Fang Yuan found the burial site. It appeared unchanged, but using his new investigative methods, Fang Yuan saw much more - including a small tile near the site. This was not a true physical tile, but a formation made of Theft Path dao marks.
'A lock,' Fang Yuan noted. 'How am I to open it?'
His Theft Path attainment was not high, especially compared to Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable. Furthermore, this formation seemed to have been created from natural dao marks rather than gu worms - a feat possible only with a deep understanding of Formation Path.
Fang Yuan stared at it for hours, trying to make sense of it. He remained unable to decipher its mechanics, but he held one key piece of information from his path life: Thieving Heaven had a method for detecting other Otherworldly Demons, and that was how he left his inheritances.
Fang Yuan slowly extended a hand toward the formation.
Unsure if this was the correct way, he wished for a guinea pig, but he was the only Otherworldly Demon he knew of. Not to mention if he did have someone else who was an Otherworldly Demon, he could inadvertently end up giving them the inheritance instead.
An idea struck him; he pinched his finger, using a Blood Path technique to form an exact replica of his arm. He tossed the arm at the formation, but nothing happened.
'Perhaps it could not mimic the necessary dao marks,' Fang Yuan thought.
His knowledge of the so-called "Otherworldly Path" was negligible. However, seeing no obvious trap being triggered, he placed a real finger against the formation. It immediately undid itself. A stream of information entered his mind, revealing a location within the Western Desert.
Fang Yuan's eyes flashed.
It was the location of a major Thieving Heaven inheritance! Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable had left countless inheritances throughout the five regions, most requiring the recipient to be an otherworldly demon.
However, there were ten true inheritances. Usually, these were left in pairs; this location would likely contain clues to a second inheritance once Fang Yuan got there.
The value that could be contained withing a True Inheritance was unfathomable - it could even supersede the Spring Autumn Cicada's value in some aspects given it was a portion of a Rank 9 Venerable's inheritance! Without a doubt, this was a grand fortune to stumble upon.
"The Western Desert..." he murmured. To get there, he would need to travel through the regional walls, unless he found a specialized method to bypass them. "Unless I... no..." He had a plan to find a way to circumvent the regional walls, but that plan was going to take time. He needed to act far before then.
Fang Yuan would have to weigh the opportunity cost of traveling so far against his other plans, such as obtaining the Lang Ya Inheritance.
It wasn't just opportunity cost that Fang Yuan had to think about. In other regions, he would be suppressed unlike during his past life where the regional walls had long since fallen. As such, he would be safest moving in the Southern Border or, barring that, the Eastern Sea where foreign Gu Immortals were more tolerated.
For example, although the Lang Ya Inheritance presented a massive value towards him, he would without a doubt be attacked the moment he made his way into the Northern Plains simply for being an Immortal from another region. Immortals from both the righteous and the demonic paths would gang up on him unless he chose the time during which he traveled carefully.
The Lang Ya Inheritance could be delayed for now as Fang Yuan had more pressing priorities.
There were numerous other such potential targets for Fang Yuan scatted throughout the world.
Say, for example, the Hu Immortal Blessed Land. Or, even barring that - he could attack Feng Jin Huang by stalking her and striking when she would be unprotected and at her weakest. Her Dream Wings Gu still had immense value to him.
However, now that he had ascended, he was able to better sort his priorities. As it was, he could not attack Feng Jin Huang right now. She was a necessary part of Humanity's Will's plan and a very useful pawn - or at least, she would be. In his past life, Fang Yuan had ganged up with others to kill her - but in this life, she was going to secure his fortune in another way. And for that, she had to remain alive.
That said, this Thieving Heaven true inheritance would without a doubt be at the top of his list even if there were some slight dangers involved.
He just needed to find a way around them was all. And he could do so by strengthening his foundation; the Southern Border being the easiest point where he could do so.
Having made up his mind, Fang Yuan made his way back toward Qing Mao Mountain and the Mushroomman Highland left behind by Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable. He could now enter and leave that restricted area as he pleased.
Before that, he visited the remnants of the old Gu Yue Village - not out of nostalgia, but to see if the first generation Gu Yue had left behind any clues regarding the Ancient Moon Desolate Yin Physique that he might have missed as a mortal.
The wilderness was as harsh as ever. In the absence of humans, the wild animals had completely taken over. He saw lunar bears fighting for territory and wolf packs led by thousand beast kings and even a Thunder Crown Wolves which had managed to emerge. These entities, which would have halted his progression years ago, could do nothing to stop him now.
He wandered the ruins of the houses and returned to the cave of the Jade Eye Stone Monkeys. He easily captured the entire group, placing them within his aperture. They were low-quality lifeforms being only around Rank 1 or Rank 2 but could serve as a way of boosting his aperture's ecosystem.
Within his immortal aperture, the massive seas separating the continents ensured that the inhabitants of the Paradise Earth Continent and Genesis Lotus Continent could not easily cross over to the Fang Yuan Continent or to each other.
However, internal conflict in the Fang Yuan Continent was constant. Tribes clashed. Sometimes they did so in the form of formal wars, fighting in formation against each other. Eventually, either one tribe would overtake the other - or more commonly, the tribes would find it was not worth it to keep fighting against one another.
However, not all battles were so 'honorably' fought.
Near one coastline, a tribe was soon in crisis. This tribe mainly subsisted on the shellfish near the shore, and called themselves the Shellfish Tribe. However, the shellfish eventually became scare and so the men gathered a hunting party.
While the men were away on this hunting expedition, a rival tribe from the mountains had descended, slaughtering the elders and male children and taking the women as slaves. This tribe called itself the Green Hill Tribe after their home, and they had managed to easily reap a large amount of benefits by taking advantage of the situation.
The returning men of the Shellfish Tribe gnashed their teeth in anger and wanted revenge, but their enemies were now fortified in the hills.
Fang Yuan observed this development coldly.
Most of these tribes only had Rank 1 or Rank 2 Gu Masters, levels where numbers could still overcome individual power. Against a tide of a hundred enemy combatants, even if they were mortal, a Gu Master could still be suppressed.
He knew this would eventually change. The core of the Human Path was to accumulate surpluses and to worsen deficits. Eventually, a genius would emerge among the various tribes, reaching Rank 3 or higher, at which point numbers would no longer be a concern. Such a Gu Master could slaughter a thousand ordinary men and would shake up the local power ecosystem.
Fang Yuan was considering where to place the Jade Eye Stone Monkeys, and decided to put them near the recently decimated Shellfish Tribe.