Smoke rose from a vast plain that had been turned into a colossal battlefield. The once-beautiful grassy terrain was transformed into a land of flames, acids, metallic masses, and all kinds of bizarre phenomena.
A Wu clan Gu Master roared ferociously. All traces of youth and righteousness vanished from his face, replaced by a savage, demonic visage. Layers of soft clouds formed around his body as he unleashed streams of sharp, heavy winds.
The winds crashed into an opposing Gu Master, slicing into his metal-hard body. The sound of tearing and bending iron rang out, causing the Wu clan Gu Master to grin viciously as he intensified his assault.
But this fleeting moment of triumph cost him his life—a golden spike pierced through his brain, killing him instantly.
Scenes like this unfolded everywhere. Young Gu Masters from all clans collided with the Wu clan Gu Masters, fighting with everything they had until they forced the Wu clan to retreat. Yet the Wu clan Gu Masters did not despair; instead, resolute expressions surfaced on their faces.
At that moment, more than a thousand thick blood vines burst out from beneath the ground, and a hidden figure shouted from an unknown location:
"Withered Lotus Primeval Rain!"
Golden droplets poured down in a torrential shower upon the Wu clan Gu Masters. It did not harm them physically or spiritually, yet the terror it inspired was clearly written across their faces. At the same time, the blood vines seized them, disrupting their concentration—they could not afford to ignore them.
The battle did not last long. Once the primeval essence of the Gu Masters from the three clans was exhausted, they became fish on the chopping board.
What followed was nothing but a massacre.
The Wu clan Gu Masters charged forward, slaughtering everyone in their path. There was no distinction between young or old, male or female, weak or strong.
It was pure slaughter.
Under Fang Tian's command, the Wu clan Gu Masters—bolstered by the support of a rank four expert—dared to fight enemies who far outnumbered them. Yet few noticed that after every battle, both their numbers and the numbers of their enemies steadily dwindled.
Nearly all Wu clan Gu Masters were under Fang Tian's command, except Wu Ji and a handful of others who were either dead or hiding deep away from this conflict, beyond his reach. Their absence did not affect the greater scheme in the slightest.
"Just a little more… and I will become the master of this blessed land."
Over the past weeks, Fang Tian had discovered many strange truths. As he gathered the Wu clan Gu Masters, he came to realize that in this world, only strength reigned supreme. Without rank four cultivation, who would listen to Fang Tian—a mere outer member of the Wu clan, supported only by a rank four elder?
This was a priceless lesson that would stay with him for life—if he still had any life left.
The roughly thirty Wu clan Gu Masters gathered the corpses of the dead and burned them. Fang Tian watched the scene coldly, his face covered by a yellow-wood mask, leather pieces covering his entire body.
Beneath this covering, his body was slowly transforming, his sense of self gradually fading as the Infinite Forest Samsara Physique reached the peak of its manifestation. At the same time, his aperture was reaching the limits of what it could endure. Fang Tian did not have much time left—perhaps a week at most before he would truly die.
He knew this, and thus chose to hasten his plan. This battle was merely the final prelude.
Leaving the Wu clan Gu Masters to deal with the corpses, Fang Tian sprinted away, leaving afterimages behind him.
"This is the last chance. After killing so many Gu Masters, I've created enormous chaos. None of them have realized my true goal—only the clever ones who stayed far away from all this understand what I'm really after."
His goal, of course, was to kill the strongest creature in this blessed land. The problem was that he did not know what that creature was. But after gathering some information, he had already learned of the strongest being here.
The strongest creature was a Beast Emperor.
The ranks of beast kings were divided as follows: Hundred-Beast King, Thousand-Beast King, Ten-Thousand-Beast King, and Beast Emperor. There were also mutated beasts equal to Ten-Thousand-Beast Kings, and Mutated Beast Kings equal to Beast Emperors.
Beast Emperors were extremely powerful creatures, possessing tremendous vitality, rank five wild Gu worms on their bodies, and terrifying physical strength. They were so difficult to kill that even rank five Gu Masters avoided clashing with them, as the outcome of such a battle was uncertain.
That was not the only reason.
Beast Emperors commanded thousands—sometimes tens of thousands—of beasts and beast kings. Fighting them was never a one-on-one battle.
It was an army of beasts against a single man.
But to Fang Tian, none of that mattered. After all, did he have any other options? His demise was already at hand—only a few days remained before death claimed him. This was the gamble of a desperate man, but it carried a sliver of hope.
After several hours, Fang Tian arrived at a small mountain range in the north of the blessed land. This range served as a boundary between the northern region and the rest, making it an isolated area.
Fang Tian did not conceal himself. Instead, he deliberately released his aura. It was far from natural—it carried within it the stench of death and destruction, and had already surpassed that of ordinary rank four Gu Masters.
Roar!
A deafening roar shook the surroundings. Small stones rained down everywhere. A tide of tigers surged out from the mountains toward the lone Fang Tian. He discarded all restraint and charged straight into them!
The ground shattered instantly, revealing thousands of blood amazon vines beneath the surface, which lashed out and shredded the tiger packs like insects. In a single moment, hundreds of tigers died, yet thousands more flooded toward Fang Tian like an overwhelming tide.
He was not nervous at all. His primeval essence was abundant, his defenses incomparably solid. Without the intervention of a Ten-Thousand-Beast King, they could not break through him.
The tigers, each as large as oxen, slammed into Fang Tian's diamond-armored body, their bones shattering upon impact.
"This is bad—this is really bad!"
Fang Tian was gradually being submerged beneath the beast tide. No matter how powerful he had become due to the abnormal amplification he now possessed, he still had his limits. Facing such an overwhelming number of beasts, he knew those limits well.
Without hesitation, he activated the trump card he had been relying on all along.
In the very next moment, Fang Tian's right arm exploded!