Wei Ran stood by the window, gazing out at the sprawling landscape of the Spirit Affinity House. His mind was a whirlwind of calculations.
"Gu worms... I wonder how many undiscovered species exist in this world," he mused.
He decided it was time to inspect his aperture. In the Gu world, the aperture was a cultivator's foundation, the source of all power.
"How do I enter? I suppose concentration is enough."
Wei Ran sat cross-legged on his bed and closed his eyes. Immersing his consciousness into his body, he soon "saw" it—a spherical space of light located in his abdomen. Inside, a sea of deep green primeval essence churned.
"98% fullness," Wei Ran noted, mentally dividing the space into a hundred parts. The sheer volume of essence was staggering for a newly awakened Rank 1.
"Let's test the control." He attempted to move a ripple of the essence toward the aperture's walls.
Nothing happened.
"I see. It requires more than just a passing thought. It requires will."
After several minutes of trial and error, he managed to mobilize a wave, consuming 20% of his essence to wash against the membrane of the aperture. It was an elementary exercise, but the foundation was set.
"Not perfect, but I have the basics down."
He stood up and headed for the door. The next step was acquiring Gu worms.
A high-ranking elder—a Rank 5 peak stage Gu Master—was already waiting for him outside. This elder, a pillar of the Spirit Affinity House, bowed slightly upon seeing Wei Ran.
"I wish to select my Gu worms," Wei Ran stated plainly.
The elder was surprised. Wei Ran had only just woken up from a coma, yet he was already focused on cultivation. However, he did not protest.
"Follow me, Young Master," the elder replied.
They walked for several minutes until they reached the sect's primary treasury. The building was immense, guarded by layers of defensive formations.
"Young Master, you may select any Rank 1 Gu from this hall. If you wish, I can assist you in choosing the most compatible ones," the elder offered.
Wei Ran looked at him coldly. "Just provide me with the information on the ones I point out. That will be enough."
The treasury was divided into five main paths. Wei Ran didn't hesitate. "Where are the offensive types? Specifically, sword-related Gu."
"This way, Young Master."
They reached a corridor lined with thousands of jars and containers, each housing a unique Gu worm. Wei Ran scanned them with terrifying speed. He never looked at a Gu twice; if it didn't catch his eye immediately, he moved on.
Suddenly, he stopped.
A strange sensation tugged at his soul. "This Gu... it feels as though it was meant for me. Why has my desire to look elsewhere vanished?"
He was staring at an octagonal, flat Gu. It looked like a shard of crystal, with several jagged ice spikes protruding from its center.
"What is this Gu?" Wei Ran asked.
The elder peered at it and smiled. "Young Master has a sharp eye. This is the Ice Sword Gu. It is a rare growth-type Gu that can be refined all the way from Rank 1 to Rank 5. There is even a half-complete recipe to evolve it into a Rank 6 Immortal Gu, though the final steps remain a mystery."
Wei Ran took it without a word. Next, he picked up a Gu that resembled a small piece of carved wood with several delicate leaves.
"The Wooden Sword Gu," the elder explained. "It can reach Rank 4. It is often used as a supplementary material for Rank 5 fusions, though its raw power is somewhat lacking compared to metallic or elemental paths."
In this world, Gu were the essence of heaven and earth. Billions of types existed, each unique.
Wei Ran took the two Gu and prepared to leave.
"Is that all, Young Master? Only two?" the elder asked, perplexed.
Wei Ran ignored him and walked away.
Back in his room, Wei Ran sat with the two Gu in his palms.
He focused on the Ice Sword Gu first. Pouring his deep green primeval essence into it, he expected a struggle. Usually, refining a Gu required grinding down its wild will.
To his surprise, the Ice Sword Gu offered almost no resistance. With only 40% of his essence, the Gu was fully refined and moved into his aperture.
"Strange... perhaps the will of the Gu in the sect treasury has been weakened beforehand?"
With newfound confidence, he turned to the Wooden Sword Gu. "Refining you should be just as easy."
He poured his essence in, but he was met with a wall of iron. One hour passed. The Wooden Sword Gu was only a third refined; the rest remained stubbornly 'wild'.
"Damn it! So the Ice Sword Gu was the anomaly?!"
Exhausted and nearly out of essence, he reached for a primeval stone to replenish his reserves. He gripped the grey stone tightly, attempting to draw the natural essence out of it and into his aperture.
Nothing.
He tried again, focusing his entire will on the stone. Still nothing.
"Why...? Damn it!"
It wasn't that he didn't know the technique. It was that his aperture was physically rejecting the energy from the stone. It was like a lock that didn't fit the key.
"This... this makes me no better than a cripple," Wei Ran realized, a cold dread settling in his chest.
He could not use primeval stones to recover. He was restricted to natural recovery alone.
The first restriction of his path had revealed itself.