Chapter 1309: Chapter 678: What’s Going On? (Part 2)

Gu Sheng handed the Azure Dragon Token to Ling Xiao.

"You deal with it."

Ling Xiao took the Azure Dragon Token. Silver light flickered at her fingertips as she carved several miniature talisman arrays onto the surface of the token.

"Done. At least it can fool any probing below the Earth Palace Realm."

When the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, the two of them had already returned to the temporary cave dwelling on the sheer cliff face.

The cave entrance was concealed by an Illusion Array; from the outside it looked like nothing but an ordinary rock wall.

"Hoo—"

Ling Xiao let out a long breath and collapsed onto the stone bed.

"This night was really damn long."

Gu Sheng set up a few more Guard Arrays at the cave entrance before turning around and walking inside.

"Don’t go out for the next few days. We’ll talk after the commotion dies down."

"When do you plan to leave Qinghe Holy Land?"

Ling Xiao took out a few Elixir Pills and swallowed them. The pallor on her face improved slightly.

Gu Sheng pondered for a moment.

"Another half a month. This time we were lucky; we only ran into some small fry not even worth mentioning."

His eyes were grave.

"If we run into a real expert..."

"I know."

Ling Xiao nodded.

"But we got quite a harvest this time, especially that Holy Infant Grass."

She looked at Gu Sheng.

"Are you planning to use it now?"

Gu Sheng took out a jade box from the Void Ring. After opening it, a stalk of Spirit Grass that was crystal clear and shaped like an infant lay quietly within.

A faint silver light flowed over the surface of the Spirit Grass, and one could vaguely hear tiny infant cries.

"The Second Level of the Nine Dragon Heaven and Earth Technique requires Ultimate Yin Power. Holy Infant Grass is just right."

Expectation flashed in Gu Sheng’s eyes.

"Help me as protector."

Ling Xiao nodded solemnly.

"Don’t worry."

Gu Sheng found a flat spot and sat down cross-legged, placing the jade box before him.

He formed a complicated Seal Technique with both hands in front of his chest.

As the Cultivation Technique circulated, the temperature in the cave began to plummet.

Ling Xiao shivered and hastily circulated Spiritual Power to resist the chill.

He was startled to see Gu Sheng’s breath condense into tiny ice crystals in midair, while the rock surface he sat on was already covered by a thin layer of frost.

"What terrifying Yin Qi..."

Ling Xiao clicked his tongue inwardly and had no choice but to retreat to the deepest part of the cave, laying down several Isolation Arrays at the same time to prevent the cold air from leaking out and drawing attention.

Gu Sheng had already completely immersed himself in cultivation.

The Spiritual Power within his body circulated along the route of the Nine Dragon Heaven and Earth Technique. With each full Circulation, the Yin Qi grew a bit denser.

Thin icicles began to form on the cave ceiling, and frost flowers gradually spread across the ground.

"Now."

Gu Sheng opened his eyes, picked up the Holy Infant Grass, and bit off a leaf without any hesitation.

The leaf melted the instant it entered his mouth, turning into an incomparably icy liquid that slid down his throat.

In that instant, Gu Sheng felt as if he had swallowed an entire ice mountain, frozen from the inside out.

Weird bluish-gray patterns surfaced on his skin, and the blood vessels beneath became clearly visible, taking on a deep blue color.

"Urgh—"

Gu Sheng let out a muffled groan, veins bulging on his forehead.

The power of the Holy Infant Grass rampaged through his body, like tens of thousands of ice needles shuttling through his meridians.

This pain would have been enough to make an ordinary person faint instantly, but Gu Sheng merely clenched his teeth and continued to circulate the Cultivation Technique.

Ling Xiao watched from a distance, eyes full of worry.

He knew how perilous cultivating the Nine Dragon Heaven and Earth Technique was; the slightest misstep and one’s meridians would be completely severed, reduced to a cripple.

This was a process Gu Sheng had to endure.

Time passed second by second. The cold air in the cave had grown dense enough to be visible to the naked eye, coiling around Gu Sheng like a thin mist.

His eyebrows and hair tips were encrusted with ice, making him look like an ice sculpture.

Suddenly, Gu Sheng’s body began to tremble violently, and faint blue blood seeped from his seven orifices.

As soon as that blood flowed out, it immediately congealed into ice beads that fell to the ground with crisp, tinkling sounds.

"Gu Sheng!"

Ling Xiao couldn’t help but cry out, instinctively taking a step forward.

"Don’t come over!"

Gu Sheng forced out a hoarse shout that barely sounded human.

"This is... Yin Qi Tempering Body... I have to... bear it myself..."

With that, he bit off another leaf of the Holy Infant Grass.

This time, the pain was even worse than before. Gu Sheng curled up completely, his nails digging deep into the rock, leaving ten shocking bloodstains.

Watching this, Ling Xiao’s heart was in his throat, but he was powerless, and could only pray silently in his heart.

After an unknown amount of time, the cold air in the cave suddenly paused, then surged into Gu Sheng’s body.

The ash-blue lines gradually faded, and finally disappeared completely.

Gu Sheng’s breathing also became steady, and his complexion returned to normal.

When the last trace of cold air was absorbed, Gu Sheng slowly opened his eyes.

His pupils had turned into a deep ice-blue. Wherever his gaze passed, the moisture in the air instantly condensed into fine ice crystals.

In the cave at the foot of the mountain, Gu Sheng slowly opened his eyes, a hint of helplessness in them.

He exhaled a foul breath and felt the sluggish circulation of Spiritual Power in his body, his brows tightly knitted.

"Failed again."

He murmured under his breath, his fingertip sliding across the ground and leaving a shallow mark.

Footsteps came from outside the cave. Ling Xiao walked in carrying a bundle of dry firewood, and seeing that Gu Sheng had already withdrawn from his cultivation state, he couldn’t help being stunned.

"Why did you finish so quickly?"

Gu Sheng let out a bitter laugh and patted the stone platform beside him, signaling for Ling Xiao to sit down.

"The nature’s spiritual energy at the foot of Xuanming Divine Mountain is too thin. It’s simply not enough to support the operation of the Nine Dragon Heaven and Earth Technique. I’ve tried to break through to the Second Level three times, and every time I failed at the critical moment."

Hearing this, Ling Xiao’s brows furrowed as well.

"It’s that serious? I thought the Spiritual Energy at the foot of the mountain was already rich enough."

"It might be enough for ordinary Cultivation Techniques, but every time the Nine Dragon Heaven and Earth Technique rises by one level, the Spiritual Energy it requires multiplies."

Gu Sheng stood up and loosened his somewhat stiff muscles and bones.

"This is precisely the critical juncture. If I stop here, all the previous effort will be wasted."

Ling Xiao pondered for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Why don’t we move further up the mountain? The Spiritual Energy halfway up has to be much denser than here!"

Gu Sheng hesitated when he heard this.

"But the halfway area is mostly where the Qinghe Holy Land’s Core Disciples move about. If we rush over there, I’m afraid..."

"Afraid of what!"

Ling Xiao waved his hand carelessly.

"Xuanming Divine Mountain doesn’t belong to them. Besides, we’re just looking for a place to cultivate, it’s not like we’re provoking them."

Gu Sheng pondered for a long while before finally nodding.

"So be it, we can only do this. I wanted to keep a low profile, but cultivation can’t be delayed."

The two of them simply tidied up the items in the cave,

"Let’s go."

Leaving the foot of the mountain, the mountain path grew gradually steeper.

By day, Xuanming Divine Mountain was shrouded in a layer of thin mist. The distant peaks loomed in and out of sight, like an Immortal Realm.

Ancient trees towered along the way, and occasionally spiritual birds flew by, letting out crisp cries.

"As expected, the higher we go, the denser the Spiritual Energy."

Feeling the speed at which the Cultivation Technique in his body was operating clearly increase on its own, joy appeared in Gu Sheng’s eyes.

But Ling Xiao suddenly tugged at his sleeve and lowered his voice.

"Careful, there are people ahead." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Following his gaze, Gu Sheng saw several Cultivators in cyan robes walking toward them not far away. The characters "Qinghe" were embroidered on their chests; they were clearly Core Disciples of the Holy Land.

"Keep your head down, don’t meet their eyes."

Gu Sheng reminded softly, pulling Ling Xiao to the side of the road.

Things went contrary to their wishes: those Disciples still noticed them. Their gazes lingered on the two for a moment, eyes filled with scrutiny and contempt.

"What are you looking at, never seen outsiders before?"

Being stared at like that, Ling Xiao grew a bit impatient and muttered under his breath.

"Shh!"

Gu Sheng hurriedly stopped him.

"Don’t cause trouble."

Fortunately, those Disciples did not stop and soon brushed past them.

But Gu Sheng could feel that there were still a few gazes from behind sizing them up.

"Seems we really do stand out here."

Gu Sheng said with a wry smile.

"We’ll have to be even more careful from here on."

Ling Xiao curled his lip.

"What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not like we’ve done anything shameful."

As he spoke, a commotion suddenly came from up ahead.

At the bend in the mountain road, they saw a crowd of twenty to thirty people gathered, all Disciples of Qinghe Holy Land, seemingly waiting for something.

"What’s going on?"

Ling Xiao’s curiosity was piqued, and he craned his neck to look.

"Go over and take a look?"

Gu Sheng frowned.