Legend spoke of a river that flowed with time itself, supporting the turning of all worlds.
And the power of the Spring Autumn Cicada was to swim against its current, returning to the past.
Opinions varied across the world. Most disbelieved it; a few were doubtful. Hardly anyone truly believed it—for activating the Spring Autumn Cicada required sacrificing one's entire body and all cultivation. The price was too steep, and even giving one's life offered no guarantee of success.
Fang Yuan would never have used it unless he had been driven into a hopeless corner.
But now, the evidence was undeniable.
He had truly been reborn.
"What a shame about the Spring Autumn Cicada. I slaughtered hundreds of thousands and endured countless hardships to refine it, yet it did not come with me after rebirth." Fang Yuan sighed inwardly.
Humans were the spirit of all living things; Gu were the essence of heaven and earth.
Gu worms were strange and countless in form. Some perished after a single use, while others could be activated repeatedly.
The Spring Autumn Cicada, however, was a peerless, one-time consumable Gu.
He had returned five hundred years into the past, back to the Gu Yue Village on Qing Mao Mountain, back to when he was still the young Fang Yuan.
Spring rain pattered outside the window.
Fang Yuan stood inside his simple wooden hut, his gaze calm yet profound.
Five hundred years of memories surged like a tidal wave: grudges, schemes, slaughter, struggle—every scene emerged clearly.
He had once been an ordinary student on Earth, transmigrated to this world. He struggled up from the bottom, step by step, to the peak, only to be encircled and killed by the righteous path in the end.
Now he had a second chance.
He carried five hundred years of experience, vision, and wisdom—his greatest, unmatched capital.
"In this life, I will not repeat my past mistakes."
Fang Yuan clenched his fists slowly. The youthful feel of his palms stirred a wild ambition in his heart.
The Awakening Ceremony of the Gu Yue Village would be held tomorrow.
It was the first critical turning point in his life: awakening his Gu Master aptitude, which would determine his starting point in cultivation.
In his previous life, he had awakened B-grade aptitude—not the top, but not weak either.
Relying on that aptitude and his ruthless scheming, he rose step by step.
In this life, with five hundred years of memories, knowing countless secrets, opportunities, and shortcuts, even with the same aptitude, he could walk a completely different path.
He remembered that during the Awakening Ceremony, basic Gu such as Hope Gu, Diligence Gu, and Wisdom Gu would be used to test aptitude.
A-grade aptitude was one in ten thousand, able to draw visions of heaven and earth vitality.
B-grade came next, while C-grade and D-grade promised dim futures.
Bai Ning Bing of the Bai Clan possessed A-grade aptitude, reaching Rank 3 Gu Master in just two years, becoming the leader of the younger generation and the greatest threat to Gu Yue Village.
And Gu Yue Fang Yuan—his past self—had B-grade aptitude, yet with a mind and ruthlessness far beyond his peers, he emerged in the village, accumulated strength step by step, and eventually left Qing Mao Mountain for a wider stage.
"Aptitude is only the starting point, not the end." Fang Yuan sneered.
In his previous life, how many geniuses with A-grade aptitude had fallen, died by his hand?
No matter how good one's aptitude was, without sufficient wisdom, cruelty, and luck, one was only a fleeting flower.
He began sorting through his memories, searching for opportunities on Qing Mao Mountain.
Qing Mao Mountain seemed ordinary, yet hid many secrets:
the Desolate Valley in the back mountain, holding a fragment of the Spring Autumn Cicada;
the Yin Spring in the mountain stream, nourishing water-attributed Gu;
and deep within the Gu Yue ancestral hall, an inheritance left by their forefathers.
These opportunities—he had either missed them or discovered them too late in his past life.
In this life, he could plan ahead and seize them all.
More importantly, he knew the general trend of the next five hundred years:
which powers would rise, which Gu would become crucial, which disasters would arrive.
He could avoid risks in advance and seize the initiative.
"The demonic path I walked for five hundred years… in this life, I shall walk it still."
Fang Yuan's gaze was firm.
The so-called demonic path was to defy heaven, use any means necessary, prove one's path through slaughter, and break all barriers with strength.
Heaven and earth would not tolerate him; the whole world would be his enemy.
Yet he would still act as he pleased.
In his past life, he had been like this.
In this life, he would only be crueler, more decisive, more insane.
He would collect the Ten Great Gu, control time, transcend life and death, and achieve true immortality.
The spring rain gradually stopped.
A fish-belly white appeared in the eastern sky.
Gu Yue Village slowly woke up. Smoke curled from cooking fires; human voices rose.
The Awakening Ceremony was about to begin.
Fang Yuan adjusted his clothes, pushed open the door, and stepped into the morning sunlight.
The young figure looked thin, yet carried the calmness and sharpness of one who had lived through countless storms.
His gaze swept across the village, across familiar yet unfamiliar faces.
A cold curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Gu Yue Village… I have returned.
In this life, I will make the entire world tremble beneath my feet!"