Chapter 36: The Return (1)

After flying for some time, Gu Yuan looked behind him and confirmed that no one was following him. Only then did he land and resume cultivating.

He spent a few days consolidating his breakthrough, doing so much faster than he had expected. Once he was finished, he changed his appearance back to normal and adjusted his cultivation to show the Fourth Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm before making his way back to the Black Desolation Sect.

On the way, unable to hold himself back any longer, he opened his status window.

[Name: Gu Yuan]

[Lifespan: 27/300]

[Spiritual Root: First Grade]

[Cultivation: Golden Core Realm, First Stage]

[Cultivation Method: Golden Mountain Scripture (Earth Grade)]

[Professions: Forging Master (Spirit Grade)]

[Techniques: Basic Saber Form, Nine Phantom Steps (Profound Grade), Heaven-Rending Saber Technique (Incomplete, Heaven Grade)]

[Special Abilities: Heart of Comprehension]

[Possession: Orb of Creation, Thousand Forms Ring (Heaven Grade), Silent Moon Ring (Earth Grade), Hidden Garden Bracelet (Earth Grade), Cloudveil Robe (Earth Grade)]

[Dao Companions: Ji Xingyue, Ji Huangyan]

The first thing he noticed, once again, was his lifespan.

Seeing that it had reached three hundred, Gu Yuan couldn’t help but feel quite happy. But he didn’t dwell on it for long. After giving the rest of his information a brief glance, he opened the description of the Orb of Creation.

[Orb of Creation]

Qi Absorption: Passively absorbs Spirit Qi from the surroundings and refines it into Qi compatible with the host.

Spiritual Root Enhancement: Continuously refines and strengthens the host’s Spiritual Root.

Threads of Providence: Allows the host to perceive the threads of fate and providence connected to a target, revealing hidden information in a clear, structured form.

Threads of Providence.

Reading the description of the new ability he had gained from the Orb of Creation, Gu Yuan blinked for a moment.

The name sounded quite grand, but...

"Isn’t this basically just an appraisal ability?"

He muttered under his breath, while his mind was already racing through all the things he wanted to find out with this ability.

Naturally, the first thing that came to mind was the twins.

Gu Yuan had wanted to find out their true identities ever since he heard the different names they used for themselves and the lofty title that accompanied those names.

Now that he thought about it, Gu Yuan suddenly noticed something.

The Orb of Creation had always given him exactly what he needed most.

When he had first entered the Black Desolation Sect, there had been a period when he couldn’t even sense the Spirit Qi in the air. He had been quite worried at the time.

He knew he should be satisfied, and that was what he had told himself. Even so, deep down, he had wished things could go a little more smoothly.

And helping him with that was the Qi Absorption ability.

Later, his cultivation speed had become comparable to that of geniuses, yet Gu Yuan had started worrying about his future because of his low potential.

And helping him with that was the Spiritual Root Enhancement ability.

Now, perhaps because he already had everything he wanted for the time being, Gu Yuan had started becoming curious about many things, starting with the twins.

And helping him with that was the Threads of Providence ability.

Gu Yuan stared at the Orb of Creation’s description for a moment.

His abilities weren’t random.

He was receiving them according to his needs and desires.

Gu Yuan grew more excited as he thought about the implication of this discovery. On his long cultivation journey, whenever something troubled him or he truly became stuck because of something, perhaps his Orb of Creation would help him solve it.

He felt that, from now on, separating him from the peak of cultivation was only a matter of time!

In this excited state, Gu Yuan continued flying on his leaf-shaped flying treasure, and before long, he arrived at the Black Desolation Sect, reaching the outer sect first.

After showing his inner sect token to the disciples guarding the gate, Gu Yuan entered. He didn’t fly again, but instead walked through the outer sect.

He had spent far more time in the inner sect than the outer sect, but even so, his experiences here had been far richer.

Walking through the place where his journey had begun, Gu Yuan felt a brief sense of nostalgia before he came across a familiar scene.

"Junior brother, I injured myself during my last mission outside the sect. Please lend me a few Spirit Stones. I’ll return them when I receive my salary at the beginning of next month."

"But... I’ve been stuck at the Third Stage of Qi Refinement for some time, and I was going to buy some pills to help me break through."

"Don’t worry. I’ll buy you better pills later!"

A younger outer sect disciple was surrounded by a few older disciples who were coercing him into handing over the monthly salary he had just received.

It was such an everyday scene that Gu Yuan didn’t even bat an eye when he saw it.

Normally, he wouldn’t have cared. He would have simply minded his own business and walked past them.

But perhaps because he remembered his own time when he had first arrived at the Black Desolation Sect, Gu Yuan found himself walking toward them before he even realized it.

"Juniors, do you want me to lend you those Spirit Stones instead?"

"Hah? Who the fuc..."

The older disciple, who was only at the Seventh Stage of Qi Refinement, started angrily, but quickly stopped when he noticed Gu Yuan.

From Gu Yuan’s temperament and the pressure he was exuding, he immediately understood that this was not someone he could afford to offend.

"Ah? What Spirit Stones? What injuries? I just remembered that I have something to take care of. Please excuse me, Senior Brother."

With that, the man along with his small group quickly ran away.

Gu Yuan didn’t stop them.

Instead, he looked at the young disciple, who stared back at him as though he had just witnessed something incomprehensible.

Gu Yuan didn’t say anything more and simply continued walking.

"Thank you for your help, Senior Brother!"

The young man hurriedly shouted after him.

Gu Yuan simply waved his hand without looking back and continued on his way.

Once, Gu Yuan had even built a small shack for himself in the forest for this very reason.

He didn’t want to be bullied, but while living in the outer sect’s dormitories, avoiding such things was impossible. So, he had chosen to live by himself instead.

Those old cultivators, stuck at the same stage for years, unable to advance to the inner sect, made a habit of preying on the younger disciples.

Most of the time they only targeted the weak. Sometimes, however, they overreached and bullied someone with real talent. Those particular debts had a way of being collected later, outside the sect’s protective boundaries, in places where no one would ask too many questions.

Yet, even after seeing such things happen again and again, they still seemed unable to understand when enough was enough.

Gu Yuan shook his head and continued toward the forge.

Remembering his old days in the outer sect also reminded him of Deacon Zhao.

He had already broken through to the Golden Core Realm, so what about Deacon Zhao?

Had he managed to break through as well? Or was he still stuck at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm?

When Gu Yuan reached the forge, he immediately got his answer.

Zhao Ping was injured.

The familiar forge was still there, but the man who had once stood behind it with a strong and vigorous presence now looked considerably more worn down. His aura was faint, and even his blood Qi felt noticeably weaker than Gu Yuan remembered.

"Greetings, Deacon Zhao."

"Gu Yuan?"

Zhao Ping looked toward him.

For a moment, he simply stared.

It seemed as though he was doubting his own eyes. The young disciple he remembered from all those years ago had changed too much.

"I went outside the sect and thought I’d stop by when I came back."

Gu Yuan gave a simple explanation.

Zhao Ping’s expression softened, and the gloom that had been hanging over him seemed to lessen somewhat.

"Well, don’t just stand there. Come in. Let’s go inside and talk."

Gu Yuan followed him inside.

They settled into a room beside the forge, and Zhao Ping took out a bottle of wine from his storage bag. He poured a cup for Gu Yuan before filling one for himself.

Gu Yuan didn’t refuse.

The two drank and talked for a while, reminiscing about the past.

There wasn’t anything particularly important in their conversation. They simply talked about the outer sect, the forge, and some of the things that had happened during the years Gu Yuan had spent there.

But perhaps because so much time had passed, even those ordinary memories felt somewhat different now.

Eventually, Gu Yuan looked at Zhao Ping more carefully.

"What happened to you? Your blood Qi feels weak."

"You can even sense that now?"

Zhao Ping was momentarily embarrassed.

He lowered his eyes toward the wine in his cup before letting out a small sigh.

"I tried to break through to the Golden Core Realm."

His voice was quieter than before.

"But I failed and ended up sustaining an injury."

He took another drink before continuing.

"Maybe... it’s really going to be difficult for me to break through again in this lifetime."