I received the Dao eight hundred springs ago, my flying sword never letting blood flow… The elderly Daoist Qinggu murmured to himself, the torchlight illuminating his aged face, and in his vacant eyes excitement stirred.
“I received the Dao eight hundred springs ago, this master must have lived for eight hundred years; heavens, wouldn’t that make him older than our Great Feng?”
“A… a divine immortal from the Great Zhou era?”
“An immortal, an immortal…”
The martial artists around trembled with excitement. By now, they already knew there was a terrible ancient corpse sealed beneath the underground palace, knew the collapse there was caused by a great battle, and were aware of the strange events at Yangbai Lake at noon today.
Gongsun Xiu and the others had told them all this when they came up earlier.
Thus, on hearing this poem, no one doubted the credentials of the man in azure, and all believed he was one of those reclusive masters who appeared but rarely in the world.
Gongsun Xiu was slightly moved; the fire cast a gentle orange glow over her face, the flames dancing in her lucid dark eyes. She gazed after the departing azure-robed man, unable to look away for a long time.
…
After Xu Qi’an went down the mountain, he circled around a valley, entering the western side of the mountains, and began aimlessly searching for poisonous herbs.
Seeking poisonous plants was an innate ability of the Poison Gu.
Even if Xu Qi’an had no knowledge of toxins, as long as he carried the Poison Gu and merged with it, he could inherit this ability from the Gu.
He spent an entire night searching and found more than ten types of poisonous herbs, their toxicity varied; the milder ones would cause vomiting and diarrhoea at most, while the deadlier ones could kill by just touching blood.
Additionally, he dug up many hibernating poisonous snakes and extracted their venom.
Highly toxic substances available in pharmacies were limited and repetitive, which was not conducive to the growth of the Poison Gu. Taking advantage of this outing, he decided to collect more poisonous ingredients whilst he was still here.
Once he returned, he planned to combine these with the ancient corpse’s venom and prepare a venom potent enough to kill on contact, to feed the Poison Gu.
This could boost his strength by another level, allowing him to handle danger even better.
If this goes on, a Poison King named Xu Qian is bound to emerge in the jianghu. Perhaps I might even make it onto the hundred strongest list…
Or perhaps Xu Qian the Flower Thief, Xu Qian the sworn brother, or Xu Qian the Beast King… Of course, whatever Xu Qian did, what did it have to do with Xu Qi’an of the Great Feng?
He was still a god in the hearts of the people of the Great Feng.
Yes, this time, the Xu Qian persona must not be dropped… After gathering the poisonous herbs and snake venom, he sought out a pool and cleaned the mud from his body and feet.
He returned to the inn before dawn. In the hall, the waiter was asleep at the counter, a few stoves were keeping water warm, and the charcoal fire was barely glowing.
In large inns like this, providing hot water through the autumn and winter nights was a basic service.
The waiter did not notice a figure quietly slipping into the inn and heading towards the guest rooms.
As Xu Qi’an walked along the long corridor, his ears twitched suddenly. He heard the sounds of intimacy from a room: the rhythmic creaking of a bed frame, the intermingled gasps and moans.
Really, morning exercise this early? There’re still two hours before dawn… Xu Qi’an muttered to himself internally as he passed the room from which these indescribable noises came and continued forward.
Speaking of which, pairing the Dark Gu with the Poison Gu was truly the dream method for a flower thief.
This made him even more pleased that he had risen above the realm of crude martial artists, now a flamboyant and mature knight of the jianghu.
At the end of the corridor, candlelight shone from beneath a door.
Oh, she’s not asleep?
Xu Qi’an knocked on the door. There was no response, but he could hear the rustle of a quilt and the frantic, disordered sound of a heartbeat.
He knocked again, still no reply from within.
He melted into a shadow, then emerged from the darkness beneath the table.
The room was warm and elegantly decorated, with a wide brocade bed. Mu Nanzhi was curled up, the quilt pulled over her head, shivering beneath the covers.
Surely not, had she been too frightened to sleep a wink? I know you scare easily, afraid of ghosts, but this is truly something else… He was always the type that liked to tease women, and seeing the princess consort in such a state, he quietly crept closer.
He slipped his hands gently under the cover.
Looking out through a crack in the quilt towards the doorway, the princess consort did not notice the hands creeping into her bed.
Just as she tensed to the limit, a pair of icy hands suddenly grasped her waist. At her ear, a sudden shout sounded: “Hey!”
“AAAAAAA~~~”
The princess consort shot up into the air, letting out a piercing scream.
She was like a clumsy apprentice who had only learned a few shoddy moves, flailing her legs about, throwing wild punches under the covers, while her rosy little mouth kept screaming.
He had merely pinched her waist for a moment before letting go, yet the aftereffects were so extreme. She kicked and screamed for quite a while before gradually quietening down.
Then she heard familiar laughter by the bedside. Through tears, she looked over and saw Xu Qi’an sitting by the bed, laughing until tears came to his eyes.
“I’ll fight you to the death!”
Still weeping, Mu Nanzhi pounced at him, wanting to tear Silver Gong Xu to pieces with her bare hands.
After a noisy tussle, she found her own martial prowess was no match for her target, so she wrapped herself in the quilt, turned away from him, and sulked silently, cursing him in her heart.
“Hey, were you frightened just now? I told you, I’d be back before dawn. What should we have for lunch? In Yongzhou at this time of year, the best thing to eat is lake crab.” Xu Qi’an tried to ease the mood with conversation.
She stubbornly refused to turn around.
Proud women were always difficult to placate, all the more so after suffering such grievance. Yet neither of them realised that the real transgression just now had been the pinching of her petite waist, not the fright itself.
Xu Qi’an sat at the large desk, pondering by the bright candlelight how to collect the dragon qi.
The materials for the Soul-Summoning Bell were very difficult to gather. In the short term, it was impossible to collect more. Just obtaining the ancient corpse’s fingernail and venom was already a job well done.
Next, he had to work out how to collect the dragon qi.
Yongzhou is one of the thirteen great provinces of the Great Feng, it’s bound to have a dragon qi host, I’m sure of that fact. However Yongzhou City and all it’s subordinate prefectures, counties, districts, there are millions of people here, even if I’m a mini radar I can’t search every inch of Yongzhou.
Moreover, to actually attempt such a thing would be far too idiotic, far too inefficient. I need to find a way to save time and effort.
His thoughts drifted to the ancient corpse in the underground palace and the Gongsun family. A vague idea surfaced in his mind, but for now, it was too nebulous to take shape.
Just then, he heard the steady sound of breathing; Mu Nanzhi had fallen asleep at some point, her breath calm, sleeping in complete peace.
In the candlelight, he smiled gently, his gaze soft and warm.
…
The following day.
At Gonsun Mountain Manor, Gongsun Xiu rode her swift horse, rushing back before dawn. She made straight for her father Gongsun Xiangyang’s residence.
Gongsun Xiangyang was a peak Transforming Force martial artist, just one step away from fourth rank. In Yongzhou, he was one of the top experts.
Normally, any one region would produce three or four fourth rank martial artists, given a base population of several million. Yongzhou too had fourth rank experts, but they had joined the court as officials.
These days, could running a sect in the jianghu still compare to holding office?
Jianzhou with its famous martial tradition was an exception, otherwise why would it be called the jianghu holy land of the Great Feng?
Gongsun Xiangyang had just climbed down from the soft belly of a beloved concubine, and was being tended by maids as he dressed and washed. At forty-three, he was in his prime.
This year, he had already fathered children by three concubines. The woman in his bed now was a newly acquired concubine, just eighteen, two years younger than his favoured daughter, Gongsun Xiu.
He planned for her to conceive this year as well. For a jianghu family, as long as the equipment was still in working order, one could not neglect the important duty of producing descendants for the clan.
The path of martial cultivation relied heavily on talent; the larger the family, the higher the chance of producing geniuses.
Families that only produced single heirs each generation inevitably declined in the end.
Before he had finished washing, his cherished daughter burst into the courtyard in a flurry.
Standing in the courtyard, she called out sweetly, “Dad, urgent news.”
Knowing his daughter had led the clan to explore the tomb last night, Gongsun Xiangyang snatched a sweat towel from a maid, wiped his face, and strode out the door.
Gongsun Xiangyang was shocked at his daughter’s travel-worn appearance. “Xiu’er, you… you…”
In just one night, his twenty-year-old daughter had become much more haggard, her face was pale, her eyes tired, gone were her sparkling eyes and radiant smile of old.
“Daughter has lost a great deal of vital energy. With rest, I’ll recover.” Gongsun Xiu said.
Gongsun Xiangyang’s expression turned grave. He looked her over for injuries, and, seeing none, relaxed slightly, then whispered:
“What happened in the tomb? Any deaths or injuries among the clan?”
“I have returned just for this matter; this is not a place to talk, Father, let’s go to your study,” Gongsun Xiu said.
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