Fang clan headquarters.
'Fang Di Chang' was resting in bed, his face still somewhat pale.
A young rank six Gu Immortal was standing by the bed, he was Fang Yun.
Fang Yun was Fang Di Chang's adopted son, he was young, handsome, and his eyes were bright like stars. Right now, he had a concerned expression as he bowed: "Father, you have suffered such heavy injuries, you need to rest properly. Please tell me what I can do for you."
Fang Yun was completely unaware that the father in front of him was someone else, a clone of Fang Yuan.
In a way, Fang Yuan could be considered his father's murderer, Fang Yun was treating the enemy as his father.
Fang Di Chang coughed and waved his hand weakly: "Yun Er, don't put on an act. Can father still not understand your nature? Come, sit here, don't be so restrained."
Fang Yun's expression immediately relaxed as he shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows, sitting by the bedside: "Father, you really gave me a scare. I didn't think you would make such a big move this time, it was truly risky! Such a pity that Senior Suan Bu Jin lost his life."
Fang Yun had a sad expression.
Fang Yuan had once saved Fang Yun's life as Suan Bu Jin. Fang Yun had all along remembered this and had high regard for Suan Bu Jin.
And this time, Fang Di Chang had not told the truth of the plot to Fang Yun. The people who were in on the plan to get rid of Suan Bu Jin were limited to Fang clan's first supreme elder, second supreme elder, and third supreme elder.
This plan could not have too many people, especially Fang Yun.
Suan Bu Jin had much contact with Fang Yun, he was a shrewd wisdom path Gu Immortal and could easily make Fang Yun expose the conspiracy had Fang Yun known the truth.
Fang Di Chang was a wisdom path great grandmaster, he paid attention to every detail.
In all fairness, had it been any other Gu Immortal, they might have really been done in by Fang Di Chang. Even Fang Yuan, if he didn't have the premonition which made him improve karma divine tree, might have been in some trouble.
Fang Di Chang did not make any slip-ups, he had already overestimated Suan Bu Jin as much as possible. But when he knew Suan Bu Jin's true identity, he immediately realized: he had greatly underestimated Fang Yuan.
In fact, not only Fang Di Chang, even Heavenly Court's wisdom path great expert Fairy Zi Wei was underestimating Fang Yuan. It was such that the whole Gu Immortal world of the five regions was greatly underestimating Fang Yuan — they thought Fang Yuan was still a rank seven.
Fang Yuan had long since advanced to rank eight and even used his Qi Sea Ancestor identity to get a portion of Primordial Origin's qi path true inheritance out of Duke Long's hands.
Fang Di Chang was only a rank seven, the Gu formation and the Gu house he was relying on were completely seen through by Fang Yuan. At the same time, Divine Bean Palace also became Fang Yuan's support.
Fang Di Chang had treated Suan Bu Jin as a crocodile and had never imagined there to be a vicious dragon under the crocodile skin.
Thus, he was crushed. He made such a huge mistake that there was no chance to make a comeback.
"Yun Er, come, give me your hand." Fang Di Chang said.
Fang Yun was puzzled, but he did not want to disobey his father's order and obediently stretched his arm.
Fang Di Chang put three Immortal Gu in his hand.
"Father, what are you doing?" Fang Yun was shocked.
"I intend to hand over my wisdom path inheritance to you."
Fang Yun was dazed for a moment before he said: "But father, I cultivate cloud path, not wisdom path. Moreover, didn't you allow me to cultivate cloud path before?"
Fang Di Chang nodded: " I allowed you to cultivate cloud path before because you have a lively nature and did not want to take on responsibilities, which suits cloud path. But cloud path is only a minor path, it can never compare to wisdom path."
"Most importantly, this event made me question myself. Suan Bu Jin's death is the best reminder to me. I need to look for a wisdom path inheritor for the clan, if something happens to me, there will be someone to replace me."
"Father, don't talk about such things." Fang Yun quickly replied.
"Life is uncertain, what accidents cannot happen? Life is full of the unexpected. I am now heavily injured and lying in bed, it was something I had never imagined before. Moreover, you know about our clan's situation. I must prepare for the future of our clan." Fang Di Chang said in a sincere and serious tone.
Fang Yun nodded and had a rare look of solemnity: "Father, you are right. I will change to cultivating wisdom path."
Fang Di Chang nodded with a smile before shaking his head: "You are my son, as your father, I know you don't suit wisdom path, cloud path is the most suitable for you. I am planning for the clan but won't overlook you. So, father's arrangement is to first hand the wisdom path inheritance to you, but you don't need to change to cultivating wisdom path. You already have cloud path foundation, it will be troublesome and a great loss for you to change now."
"Currently, you only need to hold onto this wisdom path inheritance. If there is a critical situation in the future requiring you to make the sacrifice, change your cultivation path then. If father passes away someday, select a suitable inheritor to pass on this wisdom path inheritance, understood?"
"Father, your arrangements are very wise, I understand!" Fang Yun laughed, he immediately relaxed after knowing that he did not have to cultivate wisdom path.
"Leave, you brat, father needs to rest. Get used to these three wisdom path Immortal Gu first. There is your Senior Suan Bu Jin's distracting thoughts Immortal Gu among them, although he died, I need to pass on his inheritance." Fang Di Chang said while waving his hand.
"I will take my leave." Fang Yun left quickly and closed the door gently.
Only Fang Yuan's clone was left in the room.
He closed his eyes and pondered inwardly with an exhausted look: "My physical body is Fang Di Chang's, so there was no flaw in the blood. Fang Di Chang has not died, so there is no change in life tablet Gu. His soul was personally taken care of by the main body. After splitting the soul, many soul path methods were used and adding on the advantage of the time flow in the sovereign immortal aperture, the soul matches with the body extremely well and there is no flaw."
"However, just these are still not enough."
Fang Di Chang thought of Fang Gong.
Although Fang Yuan had not been in much contact with Fang Gong, he understood the latter's nature.
From the outside, Fang Gong was bold and reckless, he did not bother about little things, but in fact, under his bold appearance, he was highly shrewd and cautious.
This could be seen from when he schemed against Chen Yi.
He was a grand rank eight Gu Immortal, but he actually hid his cultivation level and disguised as an ordinary Gu Immortal. When he saw the timing was right, he suddenly erupted with his strength and struck Chen Yi viciously, Chen Yi was caught off-guard and suffered a huge loss.
Fang Yuan knew that to deceive this kind of person, he could not rely on just having 'no flaws that could be found'.
He needed to put up a performance as well.
"Oh? Second elder intentionally gave his wisdom path inheritance to Fang Yun?" Fang Gong soon received this news.
The one who reported the news was his own biological great grandson, an outstanding expert among rank six and Fang clan's possible successor — Fang Leng.
Fang Leng had a square face and was slightly older than Fang Yun. Fang Yun was very close to Fang Leng, when he obtained Fang Di Chang's inheritance, he did not hide it from this respected senior brother.
Fang Leng was clearly much more shrewd than Fang Yun, that very night, he reported this news to Fang Gong.
Fang Gong frowned slightly, not speaking.
He knew Fang Di Chang's intention.
Fang clan's external situation was troubling and there was huge pressure on them, but there were also internal struggles inside the clan.
Places with people have conflicts, even if there were more and more resources, they still needed to consider how to distribute it. The clan's resources were limited, who used them now, who used them later, who could use them better, who used them worse, these were natural conflicts and could never be reconciled.
The two biggest factions in Fang clan belonged to Fang Gong and Fang Di Chang.
These two factions cooperated closely but it did not mean there was no strife between them. In fact, these two factions were always contesting with each other, it was just that Fang Gong's faction had third supreme elder Fang Hua Sheng while Fang Di Chang was only a rank seven, they had always firmly grasped the highest authority in the clan.
Fang Di Chang possessed the wisdom path inheritance which had always been the foundation of the second faction.
Fang Gong's frown was because he had been thinking if he could take the chance to ask for this wisdom path inheritance.
Look, you almost lost your life this time, the wisdom path inheritance is in your hands, it will be Fang clan's greatest loss if there were to be an accident!
This was for the sake of the clan, if they pressured him with it, there was indeed a chance to force Fang Di Chang to hand over the inheritance or at least a portion of it.
There was a difference between the politics of a clan and a sect.
The clan's politics prioritized family relationship, their inheritances were passed down through bloodline ties. Although Fang Yun was Fang Di Chang's adopted son, the relationship was extremely good. This was because Fang Yun had been personally raised by Fang Di Chang since a young age. Fang Di Chang truly loved this son, if not, he would not have let him cultivate cloud path. He cared about his feelings and future happiness.
In the future, when Fang Di Chang retires, his second supreme elder position would be taken by Fang Yun according to the custom.
Fang clan had a lot of Gu Immortals, but this position could only belong to Fang Yun.
Unless Fang Di Chang raises an inheritor who cultivates wisdom path and is much more outstanding than Fang Yun.
Fang Di Chang's wisdom path inheritance belonged to Fang clan in name, but in fact, it was held by his faction and passed on from generation to generation.
Fang Yun cultivated cloud path and did not have the qualifications to inherit this wisdom path inheritance, this was the most obvious weakness of Fang Di Chang's faction.
Fang Gong was just thinking of striking this weakness but had never expected Fang Di Chang to put a stop to his plan before he even started.
"As expected of a wisdom path great grandmaster." Fang Gong's brows relaxed and a smile appeared on his face as he waved his hand.
Fang Leng understood: "I will take my leave."
"We lost our chance this time, so forget it. After all, we are all members of Fang clan, we are on the same side." Fang Gong was not too upset but was somewhat worried.
After all, Fang Di Chang's scheme succeeded and Suan Bu Jin was sacrificed to refine Divine Bean Palace. With this rank eight Immortal Gu House, the strength of Fang clan's second faction rose greatly, Fang Gong felt a huge pressure because of this.
As a higher up, he needed to consider a lot of things.
Fang clan's first supreme elder, who was in control of Fang clan for so many years, not only had to look after his own cultivation and nurture later generations, he also had to lead Fang clan in resisting external enemies and expanding their territories. At the same time, he also needed to pay attention to the internal forces of Fang clan.
"Second supreme elder took action so quickly, his true intentions can be seen from this. He absolutely cannot be Suan Bu Jin's disguise." Right now, the final trace of doubt had disappeared from Fang Gong's mind.
-x-X-x-
In the depths of eastern sea, gu tribe headquarters.
over half a month had passed in the blessed land, the dusty seal was completely unlocked.
there were many gu immortals at the scene, fang yuan's dragonman clone wu shuai, two dragon generals, gu tribe's leader, as well as several beastman gu immortals.
seeing the seal unlocked, gu tribe's leader nodded in his mind, he was even more certain of wu shuai's identity.
this seal was arranged by wu shuai himself and was further strengthened by generations of gu tribe leaders.
back then, wu shuai had realized he did not have much chance and arranged for a portion of his inheritance to be preserved in gu tribe headquarters.
gu tribe's leader looked at wu shuai and smiled: "please."
wu shuai waved his hand, a large grey rock rose to the air and was stored by wu shuai into his immortal aperture.
wu shuai activated his method to dissect the rock. because of the correct method, the rock was dissected quickly and revealed two immortal gu inside.
one was rank eight immortal gu ant nest which looked like an ordinary inverted bowl, it was brown and had a rough appearance. however, this immortal gu was the core immortal gu of green ant ascetic. this gu could breed all kinds of army ants.
army ant was a species created by green ant ascetic, it was extremely suitable for enslavement path gu immortals. in history, the real wu shuai's most used method was also army ant.
naturally, the queen ant of army ants could also breed other ants. but the queen ant could not breed another queen ant, this was a huge disadvantage.
after the dragonman race's extermination, duke long had sent the order to remove all the related things and records.
back then, green ant ascetic had already been enslaved by dragon palace and army ant had also become one of the symbols of the dragonman race, thus it was also implicated.
with all these reasons, army ants were like a shooting star, disappearing instantly from history.
besides ant nest immortal gu, there was also an information path immortal gu, it was rank seven and was called letter seal.
letter seal immortal gu contained a large amount of contents regarding army ants. besides this, letter seal immortal gu had been used to seal ant nest immortal gu.
ant nest immortal gu was at rank eight, it was not easy to preserve it as an inheritance. because for an immortal gu's existence, it needed to be fed in time, or else, it would die of hunger.
wu shuai used letter seal immortal gu to cover ant nest immortal gu with a thick layer of rock membrane, creating an immortal gu rock. as the price, letter seal immortal gu had to be left inside the rock as well.
gambling den gu masters would create some fake rocks for profits, they would put gu worm inside the rocks then make people open them, increasing the gambling den's reputation.
wu shuai's method was similar to it. it was just that he made the false rock not for profit but to preserve ant nest immortal gu.
this method was quite effective as ant nest gu was still alive after so many years.
naturally, when fang yuan's clone wu shuai dissected the rock, ant nest immortal gu was at an extremely weak and hungry state, letter seal immortal gu was also the same.
but it was not serious, fang yuan had already prepared the food and given them to wu shuai.
wu shuai fed the immortal gu while walking back with the gu tribe immortals.
on the way, wu shuai thanked: "your noble tribe kept your word! you preserved my inheritance until now, you are really my dragonman race's most trustworthy friend!"
the current gu tribe leader laughed: "lord wu shuai, i won't hide it from you, there have been ups and downs. it is not that my tribe's gu immortals did not covet your inheritance, but the tribe leader back then set a rule that every gu tribe leader had to first add a seal to this inheritance when they took the position."
"and we have always kept fate gu's revelation in mind, so this inheritance was able to be preserved until now."
gu tribe's leader was frank, making wu shuai laugh heartily.
wu shuai guaranteed on the spot: "my friendship with your tribe has lasted for a million years, and it shall continue in the future as well! right now, i am collaborating with fang yuan and have already solved the dragonman extermination killer move. this move had once killed me, and exterminated my clan, but from now onwards, it will have no effect."
the eyes of gu tribe's leader brightened: "this is extremely good news! dragonmen reign supreme, this is the decree of heaven. senior, to be honest, i have a favor to ask of you."
over these days in gu tribe headquarters, fang yuan's clone had enjoyed warm hospitality and they had even taken the initiative to return wu shuai's inheritance.
mutual benefit was the foundation for allies, it was fair for gu tribe's leader to make some requests right now.
fang yuan's clone replied immediately with no hesitation: "just speak your mind, as long as it is within my abilities, i will help you."
"i want to transform a portion of my tribe's members to dragonmen. senior, what do you think..." gu tribe's leader asked with anticipation.
fang yuan nodded: "my close friend back then, gu liang, who was also your tribe's leader, had this intention as well. at present, since i already have a completely new dragonman lifespan extension method, i can naturally help you."
gu tribe's leader was joyous: "many thanks, senior! my tribe has already prepared the raging wave rising dragon fire, please tell us what other immortal materials are needed."
gu tribe had been hiding in the depths of eastern sea and its successive generations had actively searched and gathered raging wave rising dragon fire. over the million years, and with eastern sea being the number one region in resources, the present gu tribe treasury had a rarely seen reserve of raging wave rising dragon fire.
fang yuan's clone gave a few instructions and gu tribe's leader immediately acted accordingly.
several days later, immortal materials and candidates arrived before wu shuai.
wu shuai brought out dragon palace, using the dragonman lifespan extension method inside this immortal gu house could receive the assistance of dragon palace itself.
this batch of gu tribe members had over ten people. most were rank five gu masters while two were gu immortals. among them, half were elderly with their lifespan nearing the end and with no other lifespan extension methods left, the dragonman lifespan extension method became their only hope. the other half were young adults, the elites of the current gu tribe.
several days passed again, with the dragon spirit's help and the methods of fang yuan's clone, the dragonman lifespan extension method was used. most of the gu tribe candidates turned into dragonmen, but a portion were unlucky and lost their lives. after all, the dragonman lifespan extension method still had risks.
even so, gu tribe's leader was very happy at this result: "senior, your modified method has a much higher success rate than the original."
"my race's extermination was the price to obtain this achievement." fang yuan's clone heaved a sigh.
gu tribe's leader immediately consoled: "senior, i am sorry for your loss."
as he said this, he presented a batch of immortal materials.
for ant nest immortal gu to create army ants, immortal essence was only one of the conditions, it still required specific immortal materials. fang yuan's clone required these immortal materials. the gu tribe leader of back then knew this secret and had gathered these materials, the current gu tribe leader offered them, which showed their sincerity.
fang yuan's clone rejected: "i converted your tribe members as thanks, we did not discuss any remuneration."
"senior, please don't stand on ceremony, this is only a small gift from us." gu tribe's leader smiled.
but fang yuan's clone still persisted: "it has not been easy for you to survive, you are also my dragonman race's most trustworthy and reliable ally. how can i, wu shuai, treat my ally like this? although i don't have the immortal materials, i am already in collaboration with fang yuan, i can ask for him to provide the immortal materials."
"senior, fang yuan is a devil of this age, he might only have rank seven cultivation, but even heavenly court is unable to handle him. he is sinister and crafty, vicious and malicious, he can do anything as long as there are enough benefits. i hope you are vigilant, senior."
fang yuan's clone could not help but laugh in his mind.
gu tribe's leader was speaking ill of fang yuan in front of fang yuan, were he to know that wu shuai was fang yuan's clone, who knew what spectacular expression he would show.
fang yuan's clone nodded: "your words make sense, but heavenly court's force is huge, and fang yuan is no doubt a huge help that cannot be neglected. even if i am taking favors from a tiger, as long as it can increase my chance of victory against heavenly court and duke long, even if slightly, i am willing to take the risk."
gu tribe's leader nodded and sighed: "senior, you are right. to be honest, my gu tribe might be hiding in this corner, but we have made many reliable allies. eastern sea's merman imperial court is one of them. my gu tribe has received a lot of help from them."
"merman imperial court... this is indeed good news!" the gaze of fang yuan's clone brightened.
merman imperial court was a super force that had once received support from paradise earth immortal venerable. the human race had dominance, gu tribe was a beastman tribe hiding in the bottom of the sea, it was not strange for them to have a close relationship with mermen.
gu tribe's leader continued: "besides this, my tribe has some connections with the other four regions as well. for instance, we have stable trade with murong tribe in northern plains. some years ago, when imperial court blessed land was destroyed and eighty-eight true yang building collapsed, i had gone to northern plains to participate in northern plains' auction, i received warm hospitality from murong tribe back then."
wu shuai thought: "so it was you."
fang yuan's main body had also participated in northern plains' auction.
this auction was hosted by qin bai sheng.
back then, gu tribe's leader had worn a tall hat and large cloak and had an ordinary face, it was clearly a disguise. right now, wu shuai was looking at the real appearance of gu tribe's leader.
fang yuan had converted gu tribe members to dragonmen, it had clearly deepened their friendship and gu tribe's leader took the initiative to reveal many secrets.
gu tribe might have been living in hiding, but over such a long period of time, they had a lot of contact with the outside world and had an extremely firm foundation.
using gu tribe as a focal point, he could influence all five regions. naturally, this influence was limited.
but this limited influence could display a huge effect through fang yuan's planning.
"this is good news!" fang yuan's main body was quite happy when he received this information.
right now, he was no longer in western desert, but had arrived at northern plains.
he rapidly descended, below him was a giant pit.
the pit's entrance was almost circular and spanned hundreds of kilometers, it looked extremely grand.
fang yuan looked down and saw a scene of wilderness. there was a thick rainforest, having both yellow and green colors. from time to time, desolate beasts growled, large numbers of featherless birds flew out, their red bodies looked like the historical pterosaurs of earth.
it was one of the ten great fierce areas of northern plains, crazed demon cave!
-x-X-x-
fang yuan was dressed in a white robe, slowly descending to crazed demon cave.
two gu immortals were already waiting for a long time on the ground.
one gu immortal had a pale face and black beard, he had long wide sleeves and eyes that were shining like stars, he had an extraordinary air. he was known as not immortal and he cultivated rule path.
the other gu immortal was short, his height only reaching fang yuan's knee. his tiny eyes were shining brightly, he was secret schemer and he cultivated wisdom path.
the current fang yuan could not be compared to the past, he had trampled on heavenly court in the battle of lang ya and two battles in the river of time. he had even captured a large group of southern border immortals, which included two rank eights! not long ago, there was even news from eastern sea's gu immortal world that fang yuan borrowed qi sea ancestor's strength to block duke long, while he took away immortal gu house dragon palace.
in terms of who was the strongest and most famous demonic path gu immortal of the current generation, no one fit better than fang yuan.
"friends, we meet again." after fang yuan landed, he greeted politely with a smile.
secret schemer and not immortal returned the greeting hurriedly.
not immortal smiled: "after the previous parting, when we heard of brother liu's true identity being gu yue fang yuan, we were truly surprised and joyous. since you have come here this time, you must have a method to break through the current barrier, we have been waiting anxiously for a long time."
fang yuan had undergone the crazed demon agreement using liu guan yi's identity, and had become a member of crazed demon cave like chu du.
therefore, not immortal addressed fang yuan as brother liu.
as far as the three crazed demon eccentrics were concerned, fang yuan's appearance had not changed because liu guan yi's appearance was the original appearance of fang yuan's sovereign immortal body.
"why don't i see pang shan?" fang yuan asked.
"he seemed to have gained some insight when he explored the seventh layer and is currently in closed cultivation." secret schemer replied.
"so that's it." fang yuan smiled, understanding in his head.
the three crazed demon eccentrics were taking precautions against him!
back then, when he went under the name of liu guan yi, his strength was not high. the current fang yuan was progressing rapidly, the whole world acknowledged that fang yuan could battle rank eight despite being only at rank seven. the three crazed demon eccentrics were naturally concerned about fang yuan suddenly making a vicious move against them.
after all, fang yuan was the biggest demon at present, his nature was vicious and cruel. don't be fooled by his smiling expression, he was, in actuality, a ruthless murderer who killed without even blinking his eyes.
although the three crazed demon eccentrics had long secluded themselves inside crazed demon cave and were only engrossed in cultivating, they were not fools. especially the head of the three eccentrics, secret schemer, his performance in fang yuan's previous life was quite spectacular and made heavenly court suffer major losses.
the three crazed demon eccentrics were wary of fang yuan, thus pang shan did not appear and was hiding somewhere.
it was very likely that him being in closed cultivation was only an excuse just in case fang yuan went crazy and attacked them! as long as there was at least one eccentric left, they would not have the worry of fang yuan killing them all.
"not only this, the three crazed demon eccentrics might have some backup methods, which is why they are keeping a person outside." fang yuan deduced inwardly.
although fang yuan had undergone the crazed demon agreement, he had already gotten rid of its restrictions.
the three crazed demon eccentrics also had the killer move do not care, and could completely ignore the crazed demon agreement.
the three crazed demon eccentrics were wary of fang yuan and were on guard, but fang yuan did not actually want to attack them.
at least, he did not want to attack now.
"this is already the third time i am inside crazed demon cave. i hope there will be some gains!" fang yuan's main target for this trip was still limitless' true inheritance.
not long in the future, heavenly court would definitely hold the central continent refinement path convention to restore fate gu.
at that time, there would definitely be a huge battle involving gu immortals of the five regions!
in this battle, no matter how powerful fang yuan became, he could not control the situation. any venerable methods could easily topple the situation.
fang yuan had already realized this in the previous life.
the best example was duke long.
duke long was unmatched, but he was nothing against venerable methods. limitless demon venerable bound him instantly and made him unable to even budge for a long time. it was because of genesis lotus immortal venerable's method that duke long got free from the bindings and regained his freedom.
fang yuan's plan was that in this life, he would not only actively increase his strength but also gather some venerable true inheritances, if he could trigger venerable methods, it would be the perfect support in his plan to destroy fate gu!
and the most reliable clue was here — crazed demon cave!
fang yuan's timing was also perfect.
his current strength had already risen a lot. although he only had rank seven cultivation on the surface, he had already advanced to rank eight, even if the three crazed demon eccentrics went against him, he could quickly counterattack without any worry about his safety.
moreover, after some time, longevity heaven's bing sai chuan would awaken. his awakening would have a huge influence on longevity heaven and the whole northern plains gu immortal world.
were fang yuan to come to northern plains at that time and make a big commotion, he might have to face longevity heaven led by bing sai chuan, which would be hard to deal with.
not immortal guided the way ahead while secret schemer accompanied fang yuan and conversed with him.
fang yuan followed the two eccentrics deep into crazed demon cave.
crazed demon cave had nine layers.
the first layer was the most external layer, it was also the scene fang yuan saw from high in the sky.
the second layer was an incredibly hot land of burning rocks.
the third layer was covered in white fog, ferocious beasts moved in the fog and there was also the fog city. it was extremely dangerous.
...
every layer had completely different environments, demonic sounds spread from the deepest ninth layer to the whole of crazed demon cave at every set interval of time.
when the demonic sounds spread, all beings went crazy and would start killing each other, creating extreme chaos.
the deeper one went, the stronger the demonic sounds became.
but the method created by the three crazed demon eccentrics could defend against a portion of the demonic sounds' might.
however, what fang yuan used was not this method. before he came here, he had modified the previous method and the new method had extraordinary effects, it could be considered an advanced version.
after all, his current rule path attainment level was at great grandmaster.
while the demonic sound was active, the activation of immortal killer moves would be greatly affected. this was because the demonic sounds were chaotic dao marks, insanity was only the side effect.
the three moved down the curved pathways before finally reaching the seventh layer, which was also the third lowest layer.
back then, fang yuan's endpoint had been this layer.
the three crazed demon eccentrics similarly were stopped here for several hundreds of years. it was because they were stuck at this barrier without any breakthrough that they took in chu du and fang yuan.
however, their gains were also a lot.
the seven layers they explored had scattered traces of limitless demon venerable's inheritance.
the three crazed demon eccentrics researched these clues and were able to roughly deduce the scene at the final layer, although they had never been there.
fang yuan's sight was filled with dazzling light.
all sorts of colors emanated from the rocks, soil, and grass in this place.
this was dao mark light.
when the density of dao marks reached a certain level, they would let out this kind of brilliant radiance naturally.
in this seventh layer, every grain of soil and every piece of rock was a quasi-rank nine immortal material! the extremely unfortunate thing was these dao marks were chaotic and could not be used.
"fang yuan, after you." secret schemer gave way.
"ever since the previous failure, i have reflected on it and gained much insight." fang yuan laughed heartily as he walked in the front.
secret schemer and not immortal glanced at each other before following fang yuan closely.
in the recent period of time, fang yuan's reputation shook the world, but how much strength did he truly have?
three crazed demon eccentrics were not sure, and this situation was the best chance to ascertain it. secret schemer and not immortal's attention were gathered on fang yuan.
fang yuan walked leisurely.
the first ten steps were like strolling in sunshine.
twenty steps, he was relaxed.
thirty steps, his expression started to become serious.
forty steps, he was beginning to pant.
fifty steps, he looked exhausted.
over sixty steps, fang yuan stopped for a breather.
secret schemer looked at not immortal while not immortal also looked at secret schemer, both saw shock in each other's eyes.
the countless conflicting dao marks needed to be overcome to move in this place. the three crazed demon eccentrics' furthest limit had been over ten thousand steps, but they had rested again and again before continuing. if they were to move without resting like fang yuan, they would at most be able to walk forty-fifty steps.
"the terrifying thing is that fang yuan walked over sixty steps but it is obvious he has not used all his strength and is still at ease!"
"just this alone has surpassed us three. but where do his limits lie?"
thoughts surged up and down in the minds of not immortal and secret schemer.
but in fact, fang yuan had sovereign immortal body, he simply did not suffer any conflict from dao marks, so the exhaustion was only his disguise and act.
fang yuan would rather put up a show because he wanted to awe the three crazed demon eccentrics while also hiding his abilities.
fang yuan was a vigilant person who liked to keep his secrets hidden, if he could keep his cards under the table, he absolutely would not reveal them lightly.
"as expected of fang yuan."
"right, such strength makes us three feel ashamed about ourselves."
fang yuan narrowed his eyes: "you don't need to be modest, i have been reborn several times and have many memories. the three crazed demon eccentrics have a famous reputation, you all have your own unique methods that even i have a high opinion of."
not immortal and secret schemer were shaken inwardly.
fang yuan's words had deep meaning, they could be taken as praise but also taken as a warning — i have been reborn, i am familiar with your methods, don't make an enemy of me!
the three continued to walk forward.
the deeper they moved, the harder it became, and the more the pressure increased.
"we will save a lot of effort by relying on our respective path's dao marks on the upcoming paths, fang yuan, let's split up for now." not immortal said.
he chose to walk towards the front-left where there were relatively more rule path dao marks, since he cultivated rule path.
not long later, secret schemer also bade farewell, he chose to walk the path with more wisdom path dao marks.
fang yuan naturally could move in a straight line, but he did not do so, instead choosing to hide his skills. he carefully chose a path to walk.
the two eccentrics saw this and had their own thoughts.
-x-X-x-
Crazed Demon Cave's seventh layer was quite large, and it felt even more huge in Not Immortal and Secret Schemer's perception.
Because they had to think carefully for every step they took while also enduring the conflict from countless dao marks.
The more they walked, the more difficult it became. This difficulty further widened the sense of distance they felt.
Fang Yuan moved like a normal Gu Immortal would for some time, while feeling some sympathy towards Not Immortal and Secret Schemer's situation.
"If I didn't have the sovereign immortal body, I would have to choose a dao mark path as well. But this dao mark path will keep on becoming narrower; there are many choices at the start, but the deeper you go, the fewer choices you have."
Fang Yuan walked for a while before stopping.
His path was cut.
The path ahead was filled with dao marks of other paths.
Fortunately, after passing this section, the path ahead had the dao marks Fang Yuan selected.
Fang Yuan discreetly glanced at Not Immortal and Secret Schemer.
These two were already left behind by him and were walking with a lot of difficulty.
Similarly, these two were also paying attention to Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan clenched his teeth as he continued to move forward.
He pretended to be in a lot of difficulty, stopping at every step. After a while, he finally conquered the difficulty and once again walked the dao mark path that suited him, his face revealing a relaxed expression again.
"These conflicting dao marks are nothing to me. Instead, it is the acting that is more energy consuming." Fang Yuan smiled bitterly in his mind.
Not Immortal and Secret Schemer glanced at each other from far away.
Fang Yuan's strength was still above their current estimation!
In that small section, although Fang Yuan moved with difficulty, his speed was still fast. Were Not Immortal to be in the same situation, he might have spewed blood!
These two became slower the more they walked and even their hearts became heavier.
The surrounding dao marks pressured them constantly, making it very hard for them to move. Not Immortal was already spitting blood while Secret Schemer's face looked yellowish purple.
After a while, the two had no choice but to stop.
They had reached their limits.
Fang Yuan was still moving in front, his expression looked much more exhausted than before. But it was obvious he still had a lot of strength left.
"Fang Yuan is truly a monster!"
"Sigh, he has many venerable inheritances, he is someone who has won against Heavenly Court repeatedly. It is not strange for him to have this achievement."
Not Immortal and Secret Schemer conversed secretly, they sighed while feeling helpless.
"Then, let's watch him from here. I want to see how far he can walk!" Secret Schemer snorted coldly.
Not Immortal hesitated for a moment before asking: "Do you think he can walk out of the seventh layer and enter the eighth layer?"
"How is that even possible?" Secret Schemer denied immediately, not even thinking of the possibility. But shortly after, he said with a heavy voice: "This possibility is not high, there are at least tens of thousands of steps before someone can walk out of seventh layer. The distance we have walked currently is not even ten percent! Fang Yuan is indeed powerful and is a rank seven demon that seldom appears in a hundred or even a thousand years. But in the end, he is not at rank eight, I even feel that only a venerable can get out of the seventh layer and enter the eighth layer."
"Venerable..." Not Immortal thought and said: "Should we tell Fang Yuan of the clues that several venerables came here?"
"Yes." Secret Schemer nodded: "Wait till Fang Yuan reaches his limits, we will tell this information to him after we return."
Secret Schemer witnessed Fang Yuan's strength and admitted Fang Yuan was stronger than him. Informing Fang Yuan of this information might spur Fang Yuan's fighting spirit and make him stay in Crazed Demon Cave, accompanying the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics to break through this place together.
Fang Yuan walked for a while before pausing slightly.
"This was the place where I saw Secret Schemer the previous time." Fang Yuan sized up his surroundings but did not see any traces.
Back then, Fang Yuan remembered the dao marks here were mainly of metal path and earth path, but it was completely different now.
Fang Yuan was not surprised because the dao marks in the seventh layer could transform.
Every time the demonic sounds start from the ninth layer, they will spread to the eighth layer, then to the seventh layer, all the way to the first layer.
When they reach the first layer, the demonic sounds would be sealed by a formless force, not spreading to the outside world and affecting other beings.
Fang Yuan continued to walk forward.
Secret Schemer and Not Immortal stopped on their spots, watching his receding figure from the distance.
When Fang Yuan crossed Secret Schemer's furthest record, this wisdom path Gu Immortal's eyelids twitched.
Despite him expecting this situation, when he saw this happen for real, he could not help feeling a deep sense of loss.
"I was surpassed." Secret Schemer heaved a deep sigh inwardly: "I am the head of the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics, the person who explored the furthest. I have lived here for hundreds of years and have engrossed myself in researching this place, I never expected to be surpassed by Fang Yuan so easily."
Envy and even hatred, as well as anger towards himself, bitterness, sadness, and all kinds of emotions surged in his heart.
Not Immortal's feelings were much better than Secret Schemer, after all he was the one with the worst performance among the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics.
Seeing Secret Schemer's expression, Not Immortal heaved a sigh and was about to comfort him when his expression changed suddenly.
The demonic sounds started!
"What's going on?" Not Immortal was pale with fright.
Secret Schemer was also horrified: "How could the demonic sounds appear at this time?"
Not Immortal said: "Your previous deduction was correct, the demonic sound's timing is already messed up and we can no longer grasp its timing. Quick, let's retreat! This place is too dangerous!!"
Secret Schemer's face was already perspiring with sweat, he shouted towards Fang Yuan: "The demonic sound is here, retreat quickly! We can only be safe after exiting the seventh layer."
Fang Yuan turned around to look at them two.
These two no longer had the secluded cultivator demeanor of the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics, they were panicking and were rapidly retreating.
"It doesn't look like they are trying to harm me." Fang Yuan frowned slightly.
Not Immortal and Secret Schemer had no time to choose a path, they could only barely make out the correct direction and retreat towards the outside.
The demonic sounds had just started and the dao marks here were already restless. Even more terrifying was when the demonic sounds truly resonated, there would be a wild tsunami of dao marks in the seventh layer! Immortal killer moves would immediately break upon activation. At this time period, even Duke Long would be in grave danger if he was here, he would be as weak as a baby and his death would be an unchangeable outcome.
The seventh layer had already become a forbidden land that devoured everything, only a venerable might be able to contend it.
The two eccentrics used all their methods and staked all their strength. They were spewing blood as they retreated.
"Quick, we are almost out of here!" Secret Schemer's eyes shone with wild joy as he looked ahead.
"I cannot go on!" Not Immortal crashed onto the ground.
Secret Schemer said through clenched teeth: "Persevere!"
The two had a very close relationship, Secret Schemer disregarded the danger and carried the unconscious Not Immortal.
At the moment of danger, his true nature was revealed.
Secret Schemer kept on moving, finally charged out.
His seven orifices were bleeding, his face was pale and green, he was blacking out time and again, and he felt as if his whole body was weighed down by heavy lead.
However, he did not dare to rest, the demonic sounds had just started, the seventh layer had become a dangerous zone and there was only hope for survival by returning to the sixth layer!
The demonic sounds had begun to spread and the warning alarms were ringing louder and louder in Secret Schemer's mind. He clenched his teeth and exerted his final trace of strength to drag himself and the unconscious Not Immortal to the sixth layer.
"Wait, where is Fang Yuan?" Before leaving the seventh layer, he took the risk to take a look behind.
"Wha?!" His eyes widened as if someone had struck the back of his eyes.
He was stupefied!
Fang Yuan had not retreated, but instead had moved even deeper.
"You, you, you!" Secret Schemer could not make up any words in his agitated state.
Fang Yuan heard the sound and turned around to look at him, smiling: "It was already too late for me to retreat from where I was. But I have a life saving secret technique so I have a slim chance to survive. There is deadly danger in exploring here and I have already prepared myself mentally, so no worries. Secret Schemer, I hope we have the opportunity to meet again!"
Secret Schemer was silent, he wanted to say 'Oh Fang Yuan, you are dead meat', but was unable to speak it out.
In the end, he said: "Fang Yuan, we will definitely meet again!"
These words had deep meaning.
On one hand, he was encouraging Fang Yuan, hoping he could persevere and not give up trying, maybe, there was a hope for survival. On the other hand, he was also foretelling himself that as he continued to explore like this, he would be trapped in a situation like Fang Yuan's sooner or later, and they would meet again in death.
Fang Yuan ruminated and smiled: "This Secret Schemer is indeed friendly and loyal."
In the five hundred years of his previous life, Secret Schemer was like this. He did not want to go out of Crazed Demon Cave, but Not Immortal and Pang Shan were pulled into the five regions chaotic war.
To protect his companions, Secret Schemer left Crazed Demon Cave.
Although he only had rank seven cultivation, his wisdom path attainment was very deep, he became a huge problem for Central Continent and Heavenly Court.
The Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics were secluded cultivators and did not have any blood relation, but their friendship was extremely deep, even surpassing many righteous path Gu Immortals.
A man is not a stalk of grass or a tree with no feelings. These three with a common goal lived together in seclusion for hundreds of years and helped each other, their relationship had already reached the point of staking one's life for another.
Fang Yuan looked at the swaying dao marks ahead, his expression was calm and at ease!
Even if these dao marks formed into a tsunami from the turbulence, it had no effect on him.
Sovereign immortal body, non-conflicting dao marks.
Fang Yuan was instead much more relaxed than before because Not Immortal and Secret Schemer had already left.
He smiled lightly and walked forward with ease.
He looked at the dazzling and grand dao mark waves in front of him. This was truly the most extraordinary scene in the world!
In the five regions and two heavens, there were many extraordinary sights; some were majestic, some were elegant, some were mighty, some were exquisite. Including both his previous lives and the present life, Fang Yuan had almost traveled the whole world, his vision was broad, he had plenty of experiences and seen many extraordinary things.
But right now, those magical scenes in his memories were all inferior to the waves of dao marks in front of him.
"If I leave my inheritance in the future, I will definitely record this scene and pass it to the later generations." Fang Yuan thought.
-x-X-x-
Crazed Demon Cave, sixth layer.
The two heavily injured eccentrics were collapsed on the ground. Secret Schemer was kneeling and healing Not Immortal, disregarding his own injuries for the moment.
Not Immortal slowly opened his eyes, he was dazed at first before coming to his senses shortly after as he thanked with great joy: "I actually escaped, leader, you saved me once again!"
He then asked in doubt: "Where is Fang Yuan? Wait a second, he didn't retreat in time?"
Secret Schemer smiled bitterly: "No. He is still at the seventh layer. But, his parting words were right, it was already late for him to retreat from that distance."
Not Immortal was astonished, and after a long while, he sighed: "This is life, who could have imagined that the mighty Fang Yuan would perish here."
Even though Fang Yuan's reputation was so illustrious, Not Immortal did not think he had much chance of survival.
Because Not Immortal knew the terrifying might of Crazed Demon Cave!
Secret Schemer had calmed down, his expression was a little bizarre: "It might be unbelievable but I have a strange feeling that Fang Yuan can survive. Although my rationality tells me it is impossible and I also can't deduce any way for him to survive, I still have this feeling inside me."
"Leader, you are a wisdom path Gu Immortal." Not Immortal was also dazed.
"Does every feeling of a wisdom path Gu Immortal have to be correct?" Secret Schemer shook his head bitterly: "Maybe, this is only my hope for Fang Yuan? He is so strong, far stronger than us, the whole world is shaken by him and even Heavenly Court is unable to deal with him. But such a character is going to perish inside Crazed Demon Cave. Sigh, maybe his ending will be our ending in the future. I must be feeling empathetic."
Not Immortal was silent.
After a good while, Secret Schemer broke the silence: "Let's go! Let's retreat and rest properly. When the demonic sounds stop completely, we will go to the seventh layer to search for Fang Yuan."
Not Immortal nodded despite him knowing Fang Yuan had almost no chance of surviving.
He stood up with difficulty but his body staggered and fell.
Fortunately, Secret Schemer held him in time.
Secret Schemer supported him and the two moved forward slowly while resisting the penetrating demonic sounds.
The path ahead was covered in darkness.
The two gradually merged into the darkness, both were moving while staggering.
They were completely unaware that in the seventh layer, Fang Yuan was still alive and had even made a new discovery.
"This is a new type of dao mark?" Fang Yuan's gaze brightened in surprise.
In the dazzling dao mark waves, he started to discover some brand-new dao marks.
Fang Yuan was no longer the same as before, he had a great improvement in every path and had inherited several venerable true inheritances. His vision had broadened greatly.
But right now, he was certain he had never seen this kind of dao mark.
This was a completely new dao mark!
"These dao marks were originally still, because they were too low in quantity and scattered everywhere, they were quite inconspicuous. But right now, due to the demonic sound, all kinds of dao marks are in constant movement, and also because of the conflict of different dao marks, dao marks of similar paths are beginning to unite. This increased the size of these new dao marks and made them easier to discover."
Fang Yuan rapidly deduced the reason.
When the demonic sounds had just started, all kinds of dao marks were mixed and woven randomly, complex and colorful.
After the demonic sounds had rang for a period of time, dao marks of each path gathered together and formed a united color. It was much clearer and more magnificent than before.
In front of Fang Yuan, metal path dao marks were wriggling around like a giant golden python. On his left, the soul path dao marks were even larger, they were like dark clouds as large as a city wall and were pushing forward grandly. Beside Fang Yuan's feet was that brand-new dao mark, it was like a brook that was flowing gently.
Fang Yuan stopped and observed it carefully.
Not long later, his face was filled with astonishment.
From the new dao mark, he 'saw' blades and swords, he 'smelled' axes and halberds, he 'felt' hammers and spears, he 'heard' darts and arrows...
Fang Yuan's expression was solemn as he pondered: "This new dao mark represents a brand-new path. This path is quite grand, it actually contains blades, swords, axes, halberds, and other weapons. If someone creates this path in the future, it will definitely encompass sword path and blade path. This new path's battle strength will be very strong, and it also clearly has many profundities of human path."
But short after, Fang Yuan shook his head: "However, who knows how many generations it will take and how long is needed to create this path."
"Maybe, someone has the thought and the foundation to create this path, if he or she can witness this scene, it will definitely be a huge help to him or her. Or perhaps, no one in the world will have this thought, this path will always be hidden like a treasure chest buried deep underground and there will never be anyone to open it."
Fang Yuan did not have any feeling of regret.
This situation was normal in the Gu world.
There was a common saying, 'talent is often overlooked due to a lack of opportunity, everyone needs a scout to excavate their talent'. In fact, an exceptional path needs talented people to unearth it.
Fang Yuan did not want to use this to create a new path.
He already had his hands full with the paths he cultivated. Moreover, creating a new path required an extremely huge amount of time and energy. He did not have such spare time.
Fang Yuan continued moving forward.
Along the way, he saw many new dao marks.
Some dao marks had gathered into a ball, round and smooth; Fang Yuan seemed to smell light scent of grass from it, but when he smelled carefully, it felt like the aroma of food.
Fang Yuan made a guess, was this the rumored pill path dao mark?
There was also a patch of dao marks that were spread on the ground like a carpet. It was clearly a similar kind of dao mark but lights interwove on its surface to form mountains and rivers at times, and at times, form birds and animals.
When other dao marks came flooding, this patch of dao marks became like leaves in the wind and flew away, lightly attaching onto the surface of the other dao marks. It did not affect these foreign dao marks nor did its tiny self crumble apart. It was truly mystical.
Fang Yuan's heart shook slightly the moment he saw this: "If I am not wrong, these are painting path dao marks!"
He had the intention to take these dao marks. But the demonic sounds were ringing now and he had no method to capture the dao marks.
"Fang clan has Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable's inheritance and that Immortal Gu House Thieves Den. If I use it, can I steal the dao marks here?" Fang Yuan's heart was moved as he gained an inspiration.
Immortal materials were common in Crazed Demon Cave but they had no value at all.
It was because the dao marks in these immortal materials were chaotic and of every path.
The immortal materials were useless but not the dao marks!
Fang Yuan used the plot against him to his own advantage and dealt with Fang Di Chang. The current Fang Di Chang was his clone.
Fang Yuan had plundered almost all the information about Fang clan from Fang Di Chang's soul. It naturally included Thieves Den.
This was indeed Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable's Immortal Gu House, but it was very damaged because it involved theft path which Fang clan was not proficient in. When Fang clan obtained this Immortal Gu House, they had not obtained its complete contents so they had not been able to restore it.
The present Thieves Den only had one ability, that was to use a theft path immortal materials as the catalyst, the theft path dao marks in the immortal materials would be consumed instantly and the dao marks in the outside world would be stolen.
The stolen dao marks would be attached to these theft path immortal materials. In the end, these immortal materials would be filled with disorderly dao marks from every path and have no more value.
This was similar to the situation in Crazed Demon Cave.
Thieves Den had the ability to steal the outside world's dao marks but did not have the method to use them. This was the main reason Fang Yuan had not thought of seizing Thieves Den.
"But this situation is different here."
"When these identical dao marks gather together, I can use Thieves Den to create immortal materials of the respective paths."
"These immortal materials would have identical dao marks and should be usable."
Fang Yuan's chest started to heat slightly at this thought.
If this idea worked, then he would possess a channel to create endless rank eight and even rank nine immortal materials!
How enormous was this wealth!
Even Fang Yuan could not estimate it.
The created immortal materials could not only be used in transactions and Gu refinement, they could also be used to comprehend the respective paths. For instance, using these new dao marks to create painting path, pill path, and other paths' immortal materials, these immortal materials were great reference for creating the corresponding path.
"But, similar dao marks can only gather during the time when the demonic sounds appear."
"At this time, there is an extreme risk in activating immortal moves. The dao marks of the immortal move can very likely turn chaotic because of the identical arrangement of the dao marks, it would fail and lead to backlash."
"There is no need to talk of Thieves Den, I might not even be able to bring it out. It is not the sovereign immortal body, it will suffer conflicting force if brought out and shatter!"
Fang Yuan calmed down.
There were huge technical difficulties in completing his idea.
His current foundation allowed him to look down on the world, but he still did not have any certainty.
Fang Yuan let out a sigh and gave up on this thought for the moment, continuing to move forward.
He began to move faster.
No matter what the dao marks ahead were, they were all harmless like a light breeze to him.
Not long later, he saw dream path dao marks.
Crazed Demon Cave could be said to have all the different types of dao marks, even dream path dao marks were included.
Fang Yuan stopped cautiously and probed before finding that the dream path dao marks were similarly harmless to him.
These were only dao marks and not a dream realm. To the sovereign immortal body, it was just a kind of moving immortal material.
If it were a dream realm, Fang Yuan would have to make a detour.
Fang Yuan moved in a straight line, his path unimpeded.
The ringing of the demonic sounds gave him some trouble. Fortunately, he had created an outstanding method, this killer move was specially created and could last for a long time when activated. Although with the disturbance of the demonic sounds, the long term effect became short term, everything was within Fang Yuan's tolerance range.
Even if his mind was eroded by the demonic sounds and he went into a killing spree, this land had no beings that could threaten him.
Even if he were to crash onto a boulder, the sovereign immortal body's constitution would guarantee his safety.
There were irregular and turbulent multicolored waves in the surrounding; at times, they were like a huge tsunami, at times, they were like a group of running horses, at times, they were like a waterfall, and at times, they were like birds flying around. And Fang Yuan was moving in the middle of these.
Were the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics to see this scene, their jaws might drop from the shock.
This was not toppling their common sense, this was directly shattering it!
Fang Yuan moved deeper, reaching the depths that the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics could not even imagine.
When he finally reached the eight layer's entrance, he exclaimed lightly and paused.
He actually saw three paths!
One path was filled with golden light, luck surged around it.
One path was dark and horrifying, killing intent filled it.
One path was humble and plain, giving a virtuous aura.
Fang Yuan's eyes shone as he understood: "These three paths are probably the traces of past venerables. These paths are filled with luck path, soul path, and earth path dao marks, they should belong to Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, Spectral Soul Demon Venerable, and Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable respectively!"
These three venerables had been here!
The mighty demonic sounds and the chaotic dao marks formed a horrifying situation, the might was so powerful that it could wipe out almost any Gu Immortal without leaving even a trace behind.
But the dao marks in these three paths were incomparably firm. Even though all kinds of dao mark currents were colliding, engulfing, and crashing into each other, the dao marks in these three paths stood still. It was just that some dao marks were peeled off at the very edges like they were residue or debris.
Fang Yuan squinted his eyes slightly.
He knew he possessed the sovereign immortal body which had non-conflicting dao marks so he could come here, it was like he was cheating.
But venerables were different!
Dao marks of venerables conflicted, they could come here because they had charged forward forcefully.
This was the supreme power of the three venerables!
The Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics' talents and attainment levels were rarely seen in the world, but they still needed to look for a path to walk on.
But venerables did not need to.
Wherever they walked on was a supreme path in itself!
Fang Yuan was not surprised at finding that venerables had come here, he had already somewhat predicted it, in fact.
After all, Limitless Demon Venerable was a person of the Olden Antiquity Era, the third venerable in history after Primordial Origin and Star Constellation. His Crazed Demon Cave had lasted to this day, although it was secluded, if the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics could find this secret, what about others?
As the supreme beings among Gu Immortals, these venerables were terrifying existences. It was logical for them to discover this place.
Only ignorant and naive youngsters would think that priceless inheritances, treasures and legacies that no one has ever discovered before would be found specially by them.
Humans were ordinary, but every person was unique. If you could have such a fortuitous encounter, why couldn't others have it?
"But, why are there traces of only these three venerables?"
"Why did the paths left behind by these three venerables only appear near the entrance of the eighth layer?"
There were some doubts in his mind, but Fang Yuan did not stop and jumped through the eighth layer's entrance.
The darkness in front of him passed in an instant, at the next moment, Fang Yuan landed on solid ground.
"How could this be?" Fang Yuan was dumbstruck.
Crazed Demon Cave's eighth layer showed a scene far surpassing his expectation, there was no similarity to the seventh layer at all.
-x-X-x-
This was a vast grassland.
Green grass, blue sky, and white clouds.
There was no sun in the sky but it was bright.
There were many beautiful wild flowers that were in full bloom.
Strong flowery fragrance floated in the wind and brushed across Fang Yuan's face along with a light breeze.
Fang Yuan was stupefied.
"This is Crazed Demon Cave's eighth layer?" He was astonished.
According to the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics' deduction, Crazed Demon Cave's last three layers should be the same as the seventh layer's scene, with chaotic dao marks everywhere. The eighth layer's dao marks scale would definitely be bigger than the seventh layer's. And in the ninth layer was the immortal formation arranged by Limitless Demon Venerable, the core of this immortal formation was the legendary rank nine Immortal Gu — Derivation!
But after Fang Yuan entered the eighth layer, he discovered this was actually a small world.
"Did I enter a blessed land?" A thought surfaced in Fang Yuan's mind.
But he denied this guess quickly.
When he used investigative methods to inspect his surroundings, a subtle change appeared in his expression: "This world doesn't seem ordinary, it is not a normal blessed land or grotto-heaven. This world is a little... frail."
Just as Fang Yuan was thinking, he heard a loud crackle.
A giant tear spread in the sky like lightning, spanning across the whole land.
At that instant, Fang Yuan's hairs stood on end as warning signals rang loudly in his mind!
He felt an intense threat from this giant tear, he was certain that as long as he was touched, he would die. Even if he used reverse flow protection seal, he might only last for a few breaths of time.
Fortunately, although the tear was extremely fast, it did not focus on Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan dodged with ease when he heard crackling sounds.
"This is the sound of a small world! It is crumbling apart and is about to perish." Fang Yuan sized up everything with a cold and aloof gaze.
That giant tear was enlarging and spreading continuously. The small world seemed to be cut into two and would soon split completely.
The blue sky, white clouds, grassland, and the flowers were all devoured by the tear!
However, there was nothing in the tear, as if it was a peerless vicious beast that was in perpetual hunger.
Fang Yuan's pupils shrunk slightly: "This is phantom path's strength, a void tear!"
Seeing this, he quickly used his methods to hide himself.
The tear spread towards him, Fang Yuan did not dodge and instead threw himself in.
He entered the tear but did not suffer any destructive attack.
When the void tear had just begun to spread, it was extremely dangerous. But after its might was spread, Fang Yuan was barely able to shelter himself inside.
The small world was becoming smaller and smaller while the void tear was growing bigger and bigger.
Fang Yuan flew higher up along the tear and soon left the boundaries of this small world, arriving at the outside world.
"This is!" His body and mind shook at the sight.
He was like a water bug that had suddenly arrived in a vast ocean. This ocean was the void!
This void was vast and wide with no limits to its boundary. Fang Yuan was an extremely insignificant existence inside it.
But he was not alone.
Alongside him were countless worlds!
These worlds were like multi-colored air bubbles: some were just forming, some had grown firmly, and some were being destroyed.
That small world Fang Yuan was in earlier was being destroyed. In just a short period of time, only two crescent shaped fragments had remained of it.
Fang Yuan's mouth opened slightly but was unable to say anything from the shock!
He suddenly realized this was the true appearance of the eighth layer.
The seventh layer had countless dao marks while the eighth layer had an infinite void. And in this void, countless worlds were being born and destroyed!
"Eh? This!" Fang Yuan caught a strange movement.
The small world he was in earlier had already been destroyed completely, leaving behind only a long white thread.
This thread could not be destroyed by even the void, it was extremely tenacious.
It was a dao mark!
Although it was only a thread of dao mark, it was extraordinary and twinkled with dao mark light.
"What dao mark is this?" Fang Yuan had never seen this dao mark and observed it with undivided attention.
It was very obvious that this dao mark was beyond extraordinary.
Because that small world had its own heaven and earth, so it had space path, living beings moved, so it had time path, there were grasses and flowers, so it had wood path, there was land, so it had earth path, there were clouds, so it had cloud path.
But these dao marks no longer existed as they were destroyed by the void, only this translucent white thread-like dao mark remained.
From this dao mark, Fang Yuan saw space path, sensed time path, tasted wood path, and felt cloud path.
"What path's dao mark is this? It actually has a kind of all-inclusive capacity?" Fang Yuan was confused, when he suddenly thought of an answer.
"I got it, this is heaven path!"
"Dao marks of the Heavenly Dao!!"
He had felt strange when he moved in the seventh layer: he saw all kinds of dao marks including dream path, as well as other completely new dao marks. But there were two kinds of dao marks missing.
One was human path and the other was heaven path.
Fang Yuan had seen human path dao marks, but this was the first time he was seeing heaven path dao marks.
"Other dao marks are all destroyed, only heaven path dao marks remain... What is this indicating?" Fang Yuan stared rigidly at this heaven path dao mark.
The thread-like heaven path dao mark seemed to be floating in the wind, it twinkled with dazzling white light, and its movement deeply attracted Fang Yuan's gaze.
Fang Yuan was cautious and did not attempt to make a move on this dao mark.
He followed the dao mark, after flying for a while, there was suddenly a strange change in the void ahead of him.
Currents surged and a vortex formed instantly, swallowing this heaven path dao mark.
The dao mark held on for a while in the void vortex before collapsing.
At that instant, the void vortex was dyed in all kinds of colors, forming a multicolored rotating disk.
The vortex rotated for a long while, and with a light sound, it suddenly burst.
The void in this area resumed its calm. But a blue-white air bubble had suddenly appeared out of thin air.
This air bubble was extremely small at first, only the size of Fang Yuan's little finger. But soon, it expanded rapidly.
Fang Yuan used investigative methods to check and discovered to his shock: this blue-white air bubble was a newly created small world. The land in this small world was expanding rapidly,the sky was spreading, everything was undergoing dramatic changes following some profound and mystical law.
After dozens of breaths of time, this small world had already expanded to a size that Fang Yuan could enter.
The small world's growth speed had slowed, everything was gradually stabilizing inside.
Fang Yuan entered it.
This small world was no longer like what he saw before. Clouds were drifting in the sky, islands were floating in the air, and countless huge green vines spread and interwove into a net that surrounded this world.
"It is the same heaven path dao mark, but this small world's appearance has changed a lot." Fang Yuan's mind jolted, he was about to comprehend something but was not able to grasp onto it, like it was separated by a barrier.
Fang Yuan had an intense premonition that as long as he grasped this inspiration and comprehended it, he could obtain a huge increase in strength. And this increase was a qualitative increase!
So, he fixed his gaze on these small worlds, observing their birth and destruction.
His body and mind was absorbed into it, he was completely obsessed, unable to free himself.
"Crazed Demon Cave's seventh layer derives dao marks, and this eighth layer derives worlds!"
"No, deriving worlds is only the superficial appearance, what it is actually doing is deriving heaven path dao marks."
Fang Yuan carefully observed, usually, after every round of a small world's birth and destruction, that heaven path dao mark would grow by a bit.
The situation was much more complex in reality.
Sometimes, the void vortex absorbed not just one but three to four heaven path dao marks together.
After these heaven path dao marks scatter, the small world that formed would be more vast and have deeper foundation, growing rapidly.
But after its destruction, it would only leave behind one or at most two heaven path dao marks.
In terms of the total length, the length of the previous three to four heaven path dao marks was no doubt greater than the length of the new dao marks.
"Heaven path dao marks can also be lost."
"Or maybe, the heaven path dao marks that I have seen still haven't reached the standard that Limitless Demon Venerable wants."
"He wants to create heaven path dao marks that match his expectations!"
If so, what kind of heaven path dao marks did he want to create?
Fang Yuan's mind jolted as he suddenly thought of the Three Crazed Demon Eccentrics' analysis — Limitless Demon Venerable wanted to pursue eternal life, so he settled in Crazed Demon Cave in his later years in search of the correct method.
"Limitless Demon Venerable wants to pursue eternal life, but the Heavenly Dao does not permit it. u003cu003cThe Legends of Ren Zuu003eu003e states, fate Gu determines that every being in the world must die and their soul has to return to the Door of Life and Death."
What was fate Gu?
Gu were the essence of heaven and earth.
Fate Gu, in essence, was a fragment of heaven path!
"Limitless Demon Venerable wants eternal life but he is unable to bypass the Heavenly Dao. He realized this so he directly targeted heaven path and researched it." Fang Yuan guessed.
Limitless Demon Venerable had once attacked Heavenly Court, but he was not an otherworldly demon and was unable to destroy Fate.
But he did not give up, instead he worked even harder and advanced forward. He wanted to find out the reason he was unable to destroy fate Gu and wanted to completely understand the truth of heaven path!
Such ambition!
Such methods!
Even Fang Yuan could not help but feel admiration.
"So how do I collect these heaven path dao marks?" Fang Yuan was extremely troubled.
He tried many methods but they were of no use.
He even had a premonition: even if he brought out Thieves Den right now, he would be unable to do anything to these heaven path dao marks.
Thieves Den was only a rank eight theft path Immortal Gu House and was highly damaged at that. And this immortal formation was obviously rank nine, it was even personally constructed by Limitless Demon Venerable.
"I should directly take the immortal formation!" Fang Yuan fell into another dilemma.
Because he did not know how to reach the ninth layer!
The path in the seventh layer was extremely clear, but at the eighth layer, Fang Yuan was in a boundless void without any signs and clues. How would he enter the ninth layer?
Fang Yuan did not know what direction to choose.
He could only drift aimlessly.
Who knew how long had passed, he discovered a world.
"Until now, this is the largest world I have seen. But it looks like it is about to be destroyed. Let's take a look inside." Fang Yuan entered this world.
"We pay respects to the sage!!" This world actually had living creatures. When they saw Fang Yuan, they immediately kowtowed excitedly.
"Sage, did you come to create a Dao field to save this world?"
"Sage, please take me in as your disciple!"
These living creatures had misty body with human shapes. They had noses and eyes and they talked without stopping.
"Sage?" Fang Yuan frowned slightly before immediately realizing the huge meaning behind this, "That means there are other sages like me?"
"Yes. There was a sage who wore a green robe and white headband, there were lotuses blooming at his every step, he created the Green Lotus Dao field."
"Another sage was bare-footed and wore yellow clothes, he was filled with compassion, he saved the Yellow Earth Great World."
"There was also another sage with a ferocious appearance, he was tall and burly, countless beast roars could be heard from his every action. He created Savage Wilderness Great World!"
These cloud people scrambled to inform Fang Yuan.
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