Unsheathed

It was the end of winter, with the weather cold and the sky bleak. The mountains were frozen and the clouds were still, and as Chen Ping'an looked around, all that entered his gaze was an endless expanse of silence and desolation.

This was the color of the world, something that certainly couldn't be appreciated when one peered down at the vast lands from atop immortal ships. It was because of this that cultivators in the mountains didn't understand the harsh winters and blazing summers of the world.

The hiking pole in Chen Ping'an's hand, which he had refined using the immortal mantra of the Green Roving Palace, was verdant green in color, causing the golden lightning whip to appear more like a bamboo whip instead. This was because the hiking pole would be far too eye-catching if it were a dazzling gold. However, this roughly formed ghost-striking whip that had only undergone initial refinement could easily return to its original form once Chen Ping'an deactivated a certain restriction.

There was one good thing about the Northern Complete Reed Continent, and the fact that people only spoke a single official dialect, meaning no need to worry about being unable to communicate with other people. This was as opposed to the Eastern Treasured Vial Continent and the Parasol Leaf Continent where there were countless official dialects and local dialects in each nation, making it extremely difficult to communicate when traveling around the continent.

Chen Ping'an walked to the foot of the mountain, and there was still not a single person in the surroundings. He gently pinched a Yang Energy Illumination Talisman between two fingers, and saw that it was burning at a normal speed, meaning that it was unlikely for there to be demons causing trouble in the prefectural city. In other words, it was very likely that the second possibility that Steward Song Lanqiao had mentioned was taking place, with some deity of the prefectural city facing a large tribulation and having their godly body approach a state of collapse. This in turn affected the feng shui and fortune of the prefectural city, thereby causing natural calamities to also descend.

However, nothing in the world was absolute, so Chen Ping'an planned to take things one step at a time. He slowly walked forward with the talisman in his hand, all the way until he saw an ox-drawn cart piled high with firewood in the distance. There was a sturdy man in tattered clothes walking toward the prefectural city with his young son and young daughter who had many frostbites on their hands, and it was only upon seeing them that Chen Ping'an extinguished the talisman between his fingers.

Chen Ping'an quickly walked toward the three people, and the eyes of the two little children were filled with curiosity. However, children from the regions were generally very shy, so they both shrunk back and moved closer to their father. Meanwhile, the sturdy man in tattered clothes didn't say anything when he saw the young man holding a hiking pole and carrying a bamboo case on his back.

The chilly winter froze the ground, and the ox-drawn cart violently rocked back and forth as it trundled over the extremely solid ground. The sturdy man didn't dare to walk too fast upon seeing this, as the firewood would fetch a lower price if it were to break. The stewards of the wealthy clans and forces in the prefectural city were all extremely shrewd and eagle-eyed, and they were the best at creating conflict and causing trouble. When they offered aggressively low prices, their words and arguments would be even colder than the inescapable winter chill. This was a coldness that chilled one to the core.

However, slowing down caused suffering for his two little children, forcing them to endure the biting cold for a much longer time. This caused the man to feel slightly gloomy. He had told them not to follow along for fun before, saying that there was nothing interesting to look at in the city. The only difference was the scary-looking stone lions outside the residences and the slightly larger door gods, things that would become bland once they were seen a few times. He would naturally buy some snacks and bring them back for his children if the firewood sold for a good price, and he would also buy all of the New Year goods that they needed.

The man breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the silhouette of the prefectural city's tall city wall, and the bustling crowds in the city meant that the temperature inside would be slightly warmer than outside. As such, his children would probably forget about the cold once their attention was captured by something else.

However, the young man wearing a bamboo hat walked at a medium pace and followed behind the ox-drawn cart the entire time, causing the man to feel slightly worried.

Chen Ping'an walked slightly faster and asked with a smile, "Hi Brother, I'm an outsider who's traveled here from far away, so can you please tell me the name of this prefectural city? Is there anywhere worth visiting in the city?"