Fang Yuan met with him and, noticing the gleam of joy in his eyes, said, "Old Bai, judging by that look in your eyes, your trip to the East Sea must have yielded pleasant results."
Tai Bai Yun Sheng laughed. "Junior brother's eyes miss nothing — you're quite right. Why don't you take a guess at what I've gained this time?"
Fang Yuan couldn't help but be curious. "Jade Dew Fairy is a close attendant of Immortal Venerable Le Tu. She cultivates both Earth path and Water path, and excels in defense and healing. I know the lineup you used to attack the blessed land. You actually succeeded on the first attempt and conquered Jade Dew Blessed Land outright?"
In truth, Fang Yuan had not been particularly optimistic about Tai Bai Yun Sheng's chances on this expedition.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng's expression stiffened, and he sighed. "So junior brother never believed in me all along. I have to admit you called it right. We besieged the blessed land for seven days and seven nights, but in the end we were defeated by the land spirit and suffered heavy losses. One Gu Immortal nearly perished, but I managed to save them using the Human as Before Immortal Gu."
"Oh?" Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows. He knew the value of the Human as Before Immortal Gu well. Once Tai Bai Yun Sheng had revealed it, its perceived worth among the others would have skyrocketed.
Sure enough, Tai Bai Yun Sheng continued, "After my Human as Before Immortal Gu became known, I received a great deal of flattery. Then I received a warm invitation from Shark Demon, asking me to visit the East Sea Zombie Alliance as a guest. I wouldn't dare venture alone into another faction's stronghold, so I politely declined. In the end, Shark Demon and two other Immortal Zombies hosted me at Sea Market Blessed Land, and over the banquet they let me in on a piece of major news."
At this point, Tai Bai Yun Sheng paused, stopping mid-sentence, and fixed Fang Yuan with an eager gaze.
Fang Yuan smiled inwardly and played along. "Heh heh, what exactly is this major news? Worth making me wrangle it out of you?"
Tai Bai Yun Sheng's expression turned serious, and he said with excitement, "It's a way for you, junior brother, to regain your life — a method to break free from the Immortal Zombie body!"
"Oh?" Fang Yuan raised an eyebrow.
He himself had joined the Northern Plains Zombie Alliance without making any progress so far. He hadn't expected that Tai Bai Yun Sheng would be the one to find a breakthrough before him.
"What method?" Fang Yuan pressed.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng explained, "Shark Demon has a dual-cultivation partner named Su Bai Man, who is also in an Immortal Zombie body. Some years ago, Su Bai Man seized an opportunity — she defeated a powerful enemy and obtained a Time path Immortal Gu called the Time Anchor. This Gu can place a mark within the River of Time. By itself it's useless, but when paired with other Time path Immortal Gu, the effect is extraordinary."
Upon hearing this, Fang Yuan immediately understood what Tai Bai Yun Sheng was getting at.
His eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed again. "Old Bai, I understand what you mean. I've heard of the Time Anchor Immortal Gu before. Paired with your Country as Before, it could allow a precise return to a specific past moment. Paired with your Human as Before, it could theoretically restore a target to its state at some point in the past. But the prerequisite for all of this is that the Time Anchor Immortal Gu must have placed a mark in advance."
"Exactly. My Human as Before Immortal Gu can only restore things to one instant prior. But with the Time Anchor Immortal Gu, it may be possible to surpass that one-instant limit. Junior brother, you could use this method to shed your identity as an Immortal Zombie." Tai Bai Yun Sheng spoke with great enthusiasm.
What Tai Bai Yun Sheng said was no idle fancy.
Gu are the true essence of heaven and earth. Each has a single function, and all are different. Immortal Gu are one of a kind — though their power is tremendous, they come with limitations and drawbacks.
Humans are the most intelligent of all living things, excelling in wisdom and creativity. By combining different Gu worms in novel ways, one can enhance their effects and compensate for their deficiencies.
"With the Time Anchor Immortal Gu to supplement it, the Human as Before Immortal Gu could indeed break past the one-instant limit. But..." Fang Yuan shook his head and continued, "Activating two Immortal Gu in tandem is no simple matter of triggering them at the same time. It requires a multitude of mortal path Gu worms as support, and possibly even other Immortal Gu for calibration, to form an Immortal killer move. Theoretically, combining the Time Anchor and Human as Before is feasible. But you don't have a corresponding Immortal killer move. I imagine Shark Demon and the other Immortal Zombies hosted you so generously because they want you to contribute the Human as Before Gu — making it easier for them to develop the Immortal killer move?"
Tai Bai Yun Sheng nodded repeatedly, praising him. "Junior brother, you're a clever one. Your guess is spot on — that's exactly it."
"Pity, what a pity." Fang Yuan shook his head again.
"What's a pity? I think this method holds great hope," Tai Bai Yun Sheng said, puzzled.
"Old Bai, you must understand, my becoming an Immortal Zombie is already an ironclad fact. Perhaps Shark Demon and the others had already used the Time Anchor Immortal Gu before becoming Immortal Zombies, placing their mark in the River of Time. I, however, have not. Therefore, even if this killer move were developed, it would be useless to me." Fang Yuan sighed.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng then smiled. "Junior brother, your worries are valid. But I must also tell you good news — Shark Demon and Su Bai Man also did not use the Time Anchor Immortal Gu in time to place a mark."
"Oh?"
"Back then, when Su Bai Man defeated her powerful enemy, she obtained the Time Anchor Immortal Gu but didn't know its function. She was gravely wounded and on the verge of death, so she had no choice but to convert into an Immortal Zombie. When Shark Demon learned of this, he chose to convert into an Immortal Zombie as well — despite having ample lifespan remaining — so that he could stay by his wife's side. It was only several years after they had both become Immortal Zombies that they finally figured out the origin and usage of the Time Anchor Immortal Gu." Tai Bai Yun Sheng said.