The paths of gu masters

Lingering Mountains Grotto, Wondrous Inspiration Pagoda

A small circle of immortals gathered inside Wen clan's immortal gu house. The atmosphere was serious.

Great Formation Wen Bo arrived at this moment.

"Great Formation, now that you're here we can begin." - The will of Old Refinement nodded solemnly.

"You are late. What is the current status?" - Asked Wen Jie with a hint of impatience.

"The crucial person has passed his calamity. He is still resting inside the formation." - Wen Bo explained briefly.

"That's good. Let him stabilize his aperture for now." - Remarked one of the immortals present.

"Before his calamity, he has requested a batch of rank six immortal resources to raise the calamity's strength. I provided him with however much he took. This is why I took so long." - Wen Bo explained with a faint smile.

"Hahaha! Great Formation, you sly old schemer. You let him raise the strength of the tribulation. You have no mercy even for the younger generation. Tell me, which calamity did he face?" - Called out the will of Old Refinement.

Wen Bo turned to him.

"Hah, the guilty talking about the crime of the innocent... Calling me old, you who even has 'Old' as his title?" - Wen Bo raised an eyebrow as he smiled.

"You should know what I meant." - Old Refinement's will replied.

"And who counts their vessels anyway? ... It's not like I've been waiting on one for a hundred and fifty years." - Joked Old Refinement.

"Wen Yun has still some time to reach rank seven. We can't accommodate you for the time being, Old Refinement. Great Formation, continue your report." - Told Wen Jie plainly.

"He has also inquired about common earthly calamities. I told him what he wanted to know. The calamity he faced, the Wood Spirit Charm tribulation was thus not among them." - Wen Bo stated.

Lord Old Refinement's will gave a thumbs up as he chucked quietly. Wen Bo smiled back before continuing his report.

"Excellent work. With this, his reliance on us has only deepened. Keep an eye on him for now and follow the previous arrangements." - Wen Jie ordered.

Wen Bo nodded respectfully.

The immortals discussed for a bit more before Wen Jie spoke up again.

"Old Refinement, how is the progress with the reverse refinement killer move?" - She asked.

"Close to completion. Very close. But it would be very helpful if I could work on the crucial person himself. I would be already done by now."

"That won't do. He needs to be a willing party. If you start experimenting on him, who knows what his attitude would be?" - Explained Wen Jie.

"Can't you deduce it? You are the Wisdom Will, after all." - Asked Wen Bo.

"I can, but there's always some uncertainty. Emotions are fickle and unreasonable. They don't abide by logic." - Wen Jie stated.

The immortals continued to discuss their plans before the topic turned to Bao clan.

"What is with them? Do we know what they are scheming?" - Asked Old Refinement.

"Bao clan has closed themselves up after the traitor incident. They are not willing to trade until the yearly competition. They want us to compensate them to earn their trust back."

Old Refinement: "What? I thought Leaf Will couldn't be exposed!"

"You don't get the news here. The supposed traitor is the crucial person. He had no ties to our clan, so this story is just Bao clan's fabrication to frame him." - Clarified Wen Bo.

"So the crucial person could be a double agent..."

"Not likely. I tested it myself, and they have truly abandoned this person. It is just an internal conflict." - Reassured Wen Jie.

* * * * *

Ancestral Grotto

Zhao Min and company were hurrying back from their mission to gather a batch of three leaf grass. They were already late, but they were confident that they could make it in time if they pushed themselves.

But as they got closer to the academy, their confidence started to fade away. They had pushed themselves to the limits and they were completely exhausted.

"Can we make it in time? I don't want our first mission to be a failure." - Yu Lingxin sighed.

"We are too late. Even if we don't stop for resting, we will arrive two hours after the deadline." - Calculated Ye Jianhong.

"What if... what if we use the inheritance we found?" - Asked Jin Ju. He was out of breath already.

"Do you not remember what they told us? If even just half of it is true..." - Yu Lingxin couldn't bring herself to continue the thought.

Zhao Min suddenly stopped.

"Why did we stop? We need to hurry!" - Demanded Ye Jianhong.

"If we can't catch the praise, why hurry to the scolding?" - Zhao Min shrugged and asked plainly.

"But we need to discuss the matter of the three demon inheritance before we head back. What do you think we should do, I want to hear it." - He continued in a serious tone.

"Use it, of course! This is the inheritance of three rank five experts, if I can use it for myself, my future will be bright and effortless." - Stated Ye Jianhong.

"We cannot cultivate these inheritances since they are not wood path. In my opinion we should turn it in to get an appropriate compensation from the academy." - Suggested Jin Ju.

"Even though they called themselves the three demons, I don't think they are bad people. But cultivating the three demons inheritance would label us as demons too. I'm not sure if there is a way around this." - Yu Lingxin said.

Zhao Min nodded, they raised good points.

"This has been on my mind, ever since we passed the final stage of the inheritance ground..." - Started Zhao Min.

"The three demons yearned to become immortals. Yet, they left behind an inheritance that condemns immortals."

"Maybe they left their inheritance before they became immortals." - Jin Ju guessed.

"Maybe. Or maybe they knew their situation was dire and later on they were killed by an immortal. Who else could end the existence of the three demons combined?" - Zhao Min's cold words made the group realize the situation they were in.

"So what do you think we should do?" - Asked Yu Lingxin.

"We can't turn it in but we can't cultivate it either." - Jin Ju sighed.

"We cannot tell anyone! If they find out we have this inheritance..." - Ye Jianhong gulped in fright.

"Let me finish. That is only one of the possibilities. The inheritance could be planted directly by the immortals."

"Why would they do that?" - Asked Ye Jianhong.

"Oh no! It is to weed out if someone is willing to turn to the demonic side. Then they would strike down that gu master!" - Exclaimed Yu Lingxin.

"So it's a trap." - Ye Jianhong frowned.

Zhao Min: "Yes. This would be my normal thinking. But I can't help but feel like there is something else going on... Did you guys also feel strange when the moving pictures appeared at the last stage?"

Yu Lingxin: "Yes, I saw an old bedridden woman. The scene felt foreign, but also familiar, right? It is hard to describe it..."

Jin Ju: "Sister, why are you crying?"

"I'm not... crying?" - She reached for her eyes only to realize the shed tears.

"I saw different images, there wasn't a sick woman in them. But it indeed felt strange." - Ye Jianhong said.

"Mhm. Same here."

"Right. So what is this, a riddle? A secret technique that we need to combine? - Pondered Ye Jianhong.

"Memories. These must be our memory fragments!" - Jin Ju had a gut feeling.

Yu Lingxin: "You mean the ones from before Sun Lotus City was destroyed?"

Ye Jianhong: "Sun Lotus City isn't destroyed!"

Zhao Min: "Our memories have been tampered with, that much we know."

Jin Ju: "But who could have done this?"

The group fell into silence. They tried to recall what they saw in the images, but they were like fleeting dreams in the morning. No matter how hard they tried, they could not remember what the images were about or how they related to them.

Zhao Min was the first to speak again.

"No matter how it is. We can't interfere in the matters of the immortals even if we want to. So we should take the opportunities that present themselves. We will take the three demon inheritance, and use it for our own benefit." - Decided Zhao Min.

The others nodded in agreement.

"That's what I've been saying from the beginning! All this speculating, and it's still me who is right." - Grumbled Ye Jianhong.

Zhao Min: "We are not to speak of this matter to anyone else."

"So can we use this technique now? I think I have an idea about it." - Asked Jin Ju.

"Wait, what technique is it?" - Demanded Ye Jianhong.

"This is from the Phantom Demon's inheritance. It's called phantom steps. It can make your running faster and your legs feel weightless." - Jin Ju explained.

"Just use it yourself." - Ye Jianhong was immediately disinterested as the technique wasn't an offensive move.

After some experimentation, Jin Ju's figure turned into a blur, and he was quickly way ahead of the group.

"No wonder it's called phantom steps. He's like a ghost!" - Exclaimed Yu Lingxin.

Jin Ju activated the technique and returned to them in a flash.

"Let's go. We can make it in time now!" - He shouted with a grin.

"Just you. Take these and hurry. If you go alone you can make it in time. Be careful and do not get seen." - Zhao Min passed Jin Ju the bag of herbs and an information path gu that contained his report.

"Thank you, Brother Zhao. I won't let you down!" - Jin Ju nodded as he took the bag and gu.

The group watched Jin Ju disappear into the horizon.

"We should hurry back too." - Yu Lingxin said.

"Do as you wish. Our mission is complete. I'm going to take my time." - Zhao Min shrugged and took out a gu from the three demons inheritance to study it.

* * * * *

Lingering Mountains Grotto, Wen Bao Academy

Wen Hao Meng, Wen Qinyang and Wen Tu arrived at the academy's gates.

Wen Tu had an incredulous expression, this was the first time he had seen such a grand academy.

The Wen family had a small sect, an unknown one, so they never had chance to see a sect of this scale.

The academy was located on the side of a mountain, surrounded by a lake, it was picturesque.

The academy was made up of buildings, pavilions and tall towers. It had a very strong sense of grandeur.

Qinyang was also taken aback, but she didn't show it as she had been to more places than her brother.

"Even the guards are rank three gu masters!" - Wen Tu thought to himself as he sized up the two guards before them.

"Greetings elder Hao." - The two guards cupped their fists.

Hao Meng nodded, and led the two of them inside.

Even Wen Qinyang, who was used to reading about grand things, was amazed.

The academy was filled with students of all ages. Some were practicing martial arts, while others were practicing with gu insects.

Wen Tu and Qinyang felt as if they were standing in an ocean of knowledge.

"It's amazing!" - Wen Tu exclaimed.

"Let's go and register first." - Hao Meng said.

Soon, the three of them arrived at the registration office.

"We'd like to register two people." - Hao Meng said.

"Ok, please fill out these forms." - The receptionist gu master said.

"The names are Wen Qingyang and Wen Tu. I leave the rest to you." - Said Hao Meng and turned back to the two of them.

"Let's go. I'll show you around."

Following Hao Meng, the two siblings visited the various places of the academy.

Wen Tu was amazed.

The academy had its own lake, mountain, and a forest filled with beasts. It was like a little world of its own.

Qinyang was also taken aback. She had read a lot of books, but nothing compared to actually being there.

After some time, they arrived at the library. Wen Tu was mesmerized.

The library was filled with books about all kinds of topics.

Qinyang had a strong desire to read them.

"Hao Meng, could I stay here for a while? I'd like find out which path should I cultivate. I don't feel like ice path is a fit for me." - She said.

"Oh, you won't find the answer for that here. Come, let me show you some inheritances. I can grant you one as a reward when you complete a mission." - Hao Meng winked at her.

* * * * *