Legend had it that a River of Time existed in this world, sustaining the flow of the world itself. By drawing upon the power of the Spring Autumn Cicada, one could travel upstream and return to the past.
People held all kinds of opinions about this rumor. Many did not believe it, while others were half-convinced, half-doubtful.
Almost no one truly believed it.
Because every time the Spring Autumn Cicada was used, one had to pay with one's life, sacrificing one's entire body and all one's cultivation as the force to drive it.
The price was simply too steep. What people found even harder to accept was that—even after paying with their lives, they had no idea what the outcome would be.
Even if someone obtained the Spring Autumn Cicada, they would not dare use it recklessly just to pass the time.
What if the rumor was false, nothing but a scam?
Had Fang Yuan not been driven into a corner with no way out, he would not have used it so soon.
But now, Fang Yuan believed it completely and utterly.
The ironclad truth lay before his eyes, beyond refutation. He truly had been reborn!
"It's just a pity about that Good Gu. Back then, I had to exhaust every ounce of strength, slaughter hundreds of thousands of people, incur the wrath of heaven and the resentment of man, and endure untold hardship before refining it..." Fang Yuan sighed inwardly. Though he had been reborn, the Spring Autumn Cicada had not come with him.
Man is the Spirit of All Things; Gu are the essence of heaven and earth.
Gu came in a thousand strange forms, too numerous to count. Some Gu vanished completely after being used once, or two or three times. Others could be used repeatedly, as long as they were not overused.
Perhaps the Spring Autumn Cicada was that kind of consumable Gu insect that could only be used once.
"But even if it's gone, I can refine another one. If I could refine it in my previous life, can I not do so in this life?" After his regret, a surge of lofty ambition rose in Fang Yuan's heart.
The fact that he had been reborn made the loss of the Spring Autumn Cicada entirely acceptable.
Moreover, he still carried a treasure with him. He was far from having nothing.
That treasure was his five hundred years of memories and experience.
His memories contained countless treasures that no one had yet uncovered. They contained major events one after another, allowing him to easily grasp the thread of history. They contained innumerable figures—some secluded senior experts, some heaven-blessed prodigies, and some who had not even been born yet. They also contained the arduous experiences of five hundred years of cultivation and abundant combat experience.
With these, he undoubtedly held the general situation and the initiative in his hands. As long as he handled things well, it would be no problem for him to roam the human world and recreate the splendor of a demonic overlord and peerless hero. He might even go a step further and charge toward a higher realm!
"So how should I proceed..." Fang Yuan was extremely rational. He swiftly put away his emotions and contemplated the night rain outside the window.
Once he began thinking, he found countless tangled threads.
After pondering for a while, his brows furrowed ever more deeply.
Five hundred years was simply too long. Leaving aside those memories that had already blurred and could no longer be recalled, even among the treasure troves, secret lands, and Immortal Master opportunities he remembered, though there were many, most were either separated by an immense distance or could only be opened at a specific time.
"The most crucial thing is still cultivation. My primeval sea has yet to be opened. I haven't even set foot on the path of Gu Master cultivation—I am fundamentally just a mortal! I must cultivate as quickly as possible and raise my cultivation, seize the initiative ahead of history as much as I can, and reap enough benefits."
Furthermore, many secret inheritances could not be digested even if he obtained them without sufficient cultivation. Instead, they would become a hot potato and bring disaster upon him for possessing a jade.
The first problem Fang Yuan faced was cultivation.
He had to raise his cultivation as soon as possible. If he dawdled as he had in his previous life, the daylilies would have turned cold.
"To quickly raise my cultivation, I must rely on the Lineage's resources. Given my current condition, I simply have no ability to travel through the peril-filled mountains. Even an ordinary wild boar could take my life. If I could reach the cultivation of a Rank 3 Gu Master, I would have the basic ability to protect myself and cross mountains and rivers in this world."
From the perspective of a demonic path giant tempered over five hundred years, this Qing Mao Mountain was truly too small, while Gu Yue village was more like a cage.
Yet while a cage imprisoned freedom, its sturdy cell walls often represented a certain kind of safety as well.
"Hmph. For the short term, I'll make do and stretch my fists and legs in this cage. Once I am promoted to Rank 3 Gu Master, I will leave this remote backwater. Fortunately, tomorrow is the Aperture Opening Ceremony. Not long after that, I can formally begin Gu Master cultivation."
At the thought of the Aperture Opening Ceremony, Fang Yuan's long-sealed memories surfaced from the depths of his heart.
"Aptitude..." Gazing outside the window, he could not help letting out three cold sneers.
At that moment, the door was gently pushed open, and a youth walked in.
"Brother, why are you standing by the window getting soaked in the rain?"
The youth was thin and somewhat shorter than Fang Yuan, with features strikingly similar to Fang Yuan's.
Fang Yuan turned and looked at the youth, a trace of complicated emotion flashing across his face.
"So it's you, my twin younger brother." He raised his brows slightly, and his expression returned to its usual indifference.
Fang Zheng lowered his head and looked at his toes. This was his signature gesture. "I saw that Brother's window hadn't been closed, so I wanted to quietly come in and close it. Tomorrow is the Aperture Opening Ceremony. If Uncle and Aunt find out that Brother is still not resting so late at night, they will probably worry."
He found Fang Yuan's indifference unremarkable, for his elder brother had always been this way from childhood.
At times, he wondered whether geniuses were simply different from ordinary people. Though he and his brother had extremely similar appearances, he himself was as ordinary as an ant.
They had emerged from the same womb at the same time, so why was heaven so unfair? It had granted his brother diamond-like talent, while he was as ordinary as a pebble.
Whenever anyone mentioned him, they would say, "This is Fang Yuan's younger brother."
Uncle and Aunt often taught him as well, telling him to learn from his brother.
Even when he looked into the mirror sometimes, staring at this face of his, he felt a measure of disgust!
These thoughts had lingered for many years, accumulating day after day in the depths of his heart. Like a huge boulder pressing upon his chest, they caused Fang Zheng to Lower his head lower and lower over the years, making him increasingly silent and reticent.
"Worry..." Thinking of uncle and aunt, Fang Yuan let out a silent sneer in his heart.
He remembered clearly that the parents of this body had both perished during a Lineage mission. At the age of three, he and his younger brother had become orphans together.
Under the pretext of raising them, uncle and aunt had openly seized the inheritance left by their parents, while treating both him and his younger brother harshly.
Originally, as someone who had transmigrated, he had planned to conceal his brilliance and bide his time. But life's hardships had forced Fang Yuan to reveal his extraordinary "talent."
That so-called genius was really nothing more than the rationality of a mature soul, along with a few Tang poems and Song lyrics from Earth that had been passed down through the ages.
Even with such a slight display of ability, he had been regarded as a wonder beyond compare and received widespread attention. Under external pressure, the young Fang Yuan had no choice but to adopt an indifferent expression as a disguise to protect himself and reduce the chance of exposing himself.
As time passed, indifference had instead become his habitual expression.
Thus, Uncle and Aunt could no longer treat him and his younger brother harshly. As they grew older and their prospects appeared brighter, their treatment improved accordingly.
But this was not love. It was an investment.
What was laughable was that this younger brother had failed to see the truth. Not only had he been deceived by Uncle and Aunt, he had also concealed resentment toward Fang Yuan. Though he now appeared obedient and honest, after being tested as having A-grade Aptitude in Fang Yuan's memories and receiving the Lineage's full support, his hidden hatred and jealousy had erupted. He had caused Fang Yuan no small amount of trouble, made things difficult for him, and suppressed his own blood brother.
As for Fang Yuan's own aptitude...
Heh heh, at best, it was merely C-grade.
Fate always loved playing tricks.
Born as twins, the elder brother possessed only C-grade aptitude, yet monopolized the name of genius for more than a decade. The younger brother remained obscure, yet possessed A-grade talent.
The result of opening their apertures made the clansmen's jaws drop. It also completely overturned the brothers' circumstances and treatment.
The younger brother rose to heaven like a crouching dragon, while the elder brother fell to the ground like a young phoenix.
Thereafter came repeated harassment from his younger brother, the cold looks of uncle and aunt, and the disdain of the clansmen.
Did he hate them?
Fang Yuan had hated in his previous life. He had hated his insufficient aptitude, hated the Lineage's heartlessness, and hated fate's injustice.
But now, as he reexamined this period with five hundred years of life experience, his heart was as still as calm water, without the slightest trace of hatred.
What was there to be enraged about?
If he put himself in their shoes, he could understand his younger brother, uncle and aunt, as well as those powerful enemies of the righteous path who had besieged him five hundred years later.
The strong devoured the weak, and the fittest survived. That was the essence of this world.
Besides, every person had their own aspirations. Everyone struggled for that single thread of heavenly opportunity—what was there not to understand about suppressing and slaughtering one another?
Five hundred years of experience had long since allowed him to see through all of this. In his heart, only the great path of immortality remained.
If anyone stood in the way of this pursuit of his, no matter who it was, it would be nothing more than life or death.
The ambition in his heart was too vast. Once he stepped onto this path, he was destined to become the enemy of the entire world, destined to walk alone, destined to face layer upon layer of killing tribulations.
This was the realization refined from five hundred years of life.
"Revenge is not in my plans, and the path of a devil has never contained the word compromise." Thinking this, Fang Yuan could not help laughing. He turned back, gave his younger brother a calm glance, and said, "You may withdraw."
Fang Zheng's heart trembled. His brother's gaze felt as sharp as icy blades, as though it had pierced through to the deepest part of his heart.
Under that gaze, he felt naked in a field of snow, with no secrets to speak of.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow, Brother." No longer daring to say more, Fang Zheng slowly closed the door and retreated obediently.
(During the new book period, updates will remain steady. There are currently two updates a day, one at eight in the morning and one at two in the afternoon.)
(There is another announcement. The reader groups for the old book, "Supreme Master of Demon Control," will also be changed. The original first and second "Supreme Master of Demon Control" groups will become the first and second "Reverend Insanity" groups, while the original "Supreme Master of Demon Control" VIP group will become the third "Reverend Insanity" group. For approximately the next forty days, I will personally oversee and manage them. Therefore, during holidays, old friends, please make an appearance—it is not a difficult thing. On the day this book goes premium, there will be a general cleanup, and those who have never spoken will be removed. At the same time, a "Reverend Insanity" VIP group will be established, and subscription verification will be required.)
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