In this world, Wisdom Path had long since unlocked the mysteries of human thought.
When a person thought, mental impulses emerged from the mind. Smart people produced thoughts faster and in greater numbers, while slow-witted people produced fewer and slower thoughts.
These thoughts collided with one another, merged, or were destroyed, ultimately yielding one or several brand-new thoughts. These new thoughts were the results of thinking.
The mind was the critical domain where thoughts were born and life contemplated. This domain was determined by two factors.
One was the body, and the other was the soul.
If a person's soul inhabited a beast, that "beast" would become quite intelligent. This level of intelligence far surpassed that of ordinary beasts, though it fell slightly short of a human's native capacity.
Gu were the essence of heaven and earth, while humans were the spirit of all living things. Among all creatures, humans were the cleverest. To achieve this, one needed a human body paired with a human soul.
Now, Fang Yuan's body was completely dead, with only his soul remaining intact. As a result, the quantity of thoughts generated in his mind and the speed of his thinking had plummeted dramatically.
Intensive thinking would rapidly deplete his thoughts. Zombies produced fewer thoughts at a slower rate, and the speed of thought generation could not keep up with the rate of consumption.
If Fang Yuan were a simple brute, this wouldn't matter. Unfortunately, he was an ambitious schemer and manipulator who excelled at calculation and deliberation. After being transformed into a zombie, he immediately found the situation profoundly inconvenient and uncomfortable.
"No wonder most zombies, like Guye Yi Dai, chose to hibernate. During sleep, one thinks less, so fewer thoughts are consumed. The mind gradually accumulates more thoughts. Then, when battle comes, one can think intensely and put those thoughts to use." A flash of understanding rose in Fang Yuan's heart.
This was the same principle behind Giant Sun's Will choosing to hibernate.
"Think less, and you'll appear clumsy and shallow. Who would have thought that one day, I, Gu Yue Fang Yuan, would become a fool. Ha." Fang Yuan mocked himself inwardly, then reined in his wandering thoughts.
He spoke to the Little Fox Fairy: "Bring my senior brother, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, inside. I want to see him."
The Little Fox Fairy obediently agreed and vanished on the spot.
She was a land spirit — within the Fox Immortal's Blessed Land, she could teleport freely.
Within ten breaths, the Little Fox Fairy reappeared with Tai Bai Yun Sheng.
"Junior Brother, you… ah! What are we going to do?" Upon seeing Fang Yuan, Tai Bai Yun Sheng froze for a moment, then his eyes reddened. He spoke with a choked voice.
He already knew about Fang Yuan's complete transformation into a Six-Armed Heavenly Corpse. This was something Fang Yuan had specifically informed him about beforehand.
Fang Yuan laughed heartily. "Originally, I had advanced to become a Strength Path Gu Immortal. But now I've ended up like this. Can't be helped — I still have to call you senior brother. Come! Senior brother, the accommodations are humble. Find any stone stool and sit where you like."
The cave where Fang Yuan currently resided was the very one the White Fox Fairy had once carved out in the center of Dang Hun Mountain — the remnants of the Soul-Swaying Palace.
After Dang Hun Mountain was destroyed by the Mud-Mixing Immortal Gu, Fang Yuan had restored it with Tai Bai Yun Sheng's help.
The restored Dang Hun Mountain retained this cave.
But the golden brick walls, silver tile floors, pink curtains, round beds, golden flower silk bedding, incense burners, and wind chimes that had furnished the Soul-Swaying Palace were all gone.
The Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu Jiangshan Rugu could restore landscapes to a state from a certain point in the past. But the decorations and furniture of the Soul-Swaying Palace did not fall under the category of landscapes.
Of course, Fang Yuan had no desire to recreate the former Soul-Swaying Palace. After all, it had been the White Fox Fairy's boudoir — far too heavy with the scent of perfume and powder, entirely unsuitable for him.
The cave was devoid of furniture, looking incomparably bare. Tai Bai Yun Sheng chose the stone stool closest to Fang Yuan and sat down.
Now, his heart was filled with gratitude, warmth, and nearly unconditional trust toward Fang Yuan.
This was because he and Fang Yuan had lived and died together. Their journey to the Northern Plains had brought them through far too many hardships, and they had witnessed each other's sincerity.
Setting aside how Fang Yuan had helped him twice in the True Inheritance Secret Realm without hesitation or even a blink — first recovering the Jiangshan Rugu, and then, incredibly, sacrificing the Ren Rugu to save Tai Bai Yun Sheng's life.
At the time, Tai Bai Yun Sheng had nearly been moved to tears.
He possessed a Gu Immortal's inheritance and naturally understood the allure of an Immortal Gu to any Gu Immortal. For Fang Yuan to abandon an Immortal Gu to save him, Tai Bai Yun Sheng — that was proof of Fang Yuan's sincerity!
Later, when Tai Bai Yun Sheng was captured by Hei Loulan, Fang Yuan immediately changed course, recovering Ren Rugu first. Tai Bai Yun Sheng fully approved of Fang Yuan's choice. The great weight in his heart lifted — it was the rational decision.
By the time he awoke, he found himself in the Fox Immortal's Blessed Land, safe from danger.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was overjoyed. Surviving by sheer luck was certainly cause for celebration. But what delighted him even more came after: upon seeing him awake, the land spirit Little Fox Fairy returned both the Jiangshan Rugu and Ren Rugu to him!
Tai Bai Yun Sheng was by nature kind and soft-hearted. He had developed deep affection for these two Immortal Gu. To have such precious treasures restored to him — he was naturally overjoyed.
But when he learned from the Little Fox Fairy about Fang Yuan's current condition, his heart lurched. His joy evaporated, replaced by grief, guilt, sorrow, and sympathy.
This was why he had repeatedly requested to see Fang Yuan, hoping to do everything in his power to help his junior brother.
Now he sat on the stone stool, his face etched with sorrow, and let out a long, heavy sigh: "I'm ashamed. You saved this old life of mine, Junior Brother, and now when we meet, I'm the one who needs your comfort and consolation."
Fang Yuan extended one arm and patted Tai Bai Yun Sheng's shoulder, laughing out loud in his hoarse voice: "Fate is fickle — nine times out of ten, things don't go as planned. A person just has to take things in stride. Sure, I've become a zombie, but at least I'm still half alive. I'm in far better shape than those who died, and far better off than Giant Sun's Will! Besides, at the last moment, I obtained Zhi Hui Gu! That's a huge net gain. There's no need for you to brood, Senior Brother. You should be happy."
When Fang Yuan had departed, he had opened the Star Gate.
Zhi Hui Gu had recognized it as a passage to the outside world, and its survival instinct drove it to fly directly toward Fang Yuan.
This had been within Fang Yuan's expectations.
The Star Gate Gu was a mortal Gu and could not withstand the might of an Immortal Gu. Fang Yuan had gritted his teeth and stored Zhi Hui Gu inside his own Immortal aperture.
Even though Zhi Hui Gu had voluntarily suppressed its aura, and Fang Yuan's Immortal aperture had become a dead zone with dramatically increased resilience, the passage through the Star Gate Gu had not lasted long — yet Fang Yuan had nearly been unable to endure it.
The first thing he did upon returning to the Fox Immortal's Blessed Land was to release Zhi Hui Gu immediately.
The Fox Immortal's Blessed Land was also a Sixth Transformation Immortal aperture, but it was planted at Heavenly Ladder Mountain, drawing upon the earth qi of Central Continent, making it exceptionally stable. It was incomparable to the Immortal apertures housed within a Gu Immortal's body.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng also knew about Zhi Hui Gu.
"Only an extraordinary person can do extraordinary things, Junior Brother. Your abilities leave this elder brother in complete admiration. But even a legendary Ninth Transformation Immortal Gu couldn't cure your zombie body. Let me try — let me use the Ren Rugu!" Tai Bai Yun Sheng spoke with heartfelt sincerity. By this point, he had already risen to his feet, eager to act.
But Fang Yuan stopped him.
"Senior Brother. You know perfectly well in your heart. The Ren Rugu can only restore a person to their state from a single instant prior. Though it possesses the power of resurrection, so much time has now passed — who knows how many billions of instants have elapsed. How could it possibly restore me? Using it would be a waste. Why squander precious Green Grape Immortal Essence?"