His soul was trapped inside the dream.
"It should be the effect of Soul Travel Gu," he thought calmly. "It allows the soul to leave the body for a period of time."
Instead of panicking, he quickly analyzed the result. This outcome was not entirely bad. In fact, it might even be useful in combat, though it clearly needed refinement.
Rather than feeling frustrated, Lin Yan was satisfied. Getting a result on the first attempt—especially one with clear effects—was already fortunate. In the past, most of his experiments ended in failure, often causing backlash and injury.
Fortunately, Dream Derivation Gu had strong compatibility, which made this process much smoother.
Since he was already trapped inside the dream, Lin Yan did not waste time. He sat down and began experimenting. Figures like Shen Kuang, Huang Mo, and Lin Qingyao appeared before him, along with Gu such as Human Elixir Gu, Relic Gu, and Solid Gold Gu. Using them as references, he started testing ideas, trying to create a new Gu that could improve aptitude.
Lin Yan had no real worries. Aside from Rank 9 killer moves, all others had limits. Once the effect ended, he would naturally be released. Still, Dream Path was unusual. If he lost control, he might sink deeper and deeper into the dream, eventually unable to wake up.
Not long after, he dissected the abdomen of a human body within the dream, guiding it to refine a Relic Gu while carefully observing the changes in its aperture. At that moment, the dream space suddenly trembled. The dark qi at the edges faded away, and everything returned to normal.
"As expected… the effect has ended."
Lin Yan's eyes flickered slightly. Judging by the time difference, he had only been trapped for about half a minute in reality. With a thought, he exited the dream.
______
Time passed quickly, like a fleeting shadow, and several months went by in an instant. Inside the quiet chamber, Lin Yan sat cross-legged, focusing inward on his aperture. Mid-grade Silver primeval essence surged like waves, crashing again and again against a thin layer of shining light membrane.
Crack… crack… the membrane was already full of fractures, on the verge of breaking. With one final impact, it shattered completely, turning into countless specks of light that merged into the sea, as a new, more stable membrane formed.
Lin Yan's aura trembled as he stepped into Rank 3 middle stage. At the bottom of his primeval sea, strands of stronger essence began to appear, and the Seven Fragrance Liquor Worm stirred with activity, now capable of further refining high-grade Silver primeval essence.
It had been eight months since he reached Rank 3, yet he had only advanced one minor stage.
Lin Yan slowly opened his eyes, but there was no joy in them. He was already seventeen, and only eight years remained until Fang Yuan's rebirth and the beginning of everything. The speed was still too slow, and he only had one Silver Relic Gu.
"With the gains from the beast tide, my primeval stones have recovered to four hundred thousand. If I could get another Silver Relic Gu, things would be much easier."
Lin Yan frowned slightly. Over this period, the beast tide had grown more intense, with Thousand Beast Kings appearing one after another. The Family's Gu Masters had obtained many Rank 3 Gu and brought them to the Flame Lake Gu Chamber for exchange. Taking advantage of this, he had earned a good amount by buying low and selling high.
Unfortunately, Silver Relic Gu were all kept in the Family's secret vault. They were not for sale, only for exchange.
If he wanted more, he would have to go to the markets of the major forces, but that meant crossing the desert—a dangerous journey. For now, he could only wait until the beast tide passed.
Still, not everything was bad. Over these four months, aside from cultivation, he had continued exploring Gu recipes within his dream realm, studying nearly all of the Family's Flame Path recipes and then testing and refining killer moves in reality.
After countless attempts, Lin Yan finally succeeded. With the help of Dream Derivation Gu, Soul Travel Gu, and Clear Mind Gu, he created two powerful Rank 3 Dream Path killer moves, forming his true trump cards.
Developing killer moves in reality was far more difficult than in the dream realm. Every step required careful control, and even the slightest mistake could cause backlash. Only now did he truly understand how difficult it had been for ancient Gu Masters to create killer moves, even with the advantage of Dream Derivation Gu allowing different dao marks to coexist.
Because of this, his soul had suffered heavy strain during this period. He had to buy several rare Gu to heal it, otherwise his savings would have exceeded four hundred thousand primeval stones by now.
But the effort was not wasted. His soul grew stronger through this process, reaching the level of a Thirty-Man Soul.
As for Human Path Gu, he continued experimenting freely within the dream realm. Progress was slow, but not without results.