Lin Yan's expression grew complicated. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this Fusion Fire Gu he had created by chance might actually be more suitable as his core Gu than Dream Derivation Gu.
He paused, then shook his head.
"There's no need to rush." There was a Gu in this world called Second Aperture Gu. It allowed a person to open a second aperture, effectively maintaining two combat systems at the same time, while also reducing the conflict between different paths.
Lin Yan made his decision. His main path would still be Flame Path. The Dream Path was too rare and difficult. Even researching Human Path Gu for aptitude had already slowed him down. Adding another obscure path would only hold him back.
Moreover, Lin Yan knew the method to obtain the Second Aperture Gu, so there was still a chance in the future.
After making his decision, he immediately gathered the required materials and began refining it in reality. This time, his luck was good. He succeeded on the first attempt and did not damage the main material, the Rank 3 Borrow Fire Gu. Otherwise, he would have had to wait until returning to the Family to prepare it again.
The reason was clear. He had personally deduced this Gu recipe and understood every step in detail, so the refinement process was much smoother.
"Rank 4 Fusion Fire Gu… plus two Yellow Golden Relic Gu. I now have six Rank 4 Gu."
Lin Yan gave a faint, helpless smile. Fortunately, the Fusion Fire Gu was easy to maintain. It was not picky and could feed on almost any Rank 4 Flame Path material.
Without wasting time, he stepped out and headed toward the auction house. The days had passed quickly, and the final Food Path auction was about to begin.
At this point, Lin Yan only had around twenty-seven or twenty-eight thousand primeval stones left. Worried that it wouldn't be enough, he had recently auctioned off the last third of his Profound Yellow Earth Qi at an Earth Path auction, gaining seventy thousand in return.
Now, he had a total of about thirty-five thousand primeval stones. However, when Lin Yan entered the Food Path auction and watched the items being presented one after another, he couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Food Path had originally been created by a beastman, Gu Immortals. But after the fall of the beastmen, this path had gradually declined and almost disappeared. What remained now were only fragments—tea recipes, spirit wine recipes, and various gourmet methods.
These could provide small benefits to Gu Masters, but their value was limited. Each of these recipes could be considered an incomplete Food Path Gu recipe, but completing them would be extremely difficult.
Before long, the final item of the Food Path auction was brought out.
The beautiful Gu Master smiled faintly and said, "This final item will surely interest everyone. It is the [Burning Fire Wine] secret recipe, reaching Rank 5. It uses Flame Path materials of different levels and can replace the feeding requirements of Flame Path Gu of various ranks."
"Starting bid—one hundred thousand primeval stones."
After her words fell, the venue did not erupt like before. Instead, it became strangely quiet.
Many Gu Masters watched with calm, even indifferent expressions. Some leaned back slightly, clearly not planning to bid.
Everyone understood the problem. Food Path recipes like this sounded useful, but in reality, the cost of brewing the wine was almost the same as directly feeding the Gu. There was no real advantage.
At best, it could only be used in special situations—when a Gu's food had gone extinct, or when one had no other choice.
Only Lin Yan felt a surge of excitement and immediately decided to bid. He already had many Gu, and in the future, he would only accumulate more Flame Path Gu. If one day he could not obtain their proper food, this Burning Fire Wine could serve as a substitute, acting as a reliable backup.
If something unexpected happened, even if the Family declined or resources were cut off, his Gu would not starve. He clearly understood that having more options meant having more control over his future.
So he joined the bidding and competed with a few other Gu Masters. The price rose several times, but those people quickly lost interest and withdrew. In the end, Lin Yan secured the [Burning Fire Wine] secret recipe for one hundred thirty thousand primeval stones.
When he received the bookworm, he was slightly surprised. This recipe actually had a notable origin—it was created by a Rank 5 Gu Master who once tasted the [Red Emperor Wine] from the Eastern Sea's Wine Emperor lineage, then returned and developed it based on that experience.