Soon after, Fang Zheng rushed over as well.
"Lord Qing Shu!" He had an exhilarated expression, stupidly running towards Gu Yue Qing Shu, but soon was forced to retreat by the pin needles.
"Group leader, it's me Fang Zheng!!" He shouted in shock, sensing something amiss for the first time.
But how could Gu Yue Qing Shu answer him.
"Brother, what's wrong with Lord Qing Shu?" Fang Zheng, under confusion and shock, could only turn to Fang Yuan.
But Fang Yuan ignored him, squatting down and grabbing with his right hand, making a claw shape towards Bai Ning Bing.
Plunder Gu!
He secretly activated this Gu, quickly sensing that he had grabbed something.
He quickly pulled back, and a Gu worm flew out of Bai Ning Bing's body.
It was a red steel Relic Gu!
This was given to Bai Ning Bing by the Bai clan leader, but Bai Ning Bing never used it as he quickly reached Rank three cultivation.
Now, it became Fang Yuan's loot.
Seeing the red steel Relic Gu coming out of Bai Ning Bing's body and flying away, landing in Fang Yuan's palm, the Bai clan Gu Masters were anxious until their eyes turned red, starting to scream.
"Scumbag, if you don't want to die, stop right now!"
"Stealing our Bai clan Gu worm right in front of us!!"
"It's a red steel Relic Gu worm…"
Fang Yuan laughed coldly. Once the red steel Relic Gu was obtained, he used the Spring Autumn Cicada to instantly refine it but did not keep it in his aperture, putting it in his clothes instead, giving the impression that he had not refined them yet.
He grabbed once again; this time a grey coloured beetle flew out.
"Stone Aperture Gu…" Fang Yuan recognised this Gu immediately. As his eyes shone, he refined it once again and kept it in his arms.
"Damn it, yet another Gu worm!"
"Stop him, stop him, he dares to do so openly, he does not hold any regard for our Bai clan."
"Save Bai Ning Bing, kill these guys!"
The Bai clan Gu Masters growled, running furiously from the mountain path.
Bai Ning Bing had the full support of his clan, so every Gu worm in his possession was outstanding. Now that they were snatched away by Fang Yuan in public, they all could feel their hearts bleeding.
This felt worse than killing them.
Seeing these people approaching with their imposing aura, Fang Zheng took a step back in fright, but Fang Yuan was unfazed.
In the current scene, he and Fang Zheng were at the east side of the mountain path while the Bai clan Gu Masters were at the west, and in the middle of the two sides were Gu Yue Qing Shu and Bai Ning Bing.
Whoosh whoosh!
Pin needles rained like cats and dogs.
"Damn it…" Bai clan Gu Masters started scolding, as they were blocked by Gu Yue Qing Shu.
"Gu Yue Qing Shu is going to die anytime, the remaining time only allows me to use the Plunder Gu once, what would it be this time?" Fang Yuan calmed down, using the Plunder Gu again.
Every time the Plunder Gu was used, it expended a large amount of primeval essence. It depended on how strong the target Gu worm was. The harder the process, the more primeval essence is expended. If the plunder fails, the Gu Master would even face a backlash.
Thus, the Plunder Gu was a rather unreliable Gu, with little usage.
But at this moment, Bai Ning Bing was almost dead, his consciousness was hazy and he was almost at his limits. Plundering his Gu worm was not hard at all.
Among the Gu worms in Bai Ning Bing's possession, the most valuable is the Frost Demon Gu. This Gu was on par with the Wood Charm Gu, allowing a person to transform into the frost demon. But if used for extended periods, it would cause the Gu Master's life force to dwindle, turning into an ice statue.
Bai Ning Bing knew this weakness, thus he had never been like Gu Yue Qing Shu, using the Gu to such an extent.
Other than the Frost Demon Gu, the second most valuable is the Blue bird ice coffin Gu, a Rank three Gu. Right now, it resides in Bai Ning Bing's throat.
If he can plunder the Blue bird ice coffin Gu, it is the best scenario. But the Plunder Gu is only a Rank two Gu, even if the Gu Master wills it, it does not have to ability to do so.
Eventually, Fang Yuan caught Bai Ning Bing's Water Shield Gu.
This was not bad at all. The Water Shield Gu together with the White Jade Gu could provide Fang Yuan greater defensive power.
The tree spirit that Gu Yue Qing Shu turned into was eventually felled by the Bai clan Gu Masters.
They split open the wooden cage and saved the Bai Ning Bing who had fainted after losing his right arm.
Just as they were about to slaughter Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng, the Gu Yue clan reinforcements arrived.
The two were at a stalemate for a while, before both retreated in mutual understanding.
Qing Shu's death and Bai Ning Bing's injury, with the threat of the wolf tide, such a loss is already horrifying. If a large-scale fighting broke out, for each clan their pressure for survival would intensify greatly.
Regardless of which world, people always compete for their own benefits.
And the greatest benefit in the world, is undoubtedly "survival".
Eventually, Gu Yue Qing Shu's corpse and Gu worms, were brought back by the Gu Yue clan's Gu Masters.
The two sides held caution as they retreated from the battlefield.
The sky was raining, and the entire area was gloomy.
A group of people stood at a slope behind the village, this was the graveyard.
Every now and then, there would be a few more gravestones erected here.
In this world, it was tough for people to survive, and whether it is due to external threat or internal cause, there would always be a few sacrifices.
The clan elder's voice was low as it entered everyone's ears, making them feel even more down.
"We have the same surname, we come from the same clan, the same blood flows in our bodies."
"We are so close together in distance, yet we are forever separated by life and death."
"This pain aches in my heart."
"Wait for me."
"Someday in the future, I will lay beside you as well."
"Let us turn into ash and soil, as we support our future generations…"
On a newly erected gravestone, a group of people hung their heads low. Some were crying softly, and some were staring at the name on the tombstone as they were filled with sadness.
The cruelty of death was like a white bony arm, slashing a bloody injury on everyone's heart.
Except that some were already numb from the pain, while others were still too inexperienced.
Gu Yue Fang Zheng was among these people, his drooping eyes staring at the tombstone with "Gu Yue Qing Shu", these four words.
Dead?
In his eyes, there was endless uncertainty.
Yesterday's battle, the entire process and situation was still imprinted deep in his heart.
His experience was limited, he did not understand Gu Yue Qing Shu's moving and tragic bravery as well as his sacrifice.
But now that the truth was in front of him, he could not accept it suddenly.
"Dead? That kind Lord Qing Shu that always smiles, advises, shows concern and takes care of me…. Is actually dead?"
"Why did this happen?"
"Why is it that in this world, good people die easily, while bad people live long?"
"Is this a dream, am I having a dream right now?"
Fang Zheng clenched his fists, and the realistic feeling of touch caused him to feel ever more upset.
The discussions of the surrounding Gu Masters entered his ears.
"Sigh, I can't believe that this time, even Lord Qing Shu sacrificed himself."
"Humans will eventually die, but it is too much of a pity, I heard that Bai Ning Bing still had a breath of vitality left, he was eventually saved."
"May he rest well underground, and bless us with the hopes of surviving this wolf tide…"
The crowds slowly dispersed, until Fang Zheng was the last one left.
The young man's lonely shadow, facing the graveyard full of tombstones alone.
"Lord Qing Shu!" He suddenly kneeled on the ground, his tears falling on the ground.
He was lost, he was regretful, he was in pain!
Drip. Drip drop, drip drop…
Bean-sized raindrops fell from the dark clouds, hitting on the ground, causing the leaves and tree branches to bend.
The smell of the earth rushed into Fang Zheng's nostrils, and he wept in painful grief. The sound of his crying and the raindrops mixed together; his ten fingers grabbed the soil, trying to retrieve Qing Shu's life, but eventually he only had two handfuls of soil.
It started raining, and Bai Ning Bing lay upon a soft bed, staring at this rain blankly.
His right arm which was broken was already taken care off, wrapped with a white bandage. His eyes also returned to black, but his cultivation was Rank three, he had no longer suppressed it to Rank two.
When he woke up from his slumber, he suddenly lost all spirits, feeling extremely empty.
He laid on his bed peacefully, his eyes opened for over ten hours. He let the Rank three white silver primeval essence nurture his aperture; he couldn't bother to care about it.
This rain triggered the deepest memories in his heart.
It was under such a summer rain that he was officially adopted by the Bai clan leader. The clan leader's benevolent and hopeful gaze fell on him, as the surrounding clan elders gave their words of congratulations, gushing in like tidal waves.
The young him stood on the icy ground barefooted, and he stared at the rain outside the window, but all he felt was being lost and lonely.
"What is the meaning of living?" This question troubled him for twenty over years, and could continue to trouble him, until the problem of his self-explosion surfaced again.
"Is it for kinship, for the clan…" Bai Ning Bing unavoidably thought of Gu Yue Qing Shu.
From young to adulthood, he had seen such a sacrifice many times—sometimes it is a Bai clansman, sometimes they were from Gu Yue clan or Xiong clan.
He could not understand these fanatics, he was born as a cold and emotionless person.
Gu Yue Qing Shu could not give him answers, thus Bai Ning Bing thought of Fang Yuan.
The first time he saw Fang Yuan, Fang Yuan was sitting by a tree, eating a wild fruit he picked, emotionlessly starting at the battle below.
He was excited until his body shuddered, shivering with excitement. The reason was that he saw himself from Fang Yuan's similar eerie abyss-like iris.
But now that he thought about it, Fang Yuan's gaze had something more than him.
That thing, is the answer to his questions.
The rain got heavier and thunder rumbled while lightning flashed in the sky.
"What is the meaning behind living?" In the dark room, Gu Yue Fang Zheng asked the same question.
Gu Yue clan leader, Gu Yue Bo sighed. He stared pitifully at the young man who had lost his soul, and then looked outside the window, at the rain.
Fang Zheng's doubt was understandable; an unavoidable death always urges people to think behind the true value of existence.
"You know something? More than ten years ago, there was another young man with a similar situation as you, and asked me the same question." Long after, Gu Yue Bo started to speak.
"That person, is your clan leader's… my adopted son—Gu Yue Qing Shu."
Fang Zheng was momentarily stunned, raising his head. A pair of swollen red eyes, showing an intense urge for answers.