Fang Yuan's entire body was drenched in blood, his wounds numerous and grievous. He snorted coldly, surged to his feet, and his gaze fell upon the Embroidery Tower standing before him.
The Embroidery Tower was originally an ordinary object — part of the dowry that Immortal Venerable Primeval had left for his disciple, Star Constellation. According to the customs of that era, it was more symbolic than practical. However, once Star Constellation ascended to Venerable status, she set about converting the Embroidery Tower into an Immortal Gu House, and it acquired extraordinarily profound power.
Over one million years ago, Desolate Wild Demon Venerable had invaded Heavenly Court. He had charged straight through, passing successively through the Immortal Emperor's Garden, the Void Nurturing Pavilion, the Sumeru Marshes, the Eternal Sand Caves, the Million Heavenly King Gallery, the Embroidery Tower, and the Central Grand Hall, before finally being halted at the Tower of Monitoring Heaven.
Desolate Wild Demon Venerable had suffered a setback before the Embroidery Tower. The tower had unleashed its trump card — Dao Embroidery. Seven sewing needles danced through the air like agile sparrows, graceful as startled swans. Desolate Wild Demon Venerable had been forced to shed three layers of blood skin just to break through.
Since that day, those three layers of blood skin had been sewn into midair by countless Dao marks serving as thread, hanging motionless.
The Embroidery Tower had never been able to recover from that damage. Later, when it was deployed at Yitian Mountain against Demon Venerable Specter, fresh battle damage had only made things worse. The cumulative effects had left the Embroidery Tower in a state of ruin, and at this moment it was far from fully operational.
But above the Embroidery Tower, not just Fang Yuan — even Dragon Duke and the numerous other Gu Immortals had witnessed the strange movement of the three blood skins!
They fluttered like three crimson banners in a fierce gale.
On the left banner was the depiction of a bird with six legs beneath its belly, but no wings.
On the central blood banner, the pattern of a beast grew ever clearer — it had its maw wide open, but bore no fangs.
On the right blood skin was a fish, growing more lifelike by the moment, yet it clearly had no gills.
The blood skins snapped and cracked in the wind, as though an ancient gale from over a million years ago was howling past the ears of the living. It was as if a million soldiers clashed in battle — the clang of metal and the roar of charges surged with overwhelming force!
The banners swayed with increasing violence, like volcanoes that had endured for ten thousand years and were about to erupt, or like predators that had been coiling their strength for an age and were poised to strike!
Awooo—!
The beasts roared.
They savagely tore through the Dao mark threads that bound them, then transformed into three balls of bloody light that descended around Fang Yuan.
Amid three beast cries — some strange, some piercing — the bloody light dissipated entirely, revealing three enormous creatures.
One was a yellow, bizarre bird, its body as large as a small hill, with six thick and sturdy legs, a beak that was both hard and long and glimmered with light, and not a single wing.
Another was an azure leopard, its belly bloated, sprawled upon the ground, yawning ceaselessly, its gaping mouth not containing a single sharp tooth.
The last was a fish with jade-green scales, suspended in midair, its head held high, its mouth tightly shut, with not the slightest trace of gills on either side of its eyes. The great fish hung motionless, like a sculpture carved from jade.
The assembled immortals were shaken, and even Dragon Duke's expression grew solemn, pausing his advance.
"The three blood skins left behind by Desolate Wild Demon Venerable have undergone a mutation!"
"The aura of these three monsters is truly astonishing."
"Is this some Venerable-level method that Fang Yuan has awakened?"
"Wait — these three beasts... don't they resemble the ones recorded in the *Tale of Human Ancestor*?"
The fourth chapter of the *Tale of Human Ancestor* recounted the following story —
Human Ancestor wandered alone across the vast, barren earth, his hair disheveled, his soul lost and adrift. At times he wailed, at times he sat in a dazed stupor, at times he giggled with a vacant, foolish smile.
The manipulation of Fate Gu had separated him from his children and stripped him of Wealth Gu, driving Human Ancestor to madness.
"Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?" Human Ancestor was bewildered and crazed.
One morning, a flock of birds swept past Human Ancestor.
None of these birds had wings. Six legs took turns striking the ground as they ran, kicking up clouds of dust.
Human Ancestor saw the birds and leaped up with joy.
"So I'm a bird!" He spread his legs and sprinted wildly, joining the flock.
The birds all shouted at Human Ancestor in their strange cries: "You are human! You walk on two legs — you are not a bird. Go away! Don't interfere with us! We are chasing the Freedom Gu! We want to reclaim our freedom!"
Human Ancestor asked: "Why are you searching for the Freedom Gu?"
The birds answered with heavy voices: "We once possessed the Freedom Gu, but we didn't realize it. When we lost it, we discovered we no longer had wings, and could never fly again. Only when we regain our freedom can we spread our wings and soar."
Human Ancestor suddenly understood: "I see! Humans need freedom too! If a human loses freedom, it's just like a bird losing its wings!"
"That's right! I remember now!" Human Ancestor slapped his palms together and burst into laughter. "I want to seek freedom too — to break free from the chains of Fate! From now on, I'll go wherever I please, and whoever I'm with, we'll never be separated!"
The birds stared at Human Ancestor in astonishment: "Human, how can you harbor such presumptuous thoughts?"
"Look at us — how could birds exist without wings? That is why pursuing freedom is our fundamental duty."
"But the life of a human is destined to be one of solitude. Every joyful reunion ends in parting. Human, you may seek freedom, but you must also observe your own duty. Don't let your thoughts wander recklessly."
Human Ancestor scratched his head, looking puzzled: "Is that so?"
The flock left him with one final piece of advice: "Human, let us give you a word of counsel. If you ever obtain the Freedom Gu, you must cherish it dearly and never let it go as carelessly as we did. Whatever you do, do not let the Freedom Gu fly away — or you will regret it."
Human Ancestor parted from the flock and gradually forgot his own identity and his pursuit once more.
One afternoon, a pack of running blue leopards passed by his side.
The mad Human Ancestor saw the blue leopards and was overjoyed, shouting aloud: "So I'm a leopard!"
Human Ancestor rushed into the midst of the leopard pack.
But the leopards pushed him out, all of them crying: "You are human — you are no leopard! You walk on two legs, while we have four! Go away! Don't disturb us! We are chasing the Freedom Gu! We want to reclaim our freedom!"
Human Ancestor heard this and asked: "Why are you searching for the Freedom Gu?"
The blue leopards spoke with melancholy: "Sigh — we once possessed the Freedom Gu, but we didn't realize it. When we lost it, we discovered we no longer had fangs, and could no longer tear and crush our prey. Only when we regain our freedom can we feed with pleasure."
Human Ancestor suddenly understood: "I see! Humans need freedom too! If a human loses freedom, it's just like a beast losing its teeth!"
"That's right!" Human Ancestor slapped his palms together and burst into laughter. "I want to obtain freedom — to break free from the chains of Fate, to have endless fine wine and delicacies, inexhaustible wealth, and all manner of warm and beautiful clothing!"
The blue leopards paused, then burst into laughter, mocking Human Ancestor: "Human, how can you harbor such presumptuous thoughts?"
"Look at us — could a predator exist without claws and fangs? That is why pursuing freedom is our fundamental duty."
"But the life of a human is destined to begin empty-handed and end empty-handed. Human, you may seek freedom, but you must also observe your own duty. You really shouldn't let your thoughts wander recklessly."