Outside the Imperial Capital of Great Qian, at the Royal Villa.
A man and a woman sat in the Rain-Listening Pavilion beside the lake.
The woman was in the bloom of youth, with delicate features and a fresh, understated elegance. She wore palace attire beneath a white gauze cloak, with only a silver hairpin adorning her bun. She could hardly be called exceptionally beautiful, yet a distinctive charm lingered between her brows.
Her expression was serene as she handled the tea utensils with light, graceful movements.
The young man opposite her wore sumptuous robes, his face as handsome as polished jade. The rise and fall of his chest betrayed the fury he was struggling to suppress.
"Who was it?"
"My imperial father has only one daughter, and I have no interest in worldly affairs. I am destined to leave. Leaving him a descendant would also settle my ties to the mortal world." The woman spoke with breezy composure. She was Li Miaoxuan, Princess of the Great Qian Dynasty.
The man's gaze slid toward her slightly swollen belly, his eyes bloodshot. "Junior Sister, don't you know how I feel? How could you... how could you..."
Li Miaoxuan poured him some tea and smiled calmly. "Senior Brother Qin, please have some tea."
Bang! The teacup flew sideways, struck the railing, and shattered.
Li Miaoxuan's indifference pierced him to the heart.
"So you won't even give me a word of explanation. You couldn't bear to take off your Illusory Heaven Hairpin when I came to see you, yet you could do that with him... Do I, Qin Baijun, really mean so little to you? Fine. Call him here. I want to see just what sort of man could win the heart of our Lingxu Sect's outstanding talent of this generation!"
Li Miaoxuan's smile finally faded. She said slowly, "Senior Brother Qin, since things have come to this, I'll speak plainly. I will remember the care you've shown me in the Sect. But I, Li Miaoxuan, am devoted solely to cultivation. Please don't bring up romantic feelings again."
You're already pregnant, and you're telling me not to bring up romantic feelings? Fury surged through Qin Baijun. He rose, his fists clenched, then finally drew the Flying Sword from the table with a ringing scrape. With an angry roar, he slashed to one side.
The sword qi struck the lake, splitting its waters in two and carving a deep trench as spray exploded into the sky.
Then he took a deep breath, glanced at Li Miaoxuan, and leaped onto the lake. Passing through the falling curtain of water, he lightly touched its surface a few times and vanished without a trace in an instant.
Li Miaoxuan remained seated. She lifted the teacup before her and took a gentle sip, then sighed softly, her brows drawing together.
"I returned from the Sect this time to settle my mortal ties. I never expected a sudden insight to bring a breakthrough in my cultivation, transforming my Secret Treasury and clouding my Dao Heart. Even in the royal capital, I let down my guard. All my true qi and divine sense were gathered within my still-unformed dao embryo, and I actually fell prey to a cup of drugged drink."
"A secret pregnancy is a scandal for the Imperial Family of Great Qian. Who knows how long I can keep it hidden?"
That night, the sky was dark, and black clouds veiled the moon.
Gu Yuanqing lay in his chair, gazing up at the sky.
His consciousness was in the state of Mountain Observation, allowing him to sense the rhythms stirred by the breeze brushing across the mountain ridges.
The sensation was intoxicating. Each time he used Mountain Observation, Gu Yuanqing gained a new understanding of North Spring Mountain, and the area it encompassed grew larger. It could now faintly reach the place guarded by soldiers at the mountain's foot.
Boom!
After a startling peal of thunder, rain poured down in torrents, sweeping toward him from afar.
Bean-sized raindrops struck North Spring Mountain, splashing up before falling back to the ground and soaking the earth.
Gu Yuanqing seemed able to sense every change within it. When the downpour reached the courtyard and the rain fell on him, that sensation grew even stronger.
It was as though the whole of North Spring Mountain had become his body, and he was an infant whose consciousness had just awakened, gradually becoming familiar with every part of himself.
The sensation grew increasingly real. Little by little, it crossed some threshold and broke through its shackles. Gu Yuanqing's consciousness seemed to truly merge with North Spring Mountain.
Before, using Mountain Observation had been like watching a silent film. Now, he was inside it.
Under the influence of this sensation, his consciousness continued to expand, extending from the surface into the depths underground.
At the same time, the North Spring Mountain Phantom in his mind began to change, turning from a two-dimensional image into a solid, three-dimensional projection.
Only after a long while did he open his eyes and turn to look west.
In the pouring rain, the gaunt Old Servant quietly left his room and approached the cliff. With nimble movements, he descended beneath the tree and disappeared into the cave.
Gu Yuanqing closed his eyes. The cave that had once lain beyond his reach now appeared in his mind.
He saw five caves in the sheer face of North Spring Mountain, each extending more than a hundred zhang into it.
The old man held the Woodcutting Knife. Every swing sliced off a large chunk of stone, which he then pressed into the rock wall beside him with his bare hands.
Without reaching the True Martial Realm, he could never possess such tremendous strength. If I fought him now, I would certainly be no match for him!
The moment that thought stirred in Gu Yuanqing's mind, the old man abruptly froze and turned to look around. For an instant, danger seemed to emerge, only to vanish immediately afterward. The old man hesitated, then decided he was merely being overly vigilant and resumed digging.
"What is he looking at?" Gu Yuanqing was puzzled. He swept his awareness over the surroundings but found nothing.
After watching for a while, Gu Yuanqing chuckled and murmured, "Then let me see just what is hidden inside this mountain."
As he spoke, his consciousness spread into the mountain in the direction the old man was digging. This was an ability gained through the improvement of Mountain Observation.
It was another novel sensation. On his first attempt, he felt as though he had plunged into deep water. Endless pressure bore down from every direction, so stifling that he could barely breathe, but he gradually grew accustomed to it.
His consciousness moved far more slowly through the rock than it did outside, and the range of his perception was also compressed. Even so, it took him only a moment to search the area within a hundred-zhang radius.
His consciousness spread deeper. Suddenly, the pressure around him eased, and a spacious underground Stone Chamber appeared in Gu Yuanqing's mind.
Gu Yuanqing's spirits lifted. "Is this where the North Spring Sword Sect Legacy Treasure is hidden?"
His consciousness swiftly enveloped the entire Stone Chamber. The first thing that caught his attention was a row of shelves packed with all kinds of books.
Movement techniques, palm techniques, fist techniques, sword techniques—every kind of cultivation method was sorted into its own category.
The sudden joy sent ripples through Gu Yuanqing's mind, pulling him straight out of the state of Mountain Observation.
His breathing quickened, and his heart raced. These were all things Gu Yuanqing had sought but never been able to obtain.
Gu Yuanqing took several deep breaths, unable to suppress the delight in his eyes. Only after a long while did he calm himself somewhat and enter Mountain Observation again, returning to the underground Stone Chamber.
The Stone Chamber lay several hundred zhang underground. Following the passage upward, he found that a cave had once led to the surface, but roughly a hundred zhang below ground, it was buried beneath rubble.
The Stone Chamber was quite spacious, about ten zhang in both length and width. A portrait hung on the innermost wall, depicting an old man with the bearing of an immortal sage and a Flying Sword on his back. Beneath the portrait stood an offering table, upon which lay a short sword three inches long.
"So this is that Secret Sword!"
Gu Yuanqing's consciousness lingered over the short sword, but he sensed nothing unusual about it.
On the other side of the Stone Chamber, three Flying Swords hung on the rock wall. On the weapon rack beneath them lay a spear forged entirely from refined iron and a large, rust-speckled saber.
Farther away stood a stone bed and a full assortment of everyday necessities, all thick with dust.
After examining the Stone Chamber, Gu Yuanqing's consciousness returned to the bookshelves. As he "looked" at these Secret Manuals, he still could not help feeling excited.
What he lacked most now was a cultivation method. With these, he would soon be able to perfect the rudimentary cultivation art he had developed!
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