Danghun Mountain was a secret realm of heaven and earth — the only one among the Five Regions.
It produced Guts Gu, a monopoly trade. As long as soul supplies held up, it was a gold mine that could never be exhausted.
Such value was already immense. Multiply it tenfold, and that was the price Langya Earth Spirit had to pay Fang Yuan in compensation.
For an ordinary Blessed Land, or even a Cave Heaven, such a debt would be impossible to repay even by sacrificing everything one had. But for Langya Blessed Land, it was entirely within their ability to pay!
When Fang Yuan and Langya Earth Spirit had first drawn up this compensation pact, could Fang Yuan possibly have overlooked this point?
Undoubtedly, Langya Blessed Land was the foremost Blessed Land of the Five Regions — especially after the Wang Ting Blessed Land had been destroyed. Its foundations ran incomparably deep, and it was fully capable of making compensation. Of this, Fang Yuan harbored no doubts whatsoever.
Setting everything else aside, Fang Yuan's first demand to Langya Earth Spirit concerned Zhi Hui Gu: "I need to transfer Zhi Hui Gu into my Immortal Orifice. So the first item of compensation is the method for relocating Zhi Hui Gu."
This method was the core of the Langya Sect's inheritance. Fang Yuan had long coveted it, but even during the earlier exchange of True Inheritances between the two sides, he had failed to obtain it.
Langya Earth Spirit had guarded this method jealously. He was no fool — if he handed it over to Fang Yuan, wouldn't that simply mean Fang Yuan could take Zhi Hui Gu away on his own?
Although Zhi Hui Gu was a wild Gu, it did not belong to the Langya Sect. It had originally been brought here by the fur human Gu Immortals of Langya Blessed Land, who had traveled to the Fox Immortal's Blessed Land to retrieve it.
Langya Earth Spirit's expression changed in an instant.
Fang Yuan's directness in raising this demand was like a sharp blade thrust straight at his heart — so direct that Langya Earth Spirit had no choice but to respond.
Langya Earth Spirit's long-standing scheme had been to use Longevity Gu to continuously feed Zhi Hui Gu, attempting to seize control over it. That was why he had always been willing to pay out Longevity Gu — to help Fang Yuan raise Zhi Hui Gu.
But to his regret, even now, the method had shown no results whatsoever.
Fang Yuan making this demand now was tantamount to reclaiming Zhi Hui Gu once more. If that happened, all of Langya Earth Spirit's previous investment would go down the drain — he would have done all the hard work for Fang Yuan's benefit.
Of course he was unwilling!
But to openly oppose the demand — he couldn't bring himself to say the words.
After all, even though Zhi Hui Gu was a wild Immortal Gu, it had ultimately been taken from Fang Yuan's Blessed Land by the fur human Gu Immortals.
So Langya Earth Spirit spoke with hesitation: "Is that... really for the best? In truth, if we could gain control over Zhi Hui Gu, we could use it as the core to build an Immortal Gu House — the Hermitage. With that house, we could not only protect ourselves, but defend against the schemes of virtually everyone under heaven!"
Fang Yuan chuckled: "Grand Elder, your plan is admirable, but executing it would be extraordinarily difficult. Are you confident you can bring it to fruition anytime soon?"
Langya Earth Spirit was struck speechless.
Fang Yuan continued: "The situation is dangerous right now. You failed to conceal Zhi Hui Gu properly, and Feng Jiuge discovered it. If Feng Jiuge found out, that means Heavenly Court knows as well. They will never let this go — they will surely invade Langya Blessed Land again. And when that time comes, what if they seize Zhi Hui Gu?"
Langya Earth Spirit heaved a deep sigh.
What Fang Yuan said was the truth. The Hermitage was nothing but a castle in the air; what lay before them was an attack from Heavenly Court.
In truth, Langya Earth Spirit had already done his best to conceal Zhi Hui Gu. But Feng Jiuge's investigative methods were unconventional and razor-sharp. In the end, the latter had found it regardless.
Zhi Hui Gu had once belonged to Star Constellation Immortal Venerable. Now that it had been discovered, one could well imagine how greatly Heavenly Court would prioritize this place. The next invasion would surely come with overwhelming force and pose a terrible threat.
Every word Fang Yuan spoke was logical. But truly making Langya Earth Spirit abandon his plan — that was something he simply could not accept.
Then Fang Yuan spoke again: "Grand Elder, while the Hermitage has its merits, it also carries hidden costs. If Langya Blessed Land truly becomes a utopian paradise — a refuge that no one bothers with — then tell me, will the fur human Gu Immortals still have any motivation to cultivate? What we should be building is the fur humans' dominion. Let these fur human Gu Immortals live under the Hermitage's protection, and given enough time — won't they simply revert to the way they were before?"
"Hm?" Langya Earth Spirit paused, momentarily stunned. Fang Yuan had a point.
What the fur human Gu Immortals lacked was a sense of crisis.
The previous Langya Earth Spirit had protected the fur humans too well, leaving these Gu Immortals with almost no combat ability. When the Shadow Sect invaded, they had nearly been conquered.
They could never return to the way things were before!