"So this is the secret behind a Venerable's invincibility..." Fang Yuan sighed inwardly.
This trip to the Mushroom People's Recluse had been truly worthwhile!
Fang Yuan had learned a great deal of secrets about the Venerables, and at the same time, he had formed certain suspicions about Recluse's true intentions.
At this point, the various conjectures Fang Yuan had formed from observing fortune were all indirectly confirmed.
His fortune was like a pillar of pure silver light—slender yet tall and soaring, with an upward momentum that seemed as if it would pierce through the firmament.
At the base of this dense silver pillar, a mass of yellow qi enveloped it, like swirling dust, seemingly standing guard.
Above the silver pillar, there were three clouds: one black as ink, one a resplendent golden haze, and one shimmering with starlight.
All three clouds showed signs of obstructing the ascent of Fang Yuan's fortune.
The one black as ink should correspond to the Shadow Demon Venerable. After all, the Shadow Sect had been reduced to virtually nothing—its threat level had plummeted.
The cloud shimmering with starlight corresponded to the Star Constellation Venerable, who had most likely already been resurrected. It was indeed ethereal and mysterious, brimming with an aura of cunning and strategy.
The cloud of resplendent golden haze needed no further speculation—it must be the Great Sun Venerable. During the previous Destiny War, Great Sun had launched a single devastating strike that crossed from the Northern Plains all the way to the Heavenly Court, earth-shattering and domineering beyond compare!
In Fang Yuan's pursuit and battle, although he had lost an ancient legendary beast, Eternal Life's strength had not been significantly diminished. Their foundation remained robust. The Golden Family was akin to one of the ten great ancient sects of Central Continent, dominating the entire Northern Plains and keeping it firmly in the grip of Great Sun Venerable's bloodline.
And the Frenzied Demon Hole was located right in the Northern Plains—there was no way to circumvent Great Sun Venerable and Eternal Life's influence there.
"Perhaps Great Sun Venerable chose the Northern Plains to establish Eternal Life not because he was a native of the region, but because he wanted to build his strategy around the key location of the Frenzied Demon Hole."
Fang Yuan's thoughts surged, reaching a deeper level of deduction.
If it were him, he would probably have made the same arrangements.
If the Destiny Gu had never been destroyed, everything would be moot. But since it was destroyed, the Venerables would gain the possibility of resurrection. And when that time came, whoever occupied the Northern Plains and surrounded the Frenzied Demon Hole would hold the greater advantage!
Fang Yuan looked at Lu Weiyin again. "Since Recluse created the Yellow Earth Great World, does helping me become a Venerable mean he wants me to assist him in his own successful resurrection?"
Lu Weiyin nodded with a smile. "Precisely so. In his day, Lord Recluse blessed the entire world, but his principal true inheritances were left across the Five Regions. The Recluse's True Inheritance in the Southern Border is here. The one in the Eastern Sea is the Azure Dragon Whale. The one in Central Continent is the Reincarnation Battlefield. The one in the Northern Plains resides within the Yellow Earth Great World. As for the Recluse's True Inheritance in the Western Desert, it appears someone has already claimed it."
"The means for a Venerable's resurrection have been left behind, but they are limited. If they can be destroyed in advance, these Venerables can be prevented from being reborn. But if they are allowed to resurrect, the difficulty of defeating them afterward would be on an entirely different level from before."
"Now that the Destiny Gu has been destroyed, the lower reaches of the River of Time are in violent turmoil, and heaven and earth have plunged into an unprecedented upheaval. Who can say what the future holds? Setting aside the resurrection of past Venerables, what about the Great Dream Venerable—might she not appear as well? A Half-Venerable is, after all, merely a Half-Venerable."
"By now, I trust Fellow Immortal Fang Yuan no longer doubts our sincerity. As long as you help Lord Recluse return, you and I will become the closest of allies. We will not only offer you the Southern Border's Recluse's True Inheritance with both hands, but we will also provide you with crucial clues regarding the Recluse's True Inheritances in the Eastern Sea and Central Continent—absolutely priceless information."
Fang Yuan fell into a pensive silence.
Lu Weiyin's performance as a negotiator was far beyond merely adequate—it was nothing short of extraordinary!
"Truly, every Venerable possesses wisdom as deep as the ocean." Fang Yuan grew ever more aware of how precisely Recluse had calculated everything.
Recluse had no worries about Fang Yuan refusing him!
Because what Recluse could offer was already enormously beneficial—setting aside how tempting it was, these top-secret pieces of intelligence about the Venerables were things Fang Yuan desperately needed.
The reason Lu Weiyin had handed over this classified intelligence to Fang Yuan upfront was neither foolishness nor magnanimity.
It was because Recluse deeply understood Fang Yuan's character.
To win Fang Yuan's genuine cooperation, it was essential to make him feel secure. Otherwise, for all his reputation as a risk-taker, the truth was that Fang Yuan was fundamentally cautious—and he would never, in his capacity as a Half-Venerable, agree to protect a Venerable on the verge of resurrection!
That was why Recluse needed to help Fang Yuan become a Venerable.
Red Lotus, Shadow Demon, and the others feared that Fang Yuan was unstoppable and would inevitably become a Venerable, so they all wanted to eliminate him preemptively. But Recluse wanted to help Fang Yuan achieve Venerable status—while the other Venerables each fought their own battles, Recluse would already be allied with Fang Yuan.
One had to remember that Venerables were the absolute strongest beings between heaven and earth—the pinnacle of all existence. When such beings clashed, their strength might be nearly identical, and then the slightest difference could determine the final outcome.
Therefore, once Recluse and Fang Yuan joined forces, their advantage would be overwhelming.
And all of the above was merely enticement.
Recluse not only tempted Fang Yuan with what he could offer now, but also with the promise of future alliance and a brighter tomorrow.
Of course, beyond temptation, there was also coercion!
Lu Weiyin had already made it explicitly clear to Fang Yuan: the Venerables intended to resurrect at the Frenzied Demon Hole—would he come to intercept them or not? If he didn't come and lost this golden opportunity, he would certainly suffer for it in the future.
Just look at everything you've done, Fang Yuan!
Eternal Life, the Heavenly Court, the Shadow Sect—you've made enemies of them all. Once the Venerables resurrect, they'll definitely come after you.
Even if you had no grudge against them—well, you're a Half-Venerable, the closest to the Venerable level. Do you really think those resurrected Venerables would allow more people to participate in the grand chessboard of the world?