Stange Thing

— — — — — — — 

Fang Yuan stood quietly, looking at his Blessed Land, his mind filled with thoughts of a grand future.

A rare sense of ease settled over him, knowing that everything was now firmly in his control. Nothing could catch him off guard.

"I need to solve its problems," he muttered. "But before that, I'll count my gains. Only by fully understanding my resources can I utilize them to the fullest."

His first and most valuable gain was the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu—a crucial component of many future plans.

Second, there was the Divine Travel Gu. Although not as potent as the Fixed Immortal Travel, it was still a Rank Six space-type Immortal Gu—extremely useful.

Third came the semi-finished Second Aperture Gu, another significant asset.

"Now that I have the Divine Travel Gu, I can try refining the Second Aperture Immortal Gu."

"If the refinement fails, I get the Divine Travel Gu again and keep trying until I succeed." Fang Yuan felt completely at ease, realizing just how favorable his current situation was.

Finally, there were the numerous Relic Gu and Lifespan Gu Fang Yuan had collected, along with an abundance of precious Gu materials.

As he took stock of all his acquisitions, Fang Yuan's gaze returned to his blessed land.

Despite its current issues, it was still an enormous gain, especially with Dang Hun Mountain—the most valuable treasure.

It was the best place for soul cultivation. The mountain absorbed the scattered soul fragments of living beings that perished on it, creating Gutstones, from which Guts Gu could be harvested.

Guts Gu were invaluable for strengthening a Gu Master's soul.

"As long as I continue consuming Guts Gu," Fang Yuan thought, "my soul's foundation will grow to an unimaginable level. What immense wealth!"

"What should I do first? Hmmm..."

"Oh, of course—getting stronger!"

— — —

Every mortal rank for any Gu Master had four levels: Initial, Middle, Upper, and Peak.

Fang Yuan was currently a Rank Four Upper-stage Gu Master. Sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, his full attention was focused on his aperture.

He possessed an extraordinary ninety percent aptitude, classified as A-grade.

Each rank of Gu Master had distinct primeval essences:

Rank One had green copper,

Rank Two had red iron,

Rank Three had white silver,

Rank Four had yellow gold,

And Rank Five had purple crystal primeval essence.

"Let's begin," Fang Yuan declared, taking out his Rank Four Yellow Golden Relic Gu.

Upon using it, his cultivation immediately surged to Rank Four Peak-stage.

"Next, I'll break through to Rank Five," he thought excitedly.

Two days later, Fang Yuan was using primeval stones to replenish his essence. He nurtured the aperture walls, preparing to break through to the next stage.

Throughout this period, he cultivated relentlessly, not wasting a single moment. Finally, he felt the breakthrough—his aura now exuding the power of a Rank Five Gu Master.

"Hahaha! Feeling my power increase like this—it's addictive!" he laughed.

"But I'm not done yet."

Taking out three Rank Five Purple Crystal Relic Gu from his collection, Fang Yuan used two, immediately advancing to Rank Five Upper-stage. Without pause, he consumed the third.

The surge from the relic Gu brought his cultivation to Rank Five Peak-stage.

In an astonishingly short span, Fang Yuan had jumped from Rank Four Upper-stage to Rank Five Peak-stage, an incredible leap.

The best part was that Relic Gu had no side effects, meaning his foundation remained stable and strong.

Gu Masters heavily relied on resources for cultivation. With enough resources, rapid advancements were possible.

In theory, as long as one had enough Relic Gu, they could advance their cultivation at lightning speed from Rank one to Rank five.

But in practice, such resources were exceedingly rare—even large factions seldom took this path, preferring to temper the minds of younger generations.

"With a Rank Five Peak-stage aperture, the pressure from the Spring Autumn Cicada Immortal Gu has lessened significantly. I won't have to worry about it for a while."

"Maybe I'll be an Immortal Gu Master soon. Who knows?"

Fang Yuan felt a wave of pride wash over him. "For now, I stand at the very peak of the mortal world."

— — —

Just as he was about to rise, dizziness struck him, followed by a sharp pain in his head.

"Didn't I heal my soul injury? What's going on?" Panic surged through Fang Yuan's mind. He had thought everything was under control.

"A.I., scan my body!" he commanded, hoping for clarity.

[Beep! Scan complete. Status: Healthy.]

"What?" Fang Yuan frowned. "Then scan my mind!"

[Beep! Scan complete! No foreign entities found in the host's mind. Everything appears normal.]

Even after the scan, Fang Yuan was at a loss. He didn't know what could be wrong. After a while, he managed to calm himself down.

"It seems I was too mentally drained," he concluded. "But the real issue is likely the weakness of my soul. If my soul were stronger, this wouldn't have happened."

"It must be the reason."

With his immediate plans to address the blessed land's problems delayed, Fang Yuan shifted his focus to strengthening his soul.

"Little Hu, take me to the Gutstones' locations, one by one."

Thus, he embarked on enhancing his soul, preparing for the challenges ahead.

He had no intention of experiencing that strange sensation again. And perhaps he was right—because after reinforcing his soul, it never happened again for some reason.

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