Under the flickering light of the burning wax sticks created from rank 1 wax pillar gu aka candle, Fei Cai observed the tiny, thumb-sized cauldron. Until now, he didn't dare commit any rash action and carefully traced his fingers across the surface of the cauldron. Though sturdy looking, the cauldron was soft to touch even if it gave off a metallic sheen. This fragility restricted Fei Cai from pinching the strange object by his thumb and index.

Finally, Fei Cai decided to depend on his primeval essence and mobilized a thin stream of the jade green sea within his aperture. The moment his primeval essence came into contact with the green cauldron, it trembled. If it was just a tremble, then Fei Cai's expression might not have changed. But, with every slight vibration, the surface of the cauldron was shaved off a little bit. Green particles fell on Fei Cai's palm, and even when he had already stopped injecting his primeval essence, the cauldron kept on corroding.

A few moments passed silently except for the strange 'whirring' sound that the cauldron let out. The legs of the cauldron were already turned into green dust, and the intricate cauldron was in a spherical shape. The last crust of the cauldron fell off and under Fei Cai's focused gaze, revealed a light brown insect. Its surface was exceptionally smooth as if a black screen while the head of the bug did not have any eyes but a tiny protrusion with a symbol that made Fei Cai observe the gu worm with a slightly amused expression.

This was a gu worm, all right.

From its surface to the rank 1 aura projected. 

But, the strangest feature about this gu worm was that the mark on the tiny protrusion of the gu worm was something Fei Cai was familiar with from his previous world. This was the sign of the 'power' button present in many electronic devices. The round pattern with a straight line cutting from the top half and reach the center was a widely spread symbol found in remote controls, computers, and other daily use devices. Fei Cai thought for a moment before refining the gu worm. The only way to find the real use of this gu worm and trying to understand the origins would be to refine it and attain its ownership. However, unlike Fei Cai's previous experience, the gu worm was refined instantly.

Every single wild gu worm had a will of its own, and to refine a gu worm successfully, a gu master needs to erode the original wild will with his own primeval essence and will. This is the reason why a Gu Master needs to rest periodically while refining the gu worm into the aperture. The mental burden also depends on the rank if the gu worm. So, the instance of the gu worm allowing itself to refine easily was the strangest situation Fei Cai encountered after his reincarnation. 

The rank 1 gu worm in Fei Cai's palm glowed softly and entered his aperture. Inside his aperture, Fei Cai found the gu worm swimming within the jade-green sea energetically. 

'Should I use it?'

Fei Cai thought for a moment before using the gu worm. There was no point in hesitating and wasting time after reaching this point. Injecting his primeval essence into the gu worm, it shot outside his aperture and, under his astonished eyes, penetrated into his brain! Fei Cai stopped in his tracks. Now, he didn't dare to take any further actions without a brief period of observation. He closed his eyes and tried to sense the connection he refined with the gu worm. Sensing Fei Cai's thoughts, the gu worm activated, and finally, the astonished gu master 'saw' an interactive interface controlled by his own thoughts.

It was a screen projected within his consciousness. The top right corner of the screen stated— Computer Gu Worm... Initializing... 

'Ah, hello? Mic gu test, mic gu test. Is the video recorder gu working?'

The moment the dark, blank screen subsided, without even being able to regain his composure, Fei Cai observed a video feed transmitted to his mind. The man in question was ordinary-looking youth with short black hair that did not conform to the norms of the long-haired warriors of this world. Fei Cai was almost enamored by the unending depths of the man's pupils, even if the stranger wasn't present in real life. 

*Snap*

The figure in the screen snapped and grinned, "Hmm, this should also fix the issue of my aura turning your brain into mush. Now, I know you have a lot of questions. You may not even know that people like us, who arrive from the different worlds, are referred to as— Otherworldly Demons. In this computer gu, you will find all the information you need."

The man then looked into the distance with a ponderous look. The background of the man was blurry.

"I am not proficient in leaving inheritances yet," the man suddenly said with a shrug, "But as the first inheritance out of all the ten legacies I plan to plant, I think that I should make this equally special, considering that this is only a rank 1 gu worm."

The man then chuckled. "Yeah, you know what, I, Thieving Heaven, am not as petty as rumored."

A shiver ran through Fei Cai's spine as the man's next words made the young gu master finally lose his composure.

"I will present this inheritance with everything."

***

"Elder Cousin, how is Fei Cai?"

Playing a round of war tactics was the siblings' favorite way to spend their time when the tribe responsibilities did not burden them. Fei Chang pushed a lizard-faced piece forward while Fei Qing took his time to think about the next move. The higher the cultivation, the greater the accumulation needed to achieve a breakthrough. For a peak-stage rank 4 gu master, Fei Qing couldn't breakthrough overnight. Much preparations were required, and out of them, dozen of thousands of primeval stones was bare minimum. 

Hearing Fei Chang's inquiry, Fei Qing felt his heart tremble the moment he recalled the size of the wound and exhaled softly. He should not feel attached to his son, but what could he do? Fei Qing was just like this— a concerned father before a cruel Chieftain. 

"His injuries are better. It is his defensive gu worm that needs to recuperate. Honestly, who confronts a greenhorn salamander in such a manner? He only needed to target the head."

"Look at the situation in this manner," Fei Chang suggested, "Nephew earned a priceless experience, and today's injury would also serve as the necessary foundation to remain cautious. It is just that..." Fei Chang hesitated slightly.

"Pain is the natural barrier between the mighty and the mediocre," Fei Qing stated while understanding Fei Chang's thoughts. In the long path of cultivation, pain and sacrifices are the staple product. If a Gu Master doesn't endure pain and cannot make appropriate sacrifices, he will remain mediocre if alive at all. "I really hope Little Cai doesn't let his battle's reward destroy his future accomplishments. But all of this depends on him."

Unlike the parents of Earth, no matter how warm Fei Qing was to his family, the Chieftain's heart was set on letting Fei Cai face this situation himself. If Fei Cai doesn't stand on his own two legs and walk forward, how could he ever dream of becoming great?

"Elder Cousin, let's not worry too much," Fei Chang chuckled as Fei Qing made a mistake and took advantage by destroying his cannon fodder with a single move, removing a significant obstacle in the game. With a satisfied smile, Fei Chang continued, "There have been exceptions, right? Giant Sun Immortal Venerable could turn every disaster into fortune and escape unscathed! Among all the venerables, he may be the one who sacrificed the least and even managed a harem of millions of women!"

Fei Chang exclaimed in emotion. He was full of reverence towards the Venerables of the world. Seeing his expression, the level-headed Fei Qing shook his head.

"How can we compare to the likes of the ten Venerables?"

Fei Qing questioned rhetorically. In the past millions of years, amongst trillions of humans, only 10 legends reached the point of invincibility. These are the ten Venerables! Even Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, who hailed from the Northern Plains, might have sacrificed many things in his life to reach his status. How can Fei Qing even compare his son to the legend that defines the current norms of the society?

"Fei Chang, let's not get ahead of ourselves. In this life, breaking past rank 5 is already a dream, why should we let ourselves drown in emotions?"

Hearing Fei Qing's words, Fei Chang awoke from his stupor and nodded with a wry expression.

"Speaking of which, I have decided to impart my poison path inheritance to Little Nai," Fei Chang whispered his intentions of making his eldest son the successor to his methods and lifelong accomplishments. 

"This might be slightly troublesome, considering that Fei Mang has shown a decent aptitude."

Fei Qing muttered. Unlike him, Fei Chang had two sons— Fei Nai and Fei Mang. If he decides to impart his inheritance to Fei Nai, then it would create a rift between his younger son in the scenario of Fei Mang receiving nothing. Should Fei Chang split the inheritance, or impart the entirety of his legacy to both of them, then it would create a deeper scar in between the relationship of the two siblings.

"It's taken care of. Today, Fei Dan proposed marriage for his daughter and Little Mang. This will ensure that Fei Mang receives Fei Dan's pointers."

The upper-level management of the Fei Tribe was reasonably straightforward. Fei Qing led the tribe as the Chieftain, while Fei Chang acted as the most influential elder and the Chieftain's powerful rival to keep a sense of political discord and advance the tribe through minor conflicts. Aside from this, there were three peak-stage rank 3 elders— Fei Sheng, Fei Kao, and Fei Dan. Fei Kao was deeply rooted in Fei Qing's side while Fei Sheng and Fei Dan sided with Fei Chang.

Out of the three elders, Fei Kao was a hermit, Fei Sheng had a single daughter who was already married, and only Fei Dan seeded a daughter which, he was now willing to use as a political piece and turn the active partnership between Fei Chang into a marital relationship. This way, Fei Dan would have Fei Chang's backing in his actions, and Fei Chang similarly profited by resolving the impending conflict between his two sons.

Hearing Fei Chang's words, Fei Qing smiled widely, "then congratulations are in order. Fei Dan's daughter is not only pretty but also trained in literature. She is a mortal, too. This way, Nephew Mang can slowly assimilate Fei Dan's foundations into yours."

Fei Chang took the praise with a modest expression while urging Fei Qing, "Elder Cousin, it is your turn. Please."

***

"Thieving Heaven... Demon Venerable..."

Fei Cai licked his dry lips. He didn't dare believe for a moment that a Demon Venerable, a legend that could vanquish all its foes and gain invincibility, could even smile so warmly. Not to mention the fact that the Demon Venerable stated he was leaving 'everything' in this gu worm. What was this— everything— if he was telling the truth? 

His breathing quickened, and he focused on the interface within his consciousness. Just like a computer, Fei Cai could use this gu to perform various functions. The interface had a hexagonal-kaleidoscopic background with three tabs 'popping' out— Gu Worms, Information, Diary.

With a moment's hesitation, Fei Cai tried to open the tab of the gu worm, and based on his thoughts, it opened. Instantly, the screen grew deep grey with several thumbnails filling the screen. These were the images of the gu worms, and below the thumbnails was the name of the gu worms. On the upper-left corner, there was a conspicuous search option, and with a thought, Fei Cai wielded that option and searched for the computer gu. 

The tab changed once again, this time, a wallpaper of the gu worm depicting its image during each rank appeared. The moment Fei Cai wished to look down, the screen scrolled downwards, and the details of the gu worms were presented to him. Even lower was the recipes of refining this gu worm till rank 5!

The very first section was comprised of a detailed log on the gu worms the Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable encountered! Only this half could turn into a treasure in the hands of a refining expert.

Reigning a control over his excitement, Fei Cai then exited this section and proceeded to search within the— Information— tab. 

Otherworldly Demons.

The collective identity of the unfortunate souls that entered this world with the memories of their past lives intact. Fei Cai then continued to gaze at the information. Much to his surprise, if he looked at one of the terms that he wasn't familiar with, he only needed to focus on that term, and another page would pop to explain!

What the Demon Venerable left him was a Gu World's equivalent of Wikipedia.

***

Fei Cai sported an exhausted expression, but his eyes were extremely bright. As he dipped his body into the warm pond, Fei Mang swam towards him and proclaimed loudly, "Did you know? I am marrying Elder Dan's daughter. She is way prettier than my slave! Hehehe~"

Fei Mang grinned foolishly while Fei Cai opened his eyes to thin slits and nodded wordlessly. There was no need for Fei Cai to reduce Fei Mang's cheerfulness by describing the troubles of a husband. Fei Cai was married to a beautiful woman in his previous life. Sadly, this woman took the stereotypes regarding beauty too seriously by only expending wealth in fashion and other nonsense. 

After his divorce, he arrived in this world. It could be said that he gained the opportunity to attain his freedom not once, but twice!

"Oi, Oi," Fei Nai chuckled and ruffled his younger brother's hair, "Don't you feel any shame marrying before your elder brother?" Fei Nai chuckled before greeting Fei Cai warmly, "Yo, little Cai. I heard from father that you won a battle against greenhorn salamander. Good going."

Fei Cai finally opened his eyes to give this particular elder the respect he deserves. Fei Nai, age sixteen and cultivation...

Peak-stage rank 2 Gu Master with a complete set of strength path gu worms. His rapid progress in cultivation alongside a B-rank aptitude made the surrounding Gu Master believe that he will definitely enter the ranks of elders once he conquers their trial. The trial Fei Tribe set for someone to become an elder was extremely harsh, with a high mortality rate. This was also the reason why there was not a single rank 3 gu master aside from the elders.

A Gu Master either survives this test or dies. The cruel part was, every Rank 3 gu master had to enter this trial. 

"Elder Cousin Nai, it was a hard-earned victory."

Fei Cai responded. Though young, Fei Nai seemed to be the type with a good head above his shoulders. During his beginning year, Fei Nai was already addicted to women, but with enough diligence, he changed the situation entirely within the next few years and finally reached the peak of rank 2 in mere six years. 

There are four minor realms in each rank— lower, middle, upper, and peak. Each realm is longer to cultivate than the previous one, and without a special gu worm like aperture nurture gu, Fei Nai achieved what others would take at least 10 years! This was not a minor accomplishment. And now that Fei Cai was privy to the early life of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable, he knew that the invincible talent had an experience far crueler and suppressed than his own.

Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable was an otherworldly demon, too, but he was weak and ended up becoming someone's slave!

"A victory, nonetheless."

Fei Nai smiled before ruffling Fei Mang's head and chuckled playfully, "Little Mang, learn from our cousin, will you? Beauty is a commonwealth and can be found anywhere. Focus on your cultivation. And, for Longevity Heaven's sake, just kill that slave. She doesn't even moan properly!"

The other gu master guffawed while Fei Cai's lips twitched.

According to the values he rubbed against on Earth, he should be rushing to save all the slaves that are being oppressed physically and mentally, or at least, have some thoughts to save them later. Fei Cai sneered internally.

There was no need to save what would become a burden while opposing the mighty in the process. This is the world where a person can expose his darkest desires to the world due to his strength! Instead of letting some half-hearted value take control of his emotions, Fei Cai was much more interested in his father's gu worms now that he could be considered a 'newbie' in the path of cultivation.