Immortality begins with the Swordsman.

Chapter 21 Sword in the Cave

At dawn, the entire Mount Hua was shrouded in a dreamlike white mist.

Su Qingxue, dressed in red, carrying a long sword and a bundle on her shoulder, stood quietly beneath a stone archway as majestic as a city gate.

This place is called Jin Suo Guan (Golden Lock Pass), a vital passage leading to Jade Maiden Peak, Sunrise Peak, Wild Goose Peak, and Lotus Peak. The line "An arrow-shaped gate leads to the sky" from Du Fu's poem "Looking at Mount Tai" refers to this very place.

At this moment, Su Qingxue's face was cold and her temperament was as white as snow. There was a hint of coldness between her brows and eyes, like a sharp sword that had not yet been drawn.

Beside her, Cai Ling Shuang and Cheng Bu You stood on either side, both with anger on their faces.

Cai Qingyan ordered the two to go to Chang'an to assist Ouyang Qingzhao in handling affairs within the sect. Coincidentally, Su Qingxue was traveling with them, so he entrusted her with their care as well.

Cheng Buyou held back for a long time, but finally couldn't contain himself and said angrily, "That brat Gu Changfeng is too unruly. He dared to make me... dared to make Uncle Su wait for him. He has no sense of time at all."

Cai Ling Shuang snorted coldly, expressing her dissatisfaction without responding. It was always others who waited for her, never her turn.

Another half incense stick's time passed before Gu Changfeng finally arrived late.

He stood alone with his sword, moving with effortless grace and elegance. In contrast, the two women behind him, Mei and Lan, each carried a large bundle, struggling considerably.

This outfit makes him look exactly like a young master going out for a sightseeing trip.

As Gu Changfeng approached, the three noticed that he looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and a listless demeanor, appearing as if he had overindulged in excessive sexual activity and suffered a severe loss of vitality.

"Greetings, Uncle Su..." Gu Changfeng yawned, lazily gave a bow, glanced at Cai Ling Shuang and Cheng Bu You, and immediately looked away without caring, as if he hadn't seen the two of them.

Cai Ling Shuang: "..."

Cheng Buyou was furious: "What do you mean?"

Gu Changfeng ignored him, looking weary and unfocused, not wanting to say a single word.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Cheng Buyou mocked, "Gu Changfeng, with your precious and noble airs, I thought it would take eight bearers to invite you here!"

Gu Changfeng said listlessly, "This is our Qi Sect's business, what's it to you!"

"You—" Cheng Buyou's face turned red, and he was so choked that he couldn't say a word.

Upon hearing this, Su Qingxue frowned slightly, a flash of coldness in her eyes, and asked in a chilling tone, "You went to have an affair last night?"

"Uncle Su, please don't slander my innocence for no reason." Gu Changfeng looked innocent: "Last night, I observed the stars and felt the infinity of heaven and earth, and understood the cyclical nature of waxing and waning. I then comprehended a profound sword technique and studied it until dawn without sleeping."

Cheng Buyou looked puzzled: "Last night the clouds were thick, and I couldn't see a single star on Lotus Peak. How could you see them on Jade Maiden Peak?"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt Cai Ling Shuang gently tug at him from the side.

He was about to ask for the reason when he found that Gu Changfeng and Su Qingxue were looking at him with a "Are you stupid?" look, their expressions full of pity.

Cheng Buyou suddenly realized that he had been tricked and had actually believed Gu Changfeng's nonsense. He lowered his head in shame.

Su Qingxue shook her head and said, "Let's go. The journey to Chang'an is long, and we've already wasted quite a bit of time."

The group said no more and went down the mountain together.

A carriage had already been prepared in front of the mountain gate. The carriage body was made of dark ebony wood, and the two chestnut red horses were strong and powerful. The carriage was spacious and simple, and the interior was fresh and elegant.

As soon as Gu Changfeng got into the car, he unceremoniously rested his head on Mei Jian's lap and turned over to sleep.

"Young Master, you..." Such an intimate gesture made Mei Jian blush.

Su Qingxue and Cai Lingshuang only glanced at it before closing their eyes to rest.

Only Cheng Buyou gritted his teeth in secret, his face full of jealousy—the Sword Sect was poor, and as the sect leader's personal disciple, he had to set an example, and even if he had money, he dared not be extravagant.

When have I ever received such treatment?

He thought to himself, once I get to Chang'an and make a name for myself, I'll buy two maids... no, four, more than Gu Changfeng.

He then closed his eyes and practiced his exercises, out of sight, out of mind.

Gu Changfeng was naturally unaware of his thoughts; he was too tired and quickly fell asleep.

Yesterday, after discussing the "battle of sword qi" with Daoist Zixiao and Cai Qingyan, he talked about the sword techniques carved on the stone wall in the cave.

The martial arts of Mount Hua have always been passed down orally and through personal instruction, and are not written down to prevent them from being leaked.

The Huashan Sword Techniques carved on the stone wall by Zhang Chengyun and Zhang Chengfeng contain many sword moves that even Zixiao Daoist and Cai Qingyan had never seen before. They were lost during the first attack on Huashan by the Demonic Sect, when Yue Su, Cai Zifeng, and others died in battle.

So the three of them recorded these sword techniques into a book, intending to reassemble them into a new sword technique in the future.

As for the other sword techniques and countermeasures, both of them scoffed and refused to record them.

Only Gu Changfeng showed great interest.

He memorized the most insidious and bizarre moves one by one, and then, relying on his "heaven-defying talent," spent a whole night refining and reworking them into a new sword technique, which he named:

"Twelve Styles of the Cave Sword".

This sword technique is unpredictable and full of hidden killing intent, perfectly matching his extremely fast movements.

Therefore, he was in a state of high spirits and practiced all night, which led to his mental exhaustion.

He did not take Ning Zhongze with him when he went down the mountain this time.

Because Ning Zhongze is a beginner in swordsmanship and her swordsmanship is not yet fully developed, it is not advisable for her to travel far—it is definitely not because she is afraid that Ning Zhongze will meet Yue Buqun and cause any "cause and effect" issues.

Simultaneously.

I'm heading to Chang'an.

He still has one extremely important matter to attend to, which cannot be known to others.

……

……

The carriage clattered and rattled.

Gu Changfeng was jolted awake before he had a good night's sleep. He sat up, rubbed his back, and complained, "This lousy road is going to break my back."

These words immediately drew three eye rolls.

The three of them thought to themselves: Sleeping like a pig, and they still have the nerve to say that?

Mei Jian secretly breathed a sigh of relief; her legs were so numb they almost didn't belong to her anymore.

Gu Changfeng yawned and asked, "Where are we now?"

Lan Jian had somehow run outside and was sitting with the coachman. Hearing this, she poked her head in and said, "Young master, we're only twenty li from Weinan."

Gu Changfeng felt somewhat relieved and smiled at Su Qingxue, saying, "Uncle-Master, just hang in there a little longer, and you'll be able to get some rest when we reach Weinan."

Su Qingxue: "..."

Cai Ling Shuang: "..."

Cheng Buyou: "..."

You're the one who wants to rest, aren't you?

But fate had other plans.

They had only traveled five miles when dark clouds suddenly gathered, a torrential downpour began, and the road became muddy and difficult to traverse.

The driver said helplessly, "There's a dilapidated temple not far ahead where you can take shelter from the rain for now."

Su Qingxue nodded in agreement, and the driver then drove the group toward the dilapidated temple.

Upon arriving at the dilapidated temple, the group got out of the car and ran a short distance in the rain before rushing into the main hall of the temple.

Although the temple was abandoned, it was well-preserved and did not leak everywhere. Mei and Lan immediately cleared out a dry spot for the group to rest.

They gathered some more firewood and lit it, and several people sat around the fire to ward off the cold.

As dusk fell, the rain intensified.

Gu Changfeng rubbed his stomach and couldn't help but ask, "Did you bring any dry rations?"

He had originally planned to reach Weinan that day and stay there, a journey that would only take half a day, so he was too lazy to prepare any food. However, he was caught in a sudden downpour on the way and is now suffering from hunger and cold.

The three of them shook their heads slightly, clearly sharing the same thought as him, all looking like they had "originally thought they could make it to the city for a hot meal."

Gu Changfeng frowned and said, "It's understandable that I'm young and careless in my actions. But you three have been in the martial world for years, and yet you still make such a basic mistake? That's unacceptable!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Buyou immediately exploded: "If you hadn't dawdled this morning, we would be in Weinan already, feasting and drinking to our hearts' content! Now everyone is starving and freezing cold, and we haven't even said anything to you, yet you still have the nerve to say something?"

Gu Changfeng scoffed and said, "We're talking about your experience in the martial arts world now, don't drag me into it. Besides, this rain was an unexpected event, and you didn't even have an emergency plan? That's the key point, you need to seriously reflect on that."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a slender, jade-like hand suddenly reached out from the side and pinched his ear without any politeness.

Su Qingxue said with a smile, "Oh my, our young sect leader Gu is becoming more and more like a sect leader. He even dares to reprimand his martial uncle! If he really becomes the sect leader, wouldn't he dare to ask his martial uncle to warm his bed? What should I do? What should I do? I'm so scared~"

"Ouch~ That hurts!"

Gu Changfeng grabbed Su Qingxue's hand with one hand and gently patted it with the other, pleading, "Uncle-Master, please let go! I was wrong! I'll never dare to do it again."

Cai Ling Shuang and Cheng Bu You felt relieved upon seeing this scene.

Cheng Buyou chimed in, "Uncle Su, don't let go! This kid has a sharp tongue; we need to teach him a lesson."

Cai Ling Shuang nodded vigorously: "Yes, pinch hard!"

Just as the group was playfully fighting, they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves outside, followed by someone shouting:

"Quick, there's a dilapidated temple up ahead, let's go in and take shelter from the rain!"