Young master, are there any orders your subordinate can carry out for you?"
"Yes. Go outside and deal with the mess you caused."
"As you command, Young Master Fang."
Fang Tian let out a tired breath, then collapsed onto the ground and replayed the battle that had just taken place. The plan had gone fairly well, although many unexpected factors had arisen. First, he had not accounted for Jin Long's reaction speed, leading to a fierce but brief battle.
Second, he had greatly overestimated his own strength, making him far too arrogant toward his opponent. Although Fang Tian felt ashamed to admit it, he had no choice but to accept reality and acknowledge his arrogance toward a rank-one Gu Master, which led to him being badly beaten by Jin Long.
"To be fair, Jin Long was very strong. He was stronger than any beast I've encountered in the mountains."
Fang Tian touched the scar where his defense had been pierced and half his chest burned. The wound had already healed, but the scar and burn marks remained, and the itching had begun to trouble him. He paid it no mind as he listened to Jin Long's furious shouts outside, filled with rage and resentment as he called out to the villagers.
"Bring me the families of those hunters! These slaves dared to attempt to rebel against their masters! Kill them—kill them All!"
"Oh… the hunters."
Fang Tian had forgotten about the hunters who were in the hut with him. They had been caught in the middle of his battle with Jin Long. Now, as he looked around, he realized he was surrounded by broken, charred corpses. Fang Tian's eyelids twitched slightly at the gruesome sight, but he could not move. He turned his head slightly, leaned it against the wall, and closed his eyes to observe his aperture.
Inside, Vine Garden Gu—now refined to rank two—floated within, its form changed into a gray butterfly with vine-like wings.
At the bottom of his primeval sea rested the Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus. Fang Tian did not pay attention to his Gu, instead, he focused on his aperture, which was completely filled with faint red primeval essence. He already felt pressure on his aperture and sensed an ominous feeling that if he tried to forcefully compress its walls to break through to the next stage, he would shatter it.
"This feeling is extremely ominous. It's as if I'll perish tomorrow… but that's not true. If what I read is correct, I still have time until I reach the peak of rank three—perhaps even rank four with some luck. Until then, I should be fine."
Fang Tian did not cultivate recklessly like a fool. The higher his rank, the more potential of the boundless Forest Samsara Body would reveal. Simply put, the higher his rank, the more one of the ten extreme physiques would manifest its power—but only like fireworks, illuminating the night sky for a moment before fading away and being forgotten.
Fang Tian opened his eyes again as the thick smell of blood entered his nostrils—something he had already grown accustomed to. He leapt to his feet and walked to the shattered door of the hut, looking outside. The sun had already risen, and hundreds of mortals were staring at several decapitated corpses mounted on poles, their severed fingers pointing at one another.
The frightened villagers did not notice Fang Tian; their attention remained fixed on the corpses. Fang Tian slipped through the crowd and went to find his Blood Servant to see how he had handled covering up the incident.
After several minutes, Fang Tian arrived at a hall familiar from his memories—the residence of the Gu Master responsible for the village. The hut was several times larger than any other in the village, not dilapidated or damaged, and clearly showed signs of recent maintenance.
Fang Tian knocked on the door several times, maintaining the role of a hunter who revered the Gu Master like a god.
A short young woman opened the door. She had a small face, plump rosy cheeks, and beautiful red lips. She brushed aside a lock of chestnut hair from her eye when she saw Fang Tian. Fang Tian did not pay her any attention, only glancing at her once before asking in a slightly rough tone:
"Is Lord Jin Long here? He ordered me to come after retrieving the Wind Deer antlers."
The young woman looked at him arrogantly but immediately led him inside the hut, pointing toward a room.
"Lord Jin Long is resting here. You must wait until he wakes—"
She could not finish her sentence before the door was violently pushed open. Yan Zu Jin Long, the Gu Master, stepped out. He shot the mortal woman an angry look and said:
"Get lost and prepare food. I'm hungry."
The mortal woman retreated to another corner of the hut, leaving Fang Tian alone with Jin Long. After confirming the woman had left, Jin Long clasped his fists together and spoke:
"This slave greets the Young Master."
Fang Tian felt a faint sense of disgust. Having once lived in a civilized society, he still retained some of its values.
"Don't address me like that. Just say 'Young Master'—don't refer to yourself as a slave."
"But I belong to you, my lord!"
Fang Tian did not respond. He merely looked at Jin Long, causing him to give in and lower his gaze in guilt. Fang Tian then spoke of what was on his mind.
"How did you handle yesterday's matter?"
"This subordinate reports that he informed the clan that a slave obtained a fortuitous opportunity and became a Gu Master, attempting to rebel against his masters. He was only at the initial stage of rank one, so I killed him on the spot."
Fang Tian identified several flaws in this explanation, but before he could speak, Jin Long continued.
"However, Young Master, the clan has already dispatched an investigation team from the War Hall to look into this matter. I burned the slaves' corpses, but… those elders are old monsters. This incident has surely attracted their attention, so I must present a sacrifice to cover it up."
He paused, then continued:
"Thus, I must hand over the spoils of the demonic Gu Master I killed. But the problem, Young Master, is that there was no demonic Gu Master to begin with! …Only you and me."
Jin Long's eyes met Fang Tian's, filled with expectation and hope. Fang Tian sighed and cursed his own foolishness. He did have a solution—but it was a costly one.
During the months he had spent training in the refinement path, Fang Tian had refined a total of six Gu worms: Twisting Vine Gu, a healing Gu called Living Rust, Water Arrow Gu, and Clear Sound Gu.
All of these Gu were easy to feed, except for the Sand Trace Gu, which fed on Camel Stem Flowers. This type of flower only grew in hot, arid environments, but since Camel Stems were refinement materials, many of them were included in Li Hua's inheritance.
"Give me your movement Gu."
"What, Young Master? Don't you have one?"
Fang Tian did not answer. He simply extended his hand, waiting. Jin Long hesitated, as if struggling internally, but eventually gave in and placed a white Gu worm into Fang Tian's palm. It resembled half of a severed heart, giving it an eerie appearance.
Fang Tian did not miss the change in Jin Long's emotions. Being connected to him, Fang Tian sensed Jin Long's will surging when Fang Tian crossed the limit Jin Long could tolerate.
Fang Tian swiftly left the hut and ran out of the village. Once out of sight, he poured his primeval essence into the movement Gu. Air currents immediately formed around his body, doubling his speed.
A feeling of exhilaration overtook Fang Tian. At this speed, he estimated it would take him about an hour to reach his cave dwelling.
Fang Tian returned to the inheritance cave, took one Gu worm and a leather pouch containing five hundred primeval stones, then set off once more, heading back toward the village where Jin Long resided.
Fortunately, he encountered no trouble on the return trip. After more than an hour, he arrived at the village again—but unfortunately, his return coincided with the arrival of a group of Gu Masters.