Before he was expelled from his clan, he had earned the reputation of "Righteous as the Heavens" and had developed an extensive network of connections, being well-received among both the Righteous and Demonic Paths.
Xiao Shan himself had a bold and generous personality, with clear distinctions between gratitude and grudges, and he valued loyalty and righteousness above all.
On the other hand, the Xiao family was weak, being suppressed by the Wu family and other powers, so they had to play both sides. After all, Demonic Path Gu Masters were not to be trifled with either, especially those lone wolves at the Fourth or Fifth Transformation.
These Demonic Path powerhouses were different from their Righteous Path counterparts.
Demonic Path powerhouses were loners who operated without restraint. Righteous Path powerhouses, on the other hand, were bound by morality, family, reputation, and other such ties.
Over the years, the Xiao family had formed merchant caravans to strengthen the clan. When dealing with these wandering Demonic Path Gu Masters, they had to be even more cautious than other families.
During these years, Xiao Shan had adopted a policy of letting things slide when he could, recruiting when he could, and only resorting to killing when absolutely necessary, and doing so as quickly as possible. He even sometimes aided independent cultivators or Demonic Path Gu Masters. As a result, even though he was a Righteous Path clan leader, he had earned the recognition of many Gu Masters in the Demonic Path.
All of this contributed to Xiao Shan's extraordinary ability to rally others.
When he decided to establish a stockade, the news spread immediately and received responses from many parties.
Within just a few days, several Demonic Path powerhouses, weary from travel, came to join of their own accord.
On top of that, Southern Border Gu Immortals were secretly fanning the flames from the shadows, eager to insert their own pieces onto this battlefield.
As a result, more and more Demonic Path Gu Masters and independent cultivators joined Yitian Stockade.
In just six or seven days, Yitian Stockade already had over thirty members. This rate of growth startled even Xiao Shan himself.
When the numbers grew, an organization formed.
Any organization required a hierarchy.
In the world of Gu Masters, the strong had always been respected above all.
Among everyone, Xiao Shan not only had the greatest strength but also the highest prestige. He was unanimously elected as the Stockade Lord of Yitian Stockade, securely taking the first seat.
The other two, Sun Panghu and Zhou Xingxing, took the second and third seats respectively. After all, they were Fifth Transformation powerhouses with the strongest cultivation.
As for the later arrivals, most were at the Second or Third Transformation, with very few at the Fourth. A simple ranking was arranged based on their cultivation and strength.
Deep in a mountain cave, Fang Yuan was drinking with a Gu Immortal.
This Demonic Path Sixth Transformation Gu Immortal was short in stature but had an enormous head. He was an old man known as Gua Lao.
"Come, Brother Sheng Ying, have a taste — see how my melon wine compares!" Gua Lao said enthusiastically, pressing the wine on him.
Fang Yuan knew full well what Gua Lao had come for. Without betraying any emotion, he took a sip and nodded, offering his assessment: "Not bad. Not bad."
Though he said "not bad," his expression was utterly flat — anyone could see he was just being perfunctory.
Gua Lao observed his reaction and chuckled, pointing outside the cave: "I wonder what Brother Sheng Ying thinks of this great gamble in the Southern Border?"
Fang Yuan replied calmly: "It concerns the ownership of the Jinghong Chaotic Battle Platform — no one will back down. Since everyone has agreed to the wager, set the terms, and committed enormous stakes, I doubt anyone would cause trouble or break the rules."
Traditionally, the Righteous Path had always held an edge over the Demonic Path.
This applied to ordinary Gu Masters and the Gu Immortal world alike.
But this time was an exception.
The emergence of the Immortal Gu House had thrown the Southern Border Gu Immortal world into complete turmoil. To compete for the Immortal Gu House, demonic and rogue immortals surged forth in droves. Forming a grand alliance, the Righteous Path had no choice but to compromise, leading to this colossal wager.
The terms of the wager were this: select mortal pieces to participate in the great battle between Righteous and Demonic Paths on Yitian Mountain, assisting the behind-the-scenes Gu Immortals in refining the Immortal Gu House.
However, there were prerequisites for participating.
Any Gu Immortal who wished to join the wager had to put up stakes. The more stakes one committed, the higher the cultivation level of the pieces one could assign, and the earlier one could enter the gamble.
When the great wager concluded, all the stakes would be redistributed.
Rankings would be determined by the amount of battle intent each Gu Immortal had converted within the Immortal Gu House. The more battle intent one held in the Immortal Gu House, the greater the value of the stakes one would receive.
Naturally, the victor who managed to convert more than fifty percent of the battle intent and could activate the Immortal Gu House would receive the largest share of the stakes.
But the other Gu Immortals could still get their share of the spoils. Some might even turn a small investment into a massive windfall.
This rule was nothing short of brilliant!
It was precisely this that compelled all participating Gu Immortals — whether Righteous Path, Demonic Path, or independent cultivators, regardless of old grudges or enmity — to unconsciously unite in defending this unprecedented wager.
Anyone caught making underhanded moves or reneging during the process would have their stakes confiscated entirely.
Later Gu Immortals could also join, but they had to participate in this wager.
And as the wager progressed, Gu Immortals were naturally permitted to add to their stakes.
The Demonic Gu Immortal sitting before Fang Yuan — Gua Lao — was one such person who wished to increase his bet.
But he had no capital on hand.
Over the past few days, he had been going around borrowing money, a fact well known to others. This time, he had come specifically to find Fang Yuan.