The sun set and the moon rose; night fell.
This was a hidden courtyard within the Gu Yue village.
A tall locust tree, with luxuriant branches and leaves, and a thick, broad canopy just like a jade canopy, enveloped the entire courtyard.
The moonlight was gentle as water, shining through the branches and leaves of the locust tree, and sprinkling into the courtyard.
A gust of wind struck; the leaves rustled, and the tree shadows swayed slightly.
Right under this tree shadow, two people stood.
The clan head Gu Yue Bo gazed at Fang Zheng with a gentle look: "Fang Zheng, today you chose your second Gu. I wonder what it is?"
"Reporting to the clan head, today I chose a Copper Skin Gu." Gu Yue Fang Zheng stood perfectly straight, answering with a face full of reverence.
Gu Yue Bo nodded, pondered for a moment, and said: "Not bad, a very good choice."
Gu Yue Fang Zheng stood in front of Gu Yue Bo, his body tensed up nervously. Hearing Gu Yue Bo's words of praise, he did not know how to respond for a moment, so he could only smile bashfully: "Lord Clan Head, I just picked it randomly."
"Do you think I am praising you blindly? I am not." Gu Yue Bo stared at Fang Zheng, a faint smile hanging on the corners of his mouth. "Do you know, from the choice of a Gu worm, one can often see a person's disposition."
"You chose the Copper Skin Gu, which is used for defense. Paired with the Moonlight Gu, it's one offense and one defense. This shows your disposition is pure and honest. In the affairs of the world, one offense and one defense exactly embodies the orthodox and the unorthodox, the Yin and the Yang, the soft and the hard; this is the king's way."
"And Gu Yue Mo Bei chose the Yellow Camel Longhorn Beetle Gu. This Gu increases endurance and allows for protracted battles. This reveals Mo Bei's tough and tenacious personality."
"As for Gu Yue Chi Cheng choosing the Dragon Pill Cricket Gu, making his evasion ability increase, this shows he doesn't like forced attacks. He is shrewd and adept at seeking personal gain, but at the same time, it exposes the weak side of his character."
Gu Yue Fang Zheng listened completely dumbfounded. He had never thought that from such a simple matter, so many clear-cut principles could be seen.
Involuntarily, his gaze towards Gu Yue Bo became even more reverent.
"Lord Clan Head, then what Gu did my older brother choose?" Fang Zheng suddenly thought of Fang Yuan and asked immediately.
Gu Yue Bo smiled: "Your older brother chose the Little Light Gu. Using this Gu to assist the Moonlight Gu can make the moonblade's attack stronger. This shows his temperament is radical, full of aggression, and prone to going to extremes."
"Indeed, older brother does seem to be like that." Fang Zheng muttered softly.
Gu Yue Bo took in Fang Zheng's expression and kept it in mind.
Usually, those who held high positions surely had exceptional traits. Although the days Gu Yue Bo and Fang Zheng had spent interacting face-to-face were not long, Gu Yue Bo's experienced and sharp gaze had already seen through Fang Zheng.
Him telling Fang Zheng about the choices of Mo Bei and Chi Cheng naturally had its profound meaning.
It was to help Fang Zheng analyze these two, anticipating that he would defeat them and establish a leadership position with his A grade aptitude.
But Gu Yue Bo would not state it explicitly; he would not directly instruct or instigate Fang Zheng to do anything.
As a clan head, every word and action bore political attributes. If he directly instructed Fang Zheng to deal with Chi Cheng and Mo Bei, should word spread, it might be misunderstood as the clan head's political intention. In that case, the impact would be massive; if things went wrong, clan infighting could occur, to the point of bringing disaster to the entire village.
Another point was that Gu Yue Bo also anticipated that Fang Zheng could independently comprehend his intentions. He spent time and energy personally nurturing Fang Zheng, not to nurture a Rank four or Rank five thug. A thug without political wisdom was just a double-edged sword. What he wanted to nurture was the future leader of the clan!
"I analyzed the temperaments of Mo Bei and Chi Cheng for Fang Zheng, yet he completely failed to realize the profound meaning hidden within. Instead, he asked me about Gu Yue Fang Yuan's situation. It seems Fang Yuan has left quite a shadow on him. However, he is right at the rebellious period of a youth, single-mindedly wanting to suppress Fang Yuan, which is understandable. Sigh, if only Fang Zheng had Fang Yuan's wisdom. Over the years, I've seen quite a few teenagers, but in terms of political wisdom, Fang Yuan is absolutely number one. It's a pity, he only has C grade aptitude."
Gu Yue Bo sighed in his heart, yet the smile on his face became increasingly gentle.
He took out a Gu worm from his bosom.
"This is—Jade Skin Gu?" Seeing this Gu worm, Fang Zheng's eyes instantly brightened, and he softly cried out.
Gu Yue Bo said: "Compared to the Copper Skin Gu, this Jade Skin Gu is much more excellent. Not only does it consume less primeval essence, but its defensive power is also stronger than the Copper Skin Gu. Fang Zheng, do you want it?"
"Clan Head!" Fang Zheng was startled. He looked at Gu Yue Bo and stammered, "I, of course I want it."
"If you want it, I can give it to you." Gu Yue Bo smiled even more gently. "But as the clan head, I have always been fair and just; I cannot gift it to you without reason. Therefore, I have a condition."
Fang Zheng nodded repeatedly, his eyes wide: "What condition?"
The smile on Gu Yue Bo's face disappeared, revealing a solemn expression: "I want you to be the first to break through Rank one, attain Rank two, and become the number one person in cultivation! And this Jade Skin Gu is your reward in advance."
"Ah, advancing to Rank two?" Gu Yue Fang Zheng couldn't help but reveal a look of hesitation. He had only just advanced to Rank one middle stage. After middle stage was upper stage, and after upper stage, there was still peak stage.
Yet as a result, Gu Yue Bo was now requesting him to become the first person of this batch to reach Rank two.
"What, are you afraid? Then this Gu can only be given to someone else." Gu Yue Bo made a posture of taking back the Jade Skin Gu.
Stimulated by these words, Gu Yue Fang Zheng instantly turned hot-headed and shouted: "No, I promise you! I will defeat everyone and become the first person at Rank two!"
"Now that's right." Gu Yue Bo once again showed a gentle smile, placing the Jade Skin Gu into Fang Zheng's hand.
In his heart, he said: "Fang Zheng ah Fang Zheng, I know you harbor some inferiority. This inferiority is too harmful to your growth. And the best method to dispel this inferiority is success. You are an A grade aptitude; in terms of cultivation advancing to Rank two, you have the greatest advantage, and it is also the success you can most easily achieve. You absolutely must work hard. If you fail even at this, it will truly disappoint me too much."
At the same time, Fang Yuan once again entered the stone crack secret cave, going deep to the end of the tunnel.
This time, he didn't bring any pickaxes, shovels, hammers, or other tools, but instead meticulously observed his surroundings.
The previous night, he had suffered a setback here, and on the way back to the village, he had felt something was slightly off.
Today in the dormitory, after using the Spring Autumn Cicada to refine the Little Light Gu, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and comprehended the strangeness within it.
"This giant rock blocking the path is simply too round, too smooth; it has been processed by human manpower. That is to say, it is an obstacle giant rock deliberately set up by the Flower Wine Monk. Why would he set up such a checkpoint here?" Fang Yuan revealed a thoughtful look.
He surveyed the surroundings again.
The floor in the tunnel was level, the ceiling was a dome, and the walls on both sides were a uniform crimson mud, emitting a dim light.
"Eh?" When his gaze swept over the ground again, he noticed a suspicious spot.
On a patch of ground near the obstructing giant rock, the color was somewhat dark and heavy. This color difference was not obvious. Under such dim lighting, if one did not observe carefully, it would be absolutely hard to discover.
Fang Yuan squatted down, reached out and touched this patch of ground, and immediately felt a damp sensation.
No wonder the color was somewhat dark and heavy; it turned out to be stained with water.
But this tunnel was dry, where did the water come from?
Fang Yuan used his fingers again to pinch and rub this patch of damp mud. He found that there was indeed a problem with the mud on this patch of ground; it was extremely loose and soft, not cohesive like dry red mud.
Fang Yuan's gaze flashed. Both his experience and intuition told him that an "key" left by the Flower Wine Monk was highly likely buried in this very spot.
And this "key" was the crux that could allow Fang Yuan to continue advancing.
Fang Yuan began digging the mud. The mud was very loose, so it did not take much effort.
When he dug one inch underground, a unique, faint fragrance lazily drifted into Fang Yuan's nasal cavity.
"This fragrance is rich and luxurious, yet not vulgar, appearing so highly elegant and noble. Could it be…" Fang Yuan's heart stirred, thinking of a certain possibility, and the movements of his hands instantly sped up a bit.
As he dug and dug, a trace of dark golden light suddenly appeared beneath the mud.
"It really is it!" Fang Yuan's eyes suddenly brightened. The movements of his hands became delicate, carefully digging away the surrounding mud to enlarge the opening of the pit.
A moment later, a dark golden flower bud buried in the ground presented itself before him.
It was deep in the ground by two inches, and its volume was about the size of a common stone mill. The surface of the flower bud was smooth like silk, colored dark gold, appearing serene, mysterious, highly noble, and elegant.
"It really is the Earth Treasury Flower Gu!" Seeing this, Fang Yuan exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
He didn't rush to open the petals, but instead sat on the ground and rested for a moment, wiping all the mud clean from his hands. Only then did he slowly reach out, gently peeling away the giant, dark golden petals.
The Earth Treasury Flower Gu was like a combination of a lotus and a cabbage. Its petals were layered one by one, stuck tightly together, thick, and smooth to the touch. When Fang Yuan peeled away the petals piece by piece, it felt as if he were peeling away rolls of silk.
And once these giant, dark golden petals detached from the main body, they rapidly dissipated. It was just like snowflakes, melting away into the air.
After Fang Yuan peeled away the outer fifty to sixty petals, the volume of the flower bud was reduced by more than half, exposing the flower core inside.
The petals near the flower core were smaller in shape, their thickness also becoming thinner, and their texture increasingly soft and delicate. They were no longer like silk, but more like thin sheets of paper.
Fang Yuan's movements became even slower and gentler. Often, only after several breaths did he successfully peel away a single petal.
The petals became increasingly transparent. A moment later, after Fang Yuan lifted open a petal as thin and light as rice paper, he stopped his movements.
At this point, the Earth Treasury Flower Gu was left with only the centermost thin layer of petals.
These petals overlapped each other, wrapped into a sphere shape the size of a fist.
The petals were semi-transparent, light and thin like rice paper. And inside the petals, it was filled with a stream of golden liquid. In the center of this golden flower liquid, a Gu worm was fast asleep within.
Fang Yuan focused his gaze closely, but he could only see the blurry image of this Gu worm and could not identify exactly what kind of Gu worm it was.
Being this close, his breath puffed onto the flower core. The spherical flower core instantly trembled unsteadily, and the golden liquid gently swayed within the wrapping of the petals.
Without food, a Gu worm would starve to death. Only an extremely small minority of Gu worms could exhibit a state of self-sealing. In order to preserve Gu worms, Gu Masters had thought of many methods.
The Earth Treasury Flower Gu was one of them.
The Earth Treasury Flower Gu was a one-time consumable Gu. Once planted in the ground, it could not be moved again.
Its source of food was exceedingly simple; it was earth qi. As long as it was planted underground and had sufficient earth qi, it could survive.
Its function was also only one, which was to envelop and nurture other Gu worms within its flower core, soaking them in the golden flower liquid.
This golden flower liquid could, to a certain extent, simulate a seal state, letting the Gu worm soaked within fall into deep slumber.
"The Flower Wine Monk planted the Earth Treasury Flower Gu here; the Gu worm inside this flower core should be the one left for the inheritor." Fang Yuan extended his fingers, gently pinching the remaining petals, and carefully tore open a tiny slit.
The golden liquid then flowed out along his fingers, feeling just like soybean oil.
Accompanying the loss of the golden liquid, the flower core slowly deflated and softened. Fang Yuan rubbed his fingers, twisting apart the extremely tender petals, and retrieved that sleeping Gu worm from within.
This was a very adorable ladybug.
It was only the size of a thumb's nail.
Its entire body was milky white; when looking down from its back, it looked just like a circle.
Its head only occupied a very small portion of the circle; the rest was entirely its plump belly and its shiny carapace.
Its six tiny limbs were also milky white, tucked beneath its belly.
"White Boar Gu!" A look of joy flashed past Fang Yuan's eyes and disappeared instantly.