A vast procession, numbering in the millions, marched toward the Royal Court region at the heart of the Northern Plains.
Blizzard winds raged outside, pressing even the Great Stomach Horses' heads low.
The snow on the ground reached knee-deep, making every step far more arduous than usual.
One after another, Blue Field Slug Gu trudged along, their bellies stuffed with all manner of supplies. The cargo had bloated their original bodies—merely three times the size of an elephant—to the magnitude of small hills.
Line after line of carriages followed behind the Blue Field Slug Gu. The slugs shielded these ordinary people from the headwind and snow, their entire bodies draped in icicles.
To prevent the slug Gu from freezing to death, an average of three Gu Masters were assigned to each one, responsible for chipping away the ice and frost while using Fire Path Gu Insects to maintain warmth and regulate their body temperature.
The great army pressed onward toward the Royal Court. The worsening blizzard only slowed their pace further.
Countless mortal slaves collapsed along the way, never to rise again.
Although Hei Loulan could have ordered the Gu Masters to save them, he chose not to do so.
The Royal Court Blessed Land was vast enough to accommodate five million people. But in Hei Loulan's eyes, every resource within that blessed land belonged to him alone—why should he share it with lowly slaves?
Every additional person meant one more share of profits distributed.
Sacrificing large numbers of useless mortals deliberately under the cover of blizzard weather had long been an unspoken rule among the masters of the Royal Court throughout the ages.
Mortal lives were not worth cherishing. They were like weeds—after each snow disaster passed, they would grow back quickly, spread everywhere, and then consume the Northern Plains' meager resources like locusts, right up until the next ten-year blizzard arrived.
The cold wind picked up again, and the people pressed their heads down against the gale, marching onward.
Even seated inside the Giant Lizard House Gu, Fang Yuan could hear the howling wind outside its windows.
Inside the Giant Lizard House Gu, it was warm as spring. Driving it forward in such conditions consumed five or six times as much True Essence as before.
But for Fang Yuan, with a single Ninth-Transformation Peak Stage nine-tenth Empty Orifice, this level of expenditure was more than sufficient.
Moreover, just recently, his second Empty Orifice had also been raised to the Fifth Transformation High Stage.
Fang Yuan walked to the window, his gaze passing through the translucent sealed crystal pane, settling on the front-left.
Over there was the Ma clan's procession.
Ma Yingjie had inherited the patriarch's position. Ma Hongyun had also appeared—and Zhao Lianyun was right beside him.
This much, Fang Yuan had already secretly verified, and he had instructed the members of the Ge clan to quietly look after Ma Hongyun and Zhao Lianyun.
In his memories, Ma Hongyun had obtained an inheritance from Immortal Venerable Ju Yang inside the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building. In Fang Yuan's upcoming plans, he would be a very useful pawn. As for Zhao Lianyun, she was still just a child and posed no threat whatsoever. At the same time, she was close to Ma Hongyun, so Fang Yuan intended to observe her for now.
"In my previous life five hundred years ago, Ma Hongyun appeared. Now, despite my interference, Ma Hongyun has still appeared. So in the future, will he and Zhao Lianyun still achieve the same accomplishments they did before?"
After his rebirth, Fang Yuan had developed a deep, instinctive fascination with the question of how history could be altered.
The torrent of history possessed both momentum and variability.
Based on his personal experience, the butterfly theory from Earth seemed rather incomplete.
In his previous life five hundred years ago, Ma Hongyun had been granted a surname and allowed to cultivate as a Gu Master because he had obtained a She Li Gu in the wild and presented it to Ma Yingjie.
Now, it was because of Hei Loulan's coercion that Ma Yingjie had been driven to make a certain decision. That decision had once again produced Ma Hongyun.
Different processes, but the same outcome.
This observation before his eyes plunged Fang Yuan into contemplation, involuntarily bringing to mind a single word—destiny!
The word "destiny" was far more mysterious and elusive than either space or time.
Rumor had it that among the paths of Gu Master cultivation, there had once existed a Path of Fortune. But to this day, no one could say for certain.
And yet, there was no shortage of great figures entangled with destiny.
In the "Legend of Human Ancestor," the Fate Gu was explicitly recorded.
The second-generation Immortal Venerable of Heavenly Court, the founder of Wisdom Path, had mastered this Gu and plotted against three Demon Venerables of later generations.
During his time in the Three Kings Blessed Land, Fang Yuan had been told by the Earth Spirit that Red Lotus Demon Venerable was actually a great hero who had shattered the bonds of fate, allowing all living beings to control their own destiny.
He had even vaguely heard rumors in his previous life: Immortal Venerable Ju Yang had possessed Gu Insects of the Path of Fortune, and because of this, he enjoyed extraordinary luck on his cultivation journey, repeatedly avoiding disasters and welcoming blessings.
"Is there truly a thread of destiny in this world, binding all living beings together?" Fang Yuan could not help but drift into reverie.
In five hundred years of his previous life, he had become an Immortal Gu Master, yet he had only uncovered a single corner of this world's mysteries.
Whether in his past life or this one, the further he progressed and the more powerful he became, the more acutely he felt his own insignificance and ignorance.
The more he recognized his insignificance and ignorance, the greater the joy of advancing—and the more determined he was to keep pushing forward.
"In comparison to this world, we are nothing more than ants..." Inside Fang Yuan's veins, pride and humility, obsession and open-mindedness coexisted as they always had.