Chapter 570

In a dark secret room filled with a soothing sandalwood smell, Fang Yuan sits on a cushion holding an east window Gu. It is an information path Gu of rank four, shaped like a ladybug, its square armored back like window panels built to store important information. He bought this one in treasure yellow heaven, and it is not the first: ever since Mo Yao’s will lurked in his mind he has spent many immortal essence stones buying and collecting information about wills. Long after, he slowly opens his eyes, his gaze clear as water. The reading has left him with a deeper understanding of wills. ^{ch. 570}

Thought, will and emotion were of the same branch, and the first two belonged to wisdom path, with connections running into many other paths. Wisdom path was first created only for Gu Masters seeking wisdom. When people thought, thoughts appeared, and when these thoughts collided, fused or cancelled each other out, new thoughts formed in a continuous thinking process, each falling into its own category. The most famous category was obsession: when a Gu Immortal died, a lingering obsession combined with heavenly power to form the land spirit inside a blessed land. Gu Masters used these categories of thought to create many related Gu, among them Dong Fang Yu Liang’s star thought Gu, Fang Yuan’s own space thought Gu, and the divine sense Gu that Gu Immortals commonly used. A few thoughts gathered together formed a will, which the saying holds can be understood but never described, since its essence lies beyond words and can only be felt through the heart. ^{ch. 570}

Wisdom path Gu Masters first created heaven’s will Gu to help comprehend the mechanics of the great Dao of heaven and earth and deepen their own attainment. As the path developed further they created more, among them killing intent Gu, casual Gu, one’s wishes Gu, proud Gu, evil intent Gu and painting idea Gu. The most famous of these was recorded in the legends of Ren Zu as the unexpected Gu. Later generations of Gu Masters found that when a few wills merged together they formed an emotion, the branch that produced estrus Gu, gentle feelings Gu and emotion poetry Gu, and from which enchantment path itself derived. The most famous Gu of that branch was love Gu. ^{ch. 570}

Thought, will, emotion, Fang Yuan sighs, realizing that with his current foundation in wisdom path he cannot get rid of Mo Yao’s will. The difference between them is too great: in attainment over will Fang Yuan is like a mound beside her tall mountain, one whose full height he cannot even judge through the mist that shrouds it. Her attainment has left a deep impression on him during their days of interaction, as deep and unreadable as an abyss. Facing trouble he cannot get rid of, Fang Yuan ponders for a while. He makes a decision, his gaze turning cold. ^{ch. 570}

His consciousness enters his mind. With a single thought Mo Yao’s will feels it and her alluring figure appears from the dark. Fang Yuan tells her he accepts her suggestion and will return the Water Pavilion to Spirit Affinity House. Mo Yao’s eyes flash with surprise, since she did not expect him to compromise so quickly. From their days of interaction she reads him as a man of immense willpower, assertive, tough and bold, the kind whose character marks him for either a conqueror or a hero. She had left behind the six arm heavenly zombie king move but withheld part of it on purpose, less a bait than a sign of her own attitude, trusting Fang Yuan’s intelligence to read her meaning. She had guessed he would come to negotiate in seven or eight days, but he came after only a single day. ^{ch. 570}

Mo Yao sighs with feeling that a wise man submits to circumstances and a great man is resilient, yet most people think too highly of their own ability and refuse to bow their pride, however well they know the logic of stepping back. Fang Yuan explains that the Water Pavilion is not useful to him. Hu Immortal blessed land has already led Immortal Crane Sect to claim him as a member, and since Spirit Affinity House and Immortal Crane Sect are both top ten sects of Central Continent, returning the Water Pavilion will not be easy. Mo Yao says she understands and has no intention of harming her own inheritor, whose calamity beckoning Gu remains his. Returning an Immortal Gu house is a serious matter, she admits, one that needs Fang Yuan to become a Gu Immortal at least. She promises to help him reach that rank and also gain Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, teaching him her refinement attainment as far as he is able to learn. ^{ch. 570}

Mo Yao waves her hand and sends him a thought carrying the final missing part of six arm heavenly zombie king. Fang Yuan reacts unhappily, asking if she is serious that earth chief zombie is really the sixth flying zombie Gu. He already knows earth chief zombie Gu, made by killing an earth chief beast and combining its skin and tendons with tens of Gu worms, yin soil nine hundred li deep, centuries old mountain absorbing grass, dark tide flowers and other materials. Strong as it is, a rank five Gu alongside asura zombie, heavenly demon zombie, blood wight, nightmare zombie and plague zombie, it cannot fly. Without flight, he wonders, how can it be a flying zombie Gu. ^{ch. 570}

Mo Yao laughs that an ordinary earth chief zombie Gu would not do, but that she modified the recipe long ago so that a Gu Master who becomes an earth chief zombie can use the natural magnetic field to soar and fly even without wings. She sends him the modified recipe, and his eyes shine at it. She has added several new materials, chief among them original magnetic essence, the key element of the modification. Drawing on five hundred years of experience, Fang Yuan judges the recipe usable and praises it in amazement. Mo Yao praises his talent for refinement but warns him to test the finished move on others before trying it himself, since it was built only from what he provided her. ^{ch. 570}

Fang Yuan nods. Six arm heavenly zombie king carries about ten times the power of four arm earth king and four arm wind king, and because it is so powerful, failure brings an equally powerful backlash. He could test four arm earth king on himself earlier because its risks were small enough to bear, but six arm heavenly zombie king is another matter entirely. ^{ch. 570}

In the sacred palace, cheers erupt as the third layer of Eighty-Eight True Yang Building forms, the rainbow aurora still thick above it. The building is forming faster and faster, and the newly formed third layer sends everyone’s urge to explore even wilder. Each floor holds a hundred rounds, easy at first but harder and more rewarding as they progress, and while most Gu Masters lack the strength for the later rounds, they still fight over the easier ones. About a dozen Gu Masters are leaving the palace in a hurry. They stop near the sacred palace’s eastern entrance as the third layer forms. ^{ch. 570}

Jiang Dong looks up at the building and snorts to Ma Hong Yun in the group that Huang Jin tribe Gu Masters are lucky, since any reward inside can bring them soaring success and great riches. Ma Hong Yun laughs sheepishly that his bloodline is not thick enough to let him enter and expand his own vision. Though Huang Jin tribesmen descend from Giant Sun Immortal Venerable, entry is not guaranteed, since an ancestor who dilutes the bloodline too much by marrying outsiders leaves a descendant short of the requirement. Hearing this eases Jiang Dong’s bitterness and jealousy, and the others in the group turn gentler toward Ma Hong Yun. Someone even pats his shoulder and consoles him that he can still earn a fortune by joining them to kill the earth chief beast. Ma Hong Yun nods, bows, and laughs apologetically. ^{ch. 570}

He had saved Ma Ying Jie by coincidence, and after Hei tribe forcefully took over Ma tribe he changed his surname to Ma Hong Yun through a series of events, finally allowed to cultivate. He is now a rank one Gu Master, his aptitude neither good nor bad. He could enter Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, but with his current strength there would be no point, so during his stay in the sacred palace he mixes with hunting groups daily instead, earning enough to cover his expenses and accumulate primeval stones for cultivation. What he tells Jiang Dong is in fact Zhao Lian Yun’s own instruction, given to him before he set off. ^{ch. 570}