Chapter 190 - Tier 4 Sunflower
If that were a Tier 4 Torch Stump, there's no way it'd go for that price," the Artifact Forging Elder shot Old Qin a disbelieving look.
"Oh? There's a Tier 4 Torch Stump?"
Old Qin's eyes lit up. If it really was a Tier 4, he wouldn't mind paying extra.
"My current cultivation isn't high enough to cultivate a Tier 4 Torch Stump," Gu Mo shook his head. Of course, in truth, it wouldn't be long. Once the Tier 4 Sunflower was fully upgraded, obtaining a Tier 4 Torch Stump would no longer be difficult for him.
But he couldn't reveal all his trump cards. A Tier 3 top-grade Torch Stump was already pushing the limits. If he produced a Tier 4 right now, it might actually do more harm than good.
"Fair enough. I'll be looking forward to the day you can grow Tier 4 Torch Stumps," Old Qin nodded, then left with his newly acquired Torch Stump.
"Sigh, took a loss on that one..."
The Artifact Forging Elder let out a long sigh. With hundreds of years of friendship behind them, he couldn't exactly fleece the guy.
"Young man, next time one of those old geezers comes around, make sure to call me."
"I'll be sure to trouble you then, Elder." Gu Mo cupped his hands in thanks.
That said, among Nascent Soul cultivators, Old Qin was probably the only one who would come seeking Gu Mo's Torch Stumps. After all, Gu Mo's asking price was a different kind of flame seed—a Heavenly Flame—and even among Nascent Soul cultivators, those weren't exactly commonplace.
Plus, while Gu Mo's Torch Stumps were top-grade Tier 3 and capable of briefly unleashing Tier 4 power, they were still ultimately Tier 3. That made them a bit lacking for Nascent Soul cultivators in the long run.
As for Tier 3 alchemists and artificers in the Golden Core stage, the Torch Stump was a perfect fit for them. But they had no way of producing something as rare and precious as a Heavenly Flame to offer in exchange.
Gu Mo's principle was clear: he only accepted Heavenly Flame seeds. If it weren't for how incredibly tempting those flames were, he wouldn't even consider trading away the Torch Stumps at all.
After all, a treasure that could increase success rates in alchemy and artifact forging—wouldn't it be better to monopolize it himself?
That said, Gu Mo wasn't completely inflexible. If someone could bring him another treasure of equal or greater value, he'd be willing to reconsider—just like with Qian Tao, a disciple of Elder Liu, whom Gu Mo had met briefly in the past. Qian Tao brought news of a treasure that genuinely stirred Gu Mo's heart.
The fact that mere information was enough to excite him showed just how seriously Gu Mo took it.
"Junior Brother Gu Mo, what do you think?"
Qian Tao asked with some apprehension. He was one of the earliest people to learn that Gu Mo possessed Torch Stumps, and several years ago, he ventured to a ruin he had discovered, hoping to find something he could trade for one.
Unfortunately, an accident occurred during the expedition, and Qian Tao ended up trapped in that ruin for years. He had only just managed to escape recently, while all his companions had perished inside.
The only reason he survived was because, as a top disciple of a major sect, the life-preserving artifacts on him far surpassed those of smaller sects.
That expedition had cost Qian Tao dearly—every treasure his master had given him, and every item he had exchanged for in the sect was used up. His teammates were all dead. The only thing he had to show for it was a fragment of some unknown treasure.
But even though it was just a fragment, it was an extremely peculiar one—so he had brought it to see if Gu Mo might be interested.
"Senior Brother Qian, would you be willing to share the location of that ruin?"
Gu Mo gently rubbed the fragment in his hand, mentally matching it against a treasure recorded in a particular ancient text. He was almost certain now that the ruin Qian Tao had explored was part of a Cave-Heaven Artifact—specifically, one whose internal world had manifested after the artifact was damaged.
Cave-Heaven Artifacts… The moment Gu Mo recognized it, an intense desire welled up in him.
If he could get one, he'd never have to worry about a place to farm again. Plus, Cave-Heaven Artifacts were portable—that would be like carrying a personal spiritual field everywhere.
But such artifacts were exceedingly rare. Up to now, Gu Mo had found no trace of one. Yet Qian Tao had brought him a valuable lead.
Even if the artifact was damaged, that didn't matter. The true core of a Cave-Heaven Artifact was its Void Crystal Core. As long as that core remained intact, the artifact could be reforged.
Without the core, no amount of rare materials could recreate it.
Given the ruin hadn't collapsed entirely, chances were high that the Void Crystal Core was still intact.
Moreover, the ruin still held many formation restrictions, which suggested there were more undiscovered treasures hidden within.
"No problem!"
Having personally experienced the ruin's dangers, Qian Tao had no intention of returning, so he didn't mind revealing the location.
"Then Senior Brother, in exchange for this intel, I'll give you a Torch Stump," Gu Mo said, producing a Tier 3 low-grade Torch Stump.
A Heavenly Flame in exchange for a Tier 3 top-grade Torch Stump, versus a ruin location in exchange for a Tier 3 low-grade one—it was a fair deal.
"Many thanks, Junior Brother!"
Receiving the Torch Stump, Qian Tao thanked him repeatedly. As a Tier 3 alchemist, this was more than enough to elevate his craft to the next level.
---
"A damaged Cave-Heaven Artifact…"
After Qian Tao left, Gu Mo began pondering how to obtain the Void Crystal Core from the artifact. Personally going would be dangerous—after all, Qian Tao had brought several Golden Core cultivators with him, and only he survived.
And besides, this was a crucial moment: the upgrade of his Tier 4 Sunflower was nearing completion. He couldn't leave now.
"Then I'll send my avatar instead."
Since the main body couldn't go, the avatar would have to. However, it was still only at the Foundation Establishment stage—Gu Mo would need to strengthen it first.
With that thought, his avatar—currently secluded within the Grand Yan Sword Sect, meditating on sword intent—rose to its feet and set out toward the Shennong Valley.
The official reason for the visit was to purchase Swordheart Bamboo.
Coincidentally, Senior Sister Ding had just resolved the bamboo's shortcomings. Gu Mo had provided ample Solar Energy to assist in that effort.
Now, her personal spiritual field was filled with Swordheart Bamboo, and she'd even recruited help from others in the planting division to cultivate it.
Their hope was to launch the first batch soon and recoup the upfront investment.
As an investor, Gu Mo had a fixed share of this harvest. He had essentially invested Solar Energy for equity, so every time Swordheart Bamboo was sold, he'd receive a cut. The more they produced, the more he'd earn.
---
News of the Swordheart Bamboo's upcoming release quickly drew many sword cultivators to Shennong Valley. Compared to the sky-high price of Torch Stumps, Swordheart Bamboo was much more affordable.
When Gu Mo's avatar arrived at the visitors' area, he saw sword cultivators from various sects—but none from the Yin-Yang Sword Sect.
That was expected. The Yin-Yang Sword Sect trained only a single lifebound sword per disciple. They didn't need other swords.
Moreover, being a top-tier sect, their foundations were deep. Their famed Sword Mountain was said to contain tens of thousands of swords, from which disciples could choose their own lifebound weapon.
Some monstrous talents had even obtained spirit-grade or treasure-grade lifebound swords.
Imagine a Qi Condensation cultivator wielding a treasure-grade sword—even without using its full power, they'd be invincible among their peers.
---
"Hm? A Sword Symposium?"
Gu Mo's avatar paused, looking at a newly received invitation. It had been issued by Ding Shiyan. With so many sword cultivators gathering, she'd decided to organize a small sword symposium.
After learning of Gu Mo's talent in swordsmanship, Ding Shiyan had often sparred with him while working on the Swordheart Bamboo. Those exchanges had benefited them both greatly.
The invitation was extended to both the main body and the avatar—but Gu Mo decided not to attend in person. His attention was entirely focused on the sunflower's imminent upgrade.
---
Inside the Cultivation Space
Gu Mo continued feeding top-grade Tier 3 Sun Essence into the upgrading sunflower. The green progress bar crept toward completion.
Finally, with one last portion added, the bar maxed out and glowed softly.
"Whew~"
Gu Mo let out a long breath. All that remained was to click the upgrade arrow. With that, his top-grade Tier 3 Sunflower would evolve to Tier 4.
He clicked without hesitation—and in the next instant, brilliant light burst forth from the sunflower.
Good thing this was the Black Mist Space—otherwise, the spectacle would've drawn plenty of unwanted attention.
The dazzling light lasted several minutes before gradually fading.
When it cleared, a sunflower identical in size to before appeared before him.
But the real change wasn't in its size—it was in its flower head, which now bore an adorably blank little face.
"M-Master!"
A soft, timid voice rang out. The one speaking was none other than the newly upgraded sunflower.
Back when it reached Tier 3, it had already begun developing rudimentary sentience. Now, at Tier 4, this kind of transformation wasn't all that surprising.
At Tier 4, even beasts could take human form. For spiritual plants, full sentience at this stage was well within reason.
"Good, good, good!"
Gu Mo gently stroked the flower's face, and it broke into a wide smile. Its body swayed joyfully, its two leaves waving like little hands.
"From now on, I'll call you Little Sun."
Since it now had sentience, it deserved a name. Naming had never been Gu Mo's strong suit—he initially wanted to go with "Little Flower," but that name was already taken. So he added another "Little" and called it "Little Little Flower."
Luckily, Little Sun seemed perfectly happy with the name.
After chatting with Little Sun for a while, Gu Mo found that its mind was still quite childlike. Without delay, he transplanted it into one of his Tier 4 spiritual fields.
Once settled, Little Sun swayed with glee—and the surrounding sunflowers swayed in unison, as if acknowledging a new king in the field.
---
Gu Mo kept watch over the sunflower field for an entire day. As night fell, Little Sun began to grow drowsy.
Seeing this, Gu Mo tapped its head gently—whereupon a radiant miniature sun emerged.
The area lit up as if it were midday.
This was a Tier 4 Sun Essence.
Compared to its Tier 3 counterpart, this essence shone far brighter—like a tiny version of a real sun.
And the energy it contained far surpassed that of Tier 3.
Without hesitation, Gu Mo began refining it—then carefully observed the changes it brought.
"This… this is…"
A moment later, Gu Mo's eyes widened in shock.
The Power of Immortality!
The Tier 4 Sun Essence had actually gifted him the power of immortality—the very essence used to form Nascent Souls.
He had assumed that, like Tier 3 Essence provided Golden Core energy, the Tier 4 version would grant True Essence—the power Nascent Soul cultivators normally wielded.
But to his amazement, this essence directly gave him Immortal Power, the very core of a Nascent Soul.
Typically, using this power meant staking one's life—depleting too much could destabilize or even destroy the Nascent Soul.
But now, with a steady supply of Tier 4 Sun Essence, Gu Mo could replenish this Immortal Power at will.
This meant he could routinely wield Nascent Soul-level techniques as though they were standard tools.
If his Immortal Golden Core ever ran dry, he could just top it off with more Sun Essence.
…Though his body might struggle to withstand it. Then again, perhaps tempering his body with Immortal Power would yield amazing results?
And with Immortal Power flowing freely, Gu Mo no longer had to worry about bottlenecks when forming a Nascent Soul. His Immortal Golden Core already gave him excellent odds, and now the odds were overwhelming.
He could stuff his entire Golden Core full of Immortal Power. If that still couldn't form a Nascent Soul, then no one in the world could.
Wait—he couldn't get complacent. Forming a Nascent Soul might no longer pose a bottleneck, but overcoming the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation was still unavoidable.
That couldn't be sidestepped.
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