Divine Rest Town, Bamboo Shade Garden.
The courtyard lay hushed, shaded by a bamboo grove.
A cold wind passed through the grove, stirring the bamboo branches and leaves into a rustling whisper.
The wind was not particularly strong. It merely rippled the pool of clear water before the courtyard and lifted the frost-white hair of a man in the stone pavilion.
Helan Mingxuan sat cross-legged, an Ancient Sword in a black scabbard resting before him. He was performing his daily cultivation, concentrating on his Sea of Qi and drawing strands of Numinous Energy into his body.
He had maintained this arduous practice for more than ten years. Unless something unavoidable intervened, he never stopped, regardless of frost, wind, or thunderstorms.
Divine Rest Town meant a town where gods dwelled. It was a prosperous settlement at the southeastern foot of Ancestral Spirit Mountain's main peak.
The town was dotted with inns, teahouses, ritual artifact shops, training halls, gambling dens, and pawnshops...
There were even small shops selling sundries from Western Luo.
Besides its several thousand local residents, Divine Rest Town drew substantial numbers of merchants, wandering warriors, and pilgrims throughout the year, making it a bustling place.
Bamboo Shade Garden stood on a hillside north of Divine Rest Town, overlooking more than half the settlement. Its secluded location also offered peace amid the bustle.
The garden had originally belonged to an Izumo noble. More than ten years earlier, some remnants of Qian Yong had fled here and attached themselves to the Divine Radiance Palace, spending considerable wealth to purchase it.
Inside the stone pavilion, Helan Mingxuan slowly opened his eyes. The dispersed currents of force gradually returned to his body, but he sighed. "Still no use... The Numinous Energy here may be far richer than outside, but breaking through my shackles