Chapter 15: Gu Refinement
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Zhao Wen's POV
Entering the refinement room, Zhao Wen was greeted by the sight of Lord Han quietly meditating. Although he gave no sign that he had noticed Zhao Wen's entry, Zhao Wen still bowed respectfully, greeting Lord Han with the appropriate attitude.
Having performed the expected greeting, Zhao Wen calmly waited for Lord Han's acknowledgment. Although he didn't really care for the formalities, Zhao Wen still performed them.
To do otherwise would be a breach of etiquette and, more importantly, it might be seen as a slight against Lord Han. Interaction between humans was, after all, framed around these rituals and customs.
If one wanted to break these traditions, one either needed great status and strength or to be ready to become ostracized and excluded by others.
Being brought out of his train of thought by the sound of movement, Zhao Wen perceived Lord Han standing up and speaking in his hoarse voice,
"Come here, I have made most of the preparations needed for this refinement already."
Walking over towards the cauldron, Lord Han gestured towards one of the tables where multiple Gu refinement ingredients were carefully placed.
"Although you will only be acting as my assistant during this Gu refinement, this is still an important learning opportunity for you. By observing my actions, you gain a reference and example on how to perform the various steps in Gu refinement.
Studying recipes and techniques can only take you so far; to master Gu refinement, you need to actually practice refining Gu."
Observing Zhao Wen seriously, Lord Han continued,
"Even if you don't become a Gu refiner, you still need to at the very least understand the process to some extent so that you can spot faulty materials and realize when a Gu refiner is deliberately tampering with the refinement process.
Although this isn't a concern for you at the moment as I am refining this Gu for you, if you contract an external Gu refiner to refine your Gu, you need to at the very least understand the general process of Gu refinement if you wish to become a competent Gu master."
Listening to Lord Han's lecture on the importance of understanding Gu refinement, Zhao Wen reaffirmed his earlier plans:
[I always intended to refine my higher-ranked mortal Gu by myself. As my inheritance only covers up to rank 4, I will probably need to invent some Gu of my own and refine them myself when I need rank 5 Gu.
Mortal Gu refinement isn't that hard anyway; if my talent truly is as great as the old man thinks, then relying on myself to refine Gu under rank 6 should be doable.]
Observing Zhao Wen's earnest expression, Lord Han's mood improved as he realized that his student had taken his lecture to heart. Who knew what expression he would make if he knew the casual disdain his student had for mortal Gu refinement?
He would definitely scold the arrogant youngster for having such dismissive thoughts about his lifetime achievement of becoming a quasi-master Gu refiner.
Having imparted his wisdom to the younger generation, Lord Han had Zhao Wen go through the Gu refinement recipe and familiarize himself with the procedures Lord Han would go through to complete the Gu refinement.
"There are two ways to go about refining this Phantom Pellet Gu. Firstly, we can refine the rank 1 version before elevating it to rank 2, or we can refine the rank 2 version directly.
If you were going to refine this Gu by yourself, I would highly recommend that you choose the former method as while it takes more time, it is also safer."
Observing Zhao Wen for a few seconds to allow him to contemplate the options, Lord Han continued,
"We, however, will be using the latter method. We are doing this because it will be a good demonstration for you about this method of refinement."
Following that statement, Lord Han gestured towards the materials, saying,
"Now I want you to check those materials and see if they are fit to be used in Gu refinement. Remember that when using the human isolation style, the Gu refinement recipe needs to be followed exactly; to do otherwise is to court death.
I will start heating the cauldron. Once you are done with your inspection, we can start the refinement."
Following Lord Han's instructions, Zhao Wen started observing the refinement materials for any deviations or defects from what was described in the recipe.
[There are three main Gu refinement materials involved in refining the rank 2 Phantom Pellet Gu. Firstly, the main material, a chunk of phantom stone weighing no more than 1 kg. Secondly, eleven half-withered petals from the night orchid. Thirdly and finally, 200 milliliters of aetherial dew.]
Picking up the chunk of phantom stone, Zhao Wen observed it carefully, looking for any clear impurities. Finding none, he deactivated the rank 1 Gu he was using and activated another to check the weight of the stone.
Finding no problems, Zhao Wen placed the stone back down and started observing the other ingredients. After examining them, he concluded that they probably were without fault.
The reason that he wasn't completely sure was that he knew his methods and experience were limited, so it was possible he might have overlooked something.
Turning away from the materials, Zhao Wen approached Lord Han and explained his findings. The experienced refiner listened to Zhao Wen's explanation calmly.
When Zhao Wen had finished, he praised him for his attempt before pointing out some things Zhao Wen had overlooked.
Having used this opportunity to impart his knowledge to Zhao Wen, Lord Han finally started the Gu refinement.
Manipulating the aetherial dew to cover the phantom stone, Lord Han used the dew to slowly polish the phantom stone, turning the originally rough piece of rock into a smaller and smaller sphere.
Adding in primeval essence stones from time to time caused the phantom stone and aetherial dew to clash as they reacted to the concentrated essence.
As the Gu refinement neared its most crucial step and it seemed as if the phantom stone and aetherial dew were about to erupt, Lord Han quickly added the night orchid petals and increased the heat inside the cauldron.
As the fragile night orchid petals entered the volatile mixture, they seemed to be the final catalyst that caused the law fragments inside the materials to finally fuse as the aetherial dew together with the night orchid petals evaporated and entered the phantom stone.
Pulling the Phantom stone out of the cauldron, Lord Han observed it for a few seconds before smiling in satisfaction as the stone started to crack and an aetherial ant crawled out.
Turning to Zhao Wen, Lord Han made the newly refined Phantom Pellet Gu float over to Zhao Wen as he said,
"You can refine the Gu now."
Receiving the Gu, Zhao Wen quickly refined it before bowing in gratitude, thanking Lord Han for his help.
Acknowledging Zhao Wen's thanks, Lord Han contemplated for a few seconds before saying,
"Little Zhao, I am very happy with your progress in Gu refinement so far. As someone who wishes to see your refinement talent blossom in the future, I realize that in order to motivate you properly, some rewards are necessary.
Before, you asked if you could borrow the rank 3 Hatred Gu, and I denied your request as I wanted you to focus on comprehending Phantom Fiend's inheritance.
But now, I am willing to lend the Gu to you. If you continue excelling in my refinement lessons, I can even hand over the Gu to you directly."
Hearing Lord Han say this, Zhao Wen was somewhat surprised, thinking,
[He is willing to hand over the core Gu worm of the Emotion Path inheritance? What changed? Before, I got the impression that he would hoard the Zhao family inheritances at least until he got a grandchild or two?
Well, whatever, this is a good development. With that Hatred Gu, I will be able to test if I can summon the Berserker Bear Phantom at will. If so, then I will have a complete offensive killer move at my disposal.]
Outwardly, Zhao Wen adopted a surprised and joyful expression as he thanked Lord Han for his generosity, again causing the Han patriarch to smile happily.
Truly, having a respectful and grateful student was a joyous experience.
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As the weeks passed and the day of departure approached, Zhao Wen continued his refinement lessons with Lord Han in the morning while he practiced his killer moves during the afternoons.
Zhao Wen had managed to start refining rank 1 Gu with a decent success rate, something that made Lord Han very joyous, with him secretly remarking that having a talented student truly was a joy.
As for his personal training, it turned out that Hatred Gu truly could be used to summon the beast phantom, although at the cost of filling Zhao Wen with the intent of murdering whatever he used as the target.
While this downside might not be that fatal when fighting beasts, Gu masters could use this as bait to commit mistakes when his mind was filled with the intent to kill.
Zhao Wen had also made good progress in his attempts to learn the killer move Flying Phantom.
Unlike other flying-type Gu like Eagle Wings Gu that required the Gu master to learn how to manipulate the new wings, the combination of Turn Phantom and Soul Fly Gu only required the Gu master to will his body to move in a direction.
This made the learning curve easier, with Zhao Wen only needing to figure out how to maneuver properly in the air, something that was proving quite challenging.
This was further complicated by the fact that Zhao Wen could phase right through matter when he was a phantom. He had even started contemplating if he should get a Gu that always pointed towards the sky so that he would never get lost inside the ground.
Standing at the center of the courtyard he used as his training ground, Zhao Wen was concentrating on the Gu worms inside his aperture. He was currently attempting to execute the second level of Phantom Rotation.
Although he couldn't execute this move in the middle of a chaotic battle, he had grown confident in executing it in this controlled environment.
Activating Gu one by one, disregarding the waste of primeval
essence, Zhao Wen slowly executed the technique.
Activating Turn Phantom Gu and Soul Fly Gu, Zhao Wen became aetherial as he floated in place. Although Turn Phantom Gu struggled to turn him aetherial, it still managed after a few seconds. Once he was aetherial, he moved his focus towards Hatred Gu.
Activating the Gu, Zhao Wen felt a rush of hatred and killing intent as he observed the stone he had placed at the other end of the courtyard.
Reacting to Zhao Wen's mental state, the Berserker Bear Beast Phantom manifested behind him, growling furiously as it looked around, its eyes filled with bloodlust.
Turning his focus towards the two final Gu, Zhao Wen activated Condense Phantom Gu, taking his time to harmonize with the Berserker Bear Phantom.
Once the beast phantom covered him completely, Zhao Wen activated the final Gu worm, completing the killer move: Flying Phantom Strike.
Willing himself to accelerate towards the stone, Zhao Wen seemingly flickered out of existence as he disappeared from his original spot and appeared before the stone.
Striking the stone with the force of a bear, Zhao Wen felt his bones creak as they endured the countershock.
As fast as he had appeared, Zhao Wen flickered away, appearing at another corner of the courtyard. Like this, he kept on flickering in for an attack before disappearing again afterward.
Flickering away from the pile of gravel, Zhao Wen deactivated the killer move as his remaining primeval essence was almost expended. Standing still as he calmed his raging emotions, Zhao Wen analyzed his recent actions.
Smiling ruefully, he contemplated,
[Sure enough, Hatred Gu's influence is truly fierce. When I use my Phantom Beast Regalia, I truly turn into a berserker, fighting without fearing death.]
Observing the pile of gravel, Zhao Wen frowned,
[With this drawback, Phantom Beast Regalia can only be used as a finishing move. If I use it too early, then I will likely be baited by my opponent, potentially losing my life in the process.]
Thinking about Hatred Gu, Zhao Wen's frown slowly disappeared,
[Though it is not like Hatred Gu only brings drawbacks. If it truly was such a detrimental Gu worm, then it wouldn't be such a legendary Gu.
Hatred Gu's passive effect of amplifying every attack against the person's target is truly wonderful. Even though my Berserker Bear Phantom is only rank 2, its strength has reached the peak of rank 3 with the amplification of Hatred Gu.
If I cultivated the Zhao family Strength Path inheritance to rank 3, I might be able to fight rank 4 Gu masters with the amplification of Hatred Gu.
No wonder Zhao Ping and Jia Shui were able to occupy the positions of Judgement Hall elders. With them working together, they could probably threaten a rank 4 Gu master's life.]
Finishing his contemplation, Zhao Wen moved towards his residence. He had a scheduled meeting with Lord Han in an hour, and he wanted to eat something and clean himself before then.