In the secret chamber, Qi Tian sat cross-legged on the Ghost Cloud cushion.
His mind entered the empty acupoint at his belly button.
Within this space floated his own Gu and the Horse Sovereign's Gu.
First, the Horse Sovereign's Gu.
As a renowned master of the Slave Dao, the Horse Sovereign had accumulated a fair number of horse-related Gu. There was one five-turn Gu, four four-turn Gu, and over sixty three-turn Gu.
Qi Tian's primary goal was to recapture the entire horse herd, starting with one Horse Emperor, nine Horse Kings, and five Heavenly Horses. Next, he needed to make up for the lack of the Ten Thousand Beasts King in the Fear Claw Horse herd.
The five-turn Horse Taming Gu was sufficient for now, but there was a gap in the four-turn and three-turn ones. Fortunately, the Horse Sovereign's memories contained the secret recipes for one to five-turn horse taming Gu, so Qi Tian could refine them himself.
Then, there was a five-turn Fast Horse Spur Gu. This Gu resembled a horsewhip, long and silver in color, with a touch of fiery red at the tip. Its function was to increase the speed of the horse herd, allowing them to burst forth with three times the speed, with a wide range and lasting effect.
Another was the five-turn Defensive Gu, the Golden Horse Armor Gu. When activated, it transformed into a golden armor covering the body. Though it was only as thick as ordinary leather, it was enough to defend against most five-turn Gu attacks.
These three were all of the Horse Sovereign's five-turn Gu. As a renowned figure, and with support from the Horse Clan, it was normal for him to accumulate these three five-turn Gu.
As for the remaining Gu, though four-turn, each was carefully crafted.
The Reining Horse Gu, shaped like a horse, could reduce the speed of the herd, aiding in changing direction during a run. However, being only a four-turn Gu, its assistance was limited. If it could be upgraded to the five-turn Cliff Reining Horse Gu, Qi Tian could control the herd's direction at will.
The Horse Roar Gu, resembling a dark green whistle, rested on Qi Tian's tongue and could make the herd burst out with twice their battle power. It could be upgraded to the five-turn Ten Thousand Horses Roar Gu.
Additionally, there were reconnaissance Gu like the Horse Ear Gu, movement Gu like the Horse Fleet Gu, and healing Gu like the Horse Sweat Gu...
These Gu were comprehensive, so Qi Tian didn't need to add more. To improve, he would only need to upgrade the four-turn Gu to five-turns.
Having inherited the Horse Sovereign's position, Qi Tian naturally had to use this set of Gu in public.
In addition to these, in the second acupoint located in his chest, there was a set of Soul Dao Gu, numerous and of high quality.
The second acupoint, having first appeared in the Northern Plains and recognized by this world, was not suppressed. It was now close to breaking through to five-turns.
Soul Dao Gu included the Grave Soul Toad for storing souls, the Quick Ghost Cloud Gu for movement, the Ghost Cloud Cushion Gu for aiding cultivation, and the Soul Lock Gu for imprisoning souls...
As for the second acupoint's original Gu, Qi Tian decisively chose an Immortal Gu.
Qi Tian possessed three Immortal Gu.
The Mud Sealer and Immortal Travel were buried deep beneath the Northern Plains. Though Qi Tian could retrieve them using the Ghost Shadow technique, these two Immortal Gu were a consumption Gu and a universe Gu, unsuitable for Qi Tian.
Additionally, there was the Soul Dao Immortal Gu, Ghost Fetus.
The Ghost Fetus Immortal Gu was very important to the Qi family's inheritance, with certain Immortal Dao killing moves linked to it.
In Qi Tian's past life, the only Immortal Gu he possessed was the Ghost Fetus, and it was very practical.
Though its basic function was to refine souls into fetuses, the path of a Gu Master's cultivation was extremely profound.
Gu Master cultivation revolves around nurturing, utilizing, and refining—three vast and profound aspects.
Even the highest-ranking Immortal Sovereigns and Demon Sovereigns could not explore these paths to their limits within their lifetimes.
Though a single Immortal Gu had limited effects, combining it with different mortal Gu could produce various results.
Some deeply rooted Gu Immortals could create an entire set of Immortal Dao killing moves with only one Immortal Gu.
Qi Tian had used the Ghost Fetus Immortal Gu for over a hundred years in his past life, and by combining it with the killing moves and remnants in the inheritance, he had developed a full set of Immortal Dao killing moves, covering offense, defense, and support.
Thus, the Ghost Fetus Immortal Gu was the best choice for his original Gu.
If the second acupoint were to ascend to Immortal, the benefits of using the Immortal Gu would be unimaginable.
The Ghost Fetus Immortal Gu could rest within his soul, not necessarily in the acupoint. However, since Qi Tian was still mortal, it was inconvenient for him to carry Immortal Gu. Hence, he left it in the Night Soul Blessed Land.
Overall, Qi Tian now had two complete sets of soul-bound Gu in his two acupoints.
As for Qi Dao, Qi Tian only had one four-turn Same Qi Gu, a South Border Gu that had been suppressed to three turns.
With the soul-bound Gu sets in hand, Qi Tian didn't need many Qi Dao Gu, but given future plans, he still needed to slowly accumulate a full set of Qi Dao Gu.
Qi Dao had long been extinguished, and Qi Dao Gu were rare. Even if collected in the Yellow Treasure Heaven, it would take considerable time and cost.
Fortunately, Qi Tian had accumulated some Qi Dao Gu formulas in his past life, and with his status as a Qi Dao quasi-grandmaster and a refining master, it would be easier to refine Qi Dao Gu. Given time, he could refine them himself.
After retracting his mind, Qi Tian began refining Gu.
---
Qi Tian exhaled a breath of foul air, stood up, and stretched his muscles and bones.
The overnight Gu refining left him slightly fatigued.
However, the results were good: two four-turn Horse Taming Gu and twelve three-turn Horse Taming Gu.
He opened the secret chamber door and left the large lizard room. With a thought, the lizard transformed into a ball of light, continuously shrinking until it became a brilliant flash, returning to the acupoint.
The two three-turn Gu Masters outside immediately reacted, bowing and greeting him.
Qi Tian nodded slightly, not acknowledging them, and directly summoned a war horse through the Horse Sovereign's soul. He mounted the horse and entered the herd.
The two guards also mounted war horses and followed at a distance. Unless the Horse Sovereign gave orders, they would quietly patrol the perimeter of the herd.
Through the Horse Sovereign's memories, Qi Tian understood his habits and recognized these two men.
The older one was named Ma Ying, around fifty years old, at the peak of three-turns, an elder of the Horse Clan. He was responsible for feeding the herd.
The other was Ma Jiu, at the high stage of three-turns, though just over thirty, he was bald. He was in charge of messaging.
Both were arranged by Ma Yingjie, as the Horse Sovereign didn't deal with mundane matters, which Ma Yingjie had to manage.
After entering the herd, Qi Tian first sought out the Horse Emperor and used the five-turn Horse Taming Gu to subdue it.
This Horse Emperor was a unicorn, pure white, strong and elegant, with eyes like white jade and a spiral horn on its forehead.
Due to the presence of the Unicorn Horse Emperor, the herd consisted mostly of unicorns, totaling 180,000, with five Ten Thousand Beast Kings.
Since he had subdued the Unicorn Horse Emperor, these five unicorn Beast Kings and 180,000 unicorns were effectively under his control.
Apart from the unicorn herd, there were the Fear Claw Horse herd, the Flame Hoof Horse herd, and the Wind Horse herd.
The Wind Horse herd numbered 100,000, with three Beast Kings. The Wind Horses had blue fur and were exceptionally majestic, with swift movement, aided by Wind Dao Gu.
The Flame Hoof Horse herd had 30,000, with one Beast King. The Flame Hoof Horses had red fur like fire, their hooves emitting fiery magic, and their attacks were fierce. They were powered by Fire Dao Gu and could cause massive fires, though they were rare in the Northern Plains.
The Fear Claw Horses numbered over 200,000, but without a Beast King. They had red eyes, tusks, and were carnivorous. With no hooves but sharp claws, they were formidable in battle.
Qi Tian then continued to subdue the three Wind Horse Beast Kings and one Flame Hoof Beast King. Thanks to the Horse Sovereign's soul's help, the process was smooth.
Thus, the Horse Sovereign's original herd of over 300,000 horses was now under his control. As for the remaining 200,000 Fear Claw Horses, the Horse Sovereign had only tamed a quarter. Qi Tian completed the rest of the task.
"Within three days, I will have completely tamed the Fear Claw Horse herd. The four-turn Horse Taming Gu is almost used up, but the four-turn Gu is still lacking!" Qi Tian silently calculated.
Six four-turn Horse Taming Gu had been used, leaving two. But there were five exotic Heavenly Horses in the herd.
The Heavenly Horses were equivalent to Beast Kings, each with four-turn battle power, and they were even more precious due to their ability to fly.
The Heavenly Horses, resembling the unicorns, had been secretly placed among the unicorn herd as a backup by the Horse Sovereign.
However, the Heavenly Horses were rarely used. As long as the Horse Sovereign's soul maintained control, they didn't need to be activated. These two four-turn Gu were better used to control the five Unicorn Beast Kings.
Although controlling the Unicorn Horse Emperor meant controlling the entire unicorn herd, more precise command over the herd required subduing the five Unicorn Beast Kings.
Three days later, Qi Tian successfully tamed the entire Fear Claw Horse herd, bringing the total to 500,000 horses.
During these days, the Horse Clan had also processed the results. The situation in the Warm Marsh Valley had been settled, and the Horse Clan's army, left behind, was preparing to join the main force for the final battle at the Sky River Hero Conference.
Before departure, Ma Yingjie came to visit the Horse Sovereign.