The boy was wearing a short-sleeved black shirt, black pants, and shoes with white soles and black surfaces. He was taller than Gu Pinglin and about the same height as Lan Feiyu, but he did not look strong. He was very thin, and his face was not as plump as that of ordinary boys. His cheeks were sunken, his chin was square, and he had a pair of single eyelids. He looked a little dull.
Gu Pinglin was a little surprised to see his true appearance.
The young man calmed down and stood for a while, and finally bowed: "Master Gu."
Completely contrary to his appearance, his voice was very clear. It was the voice of the man in black who had joined forces with Feng Jian Twelve to fight Yang Zhao that day. His tone contained three parts of respect and five parts of vigilance, but the expression on his face remained unchanged.
Gu Pinglin understood the art of disguise and knew that this was his true appearance, so he asked, "What's your name?"
The young man said, "Rain Sword Thirty-three."
It seems that the Sword King Pavilion is ranked by strength, and this one is ranked 33rd in the Rain Sword Division. Gu Pinglin was amused in his heart, but his face remained calm: "What is your intention in tracking me all the way here?"
Rain Sword Thirty-three said: "I am fortunate to witness the way of the formation sword. I am very curious."
Gu Pinglin asked: "How much of our conversation did you hear?"
Yu Jian Thirty-three replied: "The Pavilion Master is a dangerous person."
"Pretty honest," Gu Pinglin sneered. The gap in their cultivation levels was huge, so he expected that he wouldn't dare to follow too closely. Moreover, he wanted to test him, so he deliberately took a detour and erased a lot of clues. He probably just caught up with him here. "What do you think I should do with you?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three remained silent.
Gu Pinglin asked: "Do you think I won't kill you?"
"Senior, you have gone through so much trouble along the way. If you really wanted to get rid of me, you wouldn't have left any clues. Since you intended to let me track you here, you wouldn't have killed me." Rain Sword Thirty-Three said, "Otherwise, you would have done it long ago."
"You are very smart," Gu Pinglin praised, and suddenly changed the subject, "What do you think about your Pavilion Master?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three's eyes flashed, obviously thinking of a countermeasure.
Gu Pinglin didn't let him think any more: "You didn't refute what I said right away. It seems that you agree with my judgment."
Rain Sword Thirty-Three immediately said: "The Pavilion Master has unparalleled swordsmanship and extraordinary wisdom."
Gu Pinglin laughed: "That means he has unparalleled swordsmanship and extraordinary wisdom, but he is also very dangerous."
Yu Jian Thirty-Three stopped talking.
Gu Pinglin said: "You respect him very much."
Yu Jian Thirty-Three was much more cautious this time: "We all respect the Pavilion Master..."
Gu Pinglin interrupted him: "Respect or fear?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three immediately said, "Of course I respect you."
Gu Pinglin said: "A dangerous person, but he can make you respect him instead of being afraid of him. I think in addition to his excellent swordsmanship, he is also a very charming person. Everyone is willing to get close to him."
Yu Jian Thirty-Three stopped talking again.
Gu Pinglin got the information out, but his heart sank a little. He smiled and said, "Well, let's put this topic aside for now. It's fate that I met you today. My friend Lan wants to join the Sword King Pavilion. Can you introduce me to him?"
Rain Sword Thirty-Three looked at Lan Feiyu and said nothing directly: "The rules of the pavilion are that you can only enter if you have a skill."
Gu Pinglin said "Huh", and asked curiously: "You know that his Dao meridian is damaged, which means you know his identity, but you are only worried about his Dao meridian. Aren't you afraid that he will bring trouble to the Sword King Pavilion?"
Rain Sword Thirty-three said: "The Sword King Pavilion is quite powerful."
"More than a dozen sects are chasing him. Even though your pavilion is strong and has the Blood Moon Miasma Valley as a barrier, it is not easy to deal with it. Moreover, your pavilion is business-oriented. It is common sense that you should be more reluctant to see this situation than others," Gu Pinglin said. "You don't trust in strength, but in the Pavilion Master. You think he can handle it."
Rain Sword Thirty-Three repeated, "The Pavilion Master is extremely wise."
Gu Pinglin said: "At such a young age, he has unparalleled swordsmanship and extraordinary wisdom. I am very curious about him."
Yu Jian Thirty-Three reacted quickly this time and looked at him: "I have never seen him, I don't know if he is young or not."
This should be the truth. Gu Pinglin did not miss the change in his eyes: "Then you are not curious?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three stopped talking again.
"You tried the formation sword but couldn't get the hang of it, so you followed me and wanted to learn secretly," Gu Pinglin said, "It seems that your rules are not that strict and you don't mind this kind of behavior."
Rain Sword Thirty-Three suddenly said, "You were there that day too."
Gu Pinglin asked: "That day?"
"You didn't ask who I was, but only my name. It shows that you have recognized me and know my identity," Rain Sword Thirty-three said with a wooden face, "You said I tried the formation sword, but I only used it when fighting with Flying Sword Gong Yangzhao."
Gu Pinglin said, "Hmm," "Go on."
Rain Sword Thirty-Three asked: "Why do you want to deal with the Pavilion Master?"
"That's wrong," Gu Pinglin said, "I was very interested in your Pavilion Master's amazing swordplay at the Dao Discussion Meeting. I was curious and wanted to know, is this what you call dealing with someone?"
Rain Sword Thirty-Three stared at him.
Gu Pinglin said slowly, "You, on the other hand, thought I was dealing with him, but you didn't feel angry at all. That's right, respect and admiration don't mean absolute loyalty. You're so smart. If you can see that he's in danger, why would you really risk your life for him?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three said: "I believe that the Pavilion Master can handle it."
Gu Pinglin asked, "You mean, I'm not as good as him?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three stopped talking again.
Gu Pinglin smiled and said, "The Pavilion Master's swordsmanship is superb, but it is not suitable for you. In other words, except for the way of formation swordsmanship, you are not suitable for all swordsmanship. You know this better than me. If you want to leave the Sword King Pavilion, I will find a way to make you retreat unscathed."
With a light flashing in his eyes, Yu Jian Thirty-Three hesitated and shook his head: "The Pavilion Master never forces anyone to stay."
"Oh?" Gu Pinglin's heart sank a little more, and he said calmly, "Such a broad mind is admirable. Are you willing to leave the Sword King Pavilion and join the Spiritual Heart Sect?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three was silent.
Gu Pinglin walked up to him and said, "Is it difficult to make a decision? The Pavilion Master's swordsmanship is the most brilliant swordsmanship, but the path is not based on worship. You are a smart person, and I believe you will make a smart choice."
Yu Jian Thirty-Three remained silent.
"You don't seem like an indecisive person," Gu Pinglin said, "It seems that the Sword King Pavilion has a reason why you must stay. Is it Feng Jian Twelve?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three finally nodded: "He is my eldest brother."
This answer was expected. Gu Pinglin said, "No wonder, he is the Pavilion Master's loyal follower and is unwilling to leave, while you dare not leave because you are worried about him."
Rain Sword Thirty-three said: "He is not suitable for the Pavilion Master's swordsmanship either."
"But he is not as clear-headed as you," Gu Pinglin said calmly, "Do you want to give up your own path for him? How many blood relatives can you care about?"
Rain Sword Thirty-Three said: "Although I can't take care of his path, I can save his life."
Gu Pinglin looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "Are you in the business of finding people?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression became even more reserved: "Do it."
"Then I will do a business with you," Gu Pinglin handed him a high-grade spirit ingot, "find two people for me and deliver a message."
The value of the top-grade spirit ingot far exceeded the price of finding someone, but Yu Jian Thirty-Three did not answer: "Who are you looking for?"
Gu Pinglin said: "Sword Demon Yan Sen, Pupil Sword Xin Ji."
In recent years, Xin Ji did not practice pupil painting again. Instead, he really entered the sword path and made a name for himself in the Demon Realm. Since he was called "Pupil Sword", it was not difficult to guess that although "Nine Chapters of Spirit Refining" was destroyed, he practiced pupil painting and remembered the "Pupil Technique" part. He must have been inspired by it and discovered that "Nine Chapters of Spirit Refining" was actually a sword technique, so he embarked on a completely different path from his previous life. However, he was probably hunted by the Demon Realm's co-lord Wei Fengshi for a long time, so he was used to disguise himself and was harder to find than Yan Sen.
Unexpectedly, when Yu Jian Thirty-Three heard these two names, he decisively took the spirit ingot and asked, "What message do you want to convey?"
Gu Pinglin sent a voice message and asked again, "How about a month?"
"Sure." Yu Jian Sanshi Sandao answered straightforwardly.
"Are you sure you can find Xin Ji?"
"We took over Master Wei Feng's business and captured him."
Gu Pinglin was surprised: "But he is still alive."
Yu Jian Thirty-Three said: "After he was caught, he paid us to rescue him from Master Wei Feng."
Gu Pinglin laughed: "This business is easy to do. Master Wei Feng must be very regretful. He should have directly bought Xin Ji's life."
"We don't kill people." Rain Sword Thirty-Three said.
"I see," Gu Pinglin said, "I feel a little sympathetic towards Master Wei Feng."
The Wanfa Sect and Master Weifeng were fighting fiercely. Master Weifeng had no time to cause trouble for the Jianwang Pavilion, nor did he want to make enemies. He had to swallow the loss and bear the humiliation.
Lan Feiyu stood up while holding Li Moqing. Hearing this, he remembered something: "Do you know the Demon Realm Wanfa Sect? Is there a person named Zhang in it?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three glanced at him and said, "The price is different if you want to buy information."
Lan Feiyu sneered.
Gu Pinglin asked: "Your pavilion still sells information?"
"There is no news in the cultivation world that we cannot find out," said Yu Jian Sanshi San, "but all the information is only held by the Pavilion Master. If we want to buy it, we can only find the Pavilion Master."
Gu Pinglin signaled that he could leave.
Lan Feiyu watched Rain Sword Thirty-three leave with murderous intent in his eyes: "He knows that you saved me, why did you let him go?"
Gu Pinglin said: "When you enter the Sword King Pavilion, he will be considered as your fellow disciple. It will be beneficial rather than harmful if you leave a way out for him."
Lan Feiyu disagreed: "If he leaks the news, it will definitely implicate Master and Yinlan Villa."
Gu Pinglin said: "You should be more worried about your pulse injury, so find a place to stay first."
It was already daybreak, and the two of them went to settle down without saying anything more.
In the middle of the cultivation world, there is a towering mountain rising out of the ground. The mountain is very strange, circling outward in circles, and several branches gradually extend from the main vein. The peaks are covered with snow all year round, and the low ridges are winding and continuous. This is the extremely famous Yuluo Mountain Range in the cultivation world, and it is also one of the eight sacred mountains in the cultivation world. Every sunny day, a wisp of purple air flies in from the sky, and is pulled by the ground veins, flowing between the peaks, forming the wonder of Yuluo spewing smoke.
Mount Paektu, the highest mountain in the country, is covered with snow for most of the year, hence its name.
It was just the beginning of October and heavy snow had already fallen on Mount Paektu. The entire landscape was vast and bleak. Only a few short old pines were bearing down on the thick snow. Apart from that, there was no green at all.
No one was sweeping the snow off the road, and looking up, one could vaguely make out the shape of the stone steps.
The empty square and the piles of rocks covered with snow looked like tombs, burying the former great sects of the cultivation world.
Years ago, this place was the famous Zixiao Palace.
Brushing away the ice and snow, you can vaguely see the exquisite patterns on the stones and find traces of the existence of the great sect in the past.
I wonder if there are any surviving disciples... Gu Pinglin stood up and said, "What do you think about the Zixiao Palace?"
There was no answer from behind.
Over the past month, Lan Feiyu's pulse injury has mostly healed, but the effect of the Creation Art on treating others has weakened, and it is not as effective as the Spiritual Stone Milk. After all, it has caused him to lose a level of talent. Fortunately, his Dantian is intact and the injury has not been long. His cultivation has recovered to the external Dan realm, but his internal Dan is gone, so he needs to practice again. Fortunately, he had originally prepared for the worst and could accept this result. Now he is wearing a veil and has changed his appearance. No one doubts him along the way. After all, people outside say that his Dao meridians are useless and he was rescued by people from the Demon Realm.
Gu Pinglin said: "Your master and I both suspect that this is a sowing of dissenters by Master Wei Feng, who is using a knife to kill someone."
Lan Feiyu hummed softly.
"Isn't that right?" Seeing his reaction, Gu Pinglin said, "Zixiao Palace has correspondence with Master Weifeng. Apart from Master Weifeng, there is no one else."
Lan Feiyu sneered, "What good will Master Weifeng gain from destroying Zixiao Palace?"
Gu Pinglin said: "If we talk about the benefits, probably only Penglai Island has benefited, but the owner of the South Island has only occupied a small Cishan as a palace, and has not gained anything else."
Lan Feiyu was obviously a little annoyed: "How do you know what the person behind the scenes wants to do!"
Gu Pinglin asked: "What do you know?"
Lan Feiyu said nothing.
Gu Pinglin changed the subject: "I think your master's pulse injury has almost healed. I'm afraid he is looking for you everywhere. Why don't you go back to see him?"
Lan Feiyu said in a cold and hard tone: "He can't find this place. Don't worry, I promised you to go to the Sword King Pavilion, and I will definitely go there."
Gu Pinglin said, "No, the person behind the scenes forced you to leave Yinlan Villa. The original intention was not to target Brother Li, but without you in Yinlan Villa, Brother Li has to deal with those who covet the Heavenly Sword, which is always dangerous, not to mention that he is worried about you. As long as the person behind the scenes is here, you can't show up, let alone go back to Yinlan Villa, otherwise it will only implicate Brother Li, do you understand?"
Lan Feiyu was silent for a long time, and said: "I don't know the man's purpose, but... maybe... I always feel that he cares about the earth veins and the spirit eye."
The changes in the earth veins and spiritual eyes can indeed affect the major events in the cultivation world. Gu Pinglin remembered the words of the man in the dream and said decisively: "Go and take a look."
Baitou Mountain is the main peak of Yuluo Mountain Range. The largest earth vein and spiritual eye of Yuluo Mountain Range are here. The fact that Zixiao Palace can occupy Baitou Mountain shows its status in the cultivation world. After Zixiao Palace was destroyed, several masters joined forces to seal the largest spiritual eye of Baitou Mountain to prevent others from coveting it.
Gu Pinglin wanted to find clues, but his spiritual eye was sealed and there was no spiritual energy to follow. He could only roughly guess the location of the spiritual eye - there must be a secret place where the spiritual eye is, and there must be sufficient spiritual energy nearby, which is suitable for cultivation. The Zixiao Palace should have many secret caves for retreat around it.
Danxia Cave.
Gu Pinglin took Lan Feiyu to the back of the mountain. Along the way, they passed many dilapidated palace walls and gatehouses, and sometimes huge rocks blocked the way.
As they approached Danxia Cave, someone suddenly called out from behind, "Master Gu!"
The two turned around and saw a young man running towards them. He was tall and thin, with a dull face. It was Yu Jian Sanshisan who had left the day before.
When he came closer, Gu Pinglin asked first: "Didn't you find it?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three shook his head.
Gu Pinglin raised his eyebrows: "So they don't want to come?"
Rain Sword Thirty-Three hesitated for a moment and said, "Pupil Demon Xin Ji is here."
Gu Pinglin looked behind him: "Where is the person?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three shook his head: "It seems that there is no one guarding this place, but in fact, the people of Penglai are watching secretly. Senior Xin is not convenient to show up, so he is waiting at the foot of the mountain."
Gu Pinglin said, "I understand."
Yu Jian Thirty-Three's eyes moved slightly.
Gu Pinglin motioned for Lan Feiyu to keep going, but Lan Feiyu took a few steps and stopped. He asked Rain Sword Thirty-Three in a cold voice, "Why are you following us?"
Yu Jian Thirty-Three did not answer, and looked at Gu Pinglin: "I came here for other tasks this time."
Gu Pinglin narrowed his eyes slightly.
Rain Sword Thirty-Three said: "It is the Pavilion Master's order."
Just as Gu Pinglin was about to speak, he suddenly heard a "hehe" laugh from behind him.
"Who!" Lan Feiyu turned sideways vigilantly.
Gu Pinglin stopped him: "Senior Xin?"
A man walked out from behind the snowdrift. He had black hair and beard, and wore a loose grey Taoist robe. He looked like an immortal. It was Tongjian Xinji. After not seeing him for many years, he looked more energetic than before, and his face was ruddy, which was obviously due to a breakthrough in his cultivation.
"Master Gu," Xin Ji smiled and bowed, "It's been many years since we last met. How have you been?"
Seeing him, Gu Pinglin's eyes turned cold and he shouted to Lan Feiyu: "Go to Danxia Cave quickly!"