Kao Zha Ji stood with a pondering expression.
"That little brat…Kao Dao Ji…He overdid it!"
Reports of the battle for Shung Mia Yin's inheritance were shown, including live footage of the scenes.
The Qiao Clan especially promoted their victory against all odds.
Whereas Qiao Yun and especially Le Tu became renowned and famous even amongst the Immortal world, their feat as newly ascended Rank 6 defeating a peak Rank 6, was in a way even more impressive than a peak Rank 6 Gu Master defeating a newly ascended Rank 7.
However, whilst that tale would normally bring only deep envy and reverence to the Immortals, there was one key difference.
In the footage Qiao Yun recorded, Clouded Thoughts Gu was pivotal to their victory on more than one occasion.
Even a mighty genius like Qin Jiji got beaten once by it, whereas Uru Hong Jing whilst not strictly beaten by it, was naturally suppressed.
Perhaps without the threat of Clouded Thoughts Gu lingering in his mind, he could have overcome them.
Many impoverished Rank 6 Gu Masters, especially demonic ones, were emboldened by this; they took a huge gamble and used their few Immortal Essence Stones to crazily buy a lot of copies of the Gu.
Others, seeing the trend, began to buy the Gu to try to copy it.
There were some instances where some already renowned Wisdom Gu Masters, who saw great value in the Gu.
Big Brain Daoist, a Rank 7 Gu Master who Cultivated Wisdom and Rule Path alike, was one of those.
And during a short period, he had already deduced an anti-deduction Killer Move named 'Clouded Judgement.'
That absurd, huge demand brought, of course, huge profits to Kao Dao Ji, who was practically laughing his lungs out.
But.
As the supreme Clan Leader, his expression was completely different.
"By this point, who knows how many people have investigated him. By now, they may already know about the color of the underwear his mother wore!"
Generally, this would not be such a huge issue.
They had a Wisdom Path Gu Master who focused on anti-intelligence, but this one was already a sitting duck, as her efforts were centered exclusively on keeping Bai Lin Hua under check.
Speaking of which, that same Soul Cultivator was like an alluring piece of meat; who knows how many have already set their sights on her?
Furthermore.
His expression was tense.
As a Cloud Path Quasi-Great Grandmaster, he had a powerful intuition regarding several matters.
It was a bit hard to describe, but, in a sense, he already had an intuitive understanding of the distribution and natural flow of clouds.
Any slight disruptions to this flow sent a huge ripple across the stream, which propagated like waves.
While he had not been able to discern the source, he already knew that 'somebody' was lurking nearby, and it was not a matter of a single occasion.
Rather, from time to time, his mind kept sending him warnings of:
'Something is near.'
The ripple also felt massive and mighty.
Like the one of a Peak Rank 7 or…
He sighed before shaking his head.
Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.
…
While this happened.
Kao Dao Ji remained in his aperture.
His whole being is completely focused.
His original idea had evolved.
The brain itself remained similar.
But its previous wrinkles and folds turned into something more akin to a nervous system.
Or rather into a stream of endless solid wires.
Which again were made of not hard steel but grey-yin clouds.
Within the insides of those wires, there was now a flowing hot steam spinning around, dragging alongside it the thunderous Qi.
Its previous chaotic mesh turned shockingly stable and fluid.
Like a well-oiled machine, from which one could see the circulation flowing through.
Not only that, but within the steam there was moisture.
Barely perceptible, but some small-golden drops were continuously generated, before being evaporated almost instantly.
Those golden drops were rich in Lighting Qi.
Kao Dao Ji observed his Killer Move patiently.
Whilst his Killer Move looked very odd, it could not be helped.
Those golden drops, which were of utmost quality, could not exist in ordinary environments; if exposed to an ordinary place, they would immediately evaporate.
If one were to explain it, the atmospheric conditions surrounding the zone were such that impossible things could be explained.
And this was not very strange, a high atmospheric pressure back on earth could keep water hundreds of Celsius above in a liquid or even solid state.
One only needed to keep the pressure high enough, and this effect would occur.
Similarly, fluids such as water would rapidly evaporate if exposed to the vacuum of space.
In other words, this was a high-pressure environment meant to forcefully maintain a state of matter that was impossible to find naturally.
Regardless, this liquid had wondrous properties; it would automatically dissolve in the primeval sea in the aperture and would aid in the production of Primeval Essence.
The whole process took a combination of his mastery of Water and Cloud Path to a profound level.
Regardless, there were some areas that still needed some work.
The self-sustaining properties had yet to be added for this prototype.
Another factor was regarding the Gu Master itself; to nourish the aperture, they would need to remain trapped inside that thing.
Not only that, but if they wanted to break through, they would need to put in the work too.
Cultivating normally, whilst in parallel, more and more energy got absorbed in the aperture.
Just how difficult was this?
Furthermore, there were also other considerations.
What air would they breathe while they were there?
How would their body react to high-pressure environments?
In short.
There were still a lot of things that needed to be worked on before this was usable.
Kao Dao Ji took a shallow breath before frowning deeply.
"I guess for that I will need to do some live tests."
As he said those words, from his aperture, he summoned a Human Puppet Gu Worm Rank 3.
Whilst the name itself would make one think of Human Path, it was not so impressive.
It was just a mannequin, a cheap Rank 3 Gu Worm which simulated the human body in similar manners.
It was considered a decent substitute to simulate the conditions of the human body when put under stress.
More or less like the mannequins used for car crash tests back on earth.
Regardless.
Apart from this, there was also an engraved 'Beggar Moth' Gu on its abdomen.
Beggar Moth Gu was a Gu that could store a large amount of Primeval Essence.
Whilst it was not as thorough and all-encompassing as a Gu Worm, it fulfilled its role well.
The Puppet and the Beggar Moth Gu was an attempt by Kao Dao Ji to simulate the Featherman's reaction to the injection of Thunder Qi.
As well as the conditions the body would have to endure whilst trapped inside his Killer Move.
"Of course, using live experiments is going to become a need sooner or later.
Beggar Moth Gu is insufficient for my tests.
After all, the way Thunder Rocks work is that they can stimulate the aperture to indirectly produce essence.
If I were to explain, it is like giving calcium to a person and to give calcium to a corpse.
Whilst calcium itself can help in the production of bones, it still requires the body's inner mechanisms to do so.
And so, similarly, I cannot use Beggar Moth to produce Primeval Essence, nor can I use my Immortal Aperture to achieve the same.
Still. There's a bit of value in seeing what happens inside a pocket dimension, just in case."
His excitement rose.
He threw the puppet towards the sphere, which rapidly absorbed it, and then the puppet was thrown into the sea.
As it did.
Its body began to be forcefully pulled by the powerful tides of steam.
Its body hit in several spots the 'wires' of his aperture.
Soon.
Its right arm got detached, followed by the left leg, then its jaw.
Not only that, but across the fragile body of the puppet, one could see several burning marks across it.
Kao Dao Ji frowned.
"I forgot how fragile human bodies were…"
He waved his hands in the air for a couple of minutes.
And as he did, the insides of that sphere slowly changed shape.
From the outside, it looked like how jelly would act upon being touched.
Kao Dao Ji observed the contents again, as the situation changed.
Kao Dao ji observed its contents.
The hot steam became slightly colder.
Whilst its speeds became far more manageable.
"The lack of oxygen is an issue, too, but this is a problem that cannot be solved normally. I guess the Gu Masters who enter here should modify their organs beforehand, or use another Gu to forcefully produce oxygen.
Similarly, the G forces their bodies will experiment cannot be nullified entirely, they will need to use a low-rank defensive Gu Worm while remaining inside of this."
He repeated his experiment.
This time, the body got pulled softly by the tides of steam.
Several golden drops touched its body, but were repelled by it.
And instead got attached tightly to the 'aperture.'
A soft golden light aurora slowly spread out, illuminating more and more deeply.
Then.
The Beggar Moth Gu exploded into countless of pieces.
Kao Dao Ji nodded.
"Without a way to slowly filter and transform Lighting Qi, of course, it will hit its limit."
"Once I solve the other issues, I should call Kao Qian Hangse.
He's both obedient and ambitious; he would stop at nothing to reach Rank 5.
Furthermore, his Peak Rank 4 aperture is more resilient than the aperture of most others."
"Such a meager test subject. To such a great project.
I would not mind giving you Rank 5 slaves."
Kao Dao Ji opened his eyes widely as he heard a voice speak from behind.
Suddenly, his eyes widened.
In front of him, there was an old man with a pale face, red eyes, and a mocking expression.
"Who are you?" Kao Dao Ji shouted; his guard reached its peak.
How had this enemy been able to evade all his defenses and precautions?
As if noticing his reaction, the man laughed.
"Who I am, you could say I am the man who surpassed Blood Sea Ancestor. And I also am the one who inherited Spectral Soul's will." He stretched his arms widely as he said those words.
"And you can call me 'Crimson Soul' patriarch."
Kao Dao Ji snorted coldly.
"What are you even saying? You say you have surpassed Blood Sea Ancestor, and yet if I am not mistaken, he was a Rank 7.
Yet my aperture feels no burden at all with you here, if you had surpassed him, once you entered into my aperture, I'd have noticed!"
Blood Sea Ancestor smiled at him.
"The only reason why you have not felt 'pressure' is because I am, in the end, a single clone.
My main body is outside.
You can take a look."
Kao Dao Ji squinted his eyes, but warily heeded to his words.
And like he said.
Just a few meters away, the man was standing there, and his aura was of a genuine Rank 8 Gu Master.
"If I enter your aperture even for a second, it will shatter."
Then, he added.
"With this much settled. I must admit, I am impressed.
Very few Immortals would do such a thankless job as improving the breakthrough rate of their subordinates.
Still.
Even if you do succeed in this endeavor, it does not look quite likely that this method will surpass most others.
Having said this…"
His expression changed to one of appreciation.
"I did not expect a mere Land Spirit to make such a thorough Killer Move."
He tilted his head slightly.
"There is also that Gu I have heard of so recently, 'Clouded Thoughts' Gu, a masterpiece they say.
I have not gotten my hands on them yet, but I heard they are quite the treat.
mmm…Such a thorough Killer Move, plus a Wisdom Path Gu Worm and a Killer Move that could be considered half a Wisdom Path Killer Move.
They all seem to paint a certain picture. Are you by any chance a Wisdom Path Gu Master?" As he said those words, greed appeared in his eyes.
Kao Dao Ji gulped.
Subconsciously, he asked.
"What do you want?"
"Many things. But the one I came here originally for was one." He squinted his eyes as he added.
"Have you by any chance seen Bai Lin Hua recently?"
Kao Dao Ji's blood grew cold.