Fang Tian's shoulder exploded into a chaos of blood, and he let out a horrifying scream of pain. His scream was loud, and its echo reverberated through all the floors of the Liquid Mud Mountain.
"Damn you, demon! You're using Blood Path methods!"
Fang Tian howled in shock and fury, and dozens of vines burst out from the walls, lashing everyone on the second floor with brutal force, without giving them any chance to breathe.
"Ahhh, sir, please forgive me… I will surrender!"
A Rank One Gu Master screamed while desperately defending against ten vines. Fang Tian did not focus on him alone; he was madly pouring his primeval essence into the Vine Garden Gu and attacking without any restraint.
A Rank Two Gu Master was beaten to death, cursing Fang Tian and his ancestors as he sobbed. Behind him, another Gu Master was suspended in midair, and the vines burning with flames smashed him onto the ground like a dog, dyeing the wooden floor with his blood.
The group of Gu Masters was completely suppressed by Fang Tian, who was not in a sound condition and was trying to treat his injuries. Blood spurted like a fountain from the wound created by the crimson blade, and the bleeding affected Fang Tian's mental state.
The longer the bleeding continued, the less blood reached his brain, and the slower the collisions of thoughts in his head became. But at the very least, he managed to pour his primeval essence into the Small Sprout Gu.
When he finished healing himself, the vines he maintained with part of his concentration had already killed more than half of the Gu Masters, leaving only three of them. Two at Rank Two, and one at the peak of Rank One.
These Gu Masters were crushed onto the ground, their limbs completely torn apart, leaving them with nothing but limbless bodies. Blood continued to flow from Fang Tian's shoulder, but it was much weaker now, and only a drop of blood fell from time to time.
With a pale and exhausted face, Fang Tian looked at those Gu Masters with anticipation. One of the Rank Two Gu Masters, who still retained a trace of sanity amid the pain, spoke:
"S–Sir, I will become your slave, but please spare me. I can give you my Gu worms. I saw you plundering the corpses of the dead, but how can you obtain Gu worms from every Gu Master you kill?… That's simply impossible. I can even make my companions cooperate with you and hand over all their Gu worms, just spare us."
This Gu Master was such a smooth talker that Fang Tian almost believed him, but he had already learned his lesson. Thus, he pulled a vine toward his side and ordered the limbless Gu Masters:
"Spit out your Gu worms quickly, or in five minutes you'll die from bleeding."
Blood had already formed a pool beneath each of them, and if their wounds were not healed, they would die a painful death. The Gu Masters, who were screaming in agony, forgot that their arms and legs were severed, and spat out their Gu worms from their apertures onto the ground.
Fang Tian happily collected the Gu worms, about eleven or twelve in total, ranging between Rank One and Rank Two. Unfortunately, his joy did not last long, as he heard footsteps coming from the upper floor.
"You are truly strong, able to rival someone like me at Rank Three."
A Rank Three Gu Master descended from the third floor to the second floor and stared at the massacre that had just occurred. His hair was long, white, and dry, his build was thin, and his brown skin covered his entire body. The man was somewhat fat, yet the threatening aura around him left no room for mockery.
"So you finally decided to come out, you fat old man. I was slaughtering these wretches just to lure you out, yet you only showed up after I finished them."
Fang Tian paused slightly, then asked with a mad smile:
"Do you want to kill me?"
"Yes, brat, I would very much like to kill you, but unfortunately I can't do it now… My master, Bao Qing Ming, has died, and the elders of the Yan Zu clan are heading here right now, with hundreds of Gu Masters following them."
Fang Tian's smile vanished. He understood what the Rank Three Gu Master wanted. He even felt a bit tempted, but he would not do this without compensation.
"Then state your price. A mission this dangerous requires a high price."
"Thirty percent of the Gu worms and resources in the Liquid Mud Mountain!"
Fang Tian shook his head in refusal and attacked the Rank Three Gu Master without any hesitation!
The Rank Three Gu Master was enraged and activated his defensive Gu. A liquid water barrier formed in the shape of the Rank Three Gu Master, and a hundred vines slammed into it!
"This power! This bastard is almost rivaling Rank Three, but how does he have so much primeval essence?!"
The primeval essence of the Rank Three Gu Master dropped rapidly as he retreated and launched several streams of water at Fang Tian.
These streams were like fast projectiles. Some of them crashed into the walls behind him, but three of them struck Fang Tian, inflicting severe wounds and shattering his defenses. Fang Tian laughed while sobbing in pain, and with a hoarse voice he shouted:
"Fifty percent, or I'll stall you until the Gu Masters of the Yan Zu clan arrive!"
"Greedy demand. Do you think you're my equal? Then taste this… Flow Shard Gu!"
The Gu Master charged toward Fang Tian at an extremely high speed, then stretched out his arm, which had grown several times larger, and punched at Fang Tian. But ten vines grabbed his arm and restrained it, giving Fang Tian time to retreat quickly, worry written all over his face.
"Tsk! Childish tricks."
The old man with the ape arm tore the vines apart with brute force and charged at Fang Tian again, who was surrounded by a forest of vines. The Gu Master poured in his primeval essence once more and activated a Gu worm he had hidden as a trump card. The entire second floor of the Liquid Mud Mountain ignited, and a hundred vine tips burned like fireworks.
Fang Tian and the Rank Three Gu Master panted heavily as their battle reached a stalemate. The Rank Three Gu Master had been suppressing Fang Tian the whole time, but he could not kill him even though he held the upper hand. Thus, he clenched his teeth and spat out his words with difficulty:
"Fine, you get fifty percent of the resources and Gu worms in the Liquid Mud Mountain. But I swear, if I see you again, I will kill you!… Now, which Gu worms do you want?"
Fang Tian laughed, and without any shame or hesitation, listed the names of the Gu worms he wanted. The Rank Three Gu Master's face relaxed. Fang Tian did not ask for all the Rank Three Gu worms as he had feared; most of them were Rank Two and Rank One, with only two Rank Three Gu worms.
"Good, good boy. You know your limits. I will keep my word. This is the Stomach Refinement Gu, and here are the Rank Two and Rank One Gu worms you requested. And this is the Silver Merchant Pocket Gu, and this…"
The Rank Three Gu Master handed over the Gu worms Fang Tian requested, then gave him many more Rank One and Rank Two Gu worms. Fang Tian estimated that he now had more than a hundred Rank One Gu worms, dozens at Rank Two, and two Rank Three Gu worms! The caravan carried hundreds of Gu worms stored with this Gu Master. Although they offered more than a hundred Rank One Gu worms and dozens at Rank Two, they did not take out all their goods.
The caravan still had many Gu worms that were meant to be sold at other locations. Unfortunately, these Gu worms were split between Fang Tian and the Rank Three Gu Master.
"Now keep your end of the deal, brat. Don't forget that the food for these Gu worms is on the upper floor. Hurry and get it, then get out and stall them so I can escape."
Fang Tian nodded, then rushed to the upper floor and took out a Gu he had just refined.
"Silver Merchant Pocket Gu—what a wonderful name!"
Fang Tian collected half of the resources on the third floor. Then the change he had been waiting for occurred. The Liquid Mud Mountain shrank and vanished into the void, returning to the aperture of the Rank Three Gu Master. The Rank Three Gu Master shot Fang Tian a sharp look and fled!
Fang Tian had agreed with the Rank Three Gu Master that he would try to stall the pursuing Gu Masters of the Yan Zu clan and buy him time to escape, in exchange for half of what was in the Liquid Mud Mountain.
But would Fang Tian keep his word?
"Of course not, damn it! I'd be an idiot to stay and fight hundreds of Gu Masters with these injuries!"
He was severely wounded; even the gash on his shoulder was still throbbing with pain, and he had been injured in other parts of his body during the battle with the Rank Three Gu Master. Thus, when the Liquid Mud Mountain disappeared, Fang Tian was left floating in the void. When he looked down, he saw a horrifying scene.
Hundreds of Gu Masters were rushing toward the mountain slope where the Rank Three Gu Master had fled, and only a few of them noticed Fang Tian.
Fang Tian reacted swiftly, slipped into the shadows, and began his immediate escape!