In Central Continent, Tian Ti Mountain stood majestic and towering, piercing straight into the clouds.
Standing at the Peak and looking down, the earth resembled a chessboard and the world a spiderweb. At the summit of this Tian Ti Mountain lay the world's number one power, the leader of the Righteous Path, a super force that had produced three successive Immortal Venerables—Heavenly Court.
Within Heavenly Court, the sea of clouds surged, and jade pavilions stretched out in a continuous expanse.
Duke Long walked slowly through the sea of clouds, followed by a beautiful young girl.
The girl had features as beautiful as a painting and a spirited temperament; she was none other than Feng Jin Huang, the daughter of Feng Jiu Ge, and the future Great Dream Immortal Venerable predicted in the Gu World's "Three Venerables Prophecy."
However, at this moment, Feng Jin Huang had not yet ascended to the position of Venerable. She only had Rank Five cultivation and was still in the stage of a Mortal Gu Master's cultivation. Her Dream Path talent was already fully displayed, and her potential was unfathomable.
Duke Long was a Rank Eight Pseudo-Venerable from a million years ago. Having experienced the winds and clouds of several eras, he had long seen through the ways of the world.
He followed the will of heaven and fate, taking Feng Jin Huang as his Personal Disciple and teaching her meticulously day and night, only hoping she would grow up soon to shoulder the heavy responsibility of Heavenly Court protecting the Human Race.
At this moment, Feng Jin Huang held a newly refined Dream Path Mortal Gu in both hands, her eyes filled with excitement and pride. She quickly chased after Duke Long, eager to report the good news to her Master.
Relying on her own Dream Path talent, through day and night of bitter cultivation and repeated attempts, she had forcibly created this brand-new Dream Path Mortal Gu that had never existed before in the Gu World.
For this, she had failed exactly ten times and spent countless effort and resources. Now that she had finally succeeded, her heart was full of joy.
"Master! Master! Look quickly! I finally refined this brand-new Dream Path Mortal Gu! This is a genuine Rank Five Gu worm!"
"For its sake, I failed ten times, stayed up for countless days and nights, tried dozens of Gu Refining plans, and consumed so many Dream Path gu materials. Now, it's finally done!"
Feng Jin Huang tilted her small face up, her tone full of the joy of seeking credit, her eyes filled with expectation for her Master's praise.
But there was not a hint of surprise on Duke Long's face. He only narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone calm and rippleless:
"Huang'er, all of this is the arrangement of fate. Under the unseen guidance of fate, you achieved such a result; this is something you were destined to accomplish."
The smile on Feng Jin Huang's face instantly froze, and her small face suddenly slumped, full of grievance and incomprehension:
"Master! Is all my hard work for so long, so many failures, and so much effort also arranged by fate? Was this not refined by my own hands, relying on my own talent and bitter cultivation day and night?"
For this Gu worm, she had given up all her time for rest and play, endured the blow of failure time and again, and adjusted her plans to start over time and again. How could it become a matter of course for fate when it came from her Master's mouth?
How could all her persistence become so meaningless?
"Huang'er, you are the Great Dream Immortal Venerable destined by fate. In the future, you will surely become the fourth generation Immortal King of Heavenly Court, taking the protection of the entire Human Race as your responsibility. You must comply with fate, not question it." Duke Long's voice carried an unquestionable majesty.
In his mind, the image of Red Lotus Demon Venerable, who had fiercely resisted fate and eventually overturned it, flashed by. Alarm bells rang in his heart; he had to immediately extinguish this sliver of thought in Feng Jin Huang's heart that defied fate.
In Duke Long's view, any thought that deviated from fate was a massive hidden danger.
Back then, Red Lotus Demon Venerable started from a single thought of being unwilling to be arranged, and eventually grew into a peerless Demon Venerable who shook Heavenly Court and brought chaos to the world.
He absolutely could not let the future Great Dream Immortal Venerable he taught with his own hands walk down the same crooked path.
"If this so-called Great Dream Immortal Venerable is arranged by fate from beginning to end, then I don't even want this Great Dream Immortal Venerable!"
Feng Jin Huang inherited Feng Jiu Ge's stubbornness of following one's own heart in all things. Hearing this, her brows furrowed tightly, and her tone was full of rebellion, not backing down at all due to Duke Long's majesty.
Duke Long's expression darkened slightly, and he was about to shout sternly to completely correct her thoughts.
Suddenly, a violent disturbance of heaven and earth came from the direction of the Immortal Tomb deep within Heavenly Court, instantly startling the entire Heavenly Court.
"A Gu Immortal has awakened in the Immortal Tomb. Huang'er, your Master will go ahead." Duke Long immediately suppressed the thoughts in his heart. His figure flickered, turning into a streak of light and heading straight for the Immortal Tomb.
Normally, a Heavenly Court Gu Immortal awakening was a common occurrence and would not even catch Duke Long's eye. After all, Duke Long was a legendary figure from a million years ago.
But this time was completely different. He clearly sensed that the Gu Immortal awakening this time had an astonishingly old seniority.
It was an old-timer from the era of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable, three hundred thousand years ago. His awakening was worth Duke Long going to see personally.
One should know that most of the Gu Immortals currently awakening in Heavenly Court's Immortal Tomb were juniors from several thousand years ago. Even those with older seniority were only from a hundred thousand years ago.
For example, the recently awakened Thunder Ghost True Monarch was already a rare case of an old-timer awakening in Heavenly Court.
But this one was a genuine antique from three hundred thousand years ago who had personally experienced the era when Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable traversed the world; the significance was extraordinary.
Before long, all the active Gu Immortals of Heavenly Court gathered outside the Immortal Tomb. The gates of the Immortal Tomb slowly opened, and a figure walked out slowly.
The newcomer looked like a young man with a slightly pale face, black clothes, black hair, and a hood. He looked sickly and would hardly attract attention even standing right in front of one.
However, his majestic and vast Rank Eight cultivation aura spread out without reservation.
"May I ask for Senior's name?" Fairy Zi Wei took a step forward and asked with a respectful bow.
"I am Shi Qian." The Gu Immortal who had just woken up from a long slumber spoke plainly. His voice carried the hoarseness of someone just waking from a long sleep, and his tone was peaceful, without a hint of arrogance.
"So you are the famous 'Flea on the Drum' Senior Shi Qian from the Thieving Heaven era!" Fairy Zi Wei suddenly realized, her eyes full of respect:
"You are one of the few Otherworldly Demons since the founding of our Heavenly Court. It is also because of you that our Heavenly Court obtained the Thievery Path true inheritance of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable."
Shi Qian was a Rank Eight Thievery Path Gu Immortal.
He was originally an ordinary Rank Six Gu Immortal of Central Continent's Immortal Crane Sect. Because he was an Otherworldly Demon, he was unexpectedly discovered by Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable and thus obtained the Thieving Heaven true inheritance, after which he made rapid progress in Thievery Path.
Later, he successfully advanced to Rank Seven and stole the dao marks of a Central Continent Rank Seven Star Path Loose Immortal. He was pursued relentlessly by the other party and eventually died while fleeing.
Fortunately, the Immortal Crane Sect highly valued him as a one-in-ten-thousand Thievery Path Gu Immortal and had left life-saving means on him similar to man as before or raising the dead.
This allowed him to regain his life and live again.
After this battle, Shi Qian became increasingly cautious and low-key, immersing himself in bitter cultivation. Eventually, through long accumulation, he broke through to the Peak of Rank Eight and became a core member of Heavenly Court.
Later, he contributed his entire immortal aperture to Heavenly Court and entered the Immortal Tomb to slumber, waiting for Heavenly Court's summons until today, when he finally awakened again.
Shi Qian had specifically awakened this time for two vital reasons.
First, he possessed a unique Thievery Path Killer Move that could forcibly extend Duke Long's life for a total of ten years at the moment his Lifespan ended and he perished, with no limit on the number of times.
This meant Duke Long could live for several more years, and during these years, he could still maintain the strongest state of the Dragon Heavenly Guest Killer Move.
For the current Heavenly Court, this was undoubtedly a piece of great news that was like providing charcoal in snowy weather.
Second, during his slumber, he clearly sensed that someone in the Gu World had successfully refined the Rank Six Third Aperture Immortal Gu.
This matter instantly triggered his long-buried memories, making him think of the Loose Immortal who had counter-killed him and almost consigned him to eternal damnation. He smelled an aura of conspiracy aimed at Heavenly Court and overturning heaven and earth.
He had to wake up and personally investigate this matter to eliminate all hidden dangers.
Shi Qian's awakening was no different from a blessing from heaven for the entire Heavenly Court.
Currently in Heavenly Court, Gu Immortals like Duke Long and Granny Sha had already exhausted their vitality and were nearing the end of their Lifespans, and they could no longer use longevity gu to add to their lives.
And Shi Qian's arrival directly gave them all a chance to extend their lives by ten years, allowing them to fight for Heavenly Court for another ten years and protect Heavenly Court's foundation.
Granny Sha was a Heavenly Court Gu Immortal who had awakened from the Immortal Tomb precisely because the Heavenly Watchtower Master died in battle after the Yi Tian Mountain battle.
She had long since exhausted her Lifespan, and even longevity gu had no effect on her; it wouldn't be long before she completely died of old age.
But Shi Qian simply activated that Thievery Path Killer Move, and Granny Sha's Lifespan instantly surged by ten years, her appearance becoming ten years younger.
Her originally lifeless, cloudy old eyes regained their vitality.
Granny Sha was so moved that she wept, tightly holding Shi Qian's hand and thanking him repeatedly. Then she couldn't help but ask for the name of this Heaven-Defying Killer Move.
Hearing this, a hint of embarrassment appeared on Shi Qian's face. He scratched his head and said somewhat sheepishly:
"I'm ashamed to say, I haven't had time to name this Killer Move yet. This was an inspiration I had by chance before entering the Immortal Tomb. It remained incomplete until this awakening when I finally finished it, and I haven't decided on a name yet."
The Heavenly Court Gu Immortals present discussed one after another, wanting to give this Killer Move a resounding and decent name.
But as everyone thought about it, the core of this Killer Move was stealing life force and forcibly extending Lifespan; it was impossible to avoid the two words "Stealing Life."
But adding these two words made it seem too shady and not upright enough, completely unworthy of the majestic air of the leader of the Righteous Path, Heavenly Court.
Just as everyone was at their wits' end, Duke Long stepped forward slowly and spoke to set the name:
"Why not call it 'Ten Years to Save the Collapsing Heaven.' Currently, our Heavenly Court is facing the conspiracies and schemes left behind by several Venerables, and the world of the entire Human Race is in crisis of overturning and collapsing."
"We, Heavenly Court, shall be the example for the world, supporting the building as it is about to collapse, turning the tide, and protecting the future of the Human Race."
The immortals all nodded in praise upon hearing this, and even Shi Qian himself showed a satisfied smile.
The name of this Killer Move was thus decided.
At the same time, in the Southern Border, within the super Gu Formation at the ruins of Yi Tian Mountain, Yuan Fang had been traveling stealthily and finally found a Formation Path dream realm.
The owner of this dream Realm was a Formation Path expert in the history of the Gu World who wasn't very famous, named Tu Yuan.
Yuan Fang was currently putting all his effort into building the prototype of an immortal gu house, and what he lacked most was Formation Path attainment.
This Formation Path dream realm left behind by Tu Yuan was, for him, a supreme Opportunity that provided exactly what he needed most.
Thus, Yuan Fang stepped into Tu Yuan's dream Realm.
Entering the first scene of the dream Realm, what met his eyes was a simple valley. Standing before him was a serious-looking middle-aged Gu Immortal; it was Tu Yuan's father, the Formation Path Gu Immortal Tu Shicheng.
Tu Shicheng looked at Yuan Fang, smiled faintly, and handed over a Rank One Gu worm:
"This is Formation Heart Gu, refine it first."
Yuan Fang was not unfamiliar with it. Under Tu Shicheng's guidance, he quickly and thoroughly refined this Formation Heart Gu.
After the refinement was complete, Tu Shicheng handed over four more Rank One Mortal Gu, one each of Flame Path, Water Path, Wind Path, and Earth Path.
"My son, you have now successfully awakened your aperture and become a Rank One Gu Master. Now, use these four Gu worms plus the Formation Heart Gu you just refined to set up any Gu Formation. Let me see if my, Tu Shicheng's, son is a Formation Path Genius."
Tu Shicheng's tone was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable severity.
At this time in the dream Realm, Yuan Fang was merely a Rank One initial stage Gu Master who had just awakened his aperture. He hadn't even fully learned the most basic Gu Master common knowledge. Others his age were still learning the introductory knowledge of nourishing the aperture and activating Gu worms.
Yet he had to directly try his hand at setting up a formation. Furthermore, among these few Gu worms, he happened not to recognize that Earth Path Gu worm; it was like a blind man trying to describe an elephant.
Formation Path was originally the path that most tested talent and was the most tedious and complex in the Gu World.
Tu Shicheng's demand was no different from asking a child who couldn't even speak yet to debate with a top debater.
It was like making a newly weaned infant pass several major exams and requiring them to take first place every time.
Although Yuan Fang was a Formation Path quasi-grandmaster, looking at the entire Gu World, he had already surpassed 99.999999...% of Gu Immortals.
But facing such a harsh start, Yuan Fang had no way to begin and could only set up a formation at random based on intuition.
The result was as expected: the formation failed.
Tu Shicheng's face instantly turned cold, and his voice held not a hint of warmth: "You can't even set up the most basic Gu Formation; you are simply not worthy of being my, Tu Shicheng's, son."
"I'm only fifteen! Only Rank One initial stage!" Before Yuan Fang could finish his sentence, he was kicked directly out of the dream Realm, and a slight stinging pain came from his soul.
The first scene of the dream failed.
Yuan Fang took out a courage gu, steadily healed his soul injuries, and stepped into Tu Yuan's dream Realm again.
This time his luck was excellent, and he successfully set up a complete Gu Formation.
Seeing this, a smile instantly bloomed on Tu Shicheng's cold face as he praised loudly:
"Good! As expected of my, Tu Shicheng's, son!"
The first scene was successfully cleared. Yuan Fang did not pause and immediately entered the second scene of the dream Realm.
As soon as he opened his eyes, Yuan Fang found himself inside a sturdy iron cage. Opposite the cage was a fierce leopard that had been hungry for several days, staring at him with predatory eyes.
Saliva was dripping, which was terrifying; it looked like it could burst through the cage and pounce to kill him at any moment.
Outside the cage, Tu Shicheng stood in place and handed Yuan Fang twelve Mortal Gu.
"My son, I'll give you the time it takes for a cup of tea to set up a Gu Formation to resist this leopard's attack. I forgot to tell you, it has been hungry for three whole days; famished, it will only see you as food delivered to its door."
"Father, if I fail, what will happen?" Yuan Fang asked cautiously.
Tu Shicheng's face darkened, and his tone was icy: "If you can't even set up a life-saving Gu Formation, you don't deserve to live in this world, let alone be my, Tu Shicheng's, son."
Yuan Fang said no more and hurried to use the time, as Tu Shicheng had already begun timing.
Fortunately, he recognized all twelve of these Gu, and he even saw through the trap Tu Shicheng had set at a glance—
The other party was intentionally guiding him to set up a formation for Self-protection, but the real key to breaking the situation was to set up a formation to trap the leopard, not passive defense.
With a clear plan, Yuan Fang moved rapidly. His formation-setting movements were smooth as flowing water, precise and efficient. Even Tu Shicheng nodded slightly upon seeing it, a look of approval appearing on his face.
But just as the formation was about to be completed, an accident occurred. In a moment of carelessness, Yuan Fang directly crushed a core Gu worm, and the entire Gu Formation instantly collapsed.
"Father! I accidentally crushed the Gu worm, can you give me another one? Otherwise, this formation simply cannot be formed!" Yuan Fang quickly looked up to ask for help.
The smile on Tu Shicheng's face vanished instantly, replaced by a blank expression that was cold to the extreme:
"On the battlefield, no one will give you a second chance. If you can't set up the formation, you don't deserve to live. Being eaten by the leopard is what you deserve."
Before his voice had even faded, the hungry leopard pounced fiercely and bit through Yuan Fang's neck in one go.
The ultimate sensation of real pain swept through his entire body. Before dying, he clearly heard Tu Shicheng's disappointed and heartless voice:
"You are not worthy of being my, Tu Shicheng's, son."
Yuan Fang was kicked out of the dream Realm again, his soul significantly injured. He lay on the spot, unable to regain his senses for a long time.
Duke Long's fatalism left the child full of grievance and Self-doubt;
The Ming Clan Chief's "Kill!" made the child extreme, fearful, and brutally violent;
And Tu Shicheng's education was to make the child face life and death again and again, a narrow escape from death where only those who survived were qualified to become talents.
Duke Long, the Ming Clan Chief, and Tu Shicheng—these three could be called the undisputed "Supreme Grandmasters of Parenting" in the Gu World.
Under such extreme and cruel education, it would be hard for Tu Yuan not to become a talent.
Because those who failed to become talents had long since died in the various tests; it could be said that the dead tell no tales.
Yuan Fang rested for a moment, healed his soul injuries, and entered the second scene of the dream Realm for the third time.
With the lessons from the previous two times, this time he was steady and sure throughout. Without a single mistake, he successfully set up a perfect trapping formation, firmly locking down the leopard and clearing the stage smoothly.
Seeing this, Tu Shicheng instantly beamed with joy and praised loudly: "Good! As expected of my, Tu Shicheng's, son!"
The second scene was cleared. Yuan Fang stopped his steps and looked within himself, instantly feeling a surge of joy—
His Formation Path attainment had actually broken through directly from Formation Path quasi-grandmaster to Formation Path Grandmaster!
After a brief rest, Yuan Fang entered the dream Realm again to start the test of the third scene.
As soon as he entered the third scene, without any extra words, Tu Shicheng kicked out directly, kicking Yuan Fang hard into the surging Red Dragon River.
The Red Dragon River was a famous danger zone in the Southern Border. The river water was rapid and fierce, filled with undercurrents, comparable to a human meat grinder. Even ordinary Rank Three or Rank Four Gu Masters would be instantly torn apart by the river water if they fell in, leaving no bones behind.
(Just imagine it as the Hukou Waterfall of the Yellow River.)
This action of Tu Shicheng's was not training at all; it was blatantly letting him fend for himself in a life-or-death situation.
Yuan Fang was startled and immediately activated all his methods. Relying on his decent swimming skills and coordinating with the Unravel Dream Killer Move, he struggled desperately in the frenzied river water.
Yuan Fang almost got swallowed by the river several times, but in the end, he managed to endure and narrowly survived.
The third scene of the dream Realm was thus successfully cleared.
A vast and immense amount of Formation Path insights instantly flooded into Yuan Fang's mind.
His Formation Path attainment broke through again, stepping steadily from Formation Path Grandmaster into the Realm of Formation Path Great Grandmaster!
With such top-tier Formation Path attainment, Yuan Fang finally had enough confidence to build the prototype of the immortal gu house he had been preparing for a long time.
He did not continue to explore the remaining contents of Tu Yuan's dream Realm. He turned and exited the dream, activated Fixed Immortal Travel, and teleported directly back to Hei Fan Grotto-heaven to restart his secluded cultivation.
This Tu Yuan dream Realm was so cruel that no one could bear it. Even Yuan Fang, a dignified Rank Seven Gu Immortal, had repeatedly hit walls and been on the verge of death several times.
But as it happened, these three scenes of life-and-death tests were what Tu Yuan had personally experienced back when he was at Rank One, and he had cleared them all in one go without a single failure.
(Cleared in one go. Although dream Realms aren't necessarily entirely real, they do reflect certain things.)
When others entered a dream Realm, it didn't matter if they failed a thousand times. Even if they died, it was only soul damage; they could come back after healing and still raise their attainment after clearing it.
But the Tu Yuan of back then could not fail even once.
For that ruthless and heartless father of his, every test was a true life-and-death situation. Failure meant complete death, with no chance to start over.
Even if he survived with all his might and successfully cleared the test, his father would only say a light "As expected of my son," taking all the credit for himself.
(The son is his, so if the son is amazing, the father is even more amazing because the son lived up to being his father's son.)
If one were to combine Duke Long and Tu Shicheng, that would be truly terrifying.
When you've narrowly escaped death and given everything to pass a life-and-death test, he wouldn't give a single bit of praise, but would only point to the sky and say faintly:
"All of this is the arrangement of fate."
Yuan Fang sat cross-legged, feeling the skyrocketing Formation Path attainment in his body, his heart filled with a myriad of emotions.
"Life can actually be this resilient..."