"Crack… crack…"
The fissure across the chest of the Black Bone King's statue continued to widen, fine blue and black stone powder slipping down like sand through an hourglass, its soft pattering the only sound in the silent chamber.
This sudden development instantly drew the attention of Lin Cang, Li Mang, and Wu Xiang.
All three experts grew wary, and for a moment, none dared to make a rash move.
Within that eerie, taut silence, an aged yet familiar voice sounded without warning in the depths of Lin Mu's mind as he sat on the ground with his legs crossed.
It was the last voice transmission the Black Bone King had left behind.
"Successor."
"If you can hear these words of this old man, then you have passed this trial of heart questioning."
That voice no longer carried the oppression and interrogation of the illusion realm; instead it bore a kind of plainness and weariness:
"In truth, rather than calling this trial a test of those who come after, it would be more accurate to call it this old man's final question to himself before death."
"When death drew near, this old man sat alone in an empty chamber, looked back over his life, and found it all laughable."
"If one cannot become an immortal, what does it matter how many you kill? What does it matter how vast a territory you seize? Even cultivating to Rank 5 peak stage, revered and feared by tens of thousands, you are still nothing more than a somewhat stronger mortal, destined to become a handful of earth."
That aged voice paused, as if giving a soft laugh at his own expense.
"Yet when the oil truly ran dry and the wick burned out, in that very moment before my eyes closed for good, this old man suddenly found himself troubled by a question."
"If a road only counts once you have walked its final step… then the hundreds and thousands of steps this old man walked before that, the blood shed, the men killed, the bitterness endured — were they all truly a joke, counting for nothing at all?"
"This old man could find no answer, and could not accept it."
"So this old man left behind this trial."
"This old man does not ask whether the successor is righteous or demonic, nor does he ask whether you seek immortality, overwhelming power, a moment's pleasure, or a way home."
"This old man only wishes to see — whether the one who inherits the Black Bone King's treasures has a road that truly belongs to them."
"If you do, then follow where your heart leads, and keep walking."
"As for where you end up, where you die, whether you succeed or fail… all of that is your own affair, and no concern of this old man's."
The instant those words fell, the fissure in the statue's chest abruptly burst wide open to either side!
The Black Bone King's voice rang in Lin Mu's heart one final time, carrying the arrogance befitting a Rank 5 titan:
"Since you have passed this trial, this old man shall bestow upon you the greatest treasure I kept in reserve."
"This Gu accompanied this old man through many years of battle. I refined it with my own heart's blood from the days when it was weak and insignificant, all the way until I reached Rank 5 peak stage."
"Its name is — Blood Rock Heart Gu!"
As those four words detonated in his mind, a vast flood of information poured into Lin Mu's consciousness.
"Blood as the guide, earth as the root. When blood and earth fuse, blood rock is formed!"
"The true culmination of this old man's lifelong cultivation in both Blood Path and Earth Path lies in this Gu! Those six Rank 3 Gu worms left behind on the second level can all revolve around this Gu. Only with this Gu can the scattered Gu form a complete formation and these methods truly take shape!"
Several supporting methods centered on the Blood Rock Heart Gu were then imprinted clearly in Lin Mu's mind.
Among them, the most powerful and extreme killer move was named — Blood Rainbow Pierce!
Once activated, the Gu Master's entire body would be enveloped in violent blood rock power, becoming a streak of interwoven black and red that charged forward in a straight line with unstoppable force.
Fast!
Hard!
And devastating in a frontal charge!
Even a thick stone wall could be shattered by the sheer force of that charge.
But the Black Bone King had likewise left a warning:
"Though this move is fast, it can only charge in a straight line, and changing direction midway is exceedingly difficult."
"Moreover, a Rank 5 Gu naturally comes with the price of a Rank 5 Gu."
"If your cultivation is insufficient and you forcibly activate this Gu to unify your killer moves, Primeval Essence will pour out like a flood, and your vital blood energy will be severely drained as well. You must bear the resulting backlash with your own strength."
"A treasure can save your life, and it can hasten your death. Successor, conduct yourself well."
The lingering echo trailed off and dispersed entirely.
Within Lin Mu's consciousness, this explanation seemed to have lasted a long while, yet in the third chamber of the outside world, only two or three breaths had passed.
"Boom!"
The stone at the center of the Black Bone King statue's chest shattered and fell away entirely, revealing a deep recess about the size of a fist.
Inside that recess floated a Gu worm resembling a heart, slightly smaller than an ordinary man's fist, as though carved from black and red stone.
Dark red veins crawled across its surface as though alive.
The next moment.
"Thump."
That stone heart gave a single powerful beat in midair.
The overbearing aura of a Rank 5 Gu worm abruptly spread through the cramped chamber!
"A Rank 5 Gu?!"
The instant they felt that aura, the expressions of the three experts in the chamber changed drastically at once, their breathing involuntarily growing heavier.
A moment ago, the three had still been speaking of clan duty, saving lives, and their own survival.
But now that a genuine Rank 5 Gu had appeared in the world, all those grand words suddenly seemed rather laughable.
The first to change expression was Lin Cang, Patriarch of Black Blood Stockade.
He stared at the beating black and red heart in the stone recess, his chest heaving as fervor blazed in his eyes.
A Rank 5 Gu worm!
Black Blood Stockade had already been devastated. The Mountain Protection Grand Array lay in ruins, its outlying resources had suffered catastrophic losses, and countless clansmen and Clan Elders lay dead or wounded.
Even if they were fortunate enough to survive today, Black Blood Stockade was certain to be gravely weakened.
But if… if Black Blood Stockade could obtain a Rank 5 Gu worm like this!
With a treasure like this to protect the stockade, combined with his own Rank 4 cultivation, Black Blood Stockade would still have a foundation upon which to rebuild!
A single thought took shape in Lin Cang's mind in an instant.
This thing must absolutely not be allowed to leave with Lin Mu!
Lin Cang abruptly strode half a step forward, his gaze locked onto Lin Mu, and barked sharply:
"Lin Mu, don't move!"
"That is a Rank 5 Gu! Even an innocent man invites disaster by carrying a priceless treasure! With your current cultivation, you cannot protect such a treasure at all — forcing yourself to keep it will only invite fatal disaster!"
"Hand it over to this old man at once! Let this old man wield this Gu, resolve the crisis before us, and drive back the external enemy first! Once this great battle is over, how this inheritance is to be handled and how the clan is to compensate you — we shall discuss at length!"
These words were spoken with the same lofty righteousness as ever, yet Lin Cang's gaze, fixed firmly on the Blood Rock Heart Gu, had already revealed the greed in his heart.
On the other side, Wu Xiang, who stood guard before Lin Mu, felt her aura falter for the briefest instant.
She understood far better than Lin Cang what a Rank 5 Gu at the core of an inheritance truly meant.
Deep within those entrancing eyes, a flicker of fervor flashed, impossible to suppress.
Though she still needed Lin Mu to go on living and go on climbing higher, if she could seize this opportunity to control this Rank 5 treasure first, she would gain a far greater advantage.
But the most violent reaction of all came from Li Mang, who had been preparing to flee only moments ago.
The instant that Rank 5 aura spread out, Li Mang's foot, which had been edging toward the chamber exit, froze as though nailed to the ground.
He whipped around, his sunken, cloudy eyes nearly bulging from their sockets as he stared at the beating Blood Rock Heart Gu, oblivious even to the black blood dripping from his mouth onto his robes.
A Rank 5 Gu!
The Black Bone King's true legacy Gu!
For half his life, Li Mang had been tormented by that incomplete inheritance. He had thrown the strength of his entire clan into this war for its sake, only to be beaten to the brink of death, reduced almost to a stray dog.
Yet now, the true Rank 5 supreme treasure was right before his eyes.
Only a short distance away!
In this moment, his once perfectly clear will to survive wavered violently once more under the assault of greed.
"Mine…"
"This is the Rank 5 Gu left behind by the Black Bone King…"
Li Mang let out a hoarse, beastlike growl. He turned toward Lin Mu, who remained seated with his legs crossed. Abandoning all restraint, Li Mang made his offer in a rasping voice:
"Lin Mu! Give that Gu to this old man!"
"So long as you throw it to this old man right now, this old man will not harm a single hair on your body today, and will withdraw from the rear mountain immediately! As for the White Bone Alliance outside, this old man will issue the order for a full retreat at once, and never set foot in Black Blood Stockade again!"
"Bullshit!"
Lin Cang erupted in fury:
"Old dog Li Mang, you're at death's door, yet you still dare spout lies and try to swindle a junior of my clan?!"
But Li Mang paid no attention to Lin Cang's roar.
He gripped the dimmed Bone Spine Scepter in his hand, his whole body trembling faintly from extreme excitement and greed, nothing left in his eyes but that black and red heart.
Everyone knew Li Mang's promises could hardly be trusted.
But before the temptation of a Rank 5 Gu worm, this Patriarch of White Bone Stockade could no longer bear to retreat.
All three gazes, heavy with greed and pressure, converged on the same person.
Having just heard the Black Bone King's final words, Lin Mu looked at the three before him, his expression growing calmer still.
He had no need to listen to even one more word out of these three mouths.
At this moment, only two things were perfectly clear in his heart.
First, the Gu before him was the Rank 5 Blood Rock Heart Gu.
Second, within this chamber, only he knew what this Gu and the six Rank 3 Gu worms left behind on the second level could actually form together.
And in this deathly silent moment, with every side poised to strike—
"Hmm…"
The stone recess in the statue's chest crumbled completely.
That Blood Rock Heart Gu, radiating its Rank 5 aura, gave another light beat, and then, drawn by the last trace of power the inheritance had left behind, detached from the recess.
It did not fly toward Lin Cang.
It did not fly toward Wu Xiang.
Still less did it fly toward Li Mang.
Instead, it became a faint black and red glow and drifted slowly, straight toward Lin Mu, who sat closest to it!