All-class Gu Immortal

Chapter 219 Cultivating the Spirit-Summoning Gu! Awakening Superior Root Bone!

"This Wanqi Sect Master is truly ungrateful! He's some country bumpkin who popped out of who-knows-where, he has no idea what he's missed. There are countless Gu Masters who want to become outer disciples of the Golden Rainbow Dao's Azure Heaven lineage! And he actually rejected us!"

After Wu Hongyang and Wu Xia left the stilted house where the clan chief lived, Wu Xia became angrier and angrier, and couldn't help but curse.

Wu Xia had intended to use the Spirit-Subduing Gu to do Wanqi Zongzheng a favor, but she didn't expect the other party to be so arrogant.

In her opinion, Wanqi Zongzheng should at least be grateful for the kindness shown to him by his senior and junior brothers and sisters, if not moved to tears. However, to her surprise, Wanqi Zongzheng was indifferent to the quota of outer disciples of the Tianqing lineage.

Compared to the furious Wu Xia, Wu Hongyang remained relatively calm and said with a slightly disdainful tone:

"Junior sister, why get angry with this person? He was able to break through to the second level at the age of nineteen in such a small place, so he must have some arrogance."

In my opinion, he is probably reluctant to give up this blessed land that has appeared here, thinking that he can break through to the third level in twenty years and pass the blessed land trial.

He simply didn't understand how vast the difference was between this place and the Golden Rainbow Sect, one of the ten major sects of Lingzhou.

Breaking through to the third tier in a place like this is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Don't worry, he'll regret it sooner or later, and he'll come begging to us for help then.”

Both of them were second-class talents. Although Wanqi Zongzheng became a second-level Gu Master at the age of nineteen, which was definitely a genius, staying in such a place would delay his progress sooner or later.

In particular, the two learned from the Ice Spirit Clan that Wanqi Zongzheng did not have the talent of a Gu Master and only opened his Yuan Aperture with the help of the Wine Worm. Luck played a big part in it, but no matter what, no one could break through to the third level by luck alone.

The two came from the sacred land of Gu Masters, the Golden Rainbow Sect, one of the ten major sects of Lingzhou.

He is an inner disciple of the Azure Sky lineage, and his master is a peak third-tier Venerable who is currently attempting to break through to the fourth tier.

They all have a great chance of reaching the third tier in the future.

Moreover, if it weren't for the need to solidify their foundation and cultivate the powerful Gu worms unique to the Tianqing lineage, they might not have been unable to break through to the second tier before the age of twenty.

Therefore, Wanqi Zongzheng's current advantages, when placed before the two of them, can only be described as worthy of serious consideration.

Unexpectedly, Wanqi Zongzheng did not take the two's initiative to befriend him seriously at all.

This displeased Wu Hongyang and Wu Xia, who had always held a prominent position in the Tianqing lineage. Wu Xia, in particular, was her master's most beloved disciple, and even core disciples and true disciples of the Jin Hong Dao would give her some face. She never expected to be rejected in such a remote and impoverished place.

“I was originally planning to save some power for this person when using the Spirit-Subduing Gu, but it seems I don’t need to now,” Wu Xia said coldly.

“That’s right, Junior Sister, it would be better to leave more power for Senior Brother than to leave it for outsiders,” Wu Hongyang said with a smile. Wu Xia used the Spirit-Subduing Gu first, and then it was his turn.

In the world of Gu Masters, there are many ways to improve one's aptitude, but for mid- to low-level Gu Masters, there are very few safe methods.

The two of them volunteered to come to this remote and impoverished area mainly because they learned about the existence of the Spirit-Slaying Gu from their master.

Given the enormous benefits involved in improving the aptitude of Gu Masters, even direct blood relatives could easily turn against each other. Why would Wu Hongyang think of leaving any power for Wanqi Zongzheng to use?

Those with aptitude below level three will find it difficult to advance to the second-tier Gu Master. Basically, reaching the second-tier perfection is the limit. Unless they have some great opportunity, they won't even have the chance to break through to the third tier.

Provided there is no shortage of resources and inheritance, the chances of a second-class Gu Master cultivating to the third rank are at least 20%.

As for those with first-class qualifications, the success rate is as high as 50%.

The biggest difference is between first-class and second-class.

Using the Spirit-Summoning Gu offers the hope of raising one's aptitude to a higher level, which is enough to drive most mid-to-low-level Gu Masters crazy.

If the Spirit-Subduing Gu didn't require the pure bloodline of the Mystic Spider to be used, it would probably have been coveted by many parties long ago.

"Don't worry, senior brother. Master gave me plenty of essence blood this time. Once my aptitude reaches first-class, I will immediately leave the Spirit-Subduing Gu for you to use," Wu Xia said with a faint smile.

"Then thank you very much, junior sister." A bitter look appeared on Wu Hongyang's lips, but he quickly returned to normal. No matter how much essence blood he had, it probably wouldn't be enough for both of them to raise their aptitude to the first grade. Maybe it wouldn't even be enough for one person.

"By the way, junior sister, let's go and greet the Gu Masters of the other four clans first, so that the old man won't look so dejected when we use the Spirit-Subduing Gu."

Wu Hongyang then changed the subject.

“Alright, let’s set off now.” Wu Xia nodded. Although their master didn’t come this time, the news that their master was in seclusion to break through to the fourth rank was enough to intimidate the third-rank Venerables of the four clans. The name Jin Hongdao alone was already resounding enough.

"By the way, junior sister, let your senior brother negotiate with them later," Wu Hongyang reminded her.

"What do you mean by that, Senior Brother? I just look down on these local natives. I wouldn't offend a third-tier Venerable, even one who is on the verge of death," Wu Xia said with considerable dissatisfaction. She was proud, but not stupid, and she naturally wouldn't use her pride on powerful people.

"That's not what I meant, Senior Brother. I'm just better at these kinds of trivial matters," Wu Hongyang said with an embarrassed smile, quickly making up an excuse to brush it off.

"That's more like it," Wu Xia said, rolling her eyes at him.

The two released third-tier Heavenly Bull Gu on the spot and rode the Heavenly Bull Gu away from Ice Cloud Village, heading to the other four clans in turn.

After Wu Hongyang and Wu Xia went to the four clans, the clan leaders of the other four clans met with Wanqi Zongyuan and decided to discuss how to allocate the resources of Fallen Immortal Valley twenty years later when the Gu Battle Tournament ended a month later.

Just half a month before the start of the Gu Battle Tournament, Zhou Qing received a notification from Wan Qizongyuan.

He went to the back mountain and arrived at the stilted house where Wanqi Zongyuan was located.

"Zongzheng, this is the spirit-summoning gu that I promised you to use."

Without uttering a single wasted word, Wanqi Zongyuan directly took out the Spirit-Subduing Gu.

The Spirit-Slaying Gu looks only the size of a fist, like the skin shed by a white spider.

"This is the Spirit-Subduing Gu?" Zhou Qing was stunned. If he hadn't been able to sense its faint true essence fluctuations, he would have thought it was an inanimate object, its aura even weaker than many first-tier Gu worms.

“A normal Spirit-Summoning Gu should be ice-blue. Its current white state indicates that its power has been exhausted and it is about to degenerate. I did not expect that those two would go so far as to exhaust the original power of the Spirit-Summoning Gu in order to obtain first-class aptitude. Now it will probably need to be fed a lot of essence blood to allow the Spirit-Summoning Gu to recover some power. It will probably take several years to use it again.”

Wanqi Zongyuan's eyes held a hint of anger; if he hadn't intervened in time, the Spirit-Subduing Gu would probably have perished.

"Thank you, Clan Chief. I will do my best to cultivate the Spirit-Subduing Gu over the next twenty years." Zhou Qing solemnly accepted the Spirit-Subduing Gu.

"There's no need for that. Don't waste your talent and abilities on this. If you consume too much essence and blood, it will only affect your cultivation," Wanqi Zongyuan shook his head and sighed.

"I only hope that the Spirit-Summoning Gu can subtly raise your aptitude to the second level."

The Spirit-Slaying Gu has existed for three hundred years, and its extinction was only a matter of time. The appearance of Wu Hongyang and Wu Xia has only accelerated the final process. If the Spirit-Slaying Gu is to be revived, it will probably require the resurrection of the Xuanzhu Venerable.

Zhou Qing nodded, then changed the subject, asking in a low voice, "By the way, clan leader, I wonder if those two have already..."

“Improving one’s aptitude isn’t that easy. Going from second to first aptitude is a huge hurdle. Those two are still second aptitude; they just used the Spirit-Subduing Gu to refine their meridians and vital energy points,” Wanqi Zongyuan replied.

"The Second Generation Ancestor probably already wanted to remove the Xuan Spider bloodline a long time ago. The purity of his blood essence is almost the same as mine, but it has not yet reached the level to restore the Spirit-Subduing Gu to its peak state."

"Is that so?" Zhou Qing's eyes shifted slightly. It was finally good news. Letting others steal his Spirit-Summoning Gu and then actually elevating it to first-class aptitude would be really unpleasant.

"The Ice Spirit Clan's rise and fall both depend on its bloodline. The bloodline of the Mysterious Spider Venerable allows us, the younger generation, to improve our aptitude with the help of the Spirit-Subduing Gu, greatly reducing the difficulty of breaking through to the second tier."

If one's bloodline is pure enough, breaking through to the third rank will be much easier than for other Gu Masters.

However, once you reach the third tier, you'll be constrained by your bloodline. To break through to the fourth tier, you'll need to find a way to eliminate the Xuan Spider bloodline or further strengthen your bloodline power.

Wanqi Zongyuan couldn't help but sigh.

“Most people won’t have this kind of trouble,” Zhou Qing said with a smile. For him, becoming a high-level Gu Master is the key.

When the Xuanzhu bloodline becomes a shackle hindering his progress, he will possess greater strength and a longer lifespan, and he will surely find a way to resolve it.

“That’s true.” Wanqi Zongyuan took out another piece of black animal hide.

"This is the method for using the Spirit-Subduing Gu left by Venerable Xuanzhu. Read it carefully, memorize it, and then slowly cultivate the Spirit-Subduing Gu."

"Thank you, clan leader!" Zhou Qing took the animal hide and carefully put it away along with the spirit-summoning gu.

“Go ahead.” Wanqi Zongyuan nodded.

"Junior, please take your leave."

Zhou Qing respectfully withdrew.

After leaving the back mountain, he returned to the bamboo forest on the east side of the mountain village. As soon as he entered the house, he went straight into the room.

"The Spirit-Summoning Gu is finally mine!"

Zhou Qing took out the limp white spider skin and the black animal skin, and carefully read the contents inside the animal skin.

"So that's what the Spirit-Slaying Gu means."

After reading the contents of the animal hide, Zhou Qing suddenly realized something.

After activating the Spirit-Subduing Gu, it will attach itself to the Gu Master's body, thereby drawing upon the power of heaven and earth to infuse the Gu Master's body, enhancing the Gu Master's aptitude and innate qualities.

Drawing upon the power of heaven and earth to infuse the body will place a great burden on the physical body of a Gu Master below the third rank. However, the consumption of bloodline power by the Spirit-Subduing Gu can protect the Gu Master's physical body.

The most crucial element lies in the power of bloodline.

The Spirit-Subduing Gu itself is cultivated using the essence and blood of the Ice Soul Spider. The purer the bloodline of the Ice Soul Spider, the more effective the Spirit-Subduing Gu can be.

"It seems to overlap somewhat with the Four Flavors Wine Worm's abilities, but there are definitely differences."

Zhou Qing pondered to himself and decided to refine it first.

He poured his true essence into the Spirit-Subduing Gu and found that it offered no resistance whatsoever, clearly indicating that it had weakened to the extreme.

Unlike other Gu worms, the Spirit-Subduing Gu continuously consumes the true essence and blood within it, so it needs to be replenished once a month. If you want to continue using it, you have to keep replenishing it.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the Spirit-Subduing Gu can guarantee basic survival, but this time, its essence was damaged by Wu Hongyang and Wu Xia, so Zhou Qing needs to keep feeding it.

However, this was not a problem for Zhou Qing, who possessed the Ice Soul Spider.

You have obtained a new Gu worm – the Spirit-Summoning Gu.

[Rank: Tier 3, Low Grade]

[Spirit-Subduing Gu: Forged by splitting the souls of the Four-Flavor Wine Worm, the Mysterious Spider Gu, and the Ice Soul Mysterious Spider, and then sending them to the Third Heaven to be tempered by the Heavenly Extreme Gale. Originally a top-grade third-tier Gu worm, its original power is now exhausted, and it is about to degenerate and perish.]

[Effect: Attracts spirits into the body]

[Spiritual Entry: By using the essence blood of the Mystic Spider to activate the Spirit-Subduing Gu, the innate divine ability of the Ice Soul Mystic Spider, 'Spiritual Entry,' can be activated. This utilizes the power of heaven and earth to alter the physique and innate constitution, enhancing the Gu Master's aptitude. The higher the purity and quantity of the Mystic Spider essence blood consumed, the stronger the effect.]

"A top-grade, third-tier item!" Zhou Qing's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected that the Spirit-Subduing Gu was actually made by combining four types of wine insects.

"I refuse to believe that a whole Ice Soul Spider can't restore the Spirit-Slaying Gu to its original power."

Zhou Qing collected the spirit-destroying gu back into his primordial aperture and fed it with his true essence and blood.

Half a month passed, and when Zhou Qing took out the Spirit-Subduing Gu again, the Spirit-Subduing Gu had undergone significant changes.

It transformed from a limp white spider skin into a light blue spider shell. Although its aura was still relatively weak, it was no longer in a half-dead state.

"That's about enough." Zhou Qing was worried that the Spirit-Subduing Gu would be too weak to handle the nourishment and would die from overfeeding it with the essence of the Xuan Spider. So he spent half a month helping it recover its vitality.

However, in the past half month, his true essence has been fine, but his blood essence has been lost a lot. His cultivation has not only not improved, but has also shown signs of regression.

Of course, these are minor issues, which can be resolved by refining some more Yuanhun Golden Liquid.

The Gu Battle Tournament arrived as scheduled. Zhou Qing, being a second-tier Gu Master, did not need to participate in the Gu Battle, so he simply found an excuse to stay and oversee the mountain stronghold.

Over the next few months, he first fed the Spirit-Subduing Gu with its Yuan Soul Golden Liquid. Only after the Spirit-Subduing Gu's aura gradually recovered did he directly feed it with the Xuan Spider's essence blood.

After the Spirit-Slaying Gu consumed nearly one-tenth of the Ice Soul Mystic Spider's essence blood, a tremendous change finally occurred.

That night, Zhou Qing took advantage of the darkness to leave the mountain village and ran hundreds of miles in one go, plunging headlong into the deep mountains.

He released the Heavenly Fire Centipede, the Ice Fiend Gu, and hundreds of Ice Silkworm Gu worms to patrol the surroundings.

Then Zhou Qing took out a fist-sized, ice-blue spider from his Yuanqiao.

Upon closer inspection, the ice-blue spider was completely empty inside; it was just an empty shell.

However, when the ice-blue spider appeared, all eight eyes on its head lit up, faintly connecting with the bright moon above Zhou Qing's head.

At this moment, Zhou Qing raised the Spirit-Subduing Gu high and infused it with his true essence.

hum!
The spirit-summoning gu suddenly emitted a series of clear chirps, then flew to Zhou Qing's crown chakra and slowly merged into his skull.

The next moment, Zhou Qing felt the immense power of heaven and earth pour into his head, and a terrifying pressure filled his entire body.

However, as the essence blood of the Xuan Spider inside the Spirit-Subduing Gu was continuously consumed, Zhou Qing felt a cool aura constantly protecting his body.

Zhou Qing sat cross-legged, seemingly merging with the universe.

The night passed quickly, and as the sky began to lighten, Zhou Qing awoke from his state of spiritual energy infusion.

"This is."

Suddenly his skin became translucent, and the bones beneath his skin and flesh resembled white jade.

As the spirit-slaying gu left the body, the skin slowly returned to normal, but the bones remained as white as jade.

You have awakened the supreme innate talent—Ice Skin Jade Bone.

(End of this chapter)