Inside everyone's body sleeps a self gu. Only when a person truly begins to scrutinize themselves and observe their true heart will this Gu emerge from the void into form.
Since ancient times, many have glimpsed self gu, from the demonic giant Fang Yuan to the legendary Limitless Demon Venerable; all discovered it, yet no one has ever been able to truly activate it.
Or rather, self gu simply does not exist in the physical world. The true self gu is the person themselves.
But Yuan Fang found the answer.
Throughout history, those who could rely on themselves to dominate the world were no ordinary beings.
From this, it can be seen that a Mortal-rank self gu is impossible to use. One could even say it is like the persistence mortal gu—merely an illusory concept, for it is utterly useless.
Only a self gu at the immortal gu level possesses true power, and only a self immortal gu can be used by a person. To refine this immortal gu, one must use a massive amount of human qi.
Looking back through history, only Yuan Fang possesses such a vast sea of human qi, just like Ren Zu of old. The reason Ren Zu's human qi was so prosperous was that he was the ancestor of the Human Race, naturally carrying the Power Of Will of all living beings.
The basis for this conclusion comes from the phenomena when those with the Ten Extremes Physique achieve Immortal Ascension:
The human qi they draw in is enough to let an immortal aperture directly advance into a top-grade blessed land. If the Ten Extremes Physique is like this, how much more so for Ren Zu?
As for the effect of self gu, Yuan Fang inferred from "the legend of human ancestor" that it should be able to devour other Gu worms to plunder their power.
Practice brings true knowledge, so Yuan Fang decided to put it into action.
Thus, Yuan Fang went straight to Fang Zheng and borrowed that rank six flying bear strength gu.
Fang Zheng's heart was full of curiosity and suspicion toward this Rank Six Gu Immortal who had appeared out of thin air. But seeing Fang Yuan's close attitude toward Yuan Fang, and his vague connections with the Shadow Sect, he filled in the logic himself:
"This Yuan Fang must be a member of the Shadow Sect and a Gu Immortal; he might even be my brother's Senior... Could he be my brother's Junior Martial Uncle in the Shadow Sect?"
Fang Yuan was still pondering how to explain Yuan Fang's Origin to Fang Zheng, but seeing that he had already completed the logic himself, he went with the flow and publicly declared that Yuan Fang was indeed his Junior Martial Uncle.
Since he was "brother's Junior Martial Uncle," Fang Zheng naturally had no reason not to lend it, and he readily handed over the flying bear strength gu.
Yuan Fang took the Gu worm, pressed it onto the table, and then pulled out a sharp knife that could cut through iron as if it were mud.
The flying bear strength gu seemed to sense that the visitor was unfriendly; its whole body trembled and curled into a ball. But as soon as it curled up, Yuan Fang forcibly straightened it out, leaving it with no choice but to submit obediently.
Yuan Fang then looked the flying bear strength gu over repeatedly. That gaze was just like an old lady picking pork at a vegetable market, carefully examining which piece was leaner and more appetizing.
Under such a gaze, the flying bear strength gu was terrified to the extreme, yet it had nowhere to run and could only helplessly let him have his way.
"Mm, right here."
The next moment, Yuan Fang's hand rose and the knife fell, a cold light flashing. A piece of meat the size of a grain of rice was immediately sliced off the flying bear strength gu's buttocks.
Yuan Fang used the tip of the knife to pick up that small piece of flesh and fed it directly to self gu.
Like a starving ghost reincarnated, after self gu swallowed that small piece of flesh, it still stared greedily at the flying bear strength gu on the table, its eyes full of predatory desire.
Seeing this, Yuan Fang immediately put the flying bear strength gu away—it would be a huge loss if it were actually swallowed whole by self gu.
The moment self gu finished eating half a buttock of the flying bear strength gu, Yuan Fang felt a sudden surge of heat in his body, as five hundred Strength Path dao marks emerged like a tide.
Yuan Fang was originally a Human Path Gu Immortal, and his vital Gu was the rank six self gu; his own foundation was only one hundred Human Path dao marks. At this moment, an increase of five hundred Strength Path dao marks was an exaggerated level of progress.
Unfortunately, having suffered such a heavy injury, the flying bear strength gu's battle power dropped significantly and its appetite skyrocketed; without a year or half a year of nurturing, it would be difficult to recover to its original state.
After this incident, Fang Zheng would likely never dare to lend an immortal gu to Yuan Fang easily again.
Yuan Fang also discovered that self gu devouring Gu worms could not only add dao marks but also directly increase the attainment level of the corresponding path.
With that one bite just now, his Strength Path attainment successfully reached Grandmaster. However, he was already just one step away, so the growth in path attainment was not particularly significant, far less rapid than the infusion of Kuang Mans True Intent.
To Yuan Fang's delight, self gu eating Mortal Gu was also effective. However, the effect was minuscule; he would likely have to swallow tens of thousands of them to condense a single dao mark.
He was a Human Path Gu Immortal, so to accumulate Human Path dao marks and raise his Human Path attainment, he had self gu stay by the origin spring all day long, devouring those constantly spawning hope gu.
In this way, the value of self gu was fully revealed: it could continuously increase the number of dao marks at a very small cost.
This was extremely similar to Food Path; one could even say that there might be some profound connection between Food Path and Human Path.
The Ancestral Master of Food Path had even pushed this ability to the extreme—he could increase his dao marks by eating Gu worms, representing the Peak of Food Path.
Unfortunately, Food Path was ultimately not as prosperous as Soul Path, and the achievements of the Food Path Ancestral Master were far inferior to those of the Soul Path Ancestral Master. The Food Path true intent created by the beastman lineage did not end up in the hands of beastmen, but instead fell into the hands of the Human Race.
Even that Food Path Ancestral Master was eventually eliminated by the Soul Path Ancestral Master.
Yuan Fang speculated that the Food Path Ancestral Master had very likely studied "the legend of human ancestor" when creating Food Path, even if he did not possess a Human Race Bloodline.
From this, the importance and practicality of self gu were already beyond doubt. Since Yuan Fang had already become a Human Path Gu Immortal, he naturally wanted to go further on the Human Path. He already had a plan in his heart:
In the future, he would use Human Path and Sword Path as his main cultivation paths.
The reason he could focus on two paths simultaneously was precisely because Human Path dao marks had a unique characteristic—they never repelled the dao marks of any other path.
This point alone was enough to highlight the supreme status of Human Path.
If discussing the strongest paths in the Gu World, Heavenly Dao would be first, Human Path would sit firmly at second, Dream Path would be third, and Rule Path would be fourth, while the fifth position was a matter of much debate.
After all, paths like Sword Path, Blood Path, and Wisdom Path each had their own merits:
Sword Path was unparalleled in killing, Blood Path was most suitable for the poor, and Wisdom Path was the best fit for those who were sinister and cunning...
But the status of the Heavenly and Human paths was almost unshakable. Dream Path, in third place, was merely taking advantage of the 'version dividends'; once the trend passed, it likely wouldn't even be able to keep its seat in third place.
However, with its characteristic of being able to rapidly raise path attainment, it was more than enough to hold the fifth position.
Human Path was completely different. Although it did not excel in killing and was difficult to use to support a battle independently, among all paths, when it came to the ability to provide buffs and enhancements, Human Path was number one.
At the critical moment of the Fate War, a single Human Path Killer Move, 'Heroes Among People,' was actually able to let a few Heavenly Court Gu Immortals hold their own against almost the entire Gu World's Gu Immortals.
(Why only a few? It was only because the vast majority of experts were still sleeping in the Immortal Graveyard.)
Besides that, Killer Moves like 'Human Mountain and Human Sea' and 'Myriad Self' were all from the Human Path.
Interestingly, at this time, Fang Yuan did not even know of the existence of the 'Human Path' as a path. In fact, the vast majority of Gu Immortals in the Gu World knew nothing about Human Path; even among Rank Eight experts, those who knew of Human Path were very few.
Even Fang Yuan only realized after advancing to Rank Eight that the 'Myriad Self' Killer Move he had always relied on was rooted in the Human Path.
To cultivate Human Path, Yuan Fang gave a low shout in his heart. The next moment, a familiar figure appeared in his Sea of Consciousness—it was Fang Yuan.
"I didn't expect that after our separation, we could still talk in this way," Fang Yuan's voice echoed in the Sea of Consciousness.
Yuan Fang laughed loudly:
"More than that, our memories are still shared, though we need the other's consent before reading them. Furthermore, our path attainments are also linked. You should have already noticed that you are now a Strength Path Grandmaster."
Fang Yuan was noncommittal about this, clearly having already accepted it as a fact. He asked directly:
"Yuan Fang, why have you come looking for me? I suspect it's not just to say these things. That wouldn't be like your style."
Yuan Fang chuckled: "Indeed, I can't hide it from you. I do have something to ask of you."
"Go to Treasure Yellow Heaven for me and help me purchase a batch of Snowmen, Inkmen, Feathered Men, Egg People, Little People, Merfolk, and Mushroom People. I have a great use for them."
Fang Yuan spoke: "Wait... Snowmen, Inkmen... you might as well just say you want all the variant Human Races. But you want beastmen too? I heard that the merchant who was selling beastmen last time was actually a beastman Gu Immortal himself; now that his identity is exposed, he's being hunted all over the world."
Fang Yuan's series of remarks made Yuan Fang unable to help laughing. A beastman Gu Immortal selling beastmen—such an absurd thing was truly unique to the Gu World.
"I never said I wanted beastmen; those things are too rare and far too precious. Even if just one died, my heart would ache for a long time. Listen well, I only want Snowmen, Inkmen, Feathered Men, Egg People, Little People, Mermen, and Mushroom People."
This time Fang Yuan finally remembered clearly and immediately turned around to activate the heaven connecting gu.
Yuan Fang, meanwhile, cast his gaze toward his own immortal aperture. From the moment of his Immortal Ascension until now, he had never truly and carefully scrutinized this "territory" of his.
He saw that Yuan Fang Blessed Land had only six million mu of space, a scale only comparable to the size of Fox Immortal Blessed Land, which could be considered very cramped.
However, its time flow was very fast, reaching thirty-six times speed. More importantly, Yuan Fang had directly refined an immortal gu during his Immortal Ascension, which meant the grade of Yuan Fang Blessed Land was at least a high-grade blessed land.
"It's likely because I didn't finish the Immortal Ascension Tribulation, or perhaps because Human Path Blessed Lands are naturally smaller in structure, that my blessed land's space is more restricted than a typical high-grade blessed land," Yuan Fang thought to himself.
He took a general scan of the blessed land's overall appearance and then looked at its terrain. The geography of the Human Path Blessed Land was far richer than that of Fang Zheng's blessed land or Fox Immortal Blessed Land:
Glaciers, deserts, oceans, forests, grasslands, mountains, hills, and plateaus were all present, along with naturally occurring Gu materials and wild Gu worms; the variety was astonishing.
Unfortunately, six million mu was still too small after all. Yuan Fang thought secretly, "It seems that in the future, I must annex several blessed lands."
Yuan Fang planted over a hundred origin springs in the blessed land, introduced creatures like Heavenly Horses and Year Dragons, and transplanted rare Gu materials such as moon orchid flowers, Seven Star Flowers, Milk Tea Flowers, and stardust grass, making this six million mu world increasingly vibrant.
Just as he was inspecting the results, self gu suddenly flew over and circled around him incessantly.
Yuan Fang immediately understood—it had just devoured all the hope gu that had bred in the hundreds of origin springs; now, not a single hope gu remained in the entire blessed land.
He immediately communicated with Treasure Yellow Heaven and posted a message to purchase hope gu.
Soon, a Gu Immortal took the initiative to contact him, claiming to have several hundred thousand hope gu in hand.
"hope gu are of no use to Gu Immortals or Gu Masters; I only want half an immortal essence stone for all of them," the other party said in a relaxed tone.
Yuan Fang remained unmoved: "hope gu have almost no value to Gu Immortals; even several hundred thousand aren't worth this price. Add some more Gu materials, and then I'll be willing to trade."
The Gu Immortal gave an embarrassed smile; he had originally wanted to scam this "newbie," but hadn't expected the other party to be so shrewd, so he had to change his tune:
"Immortal friend, I have only recently achieved immortality, and my blessed land is still in the starting stages, so I really can't produce any Gu materials. However, I have a decent Rule Path Mortal-level Killer Move. Give me another half an immortal essence stone, and I will sell it to you along with the hope gu."
After saying this, he displayed the contents of the Killer Move to Yuan Fang. This move was named 'Homeless,' and could dismantle others' mortal gu houses. It was originally a Rule Path Killer Move originating from a Rule Path Gu Immortal's Legacy, with the Rule Path Origin 'Nothingness' as its core.
Unfortunately, that Gu Immortal had long since perished, leaving behind only this Killer Move created with the Mortal Gu 'Nothing' as its core.
Although there weren't many opportunities to use this Killer Move, it was better than nothing. After a brief thought, Yuan Fang nodded in agreement.
Yuan Fang planned to save this Rule Path Killer Move for one specific person to use.
This person was the adopted son Fang Yuan had taken in while in the Gu Yue Clan—Gu Yue Lin Xiang.
He possessed one of the Ten Extreme Aptitudes, the Universe Great Evolution Body, and was born with an affinity for Rule Path. Now only twelve years old, he was already a rare piece of unpolished jade in the Gu World.
Originally, Fang Yuan had adopted him so that when attacking Bitan Blessed Land in the future, he could use Eternal Ordinary's Possession method to give this Universe Great Evolution Body to Yuan Fang.
But looking at the current situation, there was no longer any need to execute this plan.
This did not mean that Gu Yue Lin Xiang had lost his value.
The Universe Great Evolution Body was truly Heaven-Defying; once he achieved Immortal Ascension, he would surely attain a peerless blessed land. If cultivated carefully, he would certainly become a capable fighting force under Yuan Fang's command in the future.
After Yuan Fang completed the trade, he threw all several hundred thousand hope gu into his own blessed land, allowing self gu to feast to its heart's content. Then he rushed to Fox Immortal Blessed Land and personally handed the 'Homeless' Killer Move to Gu Yue Lin Xiang.
Having finished all this, Yuan Fang flew straight into the Stone Man Clan's underground city, found Yan Yong, and said straightforwardly:
"Select one thousand Stone Men for me. They must be over one hundred and eighty years old, healthy, and strong; I don't want any of the old, weak, sick, or disabled."
After hearing this, Yan Yong immediately fell to his knees and repeatedly complied, though his heart was in a state of upheaval:
"This Immortal only wants Stone Men in the prime of their lives, but my Stone Man Clan only has males, no females... Could it be that he covets the beauty of my Stone Man Clan and wants to pick some male favorites to bring into the palace for his amusement and pleasure?"
At this thought, Yan Yong felt a wave of sorrow. A year ago, when digging the Grand Canal, the Stone Man Clan still had an army of a hundred thousand, yet they were powerless before the Immortal. Thinking of this, his heart was again shrouded in boundless fear.
Yan Yong could never forget the 'heroic fragments' of that year—grandfather, uncle, uncle's son, uncle's grandson, grandfather's grandson... the bones of the Stone Man Clan were piled layer upon layer, and along with those little Stone Men who died amidst sneering laughter, they had become his eternal nightmare.
He could even less forget the elderly Stone Men who fought the fox groups to their last breath, and even less forget the cold gaze of that Immortal in the Soul-Shaking Palace, which lacked even a hint of warmth.
But he, Yan Yong, already owed the Stone Man Clan far too much. He had to let his clansmen live with dignity.
Just as this thought arose, the slave gu planted deep within his Divine Soul suddenly backlashed, a surge of intense pain like steel needles piercing his soul, making him hurt so much he almost rolled on the ground.
Yan Yong was prepared and immediately activated a Rank Five Wood Path Gu—'Rise in Rebellion'.
This Gu could briefly dismantle Servitude Path methods, and the backlash of the slave gu instantly subsided. He then selected a thousand of the ugliest Stone Men in the clan, hoping only that these 'looks' would make Yuan Fang abandon his ideas and stop viewing the Stone Man Clan as playthings.
After picking enough people, Yan Yong handed this batch of Stone Men over to Yuan Fang. He never expected that he would completely misunderstand Yuan Fang's intentions, thinking the other was lusting after the Stone Men's beauty and wanted to fill a harem with them as male favorites.
In fact, Yuan Fang's move was merely for Human Path cultivation. Keeping variant humans in the blessed land could provide him with some cultivation inspiration, and perhaps he could even comprehend the mysteries of Human Path from them, raising his own Human Path Realm.
After sending the Stone Men into his immortal aperture, Yuan Fang flew to the Hairy People's settlement and selected a thousand healthy Hairy People, regardless of age, and took them all into his immortal aperture.
Finally, he selected a thousand Gu Yue Clan Members from Gu Yue Village, among whom were both Mortals and Gu Masters with cultivation at most at Rank Three or Four.
Inside a mortal gu house in Yuan Fang Blessed Land, a thousand Stone Men were staying inside uneasily.
This mortal gu house was named 'Green Mountains and Rivers'; it was a massive garden with mountains and water reflecting each other and elegant scenery. Although it lacked offensive power, it had extremely strong defenses that ordinary Rank Five Gu Masters would find difficult to breach.
In the crowd, a small Stone Man only one hundred and forty years old (equivalent to a fourteen-year-old human) was trembling.
Before coming, Yan Yong had told him they were selected by the Immortal to be 'male favorites.' At the thought of this, his face turned pale.
Beside him, a five-hundred-and-eighty-eight-year-old Stone Man let out a long sigh and patted his shoulder, his eyes full of pity as if he had already foreseen his tragic fate.
Just then, the blessed land's portal opened wide, and a group of Hairy People filed in, including men, women, old, and young.
Seeing this, the small Stone Man couldn't help but be stunned and muttered to himself:
"Does the Immortal even grab women to be male favorites? No, wait, 'male favorite' doesn't seem to describe women. Senior Black Stone, is that right?"
The old Stone Man called 'Senior Black Stone' stroked his beard and nodded. Another small Stone Man's eyes lit up, and he chimed in:
"Then the males are called 'male favorites,' and the females are naturally called 'female favorites'!"
(A Stone Man nearby immediately debunked him: "Why should the males be called 'male favorites'? Are they not allowed to be called 'female favorites'?")
The Stone Men all burst into laughter. Another small Stone Man stared at the Hairy People's furry appearance as if he had discovered some shocking secret, pointing at them and laughing loudly:
"My god! The Immortal actually likes this taste! He even dares to flirt with and play with these furry, ugly fellows?"
An old Stone Man stroked his beard and said with mock seriousness:
"That's actually hard to say. A hundred years ago, I heard that Giant Sun Immortal Venerable even had Hairy People concubines. Perhaps this Immortal really does have this taste."
The Hairy People on the other side heard this and immediately flew into a rage, pointing at the Stone Men and cursing loudly:
"Shut your damn mouth! Our old Clan Chief said the Immortal wants us to be Empresses and masters of the harem!"
Clearly, they were all wrong.