Translator: CinderTL
Song Wen set down the jade slip, a slight frown creasing his brow.
He had just carefully examined the recipe for the Gu Resonance Pill.
The pill's creation wasn't particularly difficult; with Song Wen's current pill-making skills, he was more than capable of crafting it.
However, gathering the necessary Spirit Herbs for the Gu Resonance Pill was no easy task.
Among them, the Seven Lives Mushroom stood out as a particularly rare ingredient, impossible to cultivate artificially and only found growing naturally in the wild.
Song Wen flipped his hand, producing the jade bottle containing the Gu Resonance Pill. He then summoned the Third-Tier Peak Shadow Gu from within his body.
He currently possessed three Gu Resonance Pills. If the Shadow Gu consumed one, it might break through its bottleneck and evolve into a Fourth-Tier Gu.
Even if the pill failed to advance the Shadow Gu, it would still prove whether the Gu Resonance Pill had any effect on it. Only then would he consider how to refine more pills.
When the Gu Resonance Pill appeared before the Shadow Gu, the Gu became visibly excited. Its body instantly expanded, and it swallowed the pill in a single gulp.
The next moment, the Shadow Gu transmitted an urgent message to Song Wen: it was starving.
Song Wen waved his hand, and the corpse of a Second-Tier giant python, over ten meters long, materialized within the cultivation cave.
To Song Wen's surprise, the Shadow Gu didn't pounce on the giant python's corpse. Instead, it fluttered around him, as if disdainful of the python's body, claiming it lacked sufficient Spiritual Qi.
Song Wen curled his lip.
This little thing has pretty high standards.
The Asura Sect had presented the giant python's corpse to him. It was remarkably intact, with not a drop of its vital blood lost. If sold on the open market, it would fetch at least several thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. Yet the Shadow Gu still found it lacking.
Song Wen put away the python's corpse and retrieved the Toxic Flood Dragon's body, which had met a gruesome end under the Soul Cleaving Blade.
This time, the Shadow Gu finally stopped its disdain. It immediately pounced on the corpse and began to feast voraciously.
The Toxic Flood Dragon's body was enormous, stretching over thirty meters long. Even though the Shadow Gu had grown to the size of a washbasin, it still looked like an ant compared to the dragon.
Yet within the Shadow Gu's body, there seemed to be a separate dimension, capable of swallowing flesh far larger than its own form.
In no time, nearly half of the Toxic Flood Dragon's corpse had vanished into the Shadow Gu's belly.
The Shadow Gu, seemingly stuffed to the brim, lay motionless on the dragon's corpse.
Song Wen put away the remaining dragon carcass and drew the Shadow Gu back into his body. Then, he consumed a Blood Demon Pill and began cultivating.
The Shadow Gu's periods of slumber were long, but it would awaken every few months.
The moment it awoke, the Shadow Gu immediately sent Song Wen a message of hunger.
After eating its fill, it would once again fall into a deep slumber.
Six years later.
Having awakened from its slumber for the tenth time, the Shadow Gu finally stopped asking Song Wen for food. Instead, it conveyed its desire to consume a Gu Resonance Pill.
Song Wen naturally agreed.
After consuming its second Gu Resonance Pill, the Shadow Gu once again sent a message of hunger.
This left Song Wen somewhat helpless.
The Shadow Gu showed no signs of advancing. It had consumed numerous Third-Tier demon beast corpses, but not every Third-Tier demon beast possessed a body as massive as the Toxic Flood Dragon's.
If not for the Asura Sect having several Golden Core cultivators who occasionally managed to slay Third-Tier demon beasts, and if not for the sect's possession of the Jie Mountain Spirit Stone Mine, which provided sufficient Spirit Stones to purchase Third-Tier demon beast corpses, Song Wen might have been forced to abandon his cultivation and personally hunt down Third-Tier demon beasts for it.
After eating its fill, the Shadow Gu once again fell into slumber.
Six more years passed in the blink of an eye.
The Shadow Gu consumed its third Gu Resonance Pill.
Although it still showed no signs of advancing, the changes brought about by consuming the Gu Resonance Pills gave Song Wen a premonition that continuing to feed it these pills would eventually lead to its advancement.
Song Wen decided to continue feeding the Shadow Gu Gu Resonance Pills.
However, he had already used up the three pills he had on hand and needed to start refining more.
Over the past twelve years, at Song Wen's direction, the Asura Sect had been gathering the Spirit Herbs needed to refine Gu Resonance Pills.
They had now collected almost all the necessary ingredients, with only the Seven Lives Mushroom remaining.
One day, Song Wen received a message from Yu Wen through the Starry Line Formation.
Sect Leader, Senior Hao Kong, the Ancestor of the Nine Palaces Sect, wishes to meet you.
Song Wen was puzzled when he saw the message.
After the Asura Sect had seized the Jie Mountain Spirit Stone Mine from the Nine Palaces Sect, the Nine Palaces Sect had not retaliated, but they had severed all ties with the Asura Sect, ceasing all contact.
Moreover, with the news of Yin Shuo's ability to cultivate both righteous and demonic paths spreading, Hao Kong should have easily realized that Yin Shuo was none other than Cui Huo, the one who had tricked him in the past.
Both publicly and privately, Song Wen and Hao Kong had significant grievances between them.
As for the deaths of Tai He and Xi Ling, anyone who had entered the Divine Blood Hall could guess that Song Wen was involved. Yet, no one seemed to have revealed this to Hao Kong. He appeared completely unaware of the matter, at least publicly, as he had never openly declared his intention to seek revenge on Song Wen.
So why had Hao Kong come today?
Song Wen couldn't immediately figure out why Hao Kong had come.
"Where did Senior Hao Kong want to meet?" Song Wen asked.
"Senior Hao Kong is waiting outside Tiancang Mountain right now," Yu Wen replied.
Song Wen grew even more puzzled.
He had previously worried that Hao Kong might have some sinister plot, intending to harm him during their meeting.
But now it seemed unlikely.
Hao Kong was probably here to ask for a favor.
Song Wen decided to meet Hao Kong. He turned and left his Cultivation Cave, heading toward Tiancang Mountain.
Before long, Song Wen saw Hao Kong standing a hundred miles above Tiancang Mountain.
The moment they met, Song Wen noticed that Hao Kong had advanced to the mid-Nascent Soul stage.
"Fellow Daoist Hao Kong, please forgive my rudeness. I didn't come to greet you personally, and I've kept you waiting here for so long. It's truly a breach of hospitality. I hope you'll understand."
Song Wen wore a warm smile, as though he were meeting a dear friend after many years.
He then raised his hand and gestured toward Tiancang Mountain.
"Fellow Daoist Hao Kong, please come to the Asura Sect. I'll treat you to a lavish feast as an apology."
Of course, Hao Kong wouldn't go to the Asura Sect.
If Song Wen harbored ill intentions, wouldn't he be walking right into a trap?
"Fellow Daoist Yin Shuo, you're being too polite. Such a minor matter is hardly worth mentioning."
After exchanging a few polite formalities, Hao Kong stated his purpose.
"Fellow Daoist Yin Shuo, I've come today to ask for a favor."
Song Wen's face was wreathed in smiles, radiating generosity and magnanimity.
"Please, Fellow Daoist, speak freely. If it's within my power, I won't refuse."
Hao Kong's lips twitched slightly.
Song Wen's current demeanor was eerily similar to Cui Huo's when he had promised to forge lightning talismans for him.
In his heart, Hao Kong immediately labeled Song Wen as a "blusterer."
He forced a smile onto his face. "Then I'll thank you in advance, Fellow Daoist."
"Fellow Daoist Hao Kong, you haven't yet told me what this matter is," Song Wen said.
Hao Kong replied, "I wish to invite you and the Asura Sect to join forces with the Nine Palaces Sect in resisting the Profound Yin Sect."
Song Wen frowned. "Resist the Profound Yin Sect?"
Seeing Song Wen's confusion, Hao Kong explained, "Three days ago, Gui Ni personally came to the Nine Palaces Sect and declared that within a year, the Nine Palaces Sect must submit to the Profound Yin Sect. Otherwise, he would slaughter our sect. Once the Nine Palaces Sect falls, the Asura Sect will likely be next."
(End of the Chapter)
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