Fang Yuan returned to the location where the Impossible Boulder was kept. As usual, a group of Gu Immortals surrounded the secluded domain of heaven and earth. Just like the story in The Legends of Ren Zu, the Impossible Boulder seemed to exert a psychological effect on those attempting to move it. There was a reason the surrounding rockmen had set up camps around its perimeter when Boundless Forest Samsara had come upon it. Fang Yuan had felt it himself - a voice inside himself egging him on to try and move it just one more time to see if he could do it.
Several Immortals loitered nearby as they had little better to do, constantly testing new theories to shift it from its resting place.
Fang Yuan himself had made several attempts over the past three months, but today, he brought a new strategy.
Tian Wu and Tian Shan were already waiting for him.
"So, you have a new idea to move it?" Tian Wu asked excitedly.
Tian Shan appeared less hopeful but was still willing to give it a try. As members of the Tian clan, they would be ecstatic if they could conquer the Impossible Boulder.
"What exactly is your plan this time, Brother Fang Yuan?" Tian Shan inquired.
"I have modified a killer move," Fang Yuan replied calmly. "I believe we can unite our forces without causing our respective dao marks to conflict and also bolster our strength so that we can move it."
He was referring to his Human Path killer move, Hope of the Clansman. After extensive testing over the past few months, he had successfully elevated it first to Rank 5 and then from Rank 5 to Rank 6, using the Rank 6 Ambition Gu as the immortal core, supplemented by various mortal Human Path gu worms. Fortunately, this setup was nowhere near as cost-prohibitive as activating Ambition Triumphing Over Heaven.
However, a major flaw remained: the move could originally only be used on Fang Yuan's actual blood relatives. To bypass this, Fang Yuan turned to The Legends of Ren Zu. The legends stated that bonds formed in life could equal, or sometimes even surpass, the ties of blood. This was a core aspect of many relationships, including the concept of found families.
Were that the case - why can't sworn brothers treat each other like blood brothers? If parents adopted a child and considered it their own as had happened countless times throughout history; why wasn't that equal to the same relationship between parents and their biological offspring?
What, inherently, was the difference?
By fusing his Human Path and Blood Path attainments, Fang Yuan had created a new immortal killer move: Bonds Equal to Blood Ties.
The concept was simple yet profound: as long as Fang Yuan and another person mutually acknowledged each other as family, he could treat them as blood relatives for the purposes of his Blood Path methods.
For instance, Tian Wu, Tian Shan, and Fang Yuan frequently called each other "brother" out of righteous path formality. Through Bonds Equal to Blood Ties, Fang Yuan could exploit this casual verbal acknowledgment, allowing his Blood Path methods to treat the two Tian Clan Immortals exactly like Fang Zheng or any other Gu Yue clansman.
Inwardly, Fang Yuan sighed. If he had possessed this killer move in his previous life, he would have avoided half of his worst predicaments. Immortals often times referred to each other as "brother" on Yellow Treasure Heaven or while waiting. The Gu Yue Clan had been completely wiped out long before he became a Blood Path Gu Immortal, leaving him with no living blood relatives to exploit for his experimental methods. With this move, however, as long as someone called him brother, father, son, or any familial term - even accidentally or ironically - he could exploit these ties through the Blood Path, provided he also acknowledged the bond.
Now that he was a Blood Path Great Grandmaster there were many things he could potentially do as well, but they were limited by his need to stop using the Blood Path altogether.
Currently, the move carried two major limitations.
Being newly created and only at Rank 5, it only really functioned at a level capable of affecting Rank 6 Gu Immortals and below. Its range was also somewhat limited given this fact, though with Fang Yuan's Human Path dao marks this range was over ten thousand li.
Secondly, the familial acknowledgment had to be mutual, and it could not extend past the specific individual. While he could affect Tian Wu and Tian Shan, he could not use Blood Path methods on the rest of the Tian clan who hadn't directly called him 'brother'. It would not allow him to 'chain' his relationships like that. 'Hehe… this requirement is quite similar to Farewell Friend Wind… though it is not at that level yet…' Fang Yuan thought.
Regardless, today he wasn't using a Blood Path attack - he was deploying a Human Path buff.
"Let us go," Fang Yuan said.
The trio flew down to the base of the Impossible Boulder, drawing curious glances from the surrounding Gu Immortals. Because the area was open to anyone who wanted to try their hand so long as they had the Tian's Clan permission, some Immortals attempted to push the boulder every single day. None had succeeded.
"Ah, that Rank 6 wet-behind-the-ears fellow is back again."
"He should know when to give up."
"Then again, none of us have given up, have we?"
"Not that they'll succeed this time either…"
None of them possessed Human Path methods like Fang Yuan, a path that was still largely undeveloped in this era and suppressed by Heaven's Will. Even Fang Yuan wasn't completely certain it would work.
First, Fang Yuan secretly activated Bonds Equal to Blood Ties.
Next, he unleashed the Rank 6 version of Hope of the Clansman.
"Interesting! I suddenly feel far more invigorated," Tian Wu gasped, his eyes lighting up.
"So do I," Tian Shan admitted, astonished. "So this is your method, Brother Fang Yuan?"
"Indeed, Brother Tian Shan. Now come, let us see if we can move it this time."
As Fang Yuan had predicted, the density and weight of the boulder increased because there were three of them pushing together. However, the difficulty did not increase proportionally. Normally, organizing multiple Immortals to pool their strength was a logistical nightmare due to the conflict of different dao marks, and the limited surface area of the boulder restricted how many people could physically touch it.
But Human Path dao marks did not conflict!
"Hold on... don't tell me..." one of the spectating immortals murmured.
The crowd watched in growing awe as the trio made rapid, unprecedented progress.
"Could they actually succeed?"
"No way. They're just three Rank 6 Gu Immortals!"
"Not even Rank Eight clan head could budge it that far!"
"How is this possible?"
Despite their skepticism, every eye was glued to the trio.
"Keep moving," Fang Yuan urged, his voice steady. "We are close to the peak."
They reached ninety of the way up. The spectating Gu Immortals began to cheer.
Ninety-two percent…
Ninety-four percent…
Ninety-seven percent…
"Are they really going to do it?!"
"This is the closest anyone has ever gotten!"
With one final, synchronized heave; Fang Yuan, Tian Wu, and Tian Shan pushed the Impossible Boulder onto the absolute peak.
Instantly, the three of them collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted despite their Immortal physiques. Fang Yuan had succeeded!
A voice boomed inside Fang Yuan's head, echoing with thunderous, wild laughter. It had no visible source, but its sheer presence made Fang Yuan's pupils dilate.
Reckless Savage Demonic Venerable?!
"Aha! So you're the brat who managed to haul the Impossible Boulder to the top?" the booming voice echoed. "I tried doing that long ago when I was only a Rank 7 Cultivator. I didn't care for the fairy tales in The Legends of Ren Zu; I wanted to move it with my own raw strength. And yet, I failed. Even at Rank 8, I failed again! It was only when I reached Rank 9 that I finally succeeded."
The voice shifted to a tone of immense self-satisfaction. "Of course, once I reached Rank 9 and achieved the pinnacle of coolness, I walked up and chucked that boulder straight to the peak in one go without any worries! You should've seen me - I looked amazing with my hair billowing in the wind at the top. Unless you're a Venerable yourself, I suppose you had to rely on others, eh? Hmph! Real men should rely solely on their own strength - that is the true core demonic path! But regardless, congratulations on getting it up there."
The voice now changed to be a bit more thoughtful and reflective. "If you would like to rely more upon the strength of yourself rather than the strength of others, here is a tiny gift I leave behind for you.
A massive influx of information flooded Fang Yuan's mind. It was a comprehensive list of recipes detailing the refinement and usage of Strength Gu - the legendary gu of the Strength Path mentioned in The Legends of Ren Zu. Rumors had always persisted that Reckless Savage had possessed it, and this confirmed it. The recipes covered everything from mortal variants to Immortal Gu recipes ranging from Rank 6 all the way to Rank 9 for Strength Gu. Of course, if an Immortal Strength Gu had already been refined, these were somewhat useless for now.
"This is merely a prelude to the challenge I leave for you," Reckless Savage's voice faded. "If you continue your journey, perhaps you will find the actual Strength Gu along the way."