Meanwhile, on Fang Yuan Continent...
"Congratulations, Wang Tian! You've successfully reached Rank 2 Peak Stage!"
Both Bai Xiao and Huang Fei loudly congratulated Wang Tian, their faces full of genuine joy.
Huang Fei was still highly conflicted about whether he wanted to tread the dangerous path of a cultivator or remain a mortal. However, thanks to the continuous supply of primeval stones provided by the spring and the fact that they no longer had to exhaust their energy hunting for daily sustenance, Wang Tian's cultivation had progressed at a dizzying pace.
"Thank you, both of you," Wang Tian said, taking a deep breath to steady himself. "But breaking through the crystal walls to reach Rank Three... that is going to be the real challenge."
From what little he understood of cultivation theory, transitioning to a whole new major realm was an entirely different beast compared to progressing through minor realms. His bright red primeval essence would have to violently assault the crystal walls of his aperture, but unlike with minor breakthroughs, the aperture walls would actively and rapidly regenerate during a major breakthrough. The process was notoriously difficult and dangerous, and he would need to prepare his mind and body thoroughly before making the attempt. Not to mention stock up on primeval stones before doing so.
Fortunately, this breakthrough attempt would not be lonely or desperate like his prior one. He now possessed an abundance of primeval stones to replenish his reserves, and more importantly, he had two reliable companions guarding his back while he was in secluded cultivation.
They were no longer just temporary allies navigating a harsh environment. Wang Tian, Huang Fei, and Bai Xiao - despite coming from entirely different tribes, backgrounds, and conflicting philosophies on life - had formally decided to become sworn brothers.
They may not have been born from the same mother, but from that day forward, they bound their fates together, vowing to live and die as if they were related by pure blood.
"Oh...?" Wang Tian said, removing his Vital Gu from his aperture. Not only was it perfectly healthy now, but it had gone from looking like two threads were winding around it to three threads instead. In other words, Wang Tian had unknowingly refined and advanced it to a Rank 3 gu worm! But how had he done so? Just what kind of gu worm was this?
Fang Yuan wasn't just meditating, he was observing things on Fang Yuan Continent as well. A part of his Will noticed the interaction going on between the three of them and couldn't help but find a flash of inspiration there while flitting through the pages of The Legends of Ren Zu.
***
The Legends of Ren Zu, Chapter Six, Section Eight, stated:
Suspicion Gu had plotted to kill both Boundless Forest Samsara and the miniman, but had failed to do so. It had realized that if it wanted to succeed it would need to egg on the mushroommen further.
As such, it wandered around until it happened to find Belief Gu.
Belief Gu, much like Suspicion Gu, had also been trapped by Ren Zu when he had used Rules & Regulation Gu to capture all of the gu worms in the world. Although Ren Zu had ended up catching Attitude Gu, Belief Gu, much like Suspicion Gu, also harbored ill-will towards Ren Zu for being caught like this.
Suspicion Gu realized that making the mushroommen suspicious was not enough. It needed to turn that suspicion into belief.
"Belief Gu, you wish to get revenge upon Ren Zu, don't you? Well, I have the perfect idea!" Suspicion Gu.
"Indeed, I haven't forgotten that humiliation yet," Belief Gu said.
"Well, we can get revenge by killing one of his children," Suspicion Gu said. "I tried to get the mushroommen to be suspicious of Boundless Forest Samsara, but their suspicions quickly died out."
"No worries, friend," Belief Gu said. "I can help you!"
The mushroommen were still trying to recover from the entirety of Green Heaven having been shattered, and as such had given up their chase of Boundless Forest Samsara and the miniman for now.
That is, however, until Belief Gu swooped down on them. "Hey! Mushroommen! Did you know that Boundless Forest Samsara, that girl you were chasing earlier, is the one responsible for destroying Green Heaven?"
"It's true," Suspicion Gu said, "not only that, but they're planning to kill all of you right now!"
"That human dares!"
"We need to kill them before they can kill us!"
The combination of Suspicion Gu and Belief Gu was now firmly fixed in their hearts. Since they now believed their suspicions, they would not let go of them.
The mushroommen abandoned what they were doing, even abandoning their injured for the time being as they thought that killing Boundless Forest Samsara was a higher priority.
Boundless Forest Samsara and the miniman had barely managed to escape when they heard the shouts of the mushroommen beginning to surround them.
"Oh no!" Boundless Forest Samsara said. "Quick! We need to get away!"
However, the mushroommen were too enveloped by their hatred to be able to let go. Eventually, Boundless Forest Samsara fell to their blows. The miniman could only flee as the mushroommen finally retreated, having accomplished their mission.
Belief Gu and Suspicion Gu were laughing in the skies above, happiness swelling within them as they realized that their plan had succeeded.
The mushroommen, even though they had succeeded in their aim, had still ended up worse off. Several of them had died in the fighting, and they were so exhausted many of them couldn't work on rebuilding for some time. Of their sick and injured they had left behind, many had passed away, thinning their numbers even further.
The miniman later returned to retrieve Boundless Forest Samsara's body.
"Sister..." he said, sighing. Although the two of them were not related by blood, their friendship had spanned a wide journey. They may not have been born from the same origin or were even of the same species, but by now, he could only think of her as his own family. They had escaped the Ordinary Abyss together, tried to find Wealth Gu, had wandered into Red Heaven, shattered Red Heaven, and even moved Impossible Boulder together.
And yet, their long journey was now at an end.
The miniman buried Boundless Forest Samsara, her epitaph reading, "Beloved Sister, taken from this world too soon."
At her grave, various flowers and greenery began blooming from the remnants of her body, a symbol of what Boundless Forest Samsara was.
***
Fang Yuan's eyes flashed open as inspiration had struck. His killer move Hope of the Clansmen only worked on those who were related to him.
What did it mean to be related? Were human relationships and families only based on marriage ties and bloodlines?
Of course not!
He glanced down at his aperture and the people of Fang Yuan Continent.
He saw Huang Fei, Bai Xiao, and Wang Tian, who had become sworn brothers.
In another corner of the continent, he saw a woman beckoning to a young girl about four years old. "Come here, Little Ni..."
'Little Ni' was not this woman's own child, but had been adopted after being found orphaned as a baby after the events of Fang Yuan's earthly calamity. This girl was now being raised like this woman's own daughter. Her adoptive family also consisted of the woman's husband and three other biological children.
And yet, they did not treat their adoptive daughter any different. Her siblings also considered her as if she was one of them. As for the girl herself, she had known only her adoptive parents her whole life. To her, there was no distinction at all between 'adoptive' and her 'real' parents.
Someone who was not related by blood to them at all had become a full member of their family...
By studying them and putting all these pieces together, Fang Yuan's comprehension of the dao of the Human Path underwent a significant transformation!
There was a saying back on Earth which was, "Blood is thicker than water." However, this was only part of the saying.
The actual saying was, "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." When taken in this regard, the meaning from what people assumed the saying was was completely flipped on its head. It meant that relationships forged in life were deeper than those assigned at birth. The concept of sworn brothers was another example of this.
As Fang Yuan furrowed his brows, he began working on another killer move. It was a tricky creation and ate up a large portion of his time trying to get it right.
Time passed. Fang Yuan would try and go move Impossible Boulder a few more times, experimenting with his new idea.
Three months in total passed in a flash since Fang Yuan had come to the Western Desert.
By this point, Fang Yuan knew that he had to make a move otherwise he would need to go back to the Southern Border anyway simply to replenish his aperture's heaven and earth qi. That, and also because his second Earthly Calamity was approaching. 'I suppose it is now or never,' Fang Yuan thought as he reached out to Tian Wu and Tian Shan to try and move Impossible Boulder one more time.