Chapter 1036: Chapter 1036 Gu Cultivators’ Principles

No matter why Xu Shangren made the call, Lang Zhen felt it necessary to contact Feng Jun — after all, they were partners.

Feng Jun instructed for the visitor to be allowed in, yet he wondered internally, why do you assume I can definitely cure them?

When Xu Shangren arrived at the courtyard, he casually mentioned: Indeed, he can cure — the treatment of Gu Cultivators.

Treating Gu Cultivators? Indeed, not treating patients afflicted by Gu Insects, but rather, the one being treated is a Gu Cultivator.

Xu Shangren is a standard Loose Cultivator, who ran errands for others during his Qi Refinement Realm, and only after advancing beyond the Mortal Realm, did he secure a position as a Guest Elder in Tiantong, stabilizing his career.

During his Qi Refinement days, he was employed by a small family with the surname Chu as a guard; the Patriarch of the Chu Family treated him well and was willing to take care of him, resulting in a very good relationship between the two.

He later left because he reached the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining and wanted to travel abroad to seek opportunities for advancement. Before departing, the Clan Leader of the Chu Family even gifted him a sum of Spirit Stones as a farewell gesture.

After advancing, he had revisited the Chu Family, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious, though of course, he could not return to being a guard for the Chu Family.

Some time ago, the Chu Family sought him out, asking if he knew anyone who could treat a Gu Cultivator?

What does “treating a Gu Cultivator” mean? Xu Shangren was initially puzzled upon hearing this.

It turned out that the youngest son of the Chu Family Leader had secretly taken a Gu Cultivator as his master, and by the time the Chu Family found out, he was already at the Second Layer of Qi Refining.

Gu Cultivators are not considered upright, the Chu Family was extremely annoyed, as it has never followed such crooked and evil paths.

However, annoyed as they were, the training had already been done, and it was too late for regrets. The Patriarch of the Chu Family could only console himself: Thankfully, it’s only a Gu Cultivator, not an Evil Cultivator, so it won’t lead to calls for his elimination.

But then another problem arose; the Chu Family was worried that their family member mingling with a Gu Cultivator could bring trouble, letting him cultivate at home only to discover that training as a Gu Cultivator truly is like spending money like water.

This Gu Cultivator disciple in the Chu Family, named Chu Zhongtian, explained to his family that cultivating as a group of Gu Cultivators was more economical, as solitary cultivation using purely the essence blood of animals was naturally costly.

The Family Head of the Chu Family didn’t allow him out, saying that there are many sneaky, harmful Gu Cultivators. Once caught red-handed, it would mean death — “I really don’t trust you, my boy, nor the bad company you keep.”

In short, this is just the typical feeling of any ordinary parent dealing with a problematic child — you say going out is just for small bets for fun, maybe hooking up casually, but what if you get hooked on drugs?

Recently, Chu Zhongtian had a breakthrough, advancing from the Third Level to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement, the resources used were astonishing, and the family had no choice but to provide — or else he’d be devoured by the Gu Insect!

The Chu Family’s fortunes were not small, similar to Old Man Su who monopolized Broken Qingluo, and they also had descendants in the Four Great Sects; no one coveted their assets, but even their substantial wealth couldn’t withstand Chu Zhongtian’s expenditure.

At just the Mid-stage of Qi Refining, you’ve already spent so much. What about when you reach High Tier? And once you advance beyond the Mortal Realm… our Chu Family will be brought down by you!

The other family elders of the Chu Family had already suggested that they either kill Chu Zhongtian or expel him from the family, leaving him to survive on his own — he likes to be with other Gu Cultivators, right? Then let him go.

The Patriarch of the Chu Family… still couldn’t quite bring himself to do it, and he also worried that if his child were let loose, he might connect with other Gu Cultivators and cause trouble, potentially bringing disaster upon the Chu Family.

Thus, he thought of finding a master to expel the Life-bound Gu of Chu Zhongtian, ruining his cultivation as a Gu Cultivator but sparing his life.

However, as much as he could think this way, it was very difficult to implement, only High-Rank Gu Cultivators could manage this.

But among Gu Cultivators, such actions are not taken, akin to a family with a prejudice against Sword Cultivators, only to have their descendant train as one, and then seeking a High-Rank Sword Cultivator to deplete their family member’s cultivation because Sword Cultivators are not considered upright.

Is that likely? Absolutely not, the Gu Cultivator taking action would be denying their own existence!

If some Gu Cultivator commits a great offense, others might step in to punish him, but to expect a Gu Cultivator to deny the legitimacy of their own lineage? That’s not a joke; might as well go wash up and get some sleep.

The dilemma of the Patriarch of the Chu Family lay here; destroying a Gu Cultivator was easy, just find any powerful master to do it, but to only destroy the Life-bound Gu and spare the person’s life — even potentially allowing him to take up another path, was exceedingly difficult.

He remembered Xu Shangren working as a Guest Elder in Tiantong, being well-informed, and approached him hoping for a favor out of old times’ sake.

Xu Shangren dared not agree; indeed, in Tiantong Commerce Alliance, there were some secret techniques that could deal with this situation, but these techniques were quite expensive — the key was that often, they involved using a substitute to alleviate the host’s crisis, which was considered a taboo technique.

The Chu Family was just an upper-middle-class family, and they might not afford the secret technique, let alone smaller families, which couldn’t bear the consequences of forbidden techniques.

But having seen Feng Jun expel the Gu Insect for Liang Huan, he thought it might be worth a try.

Now the Family Head of the Liang Family, having brought along his son, had rushed to the gates of Mount Zhige, and Xu Shangren, despite his reservations, came to seek out Feng Jun, hoping he would do them the honor of treating them.

Feng Jun looked at him, and sighed softly, “Xu Dao Friend, aren’t you worried about disclosing the news of Tianxin Platform like this?”

“I did not say those things,” Priest Xu clarified, knowing such taboo well, “I merely informed them that the Mountain Master of Zhige might be able to accomplish the task, and so he brought his child here… along with ten thousand Spirit Stones.”

“Ten thousand?” Feng Jun turned his head to look at him, although he was greedy for wealth, it had to be obtained morally, “Taking out the Gu Insect from this child, eight or nine out of ten times, the person is ruined. It might be better to just kill him with one slap, ten thousand Spirit Stones… that’s enough to buy two or three Magic Artifacts.”

In his impression, most clans in this realm often looked at the bigger picture — the life or death of a disciple absolutely cannot compare to the importance of the clan’s safety.

Though it sounded a bit cold-blooded, many grand clans thrived and did not decline precisely because of such ruthless rules.

If everyone practiced happy education, forget about not prospering after three generations; even lasting two generations would mean their ancestors had accumulated a lot of good karma.

Feng Jun did not believe that a commoner’s life was worth ten thousand Spirit Stones — the Chu Family was not some high-ranking noble family.

“There are always exceptions,” Priest Xu chuckled awkwardly, “That Second Liao Brother dotes on his granddaughter Su Moer, raising a Purple Gold Eagle isn’t cheap either… mainly, the Patriarch of the Chu Family has an excuse, saying if Chu Zhongtian could survive, he could constantly serve as a warning to the clan’s descendants, preventing them from taking the wrong path. If he dies now, in a few years, perhaps everyone will have forgotten.”

“Heh,” Feng Jun laughed upon hearing this, “He has really gone to great lengths to protect his son.”

However, laughter aside, he felt the excuse was quite good; these small families without any Innate cultivators no longer held much significance in his heart now. Since they were willing to offer ten thousand Spirit Stones, he might as well accept it with a smile.

Then he took out a walkie-talkie, and called, “Liao Da, come to the courtyard.”

Elder Liao Brother was responsible for guarding the Lingzhi Sect Cave and the Spirit Gathering Array in Mount Zhige, and he could occasionally request to rest in the small courtyard for a couple of days.

Feng Jun’s demands on him weren’t strict, just to help maintain order, of course, his freedom couldn’t compare to Shen Qingyi — Shen Qingyi had the entire Kunlun backing him, while the only backing for Elder Liao Brother was that Second Liao Brother confined to the Tianxin Platform.

Elder Liao Brother soon hurried over, his attitude very sincere, “May I ask what instructions the Mountain Master has?”

Feng Jun briefly explained the situation, “… Can you resolve the Life-bound Gu on this person?”

If possible, he hoped Elder Liao Brother would handle it, as every time bringing Hua Hua across realms required Feng Jing to act as an intermediary, and he also had to prevent Feng Jing from being discovered by people of this realm, which was really troublesome.

“This…” Elder Liao Brother pondered for a moment before asking, “May I ask if this person has committed acts not tolerated by Gu Cultivators, such as refining Gu using humans, or… extorting money with Gu Insects?”

“No,” Feng Jun shook his head, “It’s just that his father forbids him from contacting Gu Cultivators, as closed-door cultivation consumes too much.”

“You all have too much prejudice against Gu Cultivators!” Elder Liao Brother humphed indignantly, “Closed-door Gu refining, isn’t it naturally consuming? Mountain Master Feng, though I follow your commands and accept your dispatch, I will not interfere in such matters… I take pride in being a Gu Cultivator.”

Priest Xu couldn’t stand his attitude, inevitably snorting coldly, “There are plenty of Gu Cultivators who disregard human life and employ despicable means, if you guys were really like white lotuses, who would trouble you?”

“Your words are too much, Priest Xu,” Elder Liao Brother glared, “Within the Gu Cultivators, there are many who diligently cultivate… One should evaluate a group objectively, without being biased!”

He felt very aggrieved for Gu Cultivators.

Yet Priest Xu just coldly smiled, “Don’t say too much, I just want to ask you one thing, recently you and your brother released so many Gu Insects at the foot of Mount Zhige just for a single Pillar Gu… Did you consider the feelings of mortals?”

Elder Liao Brother was silent for a long while before responding, “So, I received punishment, but to punish an unerring Gu Cultivator… Mountain Master Feng, you may erase me if you wish.”

“Why would I erase you?” Feng Jun laughed upon hearing this, “I respect those who stick to their principles, although I think your reasoning is a bit far-fetched… Just don’t let me catch you the next time you err, I really will erase you!”

Elder Liao Brother knew he meant it, but having quarreled with his brother out of habit, he inevitably retorted, “There won’t be a next time.”

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t do it; he was just confident that he wouldn’t let Feng Jun find out.

Feng Jun couldn’t be bothered with this fool, instead turning his head to look at Priest Xu, “Has the person arrived?”

“They have,” Priest Xu nodded, “In the Tiantong courtyard.”

Feng Jun, without a second thought, threw out the Time Shuttle, taking Priest Xu with him — Priest Xu could fly, but within the jurisdiction of Mountain Master Feng of Mount Zhige, flying was prohibited, only people belonging to Mountain Master Feng could fly.

What the Patriarch of the Chu Family looked like, Feng Jun didn’t even notice, he only knew the Chu Family came with three in the Qi Refinement Realm and one Innate.

What about that Chu Zhongtian? In the Spirit Beast Bag.

Feng Jun had no intention of treating them in Tiantong’s small courtyard, directly enveloping the four from the Chu Family onto the Time Shuttle, then glanced at Priest Xu, “I’m taking them away, no problem, right?”

“No problem,” Priest Xu smiled back at him, clasping his hands in a gesture.

Watching the Time Shuttle depart, he turned around, only to get a fright as he found Huang Fu Flawless standing erect behind him.