77. 3 Months
As a man, Bai Ning Bing possesses sharp features. Lo Jik isn’t anywhere near Bai Ning Bing’s appearance. He is slender yet built, with muscles forged for swift attacks and agile movement. His pale skin looks soft, making him appear healthy instead of sick. His narrow blue eyes, straight nose, thin lips, and narrow jaw-line complement a headful of unblemished white hair. He looks peerless in every word.
A small shadow cast on his pretty features enlarges at a pace visible to the naked eye. Bai Ning Bing’s breath catches in his throat as he observes it grow from its small and cute state to a monstrous beast!
Such a thick head.
Such a robust build.
So girthy.
So… meaty.
“So big!” Bai Ning Bing wildly laughs as he observes the 8-meter-tall and 9-meter-long Dark-Golden Mammoth! The mammoth’s snow-white curved tusks are sharp at the tip, capable of piercing steel and beast hides alike. The mammoth’s dark-golden exterior glimmers gently under the starlight stone’s glow from the structures in the Third Inner City.
Rank 4 Essence Cloud Elephant King!
The Mammoth raises its trunk and lets out a loud, fulfilling trumpet!
*PRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNN*
Bai Ning Bing’s eardrums ring as Lo Jik quickly turns the Gu into its palm-sized shape and retrieves it into his aperture.
“So?” Lo Jik laughs. Bai Ning Bing wanted to see the Gu in action. As for the Thousand Li Earthwolf?
Lo Jik will have to expend a considerable amount to recover its vitality.
He is down to his last 400000 Stones despite his earnings. He spent a lot in Gambling, purposely choosing empty Super Rocks before striking rich. Now? He will buy the Gambling Rocks holding the Rank 4 Slavery and Rank 5 Djinn’s Egg Gu to open secretly.
Gambling Rocks can be sold at any moment. Lo Jik already took some risks by not purchasing them.
Since they are fossils, Lo Jik doesn’t have to open them right away. He can always wait.
“Did you say something?” Bai Ning Bing scratches his ringing ears. “I didn’t hear a thing.”
Lo Jik shakes his head before waving his hand at him and entering his meditation chamber. That’s the universal symbol for—You’re on your own. You boi has work to do.
Once Lo Jik enters the Meditation Chamber, he takes out the Rank 2 Dreamer Gu.
This Gu recovered itself 10 days earlier. Lo Jik used the Gu again. At that time, Rank 2 Dreamer Gu dreamt of Lo Jik’s time with Mo Yan. However, it only slept for 4 hours. When it woke up, the Dreamer Gu revealed slight exhaustion. But it wasn’t injured. Lo Jik didn’t use it for another day before continuing the progress.
It wasn’t until three days ago Lo Jik made a shocking discovery!
This clone used a Gu inside the dream. The strangest thing was that this Gu Worm AFFECTED the Dream! After all, this clone dreamt of Lo Jik using martial arts during his days in the academy and practicing Moonblades. But the clone used a Gu that melted the dream, allowing it to awaken.
That’s when Lo Jik thoroughly inspected the Clone, finding a Red Steel Aperture inside the clone! Inside this aperture were three Gu. These Gu had formless shapes as if they moved from material planes to phantoms.
Taken by surprise, Lo Jik experimented with different things. First, taking the Gu out of the aperture destroyed it. So, Lo Jik let it remain inside the Clone’s Aperture. Even if he turns the Clone into a Gu or makes it human, the Gu doesn’t change. Lo Jik tested this by also planting his Feathered Bamboo Gu inside the Clone’s Aperture.
Whenever the clone completed the cycle of dreaming, its aperture would nurture and grow.
Lo Jik discovered another thing.
‘Another flying dream?’
Since Lo Jik placed the Feathered Boots inside the Clone, it dreamt of flying almost every time. It dreamt of flying using various Gu four times in the last five cycles. However, these dreams injure the clone, making Lo Jik use it with a consistent gap. In comparison, the Clone didn’t get too injured or exhausted when dreaming about Lo Jik’s past or what could have been.
To test this, Lo Jik retrieves the Feathered Boots Gu. The clone’s aperture already has crystal walls.
The clone dreamt of Shen Cui and how the Lo Jik married her instead. He had a great battle with Fang Zheng before breaking him physically and taking Shen Cui.
Once the Clone awakens, Lo Jik inspects its aperture.
Rank 3!
‘Also, two new Rank 2 Gu are inside the Aperture.’ Lo Jik’s gaze brightens.
What a strange Gu!
‘But I can already see a pattern. One dream cycle to reach Rank 2, ten dream cycles to advance to Rank 3…’
Lo Jik notes the exhaustion of the Gu Worm. He hesitates before questioning. “Can you understand me?”
Lo Jik understands that it is his Will inside the Gu. But seeing it nod with an intelligent gaze makes Lo Jik blink.
“Do you know what you can do?”
The clone shrugs before nodding.
“Can you speak?”
It shakes his head.
“Can you write?”
It nods.
Lo Jik hurriedly scrambles for paper and quill before offering it to the Gu.
“What are you?” Lo Jik questions as the Gu tilts his head before grabbing the pen. Its movements are awkward as it scribbles.
—Dreamer Gu.—
“Are you my clone?”
—I’m your Dreamer Gu.—
Lo Jik stares at the answer before questioning.
“So if others refine you, you will take their appearance?”
—Yes.—
“What are your abilities?”
—I dream and share the essence of the dream without needing the Gu Master to risk the venture.—
Lo Jik takes some time to read through the bad handwriting.
“The essence of the dream? What is it?”
—It’s the essence.—
Lo Jik momentarily muses.
“When can you talk?”
—When you refine the complete fragment of Dreamer Dao through this Gu.—
“Do you mean a Rank 6 Gu?”
—Yes.—
“What are the Gu inside your aperture?”
—Those are Dream Gu.—
“What is their use?”
—To help unravel the essence of the dream.—
Lo Jik’s gaze glimmers.
“Can you use my Gu?”
—No. Dreamer Gu can only use the Dream Gu.—
Exhaustion emanates from the Gu Clone. This round of questioning takes more from the Gu than those dreams.
But Lo Jik has another question.
“What changes if I add an external Gu into the Dreamer Gu Worm’s Aperture?”
—The Dreamer dreams of the path related to external Gu, consuming the Dao fragment of the Gu to support the dreams and unraveling the Dream’s essence.—
An ominous feeling rises in Lo Jik’s heart as he suddenly focuses on his aperture.
The Feathered Boots Gu is still there. However, he notices a peculiarity.
It’s listless and droopily floating. Strangely, Lo Jik doesn’t sense any exhaustion from the Gu.
“Do you mean you were consuming the Dao Fragment inside the Feathered Boots Gu?”
The Clone picks the quill with an exhausted expression. It will need a long rest after this round of questioning as it writes—
—Yes.—
Lo Jik quietly recovers the thumb-sized Rank 3 Dreamer Gu. He takes out the Feathered Boots Gu and inspects it.
‘It’s not injured.’ Lo Jik makes a connection. ‘It lost a crucial part of itself. This is not the Rank 3 Feathered Boots, but a husk with a Rank 3 Aura.’ Once Lo Jik tries using it, the Gu turns into broken fragments, leaving its remains.
‘I’m lucky I didn’t use a more vital Gu,’ Lo Jik gulps. What if he had used the All-Out Strength Gu? The losses would be disastrous!
‘But what did I stumble into? Dreams… Dreams… Well, the Legends state how the Northern Dark Ice Soul encountered something called a Dream Realm. They should be connected, right?’
Lo Jik crosses his arms before focusing on the crux of the matter.
‘Everything, including the refinement of those Dream Gu, is a bonus. The Dreamer Gu seems focused on finding the ‘essence’ of the Dream. But what is the essence? It almost entirely consumed a Rank 3 Gu to experience those Flying Dreams. What did it achieve?’
Lo Jik spreads his arms and tries waving them like wings.
‘I don’t feel any different aside from feeling like an idiot to try it.’
‘Anyway. If the pattern works, this Gu needs to complete 100 Dream Cycles to advance to Rank 4, 1000 Dream Cycles for Rank 5, and 10000 Dream Cycles for Rank 6!’
‘Is there a way for it to heal itself?’ Lo Jik muses. Gu Worm that heals other Gu exists. However, they are too rare and restricted in their use.
“Let’s focus on other things. I won 15 matches in a row. I used it all to turn my reputation around. Things should be temporarily calm. I also reached the Rank 3 Peak Stage. One step forward, and it’s Rank 4. I should start refining and preparing for Rank 4. Either way, I’m willing to wait for a few months. My letter should have been delivered by now. All I need to do is wait. Three months sounds reasonable.”
He has reasons for not being so eager to advance to Rank 4. First, the effect of the Convergence Bone Gu will vanish. Still, Lo Jik can hide the Rank 4 Aura of his Second Aperture. Second…
Well, no point thinking about that. If it happens—great! If not—he can move on.
‘There is also Su Shou,’ Lo Jik frowns before shaking his head. ‘Let’s not be hasty. I made an impression. I need time to assess if it was a good or bad impression. Possessing Rank 4 Cultivation before trying to lay charm on that unstable chick is also a wise call. Sigh. Why did Bai Ning Bing instantly use her Yang Rotation Gu…’
Lo Jik shakes his head before regaining his composure. ‘No need for idle chatters. Bai Ning Bing saw how I could muster eight beast phantoms. He is a competitive individual. I must always be on top if I have to keep his trust and relationship. I did all sorts of shit to recover my reputation. I have much to do.’
Rank 4 One’s Closed Fist.
Rank 4 Elite Muscles.
Rank 4 Thicker Skin.
Rank 4 Blood Flood Python.
Nurturing the Thousand Li Earthwolf.
Purchasing and opening other Gambling Rocks.
Finding Rank 4 Golden Blood Gu and other Body Refinement Gu.
Purchasing Brave Thoughts and Brave Will.
Finding materials for Little Giant’s advancement.
Refining Self-Strength.
So many goals!
Rank 3 Cultivation with an unkempt Gu Set allowed him to survive.
He must have a brutal Gu Set to compete with the best to thrive in the wild!
Survival alone isn’t enough. But all these projects require money. Lo Jik won’t be able to support all of it if he doesn’t find a better source of income. Selling the inheritance will merely be a stopgap.
‘What should I do about that?’ Lo Jik sighs. All he can do right now is prioritize.
<<<>>>
Lo Jik throws himself into the grind. His priority is to purchase the possible Gu. Why? Because failure in refinement injures the user and wastes time. He doesn’t have appropriate healing Gu Worm. So, Lo Jik’s first task sees him replacing the Golden Shield with the Rank 4 Golden Bell Shield Gu. It was running in a Medium Auction as its final item. However, Lo Jik used the Purple Thorn Token to buy it in advance.
He further purchased the fossils with Slavery and Djinn’s Egg Gu. As for earning from Gambling? Lo Jik decided to drop the idea after a more concrete contemplation. He’s been too bright these days. Now is the time to lay low. Everyone knows he possesses the three Great Steeds. Showing more luck will instead make him suspicious. Lo Jik doesn’t need to spend a dime on his Aperture, with his cultivation temporarily reaching a bottleneck. So, earnings from the Fourth Inner City Battle Stage stabilize Lo Jik. However, he only enters the Battle Zone five times a month. Such a gap creates more attraction. It leads to more income for Lo Jik.
Lo Jik sold the Twilight Spider and Earth Hole Gu for more funds and collecting materials. Lo Jik’s and Bai Ning Bing’s dynamic shifted since he became self-sufficient with his Gu Set while researching a killer move through the Battle Zone. Meanwhile, Lo Jik needed more and more. While the Strength Path may have several advantages, it’s a pricey investment in the current era.
Too invested in the strange Dreamer Gu, Lo Jik occasionally purchased Flying Movement Gu to let it ‘use.’
Lo Jik only started refining the Gu after months of preparations. Fortunately, the Blood Flood Python was a success this time. However, his subsequent refinement of the One’s Closed Fist was met with a resounding failure. Lo Jik received grave injuries and took 3 weeks to heal. However, he prepared several portions of the material. Using Refinement Qi and Green Mountain Remains also saved him several materials.
Lo Jik persisted in the Battle Zone before trying again. He failed again. But his injuries were less severe, only needing 5 days to recover. This cycle continued by the end of the third month—August.
‘Truly! Man proposes, and Heaven disposes. Although I had several portions of the material, it’s one of the more challenging Gu to refine. But I’m relatively lucky. Although it took me three months, I only used five portions. I can sell the remaining three portions. That should increase my savings to about 280k.’
Lo Jik didn’t spend all of it on one Gu. He merely did not get the chance to refine them all. But he never expected it to be a breezy task, or others would have surpassed Lo Jik ages ago!
In Lo Jik’s hand is the one-stop answer for all his storage needs.
Effortless Access? Check.
Spacious? Check.
Does it keep the materials fresh? Check.
Inexpensive to feed? Raincheck on that.
In Lo Jik’s hand is a fossilized forearm. It’s white and stone-like. The veiny stone arm has a closed fist. The fist opens when Lo Jik consumes 4% of his Rank 3 Peak Stage Essence. The palm lets out a white glow that stores the chest pile of Primeval Stones. Lo Jik muses for a moment before storing this Gu in his Aperture. He flips his hand, and a Primeval Stone appears on his palm, accompanied by a white glow.
Rank 4 One’s Closed Fist Gu.
This Gu has an abundant space of 125 cubic meters. It siphons a Gu Master’s stamina to keep the materials fresh 24/7. Its access is effortless, and the Primeval Essence consumption is low, too. But it’s not perfect. First, it cannot store Active Gu like the Kindling Will Gu. But it can keep fossils. Second, the Gu Master’s stamina consumption is also an issue.
But it’s negligent for Gu Masters like Lo Jik.
The best thing about this Gu is that it fits into the food scheme of the rest of Strength Gu!
Now, Lo Jik can unload the Eight-Sectioned Gourd and the need for its food.
It took him three months and several thousand Primeval Stones, but the result is worth all the inconvenience!
He also spent much resources nursing the Thousand Li Earthwolf to its peak health.
Despite all the setbacks, Lo Jik progressed admirably through his goals.
He refined the Blood Flood Python and One’s Closed Fist Gu. He nursed the Thousand Li Earthwolf back to health. He found some materials for the Little Giant Gu in the auctions. He purchased the desirable Gambling Stones and continued visiting the establishment, wasting money on cheap empty stones to scout precious ones. Who knows when his luck will shine and allow him to find a tailored Gu. He was fortunate enough to discover the Thicker Skin Gu. It was the most common of the Rank 4 Body Refinement Gu. He started using the Gu a Month ago and slightly progressed.
So, Lo Jik’s focused goals are—Elite Muscles, Self-Strength, Battle Thoughts, Battle Will, Golden Blood, Mind-Body Focused Connection, and Little Giant King.
The ‘beauty’ of Cultivation reveals itself when Lo Jik can’t help but feel more goals lining behind them. After all, completing these goals allows Lo Jik to assemble his killer move by purchasing the Fire, Earth, Lightning, and Water Strength Gu—which needs A LOT of practice!
‘Cultivation is too money-consuming,’ Lo Jik grunts and stretches his limbs. However, his expression eases once he waves his hand.
A stream of pink light shoots out and turns into the Dreamer Clone. The Gu quietly lies down on a pillow and sleeps.
‘It’s the 100th Dream Cycle today,’ Lo Jik licks his lips. This Gu has also been a source of steady expenditure. Since Lo Jik lost the Feathered Boots Gu, he purchased other flying-type Movement Gu for the Dreamer Gu to ‘expend.’
Lo Jik is resolved to see things through. After several questions, Lo Jik understands the Gu Clone better.
‘There are two types of dreams it ‘unravels.’ First is the self-dream based on my memories and experiences. Here, the Dreamer Gu refines strange and formless Gu that can only be used inside a dream. Second is the kind the Dreamer Gu uses the dao fragment in an external Gu to conjure. This dream consumes most of the Dreamer Gu’s Dream Gu. It also has a high chance of injuring the Dreamer Gu.’
‘Sometimes the Dreamer Gu will fall to his death. Often, it flies into other flying beasts, who chase it. It gets injured every time it dies. But using the Dream Gu can prevent this from happening. This Gu is too weird.’
Lo Jik sighs.
But this Gu will reach Rank 4 after these three months.
Suddenly, Lo Jik’s expression changes. His bright gaze dims, and he looks into an empty space with a dazed look. He blinks and shakes his head.
What was that?
Lo Jik frowns and watches the clone sit up. The memories of the dream surface in Lo Jik as he gasps. To think this clone can fly so well… in a dream. Since Lo Jik stayed in touch with Wei Yang for the entirety of his grind, he knows more about Movement Gu Masters. Although the clone wasn’t stellar, he didn’t look awkward.
Lo Jik quietly inspects the clone’s aperture before noticing the Eagle Wings Gu vanished. He sighs and recovers the Clone’s essence since it cannot regenerate Primeval Essence.
A bitter smile appears on Lo Jik’s face. After all, his Peak Stage Rank 3 Essence isn’t enough.
This Gu advanced to Rank 4.
Its aperture contains Rank 4 Yellow Gold Essence.
‘1000 Dream Cycles for Rank 5. But I need to advance to Rank 4 to let it show its potential.’
Lo Jik questions.
“I suddenly felt something. Was it because of your use?”
The clone scribbles down.
—It was the essence of flying.—
Lo Jik knows better to ask what the essence of flying is. However, he is also a Gu Master with True Inheritances of two Rank 7 Gu Masters.
He can guess what it is after months of questioning.
‘Essence of flying, eh? If what I believe is true, using 15 other Flying Gu Worms wasn’t a waste!’
Lo Jik smirks and retrieves the Dreamer Gu into his Second Aperture.
‘The three-month period is almost over,’ Lo Jik sighs as he walks out. He glances around and doesn’t find Ning Bing. He probably has a match in the Fourth Inner City Battle Stage.
“You came out, Lord!” the guarding youth quickly speaks. “There is another letter for you.”
“Another one?” Lo Jik sighs. He received constant invitations from other shops and Refinement Masters after he won Li Ran’s All-Out Strength Gu. This only worsened once he opened the Thousand Li Earthwolf and got the Essence Cloud Elephant King from Su Shou.
But he goes through these letters regardless.
What if someone has an intriguing offer?
He can always reject it after reading it, right?
But the words on the letter make his eyes gleam.
Finally!
His heart cheers before Lo Jik swiftly prepares.
Mommy’s here!
***
Alternate Title: BNB Checks All The Smut Memes; Someone Should Draw BNB With a Cock Shadow; The Head Rises; Thich It Is; Swollen Thing; It Gets Bigger; No Rest for the Wicked; Becoming Low Key; Spending Money Like Water; Money Exists To Be Spent; Purchasing Materials Left and Right; Preparing for the Breakthrough; Man Proposes, Heaven Disposes; Failing Time and Again; Still Luckier Than Most; The Rising Dreamer; One’s Closed Fist; The Lining Tasks; Nursing Thousand Li Earthwolf; The Daze; Using Flying Movement Gu; Mommy Is Here!
***
A/N: Lo Jik Didn’t Get a Master Attainment from some Rank 3 Gu. All he got is an Ordinary Attainment. After all, being a Master is a prerequisite to advance to Rank 6. It’s hard and may need thousands of Rank 3 Gu/hundreds of Rank 4 Gu/Tens of Rank 5 Gu.
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