Wu Ji tossed and turned in her sleep while Fang Tian continued pondering the wonders of attainment level. Each time, he realized something new and carried out experiments.
Every new thought regarding the Wood Path gave him a kind of intuition about whether this path was correct or not, or whether it was even possible in the first place.
It could be said that if he used his Wood Path attainment level for a few months to refine his killer moves and create new killer moves to cover his weaknesses, his battle strength would rise sharply!
But for now, he could not do much. He lacked Gu worms to use as supplementary Gu for killer moves. At present, he had to make do with what he had—something he had already decided upon.
Yet this feeling of exhilaration accompanied him even as he cultivated quietly; it stayed with him throughout. This feeling was not unpleasant—on the contrary, it was very good and gave him a certain sense of control. Still, it distracted him a little, and he estimated that he would need some time to get used to it.
After a few hours, Wu Ji woke up and took over the watch from him. He lent her the Gu worms around their perimeter and went to sleep. Fang Tian relaxed on the damp ground, stretched his body, and sank into a deep sleep.
He dreamed again.
This time, he was no longer in his lean and powerful body. Instead, he had transformed into a tall woman wearing a white dress that fluttered everywhere as she moved, with hair as green as spring grass cascading down to her shoulders. She had full lips, a small nose, and eyes as brown as tree bark.
And instead of his flat chest, there were two soft mounds of flesh that swayed with every movement. Fang Tian did not care about his body; he focused on his enemy.
Before him was an enormous wooden dragon circling around itself, exhaling breaths that caused anything they touched to wither instantly. He tried to control his body to flee, but he could not.
"Fruit-Withering Dragon… it is a mutated beast king. But I am already on the verge of death—does it even matter if it possesses Rank Five battle strength?"
A voice came from his mouth—or from the woman's mouth. He did not know what was truly happening. But the voice was extremely beautiful, extremely gentle, and extremely sorrowful.
The woman extended her hands before her with exhaustion, pointed her arms toward the enormous wooden dragon, and whispered.
Killer move—Primeval Essence King Origin!
A tremendous suction force erupted from the woman's arms. Instead of pulling the dragon's body as expected, it drew out its vitality and all of its essence!
Fang Tian was shocked and felt terror from this killer move from its aura alone. The wooden dragon's body trembled, letting out a pained roar as it charged toward the woman in madness. The woman was focused on using her killer move and could not evade, yet she smiled weakly as she looked at the dragon.
An unseen transformation occurred to the dragon's body. It began to shrink gradually until it became the size of a snake. Then the woman seized it with her hands, whispering to it and gently stroking its head.
"I'm sorry, little dragon, for devouring your power, but I must do this to stay alive as long as possible. I am Li Hua. I will use you for better things!"
The woman Fang Tian saw was Li Hua, the master of the inheritance he possessed—the woman he knew well. However, her final sentence was somewhat insane, filled with obsession.
Fang Tian woke up drenched in sweat, his torn robe soaked through, yet he could not spare a thought for that.
"Li Hua! Li Hua!.. Why am I dreaming of her?! This isn't some kind of prophecy or anything, so how can I see scenes of her past?.. Think, remember!"
Fang Tian wracked his brain trying to recall the reason, but he could not. However, he had a rough guess as to the simplest way to find the answer.
"Then I still have to return to Mount Shu Jian… ah, fate works in mysterious and wonderful ways, as some say, but I still intend to go there."
Fang Tian had no intention of abandoning Li Hua's inheritance. That inheritance was extremely precious, perhaps more valuable than most Rank Five inheritances! Just the first two trial halls alone contained Gu worms and resources whose value easily exceeded one million primeval stones.
But he could not go anytime soon. His cultivation level was still somewhat low, and he also had to prepare complete sets of Gu worms in order to enter the inheritance and obtain it once and for all.
"Not to mention that Mount Ju Xian is currently witnessing a fierce battle between the Yang Zu Clan and the Yin Clan. I don't want to become a casualty of the conflict between these two clans. Only with Rank Four cultivation can I enter and seize the inheritance from among them with confidence!"
"Oh, you're awake. That's good. Even though you didn't sleep much, the sun is about to rise and we should move soon. I've already sensed several Gu Masters moving near us, but none of them have come toward us yet."
"What?!"
"As you heard. Several Gu Masters have approached our location, but they haven't discovered us yet. I have to say, the Gu worms I placed in the forest are surprisingly useful!"
Fang Tian did not bother to brush the dirt from his clothes. He immediately stood up and took out the silkworm Gu he had obtained from Jun Yun, then poured his primeval essence into it.
The Gu gradually transformed into a large brown silkworm Gu. Fang Tian swiftly mounted the silkworm, and Wu Ji followed after him.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
"Nothing. I just feel like I'm about to explode, so I need to be quick with whatever I do."
Wu Ji laughed at the bad joke as the silkworm flew into the air. It rose dozens of meters upward, soared above the withered trees, and flew toward the southeast.
The Gu Masters of the Yang Clan detected the flying silkworm Gu, but they had no means of pursuit. In the end, this Gu worm flew through the air while they were stuck on the ground.
"This trip was great, don't you think?.. Haha, I mean, we really gained a lot and enjoyed ourselves. What is life if not pleasure? Only in the face of the danger of death does one feel the value of life!"
"Oh, certainly it was. I gained more than you could imagine. But as for your last sentence, I strongly agree with you—though the kind of danger I mean is different."
"Oh, you're such a gloomy person."
Wu Ji lay on her back, gazing at the sky as it turned gray while the sun rose, illuminating the dark world.