Spirit Gu Assembly
"What important matter?" Everyone became interested upon hearing this.
"As you all know, after the Blood Gu Sect was destroyed, it left behind many medical Gu Technique texts in this valley, right?" Ming Qing whispered.
"Although the Blood Gu Sect is an evil cult that has committed countless evil deeds, their medical and Gu Technique are indeed formidable. Back then, the Martial World sects of the Central Plains and Southern Borderlands destroyed all of the Blood Gu Sect's evil techniques, and the remaining beneficial techniques were inherited by Medicine King Valley. Over the years, successive Valley Master and elders have been studying the techniques recorded within. It is also thanks to these classic texts that so many Miraculous Elixir have been created in recent years."
Upon hearing this, Li Xinyu nodded. "Could it be that another new drug has been developed?"
"It's not medicine!" Ming Qing shook his head. "It's poison!"
"Gu?" Deng Qian exclaimed in surprise, "That sounds terrifying."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Ming Qing waved his hand and said, "Gu Technique can kill, while others can save lives; it all depends on how they are used. The one the elders have researched this time is called the Spirit Gathering Gu, a miraculous Gu that can increase cultivation speed!"
Increase cultivation speed? Luo Jun, who was in the group, twitched his ears.
He's just walking into a trap; what he needs most right now is to increase his cultivation level!
"Increase cultivation speed? How exactly does it increase?" Li Xinyu asked curiously.
Luo Jun's eyes lit up as he listened. If what this Senior Brother Ming Qing said was true, if he could get his hands on one, at his current cultivation speed, he could reach the bottleneck in just a few months!
"Young Hero, is this strange Gu you're talking about really that powerful?" Tie Jingang asked, barely suppressing his excitement.
It's important to know that the so-called Gu Technique is essentially a poisonous insect. These things are alive, and theoretically, after a Gu insect is implanted in the body, it can be brought back to the Main World!
If we could really acquire this technology, wouldn't it mean that all Cultivators ' Foundation Establishment realms would improve significantly?
This isn't just big news in the Martial World world; it's major news for the Main World as well!
"What's the use of just increasing cultivation speed?" Deng Qian shook her head. "The difficulty in cultivation mainly lies in the success rate of breakthroughs."
"Cultivation speed isn't just about the speed of accumulating vital energy," Ming Qing said mysteriously. "The speed of recovery from a closed state also counts!"
"Of course, I have one inside me right now!" As he spoke, Ming Qing's body emanated a radiant and stable aura. "Senior Brother Li, we met half a year ago. Look, has my cultivation improved quite a bit?"
You should know that in the later stages of cultivation, the whole process is basically a cycle of accumulating vital energy, breaking through realms, returning to the closed state, and then accumulating vital energy again. This cycle can take anywhere from two or three months to one or two years. Regardless of Foundation Establishment, once you reach the fifth level, if you want to break through to the sixth level, you probably have to repeat this cycle dozens or even hundreds of times to succeed. If you don't live long enough, you won't be able to finish it before you die.
"I, as an outer disciple, don't know the exact principles," Ming Qing said. "I only know that as long as Spirit Gathering Gu implanted in the body, it can greatly increase cultivation speed, reportedly by more than ten times!"
Ming Qing nodded. "Mine is only the lowest grade, Third Grade Spirit Gathering Gu. Spirit Gathering Gu are divided into Rank 1, Rank 2, and Rank 3, and their effects are different. My Rank 3 Gu, once planted in the body, can increase cultivation speed to three times its original speed. We outer disciples can only obtain this kind. The outstanding inner disciples have all been planted with Rank 2 Spirit Gathering Gu, which is said to increase cultivation speed by five or six times! The strongest Rank 1 is only possessed by the Sect Leader Valley Master, and a few elders, increasing cultivation speed by more than ten times!"
Seeing this, Li Xinyu nodded. "Indeed, in just a few months, you've improved again? Made a breakthrough?"
Upon hearing this, many students were agitated and began asking, "Can anyone sign up?"
"However, cultivating this rare Gu is extremely difficult. It is mainly the responsibility of the Gu Master Elder in the valley. It is said that he has been researching it for more than ten years, consuming all kinds of precious medicinal materials, before successfully cultivating the first batch. After experiments by the disciples in the valley, it was confirmed that there were no problems. This time, the Sect Leader Valley Master plans to take advantage of his sixtieth birthday to make this product public and hold a Spirit Gu Assembly to invite heroes from all over the world to compete. The prize for the top three winners will be three Grade First Grade Spirit Gathering Gu!"
But if this entire process could be accelerated by more than ten times, it would mean that even with bad luck, a cultivation process that would normally take hundreds of years could be completed in less than ten years? Wouldn't that mean that as long as this Gu is planted, most people could reliably break through to the sixth level, and even attempt to reach the Seventh Layer!
Now, not only Li Xinyu and Deng Qian, but everyone else, including Tie Jingang, showed expressions of shock!
What kind of tournament format? Round-robin or knockout?
"Starting tomorrow?"
Seeing everyone's eagerness, Ming Qing explained, "The details will be announced tomorrow. Anyone interested is welcome to participate. The final three will be selected in three days..."
As they chatted, Ming Qing led everyone to their residence.
It was less of an inn and more of a reception area for Medicine King Valley. It was a spacious, circular courtyard, about ten feet in diameter, with sheds for drinking tea and eating, as well as places to tether livestock and park carriages, all arranged in an orderly manner. Surrounding the courtyard was a three-story enclosed building. The rooms were not large, but arranged very closely together. At a rough estimate, there were at least two hundred Guest Room. The busy innkeepers and waiters were all outer disciples of Medicine King Valley.
"Come this way..." Ming Qing led everyone to park the carriage and pointed to a row of rooms. "This side of the first floor, rooms sixteen to forty, are reserved for your Hundred Rivers Sect. Two people per room, twenty-five people in total... If there are any inconveniences, you can ask the manager to arrange a change. I've already made arrangements."
"Thank you for your care, Senior Brother Ming." Deng Qian bowed in gratitude. Tie Jingang, who was standing to the side, said, "By the way, the Acting Head specifically instructed us to pay our respects to the Valley Master as soon as we arrive. There is a letter that we need to personally deliver to him... Also, the Hundred Rivers Sect brought quite a few gifts this time, and it would be too much of a nuisance to leave them here. Young Hero Ming, could you please help us arrange for a few slow horses to be sent to the valley along with them?"
"I see..." Ming Qing considered for a moment, "No problem, you all rest first, I'll go make the arrangements."
After Ming Qing left, the students immediately began to assign rooms. Luo Jun was still in the same room as Lu Fei, while Zhao Jian and Xu Yiming were in the next room.
Compared to the Hundred Rivers Sect camp, which had hot water and private bathrooms, the conditions here were much harsher, even less spacious than the inns in Tongda Town. However, although the rooms were cramped, they were clean and tidy. Since everyone had been sleeping outdoors most of the time, these conditions were comfortable enough.
After tidying up the rooms, everyone went to the courtyard and chatted mainly about the Spirit Gu Assembly that Ming Qing had just mentioned.
As Cultivators, who wouldn't be tempted by a treasure that can increase cultivation speed? Especially since this is a fair competition, anyone with a bit of confidence in their strength is eager to give it a try.
"I'm reminding you..." Tie Jingang gathered the students together. "Participating in the Spirit Gu Assembly is fine, it can be considered a kind of training, but don't pin your hopes on winning prizes. Medicine King Valley's business spans all corners of the world, and basically every sect has experts coming to celebrate the Valley Master's birthday. As the saying goes, there are always people stronger than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. Don't be discouraged if you're eliminated..."
"Then why don't you go too, Martial Uncle?" Zhao Jian suggested. "We're all about participation these days. You're a top-notch expert. Even if you don't win first place, you have a good chance of getting into the top three. Get a spirit gu, and your cultivation speed will increase a hundredfold. Wouldn't that make reaching the Peak a possibility?"
To everyone's surprise, Tie Jingang shook his head and said in a low voice, "This thing has just appeared, and no one can say for sure what its specific effects will be. Although Medicine King Valley is a righteous sect in the martial arts world, this technology was indeed inherited from the Blood Gu Sect of yesteryear. If there are any hidden dangers that Medicine King Valley hasn't discovered, it would be troublesome for us to rashly implant it into our bodies."
"Does Martial Uncle mean this thing hasn't undergone clinical trials and isn't reliable?" Xu Yiming asked.
Tie Jingang nodded. "So, for this Spirit Gu Assembly, our focus is on participation, not winning. Once others have tried it and confirmed that the Spirit Gu is truly as beneficial as Ming Qing said, we'll wait for the second batch. After all, Hundred Rivers Sect and Medicine King Valley have maintained a good relationship for many years. With Old Yuan's influence, obtaining a few Spirit Gu shouldn't be a problem. With the association's Technological Power, we might even be able to replicate it!"
Everyone nodded in agreement, and Luo Jun also began to have his own ideas.
He was also a little worried about whether this thing would have any side effects; otherwise, he really wanted to create a fake identity to try it out. Of course, the sect identity would be a problem when registering, but with the dice, there was always a way to get by.
The key question is, if we actually manage to get into the top three, will we have to accept the Gu poison...?
Although he was absolutely confident in his physique and had the Dice of Heavenly Secrets as a trump card, he shouldn't be killed by the possible side effects of the Gu worms, but one can't be too careful... After thinking it over, he decided to wait for his Master to return.
As Tie Jingang said, with Old Yuan's influence, a second batch could always be obtained. And with a second batch, how could his Master forget his good disciple?
At this moment, Ming Qing returned with several outer disciples and a few horses. "Duty Elder Tie, livestock are in short supply in town right now. I've arranged for a few slow horses; they're not fast, but their stamina is excellent, and they can help you transport the goods to the valley."
"This is Hu Xin, Double Casket Disciple of the outer sect. He will be your guide and lead you to meet the Sect Leader Valley Master."
"Thank you for your trouble, Young Hero Ming." Tie Jingang bowed and thanked him. Then he arranged for everyone to hitch up the carriage and, along with Li Xinyu, Qian Dong, and Ling Xin, followed Hu Xin to Medicine King Valley to pay their respects to the Valley Master.
Before leaving, they reminded their classmates to behave themselves, as this was a gathering place for people from all walks of life, and everyone should be careful to protect themselves. They were also told not to leave the inn before the inn returned. Song Shan and Deng Qian, who stayed behind, also said that they would take good care of their junior brothers and sisters.
(End of this chapter)