Chapter 28: Dream Devouring Worm Gu
Fang Yuan had spent nearly a year in this cave while perfecting his newest Dream Path Gu recipe.
"I finally made it! Now I need to try to refine it." Fang Yuan's hair was all messed up, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days; he was quick and started gathering various materials to refine his new Gu.
"Two Nine-Eyed Gu Liquor Worms, one Flesh and Bone Gu Unit, and many dream path materials gather everything into a small dream realm until the Dream Devouring Worm is born." Fang Yuan reviewed his recipe in his head and started the process.
Facing a small dream realm, Fang Yuan was throwing the materials and controlling the refinement; as soon as he threw the last primordial stone into the refinement, the dream realm began to shrink slowly. Seeing what was happening, Fang Yuan immediately threw the last Nine Eyes Liquor Worm.
The dream realm shrank to the point where it was completely absorbed by the new Gu worm at the centre. This Gu worm looked like the Liquor Worm, but its body glowed in an ethereal and imaginary way, attracting the attention of anyone looking.
"I did it." Fang Yuan took the Gu in his hand and almost cried with joy; the moment he took the Gu worm, he felt something snap in his mind.
"It can't be what I'm thinking. He can?" Fang Yuan was hesitant, checked his dream path attainment level, and was surprised by his feelings.
"Hahaha, I have advanced to Quasi-Grandmaster on the path of Dreams." Fang Yuan placed his hand on his face and began to laugh happily at his great achievement.
Fang Yuan refined his new Gu and scanned it with the system. This new Gu of his was a Rank 5 – 'Dream Devouring Worm'. This Gu had the function of refining the primal essence of a Gu master in a great realm.
For example, Liquor Worm can refine Primitive Essence from Early Stage to Intermediate Stage. In comparison, this Gu has the function of refining the primitive essence of a Level 5 Gu Master into Level 6 Immortal Essence.
You can understand how OP this Gu Worm is; any Gu Master who found out about this Gu Worm would kill themselves to get it. It is a complete innovation in the path of dreams, but not everything is flowers; to form a single Immortal essence bead takes a lot of time and primitive essence. Another use this Gu worm has is to remove the danger of extreme physical exploding. Now he can get his extreme physique on the dream path without worrying about him exploding.
"Unfortunately, I can't use this Gu worm right now; I need Level 5 Primitive Essence to refine it to Level 6. I need to create new recipes for Rank 1, 2, 3 and 4." Fang Yuan pondered over the usability of his new Gu worm.
But Fang Yuan didn't worry about that; he already went through the biggest problem of creating this Gu; creating variations would be much easier than creating it from scratch. And he didn't need that Gu at Rank 4, either.
During that year, when he was trying to create the recipe for this Gu, he broke through to the Peak Stage of Level 4, thanks to his Extreme Physique, which passively nurtured his aperture.
"I've been in this place for a long time; I need to get out of here and continue my journey." Fang Yuan would never have expected him to spend so much time studying within that heritage.
"I'm finally getting out of this place!" He flew across the platform and ran into the new secret tunnel at the hall's end.
Fang Yuan ran for a while before finally reaching a huge cliff; looking at that cliff, Fang Yuan smiled. He completely revised all the Gu he had in this heritage when he stayed here.
And he got an amazing combination of Gu, he used the 'Gu Ancient Jade Processed Bones' to increase his bones' strength and flexibility, and then he used the 'Gu Muscles of Black Steel' to increase his defence and resistance, but these two Gu worms clashed with each other, while jade bone increased flexibility, steel muscle decreased flexibility in exchange for excellent defence.
But Fang Yuan is not an idiot, and he knows what he is doing; he used 'Refined Tungsten Tendons Gu' to break the conflict the two were suffering, thus restoring their flexibility, and to complement it, he used 'Platinum Essence Skin Gu'. Now his body was completely modified to reach its perfect peak.
And to finalize the modifications on his body, he used three strength-enhancing Gu; the 'Lightning Boar Gu', 'Stone Crocodile Gu' and the 'Dark Bear Gu'. After that, he added his last body modification Gu, the 'Bone Wings Gu'.
Fang Yuan refined all these Gu thanks to Gray Bone Scholar's heritage; he turned all ordinary Gu into stronger mutations, all thanks to Fang Yuan's 500 years of memories; many of these Gu mutants didn't even exist yet, like - Bone of Processed Ancient Jade Gu. These Gu would only be invented for at least 300 years.
Fang Yuan came close to the cliff and took a Leap of Faith; as he fell, he activated his bone wings. As soon as he activated his Gu, beautiful gleaming Green Wings made of jade came out from his back and started flapping as he disappeared into the horizon, flapping his wings like a bird that finally broke out of its cage.
"Woo!!! This is better than I thought." Fang Yuan fried with excitement as he enjoyed the feeling of flying freely like a bird.
Fang Yuan was flying at over 320km/h, which was extremely fast for a Level 4 Gu Master; luckily, he had the 'Eyes That See Truth', and his eyesight wasn't affected by his speed.
...
Fang Yuan had already stopped using the Bone Wings and was now using the Wolf Spider to move around. The bone wings can be very fast and agile, but they consume a lot of primal essences; even with the extreme physique and Lotus Treasure of Heavenly Essence, he still couldn't withstand the consumption for that long.
So now he was using Wolf Spider to move quickly on land, and whenever he found something not worth fighting for, he used Become Ethereal to avoid an unnecessary fight. He did this towards the Shang clan.
Fang Yuan travelled for a while, and it was already getting dark, but luckily he found a small village at the foot of a mountain. This village seemed to be inhabited only by mortals, so to avoid some boring scenes, Fang Yuan looked for a place close to it to camp and waited for the sun to rise.
As soon as he finished preparing his temporary camp, Fang Yuan fell into thoughts about his plans again.
"Before, I planned to get the Second Aperture Gu and activate my dream path physique. But now that I have the Dream Eater Worm, I have a better plan." Before going to sleep, Fang Yuan began to rethink his plans.
"I wasn't planning to acquire 'All-Out Effort Gu', but now my plans have changed; rather than having Time Path and Dream Path Physique, I'd rather turn that body into a clone that cultivates Time Path and Path of Strength. Just like the original Fang Yuan had planned." Fang Yuan was updating his plans according to the current situation.
"And then I would transfer my main soul into my true body and cultivate the path of Dreams and the path of Soul." Fang Yuan came up with a plan to have the best future development. (A/N: The original body he is referring to is Xiang Yao's Body. Which he scanned in his past life.)
"Once I advance this body to a Time Path Gu Immortal, I will transfer my main soul into my old body and return to cultivating the Dream Path." If the Plan Fails, change the plan, but don't change the Objective. Plans always have to be updated according to circumstances, and Fang Yuan was a master at improvising.
"With time, concepts change... dreams change... plans change... life changes... But you don't change principles and values... I changed, and I remain the same... That's how being is human: so coherent in its contradictions." Fang Yuan sighed as he recited a proverb from the land.
Fang Yuan stayed until midnight, updating and improving his plan before finally resting. As soon as the sun shone in the blue sky, life on the mountain slowly woke up.
Fang Yuan erased all traces before leaving the scene, but before he left, the small village just a few kilometres away began to boil with life. Curious, he decided to see what was causing this small commotion.
As soon as he investigated, he saw that it was a huge merchant caravan. Fat black-skinned beetles the size of a bus carried goods and people as they crawled slowly.
Beside them, colourful ostriches dragged the wagon. Large mountain spiders wrapped boxes and containers around their bodies, winged snakes slithered about, and frogs carried heavy loads on them.
These stable-type Gu formed the main body of the caravan. Other than that, many mortals were pulling cows, horses or carrying bamboo bags.
"This year's caravan is finally here!"
"Every time I see these snakes, I get scared."
"Lord Gu Masters are amazing; they can make these relentless snakes tame."
"I hope my cured meat can be sold this time; I don't expect a high price; I'll be satisfied with just a few primitive stone shards."
The villagers made many temporary tents at the village entrance; while some dragged a cart, others pushed some bags or carts with the items and mixed among them; it looked like a fair on a crowded day.
Seeing all this, Fang Yuan pondered a bit on whether he should try joining this caravan to have an easier time while travelling, and he also spent a lot of time in Bai Gu Mountain's inheritance cave. He also always really enjoyed interacting with other people.
Before deciding whether he wanted to join this caravan, Fang Yuan investigated the power level of this caravan; if they were too strong, it might be troublesome for him, but if they were the same level or lower, it would be much more convenient for him.
"It appears this caravan is a mixed one, with many forces from different clans gathered among them. It wasn't like the Jia clan's caravan, with the Jia clan as the main force. In addition to the elected leader, several deputy leaders were in this caravan, like an alliance army. The strongest among them being only a Peak Stage Level 3." Fang Yuan investigated for a while and decided to follow this caravan for a while.
Fang Yuan took out the Wolf Spider from its aperture to make a powerful impression and used it to approach the caravan.
When they sensed Fang Yuan's powerful aura, a few vice leaders approached to greet and probe Fang Yuan to confirm if he was a Gu Master of the demon path.
"Could I ask the senior if he needs anything from our caravan?" Jia Long clenched his fists as he approached and formally spoke with great respect.
Jia Long had a big body but didn't look too fat; he had brown hair and some frown lines showing his advanced age and experience.
"I was just passing by and saw your caravan and decided to do some trading to replenish my inventory. I didn't expect to come across a merchant caravan during my journey to the Shang clan." Fang Yuan clamorously replied, neither too humble nor too arrogant.
"I see we have a lot of merchandise that might interest the senior here; let me show you what we have. Ah, where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself yet; My name is Jia Long, and I am the leader selected by this caravan. May I know the name of the senior?" Jia Long friendly approached Fang Yuan as he spoke.
"Oh, you are a member of the esteemed Jia clan; I know Senior Jia Fu very well. My name is Gu Yue Fang Yuan from Qing Mao Mountain; I'm going on a small mission in the Shang clan," Fang Yuan said as he bought the token Jia Fu gave him in his past life into the system and showed it to Jia Long.
"So the senior is an acquaintance of esteemed Lord Jia Fu. I dare greatly from Senior Jia Fu's Qing Mao Mountain's esteemed Gu Yue clan." As soon as Jia Long saw the Jia clan token in Fang Yuan's hand, he calmed down and dismissed the idea of Fang Yuan being a demonic cultivator.
(A/N: I know some of you will say that it doesn't make sense for him to let his guard down just because he saw the Jia family token 'since someone can just steal it and pretend to have it', but I'm already tired, and it's 4:27 am I'm dying of sleep, and I don't have the patience to think of a plausible reason for this bastard Jia Long to let his guard down. So ignore it and accept that I'm lazy.)
Fang Yuan and Jia Long chatted for a while as he bought some goods to add to his system and sold others on a whim. After a lot of talking and realizing that it would be very useful to have an extra force while they were travelling, Jia Long took the initiative to invite Fang Yuan to join the caravan.
"Hoho, I see, so that's it; coincidentally, we are heading in the same direction; if we can help the senior, we would be very happy." Jia Long wasted no time trying to recruit a Level 4 Gu Master to facilitate his journey.
Fang Yuan accepted, and then Jia Long introduced the other Deputy Leaders to him. As he greeted all the other vice leaders, he looked at one of the vice leaders in particular.
The girl dressed in green had silky black hair falling over her shoulders, accentuating her beauty. Her brows were thin as smoke, her eyes clear as the moon. Her skin was white as snow, and her lips were rosy and soft.
She had no makeup on her face, looking soft and gentle. The slight smile she occasionally flashed as she handed out the steamed buns was pure and innocent.
She was wearing green clothes and had a fresh and simple aura. She was elegant like an orchid, graceful like a lotus, and gentle like water.
Her beauty was stunning, but that wouldn't be enough to attract an old monkey like Fang Yuan; while living on earth, he was taught everything by his grandfather, even seduction and romance.
He had seen and slept with many beautiful women, so beauty didn't enslave him as it did others. The pang he felt in his heart hooked him on the young woman; it was as if something long lost was found back.
"What is this feeling? I've never felt a thing like this before. Is this what Grandpa told me before? Love?" Fang Yuan blushed for the first time in his life and felt his being turned upside down.
"Could it be that I was influenced by Love Gu or the will of heaven?" Fang Yuan thought about it but quickly dismissed those possibilities; he couldn't be influenced by those things thanks to the protection of the system and his grandfather.
So it could only mean one thing; "I fell in love for the first time in my life!" Fang Yuan arrived at the answer while calming his emotions.
Shang Xin Ci was also no better than Fang Yuan. The moment he saw him, she felt as if he was pulling her close to him, and he didn't dislike that one bit; quite the contrary, she was filled with pure joy.
"What is that? That feeling when I look at this person I've never seen? It's like I've known him my whole life like we've been apart for so long and finally reunited." Shang Xin Ci touched her heart and breathed to calm her emotions.
After everyone was introduced, they got ready and moved to move forward on their journey.
The caravan travelled all day and chose a valley to camp for the night.
The day was very good for the caravan, as they found only three small groups of animals.
They killed all three groups and gained some profits. Calculating the losses and profits they made from killing the beast groups, they made some profits.
The setting sun dyed the clouds with colours; red, orange, red-grey, purple... there were all kinds of colours. Clouds also formed into shapes, appearing like a roaring lion one moment, a galloping Pegasus the next, or a sea of flowers in bloom.
The multicoloured sunlight shone down on the jade-green jewel-like valley. After the caravan finished all preparations for the night, there was a certain area in the caravan that was a cacophony of noise.
"Come, look at today's freshly slaughtered animal meat!"
"Leitinho, fragrant and sweet milk…."
"Only ten pieces of clothing left, stock sale!"
Fang Yuan was nearby as he watched the mortals trade.
As Fang Yuan pondered the difficulties of this world, a servant staggered over.
He wore shabby and torn clothes; his face was streaked with blood, resembling beggars. As he walked to the stall next to Fang Yuan's and saw the pots full of milk, he swallowed, "Brother, could you give me some milk to drink?"
"Go away. Don't disturb my business!" The milk seller impatiently waved his hands.
This helpless servant walked away towards the nearby cart: "Brothers…."
He hadn't finished saying his sentence when the cart owner walked up to the front and kicked him, shouting in a cruel tone: "Screw it".
The servant fell to the ground, his tattered clothes stained by the black, muddy ground. The kick spurred his previous injuries, making him grimace in pain.
As he watched this unfold, Fang Yuan lowered his head and sighed at how cruel this world could be, but it also showed the beauty of life in Fang Yuan's eyes, which was exactly why Fang Yuan was passionate about this world.
This world is cruel and unfair, but if one uses his intellect and cunning correctly, he can ascend to heaven in one step. This showed that even being not kind, this world always gave way out for those looking for it.
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PilgrimofWisdom
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