Unsheathed

Chapter 365 (2): Sword Over Reason

It was only a distance of a few meters, so the celestial weapon was able to cover the distance in the blink of an eye, but to the astonishment of Du Mao and the elderly scholar, the Sword Devouring Ark hovered in front of her face while trembling incessantly with instinctive fear, as if it were cursing Du Mao for placing it in this terrible situation.

The woman pointed a finger downward and instructed, "Get down now, you're blocking my view."

The Sword Devouring Ark immediately began to descend like a docile pet, drawing to a halt beside her foot, only for her to still kick it aside anyway.

Du Mao raised a thumb before wiping it over his own lips, and anyone who was familiar with him knew that this was the habitual gesture that he always made when he was about to go all out.

The woman heaved a faint sigh, then said to Du Mao, "You're a lucky guy to have only lost a bonded item. That sword strike was meant for you. However, you won't be so lucky the next time I appear on Parasol Leaf Continent."

Right at this moment, a giant sleeved hand suddenly descended out of the sky where the hole in heaven and earth had just been torn open earlier, and it grabbed onto the old blade between two of its fingers, upon which the entire arm immediately began trembling.

It was clear that even though only the tip of the blade had been sharpened, it was proving rather difficult to stop.

At the same time, an authoritative voice rang out from beyond this world, reprimanding her. "Don't do that again."

The white-robed woman turned around and asked, "Would you like me to open things up between Majestic World and Heavenly World instead?"

She then made a beckoning motion, and the old blade instantly vanished from between the fingers of the giant hand before reappearing her grasp.

The owner of the arm remained hidden, and with a flick of his wrist, his sleeve surged forth like a turbulent river, swallowing up the elderly scholar as he scolded, "Come back with me to repent for your actions in the Confucian temple."

"Uuuh, someone's in trouble now," the Scholarly Sage chuckled with more than a hint of schadenfreude in his voice.

The owner of the giant hand gave a cold harrumph. "You take care of this mess, the Confucian temple is not going to get involved."

The Scholarly Sage immediately flared up with rage as he yelled, "Why should I have to take care of this mess? Give me something in return! After that, I'm going to the Confucian temple and throwing out all of the statues inside aside from the statue of the old man! After that, I'll move my own statue in. The old man has always been the most fond of me anyway..."

After capturing the elderly scholar with his sleeve, the owner of the giant hand sighed, "Fine, you can have this."

As soon as his voice trailed off, the hole was closed, and a golden jade pendant drifted down from above.

However, it wasn't the elderly scholar's jade pendant, the one that read "those in high places should help the less privileged." Instead, it was the middle-aged scholar's jade pendant, the one that read "nourishing the noble spirit."

A pleased look appeared on the Scholarly Sage's face as he caught the jade pendant, and he said, "Finally, some minor compensation for all my hard work."

The owner of the giant hand seemed to have been irked by the fact that the jade pendant was being referred to as "minor compensation," and instead of immediately returning to Middle Earth Divine Continent, he left a vast, righteous aura lingering outside the small world.

The Scholarly Sage looked up at the sky and yelled, "What? Do you want to fight as well? Should I tell you about how I lost that battle between third and fourth? Was it really because your scholarly principles were more sound than mine? If it wasn't for the fact that Qi Jingchun and Zuo You were among my disciples..."

The Scholarly Sage rustled his sleeves and began bending his knees slightly as he spoke, preparing to sit down to reason with the almighty figure in the heavens.

Only the sages of Confucianism and the Upper Five Tiers immortals of Middle Earth Divine Continent had witnessed just how influential the Scholarly Sage was at the height of his powers, and how he had managed to crush the sages of Buddhism and Daoism.

Even though Cui Chan had already turned his back on his master, even he couldn't help but be overcome with reverence whenever he spoke of this passage in history.

The owner of the giant hand departed without a word.

The Scholarly Sage stopped what he was doing, then looked up at the sky for a long time. Only after verifying that the figure in the heavens was well and truly gone did he bite down onto the golden jade pendant as he murmured to himself, "It's real! Looks like I didn't spout all that nonsense for nothing."

The white-robed woman turned to Du Mao with a smile as she said, "It seems like you're even less fortunate than I imagined."

The Scholarly Sage burst into laughter as he jeered, "Aren't you always complaining about the restrictions placed upon Ascension Tier cultivators? In that case, she'll beat you back down to the Unpolished Jade Tier, and you'll be able to go wherever you please then! You want to sever my scholarly lineage, don't you? How do you feel now?

“You have the worst luck out of anyone I've seen in the past ten thousand years! You should go and boast about it to whoever's willing to listen..."

"Look after my master!" the white-robed woman commanded as she turned back with a cold expression.

The Scholarly Sage immediately settled down as he said in a sheepish manner, "Don't worry, I care about Little Ping'an no less than you do."

Du Mao rolled up his sleeves as he declared, "Even without my Sword Devouring Ark, I'm still an Ascension Tier cultivator!"

A mocking sneer appeared on the Scholarly Sage's face as he swept a sleeve through the air, and the sky of the small world above Du Mao's head parted, creating an opening that was just large enough for him to fit through and return to Majestic World.

Du Mao was finally beginning to lose his composure. Beyond the restrictions placed upon them by the rules of Confucianism, the main reason Ascension Tier cultivators had to stay in various blessed lands without daring to come out was that if they were to come out, then they could easily attract backlash from the Great Dao.

"Close it," the white-robed woman ordered as she raised her blade, and the Scholarly Sage nodded and did as he was told.

Du Mao was beginning to panic a little now, but the aggression on his face didn't waver in the slightest as he asked, "Do you really place this young man in such high regard that you're willing to drive me into a corner?"

"Oh? Are you trying to reason with me now?" the white-robed woman chuckled.

Indeed, Du Mao was trying to de-escalate things to reach a peaceful resolution.

He had three objectives for this northbound trip, the first of which was to see Zuo You's swordsmanship for himself, the second was to probe Divine Lord Yang of Jewel Small World to see just how much he was willing to tolerate, and the third was to infiltrate Eastern Treasured Vial Continent on behalf of Parasol Leaf Sect.

If the opportunity arose for him to sever the Scholarly Sage's lineage while he was fulfilling these three objectives, then he certainly didn't mind doing that on the side as well.

At this point, he had already completed two of those objectives, and it was clear that Zuo You wasn't coming, so he would just have to make do with two out of three. Hence, there really was no point for him to stay here any longer and endanger himself.

Power was above all else among cultivators.

At the very least, that was an idea that Du Mao had always subscribed to.

The white-robed woman tightened her grip around her old blade as she asked, "Did you try to reason with my master earlier?"

Du Mao remained completely unfazed as he scoffed, "At his current cultivation base, he's nothing more than a useless piece of trash! If it wasn't because I wanted to lure out Zuo You, he wouldn't even have been worthy of standing before me!"

The white-robed woman gestured with her free hand, and the Scholarly Sage reluctantly pulled out a scenic picture scroll as he sighed, "Try not to completely destroy it."

As soon as Du Mao caught sight of the picture scroll, he immediately stowed his Sword Devouring Ark back into his acupoint without any hesitation, then summoned his Golden Dao Manifestation and forced the small world around him open before flying toward the South Sea.

The white-robed woman made no effort to pursue him; the Scholarly Sage also just smiled as he casually tossed the picture scroll through the air.

The white-robed woman and Du Mao's Golden Dao Manifestation vanished one after the other.

Immediately thereafter, the scenic picture scroll scroll drew to a halt, hovering directly in front of the Scholarly Sage. As for the small world that encompassed Old Dragon City, it was sealed once again, and aside from the old maidservant from the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan, who was able to blink slightly, everyone else in the entire city was completely still and frozen in time.

The sound of tearing fabric began to ring out incessantly from the picture scroll, and it was the sound of Du Mao's Golden Dao Manifestation and the white-robed woman's sword tearing through the world within the scroll.

Every single tear was accompanied by a pained wince from the Scholarly Sage.

No more than fifteen minutes had passed by before the Scholarly Sage tapped a finger against a certain part of the picture scroll before tucking it up his sleeve.

The white-robed woman slowly emerged out of thin air with the old blade hanging from her waist. Its sharpened tip had dulled ever so slightly.

She was yawning into one hand and held a leg in the other.

Du Mao was dragged out of the picture scroll behind her like a dead dog.

"What was his name again?" the white-robed woman asked.

The Scholarly Sage wiped the sweat from his forehead as he replied, "His name is Du Mao, and he's the most powerful cultivator on Parasol Leaf Continent aside from the old Daoist priest from the East Sea."

The white-robed woman nodded in response, then tossed Du Mao's body aside as she said, "He has some tricks up his sleeve. In the instant that he forced this small world open, his yin soul returned to his true body. As for this body, it's only a yang soul avatar of his."

A speechless look appeared on the Scholarly Sage's face as he mused, "But even so, he's still a twelfth-tier cultivator."

The white-robed woman sat down with her legs crossed beside Chen Ping'an, then gently cradled him in her arms as she cast her gaze into the distance and said, "In the face of my sword, it makes no difference whether he's a twelfth or thirteenth-tier cultivator."

"What happened to the Sword Devouring Ark?" the Scholarly Sage asked.

"I stopped suppressing it and allowed him to use it as he pleased, and after that, I destroyed it in battle. Otherwise, I would've come out long ago. I just wanted to see exactly what a so-called celestial weapon is all about," the white-robed woman replied in a nonchalant fashion.

"How have things been going for you?" the Scholarly Sage asked as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The white-robed woman looked down at Chen Ping'an's face to find that his brows were furrowed tightly, as if he were having a nightmare. Even though his injuries had been temporarily suppressed by the Scholarly Sage, there were definitely going to be some hard times ahead for him.

She gently smoothed down his brows with her fingers as she replied, "That cliff in the mountains of Jewel Small World was formed by the sword intent of my former owner, so it belongs to me to begin with. It's just that so many years have passed by that I can't be bothered to fight over ownership anymore. After that, I made a deal with Ruan whatever-his-name-was, granting him ownership of thirty percent of that chunk of Dragon Slaying Platform."

The Scholarly Sage took a glance at the tip of the old sword blade hanging from her waist, then smiled as he asked, "So you've been using Ruan Qiong's Dragon Slaying Platform to sharpen your sword these past few years?"

"I've been using the one from True Martial Mountain," the white-robed woman replied. "Ruan Qiong's piece is reserved for Little Ping'an."

The Scholarly Sage began sweating even more profusely upon hearing this.

"This isn't over yet," the white-robed woman said as she cast her gaze toward the south.

The Scholarly Sage hurriedly shook his head as he replied, "It's indeed not over yet, but your involvement in this matter ends here. Leave the rest to me; it's what's best for Little Ping'an."

The white-robed woman nodded in response.

"After I go back, I most likely won't be coming out again anytime soon. If I come out next time, only to find that you've made an absolute mess of things, then you can be certain that I'll find you. I'm sure you're aware that after you've integrated yourself with the Great Dao of Majestic World, I'm the only one left in this world who can kill you."

"Why be so hostile to me? We're on the same side," the Scholarly Sage said with a sheepish grin.

The white-robed woman shook her head as she said, "Everything was going fine, but you insisted on taking Little Ping'an as your disciple, and that led to this disaster. If it wasn't for the fact that we're on the same side, I would've already cut you down by now."

The Scholarly Sage glowered at her as he objected, "Don't go saying hurtful things like that! Would you dare to say the same thing in the presence of your master?"

"I wouldn't say it, but I would do it behind his back," the white-robed woman replied in a direct and straightforward manner. "As for whether he'll continue to accept me when he finds out, it doesn't matter because he'll still be my master either way."

The Scholarly Sage had no response to this.

After the gift that she had presented to Chen Ping'an was shattered, three pieces of Dragon Slaying Platform had fallen out of it. They were all of different sizes, with the smallest one only roughly the size of a ruler, while the largest one was around the same size as a palatial floor tile.

The white-robed woman made a beckoning motion to draw the three pieces of Dragon Slaying Platform to herself, then handed Chen Ping'an over to the Scholarly Sage as she said, "I'm going to take care of some loose ends."

"Do be gentle," the Scholarly Sage sighed in a resigned manner.

The white-robed woman offered no response as she began making her way toward the Nascent Tier maidservant from the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan.

She reached out with her index and middle fingers, forcibly plucking the maidservant's bonded flying sword out of her acupoint. As she held the bonded flying sword between her fingers, she began applying more force, causing the flying sword to bend like a bow.

The old maidservant was completely immobilized in this small world, so she could only put on a pitiful, imploring expression.

The white-robed woman turned to her as she scoffed, "You're begging me to spare your flying sword? In that case, let's do things my master's way. Tell me why I should let you off the hook, and if I deem your reasoning to be sound, then I'll spare your flying sword."

This was clearly an unreasonable demand.

The old maidservant possessed nowhere near the power required to be able to speak in this small world, so she could only look on helplessly as the white-robed woman continued to exert more and more force through her fingers, causing the flying sword to bend further and further before abruptly snapping into two.

Blood immediately began flowing out of all of the old maidservant's orifices, while a crack appeared on her golden core, and her nascent soul was also howling in agony and grief.

The white-robed woman smiled as she said, "Honestly, I much prefer the way that you people like to do things, so I have to give you all a taste of your own medicine before Little Ping'an wakes up. Once he does, I may not get another opportunity like this."

As soon as her voice trailed off, she sprang up into the sky, ascending to the sea of clouds above Old Dragon City in the blink of an eye.

Fan Junmao was still seated in that strange position, and she raised her head to reveal a pair of fervent eyes that were also filled with awe and veneration.

The first thing that she said upon seeing the white-robed woman was, "I didn't know that young man was your new master!"

The woman leaned down slightly in front of Fan Junmao as she smiled and asked, "Should you be forgiven for not knowing?"

"No," Fan Junmao replied with a shake of her head. "Ignorance is the most severe transgression possible."

An exasperated look appeared on the white-robed woman's face as she sighed, "Why do you always look so pathetic whenever I see you? You're either sneaking off to the arch bridge to cry to the sea of clouds, or kneeling on the sea of clouds as you are now. How am I supposed to kill you when you're so pitiful and pathetic?"

"If you're going to kill me, then do it!" Fan Junmao urged with a bright gleam in her eyes. "So long as you continue to exist, that's enough!"

The white-robed woman gently picked up her blade, then twirled it around in a circle before piercing it through Fan Junmao's heart and lifting her into the air.

"Did you think I wouldn't do it? Do you know how many people like you I've killed in the past?"

Blood began to flow from the corner of Fan Junmao's lips, but her eyes remained as bright and fervent as ever as she murmured, "You haven't changed. You haven't changed at all! Even though it's been ten thousand years, you haven't changed in the slightest, and even in another ten thousand years, you won't change at all. As long as you wish for it to be so, this entire world will bow to you and..."

The white-robed woman turned around to take a glance at the city wall, then abruptly vanished from atop the sea of clouds. The old blade was also pulled out of Fan Junmao's chest before returning to her waist.

Fan Junmao collapsed onto the sea of clouds with a hand clasped over her heart, and she immediately fell unconscious, but the sea of clouds then began surging into her body in a frenzy.

Over at the hole in the city wall, Chen Ping'an had already woken up, but there was a rather dazed and confused look in his eyes.

The Scholarly Sage was nowhere to be seen.

However, Chen Ping'an spotted that familiar figure drifting down in front of him, hovering in mid-air outside the hole in the city wall.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

The woman shook her head.

"I'll be more careful next time," Chen Ping'an promised. "Maybe I'll learn the Naturalist art of divination. I thought that I would be able to resolve this matter, but I didn't expect that cultivator to be so powerful."

The white-robed woman shook her head once again.

"You're not disappointed in me?" Chen Ping'an asked.

The woman shook her head a third time.

A warm smile appeared on Chen Ping'an's face upon hearing this, and his smile was mirrored by the white-robed woman.