Qin Baisheng was indeed a remarkable figure.
His combat strength was comparable to the Immortal Monkey King Shi Lei, yet he showed not the slightest trace of arrogance. Moreover, when conversing with Fang Yuan, he spoke with effortless charm and an incredibly approachable manner, occasionally letting out hearty laughs that only made him seem all the more magnanimous and open-hearted.
Fang Yuan's current appearance was, of course, achieved through the mortal-path killing move Meeting Without Recognition, which disguised his true form.
Disguise was absolutely necessary.
Ma Hongyun and Zhao Lianyun were in Qin Baisheng's hands. If they had already confessed or been soul-searched, Qin Baisheng would surely know about Fang Yuan's Eight-Arms Heavenly Corpse form.
Whether it was Hei Loulan, Tai Bai Sheng, or Fang Yuan's Eight-Arms Heavenly Corpse body, none of them could afford to appear openly in the Northern Plains.
All three of them were key survivors connected to the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building.
Now was an especially sensitive period.
Ever since Dongfang Changfan, the Northern Plains' foremost Wisdom Path Gu Immortal, had calculated before his death that the true culprit was not a local of the Northern Plains but an outsider, a shared sense of enmity had quietly taken hold across the entire region.
Countless factions and powerful figures hungered for revenge. The Northern Plains' dozen or so supreme superpowers had suffered the greatest losses. They wished they could tear the culprit apart with a thousand cuts, flay the skin, and rend the bone — torturing them for ten million years before their hatred would be sated!
The moment Fang Yuan and the others showed themselves, even if the full truth of their crimes had not been exposed, the Gu Immortals of the Northern Plains would stir into action, all scrambling to extract more inside information from their mouths.
Therefore, Fang Yuan had adopted the alias Sha Huang for this outing. At the same time, his eight monstrous arms had been transformed into a pair of ordinary zombie arms, and his originally terrifying frame — over two zhang tall — had been reduced to the size of an average person, even slightly shorter. The fangs in his mouth had been completely retracted, leaving not the faintest hint of ferocity. Instead, he gave off a washed-out, frail impression.
Of course, Fang Yuan had already informed Fairy Li Shan of these disguises in his letter in advance. When the Snow Mountain Alliance had been formed, this very situation had been taken into account, so it fell squarely within the scope of joint deception between Fang Yuan and Fairy Li Shan against outsiders — not a violation of the Snow Mountain Alliance in the slightest.
Yet even with Fang Yuan looking so unremarkable — a minor Immortal Zombie whose cultivation had stagnated, whose future was entirely bleak — Qin Baisheng still showed not the slightest hint of disdain. He conversed with Fang Yuan on completely equal footing, and as their discussion progressed, his tone only grew more amiable.
This attitude of Qin Baisheng's earned a quiet nod of approval from Fang Yuan: "This man is truly someone of substance. No wonder he was able to turn the tables — transforming the dire situation of being besieged by Northern Plains Gu Immortals into such a favorable state, right under everyone's noses."
Qin Baisheng was thinking as well: "This Sixth Transformation minor Immortal Zombie is unremarkable in appearance, but after all my subtle probing, he has yet to let a single word slip. To this day, I still don't know his origins or background. Facing me, Qin Baisheng, he remains calm and conversant as ever. Impressive. Very impressive."
Fairy Li Shan stood off to the side, eyes narrowed in a perpetual smile, watching Fang Yuan and Qin Baisheng exchange pleasantries.
Seeing their conversation grow increasingly animated, she finally could not help but chuckle softly: "The way you two carry on, you'd think you'd been separated for decades and only just reunited. It's as though you're long-lost brothers — and here I am, completely forgotten on the sidelines."
"Ah, I'm embarrassed, truly embarrassed," Fang Yuan said quickly.
But Qin Baisheng's eyes lit up at her words: "The Fairy speaks well — speaks brilliantly! I feel an immediate kinship with Brother Sha, and we seem to grow more alike by the minute. Why don't we become sworn brothers? As it happens, Fairy, you have your Mountain Oath Gu here. From this day forward, if this older brother has even a bowl of meat to eat, I'll never let my little brother settle for just broth!"
Fairy Li Shan was startled — she had not expected Qin Baisheng to be serious about this.
After the initial shock, a flutter of unease crept through her heart: "Could it be that Qin Baisheng has seen through Fang Yuan's disguise?"
Fang Yuan let out a small "ah" and immediately adopted the appearance of someone slightly bashful — younger, and ultimately unable to withstand such pressure: "I wouldn't dare presume to stand so tall. I truly wouldn't dare."
"Oh, come now, dear brother, what's this about presuming or not presuming? This is fate! Unless... behind this humble exterior, you actually look down on a loner like me?" Qin Baisheng's gaze blazed with vigor as he stared intently at Fang Yuan, his expression caught somewhere between a smile and something else.
'This is bad. My Meeting Without Recognition is ultimately only a mortal-path killing move. Qin Baisheng seems to have noticed something. It's because the strength I've displayed is too impressive — I have Gu Immortal slaves, I traffic in Gu Immortal blessed lands. Though Qin Baisheng is a rogue cultivator, he excels at forging alliances and coalitions, and with the auction about to take place, he wants to leverage me to connect with whatever powerful force stands behind me.'
'And of course, there's the possibility he suspects I'm the one who destroyed the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building. Either way, this only proves how formidable and difficult this man is to deal with.'
These thoughts flashed through Fang Yuan's mind in an instant, but outwardly he only smiled wryly: "To tell you the truth, Brother Qin, I feel an immediate bond with you as well. Unfortunately, I'm a small fry — bound by circumstances beyond my control, far from the carefree freedom enjoyed by you and Fairy Li Shan. Becoming sworn brothers... it's not that I'm unwilling, but that I cannot."
Of course he could not. The moment they became sworn brothers and swore an oath before the Mountain Oath Gu, he would be handing someone a weapon to use against him.
The simplest example: Qin Baisheng could directly propose that brothers must never speak lies to each other.
What would Fang Yuan do then? How could he refuse?
"So that's how it is. If you have difficulties you cannot speak of, Brother, then naturally I understand. Not only do I understand — I may even be able to help." Qin Baisheng thumped his chest as he spoke, and even in these words, his intent to probe deeper into Fang Yuan's background remained unabated.
Fang Yuan cupped his fists in thanks, then turned to face Fairy Li Shan: "Fairy, there is one more matter behind my coming out this time — I wish to borrow your Mountain Oath Gu."
"In that case..." Fairy Li Shan glanced at Qin Baisheng, hesitated for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Sha Huang, you may not be aware, but we are currently on our way to Crown Prince Fengxian's side to invite him to attend this auction. Our schedule is extremely tight, and I'm not sure whether Crown Prince Fengxian might take offense — we would be the very last to visit him."