Old Man Desolate chattered on even as they traveled. Lo Jik was informed how the grotto-heaven's rate of time worked, being 20:1. It was… mediocre, considering all things. However, it was clear that Immemorial Desolate Grotto-Heaven's foundations were extremely firm and solid. Old Man Desolate also had a record of every tribulation and calamity it faced over the years, making it a great archive to peruse when preparing for one's own tribulation.
Tribulations were the single greatest force restricting and regulating the number of gu immortals in the gu world. Every gu immortal wanted to keep up with the times and prepare for several different types of tribulations, so this information was quite costly in Treasure Yellow Heaven.
"Here we are, master."
Old Man paused unconsciously as they stood before a small cemented structure. Two pillars stood erect on the either side of the square structure and held up the extended ceiling. The entire thing was plain and without any luxurious carvings.
Yet, the entire thing was shocking enough.
"A gu house…" Lo Jik observed the entrance of the catacombs.
"Yes, master." Old Man Desolate smiled and observed the entrance of the gu house with unconcealed curiosity. "This is where my main body left his true inheritance, a mortal gu house consisting of thousands of gu worms. I can—"
"No." Lo Jik ordered calmly. "You are not to subject this mortal gu house with the grotto-heaven's heavenly power. Until I command otherwise, you are forbidden to observe its interior, too."
Old Man Desolate instantly latched onto Lo Jik's legs and cried pitifully.
"But I am so curious, master! Boohoo! Do you know how long I waited for someone to inherit this grotto-heaven just to see what my main body left behind?"
Lo Jik's features hardened as he pinned the heavenly spirit with a quiet glare.
"I have another task for you, Old Man." While he didn't have to coax his 'property,' it wasn't below Lo Jik to ease the curious old thing's volatile emotions. Heavenly and land spirits, while perfectly submissive and loyal, were quite intelligent. This old man was one individual Lo Jik could rely on a great deal due to such a relationship and he always believed in convenient kindness… even for things like Heavenly Spirit. So, he didn't shoot down Old Man Desolate cruelly. "I want you to collect every wild rank 5 gu worms in the grotto-heaven that are unneeded to their environments. Wait for my call. I will surely let you see all the good things once I deal with the catacombs myself."
"But what if it's dangerous, master?" Old Man felt worried.
"I will call you the second I encounter something dangerous." Lo Jik assured smilingly. "Now, go. I'm counting on you."
Old Man nodded and disappeared from Lo Jik's view.
'Sigh… this whole thing reeks of shit.' He observed the entrance of the catacombs with a narrowed gaze. He didn't doubt Old Man Desolate, but it was, after all, a heavenly spirit. No matter how intelligent, heavenly and land spirits were innocent and stubborn. This nature came from their humble origins itself—origins that could be traced back to a dying gu immortal's obsession fusing with the blessed land or grotto-heaven's heavenly power.
Obsession was a type of thought, and as observed through wisdom path, thoughts were the simplest of the ideas generated in one's mind followed by a will and an emotion. And due to an obsession's simplicity, the resultant spirits also happen to be simple and pure. That's why heavenly and land spirits were incapable of lying.
What truly left Lo Jik alert was… the mysterious Immemorial Desolate Immortal.
The conditions of inheriting this grotto-heaven were simply impossible. As stated by OId Man Desolate before, the fated successor must fulfill three conditions.
First, creating a mutated beast. This was not a core beast since the formation of a core beast itself involved first fusing two or more beasts into a single mutated one.
Second, to create a mutated beast with an ability i.e. a core beast. It is the result of Core Beast Formation. As Old Man Desolate informed, one could use Core Beast Formation even at the mortal level to fuse two ordinary beasts.
Lastly, to achieve the first two conditions without knowing these conditions!
This last restriction made it impossible for anyone to inherit the grotto-heaven.
Why?
Because a gu master needed core beast formation to achieve the first two conditions. However, core beast formation itself was part of the true inheritance left behind by the rank 8 gu immortal and wasn't known to anyone besides Old Man Desolate, who guarded its secrets jealously!
It was a perfectly closed loop.
Too perfect, in fact.
And that in of itself was suspicious.
The more Lo Jik conversed with Old Man Desolate, the more suspicious he grew. The fact that Old Man Desolate could not observe the true inheritance as if it was part of his obsession was already a smoking gun of that mysterious gu immortal's intentions. He also didn't dare let Old Man Desolate interact with the inheritance. Who knows if there were traps in this gu house meant to incapacitate or even manipulate the heavenly spirit.
After some thinking, Lo Jik let out Schemer Gu again.
The wisdom path clone didn't look back and casually entered the catacombs.
The interior was dark and dry. Since Lo Jik didn't Old Man Desolate control the gu house, it remained inoperative. Lo Jik himself stayed clear from the gu house and didn't try refining it right away. His instincts were practically screaming at him at this moment.
Though dark, Lo Jik continued making way inside the catacomb's long hall. Stone pillars stood erect in neat rows on either side and sometimes framed branching hallways leading elsewhere inside the gu house. As such, the clone explored the gu house systematically. The ends of the halls and tiny rooms were empty and untouched. Only at the end of the main hallway did the clone notice a stone coffin lying in the middle of a room.
On top of the stone coffin was a familiar information path gu worm—the same gu worm Lo Jik received from his trait. It held the secrets of Core Beast Formation and was also the source of Lo Jik's suspicions because it was through this gu worm that he knew about the conditions necessary to inherit this grotto-heaven.
That, however, made him ineligible, prompting Lo Jik to use Qing Lao as a proxy through his new human path innovation.
'I understand.' Lo Jik sighed softly. 'You were 99.9% sure it would work... but you also wanted to prepare for that 0.01% event where circumstances escaped your grasp, Immemorial Desolate Immortal. We're both the same. You couldn't bear the thought of leaving nothing behind in that 0.01% scenario and wanted Core Beast Formation to be your legacy... just like how I want to leave Accumulation Gu as my true inheritance if something were to happen to me.'
Lo Jik reached out for the information path gu worm and crushed it instantly.
He knew the gu worm was more than an inheritance the second he noticed its placement. It was a trap.
Lo Jik basically bypassed the trap because his trait copied the gu worm on its own.
As for Immemorial Desolate Immortal?
Lo Jik looked around before slowly reaching for the coffin's surface. He pulled away the top panel and observed the dull-grey human-sized egg lying within.
An incomplete product from Core Beast Formation.
Lo Jik smiled.
"I'm no human. That's why the immortal gu formation in the gu house doesn't affect me."
How could it be an immortal gu formation when there were no materials and such? Well... the answer was obvious. This incomplete egg was an immortal material itself.
This egg was none other than...
"You truly left nothing behind in this true inheritance of yours, Immemorial Desolate Immortal. Hehe, this is truly a demonic inheritance that ends with the inheritor... hmm..." Lo Jik patted the coffin and then the nearby walls before finishing his thoughts. "Possession? No, something similar. You would have either waited things out and allowed your Core Beast Formation to finish and emerge as whatever you designed... or you would have taken over the fated inheritor who refined that information path gu worm inside this gu house."
He grinned.
"Enter, Old Man Desolate."
"Master, you called?!" Old Man instantly appeared by the clone as Lo Jik pointed at the nearby wall.
"I want you to refine the entire gu house and then loan it to me."
"Right away!"
As Lo Jik suspected, Old Man's expression instantly changed as he screamed.
"T-This is no mortal gu house but an immortal gu house! What formation is this? It's connected to the natural formation of the entire grotto-heaven!"
The heavenly spirit was scared witless as he instantly glared daggers at the egg in the coffin.
"It's you!" He hollered.
"He is your main body." Lo Jik surmised as Old Man Desolate nodded. "Aye, it seems that way, master. But why would my main body would want to harm me?"
"Because you would never accept him as your master." Lo Jik chuckled. Heavenly spirit was a different entity. "Even if the main body revived, there was a chance that he couldn't have fulfilled the conditions to become your master. Tell me, Old Man. You said there was a formation inside this gu house. What is its function?"
"It's meant to turn the entire grotto-heaven into dao marks." Old Man mourned. "I cannot believe my main body would be so vicious against me, boo-hoo!"
Lo Jik shrugged. So, Immemorial Desolate Immortal already planned on devouring his previous foundation the second he returned. It was a sound plan.
"But he could only achieve all this because he found a way to tamper with the creation of a heavenly spirit." Lo Jik muttered as Old Man Desolate blinked and wiped his tears.
"Tamper with my creation, master?"
"Yea." Lo Jik leaned against a pillar and admired the human-sized egg. "I don't know how he did it, but your master planned all this. Heavenly spirits only retain a portion of their main body's memories and attainment. However, your main body must have tampered with his mind to leave behind certain obsessions before his demise that forced you to keep away from inspecting this inheritance ground and killing the main body once you discovered his existence. Furthermore, he set the conditions of inheriting this grotto-heaven to make it near impossible for anyone else."
"Lastly, he ensured his security by setting up those four immemorial desolate core beasts and sustain the existence of the grotto-heaven despite several tribulations. Truly amazing." Lo Jik praised with an unconcealed look of admiration, He couldn't even achieve a fraction of these feats presently.
"I don't understand a few things, master." Old Man Desolate spoke as he closed the coffin's entrance at Lo Jik's command. The duo started strolling towards the exit.
"Ask away, Old Man."
"Yes. Why didn't my main body make simpler conditions if he wanted to inherit the grotto-heaven again? You suspect that he tampered with my creation, right? Couldn't he have set up conditions like only the main body can inherit the grotto-heaven?"
"Because each plan has its limitations. From tampering with your creation by possibly modifying his thoughts to setting up this grand plan... I suspect your main body's attainment in wisdom path wasn't shallow. However, you have no memory of it, do you? That itself is a major clue. Even if amazing, his methods might have had several limitations. He could influence your creation, but he was nowhere near close in influencing the existence of a heavenly spirit itself."
"There was a chance about you boasting that only your main body could inherit the grotto-heaven—which is a great clue for others. Not only would such boasts inform others that Immemorial Desolate Immortal planned on returning, but it would also allow others to simply transform into your main body and inherit the grotto-heaven."
Schemer Gu explained patiently as it deconstructed the entire plan.
"Only by using Core Beast Formation, something you also would guard with your life because of your stubbornness and innocence, could Immemorial Desolate Immortal prevent his plans from crumbling apart."
Old Man Desolate looked at Schemer Gu with unconcealed awe.
"You are amazing, maser. You could thwart my main body's plans so effortlessly!"
"Well... there was some effort involved." Lo Jik chuckled at the thought of things he did to keep a steady flow of platinum achievements. "But the one to spoil your main body's plan was… his own desire to leave a legacy behind."
The duo stepped out as Lo Jik reverted his clone into a gu and understood everything at once.
"Cut the connection between the gu house and the natural formation of the grotto-heaven, old man. Also, isolate and preserve Immemorial Desolate Immortal's remains and seal it. We can slowly unravel his memories to learn more things." Just because there wasn't a true inheritance on a silver platter didn't imply Lo Jik couldn't extract it out of the main body.
Alas… there were no rank 8 immortal gu worms.
'No… they are simply too expensive to refine.' Lo Jik sucked in a breath of cold air and understood Immemorial Desolate Immortal's vision. He, too, wanted to use the immemorial desolate core beasts as a replacement in his killer moves.
Heck, just Immemorial Desolate Immortal's incomplete core beast transformation inside the house gu elevated its status to an immortal gu house proved the feasibility of such a use of core beasts.
"Ah, what should I do with the collected rank 5 gu worms, master?" Old Man inquired Lo Jik.
'Use it on Dreamer Gu, of course!' Lo Jik allowed his greed to swell with the increase of his wealth. Earlier, he was satisfied with being a master in almost all the paths.
Now?
Grandmaster? Great Grandmaster?
He wanted to test the limits of the Dreamer Gu once and for all!
<<<>>>
Lo Jik gazed at the massive hill of rank 5 gu worms, each suppressed by Old Man Desolate.
They were all of different paths. Some were rare and only found in this grotto-heaven's unique habitat and others were commonly available in Treasure Yellow Heaven. Immemorial Desolate Grotto-Heaven was also quite flushed with resources and just the unimportant rank 5 gu worms numbered to hundreds of thousands.
"Ah." Lo Jik blinked. "Did you procure any Lifespan Gu?" He questioned belatedly. Lo Jik couldn't be blamed for such a reaction. After all, he did not lack Lifespan Gu at all.
"Aye, master." Old Man grinned before revealing a storage of a sum of one thousand and three hundred years' worth of Lifespan Gu.
Lo Jik's gaze glimmered at the collection before he thought about his goals.
'I always planned to advance as a strength path gu immortal once I became a strength path grandmaster. However, that relates to my public image. It must happen out in the open.'
'And my human path set isn't refined enough to be considered a decent human path foundation. Either way, the best path forward is to become a human path gu immortal secretly and gain another trump card in case of emergencies.'
'The only way to increase my speed of developing my human path set is by increasing my human path attainment.'
Truthfully, Lo Jik was aware that his attainment was enough. He merely lacked enough resources of human path to comprehend even more of its mysteries. That's why he was so excited when he heard that Old Man Desolate's main body also possessed human path research. Alas, that would take time to extract.
Meanwhile, the quick rise of his attainment did not come packed with necessary information about the several paths and required Lo Jik to pick up the slack and get even more studious. He could use this grotto-heaven to finally seal such shortcomings.
'All the clone gu worms, their respective house gu worms, Wealth Gu, Meaning Gu, Self Chant Gu, Aperture Puncture Gu, Fake Soul Gu, Fake Mind Gu, Undefeated Hundred Battles Gu, Fickle Travel Gu, all the relic gu worms, Leader and Follower Gu, Descendant Gu, Accumulation Gu, Fake Aptitude Gu, Flesh Bone Unity Gu, and Half Effort Gu are all human path gu worms. However, they don't form a proper set, which will lower my foundation in human path if I recklessly charge ahead.'
Lo Jik needed to maximize his advantages early on because he knew that path ahead of him was quite bleak due to Divine Concealment on his soul.
'Not only do I need to refine a human path set, but I also need to go one step beyond and try getting another human path immortal gu worm during my ascension! That requires the complicated task of deducing an immortal gu worm's recipe beforehand.'
'Wealth, Wisdom, and… formations… No, I'm getting ahead of myself.'
Lo Jik remained lost in thoughts as he watched the hill of gu worms.
'All that and I still need to return to Hu Immortal Blessed Land to prevent others from being suspicious.' He worked his jaw.
'I also have to take over the operations here and maximize profits from every possible angle.'
He could already feel his temples twitching with pain.
'One step at a fucking time.' He groaned audibly and looked at Old Man Desolate.
"Take this recipe for Wealth Gu and make a portion of the hairy men slaves refine it without a pause. Come with me, I need to show you a few other clones that will stay here for an extended period. Keeping them healthy will also be one of your responsibilities while I'm away. Bring all the refined Wealth Gu worms to these clones."
Once he settled that step, Lo Jik left even more instructions with Old Man Desolate and asked him to purchase several theft path gu worms available in Treasure Yellow Heaven. Not only that, Lo Jik also left behind a few strength path gu recipes he had been deducing for a while for the hairy men slaves to refine before returning to Hu Immortal Blessed Land with a job of his own.
'Wealth Gu's potential is scary. Using Preservation Gu… there's a real possibility of creating a dangerous killer move.'
That would be his next task.
'Of course…' He never forgot another real possibility. 'Pioneering dream path is no worse in terms of potential. My first two apertures cannot accommodate this dao… thankfully, I have the recipe and key materials for Second Aperture Immortal Gu. The rest can be… wait… wait a minute.'
Lo Jik's head buzzed with a possibility.
'I have the recipe for Second Aperture Immortal Gu. Is it not easier to deduce the mortal recipe for this gu worm… and let heaven and earth figure out the rest when I ascend?'
His breath shuddered.
It was doable.
'So… more work.' Lo Jik snickered as he briefly rested his eyes. There truly was no rest for the wicked in gu world.
***
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