Into the Mountains!

Into the Mountains!

Gu Shaoshang's expression changed drastically, blood rushing to his face. His heart pounded uncontrollably, nearly beyond his ability to control his own blood and qi.

"Just ten pills, and your father's body can return to normal! He'll never suffer from illness again—as long as you accompany me into the mountains! This bottle of Replenishing Pills is yours." Gu Lianxing took the porcelain bottle from the maid and waved her little hand.

"I agree. I'll go into the mountains with you!" Gu Shaoshang's throat trembled, and even his voice shook. His thoughts were thrown into complete disarray, every consideration swept from his mind as his gaze locked onto the swaying porcelain bottle.

Gu Lianxing casually tossed the bottle over. Seeing Gu Shaoshang panic and fumble to catch it, she let out a tinkling laugh and returned with her maid.

"Remember, wait for me at the village entrance before dawn tomorrow."

Gu Shaoshang clenched the porcelain bottle tightly as tears streamed down his face.

He remembered all those days and nights, his father tossing and turning, crying out softly in pain.

That once-brawny man now had a body hollowed out as though by consumption.

At last... Father... could be saved!

A faint gleam of light appeared at the horizon.

Gu Shaoshang rose to his feet. Gu Jiu's breathing was deep and steady on the bed, and some color had returned to his sallow face. Gu Shaoshang was overjoyed. "These Replenishing Pills are truly miraculous! Father slept all the way until now and didn't wake up in pain even once!"

Gu Shaoshang stepped into the courtyard. The sky was still dark, with only a pale strip of dawn at the horizon. Though he had not slept all night, his spirits were far better than usual! The great weight that had pressed upon his heart for years had finally been lifted, leaving him with an indescribable sense of joy and peace.

Gu Shaoshang practiced the Three Body Form several times. He felt his blood and qi surging throughout his body, and the fatigue from sitting awake all night vanished! Xingyi Quan was said to have "all methods originating from the Three Body Form." Gu Shaoshang practiced it faithfully every day and could clearly feel his muscles and bones steadily becoming denser and stronger.

"Phew!" Gu Shaoshang slowly finished the form, releasing a stream of breath that dissipated into the air.

"I've only just entered the beginner stage of Xingyi Quan! What comes next is painstaking work. The Third Foundation Establishment Gate will probably require some time to accumulate." Gu Shaoshang understood that his talent was merely average! Without the Myriad Heavens Projection Mirror, he would still be stuck circling around the first gate.

After breakfast, Gu Shaoshang packed his belongings and gently closed the door.

By then, the sky had fully brightened. Roosters crowed one after another as a new day began.

At the rear gate of Gu Family Village.

Gu Shaoshang brushed away the snow, sat cross-legged, and waited quietly. With his eyes half-closed, he entered the Mirror World.

Myriad Heavens Projection Mirror: Activated (damaged, currently Fragmentary Supreme-grade)

Mirror Master: Gu Shaoshang

Source Power: 6.4 points

Main World Projection: 1, Gu Ji, challenge available, 1 attempt remaining

Myriad Heavens Projections: 2, Teng Qingshan, challenge available, 1 attempt remaining. Ye Baobao, challenge available, 1 attempt remaining

Myriad Heavens Projection Pool: Selective activation (varied Source Power cost), random activation (minimum 1 point of Source Power per attempt)

Myriad Heavens Warehouse: Fragmentary "Yoga Technique," Fragmentary "Horse Stance," Fragmentary "Wilderness Survival," Fragmentary "Firearm Mastery," Fragmentary "Flying Dagger Technique," one-and-a-half-star "Xingyi Quan," Ye Baobao's baby bottle...

Gu Shaoshang opened the projection warehouse and began materializing items. "Materialize Wilderness Survival!"

Materializing Wilderness Survival... 1 point of Source Power... materialization in progress... materialization successful

Boom!

A torrent of information crashed into his mind!

The laws of nature... hunting experience... jungle training... combat in swamps... polar survival...

Gu Shaoshang opened his eyes. In that brief instant, he had already materialized Teng Qingshan's wilderness survival experience! He had also farmed two projections in the Mirror World and practiced Xingyi Quan and Tiger Roar Fist for more than a dozen hours!

Gu Shaoshang increasingly sensed the vast, majestic power of the Projection Mirror and was deeply awed. Yet a faint unease rose within him. Why had an artifact so great, so miraculous, chosen him?

"You're here quite early!" Gu Lianxing's crisp voice drifted over from afar. Gu Shaoshang rose and saw her approaching in a red hunting outfit, looking valiant and dashing. She carried two sheathed longsabers, while eight guards clad in light armor followed behind her with bows and arrows.

When Gu Lianxing reached him, she tossed Gu Shaoshang a saber. "Since you came so early, I'll give you this Army Hundred Refinements Saber!" Standing before Gu Shaoshang, Gu Lianxing was actually a head taller than him.

Gu Shaoshang caught the saber and drew it from its sheath. It was double-edged, roughly 1.2 meters long like the modao of his previous life, and weighed thirty jin. Turning the blade sideways, he saw his own reflection in its mirror-like surface.

"Fine saber!" Gu Shaoshang praised it. Though his body had not fully grown and handling the long saber felt somewhat awkward, he was still delighted!

"It's only an ordinary standard-issue saber!" Gu Lianxing rolled her beautiful starry eyes. At such a young age, she already possessed a hint of captivating charm.

"Let's go!" Gu Shaoshang smiled awkwardly, changed the subject, and set off with his saber in hand.

Gu Family Village had two gates. The front gate led to Mingshan City, while the rear gate led to the Great Ming Mountain Range! Three li beyond the rear gate lay Gu Family Village's vegetable fields. The group passed through a small path, crossed the fields, and went through a grove of tall fruit trees.

Their view suddenly opened up. A towering, majestic mountain range unfolded before them like a procession of giant dragons. It stretched endlessly from east to west, while enormous peaks with an average elevation of over ten thousand meters pierced the clouds. Faint snow lines extended endlessly across the mountaintops, and an ancient, boundless aura rushed toward them!

"The Great Ming Mountain Range is vast beyond measure. It is one of Great Yan's largest mountain ranges, spanning six provinces from east to west, with a length beyond reckoning! It is said that its depths contain countless giant demons and monstrous creatures, and legend claims a divine dragon dwells at its center! It's unbelievably vast!" Gu Lianxing exclaimed. The guards all revealed looks of astonishment.

"Let's go. The nearest Red Maple Mountain is still more than ten li from Gu Family Village!" Gu Shaoshang led the way with his saber, snow burying the tops of his feet. "The hunting teams from nearly a hundred villages within several hundred li sweep through the area every year, so there are basically no large wild beasts around here," he explained.

Everyone in Gu Shaoshang's group was a martial artist, and their speed far surpassed that of ordinary people. They covered half of the dozens of li of snow-covered mountain paths in a short time.

"Gu Shaoshang, your martial cultivation has already surpassed mine, even though you're only ten!" Gu Lianxing seemed somewhat bored and unexpectedly took the initiative to speak. "Have you ever tested your Talent Physique?"

"Talent Physique? What is that?" Gu Shaoshang stopped walking and asked.

Gu Shaoshang was immediately interested. After all, he had only been in this world for ten years and had never had the chance to encounter the outside world. The village school had only a few books meant for basic education, so there were many things he did not understand.

"It's not strange that you don't know. Talent Stones are quite rare, after all," Gu Lianxing explained. "Every person's Talent Physique is different. Only after a martial artist reaches Life Establishment, when their internal organs transform and inner strength evolves into true qi, can their Talent Physique manifest. Before then, only a Talent Stone can test someone's Talent Physique."

"Correct yourself and bear Heaven's mandate! Only after Life Establishment can one activate their own physique, and some physiques are terrifying beyond measure!" Gu Lianxing suddenly seemed to enjoy teaching others and continued, "It is said that the Vast Continent possesses the Ten Great Sacred Bodies and dozens of Divine Bodies. Anyone able to awaken one becomes a peerless powerhouse who can dominate the world! With the strength of one person, they can suppress an entire nation—terrifying beyond belief!"

"As for Innate Divine Abilities, it is said they are divine powers bestowed by the Heavenly Dao. They occur only once in ten thousand people and possess all kinds of unimaginable abilities!"