White Bone Mountain, as its name implied, was a massive mountain piled high with bleached white bones.
Within the mountain lay abundant Bone Path resources and dwelled various bone beasts. For any Bone Path Gu Master, this place was a dream cultivation Holy Land.
Many years ago, a Rank Four Righteous Path powerhouse perished here. He had devoted his life to studying the Bone Path, refining many Bone Path Gu worms such as the Rank One bone spear gu, Rank Two Spiral Bone Spear Gu, as well as Rank Three bone spike Gu, flying bone shield gu, rib Gu, and arm bone wing gu.
However, the crowning achievement of his life's work, the culmination of his entire being—a Rank Three bone flesh reunion gu—was never completed.
It was precisely because of this lifelong regret and his profound Bone Path attainments that this Rank Four powerhouse was posthumously known as the 'Talented Scholar of Gray Bone'.
The back mountain of White Bone Mountain was barren and desolate, devoid of any vegetation. Suddenly, a streak of blood-red sliced through the sky above.
Fang Yuan hovered in mid-air, his gaze sharp as a torch, meticulously surveying every cave opening below his feet.
"Thankfully, there's the Bone Wing Gu. Otherwise, just breaking into this place would have taken at least several months."
He looked at the bone beasts roaming the mountainside, still feeling a lingering fear. Fortunately, these bone beasts lacked the ability to fly.
But before the words faded, a large flock of bird-type bone beasts flapped their wings and charged at him.
"Oh no! They're coming!"
"Yuan Fang had thought the sky was absolutely safe. Seeing this situation, he panicked instantly."
In contrast, Fang Yuan's expression remained unchanged. With a flick of his wrist, a moon blade shot out, instantly cleaving four bird-type bone beasts in two.
The flock numbered over a hundred, but Fang Yuan, relying on his peak-level flying skill, weaved through the swarm. Moon blades danced in his hands, each strike sending bone fragments raining down.
"It's the Hundred Beast King!"
A low roar sounded as a particularly large bird-type bone beast, the size of a small house, broke through the flock and charged straight at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan responded with three consecutive moon blades, but they only left shallow marks on the beast's hard skeletal shell.
"Oh? A Rank Two bone armor Gu."
Fang Yuan's tone held a hint of cold amusement. He ceased his attack, and instead of retreating, he flew directly towards the colossal bone beast.
As he approached, a buzzing, saw-like sound suddenly erupted. A silver light flashed, and the massive beast was cleanly severed in two at the waist.
A silver, two-edged saw, over two meters long, spun in Fang Yuan's hand before disappearing. The flock of bone beasts, having lost their leader, quickly scattered and fled.
"The Serrated Silver Saw Gu, a Rank Two Gu, truly a sharp tool."
Fang Yuan glanced at the saw's blade. It was a one-time use Gu, and after this battle, it was now useless.
He shook his head, no longer paying attention, and flew towards a specific cave.
After landing, Fang Yuan did not immediately enter the cave. Instead, he sat cross-legged, absorbing Heaven and Earth Qi to replenish his Primeval Essence.
"The Serrated Silver Saw Gu is indeed sharp, but its consumption is too high. Even with my A-grade aptitude, using it once drains nearly a third of my Primeval Essence."
Fang Yuan muttered to himself, then closed his eyes to focus on recovering.
After about half an hour, Fang Yuan opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.
He stood up, dusted off his clothes, and walked into the cave.
The cave was extremely deep and narrow. Fang Yuan walked for nearly an hour before finally seeing a faint light ahead.
He quickened his pace and soon arrived at the end of the cave.
There was a huge stone platform here, and on it sat a skeleton, holding a scroll.
Fang Yuan walked forward and picked up the scroll.
The scroll recorded the cultivation insights of the Talented Scholar of Gray Bone and also mentioned that his lifebound Gu was hidden within the skull of this skeleton.
Everything was exactly as recorded in the original work. Fang Yuan kowtowed three times to the skeleton. After a moment, a stone door rumbled open on the wall.
He did not rush in. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the ground, continuing to replenish his Primeval Essence.
Earlier, he refined over a hundred Gu worms in one go. Even with the assistance of the Spring Autumn Cicada, which reduced the Primeval Essence consumption required for refinement, it still drained a considerable amount of red iron primeval essence.
After a while, a second stone door appeared on the wall. Fang Yuan sneered coldly, suddenly stood up, kicked over the skeleton, then stomped down hard, shattering the skull. Inside the broken skull, a Rank Three Gu lay quietly.
"So this is the crappy Gu."
Fang Yuan looked closely. This Gu was called the bone spike Gu, a Rank Three Bone Path attack Gu worm. Once activated, it can cause bone spikes to grow from any bone in the body to ambush the enemy, catching them off guard.
However, the Gu's fatal flaw completely negates its value—the bone spikes pierce through the skin when they grow, truly hurting the enemy a thousand while damaging oneself eight hundred.
"The prestigious Talented Scholar of Gray Bone, a Rank Four powerhouse, yet his lifebound Gu is such a piece of trash."
Fang Yuan couldn't help but mock, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly had an idea, as if thinking of something.
"Right, with the Talented Scholar of Gray Bone's status, why would he use such a useless Rank Three Gu? Any of the three Gu from earlier is far superior to this bone spike Gu."
Fang Yuan pondered, as various previous clues collided in his mind. He suddenly chuckled softly:
"Hahaha, what a deeply concealed Talented Scholar of Gray Bone! This skeleton, on the surface, is the remains of the Talented Scholar of Gray Bone, but it's actually someone else's corpse! The real Talented Scholar of Gray Bone is still hidden elsewhere."
Fang Yuan grabbed the bone spike Gu, Primeval Essence flowing from his fingertips, and refined it in an instant.
He stepped into the second stone door. As soon as his foot landed, strange laughter began to echo in his ears.
The laughter was shrill and piercing, yet carried an indescribable chill. One layer overlapped another, reverberating back and forth in the narrow stone passage, making one's scalp tingle.
"No need to panic. This is the sound of the Flesh Laugh Gu. Its effect is similar to the earth hiding flower, capable of putting Gu worms into a dormant state."
Fang Yuan moved slowly along the stone wall, using the faint light emitted by the moonlight gu and small light gu. As he walked, he explained to Yuan Fang.
Before long, another stone door appeared in sight. Engraved on the lintel were four large characters: 'Flesh Sac Secret Pavilion'.
Fang Yuan gently pushed open the stone door. The scene before him suddenly transformed: the cold stone walls had turned into crimson flesh walls, covered with countless Flesh Laugh Gu that emitted their weird laughter in waves.
The appearance of the Flesh Laugh Gu was extremely bizarre, looking exactly like a human mouth with the lips cut off, with two rows of pale white teeth exposed, grinning in a half-smile.
Despite its eerie appearance, hidden behind these grinning teeth lay the true Legacy of the Talented Scholar of Gray Bone.
As if sensing human presence, a Flesh Laugh Gu suddenly opened its mouth, and a scroll rolled out.
Fang Yuan picked it up and unrolled it. It contained nothing but words like 'to reach this place shows a kind heart' and the like. In summary, it said only one thing:
Pull the teeth of the Flesh Laugh Gu, and the Opportunity within can be taken.
Fang Yuan scanned the dense rows of teeth. He walked to the nearest Flesh Laugh Gu, reached out to pull its teeth, but the inside was empty.
"It seems we'll have to rely on luck. Yuan Fang, it's your turn."
As soon as the words fell, he handed over control of the body to Yuan Fang. Yuan Fang looked at the over a hundred Flesh Laugh Gu before him, took a deep breath, and reached out to pull the teeth of one.
With a 'click' sound, the Flesh Laugh Gu's teeth opened wide, revealing a Gu worm inside. The Gu worm resembled a flying bird, its Rank Three aura clearly discernible.