Unsheathed

Chapter 321 (2): Each a Peak, Yet Missing a Mountain

One needed to throw punches after learning fist techniques, and one needed to unleash sword strikes after learning sword techniques.

No matter what, one needed to stand up and make oneself heard.

Ding Ying's mind instantly became clear, allowing him to feel completely calm and at ease.

If he retreated from one sword strike, two sword strikes, and every single sword strike, then where in the world would he end up retreating to? How could he still challenge the heavens?!

He would treat this young otherworldly immortal—this young boy called Chen Ping'an—as the heavens. After beating this person to death, he would then charge ahead to beat that larger entity to death. At that time, clarity would return to heaven and earth, and the world would welcome a brand new beginning!

Why don't I, Ding Ying, try my hand at becoming the new heaven?!

Ding Ying roared with delighted laughter, forming seals with his hands as his soul wandered out of his body. Indeed, his yin soul was surprisingly wandering around the world during the daytime.

The yin god held a hand behind his back and extended another hand forward, shielding its eyes from the sun as its impassioned voice sounded in the mind's lake of Ding Ying. "Will Ding Ying become more powerful if I vanish from the world?"

Ding Ying was naturally speaking to himself.

He didn't say anything with his mouth, but he sneered in his mind, "I have no control over the limit of my cultivation, but I still need to follow the rules. However, my mind can naturally become more powerful. There's no need to speak any more nonsense. What will it matter even if I lose all of my souls and only have my physical body remaining? I'll still live how I need to live, and I'll still do what I need to do."

A moment later, Chen Ping'an drifted to the ground with Lasting Qi in his hand and a slightly awkward expression on his face.

As it turned out, Chen Ping'an's breath of True Qi had already been at its limit, stretched to the last of its power to unleash the sword strike with much difficulty. However, the intent of the sword strike was far too grand, while Chen Ping'an's current power was far too measly. As a result, he had failed to unleash the proper might of the sword strike. In the end, his sword strike had appeared far more magnificent than it was damaging.

Even Chen Ping'an, who didn't care about anything else when fighting, couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Meanwhile, the yin god who had resolved to sacrifice itself only had its hand and arm sliced off. It looked over in puzzlement before silently retreating several steps and returning to Ding Ying's body.

Ding Ying and Chen Ping'an tacitly paused their battle for a brief moment.

Chen Ping'an had to replenish his breath of Qi.

Ding Ying needed to soothe his soul.

It was also at this moment that their minds suddenly calmed down, like a ship dropping its anchor.

The old Daoist priest only just arrived at the city wall after leaving the well. He smiled and made up his mind.

None of the grandmasters on the city wall, not even otherworldly immortals like Zhou Fei who had their power completely intact, were able to detect the old Daoist priest's presence.

Perhaps it was her sixth sense, but only Fan Wan'er glanced toward that side of the city wall. However, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so she quickly retracted her gaze.

Yu Zhenyi looked around and said in a begrudging voice, "I was extremely careful with each step I took when cultivating immortal techniques, and I thought that I could at least challenge Ding Ying to a battle. Who would have imagined that I'm still far inferior to him? In the end, Ding Ying is fortune's favorite child in this world. Is there truly no opportunity for immortal cultivators to rise to the top?"

Zhou Fei clicked his tongue in wonder and remarked, "Old Demon Ding is trying to obtain all of the martial fortune for himself. Did he suddenly become enlightened to something and obtain the recognition of this heaven and earth's regulations? That can't be, right? After all, all of us here are still alive and well, so how can Ding Ying possibly obtain such immense fortune? He's not the lunatic emperor from Eastern Treasured Vial Continent's Lu Empire, someone who decided to go all out and secretly give half of his empire's martial fortune to his son upon seeing that his empire was about to fall."

Zhou Fei continued to ramble on about these things, secretly feeling amused. In any case, he was merely an onlooker who didn't care about how dire the battle became.

"How do you know about these minor matters from the measly Eastern Treasured Vial Continent in the north?" Lu Fang asked.

Zhou Fei smiled and replied, "I'm the clan leader of the Jiang Clan, after all, so how can I ignore everything that's going on in Majestic World? Someone will often keep me informed in my dreams."

"Something like this is possible?" Lu Fang asked in puzzlement.

"Just spend some money!" Zhou Fei replied.

However, Zhou Fei appeared a little pained as he huffed, "The short night of spring is worth a thousand taels of gold. However, that's nothing at all! My one dream a year is what's truly going to cost me mountains of gold and silver."

Standing in the distance, Yu Zhenyi furrowed his brow as the silver-colored lotus flower hat in his hand shuddered violently. The lotus petals suddenly burst open, allowing a streak of dark green light to break free and vanish into the distance, rapidly soaring toward the south.

When the right moment came, both heaven and earth would offer their strength.

Wisps of ethereal and faintly discernible light rushed toward Ding Ying from all directions.

Ding Ying closed his eyes and accepted the boundless martial fortune from heaven and earth.

Meanwhile, Chen Ping'an's Dao robe, Golden Sweet Wine, suddenly billowed in the air. It no longer appeared as a snow-white robe, and it instead returned to its original appearance as a dazzling golden robe.

Not only this, but First also soared out from the Sword Nurturing Gourd by Chen Ping'an's waist.

At the same time, Fifteenth shot over from the distance.

Chen Ping'an held Lasting Qi as he stood on top of the small hill. Sword qi flowed down his arm, and First and Fifteenth danced around him. After reuniting, the two flying swords, which had never been especially compatible with each other, appeared as excited and joyful as they had ever been.

The sleeves of Golden Sweet Wine flowed in the wind. Chen Ping'an suddenly tightened his grip on Lasting Qi, causing his sleeves to loudly flutter instead.

This was only a small hill.

However, there was someone standing atop this "towering mountain" and shaking the dust from their robes.

This was a battle between Chen Ping'an and Ding Ying, one atop the mountain and one beneath the mountain.

Each had taken a stride upward, and each had reached a brand-new peak. This was the case for both their cultivation base and their mental state.

Ding Ying opened his eyes and glanced at the wine gourd hanging by Chen Ping'an's waist. He roared with laughter and promised, "I'll drink the wine for you after our battle is over."

Chen Ping'an patted his Sword Nurturing Gourd, signifying to Ding Ying that he could try to obtain it if he were powerful enough to do so.

The battle between them recommenced.

This time, however, they didn't try to maintain a specific distance between each other. Rather, they would draw close at times and drift far apart at other times, causing sword qi and astral energy to flood through an area measuring five hundred meters in radius.

Ding Yin and Chen Ping'an fought all the way to Bull Mountain, with dust and stones flying through the air as they battled from the foot of the mountain all the way to the peak of the mountain.

Ding Ying was pushed from the mountain peak to the mountain foot by Chen Ping'an's sword strike.

However, Ding Ying immediately soared up and punched Chen Ping'an back to the mountain peak.

Ding Ying slowly climbed the mountain, with each casual punch like a punch coming from a deity measuring three hundred meters in height as it smashed into Bull Mountain.

Chen Ping'an obliterated each punch with a single slash.

After obtaining the martial fortune of heaven and earth, Ding Ying's yin soul surprisingly drifted out from his body again, transforming into a Golden Dao Manifestation that towered above Bull Mountain. The yin god clenched both hands into fists and pummeled Bull Mountain again and again.

Chen Ping'an should have switched to the Rain Evaporation Technique to deal with Ding Ying's attacks, yet he no longer considered switching back to fist techniques after grabbing his immortal sword. Even though he was continually pushed down along with the peak of Bull Mountain by the Golden Dao Manifestation, he still insisted on using his sword to face his enemy.

Dust and debris from Bull Mountain were already blotting out heaven and earth, with giant boulders continuing to roll down and avalanche-like landslides continuing to occur, carrying with them countless trees, vegetation, and rocks. This was the result of Ding Ying's overwhelming attacks.

The towering peak of Bull Mountain was pushed further and further down.

However, the young boy dressed in the golden robe remained standing atop the mountain peak.

Ding Ying walked up to the lowered mountain peak, with dust swirling around him and dimming the surroundings.

Seizing the opportunity when Chen Ping'an blocked a downward palm strike from the Golden Dao Manifestation and obliterated its hand, causing shards of golden light to burst into the surroundings like a downpour of golden rain around the mountain, Ding Ying charged straight forward and slammed a fist into Chen Ping'an's forehead.

A speck of golden light drew an arc through the air, starting from Bull Mountain and violently landing on the ground hundreds of meters away from Bull Mountain.

The arc of golden light looked much like a golden arch bridge.

Ding Ying unleashed a punch with his complete fist intent.

A streak of white light shot through the air, appearing radiant and majestic as it surged forward.

The destination of this streak of white light was none other than the location of that speck of golden light.

Chen Ping'an was forced to retreat another three hundred or so meters.

Ding Ying was extremely frustrated by Chen Ping'an's tough physique. Even the peak of Bull Mountain had been crushed and reduced by dozens of meters, yet this young boy was still able to stand as if nothing had happened at all? Not only that, but he could still unleash sword strike after sword strike?

"Is this punch going to kill you or not?!" Ding Ying roared.

The colossal Golden Dao Manifestation behind him leaped over Bull Mountain, leaning forward as its foot made contact with the ground. Meanwhile, its other foot was stomping down at Chen Ping'an's head.

The Golden Dao Manifestation appeared indomitable compared to the young boy who could only tighten his grip on Lasting Qi.

The two of them continued to frenziedly attack each other, becoming increasingly content and delighted as they fought. Sword qi continued to explode around Chen Ping'an's arms, enduring the furious attacks that Ding Ying's yin god was launching at Golden Sweet Wine. The domineering spiritual energy was almost erupting right above Chen Ping'an's head.

Chen Ping'an was completely engrossed in his battle with Ding Ying, so much so that he had no time to familiarize himself with the changing spiritual energy in the surroundings. Everything appeared extremely natural, and it was as if the existence of this spiritual energy aligned with the nature of heaven and earth.

Even though he felt immense pain, as if a deity were pummeling him with spiritual energy, Chen Ping'an paid no heed to this and simply treated it like he would treat the torturous pain from practicing fist techniques.

As for the chaotic spiritual energy seeping into his skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and then his acupoints, soul, and mind's lake, Chen Ping'an didn't have any spare time or effort to care about it either.

The mountains were tall and the waters were dangerous, and the path in front of him was filled with challenges and obstacles.

Chen Ping'an focused his attention on the distance, as if he could navigate his way around some obstacles underfoot in a natural and intuitive manner. The path was still the same path, and he hadn't taken a shortcut or employed any tricks. Thus, those surmounted obstacles became a part of Chen Ping'an's life experience.

The Golden Dao Manifestation's foot crashed down, blasting a huge crater into the ground.

Ding Ying assumed an intuitive fist stance, with his true intent reaching a state where the thoughts in his mind could almost become reality.

A palm faced the sky and rested horizontally in front of him, while one hand clenched into a fist and furiously struck the palm.

After the strike...

Wind rose and clouds surged and the sky turned dark as a bolt of lightning as thick as a tree measuring a dozen meters in radius cracked down from the heavens.

The yin god had already retreated, crossing its arms before its chest as it looked on with a cold gaze.

One after another, countless bolts of lightning smashed into that gigantic crater.

The lightning was relentless, raining down with no reprieve toward the young boy who was standing hunchbacked at the bottom of the crater. They were like bursts of flood water rapidly surging down and washing over Golden Sweet Wine.

Ding Ying's eyes became golden-yellow, and the sea of clouds that was like a lake of lightning in the sky unleashed the thickest bolt of snow-white lightning when he slammed his fist into his palm for the final time. However, this bolt of lightning didn't descend toward the gigantic crater, and it instead traveled slowly as it landed in the Golden Dao Manifestation's hand. It was as if his yin soul were holding a sword.

The Golden Dao Manifestation then sprinted forward, holding the "sword" in front of it as it did so.

In the end, it grabbed the lightning sword with both hands as it stood on the edge of the gigantic crater, ruthlessly driving it down toward that young otherworldly immortal's head!

Apart from the might of lightning, one had to understand that this sword also possessed Ding Ying's comprehension of the Sword Dao.

Ding Ying pursed his lips and clasped his hands behind his back, saying, "I know you've come. Are you only going to show yourself after Chen Ping'an dies? You're truly very generous, and this otherworldly immortal called Chen Ping'an is genuinely the most optimal whetstone. What, are you afraid that I'm too weak? Perhaps I'm not worthy enough for you to fight against?"

Above the city wall...

There was a cloudy expression on Yu Zhenyi's face.

Zhong Qiu chuckled and asked, "How is it? Do you still feel like you're an immortal who's achieved success in cultivation?"

Zhou Fei smacked his forehead and lamented in a sulky voice, "Fucking hell, we're in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land! We're not in Majestic World where you can wield spiritual energy as you please! The two of you are far too... Forget about it, I'm definitely going to look for this Chen Ping'an when I return. I'm going to become acquainted with him regardless of his current cultivation. In fact, it's best if he becomes a guest elder of my Jiang Clan. So what if his cultivation base is low right no—"

Lu Fang interrupted his good friend's muttering and said with a cold chuckle, "The prerequisite is that he doesn't die."

Zhou Fei sighed and removed the hand from his forehead, gazing toward Bull Mountain and sighing, "That's very difficult."

In addition to the rain of lightning violently slamming down, Ding Ying's yin soul transforming into a Golden Dao Manifestation was ruthlessly driving a sword of lightning toward Chen Ping'an's head.

Even though Chen Ping'an was wearing Golden Sweet Wine, and First and Fifteenth unleashed their full power to block this strike, he was still pummeled extremely deep into the ground, to nobody's surprise.

After Chen Ping'an vanished, the sword of lightning in the yin soul's hands shattered as well. At the same time, sword intent and lightning chaotically erupted through the crater, with the scene in the gigantic crater reflecting the scene in the sky. Both contained a pool of crackling lightning.

The battle was already settled.

Ding Ying remained tense, ready to face his true opponent.

Sure enough...

An abnormally tall and sturdy old Daoist priest appeared on the peak of Bull Mountain not far from where Ding Ying was standing. There was calm indifference in his voice as he replied, "You're simply whetstones for each other."

Ding Ying was just about to say something.

However, the old Daoist priest chuckled coldly and said, "You're seeking death. However, this doesn't matter. Ding Ying, you have been quite interesting during the past sixty years."

In Majestic World, pure martial artists tempered their soul at the fourth tier and tempered their physique at the fifth tier.

After having his physical body smashed into the ground, Chen Ping'an indeed didn't stand up to battle again.

However, a young sword immortal dressed in a flowing golden robe appeared inside the gigantic crater flooded with crackling lightning. He was filled with spirit, and he held two fingers together before lightly dragging them across the air.

And thereupon, a sword materialized in front of him.

This was identical to the scene atop the city wall.

However, the difference was that another person appeared behind the otherworldly immortal in gold. He was a young boy wearing straw sandals and dressed in coarse clothes, and he looked a little younger than the otherworldly immortal.

A sword hovered above the world. And the otherworldly immortal called Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "I have a single sword..."

...as the Chen Ping'an wearing straw sandals rushed forward and grabbed the sword, leaping high into the air just like that time he had unleashed a sword strike at Middle Earth Divine Continent's Tassel Mountain. His voice was resounding as he continued, "Capable of moving mountains!"

After the sword strike... how could there still exist a so-called most powerful person in the world?

Old Demon Ding was comprehensively wiped off the face of the world.

The entire Bull Mountain vanished with him, razed to the ground by that single sword strike.

Inside the gigantic crater, Chen Ping'an shook Golden Sweet Wine. Golden Sweet Wine was no longer suppressed by lightning, borrowing its power to break free from the suppression of the earth. He pulled himself out from the ground, after which his two souls returned to his body. He then followed the incline of the gigantic crater to slowly return to the surface.

There was a hint of laughter—perhaps mocking or perhaps teasing—in the old Daoist priest's voice as he remarked, "That sword strike was quite okay."

Chen Ping'an grabbed the wine gourd from his waist and drank a hearty gulp of wine before asking, "Are you the Daoist priest from the East Sea that Sword Immortal Chen mentioned? Is this place the Observing Dao Temple?"

The old Daoist priest appeared beside Chen Ping'an and shook his head, replying, "There's no such place as the Observing Dao Temple. Wherever I am is wherever the Daoist temple is."

Chen Ping'an raised his arm and wiped the blood from his face. However, it wasn't long before blood quickly covered his face again. "Can I curse for a bit?" he asked.

The old Daoist priest smiled faintly and replied, "Do as you see fit."

Chen Ping'an's expression remained unchanged, and he continued to wipe the blood from his face as he said, "Old Senior, your Dao power is truly as lofty as the heavens. How very impressive."

The old Daoist priest nodded and remarked, "You're worthy to be taught."