Inside this secret cave, another person's voice suddenly came from behind.
Even Fangyuan felt his hair stand on end and his scalp tingle at that moment.
He had actually been tracked!
Could it be that his frequent outings these past few days had already attracted the attention of someone observant?
Or perhaps someone sent by his uncle?
Even in his mind, the young Rank One Gu Master from the inn, named Jiang Ya, flashed through his thoughts.
In a split second, countless thoughts and guesses flashed through his mind, and he rapidly thought of a solution.
Fangyuan could sense that this short sentence was filled with deep murderous intent.
This made him secretly lament. At this moment, he was only at the Rank One Initial Stage and did not even have a Natal Gu. For a Gu Master, his combat power was close to zero—how could he fight?
"Too weak, too weak!" he roared in his heart.
"You have already been poisoned by my unique venomous Gu. Without my corresponding antidote, you will surely turn into pus and blood and die after seven days." The voice behind him sounded again.
Fangyuan clenched his teeth, his expression calm, and his tone deep: "Do you want the Wine Worm? I can give it to you."
He slowly stood up, making very deliberate movements.
But right at that moment, another person's voice suddenly rang out. This voice was filled with fear and trembled: "I'll give it to you, I can give you everything, just spare my life, Lord Flower Wine Monk!"
"Wait, this is..." Fangyuan's brow knitted into a tight knot, and he abruptly turned around.
He saw that on the stone wall before him, light and shadow shifted, revealing a scene.
An imposing and fierce Gu Master stood on a mountain peak, and beneath his feet, another Gu Master knelt prostrate.
Surrounding the two Gu Masters were collapsed craters and shattered rocks, clearly showing that a fierce battle had just taken place.
Not far from the two of them, there was also a group of elderly onlookers who looked at the scene with expressions of shock, anger, and fear.
The victorious Gu Master in the center of the arena threw his head back and laughed loudly: "Hahaha, Gu Yue hero, to think you are so young yet possess Rank Five Cultivation. I originally thought you were somebody, but I didn't expect you to be so worthless. Hmph!"
This laughing Gu Master had slender eyes and wore a pink robe. His wide sleeves fluttered in the wind, and the collar of his garment was wide open, revealing his sturdy chest muscles as white as jade.
Most eye-catching of all was his bald head, polished and gleaming without a single hair.
"Flower Wine Monk!" Fangyuan recognized the identity of this Gu Master at a glance.
"Compared to Lord Flower Wine, this junior is nothing! I was out of my mind and failed to recognize Mount Tai, offending Lord Flower Wine. Lord Flower Wine, please spare my life for the sake of my clan's hospitality earlier!" The Gu Master kneeling on the ground trembled, cold sweat pouring down, weeping and begging for mercy.
Fangyuan narrowed his eyes and looked closely, discovering that this Gu Master wore the attire of the Gu Yue Clan head, and judging by his appearance, he was clearly none other than the Fourth Generation Clan Head!
And those elderly onlookers must have been the clan elders of that era.
"Heh, hospitality? You have the nerve to say that! I originally came with sincerity to make a deal with you, using Primeval Stones to trade for your clan's Moon Orchid at a very fair price. It was you who harbored malicious intentions, pretending to welcome me and luring me to the banquet, plotting to poison me with venomous Gu in the wine. You underestimate me far too much. I have traveled across the world under the name of Flower Wine; how could I possibly fall for such poison?"
Flower Wine Monk pointed at the kneeling Fourth Generation Clan Head and sneered repeatedly: "If you had cooperated properly, you wouldn't have ended up like this. But you wanted to use my head to build your own reputation—you brought this destruction upon yourselves!"
"My lord, please spare this dog's life!" The Fourth Generation Clan Head cried out in terror, dragging himself across the ground on his knees and rapidly crawling to Flower Wine Monk's feet to hug his thigh.
"My lord, our clan has a spirit spring that produces Primeval Stones, and we have planted large fields of Moon Orchid in the underground caves. This humble one is willing to swallow your slave Gu and become your servant, with life and death resting entirely in a single thought of yours, serving you for the rest of my life!"
Fangyuan was left speechless at the sight, and the several elders in the image changed expressions unpredictably.
Flower Wine Monk narrowed his eyes. His anger had subsided, and brilliant flashes flickered within his slit-like eyes: "Hmph, slave Gu are incomparably precious—they are Rank Five Gu Worms. Do you think I would have one? However, you have been poisoned by my unique venomous Gu, and only I can detoxify it, so I am not afraid of you rebelling. In that case, your clan will provide me with thirty jin of Moon Orchid petals every week, along with three thousand Primeval Stones. I will come to collect the goods periodically and detoxify you at the same time, sparing your dog's life."
"Thank you, my lord, for sparing my life! Thank you, my lord, for sparing my life!" The Fourth Generation Clan Head called out repeatedly, kowtowing ceaselessly as his forehead struck the mountain rocks, bleeding continuously.
"Hmph, stop kowtowing! I detest bootlicking villains like you the most. What Gu Yue genius, what Rank Five powerhouse—you are unworthy of the name. Serve me well, this is your way to—ugh!" Flower Wine Monk suddenly let out a startled cry, a look of shock violently appearing on his face.
He kicked the Fourth Generation Clan Head away, his figure swaying as he hastily retreated a few large steps, and roared at the Fourth Generation Clan Head: "How do you still have a Gu?"
Kicked squarely in the chest, the Fourth Generation Clan Head spat out a mouthful of heart blood. He struggled to his feet, a smile of a successful conspiracy on his face: "Hahaha, everyone should kill those of the demonic path! This Gu is called Moon Shadow, and it is best at concealing itself. Although it is only Rank Four, it has the ability to restrict the Primeval Essence in the Primeval Sea. Fiend, you and I fought fiercely for a long time, and you don't have many Gu worms left on you—how can you suppress the Moon Shadow Gu? Surrender obediently and become my slave; as long as you serve me to my satisfaction, a path of survival remains!"
Flower Wine Monk flew into a rage, roaring: "Go to hell!"
Before his voice had even faded, his figure shot forward like lightning, slamming a fist into the heart of the Fourth Generation Clan Head.
The Fourth Generation Clan Head had not expected Flower Wine Monk to be so radical, refusing to compromise even when his Primeval Sea was threatened. A tremendous force surged over, and he was sent flying instantly, landing on the ground like a broken sack.
Puff.
He spat out a large mouthful of blood, the blood mixed with countless fragments of his internal organs.
"Are you crazy? We could have talked this over properly..." He stared dead at Flower Wine Monk, his lips moving laboriously. Before he could finish the sentence, he kicked his legs, tilted his head, and died.
"Clan Head!"
"People of the demonic path really are all lunatics."
"Kill him, kill this fiend and avenge the clan head!"
"He has been hit by the Moon Shadow Gu, and his Primeval Essence can no longer be mobilized at will. If this drags on, even his Primeval Sea will be threatened."
The watching elders all roared out in anger and swarmed forward.
"Hahaha, come if you're seeking death!" Flower Wine Monk let out a long howl toward the sky, facing the elders' charge by meeting them head-on.
A fierce battle broke out. Flower Wine Monk quickly took control of the situation, and soon the elders were either dead or injured, collapsing onto the ground entirely.
He was just about to deal a fatal blow to the remaining elders when his expression suddenly changed, and he reached out to clutch his abdomen: "Damn it!"
"I'll deal with you lot later." Flower Wine Monk glared fiercely at the remaining elders, his figure escaping like lightning as he plunged into the mountain forest, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.