The two concealed their forms and boldly walked through the range of the Starlight False Eye Gu, and sure enough, they did not provoke the attention of the Gu Immortal.
Subsequently, the two continued to discover investigation Gu Insects similar to the Starlight False Eye Gu along the way.
Some of these Gu were buried in the soil, some disguised as leaves, and some lurked in the stream, drifting with the current.
Fang Yuan used various methods one after another, sometimes turning invisible, sometimes using a targeted Gu, other times burrowing through the earth or drifting with the current, evading all these investigation Gu.
The two originally planned to go directly under the Eighth Star Palace. By doing so, the straight-line distance would be the shortest, bringing them closest to the Eighth Star Palace. If an opportunity arose, they could react quickly and rush into the Eighth Star Palace in the shortest time, acting as the ones to clean up the mess and reap the benefits.
But as they walked, a bloody smell drifted over from ahead.
Fang Yuan and Hei Lou Lan exchanged a glance. The latter's eyes revealed a glint of doubt as she transmitted her thoughts: "Strange. The number and variety of investigation Gu along this stretch are increasing."
"Let's go take a closer look," Fang Yuan replied.
The two became even more cautious, dodging or deceiving the investigation Gu, and discovered more and more traces of battle.
A moment later, they finally reached the source of the strongest bloody smell.
There lay the carcass of a black panther, collapsed in a pile of shattered rubble.
The black panther was enormous, comparable to an elephant. Its fur was sleek and glossy, brimming with wild charm. The remaining aura revealed the panther's identity—this was a genuine Desolate Beast.
"This is the Desolate Beast, Shadowless Panther," Fang Yuan murmured.
"Who killed this Shadowless Panther, yet left the Desolate Beast's corpse here?" Hei Lou Lan's gaze shifted. A trace of confusion appeared in her beautiful eyes.
Fang Yuan crouched down, kneeling on one knee, and ran his hand over a gully beside his foot.
Then, he took out a Time Path Gu and carefully activated it.
This Gu was Rank Five, extremely rare, in the shape of a crystal ball. It was called Flashback Gu, a Time Path investigation Gu that could rewind and display events that had happened within a certain range in the past.
The Flashback Gu was activated. It displayed a blurry, silent battle scene.
In the scene, two massive figures were fiercely fighting. Beside them, a tiny figure was standing far away.
The Flashback Gu was merely a mortal Gu of the Fifth Stage. Regardless of whether it was Shi Lei, the Shadowless Panther, or the Myriad Phenomena Star Lord, they were all of the Sixth Stage, their immortal and beast bodies possessing Dao Marks and Dao Traces. Therefore, the investigation results were extremely limited.
Hei Lou Lan came closer and watched for a while.
The silent battle scene was very blurry and indistinct. However, from the general body shape, she could guess that one of them was the Shadowless Panther.
The one engaged in intense battle with the Shadowless Panther did not look human; it seemed to be a tiger-type Desolate Beast.
The one standing far away the whole time, however, was humanoid, very likely a Gu Immortal. But his face was completely blurred and impossible to make out.
On top of that, the battle scene was also intermittent and discontinuous.
Fang Yuan and Hei Lou Lan watched with bated breath. For a time, aside from the breeze through the mountain forest, there was not a sound.
After activating it for over a dozen breaths, the Flashback Gu let out a "puff" sound, emitting wisps of smoke, and the battlefield scene abruptly vanished.
Forcibly replaying the battle scene of the Gu Immortal level had killed this Flashback Gu.
Fang Yuan felt a slight pang of distress. He threw the charred corpse of the Flashback Gu into his own immortal aperture, striving not to leave behind any traces.
As for this type of Flashback Gu, even though he had been constantly collecting them from Treasure Yellow Heaven lately, he had only gathered a total of fifty or sixty. This was still during the peaceful era of the Five Regions. If it were the middle or late stages of the chaotic war, Flashback Gu would be widely used, incredibly scarce, everyone would produce them for their own use, and none would be available for sale in Treasure Yellow Heaven.
Hei Lou Lan was very interested. "This Gu of yours is wonderful. What is its name? Did you buy it in Treasure Yellow Heaven?"
The variety of Gu Insects was vast as an ocean. Hei Lou Lan, furthermore, specialized in the Strength Path, not the Time Path. She only understood some general situations, and her knowledge of other paths was limited to the classic Gu within them.
Gu like the Flashback Gu were rare and uncommon. It was perfectly normal for her not to know about them.
Fang Yuan did not answer, but instead took out another Gu.
This Gu, however, was refined by himself according to his memories. It had appeared over three hundred years ahead of its time according to the historical timeline. It was called the Thread-Trace Gu.
The Gu's appearance was unique, like a small horsewhip, a toy for children of the Northern Plains. Fang Yuan held it in his huge, gruesome zombie claw, making the Gu look even more miniature.
Fang Yuan grasped the handle of the horsewhip, aimed it at the air in front of him, and gave a light flick.
With a crack, in the space that was previously completely empty, faint traces suddenly emerged.
"What is this?" Hei Lou Lan's beautiful eyes immediately locked onto the traces, not blinking once.