Gu Junshi returned to her lodging before the dawn chores began in the North District, her spirit undampened by a sleepless night.
Since Xiao Yuan had left the lower peak, the responsibility of assigning tasks to the female servants in the North District had fallen to a middle-aged woman named Hong Gu. Hong Gu was also an outer disciple, her talent falling short of Xiao Yuan's, and her cultivation perpetually stalled at the second layer of Qi Refining.
Her disposition wasn't particularly warm or kind, but she didn't deliberately make things difficult for anyone.
While listening to the female servants' idle chatter, Hong Gu had heard that Gu Junshi, despite possessing a废灵根 (waste spiritual root), had a strength that ordinary people couldn't match. It was said she could single-handedly drag a demonic beast during the cleaning of the competition stage.
Hong Gu didn't fully believe such exaggerated tales, but with constant rumors, she found herself with an urgent task requiring someone strong. With a "why not try" attitude, she approached Gu Junshi.
"Beside the Sword Washing Pool within Nine Devouring Mountain, a large pile of discarded swords has accumulated, needing servants to clean them. If you have the time, would you be willing to try?"
As she spoke, Hong Gu quietly observed Gu Junshi. Beyond her striking appearance, her overall demeanor was more captivating. There were truly people in this world who, just by standing there, possessed an innate aura that clearly set them apart from ordinary folk. Gu Junshi was one of them.
Gu Junshi saw no reason to refuse and accepted the task.
"Although this task will be very tiring, the Master of Nine Devouring Mountain has allocated a full thousand contribution points. If your strength is truly as great as they say, you can shoulder it all by yourself. This is far more than what you'd earn from miscellaneous tasks over a month."
Gu Junshi replied, "I am sufficient on my own."
Seeing that Gu Junshi, though not talkative, was a person of action, Hong Gu developed a favorable impression. She added a cautionary note, "While cleaning, try to avoid getting too close to the Sword Washing Pool. It's rumored that the pool's waters once nurtured immortal swords, and their spiritual energy is overbearing, something ordinary people cannot withstand."
Gu Junshi acknowledged this. Hong Gu had other matters to attend to and directly handed her a shattered spirit stone, instructing her to find the teleportation array marked with Nine Devouring Mountain in the South District. These teleportation arrays were bi-directional, essentially a two-way, one-point system, requiring the precise destination to be identified.
Gu Junshi took the shattered spirit stone and left without delay.
Nine Devouring Mountain differed from other peaks. It was sparsely populated with vegetation and wild forests, instead being dominated by bare stones and cliffs. As she traveled, Gu Junshi saw discarded swords jutting out of the rock faces everywhere, along with the ravines left by generations of sword cultivators, varying in depth, crisscrossed by powerful, inherent sword intent.
An ordinary person gazing at them for too long might suffer soul damage. Even Gu Junshi, at the Golden Core stage, felt a discomfort in her eyes and head. She averted her gaze. Along the way, she encountered no disciples of Nine Devouring Mountain. Xiao Yuan had once mentioned that the disciples of Nine Devouring Mountain were essentially cultivation fanatics, and remaining in seclusion for extended periods was commonplace.
Estimating the location of the Sword Washing Pool, she descended along a steep mountainside. In the distance, she spotted a smooth stone tablet. On it, swirling characters written in vermilion red declared, "Trial Sword Pool."
This must be the place.
She walked down about a hundred paces along the wooden railing beside the "Trial Sword Pool" and heard the rushing sound of water. Beyond a thicket of emerald bamboo, a clear pool wound its way, its water transparent to the bottom, yet mist-like formations seemed to rise from its surface.
In the Sword Pool, several rough sword blanks stood upright, along with dozens of spiritual swords scattered at varying distances.
When she arrived, a young boy, who had arrived earlier than her, sat beside the Sword Pool. He was still dressed in a slightly too-small black outfit and straw-mat shoes, his posture perfectly upright as he faced the pool. Already gaunt, he appeared strangely unhealthy with the abrupt absence of his arms.
Gu Junshi recognized him; it was the Ghost Infant.
"Ghost Infant" wasn't precisely his name. He had been born without parents, so no one had named him.
It was only when he grew older that people who knew his origins began calling him Ghost Infant upon seeing him. At first, he thought it was his name, only later realizing it was merely a term of aversion and avoidance from others.
Seeing him sitting by the Sword Washing Pool, meditating and sensing the swords within, Gu Junshi understood he had been accepted by Nine Devouring Mountain, and likely… found a master.
Sword cultivators generally needed to achieve enlightenment in sword intent before they could cultivate. It was unlikely he would have come here without guidance.
Gu Junshi was curious how someone with a five-element spiritual root, who was also physically disabled and blind, had managed to rise. Compared to the future "Dragon King" protagonist's pampered consort, his life story, a comeback from rock bottom, was quite inspiring.
She didn't disturb him. She noticed a pile of rusted, tattered sword artifacts nearby. These were swords that sword cultivators had failed to perfect or those that had deteriorated over time, all piled haphazardly. Over the years, they had accumulated into a small mountain of scrap metal.
Her task was to move them to the Sword Tomb.
She estimated that with an ordinary person's strength, moving more than ten swords at a time, she could probably finish before nightfall.
By midday, she had moved more than half of the piled sword mountain. She glanced at the little fellow who had been sitting by the cold, icy pool all morning.
As servants, they were provided a standard work meal for their tasks. The Great Evolution Sect was considered humane in this regard. However, she didn't need to eat, and this scrawny little fellow didn't either?
"Are you hungry?"
This was the first time she had spoken to him since arriving.
The Ghost Infant's ears twitched. Though he couldn't see, he had already registered the sounds around him.
She was moving things, likely heavy objects like metal, yet her footsteps were light. She moved back and forth countless times without pause, her breathing never faltering. He had reached a conclusion.
This person… was no ordinary person.
But this extraordinary person was a servant. He knew that only servants in the Great Evolution Sect performed such arduous and seemingly meaningless tasks.