Sacred Demon Pill

The old man rose to his feet. After more than a year together, though he had never spoken with Gu Yuanqing, he had come to understand something of his temperament and knew those were not empty courtesies.

"What is your name?"

"This lowly one is named Gu Wenqi. I was originally..." The old man paused slightly, then clenched his teeth and said through ventriloquism, "Originally a disciple of the North Spring Sword Sect. When disaster struck North Spring Mountain forty years ago, I happened to be home visiting relatives and escaped the calamity."

"A disciple of the North Spring Sword Sect? Aren't you afraid I'll report this to the Imperial Court?" Gu Yuanqing asked with a light chuckle.

Gu Wenqi bowed with a bitter smile, his voice emerging from his abdomen. "If Young Master truly intended that, this lowly one would likely have long since ceased to remain on North Spring Mountain. With Young Master's cultivation, there was no way you could have failed to notice that I went into the mountains every night to search for the North Spring Secret Vault. As for the Imperial Court, I fear they have long stopped caring about this lowly one. Perhaps they already knew my origins and merely wished to use my hand to find the North Spring Secret Vault."

Gu Wenqi knew this perfectly well. Even when employing his breath-concealing art and digging holes, in order to avoid attracting notice, he had relied entirely on physical strength and had not used Empowerment such as the Profound Martial Phenomenon.

Yet the Imperial Guards were stationed below the mountain, and their commander was likewise an expert. It would have been normal enough if they had failed to notice in a short time. But more than a year had passed. So many holes had appeared upon that cliff, yet none had been discovered. That was rather too unreasonable.

"I did indeed know. From the moment I came up the mountain, I noticed that you went to the cliff every night. But I have no interest in what you do, nor do I wish to meddle. We can each keep to our own peace. In consideration of your diligent service as a servant over the past year, if you wish to leave, I will not stop you. If you wish to remain here, you may do as you please. But you seek a Grandmaster's method. I will only ask you one thing: why should I give it to you?"

Gu Wenqi dropped to his knees again. "If this lowly one can become a Grandmaster, then once my great vengeance is avenged, this life will belong to Young Master. Command me as you please, without a word of complaint."

Gu Yuanqing's tone remained calm. "There are many Grandmaster cultivation methods in this world, but how many people ever become Grandmasters? Leaving aside whether I would teach you a Grandmaster's method, can you even become a Grandmaster? And even if you did, what use would you be to me?"

Gu Wenqi fell silent for a long while, then kowtowed once more. "This lowly one was presumptuous. I have disturbed Young Master today. Please do not take offense."

"It is nothing."

"Then this lowly one shall take his leave." Gu Wenqi rose, clasped his hands and bowed. He retreated three steps, turned, and left. Once outside the courtyard, he drew a deep breath and buried the disappointment and desolation in his heart.

This had in fact been within his expectations. Just as Gu Yuanqing had said, they were neither kin nor friends—why would he give him a Grandmaster's method? That the other man had not pursued his covert actions on the mountain was already a stroke of immense fortune.

He had come this time because he was uneasy, uncertain what Gu Yuanqing truly intended. At the same time, he wanted to test whether Gu Yuanqing had attained such cultivation through obtaining the Secret Sword of North Spring Mountain. If so, perhaps Gu Yuanqing might offer aid for the sake of his being a disciple of the North Spring Sword Sect.

But clearly, Gu Yuanqing did not care about him at all. Every word kept him at arm's length.

Gu Yuanqing withdrew his gaze. Gu Wenqi, a True Martial Seventh Layer cultivator, had fallen to such a state. Perhaps he had his own pitiable circumstances, but pitiable people were everywhere. How could Gu Yuanqing simply grant him cultivation methods for that reason alone?

As for whether he would leave or stay afterward, that had nothing to do with him. In the end, they had merely met by chance.

He glanced at the courtyard gate. It closed on its own. Then he picked up his book again and resumed reading at leisure.

Capital City, Gu Family estate.

The servants sweeping the courtyard worked while whispering among themselves.

"Do you think that Gu Yuanqing on North Spring Mountain is one of our Gu Family? I heard there used to be an illegitimate young master named Gu Yuanqing as well."

"Probably not, right? The one on North Spring Mountain killed a Grandmaster with a single sword strike. I've seen the Young Master Gu you mentioned. They said he had no talent for cultivation, and when he was granted his own prince's residence a year ago, he was only an Origin Scholar."

"If only our Gu Family could produce a Grandmaster. Ever since what happened last year and the Prince was stripped of his title, the Gu Family's standing in the Capital City has plunged like a rock. Even we servants are looked down upon when we leave the estate."

"Shh, quiet. The chief steward is here."

Peng Bingshan, the Gu Family's chief steward, entered the courtyard and coldly swept his gaze over the servants who had just spoken.

The servants all lowered their heads, silent as cicadas in winter.

After a while, Peng Bingshan snorted coldly and left. Passing through several covered corridors and arched gates, he arrived at the rear courtyard.

Prince Gu, white-haired and white-bearded, was holding a watering can as he personally watered several of his favorite orchids.

After quite some time, he set down the watering can, handed it to a servant, wiped his hands, and dismissed the other servants. Then he said, "How is Hongyu doing now?"

Chief Steward Peng Bingshan bowed. "The eldest young master's health has improved somewhat, but some servant must have let slip and passed Young Master Yuanqing's news to him. He has spent these past few days drinking himself senseless."

"Useless trash."

Chief Steward Peng Bingshan was silent for a moment, then asked, "Prince, do we not need to do anything regarding Young Master Yuanqing? There is now an expert above the Grandmaster level behind him. If he were willing to speak a few words for our prince's residence, our days would improve greatly. Over this past year, we have lost more than half the businesses under our control, and the household expenses have been cut again and again. Several young masters and young madams have voiced complaints and come to this old servant many times."

Prince Gu snorted coldly. "They have been clothed in silk and fed on delicacies since childhood, yet they cannot endure having their allowances reduced by a little? When this Prince was young, I could not even fill my stomach, yet I never complained. Do not concern yourself with them in the future. If they want money, have them come ask this Prince."

"This old servant understands."

Prince Gu added indifferently, "As for Yuanqing, this matter does not depend on us, but on His Majesty. Oh, and Yuan Ying's monthly allowance—henceforth, issue it according to the standard for the direct line of the estate."

Hexi Province, within a mountain valley more than a hundred miles outside Shuntian Prefecture.

This was the garrison of the Demon Suppression Division. Corpses now lay scattered everywhere.

The burly man wiped the blood from his blade and said, still unsatisfied, "There were only this many people here?"

"Venerable, those in the Demon Suppression Division are all True Martial elites. There were more than a thousand of them, and they possessed a Grandmaster Secret Artifact. With a military formation, they could hold their own even against a Grandmaster for a time. This was only because they needed to guard the Demon Cave Seal." The Crimson Dragon Cult leader still could not conceal the shock in his eyes.

Just one slash had shattered the Demon Suppression Division's military formation, even after it had activated the Grandmaster Secret Artifact.

Afterward, the Crimson Dragon Cult members who had come along merely stood to the side and watched the burly man wield a single blade, cutting down all thousand-plus people one by one.

The world said that the Crimson Dragon Cult had lost all humanity, but compared to the man before them, what did that amount to? He looked normal enough ordinarily, but once he began killing, he became like a crazed demon. Nearly half of those thousand-plus people had been severed at the waist.

"Then get moving. While their blood has yet to run dry, set up the altar. A thousand low-level True Martial cultivators should barely be enough to condense one inferior Sacred Demon Pill."