Inside this secret cave, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
Even
He had been followed!
Could it be that his frequent outings over these past few days had attracted the attention of someone watchful?
Or had his uncle sent someone?
The thought even flashed through his mind of that First Transformation Gu Master from the inn — a young man named Jiang Ya.
In an instant, countless thoughts and guesses surged through his mind as he rapidly searched for a solution.
Fang Yuan could feel the deep killing intent saturating that brief sentence.
He cursed inwardly. Right now he was only at the Initial Stage of the First Transformation. He didn't even have a Life Gu — to any Gu Master, his combat power was practically zero. How could he possibly fight?
"Too weak, too weak!" he roared silently.
"You've already been afflicted by my unique Poison Gu. Without my corresponding antidote Gu, seven days from now you will certainly dissolve into pus and blood." The voice behind him spoke again.
Fang Yuan gritted his teeth, keeping his expression calm, his tone low and steady: "You want the Wine Worm? I can give it to you."
He slowly rose to his feet, his movements deliberate and unhurried.
But just then, another voice suddenly rang out. This one was filled with fear, trembling as it spoke: "I'll give it to you — I'll give you anything! Just spare my life, Lord Wine Walker!"
"Wait — what is this…?" Fang Yuan's brow knotted into a frown as he whipped around.
On the stone wall before him, the shifting light and shadow coalesced into an image.
A lean and imposing Gu Master stood atop a mountain peak. Beneath his feet, another Gu Master lay prostrate on the ground in kowtow.
Around the two of them yawned collapsed pits and shattered boulders — clearly a fierce battle had just taken place.
A short distance away, a group of elderly onlookers watched the scene, their faces twisted with shock, anger, and fear.
The victorious Gu Master at the center of it all threw his head back and laughed: "Hahaha, Gu Yue Hero! And here I thought that with Fifth Transformation cultivation at your young age, you were someone worth noting. I never expected you'd be this pathetic. Hmph!"
This laughing Gu Master had narrow, elongated eyes and wore a pink robe with wide sleeves that billowed in the wind. The collar hung wide open, revealing a chest as firm and pale as white jade.
What drew the most attention was his bald head — gleaming and polished, without a single strand of hair.
"Wine Walker!" Fang Yuan recognized the Gu Master's identity at a single glance.
"Compared to Lord Wine, I'm nothing! I was out of my mind — how could I have been so blind as to offend Lord Wine! Lord Wine, please, in light of how my clan hosted you with such hospitality before, spare my life!" The Gu Master kneeling on the ground trembled from head to toe, cold sweat pouring down his face as he begged for mercy through a stream of tears and snot.
Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes and studied the image more carefully. He realized that this Gu Master was wearing the attire of the Guyue Clan's patriarch — and judging by his appearance, he was unmistakably the fourth-generation patriarch.
And those elderly onlookers must have been the clan's Elders of that era.