The rain poured down heavily.
In the sky, dark clouds covered the top, and the distant mountains stretched continuously, melting into a dark ink color.
The curtain of rain intertwined heaven and earth together.
Crack!
The sky suddenly brightened, a bolt of lightning tearing through the sky like a silver snake, then abruptly disappearing from sight.
Summer was approaching, and this heavy rain of late spring seemed to carry a trace of summer's intensity.
On Qing Mao Mountain, large swathes of emerald spear bamboo stood tall and proudly upright, fighting against the wind and rain. The bamboo bodies remained as straight as spears, their tips pointing directly at the firmament.
In the Gu Yue village, countless tall stilt houses stood in row upon row, lowering their heads to endure the washing of the heavy rain. Outside the village, the caravan had already set off again.
"The rain is heavy, watch the road surface."
"Don't fall behind, Gu Masters lead your Gu worms well, especially the Fat Beetles, don't let them get stuck on the mountain path!"
"You mortal martial artists, keep your eyes peeled and look after the goods. If a single piece is lost, we will hold you accountable!"
Shouts rose and fell continuously within the caravan.
After staying in the Gu Yue village for three days, this caravan was leaving this place, following the mountain path of Qing Mao Mountain heading towards their next destination.
The heavy rain washed the world. The roads around the village were paved with cobblestones, which was somewhat better. But five hundred meters out, it turned into a muddy and narrow mountain path.
The proud ostrich-chickens currently lowered their heads; their bright multicolored feathers were soaked by the rainwater, sticking together in patches, truly becoming drowned chickens.
The Fat Beetles twisted their bulky bodies, advancing extremely slowly. The rainwater hit their black leather armor, forming streams that slid down onto the ground on both sides.
The furry large mountain spiders were also soaked, their dark distinct hair sticking together.
Instead, those Toad Gu cried out happily, carrying goods and Gu Masters as they hopped forward on the mountain.
There were also Winged Snakes, having already folded their wings. Their thick snake bodies shuttled and slithered cheerfully through the muddy water.
To protect the goods and prevent them from being soaked by the rain, the Gu Masters at this time also respectively displayed their abilities.
Standing in the middle portion of the bodies of several massive and bloated Fat Beetles were Gu Masters. They held their hands high, and floating one inch above their palms was a One Breath Golden Light Worm.
Bronze primeval essence rose like water vapor, pouring into the bodies of the One Breath Golden Light Worms. The entire bodies of the Gu worms flashed with light like golden beans, using this as the center to prop up a massive pale golden energy shield.
The hemispherical energy shield's coverage was quite large; besides completely covering a Fat Beetle, there was still more than enough space.
And when raindrops smashed onto the energy shield, they were all bounced away, just like hitting an umbrella.
However, this kind of One Breath Golden Light Worm continuously consumed primeval essence. After a long time, Rank one Gu Masters could not handle it.
Sure enough, not long after, a Gu Master shouted: "I can't hold on, my primeval essence is almost depleted. Who will take over for me?"
"I'll do it!" Almost immediately, a Gu Master rushed over and took his place.
Some Gu Masters pulling wooden carts or riding large mountain spiders activated the Green Silk Gu within their bodies.
Under the power of the Green Silk Gu, the Gu Masters' hair grew wildly.
A normal person's hair had at least a hundred thousand strands. Every single one of the hundred thousand strands of hair lengthened to five or six meters. They entangled and intertwined with each other, wrapping up the Gu Master's body as well as the mount Gu beneath them, forming a temporary, completely waterproof black hair straw rain cape.
The Green Silk Gu was a Rank one Gu worm, often used by Gu Masters for defense against strikes. When used, it consumed thirty percent of bronze primeval essence all at once, unlike the One Breath Golden Light Worm which required a continuous output of primeval essence.
If this Green Silk Gu was merged and refined with a Rank one Black Boar Gu, it would advance into a Rank two Black Mane Gu.
When the Black Mane Gu was activated, it wasn't just the hair; the body hair all over the body would become thick and black. Within a few breaths, it would grow into a patch of black mane armor on the Gu Master's body.
If the Black Mane Gu continued to advance, it could become the famous Steel Mane Gu among Rank three Gu worms.
Besides the One Breath Golden Light Worm and Green Silk Gu, many Gu Masters in the caravan chose the Water Spider Gu. It could be seen that these Gu Masters' bodies were covered in a thin, pale blue layer of water clothing.
On the surface of the water clothing, water continuously flowed and circulated. When raindrops hit the water clothing, they immediately merged into one with it.
As the Gu Masters continuously got rained on, the water clothing on their bodies grew thicker and thicker. Every once in a while, the Gu Masters had to activate the Water Spider Gu to expel the excess moisture in the water clothing. At this time, the thick water clothing would reduce back to its original thin layer.
As for those mortal martial artists, they were rushing back and forth on the muddy road, looking after the goods. Most of them wore straw rain capes, but in the chaotic hurry, the rain-shielding effect of the straw capes was very limited, and they were all thoroughly soaked by the rain.
"This damn weather!" The martial artists all cursed ruthlessly in their hearts.
On rainy days, the mountain roads were even harder to travel.
In this kind of weather, no matter how robust a martial artist was, they were ultimately still mortal bodies. Being completely soaked and overly fatigued, they were extremely prone to catching a cold. A severe illness was the light outcome; they might directly contract aftereffects, and those fiercely ill might even be directly abandoned by the Gu Masters on the road.
If they encountered cave-ins or landslides on the mountain path, or suffered attacks from wild beasts and Gu worms, it was even more possible to directly lose their lives.
Although the caravan had a massive scale and many Gu Masters, every time they traveled for trade, there would be a large number of casualties. The mortal martial artists died the most, and Gu Masters would also have casualties and deaths.
If the caravan unfortunately encountered a large-scale beast group migration, the annihilation of the entire group was also possible.
In fact, besides these natural disasters, there were also human-made calamities.
The villages along the way did not necessarily all welcome the arrival of the caravan. Some villages simply liked to rob outsiders.
"Leaving now, see you next year!" Some Gu Masters sat on Gu worms, leaned their bodies sideways, and waved goodbye to the Gu Yue village.
At the main gate outside the village, quite a few people gathered together, watching the caravan leave.
"You must come back again next year!" The children shouted with reluctance to part.
The adults' gazes were much more complex.
"The future is uncertain, and the ways of the world are difficult. Of those who can come to the village next year, I wonder how many familiar faces will be left?"
"Whether traveling for trade or living in the village, making a living is not easy."
The caravan traveled further and further away, and the crowd gradually dispersed.
The cheerful and lively market atmosphere also vanished without a trace along with it. The places where tents were originally pitched and street stalls set up were left with a massive scene of a mess.
The turf had been trampled by the endless stream of crowds, exposing grass roots and dirt. As the rainwater hit it, it immediately formed mud, along with countless uneven puddles of turbid accumulated water.
Additionally, quite a bit of domestic garbage was left behind.
Fang Yuan stood entirely alone on a secluded hillside, gazing at the caravan from afar.
The caravan was like a fat, colorful python, slowly burrowing into the dense mountain forest along the narrow mountain path under the gray, heavy rain.
"The heavens are truly accommodating…" Fang Yuan sighed lightly.
Holding an oiled paper umbrella, he stood quietly in the rain.
He wore the most ordinary linen clothes, his body thin, his skin bearing the kind of pallor of a fifteen-year-old youth, with neat and clean short black hair. The tips of his hair trembled slightly in the wind under the umbrella.
While others cursed this damn weather, he lamented that this rain came just in time.
He had killed Jia Jinsheng last night and dealt with the scene, but the incident occurred suddenly, and there were always some improper places. Especially the smell of blood; because the secret cave lacked ventilation, it was not easy to dissipate.
Once this heavy rain fell, washing heaven and earth and cleansing the air, it greatly weakened detection methods relying on scent. There was bound to be a small waterfall dropping down by the stone crevice again. Over a short period of time, after the dilution of the fresh water vapor, it was almost impossible to be exposed.
Of course, the longer the time, the greater the possibility of exposure.
In this world, various marvelous Gu worms existed, and investigation methods were rich and colorful. Even Fang Yuan only knew a portion of them.
The rainwater hit the surface of the oiled umbrella, making a pitter-patter sound. Then, following the umbrella ribs, streams of water hung down, hitting the bluestone beneath Fang Yuan's feet, splashing up little flowers of water with smacks.
Watching the caravan turn the corner and completely drill into the dense mountain forest, Fang Yuan did not have a trace of joy. Instead, his gaze was somewhat solemn.
"Although Jia Jinsheng's cultivation was weak and his aptitude low, his status was special. Everyone in the caravan was overwhelmingly busy, so his disappearance wasn't noticed within a short period of time. But it won't be long before someone definitely realizes it. When that time comes, Jia Fu will inevitably return to investigate, and the true challenge will arrive."
"The Jia family head purposefully arranged for Jia Jinsheng and Jia Fu to jointly lead the caravan; this move held profound meaning. In terms of cultivation, Jia Jinsheng had a difference like heaven and earth compared to Jia Fu. In terms of intellect, the former was thrown several streets behind. By making such an arrangement, the Jia family head intended for Jia Jinsheng to suffer a blow, forcing him to clearly recognize reality and live his life peacefully and dutifully in the future. At the same time, he was also testing Jia Fu's temperament. If his blow was too heavy and he could not even tolerate his own brother, how could the Jia family clan leader position be given to him?"
"Jia Jinsheng never truly understood his father's painstaking, well-meaning intentions. Although he had some cleverness, unfortunately he only practiced the outer skin, what a true pity. A pity for such a good chess piece."
Fang Yuan sighed secretly in his heart. Relying on five hundred years of experience, he had long seen through the superficial appearance and perceived the deep essence of this matter.
When he saw the complex relationship between Jia Jinsheng and Jia Fu during that dispute last night, a vague plan was generated in his heart on the spot.
In this plan of his, Jia Jinsheng was a very suitable chess piece. His cultivation was weak, his status was very high, and although he had some petty cleverness, his life experience was too shallow, allowing him to be completely gripped in the palms.
Once this chess piece was controlled, it would be extremely useful.
Firstly, a stable stolen goods disposal channel could be established upon him, preparing for future murder and treasure snatching.
Secondly, Fang Yuan could hide behind the scenes, utilizing him and the shadow wall to sow discord among the three major villages on Qing Mao Mountain, triggering a civil war, while he himself reaped the fisherman's profit.
Thirdly, relying on him to infiltrate the Jia family's interior. The future Jia family property dispute that triggers the Gu battling tournament was a major event. There were many benefits, and Fang Yuan could completely seek out the maximum benefit from within it.
"My current cultivation is too low, bounding my hands and feet when doing things. If I have a chess piece to use for myself, I can do some things that I cannot step forward to do. Not only is it convenient, but the risks are also greatly lowered. If it is exposed in the future, just directly abandon this chess piece, and I remain unfettered."
"The people around know every detail of my background and are loyal to the family, not easy to manipulate. Only an outsider like Jia Jinsheng can more conveniently break the situation. Such a pity; I didn't expect the Flower Wine Monk to actually leave behind a strength inheritance."
The Flower Wine Monk was a Rank five Gu Master; his inheritance was naturally more precious than the chess piece that was Jia Jinsheng.
Of course, if he could have both, that would naturally be best. But faced with such a heavy treasure, Jia Jinsheng was already out of control, so he could only be discarded.
"Looking at worldly affairs, eight or nine out of ten do not go as one wishes." Fang Yuan shook his head and sighed.
The appearance of the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance broke Fang Yuan's original plan. After the anomaly on the shadow wall, the previous footage completely vanished, and only a line of blood-red text appeared, hinting to Fang Yuan that smashing the shadow wall would reveal an entrance. By walking down the entrance, one could obtain the strength inheritance.
The words of blood only appeared for the time of a few breaths before disappearing from sight. The shadow wall also restored into the most ordinary mountain wall.
Fang Yuan had been busy the whole night yesterday dealing with the murder scene, completely lacking the time to smash the shadow wall.
"Killing Jia Jinsheng in a rush has quite a few aftereffects, it's just that they temporarily haven't shown themselves. Although I successfully destroyed the corpse and erased the traces, there is definitely another patch of major trouble to come. In this way, the method of exposing the Liquor worm needs to be modified. Also, the stone crevice secret cave shouldn't be visited temporarily. In the near future, I have to shrink back into the village to guard against the upcoming investigation."
Fang Yuan turned around, holding his umbrella, and walked towards the village in the rain.
"But this is fine too. Recently, I have significantly consumed primeval stones, refining middle stage primeval essence. Using middle stage primeval essence to warm and nourish the aperture, I can break through to the middle stage in the near future. Once at the middle stage, my strength can double. When that time comes to inherit the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance, I will also have more assurance."
The inheritances of demonic path members were not as gentle as those of righteous path figures; they usually carried thrillingly dangerous tests. If the test was not passed, what was paid was often the price of one's life.
"Worldly affairs are hard to predict, but it is precisely because of this that they appear interesting." A trace of a cold sneer played on Fang Yuan's lips.
Under the heavy rain, the green mountains stretched endlessly, glowing with a gray-tinged green, appearing oppressive and heavy.
A gust of wind blew over, slanting the raindrops, which hit Fang Yuan's shoulder, bringing a wave of chilliness.
He thought of Jia Jinsheng again.
A sigh formulated in his heart: "Jia Jinsheng, I actually… didn't want to kill you."
A pity for a good chess piece.