61: Return to Taihu Lake

After this period of taming, the giant ape was already able to understand and execute some of Gu Chang's simple commands.

It had to be said that this guy's intelligence was definitely not low; it was just that he used to live deep in Da Wu Mountain and was full of wildness. After encountering Gu Chang, who was more powerful than him, the giant ape gradually became obedient.

Of course, his obedience was limited to Gu Chang alone; others could barely stand steadily in front of him, let alone command him to do things.

After the giant ape finished eating the barbarian beef in his hand, Gu Chang once again displayed Martial Dao Divine Paragon, then ordered him to pick up a long staff forged from fine steel and fight with him.

"Roar! Ooh ooh ooh!"

Holding the fine steel staff weighing over a thousand catties, the giant ape appeared incredibly excited, roaring and swinging the long staff to attack Gu Chang.

After a period of adaptation, he grew more and more fond of this fine steel staff, especially when he used it to wreak havoc, which allowed him to vent the manic emotions in his heart.

"Boom! Bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Crack! Crash!"

Facing the giant ape's attacks, Gu Chang still appeared at ease. Although he had learned some simple staff Moves at this time, he had not learned the essence after all. Aside from his immense strength and agile movements, there was nothing special about him.

However, after being beaten up repeatedly, some of the giant ape's dodging movements gradually became instinctive, which greatly reduced the probability of injury.

After about a quarter of an hour, Gu Chang suddenly struck, knocking the fine steel staff out of his hand. The giant ape immediately became dejected and then squatted obediently on the ground.

"Moves are dead! But you are alive!"

"Whoosh! Woo woo woo!"

Then Gu Chang grabbed the fine steel staff and began to practice staff techniques, which made the giant ape scratch his ears and cheeks, as if he was thinking about why Gu Chang could use that fine steel staff so smoothly.

"Bang!"

After practicing the staff technique three times, Gu Chang heavily plunged the fine steel staff into the ground, then turned and left. The giant ape would definitely ponder over it in the valley by himself.

"The giant ape has basically been tamed. His strength is definitely not a problem against an ordinary Refining Spirit Expert!"

"In this way, my high-end combat power is basically sufficient. Although there are other giant apes in Da Wu Mountain, these things have too large an appetite, and their wildness is difficult to tame, so too many is not good."

Returning to the valley encampment, Gu Chang also felt that the time was ripe. The development of Da Wu Mountain had already reached its limit, and it was extremely difficult to further increase the population size.

Next, he either had to improve the strength of the existing soldiers and generals, or choose to expand outwards and occupy more territory.

"For a short period, I should still focus on improving myself. Let's see how the situation outside develops. Although Xuan King's strength currently seems the strongest, there might be some changes."

After careful consideration, Gu Chang decided to try to Breakthrough to a Realm above Spirit Refining while vigorously cultivating his soldiers and generals.

In the Reincarnation World, he was still under thirty years old, so he could afford to wait. Moreover, the longer the time, the more military strength he could accumulate.

In the real world, Gu Chang's ability to draw Talismans had become increasingly proficient. After continuous practice, the success rate of the three types of Talismans had stabilized at around 30%.

To be honest, this success rate was not high, but according to the time in the real world, he had not been drawing Talismans for more than ten days in total.

Such rapid progress had already far surpassed other Cultivators.

Of course, in reality, the time he spent was as long as one or two years, as he was also constantly practicing in the Reincarnation World.

"Click, click, click."

Outside the Ship, it was still a vast expanse. The number of boats traveling on Wu River had significantly decreased, as it was already deep winter and approaching the end of the year, so merchants who traveled for business had also quieted down.

Suddenly, Gu Chang heard a familiar sound of footsteps, so he directly turned his head and looked out the window.

The person who came was Xie Wanling. At this time, she was walking in the wind and snow, but as a First-rate Expert, this bit of wind and snow was nothing to her.

"Wanling greets Senior!"

"Come aboard."

"Yes, Senior!"

Xie Wanling boarded the boat only after receiving Gu Chang's permission, then saw Gu Chang still holding a brush and drawing Talismans as usual.

"Senior, there have been recent changes regarding the situation in Taihu Lake, so Junior specifically came to report."

"Tell me."

Gu Chang still did not stop drawing Talismans. The Talisman brush in his hand moved steadily, quickly forming a brand new Blazing Flame Talisman.

"According to what Junior knows, there are no longer any ice lotus seeds in Taihu Lake as rumored. Jianghu people from all sides have already dispersed, and the rumored Immortal guarding it has also returned to the prefecture city."

Xie Wanling immediately told him the information she had obtained.

"Is the news reliable?"

Hearing this news, Gu Chang immediately raised his eyebrows. This matter was quite important to him.

"After multiple verifications, it is absolutely reliable."

Xie Wanling immediately gave a positive answer, clearly having verified it before coming over.

"Very good, you've worked hard."

After hearing this, Gu Chang's heart immediately relaxed a lot. The anomaly in Taihu Lake had always been like a thorn, making Gu Chang feel a little uncomfortable.

Although with his current strength, he was no longer afraid of any Martial Forest Expert coming to cause trouble, since the matter involved a Cultivator, it was impossible to be too careful.

"It is Junior's honor to be able to do things for Senior."

Seeing Gu Chang satisfied, a smile also appeared on Xie Wanling's face.

"Keep these Talismans safe. As for how to use them, I presume I don't need to explain further."

After a brief thought, Gu Chang directly took out a few Talismans and gave them to her as a reward. These Talismans were drawn by him personally, and their power was no different from the original Talismans.

"Yes, thank you, Senior!"

Xie Wanling did not decline such things; even if she didn't need them, Divine Image Sect Disciples would.

"The New Year is almost here. I will be leaving before the New Year. You can come and visit me more often during this time."

"You can ask any questions you have about the Martial Dao. Also, take this barbarian beef back with you. Don't be too frugal with it. Strive to Breakthrough and become an Innate Expert as soon as possible."

Then Gu Chang thought for a moment and said these words to Xie Wanling.

"Senior! I..."

Hearing that Gu Chang was about to leave, Xie Wanling immediately panicked a little, wanting to say something to make him stay, but after opening her mouth, she realized she had no reason to keep him.

"There's no need to act like this is a life-or-death parting. I will still Cultivate for a while in the depths of Taihu Lake in the future. If you want to find me, you only need to send someone to this Island and leave a mark."

Seeing her flustered and reluctant expression, Gu Chang also smiled slightly. Although his initial relationship with Divine Image Sect was just a transaction, over time, their relationship had become closer.

So he directly took out a simple map, which marked the location of the Island where Gu Chang used to live.

"Yes! Thank you, Senior!"

"I hope Senior can embark on the Immortal Dao, achieve eternal life, and witness the rise and fall of Dynasties!"

Xie Wanling calmed down a lot after receiving the map, then offered her blessings to Gu Chang.

"Hahaha! I'll take your auspicious words, but don't neglect your martial arts either. After Breaking through to Innate, you can also Cultivate the Immortal Dao. At that time, you can directly come and find me."

Gu Chang was quite generous to his own people, and Xie Wanling indeed had the possibility of Breaking through to the Innate Realm.

"Junior understands!"

Xie Wanling's heart was immediately filled with an even stronger desire for the Innate Realm. If she could not reach this Realm, even serving Gu Chang would be difficult.

Soon, Xie Wanling shifted the topic to martial arts. Gu Chang did not hide anything and directly told her many insights and methods for Breaking through to the Innate Realm.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was New Year's.

The sound of firecrackers continuously came from the distant market town. Every household was decorated with lanterns and streamers to celebrate the New Year. Gu Chang looked at the Divine Image Sect members standing on the shore, seeing him off, and said to them:

"That's enough. Don't be negligent. If you have anything, you can directly come to Taihu Lake to find me."

With that, the oars stirred the waves, and then the boat slowly moved away from the shore, finally disappearing completely from the sight of Xie Wanling and the others.

After nearly two months, Gu Chang returned to Taihu Lake. Compared to before, Taihu Lake in winter was still extremely desolate. It was just unknown how many more people had lost their lives there before.

"I'm back!"