Chapter 40: **Chapter 40: Big steps...**
Thank you to everyone who has supported me with power stones.
There is a new fic called *Reverend Insanity - Herald of Heavens* by PilgrimofWisdom.
1. There have been Supreme Grandmasters of the Refinement Path who were not Venerables. Do you think there are such people for other paths?
2. Do you think there are other classifications for attainment that are more objective? I am asking because paths like refinement are very developed, while some are not at all. (It would be possible to become an SGM while the path is way less developed.)
3. What would be your favorite thing about being a Gu immortal? Would it be the power, the immortal aperture, maybe access to treasure yellow heaven, or would the freedom be most enticing… or something entirely different?
Discord: 5efZtawZKC
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"Are any of your Gu able to heal my eye?"
"No, I am sorry, Master."
'Hmmm... I never got to see the Roaring Promise Gu before she used it…'
'I will have to do something about that…'
"Do you have any family left?"
"N-no, the whole village was slaughtered in a beast tide four years ago..."
"I was lucky to escape. After I survived in the wilderness for a week, I stumbled upon the Inheritance of a rank 3 Gu master."
"Tell me more about that Gu master!"
"I don't know his name, only that he was a lone cultivator with rank 3 upper stage cultivation, specializing in controlling insects... I mean insects like the animals, not like in Gu."
"The inheritance was created because he was running out of lifespan... he left me 15 Gu of various ranks, and a dozen eggs for queen insects..."
"These are the ones that can birth and later control insects of the same species..."
"Most valuable, he left all his experiences in cultivating as well as creating and breeding insects…"
Looking at Gao Ya, with her body covered up again, I couldn't help but feel a bit satisfied. I just gained a subordinate who is at rank 3.
'The Gu she used is very restrictive, but I should take the tale between Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing as a cautionary tale.'
'That is if this is not one big bluff... But she does not seem like the kind of person who could pull something like that off…'
'I don't think she has the perfect counter Gu like Fang Yuan did either, but she might heal herself if she ever gets the option…'
I wasn't overly worried, only keeping in mind that things like these are the preferred ways Heaven's Will likes to attack.
"Now listen to me… this is what you will do from now on…"
"…"
"And then you will…"
"Yes, Master!"
"… in case of…"
"… you will…"
"Yes, Master!"
"…"
"…"
"This is your main task. Look out for the following, though…"
"…"
"…"
"If you find any of these, you may change your objective…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master!"
"Do you have any questions?"
"No, Master!"
"Good… we will meet up again exactly in three weeks, here."
"Yes, Master!"
"Don't be late!"
And without waiting for her to answer me, I disappeared into the forest.
'I should rank the Poison Thought Gu up to rank 3 before our next meeting... just to be sure…'
I didn't think much on the way back, using the time to calm my emotions. After all, I had died not even two hours ago.
'It's time to break through to rank 3… can't have a servant stronger than me, that's a recipe for disaster…'
*Basement of the Zhen Family Residence*
I moved around with speed and precision, organizing primeval stones from my primeval elder Gu into large crates that I had the servants prepare for me.
This was the full extent of my preparations for my breakthrough.
Sitting in my refinement room, I didn't hesitate at all and started to let my Dark Red Primeval Essence clash against my Crystal Membrane Aperture Walls.
*Swoosh*
*Crash*
*Swoosh*
*Crash*
Slowly, time passed and the level of my primeval essence began to decrease. After it hit about 35%, or rather half, I moved my right arm into one of the crates I had prepared.
It was filled with hundreds of primeval essence stones, and with my hand at the bottom of it, I could continue absorbing them without it taking up any of my concentration to always pick up new ones.
'The position I am sitting in right now is not comfortable…'
'The hardships I am willing to go through just to increase my chances of breakthrough in the slightest…'
So continued the rising and ebbing of my primeval essence sea, with the exact percentage being very hard to make out, as the aggressive waves continued to rise and fall, only leaving the possibility of guessing.
I didn't take the breakthrough from rank 1 to rank 2 that seriously after I had learned of my talent. That was just because I knew it was unlikely for me to fail with B-Grade Talent.
But it was more straining on the body and mind than I thought… so in the meantime, I have thought a lot about how to make it easier and how to increase my chances of success.
'And if all my strategies work… they will be useful until it's time to become an immortal!'
'Although they might shave off a few months or years of my lifespan… if I overuse them…'
After about five hours, said strain on the mind set in, I knew it because I was making more and more mistakes…
Getting slower in the absorption of primeval essence stones, missing the perfect timing to send the next wave of primeval essence crashing into my Aperture wall…
'For now, they are small mistakes… but I think it's time…'
'If I want to succeed, I will need to be cruel to myself.'
Opening a small package that I hid with the other poisons in my robe, I carefully scattered it on the low sitting table in front of me, closed my right nostril with my thumb, and…
*Snort*
"Huuuu…."
I was instantly wide awake again…
*Swoosh*
*Crash*
*Swoosh*
*Crash*
It felt great, as if I had endless energy and could continue my breakthrough attempt for a few more days…
'Let's continue…'
In a normal breakthrough, it's a tug of war between two factors…
How fast can you damage your Aperture walls?
How fast can your Aperture walls regenerate?
In the best case scenario, you use your Primeval Essence, natural regeneration, and primeval essence stones to break down the Aperture walls, and then you are a higher rank…
…but it's not that easy…
Breaking through takes a lot of time, and if you stop attacking the Aperture walls for any reason at all… the cracks on it start to close again.
So eating, relieving oneself, sleeping, and even the few seconds it takes to pick up a new primeval essence stone all let the Aperture wall recover, some more than others.
All this is enough for Gu masters with low talent to totally despair and have no hope of ever advancing past what their talent dictates…
Now the 100-point question is what solves all those problems?
And the first thought that came to my mind was…
Crack cocaine!
If you take it:
- you will definitely not sleep
- you will not be hungry
- you don't care if you shit or piss yourself
'It was truly perfect… sometimes my genius is almost frightening…'
The only problem was that there is not exactly a crack dealer in the Fei Yu village…
'But I cultivate poison path and have access to thousands of poisons, courtesy of my vital Gu… so how hard could it really be to mix up some drugs with the same effect??'
'Not that difficult as it turned out…'
'Well, if I am being honest, it's not as overpowered as I made it seem…'
'Let's say a Gu master with a D-Grade Talent of 25% wants to do this to break through from rank 2 to rank 3…'
'This is a process that will take mountains of primeval stones, and even if you have those… there is still the question of whether you will break through first, or will a heart attack kill you first?'
But as I have a talent of 70%, I am not overly worried about this…
*Swoosh*
*Crash*
*Swoosh*
*Crash*
*Swoosh*
*Crash*
*Swoosh*
*Crash*
24:31:56
This is how long my breakthrough attempt took until now, according to the Refinement Clock Gu that I repurposed as a timer for this special occasion.
My Aperture walls had hundreds upon hundreds of cracks in them, while still being filled up to 20% with primeval essence.
*Boom*
*Boom*
*Boom*
With my eyes bloodshot and my heart beating aggressively, a massive grin formed on my face.
*Shoosh*
*Crash*
*Plop*
*Plop*
*Plop*
*Plop*
*Plop*
*Plop*
One by one, the Aperture walls fell apart, with the pieces entering my primeval sea. Behind my old Aperture wall, new ones made of light appeared, looking the exact same way as they did when I awakened my Aperture and when I broke through to rank 2.
I had soiled myself, used thousands of primeval essence stones, and might have damaged my long-term health a bit, but for strength, it was all worth it.
*Sigh*
Letting out a sigh, I was very happy that I had successfully advanced, making myself ready to calm down…
The drugs coursing through my system seemed to have another plan...
*Boom*
*Boom*
*Boom*
Even when the first strains of Light Silver Primeval Essence formed in my Aperture, my body and mind were still unnaturally active.
Seemingly because I was not hyper-focusing on trying to break my Aperture walls anymore, random thoughts were floating in and out of my mind…
From the deepest corners of my mind… thoughts, conversations, quotes… Everything was brought up… be it from this life or the other...
*All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison.* - Paracelsus
'What can't be a poison?'
'Air, food, primeval essence?... Primeval stones??'
'Can Gu be poisoned?'
'Space… time… what about concepts…'
'I can poison blood and bones… what about the soul or luck…'
'Can I poison a path… or…'
'Heaven's Will?'
Most of my thoughts were the incomprehensible mumbling of a man high on drugs… but the gems in there let me feel my poison path attainment rising rapidly...
*One man's poison is another man's meat.* - Lucretius
'What can I cure with poison?'
'Can I use poisons to further help my cultivation?'
'Should I sell drugs?'
*Poison is like the truth: We always want more of it until we get it.* - Mehmet Murat ildan
'What is that, if not a truth itself… Hahahahahahah…' My pupils instantly contracted to the size of needles.
As the thought formed in my head, I felt my attainment reach the quasi master level in poison path…
Instantly I knew how and why my mind was as chaotic as it was. I could even feel the minute details of the poison affecting my heart rate, my breathing… everything.
And as if my knowledge of the process made it less severe, my thoughts cleared up and my body began to slowly return to normal.
Hydra Gu – activated
Fast Flow Gu – activated
Poison Belly Salmon Gu – activated
Poison Belly Salmon Gu – activated
*Killer Move: Detoxifying Hydra*
One head bit me on the left side of my head, and the other on the right side… 15 seconds later, I was not under the influence of drugs anymore.
As I looked at the tattoo on my hand, about 65% of it filled with ink, I thought:
'I need to start refining my Gu to rank 3…'
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