The violent tremors caused by the battle within the mountain continued unabated, and their effects had already reached the surface. Every living being felt the repercussions. Battles of this level were rare, so at first the tremors were attributed to an earthquake. But as they persisted and grew stronger, Yan Zu Clan and the caravan leaders descended into chaos.
The mud mountain was sealed off along with all the goods stored within it by the Gu Masters, while mortal humans fled to their homes. Gu Masters from both the caravan and Yan Zu Clan readied themselves for battle.
More than one hundred Rank Two Gu Masters gathered at the southern gate, with seven Rank Three Gu Masters standing at the forefront. All seven elders were only at the initial stage of Rank Three; politically and in terms of strength, they were the weakest among the elders. Thus, they had been dispatched to deal with the caravan and suppress the situation.
Fang Tian had already blended into the crowd, acting like an ardent clansman ready to slaughter for his clan. Yet inwardly, he was tense. Every Gu Master in this group had been informed that a battle between Rank Four existences—whether humans or beasts—was taking place within the mountain, or more precisely, directly beneath Yan Zu Village.
They could not see the battle with their own eyes, but the tremors alone revealed its terrifying might. What they did not understand was why they were ordered to suppress and surround the caravan. Some may have connected certain clues, but at this moment, overthinking was a luxury they did not possess.
In any case, the Gu Masters were divided into six groups of twenty, each led by a Rank Three elder. One elder remained behind to provide support if necessary. The southern gate was flung wide open as the groups advanced under concealment.
One of the elders shouted to the Yan Zu Clan Gu Masters:
"Sons of the clan, rise and suppress the caravan's Gu Masters! They have dared to conspire against our clan!"
Inside the caravan, a Yan Zu Clan Gu Master had been drinking merrily with a caravan Gu Master after concluding a mutually beneficial deal. Suddenly, the elder's voice reached his ears.
"Wind Pressure Gu!"
The caravan Gu Master's head was slammed into the ground, blood spilling forth. He tried to resist, but the Yan Zhou Gu Master smiled coldly and crushed his skull.
"You fool, to belong to a faction that opposes my clan!"
He crouched and rummaged through the corpse, joyfully obtaining four Rank One Gu worms. Unaware of the similar battles erupting everywhere around him.
The Yan Zu Clan held overwhelming numerical superiority over the caravan's Gu Masters. The caravan possessed several dozen—perhaps a hundred—Rank Two Gu Masters and four Rank Three elders. Yan Zu Clan, however, had hundreds of Rank Two Gu Masters and over a thousand at Rank One.
Thus, for every caravan Gu Master, there were three from Yan Zu Clan.
Yet inside the flowing mud mountain, a one-sided massacre was taking place—from the opposite direction. The caravan's Gu Masters were slaughtering Yan Zu Clan members within the mud mountain. They had secured the terrain advantage, and one Rank Three elder controlled the flowing mud mountain itself, providing reinforcement and personally crushing weaker Gu Masters.
Before long, the Yan Zu Clan Gu Masters inside were completely annihilated.
Meanwhile, Fang Tian's group assaulted one of the caravan's guard points. Under the leadership of their Rank Three elder, they eradicated it entirely, killing even greater numbers than their own losses. A young Gu Master beside Fang Tian wiped the sweat from his brow, wearing a crazed expression as he muttered:
"This is incredible! Just imagine what we'll gain if we seize this caravan!"
The desires of the Yan Zhou clansmen were inflamed; greed overtook them as they saw victory within reach.
"This… this is madness."
Fang Tian muttered inwardly, his thoughts in turmoil. This was his first time participating in a battle of this scale. Having witnessed it—and the true nature of humanity—he would be lying if he claimed he was not at least somewhat afraid.
He calmed himself by thinking of the wealth he could reap in this situation. With his strength, it was not impossible. The thought steadied him, and a preliminary plan began to form in his mind—only to be interrupted by the elder's loud declaration:
"Spread out and gather whatever you can! The clan permits you to keep one-third of your gains. The rest goes to the clan treasury!"
No further encouragement was needed. The Yan Zu Clan Gu Masters scattered in all directions, and Fang Tian did not lag. Slipping swiftly through the shadows, he headed toward the flowing mud mountain. His Shadow Slip Gu allowed him to outpace the others easily, and in less than a minute, he arrived.
The walls around the flowing mud mountain had collapsed. The sounds of battle rang everywhere as flames devoured much of the surface goods. Yet these goods were of little value—the truly valuable items had been stored inside the flowing mud mountain.
As Fang Tian had anticipated, a large number of Gu Masters had gathered outside, attacking the mountain, which was gradually crumbling under their assaults. Laughing hoarsely, Fang Tian spoke:
"Move aside, you useless fools!"
His primeval sea dropped sharply as he poured essence into Vine Garden Gu. The ground beneath the Gu Masters cracked, causing them to stumble, as thick vines—twice the width of tree trunks—erupted upward.
"Who is that? He's wearing our clan's robes, but I don't recognize him."
"A peak Rank Two battle strength… yet unknown! Is he from the Punishment Hall?"
The Gu Masters murmured in astonishment, even making space for his vines. Fang Tian lashed them left and right threateningly, forcing those nearby to retreat.
"Who does this bastard think he is? Just because he has peak Rank Two battle strength, does he think he's an elder?"
One Gu Master grumbled, but he retreated nervously as dozens of vines lashed through the air and smashed against the flowing mud mountain. The strikes formed a chain of deep cracks; with a hundred lashes, opening a breach was no difficult task.
A narrow fissure split open. Fang Tian slipped inside like a black shadow.
The remaining Gu Masters attempted to follow him in. but an unexpected reversal occurred.
More than a hundred thick vines suddenly turned toward them. One vine lashed a Rank Two Gu Master's head, crushing it into a bloody paste.
Fang Tian had turned on Yan Zu Clan!.
"You ungrateful traitor! You've betrayed us for wealth!"
A Rank One Gu Master screamed before four vines tore him in half and hurled his corpse into the air.
The remaining Gu Masters attacked the suspended vines fiercely. Fire needles shot forth, invisible pressure waves collided with sharp wind blades. Several vines dissolved into pools of purple rot, while others were torn apart by muscular Gu Masters.
"Hahaha! This idiot thinks he has unlimited primeval essence. Let's see how much essence you have to keep regenerating these vines!"
Their reasoning was logical—common sense even. But there were always exceptions.
Fang Tian was not worried about exhausting his primeval essence. His recovery was virtually inexhaustible, and with Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus, he could maintain Vine Garden Gu indefinitely. The longer this battle dragged on, the more the advantage tilted in his favor.
He had already killed a considerable number of Yan Zu Clan Gu Masters and wounded dozens more. As time passed, their primeval essence dwindled, their numbers shrank, and Fang Tian's advantage only grew stronger.