Chapter Fifty-Three: Ninefold Heavenly Thunder

“Of course it’s related. I heard from my master that the Heavenly Thunder Fire Seed comes with companion thunder, and the thunder can temper the body…”
The little book began to show off its knowledge in Gu Weiyu’s sea of consciousness. Clearly, the master it spoke of was an ancestor, not her, the weak one.
Gu Weiyu noticed the little book had sensed her thoughts again and felt a bit displeased. “Little Book, from now on, without my permission, you’re not allowed to pry into my mind.”
The little green book couldn’t help but flip over and present its back to Gu Weiyu. Humans were so troublesome—wasn’t it just kindly helping her solve her doubts?
Gu Weiyu rose from the ground and habitually cast a Dust-Cleansing spell on herself.
Without even using the Water Mirror technique, she could imagine that her current appearance must be as dusty and gray as the rock walls.
The Heavenly Thunder Fire Seed had shrunk, and faint light now filtered into the previously pitch-black cave.
She took a lap around the cave and found a small tunnel on the right side, just big enough for a person to crawl through.
The sealed cave was stifling, so she stooped and crawled into the tunnel, pushing her way out.
At first, the tunnel only allowed one person to crawl, but after a quarter hour, it suddenly opened up, and through the cave she could see a small mountain valley outside.
Gu Weiyu crawled out and entered the valley below.
Within the valley, a stream wound around a simple thatched hut, surrounded by a row of fence.
Wildflowers bloomed along the banks, pink butterflies flitted among them—a serene countryside scene.
She walked along the flower path to the hut and gently knocked on the wooden door. She had assumed there would be no answer, and knocked only out of courtesy.
Unexpectedly, the fence gate opened at once, and a gentle woman’s voice came from within, “You’ve finally arrived!”
Gu Weiyu was truly startled. Wasn’t this supposed to be ancestral land? How could someone be here?
As the woman’s voice sounded, the little green book in Gu Weiyu’s sea of consciousness suddenly grew excited, “It’s Master!”
A flash of green shadow—a moment later, the little book had actually darted out from her sea of consciousness!
Master? Could the person inside actually be her ancestor? She hadn’t expected to meet a living ancestor!
“Why are you still standing there?” The gentle woman’s voice came again. “Come in quickly!”
Gu Weiyu came to her senses, circled the fence, and entered the thatched hut.

A figure in lake-green robes stood by the window, with amber eyes gazing calmly at her. The little green book circled her gleefully, like a fool.
Gu Weiyu’s breath caught; she hurriedly knelt with respect. “Little Eleven bows to Ancestor!”
“I am only a fragment of the true self’s divine consciousness. Since you’ve received my legacy, calling me Ancestor is appropriate,” the woman in lake-green robes spoke calmly. “Rise.”
Gu Weiyu answered respectfully and slowly got up from the ground.
“Oh? Is Little Black with you as well?” The woman suddenly pointed to her lower abdomen, the dantian, speaking as though it were a question but with certainty.
Little Black? Gu Weiyu suddenly remembered the green ball residing in her dantian and hurriedly called out to it.
“Master!” The green ball sensed the woman’s presence and instantly ignored Gu Weiyu, affectionately leaping into her arms.
So Little Black really was the green ball! Her ancestor was even worse at naming than she was!
“You and I are fated,” the woman said kindly to Gu Weiyu. “Both Little Book and Little Black have acknowledged you as their master.”
Gu Weiyu felt embarrassed; she hadn’t expected the green ball to have belonged to her ancestor as well.
“How long has the Gu clan been in the Voidless Realm?” The woman turned to look out the window, asking softly.
There was no sense of time in the ancestral land; her lingering fragment of consciousness had only awakened when Gu Weiyu triggered her legacy.
“Third Grandfather said our Gu clan has been in the Voidless Realm for over a thousand years,” Gu Weiyu replied vaguely, unsure of the exact duration.
“To think it’s been so long…” The woman in lake-green robes sighed softly, looking again at Gu Weiyu and thinking to herself:
“Three spirit roots—fire, wood, thunder—are quite compatible with my legacy. No wonder you could trigger what I left behind.
To have passed the first three trials in succession, your temperament and fortune are remarkable. After so many years, it seems waiting wasn’t in vain!”
Gu Qiyu withdrew her gaze, clasped her hands behind her back, and said, “Girl, sit cross-legged.”
Gu Weiyu obediently complied, sitting cross-legged in the hut.
Even though Ancestor was only a fragment of consciousness, dealing with someone at her stage was as easy as crushing an ant!
“Close your eyes,” the woman instructed.
Gu Weiyu closed her eyes, her heart anxious. What did Ancestor intend to do?

The woman in lake-green robes glanced at the girl’s trembling lashes, extended a finger, and a ray of green light entered her forehead.
Gu Weiyu felt a warmth between her brows, and a surge of information flooded her mind. She immediately calmed herself, knowing she needed to sort through it all.
“The Ninefold Heavenly Thunder Alchemy Method is the culmination of my life’s experience.
When refining pills, assisted by Heavenly Thunder Flame, the pill formation rate and quality can be greatly improved. May my descendants cherish and love it…”
She didn’t know how much time had passed before she finished digesting the vast information in her mind. It was as if the knowledge had been etched into her soul, ready to surface whenever she wished.
This was a complete alchemy method, requiring a cultivator with a thunder spirit root to use Heavenly Thunder Flame as an aid.
She opened her eyes and looked to where the woman in lake-green stood. “Thank you, Ancestor Qiyu!”
Third Grandfather had said Ancestor Qiyu was a Nascent Soul cultivator; awe rose naturally in Gu Weiyu’s heart.
But the hut was now empty—the only things floating in the air were the little green book and the green ball. Ancestor was nowhere to be seen.
She had wanted to ask if there were pills that could restore lost limbs, but it seemed that would not be possible.
“Master’s consciousness has completely dissipated,” the little book said in a sorrowful tone by her ear.
Gu Weiyu felt a sense of loss. Though she had only met her ancestor once, she had gained so much from her—not only the Heavenly Thunder Fire Seed, but now the entirety of her life’s legacy…
“Master said you may take the jade slips and pill furnace in this hut,” the little book pointed to the only wooden shelf in the hut.
On the shelf sat a small jade-green furnace and several jade slips.
Gu Weiyu walked over and carefully placed the furnace and jade slips into her storage ring.
“Green Ball, you come in as well,” Gu Weiyu said.
The green ball was still somewhat forlorn, but quietly returned to the storage ring. The little book took another lap around the hut before returning to Gu Weiyu’s sea of consciousness.
Gu Weiyu sighed, stepped out of the hut, and prepared to leave.
But as soon as she exited the hut’s bounds, her vision went black, and the world spun…