Unsheathed

When the scholar closed his eyes, Chen Ping'an noticed that he seemingly took a glance at someplace to the side.

When the scholar opened his eyes again, he was once again that familiar scholar from Peeling Mountain. His expression was as if he had just taken a shit in his pants.

The two of them fell silent.

After a brief moment, Chen Ping'an remarked, "Your acting is quite good, Yang Ningxing. You're one of the ten dragons and phoenixes of the Northern Complete Reed Continent, and you're also the Young Heavenly Lord of the Lofty Cloud Palace. Why are you hiding such impressive titles?"

There was a baffled look on the scholar's face.

Chen Ping'an snickered upon seeing this.

The scholar felt like the other him wouldn't go as far as to reveal so much to this person, so he continued to play stupid as he replied in exasperation, "The Esteemed Mystery Department's Young Heavenly Lord will get angry if he hears something like this. Yang Ningxing is an extremely stubborn and pedantic person, and he's not willing to take a single joke. Of the two brothers, Yang Ningzhen and Yang Ningxing, I still prefer to interact with Yang Ningzhen more.

"Also, that Daoist nun from the Esteemed Mystery Department who's responsible for communicating with the imperial court is truly a top-notch beauty. The reason that I've left home to train in the dangerous Malicious Ghost Valley this time is because I want to make a name for myself and have her hold me in higher regard.

"Brother Haoren, you have a good name and even better skills, so you definitely need to meet her when you visit the Great Origin Empire in the future. She's extremely smart, and she managed to fund and host an esteemed Heavenly Worship Ceremony when she was just a young girl. You'll most likely fall for her when you see her, but the end result is that she won't return your feelings. At that time, the two of us can drink together to wash away our sorrows and deepen our friendship!"

Chen Ping'an stood up and ignored the scholar's nonsense. As he looked around, he summoned the demon-binding chain to his hand and also had First and Fifteenth return inside his Sword Nurturing Gourd.

The scholar had taken a glance at someplace before resting his mind, but had he done that to play tricks and instill doubt in Chen Ping'an's mind? Or was there truly something mysterious in the vicinity of this mountain? Or perhaps a mighty figure had arrived, and Chen Ping'an was simply unable to detect their presence?

If that were truly the case, then was it the Nascent Tier Pu Rang's yin soul traveling afar and hiding somewhere nearby? Or was it some paramount figure with an even higher cultivation base? Was it an old immortal from the Small Mystery Capital Temple or the Great Round Moon Monastery, places that weren't recorded in the Be At Ease Compilation? Or was it a heroic spirit from the north of Malicious Ghost Valley?