Immortal Crane Sect is one of the oldest sects in the Central Continent.
In practice, when a person in the sect goes out for an emergency mission, they would bring along a Gu worm that will record the process.
Regardless of whether the mission succeeds, the Gu Master will return to the mountain and report the results, and the sect will evaluate the assessment based on the events that were recorded.
Lord Sky Crane, although a sect elder, was also not freed from this rule.
However, he was too senior in authority and barely any Gu Masters had the qualification to assess him in the sect; not even the current Immortal Crane Sect leader could.
But at this point, the elderly sitting in front of Lord Sky Crane was not an ordinary person.
Supreme Elder He Feng Yang, Rank 6 Gu Master, titled Winged Crane Flying Immortal!
He was wearing a white robe with a black belt, sitting on a futon with wide sleeves.
His face looked like a youngster, smooth as jade. His eyebrows were green and long, extending to his waist.
Lord Sky Crane stood beside him politely, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Truthfully speaking, Lord Sky Crane had been asleep for almost a thousand years, and the Crane immortal was still his junior. However, seniority was not determined by age, but by strength.
Lord Sky Crane was rank 5, and although he was only a rank away from He Feng Yang, this distance was like an entire world apart, the difference between heaven and earth.
Rank 5 are mortals, rank 6 are immortals!
"Sky Crane." He Feng Yang spoke slowly, his voice as soothing as the calm river water.
"I am here." Lord Sky Crane quickly replied.
"Although you managed to eliminate the traitor from our sect, you failed to recover the Blood Skull Gu. On top of that, you were overpowered and humiliated by a mere junior..." He Feng Yang's voice echoed through the room.
Lord Sky Crane lowered his head even further, clearly ashamed.
"That said, the junior had the Ten Extreme Physique—it's no wonder you were overwhelmed. Fortunately, it seems he's after something specific. Tell me, the youth you brought back… are you sure he has no connection to the one you encountered?" He Feng Yang asked.
"I've looked into it thoroughly—it's true. The one who fought me goes by Gu Yue Fang Yuan, a descendant of our sect's traitor," Lord Sky Crane replied.
"And the one he wants us to raise is named Bai Ning Bing."
"What's odd," he continued with a chilling laugh, "is that the two of them appear to be complete strangers. When I showed Bai Ning Bing footage of Gu Yue Fang Yuan trying to sell him, he was so enraged he looked ready to kill him on the spot."
He Feng Yang nodded: "It seems you have a plan, but do you have enough time?"
Lord Sky Crane's expression changed, his face turning solemn: "Supreme elder is right. My lifespan is at its limit, I am about to die, with only a few days left to live. Even the life-burial jade gu cannot change my fate."
His situation can only be resolved by finding a lifespan gu, to solve the root problem.
But lifespan gu is hard to find, there are a few in Immortal Crane Sect, but they are not for him. They are held in the hands of the sect leader and some supreme elders.
"Thus, I have given up my lifetime's saving and gu worms earlier, to exchange for a spirit incubating flea. I've brought Bai Ning Bing into our sect, and made him my pupil. Afterwards, I will incite him to kill this young man when he appears, and retrieve the blood skull gu for our Immortal Crane Sect!" Lord Sky Crane said.
He Feng Yang raised his eyebrows: "It sounds like you are confident of your plans. But, will that Bai Ning Bing really be manipulated by you?"
"Did you forget he has the Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique. The road has already been paved for him, all he has to do is to walk!"
"In the future, he will definitely become a Gu Immortal."
"Nevermind, just focus on cultivating him properly."
"Okay elder!" Lord Sky Crane was solemn as he made his way out.
He Feng Yang glanced in the distance and muttered, "Qing Mao Mountain… is it a blessing, or a curse?"
...
Southern borders, Wan Cheng mountain, Tie clan city.
The tall thick blackrock walls, extended thousands of li. Tie clan city was built at the upper half of the mountain, many rock houses, steel towers, lined up and extended to the mountain peak.
The sunlight shone down on people who moved about in the city; carriages, horses and crowds, showing off a scene of prosperity.
Clan leader pavilion is situated at the mountain peak, heavily defended, and have little people moving around. Patrolling groups take turns and the Gu Masters are all vigilant, with not a hint of slack.
On top of the clan leader pavillion, two people were standing.
A middle aged man with a face cold as steel, and some warmth in his eyes.
Beside him was a young girl, having a sad but determined gaze.
It was Tie Ruo Nan.
"I turned a blind eye to the stunt you pulled at your father's funeral—but this needs to stop, now!"
"I am also extremely upset by your father's death. You lost your mother early, and now your father too, but you must remember, you have me, your uncle. You are my niece, I will not put you in danger." Tie clan leader sighed.
Tie Ruo Nan's eyes were shining, staring straight at Tie clan leader: "Uncle do you know? Although father passed away, I feel happy for him amidst my sadness. Father has spent his life eliminating evil, punishing crime. He did it, even with his injuries he did not back down. He walked on his path and finished it with resolution. And now, it is time for me to do the same."
Tie clan leader was stunned.
This moment, he could see Tie Xue Leng's shadow in Tie Ruo Nan.
So similar, these eyes, this gaze.
In his recollection, he seemed to have returned to his younger days, with Tie Xue Leng by his side, staring at the demon suppression tower at the peak of the mountain, saying with determination: "I will bring down all crime in this world, and fill the world with justice and love! Locking all demonic Gu Masters in the demon suppression tower, even if I have to fill it up!"
The oath back then, was still echoing in his ears. But his friend is no longer around...
Seeing the two images overlap, Tie clan leader shook his head, dispelling the memories, he looked at the adamant Tie Ruo Nan with an admiring, loving, worried, and encouraging gaze: "The path that you chose is not an easy one."
Tie Ruo Nan did not answer, but looked at the mountain peak.
On Wan Cheng mountain's peak area, there is a majestic steel tower.
Its aura was overwhelming, like it is holding up the heavens, stepping on the mountains. The white clouds surround it like a mist, causing others to see it in a foggy image, adding a hint of mystery to the tower.
This tower is not only famous in the southern borders, but also famous all over the world, even in central continent many people know of it.
Demon suppression tower!
The tower itself is a over three hundred metres tall, with almost a hundred floors. It was designed to be rustic, and ancient, overflowing with righteousness. Since it was built, hundreds, thousands, and even ten thousand demonic Gu Masters have been imprisoned by Tie clan.
Even Tie clan leader was not sure.
It was the symbol of righteousness, the pride of the Tie Clan Gu Masters. It is also the resting place for many demonic cultivators, leaving behind their anguish, regret, indignance, and remorse.
Demonic Gu Masters pale when talking about it, and righteous Gu Masters dance in pride when speaking of it!
Tie Ruo Nan opened her mouth, her tone determined, like she was talking to Tie clan leader, and also herself: "Wan Cheng mountain peak has a demon suppression tower. My heart also has a demon suppression tower, this path, father could not finish walking on it, I will walk it for him!"
...
BAM!
Another blast tore through the clearing as the twin-headed boar stepped on a smoldering Thunder Potato Gu. Its body finally collapsed with a heavy thud, smoke rising from its charred hide.
Chen Cui Hua leaned against a tree, gasping for air. Her legs trembled, and her vision flickered.
"Damn beast… how tough was that skin? Took all those explosions just to kill it," she muttered, breathing hard.
Darkness pressed in around her.
"No… I need to get back to the cave. If I pass out here, I'm done for."
She forced herself to move—but before she could take a step, a whisper of wind passed by her ear.
"Wind? That's odd—"
That thought never finished.
From the shadows, Fang Yuan stepped out, his blade already dripping. He looked down at the lifeless body, her head now severed, eyes still wide with confusion.
"I waited almost three months for you," he said quietly, as if speaking to a ghost. "At one point, I nearly gave up. Thought you'd never come."
He knelt beside the corpse, hands steady, and sliced open the head with surgical precision. Blood stained his fingers, but he didn't flinch.
Carefully, he extracted the brain, peeling away the layers like unwrapping a treasure.
Nestled inside was a silkworm-shaped Gu worm—small, but pulsing with vitality.
Fang Yuan's eyes gleamed.
"There you are."
With a single thought, he refined the Bookworm Gu and began absorbing the information sealed within.
Moments later, a grin spread across his face.
"Hah"
"Hahahaha… it's definitely worth the wait."
Laughter echoed through the night as Fang Yuan soared into the sky, leaving behind only blood and silence.
...