When they finally ended, even Fang Yuan — possessing the body of an immortal zombie — felt utterly exhausted. His immortal zombie brain had never been particularly sharp, and he'd burned through who knew how many thoughts in the process.
Hei Loulan was no better off. She felt that this negotiation had been more draining than a life-or-death battle. A deep sense of weakness radiated from her very bones. Her mouth was parched, her head swimming.
Once the terms were settled, Fang Yuan pulled Tai Bai Yun Sheng into the fold and signed a brand-new alliance with Hei Loulan and Fairy Li Shan.
Fang Yuan returned the My Strength Immortal Gu in exchange for Hei Loulan's Slave Immortal Gu, while also borrowing Attitude Gu for a one-year term.
Fang Yuan also agreed to assist Hei Loulan and Fairy Li Shan in finding an opportunity to kill Hei Cheng.
As for the Stellar Fortunate Land, all parties would continue to compete fairly.
Beyond this, Fang Yuan secured Hei Loulan's agreement to link their fortunes.
The new alliance was logically tight and comprehensive. Even though Fairy Li Shan was a quasi-grandmaster of the Dao of Information, it would take her several years to unravel it. More importantly, it accounted for the Burning Heaven Demoness.
One clause allowed bringing in additional allies, who would be bound by the alliance terms.
Furthermore, neither party could use outsiders against each other. Both sides had one call-for-help opportunity; once invoked, the other party was obligated to provide rescue! Post-hoc compensation would be calculated based on circumstances.
The alliance was extremely strict, with detailed provisions on profit distribution. Fang Yuan leveraged Hei Loulan's faction's fear of True Monarch Purple Mountain, as well as his memories from his previous life, to successfully achieve his goals.
A person who only knows how to fight is nothing more than a brute.
Fighting cannot solve all problems.
Humanity is the most intelligent of all living things, blessed with wisdom. To use that wisdom solely for combat is to squander heaven's gift.
After forming the alliance, Fang Yuan's situation improved dramatically.
First, Hei Loulan was the Black Moon Fairy. Her fortune was strong and enduring. By successfully linking fortunes with her, Fang Yuan neutralized the Spring Autumn Cicada's drawback.
Second, he had borrowed the Eighth Transformation Attitude Gu. This immortal Gu had once been used by Demon Lord Dao Tian — it was the core Gu of the legendary immortal killer move "Meeting Like Old Acquaintance."
Back when Dao Tian was still only a Sixth Transformation Gu Master, he had used this killer move to deceive two Eighth Transformation Gu Immortals one after the other. He obtained numerous precious treasures, sowed mutual misunderstanding between the two, and indirectly brought about their deaths.
Fang Yuan had lost his Transformation Immortal Gu, but gaining Attitude Gu was incomparably better!
His improved "Meeting Like Old Acquaintance" killer move would see its effectiveness skyrocket to astonishing levels. Now, even deceiving an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal was well within Fang Yuan's confidence!
Finally, there was the Burning Heaven Demoness.
In his previous life, this Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal had plotted against Fang Yuan. In this life, Fang Yuan preemptively blocked the Burning Heaven Demoness's schemes by establishing the new alliance with Fairy Li Shan and the others.
The Burning Heaven Demoness's guilt toward and protectiveness of Hei Loulan was her greatest weakness. Armed with this knowledge, Fang Yuan could exploit her unprepared nature and put the Burning Heaven Demoness to good use.
Even if the Burning Heaven Demoness didn't join the new alliance herself, when Hei Loulan came to rescue Fang Yuan and found herself in danger, could the Burning Heaven Demoness possibly stand by and do nothing?
In short, Hei Loulan was the perfect pawn for controlling the Burning Heaven Demoness.
"Hei Loulan's faction is no longer an obstacle. Turning enemies into allies — with this shift, my future plans will certainly proceed much more smoothly. However, these people on Hei Loulan's side are all quite shrewd and not easy to fool. They're satisfied with the new alliance for now, but gradually they'll realize I've gained a tremendous advantage. When that time comes, they'll certainly grow dissatisfied, perhaps even hostile toward me."
Fang Yuan had only secured the better deal thanks to his previous life's memories. In his heart, he had not let down his guard against Hei Loulan's faction.
"But once I've obtained the Jing Hong Chaotic Fighting Platform and the grand momentum has taken shape — with the balance of power completely reversed — even if Hei Loulan's faction is displeased, they won't be able to make any waves."
Fang Yuan had not hesitated to give up the My Strength Immortal Gu because everything still revolved around the Jing Hong Chaotic Fighting Platform — the immortal Gu house — and the Great Strength True Martial Immortal Zombie.
With the My Strength Immortal Gu in hand, it merely added one variation to the killer move "Ten Thousand Self," at most boosting his combat power to the Seventh Transformation level.
But with an immortal Gu house, Fang Yuan would have nothing to fear from even Eighth Transformation opponents, and could act freely with confidence, advancing or retreating as he saw fit.
After obtaining the Attitude Immortal Gu, Fang Yuan placed it in his own immortal orifice and headed once more for the Lang Ya Blessed Land.
The Lang Ya Earth Spirit was astonished to see him and said, "So soon? You've come back already? Did you get the immortal materials I wanted?"
"No." Fang Yuan shook his head.
The Lang Ya Earth Spirit's expression immediately darkened like water. He snapped coldly, "Fang Yuan, you brat — did you take my words as nothing more than wind in your ears? Before you left last time, I warned you that the Lang Ya Blessed Land is not a place you can come and go as you please! If you don't have the immortal materials I want, then don't bother coming. I won't agree to any of your requests."
"Is that so?" Fang Yuan smiled faintly, his manner calm and composed. "What if I want to use my final opportunity and ask you to help me refine Gu?"
The Lang Ya Earth Spirit froze.
Fang Yuan had seized Ma Hongyun's fortune and arrived at Lang Ya Blessed Land as the inheritor of the Dao Tian legacy.
Because of the agreement between Hairy Old Ancestor and Demon Lord Dao Tian, the Lang Ya Earth Spirit was obligated to refine Gu for Fang Yuan three times free of charge.
If refining mortal Gu, the Lang Ya Earth Spirit had to guarantee success. If refining immortal Gu, he could fail, but the refining materials had to come from Fang Yuan's own supplies.
Fang Yuan had already used up two opportunities.
The first was to refine the Star Gate Gu. Although this Gu was only mortal-grade, it had provided enormous help to Fang Yuan at the time.
The second was to refine the Second Empty Orifice Gu. During the refinement, Fang Yuan also drank four kinds of fine wine and obtained the Divine Travel Gu. He ultimately traded the Divine Travel Gu to the Lang Ya Earth Spirit for the Mud-Mixing Immortal Gu.
And so, Fang Yuan still had one final chance to have Gu refined.