Unsheathed

Chapter 421 (2): Young Hero Meeting a Great Hero

Chapter 421 (2): Young Hero Meeting a Great Hero

Wu Yi raised her hand.

The one thousand or so people on the plaza were clearly kneeling and kowtowing, yet it was as if they had eyes on the back of their heads as they immediately stood up at this moment. Pei Qian couldn't help but click her tongue in wonder when she saw this.

Wu Yi directly walked forward, and Chen Ping'an purposely walked half a step behind her, lest he steal the thunder of the sect founder during her long-awaited return. However, Wu Yi unexpectedly slowed down as well, using the fluctuations of her mind's lake to tell Chen Ping'an, "There's no need to be so polite, Young Master Chen. You're an esteemed one-in-one-hundred-year guest of the Purple Sun Residence. My small territory might be located in the regions and distant from the sages, but we must still adhere to the proper etiquette when hosting esteemed guests. So, please feel free to walk alongside me, Young Master Chen."

There was a hint of sincerity and amusement in her voice.

Wu Yi was a proud and haughty person, and she was renowned for being an unrestrained earth immortal in the Yellow Court Nation. In the beginning, she had unwillingly gone to invite Chen Ping'an to her sect. Since he was so respectful in his speech and manner, however, not relying on his relationships with her father, Imperial Preceptor Cui Chan, or Mountain God Wei Bo to threaten or take advantage of her, Wu Yi felt much better and thus spoke these words to him.

Chen Ping'an smiled and shook his head, replying, "This is the first time that True Lord Wu is returning to her sect in one hundred years. If it were any other occasion, then I would have been bolder and accepted the offer to walk alongside True Lord Wu. However, I definitely can't accept the offer today, so please go ahead first, True Lord Wu. We'll be right behind you."

Wu Yi smiled and didn't insist any further, walking forward by herself.

This was a young man who was good at acting within the limits of what was acceptable.

However, he was overly stubborn and pedantic, much like the scholars in the private schools and academies. Wu Yi didn't detest this, but she wasn't fond of it either.

As Wu Yi continued forward, the sea of people on the plaza immediately stepped aside to create a path for her.

As they walked across the plaza, only five or six people had the right to approach Wu Yi and walk behind her. The higher their status in the Purple Sun Residence, the further forward their position as they walked behind their old ancestor. For example, the middle-aged cultivator who was standing on the right-hand side of Chen Ping'an was a Golden Core Tier earth immortal and the current sect master of the Purple Sun Residence.

Meanwhile, the two cultivators walking near Pei Qian, Zhu Lian, and Shi Rou were elderly Dragon Gate Tier cultivators who were older than the sect master. One was responsible for rewards and punishment, and one was responsible for financial matters. From this, it was clear that the position of sect master was nothing more than a show, with the sect master possessing no actual power. Indeed, the sect master was simply a representative of the sect responsible for dealing with the imperial court of the Yellow Court Nation as well as other immortal clans and forces.

Of the seven sect masters in history, only a single one had become a terrestrial immortal through their own cultivation ability. As for the remaining six, including the current sect master, they had all been pushed to this level using the immortal money of the Purple Sun Residence. Thus, their true combat power was far inferior to ordinary Golden Core Tier earth immortals in other large sects. This was especially the case when compared to vagrant cultivators who had endured a bloody journey to reach the level of earth immortal.

The foundations of the Purple Sun Residence were naturally more than just this. There were also disciples whom Wu Yi or the previous sect masters had taken in, the other ancestors of the clan who were cultivating in seclusion, as well as some cultivators in their twilight years who had no hope of attaining the Great Dao. Regarding the last category of cultivators, their golden cores had already been severely eroded by the river of time, meaning that they could only hide in the residences with abundant spiritual energy to stay alive. They lived in seclusion, and they were like mere mortals eating ginseng and hanging on for dear life in their sick beds.

Everyone in the Purple Sun Residence was speculating about the identity of the young man carrying a bamboo bookcase.

Perhaps he was a new disciple that their founder had recruited from outside? That being the case, might he be a candidate for the position of sect master in waiting?

Wu Yi brought Chen Ping'an into the Purple Sun Residence, directly leading him to the Purple Qi Palace located in the central region. At the same time, she also instructed the sect master to organize a grand banquet tonight so that they could warmly welcome their esteemed guests.

After entering the Purple Qi Palace, Wu Yi told the others to wait for them in the Sword Raging Hall first. She said that she was going to personally arrange accommodation for Young Master Chen and the others.@@@@

Esteemed guests?

The high-ranking members of the sect exchanged surprised glances with each other.

Perhaps he was the direct disciple of a Nascent Tier earth immortal in the Great Li Empire? Or perhaps he was the descendant of a powerful pillar clan like the Great Li Empire's Yuan Clan and Cao Clan?

Sure enough, Wu Yi personally arranged accommodation for Chen Ping'an and the others before heading to the Sword Raging Hall to meet with the other high-ranking members of the Purple Sun Residence. She sat on a dragon throne carved from sandalwood and started to ask for reports from the various elders of the sect, for example, how many immortal coins the sect had earned and spent in the past one hundred years, what was the cultivation progress of some talented disciples, the status of some elderly cultivators, and so on.

Wu Yi simply listened most of the time, not offering any opinion on what was said. Otherwise, she couldn't have disappeared for one hundred years and left everything to the elders of the sect. She definitely wouldn't have chosen a puppet sect master even though she was still alive either.

In reality, everyone knew that their old ancestor didn't like to listen to these trivial matters. Even so, everyone gave their reports in a serious manner, keeping things proper as they went through the motions.

Wu Yi didn't disguise her boredom either, leaning sideways and resting her cheek in her hand. She only nodded from time to time.

To cut a long explanation short, it could be said that the Purple Sun Residence was thriving.

This summary was already good enough.

Wu Yi couldn't be bothered wasting her time on trivial matters unrelated to cultivation.

In reality, establishing the Purple Sun Residence and becoming its founder had been an impulse decision borne from extreme boredom.

Moreover, the descendants of flood dragons and their kin were also fond of constructing their own residences and flaunting their wealth. They liked to collect and display treasures that they had obtained from all over the world.

The Yellow Court Nation could be regarded as an old territory of the split-up ancient Shu Nation, and the Divine Water Nation that had mysteriously collapsed in a single night in the past could also be regarded as such. Both of these places possessed incredible feng shui and water fortune that flood dragons and their kin longed for.

"You might laugh at me if I say this, but I'm still unable to imagine that Song Jixin is a prince of the Great Li Empire when I look at him now. Gao Xuan is slightly better, especially since he was dressed in a colorful and extravagant manner the first time I met him. Not only that, but he was also accompanied by a subordinate. However, Song Jixin still looks like that careless and casual person from back then no matter how I look at him."

Zhu Lian raised his pot of wine and lightly clinked it against the Sword Nurturing Gourd in Chen Ping'an's hand. Chen Ping'an hadn't moved his Sword Nurturing Gourd after untying it from his waist, and only now did he finally take his first sip of wine.

Zhu Lian sighed with emotion and said, "Then won't Young Master find it even more unimaginable if Song Jixin somehow becomes the emperor of the Great Li Empire one day?"

"Definitely," Chen Ping'an replied with a nod.

The two people fell silent for a brief moment.

"Cui Dongshan mentioned something very interesting before," Chen Ping’an suddenly said. "He said that the sages of the three teachings are all attempting to find an alternative method, one which can slow down the inevitably unstoppable flow of time."

Zhu Lian's interest was piqued, and he asked in curiosity, "How are they going to slow it down?"

Chen Ping'an rested his arms on the railing, patting it softly as he replied, "The immortal forces are one aspect."

Zhu Lian was quite befuddled.

"The mortal cities are also one aspect," Chen Ping'an continued.

"Wars and battles are another aspect," he said slowly.

"And the teachings of the Hundred Schools of Thought that can capture the minds of people also appear to be one aspect," Chen Ping'an finally said.

Zhu Lian was at a complete loss, and he remarked, "Cui Dongshan always speaks in such a mystical and confusing manner. This old servant is even more confused now."

Chen Ping'an took another sip of wine as he chuckled, "I don't understand it either."

"Then does Young Master want to understand these profoundly mystical Great Daos?" Zhu Lian asked in a quiet voice.

Chen Ping'an thought about this for a moment before shaking his head and replying, "If I can choose to say no, then it's better that I don't need to understand them."

Zhu Lian nodded and said, "Mhm, Young Master already understands enough, so there's indeed no need to explore and understand every single matter. There's no need to get to the bottom of everything."

Chen Ping'an turned around to look at the hunchbacked old man, saying, "Zhu Lian, can you change your habit of seizing every little opportunity to flatter me?"

Zhu Lian raised his arm and swirled the pot of wine in his hand, laughing heartily as he asked, "Why should I change? Will I get wine to drink if I change?"

"That's true," Chen Ping'an replied with a smile.

"Young Master, you said before that you wanted to travel to the Northern Complete Reed Continent by yourself to train. Are you truly not going to take this old servant with you? Just how boring will it be if you don't have a cook or someone who can flatter you all the time?" Zhu Lian asked in an uncertain voice.

Chen Ping'an nodded and said, "You can stay put at Downtrodden Mountain, and I still hope that you can... advance even more on the path of martial arts. Since the old man with the surname Cui is able to spar with me and help me train, he'll naturally be able to help you even more. If you're able to reach the Mountain Summit Tier in the future, then I'll feel at ease when Pei Qian leaves to travel around the world in the future. As long as you're guarding her in secret, I won't be worried regardless of how far she travels, and I won't be worried even if she goes sightseeing in other continents with Li Huai."

Hearing this, Zhu Lian had no option but to give up on trying to change Chen Ping'an's mind.

"Zhu Lian, can you tell me about your youth?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Zhu Lian unexpectedly became a little embarrassed as he replied, "There were countless muddleheaded relationships, and countless debts of love. I'm afraid that Young Master will lose his appetite to drink if I talk about these things."

Chen Ping'an hopped onto the railing and sat down, saying, "Go on and tell me about it. In reality, I secretly read the cultivation novels that you gave Pei Qian a few times, and I feel like they were written quite well. However, that's the cultivation world born from the imagination of literati in their studies, after all, so it's not realistic enough. I'm sure that a recount of your experiences will be far more interesting."

Zhu Lian also hopped onto the railing and sat down, cracking a grin as he replied, "Sure thing. Then please allow this old servant to provide a vivid recount of his carefree and romantic youthhood. Back then, countless celestial maidens and chivalrous female martial artists admired me sincerely, helplessly falling for my charisma."

However, the more Zhu Lian recounted, the more obvious he noticed the look of disdain in Chen Ping'an's eyes becoming. In the end, Chen Ping'an patted Zhu Lian's shoulder and didn't say anything else as he hopped off the railing and walked away.

This caused Zhu Lian to feel slightly hurt.

His young master was good in all aspects, yet he was genuinely far too proper and serious when it came to romantic relationships. They were far too opposite-minded regarding this matter!

However, what Zhu Lian most likely didn't know was this. After walking into the treasure-storage building, Chen Ping'an said to himself in his mind, You already have Ning Yao, you already have Ning Yao... If you dare to have impure thoughts and think about other girls, then Ning Yao will definitely beat you to death without saying a single word... I'm not even allowed to just think about it? No, that can't be allowed. When you see Ning Yao, will you be able to hide anything from her? You'll definitely be exposed, and you'll end up being beaten half-dead. Will you dare to fight back?