At Last, Someone He Could Talk To

Gu Yuanqing closed his eyes and looked inward. Within his Profound Martial Secret Treasure, the phantom landscape woven from the qi of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha had gradually begun to solidify.

Within that phantom landscape, a mountain peak could faintly be seen towering straight into the clouds.

Gu Yuanqing gazed at the peak, finding it increasingly familiar.

No matter how I look at it, this mountain resembles North Spring Mountain, only far more majestic!

Could this... be my Profound Martial Phenomenon?

Gu Yuanqing strongly suspected that he had forged an inextricable bond with mountains.

Whatever the case, this sight means I've broken through to the True Martial Fourth Layer. The transformation of the true qi in my body also bears this out. My true qi has begun to contain Dao resonance.

Gu Yuanqing raised his palm, and a wisp of true qi emerged from it. He sensed the vital energy between heaven and earth beginning to gather slowly around that true qi.

This was an inevitable stage in the manifestation of a Profound Martial Phenomenon, from within the body to the world outside.

To reap such a gain after going through all that was an unexpected blessing. But...

Looking back on tonight's battle, Gu Yuanqing felt that he had performed terribly. A single casual sword strike had nearly killed him inside his room.

In the end, I've fought too few battles. I'm sorely lacking in combat experience. And my Concealment Art didn't help at all. Even with the Courtyard and the house between us, he discovered me with ease.

If a Grandmaster hadn't intervened, I probably wouldn't have escaped disaster today, would I?

Gu Yuanqing frowned slightly. What had happened today had sounded a warning bell for him.

As the saying went, the tree longed for stillness, yet the wind would not cease. Even deep in the mountains, he was not completely safe. Someone would not always be there to help him. Besides, his life still rested in the hands of the Great Qian Imperial Family. Though they paid him no heed now, who knew when they might change their minds? Was he supposed to let himself be bound and submit to their orders?

I must pick up the pace of my cultivation. Only by becoming a Grandmaster can I hold my life and death in my own hands!

Looking inward at his Sea of Consciousness, he saw that the image of North Spring Mountain in his mind had grown clearer still. At a glance, it looked like a real mountain. He then glanced at the text beside it:

Host: Gu Yuanqing

Title: North Spring Mountain Master

Title enhancement: Mountain Observation

Cultivation Talent: Mediocre and untalented (one in a hundred)

Swordsmanship Talent: Mediocre and untalented (outstanding)

Comprehension: A standout among the mediocre (unparalleled)

Residence: North Spring Mountain (Spirit-Nurturing Ordinary Mountain)

Residence Enhancement: Cultivation Talent +2, Swordsmanship Talent +3, comprehension +3; receive eight wisps of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi daily.

The only change from a few months ago was the greater amount of Spiritual Qi he received.

It looks like I'll have to wait until North Spring Mountain completes its spirit imbuing before anything else changes. Back to cultivating. Today's Spiritual Qi has arrived, too!

At the foot of North Spring Mountain.

A secret letter was tied to the leg of a vigorous Sky-Hunting Eagle whose feathers gleamed with a metallic sheen.

As Chen Chuanshan swept his arm upward, the Sky-Hunting Eagle perched upon it spread its wings and took flight.

Two hours later, the Sky-Hunting Eagle landed inside the Imperial Palace.

Within the Great Qian Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study was brightly lit.

Li Haotian reclined on his side on the Dragon Bed, reading memorials.

Chief Eunuch Xu Lianying silently entered the room with a thumb-sized, wax-sealed message tube in hand and stood to one side.

After a moment, Li Haotian raised his head and asked mildly, "Where is the secret letter from?"

"Your Majesty, it is from Deputy Commander Chen at North Spring Mountain. The secret letter is classified as Heaven Grade. The Divine Eagle Guard sent it here immediately upon receiving it."

"Let me see it." Li Haotian set down the memorial in his hand.

Xu Lianying presented it with both hands.

Li Haotian took it, unscrewed the tube, and pulled out the note inside. After a couple of glances, he involuntarily sat upright. A moment later, he said slowly, "Go to the Tribute Bureau and ask whether any Grandmaster Attendant went to North Spring Mountain tonight."

"Yes. This servant will go at once." Xu Lianying bowed and retreated several steps before turning to leave.

Only when Li Haotian was alone in the Imperial Study did his expression darken. He clenched his fist, reducing the secret letter to powder.

A Lingxu Sect Elder had trespassed on Great Qian's forbidden ground. This was blatant disregard for the Great Qian Imperial Decree. These Sect members held the law in contempt. They truly deserved death!

Had the Great Calamity back then not sharply reduced the number of Grandmaster Attendants serving the Imperial Court, why would the court have swallowed its anger and endured such humiliation for the sake of the greater good?

A quarter of an hour later, Xu Lianying returned.

"Your Majesty, neither of the two Grandmasters in the Tribute Bureau left tonight. The other Grandmaster, Zhou Yin, is in Hexi Province investigating suspected traces of the Red Moon Cult. There should be no Grandmaster Attendant near North Spring Mountain. Would you like this servant to send someone to investigate?"

"Never mind. Perhaps someone else went there for the North Spring Secret Sword." Li Haotian's tone was indifferent. He paused, then added, "Did Xuan'er ask you to visit North Spring Mountain sometime soon?"

"Her Highness the Princess did express that wish."

"Then go tomorrow. The mountains are bitterly cold at this time of year. Pick two fine Fur Coats from the Inner Treasury and take them along."

"This servant obeys!"

"Take the Kunwu Sword sent by the Heavenly Casting Bureau as well."

Xu Lianying was slightly startled, but his face betrayed nothing as he bowed again to accept the order.

Early the next morning, Gu Yuanqing returned to the Courtyard after gathering qi of Heaven Gang.

Looking at the courtyard with several of its rooms collapsed, he felt rather displeased. What had been a perfectly good courtyard now looked shabby and broken.

He considered moving to another Courtyard, but ultimately abandoned the idea. He had grown accustomed to living here.

Today, the middle-aged woman Feng Tao brought his breakfast. Afterward, she began tidying the Courtyard for him.

Once Gu Yuanqing had finished eating, he began practicing his swordsmanship with a Wood sword, making no attempt to avoid her.

Though his exchange of blows last night had been brief, it had still been real combat against an expert. That tempering of his mind had given him new insights into swordsmanship.

He did his best to recall the feeling of last night's strike, when he had gathered all the power of his essence, qi, and spirit into one, bringing his state of mind back to that moment again and again.

Gradually, he became immersed in it. Following the feeling in his heart, he struck again and again. His swordsmanship slowly broke free of the constraints of the original moves. With every effortless flourish, Sword Qi crisscrossed around him.

After a long while, he closed his eyes and once again imprinted the insights from this session of Sword Practice deep within his heart.

When he opened his eyes, the Wood sword in his hand crumbled inch by inch into powder that drifted away on the breeze.

This Wood sword was only something I casually whittled from an Iron Shard in the ruins. It stayed with me for over eight months, and today it finally reached the end of its natural life. In terms of sheer power, the swordsmanship I just performed might fall short of the Big Dipper Seven Swords. But only swordsmanship that suits me is truly swordsmanship. Everything else is merely a set of sword moves!

After a short rest, Gu Yuanqing moved his chair into the sunlight and lay down to observe the mountain. His awareness sank once more into the underground chamber, where he began leafing through a volume of Cultivation Insights.

Having entered the True Martial Fourth Layer, his cultivation method naturally needed to change as well. Gu Yuanqing still had to gradually refine it upon its existing framework, using his own insights.

Time passed little by little. Suddenly, Gu Yuanqing was roused from his absorption. A group of people at the foot of the mountain was climbing the steps toward him. Leading them was Eunuch Xu, the very man who had escorted him up the mountain.

Chen Chuanshan, deputy commander of the Divine Eagle Guard, walked half a step behind Eunuch Xu. Farther back, several Soldiers carried loads suspended from shoulder poles.

Gu Yuanqing's eyes lit up. At last, someone he could talk to had come!

But I've seen this Eunuch Xu in the Prince's Manor. He's the Chief Eunuch, a trusted confidant of the emperor. Could his visit mean something has changed?

Gu Yuanqing took another "look" at the contents of the loads. They were all supplies for life in the mountains, and only then did he dismiss that possibility.