When the news arrived, many in the Ge Clan wept. Though Ge Yao had been difficult at times, she had a kind heart and was the clan's flower — everyone was fond of her. She had numerous suitors within the Ge Clan.
"My daughter… it was your father who harmed you…" The Ge Clan's old patriarch was so stricken with grief that he fell ill and took to his bed.
Ge Guang took over the clan leader's duties in his stead, with the other Elders assisting. While the entire Ge Clan was steeped in mourning, their hearts grew even heavier.
Ge Yao's death carried enormous consequences. The second son of the Barbarian Clan's patriarch, Man Duo, had fallen in love with Ge Yao at first sight and had been pressuring the Ge Clan to hand her over. Now that Ge Yao was dead, how were they supposed to produce her?
The Barbarian Clan was a large tribe that had expanded aggressively in recent years, swallowing up many smaller clans in succession. Several consecutive victories had inflated their morale, and they grew even more domineering toward the declining Ge Clan, pressuring Ge Guang repeatedly in their negotiations.
The Ge Clan was a migrant clan that had never been as large as the Barbarians to begin with. Having lost their homeland and seeking shelter under another's roof during the great blizzard, they relied on Red Flame Valley. As a result, Ge Guang found himself in an exceedingly passive position — utterly overwhelmed with crisis on all sides.
……
In the room, Fang Yuan sat cross-legged upon the bed, his eyes slightly opened.
Resting on his right palm was a Wolf Soul Gu.
This Gu was only thumb-sized, like a small gray cloth doll in the shape of a wolf, silently emanating a faint blue glow.
"This is the ninth Wolf Soul Gu." Fang Yuan immediately infused it with True Essence. The Wolf Soul Gu swelled instantly, transforming in a few breaths into a gray-white wolf soul.
The wolf soul opened its mouth, letting out a silent howl as it slammed into Fang Yuan's body.
This collision was silent, but to Fang Yuan, both his body and mind shook violently, leaving him dizzy and entranced.
The wolf soul crashed directly into his soul. His original hundred-man soul, which had held a human form, immediately churned violently. It lost its humanoid shape, entangled with the wolf soul, and formed a rolling mist of souls.
The soul mist did not disperse; it churned ceaselessly within Fang Yuan's body. At times it revealed a wolf's head or tail, and at other times it took on Fang Yuan's form.
After half a cup of tea, the soul mist settled, transforming back into a human soul.
But this human soul had undergone changes.
Fang Yuan's original hundred-man soul had perfectly matched his own appearance, with identical ears, nose, and eyes. However, after being refined nine times with the Wolf Soul Gu, although the hundred-man soul still largely retained a humanoid shape, a pair of wolf ears now sprouted from the top of its head. Its long hair now fell to the waist, far longer than in reality, and its eyes had turned into wild wolf pupils. Its entire frame was leaner, and its nose had become high and straight.
Previously, his hundred-man soul had been massive, nearly overflowing its physical vessel. Now it was much more condensed, and the soul's color had shifted from its original pallor to a deeper gray-white.
Fang Yuan estimated that once he finished using up all his Wolf Soul Gu, the condensation of his hundred-man soul would be pretty much at its limit.
By then, his entire soul would transform into a half-human, half-wolf form. Commonly known as a wolfman soul.
A wolfman soul was several times more powerful than the original hundred-man soul.
With a wolfman soul, Fang Yuan could then begin strengthening his soul again, upgrading the hundred-man soul to a thousand-man soul. Or even a ten-thousand-man soul.
Of course, a ten-thousand-man soul was by no means the end; beyond that lay the hundred-million-man soul, and so on.
«Theoretically, a soul can grow infinitely powerful. Back in the day, the Ghostly Soul Demon Venerable, who pioneered the Soul Path, his soul definitely surpassed the hundred-million-man level! His Demon Venerable soul possessed a thousand arms and a thousand hands, and three heads. The front head had dragon horns, a lion's mane, snake-pupiled eyes, and ivory tusks. The left head had a peach-shaped forehead, hair like grass, and three eyes as beautiful as flowers. The right head had cloud-like hair, lightning eyes, fiery ears, and a golden mouth. It was inconceivably powerful, its might vast and boundless. To this day, this image is still the subject of superstition and worship by many. In the Southern Border, there are even many mortals who shape mud into statues bearing a close resemblance and offer them worship and sacrifices.»
The Ghostly Soul Demon Venerable's soul was clearly the greatest that had ever existed. Compared to it, Fang Yuan's current wolfman soul was like an ant beneath a giant's foot, still needing constant growth.
After a brief rest, Fang Yuan took out another Ten Jun Strength Gu.
This Gu resembled an iron counterweight, feeling quite heavy in his hand.
He had bought a total of five Ten Jun Strength Gu. Now he had already used the third one, and his physical strength had increased to twenty jun, equivalent to six hundred jin of force.
The Ten Jun Strength Gu of the Fourth Transformation was slightly weaker in effect compared to the Beast Strength Gu of the same rank, but its advantage was that it could be stacked.
Previously, Fang Yuan had used a Kunlun Ox Strength Gu, which granted him the illusory shadow of a Kunlun Ox's strength. However, when he used a second Kunlun Ox Strength Gu, it had no effect, and he could not gain another identical strength shadow.
But the Jun Strength Gu had no such limitation. It could be continuously stacked, until it reached the body's limit.
Of course, even though Fang Yuan had six hundred jin of strength, he naturally did not unleash his full power in normal circumstances.
The Jun Strength Gu still suffered from the common drawback of strength-based paths. Otherwise, the Blazing Immortal Chu Du would not be known as the "final glimmer of the strength path," but rather its "rise."
Of course, the same Beast Strength Gu could also be used to stack strength. However, it required additional pairing with a Beast Embryo Gu.
The secret recipe for the Beast Embryo Gu was not scarce in circulation. Even if one existed, the materials for refining it were relatively rare in the present age. The cost of refining was too high, and its success rate could not compare to the Jun Strength Gu, so it was gradually phased out.