In the southern region of the Fox Immortal Blessed Land, a small number of Stone People still slumbered underground. Because of the large number of Blood Poison Pear Trees growing and dying throughout the Stone People's tunnels, these subterranean homes would produce Blood Stone mineral deposits in several decades. The underground stone cavern where the Zhi Hui Gu had been hidden had been restored using Jiangshan Rugu. The Mushroom Forest was listless, but no treatment was needed—they would detoxify naturally, and there was even a certain probability they would form Blood Mushroom Forests.
In the blessed land's northern region, the territory was small and had been set up as a breeding base for Regret Spiders.
In the blessed land's center, Soul-Confusing Mountain still stood. Within the Soul-Confusing Palace, Dongfang Changfan's soul was imprisoned along with the remaining dozens of Dongfang captives. The warehouse held large quantities of immortal materials—tens of thousands of catties of Grease Water, the enormous dead egg of a Heaven and Earth Sand Gull, and large stockpiles of Air Bubble Gu. Near Soul-Confusing Mountain, there were three Fang Yuan Stone Nests, where many Fur People slaves lived, constantly refining Gu. As for the small patch of Mirror Willow Forest from before, it had been destroyed, its vitality completely drained. The Beggar Moths that had fed on Mirror Willow leaves had no further use and had been sold off by Fang Yuan.
In this way, the three major resources—Dark Fire Dragon Pythons, Regret Spiders, and Dragon Fish—had all been truly established. Unlike the previous simple stockpiling, with this development in place, these three resources could be bred and propagated while simultaneously being sold for profit. They were already on the right track.
It was just that all three resources were currently stockpiling, and it wouldn't do to rush them into the market.
The Soul-Confusing Palace's warehouse still held large quantities of Air Bubble Gu. But Fang Yuan couldn't dump them all on the market at once for a massive windfall. The Immortal Crane Sect was still watching the Fox Immortal Blessed Land. It was better to avoid drawing too much attention, selling gradually to reduce risk and maintain a steady stream of income.
With the Fox Immortal Blessed Land's construction complete, Tai Bai Sheng Sheng bid Fang Yuan farewell the next day.
During this period, he had contributed considerable effort. Without his help, Fang Yuan would have needed at least another half month to finish such an enormous workload.
He had not only contributed his labor but had also lent Fang Yuan a sum of Immortal Yuan Stones.
Fang Yuan had originally been short on Immortal Yuan Stones, and the early renovation and construction had created a massive funding gap. Tai Bai Sheng Sheng had proactively given Fang Yuan a sum of Immortal Yuan Stones, filling the shortfall.
Speaking of which, among the four who had signed the Snow Mountain Alliance, Tai Bai Sheng Sheng was actually the wealthiest.
He had developed very well in the Eastern Sea. He had moved so many resources into his Immortal Orifice that it was showing signs of insufficient foundation—his earth qi was thin and trending toward instability. This time, Tai Bai Sheng Sheng had returned to the Fox Immortal Blessed Land not only to help Fang Yuan but also for another purpose: to return to the Northern Plains, drop his blessed land, absorb earth qi, and face the Earth Disaster.
But the Earth Disaster was still far off, and absorbing earth qi would take time as well. When the Earth Disaster arrived, Fang Yuan would certainly lend Tai Bai Sheng Sheng a hand.
After Tai Bai Sheng Sheng departed the Fox Immortal Blessed Land, Black Loulan remained stationed there.
Fang Yuan soon left the Fox Immortal Blessed Land as well, heading for the Central Continent.
There was no other reason—the Central Continent Gu Refinement Conference was about to convene!
Central Continent. Flying Crane Mountain. Immortal Crane Sect.
Clouds and mist wreathed this towering floating mountain, and flocks of cranes soared among the pine trees and mist-shrouded ridges.
An underground chamber deep within the Immortal Crane Sect. Damp and dim, with patches of moss across the stone walls. In the room, aside from a single stone bed, there was no other furniture.
On the stone bed lay a young Gu Master, his face pale as paper. There were no injuries on his body, yet he lay in a deep, unshakable slumber.
It was Gu Yue Fang Zheng.
A Gu Insect perched motionless on Fang Zheng's chest.
Suddenly, a faint light flickered in the stone chamber, and a Gu Immortal materialized.
His great sleeves billowed elegantly, his face refined as jade, youthful in appearance. Most striking of all were his eyebrows—green and long, their tapered ends reaching all the way down to his waist. Beneath those brows, his gaze was deep and unreadable.
"Lord He Feng Yang!" The Gu Insect resting on Fang Zheng's chest immediately fluttered into the air, excitedly calling out the newcomer's identity.
This Gu Insect was the Soul-Harboring Flea that held Heavenly Crane's soul.
"Milord, please use your power to heal Fang Zheng's soul. Let my disciple awaken," Heavenly Crane said.
"Heavenly Crane, is this still your answer..." He Feng Yang sighed, a note of disappointment in his heart. He would far prefer Heavenly Crane to seize the body and be reborn. Why? Because Heavenly Crane had originally been his, He Feng Yang's, subordinate—he had handled many tasks for He Feng Yang, was well known and thoroughly trusted, and was a capable person. In contrast, Gu Yue Fang Zheng was far too young and bore the experience of being forced into sacrifice. If he harbored even a trace of resentment toward the Immortal Crane Sect, that would be most unfortunate.
"Heavenly Crane, do you know that the body-seizing technique our Immortal Crane Sect obtained this time is virtually perfect—supremely excellent? If you had seized a body earlier, there might have been incompatibility between soul and flesh, leaving afterlife complications. But seizing a body now, it would be as if you were born this way—soul and flesh merging seamlessly, coexisting in perfect harmony. There wouldn't be a single drawback. This is your fortune! You can be reborn and reclaim the glory you once possessed. Heaven has already granted you this opportunity—why won't you seize it?" He Feng Yang urged.
"Milord..." The Soul-Harboring Flea rustled, its voice low and heavy. "Please forgive my stubbornness. If I truly seized his body, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to face myself. Fang Zheng is my disciple. He is like the me of old—this is his future. If I took it from him, I wouldn't be able to face my own heart. Please grant me this, Milord, for the sake of my years of loyal service."
"You!" A flash of anger surfaced on He Feng Yang's face.
His recent days had not been going well. To heal the Nine Palace Crane Xiao Jiu, he had sought help everywhere, spending vast sums of money with minimal results.
Now, even his former subordinate was insisting on going his own way, refusing his advice, refusing to give him what he wanted!
This body-seizing technique, though powerful, had its prerequisites. One could not recklessly seize a body—it was best for the soul to spend extended time in contact with the target body beforehand.
When Heavenly Crane had originally planned to seize Fang Zheng's body, he had placed the Soul-Harboring Flea within Fang Zheng's Empty Orifice. Enough time had passed for the conditions to mature, but Heavenly Crane had changed his mind.
This meant that if Heavenly Crane still wished to seize someone else's body, it would not be feasible in the short term. He would still need time to establish contact with a new body.