Eager to continue his exploration, Liu Chen's gaze shifted to the White Jade treasure box he had retrieved from the underground river.
He took a deep breath, steadied his mind, and selected "Open" without hesitation.
The moment the box opened, a faint light flashed, followed by the synthetic voice of the system echoing in his mind:
"Reward obtained:. Upon opening, you can randomly obtain 1 to 9999 Primeval Stones."
Before the voice could even fade, a palm-sized hemp bag appeared in Liu Chen's hand. It was heavy and made a dull thud when he set it down, it was clearly filled to the brim.
"A primeval stone reward! Excellent!" Liu Chen exclaimed in a low voice, his face lit with a joyful smile. This White Jade box truly lived up to his expectations. Compared to other rewards, primeval stones were the most practical resource. For a Gu Master, they were indispensable for cultivation, and the lack of them often led to a life of misery and stagnation.
"I wonder what my luck is like?" Liu Chen muttered to himself. Looking at the bag that could yield a random number of stones, he couldn't help but think of Luck Path Gu worms.
"If I had a Gu that could increase my luck, wouldn't I be able to obtain even more?" He mused. Luck Path Gu were legendary and extremely rare; in the entire Gu World, those who possessed them were as few as phoenix feathers.
Without further delay, he opened the bag. With a shua sound, a flood of stones poured out from the small hemp bag, instantly covering the floor. Under the moonlight, the stones gave off a translucent, crystalline glow, shimmering like a bed of stars in the night sky.
After a careful count, Liu Chen was stunned: "Two thousand three hundred and thirty three stones!"
While the number was impressive, he knew that for a truly lucky person, this might not be considered "great." Nevertheless, these two thousand plus stones were enough for him to cultivate to the peak of Rank 2. For a short time, at least, he would not have to worry about resources.
However, his aptitude was still mediocre. To break through the Rank 3 barrier, he knew he would still face significant difficulty.
With this in mind, Liu Chen naturally turned his attention to the last reward, the iridescent, crystal-like Newbie Treasure Box. He took a deep breath and opened it.
Immediately, a dazzling radiance erupted from the box. As the light faded, Liu Chen's vision cleared, and he gasped in surprise. A single Gu worm had emerged from the box.
"Reward obtained:. A Rank 5 consumable Gu. After activation, it can carve Sword Path Dao Marks onto the Gu Master's body, increasing their aptitude, and condensing a Rank 1 Sword Embryo within the aperture."
"Sword Embryo Gu: A Rank 1 Sword Path Gu worm. It possesses the unique trait of 'Nurturing and Refining as One.' By feeding it different Gu materials, it can be raised and refined into various specialized Sword Embryo Gu."
The Gu was exquisite and tiny, no larger than a bird's egg, yet it emitted a faint golden glow, resembling a piece of translucent amber. Most striking was the interior: encased within the amber-like shell was a miniature, edgeless sword. The sword was entirely silver, lacking any luster, which created a sharp contrast with the glowing outer shell.
The moment the Gu landed in his palm, a flood of memories surged into his mind like a tidal wave. It was an inheritance!
"The Nameless Sword Path True Inheritance!" Liu Chen's eyes widened. This was not just a Gu; it was a complete legacy. It contained the entire progression of the Nameless Sword Path, from Rank 1 all the way to Rank 5. Every rank was documented with detailed Gu recipes, including the foundation of the inheritance the Sword Embryo Immortal Gu recipe!
Beyond recipes, the inheritance included various killer moves, cultivation techniques, and even insights into the process of Immortal Ascension. For Liu Chen, this was an unimaginable fortune.
"Nameless Sword Path True Inheritance... Innate Sword Embryo Gu... System, you really delivered!" Liu Chen stared at the Gu in his hand, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst.
However, as the initial joy subsided, a realistic problem surfaced: "How am I supposed to use this Gu? Can I even refine it?"
Despite his Rank 1-3 cultivation knowledge, facing a Rank 5 Gu felt like a small child trying to lift a heavy axe. Refining a Gu is no simple feat, especially for someone at the Rank 1 initial stage. Even refining a Rank 1 Gu could take ten days to half a month. Refining a Rank 5 Gu was essentially an impossible dream.
Thinking of this, his mood plummeted. If he couldn't refine this Gu, then even the chance to increase his aptitude was just a mirage. The feeling was more painful than death.
But Liu Chen was not one to give up easily. He took a deep breath and began to brainstorm other possibilities. After some intense thought, an idea struck him: use his green-copper primeval essence to wrap the Innate Sword Embryo Gu and see if he could force a refinement.
The method sounded risky, but at this stage, he had no other choice. He decided to treat the situation like a "dead horse as if it were alive" and attempt the refinement.