Chapter 20 Yanghua Cloud Sea (Part 7)

Lianyun Peak is one of the twelve main peaks of Yanghua Sect. It was once the residence of the former sect leader, Wei Mingzhou. At the foot of the peak lies the most abundant spiritual vein. The mountain is covered with lush flowers and trees, and is full of rare and exotic animals. There are also dozens of caves suitable for cultivation, containing countless natural treasures.

However, this uniquely blessed cultivation realm fell into the hands of someone who knew absolutely nothing about cultivation.

The mountaintop cave dwelling with the most abundant spiritual energy was leveled and replaced with a luxurious mansion. In front, there was a winding corridor, artificial hills and flowing water, and in the back, there was a garden and treasure house for people to enjoy. It was just like a mortal's residence for seeking pleasure.

Ordinary maids dressed in gorgeous and flamboyant attire secretly observed Jiang Gu in the hall from behind screens or pillars. Even though he was exceptionally handsome, his aura was too terrifying, and no one dared to step forward to serve him tea.

Finally, it was the head steward, Xia Ling, who stepped forward to speak.

"Elder Jiang, the young master has arrived." He dared not look directly at Jiang Gu, keeping his head very low.

"Master!" Xia Ling had barely finished speaking when a cheerful and bright voice came from afar.

Jiang Gu looked in the direction of the sound and saw Wei Feng running towards him in a hurry. He hadn't even had time to fasten his belt properly, and his hair was messy. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of rest, but they were still frighteningly bright.

"Young master, please slow down."

"Young master, you are not dressed properly."

"Quickly, go and get a wet cloth for the young master to wipe his face."

"Young master, your boots are old, you should change them quickly."

"Young Master..."

Before Wei Feng could even get close to Jiang Gu, he was surrounded by a group of maids who were incredibly attentive, even bringing him tea to rinse his mouth.

"Get out of here!" Wei Feng was being fawned over by everyone, which he was used to, but he felt a little embarrassed in front of Jiang Gu.

However, his voice was drowned out by the chaotic female voices and no one paid any attention to him. Just when he was getting a little anxious, his body suddenly felt light and he was lifted out by the back of his neck by a spiritual force and stood behind Jiang Gu.

The chattering maids suddenly fell silent, looking at Jiang Gu with dissatisfaction and apprehension.

Jiang Gu didn't even spare a glance for them. Wei Feng hurriedly straightened his clothes behind him. Seeing him leave, he quickly chased after him. When he reached the door, he suddenly turned around and glared at the group of maids, pointing at Xia Ling.

The maids, still pretending nothing was wrong, covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and laughed, thinking Wei Feng was joking with them as usual, but they didn't notice Xia Ling's cold look after she nodded.

“Master.” Wei Feng followed Jiang Gu somewhat nervously. “You didn’t actually need to come pick me up. Qingping Peak and Lianyun Peak are so far apart. It’s too much of a hardship for you.”

Jiang Gu remained silent, which made Wei Feng even more uneasy. He thought that the maids had angered him, since the elders disapproved of such behavior the most. He hurriedly explained, "Master, those maids are used to being unruly. I've sent them away so they won't be an eyesore to you. Please don't be angry with me..."

He explained for a long time, but Jiang Gu didn't even turn his head. Wei Feng became more and more uncertain. He was so anxious that he was like an ant on a hot pan, scratching his head and wishing he could grab Jiang Gu's sleeve and kneel down to swear. Just as he was about to grab Jiang Gu's sleeve, the person walking in front suddenly stopped.

Wei Feng's hand froze in mid-air.

Jiang Gu frowned slightly as he looked at the boy in front of him, whose eyes were red and who was about to cry. "What did you just say?"

"Huh?" Wei Feng was stunned, his eyes filled with confusion and doubt.

Jiang Gu didn't have the patience to coax a child. He summoned his flying sword and hovered it beside him, barely managing to explain, "I was just discussing matters with others. Do you know how to fly a sword?"

"Yes, but—" Before Wei Feng could finish speaking, Jiang Gu flew up on his sword and disappeared in a flash of light.

Wei Feng was on the verge of tears when he finished speaking, "But my spiritual power is insufficient..."

He lowered his head in dejection, preparing to board the flying boat, when suddenly a clear, cold voice rang in his ears, "Guide your Qi into your Dantian."

Wei Feng was startled and looked around blankly, but couldn't see his master. "Master?"

"The two poles of heaven and earth, the wind god commands, the mind is clear and the energy is pure, flowing through the vast void." Jiang Gu's voice did not pause at all.

Wei Feng suddenly realized that Jiang Gu was teaching him how to control a sword. He was overjoyed and summoned his flying sword. He followed Jiang Gu's method to draw qi into his body and silently recited the incantation.

The surrounding spiritual energy slowly flowed into his dantian, and a warm feeling began to emanate from his meridians. After a moment, the flying sword in his hand trembled slightly. Wei Feng quickly let go, and the flying sword seemed to have its own consciousness, hovering at his feet.

Wei Feng recited the incantation, feeling a little nervous. The elders had taught him this incantation before, but he would always lose his balance after jumping onto the sword. He would fall down as soon as he flew high, breaking either his arm or leg. Over time, he became afraid and only dared to fly close to the ground on the sword. He was often ridiculed, so in the end he simply bought a flying boat instead of flying on the sword.

"What are you waiting for?" Jiang Gu's indifferent voice rang out again.

Wei Feng's heart skipped a beat. He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and jumped onto the flying sword.

The moment he stepped on the sword, the spiritual energy accumulated in his dantian flowed continuously into the flying sword, which then shot into the sky.

"Master—" He was blown backward by the oncoming gale, and almost instinctively wanted to bend down and squat down. The flying sword under his feet also began to shake violently.

"Stand up straight," Jiang Gu said coldly.

Wei Feng looked down at his feet. The ever-shrinking bushes and house made him dizzy, and his legs went weak, almost causing him to fall headfirst into the ground.

But just a second before he was about to kneel down, a powerful spiritual force supported his arms and lifted him up, then roughly fixed his legs, feet, shoulders, and back in place.

Wei Feng stood on the flying sword, drenched in cold sweat, and called out in a trembling voice, "Master?"

"Stand up straight, concentrate, and look straight ahead." Jiang Gu's voice was calm and cold. "What are you afraid of?"

"I...I'm afraid of falling." Wei Feng swallowed nervously, forcing himself to concentrate and look ahead. The flying sword beneath his feet wobbled forward a short distance. "I've never flown this high before. I'll...I'll fall to my death."

The house beneath his feet was almost out of sight!

You really can die if you fall!

Jiang Gu's voice trailed off for a moment, "I'll make sure you don't die from the fall."

Wei Feng was stunned, and after a long while, he stammered, "Thank you, Master."

He boldly channeled spiritual energy into the flying sword, manipulating it to fly forward. The sword initially wobbled, but then began to fly more steadily and faster. Unbeknownst to Wei Feng, the spiritual energy that had been holding his legs still quietly withdrew, but he was completely unaware. He even boldly did a somersault in the air, letting out an excited shout, only to be covered in clouds in front of him.

Jiang Gu stood at a distance with his hands behind his back, watching the excited young man.

Wei Feng's comprehension was indeed excellent, even beyond his expectations.

Jiang Gu was surprised by his initial hesitation and timidity. After all, with such talent and comprehension, he shouldn't have wasted his time and not even know the most basic sword flight.

However, he quickly found the answer from Wei Feng's subconscious little movements—he was afraid of falling.

When encountering clouds, they will instinctively avoid them. If they cannot avoid them, they will instinctively cover their head and neck. They will unconsciously bend their knees and are easily disturbed by surrounding sounds. When turning, they will hesitate until they hear his voice before continuing with peace of mind.

He could almost picture Wei Feng when he first started learning to fly on a sword.

The elders, some hundreds of years old, have many ways to torment people. They don't even need to treat people differently. They just need to use the excuse of doing what's best for you to make someone fall off a sword hundreds of times. When they fall from the sky, they deliberately fail to catch them, breaking their arms and legs. After they recover, they fall far behind. When they start over, all the disciples below have already learned to laugh and jeer. When they show any improvement, they are severely reprimanded and corrected... After going back and forth like this several times, anyone would be afraid. Wei Feng is such an arrogant and lazy person that it would be easy to ruin him.

Seven or eight years old is a good time to learn sword control, but it is also the time when children are most temperamental. Judging from Wei Feng's appearance, he must have been hit and scolded quite a bit.

Thinking this, Jiang Gu used a wisp of spiritual power to examine Wei Feng's body and bones. Sure enough, he found old injuries between his bones. His forearm, shoulder, lumbar spine, thigh, and chest were almost all the most important acupoints for cultivation. Moreover, he was still young at the time, and these bones had not healed properly. Even if his spiritual root was good, his spiritual power would stagnate and become blocked when it was circulating.

Wei Feng seemed completely unaware of this.

He was afraid of falling because he almost died, since no one would catch him.

Jiang Gu looked at his still somewhat timid figure, his brows furrowed, and his aura turned colder.

"Master! I can fly on a sword now!!" Wei Feng's excited voice rang out high in the sky. He shouted excitedly, "Master, look—ahhhhhh!"

Before he could finish speaking, a sudden gust of wind rushed towards him, blowing him off the flying sword.

Wei Feng screamed and instinctively covered his head. The familiar feeling of weightlessness made him feel as if he had returned to when he was seven years old. Fear instantly overwhelmed him. He didn't even shout for help because he knew no one would come to save him.

At worst, I'll fall and get half-dead, but at least I won't have to go to class anymore.

As he was thinking this, a long, strong hand suddenly grabbed the back of his neck.

Wei Feng shakily raised his head, and when he saw Jiang Gu's face, his eyes suddenly reddened. His hands, which were still on his head, were still there, making him look like a featherless little quail. "Master... Master?"

Jiang Gu didn't give him a chance to show his affection as a master and disciple. With a forceful movement, he threw the man back onto the flying sword.

Wei Feng sniffed. After standing on the flying sword again, he was far less daring than before. He subconsciously hunched his back, and the mocking voices seemed to ring in his ears again. The spiritual energy in his dantian dissipated for a moment.

"Concentrate." Jiang Gu's indifferent voice snapped him back to reality.

Wei Feng hurriedly gathered his spiritual power and poured it into his flying sword, finally regaining his footing. Just as he was about to straighten up, the gust of wind struck again, knocking him off his flying sword once more.

The familiar feeling of falling returned, and Wei Feng clutched his head again, staring blankly at Jiang Gu who had caught him. Before he could even utter "Master," he was thrown back onto the flying sword.

It wasn't until he fell more than ten times that he belatedly realized that the gust of wind was being controlled by Jiang Gu.

But no matter how many times he fell, Jiang Gu would always catch him with a cold face.

Wei Feng couldn't quite describe his feelings, but when he stood on the flying sword again, he suddenly felt confident enough to straighten his back and boldly poured all his spiritual power into the sword. When the gust of wind struck again, he decisively turned and dodged the attack.

Overjoyed, he hurriedly turned to find Jiang Gu, "Master, I—"

Bang!

An even stronger gust of wind than before slammed him off the flying sword.

When Jiang Gu lifted Wei Feng up, dazed and disoriented, his limbs slumped limply, yet he still bravely raised his head and weakly said, "Master, I... dodged..."

"Continue." Jiang Gu suppressed the slight upturn of his lips, his voice still as cold as ice.

After hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of times, Wei Feng had no time to recall his painful childhood experiences, nor could he spare any energy for fear. He focused intently on controlling the flying sword beneath his feet, constantly on guard against the raging wind that could strike him down at any moment.

His clothes on his back were wet and then dried, then wet again with sweat. He went from being terrified of falling to being excited. Every time he dodged the hurricane, he felt incredibly satisfied and even began to look forward to the storm coming.

After he skillfully dodged the gale on his sword for the tenth time, the gale finally disappeared.

Jiang Gu looked at the boy standing upright on the flying sword and was somewhat satisfied.

"Master!" Wei Feng quickly spotted him and flew over on his sword. His red robes fluttered in the wind, and even his high ponytail revealed his undisguised joy.

"That's all for today," Jiang Gu said.

"So fast?" Wei Feng wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around before realizing it was already dark. He was shocked. "It's already so late!"

"Go back and take some fasting pills to replenish your strength." Jiang Gu's gaze fell on his left shoulder, which was soaked with blood, and handed him a bottle of pills. "Apply it to the wound."

Wei Feng quickly accepted it with both hands, his eyes shining as he looked at him, "Thank you, Master! This little injury is nothing!"

"Go back." Jiang Gu nodded indifferently and disappeared from the spot.

"Master—" Wei Feng subconsciously tried to grab his sleeve, but grabbed nothing and touched his nose in frustration.

After Jiang Gu left, he flew around on his sword in the air a few more times with great interest before lowering his altitude to figure out the direction to return to Lianyun Peak. However, he found himself right above the house on the peak.

He practiced all day, but didn't even leave his own house.

The flying sword hovered on the grass. When Wei Feng jumped down and touched the ground, his legs felt a little weak. He simply lay down on the grass, looked up at the twinkling stars in the night sky, and felt a slight soreness in his nose from the cool evening breeze.

He held up the small bottle his master had given him, looked at the auspicious clouds drawn on it, grinned, and examined it for a long time before carefully placing it in the storage bag in his heart.