The number of cultivators in Donglin City had increased, ranging from sect disciples to traveling merchants.
Two days ago, they had taken the same Four Symbols Shipping spirit ship they arrived on to return to the city.
Just a day before the rental prices were set to rise, they secured a small courtyard with decent spirit energy.
Perfected Person Shu had dragged that long string of demon cultivators back to the sect, intending to lock them in Punishment Peak and interrogate them regarding the matter of Puppet Thousand-Machine City.
The courtyard had several rooms, and Perfected Person Shen casually chose one to stay in.
As usual, he did not interfere with the group's activities.
After renting the courtyard, they kept some of the necessary sea beast materials and demon cores, selling off the rest.
This was added to the spirit stones they had obtained from the three rogue cultivators who had tried to seize their spirit boat.
After over four months at sea, Gu Ningyun’s total earnings amounted to 8,360 low-grade spirit stones and 39 mid-grade spirit stones.
Her internal space ocean now housed various types of sea beasts and a significant amount of rank one sea beast meat for fodder.
She also possessed various rank two sea beast materials and demon cores, along with a large pearl from a peak rank two pearl oyster.
Additionally, several types of aquatic spirit flowers and herbs were now growing in her space ocean.
Finally, she held a single inheritance token from Puppet Thousand-Machine City.
Having sold the materials and organized her gains...
Gu Ningyun lay on the bed in her small room.
Resting her head on a soft pillow and covered by a warm cotton quilt...
She relaxed her mind and let her thoughts drift, doing and thinking of nothing at all.
She lay there in total relaxation for six hours.
From her scalp to her brain, and then to every part of her body, she slowly unfurled and eased her tension.
Golden sunlight filtered through the screen, spilling over her half-closed apricot eyes and casting delicate shadows beneath her lashes.
It wasn't until her body and mind were fully recharged that she finally rose from the bed.
She pushed open the window and folded back the screen, allowing the sunlight to flood the room without obstruction.
Stepping through the river of golden light, she deactivated the arrays in the room and pushed open the door.
The dove tree in the courtyard had sprouted new buds, which shimmered with a tender green light under the sun.
Gu Ningyun gripped her peach wood sword and stood at the boundary between shadow and sunlight, giving it a casual swing.
She turned and executed a stab.
Swinging her sword thirty thousand times a day was a habit she had long since cultivated.
During the four months at sea, she had spent much time in combat, but rarely had the chance for quiet practice.
Chop, stab, slash, parry.
She quickly immersed herself in the state of practice.
With every spin and every lift of her arm, Gu Ningyun could execute dozens of strikes.
The whistling sound of the long sword cutting through the air drifted into the house.
Jun Luo stepped out of his room.
Using the shadow of the dove tree as a dividing line, Jun Luo stood on the other side and took his stance with his sword.
Swinging the sword thirty thousand times a day honed the fundamentals of the Sword Dao. It was a practice of the most basic and simple things, yet it was also the most profound, a return to original purity.
Neither of them used spirit energy.
They relied solely on their bodies and the instincts granted by their talent, executing one strike after another.
The sounds of Gu Ningyun and Jun Luo practicing their swordsmanship sometimes overlapped, sometimes diverged, sometimes clashed, and sometimes complemented each other.
Every basic sword technique came from the teachings of the seniors in the Sword Hall.
In a way, their sword moves were extremely similar.
Yet, on either side of the dove tree, they produced entirely different effects.
All paths return to one; their sword moves originated from the lineage of the Xiaoyao Patriarch.
The Dao produced the One, the One produced the Two, the Two produced the Three, and the Three produced all things.
People are different.
Their spirit roots, personalities, and talents differed, as did their understanding of the sword.
From this, distinct styles of sword momentum emerged.
Wen Xuan sat on the steps under the eaves, with boxes containing spirit herbs and sea beast materials scattered all over the ground.
Leaning against a pillar coated in tung oil lacquer, she pondered what new pills to refine to the rhythm of the wind generated by the two practicing swords.
Jiang Yao squatted beside her, playing with a piece of ore. "Wen Xuan, you're sensitive to flames."
"When I use earth fire to melt this Cold Crow Tears, the results are always inconsistent."
"I'll explain the principles to you; help me watch the heat."
Small Chinese roses bloomed quietly in a corner of the yard.
Pink petals drifted onto a propped-up window.
Behind the window was a desk, upon which sat an array plate and a beast-skin map.
Mu Chenze pressed his finger onto the beast-skin map.
Shen Banxi sat cross-legged beside him, speaking in a low voice.
Mu Chenze nodded from time to time, occasionally showing a look of confusion.
Shen Banxi took a sip of tea, rotated the beast-skin map, and pointed to a specific spot.
Mu Chenze's expression shifted to one of sudden realization.
Amidst the bustle of Donglin City, this small courtyard possessed a unique sense of peace.
...
With the Penglai Dao Discussion Meeting approaching, sects large and small across the Five Continents and Four Seas were making preparations.
Star-Moon Sect, Taiyi Peak.
Gu Lianxue received a transmission talisman. "Disciple, come to the Peak Master's hall immediately."
She took a paper crane from her storage bag and placed a low-grade spirit stone into it.
The paper crane grew as it caught the wind, soon reaching half a meter in height.
Gu Lianxue hopped onto it. "To the Peak Master's hall."
True Venerable Qingxu, the Peak Master of Taiyi Peak, sat in the seat of honor.
Below him, to his left and right, sat his first disciple, Kang Heng, and his second disciple, Bu Hongyu.
The three of them were drinking tea in silence, clearly waiting for someone.
True Venerable Qingxu looked toward the door and then checked his Spirit-Attuning Jade Token, his mind filled with growing suspicion.
On the chat interface between him and Gu Lianxue, every single message had been sent by him alone.
In the past, Xue'er had checked the World Forum almost every day and was very quick to reply.
Why had she been so uncharacteristic these past few months, to the point of not even replying to messages?
It was the same for today's meeting in the hall.
He had sent a message via the Spirit-Attuning Jade Token ten days ago. Both of his other disciples had replied, but only Xue'er had remained silent.
Now that the appointed time for the meeting had arrived and his other two disciples were present, Xue'er was nowhere to be found.
He had been forced to use a transmission talisman—something he usually kept in reserve—to send her a summons.
True Venerable Qingxu unconsciously rubbed his teacup with his finger.
Speaking of which...
The restriction at the door rippled, and Gu Lianxue put away her paper crane as she walked in.
Before she could even salute, the doubt in True Venerable Qingxu's heart burst out.
"Xue'er, I haven't seen you use your Spirit-Attuning Jade Token in quite a while. Do you no longer like it?"
What a deadly question.
Gu Lianxue couldn't help it; her expression contorted for a fleeting moment.
She performed her salutations and sat down next to Kang Heng.
"Master, in order to avoid distractions from my cultivation, I have decided to stop using the Spirit-Attuning Jade Token."
Hearing this, Kang Heng let out a cold snort, a flash of mockery in his eyes.
After Gu Lianxue had come to him with those strange questions, he had arranged for some martial nephews to investigate.
He was perfectly aware of everything that had happened on the World Forum that day, including the content of the forum posts and comments, and how the messages had been deleted.
Combining that with Gu Lianxue's questions and reactions, he was certain his guess as to what happened next was nearly spot-on.
Saying she wanted to avoid getting addicted to the forum to focus on cultivation was nothing but an excuse.
It wasn't that she didn't want to use it; it was that she couldn't.
That snort sent a wave of panic through Gu Lianxue's heart. She felt as though her First Senior Brother knew something.
Recalling how she had asked him those questions in her desperation that day, she realized they might have exposed her.
Gu Lianxue's face grew even paler.
Being permanently banned from Xiaoyao's Spirit-Attuning Jade Token was not much different from being labeled a public enemy of Xiaoyao.
She was already having a difficult time in the sect due to her previous inability to cultivate.
Rate on N.U.
