That day, after finally finishing all the tasks assigned to her by the sect leader, Lingyan finally had some free time and immediately rushed to Sword Spirit Lord's mountain.
Unexpectedly, they were stopped outside the mountain gate.
"Xingxuan, why are you in such a panic? You keep coming here every few days. Anyone who didn't know better would think you're interested in me."
The man, dressed in pure white and possessing the appearance of an immortal, lay on a sword with his legs crossed, even dangling a blade of grass from his mouth, looking like a third-rate hoodlum from the streets.
"Senior brother... how many times have the elders told us about appearance and demeanor?"
Seeing his appearance, Lingyan was genuinely worried about the outward image of the Star Luo Sect.
"Why put on such pretentious gestures when it's our own sect?"
Sword Spirit Lord did not move at all, still lying on the sword, looking lazy.
"I'm very worried that Gu Zhong will be led astray by you."
Lingyan's brow twitched, and she began to worry about other things.
"Tsk, I've never seen you care about anyone this much before. But you do have good taste..."
The sword spirit clicked its tongue lightly, a hint of admiration appearing on its face.
"Your little apprentice... has a strong will and is a good candidate for cultivating immortality."
Blade Spirit is not one to praise others lightly. But if he says something is good, then it must be good.
Lingyan felt honored by this, and her expression showed a hint of pride.
Unexpectedly, the sword spirit's next words startled her so much that she wanted to draw her sword and attack.
"So, I threw her into the Ten Thousand Swords Platform."
"What?! Where?!"
Chapter 76 Astrologers and Defiant Ones (Part 5)
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"The Platform of Ten Thousand Swords."
Sword Spirit repeated it nonchalantly, completely unaware of the seriousness of the problem.
"You wait!"
A burst of star power mercilessly struck the man's face. In his hasty dodge, he lost his balance and fell off the sword.
After he lay back down in what he considered a handsome position, he saw the usually composed woman transform into a shooting star and head straight for the Ten Thousand Swords Platform.
"Tsk, woman."
The sword spirit clicked its tongue dismissively, spat out the foxtail grass from its mouth, and untied the wine gourd from its waist to drink heartily.
The Myriad Swords Platform is a training ground for the physical cultivators of the Star Luo Sect, specifically designed to temper their physique.
Since Gu Zhong no longer cultivates spiritual power but only physical constitution, the Myriad Swords Platform should be suitable for her.
However, the biggest problem is that this realm should only be open to Golden Core cultivators, and is only suitable for Qi Refining cultivators.
While cursing the sword spirit's recklessness in her heart, Lingyan hurried on her way, fearing that Gu Zhong might not be able to withstand the might of the Ten Thousand Swords Platform and something bad might happen to him.
Seeing Ling Yan hurrying towards them from afar, the disciples guarding the Ten Thousand Swords Platform immediately bowed respectfully.
Although he was usually aloof, Xingxuan-jun was always polite and amiable. However, today he seemed not to have seen them at all, and rushed into the secret realm without stopping for a moment, which made people wonder if something major had happened within the realm.
Upon entering the Ten Thousand Swords Platform, Ling Yan was greeted by several swift bursts of qi. She used her star power to create a barrier, completely isolating these initially weak qi.
Wanjiantai, also known as Wanjianzhong, is, as the name suggests, the burial place of ten thousand swords.
The immortal sword possesses a spirit; though it may be discarded or broken, the malevolent energy it contains is difficult to dispel.
The Star Luo Sect collected the discarded swords in one place, and over the centuries, it has become a realm of its own, filled with fierce and malevolent energy, which has inadvertently created an excellent place for body tempering.
Lingyan did not see Gu Zhong at the border crossing, so she could only continue deeper into the area.
The further into the territory you go, the more frequent and intense the malevolent energy becomes, and the more dangerous it becomes.
Having traveled more than halfway and still not seeing Gu Zhong, Ling Yan's anxiety grew even higher.
She didn't know how Gu Zhong had gotten to the deeper parts, so she could only quicken her pace.
Gu Zhong stared intently at the dull, slender sword in the center of the sword pool, ten feet away.
Ignoring her already battered and bruised body, she dragged her weary steps once more, clumsily and laboriously dodging the suddenly intensifying gale, and charged toward the sword.
This time she got even closer, close enough to reach out and touch her target, but was once again blown away by an invisible blade of energy, crashing heavily to the ground some distance away, inflicting many new wounds along the way.
Sword Spirit Lord only allowed her to take one sword from the sword pool back, but when Gu Zhong saw that sword, a strong determination to take it with her suddenly welled up in her heart.
Her attempts, one after another, all ended in failure. Blood covered her face, and her white clothes were stained red. She had become numb to the pain of her wounds.
After repelling Gu Zhong again, the sword seemed to become angry, and along with the gale came a sharp sword aura.
Exhausted, Gu Zhong's movements became somewhat sluggish, and for a moment she found it difficult to dodge the sword energy that was aimed straight at her lungs.
If she were hit, she might never be able to leave this sword tomb again today.
—Is this the end?
A pang of sorrow rose in Gu Zhong's heart. She had only just recovered, only just walked to the side of light and saw hope.
Under her unwilling glare, the sword energy ultimately failed to strike her. Familiar star power swept out from behind her, shattering the sword energy, and then she landed in a soft and fragrant embrace.
When Ling Yan saw the bloodied figure in front of her, she almost didn't recognize Gu Zhong. She was overwhelmed with heartache and anger.
Why are you being so stubborn?
This was the first time she had questioned Gu Zhong so sternly.
"Master..."
Gu Zhong looked up at her blankly, forcing a rather silly-looking smile.
"you!"
Seeing the weariness etched on her face, yet her feigned composure and clarity, Ling Yan was furious. She half-embraced Gu Zhong, waved her sleeve, and turned to leave.
"sword!"
Seeing this, Gu Zhong quickly grabbed her sleeve and looked at the sword in the sword pool, the one she had worked so hard for.
Although she didn't know why Gu Zhong was so persistent about this, since it was something she wanted, Ling Yan was naturally willing to go through fire and water for it.
Holding Gu Zhong in her arms, Ling Yan flew straight to the center of the sword pool, unafraid of the disturbance from the surrounding sword energy. She placed her hand on the hilt of the slender sword.
"Master, little..."
Gu Zhongben wanted to remind him that the sword seemed to possess sentience and did not want others to take it.
Unexpectedly, the energy blade that had deflected her countless times did not reappear, whether out of fear of Lingyan's cultivation level or for some other reason.
The moment Lingyan touched the hilt of the sword, a familiar yet strange feeling swept over her, causing her to involuntarily withdraw her hand.
She turned her head and happened to meet Gu Zhong's questioning gaze, so she had no choice but to put away her doubts for the time being.
He stroked the hilt again, effortlessly pulled the sword from the sword pool, and handed it to Gu Zhong without any trouble.
This is indeed a fine sword; the blade is extremely thin and the body is very light.
Even though it has been hidden here for a long time, covered in dust and rust, it cannot hide the sharpness and coldness that it exudes. One wonders how its previous owner could bear to let it be covered in dust here.
"Isn't that cheating...?"
Having taken the sword, Gu Zhong struck the blade hard, seemingly childishly retaliating for injuring her Qi Refining cultivation earlier. Her initial joy vanished instantly.
"Did the sword spirit send you here to retrieve the sword?"
Lingyan's forehead twitched; she thought of the sword spirit's favorite trick. But very few people actually came to the sword pool near the center of the sword mound to retrieve their swords.
Gu Zhong responded sullenly, inexplicably falling into a state of frustration.
He seemed to be blaming himself for failing to complete the Sword Spirit Lord's test.
"You have already surpassed many Golden Core cultivators by getting here."
Seeing that Gu Zhong was in low spirits, Ling Yan offered words of comfort.
She knew how much Gu Zhongxian valued cultivation, how demanding he was of himself to the point of self-torture, how he was always on edge, never daring to relax, and never allowing any mistakes.
"This sword is at least a high-grade spiritual weapon, and it is difficult for anyone other than a Nascent Soul cultivator to get close to it. You have far exceeded the sword spirit's requirements, so there is no need to blame yourself."
"Is Master really not just trying to comfort me?"
After hearing Ling Yan's words, Gu Zhong blinked his bright black eyes and repeatedly asked for confirmation with a hint of hesitation.
"No, really. You've done more than enough."
Upon receiving confirmation, Gu Zhong seemed to instantly shed a heavy burden. He quietly closed his eyes in Ling Yan's arms and fell asleep. However, he still tightly gripped the sword in his hand, treating it as a precious treasure.
After bringing Gu Zhong back to her cave from the Myriad Swords Platform and settling him in, Ling Yan picked up the star chart and prepared to go find the sword spirit to settle this unresolved score.
An unexpected person arrived uninvited.
Chapter 77 Astrologers and Defiant Ones (Part 6)
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Beside a white jade chess table, a pot of hot tea was being brewed. The two sat facing each other in silence. When the third pot of tea was being brewed, Lingyan couldn't help but speak first.
"Elder Xia, what brings you to see me today?"
"Nothing serious, just passing by. I remembered that I hadn't seen the young sect leader for a long time, so I came to take a look today."
Xia Xiange glanced at Ling Yan sideways, then adopted a leisurely and carefree demeanor, slowly raising her teacup, taking a sip, and offering a few comments.
"As expected of the spirit tea here from the young sect leader, it is an excellent product."
"If Elder Xia likes them, please feel free to take some back later."
Feigning politeness, Lingyan grew increasingly wary.