"According to my memories, it should be right here." Fang Yuan hovered at a particular spot within the Primordial White Heaven.
The space was empty, but relying on memories from his previous life, Fang Yuan knew the Beast Calamity Blessed Land was right here.
The blessed land's gateway was sealed, nestled within the void, giving no outward sign of its existence. In his previous life, Fang Yuan had depended on the Heavenly Phase killer move to detect it. In this life, there was no need for such trouble—he had come straight to the gate of the Beast Calamity Blessed Land.
"Go, Heavenly Phase." Fang Yuan willed it with a thought.
The Heavenly Phase killer move took the form of a single-legged white crane, its plumage pure as snow, utterly spotless, its long beak a striking cinnabar red.
After it flew out, it immediately began circling and soaring around the seemingly empty space before him.
Streams of information flowed from the Heavenly Phase back into the depths of Fang Yuan's mind.
These were details about the Beast Calamity Blessed Land—its various conditions and circumstances. Fang Yuan quickly learned a great deal.
"In my previous life, I successfully devoured this blessed land. But in this life, having been reborn, I've arrived later. There could be unexpected complications. If the Heavenly Court has laid any arrangements inside, and I charge straight in—now that would be quite the spectacle."
Fang Yuan was extremely cautious. He probed for a long while before confirming that the Beast Calamity Blessed Land was still an isolated paradise, completely cut off from the outside world, with no connections whatsoever.
Only then did he set his mind at ease and begin preparing a killer move he had long readied.
After a brief period of preparation, the killer move was fully charged. Fang Yuan suddenly opened his mouth and spat.
A gray soul ball shot into the blessed land with lightning speed. It was so fast that it vanished in the blink of an eye, as though what had just occurred was nothing more than a hallucination.
The gray soul ball entered the Beast Calamity Blessed Land and immediately dove downward.
Anything that entered the blessed land would be affected by the Grand Unity of All Things killer move within, transforming it into a beast of calamity.
The last time Fang Yuan had personally stormed this place, he had suffered exactly this fate—transformed into a bull-headed demon god, he had slaughtered without number, leaving corpses strewn across the wilderness, rivers of blood flowing everywhere. Though he had been unstoppable and invincible that time, forcibly seizing the Beast Calamity inheritance, he had failed to gain the Qilin Heavenly Spirit's recognition. He had only barely obtained the Grand Unity of All Things killer move and a few other techniques, but the Immortal Gu had eluded him—he had captured only half the inheritance.
Later, when Fang Yuan saw the battle for the Dragon Palace erupt in the Eastern Sea, he paused his campaign here and rushed east, gaining nothing.
In the end, he returned to this place, changed his strategy, and completely conquered the Beast Calamity Blessed Land, devouring it whole.
All that wasted effort not only proved extremely inefficient, squandering a great deal of Fang Yuan's time and energy, but the Beast Calamity Blessed Land he eventually obtained was also severely damaged by his own hand. Nearly every Gu Immortal within had been killed by him.
This would not do!
In this life, Fang Yuan came to conquer the Beast Calamity Blessed Land using an entirely different approach. His goal was to obtain the blessed land intact, recruit the Gu Immortals within, and add them to his Supreme Immortal Aperture, massively expanding his forces.
The gray soul ball plummeted through the air.
The influence of the Grand Unity of All Things pressed down upon it, but on the soul ball's surface, Dao Marks of Transformation shimmered into view.
The Dao Marks of Transformation constantly diminished as they resisted the power of the Grand Unity of All Things, preserving the soul ball's original form.
Outside, Fang Yuan continued to monitor the scene through the Heavenly Phase killer move.
The gray soul ball's time was limited. Separated from Fang Yuan, it was like water cut off from its source. Though the Dao Marks of Transformation covering it were rich and varied, resisting the Grand Unity of All Things consumed them at a furious rate. Before long, they would be entirely depleted.
Without the protection of the Dao Marks of Transformation, the exposed gray soul ball would be transformed by the Grand Unity of All Things into a beast of calamity.
It would most likely become an ancient soul beast.
When that happened, not only would it expose Fang Yuan's presence, but it would also draw Gu Immortals from every direction, all scrambling to destroy it.
If that occurred, Fang Yuan's scheme would be finished.
Fortunately, all of this had been meticulously calculated by Fang Yuan.
Soon, the soul ball touched down and quietly slipped into a bustling city.
It darted through narrow alleys, occasionally hiding in dark corners, moving swiftly and with ease, like a fish in water.
"Hit him! Beat him harder!"
Bang, bang, bang.
Deep in one alley, several wealthy young men were ganging up on a destitute boy of similar age.
The poor boy was thin and frail, his clothes in tatters, his body covered in injuries.
He had already been beaten to a swollen, black-and-blue mess, unable to fight back. He could only curl up, hugging his head, shrinking into a ball.
At last, he was beaten unconscious.
Seeing this, the wealthy young men immediately stopped.
"He's not dead, is he?"
"No, no—you scared me!"
"This kid really can't take a beating."
"A loser like this, daring to get close to Miss Lin, not taking Young Master Lin's warning seriously. Hmph! Even if he dies, he had it coming!"
The young men grumbled indignantly and swaggered away.
"Perfect timing—I'm in luck!" The gray soul ball arrived at precisely this moment, its surface immediately rippling.