Taking advantage of the moment while the kitchen was preparing dinner, Gu Wangchen left Wangchen Pavilion and made his way to the gates of the Inner Treasury.
“Old Lu, have you eaten yet?”
He nodded casually to the old man guarding the Inner Treasury and greeted him offhandedly.
“Not yet. Why, young master, are you planning to treat this old man to some wine?”
“Look at you,” Gu Wangchen walked up to him, slung an arm around his shoulders, and grinned, “Old Lu, help me find something. If you do, I’ll have Xiao Li bring you your favorite Duan Chang Shao—three jars!”
“Young master, do you mean it?”
Lu Laotou didn’t mind Gu Wangchen’s arm around his shoulders in the slightest. His eyes turned sly for a moment, Adam’s apple bobbing, clearly tempted.
“Of course. When have I ever lied to you?”
“Alright then, follow me.” Lu Laotou grinned broadly, then pushed open the towering doors of the Inner Treasury with one hand.
As for Lu Laotou, Gu Wangchen not only had a good relationship with him in this life, but his memories from his previous life—when he encountered this person in the game—were even clearer.
Except, back then, it was in the form of the Capital Boss.
Later in the plot, the Prime Minister’s Residence would become an extremely difficult optional dungeon. Upon entering, aside from the Sub-boss at the end—his own father, Gu Huaizhang, who was as tough as the Final Boss—there were also plenty of other bosses inside with heaven-defying mechanics.
“Gatekeeper · Old Lu,” this boss who didn’t even have a real name, was the one who had forced him to SL Restart countless times, nearly breaking his will.
Absolutely the archetypal “sweeping monk.”
But in his memories from this life, he’d managed to uncover the true name of Gatekeeper · Old Lu.
Lu Liancheng.
Thinking of this, he sighed softly, recalling fondly the times he’d drunk and chatted nonsense with Lu Laotou.
He definitely couldn’t let the original plot repeat itself.
Unconsciously, he clenched his fists, then followed Lu Liancheng into the Inner Treasury.
“Young master, this is the ancient mirror you’re looking for, isn’t it?”
It didn’t take long before Lu Liancheng found a dusty, scratched, old bronze Heart Mirror in a pile of jet-black secret cabinets.
“Yes, that’s the one.”
Taking the bronze mirror, Gu Wangchen weighed it in his hand for a moment, examining it closely.
These patterns, this appearance…
No mistake—it’s exactly this!
This treasure was the strongest item he’d obtained in the game after defeating Lu Liancheng, and he considered it one of the most useful artifacts of all.
In Immortal Fate: Seeking Dao, the item ranking system followed the usual rules, with five grades: Common (gray-white), Fine (blue-green), Epic (deep violet), Legendary (bright gold), and Supreme Treasure (radiant brilliance).
He focused his mind slightly, and information about the bronze Heart Mirror instantly floated before his eyes.
[All-Phenomena Returning Dust Mirror]
[Quality: Legendary (bright gold)]
[Type: Artifact]
[Effect: Reveals true origin, discerns all phenomena; responds to the mind, transforms infinitely. Can disguise as mortal, or mimic the brink of death.]
In the game, this artifact had two main uses. The first was immunity to the illusions and mirages cast by low-level cultivators, though in the later stages of the game, this function was a bit redundant—after all, as the protagonist’s level increased, he’d naturally become nearly immune to low-level illusions.
But the second ability was the real highlight.
It could conceal the user’s cultivation, and could disguise various states according to the user’s will.
This artifact could perfectly hide the user’s cultivation and aura, and could even simulate effects like “tough on the outside, weak on the inside,” “depleted essence,” or even “seriously injured and near death.”
Of course, the more extreme the simulation and the further it diverged from the user’s actual condition, the greater the consumption of true qi.
For Gu Wangchen, though he often frequented Pingkang Ward and had many fleeting romances with famous courtesans to keep up his playboy persona, it was all for his mission—not out of obsession.
Though he did quite enjoy it, truth be told.
Previously, since he couldn’t cultivate and his body was no different from an ordinary person’s, whenever he spent the night in one of Pingkang Ward’s many establishments, he always kept things moderate and never spent wild, sleepless nights hopping from girl to girl.
Because of this, he was quite well regarded among the Flower Queens of Pingkang Ward.
Rich, easy-going, and good-looking—Young Master Gu, come visit us often~
Brushing aside his wandering thoughts, Gu Wangchen turned his focus back to the All-Phenomena Returning Dust Mirror.
He immediately prepared to test the artifact’s effects.
Infusing a trace of true qi into it, Gu Wangchen instantly felt a subtle, mysterious connection to the bronze Heart Mirror in his arms. He sensed that he could use his true qi to adjust the disguise effect of the All-Phenomena Returning Dust Mirror.
After fiddling with it for a bit, he quickly figured out how the Heart Mirror worked.
“Let’s give it a try.”
As soon as he injected a thread of true qi, a faint glimmer flashed across the All-Phenomena Returning Dust Mirror. Confirming that the concealment effect was activated, Gu Wangchen tucked it into his robe and turned to Lu Liancheng.
“Old Lu, take a look—do you notice anything different about me now?”
“Different?” Lu Liancheng scrutinized Gu Wangchen for a moment, then shook his head. “No. Forgive these old eyes, but I can’t see anything.”
Hearing this, Gu Wangchen smiled helplessly.
This guy was still putting on an act as an ordinary old man for him.
But it didn’t matter. Considering Lu Liancheng’s loyalty to both him and his father, even if he learned the truth that Gu Wangchen could now cultivate, it wouldn’t cause any uncontrollable consequences.
Thinking so, he said, “If you can’t tell, then that’s fine. I’m satisfied. Old Lu, three jars of Duan Chang Shao—they’ll be delivered to you tomorrow.”
“Alright, young master! Take care!”
“Oh, right, one more thing.” Halfway out, Gu Wangchen turned back to Lu Liancheng and said, “Old Lu, give me a Xumi Ring, you know what I mean.”
Now that he could cultivate and had true qi in his body, he could naturally activate the Xumi Ring.
“Understood.” Lu Liancheng smiled serenely, producing a simple, obsidian-colored ring from his sleeve and carefully handing it over to Gu Wangchen.
“This was left for you by the master. Take good care of it, young master. If you lose it, I don’t have a second one for you!”
Gu Wangchen accepted the Xumi Ring, gently caressed it for a moment, then put it on and nodded. “Understood.”
As a resource with extremely low production and impossible to reproduce, the Xumi Ring had always been strictly controlled by the imperial court and rarely appeared among the common folk.
Even the Prime Minister’s Residence possessed less than ten Xumi Rings in total, and the storage space was at most the size of a small room.
“Alright, that’s all I needed. I’ll be off now.”
“Very well, young master! Take care!” Lu Liancheng beamed, stroking his little beard as he escorted Gu Wangchen out of the Inner Treasury.
Leaving the Inner Treasury and returning to Wangchen Pavilion, Gu Wangchen happened to run into An Li, who had come to call him for dinner.
Thinking of the All-Phenomena Returning Dust Mirror, he planned to test it out with An Li as well.
“Xiao Li, can you tell if there’s any difference between me and when I was leaping across rooftops earlier?”
“Eh? Is there any difference?” An Li stood where she was, her charmingly innocent eyes full of confusion, then said,
“Has young master become even more handsome?”
“While I don’t disagree with your answer, that’s not what I was asking,” Gu Wangchen said bluntly, “I meant my strength—can you sense anything, An Li?”
“Your strength… Master, right now I can’t sense any true qi in your body at all.” An Li’s willow brows arched in surprise as she replied.
“You really can’t sense anything?”
“Truly can’t sense anything.”
“Not bad.” Gu Wangchen nodded, quite satisfied with the All-Phenomena Returning Dust Mirror’s effect.
“Come on, Xiao Li, let’s go see our guest.”
“Guest?”
“Of course—the Messenger I had you rescue from the north side of Baqiao. He’s still in the guest room, right?”
An Li answered, “Yes. I’ve arranged for someone to stand guard at the door, rotating shifts every half hour to ensure his safety.”
“Good. Let’s go now, then.”
“Young master, aren’t you going to eat first? The kitchen’s already prepared the dishes. Today there’s your favorite Golden Phoenix Wing Shrimp. If you don’t eat it while it’s hot, it won’t be crispy!”
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Gu Wangchen glanced at the sky and chuckled, “Let’s eat first—no rush to see the guest.”
“Alright, young master!”
“By the way, make sure our guest gets a serving too. Don’t let people say the Prime Minister’s Residence treats its guests poorly.”
“Understood!”
After making sure Gu Wangchen had gone ahead and wasn’t paying attention, An Li deliberately fell a few steps behind. She took out a small notebook from her moon-white gauze skirt and resumed scribbling with a charcoal pen.
[Qinghan-jie, here’s what the young master did this afternoon and evening.]
[…]
[Oh, and one more piece of good news—the young master can cultivate now!]
“Mmm…”
When she got to this, An Li paused her pen, suddenly recalling Gu Wangchen’s earlier words: “Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know.” She hesitated for a moment, then tore out the page.
[Qinghan-jie, here’s what the young master did this afternoon and evening.]
[…]