Chapter 396: Chapter 184: Raising Gu
He Yuzhou turned, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Yes. This matter concerns the future of our Sect, so we can’t be hasty. We’ll prepare in secret for now and make a decision after the Upper Sect’s detailed regulations have been clarified."
"Yes," Sang Yanping replied with a bow.
.....
Chen Qing arrived at the rear courtyard of the Cyan Wood Institute.
The courtyard was as quiet and still as ever. The only sound was the GURGLE of tea brewing in a small clay stove on the stone table. A crisp, clear fragrance of tea, mixed with the faint, clean scent of snowmelt, permeated the air.
Li Baichuan was sitting on a stone stool, his eyes fixed on the rustic earthenware pot over the stove fire as white steam curled gracefully from its spout.
"Master Li."
Chen Qing took a few steps forward and cupped his fists respectfully.
Li Baichuan didn’t even raise his eyelids, merely giving a slight nod.
He extended a gaunt hand, lifted the earthenware pot, and poured the boiling water into two white porcelain cups.
In an instant, the fragrance of the tea grew stronger.
"Your timing is perfect."
Only then did Li Baichuan look up, his gaze sweeping over Chen Qing. "My tea is just ready. I used snow gathered from plum blossoms during the last month of winter."
As he spoke, he pushed one of the cups across the stone table.
"Thank you, Master Li."
Chen Qing didn’t immediately reach for the steaming cup of tea. Instead, he first took a wooden box from within his robes.
He opened the wooden box, revealing the strangely shaped Silver Pattern Blood Ginseng inside, its surface covered in a dense network of silvery lines.
"Thank you for your help in resolving my recent troubles, Master Li. I came upon this by chance in the Ten Thousand Poison Swamp. I hope it may be of some small use to you. Please accept it as a token of my gratitude."
This was a Silver Pattern Blood Ginseng, nearly twenty years old!
’Chen Qing understood that the more he offered now, the greater his reward would be in the future.’
Li Baichuan’s gaze fell upon the Silver Pattern Blood Ginseng, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes. ’This kid,’ he thought, ’is really starting to learn how things work.’
They shared a tacit understanding regarding the Golden Sand Castle incident and neither of them brought it up.
Seeing that he had accepted the gift, Chen Qing finally picked up his cup of tea.
The tea was clear and bright with a bracing aroma. He took a slow sip, and a pure coolness, carried by the tea’s fragrance, suffused his Dantian.
"Excellent tea," Chen Qing praised sincerely.
Li Baichuan sipped his own tea, giving Chen Qing a deep look. "So, your breakthrough to the Astral Force realm was smooth sailing?"
’He saw it!’
"I was fortunate enough to break through."
Chen Qing set down his teacup and changed the subject. "Master Li, an envoy from the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect arrived today with great ceremony. I only heard about it when I came out of seclusion."
"Oh?"
Li Baichuan’s tone was flat. "I didn’t know. Now I do."
Chen Qing looked at him and continued to speak bluntly, "Master Li, is the envoy here for the matter rumored a while back? About the Upper Sect wanting to gather the geniuses of the Hundred Sects for training at Xu Wang Mountain?"
"As I expected, that’s most likely it."
Li Baichuan’s tone remained perfectly level.
Chen Qing’s brow furrowed as he voiced his doubt. "Is it really to concentrate resources, cultivate geniuses, and strengthen their forces to fight the Demon Sect?"
’He couldn’t shake the feeling that a behemoth like that would never act with such simple, pure intentions.’
’Old Deng Li Baichuan must know more details.’
"How deep do the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect’s coffers run? They control the resources of the Three Paths. Their divine techniques, Secret Manuals, and foundational True Scriptures... which of those wouldn’t make people green with envy? How could the methods of such a behemoth be simple?"
Li Baichuan scoffed, setting down his teacup to look at Chen Qing. "You’re a cautious one, aren’t you, kid?"
"Fight the Demon Sect? The outcome of a war is always decided by the fighters at the very top and the great flood of those in the middle. Cultivating a batch of greenhorns like you consumes massive resources, and it’s a long-term solution for a short-term problem. While that may be part of their calculation, it’s far from the whole story."
He changed the subject abruptly. "Have you ever heard of a sect outside the Eight Paths of the Southwest called the Gu Sect?"
A thought struck Chen Qing, and he asked tentatively, "Master Li, are you saying... the Upper Sect’s real plan is to raise Gu? To put the geniuses from the Hundred Sects in an environment like Xu Wang Mountain and have them compete against each other, forging the strongest among them into elite disciples?"
"Raise Gu?"
Li Baichuan gave a sardonic smile. "You think far too highly of you so-called ’geniuses of the Hundred Sects.’ In the eyes of the truly supreme Celestial Treasure Upper Sect, none of you even qualify to be the ’Gu.’"
He paused, his voice flat yet chilling. "At best, you’re just feed for the ’Gu.’"
"The real ’Gu’ are the arrogant Core Disciples groomed from childhood within the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect, the scions of thousand-year-old Noble Families. They are the ones who need to be motivated, spurred on, and forced to break through via competition."
Chen Qing was stunned. He understood completely.
’So the so-called selection and training was just a way for the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect to procure feed for their Gu.’
’Geniuses like him from the other Sects were merely whetstones for sharpening the true "favored children of heaven."’
’The sheer audacity of the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect!’
’The geniuses of the Hundred Sects are only fit to be feed for the Gu?!’
Chen Qing’s expression remained impassive, but a cold sneer formed in his mind.
’A whetstone today might just shatter that arrogant blade tomorrow!’
Li Baichuan said lightly, "It’s still early. The actual logistics won’t be that simple."
Chen Qing cupped his fists. "I understand now. Thank you for clearing my confusion, Master Li."
The two made small talk for a little longer before Li Baichuan waved a hand, saying he was tired. Chen Qing respectfully cupped his fists and departed.
The stir caused by the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect’s envoy was like a pebble tossed into a lake; though it created ripples, they soon subsided.
The Sect Leader and the Elders knew full well that the Xu Wang Mountain plan had far-reaching implications and would not be settled overnight. The specific selection methods would require lengthy negotiations and political maneuvering.
After several days of heated discussion among the disciples, no further news emerged, and their attention gradually drifted elsewhere.
