Chapter 392 - 389: A Small Goal

'The Minghuan Gu Scripture...'

'No wonder the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu has the miraculous effect of multiplying cultivation speed. It turns out it came from the hands of a Profound Pill Realm Zhenren!'

'That explains everything!'

Shen Changchuan held the page fragment describing the Void Escape Gu, his eyes glinting as he recalled Wu Tianhao's story.

Originally, Shen Changchuan had been somewhat worried.

He worried that the so-called Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu might be a fabrication.

After all, he had searched nearly the entire Scripture Pavilion of the Dragon Cloud Sect and found no trace or record of such a Gu Insect.

He had heard from his master, Master Wandering Dragon, that the Yuqing Immortal Sect did possess certain Heaven and Earth Treasures capable of increasing a Cultivator's cultivation speed—items that could be implanted into the body or refined into potent elixirs.

But those items were without exception Essences of Heaven and Earth, natural marvels that were considered supreme treasures.

In comparison, the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu, which could be created through artificial refinement, seemed particularly special.

This had naturally aroused a degree of suspicion in Shen Changchuan.

But at the time, he had figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

He thought that with his progress bar panel, improving his Gu Technique would be vastly simpler than it was for other Cultivators.

If he succeeded, the payoff would be enormous and of great benefit to him.

If he failed, the loss wouldn't be significant.

And at the very least, he would have a profound Gu Technique to show for it on his panel—a new skill gained regardless.

After weighing the pros and cons, Shen Changchuan had decided to attempt refining the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu, despite his lingering doubts.

Now, having learned the origin of the Minghuan Gu Scripture, his last shred of worry vanished completely.

'If it has a proper origin, I don't have to worry about it being a fabrication.'

'Besides, if Shadow was able to successfully refine the Void Escape Gu, gaining the incredible ability to traverse space while only at the Soul Emergence Realm...'

'...then it's not at all surprising that the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu can multiply a Cultivator's cultivation speed.'

Shen Changchuan's confidence suddenly grew.

In fact, giving a Cultivator at the Soul Emergence Realm the ability to traverse space was far more difficult to achieve than simply multiplying cultivation speed.

The more difficult of the two had already been accomplished.

It stood to reason that the easier one was also possible.

'The Profound Pill Realm... I wonder what kind of Divine Techniques one possesses at that level.'

'Just a fragment of a couple of pages can create such incredible abilities for Cultivators in the Soul Emergence Realm...'

Gazing at the page fragment before him, Shen Changchuan couldn't help but feel a sense of aspiration swell within him.

A Profound Pill Realm Zhenren...

They were legendary beings who truly stood above all mortals!

To stand at such a Realm was to have taken the first step toward Transcendence over the Immortal Cultivation Realm!

As long as you weren't too ambitious and kept a low profile, you could easily establish a sect, become a patriarch, and live carefree for two thousand years!

That was true freedom, true liberation!

One had to remember that even his own master, Master Wandering Dragon, one of the Yuqing Seven Sons, was the undisputed number one figure in the Tian Nan Domain's Immortal Cultivation Realm. He could even be said to stand at the peak of invincibility in several neighboring Small Domains.

Yet, he was still only at the Divine Travel Peak Realm!

The gap between that Peak and the Profound Pill Realm might have seemed as thin as a line,

but in reality, it was an unbridgeable chasm!

This was not merely a disparity in cultivation and power,

but an even greater one in status!

During a past conversation, Shen Changchuan had learned some things from Wu Tianhao and his senior brother, Hong Yang.

The reason his master, Master Wandering Dragon, had been marginalized and forced to leave the Immortal Sect was that his backer—a sect grand-master at the Profound Pill Realm—was nearing the end of his life. He had already entered a death-seclusion, and the consensus was that he would almost certainly perish in the attempt.

With their backer about to fall,

the vast interests their faction controlled naturally became a coveted prize for all the other factions.

To avoid getting caught up in the sect's internal power struggles and wasting his energy,

Master Wandering Dragon had been forced to cut his losses to survive.

He had decisively severed ties with all non-essential interests, retaining only the most critical assets, and had temporarily distanced himself from the main Sect.

If Master Wandering Dragon could only break through to the Profound Pill Realm,

then all the covetous gazes and political pressure on him would vanish into thin air!

Because at that time,

Master Wandering Dragon would become a power unto himself within the Immortal Sect!

One could only imagine how high the status of the Profound Pill Realm was!

However,

crossing that threshold was no easy feat.

Every century, the Yuqing Immortal Sect produced a new generation of the Yuqing Seven Sons.

But in the end,

of those seven,

very few ever managed to break through to the Profound Pill Realm...

'Forget it. The Profound Pill Realm is too far off. I should focus on the present.'

After letting his imagination run for a moment,

Shen Changchuan quickly reined in his wandering thoughts.

Even his master, at the Divine Travel Peak Realm, wasn't guaranteed to break through to the Profound Pill Realm.

And he was just a minor Soul Emergence Fourth Layer cultivator.

For him, the Divine Travel Realm was still a distant, unreachable sky.

To be thinking about the Profound Pill Realm, which was even beyond that,

was simply too unrealistic.

Time to be realistic!

For instance,

he would first set a small goal:

refine the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu,

and also reach the Soul Emergence Sixth Layer Peak in the shortest possible time.

These were the goals he should be focused on at his current stage!

'I have to refine the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu. After reaching the Soul Emergence Middle Stage, every small step forward takes several times longer than it did in the Early Stage!'

'Without the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu to aid my cultivation, reaching the Soul Emergence Sixth Layer would probably take more than a decade!'

'Thankfully, Master has a lead on the Gold-Devouring Spirit Butterfly, so good news should be coming soon... Still, I can't pin all my hopes on him. The fighting in the Broken Soul Mountain Range is intense, and he might not have the spare energy to worry about my needs...'

'I need to have a backup plan. I'll also try to find news of the Gold-Devouring Spirit Butterfly myself... And since the clues point to the Spirit Race of the Four Major Clans, I need to start gathering information on them as soon as possible.'

'The last thing I want is to be caught completely blind when I need that information.'

These thoughts flashed through Shen Changchuan's mind as he plotted his course.

He already had a rough idea of what to do next.

As for...

...the Void Escape Gu...

Shen Changchuan's gaze fell upon the fragment of the Minghuan Gu Scripture in his hand.

'It's a fantastic item, no doubt, but the problem is that refining a single Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu is already a huge hassle. Gathering the materials listed for the Void Escape Gu would likely take several years, if not a decade or more.'

'I'll worry about it after I've successfully refined the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu. I simply don't have the energy to work on a second Gu from the Minghuan Gu Scripture at the same time.'

Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly

and placed the fragment into his Storage Bag.

He was well aware of his own limitations.

The materials for the Void Escape Gu were even more difficult to acquire than those for the Golden Wind Jade Dew Gu; they couldn't possibly be collected in a short period of time.

'It's a shame Lifebound Gu Insects can't be stolen. The Void Escape Gu that Shadow possessed is only useful as a reference specimen now.'

'If I could have just taken it, I wouldn't need to go through all the trouble of finding materials to refine a new one from scratch.'

A trace of regret flashed through his mind.

Suppressing his regretful thoughts,

Shen Changchuan began sorting through the spoils he had taken from Shadow.

To his delight,

perhaps because of being constantly hunted and having no fixed home, Shadow's Storage Bag contained his entire fortune.

Inside were numerous precious Heavenly and Earthly Treasures acquired with the help of the Void Escape Gu, a large batch of Middle Grade Spirit Stones, and even three Top Grade Spirit Stones.

His own Storage Bag, which had been emptied by his breakthrough to the Soul Emergence Fourth Layer,

was instantly and massively replenished!