In the southern part of the Fox Immortal Blessed Land, a small number of stone men still slumbered underground. Because a large amount of blood-poison gall trees had been growing and dying in the stone men's tunnels, their underground home would produce blood stone deposits in a few decades. ☆→ The underground grotto that hid the Wisdom Gu had been restored using 'Jiangshan Rugu'. The zhi mushroom forest was in decline, but it didn't require treatment. They would expel the toxins on their own, and there was even a certain chance they would form a Blood Zhi Forest.
In the north of the Blessed Land, the area was small and had been set up as a breeding base for the Eternal Regret Spiders.
In the center of the Blessed Land, the Soul-Searching Mountain remained. The Soul-Searching Palace imprisoned the soul of Dongfang Changfan and several dozen captured Dongfang clan survivors. The warehouse stored a huge amount of immortal materials: tens of thousands of jin of fat oil, a giant dead egg of the Heavenly Sandgull, and a large stockpile of Air Sac Gu. Near the Soul-Searching Mountain were three Fang Yuan Stone Nests, where many Maoman slaves lived, refining Gu non-stop. As for the small grove of Mirror Willows from before, it had been destroyed, its vitality completely gone. The Beggar Moth swarm, which fed on Mirror Willow leaves, had lost its value and was sold off by Fang Yuan.
In this way, the three major resources, the Dark Fire Dragon Python, the Eternal Regret Spider, and the Dragon Fish, were truly established. Unlike before, when they were simply stored, this development allowed for breeding and reproduction while selling for profit. Things were on the right track.
It was just that these three resources were currently being stockpiled and couldn't be rushed into the market.
The warehouse of the Soul-Searching Palace still had a huge number of Air Sac Gu. However, Fang Yuan couldn't just dump them onto the market to make a fortune. The Immortal Crane Sect was still keeping an eye on the Fox Immortal Blessed Land. It was better to keep a low profile. Selling slowly was the only way to reduce risk and ensure a steady, long-term income.
The construction of the Fox Immortal Blessed Land was complete. The next day, Tai Bai Yun Sheng came to bid Fang Yuan farewell.
During this period, he had put in a lot of effort. Without his help, Fang Yuan would have needed at least another half a month to finish such a huge workload.
He had not only lent his strength but also lent a sum of Immortal Essence Stones to Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan originally didn't have many Immortal Essence Stones. The early phase of renovations and construction required a large capital investment. Tai Bai Yun Sheng proactively gave Fang Yuan a batch of Immortal Essence Stones, filling this gap.
Speaking of which, among the four people who had signed the Snowy Mountain Alliance, it was Tai Bai Yun Sheng who had the deepest pockets.
He had developed very well in the Eastern Sea, having moved many resources into his immortal aperture, which caused his immortal aperture's foundation to seem lacking. The earth qi was thin and showed signs of instability. This time, Tai Bai Yun Sheng returned to the Fox Immortal Blessed Land not only to help Fang Yuan but also to return to the Northern Plains, set down his blessed land, absorb earth qi, and prepare to face the Earth Calamity.
However, the time for the Earth Calamity's arrival was still early, and absorbing the earth qi would also take some time. When the calamity came, Fang Yuan would undoubtedly lend Tai Bai Yun Sheng a hand.
Tai Bai Yun Sheng left the Fox Immortal Blessed Land, but Hei Lou Lan remained there.
Fang Yuan soon also left the Fox Immortal Blessed Land and headed to Central Continent.
There was no other reason—the Central Continent Gu Refining Convention was about to be held!
Central Continent, Flying Crane Mountain. Immortal Crane Sect.
Mist and clouds wreathed this floating giant mountain. Flocks of cranes danced among the mountain forests and the sound of pines.
In an underground secret chamber of the Immortal Crane Sect, it was damp and dark. Patches of moss clung to the stone walls. The room had no other furniture aside from a stone bed.
Lying on the stone bed was a young Gu Master, his face as pale as paper. His body bore no injuries, yet he was in a deep, unrousable slumber.
It was Gu Yue Fang Zheng.
A single Gu worm lay motionless on Fang Zheng's chest.
Suddenly, a faint light flashed in the stone chamber, and an Immortal Gu Master appeared.
He had wide, flowing sleeves and a face like jade. He looked like a youth, but the most striking feature was his eyebrows. They were a vivid, long green, the ends reaching down to his waist. Beneath these brows, his gaze was profound.
"Lord He Feng Yang!" The Gu worm lying on Fang Zheng's chest immediately fluttered its wings and excitedly called out the newcomer's identity.
This Gu was the Soul-Infesting Flea that housed the soul of Heavenly Crane Elder.
"My lord, please take action, heal Fang Zheng's soul, and let my disciple wake up," said Heavenly Crane Elder.
"Heavenly Crane, is this still your answer?" He Feng Yang sighed, feeling somewhat disappointed inside. He would have preferred for Heavenly Crane Elder to seize a body and be reborn. Why?
Because Heavenly Crane Elder had originally been He Feng Yang's subordinate, handled many affairs for him, and understood him well. He was a talent. On the other hand, Gu Yue Fang Zheng was too young, and had the experience of being forced into a sacrifice. If he harbored any resentment towards the Immortal Crane Sect, it would be unfortunate.
"Heavenly Crane, do you know that the body-seizing technique our Immortal Crane Sect obtained this time is considered perfect, extremely excellent? If you had seized a body before, perhaps your soul wouldn't have adapted and would have left aftereffects. But seizing a body now is like being born into it. The soul and flesh merge together, getting along well. There won't be a single drawback. This is your luck! You can be reborn, once again regaining the glory you once had. Fate has already given you this opportunity. Why aren't you seizing it?" He Feng Yang urged.
"My lord..." The Soul-Infesting Flea trembled slightly, its voice low, "Please forgive my stubbornness. If I truly did seize a body, I fear I wouldn't even be able to face myself. Fang Zheng is my disciple. He is like I was in the past. This is his future. If I seize his body, I won't be able to face my own heart. Please grant my wish, my lord. Think of my many years of service to you."
"You!" A trace of anger surged onto He Feng Yang's face.
He had not been having good fortune recently. To cure the Jiugong Crane, Xiao Jiu, He Feng Yang had begged people everywhere, spending a great deal of money, but achieved little.
Now, even his former subordinate was stubbornly going his own way, ignoring his advice and not letting things go his way!
This body-seizing technique, although powerful, had its prerequisites. One could not rush into a body. It was best to have the soul and the target body come into long-term contact before the seizing.
When Heavenly Crane Elder had planned to seize Fang Zheng's body, he had placed the Soul-Infesting Flea in Fang Zheng's empty aperture. So much time had passed, and the conditions for seizing the body were ripe, but Heavenly Crane Elder had changed his mind.
This also meant that if Heavenly Crane Elder wanted to seize someone else, it wouldn't be possible in the short term. He would need another period of time to come into contact with the flesh.