30 Plans Change, Prepare for the Unexpected

Merchant Clan's Third Inner City – Stone Gambling District

"A Gu worm has emerged! It's a Shadow Sword Gu!"

"A Rank Three Shadow Sword Gu? That's rare…"

"It's a live Gu, absolutely alive! Congratulations, dear guest!"

Fang Yuan forced a joyful expression, but inside, his mind was in turmoil.

The Shadow Sword Gu was just an unexpected find, not his real target.

What truly concerned him was the Star Stone he had used as a footrest. When cut open, it turned out to be solid waste rock—completely empty!

Where was the legendary Gu worm that had been rumored in his previous life?

The development of events was completely beyond Fang Yuan's expectations. The legendary Gu worm, which he had thought was within his grasp, had now mysteriously disappeared.

He clenched his teeth in frustration.

Without that legendary Gu, his Strength Path cultivation would be like a castle in the air, an illusion reflected in water.

"If I can't obtain the Three Kings' Inheritance, how can I compete with Qi Tian and Feng Jinhua in the future?"

Qi Tian was still manageable—he only acquired that mysterious Gu Immortal inheritance nearly a hundred years later.

But his previous life's greatest rival, Feng Jinhua, would soon inherit the Fox Immortal Blessed Land within just a few years. Combined with her Gu Immortal parents and the Lingyuan Pavilion's support, if Fang Yuan couldn't obtain the Second Aperture Gu, how could he avoid falling behind?

The result of this stone gamble had completely disrupted Fang Yuan's grand plan. Yet, he had no idea where things had gone wrong.

---

Meanwhile, inside the Night Soul Blessed Land, Qi Tian was also troubled.

Watching the withering petals of the Nine Nether Ghost Lotus, Qi Tian let out a long sigh.

If he didn't treat it in time, the Nine Nether Ghost Lotus wouldn't last much longer.

In his past life's memories, a hundred years later, the Ghost Lotus was still alive, but the Dark Phantom Specter that plagued the Blessed Land had vanished.

The Ghost Lotus' survival was easy to explain—without Qi Tian's interference, it wouldn't have been heavily injured fighting the Ghost Specter and could naturally live for a century.

But why did the Dark Phantom Specter disappear in his previous life?

Qi Tian was certain the Blessed Land's existing forces couldn't possibly eliminate the Ghost Specter on their own.

If he hadn't intervened, the Ghost Specter wouldn't have been injured, and that Immortal Gu wouldn't have had the chance to be used.

After all, that Immortal Gu wasn't an attack-type Gu—it only worked against an already wounded Ghost Specter due to Qi Tian's deep understanding of it. The land spirit itself didn't possess such intelligence.

Had the Ghost Specter been expelled from the Blessed Land, like how the Blue Charm Shadow Demon was cut off from the Fox Immortal Blessed Land in the original story?

No, that wasn't possible.

The Blue Charm Shadow Demon was only exiled because it was injured by Soul Mountain and attacked the Blessed Land in a way that created a vulnerability.

But the Dark Phantom Specter was different—it only attacked living beings, not the Blessed Land itself.

Furthermore, a land spirit would never actively sever part of its own Blessed Land.

Or had the Ghost Specter never existed in his previous life?

Qi Tian quickly dismissed that possibility. While he hadn't known much about the history of the Blessed Land in his previous life, he was certain that Night Immortal had died from a Ghost Specter ambush.

"Forget it. Thinking about this won't help. I should focus on saving the Ghost Lotus first."

With his past life's deep accumulation in the Soul Path, Qi Tian knew plenty of methods to heal the Ghost Lotus.

Keeping it barely alive would be easy.

But to fully restore it? That was a different challenge altogether.

Qi Tian had several options:

1. Using Immortal Gu, like the Wood Path Immortal Gu "Withered Wood Revives" or the Time Path Immortal Gu "Flowers Bloom Anew".

2. Using Immortal Materials, such as nourishing it with Nine Nether Dark Spring Water.

But Immortal Gu are unique and difficult to acquire. As a mortal, Qi Tian had no way to bring them into the Blessed Land, and asking other Gu Immortals for help was out of the question.

Using Nine Nether Dark Spring Water was more feasible—it was an Immortal Material that could be purchased from Treasure Yellow Heaven.

However, even that required communication with Treasure Yellow Heaven, which meant obtaining Tong Tian Gu (Heaven's Connection Gu) and Divine Sense Gu.

These two vital Gu worms had now become the key to Qi Tian's entire plan.

Thus, he had to leave the Blessed Land earlier than expected.

---

From the moment Qi Tian discovered the Dark Phantom Specter, his rebirth strategy had already been affected.

Now, he had no choice but to leave the Blessed Land ahead of schedule to make preparations.

Plans can't keep up with change.

Both Fang Yuan and Qi Tian had been adjusting their strategies as their rebirths unfolded, adapting to newly emerging circumstances.

For Fang Yuan:

The first major change came when he awakened with an A-grade aptitude on Qing Mao Mountain.

The second happened at Three Forks Mountain, where his original scheme to rise step by step was completely shattered.

Compared to Fang Yuan, Qi Tian's journey had been much smoother.

His overall plan remained mostly unchanged.

Even though he was leaving the Blessed Land earlier, he had anticipated this scenario and was mentally prepared.

At present, Qi Tian's foreknowledge advantage was greater than Fang Yuan's.

He not only remembered his previous life's events but also had read the original novel, giving him insight into this world's intended storyline.

Even though this timeline was diverging from his past life, it was still aligned with the original story—and that was Qi Tian's true advantage.

Thus, he didn't want to disrupt this world's flow too much—at least, not until he was powerful enough to influence the grand scheme of things.

Qi Tian had even prepared for his own rebirth, unlike Fang Yuan, making his plans far more structured and aligned with historical development.

Even though his plans were shifting, everything was still within his control.

But would this always be the case?

Qi Tian didn't know the answer.

All he could do was prepare for the unexpected and form multiple contingency plans.

As the saying goes—"Do your best, and leave the rest to fate."

Even with his careful planning, Qi Tian still meticulously reviewed his knowledge, drawing on all available information from his memories to perfect his strategy.

The Three Kings' Inheritance was tempting, offering things like:

Refining Immortal Gu

The legendary Second Aperture Gu

Even directly creating Fixed Immortal Travel

But the risks were too great.

If he caught the attention of Ying Zong, the Seven-Rank Wisdom Path Gu Immortal, it would be a disaster.

Not to mention that refining the Second Aperture Gu required a thousand human souls to withstand the final backlash.

For now, the safest path was to cultivate quietly within the Blessed Land, like Feng Jiuge had done.

But Qi Tian wasn't a man who shunned risk.

As long as the reward was great enough, he was willing to take the gamble.

For now, though, his priority was clear:

He needed to obtain the Fox Immortal Blessed Land.

Two Blessed Lands, one hidden and one public—combined with Soul Mountain, that would be a power no one could ignore.