A three-meter-long Willow Arrow shattered upon the rocky hill, the impact force hurling white stones and stone-furred monkeys into the air.
The monkeys let out panicked cries; dozens of them died from the shockwave alone, drawing the fury of the Hundred Beast King.
"Stupid monkey."
Fang Tian laughed with disdain. He was now four meters tall, his body as thick as tree trunks, his skin transformed into an extremely hard diamond carapace. More than a thousand blood-vines lashed about everywhere like the tentacles of a terrifying monstrosity.
The seven-meter-tall monkey charged forward, its thick arms swinging as its stone fur bristled with vigilance. In towering rage, it smashed everything in its path. Yet Fang Tian opened his mouth until it nearly split, and another Willow Arrow shot out.
This arrow was different from the previous one: it was diamond-colored, with a terrifying aura overflowing from it. It shot forth at a speed invisible to the naked eye and pierced through the charging monkey with unimaginable force, turning its body into bloody dust!
This was the first time Fang Tian tested his killer move after modification, and the power alone was shocking enough to make him feel a little afraid. With the amplification of dao marks from the Boundless Samsara Forest Physique, Wood Origin Gu, and Wood Charm, the result was terrifying.
Fang Tian rushed to the hill in a swift movement and immediately collided with the stone-furred monkeys. The ground beneath him shattered, forming a crater thirty meters wide and several feet deep, but vines quickly covered all the pits, lashing out everywhere and crushing the stone-furred monkeys.
The monkeys were crushed and shattered upon the white hill; the stones drank their blood and swiftly turned from white to red.
The hill shook several times and collapsed in many places. Ordinary monkeys died, and even the Hundred Beast Kings did not escape.
The loud uproar of the monkeys' agonized screams forced the hidden Thousand Beast King to emerge. With raging fury, it charged at Fang Tian and threw an explosive punch at the air.
The air instantly turned solid. Fang Tian felt something press down on him with tremendous force, but he laughed with contempt inwardly and let out a terrifying roar.
The Thousand Beast King's soul trembled from the roar, and the strength barrier it had formed dissipated. Fang Tian did not delay after seeing his chance; he spat a gigantic Willow Arrow from his mouth toward the Thousand Beast King.
The Willow Arrow tore off the Thousand Beast King's entire shoulder, making it let out a loud, terrified scream as it looked at Fang Tian as though seeing a demonic god. Fang Tian laughed, extended his crimson limbs, seized the Thousand Beast King, and crushed it.
Several Gu worms flew out from the Thousand Beast King's corpse, but they were seized at once.
"This power alone rivals the mid stage of rank four. It seems I don't have much time."
Fang Tian sighed. He was not very happy with this power; the more his Gu worms' dao marks were amplified, the closer he felt to death. Now that he had removed the effect of Light Essence Gu, the pressure on his aperture was unbearable.
However, he could endure it for two months before resealing it.
Fang Tian gathered the stone monkey corpses. No matter how damaged they were, they still held value. After all, there were more than two thousand dead stone monkeys!
These were rare strength path materials from ancient times! Even if they were mortal materials, they still had great value to clans with deep foundations that could make full use of them.
"It's a pity I couldn't kill all the monkeys and collect all their stone fur, otherwise my gains would have doubled."
Fang Tian sighed with regret and left the hill dyed red, the stench of blood spreading everywhere, attracting predators near the monkeys' territory.
"The conditions to become the master of this blessed land are difficult, but not impossible. All I have to do is kill any powerful creatures I encounter, whether humans or beasts… but the unknown factor is that I don't know what the strongest beast in this blessed land is. If there is a desolate beast here, I should forget inheriting this blessed land and only think about dying."
"But if the strongest being here is rank five, I have a very high chance of killing it if I sacrifice everything… after all, this blessed land is only rank six, its foundation shouldn't be so deep as to possess a desolate beast. The calamities and tribulations have already destroyed much of its foundation… yet it is still extremely rich."
Fang Tian could see many excellent resource points: some were beast groups, others were entire forests of precious plants and trees, clusters of insects from which Gu worms could be refined, and even a gigantic lake with waters rich in diverse and vigorous lifeforms.
Several days had already passed for Fang Tian, and he had gained a good understanding of the distribution of resources and creatures in the blessed land, forming many plans in his mind.
"I can seize parts of these resource points to amass wealth, and also take the lead in the competition by proving myself to the land spirit in multiple situations, dragging the competition out to the maximum. The longer it lasts, the greater my advantage… I can even break through to rank four to gain a boost in strength. But these are only superficial solutions and do not reach the core of the matter."
"What I really have to do is kill all the Gu Masters. Then, my victory over this blessed land will only be a matter of time… but the one thing I lack the most is time.."
It was truly headache-inducing, yet he could clearly see the path he had to take and would not hesitate to walk it.
"Then it's decided. Those pitiful people can only blame themselves for blocking my path to survival. To them, this is a chance to increase their strength, while to me, this is a chance to survive."
Fang Tian laughed coldly, having fully made up his mind this time without the slightest hesitation. He leaped from his spot and moved toward one of the Gu Master groups he had scouted in the previous days.
"Brother Wan, this blessed land is far too rich, it's simply the opportunity of a lifetime for us! It's only been a few days and we've already seized a rank five Gu!"
"Hahaha, that's right, little brother Shen Zi. But what interests me even more is the power of Gu Immortals. They are truly great, to be able to possess such a rich blessed land. With these resources, several small clans could sustain themselves without relying on any external source!"
The man named Shang Wan laughed happily with his younger brother Shang Shen Zi. In the past few days, they had obtained many enormous gains. Even without obtaining the Gu Immortal inheritance, they were already very satisfied with their progress. Even if they lost the competition, they would still have a bright future!
But his hopes shattered when he heard the whistling of wind. A gigantic crow the size of an adult man let out a loud caw and charged toward the Shang brothers.
"Shen Zi, activate your defensive Gu!"
Shen Zi immediately activated his defensive Gu, light patterns forming around him and turning into layers of sturdy barriers. But it was useless. Even as a rank three upper stage Gu Master, he could only endure for a few seconds before his defenses collapsed and little Shen Zi was torn into pieces.
"Shen Zi!! You bastard, how dare you take my little brother from me!"
Shang Wan charged madly toward the direction the attack came from, but all he could see was a vague figure with green hair like spring leaves. That figure unleashed a terrifying soul-targeting roar toward Shang Wan.
He was unable to resist. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
"Soul Howl Gu is truly excellent. Attacks that target the soul are rare, so most people don't think to prepare against them. Now that Soul Howl Gu is in my hands, although its offensive power is modest, the damage it deals is excellent."
Fang Tian seized Shang Wan's body and searched his aperture, finding that all of his Gu worms had been destroyed. He sighed in regret, then crushed Shang Wan's head with icy indifference and turned to leave.
He would target another group of Gu Masters.