Southern Border, Xiao Clan Village.
As a large-scale force ranked in Southern Border, the Xiao Clan possessed several Rank Five Gu Master experts, making them the undisputed Peak within the circle of Mortal Gu Masters.
Even so, the Xiao Clan's days in Southern Border were still frustrating, as they were marginalized and suppressed everywhere.
This was because above large-scale forces, there were even more terrifying super forces; and above Rank Five Gu Masters, there were the legendary Immortals who had transcended the Mortal world and achieved longevity—Rank Six Gu Immortals.
In this life, the Xiao Clan was no longer the Family that could still struggle and maintain independence as in the original work, but had completely become a vassal of the Gu Yue Clan of White Bone Mountain.
Everyone knew that the Xiao Clan's Xiao Mang had long since joined the Gu Yue Clan and even cultivated into a Rank Six Gu Immortal, becoming a capable assistant under the Gu Yue Clan.
Ironically, even though the Xiao Clan had such a "Family member" who was a Rank Six Gu Immortal, they had never received even a bit of assistance from Xiao Mang.
On the contrary, every year they had to pay a significant amount of protection fees to the Gu Yue Clan, like a dog wagging its tail and begging for pity to trade for a moment of temporary peace.
This day, the Wu Family's people came knocking again, shouting provocations in front of the village and smashing half a street's worth of houses.
The Xiao Clan was in chaos; Clan Chief Xiao Shan was spinning around in anxiety but was completely powerless to resist, only able to send someone on a fast horse to seek help from the Gu Yue Clan.
After all, the Xiao Clan paid protection fees on time every year; by all rights and reason, the Gu Yue Clan should step in to help.
But who would have thought that the person sent would return in disgrace, bringing back the Gu Yue Clan's cold reply:
"Your Xiao Clan hasn't paid next year's protection fee yet."
One sentence blocked all of the Xiao Clan's hopes outside the door.
Without the Gu Yue Clan's backing, Xiao Shan sat in the Clan Chief's seat feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles, so distressed he couldn't even swallow his food.
Just like the plot in the original work, under the secret instructions of the Xiao Clan's Supreme Elder, he took advantage of a time when no one was around to enter the Xiao Clan's Forbidden Land, hoping to find the Family's inherited secret treasure to break the deadlock.
But after he reached the depths of the Forbidden Land, as he was leaving, he was caught red-handed by the Xiao Clan's veteran Elders waiting there.
At this time, besides Xiao Shan, the Xiao Clan had another Rank Five Gu Master named Xiao Guang.
Using the excuse of Xiao Shan intruding into the Forbidden Land, Xiao Guang allied with the clan's Elders, stripping Xiao Shan of his Clan Chief position on the spot, and then led a group of high-level Family members to hunt Xiao Shan down.
Sword light and shadow crisscrossed the streets of Xiao Clan Village; the martial robes on Xiao Shan's body were slashed to rags, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he fled out of the village in a wretched state.
Just when he thought he was certain to die, two burly figures suddenly charged out from the side, blocking Xiao Guang and the group of Xiao Clan Elders.
Those were two Rank Five Demonic Path Gu Masters, one named Sun Pang Hu and the other named Zhou Xing Xing.
Killer Moves frequently erupted from their hands as they stubbornly blocked the pursuers, covering Xiao Shan as he broke through the encirclement.
Finally, with the desperate help, support, and cover of Sun Pang Hu and Zhou Xing Xing, Xiao Shan finally escaped the Xiao Clan's pursuit.
The three fled all the way, and finally, they managed to reach a deserted mountain with great difficulty.
It turned out that although Xiao Shan was in the Righteous Path, he was completely different from other hypocritical Righteous Path Gu Masters.
He was generous and bold; in the past, countless stranded Demonic Path Gu Masters had received his favors and relief.
Sun Pang Hu and Zhou Xing Xing were two of them—the two had nearly lost their lives in their early years, and it was Xiao Shan who stepped in to save them. This life-saving debt, they had remembered for many years.
Now, under the repeated persuasion of Sun Pang Hu and Zhou Xing Xing, combined with the instigation of the Xiao Clan's Supreme Elder, Xiao Shan finally agreed to the two and completely broke away from the Righteous Path to join the Demonic Path.
The three took a Blood Oath on this mountain, becoming sworn brothers of different surnames, swearing to the heavens and earth: "We do not seek to be born on the same year, month, and day, but we seek to die on the same year, month, and day."
"Today, we three brothers swear brotherhood here; it can be called 'righteousness as thin as the clouds.' I only hope that from now on, this mountain will be our 'Yi Tian Mountain'!" Xiao Shan held their hands, his voice raspy but firm.
"Big Brother! You are the chivalrous Hero Xiao whose righteousness is as thin as the clouds. Who in the Jianghu does not know you? Who has not received your great kindness and virtue?"
"As long as you give a call here on Yi Tian Mountain, which of the brothers in the Jianghu would not come to join you?" Sun Pang Hu patted his chest, his voice so loud it could shake loose the rocks on the mountain.
"Good! From now on, we will establish Yi Tian Village on this Yi Tian Mountain, widely inviting comrades from all over the world to jointly oppose the Righteous Path!"
From then on, the great battle between righteous and Demonic Paths on Yi Tian Mountain officially began.
After Yi Tian Village was established, the news spread throughout Southern Border as if it had wings.
Most of the Demonic Path Gu Masters came because of the reputation, bringing their families to join under Yi Tian Mountain. In just a few days, Yi Tian Village became the core stronghold of the Southern Border Demonic Path.
On the Righteous Path side, forces such as the Wu Family, Shang Family, Chai Family, Tie Family, Gu Yue Clan, and Xiao Clan also quickly formed the Righteous Path Alliance, marching majestically toward Yi Tian Mountain to uproot this Demonic Path force.
This seemed like a battle between righteous and Demonic Paths among Mortal Gu Masters, but under layers of appearances, it was a feast for the Southern Border Gu Immortals to divide the spoils.
It turned out that the Gu Immortals had long ago discovered the immortal gu house hidden in the Immortal Forbidden Region deep within Yi Tian Mountain.
But Gu Immortals were simply unable to enter deep into this Immortal Forbidden Region.
Thus, these high and mighty Immortals thought of using the hands of Mortal Gu Masters, in the form of a great battle, to determine the final ownership of the immortal gu house.
However, while this Immortal Forbidden Region could stump ordinary Gu Immortals, it could not stump Fang Yuan.
The essence of this Immortal Forbidden Region was merely to forbid a Gu Immortal's immortal aperture.
Using the power of the Rank Seven soul exchange immortal gu, Fang Yuan exchanged the soul of Dongfang Chang Fan with the Physical Body of a Rank Five Gu Master.
In this way, Dongfang Chang Fan successfully stepped into the Immortal Forbidden Region in the identity of a Mortal Gu Master.
Dongfang Chang Fan himself possessed immortal gu such as star thought, star trace, star sprout, and star eyes; then through the star trace immortal gu, even if he was not in a Gu Immortal body, he could briefly obtain six hundred Star Path dao marks.
Combined with the support of immortal essence, his strength was already comparable to a Rank Six Gu Immortal.
The only trouble was how to hide the immortal gu on his person.
But for this point, Fang Yuan was already prepared—
The dark passage immortal gu happened to be useful, hiding all of Dongfang Chang Fan's immortal gu without leaving a single trace.
Yuan Fang also lent the heavenly origin treasure emperor lotus to Dongfang Chang Fan for a few days, allowing him to obtain white lychee immortal essence, so he no longer had to worry about immortal essence consumption.
As for Dongfang Chang Fan's identity, it was even easier to handle.
They directly announced to the outside that he was a Gu Immortal seed secretly nurtured by the Gu Yue Clan of White Bone Mountain, named Gu Yue Guang Yao.
On the Yi Tian Mountain battlefield, the slaughter between the righteous and demonic sides had already entered a fever pitch.
On the demonic side, a Servitude Path expert suddenly rose to prominence, known as the "Dog General."
This person had obtained a great Opportunity from the Dog King Legacy during the battle of Three Fork Mountain; over these years, he had not only subdued hundreds of thousands of dogs but also broke through to the Rank Five Gu Master Realm in one leap.
Relying on the overwhelming dog groups under his command and his terrifying attainments as a Servitude Path Great Master, the Dog General shone brilliantly on the Yi Tian Mountain battlefield, becoming the sharp blade of the demonic side.
In contrast, the Righteous Path Alliance, because the top Servitude Path Gu Masters had not yet arrived...
Therefore, they could only deploy some Rank Three and Four Servitude Path Gu Masters, controlling electric wolves, Vine Armor Grass Soldiers, fox groups, bone beasts, and other Gu insects, totaling no more than a hundred thousand, which simply could not compete with the Dog General's hundreds of thousands of dogs.
"Lord Dog General! It seems today's top contribution will belong to you!" a Rank Four Demonic Path Gu Master approached the Dog General, flattering him with a face full of fawning.
Hearing this, the Dog General laughed loudly, his face full of pride. He pinched a technique gesture and used a Servitude Path Killer Move:
"Mortal Path Killer Move — Dog Acts on Master's Power!"
In an instant, the already restless dog groups completely boiled over, each acting as if they had rabies, opening their bloody maws and barking as they charged toward the Righteous Path Alliance's positions.
Electric wolves were torn to pieces, Vine Armor Grass Soldiers were bitten into fragments, fox groups scattered in flight, and bone beasts were turned to powder under the trampling of the dog groups; the Righteous Path Alliance's defensive line was easily shredded like paper.
At this critical moment, a "golden cloud" sufficient to blot out the sun suddenly drifted across the sky.
That golden cloud slowly flew from the direction of the Righteous Path camp, glittering with golden light, unexpectedly looking like bright light armor held in someone's hands, reflecting piercing light under the sun.
Dark clouds weigh down on the city, threatening to crush it; armor gleams in the sun like golden scales.
The Gu Masters in the Righteous Path camp released investigative Gu insects one after another, looking closely to finally see the true face of that "golden cloud"—
Those were individual small golden insects, their backs covered with hard golden shells, arranged in a neat and tight formation, like a locust plague passing through, flying toward the Dog General's dog groups in an overwhelming manner.
At the same time, the earth shook violently, countless clumps of soil overturned, and hundreds of thousands of zombies crawled out from underground, roaring as they pounced toward the dog groups.
The Dog General's expression changed, and he immediately ordered over a thousand Rank Two and Three Demonic Path Gu Masters under his command to charge into the dog groups to fight together.
He himself flashed with golden light, once again activating a Servitude Path Killer Move: "Mortal Path Killer Move — Dog Acts on Master's Power!"
The dog groups went even crazier, but the golden insect swarm in the sky suddenly dove down, like the waters of the Yellow River coming from heaven, majestic and grand; wherever they passed, the dog groups were eaten until not even a blade of grass remained, completely clean.
Those dog groups swept over by the golden insect swarm had even their bones eaten clean, with not even a bit of residue left.
The Gu Masters present even couldn't help but think that if these golden insects could eat soil, perhaps the entire Yi Tian Mountain would be eaten flat by them.
The Dog General was pale with fright; in all his life, he had never seen such a terrifying insect swarm.
Therefore, the Dog General did not dare to linger in battle and hurriedly led the remaining dog groups to flee back to Yi Tian Village in a wretched state.
The golden insect swarm and the zombie army followed closely behind, and it wasn't until the Dog General fled back to Yi Tian Village and tallied the battle losses that he discovered he had lost a full hundred thousand dogs in this battle!
Seeing this scene, the Gu Masters in the Righteous Path camp were all overjoyed and walked out of their tents one after another to welcome this mysterious reinforcement.
AI Model: gemini-3.1-flash-lite
Leading the golden swarm of insects and the army of zombies were two Rank Five Gu Masters dressed in deep blue martial robes, the style of which was the emblem of the Gu Yue Clan.
"I am Gu Yue Guang Yao, and this is formerly Ding Hao. We are Gu Masters of the Gu Yue Clan." Dongfang Chang Fan slightly cupped his hands toward the Rank Five higher-ups of the Righteous Path Alliance, his tone calm but carrying an unquestionable majesty.
As he spoke, those golden swarms of insects, like bees returning to their hive, dove one after another into the aperture in his lower abdomen, disappearing without a trace.
"Brother Guang Yao, what are these insects? They possess such combat power, and are they all Gu?" The Wu Family Clan Chief, Lady Wu Ji Niang, stepped forward, her eyes filled with curiosity and amazement, and could not help but ask.
Dongfang Chang Fan's face revealed a hint of pride as he spoke slowly:
"This is the Metal Path Gu created personally by our Gu Yue Clan's Supreme Elder—the Gold Devouring Insect."
"So it is an Immortal method; no wonder it is so formidable. These Gold Devouring Insects cover the sky like a plague of locusts, devouring everything in their path. They have an effect similar to Blood Droplets, yet they are Metal Path Gu. This is the kind of method that we of the Righteous Path should possess!"
The Xiao Family's new Clan Chief, Xiao Guang, looked at Dongfang Chang Fan with eyes full of yearning and admiration.
"Used by the demonic, it is demonic; used by the righteous, it is righteous. Although the Blood Path is not tolerated by heaven and earth, if used by the Righteous Path, it can also uphold justice, just like Senior Shang Yan Fei."
The Tie Family Clan Chief nodded and chimed in.
If this battle at Yi Tian Mountain had started earlier, Shang Yan Fei would certainly have joined the fray.
But just a short while ago, Shang Yan Fei had been in seclusion within Boundless City and successfully achieved Immortal Ascension, after which he passed the position of Clan Chief to Shang Xin Ci.
Because it was the beginning of a power transition, Shang Xin Ci needed to preside over the Shang Clan headquarters to stabilize the situation, and therefore did not participate in this Yi Tian Mountain Righteous-Demonic Battle.
Shang Yan Fei had already achieved Immortal Ascension and become one of the Shang Clan's Supreme Elders. Since Immortals and Mortals are different, it was naturally inappropriate for Shang Yan Fei to personally enter the fray and fight against Mortal Gu Masters.
Therefore, those who came on behalf of the Shang Clan to oversee the situation were Shang Bu Li, Ju Kai Bei, Yan Tu, and Wei Yang.
Wei Yang witnessed the powerful might of the Gold Devouring Insects firsthand and could not help but exclaim in admiration: "The Gu Yue Clan is truly worthy of being an emerging super force!"
Just then, the Shang Clan's Physician of Gentle Hands, along with the Gu Yue Clan's Gu Yue Chi Lian and Gu Yue Mo Bei, also arrived at the Yi Tian Mountain battlefield one after another.
On the side of Yi Tian Village, a large number of Demonic Path Gu Masters also flooded in, and the battle was imminent, about to unfold on a full scale.
Inside Treasure Yellow Heaven, the wills of a large group of Southern Border Gu Immortals gathered, communicating across the vast distance about this Yi Tian Mountain Righteous-Demonic Battle.
The Xiao Family's Supreme Elder had planted his own men on both the righteous and demonic sides, namely Xiao Shan and Xiao Guang.
Seeing that Xiao Shan was falling into a losing position, the Xiao Family's Supreme Elder found his old friend—Yue Xia Lao Ren.
Yue Xia Lao Ren chuckled, a glint of calculation flashing in his eyes, and immediately dispatched his prized Disciple—the Rank Five Gu Master Lu Zuan Feng—to join Yi Tian Village.
He had long since secretly left an immortal gu on Lu Zuan Feng, which could save Lu Zuan Feng's life at a critical moment.
The Gu Yue Clan's swarm of Gold Devouring Insects also caused all the Gu Immortals participating in the splitting of the spoils to cast their gazes toward the Gu Yue Clan.
This time, the Gu Yue Clan sent the Second Generation Zombie King and Gu Yue Qing Shu, but they seemed to have little interest in the immortal gu house.
"Gu Yue Clan, you are truly unreasonable! To actually use an immortal gu! Not only did you use an immortal gu, but you only handed over such a small amount of immortal materials and immortal essence stones!"
The Rank Six Gu Immortal Gua Lao, who was participating in the splitting of the spoils, muttered with dissatisfaction, his tone full of jealousy.
Gu Yue Qing Shu raised an eyebrow slightly, a cold sneer appearing on his face, and said:
"You are too weak. Moreover, these golden insects are not immortal gu, but Mortal gu created by my Lord Fang Yuan. Look, this is the Gold Devouring Insect."
As he spoke, Gu Yue Qing Shu flicked his finger, and a Gold Devouring Insect appeared on his fingertip, golden light flowing over it, appearing lifelike.
Seeing this, the Gu Immortals finally believed him, but what they did not know was that these Gold Devouring Insects, which appeared to be Mortal gu, all originated from the Gold Devouring Insect immortal gu.
As it turned out, Fang Yuan only needed to feed the Gold Devouring Insect immortal gu once, and it could produce thousands of Gold Devouring Insects.
These Gold Devouring Insects were born with the ability to grow; when they were first born, their combat power was not even Rank One.
But as they continuously devoured all things, the more they devoured, the stronger their combat power would become, eventually being able to stabilize at the Rank Five Peak.
Imagine a swarm of Rank Five combat-power insects sweeping in, covering the sky; even a Rank Six Gu Immortal would find it hard to resist.
"But this Mortal gu of yours is too strong, isn't it? According to the rules, you should hand over more immortal materials and immortal essence stones! The number of these Gold Devouring Insect Mortal gu, when added together, is practically comparable to an immortal gu!"
The Xiao Family's Supreme Elder also could not help but speak up, his tone full of dissatisfaction.
Gu Yue Qing Shu slowly turned his head and swept a glance over the Southern Border Righteous Path Gu Immortals present. Seeing that everyone was silent, he understood in his heart and smiled as he said:
"This time, the immortal gu house will certainly belong to my Gu Yue Clan. However, while my Gu Yue Clan has many immortal gu houses, we lack suitable immortal gu and rare immortal materials."
"Afterward, my Gu Yue Clan will hold an auction in Boundless City to auction off the immortal gu house."
"At that time, all Southern Border Righteous Path Gu Immortals and Loose Cultivators are welcome to come and participate in the bidding."
Upon hearing this, the other Righteous Path Gu Immortals immediately erupted into an uproar, whispering among themselves. Soon, the Shang Clan Gu Immortal Shang Yan Fei spoke up:
"Although the Gold Devouring Insects are strong, they are ultimately Mortal gu, and therefore should not be charged as immortal gu. The Gu Yue Clan is truly worthy of being part of our Righteous Path; they consider fairness and justice in everything."
Because of the Gu Yue Clan, Shang Yan Fei had obtained an Opportunity in Boundless City, which allowed him to achieve Immortal Ascension.
Shang Yan Fei was already grateful to the Gu Yue Clan, and with the Shang Clan also benefiting from this, he went with the flow and stood on Gu Yue Qing Shu's side, speaking up for him.
Seeing Shang Yan Fei step forward, the other Righteous Path Gu Immortals also chimed in, speaking up for Gu Yue Qing Shu.
A few wealthy Loose Cultivator Gu Immortals also stood out, either to speak for Gu Yue Qing Shu or to take the Opportunity to mock Gua Lao and the others, and the scene became lively for a time.
In fact, the method of splitting the spoils for the Yi Tian Mountain Righteous-Demonic Battle was war itself.
Suppressed beneath the immortal gu house was an Immortal Zombie with the Great Strength True Martial Body.
For many years, this Immortal Zombie had been using Battle Intent to refine the immortal gu house, and war was the most fertile soil for cultivating Battle Intent.
Therefore, the Gu Immortals would induce wars among Mortals to generate massive amounts of Battle Intent, nourish the Gu Masters' Battle Intent, and then refine this Battle Intent into the immortal gu house.
When the war ended in the future, whoever had refined the most of the immortal gu house would claim the treasure, and the other Gu Immortals would also receive corresponding benefits according to the degree to which they had refined it.
To give a simple example:
Gu Immortal A participates in this splitting of spoils, requiring money and effort before the split.
Thus, Gu Immortal A sends their Disciple, Gu Master B, who has Rank Four cultivation, and Gu Immortal A must list some resources on the Treasure Yellow Heaven market; the higher the cultivation, the more resources must be listed.
After the war ends, Gu Immortal A has refined one percent of the immortal gu house.
And previously, Gu Immortal A had left some resources in Treasure Yellow Heaven, and the other Gu Immortals C, D... did the same.
The resources of these Gu Immortals, added together, formed the final "cake."
In the end, Gu Immortal A would receive one percent of the "cake."
Just like that, the grand and spectacular Yi Tian Mountain Righteous-Demonic Battle among the Mortals was, in the eyes of the Gu Immortals, merely a game of splitting spoils.
The war passed, the Mortal Gu Masters were dead or injured, and the high and mighty Gu Immortals took what they needed in Treasure Yellow Heaven and returned home fully laden with spoils.
But these Gu Immortals did not know that while they were setting schemes on the surface and manipulating the Yi Tian Mountain battlefield, outside these layers of chess games, they themselves had also become pawns in someone else's hands.
Those truly setting the layout were Heavenly Court and Shadow Sect. But beyond these two major forces, there was a group of even higher and mightier Venerables who were the true players of this chess game—
The five great Venerables—Limitless, Red Lotus, Thieving Heaven, Giant Sun, and Spectral Soul—each harboring their own designs against Heavenly Court, were watching all of this coldly from behind the scenes.
Northern Plains, Longevity Heaven.
"Duke Long has awakened. Furthermore, I fear there are other Gu Immortals. According to my calculations, Li Huang, Che Wei, and Thunder Ghost True Monarch are also very likely to have awakened."
Inside an immortal gu house, Longevity Heaven's Tian Ji Zi Gai Mei conducted another precise calculation, his voice carrying a hint of gravity.
"If that is the case, then Shadow Sect will likely be unable to handle it." Below the platform, Longevity Heaven's Rank Seven Gu Immortal Fei Wu muttered to himself.
Fei Wu was the last generation's Supreme Elder of the Northern Plains Golden Clans' Fei Family, cultivated the Water Path, and had also just awakened not long ago.
Fei Wu's name sounded very much like "useless," but his strength was not "useless" at all.
With Fei Wu, Longevity Heaven had a constant supply of immortal essence stones; with so many immortal essence stones, Longevity Heaven would no longer lack immortal materials and immortal essence.
"Since that is the case, then we shall pass through the Heavenly Gang Qi Wall, enter White Heaven, and then enter the Southern Border through White Heaven. At that time, with the support of my Longevity Heaven, the plan should not be disrupted by Heavenly Court."
Mao Li Qiu shouted, his tone full of urgency.
Mao Li Qiu was not a Gu Immortal, but an immemorial legend, a Dog Tail Life Extending Sable, and was even Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's mount back in the day; his combat power was not the least bit inferior to a Rank Eight Gu Immortal.
"We probably really do have a need to go to the Southern Border, and as for the reason to enter the Southern Border... it is to take back the heavenly luck gu..."
Tian Ji Zi Gai Mei was usually very sleepy, but at this moment, his gaze was deep, all sleepiness gone, as he slowly looked toward the direction of Yi Tian Mountain.