"Go ahead. Try moving."
"You've already been hit by my unique poison Gu. Without my corresponding antidote Gu, in seven days you'll surely dissolve into pus and blood and die."
"Compared to Lord Hua Jiu, I'm nothing! I must have lost my mind—I failed to recognize your greatness and offended Lord Hua Jiu. Lord Hua Jiu, please, for the sake of how our clan hosted you so generously before, spare my life!"
On the wall, the images began to replay for a second time.
Fang Yuan remained silent, and only when the images started replaying a third time did he let out a soft sigh and murmur, "So that's how it is."
The method of leaving images and sounds on the stone wall must have been the Shadow and Sound Recording Gu planted by Hua Jiu Xing Zhe. This Gu could imprint images and then project them outward.
The Shadow and Sound Recording Gu fed on light and sound to survive. For some reason, this mountain cave perpetually emitted a red glow, and since the stone crevices connected to the outside world, they didn't block external sounds either. All Fang Yuan could hear was the roaring of the small waterfall.
Thus, the Shadow and Sound Recording Gu had survived inside this mountain cave.
When Fang Yuan had pushed aside the withered vines earlier, he must have startled the Shadow and Sound Recording Gu hidden within the stone wall.
As long as one wasn't stupid, a little deduction would reveal that this footage was genuine.
Back then, the Fourth Generation Patriarch had schemed against Hua Jiu Xing Zhe but failed. After being defeated, he launched a sneak attack. Although he managed to drive Hua Jiu Xing Zhe away, he himself perished in the process. This history was quite disgraceful, so the few Elders who survived covered up and altered the truth.
They reversed the roles of the Fourth Generation Patriarch and Hua Jiu Xing Zhe.
Hua Jiu Xing Zhe became the Demonic Path villain who was defeated, ambushed, and killed on the spot. The Fourth Generation Patriarch was recast as a righteous and heroic figure.
But this story had a glaring hole.
If Hua Jiu Xing Zhe had truly been killed on the spot, his remains should have been in the Guye Clan's possession. So why was another set of remains discovered here?
In his previous life, the Gu Master who found this place must have felt fear upon seeing this footage.
Those few Elders who survived had long since passed away, but to guard against Hua Jiu Xing Zhe potentially returning, this truth must have been secretly passed down among the clan's upper echelons.
That Gu Master realized that if he tried to hoard the entire legacy for himself, the risk would be enormous. If word ever got out that he had any connection to Hua Jiu Xing Zhe, the clan's higher-ups would naturally purge him.
So after weighing his options, he didn't dare conceal this legacy and decided to report it to the higher-ups.
This behavior only proved his loyalty to the clan. His later circumstances also showed that he had made a wise choice.
But just because he did that didn't mean Fang Yuan would do the same.
"A legacy obtained through such hard exploration should be mine alone. Why should I share it with anyone else? So what if someone finds out? Without risk, there's no reward. That Gu Master was a coward," Fang Yuan said with a cold smile. He paid no more attention to the images still replaying on the stone wall, turned around, reached out, and forcefully tore the dead roots of the withered vines away completely.
Hua Jiu Xing Zhe's remains were also caught in the destruction—they had been perfectly intact before, but were now broken into several pieces.
Fang Yuan didn't care at all. He kicked away a leg bone that was in his way, crouched back down, and began searching for the legacy.
First, he found a bag of Yuan Stones. Opening it, he saw only fifteen pieces inside.
"Pauper," Fang Yuan muttered. Hua Jiu Xing Zhe had looked impressive on the outside, but who would have thought his savings would be so meager?
Though he quickly figured out the reason—after fighting a fierce battle and then being struck by the Moon Shadow Gu, Hua Jiu Xing Zhe would have had to use Yuan Stones to heal his injuries. Having fifteen left over was actually not bad.
Then, Fang Yuan found the remnants of several dead Gu. Most were plant-type Gu—flowers and grass—that had completely withered away.
Gu were living creatures too, requiring food to be sustained, and most were quite picky eaters. While grass and flower Gu had modest dietary needs, this secret cave didn't have even a sliver of sunlight.
And then...
And then, there was nothing else.
Hua Jiu Xing Zhe had first fought a fierce battle against the Fourth Generation Patriarch, who was at the same level, then battled nearly ten Elders on top of that. His own Gu had already been heavily depleted. After arriving here, he wanted to heal, so he stimulated the growth of the Wine Sac Flower Gu and the Rice Bag Grass Gu. But in the end, the Moon Shadow Gu was what slowly dragged him to death.