Chapter Fifty-Six: Refining Gu in the Primal Chaos

After returning to the Treasure-Seeker Pavilion, Song Changsheng resumed his usual routine. True to his promise, he invited Zhu Yiqun to a feast at the Jade Delicacies Hall, but beyond that, he remained secluded within the forge, quietly honing his skills in artifact refinement.

Lacking sufficient second-tier materials for practice, his progress was slow; he was still a step away from reaching the lower second tier. One day, having just completed a batch of orders, Song Changsheng went downstairs for some fresh air. Suddenly, a peculiar sensation struck him, and he glanced out onto the bustling street.

His gaze passed through the throng, landing abruptly on a figure wearing a silver mask. Song Changsheng’s pupils contracted sharply.

“Feng Wuming?”

A jolt of alarm ran through him. When he looked again, the spot was empty.

“So he’s come at last, but why show himself to me on purpose? Is this a warning, or…?” Uncertainty clouded Song Changsheng’s mind.

“This man is truly dangerous. It seems I must find a way to eliminate him.” He had originally planned to lie low within his clan, waiting until his strength was sufficient to resolve this matter, but now that his foe had appeared so quickly, he could hardly be blamed for calling in reinforcements.

Back in his room, Song Changsheng retrieved the messenger flying sword left by Song Luyao. He drew a drop of essence blood to activate it, whispered a message, and sent the sword streaking in a beam of light toward Cangmang Peak.

It would take time for help to arrive. For his own safety, he decided to remain shut in his room, cultivating without pause.

As night fell, Song Changsheng approached the window, facing the silver moon, drawing in the essence of moonlight. Half an hour into his cultivation, an inexplicable heat began to rise within him. At first he paid it little mind, but it soon intensified, a burning sensation flaring in his dantian.

He suspected a mishap in his cultivation and quickly recited the Heart-Cleansing Incantation, but no matter how many times he repeated it, there was no relief.

The pain became so intense he nearly cried out. Suddenly, the image of the silver mask he had glimpsed that day flashed through his mind. At once, he realized he had been poisoned with a gu.

“The methods of a gu master are truly insidious—just a single encounter, and I’ve already fallen for his trick. But don’t get too pleased with yourself; I am no pushover!”

Gritting his teeth, Song Changsheng forced himself into a seated posture and formed hand seals, activating the Yin-Yang Profound Radiance Scripture. The primordial qi he had accumulated over many years surged forth.

This primordial qi, the result of years of absorbing the essences of sun and moon, was both rare and precious—he had scarcely gathered a wisp and a half over more than a decade, and had always been reluctant to use it.

But now, he could afford no such restraint. He mobilized all his primordial qi to suppress the raging storm within his dantian.

At the same time, his divine sense swept rapidly through his body, finally discovering, in an inconspicuous corner of his dantian, a tiny worm writhing like a maggot.

Its entire body was blood-red, part of it buried deep in his dantian, the rest emitting an unknown gas that caused him excruciating agony.

“A gu worm, as expected! How dare you take root in my dantian—let’s see if I don’t refine you today!”

Song Changsheng’s face was twisted in pain. He swiftly circulated his cultivation technique, splitting the primordial qi into its constituent sun and moon essences.

The yin moonlight essence formed a protective membrane around his fragile meridians and acupoints, while the yang sunlight essence ignited into a blazing fire within his dantian, turning it into a gigantic furnace that began refining everything inside.

The process was agony, like being burned alive, but Song Changsheng clenched his teeth and endured. The gu worm, unable to withstand such an environment, tried to bore through his dantian at the last moment, but the fierce sunlight essence, pure yang and utterly domineering, instantly incinerated it.

Such a brutal method of breaking a gu would be impossible for others. Drawing sunlight essence into one’s dantian was suicidal; even if the gu died, so would the host. Only Song Changsheng, with his unique cultivation and the protection of moonlight essence, survived unscathed.

He exhaled a long breath and collapsed onto the floor like a pile of mud. In that instant, almost all his spiritual power had been consumed, leaving him weaker than ever before.

At the very moment the gu worm perished, a scream rang out from a nearby inn not far from the Treasure-Seeker Pavilion.

Clutching his chest, Feng Wuming’s eyes were filled with disbelief, fear, and rage. “My Fire Venom Gu is dead! How could he possibly have killed my Fire Venom Gu?”

The Fire Venom Gu was one of the five life-bound gu worms he had painstakingly cultivated. Though only first-tier, it could trouble even Foundation Establishment cultivators. He had intended to use it to control Song Changsheng, but now Song had forcibly refined it to death.

This was far more than the mere loss of a gu worm—it brought severe backlash upon him.

Feng Wuming could not comprehend how Song Changsheng had managed to destroy his Fire Venom Gu so quickly; such a feat was unheard of for a mere Qi Refining cultivator.

“Cough, cough… I must tend to my injuries at once.” Feng Wuming hurriedly swallowed some pills and began healing.

During this brief respite, Song Luyao and her companions, having received Song Changsheng’s message, arrived at the Flowing Cloud Market.

Given the dangers posed by a gu master, not only did Song Luyao come, but the Grand Elder, Song Xianyun, descended the mountain in person, bringing powerful artifacts in hopes of eliminating this threat directly.

Upon their arrival, they contacted the local wardens stationed in the market for assistance.

Wang Wanzhou and the Li family, longtime allies of the Songs, readily agreed to cooperate. Du Huating, who had previously clashed with Song Changsheng and Song Luyao, had not intended to help, but at the mention of a gu master, his resolve faltered and he immediately pledged his support.

The gu masters’ fearsome, or rather infamous, reputation had spread throughout the entire cultivation world. Faced with one who would dare show himself so brazenly, all rose to join the hunt.

Five Foundation Establishment experts combined their strength, laying a net of heaven and earth, and began a sweeping search through the market.

Feng Wuming, having used gu worms to control several puppets among the local shop attendants, received word as soon as the search began.

Though the enemy’s approach was overwhelming and his own wounds unhealed, Feng Wuming did not panic. This was far from the first time he had faced such circumstances, and he was confident in his ability to break through the encirclement.

He awakened the remainder of his life-bound gu worms and waited patiently for his chance.

Meanwhile, Song Xianyun’s search brought him near the inn. His divine sense spread out, probing for any suspicious auras.

Suddenly, the roof of the inn exploded, and Feng Wuming shot out like a bolt of lightning. With a sweep of his sleeve, a gu worm silently struck at Song Xianyun’s heart…