Chapter 74: The Land of Guluo

A letter appeared on the ground. On the cover, the words “To Qingxi” were written in bold, sweeping strokes, full of vigor and presence.

Qingxi couldn’t help but mutter, “He clearly has the talent of a calligrapher, yet insists on cultivating instead.”

He opened the letter. The content at the top was brief.

Qingxi read softly, “Good disciple, your master has business far away and must leave the sect for a while. Take care of yourself in my absence. By the way, I’ve left some items with Tu Yongsheng. Remember to collect them; they will aid you in advancing to Xiantian.”

That was all the letter said.

As he finished reading, Qingxi was left puzzled. He wondered silently to himself why Ouyang Changfeng had been away from the sect so often lately. What exactly was he up to?

But upon remembering there were items stored with Tu Yongsheng, he immediately headed for the outer sect and found the man.

“So you’ve finally come. Here, these are for you.” Tu Yongsheng, always so forthright, handed Qingxi a storage bracelet.

“Thank you, Elder Tu!” Qingxi grasped Tu Yongsheng’s hand excitedly, taking the opportunity to send five hundred threads of the Five Elements’ essence into his body.

These five hundred threads wouldn’t help Tu Yongsheng advance to Xiantian, but they were enough to save his life should he ever be in mortal danger—a token of Qingxi’s gratitude for Tu Yongsheng’s care in the past.

“You kid, your aura feels so solid—have you reached the peak of Qi Refinement?” Tu Yongsheng noticed Qingxi’s energy and was full of surprise.

“It’s just the advantage of having all twelve meridians open. Unfortunately, I’m now facing the bottleneck to Xiantian. Breaking through won’t be easy,” Qingxi replied honestly.

After each cultivation session, the aching and stinging throughout his body was indeed hard to bear.

Tu Yongsheng said earnestly, “There’s no need to rush. You’re still young. Spend a few more years refining your true qi, and once you’re confident, break through the bottleneck in one swoop.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Elder. By the way, do you know where my master has gone?”

“I have no idea. Elder Ouyang has always been mysterious. They say he wasn’t originally from our sect but joined halfway through his journey. Maybe he’s dealing with some past affairs.”

Hearing this, Qingxi was lost in thought.

After chatting a while longer, Qingxi returned to his residence.

Glancing at the dragon horse sprawled on its back, snoring thunderously, Qingxi shook his head helplessly. He was about to go upstairs when he suddenly turned and looked toward the door.

A graceful figure dressed in black stood quietly outside, swaying gently in the breeze.

A fragrant scent drifted over. Qingxi inhaled deeply, feeling a pleasant comfort.

Yes, it was a familiar fragrance.

He thought to himself.

“I just realized that your spiritual roots are mediocre. Advancing to Xiantian might take you years—I haven’t the patience to wait that long,” Qiu Yingying said, flicking her jade-like finger. A storage bracelet arced through the air, landing neatly on Qingxi’s wrist. “Inside are ten bottles of Essence Condensing Elixir. They’ll help you gather true qi faster.”

Qingxi was about to thank her, but Qiu Yingying interrupted, “No need to thank me—they’re just leftovers from when I advanced to Xiantian. Tomorrow at dawn, come with me to the ancient land of Guluo.”

“Time waits for no one!”

Before Qingxi could reply, Qiu Yingying had already vanished.

“Leftovers…” Qingxi muttered, retrieving the elixirs from the bracelet. Reading the labels, he discovered these had clearly been freshly refined only days ago.

“Senior Sister really has a sharp tongue but a soft heart.”

He opened the other storage bracelet—the one he’d collected from Tu Yongsheng. To his astonishment, it was also filled with Essence Condensing Elixir, ten bottles in total.

“So much Essence Condensing Elixir… It seems I truly have hope of breaking through to Xiantian!”

Qingxi placed all the elixirs into his system’s storage space, then shifted his attention to the two remaining low-grade storage bracelets.

“It’s been a long time since I improved my spatial power.”

A smile crept across Qingxi’s lips. Grasping a bracelet in each hand, he began converting and absorbing their energies, gaining two wisps of spatial power.

Opening his Spatial Physique interface, he saw his progress now read “3/10,000.” It was time, he thought, to spend some points.

After a quick trip to the points hall, spending two thousand points on two more low-grade storage bracelets, he absorbed the spatial energy from within.

Now his Spatial Physique read “5/10,000.” He could clearly sense that the area and intensity of his spatial interference had grown—an extra safeguard for the journey to the ancient land of Guluo.

He then took out a bottle of Essence Condensing Elixir.

[Type: Elixir]
[Name: Essence Condensing Elixir]
[Grade: Ninth Tier]
[Note: Essence Condensing Elixir is the highest rank among mortal-grade pills. It nourishes the meridians of Qi Refinement cultivators at the peak, accelerating the transformation of true qi.]

After reading the description, Qingxi uncorked the wooden stopper and poured the liquid—less than half a cup—into his mouth.

It tasted rather good, somewhat like lemon tea, slightly tart.

As Qingxi began transforming his true qi, the process became much smoother; his bodily aches lessened, and his speed increased by half.

By early the next morning, after consuming five bottles of elixir, he had already transformed half of the vital energy in his body.

Outside the gate, a figure approached slowly.

Qiu Yingying had arrived.

Qingxi knew it was time to set out. He tugged the dragon horse’s ear, rousing it from sleep.

“Who is it? Can't you let me sleep…” the dragon horse grumbled, eyes bleary with drowsiness, but before it could finish, it found itself wrapped in a golden sword-light, shooting low across the ground like an arrow released from the bowstring.

Buffeted by the wind, the dragon horse could only utter a series of “ah ah ahs” as its mouth filled with the chill of dawn.

The golden sword-light carried two people and one horse, sweeping over mountains and lakes, crossing the Xisha River and vast grasslands, finally stopping before nightfall at the ruins of a sprawling ancient city stretching for miles.

“The Guluo Dynasty… Was this once a true kingdom?”

Standing before the city gates, Qingxi noticed a stone stele inscribed with bold, vigorous characters. His eyes narrowed with shock and curiosity.

Qiu Yingying nodded thoughtfully. “Two thousand years ago, the Eastern Domain had only one star-ranked power—what you see here, the Guluo Dynasty. Sadly, it fell when the earth demon beast invaded, and this great royal city was reduced to ruins.”

She sighed with regret.

This was ancient lore not recorded in the library, so Qingxi had never heard it before.

As for Qiu Yingying, she’d only learned of it after asking Qiu Mingzi.

Qingxi was astonished. “A star-ranked power would at least be overseen by a Linggang Realm expert. Even they couldn’t withstand the assault?”

“Linggang Realm?” Qiu Yingying shook her head. “Back then, the Guluo Dynasty was the pinnacle of one-star powers, guarded by a top-tier Golden Gang Realm master. Yet in the face of a half-step King-ranked earth demon beast, it was nothing.”

“They say the beast shattered the royal palace with a single slap. The Golden Gang Realm sovereign didn’t even have time to scream before his soul was obliterated.”

“After destroying the dynasty, the earth demon beast remained deep beneath the royal palace, rarely surfacing in the two thousand years since. Otherwise, why do you think the ancient land of Guluo is counted among the ten great ruins of Yunchuan Prefecture?”

Her gaze grew somber as she spoke.

Qingxi’s heart pounded with excitement and dread.