Chapter 1207 - 19 RI

When Fang Yuan woke up, it was already noon of the second day.

His headache was gone, and the intense pain had vanished completely.

He touched his ear subconsciously, the sense of touch no different from before. It was as if the cutting of his ear never happened last night.

He climbed down from his bed, finding a mirror to look at himself.

In the mirror, a young man's face was shown; he was not handsome, but his dark abyss-like iris, made him stand out from mortals, showing a special unique coolness and charisma.

The young man's ears were the same as any others.

Last night, when he planted the Earth Communication Ear Grass, Fang Yuan's right ear was plump and big, his ear drooping till it nearly reached his chin. But now it was completely normal from appearance, there was nothing different.

This is because his body and the Earth Communication Ear Grass had gotten used to each other.

Fang Yuan's thought moved, and from his aperture a little red steel primeval essence flowed along his body, moving up towards his right ear.

At once, his hearing improved multiple times, and numerous footsteps could be heard.

Although he was on the second floor, he had a feeling of stepping on earth.

Fang Yuan paid attention and listened as his primeval essence continued to be used, and his hearing improved as well. In the mirror, roots started to grow out of his ear.

These roots were like the roots of a thousand year ginseng, extending from his ear towards the outside, constantly growing longer and moving towards the ground.

At the same time, his right ear had the notion of becoming fatter.

Fang Yuan stopped using the Earth Communication Ear Grass, and a second later, the roots growing out of his ears retracted, and his right ear became normal again.

Of course, his hearing also went back to its initial state.

"This way, I have a recon-type Gu." Fang Yuan wore his upper shirt, taking out a water basin from under his bed.

Last night, the bloody water had turned into blackish dirty water due to the charcoal tossed in. The bloody towel submerged within was the same as well. There was still some white in the red colour initially, but now it was all covered by the black soot. It was easy to make people assume that it was a cloth for wiping grease in the kitchen.

This basin when brought out, even if it was poured in front of someone, nobody would notice.

Summer was coming, and many clansmen were trying to clean the stove that they used in winter. Often they would end up with a basin of dirty water just like this.

While the iron was still hot, Fang Yuan entered the rock crack secret cave again.

This time, he did not enter empty-handed, but caught a deerling outside and tied its four limbs together. He used a steel contraption to bind its mouth, and then used the Stealth Scales Gu to hide his presence and brought it to the rock door.

He did not open the door in a hurry, but activated the Earth Communication Ear Grass.

The roots extended from his ear, and his hearing ability amplified.

Dongdongdong...

Firstly, he heard a light sound, the sound of slow heartbeat.

As the roots grew longer, the heartbeat became louder, and the sources of sound also increased.

Fang Yuan did not need to think to realize that these heartbeats were coming from the jade eye stone monkeys in the rock forest.

His shut his eye and he could imagine in his head, the owners of these sounds hiding in their caves, curling into a ball and sleeping.

But this was not what he wanted to find out.

He continued listening, his right ear already becoming slightly fat, the ginseng limbs growing out of his ear almost half a metre long, the roots having sentience. They extended to the rock door, and stabbed in rather shallowly.

At this moment, Fang Yuan felt that his hearing had a gigantic boost.

With him as center, he could hear the numerous noises of a three hundred step radius!

This was the Earth Communication Ear Grass' true usage; what he did in the village was merely a test.

If the Earth Communication Ear Grass' roots did not touch the ground, for a Rank two recon Gu, it was at a very average level. But once the roots are in the ground, its range would drastically improve.

This was understandable.

On earth, the theory was that sound travels at a speed related to its intermediary. Sound in the earth or in water, the speed of transmission was far greater than through air.

In ancient China, some soldiers in war when sleeping, would use a wooden quiver as their pillow. Once any cavalry attacks, the soldiers would hear the noise from the earth and be awakened in time. If they waited for sound to travel by air, they would not have time to react.

The roots grew into the rock door, and Fang Yuan could instantly hear the commotion behind it.

It was a very scrambled and confusing noise, but very frequent. Compared to this noise, the stone monkeys' heartbeat was like the sound of drums.

If a newbie was using this Earth Communication Ear Grass for the first time, upon hearing this they would be thinking of all the possible guesses. But to Fang Yuan, this noise was expected, and he only listened for a while before frowning.

He pushed open the rock door.

The rock door was heavy, but with his strength of two boars now, it was easy.

The rock door opened, and a dark long tunnel appeared in front of him, stretching on at a straight line, towards the unknown.

Fang Yuan untied the deer he had caught, and tossed it into the tunnel.

The deerling was very smart. Sensing the dangers of the dark path ahead, it did not dare to move forward. Its huge eyes stared at Fang Yuan, showing fear and a begging intention.

Fang Yuan snorted and threw a moonblade.

This moonblade was controlled to be small, slicing vertically and inflicting a light wound on the deerling's body. @@novelbin@@

The blood gushed out from its wound, and under the pain, the deerling's fear towards Fang Yuan won and it rushed into the dark tunnel.

Darkness soon engulfed it.

Fang Yuan activated the Earth Communication Ear Grass again, this time the roots grew into the walls.

His hearing amplified, and first he heard the deerling's footsteps, its heartbeat, and some other noise.

Golden Centipede's cave is precarious, Earth Communication is the way to avoid the disaster...

Fang Yuan knew in his heart that these noises were the movement sound of a centipede.

In his ear, he could hear the deerling's cries.

Evidently, it had gone into the cave and met the centipede.

Fang Yuan could see the image in his mind, the flustered deerling attacked by a centipede swarm, completely engulfing it. The deerling turns around in fright, and as it kicks its young hooves it felt the sense of death approaching and gave cries for help.

Uncountable number of centipedes climbed onto its body, and the deer laid on the ground, rolling and struggling.

Only after a while later, its heartbeat stopped.

The centipede army started to consume the deerling meat on its body.

Fang Yuan's gaze shone as he heard a special sound.

This sound was like a buzzing, like the turning on of a chainsaw; it was full of arrogance, dominance, and wildness.

If a newbie heard this, they would be confused. But with Fang Yuan's experience, he could guess the identity of this sound at once.

Rank three wild Gu worm — Chainsaw Golden Centipede!

This was the worm king in the centipedes, the true killer in the centipede cave.

Fang Yuan could completely imagine: A metre over in length, the breadth of two fists, coiling and slithering around the cave.

On the two sides of its body, there is a row of sharp saw-like teeth. As it moved, the chainsaws also moved around rapidly, just like an electric chainsaw.

The Chainsaw Golden Centipede's arrival caused the centipede army to quieten.

It came ferociously, and wherever it went, the centipedes gave way, showing the half-body remains of the deerling.

It climbed to the deerling's body, opening its mouth and consuming the deer blood and deer meat, and when it got to the bones, it coiled its body up and used the chainsaws to lightly grind against the bones, turning it into powder easily.

"Even the White Jade Gu's defense cannot endure this Chainsaw Golden Centipede's attack. It seems that the Flower Wine Monk's intention is to make me use this Earth Communication Ear Grass and avoid the centipede. But I have the Spring Autumn Cicada, so to subdue this Chainsaw Golden Centipede, it is not impossible!" Fang Yuan had a thought in his head.

He was overjoyed at this prey.

The Chainsaw Golden Centipede was an outstanding Gu worm. If it was his to use, it would be another strong method of attack.

Only that, in order to subdue this Chainsaw Golden Centipede, even a Rank four Gu Master would have to expend a lot of effort.

Catching and killing are two things, the former is way harder than the latter.

Wild Gu worms were all crafty, and if the Chainsaw Golden Centipede saw something amiss, it would burrow into the ground and escape. If a Gu Master did not have a burrowing method, how can he give chase?

But Fang Yuan had the Spring Autumn Cicada, thus as long as he caught this Chainsaw Golden Centipede and released a hint of the Spring Autumn Cicada's aura, he would make the Gu worm cower and not dare to move.

Spring Autumn Cicada was a Rank six, its aura was extremely powerful against Rank one to Rank four Gu worms. But against Rank five, it had less effect, and towards other Rank six, there was no deterrence force in it.

This phenomenon is very interesting, but actually human society is just the same.

Towards someone outstanding, people would envy, worship and admire. But to someone who is only slightly better performing, they would dare to offend, and was mostly competition and jealousy.

"I am only at Rank two middle stage now, hence to subdue this Rank three Chainsaw Golden Centipede, it is possible but still too early." Fang Yuan assessed.

Rank two Gu Masters should use Rank two Gu worms which is the most appropriate, and most useful. Of course, Rank two Gu Masters can also own Rank three or even Rank four Gu worms.

But this was not common.

Firstly, the higher rank the Gu worm, the more expensive it is to feed it. Secondly, they become harder to use and require more cost when activating. Like a baby trying to wield a large hammer, if it forcefully tried to, it might pull a muscle due to the hammer's weight and smash its own leg.

"The deerling has already alerted the entire colony, it would take ten days to half a month for these centipedes to calm down. After my testing, the thought in my heart has been affirmed, but I have no chance to strike yet. Why don't I slow down and give it some time, this matter cannot be rushed."

Fang Yuan left his thoughts here and closed the rock door again. He then left using the Stealth Scales Gu.

-x-X-x-

Dark clouds covered the sky, casting shadows over the entire Qing Mao mountain, seemingly signifying the coming of a storm.

On a remote mountain side, a dozen robust lightning wolves drew back the corners of their mouth and made low roars. They had surrounded Fang Yuan.

These wolves had a healthy body and were not like the crippled wolves.

Any other Rank two Gu Master would be desperate if they were caught in such besiegement, alone. However, the situation was quite opposite right now.

Fang Yuan was standing on the spot, his expression calm. Instead, these lightning wolves that were surrounding him were slightly nervous and afraid.

The battle had already continued for a while and the ground was soaked with blood. Several lightning wolves had collapsed on the ground, and the silence showed Fang Yuan's battle accomplishments.

Kill!

Fang Yuan shouted inwardly, he took the initiative to attack even though he was the one surrounded. His foot pushed the ground as he pounced towards a lightning wolf on his left side.

This lightning wolf immediately shrunk back a small step in fear, but then its vicious personality was stimulated; it made a powerful jump and attacked Fang Yuan.

It opened its mouth in the air, revealing the many sharp wolf teeth that filled its mouth.

Fang Yuan laughed loudly; he didn't evade but just swung his right arm.

Whoosh.

An eerie-blue moonblade flew horizontally through the air and struck the lightning wolf's open mouth.

There was only a ripping noise, this unfortunate lightning wolf was instantly cut apart into two - from its mouth to tail - by this moonblade.

Boiling blood spurted out and poured like a rain of blood.

Fang Yuan's whole body flashed with white jade light as he charged through the blood rain and rampaged within the wolf pack.

The lightning wolves reacted, they attacked him from all sides. They opened their mouths and tore at him but were blocked by the White Jade Gu's defense, causing their own teeth to be broken.

Their claws were also of no use.

Fang Yuan punched and kicked, and the lightning wolves were sent flying under his enormous strength of two boars. Some lightning wolves had their skulls directly smashed and died on the spot. Fang Yuan grasped the upper hand in this battle.

But good things don't last forever, for his primeval essence was being used quickly.

Fang Yuan's aptitude was only C grade and his cultivation was at Rank two middle stage currently. The primeval essence in his aperture was not even fifty percent.

He looked at his declining primeval essence, but there were still several lightning wolves remaining. He had no choice but to use — Stealth Scales Gu!

His body gradually disappeared like the ripples in the water. In a blink of an eye, there was no more trace of him.

The lightning wolves were at their wits' end, and they gave off furious howls and started searing the area but didn't find anything.

Fang Yuan had not gone far. He gazed at the lightning wolves' movements while absorbing primeval stones to recover his primeval essence and also maintaining the concealment of the Stealth Scales Gu at the same time.

Lightning wolves had extraordinary eyesight but their sense of smell were not sharp. The Stealth Scales Gu just so happened to be their bane.

When Fang Yuan's primeval essence recovered to thirty percent, the lightning wolf pack finally retreated unwillingly.

Fang Yuan didn't have a movement Gu worm, so if the lightning wolves really retreated, he would definitely not be able to catch up to them with his speed. Thus, he removed the concealment of the Stealth Scales Gu and became visible.

Hooooowl!

The lightning wolves saw Fang Yuan and as if he had killed their fathers, they rushed at him.

Fang Yuan sneered. He waited till the lightning wolves were in front of him, then he suddenly struck with his right hand.

His right fist was covered with a layer of faint white jade light which was extremely hard. The punch ferociously struck a lightning wolf's lower back.

Crack. A crisp sound was heard immediately and this unlucky lightning wolf was sent flying by Fang Yuan, its lower back fractured.

It fell on the ground and crazily struggled while letting out miserable howls, but it could no longer get up.

Fang Yuan had recovered sufficient primeval essence and with his formidable fighting strength, he killed four more lightning wolves in a few moments.

The remaining several lightning wolves lost their fighting spirit and looked at Fang Yuan with fear. They whimpered and then tucked their tails and escaped.

Fang Yuan didn't chase after them.

He couldn't compare to these lightning wolves in speed; chasing was pointless.

The ground was filled with wolf corpses and they were all Fang Yuan's spoils of war. But Fang Yuan was cautious, he didn't hurry to take out the lightning wolves' eyeballs.

Earth Communication Ear Grass!

He got down on his hands, his right ear close to the earth. Roots grew out from the ear and pierced the soil.

His hearing strength amplified instantly; he could scout anything within a three hundred step radius.

Many sounds entered his ear, but there were no sounds of wolf packs or the sounds of other Gu Masters moving about.

"It is safe for the moment." Fang Yuan let out a breath of relief. He took out a dagger and began to dig out the eyeballs of the lightning wolves.

He only handed over a small part of these eyeballs and hid the rest.

If he handed all of them, it would no doubt attract suspicions and even result to secret investigations. Fang Yuan wanted to prevent such inconveniences as much as possible.

Fang Yuan immediately left after digging out all the eyeballs of these lightning wolves.

When he had killed two more wolf packs like this, the sky was already covered with thick dark clouds. Strong wind blew, blowing through the pine forests, creating a green wave in the mountain along with the rustling of the leaves.

Hoooowllll...

Faint howls of large numbers of lightning wolves echoed within the wind.

Fang Yuan's expression slightly paled; according to his previous life's memories, today was the day the wolf tide truly broke out.

He used the Earth Communication Ear Grass again but didn't hear the rapid advancement of the lightning wolves.

He wasn't surprised, but instead became calm.

This meant that there was at least over a three hundred step gap away between him and the lightning wolves. This distance along with his own speed and the knowledge of the topography, sufficed to let him reach the village safely.

"These lightning wolves are cunning, choosing to attack in such weather. The noise from the strong wind and the sounds from the pine forest will mask their movements to a great degree," Fang Yuan sighed inwardly, then ran towards the village with his greatest speed.

After running for hundreds of meters, he bumped into a five person Gu Master group.

"Hey, you are Gu Yue Fang Yuan!" A young Gu Master in the group raised his eyebrows when he saw Fang Yuan and greeted him in an odd way.

This Gu Master was Gu Yue Peng, Fang Yuan's classmate. During the academy period, he had suffered from Fang Yuan's bullying and extortion.

Fang Yuan indifferently glanced at him before brushing past him without pausing, not giving him a chance to speak again.

"Bastard!" Gu Yue Peng was stunned, then a stifled feeling rose up in his heart and his speed slowed down.

He didn't get the chance to ridicule Fang Yuan.

"Little Peng. Don't slow down. We need to hunt at least fifty lightning wolves today to preserve our rank in the battle merit board!" The group leader spoke.

Gu Yue Peng immediately restrained his furious expression and quickly followed the group members.

"My group is ranked seventy-five in the battle merit board. That Fang Yuan is ranked at beyond two hundred. This difference is like that of heaven and earth! I am also quite fortunate to have such a caring senior as the group leader. From the start of the wolf tide till now, I have exchanged part of the battle merits to get a Gu worm. My future is bright, how could Fang Yuan compare to me?"

Gu Yue Peng calmed down a lot when he thought of this, even feeling blessed at that.

"In this world, what can one accomplish by fighting alone? Many hands make light work, unity is the greater power. It is still the clansmen that are reliable! Borrowing the clan's strength, we newbies can safely grow up. That Fang Yuan is an idiot, he really thinks he is a hero. He resolved the problem of the Rank Five River Swallowing Toad only by luck and he is putting on airs. Although he has become a group leader, he hasn't recruited any group members, serves him right to be ranked last! Haha. Anyway, with his eccentric personality, how will he recruit any group members?"

Gu Yue Peng's movement became more relaxed.

Strangely, all along the way, they hadn't run into any wolf packs.

Gu Yue Peng raised his head to look at the sky, it was afternoon but the sky was already dusky as if it was evening.

The wind blew, and the dark clouds densely covered the sky and moved rapidly, brewing thunder and rainstorm.

However, Gu Yue Peng was not afraid, a mocking smile appearing on his mouth as he thought, "Hahaha, so Fang Yuan was hurriedly rushing back because he was worried of this rainstorm? What a coward, what is there to be afraid of a rainstorm?"

Right at this time, the group leader's face suddenly paled, he opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath.

"Sir group leader, what happened?" Other four members naturally noticed this.

In this Gu Master group, the group leader was in charge of scouting. Although he was also a Rank two Gu Master, his scouting Gu worm didn't have as great a radius as Fang Yuan's Earth Communication Ear Grass.

His face was deathly white right now and he had no wish to give detailed explanation.

"Run, quick!" He shouted with terror and amidst other group members' astonished gazes, he turned around and ran.

"Follow the group leader!!" Other group members were not foolish, they quickly reacted and broke into a run.

Hoooowllll——!

Wolf howls came from behind them continuously. From these noises, they knew there was more than a thousand lightning wolves!

Everyone in the group was pale, they breathed heavily and used all their strength to run.

"Wait for me!" Gu Yue Peng sprinted with all he had but was still the last; he lost his composure and started screaming for help.

He felt the breathing sounds of the lightning wolves behind his back.

But what made him despair was the group leader who normally showed great consideration to him, didn't even turn his head back. The teammates who used to pat their chests and speak of brotherhood and sentiments ignored his shouts.

Houuu!

Gu Yue Peng suddenly heard a wolf howl right next to him.

In the next moment, he felt an enormous force pressed on his back and knocking him down.

He tumbled on the ground; the fall had made him dizzy.

He subconsciously turned around to try to resist.

Boom!

A lightning snake flashed through the air.

In the darkness, a bold lightning wolf's figure immediately became visible.

Its body was twice the size of a normal lightning wolf, the hair in its body erect. It opened its mouth and revealed its silver white sharp fangs.

Gu Yue Peng's pupils shrank to a needle size, a thought echoing within his mind—"Hundred beast king!"

The wolf pack's scale in the wolf nest was enormous; not only were there three myriad beast king level thunder crown wolves, there were also hundred beast king level bold lightning wolves and thousand beast king level frenzy lightning wolves.

In the very next second, the bold lightning wolf opened its mouth and with a crack sound, Gu Yue Peng's whole head was gnawed off.

Fresh blood and brain matter splashed. The bold lightning wolf lowered its head and began to swallow the blood from Gu Yue Peng's neck and gnawed at his fatty meat.

Countless lightning wolves came from behind it and rushed ahead.

Rumbling sounds continued incessantly.

Pitter-patter, heavy rain also started pouring.

The true wolf tide had begun!

-x-X-x-

The rain poured heavily from above, and snake-like lightning danced in the sky randomly. This sustained for the entire night.

Fang Yuan lay on his bed, hearing the shouting of Gu Masters outside his house and the sound of their footsteps in the rain.

He squinted his eyes, visions of his past life flashing in his head again.

In his previous life when the wolf tide attacked, he was still a Rank one Gu Master, and being part of the support group, he hid within the village and managed to escape the disastrous fate.

But this time, he was already a Rank two middle stage, and he had the Four Flavor Liquor worm, currently moving towards upper stage. Thus, he had to be like other Gu Masters, resisting the wolf tide in such a dark night.

"The rain is pouring outside, and they still have to fight the large amount of lightning wolves in this poor vision, this is truly torture," Fang Yuan snorted in his heart.

He did not sleep in the rented apartment, but instead he was at the inn.

If Fang Yuan was at the rented house, he would definitely be forced to participate.

"The clan higher-ups have definitely underestimated this wolf tide's severity, the correct method would be to hide in the village and defend to the end. Unfortunately, they are blinded by past experiences..." Fang Yuan flipped around in his bed while thinking about this.

Outside the window, the rain splattered all over the place, it was definitely a storm.

Sounds of thunder constantly entered his ears.

On the streets, Gu Masters hurriedly moved about, the sounds of their footsteps and furious bellows never having a pause.

At once, the cries of the wolves reached the village.

This was destined to be a sleepless night.

Whether it was the Gu Masters who were risking their lives fighting, or the mortals hiding in the village shivering, or even Fang Yuan. After sleeping until the midnight hour, they naturally awoke.

He did not get up, but opened his eyes in the darkness while lying on his bed.

The sounds outside the window entered his ears. People's life and death battles, he could imagine, along with the thunderstorm outside the village. Gu Masters and wolf packs formed an extraordinarily lively stage. No matter which character, they were displaying the essence of life.

Life was like a show, this was a good show. But Fang Yuan had no intentions of joining the act.

On the contrary, he felt a sense of unexplainable loneliness.

A loneliness with boundary.

This was not because he was a transmigrator, reincarnator, or the fact that he carried an unspeakable secret.

But because, everyone was born lonely!

Humans are like isolated islands, floating in the sea of fate.

Human encounters are like the collision of these loneliness islands, and once they touch, there would be an effect.

Sometimes, the islands would stick together, in the name of 'interest', 'kinship', 'friendship', 'love' and 'hate'.

But eventually, they would separate, walking towards the path of destruction.

This is the truth behind life.

Unfortunately people are always afraid of being alone, they craved the liveliness of human crowd, and they refused to do nothing with their time.

Because once they face loneliness, it meant facing pain and hardship.

But once they can face this pain, people would obtain talent and courage. Thus, there is a saying — High achievers are definitely lonely.

"This is the feeling of being lonely. Every time I savour this, it strengthens my resolve to pursue the demonic way!" Fang Yuan's gaze shone, thinking of the story of Ren Zu.

Legend says, Ren Zu had obtained the Attitude Gu. Attitude Gu was like a mask, and without a heart Ren Zu couldn't wear it.

Because before this, Ren Zu had given his heart to the Hope Gu, and from then on he never feared difficulty.

But if Ren Zu wanted to use the Attitude Gu, he needed to have a heart.

Ren Zu was troubled, thus he asked Attitude Gu; he said, "Oh Gu, sometimes attitude says its all. Now that I have encountered a problem, you know it, thus I'm here to seek advice."

Attitude Gu said, "This is not hard. Ren Zu, you lack a heart, thus you just have to find a new one."

Ren Zu was confused, asking again, "Then how can I find a new heart?"

Attitude Gu sighed, "Heart, is nowhere and everywhere. Finding a heart, it is both easy and difficult. With your situation, you can obtain a heart now."

Ren Zu was overjoyed, "Quick, tell me, how?"

Attitude Gu warned him, "This heart, is called loneliness. Human, are you sure you want it? Once you obtain it, you will face endless pain, loneliness and even fear!"

Ren Zu did not listen to his warning, he continued asking.

Attitude Gu could not defy Ren Zu's orders, thus he said, "You only have to stare at the sky on a starry night, and say nothing. Once you reach daylight, you will obtain the heart of loneliness."

That night, it was a star-filled sky.

According to Attitude Gu's instructions, Ren Zu sat alone at the mountain peak, staring at the night sky.

Before this, his life was very difficult, constantly struggling for survival, he had no time to admire this beautiful yet mysterious sky.

But now, as he stared at the starry sky, his thoughts began floating. Constantly thinking about himself, such a meagre and weak being like himself, living a life of constant fear and insecurity.

"Sigh, although I have Hope Gu, Strength Gu, Rules and Regulation Gu, and Attitude Gu, to survive in this land, it is still difficult as ever. Even if I die tomorrow, it is not shocking. If I die, will the world remember me? Will anyone rejoice over my existence, and grieve over my death?"

Thinking of this, Ren Zu shook his head.

In this world, he was the only human, how can there be others?

Even with Gu accompanying him, he still felt a strong sense of —

Loneliness.

Heart of loneliness!

At this moment, when Ren Zu felt lonely, his body suddenly had a brand new heart.

The sun rose from the horizon, and shone on his face. But Ren Zu felt no happiness, and instead felt an endless pain, despair, confusion and even fear. @@novelbin@@

He could not endure this loneliness and fear, for all he felt was the advent of darkness and apocalypse!

Thus, he painfully cried, stretching out his fingers and digging out his eyes.

His left eye fell onto the ground and transformed into a young man. He had golden hair and a strong body. Once he appeared, he kneeled at Ren Zu's feet, saying: "Oh Ren Zu, my father, I am your eldest son, Verdant Great Sun."

At the same time, his right eye turned into a young girl, and she held Ren Zu's hand, saying, "Oh Ren Zu, my father, I am your second daughter, Desolate Ancient Moon."

Ren Zu laughed loudly, tears flowing out of his empty sockets. He said 'good' three times and continued, "I have children now, I can finally endure the pain of the heart of loneliness. From now one, there will be people celebrating my existence, and grieving for my death, even if I die now, you will remember me."

"Only that..." Finally, he sighed, "I lost both my eyes, and can no longer see the light. From now on, you two shall observe this world for me."

It rained the entire night, only at dawn did the rain stop.

Fang Yuan left the inn. Along the streets the passersbies carried heavy and sad expressions.

This night, the clan suffered great losses.

The truth was, for the three clans on Qing Mao mountain, none of them escaped this fate; all had suffered heavy losses.

Fang Yuan could tell from seeing the merit board.

After a night, the battle merit board lost twenty-five small groups, all sacrificed in the wolf tide. Even if there was one or two survivors, they were either injured or crippled.

The group Gu Yue Peng was in, was among this.

The dozen over days after this, the situation worsened by the day.

First, the hundred beast king bold lightning wolf had appeared, and then soon after, reports came in that there was the thousand beast king frenzy lightning wolf!

Information like this, caused the Rank two Gu Masters battling to be frightened.

If they met the frenzy lightning wolf, they would need at least three groups to cooperate to deal with it. This is not including the normal wolf groups together with the frenzy lightning wolf.

The three clans had to send out their Rank three elders to deal with the situation.

In this situation, the Gu Masters' daily lives became very dangerous and long.

Even with the Stealth Scales Gu, Fang Yuan had to be careful and meticulous. After all, he might encounter a beast king class lightning wolf with a Lightning Eye Gu.

The good news was that he had previously paid a price to be able to use the Earth Communication Ear Grass.

This investigative Gu's range was very large, allowing him to avoid the large-sized wolf packs.

Eventually, the weather got warmer as July was at its end. Even though the situation was not optimistic, under the cooperation of the three clans, the situation was under control.

Somewhere near the mountainside.

Three Gu Masters who had already experienced an intense battle were facing against a bold lightning wolf that had just arrived.

The aura of death was impending.

"Damn it, insufficient primeval essence, if I had 60%, no just 30%, we would not have to be chased like this!" Group leader Xiong Zhan stared at the slowly approaching bold lightning wolf, like a cat chasing a mouse, he vomited a mouthful of bloody water.

"The mountain cliff is ahead, there is no path left, what do we do?" A group member asked with a pale expression.

"What can we do? We can only put our hopes on the reinforcements. I heard lord Bai Ning Bing from my clan has come out of his closed door cultivation and is rushing into battle."

The two original groups, from both the Xiong clan and Bai clan, faced the wolf tide together and cooperated, but now only three people were left.

"Rather than relying on the Bai Ning Bing who is nowhere to be found, I'd rather fight for a chance to survive!" Xiong Zhan gritted his teeth, "The reason why a beast king is so dangerous, is because of the Gu on its body. I have a Plunder Gu, it can forcefully steal a Gu worm from my enemy. But it needs to be sustained when activated and I cannot move. During this period, you have to protect me."

"Okay!" The other two looked at each other and stood in front of Xiong Zhan, helping him block the bold lightning wolf.

Even though they knew that there was little hope, no one was willing to resign themselves to death.

"If the plunder is successful, we have a chance to live! Heaven bless us!" Xiong Zhan's face was determined as he raised his right arm.

Life and death depends on this!

The three humans and one wolf did not know that, high up on the cliff, a white haired young man wearing a white shirt was staring at this scene.

"Life is so boring..." He sat on the ground, one hand propping himself up, while the other was pouring liquid from his wine bottle.

What he poured out was not wine, but sweet mountain springwater.

He did not drink wine, but only liked water.

As this young man drank, he stared at the show before him.

"Fight, and die. Such a mundane life is too boring. Only with an intense battle like this, can your lives have a hint of excitement and colour. This way, your lives has some meaning."

He laughed lightly in his heart, not showing any inclination to help.

Even if he had the ability, even if his Bai clan member was there.

So what?

To him, loneliness is the deepest darkness, and the light of kinship is just a facade.

He Bai Ning Bing would not do something as boring as saving someone!

-x-X-x-

太日阳莽 - Verdant Great Sun

古月阴荒 - Desolate Ancient Moon

Important Note: These names are really hard to translate, actually because they are names they should be in pinyin, Tai Ri Yang Mang and Gu Yue Yin Huang.

However the names are relevant to another plot-wise matter... so they had to be translated to English, which was really difficult. For Gu Yue Yin Huang, the Gu Yue here is exactly the same as the Gu Yue clan.

-x-X-x-

On the cliff, Bai Ning Bing watched with interest.

As he sat at the cliff, a life and death battle was on full display.

The bold lightning wolf took its move, slowly approaching.

Two Gu Masters blocked its path with a grim expression.

Behind them, Xiong Zhan was half-kneeling on the ground, his left hand grabbing his right wrist, his right hand in the shape of a claw, aiming at the bold lightning wolf.

"Plunder Gu!" Suddenly, he shouted loudly, all the primeval essence in his body gushing towards the Plunder Gu.

An invisible grabbing force exploded from within.

Xiong Zhan's right hand grabbed the air, and a sense of illusion made him feel that he had grabbed onto a Gu worm.

But this Gu worm continued to struggle, contesting with him.

This force was very large; his center of gravity had already been very low, but he still felt a very strong force dragging him forward.

"Plunder Gu's success rate is very low, but I have to succeed this time, otherwise we're doomed!" He gritted his teeth, veins popping up on his forehead as his expression turned ferocious, contesting with all his ability.

Xiong Zhan had no other way.

Failure means death!

Under the pressure of death, he infused the Plunder Gu with all the primeval essence he could muster. With the infusion of the primeval essence, the Plunder Gu residing in his right palm also increased its sucking force. The bold lightning wolf felt something amiss, and started howling, attacking in a frenzy.

The two Gu Masters could hardly block it.

Just when Xiong Zhan felt that his plunder was going to succeed, his expression changed.

"Damn it, not enough primeval essence!" He suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood, his state of health being at the worst. Once a plunder fails, he would face some backlash. This was a flaw of the Plunder Gu.

Howl!

Without the Plunder Gu's restriction, the bold lightning wolf opened its mouth, and started to howl.

The Gu worm that lived within it used its ability, and made its teeth shine with lightning.

Eerie blue lightning discharged and finally shot out from its mouth.

The lightning shot through the middle of both Gu Masters, aiming for the half kneeling Xiong Zhan.

Xiong Zhan did not even have time to cry before he got hit by the lightning, turning into a piece of charred black cooked meat, instantly dead.

"Run!" The remaining two Gu Masters no longer had any fighting spirit as they ran in two directions. @@novelbin@@

The bold lightning wolf chased up to one of them, pouncing on him and biting the throat.

The final Bai clan Gu Master was blocked by the bold lightning wolf, and could only retreat towards the cliff.

"Ahhhhh. I'm going to die!" With his back against the cliff, he roared in despair, venting out the fear in his heart.

But suddenly his voice came to a stop — He saw Bai Ning Bing on top of the cliff.

"Lord Bai Ning Bing! Lord Bai Ning Bing, is that really you?" He was stunned but then started shouting, overjoyed.

"Oops, you found me," Bai Ning Bing laughed, and raised his right hand.

His right index finger pointed downwards and an icicle instantly formed, shooting downwards.

The icicle hit the Gu Master crying for help, penetrating his skull, all the way to his chin.

"Ah!" His face was still fixed with intense joy after finding hope, but then fell to the ground with a plop.

The bold lightning wolf was shocked by the event.

It stared at Bai Ning Bing, its mouth opening. Within, lightning coiled around its teeth.

"Ignorant beast." Bai Ning Bing stared plainly, jumping down lightly from the five metre cliff.

In the air, he clapped his palms together, and icy mist instantly formed.

Next his palms splitted, and an ice blade appeared.

This ice blade was around 1.7m, like the katana on Earth, with a transparent icy body. The handle was grabbed by Bai Ning Bing.

Bold lightning wolf shot out electric light from bottom to up, and Bai Ning Bing laughed while two lines of white water vapour poured out of his nose.

The water vapour swirled around, wrapping around his body into a layer of water barrier.

The water ball continued to rotate on its own, and the bold lightning wolf's lightning dissipated upon hitting this barrier.

The water ball burst open, and the white clothed young man appeared from within.

"Die." The young man's iris turned from black to pure blue, like two pieces of blue crystal, devoid of feelings and emotion.

The light of the blade shone.

Bai Ning Bing landed lightly, and from his half-transparent white ice blade, a drop of blood fell.

Meanwhile, the bold lightning wolf stayed still like a statue.

A breath later, fresh blood poured from its neck as the large wolf head fell on the ground, rolling several times. As for the body, it collapsed on the ground.

The Lightning Current Gu that resided in its body shot out like lightning towards Bai Ning Bing.

Bai Ning Bing flicked his wrist, and a light shot out from his blade.

The Lightning Current Gu, under his sword, exploded into a ball of eerie blue lightning current with a bang, perishing instantly.

Bai Ning Bing slowly walked towards Xiong Zhan's corpse.

"The other Gu worms, they are all ordinary. But this Plunder Gu is slightly interesting." From Xiong Zhan's corpse, he extracted the Plunder Gu and held it near his chest.

Even though the three clans have an agreement — after a Gu Master dies, if anyone after that obtains a Gu worm that has lost its Gu Master, they need to hand it over.

But Bai Ning Bing did not care about this rule.

Even if they found out, so what?

He was the symbol of the Bai clan's rise, and the clan would definitely protect him.

This, he was very sure of.

"Only... this wolf tide is really boring." He used his hand to caress his ice blade, feeling the intense freezing sensation.

"Come to think about it, it is more fun competing with someone." He yawned, suddenly smiling, "I wonder how Qing Shu, Xiong Li and the others are doing, how much have they grown? After cultivating behind closed doors for so long, maybe they can give me a surprise, maybe."

Days later.

At the square where it was overflowing with people, Fang Yuan stared at a giant flag.

On the flag, words were formed by the Swimword Gu. The content was about the resources co-supplied by the three clans.

These resources were very broadly categorized, from food used to feed Gu worms, rice and condiments for humans, oil and other living necessities, to Gu worms themselves and primeval stones.

But behind these resources, there was a number attached to them, corresponding to the amount of merit points needed to exchange for them.

A wolf's eye was ten merit points, and five merit points was for a bag of 500g of rice. Using twenty-five merit points could let a Gu Master exchange for one primeval stone.

Undoubtedly, the arrival of the wolf tide brought about an opportunity never seen before during peaceful times.

The battle merit board and this resource board urged on many Gu Masters, making them willingly bath in warm blood, hunting lightning wolves day and night.

Especially recently, as the wolf tide intensified, the three clans brought out the savings they had and spurred on the Gu Masters' battle spirit, also raising their battle capability to help the village survive this ordeal.

Thus, the resource board had many things that were not commonly seen.

Like now, Fang Yuan's attention was on this Gu.

"Three Step Fragrant Grass Gu," he muttered, staring at the description on the large flag.

Three Step Fragrant Grass Gu was a Gu worm Fang Yuan needed, as it could assist with movement, raising Fang Yuan's running speed.

Honestly speaking, these days, the resource board had many new Gu worms. But only this Three Step Fragrant Grass Gu was what Fang Yuan wanted.

Except that this grass Gu was not easy to get. It was not only the only one of its kind on the resource board, but the merit points required to exchange for it is also very high.

"If I use my true ability, I can definitely gather enough merit points to exchange for this Three Step Fragrant Grass Gu. But if I do that, it would invite the suspicion of the clan, and that is not desirable."

Fang Yuan thought silently.

"There is another way, and that is to produce a large amount of vitality leaves and sell these Rank one Gu to the clan, exchanging it for merit points. But this method is slow, by the time I get enough points, someone might have exchanged it already."

Fang Yuan shook his head internally, this method had a flaw that would lead to failure.

Then what should he do?

He stared at the resource board and the merit board, falling into deep thought.

Towards the merit points, he had a clearer and deeper understanding of it compared to all the surrounding people.

Merit points are basically a kind of emergency currency.

During peacetime, primeval stones are the common medium of exchange. They were hard currency and had high commercial value in themselves, thus would never devalue.

But with the wolf tide, the need for primeval stones surged, and it could no longer be used as a currency. Thus, an emergency currency was needed to take over.

Thus, merit points were born.

"With an alternate currency like the merit point, it can prevent the economy from collapsing temporarily. Like on Earth, when there's a war, the government would print large amounts of paper money. Of course, that causes inflation and rising price levels. The merit points are the same; the more it drags on, the more it devalues. But during the time of the village's life and death situation, without merit points and using only primeval stones is not sustainable. Thus, they can only pick the lesser poison. Hence after the wolf tide, the economy always has signs of depression."

"Sigh, this rough form of an economy is nothing worth mentioning. If I am a Rank three, I can easily play around. But unfortunately, I do not have enough strength, so I'm unable to handle the risks. If I push on, it is equivalent to playing with fire."

Fang Yuan sighed internally.

The point was that his cultivation was not high, and his strength was not sufficient.

Without strength, only having wisdom, it is useless.

Thus, in Ren Zu's story, Ren Zu chose to deal with the Strength Gu, obtaining strength and giving up on wisdom.

That is because, strength is the foundation.

Fang Yuan was still thinking deeply when he heard the discussions of the people around him.

"Do you guys know? Bai Ning Bing struck again!"

"What, what, which unlucky Gu Master is it this time?"

"It's Xiong clan's Xiong Li, that dejected-looking one."

"Sigh, what is this Bai Ning Bing doing? Last time, injuring Chi Shan, and now attacking Xiong Li. With the wolf tide coming, he is still fooling around!"

"He's always does what he wants, he is already a Rank three Gu Master and is still finding problem with Rank two Gu Masters. For fairness, he even used a Gu worm to suppress his own cultivation to Rank two, he is really bored and hard to understand!"

"Bai Ning Bing huh... hmph, a person halfway into the coffin. But that reminded me of something." Fang Yuan upon hearing this felt something in his heart stir.

He knew how to get a large amount of merit points quickly.

-x-X-x-

Sprinting rapidly!

The trees before Fang Yuan looked like they were crashing into him, and he quickly avoided them nimbly, pushing off with his legs.

His right ear had roots swaying around, and behind him was a bold lightning wolf angered by him on purpose and several hundred healthy ordinary lightning wolves.

The lightning wolves' speed was faster than him. Especially the bold lightning wolf, its streamlined body jolted around in the complicated terrain, having an extremely fast speed.

Seeing Fang Yuan who was about to be caught up, suddenly, his body had ripples of light around him, and he vanished.

The bold lightning wolf had to halt its steps and observe the surroundings with bewilderment.

Fang Yuan sprinted to a faraway place, before reappearing again.

Bold lightning wolf's eyesight was sharp, immediately finding him. It growled angrily and chased after Fang Yuan again.

As for those ordinary lightning wolves, they followed closely behind.

Fang Yuan laughed internally and continued sprinting.

Rinse and repeat, he had finally reached his destination. This time, he activated his stealth completely.

The wolf pack who came chasing sniffed around the area where Fang Yuan disappeared, and soon after, the bold lightning wolf found its new target.

Not far away, on the mountain valley, there were five Gu Masters fighting with a pack of wolves.

Howl!

The bold lightning wolf had limited IQ, immediately forgetting Fang Yuan. It turned its head and growled, and the lightning wolves behind it entered the valley's battlefield like tidal waves.

"How can this be?" The Gu Master in battle saw this scene and despaired.

"Didn't they say that each pack of wolves have their own mobility range?"

"We took so much effort to kill a bold lightning wolf, and here comes a second one! We're screwed."

"Quickly send the distress signal to the clan!"

This new pack of wolves joined in and the Gu Master's pressure intensified, their tone showing a panicky and flustered emotion.

The investigative Gu Master shot out a Gu worm from his hand.

This Gu worm was like a golden round ball, but had a pair of colourful feathered wings. It flew into midair and exploded, turning into a rainbow flame, observable from a 50km range.

This was the signal Gu, a Rank one expendable Gu worm, often used to send signals.

"The signal has been sent, everyone hang in there, wait for reinforcements!" The group leader shouted at an appropriate timing, slightly raising the morale and stabilizing their fighting spirits.

"It's useless." Fang Yuan appeared at a high point on the cliff, staring downwards, his heart smirking.

This Gu Master group's situation was already well investigated by him. The nearest group in the vicinity was also deep in the wolf pack's encirclement.

That pack of wolves was also lured over by Fang Yuan, to restrict them.

"Killing lightning wolves, each eyeball is ten merit points. But on the battlefield, reclaiming Gu worms and bringing them to the clan higher-ups is worth at least a thousand points! This kind of thing, after doing it two or three times, I will be able to exchange the Three Step Fragrant Grass Gu," Fang Yuan thought in his heart.

Under his scheme, the Gu Master group's fate was sealed.

"Next, I will wait for them to be exterminated. Then I shall lure the lightning wolf pack away and come back here to collect the Gu worms." Fang Yuan walked to a nearby tree and sat down leisurely.

No one was willing to die, so these Gu Masters put up a strong resistance.

Fang Yuan did not risk it to lure a thousand beast king frenzy lightning wolf, but instead chose the bold lightning wolf, so this gave them the opportunity to struggle for a longer time.

Especially when among them, there was a defeated opponent of Fang Yuan's.

Gu Yue Man Shi.

He had the Monolith Gu and had strong defense, thus he alone could block many lightning wolves' attack.

But, this was also why Fang Yuan chose their group.

The more precious the Gu worm, after returning them, the more merit points are awarded. After bringing back the Monolith Gu, Fang Yuan can get around 3900 merit points, and that can let his position on the battle merit board rise by at least twenty positions.

Of course, Chi Shan, Mo Yan and Qing Shu's Gu worms, were more precious than the Monolith Gu.

But Chi Shan's group had Gu Yue Chi She, who possessed the Snake Communication Gu, able to rely on heat to detect living beings. Fang Yuan's stealth had no use against him.

As for Mo Yan, she had an even stronger investigative Gu Master than Chi She, with even more methods. She had single-handedly completed wolf den investigation missions given by the clan many times.

Qing Shu group does not have a strong investigative Gu Master, but because of Gu Yue Fang Zheng's existence, the clan has definitely sent a clan elder to follow and protect him, thus if Fang Yuan lures them, it is courting death.

For the Gu Masters in the other two clans, Fang Yuan was not familiar with them.

Setting up others was not easy to do. After choosing left and right, he finally decided on a few groups, and after following them for a long while, he managed to find an appropriate chance.

Bai Ning Bing was sleeping when sounds of battles entered his ear.

His opened his eyes slightly, the slit of his eye shining with cold light.

"Another boring scene." He was sleeping on the edge of the cliff, and just turning around allowed him to have a clear view of the valley. He was about to go back to sleep, but suddenly saw a figure.

"Oh?" His eyes shone with shock as he saw Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan was leaning against the tree, eating a wild fruit he picked, staring coldly at the battlefield with no intention to help.

Bai Ning Bing instantly grew interested, he had never met someone like this. From young, the people around him were all loyal to the clan, and indulged in kinship.

But from Fang Yuan, he felt a sense of familiarity, loneliness and aloofness.

"Who is he?" Bai Ning Bing's heart developed confusion and interest.

The wild fruit was picked on the spot, but with his experience, Fang Yuan could tell it was harmless.

The fruit was juicy, sour and sweet. As he ate, his right ear twitched; he heard something, and it was nearby!

Bai Ning Bing was sleeping on a higher terrain of the cliff earlier, but without making any movements, the Earth Communication Ear Grass could not sense him. However, now that he moved, he was instantly discovered.

Fang Yuan's eyes shone with lightning as he turned his body to see a white haired and white clothed young man, stabbing his ice blade into the cliff and sliding down along it, landing not too far away.

Bai Ning Bing!

Fang Yuan's eyes squinted, recognising him instantly.

Qing Mao Mountain's number one genius, the symbol of Bai clan's rise. Killing a Rank three clan elder at Rank two, and at this young age he already reached Rank three, a crucial person capable of changing the entire power distribution of Qing Mao mountain!

If it was other Gu Masters facing Bai Ning Bing alone, their expression would be rapidly changing, either nervous or wary.

But Fang Yuan's gaze only stayed on him for a second before looking back at the valley. His expression was calm, almost uncaring. This is because Fang Yuan knew all about Bai Ning Bing's trump cards and secrets. Very clearly.

"Oh..." Bai Ning Bing walked over, staring at Fang Yuan blankly. His mouth opened, dragging his word.

He curiously stared at Fang Yuan like he was looking at an object he had never seen before.

He got closer and closer. The more he looked at Fang Yuan, the more his eyes shone, and the greater interest he had in his heart.

"On this person, why do I sense a familiar smell? It feels like I've seen him before. Like long ago, we are already friends, this feeling!" Bai Ning Bing's heart was turbulent.

Friend — This word, he was always sceptical, despising, and even felt disdain towards it.

He never thought he would have a friend. Those commoners around him, they only had the right to admire him, they had no right to become his friend.

Bai Ning Bing always thought, he would never have a friend in his life.

But now — he suddenly had this feeling!

This was a mystical feeling, but he was very sure of it. When he looked at Fang Yuan, it felt like he was looking at himself!

Bai Ning Bing got slightly too close, and Fang Yuan turned around, staring at him plainly with his deep dark iris.

Without a reason, Bai Ning Bing understood the meaning of his gaze. @@novelbin@@

It was a warning.

He halted his steps, slightly stunned, very impolitely staring at Fang Yuan while saying, "Eh, you really are interesting."

If the Bai clan Gu Masters who were familiar with him heard this, they would go crazy.

That is because, since his birth, Bai Ning Bing had never praised someone like this.

Fang Yuan ignored him, biting his wild fruit and staring at the valley's intense fight.

Bai Ning Bing circled around Fang Yuan, observing him closely. As if he was looking at the strangest food on earth. He looked from every angle, even squatting down on the ground and looking up at him from the floor.

His silky white hair which was impeccably clean like a crystal, instantly laid on the muddy ground, but he did not care.

His white robe dragged across the ground and he paid no heed either.

This moment, he was like a pure child, seeing his playmate, curiously staring at Fang Yuan with a longing expression, many times wanting to speak but couldn't.

Bai Ning Bing felt that he had many things to say to Fang Yuan, but when he was about to speak, he felt no need anymore, because he felt that Fang Yuan understood.

After being silent for a while, he asked, "The valley's battle is not interesting at all, what's there to look at."

Halfway through, his eyebrows raised, showing an expression of realization, "I see. You lured this wolf pack, you want to kill these Gu Masters, but why did you not do it yourself. Oh, afraid of leaving evidence. You are too vigilant, from your aura, you already have Rank two cultivation. If I were you, I'll just go ahead and do it myself!"

Suddenly, he chuckled like he had seen the most fun toy in this world as a kid. His eyebrows darted around, "You are really interesting, even the things you do are interesting. Hehehe, I am starting to like you!"

Fang Yuan retracted his gaze, turning around and looking at Bai Ning Bing.

He knew this person.

That is because this person is also a natural demon.

What is a demon?

Abandoning the worldly customs, treating the people of this world with indifference. Engulfed by loneliness, and despising relationships!

This person was like Fang Yuan's shadow, except that Fang Yuan was deeper down the path, and Bai Ning Bing was more pure.

In simple words, they were kindred spirits!

In his previous life's memory, after the three clans barely survived the wolf tide, this man murdered the three clans and caused the lustrous green Qing Mao Mountain to turn into a hellish ice mountain!

"Bai Ning Bing, Bai Ning Bing..." Fang Yuan sighed in his heart, saying slowly, "You're very lonely, huh."

Bai Ning Bing's eyes widened, squatting on the floor, nodding continuously, empathising and sighing, "Yes, these days, life has been super boring. Some time ago, I killed a Xiong clan Gu Master and that was somewhat fun. Getting this Gu, look."

Fang Yuan looked at the Plunder Gu in his hand, starting to laugh, "So, you want to kill me?"

Bai Ning Bing's eyes turned from black to blue crystal colour as he jumped up and straightened his body.

"Hahaha!" He raised his head and laughed thrice, staring at Fang Yuan with an excited expression, "You do know! That's right, I want to kill you, come kill me too. Life and death battles are the most fun, meeting someone as interesting as you, I swear I've never done anything so interesting!"

He got more and more excited as he suddenly opened both arms, arching his head and sighing, "Ahhhh! I can feel that my life had never been so colourful! Thank you, thank you, although I don't know your name, thank you for letting me kill you!!! Hehehe..."

-x-X-x-

"Do not worry, you are only a Rank two, I will not lower myself and take advantage of you. I shall restrict my cultivation to the same rank for your sake; so come, let's have a fair fight!" Bai Ning Bing roared with savage laughter.

Facing the crazy Bai Ning Bing, Fang Yuan easily maintained a languid expression. He met the heated glare in an equal manner, responding coolly.

"Wanna kill me, then come."

Nothing left to say, Fang Yuan took the first step, his body drifting away like a falling petal.

Bai Ning Bing's laugh came to an abrupt stop at this, his voice easily tainted with anguish.

"Don't you run from me!"

He instantly ran after, engaging Fang Yuan in a relentless chase.

Fang Yuan ridiculed the disheveled master soundlessly, sprinting towards the mountain valley.

Disturbed by the two barging into the valley's inner battlefield, the wolf pack reacted with fury, wasting no time in attacking Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing.

The Gu Masters who had already been forced into the valley and lost one man noticed the spectacle, the remaining four revealing a relieved expression when they saw saw the wolves become distracted.

"Hang in there guys, reinforcements are here!" One even shouted loudly, blatantly trying to encourage the wolves against the newcomers.

"Why is there only two?" Another asked, clueless while they saw the muffled figures of Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing.

But as they got closer, Gu Yue Man Shi's face turned weird with realization.

"It's him!"

It was impossible for him to not remember Fang Yuan, along with a sharp feeling of fear mixed with shame; it was this man that had defeated and publicly humiliated him. Those cold, merciless eyes, dug out the deepest nightmare in his heart. He would never forget that terrifying event and the fiendish man who accompanied the memory.

He had once sworn to himself that he would buck up and reclaim his pride.

But now, faced with Fang Yuan who was here to 'save' him, Gu Yue Man Shi felt very complicated internally.

"Wait, the second person is..."

They all were able to recognise Bai Ning Bing, and showed collective signs of shock at his appearance.

"Bai Ning Bing . . . Bai Ning Bing!" Gu Yue Man Shi's eyes widened, he did not expect in the least to suddenly see Bai Ning Bing appear under such a situation.

"Scumbag, stop right there!" Behind him, Bai Ning Bing was continuing to shout vehemently.

Fang Yuan paid no attention, however, and transversed among the wolf pack.

His body was glowing with a white jade light, protecting him from the rabid lightning wolves' bites and scratches. But because each assault made contact, his aperture's primeval essence dropped quickly in turn.

Not far away, Bai Ning Bing's nose had flared and was blowing out water vapour, forming into a round shield of condensed moisture, enveloping his body.

As each of the numerous lightning wolves hit this seemingly water shield, though, all of their kinetic force build up by their charge was simply dispersed by the water flow, and they were quickly sent flying away after with the resounding ripples of water.

Logically speaking, Bai Ning Bing's performance now wasn't that impressive though. He was already a Rank three, even though according to him, he had already seemed to have suppressed his cultivation personally, using only Rank two strength to deal with Fang Yuan.

Even with Rank two strength, Bai Ning Bing's speed was slightly faster than Fang Yuan's, and he had more primeval essence, but with the interference of the wolf pack, his distance with Fang Yuan started to increase.

The crucial deciding factor was the difference in physical strength between the two.

Fang Yuan had the strength of two boars, while Bai Ning Bing's strength was of a slightly lower quality. Fang Yuan could also endure the wolf pack's attacks and continue moving forward. Bai Ning Bing's water shield, although it is able to mitigate some of attacks, could not open a path forward for him, unlike Fang Yuan.

"Howl!"

One especially bold lightning wolf began to pay attention and was drawn to Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing. @@novelbin@@

It howled, commanding the ordinary lightning wolves around it to give way, opening a path for it instantly.

The lightning wolf wasted no time and spread its limbs, charging towards Fang Yuan.

Seeing this scene, the four trapped Gu Masters all showed expressions of worry.

As for Bai Ning Bing, still behind Fang Yuan, upon seeing this new development, laughed loudly.

But the next moment, Fang Yuan's body disappeared right before Bai Ning Bing's eyes, vanishing from his vision like a fleeting ripple of water.

His laughter cut off abruptly at the sight, the other Gu Masters in the valley being left similarly speechless.

The bold lightning wolf howled angrily after having lost track of Fang Yuan, but did not reduce its speed while charging towards Bai Ning Bing to take it's fury out on him instead.

This prompted a smile from Bai Ning Bing, his lips curving once more in amusement.

"Hehehe, this is really interesting- you really are interesting! Hahaha, then I shall start my meal with this appetizer!"

As he finished speaking, his eyes transitioned, changing from black to a shade of blue the same color as that of the sky.

Taking a stance, he propped one leg up like a flamingo, holding out the ice blade, and started to rotate. Quickly picking up speed, the ice blade carved out many waves of sword traces, maneuvering and slashing the air to form a scene similar to a tornado.

The bright sword waves congealed into a blizzard storm and quickly engulfed the wolf pack.

Numerous lightning wolves were torn to shreds by the act, becoming pieces of minced meat flung about by the storm. But not much blood ended up splattering against the surroundings, as it had almost all been completely flash frozen by the icy blizzard storm already.

The bold lightning wolf howled, showing its ferocity against the storm. The Gu worm in its body started to work as well, causing golden sparks of electricity to flicker throughout its rugged coat.

The hair on its body stood on ends, golden electricity flowed like chains, coiling around its body and limbs. Altogether it formed what looked to be a modest chainmail.

Its four paws sprinted and it streaked like a golden shooting star, rushing into the ice blade storm.

"Bam!"

A thunderous explosion sounded through the valley as the ice blade storm came to a stop, a broken piece of the ice blade flying in the air and with a swoosh, stabbed into a mountain rock above.

The white mist dispersed around the area.

The bold lightning wolf laid on the revealed ground, its heart pierced through by an ice blade. Such a fatal attack ended its life almost instantly.

Bai Ning Bing laughed as he retracted the ice blade in his hands, gloating in his victory.

The ice blade itself was broken from the middle down, the blade that managed to survive full of cracks, seemingly in a sorry state in his grip. But Bai Ning Bing did not care as he stretched out his left hand and wiped the blade.

The icy mist from before emanated from his left hand at the touch, spreading across the blade starting from the handle before covering it completely.

Everywhere it reached, the ice blade was regenerated, the edge being sharpened once again. Soon a new tip was fully grown in place of the broken end.

The death of the bold lightning wolf had dispersed the wolf pack, but Fang Yuan was nowhere to be seen.

"We will definitely remember Lord Bai Ning Bong's act of saving us!" The few Gu Masters that survived went up and gratefully paid their respects to Bai Ning Bing.

Only Gu Yue Man Shi stayed on the spot, his expression being uncertain.

Back then, he lost to Bai Ning Bing, and was very indignant, but was let off by the latter. Now, though he had already successfully refined the Monolith Gu, upon seeing Bai Ning Bing again, he did not have any confidence to challenge him anymore.

Bai Ning Bing snorted. Suddenly his arm moved, and the ice blade drew a few shining traces in the air.

"This..."

"Ah!"

The three Gu Masters were caught off guard, not expecting their savior just moments ago to attack. They carried a look of disbelief as they laid on the ground, forever.

"Bai Ning Bing, what are you doing?!" Gu Yue Man Shi screamed, shocked and angry at the sudden manslaughter.

"Murdering of course. Is something wrong in your head, isn't this obvious?" Bai Ning Bing shrugged and laughed coldly.

"Accursed bastard!" Gu Yu Man Shi tightly clenched his fists out of rage while he gritted his teeth and scolded the other master. "Our three clans have formed an alliance, yet you attack our Gu Yue clansman; this is a violation of our alliance treaty! If you have any problems, come at me, I'm here. Nevermind, it is time we settle our grudge from back then!"

Saying so, Gu Yue Man Shi shouted and took a few steps, charging towards Bai Ning Bing.

He activated the Monolith Gu with all his strength, and all the muscles on his body bulked up while a thick rock skin formed. His entire appearance had turned into a rock man.

"Courting death." Bai Ning Bing laughed coldly, raising his blade.

The sharp ice blade came down relentlessly, first hacking Gu Yue Man Shi's head, moving down past his brows before carving through his nose, lips and throat. The blade quickly came to a rest after it bisected the Gu Master down past his chest in an instant.

Rock fragments flew out as the ice blade hit the abdomen, and the blade snapped. But the icy mist had already frozen all the remaining life force left in Man Shi's body.

"Plop."

He fell to the ground with a splatter, as dead as can be.

The rock skin on his body slowly vanished, revealing his true form.

"Looks familiar..." Bai Ning Bing shook the wrist that was hurt by the vibration of the rock; he had pretty much forgotten the incident where he spared Man Shi.

He shook his head, turning around and facing the wide valley to shout.

"Come out. The Gu Masters you want dead, I've done it for you. Come come come, let's have a life and death match!"

Just as Bai Ning Bing's words had finished, Fang Yuan appeared not far away.

The white hair young man's gaze became excited, as he raised his ice blade, slashing towards Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan laughed soundlessly at the act, turning around and leaving.

Bai Ning Bing shouted in anger that he was still fleeing, once again chasing Fang Yuan relentlessly.

On the way, Fang Yuan lured Bai Ning Bing to the battlefield that was the closest, where the Xiong Li group was fighting against another group of wolves led by a bold lightning wolf.

This pack was obviously lured by Fang Yuan as well.

"Everyone put in more effort, the wolf pack is at its limit! The south-east direction sent a distress signal, it's been a while, they need our help!" Xiong Li urged on his group, but halfway through, he could no longer speak when he saw Fang Yuan, and the Bai Ning Bing persistantly behind him.

Ever since Fang Yuan surrendered, Xiong Li no longer cared about him. Thus, his gaze quickly shifted from Fang Yuan to Bai Ning Bing.

"Bai Ning Bing!" Xiong Li's eyes spewed fire upon seeing the white clothed, white haired young man, his heart uncontrollably growing with rage.

Not long ago, Bai Ning Bing had appeared in front of him and attacked without a word, the event still fresh in his mind.

And had been purposely suppressing his cultivation to Rank two.

Xiong Li was caught off guard, and lost the battle. His personal honor, and the clan's glory, was all trampled by Bai Ning Bing ruthlessly! This to him, was a big disgrace, how could he not be furious?

"Wait, Bai Ning Bing seems to be chasing Fang Yuan." Xiong Lin suddenly noticed.

His body was short in stature, his round bald head glowing with light. Xiong Lin is the same age as Fang Yuan, but having B grade talent instead, he is the number one talent among Xiong clan's new Gu Masters of age.

He was a Rank two cultivator as well now, and after getting some experience, had grown up.

Xiong Li suppressed the urge to attack.

Fang Yuan was from the Gu Yue clan, not from his Xiong clan. Even though there was the three clan alliance, they are still not close. Since it is an outsider fighting, it is best if one does not get involved.

The Xiong Li group was about to watch on the sidelines, but how could Fang Yuan not expect that? One sentence from him changed their perspective in an instant.

Fang Yuan quickly got close to the Xiong Li group, shouting in a frightened voice.

"I saw the Plunder Gu on him, protect me! Bai Ning Bing is trying to eliminate all witnesses!"

-x-X-x-

"What?!" Xiong Lin was stunned.

"Plunder Gu? There is only one person that has this Gu worm in Qing Mao mountain and that is my cousin Xiong Zhan!!" Xiong Jiang's face turned gloomy.

Xiong Li closed his eyes, fierce light flickering in them. Others might be afraid of Bai Ning Bing and even he was afraid, but this fear didn't represent his weakness and cowardice. In his heart, long was there already thoughts of sacrificing himself for the clan; he had the resolution to fight to the death with Bai Ning Bing!

"Bai Ning Bing, is the Plunder Gu in your possession?" He stepped forward and faced Bai Ning Bing, letting Fang Yuan brush past him.

Bai Ning Bing laughed coldly, "So what if it is?"

Xiong Jiang's face was as gloomy as water and asked, "Tell me how did my cousin die? Why is his Gu worm in your hands?"

Xiong Lin also asked, "Bai Ning Bing, I respect you as my senior but you secretly seized our Xiong clan's Gu worm and didn't hand it over. This is an open violation of the alliance treaty!"

After he spoke, he raised a Signal Gu in his hand.

With a bang, bright fireworks burst in the sky.

The colorful light from the fireworks shone upon Bai Ning Bing's face. He laughed, "I have never cared about the dogshit alliance treaty. I only saw someone using the Plunder Gu and thought it was interesting, so I collected it." @@novelbin@@

Xiong Jiang was unable to hold back his anger when he heard this. He gave a furious shout and charged towards Bai Ning Bing, "Bai Ning Bing, you looked while my cousin fought to death and didn't help. You bastard!"

The five person group was an integral whole. For personal or private reasons, the Xiong Li group were irreconcilable with Bai Ning Bing.

The fight was hard to avoid; the scene immediately turning chaotic.

On one side was Bai Ning Bing facing the Xiong Li group's attack; on the other side, they were surrounded by wolf pack and still had to face their attacks.

Fang Yuan left the battlefield and calmly spectated from far away.

The wolf pack moved together like a large millstone, and the six Gu Masters fought with their lives; the slightest carelessness could land them into the wolves' mouths.

Xiong Jiang used Roaming Zombie Gu, his two irises turning gloomy green; Xiong Li's two eyes were red whereas Bai Ning Bing's pair of pupils were azure like crystals. The fight between these three was the most intense in the battlefield.

Under the Roaming Zombie Gu's ability, Xiong Jiang turned into a zombie; his defense was amplified against water and ice, withstanding Bai Ning Bing's attacks. Xiong Li used Grand Bear Gu; with the strength of two bears, his bowl-sized fists were without rival and even Bai Ning Bing's water barrier was destroyed under their attacks.

It wasn't easy for the remaining three group members to meddle in this fight, they could only do their utmost to fight against the lightning wolves. That bold lightning wolf lured in by Fang Yuan could have been easily dealt with, but it had turned into a huge threat now.

"Bai Ning Bing, you will pay for what you have done!" Xiong Jiang shouted and charged at Bai Ning Bing.

"Hmph, just with you?" Bai Ning Bing coldly smiled. He nimbly jumped back, pulling apart some distance and flung out his left hand, throwing out five finger-sized icicles.

The icicles struck Xiong Jiang's body but Xiong Jiang didn't feel any pain whatsoever. When he turned into a zombie, even if his hands and legs were broken, he wouldn't feel any pain.

The cold aura in the icicles could freeze and slow down ordinary people's movements, but it only felt cool and refreshing to Xiong Jiang. Zombie physique belonged to yin physiques; it had low resistance to fire, lightning and sunlight, but was very powerful against this type of cold aura.

"Bai Ning Bing, you are still playing in this situation? Unleash your true strength!" Xiong Li furiously shouted.

Bai Ning Bing had been suppressing his cultivation base to Rank two from the very beginning and was also mostly using Rank two Gu.

Xiong Li felt like he was being held in contempt, he felt humiliated which caused his anger to burn even more.

"Hahaha, how can you minor characters have the qualifications to make me use my full strength?" Bai Ning Bing coldly laughed; his attacks were becoming more powerful but he was still suppressing his strength and didn't use a Rank three Gu worm.

Fang Yuan who was spectating from afar with his hands crossed, clearly understood the reason.

"It is not that he doesn't want to unleash his true strength, but he cannot use it. Bai Ning Bing, heh, he has Northern Dark Ice Soul physique....."

In the oldest legends of this world, all humans are descendants of Ren Zu.

But as the saying goes, the dragon has nine unique sons. There are no two absolutely same people, and even twins have differences.

In this world, the difference that is of the biggest concern is aptitude.

Those that have the aptitude to cultivate could become Gu Masters, going beyond ordinary. Those with no cultivation aptitude were just mortals, the lowest level in the society, who could be trampled upon and played with.

Cultivation aptitudes were divided into four grades; A grade, B grade, C grade and D grade. Everyone knew this.

But actually, there were still more outstanding aptitudes above A grade.

This was a secret. Clans would never carelessly spread this, and only after reaching a certain status in society, could one know this secret.

Xiong Li and the rest naturally didn't know, even elders and clan leaders might not know. But Fang Yuan, who had reached Rank six in his previous life, shedding his mortal body and becoming a Gu immortal, naturally was aware of this.

There were ten types of aptitudes above A grade and they were collectively called Ten Extreme physiques.

"Before Ren Zu died, he gave birth to ten children. The eldest son Verdant Great Sun, second daughter Desolate Ancient Moon..... Among the ten, there was one named Northern Dark Ice Soul. Ren Zu's legends whether real or false, alluded to many secrets in Gu Master's cultivation. Ren Zu's ten kids individually represented ten types of ultimate aptitudes." Fang Yuan recalled.

"Any one of the ten extreme physiques is superior to A grade aptitude. The most excellent A grade aptitude can only store ninety nine percent primeval essence in their aperture. But any one of the ten extreme physiques holds full hundred percent primeval essence in their aperture!"

"However, everything exists in balance; the ten extreme physiques which holds hundred percent primeval essence is too perfect and heavens won't easily allow their existence. For instance, in Ren Zu's story, his ten kids didn't have a long life. In reality, it is difficult for the Gu Masters who hold ten extreme physiques to grow and mature, almost all dying an untimely death. Of course, if they can really grow to become a Rank six, they will be able to sweep through same stage opponents and even perform miracles such as fighting a higher rank!"

"Bai Ning Bing who possesses Northern Dark Ice Soul is the same. With hundred percent primeval essence, his aperture is too stressed out and has the risk of collapsing any moment. To decrease this risk, Bai Ning Bing must cultivate and use primeval essence to nurture his aperture walls and increase its strength to be able to support the hundred percent primeval essence. Thus, his cultivation speed is outstanding and shocking."

"However, high cultivation means higher quality primeval essence which subsequently increases the pressure on the aperture, instead increasing the risk. Bai Ning Bing is like a victim in a lone boat in the sea; he doesn't have fresh water and can only drink the sea water to relieve his thirst, but the seawater is salty and will absorb the original moisture content of the body instead, making him even more thirsty."

"The higher his cultivation is, the nearer he is to destruction. Yet he cannot choose not to cultivate, since being from Bai village and the one upon whom the clan's expectations lies, he will also face assassination from Xiong and Gu Yue village. This forces him to continue to grow stronger. Being the possessor of the Northern Dark Ice Soul, he clearly understands his situation. Knowing he doesn't have much time left and his death being certain, he has thus formed this temperament."

Fang Yuan sighed when he thought of this.

This was clearly an irony.

Excessively excellent aptitude didn't lead a Gu Master to have a meteoric rise, but would be the main culprit behind their deaths.

Too much is as bad as too little; people need to drink water and eat food, but if they eat and drink excessively, they could die.

From another angle, no matter which world, there is no true perfection. There is no perfect love, no perfect work.

Excessively perfect will just lead to destruction.

In Fang Yuan's previous life, three years after the wolf tide, Bai Ning Bing's cultivation inevitably reached Rank four realm. His aperture couldn't support the burden from the primeval essence and ultimately, it exploded.

Ten extreme physiques wasn't tolerated by the heavens and earth, and the self-detonation of such a heaven-defying thing was like the most perfect song, its power outstanding; directly annihilating everyone in the three villages and turning the whole Qing Mao Mountain into an absolute death ice domain.

Fortunately by that time, because of Fang Zheng who had been making things difficult for Fang Yuan who only had an average cultivation, Fang Yuan could only join a caravan to go away, thus luckily avoiding this disaster.

To delay his death, Bai Ning Bing used Gu worms to dilute his Rank three silver primeval essence into Rank two red steel primeval essence, of his own accord. He also rarely used Rank three Gu worms at the same time.

This was simply because Rank three Gu worms consumed great amounts of red steel primeval essence every time, resulting in the strength waning if it continued. Instead, it was better to continue using Rank two Gu worms which would be of much more help to Bai Ning Bing in battles.

This was the real reason Bai Ning Bing suppressed his cultivation.

If not, having strength but choosing to bind one's own hands and feet, landing in a dangerous state, was something only a brainless retard would do.

Bai Ning Bing was smart and intelligent, he had received great training and education, so how could he do such a foolish thing?

Except, such a temperament at his young age was indeed unusual. But as someone who was about to die, why would he have misgivings in his behavior?

Such disregard and fearlessness prevented him from being assimilated into the system, and nurtured a heart of the demonic path in him.

Otherwise, with his living environment - countless expectations, great trainings, holding honor, fighting enemies, bright future - he would have already been assimilated into the organization system and nurtured a leader's temperament.

Bai Ning Bing was actually a pitiful child, and Fang Yuan had no wish to deal with him before. But since he wanted to kill Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan also didn't mind making use of him first before removing this misfortune early.

The battle was still continuing.

In this while, the situation had already changed.

Bold lightning wolf was killed by Bai Ning Bing and the wolf pack had ran away in defeat. Xiong Li group's healing Gu Master fell under Bai Ning Bing's blade but he had paid a heavy price for this; his right arm was viciously punched by Xiong Li and it seemed to have fractured as it was hanging limply throughout the battle.

However, all of these couldn't hinder him from occupying the upper hand.

Xiong Li was a top elite amongst Rank two Gu Masters, his strength equal to Qing Shu and Chi Shan. Xiong Jiang was a newly rising defense expert. Xiong Lin was the genius newbie and now had Rank two battle power. There was also another Gu Master, but even after combining their strength, these four were still suppressed by Bai Ning Bing.

One should know Bai Ning Bing had already fought a battle before which had consumed a lot of his red steel primeval essence. He also killed bold lightning wolf and the healing Gu Master, resulting in his right arm losing its ability to move; he could only abandon using his ice blade with his habitual right hand and switch to his left. By doing this, he had to temporarily abandon using his icicles; his offensive power almost reducing by half.

He was still occupying the upper hand in such situation and his dominance was even becoming more solid.

"It is after all the Northern Dark Ice Soul physique. Although he used Gu worm to dilute his primeval essence and sealed the true advantage of the Northern Dark Ice Soul physique, the primeval essence recovery speed is still maintained. His advantage will continue to increase the longer the battle lasts." Fang Yuan looked at the situation and inwardly sighed.

"My current battle strength is not enough to defeat him," Fang Yuan calmly admitted this point.

Fang Yuan only had C grade aptitude with 44% primeval essence. Even the combined strength of B grade aptitudes' Xiong Li, Xiong Lin and Xiong Jiang were being suppressed by Bai Ning Bing. It was obvious that if Fang Yuan faced Bai Ning Bing by himself, his situation would only become more difficult than Xiong Li and the rest.

"However, not being able to defeat you doesn't mean I can't kill you." Fang Yuan coldly smiled.

This was the accumulated wisdom from five hundred years of experience.

Although they had similar reflections, compared to this centuries old devil, Bai Ning Bing was only a little devil forced into it by his cruel fate.

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