Chapter 5 - Jade Orb and Jade Tablet
“Don’t be nervous, I am your uncle. This is a fragment of my consciousness that I left behind,” the handsome man said, his gaze soft and gentle as he looked at Gu Yao.
Although Gu Yao had a vague idea of the man’s identity, he was still greatly surprised. He also thought about his own origins—could the other person not tell? Even though the man was just a fragment of consciousness, Gu Yao didn’t dare to be careless.
Before he could react, the handsome man spoke again: “The time left for me is short, so listen to me. This is my real appearance. Since you can see me, you must have sent out the Changxian Sect’s token. Don’t worry about it. Your uncle has long since lost faith in the Gu family. It’s just that your mother… sigh, I think Gu Zhiming is a soft-hearted fool. When your mother is no longer around, the Gu family may not be a safe place for you. Once you leave the Gu family, you will be safe. The methods I left behind are enough to protect your life, Yao’er.”
“Your uncle came to Yuanyang Town with your mother, wounded, as he was being pursued by enemies. We did not know when we would return. Yao’er, do not worry. Even when you go out to experience the world in the future, others will not easily associate you with me. Our bloodline is somewhat special. Your mother didn’t inherit it, but you, Yao’er, have it. Your uncle knew this when you were still in your mother’s womb. So even though your talent is poor, you need not worry. Remember the method your uncle gave you to unlock your bloodline…”
Gu Yao, too stunned to be surprised any longer, quickly memorized the method his uncle had spoken of. Once the method was completed, the figure of the man in his dream had clearly faded much, and his voice weakened: “Lastly, the real gift I left for you, Yao’er, is not the Changxian Sect’s token, but a jade tablet. The jade tablet has an extraordinary origin. Your uncle spent many years studying it but could not fully uncover its secrets. However, when I sensed you still in your mother’s womb, I felt an inexplicable connection with the jade tablet. I believe the Gu family will not value it, so if it is not by your side, you must find a way to obtain it.”
“I hope you will treasure it, Yao’er. Your uncle looks forward to the day when we can be reunited.”
Gu Yao rubbed his head and sat up on the bed. His double S-level spiritual talent had not been lost, so from the start, he never believed that everything in the dream was fake. He was simply curious about this method. He hadn’t expected that this peerlessly handsome man was actually his uncle. He had occasionally heard others speak of his uncle, who seemed to be an ordinary-looking man. Clearly, he had been concealing his appearance.
The special bloodline mentioned by his uncle made Gu Yao feel somewhat pleased. Although he had some ideas that he still needed to put into practice, who wouldn’t like a ready-made method to enhance their talent?
But what puzzled him was that his uncle seemed to have predicted his mother’s early death. In the end, all his uncle left behind were words hoping for a reunion with him and no mention of anyone else. He wondered what the real story behind this was.
Gu Yao reached for the jade tablet hanging around his neck. His mother had told him before her death that this was a gift from his uncle. However, the jade tablet appeared dull and grey, clearly of very poor quality. No wonder the Gu family, including the servants, had never valued it. Perhaps this was also why it had been preserved all these years.
His uncle must have left because it was inevitable. Even though the Gu family had ulterior motives, they feared his uncle’s presence, allowing Gu Yao to live relatively unharmed. But… the situation had become twisted, and Gu Yao didn’t know how to feel about it.
Gu Yao stared at the jade tablet, deep in thought. He recalled a treasure he had obtained in his past life. It was with that treasure that his double S-class spiritual power didn’t tear his body apart. It had allowed him to live well and study the various potions he loved. But he had never revealed this to anyone, and others had believed that his improved physique was due to his master’s potions.
The texture of the treasure was similar to the jade tablet, though it wasn’t a tablet but a round orb. He wore it around his neck for years, and one day, when his spiritual power touched it, it was absorbed into the orb. That was when he discovered the orb contained a spring of water. By drinking from it regularly, his body no longer weakened.
In the Intergalactic Alliance, everyone’s potential was tested at birth. This potential determined their future growth. Gu Yao’s physical potential was graded as D-level, while his spiritual potential was double S-level. This situation was extremely rare, and people believed he wouldn’t live long. His master discovered him and, moved by pity, took him as a disciple.
Whether it was to resolve his own hidden dangers or to prepare for the endless alien insect invasions faced by the Alliance, Gu Yao dedicated himself to researching potions that could break through human potential limits. The aim was to enhance the growth space of Alliance soldiers and provide them with stronger combat abilities to face the insect plague. It also allowed him to no longer suffer from the mismatch between his physical and spiritual strength. Eventually, his research succeeded, but the news leaked, leading to an assassination attempt on his life.
Gu Yao sneered. The people who wanted him dead were probably after his potion formulas, and some powerful families didn’t want the Alliance’s structure to change because it would threaten their own positions. But he had long anticipated the danger and made sure the formulas would be made public on the star network the moment he died. Even if he died, those behind the scenes would be seething with hatred.
Before his death, he vaguely saw the jade orb hanging on his chest fly out. After a flash of light, he lost consciousness. When he awoke, it was in this new body.
With a thought, the jade orb flew out from his sea of consciousness and landed in his hand. Yes, after his rebirth, the orb had merged into his sea of consciousness. However, up until now, he hadn’t had the chance to examine whether the orb had changed. The fact that he was alive again was likely due to the jade orb.
Suddenly, the jade orb began to grow warm in his hand. Gu Yao quickly looked down and saw a faint glow emanating from the orb. At the same time, the jade tablet also began to emit a similar light. Gu Yao was astonished and could now confirm that the jade orb and the jade tablet were connected. He couldn’t help but find this incredible. The jade orb had been something he obtained in the Intergalactic Alliance, while the jade tablet had been a gift from his uncle to his previous self.
The jade orb and jade tablet flew toward each other and collided, merging into one. Finally, they shot toward Gu Yao’s forehead. Everything went black, and he lost consciousness. In his fading thoughts, he wondered whether these two seemingly different worlds had a connection he didn’t know about. Did this mean he might have the chance to return to the Intergalactic Alliance?
He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but when Gu Yao regained consciousness, he didn’t feel overly anxious because he had experienced the same scene when he first discovered the hidden spring inside the jade orb. What he was more interested in now was what would happen after the jade tablet and jade orb fused. Was the spring still inside?
With a thought, Gu Yao entered the original space of the jade orb. His consciousness was stunned; the spring was still there, but there was now a patch of black soil. It was clear that the black soil was brought by the jade tablet.
Gu Yao’s consciousness returned to his body. He was still half-sitting on the bed, pressing his forehead. This time, his mind had a vague new concept. As expected, the jade tablet and jade orb were originally one, but for some unknown reason, they had split apart. Even now, they were not complete. There were several parts in total, but it wasn’t clear where they had gone. The treasure did not give any hints, but since the two had fused this time, as long as the other parts came within a certain range, the treasure would sense them.
Gu Yao grabbed a cup from beside the bed, resting his finger on the rim. The spring water flowed into the cup along his finger. After filling half the cup, he took a sip. In his previous life, he hadn’t understood, but now he realized that it was the spiritual energy in the spring water that helped improve his body. However, this spiritual energy only enhanced the body’s constitution and couldn’t improve innate genetic talent.
Moreover, because the jade orb had saved him, the orb’s rank had decreased, which also caused the spiritual energy in the spring water to decline. The spiritual field, having not received spiritual energy for a long time, was also continuously degrading and shrinking in both rank and area. The method to replenish and improve it was either by adding spiritual orbs or spiritual stones to restore the spiritual energy, or by retrieving the other parts of the treasure.
Gu Yao couldn’t help but feel a headache. How could he possibly part with the thousand spiritual orbs he had? Whether it was for cultivation or making potions to improve his body, all required a large amount of money. Furthermore, his current partner seemed to have some health issues as well. Gu Yao clicked his tongue. He needed to find a way to earn money quickly.
In his past life, his master supported him. His master was a senior alchemist who never lacked money. After Gu Yao succeeded his master and became a senior alchemist, others would come to him with large amounts of credit points to have him craft potions. Now, suddenly finding himself in such a tight spot, Gu Yao felt his scalp tingle.
The sky was growing slightly brighter. Rather than sitting on the bed worrying, it was better to get up and find something to do. He opened the door, and a faint smell of blood immediately entered his nose. Gu Yao was startled. Following the scent, he found it was coming from Chi Changye’s room. His heart sank, and he quickly hurried over.
“…Brother Ye, are you in there?” Gu Yao hesitated for a moment before calling out.
The door opened from the inside. The person who opened it was Chi Changye. His face was a bit pale, with bloodstains still at the corner of his mouth. His eyes scanned the floor, where there was a pool of blood. “…Brother Ye, you’re hurt?”
“Don’t worry, Xiao Yao, I’m fine. I was practicing at night and accidentally aggravated an old injury. The blood I coughed up was just congealed, nothing serious.” Chi Changye motioned for Gu Yao to come in. After he sat down, Chi Changye moved his fingers slightly and said, “Xiao Yao, you’ve never asked about my condition. It’s my fault. Let me explain…”
Gu Yao felt a bit awkward. Hearing two people say “let me explain” in a row, he was passively becoming an audience member. His mood was a bit complex, but he still honestly stayed silent and listened.
“I’m not a cultivator from here. I accidentally entered a space rift and fell outside the town, where the Gu family found me. With my cultivation, surviving inside the rift was already fortunate. However, I had exhausted all my magical treasures and pills, and my cultivation was completely dissipated. I ended up badly injured. I’m afraid… I’ll be a burden to Xiao Yao.”
Gu Yao was deeply shocked. He hadn’t expected that it was because of this that he was found by the twins Gu Xing and Gu Chen. Back then, Chi Changye must have been in a terrible state, covered in wounds, probably not much better than a beggar.
Surviving from the space rift meant that his cultivation must have been quite strong before. Gu Yao waved his hand and said, “My situation isn’t much better than Brother Ye’s. But Brother Ye still has his sharp senses, perhaps he can offer some guidance in my cultivation. But can Brother Ye recover his cultivation? Do you need any healing pills?”
“It will take time to recover my cultivation. Right now, I can probably only exert the strength of the fourth or fifth level of Qi Refining,” Chi Changye replied, though he didn’t mention that it was best not to use spiritual power if unnecessary, as it would only cause more harm. “As for the pills I need, they may not be available here. Even if they are, I won’t be able to afford them. Fortunately, I can gradually recover by absorbing spiritual energy. I’m not in a hurry, but Xiao Yao, your spiritual energy is quite chaotic and needs proper adjustment.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Living in that family, I’m not sure what they’ve done to the things they bring in. It’s better to wait until the market opens, and we can go together to see what’s available to buy,” Gu Yao suggested.
“Alright. But today, the Tian family and Lu family won’t be too peaceful, I suppose,” Chi Changye said, with a hint of meaning.
Gu Yao smiled. If the Tian family and Lu family could cause some trouble for the Gu family, that would be good. Now that the Tian family knew, the Lu family would surely get some information as well. With the three families infiltrating each other, it was hard to keep any secrets.