Rank 5 Gu

Time passed quickly, and summer replaced spring.

Without knowing it, it was already the scorching summer again.

Xiang Yao spent every second of his time diligently cultivating. Using Red Steel Relic Gu, he instantly reached the Peak stage of Level 2. He also bought two Black Lightning Purification Gu, increasing his talent to Grade A – 95%. He continued to cultivate his aperture while steadily moving towards level 3.

He planned to refine a special Gu to hide his peak stage aura. From the memories he inherited from Fang Yuan, he knew a lot of methods to disguise his peak stage primal essence, and the method he chose was the 'Sweet Fragrance Butterfly Gu'; it was a Rank 2 Gu that had the function of hiding the aura from the Gu master of the same level.

Xiang Yao has also spent much time collecting and scanning the Dao Marks on the materials he acquires.

Group Chat members also found that they could talk to each other without going to the system space; they could talk via video call or text messages. With that, they moved even closer to each other as they waited for the first mission to be issued.

At the same time, he intentionally revealed that he had purchased Black Boar Gu to have the opportunity to scan Rank 5 'Gu Toad Swallow River'.

Xiang Yao did many missions with his group during this time, gaining a reputation for great physical strength and a natural talent for battle.

Soon everyone in the village discovered that the clan leader had acquired the Black Lightning Purification Gu for Fang Zheng, transforming his talent from -80% - to -99%. But only Xiang Yao knew that Fang Zheng's talent turned into an extreme physique – he had acquired Desolate Ancient Moon Physique. Xiang Yao wasted no time and scanned his body immediately.

Now he had a guarantee in case he couldn't acquire Bai Ning Bing's physique, he could use Fang Zheng's physique.

July, early autumn.

A wild Rank 5 Gu suddenly appeared at the foot of the mountain near the village, causing a huge tremor in Gu Yue Village!

A solemn atmosphere filled the conference room.

A group of elders sat silently in their seats; their faces were indifferent, sad or serious.

Clan head Gu Yue Bo was sitting in the main seat; his gaze also filled with undisguised concern, "Three days ago, a River Swallowing Frog appeared near the village at the foot of the mountain. This frog flowed along with the Yellow Dragon River and accidentally arrived here. He is currently blocking a river channel and sleeping there. If we ignore it, the village will be constantly in danger. So, I would like to ask the elders if you have any good ideas for expelling this frog?"

The elders looked at each other; for a moment, no one spoke.

River Swallowing Toad was a level five Gu; he had enormous power and could spit a river. If not handled properly and provoked, over half of Qing Mao Mountain could be submerged in water, and the entire village would be destroyed.

After a long silence, Gu Yue Chi Lian spoke, "The situation is serious and we need to resolve it as soon as possible. If this news leaks out, we can't say for sure whether those with bad intentions can't secretly go and intentionally provoke this River Swallowing Frog to trap our Gu Yue clan."

"Elder Chi Lian is right." Gu Yue Mo Chen nodded in agreement. Although he and Gu Yue Chi Lian were political enemies, he abandoned his past prejudices at such a critical time for the village.

He continued speaking after a moment, "There is another, more serious problem. If the River Swallowing Frog floods Qing Mao Mountain, the wolves' lairs will be submerged, and for their survival, the wolf hordes will climb the mountain. At that time, the wolf tide broke ahead of time. And we will have to fight countless beasts to fight for space at the top."

The elders' complexions turned pale when they heard this.

Gu Yue Bo spoke with a heavy tone: "Everyone, don't forget the founding of our village. The first generation ancestor established the village in this place because of the underground spirit spring. If Qing Mao Mountain is flooded, this spiritual source might also be destroyed."

"What should we do?"

"Sigh… even if we weathered the bestial tides and survived on top of the mountain. After the flood subsides, the spiritual source will be gone, many animals will have died, our surroundings will turn into a wasteland, and we will be lacking in cultivation resources."

"If we are going to die, why not ask Xiong and Bai villages for help? We are three boats tied together with a rope, I can't believe they won't help!"

The elders whispered among themselves with panic lurking inside. Some have already begun to think about calling for backup.

"It's too premature to ask for help now," Gu Yue Bo shook his head and immediately dismissed the idea. "It's not the most challenging period right now. When the first generation ancestor had just established the village, a Rank five Blood River Python attacked the village, but the first generation clan head killed it. Compared to the Blood River Python, the River Swallowing Toad is much more adorable."

"He has a warm temper and is harmless to common people. Only if he senses another Gu's aura will he become alert. If it receives serious injuries, it will get angry and spit out a river. By chance, I overheard the head of the previous clan talk about a rumor about the Swallowing River Toad…."

Gu Yue Bo's calm and composed voice resounded inside the conference room.

The group of elders listened attentively; their nervous and panicked expressions diminished.

"He is truly worthy of being the head of the clan. He calmed their hearts with just his words." Gu Yue Yao Ji felt the change in the atmosphere. She took a deep look at Gu Yue Bo and inwardly praised him.

"If we follow what the clan head said just now, chasing the Swallowing Toad out of the river would not be difficult," an elder said.

"We cannot say that." Gu Yue Bo shook his head, "These are just rumours, I haven't personally seen them or put them to use. The important thing is that we cannot be careless. I suggest we first send a group of Gu Masters to test it out."

All the elders agreed.

Gu Yue Chi Lian spoke, "Then how about I send a member of my Chi family. If he can't do it, then no one in our clan might be able to do it."

Everyone knew who Chi Lian was talking about and approved one after another.

Clan head Gu Yue Bo smiled, "Since it is like that, we should assign it to the Chi Shan group."

It was early autumn; the weather was gradually cooling down.

Chi Shan tried to fend off the Rank 5 wild Gu but failed miserably and returned with a dark expression to the clan and reported the events to the elders.

Gu Yue Chi Lian said, "If even Chi Shan can't wake up this River Swallowing Toad, who else in our clan can? Looks like we need reinforcements, the Xiong clan specializes in strength." He sighed and continued, "For the clan's safety, we must make them do this. Even if we have to pay a price, it's worth it."

Those words gained the consent of the other clan elders, and even clan leader Gu Yue Bo was moved.

"Clan Leader and the other clan elders, this junior has something to report." Gu Yue Chi Shan stood in the hall, listening to the clan elders, but he suddenly bowed and said.

Gu Yue Bo nodded; he was respectful towards Gu Yue Chi Shan, "Chi Shan, if you have any ideas, better say them."

Instead, Chi Shan asked, "Elders, to wake up this River Swallowing Frog, does it really need a person's strength?"

Gu Yue Bo said, "According to the previous clan leader's words, the River Swallowing Frog has a mild temper and loves to sleep. Even if he is awakened by someone pushing him, he will not rage. So we ask you who has the most strength in the village to wake you up. But it ended in failure."

Chi Shan said, "Then the clan leader can grant me a Brute Force Longhorn Beetle Gu? With the strength of a bull and my innate strength, I would be able to wake this Swallowing River Frog."

"You definitely cannot use the strength of a Gu worm." When Chi Shan finished speaking, a clan elder denied his request: "The aura of a Gu worm will invite the River Swallowing Frog's vigilance. Who will face the consequences if this makes him feel threatened and angry?

"That's right." Gu Yue Bo nodded, "By using a Gu worm, even if we wake up the toad, we cannot gain its approval. It has to be a single person, using their own strength to wake him up and gain his approval."

Gu is the spirit of heaven and earth but behaves more like a wild beast. Wild beasts have their territories, and wandering beasts finding the king of the territory would have a battle. The victor takes the territory, and the loser roams.

The formation of a beast tide is also based on this beast instinct. Groups of strong beasts will invade and conquer neighbouring lands. Weaker groups would be exiled, forming the tide of the beast.

They must follow their habits to scare the Swallowing Toad out of the River.

River Swallowing Toad is mild-tempered, dislikes conflict, and as long as the territory's "king of beasts" can be recognized, it will leave.

Therefore, using Gu worms is prohibited; the Gu worm's aura will be detected and will cause the River Swallowing Toad to take unpredictable actions. Using everyone's strength was also not possible. Since there are too many people, the frog would not come out even if it is moved.

That's because everyone acting together needed to be more fair and recognized.

Thus, the clan leader got Chi Shan to advance, as he had the strongest strength in the village.

"So that's it, I understand." Chi Shan finally understood the situation; he clenched his fists, "In that case, I'll recommend someone to the clan elders, he has more strength than me."

"Oh, who?"

"There is such a person, why didn't we know?"

"Chi Shan, don't keep us waiting, say it quickly!"

"That person is Gu Yue Xiang Yao." Chi Shan said a name.

The elders couldn't help but glance at each other upon hearing that name.

They recognized that name. Recently, since the year-end exam where he beat Fang Zheng and joined the Qing Shu group, Gu Yue Xiang Yao's name has occasionally reached his ears.

"Oh, I remember him. Wasn't this boy who hunted the lightning wolves with his bare hands recently?" An elder noticed.

"Back to the main subject, this boy is really strong. Earlier, in the arena, he used his bare fists to break through Jade Skin Gu's defense and knocked down Fang Zheng, clinching the championship," recalled an elder.

This time, it was clan head Gu Yue Bo's turn to be proud.

He had especially nurtured Gu Yue Fang Zheng and Qing Shu, therefore the fact that Xiang Yao was in his faction - in a sense, Xiang Yao's glory is the glory of the clan head faction.

As long as someone entered the system, anyone would be labelled a faction. There were neutral political factions but absolutely no factionless people.

"But in terms of power, his strength shouldn't be comparable to yours, right?" Chi Lian doubtfully asked Chi Shan.

Chi San respectfully replied, "Elders, maybe you don't know, but Xiang Yao bought a Black Boar Gu. In these few months, he bought pork meat to feed Black Boar Gu and increase his strength. Once I even saw him moving a huge boulder on the mountain to measure its strength. I'm not sure how much strength he has, but from what I've seen, his strength don't absolutely second to mine."

Gu Yue Bo nodded his head. "Then let's assign Qing Shu's group to try."

There was a noise in the tavern.

"You know, the clan sent the Chi Shan group to the foot of the mountain, but they ended up returning defeated."

"The villagers who live at the foot of the mountain are all kneeling in front of the clan entrance, blocking the gate."

"Hmph, these lowly commoners don't have a bit of knowledge. River Swallowing Toad is a level five Gu. Do they think they'll be safe in the village?

Even though that was said, the air was thick with panic. These Gu Masters were all calming down with force.

Xiang Yao listened briefly and managed a smile as he waited for the opportunity to knock on his door; he poured some more wine and waited a little longer. He was quietly drinking when a person entered the tavern.

This person was tall with a delicate body. Long green hair falling down her back and a noble and heroic face. Wearing the uniform of a Gu Master with the number 2 carved into the red belt.

It was Gu Yue Qing Shu.

Conversations within the tavern stopped immediately. Countless gazes landed on Qing Shu.

Qing Shu ignored these gazes; he looked around, found Xiang Yao, and managed a kind and warm smile.

"You were here." Under numerous gazes, he walked before Xiang Yao, "Come on, the clan has already issued a compulsory order. Let's go to the bottom of the mountain; I'll tell you the details on the way."

Xiang Yao's gaze flashed; he couldn't refuse a compulsory order. Furthermore, he had been waiting long for the opportunity to get his hands on the River Swallowing Frog, so he agreed.

Only after Xiang Yao and Qing Shu left the tavern did the racket start again in the tavern.

It was early autumn, and the scenery was good.

In the forests, some leaves were of dark shade and others of light. The green leaves began to change to yellow, and the yellow leaves turned slightly red.

In the paddy field, paddy fields of orange-yellow rice swayed in the autumn wind.

The leaves were plump, tender, and pleasant in some lush vegetable fields.

Xiang Yao accelerated from the middle of the mountain, following the Qing Shu group to the bottom, where he saw the Rank 5 River Swallowing Frog.

It was huge and looked like a small hill. He was on his back on the riverbed and was blocking the river channel. Upstream the River was already filled with so much water that it almost overflowed to the riverbank. And there was almost no flow from the River downstream; only a wet, shallow river bed could be seen.

The belly of the River Swallowing Frog was exquisitely snow-white and was covered with a layer of glitter. Its back was pale sky blue and had a lustrous sheen, without warts like those found on common frogs and toads.

He was fast asleep at this point. But there were no snoring sounds; he was sleeping very quietly.

"You try now Xiang Yao", Qing Shu spoke from the side as the group members cleared the area so no one could get in his way.

He had already explained most of the details on the way.

Xiang Yao stood at the riverbank, trying to push first. The River Swallowing Toad's skin was slippery, making it feel like its strength had been partially nullified.

Furthermore, it was extremely heavy; if it were anyone else, they wouldn't be able to do anything, but Xiang Yao had the strength of two boars and a crocodile.

As Xiang Yao used all his strength to push the River Swallowing Toad, he scanned the Wild Gu.

[Scan Rank 5 – River Swallowing Frog Gu – for 5,000 points?]

The River Swallowing Frog was still sleeping. It was originally a Gu worm that lived in rivers and the sea, and for him, the force of the waves was normal and couldn't wake him up.

With the force of endless waves, Xiang Yao tried for some time and finally managed to push the River Swallowing Frog away from its original location.

The riverbed was wider as the River descended. Along with the flow of water, it facilitated Xiang Yao's push.

After about three hundred meters, the River Swallowing Frog opened its sleepy eyes.

A pair of deep green eyes gradually twitched in his sleepy state and looked at Xiang Yao, who was beside him.

Xiang Yao had already gotten what he wanted, so he returned Gu's fearless gaze. From his bright and mysterious eyes, Xiang Yao could see his reflection.

"Jiangaaang!" River Swallowing Toad lifted its head, suddenly opening its mouth and emitting a strange croak.

The scream spread and reverberated throughout Qing Mao Mountain.

At once, Xiang Yao could feel his ears going deaf from the ringing noise.

The River Swallowing Frog lowered its head, mouth sucking water from the approaching River.

Swish, swish, swish!

The river water flowed at ten times the original speed as it was all sucked into the stomach, and the water level decreased at an observable rate.

Xiang Yao stood beside the Swallowing River Frog, clearly seeing a large amount of seafood also being sent into the Swallowing River Frog's stomach along with the River's water.

"What a spectacular sight!" The group watched, unable to hide their shock.

"Did you really make it?" Qing Shu looked at Xiang Yao.

"Looks like it," Xiang Yao nodded with a satisfied smile.

The water level dropped until the water stopped flowing, and the River Swallowing Frog raised its head once more, its stomach expanding and contracting, spewing countless fish, shrimp, turtles, etc.

Immediately, a large amount of seafood fell to the ground, making a sharp sound.

A fish splashed onto the ground; a turtle landed on its back in confusion, and crabs squirmed horizontally and were crushed by falling seafood.

"Jianang!"

After the River Swallowing Frog vomited up the seafood, it croaked again and glanced at Xiang Yao once before moving its large body to swim downstream along the River.

"You really did it!" Qing Shu touched Xiang Yao's shoulder. Happily, his heartfelt relief. He watched the River Swallowing Frog leave until its shadow completely disappeared, out of sight.

News of chasing the Swallowing Frog out of the River reached the village immediately.

Gu Yue Bo said "Good" three times continuously, and the solemnity in the hall was swept away immediately.

"Gu Yue Xiang Yao is credited with chasing away the River Swallowing Toad, we will reward you with five hundred primeval stones and the opportunity to choose a Rank 2 Gu Worm from the clan treasury." Gu Yue Bo thought before giving the request with a victorious smile – Xiang Yao's fame and honour are the fame and honour of the clan leader's faction.