Unsheathed

After a brief silence, he asked, "So you're saying that I should use the hearts of the people in the Golden Crow Palace as a means of cleansing my sword?"

Chen Ping'an smiled as he replied, "The same rice feeds countless different types of people, just as a single sentence could have countless different interpretations. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure things out for yourself, Sword Immortal Liu."

Liu Zhiqing turned his gaze back to the line as he remarked, "Regardless of the outcome and whether I take your advice to go cleanse my sword, just this thought alone is greatly beneficial to me. According to our agreement, this Luminous Jade Cliff now belongs to you. Here's the deed. Rest assured, I'll inform the Spring Dew Garden of our deal."

A golden jade contract that was a priceless treasure in itself drifted down in front of Chen Ping'an. It had been signed by both the Spring Dew Garden in the form of its ancestral hall jade seal, and Liu Zhiqing in the form of a "Liu" character. Even after two hundred years, the Liu character still harbored some residual sword intent.

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Chen Ping'an didn't immediately stow away the deed. Instead, he smiled as he said, "Given how generous you are, I don't think having the intent of cleansing your sword using the hearts of those around you will have any benefit for you. In fact, it may even be detrimental.

“I'm always very fair and open when it comes to doing business, and I certainly wouldn't dare to deceive an almighty sword immortal like yourself, so I implore you to take back the deed. All I ask is that you allow me to come here and drink tea without having to pay throughout the duration of my stay in the Spring Dew Garden."

Liu Zhiqing immediately understood what Chen Ping'an was saying, and he smiled as he said, "If I do decide to follow your advice when I return to the Golden Crow Palace, I will naturally take to the task with a different mindset, so you need not have any concerns about taking this deed."

Chen Ping'an was silent for a moment, then gently drew a few vertical lines down from the horizontal line on the table with his folding fan.

"The Golden Crow Palace Master, the daughter of the mountain god that is his Dao partner, Wei Jin, the woman who dissuaded Wei Jin from lashing out at me... All of them come from different backgrounds, have had different cultivation journeys, have different allies and enemies, believe in different cultivation doctrines...

“Do you really have an interest in finding out all of that information? If you choose to go down the path of cleansing your sword, then you won't be able to make any half-arsed efforts and expect the results that you desire. On this path, your cultivation base and your position of seniority will become your greatest hindrances.

“Will you truly be able to cast those things aside, even on just a temporary basis? If you're unable to persevere and make it all the way from one end of the line to the other in one go, then you'll only be damaging your own sword heart and sword intent."

"I am now certain that you are not a swordsman," Liu Zhiqing said with a smile. "It appears that you are unfamiliar with the rigors of cultivating as a swordsman. The difficulties on the path of cleansing my sword lie in countless trivial matters that I must attend to and the nuanced unpredictability of the human heart.