The cocoon trembled inside the light.
The glory of the immemorial era shone upon it, pouring into the hollow jade-green bamboo like water entering dry soil. The cocoon absorbed the light continuously, and its aura became more condensed with every breath.
Fang Yuan's body was wrapped in gold.
Liquid Metal Gu covered his body, Bone Wings Gu spread behind him, and several movement Gu were activated together as he forced his way upward against the Torrential Light Stream.
The pressure was terrifying.
The light river was a rank five killer move. Even though Fang Yuan had many Gu worms supporting him, resisting it head-on was like swimming against a waterfall of sunlight. The golden layer covering his body began to thin, and his black bone wings gradually revealed their original color.
Blood seeped from Fang Yuan's mouth, but his eyes were still bright.
The cocoon in front of him continued transforming.
Below, the battlefield slowly became quiet.
Countless Gu Masters looked upward.
At first, they were only shocked. But very soon, someone cried out.
"This scene… I remember it!"
"The Legends of Ren Zu!"
"Verdant Great Sun refined Fixed Immortal Travel Gu under the light of glory!"
This realization spread quickly across the battlefield.
The Gu Masters were in disbelief.
"Impossible!"
"He is refining Fixed Immortal Travel Gu?"
"With a mortal body?"
"Little beast king is reenacting the legend!"
Tie Ruo Nan stared upward, her face pale.
Bai Ning Bing's blue eyes were fixed on Fang Yuan.
Mo Wu Tian's purple eyes shone with interest.
Xiao Mang, who was still maintaining the Torrential Light Stream, finally realized what was happening.
His light was not killing Fang Yuan.
It was helping him refine Gu.
"Trying to use my power to refine an Immortal Gu?" Xiao Mang's expression twisted. "Dream on!"
The river of light began to weaken.
Xiao Mang stopped the killer move.
The Torrential Light Stream was cut off from its source. The light waterfall still poured down for a short while, but everyone could see that it was fading quickly.
Fang Yuan's gaze sharpened.
He had expected this.
Third Watch Gu!
Two time path Gu activated toward the cocoon, causing the time around it to accelerate rapidly.
The Immortal Gu aura surged.
But because of this acceleration, the aura also became unstable. The cocoon trembled violently, as if it would self-destruct at any moment.
At this crucial moment, Fang Yuan took out a grey stone-disc-like Gu.
Undefeated Hundred Battles Gu.
He used it without hesitation.
The unstable aura immediately steadied.
The cocoon cracked.
Green light burst out.
A butterfly emerged.
Its wings were delicate and bright, scattering green light like pollen every time they flapped.
Rank six Immortal Gu.
Fixed Immortal Travel.
For a breath, the entire battlefield lost all sound.
Everyone stared at the green butterfly circling Fang Yuan.
A mortal had refined an Immortal Gu.
It was not done in secret.
It was not done inside some hidden cave.
It was done in front of the righteous path, the demonic path, rank five experts, clan elites, and countless witnesses.
At the same time, beside Fang Yuan, Fang Ming's aperture shook.
The Counterfeit Copy Gu that had been active since the middle of the refinement finally reached its result.
It had followed the process from the false Second Aperture Gu, through the lifespan transformations, then through Divine Travel Gu, Fixed Star Gu, Jade Sky Gu, and the immemorial light.
It had not merely copied the final result.
It had copied the refinement's path.
Inside Fang Ming's aperture, purple light bloomed.
A butterfly appeared.
Its wings were deep purple, with long dark-purple lines across them like veins drawn through the night. It was smaller than Fixed Immortal Travel Gu, and its aura was clearly not that of a true Immortal Gu.
But it was stable.
It was far more stable than Fang Ming's usual counterfeit Gu.
Teleport Gu.
A counterfeit born from copying the refinement process itself.
Its function was close to Fixed Immortal Travel. It could carry Fang Ming to a known destination.
The only flaw was time.
After each use, it needed three days before it could activate again.
Fang Ming lowered his eyes.
His heart surged, but his face remained calm. He did not laugh, did not shout, and did not reveal greed.
Everyone's attention was on Fang Yuan.
That was perfect.
Fang Ming moved closer to Ba Gui.
The land spirit's body had already become faint. Its old eyes were filled with satisfaction as it looked at Fixed Immortal Travel Gu.
Fang Ming spoke quietly: "Ba Gui."
The land spirit looked at him.
Fang Ming released a faint aura.
Spring Autumn Tag-Along Gu.
Then Teleport Gu.
One aura carried the trace of time.
The other carried the trace of space.
Ba Gui's eyes widened.
"You…"
Fang Ming's voice was low and steady. "You wanted Second Aperture Gu refined. Fang Yuan failed this attempt, but the recipe remains. He knows it, and I also know it."
Ba Gui trembled.
Fang Ming continued: "I participated in the refinement. I watched its structure, stabilized its stages, and followed the transformation until the final Immortal Gu was born."
The purple butterfly in his aperture flapped its wings silently.
"I have succeeded before in refining immortal-level counterfeit Gu as a mortal. Now, I have succeeded again."
Ba Gui's gaze moved between Fang Yuan and Fang Ming.
Fang Ming said: "If you help only Fang Yuan escape, you have one hope. If you help me escape too, you have two."
Ba Gui was silent.
Its obsession was very simple.
Second Aperture Gu.
The old master's final wish.
Fang Yuan had failed to complete Second Aperture Gu in this blessed land, but he had refined Fixed Immortal Travel Gu. More importantly, he still knew the recipe.
Fang Ming had assisted in the refinement process, and now he carried another immortal-level result.
Two mortals.
Two paths.
Two future chances.
Ba Gui's fading eyes brightened slightly.
"Good."
Below, Tie Ruo Nan finally reacted.
"Stop them!"
Mo Wu Tian also moved, his body turning into purple demonic fog.
Xiao Mang's expression was ugly, and light gathered around him again.
But it was too late.
Ba Gui used the last remaining immortal essence.
Green light enveloped Fang Yuan.
Purple light enveloped Fang Ming.
Fang Yuan looked around.
The torn bronze hall.
The blood-soaked mound.
The ruined blessed land.
Bai Ning Bing.
Tie Ruo Nan.
Southern Border.
He laughed loudly.
Fang Ming, who was wrapped in purple light, looked toward the collapsing sky.
Northern Plains.
That was his destination.
It was a vast land of grasslands, wolves, heroes, and chaos. It was far from Southern Border's immediate traps, and it was also a place where his new Teleport Gu could become the foundation of a new path.
The green butterfly flapped its wings.
The purple butterfly followed.
Two lights vanished from the battlefield.
Fang Yuan disappeared.
Fang Ming disappeared.
Only empty light remained.
For a long breath, no one spoke.
Then the blessed land shook.
This was not like before.
This time, it was not a tremor.
It was collapse.
The remaining immortal essence had been consumed. Ba Gui's body faded completely, and the blessed land lost its final support.
Cracks opened across the sky.
Mountains broke.
The ground tore apart.
Loopholes expanded in all directions, connecting the blessed land to the outside world.
A terrifying wind began to blow.
Winds of assimilation.
At first, it was faint.
Then it grew rapidly.
Where the wind passed, stone, soil, corpses, Gu worms, and broken inheritance spaces began dissolving into nothingness.
The Gu Masters finally woke up from their shock.
"Run!"
"The blessed land is collapsing!"
"The winds of assimilation are here!"
"If we do not leave now, we die!"
The righteous path and demonic path no longer cared about fighting.
The Immortal Gu was gone.
The treasure was gone.
Now, only survival remained.
Tie Ruo Nan clenched her fists, staring at the place where Fang Yuan had disappeared.
Bai Ning Bing remained silent.
Mo Wu Tian looked at the empty sky and laughed softly.
Xiao Mang's face was dark.
None of them had obtained the treasure.
But all of them had witnessed a legend.
Far away, beyond Southern Border, purple light cut through space.
Fang Ming felt his body tear free from the collapsing blessed land.
Teleport Gu's power wrapped around him.
This sensation was different from Spring Autumn Tag-Along Gu.
There was no river of time.
No pale waves.
No fragments of past and future.
Only space folding.
Distance lost meaning.
The purple butterfly's wings opened before him.
Space folded.
Distance lost meaning.
Fang Ming felt himself leave the collapsing blessed land.
There was no river of time this time.
No pale waves.
No fragments of past and future.
Only a tunnel of purple light, unstable yet strangely clear, dragging him toward the destination locked in his mind.
Then the light broke.
Fang Ming's feet touched solid ground.
The first thing he felt was not grassland wind.
It was silence.
A strange, deep silence.
Before him was a vast and unusual space, filled with refinement aura so dense it almost pressed against the skin. Clouds drifted strangely in the sky, and the air carried the smell of countless Gu materials.
This is Lang Ya blessed land.