The room fell silent once again, and the lonely moonlight poured in through the window, casting a crisscross pattern of shadows.
Gu Ze sat quietly, holding his breath and remaining silent for a long while, replaying Qingquan’s instructions in his mind.
Should he help Li Xunmiao build her foundation when she emerged from seclusion? It wasn’t an impossible task, but it wouldn’t be easy, either.
Qingquan hadn’t said exactly when she would emerge. Perhaps she simply wanted to leave this as something for Gu Ze to look forward to.
But the most important part of Qingquan’s words was actually the arrangements for what to do if she failed to come out of seclusion.
If the Immortal Venerable were to perish, she hoped that Li Xunmiao would inherit her legacy.
Even though Li Xunmiao would become a completely different master of Biluo Peak, Qingquan was still willing to entrust everything to this disciple she had taken on a whim.
Thinking about it, Qingquan was a good person. But at the stage of Golden Core or Nascent Soul, there was little Gu Ze could do to help.
All he could do was pray for her, hoping she would return safely after overcoming her tribulation.
The moonlight deepened.
***
Time passed quickly while cultivating.
After finally washing away the fatigue from his body, Gu Ze adjusted himself to his best state, welcoming the morning of Biluo Peak.
At sunrise, the familiar, fresh air gave Gu Ze peace of mind.
There seemed to be a faint fragrance in the breeze, different from the flowers in the courtyard, making Gu Ze take several more breaths involuntarily.
When he opened his closed eyes, Gu Ze saw through the window that Li Xunmiao was standing awkwardly in his courtyard.
Junior Sister is getting more and more fragrant these days.
“Senior Brother Gu… Wuwu.” Li Xunmiao pouted, looking as if she was about to cry, her brows knotted together.
Seeing her about to burst into tears outside his door so early in the morning, it was impossible for Gu Ze not to care.
“What’s wrong?” Gu Ze hurried over and ruffled Li Xunmiao’s hair.
She was like a lost little beast, not resisting at all.
Li Xunmiao’s voice quivered with a hint of a sob. “Last night, Master scolded me.”
It seemed that after talking to Gu Ze, Qingquan was still worried about Li Xunmiao, and might have personally appeared before her.
Gu Ze calmed himself and listened quietly.
“Last night, I asked Master how dual cultivation actually works. Master was so angry!”
“She pulled my ear and called me shameless, said if I really wanted to know, I should go learn for myself at Rouman Peak, because she had nothing to teach me. And then?”
“In the end, she mentioned you, Senior Brother. She said if you dared to fool around with men and women while she was away, you’d be the first to be… dealt with when she returned.”
What the—!
Gu Ze felt his legs tense, nearly gaining the secret arts of the Cupping Sect all by himself.
“Senior Brother, what does ‘dealt with’ mean? When I was in the mortal world, I heard you had to be ‘dealt with’ before working in the emperor’s palace.”
Gu Ze hesitated, but in the end didn’t explain much.
“Ahem, this is your fault.”
He hadn’t expected Li Xunmiao to be so interested in dual cultivation, asking at such a critical moment just as Qingquan was about to go into seclusion.
If this disrupted Qingquan’s Dao heart, he’d have to spank Li Xunmiao with tears in his eyes.
“My fault?” Li Xunmiao sniffled. “Since Master told me to go to Rouman Peak to learn, Senior Brother, will you go with me—?”
“I think Immortal Venerable Qingquan didn’t mean it like that…” Gu Ze wasn’t sure if Li Xunmiao was truly naive or just pretending.
Ever since returning from Songhuo Peak, Gu Ze had felt that Li Xunmiao was acting a little strange.
Why did she always think about dual cultivation? Did Junior Sister actually want to try it with him?
Even if Gu Ze wanted to “pick” this little cabbage, Qingquan was watching from above. If he ever tried anything with Li Xunmiao, Qingquan would likely confiscate his “tools” on the spot.
Thinking about it, it was normal for Junior Sister to have some restless thoughts at her age.
Unlike Qingquan, who had cultivated for hundreds of years and likely left romantic feelings behind. In all his years on Biluo Peak, Gu Ze had never heard any rumors about the Immortal Venerable’s love life.
Some even said that Lian Yue Xianzun didn’t have any interest in men at all…
Besides, if Qingquan broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, what man in the world would catch her eye?
Gu Ze finally managed to comfort Li Xunmiao, persuading her to drop her idea of “learning the Dao” at Rouman Peak.
He thought the matter was over, but within two days, he suddenly received a flying message from the Law Enforcement Hall of Yunhai Immortal Pavilion.
Chen Lang and Bai Yazhi, who had caused trouble earlier, had already been punished by the Law Enforcement Hall, and Lin Tianya’s testimony had also been received.
Bai Yazhi was expelled from Biluo Peak under Gu Ze’s authority as acting peak master.
By coincidence, she used her collection of magic treasures as a stepping stone, and was taken in by Rouman Peak, which accepted disciples regardless of background, gaining the status of a disciple.
Among the twenty-four immortal peaks of Yunhai Immortal Pavilion, Rouman Peak was a special case.
This immortal mountain only admitted female disciples, focusing on the arts of dual cultivation and the bedroom.
It sounded like a devil sect specializing in harvesting, and a normal cultivator’s first reaction was that it was disreputable.
In reality, Rouman Peak really was disreputable.
The original founder of Rouman Peak had been a devil cultivator, later turning to the right path and joining Yunhai Immortal Pavilion.
Now, after thousands of years, the founder’s whereabouts were unknown, but Rouman Peak still followed her traditions.
So-called “immortal mountain”—in the eyes of Yunhai Immortal Pavilion disciples, it was little more than a vast, immortal-tinged brothel.
However, the dual cultivation methods here didn’t inherit the devil sect’s ways of treating others as cauldrons to drain their cultivation.
Instead, they focused on the harmony of yin and yang, advancing together.
Hearing that Bai Yazhi had joined Rouman Peak, Gu Ze felt a faint sense of unease.
With her lack of scruples and her glib tongue, who knew how well she’d do at Rouman Peak?
If Bai Yazhi really found herself a backer, regained her Dao heart, or even surpassed others through dual cultivation, then seduced a few powerful Dao partners, she might return with a group to seek revenge.
It was best to nip this in the bud. At the very least, Bai Yazhi shouldn’t be allowed to thrive comfortably at Rouman Peak.
In the end, he couldn’t avoid getting involved with Rouman Peak after all.
Recalling the plotlines about Rouman Peak in the book, Gu Ze couldn’t remember anything particularly memorable happening there.
It was all women, and there was no special opportunity for Li Xunmiao. During her travels through the twenty-four peaks, Rouman Peak was barely mentioned.
There was only one person connected to Rouman Peak who caught Gu Ze’s attention.
After thinking it over, Gu Ze decided to go alone and resolve the trouble brewing in Rouman Peak.
Bringing Li Xunmiao would only put her on the wrong path.
The so-called “opportunities” of Rouman Peak were little more than detours; seeking the Dao there would turn into seeking life’s great “harmony.” What nonsense.
Within Yunhai Immortal Pavilion’s Yunhai Market, there was a special area—an expanse of thick, year-round clouds, so dense and black that one couldn’t help but wonder what secrets might be hidden within.
This was the Black Market, where forbidden goods, hard to find elsewhere, flowed freely.
Gu Ze wasn’t interested in what was traded here; he’d come to buy information and to ask for some help.
After confirming that Li Xunmiao was still cultivating in her cave residence, Gu Ze snuck out of Biluo Peak alone.
Upon entering the Black Market, he covered his face and concealed his aura.
Stepping into the black clouds, his vision became obscured. The clouds blocked perception, and the cultivators passing by all wore disguises. Sometimes, one couldn’t even tell male from female.
Relying on memories and things he’d heard over the years, Gu Ze took several twists and turns, finally stopping in front of an inconspicuous Anfang.
This Anfang was run by Rouman Peak cultivators, specializing in information brokering.
As long as you paid enough, you could find out anything about Yunhai Immortal Pavilion.
Rouman Peak’s doors were open to all Yunhai Immortal Pavilion disciples and even elders.
After a night’s spring dalliance, with a charming beauty at your side, many would end up whispering secrets to their pillow companion.
A couple of people might not matter, but with almost ten percent of the Pavilion’s cultivators having tangled connections with Rouman Peak, the information the Rouman cultivators held was far beyond what ordinary disciples could imagine.
Still, few ever came here. Most Yunhai Immortal Pavilion disciples were open-hearted, rarely plotting behind each other’s backs.
More importantly, the information here was extremely expensive and couldn’t be bought with spirit stones. Whether you could purchase any depended entirely on the mood of the person in charge.
Some people came only to be turned away at the door.
Luckily, Gu Ze passed through unimpeded.
Entering the unremarkable Anfang, walking through a long corridor and turning twice, Gu Ze lifted a half-drawn curtain and finally saw a woman sitting with her back to him.
The private room was elegant and simple, with a painted screen of a hundred birds not far away, and what seemed to be the woman’s living quarters beyond.
She didn’t turn around, but from behind the table, a sweet and alluring voice drifted over.
“Well, well, what a rare little guest. What brings the acting master of Biluo Peak to my door? Could it be… that you wish to get closer to the ladies of Biluo Peak?”
Having his identity revealed immediately was within Gu Ze’s expectations.
Bringing the peak master’s token made it easy for high-level cultivators to sense his identity. Without it, he might not have been able to enter this Anfang at all.
And the mysterious, enchanting woman before him was the most powerful figure on all of Rouman Peak.
Rouman Peak’s master, Lian Yue Xianzun.