An Immortal Gu hovered in midair, radiating a clear and resplendent light.
A lemon-colored halo enveloped Bai Ningbing's entire body, penetrating deep into her Empty Orifice.
Along the inner walls of her Empty Orifice, yellowish-green vines of light had already taken root, clinging densely across every surface.
A moment later, Inkstone Elder took a deep breath and withdrew the Immortal Gu back into his own Empty Orifice. "There. Your Empty Orifice has been reinforced by my Eternity Gu. It will hold for three months. At your cultivation speed, you must come back to me after three months to have it reinforced again."
Since the battle at Trifork Mountain, so many days had passed. Bai Ningbing's aptitude had fully recovered to ten percent, restoring her as one of the Ten Extremes — the Northern Dark Ice Soul Body.
Full-strength True Essence placed enormous pressure on her Empty Orifice. Had Inkstone Elder not used the Eternity Gu to reinforce it, Bai Ningbing would not have survived until now.
Although Inkstone Elder had saved her life, Bai Ningbing showed no sincere gratitude. She simply stood ramrod straight, cold as ice.
After Inkstone Elder withdrew the Immortal Gu, she opened her blue eyes. Her gaze was cool and distant, her expression indifferent.
She was no longer the naive and ignorant child who had once set out into the world.
By Fang Yuan's side, she had learned a great deal.
Inkstone Elder had sought her out through Chou Jiu, clearly intending to use her. As for her joining the Shadow Sect — at best, it was nothing more than a transaction.
Inkstone Elder's attitude was mild as he smiled gently. "Bai Ningbing, as long as you wholeheartedly submit to our Shadow Sect and swear a new Sea Oath, I will transform you back into a male body."
"Hmph, no need. You help me suppress my Empty Orifice, and I temporarily join the Shadow Sect to help you deal with Fang Yuan and seize the Fixed Immortal Travel from his hands. That's simply a fair trade. My male body — I'll reclaim it myself. That's what would make it truly magnificent. Relying on another's charity? That's not something I, Bai Ningbing, would ever do."
With those words, Bai Ningbing turned and walked away.
Only after she had left the secret chamber did the icy mask on Bai Ningbing's face relax slightly. Her brows furrowed, and her gaze sharpened with cold intensity.
She did not like this Seventh Transformation Wisdom Path Gu Immortal, Inkstone Elder, one bit. She had a persistent feeling that he harbored hidden agendas.
The man was a Gu Immortal, but Bai Ningbing had never feared death. What did she have to fear from a Gu Immortal when she wasn't even afraid of dying?
But their goals aligned — both wanted to deal with Fang Yuan — so Bai Ningbing had agreed to the deal and temporarily joined the Shadow Sect.
"Fang Yuan…"
The moment that name surfaced in her mind, Bai Ningbing couldn't help but recall what had happened at the Three Kings Blessed Land.
Under the gaze of thousands, Fang Yuan had defied heaven and risen into the sky, refining an Immortal Gu with nothing but a mortal's body.
Afterward, the Three Kings Blessed Land collapsed. Everyone descended into chaos, fleeing Trifork Mountain one after another. The Great Unity Wind swept across the land, ultimately leveling the entire mountain flat.
The name "Little Beast King" was repeated by countless mouths and spread like wildfire across the Southern Border. Fang Yuan had vanished. The orders of the Gu Immortals were dispatched to every major faction.
Bai Ningbing, who had traveled alongside him, naturally became the most sought-after target of every major power. Both the Righteous Path and the Demonic Path wanted to capture her.
If Wei Yang hadn't honored their bond of friendship and deliberately let Bai Ningbing go when she was gravely injured and near death — and if she hadn't encountered Chou Jiu afterward — she would have long since become a prisoner.
After Chou Jiu healed her wounds, he proposed that she join the Shadow Sect and work together against Fang Yuan.
Bai Ningbing's failed scheme against Fang Yuan had only strengthened her belief that he possessed a Gu for prophecy and calculation. When she learned that behind Chou Jiu stood a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal equally capable of strategic planning and prediction, she was intrigued.
Though she did not fear death, to lose her life like that — to let Fang Yuan continue living — was utterly unacceptable. It would be the greatest failure of her life, far too unremarkable.
So she had agreed to Chou Jiu's proposal and temporarily become a member of the Shadow Sect. Together with Inkstone Elder and Chou Jiu, she used an Immortal Gu — the Sea Oath Gu — to set a binding agreement: once Fang Yuan was killed, she would be free to leave and regain her independence. At the same time, no one in the Shadow Sect, high or low, would be permitted to target her directly or indirectly.
After Bai Ningbing's departing figure vanished, Inkstone Elder's expression slowly darkened.
Bai Ningbing carried a demonic nature about her that made even a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal like Inkstone Elder feel she was difficult to control.
"This girl is lawless and unrestrained. She only allied with me under duress. She is absolutely not the kind of person who stays beneath another's thumb." Inkstone Elder's gaze grew exceedingly deep.
"But no matter. I have schemed for this grand plan of immortality for so many years. Do you think I'm afraid of what waves this little fish might stir up? Hmph!"
Inkstone Elder gave a cold snort, then turned his gaze back to the mirror surface of the Heaven-Reaching Gu.
Just then, a divine thought reached him — "I have the recipe for the Second Empty Orifice Gu. Trade it for your Spirit Wandering Gu."
The sender identified himself as the Langya Old Immortal.
"Heh heh heh heh…" Inkstone Elder burst into hearty laughter.
The fish had taken the bait!
Who said his bait was meant only to catch Fang Yuan? Fang Yuan was merely a small fish. The Langya Earth Spirit was the true big catch.
"Langya Blessed Land — the legendary place said to hold countless secret recipes. Fallen from a Grotto-Heaven to a Blessed Land, yet still renowned as the finest Blessed Land under heaven in the current era! And more crucially, it houses a great number of Immortal Gu. The Heavenly Origin Treasure Emperor Lotus chief among them — I must have it!"
In Inkstone Elder's eyes, an intensely fervent light blazed, brimming with insatiable greed.
He had been scheming for this since long, long ago.
In fact, the Second Empty Orifice Gu in the Langya Earth Spirit's possession — he had orchestrated its quiet passage into the Earth Spirit's hands all along.
Knowing the Langya Earth Spirit's nature — its love of collecting secret recipes and its passion for refining Gu insects — it would certainly set about refining the Second Empty Orifice Gu!
"Now comes the long-awaited opportunity I've been waiting for!" Inkstone Elder sneered as he sent out a divine thought, agreeing to the Langya Old Immortal's terms and arranging the exchange through the Treasure Yellow Heaven.
The Spirit Wandering Gu descended from the mirror. Despite the numerous Gu insects that enhanced the Heaven-Reaching Gu's effects, the mirror was already riddled with cracks, and within a few breaths, it was completely destroyed.
The Langya Earth Spirit paid the broken Heaven-Reaching Gu no mind. Its Blessed Land still held several more in reserve.