What He First Relied On

"You do not know?"

Long Tu looked at Xu Qi'an in surprise. "You are only a hair's breadth away from becoming extraordinary, how could you not know the profound mysteries of Gu techniques?"

"I'm a fake, I'm different from you guys." Xu Qi'an didn't answer him.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Longtu continued:

"Any creature that directly absorbs the power of the Gu God will be mutated into a monster; the Gu worms and Gu beasts near the Abyss are examples."

"In order to utilize the power of the Gu God, the ancestors of the Gu Clan paid a huge price, sacrificing countless lives to figure out how to utilize the power of the Gu God. This is the origin of the Gu Clan's secret techniques and their natal Gu."

"The natal Gu can neutralize the pollution of the Gu God's power, allowing our race to absorb the Gu God's power without being corrupted."

The natal Gu is like a filter. Xu Qi'an nodded.

Ba Ji continued, saying:

"The natal Gu is still a Gu. It absorbs the power of the Gu God, so why didn't it mutate and go crazy like other Gu insects and Gu beasts? Because it has a stage limitation of maturity."

"Once it reaches its bottleneck, it will fall into a deep sleep, freeing itself from the contamination of the Gu God's power."

"In other words, it cannot grow stronger quickly by absorbing the power of the Gu God, unlike ordinary Gu worms and Gu beasts."

This is more stable and avoids distortion, but it also restricts the growth of cultivation. Xu Qi'an thought of the Seven Deadly Gu in his body, which was also unable to absorb the power of the Gu God for the same reason.

During the conversation, Luan Yu removed the love poison from Chun Yan's body, and she regained consciousness.

She seemed to still remember what had just happened and didn't dare to meet Xu Qi'an's gaze.

The leaders dispersed, and Xu Qi'an followed Long Tu back to the Li Gu tribe, crossing the vast plains and arriving at the foot of Boshan Mountain.

It was already dark. Outside the clan chief's courtyard, a bonfire and a large pot were set up. Lina squatted by the pot, cooking meat, surrounded by seven or eight children of the Power Gu, all under the age of ten.

Xu Qi'an saw his foolish younger sister, who, like the children of the Li Gu tribe, sat expectantly by the pot, waiting for the cooked meat to be ready.

Their expressions, their eyes, and even the way they swallowed saliva were exactly like the children of the Power Gu Clan.

Feeling that Lingyin had perfectly integrated into the Li Gu tribe, Xu Qi'an scanned the area and noticed many unfamiliar young men and women, guessing that they were young tribesmen who had returned from hunting trips.

"Every time her brother returned from hunting, Lina liked to take out some of the game and cook it for the children in the tribe."

Long Tu said with satisfaction, "She knows how to bestow kindness upon others; she's more capable of being a clan leader than her brother. Lina has been clever since she was little."

Xu Qi'an didn't know how to respond, so he simply remained silent.

"Lina, where are Nan Zhi and Bai Ji?"

He walked to the pot, bent down and sniffed it; it didn't smell good.

The children around, including Xu Lingyin, immediately became wary, suspecting that he was there to get a share of the profits.

"He's inside."

Lina didn't even look up, focusing intently on cooking the meat, occasionally tossing in a handful of seasoning spices.

Xu Qi'an and Long Tu bypassed the children and entered the courtyard. In the inner courtyard, a young man with a bare upper body was wielding a steel knife, whistling like the wind.

He was incredibly muscular; when he swung his knife, the muscles in his arms and back rippled, exuding a masculine energy.

"Father!"

Upon seeing Long Tu and Xu Qi'an enter, he immediately stopped his sword strike and respectfully greeted them.

Long Tu grunted in agreement and introduced the items to Xu Qi'an:

"This is my son, Lina's older brother, named Mosang."

Mosang was no more than twenty-five years old. His eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Lina's, making him quite handsome. However, a deep scar on his left cheek marred his appearance, and his fierce eyes made him look unruly.

"Xu Yinluo, a man from the Central Plains."

Long Tu gave a concise introduction to Xu Qi'an.

Mo Sang had already learned of Xu Qi'an's remarkable feat from the returning elders, and dared not offend him in the slightest, bowing respectfully.

"Don't mention it. Lina is my good friend, and you're her brother, so we're family."

Xu Qi'an nodded and smiled, thinking to himself that, judging from his appearance, this Brother Mo Sang was quite normal, unlike Lina, whose naivety was written all over her face.

Mosang immediately said:

"Between Xu Yinluo and Father, who is more powerful? I heard that all five leaders lost to you today."

"My father is definitely no match for you, I can guarantee it."

I take back what I just said. Xu Qi'an, who had no brains left in the Li Gu tribe, glanced at Long Tu, who was full of Qi Ingestion and eager to try, his lips twitched, and he made an excuse to leave.

I heard a loud conversation between a father and son behind me:

"No rules."

"Father, if you clearly want to fight Xu Yinluo, then just go for it! Why be so timid?"

"If you were half as smart as Lina, I would pass the position of clan leader to you."

Xu Qi'an went straight to the inner courtyard, easily located Mu Nanzhi's room, pushed open the door and entered. In the simple but spacious room, Mu Nanzhi was wearing a light purple bodice and white silk trousers, holding a towel in her hand, carefully wiping her arms and neck.

Upon seeing someone intrude, her expression changed drastically. When she recognized Xu Qi'an, her fear subsided slightly, a blush rose to her cheeks, and she turned away angrily, saying:

"Get out, get out."

Xu Qi'an gazed at the fair, jade-like back, swallowing hard like Xu Lingyin looked at food.

He closed the door with a creak and waited a few minutes until he heard Mu Nanzhi's voice from inside:

"Come in."

Xu Qi'an entered the house and looked around. "It's indeed a bit rudimentary; there's not even a bathtub."

Mu Nanzhi nodded reservedly, pretending that she wasn't embarrassed at all, but she secretly increased the pressure on Bai Ji's hands as a form of revenge.

The little fox, who was supposed to be keeping watch, ignored Xu Qi'an's approach, causing her to lose her innocence.

"I ran into some trouble just now."

Xu Qi'an told her what had happened in the Abyss, and sighed:

"I've figured out Xu Pingfeng's style of doing things now. He always has a second objective hidden under one goal. If one fails, he immediately moves on to the second plan, never letting himself end up with nothing."

"I'll have to be more careful next time I run into someone like that."

Mu Nanzhi wasn't interested in fighting and killing. She was just a weak woman who wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken. As long as Xu Qi'an didn't suffer any losses, everything was fine.

"I'll need your help to plant some poisonous herbs and fruits later. Not too many, just enough to give the Poison Gu tribe a little taste of sweetness."

"It's a pity I don't have diabetes, otherwise I would have come in person," he added humorously to his inner thoughts.

"Um!"

Mu Nanzhi nodded. Since entering the martial arts world, she had often helped Xu Qi'an cultivate poisonous herbs to satisfy his strange hobbies.

Xu Qi'an rescued Bai Ji from her arms and said irritably:

"It's just a baby, don't bully it like that."

Bai Ji was delighted to hear that Xu Yinluo had made a decision for her, and said in a coquettish voice, "I'm not Qi Ingestion!"

"What's wrong with checking your health? Sister Ye Ji was in the Hundred Thousand Mountains a while ago, and she was sleeping with Xu Yinluo every day."

Xu Qi'an expressionlessly pressed Bai Ji's head into the basin of water.

That night, the Ligu tribe held a bonfire party in the square outside the clan chief's courtyard.

The theme is eating meat, eating meat, and more eating meat.

Lina returned from her travels in the Central Plains and became the focus of attention in the clan, second only to Xu Qi'an.

After the meat had been served three times, an elder said loudly:

"Lina, tell everyone about your thrilling journey in the Central Plains! You went out for a short trip and came back as a fourth-rank official! Everyone is very curious."

It's worth mentioning that the Ligu tribe doesn't have wine, because brewing wine requires a lot of grain, and the Ligu tribe isn't that wealthy.

Occasionally, they would exchange food for wine from the other six tribes, which was considered a luxury. Therefore, in the Li Gu tribe, if someone was carrying a pot of wine, they could basically walk with an air of nonchalance.

Lina, who was happily eating meat, looked up blankly.

"Sister Lina, please tell us about it."

"Lina, I've heard that the Central Plains is very prosperous. You went there and became quite ugly, but your cultivation level has reached the fourth rank. Your experiences must have been very colorful."

"Tell us quickly, we can't wait!"

Men, women, and children all cheered and jeered.

"Pfft, she has no rich experience whatsoever, she just freeloaded at my house! "Xu Qi'an almost covered his mouth and burst out laughing.

Lina stood up with a troubled expression and stammered:

"Well, my journey to the Central Plains was certainly full of excitement. I fought wits and courage with the people of the Central Plains, endured many hardships, made a great name for myself in the martial arts world, and finally arrived in the capital, where I devoted myself to cultivation."

"And he did many things that no one has done in all of history, throughout the millennia."

Her brother, Mosang, asked, "For example?"

Lina was stumped, but then her eyes lit up, and she said loudly, "For example, assisting Xu Ningyan killing the Duke and the Emperor. You can ask him if you don't believe me."

Everyone looked at Xu Qi'an.

"What business is it of yours to kill the Duke? But you did help kill Yuan Jing. "Xu Qi'an didn't expose him and nodded politely.

Immediately, Lina won applause and cheers from the tribespeople.

Lina proudly puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips.

"What is Sister Nalina's reputation in the Central Plains?"

A child asked loudly.

"Fei, Flying Swallow Heroine! Yes, people in the Central Plains call me Flying Swallow Heroine."

Lina responded loudly.

If the Flying Swallow Heroine knew she had become the Dark-skinned Little Man of Southern Frontier, she would come looking for you with a knife. Xu Qi'an's face twitched. He saw Xu Lingyin sitting with several children in the crowd, clapping loudly and cheering for the "Flying Swallow Heroine".

He is already clearly a child of the Gu clan.

The bonfire party ended amidst laughter and joy. Xu Qi'an failed to receive enough flattery and inwardly cursed the people of the Li Gu tribe as a bunch of vulgar scoundrels.

He took Xu Lingyin back to her room to sleep.

Because Bai Ji accidentally let something slip, Mu Nanzhi angrily returned to her parents' home—the Futu Pagoda.

Under his coercion, the little boy carefully brushed his teeth, washed his feet, and then rolled around comfortably on the bed.

"Big brother, am I going to be staying here for a long time?"

Xu Lingyin lay on the bed, her big, dark eyes looking at him.

Do you miss your parents?

Xu Qi'an patted her head.

"I do."

Xu Lingyin nodded vigorously and said, "But I don't think about it when I'm eating."

Do you like it here?

"I love it! There's an endless supply of meat here!" Xu Lingyin exclaimed, waving her arms.

Lingyin was born to roam the world; her peers, having not seen their parents for a while, were already crying their hearts out. Xu Qi'an covered her with a blanket and smiled:

"Go to sleep."

Xu Lingyin patted the empty seat next to her with her chubby little hands. "Big Pot, you can sleep too."

Before long, the snoring started.

Xu Qi'an tucked her in, blew out the candle, and plunged the room into darkness.

Heavenly Gu Division.

In the dimly lit room, with only a dim candlelight, Granny Tian Gu sat by the bed mending clothes.

The candlelight flickered slightly, but Granny Tian Gu didn't look up; her smile remained gentle.

There's tea on the table, freshly brewed.

The person who appeared silently at the table picked up the teapot, turned over the inverted teacup, and said as he poured tea:

"Grandma, what is the Seven Deadly Gu?"

Granny Tian Gu remained silent for a long while before slowly saying:

"About eighty years ago, the power of the Gu God surged forth, several times stronger than it is today. The old man went to the Abyss to investigate, and upon his return, he brought back a strange Gu worm."

"It is weak, but it is born with seven kinds of Gu techniques. However, the seven forces are very chaotic and difficult to balance, and it may explode and die at any time."

"In order to cultivate it, the old man came up with a method: to use the Heavenly Gu as a foundation to support the other six forces."

The Seven Deadly Gu appeared during the great eruption of the Gu God's power. Xu Qi'an frowned:

Why is it so special?

Apart from the Gu God, no other creature can simultaneously control seven Gu techniques; the Seven Absolute Gu is the only exception, which is enough to demonstrate its extraordinary nature.

Granny Tian Gu shook her head and said:

"During that outbreak of the Gu God's power, besides the appearance of the Seven Deadly Gu, the statue of the Confucian Sage also cracked at that time. The old man then began to rack his brains about how to repair the seal, and finally set his sights on the fate of the Great Feng Kingdom."

The power of the Gu God erupted in a massive burst, the Seven Absolute Gu appeared, and the Confucian Sage statue cracked. Xu Qi'an felt a chill run down his spine.

"The Seven Deadly Gu only has instincts, not independent consciousness. I can confirm that. I hope I'm just overthinking it. Well, even if there's something wrong with the Seven Deadly Gu, with my current strength, I can easily suppress it."

"If the Seven Deadly Gu were to become my strongest technique someday, that would be dangerous. Fortunately, I have decent Martial Dao talent."

His mind was racing.

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Granny Tiangu's wrinkled face wore a kind smile:

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"

Xu Qi'an collected his thoughts and returned the smile:

There really is!

"What did Grandma's monkey clone see and hear in the Abyss today?"

Granny Tian Gu's smile slowly faded, and she sighed:

How did you figure that out?

Slurp~ Xu Qi'an took a sip of tea and said calmly:

"Since I stepped into the extraordinary realm, more and more people only remember my unparalleled talent and outstanding achievements, but few people remember how I initially got started and how I became famous."

"I don't expose my mother-in-law during the day simply because it's inconvenient."

P. S.: I'll correct the typos tomorrow. Time for bed. That's all for today.