Chapter 5 – The First Deduction
The following weeks...
Li Tianyu once again buried himself within the Refinement Hall.
This time...
His objective was no longer profit.
It was accumulation.
Every day, he refined ten nearly worthless Gu worms.
Hot Gu.
One of the most common Rank One Fire Path Gu.
Its only effect...
Was becoming extremely hot.
It possessed almost no practical value.
Precisely because of that...
Its refinement recipe was incredibly simple.
The required materials were cheap.
Even a beginner could eventually refine one after enough practice.
To Li Tianyu...
It was the perfect sacrifice.
Each Hot Gu cost only four to seven primeval stones to refine.
Alongside them, he refined another two or three ordinary Gu worms with genuine market value.
Those Gu worms were quietly sold through different shops scattered throughout the village.
The earned primeval stones were immediately reinvested into new refinement materials.
Not a single stone remained idle.
Every day followed the same routine.
Refine.
Sell.
Purchase materials.
Refine again.
The cycle repeated endlessly.
Whenever ten Hot Gu had accumulated...
Li Tianyu summoned Ember Spark Gu.
The tiny crimson ant slowly crawled onto the pile of Gu worms.
Its body emitted a faint crimson glow.
One after another...
The ten Gu worms silently crumbled into ash.
Their bodies vanished.
Only invisible Dao fragments remained.
The fragments were gradually refined into Ember Spark Gu and stored deep within its Dao Repository.
Li Tianyu quietly watched the process.
"So this is the Dao Repository..."
The sacrificed Gu worms had disappeared forever.
Yet the Dao fragments they carried had not.
Instead...
They were permanently stored within Ember Spark Gu until needed for a future deduction.
He no longer needed to gather hundreds of Gu worms all at once.
He could slowly accumulate Dao fragments over months...
Years...
Or even decades.
When the time came...
He would simply spend what had already been stored.
A faint smile appeared on Li Tianyu's face.
This ability alone made Ember Spark Gu far more practical than he had imagined.
...
Several weeks later...
After accumulating a modest reserve of Dao fragments...
Li Tianyu finally issued his first true deduction.
"Ember Spark Gu."
"Deduce a Rank One Fire Path Gu capable of gathering the free primeval essence of Heaven and Earth and condensing it into primeval essence stones."
It would essentially be...
A Fire Path version of Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus.
The tiny crimson Gu emitted a faint crimson glow.
Moments later...
A thought entered Li Tianyu's mind.
Deduction possible.
Required payment: 350 Rank One Gu worms.
Li Tianyu fell into thought.
A Gu capable of producing primeval essence stones would undoubtedly become an inexhaustible source of wealth.
However...
That wealth would accumulate slowly.
A Rank One Gu could never condense many primeval essence stones.
Even if he successfully refined it...
It would take years before its value truly became apparent.
What he lacked the most right now...
Was not wealth.
It was time.
His D-grade aptitude had already reached its limit.
Without a solution, he would remain trapped at Peak Rank One forever.
After pondering for a long while, he revised his request.
"It must sustain itself using primeval essence."
"The refinement materials must all be common materials that I already know and can easily obtain."
"Remove the ability to condense primeval essence stones."
"Instead..."
"Dedicate every aspect of the Gu toward gathering the free primeval essence of Heaven and Earth and converting it directly into my own primeval essence."
"Maximize its primeval essence recovery speed."
Ember Spark Gu glowed once more.
A moment later...
Another answer arrived.
Deduction possible.
Required payment: 780 Rank One Gu worms.
Li Tianyu nodded.
Removing the ability to produce primeval essence stones had reduced the deduction's complexity.
However...
Restricting the refinement materials to common resources, allowing the Gu to sustain itself on primeval essence, and pushing its essence recovery ability to its absolute limit greatly increased the deduction's difficulty.
The final cost naturally became even higher.
"I still don't have enough."
There was no disappointment in his voice.
Only determination.
The following weeks passed much as before.
Every day...
More Hot Gu disappeared into Ember Spark Gu.
More Dao fragments accumulated within its Dao Repository.
More primeval stones vanished into refinement materials.
Time quietly flowed onward.
By the end of the third month...
The required Dao fragments had finally been gathered.
Without hesitation...
Li Tianyu activated Ember Spark Gu.
The Dao fragments stored within the Dao Repository quietly ignited.
One after another...
They were consumed by invisible crimson flames.
A thought immediately appeared within his mind.
Deduction initiated.
Estimated completion time: Three days.
The crimson glow surrounding Ember Spark Gu gradually faded.
Its aura weakened.
Then...
It entered complete dormancy.
For the next three days...
It could no longer perform another deduction.
Li Tianyu merely smiled.
For the first time in three months...
He allowed himself to rest.
No refinement.
No research.
No exhausting calculations.
Three peaceful days quietly passed.
...
A faint crimson light suddenly emerged from within his aperture.
Ember Spark Gu slowly awakened.
The instant it regained consciousness...
An enormous torrent of knowledge flooded directly into Li Tianyu's mind.
Refinement materials.
Refinement sequence.
Primeval essence control.
Every successful variation.
Every possible point of failure.
Every key detail.
The information merged perfectly with his memories.
Within only a few breaths...
The torrent came to an end.
Li Tianyu slowly opened his eyes.
A smile gradually spread across his face.
Flame Lotus Gu.
A unique Rank One Fire Path Gu.
The world's first Fire Path Gu capable of gathering the free primeval essence dispersed throughout Heaven and Earth, refining it through Fire Path methods, and continuously converting it into the user's own primeval essence.
Its primeval essence recovery speed was astonishing.
By abandoning the ability to condense primeval essence stones and dedicating every aspect of the Gu toward a single purpose...
Its recovery speed reached an unbelievable level.
Its complete refinement recipe...
Now existed only within Li Tianyu's mind.
Unfortunately...
Knowing the recipe and refining the Gu were two entirely different matters.
Over the past two months...
He had spent nearly every primeval stone he possessed.
His money pouch was completely empty.
Li Tianyu looked at it before letting out a helpless laugh.
"It seems..."
"I'll have to earn another fortune first."
Outside...
The afternoon breeze gently rustled the trees.
Inside the small courtyard...
A tiny crimson Gu quietly floated above a sea of Crystal green primeval essence.
Li Tianyu had taken another step toward changing his destiny.