The Man Family possesses Red Flame Valley and has won several battles in recent years, expanding aggressively.
The Northern Plains and the Southern Border are different.
The Southern Border is mountainous terrain—easy to defend, hard to attack. Long-distance campaigns result in enormous attrition. The clans of the Southern Border build slowly, accumulate gradually, maintain steady progress, and keep their bloodlines pure.
The Northern Plains, on the other hand, is a vast grassland where warfare is constant. Clans here rise quickly and fall just as easily. A few decisive victories could expand a small clan into a medium one, or balloon a medium clan into a large one. Conversely, a single devastating defeat could splinter a large clan into several smaller ones.
The Man Family had recently absorbed the Shi Family. Shi Wu, an elder of the Shi Family, had become an external-surname elder of the Man Family.
He was a Bone Path Gu Master—the one who had bought out all the Bone Bamboo Gu in the marketplace, rumored to be developing a new Bone Path secret recipe.
Fang Yuan made a mental note of this person, then asked the shopkeeper about Soul Path and Strength Path Gu Insects.
"In my shop, we have the First Transformation Jin Strength Gu, which can increase a Gu Master's strength by one jin. Each sells for two hundred and twenty Yuan Stones."
"There is the Second Transformation Ten-jin Strength Gu, adding ten jin of strength, priced at six hundred and ninety Yuan Stones each."
"Then there's the Third Transformation One-jun Strength Gu—one jun equals thirty jin—at four thousand five hundred and fifty Yuan Stones per Gu."
"Although we don't currently have the Fourth Transformation Ten-jun Strength Gu in stock, if the honored customer needs one, the shop can certainly arrange a transfer. Each Ten-jun Strength Gu sells for thirty-six thousand Yuan Stones."
The shopkeeper rattled off the prices with practiced ease, his lips moving fluently through the long string of numbers.
At the end, he added: "Of course, these are only the Jin Strength Gu and Jun Strength Gu. If the honored customer wishes to follow the ancient Strength Path and desires Beast Strength Gu, the shop also has Wolf Strength Gu—one wolf's worth of strength, with lasting endurance. We also carry Horse Strength Gu, adding one horse's worth of power, most effective when running."
Fang Yuan had previously used Beast Strength Gu, following the ancient Strength Path. The Jin Strength Gu and Jun Strength Gu were mainstream options that had become popular in the Northern Plains only in recent centuries.
The Strength Path had waned today, its former glory gone, but it had still seen development.
The person responsible for that contribution was Chu Du, the famous Seventh Transformation Gu Immortal of the Northern Plains, known as the Overlord Immortal. He was the one who developed the Jin Strength Gu and the Jun Strength Gu. He had even single-handedly refined the Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu—"Power Through a Thousand Jun."
One jun equaled thirty jin.
A thousand jun was thirty thousand jin.
In legends of Earth, even the Victorious Fighting Buddha's Golden Cudgel weighed only thirteen thousand five hundred jin. Erlang's Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade tipped the scales at twenty-five thousand two hundred jin.
Chu Du had achieved Gu Immortal status three hundred years ago, and his widely circulated secret recipes quickly became the mainstream of the Northern Plains' Strength Path.
The ancient Strength Path typically relied on Beast Strength Gu—Green Ox Labor Gu, Biao Strength Gu, Dragon Strength Gu, and the like. Since many materials from the ancient era had grown scarce by the present day, refining these Gu came at a high cost.
Chu Du's secret recipes excelled in using common, easy-to-gather materials. The cost was low, and the success rate of Gu refinement was slightly higher than that of Beast Strength Gu.
The Northern Plains was probably the place where the Strength Path was most prevalent among the Five Regions. Warfare there was constant, with battles large and small occurring all the time. The Strength Path was cheap. For low-Transformation Gu Masters, the boost to combat power was quite noticeable.
Many Northern Plains Gu Masters practiced the Strength Path alongside their main path.
They often fought fiercely until their True Essence was exhausted. At that point, they had to rely on physical combat, making raw strength invaluable.
There was a saying on Earth: war is the catalyst for technological advancement. This saying applied equally well to this world. The Northern Plains was also a place where new Gu Insects emerged one after another.
From that elder Shi Wu who had defected to the Man Family, one could glimpse the trend of Northern Plains Gu Masters developing new Gu.
The Overlord Immortal later died on the battlefield, slain by Feng Jiuge, who had descended from the Heavenly Court. After his death, he was honored by later generations as "the twilight of the Strength Path." When news of his death spread, Gu Masters across the entire Northern Plains broke into tears of grief.
"Sigh... the heroes of this world are as numerous as the stars in the night sky, and the talented as plentiful as carp swimming across the river. The Five Regions are vast—Earth itself couldn't match even one of them. Especially five hundred years from now, in that grand age, dragons and snakes will rise from the earth, heroes will compete, old monsters will emerge one after another, and new prodigies will spring up endlessly. Countless heroes and tyrants, Righteous Path and Demonic Path of every temperament, will clash and wage life-and-death battles. It will be incomparably spectacular."
"I previously used the Purge the Old Gu in secret, which not only washed away my Ancient Copper Skin, Fine Iron Bones, and Gold Steel Sinews, but also cleared away the remaining Strength Path beast shadows on my body. First, these beast shadows originated from Southern Border Gu Insects and were suppressed in the Northern Plains, making them impractical. Second, once I manifested beast shadows, it would risk exposing my identity."
"My greatest advantage right now is that I possess Dang Soul Mountain, five hundred years of experience from my previous life, and Blessed Land resources—making me suited for the Slave Path. But the Slave Path has its flaws, so I need to also cultivate the Strength Path to guard against decapitation tactics. Since I'm wearing Chang Shanyin's skin and need to integrate into the Northern Plains, I might as well choose the Jun Strength Gu."
Fang Yuan's thoughts flickered rapidly, and he made his decision on the spot, placing an order with the shopkeeper for the Fourth Transformation Ten-jun Strength Gu.
Next, he examined the Soul Path Gu Insects.
The Soul Path had far more Gu Insects than the Strength Path.
There were Ghost Fire Gu, Ghost Cry Gu, Ghost Face Gu, Ghost Axe Gu, and others used for offensive attacks. Ghost Cage Gu, Ghost Hand Gu, and Ghost Wall served for trapping and confusion.
For defense, there were Ghost Divination Robe Gu, Soul Shield Gu, and others. For healing, there were Ghost Qi Gu, Ghost Weep Gu, and others. For scouting, there was Ghost Eye Gu. For movement, there were Soul Fly Gu and Phantom Gu.
There were also Ghost Soldier Gu, Ghost Impermanence, Qi-drifting Ghost, Nine Son Ghost Mother Gu, and others related to the Slave Path.
This was the bearing of a true Great Path.
The Strength Path had already declined, while the Soul Path endured through the ages—this much was clear from just this comparison.
The Strength Path's Gu Insects were limited to Jin Strength Gu, Jun Strength Gu, Beast Strength Gu, and the like, mostly used for offense. Defense, scouting, and support options were pitifully few. It was nearly impossible to form a complete set of purely Strength Path Gu.
The Soul Path, with its multitude of Gu Insects covering every aspect, could form a complete set where the Gu mutually enhanced one another, achieving far greater effects.