The banquet was bustling with activity. This engagement banquet carried immense political significance.
This was true for the great alliance of non-human races, and even more so for Fang Yuan himself.
He accepted every toast from the variant-human Gu Immortals without exception, and thanks to his social skills, he had significantly narrowed the distance between himself and the variant-human Gu Immortals.
Fang Yuan's original position had been rather awkward.
He was a pure human, and within the great alliance of non-human races, he was naturally a political loner. The variant-human Gu Immortals had an inherent suspicion toward him.
But this time, Fang Yuan's engagement to Xue'er gave people a completely different impression. One could say he had successfully squeezed his way into the circle of variant-human Gu Immortals. Before this, Fang Yuan had only managed to integrate himself into the Langya Sect.
"Of course, the real key factor is that I possess Eighth Transformation combat strength." On this point, Fang Yuan was crystal clear.
The world of Gu Masters was a peculiar realm where the individual transcended the collective. As long as one's cultivation was profound and combat strength extraordinary, one could prevail in all things.
"If You Chan knew I possessed Eighth Transformation combat strength, would she retreat in the face of difficulty?" This thought suddenly surged through Fang Yuan's mind.
The dragon fish business was the next major focus of his immortal aperture management.
If You Chan retreated of her own accord, it would be perfect for Fang Yuan. Unfortunately, You Chan would never do such a thing.
Fang Yuan secretly shook his head.
You Chan was an established beneficiary, and getting her to voluntarily give up her slice of the pie would be extraordinarily difficult. With the Treasure Yellow Heaven, even a Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal would dare to openly challenge an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal in business—even provoke them to their face.
The Treasure Yellow Heaven was a place that even Heavenly Court could not lay its hands on!
"You Chan... one of the Six Great Beauties of the Eastern Sea... the Myriad Gold Wondrous Splendor Body..." Fang Yuan pondered while exchanging pleasantries.
Others did not know You Chan's secret, but after inheriting the Shadow Sect's legacy, Fang Yuan had obtained a great deal of critical intelligence. Among it was the revelation that You Chan possessed the Myriad Gold Wondrous Splendor Body—one of the Ten Extreme Bodies!
This was You Chan's great secret, one she had hidden very well, but the Shadow Sect possessed specific methods for hunting down the Ten Extreme Bodies.
In order to refine the Supreme Immortal Fetus Gu, the Shadow Sect had needed to seek out and collect all of the Ten Extreme Bodies. During this process, they had discovered You Chan's secret.
However, at the time, the Shadow Sect already had a Myriad Gold Wondrous Splendor Body on hand, so they had not moved against You Chan.
As for why You Chan cultivated the Water Path despite clearly possessing the Myriad Gold Wondrous Splendor Body—that was simply the plight of an independent cultivator. You Chan had obtained a Water Path inheritance back in the day, with no other option, so she had no choice but to continue down that path.
By the time later opportunities arose, changing one's path was both troublesome and risky, so You Chan had simply continued cultivating as she was until now.
This time, Fang Yuan had been able to deduce that You Chan was the one testing him for two reasons. First, he possessed extensive intelligence on You Chan and knew she was his greatest rival in the dragon fish business. Second, he had the Ghost Official Robe, had inherited Purple Mountain True Monarch's many killing moves, and wielded countless techniques from the Shadow Sect and Langya Sect.
As for the Myriad Gold Wondrous Splendor Body, there was a clear record of it in Chapter Four, Section Twenty-Seven of "The Legends of Human Ancestor."
It is said that Little Person surpassed the Deep Sea Samsara, relying on perseverance to build a ladder and escape the Abyss of Ordinariness.
Little Person met Human Ancestor, who lamented that if he had possessed Perseverance Gu back then, he could have overcome the Reverse Flow River and avoided all this trouble.
Human Ancestor wished to save his children, but to this day, he had accomplished nothing.
Seeing that Little Person had Perseverance Gu, Human Ancestor felt a new spark of hope. He said to Little Person: "Little Person, Little Person, I would like to ask you a favor."
Little Person asked: "Human Ancestor, what sort of favor would you like me to do for you?"
Human Ancestor told Little Person that he wanted to borrow his Perseverance Gu for a while.
Little Person said: "Human Ancestor, the reason I was able to escape the Abyss of Ordinariness was by using the trees you had planted. I cut those trees down and built them into a ladder so I could climb out. Therefore, I owe you a debt of gratitude."
Little Person agreed to lend Perseverance Gu to Human Ancestor.
But after Human Ancestor obtained Perseverance Gu, he found that he could not use it.
"This is Little Person's perseverance, not yours, Human Ancestor." Thought Gu appeared at that moment and told Human Ancestor the truth.
Human Ancestor was saddened and let out a deep sigh.
He consulted Thought Gu: "Then what should I do? I know Perseverance Gu can help me, but I cannot use it. I know the Feathered People can help me, but love alone cannot make me control them."
Thought Gu then told Human Ancestor: "No one can force another to love them. However, you could create a new Gu to lure the Feathered People into working for you. Think about it—how did Little Person come to possess Perseverance Gu in the first place?"
These words from Thought Gu greatly inspired Human Ancestor.
Human Ancestor was delighted: "Thought Gu, thank you for giving me such wonderful advice. I know what I must do now. I will create a Gu of my own."
Thought Gu asked curiously: "What sort of Gu would that be?"