Chapter 533: The Nation's Great Artifact, the Mountain and River Mirror

Chapter 533: Chapter 496: The Nation’s Great Artifact, the Mountain and River Mirror

Song Ciwan had no intention of hiding her strength.

Although she would create various aliases for herself and keep some trump cards hidden, she couldn’t be bothered with things like concealing her Cultivation and acting weak to prey on the strong.

‘Hide her Cultivation? For what?’

‘To look for trouble? Or to switch to hard mode for no reason?’

She had always known that to gain respect, one must possess strength. When your Cultivation was high enough, you’d look around and find that almost everyone was a good person.

‘Is the world really full of good people?’

‘No, it’s just that people admire the strong and know to pursue benefits while avoiding harm. If you’re strong enough, some people won’t dare to reveal their ill intentions, even if they have them.’

Song Ciwan had come to understand this deeply throughout her Cultivation journey.

Ever since her Cultivation broke through to the Divinity Transformation Stage and she entered the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List, fewer and fewer people treated her with a cold shoulder. Instead, more and more people were polite, mutually respectful, and greeted her with a smile.

And it wasn’t just superficial pretense, either.

In the mortal world of Cultivation, all living spirits were but passersby.

They were passersby in her life, just as she was in theirs. Every encounter, whether it made them friend or foe, was a matter of fate. There was no need to look too deeply into certain things until they reached a critical point.

Song Ciwan stated frankly that she was in the Late-stage Divinity Transformation and possessed the skills of a Five-star Medical Cultivator. When the two words “Five-star” left her lips, Yu Wenxu, who had been writing in his register, threw his head back and laughed.

He let out a long, hearty laugh. In front of the city gate, General Yu’s laughter drowned out the rising murmur of the crowd.

Just then, the stick of incense was about to burn out.

Yu Wenxu wasted no time. He said cheerfully, “Excellent! Not registered at Willow Leaf Hall? That’s no problem at all. Come! Follow me into the city, and we’ll register you on the spot!”

Before the words had even left his mouth, he reached out to grab Song Ciwan’s sleeve.

The motion was casual, but as a Military General at the Innate Acupoint Fusion Realm who had also been a Celestial Pride on the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List in his youth, even a casual grab that didn’t use any Martial Technique still possessed a certain Profound Mysterious Realm.

It was like the crashing of mountains and seas—unavoidable—yet also like an antelope hanging by its horns, leaving no trace. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for any Divinity Transformation Cultivator to dodge such a move.

After all, the physical reaction speed of a Cultivator is completely different from that of a Martial Artist. Furthermore, the Innate Acupoint Fusion Realm was equivalent to the Divine Refining Stage among Cultivators, a full Tier One higher than the Divinity Transformation Stage.

And yet, Yu Wenxu’s hand grabbed nothing but air.

With just a slight movement of her feet, Song Ciwan’s body shifted sideways three feet out of thin air at an unbelievable angle, naturally causing Yu Wenxu’s hand to miss.

She had actually dodged the grab of an Innate Acupoint Fusion expert!

Shifting three feet out of thin air was nothing; the important part was that an Acupoint Fusion Realm Martial Artist possessed a True Martial Arts Intent. To be able to break through General Yu’s True Martial Arts Intent—that was the real skill.

This was the Daoist Skill Shrinking Inches.

Shrinking Inches, as its name implied, could make a thousand miles feel as short as an inch. It was a miraculous Daoist Skill that could be used for both long-distance sprints and short-range teleportation.

Shrinking Inches was not affected by True Martial Arts Intent—

Of course, the amount of True Martial Arts Intent that Yu Wenxu had infused into that casual grab was actually minuscule. That couldn’t be ignored.

After all, Yu Wenxu’s original intention wasn’t to fight anyone or test their combat ability. He had simply wanted to grab the woman’s arm to quickly lead her to Willow Leaf Hall.

But he never expected that his grab would actually miss!

Yu Wenxu’s eyes lit up. In a tone of both pleasant surprise and disbelief, he said, “You… You actually dodged that?”

Song Ciwan smiled faintly. “I don’t care for physical contact. I hope you won’t take offense, General.”

Yu Wenxu let out a light breath. Of course he wouldn’t take offense; on the contrary, he was delighted. “Your Body Technique is outstanding, so your ability to protect yourself must be quite strong. This is perfect.”

Experts in this world all had their own habits and quirks. Not liking physical contact… that barely even counted as a quirk.

In fact, most Cultivators disliked physical contact.

This was a Mythical Realm, after all, and there were far too many strange and bizarre techniques. Many were things people couldn’t even imagine, things not recorded in any book or document. Avoiding physical contact was just a normal safety precaution.

At that moment, the stick of incense finished burning. Cai An collected the spent ashes.

Yu Wenxu announced, “Esteemed healers, please follow me into the city.”

As he spoke, he vaulted onto his Dragon-scaled Red Blood Horse.

These Red Blood Horses possessed a Celestial Horse Bloodline and were a special breed cultivated by the West Wind Army. When they ran, wind and clouds followed in their wake. Their Qi Blood was so abundant that it warded off all evil, and they were so fast they could travel tens of thousands of miles in a single day, making them the most superior breed of warhorse.

As a Third Grade General, Yu Wenxu’s Dragon-scaled Red Blood Horse was different still.

As he swung himself into the saddle, the Red Blood Horse raised its forelegs and let out a soft whinny, but within the sound, there was the faint cry of a dragon.

The long, drawn-out sound carried an indescribable, awe-inspiring power that made listeners’ hearts pound, shocking the cultivators who had been chattering incessantly before the gate into sudden, complete silence.

The entire West Wind Army mounted their horses, forming a protective circle around the few Medical Cultivators who had answered the call.

Yu Wenxu spurred his horse forward, entering the gatehouse tunnel.

The gatehouse tunnel was very deep, like a towering passageway, ten zhang wide and a full thirty zhang deep.

As the group entered the city, a Mountain and River Mirror hung high above the gate!

Mountain and River Mirrors like this could be found in cities all across the Great Zhou. However, unlike the Three-star or Four-star Level mirrors found in many ordinary cities, the one above the gate of Demon Suppression City was a full Six-star Level!

It was said that the original Mountain and River Mirror was a Spiritual Treasure.

This treasure was a vital artifact used to stabilize the nation’s destiny. It possessed the ability to perceive evil, shatter disguises, and see through all worldly illusions. It could even move mountains and shift rivers, transforming oceans into mulberry fields at will—

Of course, this only applied to the original Mountain and River Mirror.

The replicas of the Mountain and River Mirror had similar functions, but their abilities were weakened to varying degrees depending on their Level.

For instance, the Mountain and River Mirror in Su Yang City, as Song Ciwan later came to understand, was only a Three-star Level.

Song Ciwan had used her Fetal Transformation and Shape-shifting to enter and exit various State Cities, passing under Three-star, Four-star, and even Five-star Level Mountain and River Mirrors without her disguise ever being broken.

‘I just wonder if this Six-star Level Mountain and River Mirror will see through the true nature of my Fetal Transformation and Shape-shifting.’

‘It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I were exposed. My main body, Song Zhao, has nothing to hide. It’s just… my plan to dominate the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List might need some adjustments.’

Ahead, several soldiers of the West Wind Army passed under the Mountain and River Mirror, and then it was the Medical Cultivators’ turn.

Liu Mingzhong, Xiang Qing, and the others passed through one by one. The Mountain and River Mirror remained perfectly calm, its surface as clear and still as Bi Lake.

Song Ciwan stood among the other Medical Cultivators, and her turn came quickly.

Up ahead, Xiang Qing glanced back, looking at Song Ciwan with curiosity.

Song Ciwan’s expression remained unchanged as she walked into the gatehouse tunnel.

The moment she passed under the Mountain and River Mirror, Song Ciwan felt a faint sensation, as if a gentle breeze had brushed past her.