"So, the essence of every Gu worm lies in the food it consumes."
Zhou Quan said as he placed the Lightning Steps Gu back onto the porcelain plate.
"Now, let's return to the recipe."
He looked at Jian Long and asked,
"Do you know what Lightning Steps Gu feeds on?"
Jian Long answered without hesitation,
"It feeds on Lightning Tears."
Zhou Quan nodded in satisfaction.
"Good ,Then can you figure out why Lightning Tears were added to the refinement recipe?"
Jian Long furrowed his brows and thought for a moment.
"Is it... because we want to increase the essence of the Lightning Steps Gu during the refinement process?"
A smile appeared on Zhou Quan's face.
"Correct."
Then he followed up with another question.
"But why do we want to do that?"
This time, Jian Long answered immediately, as if a sudden realization had struck him.
"Because the primary characteristic of the Lightning Speed Gu we're trying to refine is speed,And speed is also the primary characteristic of the Lightning Steps Gu."
Zhou Quan's smile widened.
"Excellent,You're beginning to understand."
He picked up the two Gu worms and held them in his hands.
"In every refinement process, there are usually two categories of Gu worms ,The first is the Primary Gu ,It determines the core attribute of the resulting Gu, and can be considered the heart of the new Gu."
He then raised the second worm.
"The other is the Secondary Gu ,Its role is to provide the resulting Gu with its secondary or supporting characteristics."
He placed both worms back onto the porcelain plate.
"Therefore, the very first thing we must determine in any refinement process is which Gu will serve as the Primary Gu, and which will become the Secondary Gu."
He then pointed toward the Lightning Tears beside the plate.
"We accomplish that by increasing the essence of one of the Gu worms ,And the simplest way to do that... is by adding it its own food ....Now, let's talk about how the Lightning Speed Gu recipe was created."
Zhou Quan said as he gestured toward the two Gu worms before him.
"Understanding this will help you grasp how new Gu worms are created ,the creator of the Lightning Speed Gu wanted to create a Gu worm capable of granting its user speed comparable to lightning itself ,But the human body has its limits."
"No matter how much you strengthen it, it remains flesh and blood. It can never truly reach the speed of lightning ,and that was when inspiration struck."
"If the body itself is the limitation... then why not get rid of the body altogether?"
He picked up the Lightning Transformation Gu between his fingers.
"So he used Lightning Transformation Gu, which transforms the user into lightning for a brief moment,the moment the user abandons the form of a human body, the limitations that once restrained him disappear."
He then lifted the Lightning Steps Gu as well.
"Only then can Lightning Steps Gu unleash its full potential, allowing the user to move at the speed of lightning itself."
Jian Long fell silent for a moment before asking,
"Isn't that similar to using two Rank One Gu worms together to produce an effect equivalent to a Rank Two Gu?"
He recalled how he had once used Metal Spear Gu together with Lightning Moon Gu.
Zhou Quan nodded.
"Exactly,That is what's known as a killer move,It's the art of combining multiple Gu worms to create an effect far greater than what any one of them could achieve alone."
"However, possessing a single Gu worm that can produce the same effect directly is always the better option,It's more powerful, easier to use, and requires far less effort and control."
He paused briefly before saying something that caused Jian Long to freeze.
"In truth...Every Gu worm in this world is nothing more than a killer move that has been simplified and condensed into a single Gu worm."
Jian Long stood there in silence.
Zhou Quan's words had completely overturned everything he thought he knew about the world of cultivation.
A single Gu worm...
It was merely a perfected killer move.
Seeing the expression on Jian Long's face, Zhou Quan and continuing,
"Now, let's return to our main topic."
"At this point, we've already understood the purpose of the two Gu worms in this recipe, as well as the role of the strengthening material, Lightning Tears."
"That leaves only two ingredients we haven't discussed."
He picked up a pale green petal lying beside the porcelain plate.
"First, the Petal of Purification Grass,It is a refinement material whose purpose is to help dismantle and merge the two Gu worms into a brand-new Gu."
He gently placed the petal back down.
"There are countless materials in this world capable of performing this function,However, not every refinement material is compatible with every pair of Gu worms."
"Only certain materials can interact with these two particular Gu worms and produce the desired result,The same principle applies to every refinement recipe,Each recipe requires its own specific refinement materials."
Finally, he picked up the two primeval stones.
"As for these...You already know what they are ,they're a source of primeval energy,Refining a Gu requires an enormous amount of energy—far more than our primeval sea can release in a single burst."
"So we make up the difference by supplying additional primeval energy through primeval stones."
He placed the stones back on the table before looking directly at Jian Long.
"Now that I've explained every component of the recipe...Do you understand it?"
Jian Long silently nodded.
"Good."
Zhou Quan nodded.
"Now, let's begin the refinement process."
He pointed at the two Gu worms.
"But before anything else, refine them first so they become yours."
Jian Long nodded and released his primeval essence.
Only a few moments later, he had successfully refined both Gu worms.
Zhou Quan continued,
"Good.Now we come to the most important part of Gu refinement...Parallel thinking."
He raised a finger as he explained.
"You must merge your consciousness with the consciousness of the two Gu worms,From this moment onward, stop seeing them as physical objects in your hands."
"Instead, replace them within your mind with your own consciousness ,When you do that, each Gu worm will become an idea ,And once you've reached that stage...begin merging those two ideas together."
Jian Long nodded and slowly closed his eyes.
He extended his consciousness toward the two Gu worms, gradually manipulating their consciousness.
Outside, Zhou Quan watched silently.
The two Gu worms revolved around one another like two tiny celestial bodies sharing the same orbit.
As their consciousnesses became increasingly intertwined, the distance between them gradually shrank.
An entire hour passed in continuous attempts.
Finally, Jian Long succeeded in gaining complete control over the consciousness of both Gu worms.
He began merging them together.
At that instant, the two Gu worms fused into a large sphere of white light, with arcs of lightning occasionally dancing across its surface.
Zhou Quan spoke calmly.
"Now...Follow the recipe."
Jian Long immediately moved into action.
He picked up a small glass vial no larger than the palm of his hand and added a single drop of Lightning Tears into the sphere of light.
Then he tossed in two primeval stones.
After that came one Petal of Purification Grass.
He waited thirty seconds.
Then repeated the process.
And then a second time.
When he reached the third and final repetition...
The sphere of light suddenly vanished.
The next instant, the two Gu worms separated and shot off in opposite directions.
The fusion had failed.
Jian Long opened his eyes, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"Damn it...I lost my concentration during the final step."