Xiong clan

A few months passed by. Gu Guangzhi was able to fully control the boiling primeval essence that was generated. It was a lot harder than he expected. During this time, he would send too much primeval essence into the gu insects and damage the gu insects rapidly or too little primeval essence that the gu insects wouldn't activate. His Rank 1 Bamboo cable Gu or his Rank 2 Bamboo spring Gu wouldn't be damaged as they required very little primeval essence but his Rank 2 Bamboo sword Gu would often be damaged due to this. He managed to figure out a refinement recipe to repair it with pointers from Yu Wen Zi.

This refinement recipe was a bit dangerous and from time to time, Gu Guangzhi would get hurt by sword path materials used in the process but he would heal himself with help from Yu Wen Zi. Gu Guangzhi didn't have a good healing gu insect with him. Earlier, he didn't have enough primeval essence when he was in Rank 1 to use his Rank 3 Bamboo stalk Gu. Now as a Rank 2 gu master, he could activate the Bamboo stalk Gu after expending a lot of primeval essence but due to the boiling nature of his primeval essence, he would damage the wood path Bamboo stalk Gu much more than the other gu insects.

"I think it is a good time for you to join the Xiong clan. The wolf tide will start in about a year. If you join the clan now, you can make new relationships with other gu masters and use the clan treasury for any gu insects you need by making contributions to the clan.", Yu Wen Zi said.

Gu Guangzhi was a bit surprised. "I thought you were a loner and didn't want to expose your secrets to the clan. Won't the secret of my abnormal primeval essence be revealed when the Xiong clan inspects my aperture?", questioned Gu Guangzhi.

"I certainly don't want this method to be exposed to any clan. This method is inherently dangerous and if this method becomes public, all clans would force their younger generations with lower aptitude to use this method causing many kids to lose their lives in the process. I don't want to be the cause of such genocide. Also, no clan does random inspections of their clan member's apertures. I guess they do it once when you join the clan. That's when they inspected me as well to determine my aptitude when I joined the Xiong clan. But you don't have to worry, I have a temporary solution for that as well.", saying so Yu Wen Zi pulled out a piece of rock.

This piece of rock looked like any other rock. There was nothing special about it. Gu Guangzhi looked at Yu Wen Zi with confusion. Yu Wen Zi then asked, "Do you know anything about gambling rocks kid?" Gu Guangzhi shook his head. "Well, you know that gu insects need to fed every now and then, right? But if gu insects can't find their source of food, they can sometimes go into hibernation to survive. They form rock layers around them and usually can't be distinguished from normal rocks. Gambling with rocks to look for gu insects is a popular activity among gu masters."

"Oh! I think I remember my mother scolding my father not to waste money on it every year when the caravan used to arrive. But what does this have to do with my problem?", asked Gu Guangzhi.

"This rock here contains a gu that is hibernating. Or rather, I forced it to go into hibernation. This forced hibernation technique and the gu insect it contains are the remaining part of the inheritance I possess.", explained Yu Wen Zi.

"Oh! What is the gu insect that is hibernating in this rock then?", asked Gu Guangzhi.

"It is a Rank 2 Condensing essence Gu. It returns your primeval essence to normal for a few days. It is an expendable gu like the Boiling essence Gu you used earlier. It cannot stay alive for long but since it was not refined in an aperture like Boiling essence Gu, it can be forced to hibernate. When you join the Xiong clan, you can just use this gu and the Xiong clan won't feel anything is wrong with your primeval essence. But remember that you can't use this gu too many times. Your main goal should be utilizing your boiling primeval essence to its fullest."

Gu Guangzhi replied, "Okay. I understand. What about my water wolf? Will it be allowed in the Xiong clan?"

Yu Wen Zi frowned a bit, "Usually enslaved beasts are allowed but since your water wolf isn't enslaved that might be a problem. But do not worry. I will talk to them about it."

Yu Wen Zi slowly chipped off the edges of the gambling rock using his primeval essence. A hibernating gu came into view. He gave it to Gu Guangzhi and asked him to send his primeval essence into it. The Condensing essence Gu slowly woke up and condensed Gu Guangzhi's boiling essence back to its normal state. This state would be maintained for a period of three days if the primeval essence wasn't used up. If it was used up, boiling essence would be generated again.

Yu Wen Zi, Gu Guangzhi and his water wolf slowly made their way to Xiong village. The water wolf attracted strange gazes from the clan members. Gu Guangzhi told it to remain calm. As they came to the clan pavilion, they were stopped by a few clan members. Gu Guangzhi saw the strength path gu master he saw with Yu Wen Zi when he first met them.

"Who is this kid that you are accompanying, Yu Wen Zi?", one of the clan elders asked.

Before Yu Wen Zi could answer, the strength path gu master chipped in, "He was the Rank 1 gu master that helped us in the fight against that demonic blood path gu master we encountered a while ago. He lost his arm while defending us so I offered him to come to our clan when he broke into Rank 2."

"Oh! Good thinking Jin Bo. Our Xiong clan always welcomes such righteous characters.", said an elder but he was inwardly thinking something else. 'He is a Rank 2 gu master? But going by looks, he looks very young. He must be a genius with a very high aptitude. Though he will only be an external member, I must pull him into my faction.'

"True. A young gu master such as yourself must not be left alone. Our Xiong clan will surely help your growth. I will personally ask the clan leader to nurture a righteous character like yourself.", an elder belonging to an opposing faction said with similar thoughts in mind.

As they made their way to the clan leader for approval, the two factions competed with each other in praising the righteous character of Gu Guangzhi. The clan leader learnt about this situation and felt happy about the new addition to the clan. Xiong clan was the weakest after all among the three clans in Qing Mao mountain. Any addition to its strength was welcome.

He asked a few questions to Gu Guangzhi about his past. Gu Guangzhi did not mention anything about the Gu Yue clan. He only said that he gave up his surname due to the discrimination he faced and his experiences in the mountain living with his water wolf. The clan leader then proceeded to inspect Gu Guangzhi's aperture, as was the procedure to do so, before welcoming anyone into the clan. His expressions changed. Then upon taking a closer look at the boy's age, he figured out that must've awakened his aperture early.

Usually, when taking in external clan members, the clan would only choose gu masters with a high aptitude. He wanted to reject Gu Guangzhi's entry into the clan but since the elders of his village were highly praising the righteous nature of Gu Guangzhi, it wouldn't bring a good name to the clan if they rejected him now. He formally announced Gu Guangzhi to be an external member of the clan. He told Gu Guangzhi that he had great expectations for him and is looking forward to his contributions to the clan.

Gu Guangzhi thanked him and backed away.Gu Guangzhi was told that he could select one Rank 1 gu insect from the clan treasury. He went to the clan treasury expecting to find a suitable healing path gu insect for himself but he didn't find any. Xiong clan wasn't that big of a clan and healing type Gu were precious to begin with. As he was looking for other suitable gu insects for him, he found a soul path gu insect of his liking. It was Rank 1 Ghost palm Gu.

Ghost palm Gu was a Rank 1 soul path gu. It could be used like a normal palm with very little primeval essence. If more primeval essence was used, it could be used for attacking and restricting opponents as well. With Gu Guangzhi's boiling essence, he wouldn't hurt the gu if he used small amounts of boiling primeval essence at a time. He chose to refine it then and there.

As he came out, the elders in the faction were now throwing disgusting glances towards Gu Guangzhi. 'It looks like they found out about my aptitude.' Gu Guangzhi ignored their looks and went to Yu Wen Zi. Yu Wen Zi looked at his new gu insect and smiled.

"I had a hunch you would choose this gu. It is suitable for gu masters like you who have less primeval essence. Now let's get out of here.", said Yu Wen Zi.

Gu Guangzhi activated his new gu insect as he walked out and a ghost palm formed in thin air. Gu Guangzhi operated this palm like his own and felt as if his arm had grown again.