Fang Yuan cut straight to the heart of Hei Lou Lan's awkward predicament. Hei Lou Lan had a thick skin — he laughed heartily and continued to argue with Fang Yuan.
After a verbal sparring match, the two sides finally reached an agreement: Hei Lou Lan would remain at Fang Yuan's place for the time being, contributing his labor for free. Any profits from Courage Gu during this period would not include Hei Lou Lan's share. At the same time, should the Fox Immortal Blessed Land face an Earth Calamity, Hei Lou Lan would have to lend his full assistance to help Fang Yuan resist it.
This deal concluded, Fairy Li Shan still wasn't in a hurry to leave. She discussed Immortal Materials with Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan had acquired a vast quantity of Immortal Materials at the auction convention. Fairy Li Shan wished to purchase some, to help fulfill the resource collection tasks assigned by Old Ancestor Xue Hu.
When Fairy Li Shan had obtained Fang Cun Mountain, Old Ancestor Xue Hu had merely borrowed it for a look — he hadn't coveted it from her.
After Old Ancestor Xue Hu defeated the combined forces of two Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals, the prestige of the Great Snowy Mountain Blessed Land immediately soared. Its reputation among Gu Immortals reached an unprecedented peak.
Old Ancestor Xue Hu summoned Fairy Li Shan and, citing her role in blocking the Medicine Emperor and protecting Fang Cun Mountain, demanded that she increase her contributions. He assigned her numerous tasks for collecting Immortal Materials.
Fairy Li Shan found herself in an awkward position. She had recently acquired Fang Cun Mountain, and although she had recruited Tai Bai Yun Sheng's help to restore it — which had cost a tremendous sum — she was still severely injured on top of everything.
Originally, she had relied on the Mountain Alliance Gu and had accumulated substantial wealth. But because she had been heavily sponsoring Hei Lou Lan, her savings had been rapidly depleted and were approaching exhaustion.
Cultivating as an independent Immortal consumed enormous resources — it was already extraordinarily difficult. Many Gu Immortals had no economic foundation. Unable to make ends meet, they could only sell their services to others, running hither and thither.
Even with an economic foundation, trade always involved both gains and losses. Deals like Mountain Alliance oaths and Courage Gu were rare and unique — how could they ever become commonplace?
The real problem was Heavenly Calamities and Earth Tribulations. After just one, many businesses and efforts were reduced to nothing. After surviving wave after wave of Heavenly Calamities and Earth Tribulations, Gu Immortals, upon seeing their devastated Immortal Apertures, typically went through a period of deep despondency.
Fairy Li Shan was remarkably bold. Beyond supporting herself, she also vigorously backed Hei Lou Lan. Hei Lou Lan had no source of income, and the enormous cultivation needs of both of them fell entirely on her shoulders. Even with such boldness, her finances had finally begun to run dry.
However, besides Immortal Yuan Stones and Immortal Materials, Fairy Li Shan still had quite a few other things on hand.
Many pieces of valuable information held extraordinary worth.
Fairy Li Shan had extensive connections and was the most outstanding intelligence gatherer around.
The Immortal Materials Fang Yuan had on hand were originally intended for the Gu Refinement Convention. But he had a sufficient quantity, and selling some to Fairy Li Shan was perfectly acceptable.
Fang Yuan nodded in agreement, but he demanded one of Fairy Li Shan's Immortal Dao Killer Moves. He had been eyeing this particular killer move for a long time, and now was the perfect opportunity to press his advantage. Naturally, Fang Yuan seized it.
When Fairy Li Shan heard Fang Yuan's request, she thought to herself that he had indeed brought this up. In an instant, her mouth was filled with bitterness.
But circumstances were beyond her control. Even if Fairy Li Shan was unwilling, what could she do?
Timely Fortune.
That was the name of the Immortal Dao Killer Move Fang Yuan had extracted from Fairy Li Shan.
This killer move used the Time Luck Immortal Gu as its core. It plundered the lifespan of others to grant oneself a temporary boost in fortune.
Fang Yuan had obtained the Time Luck Immortal Gu from Fairy Li Shan before. He had once attempted to use the Inch of Time Gu to substitute for lifespan in conjunction with the Time Luck Immortal Gu, but unfortunately, the attempt had failed.
Though the Inch of Time Gu and Time Luck Immortal Gu could theoretically work together, the former's consumption was simply too violent. Later, Fang Yuan had tried to deduce an Immortal Dao Killer Move that would reduce the Inch of Time Gu's consumption to more manageable levels.
But that had failed too.
Although he could utilize the halo of the Zhi Hui Gu for limitless inspiration, the thoughts in his mind were too few to sustain the effort. The Evil Thought Gu and Memory Gu were always being refined, but never fast enough to keep up — his reserves remained pitifully small.
Even with sufficient thoughts, Fang Yuan's attainment in the Dao of Time was still insufficient. The hope of achieving success was exceedingly faint.
But Fang Yuan had long known that Fairy Li Shan possessed this particular Immortal Dao Killer Move, centered on the Time Luck Immortal Gu. If properly leveraged, it could become an economic pillar rivaling the Mountain Alliance Gu.
So this time, seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Fang Yuan demanded the killer move outright.
Once he had it in hand, he examined it immediately. A strange feeling arose in his heart, and he asked Fairy Li Shan: "Where did you obtain this killer move?"