— — —— — —
"Time to go," Fang Yuan said in a low, steady voice.
Little Hu Immortal's eyes filled with reluctance as she replied softly, "Master, I will be waiting for you here. Please return quickly."
Fang Yuan took one last look around the blessed land. "Ten months left... With the fivefold time flow here, that's only two months in the outside world," he murmured with a sigh. "I hope things go as planned."
Shifting his focus, Fang Yuan began preparing to use his killer move: Dark Travel.
This was no ordinary move. Dark Travel was a Rank 6 Immortal killer move centered around the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu. Its primary function was to transport the user to any location without leaving a single trace—an invaluable advantage when stealth was critical.
As he activated the move, the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu was enveloped in a dark, mud-like substance that completely sealed its aura. The black mud quickly hardened into stone, encasing the Gu and preventing even the slightest ripple of immortal energy from escaping.
Meanwhile, Fang Yuan himself was shrouded in black light.
To know such a powerful Killer move came at a huge cost. Dark Travel required the sacrifice of Lifespan Gu with every activation.
These Lifespan Gu were rare and highly sought after by both Gu Masters and Gu Immortals. Formed naturally in life-rich areas as one-time-use Heaven Path Gu that couldn't be refined, their extreme rarity made them even more valuable than most Immortal Gu—many would trade almost anything to obtain one.
That wasn't the only drawback. The move took time to prepare, and the immense strain it placed on Fang Yuan made it unsuitable for combat.
Once activated, there was a sixty-second delay before the teleportation occurred. Yep, a Whole minute!
Yet, despite these flaws, Dark Travel had two major advantages. It could store enough green grape immortal essence beads for two uses, allowing Fang Yuan—a mortal—to activate it twice before needing to recharge it by the Land Spirit or an immortal.
And no trace of immortal aura would be leaked.
Of course, each activation used by Fang Yuan would temporarily unseal the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu, causing its immortal aura to leak and potentially expose its location.
Weighing the risks and rewards in his mind, Fang Yuan remained calm. This move was crucial for his plans in the Northern Plains, where stealth was his greatest weapon.
"Finally." He smirked as black light swirled around him and the dark, mud-like substance completely encased the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu, sealing it entirely.
Then, after sixty seconds, Fang Yuan vanished without a trace, using one of his two chances to activate this killer move before it needed to recharge.
Of course, Fang Yuan could make the land spirit activate the Gu and save one time for Dark Travel but he needed to go undetected.
— — —
Lang Ya Blessed Land
Fang Yuan appeared in a room where the air was thick with the scent of an alchemy furnace.
The room itself was lavishly decorated—dragon pillars, golden curtains, crane lanterns, and vermillion windows gave it a grand, ancient feel.
At the center stood an old man.
He was thin, with long white hair and a beard that reached his chest. His face was ruddy like a baby's, yet his eyes carried the weight of time. He wore a wide robe with fluttering sleeves, his expression frozen in surprise at Fang Yuan's sudden arrival.
"This should be the Lang Ya Land Spirit, manifesting as his first obsession," Fang Yuan mused as he analyzed the old man, his sharp gaze studying him for a moment.
Of course, Fang Yuan hadn't arrived using his Dark Travel killer move.
He had appeared at Crescent Lake first and then simply followed the prescribed steps—same as the plot—to get here.
After all, only by doing so could he legitimately become the inheritor of the Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable. Besides, even if he had wanted to teleport directly here, it would have been impossible since he had no image of that place.
"The inheritor of the Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable, Fang Yuan, has come to pay his respects."
The Land Spirit remained silent, his piercing gaze locked onto Fang Yuan.
After a long, tense pause, the old man finally asked, "What is the secret code?"
Fang Yuan smirked. "The secret code? Hmm… there is no secret code."
"..."
"Hmmph, that's right." Lang Ya just huffed
"Do you want to refine any Gu now? If not then go away." Lang Ya looked annoyed as he needed to prepare for the coming Earth Calamity.
Fang Yuan smiled. "I want to use one of my three chances to refine a Gu. But first, take a look at this."
He pulled out a set of Gu recipes—ones he had carefully prepared over the last five months. Of course, this was just an introduction, a small glimpse of the real deal.
Lang Ya Land Spirit leaned in, scanning the recipes closely. His expression shifted from shock to excitement, though a flicker of hesitation lingered on his face.
"Do you want to sell these recipes?" he asked, trying to sound calm but failing to hide his eagerness. "I can trade you a Gu worm of similar grade or a comparable recipe."
Fang Yuan shrugged. "Who said I wanted to exchange them?" His eyes gleamed playfully. "I just wanted to see how knowledgeable the land spirit of the Long Hair Ancestor really is."
A pause. Then Fang Yuan sighed exaggeratedly. "Seems like you're not as impressive as I thought. You don't even recognize such simple Gu recipe. How disappointing."
"You—!"
Lang Ya glared at him for a long moment… before suddenly deflating like a balloon leaking air.
His fury melted into misery as he pouted pitifully, climbed down from his bed of clouds, and walked up to Fang Yuan. Then, with a soft, pleading voice, he tugged at his sleeve.
"Young lad, please, be kind. Just give me the recipe, will you?"
Fang Yuan was speechless. "The mighty Lang Ya, reduced to this? No shame at all."
Lang Ya just smiled proudly. "Shame? What is that?"
"Speaking of which, I didn't welcome you properly." With a wave of his hand, a set of tea appeared before him.
Fang Yuan silently drank the tea Lang Ya offered, unbothered by the theatrics.
If it had been anyone else, Lang Ya would have extorted or threatened them by now to take the recipes. But Fang Yuan was the inheritor of the Demon Venerable.
The land spirit couldn't use force, so he could only resort to begging—shamelessly.
"Fang Yuan, have mercy on this old man! I live here all alone… so lonely, so bored, so hungry, so thirsty, so hor—uh, no, not that." Lang Ya's face turned red as he coughed.
He then sighed dramatically. "Sometimes I feel like I'll just wither away if I don't see new recipes."
"My only joy is studying Gu recipes to pass the time. Would you be so heartless as to reject such a pitiful request?"
"I—I can't live without these recipes!"
Lang Ya stared at Fang Yuan with the pitiful, teary-eyed gaze of an abandoned puppy.
"..."
Fang Yuan's eye twitched. "Lang Ya, I have bad news. You're not human. You can't even be considered alive, I think!... So these recipes won't help you anyway."
"..."
"Damn it! You really are a heartless evil demon!" Lang Ya groaned. "Can't you just give me the recipes?"
Then his expression changed. His eyes twinkled mischievously.
"How about this? If you give me the recipe, you can do anything you want with me~~! Hehehe~~~"
Lang Ya, in his 'grandpa' shape, winked at Fang Yuan.
At that moment, Fang Yuan wished he were a Venerable—just so he could kill this damn shameless land spirit.
"I just want to trade!" Lang Ya suddenly declared. "I want that recipe! Oh, and this one too!"
"..."
"Fang Yuan, you are too cruel, too heartless! Why won't you just give me these recipes? Will it kill you to do a good deed?! Please, just exchange with me!"
"..."
His wails grew louder. "You damn demon! What's wrong with your conscience?! As expected of the inheritor of a Demon Venerable…"
"This thing is just a creepy land spirit," Fang Yuan reminded himself. "Calm down, Fang Yuan. You can't kill or beat him now. Just double the beating and give it to him in the future."
Finally, after a long pause, he exhaled heavily.
"Alright, I'll trade with you," he said, acting reluctant. "But remember, I'm doing you a favor."
"Sigh… bring me a brush and paper." Fang Yuan sighed dramatically, as if suffering a great loss.
With 500 years of future memories, Fang Yuan possessed a vast collection of Gu recipes—some so advanced they were an era ahead of their time.
And even the future semi-finished recipes were completed by the A.I Chip. So naturally, the land spirit had never seen them before.
Fang Yuan scribbled down two recipes and handed them over.
The land spirit scratched his ears anxiously, eyes shining with anticipation as he examined them closely.
Confirmed. Completely new. Never seen before.
"I want Connecting Heaven Gu and Divine Sense Gu in exchange for these two recipes."
"Here, here!" The land spirit waved his hand, and two Gu worms materialized on the table.
Fang Yuan swiftly refined the Gu and stored them in his aperture.
"Continue! I want the other recipes, especially this Stargate Gu!" the land spirit demanded.
"Stargate Gu, huh?" Fang Yuan mused.
"It's interesting. It allows one to cross the five regions by tapping into Black Heaven. A rare Gu worm… better than Hole Earth Gu and comparable to Connecting Heaven Gu."
The land spirit's eyes gleamed with admiration. "Did you create these recipes?"
"Of course!" Fang Yuan replied smoothly. "I created many Gu and completed countless half-finished recipes, even immortal ones."
The land spirit's attitude shifted instantly.
"Little friend, you have a remarkable talent for the refinement path. I'm truly amazed!"
"That's true!" Fang Yuan just nodded, "For Stargate Gu, I'll only trade it for the recipe of Small Family Qi Gu and Human Qi Increase Gu."
"What?!" The land spirit exploded in rage. "Those are ancient Qi path Gu that are nearly extinct! You want both for just one recipe?!"
Fang Yuan simply shrugged. "I'm not forcing you to exchange. But you know how useful Stargate Gu is. And besides, I've already done you a favor by exchanging with you in the first place."
The land spirit hesitated.
Then sighed heavily. "Alright… to repay your favor, I'll trade. But I want this recipe with it. It's just an ordinary Rank 5 recipe with no special effects."
"Deal."
Fang Yuan was pleased.
These two Gu recipes were crucial for his plans.
Small Family Qi Gu allowed a Gu Master to absorb heaven and earth qi, reducing the force of heavenly tribulations.
Human Qi Increase Gu, on the other hand, boosted human qi—but at the terrifying cost of intensifying tribulations.
After some time, the land spirit spoke again. "What do you want for the other recipes?"
Fang Yuan remained silent, deep in thought. Then, after a moment, he smirked. "Before that—"
He looked at the land spirit. "I want to refine my first Gu."
.
.
.