In other words, I no longer need to compete with the likes of Yu Jianfo for the limited spots.
Gu Wen thought to himself, this turn of events was unexpected, but it was also the first time Tianquan Mountain had transformed in such a manner; it was not surprising that the Sword Pool was suddenly opened to the public.
But why did Zhejian Mountain make such an announcement? What was their intention?
Could it be that the competition among various forces was too intense, and the rumored existence of the Immortal Medicine within the Sword Pool was both an opportunity and a trouble for Zhejian Mountain? Compared to Gu Wen and his group, Zhejian Mountain was truly at the center of the storm.
Moreover, Xiao Yunyi did not possess the strength of Yu Hua, so it was only natural that all eyes turned to him.
To protect the safety of their heir, they directly announced that the Sword Pool would be open without limit on spots, thus allowing them to extract Xiao Yunyi from the fray.
Gu Wen collected his thoughts, while He Huan had already confirmed his speculation through a sound transmission, saying, “In recent days, there have been people secretly attempting to breach Tianquan Mountain. Naturally, they cannot break the Sword Array, but Zhejian Mountain has been quite troubled by this.”
“So they closed the Sword Array and allowed anyone to go up. This way, they can preserve their strength and prevent their heir from being captured by some old monsters.”
He QIng also provided a piece of news, saying, “It is rumored that several old monsters have crawled out of the Burial Abyss, including a great demon that was buried a thousand years ago. They are likely trying to seize an opportunity to attain immortality.”
“What is the Burial Abyss?” Gu Wen asked directly.
The two already knew about Gu Wen's background and were not surprised that he was unaware of such matters.
He Huan provided an explanation.
The four abysses and eight caves of the Demon Sect represent places of forbidden life, said to be the remnants of a primordial innate deity that fell.
They are mostly filled with miasma and poison, hiding countless monstrous beings.
The cultivation philosophy of the Demon Sect is to return to the ancient and divine, seeking the innate.
For the Demon Sect, these places are natural sanctuaries for cultivation.
They absorb the remnants of some innate divine demons wandering between heaven and earth, gaining the great power of innate divine demons through postnatal cultivation, either from bloodlines or from methods and divine abilities.
The death energy contained within the Burial Abyss can be utilized through special methods to seal life force and prolong lifespan.
Upon hearing this, Gu Wen inexplicably thought of He QIng's enormous arm.
He glanced at the other party, who calmly said, “I hail from the Divine Blood Abyss and cultivate one of the 108 innate demon gods, the Long-Arm Ape.”
“Among the four realms, there is no one of the same rank who can compete with my faction.”
He Huan added, “The Divine Blood path, upon reaching the fourth realm, will have an additional innate true body compared to other cultivators. Based on that true body, the law form can reach a hundred zhang, or even a thousand zhang in size.”
A hundred zhang, a thousand zhang?
Gu Wen showed surprise; his Zhao Lie law form was only a little over ten zhang.
What kind of power would a thousand zhang law form possess?
He asked, “Then the Demon Sect is indeed unmatched in terms of law forms?”
“Of course.”
He QIng proudly raised his chin, then said candidly, “But other cultivators will not only compete with us in law forms. For instance, the Buddhist sect has benevolent deities, and the Daoist sect has righteous methods, each with their own strengths.”
“Then among the three teachings, who is the strongest now?”
Before Gu Wen's words could finish, He QIng and He Huan answered in unison, “That would naturally be our Dao Sect (Demon Sect).”
“Huh? You, a mere imitator of monkeys, dare to claim to be the strongest?”
“I am ninth on the Human Ranking.”
“The Human Ranking is not yet settled. Xiao Yunyi holding a Dao weapon could easily rank fourth; he is only seventh.”
“You are eleventh on the Human Ranking.”
“Damn you, let’s go out and compare skills!”
The two bickered as they walked out, accompanied by a rumbling sound; fireworks began to explode in the sky above Luodu, a sight the common folk had long since grown accustomed to.
Half an hour later, the three returned to the inn, with He QIng and He Huan both showing signs of having been in a scuffle.
Once seated again, the three returned to the matter of Tianquan Mountain.
The heirs of the Buddhist and Demon sects had already arrived in Luodu; they could not possibly be here for tourism.
Either they were here for the opportunities at Tianquan Mountain, or for the Immortal Medicine.
Gu Wen noticed that both of them were looking at him, and he said, “Speak plainly.”
He QIng cleared his throat and lowered his voice for the sound transmission, saying, “Dao friend, what is your relationship with the Heavenly Maiden?”
“Why do you ask this?” Gu Wen frowned, “Isn’t our relationship obvious? I am her protector; could there be any other relationship?”
Hiss, do you want another relationship?
He Huan and He QIng both gasped, but they knew there could not be any additional relationship.
The higher the level of the cultivator, the less they interacted with each other.
It was not that the strong lacked social connections, but the stage suitable for developing relationships was not something everyone could qualify for to become a top-tier expert.
Once they reached the peak, all subsequent emotional ties would become mere appendages to their cultivation.
Moreover, the word ‘emotion’ was too profound; not everyone possessed it, nor did everyone need it.
He QIng said, “I mean, can you speak to the Heavenly Maiden?”
“Of course,” Gu Wen nodded.
Then He QIng took out a letter and placed it on the table, subtly indicating, “The heir of the Demon Sect is called He Junyan, ten years older than me.”
Gu Wen narrowed his eyes, picking up the letter with increased interest, and understood He QIng's intention.
He was here to connect him with someone, and his elder brother was the heir of the Demon Sect.
“You have such a background?”
He Huan's eyes widened slightly, his expression extremely surprised.
The heir of the Demon Sect was equivalent to the future Demon Lord; even if he did not reach that height in the end, he would at least be a prominent figure in the Demon Dao.
Gu Wen put down the letter and imitated He QIng, saying, “You need to pay more.”
He QIng reluctantly took out ten high-grade Earth Medicine beads, which were one and a half times more than the low-grade ones, equivalent to about seven to eight years' worth.
“Good.”
Gu Wen smiled as he accepted the pills, suddenly curious about the strength of the heir of the Demon Sect, and asked He QIng.
He saw the other party looking troubled and said, “This is my elder brother; how can I casually disclose his strength and cultivation to outsiders? You need to pay more.”
Gu Wen twitched the corner of his mouth, returning the pills.
Compared to the information worth about seven years' worth of Earth Essence, intelligence was clearly more important.
He QIng replied, “Seventh level Dao Foundation, sixth level perfection, adept in the art of avatar transformation.”
“How does one count as an avatar transformation?”
Gu Wen inexplicably felt a sense of vigilance; he looked at He QIng, observing that there was no change in his expression.
He QIng explained, “He has countless avatars and can easily disguise himself as others.”
“Can Dao methods also disguise?”
“Those with great talent can certainly do so.”
He QIng still showed no signs of weakness, but Gu Wen's vigilance had risen several levels in that instant.
The fact that he could not see any abnormalities in the other party was itself an abnormality.
Gu Wen was not investigating a case; he trusted his instincts more than evidence.
At the very least, his instincts were a form of protection for himself, even if being suspicious was a concern for safety.
“Although you have been cultivating for a short time, you should understand what it feels like to be a natural talent,” He QIng said casually, “Many people cultivate by imitation; it is not difficult to mimic.”
At this moment, He Huan had also sensed something was off, looking gravely at He QIng, not daring to make any unnecessary movements.
Gu Wen asked, “Am I also imitating?”
“Except for the spear Dao, almost everything else is imitation,” He QIng nodded, then changed the subject, “But you imitate too closely, almost to the point of being indistinguishable from the real thing, indicating you have great talent.”
“By the way, I heard that today you went with that dead nun to exorcise demons; that old thing's inheritance should be with you, right?”
Gu Wen nodded, saying, “I can sell it; the price is ten times that of the pills just now.”
He did not care who the other party was or what their intentions were, as long as it was beneficial to him at this stage.
He QIng shook his head, “Too much. Immortal-grade spirit medicines are usually consumed immediately upon acquisition; I won’t keep too much on hand. However, I do have something you will definitely be interested in.”
In response to Gu Wen's puzzled gaze, he confidently said, “I believe you have seen the inheritance that old thing carried; it is the Demon Sword inheritance that has been repaired and completed by countless generations of strong practitioners. You have the last three levels, while I have the first six levels.”
Dao Master, I don’t know.
Gu Wen maintained a calm expression and slightly nodded.
He QIng took out an ancient black iron token, palm-sized and dark, engraved with the character “Demon,” the script hasty and filled with numerous notches.
But upon closer inspection, it was clear that these were not notches but rather small sword marks, with a circular notch behind them.
“I can take the liberty to pass on the Demon Sword inheritance to you. You can cultivate in the Demon Sect without facing any repercussions; the only cost is to give me the beads.”
He QIng spoke earnestly, not at all like a practitioner of the Demon Dao who acted on whims.
Gu Wen knew that the source of the other party's sincerity was not himself, but rather Yu Hua, or perhaps the absolute power of the immortals; otherwise, they would have already started fighting.
To seek freedom, one must indeed attain immortality; only after becoming an immortal can one truly be free.
After a moment of thought, Gu Wen agreed.
He handed over the black bead, and the latter combined it with the black iron token.
A flicker of ghostly light appeared, shimmering a few times before settling down.
The heir of the Demon Sect handed the Demon Sword token to Gu Wen, squinting with an increasingly broad smile, saying, “If you can learn even one-tenth of this sword technique, it will be enough to benefit you for a lifetime. However, I do not recommend you learn it. The Jade Clear Sword Technique is on par with the Demon Sword; learning both is of no use; mastering one is better than knowing a hundred.”
‘You don’t recommend me learning yet you offer it for free? Are you trying to swindle me?’
Gu Wen looked at the other party's half-smiling expression, and his face darkened considerably.
But since he had already agreed, he could only treat it as a collection.
After all, keeping the Demon Sword inheritance in hand was also a trouble, lest this heir of the Demon Sect keep thinking about him.
Gu Wen poured his consciousness into the Demon Sword token, and in an instant, it was as if he saw countless demonic shadows flash by, ultimately converging into a wisp of ghostly light in his Qi Sea.
[Demon Sword: Draw upon the dark and turbid energies of heaven and earth, condensing a ten-thousand zhang sword body, splitting heaven and shattering earth; one level requires fifty years of Earth Essence.]
[Buddha Sword: Draw upon the great forces of heaven and earth; when the sword is drawn, it can create three thousand worlds; one level requires fifty years of Earth Essence.]
Half of the Earth Essence missing?
Gu Wen's mind shook; this was the first time he encountered such a situation.
The reduction of Earth Essence was not unheard of, and Gu Wen considered his own aptitude to be quite good.
The Earth Essence required for cultivation was not a fixed number and often appeared discounted.
But now, he had not even cultivated the Buddha and Demon swords; merely collecting the techniques had already halved the Earth Essence, as if they were a matched set.
Gu Wen slowly opened his eyes, his gaze cold as he looked at the heir of the Demon Sect disguised as He QIng, casually tossing the token back to him, appearing quite displeased.
The heir of the Demon Sect smiled, “Don’t be so angry! Let me introduce you to a beauty; how about my little sister, Lu Chan?”
As soon as the words fell, an immense chill surged straight to the crown of his head.
The heir of the Demon Sect immediately stood up, said no more, and quickly left the inn.
He Huan then left to confirm He QIng's safety, while Gu Wen returned to his room upstairs, eagerly diving into his Qi Sea to observe the techniques of the Buddha, Dao, and Demon swords.
(End of Chapter)