"Hey, did you hear? Elder Fei Chan lost the troop of thirty thousand terror horses, and even 3 Gu Masters were killed in the hunt."

"Yeah. Damn those Pa Tribe members! The group of thunder horses for the Lord Chieftain was a deadly lure to weaken our tribe's forces."

"If only I were there! I—"

"You would have been the first one to become horse manure. What can a rank 1 like you even do? Elder Fei Chang is a rank 4 Gu Master elite!"

"What was that? I ain't scared of you!"

Fei Cai observed the two middle-aged Gu Masters with the lowest D-rank potential and digested the information. A few days have passed since Fei Chang retreated after facing a near-death defeat from one of the surrounding large tribes— Pa Tribe. The news of Fei Tribe's unsightly outcome was spread by the Pa Tribe in hopes to slowly sip on the reputation of the Fei Tribe. The effects were almost nill at the moment, but the higher-ranked members of the tribe already wore a grim expression. To the weaker Gu Masters, this was merely one of many small skirmishes. Death was the most common trait of the Northern Plains, after all. But only a few select individuals, who have survived for more than ten years knew that this was merely the opening of something greater than any tribe of the Northern Plains.

Out of them, only one man within the tribe was qualified to smile and he did smile. Ever so wildly, at that. Within the main camp that held the tribal meeting, Fei Qing gazed at Fei Sheng. The old tribe elder was tasked with discovering the recipe of the rank 3 earth lizard house gu worm with a rather expensive compensation, and the results were satisfactory. Fei Qing read the gu recipe jotted down on the beast hide and passed it to Fei Chang. At the moment, Fei Chang's face was slightly pale and his body trembled every now and then. This was one of the effects of the attacks within the ambush that targetted Fei Chang's aperture. Fortunately, Fei Chang had the recipe of the gu worm with the effects that countered the poison.

"Elder Fei Chang will be tasked with refining these gu worms." Hearing the Chieftain's command, Fei Chang nodded plainly. Meanwhile, Fei Sheng's eyelids twitched. If this task was handed to him, he could have exhorted another fortune out of the tribe. But this move curbed Fei Sheng's greed, balanced the power structure of the tribe by allowing the 'rival' faction to lead this important project. Not only that, Fei Qing and Fei Chang were true to the tribe, and with Fei Chang leading this refinement project, Fei Qing would be free from worrying over the chances of embezzlement of the tribe's funds.

"Now, we will discuss the changes needed to survive the upcoming war." 

He crossed his arms and gave a few commands regarding the defense of the tribe and also a restriction on the distance to be traveled during each hunt. Fei Qing then turned to the elder under his faction— Fei Kao. "Elder Fei Kao, you are the most proficient in investigating the location of wild gu worms and Gu Masters. The matter of searching the surroundings for wild relic gu worms and other cultivation assisting gu worms will be left with you. The lower level relic gu worms will be placed within the store and can only be exchanged during the various hunts the tribe will mobilize."

"Yes, Lord Chieftain." The plain-faced Fei Kao nodded. He was already a peak-stage rank 3 Gu Master. With his investigation gu worms, he could scout the surrounding 50 kilometers in two-three months and this would already bring various benefits to the tribe. Ordinarily, Fei Kao wouldn't be asked since the wild gu worms in the surroundings would be quite low. But with the impending battle of heroes, wild gu worms would be produced in a greater number. Especially snow and ice path gu worm. While the tribe continued to tweak the rules of becoming an elder to encourage all the peak-stage rank 2 Gu Masters to participate in the test, Fei Cai entered the tent that sold gu worms and gu materials once again.

"I want three batches of these materials." 

Fei Cai placed a list on the counter and waited for the elderly Gu Master to inspect the items. Nodding slowly, the Gu Master passed the list to his helper and computed the price. Fei Cai needed to pay to a total of 156 primeval stones and was left with 78. He then brought these materials back to his house and went outside to purchase the food for his gu worms. Once all the tasks at hand were taken care of, Fei Cai ate his fill in the evening and locked himself into his room. These past five days, not only did Fei Cai already receive multiple gestures to borrow the wolf strength gu, some of the smart Gu Masters even wanted to copy his trade. Alas, none had a backer as strong as the Chieftain and all feared that once the gu worm is lent, they might not receive it in return.

Unlike the Gu Masters filled with greed for such a trade, to Fei Cai, this was merely a short-term plan. It was easy enough for a rational Gu Master to understand that the business of lending gu worms and earning from it would soon belong to a Gu Master with strength and investment to flourish the business. The only reason Fei Cai could even dip his toe into the deep pond was due to Fie Qing's face. If Fei Cai's estimation isn't incorrect, then, after the beast trials, this trade would be taken from Fei Cai and handed to an elder by Fei Qing himself.

To the father/Chieftain, everything needs to be restricted for Fei Cai so that he is able to experience a variety of situations. Handling the sudden loss of an entire trading idea would certainly belong in one of these situations. Once Fei Cang Yin had already proven his worth and attracted a few potential customers willing to agree to Fei Cai's revised conditions. 

Within his room, Fei Cai spread the coarse mattress and carefully separated the three batches of materials. Sitting cross-legged, Fei Cai picked a strand of thick-edge grass and started to twist the flexible material until thin scars marred the surface of the slightly dry blade of grass. Putting the material down, Fei Cai then processed a sludge of a mud sparrow and turned it into a round ball before wrapping the crumbled grass around it. Finally, Fei Cai took the round eyeball of the green wolf and crushed it within his palms before lacing the mud ball with the whitish liquid. 

***

"Father, are we really going to refine this gu worm with the help of young, rank 1 gu masters?"

Fei Nai inquired with a respectful expression. Although the young genius of the tribe could understand the reasoning behind this decision, his heart still ached by the potential losses. Seeing the state of mind of his son, Fei Chang shook his head. "Little Nai, out of the three siblings, you are the elder one. Fei Cai, though capable, is far too young and Little Mang is simply not attuned with the realities of the cultivation. So, if you want to become a Gu Master with the ability to lead, you must know when to bear the loss."

Fei Chang took out the beast hide with the recipe and showed it to his eldest son. "This rank 3 gu worm has a lot of steps. The young gu masters will only perform the first few steps. This way, the tribe will be able to identify potential gu masters with talent in refining the gu worms and use them well... the next three years, the demand of gu worms and their prices would increase. And with the war looming over our heads, we can train these refining talents, too. So, this refinement project is the best opportunity to filter the talents of the tribe."

"But father... refining a gu worm is filled with risks. Even in the early steps, once the primeval essence is infused, a Gu Master must proceed with caution, or else the backlash of failure would be immense. Even I don't dare refine gu worms continuously."

Hearing Fei Nai's worries, Fei Chang shook his head. Suddenly, his expression changed and his body shuddered. "Father!" Fei Nai hurried to support Fei Chang. The injuries dealt with Fei Chang were severe and the process of recuperation was still underway. Sometimes, the symptoms of the poison would resurface and Fei Chang could only suffer the body-numbing pain. After a few minutes, Fei Chang's trembling body eased by a considerable margin and he could breathe freely. "Anyway, little Nai. I have called you today not only to discuss the tribal matters but also to teach you my gu methods."

"Father... you mean?"

Fei Nai's eyes brightened in understanding as Fei Chang acknowledged his doubt and took out a small gu worm.

***

"Success at first try?"

Fei Cai was more than astonished. He purchased three batches of materials because he understood from the computer gu that attaining success on the first try of refining a gu worm is as hard as ascending the heavens in a single step. Even after purchasing three batches, Fei Cai still felt a little fearful that he wouldn't succeed. All his knowledge and understanding of this gu world came from the rank 1 computer gu worm which is the inheritance of one of the top 10 invincible Gu Masters of this world— Thieving Heaven. Though this knowledge was a little outdated since three more Venerables rose to prominence after the Thieving Heaven's time, the fact remained that the overflowing talent able who is said to have stolen a precious thing from heaven failed ten consecutive tries in refining a gu worm for the first time.

In front of Fei Cai, the muddy ball was glowing and continued to create rings of light around it before the rings dispersed akin flowing tides. He didn't dare divert his focus and continued to infuse his primeval essence into the glowing product until the crushed grass fell off and chipped away a few places covered with the liquid of the eye. Seeing this, Fei Cai's breathing grew in pace as the muddy ball with whitish speckles slowly crumbled internally and turned into a thumb-sized ladybug that fluttered around Fei Cai.

He succeeded in refining a gu worm in his first try!

Since Thieving Heaven's information regarding gu recipes and materials was detailed but outdated, Fei Cai took four days to narrow down the gu recipes based on the materials present within the tribe. In this aspect, the computer gu worm was a godsend fortune since the ease of filtering the knowledge was quite appreciated. Finally, out of the three gu worms that could be refined, Fei Cai chose a gu worm that would assist in battles, refining, and even allow Fei Cai to indirectly investigate his surroundings.

Rank 1 Instinct Gu Worm.