Fang Tian looked at the clear and pristine waters of the oasis with admiration and fascination. On land, there were not many such oases, and even if they existed, they were usually far away in desert regions with environments similar to the Western Desert. Thus, this was Fang Tian's first time seeing a true oasis—let alone one of this size.
He was also able to notice some Western Desert lifeforms within the oasis. Among them was a type of fish native to the Western Desert, a strange hybrid between reptiles and fish that could swim both in water and in sand.
"The Plum Lightning Water Oasis was left behind by the founding ancestor of the Sun clan before the end of his lifespan. Do you like this oasis, Senior Shao Mu?"
A woman in her thirties stepped a few paces closer to Fang Tian and raised her voice so he could hear her, since he had been lost in thought. When Fang Tian turned his head, he recognized her as one of the three Rank Four elders of the Sun clan. She was only at the initial stage, making her the weakest among them, but Fang Tian still gave her enough face by responding.
"A truly great and powerful ancestor, to create an oasis that could endure for hundreds of years after his death. I certainly admire someone like that."
The woman's smile widened as she carefully observed Fang Tian.
"I forgot to introduce myself. I am Sun Ling Yan, the third elder of the Sun clan. I heard about you from the others in the caravan—you joined them only two days before the caravan arrived at the Plum Lightning Water Oasis…"
Sun Ling Yan had dark olive skin, tanned by the sun, and long brown hair braided into several tight plaits. Her body was slender—so slender that one might mistake her for someone suffering from malnutrition. Yet despite this, certain aspects of her appearance still carried a subtle beauty.
Fang Tian smiled mysteriously and looked at her sharply.
"Aren't you being rather direct, Elder Sun Ling Yan? As my friend Ninety-Two said earlier, I am a business partner of the Wan clan. Therefore, the affairs of the caravan are my affairs. I hope you understand, Elder."
Sun Ling Yan tried to stop him, but Fang Tian had already left, heading toward the caravan that had settled beside the Plum Lightning Water Oasis.
The sight of the caravan settling down and preparing to welcome customers reminded Fang Tian of his days on Mount Gu Xian. Mount Gu Xian had been half-destroyed, yet the memory remained vivid in his mind.
When Fang Tian raised his head, he looked toward the black sky filled with shining stars. The starlight was beautiful, casting a gentle charm over the peaceful night.
Fang Tian walked slowly and calmly while observing the Gu Masters and ordinary humans bustling with activity. The temperature had cooled now, leaving a faint chill in the air. Whenever Gu Masters saw Fang Tian passing by, they raised their heads and greeted him before returning to their work.
Fang Tian nodded to them along the way until he reached the place that had been prepared for him.
It was a house-type Gu resembling a massive reptile. It opened its mouth toward Fang Tian and extended its tongue like a pathway, inviting him to enter. Fang Tian had already grown accustomed to strange things, so he simply stepped into the mouth of the bizarre lizard.
Inside the lizard were two small rooms—one for sleeping and the other empty, not yet furnished by the Gu Masters who had prepared this place for him.
Fang Tian did not mind. In fact, he found it suitable for what he was about to do.
When a Gu Master enters the Western Desert from another region, they suffer suppression. Their cultivation is lowered by an entire rank, and their Gu worms are also suppressed, becoming weaker by one rank.
However, humans by nature were creatures capable of adapting to their environment. Gu worms were not as flexible as humans—they would remain weakened by one rank the entire time.
If a Gu Master wished to restore the strength of their Gu worms, there were two common solutions.
The first was refining the Gu to a higher rank, which would allow it to adapt to the new region.
The second was reverse refining the Gu, lowering and then raising it back to its original rank again. This was the method most commonly used among Gu Masters.
But naturally, there was another method—one rarely used except by Gu Masters of the Refinement Path who had deeply cultivated that path.
Fang Tian was not a Refinement Path Gu Master, but he knew this method thanks to Li Hua's inheritance and the Old Strength Blessed Land's earth spirit.
This method was called parallel refinement.
It was most often used to heal injured Gu worms, but one technique could serve multiple purposes. A Gu worm could be treated as if it were injured and then refined in parallel.
After the parallel refinement was completed, the Gu worm would become fully adapted to the new region. However, if it returned to its original region, it would once again be suppressed.
In short, no method existed without flaws—whenever there were advantages, there were also disadvantages.
"I have a large amount of resources for parallel refining all of my Gu worms, but that isn't my original goal. Once I reach the Northern Plains, I will perform parallel refinement on my entire set. For now, I'll only refine a few Rank Four Gu worms to regain part of my battle strength."
Fang Tian took out six Wood Path Gu worms and two Strength Path Gu worms, placing them aside. Then he brought out a storage Gu worm filled with precious refinement materials.
These materials were so valuable that even a large clan would feel ashamed if their foundation could not match the wealth of a lone Gu Master.
Even for Fang Tian, these materials were extremely precious—after all, he had spent Immortal Essence Stones to buy them. A single Immortal Essence Stone was more valuable than most things in the mortal world.
"Well then… let's see whether Li Hua is truly as skilled as she claims."
Fang Tian waved his hands. A Wood Path Gu worm and several refinement materials floated into an invisible mold, while other materials hovered in the air to be processed.
"Wind Refinement Gu!"
Fang Tian activated a Refinement Path Gu worm, processing ores and stones in the air. At the same time, he carefully blended materials within the invisible mold while slowly pouring in his primeval essence.
Fang Tian was performing multiple tasks simultaneously.
In the past, he could barely handle two tasks at once. But now he possessed a large number of Bright Thought Gu, giving him more thoughts than most Gu Masters.
Of course, Bright Thought Gu was not perfect—after prolonged use it would suffer damage, and if Fang Tian overused it, the Gu worm could die.
Fang Tian continued processing the materials in rapid succession with considerable skill. Even when he made mistakes, he quickly corrected them.
After several hours, Fang Tian successfully completed the parallel refinement of all the Gu worms, though he felt mentally exhausted.
Even though parallel refinement was much easier than normal refinement, it still required complex tasks and intense concentration to avoid failure.
"At least I finished before some fool could interfere with the refinement process."
Fang Tian slid onto the bed prepared for him and quickly fell into a deep sleep.