Now, it was very difficult to find Human Path Gu worms, let alone Immortal ones, but it wasn't like they did not exist. It was the immense difficulty in developing the Human Path in the first place which had likely led to this discovery not being made up until now. That was why it appeared that Fang Yuan was the first person to stumble upon this fact.
To Bai Ning Bing, however, Fang Yuan's discovery was basically borderline useless. A Rank 6 Immortal Gu was still extremely difficult to find, if not nearly impossible. Fang Yuan had simply told her that there was a different kind of gu worm she could use, but it didn't change her immediate prospects by much.
"So, do you have a way of getting an Immortal Human Path Gu Worm?" Bai Ning Bing asked.
"No, not right now," Fang Yuan said, waving his hand.
"Then why exactly would you even bother mentioning it?!" Bai Ning Bing snapped at him angrily.
Fang Yuan actually did have Human Path Gu worms, but there was no way he was about to share one of them with Bai Ning Bing simply so she could ascend properly.
As it was, Equality Gu was a good enough solution to her problem right now for the upcoming years. He couldn't see the point in trying to invest anything further; he simply needed Bai Ning Bing to try and deduce the secret behind the Dollhouse's secret inheritance before she ended up exploding. Either that, or he could always use the Yang Reversal Gu on her and suppress her extreme physique for another few years, buying him potentially another few decades without giving her any further strength.
"I may not have an Immortal Gu like that," Fang Yuan said, "but there is a place where we may be able to find one, so long as you're willing to help me obtain it."
Bai Ning Bing's eyes widened before she immediately frowned. "If there's an Immortal Gu there, there's no way that you would possibly want to rope me into this unless..."
"That's right, Bai Ning Bing," Fang Yuan said. "This is going to require the two of us to work together if we want to obtain it. Only with the power of teamwork can we possibly succeed in this upcoming endeavor!"
Bai Ning Bing's eyes narrowed down further. Since when was Fang Yuan so open and willing to cooperate? There had to be a downside to this...
However, Fang Yuan eventually convinced her to come along with him.
Fang Yuan had a short meeting with Shang Xin Ci after this, explaining that he would be coming back in a few months but had to leave once more, leaving the girl slightly crestfallen. But there was little further that she could do, as both Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing set off.
***
Meanwhile, within the Eastern Sea, a chase was underway between two Gu Immortals. One of them cackled deeply. Both Immortals were rank 6. However, it was clear that the pursuer held a distinct superiority in both combat strength and speed.
This person was the rank 6 Gu Immortal Dai Ruo. He was a demonic cultivator but things had not always been like so. He had once been part of a clan, but was kicked out after his degenerate nature was discovered as a young lad; he would frequently go around stealing the undergarments of various women within the clan. As he grew up, there were even rumors that he had assaulted certain woman, and so he was simply thrown out to die.
Unfortunately for the world, Dai Ruo happened to stumble upon an inheritance and managed to cultivate into a Water Path Gu Immortal. Despite being only Rank 6 and possessing only ordinary mortal gu, he was known for his terrifying combat strength - whether it came to offense, defense, or movement. In general, the high density of Water Path dao marks within the Eastern Sea gave him a distinct edge over others.
The person he was fighting was a Gu Immortal by the name of An Rui.
Dai Ruo and the An clan had harbored enmity for quite some time. The An clan was only a minor small clan of little significance initially.
When Dai Ruo was still a Rank 5 Gu Master, he had humiliated the clan head's sister, who was An Rui's aunt. At the time of the insult, the An clan lacked the strength to strike back against Dai Ruo and could only grit their teeth in frustration before the latter successfully ascended. When Dai Ruo became a Rank 6 immortal, they could only curse Heaven for not having eyes, allowing such a degenerate to cultivate such power.
However, that wasn't the end of their story. The An clan ended up producing two prodigal children. The first was An Rui's elder brother, who was the first within their clan to cultivate all the way to Rank 6. After doing so, he helped An Rui rise to rank 6 as well.
Nevertheless, An Rui was only a newly ascended rank 6 Gu Immortal and was no match for Dai Ruo. She had the misfortune of running into him while heading toward an objective given to her by her brother. Though she had already sent out a call to him for help through Yellow Treasure Heaven, he was too far away to possibly come to her rescue in time.
"Why on earth are you pursuing me, Dai Ruo?" An Rui yelled, gritting her teeth and glancing all around her. She had already been badly wounded in their fight, and it was clear he held an overwhelming advantage. She scanned the horizon, but the sea was empty.
"Why? Because I know what your clan is planning," Dai Ruo said, his eyes gleaming menacingly. "I happen to know that your clan has been planning revenge against me. I left you weaklings alone after becoming an Immortal, thinking it was beneath my dignity to attack you. But now that you have two Rank 6 immortals to your name, I think I'll go ahead and cull the herd while I can."
An Rui tried her best to escape.
Ordinarily, battles between Gu Immortals did not easily result in death due to movement-type escape methods, not to mention there were very few benefits to killing an opponent since they could simply self-detonate their aperture if things got too bad.
However, the latter was exactly what Dai Ruo wanted.
He was a demonic path cultivator, and his sole intention was to kill An Rui; he wasn't here for resources.
Because An Rui was newly ascended, she did not have a full set of killer moves. How could she possibly compare to Dai Ruo and his massive store of strength and primeval essence? Licking his lips perversely, Dai Ruo said, "Don't worry though, I am not completely without mercy. I suppose that if you share your body with me, I might end up sparing your life." Truthfully speaking An Rui was nothing special when it came to her beauty. Dai Ruo had far more alluring slaves within his aperture that he could use whenever he wanted. However, he wasn't doing this for looks - the thought of completely dominating her and suppressing her was what was really giving him excitement! Simply imagining her tearfully breaking down and sobbing while he had his way with her was nearly enough to make him giggle in delight.
An Rui's clothes were in tatters from various attacks that Dai Ruo had sent her way. It revealed far more of her clothing than she otherwise would have, but that was the least of her concerns right now.
An Rui could barely hold back tears as she looked around. 'Brother...'
But there was no one.
Was this how things were going to end for her?
Did Heaven truly not have eyes?
Was there no justice in this world?
"Hahaha!" Dai Ruo laughed coldly. "What are you waiting for? Your brother won't be able to get here in time, and there's no one else around! There is no one who can possibly save you! The stories of heroes swooping in to save hapless maidens at the last second are nothing but fairy tales!"
However, just as he said this, a small rift opened up in the space between the two of them, and a man stepped out.