Several days later.
Rattle of carts, whinny of horses.
The members of the Ge clan arrived at the shore of Crescent Lake and set up camp among the sparse willow trees lining the water's edge.
Upon reaching this destination, Ge Guang and the other high-ranking members of the Ge clan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The area was rich in water and grass, with abundant herds of beasts—more than enough to hold a proper hunting expedition to replenish their supplies before continuing on their journey.
"We've finally arrived," Fang Yuan thought to himself.
That evening, he excused himself under the pretense of leading his wolf pack on a hunt, slipping away from the Ge clan's view.
The night was moonless, but the sky glittered with countless stars.
The wolf pack surged through the night wind. Whenever they encountered herds of small to mid-sized beasts, they devoured them one by one.
The wolves howled with excitement. They had been half-starved these past days, and tonight they could finally eat their fill.
Even with thirty thousand wolves under his command, Fang Yuan remained cautious in directing their movements. Though the wolf pack was massive in scale, Crescent Lake harbored its own dangers—far larger packs of water wolves, herds of triangular rhinoceroses, and thousands of exotic beasts, not to mention insect swarms numbering in the hundreds of thousands, even millions.
Of course, these insect swarms and beast herds each had their own territories. Unlike the roaming packs on the grasslands, they did not drift about aimlessly.
With the lake's abundant water and vegetation, they had no need to wander in search of food.
As long as Fang Yuan and the Ge clan did not encroach upon their territory, they would not come looking for trouble.
Following his memories from his previous life, Fang Yuan followed the lakeshore eastward until he reached a stone forest.
This stone forest was unremarkable at first glance—stone pillars of gray-white, purple-black, and blue-yellow hues stood quietly at intervals from one another.
Crescent Lake had many such stone forests, but this particular one was special. If someone were to view it from a great height above and look only at the gray-white pillars, they would find that the pillars roughly formed the character "Rob."
The origins of this stone forest were truly extraordinary. It had been arranged by the hands of Rob Heaven Demon Venerable himself.
Back then, Rob Heaven Demon Venerable had sought to commission Long Hair Old Ancestor to refine Gu for him. To convince the old ancestor, the two struck a wager—Rob Heaven won three out of five rounds. Long Hair Old Ancestor lost narrowly and was bound by the bet, forced to agree to refine Gu for him.
Rob Heaven Demon Venerable had spent his entire life seeking to enter the legendary Void Gate. He therefore requested Long Hair Old Ancestor to refine an Immortal Gu—the Void Escape Gu—a Gu capable of allowing one to enter the Void Gate.
He produced a secret formula he had dedicated his entire life to researching. Long Hair Old Ancestor examined it and was quite impressed, finding the formula excellent and fundamentally correct, though he believed certain aspects could be improved.
After discussing the matter with Rob Heaven Demon Venerable, the demon venerable was overjoyed, exclaiming that Long Hair Old Ancestor's attainment in the Dao of Refining far surpassed his own.
The two immortals collaborated, spending twenty-one years before finally completing the "Void Escape Gu."
But though this Gu had been successfully refined and Rob Heaven Demon Venerable could activate it, he could not enter the Void Gate no matter what he tried.
The demon venerable fell into despair, and the proud Long Hair Old Ancestor was also deeply shaken.
Later, Long Hair Old Ancestor and Giant Sun Immortal Venerable studied the problem together, but made no progress. The Void Escape Gu became the sole failure in Long Hair Old Ancestor's life's work.
It is said that even on his deathbed, Long Hair Old Ancestor could not let go of the matter. His friend, One Word Immortal, could not bear to watch his old companion depart with this burden unresolved, so he spent fifty years of his lifespan to divine the answer.
He divined that countless years later, across three great eras, three venerables—two men and one woman—would emerge. The first would be Soul Ghost Demon Venerable. The second would be Bliss Land Immortal Venerable. The third would be Great Dream Immortal Venerable. And the puzzle of the Void Escape Gu would be solved in the hands of Great Dream Immortal Venerable.
One Word Immortal was an Eighth Transformation Dao of Wisdom Gu Immortal, skilled in divination and prophecy, and he often spoke only a single word that proved exactly correct—hence his title. The prophecy he divined would later become known to all as the famous "Three Venerables Theory."
Indeed, as the world turned and continued to develop, after Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, Soul Ghost Demon Venerable truly appeared. After the demon venerable's death, a Ninth Transformation male Gu Immortal emerged on the Righteous Path, who indeed came to be known as Bliss Land Immortal Venerable.
Now Bliss Land Immortal Venerable had also died of old age. The "Three Venerables Theory" had proven correct in two-thirds of its predictions, with only Great Dream Immortal Venerable yet to be born.
Furthermore, when Long Hair Old Ancestor learned of this divination's result, he felt both joy and sorrow.
His joy was that the problem of the Void Escape Gu could finally be solved. His sorrow was that he would never live to see that day.
After Long Hair Old Ancestor died, he became an Earth Spirit, with only one obsession—meeting Great Dream Immortal Venerable. As long as she solved the problem of the Void Escape Gu, the entirety of Langya Blessed Land would belong to her.
"Back then, Long Hair Old Ancestor refined the Void Escape Gu for Rob Heaven Demon Venerable, but produced only a defective product and could not diagnose the problem. Deeply ashamed, he promised to refine nine more Gu Insects for Rob Heaven Demon Venerable. All materials for the refinement would come from his own supply. Rob Heaven Demon Venerable later had Long Hair Old Ancestor refine six more Immortal Gu. Before his mysterious disappearance, Rob Heaven Demon Venerable established his inheritances across the Five Regions and made an agreement with Long Hair Old Ancestor—his remaining three opportunities for Gu refinement would be reserved for his successor. Long Hair Old Ancestor agreed, and the two established a secret code."
"Then, roughly a decade later, one of Rob Heaven Demon Venerable's inheritances suddenly opened and was made public. The inheritance contained a riddle, and its answer pointed directly to Langya Blessed Land. The Northern Plains was swept up in a frenzy of puzzle-solving, as countless people attempted to crack the riddle and uncover the treasure. Rumors flew everywhere, but no one succeeded."
"Afterward, Ma Hongyun suffered a defeat on the battlefield and was forced to flee to Crescent Lake. At the lakeside, he stumbled into a long-prepared ambush. In a panic, he fled into this stone forest without thinking—and accidentally discovered a passage within it. Through this secret passage, he entered Langya Blessed Land and met the Earth Spirit. After exchanging the secret code, the Langya Earth Spirit kept its promise and refined three Gu Insects for him."
"Ma Hongyun obtained these three Fifth Transformation Gu Insects. Once he had fully recovered, he returned to the stone forest and displayed fearsome power, turning defeat into victory. He swept back across the land and ultimately ascended to the throne of the King's Court for the second time."
Fang Yuan walked slowly as he recalled these memories.