A Meeting with Two Masters

The sun beat down relentlessly on the barren wasteland, casting long shadows across the rocky terrain. Amidst the desolate landscape, a lone figure made his way steadily toward the Shang Clan. This figure was none other than Xie Ling, a peak rank-4 Gu master who had been warped to this world only a few months ago.

accompanying him were a multitude of ferocious beasts, which he had been using to hone his skills and test his limits. He sought ways to control them while bypassing any potential emotion path methods.

He turned to one of the beasts and ordered its brain to work interchangeably, however, upon receiving said command it instantly fell to the ground unconscious, he then commented, "Either I'm not skilled enough in using my ability to change the very core of things, or I'm expecting too much from an ability that only controls will. however, when I ordered a Gu into hibernation it instantly did so, perhaps it's because Gu worms already possess that functionality built-in to them, whereas most beasts do not have interchangeability as a part of their core design."

Shifting his attention to another beast, he commanded it to fall asleep. Instantly, it fell to the ground unconscious, "As expected," he mused while pulling out a Gu from his aperture, ordering it to pull in primeval essence from the air.

Prompting the Gu to attempt absorbing primeval essence from the air, however, nothing happened, he pondered, "It would seem when I take their will out and put mine inside, they will then lose the ability to absorb primeval essence, like a line that has been severed."

He then pulled out another Gu, but this one was still wild, since his ability imposes his will on things, he doesn't need to put his will inside the Gu to order it.

Pulling out a wild Gu from his aperture, he began to speculate, "Since I can impose my will onto Gu I don't need to refine their will, this comes with the benefit of experimenting without loss on primeval essence, however, it comes with a loss of fluidity that would be there if my will was inside the Gu, making performing killer moves much more difficult."

Suddenly, a realization hit him, "I don't need to instantly make my brain ready for interchangeability, instead I can slowly guide it in that direction. Like master training a pet, I will give my brain a direction that needs to go, rather than bombarding it with something it's not ready for."

Xie closed his eyes and looked at his brain, ordering it to slowly strive toward working interchangeably. This instantly caused a foggy sensation to wash over him, however, it brought a smile to him, for while there were still some imperfections it was certainly better than losing consciousness.

He was going to experiment more when suddenly, an imposing weight spread out from above him, signaling the arrival of two formidable rank-5 gu masters. Hun Cho, a soul path cultivator, and Qi Cuo, an emotion path cultivator, approached him with narrowed eyes.

Hun Cho's voice was thick with aggression as he demanded, "Did you attack Mo Ling?" However, Qi Cuo quickly stepped in and placed a calming hand on Hun Cho's shoulder, helping to diffuse the tension in him. As he surveyed their surroundings, he noticed the animals and couldn't help but wonder, "Is this person an enslavement path cultivator?"

Although tempted to lie, Xie Ling knew that the truth would eventually be revealed. He weighed the odds of winning a fight against two rank-5 gu masters but also considered the possibility of them having allies or masters that would also seek revenge. As Such he decided it would be best to resolve the issue peacefully.

"To be clear, I did not kill Mo Ling. I spared his life and returned most of his Gu to him, along with some replacements that he could use to acquire what he needs from the market. However, if you wish to continue pursuing this matter, I must inform you that my 'master', will take action. I'm certain you don't want to be living in fear of retaliation for a minor altercation between students," replied Xie Ling, maintaining a calm demeanor.

This caused Hun Cho's anger to simmer. to say he was not pleased with the rank-4 gu master attempting to manipulate him, was an understatement. Qi Cuo easily noticed this and stepped in, again urging him to calm down, cautioning him against hasty decisions.

Qi Cuo turned his head to Xie Ling, and made a proposition. "If you give us the method you used to bypass Mo Ling's passive emotion and soul path defensive killer move, then we will leave you be."

Xie Ling responded with a friendly smile, stating, "Of course," while retrieving a vial filled with a red bubbling liquid from his pocket. "I used a poison that, when inhaled, induces hallucinations. Sadly, I don't know the recipe for it. I purchased it from a poison path gu master during my journey to the Shang clan." With that, he tossed the vial gently to Qi Cuo. As he did so, he thought to himself, "While that vial does contain the effects of many psychedelic mushrooms I found on the mountain, I didn't use it on Mo Ling. But there's no need for them to know that."

After Qi Cuo caught the vial, Hun Cho spoke up. "Is he telling the truth?" he asked, referring to his martial brother's 'Emotion Inspection Gu'.

"He has some sort of defensive method against reading emotions. I can't get a clear read on his emotions, I'm being bombarded with too much information." Qi Cuo explained. He then handed Qi Cou a Gu with the shape of an eyeball, before instructing, "Use the killer move, 'eyes are the windows to the soul.'"

Hun Cho took in the Gu and immediately began activating a sequence of Gu, while also performing a series of intricate moves. As a result, a third eye emerged on his forehead, indicating that the "Eyes Are the Windows to the Soul" technique was now in effect.

As soon as Hun Cho's third eye made contact with Xie Ling's eyes, a violent tremor overtook his entire body, causing him to convulse in distress. He let out a loud, guttural cry before suddenly exclaiming, "We're leaving!"

Qi Cuo quickly held his brother by the arm, before turning his eyes to Xie Ling, glaring and demanding, "What did you do to Hun Cho!?" without waiting for a reply he readied an attack, however, just as he was about to launch an attack, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

Although Qi Cuo couldn't see Hun Cho's face, the severity of the situation was apparent from his physical appearance. A body that was sweating bullets, muscles deteriorated to the level of malnutrition, and wrinkles forming at an abnormally fast speed. It was as if he had aged three decades in a matter of seconds. Sensing the gravity of the situation, Qi Cuo controlled his anger and instead pick up his brother, flying away at an incredible speed.

The moment they were gone, Xie Ling collapsed to the ground. With his body gasping for breath, he muttered, "How on earth did they manage to touch my soul?"