Others who challenged the gates exhausted their minds with thousands of calculations. Even cultivators like Wu Shentong and Wu Gui had to plan meticulously and choose carefully. But when it came to Bai Ningbing, thanks to the Earth Spirit's assistance, she only needed to keep pressing forward, and forward again.
Poor Wu Shentong — a peak Fourth Transformation Gu Master of great renown — when the moment came, he didn't even get to lay eyes on Bai Ningbing.
As for Fang Yuan's appearance, Bai Ningbing wasn't the least bit surprised, since the Earth Spirit had warned her.
In truth, this was a coordinated effort between the two of them.
Fang Yuan needed Wu Shentong's Empty Orifice, while Bai Ningbing needed his slave-path Gu Insects and the dog packs that Wu Shentong had accumulated.
Once Wu Shentong died, his massive army of canine beasts naturally fell under Bai Ningbing's command, instantly swelling her already enormous dog formation by another ten percent.
Looking at the vast multitude of dogs, Fang Yuan nodded in satisfaction: "Your army of canine beasts has taken initial shape. Within this Dog King's Inheritance, you've already established an overwhelming force — breaking through to the final gate should not be difficult. Remember, among the last few gates, there is a large pack of Lion Mastiffs. Each one is an exotic beast, more powerful than even the Five Mountain Dogs. They were the Dog King's ace squad back in the day. Besides them, there are also two Dog Kings — ancient exotic beasts far more formidable than ordinary ones, the Dog King's left and right arms. Each one is comparable to a Fifth Transformation Gu Master. You must tame them all!"
Bai Ningbing nodded, bid farewell to Fang Yuan, and continued pushing through the gates.
"It seems you truly deserve to be the person from the future, returning to the past on the back of the Spring Autumn Cicada. You really do know the Three Kings' Inheritance like the back of your hand." The Earth Spirit transmitted secretly, offering a word of admiration. "I should remind you that the budgeted Immortal Essence is nearly depleted — only enough for you to kill two more. Who do you plan to kill next?"
Fang Yuan nodded. Without hesitation, he said: "Zhang Sansan, of course."
The Beast Force Placenta Gu already had an aptitude of eighty-nine percent, lustrous and smooth as jade — a world apart from its previous crude, mud-like form.
Killing two more Fourth Transformation cultivators would absolutely be enough to reach ninety percent.
The aptitude of the second Empty Orifice could not exceed that of the Gu Master's first. Fang Yuan's first Empty Orifice was ninety percent, Grade A. Therefore, the current limit of his second Empty Orifice was also Grade A, ninety percent.
Even if it were accumulated to ninety-nine percent, once applied to Fang Yuan, it would only register as ninety. The remaining nine percent of aptitude would go to waste.
Of course, if Fang Yuan later raised his first Empty Orifice's aptitude, the second would gain new room for growth.
Zhang Sansan was merely a High Stage Fourth Transformation Gu Master — a tier below the likes of Yi Huo and Kong Ritian.
But in Fang Yuan's eyes, he was the most threatening opponent.
This was because on Three Fork Mountain, he was the strongest slave-path Gu Master after Wu Shentong and Wu Gui.
Fang Yuan had his own calculations: "Bai Ningbing is not a slave-path cultivator after all — when it comes to commanding dog packs, she's a complete novice. With so many canine beasts to direct in the future, she's bound to be overwhelmed. Simply avoiding mistakes would be praiseworthy enough. But fortunately, I don't need her to command the dogs to charge and attack — only to form a military formation. Guard the main hall and wait for movement."
This way, Bai Ningbing's shortcomings in command could be substantially compensated for.
But military formations were extremely rigid. Once they encountered a Gu Master skilled in the slave-path, things would turn ugly.
A master like Wu Shentong or Wu Gui only needed to direct a small contingent of dogs. A few charges would probe every strength and weakness. A few maneuvering feints would throw the formation into chaos, creating defensive vulnerabilities.
During the critical period of Gu refinement, Fang Yuan had to devote his full attention and concentrate entirely on the process. The Earth Spirit would also be extremely weakened. The dog packs were their sole defense, so Fang Yuan naturally had to eliminate the most threatening slave-path Gu Masters first.
Moments later, Fang Yuan killed Zhang Sansan with perfect ease.
Even Gu Masters like Wu Gui and Wu Shentong had been done in by Fang Yuan, so naturally Zhang Sansan couldn't escape his demonic grasp either.
After his death, however, he gave Fang Yuan an unexpected surprise.
From Zhang Sansan's Empty Orifice, Fang Yuan actually obtained a Fifth Transformation Slave Gu.
Slave Gu existed from the First Transformation all the way to the Fifth. Once this type of Gu Insect was planted, it could control a Gu Master.
A Fifth Transformation Slave Gu could enslave a Fifth Transformation Gu Master — it was extremely rare and exceedingly scarce. Back in the day, the fourth patriarch of the Guye Clan on Qing Mao Mountain fought a great battle against Hua Jiu Xing Zhe. After being defeated, the patriarch begged for mercy, offering to be planted with a Slave Gu and submit to Hua Jiu Xing Zhe's command. In the end, Hua Jiu Xing Zhe was deceived by these words. In his carelessness, he was ambushed and backstabbed by the fourth patriarch, dying with regret on Qing Mao Mountain.
Famous Gu Masters truly couldn't be underestimated. It wasn't strange that Zhang Sansan, a slave-path Gu Master, possessed a Slave Gu. The reason he hadn't used it was likely that he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to capture a Fifth Transformation expert. After all, using a Fifth Transformation Slave Gu on a Fourth Transformation Gu Master would be something of a waste.
With just a brief moment of thought, Fang Yuan had guessed Zhang Sansan's thinking almost perfectly.
Looking again at the Beast Force Placenta Gu, its aptitude was nearing ninety percent — only one more kill needed.
Of course, with the budgeted Immortal Essence spent, Fang Yuan could only kill one more person.
"With this Slave Gu, I can still manipulate one more person. Sigh... had I known Zhang Sansan carried such a Gu Insect, I would have killed him first and used the Slave Gu to subdue a Fifth Transformation Gu Master."
Fang Yuan felt a twinge of regret. If he could have relied on this Gu to subdue Tie Mubai, it would have been tremendously beneficial for his Gu refinement!
Even if not Tie Mubai, Wu Gui, Ku Mo, Wu Lanshan, or Chou Jiu — all would have been excellent targets.
But now, all those Gu Masters were dead. Fang Yuan could at most subdue a Fourth Transformation expert, yet would be using a Fifth Transformation Gu Insect — it was like using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken, a gross waste of talent.
Still, despite the Fifth Transformation Slave Gu being incomparably precious and this being a tremendous waste, Fang Yuan would use it regardless!
Refining the second Empty Orifice Gu was an enormous gamble. Having a second Fourth Transformation Gu Master by his side would undoubtedly make things safer.
But within the Blessed Land, there were so many Fourth Transformation Gu Masters. Who should Fang Yuan subdue?
Yi Huo, Kong Ritian, Long Qingtian, Yi Chong — and then there were Li Feile, Tao Zi, Feng Tianyu, Yan Jun, Li Xian, Hu Mei'er, the Tie Family's four elders, and Tie Ruonan — some powerful, some cunning, some vicious, some brave. Some excelled at offense, some were outstanding in movement and escape, some possessed excellent healing, some had vast wealth, and others had extensive networks...