The battle with Li Seek Defeat concluded, and the Human Path Blessed Land suffered severe damage, with its Foundation almost halved.
Yuan Fang's strength was greatly diminished, and his Human Path Cultivation was consequently delayed. The Human Path dao marks also decreased significantly, and his combat power is estimated to have dropped by one-tenth. Yuan Fang had grievances he couldn't express.
The Heavenly Palace even issued a strict decree, announcing to the world that Gu Masters were strictly forbidden from privately seeking the path to Immortal Ascension. Those who violated the order would suffer heavenly punishment.
Yuan Fang looked at his devastated Blessed Land. Although he felt regret, he did not dwell too much on his frustration.
On the contrary, during his confrontation with Li Seek Defeat, he unexpectedly gained some profound insights into the Origin of Human Path, which was far more valuable than the temporary loss of the Blessed Land.
Precisely because of this, Yuan Fang temporarily set aside his comprehension of the Law-Heaven Phenomenon-Earth Divine Ability and dedicated all his attention to this sudden inspiration regarding the Human Path.
Yuan Fang delved into his research, attempting to forge a completely new path from it.
However, whenever he recalled how the five Clones he had painstakingly enslaved were toyed with by Li Seek Defeat, led by the nose from beginning to end, Yuan Fang couldn't help but feel speechless.
So many Clones with immortal gu working together, yet they ended up in such a situation. It was truly a loss of face.
To avoid such an embarrassing situation in the future, Yuan Fang specifically transferred his most experienced Clone, Eternal Ordinary, to be responsible for guiding the other Clones in practicing coordinated combat and refining their teamwork.
He strived to ensure that each Clone could unleash one hundred percent of its combat power, truly achieving the effect of a clenched fist, sweeping aside all obstacles.
Meanwhile, Fang Yuan's Cultivation path continued steadily, largely following the trajectory of his past life's memories.
He participated in the Gu Refining Assembly as scheduled, overcoming all challenges and ultimately, through exquisite methods, fortuitously obtaining a success dao mark.
Once this dao mark entered his body, his Gu Refining success rate soared, and his certainty in refining high stage Gu insects greatly increased, saving countless losses from failures.
Afterward, he entered the Star Constellation Grotto-Heaven to explore, experiencing countless insights within the Star Constellation Dream Realm.
By the time he emerged from the dream realm, his Wisdom Path Cultivation had already firmly stepped into the realm of Wisdom Path Quasi-Great Grandmaster.
In the original work, Fang Yuan achieved Grandmaster status through the Star Constellation Dream Realm. Now, because Fang Yuan was already a Wisdom Path Grandmaster, he has become a Wisdom Path Quasi-Great Grandmaster.
After the highly anticipated Gu Refining competition between Fang Yuan and Feng Jin Huang concluded, the relationship between the Gu Yue Clan and Spring Path Sect became even closer, with interactions becoming more frequent.
Anyone with discerning eyes could see that the Gu Yue Clan had become a nominal subordinate of Spring Path Sect. A nominal subordinate meant that Spring Path Sect could not directly command the Gu Yue Clan.
The Central Continent has always rejected Family-style Cultivation systems, making it difficult for Family forces to gain a foothold here.
Fang Yuan saw through this point and simply went with the flow, beginning to guide the Gu Yue Clan in a Sect reform, breaking down Family barriers and widely accepting visitors from all directions—
Whether they were Mortals with no Foundation, Gu Masters just entering the threshold, or even Loose Cultivator Gu Immortals who already had Cultivation, anyone willing could join this nascent Sect.
As for the Sect's name, it naturally could no longer use a Family designation like 'Gu Yue Clan'.
Yuan Fang pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke with a smile, suggesting:
"How about 'Heaven and Earth Great Love Alliance'? It sounds gentle and friendly, highly inclusive, and aligns with our intention to embrace all under heaven."
Fang Yuan heard this and mused for a moment. He didn't fully adopt it but extracted the two characters 'Great Love' from it, then picked up his brush and named the Sect—Great Love Sect.
Not a character more, not a character less, it was grand and steady, yet contained the magnanimity to embrace the world.
From its inception, the Great Love Sect established extremely lenient entry rules, forming a stark contrast with the strict thresholds of the Ten Great Ancient Sects in Central Continent.
As long as one possessed a firm Heart-Nature, regardless of their background or Cultivation Aptitude, they could enter the Great Love Sect's gates.
Even Mortals born with extremely poor Aptitude, destined to be without a connection to Cultivation, would have the Opportunity to gradually embark on the Gu Master path after joining the Sect, rewriting their own destiny.
All of this was due to Yuan Fang possessing a Heaven-Defying Human Path Mortal Killer Move—Man Conquers Heaven.
Once this move was unleashed, it could forcibly open a Cultivation path for those without Aptitude, granting them the Opportunity for Aperture Opening;
Furthermore, with hundreds of thousands of Rank Three bone flesh reunion gu as its backing, it could allow C-grade and D-grade Gu Masters with inferior Aptitude to Heaven-Defyingly change their fate, with Cultivation speed comparable to A-grade Aptitude.
With such Heaven-Defying methods in place, the Great Love Sect was destined to shake the entire Central Continent from its very birth.
The Sect's location was set on the peak of an unnamed mountain that soared into the clouds. Fang Yuan waved his hand, naming this great mountain Great Love Mountain.
Deep within the back mountain of Great Love Mountain, Fang Yuan also placed the immortal aperture left behind after the death of the Bai Clan Leader.
The conditions for the Earth Spirit of this immortal aperture to recognize a master were extremely harsh; only by destroying the Gu Yue Clan could one gain control.
And Fang Yuan, by founding the Great Love Sect and actively abandoning the name of the Gu Yue Clan, integrating its members into the Sect, indirectly fulfilled the Earth Spirit's requirement, smoothly claiming this immortal aperture as his own.
Fang Yuan immediately officially renamed this Blessed Land to Great Love Blessed Land, ordering the Gu Immortals of the original Gu Yue Clan to each contribute a portion of their Blessed Land territory, integrating them into Great Love Blessed Land to continuously expand its area.
At the same time, he relocated a large number of the Clan's origin springs, mineral veins, and resource points here, transforming Great Love Blessed Land into the core Foundation of the entire Great Love Sect.
The Sect's power structure was also established accordingly.
The Gu Immortals of the original Gu Yue Clan formed the Grand Elders of the Great Love Sect. Fang Yuan personally served as the Grand Elder, controlling the Sect's direction; Yuan Fang became the Second Grand Elder, stationed in the rear, managing Human Path methods and the Sect's foundational secret techniques.
As for the position of Sect Leader for the Mortal Disciples on Great Love Mountain, Fang Yuan did not entrust it to others but bestowed it upon Ancient Moon Fangzheng's eldest son—Gu Yue Fang Xiang.
Gu Yue Fang Xiang was the offspring of Fang Zheng and Ge Yao, born within Fang Zheng's Blessed Land. Due to the vast difference in time flow inside and outside the Blessed Land, only a few years had passed within the Blessed Land, while a long time had elapsed in the outside world.
At this time, Gu Yue Fang Xiang was a twenty-three-year-old talented youth, whose Cultivation had steadily reached Rank Four initial stage, specializing in Transformation Path, possessing considerable potential.
As for the Sect Elder positions, they were jointly held by Chi Cheng, Mo Bei, Yao Le, Tie Ruo Nan, Qiu Jiu, and several Mortal Clones of Yuan Fang, among other Rank Five Gu Masters, each performing their duties to ensure the stable operation of the Sect.
With the structure established, large-scale construction began.
In just a few months, Great Love Mountain was dotted with pavilions and continuous palaces.
Punishment Hall, Medicine Hall, Internal Affairs Hall, Skill Transmission Hall, Deacon Hall... functional buildings rose one after another, newly renovated and magnificent.
Fang Yuan also specifically ordered Yan Yong to lead hundreds of thousands of Stone Man Slaves to excavate countless underground caves within the great mountain.
These caves crisscrossed and connected, forming an enormous underground city.
The underground passages were spacious and bright, well-ventilated and dry, completely devoid of the narrowness, dimness, dampness, and stuffiness of ordinary caves, everywhere showing traces of careful planning.
Within the underground world, there were individual Immortal Caves for Disciples to Cultivate and live, as well as Flesh Sac Secret Chambers and Underground Insect Caves housing countless Gu insects;
There was also a bustling underground trading market, and gathering places for various large and small organizations of the Sect, all complete, like an underground kingdom.
Up and down the mountain, everything was ready, all preparations complete.
Fang Yuan immediately issued an order to post recruitment notices in major towns, markets, and ferry ports throughout Central Continent, announcing to the entire Central Continent—
The Great Love Sect is opening its doors to Disciples, regardless of background or Aptitude. All who wish to join the Sect are welcome.
The notice also clearly stated the trials and benefits of becoming a Great Love Sect Disciple, fair and clear at a glance.
New Disciples joining the Sect did not need to pay any entry fee and could receive ten Origin stones monthly as basic Cultivation resources;
After one year, if they could successfully Breakthrough to Rank Two Gu Master, they would be promoted to Named Disciple, enjoying more benefits;
If they remained at Rank One after one year, they would need to go out and perform basic Sect missions, using labor in place of resources, to temper their Heart-Nature.
This assessment system ran through every stage of a Disciple's Cultivation. It was not harsh, nor did it give up, ensuring everyone had a path to advancement.
Once their Cultivation broke through to Rank Five Gu Master, they could directly be promoted to Sect Elder, no longer needing to perform Mortal tasks, and could fully devote themselves to Cultivation, aiming for the rank six Immortal position;
Before an Elder Undergoing Tribulation to become an Immortal, they only needed to report to the back mountain of Great Love Mountain, and the Sect would provide mortal gu houses and the power of desolate beasts to escort the person Undergoing Tribulation, helping them safely pass the Immortal Ascension tribulation.
The news spread instantly throughout Central Continent.
Countless ordinary people born without Aptitude, destined to be Mortals their entire lives, seemed to see a glimmer of hope for Heaven-Defyingly changing their fate, flocking from all directions towards Great Love Mountain.
For a time, the gate threshold of Great Love Mountain was trampled broken again and again by the crowds, and the mountain path was packed with people, an unprecedented spectacle.
Ultimately, due to the limited capacity of the Sect, they had to reluctantly halt admissions, finally enrolling three hundred thousand new Disciples.
Adding the two hundred thousand members of the original Gu Yue Clan, the total number of Disciples within the Great Love Sect had already exceeded five hundred thousand!
Fifty thousand Disciples, along with more than a dozen Rank Six Gu Immortals and a Rank Seven immortal gu house, made it one of the top super forces in the entire Central Continent.
The news of Fang Yuan founding the Great Love Sect quickly reached the ears of the Ten Great Ancient Sects in Central Continent.
When they learned that the Great Love Sect actually possessed the bone flesh reunion gu, capable of mass-producing high stage Gu Masters in large quantities.
The old fellows of those Ten Great Ancient Sects could no longer sit still. They all dispatched envoys to Great Love Mountain, their words either strong or tactful, demanding that Fang Yuan hand over the bone flesh reunion gu recipe.
How could someone like Fang Yuan easily hand over such a treasure?
To maximize the value of the bone flesh reunion gu, Fang Yuan successively held three auctions, offering the bone flesh reunion gu recipe as the grand finale treasure for public bidding.
At the auction, various forces competed fiercely, bidding immortal essence stone, immortal materials, rare Gu recipes, incomplete Killer Moves... one treasure after another was thrown out, and the price soared.
Ultimately, Spring Path Sect, relying on its profound heritage, successfully bid for the bone flesh reunion gu recipe with one hundred immortal essence stones, dozens of rare immortal materials, and more than ten lost methods that could restore Immortal Zombies to human form, paying an exorbitant price.
If the Talented Scholar of Gray Bone knew in the afterlife that the bone flesh reunion gu he created back then could fetch such a sky-high price today, he would surely be greatly comforted.
Within the Great Love Sect at this time, relying on a massive quantity of bone flesh reunion gu, over a thousand Rank Five Gu Masters had already emerged within the Gu Yue Clan, like a thousand Gu Immortal seeds buried within the Sect.
Once the time was ripe, these Gu Immortal seeds could break through the soil and directly ascend to the Immortal Rank.
In addition, the Great Love Sect also possessed a Rank Seven human qi immortal gu.
(This is an anti-counterfeit immortal gu, not a human qi immortal gu)
This Gu has infinite wondrous uses, capable of providing every Disciple preparing for Immortal Ascension with a superior Blessed Land after their ascension, allowing their starting point to far surpass others.
If combined with the life and death immortal aperture method mastered by the Sect, it could continuously Cultivate high stage Gu Immortals in batches.
At this rate, within a hundred years, the number of Gu Immortals in the Great Love Sect would surely break three digits, truly standing at the peak of Central Continent, with no one daring to provoke them easily in the same era.
The surge in the number of Gu Immortals also brought hidden dangers.
After Gu Masters ascend to Immortality, their thoughts vary; if someone harbored ill intentions and stabbed the Sect in the back, it would be a catastrophic disaster for the Sect. Yuan Fang had long prepared for this.
He personally acted, specifically inviting Fairy Hei Lou Lan from Northern Plains to serve as a Guest Elder and Grand Elder of the Great Love Sect.
This move, firstly, was to leverage the Mountain Alliance immortal gu in Fairy Li Shan's hands, Hei Lou Lan's aunt, to restrain the Sect's Gu Immortals with Information Path oaths, preventing betrayal and internal strife;
Secondly, Yuan Fang had another agenda, coveting Hei Lou Lan's unique Great Strength True Martial Body, intending to use it to acquire a Ten Extreme immortal aperture, further perfecting his own cultivation path.
The reason Yuan Fang did not use the Only I Am Supreme Killer Move to forcibly control her was that as his Wisdom Path, Luck Path, and Human Path attainments deepened, he had vaguely foreseen that this Killer Move contained hidden flaws.
Long-term use would cause irreversible negative effects on the main body. As for the Origin of the hidden danger, it seemed to have some relation to the death of Clones.
Weighing the pros and cons, inviting Hei Lou Lan to take charge was undoubtedly the most stable choice.
Of course, Hei Lou Lan could not be called "Fairy Hei Lou Lan" when she came to the Great Love Sect. Yuan Fang gave her a false identity, calling her "Fairy Heiyue."
Meanwhile, in Central Continent, in an inconspicuous small village at the foot of Great Love Mountain, lived a young boy named Cui.
His name was Cui Zi Wai, the eldest son of the village landlord. His Family was well-off, even having several "all-powerful" Gu Master adults enshrined in their home, giving them a small amount of influence in the countryside.
(Another good classmate of the author)
In the eyes of others, Cui Zi Wai was an out-and-out foolish son of a landlord, muddled and idle all day, lacking ambition, and appearing utterly useless.
But no one knew that all of this was just his disguise. Cui Zi Wai's true identity was a Transmigrator from beyond the heavens, an Otherworldly Demon as the world called them.
His real name was Cui Zizheng, an ordinary Chinese yellow-haired high School student on Earth.
After dying in a stunt on an electric bike, Cui Zizheng's Soul traversed endless Chaos, descending into the Gu World, possessing the body of this young man named Cui Zi Wai.
Coincidentally, after his Transmigration, he was born with dazzling golden curly hair, which was particularly striking in Central Continent.
The root cause was that his body's ancestors carried a trace of thin Hairy People bloodline —
His Hairy People ancestor had golden fur all over, and this trait was passed down through generations, resulting in his distinctive golden hair.
Recently, the news of the Great Love Sect opening its doors to recruit Disciples spread far and wide, filling Cui Zi Wai with excitement.
He was exactly fifteen years old this year, the best age for Gu Master Aperture Opening Ceremony and Cultivation; this Opportunity could not be missed.
So he resolutely bid farewell to his Family, signed up to join the Great Love Sect, and embarked on the journey to Great Love Mountain.
On the day of joining the Sect, a group of Rank Three and Rank Four Senior Brothers, who had already become Inner Sect Disciples, piloted a huge Rank Five Flying Ship Gu, docking at the village entrance to welcome all the new students from this village.
Cui Zi Wai, with a mix of nervousness and excitement, stepped onto the Flying Ship Gu.
Standing by the rail, looking out, the surroundings were vast and boundless, the world expansive, and his heart surged with emotion:
Finally, finally, he was going to shed his Mortal identity and become a true, "all-powerful" Gu Master adult!
The Flying Ship Gu activated, soaring into the sky at an extremely fast speed, comparable to a car racing at full throttle on a highway.
In less than half an hour, it had already arrived at the majestic and spectacular Great Love Mountain Sect Gate.
Cui Zi Wai looked down and saw Great Love Mountain towering into the clouds, grand and magnificent. The Great Love Sect had four Sect Gates, each with its own function, operating in an orderly manner.
The South Gate was the main gate, the most imposing, and it was the entrance he was currently at;
The North Gate was a special passage for Gu Immortals, with strict Restrictions, ordinary Disciples were not allowed near it, and it led directly to the Great Love Blessed Land in the back mountain;
The West Gate was the main passage for Gu Masters' daily entry and exit, the Internal Affairs Hall was located nearby, and all task assignments and material handovers took place here;
The East Gate, on the other hand, was a rugged and ancient mountain path, mostly used by Mortals on foot, and its threshold had been worn down several times by the continuous stream of Mortal newcomers.
The grandeur of the main gate far exceeded Cui Zi Wai's imagination.
Two colossal gray stone statues, hundreds of meters tall, stood on either side, like two all-powerful deities.
The distance between the statues was extremely wide, enough to accommodate three to five Rank Five Flying Ship Gu flying side by side simultaneously. And a single Rank Five Flying Ship Gu could easily hold over a thousand people.
Cui Zi Wai leaned against the ship's rail, his heart filled with indescribable shock.
Looking down the stone steps, the thousand-plus steps were polished smooth as a mirror, each one low and wide, easy to walk on;
Every hundred steps, there was a spacious platform, with an endless stream of Gu Masters and Mortals coming and going, bustling with activity.
On the Flying Ship, a Gu Yue Clan Members Senior Brother responsible for guiding them, with a smile on his face, patiently introduced everything about the Great Love Sect to all the new Disciples.
From the rise and fall of the Gu Yue Clan's history, to the legendary experiences of Grand Elder Fang Yuan, to the basic knowledge of Gu Master Cultivation, the Sect's rules and precepts, welfare benefits...
Every word fell into Cui Zi Wai's ears, filling him with awe and yearning for this colossal Sect.
The Flying Ship slowly flew past the main gate and ascended to the mountainside of Great Love Mountain.
Cui Zi Wai looked around and saw prosperous and exquisite pavilions and palaces spread all over the mountain:
The Internal Affairs Hall for handling daily Sect affairs, the Library Pavilion housing countless cultivation classics and Gu recipes, the Punishment Hall responsible for disciplining violating Disciples, the Medicine Hall responsible for treating injured Gu Masters...
One building after another was built into the mountain, arranged in an orderly fashion, with Immortal Qi lingering.
The Flying Ship soon landed steadily on a spacious and magnificent white jade platform. The new Disciples disembarked one by one, all feeling nervous and expectant.
Standing opposite them was an ancient and imposing tower, with a unique shape, more like a towering ancient pavilion.
In the pavilion stood a huge keystone, covered with profound and complex patterns, accumulating thick dust of ages;
Above the keystone stood an ancient stone tablet, its surface smooth, engraved with lines of names —
It was precisely the Sect's Gu Master Elite List. This tablet was a Rank Five Stone Tablet Gu, which could freely change the names on the tablet.
After a brief introduction, the guiding Senior Brother led everyone up a thousand stone steps, all the way to the highest peak of Great Love Mountain.
At the summit, stood the main hall of Great Love Mountain, a mortal gu house with astonishing defensive power, solemn and heavy.
The group of new Disciples followed into the main hall and proceeded down a hidden passage. Before long, they arrived in a dim yet bustling stone chamber.
In the center of the stone chamber, a clear origin spring gurgled, and pure natural true essence overflowed from the spring water. This was the Holy Land for activating Aptitude and conducting the Aperture Opening Ceremony.
Sect Leader Gu Yue Fang Xiang, along with Elders Chi Cheng, Mo Bei, and others, had already stood high up, waiting for a long time.
The highly anticipated Aperture Opening Ceremony officially began.
Cui Zi Wai had also heard about Gu Masters opening their apertures, but standing before the origin spring now, his heart pounded uncontrollably.
He took a deep breath and stepped into the origin spring.
One step, two steps, three steps...
The moment he reached the end of the origin spring, an indescribably terrifying Aptitude erupted!
"Ten Extreme Aptitudes!!! This is actually the legendary Myriad Gold Wonderful Flower Physique!!!"
Gu Yue Chi Cheng's eyes widened, a mix of shock and joy, as he cried out, his voice trembling.
Such a Heaven-Defying Physique was rarely seen in the Gu Yue Clan for a thousand years. Once it matured, it would surely become a powerful expert!
"Quick! We must immediately report to the Grand Elder!"
Sect Leader Gu Yue Fang Xiang's expression became serious. Not daring to delay, he immediately crushed an Information Path Mortal Gu, swiftly transmitting this shocking news to Gu Yue Fang Yuan, who was far away in Great Love Blessed Land.
Fang Yuan, who was in seclusion deep within the Blessed Land, received the message. His eyes flashed with brilliant light, his body moved, tearing through space, and he instantly flew over, descending upon the Aperture Opening stone chamber!