Hei Lou Lan had the Burning Heaven Devil Woman backing her, so Fang Yuan could no longer scheme against her.
If a Supreme Blessed Land was out of reach, a Superior Blessed Land would do just fine.
For this, Fang Yuan needed a large number of ordinary Strength Path Immortal Zombie corpses. And in the Northern Plains, who could be more capable of obtaining Immortal Zombie bodies than the Burning Heaven Devil Woman?
Of course, Fang Yuan's excuse was perfectly dignified: "I gave you my Strength Immortal Gu, so I no longer have a suitable Strength Path Immortal Gu on hand. I must refine a new one as a replacement. And this Immortal Gu recipe requires a large number of Strength Path Immortal Zombie corpses."
This excuse perfectly concealed the Life and Death Immortal Aperture Rebirth Method, and also shut down any opportunity for the Burning Heaven Devil Woman to refuse.
The Burning Heaven Devil Woman furrowed her brows.
If she agreed, the price she would have to pay would be enormous.
Among the Immortal Zombies that Old Ancestor Snow Beard had just returned, there were quite a few Strength Path Immortal Zombie shells. But if she gave them all to Fang Yuan, the credit the Burning Heaven Devil Woman had earned for the Zombie Alliance this time would be greatly diminished.
Immortal Zombies placed great importance on the preservation of their corpses after death.
This was their last remaining dignity.
When Old Ancestor Snow Beard had targeted the Immortal Zombie graveyard, even facing an Eighth Transformation powerhouse, the Zombie Alliance had mobilized their full forces, appearing crazed and willing to pay any price. This was precisely because Immortal Zombie corpses were the Zombie Alliance's bottom line—anyone who violated it would face their retaliation and suppression!
Old Ancestor Snow Beard understood this as well.
After learning that his actions had been exposed, he had deliberately held onto many of the Immortal Zombie corpses he had scavenged, without using any of them. This was his fallback plan.
The Burning Heaven Devil Woman thought to herself: "I could simply hand over all the Strength Path Immortal Zombie corpses in my possession to Fang Yuan. I could pin this on Old Ancestor Snow Beard, and no one would suspect a thing. But the difficulty lies in the fact that Fang Yuan wants to use these Strength Path Immortal Zombies to refine Immortal Gu!"
Refining Immortal Gu was extremely difficult, and failure was perfectly normal.
The Burning Heaven Devil Woman shook her head and said to Fang Yuan: "If you keep failing in your Gu refinement, wouldn't I have to keep supplying you with Strength Path Immortal Zombies? That is absolutely impossible! As the head of the Zombie Alliance branch, if I were caught stealing from the very coffers I guard, the consequences would be dire. How about this—you name a number. If it's reasonable, I'll consider it."
Fang Yuan's mind turned for a moment, and he named a number.
The Burning Heaven Devil Woman immediately rejected it—the number was too large. Even for her, obtaining Strength Path Immortal Zombie bodies involved considerable risk.
Then the two sides haggled back and forth, eventually reaching a difficult agreement.
The number of Strength Path Immortal Zombies Fang Yuan obtained far exceeded the standard for a Superior Blessed Land. Yet outwardly, he still feigned dissatisfaction: "This amount is barely enough for me to attempt Gu refinement three times..."
Fairy Li Shan snorted coldly: "Fang Yuan, I advise you not to push your luck."
Fang Yuan chuckled, looking at Fairy Li Shan: "Back then, when Hei Lou Lan was trapped in the dream, why weren't you this way?"
This remark left Fairy Li Shan extremely embarrassed.
Her skin was clearly not as thick as the Burning Heaven Devil Woman's.
"Further words are useless. Let's settle the new alliance pact now. Once the pact is signed, I'll return my Strength Immortal Gu to you on the spot," Fang Yuan continued.
"Hold on." The Burning Heaven Devil Woman waved her hand. "Up until now, it's been you making demands. It's time I put forward my conditions."
Fang Yuan smiled bitterly in his heart. He had known the Burning Heaven Devil Woman wouldn't be so easily brushed off.
But what the Burning Heaven Devil Woman said next surprised both Fairy Li Shan and Hei Lou Lan.
"I am willing to fund you once more—to refine the Star Thought Immortal Gu. This time, I absolutely will not tamper with the immortal materials."
Hearing this, Fang Yuan felt not a shred of happiness. Instead, his eyes narrowed, his guard raised to the maximum.
Seeing Fang Yuan's wary expression, the Burning Heaven Devil Woman laughed heartily and continued: "Fang Yuan, I know you have been desperately searching for a method of rebirth to shed your identity as an Immortal Zombie. Now, take a look at this!"
The moment her words fell, a roaring blaze erupted from the Burning Heaven Devil Woman's entire body.
This orange-yellow flame enveloped her whole form.
But strangely, it gave off no searing heat. Instead, it brimmed with vitality, radiating warmth and a sense of hope.
Though it appeared harmless, Fang Yuan still cautiously took several steps back.
Then his eyes widened slightly as he beheld an unbelievable sight.
Within the burning flames, the Burning Heaven Devil Woman's Immortal Zombie body began to transform, bit by bit.
First, it was her height. The Burning Heaven Devil Woman's zombie form, originally a full eighteen feet tall, rapidly shrank to the height of an ordinary person.
Then came the skin. The rough, dull Immortal Zombie skin—like the bark of an old tree—dissolved within the flames, replaced by fair, delicate skin as smooth as a peeled egg.
Next was the hair. The original zombie strands had been like a tuft of wild straw, a brash dark red. Now they became silky and long, a vivid flame-red that radiated passion.
Finally, the Burning Heaven Devil Woman underwent a complete transformation.
From a terrifying, grotesque, towering Immortal Zombie, she became a stunning woman dressed in red—fair and tender-skinned, with sharp brows, spirited eyes, and blazing red lips.
Her bust was magnificent and almost straining against her attire, her legs long and slender yet full without being gaunt.
Most striking of all was her long hair, cascading down to her waist. Its color was like fire—lush, dreamlike, shimmering with iridescent light.
Within this miraculous flame, the Burning Heaven Devil Woman had put on quite the show before Fang Yuan's very eyes—a spectacular transformation of the living.