Hei Lou Lan's spirits were greatly lifted, and she hurriedly replied, "Aunt, rest assured, I have already gone deep into the pool and am digging a tunnel underground!"
High in the air, Fairy Li Shan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. This was the backlash of the pact, but it was still within her range of endurance.
She casually wiped away the bloodstains and continued to secretly send a message to Hei Lou Lan: "Good. I will scout for you from up high. You sneak over there, and be careful not to let the other Gu Immortals discover you. Especially that guy Fang Yuan. He is extremely deep and calculating. Even Pi Shui Han is toyed with in the palm of his hand. The Snowy Mountain Pact we made with him is approaching its deadline. You must be on your guard against him."
"Of course!" Hei Lou Lan quickly replied.
Fang Yuan descended with a loud boom over the pool. His body stirred up a gale that rippled the surface of the pool.
Fang Yuan had memories from his previous life. Although he didn't have an investigative Immortal Gu, his mortal investigative methods were a full era ahead of the surrounding Gu Immortals. After sweeping his gaze over the area, he immediately investigated the deep pool and found that besides the pool water, there was nothing else.
"So it's oil-water." He frowned almost imperceptibly.
Oil-water was naturally not ordinary water, but a resource found only in the deep sea. As a material for refining Gu, it was very common in the Eastern Sea. In places like the Northern Plains and the Western Desert, it was quite rare.
Small-scale trades of oil-water were almost nonexistent in Treasure Yellow Heaven. This was because the profits were too low, and the fees charged by Treasure Yellow Heaven were too high, making it completely unprofitable.
If such a trade existed in Treasure Yellow Heaven, it would be large-scale, but it was still just hard-earned money. Moreover, since the annual production of oil-water in the Eastern Sea was mostly consumed internally, this kind of large-scale transaction was also extremely rare.
The Eastern Sea tribes were not only storing oil-water here but had used clever intentions. The pool was extremely deep, connecting to the depths of the earth and drawing out strands of earthy qi.
Oil-water itself was a resource produced in the deep-sea trenches.
"The Eastern Sea tribes established this pool to use oil-water to produce oil-water. Every so often, they draw in clear water and mix it in, using the continuous interaction between earthy qi and oil-water to gradually restore the original concentration of the oil-water." Fang Yuan was a man of vast experience. With a turn of his thoughts, he understood the operation methods of the Eastern Sea tribes.
Oil-water was not easy to harvest. It required specific Gu worms.
This was the reason Fang Yuan frowned slightly.
He also knew that in the Eastern Sea, there was a specific small group of elite Gu Masters who specialized in diving to the bottom of the sea to harvest oil-water. Their hereditary Gu worm recipes complemented each other, allowing them to salvage and absorb this oil-water.
These people made a living from this. The focus of their Gu worm combinations was harvesting oil-water, so their combat strength was not strong. However, their social status was relatively high, and they were generally welcomed by the major and minor forces of the Eastern Sea.
In his previous life, Fang Yuan had also been to the Eastern Sea and had once come into contact with an old Gu Master who specialized in harvesting oil-water.
The old Gu Master was advanced in age and had only a single granddaughter. He wanted to take Fang Yuan as his grandson-in-law and have him marry into the family. Unfortunately, in the end, Fang Yuan refused him.
Soon, Fang Yuan's brows relaxed.
He extended his index finger towards the surface of the pool. With a light flick of his finger, the pool water rose up like a dragon and obediently poured into his immortal aperture.
If this were before the auction, Fang Yuan would have been helpless. But after the auction, he had obtained the strength-type Immortal Gu, Wanlan, which specifically targeted water flow. A mere pool of oil-water was easily within his grasp.
"Although oil-water is rare, it is not an immortal material. Using the Immortal Gu Wanlan to harvest it is truly overkill. If it wasn't for the fact that this pool had a large amount and my subsequent plans involved attending the Central Continent Gu Refining Convention, which would be suitable for using oil-water in the early stages, I would definitely not have collected it."
Activating the Immortal Gu consumed his Qingti Immortal Essence. The value of Qingti Immortal Essence was far greater than the oil-water.
If not for the Gu Refining Convention, Fang Yuan would probably have just walked away.
At this moment, Fang Yuan was standing in the air with his hands clasped behind his back, as the oil-water continuously poured into his immortal aperture.
He slightly turned his body and looked in the direction of Hei Lou Lan.
Hei Lou Lan's side was completely silent, as if she had already gone to another deep pool.
A faintly dark light flickered in Fang Yuan's eyes. He vaguely guessed the tricks of Fairy Li Shan and Hei Lou Lan, but he was not in a hurry.
With the advantage of rebirth, how could he not know about the Straw Hut and Fangcun Mountain? In fact, he knew them even better than Fairy Li Shan.
During the great war of the five regions in his previous life, various Immortal Gu Houses had frequently clashed against each other, repeatedly triggering large-scale wars.
Immortal killer moves were easily countered and suppressed, but Immortal Gu Houses were always balanced in offense and defense. Even if they had different specialties, they generally had no weaknesses in other aspects.
Especially when an Immortal Gu House was filled with many Gu Immortals, its power multiplied. They were almost unstoppable war fortresses on the battlefield, capable of charging straight through without any resistance.
"If the Straw Hut could be found so easily, it wouldn't be the Straw Hut." Fang Yuan collected the oil-water under his feet, and his figure rose up as he flew towards another deep pool.
After successively harvesting several similar resource pools, Fang Yuan finally encountered a deep pool that housed a group of beasts which made his eyes light up.
Sensing Fang Yuan's powerful invasion of their territory, howls rose up from all sides. Tens of thousands of Fin-winged Wolves charged out from the pool water and formed a large formation, glaring at Fang Yuan mid-air with intent.
Fang Yuan had also used some of these Fin-winged Wolves before when he was disguised as the Wolf King, Cang Shanyin.
They were extremely useful.
As large as an elephant, they were amphibious and were one of the few wolf packs that could fight underwater.
Their defense was extremely strong. They had a sleek crocodile hide armor, and sharp, deep-blue fins grew on the sides of their bodies. On their backs, there was also a row of fins like a shark's dorsal fin. These fins connected in a line, extending from the wolf's head to the wolf's tail.
Their speed was not fast, but Fang Yuan often used them as solid shields within his wolf formation.
Of course, now that these were ordinary beasts, they could no longer arouse much interest in Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan's gaze was scorching, landing on the leader of the wolf pack.
This was a huge Fin-winged Wolf, standing over three zhang tall. Its body lines were extremely smooth, a perfect combination of strength and beauty.
At this moment, the Fin-winged Wolf was crouching low, its mouth clenched shut, the edges slightly open, revealing its stark white, sharp teeth. Its large, lantern-like wolf eyes were fixed tightly on Fang Yuan, as if at any moment, it would leap up and pounce on him to devour him.
Fang Yuan laughed heartily and was suddenly moved by the desire to subdue it.
Although he did not have a Beast Taming Immortal Gu, he could still slightly control such a Desolate Beast through other methods.
There was only one Beast Taming Immortal Gu, stored in the Lang Ya Blessed Land. Using this Gu to enslave a Desolate Beast took effect in an instant. The Desolate Beast advanced and retreated as if it were the master's own will. This was the unparalleled masterpiece of the enslavement path.
Fang Yuan had no Beast Taming Immortal Gu, and naturally, the other enslavement path Gu Immortals did not have one either. But as Gu Immortals, their ingenuity was boundless in their use of Gu. They naturally had various methods and killer moves to partially replace the function of the Beast Taming Immortal Gu.
For example, the Flying Bear Illusion Gu was a unique method of the phantom path to enslave Desolate Beasts. Other paths, such as water, fire, light, wisdom, etc., also had different methods. Otherwise, how could Dong Fang Chang Fan have manipulated so many phantom beasts in the Tai Qiu battle?
Although the various paths were distinct, they were interconnected. It was only through the mutual learning, exchange, and competition of the different paths that the current vibrant situation of Gu Masters, where a hundred flowers bloomed, came to be.
Even without these methods, if a Desolate Beast was raised from a young age and developed an emotional bond, it would have a close and protective nature, able to guard its master and be released to kill enemies. Xiao Jiu of He Feng Yang in the Immortal Crane Sect, the Nine Palace Crane, was a classic example of a heartfelt bond between man and beast.
Of course, these methods were in no way comparable to the effect of the Beast Taming Immortal Gu.
The enslavement path, having formed its own school, naturally excelled at methods of enslaving beasts compared to other paths.
By the pool, the two sides faced off for a moment. The Desolate Fin-winged Wolf still held its ground, not moving. The aura emanating from Fang Yuan made it feel a great threat, not daring to act rashly.
Since that was the case, Fang Yuan decided to take the initiative. Two giant force hands descended, one on the left and one on the right.
The Desolate Fin-winged Wolf let out a loud roar, took a slight step back, and instantly had a layer of crystalline water armor appear on its body.
In the next moment, it suddenly leaped, soaring high into the air, even surpassing Fang Yuan's height.
It opened its bloody maw, and Fang Yuan felt a gust of bloody wind rushing towards him.
Accompanying the bloody wind were countless water bullets, rapidly spat out from the Desolate Fin-winged Wolf's mouth.
Fang Yuan did not dodge or evade. He sent two more giant force hands flying up to meet them.
The water bullets fell like a storm on the giant force hands, but only slightly slowed them down. These water bullets could not even be considered mortal killer moves, let alone immortal killer moves.