Fang Yuan's eyes flickered.
The Shadow Sect's message was somewhat unexpected.
But upon careful thought, it actually made perfect sense.
In the battle at the Reverse Flow River, though Fang Yuan's gains in cultivation resources were nothing remarkable, his combat power had grown enormously—he now stood as the foremost fighter below the Eighth Transformation, on par with Feng Jiuge.
An increase in combat power brought an increase in status.
In truth, long before this message arrived, other letters had already come.
For instance, a letter from Chu Du. In it, Chu Du was courteous and polite. He first congratulated Fang Yuan on his victory, saying he wished he could have been there in person. Then he proactively described his own situation: Chu Sect had been reorganized into the Chu Family, and the former Supreme Elders now served as external Supreme Elders of the Chu Family. The disciples Chu Du had trained were all adopted as his sworn sons. Finally, Chu Du explained his predicament—having established a family and aligned with the Righteous Path, he had been compelled to expel Fang Yuan from Chu Sect at the time. This had not been his own wish, but forced by circumstances.
There was also a letter from the Crazed Demon Trio. Besides congratulating Fang Yuan, the three enthusiastically invited him to come explore the Crazed Demon Cave, adding: even if the Northern Plains won't tolerate you, the Crazed Demon Cave will always be your home. The words were somewhat saccharine, revealing the Trio's unprecedented attitude.
Chang Sheng Tian, meanwhile, had made Fang Yuan a priority target—after all, he was the one who had slain Ma Hongyun.
However, the Liu and Yelu families, who had been relentlessly hunting Fang Yuan, suddenly quieted down. The combat power Fang Yuan had displayed thoroughly shocked them. They recalled all the personnel searching for him. Instead, they worried that Fang Yuan might seek revenge. After all, his reputation in the Northern Plains had surged spectacularly—not even Chu Du could compare.
"Now the Shadow Sect writes to me as well, wanting to discuss cooperation. Heh."
"The Shadow Sect already has an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal, but he seems to have a major weakness—occasionally falling into madness." Fang Yuan pondered. He had clashed with True Monarch Purple Mountain in the Reverse Flow River and knew something of his condition.
Truth be told, if Fang Yuan had not refined the Persistence Gu, if he had not comprehended the Immortal Path killer move Reverse Flow Body Protection Seal, the battle at the Reverse Flow River would surely have ended in disaster, and he would have fallen into Shadow Wuxie's schemes.
All along, the Shadow Sect's remnant forces had been Fang Yuan's most pressing threat. Conversely, it was Heavenly Will's grand design that had used Fang Yuan as a chess piece to seize the Supreme Immortal Embryo Gu. Between Fang Yuan and the Shadow Sect lay a bitter, irreconcilable enmity.
If the Shadow Sect wanted to recoup its losses and re-refine the Supreme Immortal Embryo Gu, they would very likely follow Old Ancestor Snowy Beard's example in refining the Fortune Equaling Heaven Immortal Gu—using Ma Hongyun as the main ingredient.
If Fang Yuan fell into the Shadow Sect's hands, he would naturally suffer the same fate: himself used as the primary immortal ingredient for refining an Immortal Gu—a fate worse than death.
But now, Fang Yuan's combat power had grown to a level that even Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals could not handle. And so the Shadow Sect had no choice but to proactively seek cooperation with Fang Yuan.
This complete reversal in attitude left Fang Yuan with a flood of emotions.
With the Reverse Flow Body Protection Seal, he effectively possessed a weakened version of an Immortal Gu House—something even Eighth Transformation couldn't overcome. This gave Fang Yuan tremendous additional confidence.
"But cooperating with the Shadow Sect is no different from bargaining with a tiger for its skin!"
Though what Mao Liu wrote in his letter was true, and every reason listed was valid—cooperation would indeed benefit both sides. Setting other things aside, the Soul Path traps on Fang Yuan's Immortal Zombie body and the secret of the Supreme Immortal Embryo could all be resolved through such cooperation.
But Fang Yuan couldn't trust the Shadow Sect!
It always came back to the same old problem.
Fang Yuan and the Shadow Sect simply could not trust each other.
They had been sworn enemies who could not coexist under the same sky—how could they suddenly turn from foes to friends?
Even though both parties were rational people who prioritized self-interest, the foundation of alliances between Gu Immortals was not personal credibility, but Information Path methods.
Unfortunately, the Information Path was Fang Yuan's weakness—one of his shortcomings. While the Shadow Sect's Information Path methods were terrifyingly powerful.
You Hun's original body was a Grandmaster of All Paths. Setting everything else aside, the Zombie Alliance and that Reverse organization in the Central Continent were both testament to the Shadow Sect's formidable Information Path methods—because any organization was built on the foundation of Information Path covenants.
Fang Yuan absolutely could not trust the Shadow Sect, nor did he dare to. If he were to fall victim to Information Path schemes during cooperation, that would be truly foolish.
However, Fang Yuan did not flatly refuse.
He sent a reply letter, testing the Shadow Sect's sincerity. In it, he raised a single demand—if they wanted cooperation, they should send the Attitude Gu directly to him.
Speaking of which, though the Eighth Transformation Attitude Immortal Gu had always been in Fang Yuan's possession, it did not belong to him—it was borrowed from Hei Loulan.