182 RI
Even though Hei Lou Lan obtained a lot of resources, and her greatest weakness was alleviated, her gains in dao mark were very little.
Making an estimation, it was less than thirty percent of the immortal aperture's dao marks.
She skipped more than ten calamities and tribulations directly.
This was an immeasurable loss to Hei Lou Lan!
Because of her having one of the ten extreme physiques, every time she underwent tribulation, it would be extremely strong. Fortune and disaster came together, whenever she succeeded in passing the tribulation, the dao marks that she gained would be much greater in number.
More than ten calamities and tribulations, it was not just earthly calamities, but a heavenly tribulation as well!
Considering this, her losses were huge.
Even though undergoing tribulation was a dangerous thing, for a bold and fierce character like Hei Lou Lan, she was not afraid of difficulties, she was only afraid of being ordinary.
"Even if I am unwilling, what can I do? I am stuck deep in the abyss, it is not up to me..." Hei Lou Lan sighed internally.
Ying Wu Xie observed her appearance, seeing Hei Lou Lan's gloomy expression, he smiled internally as he said: "Alright, let's continue traveling."
The group passed the icy tunnel, getting even deeper into the mountain.
Eventually, they arrived in front of a wall of ice.
Through the white wall of ice, the immortals could see countless hearts inside.
These hearts were blue, there were about at least a thousand of them.
Bai Ning Bing did not know of them.
But Tai Bai Yun Sheng screamed: "Oh heavens, these are ice hearts, they are all ice hearts."
Hei Lou Lan's expression also changed: "Not just ice hearts, there are twin ice hearts, the latter is a rank seven immortal material, and in such quantity."
Even the normally quiet Shi Nu gasped: "Unimaginable, Jade Pot Mountain actually has such an abundance of wealth. If Southern Border's Gu Immortals knew about this, a storm would be whipped up, in order to fight for these ice hearts, they would fight until rivers of blood flowed!"
Jade Pot Mountain was not uninhabited, there was a village on the mountain, with the surname Yu.
Jade Pot Mountain produced jade stones and jade Gu, Yu clan village relied on these resources for survival.
Among mortal forces, Yu clan village, which had many rank five Gu Masters, was very powerful. But to Gu Immortals, they were not worth mentioning.
Who could have thought that Jade Pot Mountain, controlled by a mortal force, could have such a quantity of rare immortal materials stacked together!
Ying Wu Xie sighed deeply: "Jade Pot Mountain is nothing special on the surface, it is easy to ignore. Even my Shadow Sect also found this place due to a fortuitous encounter. But the ice hearts formed naturally here are not so high in quantity. My Shadow Sect's Gu Immortals had secretly set up a Gu formation to turn this place into a Gu breeding ground."
"In the past, this place had nurtured ice heart Gu, but they had been taken away. There is still one ice heart Immortal Gu here, it was not ready earlier, but now it has completely formed. Bai Ning Bing, come here and retrieve this wild Immortal Gu using the method I taught you."
"Alright!" Bai Ning Bing said without hesitation.
She took large steps ahead.
Next, using Ying Wu Xie's instructions, she stretched out both hands and placed them on the wall of ice, which was covered in frost energy.
Without using any defensive methods, Bai Ning Bing's hands were completely frozen, frost energy assaulted her as a thick layer of frost formed on her arms.
Hei Lou Lan saw this and raised her eyebrows.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng wanted to speak, he had an expression of pity.
Ying Wu Xie smiled lightly, Shi Nu was expressionless, not saying a word.
Bai Ning Bing endured the intense pain as frost energy traveled through her body from her arms, soon, she felt her body turning stiff, even her mind was becoming frozen.
The intense threat of death assaulted her in both body and mind.
But she was unmoved.
Inside her clear blue eyes, a firm, determined gaze could be seen, she was even more stubborn and cold than this ice wall.
"Endure it!"
"Even if I die, it is nothing much."
"Hmph, dying from frost like this, it is interesting too isn't it..."
"Furthermore! Shadow Sect suffered a huge blow, they need manpower. Ying Wu Xie tried so hard to recruit me, how could he let me die like this?"
As expected, a change occurred in front of Bai Ning Bing.
Inside the wall of ice, the blue ice hearts were shaking together, the vibrations were small initially, but got more intense with time.
More than ten breaths of time later, the wall of ice made a loud sound, cracks were forming before the immortals' eyes. Soon, they were covering the wall of ice like a spider web, one of the cracks went deep into the interior of the wall.
The aura of Immortal Gu leaked out.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng almost wanted to help out.
This was a wild Immortal Gu, it was very hard to catch, if they did not take action now, it would be too late!
But Ying Wu Xie was unmoved, he watched silently.
Since he kept motionless, Hei Lou Lan and Shi Nu also did not act.
Bai Ning Bing could not move.
She was completely frozen, frost energy had permeated her entire body, she was close to death.
But this person who was dying greatly attracted that wild Immortal Gu which had broken out of the ice.
This wild Immortal Gu flew over slowly, entering Bai Ning Bing's hold.
In the immortals' vision, this Immortal Gu was about the size of a baby's fist, resembling a spider with a white body and eight claws, as well as a back with blue flowery markings that showed the appearance of a vengeful ghost screaming.
Rank six ice soul Immortal Gu!
Bai Ning Bing focused her mind, opening her phantom aperture's entrance.
Ice soul Immortal Gu directly flew in.
When the phantom aperture's entrance closed, Ying Wu Xie immediately acted, healing Bai Ning Bing's injuries, dragging her back from the edge of death.
"Good, ice soul Immortal Gu is already in your aperture, it has nowhere to escape, refining it will be extremely easy." Ying Wu Xie clapped and smiled.
Hei Lou Lan's gaze shined, she suddenly spoke: "I understand, this ice soul Immortal Gu has a close connection to Bai Ning Bing. Because Bai Ning Bing has the Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique!"
"Indeed, the aura of the Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique has an intense attraction to ice soul Immortal Gu. Thus, I asked Bai Ning Bing to capture it without using any defensive methods. It was to completely release the aura of the Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique without any concealment!" Ying Wu Xie nodded, explaining.
"But if Bai Ning Bing's vitality was too high, the wild ice soul Immortal Gu would hesitate. Thus, only when Bai Ning Bing was on the verge of death, would ice soul Immortal Gu feel that she was no threat and go towards her automatically."
"So that's it." Tai Bai Yun Sheng realized.
"Lord Fang Yuan is so wise!" The loyal Shi Nu also said.
"Hahaha." Ying Wu Xie raised his head and laughed: "My Shadow Sect is huge and has many resources, being with me will give you all great benefits. Like this wall of ice, my Shadow Sect had spent a thousand years mimicking a natural environment, creating this Gu refinement ground."
"The cultivation methods that my Shadow Sect has are unimaginable to all of you. If you aptitude is low, we will raise it. If you have few dao marks, we will increase them. Everything is possible."
Hei Lou Lan's heart shook.
Ying Wu Xie's final words were clearly directed at her.
"This fellow, he has learned how to be a true leader, he is really improving rapidly." Before Hei Lou Lan could continue thinking, Ying Wu Xie waved his hand: "We're leaving! Next, we will take over Bai Xiang grotto-heaven!"
Northern Plains.
"I skipped too few calamities and tribulations." Fang Yuan sighed, he was not happy about this.
At almost the same time as Hei Lou Lan, who was unhappy over her major losses, wanting to skip as few calamities and tribulations as possible.
Fang Yuan sighed, the number of calamities and tribulations skipped did not match his expectations.
If possible, he wanted to be a rank seven Gu Immortal at the very next moment!
The endless number of battles in Hei Fan grotto-heaven made Fang Yuan realize his biggest flaw. His cultivation level was too low, his green grape immortal essence was not efficient.
As Fang Yuan's identity got more complex, the dangers he faced also became greater.
In the past, Fang Yuan could control the future well, because he was alone. Now that he had many alliance agreements, he could not help himself.
And with the trip to Eastern Sea, he did not manage to exterminate Shadow Sect, the growth of Ying Wu Xie and the rest made Fang Yuan feel immense pressure.
Thus, he would rather sacrifice his future potential and raise his battle strength rapidly.
"Without the present, how can there be a future?"
"Potential is good, but to have room for development, one needs to spend time."
"The true attitude for cultivation is to be practical, everything is for the sake of our present reality."
Fang Yuan's losses were even more severe than Hei Lou Lan's, but he did not feel any pity or loss, he had a resolute and determined gaze.
"But, Han Dong had already gone through two heavenly tribulations and more than twenty earthly calamities. I annexed his immortal aperture, but I only progressed by four earthly calamities."
"Is this because the sovereign immortal aperture is too big, the effect of skipping calamities and tribulations from annexing immortal apertures is not very evident?"
Fang Yuan thought about it from all angles, he felt that the sovereign immortal aperture was the cause.
Rank six Gu Immortals face an earthly calamity every ten years, and a heavenly tribulation every one hundred years. After three hundred years, after three heavenly tribulations, they would become rank seven.
During this process, if it was split into three, Fang Yuan was nearly one-third done.
"This is not fast enough, I need to hit rank seven as soon as possible, it would give me a huge boost in battle strength in terms of sustainability! Financially, I will also grow rapidly."
"If only Han Dong blessed land is not enough, I will have to annex more immortal apertures."
"Even though the gains in dao marks cannot compare to undergoing tribulation myself, I can save a lot of time, I can deal with challenges and dangers from all aspects more easily now."
"Furthermore, when annexing blessed lands, I get all of their dao marks without any losses. Even though it is still a loss, I just need to kill some Gu Immortals to make up for it!"
Thinking of this, Fang Yuan had a ruthless light flashing in his eyes.
After uncovering another advantage of the sovereign immortal aperture, Fang Yuan discovered a new way to cultivate.
His original method was to go with the natural flow, undergoing tribulations and obtaining a great number of dao marks and true meaning. But this method was too slow, his battle strength rose slowly, what grew the most was his immortal aperture's foundation. It was not suited for Fang Yuan, it would only make his situation more dangerous.
Currently, Fang Yuan was going to use the method of annexing immortal apertures and skipping calamities and tribulations, to rapidly raise his cultivation level. When his cultivation level rises, his battle strength would also rise. Fang Yuan would use his new battle strength to kill more enemies and annex their apertures, to avoid undergoing tribulation himself, it could also allow his immortal aperture's foundation to grow, and he would gain dao marks as well.
This method allowed Fang Yuan's battle strength to grow at the fastest speed, but his immortal aperture's foundation would increase more slowly. But it was suited for Fang Yuan's situation, it allowed him to have a better chance at survival!
Both cultivation methods could create a cycle of benefits for him, they just had their own advantages and strengths.
-x-X-x-
Immortal killer move — Days Pass Like Years!
Countless Gu worms flew in the sky, expending green grape immortal essence as a grand light filled the entire sovereign immortal aperture.
Splash splash splash.
The tributary of the River of Time in the sovereign immortal aperture showed its true form, it could be seen with the naked eye.
Under the power of days pass like years, this tributary of the River of Time shrank, the river surface became thinner.
"Huff—!"
Letting out a breath, Fang Yuan finally relaxed.
"I succeeded, the immortal aperture's rate of time has greatly slowed down. The interval between my calamities and tribulations have lengthened drastically." After confirming that the killer move succeeded, Fang Yuan retracted all of his concentration.
Right now, he was inside his cloud city in Lang Ya blessed land.
After annexing Han Dong blessed land, Fang Yuan immediately returned.
Tai Qiu was too dangerous, while Fang Yuan's Dark Limit had a time-limited effect, heaven's will was plotting to kill Fang Yuan at all times.
Now that his immortal aperture time was slowed down, the following calamities and tribulations were far away.
Fang Yuan felt relaxed all of a sudden, his pressure diminished.
He had undergone careful consideration before making this decision. Since he changed his cultivation method, he did not need to undergo tribulations so frequently. Annexing blessed lands could allow him to skip calamities and tribulations, this effect had nothing to do with the rate of time in his own blessed land.
The most important thing now were blessed lands.
Where could he find more blessed lands?
Fang Yuan first thought of Hu Immortal blessed land and Star Form blessed land in Central Continent.
But soon, he disregarded this unrealistic idea.
It was impossible!
Central Continent was a dangerous territory, the ten ancient sects along with Heavenly Court, which had deeper foundation than Longevity Heaven, would want nothing more than to kill Fang Yuan.
Like how Ying Wu Xie and the rest fled from Central Continent, for Fang Yuan, it was also a death zone.
Some time ago, Star Form blessed land faced its calamities and tribulations, the land spirit wrote to Fang Yuan, sobbing while asking for help, Fang Yuan ignored it, only sending some mortal Gu and immortal essence to the land spirit, asking it to save itself.
Star Form blessed land was in such straits, the exposed Hu Immortal blessed land was even more out of the question.
Fang Yuan thought of Luo Po Valley.
Or more accurately, the location that Luo Po Valley was previously at.
There was an intense battle at Luo Po Valley, with Feng Jiu Ge leading the Central Continent Gu Immortals to fight against Shadow Sect's Northern Plains branch with Qin Bai Sheng as the leader, they went through an intense battle, with victory going to the Central Continent Gu Immortals in the end.
At Luo Po Valley's original location, there were many Gu Immortals' blessed lands.
"These blessed lands are in Northern Plains, can I go over and take them?"
This was an alluring idea, but Fang Yuan hesitated for a while, and soon after, he gave up on this option as well.
Because this choice carried great risks.
Even though this battle was hidden and the Gu Immortals of Northern Plains did not know about it, Central Continent's ten great ancient sects and Heavenly Court knew about it, as well as Shadow Sect themselves.
After Gu Immortals die, blessed lands or grotto-heavens would be formed outside.
These blessed lands or grotto-heavens contain the resources accumulated by the Gu Immortals over their lifetimes, no matter how affluent a force was, they would try all ways to reclaim these resources.
"Since Central Continent could send people to Northern Plains for investigation of Eighty-Eight True Yang Building's collapse, then they can naturally send others to reclaim those blessed lands."
"And Shadow Sect too, would want to take these blessed lands back."
"I did not go there earlier, there is no way I am going there now."
Fang Yuan's decision was very wise.
Because right now, the person secretly helping Central Continent to reclaim these immortal apertures was the rank eight Gu Immortal Prince Feng Xian!
If Fang Yuan was blindly hopeful and went there on his own, Prince Feng Xian would probably laugh even in his sleep, seeing how Fang Yuan went to him on his own without any effort exerted.
Fang Yuan thought of Eastern Sea next.
Eastern Sea's turbulent flow sea area, at its center, there were islands in bubbles.
One of the islands contained the secluded domain of heaven and earth, City Well, and inside City Well, there were lots of Gu Immortals' blessed lands.
These Gu Immortals were all slammed to death by Fang Yuan using the effect of City Well to amplify giant hand's power. He even went inside these blessed lands at the moment they were placed down, and went inside to scavenge for resources.
The most alluring one was Ding Qi blessed land.
Ding Qi was a blood path rank seven Gu Immortal, he self-detonated before dying, not leaving any resources, Immortal Gu, or soul for Fang Yuan, but his immortal aperture remained.
Even though Fang Yuan could annex his immortal aperture, he did not do so on the spot.
Firstly, Ding Qi blessed land's land spirit had a difficult requirement for ownership, it needed Fang Yuan to complete the blood path Immortal Gu recipe of 'Blood Revenge'. If Fang Yuan still had the light of wisdom, he could rapidly complete this. But now, wisdom Gu could not be used, and blood revenge Immortal Gu was less than ten percent complete, if Fang Yuan wanted to complete this Immortal Gu recipe, even with his blood path grandmaster attainment level, he would need to spend a lot of time and effort on it, the cost was not worth the gain.
And secondly, Fang Yuan's previous cultivation method placed emphasis on potential. He went through tribulations one by one, if he annexed Ding Qi blessed land, it would go against his plan.
But now was different.
Firstly, Fang Yuan did not achieve his goal in this Eastern Sea trip, even though he weakened Ying Wu Xie and gang, he did not kill them once and for all. Fang Yuan had a deep understanding of Ying Wu Xie, their development speed surpassed his, the next time they met, he would be on the defensive.
There was also the variant human alliance, Hei Fan grotto-heaven's contest, joining Chu Sect, and the Crazed Demon Agreement that was coming soon, his status was getting more complex. Fang Yuan felt trapped inside a vortex, in lots of situations, he could not do what he wanted, the alliance agreements were restricting his freedom.
Times were different now, as the situation continued to change, Fang Yuan realized he too needed to change.
His cultivation experiences in the five hundred years of his previous life gave him keen instinct towards how he should continue his future developments, as well as impending threats.
He had a strong feeling that if he did not make a change, the future was going to be very bleak!
Realizing the sovereign immortal aperture's special trait in annexing blessed lands was just such an opportunity.
"I am a blood path grandmaster, annexing a rank seven blessed land is not a problem in terms of attainment level. But a smaller immortal aperture cannot devour a bigger one, what does the bigger here mean?"
If it referred to cultivation level, Fang Yuan's rank six immortal aperture could not annex the rank seven Ding Qi blessed land.
But if it referred to the immortal aperture's foundation, then the sovereign immortal aperture could definitely devour the rank seven Ding Qi blessed land easily!
Fang Yuan needed an answer to this question.
It was not hard to get, he just needed to try.
"But other than that, there is another problem, the land spirit's acknowledgment."
"The acknowledgement of Ding Qi land spirit is quite difficult to get, I can't satisfy it currently. But if I attempt to use force, the land spirit would be destroyed, and the blessed land would be destroyed as well, creating the winds of assimilation."
"When these winds of assimilation blow in City Well, will it implicate the other immortal apertures? Will it destroy City Well directly?"
Fang Yuan had thought about this problem back in Eastern Sea.
Thus, he did not forcefully attempt to get those blessed lands.
To destroy the land spirit while keeping the blessed land intact, it would need to absorb a fragment of the immemorial nine heavens.
But only grotto-heavens could absorb fragments of the immemorial nine heavens.
Like Hei Fan grotto-heaven, even though Fang Yuan destroyed the heavenly spirit, it still existed. It was because this grotto-heaven world had absorbed a fragment of the immemorial nine heavens.
But that was not the case for land spirits.
And the turbulent flow sea area was far away in Eastern Sea, taking a journey there and back would use a lot of Fang Yuan's time. Heaven's will might even be plotting to prevent Fang Yuan from obtaining City Well.
Fang Yuan thought about it carefully, he found another problem limiting his annexing of immortal apertures.
It was attainment level.
Fang Yuan was not Spectral Soul Demon Venerable, the latter had high attainment levels in every path, he could easily absorb blessed lands into the sovereign immortal aperture.
But Fang Yuan could not.
"Or rather, Shadow Sect refined sovereign immortal fetus Gu in order to devour immortal apertures?"
Fang Yuan realized that if he did not take sovereign immortal fetus Gu, and allowed Spectral Soul to revive.
Then his development would be at an incredibly shocking speed!
He had the most bloodthirsty nature among the venerables, he had many killer moves, after killing Gu Immortals, he could either take their main path's dao marks and give up on the immortal aperture to raise his dao mark foundation, or annex the immortal aperture and skip calamities and tribulations, resetting the counting of his impending tribulation.
The two methods could be used in conjunction in the most efficient way.
"No wonder Spectral Soul managed to succeed in my previous life!"
"No wonder heaven's will tried all means possible to send me to the past and stop him."
Thinking of this, Fang Yuan's gaze subconsciously moved towards the south.
Towards the direction of Southern Border.
Fang Yuan knew that the giant dream realm was there, a trace of Spectral Soul's remnant soul was there, it was the target that Ying Wu Xie and the rest were desperately trying to save.
"Attainment level... dream realm... Southern Border!" Fang Yuan's body shook, he suddenly thought of something.
The thoughts in his mind became extremely clear at this moment.
"The cultivation opportunity I need is in Southern Border. It is there..."
Snowy Mountain, first peak.
The refinement path Gu formation was still activated.
Lady Wan Shou was energetic, appearing in front of Ma Hong Yun again.
Ma Hong Yun saw her and his hair stood on end, he screamed: "You are here to shock me again, you want to shock me again!"
"Good that you know." Lady Wan Shou smiled, pushing the lightning ball in her hand towards him.
"Ahhhh!" Ma Hong Yun was twitching from the pain, his eyes rolled back but he did not foam saliva from his mouth.
At the same time, his voice was very clear, if one listened closely, it was rhythmic.
All in all, he lasted for a while before fainting.
"His cultivation level rose again? Also, he lasted thirty percent longer this time against the lightning refinement." Lady Wan Shou frowned as she observed.
From the eyes, nose, and ears, blood was flowing out.
This was the backlash of Gu refinement.
But Lady Wan Shou had experienced it many times, she was used to this backlash. Her healing process was also very rapid and efficient.
"It is a bit troublesome. The more times Ma Hong Yun undergoes lightning refinement, the stronger his resistance, and the more likely this crucial step is to fail. What should I do? Change the refinement method? No! If I change the method now, I will need to change the entire Immortal Gu recipe. Half of the materials we found earlier would be unusable. Snowy Mountain cannot bear such a cost anymore."
Lady Wan Shou sighed to herself, feeling extremely worried.
-x-X-x-
Some days later.
Northern Plains, Crazed Demon Cave.
"Liu Guan Yi, we have been waiting for you!" Not Immortal came to the first layer, welcoming Fang Yuan and Chu Du.
The three conversed as they got deeper into the cave.
Fang Yuan discovered that the route this time was slightly different from the previous time he came here.
"Are the demonic sounds recently very frequent?" Fang Yuan asked.
"They are getting more frequent now. Thus, our travel route also has to be modified. Once the demonic sounds start, dao marks will go into chaos. Not only will the desolate beasts go crazy, the terrain will also change." Not Immortal explained.
A moment later, they saw Pang Shan.
Pang Shan woke up from his slumber, his eyes opened slightly: "You are here again, Brother Chu."
He seemed to have a good relationship with Chu Du.
Next, he looked at Fang Yuan: "Brother Liu, I know about your capabilities, let's talk in depth after the Crazed Demon Agreement."
Fang Yuan asked: "How will we establish the Crazed Demon Agreement?"
"We will need to go down to the third last layer, I can't move easily, I will not go with you." Pang Shan said vaguely, his explanation was as good as nothing.
"Follow me." Not Immortal continued to lead the way.
The three immortals continued to go down, the deeper they went, the more turns they had to make, sometimes, the straight distance seemed to be short, but they had to make a long detour.
"Believe me, detours are much faster than walking straight in this place." Not Immortal smiled.
Chu Du nodded, pointing out to Fang Yuan: "When we get there, don't be too surprised."
Fang Yuan felt some curiosity and anticipation.
A while later, through a cavern entrance, Fang Yuan officially stepped into the third last layer of Crazed Demon Cave.
His vision was covered by bright glorious lights.
All sorts of colors were emanated from the rocks, soil, and grass in this place.
Fang Yuan sucked in a deep breath: "This, these are all lights of dao marks! Only quasi-rank nine immortal materials can radiate such lights. The dao marks here are so dense that every piece of soil and rock is a quasi-rank nine immortal material?!"
Not Immortal laughed: "Brother Liu makes sense, but these immortal materials have chaotic dao marks, they cannot be used."
Chu Du saw Fang Yuan's shock and smiled: "Back then, when I first came here, I suffered the same shock."
Not Immortal ended his laughter: "The dao marks here are extremely dense, it is not as simple as just emitting the lights of dao marks! There is almost a state of a battlefield killer move in here, moving here is extremely difficult, Brother Liu, why don't you try?"
Fang Yuan quickly shook his head: "Not Immortal, since you say this, I will believe you. No need to try."
Not Immortal looked at Chu Du, smiling: "Brother Liu is smarter than a certain person. Back then, he refused to believe it, he wanted to charge in, I could not change his mind and in the end, he suffered a lot."
Chu Du rubbed his nose, admitting to Fang Yuan: "Not Immortal is talking about me, I spent three years to recover from that injury. Don't look down at the dao marks here. This place is extremely dangerous, each step you take is precarious! I'll teach you a secret, try to get close to the dao marks of your own path, that can make your traveling easier, and face the least obstruction."
Not Immortal nodded: "That is true, I am a rule path Gu Immortal, I have to try walking on places with more rule path dao marks."
"And I cultivate strength path, I need to get close to the strength path dao marks, thus, in the following journey, we cannot help you, you have to walk on your own, Brother Liu." Chu Du said with concern.
Fang Yuan nodded.
Not Immortal stepped forward first: "I will go first, Brother Liu, watch carefully."
Fang Yuan concentrated as he looked.
Not Immortal's every step was very vigilant, the first ten steps were very easy, he could move calmly, but after ten steps, it became difficult. After twenty steps, his movements were stiff, it was like a formless force was weighing on him. After thirty steps, Not Immortal was perspiring profusely, at the forty-second step, he stopped for the first time, breathing roughly as he turned to ask Fang Yuan: "Brother Liu, did you manage to watch that?"
Chu Du laughed: "Not Immortal! Stop acting, you are clearly unable to continue, you still tried to ask Brother Liu a question to conceal the fact that you stopped."
Not Immortal was exposed, he was embarrassed and snapped: "Oh Chu Du, I want to see how many steps you can take? Can you go as far as me!"
Chu Du snorted: "Would I be afraid of you, watch closely!"
Before he finished his words, he took large steps forward on the dao marks in the area.
Initially, his speed was faster than Not Immortal, he moved like a dragon or tiger, Not Immortal's expression was dark.
But soon, Chu Du took a wrong step and the light of dao marks below him burst out, Chu Du grunted, his body shook as he spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot.
He was heavily injured, his momentum was lost but he did not stop, Chu Du endured his injuries as he continued to walk step by step, as slow as a snail.
Eventually, he took thirty-eight and thirty-nine steps, by the fortieth step, he could no longer continue.
His final burst of strength was used up.
He stopped.
"I could not compare to you after all." Chu Du wiped the blood from his mouth, sighing.
Not Immortal was very shocked, he stared at Chu Du with wide eyes: "Domination Immortal, you actually improved so much since last time! I am ashamed, I have stayed in Crazed Demon Cave for so long, I have walked along this place hundreds of times more than you, I have such a huge advantage but I only managed to take forty-two steps."
Chu Du laughed: "Alright, don't flatter me. I know you did not use your full strength, you are trying to salvage my face?"
Not Immortal did not deny it, he chuckled: "Even so, your improvement is beyond my imagination. You are truly a genius at strength path cultivation, Domination Immortal... indeed, as the saying goes, titles are never wrong."
Chu Du laughed heartily, waving his hand: "Alright, let's stop the flattery, next, we will see Brother Liu's performance."
The two immortals turned around and watched Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan nodded: "Don't laugh at me when I embarrass myself."
"Brother Liu, relax, this is your first time here, you should focus on the feeling of walking here, don't be obsessed over the number of steps." Not Immortal said.
Chu Du laughed instead: "Haha, don't worry brother Liu, I will remember your pathetic state later. I walked twenty-two steps when I first came here, if you cannot beat me, I will laugh at you forever. Haha!"
Fang Yuan laughed too, it was a harmonious scene.
But in truth, he understood internally: "These two are purposely probing me."
"Even though Chu Du recommended me, they are not confident in my ability to explore this place, thus they created this situation."
"They are working together, purposely asking me to walk alone, they want to probe my foundation."
"If I perform too poorly, and am of no help to them, they might not even set the Crazed Demon Agreement with me!"
Involving Limitless Demon Venerable and the secret of eternal life, Fang Yuan made up his mind to put up a good show, to display his strength for Not Immortal and Chu Du.
Fang Yuan's eyes shined with a mysterious light, he breathed in deeply and firmly stood on the ground as he took a step forward.
He chose the route with the most transformation path dao marks.
But at the next moment, Fang Yuan's expression changed.
"Haha." Chu Du observed his expression and laughed at the same time as Fang Yuan's changing expression: "Brother Liu, watching alone is useless, can you feel the pressure already?"
Fang Yuan felt extremely mystified on the inside, but he showed no flaws on his expression.
He did not answer Chu Du, he kept quiet and continued walking forward.
One step, two steps, three steps... like this, Fang Yuan took more than ten steps forward.
Fang Yuan's weird feeling intensified: "What is going on? Why do I feel no obstruction? I have already taken more than ten steps, it feels like I am walking on normal ground."
This was not normal.
Fang Yuan soon guessed that the situation was caused by his sovereign immortal body.
"Chu Du and Not Immortal face pressure because of the conflicting dao marks. There are a lot of dao marks here, while the Gu Immortals also have a lot of dao marks in their bodies."
"So even though they took one step at a time, walking on paths with rule path or strength path dao marks, the surrounding dao marks are nearby and will still pressure and reject them."
"But I am different, the dao marks here are not immortal killer moves, they have no offensive power, they cannot influence me!"
"Of course, this is just my guess, the truth might not be like this."
Fang Yuan thought as he continued walking, taking a few more steps ahead.
Not Immortal and Chu Du's expressions changed mildly.
"This Liu Guan Yi is so strong!" Not Immortal was extremely shocked.
"He is almost at the twentieth step, he can still move so calmly, the first time I came, every step was difficult, I had to exert all my effort, it was a pathetic sight!" Chu Du recalled his own experience, compared to the situation in front of him, his pride and self confidence was taking a huge beating.
A thought appeared in his mind uncontrollably: "Don't tell me, this Liu Guan Yi is an even greater genius in cultivating transformation path compared to me and strength path? He has even higher attainment level?"
Actually, Fang Yuan was trying his best to conceal himself.
He pretended to be panting, like he was very tired.
But his acting was in reference to Chu Du and Not Immortal earlier. They had gone through this many times, they were experienced, they could maintain their composure.
Even though Fang Yuan showed a pathetic sight, he was just slightly weaker than them.
Eventually, Fang Yuan stopped at the twentieth step, smiling: "I am about the same as you, Brother Chu."
Chu Du looked at Fang Yuan with deep meaning: "Brother Liu, you have not gone all out."
Fang Yuan smiled bitterly: "I am barely holding on, if I continue, I will start spitting out blood!"
Chu Du's smile was even more bitter than his: "I will not lie to Brother Liu, the first time I came here, I started spitting out blood at the tenth step."
-x-X-x-
Fang Yuan's heart jumped, he realized that his performance had gone overboard.
But this was just a small mistake, it was not a problem.
"Let's continue moving, we can set the alliance agreement before talking more!" Not Immortal smiled, his attitude was much warmer than before.
Fang Yuan's earlier performance made Not Immortal's evaluation of him rise by several levels.
The three traveled in the land of dao marks with much difficulty.
As they moved forward, dao marks were denser, the obstruction was greater.
Of course, this was referring to Not Immortal and Chu Du. But Fang Yuan also faced a lot of difficulty, having to pretend he was having a tough time, so that Chu Du and Not Immortal would not be suspicious of him.
The three immortals walked and rested, the short journey took them fifteen minutes.
Eventually, they came to a rock.
"A newcomer?" The rock suddenly spoke, as smoke rose up from the rock before vanishing.
The rock had turned into a skinny and short Gu Immortal.
He had a goatee, he was at the height of Fang Yuan's knee, and his tiny eyes were shining brilliantly.
"This is one of the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics, wisdom path Gu Immortal Secret Schemer." Chu Du introduced at an appropriate timing.
Fang Yuan gasped in his mind: "This person is actually Secret Schemer!"
He concealed his expression perfectly, acting like he had heard it for the first time, immediately greeting: "Hello, I am Liu Guan Yi of transformation path."
A day later.
"Brother Liu, Brother Chu, you are leaving so soon, aren't you staying for a few more days?" At the first layer of Crazed Demon Cave, Not Immortal tried to ask them to stay.
"No." Chu Du smiled bitterly and rejected: "You also know about Northern Plains' situation, I recently created Chu Du and allied with Bai Zu tribe. Right now, the righteous path is targeting our lone cultivator sect, they cannot stand us, they are gathering members to deal with us."
Not Immortal sighed: "These are external worldly affairs, what is there that you cannot part with. Fame and reputation, will they still remain after death? In <
Chu Du had a determined expression: "I will make sure strength path flourishes, this is a promise I made to someone, if I cannot achieve it, I will not live in peace!"
Fang Yuan could not help but look at Chu Du.
This was the first time he had heard Chu Du say his aspiration.
Chu Du's expression of sincerity did not seem to be fake.
"It seems that there is a story behind Chu Du cultivating strength path." Fang Yuan was thinking about this, when Not Immortal asked him.
"Brother Liu, you have a lot of potential, why don't you stay here?"
Fang Yuan smiled: "I came here this time to sign the Crazed Demon Agreement. Now that it is done, I have other matters to settle."
Not Immortal actually thought more highly of Fang Yuan.
Mainly because Fang Yuan's performance this time left a deep impression on him.
Fang Yuan was more confident than Not Immortal in this aspect.
He felt that he could even run freely in the third last layer's dao mark landscape.
But if he did that, it would be too shocking, the jaws of the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics would drop!
"I have not seen the bottom and second last layers yet, I cannot assess them. But the third last layer is not a problem. Derivation Gu is at the bottom layer, but with the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics guarding it, I cannot act alone." Fang Yuan felt it was somewhat of a pity.
One day, he would return to Crazed Demon Cave, using his advantage to explore the place.
But now was not the time.
He had to raise his cultivation level, that was the most important matter.
As for derivation Gu, even if Fang Yuan obtained it, what use would it have? It was a rank nine Immortal Gu, Fang Yuan thought back to wisdom Gu, he could neither use it, nor would he know how to, it would be a huge burden if he actually obtained it!
"Other than eternal life, everything else is temporary. Brother Liu, how long would you need?" Not Immortal asked. He did not want to let a useful person like Fang Yuan go.
Fang Yuan's gaze shined, looking at Chu Du: "Actually, I am a member of Chu Sect, right now the Huang Jin tribes are attacking Chu Sect, I need to help them."
Chu Du knew that Fang Yuan was using him as an excuse, but hearing this, he still felt warmed internally.
"Sigh, you guys... never mind." Not Immortal saw that he could not convince Fang Yuan and gave up.
Fang Yuan and Chu Du said goodbye to Not Immortal, before flying towards the sky.
On the way back, Fang Yuan asked Chu Du about the situation in Northern Plains, as well as the difficulties Chu Sect was currently facing.
Fang Yuan had also undergone the Crazed Demon Agreement, his relationship with Chu Du had deepened again.
Chu Du did not conceal it from him, he smiled bitterly: "Right now, I feel great pressure too. Even though Chu Sect allied with Bai Zu tribe, we are against an enemy with tens or hundreds of times our strength! But they are not unified and have their own territories, they can only deploy limited Gu Immortals. And they are in the righteous path, they talk about rules and reputation... we still have a chance."
"When are they coming?" Fang Yuan asked the crucial question.
Chu Du chuckled: "Far from now. Even though they are spreading news everywhere and saying harsh words, they are still far from setting off. These Huang Jin tribes have their own conflicts and disagreements, they need to consider a lot of things, things are not as simple for them as us demonic path members."
Fang Yuan nodded.
Chu Du's words made him gain even clearer insight and analysis of the current situation in Northern Plains.
Chu Du looked at Fang Yuan: "This might sound presumptuous, but Brother Liu, your transformation path has already reached great grandmaster attainment level?"
"What? Not yet." Fang Yuan replied.
"Even if you are not a great grandmaster, you are at least quasi-great grandmaster." Chu Du said with much self confidence.
Fang Yuan laughed, asking instead: "How did you know?"
Chu Du chuckled: "I deduced it from your performance with the dao marks. The higher your attainment level, the easier it is to explore Crazed Demon Cave. Not Immortal was shocked by my improvement, that was because I had recently attained a qualitative improvement in my strength path attainment level."
Chu Du stared at Fang Yuan, his gaze contained deep meaning.
Fang Yuan knew that he was trying to ask about the killer move immortal tribulation tempering aperture.
After all, Chu Du was only using calamity beckoning Immortal Gu to gain some benefits from Fang Yuan.
The core method that could draw out Reckless Savage's true meaning had been kept secret by Fang Yuan, he did not reveal any of it.
Fang Yuan knew what Chu Du was trying to ask, but he pretended not to know, saying: "Oh, I see."
After saying those three words, there was no follow up, they continued traveling quietly.
Disappointment flashed deep in Chu Du's eyes.
He had been desiring immortal tribulation tempering aperture all along, but in this situation, that was no longer the focus.
Thus, Chu Du asked very vaguely, he knew that a clever person like Fang Yuan would understand what he was trying to say.
But Fang Yuan replied with three words — oh, I see.
Chu Du immediately understood, Fang Yuan had rejected him.
Like how Chu Du asked very subtly, Fang Yuan's answer was the same.
"Oh, I see." It meant that Fang Yuan's method to draw out true meaning was not for sale, he rejected a transaction.
"I can only forget about it for now." Chu Du felt it was a pity, but he was very rational. In this situation, he had to deepen his cooperation with Fang Yuan, he could not worsen their relationship.
Fang Yuan did not return to Hei Fan grotto-heaven with Chu Du.
Halfway through the journey, he parted with Chu Du.
Fang Yuan flew towards the southwest direction, some days later, he landed on an ordinary looking mound.
"According to Xue Song Zi's memories, this is the place." Fang Yuan looked around, confirming that he had arrived at the right place.
He started to activate his Immortal Gu, after a while, the immortal killer move activated successfully, and he found the location of a blessed land accurately.
His Immortal Gu and immortal killer move were borrowed from Heavenly Lord Bai Zu. For this, he paid a huge price.
However, it was completely worth it for Fang Yuan.
"Found it!" Fang Yuan's eyes shined, he summoned the upper extreme heavenly eagle.
The upper extreme heavenly eagle carried Fang Yuan and flew in a circle a few times, before piercing through space and bringing him into a new blessed land.
The owner of this blessed land had cultivated earth path during his life, thus, this blessed land was covered in black rotten mud.
Many small mud monsters were rolling around here.
From time to time, a desolate beast giant mud monster would jump up from the soil, like a huge black tidal wave.
A small mudman with a green strand of grass coming from its head floated and came to Fang Yuan.
"Bababa." The small mudman spoke, talking to Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan listened and understood what it was saying.
He could not help but look at the mud below him, muttering: "To become the owner of the blessed land, I need to defeat five desolate beast mud monsters at once? Heh, easy."
The acknowledgement requirement of this earth path blessed land was difficult for most rank sixes.
But for Fang Yuan, it was very simple.
Fang Yuan was not unfamiliar with earth path, in fact, due to his previous life's experiences, his earth path attainment level was at master level.
After annexing this earth path blessed land, his Mini Western Desert gained a huge swamp.
For the following month, Fang Yuan went around everywhere, finding blessed lands and annexing them.
The upper extreme heavenly eagle displayed immense value, Fang Yuan easily got into blessed lands to explore them.
The information of these blessed lands was basically obtained from the Gu Immortals souls that Fang Yuan captured.
Dong Fang Chang Fan, Zheng Ling, Xue Song Zi, and the nine Gu Immortals in Hei Fan grotto-heaven, as well as the countless Gu Immortal souls from the turbulent flow sea area, and of course, Hei Cheng who was alive.
Counting them all, Fang Yuan had a large number of Gu Immortal captives!
These captives had been soul searched many times, he obtained all of their intel.
Fang Yuan's cultivation level rose tremendously, he skipped calamities and tribulations time and time again. The space and resources in the sovereign immortal aperture also increased each time he succeeded, rising time and time again.
Fang Yuan had long since passed his first heavenly tribulation.
By the time Fang Yuan returned to Lang Ya blessed land, in this short period of time, he had already passed two heavenly tribulations, he was a rank six Gu Immortal who was only three earthly calamities away from his third heavenly tribulation!
-x-X-x-
Northern Plains, Feng Xian grotto-heaven.
Rank eight Gu Immortal Prince Feng Xian was silently sitting with his eyes shut.
Flames were burning around him, like clothes fluttering in the sky, they were dazzling and brilliant, dancing like dragons or snakes, extraordinary.
Right now, Prince Feng Xian opened his mouth, spitting out small pearls of flame.
The pearls of flame grew with the wind, in a breath of time, they expanded to become orange-red fireballs with the size of a baby's head.
The fireballs circled around Prince Feng Xian's body, flying up and down, left and right.
Next, Prince Feng Xian opened his mouth again, spitting out another pearl of flame.
A while later, Prince Feng Xian already had eight fireballs around him, they were flying around, crashing into one another, they moved in a profound trail, circling around Prince Feng Xian endlessly.
Right at this time, Prince Feng Xian suddenly opened his eyes.
An unbelievably sharp light burst out from his eyes, it was extremely dazzling.
Bam bam bam...
The eight fireballs self-detonated one by one, turning into flickers of flames, dissipating.
"I failed again, I did not manage to deduce any trace of Fang Yuan." Prince Feng Xian's eyes were shining, he stared at the fireballs that were gone.
If his deduction succeeded, these flames would instantly draw Fang Yuan's location, as well as what he was doing.
Evidently, Prince Feng Xian had failed once more.
He learned nothing.
"I am not a wisdom path Gu Immortal after all, I was just mimicking wisdom path, I cannot deduce Fang Yuan's true location." Prince Feng Xian sighed.
He was tasked to capture Fang Yuan, but the problem was, he had hidden himself too deeply. Most of the time, he was inside a blessed land and did not come out. As long as blessed lands and grotto-heavens did not absorb fragments of the nine heavens, they would be a completely different world isolated from the five regions, even Fairy Zi Wei cannot deduce anything.
Prince Feng Xian primarily cultivated fire path, he naturally could not.
Of course, Fang Yuan would go outside as well.
But he had familiar face and dark limit Immortal Gu. Together with his dark path dao marks, Fang Yuan could conceal his traces every time he traveled.
"Lord Feng Xian, Gong tribe is here, they want to meet you." At this moment, a female Gu Immortal dressed in yellow came to the hall and reported.
She was beautiful like a flower, she had watery eyes and peach-like lips, she was one of Prince Feng Xian's two female Gu Immortal attendants — Le Yao.
"Gong tribe is here? Hmph." Prince Feng Xian frowned: "Not meeting them."
"But Gong tribe's Gu Immortal brought the Longevity Edict." Le Yao hesitated.
Prince Feng Xian smiled lightly: "So what if they have the Longevity Edict? It can control the Huang Jin bloodline, but I am not one of them."
Le Yao pouted: "But lord, did you forget, we are now spies inside Northern Plains. You are still a son-in-law of Gong Tribe on the surface, an external supreme elder. If you defy the Longevity Edict openly, would it not be a problem?"
"Hahaha." Prince Feng Xian laughed heartily: "Le Yao, you are only half right. Longevity Heaven is not to be underestimated, it is a rank nine grotto-heaven, it has Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's foundation, and is unfathomably deep. It is simply like Central Continent's Heavenly Court in Northern Plains! But this time, Longevity Heaven sent orders to unite the Huang Jin tribes, all of the righteous path super forces are to attack Bai Zu tribe. This is a unified battle of the Huang Jin tribes against outside forces. The collapse of Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, the creation of Bai Zu tribe, as well as Chu Sect, have stepped on Longevity Heaven's bottom line constantly. This time, Longevity Heaven will definitely not ask for my help, Yao Huang is their only choice!"
Prince Feng Xian analyzed it perfectly, Le Yao's eyes shone, but she did not understand: "Then why did Gong tribe's Gu Immortal bring the Longevity Edict here personally?"
Prince Feng Xian's eyes shined with cold light: "These people from Gong tribe are trying to falsely use that authority, to use the Longevity Edict and deceive me into helping them. You also know about Gong tribe's objective, they are still dreaming of becoming the number one righteous path force."
"So that's it. Then we will not meet them!" Le Yao smiled, showing her pearly white teeth, she had a beautiful smile, like the image of spring.
It was all according to what Prince Feng Xian had analyzed, several days later, the Longevity Edict was passed on to all of the Huang Jin tribes, eventually ending up in Yao Huang's hands.
Yao Huang used his old hands to receive the Longevity Edict, sighing deeply to himself.
"This Longevity Edict still ended up with me after all."
To one who heard him mumbling, it may have seemed that Yao Huang was aware all along.
The truth was that it was an obvious situation.
Heavenly Lord Bai Zu was a rank eight Gu Immortal, if the Northern Plains righteous path forces wanted to deal with Bai Zu tribe, they would need to have a rank eight Gu Immortal to deal with Heavenly Lord Bai Zu.
On the surface, out of the rank eight Gu Immortals in Northern Plains, other than Heavenly Lord Bai Zu, Old Ancestor Xue Hu was in the demonic path, Five Elements Grandmaster was a lone immortal and had invaded Longevity Heaven, he was already trapped inside Calamity Luck Altar. Only Prince Feng Xian and Yao Huang were left.
Prince Feng Xian's identity was the biggest problem.
He did not have the Huang Jin bloodline, he was just a son-in-law of Gong tribe!
If they relied on Prince Feng Xian and defeated Bai Zu tribe, would that not prove Five Elements Grandmaster's point? The great Huang Jin bloodline, descendants of Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, could not rely on themselves to defeat a strong foe?
Thus, for Longevity Heaven, there was only one person they could choose, the rank eight refinement path Gu Immortal Yao Huang!
In fact, Yao Huang really did not want to involve himself in this mess.
Currently, he was very busy trying to refine resurrection from the dead Immortal Gu!
He was severely interrupted, Yao Huang was in a bad mood.
Ping.
A soft sound echoed.
Yao Huang threw the Longevity Edict onto the table casually.
"I should go talk to Heavenly Lord Bai Zu first." Yao Huang sighed, storing his immortal aperture and going to the outside world of Northern Plains, flying into white heaven.
A moment later, Heavenly Lord Bai Zu, who received Yao Huang's invitation, hesitated for a moment, before deciding to meet with Yao Huang and discuss the matter.
The two rank eight Gu Immortals met in white heaven and talked in secret.
In fact, they were friends.
Long ago, Heavenly Lord Bai Zu had considered creating Bai Zu tribe, thus, as a lone cultivator, he got very close to Yao Huang.
Heavenly Lord Bai Zu wanted to be in the righteous path, but there were only two righteous path Gu Immortals, Prince Feng Xian did not originate from the righteous path, he stayed by himself and his relationship with Gong tribe was not good.
Heavenly Lord Bai Zu could only have a goal of getting close to Yao Huang.
Afterwards, Heavenly Lord Bai Zu and Yao Huang had fought against Old Ancestor Xue Hu together. Even though they lost and caused Old Ancestor Xue Hu's reputation to surge, this matter had brought Heavenly Lord Bai Zu and Yao Huang closer together.
Thus, when they met, there was no animosity or anger.
"Friend, what do you think?" Yao Huang smiled and asked.
"Sigh, it has gotten to this point, I'll tell you the truth, I did not expect this." Heavenly Lord Bai Zu waved his hand, he also felt very gloomy about the situation.
His motive was very simple, he wanted to take down Hei Fan grotto-heaven.
But to think that Chu Du's battle strength and wits exceeded Heavenly Lord Bai Zu's expectations, it caused the situation to change and worsen, Heavenly Lord Bai Zu could not back out.
Among which, the rumors and threats regarding Heavenly Lord Bai Zu in Northern Plains' Gu Immortal world were all spread by Chu Du and his subordinates.
Heavenly Lord Bai Zu was aware of this.
Anyone with a functioning brain knew.
But now, in fact, Heavenly Lord Bai Zu and the culprit of the rumors, Chu Du had allied, to deal with the righteous path forces that he did not want to face.
Heavenly Lord Bai Zu was also very helpless in the progression of this matter.
Yao Huang saw Heavenly Lord Bai Zu's expression and deeply understood his feelings, Yao Huang pointed and smiled: "Old friend, do you understand now? It is not easy to be the leader of a righteous path force, in many situations, even as rank eight Gu Immortals, we cannot act freely."
"I used to envy your lone cultivator status, I also urged you not to create any righteous path force, do you feel it now?"
"I feel it. But I have worked hard for so long, it was not easy to get such results, I am not willing to give up just yet." Heavenly Lord Bai Zu said openly.
Yao Huang was silent, before saying: "I do not want to interfere in this matter either, but I cannot help it, Longevity Heaven's token is already in my hands."
Heavenly Lord Bai Zu sighed deeply, he felt gladness but also sorrow in his heart.
He was glad that his relationship with Yao Huang was close enough, but the sad thing was, he and Yao Huang were friends, but they had to fight. Even as rank eight Gu Immortals, they could not decide this for themselves.
Heavenly Lord Bai Zu sighed deeply: "Then we can only fight now."
Yao tribe waved his hand: "This is an eventual matter, we are not in a rush now. Even though I am in charge of this matter, Yao tribe is just one of the righteous path forces, I still have Longevity Heaven overseeing it. They are watching patiently now, even if we fight, we cannot resolve this matter. In my opinion, we should let these juniors fight first, and rile them up."
Heavenly Lord Bai Zu pondered and nodded: "Then in that case, let's decide a date for a martial competition."
"Alright." Yao Huang thought: "Blood Plain is a good choice of location, how about there?"
"That is good." Heavenly Lord Bai Zu agreed instantly.
The two Gu Immortals talked for a while, deciding the matter of the Blood Plain martial competition, before leaving white heaven and going back to their tribes.
They gave their respective instructions on the Blood Plain martial competition.
At once, Northern Plains' Gu Immortal world went into commotion again.
A new storm was brewing, it faintly swept through the entire Northern Plains Gu Immortal world.
The Gu Immortals from the Huang Jin tribes were rubbing their hands together in anticipation, they felt that they had sufficient strength to suppress the allied forces of Bai Zu tribe and Chu Sect, they had high morale.
In terms of foundation, the allied forces of Chu Sect and Bai Zu tribe could not match the alliance of the righteous path forces, but they could seek help.
Heavenly Lord Bai Zu was from the lone cultivator faction, while Chu Du was a famous expert in the demonic path!
There was still some time until the competition. News of the Blood Plain martial competition had spread, even Central Continent and the other regions heard of it.
Both sides were gathering strength, the righteous path Huang Jin tribes were choosing carefully, only picking the elites, while Bai Zu tribe and Chu Sect started recruiting for experts to help them, making great preparations.
-x-X-x-
Central Continent, deep in Earth Abyss.
Delicious wine and food was set out in the garden.
"Come, Brother Shi, I have heard that you like delicious wine. I have purposely looked for these wines for you to taste." Gu Immortal Yang Feng sat upright as he stretched out his arm towards his esteemed guest.
This guest had short white hair and shining golden eyes with sharp light in them, he wore a tight martial uniform and had a blue silver belt, his forearms and knees had dazzling armor.
He had broad shoulders and a slim waist, he was emitting a valiant aura. But he was half-leaning on the wall and had a casual posture, it lifted a bit of the pressure that he was emitting.
Gu Immortal Yang Feng was a rank seven transformation path Gu Immortal, an expert in Ancient Soul Sect of the ten great ancient sects, but compared to his guest, he was inferior in fame.
Because this guest was Shi Lei, he cultivated earth path primarily and transformation path secondarily, he was at the peak of rank seven, he was an expert of Central Continent known as the Immortal Monkey King!
"Then I will not stand on ceremony." Shi Lei laughed, he stretched out his arm, lifting the wine vat on the table.
Breaking the seal, the smell of liquor burst out, it felt like an intense flame had started raging.
Instantly, in the huge garden, it was filled with the smell of thick alcohol.
The alcohol was red in color, the vapor gathered around the vat, resembling a bright cloud of flames.
Shi Lei saw this and became joyful, praising: "Good wine! So this is the legendary red emperor wine. Brother Yang Feng, you could actually get your hands on this, you are quite impressive."
Gu Immortal Yang Feng laughed loudly: "I'll not hide it from Brother Shi, I paid a huge price to obtain it from Ancient Soul Sect's treasury. Come to speak of it, this was thanks to our ancestor. Three hundred thousand years ago, a Gu Immortal from our sect became friends with a Gu Immortal of Eastern Sea, Wine Emperor, during the Gu refinement path convention, they competed in refining Gu and agreed that whoever won would obtain the loser's creation. They fought for eighty-one days, having their respective victories, they were closely matched. This red emperor wine was created by Wine Emperor, he had lost it to our ancestor."
Ancient Soul Sect of the ten great ancient sects had ancient in its name, true to its name, the sect was very old, having the longest history among the ten great ancient sects.
Three hundred thousand years ago, that was the Medieval Antiquity Era. Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable, Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable, and Giant Sun Immortal Venerable appeared in succession during this era. A female Gu Immortal, Shui Ni, founded water path and built Spirit Affinity House, it was also during this era.
"Oh?" Shi Lei was intrigued: "Wine Emperor, I know this person, he was a food path rank eight expert, he was very famous in human history. His entire life's effort was in the creation of his three sovereign five emperor wines. Legend says that by combining these eight wines, one can obtain the rank eight liquor worm Immortal Gu. Using this Gu, one can turn rank eight white litchi immortal essence into rank nine yellow apricot immortal essence. After this person died, he left his inheritance behind. Currently, there is the Eastern Sea Gu Immortal Zui Xian Weng, who became the one hundred and thirty-seventh inheritor."
"Brother Shi, you are so knowledgeable, I am impressed. Cheers!" Yang Feng raised his wine cup.
Shi Lei waved his hand instead: "Drinking with a cup is not satisfying enough, let's drink from the vats directly."
"Okay, Brother Shi, you are very direct, I will do the same." Yang Feng patted the table, replying.
But Shi Lei had just touched the vat when his movements paused, his expression changed as he looked outside.
An information path Immortal Gu had appeared in the sky above the garden, it was flying around but did not land.
Shi Lei's golden eyes shone: "This is an Immortal Gu from my sect, Brother Yang, please let it in."
This garden was not normal, it was exquisitely built, grand with white jade tiles, it was oozing with cold air, there were faint dragon roars heard occasionally, this was Ancient Soul Sect's Immortal Gu House, Frost Dragon Manor!
Yang Feng manipulated the Immortal Gu House, opening a path for the information path Immortal Gu to fly towards Shi Lei.
After inspecting it, Shi Lei's expression changed slightly.
Yang Feng could not ask about the sect matters, he raised his cup and savored the red emperor wine.
To think that Shi Lei took the initiative: "Northern Plains Gu Immortals are indeed battle maniacs, Hei tribe was just destroyed, and now they are starting to fight again. This time, the commotion is even bigger. All the Huang Jin tribes are ganging up to deal with the newly established alliance of Chu Sect and Bai Zu tribe."
"Chu Sect?" Yang Feng was confused.
"This is a newly created sect, do you know about Northern Plains' Chu Du?"
"I know a little, a strength path Gu Immortal, known as Domination Immortal."
"That's right, he created Chu Sect. This person is not to be underestimated, he used Hei Fan grotto-heaven to forcefully resist Heavenly Lord Bai Zu's invasion. He even nurtured many strength path Gu Immortals secretly, he has quite a force."
Yang Feng frowned, after absorbing this information, he said: "Strength path is like the setting sun, it is nothing much. But this Chu Sect is probably the first sect in Northern Plains, this Chu Du is so daring!"
"That's right." Shi Lei said: "This is a good show to watch. Both sides have agreed to hold a martial competition. Hehe, Northern Plains is really exciting, they are fighting all the time, why was I not born in Northern Plains."
"Cough, cough."
Shi Lei patted his own head: "Oh, I nearly forgot. Heavenly Court has orders, we are to go and attack Star Form blessed land now."
"Why, Heavenly Court has already confirmed that Fang Yuan will not come?" Yang Feng asked in surprise.
As it turned out, after Ying Wu Xie and the rest escaped from Heavenly Court, Fairy Zi Wei had never given up on searching for Fang Yuan's traces.
Fang Yuan's true body was not exposed yet, even Prince Feng Xian could not make any progress. But using some clues and her immense capabilities, Fairy Zi Wei managed to forcefully deduce the existence of Star Form blessed land.
Star Form blessed land was inside Earth Abyss, it was in Ancient Soul Sect's territory.
Fairy Zi Wei specially asked Gu Immortal Shi Lei to complete a task.
Shi Lei was a supreme elder of Combat Immortal Sect, Ancient Soul Sect sent Yang Feng to cooperate with Shi Lei.
Shi Lei was following orders, according to Fairy Zi Wei's plan, he was waiting in ambush. The moment Fang Yuan returned to Star Form blessed land, he would capture him immediately.
But after waiting for so long, Fang Yuan did not even appear once!
Not long ago, Star Form blessed land faced calamity, Fang Yuan made up his mind and ignored it.
Fairy Zi Wei noticed Fang Yuan's determination and deduced that if Star Form blessed land was kept intact, it would be of much help to Fang Yuan in the future.
Thus, she decided to go ahead and order Shi Lei to destroy Star Form blessed land.
Spirit Affinity House.
Lake Heart Mountain.
Feng Jin Huang's accommodations.
"Senior sister, you are amazing, you could refine even this type of Gu!" Qin Juan held the Gu with both hands as she cried out excitedly.
Feng Jin Huang had snowy skin, her eyebrows were long and golden, her lips curled up as she smiled: "This is nothing much."
She had dream wings Immortal Gu, her refinement path attainment was now grandmaster level. Refining a rank three mortal Gu was really nothing much.
"Senior, senior sister, oh no!" At this time, a Gu Master ran over with a flustered look on her chubby face.
Qin Juan was unhappy at her demeanor: "Sun Yao, you are an elite disciple of Spirit Affinity House, how can you be so panicky."
Feng Jin Huang smiled: "No need to worry, I am here. Tell me, what happened?"
Sun Yao breathed in deeply as she said: "That, that Zhao Lian Yun is coming!"
"What, Zhao Lian Yun?" Qin Juan's expression changed, she looked at Feng Jin Huang worriedly: "Zhao Lian Yun is an otherworldly demon, she has also inherited Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable's true inheritance, since she joined the sect, she had been your opponent. Zhao Lian Yun wants to compete with senior sister over the next generation fairy position of Spirit Affinity House, why is she coming here to find you?"
Feng Jin Huang's smile gradually faded: "I am not sure either, go, let's meet her and ask, wouldn't that answer our questions?"
The three left the room, meeting a girl.
This girl was dressed in white, like a flower by the lake, she had long black silky hair with a worried look between her eyebrows, she had clear skin and pupils like they were fused with the night sky, expressing worry and anxiety.
Such beauty was comparable to Feng Jin Huang, it was Zhao Lian Yun!
"Junior sister Zhao, I wonder what business you have with me?" Feng Jin Huang was the first to ask.
Zhao Lian Yun hesitated for a moment, determination shone in her eyes.
Plop.
At the next moment, she knelt down.
Qin Juan and Sun Yao did not expect this, they gasped in shock.
Feng Jin Huang was also quite shocked: "Junior sister Zhao, why are you doing this?"
"I really have no other alternatives. Please, please save Ma Hong Yun!" Zhao Lian Yun said, as tears flowed down her smooth cheeks.
"Ma Hong Yun, who is he? He asked you to come and beg me? Come, you can get up and tell me, don't kneel." Feng Jin Huang quickly walked forward, stretching out her arms to help Zhao Lian Yun stand up.
She had the magnanimity of a senior sister.
Even though she and Zhao Lian Yun were fiercely competing for the position of fairy, now that Zhao Lian Yun was begging her, Feng Jin Huang did not look down on her, she offered to help her up instead.
But Zhao Lian Yun did not get up, she shook off Feng Jin Huang's hands, sobbing: "Right now, the only one who can help me is you, senior sister Feng Jin Huang!"
...
Southern Border, Gu Yue village.
Fang Yuan clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, he said to the two people sitting in front: "Uncle, aunt, you have already obtained the inheritance my parents left. Right now, I need some primeval stones, can't you help me?"
Aunt snorted, saying shrilly: "That is not right, we did not take your parents' inheritance, they are with your brother. Your brother has A grade aptitude, he has a far better future than you. I believe that your parents would do this too if they were still alive."
"Oh Fang Yuan." Uncle said in a calm and slow manner: "I know what you are thinking, you want primeval stones to buy Gu refinement materials and refine Gu. But do you know how hard it is to refine Gu? How big the risks are? You, oh, you are simply too young. Don't bear such unrealistic thoughts, just do your part properly. With your C grade aptitude, stop dreaming and live your life realistically."
It was winter now.
Inside the warm room, Fang Yuan's heart was ice cold.
He had been standing on the spot, after a short silence, he said: "I understand now."
He turned around and walked out.
Behind him, aunt criticized sarcastically: "Leaving like this? Not even saying goodbye, he is truly polite!"
Uncle was smiling, saying in a fake tone: "Oh Fang Yuan, don't be so anxious to leave, stay for dinner."
Fang Yuan did not stop, he walked even faster with firmer steps.
From his uncle and aunt's place, he went towards the streets with many people.
It was late at night now.
Even though there was no snow, the cold air gave Fang Yuan a bone chilling feeling.
Next, he looked up at the sky, clenching his fists.
In the sky, countless stars were shining brightly.
Starlight reflected in Fang Yuan's pupils, his eyes seemed to be shining with life.
"Since I transmigrated to this world, I must achieve something in life, so what if I have C grade aptitude, I can definitely succeed!"
Fang Yuan did not see that behind him, a figure was quietly tailing him, watching all the events unfold.
The stars in the night sky were shining even more brightly, this figure's appearance became clear.
It was another Fang Yuan.
But this Fang Yuan's appearance had changed completely, experience and maturity was also deep in his gaze.
Under his supervision, the entire night sky, the entire dream realm faded, as if there was a thick layer of fog in the sky, gradually, everything vanished.
In the real world, Fang Yuan opened his eyes slowly, muttering: "To think... that I could re-experience what happened in my previous life."
-x-X-x-
Central Continent, Spirit Affinity House.
"Zhao Lian Yun might be an otherworldly demon, but she has deep love in her." Feng Jin Huang's mother Fairy Bai Qing looked through the window, a very far distance away, focusing on Zhao Lian Yun, who was still kneeling in the courtyard.
Zhao Lian Yun approached Feng Jin Huang and begged her to help save Ma Hong Yun.
Feng Jin Huang was lost, after asking, she learned about Zhao Lian Yun and Ma Hong Yun's heart wrenching story.
Zhao Lian Yun was begging for help, but regardless of what Feng Jin Huang said, she seemed to be fixated on this, she refused to get up. Feng Jin Huang had no choice but to find her parents for help.
Her mother was a rank seven female immortal of Spirit Affinity House, Bai Qing, while her father was the famous Feng Jiu Ge!
Feng Jiu Ge walked towards Fairy Bai Qing, he did not look at Zhao Lian Yun, instead, he looked at the sky, saying plainly: "Dear, can't you tell? Zhao Lian Yun is guided by some people."
Fairy Bai Qing's gaze flashed: "Do you mean Xu Hao and Li Jun Ying?"
Places with people will have competition for benefits.
Spirit Affinity House had its internal conflicts too.
Feng Jiu Ge was powerful, in the absence of rank eights, he dominated the ten great ancient sects, nobody could rival him. But this did not mean he had no opponents.
Competition in this world did not just involve fighting and killing.
Xu Hao and Li Jun Ying were Feng Jiu Ge's main opponents in Spirit Affinity House.
The two of them were married too.
Among which, Xu Hao was a wisdom path Gu Immortal, while Li Jun Ying was known as the Illusory Fairy, her power was extraordinary.
In the previous life, when Feng Jiu Ge died inside the Thieving Heaven true inheritance's special space, these two immediately exerted pressure on Fairy Bai Qing and had a powerful stance. But afterwards, when Fang Yuan used Spring Autumn Cicada and ended up saving Feng Jiu Ge, history was changed.
Feng Jiu Ge's return caused great pressure on Xu Hao and Li Jun Ying, they were at a disadvantage.
However, using Zhao Lian Yun's influence, the two of them held their ground and were untouchable by even Feng Jiu Ge inside Spirit Affinity House.
Hearing Fairy Bai Qing mention their names, Feng Jiu Ge admitted: "It is them. This was my mistake, back then, I sent Xu Hao to complete the mission for the Thieving Heaven true inheritance, I wanted to push them aside, but to think they actually benefited from it."
"Huang Er wants to be the next generation fairy, she was originally unmatched, but now, Zhao Lian Yun appeared. As expected of an otherworldly demon, this woman is very intelligent and has a different perspective on many matters, yet she can get to the point and succeed in her unique methods, she is truly worthy of being Huang Er's opponent."
"This time, Zhao Lian Yun is kneeling and begging for help, Xu Hao probably instigated this. Zhao Lian Yun wants to save her lover, she has to fight for the position of fairy. That way, she would have enough authority to use Spirit Affinity House's power. If Huang Er gives in to her, she would give up being the fairy. But if she rejects her, it would breed trouble."
Feng Jiu Ge analyzed deeply, he easily exposed Xu Hao's schemes.
He was a sound path Gu Immortal, but he had incredible wits, he had a keen perception towards these internal conflicts.
Fairy Bai Qing rolled her eyes, saying playfully: "Dear, why would I not understand these? Our Spirit Affinity House's signature Immortal Gu is Love, our sect values moving people through love. Xu Hao asked Zhao Lian Yun to do this, he probably does not expect her to succeed. But after Zhao Lian Yun is rejected by Huang Er, others would sympathize with her."
"Hahaha, my dear, you are so smart, I was unduly worried." Feng Jiu Ge laughed.
Xu Hao was trying so desperately to make Zhao Lian Yun win and defeat Feng Jin Huang, and become the fairy of Spirit Affinity House. That way, he could use Zhao Lian Yun's power to ally with others and oppose Feng Jiu Ge together.
Xu Hao had a good plan.
All along, Zhao Lian Yun's identity as an otherworldly demon was her biggest obstacle in becoming Spirit Affinity House's fairy. Because people were more willing to believe in those who originated from a similar background.
Zhao Lian Yun, who came from another world, was ostracized and guarded against.
But after this matter, Zhao Lian Yun's image in Spirit Affinity House would completely transform in the eyes of everyone.
Even though Zhao Lian Yun was an otherworldly demon, she loved a man of the Gu world.
For this man, she fought for the position of fairy, she was not a vicious or ambitious person.
She was really pitiful, nobody was helping her. Her lover was in Northern Plains, he might die any time, these lovebirds might never get together again!
"This time, Xu Hao made a good plan. No matter what decision Huang Er makes, she would still lose. In fact, to compete for the position of fairy, she has to reject Zhao Lian Yun." Feng Jiu Ge said plainly.
"Then we let her continue kneeling here?" Fairy Bai Qing asked.
Feng Jiu Ge smiled: "No worries, she won't stay here for long, this is just a show."
But Fairy Bai Qing shook her head: "I do not agree with this. Did you not see Zhao Lian Yun's eyes, she is so determined and resolute, she is in deep agony. Do you think Xu Hao would tell her about the truth? At this moment, Zhao Lian Yun probably thinks that her only hope in saving her lover lies in Huang Er giving up this contest! She will definitely not give up, she will continue kneeling."
Feng Jiu Ge did not speak, he looked at the sky, he still paid no attention to Zhao Lian Yun.
Feng Jiu Ge was a little regretful now.
If he had known this, he would not have bought Zhao Lian Yun back in the Northern Plains auction.
Right now, she was Feng Jin Huang's greatest obstacle.
Parents in this world still had the same wishes, they wanted their sons or daughters to succeed in life.
Even Feng Jiu Ge with rank eight battle strength was no exception from this.
"Even your mother pities Zhao Lian Yun, oh Huang Er, we will not advise you this time, how will you deal with this?" Feng Jiu Ge was secretly anticipating as he waited.
On the road to Lake Heart Mountain.
Qin Juan kicked a rock along the path angrily: "This Zhao Lian Yun is so annoying! Is this how you beg someone? She wants you to give up the contest for the position of fairy, she has the nerves to say that! She is really shameless."
"But she really has no choice. She already explained that this is for the sake of her lover" Sun Yao mumbled.
"Yes but even so, she cannot do this. Kneeling on the ground, refusing to get up, does she want us to beg her to get up? Seriously, oh, I am so angry! She even caused senior sister's home to be surrounded by spectators, causing you to be unable to go home, and have to roam out here!" Qin Juan stomped, going crazy.
"However, she is really pitiful. I did not feel that last time, but hearing her words, I find that Zhao Lian Yun is really kind too..." Sun Yao shook her head.
"Hey, whose side are you on, you are speaking up for Zhao Lian Yun!" Qin Juan was furious as she pointed at Sun Yao: "Senior sister is the most qualified person to be Spirit Affinity House's fairy, Zhao Lian Yun is an outsider, how can she? And you, Sun Yao, correct your attitude. Did you forget about how senior sister has been taking care of us all along? You actually said such words, are you repaying kindness with enmity?"
"No, I have no such intentions. I just think that she is pitiful, no matter what decision senior sister makes, I will support her." Sun Yao waved her hand, explaining.
Qin Juan calmed down a little, she started worrying for Feng Jin Huang: "Senior sister must be troubled now. This Zhao Lian Yun really posed a good problem. If we agree to her demand, we will give up the position of fairy. But if we don't, people will say that senior sister is heartless, and people will sympathize for Zhao Lian Yun and acknowledge her. Most importantly, the contest for fairy is not just decided by our seniors, it also considers the view of our generation's disciples. Every generation's fairy in Spirit Affinity House has to be acknowledged by everyone!"
"Hehehe." Walking in front, Feng Jin Huang suddenly laughed lightly to herself.
She stopped walking, Qin Juan and Sun Yao realized that they were at the mountain slope that they usually went to.
Feng Jin Huang stood on the slope, raising her head as she looked at the stars in the sky.
Next, she spoke: "I will not concede."
Her tone was plain, but Sun Yao and Qin Juan could hear her unwavering determination.
Feng Jin Huang's clear eyes reflected the light of the stars in the sky. Winds of the night blew, caressing her face as her hair fluttered in the sky.
She continued: "Even though Zhao Lian Yun is pitiful, the title of the next generation fairy is my goal. This is the path that I have decided on, I will not change it for the sake of others!"
Northern Plains, Lang Ya blessed land, Fang Yuan was inside his own dream realm.
Inside Qing Mao Mountain again.
In Gu Yue village, a young Fang Yuan was standing in front of Gu Yue clan leader.
"You want me to give in to Fang Zheng tomorrow on purpose? And lose to him?!" Fang Yuan stared with wide opened eyes, growling.
Gu Yue clan leader sighed: "Fang Yuan, I understand that this is not your fault, Fang Zheng was the instigator. But you need to understand, he has been living under your shadow, unable to get free. He challenged you because his heart's inner desires are leading him to oppose you, to defeat you and break free from his childhood trauma, and obtain the heart of an expert."
Fang Yuan lowered his head, gritting his teeth: "Clan leader, since you looked for me in secret, that means I have the strength to defeat him."
"That's right, you took a debt and pawned all of your assets just to luckily succeed in refining that Gu. This greatly raised your battle strength. But Fang Zheng has A grade aptitude, he is taught by several elders, he has quite the skill, he just lacks some experience." Gu Yue clan elder said.
"A grade aptitude... hehe." Fang Yuan raised his head and looked at Gu Yue clan leader, smiling in a mocking manner.
"Your decision is?" Gu Yue clan leader was expressionless, looking down at Fang Yuan imposingly.
Fang Yuan turned around and walked away.
His figure faded into the shadows.
He left with one sentence: "I'll do it."
Gu Yue clan leader did not speak, his gaze became dark as he muttered to himself: "He conceded so easily, he must have other ideas. To play it safe, I should preemptively weaken him first."