The Gu True Man

Gu masters have nine ranks, and Hua Jiu left behind hidden treasures.

Quickly, a week passed.

"Humans are the spirits of all things, and gu are the essences of heaven and earth. In this world, there are thousands upon thousands of gu, countless in number. They live all around us, in the mineral soil, in the grass, and even in the bodies of wild beasts."

"During the reproduction and growth of humans, the ancestors gradually discovered the mysteries of gu worms. Those who have opened their Empty Apertures, and use their own True Essence to feed, refine, and control these gu to achieve various purposes are collectively called Gu Masters."

"And all of you successfully opened your Empty Apertures and condensed your Seas of True Essence during the Aperture-Opening Ceremony seven days ago. Now, you are all First Rank Gu Masters."

In the school of the stockade, the elder in charge of the school was speaking eloquently. Opposite him, fifty-seven teenagers sat upright, each listening attentively. The wonder and power of Gu Masters had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the teenagers, so everything the elder said deeply attracted them.

At this moment, a teenager raised his hand. After getting the elder's permission, he stood up and asked, "Elder, I've known since I was little that Gu Masters are divided into First Rank, Second Rank, and so on. Could you tell us in detail?"

Gu Yue Shi nodded and waved for the teenager to sit down: "Gu Masters have nine great realms, from the lowest to the highest, namely First Rank, Second Rank, Third Rank up to Ninth Rank. Each great realm is further divided into four small stages: Initial, Middle, Advanced, and Peak. You have just become Gu Masters, so you are all at the Initial Stage of First Rank."

"If you work hard in cultivation in the future, your cultivation will naturally improve, and it will be possible to advance to Second Rank or Third Rank. Of course, the higher your talent, the greater the possibility of advancement."

"For Grade D talent, the Sea of True Essence occupies two or three tenths of the Empty Aperture, and they can usually cultivate at most to First or Second Rank. For Grade C talent, the Sea of True Essence takes up four or five tenths of the Empty Aperture, and they usually stop at the Second Rank, with only a few barely breaking through to the Initial Stage of Third Rank. For Grade B talent, the Sea of True Essence occupies six or seven tenths of the entire Empty Aperture, enabling them to cultivate to Third Rank, or even Fourth Rank."

"For Grade A talent, the Sea of True Essence is abundant, occupying eight or nine tenths of the Empty Aperture. Such people naturally have the highest talent, are most suitable for cultivating as Gu Masters, and can reach Fifth Rank."

"As for Gu Masters above Sixth Rank, each is a legend. I don't know the details. Our Gu Yue clan has never had a Sixth Rank Gu Master, but we have had Fifth Rank and Fourth Rank ones."

The teenagers pricked up their ears, listening with bright eyes. Many couldn't help but look at Gu Yue Fangzheng, who sat upright in the first row—he was of Grade A talent, and their eyes were filled with envy and jealousy.

At the same time, some eyes drifted to the corner at the back of the classroom.

In that corner by the window, Gu Yue Fangyuan was lying on the desk, sound asleep.

"Look, he's still sleeping," someone whispered.

"He's been sleeping for a week straight. Hasn't he come to his senses yet?" someone curled their lip.

"More than that. I heard he doesn't return home at night and wanders around outside the village."

"Someone has seen him more than once, holding a wine jar and dead drunk outside at night. Fortunately, the area around the village has been cleared up in recent years, so it's relatively safe." The classmates whispered, and all kinds of gossip spread quickly.

"Sigh, the blow is indeed too great. He's been called a genius for so many years, but it turns out he's only Grade C. Heh heh."

"That's not even the worst of it. His own younger brother was tested as Grade A, now receives all the attention and enjoys the best treatment. The younger brother is in the sky, the older brother on the ground. Tsk tsk..."

Listening to the growing murmurs around him, the elder's brows furrowed into a knot. In the entire classroom, all the teenagers sat upright, exuding vitality, making Fangyuan, who was sprawled asleep on the desk, even more conspicuously**.

"It's been a week, and he's still so decadent. Humph, I must have misjudged him. How could such a person be a genius!" The elder**** in dissatisfaction. He had talked to Fangyuan many times about this, but to no avail. Fangyuan still did as he pleased, sleeping through every class, which gave the teaching elder a terrible headache and annoyance.

"Forget it, he's just Grade C. He can't even bear this blow. Cultivating someone with such a temperament would be useless; it would just be a waste of the clan's resources." The elder was very disappointed with Fangyuan.

Fangyuan was only Grade C, but his younger brother Fangzheng had Grade A talent—obviously, the latter was worth the clan's great efforts to cultivate.

While thinking this, the elder continued his previous topic: "In the history of our clan, there have been many powerful figures. Among them, there were two Fifth Rank powerhouses. One was the first clan leader, our ancestor, who founded the Gu Yue Stockade. The other was the fourth clan leader. He was extremely talented and cultivated to the Fifth Rank Gu Master realm. If it weren't for the sneak attack by that despicable and shameless fiend Hua Jiu Xingzhe, he might have even advanced to Sixth Rank. Alas..."

At this point, Gu Yue Shi sighed deeply.

Below the platform, the teenagers all shouted indignantly.

"It's all that Hua Jiu Xingzhe, so sinister and cunning!"

"What a pity our fourth clan leader was kind-hearted, yet died young."

"I only regret not being born a few hundred years earlier. Otherwise, if I had met that fiend, I would have risked my life to expose his ugly face."

Every member of the Gu Yue clan knew the story of the fourth clan leader and Hua Jiu Xingzhe.

Hua Jiu Xingzhe was also a Fifth Rank Gu Master, a notorious womanizer who had committed evil for many years and was famous among the demonic path at that time. Hundreds of years ago, he fled to Qingmao Mountain and tried to commit crimes in the Gu Yue Stockade, but was discovered by the fourth clan leader. After an earth-shattering battle, Hua Jiu Xingzhe was beaten to his knees begging for mercy. The fourth clan leader, being kind-hearted, intended to spare his life. But Hua Jiu Xingzhe suddenly launched a sneak attack, seriously injuring the clan leader.

Enraged, the clan leader killed Hua Jiu Xingzhe on the spot, but later succumbed to his severe injuries and passed away.

Thus, in the hearts of all Gu Yue clansmen, the fourth clan leader was a heroic figure who sacrificed himself for the stockade.

"Hua Jiu Xingzhe..." Roused by the denunciations in the classroom, Fangyuan in the corner opened his sleepy eyes.

He stretched himself thoroughly, and there was no lack of resentment in his heart: "Where on earth did this Hua Jiu Xingzhe die? Why have I searched all around the stockade and still not found his legacy?"

In his memory, about two months later, a clan Gu Master, heartbroken from a broken love, got dead drunk outside the stockade. The overflowing aroma of wine accidentally attracted a Wine Worm. Overjoyed, the Gu Master tried to catch it. The Wine Worm fled in panic, and the Gu Master chased after it, following its trail to a hidden cave entrance leading underground.

The Wine Worm was a very precious type of gu. Intoxicated, the Gu Master ventured into the cave, entered the underground secret chamber, and discovered Hua Jiu Xingzhe's remains along with his legacy.

When the Gu Master returned to the stockade and reported his discovery, it caused a great sensation throughout the clan. He also benefited from this, his cultivation became more prominent, and even won back the affection of the lover who had abandoned him, becoming a popular figure for a time.

"Unfortunately, I only heard the general idea of this news and don't know the exact location. I never thought I would be reborn back then. Hua Jiu Xingzhe, where exactly did you die?"

In recent days, he had bought a lot of wine and wandered around the stockade every night, hoping the*** aroma would attract the Wine Worm. But unfortunately, there was no sign of it, which disappointed him greatly.

"If I can find that Wine Worm and refine it into my Life Gu, it will be much better than the Moonlight Gu from the clan. In the blink of an eye, it's already April—time waits for no one." Fangyuan sighed and turned his gaze out the window.

Beneath the blue sky and white clouds, the green mountains stretched endlessly. Nearby was a bamboo forest.

These were the unique spear bamboos of Qingmao Mountain, each straight as a line, with sharp tips like spearheads.

The nearby woods had turned fresh green, with yellowish-green new shoots sprouting. Beautiful colorful finches occasionally landed on the branches.

A spring breeze blew, carrying the fresh scent of green mountains and clear waters, spreading it across the world.

Before they knew it, the class was drawing to an end. The elder finally announced: "Over the past week, I've taught you how to meditate to examine your own Empty Apertures and Seas of True Essence, and how to sit in meditation to circulate your True Essence. Now it's time to refine your Life Gu. After this class, go to the Gu Chamber in the school to choose your gu worms. Once you've chosen, go home to cultivate in seclusion. Come back to the school to continue your classes only after you've refined your gu. Also, this is your first assessment. Whoever comes first will receive a generous reward of twenty Yuan Stones."

Whoa!

In the next moment, the entire classroom erupted in cheers.

"Finally, it's time to refine a gu worm. Which gu should I choose?" A sharp light flashed in Fangyuan's eyes.