To the southeast of the Northern Ice Plains, north of the Ink Tribe City, and northwest of the Rotting Poison Grasslands, at the southern tip of the Meng Family's domain, there lay a place called the Autumn Blade Plain.
The terrain was flat and barren, with not a single blade of grass growing—a naturally formed anomaly.
Meng Tu walked across the Autumn Blade Plain, one step at a time.
He was a burly man with skin the color of red copper. He wore a vest that left his shoulders bare, and his trouser legs were rolled up to reveal his calves.
He wore no shoes, walking barefoot.
Step after step, the seemingly flat ground was sharp as blades. As Meng Tu trod upon this layer of silver-white soil, it was like walking on a mountain of swords, each step leaving behind a bloody red footprint.
But his expression remained as unchanging as a stone sculpture. His entire being was silent as iron—eyes shut tight, brows slightly furrowed, doubt festering in his heart.
"This Autumn Blade Plain is suffused with Blade Path Dao marks and naturally gives birth to countless Blade Gu. I've walked back and forth across it for years now. What exactly am I lacking that I still can't break through in my Blade Path realm?"
The Blade Path school was a very minor tradition, incomparable to the Metal Path, Fire Path, Earth Path, and the like.
When discussing the Blade Path, one could not avoid mentioning the Sword Path.
These two schools had always been deeply entangled in mutual enmity, yet inextricably intertwined. Because the origin of both schools was one and the same—the Blade Gu.
The Legends of the Human Ancestor contained explicit records on this matter. The Human Ancestor walked through the Ordinary Abyss, where some places were muddy swamps, easy to sink into and reeking of foul stench. Other places were thick with brambles, sharp spikes packed densely together, leaving the Human Ancestor covered in wounds. And deep underground, Blade Gu were buried. When the Human Ancestor stepped on them, the soles of his feet were sliced open by the sharp blade edges, leaving wide gashes with blood streaming out—every step a pain that pierced to the heart.
Blade Gu was the origin of both the Blade Path and the Sword Path.
In the wild, many Blade Gu would also arise naturally. The Autumn Blade Plain was one of the rare known Blade Gu habitats across the Five Regions, and it was controlled by a super force—the Meng Family.
Meng Tu cultivated the Blade Path. His cultivation stood at the Seventh Transformation, his combat power at the Peak Stage. Even in his youth, he had been known as a prodigy, growing rapidly into one of the renowned powerhouses of the Northern Plains' Gu Immortal world—one of the Meng Family's pillars of combat strength.
Several years ago, he had proactively petitioned his family's Gu Immortals to assign him as guardian of this Autumn Blade Plain. On one hand, to oversee this vital resource point for the family; on the other, to further his own cultivation.
His Blade Path realm had stagnated at the Quasi-Grandmaster level. Meng Tu wished to use the Autumn Blade Plain to emulate the Human Ancestor's actions from ages past, so as to truly elevate his Blade Path realm into the ranks of Grandmasters!
But throughout these years, though he had gained some insights, there had always been a thin veil between him and the breakthrough. He had never crossed into the Grandmaster realm.
Meng Tu's temperament was tenacious and enduring. Despite years without results, not a single thought of surrender had ever crossed his mind.
"Alas, breaking through to the Grandmaster realm—how impossibly difficult! The Supreme Elders of the clan all praise me as a Blade Path genius seen once in a millennium, yet even with my talent, centuries have passed and I remain only a Quasi-Grandmaster."
"Though I always sense it is just a veil away, it remains so near yet so far—as difficult as climbing to the heavens!"
"Still, I must keep walking. This method does work. One day, I will surely advance to become a Blade Path Grandmaster!"
"Hmm? Who goes there?"
At that very moment, the Gu formation covering the entire Autumn Blade Plain collapsed with a thunderous crash, revealing clear blue sky above.
A figure descended—like a demon or a god, without a single word, demonic might surging in boundless waves, lunging straight at Meng Tu with killing intent!
"Daring!" Meng Tu's fury erupted, hair standing on end. Thunder boomed from his lips as he neither dodged nor retreated, his hands striking out like blades in a fierce counterattack.
A tremendous boom resounded. The attacker stood unmoved like a mountain, while Meng Tu was flung backward by the tremendous force of recoil.
"Don't be fooled by the lack of grandeur in this Immortal Killer Move—its power has been condensed to the absolute extreme. The defenses of an ordinary Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal would typically be obliterated by it. Yet this man took my strike head-on and emerged completely unscathed! A fearsome enemy!"
Shock filled Meng Tu's heart. He quickly steadied himself, glared at the intruder, and bellowed, "State your name! How dare you trespass upon the Meng Family's vital territory!"
"Hahaha." Fang Yuan let out several wild laughs, his voice entirely transformed. "Of course you don't recognize me, Meng Tu—and there's no need for you to. Because the dead don't need to know too much."
The Wan Wo Immortal Gu recipe required a massive quantity of Blade Gu, and even more importantly, a unique Seventh Transformation immortal material found deep beneath the Autumn Blade Plain—Blade Drinking Wine.
This wine was not a naturally occurring product. It had gradually formed over years, as the blood from Meng Tu's footprints seeped deep underground and merged with the Blade Path Dao marks in this place.