Fang Yuan did not even finish his protest by the time he found himself near a large pond, far away from where he had originally entered the Blessed Land.

Next to him was a man dressed up in a green robe who was working on a painting of the nearby lake. His eyes were completely focused on the task at hand, and he had not so much as blinked when Fang Yuan was transported near him.

It was a man whom Fang Yuan had also seen many portraits of, though in the Central Continent.

Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable!

Just like with Paradise Earth, this was not the true body of Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable, but that of a will.

The will, however, continued to pain, paying no heed to Fang Yuan.

“Oi! How long do you intend to keep painting for?” Fang Yuan asked after a moment.

“I was always ready to talk to you, Fang Yuan,” Genesis Lotus said. “I was merely under the impression that you too, like me, were trying to appreciate the scenery first. But I guess we can get to business then. Are you done speaking with that half-breed?”

Fang Yuan paused. “Half-breed?”

“Ah, he didn’t tell you? He is part mushroomman,” Genesis Lotus said. That was news to Fang Yuan- one reason why it was widely accepted that ‘man was the spirit of all things’ was because all Venerables had been human up till this point in time. However, it appeared that being part variant human was not an obstacle for becoming a Venerable. But was that why Paradise Earth had never joined up with the Heavenly Court when he had been alive? Many assumed that it was because he did not agree with the Heavenly Court’s methods of greatly oppressing the variant humans, but this was likely a far more important reason. “Then again, variant humans, otherworldly demons- we have quite a crowd that we are mingling with, hmm?”

“You know where I’m from?” Fang Yuan asked.

“I know quite a lot about you,” Genesis Lotus said. “I had already foretold your arrival in this world long after my death. How are you finding the Painting Path gu worm that I left for you? Actually, forget that, i don’t see the Human Path dao marks upon your body that I was expecting. Where are they?”

“I have not yet committed to cultivating the Human Path,” Fang Yuan said.

When he heard those words, Genesis Lotus stopped painting and put his brush down, turning around to look at Fang Yuan and giving him his full undivided attention. “Why?”

“I do not know enough to dedicate myself to it,” Fang Yuan said.

“You only resist right now because you are, sadly, ignorant to the powers of the Human Path, Fang Yuan,” Genesis Lotus said. “If you knew of the Human Path’s full potential, you would not say those words or have this kind of hesitation. Man is the spirit of all things, Fang Yuan, and the Human Path is the core profundity of all other paths. It can mimic every other path without limitation unlike the Transformation Path which has multiple restrictions – you must have seen it already in Strength of Ten Men Gu, and the future Dreams of Love & Happiness Gu which you are to receive. One mimics Strength Path and the other mimics Dream Path, but both are actually Human Path gu worms. Even though Human Path counters Heaven Path, Equality Gu has the effects of Heaven Path as well despite being a Human Path gu worm. Not only that, Human Path Dao marks do not conflict with other paths and make healing remarkably easy. But I suppose that all of that is still not enough- tell me, Fang Yuan, you desire eternal life, do you not?”

Fang Yuan didn’t even feel the need to reply to that question.

“In ‘The Legends of Ren Zu’, it is said that the primitive hairy men tried to refine Eternity Gu using Verdant Sun, because he was the offspring of Ren Zu, the spirit ancestor. Do you know what that means- although ‘The Legends of Ren Zu’ is a fairy tale, there are truths buried between those lines. If there is a way to refine Eternity Gu, it will involve the human path,” Genesis Lotus said.

“You know,” Fang Yuan began, “back in my world there was another famous powerful leader who was a painter and also hated certain groups of people. Perhaps there is a correlation between those three things.”

“Are you referring to my comments on the hairymen and Paradise Earth’s ancestry?” Genesis Lotus asked before coldly smiling. “Don’t be ridiculous, Fang Yuan, they are all variant humans- in other words, they don’t count as ‘people.’ Putting that aside, know that if you were to ask any other path the question ‘Is Eternal Life possible?’ you would get an emphatic answer- ‘no!’ However, the Human Path is the only one which would instead answer, ‘there is not yet enough data to answer’ meaning that if Eternal Life can be achieved, it is only via the Human Path. Moreover, it is only the Human Path that can directly counter heaven.”

“Aren’t you a member of the Heavenly Court? Countering heaven… is that not the language of the demonic path?” Fang Yuan asked.

Genesis Lotus had an unreadable expression on his face. “I am a member of the Heavenly Court… but that does not mean that I agree with all of their ideals. Primordial Origin Immortal Venerable and Star Constellation Immortal Venerable have their ideas… and I have mine. We overlap on most things and ah, disagree with some other plans. There were will come a time in history when the Heavenly Court will need the Human Path, and I will develop it for that day even if it means dealing with strange bedfellows in the meantime. Until now, heaven restricts the development of that path for the very reason that it is too powerful- only through the efforts of Venerables and otherworldly demons has the Human Path even developed remotely to the point that it has up till now.”

“Well, are you only here to sell me on the Human Path, or do you want to actually give me something useful?” Fang Yuan asked.

“There are a few things I have prepared for you, yes,” Genesis Lotus said. His hand went inside his ‘body’ which was really just made of his thoughts, and pulled out a portrait. It was blank with nothing on it. “This painting will be useful to you when you ascend to become an immortal.” He handed it to Fang Yuan who kept it in the Tusita Grass Gu. Genesis Lotus then pulled out another painting- this one painted entirely black. “This will activate once your understanding of the Human Path progresses.” He then handed Fang Yuan a painting which was painted in different sections in various colors of the rainbow to make a spiral pattern. “This will be useful, again, after you become an immortal. And this, is the last painting that I have to give you.” He handed Fang Yuan the painting of what looked like a small girl’s room, filled with teapots and furniture too small for an adult. “Actually, this one isn’t intended for you- you are merely the vehicle to which it will be given to someone else.”

Fang Yuan snorted inwardly- as if he was going to let someone else have it! He kept the four paintings in the Tusita Grass Gu as well.

Fang Yuan couldn’t help but say, “Is this all? After all the glory of the Heavenly Court and that of a Venerable, all you can give me are a few paintings?” Much like with Paradise Earth, he had expected something far greater. “At least hand over a dozen or so Immortal Gu at minimum. Or your true meaning. How else could I truly consider this to be a Venerable’s Inheritance.”

“All in good time, Fang Yuan,” Genesis Lotus said. “But, here is something that might more readily pique your interest.”

The next gu worm that Fang Yuan was handed was also a mortal gu- but a kind of mortal gu that even Gu Immortals would badly want.

50 Years Lifespan Gu!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep