Northern Wasteland, Langya Blessed Land.
In the Gu refining hall where work had continued day and night for months on end, firelight danced across Mao Liu's face.
His face was caked with soot, his eyes bloodshot, staring unblinkingly at the raging inferno before him.
The scorching heat baked everything around him, causing the hair covering his entire body to curl and scorch, but Mao Liu paid no heed, his every thought focused on the task at hand.
The Gu refining had entered its final, critical steps.
"As expected of the Fortune Path—perfect for assisting Gu refining. We've reached this step again! This time, it absolutely has to succeed!!"
Mao Liu gritted his teeth, steeling his resolve.
Suddenly, his vision went black.
"Damn it, has my body reached its limit? It doesn't matter. One thought stirs in the dark—the Red Snake flower blooms."
The thought flashed through Mao Liu's mind, and on his skin, vivid crimson snake tattoos surged upward, winding from his waist to his chest.
At the same time, a powerful force materialized out of thin air, like a violent gust, flooding into Mao Liu's body—which had been as deflated as a punctured balloon.
Mao Liu instantly felt his vigor restored!
"So I'm using this killing move again. Once the Red Snakes wind their way to the top of my head and cover my entire body, I'll lose my life for good."
"But what does that matter? As long as this Immortal Gu is successfully refined, it will be of tremendous help to the Shadow Sect!"
"Come—Thousand-Mile Soul Thread."
Mao Liu silently encouraged himself, and a Mao Min Gu Immortal standing behind him immediately handed over a long strand of immortal material.
It was the Thousand-Mile Soul Thread—an immortal material that could only be born within the bodies of certain ancient soul beasts.
The value of soul thread increased with its length.
The Thousand-Mile Soul Thread in the Langya Sect's collection was of such staggering value that it could rival Eighth Transformation immortal material!
It was technically a quasi-Eighth Transformation material, but because it was so rare that no amount of money could buy one—it rarely appeared even in the Bao Huang Heaven market—the market price had simply risen to the level of full Eighth Transformation material.
For the sake of Fang Yuan's grand Gu refining plan, not only was Mao Liu working on his end—even the Langya Earth Spirit had personally stepped in. One could say that nearly the entire Langya Sect, from top to bottom, was refining Gu for Fang Yuan.
After Fang Yuan became the new master of the Shadow Sect and inherited Purple Mountain True Monarch's vast treasury, his resources were staggeringly rich. By handing over a portion of his cultivation experience, immortal-level killing moves, and Immortal Gu recipes to the Langya Sect, he easily obtained a massive amount of sect contributions.
Then, he used those sect contributions to have nearly the entire Langya Sect mass-refine Immortal Gu for him.
After the Self-Love Immortal Gu was successfully refined, the next target was the Pure Soul Immortal Gu.
Mao Liu had already completed the majority of the process, with only the final few steps remaining.
At this moment, Mao Liu carefully took the Thousand-Mile Soul Thread.
The soul thread resembled kelp in shape, dark green throughout, but what set it apart was the faint golden glimmer scattered within the green—at first glance, it looked like a swarm of fireflies embedded in a strip of kelp.
The Thousand-Mile Soul Thread was incredibly light; when Mao Liu held it, it was like holding a feather.
He employed his refinement arts and quickly cut off a segment.
Refining the Pure Soul Immortal Gu required only a small piece of soul thread. It didn't even need to be Thousand-Mile Soul Thread—Hundred-Mile Soul Thread would suffice.
However, to increase the success rate and save time, Fang Yuan had spared no expense, trading a massive price to obtain Thousand-Mile Soul Thread from the Langya Sect's reserves—a display of extraordinary wealth and influence.
The soul thread was cast into the raging flames.
In an instant!
The scorching crimson flames transformed into ghostly netherfire, emitting a mournful wailing sound.
Mao Liu took a deep breath, eyes burning red, and began controlling the fire's intensity.
An hour later, in the Western Desert.
A massive Immortal-level Gu formation continuously emitted deafening roars.
The formation sprawled over a hundred acres, churning violently as it generated layered illusions of green mountains—a striking sight against the amber desert.