Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Inside the Gu family ancestral hall, the candlelight flickered.

Gu Jingshan sat in front of the ancestral tablets, holding the black stone in his hands, his breathing somewhat heavy.

The blood-red ancient characters still hung in his mind.

Bloodline Origin Law.

The name itself exudes an indescribable eeriness.

Gu Jingshan is not a fool.

Even with the support of his ancestor, he wouldn't have considered finding a stone as a destiny to secure his position as the head of the Gu family.

The novels about cultivating immortality are full of lively stories.

What good fortune in old age? What accidental inheritance?

A black stone in the mountains changed his fate.

In reality, however, there are more demonic traps, possession of remnant souls, and evil creatures that specifically lure greedy cultivators.

Gu Jingshan stared at the black stone, his expression shifting repeatedly.

"If it is truly an opportunity, then of course we cannot miss it."

"But what if it's a trap..."

He didn't continue thinking about it.

A moment later, he took out a jade bottle from his storage bag.

The bottle contained a few drops of demonic beast blood.

These are materials that the Gu family usually uses when making talismans and refining pills.

He poured out a drop, which fell onto the black stone.

The blood droplet slid across the stone surface without any reaction.

Gu Jingshan frowned.

"Monster blood is useless?"

He then took out a silver needle and gently pricked his fingertip.

A drop of blood fell.

This time, Black Stone trembled slightly.

A faint glimmer of blood flashed through the crack in the rock.

So faint it's almost an illusion.

But Gu Jingshan's eyes lit up.

There was a response.

This indicates that it is not an inanimate object.

However, such a weak reaction indicates that the problem is not the amount of blood, but whether the blood vessels are compatible.

"Of the same bloodline..."

Gu Jingshan murmured softly.

The ancient, blood-red characters were written in a slurred manner.

Bloodline is firewood, shared origin is the guide.

At first, Gu Jingshan thought it was just a mysterious method, but after trying it, he immediately understood a bit more.

This method does not require the blood of demons and beasts.

It wasn't just anyone's blood... but the essence of the Gu family.

The ancestral hall remained quiet for a long time.

Gu Jingshan slowly raised his head and looked at the rows of ancestral tablets.

The candlelight fell on his face, illuminating his expression in half of its brightness and half of its darkness.

"Blood essence of the same race..."

He did not act immediately.

They sat in the ancestral hall for another half an hour.

He didn't get up until the night was deep and the Gu family mansion was completely quiet.

The Gu family has a dungeon. The Gu family is just a Foundation Establishment family that is attached to the Xuan Yang Sect. Those who make mistakes in the family are usually punished with salary reduction, confinement, or loss of cultivation. In more serious cases, they are expelled from the family.

Not many were actually locked in the dungeon.

Gu Jingshan made his way to the underground area in the backyard.

The two clansmen guarding the gate saw him and quickly bowed.

"Master of the family."

Gu Jingshan said calmly, "Is Gu Qinghe still locked up?"

One of the tribesmen nodded and said, "He's still locked up."

"He stole three Qi Nourishing Pills and one Meridian Condensation Pill from the clan treasury and then denied it. According to the family rules, he should have had his cultivation abolished and been expelled from the Gu family."

Gu Jingshan hummed in agreement.

"I will interrogate him myself."

The gatekeepers didn't ask any further questions.

Gu Qinghe was merely a member of a collateral branch, at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

He often used his cleverness to commit petty thefts.

A few days ago, he stole the clan's elixir and was caught on the spot.

Even if such a person dies, no one will immediately investigate.

Deep inside the dungeon.

Gu Qinghe was chained to a stone pillar, his face looking haggard.

Seeing Gu Jingshan enter, he quickly looked up.

"Master!"

"Master, I was wrong!"

"I truly know I was wrong. I'm willing to make amends to my tribe, and I'm willing to serve in the mines for ten years!"

Gu Jingshan looked at him calmly.

"When you stole the clan's elixirs, did you ever think about the Gu family who had raised you for so many years?"

Gu Qinghe's face turned pale.

"I...I was just confused for a moment."

Gu Jingshan sighed.

"The tribe doesn't have many resources to begin with."

"The ancestral fire is about to go out, and all branches of the Lingdao Peak and the sect are keeping a close eye on the Gu family."

"At a time like this, you still steal the clan's elixir treasury."

"Qinghe, you have disappointed me greatly."

Gu Qinghe was trembling all over.

"Master, please forgive me this once! I'll never dare to do it again!"

Gu Jingshan walked up to him and lowered his voice.

"You have already broken the family rules."

"The Gu family has raised you for so many years, yet you don't know how to repay them."

"Now that I have sacrificed myself for the family's cause, I can say that I have died a worthy death."

Gu Qinghe was stunned.

"Patriarch? What family... grand undertaking?! Sacrifice?"

The next instant, his pupils widened suddenly.

Inside the ancestral hall.

The black rock hangs in mid-air.

Strands of blood were drawn out and fell into the black stone.

The blood-red light truly shone for the first time.

It's not the faint flickering it used to be.

Instead, it was like an eye that had been asleep for many years, finally opening a crack.

Gu Jingshan stood outside the array patterns, his face somewhat pale.

This wasn't his first time killing someone.

But killing his own clansmen was a first for him.

Even if Gu Qinghe is only a branch of the family.

Even if this person has already broken family rules.

But as the other person's breath gradually faded away, Gu Jingshan's heart still couldn't help but tremble.

However, this wavering was quickly suppressed by the changes on the black stone.

The blood-red light contracted, and a tiny blood bead, only the size of a soybean, slowly condensed on the surface of the black stone.

Yet it was crystal clear, with what appeared to be a flowing, blood-red aura inside.

Gu Jingshan's Adam's apple bobbed.

He carefully collected the blood droplet into his palm.

Blood-red ancient characters then appeared.

Refining.

After hesitating for a moment, Gu Jingshan finally opened his mouth and swallowed the blood bead.

boom.

The blood droplets entered the abdomen and instantly transformed into a warm energy.

That force wasn't violent; on the contrary, it was surprisingly gentle.

It flows along the meridians little by little, and finally sinks into the dantian.

Gu Jingshan suddenly opened his eyes wide.

efficient!

It really works!

At the foot of Lingdao Peak, he was casually swept away by Gu Changjin, and his chest has been aching faintly ever since.

That was, after all, an injury left by the Golden Core cultivator.

Even if Gu Changjin didn't use his full strength, it wasn't something that someone at the late Foundation Establishment stage could easily neutralize.

But now, that lingering pain is disappearing.

The blocked magical power in his chest was gradually dissipated.

Even the old wounds deep in my meridians felt much better, as if they had been soaked in warm water.

Gu Jingshan raised his hand to touch his temple.

There were a few strands of white hair there.

He was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, so his lifespan was naturally much longer than that of ordinary people.

But these past few years I've been stuck at a bottleneck, and the mental and physical exertion has been enormous, so I've had gray hair for a long time now.

But now, one of the strands of white hair has turned black again.

Gu Jingshan's breathing suddenly became rapid.

That's not the most important thing.

The most important thing is the dantian.

He's been stuck in the late Foundation Establishment stage for many years.

Over the years, I have used elixirs, gone into seclusion, and sought guidance from the ancestor.

But the bottleneck... remained completely unmoved, and he had long since given up hope.

And that one instant just now.

The bottleneck, which had remained completely still, loosened slightly.

Just a trace.

But Gu Jingshan knew all too well what that slight signified.

For Tianjiao, the easing of bottlenecks may just be normal.

But for a family head like him who rose through the ranks by relying on family resources, the legacy of his ancestors, and a bit of cunning, this glimmer of hope was an immense blessing.

Foundation building complete.

Even the Golden Elixir.

Those two words suddenly jumped into his mind.

Golden Elixir.

If he becomes a Golden Core cultivator, will the Gu family still need to be mindful of the Lingdao Peak disciples' opinions?

Why wait until the ancestor dies and his flesh is divided among the various branches of the sect?

Why worry about the sect leader's lineage turning its back on us?

Gu Jingshan's eyes gradually reddened.

He stared at the black stone, his breathing rapid.

"What a stroke of luck."

"This is truly my destiny."

Just then, the black stone trembled again.

More ancient, blood-red characters emerged.

Gu Jingshan immediately focused his attention to look.

Blood beads can only prolong life, heal wounds, and slightly replenish the foundation.

A true lineage originator needs to be established using ancestral halls as a framework, genealogy records as a guide, and the bloodline of the entire clan as fuel.

Once the bloodline embryo is formed, it can cleanse and refine one's bones and bones, replenish lifespan, and help one break through to a higher realm.

If the same blood-golden pill is used as the main medicine.

One can use the primordial embryo to break through to the golden core.

They even glimpsed the potential of the Nascent Soul stage.

Gu Jingshan froze upon seeing this.

Same as Blood Golden Elixir.

Who is the only Golden Core cultivator in the Gu family?

Gu Changjin.

That patriarch who lingered on, weighing heavily on the Gu family, and whose inheritance was the focus of everyone's attention.

Gu Jingshan's first reaction was that it was absurd.

impossible.

That's a golden elixir.

Even if his life force is about to be extinguished, even if he has one foot in the coffin, he cannot withstand it.

But the next moment, a new interpretation emerged from the black stone.

One cannot directly refine the Blood Ancestor into a Golden Elixir.

First, the bloodline of the entire clan must be used to refine the embryonic form of the bloodline.

This allowed the child to fully integrate with the Gu family's bloodline.

Once the primordial embryo is formed, the Golden Elixir Blood Ancestor will be used as the final main ingredient to reverse its origin and help one break through to a higher realm.

Gu Jingshan fell silent.

Inside the ancestral hall, the candlelight crackled.

The life tablets were placed densely on both sides of the offering table.

There are elders of the Gu family, as well as members of the direct line and collateral branches of the family.

These life tablets symbolize the prosperity of the family in daily life.

But at this moment, in Gu Jingshan's eyes, they seemed to have turned into clusters of blood-red flames.

The entire clan's bloodline is firewood.

Gu Jingshan's heart was beating faster and faster.

He didn't intend to kill the entire clan from the beginning.

No, it really isn't.

But once the thought pops up, it's like weeds, impossible to suppress.

If the Gu family continues like this, they will eventually be wiped out by the disciples of Lingdao Peak and the various branches of the sect.

As long as the ancestor lives, the Gu family will forever remain nothing more than filial sons and virtuous grandsons waiting to divide the inheritance.

With the patriarch dead, the Gu family might not be able to compete with the other branches of the sect.

But what if he becomes a Golden Core cultivator?

Everything is different now.

The Gu family will have a new patriarch.

There will be a real future.

Gu Jingshan slowly raised his head, looking at the fate tablets, his eyes gradually changing.

"If I become a Golden Core cultivator, the Gu family will have a future."

"They died today for the sake of the Gu family's longevity."

There was no response from inside the ancestral hall.

Only that black stone faintly flashed with a wisp of bloody light.