An hour passed—an hour of relentless, focused refinement.
The yellow mixture inside the cauldron began to shift, condensing into a cocoon. Moments later, something emerged from it.
What came out looked like a beetle—yet it was far from ordinary. It had the body of a beetle, the wings of a butterfly, the legs of a scorpion, and the face of a crane.
A twisted creature. A grotesque fusion. By all appearances, a failure—an abomination.
But Fang Yuan smiled.
Because the aura radiating from it was unmistakable—it wasn't a Rank 5 Gu.
It was Rank 6.
An Immortal Gu.
Without hesitation, Fang Yuan drew ten drops of Immortal Essence from the bowl and fed them to the Gu.
It flapped its mismatched wings in delight, then turned into a streak of brilliant light and dove straight into Fang Yuan's navel.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
His entire body trembled violently.
Then, in the depths of his mind, a deafening explosion rang out—like thunder crashing down from the heavens.
Fang Yuan quickly examined his body—and what he discovered filled him with astonishment.
He had gained a second aperture.
But this aperture was vastly different from the first.
Yes, completely different.
Unlike his original circular aperture, which held a green copper primeval sea or jade-green essence, this new one was square in shape. And instead of liquid essence, tiny beads were slowly forming within it.
Even more shocking—it already contained a vital Gu.
And that Gu was none other than the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu.
"Hahaha!" Fang Yuan burst into laughter, overflowing with joy.
No one could understand how many years he had longed for this moment.
In his previous life, his vital Gu had been the Rank 6 Spring Autumn Cicada—a Gu of great power, but one that constantly dragged him to the edge of death, again and again.
But in this life, things were different.
This time, he had refined a second aperture for himself. Through subtle changes in the refinement recipe and by enhancing the aperture's aptitude using the rare blood that increased talent, he had created something revolutionary:
A second aperture that was, in essence, a miniature blessed land.
Though it couldn't be removed from his body like an external blessed land, it possessed the qualities and space of a super-grade blessed land within. A world unto itself, capable of storing countless things.
And through the rare combination of Immortal materials, the Abomination Gu, the Heavenly Treasure Lotus, and even a land spirit, he had forged this unique inner world—with the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu at its core.
Just think—while most people have only a single aperture with one vital Gu, Fang Yuan now possessed something unprecedented:
An aperture that functioned like a blessed land, and a vital Immortal Gu capable of instant travel.
As for the land spirit—who was supposed to remain alive—Fang Yuan glanced into his new aperture and asked coldly, "Still alive, or already dead?"
Slowly, a fog began to coalesce within the square aperture, gradually taking the form of a little girl.
"Master…!" the fog-like figure cried out.
Her voice trembled as her form flickered and began to fade. She wept, confused and afraid."Master… why is my body like this?! What happened to me?!"
"Waaahhh!"
Fang Yuan, unmoved, ignored her wailing. He simply asked, "Can you move the things from Hu Immortal Blessed Land into this aperture?"
The spirit froze mid-sob, blinking. Then, as if struck by sudden clarity, she sensed her lingering connection with the Hu Immortal Blessed Land and attempted to exit the aperture.
But when she tried to appear outside, her body remained fog-like. The form of a solid little girl never emerged.
"Master!" she cried again, even louder this time.
Fang Yuan gave her an impatient glare."Shut up!" he snapped. "You're acting like a child."
He reached into his aperture and pulled out a withered toad. Placing it in the Hu Immortal Blessed Land, he then released the foxes he had once enslaved during the Three Kings Inheritance.
The toad's body was dim and feeble—it was clearly on the verge of death.
But Fang Yuan didn't concern himself with it. The toad, after all, was a storage Gu that could nourish whatever was placed within it using its own life force. Naturally, if it kept feeding others for too long, it would deplete itself and vanish.
The fog-like land spirit stopped crying and stared at the toad in astonishment. She had never seen such a creature—one that could sustain life inside itself.
Fang Yuan gave her a final order."Move everything into my aperture. You'll be managing it from now on."
The land spirit nodded obediently. She didn't cry anymore. Instead, her curiosity was piqued by the strange toad.
After all, she'd always loved discovering new things.
Soon, the fog-like land spirit fully dissolved into a formless mist, expanding to envelop the entire Hu Immortal Blessed Land—excluding only the area where the calamity had struck, where remnants of the Fifth Calamity's lightning still crackled ominously.
The fog then began to shrink.
Smaller and smaller it grew, compressing until it became a single, concentrated dot. All the items, flora, and structures of the blessed land were wrapped within that dot of fog. Then, in a silent flash, it entered Fang Yuan's new aperture.
Moments later, everything from the Hu Immortal Blessed Land—except Dang Hun Mountain—reappeared within his second aperture. The land spirit, now integrated with it, busily and cheerfully resumed her role as caretaker.
Fang Yuan then made his way back to Dang Hun Mountain to replenish his soul once more. After restoring himself, he returned to the palace and resumed the familiar process—drinking from the eight top-quality wines.
By the time he consumed the eighth, his vision was already blurring.
Then, once again, a divine opportunity descended. Dao Marks aligned and surged, and a focal point of energy burst—manifesting into a Gu worm:
Divine Travel Gu.
Without delay, Fang Yuan activated Awaken Cloud Gu and Clear Mind Gu. His mind cleared, his consciousness stabilized, and in his hand appeared the Gu once more.
Fang Yuan had successfully obtained the Divine Travel Gu again.
He currently possessed,
Immortal Gu (Rank 6):Divine Travel Gu, Fixed Immortal Travel Gu, Immortal Essence Stone, 40 Green Grape Immortal Essence Beads.
Re-refined Rank 5 Gu: All-Out Illuminati Gu, Blood Sucker Gu, Dark Skyflower Gu, Despair Gu, Djinn Blade Gu, Heavy Regeneration Gu, Invincible Steps Gu, Premonition Gu, Star Wings Gu, Thought Suppression Gu.
Standard Rank 5 Gu: 100 Primeval Elder Gu, Awaken Cloud Gu, Blood Skull Gu, Clear Mind Gu, Stream of Torrential Light Gu.
Rank 4 Gu: Liquor Worm.