Chương 11: Conviction
With a feral snarl, the Kyuubi charged, and the battlefield trembled under the weight of its bloodlust. The ground beneath it pulsed with red chakra, sending ripples through the wood, as the tailed beast bore down on Fang Yuan with unstoppable momentum. The roar that accompanied its lunge was deafening, shaking loose rocks from the cliffs and sending shockwaves through the forest.
Beneath them, the Kyuubi's chakra hands slithered through the ground, completely concealed to the eye, their movements undetectable. But now, with Fang Yuan's wood domain in place, there were no surprises. His connection to the wood allowed him to feel every shift, every tremor in the wooden earth. The very ground spoke to him, revealing the path of the chakra arms.
The Kyuubi lunged, its enormous claw reaching out to shred Fang Yuan to pieces. It was a move that had served the beast well many times before, brutal, direct, overwhelming. But Fang Yuan wasn't shaken. As the claw descended, Fang Yuan spun his wooden staff in a fluid motion, gathering the energy from its rotation into an upward strike aimed at the Kyuubi's jaw. The beast saw the incoming blow and reacted, slowing down just enough to avoid a direct hit.
The staff was going to pass by the Kyuubi's head by mere centimeters. A momentary reprieve for the beast. As the moment of counterattack came closer, the Kyuubi's bloodlust surged, its burning eyes locked on Fang Yuan. The beast lowered its body, preparing to strike Fang Yuan's exposed gut. Victory was within reach.
Then, it felt the blow at the jaw.
The staff had extended mid-strike, its length shifting in an instant. It slammed into the Kyuubi's jaw, the force reverberating through its skull. The beast staggered, but its power had grown. The blow was not enough to topple the titanic creature, not anymore.
But Fang Yuan wasn't finished. With the beast momentarily stunned, his staff spun once more, elongating horizontally. This time, it struck the Kyuubi squarely in the gut. The impact sent the beast careening backward, its massive body hurtling through the air. Even in its fury, the Kyuubi managed to conjure a chakra hand to stop itself before crashing into the ground, planting it firmly against the wooden earth to regain its balance.
When the Kyuubi rose again, a terrifying sight greeted it. Fang Yuan had planted his extended staff into the ground like a towering pole. Now, he perched casually atop it, his legs dangling over the edge, his gaze wandering up to the newly-risen moon. For a moment, the battlefield seemed serene, almost tranquil. Fang Yuan's face carried a rare expression, contentment, a look never seen so noticeably before on the man who had fought and clawed his way through the Gu World for centuries.
This strange peace was the result of a great discovery. Examining the Kyuubi's chakra, Fang Yuan had found it. Found that chakra could allow eternal existence. In this world, he could achieve it. For centuries, Fang Yuan had lived with a singular purpose, eternal life. His journey had been fraught with peril, every step a calculated risk, every victory carved from the bodies of his enemies. He had struggled, pushed forward, and never relented. Even when he became an immortal, even when he ascended to the heights of a venerable and even surpassed it, the path to eternity had always seemed endless.
Refining the Eternity Gu was his final, desperate attempt. The cost was unimaginable, the very world itself, sacrificed for a single moment of possibility. Yet even that recipe wasn't a guarantee, requiring the entirety of the Gu World, and leaving no margin for error. He had to perform such a gargantuan refinement while chaos, the primordial force that had haunted the most powerful beings of his realm, raged against him, seeking to destroy his ambitions. But never once, Fang Yuan's perseverance wavered.
Fang Yuan was not a man who accepted defeat without giving his all. Even when everything seemed lost, he had found a way. If he could not refine the Eternity Gu in his current life, then he would simply live again. If the world stood against him, he would crush it. His will was iron, and his determination boundless.
Reincarnation had been the key all along. If he could not attain eternal life in this form, then he would achieve it in another. A new life, a new chance. And with that thought, his plan was created. Fang Yuan seemingly started the refinement of the Eternity Gu.
The battle in the Gu World had been fierce, a titanic struggle against chaos itself. Fang Yuan had fought with everything he had, pouring all of his immortal essence into the fight. Yet he lost. His body was ravaged, his right arm burning by the black flames of chaos, his strength dwindling by the second.
"Eternal life, a brilliant dream
Yet a path full of countless scheme
The risk of death now a routine
Chaos, an abyys in between"
His voice, tinged with the exhaustion of millennia, echoed through the void. Chaos, an impersonal and incomprehensible force, cared little for words, but Fang Yuan's next actions spoke volumes.
With his burning hand, Fang Yuan grasped the semi-refined Eternity Gu, offering it the flames of chaos.
Chaos hesitated, momentarily confused. It expected a lot of things from this man, but not this. And not what would follow. In the next moment, a bright light shone. Another Gu emerged from inside the burning Eternity Gu, a brilliant light piercing through the void, even making chaos flee away. It was undoubtebly a rank 9. It was the Reincarnation Gu, shining with unparalleled power.
Reincarnation had always been a special Gu, its nature tied intrinsically to both the end and the beginning, death and rebirth. It was the only force, free from the grip of both eternity and chaos, capable of existing beyond their authority, perfectly in between, encompassing both meeting the end and continuing existence.
And for one fleeting instant, that between was created. When a part of the black flame reached the incomplete Eternity, chaos and eternity coexisted, creating the perfect condition for reincarnation.
Chaos raged, its fury palpable as it lashed out, trying to destroy this unexpected turn of events. How could a mere human deceive a primordial concept? What was this being? What he did was... impossible. What chaos didn't know was that the impossible was the thing Fang Yuan had always thrived in most.
With the last of his strength, Fang Yuan poured his remaining essence into the Reincarnation Gu. Light burst forth, banishing the black flames, forcing chaos to retreat. The Gu shone like a beacon.
"Eternal life, a brilliant dream
Primeval forces fell to my scheme
I shall achieve the never before seen
Crossing the abyss, for I am supreme"
The remnants of the Gu World cheered for its master, each and every single dao mark trembling with excitement. They felt it, their master had bested even such a foe. Master's commands came, all the dao marks pushing chaos back and back. It didn't matter if chaos would eventually win. The Reincarnation Gu was ready to function. Fang Yuan took a last look at the Gu World. He watched as the black flame cowered beneath his feet. At that moment, Fang Yuan truly stood on top of this world.
Then Fang Yuan closed his eyes.
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Extra Chapter. Thanks for the stones.
Next Extra Chapter Goal: 50 Power Stones
Extra Chapters get published at night around these hours.
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