'Am I thinking too much?' Fei Cai rushed within the grassland with Lo tagging along. Their steps, after weeks of practice, had grown light and measured. They weren't veterans yet, but deeming the master-slave pair a couple of newbies is also out of question. After Fei Cai knocked his arrow and struck a shriek rat in the distance, he let Lo take care of processing the catch and focused on the issue at hand once again.
There was something wrong with Fei Cai's body. Aside from a soul traveling and possessing the youth, there was something else that whispered... lucky. This is the only word Fei Cai could surmise his yesterday's endeavor with. Just like the computer gu, the instinct gu worm's location is within the Gu Master's brain. But still, two instinct gu worms fluttered within Fei Cai's aperture. He had prepared three sets of materials to refine the instinct gu worm, so, after refining one, he tried his hand on the remaining two sets and lo behold. A 100% refinement success rate! Instead of being pleased with himself, however, Fei Cai could only point at the veil of darkness that seemed to shroud his existence.
A 100% refinement success rate is an achievement that even the ten invincible beings of this world couldn't proclaim. 'Maybe this is just pure luck...' Fei Cai's gaze flickered as something within his mind clicked. It was some sort of premonition, but believing this extremely profound feeling, Fei Cai rolled and avoided the strike of a coil-dot python before displaying a reaction speed that far surpassed his previous life's version's before stabbing the tip of his dagger directly at the black dot on the python's head and ending its life in a matter of seconds. Fei Cai barely held any emotions for such a reaction speed since he had already tested the rank 1 instinct gu worm.
'Instinct Gu Worm... a special gu worm that wasn't invented by Thieving Heaven but a product of another senior cultivator by the name of Indifferent Combat Master whose inheritance Thieving Heaven inherited in his youth. It doesn't utilize primeval essence and only needs a thin stream to connect with all the body using the brain as the medium. The best part is, whether I am lucky or not, the rank 2 version of this gu worm, flare instinct gu worm, only needs two rank 1 gu worms and a few supporting materials... it is a high possibility that I can try to refine the rank 2 version even before the beginning of the beast trials...'
Fei Cai controlled and restricted his emotions. To utilize the rank 1 gu worm, Fei Cai needed to keep a tight reign over his emotions. The rank 1 gu worm wasn't an omnipotent object and its greatest restriction was that the effectiveness of this gu worm lay within the fact that the user should not let their mindset get corrupted. This is one of the reasons why the creator of this gu worm dubbed himself as an 'indifferent.' He truly had mastered his emotions to a high degree. Exhaling softly and letting Lo take care of this 'game', too, Fei Cai directed his thoughts to the current state of the business.
Today, Fei Cai took on a new customer, effectively earning 200 primeval stones while promising the young gu master to use his wolf strength gu worm for a total of four times. This brought Fei Cai's reserves from 63 primeval stones to 263, giving him the wild idea of refining a rank 2 gu worm while still being a rank 1 gu master. Placing his palm on the ground and activating his ground eye gu worm to prevent any incidents like the stealthy approach of the coil-dot python, Fei Cai covered the surrounding area and finally, after clearing out all the hunts, he returned to the tribe. Now wasting any time, he bought another set of refinement materials fully knowing that this piece of information would make his father, Fei Qing, think of other methods to 'train' him in the ways of the world. Spending a rather huge sum of 248 primeval stones, Fei Cai even got as far as to borrow his stipend early and the result...
Was slightly within the realms of his thoughts that outrightly blamed luck for his success the previous night.
---
"Again?"
Fei Qing inquired somberly as he looked at Fei Kao's injured body. The elder was unconscious and breathed softly as the remaining elders looked at the display with varying intensity of seriousness. Even Fei Sheng showed a sour look as Fei Chang, meanwhile, reported the situation.
"Lord Chieftain, it is now public information that the Man Tribe has issued a hunt in our tribe's name, riling up the nearby tribes to slowly clock in on us as. Since they can't act without reason, the Man Tribe has given out the statement that depicts how this Warm Pond Valley belonged to their ancestors and the Fei Tribe's predecessors simply took this valley for themselves. They even publicized few pieces of evidence in support of the statement... in essence, the Man Tribe wants to go on war against us."
Fei Qing understood the sentiment. "By letting Fei Kao leave with his life, the Man Tribe has officially warned us. We either surrender, or go to war. Once we agree to engage in war, however, according to the rules of the northern plains, we can't surrender unless we pay a large amount of compensation and forgot our tribe's name... forever..." Fei Qing gave a brief reply as the surrounding in the room grew thicker. Not hearing any reply, Fei Qing nodded with a gloomy expression. "We go to war then. From now on, the tribe would remove the restriction on the number of rank 3 gu masters. All must be included to become elders. The various trials according to our tradition would be postponed until I deem otherwise."
"Lord—"
Before Fei Sheng could refute, Fei Qing turned and focused on the man with an intensity that made the old man realize not to push his luck too much, "We have effectively transitioned into a state of war. We will reply to the enemy with violence tens and hundreds of times in intensity. According to the tribal rules, during the state of war, the final decision lay within the hands of the Tribe Chieftain. If you have anything to deny, challenge me, defeat me, and become the Chieftain."
Leaving no room for denial, Fei Qing faced Fei Chang and gestured him to follow while leaving the gathering of the elders. Fei Qing had no doubt that his orders would be met with obedience at the end of the day. As the two 'rivals' walked out and put some distance between the tent designated as Fei Kao's healing chamber, Fei Qing stated plainly, letting the further plans known only to his 'shadow.' "I will leave tomorrow. Since Pei Tribe has already entered the alliance to defeat us, we will use them as an example to deter the enemies until the beginning of the actual war. Tomorrow, I need you to begin with the production of the earth lizard house gu worm without consideration of our reserves. And, in my absence, you will treat Fei Sheng as a mole planted by other tribes. In an extreme situation, you have my blessings to exterminate him."
"Yes, Chieftain."
As the two split and moved back to their families, Fei Qing finally showed a look of worry. 'Warm Pond Valley is the natural resource spot to feed my group of Terror Horses... if we are forced to leave this place then half of the tribe's battle strength will be effectively crippled. The Pei tribe proclaims another master that has a heard of forty thousand Wood Horses... defeating them would achieve me another path to preserve my strength in an unforeseen situation.'
As Fei Qing thought till here, he smiled bitterly, 'Ah... I cannot allow Little Cai to continue his trade after all. Though sooner than expected, the result remains the same. Now, instead of letting Fei Sheng hog another trading point, it is far beneficial to utilize the remaining strength path gu worms on the gu masters based on their contributions...' recalling Fei Cai's earlier purchases Fei Qing then further decided to give him a few pointers on refinement and other requirements to pursue the art of refinement if his son had such thoughts. Ordinarily, he wouldn't commit such actions but since the change of the situation was too abrupt, Fei Qing felt that pushing his son into the impending battles without an ounce of common knowledge would be extremely stupid and counterproductive. Rules and regulations, all these concepts should dance to the tunes of human beings, not the other way around even if rules and regulations could be dated to the ancestors of all human beings— Ren Zu. According to the legends of Ren Zu, after his encounter with Strength, Wisdom, and Hope Gu, the next pair of gu worms he encountered was Rule and Regulation Gu.
---
The story mentioned that Ren Zu was able to escape his predicament because of hope. But eventually, he grew old and without Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu, he could no longer continue to hunt. Even his teeth fell off, making him unable to chew many wild fruits and vegetables.
Ren Zu felt death slowly approaching.
At this time, the Hope Gu said to him, "Human, you must not die. If you die, your heart will be lost and I will lose my only place of residence."
Ren Zu was helpless. "Who wishes to die? But if the heavens and earth want me dead, I have no choice."
The Hope Gu said, "There's always hope in everything. As long as you can catch a Longevity Gu, you will be able to increase your lifespan."
Ren Zu had heard of the existence of the Longevity Gu long ago but he waved his hand helplessly. "When the Longevity Gu stays still, nobody can detect it and when it flies, it is faster than light. How can I possibly catch it? It's too hard!"
The Hope Gu then told Ren Zu a secret, "Human, don't give up hope no matter what. Let me tell you, on the northwest corner of this continent, there is a huge mountain. On the mountain, there is a cave and in that cave, there is a pair of round and square Gu Worms. As long as you can subdue them, there is no Gu in this world that you cannot catch, including the Longevity Gu!"
Ren Zu had no choice, this was his last remaining hope.
He braved all difficulties and finally found the mountain. He then risked his life and ventured through countless dangers to ascend the mountain. On the mountain top, near the cave entrance, he used his last remaining strength to slowly make his way in.
The inside of the cave was completely dark and one would not be able to even see their own fingers. Ren Zu walked in the darkness. Sometimes, he would bump into things not knowing what they were. This caused him to get injured and wounded all over. At times, he felt that this dark cave was huge beyond words as if this was a world of its own. He felt as if he was the only person in the area.
He spent a lot of time but he could not walk out of the darkness. Not to mention subduing the two Gu Worms.
Just when he was at a loss about what to do, two voices spoke to him from the darkness.
One voice said, "Human, you're here to catch us? Go back, for even if you had the Strength Gu, it would be impossible."
The other said, "Human, go back, we will not take your life. Even if you had the Wisdom Gu to help you, you may not be able to find us.
Ren Zu laid exhausted on the ground, panting. "The Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu had left me long ago and I do not have much lifespan left so I'm at my wit's end. But as long as there's hope in my heart, I will not give up!"
Hearing Ren Zu's words, the two voices went silent.
After a while, one of the Gu said, "I understand, human, you have already given your heart to the Hope Gu. You will not give up no matter what."
The other continued, "In that case, we shall give you a chance. As long as you can say our name, we will allow you to use us."
Ren Zu was stunned. To find their names among all the words in the world, it was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
Furthermore, he did not even know how many words were in their names.
Ren Zu quickly asked the Hope Gu, but it did not know either.
Ren Zu had no alternatives and had no choice but to randomly guess their names. He said many many names and wasted a lot of time but the darkness did not respond to him so evidently, he was wrong.
Eventually, Ren Zu's breath got weaker as he turned from an old man into a dying man. It was like the scene of the evening's setting sun. The sun that would slowly descend had already been lowered halfway across the horizon, becoming a sunset.
The food he had brought was gradually reduced, his brain becoming slower and he barely had any energy to speak anymore.
The voice in the darkness urged, "Human, you are almost dead, so we will let you go. Using your remaining time, you can climb out of the cave and take a final look at the world. But you have offended us, and as punishment, the Hope Gu shall stay here as our companion."
Ren Zu clenched his heart and rejected, "Even if I die, I will not give up hope!"
The Hope Gu was very touched and answered Ren Zu's call enthusiastically, emitting a bright light. At Ren Zu's chest area, a light began to shine. But this light was too weak, it could not illuminate the darkness. In fact, it could not even cover Ren Zu's entire body, but only engulfed his chest area.
Yet Ren Zu could feel a renewed surge of energy gushing into his body from the Hope Gu.
He continued to speak, shouting out names. But he was already muddled. A lot of names had already been said but he could not remember that and repeated them, wasting a lot of effort in the process.
As time continued to flow, Ren Zu's lifespan was almost over.
Finally, when he was on his final day, he said out the word 'Regulation'.
A sigh came from the darkness as a voice spoke, "Human, I admire your perseverance. You have said my name, so from today onwards, I will obey your commands. But only with my brother can I aid you in capturing all the Gu in the world. Otherwise, with my ability alone, it is impossible. Thus, you should give up. You're almost dead, you might as well use this chance to take a final look at the world."
Ren Zu was determined and shook his head, he made use of all his time to continue speaking out names as he tried to guess the other Gu worm's name.
Seconds and minutes went by and soon he only had one hour left.
But at this time, he unknowingly said the word 'Rule'.
Immediately, the darkness dissipated.
The two Gu's appeared before him. As the Hope Gu had said, one was cubic, called 'Regulations'. The other was spherical, called 'Rules'. Together, they made up 'Rules and Regulations'.
The two Gu said together, "No matter who it is, as long as they know our names, we will listen to them. Human, since you know our names already, we will be at your service. But you must remember, it is important to not let others know of our names. The more people that know our names, the more people we have to obey them. Now that you are the first to subdue us, tell us your request."
Ren Zu was overjoyed. "Then I order you both, go and catch me a Longevity Gu."
The Rules Gu and Regulations Gu worked together and captured an eighty-year Longevity Gu.
Ren Zu was already a hundred years old but after consuming this Gu, the wrinkles on his face vanished and his frail limbs became muscular again. A vibrant aura of youth oozed from him.
With a belly flop, he jumped up onto his feet.
He ecstatically looked at his body, knowing that he had regained the body of a twenty-year-old!