“Old man here didn’t come to watch your little lovers’ quarrel—hurry up and claim the inheritance and get lost!”
Gu Ze and Li Xunmiao spun dizzily as they were flung through the air.
For an instant, Gu Ze even caught sight of a furious expression surfacing on the panda statue’s face.
It was hard to imagine that the last trace of the First Peak Lord’s divine sense lingering in the stone statue existed solely to mock a bashful couple.
On the other side, at the main peak of the Yunhai Immortal Pavilion.
This peak was called Buzhou Peak, its summit invisible to the eye, forever shrouded by the sea of clouds.
Inside the Hall of Affairs, two old men sat upright. Across from them was a clear spring, hidden amidst Zixia Mist.
The elder seated on the throne had a dignified appearance. His silver hair was meticulously groomed, two willow brows trailing past his eyes.
Wearing a gold robe entwined with crimson dragons, he was none other than the head of the entire Yunhai Immortal Pavilion—Gong Lixing.
By his side was an unremarkable-looking old man in black robes, whose cultivation was utterly unfathomable. He was Hu Meng, the elder in charge of the Main Peak’s Library Pavilion.
The three sat in silence for a long while before Gong Lixing finally let out a deep sigh.
“Daoist Qingquan, it’s not that I refuse to let your disciple cultivate the supreme technique, but as someone who’s practiced such a divine art, you understand our predicament.”
They called it a supreme art that led directly to Divine Transformation, yet no one could ever break through the ninth level of Adept Soul, never achieving Adept Soul Perfection.
Had I known in advance that this technique was flawed, I wouldn’t have chosen it… sigh.
“That’s because you lacked talent. With Xunmiao’s aptitude, her cultivation will be as natural as flowing water. I don’t believe she’ll be stopped at Adept Soul.”
“You too were once a dazzling genius, but because you chose a technique unsuited to your constitution, you’ve been stuck at Adept Soul for three hundred years without a breakthrough. You of all people should know how crucial a technique is for a cultivator.”
“Qingquan, surely you don’t wish for Li Xunmiao to stumble and wither on her path to Dao?”
A flawed divine art, an unsuitable technique.
All three in the hall sighed heavily.
Alas, there is no regret along the Xiuxian path. Once you embark upon it, there’s no turning back.
Qingquan hid her expression within the purple mist, but to the two whose cultivation far surpassed hers, this little trick was meaningless.
Gong Lixing could see the unwillingness in her eyes.
Qingquan now pinned all her hopes on her direct disciple, hoping she would reach heights Qingquan herself never could.
But being too eager could have the opposite effect.
In three hundred years, few disciples had caught Qingquan’s eye.
Li Xunmiao, with her exceptional talent and the Heaven-Earth Phenomenon witnessed by nearly all Yunhai Immortal Pavilion cultivators during her entrance test, was one.
Gong Lixing himself planned to secretly keep an eye on her growth.
The three were all stuck at cultivation bottlenecks, with only endless years left to discuss Dao and nurture disciples.
The black-robed elder, Hu Meng, who had remained silent, suddenly frowned, lifting his eyes to gaze into the distance.
“Old Gong, did you sense that?” Hu Meng could hardly contain the excitement in his tone.
“The aura of the Zangtian Sword. Has it emerged? If so, then that copy of ‘Yellow Springs Heart Sutra’ should also surface…” Gong Lixing stroked his beard, his eyes flickering slightly.
The First Biluo Peak Lord was a senior whom even Gong Lixing had to address as ‘Grand Elder’.
The techniques and weapons left by such an immortal powerhouse were recorded in the Zongmen’s secret annals.
Repercussions.
As the sect leader, he knew the hiding place and the method to open the secret realm.
But inheritances are for those with fate. Should someone with impure motives open it recklessly, they would surely suffer from the traps left behind by the realm’s owner.
“It seems Li Xunmiao truly is fated with our Yunhai Immortal Pavilion… But, who is this Gu Ze?” Gong Lixing pinched his fingers to divine, but the more he calculated, the more uneasy he felt.
Li Xunmiao’s future was shrouded, but at the very least, her luck was extraordinary—sure to be a proud daughter of the heavens.
Gu Ze, on the other hand, was so ordinary he couldn’t be more ordinary.
And yet this very ordinary disciple, with neither talent nor cultivation to boast of, was inexplicably intertwined with Li Xunmiao’s fate.
Gong Lixing glanced at Hu Meng beside him, who shook his head ever so slightly.
Unable to see it!
It was as if some great fate was being concealed, yet every calculation revealed no flaws.
Gong Lixing ran his fingers through his beard, growing more curious about the two.
Qingquan too felt the anomaly at Biluo Peak and began divining Li Xunmiao’s whereabouts.
In an instant, her heart leapt with joy.
“You two old men, why didn’t you ever tell me about such an inheritance?! I’ve been the Biluo Peak Lord for over three hundred years!”
“Ahem, sect secrets must not be divulged. Besides, that grand elder’s inheritance was right under your nose.”
“If you hadn’t been so careless about the goings-on around you, you’d have discovered the secret of the Yellow Springs Valley long ago, had you but ordered your disciples to explore Biluo Peak more thoroughly.” Gong Lixing explained, the latter half of his words carrying a hint of complaint.
Other Peak Lords at least occasionally lectured or guided their disciples in person.
But Qingquan secluded herself high in her jade tower, rarely seen even after years.
“Hmph, I’m leaving.” She said no more, vanishing in a flash.
The two old men sighed at the same time, exchanging helpless glances.
If Qingquan ever broke through to Adept Soul, no one in the world could tell her otherwise.
But achieving Adept Soul for her… was no easy matter.
***
Yellow Springs Valley.
The pair crashed to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
The lush bamboo forest from before now felt like nothing but a dream.
Li Xunmiao clutched the jade box tightly, momentarily forgetting to even get up from the ground.
“Junior Sister, it’s time we head back. I wonder if the Peak Lord has found a suitable technique for you.” Gu Ze deliberately brought up the subject.
He sneaked a glance at Li Xunmiao’s face and, as expected, saw a hint of reluctance in her eyes.
“I feel… this ‘Yellow Springs Heart Sutra’ in my hands is somehow fated for me. When we return, I want to ask Master if I can cultivate this technique.”
A gift from another is never as precious as what one earns themselves.
This technique, after all, was tailored for Li Xunmiao by the book’s plot.
Gu Ze hurried to help her up.
They hadn’t taken more than a few steps when a surge of damp mist swept over them, whisking them away in an instant.
After another dizzying spin, the two found themselves back at Biluo Academy. A purple silhouette sat upon the seat, Qingquan seemingly never having left.
“Hahahahaha.”
A hearty laugh rang in their ears.
Gu Ze couldn’t help but sweat—this Immortal Sovereign’s mood was truly changeable. She’d been fuming at noon, yet now she was overjoyed.
Could it be… Qingquan was actually a simple-minded, clumsy natural airhead?
“Xunmiao, truly beyond my expectations—you found the inheritance left by Biluo Peak’s first Lord. You are indeed fated with Biluo Peak. Choosing you as my disciple must have been destined by the heavens.”
“This ‘Yellow Springs Heart Sutra’ is itself a supreme divine technique, directly pointing past Divine Transformation!”
“It’s said to have been created by the first Biluo Peak Lord after roaming the Three Realms. It can connect to the energy of the Yellow Springs of the underworld—a peerless technique never since replicated.”
“This heart sutra is fated for you. You can cultivate it without worry. If anyone so much as harbors evil intent toward your technique, I will personally intervene.”
Qingquan clearly had much more to say.
But just as she paused for breath, she noticed Li Xunmiao’s hesitant expression, as if something was weighing on her mind.
“Xunmiao, you seem troubled?” she asked bluntly.
Could it be… Xunmiao isn’t satisfied with this technique? There truly couldn’t be a better one in the world.
“Master, please understand, I could only obtain this opportunity thanks to Senior Brother Gu. He gave both of these chances to me. I hope Master will reward Senior Brother Gu as well, or else it would be too unfair to him.” As she spoke, her voice trembled slightly.
Gu Ze, who’d been keeping his head down, pretending to be invisible, was startled when Li Xunmiao suddenly mentioned him.
It seemed Li Shimei didn’t understand the principle of ‘a man’s wealth is his own ruin by attracting greed’—if the inheritance had fallen to him, a disciple with no background or cultivation, he’d only become a fat sheep in the eyes of others.
Still, since Li Xunmiao had mentioned a reward, Gu Ze certainly wouldn’t refuse.
Though Qingquan was rather blunt, she was also exceedingly generous.
She was willing to help even a mere Foundation Establishment junior who’d sneaked into her dreams, not knowing his true identity.
Since Qingquan didn’t mention any other Divine Transformation techniques after her return, it was clear she’d run into a wall at the main peak.
Since he’d indirectly solved her headache, the reward wouldn’t be meager.
“Mm… Gu Ze, I see you’ve reached the fourth layer of Qi Refining. Your cultivation’s too low—I almost missed it.”
This biting tongue… Gu Ze wished Qingquan would change that habit.
“Very well, I have always been fair in reward and punishment. Since you’re not a greedy person, you may choose any technique from Biluo Academy’s collection to cultivate.”
Gu Ze blinked in surprise.
“Does that mean I have to discard my current cultivation?”
“That’s right. In the Qi Refining stage, dispersing your cultivation won’t harm your foundation. But once you reach Foundation Establishment and your base is stable, switching techniques will damage your dantian.”
“If you’re reluctant to part with your current cultivation, I can grant you another reward—some treasures for self-defense at your stage.”
She didn’t force Gu Ze to decide immediately.
Qingquan herself was perplexed. Though she believed it was just her disciple’s luck, that secret realm… was it truly Li Xunmiao who found it?
Li Xunmiao had no reason to go to the unfamiliar Yellow Springs Valley.
Qingquan took even greater note of Gu Ze.
If not for the karmic entanglement between the two, she’d have directly searched Gu Ze’s soul to see what secrets he held.
As Gu Ze hesitated, wondering what to choose, he suddenly heard a crisp chime at his ear.
[ Ding~ Li Xunmiao has obtained the opportunity: ‘Yellow Springs Heart Sutra’, Zangtian Sword ]
[ Host receives reward: Innate Rootless Water, one personal lesson from Qingquan ]
What? The rewards can repeat?
Gu Ze felt he had no face to seek a private lesson from Qingquan now.
If he’d known, he wouldn’t have played the little thief and stolen Qingquan’s water before.
Seeing Gu Ze’s face turning red then white, Qingquan simply assumed he was struggling with a fierce internal debate.
In the end, Gu Ze still didn’t make his decision on the spot.
***
The bright moon hung high. Most of the immortal mountains of Yunhai Immortal Pavilion rose above the clouds, the vast starry river spread out before them.
At the foot of the mountains, such a wondrous night sky was almost invisible, but Gu Ze had no heart to appreciate it.
He returned to his own courtyard.
Here, some untended Lingzhi grew, filling the air with the scent of medicinal herbs.
Gu Ze lay on the antique wooden bed, nearly scratching his ears in anxiety.
A personal lesson from Qingquan—wouldn’t it be a waste not to use such a reward?
As for the other, the Innate Rootless Water, it appeared as a droplet hovering in his Linghai, ready to be summoned at a thought.
Gu Ze dared not even take it out to look at it.
There were too many powerful figures in Yunhai Immortal Pavilion.
Since even Li Shimei’s opportunity hadn’t escaped their notice, if this water droplet was truly a priceless treasure, his little hut would be swarmed by Nascent Soul and Golden Core experts in an instant.
“Fortune favors the bold, cowards starve. Worst case, I’ll sneak another sip of Qingquan’s water. After all, I’ve already offended her!” With a steely resolve, Gu Ze calmed himself and adjusted his state.
“Use: Qingquan’s personal lesson!”