53: Chapter 53 How can a sword immortal who gets carsick fly?

Early the next morning, Xie Feng's cultivation dropped to the First Realm, Seven Heavens.

"Can you just give me a quick death instead of slicing me up with a dull knife?"

When Xie Feng left his quarters, the sky was just barely dawn. By the time he reached the mountain gate, Gu Jian was already standing there. Clad in dark gray martial attire with his old sword hanging at his waist, he stood straight as a ramrod, having been there for at least an incense stick's time. Hearing the sound of the blind cane, he tilted his head and glanced over.

"Where is Tu Ziguan?"

"I don't know. I gave him a call, and he said he was coming."

The two waited at the mountain gate for a while until the footsteps of two people came from the mountain trail.

Tu Ziguan emerged from the mist, carrying a large bundle on his back and holding another in his hand. Mo Tang followed behind him, wearing short brown work clothes with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing forearms smudged with engine oil. On her back was a wooden box wider than her entire body, securely bound with hemp rope.

"Why did you bring her along too?" Xie Feng asked.

"She wanted to come herself," Tu Ziguan said, dropping the bundle onto the ground with a sigh of exhaustion. "When I was leaving, she was squatting right outside the Artifact Hall entrance. When she heard I was going to Ranhuo City, she said she was coming too."

"I'm going to see the Earthfire Fissure," Mo Tang said, unslingsing the wooden box from her back and thumping it onto the ground. "Ranhuo City's Earthfire Tempering Method is only recorded in text in the Qingyun Sect's scriptures, without any diagrams. I want to see how that fissure is set up and if I can make a smaller replica after returning to the Artifact Hall. Besides, look at you guys—a blind man, a swordsman, and a thunder wielder. None of you know how to repair a Magical Artifact. If the earth-shaking thunder breaks on the way, Tu Ziguan can only stare helplessly."

"Good job, Mo Tang. When I get back, I'll write a book for you called 'The Art of Conversation'." Xie Feng tapped his blind cane on the ground. "Fine. One more person means one more layer of insurance."

Mo Tang grinned, revealing a row of fine white teeth.

"How are we traveling?" Gu Jian asked.

Tu Ziguan untied the bundle and pulled out three iron plates. The iron plates were about two feet long and one foot wide, equipped with two wheels underneath, and a small Spirit Stone embedded at the axle.

"Spiritual Qi Motorcycle, Mark VI. Mo Tang modified the shock absorption, and Wen Yushu optimized the Spiritual Power conversion rate of the rune circuit. Taking the official road from Qingyun Sect to Ranhuo City, three Spirit Stones are enough for two round trips."

Gu Jian glanced at the iron plate, then at Tu Ziguan, remaining silent. Mo Tang picked up her plate, stepped onto it, and injected Spiritual Power. The wheels beneath the iron plate emitted a faint hum, and she floated steadily two inches off the ground. With a light tap of her toe on the ground, the iron plate glided forward silently.

Tu Ziguan stepped onto his as well.

Xie Feng tucked his blind cane into his waist, stepped up, and injected Spiritual Power. As the iron plate floated up, he wobbled briefly the moment the end of the cane left the ground, but he adjusted his balance and stabilized himself.

Gu Jian was still standing there.

"Brother Gu?" Tu Ziguan looked back at him.

Gu Jian placed his foot onto the iron plate and froze completely. His fingers gripped his scabbard so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Before the iron plate even glided forward three feet, his expression changed.

"Stop."

Tu Ziguan brought his iron plate to a stop. Gu Jian stepped off the plate, his knees visibly buckling the moment his feet touched the ground. He stood leaning on his scabbard for a moment, took two deep breaths, and then said, "I'll walk."

"Afraid to ride it?" Xie Feng asked.

"Wait, how are you going to fly on a sword in the future?" Tu Ziguan looked at Gu Jian in astonishment.

A flush of red rose to Gu Jian's pale face. Beside them, Mo Tang let out a snort of laughter before quickly covering her mouth.

In the end, the four went down the mountain and rented a horse-drawn carriage. The driver was an old man in his fifties named Cai, with graying hair and deep wrinkles carved into his face like knife cuts. Hearing that they were heading to Ranhuo City, Old Man Cai knocked his tobacco pipe against the shaft of the carriage and said that the road hadn't been peaceful lately, so they had to pay extra.

Gu Jian paid the money, and the four boarded the carriage.

Old Man Cai tucked his tobacco pipe into his belt and cracked his whip.

Inside the carriage, the four sat on opposite sides. Outside, the glow of Old Man Cai's pipe flickered on and off. The smell of tar mixed with horse manure seeped through the gaps of the tarpaulin curtain. After traveling for about half an hour, Mo Tang suddenly spoke up.

"How has your cultivation been recently?" She didn't even look up, the metal file making a rustling scraping sound against a copper sheet. "I just broke through to Second Realm, Nine Heavens, but I feel like it'll take a while to grind through the Bottleneck to the Third Realm."

"Third Realm, Second Heaven," Tu Ziguan said without raising his head, as his carving knife lightly flicked over the rune circuit. "After my Breakthrough, I exchanged contribution points saved from quests for a few Spirit-Stabilizing Pills and stabilized my level."

"Third Realm, Fourth Heaven." Gu Jian opened his eyes and then closed them again.

Mo Tang's file paused, her gaze shifting toward Xie Feng. Gu Jian opened his eyes as well, his eyes falling on him. Both of them frowned at the same time. Cultivators could roughly sense the intensity of each other's Spiritual Power fluctuations without actively probing, unless the other person intentionally concealed it—which Xie Feng did not. The Spiritual Power fluctuations of the First Realm, Seven Heavens radiated outward from him.

"You..." Mo Tang's file hung in midair. "When I saw you last time, didn't you seem to be in the Second Realm?"

"It's a hiding Cultivation Technique," Xie Feng said. "After practicing it, your apparent cultivation level drops."

"Cough, cough!" Beside them, Tu Ziguan coughed violently. The two turned to look at him.

"It's nothing, I just thought of something funny," Tu Ziguan wheezed, trying to hold back a laugh. His carving knife trembled on the rune circuit, almost cutting off course.

Xie Feng's blind cane slipped from his shoulder, its tip tapping neither too lightly nor too heavily on top of Tu Ziguan's foot.

Tu Ziguan muffled a grunt and stopped laughing.

"By the way," Xie Feng pulled back his blind cane and leaned it against his shoulder again. "Regarding Cangyun City, there's something I haven't figured out. Why would the Tianque Sect drive a stake into Cangyun City? Meng Yi is a Consecrated Elder in the Tianque Sect at Fifth Realm, Nine Heavens—not the absolute highest, but certainly not low. Leaving such a Cultivator to guard a city on the Qingyun Sect's territory for forty years... what is the Tianque Sect aiming for?"

Mo Tang's file stopped.

"You don't know?" She raised her head, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"I'm a shut-in, should I know?"

Mo Tang set the file on her knees and wiped the copper shavings off her fingers with her sleeve. "The major Sects of the Nine Provinces don't have identical attitudes toward anomalies. Some advocate complete elimination, while others advocate utilization. The divergence between the two factions is huge, and our Sect and the Tianque Sect happen to belong to different factions."

"Those old fogies! Do they even know how to utilize them?"

"We're the elimination faction..."

"Those lunatics! Do they even understand how terrifying anomalies are?"

Mo Tang looked at Tu Ziguan, who tilted his head.

"He's always been this shameless, as you know."

Mo Tang was silent for a moment before continuing:

"The Qingyun Sect belongs to the 'Purification Faction,' holding that an anomaly is an anomaly and must be thoroughly eliminated—it cannot be spared or used. Anything polluted by anomalies—be it artifacts, Cultivation Techniques, or people—must be cleansed. The Tianque Sect is the 'Utilization Faction,' believing that anomalies can be researched, controlled, and utilized. If the power of anomalies can be harnessed by humans, it becomes a resource rather than a calamity. The two major factions have opposed each other in the Nine Provinces for centuries, and neither has completely overwhelmed the other. So although the Sects dislike each other, none dare to truly tear apart their relationship. There are too many anomalous events across the Nine Provinces; it would be exhausting for any single Sect to deal with them alone, so a superficial cooperation must be maintained."

Mo Tang reached into the wooden box by her feet, retrieved a roll of paper, and unrolled it across her knees. The paper was a map of the Nine Provinces, with mountains and rivers traced in ink and cities marked with vermilion dots.

"Cangyun City holds a special geographical position." She pointed to Cangyun City's location on the map. "Cangyun City lies in the southeastern corner of the Qingyun Sect's jurisdiction, backed by Mount Cangyun and facing the Qingzhou Plain. The city itself isn't particularly special, but to its east is Qingzhou Prefecture, and to its south is the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal is the artery for goods circulating between the north and south of the Nine Provinces, while Qingzhou Prefecture is the largest grain distribution center in the east. By driving a stake into Cangyun City, the Tianque Sect can keep an eye on this entire line."

"Does Meng Yi know this himself?"

"I don't know," Mo Tang rolled up the map and stuffed it back into the wooden box. "Though he might not necessarily care—he hasn't been a pure Tianque Sect Cultivator for a long time."

The back of Xie Feng's head rested against the carriage wall.

"The Purification Faction and the Utilization Faction... who's right?"

"I don't know." Mo Tang didn't know the answer to this question either.

Gu Jian opened his eyes. He looked at Xie Feng, his gaze appearing exceptionally heavy in the dim light of the carriage.

"Those who use anomalies are ultimately used by them," he said. "Meng Yi was. The Xie Family too."

Silence fell over the carriage. Old Man Cai's whip cracked sharply in the air, and the carriage continued northward.