Tu Dai sat upright in the center of the stone chamber, which was enveloped in light purple mist. In his palm, several unique Gu quietly floated.
They were only thumb-sized, perfectly round, and their surfaces were not flesh or carapace, but covered with a mottled, ancient metallic luster, like newly unearthed bronze artifacts.
“Is this the Bronze Sharira Gu?”
Tu Dai had heard of this type of Gu before.
Gu Masters ascend through nine turns to reach the heavens, and each Realm is further subdivided into four minor stages: Initial, Intermediate, Advanced, and Peak. Ordinary Gu Masters need to spend countless hours, painstakingly refining their true Qi, to climb even one level. But this Sharira Gu can ignore accumulation, ignore Bottlenecks, and directly propel a Gu Master to the next minor stage within their current major Realm! What's more important is that it has no side effects.
Of course, five turns are for Mortals, six turns are for Immortals; the advancement of major Realms still requires Gu Masters to cross through their own strength. The Sharira Gu can only help you reach the Peak of a minor stage.
“Sharira Gu are divided into five grades: Bronze, Iron, Silver, Gold, and Amethyst, corresponding to one turn through five turns.” Dao Tian Can Hun’s ancient voice echoed in the stone chamber, carrying a sense of understanding that saw through all things.
Tu Dai remained silent. In his heterochromatic eyes, only an absolute craving for power quietly burned. Without further words, he followed the guidance, mobilizing the true Qi he had just recovered a little, and began to refine the several Bronze Sharira Gu in his hand.
The moment the refinement was complete, he did not hesitate and activated his will!
Buzz—!!!
The azure sea of true Qi surged in the torrent formed by the Sharira Gu, like a pond into which a giant rock had been thrown, instantly boiling. The thin, cicada-wing-like membrane on the four walls of the aperture vibrated violently under the powerful energy's scour, yet it was forcibly reinforced at the brink of destruction.
Finally, he steadily stepped into the Realm of One-Turn Peak!
And those several Bronze Sharira Gu slowly dissipated within the aperture.
The stone chamber was silent.
In just one night!
From the dust of One-Turn Initial to the Realm of One-Turn Peak in one step!
Even with Tu Dai's Heart-Nature, having experienced two lives, he felt a strong sense of unreality at this moment. The surge of power was so real, yet so illusory.
“In any Family, the Sharira Gu is enough to be a strategic treasure kept at the bottom of the box.”
Dao Tian Can Hun’s voice sounded at the right time, with a profoundness that saw through worldly affairs in its calmness, “However, blessings and misfortunes are intertwined. Too rapid an increase in power is often like pulling up seedlings to help them grow.”
“Aren’t you afraid… that I am in this very state now?” Tu Dai slowly raised his eyes, his heterochromatic pupils filled with coldness, looking directly in the direction of the illusory light figure.
“Hehehe…”
Dao Tian Can Hun let out a low laugh.
“I can ‘smell’ an unshakable determination deep within your Soul. In your world, you should also be an existence as powerful as a venerable one.”
The laughter paused slightly, taking on a hint of playfulness.
“What’s more… even when the ‘sister’ who accompanied you for many years and gave you the only warmth in the world died before your eyes, you still chose to refine the Stealth Attack Gu for power. Such a Heart-Nature has long surpassed the constraints of ‘Foundation’. Why should I worry?”
Tu Dai was silent for a moment, his gaze unwavering, as if stating a truth unrelated to himself:
“The strong prey on the weak, right and wrong, good and evil; I have never thought… I was a good person.”
His voice was calm and unruffled, yet it conveyed a deep-seated indifference.
“Hahaha! Good! What a ‘strong prey on the weak’!” Dao Tian Can Hun’s laughter suddenly rose, carrying a nearly frantic appreciation and resonance, “This venerable one, who roamed countless worlds, stealing from heaven and earth, also believes in this Dao! You and I… are inherently of the same kind!”
As the laughter subsided, Dao Tian Can Hun’s voice returned to a steady tone: “It’s almost dawn. I will conceal your Qi fluctuations for you, to avoid unnecessary trouble.”
“Mm.” Tu Dai nodded slightly, saying no more.
With a slight thought.
The purple mist filling the stone chamber seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, gently brushing over his body.
The next second.
Tu Dai's figure completely dissolved into the purple mist, vanishing without a trace.
Pushing open the wooden door, a scent of fresh plants mixed with damp earth assailed him. Outside the door, it was no longer a flat dirt road, but a deep mountain forest.
Thick, almost tangible, milky-white mountain mist slowly flowed through the forest, blurring the distant scenery.
“This place… is Bandit Monkey Mountain.” Tu Dai learned the name of this mountain forest from a few nervous Mortals beside him, who were conversing in low voices.
The caravan continued its arduous journey along the mountain path for a while. Suddenly, the front of the procession erupted in a suppressed commotion without warning!
“Everyone, be careful! A monkey troop is blocking the way ahead!”
The loud warning from the escorting Gu Master instantly tensed the atmosphere of the entire caravan!
Tu Dai frowned slightly. A monkey troop blocking the way? There were quite a few Gu Masters in this caravan, though most were low-turn, they should have no problem dealing with ordinary wild monkey troops. Why would it cause such a commotion?
“Listening to your tone, I'm afraid this is your first time on Bandit Monkey Mountain, isn’t it?” A hoarse, aged voice sounded beside him. Tu Dai looked sideways; it was an old cart driver with white hair and beard, his face etched with the marks of time. He reined in his restless pack beast, his cloudy eyes showing deep apprehension.
“Oh? I’m all ears.” Tu Dai said with a faint smile.
The old cart driver took a deep breath of the damp, cold mist, his voice dropping even lower: “The monkeys on this Bandit Monkey Mountain… are very peculiar! They are united against a common enemy. If you kill ten of them today, a hundred, a thousand will emerge from the forest tomorrow seeking revenge! They will never rest! Let alone our ragtag caravan, even those large Families might not want to provoke these vengeful ancestors, let alone ‘clean them out’.”
“Is there such a thing?” A flicker of genuine interest crossed Tu Dai’s eyes.
“Indeed!” The old cart driver sighed, “This Bandit Monkey Mountain was originally a forbidden zone for caravans, until more than twenty years ago…” A trace of recollection and awe appeared in his eyes, “A Five-Turn Gu Master of the Righteous Path, after an unknown amount of effort, reached an agreement with the Monkey King of this mountain. Only after that did this mountain-crossing trade route come into being.”
“What agreement?” Tu Dai pressed.
“Arm! Wrestle!”
The old cart driver enunciated each word, his expression a mix of oddity and solemnity.
“The bandit monkeys worship the most primitive strength! As long as you win an arm-wrestling match against the representative sent by the Monkey King on the arena they set up, the caravan can pass safely without paying a single coin! If you lose…” He gave a bitter smile, “You have to obediently leave a portion of goods as a ‘road toll’.”
“Heh… valuing strength, that’s quite interesting.”
Tu Dai said no more. With a slight movement, he squeezed through the somewhat flustered crowd like a swimming fish and arrived at the front of the procession. He found a corner with an open view and observed coldly.
In the eyes of the other Gu Masters, this silent, ordinary-dressed young man, whose Qi was only at One-Turn, was most likely a novice from some small Family out for experience, and he didn't attract any attention from them.
The scene ahead was extremely impactful.
The mountain path suddenly opened into a small clearing here. In the center of the clearing was a large stone platform.
In the dense forest on both sides of the mountain path, on rocks, in tree branches… hundreds of bandit monkeys were packed densely! Their bodies were more robust than ordinary monkeys. They did not attack immediately, only let out low, threatening snarls, completely encircling the entire caravan, creating an immense sense of pressure!
On the stone platform, a contest of strength had just ended.
A tall bandit monkey, nearly ten feet tall, covered in steel-needle-like black fur, with muscles bulging like stacked rocks, was proudly beating its chest, letting out a deafening roar! Beneath its thick, pillar-like arm, a corpulent man in luxurious brocade robes was sprawled on the ground, his face pale and sweating profusely. His wrist, which had just been forced down, was now unnaturally twisted, clearly having suffered a great loss.
Tu Dai recognized this man; he was one of the nominal leaders of the caravan, a steward from the Jia Family. The true core leader of the caravan, Jia Long, a powerful figure in the Jia Family, stood nearby with a ashen face. Clearly, his side’s defeat had caused him to lose face and meant the imminent loss of goods.
Tu Dai’s gaze did not linger on the Jia Family members for too long. He had quietly blended into another faction, the Zhang Family’s group. The leader of that group was the kind and gentle green-clad Young Miss Zhang Xinci, who had given out food in the caravan. She now stood between her maid and guards, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, her pretty face etched with worry, clearly concerned about the predicament at hand.
“It seems? That ugly fellow also joined the Zhang Family.”
Just as Tu Dai was contemplating, a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.
“Young Miss Zhang! You saved my life! This round! Let me go!”