Chapter 996

Bi Chen Tian urges Heaven Overseeing Tower Lord to give up on an Immortal Gu nearly cut in half. Its life is sustained by his orange-light hands, but Tower Lord refuses to stop. Lian Jiu Sheng, a refinement path great expert, judges the Gu beyond saving, yet Tower Lord’s wisdom path method offers hope. Both consider it too risky, since a backlash would injure him badly and bar him from Immortal Gu for thirty years. Sword qi bursts from the Gu, only grazing his hair, and Tower Lord declares it saved, having pulled the qi free. ^{ch. 996}

A sword light from Falling Heavenly River had earlier cut Heaven Overseeing Tower in two. Tower Lord recalled Bi Chen Tian, Lian Jiu Sheng and Bai Cang Shui; she went to the riverbed while the other three repaired the tower. The Gu recovers rapidly. Lian Jiu Sheng praises his sacrifice of emotion as an incredible wisdom path method. He asks why Tower Lord risked so much for a rank six Gu that Heavenly Court’s very abundant stock could easily replace. ^{ch. 996}

Tower Lord says that since the Refinement Path Convention began he has sensed a brewing danger. He wonders whether it was really coincidence that the sword light cut the tower in half just as he was about to enter, right after they repaired fate Gu and gained the use of half its might. Bi Chen Tian and Lian Jiu Sheng admit the same feeling, and defer to his sharper senses. Saving this Gu mends one of the tower’s worst injuries and should help reveal the truth. He suspects that same danger connects to Bo Qing’s reappearance after dying under tribulation. He will keep repairing the remaining Immortal Gu without interruption, wanting word if Fairy Cang Shui writes back, and both agree. ^{ch. 996}

Bo Qing’s immortal zombie body has huge influence on Central Continent and Heavenly Court. Fang Yuan has taken the greatest benefit from Falling Heavenly River and cultivates on Dang Hun Mountain, releasing tens of thousands of souls. Most are common beast souls, with fewer plant souls and fewest of all variant human or human souls. Soul trade has long existed since Spectral Soul Demon Venerable created and drove soul path to its peak, when at least five of every ten Gu Masters practiced it. He massacred and slaughtered for countless souls, earning history’s name as the most murderous venerable. ^{ch. 996}

Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable rose after Spectral Soul died and suppressed soul path, winning support through virtue rather than force. Soul path Gu Masters fell in number, and trade moved underground. The five regions recovered, and even today, in treasure yellow heaven, the freest market in the world, selling souls remains very rare. ^{ch. 996}

Fang Yuan’s souls used to reach him through Fairy Li Shan and Hei Lou Lan, sparing him the trouble. This new batch, though, he obtained himself. He rates its quality as only average, since it holds few fierce beasts, no desolate beasts and very few variant human or human souls, so it will yield fewer guts Gu. The souls are destroyed on Dang Hun Mountain, shattering into soul essence that fuses into the mountain and yields a new batch of guts Gu. These souls come from Western Desert’s Xiao clan, whom he has worked with long enough to earn their crucial token, though as a righteous path force it could never admit to the trade, so this stays hidden. ^{ch. 996}

Fang Yuan buys these souls to guard against Blazing Heaven Demoness, Fairy Li Shan and Hei Lou Lan, even though they are now allied. He knows how to defend himself, and is even more adept at harming others. Suddenly taking up soul cultivation would definitely draw suspicion, so Fang Yuan leaves them no clues. Cultivating with guts Gu lowers their count, so he secretly adds souls to cover the drop, and though guts Gu are destroyed once they leave the mountain, airsac Gu preserve them for sale. After consuming a huge amount of guts Gu his soul has reached its limit, any further raising would collapse it, and his immortal zombie body now feels tight, like a teenager’s outgrown clothes. ^{ch. 996}