Chapter 21 – An Invitation
Fang Yuan's thoughts raced.
Suddenly...
He remembered something.
During the months Li Tianyu had spent on the battlefield, he had repeatedly exchanged his spoils for enormous quantities of low value Rank One Gu worms.
At first, Fang Yuan had thought nothing of it.
But now that he considered it carefully...
Something was clearly wrong.
Li Tianyu had almost never purchased Gu food.
Yet he had continued acquiring Gu worms.
More importantly...
The enormous number of Gu worms he obtained would simply disappear.
Fang Yuan's eyes narrowed.
'Could he possess a Gu worm capable of devouring other Gu worms?'
That would explain everything.
His strange obsession with collecting Gu worms.
His habit of stealing Gu worms from his enemies.
His repeated exchanges for large quantities of worthless Rank One Gu worms.
And the fact that none of those Gu worms ever seemed to require feeding.
It all fit.
There were already permanent enhancement-type Gu worms that could strengthen a Gu Master's body.
But those had a clear limitation.
A Gu Master's body could only endure a certain number of permanent enhancements at each rank.
Once that limit was reached...
Additional enhancement Gu would have little to no effect.
But if Li Tianyu possessed a Gu or a killer move capable of devouring other Gu worms and converting them into immortal Dao marks...
That would be completely different.
With sufficient resources...
He could accumulate a good number of Immortal Dao marks.
Fang Yuan carefully examined Li Tianyu again.
'But he doesn't possess many Immortal Dao marks.'
At least...
Not the kind of quantity that would correspond to an immortal-level method.
Therefore, if his guess was correct, the Gu itself was probably only a mortal Gu.
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Its efficiency would be extremely poor compared to an Immortal Gu.
But even so...
It would still be an astonishing ability.
And it perfectly explained Li Tianyu's behavior.
Fang Yuan's eyes flashed.
'Interesting.'
A Gu worm capable of converting other Gu worms into Immortal Dao marks...
Combined with Li Tianyu's peculiar physique...
His potential was even greater than Fang Yuan had originally imagined.
Fang Yuan thought for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"How about you come with me?"
"I can help you obtain a large number of Gu worms."
Li Tianyu looked at him.
Fang Yuan continued calmly.
"You need resources."
"I can provide them."
"In return..."
"You can assist me with some matters."
There was no complicated bargaining.
No elaborate promise.
Fang Yuan simply made the offer.
Unlike the Fang Yuan who had eventually become a Venerable in his previous life...
The current Fang Yuan had no one supporting him.
No Heaven's Will guiding his every step.
No other Venerables secretly helping him.
The future was uncertain.
And his greatest reliance had also become unreliable.
With his current quasi-supreme grandmaster attainment...
Fang Yuan could vaguely sense something extremely important.
The Spring Autumn Cicada...
Should not be able to exist in the current Gu World.
The existence of Rank Ten Destiny Gu prevented it.
His greatest trump card from his previous life...
Was no longer something he could rely upon.
Therefore...
He needed to build his foundation again.
He needed resources.
He needed allies.
He needed people he could use.
Fang Yuan had never truly been unwilling to nurture subordinates.
In his previous life, circumstances had often prevented it.
And most of the subordinates he had cultivated had eventually betrayed him.
There was also another problem.
Fang Yuan's nature.
He was inherently suspicious.
Even when he trusted someone...
He would instinctively leave behind methods to restrain them.
That tendency would only become stronger as he climbed higher.
But the current Fang Yuan was different.
He had already stood at the peak of the Gu World once.
He had already become a Venerable.
His perspective was vastly broader than that of an ordinary mortal.
In his eyes...
Mortal Gu worms were practically worthless.
Even Rank Five Gu Masters were insignificant compared to the heights he had once reached.
Therefore...
He possessed absolute confidence in himself.
Even if Li Tianyu truly became a future Venerable...
Fang Yuan believed he could accept him as a subordinate.
At least...
For now.
Of course, that didn't mean his paranoia would disappear forever.
Once they reached the immortal realm...
The situation would change.
At that level, simple confidence would no longer be enough to suppress his nature.
Fang Yuan would inevitably begin making preparations to control Li Tianyu.
Perhaps even extreme ones.
But that was a problem for the future.
Right now...
There was no reason to worry about it.
...
Li Tianyu remained silent.
Inside his aperture...
Stable Fortune Gu suddenly trembled.
A faint wave of fortune spread through his body.
Li Tianyu's eyes flickered.
This reaction...
Was enough.
He already understood.
There was no immediate danger.
In fact...
There was an opportunity hidden within Fang Yuan's proposal.
Li Tianyu nodded.
"Fine."
"But I need a lot of Rank Two Gu worms."
Fang Yuan was slightly stunned.
He hadn't expected Li Tianyu to agree so quickly.
He had thought there would at least be some negotiation.
Instead...
Li Tianyu had simply agreed.
And his only condition was resources.
Rank Two Gu worms.
Fang Yuan laughed.
"Don't worry."
"You'll have plenty."
Li Tianyu nodded.
He didn't say anything else.
But Fang Yuan's eyes flashed with satisfaction.
Honestly...
His decision to recruit Li Tianyu wasn't merely because he suspected that Li Tianyu might become a Venerable.
There was another reason.
Fang Yuan intended to make use of Li Tianyu's luck.
From everything he had observed...
Li Tianyu's potential was terrifying.
Even compared to the Venerables of his previous life...
The potential Li Tianyu displayed at this age was extraordinary.
In fact...
It was even greater than what, those Venerables had displayed during their youth.
Fang Yuan considered this carefully.
Then he came to a reasonable conclusion.
The current Gu World was fundamentally different from the one he had known.
The average Gu Master of this era was stronger.
The cultivation environment was different.
The inheritance of countless paths had developed further.
The foundation of the entire Gu World was higher.
Therefore...
It wasn't strange that the Venerable chosen by this era would also possess an even more monstrous potential.
If Li Tianyu truly was the future Venerable...
Then his luck should reflect it.
Fang Yuan secretly activated a Luck Path Gu worm.
His gaze became profound.
Under the influence of his luck detection method...
He carefully examined Li Tianyu's luck.
Stable.
Steady.
And gradually increasing.
Fang Yuan's eyes brightened.
'Just as I thought.'
A Venerable's luck would generally grow alongside their strength.
Their journey was closely connected to the guidance of Destiny.
The stronger they became...
The greater their luck would tend to become.
And Li Tianyu's luck wasn't merely large.
It was unusually stable.
More importantly...
It was steadily rising.
Fang Yuan was satisfied.
But then...
Something unexpected happened.
The moment Li Tianyu agreed to follow him...
Fang Yuan sensed his own luck increase slightly.
His expression changed subtly.
He immediately understood the implication.
'Interesting.'
The agreement itself had benefited his luck.
This lowered Fang Yuan's suspicion slightly.
Perhaps...
His decision to bring Li Tianyu along was indeed fortunate.
Fang Yuan's eyes narrowed.
'Then let's see...'
'Just how far can this so-called future Venerable go?'
The corners of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.
For the first time since his rebirth...
Fang Yuan had found someone who genuinely interested him.
And perhaps...
Someone whose existence could greatly influence his own future.