"Hmph..." Fang Yuan's gaze turned cold as he silently memorized the names of these Gu Immortals.
Old Man Angler, Boulder Great Immortal, Heavenly Mother Lightning Blaze...
"Ink Stone Old Man, so it's you." He finally understood who was targeting him. The vast majority of these Gu Immortals were the ones who had attacked the Lang Ya Blessed Land in his memories of his past life five hundred years ago.
"Most of these Gu Immortals come from the Northern Plains, but there are also people from the Southern Border, the Eastern Sea, the Western Desert, and the Central Continent. Along with Ink Stone Old Man, this hidden force of Gu Immortals is truly immense!"
This extraordinary clash allowed Fang Yuan to learn a great deal of intelligence, and it secretly shocked him.
Just what kind of force was this? Who had built it up?
In his past life, he hadn't known anything about it, kept completely in the dark.
Such a powerful force, hiding behind the scenes, was no longer a simple venomous snake, but a fierce tiger lurking in the jungle.
What was it plotting? What was its goal?
In the future, the great war of the five regions, what role did it play? What position did Ink Stone Old Man hold in this force?
Thinking back to the exchange just now, it was like an undercurrent surging. From beginning to end, none of them had used their full strength, and had played their roles perfectly.
Other people couldn't detect it at all, and would just think it was a normal bidding competition.
Even he himself, if not for the memories of his past life five hundred years ago, would probably just think he was unlucky, encountering fierce competition when purchasing supplies.
They made their moves in secret, quietly interfered, and once they found they couldn't stop him, they quietly withdrew.
The entire sniping operation was like throwing a stone into the water. After a few ripples, the surface returned to calm.
Fang Yuan knew very well in his heart that the reason he could escape their blockade this time was that the Gu recipe from the Lang Ya Land Spirit was merely a foundation. The more crucial point was that the other party didn't want to expose themselves, didn't want to arouse suspicion, and thus didn't use their full strength.
Although Fang Yuan was a Gu Immortal in his past life, he was now merely a mortal.
Even if he controlled a blessed land, he was absolutely no match for two Gu Immortals working together, let alone the Immortal Crane Sect and a mysterious and powerful force like this.
"The reason I caught Ink Stone Old Man's attention is probably still because of the Fixed Immortal Travel Gu." Fang Yuan pondered silently.
Back then, as a mortal, making an Immortal Gu in plain view of everyone was simply too eye-catching, too attention-grabbing.
An Immortal Gu! Even Gu Immortals rarely possessed one. Let alone a top-tier rank six gu like Fixed Immortal Travel! Naturally, it would arouse the greed of Gu Immortals.
It was all because this limelight was too big!
But Fang Yuan had no choice. The situation at the time forced him to do so. Doing so was also the best possible outcome, bar none.
"So much time has passed by now, this news must have already spread. The Immortal Crane Sect is sure to be investigating heavily, but this is actually a good thing."
"The more clearly they investigate, the more they know my background. I'm just over thirty, a drifter whose small-to-medium family was destroyed. A rogue cultivator. To be more realistic, a demonic path Gu Master!"
"A person like this, with low talent and lacking resources. How could he have seen the scenes of the Hu Immortal Blessed Land? How could he have refined an Immortal Gu? This is impossible! It is like a suddenly inflated ant devouring an elephant. A fat pig suddenly growing wings and flying higher than an eagle."
In terms of Earth lingo, it's unscientific!
"Thus, they will naturally deduce that there is a master behind me! This master is at least a powerful and mysterious Gu Immortal. And I am merely a pawn pushed out by the person behind the curtain."
"In this way, if they want to deal with me, they have to consider this person behind the scenes, or the factor of the organization behind them. If it is an organization, is it a group of people, a super clan, or a super sect? No one can be sure. Everyone wants to investigate deeper, to find a way to figure it out."
"Before they figure it out, as long as I stay holed up in the Hu Immortal Blessed Land and don't do anything that touches their bottom line, they will only probe and won't tear off the masks and get serious."
The thoughts in Fang Yuan's mind surged like lightning, analyzing the current situation thoroughly.
"Of course, this situation is only temporary. Paper can't wrap fire after all. Once they discover the truth, or lose their patience, then my big trouble will come."
Once the Immortal Crane Sect attacks the Hu Immortal Blessed Land, the best outcome left for Fang Yuan is to self-detonate the blessed land, damaging both sides equally, so that no one gets the Soul-Searching Mountain.
Having lost the protection of the blessed land, Fang Yuan would be a rat crossing the street, hunted by everyone.
The reason he had established the identity of Chang Shan Yin was to prepare for the future and leave himself a backup path.
A crafty hare has three burrows. As a demonic overlord, Fang Yuan naturally grasped the essence of this.
Clearing his chaotic thoughts, Fang Yuan sighed.
He had to cultivate as quickly as possible, preferably becoming a Gu Immortal again before the Immortal Crane Sect and the mysterious force made their move. But even so, it would be a great calamity. If he couldn't get through it, he would be shattered in body and soul, his path ending in a pathetic death.
"The pressure is immense..."
Although Fang Yuan had gained the greatest benefits in the Three Kings Blessed Land, after this battle, he had lost the initiative.
Spring Autumn Cicada, Immortal Crane Sect, Soul-Searching Mountain, Mysterious Force, Ground Calamity...
Although he had gained the Hu Immortal Blessed Land and his strength had skyrocketed, he was in even greater danger.
All kinds of intense situations and perilous circumstances pressed down on him step by step, like a whip or a sickle driving him forward from behind.
If he slowed down just a single step, the consequences would be unimaginable!
If it were anyone else, they would probably have run out of wit and strength, crushed into dust by the collapsing situation. Only Fang Yuan could rack his brains and drain his worries, finding a slim chance of survival from the crisis.
But even with him continuously striving like this, the situation had not improved.