Yu Hua saw Gu Wen staring blankly at her, her tone carrying a hint of amusement, "Since you killed the great demon, the item should rightfully belong to you. Although it's not an incredible treasure, it's also not a mere roadside pebble."
Thinking of how Gu Wen always pretended to be weak and harmless, combined with the overwhelming murderous aura from his recent statement 'The inner treasury burns to magnificent ashes, the bones of officials crushed underfoot on Heaven Street.' Yu Hua found it amusing. His exterior and interior were so contradictory, yet she could not grow tired of it.
Others were hypocrites, but he was outwardly timid and inwardly a king.
Of course, strength was the prerequisite. If it were someone else, it was merely impotent rage, but Gu Wen forged the Yuqing Daoji in four days. His talent and perseverance were extraordinary. Once he grew, the Zhao family would surely perish.
Even if he could reach the Fourth Level of Daoji and if that person from the Zhao family couldn't become a top figure in this era, this cause and effect could lead to the fall of a Venerable, and even affect the entire sect.
The Fourth Level represented the foundation of the greatest powers of this era and was also the threshold to the path to immortality. Often, the higher one went, the difference of a slight margin was like that between the heavens and the earth.
Gu Wen suppressed his feelings and replied, "If the Ninth Prince desires it, I naturally have no right to refuse."
Hearing this, Yu Hua's smile slightly faded as she asked, "Do you need to speak like this even with me?"
"How would the immortal like me to respond?"
Gu Wen remained neither humble nor arrogant, always maintaining a certain vigilance. Even if the other party wouldn't betray him, he had already grown accustomed to never speaking the truth in front of others.
Unfortunately, this Taoist Heavenly Girl didn't see it that way. No matter what, Gu Wen had achieved the Yuqing Daoji. Although she was accustomed to his deceptiveness, there was no need for him to be so cautious in front of her.
For the first time, using a tone close to commanding, she said, "Do not address Zhao Feng respectfully in front of me from now on."
Gu Wen was stunned for a moment and asked, "Is the immortal in disagreement with him?"
From her tone, it was apparent that Yu Hua didn't have a harmonious relationship with Zhao Feng.
"I just despise you addressing him respectfully."
Yu Hua walked into the house by herself, her sleeve of light gauze brushing past Gu Wen without a trace of rouge scent, just a faint, indescribable scent. Like the moon reflected in water, the remnants of fireworks, fleeting.
In the distance, a lantern appeared around the corner, its light dispelling the darkness of the corridor. Two strong guardians approached. Seeing Gu Wen standing at the door startled them, then they respectfully bowed and said, "Mister, it's midnight already, please rest early."
"Mmm."
Gu Wen nodded, then closed the door, while the guardians' footsteps gradually faded.
Inside the house, Yu Hua had already begun scrutinizing her usual living place, looking left and right. She picked up a scroll from the bookshelf and started reading, not bothering with formalities at all.
Are all immortals so familiar?
Gu Wen felt a headache coming on. He wanted to stop her from browsing through his bookshelf. Some things there should not be seen, although he rarely used characters to record anything and would erase it immediately after writing. His practice of Daqian official documents and reading and writing exercises were all there, some transcripts, some poetry.
Mostly from the common marketplace of Daqian, but too much coarse grain always needed some finer bran.
But he who accepts a favor is subdued by it. Yu Hua was not a literati or ink-stained scholar and would likely not be so sensitive. If she practiced cultivation, why would she care about the poetry of mortals?
Despite Gu Wen's many concerns, he was still drawn to that bead. It was carelessly placed on the table, emitting a green glow. Under the dim candlelight, Yu Hua's fingertips touched the oil lamp, making it even more dazzling, with layers of water patterns emerging on its surface.
He quickly stepped forward and picked up the Jade-eyed Water Wave Pearl, a sense of regaining what was lost causing Gu Wen's brows to slightly furrow.
Yu Hua turned the pages of the scroll and, without looking up, asked, "Do you have the Sacrificial Refining Skill?"
Gu Wen quickly clasped his hands and said, "Please impart the skill, immortal."
"The thing I just mentioned with you."
"Of course, I listen entirely to the immortal. That Zhao Feng steals others' achievements shamelessly—like looking for peas in a quail's crop, or splitting fine meat on a heron's legs, or scooping fat oil from a mosquito's belly."
Gu Wen's criticism toward Zhao Feng was forthright, causing Yu Hua to let out a light chuckle, "Your way of scolding is quite unique. What about the Zhao family then?"
"When the Saint assumes the throne, all under heaven celebrate peace."
Hearing such high praise, Yu Hua was stunned for a moment and asked, "All under heaven celebrates peace, yet this world hardly seems tranquil or beautiful."
Gu Wen spoke in a somber tone, "With increased taxation enriching the Daqian Dynasty, taxing up to twenty years into the future, how can they not be wealthy? How can every household not be cleansed of dirt?"
He had a clear understanding of the other party's attitude towards the Zhao family and didn't need to disguise too much.
"..."
Yu Hua was at a loss for words, unwittingly amused by the sentence structure and tone, yet she knew it was improper to make light of the common people's suffering.
She just wanted to hear Gu Wen curse someone out as he had previously cursed Zhao Feng, calling him a simpleton whose brain was connected directly to his gut. This was something Yu Hua could not normally experience. Compared to the pretentious elegance, she preferred to hear more intriguing talk.
Fake elegance was usually just an act that became ridiculous when closely observed. Whenever someone tried to impress others in public, their emotions would inevitably surge, making Gu Wen, this slippery eel, the hardest for her to capture the thoughts of.
Yet, Gu Wen's interesting remarks somehow had a taste of hell, leaving her not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Yu Hua changed the topic, "A magic artifact is indeed a vessel for Daoist Skill, and utilizing such external objects as if they were one's limbs requires a magic technique, which is categorised as external cultivation."
Gu Wen asked, "May I inquire, Immortal, if the Xuanming Spear can be understood as external cultivation, why is the Sacrificial Refining Skill also considered external cultivation?"
There were no sword moves in the Yuqing Sword Skill, just internal refining of Sword Intent.
"Anything that does not increase cultivation is considered external cultivation, all belonging to the external path," Yu Hua replied as a matter of course. Gu Wen probably understood now—it was the difference between the Sword Sect and the Qi Sect.
Cultivating Qi was fundamental; all else was the external path.
"In the Cultivation World, the military arts are strongest in refining artifacts. I could not find the methods of the military families, only the foundational Sacrificial Refining Skill of the Sanqing Taoist Sect."
She held out her hand, her voice gentle as if comforting Gu Wen, touching as if it had become a habit, or possibly enticing like luring a cat, "There are heavenly limitations in this place, and I have not yet reached the stage of transferring skills remotely. Hold my hand, it will only take a moment."
This time, Gu Wen was experienced, he reached out and held her hand; a stream of Qi enveloping the Sacrificial Refining Skill entered his mind.
"Treasure of Magic Weapon"
The contents were all-encompassing. From how to nurture and refine a magic artifact to methods of manipulation, and even how to repair artifacts damaged in battles—it provided a complete textbook of magic treasure, from the basics to the burial.
Deliciously freeloading, what a delight.
Gu Wen increasingly recognized the importance of Yu Hua, this angel investor. Without her, he probably wouldn't even have reached the edges of cultivation, even if he possessed the Fate Diagram, it would not have spared him the groping and trial and error.
Groping one's way across the river by feeling for the stones is still better than stepping into the river alone.
But the debt of this favor was growing larger, making it increasingly difficult to repay in the future.
"Thank you, Immortal, Gu's heart will bear this kindness in mind; should you need anything in the future, I'll scale the mountains or dive into the seas of fire." Gu Wen bowed deeply, throwing out another metaphorical pancake, and Yu Hua nodded in acknowledgement.
At this point, it was no longer a matter of simply compensating the Gu family—had Gu Wen not been talented, she wouldn't have been so attentive. What she sought wasn't mere favors, perhaps a bit utilitarian, but it was better than scaring the other party off by asking for nothing.
This descendant of the Gu family was just like a slippery eel, naturally skeptical.
Gu Wen then asked, "The Snake Monster I killed today, I wonder if it was a demon?"
"It wasn't a snake but a Da Fish. Da Fish live in muddy nests near water banks, resembling eels and carps but slim and like snakes without scales, colored in blue and yellow, and are ferocious by nature. Used in medicine to enrich yang, becoming a dragon-transformed demon, the one you killed might have been a Dragon Son."
Yu Hua's startling words made Gu Wen stupefied, "That Dragon Son seems rather weak, doesn't it?"
Indeed, the eel was big but was merely flesh and blood. The royal guards could break its defense with one strike, chopping it until it wailed incessantly. With Gu Wen's cultivation of mana, having mastered the Xuanming Spear to the Fourth Level achieving master status among mortals with his hidden energy.
Judging by the silky feel, softer than pork, and besides its head, all other bones were soft, cutting the eel in half was solely because the blade wasn't long enough.
"It's not that the Dragon Son was weak, but that the Immortal Land is perilous. The real danger isn't the barren places, but the countless individuals who can injure oneself. The peril of becoming immortal lies in people."
Yu Hua's gaze fell on a long stick used for martial arts practice in Bianjing, where private possession of weapons was strictly forbidden, thus substituting a spear with a stick.
She somberly said, "This long stick could also kill me if there's no magic to protect me; it just needs a hit at the face."
"All creations transform into the mundane; this is the fate destined by Immortal Land. However, it's more likely born from a spiritual spring, otherwise, it could not have escaped without a backup plan."