"Brother, thank you."
Fang Zheng was so moved he could hardly speak.
"What are you saying? Fang Zheng, you are my only younger brother. You have the exact same face as me and we share the same Bloodline. Yesterday, I discovered a massive Opportunity on White Bone Mountain that requires two people to complete together."
"Okay, I'll go with you!"
Fang Zheng agreed without hesitation. He was both excited and moved that his brother would give such an Opportunity to him. Just as he was about to say more, he was interrupted by Gu Yue Chi Shan nearby:
"You two... are leaving again?"
Hearing Chi Shan's words, Gu Yue Qing Shu gripped Fang Yuan's hand even tighter, looking at him with a serious expression. He looked as if he was afraid Fang Yuan would spread his wings and fly away again.
Hearing Gu Yue Chi Shan's words, Fang Yuan laughed heartily. With a thought, the Elder Gu inside his aperture spat out several thousand primeval stones. He distributed the stones to the others and then said:
"Fang Zheng and I will only be gone for one day. You all wait here. These primeval stones will serve as compensation."
After receiving the primeval stones, the group's expressions softened slightly, but a Rank Two female Gu Master still muttered in dissatisfaction:
"With just this many primeval stones, are you trying to brush off beggars?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone turned to look at Fang Yuan, wanting to see what he planned to do.
Seeing the crowd's reaction and then looking at the unfazed Fang Yuan, the female Gu Master seemed encouraged. She raised her head high, her gaze toward Fang Yuan carrying a hint of contempt.
"Hmph! A Gu Yue Genius is still just a green brat in front of this old lady."
Thinking this, the female Gu Master felt refreshed, waiting to see how Fang Yuan would respond and settle the matter. She saw Fang Yuan still wearing a smile, looking like a good-natured person as he walked forward and gave his response:
Slap!
A vicious slap immediately tore open the skin on the female Gu Master's face.
The female Gu Master was filled with rage and terror. Clutching her burning face, she saw that Fang Yuan's expression had changed—it wasn't anger, it wasn't ferocity, and it certainly wasn't a smile. It was expressionless.
His face was full of indifference and a complete disregard for life.
The female Gu Master was so terrified by Fang Yuan that her hair stood on end. She opened her mouth to speak, but Fang Yuan took a step forward and delivered another vicious slap.
Slap!
The crisp sound of the slap echoed in everyone's ears.
The female Gu Master fell to the ground, a red handprint on each side of her face. Under the strength of two boars, Fang Yuan's casual slap had knocked the female Gu Master senseless.
"Hmph! A blind fool!"
As Fang Yuan spoke, a pair of massive bone wings suddenly sprouted, knocking down the nearby Gu Yue Qing Shu.
Everyone who watched was shocked; the three Elders even widened their eyes, absolutely dumbfounded.
A Rank Four aura, the real deal!
"This... this is the Rank Four Bone Wing Gu! If Fang Yuan wants to leave, with the speed of the Bone Wing Gu, it's impossible for us to stop him!"
Elder Gu Yue Chi Zhong was greatly shocked, followed by intense envy.
"Fang Zheng, let's go!"
"Oh... oh... okay, Brother."
Before Fang Zheng could recover from his shock, Fang Yuan grabbed his brother, swapped the Bone Wings for Blood Wings, and with a flap of the massive wings, flew into the inheritance cave of the Talented Scholar of Gray Bone.
They walked past the uneven stone walls and passed the pile of crushed bones of the fake Talented Scholar of Gray Bone.
In the secret chamber, Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng saw the Dragon-Head Refining Furnace. Through the bookworm, Fang Yuan recalled the Gu recipe for the bone flesh reunion gu.
Fang Yuan then explained the Gu Refining process to Fang Zheng. Fang Zheng, only half-understanding, followed Fang Yuan's lead to refine the Gu together.
This was Fang Zheng's third time refining Gu. He had failed the first time, and the second time he had successfully refined the Rank Two Moon Path defensive Gu, the moon shawl.
Those two times he refined Gu were under the meticulous guidance of Clan Leader Gu Yue Bo. While Gu Yue Bo was certainly experienced, compared to Fang Yuan, he was like an amateur trying to show off before a master.
When they began refining, Fang Zheng made repeated mistakes under Fang Yuan's direction. However, with Fang Yuan's patient teaching, his refining techniques became proficient, moving from focusing on one task to two, then three, and eventually even five tasks at once.
These seemingly impossible feats were as easy as eating or drinking in front of his brother Fang Yuan, and Fang Zheng slowly accumulated Gu Refining experience.
Furthermore, the difficulty of this Gu recipe was comparable to refining a Rank Four Gu, but under Fang Yuan's step-by-step breakdown and analysis, the complex recipe was chewed fine and became easy to understand.
Finally, under Fang Zheng's shocked gaze, the Dragon-Head Refining Furnace erupted with light, casting a golden glow like crushed gold onto the brothers' faces. Two ring-shaped Gu worms slowly rose, drifting into the palms of Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng respectively.
The bone flesh reunion gu had finally seen the light of day again.
"My dear brother, do you know what this Gu is called?"
Fang Yuan suddenly spoke.
"What Gu?"
"Bone Flesh Reunion."
...Fang Zheng was silent at first, then could no longer restrain himself. He threw his arms around his brother's waist and wept bitterly.
A flash of craftiness crossed Fang Yuan's lips and vanished instantly, replaced by the kind expression of an Elder brother acting as a father figure as he reached out to gently stroke his brother's hair.
"Brother... waah..."
"Don't cry, don't cry. You're already sixteen, yet you're still a crybaby just like when you were little."
Fang Yuan also hugged his brother, his hands resting on his back. Yuan Fang watched quietly from the side, actually seeing the shadow of the attitude gu on Fang Yuan, even noticing the glint of tears in his eyes.
"Brother, do you know? Ever since our parents passed away, I've always longed for the warmth of a home... Even though I've acknowledged our Uncle and Aunt, you have always been my biological brother."
"I know, I know everything..." Fang Yuan's voice trembled:
"But you must understand, a man must eventually grow up. A young eagle will one day leave the nest and spread its wings to fly far away..."
"Brother... I know I was wrong..."
"Don't cry. A man's tears are precious; don't cry..."
While Fang Yuan's mouth was offering comfort, his tears were already falling like rain. Yuan Fang, watching from the side, couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly:
"Damn, this acting is too real. Could he be wearing a Rank Nine attitude gu?"
Hearing Yuan Fang's words in his mind, Fang Yuan immediately transmitted: "Can you shut up? You're ruining the mood. Just keep watching."
At this moment, Fang Yuan already had a plan in mind. He had zero sense of belonging to Gu Yue Village, but currently, the village's support was undoubtedly massive. Even at Rank Four or Rank Five, this support would still exist.
He had already decided that once he attained rank six immortality in the future, he would take all the Gu Yue Clan Members into his immortal aperture and have them manage his immortal aperture blessed land for him.
After all, raising Dragon Fish, planting stardust grass, and raising Bubble Fish would all require manpower; he couldn't possibly manage it all alone.
In the original work, after Fang Yuan reached Rank Eight, the resources in his immortal aperture grotto-heaven were piled high like mountains and impossible to manage. Thus, he stuffed the Shadow Sect members, the Hairy People Gu Immortals of Lang Ya Blessed Land, and the Stone Man, Snowman, and Inkman Gu Immortals of the Four Races Alliance into his supreme immortal aperture.
He even put the entire Inkman City and Feather Holy City along with their Inkman and Feathered Men into his aperture. Even the dragon lady Bai Ning Bing was eventually forced to feed gold and Silver Dragon Fish for Fang Yuan.
To better enslave the Gu Yue Clan, he needed an obedient Puppet.
Gu Yue Bo was old and cunning; if he were kept, he would have to be suppressed or even eliminated;
Gu Yue Qing Shu was trustworthy and loyal, but he was too smart and prioritized the Family's interests, which wasn't enough; he wasn't the first choice;
Fang Zheng had a simple mind, was a total'sweet idiot,' was trustworthy, and they were brothers. He was undoubtedly the perfect Sharp Weapon for enslaving the Gu Yue Clan.
Therefore, Fang Yuan decided to give his brother Fang Zheng a hand.
"Fang Zheng, believe me, as long as we brothers are of one mind, our parents' spirits in heaven will be happy to see it. Today, I will help you Breakthrough to Second Rank Mid Stage."
Fang Yuan's tone was firm and full of confidence.
"Ah... oh..."
Fang Zheng wiped his tears and activated the bone flesh reunion gu according to Fang Yuan's instructions.
The two brothers sat opposite each other on prayer mats. In an instant, Second Rank Mid Stage primeval essence flowed out of Fang Yuan's body and was injected into Fang Zheng's primeval sea, helping him scour the walls of his aperture.
Fang Zheng absorbed his brother's primeval essence, using the Second Rank Mid Stage essence to strike his own Rank Two Early Stage aperture. His primeval sea immediately surged and billowed.
"It seems this is a 'flesh and blood' grade bone flesh reunion gu."
Fang Yuan thought to himself, still multitasking as he absorbed natural primeval essence from primeval stones while helping Fang Zheng scour his aperture.
Outside the cave, the world was pure white. Clouds drifted lightly, and a soft breeze like silk curled into the cave, bringing a touch of coolness to the brothers.
The water of the origin spring gurgled, its ripples reflecting off the dark stone walls of the cave. Countless tiny specks of light danced leisurely in the cave—those were hope gu.
Legend has it that when this world was first formed, it was a desolate wilderness where Vicious Beasts roamed, and the first human, Ren Zu, was born here.
His life was full of hardship, as he was at the very bottom of the food chain. It was then that three Gu worms came to his side.
One was Strength Gu, one was wisdom gu, and one was hope gu.
Ren Zu first sacrificed his youth to obtain the Strength Gu; then he sacrificed his prime to obtain the wisdom gu.
But the good times did not last. Ren Zu grew old and could no longer offer anything to sustain the Strength and wisdom gu. Thus, these two Gu worms heartlessly abandoned him.
Having lost strength and wisdom, Ren Zu was surrounded by a group of Primeval Desolate Beasts called Dilemma. With no way out, he offered his heart to the weakest hope gu.
In an instant, a brilliant light erupted, so blinding it could not be looked at directly!
"It's hope gu! Retreat quickly! We Dilemmas fear hope the most!"
Thus, under Ren Zu's shocked gaze, the army of Dilemmas scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing in all directions.
From then on, Ren Zu knew that when facing Dilemma...
One must give their heart to hope.
"hope gu, oh hope gu, may difficulties never come near."
Just then, Fang Zheng's aura surged violently as he successfully broke through to Second Rank Mid Stage, becoming a Second Rank Mid Stage Gu Master.
Outside the cave, the sun was rising. After a sunrise and a sunset, it was already the second day. Fang Yuan took back the bone flesh reunion gu from Fang Zheng's hand and led him down the mountain to return to Gu Yue Village with Gu Yue Qing Shu and the others.
The female Gu Master who had received two slaps from Fang Yuan had already been healed by Elder Gu Yue Yao Kun using a Rank Three Gu, but the handprints on her cheeks had not yet faded. It would take at least half a year to fully recover, so she could only cover her face with a cloth for now.
The others were all surprised by Fang Zheng's sudden Breakthrough to Second Rank Mid Stage. On the return journey, the two brothers talked and laughed, sometimes reminiscing about childhood and sometimes exchanging cultivation experiences.
Fang Zheng also witnessed Fang Yuan's exquisite combat skills and Gu Refining techniques. Filled with envy and admiration, he was completely won over by this powerful and "brother-loving" Elder brother.
Seeing this, everyone speculated that Fang Yuan had obtained a massive Opportunity and shared it with his brother, which was why Fang Zheng's personality had changed.
In Qing Shu's group, there was a female Gu Master named Yao Hong. Seeing the "deep brotherly love" between the two over the past few days, she even felt a bit jealous that Fang Zheng had such a good brother.
During the month it took to return to Gu Yue Village, Fang Yuan used the bone flesh reunion gu every night to absorb Fang Zheng's mid stage primeval essence and fuse it with his own for cultivation.
Although the return journey was fraught with danger, and the female Gu Master who was slapped as well as a male combat Gu Master both died along the way, it didn't affect Fang Yuan at all.
He not only broke through to Second Rank High Stage but also pulled Fang Zheng's cultivation up to Second Rank High Stage as well.
"This speed is truly divine."
Fang Zheng was both shocked and delighted, his favorable impression of his brother growing even more. Gu Yue Ye, Gu Yue Chi Zhong, and the others even suspected they had used Red Iron Relic Gu.
The group traveled through the bumps and finally returned to the long-lost Qing Mao Mountain and Gu Yue Village.
Seeing that Fang Yuan had run off on his own, Gu Yue Bo immediately pulled him into the Clan Leader Pavilion to reprimand him. But seeing Fang Yuan's indifferent look, he felt like he was punching cotton.
Gu Yue Bo's reprimand ultimately fell flat. Seeing that Fang Yuan had directly broken through to Second Rank High Stage after only a month's absence, he couldn't bring himself to be too harsh. Instead, he asked about his experiences on White Bone Mountain and the gains from the inheritance.
Fang Yuan smiled slightly, and a Rank Three Skull Gu appeared in his palm.
The skeleton's mouth opened, and a massive water vat appeared out of thin air on the ground. The vat was filled with creamy white milk that carried a hint of sweet fishiness.
"This is..." Gu Yue Bo looked at the pearl-like milk in the vat, full of shock and suspicion.
"There are Gu worms inside; Rank One and Rank Two are both in there." Fang Yuan remained expressionless.
Hearing this, Gu Yue Bo activated a search Gu with a thought and indeed saw that the vat was densely packed with a large number of Gu worms.
He then reached into the vat and lightly scooped. His hand was immediately covered with Rank One bone spear gu, and several Rank Two Spiral Bone Spear Gu wriggled at his fingertips.
"So many!"
Gu Yue Bo's heart shook. He immediately refined a bone spear gu and a Rank Two Spiral Bone Spear Gu, then led Fang Yuan outside to test them on a straw puppet.
Two bone spears flew out, directly piercing through the straw puppet. The power was exceptionally startling.
"These two types of Gu worms are truly not bad. They have a drilling force; they can be shot out like moonblades to injure enemies, or held for close combat like the Ice Blade Gu and Serrated Gold Centipede. They aren't inferior to our clan's moonlight gu or moonlight gu in the slightest."
"If these can be used as village-protecting Gu worms, being a unique method, there would be no way to counter them. If every person in the clan is equipped with one, we will definitely suppress the Bai Family Village."
Gu Yue Bo's eyes were burning, his tone unable to hide his excitement.
"I assume there is a Gu recipe? Fang Yuan, if you hand over the inheritance contents to the Family, I will reward you with two hundred thousand primeval stones in the name of the entire clan. Furthermore, you can choose a Gu worm in the underground cave, and I will grant you the position of Elder in advance."
Fang Yuan's expression didn't change after hearing this, and he said calmly:
"Lord Clan Leader, you're not being fair. If I sell this inheritance to Shang Family City, I could get at least five hundred thousand primeval stones."
A flash of embarrassment crossed Gu Yue Bo's face, then he gritted his teeth:
"Then three hundred thousand primeval stones. Fang Yuan, you also know that the Family's situation has been difficult lately, so you see..."
"This number is probably not appropriate."
As soon as these words came out, Gu Yue Bo flew into a rage, glaring at Fang Yuan, but in an instant, he suppressed his temper and began to ponder. It was truly a case of 'getting angry for a moment, then only for a moment.'