Even as an Eighth Transformation powerhouse, he would not have been capable of arranging such a Gu formation.
To create this formation, Patriarch Xuehu personally went to invite Sun Minglu, the Northern Plains' foremost Formation Path Gu Immortal, to lend a hand. Sun Minglu was a Righteous Path Gu Immortal — upright and unyielding, unwilling to associate with the corrupt. Patriarch Xuehu knew force would not work, so he humbled himself and extended one heartfelt invitation after another.
It took a full seven invitations. On the final attempt, Patriarch Xuehu invoked Lady Wanshou's name to finally persuade Sun Minglu.
Though Sun Minglu was the type who would rather break than bend, he deeply valued bonds of loyalty and affection. Patriarch Xuehu's earnest devotion to his beloved wife — going to such lengths to arrange a Refinement Path Gu formation out of sheer love — moved Sun Minglu profoundly. That was what finally prompted him to act.
This matter had once caused a great sensation in the Northern Plains Gu Immortal world.
In his previous life, Sun Minglu had fought a Central Continent Gu Immortal to the bitter end, deploying a Gu formation that held the opponent at bay for days without letting them advance a single step. But ultimately, the formation was broken and Sun Minglu perished.
After his death, someone composed a biography of him. In *The Biography of Sun Minglu*, the full details of Patriarch Xuehu's seven invitations were recorded in meticulous detail.
"Judging from the remains of the formations, the one before me has at least thirty layers! That Sun Minglu could already be considered the Northern Plains' universally acknowledged foremost Formation Path Grandmaster simply by arranging a twelve-layer composite Gu formation. Whoever set up these formations here must be a Grandmaster at the very least. It's even possible that they could be a Supreme Grandmaster!"
Supreme Grandmaster!
A realm beyond Grandmaster — utterly transcendent.
For example, among the Refinement Path's three Supreme Grandmasters: Patriarch Changmao, Old Immortal Kongjue, and Old Freak Tiannan. Each one of them was unique and irreplaceable, achieving unprecedented accomplishments that would likely never be matched.
"Food Path Gu formation... Void Path Gu formation... Metal Path Gu formation... Strength Path Gu formation..." Fang Yuan's eyes blazed with spiritual light as his gaze pierced through the purple sand, discerning the traces of every Gu formation within.
His heart gradually sank.
He had never lost sight of his original objective from the very beginning.
Given these circumstances, the hope of obtaining the method of rebirth was growing ever slimmer.
And within these formations, there were only dying, barely clinging mortal Gu — not a single Immortal Gu. Perhaps it was a case of the tallest tree catching the most wind; the great explosion had destroyed all the Immortal Gu. Or perhaps these two or three Food Path Gu formations simply could not provide enough sustenance, and in the years that followed, every last Immortal Gu starved to death.
Finally, at the deepest point beneath the earth, Fang Yuan found a damaged Wisdom Path Gu formation.
This was already the seventh Wisdom Path Gu formation he had discovered.
The formation was already extremely broken, dashing what little hope Fang Yuan had left.
But to his surprise, when he examined this particular formation more carefully, he actually made an unexpected discovery!
Within this crumbling formation, some thoughts had been preserved.
These thoughts were all in a state of absolute stillness — undoubtedly the effect of this Wisdom Path Gu formation.
With thoughts present, communication was naturally possible.
Fang Yuan took a deep breath, rallied his full strength, and began cracking the Wisdom Path Gu formation.
He proceeded with utmost caution, for this Wisdom Path Gu formation was like a building on the verge of collapse — Fang Yuan had to move gently.
Fortunately, he was already a Wisdom Path Grandmaster, his realm transcendent.
After a short while, he had seen through this relatively simple Wisdom Path Gu formation, successfully infiltrated it, and taken control of the small formation.
Then, he released thought after thought, sending them into the formation to communicate with these frozen, still thoughts.
...
"After spending more than eighty years, this Gu formation is finally complete today! For the next several hundred years — perhaps even a thousand — I'll be refining Gu right here. Heh, becoming a Zombie Immortal may have freed me from the constraints of lifespan, but my mind has become terribly sluggish. That's why I had 'Yellow' add this small auxiliary formation to store my thoughts and help me think."
...
"This set of formations is truly excellent. Not only does it assist me in refining Gu, but it also shields me from the perception of Heavenly Will. In just over two hundred years, I've successfully refined eight Soul Path Immortal Gu — six at the Seventh Transformation and two at the Eighth."
...
"They send me large quantities of immortal materials every year. It's hard to imagine there would ever come a time when I have more immortal materials than I can use! I have countless immortal materials — I must be the luckiest person alive. Perhaps I should try some of those incomplete Immortal Gu recipes."
...
"There was an accident during Gu refinement today! I attempted to fill in the gaps of a damaged Soul-Capturing Immortal Gu recipe, and it produced an Immortal Gu of unknown effect. Though it is a Soul Path Immortal Gu, I think I'll leave the task of testing it to someone else."
...
"Gu refinement failed! It destroyed three of my defensive Gu formations, and even the main Refinement Path Gu formation was damaged. That swindler from Bao Huangtian, that scoundrel merchant! He actually used tampered immortal materials on me! I will skin him alive and rip out his tendons — only then will my rage be assuaged!"
...
"That merchant has already been properly punished. 'Green' really did a fine job of it. These past few days, 'Yellow' came by and repaired all the formations. I can refine Gu once more."