A few days later.
Central Continent, Spirit Fate Studio.
Zhao Lianyun extended her divine sense, surveying her own immortal aperture.
Her Lianyun Blessed Land had changed dramatically from before.
A flower field dominated the landscape, planted with vast quantities of Bright Eye Flowers — the primary ingredient for feeding her Remembrance Immortal Gu, and something she simply had to cultivate.
Beyond that lay a small grassland, planted with Odds Grass — small, sharp-bladed, and tender green. Above this grassland soared flocks of swallows.
These were Hardworking Swallows, the most industrious of their kind, agile in flight, their plumage a mix of black, white, and red. Zhao Lianyun had specially introduced a batch to keep pests off the Odds Grass.
During its growth, Odds Grass attracted a type of pest that corroded the leaves, severely cutting into profits.
"I've already spent most of the several thousand Immortal Yuan Stones — nearly running on empty." Zhao Lianyun looked at the scene before her and let out a sigh in her heart.
At first, she had thought this sum was enormous, but once she started spending, she realized it barely lasted. She wasn't just cultivating one or two resources — she was establishing two relatively complete ecosystems.
It wasn't just the seeds for Bright Eye Flowers and Odds Grass. There was soil, irrigation, climate engineering, and more — all of it requiring investment.
"Based on calculations, it will take one year of immortal aperture time before Bright Eye Flower production can meet the feeding demands of Remembrance Immortal Gu. After two years, the profits from Odds Grass and Bright Eye Flowers should net me several hundred Immortal Yuan Stones. After three years, I will finally be able to repay Li Junying's loan."
"And all of the above only happens under the most optimistic conditions. That is not even counting the other cultivation expenses throughout the process."
Zhao Lianyun fully felt the difficulty of a Gu Immortal's path.
This was only two resource crops — each operating independently without interfering with the other. And they were plants, far less demanding than raising beast herds or variant humans.
Moreover, Zhao Lianyun possessed a Superior-grade Blessed Land, rich in both Space Path and Time Path resources. Most critically, she bore the God Doesn't Know killer move, making her immune to calamities — the single greatest trouble she no longer needed to worry about!
"The number of Hardworking Swallows is still too low to cover the entire grassland. I will need to introduce another batch." Zhao Lianyun connected to the Precious Yellow Heaven once more and sent her divine sense in.
Over these days, she had grown to appreciate the convenience of the market within the Precious Yellow Heaven.
"Courage Gu!" Zhao Lianyun quickly spotted someone selling Courage Gu in the Precious Yellow Heaven.
She knew Courage Gu was exclusively Fang Yuan's product, but within the Precious Yellow Heaven market, a black market for Courage Gu had always existed due to supply failing to meet demand. Middlemen would bulk-purchase Courage Gu and resell it at inflated prices, so the sellers were not necessarily Fang Yuan himself. Moreover, Gu Immortal Wills and identities could be freely swapped in the Precious Yellow Heaven — it was safe and untraceable, so even the Heavenly Court could only watch as Fang Yuan profited.
"Even if I can sell Bright Eye Flowers and Odds Grass in a few years, I will still face competitors and market forces. The prices will not come close to Courage Gu."
Fang Yuan was Zhao Lianyun's sworn enemy. She paid close attention to the Courage Gu trade.
But the more she observed, the more she sensed Fang Yuan's formidable strength, and her heart sank.
"At this rate of accumulation, I will never catch up to Fang Yuan. In fact, he will only pull further and further ahead. Damn it..." Zhao Lianyun gritted her teeth silently.
But just then, something unexpected happened ahead — a commotion erupted. Large numbers of Gu Immortal Wills, previously scattered throughout the Precious Yellow Heaven, began converging toward a single point.
Zhao Lianyun's mind stirred. "Could a big deal have appeared? Li Junying once told me that transactions causing this kind of sensation in the Precious Yellow Heaven were exceedingly rare. The last time was someone selling a massive quantity of Year Beasts. I cannot believe my luck — just recently ascended to immortality, and I get to witness one."
Naturally, Zhao Lianyun was not about to pass up this opportunity to broaden her horizons. She sent her divine sense toward the commotion, determined to get a good look.
Soon, she arrived at the scene.
There, an enormous Gu Immortal Will — shaped like a fat man — sat cross-legged in the air, surrounded by Year Gu.