The Second Aperture Gu was merely a hope. To realize it, he would still need careful planning and tremendous effort.
“Refining the Second Aperture Gu, whether successful or not, will consume most of my Immortal Essence. Without it, I won’t be able to withstand the Earth Calamity and Heaven Tribulation that follow. In other words, even if I become the master of this Blessed Land, it will be beyond saving, and I will have to abandon it.”
“Therefore, the Second Aperture Gu is the greatest gain of this trip.”
However, the entire matter was not that simple. The situation Fang Yuan now faced was extremely complex.
Refining the Second Aperture Gu would drastically reduce the remaining Immortal Essence, greatly weakening the Blessed Land, and the Land Spirit’s assistance would grow increasingly minimal.
At the same time, the Gu Masters within the Blessed Land had to be taken into consideration. If they discovered this hall, just like in his previous life, they would undoubtedly join forces to besiege him and disrupt the Gu refinement.
A sharp light flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes. After a moment of deliberation, he took the initiative to make a request. “Land spirit, tell me the secret recipe for refining the Second Aperture Gu.”
The Land Spirit Ba Turtle slowly nodded, its deep voice entering Fang Yuan’s ears. “Then listen carefully. The following is the complete content of the secret recipe.”
“Decayed earth and blood powder, a flower hidden deep in the soil. Jade bones become its petals, icy muscles its stalk, the heart of the flower is the golden sarira. Starfire spreads freely, gathering into a plain of ice and snow. Below it, yang clouds ascend like fire and pills; above it, yin clouds descend like sand and gold. Within the hollow, add the shadows of beasts, until lightning and thunder strike, giving birth to a bestial power placenta. Then, you can gather the human aperture… Wild grass flourishes, blood qi is like the sea. Three hundred years is its spring, five hundred years is its autumn. Divine mechanism is limitless, expanding and roaming the four lands. Add three night watches, then three more, three watches become nine. Nine is the extreme, the great work is accomplished!”
The recipe was extensive and detailed, comprising nearly ten thousand words.
The more Fang Yuan listened, the more solemn his expression became.
Refining this Second Aperture Gu involved thousands of steps. The early stage alone required hundreds of materials, the middle stage consumed a massive amount of Rank Four and Rank Five Gu worms, and it only got harder. In the later stage, it even required the use of another Rank Six Immortal Gu!
“Not good. The difficulty of refining the Second Aperture Gu is far higher than I estimated. The intelligence from my previous life only covered the first half of the recipe, and even that was mixed with many misinterpretations by the source.”
Fang Yuan’s heart sank. His original confidence of fifty percent dropped to around thirty percent after hearing the recipe.
“Don’t worry too much. This hall was already stocked with a large quantity of materials and Gu worms, specifically prepared for refining the Second Aperture Gu,” the Land Spirit said.
As it spoke, the entire hall emitted a profound azure light.
In the brilliant radiance, the relief carvings on the hall’s surface protruded from the brick and stone, transforming into physical objects.
This change surprised Fang Yuan. “This is clearly a storage method, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it. Alas, so many ancient techniques have been lost in the river of time.”
All sorts of materials, a dazzling variety, made his head spin. Gu worms, from Rank One to Rank Five, numbered at least five thousand. Among these, there were over six hundred Rank Four Gu and more than eighty Rank Five Gu!
Rank Five Gu worms, which were extremely rare in the outside world, numbered nearly a hundred in this hall. As for Rank Four Gu, which commanded high prices on the market, they seemed as common as dirt here.
“So many top-grade Gu! And so many Gu I’ve never even seen before… If I could get my hands on these Strength Path Gu worms, my battle power would absolutely skyrocket tenfold! There are also over a dozen Golden Sarira Gu and eight Purple Crystal Sarira Gu! If I used them, I could reach the peak of Rank Five in an instant!”
Looking at these Rank Four and Rank Five Gu, Fang Yuan was momentarily tempted to give up on refining the Second Aperture Gu and just absorb them directly.
But he quickly suppressed this impulse.
With the Land Spirit watching over, these Gu could only be used for refining the Second Aperture Gu; he couldn’t use them for himself.
Moreover, if the Second Aperture Gu was successfully refined, it would be immensely helpful for the future, even providing tremendous benefits when Fang Yuan reached Rank Six.
The Second Aperture Gu was a long-term investment. Its returns would skyrocket, especially after reaching Rank Six!
“There is one more extremely crucial Gu worm,” Ba Turtle said, opening its eyes wide and fully mobilizing the hall.
The azure light in the hall surged intensely, becoming oppressively thick.
The Immortal Essence in the bronze tripod also began to be consumed rapidly, thread by thread.
Fang Yuan squinted. He saw that within this azure light, an Immortal Gu was imprisoned.
It looked like a round piece of jade. The jade was entirely orange-yellow, hollowed out like precious clouds, and inside it was a cluster of purple smoke.
This smoke constantly changed shape, sometimes turning into a winged horse, sometimes into an immortal crane, sometimes into a somersault cloud, and sometimes into a white bolt of lightning.
With its appearance, a strong fragrance of wine immediately spread throughout the hall.
Fang Yuan took a few breaths and immediately felt a wave of drunkenness. His eyes grew hazy, and his head spun. He quickly held his breath.
“This is the Rank Six Immortal Gu — Mind Travel,” the Land Spirit introduced.
Mind Travel Gu!
Fang Yuan’s eyes widened, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on this Gu.
The Mind Travel Gu was very mysterious and legendary. It first appeared in the Legend of Ren Zu.
The Legend of Ren Zu is the number one classic of the Gu Dao. At first glance, it seems like a collection of stories, but it is actually profound in meaning, recording ancient secrets and containing all kinds of Gu. Some Gu are described directly, like Wisdom Gu and Strength Gu. Others are implied, described very obscurely. They require the reader to dig deep and study carefully.
In the Legend of Ren Zu, the Mind Travel Gu first appeared by the side of Tai Yang Yang Mang.
Tai Yang Yang Mang drank the four finest wines in the world. The wine qi gathered in his belly and condensed into the Mind Travel Gu.
The Mind Travel Gu could take a person on a journey through heaven and earth, reaching anywhere. However, when activating it, the person had to be thoroughly drunk and dazed, and the destination could not be controlled.
Tai Yang Yang Mang suffered a lot from the Mind Travel Gu. It took him to many dangerous places, and he narrowly escaped death several times.
“Although the Mind Travel Gu is one of the four great movement Gu and is extremely powerful, its flaw is too great. Who would dare to use it? Even Tai Yang Yang Mang ultimately had to refine the Mind Travel Gu into the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu. No wonder the original owner of this Blessed Land wanted to transform it into the Second Aperture Gu.”
This Fixed Immortal Travel Gu is also one of the four great movement Immortal Gu. It can take a person to any place they think of in their heart, no matter how far. However, the prerequisite is that the person must have a concrete impression of the place in their mind. If the place has undergone a massive change, using the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu will also result in failure.
Fang Yuan thought about it carefully and understood this ancient Strength Path Gu Immortal.
The Mind Travel Gu, though precious as a Rank Six Gu, brought great risk every time it was used. Even though it was Rank Six, its practical value was very low. Therefore, Tai Yang Yang Mang transformed it into the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu, and this ancient Strength Path Gu Master wanted to use it to refine the Second Aperture Gu.
The Land Spirit, Ba Turtle, carefully sealed the Mind Travel Gu again. “When do you plan to start the refinement?”
“No rush. Let me study this recipe thoroughly first.” Fang Yuan immediately sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to meditate quietly.
Man is the spirit of all things; Gu is the true essence of Heaven and Earth.
When a Gu Master’s cultivation reaches a high level, they understand a principle: a Gu Master uses Gu not simply as a tool, but as a pathway to understanding Heaven and Earth.
Gu worms are carriers of fragments of the Great Dao’s laws. Refining Gu is not random guesswork, but an action based on an understanding of the laws.
A secret recipe is not just a method for refining Gu; it is also the developer’s comprehension of Heaven and Earth.
From this recipe, Fang Yuan could learn about the many explorations and insights of the original master of this Blessed Land, the ancient Strength Path Gu Immortal. Comparing them with his own deepened his understanding of the Great Dao. It was undoubtedly a great benefit.
“A Gu Master is naturally born with only one aperture. To create a second one is a true act of defying the heavens. No wonder it requires the Mind Travel Gu.”
After a long time, Fang Yuan opened his eyes. He now had a profound understanding of the entire Gu refining process.
“Land spirit, let’s begin the Gu refinement,” he said.
“Good.” The Land Spirit immediately agreed, delivering two materials and a Gu worm to Fang Yuan.
The first material was the Green Swamp Decayed Earth, harvested from a thousand zhang deep within the Decayed Poison Swamp. It was highly toxic. Even if Fang Yuan touched it with his hand, his entire arm would rot within a few breaths.
The second material was a handful of blood-colored powder. Its origin was also extraordinary. It was the blood of eight types of ancient desolate beasts, mixed together, solidified, and then ground into a powder.