Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 174 - 136 Sumeru Mountain Rumors_2

Chapter 174: Chapter 136 Sumeru Mountain Rumors_2

Gu Wen emphasized, "It is my Divine Beast."

At noon, as Gu Wen and the others set out, Jiang Fugui came to see them off, also bringing some unfortunate news.

Dressed as a landlord, he ran over with sweat soaking his head, his stumbling manner prompting Gu Wen to step forward and support him, saying, "Sir, we’re in trouble. That rebel has become the commander of the Ma Jun within the Nanchun Army; he plans to follow them into the more southern lands of the Barbarians and establish a nation."

"A wise decision, yet an extremely poor strategy," Gu Wen judged.

Avoiding a head-on clash with the imperial court was correct, but going south to build a nation was foolish.

Mortals venturing deep into an undeveloped ancient forest could easily suffer a high rate of casualties from failing to acclimate to new environments. Moreover, was it really within the capacity of a makeshift gang to build a nation from the ground up, step by step?

Nation-building is not just about chanting slogans—it requires a population and land suitable for farming.

Perhaps there was sect support behind the scenes?

As this thought occurred to Gu Wen, he turned his head to look at Jun Yan. They understood each other’s speculations simply by the exchange of glances.

Jun Yan also harbored doubts and said, "Perhaps there’s a sect stirring trouble from behind the scenes. The tribes in the Immortal Land each have their respective sect backgrounds, to some extent. Shall I go and investigate this?"

No power comprised entirely of mortals existed in the world. Even before Daqian Country was established, during the city-state era, the numerous city-states scattered across this land were modeled after the Three Level Heavens.

Only, Lord Emperor had disrupted this arrangement, and naturally, some sects that had been ousted formed Barbarians.

In a world with Transcendent beings, war sometimes simply served as a declaration of the outcomes already decided by battles among the top-tier powers.

"Investigate it," Gu Wen nodded, "We must be clear about the situation at hand."

Jun Yan said, "You guys go ahead, and I’ll join you later."

Afterwards, Gu Wen and his party split into two groups: Chi Yu Zi took Gu Wen and Yu Hua to the secret realm, while Jun Yan set out alone to gather intelligence.

-----------------

Two hundred miles east of Jiang Family Village sprawled countless paddy fields and densely packed hamlets.

The scenery of South Water County was nothing but waterways and rice paddies, with a river traversing the entire county; its tributaries spread out like capillaries, creating a region rich in fish and rice.

Gu Wen and the two others concealed their presence, darting low across the sky like martial heroes of wuxia novels. Each step they took allowed them to span hundreds to thousands of meters upon landing.

On average, they could cover eighty miles in an hour. If they pushed themselves to their limits and ran on air, their speed could increase fivefold, even tenfold, though the expenditure of energy also doubled.

Yu Hua suddenly said, "I have already sent a message to the protector."

Gu Wen was startled for a moment but then immediately grasped the reason.

"That is well; it will be good to have the protector help us flee when it’s time."

Since they planned to kill Wenren Wu, the ensuing disturbance would inevitably attract attention. Even with a quick and decisive kill, the various powers could still speculate on the perpetrator.

According to Chi Yu Zi and Jun Yan, Wenren Wu’s eight-five Dao foundation was not particularly high. However, due to his status as a military True Monarch enhanced by army formations, his combat power in the Immortal Land would escalate by one level.

Moreover, they suspected that Wenren Wu was bolstered by the fate of Daqian Country, increasing his strength by another level.

In that case, he might possess the strength of an eight-seven Dao foundation, whereas their strongest, Chi Yu Zi, only had a six-six Dao foundation, roughly equivalent to the Fifteenth Level against the Twelve Level.

The Golden Light Spell could reach the combat power of the Thirteen Level Heavens, which still left a gap of one level. Jun Yan and Gu Wen could make up for this disparity with their support from the side, but it still wasn’t a guaranteed kill.

But Chi Yu Zi assured them that Wenren Wu was doomed, explaining that the moment Wenren Wu truly unleashed power two levels above his own, his death wouldn’t be far off.

"The old coot will either be blasted by us or blow himself up."

That was the original wording from Chi Yu Zi.

"We’ve arrived, it’s just below."

Chi Yu Zi suddenly halted and then dived into the water, with Yu Hua and Gu Wen closely following suit.

A layer of water film enveloped the trio, and Chi Yu Zi looked back in surprise when he saw the Jade-eyed Water Wave Pearl in Gu Wen’s hand, commenting, "Nice treasure, but it’s a bit low-level for significant use."

It was a Water Spirit Treasure, but clearly, it had not fully matured.

"As long as it works."

Gu Wen actually found the Jade-eyed Water Wave Pearl very useful; he had always used it for various purposes like pouring water, bathing, and repelling water.

While offensive Spiritual Treasures were a dime a dozen, functional ones were rare.

They dived down about fifty meters to find a gloomy underground channel at the bottom, one meter wide on each side, only wide enough for one person to pass at a time. They entered and quickly reached the end.

Naturally, Gu Wen didn’t think they were in the wrong place. By now, he was no novice in immortal cultivation; he concentrated Mana in his eyes.

He saw the wall in front emitting a faint light, seemingly concealing a space behind it, with his Divine Thought only able to touch upon a rough outline.

Chi Yu Zi leaned in slightly and silently recited the sect’s secret technique, a spell that converged into a beam of clear light.

"Open."

The clear light flew out, merged into the wall, and a swirling vortex-shaped space passage appeared.

"Let’s go."

Chi Yu Zi went in first, followed closely by Gu Wen and Yu Hua.

In a flash, their vision blurred, followed by a dazzling light.

Like parting clouds to see the moon, a new sky unfolded before them, and in a moment, they were high above, an island suspended mid-air below them, clouds and mists concealing a Spiritual Mountain, with lush vegetation and countless exotic beasts and rare creatures.

"Is this a small world!?"

Gu Wen seemed to forget the feeling of stepping on air, letting his body fall freely, his eyes filled with curiosity, as if he had found a new toy.

Although he was prepared, the actual sight still left him stunned—the concept that a span of a few inches could contain an entire world, a world where Immortal Mountains hid.

This was immortal cultivation!

In a white robe, Yu Hua landed beside Gu Wen, gently grasping his shoulder, and explained in a warm voice:

"It indeed is a small world, but this size is generally called a ’Daqian Hub.’ This method was originally created by a Buddha Ancestor, it’s said to abide by the ’Sumeru Mustard Seed, a single reed of Daqian.’ There’s also a legend that the Sumeru Mountain, where the Buddha Ancestor achieved his Dao, is only the size of a grain of sand and resides somewhere in the Immortal Land."

"Truly a Great Divine Power!"

Gu Wen exclaimed, "I wonder if one day I might be able to witness the grace of Sumeru Mountain."

The thought of how much Heavenly Marrow and imperial essence might exist in the Buddha Ancestor’s place of enlightenment filled him with a longing that was poles apart from his past arrogance.

Chi Yu Zi couldn’t help but take another look at Gu Wen, whose eyes sparkled with an intense desire, pure curiosity, and aspiration for the Dao.

He was the number one swordsman beneath the Immortals, also the one who never felt ashamed to ask and learn about the sword when facing obstacles.

Such an unrestrained character, Chi Yu Zi had only seen in him.

Gu Wen landed, saw some Spirit Fruit on the ground, and without hesitation, stuffed it into his mouth.

[Heavenly Marrow Year]

Wonderful, wonderful! The small world is too wonderful.

Gu Wen turned into a digging machine, licking the Sword Control Sect’s small world clean, not planning to leave a single Spirit Grass behind.

And to this, Chi Yu Zi surprisingly had no objections, merely selecting the most precious thousand-year-old Spiritual Medicine to consume, sitting cross-legged at the peak to quietly refine it.

-----------------

The next day, Jun Yan arrived in haste, and as soon as he entered the small world, he fell headfirst into the ground.

While the one who went out to welcome him, Chi Yu Zi stood in midair, coldly watching, and Yu Hua simply tilted her head in confusion, with no one volunteering to catch him.

Jun Yan wasn’t Gu Wen; falling a few times wouldn’t hurt him.

Seeing his unsightly landing, only Gu Wen ran over with a solemn expression.

"Is there a problem? Could it be that the backing sect force is rather formidable?"

Could it be that behind the Nanchun Army there was actually a Demon Sect giant preparing to launch a massacre across South Water County?

He recalled what Jun Yan had mentioned a few days ago about the blood sacrifice technique; the Demon Sect could accumulate an ultimate move through killing, and the Nanchun Army had the power to sweep across the entire South Water County.

Given that the local forces were in even worse shape, if there were to be a full-scale upheaval, the local tycoons could switch out the heavens overnight, but the aftermath would likely lead to a purge by the imperial forces, much to the danger of being exterminated down to the ninth generation.

"I need a sword, those old things have rebelled again."

"..."

Gu Wen grasped the Sword Intent with his right hand, manifesting it into reality, and stabbed Jun Yan, immediately a long, soothing sound filled his ears.

"Thank you."

"So, what’s the situation with the Nanchun Army?"

After Jun Yan caught his breath, he flipped his hand and produced a head, saying lightly, "Indeed, there was sect support behind them. To prevent any interference with us, I’ve killed them all."

"Huh?"

Gu Wen slightly tilted his head, his face filled with bewilderment.

"Is it that simple?"