Black Marsh of the Northern Wastes

Once Shen Qingzhou had made up his mind, he did not delay any longer. He rose and left the small courtyard where he had cultivated in seclusion for a year.

The mountain wind of Sword-Coming Peak remained the same, though the air now carried a faint autumn chill.

He made his way silently to the courtyard before the rear mountain.

The courtyard gate stood half-open, and it was quiet within.

Shen Qingzhou pushed the door open and entered, immediately spotting Su Yu reclining crookedly in a lounge chair beneath a green plum tree.

She looked as she always did, dressed in a loose azure Daoist robe, her long hair casually scattered over her shoulders, her eyes half-closed as she slept soundly.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the plum tree's branches and leaves, scattering fragmented patterns of light and shadow across her body.

Shen Qingzhou did not make a sound to disturb her. He merely stood quietly to one side.

He could sense that every breath Su Yu took resonated faintly with the surrounding water-element spiritual energy.

The process was exceedingly slow, less efficient even than ordinary meditation, but its advantage was that it worked without pause, even in sleep.

This was certainly no ordinary cultivation method.

After an unknown length of time, Su Yu's eyelashes trembled lightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing Shen Qingzhou, she showed no surprise. She merely yawned lazily and stretched.

"Oh, you've come out of seclusion. Your Qi Refining, Sixth-Layer Peak aura is quite stable, and your Sword Intent is solid too. Not bad."

She glanced at Shen Qingzhou.

Shen Qingzhou cupped his hands and spoke softly.

"Greetings, Senior Sister. There are some matters I have yet to understand, so I came specifically to seek your guidance."

Su Yu sat up and casually picked up the teapot beside her to pour herself some water.

"Go on."

Shen Qingzhou organized his thoughts.

"Senior Sister, back at Blackwind Market, I followed you and killed Huang Shi of the Wèi Earth lineage. Later, on the Sword-Inquiry Platform, I defeated Lu Chen. Does that count as fitting the imagery of Earth Granary Sinking Current? Could it be considered reenacting a fragment of our patriarch's achievements?"

After hearing this, Su Yu set down her teacup and chuckled.

"Master may have told you about this, but you're still thinking about it too simply."

She slowly leaned back against the chair.

"Those were all petty scuffles. When you killed Yellowstone True Person, the sect gave you contribution points and spirit stones. When you defeated Lu Chen, you gained the honor and resources of being first in the minor competition."

"Those are indeed tangible benefits, but they have not the slightest connection to a Ritual or to any reward from Heaven and Earth."

"Because, in the end, what you did could only be considered private fighting."

"What a Ritual requires is merit—a deed acknowledged by the laws of Heaven and Earth. Killing a disciple or defeating a genius, what kind of merit is that? At most, it is merely your personal grudge and tangled emotions."

"Would the Wèi Earth Tradition be crippled by that? Would the Earth Spirit Sect decline because of it? Obviously not."

She paused slightly, seeming to consider how best to make him understand.

"Put it this way: the essence of a Ritual is like a performance for Heaven and Earth to watch. You must play the role of the Kan Water Lineage mighty expert who gravely wounded the Wèi Earth patriarch back then, and what you do must fit that mighty expert's logic of action."

"You must make Heaven and Earth think, 'Hey, this kid has a little of that person's old bearing.' Only then will Heaven and Earth bestow the tiniest reward upon you."

"Then what exactly must one do for it to count as merit?"

"The key to merit lies in Dao Strife."

A thought instantly flashed through Shen Qingzhou's mind.

"For example, that Kan Water Site leyline node outside Peace River City."

"Clever boy."

Su Yu nodded in approval.

"That fool Yellowstone True Person spent so much effort trying to turn that Kan Water Site into blood-soil suitable for cultivating demonic arts. I killed him not merely for the bounty, but to stop him."

"Setting that leyline node right and bringing it back under water's control—that was the key to activating the Ritual. Killing him was merely clearing away an obstacle along the way."

"But that piece of trash was truly too weak. Completing that Ritual did not mean much to me either. It could only be called better than nothing."

Only then did Shen Qingzhou suddenly understand.

Looking at Su Yu, he abruptly gained some insight into her peculiar cultivation method.

"Then, Senior Sister, when you sleep every day..."

"What, now you're trying to figure me out?"

Su Yu lowered her head and pondered for a moment.

"The Ritual I practice is called Dream Crossing the Heavenly River. Every day, I expend a great deal of mental energy to sleep, all so my soul can leave my body and wander through dreams."

"This method is far too inefficient. With your Dao aptitude, there is no need for you to learn it."

Shen Qingzhou was slightly stunned. It seemed her usual demeanor was all because of this Ritual.

"What happened to the Kan Water Site beneath Peace River City in the end?"

"I took its core long ago. Several centuries of Water-element Essence in that water vein condensed into a Kan Water Origin Embryo, which is quite useful for my attempt to break through a bottleneck. But that place's foundation remains. With the core gone and the water-vein spiritual energy dispersed, it is actually more suitable for you to use."

"Thank you very much for your guidance, Senior Sister."

Shen Qingzhou understood her meaning at once and thanked her with complete sincerity.

This information was timely rain to him. Su Yu's willingness to tell him all this was already an immense help.

"Don't rush to thank me yet. If you want to stand out in the grand competition two years from now, this alone is still far from enough."

Su Yu changed the subject, and her tone turned languid again.

"If you want to obtain a true opportunity, if you want to complete a Ritual of your own, then you need to make your way somewhere broader."

"Then I ask Senior Sister to point out a clear path for me once more."

"Go to the Northern Wastes. Find a place called Blackwater Marsh."

"It lies more than a thousand li north of Azure Mountain. It is a rather large primordial swamp, shrouded in poisonous miasma all year round."

"There are countless demonic beasts inside, even great demons of the second and third ranks. The environment is poor, but it also produces all kinds of yin-cold, water-element spirit herbs and minerals."

"Three sects have maintained outposts nearby year-round, their forces tangled together, and friction occasionally breaks out."

As Su Yu spoke, she extended three slender fingers.

"Heavenly Mystery counts as one. The other two are Earth Spirit and Plain Maiden."

The Plain Maiden Sect had always been famous in the Northern Wastes for its dual-cultivation arts, and its methods were neither wholly righteous nor wholly wicked.

"Our sect has a garrison mission at Blackwater Marsh. It lasts one year, and the rewards are fairly generous: five hundred contribution points and one hundred low-grade spirit stones each year."

"During that time, you can keep seventy percent of whatever you gain from hunting demonic beasts and gathering spirit herbs. Most importantly, no one usually competes for this mission at all."

Shen Qingzhou was somewhat puzzled. These conditions sounded quite good.

"How could no one compete for it?"

Su Yu curled her lips in disdain.

"That cursed place is unfriendly to cultivators of most traditions. The demonic beasts are fierce, and the people from the Earth Spirit Sect and Plain Maiden Sect are no good either."

"But at least there are Foundation Establishment martial uncles holding the line there. As long as you do not court death yourself, keeping your little life should not be a problem."

Hearing this, the abacus in Shen Qingzhou's heart immediately began to clatter.

On the path of immortality, there was nowhere one could escape trouble.

Remaining in the sect appeared safe, but in truth, the Zhou Family had long regarded him as livestock raised for blood and flesh. Who knew what day he might be harvested?

Going to Blackwater Marsh meant facing other sects directly, but the place was far from the emperor's reach, and he would have a mission as a cover. It would instead make it easier for him to act freely.

Besides, his swordsmanship had now reached great accomplishment, and he had a method like Traceless to protect himself. His ability to survive was no longer what it had been. If he encountered an enemy he could not defeat, he could simply run—and get away.

"This mission was originally issued for disciples in the Mid Qi Refining Stage. With your inner sect status, you can claim it at Steward Hall whenever you wish."

"But I advise you not to take it in too much of a hurry."

"It would be best to raise your cultivation to Qi Refining, Seventh Layer before you go. Whether you reach that rotten place in Blackwater Marsh a month early or a month late truly makes little difference."

Shen Qingzhou committed all of Su Yu's instructions to heart, and his future course became clear in his mind as well.

He bent at the waist and gave her a solemn salute.

"Thank you, Senior Sister, for clearing away my confusion."

Su Yu waved her hand casually and returned to her lazy appearance.

Just as Shen Qingzhou turned to take his leave, he suddenly remembered one final matter.

He hesitated, stopped, then turned back to ask.

"Senior Sister, um... what cultivation realm are you actually at now?"

The question was rather abrupt. Su Yu narrowed her eyes and looked him up and down for quite some time before suddenly laughing.

"What? You want to know my true depth that badly?"

"I am indeed somewhat curious."

A trace of deliberate teasing colored her voice.

"Then when you can last ten moves against me, I'll be merciful and tell you."

Shen Qingzhou did not simply let the question go.

"Senior Sister has pointed out such a long road for me. At the very least, I need some sense of where I stand—to know how far away the target I am chasing truly is."

At those words, Su Yu's smile faded, and she fell silent for a moment.

"It is not really all that far. Walking the road of Qi Refining is like crossing a river. Right now, you have probably splashed your way to the middle of it."

As she spoke, she extended a slender finger and traced an imaginary line through the air to represent the current.

With a turn of her wrist, she lightly tapped near the far end of the line, close to the opposite shore.

"As for me, I have probably almost reached here."

"From there, you can see the scenery on the opposite bank. But the river below is at its swiftest there as well. One wrong step, and either you are washed back to where you started, or dragged into the riverbed, never to come back up."

Shen Qingzhou lowered his voice and asked.

"Foundation Establishment... is it truly that difficult?"

Su Yu answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Difficult."

She rose to her feet and stretched, her graceful curves outlined in the sunlight in a captivating silhouette.