Chen Ping’an, clutching the locust wood sword, slashed at the white-robed woman on the stone tablet.

He employed no swordplay techniques; the wooden sword radiated no potent spiritual aura to deter malevolent entities.

The white-robed woman, her face veiled by dark tresses, curled her lips in a disdainful smile. Though harboring contempt, she acknowledged the youth’s success in suppressing two divine statues. She preferred not to overextend herself and decided to humor him for a while. Whether she held the City God Pavilion or lost it mattered little, for an accomplished master would reclaim it.

She swiftly reached to her waist, revealing a sheathless longsword, its blade a ghastly crimson, reeking of nauseating blood. She must have previously used an illusion to conceal it.

As her skeletal hand brushed the sword’s edge, sparks flew. Simultaneously, a jade bracelet slipped from her wrist, spinning around her at an impossible speed. The bracelet was a blur, only a glimmering emerald trail visible.

To cultivators, the more magical treasures, the better. It was akin to common folk never having enough money. Yet, true spiritual artifacts were exceedingly rare. Should one be fortunate enough to possess two, they would strive for balance – one for offense and the other for defense. Attack and defense perfectly interwoven.

For example, the Chu clan tree demon’s suit of armor from the ancient manor could transform into radiant armor, a prime example of a defensive treasure.

The white-robed woman’s crimson sword and jade bracelet, one for attack and one for defense, exemplified this principle.

From the sword-box bearing youth subduing the civil official statue with a high-grade, bizarre talisman to him standing atop the statue and rushing towards her with his locust wood sword, all transpired in the blink of an eye.

The locust wood sword arrived in an instant.

The white-robed woman swiftly raised her sword, executing a simple horizontal slash. A crimson sword aura materialized above her head. Had the youth failed to evade, he would have been severed at the waist.

But the youth suddenly vanished.

A Diminishment Talisman!

The white-robed woman sensed danger.

A metallic clang echoed abruptly across the plaza.

Then came a series of rapid, dense clangs, like raindrops drumming on a roof.

The white-robed woman’s expression shifted. Twisting her waist, she quickly leapt from the stone tablet. White robes and crimson sword, she spun around the lush, ancient cypress tree, as if dodging something. She had intentionally distanced herself from the jade bracelet, keeping about six feet between them, enough to control it at will, yet preventing collateral damage.

It was a flying sword!

The youth was actually a sword cultivator who could kill with a flying sword!

The wooden sword, the exorcism—all were smokescreens! The true weapon was that treacherous flying sword yet to reveal its full form.

So young, yet so meticulous and malicious! No wonder he could become a sword cultivator, an achievement exceedingly difficult to attain amongst Qi refiners.

Hearing the incessant clangs, the white-robed woman felt a pang of heartache. No matter how spiritual the bracelet, it could not withstand such abuse from a flying sword. It was like a ruthless destruction of beauty.

The bracelet, named “Icy Jade,” was a superior spiritual artifact personally bestowed by her ancestor. It was not known for its resilience but rather for defending against the unexpected trump cards of so-called righteous immortals. The ancestor had foreseen that this secret plot to seize the Rainbow Garment Kingdom’s national treasure would be a bloody battle with heavy casualties. While the righteous sects might lack the courage for suicidal fights, their mysterious techniques and inherited treasures were endless and had to be guarded against.

The white-robed woman could not yet discern the flying sword’s trajectory and dared not retrieve the bracelet. This infuriated her. For the first time, she felt boundless rage. If the bracelet shattered, her trip to the Rainbow Garment Kingdom would be a complete loss. Even if they succeeded in the end, the rewards she received would likely be less valuable than the bracelet.

The white-robed woman’s dark hair danced wildly, revealing her true face.

It was the Rainbow Garment woman who had first appeared on the lake’s high platform that night, the one who had astonished countless men in Rouge County, who wished they could embrace and cherish her.

In that case, the seemingly immortal old deity was at least one of the masterminds.

But were there no cultivators in the Rainbow Garment Kingdom who saw through the truth, with such a flamboyant display?

Standing on the plaza, Chen Ping’an was taken aback, his mood heavy. He returned the locust wood sword to its wooden box and habitually took a swig from his wine gourd.

Seeing the youth still had the mood to drink, the white-robed woman laughed in anger. Her robes fluttered, revealing wrists and ankles of bone. The “delicate body” beneath her white robes must be in the same condition.

Only her face remained fleshy and exceptionally beautiful.

So, it was a skeletal beauty, no, a skeletal seductress.

Having roughly determined that the flying sword could not break through the bracelet and entangle her, the white-robed woman felt slightly relieved. She decided to capture the leader, kill the youth first. He was courting death, so she couldn’t be blamed. She had initially intended to play with him, but he proved to be a difficult opponent.

What if he was a sword cultivator? As long as he wasn’t the ethereal Grand Sword Immortal, even a minor Sword Immortal from the middle five realms would die in this Rouge County City if they dared to show their face!

Imperceptibly, the small plaza outside the City God Hall had been divided into three battlefields. Two golden talismans were gradually depleting the demonic energy of the two clay statues. Fragments scattered, dust flew, and cracking sounds echoed. No matter how the two statues roared, the treasure towers manifested by the talismans, intertwined with lightning like thunder gods wielding electric whips, steadily suppressed them.

Then there was Chen Ping’an’s flying sword, Initial One, which had finally abandoned its ostentatious departure from the sword-nurturing gourd. It flew silently and stealthily, without anyone noticing. Unfortunately, the white-robed woman had the bracelet to protect her, preventing a fatal headshot. Whether it was truly enraged or a playful child who had found an interesting toy, Initial One ignored Chen Ping’an’s command and focused on harassing the jade bracelet, striking it like a blacksmith, slowing its flight.

Finally, there was the murderous white-robed woman, determined to eliminate Chen Ping’an, the “sword cultivator,” first.
Wielding a crimson longsword, vibrant as fresh blood, she plunged downwards. Before that, she roared towards the two side halls, and the yin creatures, female wraiths, long since eager for release, swarmed forth. In an instant, black smoke billowed, blotting out the sun, all surging towards Chen Pingan, standing alone in the plaza. The maiden, her ankles adorned with silver bells, wished to rush to his aid, but Chen Pingan immediately signaled with his eyes, urging her to stay out of it.

The maiden did not act rashly, obediently remaining at the edge of the battlefield. She danced and gesticulated, constantly shaking the clear-sounding bells, striving with all her might to allow golden petals to constantly flutter from beneath the eaves of the main hall. Even with her face drained of color, she persisted in helping Chen Pingan vanquish every female ghost she could.

For Chen Pingan, the fact that the maiden could do this was already more than enough.

Chen Pingan’s hands moved with lightning speed, his arms surging with abundant fist-罡, a brilliant light. It was precisely the ‘Cloud-Steaming Great Swamp’ technique taught by the elderly Master Cui. The overflowing Qi mechanism leaked outwards, shaking the surroundings. A dozen or so ferocious female ghosts, having just rushed from the side halls, were instantly swept away. They were already suffering under the sun’s intense scorching, and this fist, taking a domineering path of one man holding the pass, was akin to adding frost to snow. Their sharp fingernails, long as fingers, could not even approach within ten feet of Chen Pingan.

Chen Pingan was not limited to a single fist. His body leaned backward, and with a tap of his toes, he instantly retreated several feet, dodging the white-robed, alluring ghost’s descending sword. The withered-bone alluring ghost was like a maggot attached to bone. Her toes barely touched the ground, and with a tap in mid-air, like a dragonfly skimming the water, she leaned forward, chasing after Chen Pingan, thrusting her sword straight out.

But in this interval, Chen Pingan once again swung his fists, assuming the ancient and unadorned fist stance from before. He instantly smashed a dozen or so rampaging yin creature evil ghosts, scattering their souls on the spot.

The white-robed alluring ghost, her head of azure hair flowing wildly, spoke with a fierce expression, her feet treading the air faster and faster, “You truly deserve to die!”

Her longsword was only inches away from piercing Chen Pingan’s heart.

Chen Pingan twisted his toes, imitating Ma Kuxuan from the battle on the small street. His body spun like a top, not only narrowly dodging the sword, but also seizing the opportunity to close in. He smashed a fist towards the withered-bone alluring ghost’s cheek. The latter was actually able to instantly transform into a white mist, dissipating in all directions. The next moment, she appeared several feet away, tearing with her five fingers. The crimson longsword, not disappearing with her, spun halfway around, slashing at Chen Pingan’s arm.

Chen Pingan unhesitatingly used the last of his Diminution Talismans. In a flash, he once again arrived beside the alluring ghost. His immense fist-罡 was like a blazing sun, causing the withered-bone alluring ghost to shriek in pain. She couldn’t care less about guiding the longsword from afar, and resorting to her old trick, she once again became shrouded in white mist, vanishing swiftly.

Chen Pingan’s face was stern and resolute, and he silently chanted, “First!”

Though unwilling, the flying sword First still left its original battlefield. A streak of white rainbow cleaved through the sky, directly piercing the withered-bone alluring ghost, who had just revealed her true form. The emerald bracelet and crimson longsword had, at the instant of her second disappearance, already shown a trace of barely perceptible stagnation, as if losing connection with their master’s will, and were somewhat hesitant.

When the flying sword First pierced towards her brow, the alluring ghost finally panicked completely. She shielded her face with her hands, and her head of azure hair frantically swirled back, covering her face.

The snow-white, miniature flying sword quietly hovered before her, not continuing to advance.

However…

Her nape turned ice-cold.

The withered-bone alluring ghost stood frozen in place, as if struck by a celestial immobilization technique, not moving an inch. Her face was filled with disbelief, and she stiffly turned her head, staring blankly at the youth who had rushed towards her. “So you are a sword cultivator… why do you have two flying swords? And why did you pretend to be a mere martial artist?”

One may evade the first day, but not the fifteenth!

But even though she had already been pierced through from behind by the flying sword Fifteenth, Chen Pingan still did not let his guard down in the slightest. Ignoring the entangling yin creatures, allowing them to get close and attack, Chen Pingan simply came to the withered-bone alluring ghost’s side with all possible speed. Without hesitation, he executed a decisive and crisp ‘Godly Man Drumming’ fist technique. One fist landed, then another, and then twenty more, smashing the bones beneath the white robes to dust, one by one.

In the end, the withered-bone alluring ghost, along with her body and white robes, burst apart, and a yellow talisman, depicting a woman’s form, floated down from the air.

When she died, those yin creatures instantly lost their backbone. They all hid back into the two side halls. A considerable number, not yet able to escape, were already completely annihilated by the sun’s exposure. This time, no seductive laughter echoed from within the side halls, only wails and sobs.

The crimson longsword fell to the ground. The emerald bracelet, like a lost traveler, kept spinning slowly in the place where the withered-bone alluring ghost had vanished.

Chen Pingan stood in place, neither rushing to seize the bracelet, nor reaching out to receive the yellow talisman.

Looking around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Chen Pingan patted his gourd for nurturing swords. First and Fifteenth soared into it.

Squatting down, Chen Pingan carefully gazed at the yellow talisman.

Chen Pingan pinched out another ‘Evil-Qi Ignition Talisman’ gifted by Zhang Shanfeng, placing it near the yellow talisman on the ground. He shook it, but the ignition talisman barely reacted. It only burned away a corner of the talisman, and then stopped burning.

Only then did Chen Pingan pick up the yellow talisman. Only when he truly held the yellow talisman in his fingertips did Chen Pingan realize it was not an ordinary yellow paper talisman. The paper’s texture was extremely delicate and smooth, and its resilience was excellent. It was estimated that even a strong young man could not tear it easily.

Chen Pingan thought for a moment, and still tucked the beauty talisman into his sleeve, but in reality, he hid it within his dimension-pocket.

The reason why dimension-pockets were precious was in large part due to their ability to isolate from external sensing. Although there were no absolutes, this was generally the rule.

When Chen Pingan put away the yellow talisman, the emerald bracelet also proactively stuck to him. Chen Pingan held the ignition talisman in one hand, and seeing that it did not react at all, he grabbed the bracelet smoothly, and put it away together. But when he went to pick up the crimson longsword, the ignition talisman burned fiercely to ashes as soon as it got close. Chen Pingan hesitated somewhat. This sword could definitely sell for a good price, but he was even more worried that recklessly putting it into his dimension-pocket would affect the flying sword Fifteenth.

In the end, Chen Pingan picked up the longsword, looked around, and then looked up at the ancient cypress tree beside the stone tablet. He ran forward, tapped his toes, and soared towards the cypress tree, temporarily hiding the longsword in the high branches and foliage.

The maiden cautiously called out, “This immortal…”
Chen Ping’an lowered his head to look. The girl pointed to the ground at her feet. The clay statue of the deity had already collapsed and shattered, forming a small, pointed mound of earth. Several slivers of silver shone dazzlingly within the dirt, extremely conspicuous. Even more unexpectedly, a Pagoda Suppression Talisman floated quietly beside the mound, its golden luster only slightly dimmed, undamaged in the slightest.

Another pile of earth was much the same scene, but unlike the iron mace in the hands of the martial god, which had completely melted away under the lightning, besides the golden suppression talisman and silver fragments at the civil official’s statue, the square, well-crafted iron official seal was gone, replaced by a simple, unadorned cyan wooden box, just about the size a child’s five fingers could grasp.

A surge of joy welled up in Chen Ping’an’s heart. He swiftly descended, first collecting the two golden talismans and the six silver fragments into his pocket dimension. Finally, he carefully lifted the cyan wooden box exuding a warm aura. Even just holding it lightly, Chen Ping’an felt an inexplicable sense of peace.

He placed the small wooden box of unknown contents into his sleeve, but didn’t hide it in his pocket dimension. Chen Ping’an breathed a sigh of relief.

The girl beside him had been staring wide-eyed the entire time, fixated on this “Sword Immortal” who had vanquished demons and displayed great supernatural powers.

Her master, who secretly taught her immortal arts, had said that there were many accomplished cultivators in the world, old immortals with youthful faces, truly unfettered beings, completely unbound by heaven and earth.

She had witnessed many strange occurrences today, but the young man before her possessed the most peculiar qualities.

For example, were there even talismans in the world that could be retrieved after use?

Although her master was half a member of the pugilistic world and half a mountain immortal, having recounted many things both on and off the mountains, she had never heard of such a thing.

Chen Ping’an had a good impression of the girl. While walking toward the main entrance of the City God Temple, intending to completely shatter the sorcery restrictions with a Godly Drumbeat-style strike, he turned his head and softly asked, “It’s dangerous here. Why did you come in earlier?”

Wow, the immortal is talking to me!

And he’s so amiable.

The girl was overjoyed. She shook her wrist, the bells ringing melodiously, “Immortal Lord, these four bells on my body can protect me. My master said that even a Cave Realm immortal wanting to kill me would only succeed after a moment’s struggle. But there’s a big problem…”

“Don’t tell just anyone about secrets involving magic treasures,” Chen Ping’an quickly waved his hand, interrupting the girl’s naive words, reminding her, “This place is not suitable to stay for long. You should leave quickly, and it’s best to leave the city immediately.”

The girl shook her head, “My parents are in the county city. I won’t go anywhere. Now that I’ve learned immortal arts, I must protect them.”

Chen Ping’an had no choice but to give up and not force her. He only told the girl to stay far away before he began to rapidly punch at the arcane restriction.

After twenty-one punches, the “ice surface” exploded with a bang, black smoke billowing, mixed with countless wails, complaints, resentments, and hatred. Chen Ping’an used the surging force of a Cloud-Steaming Great Swamp-style to cleanse them all. Any that slipped through the net were also strangled by the bell-ringing girl from behind.

Chen Ping’an suddenly turned his head to look toward the eastern city wall. Although he couldn’t see the scenery of the tower over there, he seemed to feel some kind of gaze from that direction for a moment.

Most likely, the destruction of the array here at the City God Pavilion had affected everything, causing the mastermind behind the scenes to discover his existence.

Chen Ping’an, being cautious, produced the only remaining Yang Energy Lamp-Lighting Talisman before crossing the threshold. Just as Chen Ping’an raised his foot, he noticed the girl beside him hesitating to speak. Chen Ping’an had to ask, “What’s wrong? Do you know something strange is inside?”

The girl was a little embarrassed, seemingly feeling that she was being too childish, but since the Immortal Lord had asked, she had no choice but to bravely say, “My parents said that when entering temples or Taoist temples to burn incense, men go left, women go right. Men cross the threshold with their left foot first, and women with their right.”

Chen Ping’an said with a smile, “Okay, thank you.”

Then, he crossed the threshold with his left foot, following the floating Lamp-Lighting Talisman, to the statue of the City God, Shen Wen. However, before Chen Ping’an could speak, the City God spoke with majesty, uttering words that enraged the girl. But she was so respectful and fearful of the City God’s centuries of accumulated power that she dared not speak her anger, only inwardly grumbling.

The scattered golden fragments all flew back to the statue’s body. From the time Chen Ping’an broke the array restrictions to when he arrived here, the statue’s golden body had been repaired with about seventy to eighty percent of the gold leaf. The statue’s eyes emitted a faint golden light, as if a towering god three zhang tall was overlooking the masses of the prefecture.

The City God’s first sentence was not polite at all, “Young man, quickly hand over the refined iron official seal!”

Chen Ping’an’s expression was calm as he was about to take out the cyan wooden box from his sleeve, the box where the refined iron seal had melted away, and explain, “The official seal has been melted by my talisman…”

Chen Ping’an only spoke half the sentence.

“Don’t speak nonsense!”

The City God’s statue moved in anger, causing a wave of dust to shake. As the golden fragments on the ground were almost completely patched up, the statue was covered in gold, befitting the name of the “Golden City God” renowned in several kingdoms. The statue raised one foot high and said sternly, “Do you really think that by cleaning up a few small fries, you can act recklessly in front of this official?! If it weren’t for those three demons joining forces, plus a subordinate’s betrayal, working together from the inside and out, suppressing this official within the City God Temple, how could they have had the opportunity to act so wantonly? Quickly hand over the refined iron official seal, and don’t waste time. The situation is dire, and this official still needs to go into the city to suppress the demons!”

Before the array was broken, the City God Shen Wen was busy maintaining the last bit of his divine essence, and coupled with the filthy sorcery isolating heaven and earth, the City God Temple could not know what was happening outside. In his view, even though the three great demons and a demonic cultivator had escaped, they were probably unaware of the true secrets of this place, so they would not leave behind any important strength. Therefore, the only thing that surprised the City God about the sword-box youth was how he had broken the array at the entrance. Could he be a disciple of a sect proficient in the esoteric arts of divination and immortal arrays?

In any case, the fate of the Color Robe Kingdom, the lives of the tens of thousands of people in Rouge County City, were all closely linked to that thing in the City God Pavilion, and there could be no mistakes.

The huge statue took a heavy step off the altar, one foot landing a zhang in front of Chen Ping’an, shattering the bluestone floor. It bent down and reached out a hand, “Quickly hand over the official seal!”
Chen Ping’an remained unmoved, and asked, “Is it so difficult to say thank you when someone helps you?”

The divine statue was clearly taken aback. After a long silence, it sighed and nodded, “This official was too impatient and acted improperly. I should indeed thank you for this matter.”

Chen Ping’an took out the cyan wooden box. “The refined iron official seal melted and became one with the clay of the civil official statue, but this small wooden box was revealed. I wonder if it is what you desire?”

The divine statue slowly nodded.

Chen Ping’an tossed the wooden box high in the air. The City God statue reached out and caught it, smiling, “Precisely this item.”

Chen Ping’an turned to leave, and the young woman hurriedly followed.

Suddenly, a gust of wind howled from behind. Chen Ping’an knew something was wrong and instantly circulated his qi. His true qi was like a fire dragon, flowing hundreds of miles through his meridians and acupoints.

The young woman, who had just reached the threshold, stood there dumbfounded.

Turning her head, she saw the City God’s large statue leg heavily trampling on the back of the sword immortal who carried the box. The young man was bent over, almost kneeling. He was barely holding on with a single breath, preventing himself from being crushed into the ground by the three-zhang tall statue’s foot.

Chen Ping’an’s face flushed red, and he trembled, “You go first!”

The young woman did not hesitate and quickly leaped out of the threshold, landing in the plaza. Turning back, she saw black smoke as thick as ink swirling around the City God statue, flowing in and out of the seven orifices of its face. The eyes of the City God had also turned into a bizarre, dark golden color.

The young woman screamed in alarm, “Be careful, the City God has become demonic!”

Chen Ping’an slightly squatted down, gritting his teeth and bending his back. The weight of the statue’s large foot on his back was constantly increasing. He straightened his back inch by inch, and swiftly tapped his Sword-Nurturing Gourd. At the same time, two golden talisman of the Pagoda Suppressing Demons slid out from his sleeve, held between his fingers. He inadvertently saw the straw sandals on his feet, and Chen Ping’an suddenly felt great joy, this journey down the mountain was truly wonderful, and laughed loudly: “First and Fifteenth, follow me to vanquish the demon!”