Chapter 116: Entering the Market
The sky inside the immortal aperture was calm.
It was a false sky, formed from dao marks, yet it stretched endlessly above the land like a silent observer. Beneath it, two regions had already taken shape. One was vast and warm, the other humid and slightly cooler.
Fang Ming stood at the boundary between them.
On his left was the Red Junglefowl region.
On his right was the Green Junglefowl region.
He did not move. His gaze swept across both territories, steady and calculating.
Time flowed rapidly here. In the outside world, only a short while had passed since he entered his aperture. But inside, days had already turned into weeks.
And now, it was time to see results.
The Red Junglefowl region was the first to respond.
Large, crimson-feathered birds moved in dense groups across the land. Their bodies were robust, their claws sharp, and their eyes carried a faint glint of wildness.
At the center of the region, a formation hummed faintly.
Red Junglefowl Incubation Gu floated within it, releasing an invisible influence that spread like ripples through the air. Eggs were gathered in organized clusters and arranged according to formation nodes.
Nearby, Red Junglefowl Raising Gu pulsed rhythmically.
With each pulse, food path dao marks subtly increased. The junglefowl fed, grew, and matured at a speed that defied common sense.
Fang Ming watched silently.
Then, a crack sounded.
One egg split open.
A chick emerged, wet feathers clinging to its body.
Then another.
And another.
Soon, the sound of cracking shells filled the air.
The formation had stabilized.
The first large-scale incubation cycle had begun.
Fang Ming's expression did not change, but his eyes sharpened slightly.
"Seventy-two."
That was the number of eggs produced per breeding unit this cycle.
Within expectation.
Perhaps slightly above.
He shifted his gaze to the Green Junglefowl region.
Compared to the Red Junglefowl, these birds were smaller. Their feathers carried a green sheen, blending more naturally with the environment. Their bodies carried fewer food path dao marks, but their numbers were higher.
Much higher.
Green Junglefowl Incubation Gu operated steadily within its formation. Eggs were produced in greater quantity, though each individual bird carried less value than a Red Junglefowl.
Nearby, the counterfeit Gu, Feed Chicken Gu, was at work.
It lacked the explosive growth effect of the true Raising Gu.
But it still fed.
It still sustained.
It still accumulated dao marks slowly and reliably.
Fang Ming observed for a while longer.
Then he turned away.
"Stability confirmed."
His thoughts were calm.
No unexpected fluctuations.
No formation collapse.
No resource imbalance.
Everything was proceeding according to the inheritance's model.
This was not luck.
This was calculation.
He walked forward, entering the Red Junglefowl region.
The ground here was rich with food path dao marks. Every step he took stirred faint energy beneath the soil.
A fully grown Red Junglefowl approached him instinctively.
It stopped a short distance away, lowered its head, and neither attacked nor fled.
Fang Ming raised a hand and lightly pressed it against the bird's body.
A faint pulse of strength path dao marks spread from his palm.
He closed his eyes briefly.
Then opened them.
"Growth rate is acceptable."
The dao mark accumulation was stable.
The flesh quality was good.
The reproductive cycle had already entered a positive loop.
This meant one thing.
The industry had crossed the initial danger phase.
Any newly established resource point had a fragile beginning. Unstable output, high risk of collapse, unexpected losses, unsuitable terrain, formation conflict, food shortage, and beast sickness could all turn early investment into waste.
But once it stabilized, it became a machine.
A machine that produced resources.
A machine that generated immortal essence stones.
Fang Ming withdrew his hand and rose into the air.
From above, the formations became clearer. Lines of energy connected nodes across the land. Egg clusters, feeding zones, breeding zones, incubation halls, and growth areas were integrated into a single system.
This was not just raising beasts.
This was production.
His gaze shifted slightly.
Numbers began to form in his mind.
The first full cycle had taken forty days inside the immortal aperture. After factoring in the faster time flow, this result was already extremely quick in the outside world.
But gross output was not profit.
That distinction mattered.
The formations consumed immortal essence. The junglefowl required food. Mortal labor had to be arranged and paid. Formation nodes would need repairs over time. Materials would need replacement. Some beasts would be lost to sickness, mutations, failed growth, or transport damage. Treasure yellow heaven transactions also carried costs, and long-term trade would require discounts and stability.
Fang Ming did not count fantasy numbers.
He counted what remained after everything was removed.
After the full calculation, the number settled clearly in his mind.
Three immortal essence stones per outside day.
Pure profit.
That was after deducting the immortal essence consumed by the formations, the food required to maintain the junglefowl, labor, maintenance, repairs, replacements, transaction costs, and long-term losses.
Three a day.
Ninety a month.
The number was much lower than the surface output of the formations, but Fang Ming was not disappointed.
For a newly ascended Rank six Gu Immortal, ninety immortal essence stones of stable monthly profit was already excellent.
More importantly, it was predictable.
It was not a lucky treasure hunt.
It was not a one-time inheritance gain.
It was not selling some rare material he could not replace.
It was income.
Stable income.
Renewable income.
A foundation.
The wind inside the aperture moved gently across the land. The junglefowl continued their cycles, unaware of the value they were creating. Eggs cracked, chicks emerged, adult birds fed and bred, and the formations continued humming.
Fang Ming stood in the air, silent.
The direct cost he had paid to create this industry was not small. Copying Green Junglefowl Incubation Gu had cost three hundred immortal essence stones. Counterfeiting Feed Chicken Gu had cost two hundred and forty. Mortal Gu, formation materials, and the first large-scale junglefowl groups had also cost him more.
But those were merely the expenses he had directly paid.
The actual value of the industry was far higher.
Red Junglefowl Incubation Gu alone could be valued at several thousand immortal essence stones. Red Junglefowl Raising Gu was also extremely valuable. Green Junglefowl Incubation Gu and Feed Chicken Gu, even with one being copied and one being counterfeit, were still Rank six Immortal Gu with real economic use.
And that did not include the inheritance itself.
The recipes, formations, breeding methods, feeding systems, and resource management knowledge came from Giant Sun's food path inheritance. Even without the Immortal Gu, that inheritance was worth a large fortune.
In truth, Fang Ming had built a business whose underlying value far exceeded what he had personally spent.
Lang Ya land spirit's free refinement chances had reduced his cost.
His Copy ability had expanded the system.
Counterfeit Copy had created a second support Gu.
And Giant Sun's food path inheritance had provided the method to make them work together.
A Rank nine inheritance, Lang Ya's refinement path, and Fang Ming's own ability had combined to build this foundation.
That was why ninety immortal essence stones a month was acceptable.
It was not absurdly high.
It would not make him dominate the market overnight.
But it was stable, scalable, and enough to support his early immortal cultivation.
Fang Ming could feed his Immortal Gu.
He could buy materials.
He could prepare for future tribulations.
He could slowly expand.
That was enough for now.
He would have liked to copy more Gu and create more formations immediately. If he multiplied the system several times, his income would rise sharply.
But he suppressed the thought.
Copy had a cooldown.
Copy had a cost.
One true Copy and one Counterfeit Copy per outside month.
Not aperture time.
Outside time.
His immortal aperture moved thirty-eight times faster than the outside world, but his ability did not follow the aperture's time flow. If he spent one month inside his aperture, only around one day would pass outside. His Copy ability would not recover because of that.
He could not abuse the time difference.
For now, strength came first.
Wealth could grow slowly.
Survival could not wait.
Fang Ming looked over the Red Junglefowl and Green Junglefowl regions one last time.
The production side was complete.
Now came the other half of an industry.
Buyers.
Selling through treasure yellow heaven was convenient. Fang Ming could sell to lone immortals, urgent buyers, or those who occasionally needed food path beasts to feed their own groups. Those transactions would bring profit, and he had no reason to reject them.
But treasure yellow heaven was not stable enough.
Most buyers there wanted one-time deals. Some needed emergency supplies. Some only bought when their own stock was insufficient. There was also a fee attached to every transaction, which meant truly long-term merchants would not rely on it unless necessary.
Fang Ming wanted something different.
Stable quantities.
Stable intervals.
Stable payment.
A buyer who would purchase every year, not merely when they felt like it.
Only then could the junglefowl industry become a predictable pillar of his immortal aperture.
This was one of the reasons he had come to Eastern Sea.
The Trade Merchant Alliance.
It was an organization formed by Gu Immortals and forces involved in trade. Some members were lone immortals. Some represented small forces. Others represented enormous organizations, even super forces with dozens or hundreds of Gu Immortals behind them.
The alliance had first been created to stop merchant Gu Immortals from destroying each other through price wars.
When merchants fought through prices, both sides suffered losses. Goods became unstable, routes became risky, and long-term trade collapsed. The Trade Merchant Alliance existed to restrain this behavior and create a stable environment where Gu Immortals could trade without constantly harming each other.
Its headquarters were in Eastern Sea.
That was exactly why Fang Ming was here.
He did not only need buyers for Red Junglefowl and Green Junglefowl.
He also needed rare materials, future enslavement path foundations, wisdom path goods to assist deduction, and many other resources that treasure yellow heaven could not always provide reliably.
If he wanted his immortal cultivation to advance steadily, he needed a stable trade network.
Fang Ming descended slowly and landed between the two regions.
Eggs cracked.
Chicks were born.
Dao marks accumulated.
Resources grew.
For the first time since becoming a Gu Immortal, his aperture no longer looked empty.
It had begun to produce.
Fang Ming's gaze remained calm.
Combat won battles.
Industry supported immortality.
Now that production had begun, it was time to enter the market.