Massive quantities of Yuan Stones were continuously sucked into Guye First Generation's mouth and crushed between his teeth.
Bai Ningbing watched with cold detachment.
But Fang Yuan moved. He didn't stand by and watch — he made a different choice from before.
"First Generation Ancestor! The situation is dire, but I have the Heavenly Origin Treasure Lotus to offer!" He hurried over with an expression full of sincerity, his face a mix of regret and resignation, yet as if he had finally steeled his resolve.
Guye First Generation burst into hearty laughter. "Excellent! Truly worthy of being my blood descendant. Such filial devotion — it warms this ancestor's heart!"
He had long coveted the Heavenly Origin Treasure Lotus and had once dispatched a swarm of blade-winged blood bats to hunt Fang Yuan down. But Fang Yuan had fled with incredible speed, denying him the chance.
Yet at this moment, he harbored no suspicion.
First, he had never truly torn off his mask before. He had claimed the blade-winged blood bats were sent to protect Fang Yuan.
Second, Fang Yuan had just stepped forward of his own accord to assist — lending a hand with the white-browed one, helping Guye First Generation consume True Essence, which had settled the doubts of the crowd. This display of loyalty and filial piety was still fresh in his memory.
Finally, the current situation was perfectly clear. Fang Yuan could only pin his hopes on Guye First Generation if he wanted to defeat Tianhe Shang Ren and survive. There was absolutely no way, Guye First Generation believed, that Fang Yuan would destroy his own strongest ally and turn against him.
So as Fang Yuan walked over, Guye First Generation's laughter continued: "With the Heavenly Origin Treasure Lotus, my chances of winning will surge by twenty percent! All of you, make way — let him come in."
"Heavenly Origin Treasure Lotus?!" Outside the blood barrier, Tianhe Shang Ren froze, then immediately roared. "You absolutely must not!"
Under the gaze of every eye, Fang Yuan walked to Guye First Generation's side.
"First Generation Ancestor, I've thought it through! You founded Guye Stockade — without you, we later generations would never have existed. In the past, you achieved such great deeds. Today, you will once again lead our Guye Clan to glory. The Heavenly Origin Treasure Lotus is meant for you, Ancestor." His face was filled with reverence, his voice passionate and stirring.
Guye First Generation nodded repeatedly, thinking: This lad has quite the gift for words. What a pity — I'll still have to kill him and take his blood in a moment.
But right at that instant— Fang Yuan bent down and struck without warning.
He grabbed Guye First Generation with one hand, then channeled the strength in his waist, pivoted his whole body, and with a powerful sweep of both arms— He let out a low shout, the power of two pigs bursting forth, and with every ounce of his strength, hurled the figure away!
Whoosh!
Guye First Generation was flung right outside the blood barrier.
...
An absolute, deathly silence!
Time itself seemed to freeze in that moment.
The wind outside blew softly. Guye First Generation had crashed onto the ground, his mass of red hair drifting in the breeze, his expression blank — still unable to process what had just happened.
Less than ten paces before him stood Tianhe Shang Ren.
The old man had been seething with rage and frustration over Fang Yuan's supposed gift of the Heavenly Origin Treasure Lotus. He had never anticipated such a dramatic reversal in the very next instant.
He, too, was stunned, his eyes fixed straight on Guye First Generation before him.
Guye First Generation was his mortal enemy — yet in this moment, Tianhe Shang Ren simply stood there in disbelief, as if dreaming, unable to move.
Inside the blood barrier, everyone stood frozen like sculptures.
Some had their mouths agape wide enough to fit a fist. Others stared with eyes so wide they seemed about to pop from their sockets.
Even Bai Ningbing had lost all composure, his face slack with disbelief as he stared at Fang Yuan.
It wasn't until a half-destroyed bamboo house inside the blood barrier finally gave way and crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar that the crowd snapped back to reality as if struck by lightning.
"I — I — What the hell!" someone sputtered.
"Fang Yuan, what kind of idiotic thing have you done?!" Someone pointed a trembling finger at Fang Yuan, their entire body shaking.
"First Generation Ancestor!!!" Someone tried to rush outside to pull Guye First Generation back, but the Blood Curtain blocked their path.
"You despicable little thief! How dare you deceive the ancestor — I'll have your tendons stripped and your skin peeled off!" Guye First Generation had finally come to his senses, lying on the ground and screaming curses.
"Hahaha..." Amid the panicked crowd, someone was laughing uproariously.
It was none other than Bai Ningbing.
He laughed until tears streamed down his face, then gave Fang Yuan a thumbs-up. "Wonderful, wonderful — that was truly spectacular!"
"Fang Yuan, have you gone mad?"
"Fang Yuan, you've plotted against the First Generation Ancestor — you scheme against your own ancestor, are you even human?!"
"Aaargh! Fang Yuan must have been bribed by that white-haired old man! You traitor! You turncoat!"
...
Surrounded by a thousand accusing fingers and a wave of furious outrage, Fang Yuan smiled faintly. "I am at the Peak Stage of the Third Transformation. Who dares kill me? Who can kill me?"
Inside the blood barrier, Gu Masters of the Third Transformation could be counted on one hand, and all of them had depleted their True Essence from the earlier confrontation. Their Yuan Stones had been contributed as well, offering little replenishment. As for the rest, most were mortals or Gu Masters of the First or Second Transformation.
With Guye First Generation gone, Fang Yuan truly stood above everyone else within this blood barrier.
"Heh heh." Fang Yuan chuckled softly, then slowly bent down to pick up the two Gu from the ground.
In his left hand, he held the Blood Skull Gu. In his right, the Yin Yang Body-Turning Gu. Both belonged to Guye First Generation, but now they were shrouded in a faint golden glow, sealed by the Talisman Foundation Extraction Gu and unable to respond to Guye First Generation's desperate summons.
But this seal was also an obstacle for Fang Yuan.
He needed to undo it before he could subdue and refine these two Gu Insects. Forcibly destroying the seal might destroy the Gu Insects entirely.