Picking up from where we left off:
Yuan Fang allowed his self gu to feast on the flesh of malice gu, allowing his Wisdom Path cultivation to break through to the Great Master attainment level, and he even managed to trick the Lang Ya Earth Spirit.
He subsequently enslaved Gu Yue Mo Yan and Gu Yue Chi Zhong, turning them into Human Path Gu Immortals, and annexed their blessed lands to expand his own.
While in closed-door cultivation refining dao marks, Fang Yuan seized the Soul Purification Immortal Gu from the eighty-eight true yang building, and Yuan Fang also accepted a new mission from the Lang Ya Earth Spirit, preparing to go to Treasure Yellow Heaven to trade for stone monkey hair.
The stone monkey hair were soon in his hands.
The above is the recap.
Northern Plains, an ancient battlefield.
This place was once the Foundation of the super force, Beastman City. At its peak, countless Beastman Gu Immortals were stationed here, looking down upon the region.
At that time, Heavenly Court had only been established for tens of thousands of years, and the vast Gu World was still the domain of variant humans. Until that day, a Righteous Path Rank Eight Gu Immortal descended alone.
He charged into Beastman City with overwhelming force; the once-prominent Beastman Gu Immortals fell one after another under his offensive, their corpses littering the long streets and their blood flowing like rivers.
When the slaughter ended, no living souls remained in Beastman City. That Rank Eight Gu Immortal floated in the night sky, his armor stained with blood and his robes fluttering in the night wind. Gazing at the bloody wasteland and the vast river of stars before him, he chanted loudly:
Silver starlight and the river of stars illuminate the Northern Plains,
When shall the hegemony of variant humans come to an end?
Not for longevity nor for private gain,
But only that the Human Race may endure for eternity.
After chanting, he established a brand new force here called "Northern Court," also known as the "Northern Plains Heavenly Court."
During Northern Court's most prosperous years, there were more than sixty Human Race Gu Immortals, while variant humans and even variant human Gu Immortals could only be reduced to slaves driven by others.
Unfortunately, times changed. Three hundred years passed in a flash. The Stone Man Royal Court led an army to attack, Northern Court collapsed with a bang, and that Rank Eight Gu Immortal also died on the battlefield. Northern Court was destroyed, and from then on, there was no longer a Heavenly Court on the Northern Plains.
During the era of Crazy Savage, the Stone Man Royal Court was also completely destroyed by Crazy Savage Demon Venerable. Since then, no force has occupied this land, leaving only a desolate wasteland.
The surviving Gu Immortals of the Stone Man Royal Court fled all the way to the Northern Ice Plain, living together with the later Snowmen tribe and barely surviving in that bitter cold land.
(Note: This segment is original content and not from the original work plot)
Deep within a dark cave, a desolate beast Rock Snake lay lazily coiled, the flesh and blood in its belly still slowly digesting. It had just finished a full meal and was preparing to sink into a dream.
Just then, a surging force wrapped in blood qi came rushing in as an entire river of blood crashed into the cave! The Rock Snake was jolted awake, its crimson tongue flicking wildly and its scales standing on end as it instantly entered a state of high alert.
"Mortal Path Killer Move — Cloud-Piercing Dragon!"
Outside the cave, Yuan Fang struck out with a palm. Golden clouds surged overhead, instantly condensing into a baring-clawed golden dragon that carried the momentum of thunder, shooting toward the Rock Snake like an arrow.
The Rock Snake was not panicked by the sight; it activated the Gu worms on its body, and with a light hiss, a heavy stone wall rose from the ground to block its front.
"Boom!" With a loud explosion, the stone wall was pierced through by the golden dragon, but the golden dragon also collapsed into nothingness during this violent impact.
The Rock Snake was enraged; its tail swept out violently, slamming the broken fragments of the stone wall toward Yuan Fang. Yuan Fang did not dodge, instead shouting in a low voice:
"Mortal Path Killer Move — Nine Cloud Rings!"
The stone wall fragments crashed toward him but were steadily blocked an inch away from Yuan Fang by nine ring-shaped clouds. One by one, the cloud rings whistled out; the Rock Snake had no way to dodge and could only grit its teeth and endure it.
The power of this Nine Cloud Rings Killer Move stacked layer upon layer. The Rock Snake felt its blood and qi surging, its massive body trembling slightly. Just as it wanted to burrow into the ground to escape, Yuan Fang was already prepared; he directly activated the beast taming gu, and with a flash of eerie light, he completely enslaved this desolate beast.
"This is the fifth one, mission complete," Yuan Fang said calmly.
He then opened the star gate and sent the Rock Snake along with that Rank Seven beast taming gu into the Lang Ya Blessed Land behind the gate.
Actually, Yuan Fang had wanted to let his vital Gu, self gu, take a bite out of this beast taming gu, but his vital Gu had only just reached rank six and simply could not withstand the Foundation of a Rank Seven Gu worm; otherwise, he might have been able to directly add over a thousand dao marks.
When the Lang Ya Earth Spirit saw this batch of desolate beasts and Gu materials, he immediately beamed with joy, especially since several of the desolate beasts had formidable combat strength, which was exactly the power he urgently needed.
He immediately took out ten immortal essence stones and the immortal materials for the green vine immortal gu and handed them over, laughing loudly:
"Young man, this old man really didn't misjudge you! This drive of yours has quite the style I had back in the day. How about this: in the future, you enslave one desolate beast for me every month, and I will pay you in immortal essence stones, what do you say?"
Yuan Fang smiled slightly; this was exactly what he wanted. His current supply of immortal essence stones was tight, and the dividends from the ancient glory light were only twenty immortal essence stones per month, so this stable extra income was undoubtedly timely help.
Moreover, by maintaining a good relationship with the Lang Ya Earth Spirit, he could take more advantage of him in the future. Yuan Fang thought to himself and immediately laughed:
"That is easy to manage."
After obtaining the immortal materials, Yuan Fang went straight back to his blessed land and handed all the materials to Qing Shu. At this moment, Qing Shu was sitting inside the mortal gu house, Heavenly Palace, within Yuan Fang's blessed land, leisurely sipping tea.
He was drinking Mist Pine tea, which was created by Gu Yue Fuqi. Using dozens of mortal materials as a base, it created an artistic mood of a misty pine forest upon entering the mouth, making one feel the pleasant relaxation of strolling through a forest amidst the moist fragrance of vegetation.
Qing Shu took the immortal materials and slowly took another sip of the warm Mist Pine tea. He felt the fatigue from days of travel dissipate with the tea fragrance before he looked up and asked:
"When shall we begin the Immortal Ascension Tribulation?"
Yuan Fang was staring blankly at the drizzling rain outside the window—this was a weather phenomenon triggered by the Rolling Dark Clouds Killer Move. Hearing Qing Shu's question, he snapped back to his senses.
Seeing that he had no immediate decision, Qing Shu did not press him, instead activating a Heavenly Eye Gu to overlook the entirety of Yuan Fang's blessed land while continuing to sip his tea.
Yuan Fang's blessed land was vast and boundless, encompassing six sea regions and three continents:
- Central Continent was under the rule of the Human Emperor Gu Yue Fuqi, where ten tribes coexisted; it was also the original Foundation of Yuan Fang's blessed land.
- Northern Dark Merfolk Continent was the former Chi Zhong blessed land. It consisted of only a million hectares of land and over two hundred thousand hectares of islands, and it has now been occupied by the Merfolk tribe. The Merfolk tribe even established the Merfolk Royal Court here, governing hundreds of thousands of living beings from various tribes, making it the most populous and powerful faction within Yuan Fang's blessed land.
- Western Cloud Continent was originally the Mo Yan blessed land, and it now has a tripartite balance of power. The Stone Man, Feathered Men, and Inkman tribes stand in opposition: the Feathered Men established the floating city Cloud Palace; the Inkman tribe founded the Wulei Sect, which widely accepts variant humans from all over; and the Stone Man tribe built the sturdy Underground Royal Court deep underground.
In the entire Yuan Fang Blessed Land, a total of five Rank Five Gu Masters were born: Human Emperor Gu Yue Fuqi, the Merfolk King of the Merfolk Royal Court, the Feathered Man King of Cloud Palace, a Hairy People Loose Cultivator from the Northern Dark Merfolk Continent, and a Human Race Blood Path demonic cultivator from the Western Cloud Continent.
"Senior, your management of this blessed land is truly flourishing." Gu Yue Qing Shu put down his teacup; the tea was finished.
As soon as he finished speaking, a Feathered Man Gu Master standing by his side refilled his tea.
In this Heavenly Palace, there were seats for the Ten Great Envoys, held respectively by the Stone Man, Hairy People, Inkman, Snowmen, Merfolk, Little People, Mushroom People, Feathered Men, Egg People, and the Human Race.
Except for the Human Race envoy, the other nine were all Rank Five Gu Masters, and that Human Race envoy was none other than the Rank Four initial stage Ma Hong Yun.
This Feathered Man Gu Master pouring tea for Qing Shu was named Xiao Yu, who was Yuan Fang's Personal Disciple, specializing in Cloud Path and having reached the Rank Five middle stage.
"Alright, enough tea has been drunk, it's time to set out." Yuan Fang put down his teacup and left the blessed land with Gu Yue Qing Shu.
He was unwilling to let this world he had painstakingly managed be damaged by the aftershocks of the Immortal Ascension Tribulation.
Outside the blessed land was that ancient battlefield of the Northern Plains.
The heaven and earth qi here were abundant, and the human qi Qing Shu had accumulated himself was also sufficiently robust, so with Yuan Fang's assistance, he successfully completed the first two steps of the Immortal Ascension Tribulation.
The immortal aperture took shape, and Gu Yue Qing Shu obtained a high-grade blessed land. He ascended as a Wood Path immortal; this blessed land was eight million mu in size, with a time flow thirty-one times that of the outside world, and as far as the eye could see, it was filled with lush and dense primeval forests.
The outline of the green vine immortal gu gradually solidified within the immortal aperture, and at that moment, the Immortal Ascension Tribulation suddenly descended!
Yuan Fang did not dare to be careless and immediately activated the Calamity Beckoning immortal gu. Six towering green vines crashed down from the sky; he then unleashed the Giant Sword Technique and Sword Control Technique Killer Moves, with Sword Qi crisscrossing to build a solid barrier for Qing Shu.
Unexpectedly, a green vine suddenly whipped towards Qing Shu. He couldn't dodge in time and was hit hard by the tip of the vine, immediately coughing up blood incessantly. Seeing this, Yuan Fang immediately released Enslavement Path Gu Immortal Lin Hong.
At Lin Hong's command, the desolate beast Silver Spear Wolf and over a hundred Emperor Silver Spear Wolves charged out together, protecting Qing Shu in the center.
At that moment, a strong wind swirled in the sky, and a fresh scent of vegetation blew towards them. In the next instant, over a hundred treants charged over majestically, the power of the Wood Path tribulation fully revealed.
At this critical moment, Gu Yue Qing Shu finally refined the green vine immortal gu. He combined this Gu with a previous immortal gu recipe, causing the completion rate of the Ancient Light Immortal Gu recipe to break through to fifty percent in one leap.
At the same time, he also comprehended an Immortal Path Killer Move — "Green Vine Neon Dress."
In the next moment, Qing Shu activated the Killer Move, and countless green vines surged like a tide, wrapping around his body.
The green vines wrapped more and more, but also tightened further, finally transforming into a green gauze garment, thin as a cicada's wing and translucent like silk, protecting him firmly. Wearing this gauze garment, Qing Shu suddenly looked like an immortal, exquisite and magnificent.
Just then, a treant suddenly shot out over a thousand pine needles, but they were all blocked and neutralized by the Green Vine Neon Dress.
Seeing the Killer Move was effective, Qing Shu felt delighted and charged towards the treant army.
He used the green vine immortal gu as a long whip, lashing out left and right amidst the army, heavily wounding over a hundred treants in an instant, all of whom he collected into his immortal aperture. These treants were rare mortal materials, perfect for taking back to the blessed land for rearing.
Suddenly, a cold light flashed through the air! A sharp sword pierced the Green Vine Neon Dress fiercely. Although it was repelled by the tough vine armor, Qing Shu was still affected, a trail of fresh blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth.
In the distance, a masked figure in black slowly appeared. Yuan Fang's brow furrowed, as he shockingly discovered three more black-clothed figures appearing behind that person; all four were at rank six cultivation.
What made his heart sink even more was an Ancient Sword Flood Dragon flying in the sky, its body surrounded by the terrifying aura of Rank Seven.
"Not good! This is the very Ancient Sword Flood Dragon I encountered when I underwent my Immortal Ascension Tribulation back then!" Yuan Fang cried out in alarm.
"It has now been tainted by Heaven's Will. As long as I don't die, it will keep hunting me down!"
"These black-clothed people must have used the Ancient Sword Flood Dragon to lock onto my tracks... What on earth is their background? The enemy is strong and we are weak, we must evacuate immediately!"
Yuan Fang made a prompt decision and immediately activated the star gate gu. At this time, one of the black-clothed people activated a Killer Move:
"Mortal Path Killer Move — Dimming Starlight."
In the next moment, the star gate closed immediately. But a wily rabbit has three burrows; how could Yuan Fang have only one means of escape? Light suddenly burst from his hand, and in the next instant, Yuan Fang directly fled several hundred meters.
"That's an immortal gu, don't let him escape," a black-clothed man said to a black-clothed woman beside him.
The black-clothed woman directly used a Killer Move: "Immortal Path Killer Move — Ice Plain Battlefield."
In the next moment, the area within a thousand meters turned into a water-blue ice plain, the sky darkened, and heavy snow began to fall.
This was a battlefield killer move. Unless Yuan Fang forcibly broke the Killer Move or used Fixed Immortal Travel and other immortal gu, he would be unable to leave.
Countless snow monsters rose from the ground, some ten feet tall, some thirty feet tall, charging grandly towards Yuan Fang, Qing Shu, and Lin Hong.
Seeing this, Lin Hong no longer held back and released tens of thousands of wolves, charging towards the four black-clothed people and the Ancient Sword Flood Dragon. The Ancient Sword Flood Dragon didn't even bother to care about those wolves; it had only one goal: to eliminate Yuan Fang.
It opened its mouth and spat out a burst of dragon breath. Yuan Fang hurriedly activated the wander far gu to dodge it.
This dragon breath was extremely powerful, containing a large amount of sword path dao marks. If Yuan Fang encountered this thing, he would surely die upon contact.
Especially since Yuan Fang's Human Path dao marks did not repel any other dao marks; for the incoming sword path dao marks, only Strength Path and Wisdom Path dao marks could barely expel them.
"Dammit! Must I really be forced to use the near water pavilion?" Yuan Fang gritted his teeth inwardly, only able to repeatedly activate the wander far gu, dodging the Ancient Sword Flood Dragon's dragon breath in a pathetic state.
green grape immortal essence was being consumed frantically in his immortal aperture. In just a moment, over forty beads of immortal essence turned into nothingness.
On the other side, Lin Hong and Qing Shu were relying on the wolf pack to struggle against the four black-clothed people. Both were already covered in wounds, and the desolate beasts Blade Wing Wolf and Tortoise Back Wolf had already died one after another in the chaotic battle.
Yuan Fang was anxious and called out to Fang Yuan in his mind, but at this moment Fang Yuan was going through rounds in the eighty-eight true yang building, his mind completely immersed in it, not noticing his call for help at all.
Yuan Fang also didn't dare to use Treasure Yellow Heaven to send a message — Treasure Yellow Heaven was an open Information Path, and he could almost certainly conclude that these four black-clothed people were from the Shadow Sect.
Shadow Sect had too many powerful Wisdom Path Gu Immortals. Not to mention the sleeping Purple Mountain True Monarch, just Old Man Yan Shi of the Southern Border was enough to make him wary.
This person was incredibly capable, even able to deduce the location of Lang Ya Blessed Land and Fang Yuan's movements in Gu Refining. Yuan Fang didn't dare use the near water pavilion precisely because he feared Old Man Yan Shi would follow the traces and lock onto his position.
Just then, another sharp sword light slashed over! Yuan Fang's pupils shrank, and he immediately activated three defensive Killer Moves: Detain Person, Nine Cloud Rings, and Stars Arching Towards the Moon. But that sword light was peerlessly sharp, and the three defenses were easily pierced through like thin paper.
In the next moment, the sharp Sword Qi directly severed his left arm!
"Mortal Path Killer Move — Six-Armed Heavenly Corpse King!"
Yuan Fang was not using the full power of his immortal gu at this moment. Although this Killer Move was only at the mortal path level, its power was still astonishing.
Death Qi surged around him as he instantly transformed into an Immortal Zombie body. Six arms suddenly grew from his back, and the severed left arm also regrew at a speed visible to the naked eye.
But the black-clothed person who swung the sword gave him no room to breathe, raising the sword again as another Immortal Path Killer Move came flying through the air.
Yuan Fang was pale with fright and could only consume one bead of green grape immortal essence, activating the wander far gu to dodge perilously.
"Humph, your movement immortal gu is indeed exquisite, but unfortunately... it's the wander far gu, isn't it?"
One of the black-clothed people sneered. He was precisely a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal of the Shadow Sect, and he had just deduced the origin of this immortal gu.
Yuan Fang felt a sense of despair, not expecting the opponent to calculate so accurately. At the critical moment when he was gritting his teeth to use the near water pavilion, Fang Yuan's voice suddenly rang in his mind:
"Yuan Fang, what happened? What's going on?"
Yuan Fang's eyes immediately filled with tears, and he promptly disclosed the entire crisis. After listening, Fang Yuan quickly scanned the surrounding terrain, retrieved Yuan Fang's memory of the ancient battlefield, and without hesitation activated the Fixed Immortal Travel.
A blinding green light suddenly lit up in front of them, and a muscular, expressionless naked man suddenly appeared in the center of the battlefield.
His figure was like a towering mountain; his terrifying physique and uninhibited posture made Lin Hong's cheeks flush, and she hurriedly turned her head away.
"Let's go, quickly!" Yuan Fang, Qing Shu, and Lin Hong didn't dare to delay and immediately entered Fang Yuan's immortal aperture.
Seeing this, the Ancient Sword Flood Dragon was furious, the fierce light in its giant eyes exploding as it opened its mouth and spat out a burst of scorching dragon breath.
Fang Yuan, however, neither dodged nor avoided it, only shifting his body slightly. His figure vanished from the spot like a ghost, and the dragon breath grazed his shoulder, missing.
The four black-clothed people were furious. One of them shouted sternly, "Dammit! Didn't they say to report immediately if there's any conversation in Treasure Yellow Heaven?"
At this moment, only one breath remained before the Fixed Immortal Travel's teleportation activated. One of the black-clothed people was about to charge forward but was stopped by the Wisdom Path Gu Immortal:
"Let him go. That's the Fixed Immortal Travel, we can't catch up at all. To think this person is actually related to Fang Yuan, next time we can..."
Before the words could finish, Fang Yuan had already struck like a thunderbolt!
With a muffled "thump," the Wisdom Path Gu Immortal didn't even have time to scream before his head was shattered by Fang Yuan's punch, which contained an Immortal Path Killer Move.
Coupled with the effect of the Group Strength Gu, Fang Yuan could gather the strength of all the Gu Masters in his immortal aperture. There was also the Borrow Strength Gu, which utilized the power of heaven and earth, allowing him to kill the fragile Wisdom Path Gu Immortal with a single punch.
The other black-clothed people were shocked and angry, but despite all their calculations, they ultimately didn't expect Fang Yuan to suddenly attack before teleporting.
By the time they reacted, Fang Yuan had already collected the corpse into his immortal aperture. With a flash of green light, the naked figure completely disappeared from the spot.