Liu Chen sat cross legged, his gaze focused on the tortoise shell before him. The Fixed Wind Turtle shell had been waiting in his inventory since before the Living Treasure Window had ever appeared in his life stored quietly, set aside for exactly this moment. Now, with the Fairy Wind Gu, the Seven Star Gu, and the Light Of Glory all sitting refined within his aperture, there was nothing left standing between him and the refinement.
He intended to refine a Rank 5 Fixed Immortal Travel Gu. Unlike the legendary Rank 6 Immortal version, this Rank 5 version was a consumable one-time Gu, but its power to teleport across regions was exactly what he needed to begin his Northern Plains infiltration.
The refinement process began in earnest. Liu Chen mobilized his Yellow Gold Primeval Essence. With a wave of his hand, the golden essence wrapped around the turtle shell like a torrential river.
First, he smelted the Fairy Wind Gu within the essence, transforming it into a concentrated blue breeze that he bound into the grain of the turtle shell. Then, he added the Light Of Glory , causing the essence to roll and churn as if in a violent chemical reaction. The process was agonizingly delicate; each technique required extreme focus to prevent the energy from detonating.
For three days and three nights, Liu Chen stayed in the underground cave, his hands moving in a blur of refinement gestures drawn from the Heaven Refining Demon Venerable five hundred years of Fang Yuan's hard-won experience flowing through his fingers as naturally as breath. Finally, he threw the seven Star Gu into the mixture. They acted as the final anchors.
With a final handprint, the tortoise shell made a slight tremor. Radiant rays of light bloomed from the cracks, eventually forming a dazzling ball of light. In the center, a turquoise butterfly emerged, its wings flickering with a mysterious aura. It flew out and landed in Liu Chen's palm.
"Success. Refined Rank 5 Consumable Gu: Fixed Immortal Travel."
Liu Chen exhaled slowly. The road that had begun on the summit of San Cha Mountain when he had claimed that purple chest and first read the recipe in a nameless ravine had finally reached its end. He held the butterfly carefully, feeling the faint spatial vibration radiating from its wings.
He carefully brought the newly refined Gu into his body and urged it without hesitation. The Fixed Immortal Travel began to float before him, emitting a soft light. Within three breaths, the Gu transformed into a gentle breeze that enveloped Liu Chen's entire body. The next moment, his figure became a phantom, quickly disappearing from the underground cave.
Behind him, he left only a few pieces of his discarded clothing, which lay quietly on the floor as the only proof he had ever been there.
Northern Plains
Poisonous Grassland
Suddenly, Liu Chen appeared atop a rotten, purple-tinted grassland. He stood there for a moment, completely naked.
The Rank 5 Fixed Immortal Travel could teleport a Gu Master to any place they could clearly visualize, but it possessed a notorious side effect: it could only teleport the user's body, leaving all non refined clothing and external objects behind. He had known this going in. It still wasn't a particularly dignified way to arrive.
Liu Chen looked around. The grassland was flat, with almost no undulations for miles. However, unlike ordinary plains, the flowers and trees here appeared in an eerie purple hue, as if they had been soaked in a potent toxin.
He quickly retrieved a Coat Gu from his aperture and placed it against his skin. In an instant, the Gu turned into a ray of light, and his body was covered by a fitted set of clothing he had prepared and refined in advance, specifically for this side effect.
With his appearance restored, Liu Chen turned his gaze toward his goal: the Lang Ya Blessed Land.
However, he immediately sensed a fundamental change in his condition. The five regions of the Gu World possessed different environments, and the regional suppression of the Northern Plains had a drastic impact on his strength. As soon as he arrived, he felt his body being inexplicably pressed down. His original Rank 4 Peak cultivation was now limited to the strength of Rank 3.
"Is this the pressure of the regional wall suppression?" Liu Chen mused. He jumped at the chance to test his assets and summoned the Thousand Li Earthwolf Spider.
Surprisingly, the massive spider showed no signs of being suppressed. It remained majestic and exuded a powerful aura, as if the Northern Plains had no influence on it whatsoever. Liu Chen quickly checked his other system-rewarded Gu; they were all completely immune to the regional suppression.
This discovery was a monumental surprise. Even though his own cultivation was limited, having a Rank 5 bodyguard and a suite of unsuppressed Gu meant his strength could not be underestimated. Even if he encountered danger, the speed and power of the spider would ensure no one could catch him.
With the spider as his mount, the trip to the entrance of Lang Ya Blessed Land situated at Crescent Lake was greatly shortened. What would have been a month-long trek for a normal Gu Master was estimated to take only three hours.
As they raced toward the lake, they encountered several packs of Poison Bearded Wolves. Liu Chen killed them effortlessly, feeding their blood and remains to his two sword embryos, Blood and Bone. However, unlike his system rewards, these two embryos were suppressed by the Northern Plains and could only display the power of Rank 2.
Finally, after passing Crescent Lake, they arrived at a grey white Stone Forest. The forest was vast, with stone pillars reaching hundreds of meters high into the sky, creating a labyrinth of staggered heights that was impossible to see through at a glance.
Somewhere within this forest lay the entrance to the legendary inheritance of the Long Hair Ancestor.
The moment Liu Chen stepped into the stone forest, he slowed his pace and began to draw on the memories he had inherited from Fang Yuan. In those five hundred years of experience, this stone forest held an extraordinary origin. It was not a natural formation but had been meticulously constructed by Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable himself. If one were to look down upon this labyrinth from the sky, they would realize the pillars were arranged to form a colossal, stylized character for "Thief."
This was the designated meeting place between Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable and the Long Hair Ancestor . Centuries ago, in his quest to refine the Rank 9 Divine Travel Gu, the Demon Venerable had plundered resources across the Five Regions for two days, delivering them all to the Long Hair Ancestor for refinement. However, the resulting Gu was ineffective against the Empty Door, failing to grant the Venerable his wish of returning to his original world.
Feeling a deep sense of guilt for failing the Venerable's expectations, the Long Hair Ancestor had offered to refine nine more Gu for him using his own materials. Six of these opportunities were used by Thieving Heaven himself, while the remaining three were left as a legacy for his descendants.
While those three refinement opportunities were precious enough to make any Gu Master salivate, Liu Chen's primary focus was the System Treasure Boxes that the plot of such a high level inheritance would surely spawn.
"That's it!"
Liu Chen's eyes locked onto the center of the stone forest. Just when he was beginning to doubt his search, a Nine-Color Treasure Box the highest tier he had ever encountered, surpassing even the Colorful boxes he had claimed from Fang Yuan and the Shang Clan environment, suddenly materialized before him, appearing as if it had fallen from the heavens. Where a Colorful box pulsed with a rainbow spectrum, this one blazed with all nine colors simultaneously, each one distinct and overwhelming, the combined radiance pressing against his eyes like staring into a midday sun.
This iridescent chest represented a reward at the level of a Demon Venerable. Its contents could be anything from legendary Immortal Killer Moves to forbidden secrets unknown to gods or ghosts.
His heart hammered against his ribs as he rushed toward the chest. Without hesitation, he secured the nine-color treasure in his inventory, his breath hitching as he felt the sheer weight of its potential pressing even through the barrier of the system storage.
As he turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of a polished stone bench and a single light purple stone pillar that stood out sharply against the surrounding grey-white columns. A wave of ecstasy welled up in his heart, this was the entrance to Lang Ya Blessed Land.
"Truly killing two birds with one stone," Liu Chen sighed with relief.
He approached the purple pillar and summoned his White Bone Sword Gu. With a cold, pragmatic movement, he slashed his own palm. Blood gushed from the wound, and he pressed his hand firmly against the cold stone, staining the purple surface a deep crimson.
Liu Chen took a deep, steadying breath and uttered the mandatory keyword: "Want."
These were the two criteria for entering: the blood of a human and the verbal expression of desire. As the word left his lips, his vision tore apart. The stone forest disappeared in an instant, replaced by a magnificent room filled with the rich, refreshing aroma of refined elixirs.
The chamber was gorgeously decorated, featuring carved beams and painted murals that exuded an air of ancient grandeur. In the very center of the room sat an old man with immortal wind and bones. His hair was as white as a child's, yet his complexion was as rosy as a youth's. He sat cross legged with his eyes closed, his sleeves fluttering in a phantom breeze as if he were one with the very atmosphere of the blessed land.
Floating in front of the old man was an Iridescent Eight Color Treasure Box, only slightly inferior to the Nine-Color chest Liu Chen had just retrieved from the stone forest outside.
"I am Liu Chen, successor of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable. I am here to meet my Senior!" Liu Chen saluted respectfully, his attitude humble and sincere.
The old man slowly opened his eyes. They were like deep lake water calm, mysterious, and ancient. When his gaze fell on Liu Chen, a flash of light flickered within them, appearing to penetrate Liu Chen's body and see every corner of his heart.
The old man's eyes eventually settled on the White Bone Sword Gu still held in Liu Chen's hand. The light in his eyes grew increasingly dazzling. After a moment, he couldn't help but exclaim: "What a Gu! Each part has its own method of cultivation and refinement... such an exquisite design is rare indeed. If this Gu were to spread throughout the Five Regions, I fear the Sword Path would usher in a new era of dominance. What a rare and beautiful treasure!"
With just a single glance, the old man had deciphered the core secrets of the Nameless Sword Path, a feat that shocked Liu Chen. The depth of the old man's understanding of Gu mechanics was beyond human imagination.
The Lang Ya Land Spirit for that is who the old man was suddenly felt a surge of desire. He looked at Liu Chen and asked: "Boy, are you willing to exchange this secret recipe with me? I can trade you a high level Gu worm, or perhaps an ancient recipe of your choice. What do you say? Oh, and don't forget the code."
Liu Chen thought for a brief moment and replied without the slightest hesitation: "The code means there is no code. As for this Bone Sword recipe... I am sorry, but I cannot exchange it with you yet." His tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
"What? You refuse to trade?! How dare you!"
The Lang Ya Land Spirit was instantly furious. His roar exploded in Liu Chen's ears like a burst of thunder, making his eardrums buzz. Along with the roar, the Land Spirit's aura gushed out like a volcanic eruption. The surrounding air became extremely heavy, as if it were being physically squeezed by an invisible weight. Liu Chen felt as though a mountain were pressing down on his shoulders, causing his body to tremble involuntarily under the crushing pressure of a Gu Immortal's domain.