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"Our Battle Immortal Sect is one of the ten great ancient sects of the Central Continent. ( ) Boy, since you were recommended by my senior brother, you should already understand our Battle Immortal Sect's selection rules: outcomes of battle determine rank."
A Gu Master looked down at Fang Yuan from above within his vision, then continued, "If you want to formally become a disciple of our Battle Immortal Sect, then fight well. Among one hundred people, the last ten standing will earn the qualification to join the sect."
"Battle Immortal Sect..."
"How could this be such a dream?"
"The Ghostly Soul Demon Venerable doesn't seem to have joined the Battle Immortal Sect during his lifetime, does he?"
"It seems he absorbed the souls within the Gate of Life and Death, obtaining a vast amount of cultivation experience. Did this dream manifest from that?"
Fang Yuan guessed internally.
At this moment, the Gu Master had already taken out three Gu insects.
The first looked like a caterpillar, pale blue, the size of an adult's thumb. On top of its head was a small, sharp horn.
The second was a butterfly, vividly crimson and patterned, emanating a warm aura.
The third was a toad, stone-like in texture and dull gray.
In the dream, the Gu Master spoke again: "These three Gu insects are the Water Arrow Gu, the Fire Clothes Gu, and the Spiritual Saliva Gu respectively. You are already a First Transformation Gu Master, so pick one."
"Can only pick one?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Everyone can only pick one," the responsible Gu Master replied expressionlessly.
Fang Yuan nodded, his thoughts racing. "Water Arrow Gu is undoubtedly for attack, but among offensive Gu, it's not outstanding. Fire Clothes Gu is for defense, forming a robe of flame, which also has the minor effect of burning enemies. And Spiritual Saliva Gu can grant a Gu Master the ability to heal injuries."
"If I could choose all three, that would be fine. Being limited to one means this trial requires cooperation with others. The Gu Master just said there are one hundred people, but only ten spots in the end. To explore this dream, I probably have to follow its flow and seize one of those ten positions."
"I choose the Fire Clothes Gu," Fang Yuan answered immediately after a moment's consideration.
He had to seize every second.
Exploration time within the dream was extremely precious. The soul would constantly be eroded by the dream. Once the soul weakened to a critical tipping point, Fang Yuan's cognitive abilities and perception would greatly diminish. This would lead to an inability to distinguish between dream and reality, not knowing he was dreaming. Ultimately, his soul would be trapped within the dream and completely annihilated, leaving only his physical body behind in the world—a miserable end like those Southern Border Gu Immortals before him.
Exploring dreams was dangerous.
Especially when Fang Yuan explored alone, without a second person to watch over him. If any abnormal situation occurred and he couldn't save himself, that would be terrible.
But who could Fang Yuan trust?
To achieve a leap in realm, Fang Yuan had to pay some price and take some risks.
"Of course, I naturally have a trump card, unlike other Gu Immortals who charge in blindly, relying only on luck." Thinking this, Fang Yuan immediately activated the Immortal-level dream dao killer move—Dream Decipher!
A large number of ordinary dream dao Gu were consumed, and a mysterious power immediately manifested before Fang Yuan's eyes.
Another Gu Master abruptly appeared.
The previous Gu Master looked surprised and asked the one who had just appeared, "Senior Brother, why are you here?"
The Senior Brother said to the Junior Brother, "I came to check. Junior Brother, give this child the Spiritual Saliva Gu too."
"But Senior Brother, cheating like this... if we're discovered..." the Junior Brother hesitated.
The Senior Brother smiled. "Don't worry. The Spiritual Saliva Gu is used covertly, with no outward signs whatsoever. Besides, this child chose the Fire Clothes Gu. When the flame robe covers his whole body, who would notice the healing situation inside?"
The Junior Brother then nodded. "Since Senior Brother says so, this Junior Brother has nothing more to say. Here you go."
As he finished speaking, he tossed two Gu insects to Fang Yuan: one Fire Clothes Gu and one Spiritual Saliva Gu.
The moment Fang Yuan caught them, the surrounding dream began to slowly dissipate, transforming into the second act.
The effect of the Dream Decipher killer move was to follow the rules and developmental trends of the dream, creating changes within the dream that favored the explorer.
Therefore, the specific efficacy of the Dream Decipher killer move would vary depending on the different dream.
"But this time I used the Dream Decipher killer move, and it only added one extra ordinary Gu to the dream. Dream Decipher is an Immortal-level move; such an effect seems rather low."