Profound Martial Seventh Layer

This was a fledgling Sword Intent that had broken through into minor accomplishment!

A prodigy of the sword path—the old man had never seen anyone progress so quickly. Had this been the North Spring Sword Sect of old, such a person would surely have been a Sword Son. So long as his virtue and character were sound, he would have been a candidate for the next generation's sect leader.

The old man suddenly felt some regret. If he had found a way to bring Gu Yuanqing into North Spring Sword Sect when he had first come up the mountain, would the sect not have had a worthy successor?

But now, the opportunity had already passed. His cultivation in the sword path had surpassed the old man's own.

Gu Yuanqing quietly comprehended the changes brought by his breakthrough in Sword Intent. Even without anyone to instruct him, after comparing it with the records of sword cultivation in the secret chamber, he now understood his present state.

His Mountain Observation insights and sword-path insights melded together in this state. The aura around him was sometimes light and ethereal as smoke, sometimes heavy as a mountain; sometimes it revealed a razor-sharp edge, and sometimes it transformed into the bearing of wind and rain.

Mountain Observation observed not merely mountains, but all things between heaven and earth within North Spring Mountain—the way of nature. These insights normally went unnoticed, accumulating in his heart day after day. Yet today, as his Sword Intent took shape, they flowed into the sword path like nourishment.

At the same time, the breakthrough of his mind stirred a resonant tremor within the Profound Martial Secret Treasure. The Qi of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha within it shifted and changed, as though in an instant it had passed through vast seas turning into mulberry fields.

The heaven and earth within the Secret Treasury grew ever more distinct, while the phantom of North Spring Mountain gradually became clearer. Its flowers, grass, trees, and forests were all reflected within it one by one.

The wandering Qi of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha gradually thinned, and the transformation of the Secret Treasury seemed about to cease.

But at that moment, Gu Yuanqing's Sea of Consciousness trembled. A stream of pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth was drawn from beneath North Spring Mountain and poured into the Secret Treasury.

The Secret Treasury's evolution became even more intense, as if it truly intended to give birth to a real world within.

Time passed bit by bit, until these insights finally accumulated at their peak.

Rumble!

The fusion of the outside world with heaven and earth, the resonance of his inner self with the Profound Martial Secret Treasure—these two ever-strengthening worlds used Gu Yuanqing's consciousness as a bridge, shattering the barriers between them as they merged and collided!

For an instant, Gu Yuanqing's mind went blank. Then he entered an ineffable state, as though he stood within it, yet also transcended all things beyond it.

Inner and outer stirred each other, and change gave rise to further change. Around Gu Yuanqing's body, the phantom of North Spring Mountain emerged.

Profound Martial Seventh Layer—achieved today!

Gu Yuanqing closed his eyes. Without relying on Mountain Observation, every scene within a radius of ten zhang outside still appeared clearly in his mind.

After a long while, the aura around him receded and the small courtyard returned to tranquility. Yet if an expert were to observe him now, they would sense that Gu Yuanqing, standing silently in the courtyard, was like a towering mountain—unshakably steady. Looking more closely, they would discover an incomparably sharp aura hidden within.

Gu Yuanqing still did not move. Only after every trace of aura within him had fully settled, and all his insights had been branded deep into his soul, did he slowly exhale.

That breath condensed into the shape of a sword in midair and shot through the air. It pierced through the courtyard wall, leaving a hollow hole in it, then flew another Three Zhang before dispersing without a trace.

Gu Yuanqing opened his eyes and released his right hand. With Mountain Observation's Object Control, the Kunwu Sword flew back into its scabbard.

He clenched his fist, then swiftly opened it. The sound of air tearing rang out. Feeling a faint numbness from his fingers, he murmured, "The Profound Martial Seventh Layer? But this tempering of my physical body is starting to fall behind."

A smile appeared on his face as he spoke.

The Profound Martial Seventh Layer could already be called powerful. Even many generals and commanders in the Great Gan Dynasty's army did not possess such cultivation.

There had always been a chasm between the sixth and seventh layers. It was the divide between heaven and earth, between the inside and outside of the human body. Countless Profound Martial cultivators had been trapped here, yet today, through a fortunate convergence of circumstances, he had broken through so easily.

"Once I take some time to familiarize myself with these powers and turn them into combat strength, perhaps I will have no need to fear anyone below the Grandmaster realm!"

Only now did Gu Yuanqing finally possess a measure of confidence. He would no longer let others carve him up at will!

He returned to the stone table, pulled over a chair, and sat down. After drinking a mouthful of cold tea, he leaned back and looked at the bright moon in the sky, feeling his entire body and mind relax.

Imprisoned here, with his life and death in another's hands, he had appeared not to care as he lived in the mountains. But the invisible pressure had remained coiled around his heart every moment of every day. Only now had that pressure finally dissipated.

After sitting there for a long time without thinking of anything, he entered the state of Mountain Observation once more.

At this moment, North Spring Mountain became different in his heart again. Everything had become more delicate and vivid.

Gu Yuanqing's consciousness wandered through North Spring Mountain when he suddenly noticed changes at the foot of the mountain.

The Forbidden Army Camp at the foot of the mountain was situated on a small hill connected to North Spring Mountain. Normally, there were not many soldiers stationed at the Mountain Gate, but several small paths wound around the entirety of North Spring Mountain, and squads of forbidden troops patrolled them every day.

Yet today, every patrolling forbidden soldier had vanished. Only a sparse few remained even at the Mountain Gate.

Unlike their usual lax manner over the past few days, when they often chatted idly, every one of them looked stern. From time to time, they would glance toward one side of the Forbidden Army Camp.

Did something happen? Or has some great figure arrived, requiring the forbidden troops to be redeployed as guards?

Gu Yuanqing quietly waited, suppressing his impatience to see whether he could hear any news from the soldiers.

After a long time, one soldier finally could not help asking in a low voice, "Old Feng, do you think something really went wrong with the Demon Realm Seal? The commander has moved all the troops over there. I think they're ready at any moment to form the Divine Eagle Great Formation and suppress any Demonic Beasts that escape."

The older soldier looked somewhat more relaxed as he replied, "Don't worry. The Seal won't break so easily. It's only Demonic Qi leaking out. This has happened three times in the past century, but every time it ended without danger. The commander is merely preparing for the worst.

"Besides, this Demon Realm Fissure has never caused any major problems since it was discovered. Not even many ordinary Fierce Beasts or Magic Beasts have crawled out of it. Otherwise, it would not be our Divine Eagle Guard stationed here, but the Demon Suppressing Army."

The Demon Realm? Gu Yuanqing's heart jolted, and he sat upright. He had seen this term only in books, and every time it appeared, it was accompanied by a calamity that left Scorched Earth in its wake.

"No wonder North Spring Mountain is called a Forbidden Ground, yet the forbidden troops are all stationed below it. So there is actually a Demon Realm Fissure here."

This term was far removed from ordinary people. According to the records, the most recent incident of this kind in the Great Gan Dynasty had occurred a century ago, when the remaining members of the Crimson Dragon Cult had attempted another grand sacrifice. Fortunately, the Imperial Court had discovered it in time and a Grandmaster had arrived. The leaking Demonic Qi had contaminated less than half a village, while the few Fierce Beasts that had emerged from the passage were all slain, preventing a disaster.

Demonic Qi was utterly different from the Vital Energy of heaven and earth in this world. Those who were not Profound Martial cultivators could not resist it, and to remain completely unaffected, one needed the Profound Martial Seventh Layer to isolate it with the Profound Martial Wonderland.

"I hope nothing unexpected happens. Otherwise, under the contamination of Demonic Qi, I do not know whether this Spirit Mountain I have just nurtured will be affected. The Living Beings nearby will suffer as well."

Gu Yuanqing's expression also grew somewhat grave.