Have You Two Got the Wrong Map?

After the heavy snow, the sky was clear and the air crisp.

Gu Yuanqing stood at the cliff's edge in a fur cloak, gazing into the distance and feeling utterly refreshed.

A Mountain Eagle circled in the distance, then suddenly beat its wings and dove. A moment later, it flew up from the mountain ravine with a wild chicken in its talons. It dropped the chicken beside Gu Yuanqing, then landed on the ground and chirped at him twice.

Gu Yuanqing could not help laughing. "Thanks."

With its wings slightly spread, the Mountain Eagle waddled step by step to Gu Yuanqing's side like a long-legged pheasant wearing furry trousers, then cocked its head at him.

Gu Yuanqing stroked its head and laughed. "You keep bringing me things every other day. Aren't you afraid of starving your wife and chicks? Be careful you don't get locked out of the nest when you go back."

The Mountain Eagle chirped several more times, then leaped onto Gu Yuanqing's shoulder and opened its beak, intending to groom his hair.

Laughing as he scolded it, Gu Yuanqing pushed its head away. "All right. It's getting late, and I should head down the mountain. This wild chicken is just right—I'll take it back and have someone cook it as an extra dish."

As his spiritual sense merged with North Spring Mountain, the animals in the mountains had grown ever closer to him. He could easily distinguish every tree on the mountain and every creature dwelling there.

Unable to chat with people, talking to these animals was not bad either!

The Mountain Eagle flapped away, while Gu Yuanqing carried the wild chicken toward the house where the two old servants lived.

When he reached the courtyard where the servants resided, Gu Yuanqing handed the chicken to the middle-aged woman and said with a smile, "Aunt Feng, let's add a dish tonight. Make it spicy." As he spoke, he pointed at the red chili peppers.

After several months, Gu Yuanqing only knew that the woman was called Feng Tao, and she could only write those two characters.

The woman understood what Gu Yuanqing meant. Smiling, she took the wild chicken and placed it in a basket, then gestured several times.

Gu Yuanqing roughly understood that she was saying he was impressive, to have caught a wild chicken in weather like this.

The old man beside her entered the house carrying a load of firewood. He noticed the marks on the wild chicken's throat left by sharp talons piercing its windpipe, and he found himself increasingly unable to see through this young man before him. In his senses, Gu Yuanqing was still an Origin Scholar, yet for some reason, he occasionally gave him a dangerous feeling.

There was also the Sword Intent that often drifted out from Gu Yuanqing's courtyard. It should never have appeared on someone at the Origin Scholar realm, yet he was certain no outsider had come.

At the same time, living on the same mountain, he had naturally seen how close Gu Yuanqing was with the mountain's beasts and birds.

Gu Yuanqing nodded to the old man, then turned and left.

Compared to Feng Tao, this old man simply had no desire to communicate with anyone. Even now, Gu Yuanqing did not know his surname or given name.

Back in his own courtyard, Gu Yuanqing lay in a chair beneath the sun, his thoughts occupied with cultivation.

The Qi of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha he gathered each day had already filled the entire Profound Martial Secret Treasure. For an ordinary person, this would have taken years of effort.

As the Heavenly Gang Qi and Qi of Earth Sha intertwined, the Profound Martial Secret Treasure transformed every day, and faint shadows of heaven and earth appeared within it.

Gu Yuanqing's consciousness often sank into it, his will resonating with the Secret Treasury. Gradually, it became like one of his own Acupoints, completely melding with his body and will.

"I wonder what wondrous scene my Secret Treasury will nurture?" Gu Yuanqing was somewhat expectant.

The nurturing of a wondrous scene was connected to one's will, temperament, talent, and fortune. Even fellow disciples cultivating the same technique would not necessarily nurture the same wondrous scene.

That night, a large platter of spicy chicken was brought into the small courtyard, and Gu Yuanqing ate to his heart's content.

After dinner, he went into the courtyard and lay fearlessly in the cold wind, gazing at the stars.

"I wonder if one of those stars is where my former homeland once was?"

Only after a long while did he come back to himself and enter Mountain Observation.

Near midnight, he returned indoors and circulated his cultivation technique to refine the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth he gained each day had now risen to eight strands, allowing his cultivation progress in the Profound Martial Realm to rival that of his time as an Origin Scholar.

In just a few short days, he had crossed two minor realms and reached the third level of the Profound Martial Realm. Once the wondrous scene within him was successfully nurtured, he would reach the fourth level of the Profound Martial Realm.

Such speed was simply inconceivable. Even back in the prince's estate, where he had heard of many extraordinarily gifted individuals, no one had reached such a level.

"Even Li Miaoxuan, the Eldest Imperial Princess, who entered the Lingxu Sect in childhood, began cultivating at three, became an Origin Scholar at six, and achieved the Profound Martial Realm at ten, probably can't compare to me, can she?"

Gu Yuanqing chuckled and muttered to himself. Then he thought of the Imperial Family woman with whom he had shared intimacy, and fell silent. Several months had passed—how was she now?

After cultivating, Gu Yuanqing got up and was about to return to the bedchamber when he suddenly sensed something. He turned toward West Cliff and entered the state of Mountain Observation.

A moment earlier, a white-haired, white-bearded elder had brought a young man with a face like carved jade to the foot of North Spring Mountain on its western side.

The two looked up at North Spring Peak.

"Jun'er, wait for me here. North Spring Mountain is, after all, a Forbidden Ground of Great Gan. Who knows what old monsters may be hiding within?" the elder said.

Qin Baijun gritted his teeth. "Grandfather, don't try to persuade me. My mind is made up. This is no different from the hatred of having one's wife stolen. If I do not kill him with my own hands, I will never untie this knot in my heart. I fear my cultivation will be unable to advance another inch in the future."

"Ah, foolish child. Let's go. Even if I have to risk these old bones, I will keep you safe!"

The moment the old man and youth entered North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing noticed them. As his connection with North Spring Mountain deepened, he no longer needed to be in the Mountain Observation state to sense things roughly. In particular, whenever outsiders stepped inside, Gu Yuanqing could detect them at once.

Gu Yuanqing "watched" the elder and youth climb straight up the cliff face toward the summit, and his eyes lit up. "Looks like another group after North Spring Mountain's hidden treasure. Perhaps there'll be a good show tonight."

"Judging by their Movement Techniques, these two seem somewhat stronger than the two who came last time. I wonder if they'll fight. If they really do, can my old servant hold them off? He's been my servant for over eight months, chopping firewood and carrying water every day. Even if he has no merit, he has put in hard work. It would be rather unfortunate if he can't withstand them and something happens to him.

"Oh, no, I nearly forgot the commander of the Imperial Guards below the mountain. He definitely won't stand by and let the old man die. After all, the old man may have come from the North Spring Sword Sect and knows many secrets outsiders do not. And with the old man's strength, holding on until reinforcements arrive should not be a problem."

In but an instant, Gu Yuanqing had imagined a great many things. He then deliberately poured himself some tea, found a chair, and sat down, ready to wait for the show to begin.

A moment later, the old man and youth arrived at the summit.

By moonlight, Elder Qin swept his gaze around the surroundings and frowned slightly. "Jun'er, North Spring Mountain is quite vast. I cannot freely search with my Qi here. Finding someone in these mountains may prove troublesome."

"Rest assured, Grandfather. Your grandson has already investigated thoroughly. He should be living... over there!" Qin Baijun pointed.

"Then let's go! We'll make this quick. I'll help you hold off anyone else, but you must understand that this is a Forbidden Ground of Great Gan. The longer we stay, the more likely something will change."

As they spoke, the two used their Movement Techniques and headed in the direction Qin Baijun had indicated.

Gu Yuanqing, who had been watching the show, suddenly froze. That direction seemed to lead toward the courtyard where he lived.

"Hey, you two, have you got the wrong map? You're not here looking for me, are you?"