Playing with Fire (2)
Gu Guangzhi had used most of his primeval essence during the refinement of Blood spark Gu so he asked for a short rest while his primeval essence regenerated. But Yu Wen Zi asked him to expend all of his primeval essence before proceeding with the next step. He also asked him to store all his gu insects externally leaving only the vital gu and the Blood spark Gu in his aperture. The Blood spark Gu could not be removed from the aperture due to its unique nature. It would dissipate and die outside of Gu Guangzhi's aperture.
Yu Wen Zi took out Upscale acupuncture Gu. This was a Rank 3 metal path gu insect. It could be used to improve the physique of a gu master. The improvements can only be observed in long term but it can accommodate the use of more strength path gu insects. Strength path gu insects improved the physique of a gu master but there was a limit to accumulation of strength. Upscale acupuncture Gu could be used to increase that limit. Yu Wen Zi used the Upscale acupuncture Gu on Gu Guangzhi. Several fine needles appeared and pierced him in several places.
Yu Wen Zi then took out phantom reaper peppers. It was an exotic mortal material that was known to have killed gu masters who used it improperly. Yu Wen Zi ordered Gu Guangzhi to eat it. Gu Guangzhi gulped as he ate it. He felt a hot sensation filling up and soon within seconds, he felt that his aperture was also heating up. Yu Wen Zi then used Chilling Wind Gu to cool the fine acupuncture needles on Gu Guangzhi's body and then proceeded to use Qi pressure Gu to force the needles into Gu Guangzhi's body. Under the effect of phantom reaper pepper, Gu Guangzhi could feel phantom piercings through his aperture.
Gu Guangzhi felt immense pain and was about to go unconscious due to shock but with help from Yu Wen Zi, he willed himself awake. Once the needles were fully penetrated, Yu Wen Zi told Gu Guangzhi to pour the primeval essence that was generated in his aperture since the beginning of this step. This newly generated primeval essence was a half finished product of this process. It had an innate healing nature. Gu Guangzhi poured this primeval essence into the Blood spark Gu. It ignited and exploded in his aperture forcing all the phantom needles out of the aperture. A new gu insect was formed in his aperture. This was a Rank 2 Boiling essence Gu. It was an expenditure type gu. It activated on its own and dissolved in Gu Guangzhi's aperture. Gu Guangzhi felt extremely tired and went unconscious. Yu Wen Zi smiled at the success of the refinement and slowly pulled out the needles from Gu Guangzhi's body and provided him nourishment using a healing type gu as he was resting.
Gu Guangzhi's water wolf was worried for him through out the procedure. When he fainted, the water wolf almost attacked Yu Wen Zi but it stopped when it realized that Yu Wen Zi didn't have any evil intentions.
Gu Guangzhi woke up a few hours later. He felt refreshed and inspected his aperture. The aperture walls of a Rank 2 initial stage gu master should have a light membrane as aperture walls. Gu Guangzhi observed that the outer layer of the aperture felt the same but the inner layer was porous in nature as if it had many holes in it. To his surprise, the primeval essence was being generated at a much faster rate. He turned to Yu Wen Zi and exclaimed in happiness, "I did it. My aptitude must have increased. Primeval essence is being produced in my aperture at a much faster rate."
Yu Wen Zi laughed at Gu Guangzhi and replied, "Not true. Observe your primeval essence closely." Gu Guangzhi continued to inspect his aperture and soon noticed that the primeval essence being produced was less dense than it used to be.
Yu Wen Zi explained, "In this step, we have changed the nature of your aperture. Now, the primeval essence produced in your aperture would be of a boiling nature. That is the reason I wanted your vital gu to be of fire path. Gu insects are sometimes very delicate in nature and could easily be destroyed. So, the boiling nature of your primeval essence will constantly harm your gu insects. However, if they are of the fire path, then they are more resistant to the boiling essence since fire path gu insects are found in naturally hot habitats."
He continued with his explanation, "Moreover, like you might've noticed by now, the primeval essence produced is much lighter due to its boiling nature. That is why it seems as if your primeval essence is being generated faster. In reality, there is no qualitative difference. You will have to inject more boiling primeval essence into a gu insect to achieve the same effect you produced earlier with normal primeval essence."
Gu Guangzhi was confused. If there was no apparent benefit in having boiling essence and further, it would only harm the gu insects when used, then what was the purpose of this refinement? Yu Wen Zi seemed to pick up on Gu Guangzhi's thoughts.
"The benefits from using boiling essence is not immediate. When you constantly use gu insects with boiling essence, the practice over a long term nurtures your aperture. When you break into Rank 3, your aperture walls will be broken down and new aperture walls will be formed. Then, the primeval essence generated will also be of normal nature again. Your improvement in aptitude can be seen at that point.", Yu Wen Zi finished his explanation.
Gu Guangzhi was filled with hope and confidence. He was determined to make the most of this opportunity. He then asked a question that he had on his mind.
"Then can I not use non-fire path gu insects during this time? I am not sure we have many fire path gu insects in these mountains.", said Gu Guangzhi.
"Hahaha! So what if there aren't many fire path gu insects in this mountain? Use gu insects of every path. If they get damaged or die, throw them away and refine them anew. You are just a Rank 2 gu master. Using only fire path gu insects will give you a very limited tunnel vision in future. You need to master all types of gu insects to achieve greatness.", Yu Wen Zi encouraged Gu Guangzhi.
"But I'm not very good at refinement…", Gu Guangzhi tried to reply when he was smacked in the head by Yu Wen Zi.
"This is why you have me as your teacher. Nurture gu, use gu and refine gu. That is the way of gu cultivation. But most gu masters only focus on feeding their gu insects to nurture and using their gu insects to improve themselves. They often neglect refinement. You need to have a solid foundation of all three. I will teach you everything I know about refinement so you don't have to worry about that.", said Yu Wen Zi.
Gu Guangzhi was deeply moved. He bowed down to Yu Wen Zi and said, "Thank you teacher for everything you've done for me. I'll repay your kindness by putting in all my efforts into your teachings." His water wolf tried to emulate him in thanking Yu Wen Zi.
Yu Wen Zi was satisfied with Gu Guangzhi and told him to get used to his new primeval essence. As he was leaving, he was thinking to himself, 'The very act of improving one's aptitude through this method can be said to be an act of mocking the heavens. From my own experience and from the experiences of the disciples I tried to raise, you will have a very tough future with dangers all around you. I hope you can brave them and break all the way into immortal realm.'