Chapter 23 – Two Paths to Venerability
Naturally...
In the old Gu World, there could only be one Venerable at a time.
Fate Gu determined the destiny of the Gu World.
Heaven's Will operated through Fate Gu.
And when the time came...
A single individual would be chosen to become the next Venerable.
The position was unique.
There could not be two.
But the current Gu World...
Was different.
The existence of Rank Ten—
Destiny Gu
Had fundamentally changed the rules.
Fang Yuan could sense this clearly.
His attainments in multiple paths had reached astonishing heights in his previous life.
Even though his current cultivation was only Rank One, his accumulated knowledge and attainments had not disappeared.
He could vaguely perceive the changes brought about by Destiny Gu.
Under the new system...
There was no longer an absolute restriction preventing multiple Venerables from existing simultaneously.
That was one of the main reasons Fang Yuan had decided not to eliminate Li Tianyu.
Instead...
He wanted to nurture him.
And
Make him his subordinate.
...
If the situation were still the same as in the old Gu World...
Fang Yuan would never casually attempt to kill Li Tianyu.
Not because he was afraid of him.
But because there would be no point.
If there could only be one Venerable chosen by Fate Gu...
Then Li Tianyu's existence as a potential Venerable candidate would be protected by the fundamental rules of destiny.
Trying to kill him would be almost impossible.
And even if Fang Yuan somehow succeeded...
He wouldn't become the next Venerable candidate simply because he had killed Li Tianyu.
Fate Gu would simply choose another person.
Worse...
If Fang Yuan violated the destiny established by Fate Gu too severely, the backlash from Heaven's Will and Fate Gu could potentially target him directly.
So why bother?
It would be a pointless struggle.
But the current Gu World was different.
Under Destiny Gu...
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There could potentially be multiple Venerables.
Li Tianyu becoming a Venerable didn't necessarily prevent Fang Yuan from becoming one himself.
And even if Destiny Gu didn't choose Fang Yuan...
That didn't mean he couldn't become a Venerable.
In fact...
Compared to his previous life...
The path ahead might be considerably easier.
In his previous life, Fang Yuan had needed to interfere with Fate Gu itself.
He had needed to refine and ultimately destroy Fate Gu, splitting its influence apart and creating the conditions necessary for himself to become a Venerable.
It had been an incredibly difficult path.
Now...
The situation was fundamentally different.
If Destiny Gu allowed multiple Venerables to coexist...
Then there was no need to fight Li Tianyu for a single position.
There was no need to eliminate a potential future Venerable.
Instead...
Why not cultivate him?
Why not use his luck?
Why not cooperate with him?
Why not turn a potential future enemy...
Into an ally?
Of course...
Fang Yuan would never completely trust anyone.
That was simply his nature.
But there was no reason to destroy a potential Venerable, someone that he could control.
Especially one whose potential seemed even more absurd than what Fang Yuan had witnessed in the youth of the previous Venerables.
...
The two continued traveling.
After some time...
The forest ahead suddenly shook.
A massive beast emerged from the trees.
It resembled an enormous gray wolf.
Its body was covered in thick, iron-like fur.
Four enormous claws dug deep into the earth.
A pair of curved horns extended backward from its forehead.
Its eyes were blood-red.
Every step it took caused the surrounding trees to tremble.
"Earthhorn Wolf King."
Fang Yuan calmly identified it.
A Hundred Beast King.
Comparable to a Rank Two Gu Master.
The beast stared at the two Gu Masters on its back.
It didn't attack immediately.
Instead...
It turned its head.
A distant roar echoed through the forest.
Then another.
Soon...
An enormous beast herd emerged from the trees.
Hundreds.
Then thousands.
The forest was filled with movement.
Fang Yuan glanced toward the approaching herd.
Then toward Li Tianyu.
"Help me slaughter them."
His voice was calm.
Li Tianyu's eyes narrowed.
He immediately understood.
Fang Yuan intended to use the beast herd as training material.
"Fine."
The two immediately separated.
Fang Yuan's figure flashed toward the deeper part of the beast herd.
There...
A massive Thousand Beast King had appeared.
Its aura was considerably stronger than the surrounding beasts.
Li Tianyu didn't follow him.
Instead...
He targeted the weaker beasts.
"Fire Path Killer Move..."
"Flame Shadow Steps."
Flames erupted beneath his feet.
His body transformed into a crimson blur.
He crossed several dozen meters in an instant.
At the same time...
"Crimson Soul Snatch!"
Several crimson fireballs erupted from his palms.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The fireballs tore through the beast herd.
Flames penetrated both flesh and soul.
Several beasts collapsed immediately.
Crimson fireballs emerged from their bodies.
Each contained a Gu worm.
They flew toward Li Tianyu.
His aperture opened.
The Gu worms entered one after another.
Rank One.
Rank One.
Rank One.
Another Rank One.
...
Li Tianyu didn't stop.
He moved through the battlefield like a crimson phantom.
Whenever his flames struck a beast...
His Ember Snatch ability attempted to steal its Gu worms.
At the same time...
Fang Yuan had already engaged the Thousand Beast King.
The battlefield instantly became chaotic.
Boom!
A terrifying shockwave swept through the forest.
Li Tianyu glanced over.
Fang Yuan was fighting the Thousand Beast King directly.
Multiple paths appeared in his attacks.
Fire.
Wind.
Earth.
Ice.
Wood.
Several compound killer moves were activated almost simultaneously.
The Thousand Beast King roared.
Its enormous body slammed into the ground.
Fang Yuan's figure disappeared.
The next moment...
He appeared above its head.
A compound killer move descended.
Boom!
The beast was violently smashed into the ground.
Li Tianyu's eyes narrowed slightly.
'As expected...'
Fang Yuan's combat ability was far beyond what his cultivation suggested.
But Li Tianyu didn't have time to watch.
Another group of beasts charged toward him.
"Crimson Soul Snatch!"
Fireballs erupted.
The beasts screamed.
One after another...
Gu worms were stolen.
Some were Rank One.
Others...
Were Rank Two.
Li Tianyu's eyes brightened whenever a Rank Two Gu appeared.
He immediately sent them into his aperture.
Then...
"Burning Ember Gu."
Crimson flames engulfed the Rank Two Gu worms.
Their bodies disappeared.
Their Dao fragments entered the Dao Repository.
He didn't hesitate.
Rank Two Gu worms were too valuable to leave unused.
There was no convenient battlefield contribution hall here.
He couldn't exchange them for mountains of cheap Rank Two Gu.
Keeping large numbers of them alive was also troublesome.
So...
Devour.
Any valuable Rank One wild Gu worms were kept.
The rest...
Were sacrificed.
His Dao Repository continued expanding.
...
Meanwhile...
Fang Yuan's battle had reached its climax.
The Thousand Beast King roared furiously.
Its enormous body erupted with tremendous force.
Several killer moves swept toward Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan calmly activated his own compound defensive killer move.
The attacks were blocked.
Then...
He counterattacked.
A terrifying compound killer move struck the Thousand Beast King's head.
Boom!
The beast staggered.
Another attack followed.
Boom!
Its enormous body collapsed.
The Thousand Beast King...
Was dead.
Li Tianyu glanced over.
Fang Yuan stood beside the corpse.
His expression remained completely calm.
There wasn't even much exhaustion visible on his face.
Li Tianyu's eyes narrowed.
'His primeval essence reserves are absurd.'
That was one of Fang Yuan's greatest advantages.
He possessed several high-rank primeval essence storage Gu.
He also possessed primeval essence recovery Gu.
Some of those Gu were far above his current cultivation rank.
Because of those Gu...
Fang Yuan could continuously replenish his primeval essence.
And because his body possessed non-conflicting dao marks...
He could freely utilize Gu worms from different paths.
Even while being Rank One...
He could display combat strength approaching Rank Three.
Li Tianyu's expression became slightly solemn.
He had already reached the point where he could fight an ordinary Rank Two Gu Master.
But Fang Yuan...
Was already operating on another level.
Rank Three combat strength while still at Rank One.
The difference wasn't small.
It was enormous.
...
The remaining beasts began fleeing.
Li Tianyu didn't pursue them.
There was little reason to waste his energy chasing them.
He turned his attention toward the batt
lefield.
Scattered throughout the forest...
Were numerous Gu worms.
A dozen Rank Two Gu worms...
And a large number of Rank One Gu worms.
Li Tianyu's eyes brightened slightly.
This harvest was considerably better than his previous encounter.
He immediately sorted the Gu worms.
The Rank Two Gu worms...
Were sent directly into Burning Ember Gu.
The valuable Rank One wild Gu worms were kept.
The rest...
Were devoured.
His Dao Repository continued to expand.