章 2: Chapter 2 Wisp
"Xuanyuan... When we get to the Ancient Soul Sect, I'll take you straight to see Elder Luo. He is one of the Elders in charge of the Outer Soul Hall, specifically, the Earth Soul Hall. He will be the one to induct you into the Sect, and teach you how to cultivate and nurture Gu".
Xuanyuan nodded at Tang San's words.
"I understand Senior Brother Tang".
After leaving Green Grass Village, Tang San had immediately taken Xuanyuan under his wing. Of the four dozen or so youths in Green Grass Village, only two others had B Grade Talents.
One was the girl whom went directly before Xuanyuan, Chu Yueli.
And the other was a short, round, looking young man by the name of Lu Guo.
These two were also recruited by Senior Brother Tang, and both decided to accompany him to the Ancient Soul Sect, despite Senior Brother Tang completely ignoring them for the vast majority of the trip.
While both of them grew up in a Village away from any Sects, neither was stupid enough to choose a subsidiary Sect over one of the Ten Great Sects of the Central Continent. The Ancient Soul Sect, one of the oldest Sects in the Central Continent, was also one of the most secretive amongst the Ten Great Sects.
Despite the fact that there are Sects whose renown and strength echoed throughout the land, none of them compared to any of the Ten Great Sects.
Neither one wanted to ruin their future, just because they had a disagreement with a Gu Master their own age. They didn't completely understand what the difference between a B Grade Talent and an A Grade Talent was, but surely with enough hard work, they could try and bridge the distance between the two.
Xuanyuan glanced at Lu Guo and Chu Yueli, not even so much as blinking before moving his gaze out towards the horizon.
'Its been more than a decade since I was reborn in the Gu World. After awakening here I have been forced to live like a beggar, without the assistance or the presence of parents or family. I was honestly planning on killing myself if I didn't awaken a Gu Master Talent, but to think I would awaken a Talent envied by all Gu Masters...'.
Xuanyuan smiled wryly, shaking his head before moving his gaze back towards Tang San.
"Senior Brother Tang, could I trouble you with a question?", he asked.
The older Gu Master lifted his head slightly and nodded, not breaking his meditation.
"Who was the last Immortal Venerable? I've heard stories about Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable and Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, but who are the others after them?".
Lu Guo and Chu Yueli, after hearing the question about legendary Gu Immortals both perked up, lifting their heads and quietly gazed towards Senior Brother Tang.
The Rank 3 Gu Master merely nodded, before quietly replying.
"The death of Giant Sun Immortal Venerable signaled the end of the Medieval Antiquity Era. Following him was Spectral Soul Demonic Venerable and Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable. These two were born during the Late Antiquity Era, but the death of the latter signalled the beginning of our Era, the Current Era. Some refer to it as the Modern Era, but, it is usually the Ten Great Sects that name the Era".
Xuanyuan nodded.
"The Current Era... I see. Thank you Senior Brother Tang".
The older man merely nodded before resuming his meditation. He had let his emotions get the better of him in Green Grass Village, and needed to calm himself and suppress his emotions so that they didn't distract him during his future cultivation sessions.
Xuanyuan gazed back out towards the landscape, watching as the Rank 3 Sand Worm Gu he sat upon travelled at a surprisingly quick pace. The Ancient Soul Sect was located in the far west of the Central Continent, and guarded the heavenly qi wall between the Central Continent and the Western Desert.
If Xuanyuan was being completely honest, his knowledge on the Western Desert and the Central Continent was the worst of the five regions. As an otherworldly demon, his knowledge on the Gu World exceeded that of any regular mortal, and even other otherworldly demons.
'I am born in the same Era as Fang Yuan. I should just automatically assume that he has already used the Spring Autumn Cicada and reincarnated into this World. That is the greatest trump card I could possibly have over him. However, the possibility of my existence as an otherworldly demon might also be exposed. If that is the case, then I might be killed before I can even blink'.
'Otherworldly demons were a concept lightly touched upon before the novel was placed on hiatus. They carried within them Dao Marks completely untouched by Fate Gu, thus allowing them to take Fate into their own hands. Dao Marks are, from what I understand are a measure of affinity and recognition with the Great Dao'.
'Having otherworldly Dao Marks means that there is the possibility for a new path to be born. However, as it stands, Fate Gu would not allow Chaos, or any foreign Paths to take root in the Gu World, potentially because it cannot control them. I guess that begs the question then... what type of Path should I walk?'.
Xuanyuan let out a small sigh, his gaze clear and expression calm.
"Someone like Fang Yuan, having a Supreme Grandmaster attainment in the Refinement Path, and at least the Great Grandmaster attainment in more than half a dozen different Paths, can probably recreate, with enough time and effort any mortal Rank Gu and even most Rank 6 Immortal Gu of those corresponding paths. Having one of these Paths, would be counterintuitive in the long run...".
That wasn't even taking into account other Gu Immortals who walked those Paths either.
Fang Yuan definitely wasn't Xuanyuan's enemy at the moment, but in this moment, and every moment in the future, Fang Yuan would never be his friend.
If Xuanyuan wanted to some day become a Gu Master, and eventually become a Gu Immortal, striving to become a Rank 9 Gu Immortal, he would come to blows with Fang Yuan.
'I'll leave choosing my future Path for a later date. For the time being, understanding cultivation, and how to develop my primeval essence sea is more important that choosing a Path'.
Xuanyuan turned to face Chu Yueli and Lu Guo, both of which seemed slightly wary of the former's gaze.
"Do either of you two know anyone in the Ancient Soul Sect?".
The two other fifteen year olds glanced at each other, before Chu Yueli shook her head.
"I don't. One of my cousins managed to enter the True Sound Temple, a subsidiary Sect of the Ancient Soul Sect. I had been hoping to enter that, but after finding out I had a B Grade Talent, the Ancient Soul Sect seemed like the better option".
The girl seemed more affable despite her words. Perhaps she thought that one day, it would be her cousin asking her for help instead of the other way around.
Xuanyuan moved his gaze towards Lu Guo, who just shrugged letting out a sigh.
"My older sister is a member of the Ancient Soul Sect. She was recruited about three years ago, and I haven't seen her since. My family receives some money every few months from her, and the last time she wrote, she was a Rank 2 Gu Master".
Xuanyuan nodded slightly before asking another question.
"Did she mention anything about cultivation in her letters? Or what the Ancient Soul Sect is like?".
Lu Guo frowned for a moment, rubbing the side of his temple before replying.
"Nothing about cultivation unfortunately. The Ancient Soul Sect on the other hand, apparently is built upon a grand mountain whose tip pierces the clouds. The majority of the Ancient Soul Sect is built around this mountain, and there are tunnels going through it that connect each section. Additionally, once every few years, a sandstorm will occasionally hit the mountain, originating from the Western Desert. That's about it I'm afraid".
Lu Guo seemed wary of Xuanyuan, probably as much as the rest of the Villagers were, but he didn't sense any malice or hatred coming from the other boy. Seeing how much importance Tang San placed on Xuanyuan, he felt slightly intimidated, but was relieved that the other boy wasn't as vengeful as he originally thought.
Xuanyuan tapped his chin, thinking about the information given to him.
'Interesting. The Ancient Soul Sect is also located within the Earth Abyss, a subterranean world located beneath the Central Continent. This mountain must be one of the natural entrances to the Earth Abyss and the Sect was built around it. Fang Yuan also mentioned that the Ancient Soul Sect had records that there were more than 107 layers to the Earth Abyss'.
A Sect located both underground, and devoid of sunlight. A place where Earth Path and Dark Path materials and Gu were bountiful and numerous. Additionally due to cave-ins and earthquakes, countless corpses of humans and beasts are buried within the Earth Abyss.
Blood Path, Bone Path, Emotion Path and Phantom Path materials and Gu are found here in excess as well. Xuanyuan had no doubt that there existed at least a single Gu Immortal for each one of these paths within the Earth Abyss.
'The Earth Path was revolutionized by Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable. The Blood Path was revolutionized by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, under the guise of Blood Sea Ancestor. These two Paths are completely unsuitable to be cultivated'.
Popular Paths are more likely to birth Dream Realms, which are used later by Feng Jin Huang and Fang Yuan in order to forcibly increase their attainment.
The Soul Path was similarly rejected, as Spectral Soul Demonic Venerable developed a similar technique and devoured souls in order to forcibly increase his own attainment.
Blood Path, Dream Path, Theft Path, and Soul Path were perhaps the most effective methods of increasing attainment in a short period of time. Unfortunately, three paths of the four Paths were ruled by Venerables, two of which weren't exactly dead.
The last Path, Dream Path, was completely unknown to the vast majority of the World.
'Is it possible to use another Path in order to increase attainment? Heaven Path is mostly untouchable to most while Fate Gu still exists and Wisdom Path is more about divination and subterfuge. It might be possible with Wisdom Path, but then again, Star Constellation Immortal Venerable rules over Wisdom Path...'.
'Is it possible for a regular Path like Fire Path, or Water Path, or even Sword Path to increase the attainments of other Paths? Can attainment be stored within different types of water or fire? Have past Gu Masters and Gu Immortals stored their attainment in water or fire?'.
Xuanyuan let out a small hum before shaking his head.
"I'm getting ahead of myself again. I haven't even learnt how to cultivate, and yet I'm trying to figure out how gain attainment of Paths using another Path which I haven't even picked yet".
Xuanyuan gazed out towards the horizon, watching closely as the faint glimmer of Fire Gu slowly fell over the World's edge. An enormous mountain cast an even larger shadow, delving an entire valley in shadows, devoid of any light or flame.
The faint rumble of the Rank 3 Sand Worm Gu beneath him echoed throughout the Valley, as only a faint light cast by Tang San illuminated the darkness.
The Senior Brother suddenly opened his eyes, standing up and gazing towards a certain direction.
"We're almost there. Don't fall asleep, you'll be tested the moment we arrive".
Needless to say those words were directed at Chu Yueli and Lu Guo, both of whom gazed at Xuanyuan enviously, obviously unbothered by the favoritism that their Senior Brother was showing.
The boy in question didn't even register what his Senior Brother was talking about. His gaze firmly placed on the faint black wisp, floating aimlessly in the darkness.
It wasn't until the faint flame released by Tang San's Rank 1 Lantern Gu, could Xuanyuan see this shadowy wisp.
It couldn't exist without light, yet was closer to darkness in form, colour and expression.
Xuanyuan unconsciously reached his hand out towards the wisp but...
"Xuanyuan! We're here!".
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