Chapter 94: Leaving the Trap Intact
Fang Ming stood before the first crystal wall of the deeper section.
The treasures here were clearly above those in the outer corridor.
Even through the crystal, he could feel their auras pressing outward. Rank five Gu, rare materials, precious recipes, and old cultivation experiences were sealed inside the walls one after another.
If he had enough time, this place alone would be worth searching carefully.
But Fang Ming did not stop.
The protective method covering him was fading.
It was a disguise built from Lang Ya land spirit's information, used to deceive Eighty-Eight True Yang Building long enough for him to move through the deeper treasure room. But it was not permanent.
Once it vanished, the building would notice him.
And once Eighty-Eight True Yang Building identified him as an intruder, the result would not be gentle.
Fang Ming walked forward quickly.
Soon, the crystal hallway split into two paths.
A fork.
He stopped.
Fang Yuan had once relied on Central Continent's future research to move through this place. That knowledge had been recorded and spread after Imperial Court blessed land was destroyed in his previous life.
Fang Ming did not have that video.
Lang Ya land spirit also did not know the exact route. His information had only given Fang Ming the method to cross the guest halt restriction and the rough possibility of the owner token's existence.
Not the exact location.
Not the exact path.
The light around Fang Ming flickered faintly.
His time was shrinking.
Left or right.
Fang Ming closed his eyes for a breath.
Ma Hong Yun was not beside him now, but Fang Ming had already confirmed that Heaven Rivalling Fortune's influence could stretch further than ordinary logic.
The treasure he had first found had been too suitable.
The round had gone too smoothly.
Luck was not control, but it could tilt chance.
Fang Ming opened his eyes and chose the left path.
The hallway stretched ahead.
The treasures inside the walls became better again.
Some carried blue light.
Some even hinted at deeper colors.
Fang Ming did not look for long.
The protective light around him weakened another layer.
Then his eyes stopped.
At knee height, sealed inside the crystal wall, was a token.
It looked ordinary at first.
But Fang Ming's gaze sharpened.
Owner token.
It was hidden quietly among the other treasures, as if waiting for someone who knew its value.
This owner token had not been placed here naturally. It had been tampered with by Central Continent Gu Immortals using extremely deep methods, likely involving Immortal Gu-level arrangements.
It was a key.
A key Fang Yuan needed.
Fang Ming stood before it silently.
If he took it, Fang Yuan's future path would change greatly.
That sounded beneficial at first, but Fang Ming knew better.
Fang Yuan's future chain was useful.
Di Qiu inheritance.
Mo Yao's will.
Calamity Beckoning Gu.
Water Pavilion.
The path that would eventually push Fang Yuan toward becoming an immortal zombie.
These were not accidents Fang Ming wanted to erase.
A living Fang Yuan with Spring Autumn Cicada and full freedom was dangerous.
A Fang Yuan pushed into the immortal zombie state was still dangerous, but more constrained.
Fang Ming did not want to remove the trap.
He wanted to benefit from the key while leaving it for Fang Yuan.
Thus, he did not take the owner token.
He placed his hand lightly against the crystal wall.
Counterfeit Copy activated within his awareness.
The original token remained sealed.
A shadow of its structure appeared in Fang Ming's mind, then condensed through the cheat's power.
This was not stealing.
It was copying.
A moment later, a translucent token appeared in Fang Ming's hand.
It looked like glass.
Fang Ming bit his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto it.
The blood seeped into the token.
The glass owner token gave off a faint light.
Recognition formed.
Fang Ming exhaled softly.
Success.
Counterfeit Copy entered cooldown.
The original owner token still remained inside the crystal wall, untouched.
Fang Yuan would still be able to obtain it later.
The path to Di Qiu would remain.
The trap would remain.
And Fang Ming now had his own key.
The protective disguise around him flickered again.
Fang Ming immediately tested the copied glass owner token.
A faint connection spread from it, linking him to a small part of Eighty-Eight True Yang Building.
The treasure room no longer felt entirely foreign.
He could enter it again without needing a high-grade evaluation.
He could remain here more freely than before.
He could even observe nearby round activity.
But this was only the beginning.
A glass owner token was useful, but it was not enough.
Fang Ming knew that deeper authority existed.
One-edge owner token.
Two-edge owner token.
Higher.
The more authority one possessed, the greater the control over Eighty-Eight True Yang Building.
Fang Yuan would later use Mo Yao's help and the flaws in the building to improve his token. That path was effective, but Fang Ming could not walk it the same way.
He did not have Mo Yao's will guiding him.
He had plot knowledge, but knowing that a road existed and knowing how to safely walk it were two different things.
Creating loopholes recklessly would be suicide.
Giant Sun's will was still sleeping inside this building.
If it woke, Fang Ming had no Gu Immortal will protecting him, no Immortal Gu House shielding him, and no confidence that he could escape in time.
So he needed another route.
Fang Ming's mind moved.
An image appeared faintly in his awareness.
Hei Lou Lan's group.
They were no longer in the water snake lion round. They had advanced further and were now struggling against a golden-white tiger phantom.
The beast phantom carried an oppressive aura, forcing the Hei tribe Gu Masters into a difficult battle.
Hei Lou Lan held the official owner token.
That token was different from Fang Ming's copied glass owner token.
It was recognized by Eighty-Eight True Yang Building through Giant Sun's bloodline arrangement. It was the proper token of the Imperial Court winner, the official key held by the alliance leader.
At present, it was not yet enough.
But if Hei Lou Lan cleared a full floor, his owner token would gain floor authority.
And once that happened…
Fang Ming's eyes narrowed slightly.
That would become worth copying.
Counterfeit Copy was now on cooldown, so he could not act immediately. But this cooldown was not a waste.
If he used this time to help Hei Lou Lan push forward, Hei Lou Lan's token would grow stronger.
Then, when Counterfeit Copy recovered, Fang Ming could copy Hei Lou Lan's upgraded owner token and fuse that authority into his own copied glass owner token.
This was safer than targeting Fang Yuan.
Safer than forcing loopholes.
Safer than disturbing Giant Sun's will.
Fang Ming's lips curved faintly.
Hei Lou Lan wanted to climb higher for a strength path Immortal Gu.
Fang Ming wanted Hei Lou Lan to climb higher so his token would become a better harvest.
Their goals could temporarily align.
The copied glass owner token trembled lightly.
A path opened.
Fang Ming vanished from the crystal hallway.
When his vision cleared again, he stood inside a hidden chamber.
The room was round.
The walls shimmered with starlight.
At the center was a white jade round table.
On the table was a detailed model of Imperial Court blessed land.
Mountains.
Rivers.
Sacred Palace.
Small towers.
Terrain lines.
Everything was displayed like a sand table.
Central control room.
Fang Ming stepped closer.
Using Lang Ya's method and the copied glass owner token, he sent a prepared Gu worm forward.
The Gu worm dissolved into black smoke and fell onto the sand table.
The smoke spread.
The white jade surface darkened.
Black liquid formed and flowed slowly across the model.
Fang Ming watched carefully.
This was an inspection method.
Nothing more.
He was not trying to create a loophole.
He was not trying to improve his token through force.
Without Mo Yao's guidance, doing that would be too dangerous.
Soon, the black liquid gathered toward one location, forming a funnel-like depression.
A loophole.
His gaze fixed on the point.
Di Qiu.
Fang Ming's expression did not change, but his thoughts stirred.
So it was indeed there.
The Di Qiu inheritance site overlapped with a weakness in Eighty-Eight True Yang Building's arrangement.
This was not a simple inheritance.
It was part opportunity and part hidden blade.
Fang Yuan would later be drawn into this chain.
And that chain would lead him toward the crucial trap.
Fang Ming could interfere now.
He could exploit the loophole.
He could damage it.
He could attempt to change the direction of the future.
But after a moment, he withdrew his hand.
No.
Some traps were more valuable when left open.
If Fang Yuan fell into Di Qiu's arrangement, his path would be forced toward the immortal zombie route. That outcome was useful to Fang Ming.
Spring Autumn Cicada was terrifying.
A Fang Yuan who could freely use it at critical moments was even more terrifying.
But if Fang Yuan's situation became restricted, if his body became dead, if his immortal aperture became lifeless, then many of his future choices would narrow.
Fang Ming did not need to push him into the pit.
He only needed to make sure he did not arrive too early.
Fang Yuan's later advantage came from entering Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, reaching the treasure room, obtaining the glass owner token, detecting the Di Qiu flaw, and gaining Mo Yao's help.
Before that happened, Fang Yuan was still outside the deeper board.
And Fang Ming's own cheat relied on cooldown.
One side needed opportunity.
The other needed time.
Thus, Fang Ming's next goal became clear.
He would help Hei Lou Lan push through the first floor, but not blindly.
The goal was not speed alone.
It was rhythm.
If Fang Ming helped too little, Hei Lou Lan would become dissatisfied and invite Fang Yuan early.
If Fang Ming helped too much, the floor would be cleared too quickly, and Fang Ming would not gain enough time for Counterfeit Copy to recover.
He needed to cooperate.
He needed to appear useful.
But he also needed to control the pace.
Preferably, he had to buy close to a month.
The longer Fang Yuan remained outside Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, the later he would reach the treasure room, obtain the glass owner token, detect Di Qiu's flaw, and gain Mo Yao's help.
That delay was beneficial.
But Fang Ming knew he could not delay forever.
There was an enslavement test later with a heavy requirement on soul foundation. That was not something Fang Ming could pass as smoothly as Fang Yuan. Once Hei Lou Lan became stuck there, Fang Yuan would eventually be invited no matter what.
So the plan had two parts.
Before the first floor was fully cleared, Fang Ming would cooperate with Hei Lou Lan while controlling the rhythm as much as possible. He would buy time without making Hei Lou Lan feel forced to seek Fang Yuan's help too early.
After Hei Lou Lan gained first-floor authority, Fang Ming would use Counterfeit Copy to copy Hei Lou Lan's upgraded owner token.
Then he would fuse that authority into his copied glass owner token.
After that, there would still be roughly fifty stages left before the later enslavement trial exposed Fang Ming's soul weakness. At that point, Hei Lou Lan would likely have no choice but to invite Fang Yuan.
Fang Ming estimated that once Fang Yuan entered Eighty-Eight True Yang Building and reached the treasure room, Mo Yao's chain would begin very quickly.
Perhaps within a month.
Perhaps even less.
Once Fang Yuan was inside, Fang Ming's extra window might only be a few days or a week at best.
If Fang Ming delayed Fang Yuan long enough, he could use the strengthened token to obtain two true Immortal inheritances from Eighty-Eight True Yang Building.
If he failed, he would most likely only secure one.
That difference was enormous.
But this plan had to be handled carefully.
Hei Lou Lan was impatient and violent. Push him too hard, and he would explode.
Fang Yuan was even more troublesome.
He might act arrogant and demand benefits because he knew Hei Lou Lan needed him, but Fang Ming understood clearly that Fang Yuan's arrogance was only a mask. If Fang Yuan judged that an opportunity was fleeting, he would throw away pride without hesitation.
He could bargain.
He could threaten.
He could lower his head.
If needed, he could even kneel and beg Hei Lou Lan to let him enter.
That was Fang Yuan.
Flexible.
Slippery.
Impossible to fully bind with a rigid plan.
So Fang Ming could not rely on perfect control.
He could only create delay, prepare for failure, and seize as much advantage as possible before Fang Yuan entered the deeper board.