"Nearly six hundred thousand ordinary dragon fish, along with one desolate beast dragon fish."
Fang Yuan flew swiftly while monitoring the harvest within his immortal aperture.
His first foray into this fragment world of the Starry Sky Grotto-Heaven had yielded a bountiful catch.
The only slight blemish was that a great many ordinary dragon fish had perished. The desolate beast dragon fish had gone berserk, unable to distinguish friend from foe, and many of the ordinary dragon fish that normally swam around it had been killed as a result.
Otherwise, Fang Yuan's haul would have been even greater.
But he was already satisfied with this single strike.
Back at the Eastern Clan's stronghold, he had only managed to collect a little over nine hundred thousand ordinary dragon fish and one desolate beast dragon fish. His current harvest already exceeded half of that. If he tried to add them all to the Dragon Scale Lake in the Fox Immortal's Blessed Land, the original lake wouldn't even be large enough to hold them all.
"In the future, once the truth behind the collapse of the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building is exposed, the Fox Immortal's Blessed Land will inevitably have to be abandoned. Expanding the Dragon Scale Lake further will be pointless. It seems that once I return, I should first focus on transforming and developing the Constellation Blessed Land — at the very least, to house these dragon fish there."
As he pondered, Fang Yuan swept his gaze across his surroundings.
His True Essence was limitless, and he possessed an inexhaustible array of mortal-tier reconnaissance methods. Recently, he had even acquired an immortal-tier reconnaissance killer move — Stellar Sense.
He had no need to worry about missing anything of value along the way.
Yet as he flew onward, Fang Yuan seldom made a move.
Even when the Starry Sky Grotto-Heaven had been whole, the War Immortal Sect had already combed through it multiple times. Now, the remaining resources that could catch Fang Yuan's eye were exceedingly few. Moreover, two-thirds of whatever he collected on this trip had to be handed over to the Immortal Crane Sect, leaving him with only one-third. This severely dampened Fang Yuan's enthusiasm.
"This time, the ten sects have sent their disciples to compete for the various resources inside. Time is limited — only seven days and seven nights. Once that period is over, all the resources will have been divided up and seized, and what follows will be each of the ten great sects carrying out their own extraction and development. That will have nothing to do with me. So during this time, I only need to collect the desolate beast dragon fish, the Scripture-Hiding Softshell Turtle, and that stalk of Underworld Grass. The bulk of my energy and time should be devoted to exploring the dream realm in the central area!"
The moment he thought of the dream realm, Fang Yuan's eyes blazed with intensity, and his heart burned with fervor.
Before their departure, He Fengyang had specifically instructed Fang Yuan to seize the central area as early as possible.
At the very center of this fragment world, there was an externally manifested dream realm.
Tied to the prophecy of the Dream Realm Immortal Venerable, all ten ancient sects had long since begun researching it. Feng Jinhuang possessed the Dream Wing Immortal Gu, which allowed Spirit Affinity Hall to firmly maintain the leading position.
More critically, this dream realm had an extraordinary origin.
It was none other than the dream of the Star Constellation Immortal Venerable!
Though the Immortal Crane Sect's research into the dream dao lagged far behind Spirit Affinity Hall's, seizing this dream realm would be enough to curb Spirit Affinity Hall's momentum. They could even leverage the dream realm they held to negotiate terms with Spirit Affinity Hall and exchange benefits.
The most precious resource in the entire fragment world was not desolate beasts or desolate plants — it was this small patch of externally manifested dream realm!
That was why He Fengyang had specifically entrusted this matter to Fang Yuan before their departure.
But how could he have known the excitement blazing in Fang Yuan's heart?
Fang Yuan might not possess dream dao Immortal Gu like Feng Jinhuang did, but he had a Wisdom Dao Immortal Gu for puzzle-solving and the dream dao killer move it had formed — Dream Unraveling!
He Fengyang's invitation for Fang Yuan to act on behalf of the Immortal Crane Sect was practically inviting a thief through the front gate and leading a weasel into the chicken coop.
"The Immortal Crane Sect simply lacked the strength, so they brought me along this time. In the end, they faced fierce resistance from the other nine sects. Although the Immortal Crane Sect got its way in the end, my departure was delayed far behind the other nine sects. I need to get there quickly and secure the central area before anything goes wrong."
Catching the dragon fish had merely been something to do along the way. The true priority lay in the externally manifested dream realm of the central area.
But by the time Fang Yuan arrived at his destination, someone had already beaten him to it.
"Fang Yuan, I've been waiting here for quite some time." Feng Jinhuang led four Spirit Affinity Hall Gu Masters, standing guard before the magnificent dream realm behind them.
She regarded her greatest rival on this expedition. Her features were as delicate as a painting, her skin as white as snow, and a charming smile graced her lips. She appeared brimming with confidence.
Fang Yuan was in no hurry. He smiled back and said, "According to the rules established by the ten great sects, if your Spirit Affinity Hall wishes to fully occupy this area, you must face a challenge from any one of the sects. Only after winning two out of three rounds can you strip your opponent of the right to occupy this place."
The ten ancient sects were prestigious orthodox factions of the Central Continent, all sharing the same origin — Heavenly Court.
Thus, although there was competition this time, it was not the brutal, lethal affair characteristic of the Demonic Path. The methods were comparatively mild.
Feng Jinhuang shook her head. "Even with the Immortal Gu and Immortal Essence my mother left me, I can't defeat you, Fang Yuan. I was only waiting for you to propose a trade."
"Oh?" Fang Yuan raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "You want to make a deal with me again? Last time at the Gu refinement convention, you played me for a fool. You told me the method to escape immortal zombification was actually the Ten Extreme Body's ascension! And now you want to trade again?"
Feng Jinhuang hurriedly replied, "Trade is about mutual benefit. You've taken plenty of advantages from Spirit Affinity Hall as well, Fang Yuan. Rest assured, I won't let you suffer any losses in this trade."
"Fine. Let's hear it, then." Fang Yuan nodded.
Feng Jinhuang immediately put forward the terms of the trade — the bargaining chip was actually another method of escaping immortal zombification!
She had identified Fang Yuan's weakness with absolute precision and intended to press it without mercy.
After confirming that Feng Jinhuang's method was not one he already possessed, Fang Yuan agreed to the trade.
Just as Feng Jinhuang had said, trade was about mutual benefit, advantageous to both parties. If there was profit to be had, of course Fang Yuan would take it.
And so, Fang Yuan obtained an entirely new method — one that could help him escape his immortal zombie body and reclaim a new life.