Returning to his room, Gu Wen sat cross-legged in meditation and counted the small treasury of Ao Tang, which contained a total of thirty-one various types of high-grade Dan medicines.
Originally, there were also some inferior Dan medicines included, but Ao Tang generally looked down upon the inferior products, so he sold them all.
Grabbing a handful of Dan medicines, he stuffed them directly into his mouth.
The Tian Sui poured down like rain, and the medicinal properties surged through his meridians like a flood.
Fortunately, Gu Wen was no longer the same as before when he was at the second layer of Dao Foundation; he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by Dan medicines containing decades of Tian Sui.
However, unlike directly consuming spiritual herbs, the medicinal power provided by these high-grade Dan medicines was slowly pushing his Dao Foundation realm forward.
‘No wonder they need to refine Dan medicines.’
With just a thought, the overwhelming medicinal power surged towards the Zhuque, one of the Five Spirit Manifestations.
The Zhuque spirit manifestation began to draw closer to the semi-formed Yuanshen, while the already positioned Huanglong was also pulling at the Zhuque.
One percent, two percent, three percent.
At the same time, the Tian Sui required for the Zhuque to merge into the Yuanshen was continuously decreasing.
‘Others can accelerate their cultivation through consuming Dan medicines; there’s no reason I can’t.
As my Dao Foundation realm advances, it will, in turn, affect the Tian Sui, reducing the amount needed for a particular spirit manifestation.’
At this thought, Gu Wen felt a sudden clarity, wishing he could bury his head in a bag.
Dao Master, I eat, eat, eat!
Soon, all the high-grade Dan medicines were consumed.
The medicinal power within Gu Wen’s body rampaged, and the speed at which the Zhuque spirit manifestation advanced increased again, rising from less than ten percent to twenty percent.
But it hurt!
The medicinal power stretched his meridians; although it wasn’t dangerous, pain was inevitable.
“Hiss!”
Gu Wen’s skin began to turn red, and then he suddenly felt a coolness on his forehead, a familiar force soothing the restless medicinal power.
“You, how could you eat them all at once?”
Yu Hua’s helpless voice entered his ears.
She looked at Gu Wen, whose face was flushed as he desperately refined the medicinal power, and her smile became increasingly gentle.
Although he was only at the third layer of Dao Foundation, he was still trying hard to help, stubborn as ever.
“I’ll help you clear your meridians; in the future, don’t be so eager when consuming Dan medicines.”
Gu Wen was unable to respond due to his meditation, but with Yu Hua’s assistance, his speed in refining the medicinal power increased significantly.
A night passed in silence.
When Gu Wen opened his eyes again, it was already dawn, and Yu Hua was nowhere to be seen in the room.
Outside, the sounds of the morning market filled the air.
The Zhuque spirit manifestation had merged into the Yuanshen by eighty percent, and the Tian Sui required for merging into the divine soul was ten years.
Looking inward at the Tian Sui in his life grid, it was more abundant than ever before.
[Tian Sui: Seventy-Two Years]
Without hesitation, Gu Wen poured it into the fourth layer of Dao Foundation!
The fifth layer of the Yuqing Sword Technique required forty years of Tian Sui, which would greatly enhance his Heart Sword.
However, he already had the Zhao Lie Spear as an offensive means, so the increase in his combat power wouldn’t be significant.
At least, it wouldn’t be a qualitative leap; it would only diversify his methods.
But the fourth layer of Dao Foundation only required fifty years of Tian Sui, and his strength would rise another level.
With a complete third layer of Dao Foundation, he would possess the strength of the seventh layer, capable of contending with a True Monarch who hadn’t even reached the first layer’s completion.
Gu Wen believed that geniuses were always a minority, and those who could refine to perfection were even rarer.
The Tian Sui burned like fire, consuming fifty years of Tian Sui, and the fourth layer of Dao Foundation was instantly achieved.
With each breath, it felt as if everything was falling into place.
Gu Wen’s aura underwent subtle changes, and his gaze held a few different glimmers.
His divine soul grew stronger, and the Yuanshen was about to form.
The advancement to the fourth layer of Dao Foundation was through the divine soul, but due to the constraints of destiny, it could only be confined within the physical body.
Thus, Gu Wen became even more concerned about the complete Yuqing Dao Foundation’s mixed primordial true spirit Yuanshen, which described that it could travel during the day without fear of the sun and at night without belonging to the yin, almost like a living person.
Could it leave the body in the land of immortality? Was the golden phantom resembling a split body that the Dao Monarch Emperor had before also a manifestation of the divine soul leaving the body?
Gu Wen reined in his thoughts, closed his eyes to stabilize his realm, and utilized the remaining medicinal power to merge the Zhuque spirit manifestation into the Yuanshen without consuming any Tian Sui.
After his cultivation improved, the speed of refining the complete method also accelerated, like a snowball effect.
Perhaps it wasn’t that things became more difficult as time went on, but rather that the stronger one became, the more resources one could obtain.
For instance, Gu Wen now had the capital to eye the thousand-jin spiritual objects of the five great families of Luoshui.
If those three True Monarchs were all worthless, then this was the Dao Master’s Luoshui.
It wasn’t until noon the next day that he emerged from his meditation.
Looking inward again, his cultivation was at the fourth layer of Dao Foundation, third layer complete, with the Huanglong and Zhuque spirit manifestations merged into the Yuanshen, while the remaining three spirit manifestations had yet to return.
Moreover, due to the fourth layer of Dao Foundation, only one hundred years of Tian Sui was needed for the complete fourth layer.
At the same time, Gu Wen discovered that if he wanted to directly advance to the fifth layer of Dao Foundation, it would only require one hundred years of Tian Sui.
However, according to the records of the complete method, completing the Dao Foundation was the most difficult.
It was like laying a foundation; reinforcing and perfecting a layer after it was well laid was simple, but once the second layer was built, reinforcing it became difficult.
[Tian Sui: Twenty-Seven Years]
Knock, knock, knock!
The door was knocked on, and the voice of the inn attendant came through.
“Sir, someone is looking for you downstairs. They’ve been waiting for you for a day and a night.”
——
Gu Wen walked down from the inn and saw a man and a woman.
The man had delicate features, dressed in standard white robes, with his hair tied up high with a jade crown, embodying the typical style of a refined young master among cultivators.
Gu Wen felt he was even less impressive than Xiao Yunyi; at least the latter had some character, while this one was as cold as a sword, easily identifiable as a wooden person.
There were many cultivators who were handsome, and even more who dressed like a gentle jade young master.
Even Gu Wen, who never maintained his appearance, was seeing his looks rise; although he couldn’t be called a handsome figure, he at least had a decent face.
The man stood up and cupped his hands, saying, “I am He Qing, ranked ninth on the Human Ranking.”
“Gu Wen,” Gu Wen replied with a cupped fist, then turned to look at the other person.
The woman was not as good as Yu Hua.
Gu Wen directly bypassed her, glancing only briefly; she might be good-looking, but she was merely a red-skinned skeleton.
Lu Chan’s smile froze on her face.
“Dao brother, long time no see.”
“You are?”
“Lu Chan.”
“Lu Chan’s sister?”
Gu Wen picked up on her words, sizing her up at about one meter fifty in height, unable to connect her to the enchanting figure in his memory.
This looked like a little brat; could it be that an old monster had experienced a surge in cultivation and returned to a youthful state?
Her voice seemed fine.
He showed a look of realization and said, “So it’s Dao friend Lu; have you recently experienced a surge in cultivation and returned to a youthful state?”
Lu Chan’s veins bulged; she suppressed her anger, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, and said, “I came today to discuss a matter with Dao brother. I wonder if you’ve heard of the thousand-jin spiritual herbs from Luoshui?”
“I’ve heard a little,” Gu Wen nodded.
“I wonder if you’re interested? Among the five great families of Luoshui, the Wang family is supported by my Qianfeng Sect, and now that they’ve grown wings, they’re a bit unruly.”
Lu Chan’s voice was slightly cold, and her beautiful eyes held a hint of killing intent.
Meanwhile, He Qing said, “I’m here for the same matter; the Rong family is also supported by my sect and has similarly become unruly.”
Gu Wen’s expression turned contemplative as he asked, “Does your great sect have no means of suppression?”
Isn’t this just a local rebellion against the court?
“The sects have different factions; our backing is different from theirs. Originally, we could coexist peacefully. But this time, regarding the thousand-jin spiritual herbs, they don’t intend to give us a single share. So we plan to join forces, having heard that Dao brother is evenly matched with Xiao Yunyi, we came to invite you to share the thousand-jin spiritual herbs.”
He Qing explained, revealing their purpose.
Gu Wen immediately understood; the reasoning was simply about profit.
“Then you plan to unite with me, an outsider? Will your sect agree?”
“If the sect agrees, a True Monarch will come down to solve it for us,” Lu Chan said with a cold smile. “It’s precisely because they don’t agree that we’re taking matters into our own hands.”
He Qing also expressed, “The sect agreed to give me half, but I’ve helped the Rong family several times, and it’s clearly not enough. If the sect doesn’t provide, I’ll take it myself.”
The style of demonic cultivators was unrestrained and self-indulgent, prioritizing power above all.
“Dao friend, help me out, and I’ll give you three parts of the spiritual herbs.”
Lu Chan slammed the table and coldly said, “A dog that bites cannot be left alive. Dao brother, help me wipe out the Wang family, and I’ll give you eighty percent. These old fools dare to use a bunch of worthless chickens and dogs to suppress me, attempting to cut off my cultivation. Today, I’ll kill the dogs, and in the future, I’ll kill them all.”
Hiss.
Gu Wen felt a surge of respect, instantly finding the two much more agreeable.
Is this the style of demonic cultivators? The Dao Master likes it!
Gu Wen sat down, took a sip of tea, and under their puzzled gazes, he smiled calmly and said, “Why not just kill all five great families of Luoshui, leaving no one behind?”
He might not be able to do it alone, but uniting with two demonic prodigies and calling on He Huan and Murong might just make it possible.
Upstairs.
Sensing the events unfolding below, Ao Tang tugged at the corner of his mouth and looked up at Yu Hua, asking, “Is this really okay?”
Yu Hua questioned back, “In the land of immortality, opportunities are contested; the strong take all. What’s the problem?”
Ao Tang looked speechless, saying, “No, this kid acts even more demonic than the demonic cultivators.”
(End of Chapter)