13 RI

In the hall, the lights shone brightly.

On the round dining table, the wine was already cold, and the dishes were cool.

The brilliant red candle flickered and danced, projecting the shadows of Aunt and Uncle onto the wall.

The two figures' shadow combined into one, and swayed gloomily with the candlelight.

In front of them, Mother Shen was kneeling.

Uncle broke the silence, "To think this Fang Yuan is dead bent on going against me. Sigh, I wanted to calm him down with nice words and keep him in the house first before finding a reason to chase him out of the house. To think that he did not fall for it! He has made up his mind, rejecting my invitation without a single way to negotiate! Not even taking a step into my house!"

Aunt gritted her teeth, her expression slightly flustered, "This scoundrel is already sixteen years old, so if he wants the family fortune now we cannot deny it to him. Years ago we obtained that family fortune and it was clearly recorded in the inner affairs hall. Now that we cannot deny it, what shall we do now?!"

"Leave first." Uncle waved at Mother Shen to withdraw, laughing coldly, "Don't be anxious. Throughout the year, I have already been planning for this. First, to get back the assets, he needs to have Rank one middle stage cultivation. He already achieved this and is even at peak stage, and gotten number one in the exam, that is very impressive. Hehe..."

"But, to successfully obtain his family fortune, it is not so easy! Rank one middle stage cultivation is only a pre-condition. To split the assets, Fang Yuan has to apply for it, and the internal affairs hall has to approve it and send him a mission to test if he has the qualifications. This is to prevent the clan from splitting family assets nonsensically, causing internal strifes and weakening the clan."

Aunt was enlightened, "This means that, he has to complete the mission before he can get his parents' inheritance."

"That's right." Uncle laughed sinisterly, "But the internal affairs hall's missions are sent to groups. The family asset mission will be the same. If Fang Yuan wants to complete it, he would have to rely on the group, he cannot do it alone. The family does this to make sure that the small groups stay united and increase their cohesiveness."

Aunt laughed loudly, "Husband, you're too smart. Getting Jiao San to recruit Fang Yuan — this way, if Fang Yuan wants to accomplish the mission, he would need their strength. But Jiao San is on our side, so Fang Yuan can never accomplish this mission."

Uncle's eyes shone smugly, "Hmph, even if he cannot get him into the group, I have other ways to deal with him. Not to mention completing the mission, even if he wants to apply for the splitting of the fortune and receive the mission, it might not be possible!"

...

Nightfall arrived and the snow stopped.

Fang Yuan walked on the streets. The bamboo houses along the way were all covered by a layer of white snow.

The snow that he stepped on emitted a light sound. The cold air entered his respiratory system, causing Fang Yuan's brain to be extremely awake.

After rejecting Mother Shen, Fang Yuan disregarded Jiao San and the group's advice and said goodbye to everyone, leaving by himself.

"So that's it." He walked and thought, "Uncle and Aunt are trying to trap and delay me, causing me to lose the chance to take back my inheritance."

"After the new year, I would be sixteen years old and be qualified to split the assets. My parents are dead, and my brother has new parents. If I am successful, the entire inheritance is mine. But to take back the inheritance, there are two crucial steps, each being extremely important."

"The first is to apply for the mission at the internal affairs hall without any other missions at hand. The second is to complete the mission to earn the rights to inherit the asset."

"Jiao San is in cahoots with Uncle and Aunt. Leaving aside the second step, he's already trying to trap me at the first step."

The clan rules state that Gu Masters can only be on one mission at a time. This is to prevent Gu Masters from hogging and causing negative competition in the clan.

Jiao San received missions consecutively. After finishing the permafrost decayed soil mission, he immediately accepted a new mission for catching wild deer.

The clan's missions were all given to groups, that is to say, according to clan rules, Fang Yuan has to finish the deer capturing mission before applying for his asset splitting mission.

"But at that point, I believe Jiao San would just accept another new mission. As the leader, when accepting missions, he will always be a step ahead of me, causing me to be unable to accept my mission, thus always stopping me." Thinking of this, Fang Yuan's eyes shone ominously.

These plots and schemes were irritating, like an invisible rope blocking Fang Yuan's progress.

But Fang Yuan did not regret entering this group.

At the arena, he was backed into a corner. Jiao San's invitation became a way for him to be free from the predicament.

If he did not enter the team, his uncle and aunt would have other ways to deal with him, this cannot be prevented and will be hard to defend against. But now that he is in the group, he can clearly see their schemes and easily counterattack.

"Solving this problem, I have my ways. The easiest way is to just eliminate Jiao San, or assassinate uncle and aunt, then no one would compete with me over the family assets. But this way is too risky, they are all Rank two Gu Masters and my cultivation is still too low. Even if I kill them I cannot get out of the troublesome aftermath. Unless there is a good chance for me to take advantage of... but these chances are usually by luck."

Fang Yuan could kill the servant Gao Wan and could kill old man Wang, but that was because they were mortals and servants, with life cheap as grass. Killing them was akin to killing a dog or pulling off weed, it was insignificant.

But assassinating Gu Masters is very troublesome.

Gu Masters were all Gu Yue clansmen, no matter which one dies, the punishment hall would investigate. Fang Yuan evaluated his own strength and knew there was too much risk in killing them now; he might even get killed. Even if he kills them, the punishment hall's investigation is even more troublesome. His future actions would be spied on and they might even find out the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance.

"Attracting a much larger problem when eliminating a small problem, that is not what a wise person does. Oh? I'm here," Fang Yuan spoke lightly, stopping at a worn out bamboo building.

This bamboo building was torn and worn out, like an old man about to die, panting for his last breath in the cold harsh winter.

Seeing this bamboo building, Fang Yuan's face showed a trace of reminiscence.

This was the room he rented in his previous life.

In his previous life, after being thrown out by his uncle and aunt, he had less than fifteen primeval stones left and had to sleep in the streets for a few days before finding this place.

This place was too worn out and had much lower rent than other places. In addition, while other places counted the rent by months, this place calculated it by days.

"I do not know about other places, whether or not they have uncle and aunt's traps. But my previous life's memories tell me that at least this place is safe." Fang Yuan rang on the door.

After half an hour, he established the renting terms and was brought to the second floor by the owner.

The floors were old, emitting dangerous and concerning sounds when stepped on.

The room had only one bed, and a blanket. The blanket had many patches but was still riddled with some holes, and the yellow cotton wadding leaked out from inside.

The head of the bed had an oil lamp. The landlord left after lighting the lamp.

Fang Yuan did not sleep, but sat on the bed and started cultivating.

As his primeval sea raged on in the aperture, every drop of primeval essence was black green.

The aperture's four walls were a white crystal colour, in a translucent state.

Rank one peak stage.

Suddenly, the green bronze primeval sea started to have currents, like wild beasts raging and suiciding towards the four aperture walls.

Bam bam bam...

The huge waves crashed onto the aperture walls, causing the little ripples to break into small droplets before dissipating.

After a while, the 44% primeval essence sea was quickly expended, with large amounts of primeval essence used up.

On the sturdy aperture walls, there was lines of cracks.

But just cracks were not enough.

Fang Yuan wanted to break through Rank one peak stage and reach Rank two, thus he needed to break this aperture wall completely, evolving through its destruction!

Black green primeval essence continued to attack the crystal wall, and the cracks increased, forming a giant piece. At some places, the cracks were even deeper, forming very evident lines.

As he used up the primeval essence, he did not continue to use primeval essence to attack, and the crystal walls started to heal, causing the cracks to vanish.

Fang Yuan was not surprised, collecting his spirits and opening his eyes.

The oil lamp had gone out already. There was not much oil anyway.

The room was dark, with only the window providing a little bit of light through the crack.

The room had no firepit and was not warm. Fang Yuan had sat on the bed for a long time without moving, and felt that the chilliness had intensified.

His dark iris fused with the darkness.

"To breakthrough Jiao San's lock, there is an easier and safer method. That is to advance to Rank two! Rank one Gu masters have no right to give up on missions, but Rank 2 Gu masters can do it once a year. If I advance to Rank two, I can give up on my mission and apply for the asset splitting."

"But to breakthrough to Rank two, it is not an easy task." Thinking of this, Fang Yuan sighed. Coming down from his bed, he strolled around in the tiny room.

From initial stage to middle stage, middle stage to upper stage, these are all small realms. From Rank one peak stage to Rank two initial stage, that is breaking through a large realm. Between these two cases there was an extremely different difficulty.

Simply put, to break the crystal wall, it needed explosive strength, forming a strong impact in a short time to smash the wall.

But Fang Yuan only had C grade talent, and the primeval sea is only at 44%. If he used his entire force to attack the wall, his primeval essence would be used up immediately.

Just like earlier, after his primeval essence was exhausted, he would no longer have the strength to continue. And the wall had recovery ability, so before long, it would heal up. Whatever Fang Yuan did earlier would have been wasted.

"Breaking the wall and reaching Rank two without special situations, one needs 55% black green primeval essence. But my talent is limited, having only 44%, thus people say that talent is the key in a Gu Master's cultivation!"

Thinking of this, Fang Yuan slowed in his steps.

Unknowingly, he had moved to the window, thus he opened the windows casually.

Every gust of wind shook the bamboo lattice window, and when opened the snow-covered mountain greets one's eye. (1)

Under the moonlight, the snow was like white jade, spreading out and letting the world resemble a crystal palace before one's eyes, untainted by dust.

The snowlight shone onto Fang Yuan's youthful features. His expression was peaceful and calm, his brow smooth, his pair of orbs looking like the ancient spring underneath the moon.

As the cold winds blew onto his face, the young man laughed, "It is merely a small bit of wind frost"

-x-X-x-

It was a night without sleep, and once day came, Fang Yuan stepped out of the room and started to purchase stuff wantonly.

The room was poorly furnished and the blankets were torn. If he lived there for long, the chill would enter his body and cause him to get sick.

Fang Yuan's primeval stones were already half-used up, but he still had to purchase the necessary equipment. He could not scrimp on these things.

Firstly was a blanket, he had to get a large blanket stuffed with cotton, or at least two. He also needed bed sheets and a mattress.

He needed another oil lamp so that it could illuminate the room, and he needed at least two pots of lamp oil.

Thinking about it, although the room was small, it could still hold a table and a chair, thus he bought those as well.

Most importantly, it was a stove.

In the winter, if he did not have a stove to warm himself when sleeping in the room, he would still get shocked awake by the cold.

Other than these, he also bought some dry rations and some water to last around seven days' worth.

The winter sun slowly rose, giving out languid rays of light.

Gu Yue Jiao San and the other Gu Masters stood at the North door of the village, waiting anxiously.

"Something's not right. Last night we agreed to meet at this time and place. But it has already been fifteen minutes, and this Fang Yuan still hasn't shown up?" A female Gu Master asked.

"Calm down and just wait. It is inevitable that a newcomer is late," Jiao Sao laughed. He had been fretting over not having any reasons to fault Fang Yuan with, but to think he faltered on the second day.

"Never mind that we are waiting. Even the group leader has to wait for him, this lad thinks too much of himself!" Gu Yue Kong Jing complained, his tone indignant.

Half an hour later, Fang Yuan was still nowhere to be found.

Jiao San's face was darker than night.

"This scumbag, did he remember the wrong location? We said clearly that we are meeting at the northern door," Kong Jing said suspiciously.

"I'll wait here, you guys go look around the different doors," Jiao San instructed, and the three obliged.

Fifteen minutes later, they returned with no fruit.

"Did this Fang Yuan see through our ploy and left the group directly?" A female Gu Master asked.

"You think too highly of him. Even if he is the first place in the year end exam, he is still a young newbie. His age is apparent." Kong Jing said.

Jiao San's face was grim, "It is secondary to whether he has seen through us. The crucial thing is to find him now. I am afraid that he has left us behind and is trying to breakthrough to Rank two on his own. Once he reaches Rank two, he can abandon this mission and apply for the splitting of assets from the internal affairs hall. Find him, go and find him! The village is only so big and there are only that many rental houses, we must find him and not give him the time to breakthrough to Rank two!"

"Yes!"

...

In the room, Fang Yuan sat on the bed.

In front of him were a few money bags, and inside them was all primeval stones.

"Not enough primeval stones," Fang Yuan sighed, his expression grim.

Primeval stones are the driving force behind a Gu Master's advancement, and if they are lacking, the Gu Masters would need to rely on their own recovery speed for primeval essence, which would greatly reduce their cultivation speed. At the same time, without sufficient food, the Gu worms would die of hunger.

Fang Yuan's primeval stones, during his time at the academy, it had reached the peak of being slightly above a thousand. But it could not stand up to the expenditure over time.

A same stage Gu Master up till now, only has three Gu worms.

But Fang Yuan, after getting number one in the year end exam, entered the Gu hall and chose another Little Light Gu for free.

He must choose, for if he gave up, it would invite suspicion.

Like this, he had seven Gu worms on hand!

Undeniably, this was a huge financial burden.

"If this continues, I can only hold out for two months. I must get back my family assets, that is the greatest financial support. But to get them back, the first step is to advance to Rank two." Fang Yuan's gaze was dark.

To Fang Yuan, advancing to Rank two was not easy.

For a Gu Master's cultivation, first was resources, second was talent. Without talent, the path of cultivation would be difficult and their accomplishments in the future would be lower.

Talent is split according to D, C, B and A grade.

But this is only a rough distribution.

In fact, every grade has another specific differentiation.

Taking a C grade for example — the primeval essence storage in the aperture would be around 40-59%.

Fang Yuan's primeval essence was 44%, so in the C grade range, he was only middle-lower class.

Rushing to Rank two, he needed at least 55% black green primeval essence. To an A and B grade Gu Master, this was not difficult, and to the 55-59% C grade Gu Masters, they could pass as well.

Thus, for C grade Gu Masters, once they reach a certain accumulation, most of them would advance to Rank two. Only very few can attain Rank three.

Thus, the talent could determine most people's achievements in their lives. Fang Yuan being given the cold shoulder, he could not blame the people for being biased.

"Although my C grade talent is only 44%, if I want to break the wall and reach a new height, attaining Rank two, it is still not impossible. The easiest way is to find a talent raising Gu worm. Secondary, I can get a support-type Gu like the Liquor worm, and that can help to break the barrier as well. Lastly, I can attain the help of a higher-ranking Gu Master, but using external primeval essence has a huge backlash, unless I can get the Cleansing Gu in future to eliminate the external presence."

Fang Yuan thought about it while using both hands to take out a primeval stone, using his fingers to rub the smooth surface of the stone.

"But the above methods are not recommended for me. I do not have any friendly Gu Master to help, and even if I do I will not let my aperture be at their mercy. Gu worms like the Liquor worm are too rare, even getting the Liquor worm was my extreme luck. As for talent raising Gu worm, I got it in my previous life and attained Rank six cultivation, and I also know where to find them, but I cannot go to those places now with my current cultivation. Even if I get them, I cannot keep them, or even use them."

"But other than these methods, there is a final most stupid method. Using primeval stones to force it!" Thinking so, Fang Yuan's eyes flashed as he gripped the primeval stone tightly.

Gu Master cultivation, first was resources, second was talent.

Without sufficient talent, one can compensate using resources to a degree.

"My primeval essence is only 44%, I do not have enough to break the aperture walls. But if I absorb primeval essence while attacking the walls, I can hold on much longer, and in about four to five days, I would be able to smash the walls!"

Making up his mind, Fang Yuan opened his eyes, his heart sinking into his aperture.

Green copper primeval sea raged on as the waves crashed into the aperture walls.

But this time, to prevent his primeval essence from drying up and becoming insufficient to maintain the cracks and causing the aperture to recover, Fang Yuan purposely slowed the attacking speed.

This way, the green bronze primeval essence expenditure would be greatly reduced, but the crack formation would also slow down. Despite so, Fang Yuan continued to absorb the natural essence of the primeval stones.

Primeval essence recovery has to be slightly above the crack recovery speed. This way, even if it is slow, showing less than 1% progress, there would be hope as time passes.

The only thing about this method would be that other than eating and shitting, Fang Yuan had to cultivate non-stop. The more time he wasted, the more primeval stones would go down the drain and the more his hard work would squander.

He could stop for a maximum of fifteen minutes, and after that if there isn't any primeval essence to continue attacking, the aperture would fully recover.

Thus, once the attack began, he had to persevere until he succeeded, and cannot be disturbed. Once he stopped for too long, he would have to restart the process.

Fang Yuan did not have so many primeval stones on hand to do it multiple times.

Time flies when cultivating, and in the blink of an eye, the sun set.

Under the setting sun, Jiao San with a cold expression said, "After finding for a day, you still haven't found him?"

"No, group leader." Kong Jing wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "That lad, he did not go to any of the houses we recommended, we have no idea where he is hiding."

"Hmph! Continue searching tomorrow, we have to find him. Remember to search the inn as well, I do not believe that we cannot find him. The village is only so big, no matter where he is hiding, there has to be a trace!" Jiao San walked away in fury.

Until the afternoon of the second day, their search finally bore fruit.

A female Gu Master walked to Jiao San excitedly, reporting, "Found him, found him! Fang Yuan is at a worn-out bamboo building, and has rented the second floor. According to the owner's description, it should be him."

"Hmph, as I expected, he really hid himself and is trying to breakthrough to Rank two." Jiao San laughed sinisterly, "Let's go and make ourselves guests in his room and show him some concern. He is a newcomer after all."

"Hehehe..." The others also started smirking.

The four immediately came to Fang Yuan's residence.

There was a paper on the door.

Jiao San took it down and read it. It was Fang Yuan's handwriting, saying that he needed to go into closed door cultivation for a few days and will not leave, as he would be attempting to breakthrough to Rank two. If others saw it, they should not disturb him. If Jiao San saw it, it was a 'request of absence' application.

Jiao San snorted, throwing the paper away.

How can I let you advance to Rank two so successfully?

He laughed coldly, knocking on the door.

Knock knock knock.

"Little brother Fang Yuan, are you here?" He purposely said loudly, "We are here to see you, how could you not tell us about your closed door cultivation, seriously."

There was no reply.

Knock knock knock.

Jiao San knocked loudly.

"Little brother Fang Yuan, it's not that I want to nag at you. But you are making decisions on your own. Now that you are our group member, you should listen to instructions and obey orders, moving together. We have already accepted the wild deer hunting mission, this is specifically for you to train, so why don't you stop first and complete the mission with us, then cultivate," Jiao San's eyes squinted as he said in a gentle tone, although his expression was dark. @@novelbin@@

There was still no reply.

JIao San suddenly raised his voice, "Little brother Fang Yuan, why are you not replying, did something happen to you? It is not so easy breaking through to Rank two, you can ask us for experience. Fang Yuan! Did you hear me, oh no, could it be that you fainted?"

Jiao San talked to himself, smirking coldly but his voice was full of concern and anxiety.

The other three members observed the show.

Kong Jing interrupted at an appropriate timing, "Leader, you might be right, Fang Yuan hasn't responded after so long, let's go in and save him!"

"Fang Yuan! Fang Yuan, quickly open the door. We're really worried if you keep silent. If you don't open the door, we will break in. You are our newest member, we cannot let you be in danger!" Jiao San shouted loudly.

Still, there was no reply.

Jiao San's mouth curled, indicating to Kong Jing.

Kong Jing acknowledged and raised his foot.

With a loud BAM sound, the entire door was sent flying, crashing onto the bed!

-x-X-x-

"Hang in there Fang Yuan, we're coming to help you!" Jiao San shouted with a concerned expression, taking huge steps into the room.

But the next moment, he was dumbfounded.

The room was empty, Fang Yuan was not inside.

The four became silent.

"How can this be, where is he?" Jiao Sao broke the silence, saying frustratingly.

He 'performed' outside the room for such a long time, but it turned out to be a one man performance as Fang Yuan was never inside.

The three looked at each other, not expecting such a result.

"This is weird, if Fang Yuan isn't here, why would he paste that paper on the door?" Kong Jing said carefully.

"Get the landlord here now!" Jiao Sao raised his foot and sent the door flying.

"You looking for me? Hmph, I was just about to find you. Coming to my house and raising a huge ruckus, even breaking down my door. Young man, you sure are capable." The landlord was an old man, but his tone was very firm.

Being able to own additional houses in the Gu Yue village and renting it out, he was obviously a Gu Master.

A Gu Master's strength and status supersedes a mortal. Mortals do not dare to operate such a business. In fact, they do not own property.

The entire village's property is owned by the Gu Yue clan. The mortals who live here are the farmers and servants of the clan.

"Senior, we are here to find a young man, he is our group member." Facing the landlord, Jiao San controlled his temper.

An old Gu Master like the landlord, even if he is old and no longer striving for his career, he still has strong relationships and connections. Even if he is retired his ability is still not to be underestimated.

Those without human relationships and trump cards, how would they dare to do business?

This is not a peaceful era, it is full of violence and plunder.

The landlord shook his head, his tone rigid, "I do not care about my tenant's whereabouts, but I do know that you broke my door. You need to compensate me."

"Hehe, this is our fault, it is only right that we compensate you," Jiao Sao laughed dryly. Although he was furious inside, he still forced himself to compensate some primeval stones and even gave some extra.

The landlord's expression turned slightly better, "If the young man who rented this room is who you are finding, then I must tell you that he has not turned in for a day. After paying a month's rent, he bought a huge amount of things yesterday and asked me which place sold coal cheaply. I told him that there was no need to buy coal, as there is a valley outside the village towards the north. A mine is situated there where he can excavate the coal. After thanking me, he left and never returned."

"So that's it." Jiao San looked at the decorations in the room.

Indeed, the mattress and bedding was new. The table and chairs were old goods bought by Fang Yuan that were seemingly firm.

The stove was empty, it indeed did not have coal.

Jiao San breathed out slowly, being at ease.

"It seems Fang Yuan was delayed by excavating coal. Nevermind, let's come again tomorrow." He walked out of the room first.

But on the third day, Fang Yuan still did not show up.

Jiao San and the others stood outside the room, hesitant.

"Digging for coal, it does not need so much time. Fang Yuan wants to do closed door cultivation so maybe he dug more. But it's been so long, could something have had happened to him while he was excavating?" Kong Jing conjured.

Jiao San nodded unnoticably, pointing towards the bed and stove, "This lad is very stingy. He paid a month's rent all of a sudden and even bought so many things, and especially pasting that paper on the wall, he probably wanted to cultivate here. Too bad he was unlucky. These days the wolf hordes have gotten bigger, and the wild beasts around the village have gotten more active. He might have encountered some wild beasts."

"Leader is wise!" The two female Gu Masters said at the same time, flattering him.

Jiao San laughed while raising his head, "Hahaha, I was still fretting over how to deal with him. Though we have that deer catching mission, let's not rush out to do it. If we meet him in the wilds, we are forced to save him, right?"

"Hehehe." The other three members started laughing.

Day four.

In the aperture, waves of black green primeval essence hit against the crystal walls relentlessly.

The translucent white crystal wall was already full of cracks, crisscrossing each other.

This is Fang Yuan's result after working hard non-stop for three days and three nights. At most, when he really could not take it anymore, he would quickly take a meal and settle his bowels.

These days, Fang Yuan had purposely slowed the wave crashing process, and at the same time he drew more primeval essence from his primeval stones. Thus, after such a long time, the green copper primeval sea had only dropped from the 44% limit to around 20%.

As time passed, when there was only about 13% primeval essence left, the wall could no longer hold up, and had reached its limit.

Crack crack...

The originally sturdy crystal wall broke into pieces, and the fragments fell into the primeval sea, causing ripples and waves. After that, it turned into white dots and vanished into thin air.

What replaced the crystal wall, was a brand new white light wall.

This was the Rank two light wall. Although there was not much difference and it still emitted white light, it was much more glimmering that the Rank one light wall.

At the same time, traces of red primeval essence were produced in the sea and it mixed around with the black green primeval sea in the aperture.

This was the Rank two initial stage red steel primeval essence!

"Finally I did it, I broke through to Rank two!" Fang Yuan opened his eyes abruptly, the room immediately brightening up.

But a second later, a strong wave of nausea hit him.

"I went through four days and three nights of non-stop cultivating, it is too intense and my body is going to collapse soon." Fang Yuan laughed bitterly, slowly lying down. "My cultivation was not disturbed at all, it seems that my set up at the rental house had worked. It was worth spending this sum, next I shall rest well for the night and return to the village tomorrow."

Thinking of this, intense sleepiness assaulted him.

Fang Yuan forced his eyes to stay open and used his intense will to cover himself with the blanket.

After closing his eyes, in a few seconds, he fell soundly asleep.

The cultivation earlier had used up most of his spirit.

He slept until the afternoon of the second day.

Fang Yuan opened his eyes, feeling his spirit recovering to around half, but he was still feeling weakness in his body.

He opened the door, walking out of the room for the first time in five days.

This attracted a person.

This person had slim long eyes with a thin body — it was Jiang Ya's brother Jiang He.

Seeing Fang Yuan, he exhaled in relief, saying, "You're finally out! Hmph, I would have broken into the room if you still did not come out after the next few days. After all if you die here, I'd be held responsible."

Fang Yuan laughed but did not say anything.

The winter sunlight broke through the window, shining onto his face, amplifying the trace of pale white weakness on his features.

Five days ago, he purposely asked the landlord and gave Jiao San the clues of his coal story. After that he left the Gu Yue village and went to the hamlet at the mountain foot. @@novelbin@@

Because of old man Wang previously, Jiang He was half an alliance mate of his. Using this relationship, Fang Yuan stayed a few days in the village and advanced to Rank two without any interruption.

Of course, the rock crack secret cave was much more elusive than Jiang He's place, but it was not completely safe. Fang Yuan had to consider the possibility of Jiao San and the others relentlessly finding him, and might find the rock crack secret cave.

Although chances were slim, if the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance was found out, Fang Yuan's life would be in danger.

Fang Yuan was a very cautious person, and he naturally would not take such risks.

At the same time, it was safer at Jiang He's place. Even if they had a shared secret, Jiang He would not kill him to silence him.

The risks and troubles of killing a Gu Master was too great. Without sufficient benefits, Jiang He had no motivation to do it. In fact, to preserve the secret, Jiang He would even have to worry about Fang Yuan's safety.

After all, if the clan's punishment hall investigates Fang Yuan's death, they might find out about old man Wang's secret.

Seeing Fang Yuan safe, Jiang He was really relieved.

But quickly, he felt the aura of Fang Yuan and his expression changed, "To think that you really succeeded, reaching Rank two in one go!"

He was shocked in his heart. Five days ago when Fang Yuan approached him and stated his intentions, he was actually feeling disdainful in his heart.

Absorbing the primeval essence from the primeval stones and breaking through to Rank two, this kind of multitasking method was very draining on the spirit. Normally speaking, Gu Masters needed a very strong will, patience and years of cultivating experience.

Only with the experience, a Gu Master could treat the extraction of primeval essence from the stones as an instinct. At the same time, manipulating the primeval sea skillfully and causing the impact to be controlled at a degree, and it had to be perfectly calculated, just enough to match the recovery rate of the primeval essence so that the process could be sustained.

In Jiang He's opinion, Fang Yuan had no chance of success. But to think, he did it in one go.

Fang Yuan laughed indifferently, "I was lucky. I plan to return to the village today, but before that, it would be nice if I can have a meal."

"Hehehe, little brother Fang Yuan, since you're here, of course I'm taking care of your meals." Jiang He patted his chest, his attitude even more friendly than before.

Although he did not think well of Fang Yuan's future, but now that he has advanced to Rank two, it meant that he had gone through a difficult hurdle and has the qualifications to be on par with him now.

After a scrumptious meal, Jiang He brought Fang Yuan to the entrance of the small village personally.

"Little brother Fang Yuan, be careful this time. Recently the wolf nest area has gotten slightly fiercer, causing the wild beasts to become more active. Eh, it is snowing." Jiang He paused, then continued, "My opinion is, don't go now. How about you stay here for another night?"

After Fang Yuan reached Rank two, he became really friendly.

But Fang Yuan was insistent on leaving, thus saying goodbye to Jiang He.

The snowflakes fell calmly, just like pure white fur that was floating down slowly.

The light of the setting sun turned the snow into a golden yellow.

Flake by flake, the snow drifted onto Fang Yuan's head and shoulders.

In the far distance, the Gu Yue village stood upright over the mountain waist, watching over quietly.

-x-X-x-

"Run faster, don't fall behind!"

"The clansmen in front are fighting a bloody battle, they are waiting for our backup."

"Follow closely, or you will easily lose your direction in the midst of battle at night. Newcomers better pay special attention!"

On the way back to the village, there would be a five-man group from time to time running hurriedly past Fang Yuan's side.

"Did something happen?" He had not walked for more than five hundred meters when Fang Yuan saw the thirteenth group.

He could not help but contemplate, but to be quite honest, with five hundred years' worth of memories it was just too superfluous and messy. Mentioning this, although Fang Yuan was reborn, he had never given up any of his old memories.

Yet, much of his memories were enshrouded in a layer of thick fog, and if he tried to retrieve them by force, he would only get lost in the fog, getting more losses than benefits.

Only a few deep and powerful memories that were like sparkling and translucent pearls ran through his previous life's five hundred years like a connected thread.

It was evident that what was happening right now, was in fact not in any of these pearls.

The life of his in the Gu Yue Village was just the beginning of the preceding period, it was just way too long ago. Besides...

"There's a possibility that this never happened in my previous life, but because of my change, a butterfly effect happened and caused changes to the surroundings."

Just like that, he walked while pondering. Subconsciously, Fang Yuan reached the Northern gate of the village.

By chance, there was another group about to set off.

"Eh?" On seeing Fang Yuan, only one person from this group stopped in his tracks. "Fang Yuan, why are you still here?"

"What's wrong?" Fang Yuan raised his eyes and looked at this person. It was no other than his fellow schoolmate, Gu Yue Chi Cheng.

Chi Cheng immediately frowned and said, "Oh geez, you still don't know yet? There's been a small scale beast tide that formed near the village. If we let it be, it will slowly become a big scale beast tide. When that happens the villages at the foot of the mountain will be crushed. Without those lowly mortals and slaves, we'd also be in a difficult position sometimes."

"Oh, so it's like this?" Fang Yuan's gaze flashed.

Being reminded like this, he was able to remember that such a thing did happen in his memories.

In this world, it was hard for humanity to survive. Every few years a beast tide would happen. Humans need resources and living space. This is no different from wild beasts and insects, they also needed such things!

To explain the beast tide as a war between wild beasts and humanity, perhaps this will be easier to understand.

Taking Qing Mao Mountain for example, every three years there would be a large scale wolf tide that attacks each of the big mountain villages.

"According to my calculations, the real outburst of the wolf tide will happen next year. However, this small scale beast tide, is a subsidiary of that. The wolf group will continue growing stronger and bigger, and this will cause the other beast groups around the area to lose their living space. As this effect accumulates, when it reaches the maximum limit, it will cause the migration of beast groups. Migrating beast groups will naturally influence other beast groups."

"Under such an intertwined influence, there is a chance that the influence would be expanded and cause all sorts of beast groups to relocate, causing the beast tide to be formed from this matter. If this problem is not controlled in time, the tide would only get bigger. Although it is still unable to endanger the existence of the Gu Yue village, if we leave it alone, the village's power would be greatly reduced."

"Wait! If this is the case... Heh heh heh heh." There was a sudden flash in his eyes, but Fang Yuan promptly cast his gaze down, hiding away the change in his eyes.

Seeing that Fang Yuan had not said anything, Chi Cheng continued to speak. "At the present time, the internal affairs hall and external affairs hall have both already given out the order to mobilize, they proclaimed this as an urgent mission. Fang Yuan, don't you think of goofing off. Your group has already left in the morning, you must also go. But..."

As he spoke up to this point, Chi Cheng purposely dragged out his intonation, "Danger lurks everywhere during a beast wave. All kinds of wild beasts roam about, and most of all a battle in the night is way more dangerous than the day. You're just a small little Rank one Gu Master, unlike a Rank two like me, you should be careful. Heh heh heh!"

As he said this, he purposely held his head high and puffed his chest out, stroking his own belt, his expression joyfully satisfied and proud.

His belt was no longer the green coloured Rank one belt, but a Rank two Gu Master's red coloured belt. At the same time on top of the metal plate on the belt, there was a '2' word.

It was thanks to his grandfather Gu Yue Chi Lian's help that he ascended to Rank two not long ago.

"I just heard about this news, but since this is the case." Fang Yuan suddenly smiled and said, "Then I'll follow you guys and set out together. Once on the front lines I'll leave the team and return to mine."

"What? Urgh, who wants to bring you!" Chi Cheng folded his arms, his mouth twitching disdainfully.

Fang Yuan's tone was distant. "The clan rule states: Gu Masters that are left behind must merge into the closest group to their location, they have an obligation to continue fighting. Chi Cheng, you don't even know this point?"

"You!" Chi Cheng glared, just about to flare up.

"Indeed, this is the case," Chi Shan who had been watching quietly finally spoke.

His body stature was close to two meters tall, and his figure was powerful and strong. His upper body was bare, the muscles hard and tough like metal. His entire body was covered in fiery red skin that seemed to faintly emit hot air.

Undoubtedly, he was the leader of this group.

Seeing him speak, even Chi Cheng who was the Chi faction's inheritor, kept his mouth shut.

Chi Shan expressionlessly looked at Fang Yuan, continuing, "Let us depart, you keep up."

His voice was low and deep, his words short and simple. There was an aura of him that caused people to hardly question him.

Fang Yuan shrugged nonchalantly, taking it as agreeing.

Chi Cheng laughed coldly, his gaze harboring malicious intentions as he looked at Fang Yuan, speaking in an emphasized, peculiar tone, "Then you had better keep up!"

Fang Yuan did not reply to him.

"Hmph, why do we have to drag him around. Just a Rank one Gu Master." Chi Cheng mumbled to himself angrily, but since he was hindered by Chi Shan's authority, he did not dare act impudent.

At once, a group of six people set out from the entrance, following the mountain road and running down the slope.

Gu Yue Chi Shan took the lead. He may be big-sized, but his speed was also not slow. Besides him and Chi Cheng, there were also two men and one female, their facial expressions indifferent.

As they ran, Chi Shan's group started to display the graceful bearing of being one of the three strongest groups.

Each of them had rhythmic breathing, their footsteps fast and easy. Only Chi Cheng seemed to be in a difficult situation, but he would use his Scarlet Pill Cricket Gu from time to time, catching up reluctantly. Yet it could also be seen that he had received good teaching, for although he often staggered along the way, at least he never fell down.

When they reached the mountain foot, with one hand gesture from Chi Shan, the group swiftly stopped in their tracks.

Huff huff...

Chi Cheng had fallen behind by three hundred meters, and he was the last to catch up. His face was pale and he panted heavily, his gaze inconceivable as he looked at Fang Yuan.

During the journey Fang Yuan had always been following tightly behind, and up till now his breathing was only slightly heavy. He did not look the least bit like a newcomer who just graduated.

"Chi Cheng, remember, regulate your physical strength," Chi Shan looked back and advised Chi Cheng. Then he swept his gaze past Fang Yuan, his eyes showing a hint of praise.

The looks that the other few group members gave towards Fang Yuan had also softened a little.

"We will be nearing the beast tide down there. Chi Cheng and Fang Yuan, come towards the middle of the team." Chi Shan looked at the pitch-black mountain forest before him as he spoke.

This sentence let Fang Yuan reevaluate Chi Shan.

This huge boulder of a man sure had tolerance. The middle of a group is often the safest spot. Although Fang Yuan was not a person of the Mo bloodline, Chi Shan still maintained the manner of protecting a newcomer. To compare him to the sickly snake Jiao San, the latter would immediately pale in comparison.

The sky had already become completely dark, and the black clouds were in layers, causing the accumulated snow to also become dark and gloomy.

Chi Shan's group had already changed their group formation. Their speed dropped greatly as they ran slowly through the complicated terrain of the mountain forest.

Fang Yuan and Chi Cheng were in the middle part of the group, where on the left side was the huge Chi Shan, while the right side was an old man. Behind them was a young woman with a head of watery blue-coloured long hair.

And in front of them was a male Gu Master called Chi She.

He was the reconnaissance Gu Master of this group, and he gave out hissing noises. From time to time he would stick his tongue out into the air.

Right now his tongue had a small divide in between, becoming the bright red forked tongue of a snake. As they entered deeper into the mountain forest, their surroundings started to show wild beasts violently running about wildly.

Suddenly Chi She opened his mouth and spoke, "Before us, three medium-sized animals have appeared. Suspected to be wild deer."

"Drive it away." Chi Shan's expression was unchanging as he immediately gave the order.

The six-manned group did not change their direction; they continued pursuing forward. Three wild deer appeared before them, quickly changing their direction and dispersing.

Not long after, Chi She's expression changed. "A group of medium-sized creatures. Suspected to be turtleback apes."

"Shift," Chi Shan said.

The small group immediately broke to the left side, bypassing this group of troublesome apes.

This was the benefit of having a reconnaissance Gu Master, he was able to anticipate and inform earlier, letting them make accurate decisions from it.

"Chi She is probably using the Snake Tongue Gu. This Rank two Gu worm can sense heat temperatures. But it has three very obvious flaws — firstly, the perception radius is small, secondly it is easily interfered with. Thirdly it cannot detect cold-blooded creatures. Yet no matter what, it is better than not having any detection. I have reached Rank two now, and in future to survive in the wild, I will also need a detection-type of Gu," Fang Yuan thought.

Suddenly Chi She urgently spoke, "A middle-sized creature, suspected to be a white tiger. It's found us and is quickly approaching!"

"Engage." Chi Shang's tone was calm and collected.

Roar!

A fierce tiger jumped out from the thicket in front of them, and the group met it head-on. Without Chi She's warning in advance, perhaps they would be caught unprepared.

But right now, the group had long anticipated.

Firstly, the old Gu Master on the right suddenly drummed up his cheeks and then spit out a white coloured, viscous substance.

The substance abruptly expanded in mid-air, becoming a huge spider net. It used its strong viscosity and trapped the white tiger full in the face.

The white tiger struggled fiercely in the net, and Chi Shan immediately stepped forward and brandished his fist, pounding onto the tiger's head.

His fist had a golden luster flashing through, and with a bang, the tiger's head was smashed into pieces. The white tiger died in one breath.

The group did not stop to stay behind, but instead walked over the tiger's body and continued forward. Chi She took Chi Shan's place again and ran in front, taking the lead.

Through the entire process it was like moving clouds and flowing water. All the group members displayed mutual understanding.

"That entire process did not take more than three seconds. If it was me right now who was taking on that tiger alone, I would need at least five minutes to contend with." Fang Yuan's gaze was flashing.

These Gu Masters were also Rank two like him, but the main disparity was still Gu worms.

They all used Rank two Gu worms, and this enabled them to bring out the best in each other. However, all the Gu in Fang Yuan's hands were still Rank one.

Gu Master, Gu Master, the word Gu is before the word Master, signifying that Gu worms have a huge impact on a Gu Master's fighting power. (1)

"Although I have advanced to Rank two, I still need to have Rank two Gu to be able to display the fighting power of a Rank two Gu Master. However right now I do not have many primeval stones on me, I have used up a huge portion from breaking into Rank two. Refining two Gu worms together will also use up a considerable amount of primeval stones."

As Fang Yuan thought of this, Chi She who was in front of him suddenly said, "I found the sickly snake's group."

-x-X-x-

"Found the sickly snake group in front, they are currently contesting with a large-sized wild beast." Only half a second later, Chi She said again, this time more specific.

"What's the situation?" Chi Shan frowned.

"There's no mistake," Chi She's snake tongue continued to stretch and shrink, "Jiao San's red lava python is the only one in the entire village, and now they are fighting against... wild boar king!"

Everyone's expression changed.

"Wild boar king... If I want to combine Gu worms, I require the wild boar's tusks. Undoubtedly, the wild boar king's tusks are the most suitable." Fang Yuan's heart stirred, and in actuality he had the intention to kill the wild boar king from the start.

"That wild boar king?" Watery blue hair female Gu Master raised her brows.

"Other than that one, there is no other in the vicinity. But relying on just the strength of the sickly snake group to reap the wild boar king, their appetite is too big." The old Gu Master sneered in disdain.

If Old man Wang could grasp the terrain of the mountain himself, these Rank two Gu Masters who were always roaming around on Qing Mao mountain would obviously be more familiar with it. Not eliminating the wild boar king before this, they had their reasons.

Chi Shan pondered, then said, "Go support them."

"Hehe, I'm afraid they might not reciprocate." The old Gu Master laughed coldly.

"Even if we do not go and support them, we still have to send someone over, right!" Chi Cheng looked at Fang Yuan, saying in an unhappy tone.

The team's direction steered towards the left.

Although Chi Shan and the rest always looked down and did not like Gu Yue Jiao San, but as clansmen, towards outside foes, even if they had amnesty normally, they would group up and work together.

This is the cohesiveness of a clan in this world.

And especially relying on this cohesiveness could a hundred year old clan sustain itself without dying out, even becoming a thousand year old clan.

Everyone moved through the jungle in the darkness, heading towards a low-lying land.

Sickly snake group's four Gu Masters were surrounding the wild boar king, engaging in fierce combat.

In the center, the elephant-like wild boar king was fighting with a thin and long red-coloured python.

This red giant python had dark red rock pieces all over its body, the temperature very high. It was like a thick chain coiling around the wild boar king.

The wild boar king cried out angrily, constantly rolling on the ground, its snow white tusks piercing the darkness and drawing cold light in the air.

Its body was full of big and small injuries, its tail already broken. While flipping around, it revealed its fresh red injuries, stuck to the red lava python's body and scalded by the high temperature. @@novelbin@@

The Chi Shan group did not get closer, but observed from a distance.

Taking a few looks, the old Gu Master was enlightened, "I say, how did the sickly snake have this courage. Looks like the wild boar king was actually injured already, tsk, he sure picked up the cheap goods, this scoundrel got lucky.

"Do you guys think that this wild boar king's body would have the Black Boar Gu?" Chi Cheng excitedly said with glowing eyes.

Fang Yuan's expression was unchanged as he watched silently.

At this time, Jiao San and his gang also realised the situation of being watched, and immediately the support Gu Master Gu Yue Kong Jing who was the furthest away from the wild boar king left the battlefield and ran over.

"Oh, it is Lord Chi Shan. There's no problems here now, we can handle it. There are many wild beast groups in front, they need your support." Kong Jing said to the people.

"Hmph, what do you mean you can handle it? You're clearly lying through your teeth, I can see that this python isn't going to hang in there much longer." The old Gu Master's experienced gaze revealed the situation at once.

"You're just afraid of us wanting to split the rewards after helping," the watery blue long-haired female Gu Master immediately pointed out Jiao San and his gang's intention.

"This wild boar king is yours," Chi Shan said, looking at the old Gu Master.

The old Gu Master snorted, but he still bent down, vomiting out a piece of white sticky spider web.

The spider web expanded in the air and spread out, enveloping the wild boar king.

The wild boar king struggled intensely in the web, breaking threads after threads, but it could not get free quickly.

During this period, sickly snake Jiao San quickly got the red lava python to retreat. After that, together with the healing female Gu Master in the group, they underwent emergency battle healing on the python.

In the fierce battle earlier, the red lava python's rock body already had some cracks. Through the healing, the cracks mended, shrinking until they disappeared.

"Fang Yuan, you should go back. You still want to depend on our group?" Chi Cheng said in annoyance.

Fang Yuan took a step out and walked out from behind Chi Shan.

Gu Yue Kong Jing was blocked by Chi Shan's huge body earlier and did not see him. At the moment when he saw Fang Yuan, his expression turned weird.

Jiao San turned his head around and upon seeing Fang Yuan, was overjoyed at once, "Fang Yuan, you're finally here! Quick, the spider web is not going to hold, you have huge strength, go and restrain the wild boar king and buy us time. We need time to heal the red lava python."

Without a defensive Gu and only with Rank one cultivation, getting close to the wild boar king was nothing but risky.

Chi Shan took a look at Fang Yuan and said, "Go."

Saying so, he took a huge step and left the place.

He kept his word; although the wild boar king had much value, he turned around and left without hesitation.

Seeing Chi Shan's group leaving, Jiao San and the gang breathed a sigh of relief. From start to finish, they did not say a word of thanks.

Jiao San continue shouting, "Fang Yuan, hurry, the wild boar king's strength is huge, the spider web is not going to hold out. If you perform well this time, I will not pursue the matter of you leaving the team on your own."

"Okay." Fang Yuan agreed, quickly getting to the wild boar king and grabbing its two huge tusks.

He used all his strength and pulled, causing the wild boar king to be suppressed, its struggling suddenly diminished.

"Good job!" Jiao San praised, but his eyes shone with cold light.

This Fang Yuan came at a good time, the small beast horde was the perfect chance!

Jiao San had never thought of killing Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was his member, and if he died, the clan's evaluation of him would drop. This did not suit his interests.

He only promised his uncle Gu Yue Dong Tu to slow Fang Yuan's growth. If he could drag it beyond sixteen years old, he would obtain a fortune promised by Gu Yue Dong Tu.

The truth is, even with his scheming and intolerant nature, he did not think of killing Fang Yuan before. This is not just because after a Gu Master dies, the punishment hall would hold a thorough investigation, thus being risky, but also because of the clan's belief — Blood is thicker than water, family comes first. This notion is ingrained into the people's hearts. Unless there is a feud of killing one's parents or stealing one's wife, there is no such phenomenon of disputes.

Like how the Gu Yue clan leader once taught the academy elder, not only does the system and rules hold the clan together, there is also the thick family relationships.

Any organisation would need to have a system and values as their basic core.

"Using this opportunity, I'll let Fang Yuan get injured and return to the village to nurse his injuries. Let's see if he can cultivate to Rank two like that! Of course, I cannot strike personally, if I get discovered that would be bad. Since there are so many beasts in the horde anyway, I'll borrow from their strength."

Gu Yue Jiao San laughed coldly in his heart, but he asked, "Fang Yuan, how long can you hold out?"

"A while more, don't worry group leader." Fang Yuan replied with much strength.

"Very good, Hua Xing, go and plant the corrosion blood grass Gu," Jiao San instructed while healing the red lava python.

"Yes!" A female Gu Master walked up.

She came to the side of the wild boar king and stretched out both hands, giving a thumbs up on both hands. The nails on her thumbs had a purple vine insignia coiling around.

Light red coloured red steel primeval essence gushed out and surrounded her white thumb, and entered the insignia.

The vines were brought alive immediately, extending a delicate tentacle from her nails.

The tentacles moved like snakes, extending to the wild boar king's mouth, and then along its teeth, going deep into its stomach.

"Hehehe...." Fang Yuan covered his mouth in the darkness as it curled into a devious angle.

Others would think about kinship and not have killing intent on their clansmen, this was going against the traditional moral values of the clan. But he did not put these values into his heart.

The strength he placed on the wild boar king's tusks suddenly vanished.

The wild boar king furiously growled and summoned all its strength. Its tusks swung in the air as Fang Yuan who was holding onto both tusks was brought along with the force and was thrown away.

The wild boar king once again turned its head, and the tusks swept through. The female Gu Master was beside it and could not react quickly enough to such a change. She was hit by the tusks and screamed in agony.

Then her slim body, after getting hit by the tusks, broke into two with a snap.

The female Gu Master flew away like a broken bag; she was swept high into the sky, and then plopped down again.

She landed on the ground, her eyes wide open. She was dead on the spot.

-x-X-x-