Chapter 20: Heading to Jiang Dongqu

Jiang Xiyu was not assigned to a house within the central district.

It was twenty li away from the City Lord Mansion, which served as the city center.

The area was not small, capable of housing fifty to sixty people without issue.

Gu Jinlai, after all, had once been a Refining God Elder, so it wouldn't do for the Jiang Family to send him to an inferior dwelling.

When Shao Hong brought him to the residence, it had already been cleaned up and some daily necessities added, but with the staff gone, it felt cold and desolate.

However, Gu Jinlai had already sent a message to the Gu family in Red Wind City before leaving Changjun City, ordering Gu Xiangyang to bring people to Starlight City to serve him.

Upon entering the city, he had Shao Hong send a message, and less than two hours after reaching the courtyard, Gu Xiangyang arrived with more than twenty people to take up residence.

These were all members of the Gu family, or those who had served the family for generations, whose loyalty was beyond question.

...

While Gu Xiangyang and his men checked the residence for any anomalies, Gu Jinlai was already in the study, safekeeping his treasures one by one.

He also opened the bag given to him by Shao Hong.

The bag contained not only his identity documents but also his life's story.

As Shao Hong had said, a peripheral member of the Jiang family, he followed a Heavenly Master to cultivate from an early age.

However, this person had perished along with his Heavenly Master mentor three years earlier, devoured by a devil, allowing Gu Jinlai to take his place.

"Jiang Dongqu."

Gu Jinlai muttered this name.

Heavenly Master Apprentice.

"Next, I must hurry to cultivate the Great Sun Nine Refinements Visualization and transform from a Heavenly Master Apprentice into a true Heavenly Master," Gu Jinlai said.

It was undeniable that the Heavenly Master lineage had been eliminated by history, no longer as glorious as in the past.

However, Heavenly Masters who could refine Qi and transform into gods, whether in Artifact Refining or Beast Taming, could create astonishing value, and their frail builds were reassuring, eliminating concerns about losing control if they became too powerful.

Thus, Heavenly Masters were highly sought after within major powers.

Some Heavenly Masters skilled in Artifact Refining and Beast Taming enjoyed status and positions not inferior to those of Refining God Immortals.

Of course, that was merely in terms of status and position.

Just like an ancient Minister of Works and a Minister of War, despite both holding ministerial ranks, their importance varied immensely.

"Patriarch."

At this moment, Gu Xiangyang entered.

"The fate of the Gu family is tied to mine. If I do not take up my post in Huayin County, the Gu family will surely be implicated. Return and inform Family Head Gu Changfeng that the Gu family must lay low and maintain its achievements for the time being," Gu Jinlai said after some calculations.

"Also, train a thousand elite troops, just in case."

"A thousand elites? With our family's income, I fear we can't afford to maintain a thousand men..." Gu Xiangyang said.

Gu Jinlai handed him a treasure box containing Shuo Guang Stones: "Give this to the Family Head, and the funds needed for a thousand elite troops will be readily available."

Gu Xiangyang did not know what the box contained, but if it could sustain an army, its value was evident.

He accepted the box with solemn reverence: "I shall protect this treasure with my life."

"I will write to Sect Master Lu Dengxian of the Purgatory Sect to buy some time. If our Gu family gains strength, not taking up the post in Huayin County will be of no significance," Gu Jinlai said.

"The Purgatory Sect..."

"As Red Wind City is a border city of Red State, with the Netherworld Sect and Dragon Sparrow Manor entrenched there, our Gu family's influence in Red Wind City is not weak. If the Purgatory Sect presses too hard, we will side with the Netherworld Sect, who I expect would be willing to take us in," Gu Xiangyang said.

"Willing to take us in, yes, but only because the Netherworld Sect desires to control Red Wind City. If we indeed take that step, regardless of whether the Purgatory Sect or Netherworld Sect becomes the master of Red Wind City, our Gu family will be subjected to retaliation," Gu Jinlai explained.

"Strengthening ourselves is the foundation for the Gu family's eternal legacy," he added.

Gu Xiangyang nodded; he understood this principle well.

The Gu family had been striving towards this goal over the years.

Yet realizing the great rise of the Gu family was no easy task.

"By the way, have you made any progress with finding good-natured descendants for me?" Gu Jinlai inquired.

"Yes, we have pre-selected thirty-four individuals, of whom twelve have shown interest," Gu Xiangyang replied.

"A bit few," responded Gu Jinlai, pondering for a moment before saying, "Bring them over. I am a Heavenly Master retrained from Refining God, and my understanding of the path of cultivation is incomparable to that of a regular Heavenly Master. Although the Divine Thought of a Heavenly Master is slightly different from Refining God, it should still be able to aid the disciples' cultivation."

"Patriarch really intends to switch to cultivating as a Heavenly Master!?" Gu Xiangyang couldn't help asking.

"Rest assured, I have my reasons. While achieving success in Refining God only allows one to dominate a region, advancing as a Heavenly Master may enable the Gu family to compete at the mountain's peak," Gu Jinlai assured him.

Gu Xiangyang wanted to dissuade him, but the Family Patriarch's actions were not open to doubt, and seeing his decision was made, it was not his place to say more.

"I have brought twenty people with me this time; it would attract too much attention. Only four have cultivated True Qi and will stay by the Patriarch's side, waiting for deployment. The remaining sixteen are at the Perfection stage of blood exchange and can only rely on the Patriarch's occasional guidance."

Gu Xiangyang said.

Gu Jinlai nodded.

Being in the Qi Refining Realm was already considered skilled, and suddenly having more than a dozen such people would arouse suspicion.

Four Qi Refiners and about a dozen at the blood exchange stage would just about be right.

"Among the twenty, the three with the highest talent are Gu Chaoyang, Nian Buwang, and Gu Lingsha. Among them, Chaoyang and Buwang are in the True Qi Realm, while Lingsha is in the Blood Exchange Realm. Of these three, Buwang possesses the highest talent."

Gu Xiangyang continued, "He is the son of my third aunt's brother. He started martial arts training at fourteen, refined his organs at fifteen, completed blood exchange at seventeen, and cultivated True Qi at twenty-one. Now at twenty-four, he has reached Qi Refining Perfection, just like the twenty-nine-year-old Gu Chaoyang!"

"Twenty-four years old and has reached Qi Refining Perfection."

This achievement was indeed commendable.

In today's world, it often takes a disciple of a great sect ten to twenty years to cultivate True Qi, and that's with the guidance of a Refining God Immortal.

Without the guidance of a Refining God, even with the methods of a great sect, it might take twenty to thirty years to cultivate True Qi.

Of course, that does not include those of noble birth who have been nourished with Treasure Medicine from a young age.

Nian Buwang managed to cultivate True Qi in seven years without any instruction from a Refining God, which shows his extraordinary talent.

"I will pay special attention to these three."

Gu Jinlai said.

Gu Xiangyang nodded.

As he was leaving, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Patriarch, although our Gu family will be contracting our defenses, without a Refining God to sit in, it will likely result in turmoil within a year, unless we are willing to give up some benefits..."

"One year is enough," Gu Jinlai replied.

Seeing that the Patriarch had everything under control, Gu Xiangyang said no more and took his leave.

Once they had left, Gu Jinlai summoned the four Qi Refining disciples, arranging for them to patrol the courtyard.

While he comprehended the Great Sun Nine Refinements Visualization, he awaited Su Nanxing's arrival.

Ten days later.

Su Nanxing, having recovered from his injuries, arrived in Starlight City following the signs Gu Jinlai had left.

With this Hugging Pill Dharma Protector, Gu Jinlai's transition from Qi Refining to Divinity Transformation would have an additional layer of safety.

...

In a modified Cultivation Room.

Gu Jinlai sat in meditation, adjusting his own state.

"Grand Sun Nine Refinements, the first step, Visualization Great Sun."

He attuned his perception to his spiritual world.

There, three rays of Qingguang were present.

One was from Fang Cai, and the other two from mysterious assassins.

He didn't plan to painstakingly perfect his Great Sun Visualization step by step over time, considering he had almost forgotten all he knew about the Great Sun.

Reflecting on how he previously used Qingguang to perfect Red Lotus Sword Qi and derived Wanxiang Sword Qi, he planned to use Qingguang to trace back his memories and form a new Great Sun core.

Although this would waste a ray of Qingguang, as long as his guess was correct, he would quickly be able to earn back Qingguang.

"I will use this Qingguang to put my brain into a Super Boost State, not only to recall all details about the Great Sun but also to remember a material that is pivotal to my next steps in development!"

What is the most profitable path for a Heavenly Master?

Artifact Refining and Beast Taming.

Among them, crafting a Spiritual Artifact is not easy.

The materials are expensive and require a high level of spirituality. Unless one can extract enough spirit from a massive number of Demon Spirits, it might take decades to craft a single Spiritual Artifact.

In the absence of being able to craft Spiritual Artifacts, Heavenly Masters rely on casting Treasure Weapons to earn their living.

The essence of Treasure Swords and Treasure Armor is that they are high-strength tools forged from materials similar to Winter Iron and Black Gold.

In other words, Treasure Swords and Treasure Armor are made from alloy materials.

So, with the same weight, they are more durable and sharper than Iron Armor, Iron Sword, steel armor, and Hundred-refined Swords.

The techniques and formulas for combining alloy materials are in the hands of Artifact Refiners and are their unique, closely-guarded secrets.

The knowledge of how these alloys are refined is also based on trial and error, built up over time by individual refiners.

What stands behind the formation of these high-strength materials is not fully understood by them.

But Gu Jinlai is different.

He understands that this involves atomic arrangement.

So, to break into the market with a new type of Treasure Armor and Treasure Sword, creating the initial capital accumulation, he needs a material that has low cost but excellent properties.

"So, should I choose carbon steel, titanium alloy, or carbon fiber..."