The sea of primeval essence inside Fang Yuan's body was slowly lowering, feeding into the activation of this Gu.
This Gu resembled a black bone — rounded at both ends and thin in the middle. It hung in the air, radiating waves of black light.
The black light struck Fang Yuan's body, penetrated his skin and flesh, and affected his entire skeleton.
Fang Yuan had already used the Iron Bone Gu; his frame was pitch-black and as hard as iron and stone. But under the influence of this Gu, his bones gradually grew still harder.
This was the Refined Iron Bone Gu, a rank four Gu. If you reverse–refine it, you get the Iron Bone Gu.
Three days after handing over the Ancient Copper Skin Gu, Li Xian delivered this Gu to Fang Yuan in person.
The Refined Iron Bone Gu could make all of Fang Yuan's bones tougher — several times more effective than the Iron Bone Gu. At the same time, however, the time it needed also increased several times.
During these days Fang Yuan had been using both the Refined Iron Bone Gu and the Ancient Copper Skin Gu to temper his body.
At the same time he was using the Nine–Eyed Wine Worm to refine his primeval essence, upgrading the initial pale gold primeval essence into bright gold primeval essence. He then used the bright gold primeval essence to wash his aperture walls, steadily increasing his aperture's foundation.
He treasured every second and minute, training bitterly, and almost every day he could feel his strength inching higher.
"It's been over a month since I came out of the Dog King inheritance. The Ancient Copper Skin Gu is almost depleted, but the Refined Iron Bone Gu is still far from complete success. Unless I use a Time Path Gu to accelerate time," Fang Yuan mused.
The so–called Time Path was a Gu Master school that dealt with time.
Gu Masters of this school used Gu that were related to time and light.
The Third Watch Gu and the Spring Autumn Cicada were two examples.
But in fact, Time Path Gu were far more than that. There were many, many more — from rank one to rank five, everything you could imagine.
An ordinary Gu Master who wasn't patient enough for such grinding work and wanted quick results would ask a Time Path Gu Master for help or use a Time Path Gu himself to speed up his own time.
"But my situation is different from an ordinary Gu Master. I have the Spring Autumn Cicada on me. If I accelerate, the Cicada will recover faster, and that will be a death warrant!"
Inside the Gu Immortal blessed land on Three Fork Mountain, time flowed three times faster than outside. Fang Yuan had entered the Dog King inheritance for a period, which had already let the Spring Autumn Cicada recover a little, so he had to be patient and work step by step.
While he was training, an unfamiliar voice came from outside the cave.
"Little Beast King, could you come out and talk?"
Fang Yuan left the cave and looked at the visitor, narrowing his eyes. "So it's Elder Yi Huo."
Yi Huo was very handsome: sword eyebrows, a straight nose, and long red hair, as if flames were burning on his head.
He was a Fire Path Gu Master, very famous throughout the Southern Border, known as "Blazing Fire" — a rank‑four peak cultivator.
"Yi Huo is one of the five great elders of the Shang family. He is Shang Yanfei's ace, ranked even above Wei Yang, the White Light Blade. Only Shang Yanfei can order him around. Now that he's here, the situation on Three Fork Mountain will change." These thoughts flashed through Fang Yuan's mind. He invited Yi Huo into the cave.
"Little Beast King, my purpose here is very simple. I want you to join the Shang family." Yi Huo entered the cave but did not sit; he stated his intention bluntly.
"Join the Shang family?" Fang Yuan raised his eyebrows, fully feeling the decisive vibe of "Blazing Fire".
"That's right." Yi Huo nodded, his eyes fixed on Fang Yuan, and gave a slight smile. "You and Bai Ningbing once lived in the Shang family for some time, so you must have a deep understanding of our strength — I won't go into that. The key point now is that your comrade Bai Ningbing has been trapped by the four elders of the Tie family for almost two months. If you two join the Shang family, I'll immediately step in and rescue Bai Ningbing for you."
His tone brimmed with confidence, as if saving Bai Ningbing was a trivial matter.
As he spoke, he smiled a little, his perfect face like a sculpture, revealing white teeth that seemed as dazzling as the sun. Many people around him would involuntarily feel inferior.
Yi Huo and Wei Yang came from the same background and had both dominated the Shang family's drill ground — they were absolute darlings of heaven.
Among the five aces, Yi Huo had the most momentum and was widely considered the elder most likely to break through to rank five!
Fang Yuan's eyes showed a thoughtful gleam.
He wasn't surprised that the Shang family had sent Yi Huo. The Shang family had once controlled Three Fork Mountain, but the Wu family had suppressed them, and the appearance of demonic path masters had made the Shang faction even more downcast.
Under such circumstances, as a super family, the Shang family naturally had to send a capable person to open up the situation there.
In his past life memories, Yi Huo had also been sent to this place by the Shang family to overpower Wu Shentong and Yi Chong, defeat Kong Ritian and Long Qingtian, and briefly dominate Three Fork Mountain.
But later, feeling invincible, he had pushed too far. Long Qingtian, forced into a corner, had used the Cyan Halo Gu, poisoning Yi Huo, forcing him to return to Shang City and seek treatment from the White‑Handed Physician.
Still, Yi Huo's immediate attempt to recruit him upon arriving at Three Fork Mountain truly caught Fang Yuan off guard.