Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei were utterly speechless.
They wanted to criticize Fang Yuan, but Qiao Si Liu had made such a remark, if they criticized now, would they not be embarrassing Qiao Si Liu?
Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei felt like they had swallowed a housefly but were unable to spit it out, it was unbearable.
Fang Yuan was laughing on the inside as he gazed around.
Qiao Si Liu was forcefully maintaining her smile, while Fairy Tian Lu gazed at her concernedly, her gaze seemingly containing some sympathetic feeling. As Qiao Si Liu's best friend, how could Fairy Tian Lu not know of her intention? It was just that Fang Yuan did not take the bait at all, making them be unable to do anything.
As for Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei, they had such stiff expressions that it was quite funny.
Fang Yuan looked at these two: "How was it? My poem was not bad, right?"
"Not bad?!"
Luo Mu Zi's and Lun Fei's eyes immediately opened wide as they looked at Fang Yuan, seemingly wanting to see how shameless this person could possibly get.
But immediately afterwards, they heard Fang Yuan speak: "Although I had a flash of inspiration, it seems a true masterpiece poem is also created like this. Si Liu really approves of my poem, but I still would like to hear your constructive feedback."
"Constructive feedback? This dogshit thing can be considered a poem? You want feedback?!"
"Si Liu, Si Liu... why are you speaking of her so closely? You scumbag, hey! Who let you address her so intimately!"
Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei were madly raving inside their minds.
But they could not lose their temper, they had to evaluate it and give good remarks just like Qiao Si Liu's words so that they would not embarrass her.
This disgusted them even more than eating a housefly.
Fang Yuan was clearly their rival in love and it was also garbage that could not be considered a poem, but Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei still needed to 'evaluate' it and give nice comments!
"This poem, ah... it is clear, easy to understand... and easy to read..." Luo Mu Zi stammered, his expression was becoming increasingly unsightly and he felt like he was going to vomit!
Fang Yuan nodded with a smile, then turned towards Lun Fei: "What do you think?"
Lun Fei saw Fang Yuan staring at him, the corners of his lips were raised slightly in a smile and seemed to be twitching, he insipidly remarked: "This is a good poem."
Fang Yuan's eyebrows rose, how could he let this person off so easily, he pursued: "What is so good about it?"
Lun Fei was furious, his face flushed red with anger as he screamed internally: "How would I know what's good about it? There is nothing good about it! You created this garbage and still want to be praised! You scumbag!!"
Looking at Fang Yuan's smiling expression, Lun Fei had an intense urge to smash the teacup on Fang Yuan's face.
It would really appease his anger!
But he could not do that.
Qiao Si Liu was right beside them, if Lun Fei did that, what would happen to Qiao Si Liu's face? Wouldn't he embarrass this fairy?
Moreover, he was not like Luo Mu Zi, he was a lone immortal. By contrast, Wu Yi Hai had a noble status, he was in Wu clan, and was the younger brother of Wu Yong!
Lun Fei could only restrain his anger as he racked his brains to think of words for 'evaluating' Fang Yuan's 'poem'.
"I am really pleased with this moon appreciation festival, never had I thought I am talented in composing poems." Fang Yuan smiled at Qiao Si Liu, his gaze full of deep meaning.
Qiao Si Liu's mind shook slightly as she smiled: "Next is rock dissecting, maybe you will have a huge harvest."
"Indeed, indeed. I am also most expectant towards this event, let us dissect rocks." Fairy Tian Lu quickly helped to change the subject.
"I have prepared a huge amount of rocks here for everyone to choose. Please." Qiao Si Liu naturally had come prepared, with Qiao clan as her background, gathering some rocks was of course not a troubling matter.
The mood in the pavilion eased.
Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei also let out sighs of relief, at least they no longer needed to praise Fang Yuan's poem against their own will.
The rocks prepared by Qiao Si Liu were of all sizes, the Gu Immortals chose them one after the other and dissected them on the spot to see if there were any Gu worms inside.
As far as mortal Gu was concerned, it was very easy for Gu Immortals to get them.
As such, the atmosphere was relaxed, unlike the seriousness when Gu Masters dissected rocks.
Naturally, this only applied to mortal Gu, if Immortal Gu were involved, this rock dissecting activity would be given serious attention by Gu Immortals.
Gu Immortals had a lot of methods to check whether a rock had mortal Gu or not. However, in today's event, they naturally would not use their methods to cheat and only relied on their insight and luck.
As for rocks that had Immortal Gu, they could only be found by chance and not through seeking, the investigative methods of Gu Immortals were deficient and without options in regard to such rocks.
Trying to get an Immortal Gu in tonight's event would be wishful thinking and unrealistic.
No one present had such expectations as this was only meant to be an entertaining event.
It was just that this entertainment held different meaning to Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei compared to the past.
They were secretly contending with Fang Yuan, but the result was they were almost at the verge of coughing out blood, Fang Yuan's rock dissecting results had maintained first place from start to finish.
Rock dissecting relied on the Gu Master's discerning eye, Fang Yuan naturally did not lack in this aspect, he had even started his own rock gambling den in his first life.
As for luck, was Fang Yuan's luck bad?
Not to mention he had connected his luck with several other lucky people, he himself had dogshit luck Immortal Gu to help him.
However, although Fang Yuan obtained victory, it was a rather close one. He maintained superiority from the start, but this superiority was not obvious at times.
The one who exerted such strong pressure on him was Luo Mu Zi.
This person was not a lone immortal, he came from one of Southern Border's super forces — Luo clan.
His insight was very sharp, and most importantly, his luck was quite good, his results were only slightly inferior to Fang Yuan.
"Looks like his luck is quite good."
"Otherwise, he would not have known about Qi Jue's Five Words Poem, isn't that right..."
Fang Yuan thought to himself.
It would not be troubling for him to make a move against Lun Fei, but to target Luo Mu Zi, he had to worry about Luo clan.
Naturally, no matter what he decided to do, Wu Yi Hai's identity absolutely could not be implicated.
By the time the moon appreciation festival ended, it was already deep into the night.
Everyone bid their farewells one after the other, the scene was quite lively.
"I will see you off." Qiao Si Liu took the initiative to see Fang Yuan off.
Luo Mu Zi's and Lun Fei's eyes flushed red.
"Let's go!" Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei were originally competitors and found one another an eyesore, but through the course of tonight's event, they had instead reached a tacit agreement.
The four Gu Immortals left the pavilion successively, leaving behind Fairy Tian Lu and her lover.
"Sigh." Fairy Tian Lu sighed: "Tonight's moon appreciation festival was so tiring."
"Nothing to be done about it." Her lover also sighed, his gaze clear and bright.
Both held each other's hands and smiled as they stepped on the clouds and left.
"This Wu Yi Hai is a complete boor. What in the world did he compose? Can that thing even be called a poem?!" Luo Mu Zi was burning with rage.
"But Fairy Si Liu actually has a completely different view of him!!" Lun Fei gritted his teeth.
"Hmph, what different view, his greatest worth is his identity." Luo Mu Zi said in a slightly envious tone.
Lun Fei's expression was malevolent: "I cannot take this lying down, I cannot let Wu Yi Hai continue living so happily!"
On their way, Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei conversed heatedly.
"Oh? What idea do you have? Wu clan might be facing difficulties from all sides and they might lack the initiative, but they still have the ability to maintain their status. If you want to make a move against Wu Yi Hai, you will have to consider Wu clan. Whether it be publicly or privately, Wu Yong will stand behind Wu Yi Hai. We need to take this relationship properly into account." Luo Mu Zi spoke, he was a righteous path Gu Immortal and was aware of the difficulty here.
If they overestimated their relationship, they would not be able to cause any harm to Wu Yi Hai. But if they underestimated it, who would be able to bear Wu clan's retribution?
Lun Fei curled his lips as he thought: Righteous path Gu Immortals have to worry about everything. On the other hand, the demonic path can directly take action.
However, Lun Fei was not a demonic cultivator, he was a lone cultivator who was more inclined towards the righteous path.
Lun Fei sneered as a sinister light flashed in his eyes: "We don't need to personally make a move. Fairy Si Liu has a lot of pursuers, not just us two. We can inform that person, he will definitely be furious because Fairy Si Liu did not invite him this time."
"You are talking about that guy from Chi clan?" Luo Mu Zi's expression became slightly complex.
That Gu Immortal from Chi clan was the biggest pursuer of Qiao Si Liu. Before tonight, Luo Mu Zi greatly loathed him. But now, he was about to make use of his strength to teach a lesson to Wu Yi Hai.
"Although Wu Yi Hai won against Xia Fei Kuai, it was because he relied on his knowledge of the enemy. If he was strong, why would he have to discuss any conditions with that Mountain Moving Old Monster, he could have directly seized back Mount Snail. That guy from Chi clan is definitely stronger than Wu Yi Hai, moreover, he hates it when others have any desire towards Fairy Si Liu." Lun Fei continued.
Luo Mu Zi's gaze became resolute: "Alright, we will inform Chi Shang of today's matter!"
Qiao Si Liu accompanied Fang Yuan for a distance before she bid a reluctant farewell to Fang Yuan.
But she did not directly return to Qiao clan's headquarters, instead returning to the pavilion.
Inside the pavilion, there was a Gu Immortal sitting on a rock chair and quietly drinking bewitching tea.
This person was Qiao clan's first supreme elder.
The crucial character who had helped Fang Yuan return to Wu clan previously!
Qiao clan's first supreme elder slowly put down the teacup: "Although Wu Yi Hai grew up in Eastern Sea, he is after all Wu Du Xiu's son. So what do you think?"
Qiao Si Liu's gaze was slightly dim as she softly said: "I agree."
Fang Yuan targeted Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei, forcing them to say his poem was good, but in fact it was an indirect attack on Qiao Si Liu.
Qiao Si Liu was well aware that this was the way of a righteous path confrontation, it was all smiles and jovial on the surface, but was actually a maelstrom of dark undercurrents.
Qiao clan's first supreme elder sighed: "Our Qiao clan has all along been allies with Wu clan, but we have never been able to penetrate deep into their core. For the sake of Qiao clan, Wu Yi Hai is a huge opportunity, do you understand?"
Qiao Si Liu bit her lips, her gaze containing reluctance, but she still nodded in the end: "I understand."
-x-X-x-
The moon festival passed, but Fang Yuan was still moving about outside.
He took the initiative to get close to Qiao Si Liu, although the latter was angry at his attitude during the moon festival, due to her clan's orders, she was unable to refuse Fang Yuan.
Gradually, rumors began to spread —
Wu clan's Wu Yi Hai and Qiao clan's Qiao Si Liu were very close and often made trips to scenic spots.
Whether it be Wu Yi Hai, Wu Yong's brother, or Qiao Si Liu, one of the three great fairies of Southern Border, they were no doubt famous people in Southern Border's Gu Immortal world.
Their actions soon led to rumors.
While Qiao Si Liu's pursuers were indignant, they had to admit Wu Yi Hai was an extremely strong rival. Regardless of everything else, just based on Wu clan's and Qiao clan's relations, Wu Yi Hai had an enormous advantage.
Fang Yuan was slightly helpless regarding this.
He actually did not want to become famous, it was better to keep Wu Yi Hai's identity low profile.
A pity that the circumstances went against his wishes, because of Qiao Si Liu, Fang Yuan's fame soared in Southern Border's Gu Immortal world!
This situation soon influenced Fang Yuan.
The number of times someone tried to deduce him, which had just showed signs of decreasing, rose rapidly and even became frequent.
It was very difficult to deal with this situation with just dark limit Immortal Gu.
Fang Yuan had to often place his aperture down and hide inside his sovereign blessed land.
The immortal aperture was an independent world, isolated from the outside, as long as Fang Yuan did not reveal crucial clues, deductions would become extremely difficult.
Unless someone had clues like those from 'Connect Luck', or had information that could deduce his specific location.
Fortunately, Fang Yuan himself could make use of frequently placing down his aperture in absorbing heaven and earth qi. With the addition of Reverse Flow River, the consumption of heaven and earth qi was truly huge.
Besides placing his aperture, Fang Yuan had to handle Qiao Si Liu while also using Wu clan's channels to get information about Luo Mu Zi and Lun Fei.
It was still not the time for him to make a move.
Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
Gu Immortals had endless mysterious methods. With just slight carelessness, one could fail miserably in carrying out a task.
For example, Fang Yuan had actually been able to resist the offense of rank eight Gu Immortals with Reverse Flow River. Before the battle in Snowy Mountain, who could have imagined such a result?
Fang Yuan was cautious, even if he had a plan to take Luo Mu Zi's and Lun Fei's lives, he would only start on the plan after sufficiently understanding their details.
Afterwards, he would accumulate strength, so that when there was an opportunity, he would immediately deal the fatal strike!
Only then would the risks be the lowest, and it would best suit his interests.
Lions used all their strength even when hunting rabbits, let alone Lun Fei and Luo Mu Zi, whom were not weak themselves.
Half a month passed like this, on this day, Wu Yong summoned Fang Yuan.
"Brother, I have few tasks here, choose one of them." Wu Yong said without beating around the bush.
"Brother, please tell me, it is my duty to contribute to the clan." Fang Yuan calmly replied.
An information path mortal Gu flew out of Wu Yong's sleeve, Fang Yuan took a glance and saw this Gu had three tasks recorded.
The first task was related to Xuan Ming Mountain.
Recently, someone discovered that in the depths of Xuan Ming Mountain, there seemed to be the aura of a wild Immortal Gu.
This information had already attracted many lone immortals to make a trip.
More importantly, Yang clan, a super force, had also mobilized its members.
If the information was true, they could obtain an Immortal Gu, which, to any super force, was a joyous matter of being able to increase their foundation, Wu clan naturally would not let go of such a good chance.
Currently, Wu clan's situation was normal, neither good nor bad. Under Wu Yong's command, the clan had already stabilized itself.
Moreover, Xuan Ming Mountain was near Wu clan's territory, although not inside Wu clan's territory, it bordered on it.
If Wu clan did not send its Gu Immortals for this, other super forces would probably think Wu clan had weakened.
As such, Wu Yong intentionally included: If they could not seize the wild Immortal Gu, they must destroy it and could not let it go to Yang clan.
The second task was that red dragon river's water level was rising sharply recently, if it was not controlled, it was very likely to lead to a flood disaster.
If there was a flood, it would be of extreme threat to the nearby living beings. Resources would deplete and it could even change the surrounding environment.
The super forces near red dragon river were paying heavy attention to it.
A portion of red dragon river flowed past the territories of Qiao clan and Wu clan.
They had to send Gu Immortals to inspect the situation and attempt to control the situation to prevent a huge flood.
As for the third task, Yi clan's second supreme elder was holding a banquet for his one thousand two hundredth birthday.
Wu clan needed to send a Gu Immortal to represent the clan in the banquet and deliver the birthday gift.
Yi clan was a powerful clan, its headquarters were in Lin Chi Mountain, which was located in the north-east corner of Southern Border and was the closest to Eastern Sea.
In fact, Yi clan had all sorts of close connections to Eastern Sea.
As for Wu clan, it was located in the southwest area of Southern Border, although it was not at the southwest corner, it was to the farthest south among all the super forces.
Such locations determined that the relation between Yi clan and Wu clan was always maintained at a good level.
Befriend the distant enemy and attack the near ones, this not only applied to the politics and diplomacy of super forces, it was a fundamental principle.
Even though many clans were creating difficulties for Wu clan, Yi clan had never participated in it. To preserve this layer of relation, Wu clan had to send a Gu Immortal to Yi clan second supreme elder's banquet to give well-wishes.
"What do you think, have you decided?" After a while, Wu Yong asked.
Fang Yuan nodded: "I have thought it through, and I choose the second task. My battle strength is not high, choosing to go to Xuan Ming Mountain will probably result in fighting with Yang clan's Gu Immortal, Yang clan is specialized in soul path while I do not excel in dealing with this path."
"Then why not choose the third task?" Wu Yong smiled, "Actually, your status is the most suitable for this task, because you are my brother. You will be very warmly received in Yi clan."
Fang Yuan shook his head, giving a bitter smile: "Brother, spare me. Although it is a birthday banquet, there will definitely be representatives from other super forces. With our Wu clan's current situation, if I go to the banquet, the other Gu Immortals will definitely create difficulties for me. I won't be able to deal with all of them, my own embarrassment is nothing, but more importantly, I would be losing face for Wu clan, that would be too big of a sin."
Wu Yong laughed: "Since you have thought of everything, it will be improper for me to insist. Then let's do it according to your decision."
"Brother, if there aren't other matters, I will bid farewell."
"Go, go." Wu Yong waved his hand.
Fang Yuan turned around, but when he reached the entrance, Wu Yong asked: "Ah, right, when are you going to set off?"
Fang Yuan turned around, standing close to the door: "If red dragon river overflows and turns into a calamity, it will definitely cause countless living beings to suffer. I would not dare to be slow on this important matter, I will simply pack up my things and leave shortly afterwards."
"Good, I can rest at ease then. This matter shall be left to you, you must handle it properly." Wu Yong seemed to be fully confident in Fang Yuan.
"I will certainly do my best!" Fang Yuan solemnly assured, then turned around and left.
However, he did not see that after he left, the smile and confidence in Wu Yong's face slowly disappeared.
Replacing them was a shade of gloominess.
"Success." Fang Yuan's heart was shaking with joy, but he showed no expression on the surface. Just like he said to Wu Yong, he packed some things and immediately set off towards the north.
He was moving rapidly on his way, but when he had just flown across yellow dragon river, Gu Immortal Wu Fa called him to stop: "Lord Wu Yi Hai, please slow down, I have new orders from first supreme elder."
Fang Yuan was laughing on the inside: "Here it comes."
On the surface, however, he showed a surprised expression. He stopped in the air and asked the quickly arriving Wu Fa: "Elder Wu Fa, what's the matter?"
"Oh!" Wu Fa heaved a deep sigh, his aged face filled with anxiety: "There is truth in the saying, when it rains, it pours, there has been an accident over on the super Gu formation's end. Ba clan has been creating difficulties for our clan, Elder Wu Bei, who was stationed there, is injured and is unable to stabilize the situation. Lord, didn't you want to be sent back there? The opportunity is here!"
"First supreme elder was mindful of this and decided to swap Elder Wu Bei with you, to let Elder Wu Bei return to recuperate his injuries. Lord Wu Yi Hai, you will be back in command over at the super Gu formation."
Fang Yuan frowned deeply, looking like he was caught unprepared: "How could this happen? I still..."
As he said this, he seemed to subconsciously glance to the north-west, and said with hesitation: "But red dragon river's issue is quite severe, it needs to be resolved quickly."
"First supreme elder has already made proper arrangements for this matter, Lord Wu Yi Hai, you do not need to worry. Lord, you need to quickly go and stabilize the situation over there. This is a letter Gu that Lord Wu Yong has personally sent you, you can directly go to Yi Tian Mountain without returning to Wu clan." Wu Fa handed an information path mortal Gu to Fang Yuan as he spoke.
Fang Yuan received the letter Gu and immediately scanned it with his consciousness.
The contents of the letter Gu were naturally Wu Yong's voice, saying a serious situation had occurred on the giant dream realm's end and required Fang Yuan to immediately move over there.
Fang Yuan gave a deep sigh: "Looks like I have no choice but to go."
"Please make haste, Lord Wu Yi Hai." Elder Wu Fa looked anxious.
Fang Yuan shook his head, glancing towards the north-west once more before he turned around and flew towards the north-east.
Elder Wu Fa kept on looking at Fang Yuan till he disappeared in the horizons.
He then sneered as he looked at the north-west. Everyone knew there was a mountain in the north-west, Da Peng Mountain, which was Qiao clan's main headquarters.
Elder Wu Fa returned to Wu clan's Wu Yi Mountain and reported to Wu Yong: "First supreme elder, the matter has been handled, Lord Wu Yi Hai is already moving towards the super Gu formation."
Wu Yong was current in the study, he stood up straight, his hand holding a brush which made vigorous movements on a piece of paper.
He slightly nodded at Wu Fa, and suddenly stopped his actions.
There were five large words written on the paper: Can be used, but unreliable.
"A long time ago, when I was still young, mother asked me about my opinion of Qiao clan, I replied with these five words, I can still remember mother's smile very clearly." Wu Yong sighed: "It's a pity my brother has not understood this."
-x-X-x-
Southern Border, at the location of Yi Tian Mountain, in the super Gu formation.
"Wu An (Wu Liao) pays respects to Lord Wu Yi Hai." Inside the super Gu formation, Wu clan's Gu Immortals, Wu Liao and Wu An, greeted Fang Yuan respectfully.
Fang Yuan nodded: "Sit down and explain what happened. Elder Wu Bei actually suffered such heavy injuries?"
Wu Liao and Wu An glanced at each other; Wu Liao kept quiet, letting Wu An, who was good with words, report: "Lord, this is what happened..."
Originally, Ba clan was already eager to make a move against Wu clan, and after Wu clan was involved in all kinds of difficulties, the Gu Immortal leading Ba clan here, Old Treeman Ba De, made a move against Wu clan.
Ba De had already been scheming for a long time, and when he made the move, it was so shocking that it put Wu clan into a passive situation.
Wu clan naturally would not just sit still, Wu Bei set forth, but was schemed against by Ba De and had no choice but to have a spar with him.
The result of the spar was naturally Ba clan's victory and Wu clan's defeat.
"It is just that we did not expect Lord Wu Bei's injuries to be so severe. Although Lord Wu Bei lost in the spar, he still had a fearsome air."
"Yes, although he lost to Ba De, Lord Wu Bei was still able to engage in the secret discussion with Qiao clan's and other clan's Gu Immortals. We all thought his injuries were not serious."
When Wu An finished speaking, Wu Liao added in a couple of sentences.
Fang Yuan sneered inwardly, but had a concerned expression on the surface: "I understand the situation, Wu Bei has left and I am here now, everything will be like before, I won't move if the enemy doesn't move."
"Yes, lord." Wu Liao and Wu An immediately responded.
They were not surprised at such a command.
As far as others were concerned, how could Wu Yi Hai's battle strength compare to Ba De's?
Although Wu Yi Hai had recently gained some limelight, his victory against Xia Fei Kuai was only in a spar, furthermore, the rules were decided by him.
Although he had resolved the conflict over Mount Snail, there was no show of might during the whole process and it was resolved through discussion with Mountain Moving Old Monster.
Finally, the rumors with Qiao Si Liu carried the feeling of illicit love, and would not engender respect in others.
"If there is nothing, the two of you may leave. I hurried to get here, I am slightly tired." Fang Yuan waved his hand.
Wu Liao immediately excused himself and left, but Wu An hesitated and said softly: "Lord, there is something I need to report...."
"Speak." Fang Yuan already knew what Wu An wanted to report.
Sure enough, Wu An's words did not deviate from Fang Yuan's expectation, it was related to the matter of dream realm business which Wu clan and other super clans were engaged in.
"The situation is tense now, the other clans are also anxious and fearful, should we stop this business for some time?" Wu An worriedly asked.
Fang Yuan was silent for a moment: "You don't need to worry, I have already said everything will be like before. If there is nothing else, you may leave."
"Yes, lord." A trace of joy flashed past Wu An's face as he bowed and left.
As long as this dream realm's business continued, Wu An could continue to gain profits from it. Why would he not be happy?
Even if the matter turned south and the business was exposed by Ba clan, Wu An's responsibility was still very low. Because his superior, Fang Yuan, had allowed the business to continue like before.
Fang Yuan was obviously well aware of Wu An's thoughts.
He sneered inwardly: "This Wu An is simply shortsighted."
It was true that Wu clan's situation was not too good at the moment, but it was still the number one clan of Southern Border.
Ba De was very astute, although he made a move, he did not target this dream realm business. He knew his limits, because these benefits were not solely enjoyed by Wu clan, but also by other clans.
If he had laid a hand on this business, it would lead to hostility from the other clans, who would then ally with Wu clan to deal with this common enemy.
It was due to his clear insight towards the situation of the whole of Southern Border that he did not target this weakness to create difficulties. This was a significant weakness, but if he used it now, the results would not be optimal at this time. If some day in the future, Wu clan's prestige truly crashed, that would be the time to use this and add fuel to the fire.
Ba De saw this accurately, Fang Yuan did as well.
The matters of the world were like games of chess, the best chess players always planned their future moves, knew when to use certain tactics and what chess pieces would achieve the best result.
As such, the dream realm business could continue to run, what truly decided whether Ba De would make a move or not was not this business itself, but Wu clan!
The matters of the world were often this strange.
The deciding factors of many matters were not the matters themselves, but something that was outside of them.
Thinking of this, Fang Yuan subconsciously gazed at the direction of Wu clan.
Wu Yong might be a rank eight Gu Immortal, but was still schemed against by Fang Yuan.
Because this was not a contest of cultivation and battle strength, but experience and methods.
The reason Fang Yuan took the initiative to approach Qiao Si Liu was naturally not for Qiao Si Liu herself, but for something else, that was — to return to the giant dream realm!
Wu Yong could endure Wu Yi Hai's greed, but he could not stand Wu Yi Hai contesting for authority.
This was an expected situation.
The seed had already been planted before Wu Du Xiu passed away. Before she passed away, her last words were that she wanted to give her Immortal Gu to Wu Yi Hai.
Wu Yi Hai's bloodline and origin were already approved, once he gained some authority, he would become a huge threat to Wu Yong's rule.
Just like when Wu Du Xiu was in power, she was wary and on guard against Qiao clan, within Wu clan, Wu Yong was on guard against two threats – Qiao clan and Wu Yi Hai.
Right now, these two were close to each other, even looking like they would wind up together, how could this not make Wu Yong vigilant?
Previously, when Wu Yi Hai had joined Wu clan, Qiao clan had mobilized its agent inside Wu clan, whom unexpectedly was Wu clan's third supreme elder. Many perceptive people were given a fright, how could Wu Yong not be wary?
And now, it looked like Wu Yi Hai was going to collaborate with Qiao clan, how could Wu Yong not make a move early?
Wu Yong's action was quite extraordinary.
He did not directly question if Fang Yuan still wanted to return to the giant dream realm.
He gave Fang Yuan three choices, Xuan Ming Mountain, red dragon river and Yi clan's banquet.
There was deep meaning behind these three choices.
The first task of Xuan Ming Mountain was naturally the most intense task, there was definitely going to be conflict since it concerned a wild Immortal Gu. If Fang Yuan chose this task, it would show he did not fear taking risks for the clan, and Wu Yong could make great use of him in the future.
The third task of Yi clan's banquet was a test. Yi clan had close relations with Eastern Sea, if Fang Yuan chose this task, it would mean he still had attachment towards Eastern Sea in the depths of his heart.
The second task of preventing red dragon river's flood was a trap.
Wu clan and Qiao clan both had territories near red dragon river. Wu clan wanted to prevent a flood, Qiao clan naturally would also do the same.
As such, there would be an opportunity to collaborate with Qiao clan's Gu Immortals.
When Fang Yuan chose this task, Wu Yong's heart had immediately chilled, even if he had been all smiles at that time, he had already made the decision to transfer Wu Yi Hai away as soon as possible! He could not let Wu Yi Hai be in contact with Qiao clan any longer.
Qiao Si Liu was one of the three great fairies of Southern Border, she had astonishingly enchanting beauty. Even if Wu Yi Hai's heart was not moved yet, what about in the future?
Even outstanding men might be unable to resist the charms of a beautiful woman, let alone a beauty like Qiao Si Liu!
Let alone when besides beauty, she was also tied to extraordinary benefits for him.
Once Wu Yi Hai married Qiao Si Liu, it was a hugely profitable matter to both him and Qiao clan.
Wu Yi Hai could use Qiao clan to greatly increase his authority inside Wu clan. And Qiao clan could also finally break their historical limit, with a son-in-law like Wu Yi Hai, this vine that was Qiao clan could truly penetrate deep into the inner core of the giant tree that was Wu clan.
How could Wu Yong make such a mistake?
It was not feasible for him to forcefully break the relationship between the two, it might even backfire if he did not handle it well.
Moreover, the righteous path had to do things according to rules. He could not act willfully like in demonic path.
Wu Yong had thought for a while, but found it was difficult to handle Wu Yi Hai. Despite having evidence of Wu Yi Hai's corruption, Wu Yi Hai was his own brother in the end.
After thinking for a while, Wu Yong thought of the giant dream realm.
He could use this dream realm to 'exile' Wu Yi Hai for as long as possible, after all, wasn't it peaceful when Wu Yi Hai had stayed in the Gu formation earlier?
This past success finally made Wu Yong come to a decision.
He immediately took action after making up his mind. Although he gave Fang Yuan three choices, in truth, he did not let Fang Yuan have any power to choose, they were just a way of testing him.
"The righteous path is like this."
"If one is not at the top, there is no freedom."
"But even when one is at the top, the whole organization will become the shackles that bind them."
Fang Yuan sighed inwardly, but he quickly sorted out his mood and began looking at the dream realm in front of him.
He had returned to this familiar place once again, and there were still two Immortal Gu that belonged to him here.
The dream realm was always expanding and always moving.
"Oh? This dream realm is pretty good, it is a dream realm made of true memories and experiences, and not from absurd imagination."
Soon, Fang Yuan finished inspecting it and entered a shiny bright blue dream realm.
His vision changed.
In a gently sloping hill, a middle-aged Gu Immortal had his back towards Fang Yuan: "My son, do you know why our Tu clan has dominance over this mountain range?"
Fang Yuan inspected himself, he found he had already turned into a child.
"Father, I don't know." He replied after giving it a thought.
"Formation path!" The middle-aged Gu Immortal's voice rose, carrying strong pride within it.
"Formation path?" Fang Yuan mumbled.
"Right! Formation path." The middle-aged Gu Immortal turned around, revealing his aged face and resolute eyes, giving off the air of an authority figure.
"Among the numerous paths, formation path might be the most complicated path. Son, starting today, father will impart to you the essence of formation path and guide you in cultivation." The middle-aged Gu Immortal said with a burning gaze.
"Yes, father, I will definitely study properly." Fang Yuan replied.
The middle-aged Gu Immortal shook his head: "Studying is not enough, you must achieve success, put in all your effort to be the best, be better than all your peers and even those young Gu Immortals. Because you are my, Tu Shi Cheng's son, because you are the future leader of the clan!"
-x-X-x-
"Tu Shi Cheng? I have never heard of this name..." Fang Yuan thought to himself.
Since his father's surname was Tu, this boy Fang Yuan was acting as naturally was surnamed Tu. Being able to leave behind a dream realm meant he indeed had remarkable skill in formation path, but there seemed to be no formation path great experts with the surname Tu in the history of Gu Masters.
Fang Yuan scanned through his memories, but did not have any findings.
Naturally, his knowledge could not encompass the whole of Gu Master history. Maybe this was the dream of a hidden expert.
"Come, sit by me." The middle-aged Gu Immortal sat on the ground, and patted the area beside him.
Fang Yuan quickly sat down beside him.
"My son, do you know how many Gu Master paths there are in this world?" Tu Shi Cheng asked with a warm smile on his face.
Fang Yuan pondered, there were naturally many Gu Master paths, and looking at the trend, even more were starting to thrive. For instance, when Gu Master cultivation had just started to flourish, space path and time path were the mainstream paths, afterwards, wisdom path, qi path, strength path, rule path and other paths emerged one after the other, and now, there were even more paths like fire path, water path, metal path, bone path, poison path and so on.
"Five hundred years later, there is also dream path... innovation never stops, Gu Immortal paths will continue to increase." Fang Yuan pondered inwardly, while replying: "According to what I know, there is space path, time path, hmm, and also qi path, wisdom path and so on."
Tu Shi Cheng nodded: "You are correct, but it is still not detailed. Let me tell you, in Ren Zu's time during the Immemorial Antiquity Era, there were space path and time path, these two paths researched and expounded on the profundities of time and space."
"In the Remote Antiquity Era, Primordial Origin Immortal Venerable created qi path and enslavement path, Star Constellation Immortal Venerable created wisdom path and star path, and our formation path was also created during the later period of the Remote Antiquity Era. But its true founder could not be verified. Refinement path and fire path were also created during this period."
"In the Olden Antiquity Era, Limitless Demon Venerable created rule path, Reckless Savage Demon Venerable created transformation path. Strength path, wind path, light path and dark path were also created in this era."
"In the Medieval Antiquity Era, Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable created wood path, Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable created theft path, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable created luck path. Moreover, metal path, water path, ice and snow path, cloud path, earth path, lightning path, information path and sound path emerged one after another, this was an era where all kinds of diverse paths appeared."
"And in our present era, bone path was created, there are also phantom path and restriction path. Naturally, what I mentioned are only the mainstream Gu Master paths, minor paths like enchantment path, illusion path, and others will be omitted for now."
Fang Yuan immediately came to an understanding when he heard these words.
"So this dream realm is set in the Late Antiquity Era. Right now, Spectral Soul Demon Venerable has yet to appear, otherwise Tu Shi Cheng would have mentioned him."
Tu Shi Cheng continued: "Son, I have elaborated on so much because I want to tell you our formation path is one of the longest standing paths in history. Although it cannot be compared to space path and time path, it was created in the same era as qi path and wisdom path. Just based on seniority, it appeared even before transformation path."
As he said this, Tu Shi Cheng asked: "The essence of transformation path is to project countless paths, son, what do you think is the essence of formation path?"
Although Fang Yuan's attainment in formation path was extremely ordinary, this question was fairly simple and common, he knew about it.
He replied: "Formation path contains countless paths."
"Haha, good answer!" Tu Shi Cheng did not stint on his praise, and gave a deeper explanation: "Our formation path can set up Gu formations, which can use Gu worms of space path and time path, we can also use Gu worms of metal path, wood path, fire path, water path and so on. Just because of this, formation path can be said to be the most complex path among all the paths."
"Setting up a Gu formation is very difficult, because it might need to use Gu worms of many other paths. As such, when cultivating formation path, we need to have some understanding of other paths, even if the understanding is not deep, we need to have basic knowledge of them, at the least, we need to have deep understanding of the Gu worms we are using."
Fang Yuan continued to nod while listening.
This was one of the difficulties of formation path cultivation.
Actually, every path had some areas which it was proficient in and weak in. For instance, cultivating enslavement path allowed one to fight many by oneself, but it had an extremely huge demand on resources.
Cultivating and learning formation path was a large obstacle, because it involved Gu worms of other paths. Formation path Gu worms were only the foundation and framework of a Gu formation, the rest of the content required large numbers of Gu worms from other paths.
Because of this, it was difficult to learn and master formation path.
Nurturing a formation path expert was not easy. On one hand, it had high demand towards resources, time and knowledge, on the other hand, the Gu Master needed to have talent for it and put in effort as well.
As such, in the Gu Immortal world, there had always been very few Gu Immortals who specialized in formation path.
Naturally, this rarity was only relative, at the very least, there were more formation path Gu Immortals than wisdom path Gu Immortals.
This was also the reason why Fang Yuan had not involved himself in formation path in the five hundred years of his previous life.
The barrier to entry was high, and it was difficult to learn.
"Son, since you have become a Gu Master today, I will give you your first Gu worm." At this time, Tu Shi Cheng's palm slowly opened, revealing a small Gu worm.
This Gu looked like a ladybug, its carapace was glossy and round, it was as small as a little finger, and it had a glistening yellow shine, giving a cute appearance.
"This is formation heart Gu, come, refine it first." Tu Shi Cheng said.
With Tu Shi Cheng's help, Fang Yuan directly refined this rank one Gu worm.
Formation heart Gu's carapace opened up, the thin wings inside continuously flapped as it merrily flew around its new master, Fang Yuan.
This Gu worm was not precious and could even be said to be extremely ordinary.
Because it was one of the most basic Gu worms to lay a formation, and was commonly available throughout the five regions.
"Alright, let's play a game." Tu Shi Cheng smiled, taking out four Gu worms.
"They are all rank one Gu, I will lend them to you temporarily. Come, use your formation heart Gu as the core, choose the Gu worms from here and arrange them, see if you can form a Gu formation."
Fang Yuan's eyebrows slightly rose, glancing at Tu Shi Cheng in surprise.
Was this a joke?
This boy had just become a Gu Master, and he wanted him to construct a Gu formation on the same day?
Although Fang Yuan had not truly cultivated formation path, he had some superficial knowledge of formation path. For instance, normally speaking, this youth should only be involved in constructing a Gu formation after at least two to three months, After all, he had just become a Gu Master, controlling a Gu worm was strenuous, everything was new to him, calculating primeval essence, nourishing the aperture, feeding Gu worms, and other aspects, they all required him to adapt and train.
Now, in this dream, this Tu Shi Cheng was actually asking his son, a boy who had just become a Gu Master, to construct a Gu formation?
"Hah, this style of education is truly 'original'... fortunately, it is a dream realm and it is all up to me. How could a normal child accomplish this task? Or maybe... it is because he could not accomplish this, his obsession turned into this dream realm?"
While guessing, he sized up the four Gu worms.
But, he actually was not able to recognize them all!
With his knowledge, he only recognized three of them, and could not identify the remaining one.
It was somewhat awkward.
But when he thought of it, it was also not strange.
The time period of this dream was the Late Antiquity Era, Spectral Soul Demon Venerable had not appeared yet, thus the situation compared to the present was very different.
Moreover, there were countless Gu worms, unique and mysterious. There were also many innovated Gu worms and many secretly guarded Gu worms, of which little were known by others. How could Fang Yuan know of all the Gu worms?
Even though he was not able to recognize them all, Fang Yuan was still aware of the paths of these four Gu worms.
They were of earth path, water path, wind path and fire path.
The one that Fang Yuan did not recognize was the earth path Gu worm.
"To construct a Gu formation, I need to first understand these Gu worms. There is no need to worry about formation heart Gu, but what use does this earth path Gu worm have?" Fang Yuan intended to test this Gu and see its ability.
But this action was stopped by Tu Shi Cheng.
Tu Shi Cheng spoke with solemness: "Use your heart to sense it, listen to the sound of your heart, rely on your feelings. Construct the Gu formation according to your feelings. Remember, you only have one chance."
Fang Yuan was immediately dumbfounded.
-x-X-x-
Although Tu Shi Cheng was the father of this boy that Fang Yuan was disguised as, he was completely unreliable.
What did he mean by rely on feelings?
Innate talents could not be embodied like this.
If the construction of the Gu formation failed, in a minor case, the Gu worms would be injured or destroyed, and in a severe case, the Gu Master themselves would suffer the backlash. If one could create a Gu formation just by relying on feelings, formation path Gu Immortals would not be so rare in the present five regions.
Arranging a Gu formation was a precise and rigorous task, like deducing Immortal Gu recipes. They both were similar, requiring a process, detailed consideration and continuous tests.
However, since the dream realm was like this, Fang Yuan calmed his mind, and continued to ponder how he should tackle this situation where it seemed he truly had to do it in the way Tu Shi Cheng said.
Fang Yuan asked: "Do I need to use all the four Gu worms?"
"Of course not. But you need to at least select two to set up a Gu formation." Tu Shi Cheng replied.
"I simply don't know about this earth path Gu worm, so it will be better to give it up." Fang Yuan continued to think, as such, he had three choices in front of him.
"Hurry up, don't think too much, rely on your feelings!" Just as Fang Yuan had spent slightly longer in thinking, Tu Shi Cheng's expression sank a little, urging: "I will give you three breaths of time."
Three breaths of time?
And there was only one chance!
Wasn't he purposely making it difficult?
A thought flashed past Fang Yuan's mind: "Do I need to use unravel dream?"
His current accumulation was already different from the past. Last time, when he explored the giant dream realm, he had limited quantities of dream path mortal Gu, which led to a limited number of times that unravel dream could be used, Fang Yuan had to be very efficient when using it.
But it was different now.
Fang Yuan had enough confidence.
Because he had captured many nightmare demonic colts, using these natural dream path immortal materials along with his persistent refinement, he now possessed very many dream path mortal Gu.
Thus, the number of times he could use unravel dream was at a peak now.
Precisely because of this, Fang Yuan had an unprecedented amount of confidence.
"Forget it. This is only the first layer of the dream realm, even if it fails, I can continue to explore. Although I can use unravel dream much more now, I cannot waste it like this."
Fang Yuan thought for a moment and gave up on using unravel dream.
He began to activate the Gu worms.
First was formation heart Gu.
This yellow ladybug was already refined by him, his primeval essence was consumed, it immediately hovered and stopped in front of Fang Yuan, shining with pale yellow light.
"Fire path, water path, wind path..."
Fang Yuan mumbled, since he had given up on the earth path Gu worm, then he only had these three choices remaining.
He chose the rank one water path Gu worm.
The reason for this choice was simple, his fire path and wind path attainment levels were ordinary, but in water path, he was a grandmaster!
Grandmaster attainment was not for show.
The water path Gu worm was successfully activated, it was bathed in the yellow light and revolved around the formation heart Gu, flying up and down.
"Fire path and wind path..."
Fang Yuan chose wind path.
The wind path Gu worm also mixed in, and like the water path Gu worm, it flew around the formation heart Gu. It was just that the wind path Gu worm was in the periphery, while the water path Gu worm was nearer to the formation heart Gu.
Fang Yuan waited for a bit. Among these three Gu worms, one was hovering in the air while the other two were continuously flying around, they were all activated but were still extremely stable.
"Although they have not formed a true Gu formation, this progress is quite good." Fang Yuan was slightly pleased.
To use an analogy, arranging a Gu formation was like building blocks.
Each Gu worm was a strangely shaped building block, the Gu Master needed to arrange these building blocks into the shape they wanted. These scattered building blocks would form high towers, buildings and other shapes, creating an effect that far surpassed the individual building block.
Although Fang Yuan had not successfully arranged these building blocks into a shape, these three Gu worms were at least mutually compatible and did not collapse.
This was quite good progress.
However, a trace of gloominess and disappointment flashed past Tu Shi Cheng's eyes.
Fang Yuan, who was focused on setting up the Gu formation, did not notice it.
"Now, I need to adjust it."
"Does the formation heart Gu need to stay in the center?"
"Can the positions of the water path and wind path Gu be swapped? Water path inside, and wind path outside, can I adjust it to water path outside, and wind path inside?"
"Or maybe, the water path Gu and the wind path Gu can be together, should I let the wind path Gu revolve around the water path Gu instead of the formation heart Gu?"
As Fang Yuan pondered, all kinds of plans emerged in his mind.
He did not know what results these plans could give, or what effects would they have.
His formation path attainment was truly too lacking.
"Rely on your feelings, stop hesitating." Tu Shi Cheng urged, looking somewhat impatient.
Fang Yuan gritted his teeth, actually, he didn't need Tu Shi Cheng's urging, he also knew he had to take action.
If nothing else, his primeval essence was about to dry up.
In the dream realm, he had just become a Gu Master, although he had A grade aptitude, he was activating three Gu worms at the same time, which intensely burdened on his primeval essence.
He already did not have much time to think.
"Let's give it a try then." Fang Yuan inwardly gritted his teeth, as he activated the fire path Gu worm as well, putting it inside the newly created structure.
He made no changes to the previous foundation.
Because he did not know what use making changes would have, and also did not know if there was a need to make changes.
He was a pure beginner with no feeling for the right action, the attempt was done blindly.
"But my luck is good, maybe I can succeed by chance?" Fang Yuan still had some hope.
But soon, his hope was ruined.
The moment the fire path Gu worm was added in, it immediately led to a chain reaction.
The fire path Gu's strength joined with the wind path Gu, immediately increasing the power. This immediately conflicted with the water path Gu that was inside, water and fire were opposing forces, immediately creating an explosion.
A soft explosion echoed, it was not intense, but it still exploded, covering Fang Yuan's face with black soot.
His hair stood up on end, white smoke was rising.
At the same time, the formation heart Gu was directly destroyed, the other three Gu worms were also injured to various degrees; the water path and fire path Gu worms were on the verge of death, while the wind path Gu worm was also heavily injured.
"You have failed!" Tu Shi Cheng's expression changed, he said with a cold tone: "You truly disappoint me."
Guh.
Fang Yuan's vision changed as he was expelled out of the dream realm.
The first exploration had failed.
His soul returned to his body, his body slightly shook, his healthy complexion suddenly paled.
Fang Yuan immediately inspected his injuries, and found that the injury to his soul was much more severe than he expected.
But it did not matter.
Guts Gu!
Fang Yuan took out a guts Gu and crushed it, the injuries of his soul were immediately relieved greatly. Fang Yuan used another guts Gu, and immediately his soul injuries were completely healed.
The slight sense of vertigo had disappeared at once.
Because he had guts Gu, Fang Yuan was not afraid of failing in his dream realm exploration and his soul being injured.
"Right now, I should be the first person to explore the dream realm. Even Shadow Sect's remnant forces won't be able to catch up to me." Fang Yuan calculated.
This was because he had two great trump cards to explore dream realms.
First was guts Gu, it could heal soul injuries.
Second was unravel dream. Once used, it would get one straight to solving the problem, its usefulness was somewhat unreasonable.
Guts Gu came from Dang Hun Mountain, Fang Yuan had placed Dang Hun Mountain in Lang Ya blessed land, and was even cooperating with Lang Ya Sect in trading guts Gu.
They had a monopoly on guts Gu business, they were the only ones producing it, and its demand was always higher than its supply.
Recently, Fang Yuan had not been selling his portion of the guts Gu for profit, instead, he was accumulating them.
He had a single objective, to be fully prepared in exploring the dream realm.
Thus, he had large numbers of guts Gu with him. Because of this, he was short on money, and had no choice but to expand the scale of some of his resources to improve his finances.
The first failure did not matter.
With guts Gu, Fang Yuan's soul immediately recovered, and could go for a second exploration.
But he was not hurried, instead using connecting heaven Gu to let his divine sense enter treasure yellow heaven.
He began to gather information.
First was that earth path mortal Gu.
Fang Yuan did not recognize it, so he needed to understand it.
Fang Yuan soon bought a set of <
This was an information transaction and was among the businesses in treasure yellow heaven.
There were transactions of methods to target against Gu worms, there were introductions and understandings of Gu paths, there was news of the present political situation, there were also deductions of time path and wisdom path Gu Immortals on the past, present and future.
Fang Yuan naturally could rely on his five hundred years of experiences to sell information that could definitely attract people.
But this kind of information was normally very cheap, and not long after selling them, Fang Yuan's rebirth advantage would weaken, so Fang Yuan had never even considered it.
Fang Yuan was not satisfied with just this Gu Immortal's work, <
These cost him close to ten immortal essence stones.
To Fang Yuan, this was just peanuts.
He soon learned of that earth path mortal Gu from the information he bought. This was a Gu worm that appeared in the early stages of the Late Antiquity Era. It was soon extinct, because the Gu materials required to refine it had been wiped out. The information recorded briefly introduced this earth path Gu worm's ability. Fang Yuan even obtained the recipe of this earth path mortal Gu from another information source.
-x-X-x-
Naturally, the practicality of this Gu recipe was extremely low.
Because most of the materials for this Gu no longer existed.
If Fang Yuan wanted to refine this mortal Gu, he would have to modify the recipe.
He naturally would not do such a pointless thing. With the information he gathered, he already had a deep understanding of this mortal Gu.
Next, Fang Yuan read those mortal formation path inheritances.
This enriched some of his formation path foundation.
Despite him not having taken the initiative to research formation path, he had come into contact with it indirectly in his first life, or come across some formation path contents in fortuitous encounters.
As such, this enrichment was limited and not high in scope.
It was just that he was only focusing on the test in the dream realm this time.
He had an objective when gathering the formation path information, and he knew from some information: In the Late Antiquity Era, formation path had a prevailing concept.
This concept stated that the four basic elements of earth, water, wind and fire could make a Gu formation stable, they could make most basic Gu formations and were the most inclusive.
Naturally, this concept only prevailed for some time, after dozens of years, it went out of favor. Compared to the whole history of formation path, dozens of years was too short, this concept was like a small ripple that disappeared in the long river of history.
"It is just like the origins of mankind. On Earth, people once believed that humans were made by divine beings, be it the Chinese concept of Nüwa creating mankind, or the Western concept of God creating mankind. This was an ideology that lasted for a long time, and after it dominated people's thinking for a long period, it was broken by Darwin's theory of evolution. But in regards to whether Darwin's theory of evolution pointed precisely to the truth or not, as science develops, people over time may find flaws in it."
Fang Yuan's thoughts were wandering.
This earth, water, wind and fire concept was similar.
Following formation path's development, people started to find that the Gu formations created by the four basic elements of earth, water, wind and fire were not the most inclusive formations.
People made new discoveries, continuously deepening their knowledge and continuously progressing. Even though this concept was abandoned not long after, back then, it was progress of some kind.
This information was quite valuable, it directly gave Fang Yuan the correct way to pass the first stage of the dream realm.
"It turns out that I had to use all the Gu worms to truly create a Gu formation." Fang Yuan gained an epiphany.
At the same time, he sighed: "This Tu Shi Cheng is really quite deceitful, clearly all four Gu worms had to be used, but he actually played dumb and said I needed to use at least two mortal Gu."
Fang Yuan fell into deep thought.
Even though he knew this, he still did not know how to make the four Gu worms revolve around formation heart Gu to build an effective Gu formation.
If these four mortal Gu could be refined, Fang Yuan could test it out in reality.
This was also a common method used by laymen in deciphering dream realms in the early stages.
But now, that earth path Gu worm was difficult to refine, even if he refined an earth path mortal Gu by modifying the Gu recipe, could it truly be the same as the one in the dream realm?
This was a dream realm, sometimes there would be some differences in the dream realm from reality, and it was not a direct reproduction of reality.
Fang Yuan pondered, and decided it was better to test it in the dream realm.
The second attempt played out like before. But this time, Fang Yuan chose to activate all these four mortal Gu at the same time and coordinate them with formation heart Gu.
It failed.
The four mortal Gu self-detonated simultaneously, Fang Yuan was injured and kicked out of the dream realm.
The third attempt, Fang Yuan chose to use the earth path Gu worm first, and water path Gu worm second, but it failed again.
Following the fourth attempt and fifth attempt... only by the seventh attempt did Fang Yuan succeeded.
The four mortal Gu were flying around formation heart Gu. The water path and fire path Gu worms were flying in an elliptic orbit, sometimes near and sometimes far from formation heart Gu. Earth path Gu was hovering below formation heart Gu, while the wind path Gu was hovering above, both were still.
Under the control of formation heart Gu, these four Gu worms formed a mysterious force that continuously let out hazy rainbow colors.
A Gu Master's primeval essence would recover at twice the speed inside this light.
"To Gu Masters, this is an extremely practical Gu formation!" Fang Yuan thought to himself.
"Hahaha, good, very good, you are truly my son, you have natural talent for formation path after all!" Tu Shi Cheng laughed loudly and happily at Fang Yuan's success.
Fang Yuan: "..."
The hill, the sky, and the land slowly disappeared from Fang Yuan's vision.
The first stage of the dream realm was over, the second stage was starting.
Fang Yuan breathed out a sigh of relief, he had persisted on not using unravel dream in the first stage, in the end, only about ten or so guts Gu were consumed, the total expenses were still low.
Without checking how much his formation path attainment had risen, Fang Yuan focused his attention on the surroundings.
He discovered he was in a cage.
And inside this enormous cage, there was a smaller cage.
Inside this cage was a pitch black panther, it was skinny and its eyes shined with mad hunger, indicating how dangerous it was right now.
"What's going on?" Fang Yuan was bewildered.
Right at this moment, Tu Shi Cheng, who was standing outside the cage, said to Fang Yuan: "I will give you five minutes to arrange these Gu worms into a Gu formation. After five minutes are over, this panther will be released, I absolutely won't make a move at that time, and will only see if you can use the Gu formation to resist this panther."
"What?!" Fang Yuan's eyes opened wide.
This method of education, hey, are you really this kid's father?
"You are the son of Tu Shi Cheng, you can definitely do it. If you can't do it, then you are not worthy of being my son!" Tu Shi Cheng continued with an expressionless face.
"My goodness!" Fang Yuan thought, lips twitching as he looked at himself.
He found that he had not grown much and not much time had passed since the first stage, he was at most about the age of fourteen.
"This Tu Shi Cheng looks like he should be a righteous path Gu Immortal, why is he so heartless? Maybe this is intimidation to force his son to fully release his potential?"
Fang Yuan speculated inwardly.
"Regardless of who this Tu Shi Cheng's son is, he is truly unlucky."
Time was limited, Fang Yuan calmed his mood and began to inspect the Gu worms he had.
The caged panther was only an ordinary beast, but with his current young body, he definitely could not oppose it.
He could only make a Gu formation to resist it.
There were five Gu worms, they were still rank one. Among them, one was formation heart Gu, while the other four belonged to earth path, wind path, water path and fire path.
It was almost the same as in the first stage.
The difference was that although the paths were the same, the four Gu worms were different ones from the first stage.
How should he group these Gu worms to form a Gu formation?
Fang Yuan began to try.
With the precious experience from the first stage, Fang Yuan was quite proficient.
The first attempt quickly failed, Fang Yuan spat out a mouthful of blood in the dream realm due to the backlash, but fortunately, the Gu worms were not injured.
He was also not expelled from the dream realm.
"Looks like I can continue to try until the limit of five minutes is reached?"
"Although there are still chances to continue, there is in fact almost no hope."
Fang Yuan frowned.
Because of the injuries, although nothing happened to the Gu worms, his own state was very bad, his primeval essence had depleted and he was injured.
Fang Yuan soon discovered that because of the injuries, when he continued to try again, he was unsteady, and although the Gu worms flew up, they were shaking.
The second attempt also failed.
There was more time left, but Fang Yuan was unable to continue attempting, because a Gu worm had died in the second failure.
If it were any of the other paths mortal Gu, it would not be the end, but it just happened to be the formation heart Gu.
"Father, my Gu worm is destroyed, can you give me another formation heart Gu?" Fang Yuan quickly asked.
But the reply he got was a ruthless shake of the head from Tu Shi Cheng: "What if you were in a battle, who would give you a substitute Gu worm? Son, you disappointed me, you have no chances left."
Sure enough, the moment the time limit was reached, the small cage opened up and the panther pounced forward, biting at Fang Yuan's throat instantly.
This dream realm was extremely realistic, Fang Yuan could clearly sense his throat being torn, his breathing becoming difficult, the heartrending pain that came when his skin was ripped apart by the panther's sharp fangs.
Blood spewed out rapidly from his wounds, and the panther drank it contentedly.
Tu Shi Cheng shook his head, sighing: "You are not worthy of being my son."
He then turned around and left.
"Not giving the solution even at the end, is this Tu Shi Cheng of the righteous path or demonic path?" After being expelled from the dream realm, Fang Yuan's soul returned to his body, he was naturally gloomy.
After using guts Gu to heal his injuries, he continued to explore.
Second failure, third failure, forth failure...
Every time he failed, Fang Yuan would be killed by the panther and relive the miserable pain from being eaten alive.
If it were any other person, their mind might have already collapsed.
However, Fang Yuan was not afraid, he had suffered pain beyond this an uncountable number of times.
He only treated the pain as a cool breeze blowing across his face, his mind still focused on constructing the Gu formation.
Tenth failure, eleventh, twelfth...
This second stage was much more difficult than the first stage. After Fang Yuan was expelled from the dream realm, his soul injuries were also much more severe than what he suffered in the first stage.
His soul would be healed using just two guts Gu in the first stage, but in the second stage, he needed at least three guts Gu and sometimes even four to be healed.
Fang Yuan calmly calculated his expenses.
"If this continues, the cost will become steeper, do I have to use unravel dream?"
"Wait."
While he was feeling troubled, he suddenly had an inspiration.
He entered the dream realm and continued to attempt it.
There was a way!
-x-X-x-
A while later, after two tries, Fang Yuan successfully constructed a Gu formation in the dream realm.
This Gu formation still used formation heart Gu as the core, it was just that the earth path Gu worm was hovering above the formation heart Gu, while the fire path and wind path Gu worms revolved around the water path Gu worm. And the water path Gu worm spanned the distance of a hand below the formation heart Gu, continuously moving up and down.
The Gu formation made by these Gu worms emitted a hazy white light that shrouded the panther.
That's right.
This Gu formation was an entrapment Gu formation targeted at the panther, and did not protect the Gu Master themselves.
Constructing it was not easy. The panther continuously moved around, influencing the construction of the Gu formation. Occasionally, Fang Yuan had to stop and wait for the panther to move away from a specific location 1 .
This was also the reason why Tu Shi Cheng gave five minutes, Fang Yuan needed the time to arrange the formation.
"Hahaha, good, you are indeed my son! You will continue to study with me in the following days. In a month, there will be an even stricter test which will concern your life and death. If you cannot pass, you shall die." Tu Shi Cheng laughed, his laughter containing madness.
Fang Yuan's young body was standing inside the cage, he glanced at the panther that was constantly struggling inside the Gu formation, and then glanced at Tu Shi Cheng, sighing softly.
This formation path dream realm's second stage was passed.
Next was the third stage.
Fang Yuan followed Tu Shi Cheng to a riverside where the tides were coming in fast.
Looking at the water of this river that was flowing to the east and was red like blood, Fang Yuan immediately realized: this was Southern Border's red dragon river.
Southern Border had three great rivers that passed through the whole region, red dragon river, jade dragon river and yellow dragon river.
Fang Yuan immediately had a bad feeling when he saw this river.
Sure enough, at the next moment, he heard Tu Shi Cheng's voice: "I have already lent you the Gu worms, now you can only depend on yourself, if you cannot construct a Gu formation, you are well aware of the consequences."
Fang Yuan was just about to speak to stall for time, but he was slapped on the back by Tu Shi Cheng.
Fang Yuan was simply unable to resist the enormous strength and was immediately pushed into red dragon river.
"F*ck!" Fang Yuan cursed inwardly as he fell into the surging river and was immediately swept away by the current helplessly.
Fang Yuan struggled with all his might, he only had a young body, fortunately, Fang Yuan's swimming ability was carried over, and after struggling for a while, he was able to raise his head out of the water and took in large breaths.
Making the best use of his time, Fang Yuan inspected the Gu worms he had.
"Damn it!" Soon, he mentally cursed once again, because this time, it was not just the four mortal Gu like he expected, but twelve.
He had to arrange them in such a short period of time?
There were too many ways to arrange them, and under such terrible conditions, hope was slim.
Fang Yuan did not hesitate this time, and directly activated unravel dream!
Immediately, an answer appeared in his mind.
He immediately understood the first three steps of how to activate the Gu worms and arrange the Gu formation.
"Only the first three steps?" Fang Yuan had no choice but to continue to activate unravel dream, the fourth step, fifth step and sixth step also appeared in his mind.
It was an accurate and precise answer.
But there were still some steps from being able to construct the Gu formation.
Fang Yuan was just about to activate unravel dream for the third time, when suddenly a change occurred in the river, and he was swallowed by a whirlpool.
Bam, a muffled sound echoed.
Fang Yuan crashed head-first into a tree floating in the whirlpool, falling unconscious immediately.
The next moment, Fang Yuan woke up, he had returned to reality.
His soul was severely injured, making him see stars.
He quickly used guts Gu, one, two... six guts Gu before he finally recovered.
"The third stage is even more difficult, the environment to arrange the formation is so hazardous."
"But..."
"My formation path attainment has already advanced to quasi-master level."
After Fang Yuan realized it, he slowly opened his eyes with a trace of joy.
What was attainment level?
Attainment level was a Gu Master's unique cognition, involving their sensations and experiences, their insights towards nurturing, using, refining Gu and so on, summed up and condensed. It was their comprehension of the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
Attainment levels were divided into five levels, ordinary, master, grandmaster, great grandmaster and supreme grandmaster.
Naturally, in-between these, there were small levels like quasi-master, quasi-grandmaster and quasi-great grandmaster.
Ordinary attainment was the level that most Gu Masters would reach in their lifetimes.
Quasi-master attainment was already rare. Young Gu Masters with outstanding aptitude or experienced old Gu Masters could reach this.
Master level was when the use of Gu worms went beyond superficial workmanship to the level of an art. It was rare to find even one master among ten thousand Gu Masters. For example, during the contest of Imperial Court, there were only five enslavement path masters – Jiang Bao Ya, Yang Po Ying, Ma Zun, Chang Shan Yin (Fang Yuan) and Nu Er Tu. Naturally, the one in ten thousand was referring to mortals, to rank six Gu Immortals, their main paths were this level at minimum.
Those who possessed quasi-grandmaster attainment were often elites among rank six Gu Immortals.
Grandmaster level was when one had a very profound grasp of the path, having deep foundations and being able to mimic the effects of other paths. Specifically, the main path's Gu worms could be used to imitate the advantages of other paths. Hei Fan's true inheritance had an immortal killer move, hundred years harmony, which was a classic example. It used time path Gu worms to produce an effect of information path. This also showed that Hei Fan's time path attainment level was at least grandmaster.
Normally speaking, there were few Gu Immortals that could attain grandmaster level. It often required a hundred years or even hundreds of years of accumulation, along with natural talent. In Fang Yuan's first life, he had attained grandmaster in blood path only in the latter stage of his five hundred years of life.
Those whom were able to have grandmaster attainment level were mostly rank seven Gu Immortals.
Above grandmaster was quasi-great grandmaster, which was even rarer, they were often rank seven experts or certain rank eights.
As for great grandmaster level, most rank eight Gu Immortals would attain this in their lifetimes.
Those whom were able to attain quasi-supreme grandmaster were scarce, few produced even in thousands of years.
The rarity of supreme grandmasters need not be explained, for instance, in refinement path, there were only three supreme grandmasters in history. Among them was a hairy man — Long Hair Ancestor.
Fang Yuan's formation path attainment level could not even be counted as ordinary, but now it had soared to quasi-master level.
Most Gu Masters would find it difficult to reach this in their lifetimes, no matter how much effort they put in.
Fang Yuan had attained this just by using up a few days of time and exploring two stages of the dream realm.
This was the power of dream realms.
They contained true meaning, once a Gu Immortal successfully explored a dream realm and obtained the true meaning, their attainment level would be directly raised and their understanding of part of the Great Dao would be deepened.
"Just two stages were enough to advance to quasi-master level in formation path, this dream realm is extraordinary."
"No wonder it has such difficulty."
"But I really haven't heard of Tu Shi Cheng..."
His method of education was truly unique, leaving Fang Yuan speechless. But the person he was educating was this dream realm's source. This youth was clearly a major character.
Fang Yuan could clearly sense he was only a step away from master level in formation path.
"As long as I complete the third stage, my formation path attainment level will soar to master!"
Fang Yuan excitedly licked his lips.
A successful exploration of the dream realm raised his foundation, this increase was so huge, allowing Fang Yuan to go through an extraordinary shortcut, and he was unable to stop desiring for more.
But since he had already left the dream realm, Fang Yuan was not in haste to go back in.
He recalled all the scenes in the third stage, especially the Gu worms with him.
He had only recognized sixty percent of them, thus he was now searching for information on these Gu worms to increase his understanding.
These were all mortal Gu, it was just that most of them had long since vanished in history.
Fang Yuan soon found the information he wanted, and gained an understanding of these mortal Gu.
Then he began to re-read those mortal formation path inheritances he had bought before.
The feeling he got from reading this time was a completely different experience from before!
Previously, Fang Yuan only saw the surface of most of the contents of the inheritances, but now, he was able to see their deeper meanings with just one look. They were clearly things he had already read, but Fang Yuan made new discoveries this time.
This feeling was extremely mysterious, like sudden enlightenment.
However, there were things which Fang Yuan could not completely comprehend.
After all, he was only at quasi-master, some outstanding characters among mortal Gu Masters could reach master level. The inheritances they left behind naturally had some things Fang Yuan could not understand properly at the moment.
Fang Yuan was immersed in the profundity of formation path, unaware of the passing time.
If he was thirsty, he drank water, if he was hungry, he ate some fruits.
Many thoughts emerged and disappeared like waves in his mind, he was using wisdom path methods to help quicken his progress of learning formation path.
Formation path's contents were truly vast, having connections with every path. Thus, it was considered the most complicated path.
Only when Wu An requested an audience did Fang Yuan slowly come back to his senses.
"Unknowingly, eight days have already passed..." Fang Yuan was in a daze for a moment before his gaze slowly cleared up.
In his mind, most of the disordered thoughts gradually faded.
For the last ten days, Fang Yuan was lost in the learning process, not only did his formation path attainment level receive a boost, his comprehension of various basic contents of formation path had also strengthened.
"What is he here for?" Fang Yuan impatiently furrowed his brows.
But after thinking for a moment, he still decided to see this Wu clan Gu Immortal.
As it turned out, Wu An brought over Lady White Rabbit, who reported the situation of the dream realm business and gave concrete accounts to Fang Yuan for inspection.
Despite Fang Yuan not placing attention on this business, he was, after all, the leader of the whole business.
As a subordinate, Lady White Rabbit had to hand over the report.