Chapter 12: Finding a Path
After thinking about it for some time, I have concluded that introducing the "gifts" the way I did does not work that well. They would have been a plot point for the immortal ranks, but there are still 100+ chapters to go before we approach those, and I think I can implement my idea better then. So, I have chosen to remove them for now.
Anyway, enough about my ramblings. Here are today's questions and chapter:
1. If you got the chance to choose any venerable inheritance, whose inheritance would you choose?
2. Do you think that Tai Bai Yun Sheng's age of reaching rank 6 is the norm? (He was around 80 when he ascended to rank 6.)
3. Do you think Gu Immortals from the two heavens can ignore the regional walls?
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Zhao Wen POV
As Zhao Wen made his way towards the treasury, he started to plan out the coming weeks' cultivation pace.
With a month left until he had to leave on a potentially deadly mission, Zhao Wen knew he needed to focus on increasing his survivability and combat prowess as much as possible.
The treasury gate was ornate, with patterns of coiling golden dragons covering the frame of the gate, with tough black iron bands running across its surface. The gate gave an impression of security and impregnability.
Standing in front of the gate was a group of four rank 2 Gu masters, all of whom observed Zhao Wen impassively as he approached the treasury. When it became clear that Zhao Wen was moving towards the treasury, one of the guards spoke up, saying,
"This humble warden greets Lord Elder Zhao. May I inquire what Lord Zhao wishes to inquire about?"
Hearing the guard's question, Zhao Wen smiled mirthfully, thinking,
[He is asking if I have permission to be here, isn't he? Sigh, if I had more free time, I might take some time teasing him by playing dumb before showing the token Lord Han gave me. Ah well, maybe after I return from that irritating mission, I might get a chance to do that.]
With a kind smile, Zhao Wen replied to the guard,
"Here is the token I received from Lord Han. Please have the formation check it."
Taking the token, the guard quickly and efficiently placed it in an alcove in the wall, waiting for the formation to give confirmation of the token's validity.
And within less than three seconds, the verification was done, and the guard handed the token back to Zhao Wen, saying,
"Lord Zhao, this token gives you access to the outer treasury. This is where the Han branch stores our merchandise, bulk refinement resources, and our Gu armory.
Your token gives you the right to take anything you want out of the outer treasury, though keep in mind that all of your withdrawals will be logged by the branch scribes.
Inside, you will see the gate to the inner treasury. Currently, you don't have the authority to enter, as only the patriarch and the heir of the Han branch can enter that hidden sanctum."
Hearing the guard, Zhao Wen nodded in confirmation. He had expected that his withdrawals would be logged as that was only natural. What caught his attention, however, was the inner treasury.
[Inner treasury? Hmm, that is probably where the branch stores our rank 4 and 5 Gu together with the high-tier Gu refinement materials.
Well, considering that I am the most likely candidate for the heirship to the Han branch, I will likely have access to that treasury eventually. If I wish to leave the Ye clan in the future, I might as well rob that inner treasury clean then.
I imagine that old man's face would be priceless if he hears about his carefully nurtured heir robbing his Han branch clean before absconding into the desert.]
Replying to the guard who had checked his token, Zhao Wen asked,
"May I enter the outer treasury? I have some Gu I need to retrieve."
Hearing Zhao Wen's request, the guards quickly started to open the gate. When it was opened, one of the guards asked,
"Lord Zhao, do you want a guide? I know the inside like the back of my hand. I will definitely find whatever you are looking for."
Considering it for a second or two, Zhao Wen replied earnestly,
"Please show me around. I would appreciate an introduction to the Han branch's assets."
—-----
Holding the three Flash of Inspiration Gu, Zhao Wen contemplated the contents of the outer vault.
Inside, Zhao Wen had seen many sealed rank 1 to rank 2 Gu.
The variety covered many of the major paths with some minor paths thrown in. Paths like Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, and Dark had at least a complete set of Gu from rank 1 to 2, with there being a sparse selection of Gu from other paths like the Lightning and Strength paths.
These Gu, however, were not the main contents of this outer treasury. The Han branch had held the position of refinement hall elders since its inception and had built up a large stockpile of various refinement materials over the years.
The most valuable of these materials were, of course, stored inside the inner treasury or carried on the Han patriarch's person, but the low-ranked resources were all stowed in bulk in the outer treasury.
Zhao Wen had been somewhat impressed when he had seen the quantity of materials the Han branch stored. He was certain that if all of these materials were sold, then one might be able to purchase a decent rank 5 Gu.
However, his objective had been the twenty or so Flash of Inspiration Gu that were sealed close to the entrance to the inner treasury.
After he took out three Flash of Inspiration Gu, he had turned around and walked out, as he was fairly certain that this amount was already close to the bottom line.
[Alright, the old man told me that I can use the ascension formation for four days. I have already reached a bottleneck in my understanding of phantom rotation and flying phantom.
I will use these Flash of Inspiration Gu and the assistance of that formation to understand how I am supposed to integrate these moves and use them in tandem with my strength path cultivation.
Hopefully, these three Gu will be enough to utilize the first level of phantom rotation. If I am lucky, I might be able to start working on the second level as well.]
Placing the Gu into his aperture, Zhao Wen observed the sunset through the window, considering,
[I need to be in my best condition tomorrow when I use the formation. I should probably skip the pre-bed cultivation session today.
If I keep assaulting my stone membrane aperture wall until midnight like usual, I might not receive enough rest to perform optimally.
Hmmm, it can't be helped. I only need to spend some more time later cultivating to make up for the missed time.]
With this thought, Zhao Wen lay down on the exceedingly soft bed and quickly fell asleep, dreaming about a great swordsman piercing the heavens.
The following morning, as Zhao Wen made his way towards the ascension hall, he felt a mix of anticipation and worry. What if the Flash of Inspiration Gu didn't work? What if they did work but couldn't help him with this problem?
Smiling ruefully, Zhao Wen thought,
[Sigh, there is no need to worry about this. Either this helps me or it doesn't. I can only do my best to comprehend the technique and killer moves left by Phantom Fiend.
If my talent is lacking, then so be it. I can always sell this inheritance and switch paths or invest enough effort to create a qualitative change.
On another note, I really should look into getting some rank 1 Gu to deal with this heat.]
As he approached the entrance to the ascension hall, the elder responsible for it approached him.
As he felt Zhao Wen's rank three upper stage aura, his expression warped slightly, but he quickly fixed his expression as he asked,
"Elder Zhao, during the coming four days you can use the ascension formation for 64 hours in total. You yourself can decide when you wish to use this time, but in four days any extra time you have will be lost."
Seeing Zhao Wen's acknowledgment, the elder continued,
"As this isn't an attempted breakthrough, the maximum recommended continuous usage of the formation is no more than 20 hours.
We have found that using the formation for longer than that produces diminishing returns, as the formation usually excavates the buried potential after roughly 15 hours."
Hearing the elder, Zhao Wen grew interested and asked,
"What do you mean by the formation usually excavates the buried potential after roughly 15 hours? If you don't mind explaining it to me."
Hearing Zhao Wen's question, the elder smiled and gestured,
"Certainly, I don't mind explaining my meager understanding of this great formation. Why don't we go inside and talk over a cup of tea? You arrived early anyway; my assistants need some time to power up the formation."
Smiling in response, Zhao Wen followed the elder inside the hall, leaving the stifling heat behind.
—----
"So this formation helps the user by using memory thought Gu to excavate the Gu master's experiences and knowledge before using Inspiration Gu to help the Gu master connect the dots and solve their problem."
Nodding in confirmation to Zhao Wen's summary, the elder said,
"Yes, that is indeed the function of this formation. Because this formation relies on the Gu master's own knowledge to produce its results, its efficacy is dependent on the Gu master's own accumulation.
In all of my years of managing this formation, I have realized that on average 15 hours is enough to exhaust the accumulated insights buried inside ordinary Gu masters' memories.
This is why I said that the formation would lose much of its efficacy after 20 hours, as once all of the low-hanging fruits are plucked, it becomes exponentially more difficult to progress with or without the ascension formation's help."
Thanking the elder for his insights on the ascension formation, Zhao Wen eventually entered the formation, prepared to spend at least 20 hours inside.
—
Sitting inside the center of the ascension formation, Zhao Wen prepared himself for the coming experience. Due to his previous usage of the formation, he somewhat knew what to expect.
Waiting quietly for the formation to activate, Zhao Wen tried to relax, breathing calmly and focusing on his calm primeval essence sea.
[I shouldn't use these Flash of Inspiration Gu too quickly. It's better to let the formation do its part first before using the Gu when I have reached an impasse.]
Eventually, with a familiar jolt, Zhao Wen felt his thoughts speed up and his focus sharpen as the ascension formation activated in full.
Immersing himself in the waterfall of thoughts and memories the formation brought up, Zhao Wen eventually turned his attention towards the problem that had been haunting him.
[How do I use phantom rotation while the strength path dao marks are hindering me?]
Immersing himself in his memories about his cultivation so far and in anything related, Zhao Wen started to make connections and gain insights.
[Man is the spirit of all living beings; Gu are the essence of heaven and earth. Primordial Origin's famous quote meant to guide future generations. When talking to Tai Bai Yun Sheng, Fang Yuan summarized this quote to Dao.
Everything is part of the Dao, and us mere humans merely attempt to comprehend existence by walking on various paths. Is this not my problem? I am trying to walk on my own path but am hindered by the previous owner's steps?
Gu and dao marks can be considered fragments of the greater Dao. Aren't I currently trying to use my Phantom path methods to overpower the strength path foundation of this body?
It is like how fixed immortal travel couldn't transport Fang Yuan because of his extensive dao marks of other paths.
He needed to create a killer move that used his refinement path dao marks in order to use fixed immortal travel again. Turning those other dao marks from a burden to a strength.]
Activating both Turn Phantom and Condense Phantom, Zhao Wen tried to calmly achieve the state he wanted.
A strange scene could be seen inside the ascension hall. Inside, a youth sat quietly meditating, his body kept on turning illusory from time to time as he kept on hitting his left-hand palm with his right hand.
Sometimes the right hand went straight through the palm, while other times it connected. If anyone was observing, they would feel the clear aura of multiple rank 3 Gu activating and deactivating as the hours rolled by.
As midnight approached, the youth stopped his attempts, calming down and slowly absorbing primeval essence stones. Smiling faintly, Zhao Wen thought,
[It seems I have reached an impasse. Either I change my approach and try to overpower the strength path dao marks, or this is when I use those Flash of Inspiration Gu.]
Closing his eyes, Zhao Wen activated the Flash of Inspiration Gu. As the primeval essence entered the Gu, it transformed into brilliant white light as it charged into his brain. With his eyes shining brilliantly, Zhao Wen realized how he could proceed.
[Beast Phantom! I see! This is the key I was missing! Right, right, the original Zhao Wen cultivated a Bear Phantom. This was his strength! He was often described as a ferocious bear, mauling his opposition with fierce determination.
If I integrate his Bear Phantom with Phantom Rotation, I will be able to produce greater strength than even Phantom Fiend!]
Standing up excitedly, Zhao Wen entered an appropriate combat stance while calmly breathing in.
He knew that the Bear Phantom the original had cultivated was the Berserker Bear, a beast that grew in strength the more damaged it was and the angrier it was.
Knowing this, Zhao Wen resolved himself, taking a deep breath before starting to mutilate himself while imagining every wrong ever done to him in his past life, including his unfortunate demise.
He knew he needed to grasp this moment of insight fiercely, so he did not hesitate to do something that might otherwise be considered somewhat extreme.
As he cracked his third rib, he took a painful breath of air, not hesitating in the slightest to activate a second Flash of Inspiration Gu as he started using Turn Phantom Gu, Condense Phantom Gu, and Amplify Effect Gu using the first form of Phantom Rotation.
As he breathed out, his eyes started to give out a brilliant white light as he punched forward with all of his strength, maintaining a phantom form throughout. As the fist was flying through the air, Zhao Wen felt something inside his body react to his attack and to his anguish and indignant fury.
Materializing next to his fist, a bear paw followed the fist as it flew forward. Zhao Wen felt more than heard the growl of the beast behind his head as the fist connected with the air, sending a fierce gust of air blasting out of the ascension hall's entrance accompanied by the angry roar of a berserker bear.
Entering the hall, the ascension hall's elder shouted,
"Zhao Wen, you can't be using rank 3 offensive killer moves inside this hall! If you damage it, we can't... Elder Zhao! Are you alright?"
"Ha ha, cough, cough, ha, success… I did it… I, I have found a path I can walk. "