Although the Shadow Sect had been thoroughly crippled—Demon Venerable Soul Monster captured, and its split souls reduced to only Shadow Wuxie and Mao Liu—it still retained a considerable amount of resources.
Immortal Gu and immortal materials made up only a small portion. The true value lay in the Immortal Gu recipes, Immortal-level killer moves, and Immortal Gu houses.
The sheer volume of Immortal Gu recipes was staggering, and the number of Immortal-level killer moves beyond counting. The construction blueprints for Immortal Gu houses alone numbered as many as twelve.
The Xuan Bing House, the Indestructible Iron Fortress, the Blood River Chariot, the Bad News Haunted Mansion, the Green Wave Pavilion, the Cocoon Weaving Tower, the Golden Sky Altar, the Pool of Regret, the Feathered Holy City…
And then there were the various True Inheritance leads.
The White Phase True Inheritance, and even the higher-level secret of the Five Phases. Among them was even the Land of Peace True Inheritance hidden within the Canghai Blue Whale, along with leads to the Red Lotus True Inheritance and the Wild Berserker True Inheritance…
Of course, all these true inheritances were of the type that were extremely difficult to obtain. Otherwise, the Shadow Sect would have claimed them long ago to bolster its own foundation and aid in the refinement of the Supreme Immortal Embryo Gu.
In truth, even without these leads, Soul Monster's own true inheritances alone constituted an enormously valuable trove.
The various Soul Path techniques Demon Venerable Soul Monster had employed in his day had plunged all five regions into a grey haze. His Soul Devouring Art could absorb the experience and memories of his prey. His Soul Splitting Art had created generation after generation of Shadow Sect members. His Soul Transmission Art could produce super-spies like Mao Liu—even infiltrating the Heavenly Court itself. As for his soul cultivation, Fang Yuan remembered all too well what its final form looked like—during the Battle of Yi Tian Mountain, he had been able to use his very body to withstand heavenly tribulation!
Now, before Fang Yuan, two matters stood out as the most critical.
The first was the Information Path—resolving the detection killer move on his body, along with the various alliance pacts, and regaining his freedom.
The second was the Zhi Hui Gu. Fang Yuan now possessed the method to break apart the Soul Path marks on the Strength Path immortal zombie body. Once that was done, he would once again earn the recognition of the Zhi Hui Gu and obtain the supreme assistance of the Wisdom Halo!
Bai Ningbing continued, "I have already obtained the Yin Yang Body Transformation Gu, but I need to refine it into an Immortal Gu first before I can reverse my body into that of a female Immortal. However, the refinement path is vast and profound, and the Yin Yang Body Transformation Gu is not my Life Gu. I don't have the confidence to do it."
Fang Yuan nodded. "I understand. Using the Shadow Sect's strength to help you refine Gu—that was the alliance you previously established with the Shadow Sect. As the new master of the Shadow Sect, I am willing to honor the previous agreement. Because for a long time to come, we will all need to rely on each other's strength. Won't we?"
"If you have this resolve, then I'm relieved." Bai Ningbing cast a calm glance at Fang Yuan, then turned and left with a satisfied expression.
Speaking of which, the Shadow Sect was notably imbalanced in gender—more women than men.
Bai Ningbing, Hei Lou Lan, White Rabbit Girl, and Miao Yin Fairy were all female Immortals. Only Shadow Wuxie and Fang Yuan were male.
After a round of individual conversations, Fang Yuan, as the Shadow Sect's new master, had finally gained genuine recognition.
As for Shadow Wuxie, he remained in a state of utter despondency.
No matter what Fang Yuan said, he listened with deaf ears.
This made the killing intent in Fang Yuan's heart surge—he was sorely tempted to end Shadow Wuxie's life right then and there, seize his Gu, and master the extraordinary technique of Soul-Drawing Into Dreams.
But after further thought, Fang Yuan decided there was no rush.
Setting aside that he had already grasped the full content of the Soul-Drawing Into Dreams killer move and merely lacked the Gu to execute it—this technique placed heavy strain on a Gu Immortal's spirit, was complex in structure, difficult to learn and practice, and even harder to juggle alongside other matters.
Even if Fang Yuan obtained the Immortal Gu, it would still take considerable time to become proficient with them.
Of course, he had other methods at his disposal.
For instance, the Soul Devouring Art.
If he devoured Shadow Wuxie's soul, Fang Yuan would gain all the memories and extensive experience of using Soul-Drawing Into Dreams.
The reason Shadow Wuxie had been able to wield Soul-Drawing Into Dreams so quickly upon his birth was precisely because the original split soul had carried a wealth of related memories.
There was another factor: Mao Liu.
Mao Liu was a spy the Shadow Sect had planted inside the Langya Blessed Land—something Fang Yuan had known for a long time.
But whether Fang Yuan could earn Mao Liu's recognition after becoming the Shadow Sect's master was far from certain.
Mao Liu had originally been one of Demon Venerable Soul Monster's split souls, transmitted into the Langya Blessed Land where he had gradually grown into a Refinement Path Gu Immortal. He and Fang Yuan had been locked in a long-standing hostile and antagonistic relationship. Now, with Fang Yuan suddenly installed as the Shadow Sect's master—even if it was True Monarch Purple Mountain's will—would Mao Liu accept it?
Fang Yuan had no confidence on that front.
The crux of the matter was that Mao Liu bore no alliance pact binding him to the Shadow Sect.
Nor could he have one.
If a Information Path alliance contract existed on him, the Langya Earth Spirit would easily detect it, which would amount to exposing his identity.
After all, whichever Langya Earth Spirit it might be, they were all masters of the Refinement Path. With their various methods for examining marks on immortal materials, they would notice something amiss.
Fang Yuan didn't know what Mao Liu's attitude would be, but he understood one thing: if he casually slaughtered Shadow Wuxie and seized the Gu, the likelihood of Mao Liu still acknowledging his authority would drop precipitously.
Mao Liu himself held no extraordinary value, but he was a member of the Langya Sect. If leveraged well, he might one day help Fang Yuan overthrow the entire Langya Sect!
This thread was one Fang Yuan was not yet willing to lose.
The returns and costs were not proportional. And so Fang Yuan chose to hand Shadow Wuxie over to White Rabbit Girl's custody, while he himself entered temporary seclusion for the sole purpose of resolving the detection killer move on his body.
The Immortal Gu that True Monarch Purple Mountain had originally possessed, by the time they reached Fang Yuan's hands, were no longer complete.