“Gu Xiu abandoned Azure Mystic? Absurd.”

“The Sword Immortal did everything for that sect. He fought legions of prodigies, achieved unparalleled feats, and even imprisoned himself in the Forbidden Realm for their sake. A man like that would simply walk away?”

“Impossible. It makes no logical sense.”

In the dim light of the teahouse, the gathered figures exchanged skeptical glances. The intelligence report they had just received felt like a fever dream.

Gu Xiu was a legend. He was the backbone of the Azure Mystic Sacred Land. The idea of him turning his back on the sect he had sacrificed everything for was inconceivable.

However…

“We performed a Soul Search on every Azure Mystic disciple stationed at the entrance of Falling Rain Valley,” one of the spies said, his voice grim. “We cross-referenced the memories multiple times. The facts remain consistent.”

“Three years ago, Gu Xiu returned from the Forbidden Realm. Since then, his cultivation has vanished. He is a cripple.”

The spy paused, letting the weight of the words settle.

“Most of the younger disciples don’t even know his name. They only know of a ‘useless Martial Uncle’ living on Clumsy Peak.”

“Furthermore,” another spy added, tapping the table. “Gu Xiu signed the Sect Severance Treaty months ago. The Azure Mystic Supreme personally announced it, projecting the document for the entire sect to see. It implies… he was forced out.”

“Forced out?” A man gasped. “The Sword Immortal becomes a cripple, and instead of caring for him, Azure Mystic discards him like trash?”

Silence descended.

Recently, the Azure Mystic Sacred Land had been a hub of strange activity. Tribulation lightning struck frequently, and mysterious mists shrouded their peaks. These anomalies had drawn the eyes of predatory forces who had long coveted the sect’s resources.

Originally, this group of spies planned a subtle operation: kidnap one core disciple from the sect and one from Falling Rain Valley to extract information.

But the initial intel from Falling Rain Valley was so shocking that they abandoned subtlety.

They slaughtered every Azure Mystic disciple at the valley entrance and scoured their souls to verify the truth.

The more memories they sifted through, the more their disbelief grew.

This was the Sword Immortal! A man whose loyalty was practically a law of nature. They had only intended to confirm if he was alive or dead. They never imagined the truth would be this scandalous.

“According to the memories,” a strategist among them mused, “the sect has been intentionally erasing Gu Xiu’s legacy. If even the ordinary disciples see him as waste, it proves the sect’s leadership is rotten.”

“Or it’s a trap,” another argued cautiously. “Azure Mystic hasn’t held the title of Sacred Land for long. They have many enemies. Perhaps they are feigning weakness to lure us in?”

“A trap?” The strategist scoffed. “Who sets a trap by publicly humiliating their greatest hero? Even if Gu Xiu agreed to be the bait, would his Master and Senior Sisters allow such disgrace?”

“Don’t be naive. Our investigation shows the Peak Masters of Azure Mystic are not virtuous people. It is entirely possible they betrayed their savior once he lost his value.”

A cold grin spread across the leader’s face.

“If that is true… then this is tremendously good news.”

He slammed his hand on the table.

“Send word to the Old Ancestor immediately! This is the opportunity we have been waiting for.”

“But until the Old Ancestor decides,” he added, his eyes narrowing, “we continue the investigation. We must be absolutely certain Gu Xiu is crippled. And we must find out where he went.”

The group nodded, murderous intent flickering in their eyes.

Regardless of how unbelievable it seemed, the intel was solid. The Azure Mystic Sacred Land was divided, disloyal, and vulnerable.

This was not just a crack in their armor. It was a gaping wound.

And the wolves were ready to feast.

While the storm clouds of war gathered over the Azure Mystic Sacred Land, inside Falling Rain Valley, Gu Xiu remained as tranquil as a still lake.

He sat cross-legged, silently cultivating.

His first two Foundation Establishment Dao Platforms had already reached the limit of perfection. Now, his focus was entirely on forging the third.

In theory, creating the third platform shouldn’t have been difficult. He had the materials and the experience. After completing the second layer, condensing the third should have been a natural progression.

But this time, the core material was different.

He was using the Immortal Gate Stone given to him by the remnant soul of Rain Lotus.

Using a fragment of the Heavenly Gate—an object meant for Ascension—as a foundation for a mere Foundation Establishment stage platform increased the difficulty by an exponential magnitude.

In both his past life and the ten-thousand-year dream, Gu Xiu had never heard of anyone attempting such madness.

The Heavenly Gate was not a mortal object. It was the threshold between man and Immortal. Even a Supreme Venerable like Azure Fall had to wait for the gate to shatter before daring to steal a fragment.

“I’ve been refining it for days, yet the progress is microscopic,” Gu Xiu murmured, opening his eyes. “At this speed, it will take a century to fully integrate it into my Dao Platform.”

Even with the mysterious Book of No Regrets in his Dantian aiding the process, the resistance was immense.

He needed a catalyst.

“Perhaps I should try a different approach.”

With a flick of his wrist, a flash of green light appeared. The Green Bamboo Rod materialized in his grip.

He had been in Falling Rain Valley for ten days. Since brute force wasn’t working, he decided to see if this enigmatic treasure could offer a solution. If it worked, excellent. If not, he would treat it as a break.

He cast the line.

The invisible Spiritual Silk vanished into the void.

Usually, fishing with the rod required patience. But this time, the moment the hook pierced the dimensional fabric, his hand felt a heavy tug.

It was as if the item had been waiting for him.

Gu Xiu, having weathered many storms, remained unfazed. He simply lifted the rod with a steady motion.

No thunder roared. No golden light pierced the sky.

A simple, unassuming object was pulled from the void and landed in his palm.

Gu Xiu stared at it, blinking.

“This is…”

“Earth-Cold Iron Gold?”

Resting in his hand was a fist-sized lump of metal. It was bluish-gold and emitted a faint, chilly aura.

Gu Xiu was genuinely surprised. Not because it was a peerless treasure, but because it was… garbage.

Well, not garbage, but incredibly common.

Back when he was a lowly apprentice on Artifact Resonance Peak, his daily task was to process mountains of this specific ore. It was cheap, durable, and conducted Spiritual Qi reasonably well. It was the standard material for mass-produced, low-tier Dharma Treasures.

It was the definition of mediocre.

This was the first time the Green Bamboo Rod—a tool that had fished up ancient techniques and divine items—had caught something he could buy at a street stall for a few spirit stones.

“I suppose this is regression to the mean,” Gu Xiu muttered, shaking his head. “My luck was running too hot recently.”

He unhooked the metal and prepared to put the rod away, resigning himself to finding another solution.

But the moment the Earth-Cold Iron Gold touched his skin, something strange happened.

Hum.

Deep inside his Dantian, the Immortal Gate Stone resting on his Dao Platform vibrated violently. A palpable force of attraction erupted from it, pulling at the lump of common metal in his hand.

Gu Xiu froze. He observed the resonance carefully, his expression shifting from confusion to shock.

“This is…”

“Material Harmony?”

In the art of Artifact Forging, ‘Material Harmony’—also known as Wall Resonance—was a legendary state. It referred to two materials that were so perfectly compatible that they naturally fused, enhancing each other’s properties without the need for auxiliary binders or complex arrays.

Usually, Material Harmony occurred between materials of the same tier and elemental alignment.

But this?

One was a piece of the Heavenly Gate, a supreme divine object. The other was a lump of Earth-Cold Iron Gold, the most mundane metal in the cultivation world.

It was a marriage between a god and an ant. The difference was heaven and earth.

And yet, they were singing to each other.

A bold, almost heretical idea began to form in Gu Xiu’s mind. His eyes lit up with a cold, analytical fire.

“If they possess Material Harmony…”

He looked at the divine stone in his body, then at the common metal in his hand.

“What if I don’t just cultivate the platform?”

“What if I use Artifact Forging techniques to cast my Dao Platform like a weapon?”