"You truly know far too much! But I still don't believe you. Who would believe someone claiming to be an immortal Gu Master from the future?"
Fang Yuan laughed as he looked at the enormous turtle and then toward the hall. Calmly, he released a trace of the aura of Spring Autumn Cicada.
Fang Yuan had returned using Spring Autumn Cicada, and now he was merely a rank four middle-stage Gu Master. Yet he had not lost anything at all — he had returned with his attainment levels intact!
In this world, who could claim to possess attainment levels like his? Perhaps only Spectral Soul Demon Venerable, who had been a great grandmaster in every path.
Fang Yuan had chosen this moment to return not only because he wished to distract Heaven's Will in the outside world and deceive it upon his return, but also because he wanted to exploit this moment to obtain the greatest possible benefits!
And without a doubt, the inheritance of the Three Kings was Fang Yuan's greatest fortuitous encounter. If he exploited it to its absolute limit, his gains would become three times greater than before!
"Ah, this aura… it is! It is the aura of an Immortal Gu, and it seems to be Spring Autumn Cicada! It ranks seventh among the Mystical and Wondrous Gu Rankings!"
Fang Yuan laughed.
"Do you believe me now, Bai Gu?"
"I do. But you are not my master yet, so long as you have not refined Second Aperture Gu…"
Fang Yuan waved his hands.
"Then let us begin refining Second Aperture Gu. But before that, I need to arrange a formation to assist in the refinement."
Bai Gu did not speak. Instead, she made a motion, causing brilliance to shine across the main hall and over the carved relief statues. The statues transformed into reality, allowing Fang Yuan to see numerous refinement materials.
Roughly five thousand Gu worms ranging from rank one to rank five, ten Yellow Gold Relic Gu, eight Purple Crystal Relic Gu, an enormous quantity of immortal materials, as well as unbelievable amounts of mortal materials.
Fang Yuan slightly furrowed his brows before saying:
"I possess a superior recipe. It consumes fewer materials and time while having a far higher success rate."
The land spirit Bai Gu spoke with dissatisfaction.
"The recipe for the immortal Second Aperture Gu was created by my main body through immense hardship. How could you possibly possess a better recipe?! Even if you are an immortal Gu Master from the future, there are limits unless you primarily cultivate Refinement Path and possess extremely high attainment in it."
Fang Yuan smiled. The land spirit was already following the direction he had anticipated beforehand.
"Land spirit, did I not tell you? I refined Second Aperture Gu in the future, and I even gained profound insights from it, allowing me to modify the recipe! Trust me. Once you see the recipe, you will understand."
The dissatisfaction in Bai Gu's tone lessened slightly, though she still replied:
"Then show it to me, and I shall judge it myself!"
Fang Yuan laughed and began reciting the recipe.
At first, the land spirit remained skeptical. But as time passed, she gradually fell silent while listening to him, until Fang Yuan finally said:
"…And once the incomplete Immortal Gu forms, merge it with Divine Travel, and thus you shall obtain Second Aperture…"
Fang Yuan stared at the land spirit with a smile while she remained silent.
After a long while, she finally spoke.
"You truly are an immortal Gu Master from the future… It seems you genuinely modified the recipe for Second Aperture Gu and greatly increased its success rate. Furthermore, all the materials you mentioned are available here! And your knowledge of Divine Travel increases your credibility!"
"So then, Bai Gu, shall we begin refining Second Aperture Gu?"
"As you wish!"
The land spirit became excited and handed over more than a hundred mortal Gu that Fang Yuan had specifically requested to construct a formation to assist in the refinement process.
A formation path grandmaster could utilize the natural Dao marks contained within immortal materials to create immortal formations. Meanwhile, a formation path great grandmaster could use natural Dao marks and a small number of mortal Gu to create an Immortal Gu formation!
Fang Yuan was a formation path great grandmaster, and he had already envisioned a formation capable of providing tremendous assistance in the refinement process — as well as many other functions.
Fang Yuan raised his hand, causing Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus Gu to fly out from his aperture and take position in the sky above the hall before vanishing completely, impossible for anyone to detect.
More Gu worms followed Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus Gu, taking their places within the formation and forming a mysterious connection with the Dao marks of the blessed land.
Several hours later, Fang Yuan finally completed the formation, though most of his primeval essence had already been exhausted.
Yet he felt no exhaustion whatsoever. Instead, he focused on the formation, which had already begun operating passively.
His primeval essence was replenished almost instantly. At the same time, he felt his soul become vigorous while his thoughts turned clearer and generated themselves at a faster speed.
"To use natural Dao marks to create an immortal formation… such a capability simply cannot be described with words! Normally, even formation path experts would require Immortal Gu to construct an immortal formation, not to mention immortal Gu Masters of other paths…"
Within a formation that utilized natural Dao marks, the majority of the formation's power was concentrated in those natural Dao marks. Thus, even if the formation merely operated passively, its effects would still be astonishing.
Fang Yuan entered the bronze hall and prepared himself to begin refining Second Aperture Gu.
If he were an immortal Gu Master, there would be no need to temper his body and soul before refinement. But refining an Immortal Gu as a mortal was simply suicidal.
If a backlash occurred, Fang Yuan would die a miserable death.
Yet he was extremely confident and had no luxury to consider the possibility of failure.
And it was not as though he had ever placed such thoughts in his mind to begin with. If he succeeded once, then he could succeed again.
As a Gu Master of the demonic path, so long as the benefits outweighed the risks, he would never hesitate to gamble!
This mentality had long since become engraved into his very being.
Fang Yuan opened his eyes and pointed toward the land spirit.
"Land spirit, control the formation and assist me in processing the materials according to the recipe. But do not attempt to interfere in the refinement process unless I tell you to!"
The land spirit nodded and took control of the formation.
At that moment, Fang Yuan sliced open a large wound across the vein in his arm and used methods to transform his blood into Blood Qi.