Chapter 10 Forgotten Soul Hall

A couple days after the meeting with Elder Hu and Elder Kong, Xuanyuan had fully immersed himself in his cultivation. Every primeval essence stone that was in his possession were either spent on cultivation, or Long Xi's Shadow Path class, basic Gu refinement class and his mandatory ethics class.

Xuanyuan wanted to spend another primeval essence stone on the Wisdom Path class, but refrained himself for the time being. Primeval essence stones were precious resources and Xuanyuan's desire to attain first place in the tournament at the end of the year forced him to redouble his efforts in his cultivation.

Having a Liquor Worm Gu, or a Cloud Essence Gu, a Gu which slowly converted ambient primeval energy into primeval essence, would vastly increase Xuanyuan's cultivation but for the time being, such a thing wasn't going to happen.

"I still can't believe that Rank 1 Liquor Worms cost a five hundred primeval essence stones. A regular disciple would have to save for almost an entire year to purchase one. By that stage, I would have already become a Rank 2 Gu Master".

Xuanyuan knew the recipe to refine a Rank 1 Liquor Worm Gu into a Rank 2 Four Flavors Liquor Worm Gu, and planned on originally doing that after acquiring the funds to purchase two Rank 1 Liquor Worm Gu.

But the cost of such a thing exceeded a thousand primeval essence stones. Fang Yuan was blessed with information regarding his future, but without wealth or background. Xuanyuan was blessed with the opposite.

"The winner of the tournament will be given a Relic Gu equal to their current cultivation realm. In addition, they are given a thousand primeval essence stones, and any single Gu of their choice. If I pick a Rank 1 Liquor Worm Gu, and then purchase another one, then I should be able to refine the Rank 2 Four Flavors Liquor Worm Gu...".

Little shadow released a single black wisp.

'But what happens if all the Liquor Worms in the Sect are bought by that time? Are you going to wait until another one is available?'.

Xuanyuan scrunched up his face at the thought of such a thing happening.

Shadows As Thought Gu always brought Xuanyuan back to reality. Xuanyuan on his own produced numerous thoughts, beyond that of a regular fifteen year old, which is what allowed him to handle the production of so many Shadow Thoughts.

But the Gu did have a point. If all of the Liquor Worm Gu were gone before the end of the year, then Xuanyuan's goal of refining a Rank 2 Four Flavors Liquor Worm were out the window before he could reach out to grasp it.

Not to mention... he needed offensive Gu for the tournament as well.

Xuanyuan suppressed a groan, letting out a sigh before shaking his head. Shadow Eyes Gu was a great investigative Gu Worm, and he couldn't risk using Shadows As Thought Gu when in front of other people.

He needed at least two or three more Gu if he wanted to win the tournament without any worries, taking into account the wealthy sons and daughters of merchants and Sect Elders. The latter no doubt had received martial arts training and ample amount of practice and familiarity with their Gu. 

Xuanyuan gazed at the numerous books on Gu and Gu materials scattered about the floor. He needed to focus on his strengths if he wanted to earn primeval essence stones.

"My greatest strength right now are deductions more than anything. With Shadows As Thought Gu, I can produce more thoughts than any other Gu Master at the same level of cultivation. Even Rank 2 Gu Masters don't compare. If there was a way I could answer questions and earn primeval essence stones then things would be perfect...".

Xuanyuan paused for a moment blinking, before rushing out of his study, running towards the refinement hall. He had only had two lessons on Gu refinement so far, but there was more to the refinement hall than just the classrooms.

The refinement hall was located at the base of the False Soul Mountain. It was the largest building Xuanyuan had ever seen since his reincarnation, and housed not just classrooms and hallways, but also hundreds of small rooms used for Gu refinement. Additionally, the refinement hall also housed all of the Sects Gu recipes that it had collected over the years.

That was what Xuanyuan was looking for.

More specifically, the incomplete Gu recipes.

Most of them were free to browse, although the higher Rank the Gu recipe, the greater likelihood of someone needing to pay to browse it.

Xuanyuan, with his tall stature seemed older than his appearance suggested, but smiled like a regular fifteen year old at the young Rank 3 Gu Master guarding the entrance to the refinement hall.

"Senior Sister! Where could I go to browse the incomplete Gu recipes within the refinement hall?".

The guard glanced at Xuanyuan for a moment before muttering in a low voice.

"The incomplete recipes are located on the third floor. Take a left, and then another left at the end of the hallway and you should eventually arrive in the Forgotten Soul Hall. Elder Kui is usually the one present".

Xuanyuan bowed, thanking the older woman before following her instructions, heading up to the third floor. He passed several Gu Masters, whispering amongst themselves in low voices. From the bits that he could hear, Xuanyuan knew that they were discussing Gu refinement, while some were discussing gossip or information around the Sect.

He had heard mention of his name, along with some... less than savory opinions about favoritism and unfairness.

Even after a month, people were still gossiping about him.

Xuanyuan just strode past them, directly towards the Forgotten Soul Hall. He was expecting a relatively small room, perhaps a dozen or so shelves and a couple tables and chairs but... the Forgotten Soul Hall was, a little larger than what he was expecting.

His eyes widened, as hundreds upon hundreds of shelves appeared before him, each lined with books and Gu and glass cabinets as far as the eye could see. Xuanyuan almost thought that the room was larger than the building, and quickly realized how the room was designed.

'Some sort of Space Path Gu must've been used while constructing this building. Space has been stretched so as to make the inside bigger, but also make it more difficult to enter...'.

His Master, Elder Luo was a Space Path Gu Master. After the Shadow Path, Xuanyuan was most familiar with Space Path Gu and Gu materials.

"Oh? A new face. It's always nice to see some of the new generation garner interest in my Forgotten Soul Hall".

Xuanyuan snapped out his examination before turning and gazing at the man in front of him. He tilted his head downwards, noting that the older man in front of him was short... almost remarkably so.

"Are you Elder Kui?", the words left Xuanyuan's mouth, and the little old man nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yes, despite my height I am an Elder of the Ancient Soul Sect. A Rank 4 Gu Master specializing in the Information Path!".

Xuanyuan tilted his head slightly.

"My apologies Elder Kui, I'm afraid my knowledge on the Information Path is... lacking".

The short Elder just waved him off casually.

"Don't worry about things like that. The only reason why I, a Rank 4 Gu Master is in charge of an entire Hall is because of my Path. It makes me uniquely suited to record and memorize information of a vast size and variation. Most of the time Gu Masters just enter the Hall and ask where to find something, and then I give it to them".

Xuanyuan paused for a moment, glancing around the room.

"You know the location of every piece of information in the Forgotten Soul Hall? Doesn't that mean you've memorized the information itself?".

Elder Kui nodded.

"Even if something is destroyed or misplaced, the Sect has copies. Some of the incomplete recipes in this room are incredibly old. Some are impossible to complete due to the extinction of certain species of beasts, while some Gu materials are so scarce that they are considered extinct. Unfortunately, even if we could complete these recipes, we lack to materials to refine these Gu".

Elder Kui shook his head, forlorn at the loss of potentially new information.

Xuanyuan on the other hand...

"Elder Kui... what would happen if one of the Gu recipes were completed? Say I completed one for example? Would I be rewarded?".

The Elder gave Xuanyuan a once over, scoffing slightly while shaking his head.

"If the recipe works and produces a Gu, then of course your actions would be rewarded. You are contributing to the Sect after all. Recipe for Gu often exceed the cost of the Gu itself, so depending on the rank of the recipe, the complexity of the new recipe and the strength of the new Gu, the reward would be around four or five times that of the Gu itself. More if its something that can speed up cultivation, or reduce the importance of Talent. Something like that would be in the thousands of primeval stones".

Elder Kui narrowed his eyes at Xuanyuan.

"But you're much too young for that! Barely a Rank 1 Gu Master and trying to complete a forgotten Gu recipe! Come back when your Rank 2 at the very least!".

Xuanyuan didn't feel any malice behind those words, and suppressed himself from frowning or retorting. Elder Kui was still an Elder after all. Even if he was only a Rank 4 Gu Master, he was in charge of the entirety of Forgotten Soul Hall.

The otherworldly demon just let out a sigh before shaking his head.

"Elder Kui I just wanted to take a look. I'm a mortal born Gu Master and my parents died when I was little. Other than the ten primeval essence stones I am given by the Sect each week, I have no other forms of gaining wealth and progressing my cultivation. Please Elder Kui, I desire only knowledge, I know my limits better than anyone else".

The expression on Elder Kui's face softened after hearing Xuanyuan's words. He could detect no lies in the information Xuanyuan had given him. Xuanyuan had chosen his words carefully, trying to play on the heartstrings of the older man.

No doubt, considering the age and the Rank of the older man, he had either resigned himself to remaining a Rank 4 Gu Master for the rest of his life, or had his chance and failed, awaiting his next opportunity to break through to Rank 5.

Either way, Xuanyuan knew that Elder Kui could sympathize with someone of a similar origin, suffering with an insufficient talent.

"What was your name again, young man?", Elder Kui questioned.

"Just Xuanyuan, Elder Kui. Just Xuanyuan", he responded.

Elder Kui didn't pry, only nodding slightly before gesturing to the wide array of shelves and incomplete Gu recipes in the room.

"Well then Xuanyuan, was there anything in particular you were looking for?".

The fifteen year old blinked for a moment before nodding gesturing to a random shelf.

"Ah. I have recently spent some of my primeval essence stones on the basic Gu refinement class taught to new disciples. I suppose I was looking research behind Gu refinement techniques, and how different techniques can influence the outcome of the Gu refinement".

Elder Kui nodded slightly, gesturing for Xuanyuan to continue.

"My Vital Gu is a Shadow Eyes Gu you see. Firstly I wanted to see if there were any incomplete recipes regarding a potential refinement of Shadow Eyes Gu. If I could get my hands on the recipe for a future refinement, then that would be perfect. If not, then I would potentially look at other Shadow Path Gu recipes".

"Complimentary Gu materials are also important. Dark Path materials and Light Path materials are closest in terms of compatibility with Shadow Path. Even if the recipe isn't complete now, it was at some point right? A certain level of compatibility exists, even if we don't fully know the outcome".

Elder Kui nodded at Xuanyuan's words.

"Your words have merit Xuanyuan. Hmm, I suppose letting you take a peek at a few incomplete recipes won't hurt anyone...".

Xuanyuan's heart rose.

"But only Rank 1 Gu recipes! Nothing higher! If you want to look at them, come back after you've become a Rank 2 Gu Master!".

Xuanyuan nodded resolutely, causing Elder Kui to smile, the older man looking away, glancing at Xuanyuan's eagerness.

'It has been a while since I've chatted with a young Gu Master... He was interested in the Shadow Path right?', Elder Kui thought.

Elder Kui extended his hand and a book from a distant shelf came flying over, landing softly in his palm. The book was thin and tattered, lacking a front and a back cover, only being held together by a series of strings tied around holes punched through the pages.

Elder Kui handed the pages to Xuanyuan.

"This book was found in an expedition to the Western Desert. A group of Ancient Soul Sect Gu Masters found this book beside a corpse, blood soaking the front and back covers. The name is lost, but it belonged to a Shadow Path Gu Master. All of the complete recipes were removed, but there are half a dozen or so incomplete recipes within".

Xuanyuan held the book in both hands, his eyes wide as he gazed at the stack of paper in his hands. 

'Half a dozen!?'

His thoughts unconsciously betrayed him.

Holding the book like it was an Immortal Gu, Xuanyuan smiled at Elder Kui.

"Thank you Elder Kui. This is... beyond what I anticipated after coming here".

Elder Kui went slightly red in the face, waving Xuanyuan off before shaking his head.

"Just make sure that nothing happens to the book. There are copies, but having to recreate it would be extraordinarily troublesome. Is that understood Xuanyuan?".

The young man nodded, staring firmly at the short Elder.

"I promise Elder Kui. Nothing bad will happen to this book".