005. Blue Snake Kills the Male Leopard, Finally Leaving the Village to Join the Caravan
Without the slightest hesitation, he exhausted his remaining primeval essence, pouring it into the Gu worm on his tongue.
Opening his mouth, he spat out a ball of blue water. The water ball rapidly expanded, enveloping Qitian completely within it.
The male leopard charged into the water ball.
The water ball wobbled three times, severely deforming, but did not break. "Beast strength is fierce, while water flow is yielding. Using softness to overcome hardness, the water ball isn't easily broken. Perfect for buying time to recover primeval essence."
The Water Prison Gu was meant to imprison opponents, but Gu Masters use Gu according to their will.
If he had just used it to trap the male leopard, it likely would have been dodged. If he tried to flee, his remaining primeval essence definitely wouldn't be enough to outrun the Nether Leopard.
Therefore, Qitian decisively chose to envelop himself with the Water Prison, buying himself time.
Unable to break the water ball, the male leopard paced around the cold corpse of the female, letting out whimpering cries of grief.
Its gaze towards Qitian became even more filled with hatred.
Qitian felt helpless. The situation he least wanted to happen had occurred. The male leopard's strength was already greater than the female's, and it was currently in peak condition. Furthermore, due to the female's death, it would absolutely fight Qitian to the death.
Even if Qitian fully recovered his primeval essence, his chances of victory weren't high.
But Qitian was not a reckless person. Since he dared to provoke them, he naturally had something to rely on.
Moreover, managing to kill the female before the male returned was already extremely fortunate. Against just the male leopard, the trump card he had prepared should be enough to win.
Under the male leopard's continuous attacks, the water ball finally shattered.
During this time, Qitian had recovered thirty percent of his primeval essence.
Facing the lunging male leopard, Qitian remained calm and composed, spitting out another water ball, attacking the leopard.
The male leopard easily dodged the water ball's range, but its attack path was forced to change. Just as the leopard leaped over a patch of low bushes, a streak of cyan light shot towards its abdomen.
Although the male leopard sensed it, facing its mortal enemy, it couldn't afford to worry about anything else. As long as it killed the enemy before it, avenging its mate, it could die in peace.
However, things didn't go as planned. The male leopard's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Just less than a step away from Qitian, it crashed heavily to the ground, intense unwillingness reflected in its eyes.
Confirming the male leopard was dead, Qitian wiped away non-existent cold sweat and felt around the leopard's abdomen, pulling out a small, cyan figure.
This figure was a small snake, about the thickness of a little finger. Its head affectionately rubbed against Qitian's finger, while its tail, marked with three bamboo-joint-like patterns, wagged as if seeking praise from its master.
It was hard to imagine that the incredibly ferocious thousand beast king moments ago had died by its fangs.
Qitian was in a good mood. He praised the little snake a few times, then returned it to his sleeve.
This little snake was far from simple. It was the Blue Bamboo Snake, an exotic beast from Blue Heaven, which became extinct after Blue Heaven shattered. Not only was it extinct in the eyes of mortal Gu Masters, but it was also extremely rare even among Gu Immortals.
Qitian had discovered this Blue Bamboo Snake while sorting through the inheritance. At the time, it was just a fossilized egg. The Talented Scholar of Many Gu probably didn't recognize it either, merely collecting it as a peculiar fossil.
In his previous life, Qitian hadn't recognized it, wasting this opportunity. He deeply regretted it later after learning its origin.
This time, Qitian used blood path methods to hatch it. Because his heart blood was used, the snake formed a wondrous connection with Qitian upon birth, being exceptionally close to him.
The Blue Bamboo Snake was born as a thousand beast king with extremely high intelligence. When fully grown, it would become at least a desolate beast – of course, this referred to Blue Bamboo Snakes growing in Blue Heaven, feeding on the Jade Bamboo of the Azure Sky. After the Immemorial Era, raising it to the desolate beast level wasn't easy, thus making it comparable to ordinary exotic beasts in potential.
"'Blue Bamboo Snake's mouth, hornet's tail sting, both are acceptable, but most venomous is a woman's heart.' The toxicity of a desolate beast level Blue Bamboo Snake is only slightly inferior to the Woman's Heart Immortal Gu. But Woman's Heart is a one-time consumable Gu, whereas the Blue Bamboo Snake's venom can be continuously produced."
In the end, Qitian found two Rank 3 Concealed Essence Gu and one Rank 3 Swift Shadow Gu on the two leopard corpses. Any other Gu worms had been damaged in the previous battles.
Now having obtained Rank 3 Concealed Essence Gu, Qitian began planning to leave the village.
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"What? You're saying you didn't return to the village for a month because you found a Rank 2 inheritance and became a Gu Master?" the old village chief exclaimed in surprise.
"Wait, you're saying you want to leave the village, travel around, and seek opportunities?"
Qitian revealed a part of the truth to the old village chief, showing a Rank 1 peak stage cultivation. As for why Rank 1 peak, Qitian explained that the inheritance contained three Bronze Relic Gu, leaving the old village chief to only sigh at Qitian's good fortune.
"The Gu Master world is incredibly dangerous. Have you really decided?"
"Since Heaven allowed me to become a Gu Master, how can I remain content in a corner! I must leave the village, venture out, see the world, only then will I be worthy of this man's body!" Qitian insisted.
"Sigh..." the old man sighed deeply. "Since you insist, I shouldn't stop you. But it's too dangerous for you alone. When the next merchant caravan arrives, I'll ask around, see if they can let you join. That would be much safer."
'That's exactly what I was waiting for,' Qitian thought inwardly, while outwardly showing an excited and grateful expression, thanking the old village chief.
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Half a month later, the merchant caravan finally arrived at the village.
The originally quiet mountain village suddenly burst into activity.
Leading the way was a Treasure Qi Brass Toad, two and a half meters tall, orange-yellow all over, with a broad, thick back. A huge pile of goods was secured on its back with thick hemp ropes, looking like the toad was carrying a massive bundle.
Following the toad were Black Skin Fat Armor Beetles, each as large as a bus. Piles of goods were stacked on their black-glazed carapaces, tied down with circling hemp ropes. Gu Masters sat in the gaps between the cargo. There were also mortals, all sturdy warriors, walking on the ground, slowly following the beetles.
After the fat beetles came colorful Ostrich-Chickens pulling carts, mountain spiders with cargo boxes tied to their bodies, winged snakes slithering along, and toads carrying huge bundles.
These mount Gu formed the main body of the caravan. Besides them, there were numerous mortals driving oxcarts, horse carts, or mule carts, or carrying bamboo baskets and other luggage on their backs.
The caravan set up camp near the village, resting for the night.
Just as dawn broke, the caravan began to pack up and prepare for departure.
"Check all the goods again!"
"Are all the ropes tied tightly? If even one item falls off during the journey, you'll get a hundred strokes of the plank!"
"Quick, quick, quick, make sure all our Black Skin Fat Armor Beetles are well-fed."
...The Gu Masters shouted orders, sending the mortal servants scurrying about.
"Lord Jia." The old village chief bowed, paying respects to one of the caravan's deputy leaders.
"Oh, Old Zhang, what is it? Speak quickly," said the Gu Master with the surname Jia.
"It's like this, I have a young descendant who, by chance, became a Gu Master. He wishes to travel outside and seek opportunities. Could you see if he might join the caravan?"
After the village chief finished, Gu Master Jia turned to look at him, "Oh! You want to vouch for a Gu Master to join the caravan?"
"Your Lordship is wise, that is correct," the old village chief quickly replied.
"Is that so... Can his identity be confirmed? What if some villain infiltrates?"
After listening to the old village chief's explanation, Gu Master Jia deliberately feigned contemplation.
When caravans traded, the clan villages were key trading points, but the mortal villages along the route couldn't be neglected either; they were also important.
Many daily supplies were consumed, or servants died, requiring replenishment along the way.
Therefore, it wouldn't be good to alienate the old village chief. Besides, adding a Gu Master meant adding strength. Moreover, even if a Rank 1 Gu Master caused problems, they couldn't stir up much trouble. Might as well grant this easy favor.
"Alright, considering your hard work over the years, Old Zhang, I'll grant your request."
"Ah, thank you, Your Lordship! My Lord, I'll call him over right away," the old village chief was overjoyed.
Sensing that Qitian was only a Rank 1 Gu Master, Gu Master Jia assigned him a place. He also instructed a subordinate to observe Qitian secretly, then paid him no further attention.
In the caravan, mortals' lives were cheap; they were just consumable resources that could talk and move.
But Gu Masters were different. Even Rank 1 Gu Masters received far better treatment than mortals.
There were quite a few Gu Masters who joined caravans with Rank 1 status. Some were skilled in business, others had poor aptitude or weren't doing well in their clans and followed the caravan seeking opportunities.
As long as their backgrounds were clean, caravans generally wouldn't refuse these individuals. Historically, many talented merchants started this way.
However, if your cultivation reached Rank 3, joining a caravan wouldn't be easy. Rank 3 Gu Masters were not numerous even in caravans. Once joined, they would impact the existing power distribution, naturally facing much greater resistance.
More importantly, if a Rank 3 Gu Master joining the caravan had problematic origins, they could potentially inflict devastating damage on the caravan.
This was also the reason why Qitian disguised himself as a Rank 1 Gu Master.