"What do you want?" Gu Pinglin asked calmly.
"How can you trespass into the Sword King Pavilion without paying a price? I have always been fair," Duan Qingming picked up the red fruit and threw it at his feet, attracting several gerbils to fight for it. "This is the formation technique you are best at. If you can leave, you can enter and leave the Sword King Pavilion as you please from now on. If you can't leave, please stay at the Sword King Pavilion for half a year."
Staying in the Sword King Pavilion for half a year is equivalent to being under house arrest, and it is no longer possible to interfere in the affairs of the earth veins; but with a breakthrough imminent, breaking the formation is obviously even more impossible.
Gu Pinglin flicked his robe sleeves and sat down cross-legged decisively.
Duan Qingming paused and threw the red fruit back into the plate.
Seeing this, Gu Pinglin asked, "Are you surprised?"
"A wise choice," Duan Qingming stared at him, "You compromised too quickly."
Gu Pinglin laughed twice and closed his eyes to practice his energy.
The true Qi surged and gradually dissipated out of the body, forming a wind flow around the body, which became stronger and stronger. Large pieces of yellow sand were swept into the air, forming a sandstorm.
Duan Qingming watched for a while, then suddenly waved his palm, and the wind and sand in the sky stopped and fell down.
Gu Pinglin opened his eyes and spat out two or three mouthfuls of blood.
Duan Qingming looked at him coldly.
Failed to break through, no, it should be said that he gave up this breakthrough opportunity. Gu Pinglin stood up and wiped the blood from his lips. "I said, people will change. Since I have no hope of ascending in this life, what's the harm in failing once more? You have always planned everything, how could you make such a mistake? You always say that I treat you as him, but don't you treat me as the former Gu Jiu? Duan Qingming, you understand human nature very well, but in fact you don't understand human nature."
"Really?" Duan Qingming brushed off the sand on his body.
"I always thought you had no heart."
"Isn't it?"
"You just don't like yourself when you have a heart."
The air around him was freezing, and Gu Pinglin was almost engulfed by murderous intent. He seemed unaware and continued, "Where there is a will, there is a weakness. You don't like having weaknesses. Saving me and reversing time are actually not what you want, because you realize that all this is not just out of interest."
Duan Qingming said gently: "This is what you think."
Gu Pinglin asked: "Are you willing to kill me?"
The murderous aura became more intense.
Gu Pinglin turned around without hesitation, raised his hand and changed his finger gestures. A brilliant purple light fell from the sky, shattering the illusion of endless yellow sand, and the path in the garden reappeared.
Purple light flowed, and Gu Ying's sword was stuck upside down on the ground, right at the center of the formation.
"Since you don't want to kill me, you can't trap me," Gu Pinglin put away the Gu Ying Sword, "After all, this is the formation technique I am best at."
Enduring the pain of his damaged meridians, Gu Pinglin walked out of the Dead Wood Garden without looking back and asked a disciple to take him to the Yunjian Pavilion.
Yunjiange is located in the woods behind Banbi Mountain. Its corridors and houses are exquisite, dotted with plants and trees, and the environment is elegant. It is exactly the style that the sons of aristocratic families like.
"Master of the Mist Sword." The person leading the way saluted.
Yao Feng stood alone outside the gate of Yunjian Pavilion, his figure straight, thinking that Li Moqing had already left. Seeing that Gu Pinglin looked unhappy, he was stunned for a moment, but did not ask.
Gu Pinglin cupped his hands and said, "I want to stay at Yunjian Pavilion for a few days, so I came to disturb Master Yunjian. Is he not here?"
"Thirteen has sent Miss Qi out," Yao Feng unexpectedly took the initiative to invite, "If you don't mind, let's go to the Mist Sword Pavilion."
Since Qi Wan'er was not there, Gu Pinglin did not refuse and followed him to the Mist Sword Pavilion.
The Mist Sword Pavilion is not far from the Cloud Sword Pavilion. Just under the opposite cliff, there is a spring gushing out from the mountain wall and flowing in front of the pavilion. The water surface, about two meters wide, is emitting white steam, making the Mist Sword Pavilion look as if it is in the smoke and very ethereal.
There is a bridge pier on the water, with two huge stones on it, forming a simple stone bridge.
Before Gu Pinglin approached the stone bridge, he felt a bone-chilling chill, and realized that this was no ordinary cold spring water. If it was so uncomfortable for those who practiced inner alchemy, those who practiced outer alchemy would probably not be able to pass it.
Yao Feng walked to the bridge head and stepped aside: "Please."
Gu Pinglin walked onto the stone bridge first and stood in the middle: "Gu Jiu wants to ask something, I wonder if Brother Yao still remembers the King of Penglai?"
It was originally suggested that Zhou Yi and Jun Muzhi come to the Sword King Pavilion, but Duan Qingming only mentioned Lan Feiyu and never mentioned those two people. Gu Pinglin was secretly puzzled and finally found an opportunity to ask.
Upon hearing this, Yao Feng said, “I heard that he and Zhou Yi betrayed the Tiancan Sect and were hunted down by the order of the Old and Sick Immortal.”
Gu Pinglin asked, "Why, they are not in the Sword King Pavilion?"
Yao Feng glanced at him and said, "No."
This is strange. Gu Pinglin looked at the water flowing under the bridge and frowned.
Although the Tiancan Sect is not easy to mess with, they are very trustworthy and many sects are willing to do them favors and provide them with convenience. So, where can Zhou Yi and Jun Muzhi escape to
Yao Feng said: "Since the hunting order is still there, they must be safe."
Gu Pinglin nodded: "That's right."
Yao Feng asked, "You asked them to come to the Sword King Pavilion?"
Knowing that he was not as easy to fool as Qi Wan'er, Gu Pinglin admitted, "Yes."
Yao Feng said: "You are dealing with the Sword King Pavilion." The Tiancan Sect is so difficult to deal with, and letting Zhou Yi and Jun Muzhi come to the Sword King Pavilion is to push the trouble to the Sword King Pavilion.
"It's to deal with the Pavilion Master." Gu Pinglin said.
"He is your senior brother."
"Are you sure that this Pavilion Master is still Duan Liu?"
Yao Feng was silent.
"He is very dangerous. Logically, you shouldn't stay here. You didn't leave because you and Brother Qi ran away from home. You can't continue to obtain our sect's skills and must rely on his help," Gu Pinglin said. "The Yao family outside the mountain is looking for the eldest son. Brother Yao really doesn't plan to go back?"
Yao Feng said, "I'm worried about Thirteen."
Gu Pinglin asked: "Brother Qi, do you know that you are about to go crazy?"
Yao Feng looked at him in surprise.
Gu Pinglin said, "Excuse my presumptuous guess, Brother Qi is simple-minded and trusts Duan Liu very much, but you know what kind of person this Pavilion Master is. You are afraid that there is something wrong with the technique, so you dare not let him practice easily, so you try it in secret first. Yao's technique is very different from Qi's technique. You practice two techniques at the same time, and it is only a matter of time before you go astray." Gu Pinglin sighed and saluted Yao Feng solemnly: "Brother Yao is indeed a man of integrity, Gu Jiu respects you."
Yao Feng was silent for a while, then asked, "How did you figure that out?"
"When we entered the valley, Brother Qi drew his sword to kill Shi Ling, but you were there but didn't stop him," Gu Pinglin said, "because you didn't dare to draw your sword."
Yao Feng said: "He refused to return to Qi's family."
Gu Pinglin said: "Qi's is not suitable for Brother Qi. He has the courage to leave Qi's. He will definitely achieve extraordinary success in the future."
Yao Feng's expression became much gentler: "That's right."
"In fact, you don't have to worry," Gu Pinglin said, "There is no problem with the Pavilion Master's skills. With Brother Qi's personality, he will not be interested or malicious. He may even be willing to help. Isn't it exciting to see the purest swordsmanship created by the simplest people? On the contrary, your current fate is probably the result that interests him."
Seeing Yao Feng's confusion, Gu Pinglin shook his head and said, "Think about it. You went to get the skills on behalf of Brother Qi many times. He must have said something to make you suspicious. You secretly tried the skills. He must have known about it. You treat Brother Qi with affection. If you go crazy, will Brother Qi not save you? If he then puts forward conditions under the pretext of saving you, Brother Qi will probably agree to them. You two will definitely be played in his hands."
Yao Feng was shocked and thought about it for a moment, regret arose in his eyes.
Gu Pinglin said: "He may not care about the Sword King Pavilion, but he still has to compete with the Wanfa Sect, so he will not easily damage his strength. After all, the Sword King Pavilion does not have a deep foundation, so you can trust him for the time being."
"I understand," Yao Feng cupped his hands and said seriously, "Thank you very much."
Gu Pinglin said, "Come in and talk. I'll help you clear your Qi."
Yao Feng looked at him.
"I know that Brother Yao has a deep prejudice against me because of the sea bone pit incident, but if it happens again, I will still make the same choice," Gu Pinglin said calmly, "Brother Qi has a pure heart and would not even kill Duan Liu. I admire him very much and have no intention of harming him. I am helping you this time because I have something to ask of you."
Yao Feng was silent for a long time, then asked, "What's the matter?"
Gu Pinglin said: "The Yao family outside the mountain is also an ancient sword family. They should have left behind a lot of books and records. Brother Yao is the heir of the Yao family. He must have read all the books. I would like to ask you something."
Yao Feng breathed a sigh of relief and nodded: "Please."
The Mist Sword Pavilion was built against the mountain, with layers of buildings clinging to the mountain wall. There were about a hundred houses of varying sizes. Perhaps because of the cold spring outside, there were few guards in the huge Mist Sword Pavilion. Gu Pinglin followed Yao Feng to the side hall and only met two or three along the way.
The two stood in the hall, and Gu Pinglin looked around.
Yao Feng asked: "What do you want to know?"
Gu Pinglin turned around and said, "It's about the Ghost Path and Duyindi."
Yao Feng recalled: "I don't know much about this matter..."
Gu Pinglin interrupted him: "Don't worry, I'll sort out your Qi first, then we can talk later."
Yao Feng hesitated for a moment, then sat cross-legged. He should have known that Lan Feiyu's Dao meridian had been repaired, so even though he saw that Gu Pinglin was injured, he did not ask any more questions, and did not show any curiosity about Gu Pinglin's martial arts, which showed that he was a kind gentleman.
Unfortunately, this friend has long been missed.
The Creation Art was originally a divine method for warming up the body. Gu Pinglin used his power to help Yao Feng to comb through his true qi, and at the same time he was repairing his own Dao meridians. Yao Feng's condition seemed serious, but in fact it was not as serious as the meridian injury. By the evening, he had greatly improved. Gu Pinglin's pain was only alleviated. After all, the damage to the Dao meridian was a big deal, and all cultivators were terrified when talking about it. It was estimated that this injury would take half a month to heal.
The two walked out of the palace and leaned on the railing to look into the distance.
Yao Feng thought for a moment and said, "There are not many records about the ghost path. Ghost cultivators were once jointly exterminated by the righteous and evil paths. The ghost path no longer exists in the cultivation world. What do you want to know?"
Gu Pinglin said: "If the ghost way does not exist, how can there be the story of Master Lu in Taixue Village?"
Yao Feng said: "That is true, but Master Lu has disappeared in recent years, and there has been no news about the ghost cultivator."
Gu Pinglin said: "The ghost path is only one of them. What I want to know more is the matter about the Duyin Land."
Yao Feng probably guessed that he would ask this, so he said, "As far as I know, the Solitary Yin Land is a favorite place for ghost cultivators, but there are very few natural Solitary Yin Lands. Most of them are man-made, just like Taixue Village. In the past, the Hundred Refining Demon Ancestor destroyed the lives of people in the city to practice the "Nine Chapters of Refining the Spirit". Perhaps it was a coincidence that Taixue Village became the Solitary Yin Land. My father once speculated that the Demon Ancestor should have used the Soul Locking Formation to seize the Qi of the Heavenly Vein at the time of extreme Yang, and poured it back into the Earthly Vein. The Earthly Qi flowed backwards and was completely suppressed by the Heavenly Vein Qi, causing the imbalance of Yin and Yang, and the extreme Yang gave birth to Yin, which gave birth to the Solitary Yin Land."
"The earth veins are flowing backwards, and the earth energy is suppressed. Hmm..." Gu Pinglin muttered to himself, and suddenly said, "The reverse flow of earth spiritual energy will follow the earth veins to find other exits, causing the other spirit eyes to release more spiritual energy."
Yao Feng thought for a moment and said, "Maybe. I haven't thought about this before."
Gu Pinglin shook his head again.
Nanzhu's Xiaoci Mountain is full of spiritual energy, and Xuanming Sect is full of spiritual energy, this may be the reason, but Baidu Mountain is obviously not a Duyin place... The explanation does not make sense, am I overthinking it
While they were thinking, they suddenly heard footsteps, and they both turned sideways to look at the stairs.
Qi Wan'er hurried upstairs and smiled when she saw the two men, "Brother Gu is indeed here, Brother Yao, why didn't you send someone to call me?"
Seeing him approaching, Yao Feng took a step back.
Qi Wan'er stopped immediately upon seeing this, his handsome face turned pale. However, due to Gu Pinglin's presence, he couldn't get angry, and the atmosphere became tense.
After all, Shi Ling was a demon, and his words were really poisonous. Gu Pinglin asked, "Did Miss Qi leave?"
Thinking of her sister, Qi Wan'er became even more worried: "She wants the Yuxue Sect's skills."
Seizing the skills is a taboo in the cultivation world, and one will definitely face the pursuit of Yuxue Sect. Qi Yanfeng really dared to do it. Gu Pinglin said: "Your sister is sincere in her swordsmanship. Since this is her choice, you don't have to worry too much."
Qi Wan'er was upset and paced a few steps with her hands behind her back: "Yuxue Sect is not a big sect. With the help of that... rapist, it should not be difficult to rescue Yi Xian."
Gu Pinglin said: "Not necessarily."
Qi Wan'er became nervous: "What?"
Duan Qingming's conditions could not be so simple. He was afraid that what he wanted was not the Yuxue Sect's technique. Gu Pinglin roughly guessed his intention, but did not say it out loud. He reminded him, "How could Yuxue Sect not value a defecting disciple like Yi Xian and the same technique? Your sister should not take it lightly."
Due to the rules of the Sword King Pavilion, Qi Wan'er could not interfere, but she could not let go of her sister's safety, so she turned around and left.
Seeing Yao Feng looking at him, Gu Pinglin smiled and said, "Brother Yao, please do as you please."
Yao Feng nodded slightly apologetically and followed.
Gu Pinglin called Qi Wan'er and said, "It depends on the season."
Qi Wan'er just thought that Shi Ling had bad intentions and should be more cautious, which also suited his wishes: "Of course, I will of course keep an eye on him." After saying that, he looked at Yao Feng behind him, snorted coldly, and strode downstairs.
Yao Feng followed silently behind.
Duan Qingming must have received the news from Yuxuemen long ago, which is why he proposed this condition. Qi Yanfeng... Gu Pinglin couldn't help but shake his head: "Ruthlessness is more affectionate than love."
The Mist Sword Pavilion was seldom disturbed by outsiders, and for the next two days, Gu Pinglin stayed in the pavilion to recuperate. When he had free time, he walked around, but he did not see Lan Feiyu again.
"Master Feng Jian is out and has not returned yet. Please come back another day." The disciple replied.
Gu Pinglin bowed to the guard disciple, turned around and left Fengjiange. Just as he reached the cliff, he happened to meet a disciple walking towards him with a guest wearing a veil.
The guest was covered in a black curtain, his face could not be seen, and he did not speak to the disciples.
When they passed each other, Gu Pinglin paused.
This breath...
Apparently, Sword King Pavilion had received the news long ago. A disciple was waiting at the foot of the cliff with a magic crane. Upon seeing the guest arriving, he bowed and invited the guest to climb on the back of the crane. The magic crane then took the mysterious guest straight to Sword King Pavilion.
After the disciples at the bottom of the cliff left, Gu Pinglin looked up at the sky and also flew up.