Chapter 132: Chapter 128: Heart Lake Sword Technique
Du Youqian stayed in the Hundred Flowers Sect as a guest for about half a month, then bid farewell to Shuyue Hua and boarded his Flying Boat.
However, his Flying Boat did not fly far. Instead, it landed on a mountain within the Hundred Flowers Sect’s Blessed Land.
The garrison of the Holy Blood Sect’s Guardian Envoy for the Wu Kingdom was located on this mountain.
On the mountain was a tributary of the Hundred Flowers Sect’s Spirit Vein, diverted by a Core Formation Great Power thousands of years ago.
This branch of the Spirit Vein could only be considered Tier Two Middle Grade.
However, it was sufficient to power the Mountain Protection Array and meet daily cultivation needs. At the very least, it wouldn’t become a bottleneck constraining Du Youqian’s cultivation speed.
When Du Youqian’s group arrived at the Hundred Flowers Sect, there were three of them.
By the time they left, it had grown into a bloated entourage.
Besides the silent and taciturn Fang Hua, who followed behind Du Youqian, forever clutching her sword, Luo Jinyu and Gu Xiaofang also each had a beautiful female disciple from the Hundred Flowers Sect trailing them.
In addition, there were a dozen or so servants and handymen at the Qi Cultivation Early and Middle Stage, with no future prospects in cultivation, to take care of their daily needs.
After arriving at the garrison, Fang Hua naturally moved into Du Youqian’s small courtyard.
For the past half-month, Du Youqian hadn’t laid a single finger on her, so she gradually stopped being so on edge.
But when she recalled Shuyue Hua’s words at their parting, Fang Hua’s heart still felt heavy.
At that time, in front of many disciples of the Hundred Flowers Sect, Shuyue Hua had smiled at the Upper Envoy and said, "This disciple of mine... is a disciple in name, but a daughter in truth. Ever since she saw the Upper Envoy’s heroic bearing, she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about you, completely captivated. Ah, a grown daughter can’t be kept at home. From now on, let her stay by the Upper Envoy’s side! Although she’s clumsy, she’s not entirely useless. At the very least, she can make the bed for the Upper Envoy, and her sword can also be used by the Upper Envoy."
Then, she had pulled her aside and conveyed with her Divine Sense: "On this trip, you must become Guardian Envoy Yu’s bed-partner and gain his trust. You don’t have to send me messages normally, but if there’s any news related to the Hundred Flowers Sect, you must send it back as quickly as possible, lest we are caught unprepared."
"Fang Hua, for the next few decades, the safety of the Hundred Flowers Sect rests on you. Our sect, on the surface, has two Core Formation Ancestors, but you should know in your heart what the real situation is. If the Sect’s status is demoted, how many people will die!"
"Be obedient. Don’t be willful, and don’t think you’re being so greatly wronged. In this matter, if necessary, even I myself can be sacrificed. For the sake of the Sect’s inheritance, there is nothing that cannot be sacrificed!"
"I expect you to cast aside your modesty and get into Guardian Envoy Yu’s bed as soon as possible. If you can bear him a son or daughter, that would be even better. Understand?"
Fang Hua could do nothing but bite her lip, remaining silent.
She couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
Because she knew that although Shuyue Hua’s words were slightly exaggerated, they were, on the whole, true.
If it came down to it, Shuyue Hua really would sacrifice herself.
At this moment, Fang Hua raised her head and saw Du Youqian sitting on the couch, practicing his breathing exercises in meditation. For some reason, she suddenly felt much more at ease.
’I’ll just leave things as they are for now. As for the rest... I’ll wait. I’ll just wait and see...’
~~~~~~~~
As the newly appointed Guardian Envoy of the Wu Kingdom, Du Youqian had authority over dozens of ordinary Garrisons within the kingdom’s borders.
Some of these Garrisons were stationed to watch over a sect or a region.
Others guarded a mine, a Secret Realm, an Evil Pool, a Treasure of Heaven and Earth that had yet to mature, or even a garden of top-grade medicinal herbs...
As the saying goes, a new official must light three fires.
Gu Xiaofang advised Du Youqian, "Brother Fei, you should throw your weight around and let those people know how powerful you are. Otherwise, it’ll be difficult to get anything done later. If you ask me, you should issue an order right now for all of them to come and listen to your lecture. Find some pretext and chew every single one of them out. If anyone objects, just suppress them with your Flying Sword. Hmph, let’s see who dares to be a thorn in your side after that."
Du Youqian laughed. "What if everyone comes, and in the meantime, the mines are plundered, the Treasures of Heaven and Earth are stolen, and the medicinal herbs are secretly dug up... then what?"
Gu Xiaofang was at a loss for words. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Then just summon them in batches. Brother Fei, either way, you have to find a way to establish your authority!"
Du Youqian said, "Alright, I know what I’m doing. And you—I told you to stop calling me Brother Fei. Why can’t you seem to break the habit?"
Gu Xiaofang asked, "Then what should I call you?"
Du Youqian was so exasperated he laughed. "Think for yourself! You’re usually so quick-witted. How come your brain can’t work around this one!"
Gu Xiaofang first feigned a look of "sudden realization," then, carefully watching Du Youqian’s expression, he asked, "Well then... Sister Fei?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Luo Jinyu came to Du Youqian’s room to report, he happened to see Gu Xiaofang walking out, covered in blood.
He jumped in fright, thinking someone had dared to cause trouble at the Holy Blood Sect’s garrison.
Taking a closer look, he realized Gu Xiaofang was covered in tiny cuts made by Sword Qi. It looked terrifying, but they were just superficial wounds.
With Gu Xiaofang’s Qi Cultivation Middle Stage cultivation, he would heal without any medicine in less than half a day.
Luo Jinyu understood then. Gu Xiaofang must have pulled some stunt and been punished by Brother Yu.
Suppressing his laughter, Luo Jinyu asked, "Junior Gu, what happened to you? Are the mosquitoes at this garrison so venomous they bit you until you were covered in blood?"
Gu Xiaofang shot him a miserable glare, said nothing, and walked away grumbling.
Luo Jinyu waited until Gu Xiaofang’s figure disappeared, then bent over, roaring with laughter.
"Get in here! What are you howling about out there!"
Hearing Du Youqian’s displeased voice, Luo Jinyu quickly wiped the smile off his face and went inside.
"Brother Yu, I’ve gathered the intelligence you requested over the past few days. Please look it over."
With that, he handed over a crudely made Jade Scroll.
Du Youqian took the Jade Scroll, scanned it with his Divine Sense, and quickly memorized all the information.
To say he could read ten lines at a glance would be an insult; such was the power of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s Divine Sense.
Of course, he would still need to go over it again in detail, categorizing and comprehending the information.
’Huh? The Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect lost a Golden Core Cultivator a hundred years ago, and then lost another two, twenty and fifteen years ago respectively. Now, the sect is left with only Master Cai and Master Mi? If they can’t produce another Core Formation cultivator within thirty-five years, their status will be demoted? And it has to be a true Core Formation, not an artisan who has mastered Tier Three Cultivation Techniques, and not a Fake Pill Cultivator.’
’The Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect has currently identified about ten cultivators with the potential for Core Formation, and the entire sect has gone mad, scrimping and saving to support them.’
’Lin Sha has been at the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer for a long time and is about to break through to Foundation Establishment Perfection. She’s also one of the candidates in the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect with Core Formation potential... Chen Yingzhi’s master is one of them too. Speaking of which, Chen Yingzhi’s master still owes me the second volume of the *Shangqing Purple Qi Divine Pill Creation Technique*! Even though I already redeemed it from the Holy Blood Sect, I still feel like I got shortchanged. I have to find a chance to collect on that debt.’
Seeing Du Youqian lost in thought, Luo Jinyu didn’t dare to disturb him, even softening his breathing.
Du Youqian sorted through a few other important pieces of intelligence before smiling at Luo Jinyu. "Well done."
Receiving this approval, Luo Jinyu was greatly encouraged.
He had been under Du Youqian’s wing for over two years. Before this, he had always enjoyed Du Youqian’s protection and used his resources to improve his cultivation, but had few opportunities to repay him.
He had long been feeling uneasy about it.
Now that he could finally do something for Du Youqian, he was even happier than Du Youqian himself.
’I can finally be of use. I’m not a useless person anymore.’
After so many years in the Holy Blood Sect, Luo Jinyu had long since understood one truth.
In the Holy Sect, one had to be useful.
If you were truly useless, you could only wait until after death to become useful.
Of course, he believed "Brother Yu" wasn’t that kind of heartless person. Even if he were useless, "Brother Yu" would spare his life.
’But without Brother Yu, how could I survive?’
Therefore, for the past two years, Luo Jinyu had been single-mindedly focused on improving himself to become someone useful to "Brother Yu."
"By the way, go collect some things for me, but don’t let anyone know I’m the one who wants them."
As Luo Jinyu was about to take his leave, Du Youqian produced a Jade Scroll and gave it to him.
"Yes!" Luo Jinyu took the Jade Scroll and swept it with his Divine Sense.
It listed many precious materials.
’If I can’t use ’Brother Yu’s’ name, getting these will take some clever thinking.’
"Here are the funds."
Luo Jinyu accepted the Storage Treasure Pouch. After returning to his quarters, he opened it to find over a thousand pieces of Spiritual Jade, an assortment of Spiritual Artifacts and Demon Artifacts, and some materials that might not be immediately useful.
With this, even if he had to pay a premium, it would be more than enough to procure all the materials Du Youqian required.
Luo Jinyu went off to purchase the materials.
Du Youqian, however, didn’t leave his house for nearly a hundred days. He stayed cooped up inside, cultivating a Secret Technique that the Hundred Flowers Sect had presented to him as a gesture of goodwill—the Heart Lake Sword Technique.
The main function of this Secret Technique was to nurture Sword Intent to sever distracting thoughts, and it could also protect one’s memories from being spied upon.
Additionally, it could automatically trigger one’s Sword Intent when trapped in an Illusion Realm or similar situations, helping the practitioner to quickly regain clarity.
The Hundred Flowers Sect was extremely skilled in magic like the Enchanting Maiden Bewitching Skill, so they were very hostile toward Secret Techniques like the "Heart Lake Sword Technique."
If anyone within their sphere of influence cultivated such a Secret Technique, they would either hunt them down and kill them, or find a way to obtain the technique themselves to study it and find a way to counter it.
This Heart Lake Sword Technique was an esoteric secret of the Chongzhen Sect. When Du Youqian was taking advantage of the Chongzhen Sect, although he had coveted it, he’d had no opportunity to obtain a Secret Technique of this caliber.
He never expected to get it from the Hundred Flowers Sect.
Shuyue Hua’s willingness to offer the "Heart Lake Sword Technique" was also a way of baring her heart—
’The Hundred Flowers Sect sent Fang Hua to serve by your side, Upper Envoy, hoping to build a personal relationship with you and influence you through personal connections.’
’We would never use Enchanting Soul techniques or the like on you.’
’Are you still wary?’
’Then we will present you with a Secret Technique that can counter Enchantment Arts. That should put your mind at ease, right?’
For Du Youqian, this Secret Technique was the perfect solution to his most pressing problem.
From now on, he wouldn’t have to fear others prying into his memories.
Unless a Cultivator an entire Great Tier above him captured him and performed a violent Soul Search.
Nurturing Sword Intent to protect his memories and soul was practically tailor-made for him.
Even in future reincarnations, when his cultivation was still low, he could nurture his Sword Intent and have a certain degree of self-protection.
Perhaps other Secret Techniques would be more effective at protecting memories and the soul.
But at this stage, the "Heart Lake Sword Technique" was probably the most suitable for him.
Three months later, by the time Luo Jinyu had procured all the materials Du Youqian needed, Du Youqian had already achieved initial success in cultivating the "Heart Lake Sword Technique."
