Transmigration: The Peerless Immortal Husband - Chapter 32

“You little beast…” Gu Zhiming was enraged, how dare he publicly embarrass him like this?

“Stop calling me a little beast. If I’m a little beast, then what are you? An old beast?” Gu Yao mocked.

“Well, well, you’ve really turned against me. You little bastard, born with a rebellious streak. Not only have you forgotten your ancestors, but you’ve even been cruel to your own sister. Aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?” Gu Zhiming’s anger surged, his blood boiling.

“Is that all you’ve got to say? Haven’t you learned anything new? It’s fine for Gu Xing to hit and attack me, but I’m not allowed to fight back? Who made these rules? Anyway, like I said, don’t bother me anymore. Sorry, Guard Brother, for the trouble,” Gu Yao said, tired of the conversation.

“It’s no problem, it’s my duty,” the guard replied.

“Brother Ye, let’s go back. We shouldn’t waste time on irrelevant matters,” Gu Yao said.

“Alright.” Chi Changye gave a fist salute to the outside guard of the Tian family, then formed a hand seal, and the door closed on its own, ignoring Gu Zhiming’s furious expression outside.

The two of them returned to the courtyard. Seeing that Gu Yao’s expression was still calm, Chi Changye asked worriedly, “Are you sure this won’t cause any problems? The father-son bond is a deep one, and cultivators can’t completely disregard it.”

Gu Yao smiled slightly. Although he wasn’t as clear on the karmic relationships of cultivation as Chi Changye, even if there was some karmic connection, it wasn’t strong. After all, he was no longer the original body. “Don’t worry, Gu family… Gu Yao has already paid with his life.”

After speaking, Gu Yao headed straight for his room, not bothering to explain what he meant by his words.

Chi Changye watched as Gu Yao’s figure disappeared into his room, still pondering his words. “Paid with his life?”

Had Gu Yao already died once? If so, then who was the person standing in front of him now?

This statement carried a strange undertone, yet it was impossible to make sense of it.

However, it was not bad that Gu Yao had decisively severed ties with the Gu family. Based on what he knew of the Gu family, it was a pitfall. If Gu Yao had returned, he would have been swallowed alive. It was better for him to stay far away. If he really owed the Gu family a debt of karma, he could find another way to repay it.

Gu Zhiming was so angry that his body swayed, wanting to smash the entire courtyard to pieces, regardless of the lives of the people inside. If they died, all the better. But with the Tian family’s guards watching closely, he… could only swallow his rage, darkening his face as he left with his guards.

Gu Zhiming returned in a huff, and Gu Chen wasn’t particularly surprised. This only further confirmed his suspicion: after leaving the Gu family, Gu Yao had indeed changed a lot. He had become someone whom Gu Chen now viewed with a sense of caution. With no one to rely on but himself after cutting ties with the Gu family,

Tian Feirong, who had come to check on the situation, found the behavior of the Gu family and Gu Zhiming shameless. He had already heard from others about Gu Yao’s sharp retort to Gu Zhiming, which had made him laugh. When Gu Zhiming called Gu Yao a “little beast,” Gu Yao had shot back calling him an “old beast.” It was true—without old beasts, there would be no little beasts.

Gu Yao like this was quite to his taste. If only he could retaliate like that all the time, though most of his time was spent in his room refining medicine. If they could share similar hobbies and interests, it would be a perfect match.

Fortunately, he didn’t voice this thought in front of Chi Changye, or else Chi Changye would have likely taken out his sword and hacked him down, even if it meant getting hurt again.

This time, Tian Feirong brought the demon beast’s core that Gu Yao needed. Beast cores with both wood and fire attributes were rare, and cores with this combination were even harder to find. Luckily, Tian Feirong had good fortune. Just as he was preparing to deliver two single-attribute cores to Gu Yao, his older brother contacted him, informing him that a dual-attribute core had been acquired. Tian Feirong rushed to get it and bring it over.

Gu Yao was overjoyed and immediately retreated to his room, leaving Tian Feirong, who had planned to show off and earn some credit, standing there foolishly, staring at Gu Yao’s door. Was it really okay to be used and discarded like that?

Luckily, the thunder-type spirit talisman drawn by Chi Changye helped soothe his injured spirit. With the talisman in hand, he happily went home to claim credit.

Gu Yao joyfully played with the core in his hand, clearly sensing the dual wood and fire spiritual energy inside. Such a core, when refined into pills, would be a great help to his cultivation. However, with his current level, he wasn’t yet able to use this core for pill refining.

This was a high-level demon beast’s core. While feeling the spiritual energy within, he could also sense the fierce, murderous aura left by the beast after its death. Handling this core wouldn’t be easy. After some thought, Gu Yao decided to retreat to the Pill Pavilion. It was safer to handle it there, and he would have more control, as it was his domain.

He left the core for last and began processing the various spiritual herbs, some of which were just ordinary medicinal plants. This was his first time operating within the space, and as expected, it was far easier to handle than outside.

After extracting the essence from one herb, he looked up and saw the phantom floating before him. Gu Yao rolled his eyes—wearing white clothes, how was he any different from a ghost? Actually, this soul body was not much different from a ghost.

Seeing that Gu Yao finally had some free time, Xu Chen, intrigued, asked, “Your method of handling the spiritual herbs is quite unique. You’re completely using your spiritual sense to remove impurities and refine them. It seems that not only is your soul power strong by nature, but you also have a remarkable ability to control your spiritual sense.”

It was rare for Xu Chen to come out to converse. Gu Yao, feeling a bit mentally exhausted, decided to engage him: “Isn’t it different from what you do, senior? Can’t other alchemists reach this level?”

“My method, of course, is more refined than yours,” Xu Chen proudly lifted his chin. “But compared to other alchemists, there are merits to it. Not all alchemists break down their spiritual sense to such an extent for fine control. This requires an extremely high level of mastery over one’s own spiritual sense.”

For someone like him, a cultivator of such a high level, it would be easy to imitate after careful observation. However, his cultivation and spiritual sense strength were on a completely different level from Gu Yao’s. The fact that Gu Yao could handle this so skillfully despite his weaker cultivation… was this innate talent or some kind of divine power?

“I certainly can’t compare to senior,” Gu Yao said, flattering Xu Chen, always quick to praise and never argue.

Xu Chen’s little chin lifted even higher, and Gu Yao couldn’t help but smile secretly. He saw Xu Chen reach out and pull a book on alchemy from the bookshelf, tossing it to Gu Yao and saying, “I think you don’t need to waste time studying other alchemy techniques. Just focus on mastering this soul refining technique.”

Recently, Gu Yao had been studying the basics of alchemy, reading introductory books, and hadn’t yet started serious study in alchemy. Xu Chen’s recommendation was certainly not wrong. Gu Yao fondly touched the cover of the book but restrained his urge to start flipping through it immediately. He decided to wait until he had finished processing the herbs in his hands before diving into it.

Xu Chen was somewhat startled. This kid was surprisingly composed. If it were any other alchemist who had been given such a recommendation, they would surely have sat down eagerly to immerse themselves in it right away. The alchemy techniques here, any of them, were highly sought after in the outside world, and among them, the soul refining technique was considered the best. However, soul refining required a very high level of cultivation, and if the practitioner’s soul power wasn’t strong enough, they could suffer backlash during the process, which would be counterproductive.

But alchemists who could practice soul refining techniques were always among the best. Still, Xu Chen looked at Gu Yao with some skepticism. This kid had such poor talent—could he really reach the peak? Could he place his hopes on this kid?

Forget it. Since the treasures recognized this kid as their master, Xu Chen had no better place to go. He might as well see how far this kid could grow.

There was no one else to acknowledge a master, and with the spiritual energy depleted in the Pill Pavilion, Xu Chen felt like he couldn’t hold on much longer.

“Thank you for the guidance, senior. I will focus on studying as soon as I have some free time,” Gu Yao said, remembering to thank Xu Chen.

“Hmph, if you can’t improve your cultivation, learning it will be useless,” Xu Chen coldly retorted.

Gu Yao didn’t think Xu Chen was trying to discourage him. Instead, he nodded in agreement. “Senior is right. I also think improving my cultivation is the most important. That way, I’ll have the strength and plenty of time to research alchemy.”

Seeing Gu Yao’s eyes light up more and more as he spoke, Xu Chen couldn’t help but click his tongue. This kid was truly obsessed with alchemy.

Gu Yao carefully stored the ‘Soul Refining Pill’ book. After his mental energy recovered, he threw himself fully into pill refining again, completely ignoring the onlookers in front of him. He was wholly immersed in his own world.

Finally, he took out the beast’s inner core. Xu Chen raised an eyebrow, unsure of what kind of elixir Gu Yao was trying to make. Looking at the materials he was refining, some were even from ordinary herbs, and Xu Chen couldn’t tell what their use might be.

Gu Yao’s spiritual power slowly began to seep into the inner core. As soon as it made contact, Gu Yao felt a vicious, ferocious beast lunging at him, its massive blood-filled jaws open wide, trying to swallow him whole. The dangerous sensation made his mind waver, and one wrong move could result in failure.

Gu Yao was prepared, however. His spiritual power solidified into a needle and pierced toward the beast, and with a ‘pop’, the beast seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon.

Gu Yao had previously dealt with the crystallized cores left behind by high-level insectoids while refining potions to enhance genetic talent. The most critical part of the potion came from the insectoid crystallized cores, and this inner core was similar to those cores. Like the insectoids’ cores, the inner core would leave behind a lingering, sinister energy after the beast’s death. If consumed without proper handling, it would likely result in a backlash that could harm the user.

Handling the inner core was a delicate task, needing to remove the impurities and refine only the most essential part of it.

The more Xu Chen watched, the more surprised he became. He hadn’t expected Gu Yao, a mere Qi Condensation Stage Three cultivator, to be able to handle the inner core of a high-level demon beast. This kid’s innate soul power was incredibly strong. Xu Chen couldn’t help but feel envious of his luck, as it meant his starting point in cultivation was high, and he would likely lead other cultivators of the same level by far in the future.

Perhaps the heavens sought balance: they had given him such a strong starting point for his soul power, which was why his spiritual root quality was so poor. Thinking this, Xu Chen felt slightly more balanced in his heart. It was hard to have everything in life.

Gu Yao spent the next two full days refining pills without leaving his room. Chi Changye had been prepared to bring Gu Yao meals but hadn’t rashly knocked on his door. Fortunately, Gu Yao had a storage bag on him, where he kept some food, so he didn’t have to worry about going hungry.