Supreme Immortal Aperture, Little Southern Border.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion.
The earth trembled. Billowing motes of light from the Earth Path killing move blanketed a hundred li of surrounding terrain.
Like an invisible giant hand kneading soft clay, the surrounding landscape began to cave inward while the outer soil rose upward, ultimately forming a circular valley.
Mountain peaks rose one after another in a ring, enclosing the depression within and creating an environment isolated from the outside world.
Within this depression, there was no vegetation and very little soil. Vast quantities of steel were exposed, laid bare to the wind and weather of heaven and earth.
"So this is the White Steel Giant Bowl Valley!" Standing outside the valley, the Stone Man Gu Immortal Shi Shicheng gazed upon the scene, his heart shaken with awe.
Fang Yuan's methods were inexhaustible, his momentum grand and imposing, and he had casually forged yet another mid-tier resource point.
Over the past days, Shi Shicheng had engaged in extensive exchanges with the other Gu Immortals and had come to understand just how vast and boundless the Supreme Immortal Aperture truly was, with resource points distributed throughout the grotto-heaven.
Such profound foundations were enough to take one's breath away, and they only strengthened these Gu Immortals' confidence in the future.
However, what truly commanded Shi Shicheng's admiration was Fang Yuan's boldness!
Where other Gu Immortals would not dare, Fang Yuan dared to pit the weak against the strong, striking at the Righteous Path of the Southern Border.
Most critically: not only had he struck, but he had won a resounding victory, capturing these Southern Border Gu Immortals as prisoners.
Without these captives, how could Fang Yuan have extorted these resources and easily established the White Steel Giant Bowl Valley?
Compared to Fang Yuan, the other Gu Immortal elders of the Stone Man race seemed conservative and rigid.
"Lord Fang Yuan is the one truly worthy of my allegiance!" Shi Shicheng's loyalties leaned ever more toward Fang Yuan. He was completely won over by Fang Yuan's charisma, humbled by his bearing.
Over these past days, Hei Loulan and the other Gu Immortals had all been bustling about, settling each resource point into its proper place.
Originally, the Supreme Immortal Aperture had been barren, but the absorbed blessed lands and grotto-heavens had concentrated vast amounts of resources. Now, these resources had been cleverly and harmoniously distributed, forming a balanced and sustainable ecosystem.
There was no chaos, nor interference between the various parts — instead, they promoted one another.
This was the result Fang Yuan had carefully calculated using his Wisdom Path methods.
Next came patching up certain deficiencies and loopholes.
The White Steel Giant Bowl Valley, for instance, was something the Iron Sector had wanted to build but had not yet begun. With it, the Iron Sector could raise Blade Gu on its own, rather than relying on the outside world.
Fang Yuan had now completed it.
In his previous life, he had done this very work, and in this life it came even more naturally.
As for the necessary resources, they had all been extorted from the Southern Border Righteous Path.
Regarding the extortion of the Southern Border Righteous Path, Fang Yuan distinctly felt that it was far easier this time than in his previous life.
The Southern Border Righteous Path Gu Immortals' will to resist was even weaker.
Fang Yuan's earlier revelation of intelligence about the Heavenly Court — indicating that he had slain Chen Yi and the Thunder Ghost True Lord — must have delivered an enormous shock to the Southern Border Righteous Path!
"Even the Heavenly Court fell into the hands of this demon Fang Yuan. What's so strange about us Southern Border Righteous Path falling too?"
Whether or not the Southern Border Gu Immortals admitted it, this thought lurked somewhere in the backs of their minds.
On top of that, Fang Yuan's extortion was more skillful and his techniques more seasoned, leaving the Southern Border Righteous Path with no choice but to comply.
This life's extortion campaign also differed from the previous one.
In his previous life, Fang Yuan had mainly needed to construct the Pool of Years, extorting many rare immortal materials. Now he had no need for that, switching to other things — though immortal materials were still the primary demand.
A small portion of these immortal materials was used to fill gaps in the Supreme Immortal Aperture, such as constructing the White Steel Giant Bowl Valley.
The majority, however, was preparation for future Immortal Gu refinement.
The Immortal Gu in Fang Yuan's possession were even more numerous than in his previous life!
Sixth Transformation Immortal Gu made up the vast majority, and for someone of his Eighth Transformation cultivation, they seemed far too feeble.
Therefore, large-scale Immortal Gu refinement was necessary — it would greatly enhance Fang Yuan's overall strength.
He had done this in his previous life, and in this life, having absorbed the Langya Blessed Land and gained so many Refinement Path Gu Immortals, he would be even more at ease.
He was planning ahead, preparing these immortal materials in advance.
The fruits of aperture absorption were nearly fully digested. The Supreme Immortal Aperture's development had already reached sixteen percent — a number approaching the limit of his previous life.
But in this life, he still had Liu Hao and Ba Shiba's apertures unabsorbed, as well as the Beast Calamity Grotto-Heaven.
Killing moves continued to be refined, true inheritances still under study, the Human Path still being comprehended.
Fang Yuan made time to once again venture into the River of Time.
He still could not let go of his thoughts about the Pure Dream Clone.
Although the Pure Dream Clone plan had met with setbacks, Fang Yuan had thought of the Future Self killing move on Stone Lotus Island.
"Perhaps I can rely on the Future Self killing move to possess a Gu Immortal-level Pure Dream Clone ahead of time!"
In the Present Ancient Pavilion, the Four Vigilants were constantly monitoring for disturbances, but they could not detect Fang Yuan's presence at all.
Fang Yuan knew even more about the Present Ancient Pavilion than they did.
He successfully returned to Stone Lotus Island and applied the Future Self killing move to the Pure Dream Clone.
However, to Fang Yuan's disappointment, the Pure Dream Clone showed no reaction whatsoever!
"Is it because the Pure Dream Clone is born from dreams, making the majority of killing moves ineffective against it?"
"Or is it because the Pure Dream Clone simply has no future of becoming an immortal?"
Fang Yuan's Pure Dream Clone was already at the peak of the Fifth Transformation, just one step away from undergoing tribulation and ascending to immortality.
However, this step carried fatal risks, and Fang Yuan had wisely halted.
"If the Future Self killing move is ineffective because the Pure Dream Clone has no future of becoming immortal... that would mean: if the Pure Dream Clone undergoes tribulation, with my current strength there is absolutely no hope of surviving it?"
At this thought, Fang Yuan suddenly felt a flicker of interest.