Purple light tore through space.
For an instant, Fang Ming felt his body become weightless.
There was no ground.
No sky.
Only folded distance, twisting around him like layers of silk.
Then the purple butterfly opened its wings.
Fang Ming fell.
His feet touched soft white cloud.
He steadied himself immediately, but pain spread through his body. His bones ached, his muscles were torn, and the injuries he had suppressed during San Cha Mountain finally surged up.
White Lotus Healing Gu had kept him alive.
It had not made him unharmed.
Fang Ming looked around.
He was standing on a vast sea of cloud soil. The air carried a dense refinement aura, mixed with the smell of countless Gu materials. In the distance stood twelve cloud buildings, majestic and ancient, like palaces floating above the mortal world.
Immortal cranes flew between the clouds.
Colorful mist drifted in the sky.
The fragrance of sandalwood spread through the air.
Fang Ming's eyes narrowed.
Lang Ya blessed land.
He had arrived.
Not outside.
Inside.
This was both success and danger.
Lang Ya land spirit would notice him instantly. An outsider suddenly appearing inside a blessed land was not something any land spirit would ignore, especially when the blessed land was close to facing an earthly calamity.
Fang Ming acted before the land spirit appeared.
He raised his head and shouted loudly:
"Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable's successor is here! Lang Ya land spirit, where are you?"
His voice spread across the cloud sea.
For a breath, there was silence.
Then an old voice sounded behind him.
"Boy, stop shouting. I am right behind you."
Fang Ming's body turned sharply.
An old man stood behind him with white hair, white eyebrows, and a long white beard that reached his chest. He wore a loose robe, and his expression was strange: partly suspicious, partly curious, and partly annoyed.
Lang Ya land spirit.
Fang Ming's hand rose slightly, as if ready to activate a Gu.
The old man quickly waved his sleeve.
"Don't attack, don't attack! You are already inside my blessed land, yet you still dare shout like you own the place?"
Fang Ming lowered his hand.
His expression remained calm.
Lang Ya land spirit stared at him, eyes bright with scrutiny.
"A mortal." The old man frowned. "A badly injured mortal. Yet you directly entered my blessed land."
His gaze became sharper.
"Who are you? How did you get in?"
Fang Ming cupped his hands.
"Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable's successor, Fang Ming, greets Lang Ya land spirit."
Lang Ya land spirit's expression changed.
The words "Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable" were not ordinary.
Long Hair Ancestor had lived through the era of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable and had refined Gu for venerables. The covenant between Thieving Heaven and Lang Ya blessed land was not something outsiders should know.
But the land spirit did not believe him immediately.
It was close to the time of earthly calamity. The blessed land was unstable. Even Gu Immortals outside could be watching for an opportunity.
An unknown mortal entering at such a time was too suspicious.
Lang Ya land spirit narrowed his eyes. "If you are Thieving Heaven's successor, why did you not follow the agreed path?"
Fang Ming smiled faintly.
"You mean the purple stone pillar."
Lang Ya's expression stiffened.
Fang Ming continued, "Smear fresh blood on it, then say the words 'I want.' That activates the arrangement left behind by Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable."
Lang Ya land spirit's eyes widened.
Only a true inheritor should know that.
Fang Ming added calmly, "And before the agreement of the three Gu is completed, you cannot harm Thieving Heaven's inheritor. That was part of the covenant."
The old man's beard twitched.
His suspicion did not vanish completely, but it was shaken.
"You know quite a lot." Lang Ya land spirit stared at him. "Then why did you not use the proper method?"
Fang Ming looked tired for the first time.
"Because I had just escaped a collapsing blessed land after witnessing an Immortal Gu refinement. I obtained a teleportation Gu and was too excited. Instead of walking the old path, I directly came here."
Lang Ya land spirit frowned. "Teleportation Gu?"
Fang Ming released his aura.
A purple butterfly appeared above his palm.
Its wings were dark purple, marked by long, deeper purple lines like veins spreading through the night. It flapped gently, and the space around it trembled faintly.
Lang Ya land spirit's eyes froze.
Then they erupted with light.
"What Gu is this?"
"Teleport Gu."
"Teleport Gu?" Lang Ya land spirit's voice rose. "Impossible. I have never seen this Gu. I have never even heard of this Gu!"
His figure flashed.
In an instant, he appeared directly before Fang Ming, almost pressing his face against the purple butterfly.
Fang Ming took half a step back.
Lang Ya land spirit ignored him completely. His eyes were fixed on Teleport Gu.
"Space path aura… and a true Immortal Gu aura!" Lang Ya land spirit's eyes widened. "But it is not Fixed Immortal Travel. I have never seen this Gu before. A teleportation Immortal Gu unknown to even me… could this be one of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable's later creations?"
The old man's hands trembled.
"New Gu! A Gu I have never seen before!"
His earlier suspicion was almost drowned by excitement.
Lang Ya land spirit loved Gu recipes and Gu worms obsessively. He had inherited Long Hair Ancestor's refinement obsession. A new Gu, especially one related to space and teleportation, was more tempting to him than ordinary treasure.
Fang Ming watched quietly.
This was the reaction he wanted.
Lang Ya land spirit muttered, "Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable was unmatched in space methods. Could this be a later creation of his? A hidden inheritance Gu? A derivative of Fixed Immortal Travel? No, no, the structure is different. Let me see it!"
He reached out instinctively.
Fang Ming closed his palm.
Teleport Gu vanished back into his aperture.
Lang Ya land spirit froze.
Then he looked at Fang Ming with an expression of deep grievance.
"Why did you put it away?"
Fang Ming said, "Because it is mine."
Lang Ya land spirit's beard shook. "I only want to examine it!"
Fang Ming coughed lightly. Blood rose in his throat, but he swallowed it down.
His face was pale, his robes were torn, and many wounds had not fully closed. The pressure from Torrential Light Stream, the battlefield, and Teleport Gu's first activation had left his body in poor condition.
Lang Ya land spirit finally noticed his state properly.
"You are injured."
"Yeah."
"Then why did you come here?"
Fang Ming looked at him directly.
"I came because the covenant exists. I also have something you will want."
Lang Ya land spirit's eyes brightened again. "Teleport Gu?"
"That is one thing."
"There is more?"
Fang Ming nodded.
"I have an Immortal Gu recipe."
Lang Ya land spirit's whole body trembled.
"What recipe?"
"Second Aperture Gu."
The air became silent.
Lang Ya land spirit's expression changed from curiosity to shock, then from shock to burning desire.
"Second aperture?" he repeated. "A Gu that gives a Gu Master another aperture?"
"Yes."
"Immortal Gu recipe?"
"Yes."
Lang Ya land spirit's breathing became heavier.
Fang Ming continued, "I participated in the refinement personally. I watched its process, assisted through several stages, and obtained the recipe. But I am injured now. If I want to watch and learn from your refinement, I need to be in top condition."
Lang Ya land spirit's eyes narrowed. "You want me to refine it?"
"I want you to refine it and I want to watch and learn from your experiance."
The old man's expression became complicated.
Suspicion had not fully disappeared, but Fang Ming had struck directly at his greatest weakness.
A new teleportation Gu.
An Immortal Gu recipe.
A refinement challenge.
And a possible Thieving Heaven successor standing before him.
Lang Ya land spirit circled Fang Ming once, muttering to himself.
"Teleport Gu… Second Aperture Immortal Gu recipe… Thieving Heaven covenant… injured mortal… directly entered the blessed land…"
He suddenly stopped.
"Show me Teleport Gu again."
"No."
"Just one look."
"No."
"Half a look?"
Fang Ming's face was expressionless.
Lang Ya land spirit's eyes became wet with grievance.
"Young man, you are cruel. I am an old land spirit living alone in this blessed land, surrounded only by recipes and memories. You appear with a Gu I have never seen before, then hide it from me. Is this how Thieving Heaven taught his successor?"
Fang Ming calmly replied, "Thieving Heaven taught that treasures must be guarded."
Lang Ya land spirit froze.
Then he nodded seriously.
"That does sound like him."
Fang Ming almost smiled.
The land spirit continued, "Fine. You want to recover first?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
"One month."
"One month?" Lang Ya land spirit frowned. "That long?"
"My injuries are deep. I used Teleport Gu immediately after escaping a collapsing blessed land. I also need to organize the Second Aperture Gu recipe properly before giving it to you."
The true reason was different.
Counterfeit Copy Gu had entered cooldown.
Fang Ming needed one month before he could use it again. If Lang Ya began refining too early, he would lose the greatest opportunity.
But Lang Ya did not know this.
The land spirit rubbed his beard.
"An Immortal Gu recipe cannot be treated carelessly. One month is not impossible."
Fang Ming added, "When I recover, I will show you the recipe. You can judge it yourself."
"And Teleport Gu?"
"When the time is right."
Lang Ya land spirit's face collapsed again.
"You are truly cruel."
Fang Ming cupped his hands. "Cautious."
"Same thing."
The land spirit waved his sleeve.
A cloud path opened in front of Fang Ming, leading toward one of the cloud buildings.
"Rest there. Do not wander around. Do not touch my recipes. Do not steal my Gu. Do not damage my cloud soil."
Fang Ming nodded. "Understood."
Lang Ya land spirit paused, then added, "And when you recover, you must show me Teleport Gu again."
Fang Ming said nothing.
The old man glared. "You heard me?"
"I heard."
"That is not agreement."
"It is not refusal either."
Lang Ya land spirit pointed at him with a trembling finger. "You really are Thieving Heaven's successor!"
Fang Ming walked toward the cloud building.
Behind him, Lang Ya land spirit kept staring at his back, still excited.
Fang Ming entered the cloud building and sat down.
Only then did he allow himself to exhale slowly.
The first step had succeeded Lang Ya had not attack him, the covenant stand and teleport Gu had attracted the land spirit's obsession.
One month.
After one month, Counterfeit Copy Gu would recover and Lang Ya would begin refining Second Aperture Gu.