Ever since Gu Wen began collecting medicinal fruits, this county nestled in the mountains had always been on his radar.
Almost half of Bianjing's medicinal herbs came from Linchuan County, and now it had fallen?
Gu Wen continued to read.
The letter wasn't from Linchuan but from the governor of Nanshui County.
The gist of it was that merchant ships traveling from Linchuan via waterways through Nanshui and Luoshui Counties reported Linchuan County's fall to the authorities, who then sent the news to the governor's office.
The governor then penned an urgent missive and dispatched someone to deliver it to Bianjing.
Following that was a lengthy section where the Nanshui County governor boasted about his achievements, using this opportunity to seek credit from his superiors.
Daqian had a complete postal relay system, with stations every five li, pavilions every ten li, and major relay stations every thirty li.
These facilitated the regular transmission of imperial documents and the selection and appointment of various officials.
Relay stations were manned by couriers, and because official documents were not valuable and could incur the court's wrath if stolen, they were generally left unmolested.
If information transmission within the country couldn't be ensured, it would be a sign of imminent downfall.
The highest urgency level for a missive was the "chicken feather letter." How could one confirm their copy was the only one? Gu Wen once discussed this over drinks with a Bianjing postal relay station official and learned that it was impossible; there were never duplicates, only reissues.
Firstly, delivering an urgent letter over eight hundred li required the sacrifice of dozens of horses.
Secondly, since these letters were dispatched urgently and followed the same routes, sending duplicates would be redundant.
Instead, it was better to assign more guards or couriers.
Normally, this system worked without fail, but they hadn't accounted for Gu Wen.
"So many official ships passed by, and I managed to intercept them all. It seems Daqian's fate is truly sealed," Gu Wen muttered, tearing the letter to pieces and throwing it into the river.
This way, the information wouldn't be completely concealed.
The Nanshui authorities would send out another letter when they noticed the court hadn't responded.
But this back-and-forth would cause significant delays.
[Heaven's Marrow Four Years]
[Heaven's Marrow Eight Years]
[Heaven's Marrow Twenty-One Years]
Gu Wen watched the increase in his Heaven's Marrow, consuming every good or bad spiritual herb until it stopped at twenty-one years.
Indeed, "a thief has a gold belt," he thought.
Compared to the time and money spent previously to barely gather ten years of Heaven's Marrow, now a single hijacked official ship yielded so much more.
This thrill was addictive, turning him into a gambler.
While buying spiritual herbs required some discretion, burning, killing, and looting inevitably increased his risk.
Typically, hijacking official ships would draw the attention of local militias, the only deterrent a feudal society could muster to maintain order.
With underdeveloped productivity and social management systems, banditry couldn't be eradicated.
The government could only protect its interests, ensuring bandits knew what not to steal.
"But would the Daqian court not hunt me if I didn't hijack this ship? How can I become an immortal if I hide my name?" Gu Wen mused.
The returns were hundreds of times greater than his previous efforts, overshadowing any sense of danger.
He only cared about amassing more Heaven's Marrow.
Inspecting his Dao Foundation internally, he saw it was perfect in three layers.
The first and second layers of the Dao Foundation corresponded to the first realm of refining essence into qi, forming a sea of qi, and the initial manifestation of divine consciousness.
Gu Wen wasn't sure how strong other first realm cultivators were, but he felt that his first-layer Dao Foundation, "Endless Vitality," had initially touched the extraordinary, granting him faint magical powers with unique characteristics depending on the Dao Foundation.
From Wen Renwu's ability to stand undefeated, it is evident that the effect of the first level strengthens with one's power.
Though "Endless Vitality" appears unremarkable, it allows Gu Wen to swim underwater for a day and night without feeling tired.
Reaching the second level of the Dao Foundation, "Jade Bone Purification," significantly enhances the body and senses, making his overall strength comparable to that of a master ghost catcher named Cai Lin.
The third level of the Dao Foundation is a watershed moment; the quality of the spiritual image greatly determines the level of one's strength, with magical power reserves being ten times that of the second level.
The key lies in the spiritual image, which can exponentially increase the power of corresponding spells.
Gu Wen's Five Elements spiritual image encompasses myriad forms, and since few spells fall outside the Five Elements, his spells typically receive a fivefold boost.
While others might see an increase in their core spells alone, Gu Wen enjoys this amplification for all his spells, an immense advantage.
This realization led Gu Wen to understand that the level of the Dao Foundation is crucial, but achieving the utmost perfection at each level is even more important.
He observed his Qi Sea and gazed at the divine mountain formed by his Dao Foundation.
The next step was the fourth level of the Dao Foundation.
"Jade Purity Dao Foundation, Fourth Level: Choose a spiritual image, refine the primordial spirit, fifty years of Heaven's Marrow can achieve this, and then proceed to the Fifth Level."
The third and fourth levels of the Dao Foundation correspond to the second realm of refining Qi into the spirit, involving visualizing the spiritual image and refining the primordial spirit.
With the primordial spirit, physical death no longer equates to true death, marking a true transcendence.
Gu Wen mused, "Only fifty years of Heaven's Marrow are needed, that's not too difficult."
With his current strength, obtaining fifty years of Heaven's Marrow wasn't hard.
Every day, countless official ships passed along the Qian River, and just one of the Imperial Treasury ships carried enough Heaven's Marrow for dozens of years.
Breaking through to the fifth level of the Dao Foundation would only cost fifty years of Heaven's Marrow.
If the growth rate continued to double with each level, reaching the ninth level would require less than a thousand years' worth of Heaven's Marrow.
A thousand years seemed like a lot to the current Gu Wen, but after witnessing the Imperial Treasury's stockpile, he realized he had been narrow-minded.
The Daoist Emperor's alchemy ingredients were measured by the pound, and clearing out the Imperial Treasury would suffice for nine levels of the Dao Foundation.
And this was just the supply for one month to half a year, with stock updated monthly.
He harbored thoughts of killing the despotic emperor and taking his place, or installing Jiang Fugui to collect spiritual medicines for him.
However, Gu Wen suppressed his murderous intent and focused on the path to perfection.
He saw on the divine mountain the fourth temple, inscribed with "Five Elements Primordial True Spirit God."
While an ordinary Dao Foundation merely refines the primordial spirit, what does it mean to achieve perfection?
"By transforming the Five Elements into a god, unifying the Five Elements, one can obtain the Primordial True Spirit. The primordial spirit can exist outside the body for five hundred years, traversing the day without fearing the sun, and wandering at night without succumbing to the yin, appearing as if alive."
But it required consuming two hundred and fifty years of Heaven's Marrow.
"Hiss!"
Gu Wen drew a sharp breath.
This was a fivefold increase.
He suspected that achieving nine levels of a perfected Dao Foundation might lead him to immortality.
He abandoned the idea of hiding for a while.
"Robbery, I must rob. Without it, I can't gather enough Heaven's Marrow."
He took out a map of Daqian from his Qiankun bag, roughly confirming his location based on the river and surrounding environment, and his finger landed on Nanshui County.
There lay Tianquan Mountain, which supposedly held a spiritual spring.
His immediate priority was to subdue his family heirloom with the Imperial Nectar.
A Dao weapon would significantly boost his strength.
Meanwhile, several miles away on a tributary, Yu Hua stood on a boat, surrounded by officials exchanging glances but not daring to speak.
After all, someone descending from the sky wasn't someone to be trifled with.
She waited a long time without seeing Gu Wen and, with a sigh, asked the old donkey beside her, "Are you sure he's nearby?"
"Absolutely true!" The old donkey, slightly embarrassed but maintaining its demeanor, said, "It's the limitation of divination; anything beyond fifty miles and I can't calculate it. Otherwise, I would take you to see your lover right now... cough, cough, your protector." Then it added, "But don't worry, my little ancestor. We can confirm if he's within fifty miles. And stop using your clairaudience; it's harmful to your essence. We're not that desperate."
Yu Hua nodded slightly, "Alright."
The old donkey's expression was peculiar.
Earlier, it had mentioned Zhao Feng to divert attention and got beaten for it.
Now, it accidentally let slip about the lover, but surprisingly, it didn't get beaten.
Suddenly, the old donkey's ears twitched, "He's moved beyond fifty kilometers."
Yu Hua and the old donkey left, reaching a town only to realize they had gone the wrong way, then turned back.
Though flying couldn't be used as a regular means, they chose the lesser of two evils between flying and calculating the celestial mechanisms.
They circled the possible places Gu Wen might go, eventually reaching Luoshui County, entering a bustling commercial county that contrasted sharply with Bianjing.
Meanwhile, Gu Wen, slightly disguised as a wandering swordsman, made his way towards Luoshui.
On his journey through mountain roads, he encountered constant banditry, and inns he passed often turned out to be black shops selling human flesh.
He did pay for things, but paying often invited deadly consequences.
Gu Wen felt the devaluation of money in chaotic times.
It wasn't just the decline in purchasing power but spending money often felt like risking one's life.
The contrast with the civility of Bianjing was stark.