After subduing the man's family and thoroughly brainwashing them to forget all about what had happened, Fang Yuan brought the newly enslaved AE-3048-195 to a secluded island south of the Three Continents. It was remote, quiet - ideal for uninterrupted work and away from any dangers or issues that would bother the man.
Even better would've been to keep the man outside his aperture entirely so that he didn't interfere in the Integration Formation, but Fang Yuan could not allow that.
Fang Yuan summoned a gu worm with a Rank 5 aura.
"A waste," Fang Yuan muttered, glancing at the man. "Though I suppose you should feel grateful."
"Yes, Master," AE-3048-195 replied without hesitation. Of course he was grateful. After being enslaved by a Rank 5 Enslavement Gu what else could he possibly feel?
Fang Yuan had already used a Rank 5 gu worm to enslave an ordinary mortal. That seemed like such a waste. On top of which to use yet another Rank 5 gu worm... and yet, he could see no other solution.
The formation that stole the souls of Otherworldly Demons had originated from Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable's research. His formation worked in a peculiar manner: it intercepted souls that Heaven's Will intended to transmigrate into the Gu world and instead implanted them into suitable hosts within Fang Yuan's aperture.
What defined "suitable host" Fang Yuan did not fully understand.
Even Thieving Heaven himself had left the matter vague - his experimentation with the formation had been incomplete. He had wanted to reunite himself with his cherished ones from his world. However, once he realized that was impossible in this way he had given up on developing the formation altogether.
The only consistent rule was that it would not override an existing Otherworldly Demon. Putting that aside, anyone in his aperture was fair game. But that also meant that it could be anyone within his aperture.
Thus, Fang Yuan could not determine whether Heaven's Will had originally planned for this man to transmigrate into a mortal body or not and what Heaven's Will even intended to do with that kind of information. But that no longer mattered.
Before he could begin however, two wills descended upon the island at great speed.
Fang Yuan sighed inwardly. "Every time I begin having some fun, these two busybodies have to come in and interrupt me..."
The figures materialized - Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable and Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable. Both were present as wills.
"Fang Yuan," Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable said, his gaze falling upon AE-3048-195. "You have enslaved another human. All beings possess the will to live - why do you trample over his? As Immortals we shouldn't see mortals as inferior to ourselves." Paradise Earth was perhaps one of the only Immortals who didn't dabble in the trade of slaves, human or variant human, in the entire history of the gu world. Even righteous path Gu Immortals enslaved variant humans and oftentimes, humans as well.
Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable followed, his expression stern. "Man is the spirit of all living beings. How could you trample upon the spirit of all things? Yet you enslave him so casually. If you continue, you may interfere with the Integration Formation."
Fang Yuan remained calm. "Perhaps. But there was no other way to secure his cooperation. The two of you don't know how hard it was to subdue him. There was no other way. And his 'cooperation' is necessary."
Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable shook his head. "I cannot guide you forever, Fang Yuan, especially when it comes to the nurture of those in your region. I only hope you will one day understand remorse."
Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable narrowed his eyes. "If you persist, I will have no choice but to use painting path methods to paint a portrait of you pregnant and display it in Yellow Treasure Heaven."
Fang Yuan: "…"
Paradise Earth: "…"
The two wills dissipated shortly after, leaving behind an awkward stillness.
Fang Yuan sneered inwardly.
Hypocrites.
Whether through tacit agreement with Thieving Heaven or silent acknowledgment of necessity, they chose not to act or stop him in this endeavor.
But that did remind him of one thing - he needed to find a way out of being under these two's thumbs. Fang Yuan valued freedom, but a wise man knows when to submit to circumstances. This aperture of his was massive and valuable, but was also constrained by those two. Currently Fang Yuan had no hope of removing their influence either, nor would such a thing be very beneficial. He was benefitting from the Integration Formation as well.
'Another aperture... one where their influence isn't there...' Fang Yuan thought.
Putting these ideas away, Fang Yuan focused on what he had been doing before he had been interrupted. He activated the Rank 5 gu worm he had summoned - Man Triumphing Over Heaven Gu!
AE-3048-195's aperture opened in a flash.
"Twenty-four percent aptitude," Fang Yuan observed, examining it. "Acceptable."
That said, AE-3048-195's talent was irrelevant. All Fang Yuan required was an opened aperture for his needs. That, and a Vital Gu. If anything, the fact that AE-3048-195 was only Rank 1 was beneficial as it made him easier to subjugate. The pressure on Fang Yuan's own soul from enslaving the man was minimal.
"Now for your Vital Gu..."
He casually handed over a Moonlight Gu - a common gu of the Gu Yue clan, of little value to him now. Already refined, it was instantly assimilated by AE-3048-195 and became his Vital Gu.
Next, Fang Yuan constructed a living space using a Rank 3 Gu House on the island, stocking it with food and water. Additionally, there were a large number of primeval stones on the island.
In other words, AE-3048-195 would spend all of his time on this lone, secluded island, working day in and day out for Fang Yuan's purpose. It was enough to drive nearly anyone insane by the tedium and isolation. If he was able to, AE-3048-195 would've undoubtedly preferred to end his life by his own hand rather than continue to live a life of such drudgery. But now that he was subjugated by Rank 5 Enslavement Gu, even that right was denied to him.
"Begin," Fang Yuan commanded coldly.
A Rank One Equality Gu floated over. AE-3048-195 immediately sat. He placed one hand on one end of the scale, and a primeval stone in the other. And like that, he focused upon his Vital Gu. The primeval stone started shaking and started refining a Rank 0 gu worm.
Time passed.
"This is slower than expected," Fang Yuan muttered to himself.
Each Rank 0 gu worm required nearly an hour to produce. This had been the same back in that painting, but Fang Yuan had hoped there was a way to accelerate it.
According to Thieving Heaven's findings, this limitation was absolute.
Even if Fang Yuan were to try himself, despite being Rank 6, he would also only be able to create one Rank 0 gu worm each hour. And the gu worm, though cosmetically different, would be functionally identical to the one that AE-3048-195 was making.
Fang Yuan examined the Rank 0 gu worm closely.
The gu resembled Moonlight Gu, but imperfect - its antennae misaligned, its glow dim and sickly compared to normal Moonlight Gu. It exuded a strange aura that no other gu worm did. It could only be described as nothing or a rank of 'null' which didn't fit the Rank 1 to Rank 9 hierarchy of this world.
Because this was not a gu worm from this world, but made of another world's dao marks!
It had no direct function.
Yet it was far from useless.
Like all gu, it could serve as a component in killer moves. He merely required time to develop methods around it to create Rank 0 killer moves.
The gu showed minimal vitality, but one advantage was clear - it required no feeding so long as it remained within the creator's aperture.
"Continue," Fang Yuan ordered.
And so, on that isolated island, AE-3048-195 tirelessly produced Rank 0 gu worms.
Fang Yuan frowned.
He might end up needing far more than what AE-3048-195 could produce.
But given the time constraint on producing them without a way to hasten the process, the only thing he could do was wait for the formation to bring him the soul of another Otherworldly Demon, or go around the Five Regions looking for another one. The latter was a near-impossibility given how rare they were, so for now he could only wait.