Chapter 160: A Done Deal
Hei Lou Lan's expression changed.
For a moment, she did not speak. The room was quiet enough that Fairy Li Shan could hear her own breathing. Outside the bedroom, Snowy Mountain's cold wind brushed against the windows, but inside, the air felt heavier than ice.
Attitude Gu was no longer hers.
Those words were simple, but to Hei Lou Lan, they were like a blade cutting into her heart.
She had just awakened from a dream realm. Her mind was still heavy, and traces of hatred from the dream had not fully dispersed. Yet the first thing she learned after waking was that her rank eight Immortal Gu had been traded away.
Hei Lou Lan slowly turned her gaze from Fairy Li Shan to Fang Ming.
"Attitude Gu," she said.
Fang Ming stood beside the bed, his expression calm. "Yes."
"You took Attitude Gu?"
"I received it as compensation."
Hei Lou Lan's eyes became cold. "Compensation?"
She almost laughed from anger. "You call this compensation? You saved me once and gave up a food beast formation and two rank six Immortal Gu. In exchange, you took a rank eight Immortal Gu. Fang Ming, do you think I am still trapped in the dream?"
Fairy Li Shan sighed softly. "Little Lan—"
"Aunt, do not speak first." Hei Lou Lan did not look away from Fang Ming. "I want to hear him say it."
Fang Ming looked at her without guilt. He had expected this.
Hei Lou Lan was not a soft person. If she woke up and accepted the loss of Attitude Gu quietly, then she would not be Hei Lou Lan. A rank eight Immortal Gu was not a cabbage in the market. It was not something that could be replaced by a few rank six Gu and some resources.
Even Heavenly Lord Bai Zu, a rank eight Gu Immortal, did not possess a rank eight Immortal Gu. Many powerful experts could own several rank seven Gu and many rank six Gu, yet still fail to obtain even one rank eight Gu in their lifetime. Rank eight Gu were too rare. Their value could not be judged by ordinary numbers.
Fang Ming understood this clearly.
That was why he had taken it.
He said calmly, "You are not wrong. In pure market value, this trade was unfair."
Hei Lou Lan's gaze sharpened.
Fang Ming continued, "But you are also putting the cart before the horse."
Hei Lou Lan frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You are rank six," Fang Ming said. "You do not have a complete killer move system built around Attitude Gu. You cannot use it openly. You cannot feed it easily. You cannot reveal it without attracting disaster. When your tribulation comes, will Attitude Gu block it for you? When enemies attack, will Attitude Gu become armor? When your aperture lacks resources, will Attitude Gu produce immortal essence stones?"
Hei Lou Lan's face darkened, but she did not interrupt.
Fang Ming's tone remained even. "Right now, what you need is not a rank eight treasure sitting uselessly in your hands. You need income, combat strength, aperture development, and resources suitable for a rank six Gu Immortal. The food beast formation can give you that."
He glanced toward Fairy Li Shan before continuing. "That formation can generate nearly one hundred immortal essence stones a month under stable operation. In one year, that is close to twelve hundred immortal essence stones. For a newly advanced rank six Gu Immortal, this is not a small foundation. With that income, you can buy materials, develop your aperture, prepare tribulations, and slowly build your own battle system."
Hei Lou Lan listened, her expression still cold.
Fang Ming was not wrong.
That was what made it more irritating.
Attitude Gu was precious, but she truly could not use it properly at the moment. The food beast formation, on the other hand, was practical. It could produce wealth continuously. It could give her a stable starting point that many rank six Gu Immortals would envy.
But logic was one thing.
Accepting it was another.
Hei Lou Lan said coldly, "No matter how much that formation produces, it can never match Attitude Gu."
Fang Ming nodded. "Perhaps."
"Not perhaps," Hei Lou Lan said. "Definitely."
Fang Ming smiled faintly. "Then count another way. I saved your life. I also pulled Fairy Li Shan out of the dream before Old Ancestor Xue Hu's summons. If she had not awakened in time, you might have been discovered. Counting your life, Fairy Li Shan's life, the food beast formation, and the two Immortal Gu inside it, this is not merely two rank six Gu for one rank eight Gu."
Hei Lou Lan looked at him sharply. "Even four rank six-level things are still not equal to one rank eight Immortal Gu."
This time, Fang Ming did not immediately answer.
Because she was right.
The room became quiet again.
Fairy Li Shan looked between the two of them and felt another headache rising. She had already expected Hei Lou Lan to react badly, but watching it happen still made her heart tighten. She had agreed to the trade because she had no better choice at the time, but that did not mean the aftermath would be smooth.
Fang Ming finally spoke. "Then what do you want?"
Hei Lou Lan stared at him.
Fang Ming added calmly, "I will say this first. I am not giving Attitude Gu back. That matter is already settled. If you want something else, state something reasonable."
Hei Lou Lan's fists tightened under the blanket. Her anger did not disappear, but she understood the meaning behind his words.
The trade had already been completed. Fairy Li Shan had agreed. Fang Ming had saved her. Mountain pledge methods had not been used yet for secrecy, but the transaction itself had already happened. If she wanted to force the matter now, she could only damage the alliance further.
And Fang Ming was not weak.
He was not someone she could intimidate by rage alone.
After several breaths, Hei Lou Lan said, "Tyrannical Strength Gu."
Fairy Li Shan's eyelids twitched.
Fang Ming looked at Hei Lou Lan silently for a moment.
Tyrannical Strength Gu was his core Gu. It was not merely valuable. It was deeply connected to his strength path system, his long-range strength moves, and many future killer moves. Giving it away was impossible.
But Fang Ming did not reject her immediately.
He appeared to think seriously.
Hei Lou Lan saw this and felt a trace of hope, but Fang Ming's next words extinguished it.
"Tyrannical Strength Gu cannot be given."
Hei Lou Lan's expression turned colder.
Fang Ming raised a hand before she spoke. "But I can give you a good strength path Immortal Gu later."
"Later?" Hei Lou Lan sneered. "What a convenient word."
"I have urgent matters to deal with," Fang Ming said. "But I will not use this excuse to avoid compensation. I can promise you a suitable strength path Gu, but not Tyrannical Strength."
Hei Lou Lan did not answer.
Fang Ming looked at her and said, "Before that, lend me Phantom Gu for a while."
Hei Lou Lan laughed this time.
It was a short, cold laugh.
"The last time I lent you Attitude Gu, it stopped belonging to me."
Fang Ming sighed lightly and raised both hands as if helpless. "Attitude Gu already belongs to me. I am not asking for Phantom Gu to trick you. I am trying to smooth this matter over and keep the alliance from becoming ugly. If you do not want that, then I will leave. My Eastern Sea business is urgent anyway."
Hei Lou Lan's gaze moved.
This was pressure.
Not obvious, but clear.
Fang Ming had taken Attitude Gu. That fact would not change. If she continued pushing without limit, she might get nothing except a broken relationship. But if she accepted this step, she could at least extort another strength path Immortal Gu from him later.
She hated this feeling.
She hated being forced to choose between a bad result and a worse one.
But Hei Lou Lan was not childish. Anger could burn, but benefits still had to be counted.
After a long silence, she took out Phantom Gu.
Her expression was extremely unwilling.
Fang Ming accepted it.
"I will prioritize returning Phantom Gu first. As for the strength path Gu, I will give you something suitable after I finish the urgent matters."
Hei Lou Lan looked at him coldly. "If you try to delay forever, I will remember it."
"I would be disappointed if you forgot."
Fairy Li Shan rubbed her forehead.
The two of them were clearly trying to preserve the alliance, yet every sentence sounded like a blade being placed carefully on the table.
Fang Ming stored Phantom Gu and then looked at both of them.
"There is one more matter."
Fairy Li Shan became serious. "Secrecy?"
"Yes." Fang Ming's tone changed slightly. "Everything that happened here today must remain between the three of us. Attitude Gu's ownership, the trade, my dream path method, and the fact that I can enter and resolve dream calamities. None of it can spread."
Fairy Li Shan nodded. "Naturally. I will use Mountain Pledge Gu."
She was about to bring it out when Fang Ming stopped her.
"No need."
Fairy Li Shan and Hei Lou Lan both looked at him.
Fang Ming opened his palm. A pledge path aura slowly appeared.
Fairy Li Shan's eyes flickered with surprise.
"You brought a pledge Gu?"
"For today's matter, preparation is natural."
Fang Ming did not explain further.
Fairy Li Shan did not ask. She only assumed he had borrowed or prepared it beforehand because he had planned to come to Snowy Mountain after leaving the auction. Hei Lou Lan also looked at the Gu for a moment, but her mind was still on Attitude Gu, so she did not think too deeply.
A small passage opened into Fang Ming's immortal aperture.
Inside, a mountain stood beneath a pale sky. It was not grand compared to Snowy Mountain, but it was real and stable, with earth qi flowing through its roots. Fang Ming used the pledge Gu over that mountain, and the three of them completed the oath.
The content was simple.
The events of today could not be revealed.
Fang Ming's ownership of Attitude Gu could not be exposed.
His dream path Immortal Gu and dream rescue methods could not be leaked.
The transaction involving the food beast formation, the two Immortal Gu, Phantom Gu, and future strength path compensation would remain private.
When the pledge was complete, the mountain inside Fang Ming's aperture trembled faintly, then returned to silence.
The restriction settled over the three of them.
Fang Ming closed the aperture passage.
Fairy Li Shan watched him with a slightly deeper gaze. Fang Ming had too many methods. Every time she thought she had seen enough, he revealed another one. Dream path, pledge path, strength path, enslavement, formations, trade routes — none of them seemed simple.
Hei Lou Lan, however, only said coldly, "Remember the strength path Gu."
Fang Ming smiled after that, he activated Teleport.
Purple smoke spread quietly, wrapping around his body. A moment later, Fang Ming vanished from the room.
The bedroom fell silent.
Hei Lou Lan sat on the bed with a dark expression.
Fairy Li Shan looked at her and sighed. "Little Lan…"
Hei Lou Lan closed her eyes. "I know."
She knew Fang Ming had taken advantage of the situation.
She knew the trade was unfair.
But she also knew that she was alive, Fairy Li Shan was safe, and she had gained a stable foundation for her blessed land.
Knowing did not make her less angry.
It only made the anger harder to release.
Far away, Fang Ming stepped out of purple smoke.
He did not immediately return to his aperture's central region. Instead, he stood in a quiet place and took out Phantom Gu, observing it briefly.
The Gu was important.
Very important.
His Strength Specter Gu had been traded away during the auction. That loss had weakened his Myriad Clones system, especially in close combat. Myriad Clones could still confuse, attack, and carry prepared killer moves, but without the specter-like strength support, they were easier to destroy when pressed by powerful enemies.
Phantom Gu gave him a route to rebuild that part.
Promising Hei Lou Lan one good strength path Immortal Gu was not a loss if it allowed him to copy and restore an important piece of his combat system.
Of course, that was only the immediate reason.
The deeper reason was Hei Lou Lan herself.
Fang Ming did not want to completely tear apart the alliance with her. She still had value.
Behind Hei Lou Lan stood Blazing Heaven Demoness.
A rank eight immortal zombie.
Blazing Heaven Demoness had methods, resources, killer moves, and connections that Fang Ming was interested in. Approaching such a person directly was not simple. But through Hei Lou Lan, a road might exist.
That plan was not guaranteed.
It might fail.
But it was worth keeping open.
More importantly, Hei Lou Lan was tied to Hei tribe.
Fang Ming knew about Hei Fan's arrangements. He knew there was a hidden route toward Hei Fan grotto-heaven, and inside that grotto-heaven was a time path inheritance that interested him greatly.
But now was not the time.
There were Gu Immortals inside that grotto-heaven, and some were rank seven. Fang Ming was stronger than ordinary rank six Gu Immortals, and with preparation he might even kill them, but risk still existed. He had no need to gamble now when his strength was still rising quickly.
He needed more time.
More Gu.
More killer moves.
More foundation.
Eventually, if Hei tribe collapsed as it did in the original flow, opportunities would appear. If not, Hei Lou Lan herself could become a key.
Fang Ming could disguise himself, but Hei tribe's bloodline detection methods were troublesome. A false Hei tribe identity might be exposed by bloodline formations. Hei Lou Lan was different. She was genuine Hei tribe bloodline. If she used proper disguise methods later, she could infiltrate places Fang Ming could not.
That possibility alone was worth preserving.
A single copied strength path Immortal Gu was nothing compared to the chance of reaching Hei Fan's inheritance.
Fang Ming stored Phantom Gu.
Hei Lou Lan probably thought she had clawed back some compensation from him.
In a way, she had.
But from Fang Ming's point of view, the alliance still had future value, and keeping it alive was worth far more than one strength path Immortal Gu.