Meanwhile, on the Fang Yuan Continent, two people were gazing upon a pristine primeval spring as the sun set and fireflies danced in the air, reflecting the lights from the Hope Gu down below. The two of them were perched upon a hill that overlooked the small settlement that had arisen around the area of this primeval spring.
The two people in question were Wang Tian and the girl he had found, who turned out to be named Shen He. Her story amounted to this: she was part of the Shen tribe, a large militaristic tribe which had mostly farmed for sustenance near the area where the Golden Shower calamity had struck.
Before the Earthly Calamity, the tribe had essentially dominated the surrounding tribes and lived off the land and the surplus from there. They were a powerful, but largely peaceful tribe.
But that all changed when one day, gold fell down from the skies. It ruined the fields as well as their livelihoods. Nearly a third of the tribe died, she explained, though she had been a far younger girl then and didn't remember all of the details of what had gone on.
Eventually, a tyrant emerged as one of the warlords in the area from among their tribe, picking up weapons made of gold alloys and trying to use them to subjugate the other areas. Her father had at one point been the leader of the tribe once this tyrant passed away, and since she had no other brothers, the title would have naturally passed on to her as per the tribe's customs. The Shen tribe did not discriminate between men and women when it came to the point of inheriting the title of tribe leader.
However, he was backstabbed by a number of his friends, and Shen He knew it was only a matter of time before she would end up assassinated. Her mother had died long ago during her childhood, and so with no ties left, she had fled the Shen tribe one night.
She had stopped after traveling for about seven days without resting. She went to go rest by a pond and also to bathe, and that is where Wang Tian had happened upon her.
"However, I never would have guessed that I had something called... what was it again?" Shen He asked.
"The Ancient Moon Desolate Yin physique," Wang Tian explained. "And it turns out that you're not the only one with it, or something like that. I also have something called the Verdant Sun Great Yang physique."
"So, that means that I have more primeval essence in my aperture, correct than usual, correct?" Shen He asked. Wang Tian nodded.
The Shen tribe did not allow Gu Masters to flourish. Anyone caught trying to cultivate as a Gu Master would be summarily executed; this was a tradition long since passed down since the tribe had emerged. They were mostly an agricultural society and saw no real use for gu worms until the Golden Shower had fallen.
Now, the area was filled with Metal Path gu worms, but the Golden Shower had also ended up destroying any primeval springs that would have been in the area. So, there was really no way for anyone from the tribe to emerge as a Gu Master. That was why they had ended up relying upon weapons instead and continued to detest Gu Master cultivation.
"Well, it's a good thing that you came here when you did," Wang Tian said. "Otherwise, you may have ended up dead from this extreme physique cursing you. I suppose it can only be fate that the two of us came together like so."
"I've had this little issue of having fevers and chills, and it's especially bad under the full moon. It's never been so bad I fainted though," Shen He answered. "Thankfully I feel much better now!"
He didn't mention the nagging feeling that he had in his own gut. He was now at Rank 3 Upper Stage, yet despite that, he did not feel any bit better about himself. He felt like, although he had advanced, the pressure within his aperture was increasing.
"Wang Tian," Shen He said with a soft voice, "the longer I stay here near your community, the greater the danger is to you and the rest of your group. My tribe not just going to stand around; they're going to continue hunting me, and eventually they'll find me. They still fear that I'll lead an uprising and overthrow the current leadership. The longer that I stay here," she cast her gaze out, "the more dangerous it is for you and for everything that you've built here."
"I haven't really built anything here myself. It's just that people gathered here," Wang Tian said.
"I know that perhaps you don't think of it that way, but there's something about you... something that I can't necessarily place or describe with mere words," Shen He said.
"Something about me?" Wang Tian asked.
"I don't know what it is, but I think you have what my father would call the 'eyes of destiny'," she said.
"Eyes of destiny?"
"Yes. Certain people are just different from others. When you look around you and when you talk, everyone listens. You are a Rank 3 Upper Stage Gu Master; I've never even heard of anyone at that level before. And the people here, they trust you. You easily make friends as well. You seem to somehow run into fortune all the time. Without a doubt, I think you have what it takes to be a real leader. I don't think these people would have gathered here were it not for you."
"I never really thought of myself as anything like a great leader or anything," he said.
"But that doesn't mean that you can't grow into one," Shen He said, keeping a hand on his shoulder.
Wang Tian stared into her lovely, almond-colored eyes gazing deeply into his own. He felt his heart race here and tried not let his mind wander to the scene he had seen back when they had first met.
"If you really want me to stay here, the day will soon come when you'll have to square off against the Shen tribe," she said. "As long as I live, I'm a threat to them because they're afraid that if I'm around, there's always some hope for the old guard to come back. They will want me dead at all costs, and the Shen tribe is not small. We have over 10,000 people and nearly half as many auxiliaries from other tribes. You may be strong as a Gu Master, but can you fight that many?"
If Wang Tian had gotten proper nourishment and nurture as a Gu Master, to fight 10,000 ordinary men at his level might have actually been possible. But in this current state, where the only Rank 3 Gu he knew of that he could actually use was Doctor Gu, there was no way he could fight a force like that.
"Still," Wang Tian said, "I'm not going to give up one of my people."
"Your people? I've barely known you," she said. Granted, it seemed like they had been with each other for years and years despite that short interval, but still... her conscience wouldn't rest easy knowing that she could potentially be placing Wang Tian's group in danger.
"Still, Shen He, and I wouldn't want to give you up. I know what it's like to be alone. And no matter how large the Shen tribe is, we can always just walk away, can't we? They can't chase us all over the continent. And even if they do, we can go beyond this stormy sea to finally see what lies beyond the world," Wang Tian said, his eyes becoming misty as he imagined what lay beyond.
"Are there really places beyond the sea?" Shen He asked. Her father had always told her that there was nothing beyond there, and much of the tribe agreed, though there were always stories of there being fantastical kingdoms beyond. No one really placed much stock in such tales, however.
"I don't know," Wang Tian admitted. "There are a lot of mysteries in this world. They say that there is an Immortal who watches over this world, and that there might be places beyond the sea. If that's the case, I want to go see them all! I... don't want to be limited by this small patch of land! I want to go out and see all that the world has to offer!"
A cold wind blew through the air as Shen He smiled warmly at him. "Now, you're talking like a leader would. You have a vision - a vision which I think many people would love to follow."
Despite his contentment, Shen He's heart was still at unease.
Their peace was beautiful like a work of magnificent stained glass, but also fragile like glass as well. Even if she had thrown off her pursuers in the Shen tribe or convinced them that she had perished out in the wilderness, the Shen tribe would not sit idle until they had conquered every corner of the world.
That meant that one day, even if Wang Tian didn't want to think about it, they would come for this small pocket of paradise they had created as well.
As for Wang Tian, he felt unease within his heart as well. But not at the prospect of the Shen tribe, but rather whenever he glanced inwardly into his aperture.
It looked like sunset was soon coming upon his life. He didn't mind it that much; but what concerned him was the girl who was sitting beside him.