I have Immortality In The Cultivation World-Chapter 612 - : 450

Chapter 612: 450

Peaks surrounded.

In the midst, there lay a pool of emerald-green water.

The surface of the water was more than a hundred yards from the ground, as if suspended in the sky, thus it was called Heavenly Pond.

It was the height of winter.

Heavy snow had been falling for three days, and all around were glaciers and snowfields; not a trace of any living creature could be seen.

Only by the side of Heavenly Pond was there an old man all alone, sitting cross-legged with a bamboo hat and straw coat covered in snow, holding a fishing rod three to four yards long, fishing.

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The north wind howled past, whipping up a sky full of flying snow.

The old man remained unmoved, as if he had frozen solid by the lakeside.

From dawn to dusk, then seeing the daylight brighten, he had no idea how many days and nights he’d sat, as if he was the only one left in the vast expanse of white.

That day.

Two youths sprinted across the snow, one light and graceful, leaving no footprints, the other with heavy and brash steps like an ox.

“We pay our respects to Master.”

The two fell by the side of Heavenly Pond, bowed, and greeted with clasped fists.

The old man slowly opened his eyes, deep like valleys, and a flicker of cold light passed through them as he scolded, “What are you shouting for? You’ve scared the fish away.”

The simple-faced youth scratched his head and said, “Master, your fishing rod doesn’t have a line. How could you possibly catch any fish?”

“Xiao’er doesn’t understand.”

The other handsome youth flattered, “Master isn’t actually fishing, but cultivating his mind and meditating on the Tao.”

“Smooth talker!”

As the old man spoke, the fishing rod shook gently, and with a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a green fish over two feet long, “Who says you can’t catch fish without a line?”

The handsome youth observed carefully and found a strand of half-illusory, half-real True Qi silk thread falling from the fishing rod.

The end of the thread formed into a hook, and once the green fish bit it, it could no longer escape.

“Master is a True Immortal, with boundless mana and grand divine skills, unbeatable in the world!”

“You sycophant, always so good at flattery.”

The old man raised an eyebrow. This slick and astute fellow was very suitable to be sent to the Eastern Depot for service. He was none other than Zhou Yi, who had fled the capital to seclude and cultivate in secret by Heavenly Pond.

Three years ago.

Zhou Yi left the capital, heading west to the sea, mingled with a caravan as a guard, and then changed direction to the north.

Half a year later, after the caravan was attacked by bandits and he faked his death to escape, he came to Heavenly Pond, killed the Misty Wave Angler who occupied the place, and changed his appearance to seclude himself in secret.

The secret files of the Eastern Depot recorded that the Misty Wave Angler was solitary and eccentric, seldom mingling in the martial world, and without close kin or friends. Moreover, his martial prowess was extraordinary, which made him a perfect candidate for Zhou Yi to impersonate.

These two youths came from a village at the foot of the mountain, of the same clan, named Gu Xiao and Gu Yun.

When the Misty Wave Angler was alive, the two often came up the mountain, bringing rice, flour, salt, and sought advice on the secrets of martial practice.

Zhou Yi secretly watched for several months, imitating the Angler’s speech and habits, understanding that he intended to test and take them as disciples to inherit the martial way.

After assuming the identity, everything continued as usual, and he happened to use them to gather information from traveling merchants about the martial world.

Zhou Yi threw the green fish into a basket and asked, “Braving the heavy snow to come up the mountain, has something big happened in the martial world?”

“We can’t hide it from Master.”

Gu Xiao said, “A ginseng picker came to the village and talked about a supreme martial artist who abducted a member of the Eastern Depot Director’s clan and has given an ultimatum—if they don’t show up in three months, the entire clan will be annihilated!”

Zhou Yi remained expressionless. He had long forgotten about his clan and certainly would not risk rescuing them.

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“When did this happen?”

Gu Xiao replied, “Half a year ago.”

Heavenly Pond lay northeast of Daqing, farther from the capital than the Northern Border, and with the village being so isolated, it wasn’t strange for the news to take half a year to reach them.

Zhou Yi nodded and said, “The Director of the Eastern Depot is fearsome throughout the world, yet he has ended up with the annihilation of his Nine Clans.”

Gu Xiao showed a surprised expression. There seemed to be a hint of glee in Master’s words—could it be that he bore a grudge against the Director of the Eastern Depot?

Upon hearing the news of the Nine Clans’ annihilation, Zhou Yi felt a weight lift from his spirit, as if a thin veil had been lifted before his eyes, making the world seem clearer.

No matter how indifferent he was to kinship, there was still a tender spot hidden deep in his heart.

Now, with the Nine Clans extinct, it was just right for the practice of the Heartless Sword Art to reach perfection.

“There really are good people in this world!”

Zhou Yi closed his eyes to sense the presence, a trace of energy in the world—be it cold, hot, substantial, or sharp—becoming more apparent, especially the cold energy due to the location by Heavenly Pond.

According to the Heartless Sword Art’s secret techniques recorded, True Qi flowed through the body and out, simulating the circulation of meridians externally to form a devouring force of heaven and earth.

The cold and gloomy Innate Qi entered the body, and after several circuits of refinement, it transformed into Innate True Qi.

“Innate, achieved!”

Zhou Yi’s face showed neither sadness nor joy, as his strength surpassed even the Innate Realm, only lacking an opportunity for a breakthrough; there was nothing particularly worth celebrating.

Eight years ago, when Zhou Yi supported Emperor Tianshun’s ascent to the throne, he obtained the method to break through to the Innate Realm and also saw that cold pond within the palace.

The cold pond, one zhang in depth and half an acre in size, had several small pavilions built in the center for the Grandmasters of successive generations to refine the Innate Yin Qi for their cultivation.

Upon careful investigation, Zhou Yi discovered that the cold pond was actually connected to all the wells within the palace, with the pond’s water originating from the well streams; several well passages clearly bore the marks of artificial excavation.

Already reluctant to use the cold pond for breakthrough, he became even more averse upon uncovering this secret.

The Imperial Clan’s secret records mentioned that after breaking through to the Innate Realm using places like the cold pond or Flame Mountain, increasing one’s Innate True Qi could only be done by cultivating nearby.

For example, after Eunuch Hai fled the imperial palace, he would find it difficult to make any progress unless he found another Yin Qi treasure site.

“The cultivation of Heartless Sword Art is difficult, but it is free of subsequent defects.”

Zhou Yi hadn’t gone back to the Zhou family in recent years, as he was attempting to forget; unexpectedly, a good Samaritan’s assistance accelerated the process, saving him decades of time.

Such a good Samaritan must be rewarded; in the future, he would reunite his family, including the Nine Clans, to enjoy family bliss with his ancestors for generations.

“Teacher, Teacher…”

Gu Xiao softly called out several times, pulling Zhou Yi back from his thoughts, and respectfully said, “Junior and his distant brother are leaving the mountain; after some time, we’ll bring up more rice and flour.”

Zhou Yi waved his hand and said, “I shall be in seclusion for cultivation, the duration uncertain; the two of you need not come up the mountain anymore.”

The first step in breaking through to the Innate Realm was to transform Acquired True Qi into Innate True Qi.

A common Martial Artist would only need three to five months of seclusion, but Zhou Yi’s True Qi was vast as the sea and dozens of times greater than that of ordinary people, making the refinement process much longer.

Upon hearing these words, Gu Xiao’s face dramatically changed, and he knelt with a thud: “Teacher, where did I go wrong to displease you?”

“Point it out, and I will correct it; otherwise, I will kneel to death in this snowfield as an apology to you!”

His words were earnest and sincere, as if he saw the Fisherman as his own parent.

If it had been the real Misty Wave Angler, he might have been moved and taken Gu Xiao as his Closed-door Disciple, but Zhou Yi had seen too many people like this in the palace.

Not to mention kowtowing a few times or saying a few nice words, even immediately calling him father and grandfather was not uncommon.

If there was nothing desired, why degrade oneself like this?

Gu Yun also knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times, saying, “Wishing for Teacher’s seclusion to be smooth, once Teacher exits, this junior will bring food up the mountain again.”

Unlike Gu Xiao, who was set on becoming a disciple, Gu Yun was grateful to the Fisherman and satisfied with his current life.

The martial arts he learned over these years were enough to dominate the wilderness, hunting tigers and capturing bears, allowing his parents and siblings to lead a good life, and the money saved was enough for marriage. He had no further desires.

“You two are quite decent.”

Zhou Yi’s gaze swept over the two, his words layered with meaning.

The Fisherman’s two registered disciples, one keen and one dull, both had superior martial arts talent; as long as they weren’t killed midway, they were sure to make a name for themselves in the jianghu.

“Are you willing to take me as your master?”

Gu Xiao was deeply saddened and in tears, but upon hearing this, he instantly switched from sadness to joy and kowtowed enthusiastically, agreeing, “Disciple is willing, Disciple greets Master.”

As Gu Yun was about to follow suit and acknowledge his teacher, Zhou Yi reminded them.

“I have quite a few grievances in the jianghu; becoming a disciple could inevitably lead to involvement. You should think it over before taking me as your master!”

“Disciple is willing.”

Gu Yun said, “I have followed Master for several years in study; although we lacked the name of master and disciple before, we had the reality of it. How can I shrink back and cower because of some grievances?”

“If you have no regrets, that’s good.”

Zhou Yi had taken many foster sons, always mutually using each other, and now taking disciples was no different.

After the Heartless Sword Art was greatly developed, one could continue to cultivate, revolving from being heartless to compassionate, then back to heartless in one cycle, going back and forth until achieving the true Supreme Heartless state.

With each cycle completed, one would become more sensitive to the responses from heaven and earth, that is, the speed of refining Innate Qi would increase.

When the Sword God Nameless took Xiao Yun as a disciple, it was to cultivate the sword technique through the master-disciple affection.

Zhou Yi didn’t have to follow in the Sword God’s steps and personally kill his disciple; instead, with endless life span, he could just wear down his disciples, ensuring that no inner demons arose.

He took out two booklets from his sleeve and handed them to Gu Xiao and Gu Yun respectively.

“These are two supreme techniques I created. Xiao’er, with your exceptional perception, you should study the Body-Piercing Formless Sword Qi, and Yun, with your resilient nature, you are suited to cultivate the Undying Golden Body.”

“Devote yourselves to diligent practice, do not slacken; after Master exits seclusion, there will be a test!”