After the second earthly calamity, he had come to understand the Heavenly Will far better.
"The place called Tai Qiu may seem safe and unremarkable, but I suspect the Heavenly Will has already laid its trap there, just waiting for me to walk right into it!"
"Before, when the
"Then the Falling Star Dogs appeared — that was the Heavenly Will's probe and pressure, trying to force me out through the Lang Ya Sect."
"That makes it all the more certain I won't go."
Perhaps everything was just Fang Yuan overthinking things? Perhaps the Heavenly Will was not so omnipotent after all. Perhaps it hadn't even had time to set up a situation at Tai Qiu yet?
These thoughts did cross Fang Yuan's mind, but he promptly swept away all such wishful thinking.
He had survived this long precisely because of his caution, because he never indulged in wishful thinking. He always planned for the worst.
Never expect others' affection. Never crave the world's kindness. Never presume upon fate's favor.
Everything must depend on yourself!
Wait.
Fang Yuan settled his heart and silently awaited the opening of the Treasure Yellow Heaven.
One must consider everything comprehensively. This was undoubtedly the most advantageous and safest approach for him.
Time flowed onward. Half a month passed quickly, yet the Treasure Yellow Heaven still showed no sign of activity.
Mao Liu was making a tremendous fuss, and the Fur Clan Gu Immortals' attitude toward Fang Yuan grew increasingly hostile.
Some even pointed at Fang Yuan's nose in public, cursing him for harboring malicious intent — claiming that though he had joined the Lang Ya Sect, he was not truly devoted to it.
"Everything I've done, I have my own reasons," Fang Yuan explained flatly. After that, he kept himself holed up in Cloud City and rarely ventured out.
He also rarely took on the task of guiding the Fur Clan Gu Immortals in battle.
Because the compensation for that task had been driven far too low by the Lang Ya Earth Spirit.
Managing his immortal orifice was out of the question, and mastering Transformation Path methods was a stretch — but Fang Yuan was far from idle. He employed Wisdom Path methods to conduct numerous deductions.
Only without the Wisdom Halo, Fang Yuan felt the enormous gap. His deductions progressed painfully slowly, and compared to the immediate results of the Wisdom Halo, the difference was like heaven and earth.
"What do other people's attitudes matter?"
"As long as I've joined the Lang Ya Sect and haven't broken its rules, would the Lang Ya Earth Spirit violate its own regulations just to revoke my status as Grand Elder Guest? Highly unlikely."
Fang Yuan continued to wait.
Despite the increasingly oppressive pressure from his surroundings, he remained unmoved.
More than ten days later.
The land here was fertile, the weather pleasant. Row upon row of green fields, irrigated by spring water, crisscrossed by paths in perfect order.
Across hundreds of thousands of acres of green fields, many figures bent low over their work.
The vast majority were Ink People — black-skinned and white-haired, a non-human race.
Among them was one person who was human, dressed like an old farmer, slightly hunched. He appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, with deep wrinkles on his face, his rough hands each gripping two peculiar bean seedlings. His trouser legs were rolled high above his calves as he tramped through the muddy water. He bore none of the bearing of a Gu Immortal — he truly looked like an ordinary mortal.
But when he heard Chu Du's words, he looked up and straightened. Facing the fearsome Overbearing Immortal renowned throughout the Northern Plains, he showed not a trace of timidity or unease. Instead, he smiled mildly: "Fellow Immortal Chu Du flatters me. What merit or virtue does this Tian have to be called the Northern Plains' foremost Wisdom Path Gu Immortal? Beyond the sky there is a higher sky; beyond people there are greater people. Who knows how many hidden talents lurk in the Northern Plains' Gu Immortal world. I inherited Old Immortal Tian Yuan's true transmission, yet my studies are shallow and my foundations exposed. In my early years, I even competed with Dongfang Changfan and lost to him by more than a hair. Let us not speak of the title of 'first' — let us not speak of it."
This Tian Xiaxin, Wisdom Path Gu Immortal, had once been a mere mortal — not even a Gu Master.
But by a fortunate twist of fate, he stumbled upon an extraordinary immortal fortune.
In the end, he inherited the true transmission of the legendary Wisdom Path powerhouse Old Immortal Tian Yuan and quietly cultivated himself into a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal.
Back then, when Dongfang Changfan revived his tribe and led the Dongfang Clan to a powerful rise, it naturally encroached upon others' interests.
Although Tian Xiaxin had inherited a true transmission and become a Gu Immortal, his aptitude was ordinary, his immortal orifice unremarkable, his tribulations mild, and his nature simply did not lend itself to grand ambitions.
He had been peacefully cultivating at home, but the Dongfang Clan's expansion disturbed his quiet, tranquil life.
Though unwilling, Tian Xiaxin was no match for the domineering Dongfang Changfan. After losing to him, he was driven out of the Myriad Bean Fields and forced to wander.
During his wandering, he came into contact with other Gu Immortals, and only then did the Northern Plains Gu Immortal community learn of his existence.
Later, when Dongfang Changfan perished, the Dongfang Clan's stronghold was breached, and countless cultivation resources were seized by others in a frenzy.
The Dongfang Clan, once a superpower, was like yesterday's brilliant flower — battered by wind and rain, gone in a single day.
Without Dongfang Changfan, the Dongfang Clan collapsed entirely. Tian Xiaxin seized the opportunity to return to his former home and become the master of the Myriad Bean Fields.
Though his aptitude was ordinary, the true transmission he inherited was truly remarkable. Many Northern Plains Gu Immortals held him in high regard, considering him the foremost figure after Dongfang Changfan.
With Dongfang Changfan dead, he naturally rose to become the Northern Plains Gu Immortal community's universally recognized foremost Wisdom Path Gu Immortal.
However, he was a man without grand ambitions or much desire for power, content with a simple life. Even after becoming a Gu Immortal, he refused to abandon his mortal ways, heading out to the fields to work every single day.
Of course, the Myriad Bean Fields stretched across vast horizons, and the overwhelming majority of the labor was carried out by the Ink People.
The Ink People slaves raised by Gu Immortal Tian Xiaxin were famous throughout the Northern Plains Gu Immortal community.