Windforce Behemoth

When Fang Yan stepped into the commercial district of Fang Family Main City, it was on the eve of Yinghuo Star's annual Fireworks Festival.

The entire street was festooned with lights and decorations. Fiery red lanterns floated in midair, while the lintels of shops lining both sides of the street bore auspicious beast totems carved from Fireworks Stone.

Groups of three or five Fang Family disciples passed by.

Fang Yan lowered his hood, trying not to draw attention.

It was not that he was being overly precious. The nickname "Little Saint Son" was simply too embarrassing.

Whenever someone recognized him on the street and called out, "Greetings, Little Saint Son," Fang Yan felt like his toes could carve out an entire Sky Pillar Peak in the Fire-Pattern Stone pavement.

The Rare Treasures Shop was located in the north of the city, right beside the family treasury. It was a three-story standalone pavilion.

Its outer walls were covered in shimmering Illusory Light Stone. Two pillars carved with coiling dragons stood at the entrance, each dragon holding a fist-sized luminous pearl in its mouth, making the entire building gleam brilliantly.

Fang Yan stood at the entrance for two seconds, raised a hand to straighten his collar, and was just about to step inside.

"Lit—"

The attendant at the door recognized his face and reflexively started to shout.

Fang Yan reacted quickly, clamping a hand over the attendant's mouth.

"Don't shout! If you do, I'll transfer you to the mines to dig Fire Crystals."

The attendant nodded frantically, nearly bursting into tears.

The chief steward of the Rare Treasures Shop was surnamed Qin, and his cultivation had reached the World Lord Ninth Order.

The moment Steward Qin saw Fang Yan enter, he was briefly stunned before hurrying over with a warm smile.

"Why does Little Saint Son have the time to visit this old man today?"

"Elder Qin."

Fang Yan cupped his hands politely.

"I came to see whether the shop has any wind-element cultivation resources, preferably high-grade ones. There's no need to bring out anything at the level of Wind Crystal Spirit Fruit."

Hearing this, Steward Qin raised his grizzled brows, a trace of difficulty appearing on his face.

"Little Saint Son, you've asked the right question. To be honest, the Fang Family has been rooted in the Southern Border Star Domain for seventy thousand eras, and what we have collected most are fire-element resources. As for wind-element resources... you know how it is. We can't even grow a decent wind-attributed spirit tree on Yinghuo Star. Everything has to be brought in from outside."

As he spoke, he led Fang Yan upstairs to the second floor.

The furnishings on the second floor were far more refined than those on the first. Rows of specially made display cases were embedded in the walls, each one sealing away a treasure.

Fang Yan swept his gaze over them. Seventy to eighty percent were fire-attributed items, with the occasional water- or earth-attributed treasure mixed in. Wind-attributed ones were few and far between.

Steward Qin stopped before a display case and took out a pale green crystal.

"Please take a look, Little Saint Son. This is a Wind Pattern Fruit, one grade higher than a Wind Crystal Spirit Fruit. Refining it can greatly increase the speed at which one comprehends the Law of Wind. One costs twenty million Universe Coins."

Fang Yan accepted the Wind Pattern Fruit and sensed the Wind Origin contained within it, his brows knitting slightly.

It was indeed much better than a Wind Crystal Spirit Fruit, but it was still inferior to a Wind Origin Crystal.

Even though he had not yet developed any resistance to it, it would probably only achieve one or two tenths of its intended effect the first time. After that, it would barely be worth mentioning.

"Do you have anything better?"

Steward Qin fell silent for a moment, then sighed and spoke sincerely.

"Little Saint Son, this old man has worked at this Rare Treasures Shop for thirty thousand years and has seen countless clansmen desperate for treasures. To be frank, wind-element resources are indeed difficult to find in the Fang Family. But there is something you might try."

Fang Yan looked up.

"The family's Artifact Refining Hall recently received the corpse of a Windforce Behemoth, one at the Peak World Lord level and in extremely intact condition."

Steward Qin lowered his voice.

"That Windforce Behemoth is known as a favored child of the wind-element laws. Every part of its body is a treasure. Moreover, the Artifact Refining Hall has not started dissecting it yet. If you wish to improve your comprehension of the Law of Wind, now would be the perfect time to go observe it."

Fang Yan's heart trembled.

An adult Windforce Behemoth could travel through the universe with its physical body alone. They were naturally attuned to the Law of Wind.

Furthermore, thanks to their ultimate comprehension of the Law of Wind, members of their race had an extraordinarily high chance of breaking through to become Immortals.

"Thank you for the guidance, Elder Qin."

Fang Yan cupped his hands solemnly, then changed the subject.

"Oh, right. Give me another Wind Pattern Fruit."

Steward Qin froze. "Little Saint Son still needs a Wind Pattern Fruit?"

"Yes. I'll save it as a snack."

Fang Yan said this without changing expression.

The attendant beside them twitched hard at the corner of his mouth.

In the end, Fang Yan spent a full thirteen million cubic Universe Crystals to buy a Wind Pattern Fruit.

Including his previous savings, he still had a little over sixty-two million cubic Universe Crystals left.

After leaving the Rare Treasures Shop, Fang Yan did not head directly to the Artifact Refining Hall. Instead, he first turned into a secluded alley.

After confirming that no one was nearby, he took out a Wind Crystal Spirit Fruit and stuffed it into his mouth. The fruit was crisp and delicious, and the wind-element Origin it contained flowed down his throat as a cool current into his Origin Core.

Then, he activated Time Reversal.

The chirping of cicadas drifted through the air, and a whole, undamaged Wind Crystal Spirit Fruit reappeared in Fang Yan's palm.

If comprehension was not enough, fruit would make up for it.

Though it could not bring the qualitative leap of a Wind Origin Crystal, small gains added up. Even mosquito meat was still meat.

After all, some Immortal Venerable had once built his fortune by twisting hemp rope...

The Artifact Refining Hall stood in the southeastern corner of Fang Family Main City, occupying more than ten times the area of the Rare Treasures Shop.

Towering chimneys spewed dark-red tongues of flame day and night. That was Earth-Lung True Flame drawn from deep underground, used specifically to smelt high-grade materials.

The entire area was filled with the scorching smell of metal and fire intertwined.

When the guards saw that the visitor was Fang Yan, they let him through without even questioning him.

Little Saint Son might have been a tooth-achingly embarrassing title in the Fang Family, but the privileges it brought were very real.

The instant Fang Yan stepped through the gates of the Artifact Refining Hall, he felt a gust of wind rush toward him.

Fang Yan's heart tightened as he followed the direction of the wind pressure.

He walked all the way to the deepest part of the hall and pushed open a black iron door nearly thirty feet tall.

The sight beyond the door made him suck in a cold breath.

It was a colossal beast whose skull alone exceeded a thousand zhang.

Its enormous body sprawled across the center of the workshop. Though it had long been dead, it still exuded a suffocating pressure.

It resembled a mantis enlarged countless times over, its entire body covered in a layer of semi-translucent blue-gray carapace. Pale silver Wind Secret Patterns covered the shell's surface, flowing with a faint, ghostly glow.

Six pairs of wing-blades as thin as cicada wings spread from either side of its spine. Eight jointed, massive legs curled beneath its abdomen, and merely looking at them sent a chill through him.

But what made Fang Yan's scalp tingle most was its head.

Its three pairs of compound eyes had already lost their luster, like six enormous gray pearls embedded in its triangular skull.

At the center of its head was a vertical fissure—its third eye in life.

The carapace around the fissure was a deep blue-green unlike the rest of its body, densely inscribed with extremely ancient Wind Secret Patterns. At the center, the patterns converged into a vortex-shaped design.

Those were the innate law secret patterns possessed by the Windforce Behemoth!