Life-Bound Gu

"Zhuge Yi (Zhuge Xiao) greets you, Brother Dao." Though Fu Yuan looked friendly, the two felt as if an unparalleled great terror had fixed its gaze on them. Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads, and even their souls trembled.

"A fine art, Zhuge imperial clan." Fu Yuan's eyes curved slightly, and his smile deepened. "Has your clan's imperial son emerged into the world?"

Fu Yuan's casual words made the two even more nervous. What it meant for him to ask about the imperial son as soon as he opened his mouth went without saying. They hurried to answer with care.

"Zhuge Wuding, a most interesting name. I look forward to meeting him." With that, Fu Yuan continued climbing, passing the two.

"An imperial son!!!" Zhuge Xiao swallowed, his voice trembling.

"Should we warn Brother Lingfeng?" The two looked at each other and chose silence.

If an imperial son intended to kill, a warning would do little good.

The steps on the seventh level were only ten meters wide. Fu Yuan calmly passed one person after another, climbing onward under the astonished gazes of the crowd.

"Who is that? He's too fast! Even holy sons have to slow down on the seventh level. The resistance is immense."

"He's most likely a holy son."

"He's far faster than the Heavenly Wind Holy Son and Zhuge Lingfeng. An extraordinary monster has arrived, and he'll most likely change the current situation."

Fu Yuan's climbing figure drew more and more attention. Even several people on the eighth level looked down and glanced at him.

"The Heavenly Wind Holy Son has already reached the ninth level. I'm afraid the outcome is already decided."

"The real dividing line only comes after the eighth level."

Some prodigies argued otherwise. Even holy sons needed time to adapt to the eighth level and were forced to slow down. Let alone some unknown fellow, even a holy son would be too late to catch up.

At the 76,500th step, the young Zhuge Lingfeng, dressed in blue, had eyes like brilliant stars. An inexplicable restlessness rose in his heart.

"How strange. Something unforeseen is about to happen." Zhuge Lingfeng's expression was solemn. Having cultivated the Divine Derivation Art, he had cast aside some of his emotions. He should not have felt this way.

His eyes like stars, he looked up. Only three figures were above him: the Heavenly Wind Holy Son, the vicious beast Zheng, and a black-robed person of unknown origins.

"Whether it's Tianfeng or the vicious beast Zheng, neither will be my match."

"He's hidden himself very deeply, but he's still inferior to me."

Golden light appeared in Zhuge Lingfeng's eyes as he used a secret art to peer at their Qi and blood and divine souls.

His talent was exceptional. When he was born, immortal cranes carried branches in their beaks, spirit phoenixes held pearls, and rays of rosy light ten thousand feet high filled heaven and earth. A saintly ancestor was alerted and took him as a disciple, and he was hailed as the greatest talent the main branch had produced in ten thousand years.

Then, six years ago, the prodigies of the main and collateral branches gathered for the contest to become the Zhuge imperial son. That battle shattered his pride and proud spirit. He sank into despair for a long time, and only after several years in seclusion did he mend his Dao heart and emerge from that shadow.

"Who is that?" Zhuge Lingfeng's expression changed drastically. Chaos as deep as an abyss, more blazing than the great sun and more ferocious than a true dragon.

"Another Zhuge Wuding!" He stopped climbing, recalling that figure in robes whiter than snow, whose eyes manifested chaos and whose hand pressed down upon the vast heavens. Whether prodigies of the main branch or monstrous talents of the collateral branches, none could withstand a single exchange with him.

They were clearly in the same realm. How could the gap be so vast?

The other four of the so-called Five Outstanding Talents had earned that empty fame merely by holding out a few more moves against him.

"Six years have passed. I'm no longer who I once was!" In just a few dozen breaths, Zhuge Lingfeng adjusted his mindset. He stopped climbing at a steady pace and exerted himself fully, his speed suddenly increasing.

A python-sparrow might yet swallow a true dragon!

"Interesting. His bloodline is nearly ninth grade." Fu Yuan looked up, his expression calm. "The Zhuge clan's eye techniques truly are extraordinary."

Fu Yuan continued forward at a steady, unhurried pace, paying no heed to the others. Yet his climbing speed still shocked everyone. They watched him pass one prodigy after another, advancing from the top hundred into the top ten.

The steps on the eighth level were no more than three meters wide. Exerting his full strength, Zhuge Lingfeng passed the black-robed person and caught up with the vicious beast Zheng.

"You're moving too fast, fellow Daoist. Be careful, or your Qi may become unstable." The vicious beast Zheng bared his great maw, his body occupying the entire step as he offered his "kind" warning.

"Move or fight!" Zhuge Lingfeng replied coldly, displaying his overbearing manner in full.

The pure-blooded vicious beast Zheng's nine crimson tails danced, and his gaze turned ferocious. In an instant, he made his choice, turning sideways to make way.

He was not afraid; the time had simply not come. As a great vicious beast who had once dared challenge the Black Tortoise, he would dare to unleash his ferocity even against an imperial son.

"Zhuge Lingfeng is so fast! He's reached the ninth level."

"Does anyone know who that is? He's terrifying! He hasn't slowed down in the slightest on the eighth level. He's definitely a holy son, and an extremely powerful one at that."

More and more cries of amazement rang out. Those who had finished refining their spirit flames did not leave. Instead, they stayed to watch, intent on witnessing a great battle.

"I'm somewhat curious about your Gu, fellow Daoist."

At the 79,000th step, Fu Yuan caught up with the black-robed man and stopped.

The black-robed man was horrified. In Fu Yuan's presence, his Life-Bound Gu was actually afraid-not because of a difference in cultivation, but because of the enormous gulf between their fundamental life essences.

That Fu Yuan had seen through him at a glance made the person before him all the more terrifying.

"Someone from the Gu Realm?" Fu Yuan did not lower his voice, and a trace of fear appeared in the eyes of everyone watching.

"Wasn't that realm shattered?" someone asked in confusion. At the beginning of this epoch, an imperial dynasty and a supreme holy land had entered the fray, trampling the Gu Realm under their horses' hooves. Countless stars had been destroyed, blood had stained the galaxy, and the blood Qi had not dispersed for a hundred thousand years.

"That was the homeland of the Gu Venerable and the Gu Emperor. It has a supreme Dao lineage." A prodigy from the holy land High Heaven Palace spoke up, recounting that history.

A black jar had covered the firmament, concealing everything. Several saints of the Gu Realm had sacrificed themselves to awaken it. Darkness had enveloped the Gu Realm, and even several neighboring realms had been affected. All the invaders had been buried.

"Has the successor of the Gu Venerable Hall entered the world?" Fu Yuan continued to ask.

The black-robed man remained silent, offering no answer as cold sweat poured from him.

"Meeting is fate. Let me see your Life-Bound Gu, fellow Daoist!" Fu Yuan's body was like warm jade. With the momentum to pluck stars and seize the moon, and the strength to capture dragons and control cranes, he thrust out his hand.

The black-robed man's hair stood on end. His opponent had merely made a casual grab, yet he had tasted death, as though his life and death rested on the other man's whim.

A mass of black mist burst from his robes and rushed toward Fu Yuan's outstretched hand.

"Eight-Legged Heavenly Centipede!"

Facing a powerful opponent, the black-robed man unleashed all his strength and awakened the spirit. A gigantic crimson centipede abruptly appeared behind him, its eight enormous legs quivering. Vicious and menacing, it spewed and swallowed black flames.

"What an evil spirit." Everyone shuddered.

The Eight-Legged Heavenly Centipede's spirit transformed into a streak of light and fused with the surging black mist. The mist grew denser, and an air of deathly stillness spread as the temperature between heaven and earth plummeted.

"Life and Death Natal Gu. This path truly is profound."

Fu Yuan brought his hands together and gripped hard, as if sealing off a region of heaven and earth. Black mist surged, winged insects emitted piercing buzzes, and the Eight-Legged Heavenly Centipede roared, trying to break through Fu Yuan's great hands.

But it was useless. His great hands seized heaven and earth and captured the sun and moon. Like a small world, they dispersed the black mist, grasped death, and caught the Life and Death Natal Gu.