In the Martial Arena.
A tall, powerfully built figure appeared. Two Heavy Hammers the size of human heads hung at his waist, and his muscles coiled and knotted like dragons. Standing in the Martial Arena, he resembled an iron tower.
Ghost Butcher Shentu Hong!
Gu Yuanqing recognized him at a glance. He had killed this man with Sword Control a few days earlier, yet the Trial Space had actually recorded his imprint as well.
Shen Tu Hong wore a wooden expression, as lifeless as a corpse.
Gu Yuanqing did not rush to begin. He stood there and waited quietly.
A long while passed, but Shen Tu Hong showed no sign of awakening. Gu Yuanqing immediately knew his earlier idea would work. Here in the Spiritual Mountain Trial Ground, everything still revolved around his will.
Although he could not control who appeared, the trial opponent would not awaken as long as he did not intend to begin.
He immediately sat cross-legged and circulated his cultivation art, finding that the Vital Energy within him flowed exactly as it did in the Outer Realm.
He tested a few minor adjustments to his cultivation art and discovered that their consequences were no different from those in the Outer Realm. Moreover, after suffering internal injuries, he only needed to leave the trial ground and enter again for all his injuries to vanish. His body in the Outer Realm remained unaffected.
With a thought, the Array Qi within him began to depart from its original route. This was the Heavenly Dao Zen Heart Art that Gu Yuanqing had revised through his deductions.
Gu Yuanqing had attained True Martial through one hundred and eight acupoints. These formed the foundation of the Array Formation that anchored the Profound Martial Secret Treasure. Like building with blocks, the Array Formation formed by these one hundred and eight acupoints was the most fundamental structure, and all subsequent True Martial cultivation expanded upon this great acupoint array.
The stronger the foundation, the greater the improvement at each layer. This was also one reason he could fight ordinary Profound Martial Ninth Layer cultivators while only at the True Martial Seventh Layer.
When he attained True Martial, Gu Yuanqing had weighed his options and ultimately decided against using the three hundred sixty-five-cycle array. It remained a great regret.
Afterward, whenever he had spare time, he would still work through the cultivation art he had failed to complete back then. He had made some progress, but many parts still needed verification.
He had already attained True Martial. Loosening his existing Array Formation could easily damage his foundation and send the Profound Martial Secret Treasure back into Between Particles. The losses would truly outweigh the gains.
Here, however, he had no such worries and could experiment as freely as he pleased.
As the True Qi changed course, acupoints that had not originally belonged to the Array Base were incorporated. The nature of his True Qi also began to change slowly as it passed through different acupoints, while the Qi of those acupoints shifted in turn as they were nourished by different True Qi.
The radiance of the acupoints in the original Array Base slowly dimmed. Though the connections between them had not broken, they weakened as well.
Within the Crimson Palace, the Profound Martial Secret Treasure trembled slightly. This was a sign that the original Array Formation was about to collapse and the treasure was becoming unstable.
Gu Yuanqing steadied his mind, refusing to let it affect him, and drove his True Qi onward through other acupoints.
Though it took time to describe, less than half an incense stick had burned before Gu Yuanqing's True Qi passed through more than two hundred acupoints.
By now, the Profound Martial Secret Treasure was shaking quite visibly, and the original Array Formation teetered on the brink of collapse. Gu Yuanqing accelerated his pace. He had to finish testing the Cultivation Technique before the Profound Martial Grand Array disintegrated completely.
Two hundred, two hundred and forty, three hundred, three hundred and thirty...
When the True Qi reached the three hundred and thirty-sixth acupoint, the original Grand Formation finally collapsed completely.
The Profound Martial Secret Treasure broke free of the Crimson Palace, and the True Qi and Qi of Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha within it surged outward.
Wherever they passed, his meridians shattered inch by inch.
Boom! With a thunderous roar, flesh and blood flew in all directions. Within the Spiritual Mountain Trial Ground, Gu Yuanqing's entire body exploded, leaving not even a scrap of bone.
On North Spring Mountain, Gu Yuanqing slowly opened his eyes. At first, his gaze was blank. Only after a long while did it gradually return to normal.
"So this is what happens when the Profound Martial Grand Array collapses completely? No wonder so many people dare not switch Cultivation Techniques even after obtaining a better one as their cultivation advances. The risk is simply too great. So-called cultivation deviation is a trifling matter by comparison!"
Fear still lingered in Gu Yuanqing's heart. Fortunately, he had never attempted this in reality.
"The Cultivation Technique still needs refining. I must form a new Array Formation to stabilize the Profound Martial Secret Treasure before the original Grand Formation collapses completely. Still, there's no need to rush. I can change the acupoint array any time before breaking through to Grandmaster."
After resting briefly, Gu Yuanqing entered the Spiritual Mountain Trial again. This time, rather than attempt it again, he willed the battle with Ghost Butcher Shentu Hong to begin.
The man's moves were broad and sweeping. His two Heavy Hammers wielded unparalleled might, whipping up gust after gust of fierce wind and sending countless clouds of dust swirling.
Yet his transitions remained nimble, shifting effortlessly between light and heavy blows. His body-hardening cultivation was formidable. Gu Yuanqing swept his sword across the man's neck after breaking through the protection of his Profound Martial Phenomenon, only to leave a faint bloody mark.
One careless move forced him to meet a blow head-on. With a clang, the web of his hand split, and his Flying Sword nearly flew from his grasp.
After that exchange, Gu Yuanqing became even more cautious.
His strength must be at the peak of True Martial! No wonder he ranks fourth on the Black List. His only weakness is that his movement is somewhat lacking in agility.
After a fierce battle, Gu Yuanqing had gained the upper hand through his movement skills and left wound after wound on Shen Tu Hong, yet he could not kill him. Those two Heavy Hammers tightly guarded every opening that might prove fatal.
Fortunately, I encountered him on North Spring Mountain and used the mountain's power to suppress his True Qi. Otherwise, even a Flying Sword would not have been able to kill him!
An hour later, Shen Tu Hong's aura began to weaken. Gu Yuanqing finally seized an opportunity, taking a hammer blow in exchange for driving his sword into the man's left eye.
The price was every bone in his left arm shattering. A bitter victory!
Within a single breath, his injuries healed again. Gu Yuanqing was just about to fight the next opponent when that sensation of being watched suddenly arose once more.
His consciousness withdrew from the Trial Space, but Mountain Observation still failed to reveal the other party's location.
He frowned. The feeling was deeply unpleasant. He knew someone was spying on him, yet he had no idea who it was.
"Does being a Grandmaster give you the right to act so brazenly?" His expression darkened.
Atop Hongyan Mountain Waterfall.
All of the Dragon Gall Six Heroes lay on the ground, their fates unknown.
Two old men stood side by side on a slab of green stone, gazing toward North Spring Mountain opposite them.
One was short as a dwarf, with sleepy eyes and the reek of alcohol all over him. A Heavy Sword longer than he was tall hung diagonally across his back, and he carried a wine jar in one hand.
The other was bent and hunched, leaning on a Bamboo Staff. Wrinkles layered his face, and his entire body exuded the air of a dying man.
"What do you think, old fellow?" The hunchback's voice was hoarse and utterly devoid of vigor, making him seem liable to drop dead at any moment.
The short old man swallowed a mouthful of strong liquor.
"The one at the foot of North Spring Mountain should be that youngster from the imperial city who calls himself the Sword Saint. I heard he hasn't left the royal capital in forty years. I never expected the Imperial Court to send him. When I 'looked' at him just now, he probably noticed me too."
"It seems that old emperor places considerable importance on this place. The only strange thing is, if he values it so much, why not take Gu Yuanqing back to the royal capital? If he were there, we wouldn't dare approach even with twice the courage."
"Perhaps he wants to see which of us old fossils are still alive."
"That does fit the Imperial Court's usual style—casting a long line to catch a big fish. They aren't even worried about losing the bait."
"Cough... cough... Those youngsters around here seem to have been frightened out of their wits and don't dare act. Why don't we go up and take a look first? We can also see whether any other old fellows have crawled out of their coffins with the same intentions as us."
The short old man tipped his head back and poured the remaining half jar of wine into his mouth.
Crash! The wine jar shattered against the rocks.
"Just what I had in mind!"
As his words fell, the atmosphere over the entire mountain began to grow oppressive. All things fell silent as the aura of a Grandmaster spread outward...
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