"Sign…It's gonna be a long night." Said Yi Yun as he began the arduous task of learning to use primeval essence.
"Hmmm…"
He read the manual cover to cover as he hummed lightly in acknowledgment.
"Now to try the practical side…" he said as he patted his stomach.
He closed his eyes and concentrated, following the manual's instructions to look inward. And saw something that blew his mind.
Absolutely nothing.
Attempt 2 was similar to Attempt 13 in that the only change in the scenery was a bit more groggy darkness.
Eventually, after a long while and an unknown number of Attempts(~30), he succeeded. And what he saw left him stunned.
There, deep inside him, was a mysterious and enigmatic spherical space. The sphere appeared immensely vast and yet infinitely small at the same time. Flowing in it was a particular fluid. Despite being inside him, it was neither red nor white. But;
Green.
The enigmatic sphere had a soft light glowing on its circumference, the official scientific term for which, as Yi Yun remembered, was the philosophical and creative yet deeply simplistic term known as- Aperture Walls.
The fluid being green signified how the young Gu Master was actually at the Rank 1 realm. Basically a greenhorn. And the Aperture Walls being light and flickering like a damaged screen, with the official terminology being the scientific term- 'light membrane aperture walls', along with this green-hued fluid being of the distinct color known as Jade Green, denoted that the young fledgling and weak Gu Master was not just a newbie at Rank 1 but also a complete and utter noob at the Rank 1 initial stage. Truly a saltwater flea among geenhorns.
And the quantity of this fluid, known widely with the euphemistic phrase- 'Primeval Essence', was something that was in fact stored and generated inside the Aperture.
The quantity of this virile and thick fluid determined the potential of the Gu Master. So it is not a lie to say that- 'The more you can swallow, the more far you'll go in life. Now open your mout- aperture.'
As for the quantity of this 'special fluid' one can take inside of them via special stones, which are definitely some unique crystals produced by rare water at certain secret locations, or by the process of natural generation, that is determined by a grading system not unfamiliar to beings of the modern world who have attended a mysterious facility known as 'school'.
The Grading system being:-
A- 'The guy she tells you not to worry about.'
Extremely rare. With a maximum total capacity of 80% to 99%, this talent is extremely sought after. A Gu Master with this talent has the maximum potential to reach Rank 5 in mortal cultivation and possibly, if the Gu Master is 'the guy' or if his grandaddy has the immortal 'jingles', maybe reach Rank 6.
B- 'The guy who peaked in high school, she said yes to.'
Very rare. With a maximum total capacity of 60% to 79%; an individual with this talent is without a doubt a guy who will one day definitely become an elder at the mortal level. That is reaching Rank 4 at old age with a slight hint of dementia as per taste ofcourse. Provided he or she does not get introduced to the novel concept of 'bitch-slap' by a random passing C or D-grade talent when this individual is young.
C- 'The average joe who she rejected.'
Average talent. With a maximum total capacity of 40% to 59%. An individual with this talent is someone who will generally reach the gates of Rank 3 when he is coughing on his deadbed due to multiple hemorrhoids. No matter how hard this individual tries, the peak of his life was only at Rank 3.
D- 'The living failure who got laughed at upon confession.'
Bottom of the barrel. A good fucking legend to mortal families who have been slaving away at the Gu Master family's feet. He is the guy with the short timmy. He is the guy who is the hope of his family which is stuck in servitude. With a maximum total capacity of 20% to 39%, this absolute fucking legend will see to it that his mortal family becomes Mortal ++. Sadly, his life peaked the day it was found that he had Gu Master talent. And it will never peak again.
Then there was the GOAT. The Talent Yi Yun supposedly has. The talent which has names from Legendary Humans who happen to be various body parts and coincidentally children of the Founder of Humans and Human Path, (because why wouldn't some body part when it comes out of you become your child?) The man who committed the ultimate 'Haha I go boom now.' to give birth via explosion to an entire race- Ren Zhu.
Talent -Extreme Physique -'The drug-intolerant suicide bomber.'
With a talent of over 99% and reaching 100%. With regeneration and capacity being over the charts. Ability to cultivate not just by meditating but by even taking a shit. A talent so rare even starting a cultivation clan and hoping for a descendant to have it won't give birth to such a 'Desolate Ancient Moon'. The undisputed Goat of cultivation talent who will also explode if he snorts too much Primeval Stone dust. A legendary narc. Just like the founding father(Ren Zhu) intended.
Such and more deplorable thoughts surfed through 'Great Immortal' Yi's head as he stared blankly at his Aperture deep inside of him.
"I was Dory'd and then told to meet a Xianxia version of 'The Walking Dead' because I was 'the Guy'." he thought to himself listlessly.
"Then why the fuck is it at freaking 69%?!" he exclaimed
"Who the fuck made me cheat?"
"I promise I wanted an honest talent examination!"
"Why did someone Chi Cheng me!?"
"Does consent mean nothing to these people?"
"My body my choice my ass!"
Yi Yun rambled on in agitation. He woke up in an Xianxia world and found out it was the Xianxia world people wouldn't even send their ex into for 'character development'.
Ok fine, atleast it isn't some Lovecraftian bullshit.
Then he found out the protagonist- a Machiavelli asshole who wouldn't hesitate to sell Bai Ning Bing's left nut if it benefitted him was his good ol' classmate.
Ok fine, atleast he wasn't some member of Dong Fang clan or some random mortal clan in the middle of nowhere.
Then he found out he had a very bright future and had 'coincidentally' secured a private 1-1 exclusive limited time date with the very founder of his clan who wanted to check his leeks for locusts.
He felt like a shiny Vaporeon captured by an eager gamer just waiting to be made into a rule 34.
"But alright. I'll accept it. At least I have top-tier talent with the perk of enlightening people like Deidara… Right?"
"No! I do not!"
"Because I just got baited!"
"And not just scammed by a master-baiter, but even got forcefully enrolled into participating in a non-consensual cheating campaign by who knows who." Yi Yun thought, now discovering how he was deeply entrapped in some scheme.
"As expected of the Gu World, right?"
"As expected my ass!"
Yi Yun ground his teeth as if he was cracking walnuts. He breathed in deeply to calm himself.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhal-
"*Cough* *cough*"
"Why did this random leaf fly into my mouth!" he thought as he calmed himself.
As he sighed deeply.
As he looked at the cute little Rank 1 East Window Gu in his hands.
He remained depressed like that with a melancholic expression for a few more moments. Then he sighed as he got up and began looking around the house to see if there was any 'universal solid fluid' around.
After an intensive search, he found a bag in a loose hole covered by a broken shelf in the wall of the 'tree house' containing around a hundred Primeval Stones.
He blinked.
Yi Yun rubbed his eyes. He checked again.
It still looked to be around a hundred.
He shook his head and began counting.
He finished counting as he looked at the bag with narrowed eyes.
The bag stared back inanimatly.
"91 stones." he thought as he blinked.
The number was higher than his pathetic talent.
With a sigh, he reached out and began to refine the East Window Gu.
Slowly and methodically.
It took some time since there was some remnant will of the dead Wang Da inside of the Gu worm. It appeared his 'gentle and kind' Master was about halfway through refining this Gu worm.
And also because his skill in bringing out his inside green fluid was exactly like the skill of a teenager who just found out 'ctrl+shift+n' opened new doors and had found a new perspective in life. No longer satisfied with just Hot Wheels and Transformers. He now understood why the Barbie Doll awakened such nouveau feelings within him. Eager to await when parental supervision would be temporarily rescinded so he could go on a journey of 'self-refinement'.
Exactly like such a young boy, using Primeval Essence made Yi Yun feel both refreshed and overwhelmed with the possibilities. Just like a Senior Developer who found out vibe coding was not about vibing, but was also the key to keeping his job.
The feeling was like having an additional personal fuel tank for secondary life functions. He could move the 'fuel' out and pour it into this disobedient mistress that was the East Window Gu.
And when the tank got low, he could pick up some of this crystal-like stone and snort it.
The snorting was a new experience too.
Yi Yun most loved how his Aperture filled back up when he absorbed Primeval Stones. But when it stopped at the peak of 69%, he felt frustrated. It wasn't due to the fuel having hallucinogenic effects on the human body.
But more due to sleep deprivation and boredom.
After a good sum of 21 Primeval Stones, Yi Yun heaved a sigh of relief.
"Finally."
"I got my first mistress."
He wept tears of joy as he sent the 'mistress' (East Window Gu) to the 'Concubine Palace' (his Aperture).
The East Window Gu, which looked like a ladybug with a square carapace, protruding edges while the middle part was sunken in like a window frame, swam happily in his Primeval Sea which looked like the final form of a Western Desert Oasis.
"Now to slowly absorb information." Yi Yun said lightly with a slight smile as he used a couple more Primeval Stones to refill his decadent Aperture. The mistress- Rank 2 Gu worm- East Window was a greedy slut who wanted a whooping 10% of his precious fluid to function.
Thus, another 2 Primeval Stones were reduced to dust. He didn't bother refilling his 'tank' completely with Primeval Stones because he didn't exactly have an infinite quantity of them. And now he had just used 2 more.
He decided to keep the remaining 68 stones aside in their hiding spot. Sure, he could use them as proof of how the First Generation Gu Yue was so happy that he had given him an entire bag of Primeval Stones with a concrete sum of 68.
But he would not do so.
"It is better to just tell the Gu Yue Clan Head that I went and stood in front of the grave but nothing happened." he deliberated as he looked at his bandaged hand, where the monkey had bitten him. The sleeve and the bandage were both of a dark color so it was relatively unremarkable. But it could still be seen if someone observed carefully. Or if someone used some bizarre and unique Gu worm which majors in this subject.
"Besides, the act of lying and deceiving the Gu Yue Clan Head, by telling him that First Generation Gu Yue wanted him to nurture and protect me- Yi Yun, would have been slightly very slightly feasible if I had an Extreme Physique. Now, though, someone just needs to pat my stomach to check for the 'baby's kick' and then disprove any story I come up with." he analyzed.
After all, why would the First Generation Gu Yue want the clan to nurture and protect some random B-grade talent kid? Sure, an appropriate reason could be come up with, but Yi Yun didn't have the confidence of deceiving the Gu Yue Clan Head in a long-term manner. He was simply too inexperienced. Perhaps if he soul-searched some great Demonic Path master, he would learn a few more tricks and tips. But the current Yi Yun lacked sufficient confidence in this endeavor.
This was a unique situation. Yi Yun had the willingness to deceive and manipulate the clan to extort more resources. Sadly, he lacked confidence in the relevant skills to succeed.
"Better to just tell him that I went and knelt in front of his grave for a long time but nothing happened." Yi Yun decided.
"As for the why nothing happened? Well, I am only a newbie Rank 1 initial stage Gu Master. I don't even have my first Gu worm. You tell me? Also, Clan Head, why did you want me to go to the First Generation Gu Yue's grave? Ah, it's due to talent? Well, I didn't know B-grade talent was so exceptional…" Yi Yun mused.
As he stopped procrastinating and sent his Primeval Essence to the Gu worm.