Wu Dan Shi stood restlessly, glancing from time to time at Fang Tian, who was cultivating in silence.
When he first met Fang Tian, he had been skeptical about what Fang Tian intended to do, yet he agreed anyway—he simply wasn't the type with strong negotiating skills. Thus, he stood guard for four hours, occasionally looking toward Fang Tian who sat in meditation.
"Breaking through to rank four? What an ambitious fellow… truly worthy of a member of the Wu clan. But can breaking through to rank four really be that easy?"
Wu Dan Shi didn't hold much hope or expectation for Fang Tian's breakthrough to rank four. Yes, Fang Tian seemed incredibly talented for someone not yet twenty, and his cultivation level was outstanding among his peers. But even an absolute genius at that age would inevitably face hardships and failure along the way.
After all, that was what his father had told him on the day his aperture awakened and he began his journey as a Gu Master.
Inside Fang Tian's aperture, the primeval sea remained completely still, not yet surging to break into rank four. All this time, he had been weighing the gains and losses of advancing to rank four.
"Without a doubt, if I break through to rank four, my battle strength will surge tremendously. But the pressure on my aperture will intensify accordingly, and the Infinite Forest Samsara Physique will manifest more strongly within my body, turning me into something half-human, half-tree… On the other hand, if I don't break through, nothing major will change. I can endure the pressure longer, and the Infinite Forest Samsara will take much more time to manifest. With my current strength, I'm still among the strongest here."
Fang Tian wasn't foolish enough to break through to rank four without careful thought. After all, a year and a half had already passed since he became a Gu Master—and a year and a half since the executioner's blade known as one of the Ten Extreme Physiques had been hanging over his head, slowly descending to behead him.
Now, caught between the dilemma of risking everything or waiting safely to buy more time, Fang Tian hesitated deeply. At this moment of difficult contemplation, a ridiculous yet logical thought surfaced in his mind.
"At a moment like this, what am I even hesitating for? Risks and rewards are always proportional—great risks reap great rewards. For someone half-dead like me, risking it or not makes no difference!"
Fang Tian made up his mind and drove all his primeval essence into the weak, exhausted walls of his aperture, slamming into them. The crystalline wall shook violently, massive cracks instantly spreading across its surface. Fang Tian smiled tiredly and sent another wave of primeval essence crashing into the nearly collapsed aperture walls.
The crystal wall shattered after Fang Tian consumed seventy percent of his primeval essence. The rank three peak-stage crystalline wall was replaced by the luminous wall of rank four initial stage. Light golden primeval essence began to form, and Fang Tian's aperture was soon completely filled with rank four light-golden primeval essence.
Fang Tian had advanced to rank four!
But this did not come without a price. He felt his physical sensations dull slightly, and his skin darkened further, transforming into something resembling tree bark. The pressure on his aperture intensified, causing him to groan in pain.
"Elder brother! Elder brother! …You broke through to rank four!"
Wu Dan Shi jumped in joy upon seeing Fang Tian's breakthrough, but then frowned when he noticed Fang Tian's skin changing color and hardening. Fang Tian opened his eyes in exhaustion and looked at Wu Dan Shi with a forced smile.
"Yes, little Dan… shall we leave this desolate place now?"
Fang Tian's plan was to gather as many Gu Masters from the Wu clan as possible and incite them against the other clans, rapidly reducing their numbers. He couldn't possibly kill all these rank three Gu Masters by himself without wasting an enormous amount of time.
Thus, the most efficient strategy was to pit the Wu clan and the other clans against each other, thinning their numbers quickly, allowing Fang Tian to capitalize on his advantage as a rank four Gu Master.
The difference between rank four and rank three was enormous. The higher the cultivation level, the greater the gulf between realms. Only a rare few could fight rank four while at rank three, and even fewer could contend with rank five while at rank four.
However, Fang Tian was facing a troublesome problem.
He couldn't fully display his power using only rank three Gu worms. Although breaking through to rank four had increased his strength, the boost wasn't overwhelming. After all, he possessed only a small number of rank four Gu worms—and none of them were of the wood path.
"Not to mention, I don't even have rank four recipes for my core Gu worms. That Li Hua is truly vicious—she only left Gu recipes from rank one to rank three in the second hall. I'll probably find the remaining recipes once I finish exploring the entire inheritance."
Fang Tian's thoughts wandered as he struggled to figure out how to display the battle strength of a rank four Gu Master, but he couldn't come up with many solutions.
"Forget it. Even without rank four wood path Gu, I still have enough strength to suppress the situation."
"Dan Shi, have you seen any groups of Gu Masters from our clan anywhere?"
"Elder brother, I haven't seen any Gu Masters from our clan, but I did see some from the Xia clan and the Yang clan…"
Fang Tian nodded with slight disappointment. He had encountered many Wu clan Gu Masters before—he had killed some and avoided others. Now, he found himself regretting those choices.
Plans never kept up with changing circumstances. Even if a plan formed in his mind and he rushed to execute it, a better plan would soon appear, rendering the first one useless and damaging the foundation of the second.
Even so, he could still carry out his intentions—he would just have to put in more effort.
"Let's go, little Dan. Let's find our clansmen!"
Wu Dan Shi nodded excitedly, determined to follow Fang Tian. After all, Fang Tian had broken through to rank four—accompanying him would undoubtedly guarantee his safety.
Fang Tian and Wu Dan left the desolate field and headed east.
After studying the blessed land for several days, Fang Tian had already grasped its layout. The eastern region of the blessed land was filled with numerous lakes and aquatic shrubs of the strength path, with these resource points covering more than half of the eastern area. The central region—where Fang Tian had met Wu Dan Shi—consisted of vast fields of forests and grasses of the strength path, along with various lifeforms. The central region was by far the most dangerous.
The southern region consisted of clusters of hills with diverse environments, forming a complete ecosystem of beasts, birds, and various lifeforms. The western region was barren and devoid of development.
As for the northern region, it was sealed off by a chain of small mountain ranges, which Fang Tian had yet to cross. Now, they were heading toward the eastern part of the blessed land, where the density of Gu Masters was the highest.