Chapter 504: (5): Sword Immortal In A Sword Immortal's Hand

Chen Ping'an looked at the guarded expression of Lake Lord Yin Hou and chuckled, "You should be keenly aware of the fact that I could kill you with relative ease if I were hellbent on doing so."

Yin Hou nodded and replied, "This is indeed the case, so I'm actually very curious about why Sword Immortal is choosing to spare me."

Chen Ping'an looked around and didn't say anything.

Lake Lord Yin Hou's feet remained in the water the entire time.

Not only that, but a sea of dark clouds started to gather above the jurisdiction of Verdant Bamboo Lake again.

"What actually happened with the secret letter that the prefectural overseer of Imperial Accompanying City sent to the capital back then?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Lake Lord Yin Hou didn't hesitate in the least as he replied, "The contents of the letter aren't anything new, and I presume that Sword Immortal is able to guess what the prefectural overseer wrote. He naturally expressed hope that his good friend in the capital could help him continue to investigate the case and eventually overturn the verdict following his death. At the very least, his good friend should find an opportunity to publicize the truth regarding the case.

“However, there was one remark in the letter that Sword Immortal probably hasn't been able to guess. At the end of the letter, the prefectural overseer said that his friend didn't need to rush and endanger himself by investigating the matter if he were unable to become a high-ranking official of the immortal court, lest he fail to overturn the verdict and become another victim."

Chen Ping'an grabbed a pot of wine from thin air, cracking open the clay seal and starting to drink slowly.

Lake Lord Yin Hou continued his explanation, saying with a smile, "I have some networks in the capital, and Sword Immortal is also aware of my terrible relationship with Imperial Accompanying City. As such, I hadn't been harboring any ulterior motives when I instructed the canal master of Algae Stream to follow the messenger, and I had simply wanted the secret letter to be successfully delivered to the capital. Moreover, I also have some subordinates and good relationships in the capital, so I told the canal master to help the prefectural overseer's good friend enjoy a smoother journey through the imperial court as long as he was willing to investigate the case and overturn the verdict.

"However, I hadn't anticipated that the city god of Imperial Accompanying City would be so resolute, directly killing an official of the imperial court, someone who was already a prefectural overseer. Not only that, but the city god hadn't shown any patience at all, not even waiting for the prefectural overseer to leave Imperial Accompanying City before he killed him. This was actually quite troublesome, and the city god was presumably acting out of desperation, having no time to care about anything else and simply trying to eliminate the root of the problem first.

"Afterward, word somehow got out that the canal master of Algae Stream was in the capital, and this caused the city god of Imperial Accompanying City to start scheming as well. He instructed a trusted subordinate to take the half-formed incense person and bring it to the capital to deliver to the prefectural overseer's good friend. The hand-picked scholar was yet to fill a vacant spot in the imperial court at the time, so he had agreed to the conditions of Imperial Accompanying City's city god temple without any hesitation.

“This being the case, I had instructed the canal master of Algae Stream to return to Verdant Bamboo Lake. After all, better a close neighbor than a distant brother. Making some small and subtle moves behind the scenes would be fine, but doing away with all pretenses of geniality would be going too far."

Chen Ping'an suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question, saying, "With your position as lake lord, do you need to go to so much trouble to obtain a talented mortal woman whom you fancy?"

Lake Lord Yin Hou smiled faintly and replied, "First of all, the commoners are naive, and they fear might rather than virtue. Second of all, it isn't my dragon palace that requires beautiful maidservants. Thirdly, the three rivers and two canals also need maidservants, as do my subordinates. Of course, if one woman disappears today, another disappears tomorrow, and so on, then the excessive fear sown in the territory of Verdant Bamboo Lake will also be a bad thing.

"The commoners are easy to deal with, and they'll have no option but to accept their fate. However, the scholarly clans and the wealthy clans are different, and these are clans that can grow legs and relocate. Word will get out, so what will these clans do once they're subject to perpetual fear all year round? They'll naturally relocate away from the region. As time goes on, the feng shui and fortune of Verdant Bamboo Lake will continue to flow away year after year.

"However, Verdant Bamboo Lake establishing a rule that both parties are clearly aware of will go a long way to easing everyone's fears. In addition, the dragon palace also compensates the relevant families handsomely, so to be truthful with Sword Immortal, many wealthy families yearn for their daughters and granddaughters to catch the attention of the dragon palace."

The lake lord paused for a moment before saying with a sigh, "The best transactions in the world are never those that allow one to gain explosive wealth overnight. Rather, they're the ones that allow people to enjoy a slow but steady stream of income. What does Sword Immortal think?"

Chen Ping'an wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb and replied with a faint smile, "This is a very good principle, but why does it sound different coming from Lake Lord's mouth?"

Lake Lord Yin Hou smiled and didn't say anything.

He was waiting for the young sword immortal to name his price.

No matter how much the lake lord detested this person, he and his dragon palace could only suffer in silence since he was weaker and unable to stop this person from doing as he pleased on Verdant Bamboo Lake.

He needed to cut his losses.

This would be much better than doubling down and making even more mistakes.

By cutting his losses, he could at least keep his life and keep his force, allowing him to maintain hope. On the other hand, doubling down and making even more mistakes would exhaust all of his power and resources and potentially leading to the spectacular collapse of his powerful force.

Chen Ping'an put the pot of wine in his minimization treasure and asked, "And regarding the decaying of the city god's godly body in Imperial Accompanying City?"

Lake Lord Yin Hou was extremely honest with his visitor tonight, and he couldn't conceal his feeling of schadenfreude as he recalled this matter. He smiled and replied, "Not only did the scholar who became a prefectural overseer exceed everyone's expectations and obtain a portion of the prefectural city's fortune and the Silver Screen Nation's scholarly fortune very early on, but the portion that he received also far exceeded the expectations of Imperial Accompanying City and me. In reality, however, this made sense. Otherwise, how could he have relied on himself to flee from Imperial Accompanying City when he was still little?

"In addition to this, there was also a karmic tie between him and a princess of the Silver Screen Nation at the time, with the princess falling in love with him at first sight and not being able to forget him no matter what. She even went as far as to become a Daoist nun who guarded the oil lamps in the temple to escape arranged marriage, and even though she possessed no cultivation aptitude, she was ultimately a princess who was deeply adored by the emperor. As a result, she inadvertently caused a wisp of the nation's fortune to tie itself to the prefectural overseer.

"When this princess received the nightmarish news of his death in the capital's Daoist temple, she resolutely used a golden hairpin to stab herself in the neck and commit suicide. With these two deaths stacking together, the gravity of the sins committed by the city god of Imperial Accompanying City meant that an irreparable fracture appeared on his godly body. This is a deadly fracture that can't even be repaired using hidden virtue."

Chen Ping'an asked one final question, saying, "What fate might Imperial Accompanying City suffer?"

Yin Hou glanced toward Imperial Accompanying City and shook his head, saying, "It will be a very tragic fate. To come across a city god who's hoping to spread his karmic fate to every single resident in the prefecture and have them face the heavenly tribulation with him, it can be said that the ancestors of these people haven't accumulated enough virtue.

“A heavenly tribulation will descend shortly, and at the very least, all of the mortals in Imperial Accompanying City will be killed as a result. Because of this, all of the Qi refiners who entered Imperial Accompanying City earlier will leave before the heavenly tribulation descends. They won't dare to linger even if they're unable to obtain the valuable treasure."

Lake Lord Yin Hou initially thought that he would still need to negotiate with Chen Ping'an tonight, but to his surprise, the young sword immortal in azure immediately turned around to leave.

This caused the lake lord to feel uneasy, but he didn't dare to head ashore to pursue the young man.

In the end, he could only suppress his resentment, hatred, and unease as he channeled a mystical ability and returned to his dragon palace at the bottom of the lake.

Chen Ping'an returned to the water goddess shrine of Algae Stream's canal master.

However, he discovered that not only had Du Yu returned, but even Yan Qing was present as well.

Chen Ping'an didn't say anything this time, and he walked over to the campfire and squatted down, extending his hands forward to warm them up.

Du Yu squatted down beside him and said, "I saw Celestial Maiden Yan Qing return here just then, and upon recalling that Senior's sack of valuable treasures was still sitting here unguarded, I couldn't help but hurry back here in anxiousness."

After entering the shrine, Yan Qing had stood on the steps the entire time and observed the cultivator from the Ghost Axe Palace.

She hadn't had much of an impression of Du Yu in the past, and she had only heard about him once or twice because his parents were immortal Dao partners from the mountains. She only knew that he was a person who bullied the weak and feared the strong, liking to seek entertainment as he wandered around the cultivation world.

"I'm only here to ask about a single principle, and I'll take my leave after asking this question," Yan Qing said.

However, Chen Ping'an remained adrift and silent as he stared intently at the campfire.

Yan Qing fell silent for a moment before asking, "Why did you attack He Lu? Perhaps you heard about some of the sinister deeds committed by Verdant Bamboo Lake from Du Yu, so it's understandable that you acted the way you did against them. However, you shouldn't have met He Lu before."

Du Yu rolled his eyes and made a face.

Would you just look at this! She had actually come here to seek justice for her pretty boy lover!

She deserved the fate of being tossed into Verdant Bamboo Lake by the mighty senior.

Yan Qing was already mentally prepared for this person to play blind and deaf.

To her surprise, however, Chen Ping'an said slowly, "He Lu's first words of dissuasion hadn't been for my sake, but instead for the sake of Algae Stream's canal master who had treated you to some tea."

Yan Qing wasn't stupid, and she was naturally aware of this matter.

"This was because He Lu felt at the time that I was a cultivator who possessed an even higher cultivation base than the canal master of Algae Stream," Chen Ping'an continued.

Yan Qing wanted to listen some more, so she hesitated for a moment before planning to sit down at the top of the steps.

However, the sword immortal in azure immediately shot her a sideways glance.

Yan Qing immediately stopped moving upon seeing the fear-inducing look in Chen Ping'an's eyes.

The sword immortal in azure suddenly retracted his gaze and continued to stare intently at the campfire, once again falling silent.

It was clear that he hadn't finished speaking yet, but it didn't look like he was in the mood to continue saying anything.

Yan Qing felt increasingly embarrassed and angry. Was she so unworthy that he couldn't even be bothered saying a few more words?

Her heart strings shuddered, and she didn't hesitate anymore as she rapidly leaped into the air and soared away on the wind.

Du Yu hesitated for a moment before also standing up to take his leave.

Chen Ping'an nodded in acknowledgement.

He continued to stare at the campfire.

Reason wasn't solely held by powerful individuals, nor was it solely held by weak individuals.

A person wouldn't be more reasonable because they were stronger, nor would a person be less reasonable because they were weaker.

However, this seemed to be a principle unique to Chen Ping'an.

It wasn't Du Yu's, it wasn't Celestial Maiden Yan Qing's, nor was it the prodigious He Lu's

The cultivation world of the Water Combing Nation still had Song Yushao.

The foul and chaotic Bamboo Scroll Lake still had the yin entity general who had been willing to slay his maddened subordinates.

The ghost and skeleton-ridden Malicious Ghost Valley still had Sword Cultivator Pu Rang and Sect Leader Zhu Quan.

Here at the Silver Screen Nation and Verdant Bamboo Lake, however, there was not a single person of note.

It was upon thinking of this that Chen Ping'an had fallen silent.

Chen Ping'an knew why this simple principle didn't resonate with Du Yu, Yan Qing, He Lu, and the others. This was because such a principle wouldn't bring them any benefits at all. On the contrary, it would make them feel bogged down as they traveled on the path of cultivation, feeling like they couldn't conduct themselves and deal with matters in a satisfying manner. In this sense, it wasn't necessarily the case that they didn't understand the simple principle, but rather that they pretended not to understand even though they actually understood.

The Great Dao was distant and lofty, after all, and the scenery at those immense heights was far too attractive. In contrast, the mortal world was lowly and filled with mud, and the myriad of emotions that played out here were completely trivial in their eyes.

Indeed, it wasn't always good to understand and investigate matters that were unrelated to oneself.

For example, Chen Ping'an didn't need to ask Lake Lord Yin Hou why the imperial court of the Silver Screen Nation didn't evacuate the residents of Imperial Accompanying City. This was naturally because the karmic fate would remain even if the residents fled from the city. Because of this, the emperor of the Silver Screen Nation would choose to remain silent even if he were fully aware of the peculiar phenomenon surrounding Imperial Accompanying City as well as the reason behind it.

Rather than having the fleeing residents of Imperial Accompanying City disturbing the feng shui and fortune of other prefectures and thus affecting the fortune of the entire nation, it was better for everything to be cleanly ended at Imperial Accompanying City. This was the reason why the officials and wealthy clans in Imperial Accompanying City were still oblivious to the impending doom hanging above their heads, and why there were still profligate youths boisterously charging out of the city to hunt and entertain themselves.

When morning arrived, there would be the sound of ox-drawn carriages trundling into the city with full loads of firewood.

When the moon shone at night, there would also be the sound of textiles being flattened.

Cultivators distanced themselves from the mortal world and mortal matters, and there were good reasons as to why this was the case.

Chen Ping'an remained squatting on the ground as he thought about many matters. The campfire had already died out, yet his hands were still held out as if he were warming them up.

He stayed in the same position all the way until morning.

Chen Ping'an stood up and placed the hemp sack inside his minimization treasure, after which he put on his bamboo hat and his bamboo case and grabbed his hiking pole. He made his way to Imperial Accompanying City.

He didn't visit the city god temple first, nor did he visit the fire god shrine.

Instead, he decided to visit a ghost residence that had already been abandoned for many years.

Afterward, there would be some things that he needed to do.

Under the cover of night, a young man in azure jumped over the city walls and entered Imperial Accompanying City.

There was a night curfew in the city, and Chen Ping'an traveled by himself to the ghost residence. He had asked about this place when talking to the shopkeepers of the incense shops before.

It was dark and quiet as Chen Ping'an stood outside the entrance by himself.

He looked at the severely rotten courtyard gates, and there was already no door god or spring couplet to be seen.

Even until death, the scholar turned prefectural overseer had still been unable to win justice and exact revenge for his parents.

Then what about Clay Vase Alley's Chen Ping'an?!

The young man who no longer wore straw sandals and no longer needed to enter the mountains to gather medicinal herbs took off his bamboo hat.

There were Qi refiners from various regions and forces hiding or staying near the ghost residence. They had already been here for a long time.

At this moment, however, even the slowest and weakest Qi refiners among them felt startled, with a sudden and mysterious sense of panic washing over their minds.

An old man with a small monkey on his shoulder frowned deeply as he stood on a distant roof ridge. He had surprisingly made an incorrect observation at the city gates before, and had completely failed to see through this young man's cultivation base.

The old man raised a hand and gently held his irritated pet down.

As for the useless pieces of trash who were already feeling stifled and unable to channel their spiritual energy properly for no apparent reason, they naturally didn't dare to venture out to see which mighty being had appeared in the area.

When the young man took off his bamboo hat and bamboo case and had them vanish into thin air...

...The old man started to walk back in retreat.

On the wide street and outside the entrance of the rundown ghost residence, the azure sleeves of the young man billowed even though there was no wind.

His body instantly vanished without a trace.

A streak of azure smoke cut through the night sky.

In the end, it landed outside the city god temple of Imperial Accompanying City.

A burly martial judge suited in iron armor appeared outside the city god temple and commanded in a solemn voice, "Identify yourself!"

However, the young sword cultivator simply responded by raising a hand.

Sword Immortal slowly slid out from its scabbard before twirling in the air, eventually landing in the hand of the young man in azure. He held the sword horizontally in front of him with one hand, placing the index finger and middle finger of his other hand on the sword blade and slowly sliding them toward the tip of the sword.

The sword blade was already a concentrated and resplendent gold to begin with, but its glow became even more brilliant with each inch that the young man's fingers slid down the blade.

The young man narrowed his eyes and gazed at the spectacular sword light enveloping his hands, murmuring, "Be it karmic fate or be it a heavenly tribulation, I, Clay Vase Alley's Chen Ping'an, will face it all."