Inside the mountain, in the subterranean stone forest.
Squeak squeak squeak!
Dozens of jade-eyed stone monkeys flickered into blurry forms midair.
They leaped and bounded ceaselessly, launching fierce attacks at Fang Yuan.
Had this been before, Fang Yuan would undoubtedly have retreated. But now, he stood in place, his expression cold and indifferent, unmoving as a mountain.
The stone monkeys crashed into, scratched, and bit at Fang Yuan's body, producing crisp clinking sounds — as if what they were besieging was not a person, but a hard pillar of jade.
A faint white jade light clung tightly to Fang Yuan's entire body. Though this layer of light was much thinner than the emerald jade glow of the Jade Skin Gu, its defensive power was more than twice as great.
The Jade Skin Gu's defense could withstand the simultaneous attacks of at most sixteen stone monkeys, but now Fang Yuan was facing over thirty of them alone.
"On the arena, I was able to break through the Jade Skin Gu's defense with my bare fists. But if Fang Zheng had been using this White Jade Gu instead, I'm afraid I would have shattered every bone in my hands and still not broken through."
Fang Yuan's mind worked on the problem even as he split his focus to monitor his Empty Orifice and Yuan Sea.
Within the sea of Red Iron True Essence, the White Jade Gu rested at the bottom, continuously absorbing True Essence. Its surface emitted a faint, white jade glow, like a small light bulb.
Every time a stone monkey landed a blow on Fang Yuan, the White Jade Gu—shaped like an oval pebble—would flicker with a subtle flash.
At the same time, Fang Yuan felt the consumption of his True Essence intensify slightly.
"The defense of the White Jade Gu works just like the Jade Skin Gu; it requires a constant flow of True Essence. The more attacks it endures, the more rapidly the True Essence is consumed," Fang Yuan summarized silently.
In the same moment, he launched a violent counterattack.
Punches and kicks whirled through the air, creating sharp gusts of wind. His moves were simple yet vicious, his movements sharp and aggressive.
Though the White Pig Gu had vanished, the strength it granted still resided within Fang Yuan's body.
Stone monkeys were struck down one after another. Some were sent flying, crashing into stone pillars. Others were shattered mid-air, turning back to stone before crumbling to pieces upon hitting the floor.
Simultaneously, with a flick of his wrist, Moon Blades sliced out one after another, like the scythes of the grim reaper, harvesting the lives of the stone monkeys.
Under the impetus of his Red Iron True Essence, each strike from his First Transformation Moonlight Gu dealt maximum damage to the stone monkeys.
Squeak, squeak...
The stone monkeys cried out in terror, retreating continuously.
In the brief moments of Fang Yuan's counterattack, a large number of stone monkeys perished, leaving only five or six still standing.
After Fang Yuan killed another one, the remaining stone monkeys finally broke. They scattered in panic, fleeing deep into the stone forest.
Fang Yuan didn't pursue these remnants, instead continuing forward, delving deeper toward the center of the stone forest.
For the past few days, he had been diligently searching for the next clue in the inheritance. As he continued his exploration, he had already traversed the periphery of the stone forest, finding nothing.
A realization dawned on Fang Yuan, and he vaguely guessed at the Traveler Hua Jiu's intentions. He suspected the next clue was very likely placed by the Traveler Hua Jiu at the very center of this underground stone forest.
The deeper one went into the stone forest, the larger the stone pillars became, and the more stone monkeys inhabited them.
Fang Yuan walked while gazing into the distance—at the center of the stone forest stood a single, colossal stone pillar so massive that even a dozen adults linking arms could not encircle it.
This stone pillar was his next destination.
However, the deeper he ventured, the larger the stone monkey packs became, and the difficulty naturally increased.
Fang Yuan took a crucial step, breaking through the perimeter of one monkey troop.
Squeak squeak squeak!
From the dark caves dotting the stone pillar, furious Jade-Eyed Stone Monkeys immediately poured out. There were over a hundred of them, pouncing towards Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan turned and fled.
If he faced so many monkeys attacking at once, even with his White Jade Gu, he wouldn't be able to withstand them.
The monkey troop chased Fang Yuan for a time before gradually, some monkeys gave up the pursuit and turned back. Eventually, only about thirty monkeys remained, trailing behind him.
Seeing the moment was ripe, Fang Yuan turned to fight.
After a burst of killing, only a few panicked monkeys remained, scrambling to flee. They didn't even dare return to their original stone caves.
After several rounds of this, Fang Yuan had slain over a hundred stone monkeys. The path was littered with shattered stone fragments — the remains of monkeys that had fallen in battle.
"My True Essence is running low." Fang Yuan checked his Yuan Sea, sighed, and was forced to halt his advance.
In the past, he would have used Yuan Stones to replenish quickly. But now, ever since he had refined the White Jade Gu, his supply of Yuan Stones was severely depleted. One could say his finances had completely collapsed.
Fang Yuan picked up the jade eyeballs scattered across the ground one by one and tucked them into his bag.
"It should be right beneath the central stone pillar, but to reach it, I need to carve out a path." The feeling grew ever stronger. Fang Yuan cast one final glance back, opened the stone door, and returned to the second chamber.
In the corner of the chamber, various odds and ends were piled up.