Chapter 249: Human Path Gu Immortal |
Heaven and earth are the cornerstones of the gu world, the source of nourishment for all life and existence. They form the very basis of the immortal apertures: blessed lands and grotto-heavens. That's why the same could be extracted from these immortal apertures during the time of ascension. Immemorial Desolate Grotto-Heaven existed for a long time and was developed extensively. It survived many tribulations and strengthened its foundation. As such, it had a lot to give even when a massive portion of land around Lo Jik crumbled, the trees disintegrated into qi, and even the twinkling stars in the sky broke into pure and warm heaven qi.
The very nature of the gu world in the form of heaven qi and earth qi met with Lo Jik's human qi. The fusion did not just elevate the state of Lo Jik's body, mind, and soul down to the tiniest detail, but it also attuned him with the gu world; with the great dao.
The process of gu cultivation can be best described by the phrase: A gu master uses, nurtures, and refines the gu. Using, refining, and nourishing the gu worm allows the gu masters to indirectly interact with the dao marks and dao fragments they carry within themselves. The true source of gu cultivation was never the gu worms but the dao!
Geniuses and ambitious gu masters studied this aspect and wished to connect with the great dao directly, inspiring the creation of gu worms like the Heaven's Will Gu. Lo Jik's Scan the Dao killer move, too, was a step in this direction. All these methods paled compared to this moment.
This connection.
The resonance of heaven and earth qi with his human qi filled Lo Jik's mind with heavenly inspiration. Heaven and earth were the source of all creation and embodied the great dao. Currently, he did not need to use, nurture, and refine the dao. Heaven and earth selflessly imparted with him the answers to all his questions.
For but a fraction of his lifetime… he, too, embodied the great dao.
Lo Jik felt full and enamored. It was as if he witnessed the beauty of a sea after spending an entire lifetime working in congested mines.
'It's… truly heavenly.' It was indescribable and moving.
Ordinarily, a gu master was cautioned not to be greedy and only accept the teachings regarding their main dao. Perhaps, a gu master could even ask for an immortal gu recipe from heaven and earth. Undoubtedly, such a gu recipe would be of the highest quality. After all, the mystery of the great dao was as deep as the sea and most gu immortals spent centuries digging out the truth in merely one aspect of the great dao instead of it all.
Furthermore, just because a gu master asked a question did not imply they could understand the answer.
Lo Jik could not simply search for the secrets of true immortality. Some things might not exist in the first place, requiring more innovation!
Just like gu masters, the gu world was developed over the several great eras, witnessing the creation of new paths and gu worms. What was impossible before was not the case in the present era, and the inquiries of present era may only be answered by heavenly inspiration in the years to come.
Fortunately, Lo Jik was not an ordinary gu master. He possessed deep attainments and merely lacked the accompanying knowledge one studied to develop said attainment.
Most gu masters accepted the understanding of their main paths and worked their way up to deepen their foundations. A strength path master might become a strength path grandmaster if they had enough time based on their human qi and focus based on the preparations for the tribulation. In most cases, however, they would become a strength path quasi-grandmaster. Ultimately, gu masters had to tackle their tribulations. How could they spend all their focus on this great benefit and ignore the risks to their life?
Meanwhile, Lo Jik did not have to focus on any tribulations. He also possessed shockingly deep attainments, leading to a dense human qi.
Only Lo Jik could use the natural inspiration attained during one's ascension to not raise one's understanding of their path but to dump information in their minds.
For most gu masters, the act of using natural inspiration was similar to expanding the size of their buckets. They could naturally store more water with a bigger bucket, something they could find elsewhere. However, expanding the bucket was costly and took a lot of time.
Meanwhile, Lo Jik already had a house-sized bucket. He was hurting for more water instead! He used the natural inspiration to fill this empty pit, which was quicker and less costly.
Lo Jik instantly processed almost all the information he obtained from heaven and earth. He was a grandmaster in all known paths, including pill and painting paths. He learned of their basic concepts, recipes, and more. It was truly a fulfilling moment. As a human path great grandmaster, he was extremely close to discovering almost all the secrets of the human dao. The same was true for luck path. Perhaps, he was the first and only gu masters to achieve such a unique state. He absorbed everything.
As he suspected, some human path gu worms like Dreamer Gu and other clones were not possible to naturally refine into immortal gu worms. Human path was not developed to such a state. He also realized that many gu worms in existence were categorized incorrectly. For instance, Doting Mother and Traveling Son Gu Worms were not wisdom path movement gu worms but instead human path gu worms!
The bounty obtained for Luck Path was even more immense.
But Lo Jik did not forget his true mission.
Dream path.
Lo Jik may not have deep attainment in dream path but he had enough experience in it. He spent most of his time understanding the secrets of the dream dao as opposed to deepening his foundation in human path and taking a step beyond the realm of a great grandmaster.
While greedy, Lo Jik knew how to balance short-term goals with long-term priorities. Dream path was the future, and he also needed enough understanding of dream path to tackle Bai La's incident. As for deepening his foundation in human path?
Did he not have another aperture?
Did he not have the recipe for Second Aperture Immortal Gu?
The secrets of the so-called yin-yang path and the source of Lifespan Gu and other similar gu worms could wait.
Lo Jik's understanding of dream path skyrocketed as he continued blending the three elements. The sphere of qi around him condensed at a swift pace, entering the center of his heart.
'Dream realms… dream path gu worms… dream path materials…'
Lo Jik was already proficient in dream path due to Dreamer Gu. Now, he effortlessly pierced the realm of a master and charged straight ahead. Discovering the fact that dream realms could not be used to enhance one's attainment in dream path further made Lo Jik focus on absorbing everything he could—to surpass the current generation of gu immortals and maintain a firm dominance in exploring the dao of dream in the future.
This was the effect Fairy Yi hoped to achieve by recommending Lo Jik to become a dream path gu immortal.
Lo Jik slowly opened his eyes. The tribulation clouds and calamity dust churned, rumbled, and exploded as he absorbed the last traces of the fusion of three elements.
He successfully completed the second step: balancing the qi.
Lo Jik observed the sea of heaven and earth qi around him that would have transformed into a tribulation. All of it would instead become his nourishment in the third step.
He directed his attention in his heart. A condensed sphere of tri-colored primordial qi appeared in the spot Lo Jik destroyed his aperture. It was filled with an aura of creation.
Destruction leads to creation.
The act of ascension was no different from baptism by heaven and earth—the rebirth of a gu master into a gu immortal.
Destroying mortal aperture led to the creation of an immortal aperture!
Lo Jik carefully sent his vital gu worm towards the bundle of primordial qi.
Rank 8 Disguise Immortal Gu.
*Boom*
A loud explosion echoed as the primordial qi exploded with life and new beginnings! Lo Jik's ear buzzed and he experienced the same sensation when he awakened his aperture for the first time. He found himself shaken yet free. His heartbeat sped as an electrifying rush seized his body for a brief moment.
Inside Lo Jik's heart appeared a new space. It was no different from a small world. His immortal aperture.
Like a newborn baby, the immortal aperture needed nourishment. It let out a powerful suction force, absorbing the heaven and earth qi around Lo Jik.
Old Man Desolate watched with delight as green and golden qi spiraled and disappeared into his master's heart.
Lo Jik also continued to place his human path gu worms in his immortal aperture as more heaven and earth qi surrounded them.
Rank 6 Divine Travel Immortal Gu.
Rank 5 Accumulation Gu; Undefeated Hundred Battles Gu; Fake Soul Gu; Fake Mind Gu; Fake Aptitude Gu; Fake Aperture Gu; Extreme Aptitude Gu; Bountiful Aperture Gu; Purple Crystal Relic Gu; Meaning Gu; Self Chant Gu; Dreamer Gu; Refiner Gu; Schemer Gu; Martial Artist Gu; Wine Drinker Gu; Decay Touch Gu; Aperture Puncture Gu; Descendant Gu; Everlasting Health Gu; Hopeful Sight Gu; Adaptive Spirit Gu; Explorer Gu; Refinement Hall Gu; Secret Hall Gu; Martial Hall Gu; Earth Hall Gu; Brewery Hall Gu; and Wealth Gu.
His immortal aperture continued absorbing heaven and earth qi, transforming into a massive stretch of land as gentle slopes rose in numbers. The size of the land grew continuously, surpassing 4000 square kilometers.
Rank 4 Half Effort Gu; Fickle Travel Gu; and Yellow Gold Relic Gu.
Crevices tore open from the ground as heaven and earth qi materialized into flowing rivers from the top of the mountains. The sky expanded and lush grass grew everywhere. Trees and plants grew at a pace visible to the naked eyes, bearing juicy fruits. A massive fountain erupted from the center of the blessed land before it formed into a nurturing lake filled with drinking water.
4800 square kilometers…
5500 square kilometers…
His blessed land kept expanding, pulling in a tributary of River of Time as time flowed quicker in his blessed land.
1:1…
5:1…
11:1…
17:1…
25:1…
30:1…
Rank 3 Prosperity Attracts Fortune Gu; Leader and Follower Gu; and White Silver Relic Gu.
6000 square kilometers!
The pace with which his blessed land grew decreased.
Rank 2 Red Steel Relic Gu.
Rank 1 Anchor Mind and Green Copper Relic Gu.
His immortal aperture earlier absorbed heaven and earth qi in large gulps. Now, however, it absorbed much slowly, stopping at 6000 square kilometers of land.
Lo Jik's foundation was extremely firm. He might not have spent more time using human path gu worms to refine his body, but his soul and mind were refined using Fake Soul and Fake Mind Gu worms. Furthermore, he had TWO human path immortal gu worms! He was also a human path great grandmaster. One's attainment played an important role in determining the final grade of the immortal aperture during the ascension.
The absorbed qi slowly formed into pure green-colored droplets filled to the brim with extremely dense primeval essence—green grape immortal essence!
There was a total of fifty beads of immortal essence!
'A gu master's aptitude plays a crucial role in cultivating the aperture. Higher the aptitude, the better the future results. Rank 5 signifies the end of the mortal realm, and rank 6 is the beginning of the immortal realm. The aptitude of a gu immortal in this case is defined by their accumulations as a gu master, including their gu set, body refinement, attainment, among others.'
'An immortal aperture falls under one of the four ranks: low, medium, high, and perfect.'
'A low-ranked immortal aperture forms a small blessed land with less than 2000 square kilometers of area and a little over ten beads of immortal essence. The tributary of time in their blessed land is also small.'
'A medium-ranked immortal aperture forms a mid-sized blessed land with an area ranging from 2700 to 4000 square kilometers and over twenty beads of immortal essence. Similar, the tributary of time it pulls is greater than a low-ranked immortal aperture.'
'A high-ranked immortal aperture forms a large blessed land with area no less than 4700 square kilometers and it goes as high as 6000 square kilometers. It also generates more than thirty beads of immortal essence alongside a larger tributary of time.'
'Lastly, it's the perfect-ranked immortal apertures formed when a gu master with an extreme aptitude successfully ascends as a gu immortal, creating a super blessed land in the range of 6700 to 13000 square kilometers. Furthermore, such blessed lands generate more than fifty beads of immortal essence.'
Lo Jik observed his blessed land and noticed he reached the very limits of high-ranked immortal aperture. He simply could not break certain limitations but felt very satisfied.
His blessed land reflected his southern origins in the form of several lush mountains, each packed with greenery. These mountains boasted gentle slopes and were easy to trek. The sky was bright and blue, capable of lightening the mood of anyone gazing up at it. Rivers flowed with clear drinking water. Trees bore fruits, rustling with the gentle gusts of wind. It was a fertile land full of vitality—a kind of location best for human settlement. One could form towns around the large lake in the center of Lo Jik's blessed land.
Lo Jik further observed heaven and earth qi surround his human path gu set. His potential had been immense, and while restricted from forming a super blessed land, he could still use the remaining heaven and earth qi for another boon!
Usually, a gu master needed to tackle calamities and tribulations before turning them into heaven and earth qi as they remained stuck between the second step of balancing the qi and the third step of tossing the gu worms. But such a thing did not happen for Lo Jik. Heaven and earth qi continued to remain tame.
Only gu masters with enough preparations and foundation could summon such a large amount of heaven and earth qi. Those with low-ranked and medium-ranked blessed lands would have no additional heaven and earth qi to use.
Inside Lo Jik's mind appeared several gu immortal recipes. This was a rare moment, yet Lo Jik had been unable to deduce gu immortal recipes. He reigned over mortal recipes due to his attainment but lacked too much background in several aspects of the dao to successfully refine a gu immortal recipe… until now.
He had tried deducing one recipe in particular for the longest time and achieved minor success. The natural inspiration of the great dao filled the necessary gaps in Lo Jik's foundation as his thoughts formed several recipes before directing the layer of heaven and earth qi around his human path gu set.
Being the source of all creation, a gu master did not need any additional refinement material to refine the gu worms when using heaven and earth qi. Lo Jik's thoughts and recipe directed the flow of the qi as it fluctuated and churned.
It was the same process as balancing the qi. The act of refining an immortal gu worm was no different from ascending as a gu immortal.
'Master is refining immortal gu worm.' Old Man Desolate stroked his beard. 'His foundation was too sturdy. Look at the abundance of heaven and earth qi around him. How many immortal gu can he refine?' His non-existent heard pounded with anticipation.
Lo Jik also waited patiently.
*Swoosh*
An immortal gu worm's aura soon flooded his blessed land as an immortal gu emerged from the cocoon of primordial qi. It resembled the appearance of the clone gu worms and was none other than the rank 6 Wine Drinker Immortal Gu Worm. Lo Jik obtained its recipe through his trait and further modified it to make it similar to Dreamer Gu in the sense that using it for the first time availed him with a few more recipes of said path. The last step of its modification was finished during his state of natural inspiration.
The cocoon of heaven and earth qi continued absorbing more nourishment from the outside but failed to form any tribulations inside Lo Jik's aperture when he successfully refined Wine Drinker Immortal Gu.
Another immortal gu flew out gracefully. It looked like a ladybug. Its head was pitch-black and round. However, its body was translucent and looked empty.
Rank 6 Fake Aperture Immortal Gu. It was a Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable's true inheritance snatched from Li Xian, allowing the user to create empty pockets in the target capable of storing gu worms and immortal essence, hence the name.
'Eh?'
Lo Jik blinked, shocked by a sudden change. His current situation would leave many gu immortals filled with envy. After all, he could not form a perfect-grade blessed land, but his accumulations were more than enough. As such, he had an overabundance of heaven and earth qi, which could be used to refine immortal gu worms. This was the best moment to maximize one's potential and Lo Jik predicted he could refine up to four immortal gu worms!
Yet, a change occurred.
A large amount of heaven and earth qi churned and consumed itself in a moment of resonance between several gu worms, revealing a brand-new human path immortal gu worm Lo Jik had never seen before.
'There… there was a resonance between the Hall-Type gu series.' He refined this human path house gu series to cultivate endlessly without being bothered by external conditions. Obtaining this blessed land already made these Hall Gu Worms obsolete.
He never expected such a situation to occur as he moved the unnamed rank 6 immortal gu worm away and watched the remaining portion of heaven and earth qi with a difficult expression.
'I wanted to refine those two gu worms… tch.'
Of course, he meant Accumulation Gu and…
'But which one should I choose? There's only enough heaven and earth qi for one more immortal gu worm.'
With a heavy heart, Lo Jik decided against refining Accumulation Immortal Gu. He had only been able to complete a few strategic human path immortal gu recipes during natural inspiration before diverting all his attention on dream path. The sudden resonance between the gu worms… well, it fucked things up.
The cocoon of primordial qi absorbed the remaining heaven and earth qi as tribulation clouds disappeared slowly and calamity dust settled.
Through the cracks of the cocoon flew out a human-sized stone disc with an archaic aura. It looked ordinary despite the aura of a rank 6 immortal gu around it.
Lo Jik couldn't help but grin despite the earlier complications.
Refining Accumulation Immortal Gu would be an eventuality with this immortal gu by his side.
"Hahahaha!"
A bellyful of laughter left Lo Jik as he felt free and refreshed.
Rank 6! He was finally a human path gu immortal!
And…
Rank 6 Undefeated Myriad Battles Immortal Gu Worm!
***
Alternate Title: Heaven's Will needed a smoke after all that; Lo Jik filling his house with sweet, submissive heaven's will; Linking his milky human qi with heaven and earth qi; Heavenly will after feeling Lo Jik's human qi: B-Baka! *Proceeds to cause a resonance and fuck up one of the immortal gu refinement*; Lo Jik with grandmaster attainment in all path: Throughout heaven and earth, I'm the smutty one! *Big Daddy Soul watching on as a great grandmaster in all paths*; Dream path quasi-grandmaster; Still a fair bit below a venerable talent; Large blessed land; Human path gu immortal; Making the best of natural inspiration; Refining four immortal gu worms; Hitting the ceiling; A whole new world; A whole small world; A blessed land fit for human settlement
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