"Fang Yuan isn't coming out because he's afraid," the elder continued, his voice low but sharp. "He's afraid that if he releases the disciples, we'll catch him. See, even the materials we've gathered aren't being taken inside. That means he dares not show himself. It's just a delaying tactic."
"Hm, that sounds quite plausible," another elder murmured thoughtfully.
One of the Gu Immortals looked at the list of materials again and frowned. There were some materials on the list that were not available in his sect, but in another sect. He grumbled to himself before turning to the others. "This is troublesome. Some of these materials will take time to gather."
After some quick discussion, the Gu Immortals set to work, gathering the materials as quickly as possible. Feng Jiu Ge once again shouted that the materials were ready, and shortly after, as if on cue, another girl appeared, this time holding yet another list.
The faces of the Gu Immortals darkened when they saw what was on this new list. This time, an immortal material had been included.
Gritting their teeth in frustration, they gathered the required materials, placing them at the door, and for the next seven hours, the materials continued to pile up. One by one, the disciples came out, each with a new list of materials. As time passed, the pile at the door grew higher, like a small mountain. Among the piles were several Immortal Essence Stones, further tempting the Gu Immortals' greed.
The Gu Immortals couldn't help but eye the growing treasure trove, their desires becoming more apparent. If they could sell all these materials, they could make enough to easily acquire more than two hundred Immortal Essence Stones—a small fortune by anyone's standards.
At first, they had tried tampering with the materials, testing their value, but quickly realized that these treasures were simply piling up with no one coming to collect them. After all, how could a mortal store Immortal Essence Stones in a storage bag or even in their aperture? They soon stopped tampering, knowing that this was a treasure trove that they could claim for themselves.
By the time the materials had piled up to the height of a child, the tension among the Gu Immortals reached a boiling point. There was only one disciple left inside the Hu Immortal Blessed Land. With bloodshot eyes and clenched fists, Feng Jiu Ge and the other sect leaders reluctantly handed over the Immortal Materials and Gu Worms they had from their own sects, though these were in limited supply.
Feng Jiu Ge, his voice strained with impatience, called out once more, declaring that the materials had been collected.
The Gu Immortals stared at the door, waiting. But, nothing happened.
Their faces darkened further, and doubt began to creep into their minds.
Because this time, neither Feng Jin Huang emerged, nor did the door open.
...
Inside the Blessed Land, Fang Yuan laid the unconscious Feng Jin Huang on the large bed. Her torn clothes left her completely exposed, but he didn't spare a single glance at her body.
He sat beside her and placed his hands on her aperture, gathering her Gu Worms before flipping her over to examine her back.
His frown deepened as his hands moved over her face, then he yanked her up by her hair and turned her again.
His hands went lower, first resting on her waist, then below her navel, and finally, he touched her chest. As he felt her soft skin, his frown only deepened.
"I can't sense the Immortal Gu Dream Wings inside her body, nor her soul."
"Worst of all...I can't even enter her dreams," he murmured to himself.
He withdrew his hands with a sigh.
Fang Yuan had once been a Great Grandmaster of Dream Path, but after his rebirth, all his attainments in that path were lost, along with his knowledge of the Eternal Path and some of his memories, when his soul was shattered.
To recover those memories, he would need Wisdom Path techniques, and he had plenty of attainment in that field. However, only his Dream Path skills could have helped him in the short term. But he didn't dwell on it too long, though—what was lost was lost, and he chose to focus on the present and the future instead.
Shaking off the thoughts, he heard shouts coming from outside, relayed through the Land Spirit. He glanced back at Feng Jin Huang and muttered, "What a hassle."
...
"Look!"
"The door's opening!"
The Gu Immortals immediately sensed the door to the hu immortal blessed land opening and were ready to act as soon as Feng Jin Huang appeared.
But as they prepared to rush in, what they saw froze them in shock.
Click
Clack
A young man in white robes slowly stepped out. His flowing black hair and dark, abyssal eyes radiated cold indifference.
What sent a chill down their spines, however, was what he was carrying—a young woman wrapped in a black robe. She appeared to be dead, but a closer look revealed she was merely unconscious.
Feng Jiu Ge rushed forward to kill Fang Yuan, but Fang Yuan casually tossed his daughter aside.
As Feng Jiu Ge noticed his daughter's exposed body, he hurried to catch his daughter,
And... the other Gu Immortals noticing this, were about to strike, but noticed that the treasure beside the door had vanished without a trace.
One of them yelled, "You thief! How dare you!"
Before they could act, Fang Yuan pulled out a round, gem-like Immortal Gu and threw a paper slip. In an instant, he disappeared.
It all happened in the blink of an eye—Fang Yuan had thrown Feng Jin Huang out and collected the treasure, used the Divine Travel Immortal Gu, and vanished in an instant.
Feng Jiu Ge, seeing the handprints on his daughter's body, exploded in fury. "Bastard! Whoever you are, I, Feng Jiu Ge, will hunt you down to the ends of the earth!"
The disciples from other sects looked at the disheveled Feng Jin Huang, a shiver running down their spines.
That day, a chilling rumor spread throughout the Central Continent:
Feng Jin Huang, one of the brightest prodigies of the central continent and the daughter of Rank 7 Gu Immortal Feng Jiu Ge and Fairy Bai Qing of Spirit Affinity House, had been assaulted and raped by the Demon King.