Volume 1: I Am Dead for You Chapter 35: The Great Peng

  Are you a builder?

  When Gu Yinghua said the four words "Jiugong Jushi", Liu Suoyun almost jumped up, he had long known that Gu Yinghua's origin was shocking, but never thought that this little sister who couldn't mobilize even a bit of spiritual power was actually a true Jiugong Jushi.

  In this world, the number of cultivators can be said to be as numerous as the hairs on a cow, but most people can only stop at the Qi Refining stage in their lifetime. As for those who can build their foundation and achieve success, even among 100 cultivators, there may not necessarily be two or three such individuals.

  It is said that once the foundation is established, one can transcend the mundane realm and achieve unparalleled power, to the point where one can control flying swords from hundreds of feet away to behead people, and live for at least 240 years. If one can obtain some methods and elixirs for prolonging life, living up to 300 years or more is not impossible.

  However, building the foundation is an extremely difficult task. Liu Suiyun's highest expectation for this life was to successfully build the foundation, and he felt that he would only have a chance to do so after the age of 40.

  And this Miss Gu Yinghua, although her tone is extremely arrogant, she is absolutely a young lady. Liu Suiyun even suspects that her age is similar to his own or even one or two years younger. How can someone so young have already established themselves? The things in this world are truly inconceivable!

  Liu Suiyun's astonished gaze, however, gave Gu Yinghua the wrong information. She honestly admitted to herself that she had started hiding the fact: "That's right, you're not wrong, I have such a good master, but why I only reached the foundation-building boundary is because I'm just a nominal disciple under my master's door and can't always follow him to receive guidance, but can only occasionally give me some pointers..."

  "Secondly, although I have learned some Buddhist techniques, the main ones are still orthodox Taoist immortal arts, which are not from the same source as my master's teachings, so they delayed my cultivation."

  No wonder Gu Yinghua said that what she learned was the Supreme Tao, with such a powerful master, even the side door and left way became the Supreme Tao. Liu Suizhen blurted out: "What realm is Wu Guang Shenni?"

  "Jiashi Buddha's Dharma is profound, and his cultivation has reached the realm of transformation." Gu Yinghua replied to Liu Suizhen: "If according to the Taoist teachings, that would be the Yuanying realm."

  No wonder Gu Yinghua would be ashamed of her own foundation-building cultivation. Liu Suizhen really didn't expect that this innocent and pure nun was actually a primordial infant cultivator. It's worth knowing that primordial infant cultivators can enjoy a thousand years of life, ride the clouds and drive the fog to turn rivers upside down and bring people back from the dead with just a thought, their power is truly boundless and endless, and they are practically no different from true immortals.

  His arch-nemesis, the Pang brothers, were just foundation-building cultivators. This innocent and pure nun's cultivation of Yuanying was absolutely like a heavenly immortal in the eyes of Liu Suizhen.

  It is said that the rise and fall of the Great Han Dynasty depends on how many Yuan Ying cultivators the Shen Xiao Sect has, to the point where there is a saying "the Shen Xiao Sect was first, then came the Great Han Dynasty". Although the Shen Xiao Sect claims to have one Yuan Shen realm cultivator, this is merely an mysterious and unverifiable legend.

  The Shenyue Sect's usual support is only those Jindan cultivators, while the two or three Yuanying True Immortals of the Shenyue Sect have always been the last resort, sitting in the sect, not coming out unless necessary, and when they do, it's a scene of blood flowing for thousands of miles.

  This young lady can be accepted as a disciple by such a noble and virtuous nun, I really don't know how to explain it to Liu Suizhen, no wonder she always shows off her aristocratic demeanor everywhere, others just have this capital!

  Upon further reflection, Liu Suizhuan savored even more flavor, although Gu Yinghua had such a good master who couldn't be won over by burning incense, she might not have been favored in front of Wu Guang Shenni. Just from the fact that she was a registered disciple, it can be seen that the Pang family dared to openly pursue and kill Gu Yinghua - perhaps she was extremely disfavored and neglected.

  Gu Yinghua continued to speak, confirming Liu Suizhen's thoughts. She sat on the ground, her eyes unfocused as she said: "I've been studying in front of my master's gate for years, although I have a heart that yearns for the Tao, but ultimately what I learned from my master is quite different, and it's hard to directly point to the golden elixir. Seeing my fellow female disciples' golden elixirs already formed, my heart was anxious, and my practice took some risks. After Master found out, he didn't expel me from the sect, but instead let me return home to calm down!"

  This is why he didn't get much favor under the Immortal Goddess's gate. Otherwise, her beloved disciples would have made progress and avoided going astray, and their master would have lent a hand to help them out. How could she let Gu Yinghua fend for herself? Gu Yinghua continued: "Although I've returned to our Great Han Empire, my mood is still quite gloomy. Until my Golden Elixir is complete, I won't be able to ascend to the Immortal Path. And now, there are some annoying things that have caused my cultivation to stagnate..."

  Liu followed the cloud and smiled: "It seems that my Extreme Yuan Huang Lei Duanshen Record is truly the ultimate great way!"

  She slowly led the topic to the main point: "On February 16th this year, I had something on my mind and decided to get up early to climb back to Swan Peak to collect medicine. You also know that Yuehua Mountain is Swan Peak, right?"

  Yuehua Mountain is a famous mountain known throughout the Great Han Empire, although there are no major sects or schools established here. However, it is said to be a sacred place for scattered cultivators. This time, the Swan Peak is filled with spiritual medicine and materials, but the terrain is treacherous, with dangers far exceeding those of Luoxing Mountain. Only foundation-establishing cultivators like Gu Yinghua can climb the mountain: "Yuehua Mountain's Swan Peak has a mighty reputation, how could I not know about it?"

  Gu Yinghua's voice gradually sank, and it was the first time she completely shared the experience of this climb with someone: "That morning when I went out, I always felt that something was wrong, I couldn't say what it was, but it was like..."

  Gu Yinghua gave an example: "Just like when I entered the Tian Nu Temple, I felt my whole body relax, and as soon as I walked out of the door, I felt a kind of ominous feeling. Coincidentally, Huo Shu was not there that time, and I almost thought about going down the mountain!"

  "But once I climbed back to Huiyan Peak, for some reason, the usually treacherous Huiyan Peak was calm and peaceful. There were no demonic creatures or spiritual beings, not even any ordinary plants that had gained sentience. That time, I didn't even draw my sword, nor did I encounter any obstacles. Instead, I harvested many spiritual herbs..."

  "This doesn't feel right!"

  "Ah!" Gu Yinghua was moved to tears by Liu Suoyun's words, and she sat next to him, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly. After a while, she continued: "But at that time, I didn't realize it, I just thought I was lucky, and today I would definitely have a big harvest, maybe even get the Thousand-Year-Old Spiritual Medicine."

  Liu Suiyun quietly listened to Gu Yinghua recount her experience of climbing the peak this time: "I had just passed Yan Huitou, and I found a hundred-year-old Lingcao. As soon as I bent down, I found that the sky was darkening. Suddenly, I felt a sense of foreboding. It's still noon now, why is the sky so dark?"

  Gu Yinghua's face was already mixed with regret, heartache and helplessness: "I couldn't help but raise my head, only to discover that the entire sky had almost turned into a dark mass. Fortunately, I am a foundation-building cultivator, so I could see what happened."

  Liu Suiyun thought of one possibility: "Could it be a solar eclipse? I've heard of the heavenly dog swallowing the moon?"

  "No! It's a huge bird, but it's a gigantic bird!" Gu Yinghua's eyes were filled with fear and her body was trembling: "Maybe you won't believe me, but I'm not hiding anything, that was a bird that blocked out the sun, I've seen many strange creatures in the wilderness with my master, but... but compared to this giant bird, they're nothing, those strange creatures are at most a few hundred feet long, even the Cloud Piercing Arrows that can cross oceans and seas are only a few miles long..."

  "I couldn't even describe how big this giant bird was, all I can say is that when it spread its blue wings, it was at least several thousand or tens of thousands of miles wide, and I almost fell to my knees in fright on the spot!"

  In fact, Gu Yinghua was even more miserable than she said. She originally just lowered her head to pick herbs and was directly scared by the giant bird that blocked out the sky and sun, kneeling on one knee. What's even more embarrassing is that she almost peed in fear!

  In front of ordinary people, she was a high and mighty young lady, an ethereal fairy. But in the face of this giant blue bird, Gu Yinghua discovered for the first time that she was so tiny, so powerless, she couldn't even muster up the thought of resisting.

  "This is a Roc, this is absolutely a Roc, perhaps it's the legendary Kunpeng!"

  He had heard that the Roc was a giant bird of the gods, and there was even an idiom called "Peng Cheng Wan Li". He also saw a book describing the legendary Kun Peng: "In the Northern Ocean, there is a fish named Kun. The size of Kun is unknown, thousands of miles long; it transforms into a bird, named Peng, the back of which is also thousands of miles long; when angry and flying, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky."

  Liu Suiyun thought that the Dapeng was just a myth, a mere fantasy, and didn't exist in reality. Although there were indeed cultivators who had reached the Yuanying or Yuanshen realms, as well as many strange creatures from the desolate wilderness and overseas.

  But the most he had seen of the desolate wilderness was only about 30 or 40 zhang, and even Gu Yinghua, who often stayed by Wugou Shenni's side and saw many strange creatures, had only seen them up to a hundred zhang. How could one giant bird reach an area of several thousand li? This is too unbelievable.

  But at this moment, Liu Suiyun deeply felt the inexplicability of all things in the world. Seeing the deep-seated fear in Gu Yinghua's eyes, Liu Suiyun believed that every word Gu Yinghua said was true.

  Gu Yinghua let out a long sigh: "I think that giant blue bird must be the real Kunpeng... I was shocked, and then I saw the Kunpeng flap its wings and fly away. The entire sky was filled with its flapping wings, and countless rays of sunlight poured down, illuminating tens of thousands of miles of sky, making it brighter than ever before. I felt like the whole world had never been so beautiful!"

  Liu Suizhong let out a sigh of relief, but Gu Yinghua's trembling grew more intense. Her teeth were chattering with cold, and Liu Suizhong could only gently pat her shoulder: "With a single flap of its wings, the giant bird summoned a white icy gust from the sky. The gust was piercingly cold, sending me tumbling dozens of feet away, almost to the edge of the cliff where I would have frozen to death."

  Liu Suiyun could no longer imagine how terrifying the green giant bird was, casually flapping its wings in mid-air, and it could actually throw a foundation repairman dozens of feet away, almost freezing to death. Gu Yinghua felt that her whole body didn't have half a bit of warmth: "Then I looked up again, and it was already a clear blue sky, the green giant bird had vanished without a trace, then I saw..."

  Gu Yinghua couldn't say anything more. She had wanted to speak up several times, but didn't have the courage to do so. Liu Suoyun couldn't help but ask: "What did you see..."

  "A white feather, a big Peng's white feather is floating in the air!"