The cross-region transportation of Immortal Gu Masters had never had any particularly good methods. This was because Immortal Gu Masters had very little demand for it!
When Gu Masters ascended to immortality, the subtle differences between the heaven and earth qi of the Five Regions meant they became Immortal Gu Masters tied to their respective regions — Northern Plains Immortal Gu Masters, Central Continent Immortal Gu Masters, and so on.
Immortal Gu Masters held strong regional identities, and those from foreign regions were easily marginalized. Near the end of the great battle at Yitian Mountain, Hei Lou Lan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng were pursued by Southern Border Immortal Gu Masters — a testament to this. In that regard, the Eastern Sea was comparatively more open-minded.
Regional identity was not the key issue. The most critical factor was that an Immortal Gu Master's Immortal Orifice had to periodically descend into the outside world to absorb heaven and earth qi, stabilizing their own cultivation. At such times, the quality of the ambient heaven and earth qi was strictly important. If a Northern Plains Immortal Gu Master dropped their Immortal Orifice onto Central Continent soil and absorbed Central Continent's heaven and earth qi, it would cause serious problems.
The third reason was tribulation. Immortal Gu Masters faced constant calamities — who would have the leisure to run around everywhere? What reason was there to venture into foreign regions? Unless there was something extremely important, such as a clearly traced Great Fortune, or a major mission like Feng Jiu Ge's expedition into the Northern Plains.
One thing needed to be distinguished.
Cross-region transportation of Immortal Gu Masters had low demand, but Immortal Gu and Immortal materials were different!
The demand for those was quite substantial.
However, Treasure Yellow Heaven already satisfied the vast majority of those needs.
All these reasons meant that very few people researched cross-region transportation of Immortal Gu Masters. Throughout history, there had been no outstanding research achievements. The Tier Gu Formations the Zombie Alliance established across their departments were used purely for transporting Immortal materials.
Who would waste effort on something with so little practical use?
Immortal Gu Masters faced very real survival pressures! Though they carried the word "immortal," they were far from carefree. Managing an Immortal Orifice, raising Immortal Gu, weathering heavenly tribulations — these were enough to keep nearly every Immortal Gu Master running ragged.
Thus, from ancient times to the present, cross-region transportation of Immortal Gu Masters had remained primitive and developed at a painfully slow pace. Even the great Central Continent's Ten Ancient Sects, when dispatching Immortal Gu Master investigation teams into the Northern Plains, simply forced their way through the Boundary Walls between regions.
In four to five hundred years, there would be no need to research cross-region transportation of Immortal Gu Masters at all. Because the Boundary Walls between the Five Regions would begin to gradually dissolve. The entire Five Regions would merge into one!
But that was a matter for the future, not worth dwelling on now.
In the grand hall, Fang Yuan suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
He had probed for so long, and now he finally had a fairly clear understanding of this trade.
"Fang Yuan, what are you laughing at?" A growing sense of unease filled Mao Liu's heart.
"Because I'm happy. Even though the Tier Gu Formation can only transport Immortal materials, that's more than enough! Intelligence and such can wait. The condition I want is my original body. Hand him over to me first." Fang Yuan spoke rapidly.
Mao Liu's expression changed instantly.
He knew about the Wisdom Gu.
If Fang Yuan reclaimed his body and reunited it with his soul, he could once again channel the faint power of the Wisdom Gu through its halo of wisdom.
What did that mean?
It was like adding wings to a tiger — a meteoric rise!
Previously, Fang Yuan had one weakness: he lacked Life Span Gu to feed the Wisdom Gu. But now, Langya's Earth Spirit had a plentiful supply of Life Span Gu, eagerly offered up on a silver platter.
Fang Yuan already knew about Heaven's Will. If he also had the Wisdom Gu's aid, how could he ever be contained? It would be like an eagle soaring into the sky, a flood dragon ruling the sea. And on top of that, the Supreme Immortal Orifice...
"Oh heavens!" Mao Liu lamented inwardly. Each of these factors, taken individually, was already earth-shattering, world-shocking. If they all combined, the resulting power would be unimaginable!
How could anyone else survive?!
"That won't do." Mao Liu shook his head quickly. "Without the body, how could Lord Shadow No Evil escape his predicament?"
"I have bodies," Fang Yuan laughed. "I've got plenty of Strength Dao Immortal Zombies right here! We could do a one-for-one swap. I guarantee your side won't lose out — in fact, the Strength Dao Immortal Zombie might even have more Dao Marks than my original body, so you'd be turning a profit."
"Profit my foot!" Mao Liu cursed Fang Yuan's shamelessness silently, his face turning extremely unsightly. He stared at Fang Yuan and sneered. "Let's not beat around the bush. Did you really think I wouldn't see through your plan, Fang Yuan?"
"Oh... so you already know about the Wisdom Gu." Fang Yuan stroked his chin.
"Immortal Gu and intelligence — those can be sold. But the body... no!" Mao Liu refused in harsh, iron-hard tones.
But Fang Yuan changed his expression even faster and more completely: "Then there's nothing more to discuss! Goodbye. I won't see you out!"
Fang Yuan rose to his feet and waved his hand, directly driving Mao Liu away.
"..." Mao Liu was dumbfounded!
He stood frozen in place, utterly motionless.
Seeing that he wasn't moving, Fang Yuan sneered inwardly, flicked his sleeves, and turned to leave — about to pass through to the back hall.
Mao Liu finally snapped back to awareness and called out: "Fang Yuan, wait!"
"You agree?" Fang Yuan didn't turn around, merely tilting his head to the side.
"The body is not for sale, but everything else is negotiable," Mao Liu insisted.
Fang Yuan snorted coldly, quickly turning his head back, about to slip through the side door and vanish from Mao Liu's sight.
Mao Liu hurried after him: "Trade requires mutual consent! Fang Yuan, why must you force things? Remember — if our side meets disaster, your downfall won't be far behind."
Fang Yuan stopped in his tracks, but this time he didn't even bother turning his head. He simply stood with the back of his skull facing Mao Liu — extremely rude.
Mao Liu heard Fang Yuan's voice: "You're absolutely right about that. But so what if I fall? At worst, it's just death."
Mao Liu quickened his pace, catching up to Fang Yuan while trying to persuade him: "Fang Yuan, why must you say things like that? Self-deception — who would believe it? Are you truly willing to die? With our Shadow Sect active on the outside, how much enemy attention and aggression have we drawn away for you? Without us, how many more days of freedom do you think you'd have? Do you think you can handle Heaven's Will? Even my main body plotted for a hundred thousand years — a hundred thousand thousand years — and in the end, it all failed! Now that we face a great enemy together, why act like this?"
"Enough noise!" A surge of sword waves suddenly rose around Fang Yuan.
Seventh Transformation Sword Wave Immortal Gu!
Mao Liu was immediately forced back. He quickly called out: "Careful, careful! Don't recklessly activate Immortal Gu — it will disrupt my arrangements. If Langya's Earth Spirit finds out, neither of us will come out of this unscathed."