Qi Path

Qi path Gu worms can alternate between form and formless, and the novel calls that ability extremely wondrous. Named Gu tied to the path in the early Southern Border stretch include vitality Gu, hard qi Gu, and atmosphere Gu. ^{ch. 315} Atmosphere Gu and strength qi Gu are both qi path Gu; their laws are similar enough that refinement can convert one into the other. ^{ch. 320} Fang Yuan’s strength qi Gu is called an oddity among strength path because it originates from ancient qi path, giving a long-range method that ordinary strength path lacks. ^{ch. 361}

Ancient qi path appeared earlier than strength path. When qi path flourished, eight out of ten Gu Masters walked it. After its peak it gradually declined and was replaced by strength path. ^{ch. 315} By the San Cha mountain stretch the narration states that qi path is non-existent in the current Gu world while strength path is only declining from former glory. ^{ch. 350}

Later Northern Plains talk repeats the same arc: qi path once flourished, was replaced by rising strength path, and by then has been near extinction for a long time. Qi path Gu Masters are extremely rare; Tai Bai Yun Sheng has seen only three qi path cultivators across years of roaming, the strongest among them Mo Shi Kuang. ^{ch. 584} Yan Tu already treats strength qi Gu as extinct with the disappearance of ancient qi path when Ju Kai Bei obtains only hard qi Gu. ^{ch. 315}