Over the past few days, he had pretty much gotten the hang of sword flight.
Gu Yanqing coiled up the whip used for body tempering and hung it back on the wall, shaking out his fingers, which were slightly wrinkled from soaking in the medicinal broth.
Last night, he had finished his final medicinal bath.
With all nine rounds of tempering from the 《Nine Revolutions Body Tempering Technique》 complete, he could clearly feel the changes in his body when he climbed out of the tub.
His whole body had become far more coordinated; muscles, bones, and skin felt as though they had been reforged from scratch, allowing every ounce of strength to be channeled precisely where it was needed.
Channeling his spiritual energy to the fullest, he threw a test punch at the training post. The wooden pillar emitted a dull hum, shuddering so violently that its base wobbled twice.
The results were even more substantial than he had anticipated.
Now that he had finished this manual, it was time to move on to the next.
He rummaged through his luggage and fished out another cultivation technique he had brought from home.
《Black Iron Body》
Unlike the 《Nine Revolutions Body Tempering Technique》, which emphasized refining the body, this manual focused more on pushing the hardness of bone and sinew to the absolute limit. It required soaking in vast amounts of spirit ore powder to temper bones and sinew as tough as metal and iron, granting thousand-jin force to every punch and kick.
He wasn't about to let such a good thing gather dust. After all, every improvement was tangible; the scabs from his previous injuries hadn't even fully fallen off yet, but his physical toughness had already risen by more than a single notch.
He had barely opened the table of contents and skimmed two lines when a knock came at the door.
He had almost forgotten about her.
Over the past few days, Lin Zhixue had knocked on his door almost every morning.
Either she asked what he was doing today, or what she herself should be doing today.
Today would probably be no different.
He could actually understand, more or less.
In the original novel, when she first entered the sect and knew nothing, she had always asked that artifact spirit.
Now, however, that artifact spirit hung around him all day. Just last night, as he was stripping down for his bath, the thing had suddenly dropped upside down from the rafters, an inverted face nearly brushing the tip of his nose.
Fortunately, his mental fortitude was rock-solid, and he hadn't even blinked. With no one else to ask now, she came running to him.
Three knocks, a pause, then three more.
Just as expected.
Closing the book, he went to answer the door.
Lin Zhixue stood at the entrance, the Guilan Sword hanging at her waist, still clad in her outer disciple uniform.
She had also been at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining for several days now; it was about time for her breakthrough...
He pondered for a moment.
“Go prepare the materials for Foundation Establishment.”
“The spirit material shops in the market have them. You can get all the primary and supplementary ingredients for a Foundation Establishment Pill there.”
Lin Zhixue nodded, turned, and headed off toward the market.
He turned to head back inside when a sudden chill brushed the back of his neck.
It felt like something had phased right through him.
Xiaoyu drifted slowly out from behind his head, hovering upside down in front of him with its golden hair spilling downward and emerald-green eyes staring straight at him.
“Were you secretly cursing me while taking your bath yesterday? I heard you cursing me in your mind!”
Gu Yanqing walked right through it expressionlessly and continued into the house.
“Hey, why are you walking away!” Xiaoyu caught up, circling around his head.
“Aren’t you going to meditate today? Aren’t you going to practice swordplay?”
“I can help! Well, even if I can’t actually help with much, I can cheer you on! Go, Gu Yanqing, go! Gu Yanqing is the best!”
Sitting down in a chair, he opened 《Black Iron Body》 and swept his eyes over the prologue, not a single muscle on his face moving.
Xiaoyu floated above the pages, hanging upside down to look at him, but he still showed no reaction.
After quite a while, finding it boring, Xiaoyu huffed and drifted out through the window.
He silently counted in his mind: that was already the ninth time this week.
Turning to the main text of 《Black Iron Body》, he had just finished the first chapter on the ratios of spirit ore powder when footsteps sounded outside once more.
Waiting a few breaths, he walked over and opened the door. Lin Zhixue was indeed standing outside.
“Same question,” she said.
Gu Yanqing leaned against the doorframe. “Bought all the materials?”
“Mm.” She nodded, taking items out of her storage bag one by one to show him.
“I got the primary ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill, but among the supplementary ingredients, I’m still short on Dewdrop Grass. The market was out of stock today, but the shopkeeper said it could be reserved and picked up in a few days. I bought everything I could first.”
She put the items away and looked up at him, waiting for him to tell her what to do next.
Gu Yanqing leaned against the doorframe. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the eaves, falling across her shoulders. Her hair ribbon was still that same pale cyan one.
He realized he had grown used to being woken up by her knocks every morning, used to her standing at the door looking up at him, waiting for him to arrange her day.
It was as if he were her daily planner—turn a page, and there was something new to do.
“Let’s go.”
He turned and closed the door.
“To the Pill Hall. That shop might not be reliable for Dewdrop Grass, but the sect should have some in stock. Let’s claim a stalk first just in case.”
One after the other, the two left the courtyard and headed toward the Pill Hall.
As they crossed Cloud-Connecting Bridge, a hand suddenly clapped down on Gu Yanqing’s shoulder from behind.
“What a coincidence, running into you again.” Jiang Yinglan waved a mission slip in her hand at him.
“There’s an extermination mission. The demon beasts in Secluded Valley have multiplied again recently. Leading a team by myself isn’t enough manpower—how about lending a hand?”
Just as Gu Yanqing was about to speak, Lin Zhixue’s gaze fell upon the hand resting on his shoulder, lingering for a beat.
“I’m coming too,” she said.
“You’re only at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining,” Jiang Yinglan said, glancing at her. “The extermination mission involves demon beasts at early Foundation Establishment at the very least.”
“You just said you were short on hands.”
“I can help too.”
Noticing her gaze, Jiang Yinglan raised an eyebrow, pulled her hand back from Gu Yanqing’s shoulder, and let the corner of her lips curl in a barely perceptible smile.
“Works for me. With me leading the team, it won’t be much of an issue.”
Turning around, she stretched lazily and started heading back.
“Let’s go, we’ll register for the mission first.”
The three arrived at the Mission Hall, where Jiang Yinglan handed the mission slip to the deacon disciple to register.
While waiting, she leaned against the counter and offhandedly explained the rules regarding sect points to them.
“Taking on missions, participating in the Sect Grand Tournament, or making special contributions to the sect will all earn you points.”
“Points are recorded in the disciple registry and tallied once a month. Those ranked at the top get priority when redeeming resources.”
“Also, there’s only about a month left until the sect’s next secret realm opens. Slots are limited, so only those ranked near the top in points will qualify.”
“If you two want to get in, take on more missions this month and push your points up.”
A secret realm. Gu Yanqing maintained an impassive expression, but in his mind, he had already begun calculating.
In the original novel, Lin Zhixue had obtained a crucial cultivation manual within the secret realm—a pivotal step in laying the foundation of her sword path.
With only a month left until the secret realm opened, his points were actually sufficient, but Lin Zhixue was still just a study companion, and her accumulation of points had only just begun.
Not a single mission available this month could be passed up.
Leaving the Mission Hall, Lin Zhixue said she would head to the Pill Hall first to claim the Dewdrop Grass, lest they all be taken if she went too late.
Gu Yanqing nodded in agreement, and she walked briskly off toward the Pill Hall.
Beside him, Jiang Yinglan crossed her arms, watching her figure disappear through the bamboo grove.
“Your study companion is quite attentive.”
Gu Yanqing didn’t reply.
Rate on N.U.
