Raising, Using, and Refining — these are the three great aspects of a Gu Master's cultivation.
No matter which aspect you examine, it is vast and profound, its knowledge as boundless as the ocean. An ordinary person could spend their entire life and still never achieve thorough mastery.
"I hope Brother Wei will guide me with his advice," Fang Yuan said over the banquet, clasping his fists.
"Since we hit it off right away, no need for formalities between us." Wei Yang cleared his throat and began his lecture in earnest. "On the grand scale, Gu Masters are divided into nine Transformations. The First through Fifth Transformations are mortal, while the Sixth through Ninth Transformations achieve immortality. Among millions of Gu Masters, it's uncertain whether even one will become an immortal. Achieving immortality is too ethereal — even a universally acknowledged genius might not manage it. So let's not talk about immortality; let's talk about the mortal realm."
"In the mortal realm's five Transformations, the First and Second are merely the very beginning, while the Fourth and Fifth represent high-end combat power. The Third Transformation in between serves as a bridge connecting the two. For you two to have cultivated to this step, you've already entered the gates of true mastery. The Third Transformation is especially important. During this period, if you lay a solid foundation and choose the right development direction, you are certain to achieve greatness in the future."
"When a Gu Master reaches the Third Transformation, their individual strength can no longer be ignored. In many stockades, a Third Transformation Gu Master is necessarily an Elder. During this period, a Gu Master must first determine their development direction, then assemble a combination of Gu Insects. If you want to become a logistics Gu Master, your Gu Insects should focus on storage-type Gu. If you want to become a scouting Gu Master, your Gu Insects should revolve around reconnaissance. If you want to achieve accomplishments in combined refinement, you can choose derivation-type Gu Insects to calculate and derive new secret recipes. If you prefer strategy, you can collect Thoughts Like Lightning Gu, Immortal's Guide Gu, and the like."
Wei Yang continued his introduction.
The so-called directions broadly encompassed six major aspects: Attack, Defense, Healing, Storage, Movement, and Reconnaissance.
Healing Gu Masters were commonly called physicians and held an exalted status. Storage Gu Masters served as logistics specialists — no faction could do without one.
Wei Yang himself was a Movement Gu Master, with the Light Rainbow Gu as his core.
Of course, beyond these six major aspects, there were other minor branches.
For instance, specialized contract-refining Gu Masters, whose Gu Insects all accelerated refinement speed or helped suppress a Gu Insect's own willpower.
Or Gu-trapping Gu Masters, who excelled at locating and capturing wild Gu Insects.
In short, at the Third Transformation level, Gu Masters began to develop intricate and detailed professional specializations, becoming more focused and more proficient in particular fields.
At this point, Wei Yang paused and looked at Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing. He asked, "Have you two decided on your development direction?"
"Attack," Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing said in unison, without the slightest hesitation.
Both of them glorified offense — they were aggressive by nature and rebellious to the core.
Wei Yang nodded. He was not at all surprised. Having met countless people, he had already anticipated this choice from the two of them.
He continued, "Then next, we need to choose Gu Insects, assemble them into a combination, and form an interconnected system."
Assembling Gu Insects into sets offered numerous benefits.
First, in terms of feeding — similar Gu Insects consumed similar feed, making it convenient to collect, store, and trade.
Second, in terms of usage — Gu Insects could complement and amplify each other. For example, Wei Yang's Light Rainbow Gu consumed quite a lot of True Essence. So Wei Yang paired it with the Light Source Gu to reduce that consumption.
Finally, in terms of refinement — similar Gu Insects placed together could be combined-refined into higher grades. This not only saved money but also carried a higher success rate compared to combining wildly different Gu Insects.
"You've both chosen Attack as your direction, so without question, you must make your attack-type Gu Insects the core. All other Gu Insects must serve this core. Take Xiao Yan for example — he chose the Pill Fire Gu as his primary attack method, so I recommended he select the Split in Two Gu to increase the number of Pill Fires, and the Giant Gu to enlarge the Pill Fires and boost their power. I also had him take the Fire Source Gu to reduce True Essence expenditure, and the Fire Walking Gu as his mobility Gu." Wei Yang patted Xiao Yan's shoulder.
Xiao Yan put on a bitter face: "Brother Wei, you've spilled all my secrets."
Wei Yang waved it off: "Haha, your secrets were long since figured out by everyone else. Who in the training grounds right now doesn't know what Gu Insects you have?"
He then turned back to Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing: "Even if all your Gu Insects are exposed, it doesn't matter. As long as the combination is well-designed, you can handle any situation. The core Gu Insect is the foundation of the entire set. Have you two thought about what attack-type Gu Insect to use as your core?"
Fang Yuan clenched his fist: "Before this, I've already used many Gu Insects to increase my strength. Power is my advantage, and I want to continue down this path — to crush my opponents with sheer brute force."
Bai Ningbing directly named a Gu Insect: "Frost Demon Gu."
As it happened, Bai Ningbing had originally possessed a Third Transformation Frost Demon Gu. The Frost Demon Gu allowed a Gu Master to transform into a frost demon, and Bai Ningbing had used it very skillfully.
Unfortunately, in the battle against Gu Yue Qingshu, the Frost Demon Gu had been destroyed.
This had left Bai Ningbing yearning for the Frost Demon Gu ever since.
Hearing this, Wei Yang couldn't help but frown: "You want to walk the Force Path and the Ice Path... For the Ice Path, its advantage lies in defense. The Frost Demon Gu, Snow Woman Gu, and Ice Crystal Gu are the three most popular transformation-type Gu. The Frost Demon Gu and Snow Woman Gu are both suited for women, while the Ice Crystal Gu is more fitting for men."
"As for you, Fang Zheng, wanting to walk the Force Path..." Wei Yang shook his head slightly. "I don't mean to discourage you, but this idea isn't reliable. The Force Path is the most ordinary and common choice — why? Because it's cheap. Most Force Path-related Gu Insects are inexpensive. But the Force Path is also the hardest to stand out in — it's easy to become mediocre."
"Honestly, I once walked the Force Path myself. Later, to purify the physical force I'd accumulated, I spent quite a few Yuan Stones. Most Demonic Path Gu Masters lack capital and use the Force Path as a stepping stone. But Brother Fang Zheng, you have a Zi Jing Token and several hundred thousand Yuan Stones in hand — there's absolutely no need to take this detour. It's really hard to distinguish yourself on the Force Path!"
Hearing Wei Yang's words, Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing exchanged a glance and both nodded.
Wei Yang smiled with satisfaction — his words had not been in vain.
Xiao Yan smiled too: "Listening to Brother Wei's lecture, I've gained a great deal as well."