The ten great sects were the heads of Central Continent, they had a lot of hidden talents with extremely profound foundations. Even Southern Border's top clans could not compare to them. In this generation of elite disciples, disciples like Bai Ning Bing, Fairy Bi Xia, Gu Ting and Wei Wu Shang were only second tier.
The first tier were disciples like Feng Jin Huang, Ying Sheng Ji and Xiao Qi Xing. They had powerful background and the support of Gu Immortals. From the very start, they received meticulous nurturing. A huge amount of resources were provided to them, with them never lacking anything, and occasionally, Gu Immortal level existences would personally instruct and guide them in their cultivation.
Comparatively speaking, Bai Ning Bing is only a countryside boy. Although he has a Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique, he could not compare to the support of Gu Immortals.
And all these geniuses are ascending the Dang Hun Mountain inside the Hu Immortal Blessed Land.
In the Hu Immortal Blessed Land inheritance, every Gu Master's aperture would be locked down by an invisible force, cutting off access to their Gu worms. Even movement Gu were sealed by Hu Immortal's will. No one could use their Gu—everyone had to rely solely on their physical strength to climb to the peak and complete the trial.
Fang Yuan, however, didn't move with the rest. He was the last to enter, and instead of beginning the ascent, he quietly sat in place, eyes closed in deep thought.
"As long as any living being steps into the range of Dang Hun Mountain, their soul will be struck. The closer one gets to the summit, the stronger the soul shock becomes. Creatures with weak souls can't even reach halfway before their souls begin to dissipate," Fang Yuan reflected.
"This is a righteous path inheritance—it's not as deadly as a demonic one. The land spirit has already suppressed the mountain's might, giving everyone a fair chance. Those who can't handle it will simply be ejected. No risk of death, at least."
He checked his aperture.
A subtle glint flickered in his eyes.
Not all his Gu had been sealed.
He still retained several crucial Gu: All Out Illuminati Gu, Heavy Regeneration Gu, Invincible Steps Gu, Star Wings Gu, Stream of Torrential Light Gu, Thought Suppression Gu, and 14 Abomination Beast Gu. The rest—including the Primeval Elder Gu holding the Divine Travel Gu—were sealed tight.
"Just as planned. I re-refined these Gu over and over for this exact reason."
Most would think Mortal Gu are far inferior to Immortal Gu. In general, that's true—Immortal Gu possess immense power.
"But what if a Mortal Gu surpassed even an Immortal Gu in strength?" Fang Yuan mused.
"Would it still be called Mortal? Or would it be reclassified? No... even if it's not recognized as Immortal, its power speaks for itself."
Through countless refinements and endless trials, Fang Yuan had created something new—Gu that were still Mortal in rank, yet carried the power of Immortal Gu.
He called them Pseudo Immortal Gu.
There were no known Immortal counterparts to them in the entire Gu World.
Even the land spirit hadn't classified them as Rank 5 Gu. But they come with a significant drawback: they consume primeval essence at an extraordinary rate.
Even with Fang Yuan's near-perfect aptitude of 99.9%, he can only sustain them for a few minutes before needing to recover his primeval essence.
...
"What is that guy doing?" one of the Gu Immortals muttered, eyes narrowing as they noticed Fang Yuan still seated on the ground, calmly recovering his primeval essence.
While most disciples had already begun their ascent up the mountain, this young man had been sitting motionless for hours.
Lei Tan, a Gu Immortal from the Immortal Crane Sect, shook his head. "Alas, this one's going to lose."
Several other Gu Immortals nodded in agreement, clearly unimpressed.
But He Feng Yang frowned as he watched the scene unfold. Unlike the others, he knew better. From what he had gathered, this young man was extremely meticulous—never acting recklessly. Even Sky Crane, who had ultimately lost to him, spoke highly of Fang Yuan's calculative nature.
That's why, unlike the others, He Feng Yang didn't mock him. Instead, a sense of unease stirred within him.
It wasn't a baseless fear—it was instinct. Fang Yuan had that kind of presence. Even as a Gu Immortal himself, He Feng Yang couldn't help but stay cautious. That feeling of unease was a warning.
And when the image in the crystal ball shifted, his instincts were proven right.
Fang Yuan, who had been motionless for so long, stood up and casually stretched his limbs. Then, without any warning, he launched himself forward with a powerful kick, leaping high before sprinting up Dang Hun Mountain.
Inside the Blessed Land, more than three hundred disciples were still climbing. Bai Ning Bing, who had already descended once and returned, was now within the top hundred. Below him, over two hundred were still struggling to ascend.
The trial had only been active for a few hours, and he believed that every participant was pushing themselves to the limit.
Everyone—except Fang Yuan.
Bam.
Bam.
Bam.
Heavy footfalls echoed behind Bai Ning Bing.
Startled, he turned to look—and froze.
A familiar figure was ascending like a blur, easily overtaking one elite disciple after another from the ten great sects of Central Continent.
Bai Ning Bing, despite his incredible strength, felt intense pressure just moving step by step. But Fang Yuan? He wasn't walking—he was running.
No, not even running.
It was like he was taking a casual jog through a park.
Step by step, his silhouette tore through the crowd of geniuses, climbing faster than anyone could react.
Bai Ning Bing's eyes widened as Fang Yuan passed him like a storm, and then—vanished.
He was already ahead of the top hundred.
Then the top fifty.
Then the top ten.
Outside the Blessed Land, the observing Gu Immortals erupted into chaos.
"Who is he?!"
"How is he moving like that?"
"Isn't his soul being struck by the mountain's force?"
"He's not slowing down—he's speeding up!"
"He's not walking—he's sprinting!"
"Damn it, where did this monster come from?!"
"Look! He's catching up to Ying Sheng Ji!"
"No—he just overtook Xiao Qi Xing!"
"This… This isn't possible."
"Wait… he's about to pass Feng Jin Huang!!"
Gasps and shouts rang out among the Gu Immortals as disbelief turned into stunned silence.
He Feng Yang, staring intently at the crystal ball, finally understood the source of his earlier unease.
Fang Yuan wasn't just strong—he was dangerous.
With how quickly he'd overtaken nearly everyone from the bottom to the peak within just a day, He Feng Yang's confidence wavered.
"With him here… the chance of my sect claiming this inheritance just dropped by thirty percent," he thought grimly.
Where once he'd believed they had a 90% chance of winning—especially with Bai Ning Bing in the trial—that certainty had now fallen to 60%.
And he wasn't the only one who felt it.
One thought echoed silently in the minds of every Gu Immortal present:
"A monster... a genuine monster has stepped onto the stage."