The land spirit gazed at Fang Tian's naked body, breathing heavily as she gradually grew more tense. She had already noticed what was happening between her master and the other will clinging to him.
But there was little she could do. After all, she was a land spirit born from the obsession of a Strength Path Gu Immortal, not a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal. She could only offer limited help by gradually condensing her master's will. When he regained consciousness, he would enter into a struggle for control over the new body, fighting against the other will.
At the very least, he held the advantage that his will was far stronger than the other's, and moreover, he was fighting within his own body, granting him a tremendous edge. Aside from that, everything else depended on whether the other will possessed attainment in the Wisdom Path. If it did, the battle would be extremely arduous and unpredictable.
"Young master… this is all I can do. The rest depends on you, my lord."
The land spirit sighed in sorrow. With a wave of her hand, she drew Fang Tian toward her, lifting him into the air. They sped rapidly toward a colossal palace built of exquisite gray bricks, its walls adorned with rank two Fire Lantern Gu. The land spirit laid Fang Tian upon a massive bed in one of the rooms, then began to examine Fang Tian's new body.
Fang Tian's former body had been completely destroyed by the explosion. The land spirit had been unable to save his body, his soul, or the Gu worms stored within his aperture. All of them had simply been obliterated.
Recreating Fang Tian's body was an exceedingly difficult task for the land spirit using mortal Gu. She had barely succeeded after employing dozens of rare Gu worms such as Yin Gu and Yang Gu, along with other Soul Path Gu worms, to condense Fang Tian's will back into a soul.
Reconstructing Fang Tian's body was especially difficult because of the dense Wood Path dao marks upon him, but condensing his will into a soul was relatively easier.
"Now everything depends on the young master. Oh, those youngsters have damaged much of the blessed land. Should I expel them now, since I have already chosen my master from among them, or should I keep them and suppress their Gu worms until my master awakens?"
Blessed land spirits and heavenly spirits were simple-minded and could not think in complex ways, yet what was considered 'simple' in this world was still within their capacity to contemplate.
"I should not let them leave until my master deals with them personally. I must suppress them at once and seal their Gu worms. But I wonder—does my master wish to inspect their Gu worms and take some for himself? …No, no. I should contact Yellow Treasure Heaven and purchase a wide array of Wood Path Gu worms. After all, my master possesses the Boundless Forest Samsara Physique!"
The ancient Strength Path land spirit of this blessed land possessed unwavering loyalty toward her master, just like other land spirits. She even took the initiative to purchase Wood Path Gu worms to compensate Fang Tian for his losses.
Elsewhere, Fang Tian was undergoing a surge of memories and experiences—sweet and bitter, painful and joyful. At first, he was a little girl raised by a pair of Gu Masters from the Yan Zu clan.
She was a beautiful girl with grass-green hair and pure white skin. Her unparalleled beauty drew the envy of countless women. She also possessed a lively and cheerful disposition, and people loved her for it.
She truly had everything one could wish for.
Her splendid life continued as she played with her Gu Master parents, earned respect among her peers, and frolicked with them in summer when the climate turned tropical. They played in muddy pools with the children of mortal humans. In winter, they gathered around warm fires and thick furs while one of the elders told them Legends of Ren Zu.
The girl asked,
"Grand-uncle! Grand-uncle!… Why did Ren Zu leave his daughter, the Boundless Forest Samsara, in the Ordinary Abyss?! Was it because she lacked the will to persevere?"
It was a clever question. Even the old man telling the tale was taken aback, then burst into laughter.
"That's right! That's right! My little Li Hua, Ren Zu was walking his own path, and for the sake of perseverance upon that path, he abandoned his daughter. If the Boundless Forest Samsara had possessed the will to persevere, Ren Zu would not have left her behind… Likewise, the Boundless Forest Samsara could not rely on her father's achievements to become extraordinary and escape the Ordinary Abyss. Therefore, my little Li Hua, you must understand that no one can rely on another's accomplishments to become extraordinary."
Li Hua's watery eyes shone with understanding as she happily told the old man,
"I understand! I understand!… Grand-uncle, I must create my own achievements to become extraordinary!"
The old man laughed with delight, moved by little Li Hua's budding resolve.
The years passed, and Li Hua reached fifteen years of age. The signs of maturity began to show upon her. The excess baby fat faded from her face, replaced by refined and beautiful jawlines, while her long hair flowed down to her waist. Yet traces of childhood still lingered upon her features.
She now stood at the Awakening Ceremony, where her future would be determined—whether she would become a Gu Master or fall to the level of mortal humans. Within her field of vision, the clan's Spirit Spring stretched to the end of the cave. The water reached her knees, gray flowers resembling spiraling whirlwinds were planted in the background, and Hope Gu fluttered densely throughout the surroundings.
The elder called her name with dissatisfaction, watching the last adolescent stagger out in delight after awakening his aperture with D-grade aptitude.
"Li Hua! Your turn."
Li Hua stepped forward nervously toward the Spirit Spring, her knees sinking into the water. When she took three steps, she felt an invisible wall press against her for a moment before it receded.
She continued until she reached ten steps. At that point, Hope Gu gathered around her navel, making her feel its gentle caress upon her skin.
Li Hua kept walking. Hope Gu gathered more densely around her navel, causing the elders' eyes to gradually brighten. When she reached the thirtieth step, one of the elders could not restrain himself and cried out,
"Thirty steps! Excellent—this generation has a B-grade aptitude!"
But Li Hua continued onward. Hope Gu covered her navel so completely that the pure white light dazzled her eyes. After the thirty-ninth step, she took the fortieth. At that moment, everyone held their breath in awe.
Yet Li Hua remained oblivious, recalling that night with the old man she called grand-uncle. The old man had already passed away, but the memory of that night had planted something within her heart. She found that feeling within Hope Gu, and so she chased after it.
In the background, the elders could only hold their breath as they watched her take her fiftieth step—then come to a halt.
She had awakened her aperture and become a Gu Master. Li Hua regained consciousness when she felt an explosion between her kidneys. Every pore of her body opened, and she fell into the waters of the Spirit Spring.
Before she could sink, a powerful arm lifted her up. When she turned her head to see who it was, the current clan leader of Yan Zu was looking at her with eyes filled with joy and pride. Li Hua glanced at the clan leader's thick gray beard and the dark wrinkles beneath his eyes and thought to herself,
"He looks old and weary."
The clan leader shook Li Hua as though drying a piece of clothing, then spoke with a loving smile,
"Li Hua! You awakened A-grade aptitude—and the highest among A-grade at that! Ah, this is wonderful. I can't hold myself back—starting today, you are my disciple!"
The elders did not object. Instead, they abandoned their competition with one another and placed the clan's interests first.
Six months passed, and Li Hua broke through to Rank Two. She encountered no difficulty at all; on the contrary, it was extremely easy for someone of her talent. The clan's resources were offered to her on a silver platter.
The crystalline wall of the peak stage of Rank One gradually shattered under the assaults of waves of dark-green primeval essence until it finally collapsed. The former crystalline wall was replaced by a wall of light, and Li Hua could not help but smile.
"I'll tell the clan leader about this, and then he'll give me the Triple Palm Frond Gu!"
But at that very moment, her nearly full primeval sea surged by one percent, and her aperture became completely filled with primeval essence!
Li Hua was shocked by this change. She rushed to the clan leader and, without offering any courtesy, grabbed his clothes and pulled him along as she told him what had happened.
"What?!"
The clan leader was stunned. He extended his arm toward Li Hua's navel area and examined her aperture. The sight of a one-hundred-percent-filled aperture shocked him so greatly that he was left at a loss.
He went to the clan records to search for similar cases.
Several days later, Li Hua sat in the clan leader's pavilion, reading information related to her condition from an information-type Gu worm. There, she found what she had been searching for.
"Ten Extreme Physiques that Defy the Heavens? Those who possess the Ten Extreme Physiques have monstrous talent, allowing them to battle those of higher cultivation realms despite having lower cultivation themselves… Yet Heaven always bestows calamities and blessings in equal measure. Although those with the Ten Extreme Physiques possess tremendous power and extraordinary talent, they are unfortunate, living short lives and inevitably meeting their end."
Cold sweat gradually formed on Li Hua's skin as she read this information, her heart turning icy with fear. Yet she continued reading with renewed resolve.
"The Ten Extreme Physiques are… the True Martial Great Strength, the Verdant Great Sun, the Ancient Desolate Moon, the Blazing Lightning Radiance… and the Boundless Forest Samsara…"
A year later, Li Hua had reached Rank Three. She stood with reddened, watery eyes before the corpse of the Yan Zu clan leader. Holding his hands, she wept sincerely—this man had been like the old man she used to call grand-uncle.
"Master Lao Yu… I am so tired… Master, I am exhausted to the point of collapse. I can't bear the burden of the clan, nor the knowledge that my death is inevitably approaching… you foolish old man, why did you leave like this?"
Li Hua rested her head upon the clan leader's hands, sobbing bitterly.