Chapter 263: Poor Little Xing Luo
Little Immortal Xing Luo observed her blessed land and exhaled sharply. The gloominess and dampness in her eyes worked against her once attractive charm. Her blessed land buzzed with life—filled with mortals she knew and several other subordinates who pledged their loyalties to her once she successfully advanced as a gu immortal.
Indeed, she was a newbie gu immortal. She was an ice path gu immortal with a naturally colder and less hospitable environment for a blessed land. However, her immortal aperture was not nurtured in the least.
She was not like gu immortals of other powerful forces in Central Continent and happened to be a true lone gu immortal. Dealing with the calamity and tribulation during her ascension damaged her gu set a great deal. Being a gu immortal had its benefits. She now ruled a small region and accumulated billions of primeval stones in a short time. Such an amount would have her previous mortal self leaping in the air with joy. But what use did primeval stones have for a gu immortal? What she required were immortal essence stones!
She quietly connected with Treasure Yellow Heaven and basked in its radiant splendor. Little Immortal Xing Luo had left a will in here and quickly communicated with it before feeling even greater sense of suffocation. She only came to possess a few decent wisdom path gu worms after becoming a gu immortal. It was common for gu immortals to leave behind their wills to coordinate and manage their stores inside Treasure Yellow Heaven. But acquiring a wisdom path inheritance, even if an incomplete one, was a different matter. Xing Luo did not have enough funds to purchase one.
Like many gu immortals in need of immortal essence stones, she chose to sell gu worms, recipes, and killer moves in this grotto-heaven. However, nobody wanted to avail the goods and services she offered.
She offered a few ice path mortal gu worms, a rank 5 mortal killer move—Icy Yarn, and the ice path gu worm recipes she accumulated over the years. Such a collection of true inheritance would be a heaven-sent gift for an ordinary mortal taking their first step onto the road of cultivation. But all it did in Treasure Yellow Heaven was expose Xing Luo’s shallow foundation.
The ice path gu worms she tried to peddle were the most common of the bunch. The market was already saturated with these gu worms. Her blessed land, due to lack of nurturing, did not reach the stage where it had the potential to naturally refine unique mortal gu worms based on the blessed land’s environment.
The gu worm recipes were in an even more pitiful state. They barely formed any treasure light because these recipes were already sold too many times inside Treasure Yellow Heaven.
The rank 5 killer move, Icy Yarn, was an AOE defensive killer move requiring the activation of several rank 5 gu worms. Such a killer move was useless to mortal gu masters because their limited pool of primeval essence could not support continuous activation of several rank 5 gu worms. On the other hand, gu immortals were individualistic by nature and did not require a defensive gu worm that affected a wide region while sacrificing the necessary defensive strength to protect oneself.
Such a killer move was only worth half an immortal essence stone—the lowest possible selling price for a rank 5 mortal killer move. Such killer moves were usually considered the trash of the bunch and were only sought after as a last measure.
’Sigh... when will I earn one immortal essence stone to purchase a plantation of Shiver Trees?’ Xing Luo sighed deeply. Shiver Trees suited her blessed land and gu cultivation. She also had a cultivation plan involving Shiver Trees. Unfortunately, there were only a few sellers in the market and they demanded other cultivation resources and materials in exchange for Shiver Trees. Without those resources, Xing Luo could only resort to an immortal essence stone!
With nothing else to do, Xing Luo roamed Treasure Yellow Heaven. It had become a small ritual of hers.
The market was divided into several sections without any organization. One needed to explore Treasure Yellow Heaven quite a bit to spot the gu immortals selling resources useful to one’s cultivation.
On the way, Xing Luo passed several wealthy gu immortals. Her heart burned with envy as she knew about most of these gu immortals.
They were mostly part of the ten great ancient sects, large sects with one or more gu immortals, and super forces of the other four regions. Unlike lone gu immortals like Xing Luo, these gu immortals had a great backing. Where she struggled to plant a small forest of Shiver Trees as her first resource point, these gu immortals were gifted their first resource points free of cost!
’Not to mention the fact that they could also obtain the necessary amount of immortal essence stones from their seniors if they developed a decent relationship with each other.’ Xing Luo thought enviously. No wonder ordinary gu immortals would risk getting branded demons and kill others for a single immortal essence stone.
Gu immortal cultivation was not easy or lighthearted. Xing Luo knew she had to prepare for her first earthly calamity. It was an eventuality. Yet, she had not even begun managing her blessed land and produce resources! She was very desperate at this point!
’This is a mediocre killer move.’ Xing Luo stopped and conversed with another ice path gu immortal selling a defensive mortal killer move. Its effects were greater than her Icy Yarn killer move and was priced at two immortal essence stones.
The difference between a gu immortal and a mortal was huge even if the former did not possess any immortal gu worms. Gu immortals enjoyed the advantage of unlimited primeval essence and were known to control multiple rank 5 gu worms. So, they could create killer moves using several rank 5 gu worms and display the peak of mortal might. In simpler words, gu immortals were capable of using mortal gu worms to bridge the gap between the mortal and immortal realm.
Say, using a rank 5 gu worm without any killer move was the lowest step in this wide gap between a mortal and a gu immortal. Then, a rank 5 gu master using a rank 5 killer move involving one or two rank 5 gu worms alongside a few rank 3 and 4 gu worms could be considered closing this wide gap by a very insignificant step forward. Most gu masters stopped there and only those with rare supporting gu worms such as the lotus gu series could take another step forward and use multiple rank 5 gu worms, but even they could not make use of rank 5 gu worms like Divine Sense and Connecting Heaven Gu Worms.
Then came the gu immortals. They could control hundreds and thousands of mortal gu worms. Unfortunately, no matter how many gu worms they controlled and used, they would always peak at the highest point of mortal realm. Only extremely rare geniuses could display the strength of an immortal gu worm using a mortal killer move. But at the very basic, most gu immortals deduced killer moves involving several rank 5 gu worms that surpassed their mortal counterparts.
These killer moves were the most basic discoveries within Treasure Yellow Heaven and were not worth more than half an immortal essence stone.
Gu immortals categorized the killer moves that remained in this gap bridging mortal and immortal strength in terms of their value in Treasure Yellow Heaven. The killer moves worth half an immortal essence stone were barely worth a glance and were often ignored. Only those gu immortal researching niche ideas and topics would find it worthwhile to spend such a huge amount on these killer moves.
Meanwhile, the killer move Xing Luo currently studied was worth two immortal essence stones. The killer moves worth one or two immortal essence stones were mediocre and a step above ordinary rank 5 killer moves. Such killer moves could effortlessly dominate hundreds of peak stage rank 5 gu masters but were commonly the trump cards for newbie gu immortals and go-to methods for veteran rank 6 gu immortals.
There were other aspects which led to the disparity between a gu immortal’s and a gu master’s strength, but that did not interest Xing Luo at the moment.
She moved ahead and discovered more intriguing research materials, gu refinement materials, ancient gu worms that were once extinct naturally refined within a few odd gu immortals’ blessed lands, and there was even the business of selling information about the other four regions, rumors about secret inheritances, land spirits releasing information about their blessed land’s condition for being inherited by others, and hundreds of bestiaries describing the brilliant variety of beast and plant groups dotting the gu world.
Xing Luo was not as awestruck as the first time she ventured into the market and focused on her current objective.
She located the gu immortal selling Shiver Trees, wondering if they changed their selling condition into something more affordable. Unfortunately, Xing Luo was fated to be disappointed as she shook her head and continued ahead.
’I also need to purchase food for the rare gu worms in my possession.’ She sighed, momentarily feeling lucky that she did not manage to refine any immortal gu worm. But this moment was fleeting and she soon felt even more envious of the gu immortals who possessed immortal gu worms.
Even if she did not have the food to feed an immortal gu worm, she could have used it once or twice to intimidate other weaker gu immortals and snatch their treasures! She would not be in such a desperate situation in that scenario.
Her attention soon fell on one peculiar gu immortal’s divine sense engaged in a fierce negotiation over Meat Root Trees.
’He is... Fickle Consort.’ Xing Luo’s gaze brightened. Ordinarily, she would not have known a thing about Fickle Consort Immortal if not for his act of ascension thoroughly ruining Tian Ti Mountain! Tian Ti Mountain was Central Continent’s number one mountain, and the consequences of Lo Jik’s act made him a greatly hated figure among several circles of gu immortals who owed their current success to obtaining an inheritance within Tian Ti Mountain.
She got closer to Fickle Consort Immortal’s divine sense but did not interrupt the man.
’My god, his cultivation just reached rank 6 but he is already negotiating for acres of Meat Root Trees? It would be worth nearly two immortal essence stones! Meat Root Trees are mortal vegetation but they can be used to feed and refine several strength path gu worms.’
Xing Luo knew about the rumors of Fickle Consort being a gu immortal with an extreme aptitude due to the sheer density of human qi he released during his ascension. The recording of his ascension was spread extensively, with Xing Luo already possessing one copy. Like others, she was also curious what methods Lo Jik used to delay his earthly calamity and tribulation. After all, his ascension stuck out like a sore thumb because he did not have to deal with heaven’s rage.
There was one distinct rumor.
Spirit Affinity House maintained its silence on the matter and did not confirm or deny whether Lo Jik inherited one of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable’s true inheritances!
Just the thought of it made Xing Luo hate Lo Jik!
She hated his luck!
She envied his wealth!
She was jealous of his strength and inheritance!
The two were already in different classes despite being newbie gu immortals. The overabundant heaven qi and earth qi during his tribulation ensured he refined at least two immortal gu worms while Xing Luo did not even have one!
’But... that’s his limit.’ She thought darkly while leaving the region. ’If he truly inherited Divine Concealment then it means he is unaffected by calamities and tribulations. Calamities and tribulations are a blessing in disguise. He will never be able to grow and accumulate his foundation!’
The thought soothed the fiery hatred in her chest.
"No deal, no deal!" Meanwhile, Lo Jik suffered another cold rejection. "My batch of Meat Root Trees is worth twenty immortal essence stones. Take it or leave it. Don’t crowd my area!"
"Fuck you!" Lo Jik hissed coldly. "Be reasonable or I might just revive your mother and fuck her to death!"
"Kekeke, go ahead. At least she will get to see I surpassed her expectations and became a gu immortal." The other party laughed coldly and answered with equal, if not greater, shamelessness. "Be sure to give me two more brothers. Sell them to me. I have a gu refinement recipe that requires two siblings."
Lo Jik gritted his teeth and snorted.
Tian Ti’s mess followed him to Treasure Yellow Heaven. He had already exchanged some of his dream path research with Fairy Yi in return for getting the permission to live in Hu Immortal Blessed Land for another year and cultivate his soul alongside two hundred immortal essence stones. Meanwhile, Fairy Yi excitedly obtained a few rank 1-3 dream path recipes.
This was a public sham by Lo Jik. He did not require more immortal essence stone since he inherited a grotto-heaven. However, to not do so would have been suspicious. Lo Jik also did not need to deal with stubborn gu immortals trying to suppress him in Treasure Yellow Heaven and force down overpriced commodities down his throat, but again, it was an act.
Desolate Core Immortal—Old Man Desolate Heavenly Spirit—purchased small portions of strength path materials. And another divine sense by the name of Faceless Transformation Gu Immortal, Lo Jik’s human path persona, procured relevant strength and odd human path resources in huge batches. Faceless Transformation Gu Immortal also sough slaves of every kind. They purchased batches of mortal rockmen, eggmen, hairy men, snowmen, feathermen, inkmen, minimen, mermen, and mushroommen while leaving notices for the extinct beastmen and the fabled dragonmen from Red Lotus Demon Venerable’s era. He also needed to invest in strength path beast groups for his first blessed land. Such beasts included groups of Bandit Monkey, Giant-Horned Sheep, Strong Mammoth, Drought Elephant, and even legendary beasts mentioned in legends such as Walking Meat Trees.
Unfortunately, strength path was declining and the sale of such beasts at a desolate level was extremely rare.
It did not discourage Lo Jik from seeking others and offering good amount of immortal essence stones to acquire these beasts because lord knew he did not want to venture into terrible forests filled with beasts waiting to feast on him at heaven’s will’s insistence.
No, sir. If possible, Lo Jik wanted to turn into a turtle and hide in his shell, cultivating peacefully and accumulating rewards with his lovers.
’I also need to focus on my greatest obstruction—Divine Concealment. It is one of my greatest advantage and weakness. I need to find a way to cultivate and grow without needing to remove or deactivate Divine Concealment and incurring earthly calamities and heavenly tribulations.’
He already had two clues on how to further develop and accumulate his strength and human path foundations. What stopped him was the fact that he had to prepare for Immemorial Desolate Grotto-Heaven’s heavenly tribulation.
Fortunately, it had survived long enough without Lo Jik, boasting sturdy defenses and outstanding methods.
He roamed Treasure Yellow Heaven and soon encountered an interesting event. A land spirit was openly informing others about clues to its blessed land. This situation, though uncommon, was understandable.
After their deaths, gu immortals usually left behind their obsession. This obsession fused with the blessed land’s heavenly power to form a new entity—land spirits. Just because the gu immortal died did not mean the blessed land would not suffer calamities and tribulations. Unfortunately, most land spirits were never as skilled as their main bodies. They lacked insight in developing the blessed lands and also weakened after several calamities and tribulations.
Every organism possessed an innate sense of survival. Land spirits were no different. To survive, they would connect with Treasure Yellow Heaven and offer clues of their locations, attracting prospective gu immortals, who might be the fated inheritors. Cases like Old Man Desolate, whose obsession was tampered and the conditions of inheriting the grotto-heaven was extremely hidden, were rare and close to none.
Lo Jik conversed with one of these land spirits. The clue to their location was a poem. Humorously, they also stopped reciting the poem whenever someone asked them about the goods they were selling.
Being a wisdom path grandmaster, Lo Jik quickly discovered certain clues within the poem.
’Hmm. This blessed land is within Central Continent and has an intact gu immortal’s true inheritance.’ Land spirits could not lie so the clues from such entities were often the best guidelines to follow. Unfortunately, Lo Jik did not feel any interest towards this inheritance because of the strict conditions veiled by the recital.
"It requires two individuals with a deep connection to inherit the blessed land. I’m sure the land spirit purposely obscured this fact within the poem to attract more prospective gu masters."
A land spirits’ honesty did not restrict them from hiding or obscuring certain facts.
"Alas, I do not have a sister or a brother. Even if I did, I would not venture to the north of Central Continent for a single inheritance where I could be potentially targeted by heaven’s will. Obtaining rewards from my trait is the safest and most reliable method now that it evolved into a mythical trait. Only an idiot will let excitement get to their heads and rush off to unknown dangers without proper preparations."
He cast Fang Dang Land Spirit a final glance before moving on.
"Oh?"
His gaze brightened as he approached a popular vendor. Streams of divine sense communicated with the Proud Will the owner of the store left behind. It was Combat Immortal Sect’s Immortal Monkey King Shi Lei! He was a rank 7 gu immortal boasting a great battle strength. Not only was he strong, he was quite skilled in nurturing his blessed land. He was a fierce gu immortal who did not back down from combat challenges and happened to be a battle-crazed individual.
Currently, Shi Lei was quite popular for his successful research and revitalization of an extinct gu refinement material—Stone Monkey Fur.
There were several gu immortals like Shi Lei who were ambitious and wished to recreate outstanding materials from ancient eras. Imaginative Strength Immortal took significant steps in this regard and wished to bridge the past and present with a surge of extinct gu refinement materials.
"How much for this Stone Monkey Fur?" Lo Jik inquired as the Shi Lei’s proud will replied haughtily.
"One immortal essence stone for hundred strands of Stone Monkey Fur."
Lo Jik was thoroughly shocked by the man’s audacity... yet, he knew he had been even greedier than Shi Lei. After all, Lo Jik had once demanded gu worm recipes for Luck, Painting, and Pill Paths for a couple of rank 1 gu worms. This was the benefit of monopoly!
Several streams of divine sense continued to exchange immortal essence stones with Shi Lei despite the sky-high price. Many gu immortals were interested in the extinct material’s value in researching and deducing gu recipes. Some gu immortals wanted to research Stone Monkey Fur and reverse-refine it to divide the market share and get a stake in the profits.
As if aware of these intentions, Shi Lei’s will laughed proudly.
"Let me tell you beforehand. You will require at least a thousand strands of Stone Monkey Fur to research and reverse refine it."
Lo Jik couldn’t help but admire Shi Lei. Immortal Monkey King was not afraid of others reverse refining his success and even used it to peddle more goods, earning greater profits in return.
Stone Monkey Fur also interested Lo Jik. He wished to purchase it and catalogue the dao marks in the fur using Particle Viewing Gu. Furthermore, Stone Monkey Fur could be used to refine a few rare strength path gu worms.
’Most importantly, I could use Stone Monkey Fur alongside Bandit Monkeys and a few other beasts to refine a new strength path core beast using Core Beast Formation.’
With that in mind, Lo Jik spent two immortal essence stones to acquire two hundred strands of Stone Monkey Fur. He continued perusing other goods Shi Lei sold before losing interest and moving on.
It didn’t take long for Lo Jik’s interest to wane completely as he sighed deeply.
’Hopefully, I will acquire another infant giant or even a proper desolate beast level gaint through my trait. Of course, I could revisit my earlier inspiration of refining Bandit Monkeys into another strain of giants...’
Both the options were intriguing as it is. Lo Jik was greatly curious about the rewards he obtained at each level of his trait: Bronze, Silver, Golden, and Platinum. Meanwhile, the idea of recreating a giant more adaptable to the current era was also extremely enticing. He could use his identity as a Fickle Consort to create a monopoly through said giants, use rare human path methods and attract a booming business using Faceless Transformation Immortal identity, and also earn a great amount of immortal essence stones through Old Man Desolate’s stable businesses!
Compared to someone like Xing Luo, Lo Jik was truly at the peak of rank 6 gu immortals in terms of wealth and battle strength despite making a breakthrough in his cultivation only recently.
***
Alternate Title: More shameless gu immortals aside from Lo Jik; Lo Jik: Fuck your mom *Le Gu Immortal: Impregnate my mom with twins*; Duality of gu immortals; Poor Little Xing Luo; Rich Hunk Lo Jik; Making a deal with Fairy Yi; Costly cultivation; A different realm; Quality of killer moves; Market suppression; Stone monkey fur; Ideas; The few paths ahead; Fang Dang Inheritance; New giants; Return to Monke; Benefits of joining righteous path; Perils of lone gu immortals; Prospective businesses; Faceless Transformation Gu Immortal; Benefits of a monopoly; Proud Immortal Monkey King Shi Lei; Another talent from the ten great ancient sects; Purchasing variant humans; Dragonmen?; Fear of heaven; Lo Jik while reciting poems: I shall rebel against the heaven *Channels inner Gu Zhen Ren and Er Gen*; Lo Jik in actions: Fuck unnecessary conflicts. Let’s make some love *Channels inner Giant Sun and Great Love shenanigans*
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