Capítulo 69: Chapter 69 Practicing With Live Targets
I'm back!
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The encounter with the demonic Gu Masters certainly changed the tone of the whole group after they left Wind Blade Mountain. While usually only Xuanyuan, Long Xi or Yu Zhong Er cultivated every single day, primarily due to their 90% A Grade talents. The others all tried to cultivate to the best of their abilities, while still reserving at least a third of their primeval essence in case of emergencies.
Their primeval essence regenerations were slower in comparison to these three, considering that the size of their primeval essence seas were less than 90%.
While Xuanyuan, Long Xi or Yu Zhong Er could use up more than 80% of their primeval essence during a round of cultivation, after a good nights sleep they would find it completely restored, regenerating more than 9% an hour.
Xuanyuan agreed to let Jia Yufei use his Four Flavors Liquor Worm until she hit the Peak Rank 2 Gu Master Stage, but exchange for a hundred primeval essence stones a week. She was extraordinarily dedicated to her cultivation after nearly being violated by demonic Gu Masters, and feeling Xuanyuan's worry and trust in her, she didn't want to let him down.
Xuanyuan approached Yu Xiaolong, Li Xiao Er and Lu Guo about borrowing the Four Flavors Liquor Worm and each of them agreed to the price he set, although had to wait until Jia Yufei reached the Peak of Rank 2 in order to use it.
Xuanyuan wasn't too worried. Jia Yufei should take around four to five months to push her cultivation from the Middle Rank 2 Stage to the Peak Rank 2 Stage, so by the end stretch of the expedition, one of the others should be able to use it.
They had all left Wind Blade Mountain with dozens of Gu in their primeval essence seas, and the blood of demonic Gu Masters on their hands. Even if they wanted to remain the same unaffected and immature children that they were before, it was impossible knowing that encounters like this could only occur again in the future.
"Aha! Almost got you!".
Xuanyuan dodged another jab from Yu Xiaolong's spear, frowning as he saw the tip charged with lightning, capable of punching a hole through a tree the thickness of a fully grown horse. His new Spear Gu was Rank 2, but his Vital Gu, the Lightning Piercing Gu was still Rank 1.
Only by combining it with the Rank 1 Gathering Static Gu, and the Rank 2 Blue Thunder Bones Gu and the Rank 2 Sparking Muscles Gu could it release such a strength.
Xuanyuan swung his scorpion tails, turning them solid and watching as Yu Xiaolong raised his spear with both arms attempting to block it. The sheer force behind the blows was immense, but the Lightning Path Gu Master grinned withstanding the weight behind it.
"Xuanyuan! You're Solid Shadow Gu is quite impressive! But don't forget, you aren't the only one with body enhancement type Gu!".
Despite the pain, only a day after they left Wind Blade Mountain did Yu Xiaolong finish transforming his muscles and bones into Sparking Muscles and Blue Thunder Bones. The pain associated with such Gu was enough to drive an ordinary mortal mad, but under Xuanyuan's influence, Yu Xiaolong endured and completed the transformation.
The corners of Xuanyuan's mouth curled up as he shook his head.
"You forget Xiaolong. My Shadow Stinger Gu... isn't Rank 1 anymore".
The younger man's eyes widened and he turned to his left only to feel an immense weight strike his ribs and abdomen. The Rank 2 Dual Shadow Stinger came with a high primeval essence cost, but it came with the benefit of two additional limbs.
Yu Xiaolong could only defend with his arms, and if he wielded a spear, could at best counter one of his shadow stingers. The Rank 2 Gu afforded Xuanyuan immense flexibility in his fighting style, allowing him to send waves of blade shadows or shadow blades towards his enemy while using the extra appendages to block or defend against enemy attacks.
Or, in close range, catch them off guard and deliver a fatal strike.
Seeing Yu Xiaolong clutch at his ribs, Yu Zhong Er called the match, and Lu Guo rushed to Yu Xiaolong's side, feeding him some ginseng root. Within a matter of moments, the pain in his ribs vanished, and only appeared when he tried to stretch the area.
Peering at Xuanyuan, Yu Xiaolong couldn't help but scratch his head.
"Those scorpion stingers of yours... the Rank 1 refinement only had a single tail. While the Rank 2 refinement possesses two tails. Would I be correct in saying that the Rank 3 refinement will have 3 scorpion tails?".
Xuanyuan nodded.
"The primeval essence expenditure is quite high for a Rank 2 Gu, so it isn't without its weaknesses. When we reach Dream Garden City, I will need to purchase a Shadow Source Gu, or a Shadow Essence Gu if possible. Considering how... undeveloped the Shadow Path is, I doubt that I would be able to find something like a Shadow Eyebrows Gu, or a Shadow Hair Gu, capable of strengthening my Gu further".
If the Sword Path could have something as interesting as the Sword Eyebrows Gu. And the Fire Path something like the Fire Heart Gu, then it should be possible for other Paths to possess similar Gu.
Xuanyuan wanted to practice his side refinement, and deducing mortal Gu recipes wasn't that difficult with his current attainment.
Xuanyuan had purchased all of the materials to refine the Twin Shadow Gu, and only needed the last two ingredients in order to start refining it. He personally wanted to obtain the ingredients somewhere between Wind Blade Mountain and Dream Garden City, and knew that after that, he wouldn't be able to do such a thing until they returned back to Earth Soul City.
After encountering demonic Gu Masters, the others were keen on staying together while travelling as much as possible. Even Xuanyuan, was hounded by Yu Zhong Er and Jia Yufei not letting him wander off for too long without getting someone to check on him.
It was... troublesome to say the least.
'I need just two more wombs until I can refine the Womb Gu. I have already refined the Carving Shadow Gu and used it on the shadows of trees and wild beasts. The effects... well, let's just say that I am definitely not looking forward to that part...'.
Xuanyuan wasn't too careful with his first attempt and directly cut a tree in half, carving lines too deep within its shadow. After gaining enough proficiency with unresponsive targets, Xuanyuan attempted to use it on a wild rabbit and wild boars, and that... didn't go so well either.
Their screams were loud. Loud enough to attract the attention of his fellow disciples. Xuanyuan had to consider refining a Soundless Gu in order to prevent them from screaming too loudly. His first few tries also ended up killing the beasts, carving too many chunks off their shadow.
After a few more tries, Xuanyuan succeeded, carving the shadow of a wild boar into that of two poorly drawn humans. After using Spring Ginseng, and some of Yu Zhong Er's Light Path healing Gu, he restored the wild boar to full health, but then noticed a problem.
The shadows attempted to kill each other, tearing more and more chunks off the other until the boar itself exploded, almost covering Xuanyuan in blood and guts. Narrowing his eyes he repeated the process several times before understanding the underlying cause behind the explosion.
'There is still technically one shadow, so it is somehow killing itself through its own shadow. Man is the spirit of all living beings, while shadows are the reflection of all living beings. While it is in the shape of a man, the shadow is still inherently that of a boar. It did not recognize itself, and as such, killed itself thinking that it was a human shadow...'.
Xuanyuan's understanding of the nature of shadows increased with his numerous experiments.
After shaping the next boar's shadow into that of another boar, this time, one with large tusks, a spiky, thick hide and legs the thickness of a tree trunk, he could see that the shadow did not try to kill itself.
It didn't particularly change too much, so Xuanyuan used one of his spare Green Shadow Gu, a one time use consumable Gu to transform the shadow of the wild boar.
Green Shadow Gu introduced the concept of "wood" to a shadow, giving it a slight green tint, and introducing mortal Wood Path Dao Marks into the target. Almost immediately, Xuanyuan could see a transformation being provoked in the wild boar!
The wild boar fell to the ground spasming, frothing at the mouth. It's shadow fizzled and glitched, almost like an old television from Xuanyuan's previous life, before a series of physical changes affected the boar.
It grew tusks, faintly green with moss growing at the end of them. The hairs on its back became thicker, almost bark-like in texture. It's legs, originally thin yet sturdy, became significantly more thick, with faint traces of moss growing out from its hooves.
Xuanyuan blinked.
'What the hell?', he thought.
The wild boar was originally about five feet long and only about three feet high. But after this transformation, it was over seven feet long and more than five feet tall! The color of its shadow had remained faintly green, and a distinct leafy scent emanated from its body.
He watched as the once mortal beast stood back up shaking its body multiple times before looking around, checking for any danger. It couldn't see anyone or anything around it so it started to walk off, looking for food to eat.
It couldn't even take a few steps, before its shadow exploded, its physical body similarly self combusting.
Xuanyuan didn't hesitate before approaching the corpse of the boar, seeing flesh and bone scattered about the forest. Looking down at its tusks, he could feel traces of his Green Shadow Gu on them, but they quickly faded, returning back to wherever they came from.
"... I somehow mutated a wild boar into some sort of beast. Carving the shadow into something new, and then introducing foreign Dao Marks into them will result in a physical change. However... the transformation is unstable, uncontrollable. It grants them strength for a few breaths, but ultimately, it would explode presumably due to the instability behind the transformation...".
Xuanyuan thought about it for a moment, raising an eyebrow as he thought about the hundreds, if not thousands of different boar species that existed, or had once existed in the Gu World.
From ordinary boar beasts, to Hundred Beast Kings, to Thousand Beast Kings, to Myriad Beast Kings, to Beast Emperors, to Desolate Beasts, to Ancient Desolate Beasts, all the way to Immemorial Desolate Beasts.
Throughout the three hundred thousand year history of the Ancient Soul Sect, there were literally thousands of different types of boar beasts. All of them with a variation of numerous different Dao Marks.
"... I wonder if Gu Masters, or even Gu Immortals of the past have created beasts by infusing them with foreign Dao Marks? Even if it fails 99% of the time, if even a single one is a success, one can corner the market with their new creations... Although, I suppose only if it is something useful or strong could one make a profit using them...".
Xuanyuan ignored the thoughts of forcefully mutating beasts using their shadows for the time being. He needed to practice Carving Shadow Gu so that he didn't end up killing himself while shaping his shadow during the Gu refinement.
He potentially considered asking Long Xi to watch him during the refinement, but refrained, instead preparing other countermeasures for such a thing.
'I'll need to refine a Blood Bag Leech to store some blood so I don't die of blood loss after the refinement is complete. A Soundless Gu to prevent sound from leaking out alerting the others. A Numbing Thorn Gu would be preferable as well, so I can concentrate for longer before the pain hits me. Not to mention, the Spring Ginseng to restore my vitality, and Zhong Er's Gentle Light Gu to heal any open wounds once the refinement has been completed...'.
Smiling, he thought that today was a great success.
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