Fang Tian's aperture was filled to one hundred percent with dark red steel primeval essence. Aside from this, more than a hundred Gu worms were scattered everywhere; some dived deep into his primeval sea, others clung to the walls of his aperture, and some swam about like fish. Suddenly, three auras of rank three Gu worms flared up, increasing the suppression on the lower-ranked Gu worms.
Fang Tian could not refine such a massive number of Gu worms quickly without any external assistance, so he released the auras of the rank three Gu worms to suppress those of lower rank. Normally, a Gu worm one rank higher could only slightly suppress those below it, but when greater numbers gathered together, the pressure became unbearable for the lower-ranked Gu worms.
Thus, the Gu worms convulsed in fear under the auras, and Fang Tian's primeval sea churned as he began refining the Gu worms one by one. Refining a single Gu worm took from one minute to several minutes, and Fang Tian had more than a hundred!
Then, after several hours of cycling primeval essence into a Gu worm, suppressing its wild will, and refining it, Fang Tian finished refining two-thirds of the Gu worms, becoming severely exhausted.
"Ah, this is so exhausting. There are still several hours until dawn; perhaps this is the only good thing about this dreadful jungle."
Fang Tian had sealed the entrance of his cave with a massive boulder to prevent any beasts from approaching. Although the forest seemed quiet, night was the time when beast groups became active. After confirming that there was nothing outside his cave, Fang Tian fell asleep; the long journey from Mount Shu Jian, fleeing from beasts, fighting, and seizing this cave had exhausted him.
Although Gu Masters were lofty and powerful, and some could even shatter mountains and unleash power beyond the imagination of mortals, in the end they were still humans who needed sleep, food, and to relieve themselves. Some used Gu worms to forgo certain human needs, such as Gu that cleansed the intestines or Gu that allowed them to go without food for weeks, but there was one thing they could not avoid, and that was sleep.
Everyone needed sleep; even Gu Immortals needed sleep. If one went without sleep for too long, it could damage the soul, causing it to become restless.
Fang Tian awoke after several hours of sleep, feeling his body renewed with vitality, and, more than that, a smile covered half his face. He was genuinely excited, like a child who had obtained a new toy and was now exploring how to play with it. To Fang Tian, cultivation itself was an extremely enjoyable game, and every day he discovered something new within it.
After washing his face and tidying his tattered robe, Fang Tian returned to the cave and sealed the entrance again, intending to sort and organize his gains. He first took out the Stomach Tempering Gu that he had refined in cooperation with Xiao Lin's will.
Stomach Tempering Gu resembled a gigantic cooking cauldron two meters tall and one meter wide. At the front of the cauldron was a toothless mouth, gaping wide, into which one could insert a hand without any problem. Fang Tian injected all of his primeval essence into Stomach Tempering Gu, barely managing to activate it. He closed the cauldron's mouth slightly.
Then Fang Tian took out a Gu worm from his aperture and tossed it into the cauldron. The Gu worm was pulled in by Stomach Tempering Gu, and Fang Tian felt his connection to the Gu worm weaken slightly, though it still existed. Fang Tian pulled the Gu worm out of Stomach Tempering Gu again, and it had returned more than half full!
"This is amazing, truly amazing!… This Gu is simply revolutionary. It can feed a rank two Gu worm to more than half full. I don't need to worry about feeding Gu worms that I don't need; I can simply store them inside Stomach Tempering Gu and not use them, and they won't die!… Ah, the food path is truly revolutionary and mysterious."
Fang Tian took out the remaining Gu worms from his aperture, and they were sucked into Stomach Tempering Gu by a powerful suction force. But then something else happened: the cooking cauldron let out a pained sound, as if it had reached its capacity. Fang Tian placed most of the Gu worms inside Stomach Tempering Gu, but he still had around sixteen Gu worms he wanted to put in as well.
He tried to put in more Gu worms, but Stomach Tempering Gu only accepted four more before completely closing its mouth. Fang Tian frowned, but he was not truly disappointed; honestly, if Stomach Tempering Gu could contain all of his Gu worms, that would be even more ideal than necessary.
Thus, Fang Tian's aperture was left with around twenty carefully selected Gu worms. Most of them were rank two and rank one. They were as follows:
Rank three: Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus Gu. Merchant's Pocket Gu. Stomach Tempering Gu.
Rank two: Seed Swallow Gu, Wood Origin Gu, Sprout Gu, Jumping Grass Gu, Strength Bestowal Gu, Green Jade Bones Gu, Ice Blade Gu, Scent-Seeking Butterfly Gu, Heat Serpent Gu, Copper Skin Gu, Piercing Current Gu, Jade Bark Shell Gu, Vine Garden Gu.
Rank one: Green Copper RelicGu (2), Air Vibration Gu, Cooling Gu, Horse Strength Gu, White Boar Gu.
Fang Tian had extorted an enormous fortune from the rank three Gu Master, to the point that he had completed most of his wood path Gu worm set. He was only lacking detection and storage. He could replace detection with Gu worms such as Scent-Seeking Butterfly Gu, Heat Serpent Gu, and Air Vibration Gu. As for storage, it was not an urgent need; Merchant's Pocket Gu was one of the best storage Gu worms at rank three.
In any case, Fang Tian now possessed a complete, diverse set of Gu worms. He could attack with various methods at long range or close range; he could detect people through scent, thermal vision, or sound-wave vibrations. He could defend with great effectiveness and move at extreme speed.
It could be said that Fang Tian was now comparable to rank three in terms of versatility of methods and battle strength! This was the advantage of possessing an extreme physique.
"But I need practice; no one can rely on using Gu worms by luck alone… Now I have the opportunity to train in using this set of Gu worms. I can even finish using Horse Strength Gu within a month, then begin using White Boar Gu, and then use Green Jade Bones Gu to reinforce my skeleton."
Fang Tian planned in his mind. Then, after several minutes, his focus returned to his aperture. He sent a surge of primeval essence into the watery walls of his aperture. All Fang Tian needed to do was send small waves of primeval essence to strengthen the foundation of his aperture, which was already at the boundary between the middle stage and the upper stage. The waves continued to lightly strike the watery walls of the aperture until small cracks formed upon them.
With a powerful surge of primeval essence, Fang Tian delivered the final blow. The watery walls of the aperture collapsed and melted into the ocean of his primeval essence.
Fang Tian broke through to the upper stage with extreme ease because his aptitude allowed it. The apertures of the Ten Extreme Physiques nurtured themselves even if the Gu Master did not cultivate; in truth, all Gu Masters' apertures did this, but the process was extremely slow and showed no obvious effect except in the Ten Extreme Physiques, whose apertures were filled to the brim with primeval essence.
Thus, during the entire time Fang Tian spent refining Gu, his aperture had been nourishing itself, and when he attempted to break through to the next stage, it was very easy because the foundation had already been laid.
"This is truly terrifying. My sense of impending doom has increased… I estimate that I still have about two more years before my aptitude reaches its peak. I must find a solution by then. If Gu Yue Village still existed, I could go and bully that ancestor… ah, forget it, he would probably beat me to death."
Fang Tian sighed gloomily and returned to cultivation. His breakthrough had not taken long, so he used Horse Strength Gu; green light spread throughout his body, adding more horse strength to his physique. When the pain reached an unbearable level, Fang Tian stopped and wiped the sweat from his brow.
His strength increased slightly, though it had not yet reached a point where it made a huge difference, but Fang Tian did not worry about that. He left the cave to practice using his new Gu worms.