61: Chapter 61 Burial Sword Abyss

Central Province, Heavenly Saint City.

The streets were bustling with people. Su Qianxue, dressed in simple green robes, blended into the crowd. After reaching the Core Formation stage, her temperament had become increasingly ethereal, drawing the gazes of many passersby.

She looked up at the towering pavilion ahead. The five large characters, "Ten Thousand Worlds Heavenly Secrets Pavilion," were written in a flamboyant style, exuding an air of arrogance that looked down upon the world.

"Lass, this place is not simple," Danqingzi's solemn voice echoed from the ring. "In my prime, I was an Alchemy Grandmaster and had seen many grand scenes. But the Formation fluctuations emanating from this pavilion are something even I cannot see through. This Master of Tianji Pavilion is a ruthless character."

Su Qianxue nodded. She had traveled all the way from Baicao Valley not just for experience, but also to inquire about top-secret information regarding her own background. Luo Qingxue had previously warned her not to trust the old man in the ring too much. Though she hadn't said anything, she kept that caution in her heart. Since the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion claimed to be all-knowing, there was no harm in trying her Luck.

Just as she reached the entrance of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, a young girl dressed in black martial attire approached her.

Ji Ruxue had just finished refining the Dragon Qi, and her cultivation showed signs of a Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage. She was ordered to head downstairs to handle some business when she bumped into Su Qianxue.

The two brushed past each other.

Ji Ruxue paused and glanced back. Her intuition as an Empress told her that this girl in green possessed an extremely dense amount of Luck.

Su Qianxue also stopped and turned to meet her gaze. She felt an incredibly sharp Sword Intent from the other party—a Killing Intent that could only be tempered through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Without any further exchange, the two retracted their gazes and went their separate ways.

The top floor of the Star-Plucking Tower.

Gu Sheng leaned back in a Grandmaster's chair, flipping through a novel he had obtained from somewhere.

[Host, your Clone is quite flashy in the Eastern Region. Three Soul Transformation Silver Flood Dragons pulling a carriage? Those hicks in the Eastern Region were dumbfounded. But with you being so high-profile, aren't you afraid of attracting those old monsters who just woke up?]

The System's mechanical voice carried a hint of mockery.

Gu Sheng closed the book and picked up his teacup. "The Central Province is currently a mess. The Taichu Holy Land, the Great Xia Dynasty, and those Hidden Families are all watching. I need to give them something to do."

A knock sounded at the door.

"Enter."

Xuan Kong pushed the door open and walked in, holding a gold-leaf invitation. "Young Lord, it's from the Great Xia Dynasty. Xia Qingyuel will ascend the throne in three days and has invited you to witness the ceremony."

Gu Sheng took the invitation, glanced at it, and tossed it onto the table.

"Xia Ruotian abdicated quite decisively. That old fox is definitely brewing some scheme." Gu Sheng tapped his fingers on the table. "He doesn't dare to openly oppose the Gu Family, but he'll certainly contact other forces in secret. Any movement from the Taichu Holy Land?"

Xuan Kong replied, "The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's intelligence network reports anomalies in the Forbidden Ground of the Taichu Holy Land's back mountain. Several Elders who have been in seclusion for a hundred years have all emerged. Furthermore, scouts have seen the Great Xia Dynasty's secret guards entering the Taichu Holy Land's territory."

Gu Sheng smiled.

"Playing the game of alliances, how fancy." Gu Sheng stood up and walked to the window, overlooking the prosperous Heavenly Saint City. "They want to test the Gu Family, so I'll show them something real. Xuan Kong, go to the treasury and get that 'nine heavens and ten earths demon subduing seal' as a congratulatory gift for the new Emperor of Great Xia."

Xuan Kong acknowledged and withdrew.

[The nine heavens and ten earths demon subduing seal? That's a damaged Emperor Weapon. You're being quite generous.]

"You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. A damaged Emperor Weapon is enough to make those old monsters' eyes turn red with greed." Gu Sheng stretched. "As long as they dare to reach out, I'll have an excuse to chop off their claws and harvest a wave of destiny points in the process."

Downstairs, Su Qianxue had already entered the main hall of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

The hall was decorated in an ancient and elegant style. In the center hung a plaque: 'Absolute Accuracy, Fairness for All.'

Su Jiuer sat behind the counter, waving a silk fan and yawning out of boredom. Her eyes lit up when she saw Su Qianxue enter.

"Oh, young lady, are you here for a fortune-telling or to buy information?" Su Jiuer greeted her with a smile.

Su Qianxue sized up Su Jiuer. This shopkeeper looked young, but her cultivation was unfathomable.

"I want to buy information on someone's whereabouts." Su Qianxue took out a Storage Pouch and placed it on the counter. "Here are one hundred thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones."

Su Jiuer didn't take the Storage Pouch, covering half her face with her fan. "One hundred thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones can buy a life elsewhere. But in the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, it only buys the most basic information. Who is the lady looking for?"

Su Qianxue's lips moved slightly as she uttered three words: "Su Tiance."

Danqingzi in the ring sucked in a breath of cold air. Su Tiance was a peerless Sword Cultivator who shook the Central Province three hundred years ago, and he was also Su Qianxue's biological father. Back then, Su Tiance had vanished mysteriously, causing the Su Family to decline, which led to Su Qianxue being exiled to Xueluo City.

Su Jiuer's hand waving the fan stopped. She sized Su Qianxue up and down, her smile fading.

"That name is quite old." Su Jiuer tapped the counter. "One hundred thousand Spirit Stones aren't enough. You need to pay more."

Su Qianxue bit her lip. "I only have this much. If it's not enough, I can use something else to compensate."

"Such as?"

Su Qianxue pulled out a token that was neither metal nor jade and slapped it on the table. "The shennong order. With this order, one can command Baicao Valley."

The originally noisy Loose Cultivators in the hall instantly fell silent. Baicao Valley's shennong order was a supreme treasure in the Alchemy world. This seemingly weak girl in green could actually produce such a thing.

Su Jiuer picked up the shennong order, looked at it, and tossed it back onto the table.

"The token is a good item, but the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion doesn't take junk." Su Jiuer turned toward the back hall. "If the lady truly wishes to know Su Tiance's whereabouts, go to the second floor. The Pavilion Master happens to be free."

Su Qianxue put away the token and followed Su Jiuer upstairs.

The second floor of the Star-Plucking Tower was much more elegant than the first. Gu Sheng sat at a tea table, brewing tea.

Su Qianxue stepped onto the wooden stairs, her footsteps making no sound.

The space on the second floor was more spacious than imagined. There were no redundant decorations, and a red sandalwood tea table was placed by the window.

A young man dressed in a moon-white long robe sat behind the tea table, using bamboo tongs to stir the charcoal in a small red clay stove.

The man lifted the kettle, pouring boiling water into a white porcelain teacup as steam rose.

"Sit." Gu Sheng put down the kettle and pointed to the futon opposite him.

Su Qianxue walked over and took a seat.

She observed the man across from her.

His face was handsome, his bone structure excellent, and there wasn't a hint of spiritual energy fluctuation on him. He looked exactly like an innocent Young Master from the secular world.

It was hard to connect such a person with the Master of Tianji Pavilion who stirred the winds and clouds of the Central Province and made Saints bow.

Let alone recognizing him as the mysterious master who had issued the decree through Luo Qingxue back in the Far North Icefield.

Back then, Luo Qingxue was high and mighty, and Ye Lan's Half-step Creation Realm pressure made everyone breathless. But the person before her was far too ordinary.

Ordinary enough that the shennong order in Su Qianxue's hand felt somewhat heavy.

"Information on Su Tiance." Gu Sheng pushed a cup of tea toward Su Qianxue. "One hundred thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones plus the shennong order. This price for news of a dead man is a losing deal."

Su Qianxue's hand holding the teacup stopped in mid-air.

The tea was slightly hot, its warmth transferring to her palm through the porcelain.

"My father is not dead." Su Qianxue's tone was steady as she looked directly at Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng looked down and toyed with his folding fan.

[Host, the Destined Daughter's intuition is really accurate. Su Tiance is indeed not dead, but he's not far from it. Trapped in the Sword Burial Abyss of the Western Desolate Demon Lands for three hundred years, washed by Devilish Qi every day—a normal person would have gone mad long ago.]

The System popped up in his mind to make its presence known.

Gu Sheng picked up his tea and took a sip. "Whether he's dead or not isn't for you to decide. The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion does business based on equal exchange. The shennong order is a sacred object to Baicao Valley, but to me, it's just a piece of wood with a special texture."

Su Qianxue put down her teacup and took out a Spiritual Plant emitting a faint white glow from her Storage Pouch.

"A Nine-Leaf Soul-Returning Grass plus one hundred thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones for my father's exact location."

Danqingzi in the ring grew anxious. "Lass! This Nine-Leaf Soul-Returning Grass is your life-saving trump card for breaking through to the Void Refinement Stage. How can you just give it away!"

Su Qianxue ignored Danqingzi's protest.

Gu Sheng glanced at the Spiritual Plant but didn't take it.

"Miss Su." Gu Sheng leaned against the back of his chair, crossing his hands in front of him. "You've walked all the way from Xueluo City to the Central Province, joined Baicao Valley, and reached Core Formation and Soul Transformation. You know very well what you've relied on for this smooth journey."

Su Qianxue's pupils contracted.

Gu Sheng tapped his finger on the table twice. "That ring on your hand hides an old relic. He taught you Alchemy, taught you how to Cultivate, and treated you as a tool for revenge. Do you really think he has your best interests at heart?"

"What nonsense are you talking!" Danqingzi's voice roared in Su Qianxue's mind. "I am a dignified Alchemy Grandmaster, why would I plot against a little girl!"

Su Qianxue pressed down on the ring and said nothing.

Luo Qingxue's previous warning echoed in her ears: Do not easily trust the thing in the ring.

Now, the Master of Tianji Pavilion had said the same thing.

Gu Sheng toyed with the folding fan in his hand. "Why did Su Tiance disappear back then? Because he discovered a secret he shouldn't have. It concerns the Taichu Holy Land, and it also concerns that old relic in your hand."

Su Qianxue stood up. "What exactly are you trying to say, Pavilion Master?"

"I can give you the information." Gu Sheng tapped the table with his folding fan. "I don't want your Spirit Stones, nor your Spiritual Plant. I want you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"In half a month, the coronation ceremony for the new Emperor of Great Xia will take place." Gu Sheng stood up and walked to the window. "I want you to go and deliver a congratulatory gift in your capacity as the new Valley Master of Baicao Valley."