Chapter 48: Sword Formula

The next morning, Gu Xian and the others woke up early.
They gathered in the main hall.
Before long, Mo Qi also descended the stairs, followed by the maid and the retainer whom Gu Xian and the others had met the previous day.
Seeing the three of them, the young master quickened his pace and walked over.
After last night's events, they were now familiar with one another and could be considered to have established a certain friendship.
Mo Qi greeted them with a smile and casually took a seat. His middle-aged retainer frowned slightly, but ultimately said nothing more.
The retainer had been out on business the previous night and only learned of the previous evening's events when he returned to the inn in the early hours of the morning. From his young master, he had discovered that the three young people before him were actually the ones who had made a brilliant splash in the recent battle at Fengyang City.
Therefore, he no longer stopped his young master from making friends with them.
At the dining table, the innkeeper had already instructed the waiter to prepare a spread of food.
As they ate and chatted, Mo Qi suddenly asked, "What are your plans for today?"
Gu Xian smiled and said, "After eating, we're going to take a look at Green Fish Mountain."
The young公子's eyes lit up. "I was planning on doing the same."
"Shall we go together then?"
"Alright."
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Green Fish Mountain is located a little over ten miles to the north of Huangxia Town.
Legend has it that an ancient immortal once built a thatched hut here to practice cultivation.
A few months ago, the Dafeng Dynasty sensed an abnormal fluctuation of spiritual energy here and promptly dispatched investigators.
They ultimately discovered a secret realm within the mountain, a revelation that instantly filled the Dafeng Dynasty with wild joy.
This was because every blessed land or immortal secret realm was a veritable treasure trove.
Most of them contained numerous rare treasures and heavenly materials, and furthermore, if a sect had once taken root here, there might even be immortal arts and similar inheritances left behind.
Several high-ranking figures from the Imperial Observatory of the Dafeng Dynasty personally stepped forward to determine the opening time of the secret realm and the quota for those who could enter.
The opening was set for three days later, with a quota of one hundred people.
The Dafeng Dynasty had originally intended to send its own people inside, but somehow the news leaked, and the various immortal sects in the surrounding region instantly sprang into action.
Soon, they sent representatives to negotiate with the Dafeng Dynasty. Although Dafeng's strength ranked within the top ten in the entire continent, under the joint pressure of these immortal sects, it had no choice but to compromise.
After a round of negotiations, the Dafeng Dynasty managed to retain sixty percent of the quotas, while the remainder were distributed among the covetous immortal sects.
Of course, rumor had it that thanks to the impassioned arguments of Dafeng's chief counselor, those lofty immortal sects had to pay a heavy price to secure that forty percent quota.
Gu Xian and his party of four walked up the mountain path.
Green Fish Mountain was not particularly tall; at least in Gu Xian's view, it couldn't compare to his own Mt. Wuwang. The mountain was lush with vegetation, filled with towering ancient trees whose dense branches and leaves blocked out the sun. Clear, babbling streams flowed through the mountains, the water so transparent the bottom was visible.
Soon, the group reached the summit, which was barren and flat, as if someone had sliced it level with a single sword stroke. A faint, desolate aura permeated the surrounding air.
Suddenly, Yang茂 transmitted his voice mentally, "Look over there, someone is at the edge of the cliff."
Everyone turned their heads in unison to see a man dressed in coarse linen clothes sitting cross-legged at the cliff's edge, back facing them, holding a sword in his arms as he meditated to nourish his spirit.
The group felt a secret jolt of astonishment; moments ago, they hadn't been able to sense any aura emanating from this person at all, as if he didn't exist.
Yet now, when they focused their senses, Gu Xian and the others suddenly felt a stinging sensation in their eyes. The man appeared like a peerless, sharp-edged immortal sword, his sword qi soaring straight into the firmament.
"Hiss."
The group drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
Yang Mao steadied his mind and transmitted mentally, "Where on earth did this sword cultivator come from, possessing such terrifying sword intent?"
Before anyone could answer him, the man ahead of them spoke in a calm tone.
"I come from Northern Stop-the-Spear Continent, and I have been invited this time by the Dafeng Dynasty to help open the passage for the secret realm."
Hearing this, Yang Mao's face first flushed red, and then his expression changed drastically. His eyes widened so much that his eyeballs nearly popped out.
He asked in disbelief, "Senior, did you hear my mental voice transmission just now?"
The man suddenly spun around. He appeared to be in his forties, with a full beard, a rugged appearance, and several stains on the lapel of his robe.
Looking somewhat unkempt, the man rubbed his cheek and said with a half-smile, "I didn't hear a thing."
Gu Xian and the others rolled their eyes in unison. Senior, at least put up a convincing act; how are we supposed to believe you when you're this perfunctory?
After all, mental voice transmission involved the soul and spirit. Unless the other party's cultivation realm vastly exceeded Yang Mao's by several major tiers, or they possessed mysterious methods like the Buddhist Heart-Telepathy, ordinary cultivators found it virtually impossible to eavesdrop on someone else's mental transmission.
In the eyes of Gu Xian and the others, the man before them was undoubtedly the former.
After all, with that thick head of hair, the man looked nothing like a Buddhist cultivator who practiced mind-reading arts.
The man suddenly seemed to recall something. He swept his gaze over Gu Xian and the others, then asked seemingly offhandedly,
"There's someone named Gu Xian, who comes from a place called Mt. Wuwang. He should be around your age—do any of you know him?"
Xia Qinghe, Yang Mao, and Mo Qi all cast their gazes toward the green-robed man standing beside them.
Gu Xian saw the confusion in their eyes: *How on earth do you keep getting entangled with these eccentric sword cultivators?*
Gu Xian wore a helpless expression; he truly had no idea.
Observing the subtle shifts in their expressions, the eccentric sword cultivator instantly understood. He looked at the green-robed man and said, "So you're Gu Xian."
Gu Xian bit the bullet and asked, "Does Senior have any instructions for me?"
The man shook his head solemnly, "Instruction is too strong a word. It's just that little Suiyi entrusted me to bring something to you."
The green-robed man was stunned at first, and then his face lit up with joy. "Senior Sister?"
The next moment, a majestic aura rippled through the surroundings. Gu Xian's vision flashed, and he was pulled into an unfamiliar miniature world. Xia Qinghe and the others had vanished from sight.
Standing before him was the unkempt, eccentric sword cultivator.
"Senior, what is the item my Senior Sister asked you to bring me?"
The eccentric sword cultivator did not speak. He simply stepped up to him, brought two fingers together, and tapped them gently against Gu Xian's brow.
The green-robed man's entire body shook violently. His acupoints, meridians, and even his sea of Qi stirred with towering waves. In an instant, golden spiritual energy permeated his frame; his vital blood surged, his bone structure resonated, and he radiated a faint, jade-like luster.
Just as Gu Xian was struggling to control the strange phenomenon within his body,
The eccentric sword cultivator spoke calmly, "Stop."
The phenomenon inside the green-robed man instantly subsided.
A smile touched the eccentric sword cultivator's face. "Little Suiyi didn't lie to me after all. Your foundation is passable."
Following that, he once again extended two fingers and tapped rhythmically across Gu Xian's body, dull, resonant thuds echoing within the miniature realm.
Dazzling rays of spiritual light erupted from the green-robed man, intertwining in a dreamlike display.
Finally, the man pressed his finger once more against Gu Xian's brow, and mysterious seal-scripts drilled into his mind, piecing themselves together into a mental cultivation technique.
A moment later, comprehension dawned on Gu Xian.
"This... is actually a profound sword manual?"