The heavy rain gradually eased. His rain-soaked clothes clung uncomfortably to his body, so Gu Yuanqing withdrew his awareness for the moment and returned indoors.
He changed his clothes, dried his hair, and sat cross-legged on the bed to enter Mountain Observation again.
The secret chamber lay deep underground. Gu Yuanqing could not reach it physically, but that did not stop him from reading its books.
With the empowerment of Mountain Observation, he could see everything within North Spring Mountain.
The Big Dipper Sword Technique, Wind Dao and Rain Dao Sword Art, Returning Wind Blowing Snow Sword Technique, Soft Cloud Sword, Soul Chasing Sword Technique, and more—the shelves held more sword techniques than anything else.
There were over thirty Cultivation Techniques. Gu Yuanqing skimmed through them and found that almost every one could lead to the True Martial Realm, while as many as five offered a chance of becoming a Grandmaster.
Aside from those, there were nine movement techniques, eleven fist techniques, and relatively few Blade Techniques and spear techniques, along with Cultivation Insights and a handful of miscellaneous books.
"As expected of a once-great sect. These Secret Manuals are its foundation. Even though the Imperial Court emptied the Scripture Collection Pavilion, anyone who obtained these Secret Manuals would have a chance to restore the North Spring Sword Sect. Unfortunately, they're buried deep underground. If not for me, who knows when they would see daylight again!"
Gu Yuanqing paid no more attention to the old man still busy digging outside and settled down to study these Secret Manuals.
He began with the five Grandmaster Cultivation Techniques. Their texts also contained plenty of coded terms and deliberately substituted characters, but fortunately, he found corresponding Cultivation Insights for three of them.
Once he started reading, he forgot the time. Only when his mind grew exhausted and he could no longer maintain Mountain Observation did he stop to rest.
Early the next morning, he first circulated the Heart Zen Unity Art and refined two wisps of Spiritual Qi before getting up to wash.
Just then, the old man brought breakfast and took away the bowl and chopsticks from the night before.
Gu Yuanqing could not help glancing at the old man's retreating figure, thinking with mischievous amusement, If he knew I'd already found what he's been painstakingly digging for every day, what would he think?
Sword Practice in the morning had become Gu Yuanqing's habit. Over these past few months, his original two sword techniques had long since reached a transcendent level. In his hands, a wooden sword was like a divine weapon.
Today, however, he did not practice either of them. Instead, he browsed the sword Secret Manuals in the secret chamber. His first choice was naturally the North Spring Sword Sect's defining technique, the Big Dipper Seven Swords, but it required the Northern Darkness Heart Sutra to drive it. Gu Yuanqing therefore chose to cultivate the Wind Dao and Rain Dao Sword Art, which shared much in common with the Cape Cross Sword.
His aptitude for swordsmanship was outstanding, his comprehension exceptional, and his memory far better than before. Before long, the sword art began to take shape. As he immersed himself in it, the insights he had gained the previous night while merging with North Spring Mountain in the Rain Dao suddenly surged into his mind.
His swordsmanship gradually changed, growing faster and faster. One strike followed another like a raging storm. Suddenly, a gleam shone from his wooden sword, and Sword Qi sliced through the air with the shrill howl of Wind Dao and Rain Dao.
The old man chopping firewood abruptly looked up toward Gu Yuanqing's Courtyard. This was the embryo of Sword Intent, and fully formed Sword Intent was one of the keys to pushing open the gates to becoming a Grandmaster!
Gu Yuanqing is only an Origin Scholar. I saw him practice swordsmanship a while ago. Though he was good at it, the techniques he practiced were ordinary. How could he suddenly have condensed Sword Intent? Could it be... someone else has come to North Spring Mountain?
"Abba, abba!" The old woman beside him, who was carrying the firewood aside, patted his shoulder. Once he turned around, she made a series of gestures.
The old man suppressed his curiosity, gestured a few times in reply, and continued chopping wood.
Half an hour passed before Gu Yuanqing stopped, panting. Sweat had long since soaked his clothes, steam rose from his head, and the vital energy within him was exhausted.
He felt utterly exhilarated. Though he did not know he had just formed the embryo of Sword Intent, he knew his swordsmanship had advanced considerably. Looking back now at the White Cloud Sword Technique and Cape Cross Sword he had practiced before, he saw flaws everywhere.
It was not that he had practiced them incorrectly before, but that his advancement had changed his understanding. It was like learning about one and two as a small child without knowing there were infinitely many decimals between them.
He sat in a chair, breathing heavily as he savored the changes in his swordsmanship.
This wasn't because I learned a better sword technique. It was a change brought about by the insights I gained through Mountain Observation!
Mountain Observation isn't merely observing a mountain, but this whole world. As the saying goes, the Dao follows nature. Cultivating any Cultivation Technique or sword technique is really a way of learning from this world.
In the words of my previous life, my earlier Mountain Observation was merely seeing mountains as mountains. Now, I've touched the threshold of seeing mountains as something other than mountains.
All manner of insights flowed through his mind. Gu Yuanqing felt that his horizons in cultivation had broadened.
I'll rest a little, then keep reading the books in that secret chamber. These cultivation texts might not be better than the Heart Zen Unity Art, but they can enrich my understanding of cultivation. Every bit of progress comes from accumulation, day after day.
Time flew like a shuttle. In the blink of an eye, several more months passed. By Gu Yuanqing's reckoning, it had been nearly eight months since he arrived on the mountain.
The weather turned cold, and North Spring Mountain lay blanketed in white snow.
The old man continued digging everywhere without finding anything, while Gu Yuanqing was already a far cry from his former self.
Over these months, the talent and comprehension granted by his Residence Enhancement had not changed, but the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi it supplied had increased to four wisps a day. This showed that North Spring Mountain's progress in spirit imbuing had advanced considerably.
By now, he had tempered 394 acupoints throughout his body. Gu Yuanqing had compiled these from dozens of cultivation Secret Manuals, along with various Swordsmanship, fist, and movement techniques.
In the dark of night, he sat cross-legged on his bed and circulated his Cultivation Technique. Three hundred and sixty-five acupoints glimmered as vital energy surged through his meridians, linking the acupoints together. The Heavenly Cycle Great Formation seemed on the verge of taking shape.
Suddenly, however, the vital energy slipped out of control and the Array Formation shattered. Gu Yuanqing gave a muffled groan, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Wrong. Still wrong. At least thirteen of the acupoints I selected are incorrect.
The human body had countless acupoints, with as many as 720 major ones alone. The difficulty lay not in tempering the acupoints, but in forming an array. Only by using the acupoints as its foundations and vital energy as its connecting lines could he establish an Array Formation to stabilize the opened Profound Martial Secret Treasure.
With so many acupoints, there were hundreds of millions of possible combinations. Even with Gu Yuanqing's extraordinary comprehension, he could not find the correct method in a short time.
He drew a wisp of Heaven and Earth Vital Energy into his body, rapidly repairing his injuries.
After a long while, Gu Yuanqing opened his eyes and unfolded the circulation route he had deduced himself in front of his crossed legs. He sank into thought before finally making his decision.
So be it. I'd already decided this would be my last attempt. Using cultivation texts for opening the Heavenly Martial and Mysterious Martial Secret Treasures to deduce a method for cultivating the Divine Martial Secret Treasure was far too fanciful of me.
The Heavenly Dao numbers fifty, while the Great Expansion uses forty-nine, leaving one that escapes. My foundations are too weak, after all, and I have too few resources available. Dreaming of using cultivation texts for opening the Heavenly Martial and Mysterious Martial Secret Treasures to deduce a method for cultivating the Divine Martial Secret Treasure was far too fanciful of me.
With his decision made, Gu Yuanqing made a few further adjustments and drove his vital energy onward. One hundred and eight acupoints within his body shone. An invisible aura swept outward before returning to his body. His aura became a seamless whole, concealed rather than revealed.
It's time to open the Profound Martial Secret Treasure.
His intent returned to the crimson palace. Drawing on the Array Formation's power, he stirred ripples within it. The Profound Martial Secret Treasure hidden between Mustard Seeds immediately revealed its traces, and Gu Yuanqing's awareness swiftly locked onto it.
He changed his mental art, and the acupoints throughout his body blazed with light. Guided by his intent, an invisible current of qi pierced the secret treasure and dragged it from between Mustard Seeds into the manifest world!
Beads of sweat dripped down. Gu Yuanqing exerted every ounce of strength, his face twisting into a fierce grimace.
Boom! The secret treasure plunged into the crimson palace.
Gu Yuanqing's entire body sank. The bed boards shattered, dropping him straight onto the floor, which caved in beneath him as well. It was as though his body had suddenly become a small mountain.
Gu Yuanqing's awareness went blank for a moment. The Profound Martial Secret Treasure seemed about to slip free of his control and return between Mustard Seeds. Coming to his senses, he hurriedly steadied the Array Formation, then changed his Cultivation Technique again. Surging vital energy poured into the secret treasure.
Within the Profound Martial Secret Treasure, it was as though heaven and earth were being cleaved from primordial chaos. Earth, Fire Dao, Wind Dao, and water emerged.
After an unknown length of time, the Profound Martial Secret Treasure finally stabilized. Only then did Gu Yuanqing relax and begin examining his own Profound Martial Secret Treasure...
Before you continue