Chapter 19 Almost A Year

Several more months quickly passed in the Ancient Soul Sect, and life within one of the Ten Great Sects quickly became more active, as the end of year tournament for the newest batch of disciples became right around the corner. 

It had been eleven months since Xuanyuan joined the Ancient Soul Sect. Eleven months since he awakened his 99% primeval essence sea, and became the personal disciple of Elder Luo, an Elder belonging to the Earth Soul Hall.

Xuanyuan had an... interesting past several months. Ever since the meeting with Long Xi and Yu Zhong Er, Xuanyuan had a couple of unfortunate encounters with members of the Earth Soul Hall. Nothing had ever devolved into violence, but Xuanyuan had to ignore countless rumors regarding himself and his two Senior Sisters, no doubt spread by Huo Jin and his little lackeys.

Xuanyuan had been the object of discussion his entire first year in the Sect. First an object of envy and jealousy, secondly, an object of admiration and firm resolution. And now, he was the object of scrutiny and disgust.

"Look over there, I can't believe he has the audacity to show his face around here".

"Can't the Elders do anything about it? I mean, I know he is the disciple of Elder Luo, but still, there has to be something the other Elders can do?".

"I heard that another girl accused him of assault. One of the other Outer Sect Seniors from the year above us".

"I think I heard about that too! I think my cousin's, friend's, older brother's girlfriend knows her! I think she is the Fire Path class!".

"Come on, let's just sit somewhere else, I abhor looking at trash while eating".

Xuanyuan ate his food in the Wood Soul Hall silently, his expression flawless, with no traces of emotions or desires visible to the naked eye. Xuanyuan hadn't experienced bullying in his previous life, but could now understand why it was so psychologically and mentally straining.

His desire to pursue Truth was what kept him afloat amongst all the rumors and gossip, but the young man knew that a regular Rank 1 Gu Master, would've crumbled in shame and distress a long time ago.

Every week new rumors of Xuanyuan harassing a female Gu Master were born, fueled and flamed by Huo Jin and members of the Golden Soul Hall. Although no-one had come forward to give their statement to any of the Elders, most just assumed they were too scared, considering that Xuanyuan was the personal disciple of an Elder himself.

Not that they had any actual evidence. Xuanyuan could count on his fingers the number of people in the Ancient Soul Sect that he considered more than acquaintances. Elder Luo and Elder Kui aside, only Long Xi, Yu Zhong Er, Gong Chu, Tang San and Lu Guo were people that he would temporarily stop his cultivation for in order to help out.

Tang San was the Rank 3 Earth Path Gu Master who recruited Xuanyuan to the Ancient Soul Sect. He was a member of the Earth Soul Hall and often came to Elder Luo's residence to report and give evidence to him. Tang San even taught Xuanyuan a couple of tips regarding useful Gu, if a Gu Master needed to rest in the wild away from civilization.

Lu Guo on the other hand, was one of the Gu Masters whom Tang San recruited form Green Grass Village. His older Sister was a Rank 2 Gu Master, and was a member of the Burning Soul Hall, which addressed violations to Sect Law and handed out punishments accordingly.

Burning Soul Hall took orders only from Sky Soul Hall. Even Elder Soul Hall could do nothing in that regard. 

Lu Guo's older sister was someone that Xuanyuan had met before, and after inquiring with her about Huo Jin and his reputation, both Lu Guo and his older sister could understand why so many rumors about Xuanyuan had suddenly appeared.

"I'll will try to see if I can get Huo Jin to stop with these baseless accusations! You have my word Xuanyuan, as a member of the Righteous Path, I will make sure that justice is carried out", Xuanyuan was a little bit overwhelmed at how forward and just Lu Rong was, and just nodded, thanking her.

"It does not particularly concern me, Senior Sister Lu. If I cannot rise above the jealousy and bigotry within the Ancient Soul Sect, then how can I become a Rank 6 Gu Immortal, let alone an Immortal Venerable?", Xuanyuan made sure to use the title of "Immortal" Venerable in front of Lu Rong, considering she was one of those fanatics from the Righteous Path.

Needless to say, Lu Rong had left quite the impression on Xuanyuan that day.

Xuanyuan made sure not to say the wrong thing about her, lest he get on her bad side.

'The Divine Investigator was quite the nuisance in Fang Yuan's life. Fanatical Righteous Path Gu Masters are annoying in that they do not stop until their "justice" has been completed. If I can sick her on Huo Jin, things would be more pleasant for me in the long run'.

Lu Guo turned out to be a person of interest considering his older sister. He was only at the Upper Rank 1 Gu Master stage, after only eleven months, having just reached said stage a couple weeks back. 

His older sister walked the Lightning Path, and Lu Guo endeavored to do the same. He had also confided in Xuanyuan that he was interested in the Sword Path, and made him promise not to tell his sister.

It had almost been a full year since Xuanyuan joined the Ancient Soul Sect and his cultivation progressed rapidly with both the Rank 1 Liquor Worm Gu and the Rank 1 Cloud Essence Gu in his possession. Xuanyuan could fully expend his primeval essence sea, and by the time he woke up the next morning, it was already above 90% full. 

He had to change his schedule, instead cultivating twice a day every twelve hours. The time in between was used to research Gu, Gu materials and practice martials arts.

His knowledge on the Shadow Path had increased, and Xuanyuan possessed two additional Gu to show for it.

Silhouette Strings Gu and Formless Shadow Gu. Both were the results of Xuanyuan's research into the Shadow Path, in tandem with the incomplete recipes that Elder Kui had given him. Little Shadow reflected Xuanyuan, and his happiness was its own happiness.

Gazing out towards the silver moon, Xuanyuan sipped on a small gourd of sweet wine, letting his Liquor Worm also indulge in the liquor under the light of the moon. His clothes were white and clean, creating a sharp contrast between his black hair and eyes. 

Xuanyuan lifted up his small gourd to the moon, before letting out a small smile. His shadow had tried to taste the shadow of the wine, and despite Xuanyuan's enjoyment, Little Shadow couldn't say the same.

"You've helped me immensely Little Shadow. I dare say that in this entire World, you are perhaps my only true friend".

Little Shadow puffed out its chest and nodded its head resolutely. He was Xuanyuan's one and only shadow, they were destined to be together until either one drew their last breath!

The dynamic between Man and Shadow caused Xuanyuan to think back to the Legends Of Ren Zu. Despite only learning of this part a few months ago, Xuanyuan had read it enough times that it was permanently fixed within his memory.

"Shadow Gu devoured shadow after shadow, growing immense in size and unmatched in ferocity, forcing Ren Zu to grow alongside it. Ren Zu felt his body expand, growing larger and larger with every new shadow devoured, his form bloating, his face bulging and his stomach swelling".

"Despite this however, Self Gu remained the same size, holding onto the shadow Ren Zu's former self. Shadow Gu expanded Ren Zu, and then compressed him under the pull of Self Gu. Self Gu compressed Ren Zu, but then expanded under the growth of Shadow Gu. The constant growth and pull of Shadows and Self caused Ren Zu to start splitting, his physical form unable to withstand a constant state of pushing and pulling".

"Ren Zu unconsciously rampaged while these two sides raged against each other, falling into the depths of the Shadowless Ocean, Ren Zu unknowingly fell into the Lightless Heaven".

"Nothing, not the destructive, yet nurturing Light of the Sun, nor the gentle, yet intoxicating Light of the Moon could reach this place. It was shrouded in endless darkness, and the rampaging Ren Zu could do nothing but claw at his flesh and scratch at his shadow, trying to end his pain and suffering. The dynamic between the growth of his Shadow and the pull of his former Self caused Ren Zu to split open, his blood mixing with his Shadow and eventually birthing...".

"Black Night Eclipsing Sky...".

This was one of the ten children of Ren Zu, one of the two which had not yet been named. From Xuanyuan's understanding of the Black Night Eclipsing Sky Physique, it carried within it Dark Path Dao Marks, and interestingly enough Light Path Dao Marks.

Xuanyuan let out a small sigh, shaking his head slightly.

"The Black Night Eclipsing Sky Physique would be an extraordinary research material. But, considering how rare the Ten Extreme Physiques were in the World, finding it would be like trying to catch a shadow...".

The Ten Extreme Physiques allowed a Gu Master to possess the largest size of Blessed Land after they attained Rank 6. Their foundations would exceed that of the vast majority of other Rank 6 Gu Immortals, and their Dao Marks, and chances of refining an Immortal Gu would be much higher while undergoing Immortal Ascension.

Xuanyuan had already long since reached Rank 2, and even without the use of the Liquor Worm, his cultivation was progressing quickly, though the effectiveness of the Rank 1 Cloud Essence Gu had dwindled significantly.

Xuanyuan knew that Fang Yuan had become a Rank 2 Gu Master in under a year, using both the Liquor Worm and a great number of primeval essence stones to fuel his cultivation. Although Xuanyuan lacked primeval essence stones, the Cloud Essence Gu was much more reliable as a Rank 1 Gu Master.

'I can feel my Light Red primeval essence churn within my aperture. The flickering light of my aperture walls are swiftly becoming more and more stable, despite the pale intensity of the light itself. With such a cultivation stage, there isn't anyone in the Tournament who could beat me in terms of cultivation speed...'.

Although considering Xuanyuan's ridiculous cultivation speed, he had arrived at another obstacle. One that he had not considered earlier.

"My cultivation is progressing way too quickly. All of my Gu are still Rank 1, and yet I am getting closer and closer to reaching the Middle Rank 2 Gu Master stage. There is the untested recipe for Shadow Eyes Gu that I could try, but the newly produced Gu would only be Rank 1. Unless I can increase its rank from Rank 1 to Rank 2, it won't be that useful in the long run".

Xuanyuan had the completed Gu recipes of Shadow Stinger Gu, Silhouette Strings Gu and Formless Shadow Gu Gu, and planned on selling at least Shadow Stinger Gu and Formless Shadow Gu recipes in order to earn primeval essence stones.

The Gu recipes most Gu were expensive, but only those Gu whom directly affected cultivation possessed outrageous prices several times that of the market price of the Gu. They were considered secrets, despite the fact that their Gu recipe was contained within most major Clans and Sects across the Gu World.

Xuanyuan had considered selling his Gu recipe for the Rank 3 and Rank 4 Liquor Worms, knowing that it would earn him an outrageous sum of primeval essence stones. But, no doubt the origins into the Gu recipe would be investigated, and there was a possibility of his involvement being revealed.

Xuanyuan possessed Shadows As Thought Gu to help deduce incomplete Gu recipes. He had considered purchasing Wisdom Path Gu to help assist with managing the flow of Shadow Thoughts, and increasing his mental energy as well.

It would potentially allow him to make more deductions and with greater efficiency as well. Xuanyuan had reached the level of Quasi-Master in the Shadow Path, attaining it the moment he became a Rank 2 Gu Master.

His understanding of the Shadow Path was vastly better than it was several months ago. Xuanyuan had even started intuitively writing down his own Gu material combinations, although these were only steps, not complete Gu recipes.

Xuanyuan had started to believe that he was truly fated for the Shadow Path. He was unsure of why Fate Gu had aligned him on this Path, but could only sigh, taking another sip of his wine as he gazed up at the moon.

"I wonder if the moon possesses a shadow. Could the shadow of the moon eclipse the the Sun and the Stars? Could it eclipse the Soul? If I destroy the shadow of the Sun and Moon, what will happen to the rest of the Gu World?".