The cultivation master

In the dark depths of the earth, a body floated on an underground water table. With closed eyes, it moved along with the flow of the water. It left a faint glowing trail behind, like a comet spreading its white cloak over the darkness of the world.

Time passed in the darkness, light came and went, but in the dark heart of the earth, there was no sign of light. Fang Yuan sighed and stared at the glowing stones. As his torn body slowly healed and a hard shell covered his white bones, he gathered his thoughts.

Suddenly, a voice rose from his heart, addressing him: "Stranger, who are you?"

Fang Yuan was not surprised. In his lifetime, he had encountered many Gu Masters. He knew he would eventually face this Gu as well.

"I am Fang Yuan…" he replied.

But the self Gu interrupted: "No! You are not Fang Yuan, you are not even alive… you are not a spirit… you… you are a will left from a forgotten era!"

Bai Mo was taken aback and smiled: "Maybe, but now I am Fang Yuan!"

"Although Fang Yuan is not dead and his soul is trapped in the Dao realm, possessing something does not give you ownership of it!" the self Gu responded.

"It's true that I possessed him, but in our chaotic world, power triumphs over morality… if I have power, what difference does it make whether I am truly Fang Yuan or not? Isn't reality just a powerful will?" Bai Mo retorted.

"So you are a will of power…" the self Gu said.

But it was mistaken. Bai Mo was a will beyond power. He was not only wise but also skilled in magic, healing sciences, and most importantly, familiar with the path of Gu cultivation and refinement.

"Maybe, but how will future generations judge you?" the self Gu continued.

"What do the words of future generations matter when I'm not there to hear them? Only a fool dedicates himself to the words of those who haven't even been born…" Bai Mo laughed and said.

"Maybe you have taken Fang Yuan's body, but you will never become Fang Yuan!" the self Gu said and returned to Fang Yuan's heart.

Bai Mo continued to laugh. The self Gu was not lying. One could never live in another's place. The pressure on his body gradually subsided. As a zombie who did not feel pain, the heaviness of his body had worn him out.

He reached out and looked at his long, thin fingers.

A tear rolled down his cheek.

He caught the tear with his hand and looked at it in surprise.

"I… cried?"

Bai Mo sighed and composed himself.

It was time to continue the journey.

Fang Yuan spent more time in thought. His thoughts collided like dogs with their tails on fire, creating new ideas. They were destroyed and formed new concepts. Fang Yuan followed the trail of his thoughts and examined his thinking pattern. Weak thoughts faded away, and stronger thoughts gave him ideas.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. He immediately expanded his thoughts and examined dozens of possible scenarios.

Gu's voice rose from deep within him: "Have you forgotten something, zombie?"

Fang Yuan sighed and ignored the self Gu.

The self Gu reminded him again: "Have you forgotten something, zombie?"

But Fang Yuan did not hear its voice. He was lost in thought.

"To solve this tangled mess, I must return to the starting point."

He remembered the day he took over Fang Yuan's body.

"I used many thoughts that day. I had to engrave martial arts and heavy techniques into this unrefined body, damaging it. The damage was so severe that his muscles grew to an insane extent, his brain nerves were torn, and his skin couldn't contain the grown muscles. The excessive pressure on the muscles caused many parts to gradually wither. I sustained this body's energy by destroying its lifespan, muscles, and my thoughts…"

Fang Yuan thought a bit more. Alongside the massive wave of Murim invaders, the heavenly calamity and the Heavenly Kings had also lined up against him.

"Those seven old men didn't actually intend to kill me when they attacked. They were clearly deceiving the will of the heavens. However, they pressured me enough to turn myself into a zombie. In fact, by doing so, they saved my life… but why?!"

"Ha ha ha… you damned old men. I know your kind well. No cat catches a mouse for free. You must have thought I'd become a pawn in your grand scheme…"

The zombie's mind was slow. This slowness, combined with a lack of thoughts, prevented him from reaching this conclusion quickly.

His consumption of thoughts skyrocketed.

"I can't deduce a reason, this way my thoughts will be spent on finding an answer that doesn't matter right now. The first step is to get out of this mountain. I need to obtain the Thought Gu. This way, I can have a source of thoughts with me. The Thought Gu is the only Gu that generates thoughts. It can produce and store free thoughts. Although its main use is to store thoughts."

Although he was a will and could store thoughts, the Thought Gu certainly had many stored thoughts that could be useful to him.

He emerged from his inner world and opened his eyes. Everything was dark and silent. The self Gu had been silent for a while. Fang Yuan called out to it: "Hey, self Gu… why are you silent?"

Fang Yuan called the self Gu a few more times but received no response. In that pitch darkness, only a faint glimmer from the algae at the bottom of the underground water table reflected on the cave ceiling.

Fang Yuan went towards the lake. He could now move. Most of his injuries had healed, and he could move easily.

He touched the water's surface but felt nothing.

He spent a few moments like that. Then, looking for something to pass the time, he checked his eternal aperture.

The gloomy and sorrowful atmosphere of that dark cave surrounded him.

"There's nothing here either…"

Spending time healing the smallest injuries might have seemed ridiculous, but he preferred to be fully prepared to continue his journey.

"The passage of time in reality and this cave is different. I know this from my previous life. But the ratio is equal to the level of Master Gu. My cultivation is not that high, so there shouldn't be a significant time difference…"

Fang Yuan went towards the center of the aperture. His eyes fell on a corpse.

"That… I had completely forgotten…"

Suddenly, the self Gu rebuked him: "A human life has been sacrificed to your forgetfulness, zombie!"

Fang Yuan stood over the girl and closed her eyes.

"Now she is dead, and that means a sin will follow you for eternity." The self Gu continued.

"Who cares about sin!!!" Fang Yuan gritted his teeth.

The self Gu was stunned. Fang Yuan's eyes were completely black, and dark veins appeared around his neck and eyes.

"I never intended to save her! I just thought she might be useful, so I brought her here. But now she's dead, losing her life without benefiting me. If my failure to use her is a sin, then let me tell you, I won't repeat this sin!!!"

"O sinful will, your existence is tainted with corruption. The wrath of the heavens will catch up with you." The self Gu said.

Fang Yuan struck the crystal wall with his claw. The wall cracked slightly. He was not in good shape. He didn't know the way out. His power had waned, and worst of all, a giant titan awaited him.

"So this is a dead end…" He said angrily.

"This is the result of your choices." The self Gu said.

A sense of vengeance flowed from Fang Yuan's eyes.

The self Gu trembled but did not retreat: "I know that girl, she found you and buried you when you fell into a deep sleep. She and her father visited you every year, she buried her father next to your grave a few days ago, zombie…"

Fang Yuan was taken aback.

"You must bury her next to her father, the least thing you can do for her. " The self Gu continued.

Fang Yuan said nothing, clenched his fist, and left the aperture.