Fang Yuan brought Xia Lin to the small fishing village, where they met the village chief.
Upon their very first meeting, he performed a soul search right in front of him. Every villager in the entire fishing village entered a brief trance before recovering, none the wiser.
Fang Yuan gathered this intelligence and compared it with his memories of his previous life, discovering that the small fishing village had not changed at all.
Just as before, he still approached these mortals under the guise of a wandering Gu Master.
First, he issued challenges in all directions, easily defeating the Gu Masters in the village. Then he taught them how to refine Water Shell Gu and passed on the Water Shell Gu recipe.
The villagers were all overwhelmed with gratitude.
Fang Yuan then led them to the seafloor to put these Water Shell Gu into practice, and also taught them several healing techniques to alleviate the erosion of Black Oil.
To completely resolve the Black Oil's erosion would require at least a Fourth Transformation Gu Insect.
The Gu Masters in the small fishing village were nowhere near the Fourth Transformation level. Everything Fang Yuan taught them fell within the range of their capabilities.
Throughout this process, Fang Yuan mainly focused his guidance on Xia Lin.
In his previous life, he had simply handed her the Water Shell Gu, but in this life Fang Yuan was determined to nurture her as a priority. He employed Wisdom Path methods to directly implant numerous techniques into her mind. At the same time, he corrected her mistakes during practice.
Fang Yuan did not stay long in the small fishing village. When it came time to leave, every person in the entire village knelt on the ground.
Xia Lin wished to follow Fang Yuan, but he stopped her, telling her meaningfully: "Our fates are not yet at their end. We will meet again someday."
With no other choice, Xia Lin could only watch through tear-filled eyes as Fang Yuan vanished in a flash of light.
Fang Yuan returned before the Merit Stele.
His merit had increased by another ten points.
The tasks that initially appeared on the Merit Stele were all small-scale tasks, with merit rewards ranging from a minimum of one to a maximum of ten.
This time Fang Yuan had collected the petroleum and guided the villagers of the small fishing village — teaching them to fish rather than merely handing them a fish — completing the task perfectly.
At this point, Shen Congsheng and the others had already been teleported out to complete their own tasks. Only one person remained before the Merit Stele.
It was Miao Mingshen.
Miao Mingshen was gazing intently at the constantly floating text on the four faces of the Merit Stele, appearing quite patient.
He faintly sensed that between himself and the Merit Stele there existed an incredibly concealed and at the same time exceedingly faint mysterious connection.
But try as he might to grasp this thread, he could find no clue whatsoever.
When Fang Yuan saw this, a sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.
The waters of the Dragon Whale Paradise ran deep.
What methods Ancestor Bliss Land had employed to restrict the Gu Immortals, Fang Yuan had no way to investigate.
These measures were imperceptible and natural, as though things had always been this way — as natural as humans being male and female, or the sky having sun and moon.
Gu Immortals could not attack one another, nor could they lay hands on the local inhabitants.
But there were detailed distinctions within these restrictions.
For instance, in the task Fang Yuan had just completed, he had performed a soul search on the mortals and also directly implanted a great deal of knowledge into Xia Lin's mind.
Didn't that count as laying hands on the natives?
Of course it did.
But Fang Yuan harbored no ill intent; he had acted out of consideration for others. Therefore, he had not been subjected to any restrictions or prohibitions.
However, the moment any malicious intent arose, these methods could no longer be deployed, and one would even suffer the backlash of one's own killer moves.
Take another example — the Black Oil that Fang Yuan had collected during this task.
All the excess Black Oil had been stored within his Sovereign Immortal Aperture.
Under normal circumstances, apart from the immortal materials and resources on the reception island, all external resources could not be claimed by Gu Immortals.
But Fang Yuan had done this to complete the task, thinning out the Black Oil around the island and reducing the suppression of Food Path dao marks, which would in turn promote the production of other natural resources.
This was something highly beneficial to the entire island's environment, so he had not been restricted.
Not only had Fang Yuan completed the task, he had also pocketed a portion of Black Oil as extra income. This petroleum collection task was clearly far more lucrative than the others.
The Merit Stele held many tasks, but there were also distinctions in quality among them.
In his previous life, Miao Mingshen and the others had made numerous discoveries about this, all of which had ended up benefiting Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan walked slowly toward the Merit Stele.
His footsteps disrupted Miao Mingshen's contemplation. He turned to look, and his pupils contracted slightly as he thought: "It's Chu Ying!"
Fang Yuan smiled: "Brother Miao, your connection with the Merit Stele is far too weak. This connection is mainly meant to guide you to this place — it won't be of much help for what comes next. I'd advise you to actively complete tasks and accumulate your merit."
Fang Yuan's courteous demeanor caught Miao Mingshen completely off guard.
He had personally witnessed Fang Yuan telling Shen Tan and Shen Congsheng to "get lost" with a fearsome edge.
He was then immediately drawn in by the content of Fang Yuan's words, his heart shaken: "He actually knows that there exists some kind of connection between me and the Merit Stele! I have never revealed this secret to anyone. How does he know? Could it be that he and I are the same type of person — that he too can sense the location of the Azure Dragon Whale? Or perhaps he can't sense the location, but has other means at his disposal?"
Miao Mingshen stared at Fang Yuan, feeling more and more that the man was an enigma.
A bellyful of questions filled him. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask, but wisely closed it again.
If Fang Yuan was this domineering even before Shen Congsheng, then forcing him would be of no use.
"If he intends to tell me, he will do so on his own initiative. If I go asking, I'll surely come away empty-handed at best," Miao Mingshen sighed inwardly.
Fang Yuan brushed past him, then pointed at a particular line of text on the stele's face and suddenly remarked: "You can take this task — it's quite suited to you. Completing tasks and accumulating merit isn't just about performing superficial acts of charity. Teaching someone to fish is far more effective than simply giving them a fish."
Miao Mingshen's heart jolted. His Adam's apple bobbed once, and he uttered two words: "Thank you."