A shallow, deep-blue lake lay nestled amid verdant mountains, quiet and still as a jewel. Surrounding the lake was a shore of pristine, rounded stones and boulders.
This was the Heart-Seizing Shoal—a mid-tier resource point controlled by the Chi Family of the Southern Border.
Fang Yuan swept every Gu Insect within into his immortal orifice.
Over three thousand Heart-Seizing Gu were at the Fifth Transformation, fifty thousand at the Fourth Transformation, and those below the Third Transformation numbered in the millions.
He then activated the Wave-Turning Immortal Gu.
Just as in his previous life, the Wave-Turning Immortal Gu was still at the Sixth Transformation.
In moments, the river water rose as though lifted by an invisible giant hand clutching a bolt of silk, pouring entirely into Fang Yuan's immortal orifice.
The Heart-Seizing Shoal possessed a unique environment, saturated with Wisdom Path dao marks. Naturally, there were also Earth Path, Water Path, Wood Path, and other dao marks serving as a foundation, but their total volume was far inferior to the Wisdom Path marks.
The river water Fang Yuan had collected also carried dense Wisdom Path dao marks. However, the vast majority of the Wisdom Path marks still remained embedded in the surrounding land.
There was nothing Fang Yuan could do about that.
He lacked the means to uproot the land itself. This was no ordinary soil—at minimum, it would require Seventh Transformation Peak Stage Earth Path methods to excavate, in order to overcome the Wisdom Path dao marks embedded within.
Moreover, such methods would need to be applied with precision, so as not to destroy the Wisdom Path dao marks in the process.
Land with its dao marks destroyed held drastically reduced value—it would be like defacing a priceless masterpiece beyond all recognition, no different from a child's crude doodle.
Seizing and transporting natural cultivation resources required specialized technique, while destroying them was comparatively simple.
This was like the Heavenly Court's campaign against the Unfailing Blessed Land. The Heavenly Court possessed the means to destroy the Unfailing Blessed Land, but extracting the Success dao marks from within demanded tremendous effort—they had to deploy a Human Path Immortal Move, organize the Central Continent Gu Refining Grand Assembly, spending enormous time and energy.
News of Fang Yuan's appearance and his plundering of the Heart-Seizing Shoal quickly reached Chi Quyou.
At first, Chi Quyou still harbored a sliver of hope: "Is the intelligence accurate?"
But that faint hope was swiftly crushed.
The suspected Immortal Move composed of Fixed Immortal Travel, combined with Fang Yuan's now world-renowned Ten Thousand Flood Dragons Killer Move—these were the most conclusive proof.
"How did that bastard Fang Yuan suddenly appear at the Heart-Seizing Shoal?" The corner of Chi Quyou's eye twitched involuntarily. "Could he need a massive quantity of Heart-Seizing Gu?"
Though Fang Yuan was only at the Seventh Transformation, he was no ordinary Seventh Transformation—he could battle Eighth Transformation cultivators. He was an exception!
Chi Quyou recalled the footage from the Yellow Treasure Heaven: "The current Fang Yuan has reclaimed his Seventh Transformation Fixed Immortal Travel Immortal Gu, and is also suspected of possessing theft-related Immortal Gu methods. If he sets his mind on making trouble for our Chi Family, we're in serious trouble."
Chi Quyou sighed inwardly.
He had to admit—Fang Yuan was a genuine menace!
The Fixed Immortal Travel Immortal Gu allowed Fang Yuan to move with complete freedom, and only specific countermeasures could restrain it.
Fang Yuan's combat power could rival Eighth Transformation masters, meaning the majority of Chi Family Gu Immortals could not engage him at will. Either Chi Quyou himself had to take the field, or they would need to deploy a Seventh Transformation Immortal Gu House. Either way, even though the Chi Family was a superpower, the forces they could bring to bear were extremely limited.
"As for the theft-related methods, those likely aren't Fang Yuan's own capabilities."
"Previously, Fang Yuan never demonstrated any such power. Back then, Ancestor Long Hair collaborated with Demon Venerable Robbery to refine gu. Within the Langya Blessed Land was preserved a True Inheritance of Robbery, and it was by drawing upon the Langya Blessed Land's foundations that Fang Yuan managed to repel the Heavenly Court's invasion."
"Now that Fang Yuan has absorbed the Langya Blessed Land, mastering the Robbery True Inheritance will still take some time."
Chi Quyou calculated.
He felt his luck must have turned for the worse—Fang Yuan had suddenly appeared, proactively seeking trouble with the Chi Family.
If that wasn't bad luck, what was?
Though Fang Yuan gave Chi Quyou considerable headaches, he had no choice but to fight.
The interests of the Chi Family, his status on the Righteous Path, and the dignity of an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal—all compelled him to march out immediately and repel Fang Yuan.
Chi Quyou personally led the expedition, commanding the Taiyu Temple to travel at maximum speed toward the Heart-Seizing Shoal.
The great formation had been destroyed, leaving nothing but devastation and ruin.
The massive quantities of Gu Insect were gone. The Heart-Seizing Shoal had lost all its former vitality.
The river water was gone too. The shoal lay dry and desolate—a pitiful sight.
Even the stones along the riverbank—not a single one remained. Fang Yuan had packed them all away, stripping the place bare!
Chi Quyou's face turned ashen. The other Chi Family Gu Immortals cursed even more fiercely, heaping imprecations upon Fang Yuan and his eighteen generations of ancestors.
"That demon has some nerve!"
"This was our family's mid-tier resource point! After this plundering, we'll suffer a severe blow to our vitality—it will take years to recover to our former state."
"Pointless… Cursing Fang Yuan's ancestors eighteen generations deep won't accomplish a thing. He's an otherworldly demon, and his kin in this world were all killed by his own hand."
The Chi Family Gu Immortals' curses gradually subsided. The grim situation before them had set every brow into a deep furrow.
The Heart-Seizing Shoal was destroyed, but its foundation remained—Fang Yuan had been unable to dig up and carry away all the land.
However, the crux of the problem was Fang Yuan himself!
Fang Yuan was still alive. Would he appear again? Would he strike at the Chi Family once more?
What the Chi Family Gu Immortals still couldn't figure out was why Fang Yuan had suddenly targeted the Heart-Seizing Shoal. What was his purpose?
"Wait—could the mysterious Gu Immortal who previously attacked the Shadow Gully and breached the great formation have been Fang Yuan himself?" Someone raised this suspicion.
"Hmm, highly likely. After all, both are Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals, yet their strength far exceeds the norm. Fang Yuan's attainment in Formation Path is considerable—destroying two great formations is well within his capabilities. Besides, he absorbed the Langya Blessed Land and possesses Refining Path Immortal Gu. Didn't that mysterious Gu Immortal use Refining Path killer moves?"
"But if that mysterious Gu Immortal was Fang Yuan, why did he conceal his appearance when attacking the Shadow Gully before, yet deliberately reveal his true face when striking at our family's Heart-Seizing Shoal this time?"
Many of the Chi Family Gu Immortals scratched their heads in bewilderment.