This strength path phantom had a striking resemblance to a youthful Fang Yuan. Vivid and lifelike, and generally in the same dimensions.
It obstructed the charge of the Gu Masters by itself, appearing lonely and insignificant.
"Isn't this that lad Hei Lou Lan's killer move?" Mo Yao's will was surprised, "Ah, I remember now, you seized his crucial Gu worm, but how did you reproduce his killer move?"
While she was speaking, the Gu Masters had already reached the strength path phantom; Fang Yuan's strength path phantom could only endure three moves before it was torn to pieces.
The remaining fist qi was condensing again, but was extinguished by Ye Lui Sang's fire.
"This demon is a paper tiger, no need to be afraid!"
"Hmph, the method he is relying on now was merely stolen from Lord Hei Lou Lan."
"This strength path phantom has the form but at most only has half the strength of Lord Hei Lou Lan's killer move, what's there to be afraid of?!"
The group's morale soared higher, they paused for a moment before moving towards Fang Yuan at an even faster speed.
Only Hei Lou Lan had a bewildered expression and slightly decreased his speed, staying at the rear: "Did he use my vital Gu to create this strength path phantom? How could this strength path phantom actually have his own actual appearance?!"
Although his vital Gu had been seized, his injuries had rapidly recovered. Great Strength True Martial Physique's recovery ability was at the top of the ten extreme physiques, tens of times stronger than six arm heavenly zombie king.
It was not strange for Fang Yuan to forcibly refine Hei Lou Lan's vital Gu. Fang Yuan was already a Gu Immortal and with the help of immortal essence, this meant an enormous advantage in refining mortal Gu.
Fang Yuan's strength path phantom actually had the same appearance as him, this was what made Hei Lou Lan extremely surprised.
"Even if you seized Hei Lou Lan's Gu and roughly reconstructed his killer move, your strength path phantom merely has its form and it might have the ability to recondense from the fist qi, but the difference when compared to Hei Lou Lan's genuine killer move is too great." Mo Yao's will bluntly commented.
At this moment, everyone had reached Fang Yuan.
On the outer periphery, Giant Sun's will had curled up into a ball, moving slowly, waiting for the time Fang Yuan showed a weakness during the chaotic battle to deal a fatal strike!
"In that case Mo Yao, open your eyes and watch what happens next closely." Fang Yuan's grin slowly turned into a huge smile.
He punched! With the only remaining arm!
Fist qi surged and turned into a strength path phantom. The phantom did not pause, immediately pouncing towards the incoming Gu Masters.
Fang Yuan punched again!
Another strength path phantom appeared, but it was different; this strength path phantom also resembled a young Fang Yuan, but it had two extra arms and it was even more powerful.
Fang Yuan's breathing sped up as he punched rapidly, the fist shadows interweaving together into a curtain!
BOOM BOOM BOOM.....
Punches after punches in the air sent out cracking noises, producing continuous echoing explosions.
Majestic fist qi surged madly, forming whirlwinds.
Wind and clouds surged and roared like dragons and tigers!
In a blink of an eye, a hundred strength path phantoms were created, forming layers upon layers of protection around Fang Yuan.
The Gu Masters had just finished off the previous two strength path phantoms and were about to charge towards Fang Yuan. But when they raised their heads, all of their expressions turned into great shock!
"How could there be so many strength path phantoms?!" One Gu Master's eyes almost popped out.
"F*ck, there are still more being created!!" Another Gu Master swore loudly.
Fang Yuan continued to punch; fist qi formed into strength path phantoms as if they were endless.
The Gu Masters could not believe what they were seeing; this number greatly surpassed Hei Lou Lan's limit, moreover it was still rapidly increasing.
Within moments, there were already a thousand strength path phantoms!
Just recently, Fang Yuan was alone, but now he had an army standing around him!
"Are they phonies?" A Gu Master was suspicious and felt Fang Yuan was using Gu worm to create illusions.
But the strength path phantoms' solid attacks in the next moment gave a painful answer to the group!
"Kill!"
"We will let you taste our power."
These strength path phantoms were actually able to speak, and showed extraordinary intelligence.
They attacked together, forming an endless stream of humans! The Gu Masters who were confident in their numbers were now drowned in strength path phantoms.
They seemed to be stranded in a torrential river; suffering the strong attacks of the waves.
"Defend!"
"Stabilize our formation, they are only strength path phantoms!"
"Damn it, these strength path phantoms can actually coordinate and carry out battle tactics!!"
The Gu Masters shouted one after another. Their formation was like a large reef near the shore. However, after engaging in battle, they discovered that the power of these strength path phantoms far surpassed their imaginations!
These strength path phantoms coordinated together and did not care about sacrificing themselves; although they only had singular method of attacking, it generated an extremely large pressure on the Gu Masters.
The Gu Masters' formation soon showed signs of breaking.
"This... what killer move is this? My strength path phantoms could not coordinate to this extent. This is simply a relentless army fighting to the death!" Hei Lou Lan was shocked and uneasy.
Fang Yuan retreated while continuing to punch out fist qi.
The number of strength path phantoms continued to rise crazily.
"Your... killer move, this... killer... move..." Mo Yao's will stammered in shock!
She analyzed: "Mortal Gu absolutely cannot have such might, you definitely used Immortal Gu! You still have a trump card that I don't know about? No, impossible, you definitely had refined Immortal Gu. How could you refine Immortal Gu so quickly?"
Fang Yuan laughed loudly: "Why do you think I tried to get near to wisdom Gu by all means possible? It was to use its rank nine aura to help me refine Immortal Gu! If it were other people's Immortal Gu, it would not be easy to deceive, thus I could not refine Man as Before and Landscape as Before. But it is very difficult for young wild will to distinguish if this aura originated from me."
Gu worms higher by two ranks or more could pressure others into submission. Back then on Qing Mao mountain, Fang Yuan used Spring Autumn Cicada's aura to help him refine Gu.
"That means you had planned to intentionally transform completely with six arm heavenly zombie king?" Mo Yao's will immediately started feeling uneasy when she discovered this.
The light of wisdom consumed lifespan, but after transforming into a zombie which was already dead, Fang Yuan naturally could stay for much longer in the light of wisdom.
Mo Yao continued to observe and found that Fang Yuan's killer move followed some certain characteristics of strength path. His strength path phantoms normally had two arms. But sometimes, there would be phantoms with four arms and even six arms occasionally.
The more arms the phantoms had, the stronger they were.
Two armed phantoms only had average battle strength comparable to hundred beast kings. Four armed phantoms were comparable to thousand beast kings and six armed phantoms were comparable to myriad beast kings.
"This... this is simply the re-creation of a beast group!" When Mo Yao's will became aware of this, her delicate body shivered, and said with an incredulous tone, "You, lad you, you actually managed to resolve the age old question, you have merged the two paths of enslavement and strength!"
Enslavement path controlled a great number of beasts and used numbers to crush enemies.
Strength path focused on strengthening oneself, fighting many enemies alone.
The essence of two Gu Master paths that were polar opposites were now perfectly harmonized and united in Fang Yuan's killer move!
Fang Yuan had been trying to solve this issue since long ago. But he made no progress and was even ridiculed and persuaded against by Mo Yao's will.
However, he had never given up on his attempts to resolve this. He would never abandon something because of other people's denial, ridicule and persuasion.
The most crucial breakthrough came during the process of Gu Immortal advancement.
He used this extremely precious opportunity to advance his strength path realm. Obtaining inspiration from heaven and earth, he abandoned everything else to wholeheartedly seek the answer for the merging of enslavement and strength path.
Heaven and earth were completely open to him, he was imparted supreme mysteries!
But finally, he also had wisdom Gu to thank.
Fang Yuan stayed under the light of wisdom for a long time, wasting away his lifespan and turning into one of the living dead. He paid a heavy price but his rewards were also enormous. Finally, he was able to use his available Gu worms to coordinate together and form the killer move.
Without investment, how could there by any gains?
Of course, he also had to thank Hei Lou Lan, thanks to his vital Gu which was one of the most crucial components of the killer move. Besides it, there were Immortal Gu, as well as many Gu worms which were required to form six arm heavenly zombie king, and in addition Fang Yuan's second vital Gu, all-out effort Gu, which played an important role.
This was also one of the reasons Fang Yuan intentionally transformed with six arm heavenly zombie king. He needed the Gu worms forming six arm heavenly zombie king to make this new killer move!
Even if the black coffin luck on him intensified, even if powerful enemies surrounded him and the wind veil of assimilation isolated everything from the world, heaven would never seal all of one's paths!
There was no absolutely desperate situation in this world, there were only people who despair.
The answer to resolving problems will always be in our own hands; when we inspect our inner hearts, we will find that the miraculous heavenly power was in ourselves all along!
To discover oneself, to recognize oneself, and to rely on oneself!
"The convergence of enslavement and strength path is an age old question which has baffled countless heroes and geniuses through the ages. I had never expected it to be perfectly resolved in your hands. Lad, you have ventured on a new road indeed. As you continue to develop this path, you might even be able to truly unite enslavement and strength path, and develop a whole new path. This path will definitely have unprecedented strength!" Mo Yao's will sighed with deep emotions, her refinement path grandmaster spirit made her not stint on praising Fang Yuan.
"Hehehe." Fang Yuan was just about to reply when suddenly Giant Sun's will appeared right in front of him.
It was a sneak attack!
During this critical moment of life and death, Fang Yuan moved his head, his vital area, and used his shoulder to bear the brunt of Giant Sun's will's attack.
Boom, a huge sound erupted, Fang Yuan was sent rolling to the ground, plowing a gorge metres in length.
"Looks like there is still quite a bit of your will remaining in my mind, you influenced my thoughts again!" Fang Yuan was furious as he saw through Mo Yao's scheme.
Mo Yao shed all consideration for face and screamed: "Kid, I asked you to obediently activate Spring Autumn Cicada, but you didn't give in! Destiny sent you in front of me to give me a chance at rebirth. I will definitely grasp this opportunity!!"
"Hmph! Most of your will and Gu worms have been locked in my immortal aperture. Your red date immortal essence is also under my control; you have no way to replenish your will anymore. To influence my thoughts, your thoughts will have to collide, let me see how long this portion of your will that is hiding in my mind can last!"
Fang Yuan attacked Mo Yao's will while tightly fixing his gaze on Giant Sun's will. Strength path phantoms soon gathered around him and filled the gap, once more tightly protecting Fang Yuan.
Giant Sun's will felt quite troubled, it was okay when Fang Yuan was alone previously, but now he had so many helpers!
Giant Sun's will excelled in speed and transforming, but was afraid of expending his thoughts. Fang Yuan's killer move that combined enslavement and strength path was a direct counter to him.
No matter how fast your speed is, I will form a tighter defense. You have your countless transformations, I have my self-detonating phantoms!
There were way too many strength path phantoms; they surrounded Fang Yuan in layers after layers, not only in all directions, there were strength path phantoms even floating in the sky.
There was simply no gap to attack.
"This killer move actually combined the essence of both enslavement and strength path. These strength path phantoms can not only condense back from the remnant fist qi, they can even self-detonate! This kid definitely already had some foundation in this aspect and had made preparations, otherwise just relying on the time within the light of wisdom, he absolutely would not be able to create it out of nothing... Right, he succeeded in his Gu Immortal ascension, it is extremely likely that he received the guidance of heaven and earth during the process of advancement. Damn it!"
Giant Sun's will pondered intensely before hurriedly stopping his thoughts. There were hardly any left, if he thought for too long, a large portion of him would vanish.
"A chance!" Suddenly, he transformed into a golden rainbow, travelling nimbly between the army of strength path phantoms and ruthlessly striking at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan grinned: "Old geezer, why are you in such a rush?"
He had intentionally revealed this flaw in the strength path phantoms' formation!
Giant Sun's will fell for Fang Yuan's scheme. Three strength path phantoms instantly appeared in front of him.
Giant Sun's will thought rapidly and like a snake, he coiled around two. However, he could not avoid the last strength path phantom, and directly smashed into it.
Boom!
A huge sound erupted, the strength path phantom was crushed into smithereens.
"Old bastard, do you really think I am easy prey? Hmph, I have already waited for too long!" Fang Yuan was already fully prepared. He raised his fist and pounded down with all his strength at Giant Sun's will.
Giant Sun's will was caught unprepared and shattered!
-x-X-x-
Fang Yuan finally displayed his true strength; his punch was extremely fast, Giant Sun's will was caught unprepared and received the full brunt of the attack.
Bang, the condensed golden will was smashed into smithereens, splitting into countless parts.
But in the next moment, the will condensed again, though its volume had fully decreased by one-fifth.
Having suffered such a great loss, Giant Sun's will was about to furiously counterattack. However, Fang Yuan had already retreated to safety behind the layers upon layers of strength path phantoms.
Giant Sun's will was so angry at this that he almost collapsed again.
He could not think about too many things, otherwise he would have already seen this was a trap. Thus, he fell for Fang Yuan's scheme.
"Hei Lou Lan, what are you still hesitating for?" Giant Sun's will bellowed.
"How can he send out strength path phantoms that look exactly the same as him?" Hei Lou Lan's thoughts were tangled and confused, and when he heard Giant Sun's will's roar, he quivered before coming back to his senses.
Fang Yuan's killer move was powerful and had the number advantage, suppressing everyone into such disadvantage that they were not even able to raise their heads. Even Giant Sun's will could not make any progress.
This was the moment of life and death!
Hei Lou Lan's Great Strength True Martial Physique was the crucial battle strength that could change the situation! As he thought of this, Hei Lou Lan opened his eyes wide in anger and stood up straight.
BOOM!!!
One ordinary punch produced a terrifying result; the piercingly cold fist qi almost penetrated the heavy layers of strength path phantoms.
Human figures flew all around as the phantoms were smashed to pieces.
This was the true strength of Great Strength True Martial Physique.
At this moment, Hei Lou Lan displayed all his strength without any reservations!
The Immortal Gu Dark Limit's remaining power on him was a thin layer of black membrane.
When Hei Lou Lan tore apart this layer of black membrane, his figure suddenly changed! The surging aura of one of the ten extreme physiques soared to the skies, a formless aura shook the air and formed a shockwave that engulfed the surroundings.
"This?!"
"What's going on? Lord Hei Lou Lan actually turned into a woman!"
"The rumor was actually true! In Su Xian's Night Elopement, Su Xian had given birth to a daughter with Hei tribe's supreme elder, Hei Cheng..."
It was no wonder that back then, Giant Sun's will had chosen Hei Lou Lan and Ma Hong Yun to be Frost Jade Peacock's masters. Giant Sun's will had already seen through Hei Lou Lan's true gender.
Hei Lou Lan turned a deaf ear to everyone's shocked remarks, and fixed her gaze at Fang Yuan. Killing intent surged and a wild, noble aura manifested like a proud tigress starting her hunt – bold and fearless, and hungry to devour humans.
Fang Yuan gave a cold snort, fist qi surged beside him non-stop, condensing into strength path phantoms that had the formation of an army.
He had full confidence in his killer move and was not afraid of Hei Lou Lan: "The self-detonation of one of the ten extreme physiques can indeed slaughter immortals. But my killer move can also do so!"
Strength path phantoms shouted one after another; their rallying cries poured like a river towards Hei Lou Lan.
Hei Lou Lan who had exposed her true appearance was simply unstoppable, she was like a female warrior goddess who possessed the strength of a thousand troops. The strength path phantom army charged at her, but she was stable and unmoved.
"Save me!" At another side, Ye Lui Sang and the others cried out for help.
Fang Yuan was concentrating on three tasks; facing Hei Lou Lan, taking care of other Gu Masters and also guarding against Giant Sun's will.
He displayed his master level attainment in enslavement path for all to see.
The strength path phantom army were highly coordinated and they seemed to move like one entity. With no regard for sacrifices, they attacked with a crazy offense; Ye Lui Sang and the others were already in danger, but now could hold on no longer, their final defensive line was broken.
Hei Lou Lan wanted to return and assist them, but was firmly stalled by the strength path phantoms.
"These strength path phantoms actually have an ordinary person's intelligence! How was he able to accomplish this? He definitely seized my vital Gu, but how could he create strength path phantoms that have the exact same appearance as him!" Hei Lou Lan was extremely astonished.
The more she battled with the strength path phantom army, the more she realized their power.
An individual strength path phantom was of no concern. But three strength path phantoms' tacit cooperation could slightly resist Hei Lou Lan. Six strength path phantoms could form a small battle formation and stall her. Nine strength path phantoms attacking in succession could pressure her.
The greater the number of strength path phantoms, the higher their battle strength.
This was all because of the exquisite coordination between them!
Even beast groups could not accomplish this, but Fang Yuan's enslavement path army was actually made of his own strength path phantoms; they came from the same source and thus were of one mind.
Hei Lou Lan was not able to reinforce them in time; Ye Lui Sang and the others were killed one after the other by the strength path phantoms.
And facing the cries for help from his bloodline descendants, Giant Sun's will made the opposite choice of Hei Lou Lan; he turned into several arrows and tried to take advantage of the chaos to kill Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan mobilized the guards beside him to engage in an intense battle with Giant Sun's will.
The duration of the battle was extremely short but it was exceptionally fierce.
Seeing that he could not succeed, Giant Sun's will left after probing and did not continue fighting zealously. There were hardly any thoughts left in this will; the intense battle would demand quick thinking and he would slowly be unable to bear such intensive consumption.
And Fang Yuan also was in trouble.
Mo Yao's will continued to bother him from time to time, creating distracting thoughts and causing him to repeatedly make mistakes when mobilizing the strength path phantoms, making him unable to display his master level enslavement path attainment to the fullest.
However, as time passed, Fang Yuan gradually attained the upper hand.
His strength path phantom army continued to increase in numbers, the narrow remaining space was filled with these strength path phantoms, their number already surpassing ten thousand.
At the same time, Mo Yao's will's influence on him was weakening.
Giant Sun's will sneak attacked many times but did not succeed, his remaining volume was less than that of an adult.
The only one who was still fighting like an addict, Hei Lou Lan, was a monster with unlimited stamina. Great Strength True Martial Physique's battle strength could make one speechless. If not for the layers of strength path phantoms which consisted of an absurd number already, they might not have been able to restrain her.
...
"Child, you have to be careful. I researched this strength path killer move for you, although it is strong, it has a flaw. The strength path phantom you create is actually your subconscious image." Her mother, Su Xian, said in an extremely weak tone at the moment of her death, advising her repeatedly with a worried expression.
Hei Lou Lan sat at the side of the bed, grabbing her hand, nodding her head as she wept without letting out a noise.
"<
"Mother, I understand, you can be at ease." Bean sized tears trickled down Hei Lou Lan's cheeks.
"When one day, you can create strength path phantoms that resemble your appearance completely, mother will be at ease. Remember, remember, find your 'self'. Also... also... be careful of your fa... father..." Su Xian finished her last words, using up her final breath as she left this world.
"Mother—!" Hei Lou Lan's heartbroken scream echoed in the room.
...
"Hei Lou Lan, what are you doing? You are actually letting your thoughts wander at this moment?" Giant Sun's will's furious shout broke Hei Lou Lan's recollection.
Hei Lou Lan was startled to awareness, she then stared at Fang Yuan, her heart filled with extremely complicated emotions — this guy actually had already found his self!? How did he accomplish it?
"The final moment is arriving, the wind veil of assimilation is already close to us. Hei Lou Lan, self-detonate, I swear upon the honor of Giant Sun that I will save you!" Giant Sun's will commanded.
Fang Yuan's gaze became sharp, he might have the phantom army's protection and was sure they could create enough time for him to open a stargate, but he was not willing to take the risk.
He quickly provoked: "Hehehe, Hei Lou Lan, you are a hero of a generation! Giant Sun's will might have Immortal Gu, but his immortal essence is still with me, how could he save you? How about you surrender to me, I have a way to escape this wind veil of assimilation!"
Fang Yuan was only probing and did not hold high hopes for it.
But Hei Lou Lan's movement slowed down and her battle intent clearly lowered when she heard his words.
Giant Sun's will saw the situation taking a turn for the worse and quickly shouted: "Don't listen to this demon's nonsense, he cannot be trusted! Hei Lou Lan, don't hesitate, this is our final chance to turn around the situation! Could it be that you don't believe me, your ancestor? Don't forget that I am only lending you the strength path Immortal Gu, it still has my will and it will self-detonate with just a thought from me!"
Hei Lou Lan roared as her battle intent soared again.
"Demon, you have a glib tongue, crafty as a fox! Damn it, what Gu did you use on me? I will make you pay the most terrible price, hand over your life!"
Hei Lou Lan erupted and like a wild dragon entering the sea, she carved out a path through the layers of the strength path phantom army.
Fang Yuan laughed loudly: "Good, let me personally experience the power of Great Strength True Martial Physique!"
He then faced Hei Lou Lan head-on, and engaged in close combat.
Six arm heavenly zombie king was strong but it was not the match of the ten extreme physiques. This was still the case under the circumstances in which Fang Yuan possessed unlimited primeval essence and was activating large numbers of mortal Gu.
Hei Lou Lan's feelings were much different.
Fang Yuan's power and ferociousness along with the surrounding strength path phantoms' tacit coordination made her feel extremely pressured, and she was suffering injuries after injuries.
But Great Strength True Martial Physique's recovery ability was much stronger than six arm heavenly zombie king, the pain instead caused Hei Lou Lan to become even more fierce.
For a moment, both sides exchanged moves after moves and were evenly matched.
Giant Sun's will only had to wait for a short while before it saw a flaw from Fang Yuan and sneak attacked at lightning speed.
Fang Yuan retreated a step and turned around, counterattacking with clear hatred at Giant Sun's will.
Giant Sun's will gnashed his teeth as he fiercely clashed with Fang Yuan, creating an even bigger flaw. He bellowed: "Hei Lou Lan!"
As long as this exposed flaw was used, Hei Lou Lan could definitely inflict heavy injuries upon Fang Yuan and might even be able to take his life.
Giant Sun's will finally saw hope at this moment.
"Coming!" Hei Lou Lan charged over and activated her Gu worms, striking with an unprecedented power.
A dozen strength path phantoms suddenly jumped beside Fang Yuan to protect him.
"You!" Giant Sun's will roared in shock, Hei Lou Lan's attack did not strike Fang Yuan, but smashed upon him!
Giant Sun's will crumbled, revealing three Immortal Gu.
Hei Lou Lan opened her mouth, actually swallowing the three Immortal Gu.
With a gulp, the three Immortal Gu entered her stomach.
Fang Yuan laughed loudly, the dozen strength path phantoms that had come to reinforce him changed their formation and surrounded Giant Sun's will, before brazenly self-detonating!
Fist qi surged, almost completely exterminating all of Giant Sun's will; only four to five traces of golden thoughts managed to escape!
-x-X-x-
"Why, why?!" The golden thoughts were furious and puzzled by the betrayal.
"Hmph! Old bastard, I followed your commands earlier because I needed something. Now that the strength path Immortal Gu is already in my possession, why would I still listen to your commands?" Hei Lou Lan sneered, her beautiful appearance filled with pride and coldness.
"You thankless wretch, unfilial descendant, you actually betrayed your ancestor!" The golden thoughts shouted in hatred.
"Shut up, stop screaming. Is it because your thoughts are too few now that you are unable to think and have become so demented?" Hei Lou Lan crossed her arms and squinted her eyes, "You want me to self-detonate, but after making that kind of promise, what can you actually use to save me? Relying on your slavery Gu, divert disaster Gu or Fixed Immortal Travel? These are the only three remaining Immortal Gu on you, now tell me, where is the Immortal Gu that can resurrect me? Hmph, you want to deceive me with such a childish trick?"
"If you were strong and powerful, I would obey you according to the rule of complying to the strong. But look at you now, what reason do you have to order me around? Hmm? Just because you are the remaining will left behind by a dead man? Hehehe, even if it is Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, he is already dead, he is a thing of the past! This is a new era, why is a dead man like you still jumping around like a clown?"
Her words were filled with ambitious and ruthless grandeur!
Hei Lou Lan was still that Hei Lou Lan!
"Even if I only have a single thought remaining, I can still cause the Immortal Gu to perish!" The golden thoughts cried out.
However, Hei Lou Lan was calm: "You can try as much as you want."
"What's going on? You are actually suppressing four Immortal Gu! You might have Great Strength True Martial Physique, but you don't have the will of an immortal, how can you suppress four Immortal Gu?" The golden thoughts flashed with radiance before screaming out in an incredulous tone; clearly, it was unable to destroy the Immortal Gu.
"There are still many things you do not know." Hei Lou Lan seemed to be shrouded in profound mystery at this moment.
"Hei Lou Lan, as a descendant of Huang Jin bloodline and a tribe leader of a super tribe, you colluded with an outsider to scheme against your ancestor! You two shameless bastards, when did you team up? Why didn't I discover it?!" The golden thoughts asked in a furious tone.
"Sure enough, you are much easier to deal with when you can't think. Sigh, your pathetic performance really brings shame to Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's reputation." Fang Yuan sighed, but there was a grin on his face filled with disdain.
The two had actually allied just before now.
Earlier, Hei Lou Lan had shouted —"Demon, you have a glib tongue, crafty as a fox! Damn it, what Gu did you use on me? I will make you pay the most terrible price, hand over your life!"
Fang Yuan had not used any Gu, but Hei Lou Lan said Fang Yuan used a Gu.
This was a code word.
Whether it was Fang Yuan or Hei Lou Lan, both were meticulous and suspicious, merciless and formidable characters.
They had cooperated together throughout the Imperial Court contest and had great understanding of each other. Both knew how ambitious the other was and would not resign to being under someone else.
Just because of this, Fang Yuan was willing to take a gamble; anyway, with the strength path phantoms' protection, the risk was not high.
The two swindlers cooperated together, Hei Lou Lan made use of a opportunity in battle and succeeded in attacking Giant Sun's will and seizing away all the Immortal Gu.
"I am unresigned, I am unresigned! I am the strongest, yet I was plotted against till I reached this stage. None of you will have a good end, my main body left behind many arrangements which are set to activate when Eighty-Eight True Yang Building collapses. True Yang Building will be rebuilt, and you guys will be hunted down to the ends of the world. I didn't lose to you, if I didn't make moves against Ma Hong Yun and ruin my luck, how could I lose?! In the end, I lost to luck!" The golden thoughts roared hysterically.
Boom boom boom.
In the next moment, it self-detonated, destroying itself!
It was after all something left behind by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, even if there were only a few thoughts left, it was decisive.
It was worried the secrets on it would be searched and extracted; the situation was hopeless so it directly chose to self-detonate.
The self-detonation of thoughts was extremely fast. Even if Fang Yuan wanted to stop it, he did not have corresponding methods. Unlike blood path, strength path and enslavement path, his wisdom path attainment was still very shallow.
Only by deceiving Giant Sun's will to enter his immortal aperture, like Mo Yao's will, would Fang Yuan be able to easily suppress it.
Like this, the strongest existence and ruler of Imperial Court blessed land finally dispersed in smoke, not leaving even a trace of it behind.
Hei Lou Lan let out a breath of turbid air before looking at Fang Yuan with a tranquil gaze, speaking in a serious tone: "Now, let's have a good discussion, I believe we have the foundation for cooperation."
Fang Yuan nodded, sneering: "Before speaking of anything else, the Immortal Gu Fixed Immortal Travel you seized is mine."
That formless fist which seized Fixed Immortal Travel had been broken by Giant Sun's will. After Giant Sun's will seized the Immortal Gu, he forcibly suppressed Fang Yuan's will within the Gu but did not have time to refine it, or it may be that he did not have the strength to forcibly refine it.
Thus, Fang Yuan was not able to sense the connection with Fixed Immortal Travel. He had lost track of the target earlier and thought the formless fist had already torn through space and left.
"I know, this is precisely one of my conditions. Right now, I am suppressing your Immortal Gu, but there is no time for me to forcibly refine it. I need you to lend me this Fixed Immortal Travel!" Hei Lou Lan made an astonishing demand.
Fang Yuan had a calm expression: "Why should I lend it to you?"
"Hmph, the Gu is on me and without Fixed Immortal Travel, how can you escape from here? Only if we sincerely cooperate, can we have the chance to escape." Hei Lou Lan said.
Fang Yuan chuckled: "Who told you I don't have other methods to leave this place?"
Hei Lou Lan's pupils shrunk as she looked at Fang Yuan deeply: "The wind veil of assimilation isolates the outside world from the inside, Gu like hole earth Gu and connecting heaven Gu cannot be used. You actually have another method... but you didn't use it even until now, heh, it seems this method has its flaws!"
She was a formidable character, regaining her cool quickly and even carrying a probing counterattack.
She sounded extremely certain, but she was not that sure inwardly and was only probing. Fang Yuan laughed loudly, his strength path phantom army was beside him and he did not fear the self-detonation of Great Strength True Martial Physique.
However, his opponent was not any ordinary person of the Great Strength True Martial Physique, but Hei Lou Lan!
This fellow could not be underestimated. They had contested repeatedly in Eighty-Eight True Yang Building but they were evenly matched, in fact, she even caused much trouble to Fang Yuan.
Now, she was clearly still a mortal but was able to suppress four Immortal Gu, causing even Giant Sun's will to be surprised.
If Fang Yuan did not lend her Fixed Immortal Travel, she was sure to die. But he still had some fear if she counterattacked at the risk of her life.
Without the intervention of Mo Yao's will, Fang Yuan had returned to his original nature, he calculated his profits; shortly after, he asked the most crucial question —"Then, what can I obtain?"
"Immortal Gu Dark Limit." Hei Lou Lan calmly replied, but inwardly she let out a breath of relief.
"Oh, I would like to hear the details."
"I will help you obtain this Gu. This Gu is in the hands of Gu Immortal Jiang Yu, it can conceal aura, hide heavenly secrets and protect you from deductions. My Great Strength True Martial Physique was sealed with the help of Immortal Gu Dark Limit. You have caused such a huge incident, northern plains' Gu Immortals will definitely track you down and cause troubles for you. Not only them, there are also the arrangements left behind by Giant Sun Immortal Venerable. But with Immortal Gu Dark Limit, your location will not be discovered."
"Interesting, what else?" Fang Yuan rubbed his chin.
Hei Lou Lan smiled: "We are both smart people, I will speak frankly. I shoulder a huge hatred and grudge so I cannot self-detonate to kill you with me. But you also probably don't want to force me until I drag you along with me, right?"
"Hmph, you are unlikely to kill me, but it is true that it will be really troublesome!" Fang Yuan gave a cold snort.
Hei Lou Lan's pupils shrunk: "From your words, it seems you still haven't fully displayed the power of your killer move. But I also have another trump card!"
Fang Yuan nodded, Hei Lou Lan had already displayed it just before. She could suppress Immortal Gu which was not possible by just relying on Great Strength True Martial Physique.
As long as there were enough profits, there was no need for bloodfest. Fang Yuan was not afraid of Hei Lou Lan's self-detonation, but there would be no benefits to both of them if he pushed her too far.
Hei Lou Lan continued: "I will help you obtain Immortal Gu Dark Limit and will also return Fixed Immortal Travel once I finish using it. I will also give you my strength path killer move, I believe it will provide some help to your new killer move. Moreover, I haven't killed your senior brother Tai Bai Yun Sheng."
Fang Yuan glanced at Tai Bai Yun Sheng who was lying on the ground in unconsciousness, with his body covered by a defensive barrier; this was clearly Hei Lou Lan's work.
His evaluation of Hei Lou Lan could not help but rise by a level.
Hei Lou Lan was truly not simple, she actually protected Tai Bai Yun Sheng until now. Clearly, she was dissatisfied with Giant Sun's will and had been scheming against it.
More importantly, she gave many benefits; Immortal Gu Dark Limit was an important benefit, Fixed Immortal Travel was second, then the strength path killer move and finally Tai Bai Yun Sheng. Such an arrangement showed how much she understood Fang Yuan.
"Then your condition is?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Protect me during my Gu Immortal ascension and also help me when I kill my father personally!" Hei Lou Lan's eyes revealed extreme hatred when she said this.
Fang Yuan's brows involuntarily rose up.
He did not ask why, and he did not need a reason.
"Hahaha." Fang Yuan laughed brightly. He looked at the surrounding wind veil of assimilation then turned towards Hei Lou Lan.
Hei Lou Lan who had torn off the seal of Dark Limit and revealed her true appearance was no longer an obese and fierce bear, instead she had a stimulating, charming body with sharp brows and bright eyes; she was a remarkably beautiful woman filled with a tyrannical aura.
"Interesting! Well, there is no harm in cooperating for the moment." Fang Yuan praised as he agreed.
The benefits of this cooperation were truly shocking.
In any case, Fixed Immortal Travel was in Hei Lou Lan's hands, Fang Yuan was also helpless about that and so he might as well cooperate.
Next, Fang Yuan mentioned his own conditions and reached a basic consensus with Hei Lou Lan.
The shrinking of the wind veil of assimilation had almost reached the extreme.
Large numbers of Gu accumulated in the narrow space, crowding together. Many Gu worms were already devoured by the wind veil of assimilation, becoming a part of it.
But the tribulation, formless hands, were also completely gone.
"There is no time today, we will talk more in the future." After a rough agreement, Hei Lou Lan activated Fixed Immortal Travel; dark green light covered her body.
She was not a Gu Immortal but astonishingly, she could activate Immortal Gu!
Before leaving, she gave a deep glance at Fang Yuan and asked, seemingly without much thought: "Your killer move, what is its name?"
"Myriad Self." Fang Yuan replied.
Hei Lou Lan nodded, engraving this name to the depths of her heart. She knew that sooner or later, this killer move's name would rise to fame and spread throughout the five regions!
The next moment, Fixed Immortal Travel activated and Hei Lou Lan disappeared.
The moment she left, Fang Yuan immediately destroyed the surroundings to prevent her from using Fixed Immortal Travel to return.
Wind veil of assimilation was already pressing in very closely, there was only a cabin sized space left for Fang Yuan to move.
Large numbers of Gu worms were already devoured by the wind veil of assimilation, while there were still a few that were flying around.
Fang Yuan released starlight firefly Gu and opened the stargate.
But he did not leave immediately, instead deeply gazing at these flying Gu worms.
He did not have any certainty, but still wanted to give it a try.
A few breaths later, a Gu worm flew towards him of its own accord.
Rank nine wisdom Gu!
"Hahaha..." In the narrow space, Fang Yuan's laughter was echoing endlessly.
....
Slowly opening his eyes, Fang Yuan woke up.
Seeing crystal walls sparkling with a bright pink colored light, Fang Yuan was dazed, before reacting — he had used the stargate to return to Hu Immortal blessed land from northern plains.
Except that in this trip to northern plains, he had exhausted his mind and spirit, it was such a dangerous trip, it was a near fatal experience. Even though Fang Yuan's body was that of six arm heavenly zombie king, his mind was still filled with fatigue.
After returning to Hu Immortal blessed land, he made some arrangements and fell into deep sleep.
He slowly woke up now, after sleeping for an unknown amount of time.
He was very exhausted, even now, Fang Yuan only wanted to lie down and not get up.
"My body is filled with death energy, I have completely turned into a zombie, my body knows no fatigue, but my soul is still my original soul, it has its limits and will suffer injuries too."
A thought flashed in his mind, as Fang Yuan gradually got up.
His mind was in tranquility, it was a comfortable feeling.
Sleeping had the effect of soothing one's soul.
Fang Yuan breathed out some turbid air, stretching his limbs, but he only felt like his body was rusty, he felt very inflexible and heavy.
He was not surprised, he knew that this was the backlash of using his killer move, myriad self — his soul was greatly depleted. Thus, when he tried to move this extremely strong zombie body, he felt difficulty and resistance.
"Where is the land spirit?" Fang Yuan spoke. His voice was coarse and irritating, like the sound of sand grinding on ice shards, it would give a dry and icy feeling to people.
"Master!" At the next moment, the land spirit Little Hu Immortal's voice resounded in Fang Yuan's ears.
The voice was still cute and sweet, but there was a hint of worry and sadness in it.
Fang Yuan turned around, only to see Little Hu Immortal appearing before his left hand with reddened eyes.
"How long have I been asleep?" Fang Yuan nodded, asking.
"Master, you have been asleep for two days and three nights." Little Hu Immortal replied.
Fang Yuan recalled, two days and three nights was in terms of Hu Immortal blessed land time. Five days in Hu Immortal blessed land was one day in the outside world of the five regions. That means that since Fang Yuan left the wind veil of assimilation, less than a day had passed in northern plains.
Fang Yuan's inner thoughts settled.
Before he slept, he had made an agreement with Hei Lou Lan, they were temporarily cooperating, thus, he would have to return to northern plains soon.
Little Hu Immortal saw that Fang Yuan was silent, and thought he was upset. She opened her tiny mouth and consoled; "Master, master, don't be too upset. Your current appearance, although it is quite ugly, I'm sure there's a way to change it back. I believe that one day, master will go back to his original form. Master, you have to cheer up!"
Fang Yuan laughed speechlessly, stretching out one arm and touching Little Hu Immortal's tiny head.
Little Hu Immortal dodged for a bit, but eventually, Fang Yuan's terrifying giant zombie hand landed on her head.
She lowered her head, not making a sound.
Fang Yuan started stroking her hair and Little Hu Immortal could not take it anymore, she cried: "Master, although your palm is icy cold, I still like it!"
Saying this, she hugged Fang Yuan's huge legs and began sobbing.
Little Hu Immortal was still so cute, she was like a five to six year old child, pure and innocent, cute and tiny. She wore a rainbow dress and her snow-white fox tail was drooping towards the ground, showing her current sad mood.
The land spirit was formed from the fusion of obsession and heavenly power, it was different from wills and would never lie.
Little Hu Immortal spoke the honest truth.
Fang Yuan's expression was calm, he did not speak. But the fangs that were outside his mouth retracted a little, and the movement of his hand stroking Little Hu Immortal's head became more gentle.
He split a portion of his consciousness and looked inside his body.
In the first aperture, there was dead silence. There was not a bit of primeval essence inside, only Fang Yuan's first vital Gu.
The originally clear crystal purple walls had turned into a rock-like material. The rock wall was filled with small cracks, the culprit behind this wound was the Spring Autumn Cicada in the middle of his aperture.
Spring Autumn Cicada's body was glowing with green and yellow light, the aura of a rank six Immortal Gu was permeating the entire aperture.
If it was his rank five peak stage aperture, it might have burst already. But now that the aperture was dead, it could handle more of the Immortal Gu's pressure. Even though there was a limit, he was far from reaching it yet.
At the same time, Fang Yuan also noticed that the aperture was completely dry and could not produce any more primeval essence.
"This is the price for turning into a zombie, the aperture is dead and cannot produce any primeval essence." Fang Yuan assessed in his mind.
He could not help but think of First Gen Gu Yue, he had turned into a blood wight and his aperture could not produce primeval essence, thus he had great desire for Gu worms like Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus.
"My current situation is way better than First Gen Gu Yue. I have already ascended into an immortal, I have nineteen green grape immortal essence and limitless primeval essence!"
Thinking of this, Fang Yuan moved his consciousness from the first aperture to the second aperture.
The newly born strength path immortal aperture had also turned grey, the blessed land was now a dead land. The sky was grey and the white stone mountains had collapsed, the ground was rotten and dark, emitting a foul odor. The ground was full of cracks, like the aftermath of an earthquake. This was the result of forcefully containing wisdom Gu.
Inside this immortal aperture were almost all of Fang Yuan's Gu worms.
The most attention grabbing ones were naturally the Immortal Gu.
There were seven Immortal Gu in here!
This amount was bound to shock others if revealed publicly. Immortal Gu were unique, they were extremely hard to get. Most ordinary Gu Immortals would not even have one Immortal Gu.
If he included Fixed Immortal Travel that he had lent to Hei Lou Lan, as well as Spring Autumn Cicada, Fang Yuan had a total of nine Immortal Gu.
This number could put most rank seven Gu Immortals to shame.
There were three Immortal Gu that were related to Water Pavilion, they were: worldly wave trace Gu, delight in mountain and water Gu and calamity beckoning Gu. The other four Immortal Gu were obtained when Fang Yuan painstakingly smashed the formless fists.
Other than the Immortal Gu, there were mortal Gu.
The most valuable mortal Gu were also obtained when Fang Yuan smashed the formless fists. All these Gu worms originated from the true inheritance secluded domain's many inheritances, each of them were high quality Gu worms and had profound differences from common Gu.
But of greater importance was the second aperture's vital Gu — rank four all-out effort Gu, as well as bitter strength Gu, borrow strength Gu, self-reliance Gu, refine essence spirit Gu, earth strength Gu, water strength Gu, wind strength Gu, lightning strength Gu, fire strength Gu, lurking beast coat Gu, aura concealment Gu and so on.
It was these Gu worms that formed the foundation of the killer move myriad self, allowing Fang Yuan to ultimately clinch victory within the wind veil of assimilation.
Other than these, there were the other random Gu worms, like the eagle rise Gu which Fang Yuan had used and expended the most in this journey within northern plains. The wind flower Gu which could allow changes in direction easily, the sole blade Gu obtained from Sole Blade General Pan Ping. There was also the battle bone wheel Gu, Stargate Gu, and the Gu that made up the foundation of a Gu Immortal, hole earth Gu, connecting heaven Gu, divine sense Gu and others.
The highest quantity that he had among them were of beggar moths, almost a thousand of them, they had the effect of storing primeval essence. They were a huge help to Fang Yuan during the final moments of his northern plains trip.
After inspecting his mortal and immortal aperture, Fang Yuan directed his attention to his body.
Without using a mirror, he knew that he had turned into a monster completely. Six meters tall, a green face and sharp fangs, blood red eyes, bulging muscles that were tough as rocks. Most importantly, he had eight arms, other than his two human arms, his other six arms were terrifying in appearance, they originated from the other rank five flying zombie Gu — asura zombie Gu, heavenly demon zombie Gu, blood wight Gu, nightmare zombie Gu, plague zombie Gu, and earth chief zombie Gu.
Fang Yuan did not care whether his appearance was handsome or ugly. Little Hu Immortal was concerned about it because she was formed from the obsession of the female Gu Immortal, Fairy Bai Hu.
What Fang Yuan cared about was that the zombie body caused his cultivation to stagnate, he was unable to advance his cultivation in the slightest. This was a huge obstacle in his pursuit of the demonic path and his dream.
He had grand ambitions, he wanted to obtain eternal life. Eternal life was in reference to being the strongest, an indestructible being that cannot be taken down by tribulations or disasters, a person that cannot be harmed by anyone, as well as having infinite lifespan.
Although a zombie body had no lifespan, his soul could still suffer damage, and his body could still be destroyed if he was attacked by someone stronger than him, there were still many flaws and weaknesses. Thus, many Gu Masters and Gu Immortals would turn into zombies only after they were left with no other choice. This method was truly a last resort for survival, it was like longing towards heaven while being in hell.
"How can I get rid of the zombie body, returning to life from death, and obtain a live human body again?" Fang Yuan asked in his heart, evidently, this was a problem that needed to be solved.
Although he had no answers, he had some rough ideas.
Interrogating Mo Yao's will who was in his immortal aperture was one method. Using wisdom Gu was the second.
Little Hu Immortal's crying slowly stopped, as Fang Yuan retracted his hand, his emotions calmed down as he asked: "During the days when I was asleep, did anything happen?"
Little Hu Immortal heard her master's inquiry and immediately stood up straight, she wiped her tears and answered him maturely: "Reporting to master, there were two things. First, your senior brother, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, had already woken up, he has been wanting to meet you over these last few days, he was so anxious he even cried several times. But master had given me the orders, thus I refused to let him in. The second matter is regarding Immortal Crane Sect, they have stopped engaging in our rockmen transactions."
Fang Yuan heard this and frowned lightly.
Fang Yuan was well aware of the reason why Immortal Crane Sect stopped the rockmen transactions. Hu Immortal blessed land had Dang Hun mountain, this was something known by everyone in central continent. Immortal Crane Sect's target was Dang Hun mountain, but they could not attack Hu Immortal blessed land directly, thus over a year ago, they had sent Fang Zheng to negotiate, eventually settling on the transactions of rockmen. But their primary objective was Dang Hun mountain and the guts Gu.
After that, Immortal Crane Sect had repeatedly urged and emphasized while requesting Fang Yuan to sell the guts Gu, but he refused them every time.
After a year, seeing that Hu Immortal blessed land was refusing to give in, Immortal Crane Sect had lost their patience, thus stopping the rockmen trade. As to whether they would express anger and want to force Fang Yuan to renegotiate, or whether they have other objectives, that would depend on how the situation progresses.
"Hu Immortal blessed land is not a utopia, it is located at Tian Ti mountain, and the outside situation is also perilous."
If Fang Yuan had a blessed land as an immortal aperture, his reliance towards Hu Immortal blessed land would greatly reduce. He could even swallow Hu Immortal blessed land directly, making his escape and leaving this place. Unfortunately, he was now a zombie, his immortal aperture was a dead aperture, there was no way to consider this.
Fang Yuan thought about it, but for now could not come up with any ideas.
"Damn it, after becoming a zombie, my cognitive abilities have weakened, my thoughts are moving slower and slower, it is too inefficient." Fang Yuan frowned deeply, he started to feel the drawback of the zombie body.
-x-X-x-
The stagnation of his cultivation was only the main drawback, other than that, there were many other smaller drawbacks. One of them, was the fact that he had no sense of pain. His cognition slowing down was another problem.
In this world, wisdom path had already deciphered the mysteries behind how a person thinks.
When a person thinks, many thoughts would be created in their minds. Intelligent people would generate a large number of thoughts more quickly, while stupid people would generate fewer thoughts, and at a slower pace.
When these individual thoughts collide into one another, they would fuse or possibly be destroyed, eventually, one or more new thoughts would be created. These new thoughts would be the result of their thinking.
The brain is the place which gives birth to thoughts, it is an important domain for all life forms when they think. But this domain is decided on two aspects.
One was the body, while the other was the soul.
If a person's soul resided in a wild beast's body, then this 'wild beast' would become very intelligent. This level of intelligence would far surpass an ordinary wild beast, but would be lower than a normal human being.
Gu is the essence of heaven and earth, man is the spirit of all beings. Among all living beings, humans were the most intelligent. To achieve this, one needed a human's physical body and a human's soul.
Now that Fang Yuan's body was completely dead, only his soul was intact. Thus, in his mind, the number of thoughts generated would be much fewer, and the speed of his cognition would reduce greatly.
Intensive thinking would lead to a sharp fall in the number of thoughts. Because the zombie's mind produces fewer thoughts, and at a slower pace, the thoughts generated cannot keep up with the expenditure of thoughts.
If Fang Yuan was a brute, so be it. But he was very skilled at scheming, he was an ambitious person who was used to plotting in order to succeed in situations, after becoming a zombie, he felt very uncomfortable, he was not used to this new change at all.
"No wonder most zombies like First Gen Gu Yue choose to enter deep sleep. When one is sleeping, they would think less, and the consumption of their thoughts would fall sharply, thus they would be able to accumulate more thoughts in their mind. When they battle, they would think intensely and use up these thoughts." Fang Yuan had a new understanding in his mind.
This was the same reason as that of Giant Sun's will, who chose to enter deep sleep.
"The less I think, the more dull and slow I would become. To think that one day, I, Gu Yue Fang Yuan, would turn into an idiot. Hehe." Fang Yuan mocked himself in his mind, collecting his scattered thoughts.
Next, he turned to Little Hu Immortal: "Bring my senior brother, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, in here, I want to meet him."
Little Hu Immortal replied to him obediently, immediately vanishing from the spot.
She was the land spirit, she could freely teleport anywhere within Hu Immortal blessed land.
After ten breaths of time, Little Hu Immortal reappeared, this time bringing Tai Bai Yun Sheng with her.
"Junior brother, you... sigh!" What shall we do now?" Taking a look at Fang Yuan, Tai Bai Yun Sheng was stunned, his eyes turned red as he spoke in a choking voice.
He already was aware of the fact regarding Fang Yuan turning into a six arm heavenly zombie king completely. This was something Fang Yuan had specified to Little Hu Immortal earlier, as something that could be exposed to Tai Bai Yun Sheng.
Fang Yuan laughed heartily: "Originally, I had advanced into a strength path Gu Immortal, what a pity that I have ended up in this state, there is no choice, I will have to continue calling you senior brother. Come! Senior brother, this is a crude place, please find a block of stone and take a seat."
The cave that Fang Yuan was in now was dug out from the center of Dang Hun mountain back in the day by Fairy Bai Hu, it was the place where she had built Dang Hun palace.
After Dang Hun mountain was destroyed by the gruel mud Immortal Gu, Fang Yuan had returned it to normal with Tai Bai Yun Sheng.
The restored Dang Hun mountain retained this mountain cave.
But the golden bricks, the silver tiles, the pink curtains, the large round bed, the golden silk blankets, and the fragrant wind chimes that were in Dang Hun palace were nowhere to be found.
Rank six Immortal Gu Landscape as Before, it could restore any mountain or body of water back to a state in the past. The furniture inside Dang Hun palace did not count as being part of a mountain or body of water.
Of course, Fang Yuan did not want to restore the former Dang Hun palace, either. After all, Fairy Bai Hu's bedroom was way too pink, it was filled with a feminine aura and did not suit Fang Yuan.
There was no furniture in the mountain cave, it was really crude and simple. Tai Bai Yun Sheng chose the boulder closest to Fang Yuan and sat down.
Right now, his inner thoughts were filled with concern, gratitude, and unconditional trust towards Fang Yuan.
After all, the two of them had braved dangers and near death experiences together, they had gone through a lot in northern plains, and had witnessed the sincerity and feelings in each other's hearts.
Not to mention the two times Fang Yuan had helped Tai Bai Yun Sheng in the true inheritance secluded domain, he did not hesitate at all, not even batting an eyelid. The first time, it was to retrieve landscape as before Immortal Gu, while the second time, he gave up on man as before Immortal Gu in order to save Tai Bai Yun Sheng's life.
During that moment, Tai Bai Yun Sheng was so touched his tears nearly flowed down his cheeks.
He had a Gu Immortal inheritance, he naturally knew the immense attraction an Immortal Gu had towards a Gu Immortal. Fang Yuan gave up on the Immortal Gu in order to save him, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, this completely displayed Fang Yuan's true feelings!
After that, Tai Bai Yun Sheng was captured by Hei Lou Lan. Fang Yuan immediately changed his direction, taking back man as before Gu first, Tai Bai Yun Sheng was in complete agreement with his actions and his heart settled, this was truly a rational decision.
When he woke up, he found that he was inside Hu Immortal blessed land, and was out of danger.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was jubilant, being able to luckily maintain his life was naturally a very joyous matter. But what made him even happier was that afterwards, seeing that he had woken up, Little Hu Immortal returned Landscape as Before and Man as Before, these two Immortal Gu back to him!
Tai Bai Yun Sheng had a soft and kind nature, he had deep attachment towards these two Immortal Gu. Regaining his important treasures after losing them, he was truly overjoyed.
But when he heard about Fang Yuan's situation from Little Hu Immortal, his heart shuddered, all of his joy was swept away, his inner thoughts was filled with sadness, guilt, regret, and pity.
Thus, he had repeatedly tried to meet Fang Yuan, attempting to give it his all to save this junior brother.
At this moment, he sat on the stone boulder, he had an expression of grief as he sighed deeply: "I am ashamed, not only did junior brother save this life of mine, I even have to bear your consolation and kind words after meeting you."
Fang Yuan stretched out one arm, patting Tai Bai Yun Sheng's shoulders, using his hoarse voice as he laughed: "Destiny is unpredictable, most things in life do not go your way. As a person, we should be more open minded. Although I became a zombie, it is still halfway between life and death, compared to those dead people and Giant Sun's will, we are much better! Especially when at the final moment, I even obtained wisdom Gu! This is a huge profit, senior brother does not need to blame yourself, you should be happy."
When Fang Yuan was leaving, he opened the stargate.
Wisdom Gu knew that this was a tunnel to the outside world, its survival instincts urged it to fly towards Fang Yuan on its own initiative.
This was something Fang Yuan had expected.
Stargate Gu was a mortal Gu, it could not contain the aura of an Immortal Gu. Fang Yuan gritted his teeth as he forcefully placed wisdom Gu in his immortal aperture.
Even though wisdom Gu restrained its own aura and Fang Yuan's immortal aperture was a dead land, having much greater capability to support it, Fang Yuan was barely able to handle it during the short period of time needed to pass through the stargate.
The moment he returned to Hu Immortal blessed land, he quickly let wisdom Gu out.
Hu Immortal blessed land was a rank six immortal aperture, but it was situated on Tian Ti mountain, it took in the earth qi of central continent and was very stable. It was not comparable with an immortal aperture that was still in a Gu Immortal's body.
Regarding wisdom Gu, Tai Bai Yun Sheng was aware of the matter.
"An outstanding person will do outstanding things, junior brother's abilities have truly made me feel nothing but deep admiration. But even the legendary rank nine Immortal Gu would not be able to treat junior brother's zombie body. Why don't you let me try and use man as before Gu!" Tai Bai Yun Sheng was very emotional, at this point, he had already stood up, ready to give it a try.
But Fang Yuan stopped him.
"Senior brother, you know clearly deep within your mind that this man as before Immortal Gu can only return a person to a prior state within one moment in the past. Although it can revive a person, such a long time has already gone by, I do not know what countless number of moments have passed since then. How can it possible heal me? It will be in vain even if you try, why should you waste your precious green grape immortal essence?"
Tai Bai Yun Sheng's expression was ashen, his emotions were unstable. When Fang Yuan had finished his words, he suddenly stretched out his palms, slapping harshly on his own face!
Crack crack crack.
Five to six sharp sounds were heard, Tai Bai Yun Sheng was actually slapping himself.
"Senior brother, stop it! What are you doing this for?" Fang Yuan acted like he was caught off guard, he hurriedly stood up, stretching out two arms and grabbing Tai Bai Yun Sheng's hands.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng could not compete with Fang Yuan's strength at all, after being immobilized, he cried profusely: "Junior brother, I have let you down, I am really very sorry!"
As he cried, his knees bent as he actually attempted to kneel down.
Fang Yuan quickly grabbed him, asking in shock: " Senior brother, what are you doing?!"
"Junior brother, if back then, I had lent man as before Immortal Gu to you, you would have been able to use it at the crucial moment and would not have turned into this current form!" Tai Bai Yun Sheng said with a tear stricken face.
He was a very kind person, although he had indirectly caused the death of Gao Yang and Zhu Zai in the past, that was just a person's instincts to survive. To him, Fang Yuan was the savior of his life, a benefactor. He was also his junior brother, they had the same master, but this person who was his benefactor and junior brother, was harmed because of his own negligence.
If back then, Tai Bai Yun Sheng had taken the initiative to lend his Gu worm to Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan would not have ended up in such an awkward state.
After Tai Bai Yun Sheng woke up, this thought had been lurking in his mind, it caused him to feel great grief and regret, he was in deep agony.
At this moment, Tai Bai Yun Sheng was weakly falling towards the ground, he was in agony and regret, he was only supported by Fang Yuan's two arms.
Fang Yuan was six meters tall, he looked down at the crying Tai Bai Yun Sheng from above as a trace of eeriness flashed across his eyes.
"I am very glad that you have such thoughts..." He laughed in his mind, but with his mouth he sounded very sincere as he said: "Senior brother, you do not need to be like this. Although a zombie's body is very hard to revert, there exist many ways and methods that are available for me. And don't forget that we have wisdom Gu here."
Tai Bai Yun Sheng slowly shook his head, he spoke weakly: "Wisdom... wisdom Gu is as high as rank nine, it came here with you all because of its survival instincts. Junior brother, even if you are a rank six Gu Immortal, you are unable to refine it, and there is no way you can control... can control it!"
"Of course I understand this. But even like this, just a bit of the light of wisdom is able to give me great rewards. In fact, my current zombie body has no lifespan, it is even more suitable for getting close to wisdom Gu!" Fang Yuan stretched out his third arm, patting Tai Bai Yun Sheng's back lightly as he explained amicably.
"And what's more, I still have Mo Yao's will."
"Mo Yao?" Tai Bai Yun Sheng was confused.
"This was an additional gain of mine in Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, Mo Yao was once a refinement path grandmaster, a certain generation's fairy of central continent's Spirit Affinity House."
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was a born and bred man of northern plains, he had never heard of Mo Yao's name, but as Spirit Affinity House was one of the the famous top ten sects of central continent, he had heard of it before.
"A certain generation's fairy of Spirit Affinity House, as well as a refinement path grandmaster. It seems that this Mo Yao is not simple." Tai Bai Yun Sheng's gloomy expression eased.
Fang Yuan laughed again, saying: "And most importantly, senior brother, don't forget that we still have master. I am sure that master has a solution for this. I will not hide this from you, after master handed me the mission for Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, he only left me a single consumable Gu, with the specific use of reporting the details to him. I had already used this Gu two days ago, when I first returned to Hu Immortal blessed land."
Fang Yuan had searched Tai Bai Yun Sheng's soul earlier in Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, and learnt about his life experiences as well as secrets.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng had once met a mysterious beggar, and obtained a time path Gu Immortal inheritance from him.
Thus, Fang Yuan lied and swindled, using his eloquent tongue and world class acting skills to convince Tai Bai Yun Sheng in Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, making him believe that both of them have the same master, which is that old beggar.
Fang Yuan even gave that old beggar a random title of Purple Mountain True Monarch.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng believed this lie from Fang Yuan completely.
Now that Fang Yuan mentioned this, Tai Bai Yun Sheng's eyes were shining: "So junior brother has a method to contact master! This is truly fantastic, others might not have a way, but master is such a knowledgeable person, I am sure he has a method!"
The fires of hope were burning in his heart.
From his tone, one could tell that the old beggar held a very important position within his inner thoughts, Tai Bai Yun Sheng was filled with confidence towards this old beggar.
If at this moment, he knew the truth, who knows what expression he would show.
Fang Yuan showed no flaws, replying calmly: "Senior brother, don't be hasty, I believe that master's letter is going to come in a few days, we should wait patiently."
Tai Bai Yun Sheng nodded, after Fang Yuan used the name of Purple Mountain True Monarch, his mood had finally calmed down.
He stood up straight, as Fang Yuan let go of his arms.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng took a step back, his gaze was locked with Fang Yuan's bright red eyes, he raised his palm and placed it by his chest, saying with a very solemn expression: "Junior brother, I will engrave your kindness deep into my heart, I will never forget it. I swear to Longevity Heaven, even if master has no way to cure you, I, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, will spend my entire life looking for a way to revive you, junior brother!"
"Hahaha! Longevity Heaven is Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's grotto-heaven, we have just wrecked this old fellow's True Yang Building, now you are swearing in its name, this is simply too ironic!" Fang Yuan raised his head and laughed: "Senior brother, I will be frank with you! We are all master's pupils, and I have saved your life before. A droplet received in need will be repaid with an entire spring, next, I will need you to repay me fully!"
"Tell me." Tai Bai Yun Sheng immediately responded without hesitation. He had long since decided to repay this debt, even if Fang Yuan wanted him to do the impossible, he would have no objections! During these days after he woke up, he had felt extremely guilty, his conscience was taking a beating and only by making a sacrifice for Fang Yuan would his heart feel slightly better.
Thus, Fang Yuan also became solemn: "This matter, I have been thinking about it for a long time. That is our seniority issue! I am master's legacy disciple, but because you became an immortal, you caught up to me. I am unsatisfied with this! I was originally a strength path Gu Immortal, even though I turned into a zombie, but sooner or later, there will be a day when I revert back. Thus, according to seniority, I am the senior brother, you are the junior brother."
"What?" Tai Bai Yun Sheng stared with his eyes wide open, he had never expected that the great debt Fang Yuan was requesting him to pay back was for such a tiny matter.
A touched feeling welled up in his heart.
Fang Yuan was someone who did not want to take advantage of his favor, but was he, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, someone who did not know how to repay favors?
Tai Bai Yun Sheng thought in his mind, he sighed and stretched out his palm, patting Fang Yuan's leg which was tough like a mountain rock. His sharp and rough leg hair even caused pain to Tai Bai Yun Sheng's palm.
Fang Yuan was like a giant, about six meters tall.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng could only pat his leg with that height.
He was solemn, before raising his head, looking at Fang Yuan's face, he laughed teasingly: "Oh junior brother, that is wishful thinking! How can a thing like seniority be so easily changed? Unless master personally rearranges our positions, I will definitely still be your senior brother, hahaha!"
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was a man not lacking in pride, how could he repay this huge favor so easily?
"Hey!" Fang Yuan shouted, venting his unhappiness: "Old Bai, why are you such a petty person! Could it be that you forgot what I said earlier? I will definitely not call you senior brother!"
"Hahaha, junior brother, I can completely understand you, this senior brother does not mind." Tai Bai Yun Sheng laughed and laughed, he was so touched his tears were overflowing.
How many years had passed in which he had not laughed so joyfully?
He had finally found his organisation.
Although he had not known Fang Yuan for long, he felt very close to him, it was as if they were family...
His laughter was echoing in the mountain cave, with the pink crystal mountain walls also looking very heartwarming at this moment.
-x-X-x-
There was only Fang Yuan left in the cave, Tai Bai Yun Sheng had already left.
He sat on the stone bench, his eight monstrous arms were hanging down, some were behind his back, some were crossed, together with his huge body, just by sitting, he gave off a mountainous aura, it gave people fear.
As for the way to deal with Tai Bai Yun Sheng, Fang Yuan had considered it deeply.
Fang Yuan only trusted himself, he would never truly trust others.
If he killed Tai Bai Yun Sheng, he would obtain man as before Gu and landscape as before Gu, as well as his rank six time path immortal aperture. But this was not maximising his benefits.
He could not deny the fact that Tai Bai Yun Sheng was a very useful chess piece.
This 'useful' was in two aspects.
Firstly, he was worth using. Before he became an immortal, he was a famous healing Gu Master in northern plains. Now that he was a rank six time path Gu Immortal with a high grade blessed land, and don't forget, he was even a flying master, he had great value if exploited.
The second aspect was that he was easy to control. Fang Yuan had once searched his soul, thus he knew about Tai Bai Yun Sheng's life experience clearly. Tai Bai Yun Sheng was a kind-hearted man, he was conscientious and knew how to repay favors. He was indebted to Fang Yuan, because he had been helped several times in True Yang Building, especially during the final moment when he was rescued from the wind veil of assimilation, and even had his two Immortal Gu returned to him, Tai Bai Yun Sheng had placed his complete trust in Fang Yuan now.
This point could be seen when Tai Bai Yun Sheng chose his seat earlier.
There were many boulders in the cave. Fang Yuan had such an ugly appearance and was so huge, normal people who got close to Fang Yuan would feel great pressure and would subconsciously keep a distance from him. But Tai Bai Yun Sheng purposely chose a seat that was closest to Fang Yuan.
This meant that in his heart, Fang Yuan was one of the closest people to him, he was not afraid that Fang Yuan would cause any harm to him.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng had once harmed Gao Yang and Zhu Zai, this was the most important point!
His survival instincts took over his reasoning, this was something very natural. After that incident, Tai Bai Yun Sheng was filled with guilt and could not forget it. His appearance was haggard and he was mentally tortured. After Fang Yuan's entrapment, he had almost gone crazy and rushed his immortal ascension, his original intention was to die.
Attempting suicide because of his guilt, one could see how powerful his conscience was.
By coincidence, Tai Bai Yun Sheng received the help of Giant Sun's will and successfully became a Gu Immortal, before falling unconscious.
Fang Yuan used the glass owner token, entering the round of Eighty-Eight True Yang Building he was placed in and woke him up. At this crucial moment, he told Tai Bai Yun Sheng about the 'secret' of their master. This precisely hit a weak point within Tai Bai Yun Sheng's mental state.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng denied his own self, thus he was in great agony and was very lost.
But at this moment, Fang Yuan appeared, giving him a group of apprentices and an organisation to provide him a sense of belonging, it gave him a feeling of protection and warmth. Next, Fang Yuan entered and exited his time path immortal aperture, casually asking him to take care of his Immortal Gu, this gave him the initial confidence.
In addition, during their encounters and difficulties in True Yang Building, all that had happened gave Tai Bai Yun Sheng a good reason to fully trust Fang Yuan. In a way, he had to thank Mo Yao for interfering with his own mind, otherwise, how could he have obtained Tai Bai Yun Sheng's unconditional trust?
"Tai Bai Yun Sheng caused the death of Gao Yang and Zhu Zai, this greatly violated his values and beliefs, he harboured extreme guilt. He felt that he was not such a person, yet he committed such an act. Now that I am his benefactor, he is indebted to me, he will definitely repay me a hundredfold or even a thousandfold. This is not only because he knows to repay favors, but also because this is a chance for him to prove that he is a good person!" Fang Yuan calmly analyzed.
Bad people would not repay favors, in fact, they would even return the favor with ill intentions. In the future, the more Tai Bai Yun Sheng sacrifices for Fang Yuan, the more it would prove that he is a good person. That way, this can cancel out the guilt he felt towards Gao Yang and Zhu Zai. This touched upon the psychological studies from Earth, including the balance theory and compensation mentality.
In a way, Fang Yuan gave Tai Bai Yun Sheng a chance to prove himself once more, and a reason for him to continue living.
Fang Yuan knew this clearly, thus when he saved Tai Bai Yun Sheng, he even returned Man as Before and Landscape as Before, these two Immortal Gu.
"I have way too many Immortal Gu, it is very costly to feed them. At this point, leaving Man as Before and Landscape as Before to Tai Bai Yun Sheng is undoubtedly better. At the same time, my immortal aperture is dead, it cannot produce immortal essence. I only have nineteen beads of green grape immortal essence, the more I use them, the fewer I have left. Although I can use some of Bai Hu's immortal essence, isn't it best if I can make use of Tai Bai Yun Sheng's green grape immortal essence instead?"
Thinking of the cost of feeding Immortal Gu, Fang Yuan felt a headache.
Raising a Gu worm was like supporting a mistress, Gu Masters are often unable to afford it or maintain their upkeep. Ever since Fang Yuan had Hu Immortal blessed land, he had no problems feeding mortal Gu. But now that he had so many Immortal Gu, not even Hu Immortal blessed land could afford such high costs.
This was a blissful worry!
Many Gu Immortals did not have a single Immortal Gu, they were still looking for one. In Fang Yuan's previous life, he also struggled to refine one, Spring Autumn Cicada, after he finally succeeded after numerous difficulties, he was forced to self-detonate.
Right now, Fang Yuan was racking his brain, trying to think of how to feed so many Immortal Gu.
Fang Yuan sat silently, attempting to find some inspiration from his previous life's memories, after trying for a while, he gave up.
"Sigh, after becoming a zombie, my cognition has truly slowed down. Earlier when speaking to Tai Bai Yun Sheng, I could feel my thoughts moving slowly. Right now, my thinking speed cannot keep up with my original pace."
He summoned the land spirit, Little Hu Immortal: "How is wisdom Gu? Where is it now?"
Little Hu Immortal was the blessed land's land spirit, she could understand everything that was happening in the blessed land.
"Master, wisdom Gu had gone deep underground since it was brought here by you. It found a rockman cave and is currently slumbering inside." Little Hu Immortal closed her eyes, after sensing for a while, she opened her giant watery eyes and said this.
Fang Yuan nodded, ordering: "Bring me there."
The cave that wisdom Gu was in was rather big, after Fang Yuan was brought over by Little Hu Immortal, he could still move about freely.
Sensing that Fang Yuan had arrived, wisdom Gu shone with a five colored light.
Little Hu Immortal sat on Fang Yuan's shoulder, staring at wisdom Gu curiously.
This was the rank nine wisdom Gu!
Although Little Hu Immortal could sense everything in the blessed land, but such a close range encounter was still very rare.
"Oh wisdom Gu, I helped you to escape and saved your life. According to our earlier agreement, it is time for you to hold your end of the deal." In the dark and grey cave, Fang Yuan's voice echoed.
Wisdom Gu was silent, after a few breaths' time, it floated up into the air.
At the same time, it summoned the light of wisdom.
"So beautiful!" Little Hu Immortal stared with shining eyes, laughing joyfully.
The sphere shaped light of wisdom was shining in many colors, it engulfed Fang Yuan and Little Hu Immortal.
Fang Yuan could instantly feel many of his thoughts colliding, he could think at lightning speed, this was the result of an accelerated cognition speed.
"This feeling... this is so comforting." Little Hu Immortal slowly opened her eyes wide and stared dazedly, she was immersed in the wonderful feeling of being in the light of wisdom.
But after a few breaths' time, her body started fading.
"Little Hu Immortal, you were formed from obsession, although fused with the heavenly power, you are still restricted by the wisdom Gu. You cannot stay here for long, quickly go back." Fang Yuan stretched out a finger, pointing at Little Hu Immortal's head, waking her up.
Little Hu Immortal hugged her head, her white cheeks turned red with excitement.
"Master, master, I can't believe I could become so smart. Wisdom Gu is amazing!" She shouted, like a child who had found new toys, she was overjoyed.
"Master is most amazing, you could even get wisdom Gu! Just let me stay here a bit longer, is that okay?" She started bootlicking Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan laughed heartily: "It seems that wisdom Gu had made you think more, quickly get out." Saying so, his two fingers pressed on Little Hu Immortal's head.
Little Hu Immortal's cute, tiny head was squeezed by Fang Yuan's finger, as he pressed again and again.
Little Hu Immortal pouted slightly as she shook her head: "Master, I am going to leave."
She did not dare to disobey Fang Yuan's words, she vanished with a flash.
The cave was quiet again, Fang Yuan did not sit down, since the zombie's body was extremely hard and tough, there was no difference in feeling between sitting or standing.
He stood in the halo, the first thing he did was to inspect Mo Yao's will which was suppressed in his immortal aperture.
Mo Yao's will was unaffected by the light of wisdom.
Even though he had confirmed this earlier in the wind veil of assimilation, Fang Yuan's heart was finally at ease after confirming it once again.
"Once the immortal aperture is formed, it is a small world. The walls of the immortal aperture are the walls of heaven and earth. It isolates the inside and outside, there is almost no outside force that can influence the small world inside."
Fang Yuan shut his bright red eyes as he started to think and ponder.
He had become a zombie, the production of thoughts in his mind had become much slower, and his cognition had also slowed. But the light of wisdom could cause his thoughts to collide at an increased speed, as they collided, he would expend a lot of thoughts in a short period of time.
If he was another ordinary zombie basking in this light, although he would turn smarter for a moment, he would become an idiot immediately afterwards.
But there were wills in Fang Yuan's mind.
These wills were all formed from wisdom path Gu worms, they could think.
Earlier, in order to deal with Mo Yao, Fang Yuan had delved into wisdom path and bought many different Gu worms like special will Gu, deliberate will Gu, sharp intent Gu and so on. These wills all helped him at the last moments of his journey in northern plains.
Right now, Fang Yuan's brain could no longer keep up, he had to use these wills as replacements.
His primeval essence was limitless, thus his wills were also near infinite. Under the light of wisdom, the originally stable wills all melted like snow in sunlight, they were shrinking.
What followed after was the appearance of flashes of inspiration, and his old memories were becoming clearer. As long as Fang Yuan concentrated and recalled his memories, these huge amounts of memories would vividly play out again in his mind.
At this moment, the world seemed brighter.
Even before he had truly thought of the result, Fang Yuan already had many different ideas to resolve the problem. As long as he followed these methods, Fang Yuan was sure that he would be able to find the most suitable method to solve this problem!