The Yellow Dragon river is the third river in the Southern Border – it is over eight thousand kilometers. It starts from Mount Huang Guo, and passes through mountains and hills like Mount Xuan Ming, Mount Gui Bei, Mount Qing Mao, Mount Bai Gu and Mount Lei Ci before finally flowing into the ocean.
If the whole Southern Border was seen through a bird's eye view, one could see the Yellow Dragon river forming a zigzag shape as it ran through over half of the Southern Border.
Several waves roared as they turned over, the violent waves rolling in an imposing manner along the river. It bore through the crack between the shores, and fog was raise up into the blue sky.
The Yellow Dragon river flowed rapidly and unceasingly. Many creatures lived in the river – fishes, turtles, snakes, clams and other life forms. At this moment, there was a person who was flying upon the Yellow Dragon river with wide wings.
He was Fang Yuan.
"I've gathered nearly two million Primeval Stones after sweeping through Qing Mao Mountain," Fang Yuan thought to himself, casting a glance at the two Primeval Elder Gu in his aperture.
Following the battle at Qing Mao Mountain, Fang Yuan had taken everything—Gu recipes from the Gu Yue, Bai, and Xiong Clans, their Primeval Stone reserves, and even their unique Gu specializations.
He didn't stop there—he wiped out every beast in the mountain to extract their Gu as well.
"Now, it's time to prepare for the appearance of Ba Gui Blessed Land," he mused, looking off into the distance.
"In my previous life, I encountered Shang Xin Ci—whether by coincidence or Heaven's Will. Though I did gain benefits from her back then, I now realize those rewards were neither exceptional nor worthless—just average."
"This time, I could assist her, manipulate the Shang Clan to extract the most from them. But honestly, there's no real gain in building ties with them. Once the Fate Gu is destroyed, the Shang Clan's influence will crumble."
"Shang Xin Ci is the only one with enough influence to slow their decline."
"She probably used my name—and the legacy I left behind in the southern border—to survive her crisis."
Fang Yuan shook his head and let out a silent laugh.
What is beauty? What is friendship? What is life… or death?
All of it is meaningless in the pursuit of immortality.
Fang Yuan doesn't care what becomes of the world, as long as he gets what he wants.
Everyone else can fade away—because he owes them... nothing.
...
In the distance, a cold voice rang out.
"Kid, you still think you can escape from me—Lord Sky Crane?" the man sneered.
He gave Bai Ning Bing a once-over and added, "You could say you're both lucky and unlucky. If things had gone differently, you'd either be dead from the cold or already buried."
"And let me give you a piece of advice—don't move recklessly. If you fall, don't blame me."
Bai Ning Bing glanced downward. No matter how many times he looked, it still left him breathless.
They were soaring through the sky—riding on the back of a massive crane, hundreds of meters above the ground.
Clouds drifted around them, swirling past as the majestic crane glided effortlessly.
"Central Continent…" Bai Ning Bing whispered, awe-struck by the sight before him.
...
"Father… Father!" Tie Ruo Nan wept, kneeling beside her father's lifeless body.
Around her, their friends and fellow disciples stood in stunned silence, eyes red with sorrow. None of them could believe that their revered master—the man who had once defeated countless demonic Gu Masters alone—had now fallen to one from an obscure, remote region.
As the funeral procession moved forward, Tie Ruo Nan reached into her robe and withdrew a Gu worm, handing it solemnly to her senior brother.
"This is the one behind the Blood Calamity in Qing Mao Mountain," she said quietly. "And the one who killed my father."
Her senior took the Gu and, activating another, projected an image from it onto a blank sheet of paper, imprinting a portrait of the suspect.
Turning to the rest of their group, he raised his voice, firm and resolute. "Everyone!"
He held up the printed image. "Our master was slain by a demonic Gu Master."
Raising the portrait high, he declared, "Issue a bounty on this man!"
"I don't care who he is or where he's from."
"The murderer of our Master—the Divine Investigator—must be brought to justice."
"Fifty thousand primeval stones to anyone who can reveal his identity."
"And a reward of one million primeval stones to whoever kills him."
...
Huff... Huff...
An old man gasped for breath, collapsing onto the floor of a dark room. His body trembled as sweat dripped steadily onto the ground.
"Who… who killed the pawn?" he asked the empty air, his voice weak.
A beat passed.
Suddenly, the air grew thick—oppressive.
His chest rose and fell sharply. A tremor ran through him. His breathing quickened and a chill scraped down his spine.
The old man clutched at his chest, trying to steady himself. His breath rattled in his throat.
After a moment, he steadied himself and sat upright.
"Could this be part of a Venerable's plan?" he questioned aloud. No answer came.
Then, his expression sharpened. "Were there any Immortal Gu present on Qing Mao Mountain?"
Silence.
His brow furrowed. "So... it was done using Mortal Gu?"
Still no voice responded, yet his eyes began to glow faintly with a cold blue light.
"How many people survived on that mountain?" he demanded.
Again, silence. But the blue glow in his eyes intensified.
"Three survivors... What are their names?"
He gave a slow, knowing nod. But suddenly, as if struck by an invisible force, he staggered, coughed violently, and blood spilled from his mouth.
Collapsing again, he muttered with a fading voice, "An unknown variable... has appeared..."
Then, everything went still as he lost consciousness.