The man spoke in a hoarse voice, "Are the two Gu I requested for ready?"
"They're finished. Transformation Stone to Mud Gu, and Transformation Mud to Stone Gu."
Lin Yan casually took out two Rank 4 Earth Path Gu. They were large, about the size of millstones, both covered in an earthy yellow shell. One had a large left pincer, while the other had a large right pincer.
The black-clothed man refined them on the spot, checked them carefully, and nodded. "Not bad. Good quality, and done quickly."
After that, he returned the two Gu, adding a dull gray stone. It looked ordinary, but he kept shaking in his hand.
Lin Yan's eyes narrowed slightly as he recognized it. This was a rare material—Nodding Stone. In the original timeline, Han Li had once been fortunate enough to obtain it, and it could serve as a main material for refining Rank 5 Gu worms.
The black-clothed man took out a bookworm and handed it to Lin Yan, speaking in an indifferent tone, "I want you to refine these two Gu worms according to the method in the bookworm."
Lin Yan refined the bookworm and sent his thoughts into it to read the contents. His brows slowly furrowed. This was a Refinement Path technique meant for processing Gu materials. It required melting the Nodding Stone while preserving its nature, then using it to wrap around the two Gu worms.
Once this step was completed, the two Gu worms would be completely ruined, no longer usable as normal Gu. They would instead turn into an unknown semi-finished product, either a special Gu material or a strange incomplete Gu.
To be honest, Lin Yan's refinement ability came mostly from repeated practice in the dream realm. He relied on experience, not on orthodox methods like specialized Refinement Path Gu or supporting killer moves. When it came to precise material processing like this, it was clearly his weak point.
Still, for ordinary Gu refinement, this kind of method was usually not required.
Lin Yan became more certain that this was only a small part of a much larger process, likely related to refining an Immortal Gu.
He gave the black-clothed man a deeper look and said calmly, "No problem."
The black-clothed man nodded, clearly satisfied, and took the initiative to mention the reward. "I don't have any Relic Gu, but I do have a Rank 5 Flame Path Gu recipe—Crimson Fire Handprint Gu. I can give it to you."
Lin Yan's eyes brightened slightly. One could never have too many Rank 5 Flame Path recipes.
As the black-clothed man turned to leave, he paused and said in a meaningful tone, "You handled it well. You didn't interfere in their affairs."
Lin Yan thought about the meaning behind the black-clothed man's words. Was he hinting at Zhang Fang and his group of Refinement Path Masters who were about to make a move?
He shook his head. It was not the right time yet. His thoughts soon entered the dream realm, where he began studying the recipe of Crimson Fire Handprint Gu. To his surprise, this Gu was part of a complete series. It did not only include the Rank 5 version, but also Rank 3 and Rank 4 recipes.
It seemed to evolve step by step from Fire Claw Gu.
Lin Yan felt pleased when he saw this, but he did not act on it immediately. He already had enough Rank 4 and Rank 5 Gu, especially the newly obtained Great Sun Clear Sky Gu, which he had yet to properly integrate into a killer move. He decided to first digest what he already had.
Inside the dream, he continued to deduce killer moves. Whenever he reached a bottleneck, Dream Derivation Gu would give slight hints, helping him adjust his direction. As his vital Gu advanced to Rank 5, these hints became more frequent. With his Master attainment in both Flame Path and Refinement Path, his progress was extremely fast.
At the same time, Lin Yan did not forget to keep a close watch on Zhang Fang and the others.
As expected, more than ten days later, the black-clothed man appeared again. He moved between several Gu refinement shops, taking items one by one before leaving without drawing much attention.
Not long after he left, Zhang Fang and the other Refinement Path Masters also moved. Along with more than a dozen loose cultivator Gu Masters, they quietly followed behind him, keeping their distance and hiding their traces.
"Is it starting?"
Lin Yan's eyes flickered as he stopped his dream practice. A golden-red light shone within his pupils, and the faint mortal world traces around him began to shift and change.
The Rank 4 Hearth God Eye Gu, built upon Fire Eyes and Golden Gaze, gave him the ability to see the traces of cooking fires left by people. These traces were closely tied to Human Path. As long as someone lived in a place, these marks would gather, grow stronger over time, and slowly fade after they left.
Anyone who moved would carry faint traces of these cooking fires on their body, and they would only disappear after some time passed.
Because of this, no matter how carefully Zhang Fang and the others tried to hide their movements, Lin Yan still noticed them leaving and even followed their trail through these faint traces.
He did not hesitate and immediately set off. Using Stone Turtle Gu to hide his aura, he kept a safe distance while tracking Zhang Fang's group from behind.
Soon after, the black-clothed man entered the entrance of a Ten Thousand Li Silk Corridor. Zhang Fang followed closely behind, and Lin Yan quietly slipped in as well.
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