The Gu True Man

Enlightened by Traveling Back Five Hundred Years Against Time

Legend has it that there exists a River of Time in this world, sustaining the flow of all things within it. By harnessing the power of the Spring-Autumn Cicada, one can swim against the current and return to the past.

Opinions on this rumor are divided among people. Many don’t believe it, while others waver between belief and doubt.

Almost no one truly trusts it.

For every use of the Spring-Autumn Cicada demands a life as sacrifice—offering up one’s entire body and all cultivation as the driving force.

The price is far too steep, and what makes it even more unbearable is that often, even after giving up one’s life, no one knows what the outcome will be.

Even if someone comes into possession of the Spring-Autumn Cicada, they dare not recklessly use it on a whim.

What if the rumor is false, merely a deception?

If Fang Yuan hadn’t been driven to the edge of despair, he wouldn’t have used it so quickly.

But now, Fang Yuan is utterly convinced.

For irrefutable facts lie before him—he has indeed been reborn!

“What a pity about this fine gu,” Fang Yuan sighed inwardly. “Back then, I went to enormous lengths to refine it—slaughtering hundreds of thousands of people, incurring the wrath of heaven and humanity, enduring untold hardships...” Though he had been reborn, the Spring-Autumn Cicada had not come with him.

Humans are the primates of all creatures; gu are the essence of heaven and earth.

Gu are bizarre and countless. Some dissipate completely after one or two uses, while others can be reused repeatedly as long as they are not overused.

Perhaps the Spring-Autumn Cicada is one of those consumable gu that can only be used once.

“But even if it’s gone, I can refine another. If I could do it in my past life, why can’t I in this one?” After his regret, a surge of lofty ambition welled up in Fang Yuan’s heart.

His rebirth alone made the loss of the Spring-Autumn Cicada entirely acceptable.

Moreover, he possessed a treasure—he was not utterly empty-handed.

This treasure was his five hundred years of memories and experiences.

His memories held countless treasures, yet to be uncovered by anyone. They contained major events, allowing him to easily grasp the threads of history. They held countless figures: some reclusive elders, some prodigious talents, and even some who had not yet been born. They also held the arduous trials of cultivation and rich combat experience accumulated over those five hundred years.

With these, he undoubtedly held the overall situation and the initiative. As long as he maneuvered well, dominating the mortal world, reviving the demeanor of a tyrannical overlord, would be no problem—he might even go further, striving for higher realms!

“So how should I proceed...” Fang Yuan, ever rational, quickly set aside his emotions and fell into thought, facing the** outside the window.

The more he thought, the more tangled things seemed.

After pondering for a moment, his brow furrowed deeper.

Five hundred years is an extremely long time. Not to mention the blurred, forgotten memories—even the remembered treasure troves, secret lands, and opportunities for immortals, though numerous, were either tens of thousands of miles apart or could only be opened at specific times.

“The key is cultivation! Right now, my Yuan Sea is unopened; I haven’t even** the path of a gu master. I’m essentially a mortal! I must cultivate quickly, boost my strength, and seize as many opportunities as possible before history unfolds, reaping sufficient benefits.”

Furthermore, many secret caches, if obtained without sufficient cultivation, could not be absorbed—they would instead become hot potatoes, a curse of possessing a treasure.

The first obstacle before Fang Yuan was cultivation.

He must improve his cultivation rapidly. If he proceeded as slowly as in his past life, it would be too late for everything.

“To advance quickly, I must rely on the clan’s resources. In my current state, I can’t even traverse the perilous mountains—an ordinary wild boar could kill me. Once I reach the Third-Level Gu Master realm, I’ll have basic self-defense abilities, enough to journey through this world.”

From the perspective of a demonic overlord tempered over five hundred years, Green Hill** was truly small, and Ancient Moon Stockade was more like a cage.

Yet while a cage imprisons freedom, its solid bars often signify a kind of safety.

“Hmph, for the time being, I’ll play within this cage. Once I reach Third-Level Gu Master, I’ll leave this backwater. Fortunately, tomorrow is the Enlightenment Ceremony, and soon after, I can officially begin cultivating as a gu master.”

At the thought of the Enlightenment Ceremony, long-buried memories surfaced in Fang Yuan’s heart.

“Talent...” He stared out the window and let out three cold laughs.

Just then, the door was gently pushed open, and a teenager walked in.

“Brother, why are you standing by the window in the rain?”

The teenager was thin, slightly shorter than Fang Yuan, with a face remarkably similar to his.

Fang Yuan turned to look at him, a complex look flashing across his face.

“It’s you, my twin brother,” he said, raising his brow slightly, his expression returning to its usual coldness.

Fang Zheng lowered his head, staring at his toes—a habit of his. “I saw your window was open, so I wanted to** close it. Tomorrow’s the Enlightenment Ceremony, and if Uncle and Aunt find out you’re still up so late, they’ll worry.”

He was not surprised by Fang Yuan’s coldness; his brother had always been this way.

Sometimes he thought, perhaps geniuses are just unconventional. Though he and his brother looked nearly identical, he was as ordinary as an ant.

Born from the same womb, why was heaven so unfair? It had gifted his brother with diamond-like talent, while he was as plain as a stone.

Everyone around him, when mentioning him, would say, “This is Fang Yuan’s younger brother.”

Uncle and Aunt often told him, “You should learn from your brother.”

Even when he looked in the mirror sometimes, he grew to loathe his own face!

These thoughts had festered in his heart for years, piling up like a boulder on his chest. Over time, Fang Zheng’s head hung lower, and he grew more silent.

“Worry...” At the thought of Uncle and Aunt, Fang Yuan let out a silent sneer.

He remembered clearly: his parents had both perished on a clan mission, leaving him and his brother orphaned at three.

Uncle and Aunt, under the pretense of raising them, had brazenly seized their parents’ inheritance and treated them harshly.

As a transmigrator, he had initially planned to keep a low profile. But the hardships of life forced him to display his “exceptional talent.”

His so-called genius was nothing more than the rationality of a mature soul and a few timeless Tang and Song poems from Earth.

Even this small display had astounded people, drawing widespread attention. Under external pressure, the young Fang Yuan had no choice but to adopt a cold demeanor to disguise and protect himself, reducing the risk of exposure.

Over time, coldness became his habitual expression.

In this way, Uncle and Aunt no longer dared to mistreat them. As he grew older and his prospects seemed brighter, their treatment improved.

But this was not love—it was an investment.

It was laughable that his brother failed to see this truth. Not only was he deceived by Uncle and Aunt, but he also harbored resentment toward Fang Yuan. Beneath his current obedience, Fang Yuan remembered that once his brother was deemed to have top-tier talent and was vigorously nurtured by the clan, all his hidden hatred and jealousy had erupted. He had targeted, troubled, and suppressed his own brother countless times.

As for his own talent...

Heh, the highest it had ever been rated was third-tier.

Fate loved to play tricks.

Twin brothers: the elder, with mere third-tier talent, had monopolized the title of “genius” for over a decade; the younger, obscure, possessed top-tier talent.

The results of the Enlightenment Ceremony had shocked the clan, completely reversing their circumstances and treatment.

The younger brother soared like a coiled dragon taking flight; the elder fell like a young phoenix plummeting.

After that came repeated** from his brother, cold stares from Uncle and Aunt, and contempt from clansmen.

Had he hated them?

In his past life, Fang Yuan had hated—hated his inadequate talent, the clan’s ruthlessness, fate’s injustice.

But now, with five hundred years of life experience, he reexamined this period, and his heart remained calm, without a trace of hatred.

What was there to hate?

Putting himself in their shoes, he could understand his brother, Uncle, Aunt, and even the orthodox enemies who had besieged him five hundred years later.

The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest—this was the very nature of the world.

Besides, everyone had their own aspirations, vying for that slim chance of destiny. What was there to not understand about suppressing or killing one another?

Five hundred years of experience had long made him see through all this. His heart held only the great path of immortality.

If anyone stood in the way of this pursuit, no matter who they were, it would come down to life or death.

His ambition was too great. Once he embarked on this path, he was destined to have the whole world as his enemy, to walk alone, to face countless tribulations of s*******r.

This was the enlightenment forged from five hundred years of life.

“Revenge is not my plan. The path of the demon knows no compromise.” With this thought, Fang Yuan couldn’t help but chuckle. He turned to his brother, cast a faint glance, and said, “Leave.”

Fang Zheng’s heart skipped a beat. His brother’s gaze was as sharp as ice blades, seeming to pierce to the deepest recesses of his heart.

Beneath such a gaze, he felt as bare as in a snowfield, with no secrets left.

“See you tomorrow, brother,” he said, then slowly closed the door without daring to say more.