Mountain Observation

Host: Gu Yuanqing

Title: North Spring Mountain Master

Title Enhancement: Mountain Observation

Cultivation Talent: Mediocre (one in a hundred)

Sword Dao Talent: Mediocre (outstanding)

Comprehension: Above Average (peerlessly exceptional)

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

Residence Enhancement: Cultivation Talent +2, Sword Dao Talent +3, Comprehension +3, two wisps of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy per day.

"Both my talent and comprehension had risen by a tier compared to before, and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy I received each day had increased by one wisp. That meant my cultivation speed would be at least twice as fast as before."

"Most importantly, the words 'Spirit-Nurturing Ordinary Mountain.' North Spring Mountain was still only the embryo of a Spirit Mountain. Once its spirit nurturing succeeded, it would transform into a Spirit Mountain and become a sacred land for cultivation!"

Gu Yuanqing smiled, but his brows soon furrowed slightly.

"The most crucial thing at present is still a cultivation method. After a month of cultivation, I had already nurtured thirty-five Acupoints. Only the Baihui Acupoint at the crown of my head remained. Once it is opened, I can forge a Profound Martial Foundation. But imprisoned on this North Spring Mountain, how am I supposed to find the method for the next stage of cultivation?"

With countless thoughts on his mind, Gu Yuanqing returned to the small courtyard. His mind was too cluttered and his spirit somewhat weary, making him unfit for cultivation, so he picked up a book and began reading.

"In the 316th year of Great Gan, the year of Jia Shen, in the waters of the Qi River in South Goose Path, the Crimson Dragon Cult sacrificed three thousand boys and girls to open the Demon Realm Passage. Three cities of South Goose Path fell, leaving Scorched Earth in their wake. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were slaughtered and plundered to the last, reduced to food for Demons. Seven friends and I hastened to reinforce South Goose...

This was a Great Gan Travelogue, recounting a great calamity from two hundred years ago. In that battle, only three of the Great Gan Dynasty's seven Grandmasters survived, while countless True Martial soldiers were killed or wounded.

Judging from the records in the book, its author must also have possessed considerable cultivation. Gu Yuanqing read it with great care.

Halfway through, he flipped back to the cover and looked at the author's name.

"Author Zhou Yan... I seem to have heard that name in another book?"

He shifted his gaze to the bookshelf, then fixed it on a collection of miscellaneous accounts. Pulling it out, he flipped to page seventy-six according to his memory and indeed found Zhou Yan's name there.

Gu Yuanqing compared the experiences recorded in the two books and finally confirmed that they were indeed the same person. His eyes immediately lit up.

"Zhou Yan of Wuding View, Profound Martial Seventh Layer. This travelogue is worth studying closely. Many of its passages allude to cultivation in the Profound Martial Realm. It looks like a travelogue, but it actually contains many insights into cultivation."

Gu Yuanqing took out paper and brush, copying down every passage that might concern Profound Martial cultivation.

Combined with what he had occasionally heard the instructors speak of regarding True Martial cultivation back in the prince's residence, he gradually gained a general understanding of the Profound Martial Secret Treasury and the Spirit Refining Method.

The Secret Treasury lay hidden within the Acupoints, like Mount Sumeru concealed within a mustard seed;

Use the spirit as a guide to connect the Secret Treasury;

Use the great formation of Acupoints as a foundation to anchor the Secret Treasury within the body.

This was the path of cultivation in the Profound Martial Realm!

This discovery was like opening the casket of Gu Yuanqing's thoughts. He brought over several books he had read in recent days and copied down passage after passage.

The insights in his heart grew ever more numerous, but they were scattered and fragmented, lacking a crucial piece and a single thread to tie them together.

Afraid that he would forget these insights, he copied them down as well.

Before he knew it, the sky had darkened. The sun had already set.

Only then did Gu Yuanqing realize that he had not even eaten lunch. He went outside and saw a basket already placed on the table. When he opened it, the food inside was still steaming hot.

After eating, he returned to the desk. Looking at the thoughts he had recorded, Gu Yuanqing could hardly believe he had written them himself.

"Is this what peerlessly exceptional comprehension feels like?"

Suppressing his excitement, he first reorganized his ideas, then selected more books from the shelf to study.

In the blink of an eye, it was deep into the night. He finally set down his brush. That night, he had copied several densely packed pages, but some of it was true and some false. Some were merely the author's fanciful musings, and he would still need to sift out the dross and preserve the essence.

Gu Yuanqing rubbed his wrist and rose to search through the bookshelf.

"There are still too few books. Only this one useful book remains."

"Not enough. Far from enough. I need more books about the Profound Martial Realm! If I had a secret manual on Profound Martial cultivation, perhaps I could deduce a Profound Martial cultivation method suited to me!"

"I'll come back tomorrow. It's time to cultivate!"

He returned to his bedroom and sat cross-legged. He first closed his eyes to rest his mind and adjust his state. Only after the countless stray thoughts had dispersed and his mind had cleared did he begin circulating his cultivation method.

With his aptitude and comprehension improved, he felt that his spiritual awareness had become sharper as well. As he moved his blood and qi, he discovered many flaws in his previous cultivation. His cultivation method had not circulated with complete smoothness and harmony, while the nurturing and tempering of his Acupoints had not reached perfection either.

Gu Yuanqing adjusted the rhythm of his blood and qi circulation. A moment later, he indeed felt the Vital Energy within his body flowing more smoothly and comfortably.

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy dispersed from the North Spring Mountain Phantom, driving his Vital Energy to re-temper several Acupoints. Once the two wisps of Spiritual Energy were exhausted, he stopped cultivating.

"I still have no method for Profound Martial cultivation. For now, I should make my foundation as solid and perfect as possible."

After washing up simply and lying down, Gu Yuanqing once again placed his consciousness upon the North Spring Mountain Phantom.

In an instant, all manner of scenes from North Spring Mountain appeared before his eyes again.

North Spring Mountain in the darkness seemed especially tranquil, carrying a charm different from that of daytime. It was as though merely looking upon this stretch of heaven and earth caused the stray thoughts in his heart to vanish like smoke.

This was Mountain Observation!

Suddenly, his consciousness jolted awake from its intoxication. He saw a black figure silently emerge from the small courtyard on the Front Mountain and swiftly head toward the back mountain.

"This... is that old man. He truly possesses cultivation, and he is by no means weak!"

Ever since Gu Yuanqing had noticed that the gaunt old man had appeared soundlessly in the courtyard that day, he had kept a closer watch on him. Yet he had never found anything until today, when Mountain Observation revealed the man's true face.

The man made his way to a cliff on the back mountain, then leaped down. Reaching a fissure in the mountainside, he slipped inside and instantly vanished from Gu Yuanqing's consciousness.

"I have never gone into that fissure, nor have I seen it. It was never imprinted into my consciousness, so it became a blind spot in my Mountain Observation."

Gu Yuanqing frowned. There was nothing else he could do now but wait. Yet after a long while, the man still had not emerged. Instead, Gu Yuanqing's spirit was exhausted, forcing him to withdraw from the Mountain Observation state.

Unwilling to give up, he rested briefly and entered Mountain Observation again, but still found no trace of the man.

Gu Yuanqing did not dare remain in that state for too long, so he withdrew once more. After some time, he went back in for another look.

In this way, advancing and withdrawing, more than two hours passed before he finally saw the old man crawl out of the fissure covered in dust. The man then returned directly to his residence and lay down to sleep.

"Could that fissure be hiding the North Spring Sword Sect's treasure that the Great Gan Imperial Court has been pursuing all along?"

With that speculation in mind, Gu Yuanqing fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, he rose as usual to practice his sword, then read and copied useful passages from his books. The difference was that he occasionally entered the Mountain Observation state to check on the old man's whereabouts.

He found nothing throughout the day. Gu Yuanqing pretended to be strolling and went to the cliff on the back mountain, but did not descend. Judging from the old man's Movement Technique last night, his current self was far from a match for him. Rashly exposing the matter would only bring danger upon himself.

Moreover, judging from the dust on the old man last night, the man was likely digging a tunnel toward some destination and had yet to gain anything.

On the second night, the old man indeed slipped out of his room again and entered the fissure. An hour later, he returned with his face and head covered in dust.

The next several days went the same way.

Until the ninth day, when the old man emerged from the fissure, a Firewood Saber was gripped in his hand and his face was grim. Returning to his room, he rummaged through the clutter beneath his bed and pulled out a piece of Beast Skin, which he examined carefully.

Gu Yuanqing drew his view closer and saw that a map of North Spring Mountain had been drawn on the Beast Skin, with several crosses marked upon it in black charcoal.

The following night, the old man used his Movement Technique to travel across North Spring Mountain with the Beast Skin in hand, seemingly comparing it with the terrain once more. Another day later, he entered a fissure on the other side of the mountain.

"He truly is diligent!" Gu Yuanqing chuckled. By then, his state of mind had grown increasingly calm. Judging from the markings on that map, the old man had been digging tunnels for a very long time.