Le Tu sat at a long table; on the other side, there was a youthful figure.
"Master." The figure bowed.
"I am sorry to be wasting your time like this; however, as I said, there's something very important you should know before you take over my aperture."
Le Tu raised his eyebrows, mildly surprised.
"Oh, and what is that?"
Shung Mia Yin sighed.
"It's complicated, but…For starters.
Did you know that I used to Cultivate Qi Path in my youth?"
Le Tu nodded.
That much was common sense.
"Well. I am sure this part will not surprise you much then. But during my youth, I used to be a wandering Gu Master.
With very little to no prospects, I merely scraped by.
Doing my best to survive and feed my Gu.
But as time went by, I grew tired of that.
Unfortunately, my Path was already set.
My body contained the Dao Marks of several Qi Path Gu's, whilst all my knowledge was regarding the same.
And yet, there were no resources I could find. Not any valuable at least.
That is when I decided to take a gamble." Shung Mia Yin took a small sip of tea as she added.
"I knew of the regional walls around the Five Regions, and I knew that if there was one place where I could find suitable Qi Path Materials to support my Cultivation, it would be near those walls.
Thus, I began a long, long journey moving from place to place, trying to get close to the edge of the continent.
And in my forties, I succeeded." She chuckled bitterly.
"Unfortunately, my expectations could not be met. While the Qi was strong near those walls, it was also too erratic and chaotic.
Any Qi Path Gu Worm that was created was soon destroyed; very few remained. And those who did were almost useless to me.
After all. What is the use of a Gu Worm if you do not know what effect it has? Or what food does it need?" She laughed heartily.
"Very often I injured myself while testing the Gu, and even when I found an exquisite Gu Worm, it died of hunger within months; most frequently, very few Gu Worms were able to persist with me."
She chuckled.
"After getting stuck there for years, I had given up hope already. But I stuck to my guts. Because I had already wasted half of my life on this fool's errand."
But then, her smile vanished.
"Until one day. I found it."
"I was not sure what it was. But I felt a powerful presence, stronger than anything I had ever felt yet. Incredibly weak and unstable.
As if the Qi within the being would dissipate, like a flickering candle being swept by the wind."
Le Tu's expression changed, he asked.
"Was that an Immortal Gu?"
"No, but I thought the same back then." Shung Mia Yin smiled calmly.
"In my excitement, I rapidly headed towards the source I detected.
And then. I found it. A tiny flame."
"Initially, I was confused. Had my investigative Gu Worms failed me? But then, a voice spoke in my head."
She sighed.
"The flame spoke to me, it told me that its condition was critical, and that it would die soon if it was not treated soon."
"It said that the only way to save it was if it was nourished by the Primeval Essence of a Gu Master."
Le Tu frowned, somewhat intrigued.
"And what did you do?"
"I refused, obviously." She replied naturally.
"But the flames tempted me. It said that if I helped it, it would guide me. It would teach me the secrets of Gu Cultivation, of Fire Path, and the method to ascend to immortality."
"After hearing those words, I was very tempted. But also, suspicious. I asked. Why would you ever do so much for me? Even if I help you now, what guarantee do I have that you will keep your side of the bargain?"
"At that moment. Those flames told me:
Because human lives are short, no matter how strong you are, even if you become a Venerable, your lifespan will be far inferior to mine.
And in the day you die, I will be paid back in full.
All your Gu, your aperture, your essence will become mine."
Le Tu's eyelids twitched; realization dawned upon his face.
"I see…The flames kept their side of the bargain. But you did not? Right?"
Shung Mia Yin nodded.
Le Tu frowned.
"So…Where is that flame?"
Shung Mia Yin sighed before shrugging.
"Who knows. While it stood with me during most of the ceremony. At the last moment, I lost sight of it and vanished like a ghost."
Then, her expression changed.
"Alongside countless of my Immortal Materials." Her expression became slightly bitter.
"Sorry. Master, I let you down…" She lowered her head.
But Le Tu merely waved his hand in dismissal.
"I do not mind it, the opposite. I feel that I owe that flame a huge debt." Then, he frowned.
"To be honest, if this Blessed Land did not contain you, alongside countless other living beings, while I may have hesitated to give away the Immortal Gu, I would not mind giving him everything else."
After some hesitation.
Le Tu finally said solemnly.
"If one day that spiritual flame comes, and I am wealthy enough. I will repay him in full." Then, he turned his gaze towards Shung Mia Yin before adding.
"Of course, if by then, I am not wealthy or strong enough, I need to be ready.
Could you be as kind as to tell me what abilities it has? What are its attainments? How strong is it?"
Shung Mia Yin frowned.
"Those flames. While it is doubtful whether this was true in reality, they told me in their prime that they were about as strong as a Rank 8 Gu Master.
In their current state, however, they are even weaker than Qin Jiji you fought before.
However, that is mostly because while I was alive, I did not give those flames the chance to recover much.
As for its attainment, they are a Grandmaster in Fire Path, and with a surprising degree of comprehension regarding refinement." But then she shook her head.
"More than comprehension, it was its innate abilities, its innate physique, and unnatural control over its own body, that made it the perfect tool for refining Gu.
With its aid, I was able to refine several Immortal Gu, including a Rank 7 one."
Le Tu's eyes shone brightly upon hearing this.
"What Gu is that? Also, is the kind of Gu that can be used without Rank 7 Immortal Essence?"
Shung Mia Yin touched her chin.
"Oh, that?" Immediately, she summoned a Gu from her aperture.
From her tiny hands, one could see an almost invisible ethereal golden flame.
It looked transparent, and one could see right through it.
"The Gu I have is named Fire Qi Gu."
The excitement of Le Tu was immediately doused.
While it was technically one of those few Immortal Gu who could be handled by those with lower Ranks, the costs were too high.
It was almost two hundred times as expensive as a single ordinary Rank 6 Gu Worm.
He sighed bitterly before shaking his head.
Even if the Gu was not suitable for him, so what?
At worst, he would simply have to keep this Gu for a while before finding a suitable buyer, to exchange it for a more suitable one.
As he pondered over those things.
"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows.
Suddenly, he heard a transmission from one of his wills, which was trying to communicate with him.
Or rather.
Who had been trying to communicate for him for a very long time.
Basically, for the full duration of the inheritance test, it had been trying to call him.
Of course, no transmission reached his ears because the Land Spirit blocked all communications with the outside world.
Only after accepting him as a master did those communications reach him.
Le Tu frowned deeply.
What was so important that his will had been so persistent in contacting him?
Soon, he found his answer.
There was a letter written by Kao Dao Ji.
His expression changed.
Was that it?
Also, why was Kao Dao Ji trying to contact him?
They had interacted just once, and their interaction was brief, too.
Suddenly, his heartbeat skipped as he read its contents.
'Hello, Le Tu.
We may not know each other well.
If I had any other choice, I would rarely contact someone whose connection to me is so distant.
But I had no other choice, my circumstances are beyond me, and I need help.
And now, you may be wondering why I can trust you so freely.
Well.
Is because Variant Humans are far more reliable than humans.
Though to say we both are Variant Humans would be inaccurate.
You are, but a half-breed, and I am a Land Spirit yet; that connection remains the same.
Besides.
Even if half-breed, you are a Mushroom man, the most peaceful variant human race in the five regions.
Of course.
I am not asking you to help me for free.
I can provide as many Clouded Thought Gu as you wish.
And I can also give you valuable information that you cannot get from common sources.
Still. Now that you have gotten so far into this letter.
You may be wondering how do I know this, how do I know of your real origins.
And you may be worried that I will use this against you.
Worry not, I will not.
Of course, empty words alone cannot gain your trust either.
So why do I not give you a gesture of my goodwill?'
Le Tu's eyes widened as he observed the next part of the letter.
There was a detailed map of white heaven.
Well, not quite.
Across the map, most of the information was blurred, the kind of unreliable information you could find anywhere else.
But.
Somewhere on the map, it was completely different.
An area drawn with a red circle.
There, one could find several entrances that one could use to go from the five regions to the white heavens freely.
And there was also detailed information about the surrounding forces, Clans as well as resources that could be found around the zone where Kao Dao Ji lived.
This information was, like he said, priceless.
There was one factor for this.
One may believe that accessing the two heavens is easy, after all, even Bai Lin Hua, a mere Rank 6 Cultivator, managed to do it.
But in reality, not so much.
The two heavens are continuously 'spinning', or rather orbiting the five regions, continuously moving and flowing.
Entering a minute later or sooner means a world of difference in where one may 'appear', only if one knows the stars that follow the heavens' movement, can one know precisely where one is going to enter.
Most importantly.
The two Heavens are incredibly dangerous, with death zones, Immemorial Desolate Beasts, natural disasters, Heavenly Tides that resemble the Five Regional Walls, and more.
Those things are actually fairly common.
If one lacks a 'map', entering into either of those two Heavens is basically a gamble.
If one is an ordinary Rank 6 Gu Master, if they step ever slightly outside a safe zone, they are as good as dead.
If one is a Rank 7 Gu Master, exploring is filled with deep peril and danger, but it is a highly profitable endeavor that some daredevils do.
Only Rank 8 Gu Masters can explore relatively safely; even then, even if they do not die, they may still get wounded, depending on where they go.
Bai Lin Hua was able to access the White Heavens because she carried a 'map' that pointed towards a star, which gave her a safe location to enter.
Her map also gave her enough information to know some resource gathering points, natural phenomenon and the local forces, though the information was outdated.
In comparison, Kao Dao Ji gave a thorough map which detailed the surrounding forces, several entrances, gathering, and resource points.
There, one could see the Sky Lord Grotto Heaven from where the Featherman lived.
Or the Red Cradle, or the Golden Tear, among other Grotto Heavens.
Such information was simply too valuable.
For example, if it fell into the hands of Heavenly Court, they could simply wait patiently for a few days until the skies aligned so they could send one of their experts to go there.
Then.
They could use this map to find and eradicate the surrounding variant human forces, then once they did, capture them to read their memories.
They could use those memories then to expand the map further.
Of course, filling it completely was pretty much impossible.
No force in the world had traversed the two heavens completely, not even the forces inside knew even 10% of the whole area.
Even so, this map, if a force was strong enough, would enable them to gain a foothold in the white heavens.
Needless to say, it was priceless.
More than that, it was dangerous.
If Le Tu ever so wished, he would not even have to lift a finger; merely selling the information to TYH would be enough to give endless trouble to those variant humans.
And Kao Dao Ji would end up in deep peril.
"Of course, that is assuming the map is genuine." Le Tu reminded himself, but still he found it unlikely.
Too many details were there for the information to be faked; at most, it was an outdated map that was being used to trick him.
…
'Did you like this gesture of goodwill? Heh. If I ever share this secret of yours. You are dead.
Similarly, if you ever share mine, I am dead too.
But while there is danger, there is safety.
Now that you know so much about me, and I know so much about you.
Betraying each other is a suicidal endeavor.
Of course, you may not trust what I am giving you. You are free to verify the information however you see fit, but once you do.
Contact me. I have a very interesting proposal to share with you.'