The Biggest Winner
Back in the dream, bound again, Fang Yuan demands wind knot grass, then raises the stakes: one ball for every captive present, vowing to untie them all and free everyone. The resulting pile towers several times his size, and no one else believes he can finish in time. Using unravel dream again and again, he unties every ball in the pile. The move pairs Unravel Mystery, a reusable wisdom path core, with several dream path mortal Gu that are used up with continued casting. He has enough banked only because he refines more of these daily from his own dream realm. ch. 915
This time he passes into the second round, since the true condition all along was saving every child, not untying his own grass alone. Earlier attempts failed him by one step, since the elephantman deliberately fumbles the tree and crushes some children to death, which the beastman leader tolerates from a famous tribal warrior. While busy with the hidden essence turtle, Fang Yuan had grasped this timing and this time intervened early enough to save every child instead. His wisdom path attainment has probably reached master level. He now must spend his dream path mortal Gu sparingly. He regrets that a spring dream fruit tree from Mo Yao’s will, worth at least ten times his current mortal Gu supply, was felled by ignorant mortals half a year earlier. He guesses the first round replayed a childhood regret of Star Constellation Immortal Venerable, and that saving every child answered it. ch. 915
The second round opens onto a peaceful mountain night. The surrounding children urge Fang Yuan toward a giant astrolabe chessboard carved into the mountain peak, saying that walking six steps across it wins the legacy of Lord Immortal Venerable and the chance to avenge their families. Fang Yuan recalls that Primordial Origin Immortal Venerable, history’s first rank nine Gu Immortal, founded the sect system himself against the clan system’s drawbacks, setting up such astrolabes in many places. ch. 915
The moment he nears the rock, starry lines pour into his mind and his soul is consumed at dozens of times its earlier rate, stopping many other children outright and dropping some unconscious. Fang Yuan presses on, places his palm on the stone, and becomes a star chess piece within its paths. He hesitates, takes one step, and is instantly thrown out, his soul heavily injured, far worse than Feng Jin Huang’s wound and almost costing him half his life. One wrong step undoes the whole attempt, yet Fang Yuan confirms his master attainment and judges this second round immensely more dangerous than the first. With no need to rush, he heals with guts Gu before trying again. ch. 915
Feng Jin Huang recovers and finds the dream realm shrunk by almost a third. In truth the first round’s manifestation is gone, turned into nourishment for Fang Yuan when he passed it. Believing her mother had deduced with the sect’s help that she alone holds Central Continent’s only dream path Immortal Gu, she rules out a rival cause and guesses the realm simply shrinks with time. She enters past the wind knot grass, then meets the astrolabe chessboard and returns utterly defeated, her soul injured and her face pale. Dozens of injuries over these days have brought her no gain, the worst failure of her life, and she finally faints, swearing bitterly to remember Star Constellation Immortal Venerable. ch. 915
When the agreement’s last day arrives, every sect’s Gu Masters return and report their findings to their Gu Immortals. All attention turns to Fang Yuan and He Feng Yang, since Immortal Crane Sect has, without doubt, dominated this contest, leaving the other sects nothing. Fang Yuan hands his duties to He Feng Yang on the spot and leaves the valley at once, keeping his dragonfish. He says nothing of his gains, privately certain he is this contest’s biggest winner. ch. 915
