Sun Lotus city, marketplace

There was a huge commotion at the city's marketplace. The people were coming and going hastily. The merchants were having trouble keeping up with the flock of customers. Some have even run out of merchandise to sell and had to pack up their stand.

This all was the consequence of the cultivation frenzy that the city lord Ding Shuren unleashed with the announcement of the cultivation boards.

Gu masters needed resources to cultivate. Primeval stones to replenish their essence, gu worms to help their cultivation, and gu materials to feed their gu.

And the city lord's decree ensured that the prices of these things would go up.

Some people were not happy about this. They were the commoner gu masters who could not afford the higher prices. But there were also those who were excited about it. The merchants and wealthy gu masters were in an advantageous position now.

In the middle of all this commotion, there was a young man who was calmly making his way through the crowd. He was neither in a hurry nor did he look flustered. He was just strolling through the marketplace as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Bao Zhi was browsing the wares on display at a particular stand.

"How much for this gu worm?" - He asked the seller, pointing at a rank one gu worm.

The seller was preoccupied with haggling with another gu master, he turned to Bao Zhi and said:

"These rank one gu worms are one hundred primeval stones. If you want a rank two gu worm, you will have to pay eight hundred primeval stones." - Came the reply before the seller turned back to the other customer.

Bao Zhi frowned. The prices of gu worms have risen above their previous market value. He considered only for a moment.

"I will buy three of this gu worm." - He said, taking out a bag of primeval stones.

Bao Zhi was not the only one who had acquired a gu worm. Many gu masters have also bought their own gu. The gu worms that could aid cultivation were the hottest items currently.

Gu worms were not easy to find. They were rare and precious in the wild. There were only a few who knew how to tame and cultivate gu worms among gu masters.

Bao Zhi put away his newly acquired gu worms, the rank one Earthworm gu. The Earthworm gu had an unremarkable appearance. It was fat and fist-sized with a dark brown color. This gu worm could burrow into the ground and move around as its owner controlled. Naturally, it was not very popular among the buyers due to the current circumstances.

Next, he visited another stand. He found the gu worm he was looking for. It was a rank one Powder gu.

Powder gu was a gu worm known for its ability to produce a dust-like powder. It was mostly useless in combat or cultivation but it could be used as an ingredient for many things, such as creating gu poisons, or gu refinement.

Bao Zhi bought the Powder gu for two hundred primeval stones.

As he turned away from the stand, he bumped into someone.

"Sorry." - Bao Zhi said.

"No problem."

Bao Zhi turned to the other person. He was a young man wearing a green robe. He was handsome and had an elegant bearing.

The other person looked at Bao Zhi.

"You!" - He exclaimed.

"You are?" - Bao Zhi did not recall who this person was.

"I was your opponent, at the academy's tournament. Ye Jianhong!" - Replied the young master of the Ye family angrily.

Bao Zhi took a step back.

"What do you want? You lost to me fairly. Why are you angry?" - He asked, pretending to be confused.

"This fool is looking for trouble with me. Typical and hot-headed." - Bao Zhi thought to himself.

"I am angry because you humiliated me! I lost to you because I was not strong enough. But I will not lose to you a second time!" - Ye Jianhong said, grinding his teeth.

"I don't want to fight you. Aren't you here to make a purchase? Let bygones be bygones. Both of us are better off that way." - Bao Zhi said, trying to placate Ye Jianhong.

"I am not like you! I will not rest until I take my revenge! If I can't fight you directly, then I will defeat you in the competition on the cultivation board!" - Ye Jianhong declared.

Bao Zhi sighed.

"You are really not giving up, are you? I don't want to fight you, but if you insist, I will not hold back." - He said.

Ye Jianhong did not reply. He turned away and walked in the opposite direction.

Bao Zhi watched him go.

"What a pain." - He muttered to himself, before turning back his attention to the marketplace.

* * * * *

Later that same day Bao Zhi returned to his house. His trip to the marketplace was successful, he could buy each of the items he set out to get.

Meanwhile, in his own room, Jin Ju was still cultivating quietly. He was using the Unprocessed Jade gu to raise his aptitude to A grade.

Bao Zhi looked at the silent Jin Ju and couldn't help but sigh, this little fellow was quite impressive now compared to before.

Bao Zhi did not disturb him and headed to his own room. He sat down and started to unpack his newly acquired goods.

He inspected them once again, now even more thoroughly than at the stalls.

After the third round of inspections, he carefully arranged them in order.

"Let's begin." - He muttered.

He first took out the Powder gu and instilled his primeval essence into it. The rank one gu worm was already refined by him on his way home.

Soon a small pile of dark powder was produced.

Bao Zhi took a bowl of powder and started to throw in various gu materials.

Three stalks of spring dew grass...

One catti of white silkworm...

Twelve petals of scarlet dusk flower...

Bao Zhi added more and more items from his list.

Once all the gu materials were thrown into the bowl, he used his primeval essence to crush them into a fine dust.

"It seems like it is enough." - He muttered.

He took the bowl in his hand and shook it very gently. When the materials were evenly mixed, he took out his bag of primeval stones.

One primeval stone...

Two primeval stones...

Ten primeval stones...

...

Fifty primeval stones later a thin, white colored film started to form on the top.

Bao Zhi knew this was the critical amount. He stopped his actions to observe carefully. Next, he took out the rank one Earthworm gu and skillfully tossed it into the center of the bowl.

The bowl started to rock left and right, and the thin layer of film engulfed the Earthworm gu all around.

The fat Earthworm gu started to rise above the bowl. It was connected by a thin pillar to the mass below in the bowl.

The Earthworm gu started to rotate faster and faster, and it was engulfed by the film all around.

This was the last step. Bao Zhi concentrated and reached out with his primeval essence toward the gu worm.

But then! At the very last moment, the bowl started to shake violently, and the thin pillar to the Earthworm gu was broken.

The gu worm started to fall!

Bao Zhi reacted very quickly, reaching out with his primeval essence he grabbed the gu worm and stopped its fall.

The gu worm was still shaking and going through spasms. The entire process was very painful, and the gu worm was trying to escape the pain.

Its entire body was distorted and turned into a strange shape. A moment later the gu worm perished.

"A failure." - Bao Zhi accepted calmly.

Refining new gu worms were difficult. One needed not only good materials and refinement expertise, a good portion was simply up to random chance.

Precisely because of this, gu refinement was an endless sink in the history of gu cultivation. The higher the rank of the gu the smaller the chance.

A good gu recipe could mitigate the resources wasted and raise the chance as well.

"I still have two Earthworm gu left. But before I start again I have to recover my essence."

Bao Zhi took out a fistful of primeval stones and started to absorb them.

"Let's try again. I need to be more careful at the last part." - He reminded himself.

This gu recipe was a new creation of his. So he still needed some practice with this specific gu recipe.

One thing was theory and another was practice. The gap between the two needed to be bridged now.

During the second try, the Earthworm fully absorbed the mass from the bowl below. Its color has changed to an off-white, and small green veins were showing on its sides.

Bao Zhi observed the still transforming gu worm before him, there were no more steps in the refinement left.

"Oh no!"

Before Bao Zhi could react, the gu worm exploded with a small puff. It splattered on the ground as a small patch of viscous goo.

"Tsk. It seems the last step was too fast. I need to proceed more slowly, and let it absorb at a more gradual pace." - He analyzed the events.

"The last batch..." - He sighed.

Bao Zhi estimated the success rate of this recipe to be about sixty to seventy percent. But that was only the recipe. If he made a mistake, the refinement was destined to fail regardless.

He cleaned up the failed refinement and prepared to try again.

This time he was more careful, and he proceeded with the last step even more slowly.

The process was very tedious, and it took him a full night to complete.

But, the results were satisfactory. The last batch was a complete success, and he finally refined this gu worm!

A brand new gu worm!

Bao Zhi took the gu in his palm. He was a little excited.

The gu has shrunk in size compared to its original form. Now it was only the size of an adult's thumb. The color of the gu was milk-white with some green marks on the sides.

It was wiggling left and right on Bao Zhi's palm as he willed it.

"What should I name you?" - He hasn't thought of a name yet while deducing this new gu recipe.

He did not want to name it something too common. But giving it an intricate name would also be meaningless as he would keep the gu for himself.

"Hmm... I'll name you simply Flesh Worm gu." - He decided.

"Now then..." - His expression turned serious.

Bao Zhi was eager to test out his new creation. He took a sharp knife in his hand. Next, he pointed the tip at his left forearm. Then with determination, he made a shallow incision on his skin.

His blood started to drip on the ground, but he was undisturbed by this.

Next, he took the Flesh Worm gu and placed it next to the fresh wound.

The worm wiggled on his skin, feeling its way around. Soon, it latched onto the cut and burrowed into Bao Zhi's arm directly!

Bao Zhi gritted his teeth as he endured the harsh pain. He could feel the worm crawling around under his skin. It maneuvered around his tendons and bones delving deeper and deeper.

"Good. Now let's try its effect."

He activated the gu worm. The Flesh Worm bit at his flesh and started to consume his muscles from the inside!

Bao Zhi was sweating profusely, he had to concentrate to endure this intense agony and not faint.

As the worm was eating its way forward, it was leaving a path filled with new material behind it. The wound that it created slowly healed back again due to Bao Zhi's strong vitality.

...

An hour later he had to stop, as he was shaking from exhaustion. His breathing was rough.

"The side effects are stronger than expected, this will limit the speed of my progress... But this method is working!" - He collapsed to the ground with an eerie grin on his face.

"This gu can finally refine the dao marks on my body!"

"With this, I can cultivate these dao marks into a killer move eventually."

* * * * *