Had Wang Tian united with an ordinary woman, he merely would have transferred a portion of the fatal burden to her. It would've still saved him for the time being, but then the woman in question would begin to have the effects of said transference and Wang Tian would've also lost some of his physique's power.
But because both partners possessed extreme physiques, the corrective effect was exponentially multiplied.
For a some time to come, neither would have to worry about their apertures exploding.
Additionally, both of them largely retained the benefits of their extreme physique. This was quite different from using Equality Gu, wherein the 'donor' lost the benefits of a high aptitude. Wang Tian could continue cultivating with a power close to his extreme physique's peak effect!
Fang Yuan was quite interested in this - the extreme physiques lay at the heart of the Human Path itself.
Several questions came to his mind.
In the first place, it was odd to have two people with extreme physiques appear in his aperture. Was this the effect of Human Path dao marks? And not only that, but for both of them to have found each other? Was this simply luck?
He weighed Shen He's luck against his own and hers was nothing special, though it was still stronger than Fang Yuan's. Wang Tian's however, continued to be as strong as it had ever been - being among the strongest Fang Yuan had seen rivalling Shang Xin Ci's.
Did the benefits of dual cultivation come with any two extreme physiques, or only because they were specifically Ancient Desolate Moon and Great Verdant Sun from The Legends of Ren Zu?
If he tried to use Equality Gu with two people with extreme physiques, would he gain a similar result?
***
Despite the temporary salvation of their extreme physiques, a massive crisis remained camped right at the doorstep for Wang Tian and Shen He.
The Shen tribe warriors had arrived, fully armored in leather hardened in horse urine while others had high-alloy gold chainmail. Though they knew Wang Tian's forces possessed Gu Masters, they were entirely fearless.
In their minds, they could only think - how could a single Gu Master defeat thousands of seasoned soldiers? Two fists could not match four palms.
They did not know that Wang Tian was a rare Rank 3 Peak Stage Gu Master, capable of devastating destruction - with the right tools, that is.
However, before the two armies could clash, pitch-black clouds suddenly tore through the sky above the continent. The sky groaned and the earth trembled as Fang Yuan's second Earthly Calamity officially arrived!
Heaven and earth qi began pouring in as the tribulation clouds began taking shape.
High above the clouds, Fang Yuan remained perfectly calm. He activated a series of gu worms, utilizing the Rank 6 Ambition Gu as his core. Expending several drops of Green Grap Immortal Essence, he unleashed his newly upgraded Immortal Killer Move.
Rank 6 Ambition Triumphing Over Heaven!
The immortal-tier execution was profoundly more effective than its previous mortal iteration. It still had the major effects of last time though.
One, it instantly stripped away the vast majority of the tribulation's raw power. Two, it momentarily stunned the remaining clouds, disrupting their formation and the coalition of the tribulation into a definitive form. Third, it shattered the remaining tribulation into scattered, far more easily manageable fragments.
The third point could be seen as a positive and as a negative. On the one hand it was far easier to deal with multiple small calamities than a single big one - on the other hand, if some of them turned into a calamity that was hard to counter, it may have been easier to deal with a bigger, more easy-to-counter one instead.
The fractured pieces of the tribulation drifted aimlessly, flashing vibrant colors but refraining from manifesting an attack against Fang Yuan's formations for several hours. Realizing it couldn't breach his major defenses, Heaven's Will pivoted.
It waited until the tribulation clouds could coalesce, and then rained down upon the Fang Yuan continent.
It had taken a lot of time to prepare Ambition Triumphing Over Heaven, Fang Yuan could not use the move again. It would take months to get the respective gu worms, mainly Rank 5 Ambition Gu, again. The move was powerful but had also consumed a large number of valuable gu worms.
Down below, humans suddenly fell violently ill. Massive, agonizing blisters erupted over the skin of thousands, while others suffered from uncontrollable, fatal dysentery. The contagion spread like wildfire through both opposing armies.
Earthly calamity - The Ten Plagues!
Typhoid, dengue, cholera, malaria, influenza, black death, anthrax, smallpox, encephalitis, hepatitis - these diseases spread among the human populace of Fang Yuan Continent.
Fang Yuan watched tensely in case the calamity took another form, but it looked like his killer move had been extremely effective. Following this, it died out.
Though Fang Yuan preferred to remain a neutral observer, he could not allow the human population to be utterly wiped out. At that moment, a Will appeared beside him.
Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable!
"Fang Yuan, use this killer move," Paradise Earth's Will told him before vanishing back to oversee the Paradise Earth Continent.
Fang Yuan activated several human path gu worms, forming vast, shimmering clouds that blanketed over the continent.
He unleashed this Human Path killer move Paradise Earth had developed - Rain of Mercy!
A soothing, glowing rainfall washed over the land, channeling massive Human Path healing energies across thousands of miles.
The second Earthly Calamity was successfully dismantled, and Fang Yuan felt numerous new Human Path dao marks carving themselves onto his immortal body. Unfortunately, due to the sheer speed of the magical plagues and the fact that Fang Yuan could not react immediately (still waiting to see if the calamity manifested in another way) a portion of the mortal population had died before his healing rain could fully take effect.
***
Down on the surface, the apocalyptic storm cleared to reveal a drastically altered battlefield. Huang Fei came sprinting into Wang Tian's tent, completely out of breath.
"Wang Tian! A miracle has happened!" Huang Fei shouted. "The Shen tribe encampment... they've suddenly been struck down by a wave of horrific illness!"
"What?" Wang Tian stood up, shocked. They had spent days building wooden fortifications, fully expecting a brutal, losing defense against an overwhelming tide.
"Yes! Thousands of them died in a matter of hours," Huang Fei reported. "Those who survived are far too weak to even hold a spear. I don't think they'll be attacking us anytime soon."
The goal of Heaven's Will was to weaken Fang Yuan's foundation, ergo, the human population of the Fang Yuan Continent he relied upon the drive the Integration Formation. Sure, it couldn't damage the formation itself, but it could damage the engine that drove it!
As such, it had targeted the largest populated areas on purpose. Unfortunately for the Shen tribe, their large numbers gathered in a very small area meant that they were a prime target for Heaven's Will.
By comparison, Wang Tian's camp of fewer people was mostly unscathed. Those who had been affected could be healed by people who used Human Path gu worms - something that the opposing side did not have. And for those who were very sick, Wang Tian could go around using Doctor Gu to heal them, nipping the problem in the bud.
Bai Xiao, observing the landscape from the corner, scoffed lightly. "I wouldn't count our victory just yet if I were you. Even with their numbers decimated by this plague, their remaining active forces still outnumber us. We have a solid defensive position, but we must be fully prepared that they're still going to march against us."
"Agreed," Wang Tian said, a newfound sharpness in his eyes.
Wang Tian stood tall, feeling the profound changes in his body. He had been quietly practicing with his metal path Gu worms for a long time. Now that the volatile, bursting pressure of his Verdant Sun Great Yang physique had been completely suppressed by his union with Shen He, his path forward was totally clear.
Without the physical bottleneck holding him back, his deep silver primeval essence surged against the walls of his aperture. He instantly broke through the barrier of Rank 3 Peak Stage, but he didn't stop there. He then stepped directly into Rank 4 Initial Stage. He had officially become the very first Rank 4 Gu Master on Fang Yuan Continent!
Or at least, that is what he knew. There had been a Rank 4 Gu Master before, but he had died among the Deep Dwellers. From Wang Tian's point of view though, he indeed was the first to get to this stage!