Shang Clan, Yang Clan, Xiao Clan, Wu Clan. Four of the Southern Border's super clans gathered at Tie Li Mountain to compete for the inheritance of an Immortal Gu Master of the strength path.
Each clan brought one hundred promising rank three Gu Masters and geniuses to contend for the Immortal Gu Master's inheritance. Only Wu Clan was different, as they had one hundred and forty rank three Gu Masters.
Wu Clan was the number one force on the righteous path. Alone, they had suppressed the Southern Border clans, expanded their territory, and encroached upon other clans without being questioned. Now that three righteous path clans had joined forces to suppress Wu Clan, they had barely managed to reach this balance.
This alone showed the might and dominance of Wu Clan on the righteous path. Three super clans had joined hands just to balance against Wu Clan alone. Even then, they could only barely maintain parity; one could even say they were slightly inferior to Wu Clan.
There were already around sixty Wu Clan Gu Masters at Tie Li Mountain, led by a rank five upper-stage Gu Master named Wu Teng.
Fang Tian caught sight of Wu Ji among the crowd behind Wu Teng and quickly approached her. Behind him, Qin Yue followed Wu Zhan to meet Wu Teng and the elders of the other clans.
"Fang Tian! You gloomy bastard, it's really great to see you!"
Wu Ji greeted Fang Tian happily, feeling as if she was seeing a friend she had not met for a long time.
"Wu Ji, your cultivation is truly miserable. You're only at the middle stage of rank three, you loser!"
Wu Ji burst into loud laughter and stood beside Fang Tian, then shot a glance at Qin Yue, who was sending fiery looks at the two of them.
"Did she bring you here?… Oh, looks like she's using you as a pawn. What great rewards did you get from her?"
"Ah, well, she gave me excellent inheritances for rank five Gu Masters and a large amount of resources… and yes, she wants me to obtain the true strength path inheritance and hand over a portion of it to her in exchange for what she gave me."
Wu Ji's gaze turned to him as she sensed something was off in Fang Tian's tone.
"And you plan to do that?"
"Yes and no… If I can obtain the inheritance, I'll gain a lot, and giving up a portion to her won't hurt me. If I can't obtain it, I won't lose anything anyway."
"So you're willing to be her obedient pawn in exchange for a chance at the strength path inheritance, how wonderful!… Giving up a little to gain a lot—this mindset is good, but…"
Wu Ji did not finish her words. She looked at the vast expanse of sky and land, then at Fang Tian and the crowd of Gu Masters, and sighed. She could tell that Fang Tian was determined to obtain the inheritance, and she was the same. The competition would be fierce and brutal, and even she felt she had little chance against Fang Tian.
"Are you really set on this?"
"Of course. This inheritance is extremely precious and suits you very well… but for me, it's the same."
Wu Ji gave up and walked away from Fang Tian, blending into the crowd of Wu Clan Gu Masters. As for Fang Tian, he stood alone among the Gu Masters who had formed groups to cooperate.
"This path is extremely lonely, but like Ren Zu, I must give my heart to loneliness… yet even Ren Zu ultimately succumbed to it. Can I do what Ren Zu could not?"
It was a whimsical thought.
"Get ready! The order of entry into the inheritance will be decided now!"
A loud voice boomed like thunder across the sky, making everyone frown at its power.
"What, we're entering now?!"
"Oh, I can't wait!… But how will they decide who goes in first?"
The answer came immediately. At the forefront of the Gu Masters, two rank five Gu Masters of Wu Clan stood on one side, while three rank five Gu Masters from the other clans faced them on the opposite side.
"Oh? What, are they going to fight?! Are they crazy? We'll be reduced to dust just from the aftermath of their battle!"
A rank three Gu Master screamed in panic, but against his expectations, more than ten rank four Gu Masters from all clans gathered together and set up a formation to protect them.
"Two from Wu Clan—one at peak stage, the other at upper stage—against three rank five Gu Masters from the other clans: one at middle stage and two at upper stage. Looks like their strength is close."
"Now!"
The rank five battle began at once!
A sea of lightning erupted instantly, covering two square kilometers in an instant, attacking the Wu Clan Gu Masters. Along with it, a colossal silver dragon burst forth from the lightning field and charged toward the Wu Clan Gu Masters.
The dragon spat scorching breath at Wu Zhan, but its trajectory was immediately deflected and countered by water bindings that seized the dragon, boring into its scales and corroding it.
The ocean of lightning smashed against Wu Zhan's defenses, forcing him to activate his movement Gu, which took the form of a wind flower that flung him away at a sharp angle, crashing into the lightning path Gu Master.
Heaven and earth trembled as Tie Li Mountain turned into a devastated battlefield. Rocks shattered and melted into magma, and all forms of life on the mountain's surface perished.
Rank five was the pinnacle of the mortal world; their power was enough to shatter mountains and overturn rivers.
But to the five immortals watching from above, this battle was trivial.
"This Wu Zhan has a good foundation. He can actually fight two rank five Gu Masters evenly without being suppressed. His talent is quite good."
"Brother Wu Bi's clan is fortunate to possess such a good junior. With proper guidance, your clan might obtain a new Gu Immortal."
The Wu Clan Gu Master laughed at the praise, but in his heart he did not expect much from Wu Zhan.
"Brother Shang Tan Yi, don't flatter me like that. These youngsters are only entertaining to watch. One shouldn't place too many expectations on them, lest one be disappointed."
The person named Shang Tan Yi laughed dryly and focused on the battle below.
The silver dragon shattered against the mountainside, but it still inflicted a serious injury on Wu Zhan, giving his lightning path companion time to catch his breath. The lightning path Gu Master lunged forward, opened his mouth wide, and spat out several brilliant bolts of lightning.
These bolts immediately took shape, manifested physically, and rushed toward Wu Zhan, exploding on him!
Fang Tian watched the battle in utter amazement, to the point that he forgot to close his mouth! This battle was simply beyond his imagination—rank five was truly another world!
The rank five elders moved from the peak of the mountain to its base at unbelievable speed, fighting with power that shook the formation several times, causing the rank four elders to spit blood repeatedly!
Fang Tian could remove the seal on his primeval essence and fight evenly with a rank four middle-stage Gu Master, and might even be able to kill a rank four Gu Master, but that would be under extreme danger. He would have to risk self-detonation to take his opponent down with him.
Faced with such power, he felt both excitement and sorrow. He did not know when he could get rid of the problem of his self-detonation risk, but from the dreams that visited him from time to time, he could tell that the key lay in Li Hua's inheritance. Fang Tian did not know which Gu worm he had been afflicted with in Li Hua's inheritance to have these dreams, but at the time, he had felt nothing unusual.
The rank five battle ended with a narrow victory for Shang Clan, Xiao Clan, and Yang Clan. Wu Clan was placed last.
"Now you will enter the blessed land. Be careful—the land spirit inside is extremely stubborn and will only acknowledge a master under its own conditions."
Wu Zhan, heavily injured, spoke to the Wu Clan Gu Masters with fatigue. Then, with hope in his eyes, he looked at his nephew.
Fang Tian stepped forward with the Wu Clan group. Taking a deep breath, he removed the seal on his primeval essence. Instantly, his initial-stage aura vanished and transformed into a peak-stage aura, shocking the surrounding people.
At once, the pressure on his aperture intensified, causing him to clutch his navel area with slight pain. However, relying on his endurance, his aperture relaxed from the pressure for a good period of time and could hold out for two months before the pressure became unbearable.
Fang Tian was stunned when five figures appeared, flying in the air. They extended their hands together, their immortal aura terrifying to the point that the hairs on Fang Tian's skin stood on end, as they opened a rift in the mountain's space.
A gate twenty meters tall and several meters wide appeared, formed from thousands of bones—some belonging to beasts, some to variant humans, and some to humans themselves. At the top of the gate, bloody light formed words:
"Ancient Strength Blessed Land"
An uproar erupted immediately among the Gu Masters. Excitement and greed flooded their hearts, and their thoughts were as follows:
"If I can obtain this blessed land, then I will…"
"This is my immortal opportunity!"
Even Fang Tian nearly drooled when he realized that the inheritance was a competition for this blessed land! If he could obtain it, he would be able to immediately resolve the problem of the Infinite Samsara Forest Physique!
"I must obtain it—must obtain it!"
Fang Tian watched with flames leaping in his eyes as Shang Clan entered first, followed by Xiao Clan, then Yang Clan. When it was Wu Clan's turn, he entered together with the other peak-stage Gu Masters.
The surrounding scenery changed from the gloomy, iron-like Tie Li Mountain to rocky land and hills of stone everywhere.
He had entered the blessed land.