The two Demonic Path Gu Immortals opposite them instinctively took a step back in unison. The psychological pressure Fang Yuan exerted on them was simply overwhelming.
When the situation is against you, what can be done?
The Demonic Path Gu Immortals' expressions shifted several times before they finally conceded, handing over all the Eternal Grief Spiders they had obtained to Fang Yuan.
After taking possession of them, Fang Yuan immediately flew off, without any further entanglement.
The two Demonic Path Gu Immortals let out a collective sigh of relief.
The one who had been extorted, his face twisted with resentment, stared at Fang Yuan's gradually receding silhouette and cursed: "Old devil, I hope you die out there!"
"Keep it down, keep it down — how can you be sure he doesn't have eavesdropping methods? What if he comes back to cause us more trouble?" The other Demonic Path Gu Immortal hastily waved his hand to stop him.
The two exchanged glances, both froze for a moment, then quickly reacted, darting away in opposite directions to put distance between them.
In the next instant, the two competed fiercely, silently attacking the deep pool, desperately scouring it for Eternal Grief Spiders.
"Fangcun Mountain, Yanhong Sea..." Fang Yuan flew straight onward, rapidly approaching the location mentioned in the intelligence.
He had originally not planned to harvest Eternal Grief Spiders, since he lacked effective means to capture them.
The Eternal Grief Spider swarm held little value for him, and he had already decided to abandon the idea. He hadn't expected that a bout of extortion would not only save him time and immediately net him a large batch of Eternal Grief Spiders, but also yield an important piece of intelligence.
Fang Yuan privately speculated that this intelligence was likely quite authentic and reliable.
The Fangren were a type of Othermen.
Fangcun Mountain was the paradise where the Fangren lived — their homeland. This had long been recorded in the Records of the Human Ancestor.
The Fangren had transparent, thin wings growing from their backs. Usually only as big as a fingertip, they sustained themselves by gathering flower nectar or absorbing the juices of plants.
Every type of Othermen possessed specific abilities that surpassed those of humans. The Mao Min excelled at refining Gu; Stone Men lived underground and were skilled at mining — mineral deposits even grew naturally on their bodies; Snow Men were resistant to cold; the Mo Ren possessed vast knowledge...
The Fangren excelled at cultivating flowers, trees, and plants. Wherever they lived, vegetation would flourish spectacularly, with flowers blooming year-round, never withering across the four seasons.
"A more crucial point is that although Fangcun Mountain is small in size, it is a genuine mountain peak that requires a vast amount of earthly qi to stabilize its structure. Such a legendary mountain, even placed inside an Immortal Aperture, would be an enormous burden. No Gu Immortal could carry it around at will — let alone the fact that Fangcun Mountain did not belong to any private Gu Immortal of the Eastern tribes."
A Gu Immortal's Immortal Aperture was hidden within their body, and the earthly qi inside it was limited. If Fangcun Mountain were stored within such an Aperture for an extended period, it would inevitably drain enormous quantities of earthly qi to sustain the legendary mountain, causing the Aperture's earthly qi to fall out of balance.
Therefore, for most of the time, Fangcun Mountain resided within the Bitan Blessed Land.
Why was that?
Because the Bitan Blessed Land was planted on the ground, constantly absorbing the endless earthly qi of the Northern Wasteland's exterior. It had no fear of the burden that Fangcun Mountain imposed.
Fang Yuan's Danghun Mountain was in the same situation.
Danghun Mountain required earthly qi absorption; otherwise, its structure would collapse and crumble. Fortunately, the Fox Fairy's Blessed Land was planted on the Tiled Mountain, continuously absorbing earthly qi at every moment, so it feared nothing from Danghun Mountain's consumption.
If it were placed within the Immortal Apertures of Fairy Lishan or Hei Loulan, moving around constantly, even an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal could not sustain it for long. They would need to plant their Immortal Apertures in the outside world to absorb external qi and stabilize the Aperture's world.
By the edge of an ordinary-looking deep pool.
"It's Fang Yuan?"
"How did he end up here?"
Fairy Lishan and Hei Loulan were cloaked in invisibility, and Fang Yuan's arrival did not go undetected by them.
The two women had previously been communicating in secret, planning to search for the thatched hut. The hut was no longer at its original location, but they had made a major discovery — in that deep pool, they had found a school of Underworld Eels!
After that, they traveled to various locations and finally tracked down Fangcun Mountain's whereabouts.
Upon arriving here, however, they had been blocked. They were just discussing this predicament when Fang Yuan appeared within their alert perimeter.
Fairy Lishan still clung to hope, saying to Hei Loulan: "Fang Yuan's detection methods aren't strong. Our concealment is an Immortal Path killer move. If we don't reveal ourselves, he certainly won't be able to sense us. Perhaps he's just passing through."
Hei Loulan had suffered a bitter lesson at Fang Yuan's hands. Her brow furrowed with a sense of foreboding: "We absolutely must not underestimate Fang Yuan."
Sure enough, in the next moment, Fang Yuan slowly descended from high altitude, rapidly approaching them, his target aimed squarely at this deep pool.
Fairy Lishan's fantasy shattered, and her expression darkened.
Fang Yuan arrived at the location described in the intelligence.
The deep pool before him appeared thoroughly ordinary, completely unremarkable.
Yet Fang Yuan still harbored a sliver of anticipation.