71 RI

Man tribe owned Hong Yan valley, they had won a few battles these years and had expanded greatly.

Northern plains was different from southern border.

Southern borders had a forest and mountain terrain, it was easy to defend but hard to attack, long distance travelling causes huge expenditure. Southern border clans worked on self development, accumulating slowly and growing stably, keeping a pure bloodline.

But northern plains was a huge grassland, there were lots of conquests going on. The tribes of northern plains rise up fast but also fall just as quickly. A few wins might allow a small size tribe to become a medium size tribe, and from a medium size tribe, expand into a large size tribe. But one loss could also cause this large size tribe to break down into numerous small size tribes.

Man tribe had absorbed Shi tribe recently, and the elder Shi Wu from Shi tribe became Man tribe's external elder.

He was a bone path Gu Master, he was the one who bought all the bone bamboo Gu in the market, as he claimed to be researching a new Gu path recipe.

Fang Yuan memorised this person to heart, before asking the shopkeeper about soul path and strength path Gu worms.

"I have a rank one jin strength Gu, it can raise the strength of a Gu Master by one jin 1 . Each Gu is sold for two hundred and twenty primeval stones."

"I have the rank two strength of ten jin Gu, it raises the Gu Master's strength by ten jin, it is sold for six hundred and ninety primeval stones."

"I also have the rank three jun strength Gu, one jun is thirty jin, each Gu is sold for four thousand five hundred and fifty primeval stones."

"Although I do not have the rank four strength of ten jun Gu, if customer needs it, i can arrange for it to be transported over, each strength of ten jun Gu is sold for thirty-six thousand primeval stones."

The shopkeeper gave a chain of prices that he was extremely familiar with.

At the end, he added: "Of course, this is only the jin strength Gu and jun strength Gu. If customer wants to walk on the strength path, and require beast strength Gu, we also have wolf strength Gu. It can give you the strength of a wolf, gaining stamina and endurance as well. I also have horse strength Gu, it can give you the strength of a horse, it is most useful for running."

Before, Fang Yuan was using beast strength Gu to walk on the ancient strength path. Jin strength Gu and jun strength Gu were new popular alternatives that appeared in the last few hundred years.

Although strength path was weak and no longer had its former glory, there was still developments done for it.

The one who had this contribution was a famous rank seven Gu Immortal in northern plains called Chu Du, titled 'Domination Immortal'. He was the one who invented the jin strength Gu and jun strength Gu, and even refined the rank six Immortal Gu 'Strength of a Thousand Jun'.

A jun was thirty jin.

A thousand jun was thirty thousand jin.

In one of Earth's legends, the Victorious Fighting Buddha's Jingu Bang was only thirteen thousand five hundred jin. Er Lang Shen's 'Three-pointed, Double-edged Lance' was only twenty five thousand two hundred jin.

Hu Du became a Gu Immortal three hundred years ago, the recipe he refined was widely spread, quickly becoming the main branch of the strength path in northern plains. @@novelbin@@

Ancient strength path used beast strength Gu, like green bull strength Gu, Biao strength Gu, dragon strength Gu and so on, Because the materials from the ancient times were already extremely rare by now, the cost of refining Gu was huge.

Domination Immortal Chu Du's recipe was superior in that the materials were easy to find and had low cost, and the success rate of the Gu refinement was higher than beast strength Gu.

Northern plains was most probably the region where strength path was most flourishing at the moment. Northern plains had battles and conquests often, with strength path's low cost, they gave evident increase in strength to low rank Gu Masters.

Thus, many Gu Masters in northern plains cultivated strength path as their minor path.

They often fought in fierce battles, when they expend their primeval essence, they would need their physical bodies to fight. Physical strength was very important then.

There is a phrase on Earth: war is the catalyst for technological advancement. This sentence worked perfectly well in this world as well. Northern plains was a place where new Gu worms were constantly invented.

From that Shi Wu elder who joined Man tribe, one could see the attitude that northern plains Gu Masters had towards innovation.

Domination Immortal later died in battle, by the hands of Feng Jiu Ge who descended from the heavenly court. After he died, he was crowned as the 'Twilight of Strength Path' by future generations, after his death was announced, countless Gu Masters in northern plains cried painfully.

"Sigh... the number of talents and geniuses in this world is like the number of stars in the night sky, the number of talented people are like carps in the river. The five regions are too big, the size of one Earth cannot compare to even one region. Especially in the battle five hundred years later, dragons and snakes rise from the land, experts and powerhouses compete, and old monsters come out of seclusion one after another, as new talents rise up to power. Countless heroes, conquerors, the differing personalities from the righteous and demonic paths clash and engage in a life-and-death battle. It is truly a grand and exciting event that would go down in history."

"I have already used old removal Gu secretly to remove ancient bronze skin, essence iron bones, and golden steel tendons, and even my beast phantoms. Firstly, these strength path beast phantoms originate from southern border, they would be restricted in northern plains, and could not be used well. Secondly, if I summon a beast phantom, there is a danger of exposing my identity."

"My greatest advantage now is Dang Hun mountain, and my five hundred years of experience, with the blessed land's resources, I can walk on the enslavement path. But enslavement path has a weakness, that is the 'beheading the leader' tactic, thus I need strength path to go along with it. Since I have Chang Shan Yin's appearance now, I also need to merge into northern plains, I should use this jun strength Gu."

Fang Yuan's thought flickered as he made a decision, requesting for the rank four strength of ten jun Gu from the shopkeeper.

Next, he looked at the soul path Gu worms.

There were much more soul path Gu worms than strength path.

There were ghost fire Gu, ghost cry Gu, ghost face Gu, ghost axe Gu and so on for attacking. There were ghost cage Gu, ghost hand Gu, ghost hitting wall for confinement and confusion.

For defense, there were ghost sealing shirt Gu, soul shield Gu and others. For healing, there were ghost qi Gu, ghost tears Gu and others. For investigation, there was ghost eye Gu. For movement, there were soul fly Gu, and elusive ghost Gu.

There were also ghost soldier Gu, impermanence ghost, air travel ghost, and nine son mother ghost Gu, all of them had to do with enslavement path.

This was the true manner of a great path.

Strength path was extremely weak now, while soul path was still standing strong, this point could be easily seen here.

Strength path Gu worms only consisted of jin strength Gu, jun strength Gu, and beast strength Gu, most were for attacking. In terms of defense, investigation, and assistance, there were little. It was hard to create a Gu set from just strength path Gu.

As for soul path, there were many Gu worms that were in all the different aspects. Forming into a set, they could help each other and obtain greater effects.

Look at that Domination Immortal Chu Du, he was a strength path Gu immortal, but he used other Gu worms for defense, investigation, and storage etc.

Fang Yuan came with an objective, he set aside all these soul path Gu worms, only looking at those which could be used to refine the soul.

There were no rank four Gu for that, but a bunch of rank three.

There was divine soul Gu, dragon soul Gu, ice soul Gu, dream soul Gu, moon soul Gu, general soul Gu, grudge soul Gu, poem soul Gu, horse soul Gu, heroic soul Gu, qi spirit Gu, body spirit Gu, cloud spirit Gu, wind spirit Gu, tiger spirit Gu, and others.

These Gu worms could refine the soul, they all had their unique use.

For example, refining the soul into ice soul, in the future when the Gu Master uses ice type Gu worms, they would gain a considerate boost. Cloud spirit, wind spirit, had the same effects.

If one used dragon soul Gu to refine a dragon soul, when he uses dragon strength Gu, dragon scales Gu, or dragon travel Gu, there would be a boost to the effect.

Fang Yuan looked for a while, and did not find any Gu that was more suitable for him, thus he chose the wolf soul Gu that he had planned to buy.

From ancient times, soul and enslavement were of the same origins.

Enslavement path was originally split from the soul path, when Gu Masters combined it with the immemorial wisdom path, the enslavement path finally became an independent path.

Beast enslavement Gu, slavery Gu, they were used to control the soul, allowing one to become a ruler of the mind.

If Fang Yuan refined the wolf soul, it would greatly help him in enslaving wolf packs.

The rank three wolf soul Gu was seven thousand and seven hundred primeval stones. Fang Yuan bought them in bulk, buying all of the stock in the shop, getting all eight wolf soul Gu.

Wolf soul Gu's effort could be stacked, a rank three wolf soul Gu was not enough to refine Fang Yuan's hundred man soul.

Wild Gu worms had their own will, they were hard to refine. But the Gu worms Fang Yuan bought had already been refined by others, thus when the transaction ended, all these Gu were in Fang Yuan's control.

He kept all these Gu inside his aperture, and left the shop, going to other shops.

His aim was rank two and three wolf enslavement Gu, as well as rank three wolf soul Gu.

A million primeval stones was insufficient, but what Fang Yuan wanted were common rank two and three Gu.

He did want to buy rank four Gu.

But this market was too small, there were few rank four Gu, and were all not the ones he wanted.

After three days, Fang Yuan became famous in the market. Every shop knew that there was a rank four expert buying Gu in bulk.

By the fifth day, Fang Yuan spent a lot already, over five to six hundred thousand primeval stones.

During this period, he would walk around the market's ranch often.

In the ranch, there were many livestock sold, of which big stomach horses were most popular. This horse, even mortals needed it badly. As for those who bought the hump wolves for battle, they were mostly Gu Masters.

There were also many Gu Masters who caught wild beasts to sell here. Like bulls, horses, falcons etc. On the grassland, the most commonly seen were wolves, they were also sold in large numbers.

Fang Yuan asked around, comparing goods and prices, until he saw a pack of thick back wolves that he wanted.

Fang Yuan had poison beard wolves and wind wolves. It was hard to replenish poison beard wolves, and since they were weak in the sunlight, they were destined to be eliminated. Wind wolves had fast speed, while thick back wolves had high defense. If they could be added into his wolf army, they would cooperate well together, and form a proper wolf pack.

But on the ninth day, Fang Yuan accidentally found out that among a group of water wolves, there was a young mutated beast.

He immediately bought these water wolves without causing suspicion, getting a great deal for himself.

The market lasted thirteen days.

Fang Yuan bought over a thousand water wolves, and many Gu refinement materials, as well as food to feed his Gu worms, as he left on the tenth day.

After his purchases, he had only three thousand primeval stones left on him.

Money was spent like flowing water, Ge Guang watched in amazement as he admired 'Chang Shan Yin' secretly, this hero truly had a grand disposition.

Fang Yuan followed Ge tribe and returned to his original place to stay.

He cultivated with all his heart, using wolf soul Gu to refine his soul while refining Gu on the other hand.

After two failures, he successfully refined the rank three golden back wolf skin Gu into the rank four azure wolf skin Gu.

Azure wolf skin Gu was used for defense, although it was common, it fixed Fang Yuan's problem of insufficient defense.

On this day, he finished his soul refinement and stopped cultivating, when a cry was heard outside his room.

"What happened?" He opened the door and asked the Gu Master who was guarding the place.

The Gu Master said grimly: "Our big missy Ge Yao died. The search team found her torn clothes in poison grassland, she was killed by poison beard wolves!"

-x-X-x-

A month later, Ge Yao's death was finally discovered.

The news spread as many Ge tribesmen cried. Although Ge Yao had a troublesome personality, she was kind-hearted and the beauty of the tribe, people loved her. She had many pursuers in Ge tribe.

"Oh my daughter, it was father who harmed you..." Old Ge tribe leader was extremely upset, falling terribly ill.

Ge Guang was the stand-in tribe leader with the elders assisting him. Ge tribe was anguished and upset, they had a heavy mood.

Ge Yao's death had huge impacts. Man tribe leader's third son Man Duo fell in love with Ge Yao at first sight, he had been demanding for her, now that she was dead, where were they going to find a girl for him?

Man tribe was a large tribe, they had expanded greatly these years, and had absorbed many small tribes in the process. After a few victories, their morale was high, and they were even more arrogant against the despondent Ge tribe. During their conversations, they gave Ge Guang great pressure as they demanded fiercely.

Ge tribe was a newly arrived tribe, they were not as huge as Man tribe, and now that they had lost their home, they had to live in someone else's territory, relying on Hong Yan valley during the snowy climate. Thus, Ge Guang was very passive now, he was extremely anxious.

...

In his room, Fang Yuan sat on his bed as he opened his eyes.

On his right palm was a wolf soul Gu.

This Gu was about thumb-size, it was like a grey wolf-shaped doll, giving off an eerie blue light.

"This is the ninth wolf soul Gu." Fang Yuan injected his primeval essence and the wolf soul Gu expanded, in a few breaths' time, it turned into a grey-white wolf soul.

The wolf soul opened its mouth, howling silently as it crashed into Fang Yuan's body.

This impact was silent, but Fang Yuan could feel his soul trembling, as his eyes went into a daze.

The wolf soul directly crashed into his soul, the originally human-shaped hundred man soul underwent some reaction, and lost its human form, fusing with the wolf soul into a surging soul mist.

The soul mist did not disperse, instead it moved and rolled around in Fang Yuan's body, showing a wolf's head, tail, or even Fang Yuan's appearance at times.

After five minutes, the soul mist gathered and formed a new human soul.

Except this human soul was different.

Fang Yuan's hundred man soul earlier was completely his own appearance, his eyes, ears and nose were all the same. But after going through nine wolf soul Gu's refinement, although the hundred man soul was still human-shaped, there was a pair of wolf ears on his head, and his hair extended to his waist, his eyes also became wolf eyes, his entire body was thinner and his nose was sharper.

Before, his hundred man soul was huge and was almost bursting his actual body. But now, after refinement, it was more condensed and the color had turned from pale-white to a slight hint of grey-white.

Fang Yuan calculated, when he finishes using his wolf soul Gu, the hundred man soul would be refined to its limits.

By then, his entire soul would become half-man half-wolf, the so-called wolfman soul.

Wolfman soul is many times stronger than an ordinary hundred man soul.

After having the wolfman soul, Fang Yuan would be able to continue strengthening his soul, raising the hundred man soul to thousand or even ten thousand man soul.

Of course, ten thousand man soul was not the limit, there was even hundred million man soul. @@novelbin@@

"In theory, the soul can strengthen limitlessly. Back then, Spectral Soul Demon Venerable who created the soul path definitely surpassed hundred million man soul! His Demon Venerable Soul had a thousand arms and palms, three heads, the front head had dragon horns, lion mane, snake eyes, and elephant tusks. The left head had a peach forehead, grass hair, and three flower-like eyes. The right head had a cloud fringe, lightning eyes, fire ears, and golden mouth. He was unbelievable strong, his might was immeasurable. Even now, this appearance was still deeply worshipped and adored by many people. Many mortals in southern border use clay to create his statue, to pray to and give offerings."

Spectral Soul Demon Venerable was the number one soul cultivator in history. Fang Yuan's wolfman soul now was like a ant against a giant, he still needed to grow stronger.

After a little rest, Fang Yuan took out the strength of ten jun Gu.

This Gu was an iron weight, it was very heavy to carry.

Fang Yuan bought five strength of ten jun Gu, he was already using the third now, his body's physical strength had increased to twenty jun, that is, six hundred jin.

The rank four strength of ten jun Gu was weaker than rank four beast strength Gu, but its advantage was that the strength could be stacked.

Previously, Fang Yuan had used a kunlun bull strength Gu, and obtained the beast phantom of the kunlun bull. But if he used a second kunlun bull strength Gu, there would be no effects, and he would not get another beast phantom either.

But jun strength Gu did not have this restriction, it could be stacked until the body's limit was reached.

Of course, although Fang Yuan had the strength of six hundred jin, he could not unleash them all at once normally.

The common weaknesses of strength path, jun strength Gu still had them. Otherwise, Domination Immortal Chu Du would not be called the 'twilight of strength path', but the 'rise of strength path'.

Of course, similar beast strength Gu could be stacked, but an additional beast fetus Gu was needed to do so.

Many different recipes of beast fetus Gu were passed down. But even so, the materials needed for the Gu refinement were very rare, as the cost of the Gu refinement was too high, and the success rate was inferior to jun strength Gu, it eventually got eliminated in the competition.

Fang Yuan activated his primeval essence, injecting them into jun strength Gu. The jun strength Gu flew above his head, giving off a strange light. The light shone on Fang Yuan as his body was steadily modified.

But at this time, there were knocks on his door.

Soon after, a voice was heard: "Uncle Chang Shan Yin, junior Ge Guang would like to meet you."

Fang Yuan let him in, only to see that Ge Guang was in a pathetic state, there was even a white bone arrow on his shoulder, he was in a terrible condition.

Upon seeing Fang Yuan, Ge Guang kneeled on the ground, his eyes were red, begging: "Uncle, please save me."

Fang Yuan's gaze shone, he had an answer in his heart, as he spoke: "What happened? Is Man tribe attacking us at full force, have they charged into Ge tribe's camp already?"

Ge Guang answered: "Uncle is half right, the problem is Man tribe. The Man tribe leader's third son Man Duo heard that father was bedridden and unconscious, thus he immediately brought his Man tribe experts over to challenge us, wanting us to hand over my sister Ge Yao. But my sister is already dead, how can I hand her over to him? No matter how I explained, that Man Duo lad did not believe me. According to the rules of the grassland, we Ge tribe have to accept the challenge. Now, he had already killed our tribe's third elder, and even injured three people, even I lost to them."

Fang Yuan's guess was completely right, these few days, Man tribe had been oppressive and tyrannical, the more Ge tribe endured, the more it fuelled Man tribe's arrogance.

Although Fang Yuan had been cultivating hard these days, he was not in closed cultivation, he was clear of the outside situation.

"Speaking of which, Chang Shan Yin's return to northern plains requires a grand stage to create some commotion. I should use this chance to announce the return of the former hero."

Thinking of this, Fang Yuan helped Ge Yao up and said: "During these days, I have been imposing on Ge tribe, I cannot watch from the sidelines, bring me there."

"Uncle, I thank you on behalf of our entire tribe!" Ge Guang was overjoyed.

The two walked out, but before they got to the entrance, they heard the shouts and screams outside.

"Ge tribe is full of cowardly rats, come out and accept your death!" This was the voice of a young man.

"Man Duo, you are going too far!" A Ge tribe elder screamed.

"Hehehe, so what if I am bullying you. Leopards and wolves capture their prey, eagles and falcons bully small birds, this is the rule of the world! Quickly hand over Ge Yao, otherwise I will continue challenging you and kill every single member of Ge tribe."

"Despicable! If old tribe leader was here, would you dare?" Ge tribe elder rebuked.

Man Duo was furious: "Hmph, you are the despicable ones, you agreed to the wedding but now you refuse to hand over the woman. You went back on your words! I know, you are hiding Ge Yao, trying to stall for time. First, you said she ran away, now you said she's dead. Do you think I am a fool? If a mere rabbit dares to toy with a wolf, you will have to pay with your life. Shi Wu, continue beating them, challenge them. Ge tribe, quickly send your next victim here to fight. Hahaha!"

Ge tribe elders' expressions were pale, they looked at each other but none dared to go up.

Shi Wu was huge and bald, with his bulging muscles, he walked onto the stage with a cruel smile.

He was rank three peak stage, having great strength. The elder that Ge tribe sacrificed was beaten to death on the spot.

He walked on the center of the stage, staring at Ge tribe's camp: "Why is no one here? Don't tell me you are afraid!"

Ge tribe was furious and ashamed, fire burnt in their eyes as they stared at Shi Wu.

"Cowardly chicken, let me give you some courage. I have a hundred thousand primeval stones here, if anyone dares to come here and defeat me, I will hand the primeval stones over to you."

No one answered him.

Shi Wu laughed in a frenzy: "Ge tribe, Ge tribe, you are but a bunch of rabbits and sheep!"

"Have you laughed enough?" With Ge Guang leading the way, Fang Yuan walked out of the crowd with a plain expression.

Shi Wu's laughter stopped, his pupils shrunk as he looked at Fang Yuan in shock.

"Rank four Gu Master! Who is this person?" Not just Shi Wu, but all of the Man tribesmen here had this huge question.

"Was Man tribe concealing another rank four Gu Master?" Man Duo felt something amiss.

He came here to find trouble because old Ge tribe leader was bedridden. But to think that Ge tribe had a second rank four battle strength expert!

"Before I came, I had already checked clearly, where is this expert from?"

Carrying such suspicions, Man Duo jumped down from his horse, changing his attitude as he placed his right hand at his chest, greeting Fang Yuan: "Hello friend, you are not from Ge tribe, why must you interfere in our matters?"

Fang Yuan gave this Man Duo a glance, feeling amused by this young man.

The first time he had heard of this Man Duo was from Ge Yao's descriptions.

Although this Man Duo was the third son of Man tribe leader, he was weak and sickly since young, and had poor aptitude, only C grade. Although he was over twenty years old now, he only had rank two cultivation. He was dark and skinny like a monkey.

But he was definitely not as feeble as Ge Yao described, he had a scheming and devious pair of eyes, with the flames of ambition burning within them.

-x-X-x-

In northern plains where only experts were respected, where only strength mattered, Man Duo was able to gain his father's favor, and was able to mobilize tribe elders to challenge Ge tribe. It showed his ability and courage, he was definitely not a good-for-nothing young master.

Fang Yuan's eyes showed amusement: "I, Chang Shan Yin, was fated to be Ge tribe's guest, I know northern plains rules and it is true that I should not interfere in others' business. But I had just heard this little brother taking out a hundred thousand primeval stones. I am lacking primeval stones recently, why would I reject money offered to me?"

Shi Wu heard this and wished he could slap his own mouth.

"My mouth was really itchy, to think I attracted a rank four expert." His heart was sour and bitter.

Man Duo laughed dryly: "This is an easy matter, if senior lacks primeval stones, this junior is willing to offer five hundred thousand primeval stones to you!"

What he meant was, he wanted Fang Yuan to keep out of this.

At once, Ge tribesmen looked nervously at Fang Yuan.

Although Fang Yuan was the legendary hero, it was only his reputation, those who truly acted like a hero were rare.

Moreover, there was a phrase: a wise man submits to circumstances . Ge tribe was in a slump now, while Man tribe was huge and powerful. Chang Shan Yin was only an outsider, he had no reason to help and bring trouble to himself.

Thus, Fang Yuan became the center of attention, his attitude decided how this situation would progress.

As everyone watched nervously, Fang Yuan laughed proudly: " A gentleman only takes wealth that he deserves. I do not feel that I deserve a gift of five hundred thousand primeval stones. But a hundred thousand primeval stones that I earn from battle is extremely valuable. Come, according to northern plains rules, I accept this battle."

Fang Yuan walked onto the stage.

"Uncle Chang Shan Yin!" Ge Guang felt extremely touched, tears were overflowing as he was lost for words, shouting behind Fang Yuan as he cheered.

The elders of Ge tribe were all extremely moved.

"As expected of Chang Shan Yin, a true righteous hero!"

"Unmoved by benefits and money, he is truly a man of justice."

"There are many people who offer icing on the cake, but few people help out in times of need. Chang Shan Yin will be an esteemed guest in our tribe forever!"

Man Duo's expression was grim, extremely ugly. He knew that there was no need to say more, he shut his mouth and looked at Shi Wu.

Shi Wu felt Man Duo's gaze and felt bitter in his heart.

He had just submitted to Man tribe not long ago, and became an external elder of Man tribe, he wanted to make contributions to the tribe badly. Although Man Duo's cultivation was low, he was the tribe elder's third son, upon hearing that old Ge tribe leader was sick, he came over with Man Duo to challenge them. But he did not expect to meet Chang Shan Yin!

Although the other party was only rank four initial stage, he was already rank three peak stage, the two stages might look close, but Wu Shi knew clearly that this difference in a large realm was incredibly large.

But in this situation, he had no other way out, if he avoided battle, he would be greatly despised and criticized. In northern plains which advocated courage and fighting spirit, he would no longer have a future.

Shi Wu gritted his teeth secretly as he entered the stage forcefully.

"Please." He bowed to Fang Yuan, barely forcing a smile.

Fang Yuan nodded lightly, standing on the spot as light azure wolf fur grew on his body rapidly.

The wolf fur covered his entire body, his ears, face, and even limbs.

"This is azure wolf skin Gu." Wu Shi's heart sank, although azure wolf skin Gu was a very common and ordinary rank four Gu, its defense was not something that a rank three Gu could easily penetrate.

The Ge tribesmen behind Fang Yuan all concentrated and watched as their eyes shone, awaiting Fang Yuan's grand display of his prowess.

Some even shouted loudly: "Kill this fellow, he killed our tribe's third elder!"

Shi Wu heard this and his heart shrunk, he sighed bitterly, feeling the huge trouble ahead of him: "Oh no! After the earlier battles, I have less than thirty percent of my primeval essence left, I am not his match at my peak condition, not to mention now."

Looking at Shi Wu who had a distracted gaze and stiff movements, Fang Yuan snickered in his heart. This person had lost his fighting spirit, even if he had his complete strength, he could not display half of it. After several matches, his primeval essence was obviously lacking.

Such an opponent, in Fang Yuan's eyes, was fish on a chopping board.

But Fang Yuan did not want to kill him.

For what?

He was Man tribe's external elder, if he killed him, that would be a slap on Man tribe's face. Although Fang Yuan was not afraid of trouble, he did not want to create unnecessary trouble for himself.

Even though Shi Wu killed a Ge tribe elder, that was their own business!

"Come!" Fang Yuan stepped, and activated wolf sprint Gu, bursting forward like an arrow, as afterimages appeared behind him.

Shi Wu's heart was already in despair, seeing Fang Yuan's fierce charge, he retreated in fear.

At the same time, he summoned three flying bone shields.

Piak piak piak!

Fang Yuan moved like a shadow, getting close for a physical fight, he struck three times and smashed all three bone shields.

Shi Wu tumbled and rolled away, summoning another three bone shields.

Piak piak piak!

As Fang Yuan attacked at lightning speed, the three bone shields broke again.

He had the strength of twenty jun now, although he could not display all of it, it was no problem breaking these shields.

"What other moves do you have, use them all." Fang Yuan did not attack again, he gave Shi Wu a chance to catch his breath.

Shi Wu was sweating profusely, he gritted his teeth and rubbed his hands, summoning two iron bone broad axes.

"Waaaaaaaah!" He shouted loudly, raising both axes as he attacked fiercely.

"Hehehe." Fang Yuan laughed lightly, not attacking but placing both arms behind his back, using the wolf travel Gu to move.

His movements were unpredictable, like petals floating in the air, his broad shoulder and thin waist gave a brilliant unrestrained feeling.

Shi Wu growled loudly, no matter how he moved both his axes, he could not even touch Fang Yuan's clothes, he was completely at Fang Yuan's mercy.

"Lie down." Fang Yuan sighed, stretching out one finger, it looked slow, but it rapidly touched the axe.

Shi Wu was already dizzy from Fang Yuan's movements, after feeling this force, he lost his balance and fell face flat on the ground.

Ge tribesmen saw his pathetic state and cheered loudly, as the thunderous sound turned into one phrase: "Kill him, kill him!"

Shi Wu's expression was ashen, his fighting spirit was gone. Fang Yuan had control of the entire situation, he was like a lion toying with a sheep. He felt that he was not Fang Yuan's match, but the more he thought like this, the less battle strength he could muster, and the worse the battle situation became.

Man Duo's heart also sank to rock-bottom.

"Damn it, this Shi Wu did not display his true ability, he was scared witless by the other party! But even so, that rank four Gu Master is too strong. He defeated elder Shi Wu without breaking a sweat. Sigh, If Shi Wu dies, I would lose a tribe elder, I would have to face the accusations and fury of my brothers when I return!" @@novelbin@@

But unexpectedly, Fang Yuan did not attack anymore.

"You are but a rank three, if I use rank four cultivation to kill you, others might think that I, the great Chang Shan Yin, am bullying the weak. Leave." Fang Yuan waved his hand.

"Uncle Chang Shan Yin! You cannot spare this scoundrel." Behind him, Ge Guang shouted.

But Fang Yuan ignored him.

Shi Wu reacted quickly, getting up and showed an expression of joy as he escaped death: "Thank you lord for sparing my life, thank you lord for sparing my life."

Fang Yuan frowned: "Scram."

"Yes, yes, yes." Shi Wu turned and left.

"Senior, I'll take my leave." Man Duo paid respects and rode his battle horse. Ge tribesmen mocked and scolded them as they left with great humiliation.

...

"Father, I have failed you, I am here to ask for punishment." Man Duo kneeled on the ground, lowering his head in shame and fear.

Man tribe leader had a muscular body, having rank four peak stage cultivation. He sat on the tiger skin chair grandly as he looked at Man Duo below his feet: "This time, old Ge tribe leader was bedridden, and you brought multiple rank three experts, how did you fail? You did badly for sure, but I heard news that Ge tribe brought out another rank four expert?"

"That is indeed so. Shi Wu was defeated by him. This person only displayed a bit of his actual strength, and he managed to toy around with our strongest elder Shi Wu, his true ability was unfathomable. However, I was in charge of this matter, it was my fault for not getting enough information, resulting in this failure. This child is very ashamed, I implore father to punish me!" Man Duo's eyes were red as he said in a sobbing manner.

Man tribe leader heard this and his tone relaxed: "Stand up, although you failed, you are still my son. Tell me about the incident."

Man Duo quickly spoke, describing the scenario that happened that day.

But when he had just started, Man tribe leader jumped up from his chair, staring fiercely at Man Duo: "He said he is Chang Shan Yin? Which Chang Shan Yin? Are you sure his name is Chang Shan Yin?"

"I would not dare to lie to father even with ten thousand guts." Man Duo quickly explained.

Man tribe leader was in a daze.

"Father, father." Man Duo called him softly: "Is this Chang Shan Yin an expert with a great background?"

Man tribe leader recovered from his daze, his expression was solemn: "I can't tell yet, he could be an imposter. But if it is true, then northern plains has another formidable character emerging... You can leave now, I will handle this matter."

Man Duo jumped from shock, his father was an extremely busy man, but now that he was handling this himself, that showed how important this Chang Shan Yin was.

"Chang Shan Yin, Chang Shan Yin, who in the world are you?"

...

A few days later, in Ge tribe.

"A few days ago, it was all thanks for brother Shan Yin's help. This is five hundred thousand primeval stones, it is a token of our gratitude, please accept it." Old Ge tribe leader had a pale expression, he seemed to have aged ten years after losing his daughter.

Fang Yuan rejected it for a few times before accepting it: "These days, I have been staying in your tribe, it is only right that I helped out. But I really lack primeval stones now, I shall borrow these from you for now."

"Brother Shan Yin had great morals, you are truly a hero of northern plains." Old Ge tribe leader was speaking, when his subordinate brought in an invitation, as well as a present.

The old tribe leader's expression was grim, he handed this invitation and present to Fang Yuan: "Brother Shan Yin, Man tribe leader knows you are here, he is inviting you to his tribe as a guest."

-x-X-x-

Fang Yuan took a look at the invitation, the words written were very polite, of course they were written using northern plains characters, they looked wild but profound, and at the end, there was Man tribe leader's name — Man Tu.

This letter was written by Man Tu personally, it showed his sincerity.

The content of the letter was Man tribe leader's admiration towards Chang Shan Yin, and stated that the matter earlier was but a misunderstanding among children, since Chang Shan Yin did not kill the external elder Shi Wu, Man tribe was extremely grateful.

Thus, he was holding a banquet at night, and was sincerely inviting Fang Yuan to come. At the same time, this present was an item to apologise on behalf of Shi Wu, for offending a hero.

Fang Yuan opened it and laughed: "This Man tribe spent a lot of effort."

In the box, there was a hundred bone bamboo Gu.

Evidently, after Man Duo returned, he investigated Fang Yuan clearly, and learnt that he was making purchases in the market.

"Oh brother Shan Yin, I have a favor to ask of you." Old tribe leader spoke.

Fang Yuan waved his hand: "I understand brother, don't worry, I will urge them during the banquet, to reduce the conflicts between both your tribes."

"Ah, my greatest thank to you, brother Shan Yin!" The old tribe leader was very touched, he got up in a hurry and bowed deeply towards Fang Yuan.

There was still some time until the banquet, Fang Yuan sent them off before closing his door.

Fang Yuan sat on the bed, he willed and a light flew out of his aperture.

The weak light dispersed revealing the battle bone wheel.

This rank five Gu is huge, its height was almost at the ceiling, once it appeared, the large room instantly felt cramped.

There were many cracks on the battle wheel, and even some severe scars that threatened to destroy it. The deepest scar was extremely damaging, nearly splitting the wheel into two, only connected by a little bit of white bone. It was a shocking sight.

This rank five Gu worm's luck was not good, after being beaten up by Chang Shan Yin, its original owner Ha Tu Gu died, causing it to become a wild Gu. It had to eat the skeletons on the battleground to barely survive, unable to fix its injuries.

After that, it was attacked by Fang Yuan and Ge Yao together, the Spring Autumn Cicada was a rank six Gu, it could not subdue rank five Gu easily. Fang Yuan could only beat it till its last breath to subdue it.

But precise so, the battle bone wheel was at the brink of destruction, when it appeared, several bone fragments fell off the wheel.

One could say, its situation could not be any worse.

Fang Yuan took out a bone bamboo Gu from the gift box, using Spring Autumn Cicada's aura, he refined it instantly.

This Gu worms was shaped like a finger-bone bamboo, it was pale white and looked like a white candle.

Fang Yuan held the bone bamboo Gu in his hand, as his primeval essence moved according to his will, going out of the aperture towards the underside of his tongue.

The ghost fire Gu was residing at the underside of his tongue, having formed into a blue lump of fire.

Fang Yuan breathed in and blew out.

With a 'huuu' sound, he breathed out a lump of eerie blue ghost fire.

The ghost fire landed on the bone bamboo Gu, slowly burning the top of the bamboo.

Fang Yuan held the bottom of the ghost bamboo Gu like he was holding a candle.

Ghost fire continued to burn, emitting a cold feeling that was chilling to the bone. As the top part of the bone bamboo Gu burnt with ghost fire, it slowly melted and turned into a trace of white bone smoke, floating up.

Fang Yuan placed the bone bamboo Gu closer to the battle bone wheel, and the white bone smoke moved towards the crack of the battle bone wheel like it was sucked over. The battle bone wheel shook slightly as it recovered slowly.

In a while, the eerie blue ghost fire got smaller, as Fang Yuan breathed out another lump of fire to sustain the candle.

After five minutes, this bone bamboo Gu was used up, as Fang Yuan took out the second bone bamboo Gu from the gift box and continued using the ghost fire to ignite it, causing white bone smoke to appear.

As he repeated the cycle, after more than thirty bone bamboo Gu, Fang Yuan finally repaired the deepest crack on that battle bone wheel completely.

The gift box which was filled with bone bamboo Gu had lost about a quarter of them, if Fang Yuan wanted to repair the entire battle bone wheel, just these bone bamboo Gu were not enough.

And the battle bone wheel was far from being usable in battle. @@novelbin@@

The deepest wound was fixed, but the other injuries were still plaguing the wheel.

It was like a patient, after Fang Yuan's resuscitation, it was pulled back from the abyss of death. But this patient was still in grave danger, it needed to continue receiving treatment.

" You cannot get fat from eating one mouthful , battle bone wheel's damage is too severe. But if that was not the case, I would not have been able to subdue it. Even if it is fully fixed now, my primeval essence cannot activate it. There is no rush here."

Fang Yuan got down from the bed, flexing his numb limbs as he opened the windows, it was already dark, the stars were shining in the sky.

"It is time." Thinking of the banquet at night, Fang Yuan stepped out of his room.

As he walked out the courtyard, Man Duo and Ge tribe's father and son were already waiting for him.

"Man Duo greets Lord Chang Shan Yin!" Man Duo saw Fang Yuan and immediately greeted, showing absolute respect.

"Have you all waited for a long time?" Fang Yuan nodded, asking casually.

"Man Duo replied: "It has only been six hours, it is not a problem. It is my great honor to stand before lord's doors. Senior Chang Shan Yin, father has already set up a grand banquet nearby, awaiting your arrival. Ge tribe's father and son will accompany you to this banquet as well."

Fang Yuan looked at this Man Duo, feeling pity in his heart.

This lad was intelligent and capable, but fate toyed with him, giving him poor aptitude, he was just like Fang Yuan in his previous life.

"Alright then, come along." Fang Yuan rode his hump wolf as he left Ge tribe campgrounds with the rest of them.

Man Duo guided the group of about a dozen people as they rode their hump wolves to a faraway place.

The cool night breeze blew past the ears, as the grassland was running in the opposite direction.

Moonlight poured down like water, one could clearly see at a short distance, but from afar, the moonlight looked like a foggy veil. The grass on the ground was oozing with jade-green essence. The mountains looked like they were gradually flowing towards the sky.

Under such a night sky, wolves sprinted on the never-ending land, as the beautiful moon gave an unrestrained sense of freedom!

As everyone sprinted, they saw a group of hump wolves on a mound. There were a group of Gu Masters sitting on the wolves' back. A Gu Master was waving a huge flag in his hands, that had the word 'Man' on it.

After seeing Fang Yuan, the group of Gu Masters rode the hump wolves as they came over.

Man Duo saw this and laughed: "Lord Chang Shan Yin, my father is the one ahead, he is here to welcome you."

This was the custom of northern plains — if an esteemed guest was invited, the host would often travel ten li, to greet them.

The two groups of hump wolves met in the middle.

Man tribe leader got off his wolf, laughing as he walked over: "Hahaha, today's moon is as bright as the sun, this is the radiance to welcome the return of northern plain's hero. Lord Chang, I have heard so much about you."

Man tribe leader was nine feet tall, he was extremely muscular and strong. He wore a loose sleeveless fur robe, showing his two shoulders, his ancient-bronze colored arms were thicker than a normal male's leg.

But just as he finished his sentence, it seemed like heaven played prank on him.

The night sky was covered by some dark clouds, as the moonlight vanished, causing the grassland to sink into darkness.

Man tribe leader's loud laughter became softer, as he felt extremely awkward.

It was Man Duo who was quick-witted, immediately laughing as his eyes rolled: "Senior Chang Shan Yin is our northern plains' great hero. Father, you are the most respected hero in our Man tribe. Tonight is a meeting of heroes! Look, the great aura of heroes caused heaven to tremble, causing winds and clouds to stir!"

His words caused the awkwardness to fade away, as Man tribe leader's expression returned to normal as he walked to Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan and the others also got off the wolves.

Man Tu first gave Fang Yuan a deep greeting, as Fang Yuan placed his right hand as his chest to return the greeting.

Next, Man Tu stared at Man Duo intentionally, using a scolding tone: "Nonsense! How can I compare to Lord Chang. Lord Chang was renowned in northern plains as the Wolf King, he dominated the world with his wolf enslavement skill. He even killed the rank five Gu master Ha Tu Gu, eliminating a bunch of bandits and got rid of a great evil, causing his name to go down his history."

"Hehehe, tribe leader Man Tu, why are you so humble?" Fang Yuan laughed lightly: "You are Man tribe leader, ruler of near a thousand Gu Masters. You are a true conqueror, leading Man tribe to many victories, and you even control Hong Yan valley, you are the overlord of this area. My cultivated had fallen to rank four initial stage, while you are at peak stage, you surpass me greatly. Although I have wolf enslavement skill, I can only control beasts, unlike you who control people, our difference is night and day. Tribe leader Man Tu is the true heroic conqueror!"

Man Tu was stunned.

The Wolf King was well-known for his aloofness and arrogance, he was hard to talk to, to think he was so talkative now, and showed such a humble attitude.

But he understood quickly after thinking about it.

This Chang Shan Yin was famous when he was young, with the nature of a young man, he was arrogant. Now that he was a middle-aged man, and had gotten into such trouble, his nature was had already been refined, it was normal for him to be more composed now.

Man Tu did not expect Fang Yuan to be so approachable, but to receive such praise from Wolf King Chang Shan Yin, he was secretly happy.

He thought even more highly of Fang Yuan in his heart now.

Although his cultivation was rank four initial stage, he had once killed the rank five Ha Tu Gu, Man Tu did not dare to underestimate him.

He laughed and said: "Lord Chang was already rank four peak stage twenty years ago. Even though your cultivation fell due to injuries, you can still recover quickly, or even surpass your former cultivation. By then, how would my cultivation be your match?"

At this time, the dark clouds dispersed and moonlight shone down again.

"Hehehe, the two of you are the current hero and conqueror of northern plains." Ge tribe leader spoke at an appropriate timing: "The most valuable thing is that the meeting of tiger and wolf did not lead to a fight, but instead you appreciate each other. We are lucky to witness this, this is truly seeing the moon after the clouds part ."

Such words made everyone laugh.

"Hahaha, brother Ge, your words described the scenery perfectly. Quick, the banquet has already been prepared, it is just nearby!" Man Tu looked at Fang Yuan and made an inviting pose.

He did not set the banquet at his camp, but rushed here to set up the banquet close to Ge tribe camp, it showed his hospitality and sincerity.

"Good, after you!" Fang Yuan laughed and agreed, but his heart tightened.

The dark clouds came and left quickly, it was a peculiar sight. Most likely, Gu Masters were on the move, it has not been a month since he buried fixed immortal travel Gu. The Immortal Gu aura has not faded yet, hopefully a Gu Immortal does not find it.

-x-X-x-

In the night sky, the moon shone brightly.

A large group of dark clouds moved quickly despite looking slow, it moved above Fang Yuan and gang's head, five thousand li towards the south, towards the sky of an unnamed little hill.

Dark clouds covered the beautiful moonlight, casting a large shadow as darkness engulfed this hill.

The dark clouds stopped moving as a sword light flew out from it, it was the flying sword letter Gu.

The flying sword letter Gu shot into the mound, and entered a mysterious space, vanishing.

After a while, the little hill shook, as a bright red light flashed.

The red light was dazzling, like the setting of the sun, it gathered into a lump, like the creation of a red sun.

At once, the radius of a few hundred li was engulfed in bright red light.

From this mini sun, a jade bridge stretched out.

A rank six Gu Immortal, having a youthful appearance and a round and white face, stepped on the bridge and walked out.

He wore a snow fox fur robe, his face was glowing with red light as he looked up at the dark clouds, laughing: "Gui Wang, it has been a while."

Kek kek kek...

Accompanying the terrible sounding laughter, a person emerged from the dark clouds.

He gave off the strong aura of a rank six Gu Immortal, it was Gui Wang.

Gui Wang quickly descended, just as he was about to land on the ground, a large pair of greenish-black bat wings appeared behind his back.

The bat wings flapped as he remained in the air, looking at the rank six Gu Immortal on the bridge.

"Loner Hong Yu, these are the lava bats I promised you, a total of three million and five hundred thousand. Take a look." Gui Wang spoke, his voice was very coarse and unpleasant, it gave people goosebumps.

His appearance was also extremely ugly, messy hair, a high forehead, deep eye sockets, tightly shut eyes, and ears as large as half his brain.

Loner Hong Yu heard this and raised his head, looking at the dark clouds in the sky.

His brown eyes started heating up and turning red, turning into a color resembling heated metal.

His gaze literally became hot, as it pierced through the dark clouds and allowed him to see the countless bats flying inside.

These bats were all dark-red in color, giving off great heat. They screeched as they flew around each other.

Loner Hong Yu looked around as he nodded in satisfaction: "Three and a half million lava bats indeed, with them, my Hong Yu blessed land would not need to get rid of lava into the ground every month, I can benefit from this greatly. I will keep these lava bats."

" Kekekekek ..." Gui Wang laughed heartily, the dark clouds tore open as the bats flew out after losing their restraints.

These bats did not fly around randomly, they quickly descended like a black-red waterfall, entering the sun.

Each blessed land's door was different.

This mini sun was Hong Yu blessed land's entrance.

After these chaotic bats were brought into Hong Yu blessed land, Gui Wang said: "Loner Hong Yu, since you accepted these bats, it means you agreed to barge into Lang Ya blessed land with me."

"Of course, when have I, Loner Hong Yu, ever broken my promise? A month later, we will get to Lang Ya blessed land. But that land spirit is still around, with just the two of us, it might not be enough." Loner Hong Yu said in worry.

"You do not have to worry about this, I have asked the Hua Hai three immortals to help." Gui Wang said.

"Oh? The righteous path's Hua Hai three immortals agreed?" Loner Hong Yu was shocked.

"Hmph, what is righteous, what is demonic? It is but personal interests. Lang Ya blessed land has countless recipes, the Hua Hai three immortals are obviously moved."

"Haha, you are right! I have to make arrangements for these bats, I will not send you off Gui Wang." Loner Hong Yu said.

Gui Wang snorted as his bat wings flapped, bringing his body into the dark clouds as quickly as lightning.

Dark clouds moved, flying towards the north, covering the moon in its path.

As it entered poison grassland's sky, the cloud stopped, Gui Wang stopped and showed some confusion: "Eh? What's going on! There is the aura of an Immortal Gu?"

He showed a look of disbelief as he landed, the place he was standing at was the location where Fang Yuan and Ge Yao first met.

"Although the Immortal Gu's aura is already extremely weak, it is a real Immortal Gu! Strange, there is the aura of an Immortal Gu, but no Gu Immortal's aura. Is this a wild Immortal Gu? No, that's not right, this is man-made. That means, a mortal obtained an Immortal Gu?"

Gui Wang thought about this and felt great excitement.

Fifty years had already passed since he rose to Gu Immortal realm, yet he still had no Immortal Gu, forced to use rank five Gu worms only.

Immortal Gu were extremely rare, many Gu Immortal live their entire life without having a single one.

"Don't tell me, after working hard for half my life, my luck is finally here?" An Immortal Gu's allure was overwhelming, Gui Wang's heart was palpitating.

He flapped his wings, following the Immortal Gu's aura as he flew over.

He wanted to search for the Gu using the trail of aura.

After a moment, he stopped, the sea of ghost face sunflowers was before him.

"To think there are so many ghost face sunflowers here, kekekek , they are mine!" Gui Wang laughed coldly, although his eyes were closed, it did not obstruct his vision.

He willed and the dark cloud which accompanied him started rolling, as it descended like a huge beast, biting the large field of sunflowers.

Immediately, countless ghost face Gu flew up as numerous ghost cry Gu started to shriek.

"Nether ghost claw!" Gui Wang stretched out his hand and a huge green claw shadow appeared, scooping up these ghost cry Gu and ghost face Gu.

At once, many wild Gu were caught.

A moment later, the dark clouds flew into the sky again, the sea of sunflowers was gone, only a huge crater was left in the ground.

"Great harvest." Gui Wang's mood was good, compared to the Immortal Gu, this was a small appetiser.

After leaving the newly created hole, Gui Wang frowned: "What's going on? The Immortal Gu's aura weakened? Don't tell me, it's sealed?"

He continued flying forward, trailing after fixed immortal travel Gu's aura, he was extremely fast.

After fifteen minutes, his eyebrows raised: "The Immortal Gu's aura moved from the ground to the air, how can this be?"

He looked around, and after a few breaths' time, he understood.

"I see, this is the earth spike rats' territory, this mortal Gu Master flew across it. Heh, his Gu worms are not bad, actually having a flying Gu."

Gui Wang snickered as he spread his wings and flew into the air.

He followed Fang Yuan's previous path, meeting the shadow crows along the way.

"A bunch of small birds." Gui Wang snorted, his body shook slightly as a hundred pale wandering ghosts flew out.

Rank five, hundred ghost night travel Gu!

The wandering spirits flew around, knocking into the shadow crows and smashing their soul to bits. The shadow crows' bodies were unharmed, but they fell down and were dismembered by the earth spike rats.

Gui Wang went on a slaughtering spree, as this area's blood smell intensified, causing more shadow crows to come and scavenge for food. At the same time, the entire earth spike rat group was alerted, they pierced out of the ground attempting to attack Gui Wang.

Gui Wang chuckled, activating hundred ghost night travel Gu and several hundred ghost face Gu.

At once, numerous spirits and souls flew in the air, different ghost faces danced in the air, like a stone mill crushing everything in its path.

Hundreds to thousands of shadow crows fell onto the ground like dumpling entering a pot. The earth spike rats feasted upon their bodies, but the wandering spirits and ghost faces caused damage to them as well.

Earth spikes hit Gui Wang's body one after another, but were repelled by the black light on his body. Other than that, many shadow crows assaulted him with their steel claws.

Gui Wang neither dodged nor avoided, he flew straight ahead.

If it was a rank five Gu Master, under such circumstances, facing numerous attacks every second, he would run out of primeval essence after a moment.

But Gu Immortals had immortal essence, one bead of green grape immortal essence could be diluted into a large amount of primeval essence, it could fill the entire blessed land for tens of years, even a hundred years without vanishing.

This meant that every Gu Immortal had endless primeval essence that they could use, able to use rank five Gu without stopping!

After thousands of shadow crows were sacrificed, the shadow crows retreated in fear.

Gui Wang did not chase them, after flying past the earth spike rats' territory, he landed at the place Fang Yuan landed.

This was where Fang Yuan used dusty Gu on bright pearl Gu.

"The aura thinned again! How can a mortal seal an Immortal Gu? No, there is another possibility, that is this Immortal Gu is heavily injured on the verge of death! I have to hurry." Gui Wang felt a strong sense of pressure as he continued flying close to the ground.

Using another rank five Gu worm to accelerate, he raised his speed again.

Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the battlefield where Chang Shan Yin and Ha Tu Gu fought to their deaths.

Here, Fang Yuan took out Chang Shan Yin's corpse and used dark toss Gu to suppress fixed immortal travel Gu's aura again.

Sensing that the Immortal Gu's aura was near indiscernible, Gui Wang's patience reached its limits. He stopped for a moment, using his investigative Gu to scan the surrounding, continuing on his journey after having no discoveries.

"This Immortal Gu will be mine. Be it dead or alive, I must see it!" Gui Wang flew close to the ground, swearing in his heart.

...

The banquet had already been going on for a long time, there were young women dancing, delicious wine and food to consume, under this lively atmosphere, Fang Yuan had already formed a brotherly relationship with Man Tu.

"Brother Man Tu, I offer you a toast. I hope that you can do me a favor and mend your relationship with Ge tribe." Fang Yuan raised his wine cup and drank.

Man Tu showed a look of difficulty, after drinking the wine in his cup, he said: "I would not dare to refuse brother Chang's wine, but Hong Yan valley is a small place, we Man tribe expanded quickly and now our numbers are huge. If we have to provide for another Man tribe, I'm afraid... Moreover, Ge tribe went back on their words, the promised wedding was delayed and even fell through. We are truly angry and disappointed!"

Man Tu sounded angry but he already had a scheme in his heart.

He wanted to absorb Ge tribe, but he could not find an excuse. At the same time old Ge tribe leader was a rank four Gu Master, with him still around, Man tribe could not take them down easily.

Thus, when Man Duo proposed the wedding, he agreed immediately.

Next, with news of Ge Yao's death from Ge tribe, Man Tu did not believe. In his opinion, this was an excuse of Ge tribe after they realized Man Tu's intention of devouring them!

-x-X-x-

Speaking about Ge tribe, the lively banquet atmosphere turned cold.

Old Ge tribe leader quickly stood up and gave an explanation.

Ge Guang stood at one side, looking at his father, he felt bitter and pained.

His sister was dead, his father was grieving, he wished none of this was real. But now, he had to explain to outsiders, proving to them that his daughter was truly dead.

This was such a painful torture.

While Man Tu listened to their explanations, he refused to accept it.

Chang Shan Yin was a righteous hero, and also the genius Gu Master that Chang tribe nurtured back in the day. After he killed Ha Tu Gu and the bandits, he was praised by the people, and with his great reputation, he was known by almost everyone in northern plains.

Thus, to give Chang Shan Yin face , Man Tu gave them his full attention.

But even if Chang Shan Yin's reputation was five or six times higher than now, it could not match the benefits of him absorbing Ge tribe. Now that he had a proper excuse to do so, Man Tu would not let go of it so easily

Thus, he 'patiently' listened to Ge tribe leader's explanation before looking at his third son.

Man Duo laughed coldly in his heart, standing up.

He bowed deeply at Fang Yuan, before taking out a Gu worms in public: "Please take a look Senior Chang."

This Gu looked like a butterfly, its long body was like an incense stick, with its tail still burning with thick smoke. The smoke changed into rainbow-like colors at times, while being colorless and odorless at times.

"Is this, the chase smoke Gu from ancient times?" Fang Yuan's gaze shone.

Man Duo was stunned, using a tone of admiration: "Senior is absolutely right, this junior is in awe of senior's knowledge. I obtained this Gu by chance, as long as one is stained by this smoke, it would not dissipate for months, it is perfect for finding someone's traces."

After pausing for a while, he continued: "To speak the truth, when junior first saw Ge Yao, I used this Gu on her. Now, as long as we activate this smoke Gu, the traces will appear and we can see it clearly."

Man Duo had a smug expression as he continued: "Ge tribe leader, if we use this Gu, and find Ge Yao hiding in your tribe's campgrounds, what will we do?"

He wanted to devour Ge tribe, he obviously had plans. This chase smoke Gu was suggested by Man Duo, to think that it would actually be used like this.

Facing Man Duo's threat, Ge tribe father and son relaxed in their heart.

This chase smoke Gu was good, once it was used, the truth of their words would be attested to without doubt.

But Fang Yuan's heart jumped, this chase smoke Gu could stain people who got close to it. He had once been in close proximity with Ge Yao, and even hugged her. With this smoke, wouldn't he be exposed?

What now?!

Fang Yuan did not expect this, his heart was sinking.

The Gu worm set on him was Chang Shan Yin's enslavement path Gu worms, it was good at huge battles, but had little use for personal fights.

At this banquet, he was only rank four initial stage, but Man tribe and Ge tribe leader had higher cultivation. There were even several elders and guards with rank three cultivation.

Even if he brought the wolves over, two to three thousand ordinary wolves could not turn this situation around!

At once, Fang Yuan's mind worked at lightning speed, all sorts of possibilities appeared as they sparked like flint.

Soon after, he laughed heartily: "This is great. With the chase smoke Gu to certify, the truth will be out. Junior, quickly use it."

He wanted to stall for time or reject the use of it, but that was impossible. Firstly, he as an outsider rejecting the use of chase smoke Gu was very strange, it was almost admitting his guilt. Secondly, be it Man tribe or Ge tribe, they both wanted to use chase smoke Gu to confirm some details, there was no way to change their minds now. Thirdly, chase smoke Gu was in the hands of someone else, even if Fang Yuan objected to it, could he stop Man tribe from using it?

Thus, Fang Yuan took the initiative to urge him, giving them an impression of being open and fearless.

Hearing Fang Yuan's words, Man Tu was overjoyed: "Since brother Chang Shan Yin has said it, son, use it."

But Man Duo was not happy, he observed the people's expressions, and realized that Man tribe father and son were looking forward to this.

"Is Ge Yao really dead?" Man Duo controlled his uneasiness and willed, activating this chase smoke Gu.

At once, the colorless and odorless smoke appeared in the air, turning black.

"Hmm?"

"Eh, what's going on?"

"This is..."

As expected, there was a thick cloud of smoke on Fang Yuan, in this illuminated banquet, it was very eye-catching.

At once, everyone's gaze was on him!

The lively atmosphere immediately turned solemn, no one said a word, there was a heavy mood in everyone.

Fang Yuan frowned, his expression was a combination of shock and surprise, it made people think he was innocent.

As if he thought that he was not eye-catching enough, Fang Yuan stood up from among the crowd, leaving his seat as he walked around. The black smoke trailed after him, forming a black smoke tail behind Fang Yuan.

Man Duo's gaze flickered as Man Tu said happily: "That means brother Chang Shan Yin has met Ge Yao, and even had close interaction with her!"

Old Man tribe leader had a complicated expression as he looked at Fang Yuan with a uncertain gaze.

Ge Guang was still young, he was not composed enough as he stood up from his seat, staring at Fang Yuan in suspicion, asking: "Uncle Chang Shan Yin, what is going on? Did you meet my sister Ge Yao when you were in poison grassland?"

Fang Yuan's expression was solemn, he did not explain himself, but walked back to his seat, saying seriously: "To speak the truth, you are suspicious, but so am I, why is there so much smoke following me?"

Man Duo said sinisterly: "Senior Chang is a great hero of northern plains, I would not dare to come up with a conjecture for your suspicions.

"Senior Chang Shan Yin!" Ge Guang could not hold it any longer, he stared at Fang Yuan with a flickering gaze.

Fang Yuan heard him and looked at Ge Guang in the eye with no guilt, then turning to old Ge tribe leader: "Brother Ge, you know my character. I swear in the name of the Wolf King, I did not meet your daughter in poison grassland!"

Ge tribe leader placed his right hand at his chest, making a great gesture with a solemn expression: "Brother Chang Shan Yin, we hit it off so well when we first met, I believe your words!"

Ge Guang by the side wanted to speak but he controlled himself.

Fang Yuan obviously understood that these words were not enough to dispel their suspicions. Immediately after, he frowned, showing a thinking expression, saying: "I slept for twenty years, after I woke up, I left poison grassland. Along the way, I subdued many poison beard wolves, during the cold nights, I rest on the fur of my wolves to gain warmth. Most likely, one of the wolves ate brother's daughter, and thus, the smoke was passed to me when we made contact."

"Is that so?" Ge Guang gritted his teeth, his gaze flickering continuously.

Fang Yuan's explanation made perfect sense, he was the first person who saw Fang Yuan leave poison grassland, when he saved him from the wind wolf group, he was manipulating the poison beard wolves.

"We can get to the truth easily, my wolf pack is still resting in Ge tribe's ranch, can everyone follow me to the ranch, and we will be able to see the truth." Fang Yuan suggested.

This suggestion made everyone interested.

"Then we will go ahead with this?" Man Tu turned his gaze at Ge tribe father and son, he still did not believe Ge Yao was dead.

Old Ge tribe leader stood up: "Let's go, we can be the witnesses."

Everyone rode their hump wolves towards Ge tribe's ranch.

Fang Yuan's wolf pack was resting inside, they were strong and fit.

Under the night sky, the poison beard wolves were more energetic.

Using the chase smoke Gu's black smoke, the group successfully found out that a few of the poison beard wolves had much thicker smoke than Fang Yuan.

Oh longevity heaven, with the blessing of our ancestors, the murderer of my daughter was here all along!" Ge tribe leader saw this and cried in pain, he next bowed deeply at Fang Yuan, just as he was about to speak, Fang Yuan stopped him.

"Brother Ge, I know what you want to say. These poison beard wolves are yours to deal with." Fang Yuan said.

Old Ge tribe leader cried tears of gratitude: "Benefactor Chang Shan Yin, thank you! You not only saved my son, but you also brought the murderer of my daughter here. You are the closest friend of our Ge tribe for eternity!"

Ge Guang was silent.

It was true that Fang Yuan saved him, but this was not enough to certify that he was innocent. If Chang Shan Yin killed his sister and ordered the poison beard wolves to consume his sister's corpse, that would also cause this result.

Man Tu was panicking at the side.

From start to end, he did not believe Ge Yao is dead.

If Ge tribe discovered the chase smoke Gu and cooperated with Ge Yao to fake this, it was very easy.

Thus, he spoke: "Ge tribe leader, you have truly misunderstood brother Chang Shan Yin. Brother Chang is a great hero of northern plains, he is such an admirable person, how could he commit such a sinful act? The way I see it, we should follow this chase smoke Gu into poison grassland and continue to collect evidence to clear brother Chang's name!"

He wanted to use Fang Yuan as an excuse to find out the truth, whether Ge Yao was really dead or not.

If Ge Yao entered poison grassland, there would surely be a trail of smoke along the way.

But at this time, Ge Guang spoke: "No need for that, I have a way to prove uncle Chang Shan Yin's innocence. Father, back then when you prepared a set of precious water path Gu worms for sister, you used the rank five hints and clues Gu on them. Sister knows this, thus if she is killed, she will follow your instructions to keep these Gu worms intact, leaving them for her murderer. This way, we can find her killer and exact revenge for her. As long as you take out that hints and clues Gu, that will be the best proof."

Saying so, Ge Guang looked deeply at Fang Yuan.

-x-X-x-

Gui Wang moved quickly along the way, following the faint Immortal Gu aura to a stalk of snow spirea.

"The Immortal Gu's aura stopped here, the trail ends here!" Gui Wang's gaze was anxious as he searched all around the snow spirea.

"No? No Immortal Gu! The snow spirea's snow wash Gu was already taken, obviously someone came here. But why is there no Immortal Gu? If the Immortal Gu continued moving, its aura would move too. But this aura ended here, is the Immortal Gu dead?" Gui Wang had a guess.

But he refused to believe this, he used his investigative Gu and searched the entire place thoroughly.

"No, there's nothing here!" Gui Wang gritted his teeth, his heart was filled with indignance and regret.

"Wait!" Suddenly, his gaze turned ruthless as he thought of a possibility: "At the center of this poison grass land is Zi Du blessed land, the rank seven Gu Immortal Lady Poison Scorpion lives in it. Did she take the Immortal Gu? A mortal's aperture cannot hold an Immortal Gu, but a Gu Immortal's aperture can. After the Immortal Gu enters the aperture, the aura would stop leaking. In that case, this would be the most logical explanation!"

"That means Lady Poison Scorpion stayed home and had an Immortal Gu arrive at her doorsteps? Damn it, curses!" Gui Wang stomped his foot, he would rather believe that the Gu was taken by Lady Poison Scorpion than the fact that it could have died.

But he would never guess that the real Immortal Gu did not die, but instead Fang Yuan used iron cabinet Gu to seal its aura before backtracking and burying the Gu along the way.

Gui Wang followed the aura's trail, moving forward, as Fang Yuan controlled the sealing, the Gu worm's aura weakened as he followed it, this created a speculation.

Gui Wang wanted to chase after the Gu, he would never have guessed that along the way, the fixed immortal travel Gu was buried somewhere.

When he thought of Lady Poison Scorpion, jealousy and hatred forced his speculations to hit a dead end. @@novelbin@@

"Lady Poison Scorpion is a rank seven Gu Immortal, she is very strong. I can gather the Hua Hai three immortals and Loner Hong Yu to attack Lang Ya blessed land, that is because of the promised benefits. I do not have the bargaining chips to get them to attack Zi Du blessed land as well. This is so hateful! If I came ten days ago, the Immortal Gu might have been mine."

"Looking at the time, Zi Du blessed land is about to open its doors and expel the poisonous gas inside, I am not her match, I should leave now."

Gui Wang stomped his feet and flew into the air, entering the dark clouds.

The dark cloud moved around as Gui Wang looked around with indignance, only after a long while did he fly back to his home.

...

This was destined to be a busy night, at Ge tribe ranch, everyone's attention was on Fang Yuan.

If Fang Yuan killed Ge Yao and took her Gu, the hints and clues Gu would cause him to be exposed.

Fang Yuan's earlier lie would be exposed as well — if you did not meet Ge Yao, why do you have her Gu?

By then, no explanations would work!

"Son!" Ge tribe leader stared angrily at Ge Guang, extremely furious: "Benefactor Chang Shan Yin is so righteous and upright, how can you be suspicious of him?! Quickly kneel down and kowtow to our benefactor to ask for forgiveness!"

"Father." Ge Guang was shocked, he did not expect Ge tribe leader's reaction.

Wasn't he always trying to get revenge for sister? Father missed out one point so I pointed it out for him, what did I do wrong?

At one side, Man tribe father and son started watching this show as bystanders.

"Brother Ge, your son had said that, you do have a hints and clues Gu right?" Fang Yuan's expression was calm, his gaze clear as water: "Then please take it out and activate it."

"This..." Old Ge tribe leader hesitated.

"Brother Ge, if you have a method to prove my innocence, why are you still hiding it? Hahaha, I am overjoyed by it." Fang Yuan smiled warmly.

Ge tribe leader observed his expression for a while, then looked at Man tribe's father and son. The two were staying silent, quietly watching this, but their gazes had deep meaning in them.

"Nevermind, since benefactor Chang Shan Yin insists, I will go ahead with it." Ge tribe leader gritted his teeth and took out hints and clues Gu.

This Gu was shaped like a black spider, it was fist-sized and was plump. Eight hairy black legs with shiny tips, resembling water chestnuts.

Ge tribe leader injected primeval essence, and hints and clues Gu's body gave out a faint white light. Within five hundred li, if there were Gu worms that were marked by the Gu Master, it would emit a red light and point in their direction. If the Gu Master was hiding the Gu worms inside their aperture, this range would be only within a thousand steps, but it stayed in Ge tribe leader's hand without having any changes.

Seeing this, Ge Guang kneeled on the ground with a plop and kowtowed to Fang Yuan: "Uncle Chang Shan Yin, I was wrong! I wanted to get to the bottom of the matter and offended you. Please punish me!"

"Quickly get up, I have to thank you for proving my innocence, what wrong did you do?" Fang Yuan smiled faintly as he helped Ge Guang get up.

...

Rewinding back to the day when Fang Yuan killed Ge Yao.

Before death, the young girl cried: "Chang Shan Yin! I don't know how I am blocking your path to success. But now, even if you kill me, I do not hate you. Maybe you are seeking revenge? I will leave all my Gu worms to you, I hope they can be of some use for your path to success."

" Cough cough... " The girl coughed out blood and begged Fang Yuan with a grieved smile, "I am going to die, but before I die, I have a small favor to ask. I hope you can hug me, I really want to feel your warm embrace..."

However, Fang Yuan did not move, his gaze coldly looking at the girl.

He looked at the girl and saw her expression becoming stiffer as vitality left her bit by bit.

Finally, the flower-like girl became an ice-cold corpse.

Fang Yuan fell into a long silence as he looked at Ge Yao's face.

"She gave all her Gu to me? What is the meaning of this?"

"She loved Chang Shan Yin indeed, but how can she not hate me for killing her? Her love was only a young girl's affection, breeding for only a few days. Her hatred was due to the loss of her life, the hatred of being killed. It is evident which is a stronger emotion."

"Heh! This girl is still too young, her acting is terrible, how can she hide that hatred in her eyes when she spoke to me? Although I lack Gu worms, and her Gu worms are all of high quality, she intentionally left them for me... to play it safe, I should not take them."

Next, Fang Yuan willed, and the poison beard wolves moved, devouring her corpse until nothing was left.

From start to end, he did not touch the Gu worms in Ge Yao's aperture at all.

"Seeing this result, Ge tribe leader breathed out a sigh of relief, praising Fang Yuan continuously: "Brother Chang Shan Yin, I have learnt much today. You are indeed a great hero of the grassland, your conduct is like tonight's moon, pure like water, with no impurities. No matter how dirty the floor is, it will not pollute the moon. No matter how thick the clouds are, they will not hinder your radiance. We Ge tribe owe you a great deal, my son was rash and suspected you. We only have this rank five hints and clues Gu, I will give it to you today as an apology, please accept it, otherwise, I will not be able to sleep properly."

Rank five Gu was hard to come by, but under everyone's gaze, Ge tribe leader handed it over to Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan rejected it for a few times, but Ge tribe leader was very insistent, he had "no choice" but to accept it.

Just like this, Fang Yuan obtained his second rank five Gu in northern plains.

Next, everyone continued the banquet until late into the night, as they parted happily under the moon.

Man Tu invited Fang Yuan earnestly to be a guest as his tribe. But Fang Yuan said that he was going to leave not long later, to join the heroes assembly. But before leaving, he would go visit Man tribe first.

Looking at Fang Yuan and Ge tribe's father and son leave on their hump wolves, Man Tu's smile vanished and his expression turned ugly.

"It seems this Ge Yao is dead without doubt." Man Tu's tone was gloomy.

"Father, no need to fret." Man Duo at the side snickered: "This Ge tribe wants to make use of Hong Yan valley, he has to beg us, they have nowhere to run."

Listening to his son's words, Man Tu's expression relaxed, he patted Man Duo's shoulders: "You are right, I was too obsessed with it. These years, Man tribe had been expanding, you have contributed greatly to it. But you are only C grade in aptitude, your talent is insufficient, when father retires, and your elder brother takes charge of Man tribe, you have to assist him well."

"Yes father, do not worry." Man Duo replied curtly and positively, but he was snorting in his heart.

He was also his father's son, why can't he compete for the leader's role, why must he give it to his brother? Because of aptitude, he cannot become the tribe leader?

No!

"If elder brother ascended to the position of tribe leader, he will kill me. Sigh, what a pity, I wanted to marry Ge Yao to make Ge tribe part of my force, with this relationship tying us together. But heaven played a joke on me, Ge Yao actually died!"

...

"Unfilial son, kneel down!" Once they got into the secret room, with only the two of them left, Ge tribe leader's expression sank as he screamed at Ge Guang.

"Father!" Ge Guang was shocked, he did not understand why his father was so furious, but he subconsciously kneeled down first.

"Father, I am your son, you can scold or beat me, as long as your anger fades. But I have a request, I hope that father can tell me why you are so furious after you calm down. I will change and no longer make you angry." Ge Guang said.

Ge tribe leader laughed coldly, standing before Ge Guang and pointing at his nose: "I know you feel very indignant, let father tell you the reason, to let you know the immense danger we were in tonight! Did you really think Man Duo proposed to your sister because of her good looks?"

Ge Guang was stunned: "Was that not the case? Ge Yao was the beauty of our tribe, so many youngsters were chasing after her."

"Bullshit!" Ge tribe leader howled: "Beauty is just the icing on top of authority. Man Duo has Man Tu behind him, his objective is to devour our Ge tribe, that is why Man Tu supported Man Duo greatly to marry your sister."