All-class Gu Immortal

Chapter 174 Ice Spirit Clan, Third-Order Spirit-Subduing Gu

[Skill: Shadowless Kick]

[Progress: Masterful (558/800)]

【Effect: Lightning Speed ​​Step】

"Looks like I need to focus on practicing my Shadowless Leg technique." Zhou Qing put away his Wind and Thunder Boots.

It will take quite some time to master the Shadowless Kick to its peak.

Next, Zhou Qing began to examine the other spoils of war.

Apart from the silver notes, the remaining bottles and jars were mostly empty; Mu Renjie had consumed most of the pills and poisons.

Clearly, once you reach the Blood Exchange Realm, the demand for cultivation resources is much greater than in the previous four stages. If you are seriously injured, it is also an extremely troublesome thing to recover your blood and qi.

Otherwise, Mu Renjie, as a master of the Qi and Blood Wolf Smoke Realm, wouldn't have taken so long to fully recover.

Zhou Qing examined each of the secret manuals left behind by Mu Renjie.

Five Poison Palm

The Hundred Poisons Heart Sutra

"Soul Claw"

Among the three secret manuals, the Five Poisons Divine Palm and the Hundred Poisons Heart Sutra are both martial arts of the Five Poisons Sect.

Zhou Qing had already obtained the secret manual from Mu Yuan's leather bag Gu, but Mu Renjie's secret manual was more complete, enough to cultivate to the Qi and Blood Long Dragon Realm of seven blood exchanges.

However, Zhou Qing has no use for these secret techniques.

With the jade tablet, he doesn't need to cultivate too many martial arts techniques; he only needs to continuously refine his existing martial arts and cultivate them to a higher level.

These manuals could definitely fetch a lot of money on the black market, but unfortunately, they are all martial arts from the Five Poisons Sect, involving cultivation at the Blood Exchange Realm, and cannot be sold easily, otherwise they might attract the attention of powerful figures.

For Zhou Qing now, money is not a difficult resource to acquire.

Looking at the claw technique left by Mu Renjie, Zhou Qing discovered that this claw technique was extremely profound, and the description on it was also very exaggerated. After mastering it, it not only contained a deadly poison that could pollute the enemy's blood and qi, but could even damage their soul.

However, Mu Renjie was in a state of severe injury and low health, and was unable to unleash the full power of the Soul Scattering Claw.

After reading the description of the Soul-Scattering Claw, Zhou Qing was somewhat tempted. No martial art that could damage the soul was simple.

However, upon seeing the final requirements of the technique, he put down the Soul Scattering Claw manual.

Practicing the Soul Scattering Claw, once mastered, will cause the flesh and blood in his hands to atrophy, which will greatly reduce the power of his White Cloud Palm Technique and Entangling Ice Force, making it a losing proposition.

"Since it's not a martial art exclusive to the Five Poisons Sect, it could fetch a good price if sold."

Zhou Qing saw that the creator of the technique marked on the manual was not the founder of the Five Poisons Sect, so he knew that selling the technique would not cause trouble.

Of course, it cannot be put on the market for sale in the short term.

Otherwise, if he sold his signature "Ghost Hand" technique, others would know that Mu Renjie was dead.

Mu Renjie cannot 'die' yet.

Someone still needs to take the blame for what happened between Xiao Kang and Wan Jiang.

Zhou Qing carefully put away the Soul Scattering Claw manual and opened the last scroll.

"This is a map of Southern Xinjiang!!"

Zhou Qing was both surprised and delighted as he looked at the detailed mountain and terrain patterns on the scroll.

In this day and age, drawing a fairly detailed map is no easy task.

This topographical map of southern Xinjiang is as valuable as a divine weapon.

"Blackwater River! Black Wind Mountain! Yellow Dragon Mountain! Nine-Linked Mountains! Heavenly Pillar Mountain!"

As Zhou Qing examined the topographic map, he suddenly noticed several unusual markings on it. Although there were no accompanying text, they were all marked with red circles.

The locations of the two circles are clearly the northwest valley of Black Wind Mountain and the mountain cave at the top of Yellow Dragon Mountain.

"Could it be"

Zhou Qing realized what was going on. He could describe the terrain of Black Wind Mountain in his mind with his eyes closed, though he couldn't speak for other places.

He was absolutely certain that the place marked on Black Wind Mountain was the same place where he had previously hidden the Wood Spirit Corpse.

As for the marker for Huanglong Mountain, it is located near the cave at the summit, which is the entrance to the volcano inside Huanglong Mountain, where the Fire Spirit Corpse is situated.

Therefore, the three marked locations—Heishui River, Jiulian Mountain, and Tianzhu Mountain—are where the remaining three corpses of the Heavenly Fiend Demon are hidden.

The Ice Fiend Gu was successfully refined this time for many reasons, but the most crucial one was the Wood Spirit Corpse.

As the saying goes, even a skilled cook cannot cook without rice. Without a Wood Spirit Corpse comparable to three blood transfusions, he could not possibly refine a mid-grade second-tier Ice Fiend Gu out of thin air. Even with the essence blood of the Ice Soul Mystic Spider, he would have to cultivate it slowly and could not achieve instant success.

"If we could gather all five Heavenly Fiend Corpses, I wonder what kind of Gu worm we could refine?" Zhou Qing's eyes lit up. Perhaps we could refine a third-tier Gu worm.

"Mysterious Spider, is there any way to help me open my second Yuan Aperture?"

At this moment, Zhou Qing released the Corpse Worm Gu King from his Yuanqiao and inquired about the situation of the Xuan Spider.

Without a second Yuan Aperture to store true essence, he ultimately could not activate the Ice Fiend Gu for a long time and could only use it as a trump card.

“It is naturally extremely difficult for someone without the aptitude of a Gu Master to open their Yuan Aperture. However, since you opened your first Yuan Aperture with the help of the Wine Worm, you may still need to rely on the Wine Worm to open your second Yuan Aperture,” Xuanzhu pondered.

"You mean you want me to find a way to refine the wine worm to the second level as well?" Zhou Qing raised an eyebrow.

Xuanzhu explained, "In Venerable Xuanzhu's hundreds of years of memories, someone like you is one of a kind."

Even if someone possesses a second-tier Four Flavor Wine Worm, it would be extremely difficult for someone without Gu Master aptitude to use it to open their first Yuan Aperture.

"You opened your Yuan Aperture with just a first-tier wine worm, so I think if you can refine four-flavor wine worms, you'll very likely be able to open your second Yuan Aperture."

"The Four Flavors Wine Worm?" Zhou Qing nodded. "Does Venerable Xuanzhu have a method for refining the Four Flavors Wine Worm in his memories?" Xuanzhu replied, "Of course there is. As an auxiliary type of wine worm, wine worms are loved by most Gu Masters. However, the failure rate of refining them is too high, so most of them are only at the first level."

To combine four types of wine worms, you need to combine two wine worms with four different types of wine: sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy.

"You can even refine the Ice Fiend Gu; if you combine it with the Four Flavors Wine Worm, your success rate will be even higher if you're well-prepared."

"Two wine worms and four kinds of fine wine are not difficult to prepare." Zhou Qing felt relieved. He couldn't buy wine worms, but he had plenty of Green Silk Gu. They were sold in Nanli County.

Because the Green Silk Gu is one of the basic materials for refining some special pills and Gu worms, and it is not difficult for Gu masters to cultivate, it can be obtained from the Five Streams Barbarians by spending more money.

For other Gu Masters, cultivating the Green Silk Gu into a Wine Worm requires immense luck, but for Zhou Qing, using the Jade Tablet and his profession as an aid, cultivating a Wine Worm, while not guaranteed to be a sure thing, has at least a 98% success rate.

"Without the aptitude of a Gu Master, it's really difficult to open one's Yuan Aperture!" Zhou Qing couldn't help but sigh.

Xuanzhu comforted her, "Don't sigh. I think most Gu Masters would envy your talent for Gu refining."

Actually, once your physical body can withstand the infusion of the power of heaven and earth, whether you have the aptitude of a Gu Master or not becomes irrelevant.

By integrating the power of heaven and earth into one's true essence, one can disregard the limitations of a Gu Master's aptitude and condense the third Yuan Aperture.

Ordinary people cannot cultivate both martial arts and Gu techniques simultaneously, but you are clearly special.

“It seems we still have to go to Nanli County City; this place is too small.” Zhou Qing nodded.

Now that he possesses the Ice Fiend Gu, he can protect himself to some extent in Nanli County City, and thus he can leave this place.

Xuanzhu said solemnly, "It would be good to go to Nanli County City as soon as possible. Among the Five Streams Barbarians there, there is an Ice Spirit Clan, which is a group formed by the bloodline descendants left by Venerable Xuanzhu in his early years."

If you can infiltrate the Ice Spirit Clan and find the third-tier Spirit-Subduing Gu left behind by Venerable Xuanzhu in his early years, you might be able to obtain first-class Gu Master aptitude, and even awaken a martial arts spiritual body at the same time.

"A third-tier spirit-summoning gu? First-class aptitude? Martial arts spirit body?" Zhou Qing's face showed surprise. The Ice Spirit Clan actually had a third-tier gu worm, which was comparable to a martial arts grandmaster with the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top.

Even auxiliary-type Gu worms are not something that ordinary second-tier beings can easily exploit.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Zhou Qing frowned slightly.

"The Ice Spirit Clan is the strongest clan among the Five Streams Barbarians. The clan leaders of each generation are generally Great Gu Masters at the second level of perfection."

Although so many years have passed and we don't know what the Ice Spirit Clan is like now, with the foundation left by Venerable Xuanzhu, there must still be a few second-tier Gu Masters.

Given your previous abilities, I'm afraid if I told you, you wouldn't be able to resist the temptation and would rashly go.

Xuanzhu explained.

"Second-tier perfection?! Even if you tell me now, I still won't go to the Ice Spirit Clan." Zhou Qing's face fell upon hearing this.

A second-stage perfected Gu Master is probably even more difficult to deal with than a top-tier martial artist in the Qi and Blood Furnace Realm who has undergone twelve blood exchanges. No one knows what kind of strange Gu worms the opponent possesses.

Xuanzhu continued, "It's different. For a Great Gu Master who has reached the second-stage perfection, their goal is to break through to the third stage."

Therefore, Gu masters at this level will not easily take action unless their race is facing extinction.

Furthermore, I'm not asking you to infiltrate the Ice Spirit Clan to steal the Spirit-Slaying Gu, but rather to gain an opportunity for direct contact.

"What do you mean?" Zhou Qing was taken aback.

Xuanzhu explained, "As long as you return to the Ice Spirit Clan as a descendant of the Xuanzhu Venerable, and then demonstrate sufficiently strong talent, you can gain the opportunity to come into contact with the Spirit-Subduing Gu through intra-clan competition."

Among the Five Streams Barbarians, many people, even those with the aptitude of Gu Masters, are mostly at the fourth or fifth level, with little hope of breaking through to the second tier in the future.

In addition, many clansmen without Gu Master qualifications also choose to cultivate martial arts.

With the talent you've shown so far, even without the aptitude to become a Gu Master, the Ice Spirit Clan will still put in the effort to train you.

"You just need to outcompete your peers in the Ice Spirit Clan to have a chance to come into contact with the Spirit-Summoning Gu. That shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"

“Descendants of the Xuanzhu Venerable’s bloodline.” Zhou Qing realized that Wuchenzi and Chen Feng from before could not be members of the Ice Spirit Clan.

"You mean, I can impersonate a descendant of the Xuanzhu Venerable by refining the Yuanhun Golden Liquid?"

Xuanzhu affirmed, "That's right. The Yuanhun Golden Liquid, refined from the essence blood of the Ice Soul Xuanzhu, only requires you to inherit a small portion of its power to make it indistinguishable from the real thing."

Even the direct descendants of the Xuanzhu Venerable from two hundred years ago could not detect the difference.

In other words, as long as one refines the Yuanhun Golden Liquid, one is a descendant of the Xuanzhu Venerable's bloodline, and is not a fake at all.

You don't even need to fake your identity; you can enter the Ice Spirit Clan directly with your current appearance.

Once the Gu Masters of the Ice Spirit Clan investigate your identity, they will definitely guess that you are a descendant of the Ice Spirit Clan who has been separated from the clan.

Because clansmen without Gu Master aptitude have a very low status within the Gu Master community, some people who achieve success in martial arts cultivation may even leave the clan.

Only when their descendants possess the aptitude of a Gu Master will they be sent back to their clan. Some even sever ties with their clan altogether to rebuild their families.

"So that's how it is!" Zhou Qing suddenly realized. Although he had refined a second-tier Gu worm, he had not opened a second Yuan Aperture. Therefore, as long as he hid the Ice Fiend Gu, even if he encountered a second-tier Gu Master, no one would notice anything unusual.

Compared to the step-by-step approach of martial arts, refining Gu can sometimes be a shortcut to success.

Once Zhou Qing opens his second Yuan Aperture and possesses a large amount of True Yuan, he will be able to unleash the true power of the Ice Fiend Gu, and at the same time, he will have the spare energy to refine more second-tier Gu worms.

The memories of the Mysterious Spider Venerable contain many secret techniques for refining Gu, but Zhou Qing has no use for any of them.

Because he cannot conjure poison out of thin air.

It's like someone who knows how to build airplanes and cannons, but if he travels to the era of cold weapons, he still can't build airplanes and cannons because he lacks a complete industrial system.

Forget about building airplanes and cannons, we can't even build bicycles.

If he could enter the Gu Master clan, where most of the people around him were Gu Masters, many Gu insects that were rarely seen in the outside world might just be common materials there. This was extremely attractive to Zhou Qing.

It's not that martial arts training is unaffordable, but raising Gu worms is more cost-effective.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing left the room, went to the west wing, and knocked on Wei Hongyu's door.

"Sister, it's me."

(End of this chapter)