Fang Ming appeared in a long crystal hallway.
The air was quiet.
There was no lake, no island, no Hei tribe elders, and no Ma Hong Yun.
Only smooth crystal walls stretched forward, reflecting his figure from every direction.
Fang Ming looked behind him.
A crystal wall blocked the path.
Left and right were also sealed.
Only the road ahead remained open.
"So this is the treasure room."
His voice was low.
Inside the crystal walls on both sides, treasures were sealed like insects trapped in amber.
Gu worms.
Gu recipes.
Refinement materials.
Cultivation experiences.
Some were bright and obvious. Some were plain, but carried deep aura. Some looked ordinary, but Fang Ming did not underestimate anything inside Eighty-Eight True Yang Building.
The higher the structure, the deeper the trap.
The greater the treasure, the harsher the rule.
Fang Ming walked forward slowly.
After several steps, he stopped before one crystal wall.
Inside was a jade slip-like Gu record. It carried the aura of enslavement path, and the information leaking from the treasure room made Fang Ming's eyes narrow.
Immortal aperture management experience.
Left behind by an enslavement path expert.
It was not a Gu worm.
It was not a killer move.
It was knowledge.
To ordinary mortal Gu Masters, this might not seem as immediately useful as a rank five Gu. But to Fang Ming, it was different.
His future path was enslavement path.
One day, if he ascended, his immortal aperture would need to support beast groups, feeding systems, reproduction cycles, terrain arrangements, and resource circulation. Enslavement path was never only about controlling beasts in battle.
A true enslavement path Gu Immortal had to know how to raise armies inside his aperture.
How to feed them.
How to preserve them.
How to expand them.
How to turn the immortal aperture itself into a living war reserve.
Fang Ming stared at the sealed experience.
Out of countless treasures, this was the one he encountered early.
Too suitable.
Too useful.
The thought of Ma Hong Yun flashed across his mind.
Heaven Rivalling Fortune.
Fang Ming did not fully understand the reach of that rank eight luck path Immortal Gu, but this result was already enough to prove one thing.
Ma Hong Yun was useful.
Very useful.
But Fang Ming did not become reckless because of it.
Luck was not control.
Luck was not certainty.
But if he could guide the direction of benefit, Ma Hong Yun's fortune could become a wind behind his sail.
Fang Ming raised his hand.
A storage Gu opened.
The mortal Reckless Savage-style totem imitation inheritance appeared.
It was not an immortal inheritance.
It was only a mortal-level tattoo killer move inheritance, strong but limited. Its value lay in its concept: permanently engraved rank five trump-card killer moves, faster to unleash than ordinary killer moves, but paid for with lifespan.
Fang Ming brought the inheritance close to the crystal wall.
A faint red light appeared.
Then orange.
Then yellow.
Then green.
The lights stabilized.
The crystal wall trembled slightly.
The totem inheritance flew from Fang Ming's hand and entered the crystal wall. At the same time, the enslavement path immortal aperture management experience slowly emerged.
Fang Ming received it.
The moment it landed in his hand, True Yang Building's power refined it for him directly.
Information flowed into his mind.
Beast group zoning.
Food chain arrangement.
Aperture terrain modification.
Predator-prey balance.
Breeding pools.
Emergency beast reserves.
Methods to prevent beast groups from consuming too many resources during famine.
How to use weak beast groups as feed for stronger ones.
How to keep flying beasts, ground beasts, and aquatic beasts from interfering with one another inside an immortal aperture.
Fang Ming closed his eyes briefly.
Good.
Very good.
This was not immediate combat strength, but it was foundation.
If he became an enslavement path Gu Immortal, this experience would save him years of trial and error.
When he opened his eyes again, his gaze was calmer.
The trade had been worth it.
He continued forward.
More treasures appeared inside the crystal walls.
Some were Gu worms.
Some were recipes.
Some were strange materials that Fang Ming could not immediately identify.
He did not stop for each one.
A high-grade evaluation gave him access, but not unlimited time. The treasure room could tempt people into wasting themselves.
Fang Ming walked until a stone stele blocked the hallway.
The stele was smooth and square, only reaching around his knee.
Two words were carved on it.
Guest halt.
Fang Ming stopped.
So this was the restriction.
This was Eighty-Eight True Yang Building's boundary for outsiders. Those without Giant Sun bloodline could only reach this point.
Behind the stele were deeper treasures.
Better treasures.
But ordinary guests could only look from outside.
Fang Ming's lips curved faintly.
Ordinary guests.
He was not here to be ordinary.
He took out a prepared Gu worm.
This method came from Lang Ya land spirit.
Fang Yuan had similar methods, but his came from Central Continent's research in his previous life. Fang Ming's foundation was different. He had obtained guidance directly from Lang Ya's information.
The Gu worm flew into the stele.
A faint yellow light appeared.
Fang Ming placed both palms on the guest halt stele.
Primeval essence flowed out.
His will followed.
In the next instant, his mind entered darkness.
Vast darkness.
Endless darkness.
Compared to it, Fang Ming's will was tiny, like a speck of dust floating at the edge of an abyss.
Then he sensed it.
In the center of that darkness was a sun.
Not a real sun.
A will.
Giant Sun Immortal Venerable's will.
Even asleep, even weakened by time, even separated from its master for countless years, it still felt majestic beyond reason.
Fang Ming's heart tightened.
This was only a remnant will.
Yet it felt as if one careless movement could burn his soul into nothing.
He did not approach it.
He did not probe it.
He did not try to understand it.
He only stayed at the edge, using the prepared method to quietly occupy the smallest portion connected to the guest halt stele.
Primeval essence continued pouring out.
His original aperture supplied first.
Then his second aperture supported the flow.
Two rank five peak apertures became Fang Ming's advantage here. A normal mortal Gu Master would struggle to sustain this process. Fang Ming could endure longer.
Still, it was not comfortable.
His will slowly expanded in the dark corner.
A tiny piece of territory became his.
Not even half a percent of True Yang Building.
Not even close.
But enough.
He refined carefully.
Slowly.
Quietly.
The sleeping sun did not wake.
Time passed.
Fang Ming's forehead grew damp.
His breathing remained steady, but the pressure on his mind increased continuously.
If strength path combat was like smashing through a wall, this was like walking across a thread above a bottomless abyss.
One mistake meant death.
Finally, the faint connection stabilized.
Fang Ming withdrew his will.
The crystal hallway returned to his vision.
The guest halt stele in front of him no longer felt completely foreign.
A faint closeness appeared between them.
Success.
Fang Ming removed his hands.
He did not smile widely.
This was only a tiny step.
Eighty-Eight True Yang Building was too vast. Refining the guest halt stele was like shaving a splinter from a mountain. But even a splinter could become a key if used correctly.
Fang Ming turned slightly and looked at the nearby crystal wall.
With the guest halt stele refined, this section had changed.
Before, the treasures required exchange.
Now, he could take them directly.
Partial control.
Fang Ming did not act greedily.
He had not come here to empty a wall and alert every future entrant that something was wrong. Greed without restraint was foolishness.
His current gain was not a pile of treasures.
It was access.
Fang Ming looked back toward the stele.
The invisible wall that had blocked him had weakened.
He took out several Gu worms prepared from Lang Ya's information. They activated around him, forming a thin layer of shifting light.
The guest halt stele was not the only defense.
Passing it carelessly could still trigger hidden mechanisms.
Fang Ming stepped forward.
The light around him trembled.
For one breath, the crystal hallway seemed to reject him.
Then the resistance faded.
He crossed the stele.
Behind it, the hallway continued.
The treasures sealed inside the crystal walls immediately felt different.
Their auras were deeper.
Their value was higher.
Even at a glance, Fang Ming could tell that this inner section was not comparable to the outer corridor.
He walked slowly, taking in the sight.
Ma Hong Yun's luck had brought him to a suitable exchange.
Lang Ya's information had allowed him to pass the guest halt restriction.
His two apertures had supported the refinement.
One step led to another.
Fang Ming stopped before the first crystal wall of the deeper section.
Inside, stronger lights flickered.
He stood silently, eyes calm.
The treasure room had only just begun.