I stare at the ancestor, a million thoughts running through my brain.
The immortal could be anywhere, he could have left Qin Mao mountain altogether, he could be laying waste to the Bai clan, he could be searching for us.
This guy's plan is almost certainly to revive himself and then attempt immortal ascension.
To become a gu immortal one has to crush their peak rank 5 aperture, which will produce abundant amounts of human qi and cause heaven and earth qi to surge towards the would be future immortal. The human qi must then be equally mixed with heaven qi and with earth qi.
Failure to balance heaven, earth and human qi means death. If I give the ying yang rotation gu to the ancestor and he fails his ascension then I'm right back where I was, except this time without a top tier healing gu to help me.
I'm not feeling much pain from my burns and melted flesh, which is an extremely bad sign for my long term longevity. Not having the ying yang rotation gu might actually kill me, with or without my luck.
If he does succeed in his ascension then things might get even worse for me. I would have nothing to use to hold him back from killing me. He would be a gu immortal, if he held enmity for me then I would be right back at the beginning, facing a gu immortal while being a mortal.
Giving him the ying yang rotation gu is not an option. I give him an incredulous stare. "And how would giving you the gu worm help us escape?!"
I feel something odd occur in my aperture, but I have no time to inspect it. I need to buy time, I need more time to think.
Not giving him the gu worm means potentially having to face the gu immortal, which is almost certain death. If the gu immortal decided to cut his losses then I'm good, if he's currently watching us I'm fucked.
If the gu immortal is not on the way here then I've got no option other than to get the fuck away as fast as possible. If he's trashing Bai clans village then the same action is ideal, fucking off.
The ancestor shouts at me. "It will allow me to asce-" I teleport to the basement, a quick look around reveals Shen Cui and Wang Luli to have just entered it. Another teleport gets me right next to them, letting me grab them.
The next teleport gets us at the edge of Gu Yue clan's territory, where a familiar face waits for us. Bai Ning Bing immediately forms a blade of ice in her hand at the unexpected teleporters. Her expression changes from being combat ready to confused when she notices who we are.
I teleport next to her, before snaking my hand around Cui's waist and grabbing Bai Ning Bing's hand. Another teleport gets us to the edge of Qin Mao Mountain. A final teleport gets us at the edge of where I have been so far.
A scan of the area around us reveals us to be right next to a fairly large cave, at least my luck has not gone to complete shit. Ning Bing turns towards me, before finally registering my wounds. "You look and smell like a burnt pig, did you try swimming in hot coals or something? What happened?"
I give her a nod as I begin inspecting my aperture. "I'll tell you mouwghwaber."
My tongue just detached from my fucking mouth. All of my gu worms are as they should be, the ones that Blood Frenzy Gu was used on are slowly dying, which is to be expected.
What surprises me is that I feel my aperture walls being nourished despite me not actively cultivating. That can only mean one thing, I've acquired an extreme physique.
My left eye goes blind, no more time to waste. I inject primeval essence into the Yin Rotation Gu, activating its effect.
Sight comes back to my left eye, my tongue grows back. I feel my skin heal, melted fat gives way to regrowing flesh. Even my hair grows back.
The Ying Yang Rotation Gu is a pair of gu worms, using one of them fully heals a gu master. It will heal all scars, wounds, ailments, disease, anything and everything.
They also have a side effect. Ning Bing whistles as she looks at me. "You look even prettier as a girl, congratulations!"
I give her a nonplussed look, before sighing. "We can't return to Qin Mao mountain, ever."
She nods, unsurprised. "Is it because of the same reason you were that wounded?"
I nod. "To make a long story short, I had a rather unfortunate encounter with a gu immortal and barely managed to escape with my life."
Bai Ning Bing's expression turns to astonishment. "You angered a gu immortal, and managed to escape?"
I shake my head. "We haven't truly escaped, not yet."
We're not far away enough from Qin Mao mountain to be safe. The gu immortal used exclusively fire path gu worms, but that doesn't mean he might not have any gu worms of other paths capable of finding us.
Relying on my luck might not work against him either. It seemed to have stopped him from killing me when we were in the cave, but it didn't stop him from interfering and trying to kill me.
Ning Bing sighs. "If you've angered a gu immortal then you're almost certainly as good as dead, you know that, right?"
I shake my head. "Not necessari-"
Out in the distance, beyond the horizon, a large pillar of fire erupts out of nowhere. It stays for just a second, before ungodly amounts of smoke start rising to the sky.
Ning Bing stares at the smoke. "He's burning down the mountain, isn't he?"
I nod. "That came from the same direction Gu Yue clans village is, he's almost certain-"
Another pillar of fire, this one rising just a bit to the north of the first pillar, interrupts me. That was the Bai clan village. I cough into my fist. "He's killing everything on the mountain, that was from the direction of your village."
That means that our location should be safe. If he had a way to pinpoint or find our location then he wouldn't be bothering to burn down villages at random. I inspect my aperture and look through the gu worms I currently have.
I've had the foresight to stock up on food for my gu worms, I have enough to keep them well fed for the foreseeable future.
Ning Bing stares at the smoke coming from the direction of her village, before shrugging. "The only person I really cared for there was the clan leader, and he just died yesterday. The others can burn to death as much as they want."
She rubs the back of her head. "What do you think of traveling together for now?"
I doubt that she's requesting that just because of her having seemingly fallen for me during the lightning wolf extermination, or at least that's not the only reason. The wilderness is a dangerous place to travel through, especially if one is alone.
A gu master without gu worms is no different than a mortal, finding food for one's gu worms in the wilderness is much more difficult. Encounters with demonic cultivators and beasts pose danger to a gu masters life, even more so when they have trouble feeding their gu worms.
Traveling in a group is safer than traveling alone, that's just common sense. I'm prepared enough to travel alone without issue, Shen Cui and Wang Luli are practically still mortals though.
Using Blood Skull Gu's effect to raise their aptitude is now out of the question. I doubt the immortal is going to leave any villages on Qin Mao mountain unburnt. Ning Bing whistles when a third pillar rises from the distance, confirming my thoughts.
I give Bai Ning Bing a nod. "We're going to Wu clan's city. If you want to travel there with us you are free to join."
Having more manpower can't hurt. I stare as another pillar of fire rises into the sky. "Let's hunker down now though, I'd rather wait for the immortal to fuck off somewhere else before being out in the open."
We're far enough away from any villages, be they clan villages or mortals, to not be in the way of his killing spree. But I'd rather wait for the coast to be clear before leaving. Ning Bing nods. "We should wait at least a week or two extra as well, just to be sure."
That's not a bad idea.
—
Za Fu, Gu Immortal POV.
A few minutes ago.
Aged by twenty years, twenty years of my lifespan gone in a mere instant, and all of it caused by a mere mortal.
Something about that mortal is not quite right, there's something odd about him.
His survival of my Fiery Wave killer move when I entered the cave was surprising, but not surprising enough to be alarming.
The right combination of strength path gu worms and defensive gu worms would be more than enough for him to survive it, so while surprising it wasn't entirely out of the question.
What should have made me leave that cave immediately was when I tried to kill him and the usage of my Rank 5 Fiery Pillar gu worm failed. The Destructive Fire Pillar killer move failing, killing half of the gu worms involved in its use as it did, should have done so even more.
I stare at the cave, conflicted. Twenty years of my lifespan in exchange for the rank 7 Blood Skull gu would be a fair exchange, but there was no exchange.
Greed blinded me, the thought of getting even more out of the inheritance made me stay there for more than I should have.
Rage and anger swiftly overcome any confusion on my part. Twenty years of lifespan, lost because of naught but greed while giving nothing in return.
My failure to kill that mortal was akin to an elephant stepping on an ant, then breaking its leg on the ant. I point my hand at the entrance of the cave, before activating Rank 5 Flamethrower gu.
A stream of flame goes from the palm of my hand and into the cave, which is immediately flooded by fire. Once the stream stops I activate the gu worm again, flooding the cave once again.
I only stop after flooding the cave thirty times, more than enough uses to kill any mortal inside regardless of what defensive gu worms they may have had.
If the flames have not killed him then the smoke should have, if the smoke has not killed him the lack of air should have. If he survives even the lack of air then he is either an immortal or the agent of one, in which case my retreat would be prudent.
The thought of letting that scum get away fills me with even more rage. Even if he has an immortal backing him I will still turn him into ash and then burn away the ash!
I activate my most valued killer move, before flames engulf me, transporting me back into the cave. A quick scan of the cave confirms it to be empty, even the zombie is not here anymore.
But the marks of them burning away are not present. Even if the ash was burnt away, signs should still be here and yet they are not.
The scum escaped. I ascend into the sky, until the whole mountain becomes visible. The mountain is littered with villages, some of them ruined, some of them rebuilding but none of them intact.
By the end of this day none of them will stand. I will accept nothing more than the whole of this mountain sto-.
One of the villages catches my eye, or to be more precise the mortals fighting bladewing blood bats do. Bladewing blood bats are created only by the use of Bladewing Blood Bat gu, a top grade blood path gu being used this close to that inheritance can only mean one thing.
The zombie and mortal must be there, which means I might still complete the inheritance after all.
I fly towards the village, remaining high enough to be unnoticeable to the mortals below. The zombie seems to be the one who has created the bats, for what reason he is slaughtering the village is beyond me.
What is not beyond me is that the mortal responsible for aging me is not in the village. The usage of the few gu worms capable of scouting I have confirm that much. Perhaps some in the village might know more.
I activate my movement type killer move, flames engulf me and I am transported right in front of the zombie. He immediately prostrates himself, slamming his head right into the blood muddied earth. "Honored Immo-"
I step on his head, before digging in my heel into it to drive the scum further into the ground. "Where is the mortal, and who is he?"
The zombie clasps his hand. "His name is Gu Yue Fang Yuan, that is all that the mortal scum in this village know"
One lead into the inheritance is gone, that makes this one the only one left. I stare at a bite-ridden, disemboweled dying girl, a man next to her gives a curse under his dying breath. "Curse you… Fang Yuan… To think that I, Mo Yan, would die like this…"
The girl seems to have a different opinion of the cur. "Save me… Fang… Yuan…"
Something is telling me that these two might be crucial to finding that scum, Gu Yue Fang Yuan. I dig my heel further into the zombies head, driving him deeper into the blood muddied ground.
I don't have many healing type gu worms, but the few I have are more than enough to heal a mortal. Flames engulf the girl for a breaths time, before disappearing to reveal said mortal to be fully healed. The same gu worm heals the man enough to delay his death, he falls unconscious.
She stands up, before staring at her hands in a daze. The zombie shouts. "Honored immortal, Thi-"
I kick him away. "Silence dog."
The girl turns her head towards me. I snort. "Girl, what do you know of this Fang Yuan?"
Tears come out of her eyes. "Is… Are you why all of this is happening?"
Perhaps she might not be the clue I need, dealing with women like this one is beneath me. "This is happening because of your weakness, do not make me repeat myself whore. What do you know of Fang Yuan?"
She stares at me in anger, tears falling down her cheeks. I give the fool a breaths time to respond, she decides to forfeit her life.
I pull her and the man into my immortal aperture, torture will make them talk. I turn towards the zombie. "You will empty your aperture, I will then check it. If there is a single gu worm left there then you will be ash."
He nods repeatedly as a small pile of gu worms appears in front of him. "Of course honored immortal, these are all-" Flames engulf me, I appear in front of him. "-of my gu worms!"
My hand touches his head and I turn my attention to his aperture. It is almost completely empty of primeval essence and devoid of gu worms. I pull him, and his gu worms, into the world of my immortal aperture.
There is time for them to tell me what I need to know, the inheritance will not be going anywhere. Now it is time to slaughter this impudent mountain down to the last soul.
After that I must meditate on this Gu Yue Fang Yuan. Who could be backing him?
—
Fang Yuan POV.
Two weeks later.
Bai Ning Bing looks out from the entrance to the cave. "No flames have appeared for the past two weeks, are we leaving or staying some more?"
I take a bite from a piece of salted meat. "Let me flip a coin."
I've had a lot of time to process what's happened. Testing my luck by flipping a coin five hundred times proved my luck still works, each call was more than correct. Even when I had Ning Bing try flipping the coin so that I would fail I was still calling it right every single time.
There are a few possibilities in my mind. One of them is that someone unaffected by my luck sent that immortal to me for some reason, another is that the immortal himself was not under the effect of my luck. I've considered even the possibility of the whole thing being something beneficial in the long run.
No option makes total and complete sense. The immortal being sent by someone else?
Why would I be under anyone's radar? Disregarding the fact that from everyone else's perspective I'm just a rank 3 mortal gu master, my Anti-Divination perk should render me invisible to anything other than a rank 9 gu master, of which there are supposed to be none currently alive.
And if someone of that level wanted me, specifically, dead then I would simply be dead. There's no reason for them to even bother sending what I'm assuming is a freshly ascended rank 6 immortal after me, they could just kill me regardless of any circumstances.
The idea of the immortal himself not being under the effect of my luck is the least likely of any and all options. If that was true then I'd be dead. If he wasn't immune but instead simply resistant enough for the whole incident to occur then I would still be dead.
Everything being a good thing for me in the long term is plausible, but at the same time sounds doubtful. What happened was definitely misfortune, and my insight is telling me that that's not how my kind of luck works.
Turning misfortune into fortune is definitely possible, but I don't have the means to do so. I can't think of a scenario where there wasn't a more fortunate way for me to get booted out of the village but I also can't quite discard this option outright.
I take a simple metal coin from my pocket and give it a flip. Heads means the immortal is gone, Tails means he's still here. The coin lands on heads.
I flip it again. Heads means it's safe to leave, tails means it's not. The coin lands on heads.
The same result as the forty-five other times I've done this test. I give Ning Bing a nod. "Let's go."
Sheng Cui and Wang Luli stand up as Ning Bing gives me a smile. "Finally! I was getting sick and tired of sitting here doing nothing!"
—
AN:
And with this the village arc is over, we're officially into the second arc now.
Some of what happened this is what I was referring to with my apprehension, funnily enough though things didn't go exactly the way I had planned.
My initial idea was for FY to use the Yin-Yang gu to not die, then tp to the village and start a slaughter to get back his aptitude.
Bear girl starts hating him because of it, the immortal watches all of it and once all is done he takes bear girl in to have a pawn against FY.
Problemo: The gu immortal is a fucking nutcase, I couldn't figure out a reason he'd just let the village be.
Problemo 2: The gu immortal is a fucking nutcase, He wouldn't give FY time to do anything before slaughtering the village himself.
Problemo 3: Any reasonable person wouldn't stay in the village for even a second more than was necessary.
So the whole plot thread of 'Crush to Nemesis' went out the window. (Guess that Peach Blossom Luck is leaking into the real world lmao.)
Some of you might have noticed that someone other than BnB was genderbent this chapter, said someone already has an unnamed appearance in an earlier chapter as being genderbent.
Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed the reading! I offer tiny apologies for the author's note wall of text. :}