"What are you staring at?"
Seeing Hu Shi gazing at the horizon without responding, Jin Xingwang followed his line of sight and couldn't help but ask.
Hu Shi withdrew his gaze. "N-nothing."
"Hey, Hu Shi, what's that you're carrying? Is it for Mr. Gu?" Jin Wan, noticing that Hu Shi seemed more relaxed, went straight to the point.
After a brief pause, Hu Shi replied, "It's rice wine my grandpa brewed. He asked me to bring it to Sir Gu..."
So the old man beat me to it… Jin Wan frowned and sighed helplessly. "Ah, then I'm afraid you've wasted your trip. Mr. Gu isn't home today."
"By the way, does Mr. Gu really like drinking?"
Lowering his head and thinking for a moment, Hu Shi said, "I think so. When I washed dishes for him, I saw wine cups."
"You've even washed dishes for Mr. Gu?" Jin Wan's eyes widened, and his tone grew urgent.
"Yeah." Hu Shi nodded, then asked, "Are you waiting for Sir Gu? If he's not home, I'll wait here with you."
Whoa!
This master really must be extraordinary—he's even managed to make a fool like Hu Shi noticeably smarter in such a short time!
To think I, a seasoned schemer, might lose out to an old man... Jin Wan quickly waved his hand. "Ah, no need. Sir Gu said he wouldn't be back today. My grandson Xingwang and I are just resting here, not waiting for him." [The old man here is probably Hu Shi's grandpa.]
"By the way, the weather's been quite hot lately. You'd best take that wine back and store it in a cool place. Otherwise, it might spoil."
Hearing this, Hu Shi didn't respond immediately but lowered his head, deep in thought.
Seeing this as an opportunity, Jin Wan ramped up his persuasion, coaxing Hu Shi to leave as soon as possible.
After all, Hu Shi was just a five-year-old child, even if his reactions had improved recently. Against a sly old fox like Jin Wan, he naturally fell for the "trap."
Before leaving, however, Hu Shi thanked Jin Wan and bid farewell to Jin Xingwang, then trotted off with small, quick steps.
Watching Hu Shi's retreating figure, Jin Wan became even more determined to have his grandson become Gu Ning'an's disciple.
"Grandpa, why did you waste so much time talking to that fool?"
"And why did you have to hit me for a pity act?"
Hearing his grandson's complaint, Jin Wan rubbed the boy's backside and chuckled. "Remember this, my boy: never strike a smiling face. If Grandpa hadn't been all smiles with Hu Shi, how could I have coaxed such useful information out of him?"
"But I must say, your ability to read the situation earlier was quite impressive. Well done!"
Jin Xingwang raised his head proudly. "Of course! Look who my grandpa is!"
"Alright, enough with the flattery." Jin Wan stood up, picked up his bundle, and grabbed his grandson's hand. "We're done here for today. Let's go prepare the discipleship gift."
Hearing they could leave, Jin Xingwang beamed. "What are we buying?"
"Wine!" Jin Wan said with a laugh.
---
Hu～Hu～Hu!
Inside the tightly shut house, a gentle breeze swirled around Gu Ning'an, who sat at its center.
Three strands of Worldly Qi spun around him, carried by the breeze.
As time passed, the breeze intensified, and the Worldly Qi began to transform. Through its rapid rotation, it gradually darkened into a deep purple-black.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Three faint sounds of bubbles bursting echoed in the air.
The purple-black strands of Worldly Qi ignited into demonic flames, radiating an untainted aura of pure demonic energy!
Compared to the demonic flames emanating from City God Xu, the nascent flames born from the evolution of Worldly Qi were far purer and more powerful.
Controlling it to this extent caused fine beads of sweat to appear on Gu Ning'an's forehead.
Using the Command Technique to simultaneously manipulate three strands of Worldly Qi was already a significant drain on his spiritual energy. Let alone when, in a sudden flash of inspiration during his observation, he attempted to alter the nature of the Worldly Qi, transforming it into pure demonic energy.
The difficulty of control increased exponentially.
With his entire body tingling and sore, Gu Ning'an formed a sword gesture with his hand and forcefully waved it. The three strands of Worldly Qi instantly reverted to "red threads" and flew back into his grasp.
Exhaling a long breath, Gu Ning'an didn't stop just yet. Instead, he decided to act on a second idea that came to him during his observation.
He casually pulled a wooden chopstick from the holder on the table. Holding it in his left hand, he carefully guided a strand of Worldly Qi with his right, attempting to merge it into the chopstick.
As soon as the two made contact, a sharp "crack" rang out, and the chopstick snapped.
Unfazed, Gu Ning'an persevered. After all, there were plenty of chopsticks left.
On his second attempt, a strand of Worldly Qi wrapped around the chopstick, cutting it cleanly into nine pieces.
However, this time, Gu Ning'an distinctly felt that the Worldly Qi could be integrated into physical objects like spiritual energy.
Crack… crack… crack…
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the once-full chopstick holder was now completely empty.
Looking at the last remaining chopstick in his hand, Gu Ning'an drew out a single strand from the three Worldly Qi threads and carefully fused it with the chopstick.
This time, the thread-like Worldly Qi penetrated one end of the chopstick without breaking it!
Realizing he might succeed this time, Gu Ning'an slowed the merging process, controlling the flow of his spiritual energy with extreme precision. It took him over an hour to fully fuse the finger-length strand of Worldly Qi into the wooden chopstick.
At that moment, the dark brown chopstick emitted a faint red glow, though its weight remained unchanged.
With a casual wave of the chopstick, a crescent-shaped red light flashed through the air!
Buzz!
The red light formed a half-moon arc, slicing through the air and hurtling toward the wooden door with fierce momentum.
Just as the light was about to destroy his wooden door, Gu Ning'an flicked his finger, forcibly halting the crescent-shaped red light in its tracks.
Moments later, the red light dissipated. The final chopstick in Gu Ning'an's hand crumbled into powder, while the Worldly Qi became faint and illusory before returning to his palm.
Closing his hand, the three strands of Worldly Qi re-entered his body. Brushing off the wood fragments on his clothing, Gu Ning'an sank into deep thought once more.
From this round of experimentation, he discovered two significant applications of the Worldly Qi.
First, it could be transformed into other types of spiritual energy. So far, he had only tested "demonic energy." Whether other transformations were possible remained uncertain.
Second, Worldly Qi could be integrated into objects for use. However, the prerequisite was that the object needed to be sufficiently "resilient." This resilience didn't necessarily refer to physical hardness but rather the compatibility between the object and the Worldly Qi.
For example, Gu Ning'an had also tried infusing it into iron tools in his room. Without exception, these iron tools had even lower compatibility with the Worldly Qi than the wooden chopsticks.
Of course, wooden chopsticks, even when compatible, were merely disposable items. Once used, the object bearing the Worldly Qi would be destroyed...
Note: changed red dust qi to Worldly Qi.