Huawen Blessed Land.
Capital City, Su Estate.
In the courtyard of a guest quarters, a book house stood.
It was a mortal Gu house, shaped like a tree house, its green leaves lush and its branches thick with foliage.
At this moment, Li Xiaobai sat cross-legged inside the house.
Standing before him was a beautiful young woman—Su Qihan. Her expression was faintly solemn. "Li Lang, have you truly thought this through? A Life Gu is not something you swap out casually."
Li Xiaobai nodded with a smile. "Qihan, there's no need to worry so much. I've given this serious thought. What interests me most is poetry. So for me, the Poetry Heart Gu is the most fitting Life Gu there is. Before, I simply didn't have the means to change my Life Gu on a whim. But now that this book house has extraordinary power—capable of assisting with the replacement of one's Life Gu—how could I let such an opportunity slip by?"
Su Qihan sighed. "Since you've already made up your mind, I won't try to persuade you further. I'll stand guard outside."
"Mm." Li Xiaobai wasted no time and closed his eyes.
Ever since he had obtained the book house's inheritance, he had returned to the capital and reunited with Su Qihan. Although Li Xiaobai had been eliminated in the earlier poetry competition, he had thoroughly proven himself. Su Qihan had invited him to stay temporarily in the Su estate, and no one objected—it had even become something of a beloved rumor.
Li Xiaobai was not stingy. After moving into the Su estate, he had shared the book house's inheritance with Su Qihan. The two of them spent nearly every day inside the book house, constantly studying and researching, exchanging ideas closely.
Though they had stumbled into the intimacy of husband and wife through a twist of fate, their actual feelings had been modest at first. Su Qihan's earlier actions had been driven more by her own character than by deep affection.
But after these days together, Su Qihan had come to admire Li Xiaobai's talent ever more, and her fondness had grown to match.
When Li Xiaobai had received this opportunity, he had not the slightest intention of hiding it from Su Qihan—he shared everything with her. In this way, Su Qihan saw Li Xiaobai's genuine character: someone willing to give of himself for her sake, a scholar who was anything but heartless.
Though they had not yet formally betrothed, Su Qihan had long since regarded Li Xiaobai as the only husband she would ever have.
Su Qihan stepped out of the book house, worry still lingering in her heart. "The book house that Li Lang obtained is extremely valuable—it covers poetry, prose, and a variety of other Information Path disciplines. But these disciplines are all limited to Gu Master cultivation; there's no path to advance as a Gu Immortal. I've hinted many times that if Li Lang were to marry into the Su family, he could gain access to our Su family's Book Immortal cultivation methods. Unfortunately, Li Lang has no love for calligraphy—he's set on poetry above all else. Well, if he loves it that much, then there's nothing I can do to dissuade him. If he achieves nothing in the end and remains a Gu Master, then I'll work hard to become a Gu Immortal, secure a position as an official of the court, and support and protect him for life. Watching him write and recite poetry—as long as he's happy, I'm happy."
Within the Huawen Blessed Land, there was a unified imperial court.
The high officials in the court were all Gu Immortals. Su Qihan was the beloved daughter of the Su family, their precious jewel—blessed with stunning talent and brilliance that awed the world. Naturally, she had access to the Su family's methods of immortal cultivation.
"Young Miss, please go and rest. It's tiring to just stand here. With us standing guard, young Master Li will be perfectly safe," the guards and maidservants stepped forward to urge Su Qihan.
But Su Qihan shook her head. "All of you, go stand outside the courtyard and watch the main gate. Guarding Li Lang is something I'll do personally."
The book house trembled ever more intensely, a faint radiance emanating from within and seeping through the windows.
Half an incense stick's time later, the book house stilled. The leaves and branches ceased their swaying and trembling.
Inside the book house, Li Xiaobai slowly opened his eyes.
The process of replacing his Life Gu had gone extremely smoothly. He unfolded his inner sight and gazed into his Empty Orifice, where a single Gu Insect sat like a heart—its surface the texture of red jade, wreathed in a faint golden halo.
It was the Fifth Transformation Gu Insect he had just swapped in—the Poetry Heart.
The Poetry Heart Gu belonged to the Information Path, and among all the cultivation disciplines within that path, it was something of a niche. The most common practices of the Information Path were oaths—such as the Ocean Oath Gu, Mountain Covenant Gu, Promise Gu, and Black Ink on White Paper Gu. Next came communication—the Wild Goose Gu, Paper Crane Gu, Butterfly Message Gu, Flying Sword Message Gu, and Carrier Pigeon Gu, among others. After that came reading, listening, and writing—Water Text Gu, for instance, fell under the writing category. The Beast Language Gu was related to reading and speech.
Poetry, lyrics, and verse were by no means mainstream.
It was no wonder Su Qihan had worried about his prospects when Li Xiaobai made this choice.
But she did not know his true intentions.
"This Blessed Land has a unique environment, with the Ji Wencai killer move. As long as I compose excellent poetry, I can receive rewards and advance rapidly. The chaos of the Five Regions is fast approaching—this path of swiftly strengthening one's personal power, without any side effects, is naturally the most precious there is. Su Qihan may have access to the ways of Gu Immortals, but she knows nothing of the greater situation in the outside world."
"Now that I've switched to the Poetry Heart Gu, the next step is to practice the Poetry Essence Gu and Poetry Emotion Gu, use the Poetry Collecting Gu to gather poems from the outside world, and upgrade the Poetry Wall Gu. I should also practice with the Poetry Realm Gu—it's a Gu Insect comparable to battlefield killer moves, truly outstanding."
Li Xiaobai was mulling this over when the door of the book house was slowly pushed open, and Su Qihan stepped inside, her gaze filled with concern.
"Li Lang." Su Qihan called softly.
Li Xiaobai offered a faint smile and nodded at her. "Everything went perfectly smoothly."
Su Qihan's face bloomed into a smile, tender emotion flowing through her beautiful eyes. "That's good."
BOOM—!
Mid-conversation, the sky suddenly shook. A thunderous roar shook the heavens.
"What's going on?" Li Xiaobai and Su Qihan were both startled and hurried outside. They saw ten thousand miles of clear sky, pure and azure blue, as a ferocious gust of wind swept toward them, howling past.