Chapter 1037: Chapter 1037: Raising Gu with People

Chairman Huang Fu squinted his eyes, watching Master Xu for quite a while before cracking a smile, “Is this the reason you spoke in his defense a few days ago?”

“Where was that?” Master Xu shook his head decisively, “I don’t recall ever helping him.”

As a Guest Elder of Tiantong, when dealing with outsiders, he could remain silent, but he absolutely could not lie, let alone show favoritism to outsiders. He truly could not bear the accusation from Huang Fu Flawless, even though the other was just a Qi-Refining Practitioner.

However, where would Huang Fu Flawless be so easily deceived? She glanced at Master Xu, “At the very least, when everyone was discussing the existence of the mirror, you did speak up for Feng Jun, saying it could be easily purchased.”

It turns out that she had already identified the mirror, only that it wasn’t appropriate to say so at the time and she spoke ambiguously.

The Yin-Yang Mirror was not the original Heavenly Yin Yang Mirror but a derivative True Treasure spawned from it, whose foundation was incredibly terrifying.

“I don’t know what this Yin-Yang Mirror is,” Master Xu replied earnestly, “Is that the Magic Artifact you are referring to?”

Comparing the Yin-Yang Mirror, a True Treasure, to a mere Magic Artifact? That’s too much. Even if you’re the branch chairman, I’m still an ascended master!

While they digressed, Feng Jun led the Chu Family and their party to a secluded area in Mount Zhige.

After landing the Time Shuttle, the Patriarch of the Chu Family was the first to speak with a hand over fist gesture, “It is a great honor to meet Mountain Master Feng.”

“There’s no need for these pleasantries,” Feng Jun waved his hand and got straight to the point, “You provide the funds, and I provide the service, it’s just a transaction… Just to confirm, to expel the Life-bound Gu, ten thousand Spirit Stones, no problem, right?”

“No problem,” the Patriarch of the Chu Family nodded with a smile on his face, “If you can ensure my son can continue his cultivation, I am willing to offer fifteen thousand Spirit Stones, and I hope you can be a bit gentler.”

“I can’t guarantee anything,” Feng Jun waved his hand again, “Bring out your son and we’ll talk.”

By saying this, the Patriarch of the Chu Family actually felt more assured. He had seen too many people making empty promises, but in the end, all words were of no use, and they would slink away with their tails between their legs.

Thus, it was these “can’t guarantee” types that gave him the utmost confidence.

Thereupon, he flicked his wrist and a person rolled out from the Spirit Beast Bag, a Qi-Refining Practitioner at the Fourth Layer of Qi-refining.

Feng Jun’s body swayed and without any apparent gesture, he instantly moved a hundred meters away, then pulled out his Mobile Phone.

Actually, he was pretty sure that for this kind of job, Hua Hua could definitely handle it, but since he had accepted the task, he needed to adopt a proper attitude. Hence, he kept some distance to carefully examine what type of Gu Cultivator he was dealing with.

This caution was correct. As per historical records, the Mobile Phone Dimension had seen the “Plague Gu” twice–once a large outbreak, and another time a smaller one. Even the lesser Plague Gu had wiped out every living creature within a radius of Bai Li.

After swiping on his Mobile Phone for a while, he looked towards the Patriarch of the Chu Family, “Chu Miao, right? I’ll take on this job. Where are the ten thousand Spirit Stones?”

Although the Chu Family was not a major clan, and ten thousand Spirit Stones were not a big deal for them, Chu Miao still mustered up the courage to speak, “Mountain Master Feng, about this matter… perhaps it would be good to have Master Xu witness it?”

The few Qi-Refining Cultivators and Innate Experts behind him also assumed a defensive stance.

“Then go find him,” Feng Jun dismissed casually with a wave of his hand, “but if you don’t trust me, I’m a bit unhappy, let’s increase the price a bit… twelve thousand Spirit Stones.”

At his level, sometimes he really could act as he pleased.

Shortly after, Master Xu arrived, “Feng Daoist friend, why bother? To give me face… let’s make it ten thousand.”

Feng Jun gave a slight smile and joked casually, “I also wanted to give you face, but my power… my power doesn’t allow it.”

Master Xu expressed that he couldn’t understand the joke, “What kind of power is involved?”

Feng Jun organized his words and spoke slowly, “How should I put it? The complexity surpasses your imagination.”

After saying that, he directly exited the Mobile Phone Dimension–he had always wanted to synchronize the seasons within the Mobile Phone Dimension, but now he was back on Earth, which showed that he really had encountered some issues.

Back in the Earth Realm, Shen Qingyi was still waiting for Feng Jun’s answer on whether those three Magic Artifacts could be repaired.

However, Feng Jun really didn’t feel like answering her; he went straight to the Lingzhi Formation, “Hua Hua, come out, I need to discuss something with you.”

Generally speaking, when he contacted Hua Hua, it was through the walkie-talkie; direct visits were rare.

Hua Hua wasn’t good at picking up these patterns, but seeing him come to her, she still flew out, “Xiao Wu needs an AI patch.”

Could that thing even use an AI patch? Feng Jun flatly refused, “Wait until it starts cultivating Qi. You only got an AI patch when you were in the Qi Refinement Realm, why should it get one before you?”

Hua Hua paused, originally she had intended to persuade Feng Jun, but after hearing his point, it made sense, and she found herself sidetracked, “What did you want to discuss?”

This matter really left Feng Jun without any clue, “In the Mobile Realm, I encountered such an incident…”

During Feng Jun’s explanatory process, from the perspective of the Mobile Realm, what it looked like to the Mountain Master of Mount Zhige, Chu Miao, and Cultivator Xu among others, was that Mountain Master Feng just stood there in a daze before turning around and leaving.

Cultivator Xu spoke up directly, “Feng Cultivator, just how complex is it? Could you spell it out clearly?”

Feng Jun sighed, soaring into the sky outside the mountain, leaving behind only a sentence, “Wait a moment, I’ll be right back.”

He flew out, obviously looking for a secluded place to properly take Feng Jing and bring Hua Hua into the Mobile Realm.

Before long, he was already flying back, with a white butterfly landed on his shoulder.

The members of the Chu Family scrutinized Hua Hua for a while, wondering if this was truly Mountain Master Feng’s trump card.

Hua Hua flapped its white wings, circling twice over Chu Zhongtian’s head, then landed on his chest, motionless.

About half a minute later, it flew up again, conveying a series of thoughts to Feng Jun.

Feng Jun nodded slightly, then turned to look at Cultivator Xu, “Myself and my Spirit Plant Herder both agree that the Gu Insect within Chu Zhongtian’s body likely carries the imprint of another Gu Cultivator.”

Chu Miao and others weren’t quite clear about what that meant, but Cultivator Xu understood; although he was a Loose Cultivator by origin, having served as a Guest Elder in Tiantong for so long, his knowledge had greatly expanded.

His face turned grave as he asked, “Are you saying… that young Chu has been ‘cultivating Gu’ for another Gu Cultivator?”

“It should be the case,” Feng Jun nodded, then turned his head to look at Chu Miao, “Now do you still think my asking price of twelve thousand Spirit Stones is too much?”

Chu Miao’s face turned ashen. Although he came from a small and modest household, he understood the implications of Feng Jun’s words, and on hearing the question, he stepped forward and slapped Chu Zhongtian’s cheek fiercely twice, “Idiot, so much for being decisive… You’ve been played!”

Chu Zhongtian, with his Cultivation Level restrained and unable to move, could not help but shout, “Impossible, my fortune was my own, stumbled upon by chance, it can’t be someone else’s scheme!”

“You know nothing,” Chu Miao delivered several more resounding slaps, “Didn’t I tell you the Cultivation World is perilous? What made you think you would be an exception… is it because you’re good-looking?”

He then turned to bow respectfully toward Feng Jun, “We are truly in your debt this time, Elder. Twelve thousand Spirit Stones… there’s no problem. After you heal him, the Chu Family will have additional tokens of gratitude.”

“There’s no rush for that,” Feng Jun waved his hand, with evident interest as he continued, “After I extract his Life-Bound Gu, this Gu Insect with the imprint, are you planning to keep it… or destroy it?”

For him, extracting the Gu Insect was not a problem, but how to deal with the cultivator who left the imprint was the key point.

Chu Miao hesitated then respectfully asked, “May I inquire, Mountain Master Feng, what is the Cultivation Level of this Gu Cultivator who left the imprint?”

“He is a Qi-Refining Practitioner,” Feng Jun replied gravely, “Since the Gu Insect has not been extracted, I cannot be sure of the exact Cultivation Level. However, considering that it involved deceiving a Qi-Refining Practitioner to cultivate the Gu… it’s probably just early-stage Qi Refinement.”

Chu Miao and Cultivator Xu exchanged glances, then with a bow, their expressions extraordinarily resolute, “Thank you for informing us, Elder Feng. Given the situation, please try to preserve the imprint… Although the Chu Family is weak, we refuse to be bullied by others.”

Cultivator Xu also nodded in agreement, “Cultivator Chu has shown bravery in facing difficulties, which is truly admirable. Evil deeds by Gu Cultivators must be punished by everyone. Cultivator Xu, though not talented, is willing to lend assistance.”

In fact, both of them had only expressed willingness to fight because they heard that the adversary was merely early-stage Qi Refinement. If the Gu Cultivator harming others had been of high-rank Qi Refinement… then they would really have to consider the consequences of provoking such an individual.

The Chu Family had modest wealth, but hiring someone to deal with a high-rank Qi Refiner would involve more than just spending Spirit Stones.

Chu Miao expressed his thanks with a bow, Cultivator Xu’s goodwill being just what they urgently needed. After thanking him, Chu Miao then sighed deeply, “No wonder Zhongtian’s progression consumed so many resources, turns out he was unwittingly nurturing a Gu, requiring the storage of copious amounts of essence blood…”

Once the diagnosis was confirmed, the treatment was quite straightforward. Feng Jun and Hua Hua took two days and two nights to coax and deceive the Gu Insect, eventually drawing it towards the palm of the left hand.

At this point, in fact, the Chu Family members could have removed the Gu Insect themselves–simply by cutting off Chu Zhongtian’s left hand.

However, Feng Jun advised that by doing so, not only would it result in a disability, but the massive blood loss could also cause Chu Zhongtian to be unable to withstand the backlash from his Life-Bound Gu leaving his body.

Naturally, the Chu Family members indicated that they would follow whatever Mountain Master Feng advised.

Another half-day passed, and by evening, the Gu Insect was finally lured out of the body; it was a green centipede with the Cultivation Level of the Third Level of Qi Refinement, looking plump and well-fed.

Most of its body had been drawn out from the palm of the left hand, but a few of its hind legs were firmly embedded in Chu Zhongtian’s palm, as if they had grown there–such was the bond between a Life-Bound Gu and a Gu Cultivator.

Feng Jun unsheathed a sharp knife, raised his hand, and sliced off a piece of flesh from Chu Zhongtian’s palm, cutting a bit more just to avoid leaving behind any future troubles.

Chu Zhongtian shouted in pain, spewing out a mouthful of fresh blood and promptly fainting, “It’s killing me!”

In reality, for Feng Jun, extracting the Gu Insect was not particularly difficult; the challenge was ensuring that Chu Zhongtian did not die from losing his Life-Bound Gu.

(Updated to, calling for March’s minimum quota of monthly votes.)