All-class Gu Immortal

Chapter 148 The Eerie Winds of the Canyon (4000-word chapter)
blah blah blah!

Zhou Qing took the key and, in front of Wuchenzi and Chen Feng, opened the jade box. He then took out the Fire Cloud Mushroom, placed it in a wooden box, and put it into the leather bag Gu.

"Returning it to its rightful owner." Zhou Qing placed the exquisitely crafted jade box on the table and pushed it back to Wuchenzi.

Upon seeing this, Wuchenzi put away the jade box.

Zhou Qing said seriously, "I don't like to mince words, so I'll get straight to the point."

Since it's a three-person collaboration, shouldn't the rewards for retrieving treasures from the cave be distributed according to the amount of effort contributed?

"I can't possibly fight my way into the cave only to end up with a Blood Jade Mushroom, can I?"

Upon hearing this, Wuchenzi smiled and said, "Brother Ding is indeed quick-witted and straightforward!"

If we only search for treasure on the first level of the cave, then the Blood Jade Mushroom might be the most precious treasure inside.

If you enter the more dangerous second level, the countless Gu worms that appear there alone are incredibly valuable.

Although we are not Gu Masters, we can keep these Gu worms for our own use or auction them off.

Gu masters often appear in the county town, and they may go to great lengths to acquire some rare Gu insects.

Many rare and precious medicinal herbs that are hard to find outside the world may not be rare to these Gu Masters.

We can trade these Gu worms for many good things!

"Does the Taoist priest mean that the Gu Masters of the Five Streams Barbarian Tribe will also go to the county town to trade?" Zhou Qing's gaze sharpened.

“Not bad.” Wuchenzi stroked his beard and smiled.

"Isn't the capital constantly at war with the Wuxi barbarians? How could this be?" Zhou Qing said, then realized what he meant.

Wuchenzi nodded: "That's exactly what Brother Ding is thinking. What does the battle between the Shuntian Prefecture army and the Wuxi barbarians have to do with Nanli County? This is the sentiment of many martial artists."

Some of the rare medicinal herbs needed by those high-level martial artists are located deep within the Qilian Mountains.

Rather than venturing deep into the Qilian Mountains, it's better to trade with the Gu Masters of the Wuxi Barbarians, exchanging goods.

"People die for wealth, birds die for food. That's true." Zhou Qing also thought it was normal. Just like he was currently in the Southern Frontier and had a household registration in the Great Jin Dynasty, but if the Great Jin Dynasty were in trouble, he would be conscripted into the army.

Zhou Qing would only say one thing: "What does it have to do with me?"

When he was starving to death, the imperial court offered no relief. Instead, he had to pay the autumn tax on time, or he would have no choice but to leave his hometown and become a refugee or a beggar.

In this world, which resembles the ancient feudal era and possesses extraordinary powers, ordinary people feel a far stronger sense of belonging to their clan or sect than to their country.

Wuchenzi explained, "Among the Five Streams Barbarians, the Sheng Barbarians are the strongest, but the Ying Barbarians have the closest relationship with the various local forces."

The Shadow Barbarians possess a unique medicinal herb called Marrow Cleansing Grass. Ordinary Marrow Cleansing Grass can cleanse a martial artist's blood and qi, increasing the chance of a martial artist breaking through to the Blood Exchange Realm by 10%.

If the Marrow Cleansing Grass is refined into a Marrow Cleansing Gu by a Shadow Barbarian Gu Master, the success rate can be increased to 30%.

This is an irresistible temptation for any major family in the county.

To be honest, our main purpose in entering the Gu Master's cave to search for treasure was actually to collect Gu worms and exchange them with the Shadow Barbarian Gu Masters for Marrow Cleansing Gu.

"A 30% chance!! Marrow Cleansing Gu." Zhou Qing was surprised. With an additional 30% chance of breaking through, plus his own success rate, the chance of breaking through to the Blood Exchange Realm would exceed 50%.

Although the Bone Refining Realm is difficult to break through, it is insignificant compared to the major bottleneck of the Blood Exchange Realm.

For some large families, it is still possible to cultivate them even with a lot of resources.

With the addition of the Marrow Cleansing Gu, the major families in the city can guarantee that each generation will have a Blood Exchange Realm Grand Martial Master.

In this way, even if it can not prosper for generations, at least it will not suddenly decline.

“Brother Ding seems to be young and has a bright future ahead of him, but I am nearing my end. If I don’t break through to the Blood Exchange Realm with the Marrow Cleansing Gu, I’m afraid I won’t live for many more years,” Wuchenzi sighed.

"Your time is almost up? Daoist Master looks like..." Zhou Qing was taken aback. Wu Chenzi looked to be only in his forties or fifties. Although a Bone Refining Realm martial artist could not live as long as a Blood Exchange Realm martial artist, their blood and qi were strong, and they would definitely live longer than ordinary people.

Upon hearing this, Wuchenzi shook his head and said, "The cultivation method I practice is not good for combat, but it is quite miraculous in terms of health preservation and youthfulness. In fact, I am seventy-six years old this year."

"In my early years, I was injured by Gu worms when I entered the cave, which severely damaged my qi and blood. If I cannot break through to the Blood Exchange Realm, I fear I will hardly live past my eighties."

"What?! The Taoist priest is already seventy-six years old?" Zhou Qing was astonished.

"Brother Ding, you probably can't tell, but my junior nephew Chen is already over forty years old," Wuchenzi said with a smile, pointing to Chen Feng beside him.

"This..." Zhou Qing looked at Chen Feng's fair face and said that he looked more like he was in his early twenties.

She truly has the secret to maintaining her youthful appearance!
Such a technique is enough to drive many female martial artists crazy, especially those with outstanding appearances.

Maintaining a youthful appearance for most of one's life is probably just as important as breaking through to a higher realm.

After a moment's thought, Zhou Qing said, "If we can really exchange for the Marrow Cleansing Gu, then naturally the two of you should have priority. After all, this trip was led by the Daoist Master."

Upon hearing this, Wuchenzi secretly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately clasped his hands in thanks, saying, "In that case, thank you very much, Brother Ding."

I assure you that if we reap enough rewards from this trip to exchange for the Marrow Cleansing Gu, then Brother Ding can choose the extra treasures first.

If the harvest is insufficient, we will compensate Brother Ding with silver, elixirs, and other valuables.

“That’s fine.” Zhou Qing nodded. “However, if I obtain any secret techniques or books on Gu refining from the cave, I will also make a copy.”

Zhou Qing's primary goal for this trip was the Blood Jade Mushroom, and secondly, he wanted to find the secret techniques and classic texts related to Gu Masters, since he knew very little about Gu Masters.

As for the Marrow Cleansing Gu that helps one break through to the Blood Exchange Realm, he didn't really value it.

Because he is only seventeen years old this year, he has already broken through the bone barrier.

Even if the process of bone forging is difficult, taking three to five years is already considered a long time.

Before the age of twenty-five, he should have already possessed the foundation to break through to the Blood Exchange Realm.

After mastering the first level of the Hundred Poisons Primordial Body, as long as one cultivates the Poison Dragon Golden Body, the chance of breaking through to the Blood Exchange Realm will increase by 20%, which is not much worse than the Marrow Cleansing Gu.

Moreover, for Zhou Qing at this moment, being able to refine a second-tier Gu worm is far more important than breaking through in martial arts realm.

“Of course.” Wuchenzi readily agreed, then asked with some doubt, “Brother Ding, are you perhaps also interested in this Gu-refining technique?”

"I, Ding, specialize in swordsmanship and also practice poison techniques. I hope to gain some inspiration from this Gu-refining art," Zhou Qing said, half-jokingly.

"I see." Wuchenzi nodded.

"I will now explain to Brother Ding our destination and how to activate the formation outside the cave."

Wuchenzi took out a tattered parchment scroll covered in wormholes from his bosom and spread it out on the table.

The parchment scroll contained a map of mountains and rivers.

"This is it."

Wuchenzi pointed to the southeast corner of the map and explained the situation to Zhou Qing.

The next day, early in the morning.

Zhou Qing, along with Wuchenzi and Chen Feng, left the town and entered the vast Qilian Mountains.

Guided by the map, the three traveled swiftly, traversing mountains and valleys, covering two hundred li a day, and finally arrived at the edge of a canyon on the second day.

The split canyon, like the open eye of a giant, has cold, steep stone walls hundreds of meters high on both sides. Below the stone walls, a dark river flows through the canyon like a ribbon.

As a chilling wind blew from below the canyon, the water remained calm.

It was only autumn, yet the chilling wind blowing up from the canyon felt icy cold, sending shivers down one's spine.

Zhou Qing stood at the edge of the canyon, circulating his true energy throughout his body to dispel the chill.

“At midnight, the wind blowing up from the bottom of the canyon will be even colder. If you don’t have the cultivation of the Bone Refining Realm, your hands and feet will go numb from the cold on the spot,” Wuchenzi explained from the side.

"However, the wind blowing up from the bottom of the canyon is not usually this cold. The last time this bone-chilling wind blew up was when the cave was about to open."

"Just wait." Chen Feng sat cross-legged on the edge of the cliff, closing his eyes to rest.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing also sat down on the edge of the cliff, but his gaze remained fixed on the dark water below the canyon.

As the saying goes, clear water is shallow, green water is deep, and black water is abyss.

According to Wuchenzi, at midnight, they had to dive into the river below the canyon and activate the cave's mechanisms simultaneously from three directions.

"Wow!"

At that moment, a magnificent white-headed eagle swept across the clouds above the canyon.

The Qilian Mountains are quite dangerous, as Zhou Qing had already witnessed when the three of them were traveling yesterday.

Various poisonous insects are everywhere.

Although Zhou Qing was not afraid, this was the territory of the Wuxi barbarians, so he had Tiger Eagle conduct reconnaissance in the air at all times.

The three of them waited on the edge of the cliff until midnight.

Whoosh!
At this moment, a chilling wind blew up from below the canyon, and Zhou Qing immediately shivered.

Just as Wuchenzi said, no one but a Bone Refining Realm martial artist could withstand this chill, let alone go into the water.

"The time has come!" Wuchenzi, who had been sensing the changing winds below the canyon, suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with excitement.

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out three fiery red crystal balls from his bosom. The moment the crystal balls appeared, they emitted a powerful heat, dispelling the chill brought by the coldness of the canyon.

"Brother Ding, I'm begging you!" Wuchenzi threw one of the fiery red crystal balls at Zhou Qing.

Zhou Qing took the crystal ball and nodded silently.

Although the crystal ball generates tremendous heat, it only feels slightly warm when held in the hand and is not hot.

"set off!"

Seeing that both of them were gripping the crystal ball tightly, Wuchenzi took the lead and leaped off the cliff.

Although the cliff face was steep, covered in moss, and extremely slippery, it was still possible for a Bone Refining Realm martial artist to gain a foothold.

The three of them descended down the cliff to the bottom of the canyon.

Looking at the cold, eerie river water before him, Zhou Qing became wary, gathering his inner energy in preparation for its sudden burst.

Wuchenzi was currently positioned on the north side of the cliff, while Zhou Qing and Chen Feng were on the south side, forming a pincer movement.

"Go into the water."

After confirming his location, Wuchenzi released his grip on the rock and fell into the river with a splash.

Seeing this, Chen Feng also entered the water.

Zhou Qing followed closely behind.

After entering the water, Zhou Qing found that the visibility was very low, but it wasn't as dark as when looking down from above the water.

However, the water temperature was much lower than he had expected.

Buzz!
At this moment, the red crystal ball in Zhou Qing's hand trembled slightly, forming a red light shield about ten feet in diameter. Although the light shield could not dispel the river water, it could bring him warmth.

Wuchenzi and Chen Feng waited for him ten meters away. After confirming that Zhou Qing was in place, Wuchenzi made a hand gesture, and the three of them began to swim underwater.

The three swam to a depth of over a hundred meters, and the light shield formed by the red crystal ball quickly dimmed. The powerful water pressure forced Zhou Qing to use his true essence to resist it.

Although the Azure Water Technique is not as powerful as the Azure Wood Scripture, it gives him extremely strong water skills, and the Azure Water True Essence seems to be more effective at resisting water pressure than the Azure Wood True Essence.

Zhou Qing quickly adapted to the underwater pressure and continued swimming into the dark, bottomless water.

This time, after swimming about ten meters, Zhou Qing saw three huge jade pillars below, each as thick as two people could hug, covered with golden symbols.

On the other side, Wuchenzi and Chen Feng had already taken their positions and stood atop the two jade pillars.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing landed on the last jade pillar and stood still.

After standing on the jade pillar, he noticed a hemispherical groove in the middle of the pillar, about the same size as the red crystal ball in his hand.

Seeing Wuchenzi make a gesture and press the crystal ball into the groove, Zhou Qing followed suit.

hum!
The crystal ball suddenly shone brightly red, but the red light quickly dimmed the next moment.

He poured his inner energy into it as agreed beforehand.

As the true energy was rapidly absorbed into the crystal ball, the red light grew stronger, completely dispelling the darkness within a radius of several hundred meters.

"This is."

The scene before him made Zhou Qing's gaze sharpen. He saw that there were even more jade pillars beneath the original jade pillar, but these pillars were all broken.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that there were a total of nine broken jade pillars.

The collapsed jade pillars are piled up below.

With his enhanced vision, Zhou Qing could vaguely see a huge character '真' (zhen, meaning true) beneath the jade pillar.

To be on the safe side, Zhou Qing bit through the Qi-restoring pill wrapped in beeswax that he had been holding under his tongue.

Although he did not use his true essence, if too much true energy is consumed, the wine worm will not be able to condense true essence out of thin air.

Feeling his true energy gradually recovering, Zhou Qing felt a sense of relief.

boom!
As the three continued to inject their true energy, a huge commotion suddenly arose in the water below, and a massive vortex with a diameter of over ten meters appeared between the three jade pillars.

A powerful suction force emanated from the center of the vortex.

Upon seeing this, Wuchenzi and Chen Feng were both overjoyed and jumped into the center of the vortex without hesitation.

Seeing the two being 'swallowed' by the vortex, which then rapidly shrank, Zhou Qing's gaze sharpened. He retrieved the Corpse Worm Gu King from the Wooden King Cauldron, hid it in his chest, and then leaped down into the vortex.

"puff!"

With a dizzying sensation, Zhou Qing suddenly emerged from a deep pool, spitting out a mouthful of water.

Wuchenzi and Chen Feng were now standing by the pool.

"Brother Ding is here too!" Wuchenzi said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)