Along the official road, the caravan of several hundred people to which Teng Qingshan belonged slowly advanced, the merchants and guards chatting along the way.
"Leaving Jiangning, I wonder when I’ll ever return."
Teng Qingshan sighed inwardly.
They were already out of the territory of Jiangning Commandery. They were a full six hundred li from Great Yan Mountain. The night before, Teng Qingshan had secretly used the underground lake to escape the encirclement. He had also dug up the buried Mountain-Splitting Divine Axe, and then fled Great Yan Mountain, rushing northwards. With Teng Qingshan’s speed, he had reached Huafeng City by midnight.
Leaping into Huafeng City, this city had a great deal of everything.
Teng Qingshan disguised himself, completely altering his appearance. At the same time, he stole an old yellow-maned horse in Huafeng City. Teng Qingshan directly carried the yellow-maned horse, leaping over the walls of Huafeng City overnight. Then, still carrying the horse, he executed his Qinggong technique and sped for two hundred li. Only then did he leisurely ride the yellow-maned horse for another thirty-odd li, arriving at an inn on the border of Jiangning Commandery.
After a hearty breakfast at the inn, dawn broke.
There were too many merchants, and the tables at the inn were few by the time they all woke up. Several people ended up squeezing onto the same table as Teng Qingshan. Teng Qingshan generously treated them to a meal, and through some back-and-forth, they became familiar with each other.
“Brother Qin Wei, looking at you, you must be around thirty this year? I still don’t know which of us is older.” said the burly man riding a green-maned horse.
“Thirty-six,” Teng Qingshan laughed. “Old Zhang, and you?”
“Brother Qin Wei, you’re a year older than me. I’m thirty-five this year.” The burly man chuckled. “But after more than a decade of facing wind and rain on the road, the sun and wind have made me look older. Looking at you, Brother Qin Wei, although you look like a northerner, at first glance, you seem only thirty, younger than me.”
A young man with a large beard riding a horse leaned over: “Old Zhang, Brother Qin is a Master of Internal Strength, of course he looks younger.”
“Heizi,” Old Zhang laughed. “Look at you, only twenty-two! You look about my age. But my eldest son is already twenty. So Heizi… shave off that beard of yours.”
“That won’t do, my Ah Hua loves this big beard of mine the most,” the youth named ‘Heizi’ retorted, his eyes wide.
Teng Qingshan laughed heartily: “Old Zhang, stop talking. Traveling the world, being young makes one an easy target. Heizi’s ‘big beard’ has its advantages.”
“See that, Brother Qin is so reasonable,” Heizi said proudly with a grin.
“But Brother Qin,” Heizi lowered his voice, “you’re traveling alone, heading from Yangzhou back to Yanzhou—that’s nearly ten thousand li! It’s so dangerous! You have martial arts, but traveling this far is truly earning money with your life! Brother Qin… I think you should find a shorter route to do business.”
Teng Qingshan sighed deeply: “In this world, without taking risks, it’s hard to get by! This time I’ll risk it all; if I succeed, my whole family will be set for the rest of our lives!”
“Traveling alone, nearly ten thousand li. If you can earn well, one trip is worth dozens of our runs,” Old Zhang lamented. “But I don’t have Brother Qin Wei’s skills; I can only travel between Yangzhou and Qingzhou. I’m familiar with this route, and we have confidence. If I were younger, with no ties, perhaps I too could run ten thousand li like Brother Qin Wei and earn a fortune! In this world, without taking risks, money is hard to come by!”
“Yes, hard to get by,” Heizi agreed with a sigh.
Doing business wasn’t easy either.
If it were within Yangzhou, earning a profit of two or three cheng (20-30%) between commandery cities was considered good.
But traveling between Qingzhou and Yangzhou, choosing the right goods, one could earn a profit of six or seven cheng in a single trip.
Like traveling from the southernmost Yangzhou to the northernmost Yanzhou—a journey of nearly ten thousand li—that was truly earning money with one’s life. However, because the distance was so great, goods like smuggled salt or tea bricks would see a tenfold price difference between the two regions! If it was between Yangzhou and the Great Grasslands in the far north, the price difference could reach dozens of times!
Because the Great Grasslands were chaotic due to constant tribal warfare, merchants were easily robbed! Business with such extremely high profits, if successful even once, could set a person up for the rest of their life.
In this world, as long as one could earn huge sums, there would always be people daring enough to risk their lives.
The role Teng Qingshan was currently playing was that of a solitary merchant with some skill in Internal Strength. Those who dared to travel alone generally possessed some martial prowess; otherwise, they were seeking death.
“This time I’m lucky to travel with Old Zhang and the others as far as Qingzhou. At least this stretch of the road will be safer,” Teng Qingshan said with a smile.
The largest lake in Yangzhou was Qing Lake.
Qing Lake spanned a vast area of several tens of li, and in the center of Qing Lake lay an island, ‘Qinghu Island,’ nearly forty to fifty li in circumference. One of the Eight Great Sects of the Nine Provinces, ‘Qinghu Island Sect,’ was located here! On Qing Lake, large numbers of boats could often be seen, as many people traveled between the lake shores and the island daily.
Therefore, there were countless boats.
“Boatman, row us to the island.”
A young man and woman boarded a boat.
“Aye aye!” the woodcutter shook his oars.
“Senior Brother, did you hear? The Silver Flood Dragon Army returned to the island last night,” said the spirited young girl. “I wonder what the result was of the Silver Flood Dragon Army’s expedition… Previously, it was rumored everywhere that our Qinghu Island army was stationed at Great Yan Mountain precisely for the Treasure of Emperor Yu. I wonder if the treasure truly exists, and what the outcome was.”
“I actually know something about that. My father is a commander in the Silver Flood Dragon Army; I received the news just last night.”
The blue-robed youth shook his head and sighed, “Our Qinghu Island suffered quite a few casualties this time. It’s said that over ten thousand soldiers of the Silver Flood Dragon Army perished! As for the Treasure of Emperor Yu, it seems it was real; it was apparently a Ding cauldron containing the ‘Spirit of the North Sea.’ But it seems no one obtained the cauldron.”
“Over ten thousand people? How is that possible?” the young girl gasped. “Even if dozens of Xiantian masters were sent to kill, they wouldn't die in such numbers.”
“It was a ferocious demonic beast, an incredibly powerful one. Even quite a few Law Enforcement Elders perished,” the blue-robed youth whispered.
...
Currently, there were many discussions on Qinghu Island regarding the battle at Great Yan Mountain. Since a large number of Silver Flood Dragon Army soldiers had returned, news spread quickly.
Qinghu Island, Dragon-Locking Pavilion.
Gu Yong, clad in a drab grey robe, sat cross-legged. In front of him, eight people also sat cross-legged, among them Zhao Danchen!
Qinghu Island previously had 21 Xiantian experts, but this expedition cost the lives of twelve! Only nine remained in the Dragon-Locking Pavilion. Among these nine, Zhao Danchen was missing an arm.
“Abdicate? Island Master! You haven’t been the Island Master for very long; you can’t step down now, absolutely not,” said a stout man with golden-yellow hair repeatedly. During this expedition by Qinghu Island, the seven Xiantian masters left behind to guard the island included two Xiantian Golden Cores and five Xiantian Void Cores.
These were all relatively young, and they were kept behind precisely because of their great potential.
“Island Master, the losses this time aren't your fault. Island Master, please don't mention stepping down,” said another Xiantian Golden Core, a short, plump middle-aged man.
“Junior Brother, Senior Brother, you two don't need to argue. Our Qinghu Island’s vitality has been severely damaged this time; as the Island Master, I cannot evade responsibility,” Gu Yong said indifferently. “Now that we have lost the majority of our Xiantian experts, we need time to recuperate and recover our strength, not wage further campaigns. Furthermore, my temperament is no longer suitable for leading Qinghu Island.”
“The next Island Master will be either Junior Brother or Senior Brother; of course, I will report to the Grand Elder for his final decision,” Gu Yong stated. Among the Xiantian Golden Core experts of Qinghu Island, there were four under the age of one hundred. After Gu Yong’s junior sister died, the other three were still alive. These three were Gu Yong himself and the two men standing before him.
Once Gu Yong made a decision, others could not easily defy it.
Afterward, Gu Yong left the Dragon-Locking Pavilion and went alone to 'Sword Edge Mountain.'
Qinghu Island, Sword Edge Mountain!
This was a major forbidden area within Qinghu Island. Even core disciples were forbidden from setting foot on Sword Edge Mountain. Any violators would have their martial arts crippled and be expelled from Qinghu Island. Only the Law Enforcement Elders and the Island Master were qualified to enter Sword Edge Mountain.
Wearing the drab grey robe, Gu Yong walked step by step along the mountain path.
His face was expressionless.
After a long time—
Gu Yong reached the summit of Sword Edge Mountain. Apart from a stone house, there were no other structures on the peak. However, this stone house was already covered in cobwebs and dust, clearly untouched for a very long time. In front of the stone house stood a lifelike humanoid stone sculpture.
Gu Yong approached the statue, then knelt down with a 'bang,' bowing his head: “Grand-Master, Yong’er has sinned!”
“Kaka~~”
Cracks suddenly appeared on the surface of the stone statue, which then crumbled into dust. Carried by a gentle breeze, all the stone fragments were swept away, revealing a figure in black robes sitting cross-legged. His eyes were closed, his hair was completely silver-white, and his face was as expressionless as carved stone.
“I have disturbed Grand-Master’s quiet cultivation,” Gu Yong said while kneeling.
Gu Yong knew… this ‘Heavenly Eye Sword Saint,’ also known as the ‘Blind Sword Saint,’ meditated for extended periods, never needing a single drop of water or any food.
The black-robed Blind Sword Saint sat there, and the entire sky seemed to darken.
Facing the Blind Sword Saint, Gu Yong felt as if he were facing the entirety of heaven and earth!
“Yong’er, is this about the Great Yan Mountain incident?” the Blind Sword Saint asked indifferently, his eyes closed.
“Yes,” Gu Yong murmured. “Earlier, Junior Brother should have informed Grand-Master of the news, but Grand-Master gave no reply during the previous communication a few days ago. Yong’er understands… Grand-Master’s intention was not to destroy the Guiyuan Sect.” When at Great Yan Mountain, Gu Yong had ordered a message sent back to Qinghu Island to inform the Grand Elder.
But that time, the Blind Sword Saint paid no heed.
Gu Yong understood… the Grand Elder was unwilling to further deplete Qinghu Island’s vitality. After all, this Qinghu Island was not Gu Yong’s island; it was built with the painstaking efforts of countless disciples across generations!
“How many Law Enforcement Elders died?” the Blind Sword Saint asked dispassionately.
“Twelve!” Gu Yong’s heart fluttered with anxiety.
“Recount the entire process, in detail!” The Blind Sword Saint’s voice pierced Gu Yong’s heart like a sharp sword. Though Gu Yong was the Sect Master, in reality, the one truly in charge of all of Qinghu Island was this Grand Elder who rarely left Sword Edge Mountain!
Gu Yong immediately and respectfully narrated the entire sequence of events from beginning to end.
“That is the entire matter,” Gu Yong concluded respectfully.