Ma Zun was solitary by nature, often keeping company with horses and even sleeping fully clothed on horseback at night. He would only leave the herd when refining Gu or practicing cultivation, as he couldn't stand being disturbed, retreating into the Gu House to meditate.
This particular Gu House, called the Great Lizard Gu House, was a third-tier Gu, upgraded from the commonly seen second-tier Lizard Gu House from the northern plains.
On the grasslands, ordinary people lived in tents, while Gu Masters resided in Gu Houses. These houses had a long history, dating back to ancient times when the demonic Gu Master Green Turtle and his seven disciples established the "Turtle House."
Though its essence remained the same, Gu Houses had diversified over time, with some used as war tools, such as Immortal Gu Houses, while others became more civilian in nature, designed for living. Examples include the Three Star Cave, Lizard Gu House, and Great Lizard Gu House, all of which were simplified to contain a single Gu insect.
In the Southern Frontier, there were plant Gu such as the Three Star Cave, capable of transforming into towering trees, favored by merchant caravans for their ease of construction. In the northern plains, such giant trees were impractical, and the Lizard Gu House was preferred by grassroots Gu Masters due to its low cost, portability, and ease of use for family migrations.
The Lizard Gu House resembled a lizard, its color varied, and it was as large as a bus, with windows in its two eye sockets and along its sides. The Great Lizard Gu House, five times larger, had more rooms and greater space. This particular Gu House had been given to Ma Zun by his nephew and disciple, Ma Yingjie.
The Great Lizard Gu House lay on the ground with its mouth open, revealing a door. Upon pushing the door open, a long hallway appeared, with rooms lining both sides. When the door closed, a person and a shadow appeared next to Ma Zun—none other than Qi Tian and the Ghost God Wuying.
Wuying had already infiltrated the Warm Marsh Valley earlier, while Qi Tian arrived only yesterday, hiding outside the valley. People of the northern plains were extremely xenophobic, so Qi Tian moved cautiously, using the Stealth Gu to conceal his presence. This specific Gu was a fifth-tier stealth Gu, and only a fifth-tier Gu could detect it.
Coincidentally, Qi Tian had encountered a newly promoted Soul Dao Gu Master from the northern plains in the Huangbaotian, a businessman just starting out. Despite having accumulated many Gu insects, his trade was slow, and Qi Tian bought several of them, including the Stealth Gu, for half a piece of Immortal Yuan Stone.
Qi Tian had placed these Gu insects on Wuying and himself.
Though Qi Tian could communicate with the Fox Immortal Blessed Land and Night Soul Blessed Land through Huangbaotian, trades there involved large-scale transactions using Immortal Yuan Stones, and buying small quantities of Northern Plains Gu insects was a hassle.
There were also shadow sects operating in the dark, with Old Man Yanshi coveting the Immortal Travel Gu. In the original text, Old Man Yanshi had even used two different Heavenly Secret Gu over a hundred and fifty years to calculate Qi Tian's changes. Qi Tian knew that the Fox Immortal Blessed Land had already been targeted by these forces, so he moved carefully when making purchases there.
Thankfully, the Night Soul Blessed Land remained hidden, giving Qi Tian more options.
The head of the Ma family, Ma Shangfeng, managed the family from their base camp, while the young family leader, Ma Yingjie, stayed in Warm Marsh Valley to handle prisoners and supplies. The only fifth-tier Gu Master in the valley was Ma Zun.
Because of Wuying's concealment powers, even a fifth-tier Gu Master couldn't detect him. However, Qi Tian was at risk of being discovered by a fifth-tier Gu Master. After Wuying took control of Ma Zun, Qi Tian entered the valley to meet with him.
Now that they were in the Great Lizard Gu House, Qi Tian no longer needed to hide. He entered a private room along the corridor. Inside were simple but complete furnishings—chairs, desks, bookshelves, vases, and incense burners.
Though Ma Zun didn't care for such things, Ma Yingjie, his nephew, would pay attention to them.
Ma Yingjie, as his name suggested, was a young hero with lofty ambitions. Strict with himself but generous to others, he hoped to one day inherit the family and become a wise ruler. As Ma Zun's disciple, he had excelled in the path of slaves, earning respect and the title of "Ma Zun" among others.
Though Ma Zun was silent and distant, not a good teacher, he had still accepted Ma Yingjie as his disciple at the behest of Ma Shangfeng, the current family leader. Ma Yingjie regularly visited Ma Zun to seek advice on the path of slaves.
The reason Ma Shangfeng had arranged for his son to study under Ma Zun was strategic. While Ma Zun was famous, his personality made him a poor teacher. By making Ma Yingjie his disciple, Ma Shangfeng hoped to keep Ma Zun attached to the family.
Ma Yingjie understood his father's intentions and treated Ma Zun with great respect. Whether Ma Zun appreciated it or not, Ma Yingjie focused on fulfilling his duties.
With Ma Yingjie's political insight, he successfully used Ma Zun's prestige to enhance his image, making Ma Shangfeng pleased enough to allow him to take part in family affairs.
After Qi Tian replaced Ma Zun, he would deal with Ma Yingjie the most.
After taking stock of the room, Qi Tian asked Ma Zun to take out the Gu insects from his spatial pouch. With Ma Zun's help, Qi Tian easily refined Ma Zun's Gu insects and stored them in his pouch.
Then, Qi Tian had Ma Zun strip off all his clothes, and with the help of the Water Cleansing Gu, he washed off all the insects. The water drained into the floor, revealing countless small holes, which drained the liquid.
Moments later, the floor was dry. After extracting Ma Zun's soul, Qi Tian summoned a swarm of black ants from his pouch. Infusing his true essence, the ants scurried over Ma Zun's body, devouring his skin until only a bloodied, skeletal form remained.
Qi Tian then gathered the ants and placed a seed in a flowerpot. As he infused his true essence, the seed quickly sprouted, and a bright flower bloomed. The black ants swarmed the flower and entered its center.
After a violent shaking and screeching, Qi Tian used another Gu to create colorful flames, which burned the flower. It writhed and screamed in agony.
Ignoring the deafening shrieks, Qi Tian's sharp eyes focused on the flower bud. He commanded, "Open!"
The flower parted slightly to absorb the colorful flames, then exploded, releasing a new Gu, which hovered in the air, changing colors like mist.
"The Human Skin Gu is finally completed."
Qi Tian breathed a sigh of relief and took out a sharp dagger. Slowly, he began to cut his own skin off, using the Bloodstopping Gu to prevent bleeding.
As he did so, the colorful smoke from the Gu floated toward him, enveloping his body. In mere moments, his skin was replaced with new flesh, perfectly resembling Ma Zun's appearance, right down to his fingerprints and scars.
Qi Tian was now Ma Zun in appearance, and after cleaning Ma Zun's clothes using Water Cleansing and Wind Drying Gu, he donned them.
But the transformation wasn't over. To fully impersonate Ma Zun, Qi Tian still had to take control of his Gu insects, his horses, and his memories.