Ge Yao gradually let down her guard. "What you say... does make some sense. If you really are Chang Shan Yin, then you're a great hero of our Northern Plains! I certainly wouldn't make things difficult over some outsider. But how can you prove your identity?"
Fang Yuan smiled faintly, his expression shifting ever so slightly, projecting just the right hint of pride befitting an elder expert. "I, Chang Shan Yin, never change my name or hide who I am. I am who I am—why should I need to prove anything? Little girl, if you want to leave now, I won't stop you."
This display of playing hard to get successfully shook Ge Yao's suspicion, filling her with enormous hesitation.
Fang Yuan pressed his advantage. "Little girl, keeping your guard up is the right thing to do—you're right about that. But think about it: along the way, how many times did I have the chance to kill you? Putting everything else aside, just think about flying through the air. All I had to do was let go with both hands, and you'd have fallen straight into that swarm of ground-thorn rats—absolutely no chance of survival. Did I do that? Meeting is destiny. You had the courage to run away from your marriage—why don't you have the courage to face me?"
Ge Yao fell silent.
Fang Yuan read her expression, sensing the moment was right, and delivered his final line. "Come with me. You're still young, and roaming alone in the depths of the Rot Poison Grassland isn't safe. You told me before that you wanted to find the Snow Willow, didn't you? You want to get Snow Wash Gu from the Snow Willow, bring them back to your tribe, and earn a great merit to offset this marriage? Honestly, that's not very realistic. One or two Snow Wash Gu won't change the situation."
"As it happens, I need Snow Wash Gu too. I'll take you to find the Snow Willow and capture the Snow Wash Gu first, then we'll go back to your home, and I'll personally convince your father. What do you think?"
"Really?" Ge Yao's eyes lit up at once. "I remember Dad admires you the most—he always says you're a great hero. If you speak, Dad will definitely listen. But what do you need Snow Wash Gu for? Your mother passed away long ago..."
"Alas!" Fang Yuan's tone turned melancholy, his expression desolate. He lowered his head, then gave a bitter smile. "I know well enough—my dear old mother succumbed to her poison over twenty years ago. I failed to find Snow Wash Gu and return in time. That was my unfiliality. Do you know, in these twenty-plus years, the Snow Wash Gu has become my obsession. I must capture one, then kneel before my mother's grave and beg her forgiveness."
As he spoke, tears rolled down Fang Yuan's cheeks.
The girl saw his tears and completely believed his lie. Her heart ached with sympathy, and she comforted him: "Senior Chang Shan Yin, this wasn't your fault. It's all because of that wretched Hatugu!"
"Say no more. Let's go." Fang Yuan waved his hand and walked forward.
"I'm sorry, I spoke out of turn. And I shouldn't have doubted you either." Ge Yao felt a wave of guilt. She quickened her steps to catch up with Fang Yuan, apologizing from behind him.
Fang Yuan offered the girl a few comforting words, successfully deepening her sense of guilt even further.
The two continued pressing deeper into the Rot Poison Grassland. The purple toxic mist grew ever thicker—even poison-resistant beasts like the toxin-whisker wolves had become rare.
After traveling another two or three hundred li, Fang Yuan and Ge Yao both had to constantly activate their detoxification Gu to counteract the poison. After another five or six hundred li, the purple toxic gas was as dense as a wall, so thick that one could barely see a hand in front of one's face.
Ge Yao's Mist Sparrow Gu had become useless under these conditions. However, Fang Yuan had come prepared and could still scout a range of several thousand paces.
"Senior Chang Shan Yin, let's turn back. Or maybe try a different direction—we might run into a Snow Willow that way. If we go any deeper, I'm afraid..." Ge Yao's face was tinged purple, and she could barely hold on.
But Fang Yuan shook his head, rejecting the suggestion, and insisted on pressing forward.
The girl didn't fully understand, but Fang Yuan knew that the Snow Willow grew specifically in highly toxic environments.
And the Rot Poison Grassland had a remarkable history.
In the deepest reaches of the Rot Poison Grassland lay a Blessed Land, home to the Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal Zi Yanran, known as the Poison Scorpion Lady.
Within her Purple Poison Blessed Land, countless toxic plants were cultivated—vast stretches of rotting swamp and poisonous marsh, teeming with toxic beasts and producing a great number of poisonous Gu.
All these toxins combined created a virulence so potent that even the Blessed Land itself struggled to contain it.
Therefore, every few years, the Blessed Land's gateway would open, venting the dense toxic gas within.
Most of this gas became the purple toxic mist that blanketed the Rot Poison Grassland.
The lowest-level creatures within the Blessed Land would also seize this opportunity to sneak out. That was how the Rot Poison Grassland came to host large packs of toxin-whisker wolves.
Over time, the environment surrounding the Purple Poison Blessed Land underwent an earth-shattering transformation. Dark clouds hung year-round, blocking all sunlight. Purple mist coiled through the air, poisoning every living thing. Toxic plants sprouted in great numbers across the faintly rotting soil, and toxin-whisker wolf packs roamed freely, turning this grassland into a forbidden zone of life. Mortals reverently called it the Rot Poison Grassland.
At the center of the Rot Poison Grassland stood the Purple Poison Blessed Land. Fang Yuan was currently in its middle reaches.
Deep within the grassland, where the toxic mist had condensed year after year, Snow Willows grew in abundance. Fang Yuan knew in his heart: at this density, if they pushed on just a bit further, they were sure to find one.
Sure enough, after they advanced several hundred more paces, Fang Yuan spotted a Snow Willow.
The Snow Willow stood two zhang tall, its branches lush and its foliage thick. Its trunk was black as ink, yet the hundreds of hanging willow strands were white as snow. Amid the swirling purple mist, it looked noble and sacred.
Fang Yuan led Ge Yao before the Snow Willow, and the girl let out an exclamation of pure delight.
The two began carefully examining the snow-white leaves on the willow branches.
Before long, Ge Yao discovered that one of the leaves had already transformed into a Gu.
This was the Snow Wash Gu—a Fourth Transformation Gu of priceless value. Its detoxifying ability was exceptional, earning widespread recognition among Northern Plains Gu Masters.
After searching for a long while, they found three Snow Wash Gu.
Fang Yuan took only one, letting Ge Yao have the other two, which filled the girl with quiet gratitude.
Once the Snow Wash Gu were secured, Fang Yuan took out a black round bead from inside his robe.
Sealed within was the Immortal Gu Ding Xian You. At this moment, it was quietly leaking faint traces of Immortal Gu aura. This aura lingered and did not dissipate easily, making it readily detectable by Gu Immortals.
"It's time." With a thought, Fang Yuan summoned a Gu from within his Empty Orifice.
He immediately poured True Essence into it, and the Gu transformed into a crimson iron cabinet, tightly sealing the black round bead inside.