Fang Yuan had long harbored a grand plan to construct three Immortal Gu Houses.
Now, he had successfully built the Ten Thousand Year Flying Warship and the Fortune Boiling Cauldron. Only the third Immortal Gu House remained unfinished.
Though in the process he had also come into possession of the Bean God Palace and the Dragon Palace, these were Immortal Gu Houses placed under his clones' control — key pieces in his grand strategy across the world. Each served a vital role, whether anchoring a front or levering a greater situation into motion.
Most importantly, neither the Bean God Palace nor the Dragon Palace fit what Fang Yuan had envisioned.
In his original plan, he still needed one more Immortal Gu House built primarily around defense.
The Ten Thousand Year Flying Warship excelled at speed, compensating for Fang Yuan's shortcomings in ordinary maneuvering while also securing the strategic high ground of the River of Time.
The Fortune Boiling Cauldron was auxiliary. When it had been designed, Qin Dingling had not yet been born, and Fang Yuan had intended to use it against the Heavenly Court, whose Luck Path was weak, to further widen his advantage.
The third and final Immortal Gu House was meant for defense and healing. The battle to mend Fate would be extraordinarily fierce — once he was truly engaged, there would hardly be a chance to catch his breath. Fang Yuan needed an Immortal Gu House that could mount an effective defense on the battlefield and, when necessary, buy him precious moments of respite.
This Immortal Gu House would even have a degree of resistance against the attacks of a Venerable!
"The Earth Path is substantial and naturally excels at defense. Building the third Immortal Gu House from these Earth Path Immortal Gu would be a perfect fit." After a moment's contemplation, Fang Yuan made his decision.
What Fang Yuan did not yet know was that his Wu Shuai clone had already, through exploring the Dream Realm, obtained a method for constructing an Earth Path Immortal Gu House.
The Immortal Gu House was called the Steadfast Earth Fortress — perfectly suited to his current needs.
However, though Fang Yuan and his clone shared the same cultivation realm, their individual memories still required mutual exchange before each could be apprised of the other's discoveries.
In the end, Fang Yuan took on a large-scale mission to integrate two great sea regions.
"Who among you wishes to come with me?" Fang Yuan did not rush off immediately but instead turned to ask.
The assembled immortals exchanged glances.
"I will." Miao Mingshen was the first to react, stepping forward ahead of the others.
Behind him, Ghost Qi Ye and the rest naturally trailed along in compliance.
"And you?" Fang Yuan asked the Shen Family Gu Masters.
The Shen Family Gu Masters were momentarily stunned.
They had only recently clashed with Fang Yuan, and so little time had passed that it was difficult for them to shift their mindset.
Unlike Miao Mingshen's group — who had tasted the benefits of cooperating with Fang Yuan — the Shen Family immortals' very first joint mission with him had ended in trouble.
Shen Xiao shook his head. "We thank the Lord for his kind offer, but we would prefer to observe for now."
Shen Xiao politely declined on behalf of the group, and none of the other Shen Family Gu Masters objected to his decision.
Fang Yuan was unconcerned. He smiled and turned to the other two, speaking up: "Fellow Immortal Ren Xiuping? Fellow Immortal Tong Hua? What are your thoughts?"
Ren Xiuping wore a sullen expression and said nothing, merely shaking his head.
Tong Hua seemed to have been startled, showing no intention of making a move whatsoever.
Fang Yuan had anticipated their attitudes. After all, he had only just seized their stockpiles of immortal materials.
From this, one could also appreciate Shen Congsheng's skillful maneuvering.
Shen Congsheng had ordered Ren Xiuping and Tong Hua to hand over their immortal materials to Fang Yuan. On the surface this appeared to antagonize their relationship, but in reality it forced these two to become even more dependent on the Shen Family.
After all, they were still banking on the Shen Family making good on its promise to compensate their immortal material losses once they left the Dragon Whale Bliss Land.
At the same time, this was a way for Shen Congsheng to put Ren Xiuping and Tong Hua in their place. It made clear who held dominion and who served. While inside the Dragon Whale Bliss Land, you answer to the Shen Family — and once outside, you answer all the more! Once you've boarded the Shen Family's ship, trying to get off? Ha — not so easy.
Fang Yuan understood Shen Congsheng's scheming perfectly well; he simply chose not to expose it.
It was of no consequence whether Ren Xiuping and Tong Hua fell under Shen Congsheng's control — this was not Fang Yuan's core interest.
The Five Domain World Barrier still stood, but every major super force had begun recruiting and stockpiling strength. The Fang Family had taken in Defeated Army Old Ghost and Eagle Maiden. What was wrong with the Shen Family accepting Ren Xiuping and Tong Hua? Eternal Life Heaven was even bolder — it had directly integrated the entire Northern Plains Gu Master world, seeking to unite the Golden Super Force as its backbone and absorb every rogue cultivator and demonic immortal in the Northern Plains.
As for Central Continent, this had long since been accomplished. The Ten Great Ancient Sects, as subsidiary sects of the Heavenly Court, held firm control over the entire continent's situation. Even the few independent Gu Masters and super forces that existed were largely subordinate to the Ten Great Sects, kept under their dominion and watchful eye.