In an instant, the surroundings fell silent, and countless gazes turned towards him.
"It's getting more and more interesting," Fang Yuan chuckled inwardly. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he waded through the river and stepped onto the opposite bank.
Immediately, he felt a layer of pressure.
This pressure came from the Spirit Spring deep within the sea of flowers. The Spirit Spring generated Vital Energy, and because the Vital Energy was so dense and abundant, it resulted in pressure.
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But soon, from the flowers at Fang Yuan's feet, a cluster of light points began to rise.
The light points swayed, enveloping Fang Yuan's entire body, and finally, they all entered into him.
"This is the Hope Gu," Fang Yuan murmured to himself. Although the person in charge hadn't explained, he knew very well.
Each light point was a Gu.
The Gu was named Hope.
There is an ancient legend about the Hope Gu.
***
Legend has it that when this world first formed, it was a barren wilderness, with wild beasts running rampant. The first human appeared, named the Ancestor of Humanity. He lived a difficult life, eating raw meat and drinking blood.
Especially since there was a group of beasts named Predicament, which particularly liked the taste of the Ancestor of Humanity and wanted to devour him.
The Ancestor of Humanity didn't have a body as tough as rocks, nor did he have the sharp teeth and claws of wild beasts. How could he fight against this group of beasts called Predicament? His food sources were unstable, and he spent his days hiding, living at the bottom of nature's food chain, almost unable to survive.
At this time, three Gu came to him and said, "As long as you use your life to nourish us, we will help you overcome your difficulties."
The Ancestor of Humanity, with no other choice, agreed to the three Gu.
He first used his youthful years to nourish the largest of the three Gu, and that Gu gave him strength.
With strength, the Ancestor of Humanity's life began to improve. He had a stable food source and the power to protect himself. He became brave and combative, defeating many Predicaments. But soon, he suffered setbacks. He realized that strength wasn't everything; it also needed recovery and maintenance and couldn't be squandered.
Moreover, for the entire Predicament beast group, his strength alone was too small.
The Ancestor of Humanity, after much reflection, decided to use his prime years to nourish the most beautiful of the three Gu.
Thus, the second Gu gave him wisdom.
With wisdom, the Ancestor of Humanity learned to think and reflect, and he began to accumulate experience. He discovered that using wisdom was often more effective than using strength. With wisdom and strength, he conquered many previously unconquerable targets and killed more Predicaments. He ate the flesh of Predicaments and drank their blood, surviving tenaciously.
But the good times didn't last long, and the Ancestor of Humanity grew old, increasingly old.
This was because he had offered his youth and prime years to the Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu.
When a person grows old, their muscles atrophy, and their mind slows down.
"Human, what else can you offer us? You have nothing left to nourish us," the Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu realized this and heartlessly left.
The Ancestor of Humanity lost his strength and wisdom and was discovered by the Predicaments, falling into the encirclement of the beast group. He was old, unable to run, and his teeth had all fallen out, unable to chew even wild fruits and vegetables.
He collapsed powerlessly to the ground, surrounded by countless Predicaments, his heart filled with despair.
At this moment, the third Gu said to him, "Human, offer yourself to me, and I can help you escape the Predicament."
The Ancestor of Humanity, with tears in his eyes, said, "Gu, what do I have left? Look, the Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu have abandoned me. I only have my old age left. Compared to youth and prime years, old age is worthless. If I offer my old age to you, my life will end immediately. Although I'm surrounded by Predicaments now, I won't die immediately. I still want to live a little longer, even if it's just for one more second. So go, I can no longer offer myself to you."
But the Gu said, "Among the three Gu, my requirement is the smallest. Human, you only need to give me your heart."
"Then I will give you my heart," said the Ancestor of Humanity, "but Gu, what can you give me? In this Desperate Situation, even if the Strength Gu and Wisdom Gu returned to me, it wouldn't change anything."
Compared to the Strength Gu, this Gu was the weakest, just a small point of light. Compared to the Wisdom Gu, this Gu was the dimmest, emitting only a faint white light, not at all magnificent or splendid.
But when the Ancestor of Humanity gave his heart to this Gu, it suddenly burst into infinite light. In this light, the Predicaments screamed in terror, "This is the Hope Gu, retreat quickly, we Predicaments fear hope the most."
The Predicament beast group fled in panic.
The Ancestor of Humanity was dumbfounded. From that moment on, he knew—when facing Predicaments, give your heart to hope.
***
At this moment, the Hope Gu converged into a stream of light and entered Fang Yuan's body.
Due to the external pressure, they quickly gathered in Fang Yuan's abdomen, three inches below his navel, spontaneously forming a cluster.
Fang Yuan immediately felt the pressure slightly reduce.
He stepped forward and continued walking.
With each step, more Hope Gu flew out from the sea of flowers, entering his body and joining the light cluster.
The light cluster grew larger and brighter.
However, the person in charge on the other side frowned.
"The number of Hope Gu seems a bit low," many elders who had been secretly observing Fang Yuan couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in their hearts upon seeing this.
The clan leader also frowned; this was definitely not the phenomenon of Grade A Aptitude!
Fang Yuan pressed on against the pressure, continuing forward.
"Below ten steps, there is no aptitude for cultivation. Between ten and twenty steps is Grade D Aptitude. Twenty to thirty steps is Grade C Aptitude. Thirty to forty steps is Grade B Aptitude. Forty to fifty steps is Grade A. So far, I've already taken twenty-three steps."
"Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six... twenty-seven." Fang Yuan silently counted in his heart. At the twenty-seventh step, he seemed to hear a booming sound. The light cluster between his kidneys in his abdomen reached its limit and suddenly exploded.
This explosion occurred only within Fang Yuan's body, unnoticed by outsiders. Only Fang Yuan felt an earth-shattering mystery in an instant.
In a flash, all the hair on his body stood on end, his pores closed tightly, and his mind was like a bowstring suddenly pulled taut.
Then, his mind suddenly went blank, and his entire body felt soft, as if he had fallen into the clouds. His mind relaxed, his hair smoothed down, and all the pores on his body opened.
Suddenly, a thin layer of sweat covered his entire body.
This process, though it seems long to describe, was actually extremely brief. It came quickly and left just as suddenly.
Fang Yuan was lost for just a moment before he regained his senses.
He focused his mind inwardly and discovered that below his navel, between his kidneys, a new aperture had appeared out of thin air.
He had successfully opened his aperture!
This was the hope for immortality!
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