Borrowed Sword

Chapter 72: Heading to Hidden Spirit Mountain

Back at the bamboo house, Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang each returned to their own rooms.

After sitting down on the meditation cushion, he opened the Character Panel.

“Leveling up requires 4,798 Experience Points, still quite a bit short.”

He had only one bottle of Realm-Enhancing Pill left, which could still grant him 2,000 Experience Points by relying on medicine.

“The maximum Experience Points obtainable in the First Realm through medicine is 10,000.”

“But among them, the Realm-Enhancing Pill is the most cost-effective choice, yet its cap is only 6,000.”

“Buying other Experience Point pills is not really worth it—they’re too expensive and not cost-effective.” Chu Huaixu thought.

But it was fine, he still had the tool man Liu Chenggong.

“Now I’m no longer in the Qi-Opening Stage, but in the First Realm. I can once again gain Experience Points through sparring.”

At this thought, he remembered Steward Liu had also given him two bottles of Qi-Gathering Pill.

Looking at the pills, Chu Huaixu could not help but sigh: “The Liu family sure is useful.”

At this moment, with the additional three Qi-Gathering Pills given by the sect as a free reward for being promoted to an outer sect disciple, he now had a total of 23 pills.

“However, Qi-Gathering Pills must be consumed while circulating spiritual power, in order to enhance the acquisition of Cultivation Method Experience.” Chu Huaixu’s eyes narrowed.

Simply put, he had to start “self-abuse” again.

“Forget it, let’s practice.” He gritted his teeth.

In any case, he felt he had already passed the realm of “enduring pain” and had now reached the realm of “being accustomed to pain.”

“Just right, last time I fainted from the pain. This time, I can properly experience the 《Dao Canon》.”

Since he had already made up his mind, he shifted his butt on the meditation cushion to sit more upright, then closed his eyes and began circulating his spiritual energy.

Spiritual energy entered his body, passed through the Nine Apertures, and before entering the Spirit Embryo Secret Store, it branched out.

That pain, radiating from inside out, surged forth once again.

Swelling and strange lumps appeared on his body, though unlike when breaking through, his skin did not split open.

After completing one cycle of circulation, he opened his eyes to check his condition.

“The injuries caused by cultivation are indeed healing quickly.”

A bold thought arose in Chu Huaixu’s heart.

He directly raised his right hand and lashed it against his left arm.

“Pa——!” He struck heavily.

As a result, due to Body Training, his defense was astonishing.

If such a blow had landed on someone else, the consequences would be unimaginable, but he only managed to leave his own arm swollen red.

“The self-healing speed isn’t as fast as with injuries caused by cultivation.”

“But it’s still clearly recovering.”

This made him once again realize the profoundness of the 《Dao Canon》.

“My self-healing ability seems to have been enhanced?” he thought.

Many Body Training cultivation methods carried similar effects.

But none as obvious as the 《Dao Canon》.

Chu Huaixu calmed his mind and continued cultivating, gradually becoming increasingly numb.

When he reached his limit, he collapsed into sleep.

The next day, near noon, Han Shuangjiang was once again disturbed by the noisy commotion outside.

She pushed open the door and looked out, only to see Liu Chenggong had come again, the two of them sparring once more.

The only difference this time was that Liu Chenggong was using Spiritual Energy.

The Big Ice Block frowned slightly, thinking to herself: “At a time like this, shouldn’t he be busy breaking through? Why is he still sparring, unable to distinguish priorities?”

But after some thought, she refrained from interfering.

After all, what if, for him, breaking through within three days was nothing more than a trivial matter?

Now, no matter what strange things happened around Chu Huaixu, Han Shuangjiang would no longer feel surprised.

At this moment, Chu Huaixu had just finished a bout with Liu Chenggong.

Turning his head toward Han Shuangjiang, he asked: “Did we disturb you?”

The Big Ice Block shook her head.

It was indeed noisy, but she could endure it and still calm herself to cultivate.

After all, Chu Huaixu was sparring, not fooling around, so she could accept it.

Since it was already close to noon, Han Shuangjiang simply started cooking lunch.

Liu Chenggong watched from the side, filled with envy.

Such a peerlessly beautiful woman, and she was actually cooking for Junior Brother Chu—

“Her long dress flowing as she smiles at the wine counter, washing her hands to prepare a meal for you.”

His appetite stirred, and he became curious about the flavor of the dishes.

However, just as the food was nearly done, Chu Huaixu directly chased him away.

Liu Chenggong: ??? “”

Time passed, and a day and a half slipped by like this.

By consuming Qi-Gathering Pills to accelerate cultivation and sparring with Liu Chenggong, Chu Huaixu finally accumulated enough Experience Points.

But this time, his cultivation progress was surpassed by the Big Ice Block—she had successfully broken through to the First Heaven an hour earlier.

The fearsome aspect of the Body of Profound Yin actually became more apparent as time went on.

While many cultivators were stuck at bottlenecks, she progressed as if there were no bottlenecks at all.

With her “grind-dog” attribute, Han Shuangjiang finally let out a sigh of relief, even carrying a trace of girlish pride.

“How could a true man endure remaining beneath others for long!” Chu Huaixu’s heart blazed with anger.

“System, level me up!”

Not long after, heart-wrenching screams reverberated above the bamboo house.

With Little Xu not at home, he couldn’t even be bothered to endure them.

Book Mountain, disciples’ courtyard.

Outer Sect Steward Mo Qingmei looked at the young man and woman before her, clicking her tongue in amazement.

“You two truly managed to reach the First Heaven within three days?” She examined the two up and down.

“Such gifted outer sect disciples haven’t appeared for many, many years.”

“And now two of them appeared at once?”

Thinking of their seemingly unusual connection with Niu Yuanshan, Mo Qingmei sincerely felt happy for Senior Brother Niu.

But only a few seconds into her happiness, she cursed herself inwardly: “Why am I feeling happy for that stupid ox!”

The moment she thought of Niu Yuanshan, anger rose in her heart.

Back then, she had thought him honest and simple, kind-hearted and dependable, and had been drawn to his personality.

Moreover, once during an external mission, she had even been saved by him, which made her secretly give her heart to him.

In the end, after finally summoning the courage to confess, she was rejected on the spot. It wasn’t even a gentle refusal—it was utterly firm!

She even saw… fear? …in his eyes.

She had always believed that Senior Brother Niu must have long known she liked him, and that he clearly held feelings for her too.

Who would have thought that in the end, it turned out to be nothing but her own wishful thinking!

“Mm, I’m only happy for these two children, happy that my Dao Gate has birthed such prodigies again!” Mo Qingmei consoled herself with this thought.

Smiling, she retrieved two charred-black wooden tokens from her Storage Token and solemnly handed them to Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang.

The two received them with both hands, their hearts stirring with excitement.

“Finally, I can ascend Hidden Spirit Mountain.” Han Shuangjiang thought.

“Finally, I can ascend Hidden Spirit Mountain twice.” Chu Huaixu thought.

Mo Qingmei looked at them with the eyes of an elder gazing at juniors and said: “If you two are ready, then go now.”

“Oh, right.” She decided to remind them: “Though you now hold the qualification to reach the summit area, I must warn you—the stone steps of Hidden Spirit Mountain are not so easy to walk.”

“The details will be clear once you climb. Remember, steady your heart, and press forward with perseverance!” she encouraged.

“Yes, thank you, Steward Mo.”

After leaving the disciples’ courtyard, Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang headed together toward the foot of Hidden Spirit Mountain.

This mountain stood at the very center of the Mountains Beyond Mountains, right beside the Dao Gate’s highest peak—Ask-Dao Peak.

In the past, this mountain had no name.

Long ago, atop Ask-Dao Peak stood a strangely named Dao temple, called Gentleman Temple. The Dao Ancestor had once been but a young Daoist within it. Because Hidden Spirit Mountain, which stood beside it, possessed excellent feng shui and was suitable for burials, whenever someone from Gentleman Temple passed away, they would be buried there.

To this day, Hidden Spirit Mountain still resembled something of a… cenotaph for the Dao Gate’s elders.

When many predecessors passed away, their spiritual artifacts were placed upon Hidden Spirit Mountain, awaiting those with fate.

Gradually, it became tradition to ascend Hidden Spirit Mountain, undergo trials, and obtain spiritual artifacts.

As millennia passed, the Dao Gate also began placing newly refined spiritual artifacts upon the mountain as rewards.

As its name suggested, Hidden Spirit Mountain was a mountain that hid spiritual artifacts.

But since the character “藏” could also mean “bury,” it could likewise be understood as Burial Spirit Mountain.

Of course, Dao Gate disciples valued destiny and auspiciousness, so “burial” was simply an alternative meaning.

For many Dao Gate disciples with decent talent, their very first spiritual artifact—or even their Life-bound Treasure—was often obtained from Hidden Spirit Mountain.

After walking for some time, the two finally arrived at the mountain’s foot.

At its base stood a small courtyard known as Hidden Spirit Courtyard.

The disciples stationed here all wore inner sect tokens at their waists, each of them extraordinary in strength.

After all, though the mountain was filled with Restrictions, it was still an important Dao Gate ground—absolutely no negligence was allowed.

Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang found a senior brother in charge of registration. Upon seeing the charred-black wooden tokens in their hands, his face showed shock.

“Charred-black? And two at once?”

“In all my years on duty, I’ve never seen this!”

“Junior Sister Chen, quickly go invite Elder Nangong.” he immediately said to the young woman beside him.

Only then did he turn and explain: “Junior Brother Chu, Junior Sister Han, perhaps you don’t know—the wooden tokens are divided into light black, dark black, and charred-black.”

“Tokens like yours, made from lightning-struck wood, grant entry to the summit area.”

“All affairs concerning Hidden Spirit Mountain are personally overseen by Elder Nangong.”

“She is also our Dao Gate’s only Artifact-Refining Grandmaster. Many of the artifacts on the mountain are her works.”

“Elder Nangong once instructed that whenever someone holds a charred-black wooden token, she must be informed immediately, and she would personally come.”

“So, please wait in the courtyard for a while.” He gestured invitingly.

“Thank you, Senior Brother.” The two entered the courtyard.

The sudden appearance of two charred-black tokens alarmed the entire Hidden Spirit Courtyard. Many whispered amongst themselves, some even coming over to see the pair.

Several warm-hearted senior brothers had already begun offering congratulations: “It seems the two of you will at least receive top-grade spiritual artifacts. Let me be the first to congratulate you.”

Chu Huaixu smiled and thanked them, quickly engaging in lively conversation. In no time, he had become acquainted and even learned all the rules of Hidden Spirit Mountain, without missing a single detail.

The Big Ice Block quietly listened from the side, committing everything to memory.

Before long, Elder Nangong descended from the sky.

She wore a water-blue, narrow-sleeved short blouse, the thin Wu silk revealing a hint of fair skin beneath.

Her not-so-loose round collar exposed her snowy neck and faintly visible collarbones.

Lower down were two astonishing peaks, swelling against the fabric, impossible not to notice.

A saffron shawl embroidered with entwined peonies draped loosely over her arm, flowing to the ground, lending her a transcendent air.

Her lower half was clad in layered Xiang skirts, beneath which seemed to be skirt-pants for ease of flight.

Of course, what stood out most was her overwhelming aura of a mature married woman.

Such a woman naturally made men imagine taking her home to raise children.

At this moment, Nangong Yue was not alone—at her side stood another.

Li Chunsong. His appearance—omitted.

Yet for some reason, this utterly ordinary man began rubbing his hands uncontrollably upon landing at Hidden Spirit Courtyard.

The Benevolent Gambling King’s addiction had flared up!

Just earlier, the two of them had already sent transmissions to the Sect Master and several elders.

Except for Shen Man, they would soon all gather in the great hall atop Ask-Dao Peak, where they would cast spells together to watch Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang’s climb.

Li Chunsong had but one thought in his mind.

“Senior brothers and sisters, how could we not place bets on this?”

Both his hands rubbed furiously: “The betting table is open~~~”