Several days later...
A pinkish-purple light illuminated the landscape of Qing Mao Mountain for a second before it disappeared across the horizon.
"Was that some kind of comet?" Bai Ning Bing wondered, emerging from the thick layers of ice which had covered Qing Mao Mountain.
Fang Yuan followed her. The two of them were the only survivors from Bai Ning Bing's detonation, but they had no time to spare. Lord Sky Crane or first gen Gu Yue could both still be alive, and they needed to make as much distance between them as possible.
However, these thoughts were interrupted when Bai Ning Bing suddenly noticed something as she glanced at her chest. "How did I become... how did I become...?"
Fang Yuan started laughing. "Don't you know? It's called the Yin-Yang Rotation Gu for a reason. The 'Yin Rotation Gu' part transformed you into a woman. As for turning you back into a man, well, I happen to own the Yang Rotation Gu. So don't have any funny thoughts about betraying me now. So, let's get going..."
The two of them departed from Qing Mao Mountain and headed towards Shang Clan City.
This time however, there was something different about traveling with Bai Ning Bing from what Fang Yuan remembered.
Whenever she glanced at Fang Yuan, she would suddenly become flustered and her cheeks would light up a gentle shade of pink. He also caught her glancing at him... almost longingly at times? "D-don't be ridiculous, it wasn't like I really cared about how you were doing or anything! I just wanted the Yang Rotation Gu and wanted to make sure you were doing alright! If you die, so dies the Yang Rotation Gu! Hmph!" she would say sometimes when caught before pouting and storming off.
Whatever.
It had to be him just seeing far too much into things.
The two of them joined a merchant caravan heading towards Shang Clan City. Naturally, Fang Yuan did his best to cozy up to Zhang Xin Ci, or rather, as he knew who she really was, Shang Xin Ci.
However, there was an obstacle when he tried to do so. Namely, Bai Ning Bing. She seemed to 'accidentally' get in the way of his schemes to get closer to Shang Xin Ci time and time again. It was incredibly frustrating.
One frosty moonlit night, Fang Yuan had had enough and confronted Bai Ning Bing.
"Since you are interfering like this Bai Ning Bing, you leave me no choice. If you continue hampering my progress like this, I simply won't give you back the Yang Rotation Gu," Fang Yuan threatened.
Bai Ning Bing, in response to this, simply huffed, pouted, and turned her head away. "That's fine, I can live as a woman without a problem now," she said.
Fang Yuan was speechless. If that were true, he would lose all of his leverage over her. "What, Bai Ning Bing? You must be bluffing..."
"I no longer want to be a man again," Bai Ning Bing said. "What I want is... to be with you... Fang Yuan." She blushed deeply, the rose-tinted color permeating throughout her icy pale jade-like frame. "I want to be with you, Fang Yuan. I want to be the only one that you look at. I can't bear to see you chasing after Shang Xin Ci's skirt!"
Fang Yuan nodded understandably. "Truth be told, I've also developed feelings throughout our journey together. We've traveled so far and for so long together, how could I not? The two of us are so alike, after all. Don't worry about Shang Xin Ci - she is only a tool for now in order to achieve my ends. My heart only belongs to a single person, and that person is close by."
Bai Ning Bing turned towards Fang Yuan, her light blue pupils shining with joy like stars under the night sky. "Fang Yuan... is what you're saying... true?"
"Yes, that is correct," Fang Yuan said. "I love you, Ning Bing."
And then they kissed under the pale moonlight, two demons no longer at odds with each other but working together to achieve a united aim.
This was a reasonable development.
With that said, Fang Yuan still grew closer to Shang Xin Ci, and this continued to make Bai Ning Bing jealous. Things came to a head when Shang Xin Ci finally confessed her love towards Fang Yuan. "Fang Yuan, I don't think I can live without you," she said. "But I know that you already love Bai Ning Bing. I know it's wrong of me to say so, but I needed to let you know how I feel!"
Fang Yuan replied, "I have a large, magnanimous heart. It is true that I love Bai Ning Bing, but it is also true that it can fit two people within it with ease." And so, Fang Yuan ended up deflowering her as well as ultimately marrying her with Shang Xin Ci becoming his second wife after Bai Ning Bing.
The three of them set their sights on working together, rising through the ranks of Shang Clan City and amassing a large amount of cultivation resources together.
This too, was a reasonable development.
Fang Yuan, after a series of events, then found himself on the peak of Dang Hun Mountain, claiming it from Feng Jin Huang just like he had a few days ago.
However, things went slightly different this time around. While using his secret killer move, his pants fell down, resulting in him flashing Feng Jin Huang before he kicked her off the mountain.
That should've been the end of it, however, Feng Jin Huang did not let the matter go.
She had already seen that "monster" between his legs, and whenever she closed her eyes to meditate or scheme for revenge, her thoughts were interrupted by visions of... that thing!
She even had several intensely erotic dreams centering on his yang rod, and would wake up from them flushed and embarrassed.
Things came to a head when she managed to finally challenge Fang Yuan to a Refinement Path contest - a fight that she won.
"So I guess I lost..." Fang Yuan said. "As per our agreement, you can keep Dang Hun Mountain."
"What I want is not Dang Hun Mountain, Fang Yuan," Feng Jin Huang responded. She blushed deeply. "What I want is you, Fang Yuan. You can keep using Dang Hun Mountain. You just have to marry me! Please take me in as your wife!"
And like that, Feng Jin Huang became Fang Yuan's third wife.
This was a reasonable development.
Feng Jin Huang was quite content to let Fang Yuan use her Dream Wings Immortal Gu in order to explore dream realms. It was while doing so that Fang Yuan noted something was... off. There seemed to be a soul trapped in a very peculiar dream realm. He was unable to locate this soul despite trying multiple times.
Sometime later, he was sent off to the Northern Plains on a mission by the Heavenly Court.
There he happened upon the Zi Du Blessed Land which belonged to Zi Yan Ran. She was also known as Lady Poison Scorpion. Back in his past life she had made great gains when it came to exploring dream realms, to the point where some thought that she might be the one destined to be the future Great Dream Immortal Venerable.
It was while passing over this blessed land that he realized who the soul he had seen earlier -trapped within a dream realm - was. Reluctantly, he entered the Zi Du Blessed Land to see what was going on.
There, he found Lady Zi Yan Ran, immersed deeply within a dream realm. Her soul foundation was degrading with each passing minute and if someone didn't save her, she would soon end up dying.
"How unfortunate," Fang Yuan thought. "She's trapped far too deeply for me to extract her using ordinary techniques. But oh, I see... this is an Extreme Yin Type Dream Realm. I have tempered my body using Yang Dream Realm techniques. If I were to unite her Yin with my Yang, I could cure her."
Although Zi Yan Ran was known as Lady Poison Scorpion, being primarily a Poison Path cultivator, her body was quite alluring. She had stripped down to a lacy nightgown embroidered with jade scorpions that left very little to the imagination before entering the dream realm. She had a well-shaped pair of breasts with wide hips and a tight waist, the poisons in the air gave her skin a slight glossy gleam as if she were covered in a light layer of oil. Her lips were an enchanting deep shade of red as if she was a slumbering princess inviting a prince's kiss to wake her up. Her nails were painted with venom in dazzling colors - they were not just for show, but could also be used for attacking in combat if needed. She had taken off her shoes and was barefoot revealing a set of petite pearly toes and lotus-like feet.
If it were not for the gentle rise and fall of her chest, one might think she had already died.
Lady Zi Yan Ran was completely engulfed in the dream realm, unable to do anything if Fang Yuan were to pounce upon her right that instant.
However, she was also Rank 7 and stronger than Fang Yuan was.
If this demonic fairy got to know what Fang Yuan had done to her body while she was helpless once she woke up, would she forgive him after awakening? He would end up being labeled as someone who had taken advantage of an unconscious woman and that reputation would follow him to the ends of the earth even if he survived.
Very few people would understand Fang Yuan's true nature; that he had no lustful desires whatsoever and had been reluctantly forced into the act to save her life.
Indeed, the only thing in Fang Yuan's heart was benevolence. However, the world was filled with evil people who wanted to project their own wickedness upon other people and would malign Fang Yuan's noble intentions.
Fang Yuan shook his head as he considered these implications. "What am I thinking? If I don't act, she will end up dying. Her soul is far too weak for me to be hesitating here. There is clearly only one correct choice moving forward. So what if she gets angry at me once we're done? So what if it damages my reputation? What is reputation before the life of another? For the sake of the world, I would gladly give up my reputation. So long as I know that her life was saved, I will be happy even if she blames me. If I, Fang Yuan, do not descend to hell, who will?" he said as he took off his robes and 'cured' Lady Zi Yan Ran.
Lady Zi Yan Ran slowly opened her eyes, the dream realm broken.
After she woke up and glanced down at her naked body, she glared at Fang Yuan, quickly realizing what had happened. She initially looked like she wanted to kill him right there on the spot, but upon seeing his figure, she paused for a moment before deeply blushing. "Lord Fang Yuan... you have taken away my body's purity. You have to compensate me appropriately. I demand that you take responsibility! You... you have to marry me!"
Like that, Zi Yan Ran became Fang Yuan's fourth wife.
This was a reasonable development.
Lady Zi Yan Ran, Fang Yuan, and Feng Jin Huang then spent their time exploring dream realms together. All three of them were able to make great gains thanks to their cooperation.
One day, while wandering the Central Continent Fang Yuan found that his Spring Autumn Cicada was reacting to something within the Earth.
Traveling deeper, he found something - a tributary of the River of Time! He was not a Time Path cultivator, and the suppression here was making his cultivation weaker, which is why he attempted to leave before suddenly a tidal wave from the River of Time washed over him!
This was very dangerous. Fang Yuan could lose his entire lifespan if he was not careful! There were several rapids as well which could end up killing him. Not to mention wild Time Path Immemorial Desolate Beasts which had Rank 8 strength that could easily tear him limb from limb if they found him.
Fang Yuan yelled out as he was carried away by the River of Time, helpless to do anything in the rapids, until a figure swam upstream before embracing him, taking him out of the river and carrying him to safety.
"...to think that I would have to save you from the water's depths again like this..." came a somewhat familiar voice.
Fang Yuan coughed out the water and rubbed his eyes before he realized something. He knew who this person was!
A mermaid with jet-black hair, warm eyes which shone like the stars, and a gentle smile on her face greeted him.
It was someone who had saved him before in a very similar situation - someone who had apparently traveled upstream in the River of Time in order to meet him.
"Xie Han Mo?" he asked, shocked.
"That is correct," she said, smiling. "Fang Yuan after you left it felt like my world had ended. I no longer even wanted the position of Mermaid Saintess and left the tribe. I wandered the world aimlessly until I ended up stumbling upon an inheritance belonging to Red Lotus Demonic Venerable. It was his true inheritance - he said that if I cultivated, there was a chance... a chance that I could see you again. I cultivated and became a Time Path Gu Immortal. I even managed to become a quasi-Supreme Grandmaster of the Time Path at Rank 8, possessing pseudo-Venerable strength. But no matter how far I advanced, I couldn't forget you... the man whom I loved..."
"How did you come back in time though? I have the only Spring Autumn Cicada in existence," Fang Yuan said.
"Even though I cultivated and reached the pinnacle of my path, I still couldn't let you go. I also couldn't find you. But then, one day, while I was grieving your loss, a gu worm presented itself to me which changed everything. It was shining brightly like a pearl amongst the ocean floor and emanated a Rank 9 aura. It was more beautiful than anything I'd ever seen," Xie Han Mo said.
"Wait a minute... was that... Love Gu?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Yes, I ended up gaining the acknowledgement of Love Gu, using it along with a Time Path killer move let me break through the River of Time to be with you," Xie Han Mo said. "Now, the two of us can finally be together like we've always wanted..."
Xie Han Mo then became Fang Yuan's fifth wife.
This was a reasonable development.
Sometime later, while wandering the Northern Plains, Fang Yuan found a small egg abandoned on the ground. On a whim, he decided to pick up the egg.
The egg hatched a baby Upper Extreme Heavenly Eagle, which Fang Yuan began raising. The Upper Extreme Heavenly Eagle followed him everywhere, clinging to him at all times. It had luscious black feathers, so Fang Yuan decided to name it 'Xiao Hei.'
"Now, now, you can't follow me all the time," Fang Yuan told it one day, when it began throwing another tantrum.
But as he was about to leave...
POOF!
"Master!"
Fang Yuan turned around to see that inexplicably, the Upper Extreme Heavenly Eagle had transformed into the form of a young girl, with small greyish wings sprouting from her back. She had cute eyes and a small mouth, and was pouting. "Master, don't leave me!"
"Xiao Hei, how did you turn into a human?" Fang Yuan asked, astonished.
"Master, I used this gu worm," she answered, holding up Rank 8 Human Transformation Immortal Gu. "Master, now that Xiao Hei is a human, can she and Master finally get married?"
"Heh," Fang Yuan said. "Right now you are far too young to think of marriage, Xiao Hei."
"Master! I might look young, but I've lived for centuries over and over again as an eagle," Xiao Hei said. The Upper Extreme Heavenly Eagle had a short lifespan of only eighty years, but would be reborn over and over again with their memories from past lives intact, so she wasn't completely lying.
Xiao Hei would then continue to wander around, clinging closely to Fang Yuan while telling the other members of his harem that she would become his principal wife and wouldn't lose out to anyone!
This was a reasonable development.
Fang Yuan continued to explore dream realms, his attainment in various paths skyrocketing. Particularly interesting was his attainment in the Human Path. He quickly developed a method that could bring people back to life; his healing methods were soon unparalleled.
Later on, Fang Yuan found himself in a desperate battle against the Heavenly Court. His demonic nature had been exposed by them and he had no choice but to fight.
He was fighting against their Gu Immortals - which turned into a losing battle despite all he threw at them. He thought he was going to die until a wall of stars suddenly emerged from the Heavenly Court and enveloped him. With the wall of stars around him, their strikes ceased to have any impact - no matter what they threw at the wall, they could not break through.
It was a defensive move which was far beyond Fang Yuan's capabilities to use.
"This is...!" the Heavenly Court Gu Immortals yelled out. They recognized this as being one of Star Constellation Immortal Venerable's arrangements!
But why was it protecting Fang Yuan instead of hurting him?
"All of you, I'm afraid I can't allow you to hurt Fang Yuan," Star Constellation Immortal Venerable said, her Will emerging in the middle of the battlefield. "Because... Gu Yue Fang Yuan is actually my son."
These words shocked everyone.
It turned out that Star Constellation Immortal Venerable had had an affair with a variant human - a merman, but the merman in question had hidden his identity from her initially.
Once she found this out, she ended up breaking up with him, though it turned out she was already pregnant with his seed. She secretly gave birth to twin boys - Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng. She naturally could not keep these children in order to remain in the Heavenly Court, and so cast them off down into the River of Time, where Fang Yuan and Fang Zheng eventually ended up within the Gu Yue Clan.
In truth, their 'real' parents in the Gu Yue clan had never existed and had just been a Wisdom Path deception created by her in order to keep them safe.
She had also placed measures on their bodies to ensure that their true identities as half-mermen would not be discovered.
So it turned out that Fang Yuan was actually Star Constellation's son all along! This also explained why Fang Yuan had fallen so hard for a mermaid, because he was part merfolk himself!
"Fang Yuan, please denounce your demonic ways. In truth, if I had taken care of you properly at the time, you would never have fallen off the path of righteousness," she said. "This is all my fault."
"Why then, did you abandon us? Were you so ashamed of your own children?" Fang Yuan demanded.
"No, at the time... I was not even a Venerable. I was still working under Primordial Origin Immortal Venerable. He would not have let me see the two of you and would've demanded I got rid of you, so I had no choice," Star Constellation Immortal Venerable said.
Fang Yuan used Human Path methods to bring her back to life. Fang Yuan had a tearful reunion with his mother and denounced the demonic path completely, becoming a member of the Heavenly Court. He then also used similar Human Path methods to bring back his brother, Gu Yue Fang Zheng, to life.
This was a reasonable development.
But then, if such was the case, who had been the person who had conspired against Fang Yuan from within the Heavenly Court? This mystery confused many people, until Star Constellation's methods allowed Fang Yuan to deduce the truth.
It turned out that it had been none other than Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable!
Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable had been rejected from the Central Continent's Painting Academy in his youth, and this had caused him to greatly resent the humans of the Central Continent. He never got over this traumatic event. Despite becoming an Immortal Venerable, he was unable to deal with this hatred buried deep in his heart and had put in place a plan to destroy the Heavenly Court and the world itself.
He had even created several split souls in order to achieve his aims.
In truth, it turned out that Spectral Soul Demonic Venerable and Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable were the same person all along!
They were both actually split souls of Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable all along! Spectral Soul Demonic Venerable was a method to see if it was indeed possible to kill a large number of people, while Paradise Earth Immortal Venerable was a method to sneak into the lives and secrets of various Variant Humans.
And now, all three of them had revived using latent methods placed down over the centuries!
This was a reasonable development.
Fang Yuan now had to fight all of them if he wanted to save the world.
But how could he? He fought them all, but was quickly driven to the brink of death. While dying, Fang Yuan thought about his wives and how much he'd miss all of them, their voices and cheers echoing in his mind and giving him strength.
At that moment, a bright light entered the battlefield.
It was none other than Rank 9 Love Gu. Fang Yuan stared at Love Gu. "Love!? ...so all this time, I was wrong."
He suddenly understood. His true strength did not lie in gu worms, Immortal Essence, or dao marks. It lay in the bonds he had formed with those whom he loved and cared about. His wives, his friends, his family including Star Constellation and Fang Zheng - their faith in him was the true source of his strength. It was with this epiphany that Love Gu began shining brilliantly.
Fang Yuan had earned Love Gu's acknowledgement, and using Love Gu, Fang Yuan was able to ascend to become a Venerable! And not just any Venerable, but a Venerable who had refined Love Gu into his Vital Gu - Fang Yuan had become the Great Love Immortal Venerable!
This too, was a reasonable development.
However, facing three Venerable all at once was no easy feat even with his mother's help.
Right when he thought he was about to lose, the River of Time opened up and Red Lotus Demonic Venerable stepped out together with Limitless Demonic Venerable! Neither of them wanted to see the world destroyed, and had set up this arrangement in advance.
With their help, Fang Yuan began to turn the tide. However, they were still pushed back.
It was then that Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable also appeared, opening up a rift in the world itself and the Chaos outside.
"Thieving Heaven, have you joined up with Genesis Lotus and intend to destroy the world along with him?" Fang Yuan demanded.
"Nothing of the sort," Thieving Heaven said. "If anything, this is my gift to you, Fang Yuan."
The Chaos began invading into the world, but this was not an uncontrolled flood or deluge. No, these wisps of Chaos were controlled and began seeping into Fang Yuan's aperture, allowing him to refine the Primordial Chaos Physique.
Following this, using the thoughts and prayers of various humans within the Central Continent, his wives, and other friends Fang Yuan found that his power increased exponentially, suppressing the three opposing Venerables entirely.
Using the power of love and friendship, Fang Yuan finally managed to defeat the great evil threatening the world.
After that, using the Primordial Chaos Physique, Fang Yuan eventually broke through to Rank 10, became unrivaled in the Gu World, and then refined Eternity Gu. He stabilized the gu world so that it would remain steadfast even in the face of the outside Chaos.
And so, Fang Yuan lived for eternity, contemplating the Dao that had been Him all along, living with his harem of wives - Bai Ning Bing, Shang Xin Ci, Feng Jin Huang, Zi Yan Ran, Xie Han Mo and Xiao Hei; with whom he had thousands of children over the eons. He continued to reign over the Heavenly Court, bringing peace and joy throughout the world while working with his mother Star Constellation Immortal Venerable and beloved younger brother Fang Zheng (who ended up marrying a female hairy man). The Heavenly Court no longer promoted human supremacy and all the variant humans and regular humans lived in harmony happily ever after.
A bright pink light began to shine over the Heavenly Court one day.
"Finally!" Fang Yuan thought to himself. The light was coming from Dreams of Love and Happiness Gu. "It means that this dream realm is finally ending!"
He was now in more control of his body.
With a swift blow, he slew all of the members of his harem and his 'mother' Star Constellation Immortal Venerable, before he finally woke up.
***
In the Hu Immortal Blessed Land...
"Argh!" Fang Yuan screamed out as he took in a deep breath of fresh air. Fang Yuan sat up coughing; his soul had been greatly weakened. Barely a wisp of it remained, any further damage and he would no doubt end up dead.
Little Hu Immortal ran out in front of him with a worried expression on her face. "Master, Master! Are you okay?"
"Yes... I just need... Guts Gu," Fang Yuan said. "Get me... Guts Gu."
He was in an extremely sorry state.
When it came to the physical side of things, this was from using Envy Gu. Using it had caused him to refine Ugly Gu and he suffered for that much like Profound Earth Origin had. Fang Yuan had one of the most grotesque appearances a human could possibly have. Pustules and ulcers had grown all over his body, his skin had turned ashen green, and a foul odor surrounded him almost as if he was some kind of corpse. In addition to that, his right eye where Envy Gu had been refined was still missing.
He could not actually regenerate his right eye currently, even with his Human Path methods. It was not that he couldn't change his body or heal it - it was just that these changes and damage was so severe that even Rank 6 Human Path methods wouldn't work.
But, that was only on the physical side of things. And his body had been like that before recent events anyway.
After all, what did Fang Yuan care for his appearance? Becoming ugly, losing his right eye - this was a price well worth paying for gaining the status of being fated to be a Venerable!
Once Fang Yuan had gained control over the Hu Immortal Blessed Land, he had thought that things would be smooth sailing. He had stolen Feng Jin Huang's fate, but almost immediately after the Blessed Land closed and he started settling things, a dream realm had suddenly engulfed him out of nowhere.
This was no ordinary dream realm. It was far stronger than any he had ever encountered before. It was also not a pleasant dream realm, it seemed to be filled with screams of terror and despair. Fang Yuan had felt his soul rapidly torn apart as it weakened with him finding no way out of it.
His soul had been ripped to shreds, even now, he felt like he was about to faint just from the effort of thinking. His soul was just barely clinging on to life.
In order to survive, Fang Yuan had used Dreams of Love and Happiness Gu which had then led to one of the strangest dreams he had ever encountered.
"What kind of nonsense dream realm was that?" Fang Yuan muttered, glaring at Dreams of Love and Happiness Gu. If this was like The Legends of Ren Zu where gu worms could talk, it would without a doubt be sobbing, apologizing, and asking for mercy for creating such a nonsensical dream realm. "Did it think that adding the thought that 'it was a reasonable development' after everything would make anything make sense?"
Nothing of what had happened within that dream realm was reasonable!
Despite feeling incredibly happy towards the end when he had 'obtained eternal life,' Fang Yuan had been able to escape from it rather easily because of this.
But it did make him wonder as to why it was that all of this had happened.
Was Heaven's Will trying to kill him as a consequence for using that killer move? Did it want to correct things and make it so that Feng Jin Huang was still going to be the Great Dream Immortal Venerable?
Such a thing shouldn't have been possible after he had used that killer move to steal Feng Jin Huang's fate at all if Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable was to be believed, but then again, this was a killer move which had only been used once in all of history. It wasn't like the killer move had ever been tested.
His killer move also hadn't actually damaged Fate Gu in any way. Fate Gu still functioned as intended, it only transferred Feng Jin Huang's fate from her to him.
Who knew if it had side effects or flaws?
Could Heaven's Will still try and strike him down?
"Oh, what's this?" Fang Yuan said, feeling that something was different about his body.
"Master! Master! There's a new gu worm on your back!" Little Hu Immortal said, bouncing up and down, tail wagging, as she pointed to his back.
When Fang Yuan reached for his back, he found that there was a pair of large, black, leathery wings attached to it. They seemed almost bat-like in appearance. The wings were as dark as night, but seemed to phase in and out of existence as if they were partially illusory.
It was a gu worm that let off a Rank 6 aura which had not been there before.
It was then that Fang Yuan had realized what was going on.
Feng Jin Huang had managed to obtain Dream Wings Immortal Gu within a dream. That was her fortuitous encounter set up by Fate to help her become the Great Dream Immortal Venerable. Fang Yuan had wondered whether or not they would be transferred to him once he had stolen her fate of becoming the Great Dream Immortal Venerable.
After all, now Fate should've been supporting him instead.
However, Fang Yuan realized Fate had acted in a different way.
The dream realm he had been enveloped in wasn't Heaven's Will attempt at trying to restrain or kill him. No, it was Heaven's Will attempting to support him! Fortune and misfortune were often tied together. Fate must've known that he had a way to survive this kind of dream realm, otherwise it wouldn't have sent it his way.
This strange dream realm had actually been a gift, a fortuitous encounter on his path to becoming the Great Dream Immortal Venerable, because he now had a new Rank 6 Dream Path gu worm with him.
Rank 6 - Nightmare Wings Immortal Gu!
"Take me down to Dang Hun Mountain," Fang Yuan commanded.
His soul was so severely injured that even the strain of using one of his gu worms would've caused him to black out. Little Hu teleported him to the base of the mountain; a waste of a bead of Immortal Essence, but by this point Fang Yuan's foundation and resources were deep enough that this was not a problem for him. Also, his soul foundation at the moment was genuinely so weak he thought he might pass out if he moved too much.
Down there, at the base of the mountain, there were numerous gutstones that had formed. Fang Yuan eagerly began breaking them. Not all of them had Guts Gu in them, but many did, and Fang Yuan gradually felt his soul foundation begin to recover.
"Master, did you know that Guts Gu, despite being mortal gu, are not ordinary?" Little Hu asked, ears twitching. "They can strengthen your soul without any side effects!"
Fang Yuan nodded; he knew so already but didn't rebuke her. He felt too weak to do so.
He no longer felt lightheaded, and could now focus on planning what to do next. He had a thousand and one issues that needed to be tackled. The only question was what took priority above the others.
"Land spirit, what is the situation outside?" he asked.
Internal problems could be dealt with at his leisure; however, external problems had to be addressed immediately - particularly the reactions from those outside. It didn't seem that anyone had tried to invade the Blessed Land yet, so it appeared his gambit with the Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable's token had worked.
"Master, lots of strange things happened after you left," the Little Hu Immortal land spirit said. "The coin that you threw out... everyone avoided it like it was some kind of explosive! Master, what kind of coin was that?"
"Forget that for now," Fang Yuan said. "What happened to the coin?"
"Someone came from above, a Rank 8 Gu Immortal!" Little Hu said.
Fang Yuan's eyes widened; he had a pretty good idea who that Gu Immortal was. This was confirmed as Little Hu showed him the man's face using a gu worm. It was Chen Yi, the current leader of the Heavenly Lotus Sect had come personally to inspect the token he threw out.
"And what did this Rank 8 Gu Immortal do?"
"Nothing, Master. He simply took the token away and flew back into the clouds, but no one has attacked the Blessed Land ever since."
It truly was a genuine relic of Genesis Lotus Immortal Venerable then. As for the number '4' written upon it, Fang Yuan could only guess that Genesis Lotus had left behind several inheritances in the world, and that was the fourth one.
'He must have said something to protect us from the others,' Fang Yuan thought to himself. "Are there any messages left behind for us?"
"Indeed, Master," the Little Hu Immortal land spirit said. "Should I let those messages in?"
The first was a letter from the Heavenly Lotus Sect. It was from one of their supreme elders whose name Fang Yuan didn't recognize. On the surface, the contents of the letter were clean - welcoming Fang Yuan and congratulating him on winning the blessed land. However, reading between the lines, the meaning was obvious: "Just who are you, and what do you want?" The Heavenly Lotus Sect had never invited Fang Yuan into their ranks, but they had formed rank in order to protect him, and by extension, Dang Hun Mountain and the potential Genesis Lotus inheritance he had.
As for masking the presence of Rank 9 Envy Gu from the investigative methods in use by the Immortals back when he had arrived, it appeared that Thieving Heaven's methods were quite profound. No one knew that he had possessed a Rank 9 gu worm, else they would've been tearing through the blessed land right at this moment, consequences be damned. Now though, the gu worm was gone.
Fang Yuan chuckled to himself. He reached out through Treasure Yellow Heaven and introduced himself to Chen Yi.
"This subordinate greets the First Supreme Elder."
The response came quickly enough from Chen Yi's Will.
"Ah, Fang Yuan, how are things going?"
"Well, the thing is, Supreme Elder, I've run into certain issues within the Hu Immortal blessed land. Please allow me some time to address them, and then I will reach out to you with further details. My apologies for not seeking you out sooner."
"So be it. If you require any help from the Heavenly Lotus Sect, do not hesitate to ask for it," came the response. The conversation was extraordinarily polite despite the two sides calculating against one another even as they spoke.
With this, Fang Yuan had managed to buy some time to deal with the matters of the Hu Immortal blessed land as well as other issues.
The second letter was from Feng Jiu Ge - Feng Jin Huang's father. He was a Rank 7 Sound Path Gu Immortal with formidable strength that could almost rival a Rank 8 for a short time, allowing him to fight toe-to-toe with one to a certain extent.
This was no ordinary feat; the gap in strength between Rank 7 and Rank 8 was enormous due to dao marks. The myriad tribulation required to reach Rank 8 granted, on average, approximately 80,000 Dao marks. When compared to earthly calamities, heavenly tribulations, or even grand tribulations, that number dwarfed them all even if multiples of them were added up. As an example, by comparison, grand tribulations only gave an average of 7,000 dao marks, barely a tenth of one myriad tribulation.
One myriad tribulation was worth more than nearly all previous tribulations combined. That meant that a Rank 8 who passed two of them had strength nearly double that of a newly ascended Rank 8. That was to say nothing of Rank 8 White Litchi Immortal Essence or the Rank 7 Immortal Gu that Rank 7 Gu Immortals rarely possessed but Rank 8 Gu Immortals generally had.
In Fang Yuan's past life, Feng Jiu Ge had been part of the Heavenly Court's mission to invade the Lang Ya blessed land in the Northern Plains, where he eventually died. As for how things would play out in this life, Fang Yuan figured he could no longer rely on his past memories. Things had changed so much due to his actions, particularly now with the Rank 9 Stealing Fate killer move. His past knowledge was likely no longer worth very much.
The letter from Feng Jiu Ge started out with a very accusatory tone, stating that Fang Yuan had cheated, asking whether Fang Yuan had any shame toying with a mortal when he was an Immortal himself, etc.
It stated that Feng Jin Huang wanted to challenge him once again, but given the vast difference in their cultivation realms, it had to be an appropriate contest if Fang Yuan was willing to accept.
Fang Yuan laughed before writing his response and sending it back to Feng Jiu Ge. 'Who knows how he will react to my response?' Fang Yuan thought to himself, chuckling.
With those matters temporarily settled, he turned to what he had brought into the Hu Immortal blessed land.
"How are the objects and people I've brought in?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Master," Little Hu Immortal said, "someone who used to look just like you - I think your younger brother - was asking to meet with you. But I didn't let anyone come near you in the state you were in."
"Good job," Fang Yuan said. "Now, let me go ahead and speak with Fang Zheng and Qing Shu myself."
Both Fang Zheng and Qing Shu were living within the palace where Fairy Bai Hu used to live. They had been anxious when Fang Yuan didn't emerge for a few days, but seeing him brought relief, even if his current appearance disturbed them.
'No one is going to think I'm the worst-looking one now,' Fang Zheng thought to himself upon seeing Fang Yuan. Most of the people calling him the 'ugly' twin were likely just haters, but it had still needled him somewhat.
"Supreme Elder, what happened to you?" Qing Shu asked.
"This is a side effect of using a gu worm," Fang Yuan responded. "I'll probably be stuck like this for some time."
"Don't worry, Elder Brother" Fang Zheng pointed out. "After all, in The Legends of Ren Zu, when Profound Earth Origin took in Ugly Gu and became ugly, neither Carefree Wisdom Heart, nor Great Strength True Martial minded it. Regardless of how you look, you are still our clan's extremely talented Supreme Elder."
"Relax, I'm not worried at all regarding my appearance," Fang Yuan said, laughing. "How has everything else been?"
Fang Yuan had also deposited the dogs collected from the Three Kings inheritance, as well as the hairy men, into the Hu Immortal blessed land. Naturally, this could lead to conflicts.
Little Hu Immortal piped up immediately, "Master, Master, the dogs! They've been scaring away the foxes!"
Fairy Bai Hu had been an Enslavement Path expert who specialized in foxes, so her blessed land was specifically constructed to raise them. Introducing invasive species like the dogs - especially the two Rank 5 Dog Emperors when the foxes had no such equivalent - would inevitably cause conflict.
Qing Shu and Fang Zheng had managed it by keeping the two populations cordoned off and away from each other, but issues would certainly persist in the future.
"Anything else of note within the blessed land?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Indeed, Master. The next earthly calamity is going to happen in one year and three months."
Fang Yuan sighed. That didn't leave much time, and it was likely going to be troublesome.
"Also, Master, this is what we have in the blessed land..." Little Hu Immortal explained, listing off the resources within the blessed land. As Fang Yuan expected, there were no Immortal Gu left, but it never hurt to check.
He was pleasantly surprised, however, to see that there was a population of rockmen living within the area.
Scars still persisted from previous calamities.
The most dangerous leftover was a Blue Charm Lightning Shadow - the very entity that had led to Fairy Bai Hu's death. Furthermore, one sector was on fire from a dark flaming meteor that had fallen from above, and another sector was flooded. Both sectors were currently unusable wastelands.
If Fang Yuan wanted to deal with the upcoming earthly calamity, he would have to resolve these internal problems as well as he could first.
But before that, there was one thing he wanted to test.
The rockmen were perfect test subjects.
***
Deep within one of the underground tunnels of the blessed land, a rockman was sleeping peacefully. This rockman was named Yan Yong, and was the grandson of the current leader of the rockmen tribe.
Fang Yuan used Fixed Immortal Travel Gu to travel there, standing beside the sleeping subject.
Rockmen spent a good portion of their lives sleeping, and would naturally dream while sleeping. Fang Yuan didn't activate Nightmare Wings Gu; instead, he brought it near the rockman. Within seconds, the rockman's peaceful expression twisted. He began shaking violently, calling out for his comrades even as he slept.
No one answered him.
Minutes later, Yan Yong died.
All from sleeping near Nightmare Wings Gu for a few minutes.
A wide smile appeared on Fang Yuan's face.
'So this is the effect of Nightmare Wings Gu...'
He had wanted to test its effects out. He had initially wondered if its effect would be similar to Dream Wings Gu and allow him to travel through to visit dream realms, but that was not the case. Instead, its effect was somewhat similar to Dreams of Love and Happiness Gu - it transformed the content of dream realms. Rather than making them pleasant, however, it turned them into horrific nightmares.
Not only were these nightmares terrifying and difficult to escape, but they rapidly consumed one's soul foundation.
Rockmen were heavily dependent on their soul's strength; Dang Hun Mountain was ideal for raising them precisely because it strengthened their souls through Guts Gu, which was why Fairy Bai Hu had used it to promote rockmen growth and then sold them for profit.
Fang Yuan decided to further test out Nightmare Wings Gu on some of the other rockmen. This time he did not merely allow Nightmare Wings Immortal Gu's passive effect to activate. Instead, he expended a bead of Grape Green Immortal Essence and deliberately activated it.
The difference was dramatic.
The rockman's dream was violently torn apart and became nightmarish. Its body soon followed, collapsing into pieces within a fraction of a second.
The offensive potential of the nightmare when actively used was extraordinary!
Ordinary dreams tested one's soul foundation, but nightmares were particularly nasty in that they consumed it extraordinarily rapidly. Before anything could be done, the subject would likely die. Such had nearly happened to Fang Yuan - the dream realm he had been trapped in had been transformed by the wild Nightmare Wings Immortal Gu before he came into contact with it, and it was only thanks to Dreams of Love and Happiness Gu that he managed to escape.
One of the greatest drawbacks of the Dream Path was its lack of direct offensive options, but it turned out that wasn't entirely true - there was no strongest path, only the strongest Gu Master!
Nightmare Wings Gu weaponized the soul-depleting aspect of dream realms.
Fang Yuan laughed to himself. This was a gu worm that suited him greatly. He possessed strong killing intent and preferred powerful offensive methods compared to anything else.
Killing intent rose within his heart.
The Dream Path was still relatively new. Most Gu Immortals lacked effective defenses against it, meaning Fang Yuan could kill his enemies before they even understood what had happened.
However, Nightmare Wings Immortal Gu had its limitations. First, its target needed to be asleep and already dreaming. Second, it required close proximity to the dream realm in question.
Even so, its potential was immense. Fang Yuan could develop it further, making a killer move in the future that could fix its flaws. Perhaps he could create a move that would put a target to sleep or trap them within a dream first, and then also create a way for this attack to work at a large distance. If he succeeded, it would truly be a force to be reckoned with throughout the Five Regions!
And Fang Yuan already had a potential target in mind.
He knew that Lady Poison Scorpion, Zi Yan Ran, was currently slumbering in the Northern Plains. With Fixed Immortal Travel Gu, he could reach her quickly and without issue. While he couldn't acquire Dream Wings Gu from Feng Jin Huang, invading the Zi Du blessed land to try to get Dream Travel Gu was certainly an option.
The difference in cultivation rank wasn't that important here. He could use Nightmare Wings Gu while Lady Poison Scorpion was dreaming, consuming her soul foundation and killing her before she could react. The gains would be immense, especially if she proved unable to self-detonate her Dream Travel Gu.
As for why he couldn't just kill Feng Jin Huang to try and obtain Dream Wings Gu in this life: Stealing Fate was a killer move that had never been used before, and Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable had noted that he wasn't sure what would happen if the target died.
The dao marks inscribed upon her body by the killer move were self-regenerating and permanent. If she were to die while Fang Yuan was stealing her fate, would it disrupt the killer move? Thieving Heaven had advised Fang Yuan that her death might interrupt the move - whether or not he was telling the truth or just wanted Fang Yuan to spare her; Fang Yuan wouldn't risk it.
But was it even possible to kill Feng Jin Huang right? She had Fate Gu protecting her, but that had failed in his past life. Then again, he was an Otherworldly Demon. But how many Otherworldly Demons were there, and how many would want to kill Feng Jin Huang for some reason?
Fate was certainly fickle and strange.
In his past life, he had been the cause of her death; in this life, Fang Yuan was the one who needed her to survive the longest to protect his own interests. Thankfully, she was protected by two powerful Gu Immortals and was in no immediate danger.
Even if she died, resurrection methods existed. Besides, in his past life, Fate Gu's influence had made her nearly impossible to kill until he, an Otherworldly Demon, interfered. He could use resurrection methods on her or as a last resort activate the Spring Autumn Cicada; not necessarily to save his own life but rather to save hers.
'Actually, now that I think about it,' Fang Yuan mused, 'the Spring Autumn Cicada might have been Heaven's Will's way of correcting the timeline and bringing Feng Jin Huang back to life. It was certainly a side effect of everything that happened.'
On a similar note, was it possible for a Gu World native to kill Fang Yuan? This also seemed to be unclear, but Fang Yuan wasn't going to be careless.
Before addressing the rest of the blessed land's affairs, Fang Yuan spent time further examining his Dream Path gu worms.
It was said that man is the spirit of all living beings, and that gu are the fragments of the Great Dao, which could be simplified to one word: Dao.
Everything was Dao. Mortal Gu were minor fragments of the Dao, while Immortal Gu were massive, unique fragments of the Dao.
Fang Yuan had been unable to obtain a single Dream Path Immortal Gu in his past life, but now he held two. Both were large fragments of the Dream Path Dao.
Immortals could raise their attainment levels far above those of mortals because they had access to more gu worms of their path, that is to say, dao marks of their path and even huge fragments if they had Immortal Gu. By seeing how they interacted with the specific resources in their aperture, their comprehension of the dao would greatly increased.
He already was quite familiar with Dreams of Love and Happiness Gu.
In addition, he had already forayed into the Dream Path somewhat in his prior life.
He tested out Nightmare Wings Immortal Gu on a dozen other sleeping rockmen. The loss in life was more than acceptable for him if it granted him greater insight into the Dream Path.
Forget a dozen, what were the lives of even ten thousand rockmen if killing them would deepen his understanding of the Dao?
Thus, by studying the properties of these two Immortal Gu, he was able to advance his Dream Path attainment level to Master level!
Considering how new the Dream Path was to the world, this was no small feat. He felt that his new fate had also played a role in this advancement, though being at Master still meant there was a long way to go before reaching the Supreme Grandmaster level expected of the future Great Dream Venerable.
***
Meanwhile, Feng Jiu Ge and Fairy Bai Qing were speaking with each other.
Their daughter, Feng Jin Huang, had been in a deep, meditative stance ever since she was ejected from the blessed land. Right after being ejected, she had been furious, destroying a large area of the forest in rage. Later on, she became despondent.
She had approached her father with a strange question: "Father, I think Fang Yuan did... something to me in the blessed land."
Feng Jiu Ge's gaze hardened. "What do you mean?" What had happened in the final moments had been unclear from the outside. Fang Yuan had appeared, and then that area of the mountain seemed blurred to their investigative methods.
"Not in that way," Feng Jin Huang clarified quickly. "I think before he ejected me, he used some sort of killer move - some kind of tracer on me. I'm worried I was hit by something." It was strange, but she had developed some kind of amnesia after Fang Yuan had done... whatever he did. She thought that there was something off about his face, but she couldn't remember what it was. And when she strained her mind, all it did was give her a headache.
Feng Jiu Ge had immediately used his investigative methods, but found nothing on her. The two parents even reached out to an investigative expert within Spirit Affinity House, who also found nothing wrong. "Relax, I'm sure it was nothing," Feng Jiu Ge said. There hadn't been enough time for anything on those lines to happen anyway, but he couldn't deny that he was worried.
"Who is this Fang Yuan?" Fairy Bai Qing asked him while they were sipping tea. "I've never heard his name before, yet he claims to be a Supreme Elder of the Heavenly Lotus Sect. If that's true, why didn't they act sooner? With a trump card like Fixed Immortal Travel Gu they could've taken Dang Hun Mountain from the beginning without resorting to this facade."
"I can't answer that," Feng Jiu Ge said. "There is definitely a conspiracy afoot." He sighed. He had wanted to intervene, but Chen Yi himself had descended. Ordinarily, the emergence of one Rank Eight expert would prompt Spirit Affinity's own Supreme Elders to descend. But that didn't happen. When Feng Jiu Ge pressed upon it, he found that the Heavenly Court had expressly forbidden the Spirit Affinity Sect from retaliating or pursuing the matter. Meaning there was no one among the righteous path who would stand against Fang Yuan's claim to the Hu Immortal Blessed Land. "However, this might not be all bad."
"How so?"
"It is only by experiencing loss that one can move forward. Huang'er has never lost before. Now that she knows defeat, she will grow. We cannot be there to protect her forever. Not even Rank 9 Venerables can live forever. The time will come when she must stand on her own, I hope that this defeat will help her mature as a person," Feng Jiu Ge said.
Before Fairy Bai Qing could respond, a letter gu returned.
"Oh, it appears Fang Yuan has sent a response," Feng Jiu Ge said.
Though Feng Jiu Ge had maintained a relaxed expression earlier, his face turned hard as steel as he scanned the letter. Watching his expression, Fairy Bai Qing grew concerned.
"Husband, what's wrong?" she asked.
"This Fang Yuan is too much!" Feng Jiu Ge said, his voice cold as he continued reading. His gaze softened slightly as he read the secondary terms below.
He then handed it over to Fairy Bai Qing.
The first part of the letter stated that Fang Yuan was willing to accept Feng Jin Huang's challenge, but he had strict stipulations regarding the conditions and prizes. If she won, he would hand over 25% of the output of Dang Hun Mountain to her. However, if she lost, she would have to marry him, leave Spirit Affinity House, and join him as the wife of one of the Supreme Elders of the Heavenly Lotus Sect.
"This Fang Yuan is too much!" Fairy Bai Qing exclaimed, her voice rising. "Trying to marry our daughter? Who does he think he is? I would never let Huang'er take that kind of challenge!"
If the two of them could see just how unbelievably ugly Fang Yuan looked now, they would without a doubt spit blood at the thought of such a man marrying their daughter.
Right now, they were just moderately offended.
Fang Yuan had already stolen Feng Jin Huang's blessed land, Dang Hun Mountain, and her fate of becoming Great Dream Venerable. Did he also intend to steal her virginity too?
Fang Yuan didn't actually expect the challenge to be accepted, but if it was, he would keep Feng Jin Huang as a trophy wife safe in his aperture. After all, her survival was essential to his growth. He was probably the one person in the world, aside from her own parents, who wanted her to have a long life the most.
Feng Jiu Ge shook his head. "Read the rest."
Fang Yuan also offered an alternative if she chose not to accept the challenge: he wanted to borrow Dream Wings Immortal Gu. In exchange, for as long as he held it, he would give 10% of Dang Hun Mountain's Guts Gu output to Feng Jin Huang. Either party could revoke the agreement at any time - he would return Dream Wings Immortal Gu, and she would stop receiving Guts Gu if they chose to terminate things. He was even willing to offer a Rank 6 Immortal Gu as collateral in case anything happened to Dream Wings Immortal Gu.
On paper, it wasn't a bad deal. Feng Jin Huang was still a mortal and couldn't use an Immortal Gu to its full extent without suffering severe backlash. The deal ensured that she wouldn't lose ownership of the gu worm in question, and gaining 10% of Dang Hun Mountain's output would be immensely valuable, elevating her status within Spirit Affinity House and potentially securing her position as the sect's next generation Fairy.
However, loopholes existed to every contract and naturally there were questions in her mind.
"Just how much is 10% of Dang Hun Mountain's output?" Fairy Bai Qing questioned. "Without knowing the exact numbers, it's hard to gauge if this is fair. Besides, Fang Yuan could intentionally suppress the mountain's output whenever he wants. 10% is likely a low offer, he seems to be the type to negotiate hard. He should hand over at least 25%. In which case we should start by asking for 50%."
"The terms are negotiable, but the logic is sound," Feng Jiu Ge noted. "But there is the question of Huang'er's future. The deal may sound reasonable at first glance, but I doubt that this Fang Yuan is a fool. He must also be getting a large value out of simply possessing Dream Wings Immortal Gu even if it is only temporarily. That Immortal Gu may become important to Feng Jin Huang's survival in the future, and we are letting a potential enemy examine it. Moreover, the next Venerable is supposedly the Great Dream Venerable. If that is the case, the Dream Path will soon explode in popularity. That is likely why Fang Yuan wants the Immortal Gu, to study it. The less the Dream Path is developed, the greater is the value of even a morsel of information. I would not be so hasty to agree to this."
"Do you understand his intention behind the first condition, then?" Fairy Bai Qing asked.
"Indeed. Fang Yuan never actually intended to marry Huang'er or for us to entertain the offer. It's a classic negotiation tactic - make an outrageous initial demand that the other party will obviously reject so that the second offer appears more reasonable by comparison," Feng Jiu Ge said. The first request had still made his blood boil, being her father.
"I see... what should we do about this?" Fairy Bai Qing asked.
"We will speak with Huang'er when she wakes up," he said.
"As her parents, we cannot allow her to accept the first challenge," Fairy Bai Qing added firmly.
"I agree," Feng Jiu Ge said. "The second offer, however... Dream Wings Immortal Gu belongs to her, so it is her decision to make. If the price is high enough... though we must ensure that she is not swindled by that man. We would also need someone to witness the deal so he does not renege on it. I am also curious about which Rank 6 Immortal Gu he intends to offer as collateral. Could it be Fixed Immortal Travel Gu? If so, that alone holds immense value. Unless, of course, he possesses another Rank 6 Immortal Gu we are unaware of."
"Moreover, how will he share any percentage of it?" Fairy Bai Qing asked. "Will he let the members of the Spirit Affinity Sect walk into the Hu Immortal blessed land? Will the Heavenly Lotus Sect agree to this - or has he gotten permission from them?"
They chose to wait for Feng Jin Huang to return from meditating before they pursued the matter further.
***
The Hu Immortal Blessed Land consisted of a land area of 4,000 square kilometers. Time within it moved at a rate five times that of the outside world. It had over four million foxes already living in it. With Fang Yuan's resources added to the mix it had over a hundred thousand dogs as well. Sadly, the blessed land was rather lacking when it came to Rank 5 gu worms, possessing only a single one, but that was acceptable to Fang Yuan. Most of Fairy Bai Hu's most precious gu worms had likely perished alongside her during her last earthly calamity.
Speaking of, the Blue Charm Lightning Shadow remained waiting patiently in a sector of the Hu Immortal blessed land.
After Fairy Bai Hu's death, it had lost its proper target. It still had a soul and so stayed far from Dang Hun Mountain, biding time for itself in order to cause trouble wherever it could. Its next target would naturally be Fang Yuan, the new owner of the blessed land.
Whoosh!
A heavy object tore through the air toward it.
The Blue Charm Lightning Shadow barely dodged in time as the Blood Chariot crashed past it. Yet the chariot did not stop. It wheeled around in midair and charged again.
The Blue Charm Lightning Shadow evaded repeatedly.
After only a few exchanges, it realized the disparity in their strength. It might be able to damage the Blood Chariot slightly, but it would almost certainly perish in the attempt.
Since it could not reach whatever was inside the chariot, it immediately changed tactics. It turned toward the rest of the blessed land, intending to inflict as much destruction upon its resources as possible.
Bam!
Another Gu House crashed into it - the Dollhouse! The Dollhouse was not as proficient in offensive terms as the Blood Chariot, but was sturdy enough for the two to attempt to pincer the Blue Charm Lightning Shadow.
It ducked and rolled, hesitating on what part of the blessed land it should get rid of before it inevitably died.
But just as it hesitated, a sharp whistle sounded through the air.
Zwoosh!
Fang Yuan appeared above it.
Killer move - Emotions Cut Like A Sword!
A blade-like attack descended, cutting directly through the Blue Charm Lightning Shadow and splitting it in two.
Severely injured, it fell toward the ground.
The Blood Chariot followed at once, ramming at it again and again until the lightning shadow finally dissipated.
"That takes care of the main threat," Fang Yuan thought.
What remained were the dark flames in the eastern region, while the northern region was flooded with water.
This problem was simpler to handle as neither area would fight back.
One region contained far too much water, while another was burning uncontrollably.
All Fang Yuan needed to do was connect the two.
Earth Path methods could have excavated a channel between them. He could even have ordered the remaining rockmen to dig one, though it would require a bit of manipulation on his end. Although more than a dozen had died during his tests of Nightmare Wings Immortal Gu, Dang Hun Mountain could replenish their population very quickly and he would soon have a ready workforce for the task.
However, Fang Yuan had a better solution.
Little Hu Immortal floated beside him as he arrived above the vast lake. Fox corpses still littered the still waters. The blessed land had once had thrice as many foxes as it currently did. However, the flames and the flood along with other calamities had killed two-thirds of them.
Fixed Immortal Travel Gu emerged before him, shining with emerald light as it flitted around.
Fang Yuan activated a Space Path killer move, linking two points: one beneath the floodwater and another high above the burning region.
The water below began to swirl.
A roaring sound filled the air as a whirlpool formed in the lake, as though it was a sink that had been filled and a drain had been opened at its bottom. At the same time, the water reappeared above the blazing region and poured down from the sky, extinguishing the flames.
"Master, your methods are truly incredible!" Little Hu Immortal said, jumping in the air excitedly as her tail began wagging.
Fang Yuan had simply used a Space Path method to connect a point below the water's surface to a point above the fiery landscape. It was a method handed to him by Thieving Heaven Demonic Venerable, using Fixed Immortal Travel Gu at its core.
A few drops of Grape Green Immortal Essence were consumed in the process.
In this way, he put out the fire without relying on labor or conventional earthworks. The whole process still took him two days.
Some residual flames still remained, but Fang Yuan could handle them later. There was also the cloud of steam that had formed from the interaction of fire and water. The blessed land had neither natural wind nor a sun that moved across the heavens. The cloud obscured the natural light and would affect the development of some of the living creatures within the blessed land. Fang Yuan could eventually deal with it as well, but for the time being chose to leave it as is.
The important issue was that the flooding had been resolved and the fire largely extinguished.
Both regions of the blessed land were now ready for future development. But this was just the starting step. The region that had been flooded still was very waterlogged and was quite similar to a marsh with boggy soil. Not many things could grow or thrive there. And the scorched land had the opposite problem with the soil as hard as clay. Effort would still need to be put in before these areas could be fully productive.
On the flip side, this could also be seen as an opportunity to grow plants and resources that required marshy soil or dry soil to grow. They were not conducive to the growth of the foxes, but there was always a silver lining to every cloud.
Little Hu Immortal wagged her tail happily and clapped her hands. "Master, this is wonderful! Master, you're simply too amazing! There were so many problems, but you fixed everything like magic in under a week!"
"Heh heh, this was nothing," Fang Yuan said, rubbing Little Hu Immortal on the head.
"Hehehe, Master, your appearance isn't good, but I still like it when you rub my head!" the little fox girl said.
Such a result was only to be expected.
The difference between Fang Yuan and Fairy Bai Hu was tremendous.
Fairy Bai Hu had struggled against these calamities and died before she could resolve them, unable to figure out a solution to them even after several years of management. She had even died to one of the earthly calamities.
Fang Yuan, however, settled them within a few days and restored the blessed land to a condition suitable for continued development. Not just that, he even made it look easy!
Fang Yuan had struggled greatly in his past life. He had struggled less in this one, but it had still been a rocky road. That said, his journey was as smooth as butter compared to things the last time around.
Finally, glancing at all of the resources and Immortal Gu in his possession, Fang Yuan felt that he had surpassed the level he had been at in his past life before using the Spring Autumn Cicada in all domains - whether it be offense, defense, healing, or wealth!
The only aspect in which he could be considered to be somewhat lacking was that he had only passed three earthly calamities and still was a long ways off from Rank 7.