A gentle mountain breeze blew.
On the slopes of Three Spires Mountain, in an unremarkable bamboo grove, space suddenly shattered and light burst forth.
The flash of light vanished in an instant, and in a patch of empty grass, a figure appeared.
The young man had black hair and black eyes, his expression calm. In his hand he held a token — it was none other than Fang Yuan.
"So I've emerged from the Dog King's inheritance…" Fang Yuan's vision blurred for a moment, and in the next he found himself in an unfamiliar location.
His gaze swept outward, confirming that there was no danger nearby. He was situated somewhere on the slopes of Three Spires Mountain.
By his initial estimation, his current position was on the northern face of the mountain, while the cave he had once occupied with Bai Ningbing lay to the southeast.
He raised his head to gaze at the mountain peaks.
Three Spires Mountain's distinctive three summits stood proudly above the clouds, like three spear tips standing shoulder to shoulder.
The pillars of light on the peaks had gradually diminished.
The yellow pillar of light represented the entrance to the Dog King's inheritance. The blue pillar of light was the Signal King's, and the red pillar of light led to the Explosion King's inheritance.
The pillars' current size, compared to when Fang Yuan had first entered, had shrunk by roughly half.
As time passed and more Gu Masters entered the inheritances, the pillars would continue to shrink. Until they vanished entirely — at that point, the gateways to all three inheritances would close.
After another period of waiting, the pillars of light would reopen, sparking yet another round of bloodshed.
Fang Yuan looked down again at the token in his hand.
Several deep new cracks had appeared on the ugly surface of this Dog King pass token.
Fang Yuan was not surprised.
The Dog King passage token could be used at most three times. After three uses, the token would shatter into fragments, utterly useless.
But three chances to escape were already extraordinarily precious. Not only were they a lifeline, more importantly, they gave a Gu Master a psychological advantage — the freedom to make choices without being cornered.
Fang Yuan stowed the passage token safely away, then headed toward the cave he had occupied not long ago.
"Ah, it's Fang Zheng!"
"The Little Beast King has finally appeared…"
Along the way, Fang Yuan encountered many Gu Masters. Whether they followed the Righteous Path or the Demonic Path, all of them stared at him with strange, startled gazes.
"What happened?" Fang Yuan frowned, keenly sensing that something significant had occurred.
Halfway there, he casually seized a man for interrogation.
It turned out that Bai Ningbing had killed an Iron Family Gu Master inside the Dog King's inheritance. The moment she emerged, the Iron Family had learned of it.
Iron Family Gu Masters had surrounded the cave, trapping Bai Ningbing inside.
Four Gu Masters at the peak of the Third Transformation had acted simultaneously, using the Iron Coffin Gu to seal off the surrounding area.
Bai Ningbing had failed to break through the encirclement and was currently being worn down by the Iron Family Gu Masters in a siege of attrition.
"Young Beast King, sir, this matter has blown up big time lately — the whole of Three Spires Mountain knows about it. It's not just a personal grudge anymore; it symbolizes the struggle between the Righteous Path and our Demonic Path! Everyone's been waiting for you, sir. If you step in, those Iron Family Gu Masters won't stand a chance. You're the genius of our Demonic Path, our banner! Sir, I've told you everything — can I go now?" The unfortunate man Fang Yuan had captured wept and pleaded.
"So something like this actually happened…" Fang Yuan held the man by his collar with one hand, his brow furrowing slightly.
The news was startling at first listen, but it was not entirely unexpected for Fang Yuan.
To storm the Three Kings' inheritances was to invite conflict.
This was a Demonic Path inheritance — the competition within was ruthlessly cruel. Sometimes, even if one wished to yield, it was not possible.
"The Iron Family has the Iron Rust Flower Gu, which embeds itself in the souls of Iron Family Gu Masters. Whoever kills an Iron Family member becomes tainted with that invisible fragrance. It's no surprise that Bai Ningbing was discovered." Fang Yuan nodded, murmuring under his breath.
"Sir, you are truly well-informed — absolutely right! You have no idea — during these days you've been absent, everyone on Three Spires Mountain has been buzzing with talk, saying you're a coward who tucked his tail and ran when he heard the super clan Iron Family was involved. But what kind of person you are, do I not know? What I admire most is you, sir! The moment you set foot on Three Spires Mountain, you killed the Tyrant King, beheaded Fei Li, and crushed Flying Tiger! Who doesn't know your mighty reputation? There must have been some reason you couldn't share with outsiders. Now that you've shown your face, those Iron Family goons will be crawling on their knees, begging you to let them off!"
Fang Yuan's grip was powerful, clamping down on the unlucky Gu Master's collar until he could barely breathe, his face turning a deep purple.
But this Gu Master, fighting for his life, poured forth an unending stream of flattery, drawing on tremendous reserves of survival instinct.
Fang Yuan listened to his words and sank into thought. After a long moment he spoke slowly: "You're not wrong."
His grip loosened.
The Third Transformation Gu Master's face immediately flooded with joy: "What kind of person you are, sir, anyone with eyes can see clearly! You're a true hero, a great champion! Those who slander you are blind fools with shit for brains! Sir, I've always supported you — I even got into arguments with others over it…"
"Heh."
But at that very moment, Fang Yuan suddenly let out a cold laugh.
His hand shot out like lightning, striking with the ferocity of an eagle's talons, seizing the Second Transformation Gu Master's throat in an instant.
Crack.
The Gu Master's eyes flew wide open as the vertebra in his neck was completely crushed by Fang Yuan's grip. He died on the spot.