A purple petal flew through the air and through the Heavens until finally it entered into a cave.

Inside the cave there was an aged man whose body was filled with roots and green hair and skin.

Below and above his feet there were dozens of 'flowers' which were constantly absorbing the surrounding Primeval energy, which was then taken by this man.

All of the energy he took in, was redirected towards his stomach where his 'aperture' was holding in.

The aperture was surrounded by four hard wood walls which isolated it from the outside!

Luckily, a small fraction of the Primeval Energy leaked inside the aperture, constantly nourishing that True Gold Primeval Essence tainted by a Green Mint and a Plum Purple substance!

"Crck." "Crck."

Tiny cracks surged within those woods, his Primeval Essence was shining intensively attempting to shatter by brute force those walls.

"Sigh...

Thanks to my efforts now I hold a 93% aptitude, more than enough to head right towards rank 5, however, there's still one obstacle in my way.

Hmph, but it doesn't matter.

After all, due to the absurd amounts of Wood Dao Marks I have carved in my body, in my mind, in my aperture, I am bound to acquire a Boundless Samsara Extreme Physique!

At this point, I'll be able to absorb those Wood walls and fuse them within my aperture, and perhaps I may be able to amplify even further the power of my Gu's!"

Ma Pa Hung said with confidence in his tone.

"When I reach such a level, naturally all the adaptations and mutations I suffered will work on my favour, I'll use the 'seeds' hidden in my brain to increase my cognitive abilities, my physical power, my visual acuity and many other abilities!

I'm looking forward to it."

...

Ma Shang Feng was holding in his palms a shining white-purple sphere, which was being burnt to its very limit.

That was an Purple Emperor Relic Gu!

A Gu which could allow him to directly skip an stage in rank 5.

His expression was of pain, he sighed regretfully.

"I'm using the culmination of the efforts of many ancestors of my tribe, on an instant.

If I were to sell this in the market, I'd receive a flock of people who would crazy over this.

Even an Immortal may be willing to pay a hundred million Primeval Stones for this!"

Of course that didn't meant that this rank 5 Gu held a million more times energy than a mere rank 1 Commoner Green Relic Gu.

Rather, it was more due to the nature of organizations.

A men with the ability to fight against 5 men at once can lead a group of a hundred men, a men with the strength of a hundred may lead an army of an million.

On blunt terms, a rank 5 Gu master had more than themselves to accomplish their goals, they could use the rank 4 as their subordinates who would then use the rank 3 and so on.

The flux of resources and the market was rigged to benefit those at the top who then sold the recipes and Gu's at an inflated price.

Still, the absurd price of this rank 5 Gu outshined anything else, after all most rank 5 Gu's cost less than five million Primeval Stones, hence, he literally was burning the equivalent of more than a 20 rank 5 Gu's on the act!

That was the reason of the feeling of 'regret' he had on his chest.

"But...

As long as I get that inheritance it will all be worth it, I can take control of the market, stabilize my crumbling Cultivation Realm and expand my tribe even further.

Perhaps, before the next winter I can make the preparations so my tribe becomes the number one winner in the next 'Heroes Assembly.'"

...

"Your Shiny Lucky eyes are truly miraculous, to think that we would actually find

To actually find a Spirit Spring in the middle of the nowhere."

Earth Champion said joyfully.

He touched his chin and added.

"This rich Primeval aura, creates a warm environment with frequent raining and additional nutrients, this is the perfect place for harvesting Spiritual Plants!

Young master, this is may be the chance you spoke of, our 'fortuitous encounter.'

With this foundation perhaps we won't have to become Demonic Gu masters and instead, we can pile up resources secretly, in the future we may form of our own organization and even tribe!"

However, Ma Shan Hu wasn't that optimistic, he sighed helplessly.

"Aren't you forgetting we are traitors of the Ma tribe?

We hold many secrets, such as the recipe of the Primeval Condenser Gu among many other things, furthermore they have already spent too many resources in us, hence, whether they know or not that we're traitors, they'll begin to investigate sooner or later.

When they find out we're traitors we'll have to leave, abandoning those lands."

But Earth Champion refuted.

"Still, what if we pile up enough resources and we donate them to the Ma tribe, in this way we can redeem ourselves from our crimes!"

A tiny light appeared on Ma Shan Hu's eyes, he nodded.

"You may be right.

Hah, right now I would love to have Ma Yan Luy at our side, she was pretty damn good at controlling big pieces of land and creating prosperous crops."

Earth Champion frowned lightly.

"She is a merely woman, who can she do that we men cannot?

Besides, I think you're forgetting someone much more important, Dio.

His strength and his mystical attainment in all paths would have been proven more helpful to us, not to mention his excellent qualities as an doctor...

Do you think if he's still alive, he holds a grudge against us for leaving him to fend for himself?

...

Now that I think about it, I hope that he truly died against that fucking chimera-plant..."

Ma Shan Hu simply replied.

"He most likely died.

I'm sure of it.

Don't you recall when I came to him and my eyes shone brightly for a brief moment?

I was inspecting his luck, and well, it didn't look pretty.

His luck was even lower than the one of a dying bedridden, sick old man.

The original burning magma-river-like, was reduced to literal ashes and black powder.

He was burning all his luck, and perhaps potential to acquire a temporary-increase in strength, honestly it wouldn't be surprised that even if he won he died on the act!

Even if he somehow survived with such a terrible luck, his life must be now a literal hell, I'm sure he has more important things to take care of than to seek revenge against us."

He turned his head.

"And, we also have more important things to think about than of an already dead man, for example...."

Ma Shan Hu smile widened as he said joyfully. "In my breakthrough towards rank 4!"

His body vanished into a colorful rainbow, he charged towards the Spirit Spring and added.

"You know, I could have done this since the very beginning, as my grandpa, the 7 Qi emperor, had a Cultivation technique with the ability to drain a fraction of the energy on an Spirit Spring.

However, as doing so was deemed as too wasteful, as it would affect the prospects of the future generations I was denied of this right, but now?

I'm in front of an incredibly rich, dense and powerful Spirit Spring that may last for a millenia, under my possession!

Heh, heh, heh...

Earth Champion, I have a really good mood now, and I'll give you the chance to follow me in my secluded Cultivation, in which I'll channel an incredibly amount of Primeval Essence and perhaps, you may take the leftovers and breakthrough too?"

...

Dio was chuckling, and mocking his opponents, without realizing that the balance of luck was turning against him.

Negative variables were surrounding him, and were approaching by the second, his enemies had an enviable luck, whilst his was merely starting to recover.

Dio was actually starting to fall behind his enemies.

He oblivious of this, laughed heartily.

Feng Zhan woke from his slumber, he winked over and over again, all while observing his surroundings both in fear, and an strange 'calm.'

He wasn't sure why but, somehow, he felt an strange sense of admiration for the tall, bulky handsome man in front of him.

"Do you dare to face me, Dio, and his new servant?"

The pupils of Feng Zhan shrank, immediately he realized the truth.

"I am an slave now." Strangely, he actually didn't felt bitterness nor anger, instead he smiled plainly.

"I'm unsure how, if it was through that 'Enslave' or another Gu, but I guess doesn't it matter now.

Heh, I only feel gratefulness towards the creator of those Gu's, and my new master."

He closed his eyes, thinking.

"Since I arrived to this world, I never felt at home, constantly I thought of doing all I could to 'return' to my original world, constantly I was pursued and hated by all, for being an otherworldly demon.

Though, I guess being a 'demon' is exactly what this world full of bullshit and lies is all about, right?

Hah, but I guess it doesn't matter, finally I felt at ease, now I found my life's purpose to serve Dio for all eternity!"

Those feelings naturally were induced by Dio's Flesh Bud.

Dio had learnt a lot on his previous enslavement, instead of forcefully changing all their personalities to match his goals, he simply added a new 'feeling' in their hearts.

Love, devotion beyond reason!

Even though they may still love their homes, parents or sons, they'd be willing to sacrifice them for his benefit.

On this way, he could save precious mental resources to enslave multiple creatures be it human or not.

And considering how meek their souls were, he felt pretty confident in doing so.

"Now, show me your strength and value."

Dio clenched his fist with a hand and pointed at him with the other.

Feng Zhan smirked.

He lifted his hand, and pointed at one of the mammoth's.

"Don't move." He said.

A dark purple beam surged within his finger, and suddenly the beast was frozen in the spot.

Then, he activated another Gu, from his sleeves he took a purple dagger.

"Pass through flesh, pass through bones." And made yet another incantation, multiple runes appeared around the dagger.

He threw it, and somehow, it passed through the flesh and bones as if they didn't exist, hitting directly the heart!

The rest of the beasts who were watching all of this, fell prey to panic as they saw the corpse of one of them fall.

Dio's lips curved.

"We both have many resemblances in the way we execute our enemies, huh?

Listen, I have an idea, I need to get close to that beast, then I'll enslave it and turn it into a Zombie.

To do this, I'll need a few seconds, can you buy me this time?"

While he said this, he inwardly thought.

"Is such a shame that I can't turn you into a Zombie if I did, your aperture would solidify and you'd not longer be able to produce Primeval Essence.

As for turning him into a Vampire...

Well, I already have 'tested' just how well Gu's and Vampirism act together, if he were to become a Vampire his fighting strength would skyrocket.

Furthermore, I have come to notice that a 'Vampire' such as I, unlocked all his hidden potential upon his awakening.

All my genetic advantages in terms of memory and strength are amplified, whilst my weakness are amended, this 'awakening' may imply that if he were to become a Vampire, perhaps his aperture would adapt and would 'unlock' all its hidden potential, evolving towards an Extreme Physique.

If he were to evolve to acquire an 'Lawful Manipulator' Extreme Physique he may even surpass me!

Yes, he'd be a powerful asset, yet, can I guarantee that I can keep him in check forever?

As the Joestars have proven, my Flesh Buds can be removed, hence, I can't risk to create a pawn stronger than me that escapes from my grasp."

He glanced sharply at his new servant who nodded at him.

"I can, however, as a mere rank 4 middle stage Gu master, and the fact that my Gu's take a lot of energy, I can at most hold them back for one or two minutes."

After finishing his sentence, he suddenly took from his aperture, dozens and dozens of meters of pure sand.

This sand was thrown at all directions, aimlessly.

Then, suddenly Feng Zhan clapped and said.

"Sand, stop."

Suddenly, a purple light surged within all the sand, and it immediately froze in spot.

The only path who hadn't frozen completely was the trail between Dio and the wild beast.

Suddenly, one of the mammoths charged directly towards Dio disregarding this purple-fog.

One of its horns suddenly collided with the sand, and somehow the beast was the one pushed back.

Tiny cracks surged within the beast's tusks.

Another of the mammoths raised its trunk, and from it, it exhaled a cold gust of wind, to freeze and shake off this invisible wall in vain.

Wild beasts, even though held stronger bodies and an overall higher battle strength lacked the ingenuity of the humans.

The ability to create creative, complex, powerful techniques from scratch by combining multiple Gu's in a single objective and Feng Zhan was an step above from other humans.

His techniques could pass through ordinary defenses, if he prepared himself he could even pass through Dio's External Jin Strength aura.

Dio frowned inwardly.

"In the future I Dio will naturally develop such methods for myself, however, I'm on a quite tight spot, and I lack the time to do so."

He then walked towards the beast, and he injected another of his Flesh Buds within the deepest parts of its brain, then, he injected a bit of his Death blood within its bloodstream.

From an instant to other, the creature woke up.

Dio laughed heartily.

"My experiment actually worked.

Good, good...

Now, I shall return with you, then take down the barrier which surrounds my new pet.

Heh, heh... As a Zombie, this new mammoth is far stronger than before, willing to push its body to its very limit without being restrained by senses of pain nor inhibitions.

Your friends however, heh, they'll feel confused and betrayed, thus, they'll barely dare to stand against you, isn't that hilarious?

The power of 'socialization', cooperation and relations who pushed your species so far, will be now your demise, by the time you decide to fight, more and more of your allies will join in my hands.

As I let inside my little Zombie's teeth scattered fragments of Flesh Buds which upon bitting will enter in the bloodstream and eventually the brain, hence, you'll all die in my palms.

All without moving a single finger."

And as he said, the two didn't even had to act, merely they protected themselves hiding between multiple barriers.

The crying sounds of many mammoths were clearly ignored by the two which were discussing about the Dao and Gu's.

"The world, The Truth, The Universe.

The three steps to achieve Heaven, through the first I took control of time, which holds an 'special' relation with space.

Space-time.

Those two, the most fundamental things from the universe, are the key to master the Truth!

The power to control the 'Truth' holds the power to control and manipulate Laws as I see fit, allowing me to manipulate the weather and even grasp a fraction of the Heavenly white energy through the cosmos

This power that seems to be at the peak of the universe is not the ending yet.

Instead of using 'Laws' to indirectly manipulate the Universe I wish to directly 'use' the power of the cosmos and use it as I see fit.

A power which is only 'limited' by the whole matter of the universe, this is the power of Heaven, the power I pursue."

Dio explained carefully, afraid that the other would misunderstand the meaning of his words.

"Even though I lost 'The Truth', and 'The World' is severely weakened I believe I still can use my Stand as the 'core' of a Formation.

In fact, in my previous world I already made one, a 'Formation' made of the soul of 36 sinners to achieve 'The Truth', then, similarly I could use another Formation to temporarily achieve the power of 'The Universe.'

This Universe would of course be limited, limited by the 'Formation' power itself.

The foundation of it would be 'Laws', which you'd cover, it would also be the power of 'Time' I hold, lastly I would use the power of that little cub, with affinity of 'Space' to achieve this purpose.

Space-time and Laws.

After acquiring those three I would only lack two things.

The power of will to control it and gave it 'coherence', this is the power of Souls and a 'source' of energy, a primordial energy.

Primeval Essence!

Fusing all of this, I Dio shall create my 'Universe Formation!'"

He chuckled inwardly and added.

"Heh, heh...

I believe that this power will be more than enough to get rid off whoever is giving this feeling of 'impeding doom.'"

Finally he concluded with.

"Souls, heh.

This will be a virtuous cycle.

I'll use the power of this Formation to take down the Ma tribe, and with the Souls I will harvest from them I'll be able to fuel and strengthen even further my Formation!

Hence, by each successful activation of it, I'll become stronger and stronger, furthermore my Formation won't be limited to merely attack or defense, but also can use it to nurture my soul, and perhaps even recover the power of my Stand, The World!"