Divine Emperor City, the Mural World.
Three yellow leopards burst suddenly from the dense, forest-like wilderness of tall grass.
One male and two female, the leopards snarled at Ye Fan in the center, their bared fangs still dangling scraps of torn flesh, making them look especially vicious.
Surrounded, Ye Fan felt a slight chill in his heart: "These three yellow leopards possess extremely powerful concealment abilities. I only detected them the moment they launched their attack. As for their exact combat strength, I'll need to fight them to find out."
With that thought, Ye Fan immediately tossed out several Gu Insects.
Bang, bang, bang.
White smoke erupted and quickly dissipated. Three lean, battle-hardened wanderers appeared at Ye Fan's side, chests out and heads held high.
They were Human Path Gu Insects — Wanderer Gu.
"Go," Ye Fan commanded. The three wanderers immediately set out, each charging toward one of the yellow leopards.
Man and beast clashed in brutal combat. After more than a dozen exchanges, the wanderers won two fights and lost one.
Ye Fan nodded slightly, forming an assessment: "The Wanderer Gu is Third Transformation, excelling in agile movement and skirmishing. These three yellow leopards are also quite nimble, possessing roughly Third Transformation strength."
Ever since the Gu Refinement Convention, Ye Fan had been secluded in cultivation within the Mural World. In his possession were not only the Fifth Transformation Great Hero Gu and the Third Transformation Wanderer Gu, but also a set of complementary killer moves — Chivalrous Liver, Righteous Courage, and various other cultivation techniques. His progress had been tremendous.
Even so, he furrowed his brows slightly.
"I've only just entered this Beast Roar Mural, and the outermost perimeter already harbors Third Transformation level creatures. It seems this mural's grade is remarkably high."
"I wonder how Hong Yi's side is progressing. Time is running short — I should head back and regroup with him."
Ye Fan had only come to scout out the situation. He was responsible for the Beast Roar Mural, while Hong Yi went to investigate the Breath Whistle Mural.
On his way back, Ye Fan ran into Hong Yi.
The two were kindred spirits who had already sworn brotherhood as non-blood siblings. In their life of cultivating within the Mural World, they had come to rely on and compete with each other, deepening their bond as brothers ever further.
After sharing what they had each learned, the two brothers walked along, quietly strategizing.
"It seems the waters here run deep."
"Why would two murals appear so suddenly? Could it be that the Mural World here is still expanding?"
"Immortal Venerable Yuan Lian's methods are truly unfathomable!"
"With just the two of us, it's practically impossible to fully explore these two new worlds. The best approach would be to rely on the residents of the Mural World and borrow their strength."
"Mm, that makes sense."
Guards stood watch at the city gates as a steady stream of people flowed outward, though a small number also returned from outside.
The two newly added murals had sent shockwaves through the Mural World. The Mural World's space was limited, yet these two new murals happened to be vast in scope. The development drew the attention and concern of the city's leadership from top to bottom, sparking a massive wave of exploration fever.
Ye Fan and Hong Yi blended into the crowd as they returned to the city, drawing no attention. But what the two brothers did not know was that from the moment they appeared at the city gate, they had already been spotted by observant eyes.
Shen Shang sat on the second floor of a teahouse near the city gate, observing Ye Fan and Hong Yi with an unobtrusive gaze while simultaneously transmitting his voice to communicate with Fang Tichang.
"Look at these two — in recent times, they've made yet another extraordinary leap. The human aura on them is remarkably dense, truly extraordinary. They will surely accomplish great things in the future. Brother Fang Tichang, if the day comes when you return to your true body, you should inquire about these two. They could be put to excellent use."
Fang Tichang sat at Jiekou, still looking every bit the beggar. He responded secretly: "In the Mural World, the gap between immortals and mortals is not as pronounced. These two have cultivated here for many days and are like fish in water — their strength is already at the absolute top tier. Yet their exploration this time was quite brief. Judging from their itinerary, they likely only scouted the outermost perimeter of both murals. From this, we can infer that these two mural worlds are of an extremely high grade — even Ye Fan and Hong Yi didn't dare venture too deep."
Shen Shang chuckled: "Brother Fang, as expected of the former Wisdom Immortal of the Fang Clan — you observe the subtle and deduce the grand. Ye Fan and Hong Yi want to leverage outside forces; this time, we might as well save ourselves some effort too. Look — the Ten Sons of Human Path have arrived."
Actually, there was no need for Shen Shang to point it out. The other end of the street had already erupted in commotion.
Led by Xiao Qixing, Fairy Bixia, Sun Yuanhua, Sun Yao, Ying Shengji, Chen Dajiang, and others appeared together, instantly causing a sensation.
Passersby turned to watch and marvel at the group of ten.
Fang Tichang's gaze sharpened. These ten — Xiao Qixing and the others — were precisely the "Ten Sons of Human Path" that Shen Shang had spoken of. Shen Shang had already assessed that these ten possessed rich human aura; though inferior to Hong Yi and Ye Fan, they far exceeded the ordinary and would surely shine with unique brilliance in the future.
This was only to be expected.
These ten had been selected and sent by the Ten Great Ancient Sects of Central Continent, carefully cultivated by Heavenly Court as Gu Immortal seeds — specifically groomed to develop along the human path, receiving massive support and backing.
Even a pig, if granted such overwhelming patronage from Heavenly Court and the Ten Great Ancient Sects of Central Continent, would hardly end up with low achievements.
The Ten Sons of Human Path had first begun to distinguish themselves in the campaign to eliminate Fang Tichang, and in the time since, their brilliance had only intensified. Their progress was astonishing, making them famous throughout the Mural World. They had won the appreciation of the city's leadership and nearly all had been entrusted with important duties.
Now that the Mural World was shaken by the addition of two great murals, the Ten Sons of Human Path had been dispatched as the main exploration force.
"The ones responsible for scattering my soul to the winds — besides the true culprit, Yuan Lian's Will, it's these ten people. Don't let me get the chance, because if I do, I won't hesitate to see a few of you fall." Fang Tichang sneered coldly in his heart.
Though he was reduced to a single strand of will, his strength had recovered significantly. Things were not what they used to be.