Outside the window, the weather was just right. The sky was a clear, cloudless blue for thousands of li, the air crisp and brisk. The snowy peaks and the vast azure sky merged into a tranquil, far-reaching scene.
Inside the quiet room, the fragrance of tea gradually filled the air.
Fang Yuan was half-lying down, his body covered in wounds. He was panting heavily, streams of corpse blood flowing from the various injuries on his body and pooling on the floor.
But he didn't care at all, feeling no pain. He had been resting with his eyes closed for almost the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Besides him, there were three other people in the quiet room.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng stood beside Fang Yuan, his hands flying as he shot out streaks of black light, healing Fang Yuan's injuries.
Li Shan Fairy was sitting in her usual seat by the window, brewing tea absentmindedly, while actually focusing most of her attention on Hei Lou Lan beside her.
Hei Lou Lan was sitting cross-legged with her eyes tightly shut, her face solemn like a jade statue.
The three steps to ascend: Crushing the Aperture, Absorbing Qi, Unleashing the Gu. Having completed the first two steps during her tribulation on the ice plains, she returned to the quiet room through Fixed Immortal Travel and began the third step.
Given her foundation, forming her immortal aperture was a sure thing. She was probably currently refining Immortal Gu in her newly formed immortal aperture, resisting the heavenly disasters and earthly tribulations that spawned within it.
It seemed she wanted to finish this step on her own, without outside help.
However, if anything went wrong, Hei Lou Lan would immediately ask for help. At that point, Fang Yuan, Li Shan Fairy, and Tai Bai Yun Sheng would swiftly act, entering Hei Lou Lan's immortal aperture to resist the disasters.
Just as the freshly brewed tea began to bubble, Hei Lou Lan let out a breath of turbid air and slowly opened her eyes.
This action immediately drew the attention of the other three.
Li Shan Fairy stopped what she was doing, abandoning the teapot. She asked with concern, "Did you succeed?"
Hei Lou Lan nodded.
Li Shan Fairy took a deep breath, her eyes reddening, a strong mixture of excitement and relief on her face. She choked up a little and said, "Xiao Lan, you were the Great Strength True Martial Physique, and now you have become a Peerless Immortal Body, possessing a special-grade blessed land. Your potential is extraordinary! The clouds have truly parted to reveal the blue sky. If your sister knows in the underworld, she will be very happy!"
Ordinary Gu Masters who ascend have three grades of blessed lands: upper, middle, and lower.
When those with Ten Extreme Physiques ascend, they face great danger, but naturally gain greater rewards. Once they successfully ascend, their blessed lands are always of the special grade!
Upper-grade blessed lands have a region of seven to nine million mu. They attract large tributaries of the River of Time. They contain over thirty Green Grape Immortal Essences, and the residual Heaven and Earth Qi in the aperture allows vital and core Gu worms to be upgraded into Immortal Gu.
But special-grade blessed lands are even vaster, covering over ten million mu. They attract massive tributaries of the River of Time and contain over fifty Green Grape Immortal Essences! Without any accidents, at least two Immortal Gu can be harvested.
Hei Lou Lan, however, maintained a calm expression. "Though I have become a Gu Immortal, I still failed to kill that old scoundrel."
Her flat tone contained a deep-seated, bone-penetrating hatred.
"Hei Lou Lan, forgive my frankness. To kill Hei Cheng, even if the four of us join forces and focus solely on him, I'm afraid the hope is slim," Tai Bai Yun Sheng coughed and said.
"That's right, it's easy to defeat a Gu Immortal, but hard to kill one," Fang Yuan said, sitting up with a deep sigh. His injuries had mostly healed.
The last time he fought the Western Desert Gu Immortal Fatty Lady, he gained the upper hand, but she escaped.
This time, fighting Hei Cheng and Xue Song Zi, he again gained the upper hand with the Myriad Self killer move, but he couldn't trap the Gu Immortals, and they retreated safely.
Although the Myriad Self killer move was strong, if the opponent refused to clash head-on, there was no way to force them.
All Gu Immortals were clever; they all understood the principle of avoiding an enemy's sharp edge. In fact, Fang Yuan's second battle against Hei Cheng could only be considered a draw.
It was true that Fang Yuan had the upper hand, but he couldn't maintain it for long. If the battle dragged on, the Strength Path shadow clones would dissipate on their own, and it would be Hei Cheng's turn to launch a fierce counterattack.
The Immortal killer move did create a great advantage, but it was difficult to convert it into a complete victory over Hei Cheng.
So when Hei Lou Lan suggested retreating, Fang Yuan did not object. He knew when to stop, and immediately activated Fixed Immortal Travel, bringing them back here.