"If you think you can slip away once the fighting breaks out, you'd better abandon that notion right now. My target today is none other than you alone. Do you have any idea what I sacrificed to refine the Fortune Equaling Heaven Gu? You ruined my greatest cultivation endeavor — you are the person I despise most in all my life. Killing you is the only way to quell the hatred in my heart!" Ancestor Snowbeard gazed at Fang Yuan with a sinister expression, his words falling like a wave of bone-chilling cold water onto Fang Yuan's heart.
But Fang Yuan's expression remained unchanged.
He was like a stone — a deaf-mute made of iron. No words, whether threats or temptations, had any effect on him.
Time passed, and Fang Yuan pressed onward.
Before he knew it, the roar of the Dog-tail Life-extending Sable Mao Liqiu had grown weaker.
The enormous purple sable's expression had changed.
It stared at Fang Yuan in a strange, disbelieving tone and murmured, "No way…"
"No way what?" Xuan Jizi found this puzzling.
At that very moment, faint changes also appeared on the faces of Ancestor Snowbeard, Bi Chentian, and Wei Lingyang.
They too had sensed something.
Soon, all the other Gu Immortals present also reacted, crying out in astonishment.
"Huh?"
"That's the aura of a Gu Insect? But it seems somewhat off!"
"What Gu? Impossible — does he also have a Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu?"
"Something's not right. This isn't an Immortal Gu's aura, or it's incomplete. How strange!"
Suddenly, Yu Yiyeye's eyes lit up as he guessed the truth and blurted out, "This situation — he's refining a Gu!"
A Gu Immortal immediately scoffed, "How is that possible? Refining Gu inside the Reverse Flow River?"
Indeed.
One could not use Gu Insect inside the Reverse Flow River, unless it was a Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu.
Though Fang Yuan possessed Wisdom Gu, it had been left behind in the Langya Blessed Land. He couldn't use any Gu Insect at all, let alone refine one.
Fang Yuan also felt the subtle changes within his body.
His expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he was shaken: "It seems… I really am refining Gu? What's going on? With every step I take forward, the aura inside me grows stronger. Why?"
Although Fang Yuan didn't understand the specifics, he realized this might be his turning point!
The situation was as dire as it could possibly be. Regardless, he was willing to keep trying.
He continued walking forward.
Step after step.
His pace was steady, his expression blank, yet he gave off an aura of overwhelming strength.
"Why is his expression unchanged?" Some Gu Immortal suddenly asked.
The assembled immortals finally realized the same thing.
Indeed.
Aside from Fang Yuan, every other person trudging through the river had either twisted features or was racked with agony — they were either going mad or weeping.
Why was Fang Yuan the only one whose expression never changed?
The immortals fell silent.
They all knew that the person asking this question actually wanted to ask something deeper:
"Why can this Liu Guanyi endure for so long? Moreover, he seems like he could keep going even longer — perhaps forever!"
How was that possible?
Everyone else had been eliminated, swept out by the Reverse Flow River.
How was he still here, looking as though he had plenty left to spare?
Why him?
Why was it him of all people?
No one could answer, so the Gu Immortals remained silent.
A moment later, as Fang Yuan continued forward, the Gu aura within his body kept growing stronger until it reached its peak.
Then, from inside Fang Yuan's body outward, a pure white radiance began to emanate.
"It actually… really came to this!" Mao Liqiu's eyes went wide at the sight, his jaw hanging open, unable to believe what he was witnessing.
"Mao Ye, what on earth is going on?" Xuan Jizi couldn't contain himself and asked.
"Sigh! At this point, it doesn't matter if I say it." Mao Liqiu let out a deep sigh, his face etched with a look of profound defeat.
"Inside his body, an Immortal Gu is forming. This Immortal Gu is called Persistence!" Mao Liqiu dropped a bombshell.
"An Immortal Gu called Persistence?!" Xuan Jizi was stunned beyond words.
The other Gu Immortals fared no better.
"In the Legend of Human Ancestor, it says that Persistence is the key Immortal Gu to conquering the Reverse Flow River? Doesn't it not exist?" Yu Yiyeye questioned.
"No, it does exist," said Bi Chentian. As a Heavenly Court Gu Immortal, he knew countless secrets.
"And once, someone did wield it — that person was the Lord of Heavenly Court, Immortal Venerable Yuanlian!" Wei Lingyang added.
"What?!" Everyone was shocked again.
"We simply never imagined that the method of refining Persistence Gu would be like this. Immortal Venerable Yuanlian never disclosed it," Bi Chentian said, shaking his head with a sigh.
"Of course he wouldn't want to disclose it. Because it was an embarrassment in his life — hehehe," Mao Liqiu chimed in. Anything that tarnished Heavenly Court's reputation seemed to pique its interest.
This remark immediately drew a shout from Shi Zhengyi: "Nonsense! How dare you slander the name of an Immortal Venerable?!"
Being able to talk back to a legendary Primordial Desolate Beast to its face — Shi Zhengyi's courage was admirable. Quite a few Gu Immortals from the Central Continent couldn't help but sweat on his behalf.
But Mao Liqiu was not angered: "Little brat, what do you know? Immortal Venerables, Demonic Venerables — though their cultivation is lofty, they're still human. And humans have emotions, have flaws, have weaknesses."
"Back then, Immortal Venerable Yuanlian charged into the Reverse Flow River and became trapped, unable to escape. His prolonged trekking in the uppermost reaches caused Persistence Gu to form within him. From then on, he conquered the Reverse Flow River and became its first master in history."