Releasing a hint of the Spring Autumn Cicada's aura, the Rank three flower Gu was swiftly refined.
Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus obtained!
In the spring water, Fang Yuan smiled.
With a thought, the Heavenly Essence Treasure Lotus transformed into a blue-white light and shot into his aperture.
Without the Lotus, the whirlpools in the spirit spring dissipated. The once vibrant water turned into a still puddle, lifeless and stagnant.
Suddenly, Fang Yuan's expression turned solemn, and he quickly activated the Thunderwings Gu, heading towards a small tunnel he had previously made.
He watched as a large suction force suddenly appeared. Deep in the spirit spring, a blinding blood-colored light shot out. The spring water turned red, becoming blood water, completely enveloping Fang Yuan's previous spot.
Slowly, Fang Yuan saw beneath him an underground area. It was not dark, but filled with red light. The underground pond was not transparent; it was red, like blood water.
No, it is blood water!
As Fang Yuan looked closer, he saw the blood pond glowing with a bloody radiance. Its size was even larger than the village, radiating an eerie, frightening aura.
Above, nearly a hundred holes in the cave's ceiling poured water down, carrying shells, turtles, snakes, and fish from the river with it.
Swoosh swoosh...
Water streams cascaded down into the blood pond.
The blood water churned as the sea creatures entered, but within moments, all the blood in their bodies was drained. They turned into desiccated corpses, floating aimlessly on the surface, moving with the waves.
The blood pond grew even more crimson.
He kept watching, noticing not just fresh corpses but also bones floating in the water.
Fish bones, bear bones, wolf bones and even human skeletons were visible.
It was like a massive graveyard, eerie and soaked in blood.
The waves in the blood pond surged, crashing into the surrounding walls, with the glowing red water seeping into the earth. The soil turned crimson, becoming blood-red.
"By now, the Divine Investigator Tie should already be here." Thinking this, Fang Yuan activated the Spring Autumn Cicada aura around his body, and sure enough, he 'sensed' a Gu worm sticking to his back.
Seeing the Gu worm, he quickly took it and refined it.
"My Shared-sense Gu has been discovered, interesting." Divine Investigator Tie's gaze shone, not expecting Fang Yuan, a Rank three Gu Master, to detect his Gu.
Sensing the urgency, Divine Investigator Tie increased his speed towards the hidden location.
"Now that is done, it's time for me to follow the tunnel and let the First Gen Gu Yue fight with Divine Investigator Tie." Fang Yuan walked deeper into the tunnel he had previously made and left the scene.
After Fang Yuan had left, only a few minutes later, Divine Investigator Tie arrived. A deep, firm voice, loud like the clash between iron and stone, echoed from the top of the cave, reverberating within the blood lake. "As expected, this place is hiding the blood calamity!"
The scene he saw was similar to what Fang Yuan had encountered, but there were also hundreds of Rank three bladewing blood bat Gu rising up.
At the top of the cave, Divine Investigator Tie frowned as he took in the sight. After a moment, he shouted, spotting half of a huge python's body.
"Blood river python!" Divine Investigator Tie recognized this Gu.
Tie Xue Leng hated evil with a burning passion. With a cold snort, he turned towards the blood river python. He stared at this blood river python for a moment, before looking further into the blood pond.
Not long ago, Tie Xue Leng received a mysterious letter with concrete evidence of a blood calamity in Gu Yue village. The letter was delivered by a red-crowned crane, its source questionable. But Tie Xue Leng chose to believe it, as the blood calamity could spread like a plague if left unchecked. His best course of action was to eliminate the threat before it grew too powerful.
Coincidentally, Jia Fu had hired him to investigate Jia Jin Sheng's death. Tie Xue Leng brought his daughter along, assigning her to handle the investigation, both to train her and to serve as a distraction while he focused on the blood calamity.
The first time he met Fang Yuan, he implanted a Shared-sense Gu on him, an instinctive decision based on years of experience. Although he'd implanted many such Gu, only the first was successful.
"First gen Gu Yue, I know you are not dead. You hid for nearly a thousand years plotting this scheme, but unfortunately, it's all going down the drain." Tie Xue Leng opened his mouth, causing the air to tremble.
But there were no changes to the blood pond. Instead, the blood river python roared in fury, its ferocity unleashed by the Righteous Gu.
It suddenly lunged, rising with the blood tide, its killing intent tearing through the air as it charged at Tie Xue Leng.
Tie Xue Leng, already prepared, dodged the attack, narrowly avoiding the python's bite.
The python's massive body crashed into the cave ceiling, causing a loud explosion as debris fell, creating chaos in the blood lake.
"Hmph, First gen Gu Yue, you think you are safe with just a blood python protecting you? You might as well appear now," Tie Xue Leng snickered. He moved about in the air, and the blood river python's attacks were like a gentle rain pelting on him.
The blood river python attacked furiously, growing more agitated each time it missed.
It possessed unmatched strength, displaying it fully and causing massive destruction.
The entire space trembled as if struck by an earthquake, while huge ripples surged across the blood lake.
Masses of red soil crumbled from the mountain walls during the clash.
The cave ceiling was shattered beyond recognition.
Tie Xue Leng hovered in mid-air, locked in fierce battle with the blood river python.
Iron Fist Grappling Gu!
High in the air, Tie Xue Leng exhaled slowly, extending his right hand at the perfect moment.
A ripple spread before him, and a huge black iron hand materialized. It pressed onto the Blood River Python's tail in an instant.
The python struggled violently, its slick scales causing the iron hand to slip off as it burst into golden-red light.
But Tie Xue Leng, seasoned by countless battles, wasn't fazed. He lifted his head, puffed his cheeks, and blew hard toward the python.
Whoosh! Pitch-black oil cascaded down like a waterfall, forming a dragon that dove at the Blood River Python.
Oil Dragon Gu!
The furious python roared and tore into the oil dragon. Though massive, the oil dragon was only a Rank four Gu without a solid body. It was soon shredded.
Instead of worry, Tie Xue Leng smiled.
Beasts were beasts. Even refined, they lacked human cunning. A Gu Master would have seen through this tactic instantly.
As the oil dragon was destroyed, backlash struck the Oil Dragon Gu in his aperture.
Tie Xue Leng ignored the pain and activated the Fire Dragon Gu.
With a loud shout, a flame-like Gu shot from his aperture, transforming into a fire snake.
The snake grew as it flew, sprouting scales, claws, horns, and fangs until it became a huge fire dragon.
Unlike before, the fire dragon burned the python badly, because the oil clinging to its scales ignited instantly.
Black oil also spread across the lake, turning the blood water into a searing inferno.
The fire dragon was no match alone and kept shrinking under the python's attacks. But each time, it dove into the blazing lake, regaining its strength.
Amid the flames, the fire dragon had the advantage.
Scorched meat filled the air as the Blood River Python was repeatedly burned.
Though fierce by nature, it finally stopped resisting. Instead, it retreated and dove deep into the blood lake.
Humans were clever, able to devise strategies like this to drive back even a Rank five Gu.
Yet Gu embodied the world's laws, and the python's recovery ability was unmatched.
As it sank, the blood water nourished it, swiftly healing its burns.
While the fire dragon drew power from the flames, the python drew life from the blood lake. So long as the lake remained, it could never truly be killed.
Meanwhile, Fang Yuan was sitting beside the Thousand Li Earthwolf Spider.
The spider was in hibernation, and Fang Yuan didn't try to refine it yet, instead waiting for the right moment.
"Hmm, there's still some time. Now it should be time to refine the Rank three Quasi-Great Strength True Martial Gu," he murmured as he gathered materials and Gu worms to begin the refinement.
The materials and Gu worms were naturally obtained from Mo Chen. However, the most important part, the Rank three Gu Master bodies, had not been acquired yet.
"Still, that is not a problem, as there will be a massacre later on." Fang Yuan began refining the Gu worm.