Of course, at this moment, Gu Chengming had no idea that in some corner of Floating Islet City, the Second Imperial Princess of Daqian was discussing with a fist-sized black dragon how to strike up a conversation with him.
For him, a more pressing matter was right before his eyes.
The north gate of Floating Islet City was an arched portal about ten zhang high, carved from a single piece of unknown bluish-gray stone. Its surface was densely engraved with array patterns unique to the Mohist Sect.
On either side of the portal stood four Mohist Sect disciples dressed in black uniforms with silver patterns. Uniform-style tokens hung from their waists, and their expressions were solemn.
The group from the Wenjian Sect stopped before the north gate. Ahead of them, several other sect teams were already lined up.
Sect Master Shen Qianqiu stood beside Gu Chengming. Seeing his most valued disciple look curious, he spoke up at the right time to clear his doubts.
"Chengming, do you find the rules for entering the city a bit tedious?" Shen Qianqiu asked with his hands tucked in his sleeves, his tone steady.
Gu Chengming cupped his hands slightly and asked humbly, "I am indeed a bit curious. The major sects gathered here are all the cream of the crop of righteous sects. Why must we use such complex Mohist heavy tools to inspect everyone one by one just to enter a city gate?"
Seeing his doubt, Shen Qianqiu slowed his pace to walk side-by-side with him and explained with a smile.
"You already know that Floating Islet City was originally an ancient secret realm. But what you might not know is that independent domains like secret realms, which exist outside the main world, are naturally prone to being invaded by outer realm sky demons."
"Outer realm sky demons?"
Gu Chengming was not unfamiliar with the concept. It was occasionally mentioned in the records of the cultivation world, but mostly in vague terms. He only knew they were sinister entities from beyond the world's boundaries, with unstable forms and bizarre methods.
"Specifically, the type of outer realm sky demon that most likes to target secret realms like Floating Islet City is called a 'heart demon.'" Shen Qianqiu's tone became a bit more serious. "This thing is extremely well-hidden and has no physical form. It silently attaches itself to a cultivator's soul, parasitizing the depths of their consciousness. Initially, the possessed cultivator feels nothing, but over time, the heart demon gradually amplifies the host's stray thoughts and obsessions until it completely erodes their dao heart. The symptoms after a heart demon possesses someone are almost identical to those when a cultivator's state of mind is unstable or filled with stray thoughts." Shen Qianqiu glanced at Gu Chengming. "In other words, a cultivator almost cannot tell for themselves whether they are truly experiencing qi deviation or if they've been targeted by an outer realm sky demon."
Gu Chengming couldn't help but click his tongue after hearing this. This sounded exactly like the conventional 'heart demons' in standard cultivation settings.
However, here it seemed to manifest as a literal 'entity'?
"Because of this, everyone must be tested with specialized methods before entering the city to confirm if they have been targeted by a heart demon." Shen Qianqiu pointed to a device placed in the testing area ahead. "That is the detection artifact specifically crafted by the Mohist Sect."
Gu Chengming followed his finger and looked over.
In the center of the testing area stood a black metal pole about half a person's height. At the top of the pole was a square flag. The flag was milky white, without any text or patterns. The base of the pole was a disc covered in array patterns, with several thin metal needles inserted into the edges, looking somewhat like an enlarged compass. Beside the flagpole stood a Mohist deacon official, guiding the disciples of the sect ahead to step forward one by one for testing.
Gu Chengming watched with interest for a while. As each disciple stepped forward, they needed to press their palm onto the disc and inject a small amount of spiritual energy. The array patterns on the disc would light up, and then the flag at the top would glow slightly. If the flag remained milky white, it meant the test was passed and no heart demon was attached.
The deacon official would nod to allow passage. So far, Gu Chengming had watched about twenty disciples go through the test, and all passed smoothly, the flag remaining a clean milky white.
"Sect Master, what is the principle behind this?" Gu Chengming asked Shen Qianqiu curiously.
Shen Qianqiu seemed to have expected this question and explained, "In the soul of an ordinary cultivator, there is only one unified consciousness. This consciousness may have stray thoughts or emotional fluctuations, but in essence, it is a complete 'self.' However, if one is possessed by a heart demon, an external consciousness that does not belong to the 'self' will appear in the cultivator's soul. These external consciousnesses often carry strong obsessions, and the stronger the obsession, the harder the heart demon is to clear."
He pointed to the flag. "The function of this artifact is to lure out those obsessions in the soul that do not belong to the 'self' and manifest them on the flag. If the flag remains colorless and textless, it means the soul is pure. If words appear or the color changes, it indicates the presence of external obsessions, which is a sign of heart demon possession."
Gu Chengming nodded, coming to a sudden realization.
He wasn't a stranger to the Mohist Sect. He had seen many spiritual tools produced by them while in the capital, such as those mechanical messengers shaped like birds, whose craftsmanship was breathtaking.
However, those were just daily-use trinkets. The artifact before him, capable of detecting abnormalities at the soul level, was clearly much more high-end.
It was finally the Wenjian Sect's turn. Shen Qianqiu, as the Sect Master, went first. He pressed his palm on the disc, the flag glowed slightly, and after a few breaths, it returned to milky white.
Han Zhe followed and also passed the test smoothly. Yu Wenqiu, Su Qingmeng, and the other accompanying elders and disciples went up one by one, the flag consistently maintaining its reassuring milky white color.
Soon it was Gu Chengming's turn. He stepped forward and pressed his right palm onto the disc.
The moment his spiritual energy was injected, the array patterns on the disc lit up with a familiar glow.
The milky white flag also emitted a faint light as expected.
But then, the color of the flag changed. In a very short time, the flag flashed several completely different colors in succession. First was a stroke of crimson-gold so intense it almost felt physical, carrying an overbearing aura of looking down on the world. This was immediately followed by a layer of pale pink, and then a mysterious azure. Six or even more colors flickered alternately on the flag, finally existing simultaneously for a moment, dyeing the originally pure white flag into a bizarre abstract painting.
At the same time, text began to emerge on the flag.
"Pushing through the ages, becoming the Heavenly Emperor once more." "Wanting to stay by someone's side forever, seeing all the sights and experiencing all the prosperity." "Restraining oneself and returning to the rites to rectify the social order." "Becoming a sword worthy of that person."
Text continued to emerge on the flag. Gu Chengming stared expressionlessly at the multicolored banner, his head throbbing.
Sure enough, without fail, something had gone wrong again.
Clearly, these obsessions came from his own techniques. Although he didn't know why the obsessions of his techniques were being detected as heart demon obsessions, the current situation was clearly difficult to explain.
The Mohist deacon official responsible for the testing jumped up the moment the flag changed color.
His eyes widened as he stared intently at the multicolored flag, his face turning from white to green, then from green to red.
He had been in this position for at least several decades and had seen quite a few unlucky souls possessed by heart demons. But in those cases, the most serious was a single heart demon. This fellow before him was something else—five or six colors appearing on the flag at once, with lines of obsession popping out one after another, nearly running out of space on the banner.
Damn it, is this even human? Could he be a composite of heart demons?
The deacon official's hands began to shake. He grabbed the Sound Transmission Talisman at his waist, and with an injection of spiritual energy, the talisman turned into a streak of light with a hiss, shooting toward the interior of Floating Islet City.
"Quick! Notify the elder! There's an emergency!"
The atmosphere in the testing area instantly became tense. The disciples from various sects waiting in line all cast surprised glances, and whispers spread through the crowd like a tide.
The reaction on the Wenjian Sect's side was even more subtle.
Shen Qianqiu turned around the moment the flag changed color. After seeing the multicolored banner, his expression shifted from shock to confusion, and finally to a sense of relief that said, "Of course, something happened again."
Elder Han Zhe was much calmer. He stroked his beard, scanned the flag, then looked at the expressionless Gu Chengming, understanding dawned in his heart.
It wasn't as if he couldn't sense the messy auras on this boy. It was likely a misjudgment by the artifact.
The Mohist elder arrived very quickly.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, an old man dressed in a black robe with white hair but high spirits hurried to the testing area.
Judging by the more complex silver array patterns on his robe and the high grade of the Mohist token at his waist, this person was clearly a high-ranking resident of the Mohist Sect in Floating Islet City.
"What's the situation?"
The old man's gaze swept across the testing area, first landing on the still-multicolored flag.
The deacon official immediately stepped forward, his voice a bit shaky from nervousness. "Reporting to Elder, while this Wenjian Sect disciple was being tested, the artifact showed a severe abnormal reaction..."
Hearing this, the Mohist elder frowned slightly and walked quickly to the flag to inspect it closely. He read the obsessions emerging on the flag line by line.
After reading them, instead of the gravity and urgency the deacon official had expected, a giant question mark appeared on the Mohist elder's face.
He had spent half his life researching outer realm sky demons and knew the habits of heart demons inside out.
Heart demons were a type of outer realm sky demon, and their essence was a collection of pure evil thoughts. Their way of parasitizing a cultivator's soul was to amplify the host's deepest negative emotions—greed, jealousy, hatred, fear, and paranoia.
Therefore, the obsessions lured out from a cultivator possessed by a heart demon were bound to be extreme, twisted, and full of destructive desires.
But what was this stuff written on the flag before him?
The only one that had a slight 'heart demon flavor' was probably the line "Pushing through the ages, becoming the Heavenly Emperor once more."
The Mohist elder stood before the flag for a long time, his mind racing.
There had never been a precedent of a cultivator being possessed by multiple heart demons simultaneously. Heart demons were mutually exclusive; two heart demons parasitizing the same host would kill each other to fight for control of the soul. Furthermore, the obsessions of heart demons could never be this mild.
Based on these two points, the Mohist elder had already made a preliminary judgment, but for the sake of caution, he decided to verify it personally.
"This fellow daoist." He turned around and looked at Gu Chengming, who was standing quietly to the side. "Pardon my intrusion, I will personally check with our sect's detection technique."
Gu Chengming had been waiting for these words and cupped his hands cooperatively.
The Mohist elder extended his right hand, and a ball of dark gold spiritual light lit up in his palm. The light was extremely soft and non-aggressive as it slowly entered Gu Chengming's brow.
This was the Mohist Sect's own unique detection technique, much more precise than the flag artifact. It could directly penetrate a cultivator's Sea of Consciousness to inspect the integrity of the soul and the presence of any external parasites.
The dark gold light stayed at Gu Chengming's brow for about ten breaths.
The Mohist elder withdrew the light and let out a long breath.
"There is no heart demon."
As soon as these four words were spoken, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.
The deacon official wiped the sweat from his forehead, his heart a mix of relief from surviving a disaster and annoyance at the wasted effort, which ultimately turned into a sigh.
"In that case, the abnormality on the artifact just now..." the deacon official asked hesitantly.
The Mohist elder pondered for a moment.
He knew, of course, that the obsessions on the flag were not without a source. The artifact wouldn't create obsessions out of thin air; it only manifested what already existed.
But as for the source of those obsessions, he really couldn't explain them... perhaps they were the person's own obsessions?
The look the elder gave Gu Chengming became a bit subtle.
But why would someone have an obsession like "Pushing through the ages"?
He couldn't figure it out, but since he truly couldn't find any problem, the elder decided to drop the matter for now and report it to the higher-ups later for a decision.
Having made up his mind, the Mohist elder spoke up, "The spiritual vein fluctuations within Floating Islet City have been slightly abnormal lately, which may have affected the detection precision of the artifact. We'll have someone recalibrate it later."
The deacon official nodded repeatedly, clearly happy to accept this explanation. After all, between 'artifact malfunction' and 'someone being possessed by five heart demons simultaneously,' the former was much easier to handle.
The matter ended as a false alarm.
Gu Chengming walked through the testing area with a normal expression and entered the north gate of Floating Islet City with the rest of the Wenjian Sect.
At the same time, a series of dialogue boxes popped up before him.
【Hundred Bones Resonating is filled with righteous indignation: What heart demon?! This Heavenly Emperor is upright and honorable. How dare they call me a heart demon!】
【Huiyuan Sword Manual looks aggrieved on the surface: I just want to stay by Chengming's side forever. Does that count as an obsession...】
【Huiyuan Sword Manual is actually secretly happy, thinking: Hooray! I've expressed my love to Chengming again without being obvious!】
【Zhou Rites Heavenly Rectifying Art says in a deep voice: Restraining oneself and returning to the rites is the natural order of heaven and earth. To regard this as a heart demon's thought is truly absurd.】
【Qingxin Art is quite leisurely: So that's what my obsession is? It seems I like Chengming even more than I thought.】
Gu Chengming closed the dialogue boxes one by one, keeping a calm face while secretly breathing a sigh of relief.
...
Once the figures of the Wenjian Sect group completely disappeared into the bustling streets of the city, the polite smile on the Mohist elder's face gradually faded.
He turned around and stood alone before the Heart Testing Plate, staring deeply at the residual spiritual energy fluctuations on the artifact.
Claiming to the public that there was a problem with the artifact was, of course, a way to settle the matter and preserve the Mohist Sect's reputation. But as a top-tier craftsman proficient in this field, the elder knew better than anyone.
The array patterns of this Heart Testing Plate were intact, and the spiritual energy flow was perfectly smooth. There were no signs of any malfunction at all.
The artifact would never fabricate those specific sentences out of thin air.
The obsessions it displayed must have had a definite source. Although the possibility of heart demon possession had been ruled out, those absurd and bizarre obsessions on the flag clearly and truly existed within that young sword cultivator's body.
In other words, the artifact might have suffered some incomprehensible deviation that amplified his own thoughts.
"But still..."
Recalling the obsessions he had seen in mid-air, the Mohist elder grumbled in his heart.
Even without being possessed by a heart demon, this sword cultivator named Gu Chengming was indeed a bit too eccentric.
The Mohist elder stood in place and began searching his mind for information about this young man.
"Gu Chengming, a disciple of the Wenjian Sect's Huiyuan Gate, supposedly a genius ranked high on the Hidden Dragon Ranking."
As the elder muttered this information, he suddenly remembered the appalling battle reports that had come from the northern border a while ago, as well as the title that had been widely circulated in private within the cultivation world.
"Right, what was that title... 'Falling Snow Pass Murder Demon,' wasn't it?"
Thinking of this, the elder's expression became even stranger. A young man with 'Murder Demon' in his title was worrying about 'restraining oneself and returning to the rites' in his heart?
The elder sighed and rubbed his aching temples.
He thought back carefully; the last time a sword cultivator from the Wenjian Sect became famous, it seemed to be an elder known for being good at sapping people from behind, throwing lime, and backstabbing.
"What was his name... Ren Wencai, I think..."
The Mohist elder looked at the bustling streets of Floating Islet City and shook his head.
The sword cultivators of this Wenjian Sect were getting more and more eccentric.
But eccentric as they were, there was only so much he could do.
Since he had personally verified that there was no heart demon possession, he could at least report to his superiors that Floating Islet City was safe.
As for the true source of those strange obsessions, it wasn't something a resident elder like him could investigate. It was better to record it truthfully and submit it to the sect for a decision.
Having made his decision, the Mohist elder straightened his robes and turned to walk toward the inner city of Floating Islet City.
He didn't walk fast, organizing his words in his head as he went. The main street of Floating Islet City was quite busy during the day, but as evening approached, most of the sect teams had settled in, and there were far fewer pedestrians on the street than before.
The Mohist elder passed two alley entrances and was about to turn onto the stone-paved grand avenue leading to the inner city.
"Senior of the Mohist Sect."
A voice as gentle as jade suddenly came from the side. The Mohist elder paused and looked over.
In the shadows of the alley, a person had appeared at some point. It was a young man with a slender build and exquisite clothing. He wore a moon-white brocade robe with complex patterns, a top-quality jade belt tied around his waist, and held a folding fan in his hand, which was closed.
His face was handsome and his demeanor elegant, the very image of a noble young master from a prestigious family.
But as for which family's young master he was, the Mohist elder couldn't recall for a moment.
"And you are, fellow daoist?"
The Mohist elder observed him inconspicuously. He had been stationed in Floating Islet City for many years and had seen many faces from major sects and families, but he was certain he had never seen this young man before.
The Mohist elder had practiced for many years and considered his ability to perceive spiritual energy fluctuations to be superior among those in the Fourth Realm, but facing this young man, he couldn't detect the depth of the other's cultivation at all.
But the young man only smiled slightly, his posture composed, like an ordinary passerby met by chance at an alley entrance.
"Just a wandering rogue cultivator, passing through by chance."
"But come to think of it, ninety percent of the things in this world are just people troubling themselves over nothing."
His voice was very pleasant, like clear spring water flowing over pebbles, carrying a gentleness that made one involuntarily relax.
"Just now at the city gate, I saw that Senior seemed occupied by important matters and looked worried, so I couldn't help but be curious." As he spoke, he lightly tapped his temple with the closed folding fan, his posture casual.
The Mohist elder frowned slightly.
"What does Senior think?" The young man tilted his head, the fading light of dusk reflected in his seemingly gentle eyes. "Some things are perhaps not worth keeping in mind. Forgetting them would be cleaner."
The Mohist elder opened his mouth, preparing to say something in response.
But at that very moment, he suddenly felt a certain part of his mind become blurred. He didn't even have time to realize what he was losing before the ripple dissipated and everything was over.
The Mohist elder stood at the intersection of the alley and the stone-paved grand avenue, the setting sun stretching his shadow very long.
Where had he come from?
Oh, right, the testing area. Just now, when a sect team was being tested, there was a minor malfunction with the artifact, and he had personally gone to take a look and confirmed it was nothing serious.
The Mohist elder turned and walked onto the stone-paved grand avenue, slowly strolling toward the inner city.
His pace was light, his mind free of burdens.
...
At the same time, similar things were happening silently in other corners of Floating Islet City.
A young disciple who had been lined up behind the Wenjian Sect suddenly frowned while recounting the entry process to his fellow disciples after settling in.
"Strange, I seem to have forgotten something."
"What thing?" his fellow disciple asked.
The disciple thought for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't remember. It probably wasn't anything important."
Such instances were many and varied.
The cultivators who had personally witnessed the flag's abnormality almost all lost their memories of that event within a single hour.
...
Floating Islet City, main street.
The twilight deepened, and the spiritual lamps along the street lit up one by one, plating the bluestone road with a layer of warm orange-yellow.
The flow of people had become much sparser. Occasionally, a few cultivators hurrying to a restaurant for dinner would walk by, the breeze from their steps rustling the leaves of the spiritual herbs in the roadside flowerbeds.
The young man who looked like a noble young master stood on a stone bridge on the main street.
Below the bridge was the spiritual spring canal unique to Floating Islet City. The spring water flowed silently, glowing with a faint fluorescence under the light of the spiritual lamps.
He rested his folding fan against his shoulder, looked up, and gazed at the sky above Floating Islet City.
Floating Islet City floated above the sea of clouds. At this time, the setting sun had already sunk below the clouds, and the last stroke of twilight peeked through the gaps in the sea of clouds, dyeing the horizon in a magnificent tapestry of deep purple and dark gold.
"Truly fine weather," he said softly.
A moment later, the young man withdrew his gaze.
He snapped his folding fan open. A landscape was painted on the fan, but if one looked closely, the composition of the landscape was extremely strange. The mountains were inverted, the water flowed upward, and heaven and earth were completely reversed, as if it depicted an otherworldly realm where the rules were diametrically opposed to the current world.
Fanning himself, the young man walked off the stone bridge with unhurried steps.
His figure blended into the deepening twilight.
After a few steps, he was already untraceable.
As if he had never been there.
...
Gu Chengming naturally didn't know that the small disturbance at the city gate had been silently erased.
After settling in, he didn't immediately start his cultivation. Instead, while it was still early, he went out alone for a stroll.
The commercial streets and markets of Floating Islet City were exceptionally busy during the grand competition, with all sorts of spiritual pills, medicines, Dharma tools, and talismans available. But Gu Chengming didn't visit those bustling shops. Instead, he went straight to an inconspicuous bookstore in a corner of the market.
The sign of this bookstore said "Wanjuan Pavilion." The name was grand, but the shop was small, and there wasn't even an apprentice at the door to attract customers. However, the variety of records on the shelves was exceptionally rich, ranging from basic sword manuals publicly issued by various sects to geographical gazetteers and biographies of the cultivation world, and even some remnants of ancient books.
Gu Chengming searched among the shelves for about fifteen minutes, eventually picking out three records related to Floating Islet City and the Mohist Sect. He paid the spirit stones and took them back to the guest courtyard.
The reason he became interested in these two topics was due to the "heart demon" farce at the city gate earlier that day.
Although the matter had ended with the explanation of "artifact malfunction," Gu Chengming himself was still quite curious about concepts like "outer realm sky demons" and "heart demon possession." The mainstream records of the cultivation world had always been secretive about this topic, occasionally mentioning it in passing but never in detail.
This only piqued Gu Chengming's curiosity further.
Although he didn't know if his techniques were truly related to the so-called outer realm sky demons, it wouldn't hurt to learn more about them.
Back at the guest courtyard, Gu Chengming brewed a pot of tea and placed the three records on the table in order of thickness.
The sound of disciples from the neighboring sect laughing and drinking came from outside. He closed the window, and the room immediately became much quieter.
The light from the everlasting lamp cast a warm glow in the room.
Gu Chengming leaned against the head of the couch, flipping through the 《Floating Islet City Records》. This was a gazetteer recording the historical evolution of Floating Islet City, compiled officially by the Mohist Sect. It wasn't too ancient, written about a hundred years ago. The content covered the entire process of Floating Islet City being transformed from an ancient secret realm into a city in the sky, as well as an overview of the previous Sect Disciple Grand Examinations held here. After flipping through twenty or thirty pages, Gu Chengming found a chapter related to "outer realm sky demons."
But just as he had expected, the content of this part was written extremely briefly.
The entire passage was only a few hundred words, the gist being that "Floating Islet City suffered an invasion by outer realm sky demons thousands of years ago, resulting in heavy losses. Since then, the Mohist Sect and major sects have jointly set up restrictions to minimize the threat of outer realm sky demons."
As for the specific form, abilities, and origin of the outer realm sky demons, as well as the detailed process of that disaster, there was nothing at all. Any part that should have been detailed was glossed over with phrases like "it is inconvenient to detail here" or "refer to confidential files for related records."
Gu Chengming finished this chapter and sighed secretly.
In the field of outer realm sky demons, those who knew were unwilling to say much, and those who didn't know had no way of finding out. He put the 《Floating Islet City Records》 aside and picked up the second book, 《Mohist Origins》.
This book was much more interesting than the previous one. Rather than a serious piece of sect history, it was more like an essay written by an old Mohist scholar in his spare time. The writing style was light and humorous, mixing narrative and commentary, and occasionally inserting an anecdote or two about Mohist disciples throughout history.
As Gu Chengming flipped through it, he was suddenly captivated by a certain passage.
That passage was not about Floating Islet City or outer realm sky demons, but about the "dao" of the Mohist Sect. Every sect had its own pursued "dao." Sword cultivators sought the sword dao, body cultivators sought the martial dao, and talisman cultivators sought the talisman dao.
So what about the Mohist Sect?
For a sect specializing in arrays, architecture, and machinery, what was the highest realm they pursued?
The answer was just one word.
—Spirit.
The book stated: "The foundation of the Mohist Sect lies in creation. Since the time of the Founding Grand-Patriarch, what generations of disciples have researched with their life's blood is not the casting of the strongest tool, nor the layout of the most refined array, but the creation of those with autonomous consciousness—'Spirit.'"
"Spirit is the soul of creation. If a tool gains its own consciousness, it is no longer a cold, dead object, but an independent, thinking existence. It can naturally judge mechanisms, derive dao laws, and connect with its master. This is the ultimate goal pursued by the Mohist Sect."
"Yet this path is harder than ascending to the heavens."
"Since the beginning of time, the spirits of all things have been bestowed by the heavenly dao. Never has it been heard that one can create a spirit with a mortal body. This is the supreme principle of the heavenly dao: spirit cannot be man-made."
"The Mohist patriarch exhausted his life's work and did not achieve this feat."
"Subsequent generations of grandmasters followed suit, treating this long-cherished wish as the sect's core principle, passing it down like a flame. They willingly abandoned the path of war and poured all the sect's resources into the path of creation."
"To this day, the Mohist Sect's techniques in arrays, tools, and architecture have reached the pinnacle, unsurpassed in the world. Yet, regarding the creation of 'Spirit,' they have yet to even glimpse the threshold."
"However, the Mohist Sect has never been discouraged. They firmly believe that sincerity can move even metal and stone. They wait for the day when their creations open their own eyes, speak with their own voices, and possess their own emotions and desires."
"At that time, the great dao of the Mohist Sect will finally reach completion."
Gu Chengming stopped flipping the pages.
He stared at the text on the page, feeling quite intrigued.
—Spirit cannot be created.
Come to think of it, since he had been in this world for so long, he had indeed never seen a Dharma tool with a "spirit."
Even Dao Throne wonders of the level of the Burial Sword Tomb did not have a "spirit."
In the cultivation-themed games he had played before his transmigration, sword spirits and tool spirits were almost standard equipment. Every famous sword would have a cold or tsundere sword spirit inside, bickering and arguing with the protagonist before finally becoming a life-and-death partner.
But that wasn't the case here, which showed that "Spirit Creation" was one of the highest-level permissions in this world.
In that case, could it be that his techniques having "spirit" had actually touched upon the highest level of rules in this world?
But he immediately thought that his current understanding of the techniques was still only skin-deep. Making a hasty conclusion based solely on a few passages in a Mohist essay would be too reckless.
Shaking his head, he stacked the three records together and put them back on the table, stretching his limbs.
The sky outside the window had completely darkened. The night view of Floating Islet City was reflected in the room through the half-closed window, with thousands of lights echoing the moonlight on the sea of clouds.
Gu Chengming walked to the window, looked at the scenery outside, and then at the everlasting lamp in the room.
Time to rest.
Although tomorrow's leader meeting and rule reading were not major events, it was his first time attending a formal occasion as a representative of the Wenjian Sect, so he needed to maintain a clear state of mind.
He closed the window, returned to the couch, sat cross-legged, and prepared to rest by entering a meditative state.
As the night deepened, the bustle of Floating Islet City gradually subsided. The light from distant spiritual lamps peeked through the gaps in the window, casting a thin line of light on the wall that moved slowly.
The surroundings of the guest courtyard became so quiet that only the gurgling of water in the spiritual spring canal remained, occasionally mixed with the low cry of some unknown spiritual bird.
...
About half an hour passed.
Gu Chengming's brow twitched slightly.
His divine sense had not been completely withdrawn while in meditation, so he keenly detected someone approaching.
Moreover, the person's way of moving was very unusual. An ordinary Third Realm cultivator would likely not have detected this level of stealth while in meditation.
Floating Islet City was a place where cultivators from various major sects gathered during the grand competition, and a mix of good and bad people was inevitable. Although there were Mohist arrays and experts from the Daqian Imperial Family presiding, there was no guarantee that some blind little thief wouldn't try their luck.
It could also be some hostile power taking advantage of the chaos of the grand competition to do some underhanded business.
In either case, someone who jumped over the wall and snuck into his courtyard in the middle of the night was definitely not here for a social visit and tea.
Gu Chengming didn't open his eyes. He remained motionless in his meditative posture, but the spiritual energy within his body had already begun to circulate quietly, ready to erupt within a single breath.
The intruder hopped over the courtyard wall and landed softly on the bluestone floor. The footsteps were extremely faint; without the assistance of the 《Red Dust Phantom Step》, even a Fourth Realm cultivator might not have detected them immediately.
The intruder's cultivation was not low, or at least they were very skilled in concealment.
The person paused in the courtyard for a moment, seemingly confirming the situation inside the room.
Then, the footsteps sounded again, moving slowly toward the bedroom where Gu Chengming was.
—The door was pushed open.
A slender figure slid silently into the room.
In the darkness, the figure seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, slowly approaching the "soundly sleeping" target on the couch.
Just as the figure was about to touch the edge of the couch, Gu Chengming moved. His body instantly sprang from his cross-legged posture, his left hand grabbing the intruder's wrist while his right hand simultaneously brought out a pre-prepared artifact—the binding rope that Elder Ren had given him, which had also bound Nuo Tao and Yu Wenqiu.
By the time the light from the everlasting lamp illuminated the room again, the uninvited guest had been pinned to the floor, tied up like a bundle.
A muffled groan came from the floor. The figure squirmed within the binding rope, seemingly trying to adjust to a position where she could breathe more easily. The binding rope had her hands pinned behind her back, and spiritual energy had sealed the flow in her meridians, leaving no room for struggle.
He lowered his head and carefully observed the subdued intruder by the light of the everlasting lamp.
Although the pale green palace dress had been crumpled into a mess from being pinned to the floor, the unique fabric and tailoring were still highly recognizable under the light. A top-quality jade hairpin was stuck in her hair, now hanging crookedly by her ear, about to fall.
Even while being tied up tightly with a binding rope and pinned to the cold floor tiles, there was still no expression on this face.
It was as if being tied up was something that, while unexpected, did not exceed her range of tolerance by much.
Gu Chengming saw the intruder's face and only felt a headache coming on.
—The Second Imperial Princess of Daqian, Ji Yixi.
"I apologize for the late-night disturbance. I heard that Commander Gu had arrived in Floating Islet City and came specifically to visit."
Her tone was flat and her phrasing proper, as if she hadn't just jumped over a wall, climbed through a window, and snuck in, but had instead formally come through the front door, presented a visiting card, and been led in by a servant.
"Your Highness." Gu Chengming's tone was a mix of helplessness and annoyance. "Is there a normal way for you to visit people?"
Thinking back to the last time he met her, which was also quite an unpleasant scene, Gu Chengming felt speechless.
To be able to say "came specifically to visit" with a straight face after being tied up—was she thick-skinned or was her brain wired differently from a normal person?
Hearing this, Ji Yixi blinked, suddenly realizing that she seemed to have made him angry again.
During their last meeting, she had left a very poor impression on him because she "tried too hard."
That time, she had started with "I know the dragon qi in your body hasn't been triggered," which had scared Gu Chengming half to death.
As a result, this time, far from failing to "not scare him," she had been tied up as an intruder.
His tone was clearly filled with dissatisfaction, and while the expression between his brows was restrained, it was definitely not friendly.
If she couldn't effectively diffuse his emotions within the next few breaths, then this hard-earned opportunity to meet would likely end in a way even worse than the last time.
She searched through countless world lines for the most effective response to "when you have angered someone you want to befriend."
Countless scenarios in countless world lines flashed through her mind: apologizing, acting spoiled, crying, laughing, reasoning, and playing the rogue.
And among all these varied responses, one appeared with overwhelming frequency in the most effective results.
The answer flooded in, and she filtered out the one with the highest frequency.
...
Thump.
Gu Chengming witnessed a scene he had never expected in his life.
The Second Imperial Princess of Daqian, the successor of the imperial family's hidden lineage who practiced the 《Great Record》, and a peerless genius capable of perceiving countless parallel world lines, simply flopped onto the floor tiles before him without any warning.
Then she looked up, gazing at Gu Chengming with those light-colored pupils looking piteous.
The word "piteous" usually meant red eyes, trembling lips, and a pathetic expression when applied to others.
But for Ji Yixi, the specific manifestation of "piteous" was staring at you and opening her eyes a fraction wider than usual. However, those slightly widened, nearly transparent eyes, combined with the angle of her kneeling on the ground and looking up at him, along with her crumpled palace dress and crooked jade hairpin, truly created an indescribable sense of pity.
Wait, what? What is this?
Gu Chengming was about to speak, his mind in a daze, as he moved to help Ji Yixi up.
In the next instant, a ball of pitch-black gas darted out from Ji Yixi's sleeve.
The gas rapidly condensed in mid-air, turning into a black little dragon about two palms long.
As soon as the little dragon appeared, its tiny face was filled with disappointment.
It flapped a pair of tiny wings that were completely disproportionate to its body, hovering above Ji Yixi's head and scolding her.
"You idiot! You're actually kneeling?!"
It had told Ji Yixi to befriend Gu Chengming "in a normal person's way."
Jumping over the wall was already ridiculous enough; it had wanted to come out and scold her while in her sleeve, but it had held back.
It had held back when she was tied up, and it had still held back when she was questioned.
But why are you kneeling? You're the damn Imperial Princess of Daqian!
"You—"
It turned its head toward Gu Chengming, preparing to make an extremely rude statement, but the words suddenly got stuck in its throat.
Because the moment it focused all its attention on Gu Chengming, it finally clearly perceived the aura on him.
And it recognized that familiar aura. The little dragon's figure froze in mid-air.
Those pitch-black dragon eyes suddenly widened to their limit, its mouth hanging open, unable to say another word after "you."
A bizarre silence fell over the room for a moment.
Then—thump.
It was even more swift and decisive than Ji Yixi's kneel just now.
The two-palm-long black dragon fell straight from mid-air, its four claws forward and its dragon head touching the ground, prostrating itself heavily before Gu Chengming in a posture even more standard than Ji Yixi's.
Ji Yixi knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the little dragon curled into a ball beside her.
Gu Chengming, bent over with his hand extended to help her up, also stared blankly at the little dragon on the floor.
And the little dragon itself was shaking all over, saying tremulously:
"Dad..."
The little dragon's whiskers were shivering.
"You're not dead?"
A question mark appeared over Gu Chengming's head.
【Unfettered Freedom Art snickers】
【Holy crap, I knew following you would be fun】
【Unfettered Freedom Art is feeling playful and is designing a new CG】
"?"
Wait, who are you now?
Rate on N.U.
