"Come, come, have a look! Fine silk of the finest quality!"
"Lollipops, lollipops! Buy three, get one free!"
"What can I do for you, sir?" A shop assistant greeted Hong Yi with a warm, enthusiastic smile inside a store that dealt in Gu insects.
Hong Yi first steadied his mind and sized up the attendant, then carefully scanned the shop's layout and furnishings. A subtle frown crept onto his face. "Everything here is so vividly real… what on earth is going on?"
"I heard you sell Scholar Gu here?" Hong Yi asked.
"Er, yes. But sir, the Scholar Gu is a Fifth Transformation Gu." The shop assistant hesitated.
Hong Yi chuckled softly and stopped concealing himself, releasing the aura of a Fifth Transformation Gu Master. The shop immediately descended into chaos.
The assistant's face went pale with shock. The shopkeeper was drawn over as well, cupping his hands in a respectful bow to Hong Yi before personally producing the Scholar Gu for him to examine.
"It really is a Scholar Gu." Hong Yi studied it carefully for a moment, his doubts deepening. "Could I test it in person?"
"Please, go ahead." The shopkeeper immediately lent the Scholar Gu to Hong Yi.
Hong Yi circulated his True Essence, pouring it into the Gu. The Scholar Gu immediately wriggled free of his fingers, flew outward, and landed on the ground, transforming into a pale-faced young scholar.
The young scholar bowed to Hong Yi with a respectful air. "This student pays respects to his honored master."
Hong Yi nodded involuntarily, his interest greatly piqued. This kind of Scholar Gu was exceedingly rare — a Human Path Gu that Hong Yi had only heard about in legends.
Hong Yi retrieved a Wisdom Path mortal Gu and a Information Path mortal Gu from his own Empty Orifices, tossing both to the scholar. "Give these a try."
The scholar took the two Gu and, without needing any familiarization period whatsoever, began using them on the spot — and using them with impressive proficiency. Certain activation quirks were practically identical to how Hong Yi himself would have used them.
"What does the honored guest think?" the shopkeeper asked with a beaming smile.
Hong Yi nodded repeatedly. "Very good. I'll take this Gu."
The shopkeeper was delighted. "That will be six hundred thousand Yuan Stones."
Hong Yi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
The price wasn't expensive — it was absurdly cheap. A Fifth Transformation mortal Gu typically cost between one hundred thousand and one million Yuan Stones, but this Scholar Gu belonged to the category of extremely rare, top-tier Fifth Transformation Gu. Its price should have been well above a million, and even then it would be virtually unobtainable at any price.
Yet here, it was sold for a mere six hundred thousand Yuan Stones!
Hong Yi had encountered one stroke of fortune after another and possessed considerable wealth. He paid on the spot and received the Scholar Gu.
Stepping out of the shop, Hong Yi's mind churned with turmoil. "This place looks just like Emperor City. But isn't Emperor City currently surrounded by immortal battles? Yet here, people live in peace and contentment, calm and tranquil. What exactly is going on?"
"Moreover, on the surface this place seems no different from reality. But if you look more carefully, you'll find an enormous number of Human Path Gu insects here. The Scholar Gu is only one of them. And the fact that these Human Path Gu are so concentrated — even abundant — is treated as completely ordinary by the people here. Meanwhile, the conventional Flame Path, Water Path, and other lineage Gu are treated as rare treasures. It's as if Human Path is the mainstream cultivation path for Gu Masters in this place."
"This is truly bizarre! I wonder what Brother Ye has managed to discover. I should meet up with him as soon as possible."
After Yuan Lian's Will had driven Ye Fan and Hong Yi into the mural, the two had discussed the situation and then split up to explore independently.
What Hong Yi had discovered, Ye Fan had noticed as well.
But at this moment, in a secluded alley along the street, Ye Fan had just encountered someone he never expected to see.
"Master!" Ye Fan exclaimed in astonishment.
He too had purchased a Human Path Fifth Transformation Gu from a shop — one called the Great Hero Gu. After leaving the store, he had slipped into a corner and secretly activated it, only to find that the experience was nothing like the demonstration in the shop.
The Great Hero Gu had transformed into the appearance of his master!
"No need for surprise, my disciple. That you and I should meet here is naturally the work of destiny." Lu Weiyin said with a gentle smile.
Ye Fan immediately caught the deeper meaning behind those words and could not contain his joy. "Master, you know the secret of this place? What exactly is this place? Why did we suddenly fall into it?"
Lu Weiyin answered in an unhurried tone. "That requires starting from the very beginning. Three hundred thousand years ago, during the Middle Ancient Era, a supreme immortal known as Yuan Lian was born on the Central Continent. He created the Divine Tree of Cause and Effect killer move. While traveling through the Western Desert, he refused a child's plea to resurrect their loved ones — and through that refusal, he glimpsed a vision of the future: Emperor City would be destroyed by the Earth Trench, and countless lives would be slaughtered."