Qin Haoxuan remained in Xu Yu's room until night fell before she finished explaining Elder Chu's Eight Trigrams Numerology. Though she had explained it in great detail and added many of her own insights and understandings, Qin Haoxuan still only half understood it.
Seeing that night had fallen, Qin Haoxuan knew that lingering in a young woman's room was inappropriate. Though the two of them were pure and spotless, gossip was unavoidable. He bade Xu Yu farewell, then reinforced his nickname of "Rice Bucket" in the dining hall once again. After eating and drinking his fill, he did not return to the dormitory, instead heading for the same thicket where he had cultivated the night before.
Yet before he even reached the thicket, Gu Yunzi had already been waiting there for quite some time.
As the master of Gu Yun Hall, Gu Yunzi was a high-ranking figure of great authority even within the Taichu Sect. Why would he appear in such a secluded corner of Spirit Field Valley? And judging by his manner, he was clearly here for Qin Haoxuan.
"Disciple Qin Haoxuan greets Hall Master Gu." Though surprised, Qin Haoxuan still bowed respectfully.
"Rise." Gu Yunzi wore a kindly smile as he extended his right hand and gave a slight lifting gesture. Qin Haoxuan felt a tremendous force supporting his bowed body upright.
"Qin Haoxuan, I specifically came to find you today. I have observed you for many days and found you to be highly persevering, with a firm Dao heart. You are worth cultivating. Although you are merely a weak seed and do not meet the requirements to enter Gu Yun Hall, I can teach you privately. Once your cultivation rises, I can rightfully admit you into Gu Yun Hall as a formal disciple."
Gu Yunzi came straight to the point, and his words caught Qin Haoxuan entirely off guard.
During the testing that day, Gu Yunzi had paid him no attention. After learning that he was a weak seed, he had not even spared him a second glance. Yet today, he had come specifically to seek him out and even offered to teach him privately. There was something indescribably strange about it.
Gu Yunzi was one of the four hall masters. For him to lower himself and personally guide a newly initiated weak-seed disciple would have seemed like a heaven-sent opportunity to anyone else. They would have been overjoyed on the spot. Qin Haoxuan did not refuse, but he merely thanked him politely, neither warm nor cold, showing none of the delight one might expect. There was even a faint trace of doubt in his eyes.
Gu Yunzi, who had initially meant to test Qin Haoxuan, was satisfied. This Qin Haoxuan truly was as the rumors said—his Dao heart was firm, and his temperament was exceptionally steady. Then the news spreading like wildfire these days, that he had fought an Immortal Seedling Realm Fifth Leaf cultivator to a draw where both sides suffered, was surely true as well.
At that thought, Gu Yunzi smiled in satisfaction. "Haoxuan, if you have any doubts, feel free to raise them. I can resolve them all for you."
Qin Haoxuan truly did have quite a few questions. Since Gu Yunzi had offered himself up to guide him, there was no reason not to make use of him. He began asking without hesitation, and Gu Yunzi answered every question he knew, holding nothing back. His attitude was exceedingly enthusiastic, perfectly displaying the appearance of one thirsting for talent. Yet rather than dispelling Qin Haoxuan's suspicions, it only made them grow thicker.
There were countless people with better aptitude than his. For a sect higher-up like Gu Yunzi, aside from those few strong-seed disciples, if he wished to take in anyone else, would they not come at his beck and call? Why go to such lengths for someone like him?
But doubts were doubts. Qin Haoxuan was clever enough not to show them. A sect higher-up like Gu Yunzi was not someone he could afford to offend.
As Gu Yunzi answered Qin Haoxuan's questions, he hesitated again. This young man might be a weak seed, but he possessed an innate instinct for cultivation. The questions he raised were far more profound than Zhang Yang's. If he were refined into a corpse soldier...
Gu Yunzi felt increasingly reluctant. Over his many years in the sect, he had used his position to do things beneficial to himself, but he had never truly harmed any disciple of the sect. To truly refine a person into a corpse soldier would be far too damaging to the harmony of Heaven... But without turning this disciple into a corpse soldier to disrupt the mindsets of the three purple seeds, it would be difficult for Zhang Yang to become sect leader in the future. Their branch had never produced a sect leader before.
After pondering for a long while, Gu Yunzi gritted his teeth. So be it! Even if Zhang Yang became sect leader, he could only suppress the purple seeds for a time and would not harm Taichu's future. Yet it would allow their branch to enjoy some glory as well. Sacrificing one weak seed was worth it! When the day came that he too passed away in meditation, he could apologize to the founding patriarch.
After resolving some of Qin Haoxuan's doubts, Gu Yunzi pretended to ponder. Only after thinking for a long time did he say with feigned difficulty, "Your physique is unusual. Cultivating those most basic techniques is truly a waste of talent. I have an exceedingly rare spiritual art, one I obtained while traveling the world in my youth. It is very suitable for you."
Gu Yunzi took a prepared bottle of pills from his robes, poured one out, and handed it to Qin Haoxuan. "This pill is called the Spirit Strengthening Pill. After taking it and combining it with the technique I teach you, you can greatly increase your body's strength."
Holding the soybean-sized pill, Qin Haoxuan had no desire to take it. But Gu Yunzi's eager gaze deepened his suspicions, while leaving him unsure how to refuse.
"Could it be that you think I would harm you?" Gu Yunzi asked. Qin Haoxuan opened his mouth to answer, but before even the word "I" had fully left his lips, another soybean-sized pill flicked from Gu Yunzi's fingertip and flew directly into his mouth. The pill melted the instant it entered. Qin Haoxuan did not even have a chance to spit it out before it turned into a clear stream that flowed into his stomach.
As soon as the pill entered his body, he quickly felt a burning sensation throughout his body. It happened to offset some of the medicinal force of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus within him, making Qin Haoxuan so comfortable that he nearly moaned.
At that moment, Qin Haoxuan could no longer spare thought for what Gu Yunzi intended for him. Since this pill could offset part of the heat brought by the One-Leaf Golden Lotus, it was better than nothing.
"Quickly follow my guidance and circulate your qi." Gu Yunzi pressed a hand on Qin Haoxuan. A current of qi entered his body, forcibly stirring the spiritual energy within him into motion. In only a short time, Qin Haoxuan could already feel the muscles throughout his body growing noticeably stronger and harder, while his strength greatly surpassed what it had been before.
All of this had been accomplished under Gu Yunzi's "help." Qin Haoxuan had no way to refuse. Though he felt that Gu Yunzi was strange, he could not say exactly what was strange about him.
Seeing Qin Haoxuan obediently swallow the pill and cultivate the Corpse Refining Great Method, Gu Yunzi was thoroughly satisfied. Before leaving, he instructed him, "I obtained this technique while traveling abroad in my youth. The Taichu Sect's rules and teachings are strict, and cultivating techniques from other sects is forbidden. Therefore, you must not spread word of this matter, or it will bring you a hundred harms and not a single benefit."
Gu Yunzi's words, half instruction and half threat, made Qin Haoxuan feel that something was even more amiss. Since Gu Yunzi clearly knew that the Taichu Sect forbade the cultivation of outside techniques, why was he, the master of Gu Yun Hall, knowingly breaking the law? There had to be something fishy going on.
But reporting Gu Yunzi was out of the question. Qin Haoxuan knew that his status was far inferior to the other man's. Even if the Taichu Sect's rules existed, he feared that before he could make a report, he would already have been killed.
After Gu Yunzi left, Qin Haoxuan immediately returned to the dormitory. By the dim candlelight, he wrote down Gu Yunzi's technique from memory. Then he sat in meditation listlessly in the dormitory for several hours. Once everyone else had fallen asleep, he attached his soul to Little Snake, had it carry the sheet of paper in its mouth, and swiftly headed for Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley.
Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley was as gloomy and oppressive as ever. Qin Haoxuan had not come for some time, and the instant he stepped into its entrance, he felt waves of immense pressure crashing down upon him like mountains toppling and seas overturning, as if they would crush him into dust.
Qin Haoxuan, carrying the sheet of paper in his mouth, came to the Undying Witch Demon. Seeing this Little Snake bring over a sheet of paper, the Undying Witch Demon found it strange. He barely opened his eyes and gave it a cursory glance before sneering. In a weak, feeble voice, he said, "This technique is called the Corpse Refining Great Method. It belongs to a sinister and vicious sect called the Heavenly Corpse Sect. There should also be pills that assist in its cultivation, yes? Those pills are called Corrosion Pills. Long-term use can turn your body impervious to blades and weapons, leaving your entire body stiff as a corpse's, while greatly increasing your attack and defense! But they will also erode your consciousness. Before long, you will become a mindless walking corpse, completely under another's control."
Unable to speak, Qin Haoxuan was horrified. Though he had known Gu Yunzi meant him no good, he had thought that as the master of Gu Yun Hall and a high-ranking Taichu Sect figure, Gu Yunzi would at most lead him astray. He had never imagined that even within the supposedly righteous Taichu Sect, there existed someone so sinister and vicious, using such a treacherous method to harm him.
His mind raced as he considered Gu Yunzi's purpose. Even if Gu Yunzi refined him into a corpse soldier, his cultivation was not strong, so the resulting corpse soldier would surely be among the lowest grade. With Gu Yunzi's strength, how could he possibly value such a thing? If he did not value it, why would he go to such lengths to harm him?
Could it be for someone else?
Qin Haoxuan suddenly thought of Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang had achieved Rooting in seven days, progress comparable to that of a purple-seed disciple. A gray seed like him could never have done that alone, so someone must have helped him behind the scenes. Zhang Yang had long been designated as Gu Yunzi's disciple. It was obvious that the person who had helped Zhang Yang achieve Rooting had to be Gu Yunzi! And Gu Yunzi's actions toward him must certainly have been at Zhang Yang's instigation!
Having understood the links in the chain, Qin Haoxuan felt a chill run through his heart. The cultivation world truly was far too dark. A hall master of lofty status and formidable power would actually do something so vile!
"It really is easier when someone powerful has your back!" Qin Haoxuan sighed inwardly. Ever since entering the Taichu Sect, he had faced schemes at every turn. Zhang Kuang and Li Jing had plotted against him before, but as long as he cultivated diligently and reached a certain level of strength, he would not need to fear them. But now Gu Yunzi was plotting against him. This had already surpassed what he could handle.
It truly answered the old saying: if one offers undue attentiveness for no reason, then they are either a traitor or a thief!
He secretly warned himself that from now on, he must be more wary of others. Anyone who treated him well for no reason must have ulterior motives. Otherwise, with so many people in the world, why would they not casually grab someone else to show kindness to, yet choose him specifically?
At that thought, Qin Haoxuan's gaze intentionally—or perhaps unintentionally—fell upon the Undying Witch Demon's bloated, ugly body, and his heart suddenly jolted. This old devil had also treated him well for no reason. Could this old devil have ulterior motives toward him as well?
Just then, the Undying Witch Demon opened his mouth and said weakly, "Though the Corpse Refining Great Method is vicious, you may continue cultivating it. The Great Dao Heart Seed Demon Technique I passed on to you is rather unique. It can remove the poison within the Corrosion Pills and turn them into true spiritual pills for tempering the body!"
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