Giant Sun's theories on luck were quite extensive and well-founded. He used luck path to reach an invincible stage known as an immortal venerable—rank 9 gu immortals who changed the course of the world and the eras within which they emerged. According to Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, luck exerted influence on everyone. This influence was based on one's intentions.
For instance, Lo Jik's luck already displayed intimate connections with the luck of the other girls due to their shared bond. He had not used any gu worm to achieve this effect. It was one of luck path's inherent aspects. This display of shared luck meant that Lo Jik and the girls would largely suffer misfortune and fortune around the same period of time. This was simply the example of luck of two and more people influencing each other positively due to shared ideals, alliances, love, and more.
Another example was this beast tide.
Every living being has luck. The beasts chasing after Lo Jik also had great luck compared to their mortal counterparts. The stronger one was, the better their luck. In the earlier chase, not only were Lo Jik and the beasts clashing, but their luck was also exerting its influence on each other. Comparatively, the weakened Void Anaconda had a smaller luck and was quickly caught by Lo Jik.
But was Lo Jik's luck only competing with these beasts?
No.
There were also other gu immortals watching from behind the scene. His luck was also exerting its influence on these gu masters. In reality, Lo Jik was already using his luck path killer moves to secretly raise his luck as well as lower his opponent's luck.
Thus, Feng Chan Zi was truly unlucky!
The greater a gu immortal's luck, the more it suppresses the surrounding's luck and gain greater advantages and opportunities. The stories about legendary figures earning life-changing benefits in chaos did not emerge from nowhere. The more chaotic a situation, the better the effects of one's luck. There were tales of some renowned gu immortals surviving their most fatal risks during ambushes because the group of enemies accidentally caused losses to one another. This was also the effect of luck path.
However, luck was a variable. The final results encompassed many other factors and Lo Jik would not have earned so much if not for his skills and pain tolerance.
'But this wasn't all my luck.' Lo Jik thought secretly while recalling Feng Jin Huang's grand pillar of luck. 'This connection goes both ways. My luck will positively influence my lovers, and Feng Jin Huang's luck will also nurture mine to some extent.'
There were a few reasons why Lo Jik didn't connect his luck with Feng Jin Huang's to reap immediate benefits.
First, he was already reaping benefits from her. He couldn't knowingly slight her in other matters just out of greed. And second, the moment he tried connecting their luck with the intention of depriving Feng Jin Huang, their bond of luck would shatter and Feng Jin Huang's divine luck blessed by heaven and earth alongside adoration of humanity would exert its strength on Lo Jik, thoroughly ruining his luck.
There was simply no reason to do all that.
Lo Jik had largely recovered from his injuries and even gained a lot of profit!
His body now boasted strengths of Jade Owl, Six-Clawed Rainbow Parrot, Morning Peacock, Iron Crown Eagle, Zap Falcon, and a Demon Frog.
The explosion was truly terrible and killed the beasts, but their bodies were quite tough. Lo Jik had salvaged enough to activate his Fickle Body Strength, gaining 540 strength path dao marks, bringing his total strength path foundation to 3000 strength path dao marks.
'Most gu immortals a step away from becoming rank 7 gu immortals displayed amplification of killer move by nine times... that's about 9000 dao marks of their relevant paths. I've already closed the gap by one-third and am getting closer to this accomplishment.'
Lo Jik's gains would be truly astounding should he summon all the bronze and silver rewards to slay the desolate beasts he summoned. He might have already displayed the same strength path foundation as rank 7 gu immortals.
But the thought of a platinum achievement was still more alluring.
'Damn it.' Lo Jik groaned. 'Too much time was wasted outside. I missed nearly 30 days with Hu Mei Er!'
Hu Mei Er might even be more bitter about this parting.
Lo Jik cleaned his traces from the temporary cultivation cave and flew out. It was already evening as the beasts had calmed down. Many spread throughout the forest surrounding Tian Ti Mountain while the majority returned to their previous territories. However, the deaths of so many desolate and ancient desolate beasts would, predictably, cause a lot of chaos among the beasts. New beast kings will rise up to replace the old ones and beast tides will continue for a while.
Thinking about something, Lo Jik flew towards a few locations on Tian Ti Mountain. These were the areas where the flying desolate beasts lived. Ordinary beasts were unable to detect Lo Jik as he sneaked into their supreme leaders' nests before sighing in disappointment. Other gu immortals were no slouches. They had the same intention as Lo Jik.
He wanted to steal the eggs of desolate beasts but came in late. Other gu immortals watching the battle already plundered many benefits from Tian Ti Mountain while Lo Jik was resting and cultivating, showing the world that he was still implicated by the wild explosion and could not emerge anytime soon.
After a moment's thought, Lo Jik decided to check every nest.
'Those sons of bitches!' He frowned. 'Feng Chan Zi did all the heavy lifting but they stole all the benefits!' His self-righteousness would force Feng Chan Zi to suffer from a few heart demons. Lo Jik sighed and finally moved towards Ancient Battle Gorilla's resting spot. He had two strength path immortal gu worms on his body. Perhaps, there was more to be acquired. Unfortunately, Lo Jik found no benefits. Lastly, he entered the giant cave carved by the pair of Ancient Mixed Heavenly Eagles. Although he found nothing, he observed the cave for a long time and activated several investigation gu worms.
'I see. There was a reason why the two couldn't mate and birth more offspring.'
Compared to the desolate beasts, the two Mixed Heavenly Eagles were ancient desolate beasts and boasted better physiques. Though injured by the explosion, they did not die. Unfortunately, immortal gu worms were not always strong. In fact, most immortal gu worms could be crushed by infants. The blast destroyed the immortal gu worm on the female Mixed Heavenly Eagle. Lo Jik didn't even obtain the corpse of the immortal gu for identification purpose and could only let go of this loss.
'Perhaps someone like Feng Jin Huang might have been lucky enough to gain an immortal gu worm for all this trouble. Meanwhile, I only acquired three injured ancient desolate beasts. Speaking of which... Disguise Immortal Gu is nearly recovered and exerting its pressure on my human path blessed land. Adding these ancient desolate beasts...'
Lo Jik reached for his heart region and frowned.
'I need to strengthen my human path blessed land. Thankfully, the increase of strength path dao marks also influences the second blessed land. But only the increase of human path dao marks through the second blessed land will count as its true foundation and endure the pressure of such creatures. Void Anaconda can also be nurtured into a True Void Anaconda. But my blessed land won't last as is if I try and stuff an immemorial desolate beast in there.'
He slowly flew towards Hu Immortal Blessed Land and activated the formation. After a while, he entered the blessed land and let out a sigh of relief.
It was wise to stay inside while Tian Ti Mountain's beast groups restructured themselves.
'I need to refine Fake Body and start increasing my human path dao marks somehow.'
'There's also the matter of refining immortal gu now that we completed gu house recipe.'
<<<>>>
Lu Zuan Feng and Wang Nu stepped out of a cave with terrible expressions. The former wore a hooded robe and masked his face while the latter was a respected inner disciple from Spirit Affinity House. Wang Nu had experienced many tragedies. These disasters sculpted her into a more formidable figure.
"Do you think those two inherited the blessed land, senior?" She inquired, recalling Fu and Nu. The pair did not know about the terrible conditions of inheriting Fang Dang Blessed Land and envied those two gu masters. To Wang Nu's surprise, Lu Zuan Feng continued staring ahead at the setting sun.
"Senior?" Wang Nu called again.
"Hmm? Oh." Lu Zuan Feng snapped out of his daze and shot her a quiet look. "We will separate here. It's a pity we did not inherit the blessed land but we escaped with our lives."
He didn't speak much and left the ordinary cave. Wang Nu snorted in her heart and felt dissatisfied.
'You dragged me through dangers and don't even have the cheek to offer compensation? Hmph!' Wang Nu was quite disappointed by the results. Inheriting a blessed land could have allowed her to nurture the strength needed to take revenge for her father. She quietly stared in Lu Zuan Feng's direction before returning to the cave and replenished her primeval essence.
'Hmm?' Wang Nu couldn't help but observe the cave again. The formation was destroyed by the land spirit when the pair returned. The duo did not get any gu worms or valuable clues because of this. However, Wang Nu noticed a bug crawling out of a whole. It was a weakened centipede, but its aura was strangely fluctuating. Only when Wang Nu got a clear look of the gu worm did she notice how its aura suddenly turned to rank 5, but then it briefly vanished again, as if it was a dream. The next second, Wang Nu felt a horrifying breath from the gu worm!
'Rank 5 Sword Needle Gu Worm... but what is happening?'
She held her breath and didn't dare scare the gu worm. It was a rank 5 gu worm, its offense wasn't something Wang Nu could handle.
Her eyes suddenly widened at the realization. She couldn't believe her eyes and luck!
'This gu worm is in a state of natural refinement and advancement.'
There were many wild immortal gu worms. These gu worms were refined in nature without any gu master's assistance. Some immortal gu worms were refined at rank 6 level and some advanced from lower ranks. Wang Nu encountered the latter situation.
Rank 6 Sword Needle Immortal Gu Worm!
Her eyes brightened.
She waited patiently while malevolent intentions brewed in her mind.
'Could I kill Gu Yue Lo Jik with this immortal gu worm? I must do everything in my power to refine this immortal gu worm once it transcends successfully.'
Wang Nu was not ignorant of the dangers of a gu master refining an immortal gu worm. She was a mortal. Her will was not an immortal's will, and her primeval essence did not hold much weight against an immortal gu worm. But she still had to try. Even if she succeeded, Wang Nu might encounter terrible gu immortals lured by the aura of this immortal gu worm.
But!
Wang Nu clenched her fists and waited.
She would do anything to kill Lo Jik.
Lo Jik murdered her father!
*Puff*
Was it because her luck was great or bad that the gu worm suddenly exploded?
Wang Nu stared at the gu worm's corpse in a daze before two streams of tears flowed down from the corner of her eyes.
'Father... please grant me strength. Please bless me with endurance. Please... please... help me find a way to deal with Lo Jik!'
She broke down and sobbed.
On the other hand, Lu Zuan Feng grimaced and settled into another cave.
'What is happening to me? How can I forget such a crucial gu recipe?'
Lu Zuan Feng activated several wisdom path gu worms. These gu worms came from Fang Zhen's incomplete inheritance and would ordinarily serve to enhance one's thinking.
To the Divine Thief's fright, the more he used these gu worms, the greater the loss of his memories!
'How could this be?!'
He was shocked and terrified. Lu Zuan Feng used a wisdom path killer move and suddenly lost control of his body. He could still feel everything, but his arms did not respond to his will. It did not move up like he wanted. His fingers did not curl and his legs did not straighten themselves in an attempt to alleviate his suspicions.
Lu Zuan Feng looked at his own hands and realized he had become a will, a frail one at that. He was caged in a corner of his own mind, surrounded by several wisdom path gu worms he had Feng Zheng refine for him.
"Fang... Zheng...!"
Lu Zuan Feng gritted his teeth and stared at a figure standing before him. He did not look like a broken man with the right of his face concealed by a thick, ancient bark. He looked ordinary with short black hair and a pair of deep black eyes.
"Indeed." Fang Zheng nodded. "It seems my fears were not groundless. I apologize for being so cruel towards you, O' Divine Thief."
Lu Zuan Feng instantly struggled but his will could not move an inch.
"What did you do?! What is going on?!" Lu Zuan Feng shouted as he tried moving forward. The gu worms around him moved with a strange coordination, confining and assimilating him. It was a strange wisdom path killer move, the kind he did not receive in the partial wisdom path inheritance. This killer move also influenced Fang Zhen as the latter's will slowly dissipated.
Yet, it made Lu Zuan Feng even more terrified.
"It is only right for you to know the truth," Fang Zheng spoke plainly. "I had this plan from the moment we entered Central Continent. There was this intuition I couldn't ignore—that something deadly was brewing and waiting for me. So, I had to scheme against you, friend."
"You call us friends?" Lu Zuan Feng laughed. "Let me go and we will be best buddies for life. I will even forget this matter. Oh, Fang Zheng! Trust me! I'm not like other gu masters. I'm actually an—"
"Otherworldly demon." Fang Zheng nodded. "I know. I also know the influence of your previous world truly gives you a unique character and insight. With time, you will forget about this incident and move on. We might even become allies once more."
Lu Zuan Feng nodded. It wasn't strange for Fang Zheng to know about his secrets if his will had been lurking in his mind the entire time.
"Indeed. I can help you find a new body."
"There's no point in doing that." Fang Zheng sighed and waved his hand. Lu Zuan Feng found he couldn't even communicate! His eyes widened and he glared furiously. "Please don't interrupt my explanation. I want you to know the truth so I may move on. We don't have much time."
"As I was saying, I schemed against you due to a terrible intuition in my heart. My wisdom path true inheritance is slightly unique. Its greatest method is not to predict the future, scheme against the enemies, or even deduce countless recipes. My wisdom path true inheritance is called—Will Possession."
"My main body left this will inside your body using wisdom path gu worms. But a will can only be sustained for so long. Your master's will was the best example. With time, even your master's will dissipated. But I did not. That was because of the killer move my main body used to create this will. It can secretly siphon your thoughts and will as long as these thoughts and wills are formed using the gu worms from my inheritance."
"I knew about your desires for this wisdom path inheritance and made use of it."
"As for Will Possession? It allows my will to modify your mind with time. Alas, the same cannot be said about the soul."
The more Fang Zheng's will spoke, the more they dissipated. The anger in Lu Zuan Feng's eyes fizzled and only traces of despair, admiration, and acceptance was left in this will.
Fang Zheng's will was secretly relieved. He did not go on with this spiel in the vain attempt of justifying his actions. No!
A battle of wills was incredibly dangerous. Fang Zheng wanted Lu Zuan Feng's remnant will to break down even before the battle. He was a true wisdom path gu master who did not stop scheming against his targets till the end.
"I can understand your doubts, Zuan Feng." Fang Zheng sighed. "Will Possession is an incredible method. Even if my mind is incompatible with your soul, it will eventually be influenced completely and, with time, I will 'revive' completely. This will contain all my memories. It will be like I never left. Alas, my wisdom path foundation is too shallow. I could not leave behind my true meaning to carry over with my wisdom path attainment."
Fang Zheng met Lu Zuan Feng's gaze and nodded. The former could still see the doubt in the latter's eyes.
"I know. I could have schemed like this against anyone. Taking over a mortal would have been significantly easier. But… it had to be you once I secretly searched your memories. You are an Otherworldly Demon. Your soul is special."
Only more doubts bubbled in Lu Zuan Feng's vanishing will.
"As I said… my inheritance is special. It's not only due to the killer move—Will Possession."
"Inside my true inheritance was a passage."
"I've yet to fully comprehend it."
Fang Zheng didn't dare speak it out loud and only whispered.
"Fate escapees incur the wrath of heaven's will; otherworldly demons are the shields."
Fang Zheng smiled at Lu Zuan Feng.
"I want to escape my fate. I don't want to die. I want to destroy Immortal Crane Sect! I wonder how things will turn out if I possess an otherworldly demon."
***
Alternate Title: Lo Jik's self-righteous indignation; A thief's woe; Gu immortals are no slouches; Heaven's Will: Creating Fang Zheng to scheme against an otherworldly demon, Fang Yuan *Also Heaven's Will: Watching Fang Zheng possess an otherworldly demon's body due to Lo Jik's influence*; Fucking everything up; Failed immortal ascension; Failed refinement; RIZ was created to give Fang Zheng some love!; Gu immortals are no slouches; Looted Tian Ti Mountain; Closing the gap; Boost to strength path foundation; Grow, grow, grow!; Battle spoils; Digesting gains; Disguise Immortal Gu Worm's pressure
***
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