(AN : Suggest to read Ch 20-23 properly as there have been some clues hidden there. Also longest and most complicated chapter yet with 3300+ words deeply interconnected with the original plot. Do give it a careful read.)
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In the aftermath of wolf tide, Gu Yue clan had lost many Rank 1 and Rank 2 Gu Masters
Clan head Gu Yue Bo, other elders of the Gu Yue clan,Gu Yue Mo Bei in place of Gu Yue Mo Chen who was still in coma, and Jia clan's successor Jia Fu were all sitting around in Elders Hall.
Earlier, Mo Yan had already retrieved Mo Bei from the underground place. She was shocked to see that Mo Bei had already advanced to Rank 1 peak stage in only a few days.
When she informed Mo Bei about the situation, Mo Bei was feeling bitter-sweet. He felt better that wolf tide had been repelled and the lightning wolf crown was killed. This meant that the tide which was to happen next year would not take place. However, he felt bitter at the fact that his grandpa went into coma to save the Gu Yue clan head while fighting the wolf.
Both went to meet clan head where Gu Yue Mo Bei released his Rank 1 peak stage aura. The clan head as well as other elders were shocked. Even the A grade talent Fang Zheng had only just advanced to Rank 1 advanced stage. It had not even been 6 months from the awakening ceremony.
Clan head Gu Yue Bo immediately wanted to take Mo Bei under his faction but he held back at the thought of Mo Family opposition since Mo Bei was the sole successor.
"Reporting to sir clan head, I have already advanced to Rank 1 peak stage, please allow me to represent Mo faction in the meeting with Jia family's elder Jia Fu.", Mo Bei spoke out his thoughts.
Gu Yue Bo went forward and checked his aperture. He found out that Mo Bei had Liquor worm, Black Boar Gu, Moonlight Gu and Little Light Gu. Mo Bei had already hidden the Jade Skin Gu at his home.
Gu Yue Bo already knew about the fact that Mo Bei had found Liquor worm from the gambling rocks, and Moonlight Gu and Little Light Gu were taken by him from the clan. He was however shocked to see Black Boar Gu. It was an expensive gu worm which sold for over 600 primeval stones in the market.
Gu Yue Bo scrutinized Mo Bei and spoke after some thought, "Very well, you may represent the Mo Faction." Gu Yue Mo Chen had helped him during the battlefield and he owed him a favor. That's why he didn't mind Mo Bei representing the Mo Faction.
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At the elders Hall.
After coming to know of the detailed situation after his arrival to Gu Yue clan, Jia Fu broke the silence after thinking for a few minutes, "I deeply apologize for the loss and destruction caused by the wolf tide and also sincerely thank brother Gu Yue for saving my life. I, Jia Fu, in the name of Jia clan swear to properly compensate your Gu Yue clan members who have suffered due to this wolf tide. Here's the Rank 3 Silk Cover gu as my sincerity."
Gu Yue Bo's and other elders eyes lit up when they saw this Gu worm. It was a rare top quality defensive type gu worm when activated would form a layer of silk coloured covering on the gu masters body. It was so tough that it could even take on attacks of rank 4 level. Gu Yue Bo signed in relief since it was clear that Jia Fu had the intention to compensate. He had earlier inspected Jia Fu's aperture when he was unconscious and knew that Jia Fu did not have any other Rank 3 gu as good as this one. If the Jia family's successor and Rank 4 gu master Jia Fu wanted to avoid this compensation and blame Gu Yue clan's luck for the wolf tide, there was not much Gu Yue Bo or other elders could do.
"Mo Bei, once you advance to Rank 3 and take elders position in Gu Yue clan, I will pass on this Gu worm to you. This is the favor I owe to the Gu Yue Mo Chen.", Gu Yue Bo faced Mo Bei and spoke. After that he turned his face towards Jia Fu and asked solemnly,
"Brother Jia Fu, what was the cause behind such a sudden wolf attack on our clan? The Lightning Crown Wolf seemed to have held a grudge against you."
Jia Fu's face darkened a bit and the smile on his face was replaced by gloom.
He finally answered, "It all started with the Jia Jin Sheng going missing from the caravan."
"We had left from here about 3 months ago. After a month, we finally realized that Jia Jin Sheng was not within the caravan. Some of the mortals and Gu masters travelling along with us in the caravan had seen Jia Jin Sheng left the caravan along with one another gu master shortly after our departure from the Gu Yue village."
"I let the caravan continue to it's destination to Jia Clan while taking some gu masters along with me in search of Jia Jin Sheng towards the place and direction that mortal pointed out."
"I couldn't leave behind Jia Jin Sheng since if anything happened to him, then I would face serious consequences in the Jia family successor competition. I reached around the place where the Jia Jin Sheng had supposedly gone to after another 1 month using transportation path gu worms."
Jia Fu continued his story while Gu Yue Bo and elders were listening carefully. Everyone wanted to know what exactly happened.
"After searching around a bit, we started encountering wolves more and more. It made us realize that there might be a wolf den somewhere near us. Everyone had the same thought - Jia Jin Sheng and that unlucky gu master must have been eaten by the hungry wolves."
"So we decided to exterminate this Wolf den to take revenge for him. This would be my show of sincerity towards my brother. We followed the trails left behind by wolves and entered the wolf den without being detected by using stealth type gu worms. When we entered, we saw a very shocking scene. It was our first time seeing that."
Everyone was excited since there were few scenes which even Rank 4 Jia Fu had not seen. Meanwhile Mo Bei was making sense of every clues that he had received.
"There was a ceremony going on where wolves were standing in a circle. It was a type of formation which even I could not understand. In the middle of the formation were the Lightning Crown wolf and... "
"and... "
Jia Fu's expression turned very solemn. He looked like he was about to throw up. After a while, he spoke again.
"and there were two mutilated corpses in front of them. Their eyes, ears, nose and many other parts of the body were pulled out forcibly and kept to their sides. It looked like a part of the ritual."
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Saying so, Jia Fu pulled out a gu worm and activated it using his primeval essense. As soon as it was activated, a scene was shown on the wall in the elders Hall. All the elders as well as Mo Bei gasped for breath in shock. Even relatively calm Gu Yue Bo was shocked inside.
Mo Bei felt like vomiting but he managed to control himself. He had seen such scenes in horror movies back on earth. After a while, he managed to identify the other person. He was a gu master of Gu Yue clan!
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Fang Yuan's Previous Life.
Some months after the awakening ceremony.
Fang Yuan was currently in a very desperate situation. He was revealed to have only C-grade talent while his younger brother Fang Zheng revealed A-grade talent. He had only reached Rank 1 middle stage while his brother was already Rank 1 advanced stage and pushing for peak stage.
Fang Zheng frequently bullied Fang Yuan by ignoring him when in need or by passing mocking gestures and behaving like he is superior.
Fang Yuan hated it but knew his situation well. He knew the importance of inheritance left behind by his parents and hence did not act overboard. He knew that his uncle and aunt wanted to snatch the inheritance but he was helpless in preventing it. Becoming a middle stage was also very difficult for him since his uncle had tried every means to stop him from advancing smoothly.
Currently Fang Yuan was staying in the academy dormitory.
During this time, a piece of news was widespread amongst the students and Gu Yue clan members. A D-grade talent Rank 1 gu master had found Liquor worm in the bamboo forest behind the Qing Mao Mountain which led him to the Flower Wine Monk's Inheritance and his life suddenly turned around. He got Liquor worm, better cultivation resources and even the girl he loved for a while proposed him. Everyone considered him lucky.
"Luck, huh. Even a D-grade gu master can achieve things with inheritance. Even if my life is not very smooth, if I can find such inheritances, I also have the chance to achieve the impossible. There's hope only if there's life. Someday I will definitely achieve immortality and roam the world as I please. That's possible in this world unlike Earth.", Fang Yuan eyes shined as his fighting spirit restored and he clenched his fist in excitement. He did not know the path he was going to walk but that did not deter him. Also, this incident of Flower Wine Monk's inheritance was deeply ingrained in his mind as he smiled innocently.
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Fang Yuan's life in the novel after experiencing 500 years.
Some days after the awakening ceremony.
Fang Yuan vaguely remembered the incident about Flower Wine Monk's Inheritance from 500 years ago. However, the innocence in his eyes had vanished and replacing it was deep black expressionless eyes hiding many mysteries.
He searched for the liquor worm in the bamboo forest based on his vague memories. He instinctively found some problems with what he had heard about this inheritance. The D-grade gu master had easily given up on inheritance in his past life and gave it to the clan. In reality, no one would easily give up on such inheritance.
After a week, he found Liquor worm and got the Flower Wine Monk's Inheritance. He later on found videos there which could threaten the existence of Gu Yue village if found out by other 2 clans nearby.
In this life due to butterfly effect caused by Fang Yuan, the D-grade Gu master did not stumble into Liquor worm and hence did not find the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance.
This D-grade gu master was named Gu Yue Jiao Fan.
Jiao Fan knew he did not have a good future since he was only a D-grade talent and might not even reach Rank 2 in his whole life. He was a ambitious person and wanted to become the clan head of gu Yue clan. However, everything shattered apart on the day of his awakening ceremony. Even the girl he loved started avoiding him. Everyone considered him weak and he was not valued. He tried hard to cultivate but his cultivation was stagnant, not improving despite using lots of cultivation resources.
He had a treasure map in his hand which he had found in a very secret place near the Qing Mao Mountain. It had a place marked which was about a 10-15 days journey from his home. He knew he did not have the strength to survive that far and hence he wanted to find someone to go along with.
When the caravan came, he started looking for opportunities to find someone in the caravan and to leave alongside him when the caravan left. He found that Jia Jin Sheng was the best candidate since the Jia family's sons were competing for the position of successor. Jia Jin Shing might accept his offer to improve his position in the successor competition.
Jiao Fan was not worried that Jia Jin Sheng would betray him since both were Rank 1 gu masters of the D-grade talent.
However, when the caravan departed, he could not find Jia Jin Sheng anywhere. Hence, he gave up on his plans to leave with the caravan for the search of treasure for now.
No one knew currently that Fang Yuan had already killed Jia Jin Sheng in the Flower Wine Monk's Inheritance.
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Current Lifetime after MC reincarnated into Mo Bei.
Since Mo Bei took the liquor worm and snatched the inheritance, Fang Yuan naturally did not find it.
This led to Jia Jin Sheng surviving the encounter with Fang Yuan and also leaving the Gu Yue clan with Jiao Fan. This led to them leaving the caravan after some days towards the direction of the treasure. Jia Jin Sheng was unhappy with Jia Fu and wanted to increase his contributions and cultivation level and hence he took up the risk after considering all the factors and hearing full story about Jiao Fan's encounter.
When they reached that place, they realized it was a trap. The wolves surrounded them and both of them easily died under lightning shock from the Lightning crown wolf.
After a few days, a person came from the background. He was a Rank 5 gu master Lord Sky Crane. Every year, he would come to southern border for a few days to search for his brother. This place was near to the place where he and his brother once found Blood Sea Ancestor's True Inheritance. His brother had snatched this inheritance from him.
[ Lord Sky Crane came from the Central Continent's Immortal Crane Sect. Hundreds of years ago, he has senior brother named First Gen Gu Yue, they were senior and junior brothers, closer than real brothers, killing many demonic path Gu Masters and always working together, having perfect synergy with each other. Back then their name were called the Righteous Twin Cranes. In one of their attempts in chasing after demonic path Gu Masters, they found an inheritance ground. This inheritance was one of the many set up by the Blood Sea Ancestor. But if it was an normal inheritance, so be it, they would not have turned on each other. However, this inheritance ground's treasure was beyond precious, it could allow one to rise to the heavens and become an Gu Immortal from a Mortal Gu Master. Thus, everything change when Lord Sky Crane and First Gen Gu Yue encountered Blood Sea Ancestor's true inheritance. Lord Sky Crane was quicker and obtained the Blood Sea Ancestor's true inheritance, but First Gen Gu Yue was corrupted by greed, First Gen Gu Yue schemed against Lord Sky Crane and stole the Gu Worms. Then First Gen Gu Yue attempted to kill Lord Sky Crane, but First Gen Gu Yue did not succeed, Lord Sky Crane managed to escape. Seeing that the matter was exposed, First Gen Gu Yue could only hide his name and escape everywhere, preventing himself from getting found by his former sect, Immortal Crane Sect. Afterwards, Lord Sky Crane searches for First Gen Gu Yue every year, but he unable to find him, thus his hatred was filled. Meanwhile the Immortal Crane Sect was very interested in the Blood Sea Ancestor's true inheritance, thus with their help, Lord Sky Crane used the Life-Retaining Jade Burial Gu, falling into a deep sleep and preserving his last bit of life. So that one day he will use his last remaining life and will kill his senior brother with his own hands. ]
Every year, he would awaken and roam the southern border to search for his brother. He would also conduct experiments in the Southern Border. The current lightning crown wolf was one of his experiments. Lord Sky Crane wanted to advance it to Rank 5.
He set up the body parts and controlled the other wolves to set up a formation. This would help the Lightning crown wolf to breakthrough to the Rank 5 level. The ritual also needed 2 human bodies and it's different parts along with wild Rank 4 Lightning Thunder gu on Lightning crown wolf's body. Lord Sky Crane made all the arrangements and left the southern border to Central continent to use the Life-Retaining Jade Burial Gu to go into sleep again. He wanted to use the Lightning crown wolf to attack the nearby villages when he woke up next year to gain some resources and find clues about First gen Gu Yue.
After another few days, Jia Fu and his men reached there and saw the scene. Even though he did not recognize the formation, he could feel that the lightning crown wolf was evolving to Rank 5 myriad beast due to the the ritual. He instinctively knew that if the wolf evolved to Rank 5, he and his men would be wiped out.
They saw a Rank 4 Gu worm floating above Lightning crown wolf. It was the Rank 4 Lightning Thunder gu. It was providing continuous lightning to the wolf and the lightning crown wolf was continuously evolving at a rate which could be seen by the naked eye.
Jia Fu didn't wait and directly activated Rank 4 Fire Storm Gu and used the Rank 4 killer move Blazing fire. The Lightning Thunder Gu sensed danger and flew up with lightning speed and avoided the attack. However, Jia Fu had already prepared for it and caught the Lightning Thunder gu within his fire net. He then partially refined it and stored it in his aperture.
The ritual had ended abruptly due to lightning thunder gu being taken away and the formation burnt by the Blazing Fire killer move. The lightning crown wolf had suffered a heavy backlash but currently it was not mindful of his condition. The killer move Blazing fire had also burnt to death all his direct descendants who ahd surrounded it during the ritual. Lightning crown wolf was feeling anger and despair at the moment.
It saw the one who killed his descendants, stole his gu, and also destroyed it's future cultivation road by halting his Rank 5 advancement midway with utmost anger. The lightning crown wolf, despite being injured heavily due to backlash, used it's full power and started attacking Jia Fu and his men.
Jia Fu and his men at this point had already started escaping. However, the lightning crown wolf was very powerful and even Rank 3 gu masters were easily ripped to shred. Jia Fu only managed to survive with the help of his Rank 3 Silk Cover Gu along with other defensive measures. The lightning crown wolf's attack were very powerful but also such strength was short lived. It had exhausted all it's strength and knew that if it went further like this, it might lose it's life instead of killing Jia Fu. The lightning crown wolf plopped on the ground and started healing it's injuries while giving other wolves the order to halt Jia Fu as long as possible.
It followed Jia Fu and found that he hid in a clan. It decided to exterminate the whole clan as revenge. After recovering, he then led it's full force to attack Gu Yue Village. However, fate was set and it ended up losing it's life unable to oppose the fate and get it's revenge.
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As for the situation in Fang Yuan's previous life in the novel, Jiao Fan had the treasure map but he had already received lots of benefits due to Flower Wine Monk's inheritance. He was still busy absorbing the benefits when the caravan left and also did not want to risk his life by going outside when he had achieved this much. He left the treasure for sometime in the future. This led to the above events not happening.
Finally, it was Fang Yuan and Mo Bei who defied the set fate by taking up the Flower Wine Monk's inheritance which led to Jia Jin Sheng death, who was not supposed to die originally.