The sky was blanketed in heavy clouds, and not a trace of wind stirred.
Gu Yue
Sensing this emotion, Fang Zheng let out a soft laugh. "What am I nervous about?" he thought. "The ones who should truly be nervous are the people of the
"On the surface, the only one standing guard over my tribulation is a single Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal, but behind the scenes, countless watchful eyes must be fixed upon me. With those people backing me, what is there to worry about?"
Though Fang Zheng didn't know why the people of Central Continent wanted to support him, he had confirmed that he possessed value they could exploit.
Long ago, he would never have resigned himself to being used. On
But now, Fang Zheng no longer felt anger.
Over the past decade or more, Fang Zheng had witnessed the unending wars spanning the three continents of the Langya
In a war defined by endless schemes and relentless bloodshed, Fang Zheng had used others, and been used by them in turn.
He had gradually come to understand: sometimes, being someone's tool and being used by others wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At the very least, it proved your value. A person who didn't even have value as a tool was in true danger—they would often be discarded, cast aside as an expendable pawn.
Of course, even with the strength of a Fifth Transformation Gu Master, Fang Zheng had experienced abandonment and betrayal. After all, he was a pure-blooded human living in a small world filled with Mao Folk—facing exclusion and racial discrimination was only natural.
"We can begin." At that moment, Fan Xiliu's voice suddenly reached Fang Zheng's ears.
Fan Xiliu was a Sixth Transformation cultivator—the one the Immortal Crane Sect had sent to assist Fang Zheng through his tribulation.
Fang Zheng nodded, steadied his mind, and immediately turned his gaze inward.
His Empty Orifice quickly manifested before him. Inside, True Essence was abundant, indicating his Grade A aptitude. But the inner walls were riddled with numerous cracks—enough to make anyone's heart skip a beat. After all, the Empty Orifice was the very foundation of a Gu Master's cultivation. To have so many cracks within it was a serious matter indeed!
Fang Zheng's mind grew perfectly calm, and the earlier tension vanished without a trace.
In truth, during a battle in the Langya Blessed Land, he had been forced to resort to forbidden means in a desperate situation. Though he had narrowly survived, his Empty Orifice had suffered severe damage, riddled with cracks, and his Grade A aptitude had dropped to Grade B.
After Feng Jiuge rescued him and he returned to Central Continent, the injuries within his Empty Orifice had been healed, and his aptitude restored to Grade A. But the cracks on the inner walls remained. It wasn't that the Heavenly Court lacked the means to treat them—rather, leaving these cracks would better help Fang Zheng weather the upcoming tribulation of ascension.
Fang Zheng gazed at his Empty Orifice. He had once been immensely proud of his Grade A aptitude, but after everything he had been through, aptitude no longer held such importance to him. Now, his gaze lingered on those cracks along the inner walls.
To him, they were honors—glory won through fire and blood, blade and spear.
"Farewell, my Empty Orifice," Fang Zheng whispered in his heart.
As he directed his will, the True Essence within his Empty Orifice surged into a tempest, ceaselessly crashing against the surrounding walls.
The walls, already riddled with cracks, were far from sturdy—and they shattered apart almost immediately, forming a breach.
The originally flawless Empty Orifice finally opened a connection with the outside world, and an exquisitely mysterious power took form.
This power drew upon the heavenly and earthly qi of the world. In an instant, dark clouds churned and converged in the sky, while the earth shuddered and trembled, sending up plumes of dust.
At the same time, an invisible, immense force of heaven and earth lifted Fang Zheng, raising his feet from the stone and slowly carrying him high into the air.
"Heavenly Will!" Fan Xiliu, lurking nearby, felt his expression shift. He sensed the thick presence of Heavenly Will.
Fang Zheng's tribulation had attracted far more Heavenly Will than usual!
The calamity began to take shape. Vast quantities of blood qi transformed from the heavenly and earthly qi. The dark clouds in the sky were quickly stained a deep crimson, on a scale so massive it could be witnessed from ten thousand li away.
"A Blood Path tribulation..." A flash of joy crossed Fan Xiliu's eyes before vanishing. A Blood Path tribulation was exactly what the higher-ups had been hoping for.
Fang Zheng's body began to radiate its own aura.
This was his human qi.
Every person possessed their own human qi. Its abundance depended on a Gu Master's depth of experience, talent, aptitude, and other factors.
Fan Xiliu watched Fang Zheng closely, and soon a strange look appeared on his face.
The human qi emanating from Fang Zheng was remarkably dense, reflecting his rich life experience and deep reserves.
Heavenly qi descended, earthly qi surged upward, and the two met in midair, entangling with his human qi.
Fang Zheng's expression turned grave as he attempted to harmonize the three qi, guiding them toward a peaceful fusion.
The three qi had just begun to make contact—the ideal period for familiarizing oneself with and gaining control over them. Fan Xiliu had already briefed Fang Zheng thoroughly, and he was well prepared for this stage.
But at that moment, the calamity had already finished brewing. A torrent of fine rain began to fall.
The raindrops were drops of blood, and the stench was overwhelming. As the blood rain fell, dense white mist quickly filled the air. The mist was soon stained by the blood, transforming into an ominous crimson fog that blanketed the entire mountain range.
Fang Zheng's tribulation had begun. He raised his defenses and activated his Gu Insects, doing his utmost to counter the blood rain around him.
During this period, using any Gu Insect would trigger severe backlash. Before long, the Gu Insect in his hand was destroyed by the very backlash it caused.