45 RI

No sooner said than done!

Fang Yuan moved like lightning, pouncing on Tang Qing.

Pew!

A strong wind blew. Tang Qing only saw darkness in front of him, and before he was able to react, Fang Yuan's fist hit his chest.

At once, Tang Qing could feel an intense pain assaulting him, almost causing him to faint on the spot.

His ears could only hear the sound of winds brushing by, as his vision rolled back; he was sent flying by Fang Yuan's frontal assault.

When he landed, his head spun. He saw grass, then the railings of the battle stage, then his face rubbed against the dirt. As he flipped and rolled, the grass was uprooted by the friction, causing the black soil to be exposed.

His body was covered in grass and soil, the smell from the juices of the grass, the soil and fresh blood mixed together and entered his nose.

He laid on the ground, dazed. After rolling and tumbling for so long, he felt his entire body hurting.

But this feeling, was nothing compared to the intense pain on his chest!

He lowered his head to look at his chest, and breathed in cold air.

Only to see that the left side of his chest had caved in by two inches, his skin was torn and flesh was exposed, his pale rib cage could be seen, broken.

A stream of fresh blood poured out like a fountain.

Fang Yuan had great strength, and also attacked suddenly, causing Tang Qing to be severely injured.

Tang Qing stared with wide opened eyes, after the shock, hatred burst out of his heart like burning magma.

"This rascal, unscrupulous and shameless, attacking me by surprise! Causing me to be severely injured, I want to kill him, I want to tear him into pieces!"

"Go die!" Just at this moment, Tang Qing heard Fang Yuan's growls.

Fang Yuan took a few steps to arrive before Tang Qing, he raised his leg and stepped harshly at the area between Tang Qing's legs.

Tang Qing felt his vision blurring, and squinted. Fang Yuan activated the canopy Gu, and his body was covered by a white armor. Tang Qing's heart trembled.

A rank three Gu Master!

Fang Yuan had first used the breath concealment Gu, but now that he attacked, he could no longer conceal his rank three aura.

The truth directly sent Tang Qing's soul flying beyond the horizon. Such a young rank three Gu Master?!

He subconsciously activated his defense Gu, as a gust of green wind surrounded his body.

Fang Yuan had stored a lot of energy into this kick, it was supposed to smash Tang Qing's lower body part into paste. But because of the wind, the impact was greatly reduced.

"Ah!" Tang Qing opened his mouth, his face contorted as he screamed out in utter anguish.

Even with a defensive Gu, the damage he suffered was like a lightning strike, his body automatically bounced up as he sat on the ground, using both arms to shield his pants.

Fang Yuan's eyes shone with cold light, his left hand gathered into a fist and punched.

He used all his strength for this punch.

The force tore through the winds!

Bam!

A fist covered in white light landed heavily on Tang Qing's face.

Tang Qing's screams came to a stop, as he rapidly fell backwards, his head hitting against the ground.

Motionless, and not breathing.

A fatal blow!

His entire nose caved into his face, his eye bulged out as more than half of his eyeballs were outside the socket, and his skull was completely smashed.

Blood flowed down slowly, dying the soil and grass red.

Fang Yuan stood upright and looked down at the corpse, as the scene froze.

After a few breath's time, screams erupted from the surroundings.

"Dead... he died!"

"Someone was beaten to death!"

The two to three Gu Masters watching were tongue-tied. Even Wei Yang showed a peculiar expression.

Although there were many battles in the battle stage, there were few deaths.

Firstly, the battle stage allowed surrendering. Secondly, the Gu Master overlooking the battle can often stop the fatal attack in time. Thirdly, competitors tend to control themselves, after all, they were all trying to make a living in the battle stage, they would have to interact with one another quite often. Although they might argue over benefits, they would not try to take the other person's life.

There was two reasons why Fang Yuan could kill Tang Qing.

Firstly, he had just come out of cultivation, and his battle instincts were dull. If it was during a normal period, he would have used his defensive Gu from the start, not getting into such a state.

Secondly, Fang Yuan looked way too young, and used the breath concealment Gu to hide his cultivation, causing Tang Qing to relax. Before he could react, Fang Yuan launched a sneak attack, with the first blow severely injured Tang Qing, and his next two attacks were lightning fast, before the Gu Master taking care of the stage reacted, Tang Qing was already dead.

The Gu Master hosting the battle rapidly came over.

But when he saw Tang Qing's concaved face, and the brain matter and blood oozing out from the cracks of his skull, he gave up on trying to save him.

"Youngster, you were too much!" He stared at Fang Yuan, speaking with an unhappy tone.

Although the battle was short, he had observed the entire thing. Fang Yuan had control of the situation, he could have gone easy on Tang Qing and spared his life, but he did not.

Fang Yuan shrugged: "It is just a life, why are you freaking out. According to the battle stage rules, I killed him, so all his possessions are now mine, right?"

The battle stage host Gu Master snorted: "All his things are yours, but we have to take back the vine information Gu. Young man, I have to remind you, you do not respect life at all, that is a dangerous thought!"

"I am really sorry." Wei Yang walked over apologetically, then turned around: "This little brother of mine have been roaming outside, this is the first time he is participating in the battle stage."

The Gu Master did not recognise Wei Yang, showing disgust on his face: "Hmph, you demonic Gu Masters are all like this, such an aggressive nature and enjoy killing and slaughtering. Nevermind, I can't get through to you, pass me your vine information Gu."

Fang Yuan took out the vine information Gu, and the host Gu Master edited the information inside, and returned it to Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan inspected the Gu, and his zero wins record had become one.

He next searched Tang Qing's corpse, obtaining four Gu. Three rank two and one rank one, they were ordinary Gu worms, the total value was around two thousand primeval stones.

Tang Qing died very abruptly, causing him to have no time to self-detonate his Gu worms.

And he had just come out of closed cultivation, there was only twenty to thirty primeval stones on him.

"Brother Fang Zheng, try to avoid killing in the future." After they left the battle stage, Wei Yang advised Fang Yuan.

"Even though there is no rules to prevent killing in the battle stage..." Wei Yang shook his head: "There is no need to fight to the death in every round. Although the battle zone might be huge, you are bound to encounter an opponent stronger than you eventually. We interact with each other more than you think, after all, we all live in Shang clan city. When it is possible to spare a life, one should show mercy."

Fang Yuan frowned slightly: "But if I let someone off, they might not let me off. I have encountered demonic Gu Masters in the past, attacking without a second word. If I do not strike, I will be assaulted. My experiences tell me to kill when I can, otherwise, I am breeding threats for myself, I cannot give my enemies a chance! Precisely because of this, I am able to live till today."

Wei Yang was caught speechless.

He suddenly thought, wasn't this Fang Yuan acting just like him in the past? Ruthless and savage, not trusting anyone, it all boils down to having no sense of security.

Demonic Gu Masters had little to no sense of security.

They were different from righteous Gu Masters who had their clans to rely on, clansmen to help them, safely getting resources, it gave them a sense of security and trust in each other.

Demonic Gu Masters were mostly lone cultivators, receiving no support from anyone, even primeval stones and food have to be acquired by themselves. Many times, they eat one meal without the next, unable to fend for themselves, how could they feel safe?

To ensure their survival, they could only take risks and attack people to loot them. Demonic Gu Masters were often alone, they did not dare to attack righteous groups, thus they can only lay their claws on other demonic Gu Masters.

Thus, it leads to a vicious cycle. Demonic Gu Masters do not trust each other, often attacking on sight.

They had no sense of security, thus their attacks were more ruthless.

Wei Yang converted from demonic to righteous, his rich life experience gave him a deep understanding of both factions, more than any ordinary person.

Why is it that the righteous faction flourished, and the demonic faction have to be suppressed?

It was due to this.

Fang Yuan's ruthless acts were completely understandable to Wei Yang. And because he understood, his heart went out to Fang Yuan.

"Although he is rank three cultivation, and has rich battle senses, he is still a kid. Sigh, looking at his attacks, I can tell how much hardship he has been through. Come to think of it, if he spared his opponent, wouldn't that be more strange?"

"He did not spare his opponent, just like other demonic Gu Masters who initially entered the battle stage. I was like that too, wasn't I? Nevermind, as time passes, he will slowly change. This change is gradual and subtle, I cannot forcefully influence him."

Thinking so, Wei Yang stopped his nagging, and changed topic to the battle earlier.

"Little brother Fang Zheng, you said earlier that you have used several Gu to modify your body, and increase your strength. Just how many did you use?"

"Since brother Wei is asking, I shall answer to the best of my ability. I used three, black and white boar Gu, crocodile strength Gu, and currently, the brown bear innate strength Gu that I just bought." Fang Yuan smiled lightly.

"Hehehe, black and white boar Gu gave you the strength of two boars, crocodile strength Gu gave you the strength of a crocodile. But brother, have you thought about it, if a boar charged at you, what injuries would you sustain?" Wei Yang spoke with an enlightening tone.

Fang Yuan knew Wei Yang's intentions, thus he cooperated, saying: "If he does not defend, how can a mortal body take the hit of a wild boar? His stomach will tear and it would be a gruesome sight."

Wei Yang's smile widened: "Then if you place that person's head in a crocodile's mouth, and the crocodile bites, what would happen?"

"The head would burst like a watermelon." Fang Yuan replied.

Wei Yang next asked: "You have the strength of two boars, one crocodile and your own strength. Your first punch however, only made a dent in his chest, and broke a few ribs. Your third punch landed on his face, but only cracked his skull, what does that say?"

But before Fang Yuan replied, he continued: "Punches and kicks can only unleash a portion of the strength in a person's body. Although you have two boars and one crocodile's strength, how many percent can you use? The greatest weakness of the strength path lies here! A person's strength is like a huge vat, filled with water, but when you battle, you can only use a portion of that water."

"Black and white boar Gu, crocodile strength Gu, brown bear innate strength Gu, these can permanently increase strength, but are expensive Gu. You invested so much money, yet only getting a portion of the results, sometimes not even ten percent. If you invest your money elsewhere, you can gain much greater effect."

"I see, brother Wei is saying all these to make me give up on the strength path." Fang Yuan smiled lightly, like he finally understood what was happening.

"I understand that logic, the human body has a different structure from wild beasts, we can hardly display their true strength. But using Gu also depends on being one with them, I've heard of many strength path Gu Masters who managed to unleash the beast phantom, displaying the full power of the Gu worm."

"Hehehe, there is such a thing indeed. When I was still in the battle stage, I met many strength path Gu Masters. As their proficiency in the Gu increases, sometimes, the beast phantom appears in battle and they can use the full strength of the Gu, it is very threatening. But you do not know, the number of times this happens is too few. Moreover, the attack method is very rigid, only when using a specific attack style can the beast phantom be summoned, it is easy to evade." Wei Yang continued to advise painstakingly.

Fang Yuan pondered for a moment, he had the exact thought, but that is also why he needed that legendary Gu.

What came out of his mouth was: "Brother Wei, I appreciate your concern, but the strength path is my choice, I want to see it till the end."

"Sigh, then go ahead with it." Wei Yang sighed, seeing Fang Yuan being so obstinate, he could not force him.

Thankfully, Fang Yuan had already joined the battle stage, Wei Yang thought: What happens next should change Fang Yuan's mind.

Fang Yuan had to stay in Shang clan city for a few more years, there was a lot of time left, Wei Yang was not anxious.

Soon, half a month passed.

In the gambling den, the shopkeeper bent his back, standing beside Fang Yuan, smiling.

"Brother Wei, want to pick a few rocks to play? We might get something good. I'll treat you to a few!" Fang Yuan smiled and said.

Wei Yang stood beside Fang Yuan, shaking his head: "Today is the day Tang Xiong forcefully challenges you, to think the Tang Qing you killed was his brother. Fang Zheng, you should be vigilant, in order to take revenge, Tang Xiong purposely fell from fourth inner city to fifth. He has a small fame, able to use the strength of three bears, he is coming with vengeance."

Although he said so, he was not worried, but instead, looking forward to it secretly.

These days, Fang Yuan won another match, thus this would be his third match.

Wei Yang was hoping this Tang Xiong would 'awaken' Fang Yuan, and cause him to abandon the strength path, changing to another style.

"I will deal with it when it comes, what is there to worry about. If brother Wei is not going to choose, I'm going to. I have already seen several good rocks." Fang Yuan's eyes glowed as he picked a few gambling rocks.

The shopkeeper instructed his clerks to carefully select the gambling rocks and bring them out.

"Eh?" Fang Yuan said, pointing to a leg of the counter: "This rock supporting the leg seems to be a stellar stone?"

The shopkeeper was stunned, but quickly replied: "Esteemed customer sure has amazing eyes. This rock was placed there a few years ago by me. The counter leg was damaged by a gambler's kicking, so I picked a squarish stellar stone and used it to fill in the gap."

Fang Yuan frowned: "Rocks are meant for gambling, how can you use it like that? You're truly burying the rock's potential! Today, for my last piece, I shall choose that."

"Yes, yes, yes, esteemed customer is right!" The shopkeeper nodded rapidly, but he felt indifferent in his heart.

The grade of the stellar stone was very important, arrow or shooting star shaped ones were the best. This rock was obviously a useless one, no one asked for it when it was on the counter, so the shopkeeper used it to balance the counter instead.

The clerks worked together, pulling out the stellar stone from the counter leg, then placing it together with the other rocks to send it for dissection.

At the dissection counter, a few young dissection masters were opening rocks for a middle aged Gu Master, moving delicately and slowly.

Wei Yang did not approve of Fang Yuan gambling rocks. Seeing him pick this rock, he shook his head secretly. Even if he was not a gambler, he knew the importance of grades. Fang Yuan's final rock was completely chosen at random, even he could not stand it. Fang Yuan had been spending the last few days at the gambling den, spending primeval stones, but did not get much rewards out of it.

Sometimes he got a few Gu, but they were rank one or two, or even corpses and carcasses.

In Wei Yang's heart, Fang Yuan was purely wasting his money, but he did not say anything against it. The less primeval stones Fang Yuan had, the more he needed to rely on Shang clan, that was something he wanted to see.

Fang Yuan was excited in his heart but kept a calm expression, staring at the dissection counter in anticipation.

These days, he had been roaming around the gambling dens, purposely choosing some bad rocks to leave an impression.

Although he had controlled himself, and only played small, the gambling rocks were like an endless abyss, in less than a month, he lost over a hundred thousand primeval stones.

But thinking about the legendary Gu he was about to receive, not only a hundred thousand, even five hundred thousand was worth it.

Although this legendary Gu was rank three, its effect was simply amazing, and it was nearly extinct.

Most likely, this was the last one in this world.

Wei Yang frowned: "Mind the time, you have to rush to the battle stage later, shopkeeper, can the dissection be faster?"

"Of course, of course." The shopkeeper recognised Wei Yang the external clan elder, and quickly nodded.

He ran to the dissection counter, waving his hand, saying to the young dissection masters: "Go, go, go."

He sent those dissection masters away, to one side.

"My rocks..." The middle aged Gu Master cried out.

Rock dissecting was a meticulous process, once they got interrupted, the young dissection masters flustered and caused a few of the rocks to be destroyed.

"Li Ran, stop screaming, we will return you your primeval stones." The shopkeeper shouted.

The middle aged Gu Master with a messy beard stared with wide opened eyes, saying indignantly: "What if there was a Gu inside?"

The shopkeeper laughed in disdain, waving his hand at the middle aged Gu Master: "Come on Li Ran, you have been gambling for so many years, you only choose low grade rocks, when have you ever gotten anything good? Stop making a din, or you will lose your compensation!"

" Spit , such a large shops bullying customers, you are looking down on me, one day, I will make it big in life!" The middle aged Gu Master muttered, his tone furious but did not continue making a din.

"Li Ran..." This name made Fang Yuan recall a certain memory.

He could not help but show a weird expression.

This Li Ran, was that person who obtained the legendary Gu. Of course, they might have the same name...

But no matter what, Li Ran's one chance at success was snatched by Fang Yuan.

The five old masters took the stage, starting to dissect the rocks.

The younger masters were speechless, these seniors were using all sorts of flashy methods. Many rocks were easy to dissect, only requiring little primeval essence, but they had to use their full force, and cause their primeval essence to be greatly expended, using many steps only to raise the success rate by a meagre percent.

More than ten rocks, including scrap grade, low grade and middle grade were quickly opened.

"There is a Gu, the sword shadow Gu!"

"Rank three sword shadow Gu, so rare..."

"A living Gu, it is definitely alive, congratulations esteemed customer."

The old masters cupped their fists at Fang Yuan, sighing in relief.

Fang Yuan had been gambling these few days, but did not get any rewards. It caused these old masters to feel uneasy.

The shopkeeper ran over, looking joyous: "Esteemed customer, you have earned a lot! The sword shadow Gu can be sold for thirty two thousand primeval stones, but you only spent eight thousand!"

The surrounding people were envious of Fang Yuan, and that Li Ran even pouted, saying sourly: "Hmph, you just got lucky."

"That's good brother, the sword shadow Gu is at the same level as my broadsword light Gu. I advise you not to sell it but use it yourself." Wei Yang congratulated.

"Hehehe, the light at the end of the tunnel, I said my luck was not so bad." Fang Yuan laughed: "Brother Wei, after today's match ends, I will treat you to a drink, let's celebrate."

Wei Yang nodded, not rejecting it. He did not know that although Fang Yuan was cheerful on the outside, his heart was in complete shock at the moment!

The sword shadow Gu was an accident, it was not his goal.

That stellar stone supporting the counter had no Gu inside after dissecting it, it was a useless rock!

How can this be?

Where is that legendary Gu?!

At once, Fang Yuan's mind was flashing with questions as his heart stirred.

Numerous suspicions popped up in his mind.

How can this happen?!

Wasn't the legendary Gu hidden in this stellar stone?

If it is not this stone, where can it be? Or maybe it was not this rock, or not this gambling den?

Or maybe the rumors were false? Where am I supposed to find that legendary Gu now?

Things had progressed way out of Fang Yuan's expectations. The Gu that he thought was easily obtainable had gone missing, and the sword shadow Gu he had obtained out of luck was not enough to recoup his losses these few days.

"If there is no legendary Gu, my efforts would have been in vain. Damn it, how can this happen? There might be an error in the rumors, but rumors travel far and wide, there has to be a basis for it. Especially when this detail was so specific, there was nothing that deviated from the rumors, but why is it..."

Fang Yuan gritted his teeth secretly.

Without this legendary Gu, his strength path cultivation would be gone like smoke.

"Do I really need to change my cultivation direction? But if I do that, the three kings inheritance would be greatly affected!"

The result of the rock dissection greatly affect Fang Yuan's plans. But he did not know what the problem was, or what went wrong.

The rumors had been shrouded in a deep mysterious fog.

"It is almost time, we should head to the battle stage." At this time, Wei Yang reminded.

-x-X-x-

When Fang Yuan stepped into the battle stage, all the random thoughts were cast out of his head.

He calmly sized up the opponent in front of him.

Tang Xiong.

He was eight feet tall, wide shoulders and a thick waist. Just his arms alone were as thick as Fang Yuan's thighs, as he stood on the stage without an upper garment or shoes.

His chest was filled with black chest hair, giving off a wild and formidable aura.

"Little scoundrel, you killed my little brother? Today, I shall send you to accompany him in the afterlife!" Tang Xiong looked at Fang Yuan with bloodshot eyes, the flames of hatred could be clearly seen.

The surrounding temperature was burning as if it was the torrid afternoon heat of July or August.

The ground was boiling hot; black and red mixed together to form the lava terrain.

This was a mid-scale battle stage. There were only few spectators about dozens, most of them came to watch how Tang Xiong took revenge.

As for Fang Yuan, he might have obtained two victories but it still wasn't enough for him to be famous.

"Tang brothers grew up relying on each other; now Tang Qing is dead and only Tang Xiong remains."

"Hehe, I am waiting to see how Tang Xiong tortures this kid to death."

"Eh, what is this kid's name?"

"I think he was called Gu Yue Fang Zheng, a no-name junior."

"This kid is too thoughtless, he actually dared to break the unsaid rules and kill his first two opponents."

"He should be a demonic Gu Master who had only recently entered the city..."

"Alas, the young do not know to conduct themselves. This day wouldn't have come if he had shown mercy."

The audience continued talking about the match, but no one was optimistic about Fang Yuan.

Wei Yang was in a disguise and was looking at the battle stage with a burning gaze. Tang Xiong also walked the strength path, he was a rank two peak stage expert but could unleash with the strength of three bears and even won his way through to fourth inner city. He was a strong opponent for the current Fang Yuan.

Ding!

A clear ring of the bell announced the start of the match.

Tang Xiong roared and charged straight at Fang Yuan like a wild bull.

The ground of this battle stage was made of dark red lava rocks. Fang Yuan could feel the scalding heat from the ground even though he was wearing boots. While Tang Xiong was barefooted, he did not pay any attention to the heat.

Tum tum tum.

Every time Tang Xiong's feet stepped on the ground, it produced a loud and deep sound. At the same time, his every step shattered the lava rocks and left a deep footprint in the ground.

Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a blade's edge!

He was at ease despite Tang Xiong's aggressive momentum; the corner of his lips curled up into a cold smile as he outrageously charged at Tang Xiong head-on.

"Has he gone crazy?" @@novelbin@@

"He dares to face Tang Xiong head-on?"

"He could have had a chance to survive if he prolonged the match, this is simply charging towards his doom."

The audience shook their heads as they looked at this scene.

Fang Yuan was young, his body was not even half as muscular as Tang Xiong's. The scene of him charging at Tang Xiong was like a lamb colliding with a big ox.

Bam!

The two fiercely collided against each other, the enormous strength sent both of them flying.

Tang Xiong was thrown back six steps, as a clearly shocked expression showed on his face. 'How could this kid have such huge great strength?'

Meanwhile, Fang Yuan was thrown back three steps, as the white light armor protecting his body shook.

The result of the collision amazed the audience.

Some had their jaws wide open and some repeatedly blinked their eyes, not having expected Fang Yuan to possess such strength.

"My strength is actually less than his? No wonder little brother died at his hands!" Tang Xiong's expression changed, and looked at Fang Yuan properly for the first time.

Fang Yuan shook his numb arm, his expression was still indifferent; this result wasn't beyond his expectation.

He possessed the strength of two boars and a crocodile, there was also some increase to his strength due to using brown bear innate strength Gu these days. And Tang Xiong, he only possessed the strength of two bears.

Grand bear Gu!

Tang Xiong roared, the muscles on his body expanded visibly and his body size grew by a fold; he temporarily gained the strength of a bear.

Bear palm Gu!

A ball of yellow light covered his palms and soles. After the light dispersed, his hands and feet increased in size by over three times; turning into thick and enormous bear palms.

Whooshh!

He jumped with ferocious strength, next, he waved his right palm smashing at Fang Yuan.

The strong wind produced from his motion sent Fang Yuan's clothes fluttering before the bear palm even hit him.

Fang Yuan was still calm, he clenched his left palm into a fist and struck directly at the bear palm.

Fist and palm struck, producing a muffled sound. It was a draw.

However, following immediately, Tang Xiong's arm swept horizontally and another palm also came smashing over.

Fang Yuan used offence against offence; bang bang bang, fists and palms struck each other multiple times, the wind was screaming from their attacks.

The audience revealed astonished expressions when they saw Fang Yuan equally matched as he attacked Tang Xiong head-on.

'This youngster has some skills to be able to duke it out with Tang Xiong!"

"What was his name again?"

"This is a tough nut, Tang Xiong is in trouble. Grand bear Gu has a time limit, and once the effect disappears, he will be disadvantaged."

However, right at this moment!

A fierce bear's roar resounded throughout the battle stage.

A phantom image of a black bear appeared behind Tang Xiong; it opened its bloody mouth and roared towards the skies.

Beast Phantom!

Tang Xiong got lucky and was able to unleash the beast phantom.

The smack that should have been extremely normal, now had the strength of a bear!

Fang Yuan could not dodge in time and hurriedly put up his arms to stiffly block it.

Boom.

With a huge bang, he was sent flying, the white light armor on his body flickered rapidly before dimming.

His arms were numb and would not be usable for some time.

He did his best to maintain his balance in midair; he twisted his waist and landed on the ground on his feet.

The moment he landed, he activated the canopy Gu; the white light armor appeared once more, but this time it looked weak and transparent, its defense had decreased by a lot.

"That is a bear strength phantom, Tang Xiong has flared up!"

"Bear strength specializes in smacking, it is normal for the bear strength phantom to appear since Tang Xiong has already attacked so many times."

"The situation was still in deadlock, but with the bear strength phantom, that kid's momentum is destroyed. Tang Xiong holds the upper hand now."

"According to the previous statistics, Tang Xiong can use the bear strength phantom five times on average in every fight. If that kid has no way to deal with it, he will definitely be defeated."

Outside the battle stage, the audience kept on making a commotion with their comments.

The appearance of a bear strength phantom meant the true battle was starting, and it roused the audience's passion.

"I have the strength of two boars and a crocodile; boar strength is good at charging attacks and crocodile strength is good at bite attacks, but I have yet to acquire the bear strength. I can't bring out the beast phantom by using my fists or palms, moreover the canopy Gu is not good at defending against close combat attacks, and will likely be destroyed by one or two more attacks from the bear strength phantom."

Fang Yuan's thoughts flashed through and he decided to change his battle tactics.

Jumping grass.

He willed, and a spring like grass soon grew out from his soles then pierced through his boots.

Just as Tang Xiong was charging at him, Fang Yuan stamped on the ground and leapt far away like a frog.

At the same time, his left palm swiped at Tang Xiong's direction.

A scarlet colored moonblade immediately shot out of his palms and struck Tang Xiong; the defensive light on his body flickered for a while.

Blood moon Gu might not have high offensive power, but it was a rank three Gu after all.

Tang Xiong was distracted for a moment before he pounced upon Fang Yuan again.

Fang Yuan used the same trick again, throwing scarlet moonblades from afar; he had changed his battle tactics and didn't engage Tang Xiong in close combat.

Tang Xiong had no choice but to use his movement Gu and chase after Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan kept on attacking and retreating. It was not that Tang Xiong didn't have long range attacking methods, but they were many times weaker than his close combat power and simply could not threaten Fang Yuan.

Tang Xiong growled repeatedly in anger, and tried to provoke Fang Yuan by cursing at him; the audience also made booing noises since they wanted to see intense close combat.

However, how could Fang Yuan be so easily provoked?

He did not have a complete set of Gu worms and had yet to make close combat his forte. Even the long range attacks were forcefully improvised by him.

Time passed by, both their primeval essences continually fell.

Fang Yuan's advantage became clearer; he possessed light silver primeval essence of rank three initial stage, while Tang Xiong only had B grade aptitude and red steel primeval essence.

Despite the strength path Gu Masters' advantage in consuming very little primeval essence, they could not last forever.

By the time Fang Yuan's blood moon Gu made five to six wounds on Tang Xiong's body, the latter had no choice but to admit defeat since his healing Gu was not very good and blood kept on flowing out of the wounds.

"Just wait, one day, I will smack you into minced meat!" Tang Xiong covered his wounds and walked out of the stage.

He came with the aggressiveness of the devil but was leaving with a pale face, his steps light and weak.

"To think fourth inner city's Tang Xiong was defeated!"

"What is that Gu? It could form blood red moonblades and blood kept on flowing out of the wounds it inflicted, I have never seen such a Gu before."

"This kid is not one to trifle with, he will advance to fourth inner city's battle stage before long."

Winner takes it all; most of the audience focused on Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan received his third victory, and according to the rules, he took that grand bear Gu from Tang Xiong.

This was the most valuable Gu in Tang Xiong's possession. With this Gu gone, Tang Xion only possessed the strength of two bears, his battle strength decreased by thirty percent and there was no need to worry about him now.

However, Fang Yuan was not happy.

The legendary Gu was not in the stellar stone used as a leg support, then where was it?

Was there another piece of stone used as a leg support?

However, when Fang Yuan went back to the gambling den, the foot of that counter was already restored.

Maybe, it was not that gambling den?

Fang Yuan inwardly shook at the thought; stellar stone used to support counter in the rock gambling zone, only this gambling den fulfilled this condition.

"Without the legendary Gu, I won't have any advantage in walking on the strength path. Strength path had prevailed since ancient times, but now it is just a shadow of its previous glory. If I want to walk on the strength path without the legendary Gu, at the very least I will need an ancient strength path inheritance. Unfortunately, I only have memories of three ancient strength path inheritance, of which one is at Eastern Seas and another at Central Continent."

"The third one is at Southern Border, but has already been occupied and exploited by Wu Clan for several years now. Now that I recall it, even Empress Wu Ji of Wu Clan walked the strength path. And because of this ancient inheritance, the Wu Clan was able to sit on the throne of Southern Border's number one force."

Of course, this throne was only referring to the mortal realm. Rank six Gu immortals were at a level that crossed the ordinary and could not be calculated in this.

Fang Yuan continued to secretly investigate the next seven to eight days without any results.

"Sigh, only one clue remains now, I can only give up if that doesn't work." Fang Yuan thought, he was not someone who would waste time on an unsolvable problem.

This final clue was Li Ran — the protagonist who obtained the legendary Gu in Fang Yuan's previous life.

-x-X-x-

Although Fang Yuan had the purple thorn token, he did not dare to investigate this openly.

But in his memory, Li Ran also participated in the battle stage. After obtaining the legendary Gu, he won his way up and swept the battle stage.

This made it easier.

Fang Yuan still had the once per month enforced challenge unused, thus, he came to the secret reception area using it.

There were three people who were named Li Ran among the ones who had signed up.

Two males and one female.

Eliminating the female since Li Ran was a male in the rumors.

The remaining two, one was an old man around sixty years old, slightly famous. With rank three cultivation, he had gone up to third inner city's battle stage a few years ago, but his body was getting worse as the years went, falling back to fourth inner city eventually. This was obviously not the Li Ran Fang Yuan wanted to find either, since Li Ran in his memories had a tough life.

The other is a middle aged man, over fifty years old. With rank two cultivation, he had arrived in Shang clan city for around ten years, but had remained at the fifth inner city battle stage. He loved gambling, and lived a difficult life. He had married and bore children in Shang clan city, but the couple did not get along and separated.

Fang Yuan secretly investigated, and found that this person was the one he saw at the gambling den.

Tailing him for several days, Fang Yuan found that this Li Ran lived from day to day, sometimes, after eating today, he could not afford food the next day.

But this did not mean he had no capabilities.

He relied on the primeval stones he earned in fifth inner city battle stage to survive.

Fang Yuan investigated his battle records, he won more than he lost.

According to logic, he should not be living such a life. But this person loved to eat, gamble and visit prostitutes, he spent his money without restraint. In order to gamble, he would even use all the primeval stones he has, such that for the next half a month, he would have to borrow money from people, and eat the cheapest food possible to survive.

Similarly, in order to have a feast, he would go to the highest grade restaurant, and spend most of the money he had. He even ate without paying, and still owed several restaurants money now.

"This person must be the owner of the legendary Gu in my previous life. But he could not control his desires, thus even with the legendary Gu, what could he do? No wonder he was like a shooting star, going missing soon after his fame." Fang Yuan shook his head secretly.

"He obtained the legendary Gu in my previous life, would he get it again now? It is not possible for me to continue tailing him for long. The day where he finds the legendary Gu is nearing. Am I truly not fated to receive this Gu?" Fang Yuan frowned.

These days, Fang Yuan spent a lot of time and effort in tailing Li Ran. If he spent this time on cultivating, he might achieve greater success.

Most importantly, Fang Yuan had no confidence of whether he would gain anything from doing this.

And if he continued, he might get found out. Thankfully, Wei Yang was a busy man, only coming over to watch when Fang Yuan had a battle, if not, Fang Yuan would not have the opportunity to tail Li Ran.

If Wei Yang found him doing this, how would Fang Yuan explain himself?

The greatest suspicion now was, why was the legendary Gu not inside the stellar stone, this did not match with the rumors!

Fang Yuan could not understand, this was too unimaginable! All the elements were present, but the Gu was nowhere to be found.

It could just be Fang Yuan's overwhelmingly suspicious nature, but he found this Li Ran very strange. He could not pinpoint what the strangeness was, but it was a feeling, an instinct. It was such a baseless feeling that even Fang Yuan could not be sure of it.

LIke this, after another twenty over days, Fang Yuan fell into deep perplexity. That strange feeling became stronger, but Fang Yuan did not know where it originated.

Li Ran's actions had nothing amiss.

He lived in Shang clan city for nearly ten years, if there was anything wrong with him, outsiders would've known already.

"I am too entrenched into this, and have thought about this too much. At this time, I need an outsider's opinion to inspire myself." Fang Yuan was clear of his situation.

But he only trusted himself, although he made a poison vow with Bai Ning Bing, Fang Yuan did not trust Bai Ning Bing one bit. He only used her to cultivate, since the bone flesh unity Gu was much better than the liquor worm.

Without anyone to help, Fang Yuan could only rely on himself. And he had gotten used to relying on himself, and liked it too.

Thus, he came to the shop: "Shopkeeper, do you have a flash of inspiration Gu?"

Fang Yuan had asked a few shops, they did not have it. Finally, a shop had it, but it was priced at twenty nine thousand primeval stones.

A flash of inspiration Gu, a rank three consumable Gu, gone after one use. Who would spend so much primeval stones to buy this?

But the truth is, many people did.

These people were recipe masters who specialized in creating Gu refinement recipes.

When they got into a bottleneck, and were a step from success, they would choose to use this Gu. Once this Gu was used, it would give them that spark of inspiration that would allow them to successfully create the new recipe.

A recipe's worth is far greater than twenty nine thousand primeval stones.

Thus, a flash of inspiration Gu was a Gu with a lot of demand, if Fang Yuan did not have the purple thorn token, the shop would never sell it to him.

A similar Gu to the a flash of inspiration Gu is the cactus pointer.

But the latter was a Tie clan specialty grass Gu, it was not sold in the market.

Fang Yuan gritted his teeth, buying this a flash of inspiration Gu.

This Gu was like a blue jewel tadpole, small and agile, swimming about and waving its tail.

Fang Yuan activated his primeval essence, and this Gu entered his brain, turning into a white spiritual light, and like lightning, tore across the layers of mystery in Fang Yuan's head.

Fang Yuan's eyes shone with brilliance, finally realizing what the strange feeling was.

"That's right, although this Li Ran's life is a mess, without any control over himself, there exists a pattern among this mess. He goes to the restaurant once every three days, goes to the gambling den twice every seven days, and the brothel once every five days. And every ten days, he would go to a restaurant named 'Fu Tai Xiang He'. @@novelbin@@

From the messy report, under the influence of the a flash of inspiration Gu, the pattern within was revealed .

This was the strange part.

If a person was truly unrestrained and did not think of what to do, his life would be a complete mess, how could it have such a perfect rhythm?

Three days later, in Fu Tai Xiang He restaurant.

"Clerk, the bill." Li Ran looked away from the window, calling loudly.

"Coming, lord Li Ran, five and a half primeval stones please."

"This is six, no need for change." Li Ran tossed out six primeval stones.

"Thank you lord, take care!"

Dun dun dun...

Li Ran walked down the stairs, and as he walked out of the restaurant, he turned into an alley and gradually vanished under the shadow.

Downstairs, Fang Yuan observed silently, before calling the shop assistant, pointing at Li Ran's seat: "The view here is horrible, I want to sit there instead."

According to his understanding, every time Li Ran came here, he would sit at the window seat, that was indeed strange.

"No problem!" The shop assistant laughed: "It is a man's interest to peek at beauties."

"What?" Fang Yuan's eyebrows raised.

"Hmm, isn't esteemed customer trying to see Qin Yan brothel's number one star, Lady An Yu? Hehe, that seat can directly look into her room, if you're lucky, you can even see her body. That Li Ran earlier, he always sits here to look at her. He always makes me reserve the seat for half a primeval stones." The shop assistant said with a lecherous expression.

"Oh is that so?" Fang Yuan replied curtly, sitting at Li Ran's seat.

Through the window, he could indeed see into the brothel.

Qin Yan brothel had eight storeys, the number one lady An Yu was a rank two Gu Master, having a room at the top floor. She had a great body, and her Gu Master identity could invoke men's conquering desires, rumors say it takes almost ten thousand primeval stones to have her for a night.

With Li Ran's fortune, he could not afford this, but was he really here to peek at Lady An Yu?

Looking at the way he left the brothel, he was not such a man.

Fang Yuan looked outside, there were many restaurants around Qin Yan brothel, why did he choose this one?

If he had a Gu worm to improve his vision, then maybe, but Fang Yuan knew he did not have such a Gu.

At this distance, even if Lady An Yu was there, he would only see a blur image.

"Eh? This is..." Fang Yuan's gaze concentrated on a tofu shop opposite the street.

A pair of mother and son were packing up their stall, ready to go home.

Fang Yuan recognised them, they were Li Ran's wife and son!

"Don't tell me, his real motive was to look at them?" Fang Yuan could not help but think.

He closed his eyes, and the map of the street appeared in his head.

There were better places to peek at Lady An Yu, but to observe this mother and son pair, this was the only spot!

"If he really wanted to look at them, why does he have to do it sneakily? According to my findings, he abandoned them years ago, is he feeling guilty? Strange... if he was guilty, and wanted to show concern for them, he could appear in front of them personally, why does he have to be secretive."

"No, it could be that he was too ashamed to face them. But if he was, why would he not turn over a new leaf? This is really weird, he seems to be a mess, and cannot restrain himself, but his life is actually an orderly mess. This evidently shows he has good control over himself."

Fang Yuan's eyes were eerie as possibilities flashed across his mind.

He chewed on the food, but could not taste them at all.

He felt himself nearing the truth, like a blind man in a room getting close to the door.

All the clues and suspicions flew around in his head like a tornado.

Such a thinking speed, caused his eating action to be greatly slowed.

He slowly put down the chopsticks, raising his wine glass, the wine inside glimmering as it emitted a strong fragrance.

Suddenly, Fang Yuan's black pupils expanded!

The wine glass was raised halfway, and his arm stayed in midair, not moving like a statue.

In his mind, a bolt of lightning struck and exploded.

"So that's why... I finally understand!"

He screamed excitedly in his heart, as a great brilliance flashed across his eyes like lightning.

The mystery involving his last life and current life had finally been solved, all the suspicions were lifted and Fang Yuan found the answer he wanted!

At the same time, he 'found' the legendary Gu he lost!

-x-X-x-

"Wu Ran, if we ask you to sacrifice your future for the clan, are you willing to do it?"

"I am willing!"

...

"Wu Ran, if we ask you to sacrifice your reputation for the clan, are you willing to do it?"

"I am willing!"

...

"Wu Ran, if we ask you to sacrifice your life for the clan, are you willing to do it?"

"I am willing!"

...

"I was right about you, Wu Ran. From your grandfather, father, and then you, you were all loyal Wu clan subjects! Now, the clan has a mission for you, this mission would need you to sacrifice your future, your reputation, and maybe even your life."

"Lord clan leader, I am willing to do it for the clan!"

...

In the darkness, Wu Ran opened his eyes.

" Huff ..." He breathed out slowly, sitting up from his bed, muttering: "I dreamed again."

This dream was not fake, but originated from the deepest part of his memory.

'Li Ran' is his fake name, his real name is 'Wu Ran'.

The surname Wu, bore great significance in southern border. It represented the number one overlord in the southern border, Wu clan!

Eleven years ago, Wu clan leader Empress Wu Ji gave an audience to Wu Ran, and assigned him a secret mission —

Making his way into Shang clan's higher up level!

For this, he changed his name, and roamed the wilderness for three years before settling in Shang clan city.

He laid low for eight whole years.

"It has been eight years, an entire eight years. Wu clan's clansmen have mostly forgotten me by now huh? Wu Ran is dead, in this world, only Li Ran remains."

Li Ran sighed in his heart.

He had been lurking for too long. So long that he almost forgot his own name.

Here, he wore a mask, living for eight years, pretending to be a libertine, an ordinary Gu Master of the lowest social level. Even to his beloved wife, he did not say a thing.

During this period, he only left once every half a year to contact Wu clan. It had always been a one-sided contact, hiding all traces to the limit.

Until a year ago, the agent informed him that the clan was going to use him. His excitement then could not be expressed in words!

"After eight years, they have finally activated it, everything will be different now!" Li Ran exclaimed. He willed, and a Gu appeared from his storage.

This fossil was cube shaped, like a brick shining with star light on its surface. @@novelbin@@

This was a stellar stone.

If Fang Yuan was here, he would find that this rock was very similar to the rock used as a leg support in the gambling den.

Li Ran caressed this fossil gently, frowning slightly.

As a spy, he spent ten years lurking in the city, creating a perfect background for himself. It would definitely gain Shang clan's trust.

But trust is not enough, he needed ability that surpasses the ordinary man, so that he can dominate the battle stage. Only then would Shang clan recruit him, and make him into an external clan elder like Wei Yang, thus gaining authority in Shang clan.

This 'ability' had to appear naturally, and it cannot be too abrupt.

Thus, Wu clan leader Empress Wu Ji chose a Gu worm for him personally.

This was a Gu that possessed a legendary tale.

Obtained from an ancient strength path inheritance, it is an almost extinct Gu in the current world, it was extremely rare!

With this Gu, Li Ran can emerge from his slumber and dominate the battle stage.

As to the method of 'obtaining' this Gu, to avoid suspicion, Wu clan had made preparations.

That is, gambling rocks.

Luck is unpredictable, and an ancient Gu being sealed within a fossil was completely normal.

The demonic Gu Master Wei Shen Jing was a subordinate of Empress Wu Ji. Creating a fake scrap grade fossil was as easy as pie, no one would be able to discern it.

Li Ran spent some effort too.

To make sure people believed this was a fossil from the gambling den, and not his own, he chose a gambling rock that was used as leg support in the gambling den.

This rock was there for many years, people walked about and never noticed it.

Li Ran had communicated with Wu clan, asking Wei Shen Jing to create a similar stellar stone.

Later in his plan, he would swap this rock with the stellar stone in his hand without anyone noticing. He was a Gu Master, after observing for half a year, he knew when was the perfect time to swap the stones without anyone realizing.

When he finally opens the stellar stone, the entire gambling den would testify for him, that it was completely due to luck.

After he obtains this Gu, he would turn over a new leaf, and start the story of a prodigal son. He would rise up, find his wife and child, and become an external clan elder of Shang clan. He would complete his mission, and bring his wife and child back to Wu clan, where they belong.

Thinking of his wife and son, Li Ran felt extremely guilty.

He loved his wife deeply, she is so kind, so strong willed.

At the same time, as a father, he would love to give everything good in this world to his son.

He was only making use of her at the start, but as time went on, their relationship deepened, and he could not stop loving her. After their son was born, his love for them only grew. But eventually, because of his mission and secret identity, he had to temporarily leave them.

"You must hate me now, I've disappointed you too much. But it is alright, soon, soon. I have been deployed, I can bring you happiness!"

Li Ran gripped his fists, his eyes shining with determination.

Tomorrow, he would go to the battle stage, and engage in a battle. The day after, he would bring this stellar stone to the gambling den, and perform his life changing show.

"I had planned to use that stone as a cover, but life is hard to predict, someone actually chose it. Heh, that idiot, choosing a scrap grade stellar stone. But... tomorrow, I will have to be an idiot too."

Li Ran laughed, keeping the stellar stone back into his storage Gu.

Although there was some changes to his plans, it was still fine. He had planned for such a small accident anyway.

He laid down once more, and soon, fell into deep sleep.

This time, he did not have any dreams.

On the second day, he felt great, energetic and full of hope.

He felt that he was like a tourist walking in a dark cavern. After a long journey, he finally saw the light ahead, the exit of the cavern!

Eight years of enduring, everything would become so wonderful!

Everything would definitely become perfect!

With such a belief, he arrived at the battle stage.

He had gotten information of the opponent this time, a rank two peak stage Gu Master often seen in fifth inner city's battle stage, he was a familiar face.

Even the weakest Gu Master, if they can roam in the battle stage without giving up, they have the ability to hold their own.

Li Ran did not look down on his opponent, the Gu Li Ran currently had were quite weak and not considered high quality. He had to conceal himself as well, unable to fight fiercely, thus, this battle could go either way.

Indeed, as they fought, it was as Li Ran predicted.

From probing to fighting, the two were evenly matched, at a stalemate.

The battlefield was ravaged, and the few spectators gasped at the scene.

Suddenly, Li Ran's eyes shone brightly.

A chance!

He found a weak point of his opponent, and was about to attack.

Suddenly, his heart hurt, and his body stiffened; the counter attack from his opponent sent him flying.

Li Ran was heavily injured, groaning in pain. His body flew more than ten steps back, until he stopped himself.

A trace of blood fell from his mouth.

However, the severity of his injuries was on par with the shock and fear in his heart right now!

"My flowerbud Gu, my flowerbud Gu! How did it lose connection with me? The stellar stone is inside it!!"

At the same time, at Li Ran's residence.

The bed was flipped over, showing a secret compartment.

Fang Yuan stood beside it, holding a flowerbud Gu in his hand.

This Gu was rank two, used to store items. It was shaped like a flower, light blue in color but was crystal in material, shining clearly under sunlight.

Although it was Li Ran's Gu, with the Spring Autumn Cicada's aura, Fang Yuan instantly refined it.

Fang Yuan's mind went into the Gu, and saw many things inside. A large sack of rice, some daily necessities, a poor quality block of compressed tea, thirty to forty primeval stones and a few fossils.

"This is it!" Fang Yuan's heart trembled, as he activated his primeval essence, and a black light flew out of the flowerbud Gu.

The black light landed in Fang Yuan's palm, turning into a stellar stone.

It looked extremely ugly, squarish and resembled a brick, almost the same as the leg support rock.

The moment the stellar stone appeared, the entire world seemed to have went silent.

Fang Yuan's pupils expanded.

Thump thump... thump thump...

His heartbeat accelerated, he could clearly hear it.

Including this shabby house and the people walking outside, the surroundings faded away; only Fang Yuan and the stellar stone were left.

He held the heavy stellar stone, and he could feel the cold surface of the rock.

Fang Yuan stared at it passionately, at the same time, his lips curled up as he smiled.

His smile widened, until he opened his mouth and laughed silently!

The legendary Gu, is finally in my hands!!!

He screamed in his heart: "Just as I guessed, this Li Ran is a spy from another clan! When I was at Qing Mao mountain, I used the gambling rock to conceal my liquor worm, he is doing the same thing. No wonder the stellar stone was empty, my previous life's rumor was all part of his act."

"Today, he is going to the battle stage to fight. Whether he concealed his strength or not, according to his previous records, the opponent is around the same level as him, it would be a tough fight. The legendary Gu's stellar stone is so important, it will be tough to fight if he brings it around. With his vigilant nature, he would not hide the stellar stone in the storage Gu and bring it around."

Because if he lost the battle, his opponent would get to take one of his Gu worms.

He knew there was a legendary Gu within the stellar stone, if his opponent took his storage Gu, he would lose the stellar stone!

-x-X-x-

"I admit defeat!" Li Ran suddenly half kneeled on the ground, shouting loudly.

His opponent stopped charging forward, holding back his attack as he did not want to drive Li Ran into a corner. There was no benefits in doing that for both parties.

Li Ran spit out a mouthful of blood, standing up shakingly.

In order to quickly leave the battlefield, he purposely took a few hits from his opponent.

The hosting Gu Master walked in front, announcing the results of the battle.

Li Ran was extremely anxious, after taking back the vine information Gu, he quickly left the battle stage after pretending to be dejected.

He half-heartedly bandaged his injuries before rushing back to his house.

"God damn it, how can this happen? What in the world happened, why did I lose connection with flowerbud Gu?"

Li Ran's heart was engulfed by a dark cloud.

The flowerbud Gu was a Gu he had refined, the moment Fang Yuan refined it, he could sense it.

"Only two possibilities exist for such a situation. One is that the flowerbud Gu was destroyed, the second is that someone else refined it! Was I discovered? No, maybe the situation isn't as bad as I imagine, a burglar could've entered my house. F*ck, I have lived in Shang clan city for eight years, I know almost all the thieves there are, why would someone want to steal from that house of mine!"

Li Ran walked quickly, the stellar stone was extremely important, even with his calm nature, he could not help but feel anxious.

He was regretting.

He should've hid the flowerbud Gu at a safer location, and not place it in the secret compartment under his bed.

But the truth is, that was not his fault.

He had gone undercover, to conceal himself, he did not have any friends, and for the last few years, he had not contacted his wife or child. He often went to brothels, gambling dens, restaurants, those areas were full of people and he could not hide anything there.

He could hide it at a pawn shop, but placing so much attention on a scrap grade fossil was too peculiar. When Shang clan investigates in the future,that would create huge suspicion.

In Shang clan city, all sorts of people existed, there were many thief Gu Masters. But to forcefully take over the flowerbud Gu, a rank three Gu is required. The problem is, why would any rank three Gu Master want to steal from a run down place like his?

Li Ran had lurked for eight years, so long that he almost forgot his past. When he hid the flowerbud Gu, he was very confident but now his confidence turned into regret and self blame.

"Hopefully, the situation can still be salvaged!"

He returned to his home feeling uncertainty, the door was closed.

He opened it, and saw the place was in a mess.

"It was a thief!" He suddenly had a thought.

Encountering a thief was not scary, as long as his identity was not exposed, all could be salvaged.

"That's right!" Li Ran consoled himself: "Every time I contacted Wu clan, it was a one-sided transmission. There are no evidence on me, and that legendary Gu is inside the stellar stone. If it is not opened, who would know the value of it? As long as I find the thief, with my eight years of experience in this city..."

As he thought about it, he calmed his emotions, and stopped panicking.

"Should I report the case? Using the guards' ability to arrest the thief? No, I should be polite before resorting to brute force, it is best if I can get back the stellar stone peacefully. The city guards can't be trusted too, they would not spend effort for a small fry like me. Maybe I should hire a Tie clan Gu Master?"

"Eh? This is..." At this point, he concentrated, and found a Gu after flipping over his bed. @@novelbin@@

Heart sound Gu!

This Gu was rank two, green and black in color, around the size of a baby's thumb. It was shaped like a conch shell, one end was large while the other end was tiny, and had a spiral appearance.

"Heart sound Gu comes in pairs, it can allow two Gu Masters to speak internally within a hundred steps. Don't tell me... the thief left this behind specially for me?!"

Li Ran's eyes shone with hesitation, but he gritted his teeth and placed the heart sound Gu into his ear, like a earplug.

"Who are you?" Li Ran injected primeval essence, and activated the heart sound Gu, concentrating his mind and asked.

"That question is not important. The important thing is, Li Ran is a fake name right? Hehehe." Soon after, Fang Yuan's voice appeared in Li Ran's head.

That instant, Li Ran's pupils shrunk as he looked like he was struck by lightning, stunned on the spot.

"Not good, he found out my identity!" Li Ran was horror stricken.

The situation had become the worst!

But he was after all, a spy for eight years, even with this turn of events, he calmed his mind and spoke to Fang Yuan: "Fake name? What fake name, what do you mean?"

He said as he carefully tiptoed, walking around in the shabby house.

He next leaned on the wall, looking at the street outside the window.

"The heart sound Gu has an effective range, only a hundred steps away at most, he must be near me." He rapidly thought of a solution.

To use the heart sound Gu, one has to concentrate in order to speak, ordinary thinking would not be transmitted.

But Fang Yuan was well aware of his mental state, lightly laughing: "Don't bother acting Li Ran. I am not your enemy, as long as you cooperate, to express my sincerity, we can meet up."

"Meet up?" Li Ran was shocked.

Next, Fang Yuan's voice rang in his head: "Now, walk out of your room and turn left around the door."

"Why should I listen to you?" Li Ran called out in his mind.

Fang Yuan laughed: "Don't try to test how much I know, it is beyond your imagination. I will count to five, consider well."

"One." Fang Yuan counted.

Li Ran rapidly thought about the situation.

Even though the flowerbud Gu was in the thief's hands, they had no evidence that he was a Wu clan spy.

He had lurked for eight years, how could there be evidence?

"Two." Fang Yuan spoke casually.

If at this time, he listened to Fang Yuan, and gets spotted by others, that would be concrete proof that he was a spy.

But if he did not listen, what happens to the stellar stone?

"Five." Fang Yuan continued to count.

Li Ran's mind was thrown into chaos, as he scolded: "God damn, can you even count properly?!"

"Hehehe, it seems you have come to a decision." Fang Yuan laughed.

Li Ran breathed deeply, his fists clenched tightly, as he gritted his teeth and left the house.

He walked out of the door, and arrived at a busy street. Next, he turned left.

About fifty steps later, Fang Yuan's voice rang out again: "Turn right, at the third cross junction, turn left."

"He can see my movements, he has to be beside me, but who?" Li Ran had sharp vision, like an eagle sweeping the crowd.

"I would advise you not to look around, that is not your usual behavior. Hehe, after eight years, you want it all to go down the drain?" Fang Yuan quickly said.

"Damn it..." Li Ran gritted his teeth till they squeaked, Fang Yuan's threat made him lower his head as he looked ahead.

Following Fang Yuan's instructions, he turned and walked around in circles, until Fang Yuan told him to stop.

"Turn around." Fang Yuan quickly followed: "In your vision, there should be a restaurant, go to the third storey, I will be waiting there."

Li Ran looked, and his heart jumped.

This restaurant, was the one he often came to, Fu Tai Xiang He restaurant.

"Don't tell me..." He had a bad feeling in his heart. The thief held so much information about him, it felt like he was stripped bare naked in the winter snow plains.

He entered the restaurant.

The familiar shop assistant looked at him, enthusiastically calling out: "Lord Li Ran, you are here, please come upstairs!"

Li Ran's grim face smiled slightly as he carried his utmost vigilance and ascended the ladder.

Halfway through, before the second floor.

"Wait." Fang Yuan suddenly said.

Li Ran stopped his movement, asking: "What?"

"Go downstairs, and out of the door." Fang Yuan instructed.

Li Ran snorted, having no choice but to leave.

The shop assistant looked at him, feeling confused, quickly asking: "What is the matter lord, are you not eating anymore?"

Li Ran waved his hand, asking him to leave, as he walked out of the restaurant.

"Opposite you, there is a shop selling baked pancakes, go buy a few." Fang Yuan continued.

Li Ran's eyes twitched, but he followed the instructions, buying a few pancakes.

"Okay, now return to the third floor of the restaurant." Fang Yuan said again.

Li Ran's forehead was popping with veins as he held the pancake and returned to the restaurant.

The shop assistant saw him entering again, looking at him weirdly: "Lord Li Ran, if you want to buy pancakes, just call me, I can buy it for you."

"Scram." Li Ran shouted, scaring the shop assistant as he shuddered and stopped talking.

He got to the third floor, and stopped after the ladder.

"Continue, take two to three steps and turn left, you will see me." Fang Yuan instructed.

Li Ran followed the instructions, as he walked around a pillar, and finally saw Fang Yuan, sitting at his usual spot.

Next, he saw Fang Yuan stretch out his hand, inviting him to the seat. At the same time, he heard in his mind: "Please take a seat."

Li Ran did not speak, quietly sitting before Fang Yuan, then staring at him without blinking.

The truth is, Fang Yuan's youthful appearance gave him a huge shock.

When they conversed, Fang Yuan held him tightly by the collar, he subconsciously pictured the image of Fang Yuan as an unscrupulous middle aged man, or an elderly wearing a hat, hiding his face in the darkness.

But the truth was completely the opposite.

The voice from the heart sound Gu would always be tuned, it cannot ascertain age, but could easily determine the gender.

If he did not see it with his own eyes, Li Ran would never have thought the mysterious man was so young!

Fifth inner city's street lights passed the windows and shone on Fang Yuan's face. Although he had a plain look, his eyes were as black as ink, like an abyss, deep and mysterious.

Li Ran memorised Fang Yuan's face deep in his heart.

Although this was the first time they met, he could swear, he would never forget Fang Yuan's appearance in this life.

Because it was due to this young man that all his plans were foiled, and in such a helpless way!