Supreme Immortal Aperture.
Small East Sea.
Refining Sea Region.
Sea winds blew across the water's surface, stirring up waves as the sound of surf rang out ceaselessly.
An elderly hairy man of the Fifth Transformation lay unconscious, sprawled across a small sampan.
The sampan drifted along with the waves. If nothing changed, this elderly hairy man would meet his death at sea.
But a towering ship happened to pass through the area, and upon discovering the small sampan, cries of alarm and shouts immediately erupted from aboard.
After the elderly hairy man was revived, he found himself already aboard the towering ship.
"Old man, are you also heading to the Refining Dao holy land, competing for access to the Drifting Refining Nest?" the hairy folk Gu Masters on the ship inquired.
The elderly man nodded. "I live in the Small Northern Plains. When I heard news of the Drifting Refining Nest, I knew it was personally ordered to be forged by the most supreme, most honored, and most esteemed Lord of the World — the Great Love Immortal Venerable. A Refining Dao holy land like this might give me a final chance at a breakthrough."
The hairy folk Gu Masters on the ship couldn't help but exclaim in admiration: "For you to make such a long journey alone, all the way from the Small Northern Plains to here — it must have been incredibly difficult. You truly have our utmost respect!"
But the elderly hairy man shook his head with a bitter smile. "At first, it wasn't just me. There were three others. But along the way, things grew dangerous — two companions died one after another, and the last one didn't dare to continue and turned back. So I'm the only one who made it here."
Even within the Supreme Immortal aperture, things were far from settled.
Anomalous events frequently erupted, and the only places that offered a stable living environment were the settlement areas of the major races. Those places were typically protected by defensive Immortal formations or watched over by Immortal Gu Masters.
So even a Fifth Transformation Gu Master would find it extremely difficult to travel long distances, having to bear enormous and unpredictable risks.
The elderly hairy man also asked the hairy folk Gu Masters on the ship where they had come from.
Just as he had guessed, these hairy folk Gu Masters originated from the Three Hairy Continent in the Small Eastern Sea.
Back in the Langya blessed land, the Yellow Hairy Continent, Black Hairy Continent, and White Hairy Continent had been collectively known as the Three Hairy Continent by the outside world.
These hairy folk Gu Masters varied in cultivation — Fourth Transformation was the most common, Fifth Transformation was rare, and there were also a few at Third Transformation, which was quite uncommon.
"I truly envy you all, living so close to the Sacred Land of Refinement!" the elderly hairy folk Gu Master exclaimed with genuine admiration.
"What good is proximity? Passage through here is strictly prohibited under normal circumstances."
"How could the Sacred Land of Refinement allow unrestricted entry and exit?"
"As far as I know, many descendants of Gu Immortals can come and go as they please. Sigh, we can't compare. They have Gu Immortal elders — when they enter or leave, they ride flying vessels that travel at tremendous speed!"
"I just hope this assessment won't be too difficult, and that I can pass. If I do, I'll finally have the qualification to freely come and go from here!"
The hairy folk Gu Masters buzzed with discussion.
Several days later, the elderly hairy folk Gu Master and a boatload of hairy folk Gu Masters arrived above a drifting refinement nest.
The sheer scale and towering height of the drifting refinement nest left every Gu Master awestruck.
A voice reached each person's ears, guiding the newcomers along the correct path so they could smoothly enter the drifting refinement nest.
The interior structure of the drifting refinement nest was far more complex — countless rooms of varying sizes, with winding corridors and crisscrossing passageways that made it very easy to get lost.
Guided by that mysterious voice, the hair-on monkeys Gu Masters located their respective rooms and settled in.
The living quarters were fully equipped, yet exceptionally simple and spartan, the austerity of their ascetic practice unmistakable.
That night, the newly arrived hair-on monkeys Gu Masters enjoyed a restful sleep.
Starting the next day, in the individual Gu Refinement Rooms attached to their respective chambers, Gu materials began to arrive via transmission.
The hair-on monkeys Gu Masters commenced their Gu refinement.
As per the instructions of the mysterious voice, this constituted the initial assessment, requiring the Gu Masters to utilize their most proficient methods to process the Gu materials or refine Gu Insects.
This assessment spanned three days, during which the Gu Masters could freely demonstrate their expertise.
After the assessment concluded, the assignments of the Gu Masters' rooms were rearranged. Some ascended to higher levels, while others descended several floors.
There was no prohibition against interaction between Gu Masters within the drifting refinement nest. Consequently, small-scale exchange meetings were frequently organized during the nights.
The elderly hair-on monkeys Fifth Transformation Gu Master encountered numerous outstanding Gu Masters, the majority of whom were hair-on monkeys, but there were also humans, and even a scattering of other non-human Gu Masters.
He also managed to gather quite a bit of information in this way. Among other things, it was discovered one day — according to everyone's speculation — that the higher a Gu Master's floor of residence, the better their assessment results would be.
The higher the floor, the larger and better the room environment, and the more exquisite the food provided.
The Gu Masters gradually began fierce competition centered around this criterion.
The drifting refinement nest never lacked tasks involving processing Gu materials, refining Gu Insects, and attempting to create new Gu.
Through excellent performance, Gu Masters could also seek guidance from the mysterious voice and learn extremely refined knowledge and techniques of Gu refinement.
After living here for several weeks, all the Gu Masters felt their strength improving at a rapid pace.
Fourteen days passed, and the Gu Masters welcomed their mid-term assessment.
A batch of premium Gu materials was to be processed jointly by many Gu Masters.
The Gu Masters were distributed across their respective rooms, observing projections and processing the materials remotely. The projections were remarkably lifelike — both temperature and smell were indistinguishable from the real thing. The actual Gu materials were located in a secret place within a Refinement Path Gu formation, not placed before any Gu Master.
Such means were beyond imagination, leaving every Gu Master filled with astonishment and admiration.
More than ten days passed after the mid-term evaluation, bringing the arrival of the late-stage evaluation.
This time, they were to process immortal materials.