In the blood lake, two strong foes opposed each other.
"Even the Rank five Blood Wight is only a zombie at the end. First gen Gu Yue, you are no longer a living person, you are full of death essence. Your aperture is dead too, and even though you can store primeval essence, every bit you use cannot be replenished, you cannot recover on your own," the giant puppet said coldly.
"Hehehe… although I cannot recover primeval essence, so what? I can continue to use primeval stones to regain primeval essence. You have an injury on you, yet you dare disturb me… die!" First gen Gu Yue shouted.
At once, blood mist spewed out, and as blood waves raged on, a large group of insects flew out from the blood lake.
It was the Rank five Blood Guillotine!
At the same time, troops of bladewing blood bats flew out from the cave ceiling and emerged from the blood lake, joining together and attacking towards the giant puppet.
A large pack of bats, almost a thousand of them, formed into a huge army.
Although they were Rank three and were a close-combat type Gu, but numbers made up for quality, even the Rank five Tie Xue Leng felt a headache fighting against them.
But that was not the end, for after First gen Gu Yue's consciousness awakened, under his command, troops of blood bats continued to show up, gathering here.
He had operated there for almost a thousand years, and had a heaven shattering scheme. He had converted the place into his personal backyard, thus having a great location advantage.
Blood bat groups were organised, staying in formation in the air, continuing to move around like a strong army, surrounding the giant puppet.
The blood river python stopped struggling, instead coiling up its body. This caused Tie Xue Leng to feel a threat, and he concentrated his mind even further.
A Gu's power although strong, was unintelligent. A blood bat army with or without a Gu Master's control, had a hell of a difference.
"First gen Gu Yue only just appeared, and yet he has turned the tables, almost suppressing Tie Xue Leng. He has great location advantage, having his troops at his disposal, while Tie Xue Leng has an injury on him, the situation is not looking good."
Fang Yuan had hid into a cave in the walls, using the shadows to hide and observe the battle.
"But Tie Xue Leng has roamed the Southern Borders for many years. With an injury on him but still entering this trap, he has to have some trump card. No matter what, there's going to be an intense battle soon, this entire district might even collapse. Should I stay here and observe? Staying here is very dangerous, this is the deepest part of the underground cave, I might get buried alive.
If I stay and watch the show, what are the chances of me benefiting from their conflict?"
Fang Yuan thought quickly, evaluating the gains and losses.
He was only Rank three initial stage now, and there was a high risk in staying. As long as he got hit indirectly by one of their attacks, he would get heavily injured.
But if he really gained something from this, surviving to the end, the benefits would be overwhelming. After all, what a Rank five Gu Master owns could help him save up to a hundred years of hard work!
"High risk high return…" Fang Yuan heaved a long sigh, and planned to retreat.
The situation was no longer under his control; there was too much risk in staying.
Birds die for food, people die for fortune, these situations, he had seen much of them in his previous five hundred years of living.
He was vigilant in nature. As long as he lived, there would always be more opportunities in the future. After all, he knew countless secrets and many unexposed inheritance grounds; they were all profitable and useful to him, he did not have to risk his life here.
Just when Fang Yuan was about to leave, a small amount of blood bats flew out from the army and towards him.
This blood bat group had around a hundred, causing Fang Yuan to quickly retreat.
"My clan junior, don't worry. There are traps set up in that cave, and even underground beasts reside there. These blood bats can ensure your safety," the first gen Gu Yue's voice resounded.
When Fang Yuan heard this, he ran even faster.First gen Gu Yue was slightly shocked, not expecting Fang Yuan to be so observant at such a young age, able to sense his evil intents. Immediately, he pushed his will and another group of hundreds of blood bats chased after Fang Yuan.
His distraction caused Tie Xue Leng to discover a weakness that wasn't really a flaw.
Heaven Earth Magnificent Sound Gu!
Howl!The giant puppet opened its mouth, giving off a howl that shook the nine heavens. At once, the overwhelming soundwaves rushed towards all directions like the sound of thunder.
The bladewing blood bat Gu closeby were instantly murdered by this power, falling down one by one.
Blood bat groups further away were in disarray from the attack, flying randomly in the air.
The concentrated bat army earlier had in a split second, gone into chaos and could not have any utility in the next short period.
Heaven Earth Magnificent Sound Gu was as high as Rank five, and it was an area-of-effect type that specialized in dealing with blood bat groups. When Tie Xue Leng first used it, the power was not strong, but that was due to him keeping it down forcefully. Now that he used the body of the giant puppet, he could display the true power of the Heaven Earth Magnificent Sound Gu.
Even numerous Blood Guillotine all over the sky were killed. As the blood mist dispersed, clear vision returned.
The soundwaves bounced off the walls as the entire space within the mountain started trembling.
With the giant puppet as the focal point, the blood lake's water level was forced downwards, forming a bowl shape in the lake, and the blood water oozed out through the cave opening.
But before that, there were sound waves spreading.
Fang Yuan was caught in the crossfire, his white armor shimmering, almost breaking apart. To endure this soundwave attack, his aperture's primeval essence was used up by about 10%.
The soundwaves echoed in the narrow cave, and Fang Yuan's ears could not endure the buzzing and he almost tripped on the ground.
But this soundwave was at least helpful to him.
For the two groups of blood bats chasing him, the second was already decimated, and the first were in chaos from the attack, flying all over the place in the cave and not being able to chase Fang Yuan.
It was a rare chance, so Fang Yuan quickly sprinted, pulling some distance from the blood bats.This group of bats were the furthest from the soundwaves, thus recovering quickly. They flapped their wings, continuing their assault.
There were about a hundred blood bats, all Rank three. Fang Yuan could not fight against them and could only run away.
Earlier, the cave was dark and he did not know the directions. But now, his eyes had adapted to the dark environment, and he could see a bit of the area.
This was all thanks to the red soil emitting light.
Although his thunderwings were already unreliable, it could at least help a little, thus Fang Yuan activated it with all his strength.
But even so, the two had a great difference in speed, and the distance was slowly shortened.
"The distance is almost there, it's time to use the Spring Autumn Cicada!" Fang Yuan gritted his teeth. As the blood bat group continued to get closer, he could only use this method!
Bladewing blood bat Gu was only Rank three, so the Rank six Gu aura completely dominated them. But Tie Xue Leng and First gen Gu Yue were nearby.
Once the Spring Autumn Cicada appears, it would cause a great mirage and the commotion would attract their attention.
But Fang Yuan had no choice. With the situation before him, he could only hope that they were concentrated in fighting, and could not split their attention towards him.
Screech screech…
The blood bat group continued to get closer, almost less than a hundred steps away.
Fang Yuan breathed out in anticipation, thinking in his heart, "Spring Autumn Cicada, come out!"
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Fang Yuan was stunned, standing on the spot; the Spring Autumn Cicada was in the center of his aperture, unmoving while emitting a brilliant yellow green light.
"How can this be?!" Fang Yuan was shocked.
…
Far away, the sky glowed amidst the mist.
It was dawn.
On the slope, Gu Yue Bo, Bai clan and Xiong clan leader stood side by side.
"Even though the real competition is tomorrow, we have to have a preliminary competition. The time is just right, shall we start?" Xiong clan leader smiled as he said.
Bai clan leader snorted, ignoring him.
"Then let's start." Gu Yue Bo answered while distracted. He moved his gaze to the Gu Masters gathered there, trying to search but could not find Fang Yuan among them.
His worry intensified.
These Gu Masters were all under thirty years old, and while standing together, they distinctly split into three groups.
Taking one glance, the three clan's strength was apparent.
Xiong clan had the most Gu Masters since they retreated at the start, and kept most of their battle strength. Gu Yue clan and Bai clan had less members, but Bai clan had Bai Ning Bing. He alone was enough to promote the Bai clan's overall strength to the top of the three clans.
Xiong clan leader shouted, "This competition will be held around the surrounding hundred li, all the way until night time, ending when the sun sets. Battles will not have life-and-death restrictions, but I hope you can control yourselves. You have a token in your hands, and the ones who collect thirty of them gets the qualification to enter the three-clans competition! Ready, and start!"
Life and death battles, only those who qualify can enter. There is no participation limit, and the surrounding hundred li is the stage. Even entering midway is permitted.
This is not a fair competition. But the three clan leaders did not have any opinions or grudges towards it.
In this world, survival is based on one's own strength, one's fist. The stronger you are, the more rights you have to gain more benefits. If you are weak, then you should begrudge your luck and lay low, accumulating strength and becoming strong.
…
In a few breath's time, Fang Yuan felt like two or three years had passed.
His forehead was full of cold sweat; the Spring Autumn Cicada was unable to come out, how could this happen?
Spring Autumn Cicada is his vital Gu, it was very important to him. A Rank six Gu, his final trump card, to think it could not be controlled! This was too severe, and Fang Yuan had to place all his attention on this problem.
In the dark cave, he squinted.
He only panicked for less than a second, before calming himself down.
His mind moved like lightning, his spirit entering his aperture; there was nothing wrong with the Spring Autumn Cicada, it was still recovering quickly.
But no matter how Fang Yuan willed it, it remained stagnant at the center, not moving even a single step.
"I get it!" Fang Yuan was enlightened, "This Spring Autumn Cicada, once it becomes a vital Gu, it stays in the aperture and can no longer be moved."
Gu was the essence of living beings, it had endless possibilities, and all sorts of forms and abilities.
For Gu worms—nurture, use, and refine, all three were deep and profound and often were there special cases in these aspects.
On 'nurturing', Gu worms only ate specific food. On 'refine', they had all sorts of requirements.
On 'use', the Bamboo Gentleman could only be used by a Gu Master that has never lied. And to use the Righteous Gu, it needed the Gu Master to have a heart of justice.
Or the Photo-audio Gu, dying after one use, while the visuals could stay on the rock walls for a period of time.
Once the Spring Autumn Cicada is refined, it stays in the aperture and can no longer be moved. This specialty, reminded Fang Yuan of another Gu—The Water Curtain Skyflower.