Fang Yuan cast his gaze around and saw the lake before him sparkling with light. The surface was broad and vivid in shades of blue.
After entering this fragment world of the Starry Sky Grotto-Heaven, he found himself in the midst of this blue lake.
The lake was vast, with several small, densely forested islands scattered near its center in the distance.
Looking further still, at the lake's edge, a range of layered mountains rose like a smudge of dark green ink, gently merging with the horizon.
Fang Yuan now stood on the water's surface as if it were solid ground.
To a mortal Gu Master, this feat of standing upon water would be considered quite impressive. But for someone like Fang Yuan, such commonplace abilities were utterly trivial.
Before venturing deeper into this grotto-fragment world, Fang Yuan took one last glance behind him.
Behind him, the expanse of blue lake was abruptly severed. It looked as though a massive, frosted mirror stood there, cutting the lake's surface cleanly in two.
Fang Yuan chuckled inwardly, then turned, crushing the water beneath his feet and soaring forward.
The Gu Immortals of the ten great ancient sects of the Central Continent might not know, but in truth, this was not Fang Yuan's first time entering the Starry Sky Grotto-Heaven.
The Starry Sky Grotto-Heaven was quite unique, possessing seven sub-spaces that were mutually isolated, unlike a typical grotto-heaven.
Clearly, the Space Dao marks within the Starry Sky Grotto-Heaven must be incredibly numerous and quite peculiar.
Within the grotto-heaven existed many desolate beasts, including ancient desolate beasts like the Corpse Dragon and the Flesh-Walking Tree guarding the Eighth Star Palace, which remained etched in Fang Yuan's memory.
"However, due to the attrition from fierce battles, the plundering by the War Immortal Sect, and the losses when the Starry Sky Grotto-Heaven shattered, the desolate beasts and ancient desolate beasts within these fragment worlds have become quite scarce. Currently, in this particular grotto-fragment, there are only two desolate beasts and one desolate plant."
As Fang Yuan flew swiftly through the air, he recalled the intelligence He Fengyang had provided him.
The two desolate beasts and the one desolate plant were: a desolate-grade Dragon Fish, a Scripture-Hoarding Softshell Turtle, and a Netherworld Grass.
Any Gu Immortal knew the Dragon Fish. It was a very common food item for raising Immortal Gu. For the vast majority of mortal Gu, if specific feed was lacking, the flesh of a Dragon Fish could substitute for the missing portion to nourish the Gu. Of course, each Immortal Gu was unique, with bizarre and singular food requirements, so the Dragon Fish's utility decreased significantly. Even when it could substitute for a portion of the feed, only Dragon Fish flesh of desolate-beast grade was effective.
"Among desolate beasts, the Dragon Fish was almost certainly the weakest in terms of combat strength. According to legend, the Dragon Fish species originally did not exist in the world; it was a creation of the Refinement Dao school."
As for the Scripture-Hoarding Softshell Turtle—this was a rather rare Wisdom Dao desolate beast. Its habits were peculiar. Once it reached adulthood, it would settle in one spot and remain utterly motionless. Over long years, through wind and rain, moss would grow all over its body and harden into grey stone, transforming it into a massive rockery. Moreover, it was adept at concealing its aura and hiding its form, making it extremely difficult to discover.
Only when it sensed an imminent catastrophe would it relocate. It would travel ceaselessly until it found a satisfactory resting place. Then, it would stop again, retract into its shell, and subsist on wind, rain, frost, snow, and such.
If this type of desolate beast could be captured and put to use, it would be far more valuable than killing it.
The Scripture-Hoarding Softshell Turtle was a pure Wisdom Dao desolate beast, inherently attuned to Wisdom Dao. It was a spirit beast of the Wisdom Dao, possessing a natural ability to find safe and hidden places to survive.
Many Wisdom Dao Gu Immortals, when calculating or deducing difficult problems, would utilize the Scripture-Hoarding Softshell Turtle to assist them.
In the Wisdom Dao legacy Fang Yuan had inherited from Dongfang Changfan, there was also a method that used the shell of a freshly slain Scripture-Hoarding Softshell Turtle to aid in deductions.
Clearly, capturing this Scripture-Hoarding Softshell Turtle would be more beneficial for a Gu Immortal. Furthermore, it was immobile and possessed formidable defenses, so the War Immortal Sect had not been in a hurry to deal with it.
The Netherworld Grass was similar. It was rooted in the earth and immobile. As long as one didn't approach it, its threat was minimal.
Having a Netherworld Grass was particularly beneficial for Gu Immortals of the Soul Dao, because the Netherworld Grass contained a massive amount of Soul Dao marks. Over time, it would influence the surrounding environment. The area within a radius of several hundred li around the Netherworld Grass would gradually transform into a breeding base for Soul Dao Gu insects.
The Netherworld Grass had a remarkable effect on altering the environment of a blessed land or grotto-heaven.
Similarly, the War Immortal Sect found it inconvenient to remove this Netherworld Grass, so it had remained until now. Unexpectedly, the Seven Star Child had been so vindictive, willing to shatter both the jade and the stone by detonating the Starry Sky Grotto-Heaven.
This situation was far beyond the War Immortal Sect's capacity to control. The fragments of the Starry Sky Grotto-Heaven world were now subject to resource collection under the joint agreement of the ten great ancient sects of the Central Continent.
Representing the Immortal Crane Sect, He Fengyang had assigned Fang Yuan several tasks before he entered the grotto-fragment world.
Three of these tasks concerned the Dragon Fish, the Netherworld Grass, and the Scripture-Hoarding Softshell Turtle.
"If you can capture all three alive, that would be best. According to our agreement, you will receive one-third of their value," He Fengyang had explicitly told Fang Yuan.
Though Fang Yuan was ostensibly a vassal of the Immortal Crane Sect, that was not the reality. He Fengyang, being the principal party, understood this better than anyone.
Therefore, he knew very well that to motivate Fang Yuan, only profit could serve as incentive.
Although Fang Yuan was merely a low-ranked Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal zombie, when facing these three entities, he held a significant advantage.
Because in Fang Yuan's possession, he not only had his own Immortal Gu but also Immortal Gu that the Immortal Crane Sect had specifically loaned to him.
The presence of Immortal Gu versus their absence made for entirely different concepts of combat power.