Grandmaster's Prying Eyes

"Released?" The old man set down the dossier in his hand.

"That was what Gu Yuanqing said. Void Form is at the Profound Martial Ninth Layer, and most of his cultivation lies in movement and concealment arts. If not for you mentioning it, Senior, none of us would have known he had actually slipped into North Spring Mountain. Even if Gu Yuanqing truly let him go, he would not have been able to tell whether he had left. However, when this junior stood before Gu Yuanqing's courtyard just now, I indeed did not sense anyone inside his room."

The old man walked outside the tent and raised his head toward North Spring Mountain. Then he closed his eyes. A moment later, he frowned. "There are indeed only three people on the mountain. If he had killed Void Form, there would have been no need to conceal it. It seems he truly was released."

"May this junior ask why Senior wishes to see Void Form?" Yuan Yingsong asked curiously.

"Only to ask him a few things. Yingsong, send word to the Heavenly Policy Mansion. Issue a wanted notice—say that Void Form trespassed into a forbidden ground, and have him captured and brought to justice as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

"Remember, I want him alive!"

"This junior understands. I will send word to the Heavenly Policy Mansion at once."

The old man nodded faintly, his gaze turning once more toward North Spring Mountain. I still arrived one step too late. The day before yesterday, I never expected that scripture fragment to fall into Void Form's hands.

I only wonder whether that volume of scripture has also fallen into Gu Yuanqing's hands?

And one more thing—who exactly is the expert on North Spring Mountain, and where is he hiding?

From what I sensed, the aura Gu Yuanqing revealed while cultivating was clearly only at the Profound Martial Realm. His Sword Intent had not yet reached great accomplishment either.

At the mountaintop, Gu Yuanqing, who was cultivating, frowned. That feeling of being watched had surfaced again just now. Yet he was currently inside the courtyard; no matter which mountain opposite he stood on, he should not have been visible.

"Was it just an illusion?"

He could not be sure. He then closed his eyes and observed the mountain, but still found no trace of anyone else within North Spring Mountain.

"Could it be... a Grandmaster has arrived?"

Once the thought appeared, he could no longer suppress it. The more he learned about cultivation, the more he understood the allure that what lay beyond Grandmasters held for Grandmasters themselves.

Especially as Prince Qing had said, those Grandmasters approaching their lifespan limit would not miss even the slimmest chance.

There had long been rumors that North Spring Mountain held something beyond Grandmasters. Now that rumor had become fact and been spread abroad—how could it not draw the prying eyes of those people?

A sense of urgency rose within him.

Grandmasters were the crown of martial arts cultivation, transcending the mundane, possessing powers ordinary people found difficult to comprehend.

He had never fought a Grandmaster. He did not even dare say with complete certainty whether, by borrowing North Spring Mountain's power, he could seal a Grandmaster's strength.

Even if he could seal it, he could not completely lock down the True Qi of even someone at the Profound Martial Ninth Layer. How much effect would it have against a Grandmaster?

Moreover, the books said that Grandmasters had shed their mortal bodies. Their physical strength alone was immensely formidable and not to be underestimated!

After a long while, Gu Yuanqing took a deep breath and composed himself. There was no use worrying over imaginary disasters. Increasing his strength was what truly mattered.

He closed his eyes once more and entered the Spiritual Mountain Trial.

A few days ago, he had defeated Kong Shengbing, the North Spring Sword Sect Leader. He had thought that a Grandmaster would be his next opponent, allowing him to probe the depths of a Grandmaster's strength. Who would have thought that his next enemy would instead be an ordinary Profound Martial Ninth Layer cultivator?

Today, he had even encountered Void Form.

Only after truly fighting Void Form did Gu Yuanqing realize just how troublesome he was.

His movement technique was far too swift. He could be called the number one master of lightness arts Gu Yuanqing had ever encountered. Even after Gu Yuanqing used the Great Yi Illusionary Sky Steps, he still could not keep up. After all, the two movement techniques emphasized different things.

The Illusionary Sky Steps were strange and unpredictable, with concealed methods of exerting force. In short-range bursts, none could match them.

The Vast Void Horizontal Technique, however, could be summed up in one word: fast. Combined with the Vast Void Breath Concealment Technique and his Profound Martial Wonderland, Void Form's movement was like that of a ghost. Sometimes, even when Gu Yuanqing kept his eyes fixed upon him, he would somehow lose track of him.

At the same time, his hidden weapons were impossible to guard against. Ordinary protective True Qi could not block those fine needles at all, and the Spiritual Mountain Trial had even brought in the poison on his hidden weapons.

Gu Yuanqing had no Object Control or Mountain Observation abilities here. The slightest carelessness had him struck by a needle. In merely one breath, he lost all feeling throughout his body.

"No wonder he could rank among the top ten of the Black List despite being only at the Profound Martial Ninth Layer and not yet at its peak!"

Gu Yuanqing did not rush back in. He sat cross-legged atop a green stone, circulating and drawing upon spiritual energy to open and temper the remaining acupoints required for the Vast Void Horizontal Technique.

This movement technique required twenty-six acupoints. Apart from the six major primary acupoints, the other twenty were hidden acupoints in the minor branches and extremities of the meridians. Twelve of them differed from the ones used by the cultivation methods Gu Yuanqing had practiced before.

Yesterday, he had casually tempered five of them. Now, seven remained, mainly distributed across his legs.

This was where the effect of having spiritual energy like a pond showed itself. Acupoints that ordinary people would need countless efforts and spiritual medicines to temper took Gu Yuanqing only a short hour to complete all seven.

As he circulated his Mental Method, a technique path independent of the Heavenly Dao Zen Heart Art was opened.

He rose and practiced the Vast Void Horizontal Technique in the courtyard for a while before entering the Spiritual Mountain Trial again.

With experience, Void Form was no longer so troublesome.

Several times, Gu Yuanqing could have killed him, but he deliberately avoided the vital points. If he killed him, this sparring partner would be replaced by another.

Gu Yuanqing changed his strategy, using Void Form as an opponent to practice the Vast Void Horizontal Technique.

Under the empowerment of his peerless Comprehension, the Vast Void Horizontal Technique improved rapidly in battle.

The only problem was that this technique stood as distinctly apart from the Heavenly Dao Zen Heart Art as the Jing and Wei rivers. When circulating the technique, he needed Divided Attention, and he could not wield it as effortlessly as Void Form.

Fighting ordinary people was naturally no issue, but against true experts, it would become a flaw.

"It seems I still need to spend time embedding this technique into the Heavenly Dao Zen Heart Art. I must preserve its characteristics while integrating it with my own Cultivation Method as one. That will not be a simple matter."

After battling Void Form for a long time, Gu Yuanqing felt that he had learned nearly everything there was to learn. Seizing an opening, he suddenly employed the Great Yi Illusionary Sky Steps and thrust his sword into Void Form's heart.

Void Form's figure dissipated, and the next opponent slowly emerged.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

"Within the Spiritual Mountain Trial, only my spiritual consciousness enters it. Yet here, the circulation of techniques and my perception of the outside world are no different from reality.

"Each time I came in, I only thought of fighting others, tempering my battle awareness and improving my combat experience. But what if I simulated and deduced cultivation inside here instead?

"Outside, even with peerless Comprehension, there will inevitably be errors when deducing a Mental Method. One careless mistake could lead to injury.

"Even if spiritual energy like a pond allows ordinary injuries to recover quickly, the risk still remains immense! I might even suffer a cultivation deviation and have my foundation utterly destroyed!

"But within the Spiritual Mountain Trial space, even death has no effect. Testing techniques should be no problem either, right?"

At that thought, Gu Yuanqing grew somewhat excited.

"This truly is like a single leaf blocking my vision! I have entered the Spiritual Mountain Trial for so long, yet I never thought of this!"

A new week is about to begin. Please spare a vote; thank you in advance, bosses~