Relocation

When Gu Guangzhi and his water wolf reached the water spring, Gu Guangzhi rested on his bed and slowly broke into tears. He had lost his arm in a battle. There were many wondrous methods to get his arm back in this world but he was a loner. He didn't have the backing of his clan. He was just a Rank 1 gu master with very limited resources. He didn't see any hope of getting his arm back. He felt as if it was his fate to die and the heavens were doing everything in their power to ensure it. The water wolf sensed his despair and slept close to him to comfort him. Gu Guangzhi hugged his water wolf with his arm and cried his heart out that night.

The next morning, Gu Guangzhi changed. He went back to training and cultivating. He lost his dominant arm so he had to take a step back from hunting. His water wolf took a more active role and he stepped back to support with his Bamboo twine Gu. The Beast communication Gu worked wonders as the transition became very smooth.

As months passed Gu Guangzhi became more proficient with Bamboo twine Gu. Since the beginning, he had placed very little importance on this gu as it's restrictive capabilities were very weak and it's durability was very low. It would destroy much faster than the Bamboo cane Gu so he didn't use it very much. But as he grew more proficient with Bamboo twine Gu, he understood more about it's nature.

He started to experiment with this gu to improve it. After many failed experiments, he was finally able to refine Rank 1 Bamboo cable Gu by using mortal gu materials like iron bamboo strips, coiled bamboo flowers and skin of a bamboo viper. Bamboo cable Gu was now much more stronger and much more durable.

He actually spent more than a thousand primeval stones on this entire research of this refinement. Every time, he felt that he was losing a lot of primeval stones on this, he would feel that he was so close to success. He became like a gambling addict. So when he finally refined Bamboo cable Gu, he felt extreme joy. He felt as if he was the first man to land on moon.

After a few moments, he calmed himself and decided not to take up refining again. His inheritance was being spent like water and he had a goal in mind; to advance to Rank 2 before the next wolf tide. If he used up all his primeval stones, he didn't have enough confidence to breakthrough to Rank 2 in time. He had a little over 1100 primeval stones now.

Actually, depleting primeval stones wasn't his only problem. The food required for his gu insects was also getting scarcer around his residence. He had to make longer trips for his hunting and this traveling ate up a lot of time. Gu Guangzhi decided to move out due to necessity. He was recovered mentally and physically from his last major battle but he had made very little progress in his cultivation as he was involved in many other things.

The water wolf on the other hand had grown significantly. It now had strength comparable to that of a Rank 2 initial stage gu master. If it grew further, it would become a beast king. Beast kings usually had enslavement gu on them and commanded a pack of subordinates but this water wolf was a loner. It grew differently and the Stream Gu on the water wolf had also been refined to Rank 2 Stream jet Gu with a significant improvement in power. Gu Guangzhi envied the water wolf as it had better gu insects than him. Furthermore it's Stream Gu was refined naturally by the heavens, so it didn't have to squander any resources to find relevant recipes for refinement.

Finally, Gu Guangzhi gathered up his resources and stored them in his Bamboo culm Gu. He stocked up on food and set out to find his next home. He encountered many wild beasts on his search and battled with them with little help from his water wolf. He made full use of Bamboo cable Gu to restrict and then punched his way through the beast's defenses. When a stronger wild beast was encountered, the water wolf would take the offensive role and Gu Guangzhi would fall back to support.

Their search for a new home continued for several weeks. Gu Guangzhi initially wanted to find another bamboo forest to settle down but those places weren't as isolated as his cave by the water spring. If he encountered danger while cultivating, he might face a backlash due to the disturbance. He finally found a cave deep in the mountains. The area around the cave was relatively dangerous but the cave seemed to be well protected.

Gu Guangzhi and his water wolf holed up in this cave and Gu Guangzhi arranged several traps at the entrance of the cave. After inspecting the cave, Gu Guangzhi settled down for cultivation. He decided to focus on his cultivation, given that he lost precious time on refinement. As months passed by he finally reached the peak stage of Rank 1. He spent about 850 stones in this process and was worried that he didn't have enough to fund through his breakthrough.

All the spirit springs on the mountain were monopolized by the clans and he only had about 300 primeval stones left with him. The act of absorbing the primeval essence from the stones and manipulating the primeval essence within the aperture to attack the crystal membrane of the aperture walls was a grueling task. He had to maintain great concentration and it had to be a continuous process. If he stopped mid way, the aperture walls would recover and all the effort put in would go to waste.

As Gu Guangzhi was thinking of ways to increase his reserve of primeval stones, he heard a voice, "If primeval stones is all you need, I can lend you some."