"The Grandmaster realm of the Path of Stealing..." Fang Yuan took a deep breath, his expression somewhat complicated.
Finally, a day had come when his realm in a particular path had reached this level. What he hadn't expected, however, was that it wouldn't be the Path of Blood, the Path of Strength, or even the Path of Wisdom or the Path of Time—but the Path of Stealing.
In the Path of Stealing, Fang Yuan had originally been a blank slate. Yet precisely because of this Heavenly Stealer's Dream, his realm had soared rapidly, overtaking everything else to become the first among all his paths.
This showed just how extraordinary dreams could be—they could allow Gu Masters and Immortal Gu Masters to drastically shorten their time of accumulation.
This was also the primary cause of the Five Regions' chaotic war.
It was precisely because so many people had benefited from exploring dreams, their realms skyrocketing, that their demands for cultivation resources, personal status, and other things had multiplied, and their desires had expanded and surged along with them.
Of course, dreams were not so easy to explore.
Although Fang Yuan had achieved such success, the price he had paid was enormous—enough to be beyond the capacity of some Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu Masters.
Grandmaster realm!
At this level, Fang Yuan had reached the apex—the absolute limit of the world within the Five Regions.
Possessing this realm, Fang Yuan understood every profound mystery of the Path of Stealing that existed in the world. Even if he encountered some external confusion, a mere moment of reflection would allow him to grasp and comprehend it fully.
If he wished to go further, beyond the Grandmaster realm of the Path of Stealing, there was only the Supreme Grandmaster.
That would be truly difficult. It would mean surpassing the achievements of Demon Venerable Heavenly Stealer!
Thinking of the Heavenly Stealer, Fang Yuan was overcome with emotion.
Though dreams were illusory, these realistic dreams had been born from actual historical events.
Fang Yuan had helped the Heavenly Stealer many times, allowing the dream to continue unfolding. But the Heavenly Stealer's temperament had turned out exactly like this, far beyond Fang Yuan's expectations.
In true history, what exactly had driven the young Heavenly Stealer to ultimately become a Demon Venerable? Fang Yuan believed that Sha Xiao was probably the key.
Having reached the Grandmaster realm of the Path of Stealing, the remaining Heavenly Stealer's Dream had lost its value for Fang Yuan.
However, there was no need for him to say this aloud.
"What a pity." Fang Yuan bade Tang Fangming farewell, his tone thick with regret. "Something urgent has come up, and I must leave to handle it. Let's save the Heavenly Stealer's Dream for the next exploration!"
Tang Fangming eagerly asked, "Is there anything I or the Tang Family can help with?"
Tang Fangming was no kind-hearted person—he was simply abiding by the alliance between the Tang Family and Fang Yuan, under which whichever side contributed more naturally received greater returns.
Tang Fangming had already tasted the enormous benefits of Fang Yuan's guidance and was now eager for more.
Seeing Tang Fangming's attitude, Fang Yuan nodded inwardly. This was exactly the situation he wanted to create.
The Tang Family—as long as Fang Yuan continued to support and prop them up, when the Five Regions' chaotic war erupted, they would inevitably become a tremendous obstacle standing in the way of the Heavenly Court's sweep across all sides!
"There's no need. I can handle this matter myself." Fang Yuan shook his head, and his refusal dimmed Tang Fangming's gaze with deep disappointment.
However, shortly after, Fang Yuan produced a mortal Gu of the Path of Information and handed it to Tang Fangming.
"This—could this be?" Tang Fangming felt something stir in his heart and immediately grew excited. He hurriedly extended both hands to accept the mortal Gu of the Path of Information.
"This Gu contains some of my modest insights on dream exploration. I hope they can bring you some benefit." Fang Yuan smiled, then set off on his journey. Behind him trailed Tang Fangming's incessant voices of admiration.
If you wish to take, you must first give—this was an unshakeable truth.
To orchestrate the world, one needed precisely this kind of ambition and vision to contend with the Heavenly Court.
"But still... even this grand strategy of orchestrating the world of mine pales in comparison to the Heavenly Court." As he traveled farther away, Fang Yuan looked toward the direction of the Central Continent and let out a deep sigh.
The Heavenly Court's strength lay not only in its own power but also in its strategy and foresight.
Possessing Fate Gu, the Heavenly Court held an enormous strategic advantage. Fang Yuan's current strategy—modeled after Demon Venerable Phantom Soul—was already quite outstanding, but compared to the Heavenly Court, it was completely at a disadvantage.
As long as Fate Gu was repaired, the Heavenly Court would stand invincible in the Five Regions' chaotic war.
If Dragon Lord truly succeeded in cultivating a Great Dream Immortal Venerable, then they would inevitably become the victors of the age, supreme over all Five Regions.
This strategy was steady and sought victory with virtually no flaws. The only weak point was the Otherworldly Demon, because the Otherworldly Demon was not bound by fate.
The complete Otherworldly Demon was Fang Yuan. The half-Otherworldly Demon was Zhao Lianyun, who was now under the Heavenly Court's control and had instead become their running dog, making things difficult for Fang Yuan.
It could be said that Fang Yuan was the greatest hope against the Heavenly Court. But even Fang Yuan himself did not know where the path forward lay.
"If I acted alone, even gathering the Shadow Sect, the Langya Sect, the Tang Family, and others, we would still be no match for the Heavenly Court. The only possibility lay in the Red Lotus True Inheritance. But the time to claim that Demon Venerable's true inheritance had not yet come!"
Previously, when Fang Yuan had ventured into the River of Time, it was because he had learned of the Shadow Sect's arrangements in advance and thus had the confidence to act. Now, if he were to explore, he would be completely in the dark, not knowing what might happen.
Without the help of Stone Lotus Island, Fang Yuan would very likely fall into a Heavenly Court ambush and lose his life.
Under these circumstances, Fang Yuan could only be cautious and conservative—he could not act with reckless impulse.
"I still need to do everything I can to increase my strength, and venture into the River of Time alone as soon as possible, to see whether I can obtain the Red Lotus True Inheritance." This was Fang Yuan's current strategy.