Exquisite delicacies and rare delicacies filled the tables, the fragrance of wine permeated the air, and the lamplight blazed bright.
At the banquet, Shark Demon and Su Baiman occupied the seats of honor, warmly hosting the two Gu Immortals in the great hall.
These two Gu Immortals were none other than Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng.
Ever since they had been rebuffed at the Jade Dew Blessed Land and realized that lingering any longer would be pointless, Shark Demon and the others had wisely withdrawn and returned.
Fang Yuan and Tai Bai Yun Sheng had intended to leave as well, but they had been invited by Shark Demon and Su Baiman.
Truthfully, this was already the second time Fang Yuan had been invited to attend Shark Demon's Shark Fishing Banquet.
After draining a cup of fine wine, Shark Demon set down his goblet, looked at Fang Yuan, and abruptly spoke frankly: "Star Manifestation, are you truly that confident about cracking Stand Firm?"
Fang Yuan thought to himself: Here it comes.
Previously, Shark Demon and Su Baiman had chatted with him about this and that, and he had never been the first to broach the subject. Shark Demon had grown impatient and finally spoke up himself, getting down to business.
Fang Yuan immediately adopted a serious expression and replied: "Lord Shark Demon, you are already somewhat familiar with my background. The Wisdom Path inheritance I inherited is remarkably complete. Moreover, I have recently comprehended a great many mysteries, which is how I cracked the Eight Gate Maze battlefield killer move. But all along, I have suffered from not having a suitable Wisdom Path Immortal Gu at my disposal, which has limited my methods and left me lacking in capability. If I could refine the Wisdom Path Immortal Gu I desire, I would certainly be able to crack Stand Firm when it is unmanned."
Beside him, Tai Bai Yun Sheng chimed in: "I have known Brother Star Manifestation for many years and know full well he is not the kind of man to speak empty words and overstate his claims. Since he says he has confidence, then he surely does. I can vouch for that."
But Su Baiman was not satisfied with Tai Bai Yun Sheng's guarantee alone. She looked at Fang Yuan himself and pressed: "If you had a Wisdom Path Immortal Gu in hand, could you guarantee that you would crack that battlefield killer move?"
Fang Yuan declined to take the bait. Playing retreat as advance, he deliberately smiled bitterly: "How could anyone guarantee that? This concerns Blessed Land Venerable — one of only ten supreme beings in the vast sweep of history! Should something unexpected occur, it would be entirely normal. But as things stand now, based solely on what has been revealed, if I could have the aid of a Wisdom Path Immortal Gu, my chances of cracking it would still be quite considerable."
Shark Demon and Su Baiman exchanged a glance. In their hearts, there was equal parts irritation at Fang Yuan's slippery evasiveness and equal parts temptation.
There was nothing to be done about it.
They had suffered before.
In the past, they had paid a steep price to hire another Wisdom Path Gu Immortal for assistance. The results had been far from ideal, and they had even lost an Immortal Gu in the process.
But Star Manifestation…
After all, they had cooperated many times and knew a fair amount about his credentials. What was more, Fang Yuan had joined the Eastern Sea Zombie Alliance, making him practically one of their own.
Therefore, Fang Yuan was the top choice for both Shark Demon and Su Baiman.
But sponsoring Fang Yuan to refine an Immortal Gu was also a thorny matter.
The cost of refining Immortal Gu was exceedingly high, the probability of success was terribly slim, and it all came down to luck.
If luck was on your side, the first refinement attempt might succeed. Then everyone would be happy. But that scenario was vanishingly rare.
If luck was against you, failure after failure was entirely possible. In that case, even mountains of Immortal Yuan Stones would be squandered to nothing, yielding absolutely nothing in return.
This was precisely why the majority of Gu Immortals would rather capture wild Immortal Gu than attempt to refine their own.
Refining Immortal Gu was simply too difficult.
In the current cultivation world, many Sixth Transformation Gu Immortals did not possess a single Immortal Gu, forced to make do with mortal Gu to put on a decent front.
Fang Yuan was something of an exception. He possessed a staggering number of Immortal Gu. If the truth were revealed, most people probably wouldn't even believe it!
But he had only amassed so many through rebirth, fortunate opportunities, hair-raising adventures where death lurked at every turn, and a convergence of impossibly harsh conditions.
Shark Demon and the others did not know the full extent of Fang Yuan's holdings, but they were perfectly clear about his intentions.
Fang Yuan wanted to rely on Shark Demon and Su Baiman — borrowing their hands to refine a Wisdom Path Immortal Gu for his own benefit.
In Shark Demon's view, Fang Yuan simply couldn't afford the cost and lacked the foundation to refine Immortal Gu on his own, so he had set his sights on them.
At any other time, Shark Demon would have scoffed and dismissed the notion without a second thought.
What a joke!
How foolish would someone have to be to help another person refine an Immortal Gu?
But under the current circumstances, it was Shark Demon who needed Fang Yuan's help to crack the battlefield killer move.
Right now, Shark Demon was turning one question over in his gut — was Star Manifestation actually deceiving him? Was he using this as leverage, when in truth he could crack the battlefield killer move even without an Immortal Gu?
Seeing Shark Demon hesitate, Fang Yuan said nothing and simply drank his wine.
The timing could not have been more perfect. Fang Yuan was brimming with confidence.
Before, the timing had simply not been right. Now, the Jade Dew Blessed Land sat right before them, like a massive piece of fatty meat dangling before their appetites, stoking Shark Demon's desire. It had truly done Fang Yuan a tremendous favor.
Once Stand Firm was fully broken, the returns that Shark Demon and the others stood to gain would be hundreds of times the investment!
Of course, true to his nature, Fang Yuan had long considered swallowing everything for himself — of going rogue and taking what he pleased.
But his strength was insufficient. Shark Demon alone was more than he could handle!
Shark Demon was a veteran Seventh Transformation Zombie Immortal. Though Fang Yuan possessed Seventh Transformation combat power, among Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals, he was nothing outstanding.
Still, this was already quite impressive, given that Fang Yuan's true cultivation base was at the very bottom of the Sixth Transformation.
If he couldn't get past Shark Demon, let alone Su Baiman and the other Gu Immortals — and as for the Zombie Alliance standing behind Shark Demon, that was a colossal entity he dare not even mention.
To a behemoth like the Zombie Alliance, Fang Yuan was nothing more than a rat scurrying across the street.