Langya Blessed Land. A fierce battle was underway.
The Central Continent Gu Immortals received their orders, scattered in all directions, and began setting up Immortal Formations. Once the formations were complete, they could draw in other Central Continent Gu Immortals, allowing a continuous stream to enter Langya Blessed Land and reinforce Feng Jiuge and the others.
For the Langya Earth Spirit, this was absolutely catastrophic news! It had to be stopped at all costs.
"This Feng Jiuge is quite the schemer! My hairmen Gu Immortals can only fight effectively when gathered together in the ancient Tianpo Suoluo battle formation to match an Eighth Transformation powerhouse. He wants me to split my forces — why should I let him have his way?" The Langya Earth Spirit sneered inwardly.
Had it been the previous White-haired Earth Spirit, he might have already lost his composure in a panic.
But this Black-haired Earth Spirit was a born fighter who immediately saw through Feng Jiuge's strategy.
"Splitting my forces is completely out of the question! Since that's how it is, I'll kill some of your Central Continent Gu Immortals first and race you! Let's see who's faster — whether you can set up your Immortal Formations, or whether I can slaughter you!"
The Langya Earth Spirit's eyes blazed with ruthless determination.
Roar!
The silver giant suddenly let out a deafening roar, its shockwave blasting outward in all directions and forcing Feng Jiuge back.
Then the silver giant lifted its right foot and began to step forward.
Its movement was agonizingly slow, as though an invisible mountain hung from its right foot.
"Not good!" Feng Jiuge's expression changed instantly. From the silver giant, he sensed a powerful aura of the Dao of Space.
This was a Space Dao killer move!
Feng Jiuge tried to stop it, unleashing his Three Peerless Tones once more. But the silver giant simply bulldozed through the attacks, enduring them head-on to complete its Space Dao killer move.
The silver giant finally set its right foot down.
The moment its right foot touched the ground, the terrain beneath it shrank dramatically. A single step carried it over a hundred li!
A Central Continent Gu Immortal was riding a cloud at high speed when suddenly the surrounding air erupted violently. His entire body and everything ahead was swallowed by a massive shadow.
He looked back. His pupils contracted to needle-points — the silver giant was already standing behind him, both enormous hands closing in from either side to seize him.
The Central Continent Gu Immortal's danger sense screamed. He gritted his teeth and unleashed every technique he had, desperately trying to escape.
But the palms of the silver giant's two hands each erupted with a flash of mysterious light. Both beams struck the Central Continent Gu Immortal, causing his half-formed killing move to instantly collapse!
"Help me!" Locked in place by the strange lights, unable to move, he cried out in alarm, desperately calling to his companions.
The next instant, the silver giant's two hands closed around him.
The silver fingers merged together, the two hands fusing into a spherical silver prison.
Immense pressure bore down from every direction, cracking the Central Continent Gu Immortal's bones with audible snaps.
His face went pale. He could feel his defensive measures crumbling rapidly, unable to withstand the crushing force within the silver cage!
"SAVE ME!!" All composure gone, he screamed with everything he had.
Splat.
The next moment, his entire body was reduced to bloody pulp, completely crushed by the pressure inside the silver cage!
This Seventh Transformation powerhouse from the Central Continent's ten great ancient sects had perished in such a gruesome manner at the hands of the silver giant.
"Hah! Gu Immortals of the Central Continent's ten great sects — nothing special!" The Langya Earth Spirit laughed heartily from within the silver giant. "Just like that! Feng Jiuge has Eighth Transformation combat power — he's the toughest nut to crack, so I won't bother with him yet. I'll crush all these easy targets first. Let's see who in the world still dares to invade my great hairmen's homeland!"
The Tianpo Suoluo was the second greatest ancient battle formation, battle-tested across ages, representing the pinnacle achievement of ancient Gu cultivators. It inherently possessed Eighth Transformation combat power, but previously the hairmen Gu Immortals' combat proficiency had been abysmally low — even the White-haired Earth Spirit was no exception. That was why they had performed so terribly against the Shadow Sect's assault, allowing the Shadow Sect to destroy the Eighth Transformation Immortal Gu House "Furnace" and withdraw unscathed.
But now things were different. Under the Black-haired Earth Spirit's sweeping reforms, the Langya Sect had been established. After a period of Fang Yuan's personal instruction, the hairmen Gu Immortals' combat proficiency had improved beyond recognition. With this improvement, the ancient Tianpo Suoluo battle formation finally wielded its full Eighth Transformation combat power. The Black-haired Earth Spirit had also been drilling the hairmen Gu Immortals in the formation regularly, which was why even Seventh Transformation Central Continent Gu Immortals now met their end here!
Southern Border. The Womb Earth Labyrinth.
Scene after scene of mortal life continued to unfold.
"It seems I truly have lost my memories." Under the moonlight, Fang Yuan sighed.
He wore only a thin robe, walking through a low courtyard enclosed by adobe walls. A well stood in the courtyard, its brick lining half-collapsed, and beside it grew a fruit tree — now completely bare of leaves, thin and withered.
"So this is my home." Fang Yuan surveyed his surroundings and sighed again.
He glanced at the room where the old woman slept — even more dilapidated than his own bedroom, the paper windows riddled with holes. At the sight of this, shame washed over Fang Yuan's heart.
Then, thinking of Xiuniang, a surge of affection welled up within him.
Without question, these were the two most important women in his life.
After months of recovery, his injuries had nearly healed completely, and he could walk about again.
His mind churned as he lay in bed during these days, moonlight falling like frost upon his furrowed brow. More than once he had contemplated his situation.
"Xiuniang has been so sincere with me — I must marry her and bring her home, never failing her devotion!"
"Mother actually favored Xiuniang quite a bit, but circumstances forced her to let go against her heart."
"To marry Xiuniang, I face two great obstacles. The first is the Shu Family — wealthy and powerful, with many people and great influence. The second is Xiuniang's parents — they're both Gu Masters who look down on a commoner like me."
"In the end, it all comes down to my poor aptitude. I can't become a Gu Master. If only I could cultivate to the Third Transformation, Xiuniang's parents would probably accept me."
"Sigh!"
Thinking this deeply, Fang Yuan let out a long, heavy sigh.
This was a dead end with no solution.
Though there were rumors of Gu that could alter aptitude, who would spend such enormous resources to help a penniless wretch like him for no reason?
Xiuniang, though she possessed Gu Master aptitude, was only Grade C — her potential was negligible. If only she had brighter prospects and could reach the Third Transformation, she could determine her own happiness instead of being so helpless.
"What am I to do?"
Fang Yuan gazed at the moon and sighed, drowning in boundless frustration.
But just then, he caught the faint sound of music drifting over.
"Hm? Where is that music coming from?" Fang Yuan listened carefully and realized it wasn't just a zither — there were bells, stone chimes, bamboo flutes, and more.
He tilted his head, searching for the source, and gradually walked over to the well.
"That's strange — the music is coming from inside my well. How can this be?" Fang Yuan leaned over the well's edge and peered inside, where the moonlight reflected clearly on the water below.
Then he noticed something on the underground well wall — several dozen bricks arranged in the shape of a door, radiating an unusual white jade-like glow.
Curiosity ignited. He tied the well bucket's hemp rope securely to the fruit tree beside him, then climbed down along it.
Halfway down, he braced his legs against the rope, faced the jade-like brick door, and reached out a hand to give it a tentative push.
He used barely any force, but the moment he lightly touched the jade bricks, they dissolved into nothing. In their place, an invisible suction force erupted, and before the unsuspecting Fang Yuan could react, he was violently pulled through…
One night passed.
Fang Yuan rose from his bed, eyes blazing with light. His vitality, spirit, and bearing had utterly transformed — a world apart from before.
It turned out that hidden within the well wall was a True Inheritance of Morality left behind by an ancient Gu Immortal. Because it was so old, it had become severely damaged.
Fang Yuan inherited this damaged True Inheritance. That very night, he opened his Empty Orifice and became a First Transformation Gu Master. Several mortal Gu also acknowledged him as their master, and his strength surged dramatically. His entire life had changed beyond recognition.
"Heaven has shown me mercy, granting me such an extraordinary opportunity! Now, my chances of marrying Xiuniang have greatly improved!"
Joy nearly burst from Fang Yuan's heart.
But he forced himself to restrain it, knowing he couldn't reveal this so easily. Such a tremendous opportunity — if exposed too readily, it would bring only death!
"I must cultivate in secret, quietly accumulating strength, until I have enough power to protect myself, before revealing my identity."
Cultivate this True Inheritance of Morality!
Fang Yuan steeled his resolve, then furrowed his brow slightly.
"Only… this True Inheritance has rather peculiar requirements. The inheritor must always maintain justice in their heart and be a person of morality. Moreover, the more virtuous one is, the more efficiently one can cultivate."
"Morality?" Fang Yuan hesitated for a moment.
He felt a trace of disdain for the word deep down, but having obtained this True Inheritance, that disdain drifted away on the wind.
In the days that followed, Fang Yuan threw himself into diligent cultivation, constantly and secretly accumulating strength.