I woke up in the afternoon and felt so refreshed that I made a new poem at the next moment,

‘Upon awakening, fatigue dissipates, gone like a mist,
Revitalized, energized, renewed by sleep's gentle kiss.
Limbs light, mind clear, refreshed from the abyss,
Ready to tackle the day with vigor and bliss.’
I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguished, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space, 
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air

'Ugh... why am I thinking of so many poems, thinking of poems constantly is making me sadder, and last part was kind of morbid and weird, even for me, I do sometimes think of even more wierd poems, and forget them even faster, No!! I should be thinking of less poems and more of how to deal with stuff that I need to do.'

Clan leader had asked me to come to the clan pavilion in the evening.

The clan pavilion was in the middle of the village, reaching 5 stories and having sharp tilted roofs; it was heavily guarded. I was standing before the pavilion.
“The clan leader asked you to come in Young Master,” said the guard.

I nodded and went inside.

There were two people sitting in the room,

Gu Yue Bo showed a kind smile on his face and Hwang Gu showed no expression.

There are many things to discuss so let's go at it one at a time. You did good work Fang Zheng, thanks to you a lot of our clan’s problems have been eliminated. Our strength as a whole have increased, You can be sure that you always have my backing, and as reward For your contributions,

Gu Yue Bo said, “You will be rewarded 2000 Primeval stones right now…”

‘You motherf…’ I thought.

Imagine a parched traveler stumbling upon an oasis, quenching their thirst with abundant water, only to offer a mere drop or none at all to the next weary wanderer they encounter. This was akin to being given a feast but offering only crumbs in return.
I felt just like that, I am his benefactor and this guy just rewarded me with just this?

“And a subsidy of 100 Primeval stones every month For your whole life.”

‘Even Hwang Gu was jealous of that, This was akin to having a stable financial resource for someone’s whole life’

‘Oh so this is why he gave so less amount of Primeval stones, This would be good for anyone else, but me, because I knew the truth! Because I knew the future! The most I could enjoy this was three years but even if I lived my whole life here, and I received 100 primal stones every month it would still not be able to come close to the amount of benefits I gave to the clan.
If only I had power then none of this would have happened I would have been able to take all the benefits for myself.’

‘I thanked him on the outside but felt empty inside’

He continued, “I will help you in your cultivation journey for an hour a day And an elder named Gu Yue Yao Hong from my faction will help you with your cultivation for at least two hours a day and Hwang Gu will help you for at least an hour a day to nurture your refinement path talent. Also, as of right now I will keep your rib cage shield and flesh bone gu until You reach rank three, and When you reach rank three then you can take these from me and use it. As for your jade bone gu and flesh appetite gu, I will give them to you now, make sure to use them well”

“I remember very well that you told me that gen1 ancestor asked you to use jade bone gu on yourself and within six months at that, I must say that is a hard task”, Said the clan leader with a Nodding gesture.

“Just 6 months!”, Exclaimed Hwang Gu and continued, “It will be a hard task indeed.”

‘How will it be a hard task, fang Yuan did it in 2 weeks, But he has excellent willpower so that is why I chose six months for myself, At most I will have to suffer one hour a day, that's all.’ thinking this I said, “I will be able to do it, do not worry clan leader.”

It is quite challenging initial test presented by gen 1 ancestor. You must endure extreme pain for a minimum of one hour daily in order to change your bone structure to jade, a process that will require 180 hours of extreme pain. With a time frame of six months, this translates to enduring agony for at least an hour each day for 180 days. I wish you the best of luck with this endeavor, and I am available to answer any questions you may have and If there is something you need, just say the word.

"Your kindness knows no bounds, and your generosity touches the deepest corners of my heart. Thank you for being the guiding light in my life." I said with a Reverend expression.

‘I felt disgusted inside, even in my previous life I never had to boot lick someone.
I wanted to spit out his face and curse him saying that even after all the sacrifices I made, all you can return is just this, how pitiful! Truly pathetic. This old fart should be kissing my legs right now. Looking at his arrogant face with a satisfied expression made me want to peel his face off.’ I thought

My train of thought continued, ‘Calm down! don't get angry, it's not worth it, The situation you are in right now, you need to be subservient, Only after you get strong enough can you step on him, As I was thinking all of that suddenly I remembered his words, Wait did he just say that I can ask anything from him, This is a great opportunity, I was just thinking about How to proceed with that just yesterday. Nice!.’

“There is one thing I need though Sir Clan leader,” I said with a shy expression

“Ohh ask away, I shall get it done,” replied Gu Yue Bo.

I stated my request And that led to Both of them being very shocked, To be honest, their expressions were on the mark because even if I was in their position I would have been surprised as well.

“Very well If this is your request then I will do what is needed, I shall keep my word, After the search is done I will send Qing Shu to your dormitory, and he will proceed to help you complete your request”, said clan leader with a grinning face.

I left the clan pavilion and went towards the academy to cultivate

“To think he would have such a Surprisingly adorable side to him.” Hwang gu said.

“He is a youth after all, what would you expect.” Replied clan head.

‘Damn… this was more embarrassing than I expected’, I thought as I walked back to the academy.
...
…
…
One week later

The sky was blue and clear, looking pure as if it had been washed clean.
The sun was shining golden.
Puffs of white clouds floated away, and a group of colorful peacock parrots chirped as they flew beneath the blue sky, forming an arrow formation under the clouds as they soared.
‘Ah… These parrots only come during springtime, they always look beautiful’, I thought.

Three days are left for the academy to open again,
I can sense that I am very close to reaching the upper stage of rank one in my cultivation. My Middle stage was water membrane aperture walls; the light that used to flow freely were starting to condense.

Pain!
An intense and inconceivable pain!
I felt like my heart was branded by a scalding hot branding iron,
anywhere the iron liquid passed through in the bones felt like it was being roasted in burning coals.
The pain was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It was a sharp, stabbing sensation that seemed to radiate from my very core, spreading outwards and consuming my entire being. Every breath I took felt like knives were being driven into my lungs, each movement sent waves of agony shooting through my body. I lay there, helpless and alone in the darkness, feeling as if I were drowning in a sea of fire. Tears streamed down my face, my body shaking uncontrollably as I fought to maintain some semblance of composure.

The past few days have been Hell for me, I admit that I had severely underestimated How painful using jade bone gu will be, and I overestimated myself as well, I remember reading in the novel that Fang Yuan Completely used jade bone gu within two weeks.
Jade Bone gu needed the user to suffer pain for 180 hours To change their bone structure from calcium bone to jade bone.

"Fang Yuan completed the task in two weeks, which means he must have used Jade Bone Gu for an average of 12 to 13 hours per day. Using Jade Bone Gu for even an hour can be extremely painful, so his willpower must be incredibly strong. It's hard to imagine what kind of willpower he must have to endure such pain for such long hours."

‘In the past seven days, I've been using Jade Bone Gu, but I've only been able to tolerate it for six hours at a time. On the first day, I could barely endure it for a minute, so I took breaks between using it. After using Jade Bone Gu intermittently for two days, I was able to endure an hour of its use. There was still a great deal of pain despite taking breaks. After six days of practicing, I was able to use it for half an hour in one go. To wash away the accumulation of fatigue and pain, I always use jade bone gu before sleeping. Even remembering it makes me shudder…’

I had made it seem like completely using jade bone gu was gen1 ancestor's first mission to me, I forced myself into this stupid situation of using jade bone gu completely within six months, I overestimated myself, This was such a big mistake… It wasn't my fault that my calculations failed, it was all because of that monstrous individual, Fang Yuan. Just what sort of insane willpower does he have?

But now because of my overestimation I'm trapped, If I don't complete the mission on time, My value in the eyes of the clan leader will drop And that will lead to me not getting resources and him lacking trust in me, and that is something I can't afford.

Other than cultivating and using jade bone gu. There were multiple things that I had to do and one of them was the refining of all gu worms that I have, After all I am not fang yuan and can not refine them instantly, I will have to work hard and refine them at a normal pace.

As of right now I have 6 gu worms and those are:

1.  Flesh bone unity (my vital gu)
2.  Moonlight gu
3.  Flesh appetite gu
4.  White bore gu 
5.  Liquor worm gu
6.  Jade bone gu

I have already refined all of my gu worm except liquor worm, that little silkworm looking insect has unbelievably tenacious will, It is probably because of this liquor worm being baldy wine monk's vital gu, or it probably has a grudge against me because I trapped it inside a jar for one year and then sealed it in an earth Treasury flower against its will.

I bought an entire wild pig with the excuse of feeding a whole wild pig to the flesh appetite gu, but I obviously decided to give it to the white boar gu because of its effectiveness. Since refining the white boar gu two days ago, I have been harnessing its power to make my body stronger.

I have also started buying food for my gu worms already…

•  To sustain my Moonlight Gu, I need to feed it Moon Orchid petals twice a day, with two petals per meal.
• The Flesh Bone Unity gu must be given primeval essence for its food.
• The Flesh Appetite gu requires the same amount of meat as one wild pig for its sustenance.
• The White Bore gu needs the food equivalent of a whole wild pig in a week.
• For the Liquor Worm, one wine jar is needed per week for its food.
• The Jade Bone gu feeds on primeval essence.

If I don't use my gu worms and supply them with primeval essence daily, they can go without food for a week.

Other than that I have also been dual cultivating with clan leader and an elder named Gu Yue Yao Hong.

Also, I have been learning about refinement path from Hwang gu. Each day at dawn I have to visit his house which is nearly at the top of the fucking mountain, he also had a house in the village, but he insisted that using the mountain top house would be better for my training and learn basics of refinement path. When I enter his courtyard in the morning before the sun rises…

The mist-laden Gu Yue valley below is a breathtaking sight, shrouding me in a delicate fog as I walk through the warm, compact courtyard. The cheerful melodies of singing birds surround me, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere. The fragrant mix of jasmine, honeysuckle, and earthy woods fills the air. Despite the enjoyable visits to his house, The amount of climbing the mountain and his words will inevitably take a toll on my mental well-being someday for sure.

Just this morning he was telling me about how his experience was when he learned under his master, “As he stepped into the courtyard of his master’s isolation retreat on the mountain, a blend of excitement and anxiety coursed through him. The heavy scent of incense filled the air, and a distant sound of running water whispered in the background. Here, amidst this serene setting, his journey to mastery was set to begin.

Committing to the path under a refinement master was not a decision made lightly. From the outset, he understood the immense challenges that lay ahead, surpassing any he had encountered before.

Each day commenced well before the break of dawn, under the watchful eye of his teacher. Before the first light painted the horizon, he delved into deep meditation, preparing himself for the trials ahead.

Training was relentless, demanding unwavering dedication. Hours upon hours were spent in gu refining, guided by his master with meticulous attention to detail. Every motion, every breath, was scrutinized as he strived to perfect his manipulation skills.
...
In addition to rigorous mental exercises, I received instruction in strategy, deceit, and manipulation tactics. Drawing from years of experience, my tutor navigated me through the intricate web of alliances and rivalries among his circle... And I will impart that knowledge to you”, Hwang gu told me all this with puppy eyes and a reminiscent expression.

Other than that, for fun I bought a grass puppet from the shop and used Moonblade on it, At the start I wasn't even able to make a crescent shaped blue blade in the air, after trying many times some of them only appeared for a short moment before dissipating away. Some flew out for two to three meters before disintegrating into blue light with a bang. Some flew further, but the direction was severely off-course, flying straight up to the sky. To throw out a moonblade and to have it hit on the grass puppet, it really was not that simple.
...
Five days ago I wasn't even able to hit the puppet. But now,

With a whoosh, a moonblade flew out quickly, drawing a straight line in the air and cutting accurately into the neck area of a grass puppet. 

The grass puppet wavered for a moment, the neck area cut deeply by the moonblade. But very quickly, the green grassy area that was cut began to regrow, tangling together and healing away the wound.

Of course, this grass puppet was not a normal scarecrow. It was a Rank one Scarecrow Gu, having the nature-type ability of self-recovery. Unless the puppet was cut into half at once, it would just recover back to normal in a short while.

For a rank one initial-stage it takes about 10% of primeval essence to use the moon blade once, And for a rank one middle-stage it took about 8% of primeval essence. And I had about 95% of primeval essence with a very high rate of primeval essence recovery. I made it a routine to cut down the puppet every time my primeval sea reached above 90%.

I was also thinking about how to reduce the amount of primeval stone needed for my gu worms, If I don't use my gu worms and don't feed them but supply them with primeval essence daily, they can go without food for a week.
…

The group of colorful peacock parrots chirped as they flew beneath the blue sky flying above gu yue village, I was admiring their beauty as i heard someone call my name.

“I greet senior Qing Shu.” I said while cupping my fist with a respectful expression on my face.