Outside Lingwu City, in the suburbs, on a secluded hill.
Starlight speckled the sky, spilling across the jagged gravel-strewn slopes. Moonlight flowed like water, soaking the forests that rose and fell like tidal waves. Now and then, a clear breeze swept through, carrying the fragrance of mountains, waters, and flowers, refreshing the heart and mind.
Speaking only of its surroundings and nothing else, this small hill possessed scenery as beautiful as an earthly fairyland.
Yet a mountain did not need to be high; with immortals, it became famed. The people within the mountain naturally influenced the hill's aura as well, turning this fairyland-like beauty gloomy and oppressive, filling one's heart with unease.
Luo Peng sat cross-legged atop the thick trunk of a broad-canopied tree, breathing and circulating his qi. Dense streams of vital energy took the form of hawks and falcons and were swallowed into his mouth, then transformed into somewhat dim breath that drifted from his nostrils.
The Imperial Guard was meditating and cultivating his qi at night to increase his strength. Though it might not bring any great improvement, martial arts demanded diligent, painstaking practice and accumulation over time. To achieve a major leap in a short period was exceedingly difficult.
Fortunately, Luo Peng possessed a Special Physique. With the boost granted by this talent, he cultivated much faster than ordinary martial artists and gained far more from it. His martial arts improved day by day.
Even while cultivating, he did not forget to devote a sliver of his attention to the rocky cave in the mountain, guarding strictly against Gan Mingfeng escaping and causing them serious trouble.
The past few days had mostly been like this. Yet for some reason, not long after Luo Peng sat down to cultivate tonight, he felt restless and unsettled, as though