Chapter 189: Netherflame
"Greetings, Ancestor!"
Gu Mo stepped forward quickly and gave a respectful bow, then looked at Hou Chunyu with eager anticipation.
"You still don't trust your grand-master?"
Hou Chunyu shot Gu Mo a glare. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, his word was as good as gold. Without another word, Hou Chunyu took out a small twig and handed it to Gu Mo.
He explained, "Just plant this twig anywhere within the range of the Ancient Tree's aura, and it will raise the spiritual energy of three plots of land to Tier 4."
"This was originally meant to preserve spirit herbs, but now I'm letting you experience Tier 4 spirit fields for yourself. Don't go blabbing about it to others, understood?" After explaining the twig's use, Hou Chunyu made sure to warn him.
"Disciple will keep this completely confidential!" Gu Mo immediately promised.
Although it was only three plots, it was more than enough for Gu Mo to cultivate a few Tier 4 Sunflowers. At this moment, he was very much looking forward to seeing what changes the upgraded Sunflowers would bring.
"Ahem!"
Hou Chunyu gave a light cough, pulling the excited Gu Mo back to attention.
"You've done well this time. The Valley Master is very pleased with you, and we've finally made some progress on the matter of your core disciple status." Hou Chunyu recalled his earlier conversation with the Valley Master, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
After the Spirit Plant Exhibition ended, Hou Chunyu had received a summons from the Valley Master—specifically regarding Gu Mo.
To put it bluntly, Gu Mo had reached a point where even the sect could no longer ignore him, for he now held two resources that the sect greatly coveted.
The first was the Supreme-grade Meridian Expansion Pill.
And now, following the exhibition, the second was the Sun Essence condensed from the Sunlightglazed flower—a resource perhaps even more tempting than the pill.
As such, the Valley Master had summoned Hou Chunyu to discuss obtaining Sun Essence from Gu Mo. Naturally, the sect would offer compensation in return.
Hou Chunyu seized the opportunity to once again propose granting Gu Mo full core disciple status. This time, the Valley Master didn't refuse outright, though he didn't give an immediate answer either.
The reason: Shennong Valley's existing core disciple resources had all been fully allocated.
These resources weren't something the sect kept spares of. Every bit was maximized for optimal use.
Bringing Gu Mo into the fold mid-way would disrupt the current distribution. So the Valley Master agreed to revisit the matter after some time.
More importantly, he wanted to observe Gu Mo a little longer.
Hou Chunyu understood the Valley Master's concerns and agreed to revisit the core disciple issue later.
"Thank you, Grand-Master!"
Seeing how pleased Hou Chunyu was, Gu Mo didn't wish to disappoint him and quickly expressed his gratitude. In truth, Gu Mo wasn't overly fixated on the so-called core disciple status.
In his eyes, that title wasn't necessarily more useful than a single high-tier spirit field.
"No need to thank me—this is something you earned yourself." Hou Chunyu waved a hand dismissively, then brought up the sect's intent to purchase Sun Essence.
"That's fine, but the sect needs to give me another spirit field," Gu Mo said after some thought.
With Sun Essence in hand, cultivating Sunlightglazed flower—something others struggled with—was no longer a challenge for Gu Mo. He could easily dedicate a new field to growing them exclusively.
Just selling the Sun Essence alone would earn him a fortune. As for the essence itself, it was better not to touch his reserves unless absolutely necessary.
"No problem!"
Hou Chunyu nodded. Applying for a dedicated field to grow Sunlightglazed flower was something the sect definitely wouldn't refuse. Unfortunately, since the Sunlightglazed flower was a Tier 3 spirit plant, he could only request a Tier 3 spirit field.
With that said, Hou Chunyu turned and left to handle the application.
Gu Mo then cast a Wood Technique and went straight to his spirit field. In the center, he planted the twig he'd received.
Almost instantly, the twig began to grow visibly, and within moments, it had become a small tree. Spiritual energy surged around it.
Gu Mo walked a lap around the area. The enhanced range was exactly three plots—not quite a full acre, but more than satisfactory.
Now that he had a Tier 4 field, Gu Mo was ready to go all-in on upgrading his Sunflowers.
Soon after, Gu Mo witnessed firsthand the staggering cost of upgrading a supreme-grade Tier 3 Sunflower to Tier 4—it consumed an absurd amount of Sun Essence. Even after using over half of his stockpile, the progress bar had only filled a tenth of the way.
He immediately stopped investing further. He needed to keep some Sun Essence on hand for emergencies and couldn't afford to burn through it all.
Since his reserve was off-limits, Gu Mo decided to rely solely on his daily harvests to continue the upgrade.
But thinking of the boost a Tier 4 Sunflower could bring, Gu Mo was filled with anticipation.
In the meantime, he also opened a dedicated Sunlightglazed flower field, transplanting all the blooms from his courtyard there. Once the Sunflowers were upgraded, he planned to use the Sun Essence to accelerate the growth of more Sunlightglazed flowers.
From now on, every bit of Sun Essence would go into upgrading the Sunflowers.
"Martial Aunt Xiaohua, what's wrong?"
After finishing the transplant, Gu Mo returned to the courtyard and saw a very dejected Xiaohua.
"Xiaomo… Aunt lost his job. No job means no good food…" Xiaohua looked at Gu Mo with teary eyes. With the Sunlightglazed flowers moved out, his job of tending Gu Mo's spirit field in exchange for Sun Essence had effectively ended.
"You didn't lose your job—the Sunlightglazed flower field still needs tending, and you'll still get good food for doing it," Gu Mo quickly reassured him upon understanding the situation.
The Sunlightglazed flower field was just for appearances. Gu Mo himself had no real use for them, so he had no plans to manage it personally.
"Really?"
Xiaohua's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really. You and Xiaoli can go start working right now," Gu Mo told him the location of the new field. Immediately, Xiaohua grabbed a visibly excited Xiaoli and rushed off.
This job meant a lot not just to Xiaohua, but to Xiaoli too—by helping harvest Sun Essence, Xiaoli could exchange it for her own share from Gu Mo.
Time passed.
News of the Spirit Plant Exhibition quickly spread. As usual, the plants showcased at each event in Shennong Valley were compiled and circulated publicly—not just to display the sect's strength, but to attract potential buyers.
Unsurprisingly, this year's exhibition generated a major stir.
The biggest highlights were Swordheart Bamboo and the Torch Stump Tree. In contrast, Roaring Ancient Tree, Sunlightglazed flower, and the unfinished spirit rice received little attention.
The Roaring Ancient Tree, as a variant of the War Tree, was one of Shennong Valley's prized military plants and not for sale. So even if others wanted to buy it, they couldn't.
Sunlightglazed flower's Sun Essence held immense appeal for spirit plant cultivators. While it did benefit personal cultivation as well, its cost-effectiveness was too low—buyers could get better returns from similarly priced cultivation pills.
As for the half-finished spirit rice, it was only of mild interest to a handful of plant cultivators. Most didn't believe it could ever be successfully bred.
Grand Yan Sword Sect
"Disciple, Shennong Valley recently revealed a new spirit plant called Swordheart Bamboo. Represent Grand Yan Sword Sect and negotiate its purchase," Xuan Tianhen summoned Gu Mo's clone and gave him this task.
But this mission served another purpose: to help Gu Mo's clone build relationships within Shennong Valley.
"Yes, Master!"
Gu Mo suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and agreed. This was the perfect opportunity to meet up with his true self.
His clone was already at Foundation Establishment—it was time to advance further. With luck, he might even get to try out Tier 4 Sun Essence.
Moreover, having an official record of the clone purchasing Swordheart Bamboo would eliminate suspicion when using it to craft flying swords later.
Of course, Senior Sister Ding's cultivation of the Swordheart Bamboo wasn't complete yet, so Gu Mo could afford to wait. With his real body in place, no one could beat him to it.
Seeing Gu Mo leave to cultivate again, Xuan Tianhen could only shake his head. This disciple devoted himself entirely to cultivation—which was fitting for a sword cultivator. But still, connections could sometimes save lives.
Had the Nascent Soul Sword Sovereign ancestor once had a few trustworthy allies to protect him during his breakthrough, perhaps he would not have perished.
Gu Mo possessed Immortal Force. In Xuan Tianhen's eyes, the chance of him reaching Nascent Soul was extremely high. While he could protect Gu Mo up to that level, beyond it, he might no longer be able to help.
Thus, he wanted Gu Mo to form some bonds in Shennong Valley. The disciples of Taiqing Sect were too aloof, and the Yin-Yang Sword Sect—being another sword sect—held an ambiguous attitude toward Grand Yan.
Had Grand Yan reached peak status back then, the one most impacted (aside from demonic sects) would've been the Yin-Yang Sword Sect.
Xuan Tianhen even suspected more than once that the demonic sect's ambush all those years ago may have involved the Yin-Yang Sword Sect.
Of the three major righteous sects, Shennong Valley was the easiest to get along with—and highly complementary to Grand Yan. Sword cultivators excelled in combat; spirit plant cultivators handled logistics.
Shennong Valley, Leafy Courtyard
Two burly men were seated in the courtyard, arguing animatedly—about forging, no less.
They frequently mentioned Torch Stump Trees, spiritual flames, and similar topics.
"Old Qin, if you want the Torch Stump Tree, trade me a spiritual fire seed," said the younger-looking of the two, abruptly cutting off the debate and setting the price.
"After all these years, you're not giving me even a shred of face!" retorted Old Qin, glaring.
Both were renowned blacksmiths. The younger-looking one was a Tier 3 forgemaster, while Old Qin was a Tier 4 forgemaster—though both were Nascent Soul cultivators.
The younger forgemaster led Shennong Valley's forging branch, but due to the sect's lack of proper forging heritage, he'd been stuck at peak Tier 3 for years.
Old Qin, on the other hand, was an elder from a major forging sect—not top-tier, but certainly second-tier. In terms of blacksmithing alone, his sect ranked first-tier without question.
He had come seeking a Torch Stump Tree after hearing of its existence.
Gu Mo had offered one Torch Stump Tree to this forgemaster in exchange for him handling negotiations with other Nascent Soul-level buyers.
After all, as a Core Formation cultivator, Gu Mo was naturally disadvantaged when dealing with Nascent Soul cultivators. But with a peer-level forgemaster speaking on his behalf, that issue vanished.
Gu Mo's offer was simple: one Torch Stump Tree in exchange for one spiritual flame seed. If the forgemaster managed to sell it for more, he would get a 50% cut of the surplus.
"One flame seed—that's already me giving you a friendly price. Anyone else, and I'd have gouged them. I get half the profits—of course I'm fired up for this," the forgemaster shot back without mercy.
Forging consumed tremendous materials. This was a rare opportunity to restock.
"Hmph. You win."
Old Qin hesitated, then finally took out a jade box. Inside burned a tiny black flame—cold, yet neither icy nor warm.
"Netherflame!"
The forgemaster recognized it instantly. This black flame came from a demonic territory called the Nine Nether Domain, where it naturally formed.
It had fallen into righteous hands as war spoils, eventually reaching Old Qin's sect, and now Gu Mo.
This was just a seed—the true flame still rested with the sect.
Netherflame's most fearsome trait: it burned the soul. Even a speck could scorch the soul, and if not purged in time, the soul would be consumed entirely.
Yet it was also prized for forging. A pass of Netherflame could cleanse material of lingering soul fragments—impurities that hindered the birth of spirit artifacts.
"Psh, had everything ready and still tried to haggle me down."
The forgemaster curled his lip. It was obvious the other party had already accepted the price and was just fishing for a better deal.
"Where's the goods?"
Old Qin handed over the jade box and asked.
"Coming right up!"
With the deal sealed, the forgemaster summoned Gu Mo.
"Greetings, Senior."
Gu Mo appeared and bowed to Old Qin.
"So you're the one who cultivated the Torch Stump Tree. Talented young man," Old Qin said, eyeing Gu Mo approvingly. When he noticed the forgemaster's sharp glare, he wisely dropped his idea of poaching the talent.
They'd known each other for centuries—he knew better.
"Senior, here is your Torch Stump Tree." Gu Mo handed over a supreme-grade Tier 3 specimen, and Old Qin examined it carefully—his eyes lighting up.
"A fine piece. Shame it's just Tier 3." Though it was slightly lacking for a Tier 4 forgemaster, its ability to withstand spiritual flames made it extremely valuable.
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