Swish! Swish! Swish!
One after another, branches and grass transformed into short spears, piercing through Ha Tu Gu's body.
His tattered bone armor could no longer defend him from any damage. Blood gushed from the wooden spears, then was absorbed by the tiny vines wrapped around them.
Ha Tu Gu felt his strength rapidly draining; the Bloodsucking Vine Gu was devouring his blood and extracting his power.
Unwilling, he reached out his hand, grasping forward, wanting to summon the War Bone Chariot.
However, the double blockade of Iron Shell Flower Gu and Bloodsucking Vine Gu was too strong, and Ha Tu Gu was defeated too quickly. In such a short time, the War Bone Chariot ultimately failed to break through the blockade.
"Damn… damn it, I'm not reconciled…" Ha Tu Gu coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, his words broken, "If my Killing Move… Great Bone Burial… could have been perfected… today…"
"A win is a win, a loss is a loss. Why speak of 'if'?" Zhou Ming sneered, "If you had brought all your bandit subordinates, I would have immediately turned and left, never confronting any of you."
Ha Tu Gu's bandit gang had a large number of people and many skilled fighters. Today, because it was a secret meeting with Chang Biao, he only brought a small team. Otherwise, he could have overwhelmed Zhou Ming with sheer numbers alone.
In the original work, the great battle between Ha Tu Gu and Chang Shan Yin was a massive bandit gang fighting against hundreds of thousands of wolves. The intensity of that battle was incomparable to today's.
"Heh, heheh…" Ha Tu Gu let out a tragic laugh, "I'm about to die. I can feel your intention to kill me… hard as iron… no matter how I beg for mercy…"
Swish!
Before he could finish speaking, the Blade Light Gu in Zhou Ming's hand flashed, and Ha Tu Gu's head separated from his body, falling to the ground.
"Who would waste words with you?" Zhou Ming's expression was indifferent.
"Ahhh! Ahhh!" Even with his head detached, Ha Tu Gu refused to die, his eyes wide with fury as he roared, "Even in death, I won't let you get anything!"
Bang!
A muffled thud!
Zhou Ming's expression changed slightly, knowing that Ha Tu Gu had self-destructed all the Gu on his body, including the War Bone Chariot, leaving not a single one behind.
A Gu Master can destroy the Gu on their body in an instant. Unless they are killed before they can react, it's impossible to stop them from self-destructing their Gu.
Therefore, in life-and-death struggles between Gu Masters, it is very difficult to obtain the opponent's Gu.
"Haha, hahahaha…" Ha Tu Gu laughed wildly, his formidable vitality fully displayed, but the light in his eyes gradually dimmed as his life approached its end.
"You think dying is that simple?"
A dangerous light shone from Zhou Ming's narrowed eyes. He took a step forward, spread his five fingers, and grabbed Ha Tu Gu's head.
"Soul Devour!"
An invisible suction force suddenly acted on Ha Tu Gu's rapidly dissipating Soul, forcibly dragging his Soul out.
"Ah! You…"
Ha Tu Gu's Soul let out a scream of disbelief and terror, and was immediately devoured by Zhou Ming.
Ha Tu Gu specialized in Bone Path, and his Soul foundation was not strong, roughly equivalent to fifty people's worth. After the Soul Devour, it immediately caused a huge impact on Zhou Ming's consciousness.
"Mind Clarity Gu!"
Zhou Ming quickly activated the Mind Clarity Gu. This Rank Four Soul Path Gu immediately took effect, transforming into a clear breeze that drilled into Zhou Ming's mind, suppressing all distracting thoughts and restoring clarity to his confused consciousness.
Scanning his surroundings, the bandits Ha Tu Gu brought had all fled far away to avoid the War Bone Chariot. Now, seeing Ha Tu Gu killed by Zhou Ming, they were even more terrified and scattered in all directions.
Chang Biao had long since disappeared, whether he escaped during the chaos or was accidentally killed was unknown.
Zhou Ming didn't care about his life or death. He immediately gathered his wolf pack, storing them all in the Wolf Devour Gu, then activated his Flying Flower Gu and flew at full speed towards Crescent Lake.
'Ha Tu Gu really had an Opportunity! But… the difficulty of obtaining it is too great, a Gu Immortal Blessed Land Legacy!'
…One day and one night later, the Flying Flower Gu landed in a mountain forest.
A trickling stream flowed, making a gurgling sound. The stream water was crystal clear, and occasionally a few fish swam by, wagging their tails.
Zhou Ming cupped a handful of cool stream water to wash his face, let out a long breath, and sat by the stream, taking out a Soul Cleansing Gu.
For this day and night, he had flown at full speed, covering over five thousand li. He constantly replenished his true essence by consuming primeval stones, and every so often, he had to activate the Mind Clarity Gu to maintain a clear mind.
Only upon reaching this place did waves of profound exhaustion wash over him. Ha Tu Gu's memories and emotions continuously assaulted his consciousness, almost driving him mad.
His mind became increasingly hazy, his thoughts chaotic, and illusions sprang up. Even the Mind Clarity Gu could no longer suppress this confusion.
Holding the Soul Cleansing Gu, Zhou Ming was about to use it, but once again, layers of illusions appeared before his eyes.
"Hahahaha, Zhou Ming, I want to thank you, I really want to thank you!"
"I was already dead, but you willingly shared your body with me."
"Don't worry, after I take everything from you, I will live well for you!"
"The woman you cherish, I will also cherish well for you, hahahaha!"
In the illusion, Ha Tu Gu laughed triumphantly, his eyes filled with greed and impatience.
Zhou Ming sneered and activated the Soul Cleansing Gu.
A white light shone on Zhou Ming's body, like clear flowing water, entering from the top of his head and slowly flowing out from beneath him.
The originally clear white light was stained with black and gray, becoming mottled. The black, white, and gray hues reflected various blurry images, which gradually dissipated as the light flowed further away.
Ha Tu Gu's image in the illusion became somewhat dimmer but did not disappear, roaring at Zhou Ming repeatedly.
"Don't resist, just hand over your body quickly!"
"You can't kill me! Everything you do is futile!"
"I will entangle you for generations, forever! Making your life worse than death! Worse than death!"
Zhou Ming smiled disdainfully and said, "All your memories are mine, the Gu recipes you possessed are mine, and your Gu Immortal Blessed Land Legacy is also mine!"
"What do you have left now? Hahaha, you're nothing but a pathetic remnant!"
The Ha Tu Gu illusion choked, followed by a burst of rage, as he lunged at Zhou Ming, baring his fangs and claws.
Unfortunately, he was just an illusion, without a physical body. Although he could contend with Zhou Ming's consciousness, he couldn't harm Zhou Ming's physical body in the slightest.
Zhou Ming waved his hand dismissively and muttered, "If it weren't for the possibility of a Gu Immortal Legacy, would I have devoured your Soul?"
Before resolving the drawbacks of the Soul Devouring Refining Scripture, individuals like Ha Tu Gu, who had a weak Soul foundation but an exceptionally strong will, were the last people Zhou Ming wanted to Soul Devour.
A powerful will was particularly troublesome to deal with, and the rewards were minimal.
If he continuously used the Soul Cleansing Gu to wash it away, not only would the devoured Soul be cleansed, but his own Soul would also suffer significant losses.
So Zhou Ming only used the Soul Cleansing Gu to weaken Ha Tu Gu's will; most of the problems still had to be resolved by himself.
Devouring Ha Tu Gu's Soul was a gamble for Zhou Ming, a chance to obtain clues to a Gu Immortal Legacy.
Fortunately, Zhou Ming won this gamble.
However, the conditions for that Gu Immortal's Blessed Land Legacy were quite stringent. The current Zhou Ming basically had no chance of being recognized by the Blessed Land's Land Spirit; instead, the possibility of dying was greater.
So Zhou Ming decided to stick to his original plan, waiting until the timing was right in the future to claim this fortune.
After resting for a while, Zhou Ming continued his journey.
In the following days, Zhou Ming consistently used the Flying Flower Gu to travel, daily wearing down Ha Tu Gu's will, periodically using the Soul Cleansing Gu to weaken Ha Tu Gu, and continuously digesting the useful parts of Ha Tu Gu's memories.
This continuous confrontation was also a form of tempering, making Zhou Ming's will stronger and his Soul more condensed.
For Soul Path cultivation, Soul Shaking Mountain is the first choice for strengthening the Soul, Luo Po Valley is the first choice for Soul Refining, and Soul Calming Soup is the first choice for calming the Soul.
There are many methods for Soul condensation. Whether it's through various Gu for Soul condensation or enduring various hardships, all can make one's will and Soul condensed and powerful.
Seventeen days passed in a flash.
The Flying Flower Gu floated slowly in the air. Zhou Ming gazed at the crescent-shaped lake below, letting out a soft sigh, and the fatigue and anxiety from days of travel dissipated considerably.
"Finally here," Zhou Ming murmured, flying eastward along the shore of Crescent Lake until a stone forest came into view.
Zhou Ming controlled the Flying Flower Gu, raising himself higher into the sky to overlook the entire stone forest.
After looking around for a while, Zhou Ming shook his head. This was not the stone forest he was looking for, so he could only continue his search.
There were many stone forests near Crescent Lake. To others, these stone forests all looked more or less the same, with various gray-white, purplish-black, and greenish-yellow stone pillars standing, or collapsed, or lying across other stone pillars, appearing very ordinary.
But what Zhou Ming was looking for was precisely the most extraordinary one among these many ordinary stone forests.
Just as Zhou Ming found the fourth stone forest, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and a hint of joy appeared on his face.
"Found it!"
This stone forest looked no different from the others, but Zhou Ming, from his elevated position, could see that the gray-white stone pillars formed a somewhat indistinct character: "thief" (Thief).
This stone forest was personally arranged by one of the ten venerable figures famous in the history of the Gu World, Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable!
Throughout the million-year history of the Gu World, only ten existences have ever reached the Rank Nine Realm, revered by all beings in the Gu World. They are therefore known as Rank Nine Venerables, and depending on whether they are righteous or demonic, they are categorized as Immortal Venerables or Demon Venerables.
Among them was a Demon Venerable named Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable. He once sought out Old Ancestor Long Hair to ask for help in Gu Refinement. Initially, Old Ancestor Long Hair was unwilling, so Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable made a bet with him: a best-of-five series. Old Ancestor Long Hair could only agree to refine Gu for Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable.
However, that Gu was never successfully refined, and Old Ancestor Long Hair died, considering it a lifelong regret.
Old Ancestor Long Hair failed to refine that Gu for Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable and had also consumed a vast amount of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable's precious Gu materials, feeling deeply ashamed. He then promised to refine nine more Gu for Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable.
Later, Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable had Old Ancestor Long Hair refine six Gu, leaving three remaining slots. Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable and Old Ancestor Long Hair agreed to reserve these for their respective Legacies.
One only needed to speak the secret code they had agreed upon to inherit the right to refine these three Gu.
Zhou Ming was certainly not a Thieving Heaven Legacy, but he knew this secret code, so he planned to impersonate a Thieving Heaven Legacy and trick his way into this Opportunity.
The protagonist in the original work did exactly this. Zhou Ming was now repeating it, essentially imitating, following a blueprint, which truly didn't require much technical skill.