"I'll have to think about it," Huang Fei replied carefully. "It's not a decision I can make lightly or entirely on my own."
Huang Fei knew that if he became a Gu Master and hostile tribes discovered it in the future, it could bring ruin to his remaining family. Furthermore, cultivation was a massive gamble. If he awakened his aperture only to discover he had a miserable D-grade aptitude, he would be perpetually stuck at Rank 1. A Rank 1 Gu Master possessed a mediocre offensive array; they couldn't fight off a crowd of ordinary mortals the way a rank two or rank three master could. Worse, becoming a low-level cultivator might alienate him from mortal society entirely, cutting off his ability to trade. He had to meticulously weigh whether the immense risks were worth the hypothetical rewards.
"All right. Take all the time you need," Wang Tian said.
And so, Wang Tian, Bai Xiao, and Huang Fei began their new life together, alongside the surviving remnants of Huang Fei's family, deep within the hidden valley of the primeval spring.
***
High above the Fang Yuan Continent, within the vast expanse of White Heaven overlooking the three continents, Fang Yuan's mind was racing.
He was utilizing a Wisdom Path method to try and deduce a solution to the problem of the Impossible Boulder. The deduction was intensely demanding, consuming a massive number of thoughts which he had been forced to purchase in bulk through Treasure Yellow Heaven.
On one hand, he felt the endeavor might be a complete waste of time. After all, if the Tian clan -with its immense regional influence, vast resources, and dedicated wisdom path expert - had failed to find a solution for years, what hope did a lone Rank 6 Gu Immortal have? Especially one whose primary path was not Wisdom Path.
On the other hand, he knew the nature of Venerables. Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable would not have left an inheritance that was completely impossible to obtain. It was highly likely that he already possessed the necessary tools to unlock the puzzle - perhaps hidden within his Human Path attainment.
As countless thoughts collided and shattered within his mind, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him like lightning.
'I see! That might actually be possible... but it presents a massive problem of its own.'
Fang Yuan had indeed deduced a theoretical solution. Since the difficulty of pushing the Impossible Boulder increased with the number of people attempting it - yet notably did not increase in a perfectly linear proportion - he realized he needed a Human Path method that could seamlessly combine multiple peoples' strength into a single, unified force. That, or combine the strength of many into one.
The primary issue when multiple Gu Immortals cooperated was the fundamental conflict of their distinct dao marks. In the world of cultivation, because of dao mark conflict, two plus two rarely equaled four. Sometimes two plus two equaled three, or even plummeted to two point five or lower because the differing paths actively canceled each other out.
The absolute best way to bypass this natural conflict was to utilize a Human Path method, which could work without conflicting dao marks.
Fang Yuan actually possessed such a method. He had a mortal killer move called - Hope of the Clansman that he had made back in Gu Yue Village. With his current attainment, he could easily modify its structure and elevate it into a proper Rank 5 mortal killer move, or even a higher variation.
However, the fatal flaw of Hope of the Clansman was its restrictive condition: it could only be activated by utilizing his direct blood relatives. Right now, he was a lone cultivator in the Western Desert; he had no kin here. He could theoretically leave the region to fetch people like Fang Zheng, but they were fragile mortals. Keeping them inside his immortal aperture for extended periods would cause issues with the Integration Formation, not to mention the immense expenditure of traversing the regional walls again, which had already caused him significant aperture losses. He refused to repeat that mistake.
Frustrated by the logistical dead end, Fang Yuan chose to stop his deduction. He placed his immortal aperture back into the ground and decided to shift his focus toward his arrangement with Tian Wu.
Tian Wu had previously asked him to evaluate and help with creating an experimental killer move. Fang Yuan decided to check in on the young Gu Immortal.
He found Tian Wu hovering over a remote, desolate sector of the desert. The area was completely abandoned, devoid of life save for a few desert insects and lizards skittering across the scorching dunes. It was the absolute perfect testing ground for practicing volatile killer moves without drawing unwanted attention.
"I thank you for joining me out here, Brother Fang Yuan," Tian Wu said cheerfully as he descended.
"What exactly is the underlying basis of this killer move you are trying to create?" Fang Yuan asked, cutting straight to the point.
"Well, as I mentioned before, everyone agrees that a sword can cut things because it is sharp, right?" Tian Wu explained, gesturing with his hands. "Sure, a blade has physical sharpness, but people also say that a person's thoughts can be sharp. Thoughts cut through concepts swiftly, and a clever person is praised for having a sharp mind. Therefore, I want to use sword path techniques as a foundation to birth a Wisdom Path method. To be honest, many elders in my clan often tell me that I am far too naive and carefree."
"Really? Do people truly say that about you?" Fang Yuan asked, feigning utter shock, though internally he could not have agreed more with the clan elders in question.
"Yes! I don't understand their criticism either," Tian Wu sighed heavily. "My grandfather keeps lecturing me, saying I need to become a serious, responsible Immortal. But honestly, there is nothing more I want to do in this life than travel the world and perfect my swordplay. That being said, while it's a luxurious thing to be the grandson of the clan head, it also severely limits my personal freedom. I know that if I become stronger, the clan will finally grant me permission to travel. My dream of exploring the Five Regions will come true. That's why I'm trying to develop this Wisdom Path move out of my Sword Path techniques so that I'm not completely helpless." Tian Wu soared up in the sky and added, "One day, I'll be like Bo Qing and sever the Five Regions with my blade! Ah! Five Finger Fist Heart Sword!" Tian Wu yelled out, making the necessary motions with his hands, though there was no way that he could actually use that famous killer move now. But his eyes glimmered with the aspirations of one day being able to use it. "I know I might not look like much, Fang Yuan, but I am already a Sword Path quasi-grandmaster."
"That is genuinely quite impressive," Fang Yuan praised. His compliment this time was entirely sincere. When he had been at a comparable cultivation level in his past life, he had achieved Blood Path Grandmaster status - but he had lived far longer to reach that point than this sheltered youth. He didn't know the full extent of the sword path inheritances Tian Wu had access to, but achieving quasi-Grandmaster status so early was a testament to natural talent.
"Well, thank you for the praise! But as I said, I want to find a way to deduce situations using Sword Path principles. I want my sword to cut through my own mental blocks rather than simply cutting through physical space. If I have that, I won't have to worry too much when I travel outside," Tian Wu said. Then, he reached into his storage. "Also, please take this as an apology."
Tian Wu handed Fang Yuan a massive crate filled with Blue Beetle Sand alongside several other refinement path materials. "I'm certain you could trade all of this for at least 5 Immortal Essence stones in Treasure Yellow Heaven. Consider it a thank you for your guidance, and my formal apology for arriving late to our initial meeting."
It turned out that his grandfather had assigned him the task of greeting the Shang Clan emissary as a test of his responsibility, and Tian Wu had failed immediately out of the gate by losing track of time. If he kept making such blunders and his grandfather found out, his dreams of traveling the world would remain a dream forever. It was a massive stroke of luck that Tian Shan had intervened when he did, reminding him of the meeting.
That said, 5 Immortal Essence stones was basically chickenfeed for Fang Yuan at this point, but that was beside the point.