Chapter 56: Primal Gu Refinement
After returning to the Seeking Treasure Pavilion, Song Changsheng resumed his usual routine. During this period, he honored his promise and treated Zhu Yiqun to a meal at the Yushi Restaurant. Other than that, he remained in the artifact refining room, diligently improving his refining skills.
Due to the lack of sufficient second rank materials for practice, his artifact refining progress was slow, still a small distance away from reaching low-grade second rank.
One day, Song Changsheng had just finished a batch of orders. As he went downstairs to get some fresh air, he suddenly felt something and looked towards the street.
His gaze pierced through the surging crowd and landed on a person wearing a silver mask. Song Changsheng's pupils abruptly constricted.
“Feng Wuming?”
He was startled, and when he looked back, the spot was empty once more.
“He truly came, but why did he deliberately appear before me? Is this a warning, or…?” Song Changsheng felt a trace of doubt in his heart.
“Such a fellow is truly dangerous. It seems I must find a way to eliminate him.”
He had originally intended to retreat to his family clan and deal with this karma after his strength grew, but he hadn't expected the other party to seek him out so quickly. In that case, he couldn't be blamed for calling for backup.
After returning to his room, Song Changsheng retrieved the messenger flying sword Song Luoyao had left for him. He forced out a drop of vital blood to awaken the flying sword, then whispered a few words. The flying sword instantly transformed into a streak of light and flew towards Cangmang Peak...
It would take time for people to arrive. For his own safety, he decided to remain in his room and cultivate.
As night fell, Song Changsheng went to the window, faced the silver moon, and began to absorb the essence of moonlight.
After half an hour of cultivation, he inexplicably felt a surge of heat. At first, he paid it no mind, but it intensified, feeling as if a ball of fire was burning in his Dantian.
He thought he had made a mistake in his cultivation and quickly chanted his heart calming mantra in his mind. However, no matter how many times he chanted it, there was no improvement.
The intense pain almost made him cry out.
The silver mask he had seen during the day inexplicably flashed in his mind, and he immediately realized that he might have been afflicted by a Gu.
“The methods of a Gu Master are truly impossible to guard against. In just one glance, I fell into his trap, but don't get too arrogant. I'm not a soft persimmon either!”
Song Changsheng struggled to sit in a meditative posture, forming hand seals, and began to circulate the Yin-Yang Mystical Essence Sutra. The Primal Energy accumulated in his Dantian over many years was immediately mobilized.
This Primal Energy was formed by the daily absorption of the essence of the sun and moon. It possessed many wondrous uses. Over a decade, he had only managed to accumulate a mere one and a half wisps, making it exceptionally precious. He had always been reluctant to use it.
However, in his current situation, he could no longer hold back.
All of the Primal Energy was mobilized to suppress the restless Dantian Qi Sea.
At the same time, his spiritual sense rapidly coursed through his body, finally discovering a worm resembling a living maggot in an inconspicuous corner of his Dantian.
Its entire body was blood-red, with one part deeply rooted in Song Changsheng's Dantian, and the other part spraying an unknown gas outwards.
It was this gas that caused Song Changsheng agonizing pain.
“As expected, it’s a Gu worm! How dare it root itself in my Dantian? See if I don't refine you today!”
Song Changsheng’s face was twisted in pain. He swiftly circulated his cultivation technique, and the Primal Energy in his Dantian immediately began to differentiate, transforming back into pure Sun Essence and Moon Radiance.
The Yin-attributed Moon Radiance was transformed into a protective film by him, safeguarding his fragile meridians and acupoints.
The Yang-attributed Sun Essence, on the other hand, transformed into raging flames in his Dantian. For a time, Song Changsheng’s Dantian became a massive furnace, beginning to refine everything within it.
This was an extremely painful process, like being burned by fire, but Song Changsheng gritted his teeth and persevered.
Gu worms were fragile; they simply could not survive in such an environment. Before dying, the Gu worm attempted to bore through Song Changsheng's Dantian Qi Sea, but the Sun Essence was ultimately Yang and unyielding, incredibly domineering, instantly refining it away.
This method of breaking Gu was simple and crude. It would have been impossible for anyone else to achieve.
Who would dare to introduce Sun Essence into their own Dantian? Wouldn't that be courting death? By then, even if the Gu worm died, they too would turn to ash.
It was only because Song Changsheng cultivated a special cultivation technique and had the Moon Radiance to protect himself that he was able to remain unharmed.
“Huu…”
Song Changsheng exhaled a long breath, then collapsed onto the floor like a puddle of mud. In that instant, almost all the spiritual energy in his body had been refined away. He was now weaker than ever before…
And at the very instant the Gu worm died, a scream suddenly echoed from an inn not far from the Seeking Treasure Pavilion.
Feng Wuming clutched his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief, as he said with a mix of shock and anger, “My Fire Poison Gu actually died! How could he possibly kill my Fire Poison Gu?”
The Fire Poison Gu was one of the five natal Gu worms he had cultivated. Although it was only first rank, it could trouble many Foundation Establishment cultivators. He had originally intended to use it to control Song Changsheng, but now it had been forcibly refined to death by Song Changsheng.
This was not merely the loss of a Gu worm; it also caused him severe backlash.
Feng Wuming couldn't understand why Song Changsheng could kill his Fire Poison Gu so quickly. This was simply not something a Qi Refinement cultivator could accomplish!
“Cough cough I must quickly heal my injuries.” Feng Wuming quickly took out a medicinal pill and consumed it, beginning to heal.
While he was healing, Song Luoyao and the others, who had received Song Changsheng's message, also arrived at the Drifting Cloud Market.
Given the danger of a Gu Master, this time, in addition to Song Luoyao, Grand Elder Song Xianyun personally descended the mountain with treasures, aiming to resolve this hidden danger directly.
Upon their arrival, they contacted the few cultivators stationed in the market to coordinate their actions.
Wang Wanzhou and the Li clan were already allies of the Song clan. Upon receiving the news, they immediately agreed to cooperate.
Du Huating had previously clashed with Song Changsheng and Song Luoyao, and initially had no intention of cooperating. However, upon hearing that a Gu Master had appeared in the market, he immediately became agitated and promptly agreed to cooperate.
The renown or rather the infamy of Gu Masters had spread throughout the entire human cultivation world. Facing Gu Masters who dared to openly show themselves, everyone would rise up and attack them en masse.
The five Foundation Establishment masters jointly laid out a vast net, beginning a thorough search of the market.
Feng Wuming had controlled several puppets, such as inn servants, with his Gu worms in the market. He received news as soon as the search began.
Although the other party was aggressive and his injuries had not yet healed, Feng Wuming was not flustered. This was not the first time he had received such treatment and he was confident he could break through the blockade.
He awakened the remaining natal Gu worms one by one, then quietly waited for an opportunity.
At this moment, Song Xianyun had also searched to the vicinity of the inn. His spiritual sense spread out, searching for all suspicious auras.
Suddenly, the roof of the inn exploded. Feng Wuming shot out, flicking his sleeve, and a Gu worm silently struck towards Song Xianyun's heart…
(Chapter End)