The situation at San Cha mountain had a violent change.
After Tie Mu Bai suppressed San Cha mountain for the most part of the year, his old enemy from the demonic path appeared. But Wu Gui who was also rank five peak stage could not beat Tie Mu Bai who made his debut later.
The situation that followed was beyond everyone's expectations.
The similarly rank five peak stage Ku Mo suddenly made his appearance. The battle situation immediately changed to two demonic path's rank five pincering Tie Mu Bai.
Righteous path figures cursed at the demonic path's shamelessness while the demonic path figures continued to rush into San Cha mountain and cheer loudly.
Uncountable gazes fanatically looked at the air.
A battle between rank five peak stage Gu Masters was rarely seen much less the battle between three rank five peak stage Gu Masters.
Tie Mu Bai could suppress Wu Gui, but fighting one against two was far beyond his ability. But Wu Gui and Ku Mo were both demonic Gu Masters and although they had allied, they were similarly guarded against each other.
Like this, the three entered a stalemate.
From the sky covered by the black clouds and fierce wind, an enormous and deafening explosion occurred.
Golden light burst out, a four clawed golden dragon tore the black clouds and moved the wind and rain; its dragon roar spreading over a long distance.
"Hmph, merely a rank four golden dragon Gu, did you take that out to make a fool of yourself?" Ku Mo let out a disdainful snarl, "Look at how I tear you to pieces!"
When his words landed, there was a loud sound; the golden dragon let out a miserable whine and fell down towards the ground.
Just as the golden dragon was about to lose its life, a golden whirlwind blew towards it.
The four clawed golden dragon was surrounded by the whirlwind and its heavy injuries were instantly healed. It raised its head and roared before rising up again.
"This is a rank four golden breeze Gu, its healing ability is extremely powerful and is comparable to rank five Gu!" The spectating Li Xian narrowed his eyes when he recognized this golden whirlwind.
"Don't even think about it!" Wu Gui suddenly gave an unearthly cry.
This unearthly cry was extremely ear-piercing like the cawing of ravens, the spectators be it righteous path or demonic path felt dizzy and nauseous.
Following the unearthly cry, a shining jet-black halo shot out and firmly collided against the four clawed golden dragon.
The four-clawed golden dragon could not resist it and exploded.
Dazzling light burst forth like a small sun, causing all the spectators to close their eyes.
The sound of the explosion was so loud, it seemed to burst everyone's eardrums.
A fierce wind pressure soon followed, blowing towards all directions. The wind blew countless trees and stones, burying many Gu Masters alive.
The berserk wind rose as if in defiance of heaven and even dispersed the dark clouds covering the sky.
The spectators regained their senses after a long while and retreated in fear while looking up.
In the sky, three figures were confronting each other!
Tie Mu Bai was wearing a golden chainmail, it was the rank four golden coat Gu and had exemplary defense. His whole body was covered with a layer of gold-red light. It was the rank four golden aurora Gu and could allow the Gu Master to fly.
Wu Gui was stepping on a dark cloud, his lips were sharply sticking forward like a black beak.
And Ku Mo was slowly flapping a pair of bone wings on his back, his whole body was covered with bone armor and there were all kinds of colorful sharp spikes growing out from his elbows, knees, shoulders and other places. At first look, he looked like a malevolent multi-colored human-shaped hedgehog.
The confrontation only lasted for a short few breaths of time.
The three attacked at the same time as quickly as lightning.
In the sky, a golden-red light shuttled back and forth, breaking the void and was as sharp as a sword. A black light soared, moving at one time and stopping at next, it was strange and cunning. A multi-colored light charged and crashed, and displayed the most valiant manner.
Ordinary naked eyes were already unable to make out the progress of the battle. The absolute majority of people could only hear the unceasing explosions that continued to ravage their eardrums.
Suddenly a golden light fiercely streaked across the sky like a blade, towards an area in the middle of the mountain.
Mountain stones and boulders were crushed into fine powder and there appeared a twenty feet wide and over hundred feet tall gorge.
The nearby unlucky spectators were all chopped into minced meat.
Suddenly a raven's caw echoed like the thunder.
Hundreds of unlucky Gu Masters' head burst immediately.
From time to time, bone spikes rained down freely from the sky.
Many Gu Masters could not evade in time and were pierced through, nailed at the ground and lost their lives.
The battle had reached the climax, the three sides moved without restraint.
"We can't endure even the ripples of a battle between rank five peak stage Gu Masters."
"Too terrifying, too terrifying, we need to leave quickly. If we keep on watching, we might have to pay with our lives!"
Everyone was scared witless and hurried out of San Cha mountain one after another.
Even Li Xian, Hu Mei Er and others also did not dare to stay here.
On San Cha mountain, only the rank four peak stage Yi Huo, Kong Ri Tian, Long Qing Tian, Yi Chong and Wu Shen Tong remained.
Even so, their expressions were serious and all their concentration was fixed on the battle with their nerves stretched tight as a bowstring; they were ready to escape the moment there was even a little danger.
Soon, these rank four peak stage Gu Masters also could not continue staying there.
Because the three rank five peak stage Gu Masters used their rank five Gu.
Tie Mu Bai's turn gold Gu flew everywhere. No matter what it shot through, whether they were rocks, grasses, trees, flowers, birds, fishes or beasts, they would turn into golden sculpture, their life force extinguished.
Ku Mo's soft bones Gu made any bones within fifty miles of it, turn soft and become a puddle of bone paste.
And Wu Gui's pitch black Gu spread darkness everywhere, any Gu worms under rank six that touched it would received different degrees of restrictions.
In this world, the higher the rank of the Gu, the stronger and rarer they were. Precious Gu of rank four were already hard to purchase and rank five Gu were practically not circulated in the market. As for rank six Immortal Gu; every one of them were one of its kind.
Fang Yuan had reached rank six Gu Immortal's realm in his previous life, but he could only refine a rank six Spring Autumn Cicada. As for most of the Gu Masters, rank five Gu were already very hard to get.
The most important thing in a battle between rank five Gu Masters was the power of their rank five Gu.
"This is the power of a rank five Gu? Terrifying, rank four defensive Gu can hardly resist it, let alone rank three Gu..." From some far away corner, Bai Ning Bing observed the battle in San Cha mountain intently, her blue pupils flickering with grave light.
This was not the first time she saw a battle between rank five Gu Masters. She had seen it once before at Qing Mao mountain.
But the fighting strength of these three rank five Gu Masters were clearly much more powerful than Lord Sky Crane and first generation Gu Yue.
This was because first gen Gu Yue and Lord Sky Crane were decrepit rank five Gu Masters who were struggling at death's door and used all kinds of ways to prolong their lifespan.
First gen Gu Yue hibernated all year round in blood coffin and changed himself into a zombie; neither human nor ghost.
And Lord Sky Crane was not much better, he came from Central Continent, his battle prowess was suppressed to some extent in Southern Border.
But these three rank five Gu Masters Bai Ning Bing was looking at were all at their peak state. Their intense battle naturally gave her spirit an even stronger impact.
"If I face such rank five Gu Masters, I will not be able to resist one move of theirs and there is no hope of even escaping!" Bai Ning Bing looked at the battle for a long time and subconsciously clenched her fists, deeply realizing the gap between her and these rank five peak stage powers like Tie Mu Bai and the rest.
Rank five peak stage Gu Masters were at the peak of the mortal world, an emperor among Gu Masters.
Especially when they used rank five Gu, the strength they could bring out could destroy mountains if they came across mountains, split apart rivers if they came across rivers; such an enormous power gave a feeling that it could not be stopped.
"This is the show you were waiting for?" Bai Ning Bing retrieved her gaze and looked at Fang Yuan standing beside her with a flash of understanding, "Tie Mu Bai is fighting one against two. It seems after this battle the structure of San Cha mountain will have a complete change. Demonic path will suppress righteous path; you were waiting for this opportunity since several months ago, right?"
Fang Yuan calmly gazed into the distance and shook his head indifferently: "Rank five Gu are very rare, many rank five Gu Masters don't have even one rank five Gu and can only use use four Gu. Thus, a rank five Gu Master's battle strength is determined by the rank five Gu they hold and their amount."
"Demonic Gu Masters have always lacked resources and can mostly only rely on luck or fate. Ku Mo and Wu Gui have one or two rank five Gu with them. But Tie Mu Bai is different, he has a huge background called Tie clan, he should at least have three rank five Gu on him."
Bai Ning Bing's expression moved: "You mean Tie Mu Bai will be the winner of this battle?"
Fang Yuan, however, shook his head: "Gu worms are Gu Master's trump card, the Gu Masters can be targeted against once their Gu are exposed. Tie Mu Bai will not easily reveal all his trump cards. From the start, this battle had neither a winner nor a loser."
Bai Ning Bing was a smart person and immediately understood it after Fang Yuan gave her the clues.
No matter how intense this battle was, it was only a probe.
Why did Tie Mu Bai, Wu Gui and Ku Mo came here?
Was it purely for revenge against each other?
Impossible!
For people like them, their greatest goal is to break away from mortal and charge through to rank six Gu Immortal realm, thereby gaining a longer life.
These three were at the peak, looking down on all mortals, and had rich experiences; gratitude and grudges could not move them. Each of their action held their own deep purpose.
"These three chose San Cha mountain for their battle instead of any other places. So, their purpose is already clear - three kings inheritance!"
Bai Ning Bing's eyes flickered with a pondering light.
"Three kings were rank five Gu Masters, their inheritance contains rank five Gu worms; each one of these rank five Gu can greatly increase their strength. With a treasure in front of them, how could they battle without care? Unless there is an extremely huge imbalance between the battle strength of the two sides. But from the current situation, it clearly is not so. So this battle can only end in a draw."
The confusing battle situation suddenly became extremely clear.
Bai Ning Bing subconsciously looked at Fang Yuan.
When everyone's hearts were throbbing intensely because of the intense battle of rank five Gu Masters, he was still so calm like he was a spectator watching something of no concern. @@novelbin@@
But was it really a matter of no concern?
Bai Ning Bing rejected this thought inwardly, no one knew clearer than her regarding the thirst Fang Yuan had towards three kings inheritance.
But even under such desire, he could still restrain his impulse.
Facing such an opponent, Bai Ning Bing's heart felt incomparably heavy: "Such unfathomable shrewdness... how will I be able to take the yang Gu that can turn me back to a male from him?"
-x-X-x-
Half a month later.
On a certain peak in San Cha mountain.
A group of ash-grey mountain apes close to a thousand in numbers tightly surrounded Tie Ruo Nan while screeching and screaming.
Tie Ruo Nan took in a deep breath, she suddenly waved her hand and shot a large cloud of golden needle Gu.
Golden needle Gu was not a natural Gu but was a Gu created by Tie clan's Gu Masters. Every golden needle Gu was a rank two Gu, their length was around an index finger and were like thin golden needles.
Golden needle Gu shot through the apes; some stood on the spot without being able to move, some died from poison and some were driven into a frenzy and actually began attacking their nearby companions.
Tie Ruo Nan repeatedly shot out golden needles; there was chaos among the mountain apes and they suffered huge losses. In a sorry figure and while screeching miserably, they made their escape. Soon, the noisy battlefield quietened down.
Large numbers of mountain apes were on the ground; some were dead and some were at their last breaths.
Tie Ruo Nan slowly walked past them and shot out golden needle Gu again.
But this time, these golden needle Gu had healing effects, they shot into the mountain apes and turned into balls of golden light, moving back and forth between their injuries. Many mountain apes recovered their movement ability.
Golden needle Gu by itself was not wondrous. But when matched with poison liquid Gu, it could turn into poison needle. When matched with stiff Gu, it could make the enemies unable to move a single step. When matched with chaotic mind Gu, it could cause chaos among the enemies making them unable to differentiate between their allies and enemies. And when matched with vitality Gu, it had healing properties.
Tie Ruo Nan had spent around seven to eight days to be proficient in the combination of these four types of battle tactics. Thus, she was able to defeat close to a thousand mountain apes by herself.
"Ruo Nan, this child has an outstanding talent with high comprehension and more importantly, her nature is tenacious and resolute, she is indeed someone who will become a pillar of Tie clan." Tie Mu Bai watched this nearby with no expression on his face, but his heart was full of praises.
This old Tie clan leader had seen the rise of countless talents in his life and also witnessed the fall of innumerable geniuses. @@novelbin@@
He was very clear: In a dangerous and difficult environment, many outstanding geniuses would emerge. But talent was only one aspect, what mattered was the nature of the geniuses.
If a genius could put up with hardships and endure loneliness, they would definitely have great accomplishments in the future.
A genius that had poor disposition could only be a shooting star, shining for only an instant.
Why would Tie Mu Bai teach Tie Ruo Nan? On one hand, Tie Ruo Nan was blood-related to Tie Xue Leng, who had certain relationship with him; on the other hand, Tie Ruo Nan had been polished like limestone after a series of trials; all traces of impatience had gone leaving behind stability and perseverance.
Tie Ruo Nan was like an unpolished jade that let out dazzling light after being polished slightly.
"Old clan leader." Tie Ruo Nan climbed up the peak towards Tie Mu Bai and cupped her hands in greeting.
The girl was full of admiration and respect towards this old man.
Half a month ago, this old man Tie Mu Bai fought against two rank five experts of the demonic path by himself.
He first used rank five turn gold Gu to contend with the two demons easily. Then, he used rank five liquid metal Gu to make these two experts back out and weakened their fighting spirits; the battle finally ended with both sides relenting.
Tie Mu Bai's strength was like a basin of cold water that poured on the hearts of the demonic Gu Masters, causing their rising flames of angers to weaken in an instant.
The conclusion of the battle was that both righteous and demonic paths could contend for three kings inheritance. But everyone could clearly see how good Tie Mu Bai was and that he had not used his full strength.
"Good. Being able to grasp this flexible battle tactic in such a short time is remarkable." Tie Mu Bai praised indifferently as he casually waved his hand.
Whoosh!
A large cloud of golden needle Gu shot out.
However, different from Tie Ruo Nan's golden needle Gu, the golden needle Gu Tie Mu Bai commanded were extremely small like raindrops.
When they moved in the sky, they were like a cloud of golden fog.
The golden fog moved with the wind and brushed past an area of boulders. Pitter-patter sounds as if thousands of silkworms were eating mulberries came from the giant boulders.
Tie Ruo Nan's pupils shrunk, immediately realizing the amazing aspect of this move.
The golden fog infiltrated and penetrated the boulders, creating countless tiny holes in them. The trees nearby the boulders were also pierced through, all signs of life within them extinguished instantly.
If someone were struck by these Gu, their whole body and insides would be perforated and destroyed; it was a really terrifying killer move!
Tie Mu Bai casually waved his hand and threw out three golden needle Gu.
These three golden needles were, however, different; they were thick and long. Normal golden needle Gu had a finger sized length, but these three golden needles had palm sized length.
The three golden needle Gu flew and pierced into a mountain ape's head.
One shot like a perpendicular lightning, straight into the mountain ape from the top of its head, while the other two entered through the left and right temples; the needles almost completely entering the mountain ape's head with only a small portion remaining on the outside.
This mountain ape had been healed by Tie Ruo Nan and was just making its escape when it was struck by the golden needles.
The mountain ape let out a painful scream and leaped a couple of times, kneeling in front of Tie Mu Bai.
The ape's eyes were wide open with incomparable panic, dread and anger.
The strange thing was it could not control its body and kneeled down reverentially and without making any movements. It was not even able to let out a shout.
Tie Ruo Nan had never expected to see such a peculiar scene and was stupefied for a while.
Tie Mu Bai laughed and looked at the mountain ape at his feet, he indifferently said: "Golden needle Gu combined with create fog Gu can form golden fog. This golden fog looks faint and weak, but is actually extremely powerful and is specialized in breaking through Gu Master's defense. When I was twenty-eight and was roaming Southern Border, I used this move to dominate the region of Luchuan river."
Tie Mu Bai paused for a while and continued: "Golden needle Gu combined with puppet control Gu, can take control of living bodies. When I was forty-two and my cultivation advanced to rank four peak stage, I ended my closed cultivation and began to roam the world to test my skills. When I arrived at Tie Mu mountain, I was attacked by a group of over fifty demonic path mountain bandits. I used this move to make thirty-eight of them defect and finally captured all of them and got rid of these evil beings."
Tie Ruo Nan became more fascinated the more she heard.
Since her early years, she followed her father and travelled everywhere. And she had heard of this old clan leader's heroic deeds.
The old clan leader had A grade aptitude and revealed his talent the moment he started cultivating, becoming the number one youth star of Tie clan at that time. He also lived up to others' expectations, advancing to rank four peak stage before fifty.
He ended his secluded cultivation and roamed Southern Border, crossing mountains and rivers to test his skills, and made a name for himself.
After returning to Tie clan, he became the clan leader and brought Tie clan to new heights. For a while, Tie clan was in such limelight that it made Wu clan, Shang clan and the rest lose their splendor.
His whole life was filled with glory and brilliance. He had countless battle achievements under him, whether it was his lone achievements while roaming the Southern Border or leading a group of heroes to eliminate evil - he had few losses.
The way he did his work was unyielding and domineering, daring to stand directly up to the enemies; many of his enemies would be terror stricken at the mention of him when he was reigning. Even righteous path figures would feel mental pressure when they heard Tie Mu Bai's name.
Right now, as Tie Ruo Nan listened to the old clan leader recall those olden days indifferently, she became overwhelmed with emotions.
She could not help imagining a scene.
A hero at his prime, handsome and graceful, donning a blue robe, moved unhindered around the world. He defeated powerful enemies by himself, no one could block him and countless people watched him.
However, time was ruthless, turning that young man into an elderly.
But Tie Mu Bai was still Tie Mu Bai.
Even if he was more old, it could not hide his glorious deeds.
These battle accomplishments were a dazzling halo that covered his body and even the layers of dust of history could not block its radiance.
"Lord old clan leader, I will not let you down, golden needle Gu will not shame your name in my hands!" Tie Ruo Nan spoke resolutely.
The old man gratefully nodded and patted Tie Ruo Nan's shoulder.
"Child, you have a strong mind and our Tie clan's blood flows in your veins. You have to shoulder the responsibility of our Tie clan's children. I will teach you all that I know, and I hope that one day, you can be capable enough to raise the flag of Tie clan. I am leaving that little beast king Fang Zheng to you as your test, do you have confidence?"
"I have confidence and also have a plan. Old clan leader, you can rest assured, Fang Zheng has already completely fallen into the demonic path, I will definitely retrieve his head!" Tie Ruo Nan's eyes shone with resolute light.
"Good, do not be arrogant in victory or discouraged in defeat, you are able to get out of your shock and derive strength from your tribulation, this is something that is impossible for many youngsters. As long as you maintain this, you will definitely become the glory of Tie clan! Now, I shall teach you the principle behind these two tactics along with my insights and experience in them, as well as all the other different combinations that can be derived."
Like this, one taught diligently and another did her best to learn.
After over an hour, Tie Mu Bai finished teaching everything: "Good, you can ask me anything you are unclear about."
Tie Ruo Nan had outstanding comprehension ability and had already engraved all the teachings into her mind.
However, she thought for a while and asked: "These days, I have found that the opening time of three kings inheritance has been getting shorter and the amount of Gu Masters that can enter has also been getting lesser. The three light pillars are no longer as thick and bright as before. Right now, there has been many rumors saying the blessed land is already nearing its end. Is this true?"
Tie Mu Bai nodded: "It is indeed so."
"You are still not ready to learn some things. All living things exist in balance - with darkness, there is light; with water there is fire; with blessing, there is calamity." His gaze turned towards the peak of San Cha mountain and sighed: "Every blessed land will face earthly calamity every ten years and heavenly tribulation every hundred years. This blessed land originated from a mysterious Gu Immortal from ancient times and was later was inherited by the three kings and remodelled into this inheritance site."
"This blessed land is already old, its lifespan is almost at its end. A land spirit could prolong this time, but unfortunately there is no land spirit here."
"A blessed land without a land spirit is an enormous boat that is sinking. Anyone can enter inside and plunder the treasures within. The more they plunder, the bigger the holes in this giant boat and the quicker it would sink. This Gu Immortal blessed land is already nearing its end and will only last for less than ten years before it is destroyed due to the exhaustion of immortal essence."
-x-X-x-
"To think that even blessed lands faced destruction..." Tie Ruo Nan heard the secret and sighed lightly.
"How can there be any existence in this world that is indestructible? The cycle of heavenly fate, the competition of all living beings, in this wide universe, we mortals are like a single speck of sand at the bottom of an entire sea, small and insignificant. Only by advancing to a Gu Immortal, can we surpass mortality, and have our own foundation, turning from sand into an island, having the ability to resist the sea waves." Tie Mu Bai's tone was full of lamentation.
"When the blessed land faces destruction, wouldn't the people inside be in great danger?" Tie Ruo Nan asked again.
"That is right." Tie Mu Bai nodded: "The moment the blessed land vanishes, the wind of assimilation will blow, fusing heaven and earth together, as everything inside the blessed land would turn into the most basic primeval essence in this world. This wind's power can sweep away all dust and particle, even Gu Immortals fear it, because even Gu Immortals can be destroyed by it."
"There is such a powerful wind?" Tie Ruo Nan was shocked beyond words, showing great worry in her eyes.
Tie Mu Bai waved his hand: "No worry, I have already stepped into the blessed land many times, I have gained deep understanding of it, and have always been observing and learning about it. The blessed land is indeed weakening, but there is still a long time before it faces destruction. During this period, the heavenly power in the blessed land will weaken, and the restrictions towards us Gu Masters would decrease. Slowly, we would be able to use one or two Gu, and then three or four, five or six... Eventually, the blessed land would be full of loopholes, and form an entrance where we can enter and exit at will."
Tie Mu Bai looked afar, his gaze deep and filled with knowledge, like he could predict the future.
"At the final period, that will be the true decisive battle of three kings inheritance. As the restriction from the blessed land is gone, anyone can use their full power. They can plunder and battle to their heart's extent. By then, San Cha mountain would not only have three rank five Gu Masters, that would truly be the gathering of experts, the rise of snakes and dragons."
Tie Ruo Nan felt a flash of inspiration, and realized.
She finally understood why Tie Mu Bai did not fight to the death with those two demonic Gu Masters.
That is because, his future enemies were not only these two. Fighting with all he had so early on would only benefit others.
Towards the end of the three kings inheritance, the Gu Masters would receive greater and better rewards.
Those who truly understood the blessed land, had already been preparing for the final battle.
...
Central continent.
Tian Ti mountain.
Hu Immortal Blessed Land.
"I am finally at the mountain waist." Fang Zheng breathed roughly, sweat dripping from his forehead.
His arms and legs were numb and sore, they had no energy left. Using his own strength, and climbing to this level, it had squeezed out all the potential he had in his soul.
The mountain winds blew, and a strong feeling of dizziness hit him, causing Fang Zheng to feel like he was going to fall.
His entire vision was spinning, after his soul was expended to the max, he even lost the ability to think.
In his daze, he heard from within his aperture, the incubating flea: "Good, very good, my good disciple, you have endured this far, it was not easy. You have succeeded, now it will be up to your master me!"
Saying so, Fang Zheng felt a formless energy flowing into the deepest part of his soul.
The falling feeling immediately disappeared, like a child who was learning how to walk but was suddenly assisted by an adult.
His vision became clear, and Fang Zheng's dizziness vanished at a rapid speed.
Fang Zheng breathed in deeply several times, he felt fantastic!
Like a traveller in the desert, about to die of thirst, but suddenly drinking fresh water. Or like someone who had worked non-stop all the time, suddenly sleeping seven days and seven nights.
Everything became great, he felt awesome.
"Good disciple, make use of your time, and climb quickly!" Lord Sky Crane urged.
"Yes master!" Fang Zheng's eyes were shining like a tiger's. He raised his head, and saw Feng Jin Huang and others, leading far ahead, but they were getting slower.
Fang Zheng felt an unprecedented sense of confidence.
"I can do it, with master's help, I can definitely defeat these geniuses, and became the sole inheritor of Hu Immortal blessed land! Fang Zheng, hang in there!"
After encouraging himself for a bit, Fang Zheng continued climbing.
His movements became fast and steady, his speed was extremely fast, like he was bursting out his second wind. This performance, attracted people's attention and emphasis.
After Hu Immortal blessed land opened, it was connected to the outside world.
Thus, the ten Gu Immortals outside the blessed land immediately found out Fang Zheng's weird condition.
"Eh? This child, he was at his limit, and was about to be eliminated, how did he suddenly get so energetic?"
"Something's strange, this speed is even faster than Feng Jin Huang and the others!"
"This junior is from Immortal Crane Sect. So that's it, I see..."
The ten Gu Immortals exchanged their thoughts, and someone quickly found out Fang Zheng's trump card.
"He Feng Yang, you sure are generous. Spirit incubating flea is not precious, but to ensure the flea still works, you used one's own way Gu didn't you?
He Feng Yang was one of Immortal Crane Sect's supreme elders, he had a rank six "One's own way Gu", everyone knew that.
One's own way Gu, it allowed other Gu worms to operate in the blessed land.
It was an expenditure Gu, only usable for three times. After three times, it would vanish into thin air.
"He Feng Yang, you had great schemes, using this secret chess piece."
"I'm flattered. Among the youngsters, Myriad Dragon Dock has Ying Sheng Ji, Spirit Affinity House has Feng Jin Huang, Spirit Butterfly Valley has Xiao Qi Xing, we Immortal Crane Sect cannot contend, thus we had to do this." He Feng Yang was very modest and low-key.
The other Gu Immortals could only laugh dryly.
They had their own rank six Gu worms, but they did not have one's own way Gu, they could not provide such assistance.
Rank six Gu worms were Immortal Gu, one in the world. At any point in time, in the whole wide world, only one exists.
Immortal Gu were so much rarer than rank five Gu worms, many rank six Immortals do not even have one Immortal Gu.
Back in Fang Yuan's previous life, he became an immortal. But to refine his first rank six Spring Autumn Cicada, he spent a massive amount of time and effort, the moment he succeeded, the righteous path attacked him, their motive was the Immortal Gu.
The ten Gu Immortals here, because they relied on their sects, they all had their trump cards. But even then, they only had one to two Immortal Gu.
He Feng Yan had the one's own way Gu, that means that other Gu Immortals did not!
The most important thing was, He Feng Yang's act did not exceed their bottomline, nor did he break the rules of the game. The other Gu Immortals could only watch from here, unable to interfere.
"It is a pity my Immortal Gu specializes in attack, if I use it, that would be attacking the Hu Immortal inheritance, it would not work."
"Although I have a defensive Immortal Gu to protect the soul, my disciples do not have the immortal essence needed to activate it. Otherwise, Hu Immortal Inheritance would be ours for sure."
"The results are not determined yet, this disciple from Immortal Crane Sect has the help of the spirit incubating flea and has a huge advantage. But he was lagging behind from the start, we will have to see what happens from now..."
"Eighty years ago, He Feng Yang used the one's own way Gu, this is the second time. That means, the one's own way Gu in his hand can only be used one more time. He paid such a huge price, only to gain an advantage in competing for the inheritance."
The other Gu Immortals assessed, and decided to remain observers, not making their moves yet.
...
On San Cha mountain, three pillars of light shot into the sky.
The three kings inheritance opened again, strongly attracting all the southern border Gu Masters.
Just as Tie Mu Bai said, on San Cha mountain, experts started to gather, and a storm was brewing.
"Did you hear? Just yesterday, Li Fei Le came to San Cha mountain."
"Ah, you mean 'sturdy as a mountain' Li Fei Le?"
Soon, another established expert came to San Cha mountain.
Li Fei Le's cultivation was rank four upper stage, an earth path Gu Master. His title was 'sturdy as a mountain', an expert in defense. He was Li clan's rising star, and was nurtured greatly by the clan. But this person was dedicated towards pursuing strength. @@novelbin@@
Dedication after losing one's direction, becomes obsession.
To pursue the greatest strength, he killed people to refine Gu, and was not accepted by the righteous path, becoming a demonic path cultivator.
Li Fei Le was only the start, in the month after, more and more established Gu Masters arrived at San Cha mountain.
The enslavement path Gu Master Zhang San San, when he was rank three peak stage, he killed a rank four Gu Master, now that he was rank four middle stage, people called him the enslavement master.
The righteous path expert Tao Zi, he had a famous rank five healing Gu that was renowned in southern border — spirit peach Gu.
There was also Yun Luo Tian, young clan leader of Yun clan, wind path Gu Master, reaching rank three peak stage at age twenty-three. Right now, he was thirty-five, a step away from rank four peak stage.
More and more famous Gu Masters, like sharks smelling blood, stepped into San Cha mountain, competing for the three kings inheritance and trying to get their share of the pie.
These Gu Masters had at least rank three upper stage cultivation, and some were even rank four realm.
A month later, San Cha mountain saw its fourth rank five Gu Master.
Wang Xiao.
He was the owner of Wu mountain, a demonic Gu Master, rank five poison cultivator, a true overlord of his area.
Two months later, Wu clan's Wu Lan Shan arrived.
As the number one clan, Wu clan had always been dominating southern border. The Wu Lan Shan they sent was the younger cousin of Wu clan leader, once she appeared, she held a great battle with Wang Xiao.
Although the battle ended in a draw, her performance showed she exceeded Ku Mo and Wu Gui.
Another eight days later, Chou Jiu who was famous among the demonic cultivators, appeared on San Cha mountain's mountain foot, causing a commotion.
Chou Jiu was also rank five, but had little battle strength. He was a healing Gu Master, the famous killer ghost doctor, one of the four great doctors together with doctor Su Shou, travelling doctor Jiu Zhi, and divine doctor Sheng Shou.
He had a strange personality, having this weird rule, anyone he heals needs to kill a person for him in return.
He saves a live, and takes another. Thus people call him: killer ghost doctor.
He who walks by the river is bound to get his shoes wet. In this cruel world, Gu Masters cannot avoid getting injured and sick, they will have to beg a doctor for help eventually.
The four great doctors healed both demonic and righteous, once the killer ghost doctor ascended San Cha mountain, he was invited by Tie Mu Bai earnestly, and the two drank happily in a banquet.
Time passed by quickly, the three kings inheritance opened and closed, closed and opened.
This day, three kings inheritance opened again.
At the mountain foot, two people appeared.
Soon, people recognised them, screaming in shock: "The black and white twin demons, they are here again!"
-x-X-x-
On the mountain peak, three light pillars of red, blue, and yellow presented themselves before the people.
Compared to the start, observant people could see that these three pillars had dimmed greatly, at the same time their size had shrunk, less than half of the original.
This Gu Immortal Blessed Land that originated from ancient times, had reached its final moments. After being remodelled by the three kings, it was starting to collapse under the plundering of countless Gu Masters.
It was like a sinking ship, the seawater had submerged more than half of it, only the sail and mast are still floating.
"Old clan leader Tie, you first." After considering for a while, Wu Lan Shan cupped her fists politely at Tie Mu Bai.
Among the rank five Gu Masters present, Tie Mu Bai was still the one with greatest strength.
On this San Cha Mountain, he was the number one person of the rank fives. Even throughout southern border, he was a top-tier rank five Gu Master.
Tie Mu bai's status was publicly recognised.
Even opponents like Ku Mo and Wu Gui had to admit this point.
Tie Mu Bai looked at the three pillars, nodding: "Then I will go first."
His every action was under everyone's observation. The few thousand Gu Masters at the inheritance entrance were all looking at him.
Tie Mu Bai took the lead, entering King Xin Inheritance.
Wu Gui and Ku Mo looked at each other, since Tie Mu Bai chose King Xin Inheritance, they should avoid encountering him.
Between rank five Gu Masters, they tend to avoid such unnecessary competition.
The final battle at the end was the stage for them to unleash their true abilities.
After Tie Mu Bai, Wu Lan Shan, Wang Xiao and the others all chose their respective entrances, entering the inheritance.
Next, Yi Huo was the first rank four peak stage Gu Master to enter, followed by the others.
On San Cha mountain, righteous and demonic Gu Masters were gathered together. Enemies who usually fought on sight became extremely orderly when it came to such huge benefits.
But at this moment, the quiet mountain peak became noisy.
First, it was the Gu Masters standing at the outside area discussing among themselves. Soon, Gu Masters in the inner circle also turned their heads to look.
"It is the black and white twin demons, they are finally back!" Some recognised the source of the commotion, and exclaimed.
"They are the black and white twin demons? The recent rising stars of the demonic path?" Some people saw Fang and Bai for the first time and observed them closely.
"These two youngsters are not simple. One was trapped by the Tie clan old-timers for months without falling. The other is even stronger, fighting seven Tie clansmen single-handedly and even killing Tie Ba Xiu!" Someone introduced.
Fang and Bai had caused a great commotion in San Cha mountain, it left a deep impression on them. Now, many people could still vividly recall the scene.
Tie Ba Xiu... I fought against him before. Fang Zheng is truly not simple, being able to kill him at such a young age." Someone nodded, his expression turning solemn.
"From what I see, his 'present age overlord' is just a overstatement. Letting a junior get famous, he is a disgrace to his generation." A Gu Master scoffed.
"So what if the black and white demons came? Times are different now, on San Cha mountain, there are six rank five Gu Masters! The two of them are rank four Gu Masters, they can't do anything here."
"That's right, especially after Fang Zheng killed some Tie clansmen, Tie Mu Bai would not let him off. But he is really daring, still having the guts to come here."
"Isn't it obvious, he only dared to show up after Tie Mu Bai entered the inheritance."
The people discussed softly, all sorts of gazes were on Fang and Bai; curiosity, inspection, solemn, and frivolous.
There were also many others who did not look at them, but placed their sights on another person.
This person was standing among the rank four Gu Masters, tight clothing with eyes shining like stars, tightly knit eyebrows, it was Tie Ruo Nan.
Tie Ruo Nan was a rank four Gu Master, she naturally stood with the rank four Gu Masters to enter the inheritance.
Although Tie Mu Bai was the number one person on San Cha mountain, he had to follow the rules, and be an example. Otherwise, he would not be able to control the Gu Masters on San Cha mountain.
This was the conduct of a leader of the righteous path.
"Fang Zheng, it's you!" Tie Ruo Nan stood out from the people, staring fiercely at Fang Yuan, her tone extremely agitated.
Seeing Fang Yuan, the enemy who had so many Tie clansmen's blood on his hands, the young girl's heart was filled with hatred and anger, she wanted to go and kill him immediately.
Her tightly clenched fists slowly loosened.
Tightened and loosened, loosened and tightened. Such a repetitive action showed the struggle in her heart.
Eventually, Tie Ruo Nan opened her palm, breathing out deeply, her eyes regaining clarity: "Little beast king, you do not have to worry about old clan leader's attack. Your life is mine, one day, I will kill you, and offer it to the heroic spirit of my Tie clansmen. Just you wait!"
Saying so, the young girl turned around and entered the light pillar, vanishing.
"Is Tie Ruo Nan afraid? She left without fighting!"
"It seems little beast king's dominance remains, this Tie clan young master did not dare to battle."
"I feel that this young girl was smart. The three kings inheritance is in front of her, such a rare event should be treasured. What is the point of fighting and killing now?"
Fang Yuan frowned deeply.
Tie Ruo Nan's performance surprised him. Being able to control her furious emotions, it was not an easy task. Many famous Gu Masters could not do it.
"Tie Ruo Nan... I cannot let you grow further."
This was rare, Fang Yuan felt threat from someone of the same generation.
The things Tie Mu Bai taught Tie Ruo Nan were not a secret, everyone knew about it. Fang Yuan, of course, knew clearly.
Tie Ruo Nan had talent, aptitude, and her heart was determined. Adding in the nurturing of the clan, she was like a swallow soaring into the heavens, one day, she will rise beyond the clouds, and turn into a phoenix.
Controlling the killing intent in his heart, Fang Yuan walked towards the inheritance entrance.
A large portion of the rank four Gu Masters gave way to them immediately.
"Hold it." Suddenly, a righteous Gu Master walked up and blocked their paths. @@novelbin@@
This righteous Gu Master wore white clothing, his sleeves were wide and swayed with the wind, and he had a handsome face. It was none other than Yun clan's young clan leader, Yun Luo Tian.
"Little beast king, I heard you killed Tie Ba Xiu." Yun Luo Tian stood before Fang Yuan, after giving him a glance, he started to observe Bai Ning Bing.
"Do you know?" He pointed at Fang Yuan, saying arrogantly: "You won in an unfair way, you used a flying Gu and killed a member my righteous faction, you took the easy way out."
The atmosphere was extremely heavy.
Yun Luo Tian's words were very offensive, and Fang Yuan was an arrogant person, at this rate, they were going to fight.
Many Gu Masters took steps back, getting away from these two.
Under everyone's gaze, Fang Yuan's eyes were eerie as he looked at Yun Luo Tian, nodding, suddenly laughing: "You are right, I used a loophole and killed Tie Ba Xiu, sorry about that."
Yun Luo Tian was stunned, he did not think that this little beast king would reply this way. Isn't this different from the information about him?
These years of closed cultivation, he had trained in the art of flying. He feels that his flying skills were not inferior to the few flying experts of southern border. Thus, he wanted to challenge Fang Yuan, and build his reputation.
But Fang Yuan was so courteous, he could not continue finding problems with him.
Demonic cultivators were evil and ruthless, but he was a righteous member, and the young clan leader of Yun clan, his every action was closely inspected, after all, it represented Yun clan's image.
Yun Luo Tian stood dazed for a moment before calming his mind: "We let young master Tie Ruo Nan go first because we admire old clan leader Tie Mu Bai. Since you know you had an unfair victory, you should stand down now. There are so many heroes and geniuses here, it is not your turn to enter yet."
Yun Luo Tian waved his sleeve at Fang Yuan, speaking plainly.
Although he secretly flattered the people around him, it caused them to become even more nervous, and everyone felt a storm approaching.
Just as everyone was preparing for battle, Fang Yuan took a step back: "Sir makes sense. It was my fault, you guys should go first."
Yun Luo Tian laughed loudly, waving his sleeves and relaxed, walking towards the light pillar, entering after tens of steps.
Although he did not fight with Fang Yuan, he felt the gains were greater.
Not long after, words would spread that he challenged little beast king verbally, and scared this demonic rising star till he retreated.
At that time, his reputation would surge, and Yun clan's reputation in the righteous faction would rise as well.
After Yun Luo Tian entered the inheritance, Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing entered King Bao Inheritance together.
Seeing them disappear, the remaining rank four Gu Masters started conversing.
"Is this still little beast king? He is so polite?"
"Did he take the wrong medicine, or did I see wrongly? This world is changing too quickly!"
"Hehe, little beast king gave in, he is such a coward. If it was me, I would've rolled up my sleeves and fought."
"Sigh, his opponent is Yun Luo Tian after all! Although Yun clan is not a super clan, it is still a first-class clan."
...
After his vision of the spinning world calmed down, Fang Yuan assessed his surroundings.
Grey-white sky, light red ground, extended towards the horizons. On the ground, there were pieces of volcanic rocks, hot rising steam, or grey dust cloud.
"Devil again, they descended again!"
"My companions, quickly gather together. As long as we fight together, we can defeat the demon king!"
"Come, our Hong Dan village can only be protected by ourselves!"
The top of volcanic rocks were flipped over, and tiny humans walked out.
These tiny people were the size of babies, they were pink and tender, extremely cute. Most importantly, at the middle of their chests, they had a cute and round red egg.
These were the eggmen.
Similar to the hairy men, they were variant humans.
Fang Yuan gave a glance, and knew these were the red eggmen among the eggmen. The egg on them were red, and they used the large volcanic rocks to build their houses, and lived inside.
At this moment, Fang Yuan could only use one exploding egg Gu.
King Bao Inheritance's aim was to make Fang Yuan use the exploding egg Gu to exterminate these red eggmen. That way, he can advance to the next round.
Facing the assaulting red eggmen, Fang Yuan did not move.
He let them attack him.
These attacks accumulated, quickly injuring him heavily.
Fang Yuan could not breathe properly, he was bathed in blood and the feeling of death was creeping up on him. At this moment, even if he used the exploding egg Gu, it could not change the situation.
Letting himself get into such a dangerous situation, Fang Yuan's lips curled into a smile.
"This moment has finally arrived!"
-x-X-x-
A bunch of short red eggmen encircled Fang Yuan, attacking constantly.
"Eh? Is this devil a fool, why is he not moving?"
"If only all devils were such fools, that would be great!"
"Do not let your guard down, devils are extremely crafty, quickly kill him."
Seeing Fang Yuan about to die, the red eggmen cheered victoriously.
But at this moment, a formless energy descended and swept Fang Yuan away!
Falling into encirclement, the dying and unconsciously Fang Yuan vanished without a trace, leaving behind a bunch of shocked red eggmen.
When Fang Yuan woke up from his slumber, the scenery before him was completely different than before.
This was a dark blue colored hall.
The hall was extremely plain, made with large cube bronze blocks. There were a lot of moss on the blocks, showing how long they have already existed.
Fang Yuan laid on the center of the hall, feeling the chill from the bronze block under his back.
"I've already healed your injuries." A large tortoise opened its wrinkled eyes slowly, staring at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan slowly got up from the ground, first touching his own body, his injuries were truly healed.
Next, he looked around the hall in a calm expression.
Lastly, he turned his gaze over towards the huge tortoise before him.
This huge tortoise was large as a house, a thick and hard jade thin shell on its back. Its four legs were like elephant legs, and there were two dragon whiskers growing out of its face.
Fang Yuan looked at this huge tortoise, his lips curling into a smile, as his smile turned into laughter.
"Hahaha..." His laughter echoed in the hall.
He purposely courted death, not even using the Spring Autumn Cicada, it was all because of his previous life's knowledge and information, there was a huge risk involved. It could be said, one wrong move and game over . But a demonic cultivator moved forward relentlessly, they were most skilled at all-in gambles. Right now, Fang Yuan reached the main hall, and his risks had all paid off.
After laughing heartily, Fang Yuan stopped laughing, facing the huge tortoise: "Land spirit Ba Gui, you finally awakened from your slumber."
"You know me?" The huge tortoise's voice created vibrations as there was some suspicion in its eyes.
"That's right, I know you, and I also know the secret of this blessed land." Fang Yuan nodded, walking in the hall with his hands behind his back.
"This blessed land originated from an ancient strength path Gu Immortal. The Gu Immortal protected the blessed land, resisting calamities and tribulations, but eventually, he died in one of the tribulations. His dying wish gathered with this blessed land's heavenly power, formed the land spirit. That is you, Ba Gui. As long as I complete his wish before he died, I can become the new owner of this blessed land, am I right about that?"
Fang Yuan spoke openly, not beating about the bush.
Although the land spirit is formed from the Gu Immortal, it is no longer human, but merely the immortal's will.
Using an explanation from Earth, that would be, a preprogrammed AI 1 .
As long as the land spirit's requirement is met, one can gain its recognition and become the new owner of the blessed land.
Thus, when Fang Yuan spoke, there was no need for any schemes or plots.
The huge tortoise nodded: "That's right, his final wish before dying is also the blessed land's test. As long as you can complete it, you can become my master."
"And the contents of this wish, is to refine the second aperture Gu right?" Fang Yuan followed.
During ancient times, strength path flourished, eight out of ten Gu Masters walked the strength path.
This blessed land's original master, was a strength path Gu Immortal, he created the recipe for second aperture Gu. But right before the crucial step, he died in a tribulation.
After he died, this final obsession became the land spirit.
That is, the huge tortoise before Fang Yuan now.
To complete this wish, the huge tortoise had been waiting aimlessly. But time passed, and no one that fulfilled the criteria showed up.
This fated person, had to be a strength path Gu Master, owned beast phantoms, and also strong to a degree.
Next, this strength path Gu Master had to be on the brink of death to receive this opportunity.
This is because, the blessed land's previous owner had a lot of lingering grudge and hatred, refusing to let others gain his fortune so easily.
But he still wanted to refine the second aperture Gu, thus there was such a requirement for the fated person to be as close to death as possible, just like him. Only someone who had shared his emotion could be qualified to gain everything.
But time passed, and the calamities and tribulations continued to occur.
The land spirit Ba Gui could not find a suitable strength path Gu Master.
To preserve its immortal essence, it could only choose to slumber helplessly.
The wide and huge blessed land, after many calamities and tribulations, had shrunk to less than one percent of its original size.
One calamity was enough to puncture a thousand holes in the blessed land. @@novelbin@@
Thus, there was a hole created, and a path to the outside world was connected to the blessed land.
Three roaming kids came here and relied on the blessed land's resources to cultivate to fruition. These were the three kings of the demonic path.
After the three kings got their revenge, they returned to the blessed land to live.
As time passed, they got more familiar with the blessed land and were a step away from rank six.
But in the end, none of them broke through and before dying, they remodelled the place into the three kings inheritance ground.
The three kings walked on the refinement, fire, and enslavement path, none was a strength path Gu Master.
The moment the remodelling began, the land spirit was woken up.
It watched silently without stopping them. It wanted to use this inheritance to attract qualified strength path Gu Masters as well.
When the three kings inheritance opened, countless Gu Masters entered, and increased the blessed land's immortal essence expenditure. As the blessed land faced the risk of destruction, the huge tortoise awakened from its slumber.
After waking up, the first thing the land spirit did was to find the fated person.
In the entire blessed land, there were many strength path Gu Masters. But those who fulfilled its requirements were none.
In ancient times, strength path was mainstream. But now that times have changed, strength path was eliminated, on the brink of extinction. Those who truly cultivated strength path to a high level, were even rarer.
Hearing Fang Yuan talk about the second aperture Gu, the land spirit Ba Gui was stunned: "You know a lot."
It felt strange, but did not pursue the matter.
To it, the fated person had already been found, now the next target was to refine the second aperture Gu.
However, it was not easy to refine second aperture Gu.
That is because, second aperture Gu was not a mortal Gu, it was a rank six Immortal Gu!
But Fang Yuan was already mentally prepared, directly asking: "Second aperture Gu is a rank six Gu. Rank five is mortal, rank six is immortal! To refine an Immortal Gu, the most basic condition is immortal essence! In the blessed land, how much immortal essence is left?"
The tortoise turned its body, gazing deep within the hall.
The flooring cracked open, as a hole appeared, and a bronze cauldron rose slowly. Eventually, the flooring closed up, leaving the cauldron alone in the hall.
This cauldron had three legs and two handles, it was filled with immortal essence inside.
The immortal essence was a greenish water, crystal clear and giving off a rusty smell.
There was very little immortal essence, only a thin layer left in the cauldron, and as time flowed, it slowly decreased drop by drop.
This is because, after the blessed land opened, countless Gu Masters explored, and entered and left multiple times, expending immortal essence.
"But this is already much better than in my previous life. As long as I ration it properly..." Fang Yuan looked at this layer of immortal essence, thinking deeply, as sparks seemed to be flying above his head.
In his previous life, after the three kings inheritance opened, the land spirit waited but did not meet its fated owner.
Only towards the end of the inheritance did the land spirit find a suitable, dying strength path Gu Master and transported him in.
This lucky person was a demonic path member, surviving the ordeal and benefitting from the crisis.
However, he was very poor at refining Gu worms, when he started the refinement process, he died.
Towards the end, Gu Masters had a great understanding of the three kings inheritance, and knew when to advance and retreat. They all had some trump cards or tokens to preserve their lives, and could easily leave at will.
Towards the end, the blessed land could not sustain it much more, and Gu Masters could freely use their Gu worms, fighting and causing bloodshed.
Where there are battles, there are deaths and injuries.
The land spirit found a chance, and chose a few strength path Gu Masters from among them.
But by then, it was already too late. There was a severe lack of immortal essence, and the land spirit was severely weakened, unable to do anything.
In the end, the blessed land continued to break down, as Gu Masters found this hall. Arriving here, they battled with the land spirit, and killed the strength path Gu Master who was refining the Gu.
Only then did they know, that San Cha mountain's blessed land held such a secret.
But at that time, immortal essence was expended, and the land spirit was dead, the Gu refinement ended in utter failure.
The legendary second aperture Gu, became extinct before the first one was even created.
"Second aperture Gu, allowing a Gu Master to have a second aperture. Even an idiot would know the value of this Gu! I have A grade aptitude now, one aperture holds ninety percent primeval essence. If I have the second aperture Gu, I would have a hundred and eighty percent primeval essence. At the same time, I can have double the primeval essence recovery speed, and even a second set of Gu worms. My battle strength will surge, and create history for myself. Once I succeed, I will definitely be the strongest person among the same rank!"
Fang Yuan was secretly excited.
But to refine this Immortal Gu, the process was really difficult, it would not be an easy task. Even Tie Mu Bai would feel stunned at this.
But to Fang Yuan, it was another situation all together.
Firstly, he was a rank six Gu Immortal in his past life who used the Spring Autumn Cicada to rebirth, he also succeeded in refining the Spring Autumn Cicada, he had the precious experience of creating an Immortal Gu.
Secondly, ever since the three kings inheritance opened, he had been plotting.
He challenged strength path Gu Masters everywhere, eliminating his competition. Xue San Si, Century Boy, they were all chosen by the land spirit in his previous life, but now, they died in Fang Yuan's hands.
Lastly, he had the help of the land spirit.
In his previous life, the land spirit was already very weak when he saw the first lucky person. Towards the end, it was so feeble it got killed by a bunch of mortals.
But this life was different!
Fang Yuan approached death purposely, coming here in advance, he would receive great help from the land spirit.
"Back then, that Gu Immortal had made ample preparations to refine this Gu. With such a foundation, I have at least fifty percent chance of succeeding in this refinement.
Back when Fang Yuan refined Spring Autumn Cicada, he had less than twenty percent chance of succeeding. Now that he was refining the second aperture Gu, he had fifty percent, it was extremely high!
-x-X-x-
Soon, Fang Yuan calmed down.
Second aperture Gu was only an opportunity, to make it a reality, it needed planning and effort.
"Whether the refinement of second aperture Gu succeeds or fails, a large amount of immortal essence will be consumed. Without immortal essence, the blessed land cannot contend against the upcoming earthly calamity and heavenly tribulation. That is to say, even if I become the owner of the blessed land, this blessed land can no longer be saved and I will have to give up on it."
"Thus, second aperture Gu will be my greatest reward for this trip."
However, the whole matter was not so easy and simple. The situation Fang Yuan was facing now was extremely complex.
With the start of the refinement of second aperture Gu, the remaining immortal essence would start decreasing sharply; the blessed land would weaken greatly and the assistance the land spirit could give would become lesser and lesser.
At the same time, he also needed to consider the Gu Masters within the blessed land. If they discovered this main hall, they were sure to attack together just like in his previous life and disrupt the process of the Gu refinement.
Fang Yuan's eyes flashed with sharp light and after pondering for a while, he took the initiative to demand: "Land spirit, tell me the recipe for refining the second aperture Gu."
Land spirit Ba Gui slowly nodded its head and its deep voice entered Fang Yuan's ears: "Then listen properly, this is the full content of the recipe."
"Rotten soil blood powder, treasure flower in the earth. Jade bone turned into petals, ice muscles into stalks and golden relic into the heart of the flower. A bright stellar fire, gather ice and snow into plains. Yang cloud burns with elixir fire below and yin clouds scatter sand like gold above, add beast phantoms in the middle until lightning crackles, creating beast strength placenta, and start collecting apertures... Wild grass grow wildly, the qi of blood like the sea. Three hundred years as spring, five hundred years as autumn. With unlimited divine opportunity, swim and roam in the wilds, adding in third watch, and another third watch, obtaining nine. Nine as extreme, the refinement is complete!"
The recipe content was huge and had close to ten thousand words.
Fang Yuan's expression turned grave as he listened.
There were up to a thousand steps in refining this second aperture Gu. The early stage involved hundreds of types of materials, the middle stage used up large numbers of rank four and rank five Gu, and it continued to become more arduous as it got closer to the last step, until finally, it needed the use of another rank six Immortal Gu!
"This is not good, the difficulty in refining second aperture Gu is many times higher than I estimated. The intel in my previous life only talked of the early stage of the recipe mixed with much misinterpretation from the people involved."
Fang Yuan's heart sank, the fifty percent confidence he had turned to about thirty percent after he heard the recipe.
"You don't need to worry too much, large amounts of materials and Gu worms for refining second aperture Gu had already been stored in this main hall."
With the land spirit's words, the whole main hall was suffused with dark blue light.
The brilliant radiance shone over the main hall; the relief sculptures on the surface of the main hall suddenly protruded out and turned into solid.
Fang Yuan was amazed at this change: "This is clearly a kind of storage method, this is the first time I am seeing it. Sigh, many methods of the ancient era had disappeared along the river of time."
Materials after materials of all kinds dazzled his eyes. There were at least five thousand Gu worms from rank one to rank five; among them, there were over six hundred rank four Gu and no less than eighty rank five Gu!
Rank five Gu which were very rare in the outside world had unexpectedly numbered to almost a hundred at this main hall. And the expensive rank four Gu had apparently become as rare as cabbages here.
"So many top-tier materials! There are so many Gu which I have never seen... these strength path Gu, if I obtain them, my battle strength will definitely rise by over ten-folds! And there are also over ten yellow gold relic Gu along with eight purple crystal relic Gu! If I used them, I will be able to advance to rank five peak stage within moments!"
Fang Yuan looked at these rank four and rank five Gu, and had a thought of giving up the refinement of second aperture Gu and directly taking all these Gu worms.
However, this impulse was immediately extinguished by him.
With the land spirit beside him keeping guard, these Gu worms could only be used to refine second aperture Gu and he was unable to use them for his personal use.
Secondly, second aperture Gu would be a great help in the future if it was refined, and it would provide enormous help even at rank six realm.
Second aperture Gu was a long term investment and its benefits would soar to the sky especially after one reached rank six.
"There is still one extremely crucial Gu worm left." Ba Gui said and opened his eyes, using all his strength to control this main hall.
The blue radiance increased sharply and reached and unbearable intensity.
The immortal essence in the bronze cauldron began deplete bit by bit.
Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes, and within this blue light, he saw a confined Immortal Gu.
It was like a round gem, the gem's whole body was yellow and was hollow inside with a ball of purple smoke in it.
This smoke transformed constantly; suddenly turning into a pegasus or an immortal crane the next moment, or changing into a moving cloud or pure thunderbolt.
Following its appearance, a strong wine fragrance spread through the whole main hall.
Fang Yuan took a few breaths and immediately felt drunk; his eyes turned hazy and his mind became dizzy, he immediately held his breath.
"This is the rank six Immortal Gu — Divine Travel." The land spirit introduced.
Divine travel Gu!
Fang Yuan opened his eyes wide and stared at this Gu without even blinking.
Divine Travel Gu was very mysterious and also legendary. Its earliest appearance was in <>.
<> was the first classic of Gu. It appeared to be a story when one first read it but it actually held profound messages, recording the secrets of the ancient times and all kinds of Gu. Some Gu were directly described like wisdom Gu, strength Gu and so on. And some Gu were hidden, their descriptions were very vague, requiring the readers to dig through it and study carefully.
In the legends of Ren Zu, divine travel Gu's earliest appearance was beside Verdant Great Sun.
Verdant Great Sun drank four different top-tier wines in the world; the dense liquor aura in his body congealed into divine travel Gu.
Divine travel Gu had the power to send the Gu Master to any place in the world. But its activation required the Gu Master to be in a drunken state and its destination also could not be controlled.
Verdant Great Sun was transported to many dangerous places and suffered a lot due to divine travel Gu, his life on the line several times.
"Divine travel Gu might be one of the four great movement Gu and is very powerful at that, but its flaw is extremely big, who would dare to use it? Even Verdant Great Sun had no choice but to refine divine travel Gu into fixed immortal travel Gu in the end. No wonder the original master of this blessed land chose this Gu to refine into second aperture Gu."
Fixed immortal travel Gu was also one of the four great movement Gu and could send the Gu Master to any place they wanted to, even if the destination was at the edge of the world. But the prerequisite was that the Gu Master needed to have a concrete impression of their destination. If there was any huge changes to their destination, they would fail in using the fixed immortal travel Gu.
Fang Yuan carefully pondered and understood the intentions of this ancient strength path Gu Immortal.
Divine travel Gu might be at the noble rank six but its every use carried extremely high risk and had low worth in using. Thus, Verdant Great Sun refined it into fixed immortal travel Gu, while this ancient strength path Gu Master thought of using it to refine second aperture Gu.
The land spirit Ba Gui carefully resealed the divine travel Gu and asked: "When do you plan on beginning the refinement?"
"There is no rush, let me first study this recipe properly." Fang Yuan sat cross-legged on the spot and closed his eyes to contemplate.
Humans were the spirit of all living beings and Gu were the essence of the world.
After a Gu Master's cultivation reached a profound level, they would understand a principle; a Gu Master using Gu was not simply using the Gu worms as a tool. But rather, it was a way to understand heaven and earth.
Gu worms were the vessels that carry the law fragments of the Great Dao. Refining Gu was not simply following random steps but was based on the understanding of law fragments.
A recipe not only contained the process of refining Gu, but even more importantly, it contained its creator's comprehension of heaven and earth.
From this recipe, Fang Yuan could study the experimentation and insights of the original owner of this blessed land, the ancient strength path Gu Immortal. And when he compared them with his own experiences, he would gain an even deeper understanding of the Great Dao; this was absolutely a beneficial matter.
"Gu Master can only have one aperture from birth, if there was a second aperture, this would truly be an act of defying heaven. I see why divine travel Gu was chosen."
Fang Yuan opened his eyes after a long while, gaining a deeper understanding of the whole refinement process.
"Land spirit, let's start the refinement!"
"Okay." Land spirit immediately responded and gave two kinds of materials and a Gu worm to Fang Yuan.
First material was green pond rotten soil which originated ten thousand feet deep under a rotten and poisonous marsh, and was extremely toxic. Even Fang Yuan's arm would be rotten within a few breaths if he touched it.
Second material was a blood colored powder which had a rather large origin. The blood of eight kinds of immemorial desolate beasts were mixed, solidified and then grinded to form this powder.
The Gu worm, however, was common and Fang Yuan had come in touch with it at Qing Mao mountain.
It was earth treasury flower.
Earth treasury flower was a storage Gu. Flower wine monk planted it in the depths of the cave to store several Gu worms which were obtained by Fang Yuan in the end.
With the land spirit's assistance, Fang Yuan mixed the green pond rotten soil and eight desolate blood powder.
After the mixture became an evenly distributed soil, he planted the earth treasury flower in it.
Earth treasury flower immediately decayed and died when it entered the soil. Whether it was the toxicity of the green pond rotten soil or the violent nature of the eight desolate blood powder, they both were something the earth treasury flower could not endure easily.
However, Fang Yuan had already anticipated this situation and was not discouraged.
Land spirit took out another earth treasury flower Gu, and Fang Yuan casually planted it.
That ancient strength path Gu Immortal had already foreseen the probability of failure in every step and had thus prepared enough spare material.
After continuously failing several times, Fang Yuan finally succeeded in planting the earth treasury flower in the soil.
Green pool rotten soil's toxicity and the blood power of the eight desolate blood powder formed a kind of subtle balance, causing a strange transformation within the earth treasury flower Gu.
This was the first step of the recipe — rotten soil blood powder, treasure flower in the earth .
Next was 'jade bone turned into petals, ice muscles into stalks and golden relic into the heart of the flower' ; it required the use of jade bone Gu, ice muscle Gu and yellow golden relic Gu along with skilled Gu refinement techniques.
Third step 'bright stellar fire, gather ice and snow into plains' ; this could easily be misunderstood with stellar fire Gu and snowy plain Gu. But the firepower from that would be inadequate. In fact, the two phrases needed to be combined to be understood, the true answer was to use stellar fire prairie Gu together with snowy plain Gu, only then would there be balance.
Fang Yuan followed the order one by one.
At the fourth step 'Yang cloud burns with elixir fire below and yin clouds scatter sand like gold above'; this tested his multitasking ability.
Fang Yuan first used yang cloud Gu with elixir fire Gu, then activated yin cloud Gu and used golden sand Gu.
The yin and yang clouds mixed with the smoke from previous steps. Spheres of fiery orange elixir fire rose up from the yang cloud. The golden sand fell down from the yin cloud like a light drizzle.
"Yin above and yang below is anti-balance... this is the critical juncture! Go, white elephant beast phantom." Fang Yuan's eyes burst out with divine light as he activated all-out effort Gu and summoned white elephant phantom.
White elephant phantom collided into the center of yin and yang clouds and was grinded down by elixir fire and golden sand.
With a soft explosion, white elephant phantom turned into a ball of white light and revolved in the air.
"Again, black python beast phantom." Fang Yuan pointed and sacrificed another beast strength phantom.
Black python entered the center of the clouds and quickly turned into black ray and spun around the white light; the two were in an endless tangle.
"Stone turtle beast phantom, horse beast phantom." Another two beast phantoms flew out of Fang Yuan's body.
Four beast phantoms tangled against each other and formed a whirlpool of colorful light, but there was still something lacking.
"Strange! Why have they not fused?" Fang Yuan was baffled, this was the first difficulty he had ran into.
The colorful whirlpool was being grinded down by the elixir fire and the golden sand, and was continuously becoming smaller; the multiple auras could not fuse together.
Fang Yuan suddenly had a thought as he looked at the process which was about to end in failure: "Wait a second, could it be..."
He began to control the four beast phantoms.
White elephant beast phantom was steady and simple. Black python phantom was coiling and cold. Stone turtle phantom was still as a mountain. And horse beast phantom ran with the wind.
These four beast phantoms were just carelessly tangling with each other before, but under Fang Yuan's control now, each of them began to display their true disposition and nature.
Boom!
Thunder crackled and a strange transformation began.
Yin and yang clouds moved, yin cloud sank down and yang cloud rose up; the two forming into a whole entity.
The mist surged and mixed ceaselessly with lightning and thunder constantly crackling inside.
"So it was like that. No wonder it needed strength path Gu Master, although those who merely possessed beast phantoms would still not be able to succeed. The Gu Master must understand the true nature of each beast phantom to start the fusion." Fang Yuan let out a breath of relief and comprehended the process.
Rumble...
Lightning crackled and thunder exploded.
The sound was like war drums, becoming more condensed and finally blending into one.
Boom Boom Boom...
Under continuous rumbling sounds, the mist completely fused into one color before suddenly exploding.
A frenzy wind blew, dispersing all the clouds and mist.
Only one Gu remained in the air.
This Gu was rank five Gu and was like a disk. Its surface was rough like an embryo made of grass and soil. In the middle of the disk was a ferocious beast with the head of a horse, tusks of an elephant, body of a turtle and the tail of a snake.
"This is the beast strength placenta Gu." Fang Yuan relaxed his mind when he saw this Gu; the moment he relaxed, he fell down to the ground and fell asleep.
He had used a total of five days and five nights to refine this Gu. He had not rested a moment during this time and had been multitasking the whole time; his mental energy had been used to the limits, and he was extremely exhausted.
This sleep lasted for a day and a night before Fang Yuan woke up.
He touched the beast strength placenta Gu and recalled the recipe: "Yang cloud burns with elixir fire below and yin clouds scatter sand like gold from above, add beast phantoms in the middle till lightning crackles, creating beast strength placenta, and start collecting apertures..."
"Next is gathering apertures!" Thinking of this, he stood up and said to the land spirit: "Ba Gui, it is time."
Ba Gui was also straightforward: "Alright, I can send you to wherever you want to go in the blessed land."
A large map appeared in front of Fang Yuan along with all kinds of scenes, displaying everything in the blessed land.
Everything from Gu Masters, hairy men, dog beasts and so on were clearly shown.
"This place." Fang Yuan searched through the map before his gaze fixed on a place, and pointed at it.
Next moment, Fang Yuan disappeared and appeared in front of Tie Mu Bai.
"You." Tie Mu Bai was exploring the inheritance and was slightly surprised by Fang Yuan's sudden appearance.
But he calmed down soon and was just about to say something when Fang Yuan quickly waved his hand and luckily summoned a rock crocodile phantom.
Bam!
Tie Mu Bai's head was smacked by the rock crocodile's tail, and it exploded like a watermelon —
He, was dead.