characters, and there would be no need to purchase them.

There was still a sufficient supply of red paper for the couplets and the fortune characters leftover from the previous year, and the little girl in pink knew where it was being kept. He then warned Pei Qian to be considerate when setting off firecrackers outside the Clay Vase Alley ancestral residence on the morning of the first day of the year.

The houses on Clay Vase Alley were quite tightly packed together, and the alley itself was quite narrow, so setting off too many firecrackers would both disturb the neighbors and block the path for people trying to get through. If she wanted to set off more firecrackers, then she could set off as many as she pleased on Downtrodden Mountain.

If she felt it too troublesome to have to cut down bamboo and make firecrackers herself, then she could purchase some from the shops in the small town. The firecrackers weren't all that expensive, so there was no need to be stingy. There was also a section in the letter pertaining to the New Years' red packets. Even though Chen Ping'an wasn't in the Dragon Spring Prefecture, red packets still had to be prepared.

Wei Bo was going to make an appearance on the first or the second day of the year, and everyone would get a red packet, but they had to express some well wishes in exchange for the red packets, and they were not to be rude to Wei Bo.

Chen Ping'an picked up a small, purple bamboo brush from his wooden brush holder before gently exhaling onto it. However, he then faltered slightly at the sight of the brush and set it down again as a pang of guilt welled up in his heart.

Chen Ping'an had made the brush holder himself, while the brush had been given to him by the Purple Bamboo Island Master. At the time, Chen Ping'an had asked him for three purple bamboo poles, and the island master had thrown in two additional secretly crafted brushes from Purple Bamboo Island as a gesture of goodwill.

Of course, these were both premium purple bamboo brushes of the highest quality, and each of them had a translucent tip that was extremely profound, crafted using a secret method known only to the Purple Bamboo Island Master.

Even a Qi refiner of the Lower Five Tiers would be able to write using the brush simply by breathing some spiritual energy onto it, and the brush would glide over paper as smooth as butter, leaving behind fragrant trails of ink while also ensuring that whatever paper was used would be impervious to insect damage for a hundred years.

As a result, these "Lake Bamboo Brushes" were extremely popular in the Luminous Vermilion Empire, and they were often prized collection pieces for wealthy merchants and powerful officials. Even if one couldn't use the brush to write, the sight of it hanging from their brush holder was still one that evoked joy, nonetheless.

At the time, Chen Ping'an had shamelessly accepted the offering, asking for a pair of small brushes that were perfect for his compact script.

These brushes were similar to the Wind and Snow Awl given to him by Li Xisheng. That brush was also one that manifested ink using breaths of spiritual energy, and if there was an excessive amount of spiritual energy breathed into the brush, then one could simply hang it up on a brush holder, and droplets of ink would come dripping down from it.

If there was too little spiritual energy, and one ran out of ink before they completed their writing, then they could simply breathe onto it once again, so it was extremely convenient to use. On top of that, the brush would produce different colors of ink depending on the attributes of the user's bonded acupoints, and that made it very popular among many female cultivators.