"Hurry, cultivate this!" Within Tan Ku's Immortal Aperture, a middle-aged Fifth Transformation Gu Master of the Fang family was transmitting a cultivation method to Wang Xiao'er.
"What is this, Foster Father?" Wang Xiao'er said, his expression full of confusion.
Wang Xiao'er harbored his own secret.
He was not of the Fang bloodline at all — he was a prisoner locked away by Fang Dongxi. Only after Fang Dongxi died in battle, and his Immortal Aperture was invaded by Xiao Yehu, sparking chaos, did an opportunity arise.
Wang Xiao'er seized the chance to escape, blending in with the surviving members of Fang Dongxi's branch of the Fang family.
Subsequently, they were all sold off to Treasure Yellow Heaven.
Tan Ku was one of the Gu Immortals who purchased this batch of human slaves. He bought an entire group of Fang family members, and Wang Xiao'er was among them.
From that point on, Wang Xiao'er began a new life within Tan Ku's Immortal Aperture.
Naturally, there were also members of the Tan family among Tan Ku's bloodline, so the Fang family members held very low status — all of them were slaves.
But even among slaves, some held higher positions.
For instance, the middle-aged Gu Master standing before Wang Xiao'er right now.
This Gu Master was also unfortunate in life. During the upheaval in Fang Dongxi's Immortal Aperture, his entire family had perished. Grief-stricken and disheartened, the middle-aged Gu Master had no intention of marrying again. When he saw young Wang Xiao'er in a similarly wretched situation — orphaned, alone, with no one to rely on — and found the boy pleasant enough, with an age and appearance not unlike his own lost son, he simply took him in as a foster son.
After all, in the middle-aged Gu Master's eyes, Wang Xiao'er was still of the Fang bloodline.
The middle-aged Gu Master rapped Wang Xiao'er on the head and scolded with a grin: "What are you suspicious about, you brat? Would your Foster Father ever harm you?"
"Let me tell you the truth — the Gu Immortal who bought our batch of clansmen comes from the Central Continent."
"He saw value in our aptitude, which is why he purchased us."
"Now he has passed down Human Path cultivation techniques. If we can cultivate successfully, we will surely be able to raise our status. Who knows — maybe one day we could even become Gu Immortals!"
Wang Xiao'er's jaw dropped in astonishment.
But before long, another doubt arose: "If this cultivation technique is so precious, why didn't that Central Continent Gu Immortal cultivate it himself? Why leave it for his own descendants instead of giving it to us?"
The middle-aged Gu Master clearly knew many secrets of the Gu Immortals and possessed a broad perspective. He continued to explain: "Gu Immortals each follow different Paths when they cultivate, and the Human Path is one of them. Since this Central Continent Gu Immortal has already ascended, he obviously cannot cultivate the Human Path."
"Furthermore, not everyone has the aptitude to achieve immortality."
"The Human Path is a newly developing discipline. The Central Continent Gu Immortal distributing these techniques is largely an experiment. The geniuses among his own bloodline descendants will naturally keep a portion of the best methods to carry on his personal cultivation. The rest — the Tan family and people like us — are the ones who cultivate the Human Path."
"The Human Path is indeed very obscure. Back when we lived in our clan's Blessed Land, I had never even heard of it! But there's no other choice. If we don't cultivate, we have absolutely no hope at all."
"Xiao'er, if you spend your whole life here, trampled under the feet of those Tan family members, used as a slave — would you be content with that?"
Wang Xiao'er shook his head frantically, his face solemn: "Then please, Foster Father, teach me! I am willing to cultivate!"
Wang Xiao'er received a large amount of Human Path materials, which helped further his understanding of the discipline. He also obtained several Gu Insects, all of them belonging to the Human Path — foundational tools for beginning Human Path cultivation.
After the middle-aged Gu Master personally guided Wang Xiao'er through his first session, he told the boy to continue practicing on his own in private.
That very night, Wang Xiao'er was so excited he could not fall asleep, and he practiced alone once more.
An Immortal Gu was unexpectedly awakened by him!
The consciousness within the Immortal Gu actually initiated communication with Wang Xiao'er on its own. Wang Xiao'er was shaken to his core: "A Self Gu?!"
The Self Gu was so tiny that it had been dormant inside Wang Xiao'er's body all along, without anyone ever detecting it.
He remembered that this was a legendary Gu Insect of great renown, described in the Record of the Human Ancestor. Overcome with wild joy and disbelief, he spent the entire night poring over the Record of the Human Ancestor.
The Record of the Human Ancestor, Chapter Five, Section Thirty-Eight recorded:
Having fallen into the waters of the River of Time, the Human Ancestor and his two companions all jolted awake at once.
The three of them scrambled onto a nearby chunk of ice. Though they had only been in the water for a brief while, they had aged noticeably.
"The River of Time conceals the Time Gu. Our lifespans are washed away by its current," Big Force True Martial sighed.
The Human Ancestor lamented: "Always encountering good things is not truly a good thing — it can become a terrible thing! Being too joyful and staying happy forever is also harmful. It makes it far too easy to stagnate, sinking into pleasure until one forgets about time."
Carefree Wisdom Heart, however, said with some delight: "Quick, look at our hearts!"
The three examined their own hearts and discovered that many emotions had been bottled up inside, but when they had fallen into the water, a great deal of those emotions had been washed away.
This discovery made all three of them very happy.
They continued onward, relying on the floating ice.
Whenever they encountered something bad and felt anguish in their hearts, they would dip their hearts into the river to wash: "This too shall pass."
The bad feelings diminished greatly with the flow of time.
Whenever they encountered something good and were on the verge of losing themselves in elation, they would also dip their hearts into the river: "This too shall pass."
The good feelings were also gradually worn down by time, preventing them from becoming too absorbed.
The Thought Gu, seeing that the three kept washing their hearts, could not help but jump out and warn them: "It is never time that heals the wounds of the heart — it is the heart growing old. A person growing old is not the worst fate; an old heart is what is truly terrifying. Stop washing your hearts."
Upon hearing this counsel, the Human Ancestor and his companions all stopped.
But without the ability to wash their hearts, their pace of progress slowed once more.
"Allow me to help you." At that moment, a Gu Insect flew out on its own, landing upon the Human Ancestor.
The three of them saw the Gu Insect and were overjoyed.
It was the Kinship Gu.
With the help of the Kinship Gu, the three of them shared and distributed each other's emotions. If one person felt joy, the joy was split three ways. If one felt sorrow, the sorrow too could be divided among the three.