Nanqiu Courtyard, the secret chamber.
Darkness shrouded the surroundings, with only a thin layer of starlight flowing like water through the center of the chamber.
In the middle, Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing sat cross-legged on meditation cushions. Bai Ningbing pressed both palms firmly against Fang Yuan's back, channeling her Peak Third Transformation Snow Silver True Essence into him.
The chamber was perfectly silent.
But within Fang Yuan's mind, waves crashed ceaselessly.
Boom!
A cascade of Snow Silver waterfall, frigid and majestic, plunged from above the Empty Orifice into the sea of True Essence below.
This was Peak Third Transformation Snow Silver True Essence, converted through the Bone and Flesh Reunion Gu.
Third Transformation Gu Masters possessed silver-colored True Essence. At the Initial Stage, the silver glow was only a faint sheen, hence the name Pale Silver True Essence. At the Middle Stage, the silver became mixed and uneven, varying in density, and was therefore simply called Silver True Essence.
At the High Stage, the silver light grew uniform and bright throughout, earning the name Bright Silver True Essence.
At the Peak, the silver turned white as snow — a magnificent sight known as Snow Silver True Essence.
Right now, Fang Yuan used Snow Silver True Essence as his primary force, supplemented by regular Silver True Essence. Under the urging of his will, surging waves formed ceaselessly, scouring the four walls of his Empty Orifice.
The Empty Orifice had originally been a Water Film — its light flowing like water, shimmering and swaying. After a sustained period of scouring, quantitative change finally accumulated into qualitative transformation. The Water Film's radiance surged abruptly, as though water had frozen into ice. It ceased flowing, came to a standstill, and settled into a Stone Membrane.
The Stone Membrane gleamed brilliantly, thicker and more stable than the Water Film.
With the Stone Membrane established, Fang Yuan advanced from Third Transformation Middle Stage to Third Transformation High Stage.
A steady, solid foundation — the natural outcome when the time was right.
With the task complete, Bai Ningbing slowly withdrew her palms. A flicker of emotion passed through her ice-blue eyes.
With her help, Fang Yuan's cultivation had progressed at breakneck speed, finally catching up step by step.
She knew that in Fang Yuan's possession was a single Silver She Li Gu. He had been holding it in reserve all this time, waiting precisely for this moment.
In other words, after tonight, Fang Yuan's cultivation would break through to the Peak of the Third Transformation, equaling her own.
"Fang Yuan is old and cunning, sinister and treacherous. Just because I found no flaws in the Poison Oath doesn't mean the Oath's content is without flaw." Bai Ningbing remained silent, but her mind churned with thoughts.
Shang Yazi's fate had served as a warning.
The psychological pressure Fang Yuan placed upon her was growing ever greater, making suspicion unavoidable.
"Rest assured. My cooperation with you is sincere. The Poison Oath has no issues whatsoever." As though reading her thoughts, Fang Yuan suddenly spoke.
"Hmph." Having her inner thoughts exposed, a trace of cold light leaked from Bai Ningbing's eyes, and her tone carried a note of icy sarcasm. "Let us hope so."
Fang Yuan sighed inwardly. When he had engineered Shang Yazi's downfall, he had already anticipated Bai Ningbing's reaction.
In every endeavor, gains came hand in hand with losses.
Now, Shang Yazi had been stripped of his post, leaving behind only the Young Master title, which gave Shang Xinci room to advance. But the cooperative relationship between Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing had developed a hairline crack.
At the same time, it had also provoked Shang Yanfei's hand.
Just yesterday, Ju Kaibai and Yan Tu had simultaneously launched forced challenges against Fang Yuan and Bai Ningbing.
The moment the news broke, it sent the Martial Arena into an uproar, drawing the attention of countless onlookers.
Ju Kaibai and Yan Tu were both Fourth Transformation Initial Stage Gu Masters, each hailed as "half the sky of the Martial Arena." Together, the two halves made the whole sky.
Their nicknames spoke volumes about their status and dominance.
Fang and Bai were the two brightest new stars in the Martial Arena today, dazzling and brilliant. Both had fought their way through undefeated, without a single loss — a level of dominance rarely seen in the arena's history.
Ju Kaibai and Yan Tu, on the other hand, were the twin titans of the arena, standing at the very peak. Over the years, countless Demonic Path Gu Masters had aspired to stand out and become an external Elder of Shang Clan City, only to be struck down by these two, their hopes of advancement crushed.
Now, these two had issued a joint challenge to Fang and Bai, naturally sparking a wave of curiosity and speculation.
Some said that Fang and Bai had been growing too prominent, unsettling the two senior experts, who intended to eliminate them preemptively. Others claimed that Ju and Yan had made a wager, using Fang and Bai as the means to settle a contest between themselves.
Almost no one believed that Fang and Bai stood any chance of victory.
The strength of Ju Kaibai and Yan Tu was already deeply etched into the public's mind. More critically, one side was at the Fourth Transformation while the other was only at the Third — an enormous gap in realm.
In the cultivation of Gu Masters, the higher the Transformation level, the wider the gap between practitioners, and the lower the probability of challenging someone above one's tier.
Behind him, Fang Yuan heard Bai Ningbing rise to her feet.
"Tomorrow is your battle against Yan Tu. How about it — do you need my Heavenly Essence Lotus? According to our oath, I will help you to the best of my ability." From the darkness, Fang Yuan spoke slowly.
"I don't need it." Bai Ningbing's reply was cold and curt.
Fang Yuan remained seated, not turning around, and let out a soft chuckle. "You certainly have confidence."
"So what if it's the Fourth Transformation? Over these past two years, it hasn't only been you who's been growing." Bai Ningbing turned and walked away.
The Heavenly Essence Lotus belonged to Fang Yuan. Borrowing it meant her victory would not reflect her true strength.
She intended to use Yan Tu as the measure of her own progress.
The chamber door opened, then closed.
Bai Ningbing had departed. In the secret chamber, the corner of Fang Yuan's mouth curved upward, forming a faint smile.
"Refusing the Heavenly Essence Lotus… It seems a seed of self-doubt has taken root in Bai Ningbing's heart. The doubt is subtle — perhaps she herself hasn't even noticed it yet. Bai Ningbing, you're still too green after all…"
Fang Yuan pondered for a moment, then gathered up his scattered emotions.
He produced the Silver She Li Gu.
The Gu resembled a small, perfectly round bead, silver-white throughout, no larger than a fingertip.
Since his rebirth, Fang Yuan had once seen it on Qing Mao Mountain. Back then, it had been sold by a Jia Clan merchant for fifty thousand Yuan Stones — a price that had been utterly beyond his reach at the time.