Chapter 1039: Chapter 1039: Same Disease, Different Fates

A bounty of ten thousand Spirit Stones for a Gu Cultivator in the Out-of-Dust Phase; the price… hard to say, but definitely not high.

Like the first Out-of-Dust Phase Cultivator Feng Jun killed, Yu Meiren, this person’s entire wealth amounted to just a few thousand Spirit Stones. If not accounting for the Immortal Binding Rope on him, one could almost consider him dirt poor. Expecting to kill him for ten thousand Spirit Stones was practically a dream.

Normally, Cultivators expect no less than eight thousand Spirit Stones for killing someone in the Out-of-Dust Phase–equivalent to the price of two Magic Artifacts.

Gu Cultivators are not only tricky but notoriously difficult to deal with, so a bounty of ten thousand Spirit Stones to eliminate a Gu Cultivator in Out-of-Dust Phase really isn’t very appealing.

Thus, when the Chu Family issued the bounty, they made the cause and effect clear–had they not, even Tiantong might not have accepted this job.

Indeed, the Chu Family are the victims. Whoever takes on this bounty and succeeds will not only get those ten thousand Spirit Stones but also a bounty from the Cultivation World for these wicked deeds–a bounty might not be particularly substantial, but… contribution points are also nice, right?

However, after the Chu Family explained the situation, the Ning Family of Guanquan Valley raised a question upon issuing the bounty: Who cured the Chu Family’s Gu Cultivator?

Why ask this? Because the Ning Family also has a Gu Practitioner in the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

The Ning Family in Guanquan Valley is a considerably large Clan, which once had a Golden Core Cultivator. They now boast over a dozen Out-of-Dust Mechanisms, with two of them serving as Guest Elders at Qinggang Sect and the Ten Directions Platform. Plus, many of their descendants cultivate in the Four Sects and Five Platforms.

This Gu Practitioner from the Ning Family is called Ning Jianlin and is also of the Ning Family Direct Lineage. Debilitated in his youth, not much attention was paid to him despite consuming much medicine. But these resources were from the direct lineage’s own reserves, which other branches of the family understood less about.

By the time he stood out in the family’s internal competition, he had already reached the Third Level of Qi Refinement, huh… a Gu Practitioner.

The Ning Family’s influence exceeds the Chu Family’s by far, feeling that being a Gu Practitioner isn’t anything special; a bit sneaky perhaps, but when Ning Jianlin advanced to the High Tier of Qi Refinement the year before last, it genuinely shocked the family–thinking about how many resources it will take when you advance to the Out-of-Dust Stage.

For the Ning Family, descendants advancing to the Out-of-Dust Phase isn’t an abstract matter, and despite each Out-of-Dust individual being immensely valuable, having over a dozen at home means one more wouldn’t come as a surprise.

The Ning Family has some heritage and, naturally, knowledge about Gu Cultivation. A bit of analysis led to speculation: Could our Jianlin be treated as a Gu being cultivated by someone else?

When the Chu Family encountered this situation, they had no one to turn to, but the Ning Family couldn’t afford to make a reckless clamor–once word got out, the consequences would be unthinkable, a loss of face the Ning Family couldn’t bear.

Hearing about Tiantong issuing the bounty this time, the Ning Family came to take a look: Oh my, this situation sounds quite like ours.

The Ning Family isn’t afraid of taking on the bounty; with more than a dozen Out-of-Dust Cultivators, they could easily overwhelm an Out-of-Dust Gu Cultivator, and with righteousness on their side, there’s nothing to fear, possibly even gaining some merit points–indeed, the Ning Family has quite some merit points, but for such a large Clan, no amount of points is ever enough.

However, their interest was piqued primarily to let that person take a look–see if Ning Jianlin also has this problem.

When the Chu Family posted the bounty, aiming to boost credibility, they already mentioned that they had fortuitously met an expert who revealed the issue. The Ning Family directly asked Tiantong: Who is this expert?

This put the Chu Family in a difficult position, afraid to withhold but also unable to disclose, eventually they hinted diplomatically: The matter involves Master Busheng of Tianxin Platform, really a bit inconvenient.

Actually, after this answer came out, it’s essentially the same as having said it… The Ning Family has some descendants in the Four Sects and Five Platforms.

Master Busheng previously couldn’t talk about Liang Huan, the embarrassment of not being able to protect his disciple, but now that the disciple is okay, it doesn’t matter anymore.

Once mentioning Mountain Master Feng of Mount Zhige, the Out-of-Dust Guest Elder of the Ning Family at Wanfu Platform stated: I know this person, his medical skills are quite formidable. He even treated the Mystic Turtle of Wanfu Platform recently, no empty reputation.

At this point, the Ning Family also learned about the price the Chu Family paid to have Feng Jun intervene.

Twelve thousand Spirit Stones, something the Ning Family could afford. However, they also learned from Tiantong that this person values collecting Cultivation Techniques, so they simply brought some Cultivation Technique Manuals and two Magic Artifacts along.

Feng Jun did not decline, first examined Ning Jianlin, then declared with certainty: The Gu insect truly has a brand.

At this point, opinions within the Ning Family were divided: one faction suggested expelling the Gu insect and abolishing Ning Jianlin’s Cultivation Level.

But the direct lineage could not bear parting with this descendant, thinking what if it was a Blood Gu Battle. Just use resources to push Ning Jianlin up, and after he reaches the Out-of-Dust Phase, face off against the one who laid the brand. They wanted to see who would end up consuming whom.

Indeed, this is characteristic of a Blood Gu Battle. Gu Cultivators cultivate feeders for Gu, and not every attempt at being consumed is successful; the feeder sometimes has a chance to counter-kill, which could actually turn misfortune into a blessing.

Since Blood Gu Battle has this characteristic, it isn’t outright defined as Evil Cultivation–these people are just madmen, ruthless to others and themselves alike, unscrupulous in their pursuit of advancement.

Of course, the Ning Family direct lineage proposing this also had a bit of a fighting spirit, but unlike the Chu Family, they had many more resources, much stronger heritage. What the Chu Family didn’t dare to contemplate, they dared.

But other branches of the Ning Family disagreed, considering the high costs and uncontrollable consequences–suppose the brander is a High-Rank Out-of-Dust Gu Cultivator, not to mention whether the Ning Family could fight it out or not, just pushing Ning Jianlin to the High-Rank of the Out-of-Dust Phase, how many resources would that take?

The two parties argued endlessly, and instead went to consult Feng Jun: How should we choose?

Feng Jun felt quite innocent: it’s up to you to make the decision, it’s none of my business.

The Ning Family quarreled back and forth, but in the end decided to first lure out the Gu Insect and decide based on the situation.

To lure out the Gu Insect, they still needed Hua Hua’s cooperation; Feng Jun alone was not enough, so he had no choice but to bring Hua Hua over from the Earth Realm.

This time the rescue took place in a small courtyard in Tiantong. Although Hua Hua was of a lower rank than the other party, Gu Insects have a nature that likes to devour their own kind, so it successfully lured out the Giant Millipede Gu from Ning Jianlin’s body over three days.

The Ning Family came prepared and immediately caged the Giant Millipede Gu with a thin thread, then traced the brand on it.

It’s worth mentioning that though Ning Jianlin also suffered a great loss in his cultivation level, he only dropped to the Qi Refining Initial Stage.

The direct lineage of the Ning Family knew that after he started cultivating Gu, though they couldn’t change his cultivation path, having him practice some life-saving skills was not a problem, ensuring that even if his Life-bound Gu died, he wouldn’t be completely devoid of cultivation.

From the different fates of Chu Zhongtian and Ning Jianlin, it was clear that for the same matter, the size and foundation of a family could lead to completely different choices and outcomes.

Feng Jun couldn’t help but secretly sigh: indeed, the children of the Immortal Generations really are different.

After luring out the Gu Insect, he didn’t let Hua Hua busy itself for nothing, publicly rewarding it with two thousand Spirit Stones.

Hua Hua this time didn’t cling to wanting the Giant Millipede Gu–its being a realm higher didn’t matter, but the key was the brand from a cultivator of the Dust-Free stage on the Gu Insect, it felt it’s better less trouble than more.

It packed the Spirit Stones into its Storage Bag, glanced resentfully at Feng Jun, and flew away with a flap of its wings.

Why resentfully? Because it knew that Feng Jun was just putting on a show, and these Spirit Stones were only “lent” to it.

In fact, Hua Hua really liked Spirit Stones, not just because it liked the Spiritual Energy they emitted, but also because it’s an ambitious butterfly, hoping to gather a bunch of followers and establish its own force after achieving financial independence.

Of course, it still had to help Feng Jun for over three hundred years before it could talk about personal freedom, but for it, having lived a lonely life in the Weiyu Spiritual Plantation for over eight hundred years, three hundred years was just a trivial matter.

So it thought, for its own dreams, it should start saving up now, hating only that the two thousand Spirit Stones Feng Jun gave it were… for show?

Indeed, it was all an act. Not long after Hua Hua left, someone stealthily walked by.

It was none other than Elder Liao Brother, who looked around, spoke quietly, “This… Mountain Master Feng, your Spirit Plant Herder charges for catching bugs? That seems inappropriate, Gu Insects shouldn’t be indulged.”

“That can’t be helped,” Feng Jun raised his eyebrows, helplessly responding, “This fellow knows it’s indispensable, so it bargains with me, otherwise it would go on strike, and I really can’t do anything to it… It’s a Pillar Country Gu, you understand.”

“Really, Gu Insects shouldn’t be indulged,” Elder Liao Brother spoke seriously, “It will make them develop thoughts they shouldn’t have… Actually, not only can it do this job, but I can do it too.”

“Oh?” Feng Jun looked at him sideways, surprised, “I thought you don’t deal with Gu Cultivators?”

“Of course, that’s a principle,” Elder Liao Brother spoke earnestly, “but you can pay me with Spirit Stones to hire me, charging money for services is completely justified… However, my services will definitely be a bit more expensive than your Spirit Plant Herder.”

Feng Jun blinked, looking at him suspiciously, what had caused such a big change in this person?

He could peek into his memories to get his thoughts, but Feng Jun felt this habit… it’s better not to cultivate it.

But his acting with Hua Hua was meant to tempt this guy. Although the effect now was surprisingly good, he still guessed the reason, “Is it because you are under my control… so you have a reason to fall?”

Elder Liao Brother hesitated, then nodded, “Yes, when dealing with outsiders, I can claim it was your order, plus I can also earn some money, why not?”

To say such shameless words so boldly? Feng Jun snorted coldly, “Two thousand Spirit Stones isn’t a small amount!”

“But I need more!” Elder Liao Brother insisted, “I am a Gu Cultivator of the Dust-Free stage, much more useful than your Qi Refinement stage Spirit Plant Herder.”

At first, he really wasn’t willing to deal with Gu Cultivators, but seeing Feng Jun handle one after another, and collecting batch after batch of Spirit Stones, he felt a bit unfair–this is something I can do as well.

Of course, as a Gu Cultivator, dealing with other Gu Cultivators is absolutely taboo, once the news gets out, strong Gu Cultivators might come to “clean house.”

But now he realized something, I am a servant of Feng Jun, controlled by him, so doing some things “under pressure” is also excusable.

(Update, calling for the guaranteed monthly vote in March.)