North Spring Mountain

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	North Spring Mountain (北泉山)
Alias(es)	North Spring Grotto-Heaven; North Spring World; North Spring Realm 473 917 936
Nature	Originally a mundane mountain; develops into a spirit mountain, grotto-heaven, and self-sufficient small world 1 17 473 917
Master	Gu Yuanqing, initially titled North Spring Mountain Master, later Grotto-Heaven Master and Little World Master 3 473 917
Affiliation	Former seat of the North Spring Sword Sect; later Gu Yuanqing’s domain and home to territory allocated to the Qian Yuan Sect 2 936
Role	Cultivation sanctuary, defensive domain, and source of the Floating World’s spiritual qi 23 134 246
Location	Initially in Great Qian’s Floating World; later exists across multiple realms and can be concealed in the void or selectively manifested elsewhere 7 124 144 637 999
Status	Continues expanding as the North Spring Realm; its diameter approaches eighty million kilometers 1059
First Appearance	Gu Yuanqing binds it as his residence 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Mundane mountain	1	Binding grants cultivation aptitude +1, sword aptitude +2, comprehension +2, and one daily wisp of spiritual energy.
Spirit-Nurturing Ordinary Mountain	2 3	Gu completes the mountain’s mental imprint and gains Mountain Observation. Empowerments rise to cultivation aptitude +2, swordsmanship aptitude +3, comprehension +3, and two daily wisps of spiritual energy.
Increased spiritual-energy supply	10 13	Daily supply reaches eight wisps while the mountain remains a Spirit-Nurturing Ordinary Mountain.
Spirit Mountain; spiritual energy like a pool, tier one	17	Completes initial spirit imbuing. Gu’s innate aptitudes rise by one grade; Object Control and the Spiritual Mountain Trial unlock.
Whole-mountain awakening	77	A flame attack against its spiritual vein catalyzes Gu’s ability to gather and command the mountain’s presence as a unified whole.
Spiritual qi like a pool, tier two	90	Conversion of underground demonic qi produces increasingly abundant, purer spiritual qi.
High-grade spirit mountain; nascent cave heaven; tier-three spiritual qi pool	98	Contact with the Demon Realm fuels a major transformation. Heavenly Fishing and the Heaven and Earth Pool unlock; Gu’s innate aptitude rises again. The separate swordsmanship enhancement disappears.
Accelerated expansion in the Demon Realm	124	After settling completely into the realm, the mountain resumes rising and spreading outward while continuing to supply spiritual qi to the Floating World.
Void concealment; deeper grotto-heaven evolution	144	Gu imprints its core more deeply and gains the ability to hide or reveal the entire mountain. He senses its evolution toward a true grotto-heaven beginning.
Mountain range; tier-four spiritual qi pool	171	Grows into more than a dozen peaks, with the main peak exceeding three thousand zhang. Its power and Gu’s Mountain Observation extend across more than half the Floating World.
Expanded nascent cave heaven	372	Internal space nearly doubles again, spanning hundreds of li. Gu judges his mountain-united power to exceed the ordinary Yin-Yang Realm, but cannot establish its exact upper limit.
True grotto-heaven	473	A three-day transformation creates an independent world nearly three thousand li across. Cultivation talent empowerment rises to +3, spiritual energy becomes sea-like, and Dao Derivation unlocks.
Self-sufficient small world	917	Renamed North Spring World on the panel. Gu becomes Little World Master and gains World Arrival.
Further small-world growth	994	Three portions of small-world origin advance its development without causing another qualitative transformation.
Greatly expanded North Spring Realm	1059	Diameter approaches eighty million kilometers. Spatial stability and world power increase enormously; the main peak becomes fully enveloped in immortal spiritual qi.

Background / History

North Spring Mountain was the seat of the North Spring Sword Sect before Great Qian destroyed the sect and designated its mountain as forbidden ground. Rumors claimed that a hidden Secret Sword could reveal a path beyond Grandmaster. The Imperial Court searched for decades without finding it, while the mountain’s Spirit Spring had dried up 2 7 510.

Gu Yuanqing was confined there under guard and bound the mountain as his residence. He explored its terrain to form a clear imprint in his sea of consciousness, then cultivated through the resulting Mountain Observation ability. His expanding awareness eventually uncovered the sect’s concealed underground chamber of manuals and weapons before the old servant searching its tunnels could find it 1 2 3 5.

The mountain’s development became reciprocal with Gu’s cultivation: its transformations strengthened him, while his advancement accelerated its growth. After its power fractured the space beneath it, the mountain entered the Demon Realm but retained its connection to the Floating World. This unusual position allowed it to convert demonic qi into spiritual qi and gradually transmit the Demon Realm’s Dao into the less complete world 88 98 119 124 134.

Geography & Appearance

• Original terrain: A little over three hundred zhang tall, with sheer cliffs on three sides and a comparatively level Front Mountain. Before its expansion, it could accommodate roughly six or seven hundred people 7 128.
• Expanding interior: Houses and roads remain intact as the terrain grows; increased distances between courtyards reveal the expansion 96.
• Concealed exterior: Even after becoming a mountain range, it appears to occupy its old footprint from outside, with clouds and mist obscuring its interior 171.
• Grotto-heaven landscape: Mountain ranges, forests, rivers, lakes, and marshes surround the main peak. After the true grotto-heaven transformation, even the nearest neighboring peaks lie almost a hundred li away 473.
• Seasonal zones: Its slopes include perpetual spring at the foot, dense midsummer woods higher up, and an autumn region of red maples and ripening vegetation 155 749.

Principal Sites

Site	Description
Front Mountain	Contains the entrance archway, large plaza, and former sect main hall 120 124 128.
Scripture Collection Pavilion and Sword Casting Pavilion	Former sect facilities behind the main hall 128.
Ancestor Hall	Innermost hall of the old sect complex, dedicated to successive North Spring Sword Sect patriarchs 128.
Rear peak	Originally about fifty zhang higher than the Front Mountain; contains the Spirit Spring and the narrow passage to Repentance Cliff 128.
Repentance Cliff	Former sect disciplinary site, later used for Gu’s secluded cultivation and the confinement of Ji Qingyun and Zhang Xuanlin 22 25 155.
Gu Yuanqing’s courtyard	One of the favorable courtyards formerly occupied by sect leaders and elders. As the mountain expands, Gu and Aunt Feng retain the summit area 128 155.
Former disciples’ quarters	Located on the opposite side from the elders’ courtyards; the Heaven and Earth Pool’s cliff is also on this side 128.
Scenery Pavilion	Gu’s observation point during the confrontation with Jiang Hongguang and Chu Wusheng 41 42 43.
Underground legacy chamber	Holds categorized martial manuals, three longswords, a refined-iron spear, a rust-speckled saber, and living necessities 5.
Heaven and Earth Pool	A cliffside pool whose entrance opens into a separate, ocean-sized space 101.
Lower cultivation grounds	Area opened to Great Qian’s selected cultivators; the dynasty constructs facilities at the mountain’s foot 146 147.
Myriad Scriptures Tower	Later accounts describe a tower containing cultivation methods leading to the Heavenly Human Realm 714.

Abilities & Skills

Residence Empowerment

Binding to North Spring Mountain improves Gu Yuanqing’s aptitude and supplies cultivation energy. Its major transformations also raise his innate qualities rather than merely increasing the listed bonuses 1 17 98.

• Early swordsmanship empowerment comes from the lingering Dao resonance of generations of North Spring Sword Sect practitioners 98 656.
• That separate enhancement disappears once those sword imprints can no longer meaningfully improve Gu’s cultivation 98.
• Spiritual energy develops from a few daily wisps into a pool and eventually a sea-like supply 1 13 17 473.
• The mountain gathers heavenly-gang qi and can help collect earthly-sha qi, greatly accelerating nourishment of Gu’s Secret Treasury 7.

Mountain Observation & Man-Mountain Unity

Mountain Observation connects Gu’s consciousness to the mountain, allowing him to perceive its terrain, inhabitants, and underlying natural principles. Man-Mountain Unity deepens that connection until he experiences the mountain as an enlarged body 3 5 77.

• Initially observes the summit but leaves unvisited fissures as blind spots; later penetrates the underground rock and exposes hidden chambers 3 5.
• Underground perception is initially slower and more restricted than perception aboveground 5.
• After the Spirit Mountain transformation, observation nourishes Gu’s mind rather than draining it 18.
• Its expanding influence eventually carries his awareness to the edges of the Floating World 171 311.
• Outside the mountain in the Demon Realm, Gu initially must rely on his own divine sense rather than the broad surveillance available in the Floating World 129.
• Resonance between the mountain’s origin and the Yunmeng treasure pagoda greatly amplifies his perception, enabling direct insight into the Yin-Yang Great Dao 420.

Object Control & Mountain-Master Authority

Within the domain, Gu’s will can direct objects and invoke the mountain’s rejection of hostile intruders. He eventually understands Object Control as using the Dao perceived through Mountain Observation, not simply moving things by force of will 23 25.

• Early experiments establish a roughly twenty-kilogram limit and difficulty controlling multiple objects precisely 18.
• Initial defensive rejection severs attackers’ connection with heaven and earth, producing effects mistaken for intervention by a hidden Grandmaster 12 23.
• Later authority suppresses intruders’ minds, wills, and vital energy, and can hold soldiers beneath pressure until Gu releases them 54 129.
• Gu reshapes terrain and constructs elaborate buildings within a day; much later, creating buildings requires only a thought 171 473 999.
• He turns the mountain’s crushing intent inward to refine his own body 141.
• At its highest understood level, Object Control points toward directing the Dao itself—turning energy into matter and ordering disorder. Witnessing that process does not mean Gu can immediately reproduce it 473.

Defensive Power

The mountain’s protection can exceed Gu Yuanqing’s independent cultivation by several realms, but its usable strength still depends on his ability to command it 141 145.

• Mountain-backed suppression enables his Flying Sword to kill Grandmaster Jiang Hongguang with one strike 42 43.
• It can easily suppress Dao Fire cultivators by the time its weight begins fracturing local space 88.
• Its defenses withstand Ji Qingyun’s Sky Burning Tower; Gu dissipates incoming flames while the mountain’s other connections continue supplying spiritual qi 106 107.
• Gu uses its Great Five Elements Divine Thunder and a mountain phantom to overwhelm and pin Xu Wu 449.
• Mountain Observation and Object Control let Gu examine, redirect, and slow tribulation lightning during his own breakthroughs 320.
• Known limitation: The King of the Underworld breaches the mountain because the cultivation gap is too great for even their combined power to overcome 282.
• With the much larger North Spring Realm supporting him, Gu can easily suppress the Demon Lord’s physical body 1059.

Spatial Boundaries & Concealment

North Spring Mountain becomes a unified domain independent of the surrounding earth vein, even while appearing to remain attached to it 88.

• Its excessive weight crushes local space, opening rifts through which demonic qi escapes 88.
• Unauthorized entry can displace visitors to another side of the mountain rather than admitting them 96 129 144.
• Gu can hide the whole mountain in the void and restore its appearance at will 144.
• Chang Beilong’s Void Piercing Sword Eyes and destructive searches fail to locate it. The Iron Eater patriarch’s Heavenly Human divine sense detects faint traces but cannot determine its exact position without potentially tearing open space 145.
• Gu can manifest selected portions in different worlds, returning the secondary peaks to the Floating World while retaining the main peak elsewhere 219 283.
• As North Spring Realm’s master, he chooses which peak to manifest in the Fa Yuan Realm, keeping visitors away from his main peak 999.
• Its later barrier and obscured heavenly secrets resist investigation by Jiang Yunchuan and the Sacred Lord Heavenly Eye 1004 1009.

Demonic-Qi Conversion & Spirit Spring

The mountain purifies demonic qi by removing hostility, resentment, and other harmful influences, turning it into spiritual qi 98.

• More spatial fractures initially admit more demonic qi, creating a cycle of increased spiritual qi and faster mountain growth 90.
• After its high-grade transformation, it contains the rifts and absorbs escaping demonic qi without allowing it to spread into the outside world 98.
• Conversion continues even while the mountain is hidden in the void 145.
• Its revived Spirit Spring forms streams and pools that nourish vegetation and animals 90.
• Spring water strengthens the body, expels harmful influences, supports vitality, and cures illnesses in ordinary people 119 124.
• Gu warns that especially potent Spirit Spring water cannot be taken away in large quantities 146.

Spiritual Mountain Trial

The Trial reconstructs traces and imprints left on the mountain, drawing them from the river of time to create combat opponents 18.

• Its original arena resembles the North Spring Sword Sect’s training ground 18.
• Opponents include Zhang Yingdong, sect leader Kong Shengbing, and later visitors such as Xu Lianying 18 32 54.
• Trial combat does not consume true qi, but drains mental strength and can produce a vivid experience of death 18.
• Gu also uses it to test and deduce cultivation techniques 141.
• Later called the Immortal Mountain Trial, it can reproduce an entrant at peak strength and let Gu study that opponent’s Dao through battle 994 999.

Heavenly Fishing & Heaven and Earth Pool

Heavenly Fishing uses vital energy as a rod, divine intent as a line, and cultivation attainment as a hook to fish across the heavens. The Heaven and Earth Pool is formed from the mountain’s laws and manifests at a location chosen by Gu 98.

• Heavenly Fishing remains functional during the Sky Burning Tower siege 107.
• Combined with spatial insight, it retrieves objects, transports people, and eventually lets Gu project attacks beyond the mountain’s domain through a guiding strand of divine sense 137 163 164.
• The Pool appears externally as a deep pool but contains a vast separate ocean accessible only to Gu 101.
• Creatures placed inside become tiny fish and recover their original forms when removed 101.
• It cleanses demonic qi and is also used to confine prisoners such as Ji Qingyun 107 124 147.
• Fishing beyond the domain remains dangerous: a Demon Ape nearly pulls Gu into the Demon Realm, though the mountain’s protective rules prevent its power from reaching him 147.

Dao Derivation

Unlocked when the mountain becomes a true grotto-heaven, Dao Derivation consumes incense power to explore possible cultivation methods 473.

• Gu’s first test produces multiple versions of his foundational art, retaining the most promising route toward Void Immortality after the incense runs out 473.
• It does not guarantee a successful path, and the mountain gathers usable incense outside its boundary rather than admitting it within 473.
• Gu later applies it to artifact refinement, developing an artifact-casting chapter for the Nine Tribulations Undying Scripture 824.

Inhabitants & Relationships

• Gu Yuanqing — Bound master. His cultivation and the mountain’s development reinforce one another, but he repeatedly recognizes that reliance on its protection restricts his freedom outside it 119 144 145 508.
• Feng Tao / Aunt Feng — Long-term resident whose health, strength, and cultivation improve through its spiritual environment. Spiritually toughened plants eventually require stronger household tools 90 101 116.
• Li Chengyi — Gu’s son, raised among its birds and beasts. He names the Monkey King after the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and later brings his wife, Chen Binglan, home to the mountain 171 218.
• Li Shi’an and Ji Dai — Trusted cultivators given residence below the summit; Li Shi’an also manages Great Qian’s cultivation-access arrangement 146 155.
• Qin Wuya — Protects the mountain’s perimeter during earlier crises and later receives recovery, cultivation support, and monitoring from Gu 41 107 164 246.
• Monkey King — Native spirit beast whose strength rises from peak True Martial to Divine Platform. It wields a long staff and leads a large band of followers 171 474.
• Black Feather and the mountain eagles — Spiritually nourished birds; Black Feather reaches peak True Martial strength. Gu restricts their movement in the Demon Realm to prevent predators from targeting them 144 171.
• Little Fox — A fox brought from the Demon Realm and cleansed of demonic qi. She develops her sky-fox bloodline, gains additional tails, and becomes part of Gu’s extended family 107 147 372 508.
• Heaven Treading Immortal Steed / Little White — Seeks refuge from Xu Wu, becomes accustomed to the mountain’s food and companions, and remains under Gu’s protection 447 449 474 508.
• Iron Eater Tribe — Territorial neighbors in the Demon Realm. Gu pays rent and follows their rules; their patriarch avoids provoking the mountain or investigating its concealment further 124 145.
• Mountain-Bearing Divine Turtle — Carries the mountain and its inhabitants into Yunmeng Ancient Marsh, shielding them from its spatial suppression and destructive formations 420.
• Qian Yuan Sect — Its secluded identity initially conceals the mountain and Floating World from outsiders. It later receives territory within the North Spring Realm stretching nearly a million kilometers 392 936.

Major Conflicts

Conflict	Mountain’s role
Demon Realm Seal crisis	Demonic-qi leakage prompts military preparations. Six sects assemble at the mountain to repair the damaged seal 20 25 26 32.
Secret Sword rumors	Reports of Gu’s sword control attract cultivators seeking a path beyond Grandmaster. Jiang Hongguang’s death demonstrates the danger of entering the domain 32 33 41 42 43.
Crimson Dragon Cult assaults	Zuo Qiu is badly wounded after entering its defenses. Gong Xin’s later attempt to burn its spiritual vein instead triggers its whole-mountain awakening 67 77.
Lingxu Sect siege	Ji Qingyun attacks with the Sky Burning Tower for more than ten days. Gu continues cultivating and fishing while improving his control under pressure 104 106 107.
Chang Beilong’s expedition	Threatened by further intervention, Gu conceals the mountain. Chang Beilong and the Heavenly Hero Divine General arrive to find its former location empty 144 145.
Demon God Mountain confrontation	The steed’s pursuit brings Xu Wu to the mountain. Gu refuses to surrender it and defeats Xu’s attack using the domain’s thunder and suppressive power 447 449.
Divine Court investigation	Selected manifestation conceals the North Spring Realm’s true nature during Jiang Chen’s visit. Later investigators cannot reliably locate or interpret its barrier and heavenly secrets 998 999 1004 1009.

Influence on the Wider World

Cultivation & Ecology

• Its spiritual qi transforms plants into spiritual flora and strengthens animals, some of which develop intelligence, inner cores, and cultivation-level power 90 171 372.
• It carries the Demon Realm’s Dao into the Floating World, increasing spiritual-energy density and completing the world’s foundations 134.
• North Spring Mountain and the Floating World eventually nourish one another; the latter becomes capable of sustaining Heavenly Human-level power 372.
• By the time of the Ancient Realm preparations, its spiritual qi, spring water, and Heavenly Ladder help older cultivators repair foundations and advance into Divine Platform 246.

Great Qian & Public Access

• Gu exchanges Spirit Spring water and one hundred lower-mountain cultivation places for Great Qian’s help gathering rare Divine Platform materials 146.
• Great Qian constructs facilities at the foot and sends senior cultivators and talented youths, while Gu keeps the summit restricted 147 155.
• Spirit Spring water helps four leading commanders reach Grandmaster; revitalized land nearly doubles harvests 155.
• Ten of Great Qian’s cultivation places are opened to young martial artists through an arena tournament 155.
• Gu proposes a Scripture Pavilion offering more than a hundred revised martial techniques, with Great Qian managing access and retaining thirty percent of the proceeds 155.

Settlement & Reputation

• Cultivators gather around the mountain to use its escaping spiritual qi; nearby villages become towns, and desirable properties reach extraordinary prices 124 134.
• By later accounts, all of the world’s spiritual qi originates from North Spring Mountain, and more than half its cultivation techniques come from the mountain 246.
• Its reputation becomes that of a sacred cultivation land, with stories of Dao-bearing vegetation, spirit-liquid waters, powerful spirit beasts, and transformative lectures by Gu 714.
• Many Great Qian officials enter service hoping to earn a cultivation opportunity there 936.

Trivia

• Its dramatic internal expansion can leave its external appearance unchanged, including during its transformation into a world nearly three thousand li across 171 473.
• Gu initially mistakes the realm beneath the mountain for the Dragon Demon Realm. He later discovers that it is the Underground Demon Realm, whose spatial resonance closely resembles the overlapping world above 447.
• The mountain inspires Gu’s North Spring World Suppressing Seal and supplies foundation stone for his mountain-shaped Life-Bound Great Seal 656 824.
• Outsiders speculate that an ancient seal and hidden inheritance explain its rise, but this remains their theory rather than an established origin 510.
• Gu can expose a guest-accessible peak while withholding the main peak and the rest of the North Spring Realm, making the visible mountain only a selected portion of his domain 999.