Gu Fangchen held the guiding copper coin, watching as it floated above his palm. Of the four words engraved on it, "Yong An Tong bao," only the word "An" was stained with blood, pointing precisely in the direction of Gu Lianqian's location.
This stone forest lay within the Shimen Path, one of the four southwestern routes, and its territory was vast beyond measure.
The terrain here was treacherous, with towering mountains and endless cliffs rising vertically like walls, so few people lived in such a place.
The immortal sects also disdained founding branches in areas like this. Throughout the Shimen Path, there were only a few obscure and minor sects.
After all, great sects required vast resources to sustain their disciples. They either settled in prosperous central regions or in fertile lands rich in water and grass.
For instance, the Liuhua Province's Donglong County, where the Sword Pavilion was located, bordered Donglong Lake, serving as a major hub of waterway commerce, only such a place could support the growth of a thousand-year-old sect.
But this Shimen Path had neither advantage.
Thousands of years ago, however, the terrain here was not like this.
In the side story Sword in Stone, there was a record explaining it.
The countless stone pillars forming this immense stone forest were, in truth, a sealed Sword Tomb.
Each pillar represented a treasured sword of at least superior grade.
In the original game, it was several years later that the Sword Pavilion noticed the anomaly here, sending players to investigate, this location was one of the major story arcs of the Sword Pavilion's main quest.
In the end, they discovered that buried beneath this stone forest lay the ruins of an ancient Zhou dynasty sect, the "Grand Dao Sword Palace."
Beneath the ground stretched a vast domain filled with peril and fortune, a large-scale dungeon.
And the entrance to that dungeon was somewhere nearby.
"By now, the Demonic Sect's people should have arrived..."
"Xu Zhenguan has likely already come into contact with them, hasn't he?"
Gu Fangchen glanced back, his expression unchanged.
"Let's hope the man's still in one piece."
Ah, pressuring a good brother, it wasn't as if he enjoyed it. He truly felt bad about it!
But only through this could Xu Zhenguan gain strength rapidly. It was something that simply had to be done.
Since ancient times, those who achieved great things had first endured hardship of mind and toil of body.
Old Xu would just have to bear with it for a while.
My heart aches!
After lamenting briefly, Gu Fangchen turned and continued running toward Gu Lianqian's direction.
He kept his spiritual sense on constant alert. Though he had drawn away the Demonic Sect's people amid the chaos, there was still one fifth-grade grandmaster he had to deal with.
Moreover...
He glanced to his side at the arm hanging limply at his side. It was charred black, the flesh faintly visible through the burnt skin.
He had already said before that the Flame of Annihilation was like the Seven Wounds Fist, its power immense, but it harmed the user as well.
Combined with the activation of the Thousand Tribulation Silk, the destructive force was greater than the sum of its parts.
That arm was now temporarily useless.
His actual strength at this moment was only that of a newly advanced sixth-grade cultivator.
Though the Thousand Tribulation Silk and Flame of Annihilation allowed him to kill a sixth-grade instantly, the cost was steep.
And against a grandmaster, their effectiveness was far less.
A fifth-grade grandmaster was of the Refined-Heart Realm.
The term "Refined Heart" meant that at this stage of martial cultivation, one's mastery over the martial path had become complete, mind and body unified, the single heart reflecting all things, clear and luminous.
The sixth-grade Martial Courage Realm was the stage of "release."
It was the embodiment of immense strength and unshakable confidence, the kind of overwhelming aura that could shatter courage with a mere movement.
A single glance, a single command, could kill.
The fifth-grade Refined-Heart Realm, by contrast, was the stage of "contraction."
At this realm, the spirit and energy turned inward. To ordinary eyes, such a cultivator appeared entirely mundane, but that was only because his control had reached perfect fluidity.
The sign of a fifth-grade's pinnacle was the perfection of the "Flawless Golden Body."
Only upon cultivating the Flawless Golden Body did a martial cultivator gain a true defense against spiritual attacks.
The concentration of essence, energy, and spirit formed an automatic protective barrier.
Unless the body itself was penetrated, spiritual attacks below fifth grade would be weakened or nullified.
This was why one could only be called a grandmaster upon reaching the fifth grade.
Shi Le had fallen prey to the Tri-Evil Needle precisely because his cultivation had not yet reached the fifth-grade peak, his body was not perfected.
For Gu Fangchen, if his opponent was at the peak of fifth grade, the situation would become troublesome.
His Divine Path techniques would be ineffective, forcing him into direct combat.
At best, he might severely wound the opponent, but at the cost of losing his own ability to fight.
Escaping afterward with Gu Lianqian would then be nearly impossible.
Unless absolutely necessary, he did not wish to resort to other methods just yet.
If the enemy was merely an ordinary fifth-grade, however, things would be much simpler.
Gu Fangchen's steps halted as a cold pool and waterfall came into view ahead.
He narrowed his eyes, recalling that there should be a cave hidden behind that waterfall. Inside the cave was a concealed wall with a built-in formation that blocked spiritual detection.
"Pretty clever spot... no wonder she's managed to stay hidden for so long."
Raising a brow, Gu Fangchen did not approach immediately. Instead, he flicked the copper coin from his hand.
Whoosh-
The coin shot forward with tremendous speed, piercing a stone pillar and embedding itself into the rock wall behind.
From behind that pillar, a masked cultivator slowly stepped into view.
He wore a violet robe and stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His aura seemed no different from that of an ordinary seventh or eighth-grade cultivator.
But Gu Fangchen knew better, this was the fifth-grade grandmaster who had yet to appear.
For only when the man was this close had Gu Fangchen finally sensed his presence.
No mere seventh or eighth-grade could achieve such concealment.
Gu Fangchen's expression grew solemn as he examined the man from head to toe. His gaze lingered on the man's right shoulder, which sloped slightly downward, and a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.
That shoulder... seemed injured.
But with cultivation above fifth grade, one's body was nearly flawless. Normally, such a mark would not exist.
Unless the arm had suffered a grievous wound, one so severe it could never fully heal.
There were only a handful of people at the grandmaster level.
And as far as Gu Fangchen knew, none of them had ever sustained such an injury.
Which meant, this person was not fifth grade at all.
Gu Fangchen's heart sank.
He had misjudged the situation.
There was actually someone above fifth grade involved in the hunt for Gu Lianqian?!
By his reasoning, the immortal sects, wary of both the Tara Sect and Gu Yuye, would not dare to openly seize the "Lotus Concealed in the Womb."
That meant they would never send someone of such high cultivation whose identity risked exposure. Fifth grade should have been their limit.
Anyone fourth grade or higher would be too easily traced...
Yet now...
Gu Fangchen froze for a moment.
He fell silent, watching as the man approached closer and closer, then suddenly said,
"Uncle?"
The man's steps halted abruptly. The previously calm and unhurried posture stiffened on the spot.