But the investigation was not thorough. The clan's higher-ups had been drawn almost entirely to the increasingly severe wolf tide. Fang Yuan's Earth Listening Flesh-Ear Grass and Concealed Scale Gu were still hidden, but even if they were exposed, Fang Yuan could push everything onto the merchant caravan.
After all, under the wolf tide, all trade routes had been severed and no caravans would arrive. Under these circumstances, the clan would be unable to get any confirmation from the caravan, and the investigation would simply drag on.
By the time any real findings emerged, Fang Yuan would have long since cultivated to the Third Transformation and left Qing Mao Mountain.
Of course, if the Four-Flavor Wine Worm and the Spring Autumn Cicada were exposed, that would be an entirely different matter.
Whichever one was discovered, it would send the entire stronghold into an uproar.
The Four-Flavor Wine Worm represented a completely new fusion refinement method — its significance was immense. Even if Fang Yuan pinned it on the merchant caravan, he wouldn't be able to explain it away. He would inevitably face a full-scale investigation by the clan.
Once the Spring Autumn Cicada was found, the wolf tide could go to hell. This was a Sixth Transformation Gu Insect! Even the clan leader Gu Yue Bo, upon seeing it, would immediately tear away all pretense — all that nonsense about kinship, even the position of clan leader, he would discard without a second thought. He would move to seize it by force, no questions asked.
……
July. The scorching summer, the air like flowing fire, thick with the iron tang of blood.
The wolf tide grew ever more severe, and the battles grew ever more intense.
Many people were beginning to realize that the scale of this wolf tide was rare even in the annals of history.
The ferocious lightning wolf packs had already been relegated to minor players; dozens of packs of frenzied lightning wolves, numbering in the thousands, roamed freely around the stronghold.
Humanity's space for survival had been compressed to an absolute minimum.
Even the Guye Clan's stronghold was no exception. The villages at the foot of the mountain were beyond mention.
Nine out of every ten homes stood empty. A fortunate few villagers had managed to secure refuge in the stronghold through various connections. But the majority had no choice but to abandon their homes, trekking through mountains and rivers to escape the wolf packs.
Their destination was another stronghold on a distant mountain. But the wild beasts along the way, the wild Gu, and the lightning wolves that blanketed nearly every hillside — all of it compressed their hope of migration into a minuscule grain. Section One Hundred Forty-Five: All Encourage Sacrifice.
This was a journey of despair.
These mortals had already been abandoned by the Guye Clan. They would all perish along the way — either devoured by wild beasts or slaughtered by swarms of insects.
Whether mortal or Gu Master, all were locked in a desperate struggle between life and death. Even the normally prestigious Elders had no choice but to take up arms and enter the fray themselves.
The Gu Masters who had previously retired from the front lines were re-conscripted. After the wolf tide ended, those who would truly survive would not exceed one-tenth of the number.
The cruelty of nature was laid bare in this moment. The law of the jungle, the survival of the fittest—this could not be avoided by a few sentimental words.
……
Fang Yuan sat cross-legged upon his bed, his eyes shut tight as his consciousness sank into his Empty Orifice.
Inside the Empty Orifice, the waves of a crimson sea, comprising forty-four percent, rose and fell, cresting and receding. This True Essence was red to the point of being black. It was the dark-red True Essence of the Peak Stage of the Second Transformation.
Second Transformation True Essence was collectively known as Red Iron True Essence. However, within the four minor stages—Initial, Middle, High, and Peak—the Red Iron True Essence possessed subtle differences.
The True Essence of the Initial Stage of the Second Transformation was light red. At the Middle Stage, it became crimson. By the High Stage, it turned deep red. Only at the Peak Stage did it achieve a dark red.
Many days ago, Fang Yuan had advanced his cultivation from the Middle Stage to the High Stage. His original deep-red True Essence, refined by the Four-Flavor Wine Worm and supplemented by Yuan Stones, had all been converted into the current dark-red True Essence.
Now, within his Empty Orifice, the walls were no longer a shimmering, fluid Water Film. Instead, they had become a thick, stone-like membrane composed of layered white light-spots.
The White Jade Gu and the Hidden Scale Gu both rested within the Red Iron Sea.
The Four-Flavor Wine Worms frolicked about in the seawater, but when the Spring Autumn Cicada's silhouette gradually emerged, they immediately swooped down with a whoosh, diving deep to the bottom of the sea.
At that moment, the entire surface of the Yuan Sea would be suppressed under the Spring Autumn Cicada's aura, rendered smooth as a mirror without the slightest ripple.
The Spring Autumn Cicada's condition was getting better and better.
Its two wings had fully recovered, resembling a pair of fresh, tender green leaves. However, its main body remained as withered as before.
Every so often, Fang Yuan would check on the Spring Autumn Cicada. Now he could clearly feel that its recovery speed was accelerating.
The Spring Autumn Cicada before had been like a patient on the verge of death — unable to open its mouth, surviving only on liquid food to keep the flame of life burning.
Now, this patient could get out of bed, open its mouth wide, and eat more food to replenish its nutrition.
Naturally, the speed of recovery grew faster and faster.
Aside from the Spring Autumn Cicada, there were two new members within Fang Yuan's Empty Orifice.
Both had come from Bai Ningbing. One was the Water Umbrella Gu, which floated about in the seawater like a jellyfish. The other was the Red Iron She Li Gu.
Fang Yuan's advancement from Middle Stage to High Stage was the result of the four Wine Worms refining his True Essence, combined with the consistent nurturing of his Empty Orifice over time—a cumulative build-up that led to a qualitative change. He hadn't even used that Red Iron She Li Gu yet.
In terms of cultivation alone, Fang Yuan was now the third-ranked Second Transformation Gu Master within the Guye Clan. With Xiong Li and Qing Shu already fallen, even across the entirety of Qing Mao Mountain, Fang Yuan ranked within the top five.
As for Chi Shan and Mo Yan, they had originally been at the High Stage, but not long ago, both had advanced to the Peak Stage. It served as a much-needed morale boost for the clan members, whose spirits had been flagging after Qing Shu's sacrifice.
Fang Yuan was progressing, but of course, others were progressing too.
Previously, Chi Shan and Mo Yan had been stuck at the High Stage for quite some time, perpetually overshadowed by Qing Shu at the Peak Stage.