Jiang Dongqu

The courtyard Jiang Xiyu arranged for Gu Jinlai was not in the central city district.

It was twenty li from the City Lord's Mansion at the city's heart.

The space was considerable, easily accommodating fifty or sixty people.

After all, Gu Jinlai had once been a Spirit Refining Elder; the Jiang family could not offer him a small courtyard.

When Shao Hong escorted him to the courtyard, it had already been swept clean, with some daily necessities added, but the staff had been withdrawn, leaving it desolate and quiet.

However, before leaving Changjun City, Gu Jinlai had already sent word to the Gu family in Chifeng City, instructing Gu Xiangyang to bring people to Starlight City for his use.

Upon entering the city, he had Shao Hong send someone to notify them. Less than two hours after arriving at the courtyard, Gu Xiangyang led over twenty people to settle in.

These people were all members of the Gu family or had served the Gu family for generations, their loyalty beyond question.

While Gu Xiangyang led the men to inspect the courtyard for any anomalies, Gu Jinlai was in the study, carefully storing away his treasures one by one.

At the same time, he opened the pouch Shao Hong had given him.

The pouch contained not only his identity documents but also a record of his life story.

Just as Shao Hong had said, he was a branch family member of the Jiangs, who had followed a Celestial Master in cultivation since childhood.

However, this person had died three years ago alongside his Celestial Master teacher at the mouths of demons, allowing Gu Jinlai to take over his identity.

"Jiang Dongqu."

Gu Jinlai recited the name.

A Celestial Master Apprentice.

"Next, I must quickly cultivate the Great Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method, transforming from a Celestial Master Apprentice into a true Celestial Master," Gu Jinlai said.

There was no denying that the Celestial Master Lineage had been eliminated by history, its former glory no more.

But Celestial Masters refined Qi into Spirit, and whether in artifact forging or beast taming, they could create astonishing value. Moreover, their frail physiques were reassuring, as there was no fear of them losing control once they grew powerful.

Thus, Celestial Masters were highly sought after in major powers.

Some Celestial Masters with exceptional artifact forging or beast taming skills could enjoy status and position no less than that of a Spirit Refining True Person.

Of course, that was only status and position.

Just like the Minister of Works and the Minister of War in ancient times—though both were among the Six Ministers, their importance was worlds apart.

"Ancestor."

At that moment, Gu Xiangyang walked in.

"The Gu family shares my glory and my ruin. If I do not take up the post in Huayin County, the Gu family will inevitably be implicated. Return home and inform the family head, Gu Changfeng, that for the time being, the Gu family must sheathe its claws and focus on consolidation," Gu Jinlai said, calculating briefly. "Additionally, train a thousand elite soldiers as a contingency."

"A thousand elite soldiers? With the Gu family's income, we can barely support a thousand men..." Gu Xiangyang said.

Gu Jinlai handed him the Treasure Box containing the Shimmering Light Stone. "Give this to the family head. The funds needed for a thousand elite soldiers will be resolved."

Gu Xiangyang did not know what the box contained, but anything capable of supporting a thousand troops was clearly valuable.

He solemnly put away the box. "Xiangyang will guard this with his life."

"As for the Purgatory Sect, I will write a letter to Sect Leader Lu Dengxian to buy time. As long as our Gu family gains strength, the matter of not taking up the post in Huayin County will be insignificant."

"The Purgatory Sect..." Gu Xiangyang said. "Chifeng City is a border city of Chizhou, with the Yellow Springs Sect and Dragon Sparrow Villa entrenched there. Our Gu family's influence in Chifeng City is not weak. If the Purgatory Sect pushes the Ancestor too far, we can align with the Yellow Springs Sect. I imagine they would welcome us."

"Welcome us, yes, but that would be the Yellow Springs Sect's expedient to seize Chifeng City. If we actually do that, whether the Purgatory Sect or the Yellow Springs Sect becomes the master of Chifeng City, our Gu family will face liquidation," Gu Jinlai said. "Only by becoming strong ourselves can the Gu family establish a foundation for ten thousand generations."

Gu Xiangyang nodded.

He naturally understood this reasoning.

The Gu family had been striving in this direction for years.

But achieving the great rise of the Gu family was no easy task.

"By the way, have there been any results from the task I gave you to scout for outstanding youths of good character?"

"Yes. Thirty-four candidates were preselected, and twelve of them have expressed interest."

"A bit few."

Gu Jinlai pondered for a moment, then said, "Send them over. I am a Celestial Master who converted from Spirit Refining cultivation. My understanding of the path of cultivation is beyond what an orthodox Celestial Master can match. Although a Celestial Master's divine sense differs slightly from Spirit Refining, it should still be able to assist disciples in their training."

"Ancestor truly intends to convert to the Celestial Master path!?" Gu Xiangyang couldn't help but ask.

"Rest assured, I have my considerations. Success in Spirit Refining only allows one to dominate a region, but progress as a Celestial Master may allow the Gu family to contend for the summit."

Gu Jinlai spoke.

Gu Xiangyang wanted to offer advice, but his clan's ancestor had always acted without tolerating others' doubts, and now that his mind was made up, it was not good to say more.

"I've brought twenty people this time. To avoid drawing too much attention, only four have cultivated True Qi and will follow by the ancestor's side to await orders. The other sixteen have reached Major Accomplishment in Blood Changing and can only rely on the ancestor's guidance in spare moments."

Gu Xiangyang said.

Gu Jinlai nodded.

The Qi Refining Realm could already be considered a skilled hand; suddenly having more than ten appear would be very suspicious.

Four Qi Refining and more than ten Blood Changing cultivators were just right.

"Among the twenty, the three with the highest talent are Gu Chaoyang, Nian Buwang, and Gu Lingsha. Of these, Chaoyang and Buwang are at the True Qi Realm, while Lingsha is at the Blood Changing Realm. Among these three, Buwang has the highest talent."

Gu Xiangyang said: "He is the son of the third aunt's younger brother. He started martial arts at fourteen, refined his Viscera at fifteen, changed his Blood at seventeen, and cultivated True Qi at twenty-one. Now at twenty-four, he has already reached Qi Refining Perfection, just like twenty-nine-year-old Gu Chaoyang!"

"Qi Refining Perfection at twenty-four."

That achievement was indeed impressive.

In the current world, it often took ten to twenty years for core disciples of major sects to cultivate True Qi, and that was with the guidance of a Spirit Refining True Person.

Without the guidance of a Spirit Refining cultivator, even with the true transmission methods of a major sect, cultivating True Qi would take another twenty to thirty years.

Of course, those born into nobility, living in luxury, and building their foundation with precious medicines from childhood were not included in this category.

Nian Buwang had cultivated True Qi in seven years without the guidance of a Spirit Refining cultivator, showing his extraordinary talent.

"I will focus my observations on these three."

Gu Jinlai said.

Gu Xiangyang nodded.

As he was leaving, he hesitated for a moment and said: "Ancestor, although our Gu family will shrink our defenses next, without a Spirit Refining cultivator sitting in the clan, unrest will likely arise within a year at most, unless we are willing to give up some benefits..."

"One year is enough."

Gu Jinlai said.

Gu Xiangyang saw that the ancestor had a plan in mind and said no more, taking his leave.

After they left, Gu Jinlai summoned the four Qi Refining disciples and arranged for them to patrol the courtyard.

He spent his time comprehending the Great Sun Nine Revolutions Visualization Method while waiting for Su Nanxing to arrive.

Ten days later.

Su Nanxing, having recovered from his injuries, arrived at Starlight City following the marks left by Gu Jinlai.

With this Core Formation Guardian, Gu Jinlai's safety during Qi Refining to Spirit Transformation was a bit more assured.

In a modified cultivation chamber.

Gu Jinlai sat quietly, adjusting his state.

"Great Sun Nine Refinements, first step: visualize the Great Sun."

He perceived his Spiritual world.

There were three strands of Pure Light there.

One from Fang Cai, two from the mysterious assassin.

He did not plan to spend time slowly perfecting the Great Sun Visualization step by step; after all, he had mostly forgotten the popular science about the Great Sun.

He recalled the scene from before when he used Pure Light to perfect the Crimson Lotus Sword Qi, which had derived the Myriad Phenomena Sword Qi, and planned to use Pure Light to trace back his memories and form a new Great Sun Core.

Although this would waste a strand of Pure Light, as long as his conjecture was correct, he would soon earn the Pure Light back.

"This strand of Pure Light will put my brain into an overclocked state. I need to recall not only all the details of the Great Sun but also memorize a type of material. These are related to my future development direction!"

What was the most profitable path for a Celestial Master?

Artifact refining and beast taming.

Among these, refining Spiritual Artifacts was not easy.

The materials were expensive, and the required spirituality was high. Unless one could extract enough spirituality from a large number of demonic spirits to make up for the deficiency, it would take decades to refine even a single Spiritual Artifact.

Since they could not refine Spiritual Artifacts, Celestial Masters made a living by forging Treasure Artifacts.

And the essence of treasured swords and treasured armor was high-strength tools forged by combining materials similar to Cold Iron and Black Gold.

In other words, treasured swords and treasured armor used alloy materials.

So, for the same weight, they were stronger and sharper than iron armor, iron swords, steel armor, or hundred-refined swords.

The process and formula for combining alloy materials were held by Artifact Refiners, forming their unique secret techniques.

These alloy forges were also accumulated by Artifact Refiners through repeated trials and experience.

They might not necessarily understand the principles behind the formation of these high-strength materials.

But Gu Jinlai was different.

He knew that this involved atomic arrangement.

Therefore, to open the market, forge a new type of treasured armor and treasured sword, and complete the initial capital accumulation, he needed a material with low cost and good performance.

"So, should I choose Carbon Steel, Titanium Alloy, or Carbon Fiber..."