Fang Yuan jumped up. He experienced an unfamiliar feeling. He didn't know what to call it; a mix of fear, guilt, or perhaps regret… He couldn't remember what he had seen, but he had clearly gone through things beyond his imagination.
The sky was as red as blood; and the clouds, seemingly shattered into a thousand pieces, continuously rushed eastward. The ground was suffocated by a flood of blood. As far as the eye could see, there was no vegetation. In that desolate wasteland, only the color red reigned.
In the far distance, a mountain of ruby glowed. Its red color gave off a bad feeling. Fang Yuan stood up. The ground was covered with corpses as far as the eye could see.
"Is this hell?"
But it wasn't hell. Fang Yuan was reliving the memories of someone who had died years ago. How did this happen? What he feared had finally come to pass. Besides the Healing Gu, the other Gu had also activated, and now Fang Yuan's consciousness was trapped in the world of the Eternal Legacy Gu.
A one-armed man sat on a polished stone slab. His clothes were torn and stained red. With his one hand, he held the hilt of a black sword. His hair was gray, and his pale face resembled that of a ghost.
A breeze blew, spreading the smell of blood everywhere. The man's hair fluttered like a war banner. He remained motionless like an ice statue. Fang Yuan thought he was dead, but soon realized he shouldn't judge by appearances.
"It's time again," the man said in a lifeless tone, opening his eyes.
The sky was engulfed in a blinding light. The fabric of the sky tore apart, revealing a strange rift.
The man stood up. He drew his sword, emitting a terrifying aura. As his aura flared wildly, he laughed loudly.
"More!!! Entertain me more!!!"
Fang Yuan took a step back. He was scared. Although the man showed no sign of noticing him, Fang Yuan didn't want to take any chances.
The first monsters emerged from the rift. They moved across the ground like a flood, destroying everything in their path.
The man's aura grew wilder. An undeniable madness was visible in his eyes. Now Fang Yuan didn't know which side the real monster was on. The man had surpassed human limitations. No, he had even gone beyond the strongest cultivators. He was more powerful than anyone Fang Yuan had ever seen.
Yet Fang Yuan's surprise was far from over. The man looked over his shoulder at Fang Yuan and said, "Watch closely…"
Immediately, his aura intensified tenfold. This was absolute madness. He had the power of hundreds. He raised his sword. The ground beneath him shattered. Even the dry wasteland couldn't withstand the magnitude of that deadly technique.
"Absolute power!"
With a horizontal slash, he decapitated all the monsters. A wave of blood surged across the ground, drowning everything. The mysterious rift closed, and the man sat back on the polished stone slab.
"Why are you stunned? Is a simple strike that mesmerizing?!"
Fang Yuan reluctantly shook his head.
"That's right, it should be. It's just a simple strike that could have prevented many things."
He swallowed his words, looking at the sharp blade of his sword with regret.
Fang Yuan thought to himself, "I understand, this feeling is… loneliness."
Loneliness was maddening. No one chose to be in the company of loneliness. Loneliness was like an uninvited guest, not a choice but a compulsion.
After the destruction of Tian Village, Fang Yuan was alone. He and Xiao had traveled a long way together. Yet a narrow bridge took him back to the past. When he was alone or closed his eyes, all the images repeated in his mind. It was an endless cycle of emptiness and loneliness.
"Where is this place?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Where it all began. The world has always been a terrible place, full of people killing each other for money, people slaughtering each other for beliefs, and people killing everyone for personal greed…"
He plunged his sword into the ground.
"I went through hard times, tasted betrayal, soared, smiled, fell… and fell again."
There was a deep regret in his voice.
Fang Yuan stood at a distance from the man.
"Can I ask your name? What have you been through? Why did you end up here?"
"I died years ago. My body no longer exists. This world has erased my traces under the dust of memories. Now I'm an old story that children listen to before bed," the man sighed and said.
Fang Yuan became curious. He had obtained a powerful legacy. Suddenly, he remembered the legend of His Excellency Zhu Fan.
"I have many titles, but my most famous title is…"
He suddenly fell silent.
"Why did you stop?!!" Fang Yuan said excitedly.
"I sensed a killing intent from the outside world. You must return immediately!"
But Fang Yuan had no combat power. He wanted to rescue Xiao without attracting attention and escape. But the killing intent indicated that his life was in danger.
"Can you defend yourself?" the man asked.
Fang Yuan remained silent.
"If you don't have the power to defend yourself, you must seek help. There are times when your own strength isn't enough; you must take risks and be optimistic about the future."
Fang Yuan looked at the man in amazement, who seemed like the reincarnation of the God of War. With a somber face and lifeless eyes, he watched the ruby mountain with his sword in hand. But why would such a man, who had the aura of a deity, care about his safety? How had he met this person in the first place? He still didn't know he was inside the Eternal Legacy Gu; if he did, many ambiguities would be resolved. However, he also didn't know that he had encountered the greatest legend in history in Tian Village and even mocked him. If he understood the immense power of the legacy Gu, wouldn't it keep him awake at night? Wouldn't he realize who he had been messing with? So perhaps not knowing was a blessing in disguise.
But for now, he couldn't convince himself. However, the unfolding events limited his choices significantly. He was well aware of the fact that he was trapped in a battlefield and knew that the man was unaware of the conflicts.
Although he quickly realized the lurking danger. So maybe he could help him avoid the danger.
"Why do you want to help me?"
"Because I want to escape this nightmare, I want to experience the world. I am just a will. I have no soul to possess your body… I'm just a relic from the past that can help you become stronger," the man replied.
This was true. Powerful people left legacies after their deaths; beliefs, wills, cultivation paths, and more.
Although Fang Yuan was still not convinced. Maybe he could avoid this problem on his own. He didn't trust the beliefs of the past. The past couldn't be applied to the present; past answers were for past problems. But if a will from the past supported him, with its power, many trivial problems could be solved.
The man sat very calmly. It seemed Fang Yuan's answer didn't matter to him. The only important thing was to slaughter the demons. His gaze was fixed on the sharp blade, and his silence promised a bright future.
Fang Yuan had seen the power of the demonic cultivator. If he wanted, he could kill him instantly. Without power, escaping from the flying people was sheer folly. What if Xiao was in danger? Or if his only choice was to sacrifice the fox? Fang Yuan gritted his teeth. He didn't want to be a burden on others. Whether in the wheat field or the frozen plain, he was the one being saved. He wasn't a savior. Fang Yuan clenched his fist and remembered the power of that will.
"Just one strike…"
He unconsciously said this.
"That's right, just one strike is enough to destroy all your enemies…" the man smiled and said.
Fang Yuan was still hesitant. What would happen if he accepted someone else's will and walked their path? Could he still claim to be free? Did he even have his own will, or would he submit to another's will? How did accepting another's will even work?
But in that situation, his hands were tied. Neither had the upper hand. Fang Yuan, reasoning that he could suppress the will or at least do so in the future, accepted the offer. He opened his heart to the crimson world.