In the world of Gu Masters, each cultivator pursues Immortality. Some gradually lose their ambition and settle for mediocrity while other Gu Masters gamble their existence to achieve the goal. The concept of Immortality was just as ambiguous as it was on Earth. Even with supernatural powers, the Gu Masters, in the end, died. No matter the supremacist claims and the treatment against mortal men. Yet, the path of cultivation is to go against the heavens, and many Gu Masters, in the hope of leaving a mark and passing on the torch of their hopes, would leave inheritances. No matter how weak or how poor a Gu Master was, they would try to leave an inheritance. This was their final act of defiance and hope that someday, a Gu Master would glorify the tradition and finally achieve Immortality.
If not to live forever, then to justify that all the sacrifices of Gu Masters were worth it. That— Immortality was not just a fleeting dream but a solid reality! And, the Gu Master whose corpse Fei Cai discovered, even if he did not want to die and maybe breathed his last breath with grievances, managed to leave his mark in the form of Diary in Fei Cai's hands. This might not be the Inheritance that the Gu Master dreamt of leaving, but this was definitely the result of years of accumulations.
"Rank 1 Lizard Mouth Gu, Rank 1 Lizard Enslavement Gu, Rank 1 Lizard Scale Gu, Rank 2 Crimson Lizard Strength Gu..." Fei Cai read through the dozens of gu worms recipes. The list did not end till Rank 2. There were many rank 3 gu worms, and finally, there were two Rank 4 gu worms— Lizard Enslavement Gu and Scale Regeneration Gu. The effects of the gu worms made Fei Cai feel slightly short of breath, but then he quickly regained his composure.
Gu worms occurred in the natural world under particular circumstances, but more than often, Gu Masters refined their gu worms to meet their specified needs. For instance, to raise the standard of living, the Gu Masters of the previous era devised many house gu worms. Earth lizard house gu worm was just one of the many in the series, and Fei Cai now even had the recipe of refining the gu worm. According to his father, Fei Qing, the path of cultivation consisted of three different roads that needed to be treaded simultaneously— Use, Refine, and Nurture.
A Gu Master cultivates the aperture, but in reality, an aperture is merely an essential tool that allows a Gu Master to use a gu worm. Without any gu worm, a Gu Master is no different from a mortal, and without any gu worm, what use does an aperture have? So, the most significant amount of resources diverges towards the direction of gu worms. Gu worms are living creatures, and due to this, they get hungry. A capable Gu Master must know how to nurture his gu worm so that they don't starve and also have the devious mind of using a gu worm ingeniously.
Lastly, refining new and innovative gu worms has always been what the concept of Inheritance is for— to build new gu worms on the foundation of old methods.
Fei Cai closed the diary and snuck it into his inner tunic. While the diary filled with recipes was a fantastic fortune, Fei Cai looked at the large basket filled to the brim with dull primeval stones. Alongside a little over thirty stones in his pouch, Fei Cai now possessed a whopping treasure of more than a thousand primeval stones. Each rank of gu worm had a price range.
Rank 1 gu worms would get sold for a little over a hundred to three hundred primeval stones. Rank 2 gu worms reached the ceiling of seven hundred primeval stones, and finally, Rank 3 gu worms reached an astonishing price of more than a thousand primeval stones. While, in public, the Tribe Chieftain announced that Fei Cai had contributed to the tribe significantly and rewarded him with a thousand primeval stones, and also removed the 'loan' agreement that hung over Fei Cai's neck, in reality, unknown the Tribe Elders who intentionality hid the gu worms information, Fei Cai knew better.
Being the son of Tribe Chieftain, Fei Cai had heard his father unintentionally slipping some information. For instance, a special gu worm like the earth lizard house gu worm would fetch a price not less than 7000 primeval stones. But even when Fei Cai knew this, his heart remained as still as a pond and his expression calm. Every benefit had its limitations. Being the son of the Tribe Chieftain, Fei Cai was virtually impossible to conspire against even if he had earned 10000 primeval stones. This was the protection that came from the organization— the tribe— his father, led.
But this protection came with a price. If he couldn't be assassinated for his wealth, then the tribe— the force that is keeping Fei Cai safe— would keep the larger portion of the benefit. Being a part of the corporate law firm in his previous life, Fei Cai was already aware of this fact. The probable ways to break free from the shackles of the tribe, Fei Cai deduced, was to grow as influential as the Elders so that he could control the earnings of the 'larger portion' which is digested by the tribe or raise his strength so high that he can plunder the tribe off of its benefits and live unfettered.
Fei Cai couldn't do any of it. Instead of letting his helplessness affect his state of mind, Fei Cai decided to make use of his wealth and reinforce his advantages to leave his peers far behind. He activated his wolf strength gu once again, and within a few minutes, a stream of warmth washed his body and allowed the meditating Fei Cai to easily feel his strength increasing. According to an hour of cultivation and comparing it to yesterday's effect, Fei Cai had already estimated that two more sessions of cultivation would be needed, and he would gain the strength of a regular wolf.
Of course, with his gains, Fei Cai wasn't planning to hunt in the next few days and instead, use his wealth to instantly arm himself appropriate gu worms that would have usually taken him weeks, if not months of diligence. After he had used the wolf strength gu for an hour, Fei Cai rested his mind and then proceeded to use his aperture nurture gu while picking up a single primeval stone.
Fei Qing had made a deliberate point to advise him: Practice and refine your control over primeval essence. Had Fei Cai been an ordinary youth, then he would have complied without much deliberation, alas, Fei Cai was a transmigrator with his age disguised by the flesh of a young boy. It was only after absorbing and activating the gu worm at the same time did realize how superficial his control over his primeval essence was. The moment he activated the gu worm, he felt the surge of primeval essence dwindling, and he also felt the primeval essence within the stone retracting.
Instead of being able to create a cycle of absorption and consumption, Fei Cai spectacularly failed to achieve the required control. This time, he was slightly stunned and humbled. From the moment Fei Cai 'arrived,' he held a rational impression towards his surroundings and absorbing all the knowledge he could like a sponge, and this very feeling of 'quick' growth and 'indifferent' rationality made Fei Cai prideful unconsciously.
Even now.
Fei Cai had expected to quickly achieve the expected level of control, and here he sat. Exhaling deeply, Fei Cai continued with the task. One day, he would have to conquer this task, so he might as well begin now. He had time in his hand; he was feeling slightly refreshed, too.
For another hour, Fei Cai continued the fruitless task of refining his control and finally stopped to cultivate and nurture his aperture.
***
After Fei Cai had bathed, he once again began his cultivation. His expression was calm and relieved. Each session of cultivation brought waves of mental pressure that a Gu Master needed to relieve through natural actions such as sleeping. This was Fei Cai's third day on the road of cultivation, and he had already started to form his own path of cultivation.
In reality, it was the dead Gu Master's diary that gave him the idea.
Presently, Fei Cai had no foundation to innovate upon. So, all he could do was note the multiple effects he wished from a gu worm. The first effect he wrote down was— lack of sleep. In the most primal nature, the act of sleeping was merely to recuperate the mental capacities. If he could invent a gu worm that could remove the wastage of time that sleeping was then his path of cultivation could become more manageable. If he couldn't innovate a recipe to refine such a gu, however, Fei Cai made sure to search for a gu worm with similar effects.
He only wrote this effect down to not forget about this morning's inspiration. Next, he once again cultivated with wolf strength gu worm. Today, he would gain the strength of a wolf. Another hour passed in silent cultivation.
Aside from status, Fei Cai's mentality also placed him way above the norms of ordinary young Gu Masters. To Gu Masters, the cultivation of aperture is an arduous task that taxes the mind and sap on the vigor while leaving the Gu Master lonely. The effects nailed the Gu Master in hysteria if they continued for long and would need to socialize— In the way of Interacting, Mating, and Battling. But Fei Cai remained calm in the face of loneliness in the long run. After a few minutes of recuperation, he observed his aperture.
Unlike the previous wall layered with patches of mist, the thin light now covered the entire aperture and gave off the feeling of 'fullness.' A B-Rank Aptitude Gu Master like Fei Cai would have to nurture his aperture for more than two weeks to gain a similar result. Now, with the assistance of primeval stones and a gu worm specialized in nurturing the aperture, Fei Cai could advance in his path by leaps and bounds.
Since it was morning, Fei Cai was feeling relatively fresh and continued to nurture his aperture for more than three hours. This was the first time he committed himself to cultivation this long, and it had a slightly adverse effect on his body. His legs were numb, and his back hurt somewhat. Even if he had a virtually abundant source of primeval energy, the wealth couldn't deal with the depletion of his mental strength and stamina.
Not willing to deteriorate his health, Fei Cai finally stopped the morning session in the early afternoon. Stretching his limbs and lying down to recover his mobility, Fei Cai stood up and filled his pouch with primeval stones to the brim and walked out of the house. Fei Qing would usually leave early in the morning and return late in the night. He was the Tribe Chieftain, and all the benefits came with the responsibility to keep the tribe running.
Of course, when Fei Cai moved about, there was a clear difference in his pace.
Wolf strength gu worms effects were passive, and once fully refined, Fei Cai would gain the permanent strength of an adult wolf. Even if Gu Masters could kill such an animal with their gu worms, the effect of having a wolf's strength to accompany their bodies permanently was a tempting endeavor and, thus, resulted in the popularity of this form of gu worm.
Fei Cai walked out of his house and made his way across the street, flanked with tents of various quality. The tribe was divided into the inner and outer portions. The inner part was reserved for the Gu Master families and sported better quality tents while the outer ring was occupied by mortal men, and two stables were also erected to rear the unused slaves to make them mate and produce more slaves.
In the Northern Plains, slavery is a flourishing market, and even the Fei Tribe made the best use of all the slaves. Some served mortals and Gu Masters while the remaining ones are assigned to perform various duties. Only those who are physically handicapped or unsavory to look at will be forced to mate even if they are at their dying breaths. Females will then be reserved, and the Fei Tribe used this method to finally create a sustainable cycle of slave trading.
It wasn't just the slaves, Fei Tribe also had a special set of gu worms, just like any other established tribe to distinguish themselves. And, using his wealth, Fei Cai wanted to purchase a few of the gu worms that would help him hunt better.
Fei Cai finally reached a lavish tent and flapped its opening aside before entering a stuffed space.