"Why do you call them Rank 0?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Because they don't seem to be of any rank," Guo Lian said, "but they still seem to be gu worms."
"And what can they do?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Oh, you can't actually do anything with them," Guo Lian answered.
Both Fang Yuan and Thieving Heaven stared at Guo Lian.
"Well, I mean, you can't do anything with them yet. Even if you put your primordial essence into one of them, it's not going to do anything, but... I've been trying to see if there are ways that I can make one which actually works, you know. So, now that I'm done, why don't you all try?" Guo Lian asked Fang Yuan and Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable.
Fang Yuan, however, as much as he was interested in this, was not about to reveal his vital gu to these people.
"Why are you hesitating, Fang Yuan? You really should go ahead and try," Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable said. "Are you afraid of leaking the Spring Autumn Cicada?"
Well, there went his plan of keeping it hidden.
"As a matter of fact, I don't really think we need you anymore," Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable said, turning to Guo Lian even as the other was asking, "What's the Spring Autumn Cic-" before Thieving Heaven waved his hand and Guo Lian disappeared into the rest of the painting.
"Couldn't you have done that earlier?" Fang Yuan asked. "Why did I have to sit through all of his nonsense?"
"If I suffered through it," Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable said, "you, too, have to do it. Now, like I said, why don't you try making a Rank 0 Gu yourself?"
Fang Yuan put one of his own hands on his Equality Gu and a primordial stone on the other end, much like Guo Lian had said. "What else can you give me? Any insight into the Theft Path?"
Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable sighed. "I'm afraid that the theft path does not really suit you, Fang Yuan." Chapters fırst released on Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
"What do you mean it doesn't suit me?" Fang Yuan asked. "Who else in the entire Five Regions could it possibly suit?"
"That's exactly my point," Thieving Heaven said. "It suits you far too well. Who knows what kind of destruction you would get up to if you happened to master it?"
'Perhaps this was another way of heaven's will balancing things,' Fang Yuan thought. Much like it had given him Charity Gu, which he was not very likely to use, the person who had become Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable was not a perpetual thief.
Towards the end of his career, as he became more notorious, many people would just hand over whatever they had so that he would stop bothering them. In a way, it was perfect for Fang Yuan. Extortion was far easier than going around actually stealing things. However, judging from his expression, it did not look like theft was something that he reveled in.
The process of creating a Rank 0 Gu was very slow. It took Fang Yuan almost as much time as it did Guo Lian. During that time, there was much to speak about.
"Did you manage to find a way home?" Fang Yuan asked. He, himself, had no desires to return back to Earth. What would he do there anyway? His dream of achieving eternal life was only possible in this world.
"That remains to be seen," Thieving Heaven said. "This painting was made far before then. I had come to this place because I had heard that there was some strange invention and that it probably involved an Otherworldly Demon. I came to investigate and found this little invention. But coming to another matter entirely, I have a request for you. If you can help me out, there might be something in it for you..."
"Like what?" Fang Yuan asked. "What kind of job do you need to get done?"
"Back when I was still not a venerable and cultivating," Thieving Heaven said, "I wandered the world, including the Southern Border, looking for a way to get back home. While I was here in the Southern Border, there was something that I needed- a certain gu refinement material- that I had to take from someone's grave. It had been urgent at the time, and I had always thought that I would replace it when I came back. In my long life of searching for a way back home, it seems to have slipped my mind to do so. Although I used it up, I have a replacement for that gu refinement material here. I just need you to return it to that person's proper gravesite."
Thieving Heaven took out a bottle that was filled with what looked like an insignificant amount of clear liquid. Anyone who was an immortal would have been able to detect the numerous dao marks on it, but to Fang Yuan it looked like water.
"What is this exactly?" Fang Yuan asked.
"These are Abyssal Earth Dragon Emperor's Tears," Thieving Heaven said. "Obtained from an Immemorial Desolate Beast. This is a Rank 8 refinement material - very hard to get your hands on. I had a great need for it at the time. By the time I managed to get a replacement, which I said I would give back to the person I had taken it from, it was a bit too late. Do you see? Still, I had promised myself that I would give it back later on, and now that you're here, why don't you go ahead and do that for me?"
"Absolutely," Fang Yuan said with a gentle smile. "It would be my pleasure to help you with this deed."
"You're thinking of taking it for yourself, aren't you?" Thieving Heaven asked.
"What? I would never!" Fang Yuan said. "How could you possibly accuse me of doing such a shameless thing?"
"Oh, don't worry," Thieving Heaven said. "I'd anticipated that. Let's just say that you won't exactly succeed at it, even if you were to try. But there is a reward waiting for you there, Fang Yuan- something that will be worth your while."
"Oh, and what is this?" Fang Yuan asked.
"A gu worm that will be greatly helpful to you," Thieving Heaven said, "and the location to one of my true inheritances. Not a minor one, a true inheritance. You'll need to be an immortal to get to this one, though once you are I think you'll easily manage. "
Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable had set up various inheritances throughout the entire world, but there were only 10 true inheritances. It was rumored that each one was located as a pair, and finding one of them would give you a clue to where the other one was. If that were the case, Fang Yuan could get his hands on potentially two venerable true inheritances; not the kind of fake inheritances Paradise Earth and Genesis Lotus were trying to throw at him.
"Where is this place located?" Fang Yuan asked. If it wasn't an immortal's burial ground, it might be hard for him to reach.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Thieving Heaven said after handing him a gu worm, and the information instantly took root in Fang Yuan's mind. "Trust me, the reward would be worth it," Thieving Heaven said.
Strangely enough, despite using the Rank 5 Equality Gu rather than Rank 2, Fang Yuan took the exact amount of time that Guo Lian had taken in order to create his Rank 0 Gu worm. Fang Yuan suspected this was because his Spring Autumn Cicada was a Rank 6 immortal Gu or that the process of creation was independent when it came to time. Eventually though, the primeval stone in questions began peeling away, turning into the shape of a cicada before it burst out into life.
Fang Yuan picked up a new gu that somewhat resembled the Spring Autumn Cicada, but much like Guo Lian's creation, it was deformed and looked like its colors were bleached away. One of its wings was missing. However, it still somehow looked more lively than the Spring Autumn Cicada within his own aperture as that was still barely clinging on to life.