Chapter 55 Two Shadows As One

Returning to Elder Luo's residence, Xuanyuan entered the secondary Gu refinement room, closing the door shut and informing the maids not to disturb him for three days. He prepared enough food and rations to sustain himself for up to five days and readied himself to refine Gu.

Using the pressure emitted by the Rank 5 Shadows As Thought Gu, Xuanyuan instantly refined all of the Rank 1 and Rank 2 Gu that he had purchased. The effect of Rank suppressed only worked on Gu two levels or more lower than the Shadows As Thought Gu, so even then Xuanyuan could refine Rank 3 Gu without much worry.

It allowed him to save time and effort on refining Gu, leaving him with both more primeval essence for cultivation, and primeval essence stones for purchasing food to fed his Gu.

Shadows As Thought Gu was Xuanyuan's second greatest trump card. It immensely sped up his deductions and comprehensions, allowing him to work at the speed of a Gu Master multiple Ranks higher than his current cultivation. 

Xuanyuan suspected that he possessed Shadow Otherworldly Dao Marks, which possibly also sped up his grasp of the Shadow Path, but couldn't prove such a thing with his current cultivation. Dao Marks that belonged to a Gu Master strengthened the effects of a Gu, but for whatever reason, his otherworldly Dao Marks were not the same as those belonging to the Ten Extreme Physiques. 

Xuanyuan wanted to know what the difference between them was, or if it was just Fate Gu that suppressed these types of Dao Marks.

Smoothing out his breathing, Xuanyuan's mind became clear as he held onto his Rank 1 Shadow Stinger Gu in one hand, and his Rank 1 Two Gu in the other.

A single Rank 1 Two Gu cost about 50 primeval essence stones, considering that it didn't possess any ability by itself. It's effects could only be used in tandem with another Gu, enforcing the concept of a "rule" on that other Gu.

Rule Path Gu were strange in that each of them usually embodied extremely basic concepts such as strong, weak, straight, curved, big, small, round, square, or even numbers ranging from one, all the way up to, theoretically infinity.

These Gu influenced the effects of other Gu, and with this Gu, Xuanyuan wanted to refine his Rank 1 Shadow Stinger Gu, into a Rank 2 Dual Shadow Stinger Gu. It wasn't quite that simple, otherwise all Gu would use Rule Path Gu during their refinement, making it "stronger" using Strong Gu, or the area of effect "larger" with Large Gu.

The Shadow Stinger Gu was different in comparison to a Fireball Gu, a Longsword Gu, a Wood Charm Gu, a Liquor Worm or even a Earth Communication Ear Grass.

'Actually, it is quite similar to an Earth Communication Gu. A future refinement of the Earth Communication Ear Grass uses the Rank 3 Nine Gu to refine it into a Nine Communications Ear Grass Gu, capable of hearing everything within nine hundred meters. My Rank 1 Nine Eyes Shadow Gu also uses the Rank 1 Nine Gu in order to be refined'.

There were a seemingly infinite number of different Gu, but if all Gu could be refined this easily, Gu Masters wouldn't have so much trouble producing recipes and inheritances for their disciples and new generations.

Using the Gu Yue Moonlight Gu as an example, the Shadow Blade Gu could produce a similar effect. However, Xuanyuan was sure that a Rank 1 Shadow Blade Gu had a much further range than a Rank 1 Moonlight Gu. 

Roughly thirty meters in comparison to ten meters. 

However, the Rank 1 Shadow Blade Gu, even one used by a Peak Rank 1 Gu Master could not cut off limbs or sever heads. The effects were significantly weaker offensively, although the increased range offset this decreased offensive power.

The same could be said for the Rank 1 Water Cutting Gu, the Rank 1 Sword Slash Gu, the Rank 1 Dark Slice Gu and many, more different Gu. 

Focusing his attention on the small scorpion in his hands, Xuanyuan gently pushed the Rank 1 Two Gu into it, dividing his consciousness into two watching as each Gu was sublimated into the other, creating a ball of dark wispy light. 

Xuanyuan frowned slightly, but the division in his consciousness wasn't anything new. When refining the Nine Eyes Shadow Gu, Xuanyuan had to take into account more than a dozen different steps, materials numbering in the tens of dozens. 

Throwing in some primeval essence stones, Xuanyuan had to dip into his reserve stash, watching as more than fifty primeval essence stones merged with the glowing back of black light. His own primeval essence carefully nurtured the two Gu, merging their essence under his command, the Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus generating primeval essence almost as fast as Xuanyuan could use it up!

With such a powerful primeval essence regeneration, Xuanyuan never had to worry about running out of primeval essence. His mind was free from distraction and eventually, the black wispy light faded, leaving Xuanyuan with a single Gu left in his hands.

Xuanyuan smiled, looking down at the shadowy scorpion with two stingers in his hand. The Rank 2 Gu looked at Xuanyuan nestling in his hand, finding a comfortable position before falling asleep.

Returning the Dual Shadow Stinger Gu back to his aperture, Xuanyuan activated its ability instantly feeling another appendage connected to his mind. The presence of an additional shadowy limb was strange enough as it was, but having two scorpion shadow stingers come out of the base of his spine made Xuanyuan feel somewhat like an bug with all the additional limbs.

Xuanyuan could see that while the length and the power behind the Rank 2 Dual Shadow Stinger Gu hadn't decreased, the primeval essence expenditure certainly had. In comparison to his Rank 1 Shadow Stinger Gu, the Rank 2 Dual Shadow Stinger Gu had its expenditure increased by more than ten times.

For a normal Gu Master, it made it less viable in combat than its Rank 1 version, but for Xuanyuan, primeval essence wasn't a problem, even without the Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus.

He could feel the Rank 3 Gu rapidly regenerate his primeval essence, so Xuanyuan just continued with his refinement, continuing on with his Rank 1 Shadow Pocket Gu.

In the end, Xuanyuan had managed to refine his Rank 1 Shadow Stinger Gu into a Rank 2 Dual Shadow Stinger Gu.

His Rank 1 Shadow Pocket Gu into a Rank 2 Deep Shadow Pocket Gu.

And his Rank 1 Push Gu into a Rank 2 Strong Push Gu. 

Xuanyuan attempted to refine his Rank 1 Shadow Qi Gu into a Rank 2 Shadow Qi Gu, but failed twice, leading to the destruction of his Rank 1 Shadow Qi Gu and his two Rank 1 Empty Qi Gu. Xuanyuan felt a backlash and spat out blood after that, feeling his primeval essence sea churn as he tried to bring it back under control.

The Shadow Path Gu Master passed out minutes after, waking up more than twelve hours later, a pile of primeval essence stones gathered on the floor beside him. Letting out a loud groan, Xuanyuan could still feel the coppery taste of blood on his lips wiping them before meditating and gathering his thoughts.

He was a Master in the Shadow Path, not the Refinement Path. Even if his attainment in the Shadow Path helped with the refinement of Shadow Path Gu, it wasn't to the extent of a pure Refinement Path Gu Master.

After examining the walls of his aperture, Xuanyuan was relieved to see that there wasn't any damage, and that his talented remained intact.

Taking a deep breath, Xuanyuan exhaled a breath of turbid air.

"I was fairly lucky just then. I managed to push the Shadow Qi out of my aperture before it exploded. I underestimated the power behind Empty Qi Gu. I thought that it was a type of Qi Path storage Gu, but in actuality, Empty Qi Gu is a type of pure Qi which can mimic different types of Qi. After it has been filled up, that is when I should strike, completing the refinement process...".

Xuanyuan wrote all of this down in his notebooks, collection knowledge relating to different Paths.

Although it wasn't nearly to the same level of depth as his comprehension on the Shadow Path, it was still valuable knowledge.

The Qi Path was especially mysterious, beyond just what he had seen Qi Sea Ancestor and Duke Long manipulate it. It was particularly compatible with other Paths, similar to Strength Path or Soul Path or Blood Path, albeit at a basic level.

Gu of these three Paths were commonly used to enhance other Paths, transforming their strength into Fire Strength or Lion Strength. Or their soul into Dragon Soul or Ice Soul. Or using Qi Path Gu to produce complimentary Qi to the Gu that they used.

Theoretically the Shadow Path could also be used this way, but without a revolutionary Gu Immortal to lead the way in this front, it lagged behind other Paths.

Xuanyuan spent the rest of his day either eating or cultivating. His aperture walls were beginning to take on a more solid appearance, signifying how close he was to the Upper Stage of Rank 2. 

Letting out a sigh, Xuanyuan opened his eyes and brought out his Rank 1 Nine Eyes Shadow Gu. His Vital Gu, which was refined from a Rank 1 Shadow Eyes Gu was perhaps the most precious thing in Xuanyuan's heart. 

It was a Gu which had never existed before until he created the recipe for it. Needlessly complicated and powerful in its effects, Xuanyuan gazed at the blob of shadowy ink in his hands, watching as the liquid shadow coiled around his fingers, playing with them.

The Nine Eyes Shadow Gu looked up at Xuanyuan using his hand to wave at him, causing him to smile. The glint in his eyes becoming much more dangerous as he gazed down at his Vital Gu.

"... I've decided the direction that I want to nurture you", he said.

The Rank 1 Gu, limited in its intelligence just continued waving Xuanyuan's own hand at him, causing him to shake his head, the smile still pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Xuanyuan had been thinking of the possibilities of other variations of the Nine Eyes Shadow Gu, and neglected to develop future refinements of his Vital Gu. His attainment limited somewhat, but now that it had been resolved, Xuanyuan could feel his intuition pushing him in a specific direction.

"The power of Nine Eyes Shadow Gu lies in two parts. Firstly in its ability to passively enhance eyesight. Secondly in its ability to let a Gu Master see through the eyes of their Shadow. The first is much more valuable, even if the enhancement doesn't apply to the entirety of my body".

"I want to create a Gu which can enhance the entirety of my body. A Shadow Path Gu. The Nine Eyes Shadow Gu is a good start, but I can do better. I can do more".

"If it is possible to use "nine eyes" to enhance the eyesight, then it should be possible to use "nine" of something to enhance the entirety of my body. All nines return to one, the only question is, what do I choose as the route of advancement?".

Xuanyuan knew that the effects of a mortal Gu were limited, but if something like a mortal Second Aperture Gu was possible in the future, then perhaps this Gu would be possible in the future as well! 

So long as he was determined, Xuanyuan would reach the zenith, and become an overlord of the Shadow Path! 

Calming the emotions in his heart, Xuanyuan let out a small sigh, shaking his head. His thoughts drew him to the Shadows As Thought Gu hiding in the depths of his shadow, causing him to blink for a moment before an interesting thought appeared in his mind.

'If Twin Shadow Gu is theoretically possible... then shouldn't Two Shadows As One Gu be possible as well?'.