Inside the great hall, a pale red light shimmered and faded, illuminating the surroundings.
More than half of the reliefs on the bronze brick floor had already disappeared.
Fang Yuan's face was deathly pale, his features gaunt. His bloodshot eyes were fixed unblinkingly on every subtle change in the orb of light.
Everything was utterly silent.
October 21st.
The earth spirit brought bad news: a Fifth Transformation expert had entered the Gu Master's blessed land.
Fang Yuan watched the projection and immediately recognized the man. "So it's Xiao Mang of the Xiao family. He possesses the Fifth Transformation Supreme Light Gu — a Light Path expert. In my previous life, he showed up at Trident Mountain. Looks like he finally came."
The earth spirit inhaled sharply. "The Supreme Light Gu? Then this Xiao Mang can unleash the Glory Light of the Primordial Era! That's a tremendous threat to us!"
The earth spirit was deeply alarmed.
In the Primordial Era, there had been Nine Heavens: the White Heaven, Scarlet Heaven, Orange Heaven, Yellow Heaven, Green Heaven, Azure Heaven, Blue Heaven, Purple Heaven, and Black Heaven.
The sunlight of the Primordial Era had been extraordinary — it was the Glory Light, capable of piercing through all Nine Heavens, casting warmth and dispensing its authority over all living beings.
But in the present age, the seven heavens of Scarlet, Orange, Yellow, Green, Azure, Blue, and Purple had long ceased to exist. Only the White Heaven and Black Heaven remained. And the sunlight had lost its ancient glory, weakened to the point where it could only penetrate the White Heaven.
Once activated, a Fifth Transformation Supreme Light Gu could unleash the blazing radiance of the Primordial sun. This light carried no offensive power whatsoever, but it could pass through any barrier and illuminate the farthest reaches of the world.
In other words, even this blessed land could not block the Primordial light.
Fang Yuan let out a cold laugh. "Tyrant Turtle, rest easy. His Supreme Light Gu was looted from a tomb — it's a damaged Gu. It can only be activated three times per month. After three uses, it self-destructs."
The earth spirit finally relaxed. "That's a relief. I've been growing weaker and weaker these days. In the final stretch, you'll have to rely on yourself."
"Heh. I've always preferred relying on myself." With that, Fang Yuan said no more and went back to refining the Gu.
October 22nd.
Pfft.
"Damn it, failed again!"
Fang Yuan spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His vision went black, and he nearly passed out.
He clenched his teeth, braced his hands against the floor, feeling the world spin around him. Sparks danced before his eyes, and a relentless buzzing filled his ears.
The tightness in his chest was unbearable, nearly making him vomit.
After a long while, the wretched sensation eased just slightly.
Fang Yuan exhaled a turbid breath and slowly steadied himself.
"Refining failure brings backlash. This is the third time I've failed at this step. It's not that my technique is lacking — I've done everything perfectly. But this step is all about luck, gambling on that one-in-ten success rate. Damn it! There's no time!"
Pale-faced, Fang Yuan suppressed the pain of the backlash and launched into his fourth attempt.
By now, the Immortal Essence in the bronze cauldron had dwindled to less than four portions.
October 23rd.
Fang Yuan ceased his movements and stared at the Gu insect in his hand, a sharp gleam flickering in his eyes.
The Gu resembled a beetle — portly in the middle, with tapered ends like cones, and entirely devoid of legs, feelers, or antennae. Its form was indistinct, like a roughly carved, unfinished model, devoid of any life — it looked nothing more than a gray stone.
But the earth spirit exclaimed with delight: "Young man, I truly didn't misjudge you! You've refined this pseudo-Gu. Just one final step, and you can transform the false into the real — the true Second Empty Orifice Gu!"
"Exactly. Just this last step." Fang Yuan's tone was complex — equal parts relief and gravity.
Refining this Second Empty Orifice Gu was like climbing a mountain. The preceding steps numbered in the thousands, with countless failures along the way. Fang Yuan had barely slept or rested, but he had finally reached this point. His past efforts had not been in vain — hence the relief.
But this final step was the most critical: the step of qualitative transformation. It required the Immortal Gu — the Spirit Wandering Gu.
Though Fang Yuan had once refined the Spring Autumn Cicada, he had never used an Immortal Gu to refine another Immortal Gu. This last step was the one he had the least confidence in — hence the weight on his heart.
"Three hundred years as spring, five hundred years as autumn. The divine mechanism is boundless, roaming across the four wildernesses. Add the third watch, then the third watch again. Three third watches yield nine. Nine is the extreme — the great work is complete..." Fang Yuan pondered the recipe. "This last step requires a Lifespan Gu, the Spirit Wandering Gu, and two Third Watch Gu."
He could understand — even modify — the earlier steps. But when the secret formula reached this point, he grasped only a fraction of its true meaning.
"Earth spirit, has anything changed in the blessed land?" Fang Yuan suddenly asked.
"Two more groups have arrived — several dozen Third Transformation Gu Masters, each led by a Fourth Transformation Gu Master. Quite the scene." The earth spirit projected the images for Fang Yuan to see.
"So it's the Che family and the Zuo family. Tsk — both clan patriarchs leading the charge. Most of their elders must have come along." Fang Yuan recognized them at a glance.
Trident Mountain sat right between the Zuo family's Cold Tremor Mountain and the Che family's Flying Mountain.
These two families had been expanding ceaselessly, competing along the Trident Mountain border for years, both eager to seize it.
But the eruption of the Three Kings' Inheritance had thrown both families' plans into chaos.
The Southern Border's hundred thousand famous mountains, along with countless nameless peaks, were crawling with fierce beasts and wild Gu, making the terrain extremely treacherous and difficult to traverse.
Other factions could only send their elites. But these two families, being the neighbors closest at hand, had held back until now. Discovering something was off with the inheritance, they had finally dispatched their main forces.
For Fang Yuan, this was bad news.
In the final stretch, everyone would inevitably assault the blessed land's central hub — this great hall. Every one of the Che and Zuo forces was his enemy.
"Besides them, there'll be Li Xian, Hu Mei'er, Yi Huo, Kong Ritian, and other powerful fighters. At the final moment, I'll need to pour everything into the Gu refinement. Defending against the invaders will fall to the earth spirit, Bai Ningbing, and Feng Tianyu. The situation is dangerous on the outside — but that's only half the problem."
"The last step requires using two Third Watch Gu in succession, which will accelerate the flow of time around me ninefold! For the Spring Autumn Cicada, that's a massive tonic. The pressure will spike, threatening my Empty Orifice. That's the internal crisis."
"Pressured from both within and without, danger on every side. But all I can do is grit my teeth and push through. I've come this far — just one step from the summit. I won't rest easy unless I take the gamble. If I can truly succeed, I'll possess the Second Empty Orifice. With proper nurturing, even at the Sixth Transformation, I won't fall too far behind Feng Jinhuang."
In Fang Yuan's grand plan for rebirth, Qing Mao Mountain was merely a starting point, Merchant City merely a platform, and the Second Empty Orifice Gu merely a stepping stone.