Unsheathed

Zhang Ye, who had traveled over from faraway, and Chen Ping'an, who was leading his horse, walked together along the bubbling river that was like an emerald green silk ribbon.

Perhaps the scenery in this beautiful area was truly peaceful and serene, or perhaps he felt slightly reassured by the presence of the bookkeeper who could be regarded as part of their island. No matter the reason, Zhang Ye had experienced countless significant events in his lifetime and gradually started to calm down, slowly recounting to Chen Ping'an the sudden change that had swept through Bamboo Scroll Lake.

As it turned out, everyone had underestimated Su Gaoshan's appetite. He was one of the great generals of the Great Li Empire's heavy cavalry, and his eyes had been trained on the Luminous Vermilion Empire the entire time. After conquering the capital of the Stone Brush Nation with almost no effort, he surprisingly turned around with his army to invade another vassal state of the Luminous Vermilion Empire. Even though the war was bloody and tragic, Su Gaoshan still had the time to personally visit Bamboo Scroll Lake in a seemingly leisurely and carefree manner.

Su Gaoshan showed himself in public without trying to conceal anything, announcing to everyone that he was going to crush Bamboo Scroll Lake. Those who obeyed him would live, while those who disobeyed him would die. It was as simple as that. The concept of obeying him or disobeying him was even simpler. The vagrant cultivators who were willing to hand over all of their belongings could live and leave Bamboo Scroll Lake with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Those who were willing to hand over half of their belongings and join the army of the Great Li Empire as the lowest-ranked accompanying cultivators to attack the Luminous Vermilion Empire could also live and temporarily stay at Bamboo Scroll Lake. However, the ownership of the islands and mountains and whether or not they would have to relocate their forces and ancestral halls in the future was completely up to the discretion of the Great Li Empire.

Meanwhile, a new group of secretive cultivators from outside of Bamboo Scroll Lake had arrived at Palace Willow Island at the end of spring this year, becoming esteemed guests of the island. Following Su Gaoshan's public appearance and loud proclamation to the tens of thousands of vagrant cultivators in Bamboo Scroll Lake, Liu Laocheng had personally led a group of cultivators to launch a surprise assault on Cyan Gorge Island last night.

Among the group of cultivators, one old cultivator had displayed paramount mystical abilities after Liu Laocheng shattered the protection formation of Cyan Gorge Island. He was undoubtedly at the Upper Five Tiers, and his full-power attack was shockingly able to annihilate the entire Hengbo Residence in a single go. Afterward, the other cultivators lying in wait had unleashed a dozen or so immortal treasures to create a formation, capturing Liu Zhimao who had been attempting to flee following his defeat in battle.

As Liu Zhimao was being marched to Palace Willow Island, Zhang Ye didn't rush over to seek death upon realizing the dire nature of the situation. Instead, he had secretly fled through a tunnel hidden under the lake, rushing to the Stone Brush Nation as quickly as he could and using the guest elder jade tablet to find Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an didn't say anything, allowing Zhang Ye to finish his explanation before he asked, "What is Liu Laocheng's attitude toward all of this?"

Zhang Ye shook his head and replied, "I only learned afterward that Liu Laocheng never spoke a single word to anyone from the moment that the group of cultivators who were almost all earth immortals arrived at Palace Willow Island to the moment that our island master was caught and brought to Palace Willow Island. He didn't meet with any cultivator from Bamboo Scroll Lake either."

Zhang Ye sighed with emotion and continued, "Even though I resent Liu Laocheng immensely, I have to concede that he possesses the power and might expected of an Upper Five Tier vagrant cultivator."