Rain was falling.
Black clouds had totally covered the peaks of the mountain ranges from afar, turning it into a pitch-black area.
The rain curtain seemed to have connected heaven and earth.
Crack crack!
The sky flashed. Lightning looked like a silver snake that had slashed across the sky and had disappeared without a trace the next moment.
Summer was coming and the last rain of spring seemed to carry with it a gleam of the fierce summer.
On the Green Thatch Mountain, big areas of jade bamboo spears stood up straight in confronting the rain as the bamboo was still straight as a spear, with the tips pointing to the sky.
In the Ancient Moon mountain stronghold, numerous of houses were built close to each other, and had buried their heads to endure the heavy rain. Outside the mountain stronghold, the caravan was about to set out on a new journey.
"The rain is heavy, pay attention to the road!"
"Don't fall behind! Gu Masters pull good Gu with you, especially the Fat Beetle, avoid in being stuck on the mountain path!"
"Mortal warriors, hold the billboards to show the light and take care of the goods. If you lose one, I would find you afterwards!"
Cries were reverberating nonstop from the caravan.
The caravan was leaving after stopping at the Ancient Moon mountain stronghold for three days. Along the road of the Green Thatch Mountain, the caravan then went to their next destination.
The heavy rain had washed the sky and ground. It was pure luck that the roads around the mountain stronghold were covered with pebbles. However, five hundred meters away from the mountain, it was all muddy and narrow.
The Arrogant Ostrich Chickens were having their heads hanged low. Being drenched by the rain, their pretty feathers were sticking together, and had really looked like a chicken that was dipped into water.
The Fat Beetles were twisting its bodies and casually moving forward. The rain was hitting their black amours, forming countless small streams, falling to both sides then onto the ground.
The Furry Crypt Great Spiders were also all wet as their green and black fur were sticking together.
It was the Toad Gu which was cheerfully shouting. Carrying the goods and Gu Masters on its back, it jumped forward on the mountain road.
The Winged Serpent had also retrieved its wings and the thick serpent was happily slithering in the mud.
To protect the goods from getting damp by the rain, the group of Gu Masters were also showing off their ability.
Gu Masters were standing straight on the heads of a few Fat Beetles. They held their hands up high as a Golden Light Gu was floating around their hands an inch away from their palms.
Bronze Primeval Essence was evaporating like stream and was intruding the Golden Light Gu's body as the whole body of the Gu was shining like a golden bean-liked light, with a huge golden cage hanging in the center.
The range of the hemispherical cage was quite big as it completely covered a Fat Beetle without any extra space left.
When the raindrops hit the cage, they would be bounced off, as if they were hitting an umbrella.
However, this kind of Golden Light Gu would be constantly consuming the Primeval Essence. After a while, a level one Gu Master wouldn't be able to hold on.
Sure enough, a moment later, a Gu Master shouted, "I'm not good! My Primeval Essence is running out. Who can come and take this over?"
"Me!" A Gu Master had rushed over and taken over his position at a first try.
Some Gu Masters who were pulling the handcrafts or controlling the Crypt Great Spiders immediately urged the Black Hair Gu in their bodies.
Under the power of the Black Hair Gu, the hair of the Gu Master would constantly be growing.
A normal person's hair would have at least a hundred thousand strands. Each strand would be around five to six meters long. They entangled with each other, bringing the body of the Gu Master as well as the mount under them together, forming a temporary impermeable black hair clothes.
Black Hair Gu was a level one Gu and was often used by the Gu Master to defend against attacks. It only consumed thirty percent of Bronze Primeval Essence. Unlike the Golden Light Gu, which needed a constant Primeval Essence input.
If one could refine the Black Hair Gu together with the Black Hog Gu, then it could be advanced to the level one Black Mane Gu.
Once this Gu was used, both the hair and the body's hair would all be turned darker and thicker. Within the time of several breaths, a black armor would cover the whole body of an adult Gu Master.
If the Black Mane Gu continued to be enhanced, once it became a level three Gu, it could become the famous Steel Mane Gu.
In addition to the Golden Light Gu and the Black Hair Gu, several Gu Masters of the caravan all chose the Water Spider Gu. One could see a layer of faint blue water clothing that covered these Gu Masters' bodies.
The surface of the water clothing was constantly flowing with water. As the raindrops hit the water clothes, it immediately integrated with the clothes.
As the rain was still falling on the Gu Masters, their water clothing was getting thicker and thicker. After a while, the Gu Master would urge the Water Spider Gu again to push all the excess water out, and the thick water clothing would then be cut off, until it returned to its original size.
As for those mortal warriors, they were going back and forth on the muddy road, and were looking after the goods. Most of them were wearing rain coats made of straw. However, it was very limited as they were all drenched by the rain.
"Damn this weather!" The warriors fiercely cursed inside.
A rainy day had made it harder to walk on the mountain road.
In such weather, even if the warriors were stronger, they were just mortal bodies. With their whole body wet and overworked, it was easy to be infected with a cold. The lightest result would be serious illness. Otherwise, they could catch a disease. If they were seriously ill, they could even be directly abandoned by the Gu Masters.
If they had encountered landslides, beasts, Gu attacks, they also could have lost their lives on the spot.
Although the caravan was in a large scale with many Gu Masters, each time they went on a journey, the number had been significantly decreased. Mortal warriors died the most while there were also casualties with the Gu Masters.
If the caravan had unluckily encountered a large herd of beasts, the whole caravan was likely to be killed.
In fact, other than these natural disasters, there were also man-made disasters.
The mountain strongholds along the way might not have welcomed the arrival of the caravan. Some of them even liked to extort the outsiders.
"We are going, until next year!" Some Gu Masters sitting on the Gus tilted their bodies and waved goodbye to the Ancient Moon mountain stronghold.
At the great entrance to the mountain stronghold, many people had gathered together, and were watching the caravan leaving.
"Please remember to come again next year." The children were reluctant to part, shouting constantly.
The eyes of the adults were much more complicated.
"The future is endless, difficulty may come and I wonder how many familiar faces would come back to the mountain stronghold next year?"
"Whether the business or living in the cottage, life like that isn't easy."
As the caravan was getting farther away, everyone also gradually scattered.
The cheerful and bustling atmosphere of the market had also disappeared without a trace. The original places where the cottages was had also been cleared up, leaving behind a big mess.
The stream of people rushed on to the turf and stampeded on the grass and soil. The rain hit the surface and immediately formed a muddy area with numerous potholes of turbid water.
There was trash left over in those potholes.
Fang Yuan was alone, standing on the secluded hillside, looking at the caravan from afar.
The caravan was like a fat colorful python that crawled along the narrow mountain road. Under the gray curtain of rain, it had slowly crept into the dense forest.
"The weather really does favor us..." Fang Yuan slightly sighed.
He held a yellow umbrella while standing straight in the rain.
He was wearing a common sackcloth. He had a thin figure, with the pale skin of a fifteen-year-old boy, and neatly cut short black hair. The tip of his hair was slightly fluttering under the umbrella along with the wind.
Other people were cursing this damned weather but he was glad that the rain had come in time.
He had tried to clean up the scene after killing Jia JinSheng last night. However, sudden incident always left behind flaws, especially the bloody smell. Because the secret cave wasn't ventilated, it wasn't easy to get rid of the smell.
This heavy rain had washed away everything, as well as cleared up the air. It had significantly decreased the scent. There must be small waterfalls down that secret cave. Hence, the mist from the fresh water would have definitely diluted the air. In a short period of time, it would almost be impossible for it to be exposed.
Of course, the longer the time was, the greater the possibility of it being exposed would be.
In this world, there were a variety of magical Gu, with various reconnaissance methods. Even Fang Yuan could only know a part of it.
The rain hit the yellow umbrella then reverberated ticking sounds. Along the rib of the umbrella were countless of water streams flowing downward, hitting the rock beside Fang Yuan's feet. With the flapping sound, it was splashing raindrops everywhere.
Watching the caravan turning into the corner and completely piercing into the dense forest, Fang Yuan's visage didn't even have a hint of joy, but instead a dignified look.
"Although Jia JinSheng's cultivation base was low and he had a weak aptitude, his position was special. The people of the caravan were too busy, so they didn't notice his disappearance within such a short period. But not for long, someone will have realized it. When that happened, Jia Fu will come back to investigate, and the real challenge will rise."
"The head of the Jia family has deliberately arranged Jia JinSheng and Jia Fu to lead the team. This move has a profound hidden meaning to it. For cultivation base, Jia JinSheng is a world different from that of Jia Fu. As for wisdom, Jia JinSheng is also a few streets apart. The head of the Jia family has had that arrangement to let Jia JinSheng suffer a strike, making him recognize the reality. So that he would live peacefully in the future. At the same time, it is to test Jia Fu's personality. If the fight were too fierce and he didn't even have mercy on his own brother, then how could he become the head of the Jia family?"
"Jia JinSheng has never really understood his father's good intention. Although he is quite clever, it is all on the outside. What a pity! Unfortunately, such a good chessman."
Fang Yuan exclaimed inside. With five hundred years of experience, he had soon understood the meaning of the action, as well as being aware of its deep meaning.
When he saw the complex relationship between Jia JinSheng and Jia Fu in the argument last night, he had vaguely formed a plan in his mind.
In his plan, Jia JinSheng was a suitable chess piece. His cultivation base was low whereas his status was high. Although he was quite clever, his experience was too shallow and that he could completely be manipulated.
This chess piece, once controlled, would have been very useful.
Firstly, he could have used him to establish a stable way to escape. Preparing first in order to ensure whether he would kill anyone for the sake of benefits later on.
Secondly, Fang Yuan would hide behind the curtain. Taking advantages from him and the images on the cliff, he would provoke the battle between the three great mountain strongholds of the Green Thatch Mountain. Triggering the civil war, this would then become a fight which benefited only a third party which was himself.
Thirdly, he could have relied on him to enter the Jia family's household. In the future, when the dispute over property arose in the Jia family, it would have had lead to a major event, which was the Gu Competition. Even better, Fang Yuan could totally seek for the best interests in it.
"My cultivation base is very low right now so I can't do big things. If there is a good pawn that I can freely use, it can help me to do the things that I can't come forward. Not only is it convenient but it can also reduce the risk. If it is exposed later on, I can just directly abandon it, and then freely do whatever I want after."
"The people around here are all smart and loyal to the clan. It won't be easy to manipulate them. Outsiders like Jia JinSheng is easier to talk into it. Unfortunately, I didn't expect that Hua Jiu monk would have left the power of his successor behind."
Hua Jiu the monk was a level five Gu Master. His legacy would certainly be more valuable than that chess piece, Jia JinSheng.
Of course, having both would be the best option. But facing such a treasure, Jia JinSheng was out of control, so he could only give that up.
"Thing doesn't always turn out the way you want." Fang Yuan shook his head while sighing.
The appearance of Hua Jiu the monk's inheritance had smashed Fang Yuan's plan. And after the abnormality appeared on the cliff, the images all disappeared, and was replaced by a line written in blood, suggesting Fang Yuan to break the cliff as another cave would have appeared. Going along that cave, he would find the inheritance.
The bloody words only appeared for a period of several breaths before having disappeared without a trace. The images that the cliff had, had also returned to being a normal mountain wall.
Fang Yuan was busy dealing with the murder scene for the whole night yesterday. Hence, he had no time to break that shadow wall.
"There are lots of consequences because I was rushing to kill Jia JinSheng. It is just that it hasn't been revealed yet. Although I have succeeded in destroying the corpse, there must still be some big trouble. With this, I have to change the plan of how to expose the Wine Gu. Also, temporarily, I can't go to that secret cave. For the mean time, I will have to stay within the mountain stronghold, and avoid myself from being investigated."
Fang Yuan turned around, with his umbrella opened, and he headed towards the mountain stronghold under the rain.
"It's still fine anyway. Lately, I have consumed a great amount of Primeval Stones to refine into Intermediate Primeval Essence. Using the Intermediate Primeval Essence to nourish the vain aperture, I can soon break through the Intermediate stage. When I reach that stage, my capacity could be doubled. It would be more certain if I were to accept Hua Jiu the monk's inheritance then."
The inheritance of the Demon Way wasn't as gentle as that of a righteous daoism master. Usually, there would be a thrilling test and if one didn't pass the test, they would often pay with their life as the price.
"Things are unpredictable. However, it is only interesting if it is unpredictable." Fang Yuan beamed a cold smile on the corner of his mouth.
The heavy rain falling on the Green Thatch Mountain seemed to be endless. The whole area was covered with a depressing gray green color.
A gust of wind blown by, making the raindrops tilt, hitting Fang Yuan by his shoulders, bringing a chilly sensation over.
He thought of Jia JinSheng again.
Sighing inside, "Jia JinSheng, in fact, I ... did not want to kill you."
Unfortunately, such a good pawn…