I used Sound Steps to regroup with Bolin and Hioshi, both of whom were glad to see me again.
"Was there lava there?" Bolin asked eagerly. "Did you find the beast we've got to beat?"
"There's no lava there. It's more like a desert made of miniature hot coals. As for the beast, it's a mutated emperor snake-like creature that belongs to the fire path."
My response only confused them both.
"Fire path? In a sound path event?"
"Do you think you can beat it?"
"It is possible to have beasts of other paths in certain events. It's just odd. Maybe that's why we were given this mission—to make this place more balanced for sound path beasts. As for dealing with the beast, I probably can, but it's not a 100% guarantee. This beast can rival desolate beasts, and it also has an Immortal Gu while I don't have one."
After hearing that, they were left speechless for a while.
"An Immortal Gu? What Gu is it, and is it a fire path Immortal Gu?" Hioshi asked.
"I don't know its name. It's a sound path Gu but with a fire path effect. You guys wouldn't survive even with me protecting you."
"So what do we do now?" Bolin asked.
"We do what I planned earlier—get all the Gu inheritances and as many materials as possible."
"And if we run into other players?" Bolin asked.
"We eliminate them. I don't want anyone else taking Gu inheritances away from me or trying to subdue the beast before us. You two need to be aware at all times. The very fact that I'm here and the mission is so difficult means that any other players here have a high cultivation, and there's a good chance they have a strong sound path Gu set."
"Yeah, the sooner Hioshi and I get a proper Gu set, we'll at least be able to escape danger," Bolin said.
Though I doubted they'd be safe even with a Gu set. At Rank 1, there's not much they could do against higher-rank Gu Masters, but at least they'd be able to protect themselves to a certain extent in the wild.
"Well, if even you an immortal aren't sure about beating the beast, we don't have to worry too much about the other players beating it," Hioshi said.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that."
"Are you going to try to get the Immortal Gu?" Hioshi asked after a while as we traveled back to where I found the demonic Gu Master inheritance.
"Of course I'm going to get it. Immortal Gu are far too valuable not to take. I don't plan on using it, but I could always keep it for a future Gu Immortal in my sect or trade it for a different Immortal Gu that I can use."
"Wait, you have a sect?" Hioshi asked.
Right, he doesn't know—only Bolin does.
"Yes. After this event is over, I plan on making my own sect. In my sect, cultivation talent won't matter, as I'll be giving cultivation-assistance Gu to those who join. Even a D-grade talent could reach the immortal rank with my help, but of course they'd have to prove they're worth it to me."
"Cultivation assistance Gu… can I join? My father is working on getting a Gu that can store some primeval sea essence so that we can both progress, but I know it won't be enough."
True. Even if you have a Gu that can store your primeval sea essence, without good talent increasing through the small stages would take forever. Lucky for him, my Liquor Worm would be the perfect combo for a primeval essence storage Gu.
"Those who join my sect will receive a Liquor Worm and can even have it ranked up through me. But even if I give you these Gu, whether you survive and thrive in your environment all depends on you. You're welcome to join, but let me remind you that you should stick to the refinement path. As a Hairyman, it's your greatest strength, and if you're inheriting your family's refinement Gu, all the more reason to do so."
"A Liquor Worm and its higher ranks?… Are you perhaps a food path Gu Immortal?" Hioshi asked.
"Wait, you're giving Liquor Worms and can rank them up for us. Do you have the Liquor Worm at the immortal level? Does that mean you have access to Rank 7 Immortal Essence Beads?" Bolin asked.
"No. The immortal-level Liquor Worm already exists in the world. As for the rest, don't worry about it."
My response only made them more curious about me, so more questions followed, but I ignored them. Eventually Hioshi stopped, and even Bolin stopped asking questions.
We continued traveling back to the demonic Gu Master inheritance while avoiding danger and dealing with unavoidable problems.
Something left me confused, though. After all this time, I hadn't seen a single other player. Either they were too far from me, or they were on the other mountain.
I'd like to eliminate all the other players as soon as possible. The longer they stay, the more resources and Gu inheritances they'll take. But with Bolin and Hioshi with me, I can't do as I please. If they die, I'd be eliminated too since this is a group mission.
After a day of traveling, we made our way back to the cave where the demonic Gu Master inheritance was.
At the entrance was a qi barrier with a stone slab in the center that read:
"One must calm the beast inside and the beast inside oneself to survive."
This is what makes this inheritance a demonic one. Righteous inheritances don't threaten your life, while demonic ones will gladly take yours to ensure a worthy inheritor receives the inheritance.
It also had a Gu recipe carved at the bottom.
"Wait—I recognize this Gu recipe… it's for the Peaceful Melody Gu, but it seems to be a bit different. It looks like a higher-rank recipe for it," Hioshi said excitedly.
"Yeah, it most likely is a Rank 2 or 3 recipe for it. That means we have to refine this Gu to subdue the creature inside," I responded.
"If we could get a Rank 5 recipe for Peaceful Melody Gu, do you think we could subdue the creature inside the valley?" Bolin asked.
"No. Peaceful Melody can relax a being, but not suppress or enslave it."
Still, I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere there was a method to do just that. Otherwise, how could Gu Masters weaker than me even hope to complete this mission?
If I could enslave the snake, that'd be best. But although I have enslavement methods, none of them are sound-path based.
"So should we go get the materials to refine it then?" Bolin asked.
"No. If all that's necessary to subdue the beast inside is a Rank 3 Gu, then I could kill it easily. Let's go—and stay by my side."
Stepping through the qi barrier, the cave had not a single sound inside, as if nothing alive was present. Yet the cave was filled with light blue crystals producing light and blue grass with flowers growing inside.
These plants were sound path materials that grew by absorbing sound. That explained why it was so quiet inside.
As we went deeper into the cave, water collected into a small pond—but no sound came from it.
I decided to use Echo Location. Its effect was greatly reduced here, but not long after I heard something.
A horror-movie-like screech rang out.
Dao Devourer activated to protect me, but Bolin and Hioshi were not protected. Panic overtook them Hioshi fell to his knees, and Bolin was about to run.
I grabbed him to stop him.
"Calm down. It's just the effect of a Gu that causes fear to those who hear it. Remember with me here, a Gu Immortal nothing can hurt you."
My words calmed them a little, but the main reason was that the screech stopped.
"Hioshi, try to recall that sound with Mimic Sound Gu. You'll at least be able to copy its intimidation ability."
Hioshi didn't respond—he just nodded.
But I had no time to tend to them. Echo Location showed me what made the terrifying sound, and it was headed straight for us. Thanks to this special location, its steps made no sound.
Within seconds, a large elk-like creature appeared. It had horns with flowers growing on them and smooth gray fur covering its body.
It lowered its head and charged right at us.
I looked straight at it and used a different killer
move.
POP.
A sharp sound rang out, and the elk flew backward as if hit by a truck—but it wasn't down.
This place nerfed my attack. Normally, that should have killed a beast like this.
Instead of running away, the beast charged again and screeched.
Once again, Dao Devourer activated to protect me as I released another attack.
The beast slammed into the floor. Its legs were injured as it tried to stand, only to be struck again.
With one final attack, it was down for good.
A Gu resembling a brown tick tried to escape but was too slow. I grabbed it and instantly refined it.
I checked all over its body, but like I thought, it had no other Gu on it. Otherwise, it would have activated during the fight.
The killer move I used was called Sound Bash. It was a very common sound path killer move with many variations. Hell Screech lets out a strong sound path attack, but it was more of an AOE kind of attack, and in here it'd get nerfed.
Sound Bash concentrated the sound attack on one focused target, so it was loved by many sound path cultivators, who would then alter it to fit their Gu.
"What was that? That feeling of panic was so strong I thought I would have had an anxiety attack," Bolin said.
"It was this Gu. It seems to make those who hear it panic and feel great fear. Peaceful Melody Gu must have been the counter to this, but this is truly a demonic Gu Master inheritance. Even with Peaceful Melody, without strong offensive methods, this beast would have killed many who tried to obtain this inheritance."
I showed them the Gu I obtained as I went to the area where the elk came from.
It was very aggressive, otherwise I would have kept it alive and put it in my blessed land.
The place where the elk came from had tall silver flowers like all the others that grew by absorbing sound, with a small water pond in the center that was formed by a large blue light crystal that was dripping water down.
On the stone wall was an engraving that told the story of a rank 3 sound path Gu Master called Panic. His core Gu was Panic Gu, the very Gu that was on the elk. He had the Gu recipe for it all the way to rank 3, with a half-complete rank 4 recipe for it. As for the rest of the Gu, it was common sound path Gu that didn't interest me.
This Gu needs to be paired with Peaceful Melody, otherwise the user will be affected by it too, as its effect works indiscriminately, which explains the beast's aggressive nature.
So I'll give the rank 1 Gu recipe to Hioshi, who already has Peaceful Melody.
"Is this where the Gu inheritance is?"
Both Bolin and Hioshi came in.
"Yes, but this inheritance is nothing special. The only useful Gu is the one the beast used, called Panic Gu. Memorize the rank 1 Gu recipe for it, Hioshi. It pairs with Peaceful Melody Gu. As for you, Bolin, you're going to help me harvest all the flowers and grass here."
We spent hours collecting the greenery here. Eventually, with most of the plants taken, sound began to be heard from the cave. The flowers here were apparently the food for Panic Gu, so after setting aside some, the rest went into my blessed land.
"Now what?" Hioshi asked.
"We will, rest for the night here. Tomorrow we search the areas on this mountain we have not looked through while also looking for a way for you two to reach the other mountain."
I'd also like to start looking for more inheritances and resources to take. Maybe there's a sound path inheritance that has to do with the Immortal Gu.
If there is one, the value of the Immortal Gu would rise. If I can get mortal killer moves that use the Immortal Gu, I can elevate them to the immortal level with less effort. Though I'd probably still just trade it or keep it for a future Gu Immortal in my sect.
During the night I let out two masked wills and equipped them with gu. One watched the entrance of the cave, and another stayed near us. However, nothing disturbed us during the night. The elk in here must have been the only beast alive here, and the barrier out front stopped anything else from entering.
I gave Bolin a knife and had him scratch out the guy recipes to ensure no one else gets it.
After eating some of the elk, we stored as much of the meat as we could, cutting it thin to smoke overnight.
I looked at the blue light crystals in the cave. I'd like to take them with me, but I had no sound path method to take them safely. My methods would cause a cave-in.
"Let's go."