A few days later.
Watching the Snail Mountain rumble off into the distance, with the Mountain-Dwelling Old Freak standing atop it like its rightful master, Fang Yuan withdrew his gaze and began walking back.
The matter of Mountain Snail had concluded.
Representing the Wu Family, Fang Yuan had reached an agreement with the Mountain-Dwelling Old Freak. The Old Freak would receive most of Mountain Snail's benefits, but nominally, this primordial desolate beast still belonged to the Wu Family.
Wu Yong's task to Fang Yuan had been to protect Mountain Snail.
Fang Yuan had succeeded, though only partially. Still, it counted as completing this assignment.
"That the Mountain-Dwelling Old Freak agreed to my conditions is because I relied on the Wu Family's power."
"As for Wu Yong, he's currently swamped, fending off the other super forces' interference. My handling of Mountain Snail leaves him with no choice but to reluctantly accept."
"The Wu Family is currently in turmoil. As Wu Yong's younger brother, I shouldn't be wandering about outside. I should head back as soon as possible."
Fang Yuan was quite satisfied with the outcome of this affair.
He had given the Wu Family an account, and more importantly, he had gained considerable benefits from this task.
The Pansi Cavern was already under construction.
With this new influx of resources, Fang Yuan immediately had the capacity to begin large-scale construction of his second major resource location.
According to his previous rate of development, he would have had to wait at least another half a year. And during that time, no accidents could occur, like a fight. Intense combat would consume a great deal of Red Date Immortal Essence. His current Supreme Immortal Orifice had time deceleration, so the Red Date Immortal Essence it naturally produced was less than before. Fang Yuan would have to spend Immortal Essence Stones, converting them into Red Date Immortal Essence.
Now that he was no longer using Green Grape Immortal Essence, it took one hundred Immortal Essence Stones to produce a single Red Date Immortal Essence.
"Constructing the Pansi Cavern requires laying down a Gu formation and also a sixth-rank immortal material, Yin-Rou Silk, and a seventh-rank immortal material, Hatred Water Stone."
"With this capital, all that can be accomplished; it's just a matter of time."
"The key is when I can return to the dream. Wu Yong's attitude is the crux of the matter."
Fang Yuan pondered as he traveled.
During his journey back, at the Wu Family's main base, a discussion between two Gu Immortals was unfolding, centered around Wu Yihai.
One was the Wu Family's eighth-rank Gu Immortal, the Grand Supreme Elder, Wu Yong.
The other was Wu Yong's trusted confidant, Wu Fa.
"I didn't expect my brother to resolve the Mountain Snail matter so quickly this time. Elder Wu Fa, according to family rules, how should he be rewarded?" Wu Yong asked.
Wu Fa deliberated for a moment.
He knew Wu Yong's question wasn't just about the literal words, but about his attitude toward Wu Yihai.
This put Wu Fa in a difficult position.
Because Wu Yihai's identity was quite special—he was Wu Yong's half-brother from the same mother!
Wu Fa quickly thought and replied, "Lord Wu Yihai, after all, originated as an independent cultivator."
That was all he said.
But Wu Yong burst into laughter: "Correct, your assessment is accurate. This Yihai, he's always been an independent cultivator at heart. Even after returning to the main family, he hasn't changed. He's always looking to profit everywhere, grabbing at small advantages."
However, Wu Fa countered: "The Guanghan Peak and Mountain Snail matters were not small advantages at all."
Wu Yong's laughter ceased, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he nodded: "Indeed, it's not good. If everyone acted this way, how could the Wu Family endure? But his methods were sound; he didn't leave any handles for others to attack."
At this point, Wu Yong sighed and concluded: "He does have ability."
Hearing this, Wu Fa understood Wu Yong's thoughts perfectly.
Wu Yong naturally disapproved of Fang Yuan's way of securing personal gains.
But circumstances forced his hand. He was short-handed, so sometimes he had to deploy Wu Yihai to handle certain matters.
Fang Yuan had also demonstrated his capability in these two incidents.
This ability had been acknowledged by Wu Yong, so in the future, Wu Yong would continue to use Fang Yuan. However, once the opportunity arose and the Wu Family's situation stabilized, Fang Yuan would be set aside by Wu Yong. And if Fang Yuan ever left any vulnerabilities, Wu Yong would seize them to discipline him.
After all, any leader would feel uncomfortable with someone constantly seeking personal profit.
Fang Yuan returned smoothly to the Wu Family.
He met with Wu Yong, briefly recounted the entire sequence of events, and once again received rewards from the Wu Family.
Fang Yuan exchanged them all for Immortal Essence Stones.
Of course, this amount of Immortal Essence Stones was incomparable to what he had gained from the Mountain-Dwelling Old Freak; it was far less.
In the days that followed, Fang Yuan devoted himself to cultivation.
The construction of the Pansi Cavern proceeded gradually. This was his current cultivation priority.
Every now and then, Fang Yuan would descend his True Meaning Orifice to absorb Heaven and Earth Qi, stabilizing his Supreme Blessed Land.
After all, the Reverse Flow River was a secret realm of Heaven and Earth. For an orifice to bear it was a considerable burden.
This aspect was somewhat troublesome.
Fang Yuan couldn't directly absorb Heaven and Earth Qi, because each time he did, the volume was immense, and the interval between absorptions was too short.
This forced Fang Yuan to scour the Baohuang Heaven for some immortal materials, then decompose them into Heaven and Earth Qi, and infuse it into himself.
This undoubtedly consumed much of Fang Yuan's energy and wealth, but he preferred it this way to ensure every detail was handled properly. Only by persisting like this could he avoid revealing his true identity too quickly.
Days passed one by one, and Fang Yuan began to grow impatient.
"The turmoil in the Supreme Dream seems to have gradually subsided. But Wu Yong shows absolutely no signs of wanting to recall me. It seems my fears have been realized. Alas."